Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Clueless in Indiana

It is fun for me to comment on the political world. There is so much going on there. Lest someone thinks that I simply pick on the Democrats, I found something to balance the scales.

An Indiana Republican Congressional candidate Tony Zirkle was asked to be the guest speaker at a function in Chicago. His topic was the negative effects of pornography and prostitution. The organization he spoke at was the National Socialist Worker’s Party. It is obvious that young Mr. Zirkle didn’t understand who these people were. Defending them, he said he didn’t know enough about them to favor or oppose them. He also defended his choice to speak by saying he would bring his message anywhere. Well Mr. Zirkle, there were some clues you should have picked up on. Here are a few:

  1. The big poster behind him of their hero.
  2. The uniforms and the brass hardware worn by the club leaders at the speaker’s table.
  3. The reason for the event – their hero’s birthday.
  4. And last but not least, the birthday cake with their hero Hitler’s picture on it and the words under the picture – Seig Heil!

Well, he got his photo opportunity. Here it is. I am going to predict his political career is over. It should be. The article that tells about it is aptly named: Worst Campaign Idea Ever?




Thursday, April 17, 2008

How do Millions of Muslms get converted to Chrisitanity every year?

I read something that really fascinated me. In our conflict with Islam, we do not seem to gain any ground with our efforts to evangelize them. We hear of some things but the impact we have had on showing them the error of their ways and the light of Christianity has been extremely limited.

As it happens there is a man who has been incredibly successful in his efforts to talk to Muslims about the tenants of their beliefs. His name is Zakaria Botros. How much of an impact does he have? He is known in the Muslim world as Public Enemy #1. He is a Coptic Priest who runs a TV program where he dresses in a dark robe with a huge cross around his neck. According to the article written by Raymond Ibrahim, Islamic cleric Ahmad al-Qatani blames him for converting 6 million Muslims a year to Christianity.

His method is that he sits with a Koran and a Bible and challenges the Muslim clergy on what their beliefs are. He asks questions like, “Is jihad an obligation for all Muslims?”; “Are women inferior to men in Islam?”; “Did Mohammed say that adulterous female monkeys should be stoned?” When they respond, which isn’t often because he makes them appear foolish, they end up having to agree with him on absurd Muslim laws. But he wisely never comes to the conclusion of the absurdity of the Muslim faith on the program. He simply repeats the question. So he doesn’t criticize Islam. He just asks questions and then backs up the answer with irrefutable truth from Islam’s own sources. The program is widely watched in the Muslim world.

Read the article I found here.

Check out Father Zakaria Botros’s website here.

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

I'm Like - A Bible Scholar! Well, Maybe Not

I can’t help it. With every new Presidential candidate, I try to figure out if perhaps this one is the new leader of the New World Order being revealed to us. When Bill Clinton was nominated by the Democratic Party in 1992, he so badly abused scripture in his speeches that I was concerned he was the one. But he just turned out to be – well – Bill Clinton.

When Reagan was nominated in 1984, some people (mean-spirited Democrats) counted the letters in his name, Ronald Wilson Reagan and got 666. That was obviously wrong.

If Barak Obama’s name stands for 666, I can’t see it. I almost gave up thinking about that when there it was. I was trying too hard. It’s right there in scripture! Mark 13:14 mentions the Obamanation of desolation! I knew I didn’t like that guy!

Sunday, April 13, 2008

You Read it Here First

We have been witness to the most interesting primary election campaigns in our lifetime. Is it not clearly evident that God is orchestrating this for His people to witness?

Remember when Israel got to choose its King? The process that they went through produced the best amalgamation of attributes that the people could think of. He was a blend of positive features, a cultural and political masterpiece. And, I imagine that there was a list of also-rans. Other candidates who didn’t measure up one way or another. They picked a sure winner – in their eyes. And Saul became their first King.

It seems like this time in America we are choosing our King. It is not a normal election by anyone’s definition. I have been avoiding writing about it a while. It is not that I didn’t want to, but there was so much being written, it seemed like I would be adding to the noise.

It is significant that the Democrats are choosing Obama. He certainly has political smarts but his appeal seems to me to be apolitical. Maybe “anti-political” is a better word. In other words those who are giving him his momentum are doing so because of what he doesn’t stand for rather than what he does. And there are so many people who are fed up with the political system that Obama is the best anti-choice there is.

So, here is the problem for Obama. If he stands for anti- Bush, anti- Washington. anti- old ways, then who will be his Vice President? Obama has an experience problem. Who can solve that problem without being part of the thing that Obama is anti? He needs someone who knows Washington, but who is not really part of what it has done in the past years since the Democrats have taken control of the House and the Senate. Obama has a kind of “rock star” status. Taking up with a Washington insider will compromise that. There is only one person he can choose. I believe he will have the guts to do it. It is the nuclear option. He is going to pick former Vice President and Nobel Prize Winner, Al Gore.

You read it here first.