New Evangelical Viewpoint ... 03

From Jerry Beavan, here is today's Evangelical Viewpoint—let's be frank—the mess (messes) in which we find ourselves today.

First, the background—and here we back our thoughts more than 250 years to the writings of Edmund Burke. An Irish-born statesman and political philosopher, Burke served for years in the British parliament of the 18th century when the new American nation was just being born.

Many of his quotes almost seem to merit being included in the wisdom-rich Old Testament book of Proverbsvfor example: "Those who do not learn from history are destined to repeat it," and "All that's necessary for the forces of evil to win is for good men to do nothing." Those, and others of similar logical thought, have taken their places alongside many equally profound ones from America's oft-quoted Founding Fathers.

Here are just two or three applicable quotes from our Founding Fathers; they represent the prevailing thought when our new nation was being planned and established. Consider these from our first three presidents: George Washington: “What students would learn in American schools above all is the religion of Jesus Christ,” (1779) and "It is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favors." (1789)

John Adams: "The general principles on which the fathers achieved independence were the general principles of Christianity. I will avow that I then believed, and now believe, that those general principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the existence and attributes of God." (1775)

Thomas Jefferson: "God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, that his justice cannot sleep forever." (1777)

More than 120 years later, Dr. Charles Galloway, in a series of lectures at (then) Emory College (now Emory University) in Georgia, reminded our nation of Burke's basic premise in these words: "A nation ashamed of its ancestry will be despised by its posterity." (1898) Flash forward another 100 years and we find our newly elected president, Barack Hussein Obama, on his first overseas trip, assuring those of the Muslim background in which he grew up that whatever America once was, it is no longer a Christian nation ... a theme he would play again and again, overseas and here at home.

In the current-day American judicial system, a new concept of "Three-strikes Laws" has entered the state court sentencing picture. "Three-strikes Laws" are statutes enacted by state governments to mandate the imposing of harsher sentences on repeated offenders. Already some form of these habitual offender laws have been enacted in 24 states. The application to the present mess (or messes) in which we find ourselves today can be expressed by this question: Does America still have a chance to escape God's judgment? Or do the"3 strikes" of the wanton murders of more than 50 million babies under the "politically correct" rationale of "woman's right to choose" ... the banning of prayer and any mention of God from our schools ... the legalizing of the homosexual concept of "same-sex marriage" described by God as an abomination, put America squarely under the imminent threat of His judgment? Or are we already long past due the expression of His justice of which Thomas Jefferson warned?

In the issue of NEV-2, less than a month ago, we concluded with the question, "Where is the voice of the church?" We offer that as our concluding thought for today.

Without going into extended detailed comment on any specific element of the national and international problems we face, we offer this excerpt from a current commentary by Michael Youssef, a competent Christian scholar whom
many observers (including myself, JB) consider to be the most articulate spokesperson for today's true Evangelical position: "You would have to be living on Mars to not realize that US foreign policy, especially our Middle East policy, is a disaster of global proportions. Prior to the 2008 presidential election, Mr. Obama assured Americans that he understood Islam, Muslims loved him, and he would bring peace in our time. Instead, we now watch carnage on our television—rivers of blood flowing from the streets of Baghdad, to Benghazi, Damascus, and now Cairo ... the Obama Administration has managed to make America despised, disrespected, and mistrusted across the region. They are either ignorant of the Islamic ideology of world domination, or they are too
arrogant to realize this problem defies their assumed 'wisdom.'" (From http://www.michaelyoussef.com/)

As a reminder, here's an expression of principle from a former U.S. President: "There is a rank due to the United States, among nations, which will be withheld, if not absolutely lost, by the reputation of weakness ... if we desire to secure peace, it must be known that we are at all times ready for war." That "former president" was George Washington, and that was part of his Annual Message in 1793.

As usual, here is today's thought provoking news headline discovered in our research: "The Treasury Department and IRS announced that legally married same-sex couples will be treated as married couples for federal tax purposes." Included in the details of the ruling is the provision that this tax treatment will apply even if a couple lives in a state that does not recognize same-sex marriage so long as they were married in a state that does. The Obama administration acted quickly in issuing the new ruling only two months after the Supreme Court struck down DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act). It affects how same-sex married couples will be treated in terms of federal income taxes, federal estate and gift taxes, the tax breaks they get for employer-sponsored health insurance and other benefits. Score one more success for that active and effective LGBT minority ... and ask ourselves again,"Where is the voice of the church?"

And here's one more news headline we just couldn't ignore: "Obama Announces National Emergency, Then Hits Golf Course." No comment.

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