"It is a sad day in our country when the moral
foundation of our law and the acknowledgment of God has to be hidden from
public view to appease a federal judge."1
Alabama's former Chief Justice Roy Moore
"Whereas... both Houses of
Congress have by their joint Committee requested me to recommend to the People
of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by
acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God... I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next to
be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious
Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is,
or that will be...."2
George Washington,
Thanksgiving Proclamation, 1789
"If we will not be governed by God, then we
will be ruled by tyrants." William Penn,
January 3, 1701
"My people have committed two evils:
They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, and hewn themselves cisterns—broken
cisterns that can hold no water." Jeremiah 2:12-13
Once again history repeats itself.
Like ancient Israel, America has gradually been turning its back to God. While
Christians from coast to coast were awakened by Judge Roy Moore's call for a
return to religious freedom and Constitutional integrity, their minority
response will hardly untangle the roots of anti-Christian socialism now
imbedded in our government and civil society.
Do you wonder why US leaders would ban
God's universal guidelines
for law and order, then choose social philosophies that turn our God-given
personal "rights" into the impersonal "rights" of the "greater whole"?
Why would they trade our heritage of freedom for oppressive restrictions and
unconstitutional limitations on free speech?
And why would a federal judge in Alabama ban a stone
replica of the Ten Commandments but permit the purchase (using federal funds)
of
a pagan statue honoring
Themis,
the Greek goddess of law?
Actually, in light of history, these paradoxes make
some sense. As our nation bans truth and forgets God's Word, it weakens
both discernment and resistance to the flood of spiritual and social
alternatives. Craving thrills more than truth, the
majority will barely notice the change. That's one reason why the National Park service
dared to name some of the Grand Canyon's majestic formations after Hindu gods,
then ban the small Scripture plaques that praised God for the
beauty of His creation.3
Do you doubt this is happening?
Then take a look at the following trends and events. They point to a sobering
reality which America, like ancient Israel, prefers to ignore.
1. Basing legal
opinions on UN and European models.
Dissatisfied with American law and values,
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
recently announced that "The
Supreme Court is looking beyond America's borders for guidance in handling
cases on issues like the death penalty and gay rights."4
Justice
Breyer went a step further.
"The world is growing together through commerce, through globalization,
through the spread of democratic institutions, through immigration to America.
It is becoming more and more one world of many different kinds of people ...
And whether our constitution fits into the governing
documents of other nations, I think, will be a challenge for the next
generation."5
Nothing will undermine American values, freedom and sovereignty faster than
reframing our Constitution by the dimming light of European values and global
ideology. The following headlines -- from 2001 through August, 2003 -- give a
short glimpse of the natural course America has chosen to follow:
France Passes Controversial Anti-Cult Law
:
"Courts can dissolve religious groups and impose heavy fines.... '[I]f we want to have children's church, Sunday school, that can be
seen as influencing minors. If we do work for old people, it's preying on the
vulnerable."
Sweden Moves to Criminalize Opposition to Homosexuality: "That means people coming from (the homosexual) lobby
group could sit in our churches having on the tape recorder and listen to somebody and
say, 'What you're saying now is against our constitution.' ... the real intent is to criminalize Christianity."
Free speech falls prey to 'human
rights': "...there
was Toronto printer Scott Brockie, hauled before our version of the Inquisition
-- a human rights tribunal -- and fined for turning down printing business
from homosexual activists. And the case of the Christian couple in Prince
Edward Island who shut down their bed and breakfast rather than be forced
to condone homosexual acts under their own roof."
The Bible as 'hate literature'?
"A prison sentence for quoting the Bible in Canada? Holy Scriptures treated as
'hate literature'?"
Advocating
for religious freedom:
"The government of Belarus is presently considering introducing a highly restrictive religion law that would drive Belarus back into Soviet era oppression, crippling the numerous small Protestant evangelical and non-traditional groups."
Will the Bible be banned in
America?
"An extremely disturbing precedent has been set in Canada that
homosexual activists in the U.S. are trying to duplicate. According to a
December 2001 decision by a Saskatchewan court of appeals, the Bible is
hate literature if it is quoted verbatim and in context when it is used
to condemn homosexuality as sin..."
U.N. group in 'showdown with religion':
"At a forum Monday, attended briefly by U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, panel
members singled out Roman Catholics and evangelical Protestants as opponents....
Princeton University professor Anthony Appiah,
wondered whether or not religion should be limited, as it poses a
'challenge' to the homosexual agenda...."
California's Omnibus Hate Crimes Act of 2004:
"It is clear that this bill [signed into law September 22, 2004] is
intended to punish those who speak out in defense of the pre-born as well as
restrict the rights of persons to speak out against homosexuality.... Why are crimes against certain people or classes
of people more deserving of stronger punishment than the same crimes
committed against persons or classes of persons that do not fit into the
designated 'hate-victim' list [which lists
“anti-reproductive
rights crimes, gender-bias crimes, anti-immigrant crimes, anti-Arab and
anti-Islamic crimes and...actual or
perceived homelessness"]?
Are their lives of less importance? Isn’t this tantamount to legal
discrimination?
Did you notice the "new" views of right or wrong? Our world can't tolerate
the old Biblical laws that identify certain behaviors as sin and certain
beliefs as incompatible with Christian faith. Offended by the
truth, it bans the convictions that once gave rise to social order and prosperity. I
ts new systems leave no room for an uncompromising
moral standard which can't be conformed to man's shortsighted vision of
the 21st century community. [Isaiah
5:20]
2. Thrashing the Ten
Commandments.
Thank God for Judge Moore who dared to stand
against the corrupt establishment.
"The people of this state elected
me," he said, "to uphold our constitution, which establishes our justice system, evoking
the 'favor and guidance' of Almighty God. To do my duty, I must
acknowledge God.'"6
Later, in
his Wall Street Journal article, "In
God I Trust," Judge Moore
clarified his position:
"We must acknowledge God
in the public sector because the state constitution explicitly requires
us to do so. The Alabama Constitution specifically invokes 'the favor
and guidance of Almighty God' as the basis for our laws and justice
system. As the chief justice of the state's supreme court I am entrusted
with the sacred duty to uphold the state's constitution.'"
7
Our founding fathers -- Deists and
Unitarians as well as Christians -- never intended to ban the
Ten
Commandments
from public places.
They viewed this "Decalogue" as universal law, essential to peace
and order in the new Constitutional Republic.
Constitutional lawyer John Eidsmoe explained it well.
In "The
Decalogue: Cornerstone of Jurisprudence,"
he writes:
"The basic values of almost every
legal system in the world are summarized in the Ten Commandments. Among these
is respect for life, expressed in the Commandment 'Thou shalt not kill' and
reflected in the homicide laws of every legal system.... Another basic value
is respect for property expressed in the Commandment 'Thou shalt not steal'
and reflected in the property laws and larceny laws of most
civilizations.... Respect for truth is further expressed in the Commandment 'Thou shalt not bear
false witness.' A society that has no respect for truth cannot function....
"Judge Thompson holds court in the Federal
Courthouse, a few blocks away from the Alabama State Judicial Building. In
front of the Federal Courthouse, standing by itself, is a sculpture of
Themis, the Greek goddess of law and justice.... Judge Thompson utterly ignored this fact in his ruling. These two monuments — The Ten
Commandments in the Alabama State Judicial Building, and the image of Themis
in front of the Federal Courthouse — capsulize the real controversy in this
case. Will we be governed by the values of the Ten Commandments as
represented by Chief Justice Moore's monument, or by the values of paganism
and statism as symbolized by Themis at the Federal Courthouse?"8
I hope you and I will choose God's law. After all, He
enables us to fulfill it. But contrary
forces are driving our nation toward less merciful lawgivers. And a new
generation has learned to see both our Constitution and His Word as malleable
documents easily adapted to fit our changing times.
3. Re-learning in government schools.
Alabama's judicial building is not
the only public property in the state to be purged of God's laws. Schools faced the
same fate.
Across the country, they are shutting their doors to all signs of Christianity. Consider
these examples:
School
rejected girl's religious valentines: "A school that allowed
students to exchange valentines featuring Britney Spears and boy band 'N Sync
violated a second-grader's constitutional rights by rejecting her homemade cards
celebrating Jesus."
Poster
With Picture of Jesus Lands Kindergartner in Court: "A
kindergartener 'was assigned to draw a poster relating to his class'
study of environmental issues. He drew people picking up litter,
children holding hands around the globe and a picture of a white-robed
man kneeling in one corner.' The teacher censored it."
Christmas book banned from class
:
"The second graders were told to bring a book to class that represented their Christmas traditions.... Laura was the only student to bring in a religious-based book and was told she could not share her book with the class."
Anti-discrimination policy threatens 1st Amendment: "Rutgers
banned a Christian group from using campus facilities and stripped the group of
university funding because it selects leaders on the basis of religious
belief.... 'The real intention is to break or banish religious groups with biblically based opposition to homosexuality.'"
The campus crusade against Christ (revisited):
"Young Life was told to change their constitution to
refer to its membership as a 'community supporting Christianity' instead of
'a community of adult Christians.'"
These orders to hide God's truth and ignore His values fit
into a tragic timeline summarized in our
Chronology of Education. But behind the
education establishment stands a vast network that joins the media, civil
society, socialist organizations and rich foundations together in a common
crusade: to transform everything we have treasured about America.
4.
Betraying our nation and deceiving the people.
In the frontlines of this battle stands the
American Civil Liberties
Union (ACLU).
From the beginning it has supported any group or activity that would help
undermine Christian values. Controversial issues such as pornography,
homosexuality, pedophilia and abortion for minors fit right into its agenda.
Small wonder! Its founder, Roger Baldwin, was a
committed Communist. He followed the revolutionary blueprint written by
Antonio Gramsci. This influential Communist leader warned his comrades that to
win America, they must eradicate Biblical values as a social force. Their
Marxist goals
would be met, not by violent revolution, but by infiltration into all the main
social institutions: the media, schools, government, churches and civil
society. All must be enticed into the dialectic process, learn to think
collectively and set aside obstacles such as absolute truth. [See
Brainwashing
in America]
"The transformational Marxists,"
writes
Detective Phillip Worts," advocated a
'slow march
through the institutions,' as famous Italian Marxist Antonio Gramsci would say.... The
Gramsci Strategy is the 'War of Position', (i.e. the battle ground is for the mind
and culture) vs. the “War of Maneuver”, (i.e. traditional battlefield warfare with
guns and bombs)."9
It matches the ACLU strategy: Gradualism. Point
by point as in a chess game, you weaken, then block the opposition forces.
Today, as the majority of Americans have yielded either to political
correctness or to blinding trivia, that destination comes closer and closer. "The
Betrayal at the Top: The Record of
the American Civil Liberties Union,"
summarizes both the heart and the goal of the
ACLU:
"...strange
conclusions result from the group's tendency to
view the concept of rights as pertaining not
to all individuals and what they have the right to do, but
rather to groups who use government to take away
from others the things they think they deserve. Unlike the authors of
the U.S. Constitution, the ACLU views our rights as demanding the fruits of
another's labor rather than the opportunity to earn them ourselves....
"...its Executive
Director and moving spirit until 1950 was Roger Baldwin..... he was quoted as
saying, 'I seek the social ownership of property,
the abolition of the propertied class and sole control by those who produce
wealth. Communism is, of course, the goal
.'
He gave this advice in 1917 to an associate who was forming another group: 'Do
steer away from making it look like a Socialist enterprise...We want also to
look like patriots in everything we do....'
"It should not be surprising
to note that Baldwin was active during the 1930's in quite a few of the Communist
Party's United Front organizations....
"ACLU activists William Z. Foster and
Elizabeth Gurley Flynn would later become leaders of the Communist Party, U.S.A....
Despite this partisanship, the ACLU and its affiliated tax-exempt foundation
continue to receive substantial yearly support from the
Ford, Rockefeller, Carnegie...
and other foundations."10
"One method of assault may be to effect in the forms of the Constitution alterations
which will impair the energy of the system, and thus to undermine what cannot
be directly overthrown. . . .
"Real patriots who may resist the intrigues of
the favorite are liable to become suspected and odious, while its tools and dupes
usurp the applause and confidence of the people to surrender their interests."
"Of all the dispositions and habits which lead
to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In
vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism who should labor to subvert
these great pillars of human happiness - these firmest props of the duties of
men and citizens. … And let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality
can be maintained without religion."14
By "religion," Washington meant Christianity.
He read God’s Word, he counted on His promises and he feared the devastating
consequences of rejecting the sovereign Ruler of the universe. So at his 1789
inauguration, he placed his hand on a Bible opened to Deuteronomy 28. That
amazing chapter brings warnings America would do well to heed today:
“Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently
obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments
which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all
nations of the earth....
“The Lord will cause your enemies who rise
against you to be defeated before your face.... The Lord will open to you His
good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season,
and to bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations,
but you shall not borrow. And the Lord will make you the head and not the
tail.... if you heed the commandments of the Lord your God." Deuteronomy
28:1-14
Does that promise remind you of America?
Its long list of wonderful blessings show the kinds of favors God showered
on our nation as well as on ancient Israel. But verse 15 begins a parallel list of consequences for
those who reject His ways.
“But...if you do not obey the voice of the Lord
your God, to observe carefully all His commandments.... that all these curses
will come upon you and overtake you.... The Lord will strike you with
consumption, with fever, with inflammation, with severe burning fever, with
the sword, with scorching, and with mildew.... The Lord will change the
rain of your land to powder and dust.... The Lord will cause you to be
defeated before your enemies....
"A nation whom you have not known shall eat the
fruit of your land and the produce of your labor... Locusts shall consume all
your trees and the produce of your land.... The alien who is among you
shall rise higher and higher above you, and you shall come down lower and
lower. He shall lend to you, but you shall not lend to him; he shall be
the head, and you shall be the tail.... Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joy and gladness of heart...." (Deuteronomy
28:47-48)
Could this downward slide to poverty, plagues
and servitude be the final page in the history of this blessed nation? Yes, it
could -- if we, like ancient Israel, refuse to turn back and acknowledge God's
sovereignty.
For our God reigns -- whether people
believe Him or not. And His warnings to nations are as relevant today as they
were over two thousand years ago when Israel traded His protection for the futile promise of capricious
pagan gods. It led to disaster, as it will for America if we continue on this
path:
"Now
all these things happened to them [paganized Israel] as examples, and they were written
for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. 1
Corinthians 10:11
The world government prophesied in Revelation
13 is no longer a distant dream; it's taking shape right before our eyes. For
our children and grandchildren's sake -- and for the glory our Lord and
Redeemer for whom nothing is impossible, let us pray that America wakes up and
takes this promise to heart:
“If My people who are called by My name will
humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways,
then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land."
2 Chronicles 7:14-15
See
also
The Ten Commandments | The fall and rise of human violence
Adapting the Constitution to a Global Consensus
| Clinton's War on
Hate Bans Christian Values
Endnotes:
1. Jeffrey Gettleman, "Monument is Now Out of Sight, but
Not Out of Mind," New York Times, 8-28-2003.
2. George Washington,
Washington's
Thanksgiving Proclamation, 1789,
www.crossroad.to/text/articles/Thanksgiving.html
3.
"Bible verses out at Canyon,"
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/0714canyonbible14.html
4.Gina Holland, "Ginsburg: Int'l Law Shaped Court Rulings,"
Associated Press, Aug 2, 2003.
5.
"Justice:
Can Constitution make it in global age?," WND, July 7, 2003,
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=33444.
See also
From
U.S. Sovereignty to Global Conformity.
6.
Judge Moore Undeterred by Ten Commandments
Battle Setbacks,
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/8/222003a.asp
7. Judge Roy
Moore, "In God I Trust,"
Wall Street Journal, 25 August 2003.
