Editorial: Imagine waking up one morning prepared to do your daily Bible study and discovering that Exodus Chapter 20 had been completely erased. The Ten Commandments were missing. Of course, you would wonder what possibly could have happened.
You then become panicked as you quickly turn to the New Testament, only to discover that the Sermon on the Mount had vanished as well. The verse about loving one's enemy was gone. Even the Golden Rule had disappeared. Upon closer examination, you discover that every guideline concerning living a better way of life was gone.
Non-believers suggest that humanity is on its own, and that's all right with them. They believe they are justified in finding their own way. They feel comfortable that a sense of "the collective good" (which keeps them from becoming destructive to one another) will prevail, without the need to rely on God.
It's undeniable that horrors and hurts have been inflicted upon the world in the name of religion, including Christianity. Some misguided men within the ministry have perceived their actions as God's will. In eras long past, persecution was wrongly justified. Innocent people were literally destroyed by those who didn't agree with them. These shameful acts will never be forgotten.
On the other side of the fence lies the question: What are the results when God's Word is totally rejected and the Almighty's laws are distorted or ignored? Do we fare any better?
If you're not a religious person in any real sense, then you reject the authority of a loving God. If so, what stops you from acting in a manner that is morally wrong?
We live in a country where some of our politicians can be bought and paid for — those who possess little or no sense of moral obligation. There is a big problem when our nation's Treasury Secretary is a tax cheat.
Timothy Geithner is the Obama administration's embarrassment. The fact that Geithner is a law-breaker does not seem to bother those who voted for President Barack Hussein Obama. We've obviously become a nation of foolish people who no longer see right and wrong in clear, bold, and distinctive colors.
"Thou shalt not steal" is a commandment that is uniquely germane to the culture in Washington, D.C. Soon, those who earn $250,000 or more will be paying higher taxes. This president seems to believe it is noble to redistribute wealth — but Obama merely wants to rob from those who have and give to others in order to shore up his own political capital.
Americans are generous people. In down times, our country has always made provision to lend a helping hand when our fellow citizens need lifting up. But social programs were intended, at best, to be a temporary fix, not a way of life.
Actually, it is cruel to facilitate this type of entitlement mentality. People who live on government programs lose their dignity. They fall prey to their own insecurities. Many of them never become successful achievers and accomplish the American dream. The Democrat Party can be blamed for this dilemma. They see people as nothing more than a voting bloc to be manipulated.
Caring conservatives are saddened when they see what is happening within the black community. Too many lives are broken. Too many live in the past, continually looking backward, instead of acknowledging America's noble achievements and their own God-given potential. Some are willing to blame all of their cultural problems on slavery.
Christians must focus on Obama's liberal social agenda. They need to continually point out to those living in the inner cities the dire effects that an ever-expanding welfare-nanny state will have on poor communities. Traditionalists and people of faith understand how religious beliefs encourage personal responsibility, as well as civic pride. If Europe, with its overwhelming welfare rolls, is a reliable indication, it just might be that Obama is willfully taking the United States down the path to hell.
It is obvious that Evangelical and Catholic Christians were purposely targeted during Obama's campaign. He went out of his way to attract churchgoing Americans. Obama spoke about his faith when he took part in Pastor Rick Warren's special forum held at the Saddleback Church. Obama managed to fool naive and trusting God-fearing voters. Obama lied about himself — while his campaign downplayed his outrageous radical social views. He continued lying by putting an emphasis on a contrived commitment to tolerance and civility toward those with whom he disagreed.
Let it be understood that it was Obama's purpose to exaggerate the ways in which his progressive policies and positions were consistent with biblical faith. Unfortunately, his beliefs are far from the gospel of Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. "You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act" (Matthew 7:16).
It is most unfortunate that Obama's efforts were successful. Inroads were made among traditional religious people with a "self-inflicted guilty conscience." If Christians would have heard God's still, small voice, they would not now be crying over their lack of better judgment.
It's too bad that Pastor Rick Warren delivered his inaugural invocation and gave credence to a pandering fraud. Obama has suckered the faithful into believing that his administration is not an adversary of full-gospel, Bible-keeping Christians.
It is a shame that many in our country are not paying attention to the egregious effects of Obama's stimulus plan, which will encourage more people to depend on the government. People who support more social entitlement programs don't understand the consequences of Obama's overextending hand of socialism.
"We The People" are not interested in being led down the very same secular progressive path as the European countries. It is becoming clear that Obama's ambitions might finally bring Americans out in droves demanding to take their country back.
I have absolutely no intention of playing down my personal disdain for this usurper who sits in the White House. I do question the sincerity of Obama's religious experience. Black Liberation Theology espouses racism and is definitely Marxist. Obama is a devotee of this bigoted, quasi-religious system. Although he chose to walk away from Trinity United Church of Christ, I believe his heart remains with Revs. Otis Moss and Jeremiah Wright.
Our country was founded on Judeo-Christian beliefs. History records the hard reality of those nations that tried to separate God's rule from their laws and culture. They never lasted, disintegrating into tyranny and horrifying persecution. The drive-by media never tells the American public the truth, however. When the game of "class warfare" is played out, bad consequences ensue. What is happening to our country is not by happenstance.
The French philosopher Bernard-Henri Levi used to be a Marxist, but later in life found his Christian faith. One of his memorable quotes is very honest and telling: "Apply Marxism in any country you want, you will always find a Gulag in the end."
It is very strange that progressives say they have brought us hope and change. How can that be? America was founded on our Constitution. The primary danger associated with the rise of the nanny state is that when government assumes the moral responsibility for others, people are less likely to do so themselves.
In countries like Sweden and Denmark, the large increases in welfare spending over the last half century have ended up eroding the moral fiber of families, and have disrupted civic institutions within these societies. Sound familiar? People have become dependent on the big government Sugar Daddy to meet their basic needs.
The problem with welfare dependency is that when people take the welfare state for granted, they are less likely to attend to the emotional, social, and material needs of their family and friends as earlier generations did. As the resultant social pathology deepens, crime, drug addiction, and similar ills begin to stifle lives. With government taking on an ever-expanding role, and with an ever-increasing rise in tax rates to support this growth, taxpayers can easily lose their sense of altruism and feeling of moral unity toward others.
Socialism then becomes self-fulfilling — as it destroys society's voluntary support system and fills the void with a police state.
Do we want our government to penalize hard-working citizens because they are high earners? A good work ethic should be rewarded because earned wealth creates jobs and promotes healthy, productive capitalism. Why should legislators demand that anyone be forced to share their wealth?
This entry was posted in Tulsa Speaks on March 29, 2009 by admin.