The smooth tones of hate

I am glad that I got over Jim Wallis and Sojourners years ago.

After earning my college degree in philosophy years ago I developed a passing interest in Mr. Wallis's ideas. I still respect his intellect. I don't spend any time, however, keeping up with what he is doing or saying these days. I have too much to do. Mr. Wallis publishes the Religious Left's flagship magazine, Sojourners.

I noticed in my email box today a message from Jason Gedeik, a representative for Sojourners. I was pleased to see that the work of my hero Dr. James Dobson has seized the attention of Mr. Obama's religious apologists. Mr. Gedeik opens, "Fear has always been the dark side of American politics, and we're seeing its resurgence in the elections' final days."

Whenever I see the Religious Left use the word "fear" I know what's coming next. The Religious Left never misses an opportunity to bash Christians. Sure enough Mr. Gedeik continues, "Much of this fear-mongering comes from Religious Right leaders who are really worried about losing control over Christian votes." Losing control over Christian votes? That sounds ominous ... and over the top.

Mr. Gedeik goes on to pitch a couple columns that his boss, Jim Wallis, wrote to reveal the "fear tactics" of Christians. The only Religious Right leader Mr. Gedeik mentions in his diatribe is one of the truly great courageous Christian leaders at the national level, Dr. James Dobson. Mr. Gedeik concludes promising, "Jim also can offer insights into the real issues behind the attacks of people like James Dobson of Focus on the Family."

I clicked on the link to one of the columns. It wouldn't work. I guess I won't be getting to the real issues behind the attacks of those awful demons like James Dobson. Can you believe Mr. Gedeik even left off the honorific? Why can't the Left show even a modicum of respect for serious men like DR. James Dobson. Agree or disagree with him, we should all honor his intellect and accomplishments.

With all due respect to Mr. Wallis, I hope the link stays broken until November 5th.

To see our report on what we should all fear related to the pro-sodomy activities of the Religious Left read our report on a movie they showed in Portland Maine earlier this year. Click here.

Bearing the Cross

Yesterday I attended a rally with hundreds of Mainers in Bangor. Sarah Palin flew in to motivate Republicans in the final weeks of the election season. It was a pleasure to stand among so many patriotic Americans for two hours. The line to get into the airport hanger was quite long.

I ended up missing Palin's speech. I saw her jet land as I was leaving to record an interview on a local radio station.

While standing in line I wore a baseball hat. It is a hat that I obtained from my friend Coach Dave Daubenmire. It features a Christian Cross on the front where one normally finds a logo for a sports team. It is red, white and blue.

I was the only person wearing anything conspicuous that symbolized Christianity, or any religion for that matter. Many people were displaying logos for sports teams, or symbols related to hunting. Nobody adorned their body with anything that suggested Christianity, much less shouted it.

I wonder why?

I wear my Cross Hat often nowadays curious about how people will respond. I have never been insulted, attacked or confronted. In fact, I notice a heightened respect and deference in the people I encounter when I wear the hat.

Related to this observation about morality and Christianity is an excellent column that my good friend Peter LaBarbera wrote yesterday. Check it out.

Shallow Sex

My friends at Exodus International unveiled a new website for teens today. Commenting on the site Mike Ensley, their Youth Analyst said, "This web site is a place where they can find an alternative response to the culture's dead beat message that sex is shallow and gender is meaningless."

I couldn't agree more about sex. Sex has become meaningless in the same way that a picture becomes meaningless without a frame. Things need borders ... limits. Sex is no different.

Eliminating rules compromises love, stability and romance. Biology isn't enough. Sex is first of all spiritual, then it is physical. If we reverse the order we destroy both love and sex. Oh sure, it's fun. But it doesn't last for long.

The greatest tragedy of this experiment is what is happening to our young people. The radical ideology of the sexual revolution is now being forced on Christian elementary-age children through the media and public schools. Attentive parents will jump all over this. Strong and loving parents will either homeschool, or use a local private school, hopefully Christian.

Is there anything more important than the next generation of Americans --our children and grandchildren?

Click here to visit the Exodus Youth Site.

Sad example of what is really going on

The "gay" issue is always portrayed in the media as one of tolerance. People don't realize that the so-called "tolerance" goes only one way. I have never experienced true tolerance with homosexuals. The minute they realize that I am not going to budge on my morals they become insistent, mean, hard-hearted and sometimes vicious. There is no better example of this reality than this recent account from the streets of San Franciso.

Click here.

I have never returned their hatred with hatred. Maine's liberal media has, however, been faithful at spinning my words and statements over the years. They have tried to cast me as a "hater" and "homophobe." I never have hated homosexuals, and never will. I feel sorry for them. I feel angry at what their ideology is doing to innocent children and young adults.

This is not hate. This is love and compassion.

If God can use a word like "abomination" to describe homosexuality then modern Christians can speak directly and simply about it. Hatred of sin IS a family value. The love of sin is evil. It is idolatry.

My blog is titled "Love is Patient" for a reason. Loving Christian people are going to have to practice extraordinary patience in coming years. The demonstration of that patience will be the result of speaking plainly about homosexuality and sexual wrong-doing. I was so pleased to read Linda Harvey's sensitive account of the press conference linked above. She demonstrated great patience, as did Peter LaBarbera and the other courageous Christians.

Lots of people aren't going to like our stand.

A politician wrote me this morning and asked me what Bible verse gives me inspiration. I sent him Luke 21:16-19 -- You will be betrayed even by parents, brother, relative and friends, and they will put some of you to death. All men will hate you because of me. But not a hair of your head will perish. By standing firm you will gain life."

Remember to stand firm today.

Sinking Sarah

Governor Sarah Palin has endured a couple of rough weeks in the mainstream media. After a bold and successful start at the Republican Convention the forty-something mother of five started swimming in the deep end of the pool. Alaska was the shallow end of the political pool. The Vice Presidency is definitely the deep end for Governor Palin.

Senator McCain's polling numbers appear to be tracking with Palin's radioactive relationship with the media, though the failing economy surely has much to do with Senator Obama's rise in the polls.

According to conservative commentator Bill Sammon, she has appeared fearful a couple of times. He observed that she presented that "deer in the headlights" look in a couple interviews recently. Tomorrow night could make or break the evangelical-Christian-first-woman-Governor-of-Alaska for this election. She is being compared to Dan Quayle whose political future was destroyed by the liberal media, even though he was a very capable man.

Some of her supporters are comparing her to other politicians who they say couldn't do it either. They think Governor Palin should be cut some slack. That isn't going to happen.

Hugh Hewitt observed that liberals in the media are subjecting Governor Palin to "pop quizzes designed to embarrass" her. He asked the Governor what she thought about that and she said she welcomed the "quizzing" allowing that she is doing some learning as she goes. I was impressed with her answer. Here it is:

Well, I have a degree in journalism also, so it surprises me that so much has changed since I received my education in journalistic ethics all those years ago. But I’m not going to pick a fight with those who buy ink by the barrelful. I’m going to take those shots and those pop quizzes and just say that’s okay, those are good testing grounds. And they can continue on in that mode. That’s good. That makes somebody work even harder. It makes somebody be even clearer and more articulate in their positions. So really I don’t fight it. I invite it.

Tonight she has to find a way to appear knowledgeable about matters that she may not be completely knowledgeable about. She is new to this level of politics. She is not, however, new to politics.

During the Hewitt interview she was asked about her religion. Hewitt asked her if she thought the mainstream media understood her religious faith. She replied:

I think that there’s a lot of mocking of my personal faith, and my personal faith is very, very simple. I don’t belong to any church. I do have a strong belief in God, and I believe that I’m a heck of a lot better off putting my life in God’s hands, and saying hey, you know, guide me. What else do we have but guidance that we would seek from a Creator? That’s about as simple as it gets with my faith, and I think that there is a lot of mocking of that. And you know, so be it, though I do have respect for those who have differing views than I do on faith, on religion. I’m not going to mock them, and I would hope that they would kind of I guess give me the same courtesy through this of not mocking a person’s faith, but maybe perhaps even trying to understand a little bit of it.

I was a bit surprised to learn that she doesn't "belong to any church." I can see how this distances her from the public criticisms leveled at her about her pentecostal past. Simplistically, these critiques of pentecostalism resonate with some people in the public.

My view is that religion and life are wonderful, especially when they are fantastic. Hollywood shouldn't be the only institution capable of encouraging wonder. I prefer God's imagination to fiction and computer graphics.

I was raised in the United Methodist Church. I deepened my commitment to Jesus Christ in the pentecostal church. I respect those who find strength, peace and joy in that church, and I thank God for the maturity I have gained by pondering the theological reasoning of many pentecostal friends over the years. I am a member of our local Nazarene Church now.

Here's a possible response I thought about today to the above question:

Hugh, I welcome the critiques, parodies and misunderstandings of my religion. Some of it is hilarious. However, we should go beyond the mocking, parody and fun. Everyone knows that religion has a serious side. I receive comfort, guidance and strength from Jesus Christ. Hundreds of millions of people worldwide enjoy the same relationship. They occupy vocations of all types. In America we don't discriminate against Christianity, or any other religion. As Vice President I look forward to learning about, and respecting, everyone's legal spiritual beliefs and practices, even as I live out my own Christianity.

I'm praying for Governor Palin and her family. I'm also praying for Senator Biden and his family. I'll watch the debate tonight in hopes of finding reason to believe the United States of America is going to turn the corner and head in a more positive direction.

Google disappoints

Google waded into politics yesterday. They issued a statement endorsing homosexual "marriage." One of my friends is promising not to use Google anymore. I'm not going to do that. I'm going to keep blogging using blogger.

Most companies now favor and protect sexual sin. Making something private (sex) into something that we contracept and sell has gotten us to this point. Not using Google is too little too late.

I just pray they will honor what they said in their press release endorsing same sex marriage. They wrote, "While we respect the strongly-held beliefs that people have on both sides of this argument ..." Google is a private company. As such they have the right to wipe out the content of people like me who have "strongly held beliefs." I hope they really mean it when they say that opposing discrimination is their only absolute belief.

Here is the absolute truth. Same sex marriage is nothing more than immorality in a wedding gown. It is sodomy dressed up in a tux.

I wonder if my blog will be here tomorrow?

Bold Men of God

I saw a book title this morning. "God Built: Bold Men of God aren't Born, they're Built." That got me wondering whether it is possible any longer for bold men of God to be political. In saying that I'm not wondering if they can want power or success. That, in fact, seems to be all that they can want.

I'm wondering if bold men of God can be like the character examined in the book mentioned above. God Built is about Joseph. I haven't read the book so I can't write about its contents. I have read about Joseph.

Joseph didn't want power or success in Egypt. It literally fell into his lap after he fell ... was pushed actually ... into a hole in the desert by his brothers. We all know the story. When offered culturally acceptable sex with the wife of his boss he fled. She lied about him and he went to jail.

Anyway, Joseph wasn't politically correct. He was, however, spiritually powerful. It was, of course, possible to be religious in pagan Egypt. It isn't possible to be both religious and powerful in America anymore. We appear to occupy a nether world between cultural Christianity and rabid atheistic secularism. Many of us now believe that multiculturalism is the glue that will bind us together going forward.

I don't think it will.

Religion is what binds groups together. Shared values are what work. Pretending that a nation can hold opposite values in tension and survive is folly. Bold Christian men will either stand and be counted in a way that honors the Bible and Christian tradition, or the USA will continue to crumble.

President John Quincy Adams said, "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."

Unfortunately I meet less and less bold Christian men as I travel. I do meet them, but almost none of them understand the cultural mandate. Many of them are interested in evangelism. Some are evangelizing.

Three men whose communications inspire and challenge me are Doug Giles, Dave Daubenmire and James Dobson. They are different from one another. Their styles are so divergent as to be completely disconnected and even contrary to one another. However, they share in common a passion for applying Biblical reasoning to unpopular ... non politically correct ... issues like sexuality, abortion, marriage and the family.

You can check them out at these websites:

Dr. James Dobson
Doug Giles
Coach Dave Daubenmire

These men are modern day Josephs.