Freedom of Speech Threatened

The Federal Government (in the form of the National Park Service) is attempting to abridge this Christian tour company's freedom to guide tours through historic sites in this country. This, my friends, is threatening the right of freedom of speech. If we are fined for guiding tours in federal parks (which are supposed to belong to the people!), it is only a matter of time before we cannot speak on any federal property...and from there, to any private property. Please read the article found in the link below.


http://www.landmarkevents.org/blogs/blog/landmark-events-goes-to-federal-court

Once to Every Man and Nation

As October gives way to November, interest is heightened about the Presidential elections of the United States. Yet as citizens make ready to choose their Chief Magistrate, I have sensed much fear at the possible results. Some are concerned with the appointment of Supreme Court justices, others worry about economic policies and their effect on the nation. Could the church of America be forced to celebrate actions God condemns as sin? Or will the United States be controlled by “experts” from the United Nations? Perhaps all of the above will happen, and then what will our country be?


This fear is very real as I know from first-hand experience. I shudder when I think what life could be like for my children…or even in 8 more years. But God in Isaiah 51:10 states: “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.”


Because He knows that we are prone to fear, God promises us that He will be with us through all our trials. But we need to keep following God and not fear what men can do to us. (see also Jesus’s words in Matthew 10:28). Furthermore, if we desert our principles to fear, how can we expect our leaders to do any differently? For leaders are a reflection on the kind of people that they rule. 


A hymn called “Once to Every Man & Nation” captures the trust we should have in God while facing danger. Below are the first and fourth verses:

Once to every man and nation,
Comes the moment to decide,
In the strife of truth with falsehood,
For the good or evil side;
Some great cause, some great decision,
Offering each the bloom or blight,

And the choice goes by forever,
’Twixt that darkness and that light.

Though the cause of evil prosper,
Yet the truth alone is strong;
Though her portion be the scaffold,
And upon the throne be wrong;
Yet that scaffold sways the future,
And behind the dim unknown,
Standeth God within the shadow,
Keeping watch above His own.

Advice from John Adams

As election time approaches here in the United States, it is good to reflect on how our Founding Fathers advised us.  This quote comes from John Adams "Posterity! you will never know how much it cost the present generation to preserve your freedom! I hope you will make a good use of it. If you do not, I shall repent in Heaven that I ever took half the pains to preserve it."


Meme created by yours truly from his personal collection of figures.

Advice from James II



James II (left); the Duke of Berwick (center) and young James III (right)



Today, many Christians seem to be confused about who is qualified for political office.  I addressed one facet of this problem in my article "On the Buckley Rule".  However, King James II of England understood these concepts much better than most Christians today.  His advice to his son is excellent, being founded on Exodus 20.

"Be very careful in the choice of your chief ministers; it is of the last concern to you, it being impossible for a prince to do all himself. They must not only be men of good sense and sound judgment, but of great probity [integrity] and well founded as to Christianity, and that it appear by their way of living; for a loose liver, or one that by his actions or discourses shows himself profane or atheistically inclined, never trust or rely on, for how can you expect that those that fly in God Almighty's face everyday, can be thoroughly true to their king, when what they think thwarts their worldly interest is not consistent with their loyalty?...

"You ought to take the same care in the choice of your domestic servants, and such as you employ in any place of trust, for besides the reasons already given, it will make you beloved by all good men, and encourage others to lead more Christian lives, or at least hinder them from giving public scandal, when they see profane and loose-livers discountenanced. And let not any ones being a Catholic exempt him from these rules..."

On the "Buckley Rule"

“Nominate the most conservative candidate who is electable”—William F. Buckley, Jr.

This statement is held up by conservatives as the “golden rule” about the best way to vote. See which candidates are likely to win. Test them for being “conservative” (whatever that means, for the definition has changed over time and even changes between people). If they have a shot at winning and are more conservative than the other, vote for them.

The Means.
The goal is to elect a conservative candidate (more on the problems of that later). But are the means accurate?
“20Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his: 21And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding:”—Daniel 2:20-21
In these verses, Daniel makes it quite clear that God, not man, sets up and removes kings.
First, who says that man is always going to back a winner? How many voters would have backed an obscure monk against the whole church hierarchy? But Martin Luther changed the world. How many good leaders would have been (or even have been!) rejected if this philosophy had been followed?
Second, man is put in the place of God by determining who is electable. Apart from the fact that man is often wrong (see above), this puts him in a place where he has no right to be. We are to obey God, and let God take care of the results. If we try to foresee the results, we run into big problems. If voting for an “electable” candidate is right, how can you gainsay fortune-telling? Both endeavor to see into the future and act accordingly.

The Goal.
While the means are flawed, the goal they are trying to reach is not even right! The goal is to elect a conservative candidate. Conservatism is thus made an end in itself. The litmus test should be the Word of God, and if a candidate is faithful to the word of God, Christians should vote for him, whether his party is Republican, Democrat, Tory, or anything else.
But don’t conservatives tend to be closer to the Word of God with sound money, sanctity of life, etc.? This is probably true, but never hand someone a so-called blank check. That is, don’t slither out of your duty by saying “they’re conservative (or Libertarian, etc.), so they must be right.” Instead, evaluate all candidates individually by the Word of God, whether Libertarian, Cameronian, or any other. And if no candidate is Biblically qualified, don’t vote for anyone! But…but that’s wasting your vote, isn’t it? Nope. God (not man) sets up kings (and presidents). If you obey God, that’s all God is concerned about, not whether you throw away a privilege by obeying Him.

The Conclusion.
I will conclude with a quotation from Mr. Kevin Swanson from his lecture on Overpopulation and the Coming Demographic Bomb, given at the Baby Conference. He is discussing pragmatism, and how “Super Uzzah” demonstrated it in 2 Samuel 6. “Super Uzzah” tried to save the day by catching the Ark from falling and God killed him for it.
“‘But…but…but…but God, I was just trying to…I was just trying to save the country! Oh God, I…I voted for somebody who didn’t fear God, hate coveteousness. I…I…I voted for somebody who’s the better of two evils, God. I…I…I know he promised that he was only going to kill 800,000 babies a year instead of 1.2 million a year. But God, he was going to kill less babies, that’s what he said, anyway. And…and I really believed him and stuff. And God, I really wanted to save the nation and so I voted for Hitler instead of Stalin! I knew Stalin was going to kill 20 million! I knew Hitler was only going to kill 6 million! And I…I did it, God! I did it! I voted for the lesser of two evils! Hitler over Stalin! And God, I did it! I saved 13 million people!’”
“I’m sorry; God doesn’t appreciate that, because God wants you to vote for a man who fears God and hates coveteousness. He’s not asking how many babies you think he’s going to kill, He’s asking you ‘Does the man fear God?’”