Whatever You Hear, It's Not About That

Please forgive me, at least initially, for taking a directly political tact in this blog post, but since I posted a spiritual one on my political blog, I guess turn about is fair game.

I know that you have all seen it. In the last week the rhetoric and attacks upon our President have been ratcheted up higher higher to almost a fever pitch. Vickie & I were in Atlanta last weekend and everywhere we went we heard the same thing. On the Metro, in restaurants, from the cable installation guy who was installing my sister in law's cable and, as a final insult, from the TSA agent who was frisking me as I was trying to leave Atlanta- almost with a single voice thay said, that President Bush had, "killed all of those people in New Orleans." The Levees had not been closed, the national Guard had not been mobilized and no one had any idea of what the actual result or casualty rate might be, but people were already blaming President Bush for failures real and/or imagined.

It got so bad that I could I could no longer stand it. Upon my return home I wrote a post on my political blog called President Bush Is Now Not Only President, but God and Satan Too. What caused , me to write this was the fact that a sister in California had shared an email with me saying that her pastor, of a very large black church in LA, had been championing the message that the President was a racist and at fault in the devastation in New Orleans. This was the day after rapper Kanye West stated on a Red Cross, Katrina fund raiser that, "President Bush does not care about black people," and that the National Guard were ordered to "shoot us" (black people).

What sparked much of this was a Salon Magazine article by former Clinton advisor Sidney Blumenthal, in which he accused the Bush administration of underfunding the levee projects in New Orleans and that this was responsible for the flooding and its resultant damage. This was picked up by the black media and instantly disseminated as Gospel. I do not want to get into the veracity, or not, of this claim but want to discuss the broader subject of, what is really going on here.

I think each of you has also seen the increase in the number and severity of attacks upon anything associated with this administration. What I want to say to you is that whatever you are hearing or reading, it has nothing to do with the real issue. Every attack upon this administration has one thing behind it, that President Bush won the 2000 election, and he was not supposed to. Furthermore, although you may hear the attacks from different sources and via different media vehicles, it all comes from the same basic source. That source is a conglomerate of "progressive", secular humanist political action groups. Most of them are funded by naturalized Hungarian/American, billionaire, money trader George Soros. For those of you who are not aware, the term "progressive" is the new label for what used to be called socialist or communist. New name same aim.

In my 3 part discussion on Holy War, I spoke of the 3 fold attack on Christianty. One of those was the secular humanist attack. They have an endless source of funds and are committed to taking over and changing the shape of America. George Soros, and Peter Lewis, the owner of the Progressive Insurance Company, spent over $40 million just between the two of them to defeat President Bush last year. They continue with their funding of MoveOn.org, America Coming Together and others. To be honest President Bush is not really even the issue with them, it is all about power and who will determine the future direction of this nation. President Bush represents a biblical world view, which includes faith and moral absolutes with God as the supreme authority and Soros & Lewis represent a secular humanist world view in which there is no room for God, and wher man is the absolute authority.

This Secular Humanist world view is the same world view which now controls Europe through the European Union, who's constitution has 70 million words as compared to the U.S. Constitution which has 70, 000 words. The most striking difference in the two documents, however, is that among the 70 million words, the words God, Christ or Christian are not found once in the EU constitution. This was not by accident, but by design.

Which brings me back to the matter of the attacks on President Bush regarding the Hurricane. We must always remember that it is not about Katrina. When we hear them attacking the President about Iraq, it is not about Iraq Iwhere wer ethey when President Clinton attacked Serbia? Even when we hear them attacking him about racism, it is not about racism. In each and every case, it is not about the subject being discussed. What it is about is the struggle between a Christ centered world view and a secular world view. It is the struggle between God, Satan, the "Power of the Air." The reason that the attacks are becoming more intense and more deperate is that God through His people is winning in Ameirca and we are the last bastion of righteousness, even though we do not often seem like it. Satan and his disciples are becoming desparate and so are their attacks.

What we can and must we do is to remian in faithful prayer for president Bush as a representative of the Kingdom of God. No, he is not perfect, he is a man, and a fallible man. But he publically calls upon God and asks His people to seek God. Next Friday, September 16th has been proclaimed a national day of prayer for our nation and the trouble we are experiencing. God's enemies want us to call upon man and lean upon "the arm of flesh." They hate this president and those who believe as he does and for having the nerve to thing and do other than they do.

To quote the followers of Elyon in Ted Dekker's "Circle" books, I urge you, borthers and sisters to Be Strong!

Pat Robertson Orders A Hit

The news programs have been abuzz today with word that "Conservative Christian" and host of the 700 Club, Pat Robertson has called for the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

You could just feel the glee with which many in the media reported this story. And the liberal pundits who lined up to take their shots could hardly suppress their, "see we told you he was dangerous" grins. It was as if they had been vindicated after years of telling the world that these Christians they warned the world about are a dangerous lot and must be stopped.

But what does Pat Robertson's statement referring to Chavez (pictured here with his hero and friend, Fidel Castro), that "we need to take him out" by way of a covert hit squad, say to the world and to the Body of Christ in particular.

Actually, for those who spend their time looking for a reason to reject Christianity, this merely fuels and confirms their hatred for God & His people. And it gives them some temporary cover. They really did not need this to reject Christianity, but it will give them some small satisfaction for a few moments or days. But do not worry they will be miserable again very soon.

The deeper question is what these comments say to those who call Jesus Lord. What are we to think of Brother Pat? First of all, although I believe he is wrong, very wrong, I still think of Pat Robertson as my brother and thank God for the wisdom and stability he has brought to my life and the lives of millions of others over the past 35 or more years. I am not ready to throw him overboard just yet for the sake of some godless pundits.

Pat's words will present a problem for some though, but they should not. Here is how I see it. I have long preached that the most significant sign of the end times is found in Matthew 24:12. The majority of chapter 24 deals with Jesus talking to the disciples of the signs of the end and His return. Many like to think that the "wars and rumors of wars," earthquakes, other perils and tribulations are the sign of the end. They are, but I happen to believe it is the little verse of Matt 24:12- And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold, that is the most significant.

This love that grows cold is "agape" love." The verse says that this God given, and God-like, love will grow cold in us because of the iniquity or lawlessness that appears to be out of control in the world around us. I believe that Pat Robertson has succumbed to this thinking and has giving up on a spiritual answer to the world's problems. This, by the way, is not the first time Pat has touched upon this theme. Remember that about a year or so ago he asked that God essentially kill a few Supreme Court Judges so President Bush could replace them.

But Pat is not alone. I suspect that he speaks for many. Many Christians are frustrated and have joined him in his desire to "help God," but in a more localized fashion. They have given up on believing that things can change for the better via a supernatural intervention and, therefore, feel the need to take a more physical approach. This is manifested in several ways, such as thinking that assassinating a communist leader, but also that executing child molesters and mass murderers, will remove evil from our midst. Don't we all wish it were that simple.

It is simple, but not that kind of simple and it is not always easy. We just have to trust God. By have to, I mean we really have to. Like having to breathe, eat, and drink. I mean we must 100%, without reserve, trust Him.

I think of Kendall Payne's song Aslan, based upon the C.S. Lewis's Classic Chronicles Of Narnia. Speaking of Aslan (Jesus), the message was, "He's not a tame lion." As Kendall says, "He won't say the words you wish that He would, He won't do the deeds you know that he could, He won't think the thoughts you think you think that he should, but He is good, He is good."

We need to remember that He is the Lord of all, and also that He is not Blind and He is not deaf. He just needs us to tap into His will and trust Him as we seek Him. If He seems aloof, it is usually because of us. Let's not use that as an excuse to trust in the weapons of this world.

He is good- yes, He is good.
-------------------------------------------

Next time the other side of the coin- Rick Warren's Global P.E.A.C.E. Plan and why it will not work.

We Need More Prophets- Less Pastors

Please tell me I am not alone here. Is any one else pulling out their hair or at least scratching their heads at the state of the Church?

I just wrote a really long piece on this subject then thought about it and said, no, just make it simple and too the point. So here goes. But can I be brief?

What is with all of the Bishops and now even the Apostles? Do they really do anything more than they did when they were just pastors and evangelists?
And the so-called prophets, 99.9% of them would have been stoned to death in Old Testament times. 99% should be stoned today, or maybe they are stoned when they are speaking. Excuse me but I just could not resist.

Where is the pastoring? Where is the shepherding? The sheep are dazed & confused, and many, if not most pastors are busy with the latest technology, hot teaching coming down the pike from the latest mega conference, Charisma magazine, hot book, or the internet. I think there are too many pastors anyway.

What happened to sharing the Word as it is written, for its own sake and then asking and expecting people to live by it?

These "Power Pastors," or is it Bishops and Apostles, have all kinds of new and improved ideas, but in the end poll after poll says Christians live just like the world does.

I just received a forward of a post from a friend. Trust me this is no joke. The original post was from a woman who had come to the conclusion that she was too attractive to go to church. How did she come to that conclusion? Her time associated with church was spent in worrying about what to wear, in dealing with fearful or envious women in the church who were less attractive, and fighting off lust filled men. She finally decided it was just too much trouble and chose to avoid that by getting close to God alone, at home.

By the standards of some leaders today the answer for this "sister" would be that she just needs to find a church full of beautiful people like herself, where she can feel at home. She just has not looked hard enough. Surely such a church is out there for her.

Of course let's get real. Where in scripture does it say that our gathering is supposed to be about us, or to make us feel good? The first problem is when we think too much about us in the first place. It is not about us, it is about Him. We gather, or should gather to seek Jesus and His Holy Spirit. If we seek and find anything less we have missed it. Had this lady been seeking Jesus, as should the others, none of the above would be an issue.

Most of you that I know, and to whom I am writing know, of what I speak. We have lived it. Think back, what changed? Why do we settle for less now? Why do we seek power, flash, or size?

I say we need some real prophets. Not the ones who have big meetings, send out weekely prophetic updates, or have big churches. But the kind that are not afraid of telling the truth; who will call sin sin, and error error.

Where are they? I know they are out there and I pray we will seek them out, listen to their words and encourage others to do the same.

Let's stop the nonesense, let's live in the world not of it.

What A Christian's Response Should Be To "Live 8"

Last weekend saw a major international extravaganza called Live 8 take place on the world stage

Live 8 concerts, which took place in 10 cities around the world, were an attempt to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the very successful Live Aid concerts which delivered much needed aid to starving people in Ethiopia & Somalia in 1985. It was also, on a grander scale, an attempt to be the beginning of the end of world poverty.

What was strange about this event or these events, is that no money was solicited or raised, only signatures. It was promoted as an attempt to raise awareness of the dire need in the 3rd world, and to send a message to the leaders meeting at the G-8 summit in Scotland this week.

There is much I could say regarding the technical and political aspects of the event, but I will try to confine myself to dealing with the more philosophical question of what should the Christian view of poverty be and the answer.

As my dear wife, Vickie, asked at one of the speakers remarks, that we are going to end world poverty, "didn't Jesus say- the poor you shall have with you always?" The answer is yes, He did. So this is the dilema; if Jesus said we will perpetually have the poor among us, how hard should we try to change that? Are we not just chasing our tails?

The obvious answer is that of course we should work continuously to help the poor and to eliminate hunger & disease. The Bible is full of admonitions to feed the hungry, clothe the poor, aid the widow and orphan and so forth. The reality, though, is that while you can win the battles, you cannot ever win that war and actually end poverty, disease, and suffering. It is one of the consequences of the fall. As in everything, God judges the intent of the heart and it is our attitude toward poverty and need that counts as much, if not more than our actions.

One of the great differences in a liberal, secular humanist mindset and a conservative Christian mindset is that the Christian sees a need and asks "what can I do to meet that need?" A liberal humanist mindset, most often, sees a need and asks "how can I get everyone else to meet that need?" That is why there is so often a push to create more and more public projects and to raise taxes. It relieves one of the personal responsibility to give as they are led. If I know that my taxes are going to supposedly take care of the needy, it relieves me from further obligation and a personal contact with those in need. My duty is done. It is also a way to try and force those, who may not feel the call to give to what "I" feel is important. "The rich guy has all of that money he does not deserve, let's get him to give more." All of my YWAM friends will rememebr DTS 101- "the need is not the call."

What is also lost in much of this discussion about poverty is that there are thousands of Christian and other private aid agencies working tirelessly and often in dangerous, self sacrificing situations to bring relief to the poor and needy. They are supported by the charitable hearts of people moved to give personally and often sacrificially. I just heard a report that from the U.S. alone over $30 Billion a year is donated to aid the poor in the form of private donations. I do not have figures but I know that millions of others in Europe and Asia also give generously to helping those who cannot help themselves.

Too many of those involved in events like Live 8, and those violently protesting the G-8 Summit and other events, have never and will never understand the concept of personal sacrifice and giving. Their idea of sacrifice is being arrested for civil disobedience in a western nation. How about risking your neck to make a change in a 3rd world situation? It will not happen.

The faithful believer and follower of the Gospel of Jesus Christ does not have to be told to give. He or she looks for ways to give. They do not feel a need to try and compel others to give, they are too focused on giving all they can all of the time. Anyone rememebr Mother Teresa? I do not recall her showing up at major events asking for help. Remember that giving, from a biblical perspective, is most profitable when done is secret without making a show of it. We saw one example of those making a show in the story of Ananias and Saphira.

Is it wrong to support just policy toward the 3rd world? No, of course not. Is it wrong to join in, in pointing out need, and helping meet need? Again the answer is no. But Live Aid, Live 8 and other such events are the best "the World" can has to offer. Believers and followers of Jesus Christ have something better and do not need an event to see need and to try and meet it. We should be asking and seeking it out every day from our Heavenly Father.

We should never feel convicted by what "the World" does, we have The Holy Spirit to do that. And we know that He is always loving, just and right.

Is the Qur'an More Holy Than The Bible?

For those who have been tuned at all of late it is impossible not to have heard more than your share of news regarding the alledged flushing of a Qur'an down a toilet, at the terrorist detention facility at Guantanimo Bay, Cuba.

I wrote a post, on another site, regarding the selective outrage on the part of the media with regard to this, which by the way, it now appears, never even really happened. But I posed the question of, "even if it had happened, why the selective outrage?" Bibles and Christians are desecrated and abused on a regular basis and we hear nothing of it. Vickie & I had our own experience with this in Morrocco in 1981, and a year later dear friends of ours were imprisoned for several months, for having Arabic language Christian literature in their position. What do you suppose happened to this literature?

In 2002, during a siege, Palestinian terrorists held hostages at the Church of the Nativity in Jerusalem. According to priests who were held hostage, the terrorist used pages from a Bible for toilet paper. This by itself is of course an outrage, but even without that, just imagine Christians holding hostages at a mosque, or laying siege to one? President Bush, our entire military and every Christian in America would be held personally responsible. We would also be seeing a new rash of kidnappings and beheadings, in so-called justyfied retaliation. I can hear the mainstream media now explaining how we deserve what we get for the behavior of right-wing, Christian extremists.

But I digress. That was a political article. Here I want to deal with a more spiritual issue regarding the Bible & the Qur'an (Koran for those in Texas & Oklahoma).

The following article appeared in Saturday's Wall Street Journal- Opinion Journal online. I encourage you to read the whole article, but here are a couple of paragraphs from it:

Newsweek and the Quran
The Muslim holy book isn't just a "bible." It's far more sacred than that.
BY KENNETH L. WOODWARD
Saturday, May 21, 2005 12:01 a.m. http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110006719

"I am in no position to pass judgment on my Newsweek colleagues, nor would I want to. Among them are highly sensitive editors who frequently caught errors in my own copy. My concern is that all Americans understand how deeply sacrilegious such an act as Newsweek described would be to Muslims, and why it is not like flushing pages from the Bible down the drain--as Keith Olbermann on MSNBC and other commentators have suggested.

The Quran is not "the Bible" of Muslims. It is infinitely more sacred than that. To use a Jewish analogy, it is more like the oral Torah first revealed on Mount Sinai, which was later passed on orally through the prophets and eventually written down on scrolls for all to read. Whereas Christians regard the Bible as written by human beings inspired by God, Muslims regard the Quran--the word means "The Recitation"--as the very words of God, revealed aurally to the Prophet Muhammad in Arabic. To hear those words recited is, for Muslims, to hear Allah. If, for Christians, Jesus is the logos or eternal Word of God made flesh, the Quran is the Word of God made book, and every Arabic syllable in it lives as the breath of the divine. In short, what Christ is for Christians the Quran (in Arabic) is for Muslims: the living Word of God made present in this world. Moreover, to recite the suras or verses of the Quran, as devout Muslims do, is to breathe in the very words of Allah. Thus, recitation of the Quran is for Muslims much like what receiving the Eucharist is for Catholics--a very intimate ingestion of the divine itself.

This, then, according to Newsweek's story--now retracted and "regretted" by the magazine's editor--is what some interrogators flushed down a toilet at Guantanamo Bay. "

What does Woodward say about the Bible and the Qur'an? Just look at the subheading: The Muslim holy book isn't just a "bible." It's far more sacred than that.

As I responded to Opinion Journal & Mr. Woodward on this, "I question his knowledge of, and belief in the authority of, The Bible aka the Word of God." Mr. Woodward states that the Qur'an is "not just the bible." It is more. Not just a bible?? The Bible, per Woodward, is on some lower order, a book written by men who were inspired, but the Qur'an is "the very words of God."

Hello?!!! For a religious writer Woodward's bible knowledge appears to be sorely lacking. First of all, the Torah he refers to in his comparison is still part of the Bible. Secondly, with regard to the Bible being written by "inspired" men, 2Timothy 3:16 says "all scripture is God-breathed," and 2 Peter 1:20-21 further says: "Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. What does God breathed or carried along by the Holy Spirit mean? Did he miss this somehow in his reading of this?

Woodward indicates that Muslims look to the Qur'an as something higher and more sacred than Christians do the Bible, and that may be partially correct. But the way he puts it makes one believe that the Qur'an has a greater authority. This is not true.

The real difference in the two books is in the eye of the beholder and speaks more to the state of Christianity and an apostate western world than it does of the books themselves. Woodward is the perfect example of the faithless western Christian who sees the Bible as a book written by well intentioned men containing some good advice, and a good deal of mythology, while Muslims hold a much higher regard for their schrift.

I assume that Woodward's point is that we need to respect their book more because it is seen as more sacred. I reject this entirely and refuse to raise the Qur'an to a higher standard, or to lower the Bible to a lower standard than each rightfully deserves.

As Christians, we must let this be a wake up call. We must ask ourselves what is the Bible? What authority does it have? And, based upon that authority, what shall I do?

Once we answer these questions, in our own lives, we will be in a better position to respond to the attacks and comparisons in the world at large. This is all a part of that Holy War that I have written about in the 3 past posts. This is no small matter. Please do not let it be.

Holy War Pt.3

If we were to try and sum up in one word each part of my call to Holy war, you could say it would be- why, who, and how, do we fight.

In Pt. 1, I spoke of what the word Holy means and how important it is to understand its true meaning with regard to the term "Holy War," in order to know why we fight. In Pt. 2 I tried to identify the enemy, the focus of our the Holy War. Now I want to offer a plan.

Friedrich Nietzsche is credited with making the claim in the 19th Century, that God is dead. This he did but, as is so often the case, this statement was taken out of context and has been misrepresented. Here is the context of the statement:

"Whither is God," he cried. "I shall tell you. We have killed him - you and I. All of us are murderers.... God is dead.

God remains dead. And we have killed him...”
Friedrich Nietzsche. The Gay Science (1882), section 126

The actual reference comes from a writing of Nietzsche’s indicting the Christian Church in Europe. The intent was to say that Christianity had lost its relevance and power to represent God. Sadly, I am afraid that we, “The Church,” are perilously close to reaching the same point in America, today, if we have not already reached it. Where is our relevance, where is our authority? We live in our isolated worlds surrounded by likeminded, yet equally powerless, Christians. Many attending small groups more interested in filling some soulish void than in representing the God of our faith.

Malcolm X may also have been close to being correct in his indictment of Christianity when he said:

"The only problem with Christianity is that the followers

have never lived up to the teachings of Christ."
Malcolm X, Autobiography of Malcolm X … Malcolm X w/ Alex Haley

While the word "never" may be a bit strong I would have to say that "often not" would be a good fit.

I can hear people saying now,"why is he quoting an apostate philosopher, and a militant Black Muslim?"

Well, let's see, the same thing has been pretty much said recently by Ron Sider in the book:

Scandal Of The Evangelical Conscience:

Why Are Christians Living Just Like The Rest Of The World?

Ronald J.Sider; Baker Books 2005

Sider, for those who do not know, is professor of theology and public policy at Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has also been a voice crying in the wilderness to the American church for a few decades with his first book of reknown "Rich Christians In An Age Of Hunger" and others, as well as his forming of Evangelicals for Social Action. While some others like Jim Wallace, have strayed so far off of the biblical reservation that there is not much left of their thought to consider Biblical Christiany, Sider remains committed to a biblical orthodoxy and passionately so.

In "Scandal," Sider makes the claim that, as Christianity Today says, "the movement (Evangelical Christianity), is riddled with hypocrisy and that it's time for a change." CT; April 2005 http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2005/004/32.70.html)

From sexual hedonism, to racism, Sider sees little difference in the "churched" and "the unchurched." By the way he does not just make these things up, they are based upon serious research and surveys of church folks.

This indicates a lack of holiness, in that we are not set apart unto God. We are like the World in most ways. In fact this is one of my big peeves; that instead of observing Christ's admonition in His prayer to His, and our Father, that we remain in the World, yet not of it, that we have instead removed ourselves from the World, but have it, in us and in abundance.

I believe that this may in some ways be traced back to the Jesus movement of the late 60s and early 70s. What started as a blessing, has become a curse. The Christian revival, especially the Charismatic part of it grew the church quickly and in many ways. Among the by products, however,was the formation of a Christian counter culture. Along with our new, large churches, we also built Christian schools, stores, radio and television stations, record labels, publications and all manner of other venues that allowed us to live our lives seperate from the World.

There was one problem with all of this. We removed the Salt and the Light from the earth. Many actually believed that by separating themselves from the world in a physical sense, they could avoid being influenced by the World. Unfortunately it does not work that way. The Jews made the same mistake in thinking that the promises of God were theirs exclusively (Deuteronomy 9). They became increasingly currupt as they built their own special (physical) nation, and brought judgement upon themselves.

The thinking, among American believers seemed sound, but was doomed to failure from the start if you think about it. As secular humanism raised its ugly head in the middle of the 20th Century, Christians instead of standing and fighting, decided to run. Running was not at the forefront of the thinking, but it is what occurred. The more evil we saw in the educational system, the more we withdrew our kids and our parental influence from the public schools. The more evil we saw in the media, the arts and entertainment, the more we decided to remove our influence and seek our own separate mass communication and entertanment venues. When we could have stood and fought, we decided it was not
worth it.

Each time we removed a child form the public school system, we also removed a potential PTA and/or potential school board member parent from that school or district. Eventually, the PTA and school boards were filled with unchurched and mostly godless people making ever increasingly anti-Christian decisions.

In the university systems of this country we also gave up the fight for professors and programs that involved a biblical world view. And in the media, the arts & entertaiment, struggle we ran. We threw stones, but we threw them as we ran. Today, our kids are watching, reading and listening to the media, and an enterainment industry that we created by default.

While the world sends their brightest and best to learn in the areas of journalism, communication, arts, law, politics and entertainment, the Church sends their brightest and best to bible school to become youth pastors, music directors, and Chrisitan educators who will train the next generation of pastors, music directors and Christian educators. I know of churches that have had young people go from K-12 in their own Christian school, go to a Christian University, return to work in the same church and/or Christian school and now have their own kids completing this cycle for the 2nd or even 3rd generation. Meanwhile the kids down the street are lost going to lost schools, universities, and rasing their kids to be ever increasingly lost. I do not believe it needs to remain this way. I believe we can take back the lost ground.

So how do we get it back, you ask? First and foremost, we pray. We ask forgivness for abandoning the world. We ask for the mercy to be given another chance at reaching the world, and we look for ways that we may enter the fight for those lost in the world.

I believe that Loren Cunningham, founder and president of Youth With
A Mission, was right when he developed his idea of the “7 Mind Molders.” I do not want to get caught up in the number of the so-called “mind molders” but I totally believe that the concept is right on. I also believe, however, that even Loren fell short of his goal by wanting to develop yet another separate Christian university to accomplish his vision. A better aim, in my opinion, would be to continue to develop short term training and equiping models for young people, such as Discipleship Training Schools, and Schools Of Evangelism. These could be used to equip people before sending them into the fray of the world to take part in the Holy War.

We should be identifying gifted Christian youth and preparing them for careers in journalism, law, communicatons, public education, public policy and the arts. Just as we prepare and send people into foreign mission fields, we should take the same care and diligence to send young people into the mission field of American life. They should be sent, equiped spiritually, mentally, and financially.

As we are opreparing these young people let the parents begin the fight by joining the PTA and running for school board positions. At first we can just attend PTA meetings and pray. As we grow in numbers and influence, we can introduce programs, policies and changes that reflect our culture of belief.

As we train and equip the future educators, professors, journalists, producers, etc., we can take back what has been lost.

It will take faith, patience, and determination. I believe it is not an impossible dream. I also believe it is our only hope in reclaiming America and the world. There will be casualties in this war, however, we must not shrink from the fight. It is what God requires of us.

Let us seek to become Holy and to make others Holy as well.

Holy War Part 2

In Part 1 of this essay I discussed the meaning of the word Holy, as a foundation of what my idea of Holy War is. In Part 2 I want to discuss the focus of this war and our enemy.

In any war there are some important things to recognize. It is not only important, but essential to recognize these things if one is to be victorious. Among them are, to recognize that you are in a war, to know your enemy, and to know what is at stake if we lose the war.

As is or should be clear to any believer, our fight is not necessarily with people, even though the fight most often manifests itself in that way. The actuall warring is against the forces and ideologies behind those people. (Eph. 6:12; 2 Cor. 3-6)

Although we realize, or should realize that there are spiritual forces at work, that are our enemy, and we must do the spiritual warfare necessary to hinder their influence, we must also realize that there is often a place and even a need for doing battle with flesh and blood.

I see too many Christians that want to ignor or avoid the "real world" struggles. They believe that these are not necessary and that all things will work out super naturally, if we just do our spiritual part. As I said, there is a real place and need for that spiritual warfare, but God often asks more of us.

In the Old Tesatament as the yet unformed nation of Israel was told to take possesion of their promised land, God commanded them to do physical battle. This was not an option but a command. In fact those who were afraid, or thought other wise were never allowed to enter into the land of promise.

We must take on an attitude that we are always ready to do battle, in every sense; spiritually, mentally and occasonally physically.

Often it does not even matter if we want to take the battle to the enemy or not, the enemy will bring it to us. One way or another, If we will live godly, we cannot escape the confrontation or the battle at some level.

Second Peter 2:9 says that God's people are "a peculiar people" (KJV) , or "His own special people" (NKJV). The World system cannot allow that and, therefore, fights against this idea. They must bring the fight to us and have done so.

So, who and what is the enemy facing the Church today?

In light of current events it is easy to make today’s main issue a war between Christianity and Islam. That is to see it as a renewing of the centuries old and traditional “Holy War”. But the holy war I speak of goes way beyond that. Islam, and its own intolerance, is a serious threat, but it is just one of several, common enemies in this war.

My belief is that all enemies of the Church are but different manifestations of the same enemy. Let's look at what I believe are the main or most visible threats to the Church individually, and then how they all work together.

At the present time Islam is the second largest religion in England and France, and is rapidly gaining strength in the rest of Europe as well as gaining ground in the U.S.. Wahabiism and its "Islamic Brotherhood" has for some time, and continues to spend millions of dollars in spreading fundamentalist Islam world wide. Without going into this too deeply let me just say that they have been very successful in using our own laws and political correctness to gain acceptance in the west. While no small amount of Christian influence or even symbology is tolerated in our "public" schools, these same schools go to great lengths to see that Islam and all of its practices, are presented in the most positive light from the earliest grades, in the name diversity and tolerance.

The mean and evil Christians oppress the "poor" Muslim, and therefore the poor Muslim needs to be protected and helped to spread his or her message of a rich and misunderstood faith.

Then we have the secular humanists. Secular Humanism is essentially a religion base don faith in man as the supreme being and denies a religion based upon a divine authority. It is the worship of man as a god unto himself. The secular humanist believes that man, via evolution is not only getting more inteligent, but that he is getting better and better as time goes on. In order to elevate man, however, the secular humanist must first diminish and eventually eradicate any thought or perception of faith in, or influence by, a sovereign and powerful God. Those evil religionists, especially Christians, are intollerant and only hinder the elevation of man and must be stopped.

One more very relevant enemy of the Church today is New Age and syncretistic religious beliefs. These include everything from Wicca to Hinduism and the many other New Age cults. But to me the most disturbing are the turly syncretistic churches. For those who may never have heard the word syncretism, it is the blending of many ideas or beliefs, particular religious beliefs, into one. The extremes are Untity and Untitarian Universalism. Tragically, these ideas have crept into many mainline denominational churches and the personal lives of so-called believers. These are people who consider themselves Christian yet, read their horoscopes daily, call psychic readers, practice Yoga or Tai Chi and on and on. It is a Jesus plus..., faith.

These are the three main enemies of the Church and our faith as I see them. But although there are three and even more, I would say that they are all, in reality just manifestations of one enemy. In praying over this one day, I was reminded of the time that Israel was threatenned by 3 armies. II Chronicles 20 tells of how the armies of Moab, Amon and Mt. Seir were united against the Israelites to do battle with them. There is an entire wealth of sermons in this story, but the point I want to make here is that although there were 3 different armies representing different 3 people groups, they represented one enemy to the nation of Israel. They were united in their hatred for and desire to destroy God's people.

Islam, Secular Humanism and New Age/syncretistic religions are united in one common aim. The destruction of knowledge of the true God, and His people.

This is seen in how each of these is able to receive favorable treatment in society and support one another against Judeo-Christian values and teachings. Each believes that the one great enemy is Christianity and that Christianity must be destroyed, They can then worry about one another after the one great hindrance is removed. If we do not see them as a united and formidable enemy bent on our destruction, we do so at our own peril.

What is at stake? The very existance of our Holy (special and set apart) way of life is at stake. The encroachment of Islam, Secular Humanism, and New Age beliefs into every aspect of our culture, including the educational system will eventually eradicate the things we take for granted. The right and ability of our children to live freely and express their faith is at stake.

We must understand this if we are to fight the good fight. I pray we will see it, understand it, and do something about it now, not later.

Next: How we fight the Holy War.