Honor your father and mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you. Exodus 20:12 ESV

The Case for Killing Granny--Newsweek headline.

God's law makes clear that respect for elders is of paramount importance to a nation.  While the above command seems to be limited to simply relations between parents and children, such a view is short sighted.  Other statements in God's Word show that great respect and honor is to be given to those who reached old age.  The fact that they have reached old age is living proof of the precious wisdom that has been gained in their lives.  Wisdom that is needed by current and future generations.  It is foolishness to ignore, or worse, such wisdom.  Moreover the law of God also prohibits murder even if it is by neglect, willful or not. 

The title of the Newsweek article is intended to inflame passions and sell magazines of course.  Those who hold the viewpoint of the article also have an intention as well: fear.  Threat of death has been used by despicable men for thousands of years to produce political coercion.  It is the favorite tool of the thanatocrat, i.e. the tyrant.  By producing fear in the elderly the tyrant hopes to get them to go along with far worse schemes, if only he will let them live, i.e. get good healthcare. 

This is an act of such vileness that it is extremely doubtful that such persons can be redeemed.  It is an act generated in the heart of a serial killer.  One not limited by police action and hiding in the shadows; rather one who glories in the fact that he can perform his murders openly in full public view.  It is an act diabolical in origin and purpose.

What then should be done by Christians?  Christians should publicly rebuke those who hold such views and particularly those who hold positions of authority.  Such rebuke should uphold the sovereignty of God and the accountability of man.  We must stand for righteousness. 

We should also pray against such people in the manner shown in Psalm 69. 

Let their table become a snare before them: and that which should have been for their welfare, let it become a trap. Let their eyes be darkened, that they see not; and make their loins continually to shake. Pour out thine indignation upon them, and let thy wrathful anger take hold of them. (Psalms 69:22-24)

Many of our elders gave their lives in World War 2, Korea, and Vietnam fighting against ideologies that murdered in the name of progress.  They deserve to be honored, not severed, in their waning years.  But beyond that there is the God who gives us life in the first place. 

And He is watching us.

I, wisdom, dwell with prudence, and I find knowledge and discretion...for whoever finds me finds life and obtains favor from the LORD, but he who fails to find me injures himself; all who hate me love death.  Proverbs 8:12, 35-36 (ESV)

Thanatocratic--def. rule by death

The above scripture states clearly that those who hate the wisdom of the Lord love death.  The designation for such people in scripture is fools.  Such people embrace lifestyles and philosophies that bring death and destruction to themselves and others.  When in power they use fear, the fear of death, the power to wield death as their primary instrument of persuasion. 

The mouth of a thanatocrat:
Blasphemes the name of the Lord (Psalm 74:18)
Reproaches the Lord daily (Psalm 74:22)
Is near destruction (Proverbs 10:14)
Lies to hide hatred and utters slander (Proverbs 10:18)
Has a rod of pride in it (Proverbs 14:3)
Mocks at sin (Proverbs 14:9)
Pours out foolishness (Proverbs 15:2)
Feeds on foolishness (Proverbs 15:14)
Is his destruction and snare (Proverbs 18:7)
Is perverse (Proverbs 19:1)
Utters all his mind (Proverbs 29:11)
Is hasty in his words (Proverbs 29:20)
Known by multitude of words (Ecc. 5:3)
Speaks villainy (Isaiah 32:6)

The above list provides a handy checklist for identifying thanatocrats in the field and is much more accurate than by looking at the plumage of their proclaimed actions and motivations.

The Word of God makes it abundantly clear that governments are ordained by God for the express purpose to put down evil and promote good.  As such every government is accountable to God for its actions and beholden to Him for its existence.  This implies that all governments must be compliant with God's law in their theory and practice.  Compliance with God's law ensures that the government will be moral in nature.  The Word of God also teaches us that men are by nature evil, not good, which is why the first task of government is to put down evil.  This evil nature of men means that there must be intrinsic limits on the scope and power of government to prevent power from being concentrated in the hands of a few men...or one man. 

Our forefathers knew this and after much prayer, study, thought, and debate settled on a Constitution which limited the scope and power of the national government.  Scripture showed them that the Lord acted as lawgiver (legislative), judge (judicial), and king (executive).  Since no man could be counted on to reliably fulfill these roles they separated these functions of government into three branches.  The interactions between these branches are clearly defined in the Constitution.  Equally clearly defined is the interaction of the national government with state governments and with individual citizens.  Finally the overall purpose of the Constituted government is clearly stated in the preamble to the Constitution: form a more perfect union (vis a vis the articles of the Confederation); establish justice; promote domestic tranquility; provide for the common defense; and promote the general welfare of the people.  In short the Constitution was designed to prevent two fundamental evils of government: 1) a national government too weak to operate in protection of freedom; and 2) a national government too strong to allow freedom at all. 

Tragically and pathetically, this government has succumbed to the second evil and has done so by emphatically rejecting the moral basis of God's law and secondarily by rejecting the operational framework of the Constitution.  Tragic, because of the ensuing loss of freedom and more importantly the blessing of the Almighty.  Pathetic, because the crime has been done systematically, yet openly in front of the people of America over the past 100 years. 

"How is this government ungodly?", is a natural question to ask.  The following evidence is put forth.  The Scriptures are emphatic on placing a high value to human life throughout: whoever sheds man's blood is to forfeit their own life; God takes no pleasure in the death of wicked people but seeks their repentance; no man could be convicted without overwhelming evidence; and most of all the sending of His Son.  Yet this government actively promotes the death of babies through abortion, even to funding abortions overseas.  It also is considering a national healthcare plan which openly espouses the severe rationing of care for the elderly and the very sick among us.  It also has promoted perversion: recent attempts to put language in the so-called hate crimes laws to prevent pedophiles from being a protected class were defeated.  And more generally it has actively promoted the homosexual lifestyle that, irrespective of one's view of Scripture, is known to be highly deleterious to the health of the practitioners.  Scripture also speaks often and highly of the family and of fatherhood in particular.  Yet this government is actively engaged in destroying the family at many levels.  The United Nations treaty on children being considered contains language that authorizes children to flout any authority of their parents and pursues the raising of children by bureaucrats.  The effect of the government on fathers can be seen in the 40% of children currently being born out of wedlock.  Lastly, this government is actively seeking the removal of the Lord and Christians from any public input or forum whatsoever.  These items are just a few of the ways this government is ungodly and many more could be shown. 

This government is unconstitutional since it has abrogated any serious role of the constitution in the conduct of its affairs.  This can be seen in the complete failure to hold to the purpose of the constitution outlined in the preamble.  The union is not more perfect: each state is reduced to competing with others for federal largess; and as is noted constantly, America is a highly divided and contentious nation.  Justice, being the equal application of law to each citizen without regard to anything but their actions under the law, is denigrated in favor of an elusive and illusory equality of results for each citizen without regard for their actions.  This is elusive because equal results can never be achieved, not even if reduction to the lowest common denominator is the goal.  It is illusory because arbitrary justice requires the elevation of arbitrary judges and arbitrary exploitation of classes of people for the benefit of the arbitrary judges.  Domestic tranquility is a striking failure of this government.  Heavy-handed intrusions into the economy have produced a debt that will crush the children of this country for two generations.  More generally, the division of the country by the government into ever finer groups that require special rights and reparations have produced a level of animosity that is breathtaking. The common defense is a stark failure as well.  The first defense of any nation is the control of its borders and immigration into the nation.  Yet this government is set on extending the (fictional) borders of the United States to the ends of the earth and allowing any persons entrance to and citizenship in the country.  It has fiddled while rogue nations are getting access to nuclear weapons and cutting funding for defenses against those very weapons.  In the general welfare it is actively engaged in policies that will destroy a good part of the nation's economy and particularly the life savings of many older Americans.  For a much longer period it has pushed an education system that is a failure at every level.  College educations today are at best the equivalent of an eighth grade education  100 years ago.  More to the point, students today have no idea what the constitution is about or what it contains.  Finally, the intrusions on the bill of rights are stark:  freedom of religion and freedom of speech are constantly being attacked; the government is openly co-opting the press and attempting to suppress all other outlets.  The tenth amendment which states that all powers not expressly given to the nation government are held by the states and the people is openly scorned.  All these things (and more) show that this government is unconstitutional.

As stated in the title, this government is also unlawful.  By this it is meant that it does not abide by the laws it has passed.  This is abundantly brought out by the repeated elevation of persons to cabinet positions who failed to pay their taxes.  For any private citizen such behavior brings a swift incarceration.  But we are told that the genius of such persons is so great that they must be exempted from the law.  Such arrogance is the essence of tyranny.  Even worse, this arrogance is seen in the legislative branch as well.  Further illegal acts are seen in the firing of an inspector general without the due process required by the law.  The list of illegal acts by this government could fill many pages, but the acts shown are sufficient. 

As this government is ungodly, unconstitutional, and unlawful it is also unacceptable.  As such it must be opposed by Christians.  Our opposition must be vigorous and multifaceted.  In prayer we must seek the limiting of the spiritual drivers of this government and imploring the Lord to move against them and it.  In action we must exert pressure on the society around us by: proclaiming the Gospel; standing for righteousness; and promoting a biblical worldview as a radical alternative to the atheistic/tyrannical worldview of today. We must also exert pressure on this government through the means currently available: constant, emphatic communication with the legislators; communication with newspapers, blogs, tweets, etc; taking an active role in the selection of candidates for office; and peaceable demonstrations.  While doing these things is no guarantee of success, failure to do them will give us the same results as the failure of the church in Nazi Germany.  And there is no America to come to our aid...

"Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
(Isa 55:6-9)

There are many disputes about Christmas today.  In fact most people focus on the disputes--even those who should know better.  And the message above Christmas goes unheard.

That message is an old one, "Seek the LORD..."  God has been calling man for thousands of years: sending prophets, priests, kings, to call people back to the LORD.  Some two thousand years ago He sent His Son, prominently announcing Him with a prophecy and a star.  Yet for all that, Jesus lay unknown in a manger except for a greeting by lowly shepherds.  Again, many may focus on the angelic host or the wise men and their gifts, thus missing the gift that came from God.  For the Son of God laid aside the privileges of deity and poured himself into human flesh.  He became partaker of our physical weaknesses, put up with temptation, and ultimately bore our sin.  He showed us God definitively, walking among us, teaching, healing, correcting, and loving us despite our hatred for Him. 

His ways are not our ways, that is certain.  Who among us will commit to dying for even the ones we love, much less for those who are our enemies.  Before you protest, just imagine yourself dying for people of opposite political persuasion, social class, or a host of other divisive issues.  Imagine yourself dying in the place of hardened criminals: murderers, rapists, child molesters.   Imagine yourself dying for those who scorn your very name.  No, His ways are not our ways. 

Yet the call still goes out: "Seek the LORD...let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts."  The call to return to God...while He may be found.  There is great compassion for us from the Lord.  If not, He would never have sent His Son.  He would not continue to call us.  Yet there is a time limit on the call, for individuals and nations. 

We must seek Him while He may be found.  Once judgment has begun it is too late for mercy. 

The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When evildoers assail me to eat up my flesh, my adversaries and foes, it is they who stumble and fall. Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, yet I will be confident.
(Psa 27:1-3)

There is much fear across America today.  Uncertainty is the rule and confidence is falling like the leaves of autumn.  This is the end result of placing hopes in the hands of men.  Forty five years ago eight men decided that prayer in schools was against the law of the land. The Lord was not needed or wanted in school.  Instead, morality was to be derived from the minds of men.  Wise men could guide us in all disputes.  We should trust them that they had the education, the temperament, the experience to know what was best for all. 

For forty five years we have reaped corruption: greed and embezzlement; perjury in high officials; theft by individuals, corporations, and the government; promiscuity, STD's, and child molestation; hatred, abortion, murder on every side; younger generations scorn the elder and parents abandon children.  The list is endless and the resultant misery is far greater than the list.

Now it appears that the enemies of God are ascendant and will triumph in all they do and imagine.  It seems as if we, like David, are surrounded by an overwhelming enemy. 

This is not so!

We must remember that God is a majority in and of Himself.  When we join Him then we become a majority--an Army of One.  He is our Light.  Light to see and understand the times and know what must be done.  He is and shall be our Salvation.  No more can we attempt to achieve a merely political solution to a spiritual problem in America.  We must return to the Lord, confessing our sins and the sins of the nation.  Then we shall stand and boldly proclaim the truth of the scriptures to the nation.  The times are dark to be sure, but are they as dark as they were in our past?  Fifty six men sought the Lord for days and weeks in 1776, praying for three hours one time before beginning work on the Declaration of Independence.  They had no army and no navy, yet took on and defeated the greatest power of the day. 

Our task today is not one of arms or revolution, but of prayer,fasting, and the Word of God.  Our weapons are the same weapons that turned the Roman world upside down.  They are the true weapons that brought freedom to America and to every soul that has ever believed the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Our motto should be the same motto that the founders had: No King but King Jesus. 

Yet we are not to scorn those in authority, but to pray for them.  If they are righteous we pray for them.  If they are unrighteous we pray for them.  We are to make known to all the law of God and the judgment of God.  We are not to overlook the sin of those we like, nor ignore the good of those we do not like.  We are not to condemn any persons, but to declare the truth of their actions in the light of God's word. 

This is not as easy as a political solution and it will be fiercely opposed.  We must remember that our enemies are "not flesh and blood."'  It is in private and corporate prayer that battles will be won and nowhere else.  We need not fear the outcome, for the war has already been won!  Even when surrounded, we must remember that in the hand of God we cannot fall.  Many will oppose us, yet we will remain confident. Confident, not in ourselves or our ideas, but in the justice, the mercy and grace of Almighty God. 

Because it is God, not man, who determines the fate of the nation.

My son, do not despise the LORD's discipline or be weary of his reproof, for the LORD reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights.
(Pro 3:11-12)

The years since 2000 have been tumultuous: bitterly fought political campaigns; the attacks of 9/11; war in Afghanistan and Iraq; culture war in America; natural disasters; and wild financial gyrations have left Americans dazed, cynical, confused, and fearful.  Godless, gutless conservatism could not provide stability or a vision to guide the country.  Instead the attempt was to provide a somewhat less intrusive, somewhat more efficient government than was proclaimed by liberals.  Vicious lies from liberals were never refuted using the bully pulpit of the land, because of a false idea that the lies were self-refuting.  As left wing demagogues forced a radical left shift in the Democrat party, it left a seeming vacuum in the center.  Republicans thought they saw an opportunity to form a center right coalition that was the mirror image of the center left coalition Democrat's had ruled with for 50+ years.  That this opportunity was illusory is self-evident.  The real opportunity was to govern conservatively in all areas and thereby convince the centrists to give up their liberal light philosophy.  Capitalizing on this opportunity required thoughtful, dedicated, consistent effort.  Such effort seemed pointless given the easy delusion that danced in moderate Republican minds.  All these things and similar reasoning give a convincing explanation for what has befallen
America. 

This explanation is monstrously deceptive.

In the words of Abraham Lincoln, "we have forgotten God."  We have become a people that have extremely religious mouths, but our hearts do not belong to the Lord.  We demand that our candidates bow to certain precepts of Christendom, but recoil in horror if they actually bow to Jesus Christ.  We then are shocked when a public official who has spoken all the right words and supported the right policies is found to be a hypocrite.  We speak of the poor character of liberals, yet do not closely inspect the claimed character of those who want to lead us.  We may not worship the government, but we do worship the dollar and exalt the productivity of ourselves to fabled deity. 

Make no mistake, God is not mocked.  He has not and will not bless such behavior.  God hates false worship in the same way that we scorn insincere flattery.  When the founders met to form the constitution, they were at a stalemate for weeks until Benjamin Franklin quietly rebuked them for failing to pray and seek God's guidance.  Chastened by his rebuke, they prayed for three days and then resumed the work.  In the subsequent weeks they opened with prayer every day until the constitution was written.  These were men of vastly more stature than any alive today, with far more wisdom than our best.  Yet, they recognized that only the hand of the Lord could give them the wisdom they needed. 

Lacking any sense of God's guidance, we have not recognized His hand when it has been moving in the nation.  Yet Scripture makes clear that the Lord takes clear steps against a nation to bring it to repentance.  Among these are famine, war, and calamity.  In today's post-agricultural society, these would be amended to economic problems, war, and calamity.  The nest step by God is foolish rulers for the nation.  The last step is destruction.  We are in the next to last step now. 

If destruction can be averted, it will only happen if we individually and collectively humble ourselves, admit our sin to God, and repent.  Repentance is a hated word by all today, yet any counselor would state that problems must be faced and behavior changed when current behavior is leading to destruction. If we repent, we will receive wisdom from the Lord to choose our rulers.  We will receive as rulers men who know the Lord, know the times, and know what ought to be done. 

The choice is before us.  Humble ourselves before the Lord and receive from His hand what we need or continue in our own wisdom to spiral down in defeat, despair, and destruction. 

What will it be America?  God is watching and listening. 

Patriotism
PAT'RIOTISM ,n. Love of one's country; the passion which aims to serve one's country, either in defending it from invasion, or protecting its rights and maintaining its laws and institutions in vigor and purity. Patriotism is the characteristic of a good citizen, the noblest passion that animates a man in the character of a citizen.

As with so many words today, patriotism has been diluted of all meaning.  It is thought that all Americans, especially politicians are patriotic.  Any hint that a person is unpatriotic is met with shrill cries of foul play.  All of which begs the question--what is patriotism?  

The above definition (taken from Websters 1828 dictionary) is far more specific than vague modern definitions.  Even more specificity can be found by examining George Washington's farewell address.  Combining Webster's original definition we find several things that define a patriot:

  1.  Patriots love their country.
  2.  Patriots serve their country.
  3.  Patriots defend their country.
  4.  Patriots protect the rights of their country.
  5.  Patriots maintain the laws and institutions of their country.
  6.  Patriots eagerly return to private life.  They do not make a career of government.
  7.  Patriots labor to preserve religion and morality in public and private life.
  8.  Patriots seek a public that is well informed on all sides of issues and one that is well educated.
  9.  Patriots think of themselves as Americans--not as hyphen Americans, nor as Georgians, Californians, etc.
10.  Patriots seek to preserve the union of the United States of America.
11.  Patriots put the needs of the country above personal or partisan desires.
12.  Patriots put the needs of the country above the favor of foreign nations and do not seek to use foreign nations to further partisan goals.

Love of country many would claim as their own, however, it is defined by the rest of the characteristics.  Since liberal politicians are the most apt to claim that they have been accused of a lack of patriotism, let us examine their actions in light of the above characteristics.

In service to country, we will give them credit for their either occupying or pursuing occupancy of public office.  One point

In defending their country, we make note of their marked tendency to decry America both here and abroad--always ready to assume the worst of their country.  Zero points

In protecting the rights of the country, we will use the bill of rights as the barometer.  Many liberal politicians give lip service to freedom of speech.  However, they often seek to deny freedom of speech to those who disagree with them.  They have perverted freedom of religion to be freedom from Christianity.  Recent events in Oakland show that they would allow the right to peaceably assemble only for those who agree with them.  The recent immigration bill shows that they are offended by the People petitioning the government.  They hate the Second Amendment.  Their use of eminent domain to evict the poor and benefit the wealthy shows that they have no respect for private property.   Further, they philosophically look at the Bill of Rights as being a set of privileges given to the People by a federal government, rather than intrinsic limits on the power of a federal government.  Zero points.

In upholding the laws and institutions of the country we again find them lacking.  Perhaps the most recent and compelling examples here are marriage, families, and illegal immigration.  In attacking the institution of marriage, seeking the dissolution of the family, and cynically exploiting illegal immigration for political gain, they again fail a test of patriotism.  Zero points.

In serving for a time and then returning (voluntarily) to private life--virtually no politician, liberal or conservative scores any points.  Zero points.

In seeking to preserve religion and morality: liberal attacks on Christianity abound and the liberal zeal for immorality in the media and personal lives is documented every day.  Zero points.

In seeking a well-informed, well educated public:  the recent attempts to revive the (un)-Fairness Doctrine, secret sessions in Congress,  and the well known failure of the (liberally designed) public education system speak for themselves.  Zero points.

On the self-identity of American citizens:  liberal politicians have consistently attempted to divide America into ever finer special interest groups.  Zero points

On preserving the union of the United States we will give them a pass. One Point

On putting the needs of America above personal or partisan needs:  the Senate Majority Leader's public statements that the war is lost are nothing more than pathetic partisanship.  Zero points

On putting the needs of America above the favor of foreign nations:  liberal politicians frequently desire to subject Americans to foreign judicial theory; subject our sovereignty to whims of foreign nations; and hold up foreign dictatorships as utopias to be emulated.  Zero points.

Thus, on the twelve characteristics of patriotism, liberal politicians score two points out of a possible twelve.  Based on this it  the answer to the question, "Am I Un-Patriotic?"  is:  Yes, you are.

And they have built the high places of Topheth, which is in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, which I did not command, nor did it come into my mind.
(Jeremiah 7:31 ESV)


America took another step toward Gomorrah with the recent decision to legalize over the counter sales of "Plan B".  We should not err by believing that the recipients will be limited to those 18 and older.  Instead, those who prey on young girls will use this drug as a seduction tool.  And there will be no want of 'concerned and caring' adults who will buy this "insurance" for teenage girls and boys.  The end result will be more STD's, more pregnancies, and more deaths among teens.  Which in turn, will prompt cries for more funding for more sex education in schools.

And thus more devaluation of life in America.

The ancient Israelites knew of such gross devaluation of life.  Pagan religions often called for sacrifice of children as burnt offerings to false gods.  These things were practiced because of the selfish desires of the parents.   If a "god" would bring wealth to a person in exchange for the death of the child, so be it.  If the child was the result of an unwanted pregnancy, here was the answer.  Such unwanted children were common because of the ritual promiscuity and prostitution also practiced by such religions.  Eventually Israel's tolerance for such pagan practices infected their own society and became prevalent.  Such things are easy to practice when you hate your children.

Today we Americans hate our children just as much as these ancient cultures of death.  We murder babies by the millions each year in the name of "privacy"--read convenience.  We proclaim it impossible to control the lusts of our children.  Lusts, which we as parents fan into flames by allowing our children to be pervasively and persuasively exposed to sexual themes in music, television, and movies.  And we expose our children to the world by allowing them to dress in ways that would have been shameful on a beach when we were kids.  None of which is indicative of any form of real love for our children.

Government programs are not the answer: their focus will always be to make sex as available and free of cost as possible.  Instead, we as Christians must vigorously proclaim the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  We must lovingly and persistently oppose any and all worldviews that devalue life, while carefully articulating the Christian worldview that human beings are made in the image of God and thus human life is exceedingly precious. We should prayerfully and vociferously support bold stands such as taken by the legislature of South Dakota.  Such stands will not be popular with either the godless left or the gutless right in politics.  But they will be honored by God.

If we do not then millions more will be passing through the fire.