Of Course She Does.

The Almighty High Priestess of the Episcopal Unitarian Universalist Socialist Muslim Buddhist "Church" of the USA has a few words to say.

| BY KATHERINE JEFFERTS SCHORI

Statement by Presiding Bishop Katherine Jefferts on the 26 June 2013 U.S. Supreme Court marriage decision:

The Episcopal Church is presently engaged in a period of study and dialogue about the nature of Christian marriage.  This work is moving forward, with faithful people of many different perspectives seeking together to discern the movement of the Holy Spirit.  However, our Church has taken the position that neither federal nor state governments should create constitutional prohibitions that deny full civil rights and protections to gay and lesbian persons, including those available to different-sex couples through the civic institution of marriage.

Accordingly, I welcome today’s decision of the United States Supreme Court that strikes down the 17-year-old law prohibiting federal recognition of same-sex civil marriages granted by the states.  The unmistakable movement toward civil marriage equality in the states over the past decade reflects the will of the people in those states to grant equal rights and dignity under the law to all married couples and families, and today’s decision will appropriately allow those families to be recognized under federal law as well.  At the same time, the Court’s withholding of judgment on the ultimate constitutional question of whether a state may ban same-sex marriage reflects the fact that this conversation will continue to evolve in coming years.  I trust that Episcopalians will contribute actively and faithfully to this conversation, particularly as our nation begins to discern the many practical implications of today’s decisions for areas of our shared life, ranging from immigration law to family rights.

I am deeply aware that faithful Americans find themselves on all sides of these issues, including those who have not yet clearly discerned an effective or appropriate response.  It is possible to disagree AND work together for the good of the larger community.  That is the bedrock of our democratic political system.  It is also the foundation of life in the Body of Christ.  Together we can help to build up the whole community, particularly if we have the courage to listen deeply to those who hold a different view.  The Episcopal Church has an ancient tradition of attempting to hold divergent views together for the sake of deeper truth.  All are beloved of God, and the flourishing of each is what we believe God intended from the beginning of creation.  May we help to build a beloved community in which each and every person is treated with dignity, knowing that each and every one reflects the image of God.

A Plea For Help, Prayers

Mr. Curtis,

I am sorry to be emailing you out of the blue, but yours is the only email I can find of the RTBP blog and I think you may be interested in hearing this. As well, if this could be shared among fellow Anglican bloggers it would be appreciated, we are in dire straits here and wish to share our story with fellow Anglicans. I have been a reader of your blog and others you write for (RTBP) for some time, having found them when looking for coverage on the death of Father Robert Crouse (who taught at King's, Dalhousie, and mentored so many people in our community)

My name is Colin Nicolle and I am a student at the University of King's College, Halifax, Nova Scotia (www.ukings.ca). I am also the Assistant-Sacristan in the King's College Chapel (www.kingschapel.ca). We are Canada's oldest chartered University, founded by Loyalists in the 18th century. We were founded as an Anglican institution and still maintain strong ties to the Diocese even now.

The reason I am writing you is that lately the Chaplaincy at King's has come under threat of funding being cut from the Diocese. The Right Rev'd Susan Moxley, Bishop of the Diocese, in a letter addressed to the president of the University, announced that she plans to cut a majority of the Chaplain's funding by the end of December. In this same letter she describes the Traditional BCP liturgy at the Chapel as, "Antiquated," and the chapel only supporting a, "Male dominated clergy."

Her suggestion was that the Board of Governors create a committee to see what can be done to direct funding towards the Chapel, although the president and the BOG is maintaining that the University is a "secular" school and is having trouble figuring out how it can help the Chapel.  Forgetting, I think, that the Chapel is not just for "Anglicans" but for everybody on campus.

That said, it has become clear that the Diocese does not understand the importance of the Chapel or its Chaplain, Lt. Col. Rev'd Dr. Gary Thorne, to the students at this school. We have daily offices which are constantly attended, including compline throughout the week and a Solemn Eucharist service on Thursdays which, on average, has an attendance of 50-70 congregants. The chapel and our chaplain help so much with those fostering vocations to Holy Orders (at present about seven young men, myself included, are discerning a vocation). It has been a place of conversion for so many people, either through the liturgy, the music or the community. This, again, I know because I am one of them. I was received into the Anglican Communion this year at a service held at the local Cathedral alongside four others being confirmed and two others baptized; we were the only confirmations, baptisms and receptions in the Diocese at Easter this year, and all of us experienced our conversions through the Chapel.

Students are beginning to rally, write, and meet with representatives of the Diocese to discuss this issue, but at this point it will be a great fight for us to maintain Father Thorne's position as Chaplain at the University. I send this only to inform other Anglicans about this place of beauty and truth which is now in great peril. It would be so helpful and appreciated if you could share this with anybody you think may be interested in hearing it, we are in great need of prayer.

There is a group on Facebook entitled, "Save the Chapel," that has been created for people to share stories and experiences about the chapel. We are nearing 300 members within the first day of this group existing.

Thank you, and I look forward to hearing from you.

In Christ,

Colin

Thou Shalt Not Kill?

Today I am marking the occasion of my one thousandth post with something I have been sitting on for a while.

For some time the use of the phrase "Thou shalt not kill", by persons promoting an agenda or way of life outside of religion has really bothered me. And the people I often see using it fall into one of two groups.

Group A - The "I really hate religion, because the rest of the coffee house revolutionaries hate religion, but we will use religious words to shame those stupid superstitious believers to support our cause" (anti-capital punishment, animal rights and/or anti-military)

Group B - Members of religious communities, groups or organizations that have been duped by or sympathetic to Group A.

Now the problem really is not that they use the phrase per se, but that they use it out of context and out of time; for the phrase had a different understanding by people in the time which the phrase had been translated from the original text and in that texts original language. (btw, this is not relativism of the Bible, that will come in modern times)

The passage I am referring to is Exodus 20:13, in which we as lineal readers and the children of Israel in linear time are first made aware of the Commandment from God "Thou shalt not kill" and most people understood what it meant from the time of Moses leading his people out of Egypt to about the middle of the 20th century. Then comes modern and post-modern theological and linguistic relativism and people interpret this to mean what ever suits them; to someone who opposes capital punishment it means that criminals should not be executed for the most heinous crimes, to animal rights activists it means that people should not hunt or slaughter animals for food and to those who oppose the military or warfare it means that wars should never be fought, regardless of justification and in the most extreme cases those who mourn trees and plants that they claim humans have murdered.

This is where context and translation comes into play. The word for “kill” used in the Hebrew of the Old Testament is ratsach (raw-tsakh') a primitive root that means to kill a human, murder or manslaughter. It does not translate into “Thou shalt not kill animals for their tasty meat or hides for your use”, for it was understood that we had been given dominion over animals by God (Genesis 1:26) and that the people of the Old Testament and Covenant sacrificed animals to J*****h in the temples. So PETA can stop with this non-sense straight away.

Those against capital punishment say “you can do as you please with animals, but you must leave these criminals be"; well, the problem with that is that God had also covered the whole capital punishment thing early on in the Old Testament – “Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.” (Genesis 9:6) – “So ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye are: for blood it defileth the land: and the land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed it.” (Numbers 35-33). In fact in the Old Testament there are sixteen offences that where capital crimes punishable by death, the catch is God wanted the execution of law breakers to be carried out by duly constituted legal authorities, courts of law and governments and not by vigilantes or mobs.

There will be those who will say "capital punishment went out the window with Jesus and the New Testament"...ah not really. "And as for those who were against me, who would not have me for their ruler, let them come here, and be put to death before me." (St. Luke 19:27 - The Parable of the Pounds) and "Now what will the lord do to these workmen? He will come and put them to destruction and give the garden to others." (St. Luke 20:15-16 - The Parable of the Wicked Husbandmen). Saints Peter and Paul deferred to the right of Civil Government to promulgate law and order, even unto their own executions. For a more concise and compelling arguments on this subject may I suggest this article here…

And as to the argument that the Commandment “Thou shalt not kill”, prohibits warfare and combat, I don’t believe that it prohibits either. Starting in Genesis 14, when the Patriarch Abraham arms his men (all 318 of them) and conducts a guerrilla war against Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations; they having attacked other nations in the region, including Sodom and in those attacks had captured plunder and prisoners, among them Lot, Abraham's nephew. So, early on in the Bible we have our first case of a “Just War” in freeing innocent civilians taken as plunder. In Exodus 15, Moses and the people of Israel sing unto the Lord and praised Him for personally destroying Pharaoh and the army of Egypt as it gave pursuit to return Israel to bondage...so God does have a use for war in the defence and liberation of his people.

Many may accuse me of being bloodthirsty, conflicted or un-Christian, but nothing can be further from the truth. I see what has been written and see the turmoil that our civilization has thrown itself into by abandoning these laws and commandments for some ideal of humanity, and those who consider themselves great humanitarians support the execution the most innocent and defenceless people (without the benefit of trial or advocacy), all the while humiliating, dehumanizing and devaluing their victims. I will not call names or cast epithets at these people as they do so unto others, neither shall I hold my tongue when I see something wrong happening (it's the Yankee in me), nor will I pretend to judge anyone for that is not my place, I am just using my God given right to voice my opinion.


Reference and Resources:

http://bible1.crosswalk.com/Lexicons/Hebrew/heb.cgi?number=07523&version=kjv
http://strongsnumbers.com/hebrew/7523.htm
http://www.apologeticspress.org/articles/1974
http://www.apologeticspress.org/articles/2585
http://www.christendomisfightingback.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just_War

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Thanksgiving and Abraham Lincoln

A Proclamation.

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consiousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the Unites States the Eighty-eighth.

By the President: Abraham Lincoln

William H. Seward,
Secretary of State

This is a transcript of the proclamation that brought us the first official Thanksgiving holiday, from one of our greatest presidents, a man that historical revisionists are trying to cast in a new light.

What is of this trend to recast the greatest figures in history, those persons that have built our civilization, and to mold them to conform to and/or justify a fringe agenda?

My former fellow travelers (athiest/agnostics) have tried to hijack Lincoln as one of their own. Though never a member of any one denomination, Lincoln is far from being the atheist icon that historical revisionists are trying make him. Lincoln read and quoted from the bible extensively, he invoked Providence and called upon the Almighty for our salvation and he attended a Presbyterian Church on a regular basis.

In his younger days, Lincoln was witness to the partisanship of various denominations and seemed to have been put off by this. Lincoln may have been a Free Christian, believing in the common tenants in Christian faith, while avoiding the particularities of any single denomination or he may have been an unorthodox Christian that maintained his own view of Christianity.

The revisionists are using quotes, generally taken out-of-context, to brace their conclusion that he was an atheist or agnostic, without taking into consideration the volumes of his writings and speeches that showed his belief in God and an in-depth understanding of Judeo-Christian tradition and beliefs.

No person will ever know exactly what Lincoln believed, but to shove him into the atheist camp, when the preponderance of evidence leads to the opposite conclusion is intellectually dishonest.

Thanksgiving(s) have been, traditionally religious holidays to English speaking peoples, but as with all of our holidays it is being usurped by the new faiths of secularism and consumerism, by robbing thanksgiving of it's religious identity and casting it's founder in an non-religious light, we further undermine our history, tradition and values.


+

I know what I will not be doing on 10/31/09

This is the kind of kookiness that gives Christians a bad name with the rest of the world.

I wonder if any or all of the BCPs are on the list? That would be rich.

h/t : Father Hollywood

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Is a Liberal Super Denomination Coming?

In the prayer for Church unity, we petition : "O gracious Father, we humbly beseech thee for thy holy Catholic church; that thou wouldst be pleased to fill it with all truth, in all peace. Where it is corrupt, purify it; where it is in error, direct it; where in anything it is amiss, reform it. Where it is right, establish it; where it is in want, provide for it; where it is divided, reunite it; for the sake of him who died and rose again, and ever liveth to make intercession for us, Jesus Christ, thy Son, our Lord. Amen." and many of us feel that the unity of the Church would be a great accomplishment, but this seems to allude us. The whys and how's of missing the mark as numerous and for the most part "straw splitting", but many cling to them and make them a condition of any such unity.

There may be an exception to some form of unity and many of you may not like to hear this, but here it comes - The liberal revisionists are better suited and capable of unity into a super denomination than any traditional/orthodox Christian adherents are. Now, many of you may have noticed that I speak very little of what happens in other denominations or communions or church bodies and with good reason, C.S. Lewis advised that we should be kind to those who have "chosen other doors" or "remain in the hall" as long as they "follow the rules common to the whole house" well, I feel that these liberal revisionists are exiting the house and heading for the tree lawn.

This Summer we have read, heard and seen the news of some denominations accepting heterodox practices and doctrines always justifying the changes using ominous words like "inclusive" or "justice". It is this switch in priorities that may give them the common ground and vision to unite, under a banner of social justice, forgetting that social justice has always been a part of Christianity, though subordinate to the Churches primary functions of preaching the Gospel of Christ and the administration of the Sacraments.

Imagine if you will that two or three of these bodies that have embraced heterodoxy, find that since they no longer have roots in Scripture or Creeds or even confessional documents, they can unite under the idolatry of Humanism or Secularism or "Justice" and drag a Cross, some clerical vestments and even a (sometimes defective) line of apostolic succession with them, it would have all of the trappings of a liturgical Christian communion without all that messy stuff like sin and repentance. Now add to that lowering attendance, emptying coffers and the cost of maintaining property and the prospects of merger become more enticing.

This could happen right here in the USA and in the near future, The Episcopal Church, The Evangelical Lutheran Church, The United Church of Christ, The United Methodist Church and the Presbyterian Church USA, most of which have some form of intercommunion, could find themselves aligned in a confederation. These denominations would share resources and clergy and may in time become one body with one polity. It is not likely that whole denominations may join this cluster, certainly many of the most liberal congregations or clergy would, which in turn could lead some denominations back to orthodoxy or cause them to fragment even more.

What if this super denomination where to grow and spread, even drawing the liberal fringe members of the Roman or Orthodox communions? This could cause further damage to the Body of Christ and usher in more heresies and further polarize it into a rival religion, drawing in the Unitarian-Universalists and the moral relevance crowd, further destroying any Christian identity that the member "Churches" had.

In a small twist this scenario could benefit many orthodox denominations or jurisdictions in that it may drive faithful people from the revisionist dominated bodies their way and bolster those Churches, but I am afraid that the trend to drift away from Christianity or I should say organized Christianity, is more likely the result. If orthodox Christians could drop their posturing and pretense and would work together to rescue those cast adrift or who do not want to be part of a political action committee disguised as a Church, than it is all to the good.

Let us pray that those who find themselves in such a predicament will not be lead further astray by false teachers (2 Peter 2:1) and they be no longer children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine made to deceive (Ephesians 4:14); and these faithful will find themselves in the arms of orthodox congregations ready continue in the faith which was once delivered unto the saints (Jude 1:3). Amen.

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Offensive Christians

In 2007 a five-strong team of police officers investigated a church's literature because someone said a leaflet inviting the public to an Easter service was "offensive".

Two mounted policemen were later joined by three armour-clad officers who jumped out of a police van to examine the Easter invitation leaflet.

ht: The Hermeneutic of Continuity

Dr. James White on The Miss USA Dust-Up

Dr. James White's perspective on the Miss controversy.

Dr. White only miss is on the biographical data for Perez Hilton.

Part II




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Greasing the Skids

I try to keep political commentary to a minimum on this blog, but when I saw it hit my skeptic button.


Kansas Governor Signs Bill Ensuring Those Seeking Abortions Can See Ultrasound First
-----------------------------------------AP

TOPEKA, Kan. — Gov. Kathleen Sebelius signs a bill ensuring that women and girls seeking abortions can see ultrasound images before the procedure.

The legislation, signed Friday and taking effect July 1, also ensures that abortion patients can listen to the fetal heartbeat.

Sebelius signed the measure as she awaits U.S. Senate confirmation as federal Health and Human Services secretary. Anti-abortion groups in Washington have criticized her nomination because of her abortion rights stance.

The Kansas governor offered no explanation of why she signed the bill, though she's never targeted such provisions when she's vetoed past abortion measures.

The bill amends a state law requiring doctors to obtain a patient's informed consent before performing an abortion.

Now, maybe some prayers have been answered and Gov. Sebelius has had a change of heart about abortion, but the voice in the back of my head tells me that it is more likely that she is trying to do an image makeover as to appear moderate on the issue as to get through the confirmation process and that if confirmed she will return to her Herodian ways.

Help Issues, Etc.

I Warned You

Last September I had a post that was a bit of a warning, it seems to be sadly prophetic........

Obama More Popular Than Jesus!?!



**

Good News Report

Here are three pieces of good news to report.

“Uniqueness of Christ” motion passes overwhelmingly at General Synod

Beijing holds secret talks with banned churches as 100 million defy party rules

Darwin's Birthday Poll: Fewer Than 4 in 10 Believe in Evolution

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Obama's Stimulus Bill a War on Prayer?

-- Fox News --

Democrats in Congress have declared war on prayer, say conservative groups who object to a provision in the stimulus bill that was passed by the House of Representatives last week.

The provision bans money designated for school renovation from being spent on facilities that allow "religious worship." It has ignited a fury among critics who say it violates the First Amendment and is an attempt to prevent religious practice in schools.

According to the bill, which the Democratic-controlled House passed despite unanimous Republican opposition, funds are prohibited from being used for the "modernization, renovation, or repair" of facilities that allow "sectarian instruction, religious worship or a school or department of divinity."

Critics say that could include public schools that permit religious groups to meet on campus. The House provided $20 billion for the infrastructure improvements, of which $6 billion would go to higher education facilities where the limitations would be applied.

"What the government is doing is discriminating against religious viewpoints," said Mathew Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel, a Washington-based nonprofit organization that works to advance religious freedom.

"President Obama's version of faith-based initiatives is to remove the faith from initiative," said Staver, who believes Obama has "a completely different view on faith" from what he said during his presidential campaign.

"He is not the infallible messiah that some thought he would be," Staver said.

Civil liberty groups like the Americans United for Separation of Church and State vehemently defend the stimulus bill's provision, arguing that it in no way violates the Constitution.

"This provision upholds constitutional standards established by the U.S. Supreme Court and in no way affects student groups that meet on public school campuses," said the Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

The American Civil Liberties Union also defends the constitutionality of the restriction, which they say has been the law since 1972.

"It's almost a restatement of what the Constitution requires so there's nothing novel in what the House did in its restriction," said Christopher Anders, senior legislative counsel to the ACLU. "For 37 years, the law of the land is that the government can't pay for buildings that are used for religious purposes."

Not so, says the Traditional Values Coalition, which issued a statement Wednesday charging that Obama is using his stimulus plan to restrict the exercise of religion in public facilities -- a provision it says violates the right to free speech.

"The economic crisis is being used as a pretext to curb religious liberty at institutions of higher learning," said Executive Director Andrea Lafferty.

"We are not asking that federal funding be used to construct a church, but if a campus ministry wants to hold a Bible study or Mass in the student activity building, we should be encouraging that -- not punishing a college for permitting it," she said.

According to some constitutional law experts, any complaint filed against the provision will gain little ground in court.

"Certainly the provision is treating the act of religious organizations differently from the activities of the school itself," Harvard University constitutional law professor Mark Tushnet told FOXNews.com.

"It's not frivolous to say there's a constitutional problem with excluding religious facilities from these grants, but I think the way of the law is in the other direction," he said.

Tushnet cited a 2004 Supreme Court case in which a Washington student lost a college scholarship awarded by the state after it was revealed that he planned to pursue a degree in pastoral ministries. Though the student argued that rescinding the money discriminated on the basis of religion, the court ruled in the state's favor -- declaring that the taxpayer-funded scholarship's restriction is constitutional.

The White House said Wednesday that it plans to keep in place the basic structure of the faith-based initiative office established by former President George W. Bush.

Administration officials said the office is a substantial programming and policy arm of the federal government, which allows federal agencies to connect with local neighborhood and faith-based groups to deliver social services.

Hitting a Nail on the Head

I didn't call this "Hitting THE Nail on the Head", for in the battle to save our Judeo-Christian civilization there are many nails and most of them are going into our proverbial coffin.


"The greatest irony is that, for all Dr. Williams’ feigned alarm, it is the liberal sexual agenda that is the quintessence of Western imperialism. The pansexual movement could only thrive, albeit for a season, in a materially sated society, where formerly moral distinctions can be classed as lifestyle choices. In traditional societies traditional morals are the glue that sustains families and peoples. The sexual revolution imported from the West presupposes luxuries which have no counterpart in the Two Thirds World. Only a culture that can afford the luxury of narcissism can promote indiscriminate, sterile sexuality as a hallmark of justice."


This is an excerpt from a great article by Canon Gary L’Hommedieu over at Virtue Online entitled FIDDLING WHILE ROME BURNS: Will the Primates Mind Their Business?


(h/t Anglican Mainstream)

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Thanksgiving and Abraham Lincoln

A Proclamation.

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consiousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the Unites States the Eighty-eighth.

By the President: Abraham Lincoln

William H. Seward,
Secretary of State

This is a transcript of the proclamation that brought us the first official Thanksgiving holiday, from one of our greatest presidents, a man that historical revisionists are trying to cast in a new light.

What is of this trend to recast the greatest figures in history, those persons that have built our civilization, and to mold them to conform to and/or justify a fringe agenda?

My former fellow travelers have tried to hijack Lincoln as one of their own. Though never a member of any one denomination, Lincoln is far from being the atheist icon that historical revisionists are trying make him. Lincoln read and quoted from the bible extensively, he invoked Providence and called upon the Almighty for our salvation and he attended a Presbyterian Church on a regular basis.

In his younger days, Lincoln was witness to the partisanship of various denominations and seemed to have been put off by this. Lincoln may have been a Free Christian, believing in the common tenants in Christian faith, while avoiding the particularities of any single denomination or he may have been an unorthodox Christian that maintained his own view of Christianity.

The revisionists are using quotes, generally taken out-of-context, to brace their conclusion that he was an atheist or agnostic, without taking into consideration the volumes of his writings and speeches that showed his belief in God and an in-depth understanding of Judeo-Christian tradition and beliefs.

No person will ever know exactly what Lincoln believed, but to shove him into the atheist camp, when the preponderance of evidence leads to the opposite conclusion is intellectually dishonest.

Thanksgiving(s) have been, traditionally religious holidays to English speaking peoples, but as with all of our holidays it is being usurped by the new faiths of secularism and consumerism, by robbing thanksgiving of it's religious identity and casting it's founder in an non-religious light, we further undermine our history, tradition and values.

What Kind of Christian am I?

Here is the link to the test

What The????.......

The thing that suprised me about this story is that it wasn't a TEC Priest.

'Jesus was not God': Priest sparks Catholic controversy -
http://www.livenews.com.au/Articles/2008/10/29/Jesus_was_not_God_priest_sparks_Catholic_controversy

Jesus Christ was not God, and Mary was not a virgin, according to a controversial new book written by an Australian Catholic priest.

In the booklet, ‘God is Big. Real Big’, which has gone on sale for $20 in several churches, Bathurst priest Peter Dresser argues Jesus could not have been God.

“This whole matter regarding Jesus being God ... not only does violence to my own intelligence, but must be a sticking point,” he says.

“For millions of people trying to make some kind of sense of the Christian religion ... No human being can ever be God, and Jesus was a human being. It is as simple as that.”

Father Dresser claims Joseph was Jesus’s father, Mary was not a virgin – and actually had six children – and that the story of the resurrection should not be taken literally.

The booklet has angered conservative Catholics, such as Sydney priest Anthony Robbie.

“What a breathtaking know-all, to claim he knows the mind of Christ contrary to scripture and tradition. His words rob Christianity entirely of its meaning and purpose,” Father Robbie told News Ltd.

“The Council of Nicaea settled the question that Christ was God in 325, so he is 1700 years out of date.

“The rest is a regurgitation of every discredited 19th-century liberal Protestant German cliche in the book.”

The Truth About Obama and Abortion

For those who may think that BHO, Jr. is moderate on abortion, get the wool off of your eyes.

Dr. Robert George of Princeton University will tell you more: http://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/viewarticle.php?selectedarticle=2008.10.14_George_Robert_Obama%27s%20Abortion%20Extremism_.xml

and listen to an interview with Dr. George on the issue here:

Does the Obama Campaign Challenge the Uniqueness of Christ?

Maybe the title of this post falls in the realm of overstatement, but there may be a bit of truth to it where the left wing fringe is concerned.

There has been a disturbing trend that I have noticed in the presidential campaign for Sen. Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. (D-IL) and the factions that aligned themselves have adopted the same talking points that are well, pointless.

One of these talking points is so off-base that it really should have never seen the light-of-day.



At first, I thought to dismiss such non-sense, but now it seems to be a rallying cry for Sen. Obama's supporters as evidenced by posts like this in the Daily Kos and if you do a search on the above mentioned phrase, you will hear and see the reactionary attacks on Gov. Palin and the indignant defense of Community Organizers of both Sen. Obama and the "profession" of community organizers.

Those on the defensive want to show the world that community organizers in general and Sen. Obama in particular, are saintly, righteous people, doing good works for others and compare them to John Hancock, Gandhi, Cesar Chavez and in the most deplorable instance comparing Mr. Obama to our Lord Jesus Christ. Yet, I should not find this surprising because the left and the mythology of secular relevance had recast Jesus from the Word of GOD made flesh, to a really nice guy who liked to help people, to a Roman Era Che Guevara (who himself is a product of sanitized left-wing propaganda).

If you try hard enough, you could cast nearly any historical figure as a community organizer, for examples: Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot, Mao, the Kim's, Saddam, Mussolini, Genghis Khan, Attila the Hun and even Satan himself. But this is the style of the left and why it is so attractive to Hollywood, they cast people into roles and try to write the narrative as to make those roles good or bad, hero or villain as in casting Sara Palin as the (evil) Governor, like Pontious Pilate. The left equates one to one so if Pontious Pilate was a governor, than all governors are bad, so let us look at some governors and you tell me if they are all bad? Bill Clinton, FDR, Teddy Roosevelt, Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter, Mario Cuomo, Jesse Ventura, etc.

So taking the left's logic of casting and equality and applying it to Sen. Obama we get this little gem of reasoning. Sen. Obama was a community organizer, a good speaker and a presence in a crowd as was Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ is the Messiah, therefore Obama is Messiah. Well, reason would dictate that this equation is rudimentary at best and blasphemous at least, and he says nothing and by his silence the myth grows and he makes himself a god in the pantheon of politics and never refutes this mantle of diety placed upon him. But this is the narrative of Obama that is being portrayed to the public and Sen. Obama cares not how it appears as long as it gets him votes and if it manages to draw criticism from a large enough number of people he will distance himself from the narrative and lay it on "overzealous" or "enthusiastic" campaigners or supporters.

Make no mistake, Mr. Obama will deny and redirect any criticism of himself or his campaign and has a vast army of Kamikaze campaigners that will take the fall for him if a underhanded campaign tactic hits a flat note with the public, he is greatly insulated and compartmentalized, but make no mistake, he is in control of the attack poodles. So in his vanity he has turned a cult of personality into a movement of Ego, a triumph of his will, the creation of brand Obama that will leave all of us to pay the price.

For Mr. Obama is also a product of the modern church and liberal theology that allows one to make himself equal to GOD and a partner in a relationship with GOD (so remember the equation above) and for the rest of us mortals let us remember;

"I am The Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before Me." (Exodus 20:2-3 KJV)

"Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I The Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate Me; And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love Me, and keep My Commandments. (Exodus 20:4-6 KJV)

Jesus on Social Justice, Community Organizing and Revolution:

Shew me the tribute money. And they brought unto him a penny. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? They say unto him, Caesar's. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's. When they had heard these words, they marvelled, and left him, and went their way. (St. Matthew 22:19-21 KJV)

thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. (St. Mark 12:30 KJV)

Gov. Palin

Sara Palin is the greatest phenomenon in American politics since Ronald Reagan, she is the left's worse nightmare and embodies the future of the Republican party in ways the "Big Tent" could not have imagined.

I try to keep my political ideas and comments insulated from my religion blog and comments, but with this all out, brutal and uncivil assault by the left on Gov. Palin it is more than I can bear to watch, and not speak-out.

Here is an interesting little tid-bit that helps to put things in perspective, regarding Gov. Plain's so-called "lack of experience" http://simplyrugged.com/gear/?p=192.

GOD Bless Sara Palin and GOD Save the United States.
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