I had a reaction when I read this article, I will get into that after the quote and link here:
It was a small detail, a point of comparison buried in the fifth paragraph on the 17th page of a 24-page summary of the 2009 American Religious Identification Survey. But as R. Albert Mohler Jr.—president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, one of the largest on
No Church?
earth—read over the document after its release in March, he was struck by a single sentence. For a believer like Mohler—a starched, unflinchingly conservative Christian, steeped in the theology of his particular province of the faith, devoted to producing Ministers who will preach the inerrancy of the Bible and the Gospel of Jesus Christ as the only means to eternal life—the central news of the survey was troubling enough: the number of Americans who claim no religious affiliation has nearly doubled since 1990, rising from 8 to 15 percent. Then came the point he could not get out of his mind: while the unaffiliated have historically been concentrated in the Pacific Northwest, the report said, “this pattern has now changed, and the Northeast emerged in 2008 as the new stronghold of the religiously unidentified.” As Mohler saw it, the historic foundation of America’s religious culture was cracking.
“That really hit me hard,” he told me last week. “The Northwest was never as religious, never as congregationalized, as the Northeast, which was the foundation, the home base, of American religion. To lose New England struck me as momentous.” Turning the report over in his mind, Mohler posted a despairing online column on the eve of Holy Week lamenting the decline—and, by implication, the imminent fall—of an America shaped and suffused by Christianity. “A remarkable culture-shift has taken place around us,” Mohler wrote. “The most basic contours of American culture have been radically altered. The so-called Judeo-Christian consensus of the last millennium has given way to a post-modern, post-Christian, post-Western cultural crisis which threatens the very heart of our culture.” When Mohler and I spoke in the days after he wrote this, he had grown even gloomier. “Clearly, there is a new narrative, a post-Christian narrative, that is animating large portions of this society,” he said from his office on campus in Louisville, Ky.
Before I get into my reaction of this rather interesting piece. Let me get some full disclosure type housekeeping out the way here; If you will kindly head over to my “aboutme” section, you’ll see where I am coming from here. Honestly, When I read this, The first I said to myself was, “Where the heck has this guy been living for the last thirty years, under a rock?!?!”
As someone who basically grew in Church in the 1980’s and in the 1990’s; (Except for a period between 1992-3’ish and 1997, when I was very much away from “The Lord” as we Christian folks call it.) I can tell you without an ounce of doubt that there has been a huge tectonic shift in the culture in the country; away from the Church, Christianity and the like. America has swung hard and quite fast away from the Traditional values of the 1940’s and 1950’s. The first wave of it, was in the late 1960’s, second was in the 1970’s, third was the 1980’s and by the 1990’s we were really into the Liberalism feared by many today.
The Church, much like our Nation’s supreme court is a active reflection of society itself. The legalization of Abortion being a prime example of this. The legalizing of the systematic slaughter of innocent unborn, was one of the worst events that ever happened in this Country. The only thing that has surpassed that, is the moronic attempt by the religious right to reverse that decision; at a federal level, of which it should have never been set up in the first place. I am speaking like a federalist, in case any of you are confused at this point. While I am very sympathetic to the Christians and thier mission to protect the unborn in this Country. I cannot support thier quest to return power to the Federal Government in this fashion. If the religious right or “Pro-Life” as they are called, want to stop abortion, do it at the State level, not the Federal. The less centralized government, the better.
Of course, there are a ton more examples that I could trot out here, but I do not want to scare of the secular Conservatives that do visit this Blog. Instead, I will simply quote a few Bible verses:
This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith. But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was. But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience, Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me. Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works. (2 Timothy 3:1-17 –King James Version)
and in a little something more Modern:
But you should know this: There will be terrible times in the last days [of the Christian age]. (2) For people will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, abusive talkers, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, (3) lacking in natural affection, unwilling to be reconciled [to their enemies], slanderers, lacking self-control, brutal, haters of what is good, (4) treacherous [i.e., betrayers], reckless, conceited, [and] lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. (5) [These people] maintain an appearance of being godly, but they have denied its power; [you should] turn away from such people. (6) They are the kind of people who enter homes and influence [morally] weak-willed women, loaded down with sins, [and] led on by all kinds of evil desires. (7) They are constantly learning and [yet] never able to arrive at a [full] knowledge of the truth. (8) These people oppose the truth just like Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses. They have corrupt minds and are worthless as far as the faith is concerned. (9) But they will not advance any farther [in their sin] because their foolish ways will become obvious to everyone, just as those of Jannes and Jambres were. (10) But you have followed [Note: These words mean “to observe closely, have a keen interest in”] my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perseverance, (11) persecutions and sufferings. You know what kind of things happened to me at Antioch, Iconium and Lystra [See Acts 13:13-14:23], and what [severe] persecutions I experienced [there]. But the Lord rescued me from all of them. (12) In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in [the service of] Christ will be persecuted. (13) But evil people and impostors will go from bad to worse [in their behavior], deceiving people and being deceived by them. (14) But you should continue [to believe and practice] what you have learned and been convinced of, knowing those from whom you learned it. [Note: These persons would include Lois and Eunice (See 1:5), as well as Paul himself]. (15) And [remember] that, from childhood, you have known the sacred Scriptures which are able to make you wise [enough] to be saved through faith in Christ Jesus. (16) All Scripture is inspired by God [Note: Literally, this word means “breathed out by God”] and is useful for teaching [truth], rebuking [wrongdoing], correcting [error] and for providing instruction [i.e., training] on how to live right, (17) so that the man of God will be thoroughly equipped for [doing] every good deed. – 2 Timothy 3:1-17 from The New Testament: An Understandable Version, by William E. Paul,
American Right To Life today releases a YouTube video, The Ann Coulter Hang-Ups and its associated website, www.AnnCoulterApology.com, documenting the growing rift between the right-wing pundit and popular Christian pro-family leaders. This cross-country sampling of conservative talk show hosts from Florida, Iowa, Colorado and California confronts the best-selling author on her repeated defense of those implementing homosexual marriage and tax-funded abortion.
More than just the title of her new best-seller, Guilty, may also describe Ann Coulter herself, according to American RTL president and Columbine dad Brian Rohrbough. “If she wants him elected, Ann Coulter will try to cover up a politician’s aggressive attacks on children and the family, it seems the only prerequisite is an R after his name.”
“Coulter can answer soft-ball criticism from the left,” says ARTL vice president and former Colorado Republican party chairman Steve Curtis, “but she always has ‘to run’ when Christian journalists document her misinformation and ask for a correction?” The Ann Coulter Hang-Ups shows Coulter repeatedly punting and ending interviews instead of answering valid questions.
Man, When Conservatives are turning against you. That’s pretty bad.
Sin has come a long way since the Garden of Eden, but its wages are still the same even though many would have us believe it’s all relevant in our evolutionary world – a sure sign of madness.
And where is the church in all this?
They’re right in the middle of it looking for market share with a designer Jesus.
“For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.” –1st John 2:16-17
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are not necessarily those of the owner of this Blog.
Thanks to a concerned Missouri state policeman, a nationally syndicated radio talk show host stated that he was alerted last week to a secret Missouri state police report that categorized supporters of Congressman Ron Paul, Bob Barr, and myself as “‘militia’ influenced terrorists.” The report, he said, “instructs the Missouri police to be on the lookout for supporters displaying bumper stickers and other paraphernalia associated with the Constitutional, Campaign for Liberty, and Libertarian parties.”
Ignoring the threat of Muslim terrorists, the Missouri Information Analysis Center (MIAC) report focuses on the so-called “militia movement” and “conflates it with supporters of Ron Paul, Chuck Baldwin, Bob Barr, the so-called patriot movement and other political activist organizations opposed to the North American Union and the New World Order.”
This report is not original, of course. During the Clinton administration, a Phoenix Federal Bureau of Investigation and Joint Terrorism Task Force explicitly designated “defenders” of the Constitution as “right-wing extremists.” However, the MIAC report significantly expands on earlier documents and is the first known document to actually name names.
According to the MIAC, opposition to world government, NAFTA, federalization of the states, and restrictive gun laws are a potential threat to the police. The MIAC report also refers to Aaron Russo’s film, “America: Freedom to Fascism.”
The story exposing the MIAC report states, “The MIAC report is particularly pernicious because it indoctrinates Missouri law enforcement in the belief that people who oppose confiscatory taxation, believe in the well-documented existence of a New World Order and world government (a Google search of this phrase will pull up numerous references made by scores of establishment political leaders), and are opposed to the obvious expansion of the federal government at the expense of the states as violent extremists who are gunning for the police. It specifically targets supporters of mainstream political candidates and encourages police officers to consider them dangerous terrorists.”
The Columbia Daily Tribune also carried the story last Saturday. It quoted Missouri resident Tim Neal of Miller County. “When Neal read the report, he couldn’t help but think it described him. A military veteran and a delegate to the 2008 Missouri Republican state convention, he didn’t appreciate being lumped in with groups like the Neo-Nazis.
“‘I was going down the list and thinking, “Check, that’s me,”‘ he said. ‘I’m a Ron Paul supporter, check. I talk about the North American union, check. I’ve got the “America: Freedom to Fascism” video loaned out to somebody right now. So that means I’m a domestic terrorist? Because I’ve got a video about the Federal Reserve?'”
The Tribune’s report also acknowledges, “The [MIAC] report’s most controversial passage states that militia ‘most commonly associate with third-party political groups’ and support presidential candidates such as Ron Paul, former Constitutional [sic] Party candidate Chuck Baldwin and Bob Barr, the Libertarian candidate last year.”
The Tribune report also said, “Neal, who has a Ron Paul bumper sticker on his car, said the next time he is pulled over by a police officer, he won’t know whether it’s because he was speeding or because of his political views.”
I realize that there are people who will dismiss this kind of story as insignificant. They shouldn’t. This is very serious and should be treated as such. Anyone who knows anything at all about history knows that before a state or national government can persecute–and commit acts of violence against–a group of people, they must first marginalize the group from society’s mainstream and categorize it as dangerous.
Rome did exactly that to Christians, as did Mao’s China; Hitler’s Germany did the same thing to Jews; Stalin’s Russia did the same thing to political dissenters, etc. That a State police agency in America would actually infer that people who supported Ron Paul, Bob Barr, or myself in a political campaign are somehow indistinguishable from violence-prone “militias” is beyond insulting: it is a smear campaign, and might should even be regarded as a hate crime!
Beyond that, the MIAC report paints with a very broad brush. In addition to supporting Ron Paul, Bob Barr, or myself, a review of the report reveals that opposition to any of the following risks someone being classified as a potential “domestic terrorist”:
The New World Order
The United Nations
Gun Control
The violation of Posse Comitatus
The Federal Reserve
The Income Tax
The Ammunition Accountability Act
A possible Constitutional Convention (Con Con)
The North American Union
Universal Service Program
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)
Abortion on demand
Illegal Immigration
Again, if you oppose any of the above, or if you supported Ron Paul, Bob Barr, or myself, you risk being labeled a “domestic terrorist,” according to the MIAC.
Do you not see how dangerous this kind of slanderous labeling can become? It could affect your flight status when you try to board an airline. It could affect your application for sensitive jobs. It could affect your adjudication before a court or judge. It could make you a target for aggressive law enforcement strategies. It could affect your being able to obtain a passport. It could affect one’s ability to purchase a firearm or receive a State concealed weapon permit.
This is very serious business! We are not talking about private opinions. We are talking about law enforcement agencies. And remember, most law enforcement agencies share these types of reports; therefore, how many other state police agencies have similar reports floating around? Probably several. Plus, how do we know that this report was not influenced by federal police agencies? We don’t.
Rest assured, I do not plan to take this lying down. As one who is personally named in the above report, I demand a public retraction and apology from the MIAC and Missouri State Police. I can tell you that my family is extremely distraught that their husband, father, and grandfather would be labeled in such a manner. I am also not ruling out legal action. In addition, I am discussing an appropriate response with Ron Paul and Bob Barr. I will keep readers posted as to what comes of these discussions (as I am at liberty to do so, of course).
In the meantime, I encourage everyone who believes in the freedom of speech and who believes that the MIAC report is an egregious miscarriage of justice to contact the appropriate Missouri police officials. Here is the contact information:
Missouri Information Analysis Center
Division of Drugs & Crime Control
P. O. Box 568
Jefferson City, MO 65102-0568
Phone: 573-751-6422
Toll Free: 866-362-6422
Fax: 573-751-9950
And lest one thinks that none of this concerns him or her, I would like to remind you of the lament of Martin Niemoeller back in the days of Hitler’s Germany. Niemoeller was a decorated U-Boat Captain and pastor of great distinction. An avid anti-communist, Niemoeller at first supported Hitler’s rise to power and was hesitant to oppose the violations of civil rights against various groups he personally found distasteful. It did not take long, however, before Niemoeller realized that when laws protecting the rights of all were removed from some, no one was safe–including him. Unfortunately, he learned his lesson too late, as he, too, was persecuted and imprisoned by Hitler’s State Police. Here is what Niemoeller said about his indifference:
“They came first for the communists, and I did not speak up- because I was not a communist;
And then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak up- because I was not a trade unionist;
And then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak up- because I was not a Jew;
And then they came for me- and there was no one left to speak up.”
So, those of you who think you have nothing to fear because you did not vote for Ron Paul, Bob Barr, or me, or because you do not live in the State of Missouri need to think again. As I have repeatedly said, we either have freedom for all, or we have freedom for none. Truly, secret police reports such as the one above threaten the liberties of us all.
So, will you speak up now or wait until they come for you and no one is left to speak up?
I post this because I believe that it is interesting. Alex Jones has always struck me as a kook. Someone amongst the “Tin Foil Hat” crowd. However, it is something interesting to watch.
Enjoy…
What do you think? Do you think that there is any truth to this?
I have been reading the blog entries on the new Michael Steele Meme, that is now burning up the internet.
This issue has been the very reason, that I have flatly refused to join the Republican Party. Michael Steele was essentially mouthing the Libertarian position on abortion. Which is a woman has the right to do with her body, what she pleases. Which is what I feel. For the record, I believe abortion is murder; however, I find it quite ironic that those who preach and fight for limited Government, insist that the Government control of what a woman does with her body. The Religious Argument is that, ultimately; God is the creator of all Babies/Humans/Life. Which is fine, that argument works within the confines of a Church or Religious setting. The problem is, that argument does NOT work outside of this setting and those who defend this mindset are borderline fascists, who want to force THEIR belief system down the throats of those who are not necessarily in agreement that there is even a God, at all.
Again, Abortion is a MORAL issue, it should never, ever, ever be a legislative issue. America was settled and founded as a Republic, not as a Theocracy; as what many of these “Pro-Lifers” want American to be. That Republic paid a homage to the “God”, albeit a rather lame homage, but still it was there. It was never intended to signal that America was a Theocracy, ever.
Abortion, I feel, should have never been legalized in the first place; however, it was. We do not live in a utopain society, laws passed by the SCOTUS are a reflection of Society in General; and we must, as Americans respect those laws, least we fall into the trap of becoming an intolerant or Nazi state.
This issue is a perfect, clear cut, example of why Politics and Religion or Religious views should never, ever be mixed.
Okay, I’d like some feedback on this video here. (H/T to this guy)
Not sure what to think…. Opinions Please.
The only part I really disagreed with is, the part about a Republican style of Government. I do not believe that it was referring to the modern day Republican Party, But rather was referring to a Republic style of Government and not the actual party itself. This would be in contrast to British Monarchy or a, dare I say it? A Socialist Democracy. 😀
I noticed here as of lately that on WorldNetDaily, that David Wilkerson has issued a so-called “Warning” and advice to Christians everywhere about some so-called horrific event that is going to take place.
I want it to be known publicly, that I feel that David Wilkerson has had nothing more than an overactive imagination. Which is about all Pentecostals ever have.
I say this, because David Wilkerson is nothing more than a Pentecostal Christian, he is one of the many deluded Christians that possess the flawed belief system, that God is still speaking today, that healing was promised in the atonement, that “Speaking in tongues” is a legit belief system; despite that the fact that the Bible proves that very wrong.
In the interest of full disclosure, I am a former Pentecostal, who came out of that silly bunch of nonsense, after 21 years, of watching that movement steadily veer towards liberal Christianity. I am now a Fundamentalist Christian, my doctrine is of the Baptist nature.
There are a bunch of articles that bring out the nonsensical beliefs that Pentecostals Teach, I highly recommend them to read:
Hope this helps, Remember everything that the God himself has said and everything that Jesus has ever said, is contained in those 66 book, of that thing we call the Bible. Everything else is a well funded and orchestrated FRAUD!
By the way, I am a King James Bible believer, here are some articles that back up, what I believe:
We are on the verge – within 10 years – of a major collapse of evangelical Christianity. This breakdown will follow the deterioration of the mainline Protestant world and it will fundamentally alter the religious and cultural environment in the West.
Within two generations, evangelicalism will be a house deserted of half its occupants. (Between 25 and 35 percent of Americans today are Evangelicals.) In the “Protestant” 20th century, Evangelicals flourished. But they will soon be living in a very secular and religiously antagonistic 21st century.
This collapse will herald the arrival of an anti-Christian chapter of the post-Christian West. Intolerance of Christianity will rise to levels many of us have not believed possible in our lifetimes, and public policy will become hostile toward evangelical Christianity, seeing it as the opponent of the common good.
Millions of Evangelicals will quit. Thousands of ministries will end. Christian media will be reduced, if not eliminated. Many Christian schools will go into rapid decline. I’m convinced the grace and mission of God will reach to the ends of the earth. But the end of evangelicalism as we know it is close.
All this written by a news service which was started by a group of kooks, calling themselves “Christians”. Christian Science is a cult, Started by Mary Baker Eddy. It has been discarded by mainline Christianity for years.
So, in the opinion of this Fundamental Baptist. Take this with a gain of salt.
It turns out, that Zo is getting help from the Neo-Conservative PJ TV. I just wonder how long before he starts reciting talking points of the Podhoretz Clan?
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