July/August/September 2008
Dear ones,
For those of you who are interested, my book about the amazing lone sniper of the War Between the States is now in production and scheduled for release in March. It has been an enormous undertaking, and an important part of American history has been saved from oblivion. It is a story of man's inhumanity to man, of vengeance and the cost of vengeance. My thanks to those of you who have prayed. Also, Part I of my Bible Study Guide will soon be available, to be announced in the next issue. God is very good.
THANK YOU FOR THE CHANGE OF ADDRESS
A special thanks to those of you who are thoughtful enough to send us your new address when you move. Every month it costs the ministry about $150, for return postage and the clerical cost of correcting addresses on the mailing list, for those who don't notify us.
THE BIBLE VERSION FACT SHEET
In the last issue I offered to send as a gift a 3-page fact sheet on manuscript evidence and omissions in the modern versions of the Bible. It is an excerpt from a larger document. Due to the cut-and-paste process the result was a rather poor product. If you would like to have the improved version (it is much better) and throw the other away, just let us know, and please forgive me for being in a hurry; there were, as usual, too many things happening at the same time.
A FINAL THANK-YOU AFTER KATRINA
As the 3rd anniversary of Katrina approaches, I am remembering all of you who stretched forth a helping hand. Where our home, and Jeff's, once were, we still have not finished the clean-up, but have made much progress. Although the beach cities are still empty for up to a half-mile from the beach, and will never again be the same, life is slowly coming back to the area. We will never forget those of you who have reached out to us with help. And we know that the Lord will not forget you.
"THE SHACK"—A SEDUCTIVE COUNTERFEIT
There is a hot new "Christian" book being bought and read by many Christians, and referred to approvingly by some Christian leaders. It is "The Shack" by Wm. P. Young, a novel about a man whose 6-year-old daughter has been murdered. To heal his broken heart, he is mysteriously invited to a shack in Oregon to meet with "Papa." At the shack he meets what is presented as the Holy Trinity, headed by "Papa" who is God the Father. The grieving man is comforted by what can only be called unscriptural, feel-good, New Age, counterfeit religion. We should recognize this immediately when "Papa," supposedly God the Father, is a Negro female, and the "Holy Spirit" is an Asian female. "God the Son," at least, is a Jewish male. All is love, "I'm OK-you're OK" type reassurance, and easy familiarity with this "just some of the guys" godhead; there is no punishment for sin, and forgiveness is universal without repentance. Oh, and all those nice people in the other religions are also OK; "Papa" says that she (he?) has many followers in other religions. It gets even worse, but you already get the picture. Dr. Albert Mohler, clear-headed President of Southern Baptist Seminary summarizes the book as "undiluted heresy." Don't buy it; if you already have a copy, please don't give it away—burn it. (Various)
THE BANK OF (Illegal Aliens In) AMERICA
The Bank of America, reputedly the World's largest bank, has issued a new credit card, especially and exclusively for customers without Social Security Cards (this translates, illegal aliens). Until now it has been difficult-to-impossible for illegals to get credit cards, but Bank of America is taking care of that. In order to corner the Hispanic market, B of A is launching the program in Los Angeles County, with the largest concentration of illegals in the nation. They intend to go national with the program later this year. In doing this B of A is breaking several federal laws, but don't expect them to be prosecuted—they are much too rich, powerful, and politically correct. (WSJ/Michelle Malkin)
AN ARMED CIVILIAN SAVES LIVES
In late July, in downtown Jerusalem, a Palestinian operator suddenly turned his bulldozer into a weapon against defenseless, unsuspecting Israeli civilians. He crashed his bulldozer into a bus, and then into five other vehicles, overturning one; more than 15 Israelis were injured, among them a mother and her 9-month-old baby. He then turned and was heading for other cars which were waiting at a traffic light, when he was shot dead by an armed civilian, backed up by a border policeman. This was the second such incident in a month; on 2 July another terrorist used his bulldozer as a weapon against cars, buses and pedestrians, killing 3 and injuring 45 others. (Fox/Jerusalem Prayer Team)
ADULT STEM CELLS CONTINUE TO HEAL
Fetal stem cells, which require killing tiny babies, continue to fail in treating patients (or make them worse). Meanwhile, stem cells from cord blood and adult stem cells continue to treat successfully more than 45 diseases and injuries. In one of the latest, a two-year-old Florida boy, Elio Burgos, born blind, now has 20/200 vision after treatment with cord blood stem cells, and his vision is still improving. (PWB/FOF)
SOME FACTS CONCERNING BARAK HUSSEIN OBAMA
Barack Hussein Obama may well be our next president and commander in chief, yet most of us have no idea of what and who he really is. He is the darling of the establishment media, and they have convinced much of the public that he wears the white hat, rides a white horse, and is without original sin. This persona is very far from the truth. The following are some significant facts concerning the real Barack Obama; because of space limitations, this summary will only scratch the surface. Sources, as usual, are listed at the end of the article.
1. He says that he was reared a Christian. The fact is that he was born to a Muslim father and an atheist mother. As a child he lived in Indonesia, one of the most violently Muslim countries on earth, where Christians are often massacred. He attended a Muslim school where he received Muslim instruction and attended the Mosque. He was later placed in a private Catholic school where his enrolment record lists his religion as "Muslim."
2. His father abandoned the family and returned to Kenya when Barack was 2. His mother then married Lolo Soetoro, a radical Muslim of the extremist Wahabi sect, and Barack continued training as a Muslim. In his teens he was sent to Hawaii to live with his maternal granparents, both atheists, and attend private school there until ready for college.
3. Running from his Muslim past, he says that all three of his names "are African"; wrong—all three are Arabic Muslim names (was Saddam Hussein an African?).
4. He presents himself as a pure, non-political candidate who is the enemy of "politics as usual." In reality he is the product of the Cook County, Illinois (Chicago) Democrat political machine, one of the most notoriously corrupt in U.S. history.
5. Like Al Gore and the Clintons, he lies as naturally as he breathes, and somehow thinks no one will notice. Even the liberal media chide him for this! In a recent speech, he boasted of something "we passed" in the Senate Banking Committee, referring to it as "my committee"; a lie—he is not even a member of that committee, let alone its chairman. In Iowa, he said, "My mother was a Christian from Kansas"; a lie—she was a professing atheist, as were both of her parents.
6. He sat for 20 years under the teaching of his pastor, Jeremiah Wright, a radically Marxist, pro-Africa, anti-American, anti-white racist, whose sermons are profanity-laced ("…we should sing God damn America"), and called him his mentor and spiritual leader; yet, after 20 years of soaking up this theological and political poison, he claims to be surprised by all this. The church preaches 1960s Black Power (violent hostility to whites and government), and Black Liberation Theology (Afro-centered Marxism). It is a congregation of the United Church of Christ, an ultra-liberal denomination which majors in political and social issues, rejects the inspiration of the Bible, and is an enthusiastic supporter of the radical homosexual agenda. Increasingly embarrassed by growing awareness of all this, Obama finally left the church and his spiritual leader, who stated that Obama will say whatever he needs to say in order to be elected.
7. He presents himself as a victim of white racism who has struggled to make his way out of black poverty. The fact is that he was educated in private schools, at Columbia, and Harvard Law (as was his wife, who has said she has never been proud of her country until today).
8. He is a member of the Ivy League elite, not a product of city slums. At a private fund-raiser in California, speaking to a group of wealthy, like-minded, Marin County liberals, he disparaged rural and small town Americans as "bitter" which is the reason they "cling to guns, or religion, or antipathy to people who aren't like them…"
9. Like all such Ivy League elites, he looks down on the Armed Forces, and is not comfortable in the presence of military people. In his recent trip to Germany, when he learned that if he visited wounded warriors from Iraq and Afghanistan he could not take his camera crews with him for photo ops, he declined to visit the casualties in the hospital; instead he used the open time in his schedule to go to the gym at the Ritz Carleton for a workout.
10. In his world of wealthy, Ivy League liberals, patriotism is for ignorant, simplistic rednecks and factory workers with parochial worldviews. Obama has been the only one of a host of candidates who has refused to wear the U.S. Flag on his lapel, or to stand at attention with his hand over his heart during the National Anthem (see photo).
11. He had the American Flag removed (painted over) from the tail of his jet, and replaced with his campaign logo.
12. Although he is unusually good at delivering a prepared speech, he is alarmingly inept at speaking extemporaneously. In public he has spoken of having visited "all 57 states, with one more to go." In May he bounded onto the stage before an excited crowd and shouted, "Thank you, Sioux City!" The bewildered crowd went silent—he was in Sioux Falls, SD. In a campaign speech he boasted of having spoken "with the President of Canada"—but Canada doesn't have a president. If he becomes Commander-in-Chief, he won't be dealing with rehearsed, prepared speeches in times of crisis; he will need to be able to think on his feet and react extemporaneously—and with the right answers.
13. Although he is only a 1st term senator, he already has the most liberal voting record in the Senate.
14. He is radically pro-abortion, even fighting to protect the barbaric infanticide of "partial birth abortion" ("I'll never back down!"). Planned Parenthood loves him.
15. He is a steadfast supporter of the homosexual agenda, including homosexual "marriage," and opposition to the marriage amendment, which would define marriage as being between one man and one woman.
16. And, finally, Obama denies that Jesus is the only way to be reconciled to God ("I believe that there are many paths to the same place…all people of faith, Christians, Jews, Muslims, animists, everyone—know the same God."). If everything else about him were right (and it isn't), this makes him wrong to a Christian. He either doesn't know the Bible, or he doesn't believe it; both are probably true. (LAT/CNN/Time/ABC/CT/Fox/msnbc/London Times/BP/Trinity UCC Web site/Snopes.com)
FREEDOM ISN'T FREE: ONE MARINE'S PAYMENT
Sergeant Merlin German was an exemplary Marine. He was meritoriously promoted to Private First Class upon graduation from Boot Camp; promotions to Lance Corporal and Corporal followed quickly. In Iraq in February 2005, as a machine gunner atop an armored vehicle on a reconnaissance mission, his vehicle was struck by a command-detonated mine combining high explosive and flame munitions. He was blown from the vehicle, and hit the ground enveloped in flames. He was badly burned over 97 percent of his body. Given no chance to live, he survived to get to the burn unit at Fort Sam Houston. To everyone's amazement he lived, and began a three-year ordeal of surgeries and rehabilitation. He was an inspiration to the other patients, and to those who treated him, who called him "Miracle Man." In the hospital he was promoted to the rank of Sergeant. As he progressed to out-patient status, he dreamed of, and laid the groundwork for, a foundation to help severely burned children. He called it "Merlin's Miracles." And then, on 11 April, after more than three years and 150 surgeries, Merlin died after a minor operation to place a patch of skin under his lip. With all the trauma he had suffered, his courage and determination had taken him beyond what his battered heart could support. He was 22. You can contact Merlin's Miracles on the internet, or by mail at 4319 Medical Drive, Suite 131-352, San Antonio, TX 78229.
FAREWELL TO SEPARATE RESTROOMS AND SHOWERS
In June the Colorado legislature enacted a bill, which Gov. Bill Ritter happily signed into law, which makes it illegal to deny anyone, of either sex, access to public restrooms, locker rooms and showers. Apparently it makes even those "male" and "female" signs on such facilities illegal; perhaps they should be replaced with "Welcome" signs, or "We Are as Confused as You Are." (WND/FOF)
MARTY’S CORNER
Since we’re on the waning side of mid-summer and daylight shortens a little each day, I’m shortening my critiques in keeping with the season.
Worship and family: Studies show that if the mother of a family attends worship, there's a 16 percent chance that the rest of the family will also attend. Yet when a father attends worship, there's a 93 percent chance that the other members of the family will also attend.
November Election: Since none-of-the-above is the only honorable option I have for President, I checked with the County Court Clerk to make sure I could write-in an alternative—I can. Right now my choice is J.C. Watts who is a Christian, an American conservative, former U.S. Representative (1994-2000) from Oklahoma and a celebrated quarterback for the University of Oklahoma from 1977 to 1981. Watts captured national attention in 1996 with a speech at the Republican national convention, when he said, "You see character does count. For too long we have gotten by in a society that says the only thing right is to get by and the only thing wrong is to get caught. Character is doing what's right when nobody is looking."
Anguish: In June, a homosexual activist filed a lawsuit against Christian publishers, Thomas Nelson and Zondervan, for “mental distress.” The activist is offended that the Bibles they print describe homosexual behavior as a sin. The unnamed activist is seeking $70 million in damages for his "anguish" caused by the publishing giants. America’s anguish is that such a suit could even be considered and that our cultural climate is increasingly intolerant towards Christian truth.
Joy: Through all of the cultural sickness and alarming events, we Christians have joy that the world can’t comprehend. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love….these things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. (John 15: 10,11) There’s a distinction between joy and happiness for joy is a quality of the spirit whereas happiness is a quality of emotion. So, happiness is a variable because it relates to outward circumstances—it changes with events going on in our life. But joy is a thing of the heart, the spirit, and it isn't a variable. It doesn't change; it's a constant because it is a joy that is related to our relationship with God, which is a constant. That relationship doesn't change; things may go bad, they may be horrible, but our relationship with God is secure. Therefore we have the fullness of joy and that joy carries us through hardships and a crumbling world.
STRANGE BEDFELLOWS: HABITAT FOR HUMANITY AND ABORTION
Habitat for Humanity (Sarasota), a branch of the Jimmy Carter group which builds houses for the poor, entered into an agreement to assist Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest killer of babies, by providing them with the land needed for an expansion in Sarasota, Fla. The land was offered to PP for $10.00 (in other words, it was donated free). After this was discovered and made known through groups such as Focus on the Family, Habitat (Sarasota) backed out of the deal. (FOF/PWB)
A PURE MUSLIM GIRL'S REWARD
Just think of the reward awaiting a chaste Muslim girl in "Paradise": if she remains sexually pure, prays, memorizes passages from the Koran, keeps herself completely covered except for her eyes and never speaks to any male not in her family, when she dies she can for eternity be a sex slave to a terrorist.
A DEMOGRAPHIC MILESTONE
I do not take seriously most of the canonization of such things as "Generation X" or "Y" or "Z to the minus 10"; however, in case you are interested, the nation's very first "baby boomer" has filed for Social Security benefits. She is Kathleen Casey-Kirschling. Born in Philadelphia at midnight, 1 January 1946, she is the first of what will soon be a flood of applicants for Social Security money that hasn't existed since Lyndon Johnson. That money, property of the people, was supposed to be invested in high-yield securities; instead, it has been spent illegally by Congress, which has been controlled by the Democrat Party for 80 of the last 100 years. (Jim Bramlett in NewsMax)
MILESTONES
Died 26 May - Jonathan Darrel Pierce, 21, of Orlando (formerly of Campbellsville, Ky.). Jonathan is the son of Christian friends Darrell and Lindy Pierce of Campbellsville.
8 June - Mary Bennett, dear Christian friend, wife of Walter Bennett, at home in Dresden, Tenn., one day after their 61st wedding anniversary. Walter led us on many life-changing Lay Witness Missions in the '70s and '80s.
21 June - Jake Hodge, age 12, of Marion, Ky., at home of unknown causes, after competing in a rodeo. He was an active Christian and a gifted athlete.
Late June - Sarah Clement of Marion, Ky., longtime friend and lifetime member of Marion Methodist Church, of natural causes at home, exact date unknown.
11 July - Col. Earl Hopper, USA (Ret), Glendale, Ariz., veteran of World War II, Korea and Vietnam, a pioneer in the POW issue and founder of Task Force Omega. His son, Earl Jr., captured alive in Vietnam, is still missing. He is survived by his wife and fellow activist, Patty.
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.)