Worldview, Politics, and Culture

As you know from past blog posts, Chuck Colson is someone I have learned much from, and respect highly. What our view of the world is shapes everything we do. Having a Biblical worldview is imperative as believers. The first step is to know what you believe and why you believe it, and to think through what you exactly believe. To know Jesus Christ as savior is the beginning, but it is only the beginning. Our knowledge of the Trinity, God's ways, and how that relates to mankind should be something we never stop learning about. It starts with questions. About a week ago I posted a blog about Bible Study methods, the first thing I said to do is ask questions. Those questions are not exclusively only about salvation. Scripture is as deep as the ocean. Salvation is the beginning point of reference to then learn, learn and learn! Part of what we learn is that God is much bigger than we ever thought, we are much more sinful than we could ever imagine, and that our view of reality has some changing to do. Our minds have to change, along with our behavior. This does not happen in a vacuum. It takes hard work, serious study, and lots of mistakes, always leading us back to Scripture. What an adventure this life is! And what an enemy the world's way of thinking is. We learn the world's ways by osmosis, it is seeped into our minds, hearts and souls, it is the very air that we breathe. Then Christ comes resides in us, we are in Christ, and He begins to show us the false thinking of the world, the flesh, and the devil. It will not change over night, and it takes work. But what exciting stuff, and just think, it never ends.

I challenge you. Study, don't just let someone do it for you. But, do start wherever you are. I am studying Ephesians right now. For the last three days, I have been meditating on the first verse. "¹Paul,^{A)" style="font-size: 0.75em; line-height: 0.5em; ">} an apostle of Christ Jesus^{B)" style="font-size: 0.75em; line-height: 0.5em; ">} by the will of God." What does the will of God really mean? What would it mean to my life if I really believed I was here by the will of God? Does God's will depend partly on me, and partly on God? Does doing God's will mean I have to be one of "God's celebrities, a super Christian?" And how big is God? These are just some of the questions I have been asking myself about that first phrase. I have come to one conclusion, that I sometimes can't see the Scriptures message because all I am looking for is for myself, my concerns, and my EVERYthing. Repentance is an everyday occurrence with me.

Keep digging till He comes...................................Lynn

A New Definition of Fear

Rob Smith Jr. Cartoons

Thomas Sowell article-10-7-09

If you get a chance read this article from Thomas Sowell, one of my favorite economists. Love him.

townhall.com/columnists/ThomasSowell/2009/10/07/random_thoughts

Great Quote

"Man, once surrendering his reason, has no remaining guard against absurdities the most monstrous, and like a

ship without rudder, is the sport of every wind. With such persons, gullibility, which they call faith, takes the

helm from the hand of reason and the mind becomes a wreck." --Thomas Jefferson

Where we are as a Nation

"When plunder becomes a way of life for a group of men living together in society, they create for themselves in the course of time a legal system that authorizes it and a moral code that glorifies it." -- French economist, statesman and author Frederic Bastiast (1801-1850)

Listen to a Wise Man: Thomas Sowell

After many a disappointment with someone, and especially after a disaster, we may be able to look back at numerous clues that should have warned us that the person we trusted did not deserve our trust.

When that person is the President of the United States, the potential for disaster is virtually unlimited.

Many people are rightly worried about what this administration's reckless spending will do to the economy in our time and to our children and grandchildren, to whom a staggering national debt will be passed on. But if the worst that Barack Obama does is ruin the economy, I will breathe a sigh of relief.

He is heading this country toward disaster on many fronts, including a nuclear Iran, which has every prospect of being an irretrievable disaster of almost unimaginable magnitude. We cannot put that genie back in the bottle-- and neither can generations yet unborn. They may yet curse us all for leaving them hostages to nuclear terror.

Conceivably, Israel can spare us that fate by taking out the Iranian nuclear facilities, instead of relying on Obama's ability to talk the Iranians out of going nuclear.

What the Israelis cannot spare us, however, are our own internal problems, of which the current flap over President Obama's injecting himself into a local police issue is just a small sign of a very big danger.

Nothing has torn more countries apart from inside like racial and ethnic polarization. Just this year, a decades-long civil war, filled with unspeakable atrocities, has finally ended in Sri Lanka. The painful irony is that, when the British colony of Ceylon became the independent nation of Sri Lanka in 1948, its people were considered to be a shining example for the world of good relations between a majority (the Sinhalese) and a minority (the Tamils). That all changed when politicians decided to "solve" the "problem" that the Tamil minority was much more economically successful than the Sinhalese majority. Group identity politics led to group preferences and quotas that escalated into polarization, mob violence and ultimately civil war.

Group identity politics has poisoned many other countries, including at various times Kenya, Czechoslovakia, Fiji, Guyana, Canada, Nigeria, India, and Rwanda. In some countries the polarization has gone as far as mass expulsions or civil war.

The desire of many Americans for a "post-racial" society is well-founded, though the belief that Barack Obama would move in that direction was extremely ill-advised, given the history of his actions and associations.

This is a president on a mission to remake American society in every aspect, by whatever means are necessary and available. That requires taking all kinds of decisions out of the hands of ordinary Americans and transferring them to Washington elites-- and ultimately the number one elite, Barack Obama himself.

Like so many before him who have ruined countries around the world, Obama has a greatly inflated idea of his own capabilities and the prospects of what can be accomplished by rhetoric or even by political power. Often this has been accompanied by an ignorance of history, including the history of how many people before him have tried similar things with disastrous results.

During a recent TV interview, when President Obama was asked about the prospects of victory in Afghanistan, he replied that it would not be victory like in World War II, with "Hirohito coming down and signing a surrender to MacArthur." In reality, it was more than a year after Japanese officials surrendered on the battleship Missouri before Hirohito met General Douglas MacArthur for the first time.

This is not the first betrayal of his ignorance by Obama, nor the first overlooked by the media. Moreover, ignorance by itself is not nearly as bad as charging full steam ahead, pretending to know. Barack Obama is doing that on a lot of issues, not just history or a local police incident in Massachusetts.

While the mainstream media in America will never call him on this, these repeated demonstrations of his amateurism and immaturity will not go unnoticed by this country's enemies around the world. And it is the American people who will pay the price.

Anger?

Today I heard a clip from a columnist from the Cleveland Plain Dealer  as she was being interviewed on C-Span.  Her name is Connie Schulz and this is what she said, "There's so much hate there, and it -- and it fuels people who want to be angry, who just want to hate. And certainly right now, in our country there's so little product -- productive, umm, outcome from that. We could talk about this as human beings. When I'm angry, what I'm all worked up, I am not my best self. Heh! I... My vision is affected in terms of how I see things; my opinions are distorted by my rage. Um, I -- I -- I don't think it's ever a good idea to try to just fuel rage in people."  She was speaking of those of us on the "right" being angry about the changing of America right before our eyes.  She mentioned Rush Limbaugh and those that agree with him.  

I would like to say to Ms. Schulz, I am angry, and to tell you the truth, I think that my anger actually brings out my "best" self in this situation.  Anger directed at those who thwart Justice is anger that is well worth it.  I do not think that when Patrick Henry said, "Give me Liberty or Give Me Death," he was speaking in flowery tones of "let's tiptoe through the tulips."   When Ronaldo Maximus Reagan told Gorbachov to "Tear down this wall,"  he had in mind the 100 million people that lost their lives under Lenin, Stalin, and the other Communist regimes that strip their citizens of freedom, dignity, and ultimately their lives.  Do you really think that anger has no place?  In our society we have seen the total reversal of virtue.  The Miss California incident recently illustrates this.  This young woman is being reviled for her virtue, and the people that truly are speaking "hate speech" are looked at as the heros in some circles, and not called to task as a general whole.  I heard that some of the Republican leadership is trying to disavow or distance themselves from the principles of Ronald Reagan, which really means, "let's just forget about this abortion thing, it's just a 'fringe' issue."  Life is not a fringe issue!  Period.  When the most helpless and vulnerable among us are thrown out with the garbage, literally, then it will not be long when we will throw out "Grandma and Grandpa" too.  When life is not an issue it won't be long until those that stand for virtue will also be expendable.  It was not too many years ago when people that did not see eye to eye with the German leadership were herded into cattle cars, and whisked off to "re-education camps," when those that opposed collectivism in the USSR were systematically starved to death, by the millions.  When life is not a high priority, when the state becomes "god," then anything is possible.  I am angry at the new change agents in Washington that want to thumb their noses at one of the most perfect documents ever to have been written, our Constitution.  They are making a mockery of it as I write.  The Federal government does not have the right to run every aspect of our lives, from bailouts to tarp funds, from healthcare to automobiles. We are told to  tow the line.  Wall Street is being diminished, government is growing, and you and I will pay the price in more ways than just monetary.  We will become poorer as a nation, and in order for conservative principles not ever to make a comeback, because that would take the power away from the elite statists that are now running our lives, there will have to be control.  How.... I can only imagine.  Oh, how I wish that I could shout this from sea to shinning sea, but alas....  

Call me an alarmist if you want to, but DAILY it is some new regulation or control from the politicians.  Too bad there is not an new world to go to.  But, maybe that is what is happening.  Maybe those of us that know Him, will soon have our place in the ship that will only lead to an eternal utopia, the only utopia there is.  

Tearful and angry; and waiting for Him alone..............Lynn

Anybody Want to Go?

Raleigh Tea Party, NC Tea Party, March 21, 2009, New American Tea Party, Raleigh NC, NC State Capitol, Downtown Raleigh, Government bailouts, North Carolinians for the Preservation of the Constitution

To protest the Obama Administrations Wild Economic and Tax Policies groups of average Americans have been getting together to show their common outrage.  This Saturday you can show yours on the steps of the State Capitol Building in Raleigh.  Cannot wait to at least make my presence known!  

Article from Fox News:

Taxpayers Strike Back With 'Tea Parties'

Monday, March 16, 2009 

By Bret Baier

Police in Cincinnati say at least 4,000 people showed up Sunday for a grassroots protest of wasteful government spending in general, and President Obama's stimulus package and budget in particular.

It was one of many tea party protests around the country — inspired by the Revolutionary War era Boston Tea Party protesting British taxation. Protesters had signs reading "Give us liberty, not debt" and "Where's my bailout?"

One report states there are more than 150 tea parties scheduled across the nation in the upcoming months. The events so far have been largely ignored by the mainstream media, but several blogs are tracking them.

Noel Sheppard, associate editor for the conservative NewsBusters.org writes on the coverage so far: "Compare that to how these networks practically fell all over themselves to report war protests after the public's opinion changed concerning Iraq in late 2003."

To Follow up, here are some of Ronaldo Maximus Reagan's great sayings, oh how I miss him.  These were sent to me via email from my dear friend Cheryl.  

'Here's my strategy on the Cold War: We win, they lose.'

'The most terrifying words in the English language are:
I'm from the government and I'm here to help.'

'The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they're ignorant;
it's just that they know so much that isn't so.'

'Of the four wars in my lifetime, none came about because
the U.S. was too strong.'

'I have wondered at times about what the Ten Commandments would have looked like if Moses had run them through the U.S. Congress.'

'The taxpayer: That's someone who works for the federal government but doesn't have to take the civil service examination.'

'Government is like a baby: An alimentary canal with a big appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other.'

'The nearest thing to eternal life we will ever see on this earth is
a government program.'

'It has been said that politics is the second oldest profession.
I have learned that it bears a striking resemblance to the first.'

'Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it.
And if it stops moving, subsidize it.'

'Politics is not a bad profession. If you succeed, there are many rewards; if you disgrace yourself, you can always write a book.'

'No arsenal, or no weapon in the arsenals of the world, is as formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women.'

'If we ever forget that we're one nation under God,
then we will be a nation gone under.'

Now What?

Cal Thomas, a Christian political analyst, has an insightful post on Townhall.com today entitled "The Religious Right:  R. I. P."  Some of his analysis I agree with, his conclusion I do not.  To analyze his complete view I would of course need to interview him, so since I cannot do that, I will so the best that I can.  

He says that what evangelicals have been doing for thirty years obviously hasn't worked, I mean come on we just elected a socialist to the most powerful job on the planet.  Social change does not take place through the courts, or through political means.  We need to "love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit those in prison and care for widows and orphans," just as Jesus did.  I agree with that, but there are several things about what Mr. Thomas says and how he says it I disagree with.  The progressive, liberal theologians have also tried to do the above for longer than thirty years and it has only landed them in the Marxist christian camp believing nothing, except social change through social activism.  This eventually led to watering down the Scriptures and the Gospel, when all that was done all they had were social issues.  He does make a good point about evangelicals relying on government to our peril.  Change doesn't happen through political means either.  The Gospel's aim is not social change, and neither is it the right of an oppressive government on either side to change society.  

As Christians we are to be salt and light where ever Christ leads us personally.  That may be into politics to stand for truth, justice and righteousness.  It may be in the home raising godly children, or in a business, or somewhere in the public square, even if that public square is hostile to our beliefs.  To pull out of all of these realms would be a disaster of monumental proportions.  Surely, Mr. Thomas wasn't advocating this, let us hope not.  That has been tried also and has failed miserably. Going back into our holy huddles and waiting till the storm passes doesn't work, the storm will only get worse, and we will be marginalized at best.  Christ never advocated a pragmatic approach to life anyway.  

Christ spoke His Gospel of grace where ever He happened to be.  Whether that was to the Pharisees (who had a great deal to do with the culture at that time), or to the money changers, or to the men that caught the woman in adultery, and he also dinned with the "sinners,"  the tax collectors (politicians all), and the prostitutes.  He did not just feed the hungry, although we are to do that, He did not just pray for His enemies, although we are to do that as well.  He confronted His enemies when it was right and just to do so.  He played with children, He lived life with a great deal of people, showing them the way.  He also suffered, died, and was crucified.  We maybe called to do all of the above, and as we go....we should show and tell others of the Gospel.  The Gospel is what changes people, neither social activism, nor holy huddles, nor anything else changes lives, the power of God through His Gospel.   God sent His Son so that we might be reconciled to Him, not by our works of our own righteousness, but only by Him.  Christ saw change.  He made great upheavals of change, before and after He died and rose again.  Think about the change he wrought for women, for children, for the sacredness of life.  That issue alone changed history forever.  

We in this great experiment of a country of ours have lived under freedom longer than any people in the history of the world.  That is amazing.  We have definitely taken it for granted.  The majority of the people that have lived on this planet have lived under tyranny.  I am reading The Black Book of Communism and the numbers in the last century that were killed under that philosophy are staggering.  The authors of the book estimate 100 million.  They say  Hitler's regime was just a drop in the bucket, but we in the free West have not been able to make this comparison without being labeled anti-Semitic.  How staggering.  Just think of all those 106 million (counting those who died under the National Socialists) who were followers of Christ.  If we think about it, it wasn't that long ago.  

We all need to read The City of God by Augustine.  Augustine says that there are two different kinds of people; those that belong to the city of God and those that belong to the city of man.  This world will never be a theocracy, it will never be a utopia (much to the liberal chagrin) because these two groups of people will never see eye to eye.  He wrote this just a few years before the barbarians sacked Rome.  

I picked up a book that I haven't read in many years yesterday.  Carl F. Henry wrote a speech on the coming of the barbarians in 1970, later on in 1988 he wrote a follow up volume called Twilight of a Great Civilization.  It was amazing to me how prophetic he was.  He was one of the most brilliant Christian minds of the last century.  He says, "When Protestant liberalism lost theological credibility, it deteriorated into a politico-economic program.  Cloaking Marxist revolution in the symbols of Christianity has become trendy since Castro's regime in Cuba."   Politico-economic programs, sound familiar?  The Black Book of Communism says that there are two "fantasies" about socialism, I will only state one here.  The first fantasy is a "thesis that purports to offer a non-violent, market road to socialism-that is, Marx's integral socialism which necessitates the full suppression of private property, profit, and the market."  Sound familiar?   The authors go on to say, that once the socialists get power, they have never seen or heard of any that could not give into the temptation of continued power.  "Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely, (Lord Acton)."  

This brings me to my final point.  Go read II Chronicles chapter 20 of the story of Jehoshaphat, Gideon, dad-gum the whole entire history of Israel.  We have always been in the minority!  Jehoshaphat was hit with the fact that his army was out numbered tremendously.  He is afraid and says, "We are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us.  We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on You," (II Chronicles 20:12).  All God does is a picture of the Gospel.  We are powerless to fix, change, save, etc, etc, ourselves.  When God puts us in times, predicaments, trials, fearful times it is only to prove His faithfulness in order to have freedom from fear, circumstances, trials, etc.  Then we have the abundant life that Christ has promised and God is greatly glorified, because He alone saves!

Even so Come Quickly, Lord Jesus.....Lynn

 

Freedom? Isn't it Way Over Rated?

I was reminded this morning of a Dostoyevsky quote from The Brothers Karazamov which says, “In the end they will lay their freedom at our feet and say to us, 'Make us your slaves, but feed us.”  Scary thought.  If a people do not have someone to worship, they long, seek, and even give up their freedom for one whom they can worship.  Dostoyevsky, who spent eight years in a Siberian prison camp, came back from that experience a different man.  During that time he found someone to worship besides government or in his case seeking to over throw one tyrant for another one.  He had experienced the ways of government and had found them lacking, which would be an understatement.  A people that do not worship, seek something in which to worship.  That is the way that God made us.  In one way we can be grateful that God has made man this way, I guess in all ways really.  Our present state of affairs in this country, in my opinion, has come about in part because of this great void.  A messianic figure has come along to take this void in peoples hearts and it would seem that a great deal of people have allowed it, maybe because they do not have another alternative.   Isn't part of it our responsibility?  Have we kept silent when we had the opportunity?  Or like me, maybe have talked politics when I should have been speaking of Jesus.  

Dostoyevsky also said, “So long as man remains free he strives for nothing so incessantly and painfully as to find someone to worship.”  In one way this is very convicting.  It presupposes that I think that somewhere down the line we will loose our freedom of speech as believers.  I really do not think that will happen anytime soon, but it could happen.  I have been reminded recently that we do not need to take this, of all freedoms, lightly.  I know I am one that needs to be much more vocal about what I say to people, not just the "way I live."  Someday it might not be near as easy to speak the name of Christ as it is now, but be encouraged!  Even if that right were ever taken away, the rocks and hills would cry out!  Dostoyevsky may have been only right about one of his quotes, cause think about it.....he came to Christ in a prison camp in Siberia.  Whatever the outcome of tomorrows election, let us go into the new presidency with a renewed sense of sharing the Gospel with the people we meet.  

I went to see Fireproof the other night with my twelve year old, Rebekah.  I cried through the entire movie.  Partly, because I had read that day that it had grossed more money to date than Religulous, and W (by Oliver Stone) put together.  I was praying for all the people that have heard the gospel through the film.  I also thought the writers did a wonderful job of picturing someone sharing his faith at work.  Some of his fellow firemen accepted and some of them didn't.  It was also shown as a process, a verbal process, as well as watching his life.  Good film.

One  idea, maybe you could strike up a conversation about the film with someone you know that is not a believer, yet has seen the movie, or maybe you could take someone to see it.  The teenage girl who sold Bekah and I our popcorn, asked us what we were seeing, and said, "Oh, I love that movie, I saw it twice."  She wasn't afraid of the "religious" connotations of it all, she just spoke our of her heart.  Who knows maybe it was the first time she had ever heard of the Gospel.  The possibilities are endless.  God is giving me renewed zeal.  I hope this election cycle has found you in the same place.  

P.S.   If you have not read The Brothers Karazamov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky now would be a great time to read it.  If you have read it and it has been a while, read it again.  He, in one way, goes through the gamut of humanity and shows how different people respond to the knowledge of having a God who is ruler.  It is fascinating how the different "brothers" have different responses.  I am by no means a literary scholar on this novel, it is one of the hardest I have waded through, but well worth it.  It is also well worth reading the great minds that have analyzed it.  

The Constitution vs The Planks of the Communist Manifesto

If you haven't read this in a while it would be good to read it again now.  I do not have the room to copy the entire Constitution on my blog, but go to The Heritage Foundation and they will send it to you free, or go to a website that has the whole thing.  Read it again.  Then at the bottom of this blog post read the planks of the Communist Manifesto by Marx and Engels.   

Preamble to the Constitution:


We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

The Bill of Rights:

Amendment I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Amendment II

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Amendment III

No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

Amendment IV

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Amendment V

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

Amendment VI

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.

Amendment VII

In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

Amendment VIII

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

Amendment IX

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

Amendment X

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

The Ten Planks of the Communist Manifesto:

1. Abolition of property in land and application of all rents of land to public purposes.

2. A heavy progressive or graduated income tax.

3. Abolition of all rights of inheritance.

4. Confiscation of the property of all emigrants and rebels.

5. Centralization of credit in the banks of the state, by means of a national bank with state capital and an exclusive monopoly.

6. Centralization of the means of communication and transport in the hands of the state.

7. Extension of factories and instruments of production owned by the state; the bringing into cultivation of waste lands, and the improvement of the soil generally in accordance with a common plan.

8. Equal obligation of all to work. Establishment of industrial armies, especially for agriculture.

9. Combination of agriculture with manufacturing industries; gradual abolition of all the distinction between town and country by a more equable distribution of the populace over the country.

10. Free education for all children in public schools. Abolition of children's factory labor in its present form. Combination of education with industrial production, etc.

I Said it All

The previous post is the last I will say on the election.  I think you all know where I stand.  

No Matter who is in the White House, God is still on His throne and does whatever He pleases.  I will continue to wait on Him and serve Him in whatever capacity I can.........Lynn