June / July 2007
Dear ones,
As we enter into Summer, we wish to thank you for your continued support and encouragement. We also wish to give special thanks to those who take time to send us their changes of address. Bonnie spends a great deal of her time working with newsletters returned for bad addresses. Each one means that you will miss at least one issue, and it costs us upwards of $100.00 (extra) per issue to deal with the problem and keep the newsletters coming to you. Please keep us informed.
POSTAGE INCREASES MAY SILENCE MANY SMALL PUBLICATIONS
As you may know, it is increasingly expensive to produce, publish and mail this newsletter; and by far the largest part of the cost is mailing. The cost of mailing The Good Word is approximately twice the cost of writing, editing and printing it. Now, there is a rate increase coming which will make mailing it cost even more. God has always provided what we have needed to keep the newsletters going out to you, and I am sure that He will continue. But that’s not all there is to this rate increase. The Postal Regulatory Commission—and it alone—has always (for 200 years!) been the one to set its own rate rules.
But now, for the first time, Time-Warner has submitted its own plan, and the Postal Regulatory Commission has adopted the Time-Warner plan. (Time-Warner is a huge publishing company—owner of Time, Sports Illustrated, People Magazine and 127 other publications). Time’s plan (demand?) calls for medium and small size periodicals (that includes us) to bear the burden of the majority of the postal rate increase, while Time-Warner and other huge publishers would have much smaller postal rate increases and, in some cases, even postage reductions for themselves. This would force medium and small size periodicals to raise prices, downsize staffs, or even shut down. And that would, of course, give the huge publishers more power and control over what the public knows and thinks. The Time-Warner “plan” is scheduled to go into effect 15 July. Short of a miracle, only the President or Congress can stop this draconian program to silence the small voices of truth. Let them know what you think about this. (World)
82-YEAR-OLD MISS AMERICA DEFEATS THIEVES
Venus Ramey was Miss America in 1944; her picture adorned a B-17 bomber that flew 68 missions over Germany in World War II. Today she lives alone on her tobacco farm in South Central Kentucky. She gets around on a walker, but she’s no pushover. Thieves had been taking advantage of her, stealing things out of her outbuildings—as she put it, “stealing from me for years, those good-for-nothing slobs.” While feeding her horses recently, her dog led her to a truck, backed up to a storage building, where three men were loading up her things. To keep them from leaving, she pulled a pistol from her pocket, shot out the tires, and held one of them until police arrived. All three were arrested. (WND/Fox)
GUNS AND GUN CONTROL IN THE NEWS
Virginia Tech. The tragic slaughter of students and faculty members on the campus of Virginia Tech University in April again brought before us the issue of gun control. When one sick, evil student deliberately armed himself and perpetrated the slaughter, unopposed, the mass murder followed in the wake of some significant events: (1) Two years earlier, a student who had a concealed carry permit, was disciplined for carrying his pistol on the campus. (2) One year after that (a year before the slaughter), the Virginia General Assembly killed a bill in committee that would have allowed university students and employees with valid permits to carry concealed weapons on campus. At the time a spokesman for Virginia Tech praised the killing of the bill, saying, “…this will help parents, students, faculty and visitors feel safe on campus“ (emphasis mine). It is safe to say that it didn’t make anyone on the campus feel safe that terrible day. (WND, Fox, et al)
A Personal Observation. If I may be allowed a personal observation, one thing leapt at me in watching the footage that day: if those policemen had charged into that building, going to the sound of the gunshots, instead of hiding behind trees from someone who wasn’t even shooting at them, a lot of those dead and wounded people would be alive and unharmed today.
“Gun Town USA“ In 1982 Kennesaw, Georgia, north of Atlanta, passed an ordinance requiring each head of household to own and maintain a gun. Art Buchwald (who called Kennesaw “Gun Town, USA”), the Washington Post, and other establishment commentators ridiculed Kennesaw, and predicted that it would become a wild-west town with all disputes settled with gunfire. In fact, the opposite has been the case; crime rates in Kennesaw immediately plummeted after the ordinance was enacted, and has remained low—the lowest in the Atlanta Metro area, and about half the national average. (WND)
POLITICIANS AND ABORTION
Rudy Giuliani, ex-mayor of New York and candidate for the Republican nomination for President of the U.S., is a long-standing supporter of abortion. And yet, wishing to please everyone on this issue, he takes the same absurd, dishonest position as Geraldine Ferraro (former Democrat VP candidate) and other politicians who say, “I am personally against abortion, but I don’t think I should impose my beliefs on others” or, equally absurd, “I am personally against abortion, but others should be allowed to choose for themselves.” This is the exact equivalent of saying, “I don’t believe in raping helpless old ladies and beating them to death, or in butchering alive small and helpless children, but I don’t think I should impose my beliefs on others—individuals should be allowed to choose for themselves what to do.”
And, incidentally, Rudy Giuliani, who claims to be a good Catholic, has on six occasions since 1993 given money to support Planned Parenthood, the World’s leading killer of unborn babies, and its leading promoter of promiscuity-promoting sex education curricula for public schools and the Girl Scouts. (BP/NM)
AT LAST—A PARTIAL BIRTH ABORTION BAN
In April the Supreme Court, in a 5-4 vote, upheld the federal law banning the barbaric procedure called “partial birth abortion.” While the decision is cause for rejoicing and praising God, the fact that it took so many years to finally put an end to this butchery of term babies at birth leaves an indelible stain on the nation’s character. President Bush, who promoted the law, had this to say about its being upheld at last: “(this decision) is an affirmation of the progress we have made over the past six years in protecting human dignity and upholding the sanctity of life. We will continue to work for the day when every child is welcomed in life and protected in law.” (PWB, et al).
THE FAILURE OF EMBRYONIC STEM CELL RESEARCH
In April, during debate in the senate on stem cell research, Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass) told the senate that a research institute in Cambridge “has cured a mouse” with embryonic stem cell therapy. But there is one problem with his statement: the mouse wasn’t cured. Meanwhile, the American College of Pediatricians has formally called for an end to embryonic stem cell research, which requires the killing of tiny human beings, and which has so far produced not a single success in treatment of disease and injury. Rather, the pediatricians called for exclusive research with adult and cord blood stem cells, which doesn’t require the killing of babies, and which has already had promising results in a large number of conditions. (OneNewsNow/FOF)
FROM ALTAR BOYS TO BODYGUARDS
In the past, Roman Catholic Archbishop Angelo Bagnasco has always ministered in his cathedral in Genoa, Italy, flanked by altar boys, acolytes and deacons. But not any more. Since speaking out against government plans to legalize homosexual unions, he has received so many death threats that now the altar boys have been replaced with armed policemen, acting as his bodyguards. Prior to this, the only groups willing to kill a bishop have been conscienceless Latin American drug lords, and God-hating, radical Marxist terrorists. Now we can add to that select group the militant homosexuals. (WND)
CAN A CHILD HAVE THREE PARENTS?
As the culture war rages on, and our culture drifts ever farther away from its Bible-based founding principles, the madness escalates. In April a Pennsylvania Superior Court was faced with a child custody dispute. Two lesbians split up; but one of them had 2 adopted children and had given birth to 2 more children (presumably by artificial insemination). Both lesbians, plus the sperm donor, claimed parental rights. The court’s decision? That all 3 are legitimate parents, with rights of visitation, and that the sperm donor and the lesbian who gave birth are to pay child support. It isn’t clear which of the three parents will have custody of the children. (FOF-Citizen Link)
FROM HOMOSEXUAL GOVERNOR TO HOMOSEXUAL PRIEST
James McGreevy was the Governor of New Jersey. He resigned his office after announcing that he is a practicing homosexual. A former Catholic, McGreevy has joined the Episcopal Church; and now he has decided to become a priest in the denomination already torn asunder by the ordination and consecration of practicing homosexuals. He is enrolled for the Fall Semester in the General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church, in New York City. His estranged wife, Dina McGreevy, said to the world, on the Oprah TV program, “It’s the most absurd thing I’ve ever heard...I am astounded by his arrogance!” (WP/FOF/PWB)
CHILDREN FORCED TO WATCH “GAY” LOVE SCENES
Grandparents (and guardians) of a 12-year-old girl in Chicago are suing her teacher, the school and the Board of Education for psychological distress and false imprisonment. According to court documents, the teacher told the class they were to tell no one about seeing the movie, she shut the door, and forced the children to watch “Brokeback Mountain,” the “R” rated movie about 2 homosexual cowboys, which includes homosexual (and heterosexual) sex scenes. The child came home from school that day traumatized, saying, “They made me watch this bad movie.” The grandfather, who had complained of similar problems at the elementary school before, said “This was the last straw.” Could something like this be happening at your child’s government school? (WND/FOF/Citizen Link)
REALITY OF THE RESURRECTION
“Belief in the resurrection was not an illusion, but a fact, written in the blood of martyrs, recorded in the First Century, and celebrated weekly [ever since] by believers around the world.” (Rev. Jim Britt, Bowling Green, Ky.)
A WAR STORY YOU PROBABLY HAVEN’T HEARD
In Iraq recently terrorists murdered an entire Iraqi family, shot in the head, in execution style. But one little girl, about 2 years old, didn’t die. She suffered terrible wounds to the back of her head, but was taken to a U.S. Air Force hospital where extensive surgery saved her life. One problem in her care is that the emotional trauma she suffered makes her unable to sleep. Since the only time the little girl is calm is when she is being held by Chief Master Sgt. John Gebhardt, the medic in the photo, he holds her all night, every night, while they both sleep in a chair. If you look closely, you can see the extent of the damage to the back of her head. You won’t see this, or hear of it, on CNN, CBS, NBC, ABC or PBS.
THE DENIAL OF OUR HISTORY
Increasingly, a revisionist form of politically correct propaganda is replacing the teaching of legitimate history in public schools and on university campuses. Western civilization in general, and American history in particular, are increasingly portrayed as evil. This is especially true where our Christian heritage is concerned. For a recent example, in May an Arizona history professor was denied tenure and placed on the fast track for dismissal. Why? In November he sent his colleagues on the faculty a Thanksgiving Day greeting which contained George Washington’s 1789 Thanksgiving Proclamation. Washington’s proclamation of thanksgiving was “offensive” to some faculty members. (FOF/Citizen Link)
A POINT TO PONDER
“Without knowledge of its history, a nation cannot have a sense of its identity, or a vision for its future.”
(T.C. McK)
MARTY’S CORNER
In April, when I read that Johnny Hart, the nationally acclaimed cartoonist, had died at his drawing table after a stroke, it brought to mind one of the comic strips of his that I still have on our refrigerator. Although yellowed with age, it has his beloved caveman B. C. throwing his slate into the sea in hopes that he can communicate with the world somewhere out there. B.C. had just written “Over here we are systematically removing all mention of God from text books and public places, put there by our Founding Fathers.” Days go by as he sits by the sea and awaits the return—it arrives with the message, “Way to go, kid!—Hell’s gonna have a hoedown when you guys get there.”
Although Hart was ripped by editorial bias for years because they didn’t like Hart’s-or B.C.’s-Christianity, he stood fast in the face of adversity…or should I say “diversity.” Over 15 years ago, the Los Angeles Times (and other large newspaper chains) refused to run his strips containing tasteful, clever messages about Easter or Christmas. At the time, he said that “his treatment is symptomatic of the battle for America’s soul”…and so it was. The battle gets more intense. One Christian journalist who spoke on condition of not being identified (because he’d be fired in retaliation for his remarks) said that at one big-city newspaper editorial meeting, an allusion to Easter as a “holy day” was met with visible derision…with at least 25 percent of those in the room breaking out in laughter, like it was the biggest joke they’d ever heard.” Hart stayed true to his convictions and we the people were the winners—we found humor as a way of witnessing and continuing our battle for America’s soul. While his death is our loss, he is now surely rejoicing with the Lord; probably at the same time that some of those same editorial board members are cast out into outer darkness: there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 8:12; 22:13).
DISNEY OFFERS “GAY” MARRIAGE CEREMONIES
The Disney Enterprises executives would have us believe that they have turned back to the family-friendly values of the founder, Walt Disney. It is true that they no longer make “R”-rated movies, but Disney theme parks still sponsor the annual “Gay Days” blowout in June, offering reduced hotel prices for the event, and about half their employees are homosexuals. And now, as part of the wedding packages offered by Disney at the theme parks, they offer “commitment ceremonies” for homosexuals (read that as “gay weddings”). And what is their excuse for this open assault on the family? You guessed it—to be “inclusive” and “It’s not our place to make judgments…“
Do you take your children to these places? (FOF/Citizen Link)
NETHERLANDS APPROVES PEDOPHILE PARTY
The Netherlands has consistently led the formerly Christian Western World in insanely abandoning all standards of Biblical morality; they seem to pride themselves in this. They have legalized prostitution, drugs, and even subsidize drug use by a growing army of addicts, and lead the World in physicians killing their patients. But now the Netherlands courts have outdone themselves: they have approved and legitimized a pedophile political party. Calling themselves the Brotherly Love, Freedom and Diversity Party, their issues, in addition to (of course) pedophilia, include legalizing bestiality and lowering the age of consent (or abolishing it completely). (Reuters/FOF)
ONE LAST MESSAGE
“With the world on the brink of pandemonium, it is our responsibility to point people—no matter their heritage, ethnicity or religion—to the one and only solution, Jesus Christ.”
(The Rev. Dr. Jerry Falwell, 12 May 2007, three days before his death)
MILESTONES
Married
18 May - Emily Joy Combs and Joshua Parker, in Murfreesboro, Tenn. Emily is the daughter of long-time Christian friends Bill and Susan (“Rue”) Combs of Murfreesboro.
Died
29 Jan - Robert Martin, World War II veteran, Christian friend, and distributor of this newsletter, in Auburn, Ind. He is survived by his wife Martha.
2 April - Mrs. Kim Ellis, of Pass Christian, Miss., a lovely Christian lady, wife and mother, much too soon, of heart failure. She was only 45.
7 April - Johnny Hart, Outspoken Christian and cartoonist, at home, of an apparent stroke. He was 76. Hart was the creator of “B.C.” and “The Wizard of Id.” Both strips were so overtly Christian that, despite their vast popularity, secular newspapers sometimes refused to print them (or moved them to the “Religion” page).
15 May - Jerry Falwell, founder of the Moral Majority, and a key leader in convincing Christians that they should get involved in matters of public policy, of heart failure, in his office at Liberty University (of which he was founder). He will be remembered for opening the eyes of Christians to the fact that political issues such as abortion and the homosexual agenda are spiritual issues, and that it is wrong to stand by silently with our godly heritage, and our freedom, under attack. He was 73. See “ONE LAST MESSAGE” above.
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: AFNN-American Family News Network; 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; 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.)