Wednesday
The American News Commentary
Pro-Christian, Pro-American, Pro-Conservative
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~Vol. 18, No. 25 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ June 27, 2012 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ © 2012 ~
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A word on prayer from a great Christian philanthropist:
"I attribute a large part of my own formula for success
to the power of prayer in my daily life.
In fact, I begin all my share-holders' and
directors' meetings with prayer."
John Marks Templeton
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PRAYER HAS LONG BEEN A BASIC BELIEF AND A POSITION
OF LAST RESORT FOR INDIVIDUAL CHRISTIANS AND
FOR OUR NATION'S GOVERNMENTAL LEADERS
In our frequent -- every issue, in fact -- quotes from our nation's Founding Fathers
on their religious convictions, it has become evident that virtually every president
was at least a nominal Christian, and many were truly believers. Our first two
presidents, George Washington and John Adams, were open and definite in their
Christian beliefs and their reliance on prayer.
George Washington, in his inaugural message, the first in our nation's history, gave
this testimony as to the need for prayer: "It would be peculiarly improper to omit,
in this first official act, my fervent supplications to that Almighty Being who
rules over the universe, who presides in the councils of nations and whose
providential aide can supply every human defect, that His benediction may
consecrate to the liberties and happiness of the people of the United States."
And John Adams, after moving into the White House as the first resident of the
building, wrote this often quoted message: "I pray to heaven to bestow the best
of blessings on this house and all that hereafter inhabit it...May none but the
honest and wise men ever rule under this roof."
And through all the years, and all the presidents since Colonial times, up to
the current holder of that office, most of them have spoken of their own reliance on
prayer, and the need for God's blessing on our nation. Consider these examples:
Abraham Lincoln, in 1862: "I have been driven many times to my knees by the
overwhelming conviction that I had absolutely no other place to go."
John F. Kennedy, in 1963: "Let us earnestly and humbly pray that He will
continue to guide and sustain us in the great unfinished tasks of achieving
peace, justice, and understanding among all men and nations and of ending
misery and suffering wherever they exist."
Ronald Reagan, in 1986: "To preserve our blessed land we must look to God...
The time has come to turn to God and reassert our trust in Him for the
healing of America... Our country is in need of a spiritual renewal."
George H. W. Bush, in 1989: "My first act as President is a prayer...The Lord
our God be with us, as He was with our fathers; may He not leave us or
forsake us; so that He may incline our hearts to Him ... that all peoples of
the earth may know that the Lord is God; there is no other."
But if we look back to the formative days of our nation, there was a slightly
more aggressive voice raised. Lutheran Pastor Peter Muhlenberg, in a sermon at
Woodstock, VA, in 1776 said, "There is a time for all things, a time to preach
and a time to pray, but those times have passed away. There is a time to fight,
and that time has now come."
In Colonial times, the nation's churches, through their pastors, promulgated the
opinions and beliefs of the people into action by the leaders who became our
Founding Fathers. In this instance Pastor Muhlenberg's message contemplated the
obvious need for the war for independence which soon followed. In applying his
message to today's needs, we could alter his words slightly to produce this call:
"There is a time for action, and that time has now come."
That does not mean that the time for prayer and preaching has ended ... it means
that our prayers and the sermons from the nation's pulpits, should focus on the need
for the Church to become as active as Jesus said it would be. In His announcement
He said, "I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against
it" (Matt. 16:18). He foresaw an active Church, an aggressive Church that would
be so powerful that all the barricades the demons of hell could erect against its
onward march would fall.
And that is the militant Church that we need to see in action in this election year, as
we attack the moral decline which has been forced upon our nation by our present
leaders. Moral values -- which our Founding Fathers called "virtues" -- have been
passed over in the effort to demonstrate "progress" and "political correctness." As
in those Colonial times, the Church must once again take the lead, and speak out
on moral and spiritual issues. And yes -- that means Christians must become active
in political issues.
Catholic Archbishop Donald Wuerl of Washington, DC, said this week, "There is
a time to be on your knees ... there is also a time to stand up ... this is a time
to stand up for religious liberty."
Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel, expressed this critical need
as follows: "We are routinely witnessing events in this country that were once
considered unimaginable! Make no mistake: Our constitutional republic faces
a 'clear and present danger' ... In less than 5 months, Americans will be given
one more opportunity to turn the direction of this nation around... But we
must be engaged and mobilized. We must take back ground that we have lost
to liberal 'progressives' ... We must 'Take Back America in 2012'”!
ANC's "Prayer Countdown" continues, plus other emphases on prayer.
As of today there are 132 days until Nov. 6 -- Election Day, 2012. And as our
long running countdown continues of days to pray concerning what is probably the
most important election in our nation's history, we are joined by other planned and
organized prayer efforts. On this next Sunday, July 1, hundreds of thousands of
Christians in churches across America will share in special prayer services under
the Internet site: call2fall.com. And the U.S. Catholic bishop's campaign of prayer
for religious liberty, begun on June 21, will continue through Independence Day,
July 4.
Beyond our shores there is a continuing and urgent need for prayer which we must
not ignore. The international organization, Voice of the Martyrs, has this week
circulated urgent requests for prayer for persecuted churches, persecuted
pastors, and persecuted Christians in Muslim dominated countries throughout the
world.
As the problems of life today become more complex, it becomes more
important to keep informed as to "What Others Are Saying" . . .
Frmr. Sen. Rick Santorum: “Today, President Obama blatantly ignored our
Constitution, the role of Congress in making laws, and the separation of
powers. He showed us all that he believes he is above the Constitution
and the law on health care, marriage, religious freedom and now
immigration. President Obama’s ideology, his inability to lead and build
consensus, and his political self-interest guide his policies rather than the
public interest. The contribution of immigrants to our country is central to
our success, but so is the Constitution and the rule of law.”
David L. Goetsch (writing in Patriot Update: "Although they reject the
principles of our Founders, scoff at traditional American values, and
constantly criticize our country, liberals like to claim they don’t hate
America. Rather, they are just trying to re-mold it to fit their 'enlightened'
progressive agenda."
Stephen Stone (Pres. Renew America): "Jesus' first recorded words of
preaching were 'Repent ye, and believe the gospel' (Mark 1:15). There is no
more important message for America today as our nation moves inexorably --
by all appearances -- toward calamity and God's judgments, as a result of
our reliance on ourselves, rather than on Him. ... As we watch our nation's
moral and political strength dissipate and our options for turning things
around become fewer and fewer, we should ask ourselves: what can I
personally do that would make the most difference for the good of America?"
Barack Hussein Obama (POTUS on CNN): “There’s been a tendency on
the part of this [the George W. Bush] administration to try to hide behind
executive privilege, every time that there’s something a little shaky that’s
taking place, and the Administration would be best served by coming clean
on this, there doesn’t seem to be any national security issues involved...The
American people deserve to know what was going on there.”
Ann Coulter: "For as long as I can remember, liberals have been running
around in a state of indignation, shouting that the government is being taken
over by a dangerous band of religious fanatics who want to abolish the First
Amendment, establish a national religion, force their bizarre sexual morality
on children in public schools, rewrite the nation's laws to enforce their
personal moral preferences, and punish anyone who dissents from their views.
Unfortunately it's all true. That's precisely what liberals are trying to do."
The "One Liners" that we come across are always interesting . . .
Justice Antonin Scalia, longest serving Justice in the current U.S. Supreme Court:
"To say, as the Court does, that Arizona contradicts federal law by enforcing
immigration law that the president declines to enforce, boggles the mind."
Amil Imani, Iranian born, pro-democracy activist: "Islam is a brutal, tribal
warrior cult that glorifies jihad and martyrdom. The Quran is replete
with acts of murder, terrorism, and genocide."
Jody Miller, on Newsbusters: "Laughing at liberals is good for the soul."
The Heritage Foundation: "Today's presidency lacks the regal air of George
III. But imperialism is back, in a big way."
The Daily Caller: "Lunacy, thy name is Pelosi."
Judge Tim Garcia, New Mexico Appeals Court: “Homosexuals are a
protected class.”
Juan Williams, Liberal commentator; his callous comment on the murder of U.S.
Border Agent, Brian Terry: "Hey, people die."
Michelle Malkin: "'Forward!' may be the official Obama campaign slogan;
'Back Away!' is quickly becoming the dissenting Democrats' rallying cry."
Jessica Rudnicki, in Conservative Outpost: "All Venezuela’s dictator Hugo
Chávez ever wanted for America was a dictator just like him running the
show. And now we have one."
And, as always, there are a few "Afterthoughts" . . .
"Fast and Furious" will continue as a major news topic for at least a few
more days or probably weeks. Out of all the rhetoric, pro and con, Jack Marshall,
writing in Ethics Alarms, summarized it all in a very objective manner: "Fast and
Furious is a true scandal, not a trumped-up distraction, just as Watergate
wasn’t a 'third-rate burglary.' When the U.S. government intentionally allows
laws to be broken, secretly seeds violent crime in a neighboring country and
gets both foreigners and Americans killed as a result, that’s a scandal any
way you cut it. The U.S. Congress has an oversight role to play after such a
fiasco, and getting to the bottom of what went sour is its duty."
There will most certainly be much to comment on concerning Egypt, and
the newly elected president there . . . but for the moment there is this observation
from the Washington, DC Daily Caller: "Egypt’s newly elected President
Mohammed Morsi announced plans to restore diplomatic relations with
Tehran in an effort to 'create a strategic balance in the region,' according to
an interview published by Iran’s Far News Agency ... 'We must restore normal
relations with Iran based on shared interests, and expand areas of political
coordination and economic cooperation because this will create a balance of
pressure in the region,' Morsi said in the interview." [Which prompted this logical
comment: "Hmm, this doesn't exactly sound like something we should be
spending billions of dollars a year to support."]
Obama's fork wielding "Hispanophobia" ... An item from Breitbart News
the Main Stream Media seemed to miss: "Judging from Obama's actions a
this year's National Association of Latino Elected Officials (NALEO)
luncheon, Obama's newest fear is Latinos with forks. Obama had the Secret
Service confiscate all dinner forks from the participants at the June 22 event
held in Orlando, Florida." Some participants reported that even butter knives
were banned outright, and the forks were confiscated as soon as the diners finished
eating and before the president entered the room to speak.
In passing: This story headline in Huff Post, Comedy, caught our attention:
"Roseanne Barr To Be Roasted This August." [Now there's a thought it's best
not to follow through on.]
Concerning the ongoing immigration problems, after the Supreme Court's odd
5-3 vote on the Arizona law, President Obama's unilateral and dictatorial action in
granting new rights to nearly a million illegal immigrants brought into this country by
their parents, the matter remains a topic for intense discussion. Here are two of the
many comments which focus on some of the broader issues involved in his action.
From National Review: "On the subject of Obama's decision to unilaterally
enact sweeping changes to U.S. immigration policy on nothing but his own
say-so, we would like to introduce Barack Obama to Barack Obama, who
during a Univision interview just last year affirmed: 'America is a nation of
laws, which means I, as the president, am obligated to enforce the law. ...
There are enough laws on the books by Congress that are very clear in terms
of how we have to enforce our immigration system that for me to simply
through executive order ignore those congressional mandates would not
conform with my appropriate role as president.'" [Obviously, one of those
"I wish I had never said that" moments.]
And from Newt Gingrich, "If last Friday's dictatorial action by President
Obama is allowed to stand, historians may someday look back on June 15,
2012 as the day the Constitution died. The rule of law has been replaced
by Obamarule."
It always makes sense to remember our Founding Fathers' opinions.
"The whole of that Bill of Rights is a declaration of the right of the people at
large or considered as individuals... It establishes some rights of the individual
as unalienable and which consequently, no majority has a right to deprive them
of." -- Albert Gallatin, 1789
who have...a right, an indisputable, unalienable, indefeasible, divine right to
that most dreaded and envied kind of knowledge, I mean the character and
conduct of their rulers." -- John Adams, 1816
And that is the end of this week's issue of ANC. It is currently planned that
there will be a July 4 -- Independence Day -- issue next Wednesday, but beyond
that date the plans are somewhat vague. Like many other plans and programs,
ANC may fall a victim to the economic crisis America is facing. If you would like
for ANC to continue, please click HERE and send your contribution by check
or credit card to help keep ANC coming your way. Thank you.
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