Tuesday
UNDER ATTACK!
AN IMPORTANT -- AND UNUSUAL -- INTRODUCTORY WORD:
It was our announced intent to begin this "Vol. 17, No. 1" at the start of our
9th year of publication, with a new and improved format and design. Certain
obstacles to achieve that goal have arisen, and so we are continuing in the
usual format for this issue, and hopefully will be able to present the new and
improved format and design perhaps next week, or sometime. We appreciate
the patience, and the contnued loyalty of our readers . . . our friends.
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"My dream is of a place and a time where America will once again
be seen as the last best hope of earth."
-- President Abraham Lincoln, 1862
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THIS WEEK'S INTRODUCTORY COMMENTARY: This week has
featured the observance of Independence Day, the 4th of July, marking the
235th anniversary of the formal signing of the Declaration of Independence,
July 4, 1776, when our Founding Fathers pledged their Lives, their Fortunes
and their Sacred Honor in declaring this new nation to be free from England.
That date is conceivably the most important one in the history of the United
States of America -- yet it is a patriotic one, a secular one, and America (at
least until Barack Obama declared otherwise) has always been considered
to be a Christian nation. In 1837, John Quincy Adams, our 6th president,
spoke most eloquently of the uniting of the secular and sacred elements of
our history: "Is it not that, in the chain of human events, the birthday of
the nation is indissolubly linked with the birthday of the Savior?... Is it
not that the Declaration of Independence first organized the social
compact on the foundation of the Redeemer's mission upon earth? That
it laid the cornerstone of human government upon the first precepts of
Christianity?" Let us build on that principle in today's Commentary.
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AMERICA'S TWO FOUNDING DOCUMENTS ARE UNDER
ATTACK AS LIBERALS ATTEMPT TO DECLARE THEM
IRRELEVANT TO OUR NATION'S LIFE TODAY
We have just gotten through this year's observance of the 4th of July,
with all its celebration -- as John Adams wrote on July 3, 1776, the day
before the Declaration of Independence would be signed, this date
"ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shows, Games,
Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires, and Illuminations from one end of this
Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more."
Yet the central theme of this document, that all men "are endowed by
their Creator with certain unalienable rights" is all too frequently
misquoted, (recently by our president), and reference to our Creator
as the source of those blessings is ignored and not mentioned. The
Declaration also included the provision that governments are formed to
protect those unalienable rights of individuals. Yet, today, according to
a Rasmussen survey released last week, 53% of Americans believe that
the present federal government is more of a threat to individal rights than
it is a protector of them.
The one defining and regulating document for the new nation which was
being established by our Founding Fathers was the Constitution -- and
here, contrary to Great Britain which had no written constitution, those
men insisted upon a written constitution; as Thomas Paine commented:
"An unwritten constitution is not a constitution at all." Currently,
Mark Alexander, writing in Patriot Post: "Our Constitution is being
'unwritten' at an unprecendented pace. Obama has mounted a well-
organized and well-funded effort to 'fundamentally transform' our
nation ... by thus deconstructing our constitution."
Today there is a concerted effort by the Liberals to treat the Constitution
as a "living document," with no fixed meaning, and subject to changes in
interpretation according to the whims of the people of our day, and
altered to match the spirit of the tmes. Yet the Founding Fathers stated
in the preamble, that it was written "for ourselves and our Posterity."
Our nation has existed and has risen to greatness by relying on the written
words of the Constitution, and by the spirit and meaning of the men who
wrote it. Thus James Madison, our 4th president, wrote in 1824: "I
entirely concur in the propriety of resorting to the sense in which
the Constitution was accepted and ratified by the nation. In that
sense alone it is the legitimate Constitution...What a metamorphosis
would be produced in the code of law if all its ancient phraseology
were to be taken in its modern sense."
Among the other principles which we should always remember
is the fact that America has achieved greatness by its relationship with
the Judeo-Christian principles upon which it was founded, and which
the Founding Fatheers did not hesitate to incorporate into their plans
for this new nation. Thus, Bill Muhlenberg, head of Culture Watch, an
apoogetics/ethics ministrty, an American theological scholar now
ministering in Australia, wrote this week, "The Judeo-Christian
worldview was perhaps the most important element in the rise of
Western civilisation. Other factors can be mentioned, but without
the Biblical worldview and its impact, the West as we know it
would never have arisen." And yet he senses the alarm expressed
by Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver last week, "A new kind of
America is emerging in the early 21st century, and it's likely to be
much less friendly to religious faith than anything in the past."
We have often expressed our concern at the decline in moral values in
America, so evident in the trend toward the legalizing of homosexual
"marriage," in direct contradiction of God's laws and Christian tradition,
and the increased acceptance of abortion as a factor in our current life
style. As alarming as any other element of these trends has been the
repeated assertion -- even seeming to be a boast -- by President
Obama to the Islamic-Muslim civilization he so openly admires, that
America is no longer a Christian nation.
Internationally, our relationships are as uncertain as at home.
The Middle-East remains an area of strife and turmoil. The already
smouldering fuse that could erupt into explosive warfare is always
before us in Syria, Yemen, Tunisia and Lebanon . . . Obama's "non-
war" war continues in Libya . . . casualties mount in Afghanistan
. . . Pakistsan, with its nuclear arsenal, remains uncertain . . . and in
Egypt where we supported the so-called "democratic" revolt, last
week more than 1,000 protestors were injured in a single riot with
authorities. The Muslim Brotherhood moves ever closer to taking
control, and last week Secretary of State Clinton said the U.S. is
reaching out to the Muslim Brotherhood to build trust -- yet the
Brotherhood advocates Sharia Law, and is anti-Israel.
And don't lose sight of Israel and God's city Jerusalem. During
their annual military war games last week, Iran successfully test-fired
14 long range missiles capable of striking Israel and American military
bases in the iddle East. This demonstration of military power was
described by Iran's Commander Amir Ali Hajizadeh: "The range of
our missiles has been designed based on American bases in the
region as well as the Zionist regime." And we have learned that
Palestine intends to move ahead unilaterally in September to win
U.N. recognition of a state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East
Jerusalem. Thus they will be seeking U.N. permission to seize Israeli
land, including a divided Jerusalem. President Obama is apparently
considering abandoning any U.S. veto of the move, and Palestinian
President Mahmoud Abbas, last week said on Lebanese TV:
"President Obama says he wants to see an independent
Palestinian state by September."
Our responsibility remains the same: For our fellow Christian
believers all around the world, many of whom are experiencing
persecution and loss of life, homes and churches -- mostly from
Islamists . . . for those here at home who have suffered from the
weather disasters . . . for our nation and for its leaders . . . and for
God's direction as we face the opportunity to reclaim America in
Election Day, Nov. 6, 2012 . . . there are 489 days remaining in
which we can focus our prayers. "The effectual fervent prayer
of a righteous man availeth much." (James 5:16)
There are times when it helps to know What Others Are Saying
David Barton (writing in Wall Builders): "There is no title in the
Constitution except 'We the people.' If America remains righteous
it's because we, the people, demand that it remains righteous. But if
America ever goes wicked, it's because we, the people let it go
wicked. And it'll be we, the people, not our leaders, who'll answer
to God for the national wickedness, because the nation belongs to us."
Alan Caruba (founder, American Anxiety Center): "America is a
sovereign nation, a constitutional Republic that will celebrate the
235th anniversary of its declaration of independence in 1776 and
the 223rd anniversary of its Constitution which became effective
when the State of New Hampshire became the ninth State to ratify
it in 1788. By most indications it is a nation in its death throes. Its
original values and virtues are being jettisoned and that is always
a sign of internal rot."
Dr. Scott Lively (Defend the Family): "Another 'Gay Pride' month
is behind us, filled with gloating triumphalism and mockery of God
under the banner of His rainbow. Another state has fallen to their
activists. Another class of high school seniors has graduated with
heads crammed full of 'gay' propaganda."
Pat Buchanan: "Once a nation synonymous with freedom, the new
America worships at the altar of equality. In 2012, we shall find out
who is right politically, when the issue goes on the ballot in battle
ground states. But is moral truth to be discovered at a ballot box?
Do we have no superior moral compass than majority rule
And here are a few random "Afterthoughts" . . .
Say what? Just a few months after the U.N. finally decided to
suspend Libya's Muammar Qaddafi from membership in the Human
Rights Council, North Korea was named to head the world's
disarmament agency. Hillel Neuer, Executive Director of UN Watch,
commented, "It's like asking the fox to guard the chickens, and
damages the U.N.'s credibility."
He has made his mark in history. Timothy Geithner, Mr. Obama's
Secretary of the Treasury, and just about the last member of the
original Obama financial team, is apparently considering leaving his
post in the White House. And he has indeed made his mark: the
national debt accrued under his watch is greater than all the federal debt
accrued in the first 204 years of the nation's history. From January 26,
2009 to June 30, 2011, under Geithner the national debt increased by
$3.7 trillion dollars.
If statistics intrigue you, try these. He's been busy! During Obama's
first 2 1/2 years in office, the nation's unemployment has increased by
25%; the nation's debt has increased by 35%, and the price of gasoline
at the pump has increased by 104%. The president's approval ratings
continue at a low point, and on a broader scale, Vice President Joe
Biden has a 43% favorable performance rating, and 48% unfavorable;
Harry Reid has a 25% favorable rating, and 48% unfavorable; Nancy
Pelosi is the most disliked among leaders, with a 30% favorable rating
and 60% unfavorable. Among Republicans, Mitch McConnell breaks
even at 30% favorable and 30% unfavorable, and John Boehner is the
only one with a favorable margin, 37% favorable and 36% unfavorable.
And a NY Times/CBS News poll found that 39% believe that “the
current economic downturn is part of a long-term permanent
decline and the economy will never fully recover.” On June 8 a
CNN poll fund that 48% believe another Great Depression is likely.
America's church denominations are puzzling. Civil unions have
just become legal in Illinois, and more than 200 United Methodist
clergy have pledged to defy church policy and will bless unions of
same-sex couples. The Rev. Gregory Gross expressed it this way,
"The church has lost its prophetic voice on this issue. Our civil
society has taken the lead. Now the church is trying to catch up."
(What the main line churches need to do is "catch up" on their increased
membership losses.) Meanwhile, the United Church of Christ is deciding
on a resolution to offer support for neighbors in the Muslim community.
The more we study them, the more we are impressed by the
statements of our Founding Fathers.
"Let each citizen remember at the moment he is offering his vote
that he is not making a present or a compliment to please an
individual --or at least that he ought not so to do; but that he is
executing one of the most solemn trusts in human society for
which he is accountable to God and his country."
-- Samuel Adams, 1781
"Resistance to tyranny becomes the Christian and social duty of
each individual ... Continue steadfast and, with a proper sense
of your dependence on God, nobly defend those rights which
heaven gave, and no man ought to take from us."
-- John Hancock, 1774
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