Supreme Court appointments


I’m doing a detour for tonight’s post.

I’ve been receiving e-mails from various organizations to help to fight against the nomination of Elena Kagan to the United States Supreme Court. One such example was from Americans United for Life. A portion of its e-mail received on June 28, 2010 reads as follows: “Meanwhile, as I write you, Elena Kagan is moving perilously close to confirmation in the Senate. We cannot risk another pro-abortion justice with a lifetime appointment—not during the greatest expansion of abortion in America since Roe v. Wade.”

This is the second opportunity that Barrack Hussein Obama has had to make such a nomination. It may not be the last. Both Justices who resigned are Justices who believed in and worked for the expanding powers of the courts through judicial activism.

Before the 2008 Presidential election, I said that the three most important issues were:

1) the MURDER of unborn babies

And, since his election, the President has increased the opportunities to MURDER more and more unborn babies.

2) expansion of the homosexual agenda

And, since his election, the President has expanded the homosexual agenda on several fronts.

3) appoint of members to the federal court system and specifically appointments to the U.S. Supreme Court.

And, since his election, the President has nominated judicially active judges and Justices.

In all three issues, President Barack Hussein Obama has done exactly what he has said he would do. We should have stopped his election in 2008. We did not.

The truth is that any attempt to stop his nominations, at this time, to the Supreme Court will prove to be futile. Currently, the President has a sufficient number of Democrats in the Senate to approve a judicially active Justice. If not Elena Kagan, it will be someone else cut in the same mold as other judicial activist Justices. That’s why the two sitting Justices retired at this time and that is why the Democrats are pushing to vote on the nomination as soon as possible.

We should be directing our energies and our RESOURCES to electing as many conservative members, as possible, to the United States Senate to be able to block such appointments in January of next year and beyond. Don’t fight battles that are not winnable. Change the battle ground to get conservatives who support judicial restraint elected to the U.S. Senate.

One last item which has been erroneously repeated by both conservatives and libertines that needs to be clarified. Appointments of judges and Justices to the federal court system ARE NOT lifetime appointments. The United States Constitution does not say anything about lifetime appointments anywhere in the Constitution.

Article III, Section 1 of the United States Constitution states the following: “The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. The Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good Behaviour, and shall, at stated Times, receive for their Services, a Compensation, which shall not be diminished during their Continuance in Office.”

In short, it is NOT a lifetime appointment. It is an appointment based upon good behavior. Any member of the federal court system may be removed from office. We, the people, must get out of this mindset that judicial appointments are lifetime appointments. THEY ARE NOT!

Privilege abused; privilege revoked


01) “Dave said …

You divorced?

8:02 PM”

02) “Mike said …

Hopefully never married and no offspring, I can only think of how screwed up any kids he might have would be. Though it would be very funny and ironic if he had kids and they turned out to be gay.

11:24 AM”

03) “Anonymous said …

They would definately be gay. I don’t see any other option.

8:44 PM”

04) “Anonymous said …

Also, obviously not married. Whose wife would let them blog this often? Bitter.

8:47 PM

05) “Anonymous said …

I would say never married. What woman would go for a man this unproductive?

5:57 AM”

06) “Samuel said …

Very good job of side stepping the question regarding if you are divorced, not that anyone would care (my addition).

2:59 AM”

07) “Anonymous said …

3) Present homosexuality, degeneracy, and promiscuity as ‘normal, natural, and healthy.’

I question why part of the communist agenda in 1963 would be promoting homosexuality. While some homosexual groups like the Mattachine society were communist or communist leaning, the overall communist movement was not particularly homosexual friendly. Homosexuality was by and large looked down upon as a bourgeois decadence in most communist countries and by many communist orgainizations. In the 1930’s the Soviet Union enacted laws that made homosexual punishable by 5 years of hard labor, a law that was on the books until the Soviet Union collapsed, Communist China outlawed homosexuality until the 1990’s, When the communist took power in Cuba they outlawed homosexual activity until the late 70s, and most of the Soviet Union controlled nations in Eastern Europe outlawed homosexuality. So I have a hard time believing that the American communist movement that was controlled by Moscow saw presenting homosexuality as normal was a major goal of the movement.

I would also point out that the Communist Part of the United States expelled a number of members during the 1950s-60’s for being homosexuals and that homosexuality was viewed as an activity done by those with fascist leanings, which was the Stalinist view point.

9:37 PM”

08) “Anonymous said …

Labeling everyone a socialist or communist. Is that what Jesus would do? BTW, entering the President’s middle name every time you mention him is getting old and ignorant. My middle name is Ted. Am I a serial murderer?

6:05 AM”

09) “Anonymous said …

Don’t abortions technically save the states money?”

(I mistakenly didn’t copy down the time this comment was posted)

10) “Anonymous said …

The gunslinger (my addition) is spreding the word (my addition) after being duped by this letter. (my addition)

10:59 AM”

11) “Anonymous said …

Would spewing hate about homosexuals, liberals, pro-choicers be something jesus would do? There is a thin line between you and the good folks from westboro baptist church

10:01 AM”

The above eleven comments were all received within the last two weeks. Commenting on a blog is a privilege not a right. That is true of all blogs and particularly true of mine. I consider at least eight of those eleven comments to be abusive.

Who decides what is abusive and what is not? I do! It’s my blog. It seems that some of the abusive comments are feeding the frenzy for more abusive comments. Therefore, I have revoked the privilege. Comments will no longer be accepted.

Sorry. Unfortunately, it is all too common that the few ruin a privilege for the many. Some people have a difficult time learning. I am praying for each of those who have abused the privilege. I am praying that GOD will present them with opportunities to repent and turn to GOD for their salvation.

I plan to respond to some of the comments in future posts as I finish the series.

Sin: I’m not responsible, am I?


“Did GOD Make Me Sinful?

Ezekiel 18: 1-4

Greetings to you friend! I’m Mack Lyon. The program’s a Bible study program, ‘In Search of the Lord’s Way.’ We’re so glad you have joined our study today. Many people think God made them the way they are and they cannot change. Did God make people inherently sinful without the capacity to change? Phil Sanders believes the Bible is the answer to those questions. He believes God’s answers are filled with hope. So, don’t go away. Listen to him!

Thank you, Mack, and God bless you! Hello, I’m Phil Sanders and this is In Search of the Lord’s Way, where we search the Scriptures to find the Lord’s way to be saved and to live the Christian life. Thanks so much for spending this time with us. We really appreciate hearing from you and that you appreciate our Bible study. We want to be a part of your life each week.

Occasionally people struggling with a moral problem ask the question, ‘Did God make me this way?’ Many people are convinced that our DNA makes us the way we are and that we cannot change our behavior. Others believe that man is incapable of change on his own.

Flip Wilson used to say, ‘The devil made me do it’; but some people, instead of blaming the devil, blame God for making them do things they do. They believe that we are all born completely sinners. They say that our sinful nature is utterly incapable of choosing or even desiring God. They go even further by saying some people are predestined to be lost, while others are predestined to be saved. They believe God arbitrarily makes the choice for us, and we have no freewill. They say we can’t change our ways or our eternal destiny.

Well, without a doubt all people struggle with temptation and sin throughout their lives. What tempts you may differ from what tempts me, but we both face the struggle to live righteously. The apostle Peter urged Christians to ‘abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.’ (1 Peter 2 and verse 11) Did God make us sinful? Is that Biblically true? Well, we’ll look into the Scriptures to find out later in this program.

In Search of the Lord’s Way is now in its thirtieth year of preaching the truth in love without hassling people for money. We offer our materials free. And if you’d like a printed copy, a CD or tape of our study, mail your request to In Search of the Lord’s Way, P.O. Box 371, Edmond, OK 73083 or by e-mail to searchtv@searchtv.org. Or, if you like, call our toll-free telephone number. That number is 1 (800) 321-8633. We also stream this program on our website at http://www.searchtv.org/. Well, the Edmond Church of Christ will now sing a hymn with Ken Helterbrand leading; and then we’ll read from Ezekiel 18, verses 1 through 4.

Our reading today in God’s Word comes from the prophet Ezekiel, chapter 18, verses 1 through 4. ‘The word of the LORD came to me again, saying, ‘What do you mean when you use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying: The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge? As I live, says the Lord God, you shall no longer use this proverb in Israel. Behold, all souls are Mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine; the soul who sins shall die.’ And that’s a reading from God’s holy word. Let’s pray together. O Lord, may our love for You grow more and more. And, Father, help us to understand our responsibility before You for the things that we do and think and say. And, Father, help us to be obedient to Your will. In Jesus’ name, Amen!

The Scriptures teach man is both capable and free to choose between good and evil, and between God and Satan. For instance, in Romans 6, verses 17 and 18 God said, ‘Though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were committed. You have been set free from sin and have become the slaves to righteousness.’ Now, this passage clearly teaches that a lost person obeyed from his heart the gospel teaching and changed from being a slave to sin to being a slave of righteousness.

Now, after preaching to the Jews on the day of Pentecost about their sin of crucifying the Lord Jesus Christ and their need to repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of their sins, the apostle Peter, speaking by the power of the Holy Spirit, said in Acts 2 and verse 40, ‘Save yourselves (that is be saved) from this perverse generation.’ Well, what does that mean, ‘Save yourselves’? Now, are we suggesting that a person can earn his way to heaven? No. We’re not saying that. We are saying that a person must respond to God’s gracious gift. God does the saving, but He puts qualifications on who can be saved. We must respond to His gift. One must repent and be baptized out of faith and love to meet God’s conditions.

The Bible says in 1 Peter 1, verses 22 and 23, ‘Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart, for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring (or abiding) word of God.’ People purify their souls when they hear and obey the gospel truth. They’re born again not through some miraculous movement of God but by obedience to the preaching of the Word of God. It’s the gospel that saves. (Romans 1 and verse 16)

Paul said in 1 Corinthians 1, verse 21, ‘For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.’ This was God’s choice of how to save people, giving them a gospel and saving them through the message of the Word of God.

That man has freewill either to accept that message or to reject it is also very clear in the Scriptures. Have you thought about that golden passage that you learned as a child? The Lord Jesus said in John 3, verse 16, ‘For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’ ‘Whosoever’ means anyone, everyone! You see, it’s the people who believe who are saved, while those who refuse to believe shall perish.

Our choices do matter; we do have a freewill. John the Baptist said later in the same chapter (that is John 3 and verse 36) that, ‘Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever does not obey the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.’ Faith and obedience matter to our salvation. God expects us to choose to believe and obey in order to have eternal life.

Throughout history people have made choices as to whether they will obey God or not. You remember that Joshua late in his life addressed the people of Israel. And he said in Joshua 24, verses 14 and 15, ‘Now, therefore, fear the LORD and serve Him in sincerity and truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. And if it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or in the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me (Joshua says) and my house, we will serve the LORD.’ Joshua knew that people had choice as to which god they would serve, whether the God of Heaven or some other imagined god. They had freewill.

The prophet Elijah many years later faced off against 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of the Asherah on Mount Carmel. And you’ll remember that the prophets of Baal were completely overcome by the God of Heaven when the fire came down and consumed Elijah’s sacrifice. And before the challenge in 1 Kings 18 and verse 21 Elijah went before the people and said, ‘How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.’ Of course, Baal was just an idol and was never anything but a figment of the people’s imagination. The God of Heaven, however, was real and sent fire down from heaven, which convinced the people to kill the prophets of Baal. When the people saw the evidence, they chose God and rejected Baal.

They had freewill. And so do you. In Revelation 22 and verse 17, ‘the Spirit and the bride say, Come. (that is come to Jesus) And let the one who hears say, Come. And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes to take the water of life without cost let him come.’ God invites us to believe and to obey!

And I want here to ask some questions that I think are important. You remember that Jesus our Lord said in Luke 13 and verse 5, ‘but unless you repent, you too will all perish.’ Now why would Jesus Christ condemn people for their failure to repent if they were incapable of repentance or doing any good toward their salvation? Why wouldn’t that make God a monster?

The Hebrew writer wrote in Hebrews 11 and verse 6, that ‘without faith it is impossible to please him (that is God), for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.’ Why would God demand faith from us human beings, if He knows that people are incapable of believing on their own? Why? We need to know that humans are capable of believing. God will not require something of us that we’re not capable of doing.

The apostle Paul encouraged people in 2 Corinthians 5, verses 18 to 20 to ‘be reconciled to God.’ Well, why would God ask men to be reconciled if they were not capable of doing anything by which they could be reconciled? Let’s think together. The word ‘reconcile’ implies there’s a separation and reconciliation is a reunion; it means ‘to bring back into harmony.’ A reconciled husband and wife were once in harmony, and then they separated, and later they were restored together.

Now, if an infant is born in sin, he cannot be reconciled because he was never in harmony with the Lord at the beginning. My friend, the truth is that infants are not born in sin but are born pure; they separate from God when they are old enough and responsible enough to sin on their own. They are reconciled to God by faith and obedience to the gospel. Now, in gospel obedience one is freed from sin and born again into the family of God.

The Bible teaches that God is no respecter of persons. Now the Bible says that in Acts 10, verse 34; Romans 2, verses 11 and 12, and in 1 Peter 1, verse 17. God hasn’t arbitrarily chosen some folks to be saved and arbitrarily chosen others to be lost. Rather the blood of Jesus was shed for all people and the gospel is offered to all people. The apostle Paul said in 1 Timothy 2 and verse 4 that God ‘desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.’ God didn’t make people just to condemn them. That’s a false and cruel doctrine. The apostle Peter said in 2 Peter 3 and verse 9, that ‘The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.’ That’s what God wants, for you to repent and to be right with Him and live with Him forever.

Now, if you have no choice as to your eternal destiny, why would you need to beware of the devil? The apostle Peter warned in 1 Peter 5 and verse 8, ‘Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.’ Why, such language is absurd if you have no freewill. Temptation tests whether we will choose to do right or give in to what’s wrong. That’s freewill, my friend. You’re not a puppet; you’re not a robot. You are made in God’s image and you’ve been given free moral agency by God.

The Bible says in James 1, verses 13 to 15: ‘Let no one say when he is tempted, I am being tempted by God; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; now when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.’ God is not the source of our sinful nature. Oh, He tests our faith but He doesn’t lead us into moral failure and sin. How could a holy God lead anyone into behavior that totally contradicts His own nature? It’s totally against the nature of God to create someone for a sinful life.

Now man is often weak to sin, but being weak to sin is not the same thing as being incapable of resisting sin. Many Bible characters said no to sin. You remember that Joseph said no to the continual pressures of Potiphar’s wife. Joshua said no, also, to serving false gods. Daniel as a young man said no to eating the wrong foods at the king’s table. And as an old man, Daniel said no to the law that would not allow him to pray to the God of heaven. When the Sanhedrin told Peter and John not to preach the name of Jesus, they said in Acts 4, verses 19 to 20, ‘Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you (that is to the Sanhedrin) rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.’ They said ‘no’ to the Sanhedrin. The apostles chose the moral high ground rather than give into the Council. People can choose what they do.

The Lord Jesus describes the nature of man in Matthew 26 and verse 41. Jesus was in the garden of Gethsemane with his three disciples: Peter, James, and John. And He was praying in agony, and He said, ‘Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit is indeed willing, but the flesh is weak.’ Now, when Jesus says that man is indeed willing, that shows that man does have some good inclinations within. He’s not all bad. We all face weakness to sin. This is why we must be alert and pray, so that we can overcome the temptation. Jesus did not accept the notion that men must give in to the flesh. No, we can resist temptation, and we can repent of our past sins.

Some people think there is something in their physical makeup that makes their character inherently sinful. Some speak of being born alcoholics or born drug addicts and others think that our sexual orientation is determined and cannot be changed. But thousands, perhaps millions, of alcoholics have given up drinking altogether. Thousands have overcome many kinds of addictions. And thousands have repented of sexual misdeeds to live a godly life. You see, sin is a learned behavior not a foregone conclusion. The hope of the gospel is that men can repent; and Jesus died on the cross to give us that opportunity. The Bible always assumes that people can change their lives.

Don’t let anyone fool you into thinking that you have no hope of changing your ways or of overcoming sin. God can and will help you. You can repent, if you will. But we have to make up our minds that we want to serve God. Free will is yours, and you must make your choice firm. You have to decide what you love most. You have to give your heart to the Lord. You have to decide that you will follow the Lord whatever the cost. And I hope today that you have that desire in your heart. Follow Jesus and do it today. Let’s pray. O Father, may each one listening make it his firm determination to follow You in everything and to be obedient. In Jesus’ name, Amen!

Some ask, ‘What about Psalm 51: 5?’ Psalm 51: 5 says, ‘Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.’ Some say this teaches that we’re born in sin, but does it really say that? David is actually saying that he was born into an evil and sinful world, not that he was born sinful. Sin is an act, a transgression of God’s law according to 1 John 3 and verse 4. Sin is not inherited; it’s a learned behavior. For instance, a person speaks a certain language because he was born into an environment that speaks that language. In Acts 2 the apostles spoke miraculously in tongues to people from many nations. And when they heard the apostles, they marveled and said, ‘How is it that we each hear them in our own language (or tongue) to which we were born?’ (Acts 2, verses 7 and 8) Well, how is one born into a language? Well, one learns a language, by being born into a place that speaks that language. Likewise one learns sin by being born into a world that practices sin.

David was not saying that he was born totally depraved because this contradicts what he said in Psalm 22, verses 9 and 10. He says, ‘Yet you brought me out of the womb; you make me trust in you even at my mother’s breast. From birth I was cast upon you; from my mother’s womb you have been my God.’ Well, this is not a baby born in sin but a baby born into a sinful world yet still able to love God.

Now, sin is serious; and unforgiven will cost us our souls. We need the blood of Jesus to be saved. How do we come in contact with that blood? By choosing to believe in Christ, choosing to repent of our sins, and by choosing to be baptized. When we are baptized into the death of Christ, we contact His shed blood (Romans 6 and verse 3). In baptism God applies the blood of Jesus to our souls; and that’s the time our sins are washed away. (Acts 22 and verse 16) My friend, be saved from this corrupt generation.

We hope you’ve been blessed by today’s study. And if you want a free printed copy, a CD, or tape of this message, ‘Did God Make Me Sinful,’ mail your request to In Search of the Lord’s Way, P.O. Box 371, Edmond, OK 73083 or e-mail us; send that e-mail to searchtv@searchtv.org.

Or, you can call the Search office toll-free at 1 (800) 321-8633. Now, all of our programs also appear on our website, that’s http://www.searchtv.org/. And you can access them or download them in a printed, audio, or video format. We also now offer free study sheets that go along with our programs; and you can also download them free. They’ll help you study God’s Word.

Please visit one of the churches of Christ in the area served by this station or network. The church loves guests, and you’ll be glad that you visited. Well, Mack and I will be back next week, Lord willing. Keep searching the Word of God. God bless you and we love you from all of us at In Search of the Lord’s Way.”

Sin


“What Happened to Sin?

I John 7: 7-10

Hello, friend! I’m Mack Lyon. The program’s a nationwide Bible study program ‘In Search of the Lord’s Way.’ We’re presented here by some churches of Christ in the broadcast area of this station. Did you know that more people believe it’s wrong to wear animal fur than believe it’s wrong for a couple to conceive a child out of wedlock? Yep, that’s true! People have a lot of funny ideas about sin, don’t they? Phil Sanders has a very positive lesson about that today. Stay tuned.

Thank you Mack, and the Lord bless you! Hello, I’m Phil Sanders and this is In Search of the Lord’s Way, where we search the Scriptures to find the Lord’s way to be saved and to please God. It’s a special delight to spend this time with you and we really appreciate hearing from you. We want to be a part of your life each week.

According to a recent Ellison Research study, thirteen percent of Americans say that there is no such thing as sin. It seems ‘sin’ is a topic that even many preachers won’t discuss. One famous clergyman says evangelists must never say that someone is a sinner. He believes it’s a crude thing and keeps people from following Jesus. He said Jesus never called anyone a sinner.

Well, there’s no doubt that Jesus demonstrated amazing patience with sinful people and He loved everyone, but to suggest that He never spoke of sin ignores what is written in the Scripture. The Bible says in Luke 5, verses 30 to 32 that: ‘The Pharisees and their scribes began grumbling at His disciples, (that is the disciples of Jesus) saying, ‘Why do you eat and drink with the tax collectors and sinners?’ And Jesus answered and said to them, ‘It is not those who are well who need a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.’

Paul said that Jesus came to earth to save sinners (1Timothy 1 and verse 15). The fact that Jesus loved and received sinners does not mean that he condoned sin. Oh! Oh, no not that! Jesus knew sin was an enemy and caused people to be separated from God. And with great love Jesus died so people could leave their old sinful ways and live a new and better life. If sin were not real, Jesus wouldn’t have gone to such lengths to free people from it.

Each week we make it our aim to bring God’s truth to you in love. We never hassle you for money but offer this information free. And if you would like a free printed copy or a CD of our study, mail your request to In Search of the Lord’s Way, P.O. Box 371, Edmond, OK 73083 or you can e-mail us; that’s searchtv@searchtv.org. Or, if you like, call our toll-free telephone number. That number is 1 (800) 321-8633. We also stream this program on our website at http://www.searchtv.org/.

Ken Helterbrand is going to lead us now as we sing. And then we’ll read from 1 John 3: 7 to 10.

Our Scripture reading today comes from the little letter of 1 John chapter 3, verses 7 to 10. ‘Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God. In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.’ That’s from God’s Holy Word. Let’s pray together. O Lord, help us to refuse to sin and to always practice righteousness that we may be closer to You. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen!

From the very beginning people have always downplayed sin. People don’t think sin is all that bad. They want to blame someone else for it. Adam and Eve sinned against God by eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And the Bible says in Genesis 3, verses 8 to 13: ‘And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, ‘Where are you?’

And he said, ‘I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.’ He said, ‘Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?’ The man said, ‘The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.’ Then the LORD God said to the woman, ‘What is this that you have done?’ The woman said, ‘The serpent deceived me, and I ate.’

People tend to rationalize away their responsibility for sin. You’ve probably heard many excuses that people use to justify themselves. Perhaps you’ve used some of those excuses yourselves. I’ve heard people give the excuse, ‘Well, everyone does it.’ But right and wrong is not determined by numbers. Right and wrong are determined by the Word of God.

During the days of Noah, the Bible says in Genesis 6, verses 5 and 6 that, ‘The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.’

Noah, however, found favor in the eyes of the Lord; and everyone on earth except Noah and his family perished in that flood. God will punish everyone who sins, even if that number includes a large group of people. Sin is still sin. It’s still offensive to our righteous and holy God.

The Bible says in the book of Romans chapter 2, verses 6 to 11, that God ‘will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. For God shows no partiality.’

I’ve heard people say, ‘Well, God made me this way.’ And they are suggesting that God made them where they cannot help but sin. But sin is not a characteristic; sin is a behavior. The Bible explains in James 1, verses 13 to 15: ‘Let no one say when he is tempted, I am being tempted by God; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.’

Someone says, ‘Well, I can’t see any harm in it,’ that is whatever sin that they are committing. But the question of what is right or wrong is not determined by what we think is or is not harmful. God sees things that we cannot see and He knows things that we cannot know. We must trust in His judgment and not our own. Our thinking about sin may be warped by what we want to do rather than by what we ought to do. God says in Isaiah 55, verses 8 and 9, ‘For My thoughts (that is God’s thoughts) are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways.’

We might easily be swayed by what is common or popular among people, but, you know what, those people will not judge us in the last day. It’s common to hear, ‘millions of people can’t be wrong!’ But millions of people can be wrong. They can easily be misled by their desires. And the Bible warns us in 1 John 2, verses 15 to 17, ‘Do not love the world or the things of the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.’

Some people excuse their sins by saying, ‘Well, we’re just not supposed to judge anybody.’ But this is an impossible view. We all judge and we all make judgments. The Lord Jesus said in John 7, verse 24, ‘Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.’ You see Jesus realized that people make unfair judgments based on human standards; and the Lord is opposed to that kind of judging. But this doesn’t mean that people must never make any kind of moral judgment. That would be terribly foolish.

The immature or naïve person is the one who doesn’t make a judgment. In all of college-level academics, one of the goals of education is for the student to demonstrate critical thinking skills—that is making judgments! And it’s amazing to me that the many colleges around in our country want students to demonstrate the ability to reason about most things in life except morals and spiritual matters.

Hebrews 5, verses 12 to 14 speaks of those who haven’t grown spiritually as they should. The Bible says, ‘For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.’

You see, spiritual maturity includes the ability to use God’s Word to distinguish what is right from what is wrong. I’m always disappointed by the kind of literature and movies that people call ‘adult.’ It really isn’t adult at all. It’s evil, and people who see that kind of literature are childish and become enslaved by it. It doesn’t show a person who has grown spiritually enough to discern good from evil. Proverbs 22 and verse 3 says that, ‘The prudent sees the evil and he hides himself, but the naive go on, and are punished for it.’

Others excuse their sins by saying, ‘Well, God wants me to be happy and to feel good.’ And this is a very popular saying, and especially of people who cheat on their spouses and want to find somebody new. They reason their old spouse doesn’t make them happy anymore, and since God wants them to be happy, they feel justified in divorcing the old and finding somebody new that is more to their liking. But the Lord Jesus said in Mark 10, verses 11 and 12 that, ‘Whoever divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another man, she is committing adultery.’

People may find some pleasure in sin, but it won’t last. Pleasure and happiness are not the same as joy that comes from God. Joy is the product of righteousness. 1 Corinthians 13 and verse 6 says that love ‘does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth.’ God wants us to live righteously with joy, not be happy with sin.

We must understand that sin leads to spiritual death. The Bible says in Ezekiel 18 and verse 4, ‘Behold, all souls are Mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine. And the soul who sins will die.’ Again, Romans 6 and verse 23 says that, ‘The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.’

First Corinthians 6, verses 9 and 10 says, ‘Or do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, shall inherit the kingdom of God.’ The Bible says in Revelation 21, verse 8, ‘But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.’

Sin takes place when someone transgresses God’s law (1 John 3 and verse 4). You sin when you fail to hear what God says and you do what you want to do. And that’s offensive to Him. Sin also takes place when people fail to do what is right. James 4 and verse 17 says, ‘So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.’ When we fail to take God into account in our lives; when we fail to follow Jesus, and fail to be obedient to His will, we sin against God. We can’t say no to God and think that we have a right relationship with Him.

My friend, sin is serious business. God did not send Jesus to the earth to die on a cross for trivial reasons. He sent his Son to die for our sins. And no matter how we feel about sin, God takes sin seriously. The death of Jesus that was so painful and shameful was not for ‘inappropriate actions’ or for ‘mistakes’ but for evil sin. And the Bible says in Galatians 1 and verse 4 that Jesus ‘gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us out of this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father.’

Jesus took our sins personally. The Bible says in 1 Peter 2 and verse 24 that, ‘He himself (that is Jesus himself) bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.’ Now the last part of this verse, ‘By his wounds you have been healed,’ is a quotation from Isaiah 53 and verse 5. Isaiah says in verses 5 and 6, ‘But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; and we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.’

Because of His love for each of us, He was willing to take the punishment that you and I deserved. God punished Jesus with the death that we should have received. We were the sinners, and He was innocent. His died in our stead and in our place, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.

God doesn’t simply want to forgive you of sin. He wants you to change your life. He wants sin out of your life and righteousness in your life. Remember what we read from God’s Word in 1 John 3, verses 7 to 9, ‘Little children, let no one deceive you. But whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. And whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. And the reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God.’

God also wants a relationship with you. Sin creates a barrier between people and God. And God is holy and righteous. He cannot approve of sin. If you have unresolved sin in your life, you separate yourself from God. You can’t draw close to Him in that condition. He will not accept you. It is only when the blood of Christ cleanses you from that sin that you have an open way to have a relationship. Let’s pray together. O Lord, may our love for You grow more and more. And may our love for You help us to bring ourselves to leave sin behind and follow You. In Jesus’ name, Amen!

The devil tries to convince us that sin is a harmless plaything and doesn’t hurt anyone. We don’t like to think of our sins as offensive. We would rather fool ourselves into thinking that nothing is wrong, that everything is okay; while sin works inside our soul as a cancer. We must take our sins seriously.

If we would be right with God, we must first admit that we’ve sinned. Romans 3 and verse 23 says that ‘all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.’ It’s absurd to speak of forgiveness or salvation until we come to grips with our own sin. Second, if we would be right with God, we must hear the Word of God, and take it to heart, and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Third, out of faith and love, we must repent of our sins. The Bible says in Acts 17, verses 30 and 31 that, ‘The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.’ Repentance is turning from sin to Christ. Romans 12 and verse 9 says that we are to abhor what is evil; and to cling to what is good. Repentance is a change of heart that leads to a change of life.

And last, if we would be right with God, we must be baptized. The messenger Ananias told the sinner Saul of Tarsus in Acts 22 and verse 16, ‘And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.’ Baptism is the time that God washes away all our sins with the blood of Christ. Baptism is an immersion in water in the name of Jesus Christ so that our sins might be forgiven. (Acts 2 and verse 38) Today would be a great day for you to be baptized into Christ.

We hope that you’ve been blessed by today’s study. And if you want a free printed copy, a CD, or tape of this message, ‘What Happened to Sin,’ mail your request to In Search of the Lord's Way, P.O. Box 371, Edmond, OK 73083 or e-mail us: searchtv@searchtv.org.

Or, you can call the Search office toll-free at 1 (800) 321-8633. Our programs also appear on our website; that’s http://www.searchtv.org/. Or you can view or download them in a printed, audio, or video format. We also offer free study sheets to go along with our programs. You can download them free or call us. They will help you study God’s Word.

Please visit one of the churches of Christ in the area served by this station or network. The church of Christ loves visitors, and you’ll be glad that you went. Mack and I will be back next week, Lord willing; and so keep searching God’s Word with us and tell a friend. God bless you and we love you from all of us at In Search of the Lord’s Way.”

Scam alert check

I was not able to post this yesterday with the original copy of the letter

Scam alert


I learned of the following scam letter a few days ago and thought I should post it tonight as a warning. The letter is as written except for putting it into my format. Most of these letters are rather easy to spot as a scam. This one, I thought, was a little better written than normal but still has clues in it. As I understand it, the letter was received last Saturday and the response date was for Tuesday giving little time for investigation which is normal and one of the tip offs that it is a scam. What is someone unusual from my limited experience is the accompanying check. The rule of thumb. If it seems too good to be true, it almost certainly is!

“LottoXChange
American Lotto Exchange

June-04-2010

4695 Chabot Drive Preasanton, CA 95588
(A North American Direct Sweepstakes and promotion Co)
(Unclaimed prize division.)
Tel: 1-888-586-4669 (Ext 101)
Fax: 1-253-218-6866

Attention: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Claim number: AP080315
NB: Final Notice

We are pleased to inform you that you are one of the lucky winners in the second category of the American lotto exchange, and a Compensation Draw Sweepstakes also known as the North American Direct Sweepstakes held on April 8, 2010. Entry MP-249-Y64 was attached to your name and matched the first five lucky numbers: 7-36-12-4-78 hence making you a winner! You have therefore been approved for a lump sum of $340,000.00 (Three Hundred Forty Thousand dollars) payable to you by Certified Check, and will be delivered to you by our Special Courier Company Please call your claims agent immediately upon receiving this document to start the claiming process and for check activation. Failure to comply will result in the automatic stop payment order of check.
Contact the Claims Agent:
Brian Richards 1-888-586-4669 (Ext 101)

The office hours are, Monday – Saturday………..7am to 5pm (Pacific Standard Time)

Attached is a check of US $3,750 available for you to pay for any legal, insurance and processing fees that you may encounter. Contact your claims agent for more details. Please note that all prize money must be claimed not later than 15th June 2010. After this date, all funds will be returned to the accounts of the North American Direct Sweepstakes as unclaimed.

ATTN, You’ve probably day dreamed about opening your front door to find the prize patrol waiting outside, ready to hand you the giant check that will change your life forever. Please, do not act on this letter until you speak with your claims agent for further instructions on how to claim your winnings within 10 business days.

Jonh N Miualis
Vice-President, Global Operations
(Signature given—my addition) John N. Miualis”

Governor Quinn—veto the budget bill!


I’ve received material from two different sources that are time sensitive. I’m posting the first one tonight and plan to post the second one the next night. I will then return to the present series of posts. The first one was an e-mail. The e-mail:

From Americans For Prosperity: http://www.americansforprosperity.org/

“TAKE ACTION NOW!

On May 25, 2010, the Illinois General Assembly shirked their duties by passing an unbalanced budget by adding $3.7 billion in new debt that will be passed on to our children and grandchildren! This new debt adds to our current $13 billion deficit and doesn’t even begin to address the $80 billion plus in unfunded pension liabilities or the billions of dollars in unfunded Medicaid liabilities.

The General Assembly’s decision to borrow against our future, in-lieu of making the tough choices, like where to cut costs and how to rein in spending, is akin to paying off a Master Card bill by charging it to a Visa Card. It’s irresponsible and incompetent!

Instead of doing their job, the General Assembly chose to provide Governor Quinn with unprecedented powers that allows him to be the sole decision maker in charge of determining where and how to spend the state’s $26 billion worth of appropriations and if he chooses where to cut costs.

Really…has Governor Quinn displayed any ability to make the tough choices? Has Governor Quinn demonstrated any leadership ability or inclination that he desires to substantively cut spending? I think NOT!

TAKE ACTION NOW—Click here to email Governor Quinn and tell him to veto the budget!

Some in the General Assembly would like us to believe that their actions (actually it should be inactions) have protected the taxpayers from enacting tax increases. Don’t believe it! If the General Assembly wanted to protect the taxpayer, they would have passed the many substantive taxpayer protection and reform bills that were either stalled in Rules Committees or were never allowed to be debated.

Lawmakers skirted their responsibilities by refusing to take on the special interests groups that have been feeding at the taxpayers’ trough for decades. Lawmakers failed to address the need for real reforms, passing a balanced and responsible budget and they failed to tell the special interest groups ‘NO!’ Instead, the General Assembly handed the ball to Governor Quinn asking him to do their job.

This unbalanced budget has brought our state to the brink of bankruptcy and threatens our already weak economy. We can’t afford failed leadership anymore. And we certainly can’t afford this unbalanced budget. Governor Quinn must VETO the unbalanced budget and force lawmakers back to Springfield to have an open debate on how to cut spending, reform state government and pass a budget that is truly balanced. (as required by the Illinois Constitution—my addition)

TAKE ACTION NOW—Please click here and TELL GOVERNOR QUNN TO VETO THE BUDGET AND FORCE THE LAWMAKERS BACK TO SPRINGFIELD TO MAKE THE TOUGH CHOICES…

Thank you for helping to make a difference! NOVEMBER is COMING!

Sincerely,
Joe Calomino
State Director
Americans for Prosperity—Illinois”

Communism, fascism, socialism, free enterprise


If you haven’t guessed it, with my last post I began to answer a comment that was recently posted on my blog. The comment was:

“Dave said …

You divorced?

8:02 PM”

From the beginning of the blog, I decided not to personalize the material posted. Originally, I didn’t even identify myself. I decided to do so after a time but still desire to keep me out of it as much as possible. Consequently, I debated with myself whether or not I would even answer the question. I finally decided to do so and to expand it to deal with the larger context of today’s society and the political, social, and economic events that are presently occurring. That is why I started with the communist goals listed in 1963. Among those 45 goals listed were the following eight:

“Basic social, moral changes (Change that we can believe in?) advanced by the 1963 goals:

1) Eliminate all laws governing obscenity by calling them ‘censorship’ and a violation of free speech and free press.

2) Break down cultural standards of morality by promoting pornography, and obscenity in books, magazines, motion pictures, radio and TV.

3) Present homosexuality, degeneracy, and promiscuity as ‘normal, natural, and healthy.’

4) Infiltrate the churches and replace revealed religion with ‘social’ religion. Discredit the Bible and emphasize the need for intellectual maturity, which does not need a ‘religious crutch.’

5) Eliminate prayer or any phase of religious expression in the schools on the grounds that it violates the principle of ‘separation of church and state.’

6) Support any socialist movement to give centralized control over any part of the culture—education, social agencies, welfare programs, mental health clinics, etc.

7) Discredit the family as an institution. Encourage promiscuity and easy divorce.

8) Emphasize the need to raise children away from the negative influence of parents. Attribute prejudices, mental blocks and retarding of children to suppressive influence of parents.”

Pertinent to Dave’s question is number 7: “Discredit the family as an institution. Encourage promiscuity and easy divorce.”

However, because of the larger context, I’ve decided that it is necessary to define some terms that are commonly used but also often misused or misunderstood. That’s what tonight’s post is about.

Economically, the means of production (or as Karl Marx refers to them: “the instruments of production”) are:

1) land

2) labor

3) capital and

4) entrepreneurship

In the context of the means of production, I’m going to briefly identify four entities: communism, Nazism, socialism, and free enterprise.

Economically, socialism is the government ownership of the means of production. Encarta says the following about socialism:

“Socialism, economic and social doctrine, political movement inspired by this doctrine, and system or order established when this doctrine is organized in a society. The socialist doctrine demands state ownership and control of the fundamental means of production and distribution of wealth, to be achieved by reconstruction of the existing capitalist or other political system of a country through peaceful, democratic, and parliamentary means.” Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2007 [DVD]. Redmond, Wa: Microsoft, Corporation, 2006.

Notice that the above identifies socialism as an economic, social, and political movement. In fact, economic, social, and political aspects are interwoven within each of the four entities.

Encarta further identifies Nazism as a socialist movement in which the means of production are not directly owned by the government but they are fundamentally CONTROLLED by the government.

“National Socialism, commonly called Nazism, German political movement initiated in 1920 with the organization of the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, or NSDAP), also called the Nazi Party. The movement culminated in the establishment of the Third Reich, the totalitarian German state led by the dictator Adolf Hitler from 1933 to 1945.”

“Concretely, the ‘new order’ involved abolishing trade unions and cooperatives, confiscating their financial and other assets, eliminating collective bargaining between workers and their employers, prohibiting strikes and lockouts, and requiring membership by law of all German workers in the state-controlled Deutsche Arbeitsfront (German Labor Front), or DAF. Wages were determined by the ministry of national economy. Government officials, called trustees of labor and appointed by the minister of national economy, handled all questions relating to wages and hours and conditions of work.

The trade associations of business owners and industrialists of the Weimer Republic were transformed into organs of state control. Membership by employers was compulsory. Supervision of these associations was vested in the ministry of national economy, which had the power to recognize trade organizations as the sole representatives of their respective branches of industry, organize new associations, dissolve or merge existing ones, and appoint and recall the leaders of all the associations. Through the exercise of these powers and also as specifically empowered by law, the ministry of economy greatly expanded existing cartels and cartelized entire industries. The banks were similarly ‘coordinated.’ Private property rights were preserved, and previously nationalized enterprises were ‘reprivatized’—that is, returned to private ownership but all owners were subject to rigid state controls. By all of these and related means the Hitler regime eliminated competition. Ultimately the ‘new order’ was economically dominated by four banks and a relatively small number of huge conglomerates, including the vast munitions and steel-manufacturing empire of the Krupp family and the notorious Interessengemeinschaft Farbenindustrie, known as I. G. Farben, which produced dyes, synthetic rubber, oil, and other products and participated in or dominated almost 400 enterprises. Some of these enterprises made use of millions of prisoners of war and inhabitants of conquered countries as slave laborers in German industry. The cartels also supplied materials for the systematic and scientific extermination by the Hitler government of millions of Jews, Poles, Russians, and others.” Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2007 [DVD]. Redmond, Wa: Microsoft, Corporation, 2006.

Communism as envisioned by Karl Marx (and Friedrich Engels) in his book “The Communist Manifesto” and in other related writing was socialism in which the means of production were, in the beginning, owned by the government (or state). However, over time, the government (state) would “wither away” and the means of production would be universally administered by the proletariat (workers and every one would be workers).

“The Communist Manifesto” says: “In place of the old bourgeois society (basically, owners of the means of production—my addition), with its classes and class antagonisms, we shall have an association, in which the free development of each is the condition for the free development of all.” Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, The Communist Manifesto, Edited with an introduction and notes by David McLellan, Oxford University Press, Oxford, England, © 1992, page 26.

Obviously then, there has not be a large scale society in which communism as envisioned by Karl Marx was successfully instituted. The government (state) has never “withered away” and been replaced with an association of any type.

In socialism, Nazism, and communism; the means of production would, in one way or another, be controlled by society as a whole rather than individually. In contrast, the Free Enterprise System provides for the private (rather than public) ownership of the means of production. Each of us, individually, rather than as a collective group, would make the decisions necessary to advance economic progress and growth. “In a now famous phrase, Smith (Adam Smith, author of “An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations,” published in1776. Note: This book was published in the same year as the beginning of the American Revolutionary War—my addition.) said that the combination of self-interest, private property, and competition among sellers in markets will lead producers ‘as by an invisible hand’ to an end that they did not intend, namely, the well-being of society.” Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2007 [DVD]. Redmond, Wa: Microsoft, Corporation, 2006. Further according to Encarta, “Government will be necessary only to protect society from foreign attack, uphold the rights of private property, and guarantee contracts.”

Communist goals in 1963


The following (in quotes) was downloaded from a website after googling “Communist goals 1963.” Note that these stated goals from 1963 are mainly a combination of political and social goals aimed at directly changing the character of the social and political fabric of the United States of America as it existed in 1963. How successfully would you say the proposed changes have been or are being implemented?

“Communist Goals (1963)
Congressional Record—Appendix, pp. A34-A35
January 10, 1963
Current Communist Goals
EXTENSION OF REMARKS OF HON. A. S. HERLONG, JR. OF FLORIDA IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

http://www.uhuh.com/nwo/communism/comgoals.htm

CURRENT COMMUNIST GOALS

1) U.S. acceptance of coexistence as the only alternative to atomic war.

2) U.S. willingness to capitulate in preference to engaging in atomic war.

3) Develop the illusion that total disarmament by the US would be a demonstration of ‘moral strength.’

4) Permit free trade between all nations regardless of Communist affiliation and regardless of whether or not items could be used for war.

5) Extension of long term loans to Russia and Soviet Satellites.

6) Provide American aid to all nations regardless of Communist domination.

7) Grant recognition of Red China, and admission of Red China to the UN.

8) Set up East and West Germany as separate states in spite of Khrushchev’s promise in 1955 to settle the Germany question by free elections under supervision of the UN.

9) Prolong the conferences to ban atomic tests because the U.S. has agreed to suspend tests as long as negotiations are in progress.

10) Allow all Soviet Satellites individual representation in the UN.

11) Promote the UN as the only hope for mankind. If its charter is rewritten, demand that it be set up as a one world government with its own independent armed forces. (Some Communist leaders believe the world can be taken over as easily by the UN as by Moscow. Sometimes these two centers compete with each other as they are now doing in the Congo).

12) Resist any attempt to outlaw the Communist Party.

13) Do away with loyalty oaths.

14) Continue giving Russia access to the U.S. Patent Office.

15) Capture one or both of the political parties in the U.S.

16) Use technical decisions of the courts to weaken basic American institutions, by claiming their activities violate civil rights.

17) Get control of the schools. Use them as transmission belts for Socialism, and current Communist propaganda. Soften the curriculum. Get control of teachers associations. Put the party line in text books.

18) Gain control of all student newspapers.

19) Use student riots to foment public protests against programs or organizations which are under Communist attack.

20) Infiltrate the press. Get control of book review assignments, editorial writing, policy- making positions.

21) Gain control of key positions in radio, TV & motion pictures.

22) Continue discrediting American culture by degrading all form of artistic expression. An American Communist cell was told to ‘eliminate all good sculpture from parks and buildings,’ substitute shapeless, awkward, and meaningless forms.

23) Control art critics and directors of art museums. ‘Our plan is to promote ugliness, repulsive, meaningless art.’

24) Eliminate all laws governing obscenity by calling them ‘censorship’ and a violation of free speech and free press.

25) Break down cultural standards of morality by promoting pornography, and obscenity in books, magazines, motion pictures, radio and TV.

26) Present homosexuality, degeneracy, and promiscuity as ‘normal, natural, and healthy.’

27) Infiltrate the churches and replace revealed religion with ‘social’ religion. Discredit the Bible and emphasize the need for intellectual maturity, which does not need a ‘religious crutch.’

28) Eliminate prayer or any phase of religious expression in the schools on the grounds that it violates the principle of ‘separation of church and state.’

29) Discredit the American Constitution by calling it inadequate, old fashioned, out of step with modern needs, a hindrance to cooperation between nations on a worldwide basis.

30) Discredit the American founding fathers. Present them as selfish aristocrats who had no concern for the ‘common man’.

31) Belittle all forms of American culture and discourage the teaching of American history on the ground that it was only a minor part of ‘the big picture’: Give more emphasis to Russian history since the Communists took over.

32) Support any socialist movement to give centralized control over any part of the culture—education, social agencies, welfare programs, mental health clinics, etc.

33) Eliminate all laws or procedures, which interfere with the operation of the Communist apparatus.

34) Eliminate the House Committee on Un-American Activities.

35) Discredit and eventually dismantle the FBI.

36) Infiltrate and gain control of more unions.

37) Infiltrate and gain control of big business.

38) Transfer some of the powers of arrest from the police to social agencies. Treat all behavioral problems as psychiatric disorders which no one but psychiatrists can understand or treat.

39) Dominate the psychiatric profession and use mental health laws as a means of gaining coercive control over those who oppose Communist goals.

40) Discredit the family as an institution. Encourage promiscuity and easy divorce.

41) Emphasize the need to raise children away from the negative influence of parents. Attribute prejudices, mental blocks and retarding of children to suppressive influence of parents.

42) Create the impression that violence and insurrection are legitimate aspects of the American tradition; that students and special interest groups should rise up and make a ‘united force’ to solve economic, political, or social problems.

43) Overthrow all colonial governments before native populations are ready for self-government.

44) Internationalize the Panama Canal.

45) Repeal the Connally Reservation so the US can not prevent the World Court from seizing jurisdiction over domestic problems. Give the World Court jurisdiction over domestic problems. Give the World Court jurisdiction over nations and individuals alike.”

Additional links:

“1) Manifesto of the Communist Party

http://www.anu.edu.au/polsci/marx/classics/manifesto.html

2) Compare: A SUMMARY OF THE COMMUNIST MANIFESTO vs. The UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

http://web.locallink.net/~bubba/compar.html”

Basic social, moral changes (Change that we can believe in?) advanced by the 1963 goals:

1) Eliminate all laws governing obscenity by calling them ‘censorship’ and a violation of free speech and free press.

2) Break down cultural standards of morality by promoting pornography, and obscenity in books, magazines, motion pictures, radio and TV.

3) Present homosexuality, degeneracy, and promiscuity as ‘normal, natural, and healthy.’

4) Infiltrate the churches and replace revealed religion with ‘social’ religion. Discredit the Bible and emphasize the need for intellectual maturity, which does not need a ‘religious crutch.’

5) Eliminate prayer or any phase of religious expression in the schools on the grounds that it violates the principle of ‘separation of church and state.’

6) Support any socialist movement to give centralized control over any part of the culture—education, social agencies, welfare programs, mental health clinics, etc.

7) Discredit the family as an institution. Encourage promiscuity and easy divorce.

8) Emphasize the need to raise children away from the negative influence of parents. Attribute prejudices, mental blocks and retarding of children to suppressive influence of parents.

Nationalized Healthcare quiz


I received a comment on my post from the other day entitled “Morton Secular Progressive and the MURDER of UNBORN BABIES.” I was planning on beginning to respond to that comment tonight. However, I received two e-mails that are time sensitive so I am pushing back the posts on that comment until at least tomorrow. I have not checked out the links for tonight’s post (NOTE: I did “sign” the petition. In my case, two of the links on the website sent me back to the same page instead of the petition. Therefore, I would suggest clicking the link in the middle of the page that says “frc action home > alerts.” That’s the one that worked for me.) and plan to do further checking on the information provided in the second e-mail. I may post about the second e-mail before I deal with the comment depending upon what I find out tonight.

NOTE: I did “sign” the petition. In my case, two of the links on the website sent me back to the same page instead of the petition. Therefore, I would suggest clicking the link in the middle of the page that says “frc action home > alerts.” That’s the one that worked for me.

I did check out the information on the second e-mail and decided not to post on it. However, I decided to expand my answer to the comment mentioned above and need some time to prepare for the expanded answer. Meanwhile, I received another e-mail that I’m posting tonight.

According to a headline in our local paper, one recent poll maintains that the voters are beginning to like Nationalized Healthcare. I didn’t read the article so won’t comment on it. However, I thought I would take the quiz that is linked from the following e-mail. One thing. I don’t “fear” that ObamaCare would be a disaster. I’m as certain of it as anyone can be without being able to look into the future! The e-mail:

From the National Center for Policy Analysis: http://www.ncpa.org/

“You feared ObamaCare would be a disaster for America because you signed the Free Our Health Care Now petition from the National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA) last year to oppose its passage.

With more than 1,367,900 signers, it was the largest online policy petition ever delivered to Capitol Hill!

Now as part of the repeal effort, the NCPA is conducting a National ObamaCare Quiz so you can test your knowledge about what’s in the law!

Take the quiz now.

But be warned: The answers may raise your blood pressure! ObamaCare is bigger, badder, and uglier than you probably ever imagined. How bad is it, really? Find out here.

Sincerely,

Jeanette Nordstrom
National Center for Policy Analysis”

MURDER and homosexuality in the U.S. military


I received a comment on my post from the other day entitled “Morton Secular Progressive and the MURDER of UNBORN BABIES.” I was planning on beginning to respond to that comment tonight. However, I received two e-mails that are time sensitive so I am pushing back the posts on that comment until at least tomorrow. I have not checked out the links for tonight’s post and plan to do further checking on the information provided in the second e-mail. I may post about the second e-mail before I deal with the comment depending upon what I find out tonight. The first e-mail:

From Family Research Council: http://www.frcaction.org/

“U.S. Senate seeks to push abortion and homosexual agenda onto our Military!
June 16, 2010”

“Three weeks ago, Armed Services chiefs General Casey (Army), General Conway (Marines), Admiral Roughead (Navy) and General Schwartz (Air Force) sent letters to Congress asking Members to wait and not show disrespect for our troops by reversing the current policy of not allowing homosexuals to serve in the military. Two hundred thirty-four Representatives ignored that plea from our most senior military leaders and added language repealing the ban on homosexuals in the Armed Forces to the annual legislation that funds our troops. The U.S. Senate is now poised to do the same.

Additionally, Democrats have attached language to that same Defense funding bill that effectively would turn our military medical facilities into abortion clinics and force American taxpayers to underwrite the use of military facilities, the procurement of additional equipment, and the use of needed military personnel to perform abortions.

American Armed Forces leaders understand the reason our military exists: to protect our nation and to win wars. However, in the middle of two conflicts essential to our national security, President Obama and the Democratic leadership have decided to use our military as a laboratory for their liberal social policies, regardless how they affect our fighting strength, recruitment or readiness.

Thanks to your help, we have gathered 90,000 signatures and need only 10,000 to reach our goal of 100,000 before we present them to Senate leaders live during a national FRC webcast this coming Tuesday, June 22.

Thank you for your signature—and now please send the petition to at least ten of your friends so that they may tell Congress to keep the law that says homosexuality is incompatible with military service, and oppose efforts to use our Armed Forces to advance the homosexual agenda.

We are only 10,000 signatures away from our goal of 100,000! Please share the petition with at least 10 of your friends.

Sincerely,

Tony Perkins
President

P.S. Please forward this email to as many friends as possible.”

I, also received the following from Americans United for Life: http://www.aul.org/

“Senate Committee Votes to Allow Abortions in Military Facilities

The U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee recently voted to strike down a longstanding law barring military medical personnel or facilities from participating in abortions except when the life of the mother is at risk, or when the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest. Click here to read a special report on the AUL Blog by our Staff Counsel Anna Franzonello, giving details about this new effort to direct taxpayer dollars toward ending the lives of the unborn.”

Democratic Senators up for reelection in 2010 who voted for Nationalized Healthcare and “cap and tax” through support for EPA regulation


Democratic Senators who are up for election in 2010:

Who voted for Nationalized Healthcare and for EPA regulations for “cap and tax”:

01) Senator Michael Bennet [D] Colorado—1st term—he was appointed to the position.
702 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
http://www.bennet.senate.gov/ (Website)
(202) 224-5852
FAX: (202) 228-5036
Attorney, Public Official—Not stated

Who voted for Nationalized Healthcare and for EPA regulations for “cap and tax”:

02) Senator Barbara Boxer [D] California—3rd term
112 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
http://www.boxer.senate.gov/ (Website)
(202) 224-3553
FAX: (202) 224-0454
Journalist—Listed as Jewish

Who voted for Nationalized Healthcare and for EPA regulations for “cap and tax”:

03) Senator Byron Dorgan [D] North Dakota—3rd Term [Democrat Policy Committee Chair]
322 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
http://www.dorgan.senate.gov/ (Website)
(202) 224-2551
FAX: (202) 224-1193
Public Official—Listed as Lutheran

Who voted for Nationalized Healthcare and for EPA regulations for “cap and tax”:

04) Senator Russ Feingold [D] Wisconsin—3rd term
506 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
http://www.feingold.senate.gov/ (Website)
(202) 224-5323
FAX: (202) 224-2725
Attorney—Listed as Jewish

Who voted for Nationalized Healthcare and for EPA regulations for “cap and tax”:

05) Senator Kirsten Gillibrand [D] New York—1st term—she was appointed to the position.
531 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
http://www.gillibrand.senate.gov/ (Website)
(202) 224-4451
FAX: (202) 228-0282
Attorney—Listed as Catholic

Who voted for Nationalized Healthcare and for EPA regulations for “cap and tax”:

06) Senator Daniel Inouye [D] Hawaii—8th term—he was 85-years-old in September of 2009.
722 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
http://www.inouye.senate.gov/ (Website)
(202) 224-3934
FAX: (202) 224-6747
Attorney—Listed as Methodist

Who voted for Nationalized Healthcare and for EPA regulations for “cap and tax”:

07)) Senator Patrick Leahy [D] Vermont—6th term
433 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
http://www.leahy.senate.gov/ (Website)
(202) 224-4242
FAX: (202) 224-3479
Attorney—Listed as Catholic

Who voted for Nationalized Healthcare and for EPA regulations for “cap and tax”:

08) Barbara Mikulski [D] Maryland—4th term
503 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
http://www.mikulski.senate.gov/ (Website)
(202) 224-4654
FAX: (202) 224-8858
Social Worker—Listed as Catholic

Who voted for Nationalized Healthcare and for EPA regulations for “cap and tax”:

09) Senator Patty Murray [D] Washington—3rd term
173 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
http://www.murray.senate.gov/ (Website)
202) 224-2621
FAX: (202) 224-0238
Educator—Listed as Catholic

Who voted for Nationalized Healthcare and for EPA regulations for “cap and tax”:

10) Senator Harry Reid [D] Nevada—Majority Leader and Democratic Conference Chair]
522 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
http://www.reid.senate.gov/ (Website)
(202) 224-3542
FAX: (202) 224-7327
Attorney—Listed as Mormon

Who voted for Nationalized Healthcare and for EPA regulations for “cap and tax”:

11) Senator Charles Schumer [D] New York—2nd term
313 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
http://www.schumer.senate.gov/ (Website)
(202) 224-6542
FAX: (202) 228-3027
Attorney, Public official—Listed as Jewish

Who voted for Nationalized Healthcare and for EPA regulations for “cap and tax”:

12) Senator Ron Wyden [D] Oregon—3rd term
223 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
http://www.wyden.senate.gov/ (Website)
(202) 224-5244
FAX: (202) 228-2717
Attorney, Legal Services Executive, Seniors Advocate—Listed as Jewish

*Voted for Nationalized Healthcare; did not vote for EPA regulations for “cap and tax”:

01) Senator Blanche Lincoln [D] Arkansas—2nd Term
355 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
http://www.lincoln.senate.gov/ (Website)
(202) 224-4843
FAX: (202) 228-1371
Homemaker—Listed as Episcopal

I tried to leave out Senators who are not seeking reelection although the Senate seat is in the 2010 election cycle. If I left a Senator out incorrectly, I apologize. In my opinion, each of the above listed Senators should be defeated in 2010 and I will be working for that end. Both nationalized healthcare and “cap and tax” through EPA edict give too much power to the federal government and will cost way more than any benefit derived from the new regulations and control.

Senate vote on Senate Joint Resolution 26


Last Thursday, I wrote about the pending vote in the Senate to support a Senate resolution against an EPA power grab. That vote was taken and I am posting the vote results tonight. A vote for the resolution was a vote to prevent the EPA from imposing draconian regulation on American businesses. A vote against the resolution was approval of the EPA making law by regulations while by-passing Congress. Note that no Republican voted for the power grab by the EPA. Democrats did. Perhaps Democrats voted against the resolution because they prefer the EPA being the fall guy rather than direct blame being placed upon Congress for the “cap and tax” nightmare that will, no doubt, result from this increase in power for the EPA. Can anyone say NOVEMBER MIDTERM ELECTION!!!

“U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 111th Congress—2nd Session

As compiled through Senate LIS by the Senate Bill Clerk under the direction of the Secretary of the Senate

Vote summary:

Question: On the Motion to Proceed (Motion to Proceed to Senate Joint Resolution 26)

Vote Number: 184
Vote Date: June 10, 2010, 03:52 PM
Required For Majority: ½
Vote Result: Motion to Proceed Rejected
Vote Counts: YEAs 47
Vote Counts: NAYs 53

Grouped By Vote Position: YEAs 47

Alexander (R-TN)
Barrasso (R-WY)
Bayh (D-IN)
Bennett (R-UT)
Bond (R-MO)
Brown (R-MA)
Brownback (R-KS)
Bunning (R-KY)
Burr (R-NC)
Chambliss (R-GA)
Coburn (R-OK)
Cochran (R-MS)
Collins (R-ME)
Corker (R-TN)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Crapo (R-ID)
DeMint (R-SC)
Ensign (R-NV)
Enzi (R-WY)
Graham (R-SC)
Grassley (R-IA)
Gregg (R-NH)
Hatch (R-UT)
Hutchison (R-TX)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Isakson (R-GA)
Johanns (R-NE)
Kyl (R-AZ)
Landrieu (D-LA)
LeMieux (R-FL)
Lincoln (D-AR)
Lugar (R-IN)
McCain (R-AZ)
McConnell (R-KY)
Murkowski (R-AK)
Nelson (D-NE)
Pryor (D-AR)
Risch (R-ID)
Roberts (R-KS)
Rockefeller (D-WV)
Sessions (R-AL)
Shelby (R-AL)
Snowe (R-ME)
Thune (R-SD)
Vitter (R-LA)
Voinovich (R-OH)
Wicker (R-MS)

Grouped By Vote Position: NAYs 53

Akaka (D-HI)
Baucus (D-MT)
Begich (D-AK)
Bennet (D-CO)
Bingaman (D-NM)
Boxer (D-CA)
Brown (D-OH)
Burris (D-IL)
Byrd (D-WV)
Cantwell (D-WA)
Cardin (D-MD)
Carper (D-DE)
Casey (D-PA)
Conrad (D-ND)
Dodd (D-CT)
Dorgan (D-ND)
Durbin (D-IL)
Feingold (D-WI)
Feinstein (D-CA)
Franken (D-MN)
Gillibrand (D-NY)
Hagan (D-NC)
Harkin (D-IA)
Inouye (D-HI)
Johnson (D-SD)
Kaufman (D-DE)
Kerry (D-MA)
Klobuchar (D-MN)
Kohl (D-WI)
Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Leahy (D-VT)
Levin (D-MI)
Lieberman (ID-CT)
McCaskill (D-MO)
Menendez (D-NJ)
Merkley (D-OR)
Mikulski (D-MD)
Murray (D-WA)
Nelson (D-FL)
Reed (D-RI)
Reid (D-NV)
Sanders (I-VT)
Schumer (D-NY)
Shaheen (D-NH)
Specter (D-PA)
Stabenow (D-MI)
Tester (D-MT)
Udall (D-CO)
Udall (D-NM)
Warner (D-VA)
Webb (D-VA)
Whitehouse (D-RI)
Wyden (D-OR)”

“Morton Secular Progressive” and the MURDER of UNBORN BABIES


Tonight, my response to “Morton Secular Progressive” as a recent anonymous commentator identified himself or herself as he or she commented on my blog. The original comment as posted:

“Anonymous said …

I notice in your commentary that you while you rail against abortion, you don’t mention how many of the 3,287+ unwanted infants you are on the list to adopt. My guess is that the number is zero because they don’t fall into your ‘christian’ demographic. It’s not particularly Christian, nor particularly useful to offer half-baked religious based criticism without offering any real solutions. It’s crazy and quite frankly kind of creepy. I’m guessing you live at home with your mother and just create critical blogs all day.

Morton Secular Progressive

9:22 AM”

To begin with, he/she is not responding to a commentary I wrote on that particular day. But rather, to a segment I’ve been posting since I wrote a short series of comments on the MURDER of UNBORN BABIES including one posted January 22, 2008. I have written extensively on the MURDER of UNBORN BABIES since I began blogging in July of 2005. I try to do a short series in January of each year since the obscene Supreme Court decision was dictated in January of 1973. The segment states the following:

“Based upon past historical data: 3,287+ UNBORN BABY MURDERS have occurred in the last 24 hours in the United States. See my post “BABY HOLOCAUST” posted January 22, 2008.”

The complete January 22, 2008 post entitled “BABY HOLOCAUST” (You did ask for the entire post didn’t you?) states the following:

“It has been 35 years since insanity has hit an all time high. It has been 35 years since Satan tightened his grip upon the United States of America. It has been 35 years since the government sanctioned MURDER of UNBORN CHILDREN!!!

According to a recent news article by the Associated Press posted on the internet on January 17, 2008: ‘The number of abortions in the United States fell to 1.2 million in 2005, down 25 percent from the all-time high of 1.6 million in 1990 and dropping the abortion rate to its lowest level since 1974, according to [(a)—my addition] report issued Thursday.’ Are we suppose to applause a decrease in the murder of unborn babies to 1.2 million in one year? True, it is better than 1.6 million. However, 1.2 million is 1.2 million too many!!! We are MURDERING 1.2 million UNBORN BABIES in one year!!!

Let’s examine these MURDEROUS numbers using a very conservative approach and based upon the information given in the Associated Press story. I checked a previous post I wrote on abortion. From that post, I got the number of abortions for 1973 and 1974—the first two years after MURDER was legalized by an obscene Court decision. The rate of UNBORN BABY MURDERS in 1973 was 774,600. The rate of UNBORN BABY MURDERS in 1974 was 898,600. We know from the news story that the highest number of UNBORN BABY MURDERS was 1.6 million in 1990. Using the conservative number of 1.2 million for each of the additional thirty years up to the end of 2005—the last year of figures, we have an additional 36 million UNBORN BABY MURDERS. The total conservative number of UNBORN BABY MURDERS is 39,273,200 through 2005. Including 2006 and 2007 that figure must be over 40 million UNBORN BABY MURDERS. Is there any other way to describe this slaughter of UNBORN BABIES than as a BABY HOLOCAUST???

Described another way, every day in 2005 there were 3,287+ UNBORN BABY MURDERS. Every hour of every day in 2005 there were 136+ UNBORN BABY MURDERS. Every minute of every hour of every day in 2005 there were 2+ UNBORN BABY MURDERS.

IN 2005 by the recorded record:

365 days = 1,200,000 UNBORN BABY MURDERS
1 day = 3,287+ UNBORN BABY MURDERS
1 hour = 136+ UNBORN BABY MURDERS
1 minute = 2 + UNBORN BABY MURDERS

(These figures DO NOT include any MURDERS by “morning after” pills since there is no possible way for man to document these MURDERS. Of course, GOD knows every single additional MURDER that occurs because of the use of “morning after” pills.)

Slowly, those of moral conviction seem to have made some headway to change this perversity. Yet, much still must be accomplished. We still have every major candidate of one political party supporting the MURDER of UNBORN BABIES. WE still have too many who actually have the immoral audacity to demand to be allowed to MURDER our UNBORN TODDLERS.

Wars fought by the United States have killed thousands upon thousands of Americans. The War of 1812 had an estimated 22,500 dead. The Civil War had an estimated 620,000 causalities. World War I had an estimated 126,000 dead. World War II had an estimated 405,500 dead. The Korean Conflict had an estimated 53,000 dead. The Vietnam Conflict had 47,378 battle deaths and 10,799 other deaths.

Of course, the United States has fought in other wars and conflicts besides those listed. To account for those deaths, add an additional 200,000. (That number is probably inflated but I will use it for this illustration.) That is an estimated 1,485,177 men, women, and probably some children killed in wars fought by the U.S. in the approximate 230 year history of our country. That’s about 1.5 million people in 230 years. That’s a high price to pay for freedom. It’s a price that most of those killed were willing to pay.

January 22, 1973 is a ‘date that will live in infamy.’ On that day thirty five years ago, 9 unelected men declared that women could legally murder their unborn babies. Over those thirty five years at least 40 million UNBORN BABIES were destroyed before they were even delivered. None of those babies had a choice. The vulgar slaughter continues today.

It is overwhelmingly holocaustic. It is overwhelmingly tragic. On Sunday January 15, 2006, page A3 a large display ad was published in the Peoria Journal Star. At the top left of the ad was a picture of a small baby. To the right were these words, ‘Take my hand not my life…’ The ad was calling attention to Sanctity of Human Life Week which was January 16-22, 2006.

How ungodly, how unholy, how tragic! Human life in the United States is now so undervalued that it is necessary to advertise the importance of human life.

January 22, 1973 is a ‘date that will live in infamy.’ On that day thirty five years ago, 9 unelected men proclaimed that women could legally murder their unborn babies. Over those thirty five years at least 40 million UNBORN BABIES were destroyed before they were even delivered. None of those babies had a choice. The vulgar slaughter continues today.

The supporters of the murder of unborn babies are fearful. They have not yet repented. They have not yet learned to fear the CREATOR of the universe. But, they are fearful. They are afraid, that with the changes in the Supreme Court, the Court will recognize the obvious—that each baby is a human life and that no one has the right to murder that life. Illinois’ two Senators voted against Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Alito. They are fearful that Roe v. Wade will finally be overturned. They have already seen the Court ordered end to ‘partial birth’ MURDERS.

January 22, 1973 is a ‘date that will live in infamy.’ On that day thirty five years ago, 9 unelected men ruled that women could legally murder their unborn babies. Over those thirty five years at least 40 million UNBORN BABIES were destroyed before they were even delivered. None of those babies had a choice. The vulgar slaughter continues today.

The Peoria Journal Star published an article (1/21/06. page B5) entitled ‘Group wants state to protect abortion.’ ‘The Illinois chapter of the National Organization for Women is pressuring state legislators to do more to keep abortion legal in the state regardless of federal decisions…. The Freedom of Choice Act will not be drafted and introduced in the General Assembly until the 2007 spring session. Members of the group say they are trying to line up commitments from legislators. Essentially, the act would keep abortion in Illinois legal, even if the Supreme Court overturns the 1973 decision.’ Neither that act nor any other act to legalize abortion in the State passed the General Assembly in 2007.

January 22, 1973 is a ‘date that will live in infamy.’ On that day thirty five years ago, 9 unelected men asserted that women could legally murder their unborn babies. Over those thirty five years at least 40 million UNBORN BABIES were destroyed before they were even delivered. None of those babies had a choice. The vulgar slaughter continues today.

Those who support life over MURDER and DEATH are not finished. We can not relax. We can not stop fighting to save the lives of unborn babies. The supporters of the murder of the unborn have not repented. They have not relented. They will try to do state by state including Illinois what the unconstitutional edict of the Supreme Court did thirty five years before. This election at every level of government is important in preserving life over the ‘culture of death.’ Continue praying, continue doing the will of the LORD, continue supporting candidates who support life over death. Encourage others to do the same.

January 22, 1973 is a ‘date that will live in infamy.’ On that day thirty five years ago, 9 unelected men affirmed that women could legally murder their unborn babies. Over those thirty five years at least 40 million UNBORN BABIES were destroyed before they were even delivered. None of those babies had a choice. The vulgar slaughter continues today.

The BABY HOLOCAUST is real!!!
The BABY HOLOCAUST is here today!!!
The BABY HOLOCAUST MUST END!!!

‘Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.’ Galatians 6: 7-8 (NIV)

‘He (the LORD JESUS the CHRIST—my addition) went on ‘What comes out of a man is what makes him ‘unclean.’ For from within, out of men’s hearts come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, MURDER (My capitalization—my addition), adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from within and make a man ‘unclean.’’’ Mark 7: 20-23 (NIV)

‘Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.’’ Mark 8: 34-38 (NIV)”

“Morton Secular Progressive” declares:

“It’s not particularly Christian, nor particularly useful to offer half-baked religious based criticism without offering any real solutions.”

Doesn’t it seem strange that someone who admits that he/she is not a Christian believes he/she knows what is “Christian” and what is not “Christian” and he/she, therefore, has the authority to tell someone who is a Christian and identifies himself as a Christian what he should believe and do? Regardless, I have, in fact, previously offered solutions based upon the WORD of GOD—the Bible. For example, on Wednesday, January 23, 2008; I posted the following comment entitled—“Sexual immorality in today’s world.”

“The Word of GOD—the Bible—is not a ‘you’re okay; I’m okay’ type of book. In contrast, it is a ‘You’re NOT okay; here is how to be saved spiritually through JESUS the CHRIST and only then are you okay’ type of book.

The world has been sold a lie by the Satanic concept of consenting adults being allowed to do as they wish. I know of no place in the Word of GOD where immoral sexual behavior has a dividing line between adults and children. Of course, sexual behavior between an adult and a child is immoral. However, contrary to the lies spewed forth by Satan and the world, the only Biblically acceptable sexual intercourse is between a man and a woman who are married to each other.

As a rule, the world is not going to speak out against its own immorality. Rather, those of the world attempt to justify such behavior even to the extent of trying to justify and legalize the MURDER of their own unborn children.

If Christians do not boldly speak out about immoral behavior, who will? This nation has a former President who has had a long history of being accused of sexual immorality and who had an admitted immoral relationship while President. Yet, he receives millions of dollars to speak to groups and is idolized by many. Further, his wife is now seeking the Presidency herself. Where is our moral outrage? Is being silent the same as condoning the immoral behavior?

If Christians do not boldly speak out about immoral behavior, who will? This nation has an actress who is living with and has a child by an actor although not married to each other. They are ‘partners’ in today’s vernacular. She is honored, praised, and admired throughout the world by many worldly people. She was even praised for declaring that she would not have intercourse with said actor until he was officially divorced from his previous wife although they were ‘involved’ with each other. Where is our moral outrage? Is being silent the same as condoning the immoral behavior?

If Christians do not boldly speak out about immoral behavior, who will? ‘Each of the children, who range in age from 2 to 16, has the same mother but a different father. The alleged abuser was the only father present Wednesday. The others have not responded to notices about the proceedings, Bauer said.’ (Peoria Journal Star, May 24, 2007, page B2.) Where is our moral outrage? Is being silent the same as condoning the immoral behavior?

Many of the MURDERS of UNBORN BABIES today are the result of sexual immorality outside of marriage. Sexual immorality and the MURDER of UNBORN BABIES have a positive correlation. Decrease sexual immorality and the MURDER of UNBORN BABIES will also decrease. Increase sexual immorality and the MURDER of UNBORN BABIES will increase.

‘Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a man is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. Therefore do not be partners with them.

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.’ Ephesians 5: 1-11 (NIV)

We can either live a life for self or live a life for GOD. We can not do both! Sexual immorality is sexual immorality regardless of the age of the participants.”

To ensure that “Morton Secular Progressive” understands my first solution to the “problem” of MURDERING our own UNBORN CHILDREN, I will state it in the simplest of terms. DON’T have sexual INTERCOURSE with someone you are NOT married to! Secondly, if you are married and are fortunate enough to create a new LIFE, raise that new child with love as intended by GOD when he created man and woman and instituted the concept of family and marriage.

Unfortunately, we have been sold such lies about marriage and family that it is hard for many people to even grasp the concept of a GOD ordained marriage and a GOD ordained family and thus we try to “better” our lives based upon our own selfish desires and concepts. The Bible says:

“Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.

Husbands, love (The love here is NOT “eros” love; rather it is “agape” love, the highest form of love for it is GOD-based love—my addition) your wives, just as Christ loved (The love here is NOT “eros” love; rather it is “agape” love, the highest form of love since it is GOD-based love—my addition) the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleaning her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves (The love here is NOT “eros” love; rather it is “agape” love, the highest form of love for it is GOD-based love—my addition) his wife loves (The love here is NOT “eros” love; rather it is “agape” love, the highest form of love for it is GOD-based love—my addition) himself. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church—for we are members of his body. ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh (Quoted from the Old Testament. Jesus also quoted the same passage when saying that marriage is permanent—not something that is tossed away as happens so often today. The one exception is adultery—my addition.).’ This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.” Ephesians 5: 22-33 (NIV)

“Sons are a heritage from the Lord, CHILDREN a REWARD from HIM (My capitalizations—my addition).” Psalm 127: 3 (NIV)

“In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendent of Aaron. Both of them were upright in the sight of the God, observing all the Lord’s commandments and regulations blamelessly. But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren; and they were both well along in years.” Luke 1: 5-7 (NIV)

“Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zachariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. But the angel said to him: ‘Do not be afraid, Zachariah; your PRAYER HAS BEEN HEARD (Actually praying for a child! Who would do such a thing!—my capitalization, my addition). Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John.” Luke 1: 11-13 (NIV)

“When his time of service was completed, he returned home. After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion. ‘The Lord has done this for me,’ she said. ‘In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.’” Luke 1: 23-25 (NIV)

What! It was considered a DISGRACE not to have children! What was wrong with those people? NOTHING in this respect!

“Morton Secular Progressive” further says:

“ … you don’t mention how many of the 3,287+ unwanted infants you are on the list to adopt. My guess is that the number is zero because they don’t fall into your ‘christian’ demographic.”

Does this comment even make sense? What “list to adopt” if they are being MURDERED while in the womb? What is telling is that he/she uses the phrase “3,287+ unwanted infants” while I wrote “3,287+ UNBORN BABY MURDERS.” “Morton Secular Progressive” DOES NOT deny that the babies are MURDERED but seems to want to justify those MURDERS by declaring the infants to be “unwanted” as if that rationalization is an excuse for MURDER. We are not talking about an “unwanted” piece of clothing. We are talking about a human being, a baby, a child, a toddler, an infant. It is a HOLOCAUST!

As normal, he/she thinks that he/she has the right to tell me what action I should take. If I don’t approve of MURDERING unborn children, then I must adopt all (or at least some) unborn children or my disapproval is not valid. That’s intellectual nonsense! As far as “fall into your ‘christian’ demographic” is concerned, I can’t begin to respond because I have no idea what he/she means by my “‘christian’ demographic” and, quite frankly, I doubt if he/she does. It’s just more nonsensical rhetoric that is uttered by people who can’t defend the MURDER of unborn babies.

Finally, although it’s none of his/her business, no I’m not on a list for adoption although I know Christians who are and Christians who have adopted. I believe that every child conceived by a man and a woman should have both parents raising the child. Since I am single, I should not be raising someone else’s child. And that’s another key. Whose responsibility is it to raise a child? Last time I knew, it is the RESPONSIBILITY of the PARENTS!!! Irresponsible actions do NOT erase a person’s RESPONSIBILITY for those actions.

Finally, “Morton Secular Progressive” concluded with this statement:

“I’m guessing you live at home with your mother and just create critical blogs all day.”

I’m not sure where I live or with whom I am living is relevant to my position on this issue. I can only conclude that this section of the comment is another attempt at a putdown which is also common for those who have no substantive arguments against a contrary position. However, I would like to have more time to create “critical blogs all day.” Unfortunately, I do not. I do have two websites—http://www.christiangunslinger.com/ and http://www.stopthemurder.com/—that I need to find time for. Perhaps, this criticism from “Morton Secular Progressive” will give me the motivation to get them up and running. It is well past the time to STOP THE MURDER OF UNBORN BABIES!!!