Does It Really Matter?

Is Any Religion Good For America? What is religion? Does it matter what you believe? Does it matter who leads the Country? These, and more, questions answered.

Politicizing Suffering

Tears welled up in my eyes and a sorrow swept over me as I heard of the senseless massacre of a Pastor and eight of his parishioners at the A.M.E. Church in South Carolina. My fellow Christians have been assaulted in the place where they should be safe; within the walls of their sanctuary.

A very disturbed young white man shot and killed nine precious black brothers and sisters of mine. Man's inhumanity to man is not difficult for me to understand. I know all too well the utter depravity of mankind without God. Only a heart change can alter the destructive bent of humanity. We do not naturally evolve, as some would have us believe, but we devolve when left to our own devices. No one is immune from the effect of original sin.

My grief turned to anger when I listened to the politicizing of the incident by our President as he spun the story to promote the "progressive" agenda of gun control. The simple truth is that, if one or more of the parishioners had been carrying firearms, the death toll would have been brought down considerably. It is quite possible that the only casualty would have been the deranged young shooter.

To say that advanced societies don't have these kinds of problems is a gross distortion of the truth; unless, of course, you consider those nations where every citizen owns and carries a firearm. An armed society is a safe society. There's an old adage that says, "When guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns." No truer words have been spoken. Our founding fathers knew this and placed within our Constitution the right to keep and bear arms. This right not only protects innocent people and their families from thugs and other criminals, but it stops tyrants from enslaving the populace by suppressive governmental force.

My wife and I, along with our congregation and thousands of other Christians, are praying for the families who have lost loved ones in this horrific act of violence. All Christians, no matter their color or national origin, must come together and begin to work together and strategize how to end the madness that is being incited by those who would wish to divide and conquer us. We simply must care, stand up, and speak out, for one another before it is too late.

As Martin Niemoller is quoted as saying,

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—

Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out— 

Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out— 

Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

Christian Nation

Have you heard someone say, "If we just had all Christians in office, everything would be fine"? Or, perhaps, you've heard someone say, "I won't vote for someone who is not a Christian."

If you are a Christian, you probably would understand the sentiment. Personally, I think that anyone who will not vote should leave the country. After all, one vote can change everything.

That being as it may, consider with me, if you will, what we are saying. Christians and Jews both know that God's Word tells us that "when the righteous rule, the people rejoice." This is pretty much the basis for our thinking concerning politics. It's a good basis for considering political candidates thoughtfully and carefully. Personal integrity, or the lack of it, always shows up in the seats of power.

But, what are we saying when we only consider "Christians" as viable candidates? We are saying that they are all the same. We are attributing to them certain character traits that we deem admirable and beneficial to society. We are even assuming that all who say they are Christian really are. We are assuming that all "Christians" think alike and believe the same thing.

The problem with this kind of thinking is terribly flawed. What kind of "Christian" are you looking for? Most likely, you are looking for one who believes as you do and will reflect your point of view. It sounds great on the surface but is really quite impractical.

For instance: If I say that I am a Christian, I will, most likely, be embraced by all who believe that they are Christian. If I say that I am a Pentecostal Christian, I will lose at least half of those who once embraced me as a member of the faith. In today's society, if I say that I am a Fundamental Christian, I will probably lose fellowship with an even larger segment of those who profess to be Christian. And so it goes.

You see, we are as different from one another as we are from every other segment of society. Which "Christian" viewpoint will be exercised in governmental office? Will the rights of some be overlooked at the expense of others? How large a segment of our society will a politician be able to represent? I submit that he, or she, will only be able to represent those who put him, or her, in office and that, dear one, will be the majority.

What we are really looking for is integrity and a basic belief in those things that are most important to the well being of the people who make up our society. We may not be able to get a perfect match to who we would like to see in office, but we can see to it that we get the best match possible.

Then, our right and privilege is to consistently prod those we have elected to lend an ear, and their interest, to what is important to us. Letters, requests, emails and phone calls will remind them that we put them in office and want viewpoint to be considered along with everyone elses.

As I have put forth in my book, "Integrity - the Last Great Battle," Xulon Press, As a Christian, my main consideration should be to consistently reach more people with the Gospel. That will eventually change everything.

The America I See

The America I know in my heart may not be the America I see today but I, too, have a dream as passionate as that of the late, great, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I see the America I want to leave to my children and grand-children in a picture I just viewed on Facebook.


Here is the West Point graduating class. These are some of the best of the best young people of our American society.

They are white, black, brown, and all shades between. They are male and female, intelligent, proud, willing to serve Americans. National origins, color, nor culture does nothing but add to the beautiful tapestry of American society. They are proud, but not prideful, different, but united, similar, yet unique. They are America as it was meant to be.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, ". . . even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.' I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today!

Well, I, too, have a dream today! I dream of a day when parents will quit teaching their children to see color. I dream of a day when parents will stop teaching their children to hate. I dream of a day when church and government leaders will stop breeding division to maintain power. I dream of a day when love will prevail and dignity and respect will be extended to all equally.

Yes, I, too have a dream.

Why do politicians want our guns?

Why do politicians want our guns?

So what is the hullabaloo about?

Americans have been carrying guns for decades. It has been, and is, a Constitutional right to "keep and bear arms." The Second Amendment (Amendment II) to the United States Constitution protects the right of individuals to keep and bear arms. The Supreme Court of the United States has ruled that the right vests in individuals, not merely collective militias.

So, what is all the hullabaloo now? What raised the question that should be no question? If the Constitution gives American citizens the right to own and carry weapons, why is owning and carrying a gun an issue?

Perhaps Mao Zedong can give us some insight. He said, "Political power comes out of the barrel of a gun."  In case you have forgotten, Mao Zedong (also Mao Tse-Tung) was the world's most prominent Chinese communist during the 20th century. Mao's Red Army overthrew Chiang Kai-Shek in 1949, and the communists seized power of mainland China.

It has also been said that, "The power of the gun determines who wins and survives." Perhaps that is why our founding fathers were so in favor of the people being armed. Thomas Jefferson said, "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." He also said, "I prefer dangerous freedom over peaceful slavery." and quoting 18th century criminologist Cesare Beccaria, "The laws that forbid the carrying of arms are laws of such a nature. They disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes.... Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man.

A few more quotes may be of some help to convince any intelligent person to question the motives of those who are attempting to take the right for the people to stay armed.

George Mason (father of the Bill of Rights and The Virginia Declaration of Rights) is quoted as saying, "To disarm the people is the most effectual way to enslave them." Grave thoughts to ponder. He also said, "I ask sir, what is the militia? It is the whole people except for a few politicians."

Noah Webster insightfully stated, “Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed, as they are in almost every country in Europe.” Another one of his warnings went like this, "The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword; because the whole body of the people are armed, and constitute a force superior to any band of regular troops."

It would appear that our founding fathers were aware of the fact that “power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Mankind needs a restraining force to keep them serving in integrity. As James Madison observed, "A government resting on the minority is an aristocracy, not a Republic, and could not be safe with a numerical and physical force against it, without a standing army, an enslaved press and a disarmed populace."

Hmm. If you are not convinced that the populace should retain the right to keep and bear arms then I would suggest that you have been addicted to the communist philosophy that believes that people do not know how to govern themselves and should be provided for by an ever growing government rather than by an all sufficient God.

Harry Red

Do you remember the term,"Red?" or "Pink?"

Well, maybe not unless you are over 60.

It was a term used for Communists and it used to be that they were watched by the CIA and FBI as potential dangers to the United States of America. Oh they thought that they were the saviors of the American people but they also sought a chance to get rich and powerful on the backs of successful businessmen and women through excessive taxation and control.

Ronald Reagan found that Russia was funding the Communist Party in Hollywood and it caused him to move from being a Liberal Democrat to a Conservative Republican and lit the fire within him to become President of the United States of America, face down the Soviet Union, bring down the Berlin Wall, and weaken the communist hold on America and its Citizens.

The Communist agenda is still alive and well in America and, unfortunately, it seems to have entrenched itself in many of our elected officials. It seems that every pogrom that comes out of Capital Hill violates our Constitution and mocks the free enterprise system. Even the casual observer might conclude that there is a desire, by some, to completely destroy what was, and still is, the greatest Country in the world.

It is troubling to me, and to many other Americans, that US land is being sold to Chinese Communists so that those in high places can profit from brokering the sales. One such sale took place just South of Railroad Pass here in Nevada. It seems that the Reid family had much to gain by brokering the deal.

Now, under the guise of protecting endangered tortoises from grazing cattle, the Reid regime is harassing a Nevada Rancher so that a larger sale of BLM property can be brokered with the same Chinese owned Solar Power Company that is already operating.

Personally, I don't believe that American land should be sold to anyone that is not a United States Citizen nor should public land be sold to profit politicians.

The Socialist, Marxist, Communist ideology always takes from the rich to make a few others rich. The spin is that the money taken from those who have "more than they deserve" is not really given to the people it is promised to, it is gathered and hoarded by those whose lust for power is insatiable.

It's time to go to the polls in November and vote! Now is the time for change. If ever there was a time for change, now is the time. Don't vote for whoever the "Party" puts forward. Begin to research now and find people who have a biblical world-view and moral code and vote for them.

Remember what Proverbs 29:2 (KJV) says,

"When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn."

More and more of our Countrymen are mourning. Don't you think it's time for rejoicing?

Truth is fallen in the street.

Lies, lies, and more lies

That's all I hear coming out of the camp on the Left.

Isaiah 59:14 (KJV)  And judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter.

Oh, I know, there are some that say that they are on the Right but are masquerading as Conservatives and living like Liberals.

What does the Bible have to say about these double tongued deceivers?

Numbers 32:23  (KJV) But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out.

No one likes to be demonized but sometimes actions and words reveal the source of their problem:

John 8:44  (KJV) Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

Lies are the work of "the father" of lies, who is the devil himself. People are played upon by demons and devils whether they acknowledge them or not.

I realize that we are not fighting against flesh and blood. Our fight is with the spirits of wickedness behind the actions of men.

Ephesians 6:12 (KJV) For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

The problem is, that men yield to demonic forces because of their own propensity to sin. That is, their greed for power, notoriety, status, and money have blinded them to the truth of who they are before God.

James 1:14, 15 (KJV)  14  But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. 15  Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
My prayer is that men will repent and cry out to God for forgiveness so that the Nation can be healed:

Proverbs 29:2 (KJV)  When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.

Listen, you who call yourselves public servants. The people are mourning.