Church of Jesus Christ Welcomes New Regional President

From left to right: 2nd Counselor Paul Hedgecock, Stake President Kyle Gillett, and 1st Counselor Craig Poole (photo provided)

PRESS RELEASE (11-06-2023)
CHURCH OF JESE CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has appointed a new Stake President and two counselors for the Asheville North Carolina Stake, a geographical division of the church that encompases most of Western North Carolina from Proctor, Nantahala, and Topton in the West to Forest City, Marion, and Spruce Pine in the East.

Kyle Gillett, the new Stake President, is a Medical Family Therapist and business owner who grew up in Arizona and moved to Arden in the summer of 2012. He has served as a volunteer at the church in various capacities since then, including most recently as Bishop of the Asheville congregation. His first counselor, Craig Poole, has lived in Hendersonville for 20 years, but grew up in Spartanburg, SC. Poole works as an optometrist at MyEyeDr in Hendersonville and has been a member of the Henderson County Board of Health for 9 years. He was Bishop of the Hendersonville 1st Ward prior to this calling. Gillett's second counselor, Paul Hedgecock, manages Brightbell Virtual Receptionists and has lived in the area for 11 years, moving recently to Burnsville, where he was Bishop of the Weaverville Ward.

Because The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints operates locally using a lay ministry, all three men will serve in this Presidency in a voluntary capacity for about the next ten years. The previous Stake President, Bart van Oostendorp of Arden, had served in that role since 2014. About their calling, President Gillett says, " As a new Stake Presidency, we look forward to uniting with followers of Christ in our surrounding community as we love and serve God’s children throughout Western North Carolina."

Background

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been established in Western North Carolina since 1838 when a few locals were baptized after hearing Jedediah M. Grant preach in the Western Piedmont area. The church now has about 5000 members in the area, divided into 11 congregations.

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2015 National Day of Prayer Observed in Franklin

The Macon County Ministerial Association [Facebook Page] hosted the 2015 National Day of Prayer at the town gazebo in downtown Franklin on Thursday. Here is the video and list of pastors who led those gathered in various prayers and songs, with some of the prayers mentioning local elected officials by name. The event ended with several community groups being formed for prayer before one last hymn. 

The theme for the 64th annual National Day of Prayer was Lord, Hear Our Cry, emphasizing the need for individuals, corporately and individually, to place their faith in the unfailing character of their Creator, who is sovereign over all governments, authorities, and men. 

The Scripture for this year was I Kings 8:28 “Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence this day.”



Welcome and Introduction by Mitch A. Schultz

Music was performed by Mike Barres and John Sapp

Prayer for Media led by Pastor Henry Puckett

Prayer for Government led by Pastor Rick Holmes

Prayer for the Military led by Pastor Scott Eichelberger

Prayer fo Businesses led by Pastor Tommy Jordan

Prayer for Education led by Pastor Forest Jones

Prayer for the Church led by Josh Smith

Prayer for the Family led by Pastor Paul Backhaus.

This event is held every year at noon on the first Thursday in May.

MEDIA ROLL CALL

Macon Media
WFSC-AM/WNCC-FM (I believe they broadcast it live over the radio)
The Franklin Press
The Macon County News and Shopping guide

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President Obama Versus Religious Liberty

The Obama administration is at it again. They are now using Obamacare to impose a secular vision on Americans who believe that they should not have their religious freedom taken away.

On January 20, 2012, the Obama administration affirmed a rule that would force Roman Catholic hospitals, charities, and universities to purchase health insurance for their employees that includes coverage for contraception, abortifacients, and sterilization, in violation of their religious principles. This is wrong.

My own view is clear. I stand with the Catholic Bishops and all religious organizations in their strenuous objection to this liberty- and conscience-stifling regulation. I am committed to overturning Obamacare root and branch. If I am elected President, on day one of my administration I will issue an executive order directing my Secretary of Health and Human Services to issue a waiver from its requirements to all 50 states. And on day one I will eliminate the Obama administration rule that compels religious institutions to violate the tenets of their own faith. Such rules don’t belong in the America that I believe in.

The America I believe in is governed by the U.S. Constitution and I will not hesitate to use the powers of the presidency to protect religious liberty.

Religious liberty is at the heart of the American experiment. As a nation founded in part by religious dissenters, we enshrined it as the first freedom in our Bill of Rights. “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof” is how the First Amendment begins. James Madison put the moral principle behind the amendment succinctly: "Conscience is the most sacred of all property." And accompanying the moral principle came the social principle that only religious liberty could ensure tranquility in a new land composed of men and women of differing faiths.

But, now, more than two centuries after the drafting of the Bill of Rights, religious liberty is facing the most serious assault in generations. And the assault is coming from liberalism itself. In the process of implementing Obamacare, the Obama administration is pressing forward with a rule that tramples on religious freedom, taking particular aim at Roman Catholics. The Obama administration is forcing religious institutions to choose between violating their conscience or dropping health care coverage for their employees, effectively destroying their ability to carry on their work.

Those of us who object have an irrefutable case. American courts have long held as a foundational principle the right of religious institutions to control their own affairs. It was reaffirmed by the Supreme Court as recently as January 11 in a case involving ministerial hiring. It is notable that in that case, Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church v. EEOC, the Obama administration was also challenging the basic time-honored principle of ecclesiastical autonomy. But a unanimous Court rejected the Obama administration’s position, declaring it to be “extreme” and explaining that the suit was “hard to square with the text of the First Amendment itself, which gives special solicitude to the rights of religious organizations.”

Seemingly in line with this “special solicitude,” the Obama administration has put forward a “religious employer” exemption regarding contraception and sterilization insurance coverage. Unfortunately, the Obama administration lawyers narrowed its actual force almost to the vanishing point. It only applies to religious organizations engaged primarily in serving people of the same religion. But that is not what many religious institutions do; serving the broad public is the essence of their divine mission. Accordingly, they will be compelled to provide health coverage to which they object as a matter of conscience.

In an effort to mollify the Bishops, Health and Human Services has now given religious institutions an additional twelve months to comply. That twelve-month extension is a clumsy attempt to push this matter past this year’s presidential election. As long as the rule hovers in front of us, we must keep up the battle. In a polity that provides all manners of exemption on the basis of religious freedom, it is an appalling trespass on the First Amendment.

Liberals and conservatives have made common cause to defend the rights of religious minorities in the past. But somehow, today, when it comes to the agenda of the left-wing of the Democratic Party—those who brought us abortion on demand and who fight against the teaching of abstinence education in our children’s schools—their devotion to religious freedom goes out the window. They would force Catholics and others who have beliefs rooted in their faith to sacrifice the teachings of their faith to the mandate of federal bureaucrats.

It is a prerequisite to the preservation of our liberty that our government not dictate to religious institutions the principles by which they are to carry out their charitable and divine mission. Religious liberty and freedom of conscience flow from the common conviction that it is freedom not coercion that exalts the individual, just as it raises up the nation.

What the Obama administration has done is indefensible. But this is about even more than President Obama denying America’s Catholics their constitutionally protected rights. This is about the preservation of our freedom. We must come together to make sure that these egregious violations of our Constitution do not stand.

Source: Mitt Romney

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Religious Bigotry in the Republican Party

It pains me to have to go on the record to report bigotry and hatred within my own political party, even by some who claim to be my co-religionists. The only way to get rid of this stuff is to shine a light on it. I want these cockroaches to scurry back into the hole they came from...


I've never seen such religious bigotry and hatred in an election as I have in this Republican primary. My guess is my fellow Republicans have never read the US Constitution. Or, if they have, considered it "just words" on a piece of paper and that the ideas contained therein do apply to them.

Here is a quote from Article VI of that same document:

"...no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States."

I realize that people have the right to personally apply whatever litmus test, including religious ones, in choosing who they will cast a ballot for in elections. But some of these people are trying to imply to people that their vote may cause people to go to Hell.

What set me off was a blog that quoted a statement by Robert Jeffries (a pastor who supported Rick Perry for President) in a post entitled "Why Christians Should Not Vote for Romney", I have excerpted part of it below:

"I think before a Christian could vote for someone who embraced a false religion such as Mormonism, he would need to carefully consider the eternal consequences that electing such a leader could have in legitimizing a false religion and, therefore, endangering the eternal destinies of those who might choose that leader’s religion.” (Robert Jeffress)

I left a comment, which is awaiting moderation from the blog owner. I have posted a screenshot of my comment on that blog to TwitPic in case the blogowner or blogposter does not approve my comment, click here to see it.

John Scrhoeder relays information that Newt Gingrich is campaigning on anti-Mormonism and Sarah Palin (or her staff) is removing any pro-Mormon comments or comments defending religious freedom from her facebook wall, but allowing anti-Mormon comments to stay.

Here are some links to people telling Christians not to vote for Romney because he is a Mormon:

Why Christians Should Not Vote for Romney

Pastor: If You Love Jesus, Don't Vote for Mormon Mitt Romney

The GOP debate over Mormonism breaks into open

FOOD FOR THOUGHT





Here is an interview with Bryan Hall from C-SPAN. His documentary film Article VI: Faith. Politics. America looks at the influence of religion on politics, as well as the challenge that voters face in trying to balance their core beliefs and their political vote.


Conclusion


Please, people...think about what you are saying and writing. You are writing things that go against the very nature of Christianity and what America stands for. 


I am a Christian and I believe that unless Mitt Romney repents and accepts Christ's sacrifice on the cross as the only way to receive forgiveness for his sins, then he will go to Hell and eventually spend eternity in the Lake of Fire. That does not mean I can not vote for him or, if I do, that I will be held responsible for those who become Mormons because Romney is elected President. That's madness. It's hate and it is preaching bigotry and I will take a stand against it. You people have allowed Satan to whisper in your ear and have heeded his words. Repent of that. 


If Romney is the nominee of our party (and I believe that he will be) I will vote for him over Obama because his political views more closely align with mine.

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An Open Letter From HK Edgerton What to do next? (City of Asheville)

Here is the letter below in full:

Dear Attorney Lyons,

I have contacted the Lt. Governor of the State of North Carolina about Article VI 6, section 7 & 8 of our State Constitution and the violation of it's charge by the City Council of Asheville, North Carolina in the seating of and doing business of the city with a professed atheist while knowing it is a declared breach of Constitutional law. The Lt. Governor would only vacillate in his response and move the subject to a course of legal opinion.

I would then contact the North Carolina Department of Justice and it's head , the State Attorney General, who would not even respond to my inquiry as to why the City would be allowed to continue on it's apparent unlawful conduct of the peoples business.

I have been slandered, and misquoted by some members of the media nationally and internationally on this matter while seeking an answer as to why this municipality can be allowed to place itself in operation above the law.

I have sought the aid of the Rutherford Institute, and the Southern Legal Resource Center in hopes to bring both criminal and civil action against this body and the Board of Elections who should have sought clarification on the eligibility of the candidate before he was allowed to run or be seated as a member of this body.

It is my belief that any and all business conducted by this Council with a vote by the disqualified member is null and void , and any grants, loans or actions, or policy decisions should not be binding.

I shall confer with the Sheriff and Chief of Police about making a citizens arrest of the entire body if they continue on this course without the matter being resolved in an Amendment of the State Constitution as prescribed by law, or a clarification by the State Attorney General as to the effect that what they do is legal.

H.K. Edgerton
President
Southern Heritage 411

Commentary

For more information on how this started, the Mountain Xpress has an excellent article with several links from December. I suggest that you read the article, and plow through the comments to it below it to get a feel for how the people in Asheville and Buncombe County feel about it.

I like HK Edgerton. I believe that he has a fundamental misunderstanding of the US Constitution and it's relation to the various state constitutions. Where ever they conflict, the US Constitution wins.

I've already addressed this issue one, and will excerpt a part of my article to reiterate my position on this Gross Case of not understanding what the US Constitution says, in word and spirit...

I'll wager less than one in a hundred "Republicans" have read the US Constitution and the documents that supported it, The Federalist...also known as The Federalist Papers. Or, for that matter, the Anti-Federalist Papers written by people who opposed the Constitution, and were in favor of religious tests of office.

Here is the 3d clause of Article VI:

The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the members of the several state legislatures, and all executive and judicial officers, both of the United States and of the several states, shall be bound by oath or affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.

That is very simple language, and should be easy to understand. The US Constitution trumps the state constitutions in this case.

Further, requiring a religious test for office violates the 1st and 14th Amendment rights of the person in question, as Torcaso v. Watkins has decided in a very similar case.

The Supreme Court ruled on this case, so it is the law of the land unless you are willing to take this all the way to the Supreme Court and get it over turned. That will not happen.

I dislike Cecil Bothwell being in the Asheville City Council. However, the voters have spoken.

If you want anyone to blame, you have no need to look past what John Jay, an author of The Federalist Papers, the first Chief Justice of the United States and the second president of the American Bible Society, said when he declared, "Providence has given our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty, as well as privilege and interest, of a Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers." If you wanted a religious test, the time to apply it would have been during the election campaign...not afterward.

So blame the conservative candidates running, blame the 80% of Republicans who did not go to the polls that day, blame the party leadership in that county for not having an organized GOTV plan for Election Day that could have been adapted by the candidates running for City Council.

Maybe next time there is an election campaign going on, these people will be involved in walking the precincts, seeking voters and donations to help get someone who shares their values elected to office. If they are not doing that, then they are part of the problem, not part of the solution.

Source: Thunder Pig

I restate so that there is no misunderstanding...if HK Edgerton (and those who agree with him) did not want Cecil Bothwell serving on the Asheville City Council, then why did they not volunteer to help the candidate(s) of their choice? Why did they not speak out against Bothwell then, when it mattered most?

Why do they wish to return us to a period of persecution based on religious belief or non-belief?

**3.18pm**

I'd like to thank AshVegas and the Mountain Xpress for linking to this post.

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Sarah Palin Speaks with Glenn Beck About Her Faith in God

Sarah Palin is a Bold Witness for God during this segment on the Glenn Beck Show from last night.

I believe that she is one of the last, best hopes for America if we are to turn from our current evil path.

Please keep her in your prayers, and, if you are a Prayer Warrior, I ask that you put a shield of protection about her and her family.

I'll post the rest of the show later today when it becomes available.

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What Have We Wrought in America? Florida Girl Says Family Wants To Kill Her For Being Christian

Girl Says Family Wants To Kill Her For Being Christian

ORLANDO, Fla. -- An Ohio girl ran away to Orlando because she said her family threatened to kill her for converting to Christianity. Rifqa Bary, 17, said she was threatened by her family because she converted from Islam to Christianity.

"What did your father say to you?" WFTV reporter Mary Nguyen asked.

"He said he would kill me!" replied Bary.

They have to kill me. My blood is now halal which means because I am now a Christian, I am from a Muslim background, it is an honor, if they love god more than me, they have to do this."

This is not just some threat. This is reality. This is truth. This is reality.

Source: Atlas Shrugs

Hat Tip: The Truth Will Set You Free, via Twitter

Commentary

This is just one of the evils of a society that has come to believe that all cultures and religions are equal. This multicultural nonsense fails to acknowledge that some cultures are evil.

The idea of honer killings is an evil part of Islamic culture.

Pray for this girl, and thousands like her in America, and the millions around the world who live in fear.

I hope she got away, and that she has not been murdered by her family in a barbaric act.

This is the type of thing that should bring our elected leaders to their knees before God to seek His forgiveness for allowing America to become a nation in which a girl has to flee for her life from her family just because she chooses to become a Christian.

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Just How Stupid is John McCain? Updated With More Stupidity

(CNN) — In the face of mounting controversy over headline-grabbing statements from Pastor John Hagee, CNN has learned presumptive Republican nominee John McCain has decided to reject his endorsement.

The Huffington Post had published a recording of Hagee saying that Adolf Hitler had been fulfilling God’s will by hastening the desire of Jews to return to Israel in accordance with biblical prophecy.

“Obviously, I find these remarks and others deeply offensive and indefensible, and I repudiate them. I did not know of them before Reverend Hagee’s endorsement, and I feel I must reject his endorsement as well,” McCain said in a statement to CNN Thursday.

He added that his relationship with Hagee did not compare with Obama’s lengthy association with Rev. Jeremiah Wright. “I have said I do not believe Senator Obama shares Reverend Wright’s extreme views. But let me also be clear, Reverend Hagee was not and is not my pastor or spiritual advisor, and I did not attend his church for twenty years. I have denounced statements he made immediately upon learning of them, as I do again today,” said McCain.

The Arizona senator had earlier renounced comments from Hagee that termed the Catholic church “the great whore” and “an apostate church.”

Source: Sister Toldjah

Commentary

Senator John McCain appears to be stupid beyond belief with this step of accommodating (or appeasing) his Democrat opponents. McCain is feeding Hagee to the Democrat Crocodile, hoping that it's hunger will be satisfied, and he won't, in turn, be eaten. Am I seeing the signs of a political coward? This is especially troubling for me since he has displayed courage against the first cousins of the Democrats, the North Vietnamese and Cuban Interrogators in the Hanoi Hilton.

I have been working on an endorsement of John McCain. This repudiation of Pastor Hagee forces me to abandon my contemplated endorsement of McCain for President. I cannot recall Pastor Hagee saying anything that is out of line with what I believe, and plenty McCain has said that I vehemently disagree with, so I stand with my brother in Christ, Pastor John Hagee.

I may find myself actually voting for Barr Barr as a protest vote in the General Election, an act I view akin to political suicide.

Note to Senator John McCain: Acts like these certainly isn't what I call courting my vote, nor is it likely to garner my assistance in getting others to vote for you. You are inviting me to actively campaign against you.

Just how stupid is John McCain?


**update** 8.25am John McCain has rejected Pastor Rod Parsley as well, according to this AP Article in the Asheville Citizen-Times:

McCain rejected the months-old endorsement of Texas preacher John Hagee after an audio recording surfaced in which the preacher said God sent Adolf Hitler to help Jews reach the promised land. McCain called the comment "crazy and unacceptable."

He later repudiated the support of Rod Parsley, an Ohio preacher who has sharply criticized Islam and called the religion inherently violent.

McCain issued a statement Thursday afternoon announcing his decision about Hagee.

"Obviously, I find these remarks and others deeply offensive and indefensible, and I repudiate them. I did not know of them before Reverend Hagee's endorsement, and I feel I must reject his endorsement as well," he said.

Later, in Stockton, he told reporters: "I just think that the statement is crazy and unacceptable."

Then in an interview with The Associated Press, McCain said he rejected Parsley's support, too.

"I believe there is no place for that kind of dialogue in America, and I believe that even though he endorsed me, and I didn't endorse him, the fact is that I repudiate such talk, and I reject his endorsement," McCain told the AP.

Pastor Rod Parsley is my Christian brother as well. This election is shaping up to be the first Godless Election in a while...at least since 1992 to my recollection. I do remember hearing a prophecy a couple of years back that I discounted that held this election would see a non-Christian elected as President, but that person would become saved during the course of their Presidency. Perhaps I should not have dismissed it so quickly out of hand. We shall see...

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Christian Churches Begin To Stand Up To Federal Oppressors

Kenneth Copeland Ministries, one of six so-called mega-churches at the center of a U.S. Senate Finance Committee investigation, has informed the committee that it will not cooperate with the probe, citing its concerns about the government targeting certain Christian churches, as well as concerns about privacy and potential First Amendment violations.

“The church is deeply concerned that the information Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) is seeking could be used to subject the church and its members to public stigma, scorn, and obloquy,” Lawrence Swicegood, communications director for Kenneth Copeland Ministries (KCM), said in a letter responding to the committee’s request for a range of financial data and other information, including the names and addresses of board members and the names and addresses of people responsible for the church’s audio and video production.

“The church also has grave concerns with the conclusion that this inquiry ‘does not infringe upon First Amendment rights,’” said Swicegood.

“The six ministries under investigation all share a common theology based on the sincerely held religious belief that prosperity in all areas of one’s life is an outward sign of the fulfillment of God’s promises contained in the Bible,” he added.

Source: Cybercast News

Hat Tip: Pirate's Cove

Commentary

This is very dangerous territory for the Feds to be stepping into. LBJ forced the churches into a tax-exempt status and limited their Free Speech rights because they were giving him such a hard time back in Texas...and now, here comes Chuck Grassley and the Senate Finance Committee, intent on expanding Federal Power yet again.

As William Tech noted on his blog, this is indeed the stuff of sparking an Armed Rebellion. Can you imagine what the Administration of Barack "I think Guns & Religion Are For people In Trouble" Obama would do to churches? Especially those that did not subscribe to his hateful Black Liberation Theology, or at least pretends it doesn't exist?

I hope more churches begin to stand up to the Feds. I hope more churches invite politicians to give speeches and sermons (beyond the black and liberal churches that already do so) from the pulpit. It is high time Christians stood up to block the expansion of federal powers, and reclaim their spot as the charitable organizations they were prior to LBJ. Put caring for the poor back in the hands of the churches, and stop stealing money from (those who are) taxpayers.

/rant

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Of Gallup Polls and Discussing Black Theology

Hillary has taken the lead over Obama in the daily opinion polls over Obama, again.

1. 49% Hillary Clinton
2. 42% Barack Obama

And here are how the two are polled against the GOP Nominee:

1. 47% John MCain
2. 43% Barack Obama

1. 48% John McCain
2. 45% Hillary Clinton

Methodology: Gallup is interviewing no fewer than 1,000 U.S. adults nationwide each day during 2008.

The general election results are based on combined data from March 14-18, 2008. For results based on this sample of 4,376 registered voters, the maximum margin of sampling error is ±2 percentage points.

The Democratic nomination results are based on combined data from March 16-18, 2008. For results based on this sample of 1,209 Democratic and Democratic-leaning voters, the maximum margin of sampling error is ±3 percentage points.

In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.

To receive Gallup Poll Daily tracking reports each day as soon as they are published, please register here and add Gallup Daily to your e-mail subscriptions.

Source: Gallup


It appears to me that the longer this intra-mural fighting goes on in the Democrat Party, the better off it is for the GOP in the fall. I have a source that tells me that this firestorm over Obama'a Preacher is nothing compared to what the Clinton Campaign has in store for the lead-up to Pennsylvania and North Carolina. We'll see. I happen to think that the Reverend Wright stuff is a campaign killer. I just do not see how Obama can carry the south after that material has gotten into the wild.

One good thing about this whole affair is that it has gotten the poison that is Black Liberation Theology out into the general public. That is a theology that is just as wrong as some other offshoots of Christianity.

The man recognized by Obama's church as laying the foundation of their theology is Dr. James Cone. Here is his view on sin and salvation:

In Cone's view, sin is "a condition of human existence in which man denies the essence of God's liberating activity as revealed in Jesus Christ." In this view, sin is anything that is contrary to the oppressed community or its liberation.

Salvation for Cone primarily has to do with earthly reality, not heavenly hopes. "To see the salvation of God is to see this people [i.e., the blacks] rise up against their oppressors, demanding that justice become a reality now and not tomorrow."[36] Hence, though Cone often speaks of Jesus as the Liberator, in practical terms he emphasizes the human work of self-liberation among blacks and downplays divine help.

Source: Black Theology, Black Power, and the Black Experience

Of course, since Black Theologians still claim to be Christians, one must refute them from Scripture. Chapter 4 of John does that quite nicely.

The Jews considered the Samaritans an "unclean" mixed breed - with Israelite and Assyrian ancestry. Because of this, the Jews were harshly prejudiced against the Samaritans and discriminated against them. This cultural hostility led the Samaritan woman to ask Jesus: "'You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?' (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans)" (John 4:9).

During the ensuing discussion, the woman asked Jesus about which cultural place of worship was valid: Mt. Gerizim where the Samaritans built their temple, or Jerusalem where the Jews built theirs. Anthony Evans alerts us to the significance of Jesus' response: "Jesus does not hesitate to let her know that once you bring God into the picture, the issue is no longer culture, but truth. He informs her that the question is not Mt. Gerizim or Jerusalem, that it is not according to Samaritan tradition or Jewish tradition (v. 21). In fact, He denounces her cultural heritage in relation to worship, for he told her, 'Ye worship ye know not what' (v. 22). When she began to impose her culture on sacred things, Christ invaded her cultural world to tell her she was spiritually ignorant."

Jesus transcended the whole issue of culture in discussing spiritual issues with the woman. When it came to her relationship with God, the issue moved from her cultural heritage to her heart and the criteria for that relationship was truth. Jesus acknowledged cultural distinctions, but disallowed them when they interfered in any way with truth about God. A principle we can derive from this is: Culture must always take back seat to the truth of God as revealed in Scripture.

Source: Ibid

When one places one's race, cultural heritage, or nationality first in their relationship with God, that person, or group of people, become guilty of breaking the very first commandment, that of having other gods. Anything in our lives can become as gods if we let them. It is also a form of bondage. Manay black people have traded one form of bondage (physical slavery) for others (psychology and spiritual slavery).
My faith holds that God is no respecter of persons, for he made us all, and wants us to become his adopted children.

Like it or not, we are a Christian nation built upon the principle of Religious Liberty. The mainstream holds that it is wrong to point out differences between Christianity and other faiths. Never let them get away with telling you that. They are trying to silence you because they know that this nation is still a majority Christian nation, although most of that number appear to be nominal, and/or sleeping, Christians. Their primary fear is that they awake, and apply their beliefs to their decision-making process of choosing their elected representatives to this great Republic known as the United States of America.

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Southern Baptists Fall For The Lie of Global Warming

This is a sad story:

New York – In a major shift, a group of Southern Baptist leaders said their denomination has been "too timid" on environmental issues and has a biblical duty to stop global warming.

The declaration, signed by the president of the Southern Baptist Convention among others and released Monday, shows a growing urgency about climate change even within groups that once dismissed claims of an overheating planet as a liberal ruse. The conservative denomination has 16.3 million members and is the largest Protestant group in the U.S.

The signers of "A Southern Baptist Declaration on the Environment and Climate Change" acknowledged that not all Christians accept the science behind global warming. They said they do not expect fellow believers to back any proposed solutions that would violate Scripture, such as advocating population control through abortion.

However, the leaders said that current evidence of global warming is "substantial," and that the threat is too grave to wait for perfect knowledge about whether, or how much, people contribute to the trend.

Source: Asheville Citizen-Times

The Southern Baptists have been one of the few denominations left who have resisted the leftward march to moral relativism engaged in by the secular elements of our society (recently joined by an increasing number of lefty denominations).

They have stood on the Word of God as Immutable.

Now, they have fallen for The Big Lie of Global Warming, perhaps to the point of buying the lie that Socialism is the Answer to Global Warming.


In response to the article, I visited the website of the Southern Baptist Environment and Climate Initiative and found a series of statements and a conclusion:

A portion of the Preamble

We have recently engaged in study, reflection and prayer related to the challenges presented by environmental and climate change issues. These things have not always been treated with pressing concern as major issues. Indeed, some of us have required considerable convincing before becoming persuaded that these are real problems that deserve our attention. But now we have seen and heard enough to be persuaded that these issues are among the current era’s challenges that require a unified moral voice.

We believe our current denominational engagement with these issues have often been too timid, failing to produce a unified moral voice. Our cautious response to these issues in the face of mounting evidence may be seen by the world as uncaring, reckless and ill-informed. We can do better. To abandon these issues to the secular world is to shirk from our responsibility to be salt and light. The time for timidity regarding God’s creation is no more.

Therefore, we offer these four statements for consideration, beginning with our fellow Southern Baptists, and urge all to follow by taking appropriate actions. May we find ourselves united as we contend for the faith that was delivered to the saints once for all. Laus Deo!

Here are the statements (in bold) and my responses:

Statement 1

Humans Must Care for Creation and Take Responsibility for Our Contributions to Environmental Degradation.

The Southern Baptists need to consider that the best thing for our environment is Capitalism. They need to consider that the USA has the cleanest environment in the world, and that nations who have lived under Socialism have had catastrophic effects on their environments, polluting their water, their soil, and their air.


Statement 2

It Is Prudent to Address Global Climate Change.

Addressing Climate Change involves more government regulation, more socialism, more theft of property and rights from the individual, and decreases freedom and capitalism...and will not result in any change to the Global Warming and Cooling Cycles.

Statement 3

Christian Moral Convictions and Our Southern Baptist Doctrines Demand Our Environmental Stewardship.

Again, the Southern Baptists have fallen for the lie that we are responsible for global climate change, and insist in the statement that the poorest among us are hardest hit. The poorest among us are hardest hit by socialism, and helped in the greatest amount by capitalism, and voluntary Christianity Charity...for forced charity is another name for theft.

Statement 4

It Is Time for Individuals, Churches, Communities and Governments to Act.

Further in the statement:

We realize that the primary impetus for prudent action must come from the will of the people, families and those in the private sector. Held to this standard of common good, action by government is often needed to assure the health and well-being of all people. We pledge, therefore, to give serious consideration to responsible policies that acceptably address the conditions set forth in this declaration.

Here they fall for the lie of Socialism that government action in the "common good" to "assure the health and well-being of all people." That is a lie...the best example of the proper philosophy of government is provided in the Preamble of the Declaration of Independence:


We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

The institution, and calling for, of new laws and regulations in support of a fictitious "Global Warming" is a crime against God, Humanity, and will result in the further loss of freedom. It is wrong.


Conclusion

We the undersigned, in accordance with our Christian moral convictions and Southern Baptist doctrines, pledge to act on the basis of the claims made in this document. We will not only teach the truths communicated here but also seek ways to implement the actions that follow from them. In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, we urge all who read this declaration to join us in this effort. Laus Deo!

The claims made in this document are built upon a foundation of sand, and will be washed away in the next few years of cooler temperatures.

If you are a Southern Baptist, please forward this to your church leaders.

The people involved in this project need to prayerfully reconsider their position in the light of the information provided in this post, and the links below to voices who speak more eloquently than I do about the lie of Global Warming:

Timothy Birdnow: The Slowing Sun and Global Cooling

EtherZone

Gateway Pundit: Brrrr Series of Posts

The Vanguard

Glowarming Skeptics

Al Fin: Politics, Science, Loot

Al Fin: Global Warming, State Religion

Daily Tech: Monitors report Wide Scale Global Cooling

Carnival of Climate Change

Solar Cycle 24: Amateur Radio Operators Discuss Global Warming

Heartland Institute: 2008 International Conference on Climate Change

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Evangelicals for Mitt

The 2008 election is for president, not pastor. We want a president who shares our political and moral values and priorities, can win in 2008, and can govern effectively thereafter by articulating and implementing a values-based governing strategy. This is just what Mitt Romney did as governor and will do as president.

Governor Romney Shares Our Political & Moral Values

Political and moral values are informed by -- but not the same as -- one's religion. That's why we are not casting our votes based on whose theology we like most. History shows that to be a poor approach.

For example, in 1980 voters had two choices: a divorced movie actor who did not regularly attend church and was not on good terms with all of his children, and a once-married Southern Baptist whose evangelicalism was at the core of his national identity. Voting on the basis of whose doctrine was better would have meant electing the second guy -- Jimmy Carter -- over the first, Ronald Reagan. Excluding those who don't hold to orthodox Christianity would also have meant excluding such great Americans as Thomas Jefferson -- who denied the divinity of Christ -- from positions of authority. Is anybody going to argue someone else should've written the Declaration of Independence?

Today, we need a president who embraces a comprehensive and positive values agenda: standing for the sanctity of life, protecting traditional marriage, defending religious liberty and basic human rights at home and abroad, combating poverty and disease within the world's poorest communities, fighting for better quality of life for our citizens, and winning the War on Terror.

We don't want to say doctrine doesn't matter -- it does, very much, in our churches and in our individual relationships with God. But this is a presidential election, and those are about values. Governor Romney is the only candidate with all the right ones. One of his opponents (Mayor Giuliani) is simply not with conservative evangelicals on our bread-and-butter issues -- life and marriage -- and perhaps even more disturbingly, another opponent (Governor Huckabee) has virtually nothing to say about winning the War on Terror. That's probably the ultimate values issue, since the people we are fighting hate our values and want to destroy our civilization.

Source: Evangelicals for Mitt

Commentary

Now that Fred is out of the race, I have been looking for Plan B. I think that Mitt Romney is quickly becoming my next pick. Anyhow, read the info at the above website to see if this guys is a good fit for you.

I make no secret that I am a Christian, and my religious beliefs drive my world view, and expect whoever I choose for President to share as many of them as possible. This is hard because I do not view Mormonism as aChristian denomination. It is an offshoot of the Christian Faith. The new religion shares many of the same values as Christianity does, and that is acceptable to me.

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Resource: The Militant Ideology Atlas

The Combating Terrorism Center at West Point has an excellent resource for those wishing to find out more about just who we are fighting in the Global War on Terror.

It is available as an Executive Summary [Link to PDF 991kB and 23 pages] and as a hefty Research Compendium [Link to PDF 4,918 kB and 361 pages].

SUMMARY

The Militant Ideology Atlas identifies the most influential thinkers in the Jihadi Movement (see appendices) and delineates the movement’s key ideological vulnerabilities. It situates the Jihadi Movement within the various Muslim constituencies that Jihadi leaders seek to influence and persuade.

These constituencies can be envisioned as a series of nesting circles (Diagram 1:Jihadi Constituencies). Each constituency is responsive to leaders in the broader constituencies of which it is a part, but each also has its own set of thinkers that are best positioned to influence their base.

The largest constituency is comprised of Muslims, people who follow the Qur’an and the example of Muhammad. This includes Sunnis (people who follow the example of the Prophet) and Shi`a is (people who follow the example of the Prophet and his descendents through his son-in-law Ali), and ranges from secularists to fundamentalists. This constituency is much too broad to identify one or two individuals who shape opinion across the broad spectrum of Muslims.

I hope many of you download and read this study and realize the utter shallowness of the anti-war crowd in facing up to reality and the goals of the Islamofascists who are dedicated to the removal of our civilization from the earth.

And to the lefties out there who would critique my position, try reading the thing instead of falling back on lefty talking points.

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The Holocaust Today in China

NEW YORK – During the month of June the Falun Dafa Information Center has recorded the deaths of 20 Falun Gong adherents as a result of the Chinese Communist Party’s persecution of the practice. Some of the deaths took place as early as January 2007 but only became known in June due to the difficulties and dangers involved in obtaining such sensitive information from inside China.

The deaths took place across ten provinces and cities throughout China, with over three quarters of them occurring in the northeastern part of the country. Fourteen of those killed were women, who also account for 70 percent of the overall confirmed death toll, which now stands at 3,073. Estimates place the actual death toll at over ten times this figure, as many thousands remain missing and earlier killings continue to be uncovered.

Source: The Canadian Sentinel

Related: The John Batchelor Show Interviewed some Falun Gong practitioners, and even took calls from members of Falun Gong in the spring of 2006. I have included links to download the MP3 files from the John Batchelor Show website archives. I hope it returns to the air soon.

Dr. Wang Wenyi, Chief Editor of Medical Life Journal and Member of the Falun Gong. Interviewed by John Batchelor. Aired April 24, 2006. (6 M 56 S ; 6.34 MB)
Download the MP3 audio file

Dr. Wang Wenyi, Chief Editor of Medical Life Journal and Member of the Falun Gong. Interviewed by John Batchelor. Aired April 24, 2006. (11 M 59 S : 10.9 MB)
Download the MP3 audio file

Dr. Wang Wenyi, Chief Editor of Medical Life Journal and Member of the Falun Gong. Interviewed by John Batchelor. Aired April 24, 2006. (9 M 07 S : 8.33 MB)
Download the MP3 audio file

Dr. Wang Wenyi, Chief Editor of Medical Life Journal and Member of the Falun Gong. Interviewed by John Batchelor. Aired April 24, 2006. (11 M 08 S ; 10.1 MB)
Download the MP3 audio file

John Batchelor and Dr. J. Yang, Physician and Falun Gong (Falun DaFa) Practitioner, take calls from international Falun Gong members and activists. Aired March 20, 2006. Part 1. ( 10M 39S ; 9.74 MB)
Download the MP3 audio file

John Batchelor and Dr. J. Yang, Physician and Falun Gong (Falun DaFa) Practitioner, take calls from international Falun Gong members and activists. Aired March 20, 2006. Part 2. ( 9M 36S ; 8.78 MB)
Download the MP3 audio file

John Batchelor and Dr. J. Yang, Physician and Falun Gong (Falun DaFa) Practitioner, take calls from international Falun Gong members and activists. Aired March 20, 2006. Part 3. ( 11M 57S ; 10.7 MB)
Download the MP3 audio file

John Batchelor and Dr. J. Yang, Physician and Falun Gong (Falun DaFa) Practitioner, take calls from international Falun Gong members and activists. Aired March 20, 2006. Part 4. ( 6M 57S ; 6.36 MB)
Download the MP3 audio file


John Batchelor and Dr. J. Yang, Physician and Falun Gong (Falun DaFa) Practitioner, take calls from international Falun Gong members and activists. Aired March 20, 2006. Part 5. ( 10M 09S ; 9.29MB)
Download the MP3 audio file

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