Is America Being Dismantled?

For years, liberals and other “progressives” in our country have been involved in a project to erode both respect for this country and the social cohesion of our people. This erosion is what has set the stage for today's dismantling of America that is now approaching the point of no return.

Over 100 years ago, progressives began to speak about changing our Constitution so that a more elite group of intellectuals could dictate our laws and customs. They did this under the mantra of the “needs of the times.” By the early 20th Century, the movement to subordinate the constitution to the wishes of our betters was led by our only President with a Ph.D., Woodrow Wilson. He thought that judges should not take the Constitution as meaning what its words plainly say, but "interpret" it to mean whatever it ought to mean, in order to meet "the needs of the times."

In our present times, this movement is still very much alive; and it is taking some subtle twists and turns. We now have a President who has, for years, been soaked in the society of those who strongly disdain our country and its traditions—they have seemingly preferred the principles of other countries to the republican form of government that has been established in the United States.

To get their way, our leaders must erode or dismantle the Constitution, bit by bit, in one way or another. This has been going on piecemeal over the years but now we have an administration in Washington that circumvents the Constitution wholesale, with its laws passed so fast that the public cannot know what is in them, its appointment of "czars" wielding greater power than Cabinet members, without having to be exposed to public scrutiny by going through the confirmation process prescribed by the Constitution for Cabinet members.

But the greatest challenge this administration has presented to the people of our country has been in international relations, where it is alienating our long-time allies, dismantling our credibility by reneging on our commitment to putting up a missile shield in Eastern Europe and--above all-- doing nothing meaningful to stop the leading terror-sponsoring nation in the world, Iran, from getting nuclear weapons.

We could deter the Soviet Union with our nuclear weapons, and now we must design methods to deter suicidal fanatics, whether they are international terrorists of the sort that caused 9/11 or suicidal fanatics in charge of the government of Iran, who have long been supplying international networks of suicidal fanatics.

Conservatism may not be popular with large segments of the United States population; but if we do not return to our democratic and republican roots, we will lose a great country that has served our fore fathers and us well.

Whence Prosperity? The Government?

Many people think that government spending can create jobs and shovel our economy out of the doldrums. It is true that the government can hire people to do jobs and supply them with money for their work. But…where does the money to pay them come from? It comes from taxes that the people pay. In other words, all the government is doing is shifting money around (these days from the wealthy to the lower economic classes). No new product is being brought forth. Rarely it may be necessary to shift money around in our republic by artificial means by government action. However, that money would shift anyway as the poor are hired by the wealthy to produce real goods and real services.

Our government is soaked in the notion that when the rich get richer, the poor get poorer. If you believe that line, then you believe that creating wealth causes poverty. The truth is that creating wealth causes more wealth. If somebody opens a very big successful company in your small town do you think that that would be bad news for the people in the town? Would that business suck up all the available money and leave the people poor? No! The people in the town would be more prosperous because they have more jobs and income. The businesses in our country are not causing our economic woes—the government is causing the woes.

If the government wants to encourage a business, there are several things that it can do:
1. Cut taxes and give tax breaks.
2. Decrease regulation.
3. Buy the company’s products for governmental tasks.
4. Subsidize the company.
If the government wants to discourage a business, there are several things it can do:
1. Raise taxes.
2. Increase regulation.
3. Buy the company’s products from another supplier, perhaps from a supplier overseas.
4. Encourage union domination.
Our government seems to be doing everything it can to discourage business. It is time we act to do something about this anti-business climate in which we live. Write to your Congressman and Senator to ask them to act in a pro-business way.

Sexting

Many parents are unaware of the frequency of what is called “sexting,” that is the sharing of sexually explicit pictures and messages on cell phones—most often posted or sent by teenagers or young adults. The prevalence of this practice is frightening! A study done by The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, http://bit.ly/bDLcMM, showed that 22% of teen girls and 18% of teen boys have shared nude or semi-nude pictures of themselves, attached either to a text message or by posting them online.

Young people are often not mature enough to grasp the truth and the relevance of God’s word in this matter; but they should be led to understand: Proverbs 5:20-23 says, “Why be captivated, my son, by an adulteress? Why embrace the bosom of another man’s wife? For a man’s ways are in full view of the Lord, and he examines all his paths. The evil deeds of a wicked man ensnare him; the cords of his sin hold him fast. He will die for lack of discipline, led astray by his own great folly.”

Teenagers need to be taught that explicit sex on cell phones, the internet, magazine, or other medium is damaging to their characters; and they should avoid it. Furthermore, they should be aware of the fact that anything posted in cyberspace is there forever, and always available to future employers and university admission committees who will evaluate people for admission or employment.

Parents have an obligation to monitor this activity and protect their children from such contamination. Children will often imitate their parents’ practices in such activities, also. If children see their parents watching sexually suggestive scenes on TV or hear them telling or laughing at dirty jokes, you can be sure the children will imitate their example.

To read more about this subject, I would recommend that you refer to Randy Alcorn’s discussion, http://bit.ly/daMUyg.

Churches Timid in Elections

I have been very disappointed during this election season by the churches of Denver because of their unwillingness to address the Christian issues on the ballots. Their lack of support for things that are clearly designed to protect and advance Christian ethics and morals in our society is a shame to them and to the Christian people of our state.

Somehow, the pastors and the elder boards of the churches think that it is against the law for them to speak out on Christian issues and even Christian principles. They think that they will lose their coveted tax exemptions if they speak out on anything that comes up on the ballot. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, there is nothing in the law that would prohibit them from actively advocating for issues in an election that concern our faith. The following link from the Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian legal organization, describes what can and what cannot be proclaimed from the pulpit during an election season: http://bit.ly/9O13mh.

I think that part of the problem with churches and pastors is ignorance of the issues. I spoke to one pastor who had already voted in Colorado. He told me that he was surprised to find the Personhood Amendment on the ballot when he got to the polling place. This issue, which would define the beginning of human life at the point of conception, is clearly a Christian issue of life. The pastor had not taken the time to inform himself of the issues on the ballot. (He did take the time, however, to deny me the privilege of informing his church on this issue.) In these days, ballots are so very complicated that one cannot decide intelligently on most of the issues by simply going to the polling place and seeing what one might vote on. One has to inform oneself of the issues long before going to vote.

This appalling situation would not have obtained during the early days of America. Preachers and churches were not afraid to proclaim the truth from the pulpits of pre-revolutionary America. Every one of the 27 reasons for revolution elucidated in the Declaration of Independence was clearly presented to the American people by the preachers of America in the 10 years before the revolution. Without the leadership of our churches, the American Revolution might not have ever happened. What a difference from the situation today when the churches are afraid to even mention Christian issues from the pulpit! GOD HELP US ALL!!

Conspiracy of Silence

Abraham Lincoln said, “To sin by silence when you should protest makes cowards of men.” Christ died for us and asks us to care about each other. Christ died for us and that gives us compassion for our fellow men, especially those in mortal danger. The bumper sticker says: “If you’re not completely appalled by now, you’re just not paying attention.” How many more babies have to die before the people of God will stand up and say, “Enough!!!?”

Abortion is a national and international disgrace. The blood of the aborted cries out. “We have been silent too long.” God is on the side of those who stand for Life. He gives victory to those on the side of truth. So, do not be afraid to wear a Precious Feet Pin or put a Pro-Life bumper sticker on your car. Support your local pregnancy centers and other Pro-Life organizations.

When you stand before the judgment seat of God, you will be glad you did something. You will also be glad that Jesus did something so you can live well now and eternally.

One practical thing you can do this election year is to vote for Pro-Life candidates and vote YES on Amendment 62, the Personhood Amendment in Colorado.

This blog post was excerpted from Pastor Wayne Riddering of Hope Lutheran Church in Westcliffe, Colorado. Pastor Riddering is a former President of Lutherans for Life in Metro Denver.

Vote YES on Colorado’s Personhood Amendment. Here’s Why.

Everyone should vote yes on the Personhood Amendment (#62) on November 2nd. This amendment would proclaim that human life begins at conception.

For obvious reasons, those on the Pro-Abortion side of the life argument want this amendment defeated—-it would cut into their business. But some powerful voices in the Pro-Life movement are actually joining forces with the Pro-Abortion movement to try to defeat this amendment. Those Pro-Lifers believe that inevitably, this amendment would come to a Constitutional test by the Supreme Court; and the amendment would be defeated because of the liberal make-up of the Court at this time. They would have us wait until the Court becomes more conservative and more amenable to upholding this amendment.

This thinking is not indicative of what Pro-Lifers should do now. The Pro-Life movement is presently at a high tide of public opinion; and it is gradually gaining strength according to several polls. However, it will soon be replaced in the minds of conservative voters the country over by their concern for the homosexual issue. I believe we should act now as we have never acted before. Several states are also considering a Personhood Amendment like the one in Colorado; if many people could see that Colorado has passed a personhood amendment they might be more inclined to do so, themselves. In that case, the Supreme Court would see that the vast weight of public opinion is on the side of life in this country, and they might be inclined to uphold it. (I will admit that the courts do not seem very interested in the will of the people a lot of the time.)The argument for waiting is futile because we would probably have to wait for 20-30 years for the Court to become more conservative, even if it were to do that unlikely thing in the future.

Additionally, this Amendment stands directly within the stated will of God in the Bible—THOU SHALT NOT KILL. Christians are clearly called upon to fight for the right, just as Joshua and Caleb were called upon to fight for the Promised Land. We must stand up for the right thing to do here and we should not cringe back into the shadows because we are afraid of the opposition. Vote YES on Amendment 62!

Legalizing Prostitution??!

A pro-family activist in Canada is applauding a decision by that country's justice minister to appeal the ruling of an Ontario Judge who gutted federal prostitution laws in the province.

The Globe and Mail reports that Justice Susan Himel struck down all three Criminal Code provisions that had been challenged -- communicating for the purposes of prostitution, pimping, and operating a "common bawdy house." Himel argued the current laws endangered more than protected prostitutes.

Brian Rushfeldt, executive director of Canada Family Action, sees things a different way.

"She's in essence legalizing it as long as you do prostitution now within your home or within a brothel," he remarks. "It's atrocious to think that a judge could ever endorse prostitution, which really is an abuse and a violence against all women when it comes down to it."

Rushfeldt says as with the ongoing legal wrangling over California's marriage amendment (Proposition 8), this case demonstrates that activist judges are working both sides of the U.S.-Canada border.

"I would term it 'judicial dictatorship' -- because what these judges are doing by the rulings, whether it be in Canada or the United States, [is] overriding the elected officials; and in doing that they're overriding the will of the people," he explains. "And if that's happening, then in essence democracy is dead."

OneNewsNow.com 10-12-2010