By Douglas V. Gibbs
Right is right, and wrong is wrong. Pluralism and relativism are attempts to blur the line between right and wrong, and ever since prayer was removed from public schools in America we have been on a downward spiral around the entire planet. As a result of our dark desire to eliminate our moral values, the world is approaching a perfect storm of evil and collapse, a period of time that could lead to unthinkable horror. At the rate we are going, if we do not turn our downward spiral around, an unbelievable nightmare could become fact. We have unleashed evil, and the genie refuses to return to his bottle.
We are watching the death of morality and the birth of destruction. Right has become wrong, and wrong has become right. We have erroneously believed that we can do as much harm to our society as we wish, but America is somehow unsinkable. Such thinking is absolute denial. The signs are around us. The recent signs are shocking. It's a topsy-turvy world, and biblical scripture saw it coming (Isaiah 5: 20 "Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!")
The younger generation has always been the key to tomorrow's success of a nation. As long as we bring that generation up as good and moral achievers, the country would continue on as before, and probably for the better. However, we have been intentionally dumbing down our schools, have inserted immoral concepts into the curriculum and into the entertainment they are exposed to, and we no longer teach our students the founding principles of America. A large percentage of our kids do not graduate from high school, and colleges like schools online have designed to get them a degree, not to necessarily teach them. Our kids are graduating without being able to read, write, or speak intelligently, while believing that the world is supposed to be some kind of a sexual free for all, and that God is some imaginary pixie in the sky that was invented by man so that he can have something to believe in. A large percentage of our kids do not graduate from high school, and college has been designed to get them a degree, not to necessarily teach them anything other than hard left philosophies.
The State is not entirely to blame, for we as individuals are the ones that let it happen. Parents have dropped the ball, and have abdicated their role at a critical time in history.
As a society, however, we have demonstrated that we don't really care about the next generation. We would rather murder them in the womb, leave the survivors an incredible national debt, and teach them to be dependents upon The State through entitlement programs, rather than encourage them to be achievers.
The last bastion of good, the last sentinel of morality, is Christianity, and now the secular socialists are working to criminalize our world's last hope for redemption.
The attempt to criminalize Christianity is nothing new, for even as far back as the Roman Empire godless statists have worked to destroy the Christian Faith. King Herod and Pilate worked to destroy Jesus Christ before his ministry could become a worldwide phenomenon. Christ was labeled a heretic, a liar, a drunkard, a demonized madman, and an insurrectionist too dangerous to be allowed to live.
Ah, the power of accusation. Today, the tactics have not changed, only the players.
Throughout history the Church has been in constant trouble with godless governments. Paul of the New Testament was in jail more than he was out of jail. Much of his writings in the New Testament were written in a rat-infested jail cell, while his back bled from the beatings he received at the hands of the guards. And history is riddled with Christians who served in jail as enemies of the state for simply proclaiming their faith in Christ.
In America, however, our history has been one of religious freedom - and as a result, our nation has prospered. . . until now.
The word "crime" is defined as an "act committed in violation of the law." The Founding Fathers understood the danger of eliminating God from a society, so they sought to protect the right to worship. In the First Amendment, after disallowing the federal government from establishing a state religion (for a theocratic system ruled by men is just as dangerous of a tyranny as is a totalitarian system ruled by men), Congress was also forbidden from "prohibiting the free exercise thereof." Yet, in this country, with the help of godless organizations like the ACLU, Christianity is slowly being criminalized. Groups like the ACLU, whose founder (Roger Baldwin) proclaimed that communism was his goal, have censored Christianity in the public square, and has been waging a largely uncontested war against America's core values, while cloaking their warfare in the name of "civil liberties."
As Godly moral standards are being erased, our wayward judiciary has found that all legal prohibitions on the distribution of all kinds of pornography is unconstitutional; pornographic outlets can locate wherever they please (regardless of proximity to schools, churches, day-care centers, or residential neighborhoods); the schools, entertainment industry, and military cannot stop open displays of homosexual behavior; parents cannot limit their children's exposure, or participation in, public school classes and assemblies that violate the family's core religious and moral beliefs; children should be able to have an abortion without parental approval or knowledge; public schools cannot observe recognized religious holidays; chaplains cannot pray in Jesus' name; and if a State such as California (as in the case of Proposition 8) desires to prohibit homosexual marriage the federal government can (and will) overturn the will of the people based on the opinion of a single activist judge that happens to be gay.
The goal is to relegate God to an existence that is only within the four walls of a church.
In school, if a child decides to pray, it is illegal to pray out loud (Reed v. Van Hoven, 1965). If a student addresses an assembly of his peers, he effectively becomes a government representative, so God must not be discussed in a religious manner, nor shall that student engage in prayer (Harris v. Joint School District, 1994). No military chaplain shall pray in Jesus' name (Dismissal of Navy Chaplain Klingenschmitt, January 31, 2007), A city council meeting can pray, as long as they don't say the name of Jesus (Rubin v. City of Burbank, 1999). No prayer is allowed on the property of a courthouse (Christian school group stopped from praying on the steps of the Supreme Court, May 5, 2010, law used 40 U.S.C. §6135). It is unconstitutional for a classroom library to contain books that deal with Christianity, or for a teacher to be seen with a personal copy of the Bible at school (Roberts v. Madigan, 1990). It is unconstitutional for a public cemetery to have a planter in the shape of a cross, for if someone were to view that cross, it could cause "emotional distress" and thus constitute injury "in fact" (Warsaw v. Tehachapi, 1990).
In 1995 a federal judge, Samuel Kent, ruled that he would not tolerate students praying in Jesus' name, "And make no mistake; the court is going to have a United States Marshall in attendance at the graduation. If any student offends this Court, that student will be summarily arrested and will face up to six months incarceration in the Galveston County Jail for contempt of Court. Anyone who thinks I'm kidding about this better think again . . . anyone who violates these orders . . . is going to wish that he or she had died as a child when this Court gets through with it."
In 1993 federal judge Jennifer Coffman refused to allow a California teacher to show his students the Declaration of Independence because it contains references to God. Other items also forbidden, according to Coffman: The Mayflower Compact because the colony's founders invoke the name of God; our national motto of "In God We Trust"; The Preamble of the Constitution of the State of Kentucky; A page from the Congressional Record of Wednesday, February 2, 1983 because it declares 1983 as the "Year of the Bible," and lists the Ten Commandments; a proclamation by President Ronald Reagan marking 1983 as the Year of the Bible; a proclamation by President Abraham Lincoln designating April 30, 1863, as a National Day of Prayer and Humiliation; an excerpt by President Abraham Lincoln's "Reply to Loyal Colored People of Baltimore upon Presentation of a Bible" because it reads "The Bible is the best gift God has ever given to man."
The Christian God is a God of compassion, kindness, grace, and mercy. But to turn away from Him leads a people to ruin. The founding of America is filled with historical moments and documents that reveals this nation's deep awareness of the power and providence of God. We cannot simply outlaw the deeply religious, and most often Christian, underpinnings of this nation. But as indicated above, it is apparent that America has begun a startling slide into moral decay, and away from her Christian heritage. And our slide is no different from the decay of past great civilizations. The Greek Empire, and Rome both began as republics that practiced morality in their societies. But eventually they too began to practice the barbarism of abortion (getting to the point that in Rome it became legal to abandon your child up to two years of age on the side of the road, and it was illegal for anyone to save that child), practice sexual immorality, and eventually allowed widespread acceptance of homosexuality. The arrogance of these cultures led to their demise, just as with the Biblical cities of Sodom and Gomorrah where violence, idolatry, pride, and selfishness eventually led to the destruction of the cities. Homosexuality was not the only "abomination" for which God judged those cities, but it was the final straw - as it was the final domino in Greece and Rome.
Here in America we are now experiencing the widespread acceptance of homosexuality promoted by an unrelenting gay lobby, abortion and the increase of acceptance of partial-birth abortion, pervasive pornography, epidemic drug use (and even an attempt to legalize marijuana in some states), alcoholism, raging sexual immorality and sexually transmitted diseases, the unraveling of the family (U.S. has the world's highest divorce rate and it is currently twice what it was in 1960 - while marriage rates are dropping and the number of unmarried, cohabiting couples have increased dramatically), and a national catastrophe of out-of-wedlock births. We are literally destroying ourselves from within.
America is following a common pattern of history. Great nations rise to incredible power and influence, only to fall under their own weight because of internal corruption, compromise, and a collapse of political will. The connection is between societal views, and the political structure. As morality deteriorates in the non-governmental sector, corruption increases in the governmental sector. First, it begins with sexual impurity, leads to a homosexual revolution, and then society begins to literally openly encourage evil. It happened to Greece, it happened to Rome, and if we don't drop to our knees in prayer as a nation soon, it will continue to happen here.
Consider the following news items that are currently making worldwide news:
From Fox News:
A civil rights complaint has been filed against a woman in Grand Rapids, Mich., who posted an advertisement at her church last July seeking a Christian roommate.
The ad "expresses an illegal preference for a Christian roommate, thus excluding people of other faiths, according to the complaint filed by the Fair Housing Center of West Michigan.
"It's a violation to make, print or publish a discriminatory statement," Executive Director Nancy Haynes told Fox News. "There are no exemptions to that."
Haynes said the unnamed 31-year-old woman's case was turned over to the Michigan Department of Civil Rights. Depending on the outcome of the case, she said, the woman could face several hundreds of dollars in fines and fair housing training so it doesn't happen again.
Though the decision was later overturned, just the fact that it became a legal problem because a Christian asked for a Christian roommate on a bulletin board at her church is incredibly insane.
From World Net Daily:
Amazon selling several child molestation books - One controversial title withdrawn, seven more remain on the shelves.
After suffering a public relations nightmare yesterday, online giant Amazon.com removed "The Pedophile's Guide to Love and Pleasure" from its virtual bookstore – but the company continues to sell at least seven pro-molestation titles that are even more offensive.
One remaining title, David L. Riegel's "Understanding Loved Boys and Boylovers," drew attention in 2002 when WND reported Amazon refused to remove it amid similar protest.
Amazon also continues to offer four other titles by the unapologetic pro-"boylove" American, Riegel, and two by a notorious Dutch professor and pedophile. Riegel compares himself to human rights crusader Andrei Sakharov in the introduction to one of his books.
In fact, Amazon devotes an entire web page to Riegel and his work. Riegel, in turn, credits Amazon for keeping "Understanding Loved Boys and Boylovers" available to the public for nearly a decade.
From World Net Daily:
A 'right' to make test tube babies? - Court ruling on artificial reproduction dismisses morality, undermines family.
The European Center for Law and Justice is condemning a Strasbourg, France, court for declaring that "the wish for a child" is a fundamental right protected by the European Convention.
The European Court of Human Rights has decided that infertile couples could use any type of medical procedure to create a child, even procedures banned by their home country over bioethical concerns.
The ECLJ asserted the decision undermines the traditional definition of families as "biologically and genetically linked," rejects "moral considerations" as grounds for banning some forms of artificial reproduction and may enable same-sex partners to demandmedical assistance in creating a child.
"This decision is legally and ethically unacceptable; it diminishes the state's sovereignty in ethical matters, it is not inferred from the EuropeanConvention, and it opens the doors to many other ethical abuses," said Grégor Puppinck, director of the ECLJ, in a statement.
"[If] the concerns based on moral considerations or on social acceptability are not appropriate to regulate biotechnology, what is the purpose of bioethics?" Puppinck added.
From World Net Daily:
High Court considers barring Christian foster parents - Clergy argues, 'This 'equality' privileges homosexual rights over those of others'.
The stunning, benchmark case of a Christian couple told they may not be able to be foster parents under new laws dictating sensitivity to homosexual children is now awaiting judgment from Great Britain's High Court.
Owen and Eunice Johns of Derby, England, had cared for more than a dozen foster children through 1993, but when in 2007 they wished to resume foster care, they were required to reapply with their city council.
In the interval, however, Great Britain passed the Sexual Orientation Regulations and the Equality Act, which led a social worker to question whether a Christian couple would be "fit" to care for a potentially homosexual child.
Mrs. Johns told London's Daily Mail, "The council said, 'Do you know, you would have to tell them that it's OK to be homosexual?'"
"But I said I couldn't do that," Johns continued, "because my Christian beliefs won't let me. Morally, I couldn't do that. Spiritually I couldn't do that."
The Johns appealed to the courts, hoping it would force their council to clarify whether Christians with traditional views on sexual ethics would be forbidden from adopting foster children.
From Life Site News:
COURT AGREES WITH HUMAN RIGHTS TRIBUNAL THAT BIBLE = HATE LITERATURE
Christian Leader Warns Ruling Shows Danger of Proposed Changes to Hate Laws
In a ruling given virtually no media coverage, the Court of Queen's Bench in Saskatchewan, ruled that a man who placed references to Bible verses on homosexuality into a newspaper ad was guilty of inciting hatred. The December 11, 2002 decision was in response to an appeal of a 2001 Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission (HRC) ruling which ordered both the Saskatoon StarPhoenix newspaper and Hugh Owens of Regina to pay $1,500 to three homosexual activists for publishing an ad in the Saskatoon newspaper quoting bible verses regarding homosexuality.
The purpose of the ad was to indicate that the Bible says no to homosexual behaviour. The advertisement displayed references to four Bible passages: Romans 1, Leviticus 18:22, Leviticus 20:13 and 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, on the left side. An equal sign (=) was situated in the middle, with a symbol on the right side. The symbol was comprised of two males holding hands with the universal symbol of a red circle with a diagonal bar superimposed over top.
Justice J. Barclay rejected the appeal ruling: "In my view, the Board was correct in concluding that the advertisement can objectively be seen as exposing homosexuals to hatred or ridicule. When the use of the circle and slash is combined with the passages of the Bible, it exposes homosexuals to detestation, vilification and disgrace. In other words, the Biblical passage (sic) which suggest that if a man lies with a man they must be put to death exposes homosexuals to hatred."
Our Founding Fathers were devoted to God, and I am certain that they did not intend for this country to be a Godless one.
Need I say more?
-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary
Additional References:
The Late Great United States by Mark Hitchcock; Can America Survive? by John Hagee.
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