Christians: A Message

[Press Forward]

Say your perfect God exists and is in our lives personally. There is untold terror and violence in the world. Any perfect being would have the ability to shield those it wishes from such harm. Logically, any being with such adequate power and will would strive to protect its "children" from suffering, yet it does not. Hypotheically, one could very easily kidnap an entire Christian family and torture them one by one. God would not intervene. I suppose you're told to say "God's hand is stayed because it's in his fabulous Plan for that family to suffer, sad as it was, but we should not question this contradiction."

2000 and some years ago...Almighty God did shield us...with his Son Jesus Christ...Thank you Father...

Matthew 10:28 NIV

Edited April 6, 2007 by Press Forward

[Treasure]

4given1

We have the freedom of religion in this country. Unfortunately it's a beautiful freedom that (like most of our freedoms) we have distorted so anybody can believe anything or nothing.

but isn't the definition of freedom of religion that "anybody can believe anything or nothing" as they see fit? How is this a distortion of that freedom? Do you define freedom of religion as the freedom to believe Christianity?

Actually, this is the freedom.....

~~~ What Our Forefathers Believed ~~~

(Since removing the Ten commandments from the Alabama courthouse, we thought it appropriate to publish this now. This is rather lengthy, but think it is worth reading or even saving to your hard drive.)

Did you know that 52 of the 55 signers of the Declaration of Independence were orthodox, deeply committed Christians? The other three all believed in the Bible as the divine truth, the God of scripture, and His personal intervention.

It is the same Congress that formed the American Bible Society. Immediately after creating the Declaration of Independence, the Continental Congress voted to purchase and import 20,000 copies of scripture for the people of this nation.

Patrick Henry, who is called the firebrand of the American Revolution, is still remembered for his words, "Give me liberty or give me death." But in current textbooks the context of these words is deleted. Here is what he actually said:

"An appeal to arms and the God of hosts is all that is left us. But we shall not fight our battle alone. There is a just God that presides over the destinies of nations. The battle sir, is not to the strong alone. Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it almighty God. I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death."

These sentences have been erased from our textbooks. Was Patrick Henry a Christian? The following year, 1776, he wrote this:

"It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great Nation was founded not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For that reason alone, people of other faiths have been afforded freedom of worship here."

Consider these words that Thomas Jefferson wrote on the front of his well-worn Bible: "I am a real Christian, that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus. I have little doubt that our whole country will soon be rallied to the unity of our Creator. " He was also the chairman of the American Bible Society, which he considered his highest and most important role.

On July 4, 1821, President Adams said, "The highest glory of the American Revolution was this: it connected in one indissoluble bond the principles of civil government with the principles of Christianity."

Calvin Coolidge, our 30th President of the United States reaffirmed this truth when he wrote, "The foundations of our society and our government rest so much on the teachings of the Bible that it would be difficult to support them if faith in these teachings would cease to be practically universal in our country."

In 1782, the United States Congress voted this resolution: "The Congress of the United States recommends and approves the Holy Bible for use in all schools."

William Holmes McGuffey is the author of the McGuffey Reader, which was used for over 100 years in our public schools with over 125 million copies sold until it was stopped in 1963. President Lincoln called him the "Schoolmaster of the Nation."

Listen to these words of Mr. McGuffey: "The Christian religion is the religion of our country. From it are derived our notions on the character of God, on the great moral Governor of the universe. On its doctrines are founded the peculiarities of our free institutions. From no source has the author drawn more conspicuously than from the sacred Scriptures. From all these extracts from the Bible I make no apology."

Of the first 108 universities founded in America, 106 were distinctly Christian, including the first, Harvard University, chartered in 1636. In the original Harvard Student Handbook, rule number 1 was that students seeking entrance must know Latin and Greek so that they could study the scriptures: "Let every student be plainly instructed and earnestly pressed to consider well, the main end of his life and studies is, to know God and Jesus Christ, which is eternal life, John 17:3; and therefore to lay Jesus Christ as the only foundation for our children to follow the moral principles of the Ten Commandments.

James Madison, the primary author of the Constitution of the United States, said this: "We have staked the whole future of our new nation not upon the power of government; far from it. We have staked the future of all our political constitutions upon the capacity of each of ourselves to govern ourselves according to the moral principles of the Ten Commandments."

Today, we are asking God to bless America. But, how can He bless a Nation that has departed so far from Him? Prior to September 11, He was not welcome in America. Most of what you read in this article has been erased from our textbooks. Revisionists have rewritten history to remove the truth about our country's Christian roots.

This is the distortion:

A time for weeping

The government massacre of nearly 100 men, women, and children in Waco is the worst, the most despicable, and the most grievous event ever to take place in America.

It is something that never should have happened. It is something that never could have happened IF God-fearing and freedom-loving Americans had been better guardians of the freedoms our founding fathers envisioned and structured in our founding documents. It is something that never would have happened if government servants had been bound by the chains of the Constitution. We must understand that there was more than human suffering and carnage in Waco.

A part of the American heart and soul also died there. America will never be the same.

Americans have talked a lot about the dark side of religion, but for the most part it isn't religion in America they've had in mind. Jon Krakauer wants to broaden their perspective. In ''Under the Banner of Heaven,'' he enters the obscure world of Mormon fundamentalism to tell a story of, as he puts it, ''faith-based violence.''

In July 1984, in a Utah town called American Fork, Dan Lafferty entered the home of his brother Allen, who was at work, and killed Allen's wife and 15-month-old daughter. Dan, now serving a life sentence, has no remorse about the murders and no trouble explaining them. His older brother, Ron, who assisted in the crime and is now on death row, had received a revelation from God mandating that Brenda and Erica Lafferty be ''removed'' so that, as God put it, ''my work might go forward.'' Brenda Lafferty, a spunky 24-year-old, had been bad-mouthing polygamy and in other ways impeding the fundamentalist mission that had seized Ron and Dan.

This is the hope I have:

"If my people,

which are called by my name,

shall humble themselves,

and pray,

and seek my face,

and turn from their wicked ways;

then will I hear from heaven,

and will forgive their sin,

and will heal their land."

[iI Chronicles 7:14]

All of this information can be found at http://www.racematters.org/faithfulfaith.htm. There is much more there that also relates to this discussion. Thank you for taking the time to read my post.

Edited April 7, 2007 by 4given1

[Treasure]

Thank you floatingaxe for that affirmation.

[Floatingaxe]

Thank you floatingaxe for that affirmation.

You are welcome!

[Guest]

4given1, I read your post.

It didn't really address what I was saying.

You said the freedom of religion has been distorted so that anyone can believe anything or nothing.

How is this a distortion of that freedom?

As I understand it subject to a sound dubbing, er correct, er education.

After reading and rereading her posts it appears to me she is giving us examples of the fact that, as she sees it.....

We now often practice the "religious freedom" of the illegitimate manipulation of history for religious purposes (academic lying).

We now seem to have a religious right-to-lie about history including about the writings of our founding fathers.

We can now lie even about their core beliefs.

We now edit or even rewrite their words to fit our beliefs or to further our religious agenda.

I agree with my sister's statement.

I think it is the religion I call "The Church of The Historical Religious Revisionism", a denominational off-shot from that old-time Religion of Relativism.

Members in good standing of The Church of Religious Relativism and it's many denominations practice the "every man does what is right in his own sight" faith.

They religiously follow a "Golden Rule" that justifies their "I can do anything I can get away with" actions by their core belief that everything is relative!

This religion is as old as Adam and Eve and it's first zealot was, I think, a fellow named Cain.

In other words, they live as if there is no god except "I" and "I" will judge the right or wrong of a thing.

The Book gives a few hints.....

Here.....

In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.

Judges 17:6

And.....

Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the LORD pondereth the hearts.

Proverbs 21:2

Anyway, that is my view on sister 4given1's post.

I thought she was clear.

What do you think brother review?

Close But No Cigar?

Love, Joe

[Treasure]

Thank you joe and I too think that I stated my point clearly.

Theatheistreview, I pray God's richest blessings for you.

[Scarletprayers]

Thank you joe and I too think that I stated my point clearly.

Theatheistreview, I pray God's richest blessings for you.

Yes, you did, but it appeared that we were discussing different distortions. Your point has now been made clear, but in it's original form (which was what I was responding to), it was not. Either that or I just need sleep .

We would all be happy to sing you a lullaby if it would help?

[Guest]

Thank you joe and I too think that I stated my point clearly.

Theatheistreview, I pray God's richest blessings for you.

Yes, you did, but it appeared that we were discussing different distortions. Your point has now been made clear, but in it's original form (which was what I was responding to), it was not. Either that or I just need sleep .

[Treasure]

Thank you joe and I too think that I stated my point clearly.

Theatheistreview, I pray God's richest blessings for you.

Yes, you did, but it appeared that we were discussing different distortions. Your point has now been made clear, but in it's original form (which was what I was responding to), it was not. Either that or I just need sleep .

I appreciate your honesty theatheistreview. Like I said, this is not a topic that I would generally post in but it very much interests me. We seem to have different views about God and both in need of sleep but we can both be mature about it Have a blessed day and look forward to discussing with you again.