The Paganism of the PCUSA?

 

The following is from OneNewsNow.com

PCUSA's 'gay' measures reflect 'modern paganism'

Associated Press - 7/11/2010 4:20:00 AM

MINNEAPOLIS - An Orthodox Church theologian who was invited to greet the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has criticized its approval of non-celibate homosexual clergy.

The Reverend Siarhei Hardun of Belarus said that vote and efforts to approve same-gender "marriage" looked to him like an attempt to "invent a new religion -- a sort of modern paganism."

"Christian morality is as old as Christianity itself. It doesn't need to be invented now," he said of attempts to create what he described as a "new morality."

Hardun added, "When people say that they are led and guided by the Holy Spirit to do it, I wonder if it is the same Holy Spirit that inspired the Bible."

The Orthodox priest's remarks drew applause from conservative Presbyterians who made similar arguments at the gathering in Minneapolis.

Technorati Tags: Christian,Christianity,gay,homosexuality,Presbyterian,PCUSA,heresy,pagan

Nancy Gets High on The Word

Nothing can ever be more profound than listening to a confirmed Progressive expound upon Biblical truths!

 

Technorati Tags: Bible,Word,Biblical,Truth,Progressive,Liberal,Christianity,Christian

Non-Church Goers Form The Base of Obama’s Support

Non-Church Goers Form The Base of Obama’s Support

A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet
*********************

This should come as no surprise to anyone!

According to an article at CNSNEWS.COM entitled: “Americans Who Don’t Attend Church Form Base of Obama’s Support, Gallup Polling Indicates,” Terence P. Jeffrey, Editor-in-Chief writes the following:

“Gallup reports the breakouts from its presidential approval survey for three different types of church-goers: people who attend church weekly, people who attend church nearly weekly or monthly, and people who seldom or never attend church. Among these three groups, Obama’s approval rating tops 50 percent only among those who seldom or never attend church. In fact, among this group it was at 56 percent for the week ending May 8.”

Jeffrey went on to write: “Obama’s approval rating dropped to a low of 38 percent among weekly church-goers in the week that ended on April 4. By contrast, Obama’s presidential approval rating has never dropped below 50 percent among those who seldom or never go to church. (Read the entire story HERE.)

Surely you are not surprised by these findings – are you? You should not be. As far back as the presidential campaign, Obama was supported by the less religious among Americans.

In an article from the “Christian Post UK,” and posted on “Directions to Orthodoxy” dated July 9th, 2008, it is noted: “Presidential candidate Barack Obama has stronger support among less religious Americans than rival John McCain, a survey revealed.” The article goes on to say: “The survey, conducted by The Gallup Poll and released Tuesday, found 55 percent of Americans who say religion is not important in their life backed Obama, compared to 36 percent for McCain. The reverse was true for Americans who said religion was important in their life, with 50 percent to 40 percent preferring McCain over Obama. WE recommend you visit their site HERE.

Little has changed, at least for Obama’s support. A little deeper in the Christian Post UK article it is noted: “The finding that religious voters prefer a Republican candidate is not new. Evangelical Christians, who are viewed as highly religious, have traditionally been stalwart voters of the Republican Party…” You may read the entire article HERE.

As a conservative Christian I am not surprised by these findings. What troubles me is that ANY Christian could support Obama and the American political left. With every passing day it becomes more and more obvious the American political left has embraced socialism.

It is the opinion of this scribe that the Christian faith and socialism cannot co-exist. They are totally incompatible.
Simply put -- Christians believe in God and believe that man needs God. Socialism, on the other hand, sees no need for God. The “State” takes over the duties of the “Supreme Being.”

“Socialist philosophy assumes that the masses [are] as dumb as children, and they don't need a god to reach their fondest dreams, but a government to hand out the goodies… .“ Thus states Julie Behling in an article titled: “Why I Believe Socialism and Christianity Are Wholly Incompatible.” Ms. Behling goes on to say: “In Christian philosophy, individuals are responsible to care for the needs of the poor, the sick, the widow, and the orphan, but not compelled. Those who rise to the challenge will find themselves on the right hand of God because of their CHOICES, and those who don't -- will not receive the blessings reserved for those who do.

In Socialist philosophy, all are compelled to care for the needy whether they want to or not (through taxation), and this care comes through the administration of a notoriously inefficient bureaucracy.”
Ms. Behling explains: “Christian philosophy causes men and women to rise up, work for their sustenance depending oftentimes on faith that help will come if and when it is needed. It is hard, it is risky, but the rewards of making the proper use of God-given free will are great. The consequences of poor choices can be brutal.

Socialist philosophy seeks to soften the blows of consequences to natural laws, both positive consequences - financial abundance for the thrifty, wise, hard-worker -- and negative consequences - poverty to those who break the natural laws that govern abundance.”
As one who subscribes to the Christian faith, I believe Ms. Behling is "spot on" when she says: “Socialism falsely informs men and women there is another way to reach their ultimate dreams besides faith in any god.” (We urge you to read Ms. Behling’s article in its entirety HERE.)

In summing up Ms. Behling says: “The degree to which taking care of the poor and the needy is instituted and administered by government is the degree to which freedom is abdicated.” (Editor’s note: The italics used here for emphasis are totally mine.)

We applaud Ms. Behling’s article and recommend it to you. You will find it HERE.

It may seem that we have moved far a field here, in this commentary, from the original intent. I assure you -- we have not. My intention was to try to explain why the majority of the religious in America, the Christians especially, cannot support Obama en masse. Obama’s socialism flies in the face of the Christian faith. In fact Obama’s socialism is seen, among many Christians, as a religion in, and of, itself. It is a secular religion, without God, but a religion, nonetheless.

I suspect my conclusion above will not sit well with Obama followers, but the truth, oftimes, brings pain.

Evangelical Christians have only to consider Obama’s stance toward Israel to find reason to renounce his particular brand of socialism.

For evangelicals the fate of Israel and the fate of the United States are inextricably interwoven. The promise of God to Abraham that God would bless those who bless Israel and curse those who curse Israel is taken literally. According to their belief, Obama’s rebuke of Israel and his obvious fondness for Israel’s enemies will bring the wrath of God down on America. In fact, many Christians believe that has already begun. They believe that God’s protection of America has been lifted and America’s future holds only crisis after crisis and disaster after disaster until America once again embraces God’s “Chosen People.”

Americans have slowly come to realize the leadership they chose in 2006 and 2008 was a huge mistake and has brought nothing but pain and suffering to the American people. Elections have consequences. Decisions have consequences. America is living through the consequences of choosing a socialist government, which is incrementally dismantling our constitutional republic right before our eyes.

One of the signs given man as to when to expect the “End of Days’ was when people began living their daily lives as they did in the time of Noah. We have certainly reached that point in the evolution of our American society. And, unfortunately, just as Noah preached over and over again, to the masses, that the rains WERE coming and the ensuing flood would consume every one unless they changed their ways, they refused to listen and even rebuked and made fun of the old man building a huge boat in that dry land. Even the unchurched and the non-religious supporters of Obama know how that story turned out.

All the signs are there. Just as Israel paid a terrible price for demanding an earthly king, Saul, just so they could have a king of their own, just like their neighboring countries, America will be required to pay a price, of biblical proportions, for demanding a leader who remake America into the image of the socialist countries with whom we share this globe.

To say the end is nigh would be kind – and wrong. Unfortunately, America has much suffering in her future long before anything resembling the end rises above her clouded horizon.

J. D. Longstreet

Leftist Christians Go After Glenn Beck

Yesterday the Associated Baptist Press published an article by “Jim Wallis, a politically progressive evangelical,” who is also the CEO and editor in chief at the left-leaning, Sojourners. The article by Wallis demands that his readers and all Christians stop watching the Glenn Beck because “Beck denies the central teachings of Jesus and the Bible!”

I earned my Masters in Theology in 1999 and I watch Glenn Beck daily. I’ve never heard Beck deny the central teachings of Jesus and the Bible! It appears that the “progressive” Mr. Wallis is fabricating his charges against Beck out of sheer leftist desperation.

Anyone who has ever bothered to honestly research the origins of the concept of “social justice,” as taught within most mainline and some evangelical denominations of the Christian church, understands that that it is closely tied to Marxist Liberation Theology. It is a concept that has little to do with Christian charity or justice and everything to do with radical leftist revolutionary political change.

Make no mistake; Glenn Beck is absolutely correct in stating that “social justice” is a code word" for communism and Nazism.

Three years ago I wrote, Obama’s Marxist Liberation Theology Church.  In that article, which I strongly suggest that you read, I’ve quoted from James H. Cone, one of the primary authors of Black Liberation Theology. Additionally I’ve summarized and provided a link to an excellent overview of the grave dangers of Liberation Theology written in 1984 by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI).

Once you’ve read this short article and the provided links you’ll have no doubt as to who is telling the truth.

God bless and protect Glenn Beck!

 

Technorati Tags: Social Justice,Liberation Theology,Associated Baptist Press,Glenn Beck,Jim Wallis,Sojourners

Should God Apologize To Sodom And Gomorrah!

Should God Apologize To Sodom And Gomorrah!

A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

***************

"This year, I will work with Congress and our military to finally repeal the law that denies gay Americans the right to serve the country they love because of who they are. It's the right thing to do." … B. H. Obama President of the United States in his State of the Union Address January 27th, 2010.

There is an old expression that says: "If God does not destroy America the He owes an apology to Sodom and Gomorrah!" It seems more applicable today than ever before.

Look, having a known homosexual in a military unit disrupts that unit’s cohesiveness. If it happens to be a combat unit, lives are at stake.Homosexuality is even splitting apart mainline religious denominations in America and around the world… and you REALLY think it will not disrupt the US Military? Get REAL, PLEASE!

As a subscriber to the Christian faith, I believe homosexuality is an sinful lust forbidden by God. In the scriptures we are told that God, himself, said to His people Israel, "Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination" (Leviticus 18:22). "If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them" (Leviticus 20:13). In these passages homosexuality is condemned as a sexual perversion. It is considered a “Prime Sin.” As a Christian I cannot change how God views homosexuality and I cannot turn my back on it and say that well, times have changed, and God must change too. THAT is blasphemy.

Now, before some of you point out the obvious, that this scripture is from the OLD Testament; I give you Saint Paul’s view of Homosexuality from the NEW Testament. (Paul is the Apostle credited with bringing the Christian faith to the Gentiles of the world.) Paul wrote a letter to the people of the Christian church in Corinth. In that letter Paul said the following: “ Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, 10- nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.”

It could not be any clearer. Homosexuality is condemned in the scriptures just as murder, adultery, premarital sex, kidnapping, lying, and idolatry are condemned.

Back to the incompatibility of Homosexuality with the military: “Homosexuality is simply incompatible with the principles of military services, which include a focus on the mission, service, discipline, bodily integrity, and control over one's impulses. Homosexuality does not appropriately reflect these principles.” This sentiment was reflected in an article signed by Gen. Carl E. Mundy, Jr., a former commandant of the Marine Corps; Adm. Leighton W. Smith, a former commander of U.S. Naval Forces Europe; Gen. Charles A. Horner, who commanded U.S. aerial forces during the 1990-91 Gulf War; and Adm. Jerome L. Johnson, a former vice chief of Naval Operations. They wrote, succinctly, "Homosexuality is incompatible with military service". Read the article HERE.

In 2008, the Republican Party Platform said the following: "To protect our servicemen and women and ensure that America's Armed Forces remain the best in the world, we affirm the timeliness of those values, the benefits of traditional military culture, and the incompatibility of homosexuality with military service." Read the article HERE.

Many retired military officers, including several who were top commanders, have urged President Barack Obama and Congress to maintain the law that bars gays from serving openly in the armed forces. They claim openly serving homosexuals would undermine recruiting and retention, impact leadership at all levels, have adverse effects on the willingness of parents who lend their sons and daughters to military service, and eventually break the All-Volunteer Force. They, too, believe that repeal of the current law, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” could jeopardize morale and “unit cohesion.” Read the article HERE.

Back in June of 2006, I wrote the following: “As a veteran, when I served, a homosexual was not allowed in the service, period. If they did manage to get in, as soon as they were found out, they were gone. And it was quick.

I remember, in July of 1959, at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, as we stood in formation on Tank Hill, we recruits were instructed to immediately turn in any in our ranks we suspected might be homosexual. We were led to believe that if we knew, and did not turn them in, we were in danger of being kicked out of the service as well.

I liked that. It gave me a certain confidence in my fellow soldiers… that they were who they said they were.

In my time in the US Army there was no such thing as privacy. You did everything as a unit. You slept in the same room, you showered together, you ate together, and you even relived yourself in full view of all the other soldiers who happened to be in the latrine at the same time. There were no “stalls” with toilets in them. There was a line of toilets, in a row, and it was quit possible for two soldiers to have a conversation, while relieving themselves, sitting on those toilets. Did I mention there was no privacy? I did, didn’t I?

It was important that a soldier knew his fellow soldier was the same gender as himself.”

My opinion has not changed.

There is no effort here to “gay-bash.” I am merely expressing my opinion as a Veteran of the US Military and as one who subscribes to the Christian faith.

For the record, I do not care a whit what other country’s militaries do. They can have all homosexual regiments for all I care. But, I DO care what the US military does.

Public support of the US military is vital to their morale and their effectiveness as a fighting force. Allowing homosexuals to serve openly in the US military will rob them of the support they now enjoy from the American public. It will destroy the All Volunteer Force we have so painstakingly built up. That means the return of the draft.

I do not support the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. I support the old policy of not allowing homosexuals to serve in any branch of the US Military -- at all.

J. D. Longstreet

Christmas in Bethlehem Destroyed by Israel?

 by Maggie at Maggie's Notebook

I guess I haven't been paying attention the past few years. I didn't know that Israel has destroyed life for Christians in the town of Bethlehem to the point that Christians have left in a "massive flight."

Bethlehem - Manger Square

WorldNetDaily has this story, and I found it via AmerIsrael. According to WND's Aaron Klein, Reuters, the GuardianUK and others, are in the habit of reporting, each year at this time, the terrible treatment of Christians by Jews in Bethlehem. If you do not have time to read the portions below, or time to go directly to WND to read the entire piece, read the three paragraphs in bold text below, and you will get the idea.

TEL AVIV – Like clockwork, every year at this time reporters file misleading and, in some cases, outright false reports about the state of Christmas in Bethlehem [blaming Israel for the demise of the Christian population]. 

They claim Israeli policies have wreaked havoc on the city's economy and that Israel is responsible for the massive flight of Christians from Bethlehem. Yet the news media completely ignore Muslim intimidation and get their facts wrong on documented history and the true state of affairs in this ancient town.

A widely circulated Reuters article, for example, laments "Christmas cheer hasn't spread to all of Bethlehem's residents," squarely blaming "an Israeli wall" for the town's misfortunes. Britains' Press and Journal also paints a dismal picture of Bethlehem, claiming the city is "divided by a huge wall" and that the "26ft-high security wall completes the isolation of Bethlehem and prevents it from ever expanding." The piece also wrongly states that about 2 percent of Bethlehem's population is Christian.

An opinion piece by Austen Ivereigh in the London Guardian, meanwhile, also claims Bethlehem is "shuttered and depressed" by an "Israeli separation wall."

"I don't just mean the structure itself – 30 feet high, bristling with watchtowers and formed of grey concrete slabs – but where it is built, deep into the town itself, far into the West Bank, severing Bethlehem from Jerusalem and ensuring the relentless expansion eastwards of Jewish-only settlements built on land seized from Palestinian farmers," the Guardian piece claims. Regarding the "wall" that "surrounds" Bethlehem: Israel built a fence in 2002 in the area where northern Bethlehem interfaces with Jerusalem. A tiny segment of the barrier, facing a major Israeli roadway, is a concrete wall that Israel says is meant to prevent gunmen from shooting at Israeli motorists....

Amazingly, Ivereigh's piece in the Guardian falsely claimed: "Bethlehem is shuttered and depressed not because of Koran-wielding thugs but because the wall has smashed its economy. The town has become a ghetto, severed from lands to the north and west by the wall, and to the south and east by settler-only roads and a forest of checkpoints, leaving it barely able to trade."

Simple demographic facts disprove this contention entirely. Israel built the barrier seven years ago. But Bethlehem's Christian population started to drastically decline in 1995, the very year Arafat's Palestinian Authority took over the holy Christian city in line with the U.S.-backed Oslo Accords.

Bethlehem was more than 80 percent Christian when Israel was founded in 1948. But after Arafat took control, the city's Christian population plummeted to its current 23 percent. And that statistic is considered generous since it includes the satellite towns of Beit Sahour and Beit Jala. Some estimates place Bethlehem's actual Christian population as low as 12 percent, with hundreds of Christians emigrating each year.

As soon as he took over Bethlehem, Arafat unilaterally fired the city's Christian politicians and replaced them with Muslim cronies. He appointed a Muslim governor, Muhammed Rashad A-Jabar, and deposed of Bethlehem's city council, which had nine Christians and two Muslims, reducing the number of Christians councilors to a 50-50 split.

Arafat then converted a Greek Orthodox monastery next to the Church of Nativity, the believed birthplace of Jesus, into his official Bethlehem residence.
Suddenly, after the Palestinians gained the territory, reports of Christian intimidation by Muslims began to surface.

Christian leaders and residents told this reporter they face an atmosphere of regular hostility. They said Palestinian armed groups stir tension by holding militant demonstrations and marches in the streets. They spokes of instances in which Christian shopkeepers' stores were ransacked and Christian homes attacked. 

They said in the past, Palestinian gunmen fired at Israelis from Christian hilltop communities, drawing Israeli anti-terror raids to their towns.

In 2002, dozens of terrorists holed up inside the Church of the Nativity for 39 days while fleeing a massive Israeli anti-terror operation. Israel surrounded the church area but refused to storm the structure....

Some Christian leaders said one of the most significant problems facing Christians in Bethlehem is the rampant confiscation of land by Muslim gangs.

One religious novelty store owner recently told WND that Muslim gangs regularly deface Christian property.

"We are harassed, but you wouldn't know the truth. No one says anything publicly about the Muslims. This is why Christians are running away."

 The City of the birth of Christ, the birth of King David, and the tomb of Rachel is under Palestinian governance, and has a Muslim majority population.

In 2007 the city had approximately 25,000 residents with Christians making up 20% of the citizenry. With life made difficult for Christians, and the fact that Christians propagate at a much slower rate than Muslims, the Christian presence in Bethlehem is dwindling.

Read about Christmas observances by Christians in Bethlehem here and about the Church of the Nativity and the birthplace of Christ here.

The War on Christmas and Christianity Continues in 2009!

The War on Christmas and Christianity Continues in 2009!

A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

*************************

OK, let me make it as clear as I am able right up front! I am not interested in “multiculturalism” and I am even less interested in “inclusivity.” I am an Isolationist at heart, but a realist… out of practicality.

Having cleared the air, I can get on with these few comments.

It is time for America to celebrate Christmas. For those of the Christian community it is a grand time of celebrating the birth of the Savior, Jesus Christ, from whose name the word Christmas, or “Christ Mass,” is derived. I am of this community.

I care nothing for the celebration of anything else. I care that you have the right to celebrate Hanukkah, or that newly invented secular holiday for Afro-centric African Americans, Kwanzaa. You are guaranteed that right by the Constitution, which was, itself, guaranteed by Christians.

I know, I know! I can see the “comments box” filling up even as I write this. That’s OK. Just keep it clean.

In the year 2009 one would have to be a disconnected, isolated, idiot to believe that Christmas is not under attack in the western world, especially in the United States.

If you are a regular reader of my scribbling then you already know that I believe that Christians founded America as a Christian country. As a Christian country we are tolerant of other religions. That does not mean that individual American citizens must approve of any particular religion or practice thereof. In a Christian country a citizen is not compelled to be a Christian or a subscriber to any religion, for that matter. That right was guaranteed all Americans in that aforementioned Constitution. And that, Dear Reader, in my humble opinion, is where we mis-stepped. That “right” we celebrate, and hold so dear, has come back to bite us on our collective “Christian butts.”

Any antagonist, worth his salt, uses his opponent’s weakness against him. The opponents of Christianity, no slackers they, have learned to use our weakness of tolerance for other religions, or no religion, against the Christians of America, indeed, in much of the world.

Christian symbols are being relegated to the closets, and basements, of public buildings not to be displayed on the walls of, or grounds of, such public buildings such as, for instance, courthouses.

Put up a Crèche scene, in honor of Christmas, in the town square, and you’d better have a Menorah, a Christmas tree, A Santa Claus, a Kwanzaa something or other, and on and on. The idea is simply to dilute Christmas in a mass of other religious, and secular, celebrations and lessen its influence on the average American. The more timid among us are even afraid to utter that time honored “Merry Christmas.”

No more Christmas break for our public schools. It’s now the “Winter Break” a phrase reminiscent of the pagans of Western Europe. Gone is the Christmas tree in many of those same schools.

Now, I could go on, and on, citing example after example of the battles being waged all across America against Christmas and, collectively, Christians.

Currently, we are in a worldwide war with Islam. Oh, you may argue, we are at war with only the fundamentalist Islamic! I beg to differ. Again, in my opinion -- this is a war between Islam and Christianity. The Muslims know this. Only those of us of the Western Christian countries have deluded ourselves into believing we are in a war with some splinter group of Islam. Hopefully, we will awaken to this fact before it is to late to recover from our mistake and take the battle, for our very existence, to the enemies of Christianity.

Meanwhile, in America, we have our hands full dealing with our own internal enemies. “The War on Christmas” is just a symptom of the greater war on Christianity. Until we recognize that fact, and begin to fight back, we will continue to lose our Christian symbols, our Christian holidays, and eventually our practice of the Christian faith.

I was thinking, as I wrote these words, that there must have been some squinty-eyed old scribe hidden away in a semi-darkened “scriptorium”, somewhere beneath the streets of ancient Rome, scratching out similar words as these while Christians were being gored, and mauled, and torn limb from limb, in the amphitheatres such as The Coliseum above his lowly hovel.

Somehow, every attack against Christians has served to strengthen The Christian Church and insure her survival. One doesn’t have to be a believer to acknowledge the work of a Supreme Being in the dissemination of what we Christians call “The Good News” or “The Gospel.” And yet, down through the ages, many Christians, liked this scribe, feel driven to denounce, in our writings, the evil forces at work against the Christian church.

As one who has studied the scriptures, I know the church will be whittled down until there will be only a remnant of the followers of Christ left upon his return. We witness the “whittling down” process everyday in reports of attacks upon the Christian faith in the news media of the world. And yet – I feel a force, deep within me, urging me to proclaim to all who read these words that no matter the size of the remaining remnant, the Christian Church WILL survive. No matter the odds, the ultimate force for good in this world will continue to feed the hungry, heal the sick, lift up the fallen, and spread the good news of the birth of a savior in a little Middle Eastern town called Bethlehem, some 2,000 years ago. Since that remarkable night, men and women have been unceasingly spreading the news of His arrival and the message He brought of “Peace, Good Will Toward Men.”

Men and women of the Christian faith, in the modern world, may again be relegated to “the catacombs” to practice their Christian faith. But just as their ancient counterparts, they WILL keep the faith. In the face of all odds they will not falter and they will not fail.

And so, from my own little scriptorium, as I write in the wee hours of the morning, please allow me to be among the first to wish you, and your family, a MERRY CHRISTMAS!

J. D. Longstreet