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Monday, March 31, 2008

The First of Many Posts on VFF in Evansville

Mrs CP and I arrived home this evening, and this is the first of many posts and pictures from the Vets for Freedom event in Evansville.

This picture of Pete Hegseth comes from the LST 325 website which has other pictures and an article on this page.

You should also take a tour of the entire website and read about the wonderful history of this truly historic Naval vessel.

I will have tons of pictures and other things posted in the days to come.

God Bless, and it's good to be back blogging on a regular basis!

Cyber Pastor

Petitioning McCain For a Rational Israel Policy

HT to Ben from ANewtOne.

March 29, 2008

Petition To John McCain For A Townhall Meeting

The Jerusalem Connection, a pro-Israel Christian zionist organization, is circulating an online petition for a townhall meeting with John McCain, for discussion of U.S./Israel policy.

Please take a moment to sign the petition yourself, then pass it on to others.

Such a townhall meeting with McCain will provide an excellent opportunity to convey obvious dissatisfaction with current policy. For example the two-state non-solution policy.

There are other important policy issues as well: Millions of U.S. tax dollars funding and promoting terrorism via the Palestinian Authority.

A reversal of the current policy of demanding Israel not build or expand on it's own land of Judea and Samaria. As well as parts of Jerusalem that the Administration lambasts Israel for construction in.

While the Congress recognized Jerusalem as the undivided capital of Israel with the Jerusalem Embassy Relocation Act, the President keeps using the waiver as a loophole to avoid obeying the law.

According to what I have read, the "Israeli Initiative" will be a topic for discussion as a more realistic alternative to the Roadmap.

The townhall meeting will be important to discuss other important issues as well. Such as illegal immigration.

Feel free to grab this post and pass it on. Or, after you have signed the petition, grab the petition link above and pass it on.

Thanks.

News from Israel . Check out what Yoni The Blogger has to say.

A Soldier From The Prayer List

News just received about one of the soldiers on the Do The Right Thing prayer list. Our prayers continue for all the soldiers in harms way but we need a special prayer for Sgt. Daniel Porter who was WIA(wounded in action).
We pray for a complete and swift recovery for you Daniel as well as strength and courage for his family and loved ones.
Don't know about you but I'm always amazed at our young warriors who, after having been severely wounded, desire nothing more than to return to their units and their buddies. True heroes!

May God bless you Daniel!

HOOYAH!

Sgt. Daniel Porter (one of the brothers)
His rig got hit by an IED, everyone else in the rig, walked away with scratches, Daniel got some scratches too. He also had both arms dinged. One of them is a very bad ding.
The arm is badly broken, he is in Germany and will be back in the States sometime next week.
The Dr's think they might save the arm - needs copius amounts of prayer for that.
His one desire is to get back to his buds and his brother.
Take care, be blessed
shalom
garry

Saturday, March 29, 2008

Do The Right Thing Radio - Live From The National Heroes Tour

Use this link to get live updates, and hopefully some of the speeches from the National Heroes Tour Stop in Evansville, IN. The radio program will begin at 2:30 pm (Central), and the actual program in Evansville will start at 3:00 pm (Central).

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/cyberpastor/2008/03/30/Do-The-Right-Thing-Radio

We will try to get as many of the Heroes on the air as possible.

Help us promote this show by posting on your blogs, and your own BTR shows tonight!

Cyber Pastor

VFF In Evansville, IN on Sunday


National Heroes Tour Lands in Evansville on Sunday March 30

On Sunday, March 30 Vets for Freedom and the National Heroes Tour-is coming to Evansville


The Vets for Freedom National Heroes Tour is about going coast-to-coast to generate support for our troops, highlight their successes, and rally the country to complete the missions in Iraq and Afghanistan.

You will be able to meet and honor some real American heroes, including:

David Bellavia, author of House to House, recipient of the Silver Star, and nominee for the Medal of Honor;

Steve Russell, recipient of the Bronze Star for Valor and led the battalion that captured Saddam Hussein; and

Jeremiah Workman, United States Marine Corps, recipient of the Navy Cross for heroic actions while under fire in Fallujah.


These heroes will join local heroes from Indiana to highlight our military's commitment to completing the missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as the incredible progress being made under General Petraeus.

Not only are we raising awareness and support for the mission during the National Heroes Tour, we want to say Thank You to the military community and their families.

The Vets for Freedom National Heroes Tour is rolling through Evansville on Sunday, March 30-come out and meet these American heroes at this free event and hear their amazing stories.

Sunday, March 30
Evansville
3:00 PM- Prayer Service and Reception with America's Heroes

USS LST Ship Memorial

840 LST Drive

Evansville, IN 47713

We hope to see you there!


Learn more about the tour at www.vetsforfreedom.org/heroestour

Latest From Adrian Herrera

Hi Pastor Boston,

I have been on the phone with Congress of Racial Equality folks about their Chairman Roy Innis's speeches on energy in America. I thought it would be a good thing for you to have a listen to the man and see what you think.

There is a video of him speaking at
http://www.americansforprosperity.org/index.php?page=blog&state=wi

Another site and person you should know is Alan Caruba who runs a blog
http://factsnotfantasy.blogspot.com/2008/03/cold-north-pole-cold-south-pole.html

which is good on energy and the things we believe in. Allan also is a prolific writer of nationally syndicated opinion pieces on energy. He is worth your while talking to if you want.

Anyway, I would like to stay in touch with you to keep you informed on the issue and any events that are of significance for you to present to your readers.

All the best for you
Sincerely,


Adrian

Friday, March 28, 2008

FITNA; Anti Jihad Resistance

Thanks to Ben at ANewtOne for allowing me to cross post this.

Jehovah, grant us thy blessing: statesmen like Geert Wilders , with testicles and spines; with courage and conviction.

Geert Wilders has produced and published Fitna, which reveals the evil of Islam directly from its book of damnation.Amen!While Geert Wilders lifts the lid from Hell and gives us a clear view, our own elected officials lie to us, concealing the identity & nature of the evil entity which is a clear, proximate & perpetual threat to our lives and liberties.

Sons of Apes And Pigs has posted the AFP article describing Fitna and a direct link to the movie at Livelink. Due to the slow speed of my dialup connection, I am composing this while waiting for the video to buffer. The movie appears to be smoothly produced, and the content I have seen thus far is excellent, juxtaposing the text of 8:60 with the image of the attack on the World Trade Towers.

Take due notice: the movie's title is a reference to 5:33. which prescribes diabolic hudud for Fitna.

This movie must be seen!!! This movie must be believed!!! He who watches it and does not curse Islam is mentally & morally defective; a waste of life and breath!!! Send this to your friends & family. Let them see Fitna before it is pulled down!!!

Ben 03/27/08

As a warning to those of you with children, some of the pictures contained in the video are quite graphic.

FITNA: Supporting Documentation can also be found here.

This needs to be seen by every American, especially our elected officials.

The direct link for FITNA can be found at UAC( United American Committee ).


Update: Apparently Live Leak has pulled this video. If you have yet to view it go here while it lasts.

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Nuclear Energy, Part II

By WILLIAM TUCKER
Mr. Tucker is a veteran journalist whose work has appeared in several major national publications and in four of his books. His honors include the John Hancock Award, Gerald Loeb Award, Amos Tuck Award and Mencken Award for outstanding writing.


What are the potential problems with nuclear power?

First, some fear that a nuclear reactor might explode. But this is impossible.

Natural uranium is made of two isotopes – U-235 and U-238 (the latter having three more neutrons). Both are radioactive – meaning they are constantly breaking down into slightly smaller atoms – but only U-235 is fissile, meaning it will split almost in half with a much larger release of energy.

Because U-235 is more highly radioactive, it has almost all broken down already, so that it now makes up only 7/10ths of a percent of the world’s natural uranium. In order to set off a chain reaction, natural uranium must be enriched so that U-235 makes up a larger percentage.Reactor grade uranium – which will simmer enough to produce a little heat – is three percent U-235. In order to get a bomb grade uranium – the kind that will explode – uranium must be enriched to 90 percent U-235. Given this fact, there is simply no way that a reactor can explode.

On the other hand, a reactor can melt down. This is what happened at Three Mile Island. A valve stuck open and a series of mistakes led the operators to think the core was overflowing when it was actually short of cooling water. They further drained the core and about a third of the core melted from the excess heat.But did this result in a nuclear catastrophe? Hardly. The public was disconcerted because no one was sure what was happening. But in the end, the melted fuel stayed within the reactor vessel.Critics had predicted a “China syndrome” where the molten core would melt through the steel vessel, then through the concrete containment structure, then down into the earth where it would hit groundwater, causing a steam explosion that would spray radioactive material across a huge area.

In fact, the only radioactive debris was a puff of steam that emitted the same radiation as a single X-ray. Three Mile Island was an industrial accident. It bankrupted the utility, but no one was injured.

This of course was not the case in Chernobyl, where the Soviet designers didn’t even bother building a concrete containment structure around the vessel. Then in 1986, two teams of operators became involved in a tussle over use of the reactor and ended up overheating the core, which set fire to the carbon moderator that facilitates the chain reaction. (American reactors don’t use carbon moderators.)

The result was a four-day fire that spewed radioactive debris around the world. More fallout fell on Harrisburg, PA, from Chernobyl than from Three Mile Island. With proper construction, such a thing could never happen.

The United States currently gets 50 percent of its electricity from coal and 20 percent from nuclear reactors. Reversing these percentages should become a goal of both global warming advocates and anyone who wants to reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil (the latter since a clean, expanded electrical grid could anchor a fleet of hydrogen or electric cars).

Contrary to what some critics charge, this would not require massive subsidies or direct intervention by the government. Indeed, the nuclear industry has gone through an astounding revival over the past decade.The entire fleet of 103 reactors is up and running 90 percent of the time.

Reactors are making money hand-over-fist – so much so that the attorney general of Connecticut recently proposed a windfall profits tax on them!

The industry is poised for new construction, with proposals for four new reactors submitted to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and almost 30 waiting in the wings. The rest of the world is rapidly moving toward nuclear power. France, Russia and Japan are not only going ahead with their own nuclear programs, but selling their technology in the developing world. America, which once dominated this technology, is being left behind.

The main culprit is public fear. Nuclear technology is regarded as an illegitimate child of the atomic bomb, a Faustian bargain, a blasphemous tinkering with nature.

It is none of these. It is simply a natural outgrowth of our evolving understanding of the universe. The sun has been our prime source of energy throughout human history, but energy is also generated by the earth itself.

It is time to avail ourselves of this clean, safe terrestrial energy.

(Reproduced by permission from Imprimis, a publication of Hillsdale College.)

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Do The Right Thing Radio - Live from Vets for Freedom Tour Stop

We will be attempting to do a live show from Evansville, IN this coming Sunday at 3:30 (eastern) and 2:30 (Evansville local time) from that stop of the Vets for Freedom national tour. Cyber Pastor will be helping lead this special Prayer Service for our troops and our veterans on board the LST 325 that is docked on the Ohio River in Evansville.

The program continues to grow, but right now, the Patriot Guard Riders will be escorting the tour bus up to the LST, and then will line the entrance with 3X5 flags on poles as the tour members are entering the ship. There will be the National Anthem, followed by a 21-gun salute and taps, comments from tour participants and a special time of prayer led by Cyber Pastor.

Looking forward to the event, and praying we can pull it off on BTR.

Cyber Pastor

Special Guest Comment

The comments below are from Adrian Herrera about NJ's post on ANWR. We are honored to have him stop by and make comments, and hope to have more from him in the future:


Good Job NJ! As Alaska's representative in Washington DC for Arctic Power, the ANWR lobby group, I am heartened to read your good words. I would like to plug our web site www.anwr.org which lists the current legislation in Congress to open the 10-02 Area.

I hope you all write or phone your congressmen/woman in support of the bills in the House and Senate (American Made Energy Act).

About the 2000 acres and the last comment by Halle Burton. It is understood, but not written that the "2000 acre" provision in ANWR legislation includes the surface footprint of the gravel pads where infrastructure would stand.

What is not known, nor written is whether the 2000 acres will include roads or pipeline rights-of-way (elevated). Also what is not known is if the 2000 acres will apply to the Native lands of Kaktovik, which are legally private and thus can be considered outside the authority of federal control.

There is a good legal case to argue that although the native lands are to be developed in tandem with federal lands under the Chandler Lake agreement, the 2000 acre clause may not apply to them. That is a question for the courts.

These issues will not be part of any legislation for ANWR, but will be worked out by the DoI after legislation is approved. It is unlikely however that this will be an issue. Only two areas have been detected for hydrocarbon plays in the 10-02.

One, in the southwest and another in the northeast corner. As the saying goes, oil is where you find it. At roughly a billion dollars a well pad, increasing by size, the footprint will be kept to a minimum regardless of the law, most likely it will be smaller than 2000 acres and could possibly not use roads at all. Alpine field to the west of Prudhoe is a good example of the trend in footprint size and infrastructure/technology.

It is estimated that 10-02 infrastructure will be more than 60% smaller than Prudhoe's. And no, the maze of roads and 1920s oil derricks shown by green propaganda you reference is total nonsense. Laughable to any geologist or engineer. Over 2/3rds of the 10-02 shows little or no sign of hydrocarbon plays. Dishonest propaganda at best in my view.

FYI: Pipelines already exist to within 5 miles of the 10-02 border to Badami and up and coming Point Thompson fields and a majority of the main processing infrastructure already exists at Prudhoe leaving only minimal infrastructure needed in the 10-02.

Last point, the reason NPR-A is being accessed is because all the proper environmental impact statements have been filed and approved with the EPA, the BLM, MMS, USGS and USFWS have all given their approval, as has the North Slope Borough.

America is desperate for oil; the Trans-Alaska Pipeline is less than half full; NPR stands for National Petroleum Reserve....duhh - thats its purpose. It is irrelevant if the 10-02 is open or closed for the State and Feds and oil industry to explore NPR-A. The fact is, we have the oil and technology to g (comment cut off due to length - CP)

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Peace Activist Slaps Citizen Journalist at Rally and Gets Arrested

From Wake up America

On Saturday, March 22, 2008, at a pro-troop rally in West Chester Pennsylvania, a member Chester County Peace Movement (CCPM) was arrested after slapping a Citizen Journalist twice in the face.

This information came to me via email, from Melanie Morgan, who is the chairman of Move America Forward, which is one of the biggest pro-troop organizations in the US, and who forwarded me (with permission) a set of emails between her and the Citizen Journalist that was slapped at the rally in West Chester, PA.

The name in the email will be redacted and be replaced with her online blogging name of "Skye" for privacy purposes.Citizen Journalism has much in common with the main stream media, CJ's now actively report news, especially local news where they can physically go bear witness to events to write about them, they take photos and video and they provide reportage of situations as they transpire.

Skye was doing exactly that on Saturday at a pro-troop rally in West Chester.












(Pro-Troop rally held in West Chester, PA)

A little after noon, Skye was video taping and exchange between the rally members and members of the Chester County Peace Movement (CCPM), when a member of the peace group approached her and slapped her in the face, twice.

The police were called and arrived within 5 minutes and announced to the crowd that they were conducting an investigation. Witnesses pointed out the man that had slapped the Citizen Journalist and when the police told him to come forward, the man became belligerent and uncooperative and refused.

The police approached him and the man, then, physically pushed the officer which resulted in the officer's partner tackling him to the ground to be handcuffed, where the man continue to struggle. Members of CCPM surrounded the police officers while this was happening.















(Peace protester being handcuffed after shoving and officer during the investigation- Photo courtesy of Skye)

Skye's reaction is stated in one of the original emails, where she says, "I've prided myself in my professional conduct at this rally and to be struck twice by a 'peace' protester who has been present since the time I began covering this rally is truly disturbing."

Skye also runs a blog called MidnightBlue, where she says, "Snarky retorts, name calling and mis characterizations by the CCPM are common place events in my 7 month documentary of this rally. Yesterday crossed the line, when I was struck twice by a peace protester. I can deal with all the above, but will NOT tolerate any form of violence against my person. I am consulting legal advice on this matter."

Saturday was not the only incident during the Easter holiday weekend, six protesters from a group called Catholic Schoolgirls Against the War were also arrested on Easter day, in a Chicago church after standing up and screaming about Iraq while squirting fake blood all over themselves and other parishioners until security guards and ushers removed them, then the police arrested them.

They were taken away while the crowd in the churched booed them, some following, one of which was a Mass attendee, Mike Wainscott of Chicago, who yelled at the anti-war protesters, "Are you happy with yourselves. There were kids in there. You scared little kids with your selfish act. Are you happy now?" That was reported yesterday, here.

[Update] Emails are still coming in, video expected soon but here is a picture of the man that hit Skye.


















((Man known as John M., member of CCPM that struck Skye, the Citizen Journalist- Photo courtesy of Skye and Melanie Morgan)


Nuclear Energy, Part I

By WILLIAM TUCKER

Mr. Tucker is a veteran journalist whose work has appeared in several major national publications and in four of his books. His honors include the John Hancock Award, Gerald Loeb Award, Amos Tuck Award and Mencken Award for outstanding writing.

One form of alternative energy often is mistakenly grouped with solar: geothermal energy. Geothermal is produced when the natural heat of the earth comes in contact with groundwater. This can produced geysers and fumaroles – steam leaks that are now being harnessed to produce electricity.Where does the heat come from? Temperatures at the earth’s core reach 7,000 degrees Centigrade, hotter than the surface of the sun. Some of this heat comes from gravitational pressures and the leftover heat from the collisions of astral particles that led to the formation of the earth.

But at least half of it (we don’t know the precise percentage) comes from the radioactive breakdown of thorium and uranium within the earth’s mantle. This is terrestrial energy and a nuclear reactor is simply the same process carried out in a controlled environment.

In order to harness terrestrial energy in the form of uranium isotopes, we mine it, bring it to the surface, concentrate it and initiate a chain reaction that releases stored energy in the form of heat – the very same process as that used to harness solar energy from coal.

When Albert Einstein signed the letter to President Roosevelt informing him of the discovery of nuclear energy, he turned to some fellow scientists and said: “For the first time mankind will be using energy not derived from the sun.”This potential (for nuclear energy) is good news in terms of our energy needs and the environment. It means that the amount of fuel required to produce an equivalent amount of energy is now approximately two million times smaller.

Consider: At an average 1,000 megawatt coal plant a train with 110 railroad cars, each loaded with 20 tons of coal, arrives every five days. Each carload will provide 20 minutes of electricity. When burned, one ton of coal will throw three tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. We now burn 1 billion tons of coal a year – up from 500 million tons in 1976. This coal produces 40 percent of our greenhouse gases and 20 percent of the world’s carbon emissions.

By contrast, consider a 1,000 megawatt nuclear reactor. Every two years, a fleet of flatbed trucks pulls up to the reactor to deliver a load of fuel rods. These rods are only mildly radioactive and can be handled with gloves. They will be loaded into the reactor, where they will remain for six years (only one-third of the rods are replaced at each refueling.)
The replaced rods will be removed and transferred to a storage pool inside the containment structure, where they can remain indefinitely (three feet of water blocks the radiation). There is no exhaust, no carbon emissions, no sulfur sludge to be carted away hourly and heaped into vast dumps.

There is no release into the environment.The fuel rods come out looking exactly as they did going in, except that they are now more highly radioactive. There is no air pollution, no water
pollution and no ground pollution.

A spent fuel rod is 95 percent U-238. This is the same material we can find in a shovel full of dirt from our back yards. Of the remaining 5 percent, most is useful, but small amounts should probably be placed in a repository such as Yucca Mountain.

The useful parts – uranium-235 and plutonium (a manmade element produced from U-238) -- can be recycled as fuel. In fact, we are currently recycling plutonium from Russian nuclear missiles. Of the 20 percent of our power that comes from nuclear sources, half is produced from recycled Russian bombs.

Many of the remaining isotopes are useful in industry or radiological medicine – now used in 40 percent of all medical procedures. It is only cesium-137 and strontium-90, which have half-lives of 28 and 30 years respectively that need to be stored in protective areas.

Unfortunately, federal regulations require all radioactive byproducts of nuclear power plants to be disposed of in a nuclear waste facility. As a result, more than 98 percent of what will go into Yucca Mountain is either natural uranium or useful material.Canada, Britain, France and Russia are all recycling their nuclear fuel.

France has produced 80 percent of its electricity with nuclear power for the last 25 years. It stores all its high-level “nuclear waste” in a single room at LeHavre.
(Reproduced by permission from Imprimis, a publication of Hillsdale College.)

Submit To Islam?

Specially formatted for all you lovers of "cut and paste".


























"Rage Boy" in all his wonderment. The question remains however, is he getting his cut? When do you reckon he will get his 72 virgins? Hope it's soon, he certainly looks like he could use a little TLC.........

Dude, I gotta get me one of them beards. Do you think your new girlfriends will enjoy finding last weeks halal or camel cakes or pizza in that mess?

The Allah of Islam comes to the west;






By Ibn Misr
But the allah of islam tells muslims in Koran 3:110, “Ye are the best of Peoples, evolved for mankind, enjoining what is right, forbidding what is wrong, and believing in Allah. If only the People of the Book had Faith, it were best for them: among them are some who have Faith, but most of them are perverted transgressors.”

This too is conditional: you should have faith, believe in allah, emulate mohammad, and kill the perverted transgressors.

According to the Tafsir (interpretation) of that verse, muslims are the best, because contrary to the perverted, and transgressors people of the Book (Jews and Christians), they believed in mohammad and islam.

Allah commanded muslims to treat others as inferiors, filth, unclean Kafers, and to show them harshness. That’s what they did to all the Christian countries they conquered (but defensively, remember, islam only defends itself). Look at the condition of the Christian natives (you can even see it on videos that the Egyptian government don’t want you to see, here), and you’ll agree with me that muslims are the best of peoples, evolved for mankind, enjoining what is right, forbidding what is wrong.

The allah of islam commanded muslims to be the best deceivers, Taqquiya 3:28, and they are.
The allah of islam commanded muslims to be killers, “to slaughter the unbelievers wherever you find them.” And to kill and be killed. They are the best in that, with no competition.

The allah of islam commanded his followers to curse in every prayer every non muslim, especially Christians and Jews, and they are the most devout, unmatched and best in that regard.

The allah of islam commanded his followers to steal (the jeziah) and rob the unbelievers (kafers). Not only are they the best to fulfill that, but actually that’s what sustained them for 1400 years, it’s their bread and butter. This particular command is very dear to their hearts, to emulate their prophet’s lifetime carrier, robbing caravans, Jews and Christians.

The allah of islam commanded his followers to forbid anyone rejecting him, and to slaughter any one that desert islam, that's what they've been doing for the last 1426 years.

The allah of islam commanded them to “instill terror into the hearts of the Unbelievers: smite ye above their necks and smite all their finger-tips off them”, they're doing it with the greatest religious zeal in a way unmatched even by savage and vicious animals. They’re the best neck, and finger-tips cutters all over the world.

The allah of islam commanded them to force islam on people by the sword and terror till all people submit and feel themselves subdued, Mohamed his prophet of doom started this legacy, and it’s still alive and well, with his followers keeping close to a billion human beings in bondage to that blood thirsty allah. They’re the best terrorists evolved for mankind to enslave people.

The allah of islam commanded them to attack and conquer peaceful countries, destroy their civilizations, kill their men, abduct and rape their women, molest their children before selling them as slaves, they excelled in doing exactly this all along their history and still doing it and proud of it. The statistics of western countries speaks for themselves, Muslims are the best rapists.

The allah of islam forbids them to greet Christians and Jews, except to deceive them by smiling in their faces, while rage and hatred is filling their hearts.

The allah of islam commanded them to beat women, and they're the best and only people to perform this ritual as a religious duty, and proud of it.

The allah of islam commanded them to molest (marry) little baby girls, emulating their most honorable prophet of mercy. No one is doing it better than them. They’re the best.

Ok so I’m convinced, Muslims are the best if they follow Isalm and revere Mohammad. Where do I sign up?

Lovely, wonderful guides for you new converts; “The Verses of Violence”.
Getting to know your new "religion"; Islam Undressed.


“There will always be a large pool of feel-good, do-nothing appeasers who ignorantly continue to claim that Islam is a peaceful and tolerant religion. Because some effort is required to move from a state of ignorance and oblivion to a state of knowledge and awareness, sadly there will ever be many such nitwits amongst us. In addition, there are always some who can not draw a correct inference no matter how plainly the facts are laid out before them. You can walk that horse carefully and gingerly to water, but you can not make the animal drink, even to preserve its own life.” Vernon Richards.

Things that make ya go hmmmmm.......

Islam in Fast Demise, by the "Madman" Ali Sina Hmmmmmm imagine that.















“Lan astaslem.”
I will not submit. I will not surrender.
Bouse tizi Muhammad.

Saturday, March 22, 2008

There Can Be No Resurrection Without a Crucifixion

Thanks to Sonlit Knight at ANewtOne for this important message.

"Eloi, Eloi Lama Sabachtani" Those are the words my Lord cried out in anguish, from the Cross. "My God, My God, Why have you forsaken me?"

The words reverberated through time and space, for they were words cried out to God, from God. This is not contradiction, this is paradox. For in this solemn and sacred mystery is the very meaning of life.

The passion and death of Our Lord is the defining and central theme to all of the fallen age of man. So much so His words ring out in the Prophetic words of the Psalmist. It's Psalm 22- the one just before the one everybody knows.

Here is part of it....
My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Why art thou so far from helping me,
from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry by day, but thou dost not answer;
and by night, but find no rest.

Yet thou art holy, enthroned on the
praises of Israel. In thee our fathers trusted; they trusted, and thou didst
deliver them. To thee they cried, and were saved; in thee they trusted, and were
not disappointed. But I am a worm, and no man; scorned by men, and despised by
the people.

All who see me mock at me, they make mouths at me, they wag
their heads;

"He committed his cause to the LORD; let him deliver
him, let him rescue him, for he delights in him!" Yet thou art he who took me
from the womb; thou didst keep me safe upon my mother's breasts.

Upon thee was I cast from my birth, and since my mother bore me thou hast
been my God. Be not far from me, for trouble is near and there is none to help.
The Sorrowful Mysteries are 5 particular events drawn from the narrative of Christ's Passion, that make up part of a Catholic devotional known as the Rosary. In praying the Rosary's Sorrowful Mysteries, Catholics attempt to meditate on and delve into the depth of these sacred and sorrowful events and what they mean to believers.

I believe that many pious Christians have not truly contemplated the deeper purpose of Christ's suffering and death and as a consequence come to a distorted interpretation of life, suffering, death and salvation.

Many good and decent people believe that Christ died to give you salvation, like someone might give you a candy bar. He did not. Salvation is indeed a free gift; you cannot earn or merit. However, it is not a singular act but a process with which you must cooperate. Again, this is not contradiction, this is paradox. If you doubt that a profession of faith alone is insufficient for salvation you need only read the admonishing words of James (Chapter 2), wherein he says:


What does it profit, my brethren, if a man says he has faith but has not
works? Can his faith save him? [15] If a brother or
sister is ill-clad and in lack of daily food, [16]
and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled," without giving
them the things needed for the body, what does it profit? [17] So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.

[18] But some one will say, "You have faith and
I have works." Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will
show you my faith. [19] You believe that God is one;
you do well. Even the demons believe -- and shudder.

[20] Do you want to be shown, you shallow man,
that faith apart from works is barren?

[21] Was not Abraham our father justified by
works, when he offered his son Isaac upon the altar? [22] You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by works, [23] and the
scripture was fulfilled which says, "Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned
to him as righteousness"; and he was called the friend of God. [24] You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.
This is very difficult to grasp but I admonish you to persist. For in the unraveling of this mystery is the very secret of the meaning of salvation and life. It is a very tough nut to crack, this apparent contradiction between salvation by faith and salvation by works. For as clearly as James appears to come down on one side, Paul appears to come down on the other...
Ephesians 2

[5] even when we were dead through our
trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been
saved), [6] and raised us up with Him, and made us
sit with
Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, [7] that
in the coming ages He might show the
immeasurable riches of His grace in
kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. [8] For by grace
you have been saved through
faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the
gift of God -- [9] not because of works, lest any man
should boast.

Once again, paradox is at work. For though it was Moses' staff that turned the Nile red with blood, it was not Moses who did it. Though it was Trumpets of Joshua's band that brought down the walls of Jericho, it is not Joshua who did it. Though the Virgin Mary brought forth the I Am Himself, it was not by Mary's doing that this miracle was brought forth.

So what of these sorrowful mysteries I mentioned? In them is found the answer. For if salvation is of faith through works, how can anyone be saved? When the disciples asked this very question.....
Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible,but with God all
things are possible." Matthew 19:26
Jesus excels at making the impossible possible.....even putting salvation within the reach of sinful men. For a human being cannot achieve salvation by human acts, only by Divine acts. How can a human being accomplish Divine acts??? He can only do so because He who was both human and Divine, sanctified the human act and made it Divine.

Jesus was not baptised because He needed to be. He was baptised to take a human act- being immersed in water- and attaching a Divine action to it. Now, through Baptism, we can receive sanctifying Grace. Before, you would only get wet.

Jesus did not pray the Our Father merely because it sounded good. By simply voicing it, it became the Word of God. All throughout the New Testament, we see evidence of purely human actions that now have Divine value.

Here are but a few....
Matthew 10:42 And if anyone gives even a cup of
cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the
truth, he will certainly not lose his reward."

Luke 24:50 When He had led them out to the
vicinity of Bethany, He lifted up his hands and blessed them.

Acts 8:17 Then Peter and John placed their hands
on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 26-29
26 While they were eating, Jesus took bread,
gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to His disciples, saying, "Take and eat;
this is My body." 27 Then He took the cup, gave
thanks and offered it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. 28 This is My blood of the [b] covenant, which is poured
out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 29 I tell
you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when
I drink it anew with you in My Father's kingdom.
"
Time after time, what appear to be simple human acts performed by human beings have a supernatural component fused to them because these acts were sanctified and made holy by the God-Man.

The Bible tells us that He was like us in all things except sin. Why? Have you ever thought about this? Did God, the Omniscient One, need to experience life as a human being to understand it? Hardly.

Then why? Why did Jesus need to come to us, be baptised, work, learn, teach, pray, fast, minister, empathize, experience fear and rejection and grief and suffer and die a horrible death? Did He do all these things so that we would not have to?

Not so! The Bible definately does not teach that. In fact, it teaches the opposite!

For, while Jesus was baptised, learned, taught, prayed, fasted, ministered, empathized, experienced fear and rejection and grief and suffered and died, He admonished each and every one of us that we would-to greater or lessor degree- experience each of these things.

This is where the so-called "prosperity gospel" preachers get it so wrong. "Follow Jesus" they say, "and you will know only joy and peace".

Jesus promised something very different. Jesus promised that the price of following Him was a Cross that you would have to carry. Jesus promised that you would be hated and reviled by mankind and that you would have to live a life that shunned the pleasures of this world. In short, Jesus promised that suffering would come to those who believed and that only those who endured to the end would be saved.

Well....that doesn't sound like much fun! It certainly is difficult to reconcile with the idea of a God who came to earth to suffer and die, as a free gift of salvation. It almost sounds like a contradiction. It almost sounds like God is going back on His word. It almost sounds like God is cruel. Why would God desire the very followers He Redeemed at an incalculable price and who accepted Him, suffer needlessly at the hands of the very ones who rejected Him?

To understand, you must re-orient your thinking and understanding of who Jesus was and what He did for you. He did not suffer so that you would not have to suffer. For if He did some very special people to me were seriously short changed. Jesus again did not suffer for the purpose of eliminating suffering from your life.

Jesus suffered to sanctify suffering itself and make it holy so that even that which the devil intends for evil can be used for good. Once again, the sheer depth of God is explored within the mystery of paradox. For it is right and just and logical that we would attempt to avoid suffering, yet suffering, if it must come, is not in vain. For even that which hurts us, can help us.

Is it God's will that we suffer? hardly. It's the devil's will. The passion of Christ and the five sacred mysteries that explore it teach us the very thing Satan uses to destroy you can be used by God to save you.

This is the answer, to that age-old question of why God sometimes allows (passive) horrible things to happen to people. This is the question that I have wrestled with every bit as much as you. For I have seen unimaginable evil in my life on both the public and private level and cried out those words......

My God, My God! Why have you forsaken me!?"
The same words. Listen to me. The same words King David cried out. The same words the Savior cried out. For God in His unfathomable mercy experienced the perception of His own rejection and the sorrow of isolation even as He saw all and knew all.
The inexpressible mystery of paradox.

Jesus did not forsake you, little one, though it seems so painfully clear that He did. Where was He in your suffering? Right in the middle of it.

When you pleaded with God to protect you from the thing you were so fearful of, He was on His knees in the Garden of Gethsemane sweating blood and pleading that the cup be taken from Him.

While you were being taunted and ridiculed and made to feel small, insignificant and worthless, He was before the tribunal of Pilate being spit upon, kicked, mocked and crowned with thorns.

While you suffered horrible pain unjustly, He was there, being scourged and crucified.

As you have gone through life carrying a burden, He was carrying His cross.

Many believers don't want to talk of these things, preferring to concentrate only on the Resurrection.

Many of my Christian friends point out (and rightly so) the suffering and death is completely powerless without the Resurrection. Point conceded.

Do not forget, however, what magnifies the Light and power of the Resurrection is the sheer darkness from which it rose. The disciples had placed all their faith in a Savior only to watch him arrested for crimes He wasn't capable of committing, subjected to a gruesome, horrific torture and murder and laid in a tomb.

Everything they believed was destroyed, everything they hoped for was obliterated...or so they thought.

The power of the Resurrection is even the most horrible darkness can be followed by the Light of the Son. This life will eventually bring misery and death to each of us. For every possession you have will be lost and every relationship you have will be brought to an end. No level of power or money can buy you another second when the Angel of Death comes to call upon you.

This is just reality. Do not despair. Do not give up. For those who have accumulated great fortune in this world, age and death are only that much more painful a separation.

Do not assume the suffering that has been visited upon you means God doesn't love you.Remember, you cannot have a Resurrection without the Crucifixion. Does this mean that you must be crucified? Heavens no!

It means that you must take up your cross (Matthew 10:38) and unite your sufferings with His (Colossians 1:24). How do you do so? Very simply-by saying and embracing those 4 difficult and powerful words: Thy will be done.

And remembering the sorrow of Friday is fleeting; the Joy of Sunday is everlasting.

Happy Easter!

Update on One of our Heroes in the GWOT

Just an update on my son, Sgt Abram Carman, he has arrived in Iraq and will be there until at least December of this year.Thanks for all of the prayers and support.

God Bless,

Sandy Caldwell


Don't forget if you have someone you would like to add your hero who is serving our country in the GWOT to our prayer list, leave a comment with the information or email hopecyberpastor@gmail.com .

Why a Tree Hugger Like Me Thinks the US Should Drill in ANWR

by NJ_GOP

I gave a speech yesterday, and the topic was about Drilling in ANWR. Even the Dems in the room said they were impressed!

Keep in mind these are speech notes and I didn't thoroughly check spelling / grammar / sentence fragments!!! So unlike me!

Oil –

What did you pay for gas this week? We are up to $3.05 per gallon and they are paying $3.25 in Pa. (where they have to actually get OUT of the car and pump it themselves!!!!)

Speech title: Why a tree hugger like me thinks the US should drill in ANWR

ANWR stands for Alaska National Wildlife Refuge. It covers an area about the size of the of SC about 19+ million acres. Many environmentalists are fiercely opposed to drilling for oil there, as I once was. Here’s a paragraph from a column of the Minneapolis Star tribune dated march 2000


“…should Americans be willing to scatter oil wells across the last pristine sector of Alaska’s north coast, a fragile landscape of harsh beauty and critical significance to hundreds of species in the arctic ecosystem, one of the last big places on the continent where human presence is undetectable? If so, perhaps we should prepare for the post-petroleum era by planning to build hydroelectric dams in the Grand Canyon and to log the Boundary Waters Canoe Area for stove wood.”

1. ENVIRONMENT

a. SPACE USED

Sounds like a reasonable argument except for some pesky facts that get in the way. While The area that will be explored for possible oil covers about 1.5 Million acres or about 8% of the reserve, the actual drilling of the oil itself, once oil is located, will be approximately 2000 acres – not “oil wells scattered across the Alaska coast”. To put that in perspective, it’s an area about the size of Newark Airport. I even read one analogy that said that if ANWR were a football field, the area for oil drilling would be a Tic Tac.

b. IMPACT ON ANIMALS/PLANTS MINIMIZED THROUGH TECHNOLOGY AND CREATIVITY

c. Environmentalists say that we would be harming a pristine wilderness. And while I’m the first to raise an eyebrow at the ability of the government to restrict itself once it has a pass…I have to look at the situation with some objectivity

I am an environmentalist… and when you take into consideration the technological advances engineers have made in this area it is remarkable how low, some even say non existent, the impact to the environment will be.. Today’s technology can produce oil in far less space than in the past, and with barely any impact to the environment. They’ve even come up with a plan to build the roads out of ice – so that there will be no evidence of any road once it melts. And Alaskan oil is shipped via pipeline; there are plans to build additional pipelines to US markets if the ban is lifted.

d. NOT EXACTLY PRISTINE

There are humans living there currently, some Alaskan natives; and the area is only about 55 miles from the existing Prudhoe Bay Oil field which currently supplies us with between 8 - 25% our oil.

2. IS IT WORTH IT?

a. THERES A BUNCH OF OIL THERE

The untapped obtainable oil in ANWR Some estimates of obtainable oil are start at about 11 billion gallons and provide up to 50 years supply 19 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

b. IS A BUNCH OF OIL A GOOD THING?

Some say this will just continue our dependence on oil, when we should be seeking alternatives like ethanol. I have nothing against Ethanol, except that it is made from corn, which is being farmed on land that used to grow food, and that corn has to be shipped by truck to be made into gas, and so far has not proven to help the cost of fuel nor has it proven to be any kinder to the environment (was that even a claim? I seem to remember ethanol being some sort of “green” solution. So the cost of corn has risen dramatically, the cost of other food has risen, not that I have anything against farmers turning a profit but the whole ethanol thing has been pushed on us with not a single legislator opposing it even though it appears to be ineffective.

c. DEPENDENCY ON FOREIGNERS

ANWR is the logical solution to our dependency on foreign oil. When President Bush recently asked OPEC for the price in oil to be lowered he was told “hmmmm --- NO” … the message is we are at their mercy and there isn’t a single thing we can do about it.

DIGGING IN

d. POLITICAL

Environmentalists have become so attached to this issue which has become political for them. Think about it, if the major Greenie groups change their stand their contributors could feel their money was wasted and these groups would lose credibility and appear to be siding with the “big polluters”.

e. EMOTIONAL

I get it why the environmentalists don’t want drilling,. Like the message from the column earlier, they think that if we compromise our national wildlife refuge we are on a slippery slope. But legislators can create boundaries that would prevent abuses; and like it or not, our society depends on oil until we can, over time, develop more efficient ways to live in the 21st century. I just read about a car that runs on compressed air. The prototype is amazing. Americans will invent their way out of this crisis eventually, but we need solutions now, solutions that will significantly reduce our dependency on foreign governments and that will ease the economic burden of hard working people who want to heat their homes and travel to and from work each day.

CONCLUSION:

The reality is that today, right now, if we do not produce our own oil we need to buy it from someone else,

TODAY congress will not allow any drilling on Lake Erie, but Canada is drilling for Oil and natural gas in the same Lake Erie. Today congress will not allow any new off shore drilling but the Cubans and Venezuelans and China are drilling in the same waters – and they do not have the same strict environmental standards that we do.

the Gulf Stream flows north folks.

Buying foreign oil takes any environmental control over that drilling or shipping completely out of our hands. I trust American Engineers to take better care of the environment than foreign countries. And honestly, you have the “greenie groups” to thank for that level of corporate care.

As tree hugger, I see the best solution as one that we as Americans can control, and ANWR seems like the clear decision here. Who knows? Maybe if we had started drilling back in 2000 when the article I quoted was written we might not be paying $3.05 at the pump this morning.

Friday, March 21, 2008

A Comment on Comments - from Cyber Pastor

OK, it's time to address the comments section of Do The Right Thing. There are times when I use the moderation feature, which means that I have to approve all comments that are left.

Other times I allow the comments to be posted directly to the blog.
Let me try and explain my thinking.

First of all, I am a Christian and a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Secondly, I am a Reagan Conservative. Thus, most all of the posts you will see on our blog are relating to Christianity and conservative politics.

That is the ENTIRE reason that I put as much time and effort along with all the others who help me with this blog.

While I will allow comments that are not in line with my beliefs on occasion, I keep a tight reign on that most of the time. Until recently that is.

In a couple comment threads, I allowed at least two folks to post comments, promoting their Islamic beliefs. My original thought was to let this go on indefinitely. Ben and Dean were doing an outstanding job of giving a history lesson, which would definitely be of college level of information. NJ and Boaz were adding great insights. Others did their part as well.

But as usually is the case, the comments started to spiral out of control. On came the moderation tool.

So some will think I'm not being fair and showing favoritism to those I like. Guess what -- you are 100% correct, and that is the way it is going to stay.

This is not a site that I will allow non-Christians to promote a religion other than Christianity. This is not a site that I will allow non-conservatives to promote their liberal agenda. Just ain't gonna happen.

I will be turning the moderation tool back off, as I don't like to use it. Rest assured though that if I don't like what you say and if IN MY OPINION (or that of others in the Cyber Crew), you have "crossed the line" you will see your comment removed and the "edited by site owner" remark up in it's place.

If that is too much to handle, start your own blog - get your own following - and don't bother us any more.

Cyber Pastor

Let me also say that this last time of using the moderation tool had nothing to do with raoul. There was a truce called for and accepted, and I will honor that truce unless it is broken. Besides, I like it much better when things go smoothly!

God's Love Toward a Radical Muslim

by Mohd. Saleem

I am no more than an ordinary man who has been spending life as if knowing nothing. I was born in a wealthy Muslim family in Pakistan, but when I was a few months old, I was carried to Saudi Arabia by my father. When I was about six, my mom passed away. As I grew older I had so many questions like almost everyone experiences at some point in life. Why am I here? Where did I come from? Is there really a God and if so where is He? Why doesn't He talk?

I have been studying the Quran since I was around 12. Later I also started reading other kinds of Islamic books like the Life of Prophet Mohammad, Hadiths, etc. I have been Wahabi or Ahlae Hadiths like most of the Saudi Muslims are. (Osama Bin Laden is also one of them.) They are very extreme and I have been one also.

I had been taught that Islam is the only way to Heaven. I was told, "If you do this, you'll get so and so blessings in Heaven," and "if you do that, you'll get so and so blessings in Heaven." I became an extremist for the religion Islam.

Well, I believed what I was doing was right, and if it is right, then there is no risk in digging. I had read about the prophets in the Quran and Hadiths, but Jesus Christ was the only personality that really touched me more than any others. I found out that Christians believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God. I very much wondered why they believe that. I started searching for Jesus Christ more and more. I had a Christian friend who used to study with me. I asked him one day if I could have his Bible. He was surprised and said "Sorry, you cannot have it." I assured him no one would ever know, "It will remain between me and you." But my father came to know that I read the Bible and that it was in our home. He was very angry and he knew I have only one Christian friend. So he took me with my uncle to this friend's home and warned them saying, "If you do this again and try to preach Christianity to a Muslim child, you'll have to suffer a lot and you know it. We will complain about it to Islamic Police (Mutawa) and you could be exiled from this country forever." I was a bit worried. I shouldn't have done this to my friend's family.

My father warned me, and so did my uncle, to pray five times a day as I used to pray, and one time in the mosque. I kept going, and many times when there was no one in the mosque I used to cry and ask God to show me, "who is this Jesus and who are you?" Often while the Imam (leader) of the prayer was praying in Arabic (as it's compulsory to pray in Arabic only), I did not give much attention to what he was saying. One day I was praying in the Mosque, during Zuhar's prayer (noon prayer). I wasn't thinking of Jesus Christ that time. I saw an image of a handsome person on the floor where we bow our heads in prayer. I was shocked. I never saw such a thing before. It was kind of an image on water. I heard in myself that this is Jesus Christ. This is the Lord!

Read the continuation here.


A Muslim’s Way Out of Islam
By Jamie GlazovFrontPageMagazine.com Monday, March 03, 2008

Frontpage Interview’s guest today is Hossain Salahuddin, a poet, essayist and an ex-Muslim who is the author of several books. He is the editor of the magazine Maverick, which promotes literature, freethinking and rationalism.

Read the interview here.

Update: From Faultline USA

The Brite-Jeremiah Wright Debate Continues

This is the fourth post in a continuing series concerning the fateful decision of Brite Divinity School to honor the Rev. Jeremiah Wright on May 29th. For background read (1) Brite Divinity School to Honor Rev. Jeremiah Wright, (2) Brite Divinity School Jeremiah Wright Update, and (3) Brite, Jeremiah Wright, and the Out of Context Card

Here’s a round-up of the news tonight: No new stories in the papers in the last few hours.

Roger Gardner of Radar Site has done a masterful job of compiling many reader comments (both pro and con) from the Fort Worth Star Telegram concerning the words of Rev. Jeremiah Wright and the decision of Brite Divinity School to stand firm in honoring Wright on March 29th.

I’d love to steal the last line from his excellent summary but that wouldn’t be fair. Just go visit Radar Site and leave a comment.

SocraticGadfly has posted an interesting prediction

“ . . .As I blogged earlier, nonetheless, expect local winger Mark Davis, national winger Rush Limbaugh, or other wingers to organize protests at TCU, to call on Obama to denounce TCU, etc.

Or, as more about Rev. Wright’s AIDS comments come out, if he has any other gay comments that are less than ideal, we could see gay protestors there, too.

Unless Brite has a very private site, and announces it at the last minutes, or decides not to do so at all, the fireworks could ramp up.”

Passionate Prose Letters to the Editor muses . . .

“ . . .A spiritual mentor and pastor to a presidential candidate espouses hatred and distrust of America from the pulpit, over and over again; yet The Brite Divinity School of TCU plans to honor this preacher with a Black Leadership Award on March 29. Are you going to continue to sit back and watch or will you say, "I am proud to be an American and I'm not going to take this any more?

"On the National scene Fox’s Greta Van Susteren interviewed Andrew Chavez, editor of Texas Christian University’s THE DAILY SKIFF on March 18th and again tonight. Chavez believes that there will be a lot of people interested in attending the Wright event. But Brite hasn’t yet announced where it will be held. The Black Church Awards Banquet is a $125.00 a plate affair. (Let me avoid the urge to comment here.) Chavez confirmed tonight that there are not a lot of students on campus who are in favor of the Wright event. Ya think???

Update: VFF National Tour

Vets for Freedom National Heroes Tour Gains Momentum



We’re on the road. The National Heroes Tour kicked off last Friday from the deck of the USS Midway, and is currently winding its way across the Southwest. The kickoff was a great success, with over 700 people coming out to show their support for the troops and their families. Thanks to those of you who came out to help make the event such an accomplishment!

As we deliver the message of the success of the surge and the importance of finishing the job, the local media is responding. Our event in San Diego was not only covered by the local NBC, ABC, and CBS affiliates, but we also did in-studio interviews at two local morning shows and three local radio shows. It was also on the West Coast broadcast of CBS Evening News.
You can view the broadcast coverage of the tour here. The reception was the same Monday in Phoenix and Tuesday in Tucson.

Our voices are being heard, and as the tour continues, the momentum will continue to build. From Texas to Washington, D.C., we aim to help Americans understand the importance of letting our troops win in Iraq.

As mentioned last week, a tour such as this is not a low-cost venture. To help support the Tour, we've commissioned an Official Heroes Tour T-shirt and Tour Coin that are available when you make a donation to Vets for Freedom.
The T-shirt is available for a donation of $25, and for a donation of $50, you get both the T-shirt and Coin. As always, your donations go directly to supporting Vets for Freedom's mission of ensuring that our troops have the support they need to continue to fight the Global War on Terror.

A poll released by the BBC on Sunday shows that 55 percent of Iraqis feel that "their lives are good." Additionally, 80 percent of Iraqis said the US should continue to fight Al Qaeda and foreign jihadists in Iraq. Yet, the mainstream media and many of our politicians continue to ignore these facts and the progress being made by our troops on the ground.

We appreciate your support, and admire your conviction.

Move out and draw fire!


Pete HegsethExecutive Director
Vets for Freedom

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Special Guest Post from Faultline USA

Cross posted from Barb at Faultline USA

Brite Divinity School to Honor Rev. Jeremiah Wright
by Barbara W. Sowell

“If Brite does not rescind this invitation to Jeremiah Wright, I will be compelled by conscience to repudiate my Theology degree from Brite Divinity School.”

On the heels of Obama’s race speech yesterday I learned on national TV that Brite Divinity School at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth Texas is still planning on presenting an award to Rev. Jeremiah Wright at the Black Church Awards Banquet for his 40-year ministry linking divine justice and social justice. Brite will host the fourth annual State of the Black Church Summit and Awards Banquet on March 29.

What is a ministry that links divine justice and social justice? Basically it’s short for Marxist born and bred Liberation Theology. Cutting out all the nuanced obfuscations of leftist Theological language and political correctness, Liberation Theology sees Jesus as the Divine Revolutionary leader intent on bringing social justice into this world. It’s a theology that calls for God’s Kingdom here on earth; not something to be attained in the hereafter. And if necessary, God’s Kingdom must be brought forth here and now on earth by any means necessary - even including violent revolution. I leave it to your imagination as to what country and which people must be dealt with!

It is imperative that traditional Christians from all denominations reach out to the young “middle class Christians” that are clueless as to what kind of heresy Brite and other seminaries are spreading. Here’s a typical response from a properly indoctrinated Marxist Brite graduate who is probably coming to pastor a church near you. Note that the blogger doesn’t have comments enabled.

“Today I'm proud to be a graduate of Brite Divinity School, which has affirmed its decision to recognize Jeremiah Wright's ministry at this month's State of the Black Church awards banquet.I don't know that God would damn America, as Rev. Wright suggested God ought, but the Holy One surely grieves the nation's racist history and the blood-stained wealth that continues to influence its cultures, politics, and educational institutions.Recognizing the need to interpret Wright's statements with context, audience, and rhetorical intent in mind, Brite has made a courageous and just decision. . . .”

He doesn’t know if God will damn America???

Today, Ariel Alexovich of the New York Times politics blog wrote “Open Caucus: On Race and Delegates”. Here’s an excerpt about Brite.

“ . . .I heard on the news today that the Brite Divinity School at Texas Christian University was bestowing an award to Rev. Wright this spring. How could this be? The answer is to explore the relationship between the evangelical left and the hard secular left and the interaction between the two. The Obamas were comfortable at Trinity United Church of Christ because the message and theology from Mr. Wright were consistent with the historical world view in which both were academically immersed in the Ivy League.

While the core tenet of the evangelical left is pacifism, the core thrusts of the secular left are distributional justice and social equality. These themes complement each other, and the evangelical and secular Left mutually reinforce each other’s respective positions. . .”

The only correction I would make to Alexovich’s statement above is that Brite Divinity School is not an evangelical school. It is a Mainline Christian seminary!!! During the time that I attended Brite the majority of the students were from the United Methodist and Disciples of Christ denominations.

For more information on Black Liberation Theology please read Obama’s Marxist Liberation Theology Church

Those who have followed my writing about Leftist Heresy in my blog, Faultline USA, are familiar with my stories of surviving and graduating as a traditional Christian from an extremely liberal mainline Christian seminary. I have always refrained from mentioning the name of the seminary because my intent was not to disparage any one institution but to inform other Christians about the dangers of heretical leftist Christianity. Today, however, I am so disgusted that I am revealing the hotbed of radical leftist “Christianity” seminary where I earned my degree. And I am coming forward with a public call for action.

If Brite does not immediately rescind this invitation to Jeremiah Wright, I will be compelled by my conscience to repudiate my Theology degree from Brite Divinity School. I am calling on all Brite alumni, who share my disgust with Brite for this appallingly stupid and racially divisive decision, to join with me in a public demand that Brite must IIMMEDIATELY RESCIND THIS INVITATIN TO JEREMIAH WRIGHT!

Sam Hodges from the Dallas Morning News quoted from a Brite statement affirming their decision:

“ . . .According to a statement posted Monday on its Web site, Brite affirmed its decision "after careful review" and "understanding the sincere concerns many have voiced in response to recent media reports."

The statement continues:

"Contrary to media claims that Wright preaches racial hatred, church leaders who have observed his ministry describe him as a faithful preacher of the gospel who has ministered in a context radically different from that of many middle class Americans." . . .

TCU Chancellor Victor J. Boschini Jr. said Monday that "TCU supports the right of free speech even when the opinions expressed are controversial. That is what a university is about. But giving an award is another matter, and in this specific case in light of Reverend Wright's recently discovered remarks, TCU would not give such an award." . . .

Although Brite is on the TCU campus, it's a separate school with its own officers and board. Dr. Williams emphasized that the decision to honor Dr. Wright was Brite's alone. . .”

Yes, I will agree that Wright’s preaching is radically different from that of many middle class Americans, and we all must remember that context is everything to multicultural moral relativists! But America can no longer afford a double standard of multiple contexts when it comes to racially charged inflammatory speech. We are now living in “a time when we need to come together to solve a set of monumental problems,” and according to Obama that demands a context of unity! Ministers, no matter how much good they might have done, and no matter what the racial context, can no longer get a free pass for Anti-American, anti-Jewish or anti-White racist speech!!! Universities can no longer hide behind “the right of free speech” lie that rewards leftist anarchists and Anti-American traitors while silencing the voices and limiting the access of traditional Americans!

To the most progressive President of Brite Divinity School, D. Newell Williams, and to Chancellor Boschini of Texas Christian University, I am reminding them of Obama’s speech Tuesday morning regarding Jeremiah Wright’s words. This is from the transcript which can be found here.

“ . . .I have already condemned, in unequivocal terms, the statements of Reverend Wright that have caused such controversy. For some, nagging questions remain. Did I know him to be an occasionally fierce critic of American domestic and foreign policy? Of course. Did I ever hear him make remarks that could be considered controversial while I sat in church? Yes. Did I strongly disagree with many of his political views? Absolutely - just as I'm sure many of you have heard remarks from your pastors, priests, or rabbis with which you strongly disagreed.

But the remarks that have caused this recent firestorm weren't simply controversial. They weren't simply a religious leader's effort to speak out against perceived injustice. Instead, they expressed a profoundly distorted view of this country - a view that sees white racism as endemic, and that elevates what is wrong with America above all that we know is right with America; a view that sees the conflicts in the Middle East as rooted primarily in the actions of stalwart allies like Israel, instead of emanating from the perverse and hateful ideologies of radical Islam.

As such, Reverend Wright's comments were not only wrong but divisive, divisive at a time when we need unity; racially charged at a time when we need to come together to solve a set of monumental problems - two wars, a terrorist threat, a falling economy, a chronic health care crisis and potentially devastating climate change; problems that are neither black or white or Latino or Asian, but rather problems that confront us all. . . .”

Follow the comments on the Daily Skiff, the TCU student newspaper at Divinity school to present award to minister despite controversial remarks

If you’d like to share your thoughts with the President of Brite Divinity School, D. Newell Williams, or with Texas Christian University Chancellor Boschini, here is their contact info.

President of Brite Divinity School, D. Newell Williams n.williams(at)tcu.edu

TCU Chancellor Boschini v.boschini(at)tcu.edu

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Go to Latest Update: Brite Divinity School Jeremiah Wright Update

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Upcoming: What is Wrong With Wright - A Pastor's Prospective


I know this topic has been written about from nearly every angle possible, and I know that pastors like Bill Keller have written on the topic, but I will be sharing my thoughts and feelings on this from a pastor's prospective.

I can tell you that I was thoroughly disgusted that obama would pass this off that everyone has disagreed with their pastor, rabbi, or priests at one time or another. This isn't about disagreement, this about possible blasphemy - to say God D..N America from any place, but much less the pulpit - and to get cheers from the congregation......

Well, I think you can see that I am a little more than worked up over this and I will share in depth about it right here in a day or two. Until then, it's my belief that this man should quit worrying about America and be praying that he hasn't committed the unforgivable sin!

Promo for Thursday's BTR Show

Thursday's daytime version of Do The Right Thing Radio will be totally devoted to the Holiest Days of the Christian year. From the Crucifixion to the Resurrection, Jesus gave it all for you and I.

We would love to have as many callers as possible to call in and just give a short statement on what these days mean to you personally. The call-in number is (347) 324-5417. The show begins at 2:00 pm (eastern) and the chat room will be open at least 15 minutes prior to the beginning of the show.

Click on this link to get to the live show and the archives: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/cyberpastor .

Also, I am looking at suggestions for our Mondays time slot. There are 3 really good shows on at the same time, and was thinking possibly Sunday at 11:00 pm (eastern). I still am not able to schedule from 7:00 to 10:30 pm (prime time), so we are limited.

Give me your opinions please!

We Haven't Gone Anywhere!

I realize there hasn't been many posts lately, but we are still in business (so to speak) here at Do The Right Thing!


I just want everyone from Mrs. CP and my family to the Cyber Crew to my other blogger friends to everyone who just drops by, to know that you are very important to me.

I pray that during this Holy Week, you will take the time to know that if you do not know the Lord, Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, you will take the time to examine what Jesus did for all of us.

As John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life!"

Monday, March 17, 2008

What Others Are Saying

These are some of the most recent posts from my blogging friends about Jeremiah Wright. These are in-depth articles that can tell the story much better than I, so if you want to do your homework prior to tonight's Do the Right Thing Radio broadcast, click on some of these links below.


Miss Beth's Victory Dance:



A Newt One:




Earlier posts on this:

Wake Up America: here.

A Newt One: here, here, here and here.

Faultline USA: here, here, here, here, here, and here.

Grizzly Groundswell: here, and here.

Stop the ACLU!: here, here, here, and here.

Miss Beth's Victory Dance here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.
You will find pictures, video, opinions, and tons of other links in these posts.