"An investment in knowledge pays the best interest." ~Benjamin Franklin
During the month of May, Glenn Beck did an outstanding job restoring truth to our Founding Father's. Due to the popularity, the series has been extended to include a lot more. Here is the entire episode in four parts from June 4th.
Part 2 is really funny! In today's society, Ben Franklin would have been considered an exhibitionist.
The United States has really fallen off course when it comes to teaching the truth about our founding fathers. Within the last generation, we have seen a complete "fundamental transformation" of our History in the public schools and universities. Educators and bureaucrats have blatantly attacked the founding fathers and identified them as nothing more than slave owners, deists and atheists with no regard for anyone but their selfish ambitions. These same university elitists have also re-written textbooks to deliberately exclude the actual writings of these fine men who fought for the freedom of this great country we call the United States of America.
Thanks to David Barton from Wallbuilders.com, here is the first of a series of videos that will ultimately prove beyond a doubt that our founding fathers were in fact Christians, regardless of denomination.
... And even with my faith I feel spiritually helpless to stop it!
What is it with the American people today? Why are they being so stubborn about learning the truth about God? I remember a time when I could invite my friends from school to spend the weekend at my house and, with the permission of their parents, they would go to church with me on Sunday morning. As a matter of fact, the parents of my friends were grateful that my family took an interest in their kids' spiritual well-being. Some of them obeyed the gospel and were converted and baptized. Some were afraid to take that step. But I never gave up on them as friends. We stayed in touch for many years until we all moved away from are home town and started families of our own.
There was also a time in my home town of Syracuse, New York when evangelists (also called street preachers) from several denominations could stand on a downtown street corner and preach the gospel, pass out "tracts" from their prospective churches and have a discussion with those around them - no questions by police or a demand they stop preaching. Everyone was protected under the First Amendment. There was no physical violence from anyone. No one seemed to be bothered by it. Whenever I was downtown either just to walk around or waiting for the bus to go somewhere, I enjoyed listening to these people preach the Word of God. Sometimes I would bring my bible with me on purpose in hopes to have a discussion about scripture. I enjoyed that very much. It was a source of encouragement for me and it helped me grow in my own faith.
What has happened since then? My mind just cannot wrap around it all. My heart aches for that time again. It was a time of faith, hope, charity and family values that I still hold very close to my heart. My emotions can get the best of me sometimes, and I am tired of having to "be careful of what I say" because I don't want to "offend anybody." Now the National Day of Prayer is being persecuted by "elitist" groups like the Freedom from Religion Foundation. An addition, a federal judge from Wisconsin has declared the National Day of Prayer Unconstitutional. The ACLU has blatantly lied on their blog, saying that America is not a Christian Nation. Oh, Really?? See my blog How the Bible Played an Important Role in America. At one time in my life, I truly believed that common sense existed in this country. I honestly thought that the ACLU would at least use common sense and realize that even Christians deserved the same protections under the law. I guess I was wrong about them. They have been bought and paid for by secularists like the Freedom from Religion Foundation, and atheists such as the late Madalyn Murray O'Hair (hyperlink is to a story written by her surviving son who left her for the Christian faith). What makes it worse, is the Barack Obama, the man who currently occupies the White House, has come right out and said this during his April 2009 trip to Turkey:
President Obama told reporters in Turkey that America is not defined by any one religion. Ive said before that one of the great strengths of the United States is, although, as I mentioned we have a very large Christian population. We do not consider ourselves a Christian nation or a Jewish nation or a Muslim nation. We consider ourselves a nation of citizens who are bound by ideals and a set of values, said the President.
This video is from CNNs American Morning, broadcast Apr. 6, 2009.
Where is the common sense of our people today? Where is the righteous anger of Christians? I am not calling for physical violence on any level. What I am calling for is for all Christians to use the power of the Holy Spirit and speak up!! In Matthew 10:16 it says, "Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues; And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles. But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what you shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you."
My concern with many Christian churches in the United States is that they take the next part of the same text of scripture in Matthew 10:21-26 almost literally. Recently, I have discussed this very issue with a few people I've known over the years, and it seems to me that they would rather lie down and allow the current government to take their religious freedoms away - the same religious freedoms that are God-given natural rights. Maybe I sound like a religious zealot, and that's okay. I still believe that Christians have the same 1st Amendment rights as all the rest of the religions in the world - including the Nation of Islam - to practice either in private or in the public square. Remember Jummah on Capitol Hill in September 2009? In addition to that, Obama praised Islam at a dinner to celebrate Ramadan at the White House also in September 2009. Here's an interesting twist on all this. This year, when the federal judge ruled the National Day of Prayer unconstitutional, the President turned around and has decided to Defend and Appeal this decision. Personally, I question with boldness the authenticity of his heart. Is Obama really interested in preserving the National Day of Prayer, or is he just trying to score political points with conservative Christians? Don't forget that James 2:14-26 says that demons believe in God and they shudder.
