The Road To The Risen Lord

By Dr. Tony Beam.

I am the “world’s worst” at giving and following directions. Lost is my favorite TV show. I argue with my GPS. My wife tells me that I am the only person she knows who can get lost in my own driveway. I once got lost because I took a shortcut while I was taking a shortcut. When someone asks me for directions I usually tell them they would be better off getting lost on their own.

Sometimes getting lost can be a major inconvenience. A good friend of mine, who is at least as clueless as I am about directions, let his wife go to sleep while he drove them to their vacation destination. He had been driving for three hours when his wife woke up and realized they had been heading in the opposite direction from their destination and were over 200 miles off course!

Sometimes getting lost can lead to confusion and disaster. During the Battle of the Bulge, the last desperate attempt of the German army to divide Allied forces during World War II, German soldiers switched the road signs that led to Ambleve and Malmedy. The resulting confusion slowed Allied reinforcements giving the German army time to advance and drag out the battle.

Sometimes getting lost can lead to eternal destruction. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus spoke of two ways…one that would lead to life and the other that would lead to destruction. “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” (Matthew 7:13-14 New American Standard Bible). But we are not left to find the narrow way of life on our own. When Thomas complained that the disciples did not know where Jesus was going and therefore did not know the way, Jesus responded, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father but through Me” (John 14:6).

This Sunday, Christians all over the world will celebrate the risen Christ. Where death reigned, life now reigns supreme. Where darkness and despair choked the light of life, now light and hope give new meaning to life. Jesus Christ lives and because He lives, the future is filled with the promise of life everlasting for all who believe.

How can we know the road to the risen Lord? Luke 24:13-35 tells the story of two disciples who found the road to the risen Lord while walking on the road to a village named Emmaus. In a face-to- face encounter with the risen Christ they learned four things about the road that would lead them to Him.

First, the road to the risen Lord goes through the cross. The way to life for a lost and dying world had to be opened by a death. It was the humiliation, suffering, and death of Jesus, His shed blood, which opened the way to a living relationship with God. The two disciples were talking about the crucifixion when Jesus began walking with them. They described how the one they believed to be the Messiah had been delivered to the chief priests and rulers and had been sentenced to death. Following Christ means believing before there can be a resurrection there must be the pain, suffering, and death of the cross. Paul said it best in Galatians 6:14, “But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, though which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”

Second, the road to the risen Lord has Christ as a traveling companion. Just as Jesus walked with his disciples on the dusty roads of Judea during His earthly life, He walks with them still as the risen Lord, always encouraging them and teaching them to stay on the right road. We need Christ the traveling Companion. We need His presence in our lives as we walk along life’s road. He guides us through the maze of trials, the multitude of tears, and the mundane sameness that can settle over us like a cloud. He celebrates our triumphs when we are careful to give Him the glory and He guides us past the shadow of death into the light of eternal life.

Third, the road to the risen Lord is uncovered by His Word. Luke 24:27 says, “Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.” The disciple’s eyes were opened after hearing the Word of God. It was the Word that caused the disciples to want Jesus to stay with them. His teaching created a hunger that made them want to know more. God’s Word is like that…it draws us in and leads us to the truth about who Jesus is.

Finally, the road to the risen Lord turns cooling into courage. When Jesus met the two disciples they were “standing still and looking sad.” But when they realized it was Jesus, the risen Lord who had been teaching them, they said to one another, “Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road” (Luke 24:32a)? Luke 24:33 tells us that they “got up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem” so they could relate their experiences. Despondency gave way to rejoicing and despair gave way to courage.

When we look at the state of the world today we are often tempted to stand still and mourn. But we must remember our mourning is turned to joy when we find ourselves on the road to the risen Lord! He is risen, indeed!


You can hear Dr. Tony Beam live on Christian Talk 660 weekday mornings from 7:00-9:00 AM (EST) as he is the host of Christian Worldview Today. You can also listen to recorded broadcasts in the Christian Worldview Today Archive.

Dr. Tony Beam is Vice-President for Student Services and the Director of the Christian Worldview Center at North Greenville College in Tigerville, South Carolina, Dr. Tony Beam received his Master of Divinity from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina, and his Doctor of Ministry from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky.

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Faith: The Evidence of Things Not Seen

By Samuel Lawrence:

I get them all the time, and I am sure you do too: those emails and chain letters aimed at Christians.  Many come with blessings, news and information, encouragement or a mix of all three.  Often they contain promises of great blessings if sent to those in your address book, and some contain potential curses for those who dare delete them.  Many of these tempt your faith with phrases like “If you love Jesus, pass it on. If you don’t then delete it.” The sad truth is many of these emails originate with less than Christian intent. Too often these are vehicles for spammers using email harvesting software. They can also contain malware and spyware.  More often than not, they originate with the sole intent of making Christians look foolish.  They are the chain letters of yesteryear made digital.  I still get as email chain letters today, the very same variety as ones I received as” snail mail” 30 years ago.

Please do not misunderstand my intent. I sincerely believe those who send me these emails are being good friends and sharing what is often intended to be faith building or encouraging emails.   I must admit I often forward these too, but I try to “sift the chaff” before hitting the send button.  I also try to help fellow believers when they fall into a ruse of passing bad information.   Recently two such emails come to mind.  One email contained Barack Obama allegedly taking his shoes off to pray with Muslims.  Now let me say that I look at the fruit of his term as President and must doubt the depth and sincerity of his seemingly feigned Christian Faith.  I cannot fathom any Christian signing bill that supports the killing of innocent life through abortion.  Plus Obama has made many token acts and comments which demonstrate more Islamic allegiance than Christian.  So this presidential picture  in the email seemed plausible.  However, thanks to urban legend busting websites, the photo was deemed a fake before I blogged about it or sent it out to all my email friends.

Another recent email sent to me by a Christian friend was intended to be a faith builder to me and others as it contained many photos of archeological digs in biblical lands.  The series of photos contained bones of what appeared to be remains of giants, reportedly found in Saudi Arabia, thereby proving the biblical accounts regarding giants.

Now, I know the person who sent it and I know that their intent was to give a positive faith boost.  As someone who loves to dabble with photo editing software, I was skeptical from the start.  I have been taken in too many times and so I was suspicious.  With only minimal searching, I was able to find that the photos were originally part of a photo-editing contest and the entire associated email story was contrived to make the hoax appear real.  I “sifted this chaff” and notified my friend who then notified those who were in the their email distribution that this was a hoax. Because it targeted Christians, with the obvious intent to make them appear foolish, I had to help break the chain of deceit.  Biblical references to ‘sifting’ wheat was the process of separating or filtering the good from the bad, the wheat from the chaff. Sifting is used to purify a product. The process involved winnowing wheat on large forks with six prongs. The forks were waved in the wind until the chaff blew off. Undesirable chaff would at times cling tenaciously to the fork.

The other side of that coin is the propaganda spin related to anything Christian.  There are many other hoaxes passed off as science, such as the myth of evolution.  Secular Humanists try to turn any news article that does support Biblical accounts as either phony or paint them with a broad brush of skepticism.  For a great resource that supports all things historically Christian, see http://answersingenesis.org.

The only time archeological finds are trumpeted in the main media outlets is when it seems to support the myth of evolution. That does not mean there have not been any that support biblical accounts. It just means the propaganda news outlet choose to bury them or obscure and ridicule them.  One example is the recent NT Times story about a significant archeological find supporting the historical fact of King David’s reign.  The negative spin by the author began soon after the opening statement which reads An Israeli archeologist says she has uncovered in east Jerusalem what she believes may be the fabled palace of the biblical King David.” The author goes on to quote Hani Nur el-Din, a professor of archaeology at Al Quds University who said “There’s a kind of fiction about the 10th century. They try to link whatever they find to the biblical narration. They have a button and they want to make a suit out of it.” That last sentence quoted is laughable because the last sentence is exactly what evolutionists do with the fossil record.  They take a single fossilized bone and imagine an entire prehistoric creature or human-ape missing link.

My comment to my friend who sent me the giant hoax is this: as followers of Christ, we must not fall into the same trap as those in Jesus day.  In Matthew 12:38-42 (NASB) Jesus instructs us  “An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet; for just as JONAH WAS THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS IN THE BELLY OF THE SEA MONSTER, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. “The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment, and will condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. “The Queen of the South will rise up with this generation at the judgment and will condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.” Jesus told “Doubting” Thomas, in John 20:29 “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

The Apostle Paul, in Romans 1:16-17, made it clear that the righteous shall live by faith: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’” Paul also taught the Corinthians, in 1 Corinthians 1:18-25, about Christ and the wisdom and power of God: “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.’ Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.”

So, Christians, be of good cheer, Christ is risen! We celebrate that on Easter and every Lord’s day.  We need not fear what man may think or say for our faith is not in signs, or archeology, or even in science. Our faith is in our Savior, Jesus Christ who was crucified for our sins and who was raised on the third day and lives forevermore as King of Kings and Lord of Lords!  The writer of the Book of Hebrews said it succinctly in Hebrews 11:1 (King James Version) “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

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Up Next: Open Gays In The Military And Amnesty For Illegals

By Chuck Baldwin

Fresh off his health care reform victory, President Barack Obama will quickly move to overturn the DOD’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy prohibiting sodomites from serving openly in the US military. He will also move to grant amnesty for millions of illegal aliens. These are Obama’s next two agenda items, as he attempts to fulfill his campaign promise to “remake America.”

Already the Pentagon has opened the door for women to serve alongside men aboard submarines, something the Navy has never allowed–for what should be obvious reasons. Furthermore, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates just this week closed the door on rank and file military personnel from “outing” homosexuals that they discover among the troops. This move is seen as a precursor to the soon-coming complete undoing of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

See Secretary Gates’ press conference at: http://tinyurl.com/abc-gays-military

It is difficult for me to imagine that frontline troops could tolerate open homosexuals serving among them. Over the past 30 years, I have spoken with hundreds (literally) of active duty and retired frontline soldiers, sailors, Marines, and airmen, and I can unequivocally say that not one of them supported allowing sodomites to serve openly in the US military–especially in combat units. Not one! And the vast majority of them were also opposed to women serving in combat units.

I am confident that the head of the Marine Corps, General James Conway, spoke for the vast majority of fighting men when he said that he “opposed ending the ban on gays serving openly in the military.”

Breitbart.com reported, “General James Conway told the Senate Armed Services Committee that he disagreed with Obama’s plan to repeal the ban.

“‘My best military advice to this committee, to the (defense) secretary, and to the president would be to keep the law such as it is.’”

See the report at: http://tinyurl.com/gays-conway-disagrees 

Sadly (as many active duty soldiers will attest), these politically correct nincompoops in Washington, D.C., are turning the modern American army–once the finest fighting force in the world–into a hodgepodge of foreigners, gang members, women, homosexuals, and mercenaries. (It worked out so well for Rome!)

In addition, President Obama is teaming up (even as we speak) with perennial pro-amnesty senators, John McCain and Lindsey Graham (among others), in a fresh push to grant amnesty and a path to citizenship for millions of (mostly Hispanic) illegal immigrants. This will be a “full-court press,” and with the Democrats in control of both chambers in Congress, it will probably enjoy the same result as the health care reform bill.

Of course, on this subject, it would not have mattered one iota had John McCain been elected President instead of Obama. McCain has long been a champion of amnesty for illegals and would most definitely have promoted this particular agenda from the Oval Office, as Obama is now doing.

In reality, Obama and his fellow socialists and globalists in Washington, D.C., are not simply “remaking America.” They are burying the American republic. Not that George W. Bush didn’t do his part, because he most certainly did. Obama is simply escalating the pace. As usual in Washington politics, the Republican and Democrat parties seldom actually reverse the course set by their predecessors; they merely adjust the rhetoric (and maybe the speed), but the overall course toward socialism and globalism never changes.

That the GOP has adopted the new slogan, “Repeal and Replace” (relative to Obama’s health care bill), demonstrates how things are done in Washington, D.C. Should the GOP successfully repeal the health care reform bill just passed, they will replace it with a “light” version, which would retain at least 75-80% (my estimate) of the original content. Again, the course toward socialism will remain constant–a Republican takeover of Congress notwithstanding.

This is not to say that the American people should not vote out every Democrat who voted for the health care bill–they most certainly should! (And then after voting them out, how about tarring and feathering them?) But the only real solution to this–and every other abridgment of liberty and constitutional government–is State nullification.

The states must declare their independent sovereignty and constitutional authority to check the unlawful attempt by Washington, D.C., to usurp State jurisdiction. This can be done through lawsuits (already happening) and civil disobedience (refusing to comply with the federally mandated health care bill).

Furthermore, it is also time for individuals to draw their line in the sand and say “No” to Washington’s tyranny. I agree with Rob Natelson (except in regard to his suggestion that we try and amend the US Constitution, with which I strongly disagree), where he said, “To the extent they can, physicians and other providers should opt out of the system. Their choices include partial or complete refusal to participate in Medicare, Medicaid, and other government programs; refusal to take any but direct-payment patients; reduced work hours; and even career change and early retirement. Students considering a medical career should now reconsider. Given the ominous nature of the federal health care coup d’état, my guess is that a lot of this will happen anyway.”

See Natelson’s column at: http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig11/natelson1.1.1.html

Natelson is right. I personally have knowledge (directly or indirectly) of at least 20-30 physicians who are going to retire, now that the health care bill has passed. They universally state that medical care will most certainly be rationed and that people will be left untreated for cost reasons, not to mention the fact that physicians will now become little more than government employees. The doctors I’ve spoken with say that this is unacceptable, and they are getting out. And who can blame them?

Phyllis Schlafly was exactly right when she wrote, “The American people have figured out the issue is not health care, it’s freedom.”

See Schlafly’s column at: http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article.aspx?id=528172

Furthermore, parents need to seriously consider not giving their children to the US military–which is currently being designed more to facilitate the agenda of the United Nations and accommodate politically correct social experimentation than to defend the people and property of the United States–at least until the Pentagon is willing to maintain the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy prohibiting homosexuals from serving openly in the military. Dear parent, ask yourself, “Do you really want your sons and daughters showering and sleeping with open homosexuals and lesbians?”

And the illegal alien problem must also be addressed at the State and local level. Sheriffs such as Maricopa County (Phoenix) Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio will be absolutely essential to the maintenance of law and order, as the central government’s open border policy continues to escalate. Otherwise, Washington’s ambition of a US/Mexican, no borders, hemispheric union is most assuredly in our not-too-distant future.

Governors who believe in constitutional government (and who understand what that means) are especially critical at this point in history. We must have governors who are willing to resist these constant intrusions of the central government into the affairs of the State. Governors who will lead the charge for State nullification; governors who will demand that their State’s sheriffs uphold the rights and liberties of the citizens of their counties and not allow federal police agencies to harass and harangue them; governors who will resist Washington’s attempts to bribe them into submission; and governors who will resurrect their State guards (not talking about the National Guard) and militias must be elected immediately!

Ladies and gentlemen, the problem in Washington, D.C., cannot be fixed in Washington, D.C. When are we going to realize that? The problem can only be fixed at the State and local level. DC is an arrogant, out-of-control bully; but, folks, make no mistake about it: THE STATES ARE POWERFUL ENOUGH TO STOP WASHINGTON’S MADNESS! The states have the lawful, moral, ethical, constitutional, and, yes, scriptural authority to resist these Machiavellians in Washington, D.C. The only question is, will they do it? And one more thing: the states that do stand up deserve our support, and the ones that don’t deserve our contempt. Either way, our liberties will be won or lost at the State level.

This column is archived at: http://chuckbaldwinlive.com/home/?p=1027


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Copyright © 2010 Chuck Baldwin

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Dates That Destroyed America

By Chuck Baldwin

Passage of the so-called “health care reform” bill in the House of Representatives this past Sunday, March 21 (I won’t even address the inferred unconstitutionality of Congress doing business on the Lord’s Day.  See Article. I. Section. 7. Paragraph. 2.) drove yet another stake into the heart of America. For all intents and purposes, it is the health of the United States that is in dire need of healing. In fact, the US has been on extended life-support for decades. With its condition being rendered critical, and absent major surgery, its days are numbered. The passage of this bill only serves to further weaken an already frail Constitution. In fact, this one may prove to be the fatal blow. Lady Liberty may never recover.

The decision by Congress to socialize medicine in the US ranks among the most draconian, most egregious, most horrific actions ever taken by the central government in Washington, D.C. This bill rocks the principles of liberty and constitutional government to the core. It changes fundamental foundations; it repudiates historical principle. Oh! The same flag may fly on our flagpoles, the same monuments may grace our landscape, and the same National Anthem may be sung during our public ceremonies, but it is not the same America. The Congress of the United States has now officially turned America into a socialist state.

On March 23, 2010, President Barack Obama signed the health care bill into law, and as such, this date–along with March 21–joins a list of dates that have each inflicted unconstitutional, socialistic, and sometimes even tyrannical action against the States United and have, therefore, contributed to the destruction of a free America.

April 9, 1865

This is the date when General Robert E. Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia to U.S. Grant at Appomattox Court House, Virginia. Regardless of where one comes down on the subject of the Civil War, one fact is undeniable: Abraham Lincoln forever destroyed the Jeffersonian model of federalism in America. Ever since, virtually every battle that free men have fought for the principles of limited government, State sovereignty, etc., have all stemmed directly from Lincoln’s usurpation of power, which resulted in the subjugation and forced union of what used to be “Free and Independent States” (the Declaration of Independence). In fact, the philosophical battles being waged today regarding the recent health care debacle (and every other encroachment upon liberty and State power by the central government) have their roots in Lincoln’s tyranny.

July 9, 1868

This is the date when the 14th Amendment was ratified. This amendment codified into law what Lincoln had forced at bayonet point. Until then, people were only deemed citizens of their respective states. The Constitution nowhere referred to people as “US citizens.” It only recognized ”the Citizens of each State.” Notice also that citizenship was only recognized among the “several States,” not among people living in non-State territories. Until the 14th Amendment, people were “Citizens of each State.”  (Article. IV. Section. 2. Paragraph. 1.) The 14th Amendment created a whole new class of persons: “citizens of the United States.” This false notion of ”one nation” overturned the Jeffersonian principle that our nation was a confederated republic, a voluntary union of states.

February 3, 1913

This is the date when the 16th Amendment was ratified, and the direct income tax and IRS were instituted. This was a flagrant repudiation of freedom principles! What began as a temporary measure to support the War of Northern Aggression became a permanent income revenue stream for an unconstitutional–and ever-growing–central government.

April 8, 1913

This is the date when the 17th Amendment was ratified. This amendment overturned the power of the State legislatures to elect their own senators and replaced it with a direct, popular vote. This was another serious blow against State sovereignty. The framers of the Constitution desired that the influence and power in Washington, D.C., be kept as close to the people and states as possible. For example, the number of representatives in the House of Representatives was to be decided by a limited number of voters. In the original Constitution, the ratio of “people of the several States” deciding their House member could not exceed “one for every thirty thousand.” (Article. I. Section. 2. Paragraph. 3.) And when it came to the US Senate, the framers also recognized the authority of each State legislature to select its own senators, thereby keeping power and influence from aggregating in Washington, D.C. The 17th Amendment seriously damaged the influence and power of the states by forcing them to elect their US senators by popular vote. The bigger the State, the less influence the State legislature has in determining its US senator. Senators who answered to State legislators, each answering to a limited number of voters, are much more accountable to the “citizens of the several States” than those who are elected by a large number (many times numbering into the millions) of people. For all intents and purposes (at least in the larger states), US Senators are more like “mini-Presidents” than they are representatives of
sovereign states.

December 23, 1913

This is the date when the Federal Reserve Act was passed. This Act placed oversight of America’s financial matters into the hands of a cabal of private international bankers, who have completely destroyed the constitutional principles of sound money and (for the most part) free enterprise. No longer would the marketplace (private consumption, thrift, growth, etc.) be the determinant of the US economy (which is what freedom is all about), but now a private, unaccountable international banking cartel would have total power and authority to micromanage (for their own private,  parochial purposes) America’s financial sector. Virtually every recession, depression, and downturn (including the one we are now experiencing) has been the direct result of the Fed’s manipulation (again, for its own purposes and with Washington’s cooperation) of the market.

June 26, 1945

This is the date when the United Nations Charter was signed and America joined the push for global government. Ever since, US forces have spilled untold amounts of blood and sacrificed thousands of lives promoting the UN’s agenda. Since the end of World War II, in virtually every war in which US military forces have been engaged, it has been at the behest of the UN. And it is also no accident that America has not fought a constitutionally declared war since we entered the UN–and neither have we won one.

Furthermore, it is America’s involvement in the United Nations that has spearheaded this draconian push for a New World Order that George H. W. Bush, Henry Kissinger, Tony Blair, Walter Cronkite, et al., have talked so much about. The United Nations is an evil institution that has completely co-opted our US State Department and much of our Defense Department. It is an anti-American institution that works aggressively and constantly against the interests and principles of the United States. But it is an institution that is ensconced in the American political infrastructure. Like a cancer, the UN eats away at our liberties and values, and both major political parties in Washington, D.C., are culpable in allowing it to exert so much influence upon our country.

June 25, 1962, and June 17, 1963

These are the dates when the US Supreme Court removed prayer (’62) and Bible reading (’63) from public schools. At this point, these two Supreme Court decisions were the most serious affront to the First Amendment in US history. Think of it: from before a union of states was established in 1787, children had been free to pray and read the Scriptures in school. We’re talking about a period of more than 300 years! Of course, the various State legislatures–and myriad city and county governmental meetings–still open their sessions in prayer, as do the US House and Senate, and even the US Supreme Court. But this same liberty is denied the children of America. There is no question that America has not recovered from these two horrific Supreme Court decisions. In effect, the federal government has expelled God not only from our public schools, but also from our public life! And America has not been the same since.

October 22, 1968

This is the date when President Lyndon Baines Johnson signed the Gun Control Act of 1968. Before this Act, the 2nd Amendment was alive and well in the United States. The Gun Control Act of 1968 turned a right into a privilege and forever forced the American people to bow to the altar of government when seeking to arm themselves. Interestingly enough, this Gun Control Act mirrored Nazi Germany’s Gun Control Act of 1938. In fact, the Gun Control Act of 1968 is almost a verbatim copy of Hitler’s Gun Control Act of 1938.

Our Founding Fathers could never have imagined that governments within the ”several States” would ever be allowed to deny the people’s right to keep and bear arms. In fact, it was the attempted confiscation of the firearms stored at Concord, Massachusetts, that triggered the War of Independence in 1775. That the people of Massachusetts would be denied their right to keep and bear arms, as they are today, could not have been foreseen–and would never have been tolerated–by America’s founders.

Yet, most of the hundreds of draconian gun control laws that have been inflicted upon the American people have all come about as a result of the Gun Control Act of 1968.

January 22, 1973

This is the date when the US Supreme Court issued the Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton decisions, which, in effect, legalized abortion-on-demand. These two decisions expunged the Jeffersonian principle that all men are endowed by their Creator with the unalienable right to life (Declaration). Since then,  more than 50 million unborn babies have been legally murdered in their mothers’ wombs. Abortion is, without a doubt, America’s national holocaust.  It has opened the door to a host of Big Government programs and policies that have resulted in the wanton destruction of human life both in the United States and overseas. It has created an entire industry whose express purpose for existing is the destruction of human life. It has desensitized the conscience and soul of America. Furthermore, it has forced men of decency and good will to finance–with their tax dollars–the unconscionable act of killing unborn children.

And once again, another Jeffersonian principle was eviscerated. He said, “To compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.” The Roe and Doe decisions violate this principle in the most egregious manner possible.

October 26, 2001

This is the date when President George W. Bush signed the USA Patriot Act, and the federal government’s war against individual liberty began in earnest. Most of the unconstitutional eavesdropping, snooping, wiretapping, phone call intercepting, email reading, prying, financial records tracking, travel watching, ad infinitum, ad nauseam, by federal police agencies began with the implementation of the Patriot Act. The Department of Homeland Security and the “war on terrorism,” which have resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of innocent people worldwide, and the usurpation of federal power at home, have all come about as an outgrowth of the Patriot Act. The USA Patriot Act has forever shifted the focus of American law and jurisprudence against constitutional government and individual liberty, toward a police-state mentality. The Patriot Act is even turning our local and State law enforcement agencies into military-style “Jackboots,” where police officers see themselves not necessarily as guardians of the citizenry, but, as often as not, as adversaries, where citizens are deemed to be the “enemy.”

October 17, 2006, and October 9, 2009

These are the dates when President G.W. Bush signed and re-signed the Military Commissions Act. This Act is the outgrowth of the Patriot Act but has, in effect, terminated the fundamental protections of individual liberty, which are found in the US Constitution and Bill of Rights. For all intents and purposes, the Patriot Act and Military Commissions Act eviscerated the 4th and 5th Amendments, and do serious injury to several others. The Military Commissions Act also expunges the constitutional right of Habeas Corpus.

March 21 and 23, 2010

These are the dates when Congress passed and President Obama signed into law the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act,” the so-called “health care reform” bill that we spoke about at the beginning of this column. While Social Security and various Welfare programs have toyed with socialism in the United States, this bill is the largest and most expansive endorsement of socialism in American history. This bill socializes some 18% of the US economy by socializing the health care industry in America. The fallout and ramifications of this bill are going to be horrific.

When future historians review the demise of our once-great republic, they will observe that the above dates, including March 21 and March 23, 2010, were the dates that destroyed America. The American people have been far too tolerant for far too long.

People concerned about the future of freedom and prosperity in America should line up quickly and demand that their respective State legislatures and governors resist this new health care bill, even to the point of refusing to implement it in their states. More than 30 states are threatening to take the health care bill to court. But states must do more than that. They must follow the lead of the State of Virginia and pass legislation refusing to comply with it. Yes, I’m saying it: it is time for
another State rebellion! If states do not stand up and draw their lines in the sand now, it will be forever too late.

This column is archived at http://chuckbaldwinlive.com/home/?p=999


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Copyright © 2010 Chuck Baldwin

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Family Talk

By Samuel Lawrence:

Recently I found out that one of my favorite broadcasters and authors was leaving a ministry I have followed for decades.  I was surprised and saddened.  The broadcasts and writings of Dr. James Dobson have helped me grow as a Christian and to have more of a biblical world view of marriage and family, not to mention becoming enlightened on both pro and anti-family legislation.

When I first heard Dr. Dobson was leaving Focus on the Family, I searched online and found several news articles that implied some rift between Dr. Dobson and the ministry he founded in 1977.  Even some Christian bloggers were joining in the speculation.  I must admit, I too became suspicious.

Today, I was thrilled to read Dr. Dobson’s final letter from Focus on the Family.  In that letter, he explained that the Lord was leading him to start a new ministry called “Family Talk.”  This is a new radio broadcast in which his son Ryan will join him on the air.  I got to hear Ryan Dobson at the Avalanche Youth Conference a few years ago in Pigeon Forge, TN.  Ryan is a gifted speaker and will be a dynamic radio personality.

I invite everyone who loves the ministry of Dr. James Dobson to check out Family Talk. I certainly hope one of our local radio stations will carry this new broadcast.  If not, I hope Family Talk will archive their broadcasts online!

Dr. Dobson and Focus on the Family granted us rights to republish the e-newsletter and so we have provided it for you here on Christian Faith in America.

Family News From James Dobson

Dear Friends,

Shirley and I have come now to our final hours on the staff of Focus on the Family. I have been given the privilege of writing to say goodbye to our friends and colleagues across the nation and around the world. By the time this letter reaches your home, our era within this beloved ministry will have drawn to a close.

As you can imagine, this is a very nostalgic time for us as we prepare to leave. One night last week, Shirley and I “walked the halls” of our campus here in Colorado Springs, after all the staff and visitors were gone. A million memories flooded through our minds on that tearful stroll. I thought about the day, nearly 18 years ago, when I walked through a half-finished structure in what would become the Administration Building. I stood where the studio would be located, and marked the dimensions of the boardroom. Then I watched as the edifice took shape, steel on steel and brick by brick. A short time later, we dedicated the campus to the Lord before a gathering of 15,000 friends and associates. Seven “Lesbian Avengers” protested across the street on that day. Can you guess what The Denver Post chose as the headline for their account of our celebration?

As we meandered through the buildings last week for perhaps the final time, we looked at each photo that decorates the walls. People have always been the centerpiece of the décor. I am pictured there with a much younger Billy Graham, and the late Bill Bright, Adrian Rogers and Tony Snow. In another portion of the building, we see Oliver North, Chuck Swindoll, Joe Gibbs, Darrell Waltrip and many more colleagues. My dear friend Chuck Colson is also represented, as are three U.S. presidents, Ronald Reagan—George H.W. Bush—and George W. Bush, during their time on the world stage.

Shirley and I are also shown standing beside Prince Charles on a recent visit to his private home in the Cotswolds, UK. There is a photograph of Sean Hannity, taken the day he came to speak to our staff and talk to our radio listeners. Memorabilia from the past 33 years are arranged in glass cases in the Welcome Center, some of it crystal and some bronze. My grandfather’s gold pocket watch is there, as is a football autographed by every member of the national champion USC Trojans in 2003. Quarterback Carson Palmer’s signature has become faded by the afternoon sun.

A photograph of the crew of the shuttle Columbia is shown just before its launch into orbit. How tragic it is that every one of those astronauts died on the shuttle’s descent to earth, including the commander. They had carried with them a Focus on the Family cap, given by me to Commander Rick Husband shortly before the blast off. A charred piece of that cap was found on the plains of Texas and is now on display in our Welcome Center.

Hanging in the “chapelteria” are 17 colorful silk hoods from colleges and universities that awarded honorary doctorates to me through the years. Each item on this Grand Tour evokes a story, an experience, and a memory of great friends whom we cherish.

Shirley and I returned to our offices after the “walk about,” where the packing process was about to get under way. Valued books would soon be placed in boxes, and my father’s paintings taken down in preparation for the move. Pictures of our daughter, son, daughter-in-law, and grandson were still in their places. On the wall above my couch is a large painting of Sir Winston Churchill, given to me by the board of directors during the dedication of our new campus in 1993. The remnants of many years are scattered there, each one neatly folded and lined in gold.

Our ministry began with the first radio broadcast on March 26, 1977. I had just resigned as an associate clinical professor of pediatrics at the University of Southern California School of Medicine and as a member of the Attending Staff at Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles. Academia had been my professional “home” for 17 years, and it was a scary thing to walk away. Our lives were about to take a dramatic turn. Then, like now, we had no idea where the future led. We leased a two-room office in Arcadia, Calif., hired a half-time secretary (Mrs. Dee Otte) and began broadcasting with co-host Mrs. Flo Schmidt. Immediately, an avalanche of mail and calls came pouring in, as we struggled mightily to respond to so many personal requests. And Focus on the Family had only just begun.

The Focus on the Family film series was released on September 15, 1979, which turned our lives upside down. It was eventually seen by more than 80 million people around the world. Within eight years, we had 500 employees and were heard on more than 400 radio stations. What breathless days those were for us. The ministry grew steadily to a staff of more than 1,400 dedicated people on an 80-acre campus in Colorado Springs. I felt personally responsible for every division of the ministry, and worked tirelessly to protect its integrity.

To read Dr. Dobson’s final letter in its entirety, CLICK HERE>>>

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REGARDLESS of the Views of the American People

Written by Samuel Lawrence:

As we watch the political partisan socialist takeover looming this weekend in Washington DC, take time to read and hear the ugly truth of what is happening.

Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) made the following notorious statement on April 19, 1994, in the Parkersburg (West Virginia) News (carried by AP) that…

“We’re going to push through health care reform regardless of the views of the American people.

Not much has changed in the tactics of the Liberals in Congress since the Clinton  era, except that they have multiplied like rats in both houses of Congress.  The Jay Rockefeller quote above was during the push to enact Bill and  Hillary Clinton’s socialized health care plan. Today the sentiments of these like-minded liberal Senators and Congressmen have spread like cancer with the Obamacare plan. We are evidently being governed by tyrants in 2010.

“The  only bipartisan part of the current healthcare bill is in the opposition to it…

Rep. Paul Ryan, D-Wis., spells out the dangers of a government-run solution to health car

(Video Source : http://www.citizenlink.org)

Dems May ‘Pass’ Health Care Without a Vote

“Determined to pass some kind of health care reform, but without the support to make it happen, Democratic leaders in Congress are considering unusual tactics. Stuart Shepard asks Tom Minnery how that might work.”  (Video Source : http://www.citizenlink.org)

The problem with Socialism is that at some point you run out of other people’s money. With fewer and fewer people paying taxes and more and more getting benefits, something has to give. The current congressional leadership and President Obama know this too. The socialists no longer see a need to hide their agenda.

What we have now is the same old failed socialistic policies and politics of personal wealth destruction.

William Penn said “If we will not be governed by God, we must be governed by tyrants.” Well said Mr Penn.

Norman Mattoon ThomasNorman Mattoon Thomas (November 20, 1884 – December 19, 1968) was a leading American socialist, pacifist, and six-time presidential candidate for the Socialist Party of America. Norman Thomas said this in a 1944 speech:

“The American people will never knowingly adopt socialism. But, under the name of “liberalism,” they will adopt every fragment of the socialist program, until one day America will be a socialist nation, without knowing how it happened.” He went on to say: “I no longer need to run as a Presidential Candidate for the Socialist Party. The Democratic Party has adopted our platform.”

America needs another Great Awakening much more than she needs socialized medicine.

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Growing Weary

Written by Samuel Lawrence:

This past week has been a very wearisome week in my life for many reasons.  Several issues on my day job have caused undue stress and left me with more questions than answers. Have you ever had times when you tried to please everybody around you, and in the process you seemed to please no one around you?  Some days, weeks, months and yes, even years can be wearisome.

The past few years have been wearisome to me in a lot of ways.  In 2004, I was betrayed and hurt badly by a friend in the ministry.  I lost my only remaining Grandmother in 2004.  In 2005 my Dad suffered a severe stroke that left him completely  debilitated.  In 2006, my day job company had their major project work put on hold for 3 years and I had to change jobs, twice in less than a year.  In 2007, a small church where I was serving as bi-vocational pastor asked me to resign over a racial issue.  In 2008, my Mom died.  In 2009, I have watched our nation’s leaders take America down a path of economic and political Socialism.  This week we are on the brink of watching America lose the greatest health care system in the world to a bunch of Socialists who seem bent on defying the will of over 75% of those constituents they were elected to represent and over and around a Constitution they swore to uphold.

There was a comedy skit Jerry Clower used to do related to to coon hunting.  Listen to this story.  It ends with how I felt at the end of  work week on my day job.

Sometimes, all you want is some relief! That can often come in the form of encouraging words.  My wife gave me a bunch of those this week and I thank the Lord for her love and support. She helped me make it through the tense week.  I have heard it said, that “when life hands you lemons, make lemonade.”  Have you ever reached the point where you get sick of drinking nothing but lemonade?  Have you ever gotten to the point of not really knowing what to pray?  This morning, as I sat there in my study, with weariness and heaviness of heart over the past week, I prayed and asked the Lord to bless me and restore my strength.  Just like the uplifting words of encouragement and prayers from my precious wife, the Lord spoke through a dear friend and partner in the ministry in his email to me:

“I woke up this morning dragging physically and mentally. My sugar was high and my mood low. But not for long because Galatians 6:9 came to mind. “ And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” I’m telling you that the only thing that gives purpose and finality to my life is God and His word. He can pick me up in a moment when nothing else matters.

I continue to personally pray an individual prayer for each of you knowing that God is the only one who can give us the peace we need in difficult times.  We’re not in this for the temporal gain, we’re in this for what is to come after this life if we press on to the end.

I hope that everyone has a restful fulfilling weekend and that Monday we will be refreshed with new vigor and excitement as we continue to push forward with what He has given us to do!

Thank you again and know that I appreciate each one of you……“ And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”

Growing weary – a Christian perspective:

Have you ever grown weary with doing good? You watch other people do what they want and they seem so happy or fulfilled in ways that you wish you could be fulfilled. Yet, in Galatians, and in other parts of the Bible, we are told to not grow weary with doing good. We’re not in this for the temporal gain, we’re in this for what is to come after this life if we press on to the end.

This message of hope came from Winn Freeman, Founder & Chief Executive Officer of  Wisdom In Living Life Ministry.  I  cannot put into words how greatly comforting it is to know that our God is an awesome God and he knows what we have need of even before we ask (Matthew 6:8).

The Holy Spirit helps us in our times of weakness.  Romans 8:25-27 says…

“But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”

Even in our weakness, the Spirit of God helps us because we don’t know how to pray as we ought, and so the Spirit intercedes for us with wordless groanings. The Bible says that God the Father – the one who searches our hearts – knows the mind of the Spirit because the Spirit prays for us according to God’s will. So God the Father always answers the Spirit’s prayers.  That is why in Galatians 6:9 the Apostle Paul could boldly proclaim “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”

Thanks be to God for his Holy Word and for a loving wife and great friends in the ministry. In times like these, it is good to remember, that our Lord Jesus is still the King of Kings and Lord of Lords!  Jesus told his Disciples…

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33)

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Inner voices… what are they saying to you?

Written by Winn Freeman:

Have you ever woke up with that knot of fear right in the pit of your stomach followed with what if questions? At that moment if I’m not careful my mind quickly races with images of fear and impending doom.  It’s at that time that I must choose to muster up everything that I can and remind myself of the great miracles in my past and what God has said in His word.  Been there done that?

John 17:9 “I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours.”

First let me say that I’m not Jesus but when I read His words this morning to His disciples I was reminded that I need to continue to pray for those He has sent to help with the vision that He placed in my heart.  It’s not just my vision but it has become many other’s vision too!

God’s call and focus is for the people that He created.  He wants to use us to bring purpose, passion and total freedom to those who are imprisoned by the sin of addiction.  It’s not about us, but Him.

We’re at a great time for God to show up when we’ve done all we can do! I want to remind our team and our supporters to move beyond our feelings and rid ourselves of  all negative inner voices that are contrary to what God has said in His word.  Recognize that we serve a great God.  Let our conversation be words that lift up our possibilities and potential in Jesus.  Let us encourage each other to move forward in anticipation of great challenges and many victories that are before us today and tomorrow.

Psalm 27:13-14   “Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.”

“Wait” in the Bible: Psalm 27:14
God exists and operates on a different scale than we do. That means that what seems like an eternity to us is just a moment to God. When it seems like God is being slow to act, we’re called to wait patiently for God to act in His own time.

Look at Hebrews Chapter 11

Taken from The Autobiography of George Muller:

With every fresh trial, faith either increases by trusting God and getting help, or it decreases by not trusting Him…If we trust in God, we do not trust in ourselves, our fellowmen, circumstances, or in anything else.  If we do trust in one or more of these, we do not trust in God.

If we desire our faith to be strengthened, we should not shrink from opportunities where our faith may be tried.  The more I am in a position to be tried in faith, the more I will have the opportunity of seeing God’s help and deliverance.

When a trial of faith comes, we are naturally inclined to distrust God and to trust in ourselves, in our friends, or in circumstances.  We would rather work a deliverance of our own than simply look to God and wait for His help.  But if we do not patiently wait for God’s help or if we work a deliverance of our own, then at the next trial of our faith we will have the same problem.  We will again be inclined to try and deliver ourselves.

God will prove His willingness to help and deliver at the perfect time…All difficulties may be overcome by acting according to the Word of God.

John 17:9 “I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours.”

Even when I don’t understand, it’s my faith that always gets me through!

God is still working,

Winn Freeman

Founder & Chief Executive Officer

“The Drug Guy”

Wisdom In Living Life Ministry
PO Box 150 Travelers Rest, SC  29690
(864) 834-9800 or (864) 271-HELP (4357)

New ten minute on-line video at www.wisdominlivinglife.org

“Where Addiction Ends and Life Begins”

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John McCain’s Attack On Liberty

By Chuck Baldwin:

Anyone paying attention knows that John McCain has been a Big-Government Globalist Neocon (BGGN) for virtually his entire senatorial career. As with many BGGNs hiding out in the Republican Party, McCain likes to talk about smaller government, but his track record is littered with the promotion of one big government program after another. But, what else would one expect from a member of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR)?

Lately, however, McCain has outdone himself. He has introduced two bills in the US Senate that are about as Machiavellian as they could be. I am referring to S.3081, a bill that would authorize the federal government to detain American citizens indefinitely without trial, and S.3002, a bill that would authorize the federal government to regulate vitamins, minerals, and virtually all health and natural food products.

According to Examiner.com, “Last week, John McCain introduced a bill into the U.S. Senate which, if passed, would actually allow U.S. citizens to be arrested and detained indefinitely, all without Miranda rights or ever being charged with a crime.”

The Examiner report continued by saying “This bill, introduced by McCain, who despite overwhelming evidence, claims to be a ‘conservative,’ would not only take away our right to a trial, but would also allow the federal government to arrest and imprison anyone the current administration deems hostile.

“Of course, that would be the same administration whose Homeland Security Secretary has classified veterans, retired law enforcement, Ron Paul [and Chuck Baldwin] supporters, and conservatives as ‘terrorists.’”

The Examiner report concluded by saying “If it was not clear before, it should be now that John McCain has as little respect for the Constitution as he does for our borders.”

Amen!

If Juan McCain gets his way, your constitutional right to a speedy trial by jury is gone, as well as your constitutional right to Habeas Corpus. But, of course, they would attempt to justify this by claiming it is being done in the name of national security and the war on terrorism.

See the Examiner report at:

http://tinyurl.com/examiner-mccain-s3081

Regarding McCain’s desire for the federal government to take over the vitamin industry, attorney Jonathan Emord wrote, “If you had any doubt about whether John McCain is a limited government conservative, you may put that doubt to rest–he is not. On February 3, 2010, John McCain introduced to the United States Senate the Dietary Supplement Safety Act of 2010. Reflecting upon this poorly written bill, I am struck by the fact that John McCain apparently sees little difference between fissile material and dietary supplements. He is intent on regulating supplements as if they were radioactive enriched uranium rather than bioactive vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and botanicals that more often than not help people.

“The Dietary Supplement Safety Act of 2010 enjoys support from the most liberal members of Congress. It is an invitation for the FDA to assume broad new powers and replicate here the system now operating in Europe over dietary supplements where dietary ingredients are presumed adulterated and unlawful to sell unless pre-approved by the government. In short, good bye free enterprise, good bye limited government, and hello more heavy handed, arbitrary and punitive FDA bias against the beleaguered dietary supplement industry.”

See Emord’s column at:

http://www.newswithviews.com/Emord/jonathan118.htm

Please remember, this is the same John McCain that, during the 2008 Presidential campaign, said he would “order the secretary of the treasury to immediately buy up the bad home loan mortgages in America.” Of course, McCain didn’t explain where this authority would come from, because such a proposal has no legal or constitutional authority. And, by the way, this one little sentence, if implemented, would cost taxpayers some $300 billion.

McCain also said he wanted to tap Mr. Climate Change Wacko himself, Al Gore, “to work in his administration on developing a new and much tougher U.N.-sponsored global warming treaty.”

Source: Cliff Kincaid. See his column at:
http://www.newswithviews.com/Kincaid/cliff260.htm

This is the same John McCain who addressed the Hoover Institution on May 1, 2007, and said if he were elected President, he would create a new international organization known as “The League of Democracies” (LD).

In advancing the LD, McCain said, “We should go further and start bringing democratic peoples and nations from around the world into one common organization, a worldwide League of Democracies.” He then added, “The new League of Democracies would form the core of an international order . . .”

See McCain’s speech to the Hoover Institution at:

http://www.cfr.org/publication/13252/

If McCain and his CFR buddies get their way, this new LD would be a United Nations on steroids! As I said all over America on the campaign trail in 2008, “John McCain is a globalist.” Of course, so is Barack Obama. In fact, every President since (and including) George H.W. Bush has been a full-fledged, rotten-to-the-core globalist.

And, yes, this is the same Juan McCain who is one of the primary movers and shakers (along with Obama, Lindsey Graham, and G.W. Bush) attempting to provide amnesty to illegal aliens and open America’s borders to illegal immigration.

And now McCain wants the federal government to take over the vitamin industry, and he wants to give the federal government the power to jail American citizens indefinitely without trial.

The citizens of Arizona can do the American people–and liberty itself–a great favor this year by giving Senator John McCain his walking papers. Big-Government dinosaurs like McCain are an albatross around the neck of freedom and constitutional government. If we don’t send them packing now, the shackles they put around our throats will become insufferable.

P.S. As this column goes to press, word has come to me that the State of Florida is poised to vote on a bill that calls for a Constitutional Convention. Readers should familiarize themselves with the dangers that a new Con Con poses to our liberties and to the very Constitution itself. Please read my previous columns on this subject at:

http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/c2008/cbarchive_20081216.html

http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/c2009/cbarchive_20090113.html

And if you live in Florida, contact your senators immediately to let them know in no uncertain terms that they must reject any bill calling for a Constitutional Convention!

This column is archived at
http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/c2010/cbarchive_20100316.html


*If you appreciate this column and want to help me distribute these editorial opinions to an ever-growing audience, donations may now be made by credit card, check, or Money Order. Use this link:

http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/donate.php

Copyright © 2010 Chuck Baldwin

NOTE TO THE READER:

Chuck Baldwin’s commentaries are copyrighted and may be republished, reposted, or emailed providing the person or organization doing so does not charge for subscriptions or advertising and that the column is copied intact and that full credit is given and that Chuck’s web site address is included.

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Texas Takes A Stand For Accuracy In School Textbooks

By Dr. Tony Beam.

The eyes of the nation are on Texas. Why? Because a group of conservatives decided it was time to demonstrate an Alamo-like do or die spirit in the battle over what’s in and what’s out in social studies, economics, and history textbooks. The shots fired at last week’s meeting of the Texas Board of Education will be heard around the world because Texas is one of the largest buyers of textbooks. Publishers, who want to make a profit, will likely adjust their texts to meet the Texas requirements and that will affect what students study from sea to shining sea.

Liberals are livid at the thought that students might have to pick up a text book that, according to the New York Times, stresses “the superiority of American capitalism, questions the Founding Fathers commitment to a purely secular government and presents Republican political philosophies in a more positive light.” The Huffington Post refers calls the Texas Board of
Education’s decision the “Texas textbook massacre.” The article from the Associated Press that follows that provocative headline begins, “A far-right faction of the Texas State Board of Education succeeded Friday in injecting conservative ideals into social studies, history, and economics lessons that will be taught to millions of students for the next decade.” You would think by that statement that conservatism is a kind of viral infection that will poison the minds of millions.

Then there is the story from msnbc.com’s perspective. The startling headline reads “Conservatives put stamp on Texas textbooks: New social studies curriculum stresses religion over evolution.” From left-wing blogs to liberal media outlets, outrage was the order of the day. How will America survive if the next generation learns of the benefits of capitalism? How can our Republic endure if students in the public school system are taught that our Founding Fathers were guided by Christian principles? How dare a group of backward thinking traditionalists suggest our form if government is a Constitutional Republic, not a Democracy? From the New York Times to the Huffington Post journalistic handwringing was the order of the day.

Don McLeroy, labeled by the Associated Press as “the leader of the conservative faction (I wonder if the AP has ever used the phrase “liberal faction”) dared to suggest that teaching on the civil rights movement should include the study of the violent philosophy of the Black Panthers as well as the non-violent methods of Dr. Martin Luther King. All Mr. McLeroy wanted was the whole truth about a very violent period in American history. We should all be thankful that Dr. Martin Luther King’s method of peaceful resistance and passive but powerful demonstrations won the day and won protected rights for black Americans. McLeory also led the fight to include the fact that Republicans overwhelmingly supported passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Students need to know that is was southern Democrats who fought the hardest against passage. The House vote was 152 Democrats for the bill and 96 against (61% to 39%) with Republicans voting 138 for and 34 against (80% to 20%). In the Senate, the numbers were similar. Forty-six Democrat Senators voted for the bill and twenty-one voted against it (66% to 34%). Twenty-seven Republican Senators voted for the bill and only six voted against it (82% to 18%). That information has long been excised from modern textbooks leaving the impression that Democrats were in favor of the Civil Rights Act while Republicans opposed it.

Barbara Cargill had the audacity to fight for and win passage of an amendment requiring the teaching of “the importance of personal responsibility for life choices” in a section of a sociology textbook that deals with teenage suicide, dating violence, sexuality, drug use and eating disorders. For liberals, everything that goes wrong in a person’s life is the fault of someone else. The teaching of the church or the influence of parents who believe in traditional morals usually receive the lions share of the blame.

Oddly enough, the left-wing bloggers and liberal journalists forget to mention changes the left wanted for the textbooks. Advocates for the left wanted to remove any mention of Independence Day, Neil Armstrong, Daniel Boone, and Christopher Columbus. They tried to replace Christmas with Diwali (a five-day Indian festival celebrated as a national holiday in India, Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago, Malaysia, Nepal, Singapore, and Fiji). They also removed Albert Einstein and Thomas Edison from World History and added Mary Kay (cosmetics) and Wallace Amos (of Famous Amos Cookie fame). All of these were changes were reversed by the Texas State Board of Education.

For far too long conservatives have allowed themselves to be intimidated into silence as liberals waged a very successful battle to remove all conservative and traditional references out of textbooks used in the public school system. Finally and thankfully a group of principled conservatives in Texas have said, “Enough is enough.”

America is an exceptional country. We should stop apologizing and start celebrating the genius that is America. There will be one final vote on the textbook standards in May. I pray that those who have raised a voice of reason will stand firm and continue to say, “Don’t mess with the texts in Texas!”


You can hear Dr. Tony Beam live on Christian Talk 660 weekday mornings from 7:00-9:00 AM (EST) as he is the host of Christian Worldview Today. You can also listen to recorded broadcasts in the Christian Worldview Today Archive.

Dr. Tony Beam is Vice-President for Student Services and the Director of the Christian Worldview Center at North Greenville College in Tigerville, South Carolina, Dr. Tony Beam received his Master of Divinity from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina, and his Doctor of Ministry from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky.

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