New Beginnings

Those of you who know me understand that my life is accustomed to moving at a comparatively slow rate. Having been in EMS for a number of years, I’m used to working a lot of hours in a short timeframe and then having several days in a row off. My pace has been dramatically changed and I’m having a difficult time transitioning.

Recently, I accepted a government job that required my family and me to relocate to a more centralized area of the state. The move was hectic enough. Preparing to move, packing, cleaning, disconnecting utilities, reconnecting utilities, etc. are all taxing in themselves. Then, you make the move which requires you to live in total chaos as you unload, unpack and reset everything you’ve acquired in your lifetime back up. Through in the mix, a new job with a totally foreign schedule and you’ve got the makings of a major stress filled scenario.

I’m now a Monday thru Friday, 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM person. I love that this new schedule allows me to be home every night with my gorgeous family, but I’ve quickly come to the realization that there isn’t enough hours in the day or enough energy in my body to do everything I used to do. Throw in the mix that I have recommitted my life to the service of Christ and that Lezlie and I feel led to participate and help out with our new church’s youth group on Wednesday and two church services on Sunday’s - where is the time to get stuff done that I used to have?

My wife is a natural at moving at warp speed and having multiple irons in the fire at one time. She is an excellent juggler. Me, not so much! I’m really having to work hard at it. Still, I’m confident that we’re right in the middle of where God wants us to be at this time in our lives. This move has been ordained since we first considered it. God has opened every door and His leading has been very clear. We have not had to work at making anything in this move happen. From finding our new home to finding our new church to Lezlie working out a deal that allows her to continue in her present role at her job, but work from home most of the week. Hallelujah! God is powerful, gracious, and merciful.

I’m confident that we’ll settle into a new routine and that I’ll adjust to working bankers hours. I’m thankful for the way God is working in our lives, for second (or many more than second) chances, for the amazing friends that God is putting into our lives, for my amazing family of whom I have been so blessed to have, for my career which is moving in the direction I had always envisioned it heading, and for a God who knows me by name, loves me despite of myself, and considers me His friend.

The Silent Monks Perform the Hallelujah Chorus

Mr. Obama...Dead is Dead No Matter How You Candy Coat It.

Thanks to my friend Sten, for turning me onto this.

Christian's Must Start Defending Their Rights and LIberties

I'm thrilled to read that two college students are defending their right to practice their religion and rally against the oppression and attack of a morally deficient and corrupt nation. We’ve allowed the liberal and godless minority to become louder than we who should be publicly living our faith and reaching out to a dying world.

As Christians, we should seek out peace and forgiveness, but we must balance that with the advancement of the cross. Apathy is the enemy and simply doing nothing in defense of our faith is corrupting our world. Beyond our God given right to practice our religion, it is also our constitutional right. If three people want to pray privately, how can that be a violation of any institutions policies?

The case detailed in the following article is a testament to two incredibly brave college students in one of the most amoral and sinful cities in our nation. I pray that God’s vengeance will reign down on this college and a precedence of protection for a Christian’s rights will be set. Please join me in praying on behalf of these two brave Christian’s and for Christianity in this nation.

San Fransico Chronicle - Two students who were threatened with suspension at the College of Alameda after one of them prayed with an ailing teacher in a faculty office can sue the community college district for allegedly violating their freedom of speech, a federal judge has ruled.

The students, Kandy Kyriacou and Ojoma Omaga, said college officials at first told them they were being suspended for "disruptive behavior," then held disciplinary hearings and sent them letters warning that they would be punished if they prayed in a teacher's office again.

The women sued, and U.S. District Judge Susan Illston ruled in San Francisco that their case could proceed, saying a college student has the right to pray in private outside the classroom.

Although a public college, like other government agencies, must refrain from endorsing religion, Illston said in her March 31 ruling that an objective observer probably wouldn't have thought that the Alameda community college was making any such endorsement just because the teacher bowed her head while the student was praying.

The case dates from the fall of 2007, when Kyriacou and Omaga were studying fashion design and merchandising at the two-year college and took breaks from class to pray with each other and other students on a balcony, according to their suit.

Kyriacou prayed with the teacher, Sharon Bell, at an office Bell shared with other teachers, on two occasions in November and December 2007. The second time, a day when Bell was feeling ill, another teacher entered the office and told Kyriacou, "You can't be doing that in here," and the student stopped praying and left, the suit said.

Kyriacou and Omaga received suspension notices 10 days later. Omaga was accused of praying disruptively in class, Illston said, citing testimony at the students' disciplinary hearings.

The students' suit seeks an acknowledgment of their rights, an apology and removal of all disciplinary action, but no damages apart from attorneys' fees, said Steven Wood, one of the lawyers.

In seeking dismissal of the suit, lawyers for the Peralta Community College District argued that the school was entitled to designate faculty offices as "places for teaching and learning and working," and not for "protests, demonstrations, prayer or other activities" that would be disruptive.

The students countered that they were being punished for the content of their speech, not its disruptiveness.

Illston said the students could try to prove that the school treated religious expression more harshly than other speech.

Brad Dacus, president of the Pacific Justice Institute, which is representing the students, said, "It is alarming that a publicly funded college would seek to suspend and expel students for praying on campus, then dig in its heels to defend an untenable, unconstitutional position."

Jeff Heyman, a spokesman for the college district, said its leaders "respect freedom of speech and the First Amendment," but would not comment on a pending case.

Renegade Judges, Attack on the Family, and False Perception of Home Schooling Part 1

A Wake County, North Carolina judge has ordered three children to attend public schools this fall because the homeschooling their mother has provided over the last four years needs to be "challenged."

The children, however, have tested above their grade levels – by as much as two years.

The decision is raising eyebrows among homeschooling families, and one friend of the mother has launched a website to publicize the issue.

The ruling was made by Judge Ned Mangum of Wake County, who was handling a divorce proceeding for Thomas and Venessa Mills.

A statement released by a publicist working for the mother, whose children now are 10, 11 and 12, said Mangum stripped her of her right to decide what is best for her children's education.

The judge, when contacted by WND, explained his goal in ordering the children to register and attend a public school was to make sure they have a "more well-rounded education."

"I thought Ms. Mills had done a good job [in homeschooling]," he said. "It was great for them to have that access, and [I had] no problems with homeschooling. I said public schooling would be a good complement."

The judge said the husband has not been supportive of his wife's homeschooling, and "it accomplished its purposes. It now was appropriate to have them back in public school."

Mangum said he made the determination on his guiding principle, "What's in the best interest of the minor children," and conceded it was putting his judgment in place of the mother's.

Adam Cothes, a spokesman for the mother, said the children routinely had been testing at up to two years above their grade level, were involved in swim team and other activities and events outside their home and had taken leadership roles in history club events.

According to Williams' website, the judge also ordered a mental health evaluation for the mother – but not the father – as part of the divorce proceedings, in what Williams described as an attack on the "mother's conservative Christian beliefs."

According to a proposed but as-yet unsigned order submitted by the father's lawyer to Mangum, "The children have thrived in homeschool for the past four years, but need the broader focus and socialization available to them in public school. The Court finds that it is in the children's best interest to continue their homeschooling through the end of the current school year, but to begin attending public school at the beginning of the 2009-2010 instructional year."

The order proposed by the father's lawyer also conceded the reason for the divorce was the father's "adultery," but it specifically said the father would not pay for homeschooling expenses for his children.

The order also stated, "Defendant believes that plaintiff is a nurturing mother who loves the children. Defendant believes that plaintiff has done a good job with the homeschooling of the children, although he does not believe that continued homeschooling is in the best interest of the children."

The website said the judge also said public school would "prepare these kids for the real world and college" and allow them "socialization."

Williams said the mother originally moved into a homeschool schedule because the children were not doing as well as she hoped at the local public schools.

Reported by World Net Daily
By Bob Unruh
Reported 03/11/2009

Renegade Judges, Attack on the Family, and False Perception of Home Schooling Part II

I have several problems with this. First of all, everyone involved in this believe that the children are thriving and excelling in their education via homeschool. The judge even admitted that they were, the father admitted it too.

The judge cites “socialization” and the “real world” as motivators for his decision. Obviously, this lunatic has no idea what he is talking about. Allow me to elaborate a bit on socialization.

Socialization is knowing how to act appropriately in various situations and is best taught by adults who care about the child. Socialization is not the same as having a social life. Remember this when you hear the dreaded ‘S’ word from others. Your homeschooled kids will have as many friends and activities as they want and you allow (and likely more time than their PS peers to enjoy them).

They will be socialized by their parents and other caring people who will help them learn appropriate behavior in different situations- at home, in public, in informal and formal activities. They will have many opportunities to learn and practice social skills as they will be interacting with the real world on a regular basis.” (www.about.com)

Let’s remember what the article said about these socialized lacking children, “…the children routinely had been testing at up to two years above their grade level, were involved in swim team and other activities and events outside their home and had taken leadership roles in history club events.” It sounds like they have been anti-social to me, not!

According to L.M. Rudner, he discovered that nearly 25% of homeschooled students were enrolled one or more grades above those of the same age enrolled in traditional schools. Even with a conservative analysis of the data, the achievement levels of the home school students in the study were exceptional. By the time home school students are in 8th grade, they are typically four years ahead of their public/private school counterparts.

Cloud also discovered that homeschoolers also did quite well in 1998 on the ACT and SAT college entrance examinations: “They had an average ACT composite score of 22.8, which is .38 standard deviations above the national ACT average of 21.0. This places the average home school student in the 65th percentile of all ACT test takers. The average SAT score for homeschoolers in 2000 was 1100, compared with 1019 for the general population”

Another argument in favor of homeschooling is that most children learn at different paces. A child who is a quick study can easily become bored by the lesson plan that accounts for the rest of the classroom in the student body. This boredom can be perceived as manifestations of behavioral issues and children who really do not need to be on medications end up on them. My friend Rachel homeschools her children for this very reason. Ethan was reading well ahead of all other children his age. His speed of learning would have resulted in his boredom and so she decided it best to educate him from home, where he has subsequently excelled in academics.

Personally, I feel a very strong need as a parent to protect and shelter my children from influences that I find contrary to our belief and value systems. I realize that as they grow and mature, they will have to come face to face with questionable situations. It is my hope, however, that, by sheltering them or, at the very least, educating them that they will be better equipped to function properly when confronted with the situation.

According to Dr. Gordon Neufeld, a leading developmental psychologist, “traditional schooled peer interaction has become more of a problem than an asset. Instead of peer interaction facilitating the process of socialization, it is now more likely to lead to the premature replacement of adults by peers in the life of a child. Such children become peer-oriented rather than adult-oriented and are more difficult to parent and teach. Furthermore, peer-oriented children fail to mature psychologically and their integration into adult society is compromised” (Neufeld). A parent who is truly interested in his child's education and not just kicking against the system, can easily find ways to give his child the socialization skills that will make him a better member of society.

In 1992, Stough’s research looked particularly at socialization, comparing 30 home-schooling families and 32 conventionally schooling families, families with children 7-14 years of age.

The researcher found no difference in the self-concept of children in the two groups. “According to the findings, children who were schooled at home ‘gained the necessary skills, knowledge, and attitudes needed to function in society...at a rate similar to that of conventionally schooled children.’ Stough maintains that ‘insofar as self-concept is a reflector of socialization, it would appear that few home-schooled children are socially deprived, and that there may be sufficient evidence to indicate that some home-schooled children have a higher self concept than conventionally schooled children”

Taylor, in 1987, did a similar study employing what many consider today as being “the most validated self-concept scales available” (Taylor). Taylor randomly sampled 45,000 home-schooled children and found “that half of these children scored at or above the 91st percentile—47% higher than the average, conventionally schooled child” (Taylor). His conclusion? “Since self concept is considered to be a basic dynamic of positive sociability, this answers the often heard skepticism suggesting that homeschoolers are inferior in socialization”

Homeschooled children have most all of the same socialization opportunities available to the traditionally schooled child and perhaps with a lot less peer pressure. Home economics is a class taught by schools, which would seemingly not be necessary for the homeschooled student since they spend the largest portion of their day with the mother at home (usually). Communities often have sports opportunities available through parks departments. Clubs abound, and some include Boy/Girl Scouts of America, Explorers, Civil Air Patrol, ROTC, 4-H, community choruses and bands, etc. Many communities have various different homeschooling associations and plan field trips and play dates.

Webb, who is one of only a few researchers to have examined aspects of the adult lives of homeschooled people “found that all who had attempted higher education were successful and that their socialization was often better than that of their schooled peers”

Colleges are beginning to seek out homeschoolers. One such school is Kennesaw State University in Georgia (Cloud). Smith and Skikkink discovered that “parents who homeschool their children are more likely to vote, contribute money to political causes, contact elected officials about their views, attend public meetings or rallies, or join community and volunteer associations” (Smith, Christian, and Sikkink).

Homeschooling no longer holds the social stigma it once did. All of the evidence overwhelmingly proves that homeschooled children not only excel, but also do so exponentially. If we are to believe the data, than it is no longer feasible to argue that children who are homeschooled are socially inept.

So, I've demonstrated via the scientific research that has been done, that in fact colleges seek out homeschooled students. That students who are homeschooled excel exponentially in every category including socialization and we've determined that the kids in this particular case are doing exceptionally as well.

That makes it very clear then that this is really an attack on the mother and homeschooling and religion by a renegade judge. The father, who is responsible for breaking up this family because of his extramarital affair, has even stated that the kids are doing superior. Despite all of the judges reasoning and the evidence to the contrary, this judge has acted against the will of the mother and her best judgment for the children and removed her rights. A mother the judge, himself, has said Ms. Mills had done a good job [in homeschooling]," he said. "It was great for them to have that access, and [I had] no problems with homeschooling."

Why order this mother, who everyone agrees is a good mother, to undergo a psychiatric exam? Did she commit adultery and break up this family? I would think that the one with the deviant behavior should undergo the scrutiny of mental health examinations.

Get ready people. With Obama and the Liberals at the helm, there is much more of this non-sense to come. Christian's, pro-family, pro-moral and value programs, individual liberty to live their faith out loud is going to come under fire more and more.

Gabriel, The Fallen vs The Arcs

Two of my favorite books of all time were written by Frank Peretti. Piercing the Darkness and In This Present Darkness thrilled me with fictional accounts of spiritual warfare based off the authors (and my) Biblical interpretations. Those brought to life for me the angelic and demonic competition that occurs for the human soul. So when I saw the movie Gabriel and read on the DVD box that it was a movie about angels and demons, I decided to watch it.

IMDBs website summarizes the movie as follows:

In the tradition of Underworld, Garbriel reveals the battle between good and evil and the fight for the human soul. Set in purgatory, there is a struggle between Arc and Fallen angels for control over the city and its population of re-born souls. At present, darkness rules and Garbriel, the last of seven Arcs sent to return light, must assume a human form for the first time. In the darkest places of the human soul, this lone arc angel's battle with his human feelings and emotions will prove as perilous as facing the Fallen.

This movie has a very Goth look and feel to it. It vividly depicts the dark and despair of a world without Christ. However, the movie never mentions Christ or God. Instead, they simply refer to the good force as “The Light.”

In the slums of some major city, a drug riddled, prostitution infested, decaying world barely exists. The scales of power have clearly tipped in favor of the Fallen and Gabriel is the last of the seven Arcs sent to wage war for human souls.

The acting in this movie was maybe a B or B-. There was one Fallen female actress that was terrible and one male Arc that wasn’t great either, but beyond that, the acting was acceptable. I was a little put off by some of the vulgarity, but I think that at least part of it was necessary to drive home the despondency of the darkened existence. The fight sequences were unimpressive to me; and the fact that angels and demons would do battle with guns really turned me off. There is one sex scene in the movie (no nudity) that I found offensive as a Christian. It wouldn't have hurt the movie without the sex scene. In addition, I hated the revelation of the main character’s true identity near the end of the movie.

What I loved about this movie, however, was the stark parallel between light and darkness, decay/despair and the absence of goodness and/or light. The battle that takes place in the spiritual world for the human to be able to choose freely how he/she will live and if he/she will accept the full grace of God or reject salvation and be doomed to an eternity in Hell. Many things in this movie are questionable or just plain off Biblically, but if you watch this movie solely from the perspective of how a life without the Light of the World decays, withers, and dies a slow and tormented death, it can have a powerful message.

With all the news that floods our media about terrorism, moral depravity, corrupt politicians, starving nations, senseless violent acts against others, lives that have been destroyed because of sinful choices, weather related disasters, economic crisis, wars and rumors of wars, and the list goes on and on, it is easy to feel hopeless and be full of inner strife and despair. There is no clear line for what is morally acceptable and/or reprehensible anymore. I watched this movie and was easily able to channel some of my own despair, strife and hopelessness into the theme and relate that to the world around me in real life.

More and more the world seems hopeless to me, lately. I picked up a small child from a home overnight to transport for vomiting. All the people in the house with this young boy was intoxicated or stoned. My heart broke for this innocent child who will in all likelihood become a product of his environment. I see things like this every single day.

Friends, the Fallen and the darkness are gaining in strength and strategy. Christians can no longer freely exercise our beliefs and traditions. We are giving those rights away, that has emboldened the darkness and perpetuates the decay. We have to bring the Light back into this world by doing battle against the Fallen.

We have got to learn to do the right thing, because it is the right thing to do, instead of doing the politically correct thing just to appease everyone. We must introduce people to the Light of the World and restore their hope. The best way to do that is for those people to see the Light of the World in us; our witness, our walk, our encounters with people, our attitudes, our postures, our words, our care, our concern, our reaching out.

Mormon Temple's Being Targeted by Hate-Filled Homosexuals

In the nearly four weeks since Election Day, gay activists and thousands of their supporters have rallied outside Mormon temples around the country, protesting the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints' support for California's Proposition 8, the ballot initiative to make same-sex marriage illegal in the Golden State.

There have been calls to boycott the annual Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah; some activists have called for a boycott of the entire state of Utah. Protesters have defaced some church buildings, and in Arapaho County, Colo., the Sheriff's Office is investigating a possible hate crime — the torcSo why is the Mormon Church the only target?

It's because of the money, says Evan Wolfe, executive director of Freedom to Marry, a New York-based group that supports same-sex marriage.

"The Mormon Church hierarchy led the way on this attack on gay families and the California constitution," Wolfe said. "They provided more than half of the funding. They provided the ground troops and were a major political force in a way that no other group was.

"It's not like there's one centralized voice telling everyone whom to protest. People have their own reactions to what they see with their own eyes, and what they saw here was a $40 million deceptive campaign to take away rights, led by the Mormon Church hierarchy."hing of the Book of Mormon on a church's doorstep.

Entire Article

My reaction to this is very simple. Where were these protester's hiding out when Obama and his minions of fraudulent organizing ACORN workers were trying to and succeeding in fraudulently electing Barrack Hussein Obama? Well, that kind of organizing is Okay to the groups who want to go against the majority balance of the American people and live a lifestyle that many consider deviant and would like to protect their young families from having to experience.

I know little about the Mormon, involvement supporting the proposition. There are many many things I disagree with the Mormon faith on, but this is not one of them. They did what any good Christian, Jewish, or most any other faith should have been more active in, and that is upholding the fundamentals of God's Law against such lifestyles or perversion. The majority has ruled by the taking of a secret ballot and the vore should be upheld.

The hypocrisy by which they try to advance their cause, at the risk of the damned damning persons of opposing opinions is telling and an act of desperation. Obama and the demon spawn of leadership in the House and Senate are probably the best friends the homosexuals have ever had in a position to really advance their pathetic cause. Now, more than ever before, it is important for Evangelicals, Catholics, and any other form of religion that speaks the absolute truth of God's Word on this subject be shouted from every corner and off of every roof top.

Rosie's Career on The View

If James Cameron Were Honest About His "Discovery"

Father Jonathan hits another slam dunk.

If he were honest, this is what Mr. Cameron would have said to the press:

“My dearest friends in the media,

Thank you for being here. I must admit, I am pleasantly surprised so many of you have come. Our public relations company had quite the challenge to convince you our commercial projects were headline-worthy. After all, what we are peddling is pseudo-science based on old and discredited news. But we obviously hired the right company. They came through on their promise that you wouldn’t remember, or wouldn’t care, that when this tomb was discovered twenty seven years ago, the Jewish archeologist in charge of the investigation, Amos Kloner, determined it was not the tomb of Jesus and his family and that, in fact, it is unlikely Jesus and his relatives even had a family tomb. To think that not a single respected archeologist from the Holy Land region is willing to go on record that our claims are true, and still you are here with us today, is mind-boggling. How can we thank you enough?

We really got scared when people like Joe Zias, who spent 25 years as an archeologist at Rockefeller University in Jerusalam, called into question our integrity. I think he said publicly “Simcha has no credibility whatsoever.” And even though the great archeologist, Amos Kloner, tried to rain on our party when he said, “The claim that the burial site has been found is not based on any proof, and is only an attempt to sell,” you were not deterred. You are here, and we are so happy!

By the way, did you hear our book is now in the top five of Amazon.com? Amazing! I am thinking about doing some other projects where I set science — even pseudo-science — up against religion. I think I’ll release them during the annual “slam Christianity season” — Lent and Easter — featuring a New York City press conference. We’ll win every time. Christians will be quiet. They won’t set cars on fire or blow anyone up, precisely because they believe in the Resurrection, that Jesus’ way of peace is better. They will, however, get nervous because they don’t really know much about their faith and will buy the book and watch the show.

This brings me to the real point of today’s press conference. Today is my day for revenge. When I received my Oscar for best director a few years ago, I looked out into the crowd and proclaimed, “I am the king of the world”. That’s what I felt on that day and I wouldn’t have said it, if I didn’t believe it. But some of my Hollywood colleagues have looked down on me ever since. They thought I was exaggerating. As my movie credits prove, I’ve been sidelined since that day. But when I found the two-thousand year old scribblings on a tomb wall and, with the help of mathematicians, extrapolated that Jesus’ tomb was not really empty, that he may not have risen from the dead, as two billion people believe today, I realized how true my Oscar’s acceptance speech really was. It was kind of prophetic, I guess. The real king of the world — James Cameron — calls into question the King of Kings.

So don’t forget to buy our book and watch the Discovery Channel on March 4th.”

Misconceptions of WHO God Is

I like to read a blog authored by Father Jonathon from FoxNews. He is preparing to do a post on the Scientology craze, but before he addressed his opinions on Scientology he wanted to take a look at common and false depictions of the divine. I found it interesting and must admit it hit a little too close to home. Thought maybe some of you might be interested in his thoughts as well.

Today, however, I want to approach the question from the opposite direction: what is turning people away from traditional religion?

I think there are lots of reasons, including the scandalous antics of some religious leaders. But, from my experience, the biggest reason is a misconception of who God is in the first place.

Below, I will lead you through a few categories of what I consider to be common and false depictions of the divine. Each, I believe, influences negatively our understanding of God, and therefore makes more attractive the latest craze in religious expression, whatever it may be.

1) God the Vending Machine

God the Vending Machine is a machine we use to get what we want. Drop the coins, express our wish, and hope it works. Once we’ve got our product we are back to our busy life and the vending machine is long forgotten. When we don’t receive an instant response, we assume the God machine is broken. We press the buttons harder, just in case, and hit the coin return to get our money back.

2) God the Clockmaker

The clockmaker God is the Supreme Being who sets things in motion, like the inner workings of a good Swiss watch, and leaves us to our own fate. He is “out there somewhere” but is not really in touch with reality. He looks down on the world from a distance and doesn’t really care or just can’t do anything about our problems. He is a bit like us when we watch a bunch of ants fighting a life-and-death combat. At most he is amused, but he surely won’t interfere. He is the watchmaker who got the thing going and now just watches it tick. The wise creator has capped his quill pen and allows us essentially to write our own demise. If the world is to be saved, it’s up to us because God USN’t about to intervene.

3) God of the Buffet

Perhaps the most common depiction of someone like God is what I like to call God of the Buffet. As we go through the buffet line we pick what we want: a salad, a little pasta, roast beef, some potatoes, another veggie, and then some fresh fruit and a little cheesecake to top it off. Likewise we pick out our beliefs. We may take Buddhist meditation, Hindu mysticism, the Jesus figure of love and forgiveness, a touch of New Age, and, of course, we leave out the rules.

In the end, the God of the Buffet boils down to intellectual and religious relativism. It holds that truth is subjective, and so each of us can choose his religion as he likes, all of them being equally valid. Instead of acknowledging that God is perfect, the God of the Buffet is mutable. He is employed as a motivating, comforting, or disciplinary force when it’s convenient. He vanishes when we no longer need belief.

4) God the Cop

He’s the cop just waiting to catch me speeding. If I’m not perfect, he’s against me, and eventually he’ll catch me. He is the wrathful God of fire and brimstone. We subordinate God’s supposed attributes of love and forgiveness to images of a vengeful God—based primarily on recollections of Old Testament accounts.

God is not a father. He is not a mother. He is just an old man ticked off by so much sin. We fear even minor infractions may stir him to strike back, to send a lightening bolt hurling from the heavens. God the Cop keeps us in line by offering punishment and reward. We are much like a puppy that will roll over or beg once he learns that he won’t get a treat if he dozen’t.

5) God as Dessert

God is dessert sitting in the freezer for later. He is the fine china collecting dust in the cabinet that we think we might need for some important dinner party at some point in the future.

In other words, I don’t need God now. I’m saving him for later. God and faith require too much time and energy. I want to spend the prime of my life on other things. Not getting too involved in religion also keeps me in the bliss of ignorance. I prefer to live without the guilty conscience that I assume will inevitably accompany the pursuit of religious truth.

Look forward to hearing from you. Thanks for your time.

God bless, Father Jonathan

Minster Opens Kansas Senate Session With Bold Prayer

Thought you might enjoy this interesting prayer given in Kansas at the opening session of their Senate. It seems prayer still upsets some people.

When Minister Joe Wright was asked to open the new session of the Kansas Senate, everyone was expecting the usual generalities, but this is what they heard:

"Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, 'Woe to those who call evil good,' but that is exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values. We confess that we have ridiculed the absolute truth of Your Word and called it Pluralism.

We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery.
We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare.
We have killed our unborn and called it choice.
We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable.
We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self-esteem.
We have abused power and called it politics.
We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition.
We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression.
We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.

Search us, Oh, God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and set us free. Guide and bless these men and women who have been sent to direct us to the center of Your will and to openly ask these things in the name of Your Son, the living Savior, Jesus Christ.

Amen!"

The response was immediate. A number of legislators walked out during the prayer in protest

In 6 short weeks, Central Christian Church, where Rev. Wright is pastor, logged more than 5,000 phone calls with only 47 of those calls responding negatively.

The church is now receiving international requests for copies of this prayer from India, Africa, and Korea.

Commentator Paul Harvey aired this prayer on his radio program, "The Rest of the Story," and received a larger response to this program than any other he has ever aired.

With the Lord's help, may this prayer sweep over our nation and wholeheartedly become our desire so that we again can be called "one nation under God."