How Long Is Too Long?

Back in the days when Americans thought some things were worth going to war over, we fought a bloody Civil War for four years, 1861-1865.

But hostilities did not end in 1865. The most famous "freedom fighters" who continued hostilities in the name of the Confederacy were the Jesse James outlaws. The bank robbers and murders and assassinations in the after math of the Civil war in America did not end until "Mr. Howard" [Jesse James] was gunned down in his home almost 30 years later. But Americans were all "cowboys" in those days and didn't believe in cutting and running when the going got tough.

"If you faint in the day of adversity, your strenth is small." [Prov. 24:10]

So What Is Your Choice?

"The LORD is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: the LORD hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet." (Na 1:3 AV)
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When I was a lad, still very wet behind the ears, the conspiracy theories were all on the extreme right side of the political spectrum. We had the John Birch Society, which accused Dwight Eisenhower of being a conscious dupe of the communist party. We had Joseph McCarthy and the hunt for communists in the state department. These guys uncovered enough rot--Alger Hiss, Harry Dexter White, the Rosenbergs--to give some credence to their theories.

It's different nowadays. All the conspiracy theories come from the extreme left nowadays--they are as goofy as the old days, and once in a while there are some facts uncovered that encourage the convinced.

There are several things that the left-wingnuts have in the common with the old right-wingnuts. Both fear impending betrayal and disaster and seek to find the cause of things going from bad to worse.

Men may choose what ideas they want to believe--but they will not be able to choose the consequences of those ideas. The old liberals of the 19th and early 20th centuries believed that men were naturally good and if more and more freedom were given to them, they would follow their own naturally good impulses and the world would redeem itself. There are still a few of these museum pieces around, but the twentieth century consensus was that man is bad and must be kept in line by governments. Especially in capitalistic nations, men were dominated by greed and the love of power. This produced policies that conspired to bring people into economic bondage. Especially culpable were white European males. More and more freedom must be taken from such people.

In the days of the New Deal, the Fair Deal, the New Frontier, and the Great Society the liberals controlled the handles of government and the right-wingnuts found solace in the fiction that a few evil people in secret societies were conspiring to turn the world into a vast colony for their exploitation and wealth.

In the last couple of decades, things changed. The right wing came into control of the handles of government and the conspiratorial vultures fled from the minds of those who now had power and built nests in the skulls of the left-wingnuts.

What is common to both groups is the imagination that the causes of what takes place in the world must be found in the world. God has been removed from any part of history and relegated to the empty dreams of mystics and fools. We are "scientific" nowadays and will not allow religious foolishness to enter into our minds. There are causes for things that can be found in the world. Hence, conspiracies theories abound, because that is the inevitable result of denying that God rules the world for His own glory.

"He has His way in the whirlwind." Man conspires and plots but his dreams and plans are vanity. "Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established. The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil." (Proverbs 16:3,4) "A man's heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps." (Pr 16:9 AV)

Faith traces the causes of all things up to God. It therefore sees that the good and righteous God will not allow any permanent evil to happen to His people, but turns all things to their good. There is no such promise to the ungodly.

You don't have to believe this if you don't want to. But you must live with the consequences in both life and mind if you deny it. You cannot choose the consequences of denying first principles. You have to find the causes of things, for the alternative is madness.

 
From my kitchen window, a gorgeous fall red maple.  Fall, 2005

FOXNews.com - Murtha Lashes Out at Dem Leadership Opponent - Politics | Republican Party | Democratic Party | Political Spectrum: "
AP

Rep. Jack Murtha, D-Pa.Rep. Jack Murtha, D-Pa. WASHINGTON — The race to be the No. 2 House Democratic leader turned nasty Tuesday, with challenger Rep. John Murtha accusing opponents of 'swift-boat style attacks' that hark back to his days being investigated in the FBI's 1980 Abscam sting."
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Don't you just love it!

CREW Rips Pelosi on Murtha Maj. Leader Endorsement - CREW: "Washington, DC - Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) questioned soon-to-be House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's (D-CA) commitment to eradicating corruption with her endorsement of one of the most unethical members in Congress, Rep. John Murtha (D-PA), to be Majority Leader of the House of Representatives. "
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This would be hilarious if it were a movie, say, starring Robin Williams. But it involves national interest so we will watch with mixed emotions. Murtha is one of the most corrupt members of the Senate, and is backed by Pelosi, who said this would be the purest congress ever. But what do lies mean to this crowd?

CREW is not exactly a GOP front; it's back by George Soros, I have heard. Does anyone know?

Outrage as Church backs calls for severely disabled babies to be killed at birth | the Daily Mail: "The Church of England has broken with tradition dogma by calling for doctors to be allowed to let sick newborn babies die."
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Well, why not? God has nothing to do with such things, which are the product of impersonal evolution and chance. Why should parents have to put up with such inconvenience. They need to get on with their lives, after all.

"16 These six [things] doth the LORD hate: yea, seven [are] an abomination unto him: 17 A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, 18 An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, 19 A false witness [that] speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren." (Pr 6:16-19 av)

Two Years Is an Eternity in Politics

They have to do it, of course. I mean, the political writers have to make preditions and speculate.

But two years is an eternity in politics. Two years ago, Bush was elected with the greatest number of votes in the history of America. Now, people seem to forget that he is still president with enormous powers. There is no way to know what the political climate will be two years from now.

This is certain, whether people believe it or not. God is still God. Jesus Christ is still His Son. Jesus Christ has an everlasting kingdom and He is still the ruler of the nations.

Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. Unless people know what those decrees are, it is best to be humble. It is also certain that the proud do not know what the decrees are.

As the whirlwind passeth, so is the wicked no more: but the righteous is an everlasting foundation. (Pr 10:25 av)

The LORD is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: the LORD hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet. (Na 1:3 av)

All thy works shall praise thee, O LORD; and thy saints shall bless thee. 11 They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power; 12 To make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom. 13 Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations. 14 The LORD upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down. (Ps 145:10-14 av)

Elton John Promotes Hatred

DRUDGE REPORT FLASH 2005®: "Sir Elton John wants religion banned completely -- because he believes it promotes hatred of gays. "
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There is no question of the sodomite agenda--not every particular sodomite, but those who are leading the charge. Elton John voiced what many will not say--the elimatiion of religion and all morality, except that which fits their agenda.

They lied to us years ago when they wanted sodomy to be decriminalized. Now the truth is coming out.

"Celebrate diversity?" Only a diversity that leaves the burned ashes of Christianity behind it.

It won't happen, of course. It's been tried before, Elton. The result is always the same: the growth and propsperity of Christianity.

What about the complete banning of sodomy because it promotes hatred of religion. Hmmmmmm?

RealClearPolitics - Articles - Only a Minor Earthquake: "The result is that both parties have moved to the right. The Republicans have shed the last vestiges of their centrist past, the Rockefeller Republican. And the Democrats have widened their tent to bring in a new crop of blue-dog conservatives.

Moreover, ballot initiatives make the claim of a major anti-conservative swing quite problematic. In Michigan, liberal Democrats swept the gubernatorial and senatorial races, yet a ballot initiative to abolish affirmative action passed 58-42. Seven out of eight anti-gay marriage amendments to state constitutions passed. And nine states passed referendums asserting individual property rights against the government's power of eminent domain."
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Yes indeed. Read the whole article. There is no need for conservatives to be downhearted. We are still winning.

The Republicans deserved what they got. They refused to be humble, refused to court their constituencies, abandoned moral values. The liberals will gloat for a while, but what are their ideas?

The Democrats that want to be president will try to court the radical left in order to get money and the nomination. This means they will alienate the middle. If the republicans return to their base, abandon drunken spending, truly affirm values and moral discipline, 2008 might look very good indeed.

In reality, the Republican party is a better party now. There are fewer liberals in the party. They are humbled perhaps.

Maybe next time, if there is one, they will do what they promised their voters they would do.

But the world is a very dangerous place right now. Islamo-fascists do not love us more, but think us weak.

Sober Reflections

Someone has written [I don't remember who] that hyporcisy is the complement that evil pays to virtue.

Interesting thought, and it seems to enforce the idea that even the hypocrite wants to appear better than it is.

So, thinking about yesterday's election, it would appear that liberalism could not run under its own right, but had to run as conservatives, in order to anoint a liberal leadership. It was successful, but there are some other considerations.

The Democrats have to govern now. I think that President ought to sit down with the Democratic leadership of the two houses of Congress, and say something like this: "The American people have spoken. They seem to agree that the war in Iraq has not been going very well. I have fired Rumsfeld, and I am willing to listen to what you think we ought to do about Iraq, Iran, and North Korea. I am open. What is your plan?"

Then the Republicans can gather a list of failures to use in 2008.

Here's another good idea, if anyone is listening. Tell Joe Lieberman that he can whatever post he wants if he will vote with the Republicans to organize the Senate. If he does, then Cheney can break the tie and the Republicans can keep control of the Senate. He could vote on anything else anyway he wants, but the Republicans can still keep control of the rules and the procedures and the committee chairmen. It would be worth it, and Lieberman doesn't owe the Democrats anything. He could be for sale, for he sold out to Algore. What does he have to lose? The deal could be sweetened with pork barrel projects is Connecticut; that would keep voters back home happy. Why not? He's a liberal, but Bush could boast of bipartisanship and the feel-good politics of "compassionate conservatism," or the tone of his father, "a kinder, gentler, America." His ratings would go up to 80% or so, and he could build his library in Crawford, and he could put the end to his "conservative" movement that way his dad buried Reaganism.

Isn't politcs a nasty business?

Here's something a lot better: “O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!" (Ps 8:1 av)

You won't see His glory in all the earth unless you look for it through the eyes of faith in Christ.

We Will See, Won't We?

In the first few hours after 9-11 the only question I had in my mind concerning the rightness of the coming war with Islamo-fascism was this: Does America have the spiritual and moral fortitude to engage in such a war? Could Osama be right?

In the Sixties, the slogan of the American chicken was "Better red than dead." Will it now be, "Better Islam than death?" I fear that I might know the answer. Will a people who slays its babies rather than be uncomfortable find the price of liberty too great to pay? We will have the next two years to meditate.

Dolphin with four-wheel drive stuns the scientists | the Daily Mail: "Experts believe that the dolphin's ancestor was a dog-like creature which roamed the earth many millions of years ago. And now the extraordinary discovery of a bottlenosed dolphin with an extra set of flippers has provided living proof of the theory. "
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Proof? PROOF? I'd like to meet these scientists. I have some good land in Florida for sale. Or maybe they would like a good bridge near New York City.

Proof indeed. Maybe it is proof that dogs will someday swim in the sea. Isaiah might give a better explanation:

Thus saith the LORD, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the LORD that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself; That frustrateth the tokens of the liars, and maketh diviners mad; that turneth wise men backward, and maketh their knowledge foolish.... --Isaiah 44:25,26

Some Sober Thoughts on the Power of Sin

"Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God." (Rom. 3:19 )

There is not much said nowadays about the power of sin, but the Bible is clear: man cannot deliver himself from the power of sin, who is a cruel tyrant that brings judgment and death to mankind. Sin and death has reigned over mankind since the original sin of Adam in the Garden of Eden, as Romans 4:12 tells us.

If man could deliver himself from the power of sin, the coming of Jesus into the world would have been an absurdity. He came for one primary purpose: to "save his people from their sins." Matthew 1:21.

The reader must not think that any man is so delivered from sin in this life that he is sinless and perfect, for that belongs only to heaven. But it is true, that any man makes a beginning in righteousness only when he is united to Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit through faith. This is why we are called to put off the old man and put on the new man as Paul says in more than one place. Eph. 4:22 and Col. 3:9.

And so we read, “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.” (Rom. 5:6 ) “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:” (1Pe 3:18 )

This is the reason why the preaching of the cross is absolutely necessary if men are to be truly saved. “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.” (1Co 1:18 )

The Gospel is not preached when men are enticed to become Christians because of the promise of fun and games and pleasure. If the enticement is in terms of the love of money, love of fame, love of pleasure, love of the world, or any such thing the power of the cross is removed and sin exercises it power and tyranny in the life. The message of the cross is this: the sin of man is so great that he cannot deliver himself and can be saved only by agreeing with the verdict of the cross that man is worthy of death but the love of God has been revealed in that Christ died in place of the ungodly. This message is the only hope for man, and to corrupt this message is to take away all hope.

New lIfe in Christ only comes in terms of the crucifixion of Christ and my union with Him in His death. As Paul said,

"Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead." (Php 3:8-11 )

Of course, this is foolishness to the proud, the greedy, the arrogant, and the lustful. Such men have their portion in the world and know nothing of the power of the Christ, but remain under the power and dominion of sin. We live only because we die in Christ.

If you think that all this is foolishness, you do not understand the cross of Christ and are yet in your sins.

A Soul Before God

I do not know whether or not Ted Haggard is guilty of the charges against him. I am no great admirer of human nature, and think that most people are capable of terrible things if not sustained by the grace of God.

But the spiritual wars being fought in America are bloody and vicious wars. The left does not care about Christians or their families. My wife had taught the Haggard children in school and they are are wonderful family.

But Haggard is no more important to the whole scheme of things than the individual GI who landed on Normandy and was a casulty in the war. If he is guilty, Ted Haggard will find solace in Christ and learn a depth of the meaning of Christ's death that he never dreamed existed before, and will be a better man than before, although without his ministry and world-wide influence. God cares nothing about that either, for He will sacrifice the whole world for the salvation of His elect.

Christians and non-Christians need to realize that all men are flawed. The fundamental difference between the saved and the lost is the election of God to faith and adoption. God has pledged Himself in Jesus Christ to save His people from their sins by faith in the blood of Christ. They will be justified, sanctified and glorified. If Haggard is one of these, he will be finally saved, though he walks through the depth of discouragement and abasement. The non-elect have no such hope.

The man who accused Haggard did it from malice and hatred of religion, by his own admission. Haggard is nothing, but the anger of God will be more than this poor sodomite will be able to withstand. Christians are not to seek revenge, and no true Christian will do so, but they trust in the word of God, "Vengeance is mine; I will repay."

For Ted Haggard, the only thing that matters if he is guilty, is not his ministry, his political agenda, or his church. It is now a matter of his soul before God. He must come clean, repent, and cast himself upon the Christ whose love he professes. Christ only receives sinners, not the righteous.

A word to the Sodomite lobby: "And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?" --1Peter 4:18

California Poppies 

It might very well be ungovernable. Last year there were 190, 178 crimes of violence causing 2503 deaths, or about 8 per day. There were almost 10,000 forced rapes, about one per hour, and over 114, 161 violent assaults, or one every 12 minutes. The borders are porous and police are not able to seal them off to keep foreign criminals out.

Though rich in natural resources, it is so badly governed that there is no assurance that there will be electricity or sufficient water during certain parts of the year. The inner cities are rocked with violence and the schools are in disarray. Many have given up and are trying to flee the state. There is ethnic and religious discord.

No, we are not talking about Iraq or Afghanistan. The state is California, which has only a few more millions of people than does Iraq.

Why do you suppose that we do not get a daily body count from California from the media? Surely there is some newsworthy reporting and possible a Pulitzer Prize for somebody motivated enough to report on the break down of civilization in California.

But I am sure that it is the Republican’s fault for the disarray in California. They do have a sorta-Republican governor.

They probably were better off when they had Spanish dictators. We should set a time-table for getting out of California

World Tribune.com -- Ongoing 'intifada' in France has injured 2,500 police in 2006

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So, what's new? Islam has been the aggressor against Christ since the false prophet Mohammed received his satanic visions. The Crusades were simply a vigorous effort on the part of the West to remove a continuing hostile threat from the East, in spite of the revisionist "history" that has an agenda other than the truth. Look it up for yourself. Islam has always been the aggressor against the church.

Did the West make mistakes? Of course it did, just as the present War on Terror has made mistakes. But don't be deceived about the nature of the conflict, and who the good guys are.

Voting for Impeachment: "There is something satisfying about the fact that the communities that are voting on impeachment -- which range from urban centers to college towns to rural towns -- cannot be stereotyped. That is as it should be, says Buzz Davis, the Veterans for Peace activist who has been leading the impeachment campaign that has qualified two referendums for the November ballots in Wisconsin cities and hopes to qualify many more for next spring's local election ballots. 'Impeachment is not a partisan issue but a question of whether our nation will live under the rule of law as our Founding Fathers believed,' argues Davis. "
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Isn't this an example of the most brazen hypocrisy that a liberal rag like The Nation  suddenly becomes a defender of the "original intent" of the Founding Fathers.

Say, Mr. Nation, what about gun control, abortion, homosexual marriage, giving foreign terrorists the rights of American citizens, banishing of religion from the public forum, federalism vs. radical democracy, etc., etc., etc.

Of course, if public education would teach the words of the constitution instead of their liberal agenda, then demogogic articles like those in The Nation  would have no currency with the American people.

I wonder if this means that The Nation  will now support Supreme Court Justices who will be strict constructionists? Don't bet the rent.

Clinton says Republican extremists divided country | US News | Reuters.com: "Former President Bill Clinton told Iowa's Democratic Party faithful on Saturday that the actions of 'an extreme sliver' of the Republican Party have backfired and 'profoundly divided' the country."
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It's a tough world. Reminds me of the little boy that told his teacher, "Ma'am, the whole fight started when Bobby hit me back."

  

Just to make your day. There are beautiful things in the world.