Wednesday
THE PROBLEM IS WHERE TO START?
October 26, 2011 of our 9th consecutive year of publication
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
A thought for today, for this week, and for the weeks to come:
"Christians are people of the foundations — the foundational Truths of
God’s Word and the foundations of America’s evident,
but often disregarded, Christian heritage."
-- Jonathan Falwell, son of Dr. Jerry Falwell
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
THE DEATH OF GADDAFI ... THE ANNOUNCED WITHDRAWAL
FROM IRAQ... THE U.N. THREAT TO ISRAEL ... THE SPREAD
OF THE "OCCUPY" MOBS MOVEMENT ... THE MORMON
QUESTION ... THE PROBLEM IS WHERE TO START?
It is possible -- not likely -- but possible that we of this generation have never
faced so many serious problems in current events at one time. But any one of
these several problems has the potential for involvement with the Christian faith.
For example, consider the "Occupy Wall Street" protest which began in New
York City, and has now spread to over 100 cities in 90 countries. Aside from
extremely violent outbursts in Rome, with many injured and extensive property
damage, the protests have been relatively peaceful and have involved only
few arrests. However, Douglas Schoen, reporting in the Wall Street Journal on
a poll of the leadership at Succcotti Park, the New York base camp, disclosed,
that 31% would resort to violence to advance their agenda. Meantime, that
quarter of a million dollars in available funds that we mentioned last week, has
reportedly now passed $500,000 as donations continue to pour in.
With the movement already enjoying the support of President Obama, Vice
President Biden, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, former president Clinton,
the American Nazi party and the Communist party, last week they picked up
additional support as CAIR (Conference on American Islamic Relations), an
organization with strong ties to terrorist networks, moved in to show support
for the "Occupy" movement, and turned the park into an open-air mosque for
a Friday prayer service with the sermon on Islamic justice delivered by Imam
Aiyub Abdul Baki.
Somewhat in contrast was the report that historic St. Paul's cathedral in London
closed its doors last week after an encampment of Occupy Wall Street protesters
blocked the entrances. The protesters had been encamped on the cathedral square
since Rev. Giles Frazer spoke in support of the protests. This was the first time the
cathedral had closed its doors since 1940, in the midst of World War II, when an
unexploded bomb was found in the square.
The end goal, the results of this movement, are not yet in sight, but given the extent
of its support, the potential and the implications are not something we want to see.
And now, in this pre-election year, the Mormon question has been raised.
This is not a class in religious history, but essentially there are 3 religions active in
the world today: Christianity, Islam and Mormonism. Christianity, we understand;
it relates to historic Hebrew roots, is based on the life, death and resurrection of
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and its truths come to us through the ancient
Scriptures which we refer to as the Holy Bible, the Word of God. It has been the
world's leading religious faith since the beginning of this age, for we measure all
time by the life of its founder, Jesus Christ.
Islam and Mormonism have much in common. Both were created by men hundreds
of years after the life and ministry of Jesus Christ; Islam by a self-proclaimed
"prophet" called Mohammad; Mormonism by a self-proclaimed "prophet" called
Joseph Smith. Both have a book of rules written by those founders; Islam calls its
book the Quran; Mormonism calls its book the Book of Mormon.
The similarity doesn't end there. Both Islam and Mormonism deny the Trinity, and
that Jesus is the Son of God. Both deny the essential teachings of the Christian faith.
But a question about Mormonism has been raised because of the involvement of
some prominent political figures in this religion. Two of the Republican candidates
for the upcoming presidential election -- Jon Huntsman and Mitt Romney -- are
Mormons. Huntsman, in a May, 2011 interview on ABC News said, "I believe
in God. I'm a good Christian. I am very proud of my Mormon heritage. I am
Mormon." That's quite a broad choice.
Mitt Romney, not quite as frankly open about his faith, is a sixth generation member
of the Mormons ... served 30 months as a Mormon missionary in France, was
graduated from Brigham Young University and was married in the Mormon Temple
in Salt Lake City. The other nationally prominent Mormon political figure is Harry
Reid (D, NV), Majority Leader in the Senate, who recently said of his fellow-
Mormon, Mitt Romney, "Here's a man who doesn't know who he is."
To step aside from political wranglings, here are a few thoughts from one of our
nation's most respected Christian theologians, Dr. R. Albert Mohler, President,
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary: "Mormonism does not claim to be just
another denomination of Christianity .... and it clearly identifies Christianity
as a false faith ... take Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism, at his word
when he claimed that true Christianity did not exist from the time of the
Apostles until the re-establishment of the Aaronic and Melchizedek
priesthoods on May 15, 1829...Mormonism starts with an understanding of
God that rejects the Christian doctrine of the Trinity. The Mormon concept
of God includes many gods, not one. Furthermore...Mormonism rejects the
Bible as the sole and sufficient authority for the faith, and insists that The
Book of Mormon and other authoritative Latter-Day Saints writings
constitute God’s final revelation."
U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq; another Obama credibility crisis? Over
the weekend Iraq's Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki, said that the U.S. troops
were leaving because Baghdad rejected American demands that any remaining
U.S. forces would be shielded from prosecution lawsuits. al-Maliki said, "When
the Americans asked for immunity, the Iraqi side answered that it was not
possible. ... the discussions over the number of trainers and the place of
training stopped ... the withdrawal has started."
The day before al-Maliki's comments, President Obama hailed the troops'
withdrawal as the result of his commitment promised shortly after taking office
in 2009, and is offered as proof that he keeps the promises he makes to the
American people.
Joel Rosenberg, in his Blog, summarized the situation well: "The White House
is leaving the playing field to an increasingly emboldened and dangerous
Islamic Republic of Iran. U.S. generals recommended keeping 10,000 to
15,000 American troops stationed on the ground in Iraq past the end of
2011 to continue helping the Iraqi strengthen their fragile young democracy
and prevent Iran meddling. However, the President's unwillingness or inability
to successfully negotiate with the Iraqi government to keep any U.S. military
forces in Iraq is already sending a signal to Tehran that Washington is even
weaker than they thought."
Amid all the events in the middle-East, the threat to Israel continues. The
goal of Israel's destruction, and removal from existence, as articulated so often by
Iranian President Ahmadinejad, takes on new meaning as the U.N. prepares to
bring the issue of recognition of the Palestine State to the Security Council. Dr.
Mike Evans of the Jerusalem Prayer Team expressed the problem well: "The
United Nations Security Council has scheduled a meeting for November 11,
and sources indicate the resolution for Palestinian statehood will likely be
voted on that day. Though the US has threatened to veto the measure, the
Palestinians hope to get the nine votes necessary for approval, forcing the
U.S. to step in to stop it. My sources in Israel fear that a US veto will be the
trigger for a new outbreak of violence and perhaps even full-scale war. Iran
has spent hundreds of millions arming Hezbollah and Hamas with advanced
weapons to use against the Jewish state." Our continuing count-down for prayer
(see below) must continue to include prayer for Israel, as in Psalm 122:6, "Pray
for the peace of Jerusalem."
The death, or assassination, of Gaddafi marks the end of an era that we can
understand, but the opening of an era whose nature we can only speculate about.
That he was an evil tyrant, who ruled for some 40 years, there is no doubt, but in
that regard he was different only in a matter of degrees from the other rulers in that
part of the world. The mythical vision of "democracy" which some Western leaders
pontificate about has little basis in reality. It has been said that "democracy" is just
another word for "mob rule," and the alternative term "mobocracy" seems to fit.
The most recent failure of the concept -- in Egypt -- has given way to the power
take-over by the Muslim Brotherhood. In Libya, the transitional government
leader, Mustafa Abdul-Jalil, has announced that Islamic Sharia law would be the
“basic source” of legislation in the country and that existing laws that contradict the
teachings of Islam would be nullified. It becomes a period of waiting for the "other
shoe to fall," and the latter state may well be worse than the former one.
The Presidential Prayer Team joins in a "Prayer Countdown" -- Welcome!
The Presidential Prayer Team made this announcement this past week: "In less
than two weeks we will launch Pray the Vote 2012 to once more lead our
nation in prayer heading into the primaries and the national election." We
began our Prayer Countdown to the 2012 Election Day on March 30, 2011, when
there were 587 days to pray. Now, some 210 days later, there are, as of this date,
377 days to pray before Election Day, Nov. 6, 2012. Last week our friend, Dr.
Gene Jeffries, reminded us of the need for prayer for the flooding in Thailand, and
this week that remains an urgent matter for prayer. Those floods may take 6 weeks
to recede, with more than 110,000 people displaced, and 700,000 out of work.
And Dr. Carl Moeller, president of Open Doors USA, asks, "Please pray with me
for a halt to the loss of lives of our brothers and sisters in Christ in Egypt...
Instead of more freedom since the end of the Hosni Mubarak regime in January,
Christians have been even more targeted by Muslim extremists." And, of course,
we must not fail to pray for our own nation and its leaders, and for God's wisdom as
we vote on Election Day.
Newspapers call it "Op Ed Page;" we call it "What Others Are Saying"
(This one has to take precedence . . .)
Rev. Bob Ritter (Nebo, NC pastor after personal meeting with Mr. Obama):
"This president's treated God like a spare tire ...When a crisis comes, we
pull God out of the trunk and we call for pastors ... we called for prayer
after 9/11, but then the sad thing is that when it all works, and God gives
our country peace of heart and protects us, since 9/11 we've put God back in
the trunk ... God's not a spare wheel; He's supposed to be the steering wheel."
Ann Coulter: "The worst thing about Occupy Wall Street is that it's
ruining a good cause: hating Wall Street. Just when opposing Wall Street
was gaining momentum, these brain-dead zombies are forcing us to choose
between thieving bankers and them."
(We have often spoken of Jesus' commands to be salt and light in our world.)
Jim Denison (Pres. Denison Forum): "How could your life make its largest
impact on our society? Pay the price to achieve that level of cultural
significance and live there as salt and light (Matt. 15:13-16) It doesn't take
much salt to flavor a meal or much light to illumine the dark."
Ryan Lizza (writing in the New Yorker): "Obama may be moving toward
something resembling a doctrine. One of his advisors described the
president's actions in Libya as 'leading from behind.'"
P.J. O'Rourke (Mencken Research Fellow at Cato Institute):"The good
news is that, according to the Obama administration, the rich will pay for
everything. The bad news is that, according to the Obama administration,
you're rich."
And there are these few "Afterthoughts" from our research this week . . .
An update for those who like to keep current on end-time predictions: Harold
Camping, who gained fame (or infamy) with his May 21 end of the world predictions,
was back with another erroneous guess that last Friday, Oct. 21 was the new date,
saying that he had miscalculated by 5 months. But he apparently miscalculated again.
His Family Radio network says that he has given up hosting his regular radio program.
We'll just have to await his next prediction . . .
Further news from the "Islamic terrorist" front: The D.C. based Daily Caller
reports that Deputy U.S. Attorney General James Cole has confirmed that the Obama
administration was pulling back all training materials used for law enforcement and
national security purposes in order to eliminate all references to Islam. Muslim Public
Affairs Council (MPAC) president Salam al-Marayati threatened the FBI with a total
cutoff of cooperation between American Muslims and law enforcement if the agency
failed to revise its law enforcement training materials, and al-Marayati demanded that
the Justice Department and the FBI “issue a clear and unequivocal apology to the
Muslim American community.” The puzzling corollary we continue to face is that
while it may be true that all Muslims are not terrorists -- all the terrorists who have
attacked us have been Muslims.
Concerning the latest outbreak of Joe Biden's "Foot in mouth disease."
In a series of tirades last week where he threatened that if Obama's jobs bill
were not passed, "Murder will continue to rise; rape will continue to rise; all
crime will continue to rise," Vice President Joe Biden once again raised the
question about there being no control over his outbursts. The Heritage Foundation
offered this comment: "If you listen to Vice President Joe Biden, the most
effective way to prevent rape and murder is more federal stimulus spending.
In the Vice President's defense, at least this is a new argument, considering
the others—jobs created, bridges built, energy generated—have all miserably
failed." And Robert Ringer, whom we often quote, added this evaluation: "As
liberals go, I actually had a touch of like for Joltin Joe Biden in his Senate days.
But since he got in bed with the Marxists in the Executive Branch, it's become
increasingly difficult to give him a pass. Even so, I feel compelled to cut Joe
some slack by blaming his maniacal remarks on mitigating circumstances:
He's a bona fide idiot." Others have suggested that his staff find that stolen Obama
teleprompter and insist that Joe use it.
Subscribe to Posts [Atom]
