Tuesday
WHILE AMERICA SLEPT
THIS SEEMS TO BE THE TIME IN OUR
NATION'S HISTORY TO RECALL THE
TERM: "WHILE AMERICA SLEPT"
It was the title of a book and of a featured article
in a major weekly news magazine on on the 9/11
attack. . . the title of a incisive commentary by a
syndicated columnist on the war in Iraq . . . the
news headline for an Islamic attack on an American
family . . . and an evaluation of the upcoming
presidential election and how to deal with the threat
of terrorism: "While America Slept . . ."
But Hello -- America is still sleeping! The 9/11
attack is now 7 years old . . . the Iraq war goes on
. . . Islamists are still murdering Americans . . . no
one seems to know (or care) what the presidential
candidates will do about terrorism in general, and
Hezbollah in particular. But those are international
issues that we're dozing off about. There are some
purely national issues that are taking place, and we
don't seem to want to be awakened to face them.
There is the court decision in California, where by
a 4-3 vote judges overturned a vote of 61.4% of
the people of California, and declared same-sex
"marriage" is legal in California. The state's governor
put financial gain above the will of the people and
predicted a booming economy saying, "everyone
is going to come here and get married." (But
the marriage amendment to the state constitution
will be on the November ballot -- hopefully many
Christians will care enough to vote!)
Then there is last week's decree by the new
governor of New York state (where by statute
same-sex marriage is not permitted or recognized)
in which he directed that state agencies recognize
same-sex marriages from other jurisdictions. New
York homosexuals need not go through lengthy
residential requirements in the two states where
such marriages are permitted, but can just slip
across the border into Canada, get married and
return home to receive complete recognition if
their new status in New York state.
One other meaningful action while America slept,
was when the Governor of Colorado signed into
law a bill passed by the legislature (SB 200) which
blurs the distinctions between men and women by
making all public restrooms in the state "gender free."
To state it most clearly, anyone, regardless of their
biological identity, can use either the men's or
women's room.
And those are just three actions which have taken
place in the past few days. Perhaps the entire nation
is asleep . . . perhaps the churches of America are
ignoring their responsibilities . . . perhaps just we
Evangelicals are failing to fulfill our Lord's Great
Commission to go and preach and teach. We all
have the right, as American citizens, to demand
that our representatives -- Governors, Senators,
Congressmen -- observe the will of the people
who elected them. But if we remain asleep, and
do nothing to express our convictions to those
officials, we are going to see more of what this
nation was intended to be, taken away.
California updates: Last week we quoted the
governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, pointing to
the economic boom which the same-sex marriage
rule would create. He was right: a UCLA study,
reported in the Los Angeles Times, projects
same-sex marriages will generate as much as
$370 million in the state's economic activity in
the next three years.
the next three years.
And there are always the "polls." Some time ago
a LA Times poll reported that same-sex marriage
was opposed by the people by a 52%-41% margin.
Then followed a Field poll reported that 51% of
California residents approved the same-sex marriage
ruling. Now this week Capitol Research Institute
reports that a poll by ccAdvertising of Herendon,
VA showed traditional marriage (between one man
and one woman) favored 56.20% to 43.80%. One
further result, when asked if the election took place
today, would they vote for or against a marriage
amendment, 54% voted "for," and 35% "against."
"And the winner is!" That's how the presidential
primary finale should be reported. And it began to
look like that term might not be used until the close
of the Democrat party convention in Denver. But
then suddenly this week the race between Hillary
Clinton and Barack Obama was over. There were
divided wins in the 3 final votes -- Clinton won in
Puerto Rico and South Dakota; Obama won in
Montana. The delegates won in those states, plus
the endorsement of uncommitted "super delegates"
put Obama well past the 2,118 delegates needed
to clinch the nomination. Clinton's formal concession
is yet to come, but there are now two "presumptive"
candidates for the November election -- McCain
and Obama, and now the election battles really begin.
Not a Founding Father quote, but appropriate:
"Hillary Clinton was for the war on terror,
including in Iraq, before she had to become
against it to attract her Code Pink feminazi core
for a White House bid. Barack Obama says he
would have been against it from the start, had
he been out of his political diapers at the time
those tough decisions had to be made. Both are
running on ideological hindsight and campaign
rhetoric." -- J.B. Williams, commentator and
columnist writing in NewMediaJournal.us, 06/02/08
Some Random Afterthoughts . . .
Last week we advised you to take note of the
name Paul Eddy, an Anglican priest-in-training, who
is challenging the Church of England to increase their
evangelistic activity in view of the growth of Islam.
Now the Anglican Bishop of Rochester, Michael
Nazir-Ali, has said in the British political journal
"Standpoint," that the lack of Christian ideals in
England has created a "moral and spiritual
vacuum" that radical Islam seeks to fill. He charges
that political and church leaders are not embracing
traditional Christian values. Those two may start a
spiritual revolution (revival?) in Great Britain. They
have found a great need, and merit our prayers.
There is a benefit from the Gore hoax about
"Global Warming." One commentator suggested
that we assume that temperatures do get warmer
over the next 100 years by perhaps a couple of
degrees -- even though it has been cooling for the
past 10 years, and is likely to continue to cool for
the next decade. Under that assumption, here's the
benefit: take Greenland, for example. If that assumed
warming should take place, their local food supplies
would increase dramatically, and the end result there
and all over the world would be more food to feed
millions of people with much less expensive food.
However, Vaclav Klaus, the Czech President, in a
speech at the National Press Club in Washington
last week offered a warning in comparing Global
Warming and Communism: "Like their predecessors,
they will be certain that they have the right to
sacrifice man and his freedom to make their idea
reality. In the past it was in the name of the
Marxists or the proletariat. This time it is in the
name of the planet." Meantime, the U.S. Senate is
beginning debate on the Climate Security Act which,
if signed into law probably by the next President,
would reduce global warming emissions by 65% by
2050. It probably qualifies for inclusion in the "While
America Slept" category.
We have heard much about Iraqi Christians by
the thousands being forced to flee their homeland
due to Islamic attacks; church buildings burned or
destroyed. Although Christians make up only 5%
of Iraq's total population, they represent 40% of
refugees fleeing the country. It is estimated that well
over half of Iraq's Christians have fled. But there is
another religious tragedy taking place in Iraq. A
while back Iraqi Jews numbered about 130,000.
Today reliable estimates put the total number of
Jews remaining in Baghdad at 7 or 8. Yet this
land was an important locale for much of our Old
Testament history.
Wise, not-to-be-forgotten words: "Those who
do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it."
-- George Santayana, 1935
Subscribe to Posts [Atom]
