“Let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.”
Do you notice a difference in attitudes between those saved at a young age, and those saved as adults?
Do you think those saved as adults seem to have more difficulty understanding and putting into practice certain biblical concepts due to their life experiences?
Or is it just me? 😦
The reason I ask is because I’ve been struggling with the concept of loving ones enemies. I understand the commands about loving my neighbors and family, but that’s the easy part. But I struggle mightily with putting that into practice with those I view as hostile to Christians, life, and traditional values. I sometimes feel as if there is a contradiction between the commands about loving your enemies and other passages where God’s people dealt and spoke harshly with the evil in their midst. I understand this contradiction is in my understanding of it, and that it really isn’t a contradiction. I just can’t seem to get my head around it. I’d appreciate your opinions on this. Here’s an example of what I mean.
Psalm 5:8-10
8 Lead me, O Lord, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face.
9 For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulchre; they flatter with their tongue.
10 Destroy thou them, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions; for they have rebelled against thee.
and
Matthew 5:43-45
43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
And my last couple of questions is what scripture reading would you recommend to help me with this? And what helps you remember to be more like the person spoken of in Matthew, and less like the person who tends to want justice rather than mercy for his perceived enemies?
And do you think women, usually being the gentler sex, grasp this concept easier than men do?
1 The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.
2 Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.
3 There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.
4 Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun,
5 Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race.
6 His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.
7 The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.
8 The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.
9 The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
11 Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.
12 Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults.
13 Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.
14 Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.
First Benghazi is back. The Obama State Dept. says we should be happy with what they’ve given, and it should be dropped. From TheHill
“The State Department on Monday defended its decision not to have lower-level employees testify before Congress about last year’s attack in Benghazi, Libya.
House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) is pushing ahead with his investigation of the terrorist assault, and has asked for legal protections for lower-level employees who might be called to testify.
The State Department pushed back on Monday and said the independent probe into the attack “should be enough” for lawmakers.
“We think that we’ve done an independent investigation, that it’s been transparent, thorough, credible, and detailed, and that we’ve shared those findings with the U.S. Congress,” State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said. “And that should be enough.””
Special Report with Brett Baier makes a strong case against these assertions from the State Dept. He also does a hidden interview with a military operator who was on the ground, and in the de-briefings. That witness says more could have been done, but wasn’t. It also reports on threats to whistleblowers from the White House and State. This from an attorney representing one of the four whistleblowers.
““I’m not talking generally, I’m talking specifically about Benghazi – that people have been threatened,” Toensing said in an interview Monday. “And not just the State Department. People have been threatened at the CIA.””
Here’s a new development in the Boston bombing case. From TheWallStJournal
“Investigators have found female DNA on at least one of the bombs used in the Boston Marathon attacks, though they haven’t determined whose DNA it is or whether its presence means a woman helped the two brothers suspected in the bombings, according to U.S. officials briefed on the probe.
In another development, Russian officials revealed details about contacts between the older brother and suspected Islamist radicals in the Caucasus, including Internet exchanges that led to concerns by investigators that he was trying to join up with jihadist fighters.
Speaking Monday about the DNA discovery, the U.S. officials cautioned that there could be multiple explanations for why genetic material from someone other than the two bombing suspects—Tamerlan Tsarnaev and his younger brother, Dzhokhar—could have been found on remnants of the exploded devices. It could have come, for example, from a store clerk who handled materials used in the bombs or a stray hair that ended up in the bomb.”
“The two Orthodox bishops kidnapped in Aleppo are still in the hands of kidnappers, Mgr. Jean-Clement Jeanbart, Greek Melkite bishop of Aleppo, told AsiaNews. “The Catholic and Orthodox Churches are doing their best to mediate with the kidnappers,” the prelate added, “but at present no one understands the reasons for this act and who is behind these criminals.”
“This morning, mortar rounds hit one of the city’s main Christian neighbourhoods. The shelling killed four people and several houses have collapsed.”
“Christians have not taken sided with either the rebels or regime. “I do not know who fired at Christian homes or why,” the prelate explained, “but it sure was not a ballistic mistake.””
These last 3 are all related.The issue is religious freedoms in the military. There’s a battle going on here, and it seems to be aimed at the Christian religion. The people seeking to determine training material and policy are without a doubt hostile to Christianity. They have an obvious hatred. They don’t even try to hide it. So of course most of the press, and the WaPO On Faith column, will carry water for these haters. We’ll start with this, from TheWashingtonPost
“Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is worried about the Pentagon budget, but there are much more serious issues he must deal with. Religious proselytizing and sexual assault are at the top of the list.”
“The armed forces are on the verge of falling apart,” Larry Wilkerson, former chief of staff to Colin Powell, told me in an interview. Aside from proselytizing, he said, other problems include “sexual assault, suicides, lowering entrance standards and war weariness. They are in trouble, and the leadership is oblivious.” Sexual assault and proselytizing, according to Wilkerson, “are absolutely destructive of the bonds that keep soldiers together.”
Wilkerson was speaking to me in an interview with former ambassador Joe Wilson and the head of the private Military Religious Freedom Foundation, Mikey Weinstein. They were on their way to a meeting at the Pentagon on April 23 where they would discuss religious issues in a group that included several generals and a military chaplain.”
How bad is it?
“The stories are legion. Most complainants don’t want to be identified for fear their careers would be destroyed or, worse, for fear for their safety, even their lives.”
So religious proselytizing is destroying the military. Who knew? 🙄
And then with this next one we get a little better picture of some of the players in this battle. Let me introduce you to Mikey Weinstein of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation.He’s also a big fan of the SPLC. Shocking right?You’re gonna love him. 🙄 But again, the real hater gets a sympathetic outlet to run his hateful rants. Here’s a piece he penned for TheHuffingtonPost
“Ladies and Gentlemen, let me tell you of monsters and monstrous wrongs. And let me tell you what these bloody monsters thrive on.
I founded the civil rights fighting organization the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) to do one thing: fight those monsters who would tear down the Constitutionally-mandated wall separating church and state in the technologically most lethal entity ever created by humankind, the U.S. military.
Today, we face incredibly well-funded gangs of fundamentalist Christian monsters who terrorize their fellow Americans by forcing their weaponized and twisted version of Christianity upon their helpless subordinates in our nation’s armed forces. Oh my, my, my, how “Papa’s got a brand new bag.””
“If these fundamentalist Christian monsters of human degradation, marginalization, humiliation and tyranny cannot broker or barter your acceptance of their putrid theology, then they crave for your universal silence in the face of their rapacious reign of theocratic terror. Indeed, they ceaselessly lust, ache, and pine for you to do absolutely nothing to thwart their oppression. Comply, my friends, and you, too, become as monstrously savage as are they. I beg you, do not feed these hideous monsters with your stoic lethargy, callousness and neutrality. Do not lubricate the path of their racism, bigotry, and prejudice. Doing so directly threatens the national security of our beautiful nation.”
At this point I think it’s safe to say that this man has no business deciding anything policy related. His hostility to those with opposing views is extreme, and obvious, and not at all rational. Which is why this last piece is so troubling. FromBreitbart
“Those words were recently written by Mikey Weinstein, founder of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF), in a column he wrotefor the Huffington Post. Weinstein will be a consultant to the Pentagon to develop new policies on religious tolerance, including a policy for court-martialing military chaplains who share the Christian Gospel during spiritual counseling of American troops.”
“According to Weinstein, “We should as a nation effusively applaud Lt. Col. Rich.” He adds that the nation should “venture further” than Rich’s recommendations, saying, “We MUST vigorously support the continuing efforts to expose pathologically anti-gay, Islamaphobic, and rabidly intolerant agitators for what they are: die-hard enemies of the United States Constitution. Monsters, one and all. To do anything less would be to roll out a red carpet to those who would usher in a blood-drenched, draconian era of persecutions, nationalistic militarism, and superstitious theocracy.””
“Yet the little coverage this story is getting is positive, such as this Washington Post column that somehow manages not to carry any of these frightening quotes from Weinstein and instead actually endorses the Pentagon’s meeting with him. Sally Quinn’s Post column also approvingly quotes MRFF Advisory Board member Larry Wilkerson as saying, “Sexual assault and proselytizing, according to Wilkerson, ‘are absolutely destructive of the bonds that keep soldiers together.’”
Did you get that? They say having someone share the Christian gospel with you is akin to being raped. Weinstein makes sure there are no doubts, being quoted by the Post as adding, “This is a national security threat. What is happening [aside from sexual assault] is spiritual rape. And what the Pentagon needs is to understand is that it is sedition and treason. It should be punished.””
It’s no surprise that the DoD has gone way left when this is the type they take counsel from.
On this day in 1429 Joan of Arc lead Orleans, France, to victory over Britain.
In 1813 rubber was patented by J.F. Hummel.
In 1852 the first edition of Peter Roget’s Thesaurus was published.
In 1862 New Orleans fell to Union forces during the Civil War.
In 1945 the German Army in Italy surrendered unconditionally to the Allies.
In 1974 President Nixon announced he was releasing edited transcripts of secretly made White House tape recordings related to the Watergate scandal.
In 1985 Billy Martin became the Yankee’s manager for a fourth time. In 1986, it was the day Red Sox pitcher Roger Clemens struck out a major league record 20 Mariner batters. Also in 1988 on the same day, the Orioles set a major league record by losing their first 21 games.
And in 1992 rioting began after a jury acquitted four Los Angeles policemen in the Rodney King beating trial. 54 people were killed over 3 days.
2 The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.
3 I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.
4 The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid.
5 The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me.
6 In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears.
Some interesting developments in the Boston bombing case. From TheBostonHerald
“A top-ranking Republican congressman said yesterday he expects the feds to make more arrests in their ever-widening probe of the deadly Boston Marathon bombings, which took a new frightening turn yesterday when officials revealed the accused terrorist brothers made “spontaneous” plans to launch an attack on Times Square.
“I hear a lot of definitive statements out there that it was just these two men and it’s over, but I will tell you I hear these briefings every day, and I don’t think this is over,” said U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, a Michigan Republican who chairs the House Committee on Intelligence. “There are clearly more persons of interest, and they’re not 100 percent sure if there aren’t other explosives.””
“The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee says that evidence suggests the Boston bombing suspects had help in the attack and that he is concerned about a “wider conspiracy.”
“Given the level of sophistication of this [explosive] device, the fact that the pressure cooker is a signature device that goes back to Pakistan and Afghanistan … leads me to believe there was a trainer,” Rep. Michael T. McCaul, Texas Republican, told “Fox News Sunday.”
“The FBI has revealed that they now know the identity of the American known as Misha who helped radicalize the Boston bombing suspects.”
“Under the tutelage of a friend known to the Tsarnaev family only as Misha, Tamerlan gave up boxing and stopped studying music, his family said. He began opposing the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
He turned to websites and literature claiming that the CIA was behind the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001, and Jews controlled the world.”
Here’s a piece on the problem in Syria, from TheNYTimes
“In Syria’s largest city, Aleppo, rebels aligned with Al Qaeda control the power plant, run the bakeries and head a court that applies Islamic law. Elsewhere, they have seized government oil fields, put employees back to work and now profit from the crude they produce.”
“Across Syria, rebel-held areas are dotted with Islamic courts staffed by lawyers and clerics, and by fighting brigades led by extremists. Even the Supreme Military Council, the umbrella rebel organization whose formation the West had hoped would sideline radical groups, is stocked with commanders who want to infuse Islamic law into a future Syrian government.
Nowhere in rebel-controlled Syria is there a secular fighting force to speak of.”
How do you help the Syrian people without further aiding Al-Qaeda and other radical groups? Seems impossible.
Here’s a good example of why it matters. Do we really think it’s a good idea to let Al-Qaeda affiliated fighters take control of a chemical weapons plant? How can you even prevent it at this point?
“The fight for al-Safira is no ordinary turf war, however, and the prize can be found behind the perimeter walls of the heavily-guarded military base on the edge of town. Inside what looks like a drab industrial estate is one of Syria’s main facilities for producing chemical weapons – and among its products is sarin, the lethal nerve gas that the regime is now feared to be deploying in its bid to cling to power.”
“But as the West now ponders its response, the fear is not just that President Assad might start using his chemical arsenal in much greater quantities. Of equal concern is the prospect of it falling into even less benign hands – a risk that the stand-off at al Safira illustrates clearly.”
“For among the rebel lines in al-Safira flutters the black flag of the al-Nusra Brigade, the jihadist group that recently declared its allegiance to al-Qaeda. Known for their fighting prowess honed in Iraq, they are now taking the lead in nearly every frontline in the Syrian war, and earlier this month, pushed to within just over a mile of al-Safira, only to for the Syrian troops to regain the ground last week.”
I strongly disagree with Sen. McCain and others who are urging us to assist these people. I don’t see how any good comes from that decision.
But if this is accurate, it looks like Israel is tired of waiting for others to act. If we won’t stop it, looks like they will. From UPI.com
“The Free Syrian Army says Israeli air force jets flew over President Bashar Assad’s palace and bombed a chemical weapons site near Damascus, Maariv reported.
The report said Israeli jets entered Syrian airspace close to 6 a.m Saturday and flew over Assad’s palace in Damascus and other security facilities before striking a chemical weapons compound near the city.
The Hebrew language daily said a Syrian army air defense battery positioned in the city fired at the Israeli jets, but the aircraft left Syrian airspace unscathed. FSA rebels posted a video showing smoke rising from the headquarters for chemical weapons.”
It will be interesting to see what the Congressman has in mind here. From TheBlaze
“Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) on Saturday promised that “explosive” congressional hearings over the Benghazi, Libya attacks are on the way.
“There are more Benghazi hearings coming, I think they’re going to be explosive,” Gowdy said on Fox News.
Gowdy, a member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said the hearings are going to be “coming quickly” and seemed to hint that the public might for the first time hear from witnesses to the September assault that left four Americans dead.”
Let’s hope so. It’s time they got to the bottom of this.
I think this is what they refer to as a Momma Grizzly. She’s got guts, that’s for sure. 🙂 From FoxNews
“Through the slit of the burqa she wore to blend in on the streets of Alexandria, Egypt, Kalli Atteya waited and watched until the boy climbed off the school bus. When she saw him, she moved quickly, grabbing his arm and steering him toward the waiting motorized cart.
“Get in,” she said to the 12-year-old, who recognized his mother’s piercing blue eyes and obeyed wordlessly.
Soon, they were speeding toward a safehouse where they would wait for three weeks before returning to the U.S., and ending a 20-month ordeal that began with another abduction — one the boy, Khalil Mohamed “Niko” Atteya, did not accept willingly. His father, Mohamed Atteya, who is wanted by the U.S. authorities, is accused of luring the mother and son to his homeland, then snatching the boy and leaving Kalli Atteya and her sister on the side of a desolate road between Cairo and Port Said on Aug. 1, 2011.”
This one is the last from me today. But it comes with a
CONTENT WARNING!!!
for adult content and some pretty gruesome details.The Pro-life group Live Action is about to release another series of undercover videos that show Kermit Gosnell was not the exception, but the norm, in the late term abortion industry. From LifeNews
“The video shows how the kinds of gruesome late-term and live-birth abortions done at abortion practitioner Kermit Gosnell‘s “House of Horrors” abortion clinic are not limited to his abortion facility alone.
The pro-life group Live Action today released an undercover video of an abortion counselor at a clinic describing, in gruesome details, what is done with a baby that survives an abortion attempt. This is the first in a series of videos Live Action will release videos , found at www.liveaction.org/inhuman, that will show a number of late-term abortion clinics engaging in illegal and inhuman practices, as well as explaining in explicit detail what happens to the victims of late-term abortion.
“Dr. Kermit Gosnell is not an aberration, ” said Lila Rose, Founder and President of Live Action. “The gruesome and brutal practices exposed in Gosnell’s ‘House of Horrors’ are business as usual for the abortion industry in America. Nationwide, it’s just another day at the office.”
“Hold fast to the Bible. To the influence of this Book we are indebted for all the progress made in true civilization and to this we must look as our guide in the future.”
Seems appropriate to start with some George Jones today.
About the only birthday choices today were Sheena Easton and Ace Frehley. I could do some Ace, but you probably won’t like it as much as I would, so I’ll spare you. I have another fuzzy haired choice instead. 🙂
“The bankrupt assets of Hostess Brands, Inc., the company responsible for Twinkies, Ho Ho’s, Sno Balls and Ding Dongs, are being put back to work by a buyout firm. What’s not being put back to work are the former Hostess unionized employees.”
The idea of the US military being used to aid Al-Qaeda in Syria really bothers me. But that’s the idea being pushed. From RT.com
“The White House says that United States President Barack Obama may approve of using military force against the Syrian government.
Early afternoon on Friday, White House press secretary Jay Carney said that the administration has a number of options in regards to handling reports that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has used chemical weapons, and those routes include but are not exclusive to using military force.”
“House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Friday that it was time for the United States to “take it to the next step” in Syria in response to possible chemical weapons use, although she said that did not include putting “troops on the ground.”
“I myself think that we have tolerated for too long all of the assaults on the Syrian people made by its own government,” Pelosi told reporters. “I think we have to take it to the next step. That does not mean troops on the ground.””
Syria has become the go to place for jihadists looking to fight.From RT.com
“War-torn Syria is now “number one” destination for jihadists who could then return to Europe experienced “in weapons and explosives” to carry out terror attacks, Britain’s Foreign Secretary William Hague warns.
As the violent military conflict rages on, the threat to Western countries from Syria-grown extremists is rising; and the risk that it may breed a new generation of battle-hardened militants is “growing the longer the fighting in Syria continues,” Hague said in his speech Thursday at the Royal United Services Institute.”
Here’s 4 of the bad arguments being used to argue the case for arming them. From RealClearWorld
“Slowly but steadily, the United States (scratch that, Washington, DC) is talking itself into a deeper involvement in Syria’s civil war. There are already reports indicating that the U.S. is taking an active hand in determining which Syrian rebel groups will receive shipments of weapons purchased by Gulf allies. The CIA has reportedly been training “secular” fighters in Jordan to send into the fray.
All the while, the Obama administration has been goaded ever-deeper by a series of dubious arguments about U.S. involvement in Syria’s civil war. Four, in particular, have surfaced frequently.”
Meanwhile, Obama’s speech to Planned Parenthood was a first. It was also quite disgusting to watch. He’d like Planned Parenthood to help him push ObamaCare. From Politico
“President Obama asked Planned Parenthood and its supporters to play a key role in informing Americans of the details of the Affordable Care Act as he addressed the group Friday.
“I’m here to … ask for your help, because we need to get the word out,” he said in Washington during a speech rescheduled from Thursday night, when he chose to spend extra time with victims of the West, Texas, explosion. “We need you to tell your patients, your friends, your neighbors, your family members what the health care law means for them.”
It was about as controversial as Obama got in the speech — the first to the group by a sitting U.S. president — as he avoided talking about the Kermit Gosnell trial or a recent ruling on the morning-after pill.”
“President Obama became the first sitting U.S. president to deliver a speech to Planned Parenthood on Friday.
The organization is America’s leading abortion provider.
During a speech at the Planned Parenthood National Conference in Washington, Obama told the room of about 1,000 attendees that the organization is here to stay, despite efforts by Republicans to strip the group of federal funding.”
He ended the speech with “God Bless Planned Parenthood.”He also told the adoring crowd at the start that they were “making him blush.” Classless and clueless. He should be embarrassed. If he’s gonna blush, it should be from shame.
The NY Times has done something I’d never thought I would see. They said Andrew Breitbart was right about the Pigford Settlement to minority farmers all along.From HotAir
“It’s rare to get this kind of vindication, so let’s enjoy it in memory of Andrew Breitbart for as long as possible. For more than two years, Andrew and Lee Stranahan have investigated the Pigford settlement and the fraudulent claims that not only have cost taxpayers billions, but have left the original black farmers who sued the USDA over discrimination in the lurch. Today the New York Times reports what Andrew and Lee have been saying all along — that the Pigford settlement was a political hack job by Tom Vilsack’s Department of Agriculture, and that it’s a magnet for fraud (via Twitchy):”
“Career litigators, who had successfully defended the Agriculture Department all the way to the Supreme Court, were aghast:
The payouts pitted Mr. Vilsack and other political appointees against career lawyers and agency officials, who argued that the legal risks did not justify the costs.
Beyond that, they said it was legally questionable to sidestep Congress and compensate the Hispanic and female farmers out of a special Treasury Department account, known as the Judgment Fund. The fund is restricted to payments of court-approved judgments and settlements, as well as to out-of-court settlements in cases where the government faces imminent litigation that it could lose. Some officials argued that tapping the fund for the farmers set a bad precedent, since most had arguably never contemplated suing and might not have won if they had.”
Wandering Views 