Monday, June 26, 2006

Open Your Eyes to the World all Around You


Open your eyes to the world all around you,
This world is much more than the things that surround you.
You must arise, and open your eyes.
Sometimes we're too busy to share, but Jesus wants to care.

Open your arms to the naked and shivering,
We need a little less taking, a whole lot more giving.
We're so safe and warm, we can open our arms.
And love a little bit stronger, and pray a little bit longer.

Open your hearts to the ones who are desperate,
They may never repay you, but their souls are worth it,
The life you impart when you open your heart.
Jesus loves all men the same,
So we've got to go out in His name.

Jesus says, when we touch someone in His name, we're touching Him.
Jesus says, when we love someone in His name, we're loving Him.
Jesus says, when we feed someone in His name, we're feeding Him.
And Jesus says, when we reach someone in His name,
He feels, He says, it's all for Him.
Open Your Eyes, Keith Green, Sparrow/Emd Records
Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.

Monday, June 19, 2006

End Times: The Great Deception and Falling Away from the Church

Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition.
2 Thessalonians 2:3

The falling away mentioned above is the church away from the faith, which precedes the appearance of the Anti-Christ on the earth. Other translations call it the “apostasy.” Apostasy means the act of abandoning a party or cause, or abandoning your religious beliefs.

Departing from the Faith

Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;
1 Tim 4:1-2

Is this not what we see occurring all across the world today? Many many people are abandoning the faith due to Darwinism, Secular Humanism, and other ism’s destructive to the faith.

A Picture of the End Times

This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
2 Tim 3:1-5

Matter of fact, in our children’s lifetime I expect the UN to eventually become the source of morality in the world. Expect the UN to eventually outlaw the bible and make it “hate-speech.” Don’t think it will happen? It already has happened in parts of Canada and other countries. Books are currently being written about the current suppression of the church and the bible.

The Changing of the Gospel

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
2 Tim 4:3-4

Many are watering down the Gospel of Christ, causing the faithful to go to sleep spiritually and not be attentive and watch for the 2nd coming of Christ.

But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them-- bringing swift destruction on themselves.
2 Peter 2:1

Stand Strong Until the End

So in the end, be strong spiritually. Let no one deceive you in these perilous end times. This is only a small portion of the end times picture, but volumes upon volumes have been written and documented about the subject. But maybe it might open your eyes. Peter, speaking of Jesus and the last days:

For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you.
1 Peter 1:20

So stay strong and do not believe what the world tells you regarding religion and the current times.

Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers, not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report or letter supposed to have come from us, saying that the day of the Lord has already come.
2 Thessalonians 2:1

See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.
Colossians 2:8

Peter's Speech on the Last Days

Finally, we know that these are the last days. In the book of Acts, Peter addressed Jews from all over the world who were visiting Jerusalem:

But Peter, taking his stand with the eleven, raised his voice and declared to them...but this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel:
AND IT SHALL BE IN THE LAST DAYS,' God says,
'THAT I WILL POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT ON ALL MANKIND;
AND YOUR SONS AND YOUR DAUGHTERS SHALL PROPHESY,
AND YOUR YOUNG MEN SHALL SEE VISIONS,
AND YOUR OLD MEN SHALL DREAM DREAMS;

BEFORE THE GREAT AND GLORIOUS DAY OF THE LORD SHALL COME. AND IT SHALL BE THAT EVERYONE WHO CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.'
Acts 2:14-17, 21

Be Patient For Now

Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains.
James 5:7

Also, relax, God choose you:

But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Thessalonians 2:13

Expect the End

For you yourselves know that the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While they are saying, "Peace and safety!" then destruction will come upon them suddenly...

But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day should overtake you like a thief; for you are all sons of light and sons of day. For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Thess 5:1-5, 9

Redeem the time while there's still time.

Sunday, June 18, 2006

The Coming Ice Age

Time magazine recently had a front page article on the end of the world due to global warming. A key piece of data on the article was that global co2 emmissions fossil fuels went from a modest 1 metric ton a year in 1950 to 7 metric tons a year in 2000. Other emission types have slightly risen to 2 or 3 metric tons.

However, from 1923 on, Time repeatedly contained stories from scientists and climatologists said that we were heading into an ice age. Can they make up their minds? Its actually funny.

Here are some highlights and excerpts of contradiction, as reported by Time Magazine.

MacMillan Heard From, Sep. 10, 1923
The discoveries of changes in the sun's heat ( TIME, issue from May 5) and the southward advance of glaciers in recent years have given rise to conjectures of the possible advent of a new ice age.

In the Arctic, Sep. 7, 1925
While learned British scientists expatiated at Southampton a new Ice Age that will drive civilization to the earth's poles for warmth...

Cold England? Aug. 20, 1928
From London's smart Mayfair to Scotland's dour Hebrides, every Britishman knows that the only thing which keeps him reasonably warm is the Gulf Stream. Alarming, therefore, was a report last week by two White Star Line skippers that, according to their observations, the Gulf Stream has recently changed its course ten points. Should it swerve away from the British Isles entirely, they would become semi-Arctic. Stern old duchesses and gouty earls would have to flee, pellmell, with cockneys and Irishmen before a new Ice Age. Cold England would have to be abandoned, and Britishmen would seek refuge in their Dominions.

Greenland Sunrise, Feb. 20, 1933
Feb. 3 required some jubilation at Peary Lodge, Polar Year station midway up Greenland's west coast. University of Michigan & Pan American Airways maintain the post: 1) to cooperate with European agencies in studying world-wide weather conditions, 2) to determine whether the northern hemisphere is recovering from the last Ice Age or is beginning another Ice cycle,...

Runaway Glacier, Mar. 1, 1937 (global warming before 1950? That don't make sense.)
- Alaska's glaciers are survivals of the ice age on the North American continent. Washburn believes that Alaska's glaciers are dwindling, will eventually disappear.
- When the impulse has expended itself, there follows a period of very rapid shrinkage at the foot of the glacier. Black Rapids Glacier may continue to move for six months to two years. Then it will recede. Five years hence it will have dwindled five miles back up its valley.

Warmer World, Jan. 2, 1939 (global warming before 1950, again?, before the increase of greenhouse gases, that don't make sense...)
- Weather men have no doubt that the world at least for the time being is growing warmer. A group of Soviet meteorologists, who have recorded Arctic temperatures for a decade, reported last fortnight that the Arctic is warmer.
- The continental ice sheet which once covered the northern United States still exists in Greenland where it is STILL retreating. Despite various speculations, the reason for such climate changes is obscure. (key word here, STILL)
- In 1932 the U. S. Weather Bureau assembled all available records covering a century or more, found that they showed a trend towards warmth. (warmth trend since 1832? global warming before 1950, say it with me now: that don't make sense...)

Adventuring, May 20, 1940
- Adventures of a Biologist. Famed problem child of British scientists, prolific science writer, expert on poison gas, big, bristly-tempered, 47-year-old Biologist John Burdon Sanderson Haldane...
- Besides essays on the biologist in relation to everything from town-planning to death, Biologist Haldane speculates on the effect of weather on history, on the possibility of a new ice age...

Reproduction, Rings, Rivers Sep. 30, 1940
- Geologists know that during the Ice Age, which began to recede some 20,000 years ago, the ocean level was lower than it is now, because great masses of water were locked up in the land glaciers. But the continents could hardly have stored water masses tremendous enough to have raised the sea level from one and a half to two miles.
- Geologist Roy Dickerson of Atlantic Refining Co. favors the sapping-spring theory, believes the Ice Age drainage to the sea was inconsiderable.
- So Dr. Dickerson concludes that the seas must have risen less than 300 ft. since the Ice Age

Greenland's Icy Mountains, Apr. 21, 1941
So little is known about the ice cap itself (almost two miles deep, spreading over more than 80% of the island, the birthplace of storms and icebergs) that scientists cannot agree whether it is a vanishing segment of the last Ice Age, or a forerunner of the next.

News Quiz, Jun. 19, 1950 - 85
On the question of whether the U.S. climate is getting warmer, U.S. meteorologists are:
1. Agreed that it is.
2. Agreed that there has been no change.
3. Agreed that it is getting colder.
4. No closer to agreement than their predecessors of a century ago.
5. Predicting another Ice Age.

Crystal Ball of Ice, Oct. 1, 1951
- They had completed one more season of probing Alaska's great ice mass, clocking its slow motions, and trying to use it as a vast crystal ball to predict the earth's future climate.
- Out of the huge field (700 sq. mi.) flow at least eleven glaciers, ten of which are slowly receding. The eleventh, which particularly intrigued the scientists, is the great Taku glacier, which has advanced more than 3½ miles in the last 50 years. (One glacier advancing despite global warming, that don't make sense)
- At present the earth is enjoying a warm spell, with the northern regions more hospitable than they have been in 200 years. But no one yet knows whether the ice is gathering again to creep down out of the north.

Ice-Free Arctic?, May 17, 1954
- Last week Edward L. Gorton Jr. of the U.S. Navy Hydrographic Office released the first results of a continuing analysis of the polar wasteland.
- Navy oceanographers found that one-tenth of the ice melts each summer, and the ice layer's thickness is reduced to two or three meters. At present, the pack contains only 6,500 cubic miles of ice (barely enough to cover the state of Texas with a 125-ft. layer), and it is steadily shrinking. Since 1900, the thickness of the polar icecap has decreased by three feet because of higher general temperatures.
- If the trend continues, predicts Gorton, the Arctic Ocean will eventually lose its permanent ice, freezing only in winter; at that point, none of the ice will reach the hard-core polar stage. The Navy's tentative long-range forecast: "Great changes in climate will take place. This change . . . may foreshadow the end of the current ice age, but no timetable is set for this development."

Glacial Thermostat, Jul. 9, 1956
If the Ewing-Donn theory is correct, human civilization may be headed for trouble in a few thousand years. At present there is pretty good communication between the Atlantic and Arctic oceans. Warm water is flowing northward at a steadily increasing clip. When the Arctic Ocean melts, the glaciers, well fed with snow, will start creeping south. The human species will have to move out of its favorite real estate−or try to set the glacial thermostat for another interglacial cycle.

Ocean Frontier, Jul. 6, 1959
New Ice Age? Oceanographers believe that man is approaching the point where he can try large-scale experiments on the ocean.

Mysteries of Antarctica, Dec. 1, 1961
In the present state of the world's evolution, Antarctica is the only continent that is overwhelmingly in the grip of an ice age....

The Galloping Glacier, Aug. 19, 1966
- Perhaps 20,000 years old, it looked much the same as any other glacier—until six weeks ago, when Upton gazed down and did a double take.
- Presently moving at what scientists described as a "spectacular" two feet an hour, the river of ice, 22 miles long and more than a mile wide, had traveled some five miles in "pulsating surges," shearing through adjacent mountains and destroying everything in its path. (perhaps this glacier didn't get the global warming memo...that don't make sense...)
- In any case, Steele hardly seemed to herald another Ice Age...

Losing Ground, Apr. 26, 1968
Ever since the end of the last ice age—when the grinding action of glaciers against rocks created much of the world's present sand—the oceans have been steadily rising. Fed by slowly melting ice, the level of the seas is now 300 ft. above what it was 18,000 years ago, and is still creeping up at something like 9 in. a century. (frightening, in a million years, the beach parking lot...will now be the beach!)

Muted Gaudeamus, Apr. 18, 1969
A scientist last week dispelled fears that a new Ice Age is about to engulf the world

Fighting to Save the Earth from Man, Feb. 2, 1970
- A few scientists feel that the outpouring of carbon dioxide, mainly from industry, is forming an invisible global filter in the atmosphere. This filter may act like a greenhouse: transparent to sunlight but opaque to heat radiation bouncing off the earth. In theory, the planet will warm up. (oh boy! the first sign of global warming, mark your calendars!)
- Other scientists argue the exact opposite: they point out that the earth's average temperature has dropped by .2° C. since 1945, though the carbon dioxide content of the air keeps increasing every year. To explain this phenomenon, many ecologists think that various particles in the atmosphere are reflecting sunlight away from the earth, thus cooling the planet. Since about 31% of the world's surface is covered by low clouds, increasing this cover to 36% through pollution would drop the temperature about 4° C.—enough to start a return to the ice age.

Another Ice Age?, Nov. 13, 1972
- If the earth's recent history is any clue, says Marine Geologist Cesare Emiliani of the University of Miami, a new ice age could become a reality. (how's that possible with all those co2 emissions floating around....? chuckle)
- We may soon be confronted with either a runaway glaciation or a runaway deglaciation, both of which would generate unacceptable environmental stresses."

Another Ice Age?, Jun. 24, 1974
- As they review the bizarre and unpredictable weather pattern of the past several years, a growing number of scientists are beginning to suspect that many seemingly contradictory meteorological fluctuations are actually part of a global climatic upheaval.
- Climatological Cassandras are becoming increasingly apprehensive, for the weather aberrations they are studying may be the harbinger of another ice age.
- Telltale signs are everywhere —from the unexpected persistence and thickness of pack ice in the waters around Iceland to the southward migration of a warmth-loving creature like the armadillo from the Midwest.Since the 1940s the mean global temperature has dropped about 2.7° F. Although that figure is at best an estimate, it is supported by other convincing data.
(but Al Gore, the weather expert, says that the temps were rising during the 70's, that don't make sense....)

WEATHER CHANGE: POORER HARVESTS, Nov. 11, 1974
- more and more scientists are raising storm warnings for the future. At the very least, they foresee troublesome changes in global temperature and rainfall patterns that could seriously jeopardize the earth's ability to feed itself.
- From his studies of weather history, British Climatologist Hubert H. Lamb concludes that climate runs in roughly 200-year-long cycles, and that the earth is now entering one of its chilly phases. Perhaps the gloomiest of the weather prophets, Bryson speculates that the earth may be reverting to a frigid interlude comparable to what some scientists call the "little ice age" that cooled Europe from the 16th through 19th centuries. (entering a chilly phase???)

Forecast: Famine?, May 17, 1976
The CIA's forecast is largely based on studies conducted over the past several years by climatologists at the University of Wisconsin. They project that the world's climate, which for several decades had been ideal for agriculture, is returning to the conditions that existed from 1600 to 1850. That period was a "Little Ice Age" characterized by lower temperatures, shorter growing seasons and periods of famine.

The World's Climate: Unpredictable, Aug. 9, 1976
- Climatologists still disagree on whether earth's long-range outlook is another ice age, which could bring mass starvation and fuel shortages, or a warming trend, which could melt the polar icecaps and flood coastal cities.
- Cooling Trend. Do all of these abnormalities mean that something is happening to the world's climate? There is some evidence that the earth had cooled down—at least temporarily—in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1972, according to German Climatologist Horst Dronia, the atmosphere in the Northern Hemisphere was one full degree centigrade colder than in 1949.

The Big Freeze, Jan. 31, 1977
Alltime low temperatures were recorded last week in Cincinnati (—25), Miami Beach ( + 32), Palm Beach ( + 27). Single-day records for the date were set in New York City (—1); Dayton (—21); and Lynchburg, Va. ( — 8). At —19, Chicago experienced its coldest day in this century. Peoria, Ill. ( — 25), had not been so cold since 1884.

FORECAST: UNSETTLED WEATHER AHEAD, Jan. 31, 1977
- Among scientists who fear that significant worldwide climatic changes have already begun, there are those who believe that another Ice Age is not far ahead—as well as others who predict that a potentially devastating warming trend may occur. Ice Age doomsayers note evidence that average temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere dropped 1° Celsius during the 1950s and 1960s. Kukla found that the average snow and ice cover in the Northern Hemisphere increased sharply in 1971 compared with the years between 1967 and '70
- Global cooling might be explained by a link between ice ages and changes both in the earth's attitude and in its orbit around the sun. That concept was championed by Germany's Alfred Wegener (best known for his ideas about continental drift) and later refined by Yugoslav Mathematician Milutin Milankovitch, for whom the theory is now named.

Weather: Prediction and Control, Feb. 21, 1977
Krafft Ehricke, a German-born rocket engineer, has revived an earlier suggestion that huge orbiting mirrors be used to reflect sunlight onto the dark side of the earth, preventing crop freezes and perhaps raising average temperatures enough to forestall the new ice age that some climatologists believe lies ahead (TIME, Jan. 31).

Warming Earth?, Sep. 18, 1978
There is another wrinkle in these climatological complications. For about two decades ending in the early 1970s, the earth was in what seemed to be a cooling phase. Some climatologists suggested that the chill marked the beginning of a "little ice age," like the one that persisted in Europe from about 1550 to 1850. If they are right, then the cooling forces—which could be attributable to anything from increased atmospheric dust to subtle changes in the amount of heat received from the sun—will be pitted against the warming force of the so-called greenhouse effect. For a while, at least, these two opposites might balance each other neatly. ( how convenient)

The Deluge of Disastermania, Mar. 5, 1979
In an avalanche of recent books, polar caps melt, a new ice age begins,...

The Winter That Refused to Die, Apr. 19, 1982
The sudden plunge back into the ice age sent statisticians to the record books. According to the National Weather Service, temperatures for April plummeted to new lows in seven U.S. cities, including 6°F in Flint, Mich., and 26° in Augusta, Ga...

Pardon El Chichon's Dust, Jul. 5, 1982
Some scientists believe a very large amount of volcanic dust in the atmosphere could send the earth tumbling into another ice age. Fury on The Sun Jul. 3, 1989 Even small changes in solar-energy output could have a profound influence on the planet. A long-term variation in global temperatures of only a few degrees could melt the ice caps, inundating coastal cities -- or bringing on a new ice age.

The Ice Age Cometh?, Jan. 31, 1994
- Temperatures in dozens of cities dropped to all-time lows: -22 degreesF in Pittsburgh; -25 degrees in Akron, Ohio, and Clarksburg, West Virginia; -27 degrees in Indianapolis, Indiana. Chicago schools closed because of cold weather for the first time in history
- What ever happened to global warming?
- But if last week is any indication of winters to come, it might be more to the point to start worrying about the next Ice Age instead. After all, human-induced warming is still largely theoretical, while ice ages are an established part of the planet's history. In short, while there is no reason to think the next full-fledged Ice Age is upon us, a shorter episode of frigid conditions could happen at any time. The last interglacial period was warmer than this one and also, arguably, more unstable.

And Then How Cold?
Warming may affect sea currents, triggering an ice age, Nov. 8, 1999
There's a chance that global warming could plunge us into, of all things, an ice age...

Conclusion
It appears that an ice age is coming, not global warming. Don't throw out those winter cloths and skis!

you may be entertaining Angels unaware

Sunday, June 11, 2006

The Separation of Church and State?

US Constitution
Bill of Rights/Amendment I

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."

In a nutshell, the US Constitution is saying that Congress shall not do the following:
- Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion
- Congress shall not prohibit the free exercise thereof
- Congress shall not abridge the freedom of speech, or of the press;
- Congress shall not stop the right of the people peaceably to assemble
- Congress shall not stop the people from petitioning the government for a redress of grievances.

The whole point of Amendment 1 is not that religion should be kept out of our Government, but that our Government should be kept out of religion. It is very clear that Congress cannot prohibit or limit the exercising of faith. Matter of fact, there is little they can do to prohibit the state and the church from melding together. However, today, the Government is taking away our religious freedoms. How?

The way the Left has gotten around the Constitution is to:

1) Hype up the separation of church and state via the constitution (even though it is not mentioned)
2) They use the judicial branch to thwart and issue commands that bind the church and limit the free exercise of Christianity.

The most serious threat to the church is the judicial branch, the branch of the US government responsible for the administration of justice. Judges with agendas are populating courts all over the land. Keeping religion and government separate is imperative to Secular Humanists, Atheists, Agnostics, and those from the far Left wing.

The doctrine of the separation of powers calls for the judiciary branch to interpret the law. So, if you have judges, magistrates and other adjudicators who have left wing agendas, you can feed into the hyping of the separation of church and state (even though it is not mentioned in the constitution). The US constitution is designed limit the powers of the government and prudently drafted to tell the government what NOT to do in matters of religion. The left wing circumvents this with their “judges with agendas.”

Truths to Know

1) The separation of church and state is not found in the constitution, PERIOD.

The separation of church and state is not found in any founding document remotely connected to the United States. It is not in the:
- Magna Carta, 1218
- The Mayflower Compact, November 11, 1620
- The Virginia Declaration of Rights, June 12, 1776
- The Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776
- Articles of Confederation, published in 1781
- The Constitution, ratified in 1788
- The Bill of Rights, ratified in 1791
- The Reconstruction Amendments, Ratified in 1865

2) The church and state are combined to the degree that God is honored but citizens are not legally required to honor or serve him.

The USA honors God by placing references to him:
- Endowed by our Creator: The Declaration of Independence, 1700s
- Supreme Judge of the world: The Declaration of Independence, 1700s
- The 10 commandments (basis for the rule of law) used to be placed in or near US courthouses (God help us, they are removing them), 1700s
- Thomas Jefferson’s famous Danbury letter quote: I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should 'make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,' thus building a wall of separation between church and State. (meaning, Government should be kept out of religion, not visa-versa).
- From the Star Spangled Banner:
Blest with victory and peace, may the Heaven-rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, for our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."

- In God We Trust: the motto placed on U.S. currency since the late 1800s
- Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg quote, 1800s: that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the Earth
- God Bless America: the de facto US anthem since the late 30s
- One nation under God: pledge of allegiance since the 50s

3) The USA has been declared a Christian nation.

The US Supreme Court: 1892
The case Holy Trinity Church vs United States, US Supreme Court justice David Brewer wrote, “No purpose of action against religion can be imputed to any legislation, state or national, because this is a religious people... This is a Christian nation."

House Judiciary Committee: 1854
Had the people, during the revolution, a suspicion of any attempt to war against Christianity, that revolution would have been strangled in its cradle... At the time of the adoption of the Constitution and its amendments, the universal sentiment was that Christianity should be encouraged, but not any one sect... In this age, there is no substitute for Christianity... That was the religion of the founders of the republic and they expected it to remain the religion of their descendants
Added two months later:
The great, vital and conservative element in our system is the belief of our people in the pure doctrines and the divine truths of the Gospel of Jesus Christ

4) Early State Constitutions Limited Public Office to Christians Only

Various state constitutions originally limited public office to Christians and Trinitarian Protestants only (too bad they didn’t keep that one) .

5) There is a Biblical Foundation for Church Tax Exemption

You are also to know that you have no authority to impose taxes, tribute or duty on any of the priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, temple servants or other workers at this house of God. Ezra 7:24

6) The US was founded as a Christian Nation
- The Mayflower Compact, 1620:
Having undertaken for the Glory of God, and Advancement of the Christian Faith....
Ths
- The Charter of New England: 1620
We according to our princely Inclination, favoring much their worthy Disposition, in Hope thereby to advance the in Largement of Christian Religion, to the Glory of God Almighty, as also by that Means to stretch out the Bounds of our Dominions...
Ths
- Charter of the Colony of New Plymouth: 1629
And now seeing that by the special providence of God...
Ths
-The Charter of Maryland: 1632
...whereby God's holy and true Christian Religion...
Ths
- The Articles of Confederation of the United Colonies of New England: 1643
Whereas we all came into these parts of America with one and the same end and aim, namely, to advance the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ and to enjoy the liberties of the Gospel in purity with peace...
Ths
- Charter of Connecticut: 1662
Our said People Inhabitants there, may be so religiously, peaceably and civilly governed, as their good Life and orderly Conversation may win and invite the Natives of the Country to the Knowledge and Obedience of the only true GOD, and He Savior of Mankind, and the Christian Faith,...
Ths
- Charter of Carolina: 1663
...being excited with a laudable and pious zeal for the propagation of the Christian faith, and the enlargement of our empire and dominions...
Ths
- Charter of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations: 1663
...that they, pursuing, with peaceable and loyal minces, their sober, serious and religious intentions, of goalie edifying themselves, and one another, in the holie Christian faith and worship as they were persuaded...
and to secure them in the free exercise and enjoyment of all their civil and religious rights, appertaining to them, as our loving subjects; and to preserve unto them that liberty, in the true Christian faith and worship of God,...
Ths
- Charter for the Province of Pennsylvania: 1681
...promote such useful commodities as may bee of Benefit to us and Our Dominions, as also to reduce the savage Natives by gentle and just mamlers to the Love of Civil Society and Christian Religion...
Ths
- Frame of Government of Pennsylvania: 1683
And that the inhabitants of this province and territories thereof may be accommodated with such food and sustenance, as God, in His providence, hath freely afforded...
Ths
- The Charter of Massachusetts Bay: 1691
Conversation may win the Indians Natives of the Country to the knowledge and obedience of the only true God and Savior of Mankind and the Christian Faith...
Ths
- The Virginia Declaration of Rights: 1776
That religion, or the duty which we owe to our Creator, and the manner of discharging it,...
...and that it is the mutual duty of all to practise Christian forbearance, love, and charity toward each other...
Ths
- The Declaration of Independence: 1776
...the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them...
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights...
Ths
- The First Continental Congress: 1777
Appropriated funds to import for the people 20,000 Holy Bibles as "the great political textbook of the patriots."
Ths
- Founding Father, George Washington: 1787
Regarding the Constitution: "Let us raise a standard to which the wise and honest can repair; the event is in the hand of God."
Ths
- 1st President, George Washington’s farewell address: I shall carry it with me to my grave as a strong incitement to unceasing vows that Heaven may continue to you the choicest tokens of its beneficence...
Ths
- Founding Father, 2nd President, John Adams speech:
Our Constitution was made only for a moral and a religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.

Conclusion

The USA is a Christian nation. The evidence is overwhelming, this is all just the tip of the iceberg! It would take days and days to sift through every piece of data. But why go any further. Simply understand that this is a Christian nation and that we need to maintain our heritage, lest it be removed and purposely lost forever.

But most importantly, the USA must continue striving to be a Christian nation, God's Word still holds true: "If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land."
2nd Chronicles 7:14
We are His workmanship, created for good works in Christ

Saturday, June 10, 2006

Signs of the End Times

We can see the ends times every time we check out the newspapers, or the local news.

Signs of the End Times

2000 years ago, Jesus Christ (i.e., the Son of God), gave us some clues as to the end times. In the book of Matthew (chapter 24), Jesus expounded on the end times.

As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. "Tell us," they said, "when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?"

Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains."

"Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come."

"So when you see standing in the holy place 'the abomination that causes desolation,' spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains."

Birth Pangs of Today

So you see, we certainly see the birth pangs today:

- Many claiming to be a Savior, or the Savior
- Wars and rumors of wars
- Nation rising against nation, kingdom against kingdom
- Famines and earthquakes in various places

But do not be alarmed, such things must happen, but the end is still to come. But before it does, did you notice the escalation (verses 9-13) and the reference to the Anti-Christ (verse 15)?

Escalation of Persecution

The escalation includes (most likely with the revealing of the Anti-Christ):
- You will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death
- You will be hated by all nations because of me
- Many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other
- Many false prophets will appear and deceive many people

Stand Firm to the End

Despite everything, he who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. But before it does, the Anti-Christ will be revealed (verse 15, also check out 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4) and the Rapture of the Church and Tribulation will occur. The Tribulation is two 3 1/2 year periods at the end of which, the Second Coming of Jesus Christ occurs.

Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. Matthew 7:13-14

My mind is full of many thoughts that clutter and confuse. But standing firm, I will prevail, in faith that I'll be used.

Sunday, June 04, 2006

DaVinci Code vs The Process of Copying Scripture

The DaVinci Code, and skeptics galore say that there is no definitive version of the bible, that it has been through numerous translations, additions, and deletions. This is a very inaccurate assessment (does not the Devil mix a little truth in every lie?). Yes, there are many translations of the word of God (no problem with that), but no, never any additions or deletions.

Matter of fact, the Dead Sea Scrolls reveal concretely that the 39 OT books are accurate copies used by the Jews thousands of years ago. They reveal little or no corruption to the OT of today, which is pretty amazing.

Regarding the 27 NT books (get a load of this....), the process that scholars use to evaluate the consistency of a document is to compare the copies, with the earliest as the most reliable. All the great documents of history from the same time period as the NT books, have generally 8 to 20 copies. Demosthenes’s book has 200 copies and Homer’s LLiad has 643. But!....(here we go), we have over 5,300 copies of the New Testament in Greek, we have over 15,000 copies of the NT in Syriac and Latin, all around the time very near to when the actual gospels were written! Scholars can compare all of those copies to the copies on the shelves in Barnes n Noble. They find very small minor alterations (nothing even remotely calling any tenant of faith into question, not one!).

Here is the key regarding the NT, in the early 200’s, Origen (an early church leader) listed all the accepted books of the New Testament, the list matches our list today. The NT was intact then, intact now, will remain intact until Jesus comes back (I’m a poet and I don’t....).

The question is, why the accuracy? Good question. The reason is that the Jewish scribes were amazing intense when producing copies of scripture.

The Process of Copying Scripture
Adapted from Ralph Muncaster: A Skeptic’s Search for God, pg 137-138


1. Scribes were trained until they were 30 years old.
2. Each letter of the scroll was visually confirmed, one by one with the master scroll.
3. A thread was often placed between letters to ensure separation and accuracy.
4. Each letter in each scroll was counted, and the count was compared to the master scroll.
5. Each word in the scroll was counted and compared to the master scroll.
6. The middle letter in each entire copied scroll was located and compared to the master.
7. If a single mistake was found, the scroll was destroyed.

Note: The DaVinci Code is a popular book and movie based on the notion that Jesus Christ was not God, but a man who married Mary Magdalene, with the Church covering it up. Furthermore, the plot includes the general smearing of Christianity from top to bottom. But, what happens when a Christian leader stands up to say they are offended, or tries to combat the smearing? The world chuckles and says, “don’t worry, its just entertainment.” Just entertainment? I will address this matter in a post very soon. Stay tuned.
The greatest people in the world just wouldn't come, So now we'll just have to invite the small.