You know how much I love listening to Nancy Pelosi as she tries to make a case for her position and so often, fails to be logical at all. But this bitof blather takes it to a new level. In her accusation that Republicans are trying to exploit Jews for the upcoming election (as if Dems don’t exploit everyone for elections) she says this:
“I think [Obama] will” win the Jewish vote, Pelosi said, when pressed on the subject. “I think that he will, because the fact is when the facts get out. You know, as many of the Republicans are using Israel as an excuse, what they really want are tax cuts for the wealthy. So Israel, that can be one reason they put forth.”
What? I think the reporter is filling in the gaps, or trying to make some sort of sense out of it. After all, that fact is, that the facts get out and Republicans are using Israel as an excuse to lower taxes? How are those two subjects connected at all? I guess there was some hidden meaning in her statement “you know.”
And the final sentence: “So Israel, that can be one reason they put forth.” OK, Israel is another reason that they put forth tax cuts?
As Ronald Reagan was known as the Great Communicator, Nancy Pelosi is the Great Babbler.
I know from the title that those on the Left will immediately brand me a hater and go right to hating me and my beliefs, but that is the world we live in. They will also try to silence me since I don’t fit into their model of what is “acceptable.” Again, this is the world where we find ourselves. We live in a world that does not value truth, or those who stand for it, because the world loves darkness rather than light.
Regardless of these realities, those of us who know the truth need to be willing to stand for the truth and stand for Christ who represents that truth. This is all the president of Chick Fil-A Dan Cathy has done. He said his beliefs are that marriage is between one man and one woman, and this has the Sodomite Left in a tizzy( Sodomite is the biblical term for those who practice the sin). Never mind that the Bible, which is the center of Cathy’s faith, condemns sodomy and never mentions marriage in any context other than it being between one man and one woman.
You know the firestorm that has errupted since that was made public. We have mayors from Chicago, Boston and Philadelphia telling Chick-fil-A that they are not welcome and others on the right planning a Chick-fil-A day! I’m almost tempted to drive up to Albuquerque on Wednesday just to participate.
What I believe we are seeing are those of us who are conservative/Christian/moral, etc., getting fed up with the LEFT and their absolute intolerance of our beliefs and values. We are tired of being excoriated for following principles found in Scripture, for having beliefs that don’t lead to immorality, for having to hide the truth that sin is sin, and homosexuality is one of the biggies when it comes to God’s word. We are tired of moderate Christians (at best) embracing those who are gay and living that lifestyle, telling them that they are OK that way, and ignoring the truth of God’s word. We are tired of gays trying to redefine marriage so they can live their morally bankrupt lives. We are tired of pastors who refuse to speak to the issue because they are more concerned with being liked, than speaking the truth. (See Voddie Baucham’s piece on “Gay Is Not the New Black” for an example of one of many pastors willing to stand for the truth).
I know, gay people are people too. I’m not calling for witch hunts, or cross burnings, or lynchings or any such Democratic polices of the past. What I’m calling for is a right to believe in God’s truth and to be able to declare with the freedom we have been given by our Creator. He has made known His truth to us, and it gets old seeing those who call themselves “Christian” capitulating to values and morals that are outright condemned in Scripture. It’s time to stand up with Cathy and others like him who are tired of having the Left define what is right and wrong. Remember, the Democratic party, which is the champion of the Gay Movement, is the same party that approved the lynchings of blacks in the South. It is the same party that was on board with segregation, and now on board with the killing of innocent children. I will not join hands with such people either openly or privately. As a Christian, we need to stand up against that which is sinful, both openly and privately. This means being willing to stand against that which Scripture condemns.
That is the beauty of Scripture. Let it declare the truth of these realites. In other words, we don’t have to invent words or phrases or any other such thing in order to declare the truth. We are simply to declare what it says. That is sufficient, the Bible is sufficient for these things.
In my title, I wrote that I’m anti-gay. This is true, not because of some level of meanness I may possess toward gay people. It is true because the Bible is anti-gay. As I, and others, have pointed out many times, there is not one single passage of Scripture that says anything positive about homosexuality. Every passage that speaks to the topic condemns it outright. Let the word dwell richly in our hearts so we can see what is sinful and what is not.
The Bible is also anit-adultery, anti-lying, anti-stealing and anti-idolatry. We are to stand against all these sins as Scripture does. The Left has so artfully cast the argument to make us think and feel like we are being hateful when we speak the truth. This, of course, is the lie of the Left. They have made that which is an abomination to the LORD seem normal and many who claim Christ as our Savior have stood quietly by and said nothing out of fear of their condemnation. This must stop. We must continue to fight the good fight and declare the truth, even when that truth is not palatable to the LEFT. Am I anti-gay? Yes, I am. But that is because Scripture is as well. Where Scripture condemns, we need to stand with it. Where it embraces, we embrace as well.
We are not being mean spirited by doing so. Only as truth is proclaimed will God use it to change the hearts and minds of the lost. Being bullied by the Left into silence is actually being mean spirited because we are capitulating to the lies of Satan. We have done this for far too long. We must not be afraid of declaring the truth.
I know there are many who continue to speak the truth and have so for many years. But to those who sit by silently, and try to have gay friends so as to seem open minded, you are the ones that are truly mean spirited. You value your comfort and desire to be open-minded and accepting more than you value the gay persons eternal salvation. That is what is truly mean spirited. You have your salvation and because you desire comfort over confrontation, you are not willing to share the truth with others so that they too can have salvation as well. Any who do this need to repent, and lovingly speak the truth.
UPDATE: I got the following from Facebook friend Maria:
Kathy Stahlman Hildebrand -
There are those of us who define all sin as God defines it in Scripture. And we freely admit that we are sinners, as is declared in Scripture a…nd borne out in our lives. We count on the finished work of our Redeemer for redemption, and we hate the sin (in ourselves more than anywhere else) that sent Him to the cross and that jeopardizes our fellowship with Him. Other people do not look to Scripture for their definition of sin, and some refuse to believe there is such a thing at all. It’s logical, I guess, if they don’t believe in God, they don’t believe it is possible to sin against Him.
But what has ALWAYS seemed odd to me is how this word HATE is assigned selectively to anyone who is against a few specific sins but not against other sins. That is, if I think it’s wrong to lie or cheat, no one accuses me of “hating” liars and cheaters. I merely say what they (or I, when I do either of those things) are doing is wrong. All the politicians and Hollywood stars that think murder is wrong (unless the victim is still in the womb), do I accuse you of hating murderers? No. I don’t. HATING a person has nothing to do with it. The pro-life movement is a prime example. It is now energized and driven very much by those women who have experienced the grief of having an abortion. They do NOT hate the women who struggle with this sin; they are there to tell them they don’t have to struggle any more.
UPDATE NUMBER 2: I should have already included this, the Chick-fil-A song by comedian Tim Hawkins:
Several weeks ago, pastor Ed Young out of Dallas went on an anti-Calvinist rant for some odd reason, accusing them of … and I’m not making this up… of wearing skinny jeans. For those of you who know a Calvinist, you know we are hiding under our desks with this new charge! Yes, we’re guilty of wearing skinny jeans. However, I have not worn any skinny jeans since some time in the 1980s.
Of course, I’m jesting. There is nothing wrong with wearing skinny jeans as long as you are skinny. I am not, so I like to wear relaxed fit jeans. Not baggy, gang banger jeans, but jeans with some room in them so I don’t look quite so fat (apparently I am, a friend who turns 99 next November accused me of such while I was on vacation.)
The point is that Ed Young ripped into us Calvinist accusing us of all manner of things, like wearing skinny jeans, in order to tell his congregation of 24,000 that we are … nasty bad people and that he doesn’t like us very much. Poor Ed Young did an absolute terrible job of showing how we are bad, after all, the Scripture never says anything about wearing skinny jeans. BTW, for those of you who do not know, Ed Young is absolutely enamored with what pastors wear since he has started a fashion web site to help inform us that we need to dress more like him.
This tirade of Young’s was answered by those who are bona fide Calvinists and know what we actually believe. You can see Neil’s post here, and James White’s response here. You may remember I met James White back in April.
Young didn’t seem to really know what we believed. Give what his tirade was over, Young might be hard pressed to give one theological distinctive of Calvinism. James White shows that Young really doesn’t know…
BTW, this is one of the reasons I believe in denominationalism. If he were a member a true denomination, they could actually rebuke and deal with Young. But given the state of the non-confrontational churches, there is no real oversight or accountability for people like Young. One reason why he may have gone off the deep end.
In the video below, Jerry Johnson gives his take as well.
Yes, you read that correctly. Due to the sanctions by the NCAA on the Penn State football program in which all victories were erased due to the corruption, A&M has won the Alamo Bowl from that time span, specifically, the 1999 Alamo Bowl. The Aggies played Penn State in the Alamo Bowl and because of the sanctions, they won 0-24.
OK, let me try and explain that again… the game that took place back in 1999, was actually won by Penn State 24-0, but since they have all their victories removed by the NCAA in the Sandusky scandal, the Aggies are now the winners of that game. They won by the score of 0-24.
Hhm? Are you have as much trouble with this as I am? Somehow, the Aggies get the win even though we didn’t score a point.
As for the other sanctions, I guess they are OK. A 4-year-bowl ban, reduction in scholarships, and a $60 million fine will have to do. I’m grateful that all current Penn State football players are free to transfer to other programs. See the full report here.
BTW, this improves the overall bowl record for the Aggies to 16-17, just a tad under .500. Interesting to note, that Wikipediachanges the table when I went back to double check it.
Well, not sure what to say to this conudrum. So… Gig ‘Em Aggies!
UPDATE: Apparently all scores are changed to 2-0. So the Aggies won the game, 2-0. That helps. Thanks Eric M. for the help with that one.
I know that there will be a ruling tomorrow at 9 a.m. Eastern concerning the pedophilia case with Jerry Sandusky, Joe Paterno, etc. There is a reportout now that says they will NOT be getting the death penalty, but a penalty so strigent that it will be just as bad as the death penalty. Not sure how that will work out.
The last school to get the death penalty was SMU back in the late 1980s. Notice that they went from being a powerhouse back in the 1980s to a cream puff for the past 25 years. That is how severe the death penalty can be. SMU lost all scholarships and they were banned from playing football for an entire year, and could only play away games the next year. They chose not to play the second year. Because of this, they lost all continuity with their powerhouse status.
Penn State should get at least the death penalty. What took place there was far more egregious in nature. Yes, I know that the university board tried to deal with it once they became aware of the scandal. That really doesn’t help in my opinion. Yes, SMU refused to deal with the NCAA when they were under investigation, and they did deserve the death penalty. Even though Penn State cooperated, their deeds go far beyond what SMU did. The program needs to be shut down for at least 2 years.
I know there are those who say that this is unfair to the students that are there now. But the punishment is on the institution and if you withhold punishment from an institution because the offending parties have moved on, then there is never any true punishment. Those students that are there now should be given the freedom to leave no matter what the penalties end up being.
Well, I haven’t, but Bill Blankschaen has in the churches he attends. We still sing hymns in my church and I love them. Hymns offer a lot of great theology, they are singable without the need of a melodramatic worship teams and boy wonders on the guitar. They also connect us to the church that sang them in the past. No, you won’t hear them on the local Christian radio station. But you won’t hear any great truth about God on Christian radio stations since most of the songs are written for dreamy eyed 14-year-old girls, and nerdy 16-year-old boys.
Enough of what I think, here is what Bill has to say on the topic. He has written his article to those who insist on the latest praise tunes to come out of Nashville:
To be candid, I know how to behave in your church. I’ve been raised in it my entire life. So I know how to fake it when necessary. Lately, it’s been very necessary when the music is playing and we’re supposed to be singing, you know, to God. Frankly, I’m tired of it. Maybe all the “seekers” are enjoying it, but I’m finding it hard to sincerely engage in anything resembling worship.
Instead of feeling the joy of joining with other believers in offering praises to the Almighty, I often feel insulted, bored, and disconnected from 2,000 years of worship history. And just when I think that maybe it’s just me having a selfish and sinful attitude — a very real possibility — a flamboyant electrical guitar solo breaks out. I’m left deciding whether to waive my iPhone and buy the t-shirt or just shut up and go home.
This was the beginning of the end for me when it came to praise music. I always felt like the praise teams in worship were trying to rip me along emotionally, but never gave me any other reason for being moved emotionally except that we were supposed to be emotional. There was never any real content to the praise tunes, just repetition and drivel. But let’s get back to Bill since he puts it much better than I do.
As best I can sort through my own muddled and messy thoughts, I think there are three things that really bother me about the worship music in many Evangelical Christian churches today:
1. They’re really, really simplistic. There, I tried to keep the words small. You certainly put a lot of work into doing that for me each Sunday. It’s not just that most of the lyrics are simple — as in easy to understand. It’s that so many of the songs remind me of the ditties we sang at camp — when I was ten. Come to think of it, I’m pretty sure the theology in some of those camp songs was more advanced than the ones I’ve heard in some of your services. But, hey, everybody else seems to be really, really enjoying it so maybe it’s just me. Unless, of course, they’ve also learned how to fake it.
2. They’re all pulled from the latest Top 40 Worship channel. Or so it seems. Most songs I hear in evangelical churches of late have been written in the last decade, if that. I know I’m painting with a broad brush here because there have been some really, really (is this helping?) awesome songs written in the last two decades that deserve a place on the all-time worship songs list. We just usually don’t sing those. Maybe because they’re so three years ago.
What ever happened to the previous 2,000 years of church music history? Oh, I know, every so often you toss a token “hymn” (meaning within just the last century or so) into the mix. But even then, it’s a remix that requires melodic jujitsu to keep up with the quicker pace and fancier chord progressions. One distinguishing mark of the worship music of centuries past is that it generally focused more on content than today’s simplisitc style. Songs like “Arise, My Soul, Arise”; “Immortal, Invisible”; “Rejoice, the Lord is King”; or even the simple “I Sing the Almighty Power of God” typified a depth of doctrine that taught us as it revealed the glory of our Lord.
3. They repeat. And repeat. And repeat. And repeat. And rep — all right. See what I mean? Really, really annoying. Really. The first time we sang the simplistic ditty, I could tolerate it though I thought the infinite God of all creation deserved better. By the fifth time, I was hearing echoes of Jesus warning about vain repetitions. But once you went softer and slowed it down on the seventh time, it really began to resonate with my soul.
Not.
I love the comment about good praise songs that have come on the scene but are no longer sung. He writes “they are so three years ago.” That is what I tried pointing out to a lady in charge of worship at an area church. She won’t be singing the same songs in three years. It’s all about what is cool and hip. When that drives your worship, you probably are not worshipping in Spirit and Truth any longer, since you are not concerned about what the Ancient of Days might have to say about how we worship Him.
Bill continues:
I confess I don’t have a well-developed strategy for modern worship. I’m just a guy in the pews, a husband, father, and former pastor, frustrated that I just don’t feel like singing by the time the worship music ends. It seems that focusing on three things would at least be helpful so take it for what it’s worth.
So here’s what I’d like songs in church to be:
Truthful. Rather than trying to get dumber than a fifth-grader in the worship service (no offense to my fifth-grade daughter), offer truth that grows my understanding of God as we glorify him. He is truth, after all, so it shouldn’t be that difficult.
Written for adults. We’re not camp attendees giddy about it being our first time away from home. Well, maybe some of us are — but the rest of us don’t always want to have to choose between clapping our hands in rhythm with the group or wrestling with the guilt trip you put on us. Go ahead. Give us songs with deep doctrine that excite our souls. We’re not seekers anymore. Come to think of it, I never was.
Timeless. Let’s sing songs that reach back into the archives of songs proven to have been used by God to edify His people. Mix them in with modern songs, by all means. That’s fine. But don’t feel as if you have to make them sound like they just hit the airwaves last week. Imagine Mayberry today on MTV. Modern? Yes. Watchable? No. Sometimes classic is really cool. Really.
I could mention the need to play the music well, of course, but, frankly, I can live with the best you can give on that one. Make it as excellent as you can, please — just don’t make us sing it ad nauseum or worship your musical talents instead of our musical God.
I think Bill might be on to something. Maybe we should be more selective about what we sing in worship before the Almighty God of Creation. Maybe our worship songs should actually be based upon Scripture truth, that deepens our understanding about Him, His grace towards us and our need for Christ. I would say that it should deepen our understanding of His love for us, but we have so abused that attribute of God for the past 30 years that we should probably give it a rest for a while. Maybe we should focus on His holiness for a while. After all, the attribute of holiness is mentioned in the Bible far more than His love. (I know, this disappoints the love-sick 14-year-old girls, but they don’t read blogs like mine anyway).
Therefore let’s stick to the hymns, or at least not forge them. The church might actually learn about God again if we start singing of His rich truth. You can read the rest of Bill’s article here.
The uproar over Obama’s remarks concerning small businesses continues to proceed. I wrote about it yesterday. Hopefully, this will help wake up America from running on auto-pilot so that they see the need to turn this president out of office.
By the President’s logic, you have not earned your success and only government has made your success possible. Therefore, government should be able to decide what fruits of your success you get to keep. That’s why the President’s campaign is based entirely on class warfare, demonizing successful Americans and redistributing wealth. President Obama’s policies haven’t just failed, they are dangerous. The President will only continue to make matters worse for Americans of all incomes, ages, gender, race and religion. Watch and share this video.
I hope West gets the VP nod. He would be a great addition to the Romney campaign. I understand that Romney may be announcing his VP soon. It will take the attention off the current lie of the day coming from our president about how Romney is a felon because Romney left Bain Capital when Obama says so, not when Romney, the Security and Exchanges Commission or the Washington Post says so. In other words, the liar and chief is going to repeat this lie so many times that the people, who given no thought at all, will think it is the truth.
It is not as if those records by the SEC are not open, unlike Obama’s income tax returns, documents concerning Fast and Furious, his college transcripts, and anything else of interest concerning Mr. President. Remember, he said his administration would be the most open administration in history, but he continues to keep every thing closed. He lied again.
It wasn’t much, but enough to get me excited all over again about the game of golf. I took the boys golfing yesterday (they just ride in the cart, mess up the sand bunkers and run alongside the cart as I head down the fairway.) Given that the boys were with me, I knew I wouldn’t golf well. Add 10 to 15 strokes when I take both boys. But I have to take them if I want to go. So…
Also, it was Monday. I’m always tired on Monday and wasn’t hitting the ball well. But on hole number 9… I had a minor break through. Three successive shots in a row to reach the green in three! I was pumped! It was so sweet to have a sweet drive and two perfect follow-up shots. When I say perfect, I mean perfect. My third shot was 135 yards off the green, and I planted the ball on the green 15 feet away from the hole and it rolled to within 5 feet.
YES, the birdie was within reach… and then the par… sadly, I ended up with a bogey. But it was still a great hole. To have a great hole, everything must come together, and it’s been a while since I have had this happen. Hopefully, the next time, I can bring the putting game back in line and actually get the birdie. What fun!
I saw this bilge on Facebook and made the simple point that the true church is not nature, a place or a building, but the people of God who are redeemed by Jesus Christ. OK, I wasn’t as clear in my responses to that photo on FB, after all, it was FB, the hallowed ground of random thoughts and random responses.
I get the idea of the shot. The one that posted it prefers to be outdoors, worshipping nature because nature is so beautiful. The problem with this is that is it nothing short of pure idolatry. The moment you worship nature, which is what the statement is indicating, is the moment you enter into breaking the First Commandment: “Thou shalt have no other gods besides Me (YHWH is speaking).” Worshipping God’s creation is breaking of that commandment for we are to worship the Creator only.
One of the respondents tried to make the claim that they felt “closer to God” while in such spots than anywhere else. This should send up red flags for every believer in Christ. The moment we start letting our feelings dictate our beliefs and actions is the moment we move from Sola Scriptura to Solo Scriptura… in other words, idolatry and heresy. Our faith is to be built upon God’s word, not our feelings.
I love spending time out in God’s creation as well. But never is that “my church,” or any church at all. God’s creation is God’s creation. We can applaud Him, as Psalm 19 says we should do, but never should we worship the beauty of God’s creation. That is idolatry.
The second problem with this statement, as if the first one wasn’t enough, is that it is based upon the idea that we can worship God apart from His word. True worship of the Triune God is always, and let me stress, alway based upon God’s word being proclaimed. It is not based upon our feelings, something we see, or something we think. It must always come in conjunction with God’s word, the declaration of truth, and our response to that Truth in our adoration of Jesus Christ and Him alone.
I know that many Christians will claim to worship God because of His creation. But again, true worship must always be with His word, not creation. The pastor doesn’t proclaim creation. He proclaims God’s truth. It is through God’s truth proclaimed that the sinner comes to know Christ and is saved by Him. It is through this proclamation that the believer is fed spiritually. It is through the word that we are rebuked, encouraged, and built up so that we may do the work of the ministry. It is only when the word has been proclaimed that true worship has occurred.
Creation, as awe inspiring as it may be, cannot bring this about. This happens only in the true church, where those who have been redeemed by Christ, gather to hear His word proclaimed. In fact, the only place true worship ever takes place is among the people of God, for only those redeemed by the blood of Christ, have any right to enter into the presence of God. All others, have His wrath resting on them and are not admitted into His presence because they enter through the broad road to destruction and apart from the only Mediator between God and man, Jesus Christ.
Yes, they may “feel” close to god in their own estimation. But they are far and distant from the living and true God of Creation. His children know better than to look to His creation and … worship. For we are to worship the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, not their creation.
Is it just me, or do other users of Google Chrome have trouble posting comments to other WordPress blogs? I switched to Google Chrome because Safari has become exceedingly and abundantly slow. Opening pages is a burden. For instance, I’ve opened another page in a tab and I have rewritten the previous sentence three times and this one and it’s still not open…
I’ve tried Firefox and it didn’t work well for some reason. It could just be my 5-year-old iMac. In the world of computing, 5-year-old computers are ancient… but it’s what I have so I have to stick with it.
OK, time to publish this page… second tab is still not loaded.
