The Holocaust of the last century is remembered for the mass murder of Europe’s Jewish population, an estimated six million who perished. In total, an estimated eleven to seventeen million Europeans, Jews and Christians, died in the Nazi concentration and death camps or were murdered outright in their homelands.

Records were lost or didn’t list religion, but the lesser known story of the Holocaust was the death of millions of Christians, three million of whom were Poles, predominantly Catholics, killed by the Nazis for being Poles. They have a special place in Jewish history because many Poles, risking immediate execution if caught, were among the “righteous Gentiles” who were rescuers of Jews.

I cite this because there is a new Holocaust abroad in the world and it is directed at Christians, particularly in the Middle East and throughout Africa, wherever Islam is the dominant religion. Nor is this is a new phenomenon; Christians were widely persecuted under the Ottomans (Turks) when their empire encompassed much of the Middle East.

It is clearly manifesting itself again and to far too little notice.

Let it be said, too, that Islam is an equal opportunity enemy of all other faiths as was seen in the 2008 attack in Mumbai, India, that included India’s tiny Bene Israel Jewish community. The conflict between Islam and India’s Hindus goes back centuries and resulted in the creation of Pakistan as a separate Muslim state when India gained its independence.

Why has there been so little consistent coverage of the on-going attack on Christians? This is especially curious insofar as it is estimated that there are more than two billion Christians worldwide, about a third of the global population. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that they are the victims, not the perpetrators of this horror.

Today thousands of Iraqi Christians are fleeing to the comparative safety of the Kurdish area and other countries. Indeed, many Americans are unaware that much of the U.S. Arab population is, in fact, Christian, not Muslim.

In mid-December, The Telegraph, a London daily, reported that “some 1,000 families, roughly 6,000 people, have arrived in the northern Kurdish areas from Baghdad, Mosul, and Nineveh” according to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. “Several thousand have crossed into Syria, Jordan and Lebanon.”

Egypt is home to some twelve million Copts, otherwise known as the Coptic Orthodox Church. They have been in Egypt since 54 A.D. when St. Mark, a North African Jew, one of seventy apostles of the early church brought Christianity to that ancient land. The invasion of Muslims in 643 A.D created the inevitable adversity. On New Year’s Eve, there was a terrorist attack on the Coptic Church in Alexandria that killed 21 parishioners.

Copts have been routinely targeted for all manner of abuses and, unsurprisingly, Egypt is the epicenter for anti-Semitism in the Middle East. Officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, it has been ruled by President Hosni Mubarack since 1981. By contrast, the U.S. has had six presidents since then.

Boutros Boutros-Ghalli, a Copt and former secretary-general of the U.N., is president of the National Council of Human Rights in Cairo. In a Jan 21 article in the Wall Street Journal he cited Egypt as “a model of religious tolerance in the region” and noted that “thousands of Muslims gathered around churches across the country (on Jan 6, the eve of the Coptic Christmas) to act as human shields, protecting their Christian neighbors during their Mass.”

The exodus of Christians from the Middle East and incidents in African nations where an estimated 40% of the population are Christians speaks to the persecution that has spread everywhere before and since the rise of the Islamic Revolution, sparked by events in Iran in 1979. This has since led to the creation of Hezbollah and Hamas, two Iranian proxies. Al Qaeda, created to expel the Russians from Afghanistan, has been the tip of the Islamist sword, perpetrating 9/11 and other attacks worldwide.

The persecution historically directed against Judaism is now commonplace in its more lethal manifestations against Christians. Since the Old Testament is part of the Christian liturgy, an attack on Jews is an attack on Christians and vice-versa.

The post-war rise of secularism in Europe, along with demographic shifts in which large numbers of Muslims have taken up residence in European nations is having its affect on both Christian and Jewish communities there.

In America, the denigration of Christianity it is less visible and is not by definition persecution. A majority Christian nation, America has been experiencing a rise in efforts to diminish the acknowledgement of Christianity’s role in the nation’s history and by efforts to limit Christian symbols, prayers, and even the celebration of Christmas in public institutions and places.

Slowly, American, European and Christians worldwide are beginning to realize that they are locked in a religious war. It is a war that Christianity must engage. The silence of church leaders is no longer an option. It is a war between the 7^th century and the 21^st century.

It is a misnomer to call it a “war on terror.” Terror is a tactic, but this is a war against Islam because Islam has been at war with all other faiths since its inception.

In New York City, when Muslims seek to build a mosque within steps of Ground Zero, they are simply exalting the atrocity of 9/11. It begs the question why its confessed perpetrator, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, has not, ten years later, been brought to trial.

© Alan Caruba, 2011

 

WesternFront America

King Herod’s existence is not just a historical fact — he has become a horrible footnote to the Christmas story.

Let’s be honest about one of the main characters in the story of Christmas. King Herod is very easy to despise. After all, he tried to kill Jesus when He was just an infant. To ensure this outcome, this wicked man called for a despicable act that was swiftly carried out: he had every baby in the town of Bethlehem murdered. What kind of human being could do such a thing?

Although we may not be as ungodly as Herod, is it possible that there might be a little bit of Herod in all of us? King Herod’s name has become one of the most loathed in history because of the despicable acts he committed against others.

“A cry is heard in Ramah — deep anguish and bitter weeping. Rachel weeps for her children, refusing to be comforted — for her children are gone.” — Jeremiah 31:15

A climate of fear

Herod the Great is mentioned in the Bible for a reason. The Almighty often places special emphasis in the scriptures on someone who is particularly wicked. In the case of Herod, there are several reasons. Let’s do some biblical investigative research and find out why by taking a further look at the story found in Matthew.

In Matthew 2:1, we read:

“Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, ‘Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.’ When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled and all Jerusalem with him.”

After centuries of disappointments and desperate waiting, the city of Jerusalem felt troubled by an announcement that the Messiah might have arrived alive and well.

You’d have to understand the mindset of Herod to understand his ways. Not only was he known as a man who would order the murder of anyone who posed a threat to his position in the Roman Empire, but his own family members were not immune to his brutal, insidious jealousies. Many paid the ultimate price if Herod suspected they might be plotting to seize his throne.

Anyone or any situation that might be considered a threat to Herod’s power meant fear and stress for the inhabitants of the entire city. It was therefore no surprise that fear and anxiety were felt by the people in the city when the wise men suddenly appeared from the east looking for their Savior.

Conflicting expectations

There was a common misunderstanding at the time regarding the role of the Messiah. It was thought He would come to overthrow the Romans. If that took place, it would mean that the Roman Empire would be gone and King Herod would no longer reign over the people. One could come to the conclusion that a number of the priests and religious leaders were purposefully minimizing the prophecies of the scriptures, because they were frightened and terrified of Herod. It’s not hard to understand why they did not want to come across as looking eager for a Messiah to come.

Many people of that day were aware of the prophecies in the Bible that pointed to Christ’s first advent. History bears this out. If you were one of the religious leaders of that time and alerted the people, you’d become the victim of a jealous, contemptible king.

The day arrived when mysterious strangers came into town announcing the birth of the King of the Jews. Who were these wise men from the east? Christian tradition gives them names — Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar. However, scripture doesn’t mention that there were three men, nor does it name them. God’s Word merely mentions the three gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

How did these distant foreigners know that the Messiah had finally arrived? These were men of God who were very familiar with the messianic prophecy given by the prophet Balaam:

I see Him, but not now. I behold him, but not near. A star shall come out of Jacob; a scepter shall rise out of Israel” (Numbers 24:17).

When the wise men saw a new star in the midnight sky, they knew that the King of the Jews had been born. The Bible refers to them as wise men. The original Greek language used the word Magi. It is the name set aside for the highly educated classes of the ancient east. These men were the philosophers and scientists of the ancient world. They were the university professors of their time. Most likely they studied the Hebrew scriptures and those of other world religions.

The nation of Israel had spent 70 years in Babylonian captivity. During that time, Daniel the prophet had been counted among the magi or the wise men of the Babylonian empire. His own startling prophecies of a coming Messiah would actually name dates that were about to take place. Daniel’s visions and prophecies led the wise men to the place of the birth of Jesus Christ hundreds of years later. There is no denying that these wise men were most knowledgeable and excited about the Messiah’s arrival.

Our own complacency

We’re living in the most prosperous country on earth. Americans have access to the Word of God, and yet it appears that many of us are not as excited about Christ as those who live in far-away lands. People in Third-World nations can’t get enough of the story of Jesus. Their desire to follow Him is astounding and touching.

There is a definite contrast between these people and those of us living in the West who have access to God’s Word. We’ve become the thankless generations of people who treat their ministers as if we’re doing them a favor by showing up for church every week. Keeping that thought in mind, it makes me wonder if we are any more spiritually equipped to meet Jesus when He appears at His Second Coming than King Herod was at the first.

Those who were the most chosen of God and had in their possession the prophecies were the ones who ignored them. Instead of becoming the light to the gentiles, they turned away from God’s plan for them. They were positioned to preach the gospel to the entire world.

And just like some Christians today, they wanted all the benefits of being called the people of God, but at the same time they didn’t want Him interfering in their lives. Like the Hebrews of old, many today believe they sit in positions of great favor. Some within the body of Christ or the church feel they possess prestige and power, especially if they belong to a certain denomination or religious order.

Americans have been blessed by having more access to the prophecies of the Bible than any other people. Daily, the Word of God is heard by radio and seen on television, as well as Internet programs. However, here is the question. What if the living Word of the Bible — the Messiah — suddenly stepped into our midst? Are Christians, as well as non-believers, any better prepared today to receive the truth than the ancient city of Jerusalem? Would we be willing to handle the simple demands Christ asks of our lives?

Christians living in America have re-created the Son of God into so many different molds that it’s becoming hard to tell who the real Jesus is. Some envision Christ as a devoted capitalist whose primary objective is to preach the good news of personal wealth and success — while some see Him as a “social justice activist” whose only objective is to overthrow the establishment and free the world’s masses from real and imagined oppressors.

Church and state

It is not my intention to step on anyone’s toes, but there’s something else we can learn from the story of Herod that’s very important. Does the story have anything to teach us when it comes to figuring out where the lines between church and state should be drawn? As I watched Glenn Beck this past week, it hit me when he asked his guest much the same question.

The Word tells us that a lot of the past and present trouble in the world started when people expected our Savior to build a worldly kingdom. While I was re-reading John, Chapter 6, I pondered over the disheartening story in which Jesus explains the purpose of His ministry. When He is done speaking, many of His own disciples walked away. And why did that happen? Christ’s mission did not match their preconceived notions of the Messianic kingdom. Jesus made it abundantly clear that He refused political or governmental powers. The Lord’s main focus was on a kingdom in heaven. When He found Himself in the worldly court of Pilate, the Roman governor, He spoke these words:

“My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now my kingdom is not from here”‘ (John 18:36).

What am I trying to convey?

We know from God’s Word that Christians are not expected to sit on the sidelines — idly standing by while evil prevails — but there’s a fine line we cross when we move from praying, preaching, and personal activism to endorsing political candidates from the pulpit. The progressive denominations have been doing that for decades.

Traditionalists should be able to figure out who is best to serve our country by using our God-given wisdom and the guidance of His Spirit. The Democratic Party is connected to labor unions — the same unions that made violent threats against President Ronald Reagan when he learned that many had been infiltrated by Communists.

Christians must be truthful. Our nation’s morals are deteriorating. Some people want to think of themselves as spiritual, rather than study to be approved and give a reason for one’s faith. There is no question we’ve lost hold of our grip on the moral foundations that once made us strong.
As frustrations build up over our moral decline, it’s easy to lose sight of the biblical role Jesus gave the church. Our job is to lead sinners to the old rugged cross, not to mobilize a voting bloc from our houses of worship.

When pastors slip across the line — from preaching Christ to the lost to promoting candidates prior to election time — well, maybe we need to look at Herod very closely.

The sacred pulpit

Herod ignored the prophecies of the Bible in favor of his own political agenda. He was so intoxicated with his own power that he couldn’t see or think clearly. When the wise men announced the arrival of Jesus, he actually consulted the scriptures in order to plan his next diabolical move:
“And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. So they said to him, ‘In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet: But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, Are not the least among the rulers of Judah; For out of you shall come a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel” (Matthew 2:4-6).

Herod knew what the Bible taught. Instead of being happy and amazed at how faithfully prophecy had been fulfilled, he was more worried about his own political influence and control. He believed that God’s prophecy had been fulfilled, but he was more concerned with his own earthly gains. He understood the scriptures enough to know that the child from Bethlehem was the long-awaited Messiah. Yet he continued to believe that he could change the course of prophetic history to preserve his own love of power. Herod tried to rob the world by plundering the holy cradle of God’s Son.

Is it possible that today’s Christianity has been acting in a similar manner? Has the Christian pulpit replaced the simple preaching of Christ with its own political ambitions and with a Jesus who fits a special agenda? Has the clear sound of the gospel message been replaced with thinly-veiled political campaigns?

I want to be very clear. I’m not saying Christians shouldn’t run for office or get involved politically. In fact, more Christians should take their civic responsibility much more seriously than they do. Many should think about becoming a participant in running this country. Our voices should be heard — and we should especially pray at this time for our new leadership in the House of Representatives. But at the same time, I would plead with Christians everywhere to keep the pulpit sacred, a place where wise men and wise women can still come and meet with the real Son of God.

Love of God vs. love of the world

Let’s get right down to the nitty-gritty, because here is why we need to be careful. In the book of Revelation, there is a startling prophecy that describes metaphorically what Herod tried to do to Christ:

“Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with a moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars. Then being with child, she cried out in labor and in pain to give birth” (Revelation 12:2). The words that follow paint a picture of God’s people described as a woman awaiting the Messiah:

“And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads. His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born” (verses 3 and 4).

In verse 9, we’re told in no uncertain terms that the dragon represents the devil waiting to destroy the Son of God the very day He was born. In other words, Herod was motivated by the devil himself. The Word of God identifies the source of this evil as jealous pride. That is why Herod was willing to kill every child in the city. What is so surprising is the next prophecy found in Revelation, beginning with Revelation 13:1-2:

“Then I stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns and ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name. Now the beast, which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority.”

The prophecy appears to refer to a global political and religious power that seizes control of the civilized world. In the rest of the chapter, God tells us that the whole world wonders after this beast and worships him. This is the only reference found in the Bible that points to a worldwide religious kingdom that exists before the Second Coming of Christ. And it makes it clear that this worldwide kingdom is built by the same dragon that used the Roman Empire and King Herod to try and kill the Son of God. Indeed, that is a very sobering thought!

As Christians, we must admit that we’ve made some terrible mistakes in the past. Historically, people who proclaimed their so-called Christian faith have put countless human beings to death for matters of conscience. If you look at history, you’ll discover that Christians have made a lot of great arguments for doing so. They told themselves that they were torturing and murdering people to save their souls. The Inquisitions will forever be a blight on Christendom and should never be forgotten. They’re a reminder of man’s cruelties to man.

Who held the reins to Herod’s heart, and who held the reins to the church’s heart when so many innocent people were killed? I present to the church that the preaching of Christ would have done more good for the world than the burning of human beings at the stake.

If Christ’s love would have been demonstrated among His people, it would have done more than all the dungeons and stretching racks. The preaching of God’s Holy Word, which for so many years was unavailable to the people, would have been more effective than stealing people’s property and assets, or burning down their houses.

Preach Christ

There’s a remarkable prophecy found in the book of Daniel that predicts the coming of Christ’s kingdom. I want to leave you with just one more thought from that book. It clearly states that the kingdom of Christ is a rock cut out without human hands. And that means neither you nor I will build it — God will, and God does.

As born-again Christians, our vocation is the same as it was 2,000 years ago. We’ve been commissioned by the Lord to preach of Christ and His crucifixion. Our work is to happily prepare a people for the kingdom of heaven, not to build it. And I can’t think of a better way to save our great country for God than to use the pulpits to bring a people to the foot of the cross, because after all, that’s where hearts are really changed.
John Huss was burned at the stake because of his Christian beliefs, which, in light of what the scriptures say, turned out to be the gospel truth. Those who burned him at the stake were convinced that they were doing so for the glory of God. In their own opinion, they were rooting out what they deemed heresy. They also believed that public executions would stop other people from following Huss’ example. The dear man never complained. He accepted his fate and he put his life in God’s hands. Who from this incident will be remembered throughout history? I believe it will be Huss and not the men who took part in killing an innocent man.

Who sparked revival and reformation among God’s people at that time? Was it those who pushed their religious views using man-made laws and traditions, or the one who gave his life for Jesus? Indeed, that’s something to think about!

A final thought at Christmastime

Are you worried about the moral condition of the country? I am. Pray for solutions in the places where God has already given them. As we look at our nation, we see hearts failing. (See Luke 21:25-27, and Isaiah 13:6-11.) Our country isn’t the same place it was just a generation ago. And too many of our people have become, it seems, desperately wicked. All we need to do is get up each morning and hear the news of the day. It’s enough to make one tremble with righteous indignation and fear.

Many long to see a holy revival finally come to fruition. We desire to see friends and family members come to know their Heavenly Father and be saved.

And in spite of King Herod and this unusual Christmas story, it’s a very special time of year. As Christmas rapidly approaches, once again we look toward the heavenly and welcome the Star of Bethlehem.

Come let us adore Him

Selected Music: YouTube — Hark the herald angels sing
Sign the Pledge for America’s Revival — and invite others to do the same

© Marie Jon

 

WesternFront America

Denial of the truth may be easier for some people when thinking about Catholic values. But regardless of whether truth is faced or denied, what the truth is does not change. Disregarding the truth to assuage guilt or make one’s actions fit into a mold that will alleviate distress from one’s conscience is still disregarding the truth. And when the truth is blurred, lives are lost.

When is an act of abortion anything less than the direct murder of a preborn child? The answer to this question is never.

When is the use of a contraceptive method anything less than a defiant act against God which tells Him that He need not get involved in your life by giving you the gift of a child? The answer to this question is never.

When is the direct assault on a human embryo for the purpose of removing his stem cell anything less than killing him? Never.

Each of these questions is based on a fact that is emphatically denied by those who continually fashion the culture of death in America. But what’s truly sad is that, all too frequently, these facts are also rebuffed by those who profess to be part of the pro-life response to pro-death forces. This sort of confusion in messaging derails much of the pro-life public outreach—not to mention confounding those citizens who are looking to us for leadership, education and guidance.

So why does this sort of mixed-up communication occur?

There are varied answers to that question, but there is a simple fact that transcends whatever explanations one may hear. That is quite simply that the truth about abortion, contraception and stem cell research is not fungible—it is what it is. And deny it or waltz around, its nature will not change one iota. There is, after all, just one truth.

For more than forty years we have been striving to understand why individuals shrink from making bold statements of fact like those embodied in the questions posed at the beginning of this article. Until we happened upon an encyclical written more than one hundred years ago, we had no real answer.

In his encyclical Sapientiae Christianae (On Christians as Citizens), Pope Leo XIII challenged the Christians of his day with words that seem to apply more today than they did 115 years ago when he wrote them. http://www.ewtn.com/library/ENCYC/L13SAPIE.HTM

To recoil before an enemy, or to keep silence when from all sides such clamors are raised against truth, is the part of a man either devoid of character or who entertains doubt as to the truth of what he professes to believe. In both cases such mode of behaving is base and is insulting to God, and both are incompatible with the salvation of mankind. This kind of conduct is profitable only to the enemies of the faith, for nothing emboldens the wicked so greatly as the lack of courage on the part of the good. Moreover, want of vigor on the part of Christians is so much the more blameworthy, as not seldom little would be needed on their part to bring to naught false charges and refute erroneous opinions, and by always exerting themselves more strenuously they might reckon upon being successful. After all, no one can be prevented from putting forth that strength of soul which is the characteristic of true Christians, and very frequently by such display of courage our enemies lose heart and their designs are thwarted. Christians are, moreover, born for combat, whereof the greater the vehemence, the more assured, God aiding, the triumph: “Have confidence; I have overcome the world.”[13] Nor is there any ground for alleging that Jesus Christ, the Guardian and Champion of the Church, needs not in any manner the help of men. Power certainly is not wanting to Him, but in His loving kindness He would assign to us a share in obtaining and applying the fruits of salvation procured through His grace.

Strong words, but necessary for those of us who are striving not to please the powerful of this world or help others feel comfortable with a little bit of killing. Strong words, but necessary to share the love, the mercy and the justice of God with one and all. This is accomplished by witnessing to others that only in truth can one find genuine peace of mind and heart.

To be pro-life is, after all, to be courageous.

Judie Brown

 

WesternFront America

The Kafir

By Bill Warner

Until now we have looked at the big picture of Sharia and then the position of women in Sharia. We now come to a new subject–the unbeliever or non-Muslim. The word “non-Muslim” is used in the translation of Sharia law, but the actual Arabic word used is “Kafir”. But the word Kafir means far more than non-Muslim. The original meaning of the word was “concealer”, one who conceals the truth of Islam.

The Koran says that the Kafir may be deceived, plotted against, hated, enslaved, mocked, tortured and worse. The word is usually translated as “unbeliever” but this translation is wrong. The word “unbeliever” is logically and emotionally neutral, whereas, Kafir is the most abusive, prejudiced and hateful word in any language.

There are many religious names for Kafirs: polytheists, idolaters, People of the Book (Christians and Jews), Buddhists, atheists, agnostics, and pagans. Kafir covers them all, because no matter what the religious name is, they can all be treated the same. What Mohammed said and did to polytheists can be done to any other category of Kafir.

Islam devotes a great amount of energy to the Kafir. The majority (64%) of the Koran is devoted to the Kafir, and nearly all of the Sira (81%) deals with Mohammed’s struggle with them. The Hadith (Traditions) devotes 32% of the text to Kafirs¹. Overall, the Trilogy devotes 60% of its content to the Kafir.

Hadith – 37%

Sira – 81%

Koran – 64%

Total – 60%

Amount of Text Devoted to the Kafir

The Sharia does not devote nearly that much to the Kafir since Sharia law is primarily for Muslims. Besides, the Kafir has few rights, so there is little to expound on.

Religious Islam is what Muslims do to go to Paradise and avoid Hell. What Mohammed did to Kafirs was not religious, but political. Political Islam is what is of concern to Kafirs, not the religion. Who cares how a Muslim worships, but every one of us is concerned as to what they do to us and say about us. Political Islam should be of concern to every Kafir.

Here are two Sharia references about Kafirs:

w59.2 [...] And this clari?es the Koranic verses and hadiths about hatred for the sake of Allah and love for the sake of Allah, Al Walaa wa al Baraa, being unyielding towards the Kafirs, hard against them, and detesting them, while accepting the destiny of Allah Most High insofar as it is the decree of Allah Mighty and Majestic.

Hatred for the sake of Allah and love for the sake of Allah is called Al Walaa wa al Baraa, a fundamental principle of Islamic ethics and Sharia. A Muslim is to hate what Allah hates and love what Allah loves. Allah hates the Kafir, therefore, a Muslim is to act accordingly.

40:35 They [Kafirs] who dispute the signs [Koran verses] of Allah without authority having reached them are greatly hated by Allah and the believers [Muslims]. So Allah seals up every arrogant, disdainful heart.

h8.24 It is not permissible to give zakat [charity] to a Kafir, or to someone whom one is obliged to support such as a wife or family member.

Here are a few of the Koran references: A Kafir can be mocked–

83:34 On that day the faithful will mock the Kafirs, while they sit on bridal couches and watch them. Should not the Kafirs be paid back for what they did?

A Kafir can be beheaded–

47:4 When you encounter the Kafirs on the battle?eld, cut off their heads until you have thoroughly defeated them and then take the prisoners and tie them up firmly.

A Kafir can be plotted against–

86:15 They plot and scheme against you [Mohammed], and I plot and scheme against them. Therefore, deal calmly with the Kafirs and leave them alone for a while.

A Kafir can be terrorized–

8:12 Then your Lord spoke to His angels and said, “I will be with you. Give strength to the believers. I will send terror into the Kafirs’ hearts, cut off their heads and even the tips of their fingers!”

A Muslim is not the friend of a Kafir–

3:28 Believers should not take Kafirs as friends in preference to other believers. Those who do this will have none of Allah’s protection and will only have themselves as guards. Allah warns you to fear Him for all will return to Him.

A Kafir is evil–

23:97 And say: Oh my Lord! I seek refuge with You from the suggestions of the evil ones [Kafirs]. And I seek refuge with you, my Lord, from their presence.

A Kafir is disgraced–

37:18 Tell them, “Yes! And you [Kafirs] will be disgraced.”

A Kafir is cursed–

33:60 They [Kafirs] will be cursed, and wherever they are found, they will be seized and murdered. It was Allah’s same practice with those who came before them, and you will ?nd no change in Allah’s ways.

KAFIRS AND THE PEOPLE OF THE BOOK

Muslims tell Christians and Jews that they are special. They are “People of the Book” and are brothers in the Abrahamic faith. But in Islam you are a Christian, if and only if, you believe that Christ was a man who was a prophet of Allah; there is no Trinity; Jesus was not crucified nor resurrected and that He will return to establish Sharia law. To be a true Jew you must believe that Mohammed is the last in the line of Jewish prophets.

This verse is positive:

5:77 Say: Oh, People of the Book, do not step out of the bounds of truth in your religion, and do not follow the desires of those who have gone wrong and led many astray. They have themselves gone astray from the even way.

Islamic doctrine is dualistic, so there is an opposite view as well. Here is the last verse written about the People of the Book (A later verse abrogates or nullifies an earlier verse.). This is the final word. It calls for Muslims to make war on the People of the Book who do not believe in the religion of truth, Islam.

9:29 Make war on those who have received the Scriptures [Jews and Christians] but do not believe in Allah or in the Last Day. They do not forbid what Allah and His Messenger have forbidden. The Christians and Jews do not follow the religion of truth until they submit and pay the poll tax [jizya] and they are humiliated.

The sentence “They do not forbid…” means that they do not accept Sharia law; “until they submit” means to submit to Sharia law. Christians and Jews who do not accept Mohammed as the ?nal prophet are Kafirs.

Muslims pray five times a day and the opening prayer always includes:

Koran 1: 7 Not the path of those who anger You [the Jews] nor the path of those who go astray [the Christians].

LANGUAGE

Since the original Arabic word for unbelievers was Kafir and that is the actual word used in the Koran and Sharia law, that is the word used here for accuracy and precision.

It is very simple: if you don’t believe Mohammed and his Koran, you are a Kafir.

Publication notice: this book is now available to buy on our website HERE.

You can see the entire book on pdf HERE.

Bill Warner, Center for the Study of Political Islam
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WesternFront America

by Kenneth Roberts

In the TV sitcom ‘Green Acres’, Oliver Wendell Douglas, a New York attorney runs for public office against the popular incumbent. A rumor starts, suggesting that Douglas had been debarred as a lawyer. Though not true, the rural folk keep repeating the lie during the campaign, until everyone accepts it as an established fact… and besides, it’s highly amusing to repeat the slander. Candidate Douglas is frustrated beyond endurance. Even though he is an accomplished attorney, he doesn’t stand a chance against this entrenched prejudice.

In the Koran, Mohammed uses the same technique. All sorts of things in the Koran are no more than cartoonish misrepresentations of people and other religions, but Moslems have no problem accepting them as established facts, merely because Mohammed said so and repeated them over and over, giving them divine authority… and besides, Mohammed’s caricatures are highly amusing! Cartoons work. Hyperbole works. They entertain. They work viscerally by circumventing the intellect and appealing directly to the emotions through laughter and sneering mockery. A thing doesn’t have to be true to be fun!

Mocking outsiders is fun! It puts ‘them’ down, puts ‘us’ above them and thus dehumanizes ‘them’. ‘We’ get control of ‘them’.

According to Mohammed, not only do kafir-subhumans deserve to be mocked, but they basically lack a right to share the earth with Moslems. They are on earth by the kind permission and mercy of Moslems who magnanimously restrain themselves from removing the kafirs altogether. By mocking their legitimate overlords (the Moslems), kafirs lose their right to exist on earth. That is the Sunna, the example, of Mohammed.

In the TV episode, lawyer Douglas starts shouting, ‘I was not debarred!’ but no one hears him over the howls of bemused laughter. Mohammed discovered how effective laughing at one’s opponents could be. He mocked all who didn’t follow him, starting with the Jews, calling them sons of pigs and apes, and at other times calling them ‘donkeys carrying the Taurat’. Mohammed refused to pronounce it ‘Torah’. He distorted the names of people in the Bible as well, no doubt to make them sound funny. He told humiliating stories about Biblical heroes. Abraham had a humorous scrotal hernia. Talking rocks stole Abraham’s clothes and ran away with them. Solomon bends over and overhears the language of ants. Trees, clouds and other objects in nature come alive and speak. Such imagery could come out of Tom and Jerry, but it is there in Mohammed’s holy book revealed by his god, who only communicated with Mohammed. Mohammed also hired writers to lampoon his enemies in limericks. Mohammed could not take a joke at his own expense. No! Mohammed’s narcissism was sacred! And poking fun at it was an unforgivable act of high treason punishable by death! He had writers assassinated who lampooned him.

Of course, as with other matters, Mohammed gave himself a monopoly on cartoons. He wanted his opponents to be unarmed in the matter of satirizing him…as do pious Moslems today. Today, Moslems claim the right to satirize Jews, Americans, the British, the Pope and anyone else. But no one may satirize them. Moslems place themselves and their collective offended narcissism above comment. To criticize Moslems is an act of high treason against our divinely-appointed overlords!

We are never told why Mohammed’s narcissism needs defending more than another’s narcissism. We are merely told that Mohammed taught his followers to defend his narcissism by assassinating critics…and that this is confirmed in Islamic law.

Since Moslems claim a monopoly on lampooning, Moslems expect to fight opponents whose two hands are tied behind their backs. They expect to control all debate, so no one talks back. They expect to behead all verbal critique of Islam by removing freedom of speech from our writers, teachers and politicians. They would behead kafirs societies by silencing their leaders who are charged with hearing, speaking and thinking for the benefit of the body politick. They would silence opposition to Islam with a slice of the scimitar of censorship! This is being done by violence and threats of violence.

Mohammed considered resistance to his censorship as unspeakable insolence that must be attacked with the utmost fury! Mohammed’s narcissism would not bear the smallest slight. So he found a way to stop it. All laughter stops when a person picks up a knife. According to Mohammed, such murder pleases Allah.

When Mohammed sent out his followers armed with knives, the mockers stopped mockery in Arabia forever. Anyone who disagreed with Mohammed left the country immediately, leaving Mohammed in complete control of all communications.

Today Moslems still demand a monopoly on mockery, a monopoly on satire, a monopoly on cartoons. They want a safe position above the debate from which they can verbally lay into others. Islamic mockery goes only one way…towards the kafirs.

Mohammed’s mockery of Christian doctrines was as satirical as his mockery of the Jews. Mohammed’s slanders of Christianity are some of the worst examples of his cartooning! The easiest and most distinctive Christian doctrine to remember is that of the divine Trinity, three persons in one God, Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Rather than admit he understood the clearly worded message, Mohammed intentionally distorted it as ‘Father, Mother Mary and Son of God’. He obviously knew Mary was not part of the Trinity. He knew what he was doing. He was drawing a cartoon in which he removed the Holy Ghost from the picture. The first cult object tossed from the Kaaba by Mohammed was an image of a dove, the symbol of the Holy Spirit.

Why was the Holy Ghost such a danger to Mohammed? Sometimes people reveal what frightens them by never mentioning what they fear! Mohammed never mentions the Holy Ghost. The gentle dove represents spiritual stillness, tameness and the Golden Rule. Their opposite qualities are activity, ferocity and opportunism. A world-conquering empire needed energetic warriors with the latter qualities, rather than contemplative Christian monks in a monastery preaching benevolence towards one’s enemies.

Mohammed’s ultimate mockery of Christians was to mock the Virgin Mary by flying to heaven and make her his bride. Mohammed became the father of all Christians. His mockery of Christians was then almost complete.

Practically everything Mohammed said about Christianity was a caricature and a distortion. In a final cartoon of Christianity, Mohammed claimed Jesus would return to betray and butcher his own followers and then break the crosses they possessed as the symbols of the Golden Rule! This is an astonishing cartoon caricature of everything Christians consider holy and a revelation of Mohammed’s psychology of betrayal!

The worst part of Mohammed’s cartoons is that not only is he caricaturing the original doctrines, but he then claims that his cartoon represents THE TRUE IMAGE of them! Jewish and Christian doctrines as defined by the Jews and Christians themselves are wrong! Only Mohammed’s cartoons are THE TRUE doctrines.

No professional cartoonist would ever claim that! Cartoonists live enough in reality to know that their cartoons are highly exaggerated misrepresentations emphasizing a humorous aspect of events or personalities.

If Mohammed thought his cartoons were REAL, he had obviously left reality.

Koranic cartoons misrepresenting Jews, Christians and the pluralistic, cultured Arabs of Mohammed’s day are not reality, but Mohammed’s distorted comic strips, which Moslems have accepted as THE TRUTH ever since.

Mohammed could not tell the difference between a cartoon and reality…or at least he pretended not to, if it was in his own political interest. This makes Mohammed a cynical, scheming politician, rather than a sincere spiritual leader. Was he mad or a schemer?

Mohammed’s cartoons of ‘others’ in the Koran are no more real than the evil and dehumanizing cartoons of Jews that appeared for 20 years in the Nazi propaganda newspaper, Der Stürmer. The purpose of these cartoons was the same as Mohammed’s Koranic Kafir Kartoons …to dehumanize the victims, make them out to be diseased animals and give Moslems the emotional freedom to treat these subhumans violently.

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WesternFront America

“For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it begins at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?” — 1 Peter 4:17

When clergy knowingly become involved in an unscriptural heresy called Social Justice, they have sinned against God. It does not matter what denomination is tainted by this false theology, the results will be the same. The Bible says there will be a falling away from God’s truth, which many believe is taking place now:
“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).

Worldly-minded ministers who get caught up in this “progressive” movement do so for many reasons, including power and political gain. They knowingly misrepresent the Word, and do not appropriately tend their congregations. Among other things, they’re intentionally obsessing their parishioners with Mother Earth (environmentalism).

“I am come that they might have life”.

God sent His Son to save the human race from sin. He died so we could have life eternal with Him. The Lord will destroy the world someday and present to His family a new heaven and a new earth. Sin will be vanquished and never be allowed to rise again.

The scriptures beautifully portray the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, in which old things pass away. Revelation 1:7 reads: “Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him.” And in Revelation 21:4, we catch a glimpse of God’s plan for our new future: “There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” The very thought expressed in the verse is comforting and extremely powerful.

The full text says,

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (Revelation 21: 1-4).

Unfortunately, progressive pastors are not interested in being about their Father’s business of saving souls for Christ’s sake. They appear to have their feet firmly planted in the here and now. They are very content to let big government dole out “social justice” (and in some parts of the world, are even willing to let government provide a greenhouse to worship in, complete with solar panels and all). Such slothful and unconsecrated frauds will eventually stand before the Great White Thrown of God and answer to the Almighty for leading others astray and not teaching the everlasting gospel.

The unrepentant pastors will find that their chickens have come home to roost. They’ll reap what they have sown: “For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch” (Malachi 4:1).

The gospel of Karl.

There are false pastors embedded within America’s churches who want to destroy the gospel of Christ and replace it with Marxism. The deceivers are not afraid of the wrath of the Lord. They do not believe in the God of the Bible. They are pandering a scheme that involves big government programs and a myriad of things that have nothing to do with the command to finish up the work and the preaching of the Good News.
God’s relationship with man is one of love. He wishes for us to obey Him freely through love. The Almighty gave mankind the gift of free will and the knowledge of how Christians should relate to each other, including the poor.

Americans are good and generous people who have always risen up to meet the needs of the poor. We also entrust our churches with our tithes and offerings. We give freely of our time and money to charitable organizations. The Bible does not mention one word about forced redistribution of wealth, or intrusive government programs for bringing about coercive “social justice.”

Charity is a desirable human tendency that comes from our relationship with our Lord. It’s an action God never forces. God “loves a cheerful giver.” However, the Obama administration has enticed some well-known denominations with “pay for play.” Become a lover of the Green Earth and your church will receive special favors.

Unconstitutional maneuvering.

Our government plans to bypass Congress through administrative edicts of the EPA. And if your church embraces climate change — well, let’s say good things will happen. At the peril of the entire country, progressive churches will promote Cap and Trade. Yes, Democrats want Christians and others faiths to become titillated about saving the globe.

I guess these same misguided Christians have forgotten that, in the Garden of Eden, God cursed the earth. It’s a tragic true story of human disobedience — the lack of respect and adherence to God’s Word.

While all this clever chicanery is going on, Christians are to be led by God’s Holy Spirit. We’re to live a righteous life — to be set apart. We are not to engage in the sinful activities that this fallen world promotes, nor are we to retain a corrupt mind that this world has helped to create. Rather, we are to conform ourselves to the mind and will of Jesus Christ (Romans 12:1-2). We must be a living testament of joy in all our daily activities and personal commitments.

All believers need to understand their role in the world. We are the children of light. We’re not to be led by those who try to bring us into bondage and spiritual darkness. Christians are to live in such a way that those outside the faith see our good deeds and know that there is something special about us. While holding on to God’s saving grace, we’re to make every effort to live Christlike before those who do not know the Lord. Otherwise, we do Him a great disservice. By our example, non-believers will see fulfillment of Christ’s admonition that “by their fruits you shall know them.”

Enjoy the beautiful things that God has laid before us. Nature is breathtaking. Worship Him — but never His creation.

Excerpts from Erik Rush.

Recently, writer Erik Rush addressed the growing movement of progressive socialists among those professing Christianity. Below are excerpts from his article “The apostasy of ‘social justice Christians’”:

“Revelations concerning people who call themselves ‘social justice Christians’ have recently become a cause célèbre among conservative commentators. Initially, I was disinclined to tackle the subject, since there have been several worthwhile articles and programs addressing it as of late. However, since the phenomenon so closely resembles another upon which I have expounded with regularity, I reasoned that some elucidation thereupon would be accommodating to civic-minded Americans.

“‘Social justice Christians’ are those who profess Christianity, but who adhere to politically entrenched concepts of equality and redistribution of wealth. These ideas are ostensibly rooted in their faith, but in truth, they have been incrementally and insidiously insinuated into many American churches by Marxists, progressive politicians, and pastors whose religion has been tainted by the aforementioned parties.

“How can this be? Well, through the misrepresentation of Gospel messages in the areas of charity and egalitarianism, such Christians have been led to believe that:

• Government has a right to enforce religious doctrines (such as those of charity and egalitarianism); and
• Jesus Christ, as a threat to the existing paradigm, was the “first radical” and essentially commanded this in His teachings.

“A preposterous extrapolation, to be sure, but that’s what they espouse. And of course, government only has the right to enforce the religious doctrines of which these folks and their leaders happen to approve.

“Organizations such as the Sojourners (founded by communist ‘reverend’ Jim Wallis) and other SJC entities have been flexing their collective muscle since the election of Barack Obama as president. Most recently, a public service announcement campaign led by the Hollywood Adventist Church (don’t laugh; this is serious stuff) via New Name Pictures and entitled “I’m a Social Justice Christian” hit the Web, provoking the condemnation of those who, well, see social justice Christianity for what it is.

“Why do I bring this up now — other than because social justice groups have been flexing that muscle lately? Because the methodology in play is precisely how the left corrupted the black community — through their pastors and their churches. In the 1960s, the church was still the bulwark of the black community. Marxists subverted black pastors, then interwove their (social justice) dogma into the Gospel.

“It is the same creed that destroyed black families and the character of black Americans; now, the political left is mobilizing deluded Christians in the general population to do their malevolent bidding. President Obama’s “organizers” are capitalizing on the raw sensitivities of a largely white middle-class subgroup that has been browbeaten with charges of racism for years.

“According to SJ Christians, in addition to oppressing minorities (though it remains a mystery as to precisely how), we are destroying the planet; these issues must be addressed decisively and with all due speed — by the federal government. First, it was necessary to advance the notion that the Earth’s atmosphere was going to flash off into space imminently, hence the climate-change fear-mongering.

“In addition to the discredited (and therefore dubious) evidence supporting climate-change theory, adherents to “environmental justice” wholly ignore the fact that we have managed to engineer automobiles that are exponentially more fuel-efficient and environmentally friendly than those produced in the 1970s, when the last environmental panic occurred. American industry has done likewise across the board, and environmental consciousness and our sense of stewardship of the Earth is at record levels across the political spectrum in America.” Full Article

Corruption from within.

When Christians become aware that their own denominations have been infiltrated by progressives, they’ll probably not get very far contacting the church’s conference offices or hierarchy. Those in charge are most likely involved and will simply turn a deaf ear.

Most of Christendom will worsen as liberal ideas — such as same sex marriage, global warming, and evolution — continue to creep into the church.

When godly people of faith see the changes taking place, it’s time to leave and start afresh in a church where the Word is not being compromised. I’m afraid there will be very few places where a soul can find refuge, yet God will always have a people who will hear His voice.

Remember that biblically-sound Evangelicals have always presented the truth of the seven-day creation story that is found in the book of Genesis. Why? Because it is scriptural. Yet the progressives have managed to increase their numbers by touting evolution in places where it previously had never been taught, including privately-owned Christian universities and other learning institutions.

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1).

And as President Barack Obama proceeds to purposely destroy America, he wants to create a new paradigm that will eventually diminish Christianity, so our country can continue down the path of secularism, along with a thrashed interpretation of our Constitution.

Return to Christ.

Take out your Bibles. Read them. Know who Jesus Christ is. Only then can we defend the faith by knowing the truth and holding it up against and defeating the counterfeit.

Our nation is being taken apart, inside out, by radical forces who abuse their powers. Obama and his Democrat cronies are seeking to destroy America and then rebuild it in their own image. The president has ignored the will of the people, and has forced upon every citizen an insidious socialized healthcare plan. Yet Social Justice Christians stood by his side, aware of the ugly outcome of his actions.

Resolve now to vote them out of office. Let us begin humbly but boldly, as we move ever forward. We will take back the country, a nation founded upon Judeo-Christian beliefs.

Marie’s Choice Song: YouTube — Make Me A Servant — Maranatha Singers.

Related Readings:
American Thinker: What Exactly Is ‘Social Justice’?
American Thinker: The Ugly Side of Social Justice

© Marie Jon

 

WesternFront America

This should come as no surprise to anyone!

According to an article at CNSNEWS.COM entitled: “Americans Who Don’t Attend Church Form Base of Obama’s Support, Gallup Polling Indicates,” Terence P. Jeffrey, Editor-in-Chief writes the following:

“Gallup reports the breakouts from its presidential approval survey for three different types of church-goers: people who attend church weekly, people who attend church nearly weekly or monthly, and people who seldom or never attend church. Among these three groups, Obama’s approval rating tops 50 percent only among those who seldom or never attend church. In fact, among this group it was at 56 percent for the week ending May 8.”

Jeffrey went on to write: “Obama’s approval rating dropped to a low of 38 percent among weekly church-goers in the week that ended on April 4. By contrast, Obama’s presidential approval rating has never dropped below 50 percent among those who seldom or never go to church. (Read the entire story HERE.)

Surely you are not surprised by these findings – are you? You should not be. As far back as the presidential campaign, Obama was supported by the less religious among Americans.

In an article from the “Christian Post UK,” and posted on “Directions Orthodoxy” dated July 9th, 2008, it is noted: “Presidential candidate Barack Obama has stronger support among less religious Americans than rival John McCain, a survey revealed.” The article goes on to say: “The survey, conducted by The Gallup Poll and released Tuesday, found 55 percent of Americans who say religion is not important in their life backed Obama, compared to 36 percent for McCain. The reverse was true for Americans who said religion was important in their life, with 50 percent to 40 percent preferring McCain over Obama. WE recommend you visit their site HERE.

Little has changed, at least for Obama’s support. A little deeper in the Christian Post UK article it is noted: “The finding that religious voters prefer a Republican candidate is not new. Evangelical Christians, who are viewed as highly religious, have traditionally been stalwart voters of the Republican Party…” You may read the entire article HERE.

As a conservative Christian I am not surprised by these findings. What troubles me is that ANY Christian could support Obama and the American political left. With every passing day it becomes more and more obvious the American political left has embraced socialism.

It is the opinion of this scribe that the Christian faith and socialism cannot co-exist. They are totally incompatible.

Simply put — Christians believe in God and believe that man needs God. Socialism, on the other hand, sees no need for God. The “State” takes over the duties of the “Supreme Being.”

“Socialist philosophy assumes that the masses [are] as dumb as children, and they don’t need a god to reach their fondest dreams, but a government to hand out the goodies… .“ Thus states Julie Behling in an article titled: “Why I Believe Socialism and Christianity Are Wholly Incompatible.” Ms. Behling goes on to say: “In Christian philosophy, individuals are responsible to care for the needs of the poor, the sick, the widow, and the orphan, but not compelled. Those who rise to the challenge will find themselves on the right hand of God because of their CHOICES, and those who don’t — will not receive the blessings reserved for those who do.

In Socialist philosophy, all are compelled to care for the needy whether they want to or not (through taxation), and this care comes through the administration of a notoriously inefficient bureaucracy.”

Ms. Behling explains: “Christian philosophy causes men and women to rise up, work for their sustenance depending oftentimes on faith that help will come if and when it is needed. It is hard, it is risky, but the rewards of making the proper use of God-given free will are great. The consequences of poor choices can be brutal.

Socialist philosophy seeks to soften the blows of consequences to natural laws, both positive consequences – financial abundance for the thrifty, wise, hard-worker — and negative consequences – poverty to those who break the natural laws that govern abundance.”

As one who subscribes to the Christian faith, I believe Ms. Behling is “spot on” when she says: “Socialism falsely informs men and women there is another way to reach their ultimate dreams besides faith in any god.” (We urge you to read Ms. Behling’s article in its entirety HERE.)

In summing up Ms. Behling says: “The degree to which taking care of the poor and the needy is instituted and administered by government is the degree to which freedom is abdicated.” (Editor’s note: The italics used here for emphasis are totally mine.)

We applaud Ms. Behling’s article and recommend it to you. You will find it HERE.

It may seem that we have moved far a field here, in this commentary, from the original intent. I assure you — we have not. My intention was to try to explain why the majority of the religious in America, the Christians especially, cannot support Obama en masse. Obama’s socialism flies in the face of the Christian faith. In fact Obama’s socialism is seen, among many Christians, as a religion in, and of, itself. It is a secular religion, without God, but a religion, nonetheless.

I suspect my conclusion above will not sit well with Obama followers, but the truth, oftimes, brings pain.

Evangelical Christians have only to consider Obama’s stance toward Israel to find reason to renounce his particular brand of socialism.

For evangelicals the fate of Israel and the fate of the United States are inextricably interwoven. The promise of God to Abraham that God would bless those who bless Israel and curse those who curse Israel is taken literally. According to their belief, Obama’s rebuke of Israel and his obvious fondness for Israel’s enemies will bring the wrath of God down on America. In fact, many Christians believe that has already begun. They believe that God’s protection of America has been lifted and America’s future holds only crisis after crisis and disaster after disaster until America once again embraces God’s “Chosen People.”

Americans have slowly come to realize the leadership they chose in 2006 and 2008 was a huge mistake and has brought nothing but pain and suffering to the American people. Elections have consequences. Decisions have consequences. America is living through the consequences of choosing a socialist government, which is incrementally dismantling our constitutional republic right before our eyes.

One of the signs given man as to when to expect the “End of Days’ was when people began living their daily lives as they did in the time of Noah. We have certainly reached that point in the evolution of our American society. And, unfortunately, just as Noah preached over and over again, to the masses, that the rains WERE coming and the ensuing flood would consume every one unless they changed their ways, they refused to listen and even rebuked and made fun of the old man building a huge boat in that dry land. Even the unchurched and the non-religious supporters of Obama know how that story turned out.

All the signs are there. Just as Israel paid a terrible price for demanding an earthly king, Saul, just so they could have a king of their own, just like their neighboring countries, America will be required to pay a price, of biblical proportions, for demanding a leader who remake America into the image of the socialist countries with whom we share this globe.

To say the end is nigh would be kind – and wrong. Unfortunately, America has much suffering in her future long before anything resembling the end rises above her clouded horizon.

J. D. Longstreet blogs daily at INSIGHT on Freedom at:  http://www.csadispatch.blogspot.com/
E-Mail:  longstreet1862@gmail.com
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WesternFront America

A new post at Logan’s Warning alerted me to a post on Islam Online titled “Media should get Islam right” under the byline of  Hind Al-Subai Al-Idrisi .

The post pulls many of the standard strings of al-taqeyya.  If the media would “get Islam right”,  they would be subjected to fatwas, threats, boycotts and litigation. Those of us who do not make our living by the word have a greater license to be accurate and honest. I have therefore extracted the most egregious lies from Hind’s stream of  malignant malarkey and will expose them below.

Rabat – Given the amount of violence and instability in countries with Muslim majorities, such as Iraq and Afghanistan, some people mistakenly assume the violence stems from Islamic teachings, when in fact Islam does not condone such actions. The media does not help the matter, often focusing on the activities of terrorists who claim to be Muslims, instead of identifying these individuals as criminals and shedding light on the true essence of Islam.

The internecine violence between Sunni & Shi’ia is, technically, un-Islamic conduct, forbidden by Allah & Moe.  Surah An-Nisa’ 92 & 93 make this fact abundantly clear.

• 4:92. It is not for a believer to kill a believer …
• 4:93. And whoever kills a believer intentionally, his recompense is Hell to abide therein, and the Wrath and the Curse of Allâh are upon him, and a great punishment is prepared for him.

The paragraph cited above serves as a distraction, to divert our attention away from the real issue: Jihad, which is defined in Islamic law as  “to war against non-Muslims” A similar, and more complete definition and explanation are provided in the translator’s footnote to 2:190. The purpose of Jihad is to establish Islam and make it dominant.

Jihad is made mandatory for Muslims in Surah Al-Baqarah 2:216. Warfare against pagans & atheists is commanded in Surah Al-Anfal 8:39.  Warfare against Jews, Christians & Zoroastrians is commanded in Surah At-Taubah 9:29.  Those imperatives are codified in Shari’ah.

• The caliph makes war upon Jews, Christians and Zoroastrians….
• The caliph fights all other peoples until they become Muslim…

Those are not anachronisms; Allah’s Jihad imperatives have no expiration date. Sunan Abu Dawud 14.2526 makes this fact clear.

• …jihad will be performed continuously since the day Allah sent me as a prophet until the day the last member of my community will fight with the Dajjal (Antichrist)….

The media shows Muslim terrorists with guns performing prayers but rarely associates terms like terrorist, fanatic and fundamentalist with any other religious group.

Is terrorism a sacrament of any other religion?  Which scripture contains functional equivalents of these gems of holiness?

• 3:151. We shall cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve, …
• 8:12. …I will cast terror into the hearts of those who have disbelieved, so strike them over the necks, and smite over all their fingers and toes.” …
• 8:60.  Against them make ready your strength to the utmost of your power, including steeds of war, to strike terror into (the hearts of) the enemies, of God and your enemies, and others besides, whom ye may not know, but whom God doth know…. [Abdullah Yusuf Ali]
• 33:26. …Allâh brought them down from their forts and cast terror into their hearts, (so that) a group (of them) you killed, and a group (of them) you made captives. …

Did Jesus Christ or the founder of any other religion brag about victory through terrorism?

• …Allah made me victorious by awe, (by His frightening my enemies) for a distance of one month’s journey. …
• …I have been made victorious with terror (cast in the hearts of the enemy), and while I was sleeping, the keys of the treasures of the world were brought to me and put in my hand. …

The vast majority of Muslims are peace loving and coexist harmoniously with those around them; they would say that the core of Islam is tolerance, co-existence and respect for all religions. In fact, Prophet Muhammad was known for his superior manners, merciful demeanor and tolerance toward all people, regardless of their race or religion.

Three cheers for the “vast majority of Muslims”; they are not the root of the problem.  Believers are another matter, as Surah Al-Hujuratt  49:15 and Al-Anfal  2-8 reveal.

• 8:2. The believers are only those who, when Allâh is mentioned, feel a fear in their hearts and when His Verses (this Qur’ân) are recited unto them, they (i.e. the Verses) increase their Faith; and they put their trust in their Lord (Alone);
  8:3. Who perform As-Salât (Iqâmat­as­Salât) and spend out of that We have provided them.
  8:4. It is they who are the believers in truth. For them are grades of dignity with their Lord, and Forgiveness and a generous provision (Paradise).
  8:5. As your Lord caused you (O Muhammad ) to go out from your home with the truth, and verily, a party among the believers disliked it;
  8:6. Disputing with you concerning the truth after it was made manifest, as if they were being driven to death, while they were looking (at it).
  8:7. And (remember) when Allâh promised you (Muslims) one of the two parties (of the enemy i.e. either the army or the caravan) that it should be yours, you wished that the one not armed (the caravan) should be yours, but Allâh willed to justify the truth by His Words and to cut off the roots of the disbelievers (i.e. in the battle of Badr).
  8:8. That He might cause the truth to triumph and bring falsehood to nothing, even though the Mujrimûn (disbelievers, polytheists, sinners, criminals, etc.) hate it.
• 49:15. Only those are the believers who have believed in Allâh and His Messenger, and afterward doubt not but strive with their wealth and their lives for the Cause of Allâh. Those! They are the truthful.

Spend, strive and go out are euphemisms for Jihad.  If you doubt this fact, visit http://www.quranbrowser.com/ search for those terms and examine the context in which they are used.  8:1 & 8:7 are sufficient to establish the connection between the second ayeh and Jihad.  Those who do not enthusiastically  participate in Jihad are not believers, they are hypocrites

The   quote above contains three egregious lies: tolerance, respect and  co-existence.  Anyone who asserts that those values are the core of Islam is either an ignorant fool or an accursed liar of the lowest order.

I took care of the co-existence  deception when I cited the ayat which command Muslims to wage war against non-Muslims.  Co-existence and perpetual warfare are not compatible, they are mutually exclusive.

The tolerance deception falls to the same evidence.  War is not toleration.  But there is more, found in Surah Al-Imran 3:85.

• 3:85. And whoever seeks a religion other than Islâm, it will never be accepted of him, and in the Hereafter he will be one of the losers.

The respect deception falls to similar evidence found in Surah Al-Baiyyinah  98:6, Surah Al-Taubah 9:30 and Sahih Bukhari 1.8.387.

• 98:6. Verily, those who disbelieve (in the religion of Islâm, the Qur’ân and Prophet Muhammad ) from among the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians) and Al-Mushrikûn will abide in the Fire of Hell. They are the worst of creatures.

• 9:30. And the Jews say: ‘Uzair (Ezra) is the son of Allâh, and the Christians say: Messiah is the son of Allâh. That is a saying from their mouths. They imitate the saying of the disbelievers of old. Allâh’s Curse be on them, how they are deluded away from the truth!
• Sahih Bukhari Volume 1, Book 8, Number 387:
  Narrated Anas bin Malik:
  Allah’s Apostle said, “I have been ordered to fight the people till they say: ‘None has the right to be worshipped but Allah.’ And if they say so, pray like our prayers, face our Qibla and slaughter as we slaughter, then their blood and property will be sacred to us and we will not interfere with them except legally and their reckoning will be with Allah.” Narrated Maimun ibn Siyah that he asked Anas bin Malik, “O Abu Hamza! What makes the life and property of a person sacred?” He replied, “Whoever says, ‘None has the right to be worshipped but Allah’, faces our Qibla during the prayers, prays like us and eats our slaughtered animal, then he is a Muslim, and has got the same rights and obligations as other Muslims have.”

Our blood and property are not sacred to Muslims and we have no rights until we become Muslims.  Declaring open season on us is hardly a token of respect, tolerance & co-existence.

There are many verses in the Qur’an that support this message of peaceful coexistence and harmony. Among the basic features of Islam is freedom of religion and non-compulsion: “Let there be no compulsion in religion” (2:256) and “If it had been the Lord’s will, they would all have believed – all who are on earth. Wilt thou then compel mankind, against their will to believe?” (10:99).

“No compulsion in religion” does not mesh with “And fight them until there is no more Fitnah (disbelief and polytheism: i.e. worshipping others besides Allâh) and the religion (worship) will all be for Allâh Alone [in the whole of the world ]“.  The two are polar opposites.  The conflict can only be resolved by the science of Naskh.

• 2:106. Whatever a Verse (revelation) do We abrogate or cause to be forgotten, We bring a better one or similar to it. Know you not that Allâh is able to do all things?

Newer revelations abrogate earlier revelations. Which came first, 2:256 or 8:39?  Surah Al-Baqarah was #87 in sequence of revelation and Surah Al-Taubah was  #88. [http://www.masjidtucson.org/quran/chapters_chronological_sequence.html] 2:256 has been abrogated, it is null and void.   But I have further proof.  Surah Al-Imran  was # 89 in sequence of revelation. Examine  3:110 and  Sahih Bukhari 6.60.80, which explains its meaning.

• 3:110. You [true believers in Islâmic Monotheism, and real followers of Prophet Muhammad  and his Sunnah (legal ways, etc.)] are the best of peoples ever raised up for mankind; you enjoin Al-Ma’rûf (i.e. Islâmic Monotheism and all that Islâm has ordained) and forbid Al-Munkar (polytheism, disbelief and all that Islâm has forbidden), and you believe in Allâh. And had the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians) believed, it would have been better for them; among them are some who have faith, but most of them are Al-Fâsiqûn (disobedient to Allâh – and rebellious against Allâh’s Command).
• The Verse:–”You (true Muslims) are the best of peoples ever raised up for mankind.” means, the best of peoples for the people, as you bring them with chains on their necks till they embrace Islam.

If dragging us with chains on our necks is not compulsion, what is?

When the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) established the first Muslim community in Mecca, he guaranteed freedom of religion, the sanctity of the human soul, and the right to security for non-Muslims, including Christians and Jews – the “People of the Book”, as they’re referred to in the Qur’an. They were privy to the same rights and subject to the same duties as Muslims, and were granted protection from outside threats.

What Moe tried to do was recruit the Jews & Christians into Islam, and when they rejected him, he attacked and plundered them.  His military career began with raids on camel caravans returning to Mecca. As his army grew larger, fed by the spoils from those raids, he turned against the local Jewish population.   His  extortion letter to and attack on the Jews at the Khaibar Oasis [and 4.52.143]are exemplary.

The egregious assertions of sanctity and equality have already been dealt with above, completely disproved by reference to Sahih Bukhari 1.8.387. You  have already discovered, if you followed the links immediately above, that Islam sold protection from itself. Note the reference to jizya in 9:29.

The malignant malarkey about “freedom of religion” is best disproved by reference to Shari’ah.  Reliance of the Traveller, Book O, Chapter 11.5 lists several restrictions imposed on Jews & Christians under Islamic domination.

• Forbidden to:
  • ring church bells
  • display crosses
  • recite the Torah or Evangel aloud
  • make public display of funerals or feasts
  • build new churches.

The teachings of Islam encourage acquaintance and communication among all people, as well as the blending among societies: “O mankind! Lo! We have created you male and female, and have made you nations and tribes that ye may know one another” (49:13).

Allah strictly forbids friendly relations between Muslims and kuffar in the following ayat, from which I will quote one exemplar: 3:118, 4:144, 5:51, 5:57, 60:1 & 60:13.

• 3:118. O you who believe! Take not as (your) Bitânah (advisors, consultants, protectors, helpers, friends, etc.) those outside your religion (pagans, Jews, Christians, and hypocrites) since they will not fail to do their best to corrupt you. They desire to harm you severely. Hatred has already appeared from their mouths, but what their breasts conceal is far worse. Indeed We have made plain to you the Ayât (proofs, evidences, verses) if you understand.

A similar ayeh serves as one of the foundation stones of al-taqeyya. I have added emphasis to make the critical clause stand out.

• 3:28. Let not the believers take the disbelievers as Auliyâ (supporters, helpers, etc.) instead of the believers, and whoever does that will never be helped by Allâh in any way, except if you indeed fear a danger from them. And Allâh warns you against Himself (His Punishment), and to Allâh is the final return.

Surah An-Nahl  16:106 is another foundation stone of Islamic dissimulation.

• 16:106. Whoever disbelieved in Allâh after his belief, except him who is forced thereto and whose heart is at rest with Faith but such as open their breasts to disbelief, on them is wrath from Allâh, and theirs will be a great torment.

Ibn Kathir’s Tafsir quotes a hadith allegedly from Bukhari, which is not found in the collection at USC-MSA.

• …For instance, Al-Bukhari recorded that Abu Ad-Darda’ said, “We smile in the face of some people although our hearts curse them.” Al-Bukhari said that Al-Hasan said, “The Tuqyah is allowed until the Day of Resurrection….

Because of the Islamic practices of dissimulation and obfuscation, it is necessary to check their references and search out the conflicting ayat & hadith which disprove them.  Only ignorant fools will accept statements by politicians and Muslims at face value.  Yet Another Qur’an Browser, to which I link ayat, displays a table of ten parallel translations.  USC-MSA displays parallel translations by Pickthall, Shakir & Yusuf Ali.  The same site has four of the six canonical hadith collections. You can use the navigation links on  its pages to access them.  The King  Fahd Complex displays the Hilali & Khan translation with their footnotes.  You can search and read Reliance of the Traveller, the all purpose handbook of Shari’ah at Scribid.  Ibn Kathir’s Tafsir displays the Arabic text of the Qur’an, an English translation and the parallel ayat & ahadith which explain its meaning  A search engine  for the tafsir is available at http://www.qtafsir.com/

Links to on line texts, search engines,  texts you can download and links to many of my blog posts are available at http://www.crusadersarmory.co.cc/ .

Originally posted at Ben’s Blog © Dajjal

 

WesternFront America

There are many articles and editorials written that cause people to ask the question: Where Is God?

With every passing day, we hear of many unthinkable tragedies and acts of disregard for human life caused by man’s inhumanity toward man. That is disturbing enough. But we also encounter violent acts of nature on a massive scale that seem so random, unfair, and inexplicable, we are often at a complete loss to deal with them.

One religious writer put it succinctly with this particular headline following the tsunami that devastated Asia five years ago: “Countless Souls Cry Out to God.” The writer than proceeded to question how Christians could believe in God in the face of such suffering. Like the writer, many of us hold the misconception that God directly causes all natural disasters.

La Conchita tragedy

As religious broadcaster Shawn Boonstra recounts, it was another Sunday morning before Easter, yet the bereaved felt more as though it were the Friday night of Calvary weekend. An enemy had ripped away a best friend’s life. Instead of a cross or a murdering act executed by a Roman spear, it was nature’s killer rage that created a 9.0 earthquake deep in the ocean. And as in time past, when people stood standing at the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea, the cry of the human heart asked the same question: God, why in the world did you allow this to happen?

There on a beach in Southern California, debris caused by recent torrential rains made it possible for the hillsides to collapse, causing innocent people to die. The forces of nature brought heartbreak and devastation to a small California community. Because of what took place in Asia, the tsunami was still very fresh on everyone’s mind. Then just two weeks later, this disaster hit Southern California. After torrential rains, which were reported as biblical in proportion, newscasts said there was flooding everywhere. Frightened people left their homes to stay in shelters as their cars and mobile homes were washed away.

In this little town of 166 homes, people knew they were living in the shadow of an unstable mountain. The folks understood that back in 1995, another mudslide took out a portion of the community. Then 10 years later, on January 10th of 2005, the hillside came roaring into La Conchita again. Unfortunately, thirteen homes were swallowed up.

The American public were shocked and stunned as they watched a young father named James Wallet join the rescue teams digging through the mountains of deadly dirt. He was hoping to find his family. His 16-year-old daughter had left prior to the disaster to get some ice cream for her family, while 400,000 tons of earth buried all their hopes and dreams. Firefighters and county volunteers found the lifeless body of Wallet’s pretty wife, Michelle, and hours later, the rest of his family were all found dead. What does a father think when an act of God allowed his three children and his wife to lose their lives?

One could point to the story of Job in the Bible. He cried out to God after a giant twister killed his three daughters and seven sons. Job didn’t abandon his faith, however. He said, “The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21).

Was it the Lord who reached down and deliberately took the lives of Job’s family? In this case, Satan was responsible for the troubles that befell Job, according to the biblical account.

False Christians

It was this past Palm Sunday when a news story was developing about a Michigan-based militia group which had been raided by the FBI over the weekend. It seems the group were preparing for battle with the Antichrist. Their belief stands in stark contrast to mainstream Christianity. For in their minds, their war was a violent one against the federal government.

Make no mistake, and understand clearly, that those who would go to such extremes to wreak havoc upon our society shame the name of the greatest peacemaker in history, Jesus Christ.

The fact is that zealots like these are not Christians. They are unbridled troublemakers. Yet, somehow, Christians will be blamed for these people’s deeds by the media, who have no use for the God of the Bible or His true believers.

However, little is mentioned by the same media about false teachers and preachers who pander a theology that falls into the realm of Marxism. Its tentacles are now embedded into our nation’s policies. Shouldn’t they too be classified as just as contemptible and irresponsible as overzealous professing Christians? For they have purposely corrupted the meaning of caring for and serving the needy and poor among us.

Congregants who attend “social justice” denominations come out of their sanctuary doors full of anger aimed at society. Unfortunately, the Lord’s love cannot be exhibited in such anger, because it is not centered in the life-changing, everlasting gospel of Jesus Christ.

False teachers

Revs. Jeremiah Wright, Otis Moss, Jim Wallis, and their ilk are demagogues who preach class warfare, social chaos, and loathing for America. So let us also categorize the term “social justice” as explosive and equally distorted and perverted as those arrested over the weekend. For these preachers have sown the seeds and fanned the flames of racism, anti-Semitism, and bigotry.

When God’s truth is willfully tampered with, nothing good comes out of it except hatred and mistrust. Pastors and preachers of America’s mainstream denominations had better begin to speak out against doctrinal falsehoods. Their job as pastors is to finish up the task of the Great Commission and protect their flocks from ravishing wolves. There is nothing biblical or liberating about liberation theology. The very term is demeaning. Christ came to save the world and to set the captives free by His atoning death on the cross. Now that is the Good News, and in itself it is liberating.

While ministers are preaching salvation by grace as well as the Second Coming of Christ, they must not allow untruths to go unchallenged in the public arena. Righteous clergy need to call out President Barack Obama’s new spiritual leader and political advisor, Jim Wallis, for the fraud that he is. As it stands, he has managed to achieve his goal politically, and has helped Obama impose redistribution of wealth on every citizen. He then has the unmitigated gall to pitch his Babylon theology as biblical Christianity.

Godly pastors have the task of exposing this teaching or facing its consequences. The American people are being squeezed to the tipping point by a tyrannical administration from every which way. It’s no wonder we find fringe groups waiting to take advantage of “manufactured crises” caused by our president.

Every day, the average citizen has to contend with outlandish verbiage and accusations aimed at them. It is coming from the president and the Democrats in Washington, D.C.

Media mischaracterization

The media directs their scorn against Americans who disagree with what is taking place in our country. Good, decent, law-abiding citizens are being lumped into the same category as those who were arrested a week ago because we oppose government’s intrusions into our private lives. We disagree with Washington’s increasing takeover of the private sector, which now includes socialized health care.

Excerpts from FOXNews.com: “Michigan Militia Group Preparing for Antichrist” —

“The Michigan-based militia group charged with conspiring to kill police officers is preparing for battle with the Antichrist, according to a Web site purportedly run by the group.

“‘Jesus wanted us to be ready to defend ourselves using the sword and stay alive using equipment,’ Hutaree.com reads. ‘The only thing on earth to save the testimony and those who follow it, are the members of the testimony, till the return of Christ in the clouds. We, the Hutaree, are prepared to defend all those who belong to Christ and save those who aren’t. We will still spread the word, and fight to keep it, up to the time of the great coming.’

“Nine suspects associated with Hutaree, which is purportedly a Christian-based militia group, have been charged with conspiring to kill police officers and then attack a funeral in hopes of killing more law enforcement officials, federal prosecutors said Monday. U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade said agents moved on the group because the militia members were planning an attack sometime in April.

“Members of the militia, including its leader, David Brian Stone, also known as ‘Captain Hutaree,’ are charged in the case. An indictment alleges that members of the group conspired to ‘levy war against the United States, (and) to oppose by force the authority of the government of the United States.’

“Eight suspects have been arrested by the FBI and one more is being sought. Seven of the eight captured suspects are due in court later Monday.

“Andrew Arena, head of the FBI’s field office in Detroit, said the case is an example of ‘radical and extremist fringe groups’ found throughout society.” Full article

Hope in Christ

This Easter weekend, informed Christians will justly associate the disastrous things that have befallen our nation during the past year with the destructive agenda of President Obama. And they too will ask why God has not answered the prayers of His people. Freedoms are being eroded away. Christians look towards heaven for answers and intervention. His people understand they do not serve an angry God, but a victorious one.

When the stone was rolled away, the Savior emerged triumphantly in our behalf. Sadly, however, this weekend, which began on Good Friday, darkness arose once again. There is fear that God is allowing our country to be destroyed by a president who believes America should be punished. And Obama does it so very easily as he looks through the lens of the teachings he holds. His conscience has been seared by a false, man-made doctrine. View — “Black Liberation Theology from James Cone to Wright to Obama.”

Marxist “social justice” is not found in the Bible of the Almighty God. It was born out of the “Father of lies.” Yet Americans will suffer the yoke of bondage as our God-given liberties are taken from us. If this situation is not drastically changed in upcoming elections, we will continue to see our lives enslaved.

At times God does not intervene, and too often innocent people suffer. Remember the story of the ten plagues of Egypt. There were hailstones, darkness, frogs, flies, and locusts. God’s Word says that He sent them.

Stubborn, wicked people were the undoing of Egypt — beginning with a defiant Pharaoh who defied the will of God and kept His chosen people in bondage. All they wanted was life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Eventually, they would reach that Promised Land and receive it all. Will we be as successful?

There has been a consistent clarion call from RenewAmerica.com. There must be a renewal of the mind through Christ Jesus. Our cry has been to seek God’s face and ask The Almighty to heal our land.

“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.” — Philippians 2:5

My witness

It is my personal contention that very few of us really understand the suffering that Christ had to endure on the cross of Calvary to save us. Shawn Boonstra reminds us in “When Waters Overwhelm,”

“Jesus had always said that He would die and then live again on the third day. But when He was at the edge of the tomb, the mudslide of the grave, it actually came to the point where the hope, the confidence, the security of His mission were all taken away from Him. The presence of God was withdrawn. The knowledge of reunion was obliterated. And there, on the cross, in one horrifying moment, Jesus accepted and carried the reality of separation. For the sacrifice to be complete, Jesus had to go through the experience of a lost sinner who would never go home again, who would never again feel the love of His family. And in the agony of that moment, He cried out to a seemingly empty universe: ‘My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?’ (Matthew 27:46).”

Because Jesus gave His all for us, we do not have to face life’s worst prospects alone. Death has been conquered by Him:

“O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” (1 Corinthians 15:55).
In the face of life’s difficulties, we can cling to that hope. When we see the entire picture, it’s clear that the cross of Christ is God’s loving response to man’s sin problem. The Father doesn’t stand distant and aloof. He sent His only begotten Son! He didn’t require the death of Christ — He allowed it — His gift to a perverse world.
As Boonstra writes, “In John 16:27, Jesus reminds us that ‘the Father himself loveth you.’ And that is the message behind the resurrection. As dark as Friday was, Sunday morning was the ray of eternal hope. It was the moment when death itself was defeated.”

Stand with God. Do not hesitate to learn of Him. We will not be able to take American back if we do not “love and obey Him.” Obeying Christ makes us a strong and persevering people who are not swayed by every whim and unscriptural doctrine. Today is the day of salvation, yes even of our magnificent nation, America. Pray and ask the Lord to spare our country from what we fear is coming. Start by asking Him to rule your life completely. He alone is worthy to be praised and served.

“Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls” (Matthew 11:29).

I’ve written the words for you to take the first step to begin a new life with Him. Will you pray and ask God into your life?

Dear Father in Heaven, thank you for overcoming every obstacle for us. Thank you for conquering even death itself. We want to place our broken and bruised lives in your precious and capable hands. We want you as our hope and our future. In humility, we accept the gift of your Son’s atoning grace, the gift of Christ rising from the grave for us, and the gift of His living a sinless life for us. Thank you for making us a part of His resurrected life. We know that you are preparing special heavenly mansions for us. We so eagerly anticipate the day when we spend eternity with you. You are a mighty awesome God. We praise you for your love. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Song: God Will Make a Way

Introduction

When the Founders laid the groundwork for our republic, they stated in the final words of the Declaration of Independence:

And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor. (emphasis added)

In the spirit of the above words from the Declaration, we invite all to join us in a “Pledge for America’s Revival.” Those who sign the Pledge commit to stand with likeminded patriots in advancing America’s God-centered revival, upon the principles of our nation’s founding.

Prayerfully consider the words of the Pledge. If our country is to survive in liberty, it needs citizens who understand their vocation as participants in the political process — not merely spectators. We are counting on you to make a difference, of your own initiative, in preserving our republic.

If you are prepared to commit in good faith and with a heart for God’s will — and find others equally committed — America’s Revival will grow into a mighty grassroots reality, capable of helping to restore America’s allegiance to God, and the connection between our liberties and our respect for His authority as our Creator.

Upon this depends the future of our republic!

The pledge

In viewing the needs of America against the backdrop of current destructive trends, and seeing an urgent duty to “make a difference” by my own individual voice and activism in the cause of preserving our nation —
I HEREBY ANNOUNCE my support for the purposes of America’s Revival, purposes that center in the values and traditions that define America itself — beginning with the need to acknowledge the authority of God in all areas of American life, including the political arena.

I UNDERSTAND that the purposes of America’s Revival include:

• Teaching and promoting the self-evident truths enshrined in the Declaration of Independence.
• Upholding the requirements, guarantees, and protections of the Constitution of the United States.
• Preserving and defending the vital moral foundations of our republic — including the sanctity of life; the God-ordained family; the free exercise of religion in both public and private life; and the divinely-appointed equal rights of every individual.
• Encouraging God-fearing Americans to recommit to living in harmony with the will of God — yielding their hearts completely to Him and trusting in Him in all things. (See Jer. 31:33-34 and Prov. 3:5-6.)
• Doing whatever else might be properly included in the obligations and responsibilities of American citizenship, in accordance with true principles and the requirements of self-governance.

I THEREFORE PLEDGE to stand with likeminded Americans in advancing this cause — and pledge to do my best to find and encourage others who are willing to make and keep the same pledge. I also pledge, as did our Founders, to commit my resources to assist worthy patriotic causes, according to my individual ability and circumstances.
FINALLY, I pledge to give my best effort in all other needful, exemplary ways as God may guide me — for the cause of America’s Revival and for God, who is my witness.

Sign the pledge

© Marie Jon

 

WesternFront America

…that is faithful, true, and enduring.

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold all things are become new.” — 2 Corinthians 5:17

At one point in my grandfather’s young life, he found himself to be a very unhappy man. He became angrier and angrier with every passing day. He knew he had a problem, but he wasn’t about to admit it to his wife and children. Grandpa would often say that he was misunderstood by others, including his own family. Instead of seeking guidance, he made them pay the price for his pent-up frustrations.

Too often he took his anger out on his family by becoming verbally abusive behind closed doors. And then, when it was over, he would leave the house in a huff, while hanging his head in shame over the fact that he had just treated his defenseless brood so badly. Within his heart, he knew he was wrong.

With tears stinging his eyes, he would walk down the street whispering to himself a promise to never do that again. He would assure my grandmother that he really meant it. But just a week later, after a tough long day at work, he would do it again. And at times he would break furniture into pieces while shouting at the top of his voice. He frightened his entire family, who cowered in their bedrooms.

These escalating acts were repeated just like a time-bomb ticking. He yelled at his wife and snapped at his kids without provocation, again and again. It was those outside forces that annoyed him. Unfortunately, this young father and husband had not learned not to bring destructive emotions through the door of his own home.

A changed heart

Thankfully, grandfather’s life changed and there was happiness after all. For you see, grandfather made a promise to God to follow Him. And by grace, he allowed Christ to have His way. He literally became the father that my dad longed for. And to God’s glory, grandfather became one of the major reasons why my own father gave his own life to the Lord. His father’s transformation was a tremendous witness to attest to what Christ can do when you’re willing to yield to the power of the Holy Spirit.

Because of my young age, I never experienced the out-of-control and angry side of “papa.” He was, to me, a happy, kind, smiling face who sang with the church choir. Those are the memories I’m privileged to have whenever I think of him. He died a little over two years ago with his loving family by his side.

The truth is that no matter what your personal circumstances are, when the human spirit yields itself to God, His love can bring about changes because He is faithful. It’s my personal opinion that folks can’t truly alter their lives without a commitment to a loving God. The Bible describes this as having a born-again experience:

“Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3).

Man is sinful and separated from God, yet He still loves us. Being apart from God makes it impossible for people to keep promises to themselves and put a stop to doing things they know are destructive behavior. But by the grace of God, they can overcome their sinful nature.

“When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying Who then can be saved? But Jesus beheld them and said unto them, With men this is impossible, but with God, all things are possible” (Matt. 19:25-26).

Willpower not enough

To this very day, America is still fighting a war against terrorism. I can’t help but think of the tremendous increase in church attendance shortly after the World Trade Center collapsed in 2001. Stunned and very frightened, people suddenly became determined to be on good footing with the Almighty God.

Prominent pastors became enthusiastic because an act of terrorism promised to precipitate a major spiritual revival in America. Unfortunately, it took only two short months and it was over. Church attendance went right back down to where it was before the horrific attack took place.

It’s regrettable that this revival only lasted a couple of months. Didn’t the people who suddenly went back to church actually mean to return to matters of faith and take it seriously? They had the perfect opportunity to experience a renewal and make a positive impact on society, while bolstering morality which is floundering in our country today. I am convinced, for the most part, that they did, at least for the time being. It’s evident, however, that fear was not enough of a motivator to keep their religious faith intact, it was enough only to bring them to church temporarily. When the planes stopped crashing into buildings, life just simply went back to the mundane. People quickly forgot all their promises and went back to the way things were.

We can spend a lot of time deciphering the self-sufficient will of human beings who do a lot of talking about willpower and the strength of sheer determination. Apply those topics to arenas in the world of business, careers, or politics, and there is something to be said for that. We live in a country where we can become as successful as the next person. However, in the world of faith, sheer willpower simply isn’t enough, because most temptations are bigger than the willpower we can muster up all by ourselves.

Broken promises

While reading through my Bible, I’m reminded about the Israelites. In the Book of Exodus, they had just been delivered from Egyptian slavery. God’s “Promised People” had seen the hand of God part the Red Sea and drown the Egyptians. They witnessed the fiery presence of God come down on the top of Mount Sinai. As they were privileged to watch the spectacular wonder of the moment, they made a solemn promise to God. Moses spoke with God, and then gave a report to the Israelites:

“And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the Lord had commanded him. And all the people answered together, and said, ‘All that the Lord hath spoken we will do.’ And Moses returned the words of the people unto the Lord” (Exodus 19:7, 8).

The Israelites made a promise to God, and they believed it was an easy promise to make after following God’s presence out into the desert. They repeatedly made the same promise after Moses had received the Ten Commandments:

“And Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, ‘All the words which the Lord hath said will we do’” (Exodus 24:3).

They repeated the same promise again a couple of verses later:

“And Moses took the book of the covenant, and read it before the people, and they said, ‘All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient’” (Exodus 24:7).

When the Israelites made these promises they were sincere. Unfortunately, the rest of the Book of Exodus and the Bible exposes the sad record of God’s people repeatedly breaking their promises to the Lord. They found themselves doing the very things they had promised God they would never do again.

The problem is not just sin, but ‘sinfulness’

I believe that God’s people today mean it when they promise to stop committing certain sins. They just don’t have what it takes to keep their promises. There has to be a real personal relationship with the Lord. When you love God, you want to please Him.

The Word describes sin as the transgression of God’s moral law: “And the problem of sin runs very deep. Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness” (1 John 3:4).

But sin is not just something we do. It’s also something we allow to enter into our lives. God could have solved the whole problem by just removing the laws we were breaking. Yet, intuitively, we know there’s more to it than that. Our sins separate us from God. The Scriptures say that we are powerless to change our sinful ways by ourselves:

Isaiah wrote, “But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear” (Isaiah 59:2).

The prophet Jeremiah expounds on the subject plainly: “Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots? Then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil” (Jeremiah 13:23).

God says that you can no more change your sinful nature than you can change the color of your skin. If transgression were just a matter of breaking the rules, all you would have to do is stop breaking them. Can you do that?

But there is something about the human heart that has been changed by the nature of sin. Unless regenerated by the power of the Holy Spirit, Christians will continually find themselves helpless to live the life they know they should live to glorify their Savior. They will not be able to witness to others and draw others close to them. The work of the Great Commission will be difficult to complete —

“Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:16-20).

A faithful heart

It’s obvious that too many Christians suffer from a heart problem. So get out there and flex your spiritual muscle, and with God’s help begin to change your ways.

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9).

Breaking God’s law is sin. Acting out and being disobedient has trickled down into the very essence of our being. Everything we do is infected by it. Even the good things we do, according to the Bible are sullied:

“But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness is as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away” (Isaiah 64:6).

Without a spiritual rebirth, even with all the good we do, our works are like filthy rags. Sin will have sway over us. Mankind’s thought processes have been perverted. Sin has altered our misguided priorities. Most importantly, it has taken our focus off “The Great I Am” and put it squarely on ourselves.

“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).

Our own weakness explains why we sometimes find ourselves unable to walk away from sinful habits. We know that smoking cigarettes can cause cancer. Yet we often refuse to take personal responsibility and break free from a psychological habit. We know that bad temper can ruin our family, but we can’t seem to close the lid on our fuse. We know that our lying, gossiping mouth is doing untold damage to others. Yet many will not have that conversation with the Lord and ask Him to help them change.

Not alone

Take solace in the fact that you are not alone and that everybody struggles with something. You have never experienced a temptation that somebody else hasn’t felt:

“There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man” (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Whatever you’re going through, others have walked that same path. Let me share with you a little secret. The most recognized persons in the Bible have struggled with the same temptations you struggle with.

Most of the disciples proved to be faulty in one way or another because they were human, despite being saved by the blood of their Savor. Did you know that Moses had an extremely hot temper? David certainly struggled with a lust problem. And Abraham lied about his wife to save his own skin. Peter struggled with taking a stand in public acknowledging his discipleship. He denied his Lord three times. Noah had a problem with alcohol.

The Bible is full of people just like you and me. It’s amazing that throughout His Word, God refused to abandon suffering people. If you are willing to be used by God, and willing to let Him make the changes in your life, you’ll be astonished at how He can turn things around.

Real hope and change
As we strive to remove a Marxist progressive agenda that now plagues our country, we must understand the game plan: If “We the People” are not willing to return to the God of our forefathers, there will be little or no chance to do what we desire to accomplish.
America’s beginnings where ushered in by men of faith who embraced the fact that mankind received their inalienable rights from our Creator God.

Patriots, it’s time to dust off your Bibles and put your emphasis on the Word of God. Let us never forget that God established the greatest nation in the world. When we think of freedom, remember that it is The Almighty who has given us the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. What America needs is a change of heart that is faithful, true, and enduring.

My grandfather’s favorite hymn: I Come To The Garden Alone — George Beverly Shea

RenewAmerica.com encourages grassroots movements that are based on Godly principles. The site has a clarion call for a Spiritual Renewal.

Feel free to study: America’s Documents

Introduction

When the Founders laid the groundwork for our republic, they stated in the final words of the Declaration of Independence:

And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor. (emphasis added)

In the spirit of the above words from the Declaration, we invite all to join us in a “Pledge for America’s Revival.” Those who sign the Pledge commit to stand with likeminded patriots in advancing America’s God-centered revival, upon the principles of our nation’s founding.

Prayerfully consider the words of the Pledge. If our country is to survive in liberty, it needs citizens who understand their vocation as participants in the political process — not merely spectators. We are counting on you to make a difference, of your own initiative, in preserving our republic.

If you are prepared to commit in good faith and with a heart for God’s will — and find others equally committed — America’s Revival will grow into a mighty grassroots reality, capable of helping to restore America’s allegiance to God, and the connection between our liberties and our respect for His authority as our Creator.

Upon this depends the future of our republic!

The pledge

In viewing the needs of America against the backdrop of current destructive trends, and seeing an urgent duty to “make a difference” by my own individual voice and activism in the cause of preserving our nation —

I HEREBY ANNOUNCE my support for the purposes of America’s Revival, purposes that center in the values and traditions that define America itself — beginning with the need to acknowledge the authority of God in all areas of American life, including the political arena.

I UNDERSTAND that the purposes of America’s Revival include:

• Teaching and promoting the self-evident truths enshrined in the Declaration of Independence.
• Upholding the requirements, guarantees, and protections of the Constitution of the United States.
• Preserving and defending the vital moral foundations of our republic — including the sanctity of life; the God-ordained family; the free exercise of religion in both public and private life; and the divinely-appointed equal rights of every individual.
• Encouraging God-fearing Americans to recommit to living in harmony with the will of God — yielding their hearts completely to Him and trusting in Him in all things. (See Jer. 31:33-34 and Prov. 3:5-6.)
• Doing whatever else might be properly included in the obligations and responsibilities of American citizenship, in accordance with true principles and the requirements of self-governance.

I THEREFORE PLEDGE to stand with likeminded Americans in advancing this cause — and pledge to do my best to find and encourage others who are willing to make and keep the same pledge. I also pledge, as did our Founders, to commit my resources to assist worthy patriotic causes, according to my individual ability and circumstances.

FINALLY, I pledge to give my best effort in all other needful, exemplary ways as God may guide me — for the cause of America’s Revival and for God, who is my witness.

Sign the pledge

© Marie Jon

 

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