AS THE CHURCH WENT, SO WENT THE COUNTRY

Many people are amazed at the gains the Democrats made in Congress. Actually, while it is typical in the sixth year of ANY presidency, it seemed likely in view of the fact that too many Americans still trust what the agendized reporters in newspapers and on TV tell them. The mighty weight of the so-called dinosaur media provided Democrats far more exposure for their ideas. The Republicans contributed to their own defeat by continuing their naive view of politics and not being forthright with their message. When they had opportunities in news conferences and pubic speeches, they refused to be confrontational and counter the lies that had been told. It is a story of lost opportunity. First, some likely consequences, second, why I labeled this post what I did, and finally THREE FASTASIES on how all of this could have been avoided had the Spirit of Truth been spoken.

FIRST, WHAT ARE THE CONSEQUENCES?

1) The two excellent supreme court justices we received may be the last under President Bush. If you heard Justice Stevens and others arguing November 8 FOR partial birth abortion, you know that devilish spirits are in great supply in the highest court in the land. Many voters keep saying the Supreme Court does not reflect their views, but they ignored basic civics in not taking that into account in voting for Senators.

2) MANY excellent pending appointments will languish. The President is pressing for action, but the history of accomplishments for lame-duck congresses is not encouraging.

3) Our enemies are already emboldened. Hamas declared the truce with Israel over. Hugo Chavez rejoiced. THe opposition lwader in Pakistan said this the beginning - now Bush should be tried and executed like Saddam. The terrorists in Iraq are in la-la land. (How any American could vote the same way terrorists and felons wanted to vote is beyond me). Yet we now have a congress FULLY APPROVED by Hamas, Chavez, and our middle eastern enemies. Republicans were scared to tell the truth. Some pundits proclaimed it, but most people actually running of office were eerily quiet. The Democrats sure spoke up, and the lies told would be longer than the proverbial "Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire".

4) Spending bills that originate in the House (again, the generally woefully ignorant electorate does not consider the civics consequences of voting and how government actually works) will cause our strong economy to deteriorate and unemployment will rise with a higher minimum wage (as it always has). President Bush and the Republicans miscalculated greatly with their tax cuts program. I appreciate the cuts I received, but the cuts at the top should have been less and the cuts at the BOTTOW should ALSO have been less. When you ame 50% of the electorate tax-free, they will not thank you, they will simply vote for those who promise even more goodies. Did the people whose taxes went to zero support the Republicans? No. Naive politics. People without a stake do not vote for the common good.


SECOND, SO WHY DO I SAY, AS THE CHURCH WENT?
Witness the extraordinarily weak condition of our culture and the supposed salt in our country - the church.

1) The church has become narcistic, mirroring out-of-touch Republican congressmen. Half of all Republican Senators didn't understand the whole Marriage Amendment process when polled and could not understand why Christians and others think it is a big deal. CHRISTIANS are scared to quote Jesus Christ, THE WORD OF GOD, and the Holy Spirit concerninng this abomination. There is no such reticence on the other side. The church has to stop being PC and tell the truth - immorality heterosexual and homosexual, is destroying the family and our nation. The church has to plead for an end to the "marriage penalty" and oppose ALL immorality EVERYWHERE. They have to explain clearly and understandably why it IS important what the government endorses and pays for.

2) The church has not taken a public stand on stem cell research. Where were the 527 ads explaining that Christians were all for adult stem cell research and celebrated the massive benefits that have accrued to our most vulnerable citizens, those with systemic illnesses? I didn't see one from James Dobson's political group or ANY other. These ads could have also showed that NOT ONE recognizable benefit has yet come from private embryonic stem cell research, and that destroying preborn human beings is simply not an option for civilized people. The ONLY reason Jim Talent is not the 50th Republican Senator today is that he was ineffective in countering the lie that he was against stem cell research period. The church will be marginalized even more if it refuses to defend the scientifically and morally viable position Christians MUST take.

3) The church has put its eggs into one political party. It has to have a strategy if leadership changes. When I worked with a large architectural firm, they gave to BOTH parties so they would have friends whoever was in power. Mark Foley did not reflect my values. Neither does Arlen Specter. There is nothing sacred about being a Republican (good thing - I am not one). The fact is, only the Word of God and people devoted to the work of God can bring in the Kingdom of God. Politics is important, but is very limited. The church has to know the limits of politics and not trust pagans who espouse conservative beliefs to have the power of God on their side. Churches who are blue rather than red have to understand that the Kingdom of God is not flying high when the Dems are in power, only when man is changed on the inside and lives the Sermon on the Mount by the power of God.

4) The church has become preoccupied with money and has lost its soul. Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. People vote about money. Some want more tax cuts (including me - it is very rough on the self employed - 15.3% JUST for social security and medicare). Others want to end the war simply to have more money for their pet programs. Both have to be put into context for what is good for the entire country and for our friends and allies. If a church spends 99% of its money on staff, buildings, and related expenses, and 1% for missions, how is that fulfilling the great commission????? We have to BE what Jesus wants, DO what Jesus wants, and favor policies favorable to the Kingdomn of God. We have to SPEND money to put our message in the public view. I haven't heard ONE Christian program put out the political truth on ISSUES (but not candidates) despite the BILLIONS spent on "Christian programing".

5) The church has been passive toward every onslaught of the enemy. Evolution, a ridiculous theory which is unscientific, unmathematical, and destructive in all its permutations, has gained a foothold in almost every classroom, INCLUDING Christian universities. The church did not mobilize and descend on DOver, PA. Instead they acted embarrassed. Worldly people are not bashful about coming into churches and telling people they can't trust the Bible, that they need to get up to date, and that the truth has escaped them. The pro-Abortion people have infiltrated the Catholic Church. Baptists now have more divorces than any other denomination. HOW CAN COMPROMISED PEOPLE LEAD with the moral arguments needed to defeat a cunning enemy which has the enormous benefit of a press that follows every prompt and every grotesque misrepresentation of fact?

6) The church wants prayer in the schools, but parents don't pray for their own kids or join in prayer groups who are praying for schools. The church wants the Ten Commandments posted in public buildings, but don't even post them in their own churches (thank God ours does, but even that was recently). Some churches don't even believe it is necessary to obey the Ten Commandments any more. Jesus repeated all of them but the one about the Sabbath, and even then we are to live in the Sabbath Rest of God as taught in the Book of Hebrews in the Bible.

7) The church has taken people for granted, assuming they will always follow, no matter how off-base it becomes. Financial nonsense, tepid preaching, and a continuation of being the most segregated hour of the week has resulted in wesk people who are no match for the deceiving spirits which have been loosed in the world. The Republican party has largely followed suit. Weakness in the face of an onslaught of millions of lawbreakers from south and north of our borders, weakness in not calling treasonous statements treason, weakness in not calling Islam what it is (hint - it is NOT a religion of peace) and weakness in not calling the media on the carpet and showing the great progress in Iraq are all extremely naive, and not the material of those wishing to stay in power and worthy of it. The enemy has NO such vacillation or weakness. They pounce like a tiger on every drop of blood, and do the devil's work.

Make no mistake about it, MANY folks are trying to destroy our country as we know it while our nice but weak-kneed President REFUSES to call things the way they are. Let's hope he does before our precious country is forever destroyed.

ENGAGE WITH ME FOR A MOMENT OR TWO IN A BIT OF FASTASY.

FANTASY ONE - President Bush (early 2006 as anti-war sentiment crystalized)
"My fellow Americans, we are in a battle for our lives. 95% of Iraq is now stable, and here are pictures of the schools and infratructure built by Americans and here are video clips form Iraqi citizens expressing appreciation for the freedom they now enjoy (2 minute video). It has saddened my heart that some Americans still do not understand the war on terror. We have been attacked several times - the first world trade center, the USS Cole, etc. etc. Nothing was done, and our enemies were emboldened. Why can we never learn? America withdrew from Vietnam when victory was almost there. The result of following the same people who are criticizing me today was that the country of Vietnam fell and so did Cambodia, with a bloodbath and loss of freedom after so many thousands of Americans gave their lives with selfless abandon. Our country's credibiilty took a major hit, and it was not long before Jimmy Carter abandoned the Shaw of Iran and led us into a time of great humiliation. My father began a good work in rescuing Kuwait, but even he erred after great victory in allowing his diplomatic leanings and his respect for the United Nations to cause us to prematurely withdraw from Iraq. We were on the cusp of victory, with only 800 soliders left to defend Baghdad, but we bowed to world opinion. Saddam butchered hundreds of thousands of people, and here are video clips of the mass graves we uncovered. I say with my Jewish brothers and sisters, NEVER AGAIN! My fellow Americans, world opinion is not what I am sworn to uphold. I am not President of the world, I am president of the United States of America, and I will not repeat the mistakes of my predecessors. I will see this through, and the Iraqis and any other afflicted group of people we decide to help will know that America will not quit on them, will not abandon them, will not bow to countries with economic ties to our enemies, or anyone else, but will do what is right. I speak directly to the press today - the peace would have been secured long ago had it not been for your direct giving of aid and comfort to our enemies. I call on you to take the same oath of office I took, and the same oath all new citizens must take, to defend the constitution of the United States of America."

FANTASY TWO - RICK SANTORUM, CAMPAIGN SPEECH
"My fellow Pennsylvanians, I am pleased that God has allowed me to stand before you today. He has taken me, and made me third in my party, but more importantly, first in protecting the lives of the unborn. That is not because I am a Republican, because Arlen shared my party affilication, but not my heart in this matter. I urge all of you who care about life, vote for the Republican OR Democrat whose heart you share. My opponent, Bob Casey, shares some of my sentiments on the surface. He personally says we are on the same page. Jimmy Carter said he personally opposed abortion - but it thrived during his tenure. Bob Casey refuses to let his personal views enter the picture in terms of legislation. For too many years, people of faith have been told to leave their faith at the door. Does Planned Parenthood leave their faith at the door? Does Barney Frank? Of course not! Who you are as a PERSON affects everything. I am a passionate person about what I believe - some people perceive me as harsh. You need to be hard to survive in Washington, but inside, I am mush when it comes to siding with the vulnerable in our land, and I pledge to continue to put my personal feelings and passions on this issue which are beyond dispute into full play as I fight for life, for morality, and for integrity in keeping our promises to the fine people in Iraq. I am proud to support our president as he seeks to bring this conflict to an honorable conclusion. We won the war, but this process of stabilizing is difficult - more difficult than anyone expected. But I am proud of our country, and I will fight tooth and nail all those with no realistic plans for peace whatsoever from weakening our resovle and from continuing to give aid and comfort to our enemies.

FANTASY THREE - MICHAEL STEELE, CAMPAIGN SPEECH
"My Fellow Virginians, we are on the edge of a major time of decision. We will decide whether or not we will elect a good Navy Man who through his political ambition is now beholden to the far left elements of the Democratic party, which currently controls the leadership, or a man such as myself, who has fought all the odds to be successful in America today. For so long, my African American forebears longed for the day when fine Black men and women could come into leadership in the United States Senate. There have only been a handful, yet today, because I reflect the EXACT same values of my parents and grandparents, the vast majority of the African American community has not yet endorsed me, but is still in slavery to white liberals who have used us, abused us, and lied to us more than anyone else. They expect our support while believing in their heart of hearts that they are superior to us. President Bush has not done what Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton did, putting African Americans into HHS, Commerce, or other offices and then ignore them. He made two from our number Secretary of State, and made other high level appointments, people he conferred with and entrusted with the affairs of our nation. Yet some folks still are ecstatic when Bill Clinton speaks, despite the undeniable documentation he called Jesse Jackson the "N-word" after he left his home and shared race jokes with Hillary. When will we ever learn? I am no paternalizing liberal, I am a genuine person who will consider the needs of African Americans the same as all Americans, and echo the word of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who longed for the day when people will no longer judge the color of a man's skin, but the content of his character. Look long at my skin, but look longer at my character. I will serve to reverse the catastrophic effects of paternalism and racism and lead us into full participation in the American Dream in this great state of Virginia."