With the new cast of "Dancing with the Stars" announced, I harken back to this entry I made at The Opine Editorials on April 6, 2010. It is a reminder of Dennis Prager's observations for for the Left, everything has to be political & sexual. There is no area of life where the Left refrains from invoking those topics.
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Is It the End of the World As We Know It?
And do we feel fine?
Seriously, Obama was re-elected, there's a push for more gun control, the Pope has announced his resignation, and the Kardashians are all over television. These and other current events are being cited by some of my Christian brothers and sisters as signs that soon, true believers will disappear from the planet, a one-world government will form led by a man who is the Antichrist, a deal will be made with the present-day secularized nation of Israel, and later war will be waged against said nation, and after seven years of very bad things, Jesus Christ will return to reign as King for an actual calendar 1,000 years, and after some other stuff happens, then we'll get a New Heaven and New Earth.
Full disclosure: The only things I'm convinced about when it comes to the future are:
1) Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will physically return in power and glory to judge everyone.
2) We'll have a "new Heaven and new Earth" where the problems of sin, sickness, death, deterioration, and decay will be done away with.
3) Those who are in Christ will have glorified, imperishable bodies and will fellowship with Him.
4) Those unrepentant, unredeemed sinners who do not have Jesus Christ as their Lord will suffer apart from that fellowship.
I know premillenniallism with a pre-Tribulational Rapture is very popular view of the future now, depicted in the extremely popular Left Behind series and promoted by Hal Lindsey and many other popular Christian writers/television preachers (and somewhat in "The Omen" series of feature movies), but in current form, it doesn't go all that far back in church history. That doesn't make it wrong, but I'm not convinced it is right, nor am I convinced any form of post-millennialism or "amillennialism" or "partial preterism" is right; some say everything prophesied in the Bible except for the four things I listed above were fulfilled in the first century and nothing else has to happen before "the end of the world" and judgment for all. For anyone who IS certain that their eschatalogical view is right, well, fine... but the experts thought they knew exactly how things were going to be the first time Messiah came around, and most of them were wrong. I don't know with certainty which view is right, other than the four things I listed, on which all views agree.
Please understand that my only dog in this fight is the truth, and glorifying Jesus Christ, and communicating the Gospel to the world. I do not think it glofires Christ to set dates for His return, try to pin the tail on the Antichrist, or decry new technologies as "the Mark of the Beast". If Jesus Christ is your Lord & Savior and you are His follower and you refuse to deny Him, you already HAVE the mark of The Lamb and no chip or bar code or triple digit number is going to pry you from the Holy Spirit.
I don't see why the partial-preterists AND the furists can't BOTH be right. Why can't Nero be considered an Antichrist and why can't we still have another one to come? Why can't events in the first century be seen as a Great Tribulation and yet we still will have a Great Tribulation in the future? It would not be the first time that prophecy had more than one fulfillment. The Bible is full of repeating types and shadows and things that had a valid meaning intended for the original audience as well as a later audience.
I'm not convinced the USA must terminally decline NOR that our Lord has made any promise to preserve the USA. I oppose world government because I support limited government and competition. I support Israel for political reasons, in so far as the actions of the government are just. I live like today could be the end (because it could be... for any one of us, if not for the whole world), but I plan as though I'm going to live this life into the triple digits and that my kids will have to live on after me, and that we could face some very rough times along the way. I work to make life better - if it will get worse, so be it, but it won't be because I threw up my hands and gave up. As long as I'm clinging to Jesus, I will go where He goes, when He goes there.
Please, please, please... plan like you and your children and grandchildren will live long lives in this world, because there's no guarantee things will change sooner rather than later, and be spiritually prepared for this to be your last day of this life, because it just may be. We, as individuals and as the world, are not guaranteed another day. I focus on God like today could be my last day of this life – because it could be, even if it is the end of my life but not the end of the world. But I also need to plan and work as though I’ll have to take care of myself and my family for the rest of the century. I have thrown myself on His mercy, because I have sinned against Him. I look to Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, recognizing that He paid for my sins on the cross.
Seriously, Obama was re-elected, there's a push for more gun control, the Pope has announced his resignation, and the Kardashians are all over television. These and other current events are being cited by some of my Christian brothers and sisters as signs that soon, true believers will disappear from the planet, a one-world government will form led by a man who is the Antichrist, a deal will be made with the present-day secularized nation of Israel, and later war will be waged against said nation, and after seven years of very bad things, Jesus Christ will return to reign as King for an actual calendar 1,000 years, and after some other stuff happens, then we'll get a New Heaven and New Earth.
Full disclosure: The only things I'm convinced about when it comes to the future are:
1) Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will physically return in power and glory to judge everyone.
2) We'll have a "new Heaven and new Earth" where the problems of sin, sickness, death, deterioration, and decay will be done away with.
3) Those who are in Christ will have glorified, imperishable bodies and will fellowship with Him.
4) Those unrepentant, unredeemed sinners who do not have Jesus Christ as their Lord will suffer apart from that fellowship.
I know premillenniallism with a pre-Tribulational Rapture is very popular view of the future now, depicted in the extremely popular Left Behind series and promoted by Hal Lindsey and many other popular Christian writers/television preachers (and somewhat in "The Omen" series of feature movies), but in current form, it doesn't go all that far back in church history. That doesn't make it wrong, but I'm not convinced it is right, nor am I convinced any form of post-millennialism or "amillennialism" or "partial preterism" is right; some say everything prophesied in the Bible except for the four things I listed above were fulfilled in the first century and nothing else has to happen before "the end of the world" and judgment for all. For anyone who IS certain that their eschatalogical view is right, well, fine... but the experts thought they knew exactly how things were going to be the first time Messiah came around, and most of them were wrong. I don't know with certainty which view is right, other than the four things I listed, on which all views agree.
Please understand that my only dog in this fight is the truth, and glorifying Jesus Christ, and communicating the Gospel to the world. I do not think it glofires Christ to set dates for His return, try to pin the tail on the Antichrist, or decry new technologies as "the Mark of the Beast". If Jesus Christ is your Lord & Savior and you are His follower and you refuse to deny Him, you already HAVE the mark of The Lamb and no chip or bar code or triple digit number is going to pry you from the Holy Spirit.
I don't see why the partial-preterists AND the furists can't BOTH be right. Why can't Nero be considered an Antichrist and why can't we still have another one to come? Why can't events in the first century be seen as a Great Tribulation and yet we still will have a Great Tribulation in the future? It would not be the first time that prophecy had more than one fulfillment. The Bible is full of repeating types and shadows and things that had a valid meaning intended for the original audience as well as a later audience.
I'm not convinced the USA must terminally decline NOR that our Lord has made any promise to preserve the USA. I oppose world government because I support limited government and competition. I support Israel for political reasons, in so far as the actions of the government are just. I live like today could be the end (because it could be... for any one of us, if not for the whole world), but I plan as though I'm going to live this life into the triple digits and that my kids will have to live on after me, and that we could face some very rough times along the way. I work to make life better - if it will get worse, so be it, but it won't be because I threw up my hands and gave up. As long as I'm clinging to Jesus, I will go where He goes, when He goes there.
Please, please, please... plan like you and your children and grandchildren will live long lives in this world, because there's no guarantee things will change sooner rather than later, and be spiritually prepared for this to be your last day of this life, because it just may be. We, as individuals and as the world, are not guaranteed another day. I focus on God like today could be my last day of this life – because it could be, even if it is the end of my life but not the end of the world. But I also need to plan and work as though I’ll have to take care of myself and my family for the rest of the century. I have thrown myself on His mercy, because I have sinned against Him. I look to Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, recognizing that He paid for my sins on the cross.
Monday, February 11, 2013
My State of the Union 2013 Wish List
I know most of these positions will be completely avoided by President Obama, never mind that they wouldn't have a chance of being implemented with the current Senate, even with a Republican POTUS. But permit me to dream. Also notice that with most of these, I'm calling on the President to encourage action by the people, not to use the force of law.
Explain That the Federal Government Is Not the Answer to Every Challenge, Problem, or Choice - Rather, it is the Last Resort Answer to Very Few. That is what freedom and liberty are all about. Challenge individuals, businesses, congregations, nonprofits, and local and state governments (where appropriate) to take action instead of relying on the federal government. The federal government is there to protect the union from foreign threats and to and resolve some disputes between states.
Tout the Successes of the War on Terror. Laud those military, intelligence, and law enforcement personnel who have uncovered and prevented terrorist plans and actions, pointing out that is has been over eleven years since terrorists have carried out a major attack in the U.S. Apologize for Benghazi and what happened in the wake of that terrorist attack.
Border Control Is a Matter of National Security. Explain that allow illegal aliens any advantage in gaining permanent legal status ahead of legal immigrants is a slap in the face to legal immigrants and naturalized citizens. Announce that, effective immediately, the National Guard will secure our borders to prevent terrorists, disease-carriers, and smugglers from entering the U.S. They will stay there until suitable barriers and checkpoints are constructed – however long that takes. We will NOT encourage further invasion by offering amnesty, health insurance, and other tax-funded benefits for citizens of other countries who illegally enter/stay in the U.S. Speed up the process for legal immigration for those who want to come to the U.S. legally to become citizens and can find sponsors who will ensure they will stay off of public assistance. As for illegal aliens currently living in the United States – do not offer amnesty; they can go through the same channels of those who are trying to immigrate legally. If the border is secure, this problem will eventually take care of itself because their children born here are citizens and the illegals can continue to function as they have until they die off, if they don't want to go the legal route. Any illegal alien who serves honorably in the U.S. armed forces should be granted citizenship. If a true shortage of labor occurs (meaning American unemployment is low and employers need more temporary labor), a true guest worker program can be developed.
Break the Street Gangs. Pledge federal agencies to assist state and local law enforcement "sweep and hold" gang-infested urban areas.
Encourage Responsible Gun Ownership. As it is the duty of every able person to stand up to evil & crime in protection of the innocent, responsible gun ownership, training, and practice should be encouaged, and state and local laws should allow for this. Apologize for Fast & Furious.
Declare That the Lack of a Budget, the Large Deficit, and the Growing National Debt Unacceptable. Explain that it is a basic function of the federal government to adopt a budget, and that it is unsustainable and immoral to accumulate increasing debt, thereby burdening future generations. The government should not encourage further dependency on government.
Don't be Santa Claus. Don't propose new federal programs and expansions of existing federal social programs. Enough already. There are 50 states in the union and a few territories that are supposed to be handling their own matters – that is, the matters that are not supposed to be left up to "the people".
Stop Using the Tax Code For Social Engineering. Tell the Congress that instead of taking the carrots (taxes) from the people and then dangling some of them back in front of the people, that the people should keep their carrots in the first place and do with them what they will. Call for tax simplification and a move away from income/payroll taxes. If someone pays taxes, everyone should pay taxes.
Individuals Should Plan for the Future. Talk about the numerous options individuals and families have for saving for the future. Encourage them to save and invest for the future and not rely on the federal government to take care of them in their senior years. Point out that a reduction in federal spending will allow people to keep more of their own money to aid in saving for retirement.
Explain that Planning for Your Health Care is Part of Planning for the Future. Call for more freedom, competition, and private decision-making in health care.
Equal Access to Free Markets. Explain some of the major benefits of free markets, and that the best thing the federal government can do to foster a good business climate that provides jobs is to provide protection from interstate crime and foreign terrorists, and to be involved as little as possibly in voluntary employment and business transactions, not picking winners or losers in business, subsidizing some and restricting upstarts while protecing established businesses.
Property Rights and Personal Freedom. Most Americans understand that people should be considered as individuals and based on their behavior and abilities, not as members of a non-ideological group (ethnicity, etc.). Therefore, the federal government should no longer be involved in preventing people from renting, selling - or not - to whomever they choose for whatever reason, and should no longer be involved with who an employer hires and fires and why. Airlines, for example, should not be forced to carry anyone who makes the majority of their employees and passengers uncomfortable. It is clear that people can succeed in the USA regardless of skin color, sex, or sexual orientation, and focusing on slights, imagined or real, based on these personal characteristics, is fostering hostility and division and self-defeating thinking, doing more harm than good.
Encourage private innovation and solutions to reducing reliance on terrorist oil.
Education Is a Private Responsibility. Given the state of American public education since the Carter administration, call for the dismantling of federal involvement in education.
Strong Marital Unions Are Good For the Union. It brings together both sexes to raise the next generation of citizens. Men and women are different, and unifying them in the marital union forms a strong, inclusive building block for society, benefiting the individuals and society. Call on the Federal government to help by continuing to affirm, as Presidents Clinton and Bush did, that marriage unites a man and a woman, and pledge that the federal government will not force states to recognize counterfeit marriages. Encourage people to voluntarily take marriage seriously, thinking for the long term, getting good pre-marital counseling - and counseling during marriage as necessary. Encourage individuals, families, congregations, businesses, and the media to respect and value marriage, and support marriages instead of undermining them. Encourage individuals to save sex and childrearing for marriage, because doing so is good for them and good for the country.
Encourage Proven Conservation Techniques. Quote the scientists and activists who, in the 1970s, warned that we were heading for a new ice age, and quote those who said that by 2000, the rainforests and the oceans would be destroyed. Go on to say that we must not hastily and uncritically accept alarmist warnings and use federal government force to impose destructive restrictions on the people and business that may not result in significant environmental benefit.
Civility. Call on partisans to vigorously debate the issues, but refrain from threats of violence and character assassination, as they renew their vow to defend the Constitution.
Explain That the Federal Government Is Not the Answer to Every Challenge, Problem, or Choice - Rather, it is the Last Resort Answer to Very Few. That is what freedom and liberty are all about. Challenge individuals, businesses, congregations, nonprofits, and local and state governments (where appropriate) to take action instead of relying on the federal government. The federal government is there to protect the union from foreign threats and to and resolve some disputes between states.
Tout the Successes of the War on Terror. Laud those military, intelligence, and law enforcement personnel who have uncovered and prevented terrorist plans and actions, pointing out that is has been over eleven years since terrorists have carried out a major attack in the U.S. Apologize for Benghazi and what happened in the wake of that terrorist attack.
Border Control Is a Matter of National Security. Explain that allow illegal aliens any advantage in gaining permanent legal status ahead of legal immigrants is a slap in the face to legal immigrants and naturalized citizens. Announce that, effective immediately, the National Guard will secure our borders to prevent terrorists, disease-carriers, and smugglers from entering the U.S. They will stay there until suitable barriers and checkpoints are constructed – however long that takes. We will NOT encourage further invasion by offering amnesty, health insurance, and other tax-funded benefits for citizens of other countries who illegally enter/stay in the U.S. Speed up the process for legal immigration for those who want to come to the U.S. legally to become citizens and can find sponsors who will ensure they will stay off of public assistance. As for illegal aliens currently living in the United States – do not offer amnesty; they can go through the same channels of those who are trying to immigrate legally. If the border is secure, this problem will eventually take care of itself because their children born here are citizens and the illegals can continue to function as they have until they die off, if they don't want to go the legal route. Any illegal alien who serves honorably in the U.S. armed forces should be granted citizenship. If a true shortage of labor occurs (meaning American unemployment is low and employers need more temporary labor), a true guest worker program can be developed.
Break the Street Gangs. Pledge federal agencies to assist state and local law enforcement "sweep and hold" gang-infested urban areas.
Encourage Responsible Gun Ownership. As it is the duty of every able person to stand up to evil & crime in protection of the innocent, responsible gun ownership, training, and practice should be encouaged, and state and local laws should allow for this. Apologize for Fast & Furious.
Declare That the Lack of a Budget, the Large Deficit, and the Growing National Debt Unacceptable. Explain that it is a basic function of the federal government to adopt a budget, and that it is unsustainable and immoral to accumulate increasing debt, thereby burdening future generations. The government should not encourage further dependency on government.
Don't be Santa Claus. Don't propose new federal programs and expansions of existing federal social programs. Enough already. There are 50 states in the union and a few territories that are supposed to be handling their own matters – that is, the matters that are not supposed to be left up to "the people".
Stop Using the Tax Code For Social Engineering. Tell the Congress that instead of taking the carrots (taxes) from the people and then dangling some of them back in front of the people, that the people should keep their carrots in the first place and do with them what they will. Call for tax simplification and a move away from income/payroll taxes. If someone pays taxes, everyone should pay taxes.
Individuals Should Plan for the Future. Talk about the numerous options individuals and families have for saving for the future. Encourage them to save and invest for the future and not rely on the federal government to take care of them in their senior years. Point out that a reduction in federal spending will allow people to keep more of their own money to aid in saving for retirement.
Explain that Planning for Your Health Care is Part of Planning for the Future. Call for more freedom, competition, and private decision-making in health care.
Equal Access to Free Markets. Explain some of the major benefits of free markets, and that the best thing the federal government can do to foster a good business climate that provides jobs is to provide protection from interstate crime and foreign terrorists, and to be involved as little as possibly in voluntary employment and business transactions, not picking winners or losers in business, subsidizing some and restricting upstarts while protecing established businesses.
Property Rights and Personal Freedom. Most Americans understand that people should be considered as individuals and based on their behavior and abilities, not as members of a non-ideological group (ethnicity, etc.). Therefore, the federal government should no longer be involved in preventing people from renting, selling - or not - to whomever they choose for whatever reason, and should no longer be involved with who an employer hires and fires and why. Airlines, for example, should not be forced to carry anyone who makes the majority of their employees and passengers uncomfortable. It is clear that people can succeed in the USA regardless of skin color, sex, or sexual orientation, and focusing on slights, imagined or real, based on these personal characteristics, is fostering hostility and division and self-defeating thinking, doing more harm than good.
Encourage private innovation and solutions to reducing reliance on terrorist oil.
Education Is a Private Responsibility. Given the state of American public education since the Carter administration, call for the dismantling of federal involvement in education.
Strong Marital Unions Are Good For the Union. It brings together both sexes to raise the next generation of citizens. Men and women are different, and unifying them in the marital union forms a strong, inclusive building block for society, benefiting the individuals and society. Call on the Federal government to help by continuing to affirm, as Presidents Clinton and Bush did, that marriage unites a man and a woman, and pledge that the federal government will not force states to recognize counterfeit marriages. Encourage people to voluntarily take marriage seriously, thinking for the long term, getting good pre-marital counseling - and counseling during marriage as necessary. Encourage individuals, families, congregations, businesses, and the media to respect and value marriage, and support marriages instead of undermining them. Encourage individuals to save sex and childrearing for marriage, because doing so is good for them and good for the country.
Encourage Proven Conservation Techniques. Quote the scientists and activists who, in the 1970s, warned that we were heading for a new ice age, and quote those who said that by 2000, the rainforests and the oceans would be destroyed. Go on to say that we must not hastily and uncritically accept alarmist warnings and use federal government force to impose destructive restrictions on the people and business that may not result in significant environmental benefit.
Civility. Call on partisans to vigorously debate the issues, but refrain from threats of violence and character assassination, as they renew their vow to defend the Constitution.
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