October/November/December 2008
Dear ones,
Within a few weeks we will be voting in the most important election of my lifetime. This issue of “The Good Word” will be my last opportunity to shed light on the choices before us. For this reason, the lead articles (and “Marty’s Corner”) will be election- related. A vital commodity, in short supply in these last days, is truth.
WHY INCLUDE “POLITICAL” MATERIAL?
From time to time I have been questioned about including “political” articles in this newsletter; but to understand why I do, it is necessary to realize that today (and maybe always) the most compelling political issues are moral and spiritual issues. For one thing, truth is a moral and spiritual issue, and it has been all but trampled into the dust in today’s politics and journalism. Since the establishment media, to further their ideological and political agenda, will, when convenient, distort, deny or withhold the truth, it sometimes must be spoken by small voices like mine, and by the alternative news media. By law, I cannot endorse any political candidate or party, and I shan’t; but I can, and will, bring you the truth, as long as I am able—especially truth that is largely withheld, distorted or denied. The following, election-related articles are the distillation of dozens of hours of multi-source research, and have been, by far, the most difficult writing for me that I can remember.
There is much, much more; but I am up against a publishing deadline, and I am very, very tired.
VOTING “NO” TO ENGLISH AS OUR NATIONAL LANGUAGE
The very fact that there is controversy about declaring that English is our national language is distressing. It would seem to most of us that it is a non-issue; however, those of the liberal left (largely represented by the Democrat Party) tend to think that, to so declare, is somehow too “nationalistic” or “exclusive”—an insult to illegal aliens who can’t speak our language. In a recent congressional effort to enact legislation establishing English as our official language, an amendment to the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007, 33 senators voted against the amendment (31 Dem, 1 Rep, 1 Ind). Among those voting “Nay” were Senators Barak Obama, Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton. (Official Record of the US Senate)
OBAMA, ODINGA AND THE KENYA CONNECTION: A WELL-KEPT SECRET
A highly significant bit of truth that the establishment media have buried (although widely reported in Britain) is the relationship of Barak Obama to Raila Odinga, Vice President (later Prime Minister) of Kenya. Odinga, son of a Communist Kenyan politician, was educated in Communist East Germany. He seems to be a strange mix of African Communist (he named his eldest son Fidel Castro), and leanings toward radical Islam (he is of the Muslim Luo tribe). In recent times Kenya, which is 90 percent Christian and 10 percent Muslim, has been the most peaceful and stable of African nations. However, since the presidential election of 2007, in which Odinga was defeated by incumbent President Kibaki, it has been the scene of terrible violence. The violence began after the election when Odinga, the loser, claimed that Kibaki had rigged the election results. The violence has been exacerbated by the fact that the president is of the Kikuyu tribe, largely Christian, and Odinga is of the largely Muslim Luo tribe. The Luos, incited by claims that President Kibaki had stolen the election, took to the streets, armed with machetes and crowbars, and attacked any and all of the president’s tribe, hacking to death, bludgeoning, stoning, raping, and burning men, women and little children. (You can see graphic BBC video of this on U Tube.) Some of the murderous, mostly-Muslim mobs have cried, “We are Taliban.” In April, in order to stop the violence, which has left 1,500 dead and 600,000 displaced, President Kibaki submitted to a power-sharing arrangement with Odinga, who has become Prime Minister.
More significant, perhaps, is the Memorandum of Understanding, signed in August 2007 by Odinga and Sheik Abdullah Abdi, head of Kenya’s National Muslim Leaders Forum, that if Odinga becomes president he will create some districts as Muslim, under the Sharia law of the Taliban (not Kenyan law). According to one credible source, Odinga has even promised that, if he becomes president, he will see to it that all of Kenya will be under Muslim Sharia law.
All of this would be largely irrelevant to us, were it not for the fact that, according to Odinga, he is Barak Obama’s first cousin (Obama’s father was the brother of Odinga’s mother). Both Odinga, and Obama’s late father, are of the Luo tribe—in fact, from the same village. Still more significant, and a story untold by the establishment media here, is that Obama travelled to Kenya in January 2006 to campaign for his cousin Odinga (see the accompanying photo). Obama has stated that he calls his cousin Odinga twice a week, although he now denies it. Interestingly, the rallying cry of the murderous mobs as they raged in support of Odinga was “Change!” (Chicago Sun Times/ BBC/WND/Wickipedia/London Telegraph/
The Standard/Frontline/World/Snopes, et al)
OBAMA’S RELATIONSHIP WITH A DOMESTIC TERRORIST
William Ayers is a professor of education at the University of Illinois (Chicago). He is also an unrepentant Marxist, and a hater of America with awesome credentials. He was a leader in the radical, violent, Marxist Weather Underground in the ‘60s and ‘70s who bombed the NY Police headquarters in 1970, bombed the US Capitol in 1971, and the Pentagon in 1972. They also bombed the San Francisco Police headquarters (with a shrapnel, anti-personnel bomb) in 1970, killing one policeman and wounding two others. His reported battle cry was, “Kill all the rich people. ...Bring the revolution home. Kill your parents!” He and his girlfriend (now his wife) were fugitives from justice until 1980 when they turned themselves in. A judge dismissed the charges for “improper police surveillance”; Ayers’ comment: “[We are] guilty as hell—free as a bird.” Looking back on his years as a terrorist, he is unrepentant; he told the New York Times, “I don’t regret setting bombs”; his only regret, he said, is “I feel we didn’t do enough [bombing].” He hates America, as passionately as he did in the ‘60s, saying, “It makes me want to puke.” In 1995 he said of himself, “I’m a radical leftist, small-c communist.” Of the day he and others bombed the Pentagon, he wrote in 2001, “Everything was absolutely ideal...the sky was blue. The birds were singing. And the (explative) finally got what was coming to them.” In his autobiography he reflected on the question, whether or not he would use bombs against his country again: “I can’t imagine entirely dismissing the possibility.”
Ayers and his wife (she was formerly one of the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted Criminals) are also long-time friends and political associates of Barak and Michelle Obama, who share their radical, “progressive” (code word for Marxist) beliefs and values. Of course, Obama denies any personal or professional relationship, dismissing Ayers in an interview: “He is just a guy who lives in my neighborhood.” It is true that both Obama and the Ayers live in the ritzy Hyde Park section of Chicago, within a few blocks from each other; but Obama’s statement is a lie. They move in the same liberal-progressive circles, and Obama was the guest of honor at a fund-raising party in the Ayers’ home, to launch his political career. Ayers has donated money to Obama’s campaign fund. Obama and Ayers served together for nine years on the board of the Woods Fund of Chicago, a “progressive” foundation. And, in 1995, when Ayers formed the “progressive” school reform organization, the Chicago Annenburg Challenge (CAC), the purpose of which is to teach radical political concepts to school children, he appointed Obama as the group’s first chairman. There is more—much more—but this must suffice, and I am very, very tired.
So, is this just “guilt by association”? No—but you can tell a lot about a man, about what he believes, and what he really is, by his choice of friends and associates, and the causes for which he works. (Chicago Sun Times/ Editor & Publisher/ AP/ WP/ NYT/“Fugitive Days” [Wm. Ayers’ autobiography]/ London Daily Mail/ Chicago Tribune/ WND/ FOX/ Time/ National Review, et al)
MORE WEATHERMAN TERRORISTS SUPPORT OBAMA
Four former leaders in the radical Weatherman terrorist organization are part of an organization which has endorsed Barak Obama’s campaign. Howard Macthinger, Jeff Jones, Steve Tappis and Mark Rudd have signed the petition of a group called Progressives for Obama. The group includes many 1960s revolutionaries from such groups as SDS (Students for a Democratic Society [from which Weathermen were a splinter group]), Communist Party USA, and the Black Radical Congress. (WND)
YES, IT'S TRUE ABOUT ABC AND THE FLAG
Patriotism is looked down upon by those of the liberal, globalist, elite power structure. Among other reasons, they see it as an obstacle to establishment of utopia under a World government. For example, by now you may have heard that ABC News executives have issued an order that no employee, especially those on camera, will be allowed to wear an American Flag pin, or red, white and blue ribbons. Their answer, when asked why? They "do not endorse causes." Thus, loyalty to our nation is reduced to a "cause" and, to them, an offensive one, sacred only to those on the unenlightened fringe. (Numerous/Snopes.com)
IS JERUSALEM A MUSLIM HOLY PLACE?
We often hear pundits of TV refer to Jerusalem as "a city holy to three faiths" (Christianity, Judaism and Islam). The implication is that Israel has no right to control the city, but must somehow "share it." Muslims take the revisionist history a step farther, claiming that there was never a Jewish Temple on the Temple Mount (strange name, don't you think, for a hill that never had a temple on it?). Not only that, since they were given control of the mount, they have been busily removing evidence of a Hebrew presence on the mount, destroying priceless archeological sites with bulldozers. The Muslim belief that Mohammed ascended into heaven from the Temple Mount is a latter-day legend, developed long after Mohammed died in Medina. The fact is that the word "Jerusalem" does not even appear in the Koran, and that Muslims, Palestinian or otherwise, have no ancient claim to Jerusalem, let alone the Temple Mount. Yet they know, as Hitler and Goebels knew, that if you tell a big enough lie, and tell it often enough, people will believe it. This is especially true if you have the help of the establishment media and the UN bureaucracy. (Various)
TODD BENTLEY—REVIVAL OR HUCKSTERISM?
There is a great stir about a controversial preacher in Lakeland, Florida. He is, to put it mildly, unorthodox. With body piercings and tattoos, he dresses and looks like a dedicated sinner in a motorcycle gang. He makes extravagant claims about regular visits from angels; one is 20 feet tall, and another, named "Emma," regularly gives him guidance. He also says that Jesus visits him. He is big on "holy laughter" and "the jerks." He talks of remarkable healings, and claims to have raised 32 people from the dead, but none is known to have been verified. He has hired a New York public relations firm to mail out press releases claiming miracle healings in the meetings; do you begin to see a problem here? His meetings, which last several hours, may end abruptly when he looks at his watch and walks off the stage, leaving crowds waiting to be prayed for, as his staff sends everyone home. Real revivals never end, as long as the spirit of God is powerfully present; ministers take time for sleeping, but others take over. He boasts of his physically violent "impartations," including kicking a man with cancer in the belly, kicking an elderly woman in the face, and knocking another man's tooth out.
But if everything else about him and his ministry were right, his financial dealings make him wrong. He tells the crowds of thousands that they will not receive the blessings they need unless thy give generously. Prolonged offerings can last 30 minutes or longer and, if you are still not convinced that something is amiss, he has ATMs (automated teller machines) spaced along the walls so the people can get more cash to put in the offering. I see no way that this could be right. Can you imagine Jesus doing this?—or any of His martyred apostles? Or Francis of Assisi? Or Patrick of Ireland? Or Martin Luther? Or John Wesley? Or D.L. Moody? Or your pastor? I hope not. Asked for an open financial accounting, he told World Magazine that he is "too busy keeping up with what God is doing [to give you one]." (BP/AP/World/ABC, et al)
A Personal Observation. I have not been to Bentley's meetings; but I was at the Brownsville revival in Pensacola, and, except for a brief, quiet offering, money was never even mentioned. The pure gospel was preached, straight from the Bible, and there was absolutely no glorification or focus of attention on any preacher. At the altar call people surged to the front, weeping and repenting, crying out to God. I watched the altar ministry closely, and in a small sea of kneeling seekers it was done quietly, competently and lovingly. Everyone was prayed for. Everyone. There were critics of the Brownsville revival, of course, and questions were later raised about the money; but what I saw was pure.
WHAT GENERAL BOOTH MOST FEARED
At the turn of the 20th Century, a reporter asked General William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army, what he most feared for the 20th Century. Booth replied, "Religion without the Holy Ghost, Christianity without Christ, forgiveness without repentance, politics without God, and Heaven without Hell." (The War Cry, 5 Jan 1901) The man was a prophet!
LINCOLN NAILED IT!
Lincoln, always an incisive observer, pointed out that “the philosophy of today’s classroom will be the philosophy of tomorrow’s government.” This is undeniably true, not too difficult to figure out and, considering what is being taught in today’s public schools, should give us nightmares. Hitler understood this perfectly. But Lincoln, carrying this thought to the next level, saw the threat, not just to correct political thought, but to our very freedom. He observed, “Liberty’s eventual loss is guaranteed if colleges fail to teach freedom’s origins” (emphasis mine). Today, in all but a handful of small private colleges, the origins of our freedom are never taught; if they are mentioned at all, they are maligned and denigrated, along with our Christian founding fathers.
WHY ARE HERESIES LIKE “THE SHACK” SO POPULAR?
Concerning the popularity of The Shack—in earlier times, from the Exodus from Egypt through Medieval times, the great trap for believers was paganism, because sex has always been easy to sell. There is still a fair amount of paganism being practiced today, but it cannot be a real threat to the Church because most “decent, church-going people” are not ready for orgies in the forest.
Today what is most seductive in the church is what I call “feel good religion,” that which flows from the “I’m OK—You’re OK” view of things, with emphasis on self-esteem. The plain truth of what the Bible says is modified, or completely rejected, according to prevailing psychological thinking. The foundation of such heresy is always the humanizing of God.
In this way, “The Shack” excels in the extreme. This hideous distortion of truth makes a pal of Almighty God, a pal who requires nothing of us except that we try to be nice; and those who teach and preach such things will have much for which to answer when they stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
MILESTONES
Married 23 Aug - Lori Beaton and Gabriel Riggs, in Paducah, Ky., Lori is the daughter of Ron and Beth Beaton of Paducah, and granddaughter of Mrs. Louise Beaton of Paducah, and Walter Bennett of Dresden, Tenn., all very dear, long-time Christian friends.
20 Sep - Wynne Morley, M.D., and Arthur Dueck, M.D., in Philadelphia. Wynne is a dear friend, as are her parents, Drs Robert and Shirley Morley of Wallingford, Pa, and Wynne’s sister, Mrs Robin Bernstein of Philadelphia
27 Sep – Angie Armstrong and Jason Devine, in Smithland, Ky. Angie is the daughter of dear Christian friends, Brent and Lisa Armstrong of Hardin, Ky. Brent and Lisa are long-time members of our retreat board.
Died 19 Aug - Rev. Cortis Hill of Marion, Ky. Cortis was an old friend, father-in-law of my niee, Jane McKenney Hill, and had been pastor of Piney Fork Cumberland Presbyterian Church for more than 40 years.
A FINAL WORD
Treasure and use each day as if it were your last, and never give up hope; God has a limitless supply of new beginnings, and He makes beautiful things out of broken pieces.
You are precious,
(Sources: AFRN-American Family Radio News; AP-Associated Press; BAR-Biblical Archeology Review;BBC-British Broadcasting Corp.; BP-Baptist Press; C-Charisma; CBN-Christian Broadcasting Network; CR-Congressional Record; CSN-Calvary Satellite Network; EP-Evangelical Press; Fox (Fox News); FOF-Focus on the Family; FRC-Family Research Council; GN-Good News Magazine; HC-History Channel; IMG-Israel My Glory; JP-Jerusalem Post; LAT-L.A. Times; Mil-Military Magazine; NR-National Review; NM NewsMax.com; NW-Newsweek; NYP-New York Post; NYT-New York Times; ONN-OneNewsNow; PBS-Public Broadcast System; PWB-Pastors' Weekly Briefing; RTLB-Right to Life Education Foundation Bulletin; RTLGC-Right to Life of Greater Cincinnati; USAT-USA Today; USNWR-U.S. News and World Report; VOM-Voice of Martyrs; W-World Magazine; WP-Wikipedia; WND-World Net Daily; WT-Washington Times; WW-Washington Watch.)