Archive for the ‘Politics’ Category
March 13th, 2010 | 
Author: The Apostle Paul wrote, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” Those words ring true not only for religious freedom (the object of the comment above) but also for freedom in general. God made man a free being. He designed us for freedom and gave us the ability to think and reason and choose. This is not an easy life to live – but it is the one for which He designed us. In fact, the very freedom and the ability to choose present problems to many people who can not understand that if we have no choice but to do good that our obedience is empty and hollow, mechanical in nature rather than stemming from a heart that is desirous of pleasing one’s Creator.
The other evening we were discussing the problem of sin and evil with a new Christian. Read the rest of this entry »
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I’ve read this before, but it arrived in my e-mail inbox yesterday and I got that round tuit to read it again today.
The Cycle of Democracy follows this sequence:
- From bondage to spiritual faith;
- From spiritual faith to great courage;
- From courage to liberty (rule of law);
- From liberty to abundance;
- From abundance to complacency;
- From complacency to apathy;
- From apathy to dependence;
- From dependence back into bondage (rule of men).
(Attributed to Frasier Tytler)
It reminds me of the story of the little boy who asked his mother, “Mommy, is it true that God made Adam from the dust of the earth?” Read the rest of this entry »
In this, an election year, it would do us all well as a nation to give thought to the quotes below. We should seriously give consideration to the path which we have recently fallen into and whether such a path is for the greater good over time. Huge amounts of debt acquired in order to fund an ever growing governmental body which overshadows our entire nation, choking the freedom which we once knew. Is it really best for the government to oversee our entire life, from cradle to grave? Is it really best for us to exchange our Creator’s benevolent and wise oversight for the intrusion into our private lives by fallible and corrupt men and women? Give careful consideration to the quotes below. What path shall we follow?
John Adams
We electors have an important constitutional power placed in our hands: we have a check upon two branches of the legislature, as each branch has upon the other two; the power I mean of electing at stated periods, one branch, which branch has the power of electing another. It becomes necessary to every subject then, to be in some degree a statesman: and to examine and judge for himself of the tendencies of political principles and measures.
[John Adams, The Papers of John Adams, Robert J. Taylor, ed. (Cambridge: Belknap Press, 1977), Vol. 1, p. 81, from "'U' to the Boston Gazette" written on August 29, 1763.]
I’ve been a member and a moderator of Paco Kelly’s leverguns.com forum since it was started several years ago. It’s a great place to hang out when time allows and is populated by some of the finest folks on the internet.
Recently a fellow started posting there. He goes by the name Charlie and builds guns for a hobby. Now, a lot of folks do that anymore. They’ll order up a bunch of parts from Brownells or Midway or one of a number of other places and put them together. Some of the guns so produced are fairly easy to do. Put everything in the right place and PRESTO! You’ve got a functional firearm. Others are more demanding, requiring some filing or stoning of parts to get them to fit and function properly. But all these have one thing in common – they rely on mass produced factory parts. Not that I’m trying to take anything away from the folks who build a gun this way, not at all. I’m in the process of building up a Kentucky rifle from a poorly built kit that was given to me a couple years back. It takes time and effort to get it right. Read the rest of this entry »
A while back I did a quick blurb called “When Guns Are Outlawed“. Well, since then I also read about a new knife for sale in the UK that is “stab proof”. Haven’t seen any pics yet, but I suspect it will have something like a large flat thing welded or forged on the tip. As shown by the pics in the article above, such measures will never defeat anyone who wants a weapon capable of stabbing someone. Read the rest of this entry »
People. We are weird creatures. Given the ability to choose, too often we choose unwisely. Most seem to prefer to be told what to think rather than to reason through issues themselves. Over the years I’ve participated in various internet forums and e-mail lists, acting as moderator on a few. In that time it has been my privilege to observe humans interacting with each other. I was reminded today about something my friend Jim Taylor said years ago. “The internet is a great place to talk and a poor place to communicate.“ That pretty much sums it up right there.
And it is interesting to hear folks talk on the ‘net. Over the years it has been my pleasure to visit various internet friends in person. And getting to talk with someone over a cup of coffee or a meal is a great way to get to know them a bit better. Sometimes one forms an opinion about folks because of the way they “talk” on the internet. But once you get to know them personally you see a different face entirely. And then there’s the voice. Am I the only one who forms an “image” of what someone’s voice must sound like by reading what they write? The first time I talked with various people was an experience – because they didn’t sound like I’d thought they would. And what about SEEING them? That reminds me of my dad and a story he told about someone he used to talk with on the phone all the time. He built up an image of the person based on their name and their voice. But when he met that person in person he was in for a surprise. From physical stature to race – everything was different. Read the rest of this entry »
They set up kings without my consent; they choose princes without my approval. With their silver and gold they make idols for themselves to their own destruction. I wrote for them the many things of my law, but they regarded them as something alien. Hosea 8:4,12
As I was reading through Hosea recently, I came upon the verses above. To say that they gave me food for thought is an understatement indeed. The traditional way of thinking in our nation is that if we have a governor, president, congressman, senator or other public figure that it’s “God’s fault”. After all, He is the One Who sets up kings and rulers, is He not? Interestingly enough, at the time the words above were written, kings normally received their kingship by inheritance – there was little chance for public opinion to be expressed under normal circumstances. And yet, although there was no “democratic process” such as we enjoy in modern times, they DID choose men to rule over them – and men who were not according to God’s plan or design. Today we are ruled by a constitution. Within that constitution the means of selecting rulers is spelled out clearly and the responsibility and power of government is both spelled out and limited. How much more responsible are we today for the rulers we choose than those who lived thousands of years ago! Read the rest of this entry »
Since I’m messing around with the blog today I thought I’d take time to say a little something about the voting process. As a US Citizen the privilege of voting is something I take seriously. I know that many of my country men do not. In fact many of them will abstain from participating this year. But I urge any of you who take the time to read my comments to take the time to express your opinion at the voting booth.
Voting is about expressing ourselves and proclaiming who our choice of representative is. It’s not about a contest between the “Two Parties”, because the US was not set up as a two party nation – even though we have mostly had two parties to choose from for the most part throughout our history (although different parties at different times). Do you know who the candidates are? And I mean ALL the candidates. The mass media has forced upon us a false paradigm in that they insist that there are only two candidates. Bob Barr, Cynthia McKinney, Chuck Baldwin and Ralph Nader are all on the ballot in many states across the nation. The media has sold us the idea that “there are only two candidates” – and it’s a lie. Some would say “Yes, but there are only two VIABLE candidates.” – but why would that be? That’s because as a nation we’ve allowed the media to control our way of thinking. I sure wish we’d turn back to the old paths and seek REAL leaders from amongst ourselves, men of character and wisdom. They still exist, but we need to seek them out and encourage them to join in the battle to retake our country from the grip of encroaching enslavement to humanistic socialism.
Dr. Del Tackett has a blog called “Truth Observed” and recently he posted some thought provoking articles on it. It looks like ol’ Noah Webster knew more than just how to write a dictionary… 
Political Wisdom From Dr. Noah Webster: How To Vote
Political Wisdom From Dr. Noah Webster: Political Evils
Political Wisdom From Dr. Noah Webster: Remedy For Political Evils
Political Wisdom From Dr. Noah Webster: Defining Politics
Choosing The Lesser Of Two Evils
So now the big question is: “What are we as Christians going to do?” Are we going to give up the battle to those who wish to destroy our nation? Some maintain that they “keep their religion separate from politics” – assuming that the two can be separated. But that is only true if you do not live your faith actively. If you are truly on fire for Christ you can NOT call evil “good” nor can you call good “evil”. If you are TRULY on fire for Christ you can NOT say that those who support the murder of unborn babies or the equating of abnormal, deviant sexual behavior with God ordained marriage are representative of your ideals – IF you are on fire for Christ. We are told that we are not to be conformed to the world – we are called to be transformed. That means that we as christians are neither Democrat nor Republican – that we will vote for those who support Godly ideals rather than those who actively promote submission to the corruption fleshly desire. This doesn’t mean that we seek perfect people to represent us. It means that we seek out those who strive with us to achieve God’s design for man kind.
One of our great failings as a church has been in relinquishing our call to feed the hungry, clothe the naked and lift up the fallen to the government. That is not government’s sphere of expertise or duty – it is the church’s. The first hospitals were founded by christians. The first orphanages were too. Hmmm… come to think of it, even education was in the hands of the church for generations prior to government moving in to teach kids that 2+2 does not necessarily equal 4.
It is time for us as a people to take back our land. It is time to say “No more humanism – turn back to God.” Yes, there are great problems in our land and around the world, but no human government has the answer. It’s time for us to say “Quit muddying up the waters, get out of the way and let us show you the way.”
Psalm 81:13-34 says
13 “If my people would but listen to me, if Israel would follow my ways, 14 how quickly would I subdue their enemies and turn my hand against their foes!
And in 1 Chronicles 7:14 it is written:
14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
Now although these words were written for the jewish people, they can be applied in principle to christians as well – because like the jews we are too often eager to follow our paths rather than God’s. BUT when we turn away from our stubborn evil ways to follow His paths – He WILL bless us, and also those around us.
So if you are a US Citizen, dig deep in your heart and seek to know the way that God would guide you. Go to the polls on November 4 and choose the options that are most like God’s paths. Do not vote for those who support policies that go against the Holiness of God. Send forth a loud cry “No MORE!” and lets start taking back our nation for the Glory of God.
… “our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.” how strange those words sound to modern ears, words which are in little use and poorly comprehended by our current “civilization” in which anything goes, just so long as “number one” is taken care of. And yet, that is what the signers of the Declaration of Independence pledged to each other. They knew that they were in grave danger from the king and his minions – and yet they put their names down and thus passed into the pages of history, founding the greatest bastion of freedom the world has yet known.
A careful reading of the document shows that the very abuses laid out by the signers of the declaration are things which today’s people do not understand. Too many have sold their freedom for “security” and when one cries “but the emperor has no clothes!” they act as though one were crazy – and blind.
232 years have passed since that fateful signing – it is time for our nation to read once more those words and to reflect upon them. Do we still believe in these values?
IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of AmericaWhen in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. — 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.
— John Hancock
New Hampshire:
Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew ThorntonMassachusetts:
John Hancock, Samuel Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge GerryRhode Island:
Stephen Hopkins, William ElleryConnecticut:
Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver WolcottNew York:
William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis MorrisNew Jersey:
Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham ClarkPennsylvania:
Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George RossDelaware:
Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKeanMaryland:
Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of CarrolltonVirginia:
George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter BraxtonNorth Carolina:
William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John PennSouth Carolina:
Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur MiddletonGeorgia:
Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton