Mohamed ElBaradei, Mubarek's major opponent in Egypt, wants democracy, change, and "new freedoms" in Egypt. He sounds much like an Egyptian version of Barack Obama.
There are some things we need to understand about ElBaradei and the entire middle east upheaval now in progress.
ElBaradei has been vocal with his concern that Israel, not Iran, is the biggest threat to middle east peace. Despite his appearance of moderation resulting from his service as director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), (I suspect the liberal mainstream media love him) not only has his record there been pro-Iranian, but his alliance with the Muslim Brotherhood in the Egyptian uprising spells trouble for Israel and the West. Just as the eradication of Saddam Hussein
Friday, January 28, 2011
Friday, January 14, 2011
Glenn Beck’s China-resident Globalist Guest
The January 14, 2011, Glenn Beck show on TV featured two guests - David Buckner and Jim Rogers. Buckner is a previous guest who teaches at Columbia University. Rogers is an billionaire businessman who lives in China and whose children are schooled in China. Rogers can be safely labeled a globalist proponent of free trade – an ex-patriot in spirit who maintains his credibility by paying US taxes.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Last resort: The church of Glenn Beck…
My quest to find a relevant Christian Church is now in week seven. By “relevant” I mean a church that makes a strong connection between Biblical teaching and what is going on in the world today.
So far the Christian teaching that comes closest to meeting my “relevance” ideal is Glenn Beck. Isn’t it a little ironic for orthodox Christians that Beck is a Mormon. Perhaps orthodox churches have recently discovered something in their doctrine that prohibits relevance to current events.
The orthodox “reformed” church I attended today was easily the friendliest of the six churches I’ve tried thus far. The pastor’s dad and several men of the church introduced themselves and offered coffee – something Glenn Beck would never do – with one kind act of inviting me to sit with them during the service, and the final kind act of inviting me to a church luncheon after the service. But I digress.
The sermon was on 1 Corinthians 6:9-11. The message from Paul was given to those who lived in Corinth, a large commercial center known for its moral corruption. This is the setting for Paul expounding to the Church of Corinth how even the vilest among them were “washed, sanctified, and justified … by the Spirit of God.”
It was a well-presented sermon. But…during that 20-minute presentation there was not one connection of the meaning of those passages to the circumstances and events of today. I was anxiously waiting for the segue to a reference to one or more American cities, to one or more political ideologies, to one or more corporations to bring the relevance of these passages to our door step. The opportunities lingered all around those verses to relate them to current events. During the early anticipatory stages of the sermon I was considering when I would phone my wife to let her know I was invited to lunch at church and would be late. By the end of the sermon, along with the realization that the sermon never extended beyond the year 65 AD, I admitted to myself I needed to forego the lunch so as not to mislead my hosts into assuming my continuing interest.
The “sermons” given by the early church were relevant to that day. They were driven by the conditions that existed in their cities, in their culture, in their competing religions and ideologies. They were given in the cities of Rome, Corinth, Ephesus, and Philippi. Almost 2,000 years later, the sermons given today expect us to remain in antiquity. What is inexplicable to me is why sermons aren’t made as current today as they were back then. Sure, the people back then had similar problems and challenges and if we try really hard, some of us might be able to relate to them. But why not bring those problems and challenges up to date? Is it too much work for pastors to be aware of current events? Is there a fear of offending someone if we are critical of a real, current ideology, religion, organization, personal or public behavior? Is it ok to slip in a Scriptural reference to “homosexual offenders” of 65 AD but somehow a bit politically incorrect to mention the “homosexual offenders” of 2010 AD?
Certainly other ideologies like Islam, Progressivism, and Socialism are as much an anathema to Christianity today as Pharisaical Judaism and Paganism were to Christians back in the day. But these ideological challenges are not mentioned in sermons today. Why not? Is there a fear of the IRS coming down on them? Is one of the major church benefactors a “don’t rock the boat” kind of guy?
This is what my “relevant church” hunting quest is telling me to do. Besides Glenn Beck, look toward the Web. There are various web sites where I find relevance of Scripture to current events. Here are several of them:
Watchman Bible Study
The Hal Lindsey Report
Chuck Baldwin
Wall Builders
Prophezine
Political Islam
Charles Stanley
Dove World Outreach Center
David Manning
All of these ministries (and I’m sure there are many more that I’m not aware of) connect Biblical teaching with critical current events. They are all political to some degree. Some people may consider a couple of them to be excessively political or even mean spirited – at the fringes (or beyond) of appropriate Christianity. But no more so than Jesus’ rant at the Temple toward the money changers. Many are shocked when they first learn that Jesus would do such a thing.
To the contrary, contemporary preachers exhibit little righteous indignation at anything that is going on in the world today. It almost appears that they all live in an 65 AD bubble.
Puzzling.
So far the Christian teaching that comes closest to meeting my “relevance” ideal is Glenn Beck. Isn’t it a little ironic for orthodox Christians that Beck is a Mormon. Perhaps orthodox churches have recently discovered something in their doctrine that prohibits relevance to current events.
The orthodox “reformed” church I attended today was easily the friendliest of the six churches I’ve tried thus far. The pastor’s dad and several men of the church introduced themselves and offered coffee – something Glenn Beck would never do – with one kind act of inviting me to sit with them during the service, and the final kind act of inviting me to a church luncheon after the service. But I digress.
The sermon was on 1 Corinthians 6:9-11. The message from Paul was given to those who lived in Corinth, a large commercial center known for its moral corruption. This is the setting for Paul expounding to the Church of Corinth how even the vilest among them were “washed, sanctified, and justified … by the Spirit of God.”
It was a well-presented sermon. But…during that 20-minute presentation there was not one connection of the meaning of those passages to the circumstances and events of today. I was anxiously waiting for the segue to a reference to one or more American cities, to one or more political ideologies, to one or more corporations to bring the relevance of these passages to our door step. The opportunities lingered all around those verses to relate them to current events. During the early anticipatory stages of the sermon I was considering when I would phone my wife to let her know I was invited to lunch at church and would be late. By the end of the sermon, along with the realization that the sermon never extended beyond the year 65 AD, I admitted to myself I needed to forego the lunch so as not to mislead my hosts into assuming my continuing interest.
The “sermons” given by the early church were relevant to that day. They were driven by the conditions that existed in their cities, in their culture, in their competing religions and ideologies. They were given in the cities of Rome, Corinth, Ephesus, and Philippi. Almost 2,000 years later, the sermons given today expect us to remain in antiquity. What is inexplicable to me is why sermons aren’t made as current today as they were back then. Sure, the people back then had similar problems and challenges and if we try really hard, some of us might be able to relate to them. But why not bring those problems and challenges up to date? Is it too much work for pastors to be aware of current events? Is there a fear of offending someone if we are critical of a real, current ideology, religion, organization, personal or public behavior? Is it ok to slip in a Scriptural reference to “homosexual offenders” of 65 AD but somehow a bit politically incorrect to mention the “homosexual offenders” of 2010 AD?
Certainly other ideologies like Islam, Progressivism, and Socialism are as much an anathema to Christianity today as Pharisaical Judaism and Paganism were to Christians back in the day. But these ideological challenges are not mentioned in sermons today. Why not? Is there a fear of the IRS coming down on them? Is one of the major church benefactors a “don’t rock the boat” kind of guy?
This is what my “relevant church” hunting quest is telling me to do. Besides Glenn Beck, look toward the Web. There are various web sites where I find relevance of Scripture to current events. Here are several of them:
Watchman Bible Study
The Hal Lindsey Report
Chuck Baldwin
Wall Builders
Prophezine
Political Islam
Charles Stanley
Dove World Outreach Center
David Manning
All of these ministries (and I’m sure there are many more that I’m not aware of) connect Biblical teaching with critical current events. They are all political to some degree. Some people may consider a couple of them to be excessively political or even mean spirited – at the fringes (or beyond) of appropriate Christianity. But no more so than Jesus’ rant at the Temple toward the money changers. Many are shocked when they first learn that Jesus would do such a thing.
To the contrary, contemporary preachers exhibit little righteous indignation at anything that is going on in the world today. It almost appears that they all live in an 65 AD bubble.
Puzzling.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Fearing being called Bigot, Racist, or Phobic
The “left” (the term “left” being used because that term captures the bulk of those who are known to engage in the topic discussed in this blog) has mastered the art of slander. Granted, not every leftist is actively involved in slander at any point in time, just as not every Muslim is involved in violent Jihad at the moment. But the most public voices of the left are loud and clear with slander of those who do not agree with their agenda.
The left's double standard of smears, lies, and hate…
The left is in full-bore smear mode of talk radio, FOX News, and conservative internet bloggers. Liberals in Congress are falling over themselves to tighten gun controls and impose the oppressive and ill-named “Fairness Doctrine.”
Why now? Because a leftist-inspired psycho who is more likely to have been influenced by Keith Olbermann than by Glenn Beck committed murder.
From Keith Olbermann to Chris Matthews to Barack Obama…
…all of them representing
Why now? Because a leftist-inspired psycho who is more likely to have been influenced by Keith Olbermann than by Glenn Beck committed murder.
From Keith Olbermann to Chris Matthews to Barack Obama…
…all of them representing
Sunday, January 09, 2011
Islamism as a World View
World view: Our life’s value system as informed by our fundamental underlying experiences, knowledge, and assumptions. The thoughts, opinions, and actions of each of us are influenced by our “world view.”
Darwinism, Secular Humanism, Progressivism, Post-Modernism, Spiritualism, and Christianity are all world views that shape the thoughts and actions of both individuals and civilizations.
Islamism is a recently resurgent world view that lurked in the shadows of the civilized world until the last several decades.
Darwinism, Secular Humanism, Progressivism, Post-Modernism, Spiritualism, and Christianity are all world views that shape the thoughts and actions of both individuals and civilizations.
Islamism is a recently resurgent world view that lurked in the shadows of the civilized world until the last several decades.
Wednesday, January 05, 2011
Pastors: The “politically correct” shepherds
Jesus, the Good Shepherd, used pastoral images to help make his message easily understood by his flock.
The following is an introduction to a convicting characterization of many of our pastors and churches provided by Bill Warner of the web site “Political Islam” that I link to at the end of this blog.
There is a shepherd on the hillside tending his flock of 100 sheep -all within eyesight. He considers all creatures part of his "greater flock" - he believes it would be mean-spirited, discriminatory really, to distinguish between his sheep and other animals. The shepherd scans the horizon and sees the shadow of wolves forming along the edge of the ridge. The shepherd continues to tend his sheep, not really concerned about the looming shadows. The wolves draw closer to the flock; in fact several sheep on the edge of the flock are torn to shreds by several of the approaching wolves. The shepherd continues to tend his flock. He refrains from chasing the wolves away because he does not want to disturb the rest of the sheep. His actions might be upsetting to them. The wolves have one thing in mind and are methodical and single minded in their quest. Meanwhile, the shepherd continues to tend his sheep, believing tranquil sheep are happy sheep. Happy happy happy.
Now please read Bill Warner's message.
Sunday, January 02, 2011
CNN’s “Lack-of-faith” based predictions for 2011
CNN has presented its “faith-based predictions for 2011”, opinions of a group of mostly liberal or Muslim political figures. Of course they have their token conservative (Ralph Reed) in the mix of Wiccans and secularists in religious garb.
Well, I might as well throw my predictions into the mix – they’re as valid as anyone in CNN’s mostly progressive, God-demeaning pot.
We will see growing Islamic subversive influences in our government and educational institutions, along with
Well, I might as well throw my predictions into the mix – they’re as valid as anyone in CNN’s mostly progressive, God-demeaning pot.
We will see growing Islamic subversive influences in our government and educational institutions, along with
Saturday, January 01, 2011
Prepare for diverse magnitudes of mega-disasters
Disasters happen. It is fortunate that most of us don’t experience them often if ever. And when disasters occur, they seldom last more than a few seconds (auto accidents), a few minutes (tornadoes/earthquakes), or a few hours (hurricanes/severe ice/snow storms). Granted, the after-effects can last for days or weeks, but emergency assistance and essential infrastructure (water, sanitation, electricity, transportation) are usually restored within a few days.
Most of us can endure a disaster that lasts for a few days up to a week or so with little additional preparation. Water is the most critical resource. A day or so without water won’t kill us. Beyond a week probably will. Fortunately most of us have a lot of water substitutes on hand: soda, fruit juice, beer, bottled tea to last us a week or longer.
But what about a mega disaster –
Most of us can endure a disaster that lasts for a few days up to a week or so with little additional preparation. Water is the most critical resource. A day or so without water won’t kill us. Beyond a week probably will. Fortunately most of us have a lot of water substitutes on hand: soda, fruit juice, beer, bottled tea to last us a week or longer.
But what about a mega disaster –
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