Resurrection-Body or Spirit?

I had always understood that resurrection meant bodily resurrection. One of those things obvious to me like the Trinity; Father, Son, Holy Spirit. In early Christianity, there were a lot of debates about the latter. How could three things exist in one thing simultaneously? For me, it just is, I just accept it and understand, mind to heart to soul, this is true.

The Gnostics posited that Jesus was a spirit body manifesting itself in the material world. To me, that makes no sense. To make the idea even more incomprehensible is the spirit body of Jesus imparted some kind of esoteric knowledge, gnosis (Greek). What that secret knowledge leads to is a way out of the material world.

Once accomplished, according to this idea, you become a spirit body, you escape the physical, material world. The physical world is evil, the spirit world is good. The Church Fathers found this heretical. I agree. It’s clear to me Jesus is exactly what He said He is. What He said is clear and means exactly what He said. No big secret here.

When I said I had always understood that resurrection meant bodily resurrection means just that, I’m surprised to find out that a majority of Christians believe, like the Gnostics, that resurrection is spiritual resurrection, the body is separated from the spirit. I’m thinking, really? How did that happen?

It’s been infiltrating Christianity for a long time. For about a hundred years, give or take, the idea that being resurrected means leaving matter/material/physical behind, separating from it has been growing. It’s an escape from materiality. From Houston Baptist University, a guy named Arthur Travis, in 1974 wrote: “The fact is, we shall not live in physical bodies after death…we shall not need or desire the things associated with our present physical bodies, simply because we shall not possess physical bodies in heaven.” So seriously wrong. 

In the late 1990’s Time Magazine had an article stating a finding the two thirds of Americans did not believe they would have bodies after they were resurrected. It wasn’t clear to me if that was just Americans or American Christians, but either way, it’s disconcerting to me. There was a poll, Scripps Howard/Ohio University of “born again’ Christians, about 60% answered a question about resurrection, stating that it was a bodily resurrection. The rest, just a spirit was resurrected. It should be 100% of Christians should know beyond a shadow of a doubt resurrection is bodily.

It turns out many if not most of congregations are not taught about resurrection; the fact of resurrection has devolved into a belief like that of the Gnostics. Of course Secularists point out that Christians have “evolved” and don’t believe in bodily resurrection any more. From a book by Brian Innes Death and the Afterlife: “…current orthodox Christianity no longer holds to the belief in physical resurrection, preferring the concept of the eternal existence of the soul, although some creeds still cling to the old ideas.”

Of course the old ideas are traditional, orthodox Christianity, and any way to diminish those ideas is a good thing. Sadly, many people claiming to be Christians agree more and more with Secularists, and are less and less aware of scripture and the insights of the church fathers. 

Yet, in the face of all evidence. We celebrate Easter, that  there was the bodily resurrection of Christ. After His resurrection people touched Him, He talked, ate, drank, and on the road to Emmaus, Christ walked with the two men and was obviously at least semi-corporeal. We will have bodies like that when we are resurrected. 

There are a lot of ancient Greek words that were misunderstood or mistranslated that have (partially) led to this confusion of what resurrection entails. Words meaning the soul, and not the body, got mixed up. For example “psychikos” was translated to mean physical when in fact ancient Greek speakers understood it to mean soul. It just became a mess.

I had read that at one time Pastors were more local theologians, personal theologians to their congregations. It got to be the Pastors ended up doing a lot of home visitations, taking care of church business and the like, that they were having to keep paring back their religious studies. That was the main contributor to the formation of the Diaconate; to free up the Pastor for the important thing, the religion. Keep the main thing the main thing if you will. Would that Pastors could go back to being local theologians, and maybe we wouldn’t have guys like Baptist Arthur Travis giving out wrong information. I hear what a lot of Pastors are saying and doing, and just get flummoxed. I’m just a layman, and good grief, there are so many Pastors violating scripture in deed and speech and what they teach.

Between incorrect translations, secular influence, congregations that have not been correctly taught, the pressure on Pastors, what resurrection really is has been distorted so much it doesn’t bear much resemblance to what it really is.

When I look at the bodily resurrection of Christ, and all the things Paul said about resurrection, it cements absolutely that we have a body after death. Heaven is a place God has designed, not for just spiritual beings to float around, but there still are challenges and growth, always growing closer to God, but when bodily resurrected, we will be in His presence. There is a plan and a purpose in heaven, and resurrected bodies to accomplish God’s purpose, joy and glory for all eternity. 

Monsters, Gnats, and the Path of Least Resistance

We hear buzzing, knowing it’s far off, of no consequence, yet we focus on it. Overhead is the giant paw of a monster, and we’re aware of it. Yet we choose to ignore it. Sometimes the gnat is the focus of all the people around us. Sometimes we choose to focus on it of our own volition. We don’t want to recognize that giant paw in our personal lives either.

I take a look at what’s happening politically. We have a president and his Party that focuses on vaginas. Sex. Abortion. Contraception. A totally fabricated war on women. That’s the gnat. The monster whose paw we’re aware of and whose hot breath we can feel on our collective neck is the rise of terror which is dismissed in a barrage of euphemisms and apologetics, terrorists and diseases coming across open borders with the attendant humanitarian crises, over ninety million people out of work but not counted because their unemployment payments have run out, record number of people on food stamps, Russia making serious threats to the security of Europe and the world, China able to crumble our economy with the snap of its communist fingers, and cyber-attacks on both our military and civilian computer run infrastructure. Our national debt plus unfunded liabilities bring us very close to the limit of the total value of everything in this country. Plus, of course, anti-Semitism not only tolerated in Europe, but here in the US and supported by Jews. That last especially stuns me.

Not important; any of it. What’s important is that gnat. Vaginas, pay equality, and most recently, “free” junior college, and calling names, throwing insults at people that say, “Hey, we better pay attention to this monster”!

What or who is the big gnat, the evil in this country? Conservatives, Christians (more dangerous and evil as terrorists whose religion of death and destruction, but we better not say that of Islamofacists), TEA Party members, people that think the US Constitution is good law and should be followed, combat experienced vets. What’s good is abortion, the race industry (what Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton do) having open borders, protecting Hamas, PLO, ISIS, Muslim Brotherhood, and supporting the destruction of Israel and the attendant anti-Semitism. Heterosexual marriage is evil, homosexual marriage good. Hating the successful is good, unless the successful (wealthy) got that way through entertainment or corrupt politics. 

At the personal level, we find that far away gnat. Instead of expressing to someone how much they irritate us we take it out on some unsuspecting soul. Then they think, what the hell is wrong with him? They won’t say anything either. Then at work, if you’re in a position of authority, you find who you can rely on. Why take grief from a belligerent whiner when you can reliably and seamlessly get the job done by selecting the same people you know, regardless of the stress or unhappiness it causes them, will uncomplainingly get the job done. 

In church, we fall so short of our religion. There’s the power plays, the undermining, the badmouthing. There though, it’s expected the other cheek to be turned. The bad actors get a pass and the good guys get marginalized. This is of course an overstatement; just making the point. One would think we can escape the focus on the gnat, and support one another battling the giant in the room. Dare I say it? The Enemy. Our environment, planet, world, institutions and all the rest are the playground of Satan.

We have the gnat on entertainment (I’m guilty of overindulging too), the gnat of not communicating, of focusing on the buzz on no consequence.

The monster is breathing down our necks is roaring and we choose not to acknowledge it. What kind of men and women does this make us? 

Small Advocacy Groups Turning World On Its Head, & It's Not a Good Thing

Pondering our upside down world, where homosexuals are exalted over heterosexuals, where living alone or cohabitating is exalted over traditional marriage, where having the State raise kids (send to school, get fed, propagandized, indoctrinated, inoculated, suffocated, anything but educated), lip service paid to military service while undercutting them though PC social programs and underfunding and underpaying the people, where the secular is exalted over the religious, where Islam is exalted over Christianity.

Then I think, how is it possible that the gay population, about 3% of us, have gained so much control over how we speak, how much pop culture is controlled by that small amount of folks. How is it Blacks, about 12% of us, control how we speak, how much of our pop culture and politics are controlled by that small of a segment of the population. Most of our population, over 85% identify ourselves a Christians, yet a few percent of atheists and secularists are getting crosses torn down all over the country, Ten Commandments getting torn down, the government forcing religious institutions to violate centuries old beliefs and principles and forced to comply upon threat of jail, fines, or both. Small groups, huge impact, totalitarian mindset.

Mostly because the rest are regular folks going about the business of working, paying bills, having relationships and kids the traditional way, and those cares outweigh the eroding of what has traditionally worked over the centuries. Most just don't glam on to a cause; environmentalism, sexism, feminism, socialism, Marxism, racism (blacks' notion if you're white you're privileged and a racist by definition), secularism, atheism and all the rest. It's deconstruction. It's easier to tear down than to build up, and from there not just maintain but improve.

It's easier too to engage in labeling, stereotyping, and name calling than to apply what works: communication, tolerance, acceptance, forgiveness. The things all the advocacy groups mentioned above have in common is just that. If you disagree with gays, you're a homophobe, with Blacks you're a racist, if secularist or atheist you're intolerant, a bigot and forcing your [Christian] beliefs on others. The opposite of course is true. The racism, hatred, bigotry, labeling, stereotyping, intolerance is emanating from those advocacy groups. BTW, if you point out to environmentalists 'global warming' is not supported by any true science, you're a "denier". That of course is to put you in the category of being a holocaust denier. See how it works?

Going back to the 6th Century, how is it Christianity was the most powerful force throughout the Middle East, bringing charity, hope, love, institutions to heal the sick and wounded and helpless, was replaced by a top down brutal genocidal, totalitarian "religion" that advocated the murder of those that did not then, and now do not agree with them. We're going to allow that again, except now in this country, in Western Civilization? And now a small group in this country that for some reason reject the Christian principals and actions that, based on Judeo-Christian scripture, are the best, proven guide, for successful government and personally successful lives, are advocating for Islam over Christianity and totalitarianism over democracy.

I have this suggestion for Christians. Many of us bemoan the weakening of our Religion, the values and the attack on behaviors that work with a 100% success rate when applied. Take a page from the 3%, the 12%, the small groups that have had a profoundly powerful effect on us, on Western Civilization, and speak up, push back, and educate. Jesus gave us the Great Commission. We just aren't doing it. Take a note from the Apostle Paul. He never backed down one bit even after beaten, stoned, imprisoned.

Talk about your faith at work. Talk about it a gatherings and parties. Talk about it at political gatherings. Live it too; that's the biggest witness. See, the effect would be bigger than all the small advocacy groups accomplish through hatred, lies and bullying. Christians have the guide, the historical personal histories to model after. We have what the advocacy groups don't: love, faith, hope, charity. They do it the wrong way, and look how successful they've been. Think about engaging and doing it the right way.

The Great Commission. Previous thoughts here, here, here. 

Christian Persecution Supported by the President

Sometimes I just have to withdraw from making any comments about events. Everything that's wrong with economics, culture, politics, religion is praised and promoted, and what's right is demonized.

We have a president, in regards to religion, making pro Palestinian/Islamist statements of support, caustically comments on Jews and Israel,  and makes personal attacks on Israel's prime minister. He's silent on the slaughter of Christians in the Middle East, most especially by the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt who recently destroyed St Mark Cathedral. It's as important to the Copts as the Vatican is for Catholics. It's also hugely important to millions of Christians worldwide. It was attacked by regular people, and the military, instead of protecting the site, joined in and gunned down Christians that were there. Not a word by the Obama administration. The only word I've heard from them is the plan to go ahead with sending fighter jets, tanks and weapons to the Muslim Brotherhood, which have set up a murderous dictatorship.

Sadly, but not unexpectedly, the Leftist Jurassic Press downplayed this destruction and slaughter, and Reuters (the new international Pravda) tried to lay blame at the feet of the Copts, calling them a "fringe" element, “an angry young fringe … of Christianity may also be turning to violence". Copts make up 12%-15% of the Egyptian population. A fringe element?  Tens of thousands have fled to save their lives, and their homes and churches are burned to the ground, usually with people in them.

American Christian pastor Saeed Abedini has been imprisoned, beaten and tortured only because he's a Christian. Not a peep (well, maybe some small peeps) from the Obama administration or his State Department. The attempt to deal with this is so weak as to be no attempt at all.

Coming back to our shores, the persecution of Christians continues, fortunately without the violence. If Obama were the Christian he claims he is, he would be using the presidential bully pulpit to speak against these things. Instead he promotes and allows his atheist\secularist fellow travelers to bully Christians. Not only is he silent on the persecution of Christians, he endorses it. An instructor at a reserve Army training facility in Pennsylvania classified Christians, specifically Evangelicals, as religious extremists, equivalent to Al Qaeda, Hamas and the KKK.. Catholics were included in the list of religious extremists. Seriously?  Of course this administration, the Army and Department of Defense pleaded ignorance. Still haven't heard the administration respond. Then again, it's against Christians, so I'm not holding my breath.

Obama, further using the military to persecute Christians, has appointed Mike Weinstein as a Pentagon Adviser on matters of “religious toleration.” Weinstein is an anti Christian bigot, that has reinterpreted the freedom of religion establishment clause to mean freedom from religion and throws up the false separation of church and state. It doesn't exist, no such thing is in the Constitution. Weinstein is the founder and president of the anti Christian hate group and President of The Military Religious Freedom Foundation.

Weinstein told Defense Secretary Hagel and the Washington Post: “This is a national security threat. What is happening…is spiritual rape and what the Pentagon needs to understand is that it is sedition and treason.  It should be punished.”

Weinstein wants anyone serving in the military to be court-martialed if they talk about their Faith to anyone. Re-read what I've italicized;  that anyone speaking of their faith is guilty of sedition and treason, acts that are punishable by imprisonment or execution. Seriously? The military is controlled by the commander in chief, and not one word of this has been addressed by him. Not going out on a limb here, but if such a charge were launched against Islamists, he'd knock it down immediately

Another word about Weinstein.  In 2011 he sued to stop Air Force Cadets participating in Operation Christmas Child because the project is Franklin Graham project. There were Christian cadets asking for donations for poor children, and that was unacceptable because Graham is an evangelical, and therefore an extremist and anti Constitutional. Really, that coming from a knucklehead that says the establishment clause says freedom "from" religion, not that the government can't establish a religion you must practice and be a member of. Since Obama and the Dept of Defense have not spoken against this, I can only assume they must, once again, support the persecution of Christians. Weinstein has called Christians "monsters". He's in charge of forming "religious toleration" policies for the military. Denying food and gifts to poor children because of anti Christian bigotry, intolerance and hatred.

In Texas, at Columbus High School, runner Derrick Hayes won his race, pointed to the sky, and was disqualified, it being deemed a religious gesture and "excessive celebration".  Seriously? Another example of Christian persecution. Of course if an Islamist runner turned and kneeled to Mecca and gave thanks, nothing would have been done.  The centralized Dept of Education supported no praying at high school football games, so I can only assume they support this anti Christian ruling too.

We have a president and his cabinet that supports anti Christian foreign and domestic policy, along with his political party and their supporters, the Main Stream Press.

Christian Tim Tebow has practically been driven from his career in football, but a guy that comes out as gay is celebrated for about two weeks now. Obama reached out and called the gay guy.

Religious  history proves that whenever God is denied by a people, that nation collapses into slavery to the State, dictatorships, no liberty of any sort.

Apostle Paul's Suffering and Our Christian Lives Now

Paul's Jail Cell in Philippi

Tonight we're reading in 2nd Corinthians, where the Apostle Paul is taking some pretenders to task. Some preachers and self described apostles have moved in on the church he had founded, and were teaching lies for personal  profit and gain. Paul is reduced to exposing them by defending himself, the founder of the church. During the nearly three thousand miles of travel, mostly walking, and a lot of time on dangerous boats in dangerous waters, he suffered much.

While he was pushing back against these 'false apostles' he sums up his suffering. All what he went through to bring God's truth into pagan society, into Jewish culture and belief, is spread through much of the New Testament, so it's a bit diluted.  It's shocking to imagine the sacrifice, agony and pain of this magnitude when condensed like he does here.  

Take a listen:

Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? So am I.  Are they ministers of Christ?—I speak as a fool—I am more: in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often.  From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one.  Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep;  in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;  in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness—  besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble, and I do not burn with indignation?

 Beaten with rods, stoned and left for dead. The forty minus one lashings was was to avoid breaking the law's limitation of forty lashes. Five times he received this. What scaring his body had to have been covered with. I think of Christ's suffering, to absolve us of our sins, followed by Paul's sacrifice and suffering to lay the foundation of our Church.

We in turn live in luxury, and scarcely speak of what we believe, and know to be true. We personally are diminished by our lack, our church is diminished, those we could reach out and touch are diminished, our neighborhoods are diminished, our loved ones diminished, and it keeps going until our nation is diminished, and our world is diminished.

To have just a portion of Paul's passion for the Good News, for love of God, to so dedicate all my heart and all my soul, all my mind to Him. I'm so stressed and tired from work at the end of the day I just want to withdraw and be done; but so was Paul making tents and running his business. Yet he made the time, had the passion to speak, teach and pray. If we all could do a just a little more, just 2% a day more, loving God 2% more, loving others 2% more, praying just 2% more than the day before.

I pray for myself the discipline to do this, and pray for other Christians to speak their faith in public a little more, reach out a little more, love God a little more, be Christlike a little more, pray a little more. When we do it we don't get 39 lashes, stoned, beaten with rods, shipwrecked or imprisoned. It's got to be a heck of a lot easier than what Paul went through.

John Allen Jr. on Christian Persecution

This is a long piece on the persecution of Christians. Christians are the most persecuted religion in the world. It is or should be the most important issue facing Christians today.

http://youtu.be/Y3h8LsQGHrk

Democrats Mining the Religious "Field" for Votes

 The poll that shows more Democrats believe in UFO’s than God is one of my favorites. Coupled with the observation that one sees Democrat politicians in church mostly during campaigns, and mostly Black churches at that, is a telling tale.

Percolating in the Leftist media is the idea that part of the reason for the massive loss this past election is the Dems didn’t reach out to faith groups. (Still denying the truth that citizens don’t want the government raising taxes [taking their earnings away] and telling them how to live their lives). They think that they didn’t “target” Faith groups as aggressively this election cycle as they did the last, and this was a major factor in the loss. Truly, they’re thinking this.

They point to polls showing progressive religious people stayed home and didn’t vote. Obama, who is religiously fluent and a committed Christian (truly, they think this) didn’t speak to the Faithful. That Obama is a committed Christian is an amazing observation. This is the guy that early in his administration traveled the Islamofacist countries of the Middle East praising Islam and dismissing Christianity, and even called the US a Muslim nation. On his current Jihad Jaunt in Asia he’s been praising Islam at every stop. He hasn’t said a word about the way Christians are being tortured and murdered in Iraq and significantly ignored the recent violence against Christians, by Muslims, in Indonesia. Good grief, he was right there, and this violence is very recent. Instead he called Islam, once again, a religion of peace and tolerance. Truly?

The Democrat Party has a group, the Eleison Group, a consulting firm, tasked with targeting Faith groups with a political end in mind. If a politician or political party needs a consulting group to create an image of being a religious, or caring about faith based issues, then it’s obviously insincere. True religious people speak of such things from the heart. They don’t need consultants.

The internal discussion of this issue is now about how the Democrats need to increase the funding and staffing of faith based political action organizations, so the Republicans don’t have that “field” to themselves.  Religion as a political field to be mined for votes.

When Republican and Conservative politicians make statements about their faith, they are mercilessly attacked by the Left and Democrat politicians for expressing such a thing. Just ask George Bush and Sarah Palin. Democrats are constantly whining about the separation of church and state (Christine O’Donnell was right, it’s not in the Constitution) and wanting to tax churches (which would destroy most of them).

Democrats, Liberals, Statists continue with their dishonesty in this, as they do with most things. Bash Christians in between elections and go to church during elections. Call Obama a “committed” Christian when all he’s done is be dismissive of Christianity, and having consulting groups advise how to veil their anti-Christian bigotry to trick people into voting for them.

They worship the State, and those damn Christians keep getting in the way with all those biblical values and are keeping everybody from worshipping the State too.

An UnChristian Christian and His Church

A knucklehead Christian Pastor, Terry Jones, and a knucklehead CNN anchor, Rick Sanchez, had this exchange about Jones's having a "Burn the Koran" day.

Two things here. The Secularists like to trot out these people to discredit Christians; or given Sanchez's 'follower of the prince of peace' self qualification, Christians that don't have a Liberal world view like his. The other thing is this Terry Jones guy is just wrong, and it hurts the Christian Community.

Since the embarrassing Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell and others like them are not front and center in the Secularist media, they have no one to hold up to prove their incorrect, intolerant, bigoted view of Christians.

Where did CNN dig this Terry Jones guy up? I spend a lot of time reviewing stories on religion, specifically Christianity, and I've never heard of him or his church, "Dove World Outreach Center". Here's the first paragraph of their mission statement:

Our purpose and our goal here at Dove World Outreach Center is to get people to stand up. We, as the church, need to stand up for righteousness and for the truth of the Bible. That truth is not only love, healing and prosperity, but it is also about getting up. It is not about being entertained on Sunday morning, but about being equipped to do the work of the service: motivating, equipping to get up, organize, and show the world that there is a true and living church.

It's a small Florida organization, and from what I can tell it's about protests and intolerance. Big anti-homosexual stuff. Not too much Christian on their site. This group is going down the hateful path of Westboro Baptist, that does much of the same thing. Big on the homosexual stuff. They're the ones that protest outside military funerals to and have hateful anti-American, anti military signs and slogans. Lots of hate there.

Not a word here about Christ's Love, His Sacrifice, salvation, worship, fellowship, or service. Those are pretty much the foundation of any church, or should be.

Compare to the statement of purpose of my church, First Christian Church Las Vegas:

The purpose of this congregation shall be to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ as revealed in the New Testament, to invite and welcome people to faith in Jesus Christ, to encourage their active commitment, to help them grow in the grace and
knowledge of Christ so that they may increasingly know and do His will, and to work for the unity of all Christians and with them engage in the common task of building the Kingdom of God.

You won't see any pastor of a church like ours on CNN or Rick Sanchez's show, or any other major Jurassic News outlet. The least damaging pastor you'll see is Joel Osteen, but you don't see him on secular new shows talking about Christ and salvation and service. He preaches 'prosperity Christianity', about how God wants you to be successful and financially secure. He's a motivational speaker using Christianity in a marginal way as his foundation. Olsteen at least does little damage to the Christian community; maybe he even obliquely helps because through him some might actually get introduced to what Christianity is really about.

Christians must be quick to denounce guys like this. I have my little blog here, but there needs to be a big media Christian voice out there to follow up when the Jurassic Press trots these guys like Terry Jones and Westboro Baptist to insult and embarrass Christians. You'll never see them bring someone on when Christians are insulted to defend the Faith. Regarding the coverage of Christians in the Jurassic Press, it's a one way street called bigotry with the crossroad of intolerance.

Lemons, Atheists, and the Establishment Clause

The unenforceable and mostly ignored "National Day of Prayer" was declared unconstitutional by U.S. District Judge Barbara B. Crabb this past week. This is a wet dream come true for militant atheists. If it goes to the Supreme Court, it'll probably get overturned though. It could be overturned by the 7th Circuit, but the judges there are, for the most part, anti-Christian bigots and secularists that have no use for the Constitution.

I love this line from Mathew Staver, president of Liberty Counsel and dean of the Liberty University School of Law in Lynchburg, Va., “If the National Day of Prayer is unconstitutional, then the Constitution itself if unconstitutional.”

Even Obama, who in his first year of office ignored the day, as have many presidents in the past, saying it's ceremonial and is just “acknowledgment of the role of religion in American life”. Militant atheists and their secular fellow travelers must drive religion out because only then can the power of the State become absolute.

While researching this unconstitutional ruling against what's in the Constitution's Establishment Clause, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.” I came upon the "Lemon Test".

Militant atheists and their secular friends want the clause to mean that there can be no religion shown in the public square at all. In a recent debate on Facebook, one of my opponents said religion should be made illegal. So much for freedom of expression and freedom of religion, but Statists have to get rid of the Constitution along with religion.

Since Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971), there has been a application, a test, questions written by Chief Justice Warren Burger for the majority opinion.
They are:

The government's action must have a secular legislative purpose;

The government's action must not have the primary effect of either advancing or inhibiting religion;

The government's action must not result in an "excessive government entanglement" with religion.

These questions have been a solid legal guide for decades, and when applied to this National Prayer day ruling, it will have to be overturned. Unless of course, Obama's new Justice is sworn in, then the Constitution and the rule of law pretty much goes out the window for about a generation, if not forever. Then the secularist will have the individual beholden to the State in all things, and constitutional democracy will have seen its day. Atheism is a religion by the way. The Supremes have said so. Makes sense; they have faith there is no God, they (the militant ones anyway) proselytize, and go to meetings to support each other.

Thing is, since I'm a Christian, I hang out with a lot of similar thinking people as myself, and I've never had conversations saying the equivalent hateful things, and lies, about atheists and secularists than what they say about us. If the subject comes up at all, it's about their attacks on us, their intolerance and bigotry, and how to protect ourselves. One way, is to embrace the traditions that grew this country to be the most successful in human history, and the other is to obey the rule of law set forth in the Constitution. Atheists and secularists reject both.

Anti Christian Bigotry Seeps Into the Heartland

Even though a review of history shows beyond a doubt that this country, based on Judaic-Christian principles, is the most successful in terms of the material wealth, liberty, security, safety, and spiritual health than any other nation ever, and that secularist, socialist countries have a 100% failure rate, there are those in this country that still want to abolish all religion and religious principles.

The purpose is to replace religion as traditionally experienced, with the State. The State must do this, because it needs to create a vacuum so it can insert itself more effectively into the lives of citizens. They must change morality coming from God to morality coming from the State. They use "separation of Church and State" as the foundation of their argument. I don't see where non-Christian citizens are forced by Christians or government to observe Good Friday, or Christmas, or Easter. This is a Judaic-Christian, religious society, and these holidays are a reminder of that. Getting rid of them helps sever that and complete the imposition of a Secularist government. One has to obey the State under penalty and prosecution. God gives people a choice whether to obey or not. I prefer choice.

In the city of Davenport, Iowa, their Civil Rights Commission made a motion to change the name of "Good Friday" to "Spring Holiday". This was, of course, to impose State Morality on citizens in the name of "diversity". Good Friday is extremely important for Christians, at the core of our beliefs. The State's attempt to deny it creates diversity? When the Chair of the Commission was asked why he didn't abolish Christmas, his lame response was that several other 'diverse' groups celebrate Christmas. What? He couldn't name one, since that's a holiday, Holy Day, for Christians.

Something Statists don't like is not getting their own way, it's all about them. They use "civil rights" now to impose their agenda of obedience to the State. The founders and people of that time all recognized Good Friday, and changing that tradition to what anti Christian Secularists want, and excluding it, shows just how intolerant and self centered the Left is.

That this happened in the Midwest is astonishing. I would expect it in New York or California. Fortunately this decision was rejected by the citizens, but the secular Statists will be back.

Mr. Obama, What About the Christians of the Middle East? by Paul Batou

This is from an editorial by an Iraqi ex patriot about the plight of Christians in the Middle East, published by the Assyrian International News Agency. It doesn't look good, especially since the president of the United States has shown more support for Islam than Christianity. You can read the whole editorial here.

Some of the acts of violence committed as reported by the Assyrian International News Agency:

"*A two month infant was kidnapped, beheaded, roasted, and returned to his parents.
*14 year old Ayad Tariq was considered a "dirty Christian sinner" and decapitated.
*Fr. Paulos Iskander (Paul Alexander) was kidnapped, beheaded and dismembered.
*Five priests were kidnapped and released after ransom was paid. Five other priests and three deacons were murdered.
*59 churches were attacked or bombed since June 2004: 40 in Baghdad, 13 in Mosul, 5 in Kirkuk and 1 in Ramadi.
*At least 13 young women were abducted and raped, causing some of them to commit suicide.
*Female students were targeted in Basra and Mosul for not wearing veils; some had nitric acid squirted onto their faces. Elders of a village in Mosul were warned not to send females to universities.
*Mahdi Army circulated a letter warning all Christian women to veil themselves.
*Christian businesses were targeted. 95% of liquor stores were attacked, defaced or bombed. 500 Assyrian shops in a Dora market were burned in one night
*Children were kidnapped and forcibly transferred to Arabs and Kurdish families.
*Property was confiscated by Kurds in the North and in the south by Shiites and Sunnis.
*Kurdish authorities forced public works projects to divert water and other vital resources from Assyrian Villages to Kurdish villages.
*While the Arabs protest for one Muslim killed in Europe, they are silent for what happen to the Christians of Iraq, the people of Darfur, or the Coptic in Egypt."

"Yes Mr. President, I did like your message to the Arab world in Cairo. I am not against your action of praising Islam or the Quran, but you failed to address their oppression against non-Arabs or non-Muslims who live in the Middle East. We build 12,000 Mosques in the United States, and many thousands more in Europe, yet not one church is allowed in Saudi Arabia. Mr. President, you failed to ask why. I know the answer, because we are infidels and forbidden in their land."

I don't know how many times I've heard Christophobes in this country and Europe say that Christians are just as bad as Muslims wanting to impose their views and morality on others. I'm just as appalled as anyone else with the headlines of Christians stoning people to death, beheadings and beatings of nonChristians in America and Europe.

Christian Terrorists!!!

After I saw the satirical movie "An American Carol", I was commenting to a liberal, non-Christian friend about a funny scene of people going through all the security hassles at the airport, shoes off, metal detectors, extra waiting in line, profiling, the whole security drill, and blaming it on the terrorism of Christian fundamentalists. My throw away comment was the nonsensical and patently untrue observation that Christian fundamentalists are just as threatening as Islamic fundamentalists. She commented back, with seriousness, that Christian fundamentalists were as dangerous and threatening. I'm sick of hearing it. I hear and read it in many media outlets. Christians may have a few nutty cults that usually isolate themselves from society, and a few loopy preachers that make wacky comments. Remember these?


1. 1968 Bobby Kennedy was shot and killed by a Muslim male extremist.

2. In 1972 at the Munich Olympics, athletes were kidnapped and massacred by Muslim male extremists.

3. In 1979, the US embassy in Iran was taken over by Muslim male extremists.

4. During the 1980's a number of Americans were kidnapped in Lebanon by Muslim male extremists.

5. In 1983, the US Marine barracks in Beirut was blown up by Muslim male extremists.

6. In 1985 the cruise ship Achille Lauro was hijacked and a 70 year old American passenger was murdered and thrown overboard in his wheelchair by Muslim male extremists.

7. In 1985 TWA flight 847 was hijacked at Athens, and a US Navy diver trying to rescue passengers was murdered by Muslim male extremists.

8. In 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 was bombed by Muslim male extremists.

9. In 1993 the World Trade Center was bombed the first time by Muslim male extremists.

10. In 1998, the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania were bombed by Muslim male extremists.

11. On 9/11/01, four airliners were hijacked; two were used as missiles to take down the World Trade Centers and of the remaining two, one crashed into the US Pentagon and the other was diverted and crashed by the passengers. Thousands of people were killed by Muslim male extremists.

12. In 2002 the United States fought a war in Afghanistan against Muslim male extremists.

13. In 2002 reporter Daniel Pearl was kidnapped and murdered by-- you guessed it-- Muslim male extremists.

What do we do? Ensure we Americans never offend anyone, particularly fanatics' intent on killing us, airport security screeners aren't allowed to profile certain people... Absolutely No Profiling!

They conduct random searches of 80-year-old women, little kids, airline pilots with proper identification, secret agents who are members of the President's security detail, 85-y ear old Congressmen with metal hips, and Medal of Honor winner and former Governor Joe Foss, but leave Muslim Males alone lest they be guilty of profiling.



Can I hear from any of my non-Christian, secular friends, or liberals, about the same acts of violence by Christian fundamentalists? I doubt it. I'll take a loopy preacher any day.