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Featured
Articles, News and Issues
Below you will find Articles that
this Website believes in and will continue to post, sent or forwarded by
friends and other Christians. Please read them with open hearts and prayers
uplifted to God. Warning: Some might not be appropriate
in your estimation for children but are "non the less" here to edify all
believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. Mark K. Doty (webmaster) reply1@fountaingateway.com
Daily Featured Articles News and Issues are provided by active link to
Covenant News Service. Covenant News
is Today's News For Today's Church but more
than that it is continuously updated and highly researched to keep the Christian
abreast of the developments World Wide Politically and Socially. Other
articles and news developments are listed below and updated when necessary.
IN
THE IMAGE OF GOD!
In August of this year, we posted a remarkable
photograph of little Samuel Armas. You may recall, Samuel was only 21
weeks in his mother's womb when he underwent corrective micro-surgery
for spina bifida. It was during surgery that he reached from the
incision in her womb, and grasped the finger of his surgeon, Dr.
Joseph Bruner.
After years of trying to have children, Julie and Alex Armas, were
finally pregnant with little Samuel. But in July, received the
devastating news that he had a spinal condition that would probably
leave their child with severe handicaps from birth. Julie searched the
Internet for help and found a website giving details of pioneering
surgery being carried out by a team of specialists at Vanderbilt
University in Nashville.
 Though
considered high risk, the surgery was successful and little Samuel
arrived December second, about a month before he was expected! He
weighed 5 lbs., 11 ounces, and was 20.5 inches long, and was so
healthy that he went go home with his parents a few days later. Samuel
does have some weakness and motor sensation problems below his knees,
and has begun physical therapy. His physician is optimistic that he
will, in time, be able to walk.
After celebrating the sanctity of life this week, we thought today
would be a good day to celebrate this precious life -- and for all our
members to take a moment and pray for his continued health. Below, you
will find links to our site with photos of Samuel during surgery and
shortly after birth.
 Let us also
pray for those children who's lives were sacrificed at the alter of
"choice," and for their parents -- that they may learn repentance and
gain love and respect for the life that was, so that they may fully
love the life that is!
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Hiding Behind Religion
To Promote Immorality Is Sick By Dr. Laura Schlessinger / Deseret News
You know all the steady nagging I do on the air, in my
books and in this column about what I have come to believe is a conspiracy to
sexualize our children at ever-earlier ages. It all started with Alfred Kinsey
and his highly dubious research about the sexuality of children, much of which
was gleaned from the testimony of pedophiles whom he paid to experiment on
children and report to him. (Hardly disinterested, trained scientists.) His
research and many of his original researchers are today behind the push to
legitimize adult-child sex. See
rest of the story!
Statist
Intervention in Child-Rearing Is a Dangerous Trend
By Robert Holland
In a post-industrial society tending more to collectivism than
individualism, parents are no longer honored figures. Presuming all parents
potential abusers, the nanny-state now sends out swarms of "experts"
to monitor the rearing of America's children.
The ultimate social intervention -- just one short step from state licensing of
parents -- entails nabbing first-time parents when their newborns are still in
the hospital nursery. The idea is that agents of social uplift will go into
private homes to "train" these parents for up to 50 visits annually
per family. Expectant parents are enlisted by being asked to sign permission
forms at the hospital, where amid all the excitement of a first birth they may
not be aware of the implications for their privacy and parental rights.
Information that the agents collect from families will be put into a
nationwide computerized system called the Program Information Management System
(PIMS), which will contain medical and psychological entries and observations on
family relationships. PIMS' tracking of a newborn's development could easily be
linked with other preschool and public-school databanks currently being
expanded. Eventually the information in a comprehensive, permanent record could
be shared with employers when an individual applies for a job.
Presented as a way to prevent child abuse, this movement has far broader
implications. As Congressman Henry Hyde observes, "This is Big Brother
intervention as we have never seen it before. It is a case of the 'village'
mentality run wild. American have never experienced such intrusion in their
family lives."
The lead organization is the Chicago-based National Committee to Prevent Child
Abuse (NCPCA). In a statement on their website (www.childabuse.org),
NCPCA leaders declare that "parenting is too often a responsibility that
cannot be performed alone. It is imperative for communities to support
overburdened families with resources so that parents can provide their children
with a safe and supportive environment."
That echoes an assertion by First lady Hillary Clinton at a White House
child-care conference that parents may mean well but do not necessarily know
what's best for their children. On October 1, 1997, The Washington Post quoted
her as saying the following in support of public child care: "A lot of
times they (the parents) don;t know what is quality. If somebody's nice to them,
it doesn't matter that they don't know the difference between caring for a
one-year-old or a four-year-old."
Mrs. Clinton and her Children's Defense Fund allies have expropriated the
African proverb, "It takes a village to rear a child," in an attempt
to justify sweeping intervention in family life.
The key program is the NCPCA's Healthy Families America (HFA). It was launched
in 1992 in partnership with the Ronald McDonald House Charities and the Freddie
Mac Corporation, but as of Congress' 1997 reauthorization of the Adoption
and Safe Families Act, the program has picked up major federal funding to go
with backing from several left-wing foundations (such as Annie E. Casey, Rand,
and Carnegie).
The federal act expanded Family Preservation and Support Services with $275
million for Fiscal 1999, $295 million for FY 2000, and $305 million for FY 2001.
"Unfortunately," Congressman Hyde notes, "most members of
Congress were not aware of the inherent dangers in this program. Preventing
child abuse is admirable and removing children from homes where abuse is
indicated is necessary. However, using Family Preservation and Support Services
to investigate every first-time parent in America in an effort to identify the
troubled ones exceeds any authority previously given to any government
agency."
HFA is rendered more difficult to follow by being given different names in
virtually all the 40 states in which it operates to date. For instance, in
Georgia, it's called "First Steps"; in California it's "Welcome
Home Baby" or "Safe and Healthy Families"; and in Hawaii it's
"Healthy Start." In Virginia, the program is embodied in the
"Healthy Families Initiative," which has operated mostly in the
Fairfax and Hampton Roads areas, with General Assembly support of more than $1
million.
As with the related federal Goals 2000, HFA often carries the label
"voluntary" -- yet the NCPCA describes its goal as providing
"universal home visitation for all new parents and intensive services for
families most in need." It calls for coordinating the work of
paraprofessionals and volunteer home-visitors with professionals such as social
workers, public-health nurses, and guidance counselors. Critics charge that
parents who decide they want out of the visitations could be reported to Child
Protective Services
and possibly even lose their child to state custody.
While "high-risk" families are to receive more intensive and
longer-term scrutiny under HFA than other parents, definitions of
"high-risk" are elastic. Almost any family could be deemed high-risk,
with risk factors like the following: "inadequate" income; inability
of parent to cope with inappropriate child behavior (in the parent-trainer's
opinion); overindulgence or "spoiling" by a parent; low functioning of
parent due to various conditions, including being "too heavy"; and
negative reactions, such as "getting angry" about a child's actions.
Of course, social-service agents have an incentive to identify as many
"at-risk" parents as they can, because that increases their budgets.
What's going on in the guide of preventing child abuse dovetails with
massive new tracking ventures by the U.S. Department of Education's research
arm, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). In the year 2000, for
example, the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study will begin following thousands
of newborns through their sixth birthdays. Federal investigators will use birth
certificates to collect the names of newborns, and when the infants are 9 months
old federal "assessors" will visit their homes (according to the
December 16 issue of Education Week) -- there to "interview their parents,
observe parents and children at play, and evaluate the infants' growth and
development."
Soon there may be a governmental presence in every home. All this will undermine
the American family, not strengthen it.
Robert Holland is a columnist and op-ed editor with the Richmond
Times-Dispatch. Contact him via email at rholland@timesdispatch.com
Wider Mainstream
Acceptance for Gay Americans Found
NEW YORK -- A national poll conducted last month finds
that while a majority of Americans voice tolerance for gay people and general
support for anti discrimination laws, most are still opposed to gay marriage and
gay adoption.
Opinion was split on whether gay people could 'change.'
A nationwide Harris poll of 1,010 adults conducted from Jan. 6-10 found 56
percent favored expansion of current laws banning discrimination based on race,
age, disability, religion, and gender to include sexual orientation. Opposition
to such an expansion fell from 41 percent two years ago to 36 percent today.
Federal law does not bar employers from firing workers, or landlords from
refusing to rent to people because they are gay and the majority of states do
not ban anti-gay discrimination.
On the subject of gay marriage only 15 percent of Harris survey respondents
approved of legalizing marriage between two men and only 16 percent supported it
for two women. A commanding 57 percent of those polled disapproved of gay
marriage for men and 55 percent rejected it for women. Significantly, 25 percent
voiced no strong opinion.
While the increase was slight, the numbers approving of same-sex marriage were
up about 50 percent from four years ago, pollsters report, when only 11 percent
supported it for women and 10 percent for men.
New York
Mainstream support for gay adoption was also measured. A strong majority,
between 55 and 57 disapproved of adoption by same-sex couples with 21 to 22
percent voicing approval. As in marriage, there are stronger negative feelings
toward male couples than toward female couples.
Sentiment on the "nurture vs. nature" argument as to the origins of
homosexuality showed movement away form "lifestyle choice." A slim
majority 52 percent thought it stemmed from learning and experience, and 35
percent said it was genetic. This is a fairly significant change from 65 percent
learned vs. 29 percent genetic in 1995.
Opinion was split on whether gay people could change their sexual
orientation. Of those polled, 46 percent said they felt sexual orientation
"can be changed through will power, therapy or religious conviction,"
44 percent said it could not be changed. Just under half of people responding to
the poll, 48 percent, said they have either close personal friends or relatives
who are gay.
The Common
Conservative - Open The Gates!!! 2/16/00 by Tom Adkins
7-11 is paying over ten bucks an hour. Teen-age kids won't work at the mall for
less than 8 bucks an hour. My landscaper can't even find workers at 15 bucks an
hour. Some businesses are actually hiring convicted felons. Uh-oh. Labor
shortage. You know what that means. The battle between productivity and
inflation is on, and Alan Greenspan thinks inflation is winning so he cranked up
interest rates 2% in the past year and a half.
What shall we do? Increase interest rates? Pay down the national debt? Limit
trade? Increase taxes? Go back to the gold standard?
I've got a better solution: Increase immigration.
That's right. Take a hike, all you build-a-wall-and-keep-'em-out Buchanan
worshipers. Take a flying leap, you John Rocker fans. You are wrong on
immigration, you have always been wrong, and you will always be wrong.
Immigration is the very best way to control inflation. And while we're at it,
immigration is also the best way to increase productivity and expand markets .
right here in the good old USA.
If you don't have enough workers, you get a labor shortage, which eventually
leads to inflation. So where do we get the people? Good question! Normally, the
next generation comes along and takes care of that. But we went on that dopey
anti-population kick in the 60's. We decided our precious careers were more
important than our children, so we married later and had less kids. Plus, we've
been aborting 1.5 million babies a year and whaddaya know? When we need workers,
we've been tossing them in a medical waste dumpster for 30 years.
But even if America started having Mormon-like families, that wouldn't help for
twenty years. In the meantime, we need workers, and we need 'em now. Immigration
is the best answer.
Ask any landscape company, any cleaning service, any convenience store --
American immigrants are the hardest working, butt-kicking, most grateful people
on this planet. They come from nations that are either socialist failures or
ruthless bloodthirsty totalitarians. In case you haven't been paying attention
lately, that's about all that's left. They laugh when our "poor"
people complain, considering they live better than 90% of the entire world.
Immigrants come here and work like hell for any employer who needs them, or they
start a business which employs anyone who wants a job. They often take the jobs
nobody wants. With a smile. What's wrong with that? Nothing. Period.
The problem is we have to stop being politically correct about this. Current
immigration law is incredibly prejudiced against white Europeans, and
ridiculously slanted towards unskilled Africans with AIDS. Personally, I don't
care where they come from or what they look like. You want to come to America
and work? That's good enough for me. The door should be open. Those Haitians who
sail in rickety rafts, why do we send them back? We should pick 'em up in the
Queen Mary and get them here. Oh, yeah, we should return to tough screening for
drugs and diseases, including AIDS, and disallow welfare for at least ten years,
something the Clinton administration refused to do.
Anyone who produces is good for America. And so is anyone who consumes. When you
don't have enough people, you get a tight labor market. Sooner or later, even
the most optimistic productivity gains won't keep up with a dwindling work
force. Like musical chairs, something must give at some point.
America is full of whiners who mooch off the system, blaming their life's
problems on the rich man -- the poor man -- the white man -- the black man --
the whatever-man and anyone else who looks just a little different. I say screw
'em. There are millions of people in other stinking nations who would literally
die for a chance to come to America and work hard. Open the gates. Let 'em in.
They will provide a larger market for goods. They will fill those job openings,
lowering the incredible demand for labor. Both will slow inflation. Plus, you
could find someone to mow your lawn, clean your table, and ring up your bag of
chips.
And maybe even cure cancer.
Homosexuality
is not a civil right - C U R R E N T N E W S
S U M M A R Y, by the Editors of Religion Today
Homosexuality is not a civil right, says Alveda King, a niece of slain civil
rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. King, a former Georgia state legislator
and founder of the Atlanta group King for America, spoke to pastors in Highland,
Calif., during a conference in support of Proposition 22. The March 7 state
ballot initiative defines marriage as "between one man and one
woman."
...Homosexuality is "an issue dealt with by the
individual," King said. She said she grew tired of being criticized for
telling homosexuals to accept responsibility for their behavior in instead of
saying they were "born that way," Associated Baptist Press said.
Eventually she tried a new approach. "Okay, so you were born that way. Get
born again," she said.
...Conference speakers urged Christians to vote.
"If Christians don't vote and aren't in the political process, then who is
making policy for our country?" asked Rob Zinn, pastor of Emmanuel Southern
Baptist Church, where the conference was held. About 235 pastors and spouses
attended a dinner on the eve of the one-day conference.
..."There are millions of Christians who are
looking for a pastor with the intestinal fortitude to stand up" against
immorality, D. James Kennedy of Coral Ridge Ministries told the group by
videotape. Working to pass Proposition 22 is one way to do that, he said.
Religious groups shouldn't have to hide their faith to run federally funded
literacy programs, members of Congress said. The House Education Committee and
the Workforce Committee approved a bill allowing churches and other groups to
take part in such programs, The Associated Press said.
..."Trying to totally separate the faith of a
society from any form of influence is ridiculous," Rep. Mark Souder (R-Ind.)
said. Religious groups are connected to their communities, equipping them to run
social programs dealing with day care, drug treatment, job training, and
literacy, he said.
...The bill does not require churches or synagogues to
remove religious icons from classrooms or to hire secular teachers, AP
said. It authorizes the Even Start Program, which offers tutoring services for
preschool children and job training for their parents, AP said.
...Church-state separation groups opposed the bill.
"The courts have never allowed churches to get tax dollars to run
educational programs," Barry Lynn of Americans United for Separation
of Church and State said. "It is particularly appalling that a
congressional committee thinks it is OK to fund programs that practice religious
discrimination in hiring."
Racial Shakedowns
- by David Horowitz - Intellectual Capital
A NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE COACH has a mediocre season and is released by the
team. Jesse Jackson fires off a letter of protest.
In Michigan, a thirteen-year-old murderer faces sentencing as an adult. Al
Sharpton flies into the state and holds a press conference accusing racists in
the criminal-justice system of trying to take "our children."
(Shades of Decatur, Ill. where Jackson defends teenage thugs expelled from
school in the same familial voice.) Hollywood launches a season where black
characters rarely make the cut on the television shows on the big four networks.
The NAACP threatens boycotts and two networks agree to racial quotas. The
largest "civil rights" demonstration in nearly a decade is organized
in South Carolina to protest the flying of a rebel flag.
These recent events have two features in common:
>From the perspective of the civil-rights movement
they claim as their legacy, they are all laughable charades; and their only
shared purpose is to keep alive the idea that whites are racists and are
responsible for the problems of African Americans. The reality is quite
different. The civil-rights struggle was won 30 years ago. What passes for civil
rights these days is a political shakedown and a racial hustle.
>From the bottom of the deck --
Sixty-five percent of the millionaires on the Green Bay Packers, the team that
fired coach Ray Rhodes, are black. Rhodes had presided over the first season in
seven years that the Packers did not make the playoffs.
Even Rhodes says he was embarrassed by Jackson's claim. Coupled with Jackson's
attempt to turn a bunch of young gangsters in Decatur who nearly caused a riot
at a football game into civil-rights heroes, this crusade makes him something of
a public menace and, insofar as he is a role model, a threat to black
achievement.
Of course, Sharpton notwithstanding, the fact that homicide is a prime killer of
young black males is integrally connected to the number of homicides committed
by young black males. (A black is six
times as likely to die of homicide as a white, while 94 percent of the killers
of blacks are also black.) Treating youthful black murderers as adults is about
taking black life seriously. Sharpton has no interest in black children in the
inner city, however, or in anyone, in fact, except himself.
Forget all the arguments about the Confederate flag. The question is
this:
Is the flag a symbol of regnant racism? Are the gubernatorial mansions or the
legislatures of states where flags incorporate the Stars and Bars bastions of
Confederate diehards who want to keep blacks down?
Don't make me laugh. The holiday itself during which the rally against the
Confederate flag was held-Martin Luther King Day-is the only day that Americans
set aside to honor an individual. Elements of the Stars and Bars are
incorporated into the flags that fly over many state capitols.
Among them is Arkansas, which flew the dreaded symbol during the entire twelve
years that Bill Clinton was governor. Yet he still enjoys 90 percent support
among African Americans, despite his willingness to fly the rebel symbol when he
was governor. The flag means a lot less, evidently, than meets the eye.
This is not about racism. It is about playing the race card.
A new kind of extortion --
Hollywood gave the black actress Hattie McDaniel an Academy Award in 1939.
Twenty years ago, network TV created Roots, the most-watched program in
history-an eleven-hour epic that portrayed whites as uniformly evil and blacks
as long-suffering saints. Throughout the 1940s (Pinky, Home of the Brave) and
1950s (Sergeant Rutledge, The Defiant Ones), and early '60s (Guess Who's Coming
To Dinner), Hollywood pioneered civil-rights issues and the cause of black
America.
Anyone who believes that liberal Hollywood is a hotbed of racism and practices
systematic discrimination against African Americans is either certifiable or-how
shall I put this-somewhat loose with the facts.
Not too long ago, I was on Jesse Jackson's Both Sides Now CNN show with ER actor
Eriq LaSalle. The two black men complained that African Americans are
"locked out" of Hollywood and only get demeaning roles.
Don't make me laugh. LaSalle plays a doctor on ER, and signed a three-year,
$27-million contract. Yet, under NAACP threat, NBC and ABC signed quota
agreements for black hires because-well, they were afraid of retaliation. Call
it "trick or treat" if you want. It is
extortion all the same.
Now Jackson has set up a shakedown shop in Silicon Valley, home to probably the
most racially diversified industry in America. Jackson is demanding that
technology firms go out of their way to help promote African Americans. If they
do not, they risk being branded
racists.
Why are the media silent about this (Fox News Channel's Bill O'Reilly and a few
others excepted)? The reason seems obvious. Democrats and leftists run the
media, and the race card is the ace-in-the-hole
for Democratic and leftist politicians who need 90 percent black support to hold
their power. That is why Bill Bradley and Hillary Clinton have rushed to kiss
the ring of Sharpton, the anti-Semite,
convicted liar and racist demagogue (without visibly holding their noses to do
it). In fact, the race card is so important to Democrats that Bradley and Gore
have even begun to use it against each other.
Whatever people say in public, no intelligent person really believes the charge
of racism anymore. On the other hand, everyone is afraid to say so.
Tell it like it is --
If the race card is power to Democrat politicians, it is money and power to race
hustlers like Jackson and Sharpton. Once upon a time, Jackson would make
demagogic harangues in inner-city communities about "racist"
liquor distributors who were targeting the African American population.
Budweiser is currently running commercials featuring black racial stereotypes.
Ordinarily, this would be a Jackson two-fer. In the old days, Jackson
attacked Anheuser-Busch for a lack of minority ownership among its
distributors. But today Jesse Jackson's lips are sealed.
Possible reason: Two of Jackson's sons were recently given the No. 1 Budweiser
distributorship in Chicago, worth $33 million in annual revenues. And they got
it, against all competitors, for almost no cash down.
Was the favor to the Jackson sons a form of protection money? You think?
It is time to wake up, America. The civil-rights scam is becoming a cancer on
our body politic. The only cure is to adopt a single standard for all Americans
and-to use a phrase of the '60s-tell it like it is.
© 1999 VoxCap.com. All rights reserved. - E N D
HOW TO STAY
CHRISTIAN IN POLITICS - by J. Budziszewski Submitted by Phil Sheldon
It's quite simple:
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1 Politics deals with basic issues of right and wrong.
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2 God has plenty to say about right and wrong.
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3 When people don't like what God says about right and wrong (or
what they think He says about right and wrong), they tend to make a god of their
own ideas. Their ideologies become substitute religions. Then they've got a
problem because God will have no other gods before Him.
Dispelling the myths about politics:
* I'm not involved. You say that if you're not interested in politics it won't
affect your thinking. The opposite is true. Politically apathetic people are
even more influenced by the political ideas raining down on them because they
aren't thinking about them critically. They aren't taking the trouble to
separate the wheat from the chaff.
* God belongs to your party. Some Democrats think God is a Democrat; some
Republicans think He is a Republican. They expect God to support every detail of
political programs in which He wasn't consulted. We exist to serve God. He
doesn't exist to serve us. No country, no political party, no political ideology
can own Him. He's the boss.
* Everyone belongs to himself. In politics, if you think you own yourself you
probably also think you have a right to do just as you please - and you'll want
the laws to back you up. The Bible tells us that we are made by God, belong to
Him, and have value because He loves us and are made in His image.
Self-gratification is not part of God's plan.
* The ends justify the means. Some think it's OK to do anything to achieve their
political goals - putting a spin on the facts, shredding public documents,
shaking people down for political contributions, whatever it takes. Slipping
into political dishonesty is easier than you might think. One little lie leads
to another. People who forget the truth usually go on to forget the Truth - God Himself.
* The job of the government is to reform everything. God assigned some social
institutions their own special purposes or jobs. For instance, the family is for
raising children and the church is for building up God's kingdom. Government is
for upholding public justice by punishing those who do wrong (using courts,
jails, and armies) and honoring those who do right (through public memorials and
medals of honor) (1 Peter 2:14). When the government takes on roles of other
institutions, it only makes things worse.
* Compassion means generosity. True compassion is when you are the one who bears the burden and pays the price. Generosity can be cheap when we
do what makes us feel good instead of what really helps another person.
* Faith and politics should be separate. The Constitution says only three things
about religion: first, government isn't allowed to make officeholders pass a
religious test; second, it isn't allowed to establish an official church; and
third, it isn't allowed to stop anyone from worshiping freely. These three rules
are meant to protect your liberty to follow God, not to abolish it. Christians
are free to act according to their convictions in policies, just as atheists are
free to
act according to theirs.
-----------
J. Budziszewski has taught at the University of Texas for more than 15 years in
the departments of Government and Philosophy. An adult Sunday school teacher and
lay Christian counselor, he left his Christian upbringing and abandoned
his faith shortly after entering college and did not return to the Lord until 10
years later. This experience made him acutely aware of the struggles Christian
students face when entering college and prompted him to write this book.
From How to Stay Christian in College by J. Budziszewski. Copyright (c) 1999.
Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, Colo., 1-800-366-7788.
Christian Leaders
Aren’t - by Chuck Baldwin
The "Washington Post" ran an interesting
story earlier this week. In a nutshell, the article reported that conservative
Christian activism has "gone cold." Where thousands of evangelicals
and conservative Catholics had before rallied to the cause of the Republican
Party, today they sit dormant and uninvolved. There is a very simple reason for
this: Many Christian leaders have failed to provide the kind of principled
leadership necessary for such activism to continue.
Perhaps we were spoiled with the success of Ronald
Reagan. Today’s Christian activists cut their teeth on the Reagan campaigns.
The Carter years had left America weak and vulnerable. Thousands of clergymen
and millions of Christians stood in the gap for principle and truth. Throwing
aside a Republican Party full of stale and lifeless country club fat cats,
millions of conservatives and hundreds of Christian leaders took a principled
stand for faith, family and freedom. The result: two landslide presidential
victories.
Suddenly, Christian leaders were politically powerful.
They were sought out by the media and by the political elite. Their names became
household words. They brought Christian influence from the back street to Main
Street. Cameras and microphones followed us wherever we went. We were somebody.
Why? Because we won!
Since we were now on the inside, we had the advantage
of listening to well educated and intelligent experts tell us how to keep
winning. We attended and conducted seminars and conferences on how to win. We
learned how to organize. We learned how to take opinion polls.
The first thing we learned was that winning is the most
important thing. From that moment on, winning was all that mattered. Winning was
fun. Winning was exciting. Winning took us places. At all costs, therefore, we
must win!
The second thing we learned was that in order to win we
must compromise. Compromise, we were told, was the only way to keep our
influence and power. Besides, it was the smart thing to do. Imperceptibly,
pragmatism replaced principle.
The Waterloo for Christian leadership came in 1996 when
it openly rejected the burgeoning candidacy of the principled conservative
candidate, Pat Buchanan, for the known compromising candidate, Bob Dole. Voting
for Dole was considered the smart thing to do, however. It was the pragmatic
thing to do. Only Bob Dole could win, we were told. So, we threw Buchanan to the
Dumpster. Something went wrong, though. Dole lost!
More than Bob Dole lost, however. Christian leaders
lost their principles and their courage. They had been effectively neutered. We
were now part of the establishment. We acted like the establishment. We thought
like the establishment. We compromised like the establishment. The things that
caused us to win before had been totally forgotten.
I say they have been forgotten because we are still
making the same fatal mistake. We continue to reject principled candidates like
Alan Keyes who, we are told, cannot win, in favor of compromising candidates
who, we are assured, can.
The result is millions of frustrated, uninspired,
turned-off conservatives who feel betrayed. And they have been! There is one
more result: another GOP defeat at the polls in November!
Maybe sooner or later, Christian leaders will again
awaken to the fundamental principles that first gave them victory. Maybe they
will eventually get over the perfidious puffery heaped on them by disingenuous
politicos and once again stand courageously for truth and righteousness, win or
lose! Absent such courage, a Republican victory means not a victory for the
country.
NOTE:
My editorials are published Tuesdays, Wednesdays &
Fridays on Gulf1.com and are sent via email
to anyone who requests them. If you have friends whom you would like to receive
these editorials please forward their addresses to me at cblist@gulf1.com
.
Why
the Silence in the Clergy?
There's a great deal of intimidation. Many clergy have been
intimidated by the federal government - the IRS, among others, who have been
used as a political weapon against churches, to yank their tax-exemption status,
for example. It happened to one church that made a statement that to vote
for Bill Clinton is to sin against God. I would say that, that statement
has been partially vindicated, and yet, they had their 501C3 tax-exemption
status yanked by the IRS. So, there is quite a bit of fear.
However...when you get yourself entangled with the federal government, you often
make a compromise you ought not make," stated Reverend Robert Schenk of the
National Clergy Council, a guest on "Direct Line with Paul Weyrich."
Rev. Schenk also said, "I would say that in this instance we have to remind
the clergy, the church leaders, that there is in fact a price to pay for being a
religious leader. For John the Baptist, it meant the cost was his head.
Now...there are those who have paid an extreme price for the same behavior as
the President. And there's a moral lesson there.
You know the bible says that judgment begins in the house of God.
And I recall at my ordination council when I was being interviewed, I was told,
'You will be subject to a more severe penalty for the office that you will soon
occupy. Do you still wish to proceed?' That was a sobering
thought." Host Paul Weyrich asked Rev. Schenk why the surprising
silence in the clergy of most of the major denominations. He replied,
"I'm happy to say that the National Clergy Council did assemble a 20-member
panel on the 18th, the day after the President's address to the nation, to speak
precisely to those issues - and some did in very forceful ways. I think
there's a certain fear about treating a subject like this. We know that we
are all sinners, that every person in the pew, and every person in the pulpit
has sinned, and fallen short of the glory of God. So, there's a certain
reticence to label people publicly as sinners -- a certain fear maybe that we
will look judgmental or pharisaical. I'm being a little kind here, because
I think that's the case with many clergy. But what it is, is it's a
challenge to us to discuss sin for what it is, and what the penalty of sin is,
especially for a public official. So there's a certain element of fear,
but maybe there's worse than that.
I guess I have to go a little bit deeper and say, first of all, I'll say
that fear is no excuse in the pulpit and ought not to be. We need moral
courage in the pulpit as much as we need it in the culture. And perhaps it
would be in the culture if it [were] in the pulpit. And so I would
challenge the church leaders of this country, of every creed, of every
confession, to be morally courageous - to really take on, especially sin in
public office, for the sake of the nation, for the sake of the American people,
as much as for the sake of the gospel. But maybe there's a certain
comfortable reciprocity that's been established with people in public office.
The clergy, in too many cases, and I don't mean to be unduly harsh here but,
have a recognition in the public, are often invited to public ceremonies to give
the invocation at fundraising banquets, and there may be a certain fear of being
blacklisted if you take on a public official by name.
I think the greatest fear in the clergy is driving people away from the
church. But that should not be a fear. It's a challenge to
communicate about sin, even to announce the penalty for sin without driving
people away. That can be done." Contact: Producer, Gordon Jones
202.544.3200
DEALING WITH
DEPRESSION - Jerry Falwell
A question I am frequently asked is, "What is the difference between
discouragement and depression?" My pastoral answer is,
"Depression
is perpetual discouragement." Everyone is discouraged at times. But,
if discouragement becomes a way of life, depression can be the result. And, deep
and prolonged depression can be very destructive - even life threatening.
During my past 44 years as pastor of the same congregation, I have known many
committed Christian leaders who were victimized by depression. I have seen their
lives and ministries ruined by depression. I have seen many families destroyed
by depression. Sadly, I have even known persons of faith who actually
committed suicide because of deep depression. Depression is a common
experience to many people at some point in their lives. Physical illness,
loss of a loved one, the sense one has "failed in life," may all lead
to depression. One-out-of-twenty Americans is diagnosed as being
clinically depressed. Among those over the age of 50, it is more like one in
four. Even great men of God in the Bible became depressed for significant
periods of their lives. Job, Moses, and Elijah all, at some point, wished they
would die. David became deeply depressed over his sin, and Jeremiah grieved for
the sins of his people, Israel. In I Kings 19:1-18, one of God's noblest
prophets, Elijah, became deeply depressed, and wished to die -
immediately after enjoying a great victory over the 450 evil prophets of Baal
atop Mount Carmel. Wicked King Ahab and his even more wicked wife, Queen
Jezebel, were furious with Elijah because Elijah's God had slain their hireling
prophets. Read about this historic happening in I Kings 19:1-18 (KJV):
"And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had
slain all the prophets with the sword. (19:2) Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto
Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life
as the life of one of them by to morrow about this time. (19:3) And when he saw
that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongeth to
Judah, and left his servant there. (19:4) But he himself went a day's journey
into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he
requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough;
now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers. (19:5) And
as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and
said unto him, Arise and eat. (19:6) And he looked, and, behold, there was a
cake baken on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head. And he did eat and
drink, and laid him down again. (19:7) And the angel of the LORD came again the
second time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat; because the journey is
too great for thee. (19:8) And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went
in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights
unto Horeb the mount of God. (19:9) And he came thither unto a cave, and
lodged there; and, behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said
unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah? (19:10) And he said, I have been
very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken
thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword;
and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away. (19:11) And
he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the
LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the
mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was
not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in
the earthquake: (19:12) And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was
not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. (19:13) And it
was so, when Elijah heard it that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and
went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there
came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah? (19:14) And
he said, I have
been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: because the children of Israel have
forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets
with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to
take it away. (19:15) And the LORD said unto him, Go, return on thy way to
the wilderness of Damascus: and when thou comest, anoint Hazael to be king
over Syria: (19:16) And Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be
king over Israel: and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abelmeholah shalt thou
anoint to be prophet in thy room. (19:17) And it shall come to pass, that
him that escapeth the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay: and him that escapeth
from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay. (19:18) Yet I have left me seven
thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and
every mouth which hath not kissed him."
DEPRESSION IS VERY REAL
A depressed person may actually suffer more real pain
than a person with a physical illness. One of the most depressing things about
depression is the realization that it can happen to anybody. It can happen to
you. It can happen to me.
DEPRESSION IS NOT ALWAYS SPIRITUALLY-BASED
We should be careful to note, that certain physical
conditions (such as a chemical imbalance, menopausal change, or
hypoglycemia) may cause depression as a side effect. It is very important
not to minimize the symptoms of depression. Pretending that nothing is
bothering you will not cause your depression to go away. Don't hesitate to
seek help from a medical professional if you are struggling with depression
Depression is sometimes caused by physical conditions that are unrelated to
spiritual problems. Any disruption of the physical processes of the brain can
lead to
chemical imbalances within the nervous system, causing depression. The
brain relies on several key chemical substances (neutrotransmitters) to maintain
a stable level of mood. Imbalance of these neutrotransmitters can lead to
drastic mood swings and depression. Other physical causes of depression
include: hypoglycemia (low blood sugar); hypothyroidism; endocrine hormone
imbalances in blood levels of estrogen or adrenaline; viral infections,
such as the flu or mononucleosis; vitamin shortages; drug misuse; or fatigue.
When one is diagnosed with one of these physical maladies and depression has
resulted, it is important to get professional help. One's spiritual condition
alone cannot overcome physically-caused depression. These factors must be diagnosed
and treated by a qualified physician or psychiatrist. Don't hesitate to
check with your doctor. I have known preachers and Divine Healers to advise
depressed person to throw away their medication and get rid of their doctors.
Sometimes, the results are very bad.
DEPRESSION IS OFTEN SPIRITUALLY-BASED
It has been my pastoral experience that most cases of
depression have a spiritual cause. Studies show that depression is most
serious among the hurting - the divorced, the widowed, the unemployed, the
guilty, the lonely, the empty. Loss of meaningfulness to one's self and to
others almost always causes serious depression. Lack of self-worth, lack of
feeling essential to
others, and a lack of intimacy with God may all contribute to one's
becoming depressed. Since God is the "God of all comfort," (II
Corinthians 1:3), He is the only permanent source of victory over
spiritual depression. Whether we want to admit it or not, non-biological
depression is a spiritual problem. Look at the story we just read about Elijah
in 1 Kings 19:1-8. The nation of Israel had turned away from God because of the
ungodly influence of Ahab and Jezebel. Elijah had just defeated the prophets of Baal and had humiliated the
ungodly King, Ahab. But when the prophet heard that Queen Jezebel was determined
to kill him, he ran for his life. As bad as Ahab was, Jezebel was worse (which
reminds me of another political couple I know)! Notice how far Elijah
went. He had defeated the false prophets of Baal at Mount Carmel in northern
Israel. In verse 3, he ran all the way down south to Beersheba, on
the edge of the desert. But that still wasn't far enough for him to feel
safe, so Elijah continued running for 40 more days until he came to Mount
Horeb (also called Mount Sinai) in the Sinai Wilderness. He ran all the
way back to the place where Moses received the Ten Commandments hundreds of
years earlier. It was there at Mount Sinai, that Elijah hid in a cave
(verse 9) and collapsed into a state of exhaustion and depression. When God asked, "What
doest thou here, Elijah?" the prophet responded with a litany of
self-pity: "Israel has forsaken God, they have killed the prophets
and I am the only one left and now they're trying to kill me!" (v. 10).
Poor me! Everybody hates me! Have you ever felt that way? Like the whole
world is against you? Nobody understands. Nobody cares? That is how Elijah
felt. He had risked his life for the cause of God and now he wondered if it
was really worth it. It
is high time for Christians to stand up for what is right and not become
"weary in well doing." Some Christian leaders I know used to be
on the front lines serving God but now are content to sit back in their
"cave" and let someone else do it. It is time for all Americans
who trust God to get out of their caves and get back in the battle! (That
is why I recently formed PeopleofFaith2000.Com. The Church must awaken out
of its sleep. Go to my Web site [www.falwell.com]
and join me in the effort to return America to her
original status as "one nation under God.") Notice what happened
to Elijah. After God listened to all his excuses, He passed by as:
1) a great wind storm ( a hurricane);
2) an earthquake;
3) a great fire.
But none of these "acts of God" moved Elijah. When you are depressed,
you can be right in the middle of something great and miss God altogether.
THE EFFECTS OF DEPRESSION
The spiritual conflict that underlies a person's
depression will always come to the surface with definite physical and emotional
consequences. These include:
DEPRESSION FEEDS ON SELF-PITY AND PARANOIA
In essence, depression is a form of self-pity and
paranoia. It is a self-inflicted means of escape from responsibility in
the real world. Something about your world is not quite right, and that
bothers you. Eventually discouragement gives way to depression. What
initially bothers you could be anything: health, family, job, finances,
fear of growing older, and so forth. It is not what is bothering you that is so
important, as how you are handling it. Whenever we become discouraged, defeated,
or embittered by our circumstances, we are really questioning God's sovereign
control
over those circumstances. How can He really be in control, we think to
ourselves, and let this happen to me? Our problem is that we have a
self-centered view of the world. And when we are at the center of our
world-we can't see God at all. Elijah thought his life was over. He was
physically exhausted, emotionally devastated and spiritually empty. Some
of you are there right now. I know because I've been there too! We can be
so busy serving God's people that we don't have anything left for God.
THE EDGE OF DEPRESSION
Notice how God got Elijah's attention-by the
"still, small voice" (v. 12). Depressed people aren't impressed
by displays of power. They are looking for something deeper. They want to
know that their life isn't worthless. It's not all over. They want to know
that God really cares. When Elijah heard the voice--the whisper of God in
his soul, he wrapped himself in his mantle and walked to the mouth of the
cave to talk to God (v.13). He came to the edge of the cave-to the brink.
You may not yet be ready to get all the way out of your "cave"...
not yet... but could I encourage you to draw closer to God. Risk moving
from your self-imposed isolation and draw near to God.
YOUR LIFE IS NOT OVER
When God spoke to Elijah in verses 15-18, He told him
that his life was not over. God still had great plans for him. He
told the prophet to anoint the next King of Syria, then God instructed him to
anoint the next King of Israel. This alone would change the course of
history! Then God told Elijah to anoint Elisha to be the prophet to
replace him. God has called you and me to train the next generation to lead this
nation and world.
WE ARE NEVER STANDING ALONE
Then, God told Elijah He still had 7,000 faithful men
in Israel who had not bowed their knees to Baal. Elijah wasn't alone after all.
He just thought he was. You may feel like you are the only voice of moral
sanity left in your family or in your community. But you are not alone -
John McCain proved that! James Carville and Al Gore are proving that.
They are energizing God's people to get out of their caves and fight the good
fight. Let us hope that these men continue their attacks upon the saints.
We do our best work under fire. We always have. There are millions of
God-fearing people in
America- people of faith-who are not going to let this country go to the devil
without a fight. When God's people pray and vote, great things happen! I
am attempting to bring millions of believers to the polls November
7. Evangelical believers are the largest minority voting bloc in the
nation. We cross all ethnic and racial barriers, We can change America. Get out
of your cave. Report for duty! The Bible is so filled with examples of
depressed people. Some, like Saul and Judas, ended in self-destruction.
But many,
like Job, Moses, Elijah, Peter and Paul, found God's grace to lift them out of
their depression.
THE SEVEN-FOLD CURE FOR SPIRITUAL DEPRESSION
Elijah got out of the cave and God used him greater
than ever before. Broken people become changed people. When we are broken,
there is nothing superficial about us. When we come to the end of
ourselves, we find that God is what we really needed all along. Let me
suggest seven steps you can take to deal with your depression right now:
-
1. Believe that God is greater than your problems.
Whatever circumstances have you down, it is not the end of the world. Look
up-God can help you.
-
2. Turn all your problems over to God in prayer,
everyday and every hour, if necessary. Do not just say words-communicate
with God (take thirty to sixty minutes each morning). Pray specifically,
listing each area of concern. Don't pray that God will take each problem
away, but instead pray that He will give you a means to really understand
the problem from His perspective and to survive with spiritual victory.
-
3. Believe that God has a unique purpose for your life.
What is He trying to accomplish in your life through these hurtful circumstances?
Are you resisting Him? Seek out a trusted Christian pastor, trained
counselor, or mature spiritual friend for an objective opinion on your situation
and how you are responding to it.
-
4. Recognize that depression feeds on self-pity.
Do not just patch things up on the surface. Deal with your deeper problem of a
poor self-image. Squarely face your self-centered attitude and confess it as
sin. The opposite of depression is joy. Thus, the Scripture reminds us:
"the joy of the Lord is your strength" (Nehemiah 8:10). When joy
is missing, your strength is gone!
-
5. Realize you cannot always have your own way.
Submission to life's circumstances is really submission to God's will for
your life. Frustration and anxiety never solve anything. Remember the truth of I
Corinthians 10:13, "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is
common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted
above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape,
that ye may be able to bear it."
-
6. Admit you have no valid excuse for being depressed.
(Unless you are physically and chemically depressed- then you should see a
doctor or counselor right away.) Determine to do everything necessary to
conquer it! Stop pampering yourself, and start living for others. God will
not put more on you than He will put in you to bear it up.
-
7. Get up, get out- and face reality. God is
alive and at work in your life. Remember, sinful thinking (God doesn't
love me; He can't help me) is just as harmful as sinful behavior. Wrong actions
produce wrong feeling. But, wrong thinking also produces wrong feelings.
Remember, you are a child of God. Act like it! Depression may be fueled by
circumstances far beyond our control, but depression is the end result of not
handling our problems scripturally. The Bible reminds
us: "Be careful (anxious or worried) for nothing; but in every thing
by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made
known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall
keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:6,7) GET
OUT OF YOUR CAVE AND START OVER... NOW
My friend, Dr. Woodrow Kroll, recently wrote these very appropriate words:
When you've made your plans and they've gone awry,
When you've tried your best 'til there's no more try,
When you've failed yourself and you don't know why,
START OVER
When you've told your friends what you plan to do,
When you've trusted them but they didn't come through,
Now you're all alone and it's up to you,
START OVER
When you think you're finished and want to quit,
When you've bottomed out in life's deepest pit,
When you've tried and tried to get out of it,
START OVER
Starting over means victories won,
Starting over means a race well run,
Starting over means the Lord's 'Well done,'
...so don't just sit there, START OVER!
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