CULTURE WAR
Deception: 1. an act or statement intended to make people believe something that is not true (Merriam Webster Dictionary)
As I look around the world, I am amazed by the deceptions that dominate the media air waves and many of our classrooms. Here are a couple examples:
- Changing the definition of marriage to allow any consenting adults to believe they are “married”–something which can only take place between a man and woman as recognized by 5000 years of history. (You can watch a powerful short video here that shreds this deception to pieces.)
- That man-made global warming is the great issue of the 21st century when there is no proof that it is taking place and temperatures have been constant for over fifteen years.
I could list scores of others, from politics to medicine. But there are two that are currently in the news that really got my attention.
They both involve the tactic of compassion as a tool of deception.
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We all recognize the power of words, either to lift up and encourage, or to deflate and destroy.
When a young person is told during childhood that they are “worthless” those words can have a profound effect on their future. On the other hand, when we tell our children often that we love them and believe in them, those positive words can motivate them toward a life of fruitfulness.
God created the universe with spoken words (Genesis 1:1)–an incomprehensible concept to our feeble minds. He solved the problem of sin by sending His Son to die in our place. John 1:1 calls Jesus the “Word” of God.
And civilizations have known for centuries that “the pen (writing words) is mightier than the sword (using force).
So how can we use words in the 21st century to win the culture war?
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For years I have admired the work of World Vision–– the globe’s largest and most effective Christian humanitarian organization. Last year, God blessed them with nearly 3 billion dollars in donations which they used, in Jesus’ Name, to serve people in sixty nations.
Bob Pierce, who founded the organization in 1950, was a compassionate man I had the privilege of meeting in the 1970s. A few years ago, one of his staff served on a team I led to Mongolia. WV’s global headquarters is only a thirty minute drive from my home, and in the past year, I visited its gigantic warehouse three times to pick up materials for a building project.
However, on March 24, World Vision made a big mistake.
Then they reversed it.
Through this dramatic sequence of events, we have learned what the church is all about.
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Most of us have known for a long time that God’s gift of marriage serves many purposes. It is a beautiful vehicle for intimate friendship, the opportunity to create new life, an advanced course in selflessness and learning to serve others, and a nurturing environment for children and family.
But a recent article on Islam turned on some light bulbs for me. Marriage is all of the above and more. But it is also a vital tool for world peace.
World peace? Isn’t that taking things a bit too far?
I don’t think so. I’ve had my “Aha” moment. World peace and stability.
That’s what marriage is for.
Read More“This decision I would go as far to say is lawless. Absolutely lawless!“
Constitutional attorney Mark Levin
The Supreme Court’s stunning 5-4 decision on June 28 upholding Obamacare–with Justice John Roberts siding with the liberals of the Court–left me with the same sadness and bewilderment I felt when I watched terrorists fly planes into the World Trade center buildings and the Pentagon.
Those attacks came from without, and signaled America’s weakness before the forces of evil and the removal of God’s blessing and protection from our land. Last week’s decision by the Supreme Court came from within–and again shows how vulnerable we are to the tyranny of our leaders and lack of corporate character.
Just as the wrong-headed Dred Scott decision led to the election of Abraham Lincoln and beginning of the Civil War, I believe this dreaded John Roberts Court decision will lead to a cultural civil war through election day and beyond.
Are you ready to join the fight? And will this momentary curse on our nation actually become a blessing in disguise?
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I don’t usually combine topics, but this week is a doozy. I am constrained to tie together a number of events that will hit our nation and world in some pretty momentous ways.
First of all, a friend of mine reminded me that fifty years ago this week Madalyn Murray O’Hair was successful in getting voluntary prayer banned in the public schools. Many people believe that decision launched us into a cultural death spiral in which we’re getting very close to crashing into the ground.
Didn’t help Ms. O’Hair much either. She ended up being kidnapped and murdered by one of her atheist buddies. Her body was found on a Texas farm in 2001, cut up in pieces with a saw, and dumped in a barrel.
Sometimes you reap what you sow on earth–let alone before God.
This week some human justice is also going to be meted out that may affect the future trajectory of the United States. Because of a deadline, I have to jump the gun and announce that Obamacare is going down, Eric Holder will be found in contempt of Congress, the lawlessness of the Obama administration has reached new heights, and, in world news, Egypt has voted for terrorism.
Is this a week that will change our world?
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President Barack’s Obama stunning political pandering for the Hispanic vote this week–granting amnesty to the children of illegal aliens by executive fiat–gives us another window into the soul of the world’s most powerful leader.
The picture is not pretty–and is actually quite scary.
The primary role of any chief executive, the ultimate position being the president of the United States, is to enforce the rule of law. That’s what he or she swears an oath of office to do.
But this president now seems to be making it a habit to choose which laws he desires to enforce. He is acting like a king or dictator, not the servant of law, freedom, and order.
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This is an important week in American history–and I want you to feel its significance. I especially want you to pray for nine very important human beings as a result of your understanding.
I’m sure many of you remember the name of “Dred Scott” from the history books–but you may not recall the magnitude, the infamous nature of the name in American history.
The Dred Scott Decision was handed down by the United States Supreme Court on March 6, 1857 by a 7-2 vote stating that people of African descent brought into the United States and held as slaves (or their descendants, whether or not they were slaves) were not protected by the Constitution and were not U.S. citizens.
The decision was tragic–and flat-out wrong. It led to the Civil War and the death of 600,000 precious lives–all because nine US Supreme Court justices didn’t have the clarity to “judge righteously.”
This week we are faced with another Dred Scott moment. The US Supreme Court is hearing three days of arguments over Obamacare. African-American rights aren’t at stake here–but the rights and future of all of our citizens.
We don’t need another Dred Scott. We need nine individuals to do the right thing.
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I must admit that Coach Joe Paterno–a football coaching legend at Penn State for the past forty-six years–has been a hero of mine for decades. When he became PSU’s coach in 1965, I was just entering my junior high school years when sports was very important to me.
Coach Paterno made a deep impression. He seemed to be fair, disciplined, a man of integrity and faith, and he produced a great football program. In 2011 he became the winningest coach in all of Division I football history. In an age of slick and arrogant coaches, Joe Pa seemed to be the “Gold Standard” of steadiness and grace.
So when I heard he’d been fired because of some child abuse charges being leveled at a former assistant coach, I inwardly reacted like many Penn State students did. I thought to myself, “Discipline the offender but spare Coach Joe Pa!”
But I was wrong. Joe Paterno needed to go.
Here’s why–and many other things we can learn from the Penn State fiasco.
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Though I don’t agree with either the message or methods of the Occupy Wall Street crowd, I’m glad they’ve taken the field in America’s culture war.
For quite some time the mainstream media have told us that the problem in Washington, D.C. is gridlock–that our politicians just need to listen to one another, and then come up with some bi-partisan solutions to the nation’s problems.
We are told ad nauseam that political gridlock is the problem–that both conservatives and liberals are to blame–and that the answer is to heed the call for civility made by Rodney King in 1992:
“You know, can we all get along?”
But now thanks to Occupy Wall Street, the truth is clear: The game to shape America’s future is on–the teams have taken the field–and only one team can win. It’s a cultural clash that will end in victory for one side and defeat for the other.
For which side will you fight?
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