Movies and the Present Times

There is movie called Runaway Jury.  It is about how 2 young people foil the attempts of an unscrupulous law firm to steal a jury for its client.  The young couple played by John Cusack and Rachel Weisz show they were prepared for all the dirty tricks thrown at them.  After all, they had carefully studied and prepared for the subversive tactics of the attorney in previous trials.  They successfully countered his every diabolical move.  In the end, they prevented the jury from being stolen and allowed them to vote their consciences. 

Is that fiction?  Do people really steal juries?  I don’t know, but there is a new movie coming out about a similar topic.  It is about a runaway election.  The movie is actually a documentary.  It uncovers a systematic scheme by one candidate’s team to thwart the efforts and turn the caucuses and primary elections from one particular candidate to theirs. Oh I know, the easy thing to say is that in the world of rough and tumble politics there will always be these charges.  Sore losers point to nefarious schemes of the winner instead of their own inadequacies.  That is probably true, but we need to at least see what the people in the documentary are saying.  After all, the path to a free and fair election is knowing all the tactics politicians have used to throw an election and to confront them and thwart their efforts in the next ones.  

The documentary is named We Will Not Be Silenced.  It will soon be released and it will be interesting if the media talks about it or if they put it under their cloak of darkness.  It will be hard to hide this one.  After all, it is written by the Clinton people about the Obama people.  They tell some amazing tales about how among other things, neighborhood caucuses were literally stolen by aggressive Obama supporters who steered or scared away Clinton supporters in location after location.  This is coupled with the now well-documented stories of wholesale voter registration charges.  The film has the potential of breaking open some deep fissures in the Democratic Party.   

There is another movie that comes to mind here.  It starred Patrick Swayze and Liam Neeson and was called Next of Kin.  It was about a situation where the Chicago mob killed a young man only to find that their victim was related to a tight knit and vindictive clan from the back woods.  Something to think about?

Even though the documentary is obviously not sponsored by Hillary or Bill Clinton, I am very sure they are aware of it and would not allow it to be released if it did not contain anything but pristine truth.  Turning the film loose is literally lighting a fuse that no one using civilized means will be able to blow out.  I have stated several times that Hillary Clinton will resign as Secretary of State by early next year.  This film supports that theory. 

Someone once wrote that President Obama should be enjoying these first two years in office.  He should do exactly what he is doing.  He should invite more rock stars to the White House, take more elaborate vacations, and play as much golf as possible.  For his administration, these will be known as the good old days.

In previous decades an average citizen could enjoy life without needing to identify with a particular political party or movement.  What will happen in the next few years will be polarizing to all of us.  It will matter.  The most powerful ability of each political movement seems to be its ease in casting dispersions on the others.  Christians need to be above this fray, but we are not called to be neutral.  We will be called to take a stand.  We will be called to discern truth from lies.  It will be our time to declare God’s righteousness.  It will not matter what government we voted for or supported before.  It will only matter Who we support now. 

Have you read the wonderful prophesies in Isaiah 60 and Isaiah 61?  You know Isaiah 60.  It starts out with those beautiful words,  “Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee.”  The words of Isaiah 61 are what Jesus used to announce to the world His presence.  “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;

Now read Isaiah 59.  It is why the good news of Isaiah 60 and 61 needed to come.  They need to come in us now, because we are living in Isaiah 59.  Verse 8 is about this nation: “The way of peace they know not; and there is no judgment in their goings: they have made them crooked paths: whosoever goeth therein shall not know peace.”  

It is time for the Christian light to become real.  We cannot avoid the conflict.  We need to be the ones who lead our country through it. It is our time

New York City

I love it that some liberal thinkers and even some Administration officals were considering calling on George Bush to come to the aid of President Obama with regards to the mosque in New York City.  Remembering when he was President, they are sure that his fair minded approach towards Muslims would lend support to Obama’s position that we must stand up for the right of Muslims to build their mosque in a place that overlooks Ground Zero.  To even consider this shows a desperation that is at a critical level. 

Again network news, most of which are based right in New York City, have avoided showing the rest of America the extent of the daily demonstrations of huge spontaneous crowds that are flocking to this site to protest the building the this mosque.  Again, the most significant story here is not the Muslims or even President Obama’s tone deaf position.  It is the media’s collective cloak of darkness over this issue.  Some day, the media will be held accountable about how they refuse to show America what is really going on.  When I heard that Obama’s people wanted George Bush to weigh in, I was excited because his presence would be something that the media could not ignore. 

Apparently, Bush has declined to go to New York and weigh in on the topic.  Too bad.  I wanted him to go.  I would have even written his speech.  I would have made it a media event in downtown Manhattan.  I would have put a platform on the hood of a fire truck and I would have asked a fire fighter to stand on the platform arm in arm with President Bush.  Here is what President Bush should have said.

“In September of 2001 I stood here with you citizens of New York City.  We were all horrified by the devastation of the unprovoked attack on our innocent brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers, husbands and wives.  That day, an evil group of Islamic terrorists carried out plan of destruction that was meant to do as much harm to this city and to our country as it could.  Their hatred for us knew no limits.  Their savagery and cowardice also knew no limits.  I stood before you and told you that I hear you.  Men and women of New York City, I still hear you. 

In Texas we have a small fort in San Antonio.  It too is the site where an invading force massacred brave men.  Today, the Alamo still stands as a tribute not to the religion or the beliefs of the invaders, but as a tribute to the ideals of the fallen.  So, to my Muslim friends, whom I respect, I ask you to respect these fallen.  If you want to show your love and support for them, then I ask that you contribute your finances to a memorial to them, not a mosque for you.  If you love America, and want to heal the wounds, then show your respect for these dead and honor them by supporting their monument, not your structure. 

President Obama was correct in reminding us that our laws allow you to build your structure.  Now I am here to remind you that this wound that America suffered on this site will not heal by inserting your mosque here.  This is a time for you to show your respect for the fallen.  It is time for you to show your love for America.  So I ask that you go to all the people of your Muslim religion, here and around the world.  I ask that you raise and bring to this site $10 billion and tell the citizens of New York to use it to build a memorial of their choosing with that money. 

Now President Obama's position on this issue, notwithstanding, I know it would be a grievous mistake to build that mosque.  Mayor Bloomberg stated that Democracy must be adhered to.  But from where I stand, the will of you New Yorkers is that your voice be heard.  They both need to say as I did.  I HEAR YOU! That, my fellow Americans is democracy!  God bless you and God bless America!

OK, so he probably wouldn’t use my speech. But he should

Moralistic Therapeutic Deism

Linked below is an article that really captured my attention.  I believe it helps us understand what is happening in America with regards to our Christian culture.  You can be encouraged by the fact that Christianity seems to be alive and well in our country, but then you can be somewhat alarmed by its luke-warm tenants.  R. Albert Mohler, Jr. looked into some research done by the National Study of Youth and Religion at the University of North Carolina.  The study identified a common thread of beliefs by today’s teenagers as not Christianity, but as Moralistic Therapeutic Deism.  Quoting from this eye-opening article:

Moralistic Therapeutic Deism consists of beliefs like these: 1. "A god exists who created and ordered the world and watches over human life on earth." 2. "God wants people to be good, nice, and fair to each other, as taught in the Bible and by most world religions." 3. "The central goal of life is to be happy and to feel good about oneself." 4. "God does not need to be particularly involved in one's life except when God is needed to resolve a problem." 5. "Good people go to heaven when they die."

Wow!  That’s it.  That describes much of what people believe Christianity is all about today.  The study found that today’s teenagers do not want to get beyond the above beliefs and respond to the specifics of Christianity with their mantra of relativity, “. .  . . .whatever.”

Moralistic Therapeutic Deism "is about inculcating a moralistic approach to life. It teaches that central to living a good and happy life is being a good, moral person. That means being nice, kind, pleasant, respectful, responsible, at work on self-improvement, taking care of one's health, and doing one's best to be successful." In a very real sense, that appears to be true of the faith commitment, insofar as this can be described as a faith commitment, held by a large percentage of Americans. These individuals, whatever their age, believe that religion should be centered in being "nice"--a posture that many believe is directly violated by assertions of strong theological conviction.

In other words, those who still have strong theological convictions in our society today will be marginalized by the new religion of Moralistic Therapeutic Deism.   This also dovetails nicely with the rush towards socialism and radical environmentalism in our political realm.  The highest order in life is to be nice and share with your fellow man while leaving no carbon footprint. 

So what is wrong with this?  The study found that there is no real theological understanding among these people.  As a matter of fact, when they interviewed thousands of young people who claimed to be Christian, they found that this was the first time these teenagers had actually had a specific theological discussion with an adult. 

I like this author.  And his article in The Christian Post is very illuminating.     

Like She Says . . .

After hearing this, it is pretty impossible to tell someone you still don't get it.

Our Government is Still Allowing Us to Do These Things - For Now!

So who are these people?  It is ironic that both instances have happened in the South.  One was in April and one in May.  It is too bad Rod Serling is not around.  He could do a  Twilight Zone episode on these.

Consider the following: 

1.    In April, peaceful Tea Party Protestors were planning an event in Raleigh, North Carolina.  The demographics of the participants are typical for these events.  Men and women of all races and backgrounds have come together.  If there is one prevailing characteristic, it is that they are predominantly older citizens, although not exclusively so.

Suddenly, there is a ruling announced at the State government level that flag staffs or flag poles will not be allowed at the demonstration because of the possibility that they could be used as weapons. 

I started reading about the event at that point and I marveled at the resiliency of the protestors.  Soon there were people attempting to distribute itsy-bitsy flags for people to waive.  I wanted to offer the suggestion that they ignore the ruling and bring lots of flags on poles.  I wanted to see if the clod who wanted to enforce the ruling would make the State Police charge the Tea Party and rip American flags out of seniors’ hands and arrest them.  That would have made a great You Tube video.  The people who made this ruling were nameless.  At the last minute they reversed their decision and allowed flags on poles.  Too bad. 

2.     In May in Port Wentworth, Georgia, the members of the Ed Young Senior Center were given a daily meal that is provided with Government funds.  Another government official suddenly ruled that the seniors couldn’t pray before their meals because of separation of church and state.  Again, someone offered a compromise solution: they could observe a moment of silence, but they could not pray.   And again, I was hoping to actually see the confrontation on You Tube.  It would have been remarkable to see officials grabbing a half eaten chicken fried steak away from a senior because he prayed before he ate it.  “Cough it up, Gramps, or you’re going to jail.!”     Perhaps at that point seniors would have grabbed flag poles to defend their peach cobblers. 

Apparently it took the town’s mayor to intervene and grant permission to the seniors to be able to pray before their meals.  Good Grief! 

These incidents are funny, but we should not just view them as bizarre isolated instances.  We are witnessing a pervasive assault on our First Amendment right.  Freedom of speech and freedom of expression are not limited to what some government bureaucrat thinks they should be.  Who would have thought that American citizens would be challenged about waiving our flag or praying before our meals?   

Inspired Message 1

I have a favorite picture of a famous painting in our prayer room. It’s a print of a painting by Rembrandt – “St Matthew and the Angel”. The original is hanging in the Louvre. But for a few weeks it was lent to the Atlanta Museum of Art. That is where our paths crossed. My print hangs over a couch where I pray every morning.  It is wonderful to look at, but it is nothing like the original. In it you could see Rembrandt’s statement to mankind: The gospel of Matthew – every word - was divinely inspired.

In the painting, you see a well-weathered old man. He holds his pen in a gnarled hand. It is poised above some leaves of parchment, ready to write exactly what he senses the Lord saying. His facial features belie a life that has seen much. His long, mostly gray hair is being held in place by a leather strap. His eyes aren’t focused on anything we can see, but are peering into the unseen. His left hand is stroking his beard. He is in deep thought as his right hand is poised at the ready. Over his right shoulder, just off his right ear, is the face of a youthful being. He has a calm look in his eyes as he whispers in the old man’s ear. His small hand rests on the old man’s shoulder in a reassuring and calming manner.

The contrast of the two is not accidental. The old man is concentrating, pondering, purposeful. He doesn’t dare engage the pen until he knows he gets it exactly right. Nothing in his being indicates that he has any knowledge of the cherub’s presence. The youthful looking angel, on the other hand seems to be content and peaceful in his role. He is not just present, he is intimately present. After all, his message is world changing. His role is a wonderful assignment.

If someone asked Rembrandt to explain how divine revelation of the Gospels happened, this is his answer. You can say that it is as good of explanation as any. Or you can imagine that there also could have been a painting of Rembrandt and the Angel, showing how he gained inspiration to paint St. Matthew and the Angel.

It poses a really important question. Do you believe that every word, EVERY WORD in the Bible is God inspired? I do. I believe that God wanted all of us in the 21st century to read and ponder every verse. And when I say ponder, I don’t mean ponder its validity. I mean ponder its depths. It was written for us to dig into, to mine its riches, and to benefit from revelation of what it means. 

Happy Good Friday!

Good Friday: We always just passively acknowledge it. It’s the Friday before Easter. Last day to get to the store to buy your Easter ham and Easter eggs.

But it is a day I like to reflect on.

Several month ago I had a brief conversation with some friends who, being broad minded, reflected that even though they have a love for Jesus, they acknowledge that there are many ways to get to heaven. They have some very well educated friends who are sincere Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Mormon, traditional Jewish, etc. Those friends have their sincere beliefs in the after-life and we have ours. It will be wonderful (and humbling) when we all see each other in the afterlife only to realize that God has a very big tent, indeed.

I reminded them of John 14:6 where Jesus stated clearly that He is the only way. They replied that they understood that when John wrote his gospel, he was having to push back against some outliers (Gnostics) who were trying to redefine Christianity. And they believed that this discussion in John’s gospel was for addressing that issue and not the other great religions of the world. I believe that this view point is becoming the predominant viewpoint of modern Christianity. 

So here is my Good Friday gift to you.  If you don’t have the Instaverse widget, go get it now at   http://www.instaverse.com

It is free and really quite fun.  It installs in just a few minutes. Then, when you hover your pointer over a scripture, it pops it up in a little box right in front of you.  Now scroll through these scriptures:

John 8:24, John 14: 6, Acts 4:12, Acts 10:43, Romans 6:23, Romans 10:13, Galatians 3:26, Eph 1:7, Titus 2:13, 1 Thes 4:13, 1 John 5: 11, 12  , Romans 10:9, 1 John 2:2, Matthew 10:32, Ephesians 1: 20-22. 1 Corinthians 15:24, Colossians 1:15-17, 1 Timothy 2: 5-6,  1 John 2: 23.  

You see, it is like this.  The founders of all those other great religions were likely great men.  They really had to think some things out, and then perfect a life according to what they reasoned.  But none of them paid for your sins.  Jesus did.  Only He could do it.  Only He did it.

Some modern Christians find this exclusivity very distasteful in our world, today.  I tell you that the exclusivity claim is a lie.   How can something be exclusive if it is free to everyone?  For everyone who trusts Him as Lord and Savior, on Good Friday, Jesus died for our sins.  God, his Father accepted His sacrifice as full payment. 

Philippians 2: 10-11.  Happy Good Friday!  

Ideology Versus Reality

I remember when I was a young adult, I would do or say things for the simple purpose of standing up for a principal.  I think that the process of maturity is one where as a child, you don’t stand for anything accept, maybe your friends.  Then you learn to stand for principal.  This is the first step in adopting an “ideology”.  My definition of an ideology is a set of beliefs that are adhered to even in the face of reality that shows them to be fallacious.  If you mature further, then you realize that you need to line up with and stand for truth and reality and you discard your ideology if it conflicts with it.   

Take for instance a young man, Justin Surber from Arlington, WA who belongs to the high school debate team.  He obviously believes in the free exchange of ideas, even to the point of being controversial.  He got all the attention he wanted when he showed up for the official debate team photo with the words, “God is dead” emblazoned on is T-shirt.  His school refused to put the picture in their yearbook and that is when the notoriety of the issue increased across the Internet.  

Of course young Justin Surber is quoting the famous existentialist Friedrich Nietzsche I remember in the 70’s when I was in college, Nietzsche’s claim was widely adopted by radical counter-culture people of the time.  It was popular to pick up and run with that ideology.  But the thing about ideologies is that they can be undone by the truth, if you allow truth to shatter the walls of your ideology. I know that because this happened to me. 

I remember I was at a pub on campus one time and I had to go use the men’s room.  In this particular pub, the graffiti on the wall of the men’s room was very different than your typical graffiti you see in the men’s room at the Shell Station.  Some people who must have had a lot of time on their hands did some of their best philosophical work in there.  But one thing caught my eye.  Someone had chiseled into the paint of a stall the words “God is dead!” - Nietzsche.   And just below that, in pen,  another person wrote, “Nietzsche is dead!” – God.  

The truth of reality always trumps ideology

Who Are Ideologues

For the past 3 months there has been an amazing avalanche of truth regarding AGW (anthropological global warming, or global warming caused by humans).  From several sources it has been uncovered that not only had the data been selectively culled to produce results that support their theory, there had been a cover-up to perpetuate it.  The press has still put a blanket of secrecy over it.  You may have gotten wind of it.  If you never venture outside of the main stream, then you will have only picked up on just a few ABC stories.  Check with sites like CFACT and the Institute for Energy Research to get past the yellow truth police tape.

So, after you check, then I want you to ask yourself something.  Do you agree with President Obama that “the debate is over’ concerning AGW?  Do you believe that in spite of strong factual evidence, the case for global warming is solid and incontrovertible?  If you do then concerning this topic, you are an ideologue.

An ideology is a very sophisticated belief system.  It is at the top of the processing order.  Now ideologies are not all evil.  Some are.  The Muslim “faith” is not a faith like Christianity, it is an ideology.  In the face of facts Muslim terrorists default to believe in the ideology and perform horrific acts. They are quintessential ideologues as are religious zealots of any variety. 

In my last post, I labeled President Obama an ideologue.  He showed that he is sensitive to the issue when he brought up the subject with the Republican Congressmen.

Chuck Roger submitted a really well written article to American Thinker last week.  It is worth reading because he identifies some beliefs that have been perpetuated by progressive ideologues. 

Progressives endlessly hype disproved fallacies, among them:

• Human-caused "climate change."
• More guns, more crime.
• Handouts improve the plight of the poor.
• Raising taxes in a down economy doesn't impede recovery.
• More government, better government
• Incarcerating criminals doesn't decrease crime; rehabilitation does.
• Playing nice-nice with violent scumbags pacifies them.
• Raising self-esteem begets achievement, not the other way around.

He also points out something that is very interesting.  You do not change an ideologue’s mind with data or facts.  The ideologue has already made the choice to believe what he does in spite of facts.  

Reality then is this:  President Obama and the Progressives who are running the country believe these things and are shaping this country’s future to perpetuate them.  Confronting them with facts will not work.  The only way to change that is to change the leadership. 

Ideologue

Ideologue – a person who steadfastly embraces a false belief or concept even when faced with the reality of facts to the contrary.

After the State of the Union address, President Obama accepted the challenge of Republican Congressmen and came to their retreat for a toe to toe conversation. Admire him for his courage in doing that. Actually, he would have never done that if he rung up a few victories over the past year. The fact that he was basically 0 for 2009 for his agenda probably forced him to play an away game.

One of the most amazing things about the liberals in control of our country right now is their “tell.” You know what a “tell” is. It is that signal that a person is unaware of, but is never-the-less there to let you know what is going on behind the mask. The best poker players are experts at recognizing the tell in their opponents. The funny thing is, liberal politicians are no good at disguising the tell. Martha Coakley did a masterful job of broadcasting her tell to her opponent, Scott Brown. Her impromptu remarks revealed that she had nothing in common with her constituents. She spoke out her tell very plainly when she ridiculed the notion that she should shake hands with people in front of Fenway Park. She did it again when she gaffed about Kurt Schilling. Brown used it to his advantage and did everything possible to identify with the people.

At the meeting with Republican Congressmen, Obama put up a fierce defense of himself. The most curious and telling remark he made was, “I am not an Ideologue!” Something should have happened at that point. The crowd should have gasped or perhaps broken out into spontaneous laughter.

Think about it. Where did that comment come from? There is an old saying that you know you are over the target when you start getting the flak. President Barack Obama, you are nothing but an Ideologue. When people look up the word in the dictionary, they should see your picture. The fact that he blurted out this “tell” shows that this is squarely on target. It wasn’t part of the discussion. It just came out of his mouth. This is the key.  He knows he has clung to his false ideologies in the face of facts and reality.  His mind is at war with itself in coming to grips with it. 

I am going to develop the topic of Ideologue in future posts. I believe we need to recognize the ideologue in all of us. What’s more, I believe we are entering into a time where understanding the concept will be crucial to our future as Christians and citizens.

Too Good to Miss

I thought about whether or not to post this video.  It is getting to be several days old now.  I think I will.  Jon Stewart is brutally honest and does a tremendous job of explaining the reality of the recent win of Brown over Coakley in Massachusetts.  This should win him an Emmy.  But I doubt if any liberal will ever show it again. Question to think about as you watch it:  Is he acting or is it real?

Massachusetts People Get Their Victory

This is just one Senate seat. It is just one flip from Democrat to Republican. But you know how things can get projected. According to some people, the world has ended for the Democratic Party. I want to bring back some perspective.

Republicans have to be sure they understand: We cannot allow this to just be the start of a repositioning of people at the trough. It cannot simply be a change in who gets their pork. It has to be a change in how representative government is working in Washington.

A very astute pollster took readings on just when Coakley started losing in the polls and when Brown started gaining. It coincided with the disclosure of Ben Nelson’s Nebraska reward for changing his vote on Health Care. Even the predominantly Democratic people in Massachusetts had heard enough. Hats off to them for rising up and rejecting that kind of politics.

It is extremely ironic that Democrats have disparaged the tea party movement but in reality, participated in reenacting it in Massachusetts. This movement is not a stealth Republican movement. It is true to the original movement and true to the notion that representative government is what we demand from those we send to Washington be they Democrats, Republicans or independents.

The politics of buying political support has to be squashed. I guess that if you are from Chicago, you do not know any other way of doing politics. Kind of like how people in Tokyo like to eat dried squid. They just grew up with it. But it cannot be the way things are done in Washington anymore. This idea of getting something for me if I give my vote to you has to be purged from Washington. This system in its simplest form can cause bills to be passed that have no benefit to America on their face, but have enough perks for the magic number of supporters to get them through. That is what the Health Care bill had become.

A recognizable pattern of legislation under the Obama Administration has emerged. The title of the bill makes the public believe it is beneficial for them. The bulk of the content of the bill births and grows expensive bureaucratic agencies formed to watchdog the private sector. And the remainder of the content rewards individual Senators and Congressmen for their votes. It happened with the Stimulus Bill passed soon after Obama came into office. Americans because they aren’t all from Chicago, or Las Vegas recognized the game for what it was and got this bill stopped. Call us naïve’ or simplistic, but that is not the way we want to see politics work.

Perhaps we will see Democrats join in the tea party movement. The members of the original movement were their ancestors, too. Everyone wants representative government. No one wants to learn that their grandmother will not get the surgery she needs because New Orleans got an airport.

Importance of Tuesday

I started out today to write about the importance and the irony of the Massachusetts election this Tuesday. Then I saw this video. It is very short, very succinct, and very good. Enjoy.