ROOTS OF DECEPTION

(Please note that while this probably my longest post, it is critical, as the issues are on a lot of people's minds and we need to understand the dynamics of how many people aligned themselves. If you missed "Pray, Baby, Pray", it is two posts down the list now, but is a post that both Democrats and Republicans can profit from.)

THE ELECTION IS OVER, and some may wonder how we got to this point. After all, we hear people unable to articulate why they voted. On the GOP side, almost everyone I talked to really did not like McCain, and were energized almost exclusively by Palin. Obama fans had vague ideas about change, but could not offer me one example of how they thought Obama could do that or if in fact he had done it in previous jobs. Interviews nationally by others seemed to yield the same result. I am going to go through the deceptions which abound, first on the GOP side, and then on the Democrat side. It may be painful for you whichever side you are on, but as they say, “no pain, no gain”. We need to learn so we will not make the same mistakes again. Those who are ignorant of history are doomed to repeat its mistakes. This election was all about ignoring history. You will see what I mean.

On March 6, 2007, I wrote a post called “The Rise and Fall of Republicans”. It was before McCain was chosen and it went like this – Without Evangelical Christians (who used to be majority Democrat not all that long ago), no Republican would have been president over the last generation. Yet, most of the current Republican candidates really despise TRUE Christians - McCain, Guiliani, etc. Sort of like a lot of the talk radio hosts - while they are not usually stupid enough to openly offend them, if you listen closely they do not understand what a true relationship with God is all about, and why the moral issues are truly the center of prior support for Republicans. The new candidates think mincing words while supporting issues untenable by the morally straight will get them votes. Sor-ry! I see dark days ahead because of an inability to stick to what worked in terms of conservative moral values and the inability to get the big money support to truly understand what Christians value - not simply opposition to abortion, homosexuality, and legislating from the bench, but also progressive racial and economic policies to heal the great divides in our nation.

This is written from the perspective of all Christians, not just white ones. For an authentic (and winning) Christian coalition, the concerns of ALL Christians must be addressed. Without white Christians, there is no viable Republican Party. Without Black, Hispanic, and Asian Christians, there is no WINNING Republican Party. Since the Democratic party of the last 35 years (hey, in the interest of full disclosure I ‘m still a registered Democrat in the Governor Robert B. Casey pro-life, pro-working man tradition) has become hostile to preborn boys and girls, has tried to muscle Christianity out of the public square, has adopted extreme environmentalism at the expense of common sense, and failed to understand Islamo-Fascism and the realities of a post-9/11 world. It’s not that people such as myself left the Party, rather the party left us. Some of us remain trying to choose our vote strategically to choose the least offensive person in the primaries.

Many of us were deeply distressed when McCain was selected, often by Democrats crossing lines to support him. While a Southern Baptist who was a reliable vote against further liberalizing abortion, he was a Federalist and not inclined to actually reverse Roe v. Wade. While not favoring homosexual marriage, he did not favor a Federal Marriage Amendment. It rather mirrored his spiritual life. As an Episcopalian, he pretty much held to “traditional values” in his mind while being a “hell-raiser” and getting in trouble a lot, especially at the Naval Academy. While his prayer life increased exponentially in the Hanoi Hilton, his adulteries afterward and his final abandonment of his first wife Carol were huge moral failures. While he enjoys North Phoenix Baptist Church, he never joined, That required Baptism, which his second wife Cindy accepted. Perhaps he will sometime. However, knowing the truth and FIGHTING for the truth are two different matters. Maybe that is what infuriated James Dobson and others who at one point said they would NEVER vote for him. He loved to cross the aisle, but it seems whenever he did, he lost. Sort of like Christians – we adopt what the world says and think we are being bi-partisan! Hardly. We are compromising the gospel. Christians often “cross the aisle” by staying in apostate churches that do not preach the gospel, so it is no surprise that a large percentage crossed the aisle in the election, voting with their “heart” as opposed to the issues. Likewise, McCain compromised core principles on immigration, free speech with campaign finance reform (Ha! See what happened with that!), and education (Teddy Kennedy junked him within a week). What was most frustrating during the campaign is that everyone else seemed to have a better strategy than he did. I can’t tell you how much advice I gave them – yet only one or two points made it. Aside from some clever ads and Palin’s refreshing candor, it was an inept campaign because McCain was surprisingly very unsaavy considering his time in public office. Without Talk Radio, the margin would likely have been at least double what it was (of course, without the Mainstream Media, McCain would probably have won). McCain and Palin left President Bush dead in the water instead of stating the obvious - the Democrats controlled Congress in the run-up to the meltdown, down-talking down the economy at every opportunity for financial gain, ignoring ALL the danger signs, and rejoicing when it happened. They presided over the financial failure, with Nancy Pelosi not taking ownership of it and the Democratic Senate using the opportunity to further entrench their power with $180 BILLION in earmark spending.

It was clearly a time when Christians had to also move beyond the “traditional” moral issues. The church was still largely segregated. Many white people saw no imperative for having more open racial attitudes. They accepted the massive self-segregation by Blacks, Hispanics, Koreans, Chinese, and other Christians. Truly interethnic churches with interethnic worship, leadership, prayer partner relationships, friendships, and marriages are still rather rare. I LOVE churches who bridge the divides in accordance with Jesus’ prayer in John 17, and that is my vision for the church. While some from other parts of the world are used to everyone being by himself or herself and have been slow to assimilate, Blacks and whites should not be strangers to one another. After all, the church in America USED to be integrated. The problem was, even though everyone was in the same building, the dictates of the book of James in the New Testament were not being followed. Blacks were relegated to the back or the balcony, and whites did not want to drink out of the same communion cup. At St. George’s United Methodist Church, this division over communion led to the segregation of the American Church, and Richard Allen and his associates felt forced to found Mother Bethel AME Church because of the disrespect given to the black congregants. Many today in the white churches still do not treat Blacks as full-fledged sisters and brothers. There is a core feeling they are “different” somehow. Some are outright unregenerate in that area of life. I heard one man who had been a trustee of his church and who frequented Christian groups for years call Obama a “Ni--er in a Woodpile”. When lo and behold he apologized, he said, “If I offended you…”. If? Amazing. Most are much more subtle. There is palpable discomfort with minority people unless it was in a “missionary situation”. I learned this as a child. When an African seminary student at Princeton, visited our church, the head of the Missions Board hugged him as his own son. What I knew is that the head of the Missions Board moved because Black people had bought homes within a mile of his house. In the same church, they bought a new missions house for missionaries on furlough from Africa to stay in because the neighborhood now had Black people in it! When Blacks visited the church, the standard line was to direct them to a Black church! Later I found out the church had a racially exclusive real estate covenant (also excluding Jews and others). Thankfully, the current pastor finally renounced it and welcomes all. But for years, true blue – oops, that is red – Republican church people didn’t really care. People are nice on the outside because that is the “Christian” thing to do, but on the inside, “they” are still viewed as apart. Most images of Jesus are still northern European even though he was Semitic. A surprise to most is that ALL the references to Blacks in the Bible are POSITIVE, rather unique for any people, and there are far more than most people imagine. From our friend Dr. Dayo Brown, a pastor from Africa, comes the following:

(i) In Isaiah 37:9 and II Kings 19:9, reference is made to Tirhaka, king of the Ethiopians. This ancient black Pharaoh was actually the fourth member of the twenty-fifth Egyptian Dynasty that ruled all of Egypt (730-653 BC.). Tirhaka, according to the biblical texts was the object of the desperate hopes of Israel in the days of Hezekiah, when Israel desperately hoped that the Cushite Tirhaka's armies would intervene and ward off an impending Assyrian assault by Sennacherib.

(ii) Jeremiah 46:9 referred to Cushite "Men of Ethiopia and Libya who handle shield."

(iii) The Old Testament indicates that Cushites were part of the Hebrew army (II Samuel 18:21-32), and even part of the royal court.

(iv) Jeremiah 38:7-13 records how Ebedmelech took action to save Jeremiah's life and thereby became the beneficiary of a divine blessing (Jeremiah 39:15-18).

(v) The reference to "Zephaniah the son of Cushi" (Zephaniah 1:1) implied that one of the prophetic books of the Old Testament was authored by a Cushite (a Black African).

(vi) Nimrod, son of Cush, the "mighty warrior" (Genesis 10:8) is a prime example of important African characters.

(vii) Moses was Afro-Asiatic and he married an Ethiopian woman (Numbers 12:1-10).

(viii) Exodus 2:16 and 3:1 refers to Jethro, Moses' father-in-law as being a priest of Midian. Midian is another word for Cushan (Habakkuk 3:7).

(ix) The Queen of Sheba was a black African (I Kings 10:1-10).

(x) Another black African Queen was Candace, Queen of the Nubians in the ancient Ethiopian capital of Meroe (Acts 8:26-40).

(xi) A black African, Simon of Cyrene, helped to carry the cross to Calvary (Matthew 27:32). Cyrene is a town located in Libya (Acts 2:10).

(xii) Two black men, Simeon called Niger and Lucius of Cyrene were among the prophets and teachers who laid hands, imparted upon, and commissioned Paul and Barnabas into the mission field (Acts 13:1-3).

Indeed, the dominant portrait of Cushi (the Ethiopian) in the Old Testament is that of a wealthy people (Job 28:19; Isaiah 45:14).

Watch out beloved... "Princes shall come out of Egypt; Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God." (Psalms 68:31).

God greatly blesses people when they have been despised. It is a time of great favor and blessing for Black people, particularly those who worship God through our Lord Jesus Christ. I heard a Hispanic voter who disagreed with Obama on just about EVERYTHING say he voted for him because he felt a racial edge around Republicans. Now I have been around a lot of Democrats who are no more enlightened, but I can understand any number of situations where the man could have been simply telling the truth such as those I detailed from my own experience (and those are far from exhaustive – I went to a 40% Black high school and the derogatory comments I heard about it were legion). Democrats are no better at hiding it – remember Joe Biden’s talk about Obama being “clean”? Yikes. Remember Jesse Jackson’s “Hymietown”? Whoa. How about Obama’s reference to himself as a “Mutt”? Now that is offensive to bi-racial people everywhere. It is that the press buries it almost every time a Democrat uses a racist expression and loops it ad infinitum when a Republican makes a similar flub. Bill Clinton allegedly used a racial epitaph after Jesse Jackson finally left a gathering at the White House. Howard Dean, head of the Democrat Party, said he couldn’t find any qualified Blacks for his administration in Vermont, and John Kerry said he “wasn’t comfortable around Black people”. The Black Political Thought blog also records Kerry’s use of the term “Tar Baby”. Again, people are voting because of perceptions exacerbated by the press, not on core realities. Still, Christian conservatives would have done well to champion racial equality and mention it a much as other issues as being of core importance. So many Black Americans set aside their agreement with social conservatives on abortion and homosexuality because they sensed what that Hispanic voter sensed. To keep making the same mistake will doom the very positive messages of freedom and opportunity that Republicans usually excel in.

Beyond race and ethnic issues, Christians have often identified with unbridled capitalism. While capitalism is the system of the Bible, so is fairness. By removing so many from the tax rolls, President Bush set up this election. People who don’t pay taxes will gladly vote increases for others. Everyone should pay SOME tax. Everyone needs to view himself or herself as part of the tax system, not as outside of what will fund them. Bush gave 40% of the voters an incentive to vote Democrat. It’s not hard for a Democrat to get the other 11% he needs. Beyond that, many Christians such as Mike Huckabee championed the so-called “Fair Tax”. I believe it is anything but fair. A progressive tax is not bad. Taxes should not confiscate wealth, but to whom much is given, much is required. I own a micro business, and paying taxes is the hardest part of keeping a business. The GOP has to balance seeking to protect micro business and small business, our nation’s largest employer, while at the same time not being soft on the very wealthy, who all too often use tax shelters and avoidance techniques to reduce revenue. While being successful should not be unduly penalized, the fact is that much of the far upper level tax cuts for the wealthy were used to promote ever more decadent lifestyles and not just more jobs as so many commentators maintain. If Christians had promoted a wiser tax policy, with a solid affinity for middle class tax fairness and eliminating cuts for the very wealthy (say over $1 million net per year), they would have been in a much more defensible position. The same would have been the case in terms of decrying situations where there was extreme corporate greed, which is not a Christian virtue. The Bible talks about the oppression by the rich and that the rich must not be favored. Unfortunately, Christians have often uncritically favored policies favoring the rich in exchange for support for one or two moral issues. Christians need to negotiate platform issues more aggressively and more comprehensively.

I had been advocating Sarah Palin’s candidacy for Vice President, and was ecstatic when she was selected. At last, it seemed, some sound Christian values would come to the fore. She was not so much a Republican as a conservative, and fought special interests while also being passionate about life, morality, and protecting our country against all of our enemies from without and within. She attacked Republicans as much as Democrats, with principles being more important than party. The McCain people made her speak mostly about economic issues, where she was clearly less comfortable. The unbridled attack by the press with insufficient rebuttal by her supporters (including McCain) left the public with an unfairly jaundiced view of her and of ALL evangelical Christians. Nonetheless, as I stated, McCain seemed inept at taking it to Obama – he was crossing the aisle on himself. He took his best issue – Jeremiah Wright – off the table. An America-hating anti-Semite who led a church where Obama said he “found validation for what he already believed”. Instead of standing against bailing out the banks with $700 million, he suspended his campaign briefly to advocate it. Instead of denouncing the hopelessly biased media in the debates, his one direct path to the American people, he actually let himself be abused by David Letterman. We all realized why none of us favored the man in the first place, but our hope was that perhaps Palin would work on him as she promised to do on Anwar. Perhaps in his heart of hearts, he was more with us than against us. Never happened.

On September 9, 2008, I wrote on this Blog about the link between Spiritual Deception and Political Deception – the post is called. “Is There a Link? You Bet There Is!” I have seen this link produce bad fruit in a number of people I know well and in articles or books by alleged Christians that I have seen. It is a powerful link and is Demonic in nature. What are these links and how do they occur?

One is of course, putting undue confidence in Man. If Christians believe that change for good comes through a political party, they are deceived. All GOOD change comes from God. Second is putting unchecked confidence in information sources other than the Bible. Third is putting more confidence in any man that is indicated.

For the GOP, the first was for Christians putting too much confidence in that party – regardless of the platform as long as it was “pro-life”. Second was accepting too many talking points from one side of the political spectrum without taking the Bible’s positions no matter where that led. Third was an undue glorification of Ronald Reagan. I much appreciated his love for the United States and his stands against the evil empire, but it was God who tore down that iron curtain. He certainly USED Reagan’s challenge to Gorbachev, but it was a GOD thing to get the gospel to expand in that part of the world. I also appreciated the economic expansion, but rued some of the insensitivities and of course the Reagans’ long affiliation with the occult. While séances were the case with the Lincolns, there is no proof of that with the Reagan’s. Yet making decisions based upon astrological forecasts was indeed troubling and largely ignored by the church. We can appreciate a man while being realistic about his strengths and weaknesses.

For the Democrats, the same is true. Many minority Americans have sold their soul to the Democrat party. It wasn’t always that way. Many Blacks were Republicans – the Party of Lincoln – for years. Democrats were the ones who fought desegregation. Little Rock came because of Eisenhower. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a Republican. The Civil Rights legislation was passed with Republican votes. Most eras of major Black economic progress were under the GOP. Yet, because of perceptions, many that are media-induced, the loyalty switched to the Dems. Like those who almost worshipped Reagan, many Dems ignored the significant moral problems MLK had and were uncritical about candidates such as Gore, Biden, et al who talked compassion but were about the most stingy to the poor of anyone, and certainly more stingy than almost ANY Republican and many Democrats. Biden gave $379 to charity out of a huge income. Until he decided to run for President, Obama gave one tenth of one percent – only 1/100 as generous as many Black church-goers tithe to their congregations. Charity begins at home. The Bible is clear – people are supposed to help people. It is not primarily the government’s job. People helping people is not only twice or more as efficient, it is a key to the operation of the Kingdom of God on the earth.

Radical advocacy of abortion, even partial birth abortion and harvested embryos, homosexual and transgender behavior, support of failing public schools with limited or any alternatives for the poor, the lower level of support for America on the world stage and many other issues have not been able to counter-balance the core belief, real or imagined, that the GOP is no longer the party that is in minorities’ best interests to support.

So deception only requires one entry point, but it requires reinforcement to metastasize in the church as a fatal cancer. Most Christians do not receive their information from unimpeachable sources. Just as some absorb everything from radio or TV figures who have a form of Godliness but deny the power thereof, many talk with their friends and read books and checkout websites that always agree with them. It is always wise to look deeper. I found most Obama supporters I know and those I met unwilling to debate issues, leaving them devoid of much critical information. Almost every cult and church uses the Bible as an authority, but in the end they depart from the essentials. Too many of both parties believe what they hear is gospel, and never really check our whether or not it is true.

Rather than the Bible being the source of information, many Christians use their own “sense of fairness”. They also absorb and internalize different gospels from popular TV or mega-church preachers. When they say what they believe, you are often hearing talking points from those who do not adhere strictly to Orthodox Christianity. If you check the websites, most of the essentials are often there (though more and more the statements of faith are telling), but the practice tells you what the REAL articles of faith are. Have you ever heard people say as fact that prosperity is in the Atonement, for example? Have you heard about the great end-time revival when the essence of salvation is given short shrift and talk of repentance with tears and the reality of hell are off the table?

When it comes to “words from the Lord”, so often God may give a supernatural insight to someone, but all to often he of she fails to understand what it means or else add to it from their own understanding. I have heard someone prophesy “God told them” that there was to be another Solomon, a “man of peace”, and that other “Solomon” was none other than Barack Obama! The person sees an unparalleled time of peace and prosperity under Obama and views his election as vindication of being right! Actually, part of that “prophecy” is TRUE! There is a bit of truth in EVERYTHING the liar Satan says – after all, he loves to quote scripture out of context – remember his temptation of Jesus? Let’s look closer. First, while people ate, drank, and were happy in the early years of Solomon’s reign, but by the end of his rule Solomon was known more for high taxes and harsh labor! It became oppressive beyond measure. While the Temple was a laudable goal to which the people happily contributed, he also used high taxes to put himself in unimaginable splendor and to grow government while almost everyone then suffered and their economic condition worsened! While Israel was at peace for a season, the people did NOT end up prospering under Solomon. Big government became an untenable burden, and then Reheboam’s further oppression meant the END of Israel as one country! Not sure I want to go there. Obama voted 94 out of 94 times for higher taxes and he wants to grow government drastically although big government did not work in Chicago or anyplace else it has been tried. The Left is all for government interference in life, and Obama is VERY left. Obama’s thresholds of “rich” and “fairness” are constantly changing, and ALWAYS in the direction of taxing more people more highly! Second, Solomon was weak and unprepared for office when he started. He was the LEAST capable in many ways. Third, Solomon compromised with other religions. He gave place to other Gods which is the prime reason God REJECTED him. Obama has openly stated on multiple occasions that there are many ways to God and “Jesus is my way”. However, when you probe further, you will find that Obama does not believe the Bible is all that trustworthy and he finds much of it far-fetched. In Stephen Mansfield’s The Faith of Barack Obama, rather than coming to the foot of the cross in repentance, he says when he became a Christian, he ”found validation for what he already believed”. Hardly a salvation experience, and definitely opposed to “old things have passed away, behold all things have become new”. With Obama, old things found a new home in an apostate church called Trinity United Church of Christ that preached another gospel that included vitriol and immoral positions wholly incompatible with the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Obama’s comfort level with Islam, Buddhism, and other religions is only natural with his affinity with New Age Religion. In Berlin, he used Eckhart Tolle’s choice expression “This Present Moment” many, many times, and has the full support of Oprah, priestess/proponent of New Age religion. In Tolle’s “The Power of Now”, page 6, appears, "I cannot tell you any spiritual truth that deep within you don't know already. All I can do is remind you of what you have forgotten". Sounds like that is about the extent of Obama’s “conversion experience”.

Missing from the grandiose nature of the “Solomon prophecy” is that the New Testament said that “someone greater than Solomon is here”, referring to Jesus Christ. God never goes backwards. Despite the phony pronouncements of some end-time soothsayers, Jesus will not bring salvation to the Jews except through faith. The Old Covenant was superseded, and no one can come to Christ without accepting him as God and accepting the sacrifice on the cross and his physical resurrection as their gateway to eternal life. Solomon is done and gone. While Solomon was a type of Christ, once the real comes, the type is done away. No more Solomon’s are coming. Many saw “messianic” characteristics in Obama. If you check the Bible, there is only one real Messiah, and those who preceded him and followed him were ALL false! If you look further, you can begin to see the absurdity of where the person was going with this. First, Solomon was committed to God and had come to God asking for wisdom. He put God first in the early stages of his life. Obama hung out with a Marxist pedophile named Frank Marshall Davis while young. He went into drugs and leftist causes. He became a community organizer, which most of the GOP drastically underestimated the potential of, and then had long-standing associations, which remain to this day with some of the most anti-God, anti-Jewish, anti-America demagogues you could imagine. No wisdom here. No humility before God here. No desire to give opportunity for people to worship God in splendor and holiness. Second, people from all over the world came to Solomon to hear his wisdom. This cannot occur because Obama does not have wisdom. What is wise about saying he is against abortion, but like all others who say that while voting differently, he is determined to sign the “Freedom of Choice Act” which undoes all restrictions on abortion including parental notification, partial birth abortion, and not forcing people to pay for abortions through their taxes. Then by executive order he wants to lift the sanction of not permitting US Aid to be used for abortions. This ties in with his “global citizen” theme and his love of the extremely corrupt and authoritarian United Nations. Nicaragua and El Salvador are the only Latin American countries to still restrict abortion – this is not because of the will of the people, but by the fiat of the UN. Obama even voted to deny medical care to infants born alive after botched abortions. That is not wisdom, it is evidence of a very cold and calculating person. It is obvious that Obama sees his mandate to do the same in this and other areas. California has twice voted against homosexual “marriage” but who doubts that Obama will appoint another Supreme Court Justice along the lines of former ACLU counsel Ruth Bader Ginsberg who will force this abomination on the land if he doesn’t figure a way to so it sooner through another means? It sees Ginsburg as one of his ideal justices, along with Stephen Breyer.

The will of the people is inconsequential to leftists. The people were considered to be too dumb to govern themselves – they need the Dictatorship of the Proletariat. They are propagandized to believe what is not is their own interests. President Bush, who steadfastly sought to protect our country, is demonized non-stop and blamed for everything wrong in our country, even though the party opposed to him presided over Congress for the two years we had economic meltdown, which controls financial issues. Bush NEVER defended himself, making himself look guilty. He was operating according to his character, but it was not good for the country to be silent and abused. We tell that to battered women. He simply acted defeated and McCain avoided him like the plague. Well, Americans ARE dumb. They insist on overlooking five hundred red warning flags to try again what has never worked in the past, and with someone who is dinner companions with men dedicated to the destruction of Israel! Despite all his failures, Solomon was NEVER friends with those dedicated to the destruction of Israel!

Unfortunately, many, many Christians have set aside what should have been core beliefs to support a man dedicated to almost everything that is against Christ.

Unbridled abortion here and exported abroad, often forced as in China

Celebration of perversion – such as homosexuality, transgender issues, and unholy sex education.

Interfering with a parent’s right to teach and discipline their children

Hatred and disrespect toward our current President – we are called to honor the King.

Disapproval of those who insist that Jesus Christ is the only way to God.

Views on the world that do not favor proper protection for “God’s Chosen People”.

Then they say Christ sent him! 25% of white evangelicals voted for Obama, so it is not just a “Black thing”. I have heard from the pulpit tired recitation of Obama talking points and denigrating those opposed to protecting innocent life, denigrating those standing for marriage being between one man and one woman, and even denigrating those opposed to liberalizing anti-drug laws! A large number of self-proclaimed Christians voted for someone who basically told them they were all wet! They even see messianic qualities in him. Amazing. Perhaps more surprising is that popular musicians seem to understand it well. Here are two – Bobby Dylan 25 years ago, and ApologetiX, a Christian Rock Band just this year:

Man Of Peace, by Bob Dylan, copyright 1983 by Sweet Rider Music

Look out your window, baby, there's a scene you'd like to catch,
The band is playing "Dixie," a man got his hand outstretched.
Could be the Fuhrer
Could be the local priest
You know sometimes
Satan comes as a man of peace.
He got a sweet gift of gab, he got a harmonious tongue
He knows every song of love that ever has been sung
Good intentions can be evil
Both hands can be full of grease.
You know that sometimes Satan comes as a man of peace.
Well, first he's in the background, then he's in the front,
Both eyes are looking like they're on a rabbit hunt.
Nobody can see through him,
No, not even the Chief of Police.
You know that sometimes Satan comes as a man of peace.

REVELATION MAN, by ApologetiX, copyright not known
(parody of “Secret Agent Man” by Johnny Rivers)

There's a man who seems just like a savior
With everyone he meets he gains their favor
Oh, with every move he makes,
Another hand he shakes
Odds are he won't give you peace tomorrow

Revelation Man
Revelation Man
Hey, he's givin' you a number and
takin' away your faith

It's there in Revelation that you find
A pretty beast who has an evil mind
He led the world astray;
They'll give their souls away
All that he will give is grief and sorrow

Revelation Man
Revelation Man
Hey, he's givin' you a number and
takin' away your faith

Bringin' all the world together one day
Then saying that he's God Almighty next day
Oh, but you fell for all his tricks
By listenin' to 666
God's not who he is you'll see tomorrow

Revelation Man
Revelation Man
Hey, he's givin' you a number and
takin' away your faith

Revelation Man

As I noted, most Christians do not receive their information from unimpeachable sources. Some watch networks that are blatantly biased. I know a Democrat who doesn’t think it is fair to watch most anything but CNN or MSNBC, two of the most blatantly biased networks even by ADA (Americans for Democratic Action, a liberal group) standards. Chris Matthews on “Morning with Joe” on MSNBC on November 7th admitted his job was to have Obama succeed! Excuse me? If he was a partisan political commentator, it is of course OK to boost anyone he wanted. Some boosted Sarah Palin and John McCain, such as Mark Levin. However, Mark and others made no claim to be unbiased journalists – they have political shows that advocate certain positions. The curl in the lip that you see when some people say “FOX” like they are disobeying the third commandment against swearing by uttering the word belies the fact that Fox is 48 on a scale from Far Right (0) to Far Left (100). That means it is almost in the center. Perhaps that is why I disagree with it half the time as well (and not just when Alan Combs is speaking!) Being “fair and balanced” doesn’t mean you let poor arguments go unanswered half the time – it means that everyone has an opportunity to express a position. The results may be that one position becomes dominant because of the rightness of the cause.

Many think Obama won because of an uncritical press. I believe that may well have been true. It is hard to believe that Americans would have voted for him when you consider his campaign was the spitting image of Saul Alinsky’s “Rules for Radicals”. If you missed it, listen to the October 14th show, part one on www.MarkLevinshow.com. It will show you what to look for, like a libretto at an opera. When people read his platform and his own website, there were few secrets. If people read what the press did not report and listened to critical radio, which found a lot of his contradictions, and synthesized all the information, they were not deceived. Unfortunately, most were too lazy or already convinced of their own ideas to really probe. That takes time, which I can readily attest to as the author of all the articles on this Blog. They depended on the drumbeat fawning by the Mainstream Media and assumed since there was no criticism, he was the ideal candidate without major flaws. Likewise, they did not probe into the truth or lack thereof in the endless attacks on McCain and especially Sarah Palin. The Associated Press was non-stop criticism with ZERO balance whatsoever. The results will become history.

Absent was critical thinking. Again and again we heard that when the economy is poor, the Democrats have an advantage. Did anyone ask if that were true? The fact is that since 1945, when Democrats control Congress, regardless of who is President, stocks went up an average of 7% per year. When the GOP controlled Congress, again regardless of who is President, stocks went up 14% per year. The last six years of Clinton and the first six years of Bush were pretty good for the economy and the stock market made a lot of folks better off. What they had in common was a GOP Congress, and if they had not become over-spenders themselves, it would have been even better. Since the rich are already rich, isn’t a great stock market the best way for the little guy with some investments to make a quantum improvement in his or her economic life? Isn't the creation of more jobs through a robust and less-regulated economy the best thing to bring people out of poverty?

The party in power really doesn’t deserve the credit OR the blame. In the time of the Great Depression, Saskatchewan, Canada, had a conservative government. The neighboring province of Alberta had a liberal one. Saskatchewan ditched their government to follow the promises of the Socialists. Meanwhile, Alberta listened to an influential right-wing radio preacher and went conservative. They BOTH came out of the Depression at the same time. They BOTH kept their respective governments in power for a while, giving them credit. Unfortunately, most people do not understand business cycles and look for government to save them. Many credit FDR’s extension of his New Deal programs with prolonging the Depression for seven years. Sometimes we have to live through hardships – the government cannot spare us from all of them.

A final warning. Beyond the deception about another Man of Peace coming, at least one we WANT to have come, the person “prophesying” had engaged in explaining away several Biblical injunctions that were ignored in personal decision-making. When one disobeys the Word of God, one WILL be deceived. Several homosexuals who have written me say they HAD been born again. They just did not become homosexual. They were turned over by God because of other sin. I have a relative where this happened. All sin starts with what people consider insignificant deviations. They are pregnant with sin. That sin grows and is born. It grows until it brings forth death. We cannot be impregnated by sin or we will die because of it. I will put up a post on the LIFE IN THE SPIRIT Blog soon on this whole issue. God wants us without Spot or Wrinkle (put it in the comments section if you want a copy of an article I wrote on that subject). We cannot tolerate a little or we will suffer.

The GOP and the Democrat party have both been pregnant with sin, and have given birth to things that should never have been. We must maintain a higher loyalty to God than to ANY party. NO party will solve our problems. There is no Man of Peace except Jesus. All the ones that have come have turned out to be disasters. Hitler was a “Man of Peace”. He was not alone. Pray for our nation – no signs are good. Even those who strongly advocated his election seem edgy. Yet, no signs were good either when Saul was persecuting the church. God saved him, and I am praying that God will save Obama as well and what MoveOn.org, the Trial Lawyers, the Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender Activists, NARAL, and a host of other nefarious groups have been planning for evil, God will in his mercy turn into good. Like political change, it will never happen unless people pray and intercede to God. With apathy and resignation, it will be time of unprecedented challenge for true Christian patriots who love what God was able to do with the idea of freedom and who treasure an environment where men and women can follow him without interference from tyrants.

Our prayer is that God will turn the heart of the king whichever way he wishes – we need to be aware of the issues so we will not be blindsided. There are so many things being planned even as you read this by supporters of the President which cannot be acceptable to ANY born-again Christian. Whether you looked past these when you voted, believing other issues to be more crucial, or whether you feel you did your part by voting against the party’s platform by voting against the candidate, YOU are still responsible to pray that God will bring righteousness and not evil. Pray that Barack Obama will respond to the wishes of supporters who love God and want an even more open society and that he will turn from the wishes of any supporters who are evil and that he himself will come into an intimate, personal, and life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ. We should pray this for any President, and Barack Obama is now in that elite company. Jesus Christ is Lord, and only what he allows will be done. However, he responds to the prayers of his people, and I urge you not to be lax in that area. Jesus Christ wants our country to succeed! He wants what is dead and rotten to disappear. He wants what is good to come. He can use ANYONE to accomplish that, but we must intercede so that it happens.