Some changes

I'm going to post more than just opinion pieces from now on; I'll be posting lessons I give in youth group and Next Level class. Also, I'll add lessons I may give in the future. I got the idea when my sister Liv and I discussed my blog. She suggested it be more like a lecture. A few days later, I finally filled up the notebook that I use to prepare my lessons. I went to buy another notebook and decided that, unlike the old one, the new one would exclude any mention of my daily life and focus more on deep thought, devotionals, and lessons, along with the opinion. Then I realized, since I already blog for a broad audience, from young teens on up, why not just transfer what I write in my lesson notebook to my blog?

So if any of my writing seemed ground level and basic before, it will be even more so from here on out. But that doesn't mean the reader can't learn something. Sometimes, going back to the basics may bring a person to a greater level of understanding, both of himself and the world around him.

Some of these lesson posts will be back-dated to September, when youth group started for the year.

Back to the Basics

As Christians, we have two jobs and both are done to glorify God: To know Him and make Him known. Everything outside of this is incidental. Make sure you always take this phrase into account and see how it can apply to what it is you are doing - How can I get to know God better through (fill in the blank) and to make Him known through (fill in the blank)? As you read the Bible, you will know more about who He is and what He wants you to do. As you live life in obedience to what He says, you will grow more and see who He is. You may not understand why you did what He told you to do, but that will come in time. All he wants you to do is to obey. As Chambers stated, "understanding comes through obedience."

Amen or ouch? Ouch. Man, sometimes I feel that the lessons I give to the youth group are more applicable to me than it is to the kids.

Have a thoughtful faith

What do you think of when you hear the word "thoughtful"? It implies both reasoning and compassion. Our faith in Christ should be reasonable and should show compassion, not simplistic, thoughtless rhetoric and posturing.

Don't be a mindless/thoughtless Christian. You can't claim ignorance in this life; God already gave you His word to understand Him better and to make Him known. The main reason why people don't live a full life, a God blessed life, is sheer laziness, which results in ignorance. Laziness stems from fear - fear of work, fear of effort, fear of failure, fear of being different, fear of whatever. The ignorant Christian only has fire insurance and doesn't live too differently from the worldly, unsaved person. At best, the ignorant Christian, the thoughtless Christian, has the basics and still goes with the flow of his feelings and/or the opinion of the world, and not on obedience to Christ.

Is your belief merely a program in your mind or is it a personal possession? Is your belief real and truly yours or is it no different from the belief you had in the tooth fairy or Santa Claus? My job as your youth leader/teacher is to move your perspective and your beliefs from the point of passive indifference to a passionate reality.

The Bible and your money

Money is talked about in the Bible almost as much as heaven and hell combined. The reason being is that we have to learn how to handle it well and be good stewards of what God gives us.

The Scripture reference: Luke 16:1-13 - "He who is faithful in little will be given much."

1. Use WISELY!
In Gen. 1:27-30, we read that Adam was given dominion over the Earth. Dominion means "to take care of". He had to work! Work is what we were made to do. The more productive the better, and if it helps others, even more so.
Prov. 13:4 and Commandments 4, 8, 9, and 10 in Ex. 20. are good, solid, foundational principles to hold onto. The Proverbs verse talks about not being a sluggard, not being lazy. The 4th Commandment reminds us not to overwork, but to take a rest day. Commandments 8, 9, and 10 are don't steal, don't lie, and don't covet; the first two are usually a little easier to control, but the last one everyone needs to work on. Those three, when broken, are almost always seen together.
Mt. 6:19-21; 25-34 and Prov. 11:28
Don't love money. Doing so would get your focus away from what God wants for you and He wants to bless you beyond anything you can imagine. He will definitely give you what you need. Do not worry about it! When you trust in Christ, you become joint-heirs with Him, and since God owns all, you have inherited eternal life and all the wealth you can imagine. Just because I only have a few thousand in the bank, it doesn't mean I only have a few thousand. The bank statement is not the measure my wealth. The world sees it as such, but by being an inheritor, I have everything. I'm not just talking about spiritual ideas/blessings; this is material as well. Does that mean I can go out and buy a Ferrari now? No, that's out of God's will because I wouldn't be using my money wisely. I may be able to have one down the road, but that's not important. Things do not identify who I am.
Because I am an heir, I can simply ask God to provide something, and I know He will provide. It may not be in my timing and it may not be the amount I ask for, but He provides. There are many accounts of people with this strong trust in God and God providing in just the right time with just the right amount. Sometimes it was more. But it is all given to bring glory to Him.

2) Save well.
Prov. 21:20 - This is part of using your money wisely but I think it's important enough to have it as a separate item. Some Christians think that saving money is selfish and not helping the kingdom. No, I'd have to disagree, saving money is helpful to the kingdom. It's always good to follow all the Biblical principles of money, not just part of it. One way to see how it will help is through interest. Saving money in a bank will help it grow and then use it for a time when you can help someone with it, if you decide to do so.

3) Tithe consistently.
Mal. 3:10 - This is the only time God allows people to challenge Him. This shouldn't be an issue. He gives you everything, He only asks for ten percent back. It's a matter of trust. Once that trust is established, He promises to bless you greatly and in many ways, not just materially. And this isn't to be confused with giving. Tithing is ten percent of your gross pay no matter what. Giving is above and beyond that. One Bible teacher taught that you tithe what is in your heart to tithe. No, this isn't Biblical, tithing is ten percent no matter how you feel about it. It's preferable that you have a good attitude about it because God did give that promise of showers of blessings. He didn't put it in His word for nothing.

4) Give cheerfully.
II Cor. 9:7 - Be cheerful about giving. Paul reminds us to be cheerful because this is already past the ten percent. It's tough enough to let go of a good chunk of your money, so a change of attitude and perspective is necessary. Also, we're reminded in the previous verse of the Law of the Harvest, that what we sow, we reap. We sow a lot, we will reap a lot. That should be ample reason to give with a huge smile in our heart and on our face.

An easy way to remember these principles is to think of the acrostic:
Give
Use
Tithe
Save
As in "it takes GUTS to handle money well"
or TUGS, as in "God TUGS at your heart to be a good steward".

V for Vilify

"After reading the script, Moore remarked that his comic had been "turned into a Bush-era parable by people too timid to set a political satire in their own country.... [This film] is a thwarted and frustrated and largely impotent American liberal fantasy of someone with American liberal values standing up against a state run by neoconservatives — which is not what [the comic] 'V for Vendetta' was about. It was about fascism, it was about anarchy, it was about [England]." He later adds that if the Wachowskis had wanted to protest what was going on in America, then they should have used a political narrative that spoke directly at America's issues, similar to what Moore had done before with Britain."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V_for_Vendetta




There's something just not right about a movie that tries to make a political statement about the US using a fictional British fascist government. As a movie, I liked V for Vendetta for its sci-fi action quality. What I didn't like was its liberal overtones and equating a fascist government with our present Republican-run system. Anyone who has any good knowledge of history will not make such an inaccurate comparison. But, what do you expect from Hollywood, anyway? That's the one advantage movie-makers have - they can sway people's thinking just by entertaining them. It doesn't take much thought to compare the character Lewis Prothero, the Voice of London, to Rush Limbaugh, oft misunderstood controversial conservative. I'm glad the movie wasn't a hit. It definitely left much to be desired.

I'm sure not many people saw the movie because it sucked that much. But maybe they didn't make much of a raucous about it because many already think that they live in an almost-fascist government. What we have in America is nothing compared to a real fascist government. And liberal-minded people think (erroneously) that a Democrat-run America would solve many of today's problems. Or that any party other than conservatives would help to solve today's problems. No, not at all. What liberals don't understand is that government causes many problems. Conservatives want less power given to the government. When Kerry came out with his phrase "A Stronger America," it only made conservatives shudder because, from our perspective, we read "stronger government control over America." We would end up with the very fascist government that no one wants.

Too many of today's generation do not know their history well enough and I'm not about to give history courses on this blog. I used to be more socialist when I was a teenager, but that was because the history I learned in school was very socialist influenced and I was even sympathetic to Communist ideals. When I studied history for myself and had a broader and better understanding of US history in particular (apart from what I learned in college), I realized how much in error I was in supporting socialist ideas. But it took a little effort on my part to learn the truth. I can only hope the same for the next generation.

Fightin' Amish

In Strasburg, PA, a couple of days ago, two men stopped an Amish buggy with a man and two women inside. The idiots demanded that the Amish hand over their buggy (as a trophy, I guess. "Oh, yeah , we'll tow the buggy back to our hide-out"). One of the muggers threatened them with a knife. The Amish wouldn't comply and one of the women kicked the mugger's hand that held the knife. The Amish got out of there with their buggy and the would-be robbers got in their SUV and fled the scene!

Whether or not the account is true, it's still hilarious to think about the new art of Amish-fu.

Wow...

"I would rather see a Muslim become a Christian than a radical Muslim."
- Nechirvan Barzani, a Muslim and the prime minister of Kurdistan Regional Government

That's some good stuff.

Cocaine or Yoga?

I read an interview of a '70s rockstar who said entertainers back in his day were cocaine addicts and alcoholics. He complained that these days, rockstars and entertainers are generally into yoga and health foods and only rarely does he see those people get addicted to anything bad. On the surface, that sounds good. At least those people don't have any egregious habits or do anything that would influence the younger generation to get into bad things. They are in a position to influence people, which is why it's better for them not to do anything that would risk other people's lives.

Then again that may not be good. When people think they are doing all right and have their own beliefs apart from what the Bible says, then it becomes more of a challenge for them to see that they need Jesus. It's easier for people to see their need for God when they know they are doing bad things and admit that they are sinful. God wants them to reach that point. The worst is when a person thinks he doesn't need Jesus because he is already good enough and feels he is righteous and deserving of heaven. He also has his own guidance system to live life fully apart from what God says in His word.

This is true for all of the world's religions in one form or another - your good deeds should outweigh your bad and that is the way to get to heaven. In fact, this erroneous thought process is a common human belief. What is not common is God's command to believe in His way to get to heaven and not on our own imagined way to heaven. A person who believes he's too sinful to get to heaven has taken the first step to understanding what God says in His word. The next step is knowing that God already paid the price for us to get to heaven. This is usually the tricky part. Some just can't believe it because it's too simple. Others can't believe it because it sounds mythological. And others can't believe for the simple reason that they do not want to believe. They think they may turn into a "religious" nut and start doing these "religious" things like going to church and being a goody two-shoe who doesn't know how to party. That just won't be cool to them. They'd rather live in the slavery of debauchery and ignorance. People who think this way are typical of those who are too lazy to look into what the Christian life is all about. They have this false view that they will become part of a brainwashed cult, so they deny the simple truth that God has done all this work for them. They don't understand that He simply and seriously wants to be with them and desires to show His love to them.

So is it better to have a cocaine addict rather than a practitioner of Eastern spirituality? No, neither one is any good. The death rate of the cocaine addict is significantly higher than that of a spiritualized healthnut, though. But God can work in the lives of both lifestyles. There is no limit to what God can do in bringing people to Him, from the most depraved, to those who think they are highly "righteous."

He got locked up

Moussaoui is finally getting jailed for life. He doesn't deserve the death penalty, meaning he doesn't deserve to be let off easy. With life imprisonment, especially in a US prison, punishment from other inmates and the long wait for death should give ample torture. I'm not gloating over the punishment of an enemy, I'm merely stating the undeniable reality: if you say you want to seriously kill people and even plan to kill people, you must pay the punishment. Capital punishment would have made this mental case into a martyr. No need for that now. And like a villainous cartoon character, the last thing Moussaoui said was "God curse America and save Osama bin Laden. You'll never get him...You think that you own the world, and I would prove it that you are wrong...We will come back another day...As long as you don't want to hear, you will feel, America...America, you lost. I won."

Quite the confident guy. I'm sure he needed to say all that to reaffirm his psychosis. He may have been hiding his fears and anxieties. Well, he's just another jihadist loony. I'm glad he's put away. People like Massaoui should be put away as soon as possible before they hurt or kill anyone. Once they're in jail, they'll need all the help they can get.

Immigracion! Immigracion!

"If only, they say, America would share her wealth, give everyone jobs, open up her borders, offer cradle to grave welfare, free education and healthcare, she will be respected once more. Well I'm sorry but I disagree!!! "Illegal Immigration Protests and Craven High School Principals Posted: April 18, 2006 by Lisa Rahmanan on Alain's Newsletter

I worked for a chemical plant where the majority of the employees were Hispanic/Latino. One day, one of the summer temps, a college student, burst through the cafeteria doors and shouted, "INS! INS! Immigracion! Immigracion!" In an instant, about half a dozen workers got up and walked quickly towards the exit. They stopped when they all heard the kid laugh.

My stance on the immigration issue: enforce the law, kick out the illegals, guard the border. I have nothing against immigrants, I was one myself! My parents had to go through the process; it took them nearly ten years to become American citizens. Amnesty to illegals would not be fair to all of those waiting their turn and it is detrimental to the illegals themselves as well as any potential illegal. They need to be found and they need to be escorted out of this country. If they are that desperate to get into this country, they better use those wits of theirs to find a legal way in. They may have to wait in line for a long time, but at least they'll be going about it the right way. And all this talk about "Immigration reform," as in changing the law to accommodate illegals or changing the law for easier access to the US, is nonsense. The only reform necessary is to actually enforce the present immigration laws. The system isn't broken, it's just been used incorrectly.

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?

Interviewer: "So, what's your response when you hear that a soldier is killed by a roadside bomb?"
Westboro Baptist spokesman: "We rejoice!"

Westboro Baptist Church, what is WRONG with you?! I condemn your actions! I rebuke your approach! How dare you rejoice at the deaths of those soldiers! What unbiblical logic convinced you that it was right for you to start this fatuous nonsense? Fred Phelps, why are you leading so many astray?! I'm not just talking about the people in your church, but those who don't know Jesus Christ yet.

It's horrible enough that someone may have died in their sins, you're making it worse by pushing other people there with your hate. Compel them to make a decision for Jesus, don't confuse them and drive them away from Him!

How dare you call yourselves Christians! How dare you mock the Gospel of Jesus Christ with your hate! Instead of loving them into the Kingdom, you're harassing them into hell! You could use this opportunity to tell sinners about the Truth of Jesus. But YOU ARE NOT! You're telling them lies, twisting God's message! Your actions tell lies about what the God of the Bible and His Son Jesus has done for them, for all of us.

What you tout is NOT Christianity and is NOT Biblical. Do NOT call yourselves followers of Christ with all this protesting, especially the protest of soldiers who have died. Your protest will be nothing but wood, hay, and stubble.

I condemn your actions! I rebuke your approach!

Haters

Intolerance is everywhere. Even Google employees are joining in the anti-Christian, pro-homosexual thought process. I thought Google was about openness and free exchange of information. Guess not. No wonder Google let China's government control its Internet. They like to do the same thing to other people!

Casey at the bat

"The values I live by call on me to fight discrimination wherever I find it." - Bob Casey, State Treasurer of Pennsylvania, at a gay rights gala.

That's right Mr. Casey, the values I live by also call on me to fight discrimination as well.

Let's fight the gay activists who discriminate against Christian values.
Let's fight the abortion supporters who discriminate against life.
Let's fight the secularists who discriminate against God and the Bible.
Let's fight the extremist liberals who discriminate against America.
Let's fight the granola tree-huggers who discriminate against humans.
Let's fight the radical Islamists who discriminate against civilized people.
Let's fight the Darwinists who discriminate against real science.
Let's fight the idiots who think discrimination is bad no matter what it is.

Whoo! That's quite a lot of fighting.

Discrimination is neutral, but it was unfairly given a negative connotation. There is no reason why that connotation should exist. Simply put, people who say they are against discrimination are already discriminating against something. Too bad it tends to be loud-mouthed nonthinkers who want to "fight discrimination."

Oh, by the way, Mr. Casey, may you lose the Senate race against Senator Santorum.

They should quit trying

"The Western papers printed these sacrilegious cartoons on the pretext of freedom of expression, so let's see if they mean what they say and also print these Holocaust cartoons." - Iranian President Ahmadinejad

Quite a creative response to the whole cartoon furor. They created a cartoon contest to see who could make the best cartoon about the Holocaust and challenged European newspapers to publish it. Ahmadinny-boy doesn't believe the Holocaust ever occurred, one of his many delusions. I was as disappointed at that contest as I am to left-wingers who don't understand the true meaning of Roe vs. Wade. Do Muslims in that part of the world know about freedom? Do they even know what freedom of expression is? At best, they have a limited understanding of what it is, as in you can draw cartoons about other people's beliefs, but not about ours.

Yes, I understand that Muslims don't believe in making depictions of Muhammed. But Muslims have made depictions of Muhammed for centuries. And the Danes and most of the West aren't Muslims. So, why should we listen to their demands to stop expression? They should go ahead and kill their own for doing anything against their dear Muhammed, but not the "non-believers."

Here's a good example of what they don't understand. On an Iranian website concering the Holocaust cartoons, there is a note on the front page of the site under a stupid cartoon of Condoleeza Rice:

"Regarding to clarification of the issue of "Holocaust" this website possibly will be closed by United States, in this case please refer to the following addresses..."

I laugh at that simply because they don't know America and they don't know the idea of freedom of expression. There are limitations, yes, like not shouting "Fire!" in a crowded theatre when there is no fire. Any high schooler in America should know the difference between expression and outright lies, or so we hope. Also, American media should know when not to show something for respect and decency. I wouldn't want to watch a real-life murder nor should I expect to see pornography on major television networks (although it's getting pretty darn close). Because we respect the Muslims living here, none of the major networks showed the cartoons. That doesn't mean we will block or tear down a website just because it expressed someone's dissenting political view.

There's quite a big difference between what the Danes did and what 'Dinny-boy is calling for. The Danes made cartoons based on what the Muslim world have been dishing out: terrorism, extremism, wet-dreams of global domination, discrimination against women, and unparalleled intolerance. And why does 'Dinny-boy want to make fun of the Holocaust? Why does he feel the need to retaliate in an unequal way? Because of the mere existence of Israel! He wants to get rid of Israel because they represent the perennial block to Islam's domination of the Middle East. So, insulting Israel is nothing to him. He could care less for the Jews. And why does he hate the US? Because we support Israel and we don't like dictatorships. So really it's not about expression, is it? The reason all along is to incite conflict in order to take another step to having a world-wide caliphate. He's trying to get his nukes on (which, unfortunately, may happen), so he can gain that "power" to conquer. But there are quite a few nukes from around the world pointing at him, so there's nothing to worry about.

Closer to home, I stumbled onto a video clip and saw a horrible display of Muslim bigotry and chauvinism. In it, a well-dressed Middle Easterner was shouting his mindless bombast about the scourge of America and called on Muslims to stand up. It looked like it was done in a typical American city. This Muslim went on with his tirade while stepping on the American flag. His thugs were around him ripping the flag to pieces. At one point, he said: "Come out of your buildings fellow Muslims and join us. Come out of your buildings! Don't be afraid! This is not like your home countries where you can't say anything on pain of punishment. This is America where women strip themselves of their honor in clubs and you can say anything you want." The protest was done by the Islamic Thinkers Society. I shook my head and disregarded them because of their dissonance. Of course I was offended, they don't seem to know what America is all about. If they were immigrants, they should have known better. Maybe that's why other Muslims didn't come out because many Muslims, especially the newly immigrated, do know better. Those idiots wanted to fight against a government that allowed them to say whatever they wanted. Follow with me, islamic nonthinkers. You want to topple this free country so you can set up your own government based on a culture that won't allow others to say anything on pain of punishment. You should be HAPPY that no one shot you on the spot or gave you a fine. If you don't like our country, why don't you leave? GET OUT! If you say you're not loyal to this country, WE DON'T WANT YOU HERE! Go back to your stinky little havens of dictatorship rule if you prefer that way of life. Leave the innocent alone and go bomb yourselves and your fellow jihadists. Go get your virgins and have fun with the rest of your deluded version of eternity. Warning you now, it may get a little hot for you, and I'm not talking about being surrounded by women.

Great Danes

Taken from Human Events. This is one of Denmark's Jyllands-Posten "controversial" cartoons.

"I gotta say it looks to me like evidence of a very weak religion when people somehow can't stand a cartoon." - Juan Williams

Why is the Muslim world in an uproar over stupid little cartoons? They weren't even that bad. Most were innocuous. Man, I've seen worse done against Christians! It's sad that we as Christians don't stand up with as much vigor. And we have the Truth! Some may say, "Christians aren't as courageous in standing up for their beliefs." Yes, many Christians may not be courageous, but we do stand up for our beliefs - just not over cartoons. Why are Muslims upset? Let's go to the root of the problem: theology. Needless to say, there's a huge difference between Muslim and Christian theology. One relevant example is that Muslims believe you can physically fight the enemy, the infidel who does not believe. There are quite a few references to this in the Koran. In fact, there are several parts of the Koran that calls for the killing of those who do not believe. Sura 8:12 is a good example. Head on a platter anyone? It's not just jihad, either, it's just something to be practiced in honor of allah, the oh-so merciful and forgiving one. If they feel persecuted, the Koran calls to fight and kill the persecutor.

Christians, on the other hand, base their bloodless and peaceful actions on Jesus' words - "My kingdom is not from this world. If it were so, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews." Yes, in context, Jesus was referring to what was happening at that point just before the Crucifixion. But if you take what He said earlier in His life, "my followers" is applicable to every true Christian for all time. His Kingdom is not of this world. It goes beyond physical boundaries. Our fight is in the spiritual and it doesn't involve cartoons.

If anything, the Muslim world should have been outraged at Osama-boy. He was the one who made Islam and Muhammed look very bad. The peaceful Muslims should be protesting nonstop against all the killings and the terrorism. Or could it be that their silence is based on their theology? Oh, yeah, Ossie did a good job with those towers. A bit overboard, but I can feel his pain. I mean, Islam is for the world but those darn freedom lovers keep getting in the way. Down with those evil freedom lovers and their Jewish dogs! I mean, let them be subject to allah's will. (I'm aware not all Muslims think this way.)

Or could it be that those protesters aren't aware of a nasty double-standard? Arab media is always saying bad things about the Jews, and to a certain extent, the Christians. (They equate Christianity with the West, which insults me, by the way.) They draw cartoons that make these Danish ones look like Peanuts. One imam said, "Freedom of speech is good but not when it insults people. There should be limits." Yeah, in your little caliphate, but not in the rest of the world. That guy didn't get it. There is always the risk of insult with free speech. Ideally, free speech should be based on truth. But, humans being idiots sometimes, can go on about anything. I hope those Muslim protesters understand that very basic idea. Time for them to lighten up! I hope they also see that they're making it worse for themselves with all this uproar.

Nah nah na poo poo

Hey, Osama! Is that a white flag I see? Aw, poor baby. Did we bomb a couple of important sites of yours? Did we kill one too many of your important guys? You want to have negotiations you say? Too freakin' bad! You sound like a whipped little playground bully, trying to make peace while making threats to the guy who socked you in the face. So you will strike at us if you don't have these "negotiations"? Still think you're on top, trying to save face? Seems to me like you're insecure. You know you're almost beaten and yet you think you have the upperhand through using terrorism. You are too prideful to be in the position you are in. If you want to keep fighting, go ahead. You'll be defeated by attrition or surrender. Either way, it's up to you. And we'll find you soon enough. In the end, God's in control. Not your fake god, by the way. The real God, the one who brought us the Jewish people who you want to obliterate. Sorry Os, your non-Jewish, anti-Christian dreams will never come true. God is just using you for awhile and then He'll toss you in the trash like He did Hitler.

What would you do?

Yesterday was the 33rd anniversary of the Roe vs. Wade decision. Demonstrations were the order of the day as anti-abortionists clashed with pro-abortionists in front of government buildings and abortion clinics. With all the noise about abortion, have you ever thought about what you would do if you were faced with the decision to abort? If you are a pro-lifer/Christian, are you ready to back what you believe? If you are, then let's present a challenge. Personalize it as best you can:

We have a married Christian couple, both are worship leaders at their church, both growing in the Lord. One night, the husband stays out late in a meeting with the pastor of their church. The wife is at home and is in bed. Not too long after she turned out the lights, it goes back on again. She looks up and finds a strange man standing at her bedroom door. The strange man attacks and rapes her. She is left alive, but now the couple and everyone they know are devastated. She carries the stigma as the worship leader who was raped. Soon, the wife finds that she's pregnant. What would you do in that situation?

The thing about Pat

I don't like to criticize other Christians, but I'll make an exception for Pat Robertson. Can't say too much about him, don't really know him too well. He's a great guy, my brother in the Lord, and quite the influential person. He's the bane of pornstars and liberals, Communists and radical Islamists. Really, I don't mind when liberal minded people get upset over people like Pat. What I don't like is when I start to get upset over people like Pat. It's more like disappointment than anger. I know you can say whatever you want if you have your own TV show, but man, some things he said embarassed me:

On the court case over Intelligent Design:

"I’d like to say to the good citizens of Dover: If there is a disaster in your area, don’t turn to God, you just rejected Him from your city. And don’t wonder why He hasn’t helped you when problems begin, if they begin. I’m not saying they will, but if they do, just remember, you just voted God out of your city. And if that’s the case, don’t ask for His help because he might not be there. God is tolerant and loving, but we can't keep sticking our finger in his eye forever. If they have future problems in Dover, I recommend they call on Charles Darwin. Maybe he can help them."

On President Hugo Chavez:

"We have the ability to take him out, and I think the time has come that we exercise that ability. We don't need another $200 billion war to get rid of one strong-arm dictator. It's a whole lot easier to have some of the covert operatives do the job and then get it over with."

On Ariel Sharon:

"The prophet Joel makes it very clear that God has enmity against those who, quote, "divide my land." God considers this land to be his...And for any prime minister of Israel who decides he going carve it up and give it away, God says, "No. This is mine...And now Ariel Sharon, who was again a very likeable person, a delightful person to be with. I prayed with him personally. But here he is at the point of death. He was dividing God's land, and I would say woe unto any prime minister of Israel who takes a similar course to appease the EU, the United Nations or United States of America. God said, "This land belongs to me, you better leave it alone."

On judicial activism:

"If you look over the course of a hundred years, I think the gradual erosion of the consensus that’s held our country together is probably more serious than a few bearded terrorists who fly into buildings."

I'm not too sure of Pat's motives nor am I sure how God is using him. Pat could very well be a modern prophet. The prophets of ancient Israel didn't have the most popular things to say. Their words were biting, gut-wrenching, and unpatriotic. They called for the judgement of God on an evil nation, a nation that was supposed to be set apart for the Lord. Likewise, Pat doesn't shy away from letting people know what God will do to them. He could have been misquoted by the media and I am aware that non-Christians don't usually understand the Christian worldview. But, assuming that he was quoted correctly, Pat may be one of the many prophets of God in America. (If that's the case, then my criticism is unnecessary.) He just happens to be the boldest and most televised. There may be some truth in what he says, like the Ariel Sharon bit. He didn't have to say it while the guy was in the hospital, though. Truth needs to be delivered with sensitivity. At that point, the "truth" could be withheld for a tad longer. I think it was more a guess on his part than an actual message from God. Don't know. There are no such things as coincidences, but I doubt Sharon's condition is a consequence of his decisions.

The flipside to this is that prophets were part of God's plan only in Old Testament times and only for Israel. Gentiles were mentioned but it always involved Israel and the coming Kingdom. I believe God speaks through some Christians in ways similar to the ancient prophets. I just believe that specific curses, like the Dover bit, do not carry the same weight. God works in ways that are predictable sometimes, so we of incredibly feeble minds can catch what He's telling us. I believe that 9/11 occurred because of the abundant sin in the US. No, it's not that simple, and there's more to it than that, but I won't be surprised if God tells us later that it was a very big part. Pat may or may not be a prophet for the US, but he sure talks like one. Talking about sensitivity, he could have definitely exercised some of it before making the comparison between our country's erosion and 9/11. Both are serious in its separate context. There was no need to make that comparison, saying one was more serious than the other.

Pat doesn't seem to get the idea of suffering and trials. From what he said in these statements, he seems to believe that problems equal God's curse. He of all people should know that the problems of life doesn't necessarily mean the judgment of God or the wrath of God. Most of the time, problems serve to develop people, not punish them. There are obvious punishments, but there are times when it's really shaping and chipping. He has equated natural disasters with God's will. While it's true that God controls everything, including natural disasters, I know it's just part of what Jesus said, that everything will start to go to crap in the last days. Pat can call all the curses he wants and warn as much as he wants. This is all part of what was predicted long ago, anyway, so it's nothing new.

My suggestion to you, Pat, is to read James again and know what to do with your mouth before stuffing it with your foot. You're making us look bad by saying stupid things like taking people out. Yes, I know Chavez is a murdering scoundrel and gasp even worse than Bush! I personally wouldn't mind Chavez "taken out" of office. (Why did Ford have to stop the US government from assassinating people?) You didn't have to go on TV with it; you should've just kept it to yourself. Hold the Gospel out and you'll get enough of the world's vitriol. Since you like to be political, it's best to do it with tact. You can be political without being stupid.

The only other reason I could think why Pat says what he says is simply because he's getting old. He's becoming a curmudgeon. I can only hope and pray that God keeps Pat's mind sharp and his attitude right when he's in front of the camera.