9/24/2016
# 203 EPITAPH
GOAFS II: #203
EPITAPH
SEPTEMBER 25, 2016
EPITAPH
Ananias
Lied to God--
Now he lies
Beneath the sod.
Sapphira also,
Surely lied--
And just as surely
Also died.
Beware, my friends,
Lest when you’ve died,
Your stone record
To Whom you’ve lied.
6/63 R 9/16
Jerry Sweers
GROWING OLD
AIN’T FOR SISSIES
Sailing directions for Pilgrims of the Heart.
Remembrances, reflections and rants
of an endangered species;
Curmudgensis Americanus
Bibliophilius
site: crmudgeon.blogspot.com
9/17/2016
#202 GARLOW ON TRUMP
GOAFS II: #202
GARLOW ON TRUMP
SEPTEMBER 18, 2016
“The choices
shaping up for November 8th Presidential election have boiled down
to two crap sandwiches on two different kinds of bread.”
Jonah Goldberg on Fox News
I have not been hesitant to express
my opinions on political matters in GOAFS since what the political elite is up
to usually has negative consequences, especially for the Geezer Cohort and the
Kingdom of God. I have received a number of thoughtful essays that I might
categorize as Sauce Recipes.
This is the first one that, for me, seems
worthy of serious attention if you are searching for a strong enough sauce to
slather on one of the crap sandwiches that are offered on November 8th.
I like what follows for several
reasons:
1. It does not contain some kind of threat that if I fail to
pass it on to ten friends, I will go straight to hell and not pass GO
and not collect 200 gold crowns.
2. It is a thoughtful and Biblical essay from a Pastor who
is thoroughly aware of the world we live in—pastors cannot afford the luxury of
an Ivory Tower.
3. There are not a lot of good rules for making the best
choice of two equal evils—this may be as close as I get, you will have to do
your own deciding and choosing.
A Pastor’s Perspective
on the [November, 2016]
Election
By Dr. Jim Garlow, Senior Pastor at Skyline Church in San
Diego, California
August 2016
Moments ago on private
FB messaging, I was asked “THE question”… again regarding Trump or Hillary. I
am not demanding that anyone else share my view. But, I was asked. Here is my
best attempt at a response at this time:
1. The Democratic and
Republican party platforms are as different as night and day, evil vs. good.
The 51 page Democratic platform is absolutely the worst ever! An anti-biblical,
radical left wing pagan socialist (a socialist is a communist without a gun)
would be thrilled with it. The 54 page GOP platform is the best platform ever.
A biblically alert person could be comfortable with almost all of it. This is a
BIG issue. Although some “blow off” party platforms, I do not. Nor do many
people up and down the ballot who are running for office. This is a serious and
very important item. I have a hard copy of both platforms in front of me now.
Most who are reading this post have never checked out what the party platforms
say. You should.
2. Analogy #1: Both
candidates are flawed. We all know that. But permit me an analogy: As a pastor
I would rather deal with a church attendee who is blatant and brash in his
sinning than one who is devious, hidden, lying, cunning, surreptitious and
deceptive. Both are problematic, but one is easier to deal with than the other.
If I were a pastor bringing correction to a parishioner, I would prefer dealing
with a “Trump-type” any day over a “Hillary-type.” The chances of making
progress with the “Trump-type” is many times greater than the “Hillary-type.”
3. Analogy #2: When my
(late) wife’s remarkable and much loved oncologist said, “Don’t take Carol to
that alternative (non FDA approved) treatment.” I asked, “Why not?” He said,
“The unknown.” I said, “Doctor, your ‘known’ is much worse than the alternative
treatment’s ‘unknown.'” (I took her to that alternative treatment. One year
later that same oncologist went to the alternative treatment doctor to see how
it was that Carol had improved so much. While this alternative treatment did
not ultimately save her life, it likely stretched 2-3 years of life to six
years of life – by the admission of another brilliant young oncologist who
later said, “Without any medical training or scientific fact, you have put
together a protocol of treatment that has moved her into the top fraction of 1%
of all patients with Carol’s particular cancer). Application of the analogy:
Hillary’s “known” is considerably worse – many times over – than Trump’s
“unknown.”
4. Trump has lots of
sins in his past (we all do too), and – in the present – says things he should
not say. I make no attempt to defend any of the things he has said. (Note to
all who might respond to this: There is no need to rehearse the wrong things he
has said. We get it. He should not have thought or said them. But there is no
need to rehash them here. So we won’t. If you have a psychological need to
re-list them, I will simply delete them. We know them already. I am writing
this with a nice smile on my face.) Although America has had some scandal
ridden candidates in its history, we have NEVER seen any one major party
candidate so constantly scandalous, so evil-consumed as Hillary. She exceeds
ALL previous boundaries for wrong doing. (This brief post does not permit the
space to list the nonstop, continuous string of horrific scandals of the
Clintons. No need to list them.)
5. Trump is slowly
being surrounded by increasingly good persons.
(NOTE: Right while I
was typing this, I received a call from a man on the East Coast whom I have
only met twice, but who has Trump’s ear, who told me the good things happening
“behind the scenes,” in spite of some of the unprincipled things he has said.)
Can these good people impact Trump? We’ll see. But that is better than the
horrific, anti-scriptural persons surrounding Hillary.
6. Trump is right on
approximately 75% of the issues. (I wish it was 100%. It is not.) I am in hopes
that those beginning to surround him can help him connect the dots on more
issues. Hillary is wrong on 100% of the issues.
7. (This might be the
most important, but few will understand its significance.) Trump opposes
globalism. Hillary thrives on it. Globalism is far more than “geographical” or
“eliminating national borders and boundaries.” It is spiritual, that is,
demonic at its core. Few – very few – understand this. THIS is the main reason
why Trump is hated. Do your homework on this one. Think “principalities and
powers.” Serious. Extremely serious.
8. Not voting is not an
option, contrary to what the “purists” claim. It is not my intention to begin a
“Facebook war.” I know that some radically disagree with this. My view: they
have the right to be wrong.
(Lighten up. I am
smiling. Let’s try to stop yelling at each other. Doable?)
9. Voting for a third
party candidate is – regardless of what is said –a complete “throw-away.” No
third party candidate will be elected, or even come remotely close to being
elected. And yes – that matters to me. (And
the Libertarian ticket
– Johnson & Weld – is nearly as bad on many issues as Hillary.)
10. Trump has moved
pro-life. Hillary is pro-baby killing, and prides herself on that, and honoring
the organization that actually traffics human parts from dead babies whom they
have killed. This is below anything we have seen since Nazi Germany. The gall
of Hillary. The Clintons have evaded justice for decades and likely will
continue to. But they will stand before the Great White Throne. They will have
to give account of their support of the ripping to shreds of babies in the
womb. (For the record, those who vote for those who support the genocide of
pre-borns will also have to give an account.)
11. Trump wants to
defend the nation (which is the purpose of government). Hillary has a horrific
track record as Secretary of State, and due to hundreds of millions of dollars
given to her and her husband’s foundation, she is beholden to those who want us
dead.
12. Hillary claims
“everything is fine” in America. This defies every single fact, but fact has
never been an interest of Hillary’s. Trump understands that it is 11:59pm on
the “cultural clock.” America is near the end – morally, economically and
militarily. There are very clear identifiable indicators – measurable – that
America is no longer the world’s leading power. That day is over. Hillary will
hasten the final destruction. Trump could either slow that down – or possibly,
with God’s help – reverse it. Maybe.
13. Trump will address
the massive government spending. Hillary will expand it – above the existing
unsustainable debt the US currently is carrying (almost $20 trillion plus
unfunded liabilities to Social Security, etc.).
14. Trump will expose –
and I pray, bring down – “the systemic evil” (crony, deceitful, misuse of
capitalism) that reigns among many of the K Street lobbyists. Hillary thrives
because of them.
15. Trump will stop the
massive overreach of government. Hillary will extend it.
16. Freedoms come in
“three’s.” Political freedom, economic freedom and religious liberty coexist
together. Take one away and the other two will eventually disappear. One cannot
exist without the other two. The genius of America is that it had all three,
until…. Trump totally grasps the loss of religious liberty (I have heard him
speak on it in person). He fully knows that economic and political freedoms are
evaporating. He will reverse that. Hillary will decimate all three.
17. Every rational
person knows the Supreme Court appointments are paramount. Trump has listed 11
superb potential nominees. Hillary’s appointments would snuff out the tiny
vestige of the three freedoms that are left (mentioned in the statement above).
18. I make no excuse
for wrong doing or wrongful, hurtful words from either candidate. Candidly, I
want King Jesus. He rules in my heart. And yours too, I suspect. And I want him
to rule here – now. But that day is not fully manifested…yet. In the meantime,
we prayerfully, carefully navigate this challenging election season, with great
concern that above all, we honor our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in every
arena of our lives, including the voting booth. That is my hope. It is yours as
well.
Jim Garlow
Just because you do not take an interest
in politics doesn't mean politics won't take
an interest in you!
Pericles
(430 B.C.)
No man's life, liberty, or
property is safe
while the legislature is
in session.
Mark Twain (1866)
The trouble
with socialism is that sooner or later you run out of other people’s money.
Margaret
Thatcher
Jerry Sweers
GROWING OLD
AIN’T FOR SISSIES
Sailing directions for Pilgrims of the Heart.
Remembrances, reflections and rants
of an endangered species;
Curmudgensis Americanus
Bibliophilius
site: crmudgeon.blogspot.com
9/10/2016
#201 IN THEIR OWN WORDS
GOAFS II: #201
IN THEIR OWN WORDS
SEPTEMBER 11, 2016
There are
approximately 1.5 billion Muslims in the world today. The number of true
Jihadis is much more difficult to come up with. Current estimates suggest that as
few as 75,000 may be actively involved in violent jihad and another 375,000
support or condone active violence in one form or another. Some time ago, speaking
of reforming Islam to conform to the myth of “Islam as a religion of peace,”
Oriana Fallaci, an Italian journalist said this:
“Osama bin Laden has declared that the whole planet earth must
become Moslem. That with good or bad manners he will convert us, that to
achieve this purpose he kills us, he will continue to kill us.”
She goes on to say:
“if you could totally reform Islam, you would end up with over
a billion Osama bin Ladens.”
Her point was
that the followers of bin Laden were the true Muslims, the ones who worshipped
Allah in spirit and truth, followed the teachings of Muhammad the Prophet who
superseded Christ and all other prophets, held the Arabic Quran to be the only,
absolute written revelation of God’s Person, work and demands, obeyed Sharia
Law as the only and absolute divine law, and were obligated to convert the
whole world to Islam.
Fortunately
most Muslims who live where Sharia Law is not dominant fall far short of these
beliefs and commitments. They just try to frame their lives by observing the
five pillars of Islam:
1.
Daily
Prayer
2.
Ramadan
Fast
3.
Pilgrimage
to Mecca
4.
Almsgiving
5.
Profession/Witness:
“There is no God but the God—and Mohammad is his messenger.”
None of these
religious duties cover or include the beheading of apostates or infidels who
refuse to worship Allah in the proper way.
Many of these
nominal Muslims are our neighbors and friends and nothing I say here is
intended to disqualify any of them as “neighbor.”
Nominal Muslims are a lot like nominal
Christians—their profession and practice varies widely. For instance, the veil,
burka and the burkini (an Imam approved full body swimming suit) are similar,
in principle, to the plain dress of the Amish. They are testimonies to the
religious beliefs of the wearers.
Banning the
veil on driver’s licenses makes sense—banning burkinis on the French Riviera
may make sense to the French but it seems to be overkill to me.
The Muslim
faith and the Amish faith are vastly different in their theologies and in the
way these theologies are lived out--especially if they are fully embraced. Serious
Muslims evangelize by coercion, fire and the sword. Serious Amish evangelize by
example and gentle persuasion.
But let’s allow
the serious Muslims to speak for themselves. What the radical Jihadists say for
themselves is seldom reported in the mainstream media. The progressive liberal
media is little more than a fulltime enabler of President Obama’s fantasy narrative
of the benign nature of the radical Islamic threat to western civilization.
Here is a
short list of interesting quotations from men sold out to Allah and serious
about their political/religious ideology and faith. These are spokesman the
original Mohammad and Osama bin Laden would endorse were they alive today.
“Many thanks to God, for his kind gesture, and choosing us to
perform the act of jihad for his cause and to defend Islam and Muslims. Therefore,
killing you and fighting you, destroying you and terrorizing you, responding
back to your attacks, are all considered to be great legitimate duty in our
religion.”
--Khalid Sheikh Mohammad
& his fellow 9/11 defendants
“Allah on 480 occasions in the Holy Koran extols Muslims to
wage jihad. We only fulfill God’s orders. Only jihad can bring peace to the
world.”
--Waziristan, Pakistan, terrorist
Baitullah Mehsud
“So step by step I became a religiously devout Muslim
Mujahid—meaning one who participates in jihad.”
Little Rock, Arkansas, terrorist
Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad
“Jihad, holy fighting in Allah’s course, with full force of
numbers and weaponry, is given the utmost importance in Islam….By jihad, Islam
is established….By abandoning jihad, may Allah protect us from that, Islam is
destroyed, and Muslims go into inferior position, their honor is lost, their
lands are stolen, their rule and authority vanish. Jihad is the obligation and duty
in Islam on every Muslim.”
--Times Square terrorist
Faisal Shahzad
“Jihad is a way of life for the Pious Predecessors
(Salaf-us-Salih), and the Prophet was master of the Mujahedeen and a model for
fortunate inexperienced people. The total number of military excursions which
he accompanied was 27. He himself fought
in nine of these: namely Badr, Uhud, Al-Muraysi, the Trench, Qurayzah, Khaybar,
the Conquest of Makkah, Hunayn and Taif…This means that the Messenger of Allah
used to go out on military expeditions or send out an army at least every two
months.”
--Abdullah Azzam,
cofounder of al-Qaeda
“And now, after mastering the English language, learning how
to build explosives, and continuous planning to target infidel Americans, it is
time for jihad.”
--Lubbock, Texas, terrorist
Khalid Aldaswsari
Consider
history:
“In A.D. 732, somewhere between Tours and Poitiers in north
central France, the army of Charles Martel, the “Hammer,” commander of the
Franks, laid waste to an invading Muslim army led by Abd-al-Rahman, ruler of
the Umayyad caliphate. Charles’s victory checked the advance of the Muslim
invasion from el-Andalus, thereby securing the future of Europe against the
fate of the of the Levant, Maghrib , Mesopotamia, and other regions subsumed by
Islam in the previous hundred years. Charles’s grandson, Charlemagne, became
the first Holy Roman Emperor and presided over the unification of much of what ultimately
would be called Europe… More importantly, under the banner of Christianity, the
spiritual unity of diverse peoples was established. It is in his honor that the
City of Aachen, Germany awards the occasional Charlemagne Prize to a recipient
who is an exemplary promoter of European unity.”
Timothy D. Lusch, The 2016 July August
New Oxford Review.
Sadly this
prize, like the Noble Peace Prize, has greatly degenerated with time into a political
statement of a specific socialist worldview. The Charlemagne Prize was awarded
this year to Pope Francis whose views on the future seem very much like those
of President Obama. They share an admiration of the malignant multiculturalism
that is the cancer of all Europe and has rapidly metastasized to the United
States in the last 7 years. The Pope’s vision of the way ahead is, like any
good politician’s, a slogan: “Integrate, dialogue, and generate (move on).” His
acceptance speech put the staff of his secular bias in the doorway that
President Obama has been holding open with all his might since he was elected.
If you know
the difference between ISIS and ISIL you already know what I mean. When
radical Islamists entered the vacuum we left in Iraq and got organized, they
called themselves the Islamic State in
Iraq and Syria. (ISIS) Very soon President Obama changed its name, all by
himself, by replacing the second S with
an L. From henceforth his
administration would call it the Islamic
State in Iraq and the Levant. (ISIL).
Within the
Obama Administration this new name was not optional—it was a royal decree. Google
“Levant” and you will see a 7th century area much larger than Iraq
and Syria with Jerusalem at its center. That is the same Levant mentioned in
the quote above.
Although the
word “Levant” never comes up, this simple change in the acronym sends two powerful
messages. To Israel it says, “you are no longer America’s best friend in the
middle east—be on your guard.” To radical Islam it says, “The President of the
United States affirms your goal of spreading Islam over the whole Middle East,
and the world—you will get Jerusalem soon.”
It is far
past the time that progressive liberal leaders should have stopped banging
their hi-chairs over the imagined boogeymen under their beds. They love to cry
“Wolf!” from the housetops over global warming. Even the terrible possibility
of emotionally inadequate public bathroom options for self-inflicted gender
identity confusion among college students looking for safe spaces on
politically correct campuses is a cause of existential angst. And also a great
subject changer whenever Islamic extremism dares raise its ugly head in the
public square.
It is long past time for the Obama Administration to give evil
a face and a name—and get on with confronting it with honesty, integrity
courage, and diligence.
Jerry Sweers
GROWING OLD
AIN’T FOR SISSIES
Sailing directions for Pilgrims of the Heart.
Remembrances, reflections and rants
of an endangered species;
Curmudgensis Americanus
Bibliophilius
site: crmudgeon.blogspot.com
