Persevero
Since Jan 16, 2010
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Persevero
Since Jan 16, 2010
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Why yes I have a podcast. Search for “Puritans Read.”
Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more, Or close the wall up with our English dead!
In peace there 's nothing so becomes a man
As modest stillness and humility;
But when the blast of war blows in our ears,
Then imitate the action of the tiger: Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood.
-King Henry V Quote Act iii. Scene 1.
There's little less fashionable today than praising the Puritans, especially for their egalitarian political idealism, their promotion of genuinely humane and liberating learning, and their capacity for enjoyment and human happiness. Praising the Puritans is especially difficult for us because even most of our Protestants have abandoned them. When a European calls us Puritanical we don't say, yes, thanks a lot, you're right. Instead, we either deny it, saying we're way beyond those days. Or we admit it, saying that, yes, we should be less capitalistic, less repressed, and more free thinking, just like you.But the truth is that the Puritans remain the chief source of the American difference, our ability to live freely and prosperously without unduly slighting the longings of our souls. It's the Puritans' idealism that made and even makes Americans civilized. -P Lawler
We must never forget that there are varieties in character, and that the grace of God does not cast all believers into one and the same mold. Admitting fully that the foundations of Christian character are always the same, and that all Gods children repent, believe, are holy, prayerful, and Scripture-loving, we must make allowances for wide varieties in their temperaments and habits of mind. We must not undervalue others because they are not exactly like ourselves. The flowers in a garden may differ widely, and yet the gardener feels interest in all. The children of a family may be curiously unlike one another, and yet the parents care for all. It is just so with the Church of Christ. There are degrees of grace, and varieties of grace; but the least, the weakest, the feeblest disciples are all loved by the Lord Jesus. Then let no believers heart fail because of his infirmities; and, above all, let no believer dare to despise and undervalue a brother. -J.C. Ryle
If I were the Devil . . . I mean, if I were the Prince of Darkness, I would of course, want to engulf the whole earth in darkness. I would have a third of its real estate and four-fifths of its population, but I would not be happy until I had seized the ripest apple on the tree, so I should set about however necessary to take over the United States. I would begin with a campaign of whispers. With the wisdom of a serpent, I would whisper to you as I whispered to Eve: "Do as you please. Do as you please."
To the young, I would whisper, "The Bible is a myth." I would convince them that man created God instead of the other way around. I would confide that what is bad is good, and what is good is "square." In the ears of the young marrieds, I would whisper that work is debasing, that cocktail parties are good for you. I would caution them not to be extreme in religion, in patriotism, in moral conduct.
And the old, I would teach to pray. I would teach them to say after me: "Our Father, which art in Washington" . . . If I were the devil, I'd educate authors in how to make lurid literature exciting so that anything else would appear dull an uninteresting. I'd threaten T.V. with dirtier movies and vice versa. And then, if I were the devil, I'd get organized. I'd infiltrate unions and urge more loafing and less work, because idle hands usually work for me. I'd peddle narcotics to whom I could. I'd sell alcohol to ladies and gentlemen of distinction. And I'd tranquilize the rest with pills. If I were the devil, I would encourage schools to refine young intellects but neglect to discipline emotions . . . let those run wild.
I would designate an atheist to front for me before the highest courts in the land and I would get preachers to say "she's right." With flattery and promises of power, I could get the courts to rule what I construe as against God and in favor of pornography, and thus, I would evict God from the courthouse, and then from the school house, and then from the houses of Congress and then, in His own churches I would substitute psychology for religion, and I would deify science because that way men would become smart enough to create super weapons but not wise enough to control them.
If I were Satan, I'd make the symbol of Easter an egg, and the symbol of Christmas, a bottle. If I were the devil, I would take from those who have and I would give to those who wanted, until I had killed the incentive of the ambitious. And then, my police state would force everybody back to work. Then, I could separate families, putting children in uniform, women in coal mines, and objectors in slave camps. In other words, if I were Satan, I'd just keep on doing what he's doing. - Paul Harvey, 1965
"Since this is an era when many people are concerned about 'fairness' and 'social justice,' what is your 'fair share' of what someone else has worked for?" -Thomas Sowell
With a single exception, every multiple-victim public shooting in the U.S. in which more than three people have been killed since at least 1950 has taken place where citizens are not allowed to carry their own firearms. (NY Daily News 7/25/12)
World, death, devil, hell, away and leave me in peace! You have no hold on me. If you will not let me live, then I will die. But you wont succeed in that. Chop my head off, and it wont harm me. I have a God who will give me a new one. Martin Luther
But that is the nature of faith: it does not allow the present darkness to disturb the present peace. - Iain Campbell
How does same-sex "marriage" affect you? This is how. It makes being a Christian a legal liability.
All law is legislated morality; each law will infringe on somebody. Law cannot regenerate men; it can, however, restrain them. Furthermore, law can help restrain the STATE ITSELF. - Gary North
"For the question remains, do women want abortion? Not like she wants a Porsche or an ice cream cone. Like an animal caught in a trap, trying to gnaw off its own leg, a woman who seeks an abortion is trying to escape a desperate situation by an act of violence and self-loss. Abortion is not a sign that women are free, but a sign that they are desperate." Frederica Mathewes-Green
"There was a time that I considered myself to be a patriotic American.
My father used to tell me that to be a good Christian in our country one should be patriotic and to be a good patriot one should be a good Christian. For him, the two went together.
Today, most people who do not understand the marked change that happened in the 1960s would consider his sentiments as extreme, but that is because they dont know what America underwent in those days.
The student movement on university campuses was much more of a cultural change agent than todays Occupy Wall Street or Black Lives Matter movements will ever be. At the heart of it was radical change fueled by a mixture of Marxist atheism, socialism, anarchy, and hedonism. Patriotism in those days was mocked because it represented the old view of America, a view that was rooted in values that came from a shared vision that was shaped by a Christian consensus. So all things Christian had to be dismantled.
The Supreme Court fueled this by their rulings which eliminated Bible reading and prayer from the public schools. At the same time flags were burned in the streets in open ridicule of the symbol of liberty and honor that traditional Americans waved in their shows of patriotism.
Patriotism was out. It was mocked in music and movies. It was considered an anachronism, certainly out of favor and out of date. But then these radicals of the sixties began to take control of the government and continued to promote their progressive agenda through legislation and the courts. And they have rediscovered a new patriotism. They are fundamentally transforming America so that what were once basic virtues are rejected and being replaced with a whole new set of values.
These new values are being pushed on a reluctant populace that have been led by either lethargy or deception into allowing and then adopting an ideology that is completely foreign to that what it once was. Hence, blasphemy and profanity are mainstream (even with some presidential candidates), marriage is redefined, that which is perverse is defended, unborn children are killed with their little bodies auctioned off by a Planned Parenthood that is funded by our Congress and blessed by our President. To raise a voice in protest to these atrocities is to be labeled as hateful and not who we are, or in a word, unpatriotic.
This new patriotism would be completely foreign to my father and is to me. I confess that what the flag represents now fails to raise the emotional inward response that it once did. The legendary Ragged Old Flag honored by Johnny Cash represented the honorable, the pure, the brave, and the true. It reflected freedom as the Founding Fathers envisioned it. Now, rather than that lump in the throat emotion at a Fourth of July parade as Old Glory is unfurled in the breeze, I have a rather empty, sad feeling.
With the advent of the new patriotism its honor has been degraded. Our leaders are exporting abortion and gay marriage as the new values and are pressuring nations of the world to embrace a view of life which is abhorrent to decency and dignity, while at home our government-controlled educational system mocks the God of creation. In short, this new patriotism has left me behind. So instead of considering myself a patriotic American as I once did, I would rather consider myself to be a Christian American.
As a Christian American, I will maintain the virtues that are defined by the same Creator who endowed us with certain inalienable rights.
As a Christian American, I will promote freedom of speech even when the speech is deemed to be unfashionable (i.e. politically incorrect). I will defend the truth that is in Jesus, and not be ashamed to say that not all religions are morally equivalent. To equate Love your enemies that Jesus taught with Kill the infidel that Mohammed taught is mindless, if not madness. Therefore, I will defend the right of Christians to tell the story of Jesus to others, even when society rails against proselytism.
As a Christian American, I will insist on the free exercise of religion, which is not to be regulated by a hostile government, nor redefined as only freedom of worship, nor prohibited from the government schools, the majority of whose funds come from people of the Christian faith.
As a Christian American, I will not allow changing cultural notions to change timeless truths about life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Life is a gift from God valuable in the womb (Ps. 139:13; Jer. 1;5). Men and women are at liberty to be joined in marriage which is honorable as God intended (Matt. 19:5). Pursuing happiness must necessarily include following holiness, not only in worship times but also in the public square, involving employment such as baking or flower arranging.
As a Christian American, I will do my duty to vote, and will be informed by Biblical values to make my choice, including choosing civic leaders as Moses instructed, who were able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness.
As a Christian American, I will oppose godlessness, falsehood, and greed whether in Wall Street, the White House, in the community, or on the campaign trail. I will oppose the cozy cabal of government, Hollywood, and big business.
As a Christian American, I will resist the pressures of the libertines who have hijacked liberty and turned it from freedom to fulfill aspirations for voluntary service and charity, to license to do evil supported by the government forcing tolerance and acceptance of that which is perverted and deranged.
As a Christian American, I will defend what the God of the Bible defends and oppose what He opposes.
These statements are not a defense of being hateful or bigoted. They are statements that allow me to be who I am and maintain a memory of what this nation once was. During my time at Penn State University, as a student and then as a campus missionary, I made some friends who were certainly not of my philosophical perspective. One was an avowed Marxist, one an aggressive black power advocate, and one was a libertarian. What we all had in common was that we were all radical. To each of them, I presented the claims of Jesus of Nazareth and the message of the gospel. In turn, they defended their beliefs and mocked the Christian faith. Yet all of them indicated respect for me as a person, as well as I for them. I lost track of them, but years later the libertarian found me on the street and said, Remember the talks you had with me? They were not wasted. Im a believer and attending church now.
We may not be remembered as flag-waving Americans, but let us be remembered as Bible-believing Christians in America. That is a worthy legacy." Dr. David Gordeuk
We now need the discussion of whether we worship the earth or manage it. For the past three decades we have been told by the Three Pillars (Academia, Media and the DNC) to set aside all of our natural resources as a penance to their Animal Worship. They believe the highest moral stance is to wall off all of our natural abundance rather than use it for our benefit which is what Earth Worship is all about.
The modern version of Dirt worship began with Darwinism. This was mans explanation of creation and his proof that all the miracles of life could occur without God. Darwin used an agrarian explanation from his observations on the farm of how all animals had a basic similarity so there must have been a common ancestry. He then went to Easter Island and observed a few unique features in a couple birds and came up with his theory of evolution.
The problem with evolution is there is no proof it exists. If there were millions and millions of animals that evolved into another species the world should be covered in transitory fossils but they have not found one. They should also have been able to make one convert in the lab and have not. If it is such a solid theory then they should have no problem showing absolute proof. It is about time the Darwinists showed proof rather than just showing a minute long Disney film and saying this is how it occurred. Otherwise it is simply another earth worshiping cult.
It is up to the Darwinists to prove their theory not for Christians to prove God, he is. In the same way it is time for Marxists to prove their disaster of an economic theory. Marxism is an outgrowth of Evolution which basically says since man is the top of the chain the only thing greater than man is a group of men or gummit. Marxism says a group of men can predict and decide which is the best way for society to divide its resources equally. This theory ignores the fact there are different levels of effort and skills or the possibility of greed and corruption in the division of those resources or money. Every place it has been tried it has shown to be a complete failure usually with killing fields when in practice and is up to the Marxists to show one example of it working.
The most immediate example is the Obama administration. He tried to divide the resources with Solyndra, the Stimulus, Obamacare and other disasters which were covered with graft and corruption throughout. The failures are ongoing and if they continue with their obsession with the destruction of the oil and coal industries in favor of solar and wind boondoggles are more examples of Marxist failures for the average person. Until the Marxists can show proof their theory works it should be ignored for Capitalistic successes which have been proved over and over with a thriving middle class.
A related theory which needs to be proved is Global Warming. Until a scientist can show one example of where the earth is absolutely warming without any explanation other than man then it should be tabled. We do not need their phony models which predicted there would not be snow in the Cascades today when there is an abundance. Global Warming is a fraud brought on by Marxist scientists who should be fired from their jobs and imprisoned for the damage and deaths they have caused. There is no proof whatsoever and the scientists have been cooking the numbers to make it look like there is damage which is not occurring. If there is proof show it.
Global Warming is a lie which says CO2 is a poisonous gas to mother earth. This is an outgrowth of the Acid Rain fraud which was supposed to kill all the trees in Scandinavia when in reality there was a virus killing the trees, but the destruction of the energy industry cost users billions. Now they have transferred that fraud to CO2 which everything including animals and man exhale in the production of energy. They have found a way of making everything you do into a sin against nature without one piece of proof other than consensus which is a lie itself.
All of these examples Evolution, Marxism and Global Warming have one thing in common, they are all frauds. The only thing which keeps them valid is they have become consensus by Marxists in the Three Pillars. Anyone who questions any of these dogmas will be mocked and ridiculed or in academia thrown out. One leads to the other and finally to the end, inside a giant inner circle which protects each other. They are all interconnected and force adherence without questioning. It is time for all three to prove themselves or admit they were wrong and there is a God who requires stewardship rather than worshiping the trees. Earth worshipers want us to not use any of the resources we have been given but set it aside for them to receive a moral high from hugging trees and driving electric cars. They come up with terms like Green Living, Environmental and Social Justice to market their fraud to the cult. Being an environmentalist makes you not only a good person, but you are now a scientist unlike those who are not Earth Worshipers. It is time to stop with the cult worship and prove Evolution, Marxism and Global Warming exists and show some proof which does not exist. God requires just the opposite. He asks man to be a steward of the earths resources. The reason many of his precious gifts are in such disarray is they have been set aside rather than managed properly.
An example is due to the Dirt Worshipers they have nearly destroyed our forests by misuse. They have become overgrown and are dying from the inside out. They are in desperate need of thinning and replanting, but the Marxists will not allow it even after forest fires. They will not let you walk in the forests let alone properly maintain them. They need regular cutting and replanting to remain healthy and that has been halted by the tree worshipers. The tree worshipers have caused massive bug kill, overgrowth and raging forest fires at levels never seen before. The forests are basically an oil field for America which are refilled every twenty years if managed properly. We have the most marketable trees in the world if we would simply manage them the way God planned but refuse. We can manage all of our resources such as oil, coal and farming as stewards rather than worshipers and benefit both our Country and the resources themselves. Nobody wants to destroy the resources which can be used and and in reality make the environment healthier. The production of CO2 actually helps the plants grow, yet the scientists want to make you believe it damages those plants. One is provable the other is cult worship. This is the crossroad we are at.
Do we continue to worship man and the earth or do we worship God. Do we accept the theories of Darwin, Marx and Global Warming or do we throw those chains off and accept stewardship of our resources. We can go from setting aside the land to using it for our benefit. It is time for the Marxists to put up or shut up. If they can prove one theory then show us, if not get out of the way and let us be the resource managers God intended and watch America soar. Pray America woke Note: The above opinion is reflective of mine but is FReeper Brays. If you wish to discuss this, please ping Bray.
We tried statesmanship. Could there be another human being on this earth who so desperately prized "collegiality" as John McCain?
We tried propriety. Has there been a nicer human being ever than Mitt Romney? And the results were always the same. This is because, while we were playing by the rules of dignity, collegiality and propriety, the Left has been, for the past 60 years, engaged in a knife fight where the only rules are those of Saul Alinsky and the Chicago mob.
I don't find anything "dignified," "collegial" or "proper" about Barack Obama's lying about what went down on the streets of Ferguson in order to ramp up racial hatreds because racial hatreds serve the Democratic Party. I don't see anything "dignified" in lying about the deaths of four Americans in Benghazi and imprisoning an innocent filmmaker to cover your tracks. I don't see anything "statesman-like" in weaponizing the IRS to be used to destroy your political opponents and any dissent.
Yes, Obama was "articulate" and "polished" but in no way was he in the least bit "dignified," "collegial" or "proper." The Left has been engaged in a war against America since the rise of the Children of the '60's. To them, it has been an all-out war where nothing is held sacred and nothing is seen as beyond the pale.. It has been a war they've fought with violence, the threat of violence, demagoguery and lies from day one, the violent take-over of the universities, till today. The problem is that, through these years, the Left has been the only side fighting this war. While the Left has been taking a knife to anyone who stands in their way, the Right has continued to act with dignity, collegiality and propriety.
With Donald Trump, this all has come to an end. Donald Trump is America 's first wartime president in the Culture War. During wartime, things like "dignity" and "collegiality" simply aren't the most essential qualities one looks for in their warriors.
Ulysses Grant was a drunk whose behavior in peacetime might well have seen him drummed out of the Army for conduct unbecoming. Had Abraham Lincoln applied the peacetime rules of propriety and booted Grant, the Democrats might well still be holding their slaves today. Lincoln rightly recognized that, "I cannot spare this man. He fights." General George Patton was a vulgar-talking... In peacetime, this might have seen him stripped of rank. But, had Franklin Roosevelt applied the normal rules of decorum then, Hitler and the Socialists would barely be five decades into their thousand-year Reich.
Trump is fighting. And what's particularly delicious is that, like Patton standing over the battlefield as his tanks obliterated Rommel's, he's shouting, "You magnificent bastards, I read your book!" That is just the icing on the cake, but it's wonderful to see that not only is Trump fighting, he's defeating the Left using their own tactics. That book is Saul Alinsky's Rules for Radicals, a book so essential to the Liberals' war against America that it is and was the playbook for the entire Obama administration and the subject of Hillary Clinton's senior thesis. It is a book of such pure evil, that, just as the rest of us would dedicate our book to those we most love or those to whom we are most indebted, Alinsky dedicated his book to Lucifer. Trump's tweets may seem rash and unconsidered but, in reality, he is doing exactly what Alinsky suggested his followers do.
First, instead of going after "the fake media" - and they are so fake that they have literally gotten every single significant story of the past 60 years not just wrong, but diametrically opposed to the truth, from the Tet Offensive to Benghazi, to what really happened on the streets of Ferguson, Missouri - Trump isolated CNN.. He made it personal. Then, just as Alinsky suggests, he employs ridicule which Alinsky described as "the most powerful weapon of all."... Most importantly, Trump's tweets have put CNN in an untenable and unwinnable position. ... They need to respond. This leaves them with only two choices. They can either "go high" (as Hillary would disingenuously declare of herself and the fake news would disingenuously report as the truth) and begin to honestly and accurately report the news or they can double-down on their usual tactics and hope to defeat Trump with twice their usual hysteria and demagoguery. The problem for CNN (et al.) with the former is that, if they were to start honestly reporting the news, that would be the end of the Democratic Party they serve. It is nothing but the incessant use of fake news (read: propaganda) that keeps the Left alive.
Imagine, for example, if CNN had honestly and accurately reported then-candidate Barack Obama's close ties to foreign terrorists (Rashid Khalidi), domestic terrorists (William Ayers) Bernardine Dohrn); the mafia (Tony Rezko) or the true evils of his spiritual mentor, Jeremiah Wright's, church. Imagine if they had honestly and accurately conveyed the evils of the Obama administration's weaponizing of the IRS to be used against their political opponents or his running of guns to the Mexican cartels or the truth about the murder of Ambassador Christopher Stevens and the Obama administration's cover-up.
So, to my friends on the Left, and the #NeverTrumpers as well, do I wish we lived in a time when our president could be "collegial" and "dignified" and "proper"? Of course I do. These aren't those times. This is war. And it's a war that the Left has been fighting without opposition for the past 50 years. So, say anything you want about this president - I get it - he can be vulgar, he can be crude, he can be undignified at times. I don't care. I can't spare this man. He fights for America! HE FIGHTS.