CTM Christian Times Magazine ISSUE NO. 22 | SEPTEMBER 2018
America's No.1 News Magazine
DID WE FORGET ? Christopher Grahn Howard
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CHRISTIAN TIMES MAGAZINE
ISSUE
22
Contributors Christopher Grahn Howard Charles Lingerfelt Matthew Snape KrisAnne Hall, JD David A. Colbert Paul McCabe Steven P Ray Arthur L. Weathersby Brandon Cook
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ISSUE 22 | SEPTEMBER 2018
CONTENTS 9
9-11 DID WE FORGET ? Christopher Grahn Howard
15 BRUNSON IS A PAWN BEING USED TO SAVE ERDOGAN’S CRUMBLING AUTHORITY Matthew Snape
19 WHY PRESIDENT TRUMP REVOKED JOHN BRENNAN’S SECURITY CLEARANCE Charles Lingerfelt
22 LIBERAL MEDIA'S DESPERATE PUSH FOR PRESIDENT IMPEACHMENT MAY ACTUALLY JEOPARDIZE DEMOCRATS CTM Report
24 THE BIG PICTURE Paul McCabe
28 THE BOSTON GLOBE CRIES KrisAnne Hall, JD
31 PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP – SAVIOR OF U.S. LEADERSHIP AT HOME AND ABROAD Steven P Ray
35 THE GENERAL ELECTION “THE SUPER BOWL OF POLITICS” Pastor David Colbert
38 THE 21ST CENTURY CHURCH: “THIS IS NOT YOUR GREAT GRANDMOTHER'S CHURCH!” Pastor Arthur L. Weathersby
41 THE 21ST CENTURY CHURCH: “THIS IS NOT YOUR GREAT GRANDMOTHER'S CHURCH!” Brandon Cook
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PAGE 9
9-11 Did We Forget ? By Christopher Grahn Howard
Source: Google
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9-11 Did We Forget ? As we approach another September 11th anniversary. I am struck by how much our country has changed since that day. Some of those changes are good, most are not. Did we forget? Did we forget that 11 men fueled by evil attacked this country? Did we forget the failed immigration policies that led to this attack? Did we forget how we came together? Did we forget?
Recently, I went back and watched a video and a documentary from that horrible day. Like many, I can tell you where I was and the shock watching it unfold in front of me. Standing in my front yard talking with a friend my wife came to the door in tears and said we are under attack! In disbelief, my friend and I both said we who? Where and How? He left and I ran
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Evil had reminded all of us that it was real, existed and wanted to feed on our fear. I say this all the time, a great line from a movie; “The greatest trick the Devil ever played was convincing people he did not exist”. Evil is real, alive and out to destroy all that is good in this world. Despite the horror, anguish and eerie reality of it all. There were moments of real pride and patriotism flowing in me. Pride in watching this country come together, watching Congress stand on the capitol steps and sing God Bless America and seeing everyday average people donate and volunteer. That was an amazing testament to the true American spirit and what patriotism is really about. I miss that part of that time. It seems gone now and not coming back. Sad. How did we get so far away from the lessons learned? How did we get so very polarized against each other? How did we forget the lessons of failed immigration policies? What freedom really looks like? That evil does exist in the world? We have forgotten that unity we all felt in that time. Worst of all we have made the eternal mistake of trading freedom for safety. How could we do that? Recently, my family took a vacation to Washington DC. Had a good time and enjoyed our nation’s capital. What struck me most, as I had not been there since pre 9/11 times, the entire district lived/existed in a constant state of fear. Everything was so secure it was not the capital of a free country. Foreigners that come to visit and only see DC must have a highly skewed sense of what we call a free society. Saddens me what I saw. Worse than that, our elected leaders are working and living in this fear-driven environment. They will all deny this but there is no way this environment does not affect their decision making. Making decisions out of fear is not positive. We often wonder how some of these decisions are made? How could they? We ask. Well, now we know. Lessons from 9/11? First and foremost, immigration. Have we forgotten that these terrorists were mostly here on expired visas and that by that standard were
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here in a more legal classification than many? That our government under several administrations and failed to secure our borders from gang members, rapists and not to mention terrorists?! I know, that represents a minute number as opposed to those looking for a better life. Sure, I agree. It took only 11 evil and cowardly men to hijack three commercial aircraft and kill thousands! To make my position on immigration clear see my article entitled The Melting Pot? From issue10. Available on CTM Website. Immigration is the single biggest issue facing this country right now. Not even from a terrorist point of view. Economically it is causing great strain on our local and national budgets. Our government is spending billions at a national and local level on illegal immigrants. Money that could be directed to the poverty of our citizens. Am I saying that we should be spending budgetary dollars on citizens in preference to those entering our country illegally? YES, I am! I love and am proud that people want to come to America. However, we must observe our own laws and preserve that very thing immigrants wish to have when they arrive…legally. Consider this, in 2017 immigrants, legal and mostly illegal, sent 26.1 billion out of this country back to Mexico, just Mexico. That is 26.1 billion not spent in local businesses, restaurants and with that taxes not paid for the goods and services. Taxes that help schools and local governments. Understand that Mexico’s number one source of foreign income is not the oil they sell, but the American cash sent there. Imagine what those 26.1 billion infusions into our economy could do? Now consider this – in 2016 Guatemala – 6.756 billion, El Salvador – 4.194 billion. I think you get the idea of what this is costing us. Yes, us, you and I are paying more to allow this to happen. Another point on immigration, great pains were made to make the war on terror not a war on Islam. I am fine with that. However, we have gone too far making that point. Radical Islam is a real threat. Why would we import that? Allowing these zealots into our country is dangerous. One only has to look to Europe, Germany, England and France to understand. These radical
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Islamists want to return to some 4th-century version of the world. Sharia law is a real threat to our way of life. Again, to be very clear, I am not talking about Islam in general. Yes, I am not a fan but freedom of religion is an American virtue. I defend that. The line must be drawn when any religion is radicalized to the point it threatens our way of life. Like it or not President Trump is right to want to protect all of us from this type of radical Islam. As I mentioned in a previous article, legal immigration is great. It made America, it made and makes America great. The key quality of legal immigration is that the people who want to come here want to become Americans, want to make us a better country. The point of being an American actually has meaning, has value and even has a purpose. To try and dilute this for some religious or nationalistic goal is subversive. I am under no illusion as to the perfection of American culture. There are real problems with no easy solutions. The curse comes with the blessing. The blessing is greater than the curse. Meaning it is worth it for Americans to hold on to our collective culture and to insist on immigrants making the effort to assimilate and make the soup better. It is worth it to reject those attempts to change the American culture. It is worth it to strive for the best of our culture and work to improve those areas that are problematic. It is worth it to face the hard discussions required to continue to heal this country from the errors and hardships of our past. The beauty and wonderful promise that is the American dream. The very tangible opportunity that exists for every individual who comes here or is born here. You can become whatever one desires…if…you are willing to work hard, study hard and most of all have the tenacity and sheer will to persevere. The American dream is nothing more than a promise of that opportunity…not the right to that opportunity. The dream can be real with greater possibility than any other place on earth. Civility in our discourse is another lost art and has fallen off the radar after 9/11. Think back…way back to that time. Democrats were still democrats and
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republicans were still republicans and yet they found a way to be civil in the discourse of our nation’s business. Yes, there were real disagreements, yes there was even some rancor…nothing like we have had over the last 12 years. Both sides are pushing towards the extremes and not to the middle. Now, I am a very conservative Republican. I work closely with Democrats. Really, it is a good thing. I do not wish to romanticize this period, yet I cannot help but feel we have lost something. Now we could play the blame game, always fun. However, not very productive. In this case, I will just say this. The press played along with both sides, mostly the left, creating our current atmosphere. The press gave up the most important quality they had, objectivity. In an effort to feed the beast of political polarization, which sold papers and advertising time, the press became a part of the polarization of extremism and not the reporters of it. Giving rise to the Trumpism of fake news. Again, think back to 9/11. CNN was king of the new cable news networks. They were the most trusted and seen by the vast majority source for instant news. Look how far they have fallen, plagued by rampant bias. As President Trump has said a biased press is a threat to democracy; as I would add, just as a free, open and unbiased press is essential to democracy. The press has never truly unbiased but at least they made the effort or made the effort to appear that way. Not so much anymore. This is a real problem if the people get to the point that they no longer can believe the press…I wonder about the fate of our democracy then. To be clear, the many members of the press, meaning those actually doing the reporting and investigating, are in fact good and do attempt to just report the news. I have had many positive relationships with reporters. The key to this is a solid set of rules, honesty, and trust. 9/11 was a tragic day in our history and even for the whole world. No country is unaffected by those cowardly actions. One of the most substantial losses from that period was the loss of positive patriotism. Listen, I know this country is not, has not been and
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will not per perfect. We have all kinds of real and serious problems. Yet, despite all of that the United States of America is still the beacon of Liberty and Freedom around the world as no other country has been in the history of the world Somehow we went from being unified under attack to dividing every aspect of our society. We lost the most valuable lesson from that tragic day, we are one nation. Remember after the towers fell? Remember everything was covered in debris dust. Every person walking, crawling out of the rubble was the same. There was no white, black, brown‌whatever. There was just Americans, citizens, it was just us. We need to strive for that, without another tragedy, please.
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Brunson is a pawn being used to save Erdogan’s crumbling authority BY MATTHEW SNAPE
Photo Source: © imago/Sammy Minkoff
Relations between the United States and Turkey have sunk to a new low since Turkish authorities detained American pastor, Andrew Brunson. Since the incident escalated, the Trump administration has responded accordingly by threatening sanctions against the Turkish Government. President Trump tweeted in April that he was being ‘persecuted for no reason.’ He added: ‘They call him a spy, but I am more of a spy than he is. Hopefully he will be allowed to come home to his beautiful family where he belongs!’ It has also caused a significant rift at the heart of NATO. The
situation has become so grave that the US President has asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to aid the US Government. But is the US pastor being used as a pawn to distract Turkish citizens from Erdogan’s real problem, which is that there is considerable opposition to his rule at home and that if he does not punish somebody, his authority could crumble? The problem is made worse by both governments’ interpretations of recent events. To President
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Erdogan, Brunson is a spy who attempted to overthrow his regime in 2016. But to the United States, he is an innocent Christian family man who is being unlawfully detained. The latter only makes the possibility of further threats and sanctions likely. And given the Trump administration’s record on implementing their threats against other nations, the Turkish Government would do well to heed President Trump’s warnings. This is the same President who issued tariffs against the European Union, Canada, Mexico and even China. Brunson, 50, is an evangelical Presbyterian pastor. He worked in Izmir on Turkey’s Aegean coast where he was a pastor at the Izmir Resurrection Church. According to the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), which was founded by attorney Jay Sekulow to advocate for his release, he has lived in Turkey for more than 23 years with his wife and three children. Brunson was arrested in October 2016 and accused of plotting to overthrow the Turkish Government, several months after the event occurred. The question remains as to why a US pastor who has resided in Turkey for so long would want to participate in a coup against President Erdogan? His motives have not been explained to the media by the Turkish administration. The evidence against him is weak. Turkey’s case against Brunson is collapsing. In March, he was formally indicted on charges of espionage and having links to terrorist organizations. The charges against Brunson include supporting the illegal Kurdistan Workers’ Party as well as the Gulen Movement, which the Turkish Government has accused of orchestrating the coup. If convicted, the pastor could face up to 35 years in prison. His trial will resume in October. But again, where is the evidence that he is responsible for helping to orchestrate this coup? This is becoming nothing more than a matter of convenience for President Erdogan. He has found a scapegoat to save his failing government, even if that means risking a diplomatic war with the most powerful nation on Earth. The ACLJ claim that the charges are illegitimate, and that Brunson was targeted because of his Christian faith. These arguments are mirrored by the US
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Ambassador to Turkey, John R. Bass, and many US officials. So far, ACLJ’s argument is legitimate. Turkey is a country consisting of a significantly large Muslim populace. Their population is larger than that of Germany’s. If Turkey were ever allowed to join the European Union, their MEPs would outnumber Germany’s, which currently has the largest number of elected representatives in the European Parliament. This would give a dictatorship like Turkey considerable influence over the European Union. So far, Turkish authorities have released Brunson to face house arrest and ordered him to wear an electronic monitoring device. However, the state-run news agency Anadolu reported the Turkish courts made this decision because of health reasons. The US Government would prefer for him to be released altogether. Then again, the US pastor’s fate now rests
in the hands of diplomats who are seeking a solution to this crisis. In July, President Trump tweeted it is a ‘total disgrace’ that Turkish authorities will not release the US pastor. He added: ‘He (Brunson) has been held hostage far too long.’ The President’s solution was to impose sanctions on Turkey. He tweeted that Brunson is ‘a great Christian family man and wonderful human being. He is suffering greatly. This innocent man of faith should be released immediately!’ These calls were echoed by Vice President Mike Pence. ‘I know that his faith will sustain him, but it shouldn’t have to. Pastor Andrew Brunson deserves to be free,’ the Vice President told the Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom. It is clear the Turkish Government has
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nowhere to hide on this issue and faced with the prospect of a diplomatic war with America and the rest of NATO, Erdogan must play his cards carefully. Instead, Turkish politicians have reacted angrily to the US’ threat of sanctions. Turkey’s Foreign Minister,MevlutCavusoglu, said on his Twitter account that no one has the right to dictate to Turkey. Hami Aksoy, the spokesperson of Turkey’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the threats were unacceptable. That maybe their interpretation of events, but they know they are unlawfully detaining a Christian pastor and that he does not deserve to be used as a tool to preserve a failing dictatorship. This tit-for-tat could result in a possible prisoner swap between both countries. Despite President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s insistence that Brunson is not a hostage, he has advocated the possibility of a prisoner swap. The Turkish President’s argument is that the US has no right to demand the release of the pastor when they are refusing to extradite Fethullah Gulen. Gulen is an exiled cleric residing in Pennsylvania whom the Turkish Government has accused of being behind the failed coup. In July, the President reiterated that both the US and Turkish administrations should engage in a prisoner swap. FadiHakura, who manages the Turkey Project at Chatham House, London, said this is creating the perception that Brunson is being used as a bargaining chip. In theory, this maybe the most reasonable way to resolve this crisis. Yet US politicians know Turkey has an appalling human rights record. This is part of the reason they are so keen to get Brunson out of there as soon as possible. If he is convicted in October, who knows what terrible punishments await him if he is found guilty? What state will his prison be in? How will prison officers treat him? If Gulen is to be exchanged for the US pastor, the US Government must ensure he will be treated fairly upon his return. Yet given how shady Erdogan is, this seems unlikely. Israel has attempted to ease diplomatic tensions. A US official told CNN that Israel offered to release Ebru Ozkan, a 27-year-old Turkish woman held in Israel on suspicion of supporting Hamas, the Palestinian
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militant group that occupies Gaza. Ozkan’s lawyer told CNN that she was released from prison between July 11 and July 12. She could leave Israel for Turkey on July 15, one day after Trump spoke to Netanyahu. Erdogan denied reports that Brunson was released in exchange for allowing Ozkan to leave Israel. Nonetheless, the Turkish President does not want to make statements that may undermine his own authority domestically. He will never admit that Israel, a country that most, if not all, the Middle East despises, helped ensure an American citizen was temporarily released from jail. It would be humiliating for a majority Muslim nation to admit to such a defeat. This whole row will represent a massive defeat, or at least a setback, for Erdogan, no matter what the outcome is. If the US can pressure Turkey with enough sanctions to force the latter to release Brunson without a prisoner exchange, it will further undermine the Turkish President at home. Another coup would then be likely. And a prisoner exchange would represent a compromise for both sides. But for Erdogan, it could be the lesser of two evils without causing him to be humiliated by President Trump completely. Either way, this is a tale as to how an American pastor, without any solid evidence, became a mastermind behind a coup designed to overthrow a dictatorial president. He has become nothing but a pawn in the Turkish Government’s games. It is an opportunity to blame America yet again for supporting democratic movements in Muslim nations that attempt to destabilize the Middle East. The US needs to end this humiliation now, because the fate awaiting Brunson is a brutal one. Even without legitimate evidence, he risks being tortured. This is not the fate a man who has dedicated years of service to a nation he has learnt to love deserves. It is time for him to come home to the United States, where he belongs.
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Getty ImagesAlex Wong
Why President Trump Revoked John Brennan’s Security Clearance
BY CHARLES LINGERFELT
Recently President Donald Trump revoked the security clearance of former CIA(Central Intelligence Agency) Director John Brennan. It was a major controversial decision by the President and one that drew much attention by the media from around the world, and criticism as well. Brennan served as director of the Central Intelligence Agency during Barack Obama’s administration.
Photo Source: © imago/Sammy Minkoff
One of our finest generals, Army Brigadier General Anthony Tata had told Fox news that ex-director Brennan was “a clear and present danger” to America because he wanted to “overthrow” President Donald Trump. “He spied on American citizens and lied in front of Congress about that spying,” the general explains. In fact, the Democrats have conveniently forgotten how much they hated Brennan, just a few years ago and called his actions “violations of the fourth amendment and laws preventing them from domestic spying.”
What is The Fourth Amendment? The Fourth Amendment was intended to create a
constitutional buffer between U.S. citizens and the intimidating power of law enforcement. It established a privacy interest by recognizing the right of U.S. citizens to be "secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects." The Fourth Amendment says, “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers,and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.” The American Revolutionary War was fought against the British, in part, to create a system of government in which the Rule of Law would reign supreme. The rule of law is often identified with
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the old saying, “the United States is a nation of laws and not of men.” Under the Rule of Law, the actions of government officials are prescribed by the principles and laws that make up the U.S.legal system and do not reflect the Arbitrary whims and caprices of the government officials themselves. The Framers of our Constitution drafted the Fourth Amendment in response to their colonial experience with British officials, whose discretion in collecting revenues for the Crown often went unchecked. Upon a mere suspicion held by British tax collectors or their informants, colonial magistrates were compelled to issue general warrants, which permitted blanket doorto-door searches of entire neighborhoods without limitation as to person or place. The law did not require magistrates to question British officials regarding the source of their suspicion or to make other credibility determinations. The writ of assistance was a particularly loathsome form of general warrant. The name of this writ derived from the power of British authorities to enlist local peace officers and colonial residents who might "assist" in the execution of a particular search. A writ of assistance lasted for the life of the king or queen under whom it was issued, and it applied to every officer and subject in the British Empire. In essence, such a writ was a license for customs officers tracking smugglers and illegally imported goods. There is a distinction sometimes drawn between power and authority. Law enforcement officers are entrusted with the powers to conduct investigations, to make arrests, and occasionally to use lethal force in theSource: line of duty. But these Photo © imago/Sammy Minkoff powers must be exercised within the parameters authorized by the law. Power exercised outside of these legal parameters transforms law enforcers into “law breakers,” as happened when Los Angeles police officer Laurence Powell was convicted for using excessive force against RODNEY KING, who had been stopped for speeding. Powell repeatedly struck King with his night-stick even though King was in a submissive position, lying prone on the ground. General Tata further exclaimed, “Question 29 on the
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security clearance form said, you know, ‘have you ever supported overthrowing the U.S. Government?’ All you’ve got to do is look at John Brennan’s tweets,” he adds. “He supports the removal of this president. That’s enough evidence to get rid of his clearance.” Now, that to me is “un-American activities.” There was a time in our past when the FBI would prosecute anyone who participated in those types of activities. But today, it appears that ‘high crimes and misdemeanors’ are embedded so deeply within our federal government – most especially the different departments of the government in Washington that far too few have any stamina or fortitude with conviction to bring charges against those who violate our laws and the Constitution. A highly respected senator from Louisiana, Senator John Kennedy (R-La) went on record labeling Brennan an embarrassment to the intelligence community for his obvious political bias. “I’ve made my feelings known about Mr. Brennan. I think most Americans look at our national intelligence experts as being above politics,” the senator noted.
“Mr. Brennan has demonstrated that’s not the case. He’s been totally political. I think I called him a [profanity] and I meant it. I think he’s given the national intelligence community a bad name.” Not only that, newly surfacing evidence indicates that while serving as head of the CIA, Brennan may have helped to engineer a “regime change” of the Trump administration. Even Brennan’s attorney, Bradley P. Moss, admitted the President can legally take the action. “This is the president taking a step that he most likely had the legal authority to take,” he says then flips it his way to point out it hasn’t been done before. The president cited Brennan’s “unfounded and outrageous allegations” critical of his policies as indicating substantial negative bias. Democrats were quick to call it “partisan foul play.” Brennan went on the offensive and took out an op-ed, to declare he “won’t be scared into silence.”
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There is a reason why Central Intelligence Agency operatives are called “spooks.” They are famous for cloak and dagger “covert” and “clandestine” operations. They’re the guys that get called in when a government overthrow is in the wind. They work undercover all over the world, blending into the shadows. Everything they do is a lie because if someone were to learn the truth of who they are and what they do, they “go home in a box.” Not only that, they have the coolest spy gear on the planet. When you have the kind of power that the CIA has, you don’t have to go through channels to get things done. Even liberal Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Ca.) has a story to tell about Brennan to remind the public of his history. In March of 2014, she accused Brennan’s CIA of a whole slew of “cover-ups, intimidation, and smears aimed at investigators” who had the audacity to question their torture methods. On the floor of the Senate, Feinstein accused “the CIA of potentially violating the U.S. Constitution and of criminal activity in its attempts to obstruct her committee’s investigations into the agency’s use of torture.”
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Such demagoguery would be beneath any former CIA director, but it is especially not acting with décor in Brennan’s situation. There are ongoing investigations and trials. Brennan’s own role in the investigation of the Trump campaign is currently under scrutiny, along with such questions as whether the Obama administration put the nation’s law-enforcement and intelligence apparatus in the service of the Clinton campaign, and why an unverified dossier (a Clinton-campaign oppositionresearch project) was presented to the FISA court in order to obtain surveillance warrants against an American citizen. Until these probes have run their course, Brennan should resist the urge to comment, especially in ways that implicate his knowledge of classified matters. So, President was indeed within his legitimate and legal bounds to revoke the security clearance of John Brennan, and I, for one, am certainly glad he did. Stay tuned, as there just might be others whose clearance may be revoked as well.
Specifically, Senator Feinstein “confirmed recent reports that CIA officials had been accused of monitoring computer networks used by Senate staff investigators.” Up until then, the rumors that the CIA attempted to “remove documents from the network detailing evidence of torture that would incriminate intelligence officers”Minkoff were unsubstantiated. Photo Source: © imago/Sammy Brennan’s tweets about President Trump were not only outrageous but were obnoxious. Brennan spoke out time-and-again in a nod-and-wink manner, the undercurrent of which is that if he could only tell you the secrets he knows, you’d demand Trump’s impeachment forthwith. Indeed, “undercurrent” is probably the wrong word: Brennan, after all, has expressly asserted that our “treasonous” president is “wholly in the pocket of Putin” and has “exceed[ed] the threshold of ‘high crimes and misdemeanors.’”
CHARLES LINGERFELT, SENIOR CORRESPONDENT
CHRISTIAN TIMES MAGAZINE
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Liberal media's desperate push for President Impeachment may actually jeopardize Democrats The liberal media have a new favorite word to use when discussing President Trump: impeachment. MSNBC and CNN reporters, anchors and guests said “impeach,” “impeachment” or some other form of the word on the cable news channels an incredible 222 times . And of course, they talked about possible impeachment other days as well, and newspapers and websites were also filled with impeachment speculation. Most Democrats, however, are keeping quiet about the prospect of removing Mr Trump from office, amid fears pushing the issue will fire up the Republican base ahead of the midterm elections in November. Mr Trump publicly addressed the prospect of impeachment for the first time, claiming the market would “crash”if his presidency was threatened. Tammy Duckworth said. “I don't think that we should be talking about impeachment,” Democratic senator “ Trump allies, however, have been discussing impeachment – raising the prospect in an attempt to convince Republican voters to turn out in November. Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor hired by Mr
Trump last month to join his legal team, warned there would be a “revolt” in the US if the president was impeached. "You could only impeach [Trump] for political reasons and the American people would revolt against that," he said. The idea of an impeachment is frankly a sad attempt by Democrats, it’s the only message they seem to have going into the midterms. ” Sarah Sanders, the White House press secretary, told reporters. “It is another great reminder why Americans should support other like-minded candidates like the president.”
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CHRISTIAN TIMES MAGAZINE
The Big Picture By Paul McCabe
“And on the pedestal, these words appear: My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings; Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away.” -- Ozymandias, by P.B. Shelley (1818)
Since the attacks on September 11, 2001 – “a day that will live in infamy” – few have seen the big picture. Like events after Pearl Harbor, 9-11’s direct ancestor, the US response will change the world.
In December 1941, the US indeed was a slumbering giant, as Admiral Yamamoto memorably said. It largely tried to ignore the war already going on in Europe and China. The military budget was small and few preparations had been made for war. We were supplying our ally Britain in difficult circumstances with materials under the Lend-Lease Act, much like our supplies to and support of Israel now. Yamamoto’s attack awoke that slumbering giant, which proceeded to mobilize an enormous power that has not stopped growing. On the way to
becoming a world power, then a superpower, and finally a hyper-power, the US crushed his small country into dust and death. The gathered wrath of the United States-- so great, so unstoppable -marshalled scientific and military talent to invent an unimaginable new kind of warfare, a new kind of bomb. America then used that terrible swift sword against the men who surprised us on a sunny Sunday morning in Hawaii. Well before the atomic bombs brought surprises in return to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, modern Japan was in ruins and its capital Tokyo largely destroyed. The men who attacked the US paid with their lives and with their countrymen’s lives. Never before had the United States demonstrated its virtually infinite capacity for ire, for vengeance, and for justice. Living in isolation, the men who ran Japanese Empire at that time made a historic miscalculation that brought untold suffering to their homeland, which lost 2 million soldiers and a million civilians as a result. Again in 2001 and since then, some evil men acting in isolation have miscalculated. Again, the US has geared up to bring justice. It took four years to do the job the last time the US was attacked, in a simpler world, with clearly defined national enemies. In doing so, rising to power through technological superiority and determined manpower, the US changed the face
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of the planet. Its enemies were totally vanquished, destroyed, and discredited, more than any others in history. Seventy three years later, neither Germany nor Japan even publicly discusses the pros and cons of its policies in that era. The power of the US not only defeated them on the battlefield, it remade internal politics in both countries, and made it impossible for their discredited ideologies to return to power. Anchoring a trilateral post-war world upon its victories on the plains of Europe and on the Pacific islands, the US retains enormous power and influence today in those very much more prosperous lands. The umbrella of a Pax American a followed the sword. So it will be again. Islam has been attacking the West at least since 732 at Tours in France, when Charles Martel defeated Muslim forces coming north from Spain. The whole history of the spread of Islam is military expansion: kill the men and marry the women; the children then are brought up in Islam. This tribal religion, with roots in the primitive Arabian Desert, conquered territories west to Senegal and Spain, and east to Indonesia and Philippines. But this time, Islam’s radical troops awoke the wrong slumbering giant, and they too will pay a heavy price. We can foresee a few things in the coming years. When the US and its allies pushed Saddam out of power in Iraq and installed a more democratic system there, it essentially repeated what it did in Germany and Japan in the post-war period. Those two countries have been close friends and military allies of the US since they were conquered. After World War II, the US military directly governed Germany and Japan for four years and, after arranging elections, less directly for six years. But recent events were done quite differently. After US forces invaded Afghanistan in 2001 and toppled the Taliban, the new republic elected a President in 36 months, with parliamentary and provincial elections one year later. In the case of Iraq, the Americans pushed even faster
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for a new representative government. Less than two years elapsed between the defeat of Saddam’s government in 2003 and the first national and governorate elections in January 2005. In the context of the region, this is close to the speed of light. A new Iraqi court in 2006 tried, convicted, and sentenced Saddam for crimes against humanity. Less than two months later he was hanged. The new nation turned to 2007 with a fresh page. Like Germany and Japan, a democratic, prosperous, and successful Iraq exerts a powerful demonstration effect on neighboring countries. It shows others that the early 21st century is the time to end closed Islamic regimes which use religion as a tool of oppression. The new more democratic governments of Afghanistan and Iraq show the way to regime change and/or more egalitarianism in Saudi Arabia, Syria, Libya, Iran, Yemen, and others in the region. Like the Romanovs before them, autocrats will go to history’s dust heap where they belong. For demographic reasons, Iran won’t need US military help for democratization; the young people there are doing it themselves. The Persian Gulf will see constitutional monarchies replace sheikdoms as rulers yield to the new realities of the sweep of democracy. How do you say “Better late than never” in Arabic? The first postwar American revolution put Germany at the center of Europe and lead to Japan’s leading role in Asian business and development. In the second one, in Eastern Europe, the people themselves, using American ideals, overthrew the collapsing Soviet Union and its satellites. And now in the third one, the Near East is substituting more democratic forms of government for dying despotism. As a result, the average Ali and Fatima in the street will get more education. It was not in the interests of the authoritarian sheiks and old-fashioned monarchs to educate the population, especially women, but things are changing under a new set of priorities. Within a generation, the education of the Arab populace will transform many countries. The most important result however will not be strengthening democracy there; rather it will mean the end of blind
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faith in Islam. This conservative approach – Wahhabism and its ideological relatives -- thrives on keeping the people in the dark, uneducated, viewing the world through a simplistic version and a backward-looking prism of Islam. But in June this year, for example, women started driving cars in Saudi Arabia, which also began to issue tourist visas.
travelers, teachers, and mathematicians while Europe trudged through the Dark Ages. Let the Islamic world rise again to prominence, in a rebirth of its golden age. Let Islam everywhere stand for peace not violence, for learning not destruction, for culture not sneak attacks, for faith and freedom not darkness and oppression.
Islamic authorities, like other despots in the past, have always found it easy to manipulate uneducated people. That will gradually end as education and equality advance. Islam will be pushed out of governments and back into the mosques where it belongs. Civil and religious authority will be separated and modernized at the insistence of the younger generation. (Turkey did this in 1923.Many other Islamic countries are almost a century behind.)
Like the Ottomans, the Fatamids, and others before them, Islamic societies once again could gain the admiration of the world – but only if they build something worth admiring. The great lighthouse at Alexandria – a wonder of the ancient world -- once showed the way to the alma materof Archimedes himself and to Cairo’s great centers of learning like AlAzhar. Let the tall beacon be raised again, not only on the coast of Egypt, but in a variety of forms and methods in every Islamic country.
Moreover, a higher education level will mean the end of the use of young people as fertile planting ground for fundamentalist ideas --like the suicide bomber as hero. Only a very isolated and ignorant Moslem can be talked into doing such things. An educated Arab or Moslem citizen knows that neither the US nor Israel is “the Great Satan”. Greater democratization and education is bringing rationality and secularism to many Near East countries in new ways. To modernize the region, it is necessary to lead the people away from excessive dependence on the Shariah and the Koran, in the same way that -- long ago in the West -- the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, and the rise of science eclipsed the Bible and canon law as the sole sources of wisdom. Again the Near East is way behind. Galileo won his battle (about the sun and the earth) with Cardinal Bellarmine in 1616, and Newton published his principal work in 1687.For several hundred years in western societies the science and the pen have been mightier than the sword. When will the Islamic countries internalize this fundamental truth of modernity? The answer: when they are pushed to do so by outside forces, like Germany and Japan before them. One thousand years ago and more, the Arab world and its libraries sheltered respected scholars,
For the sake of their children and grandchildren, the younger generation of the faithful has to take control of their own destinies. It must condemn those false leaders who stray far from the true path of submission to the will of God. Young people must reinvent their own societies and reinvigorate their own cultures to fit the modern world of this century and beyond. If they do not, then they face the same bleak future as Carthage after it attacked Rome: death, destruction, salt in the fields. Where the Phoenician capital Carthage once stood, there is now only alarge archeological site of interest to those who study and remember history’s losers.
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The Boston Globe Cries
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The #FreePress Fallacy By KrisAnne Hall, JD
The Boston Globe has recently printed an Opinion piece as a rebuttal to all the “fake news” accusations. Their new hashtag professes “#FreePress is not the enemy.” It is true Freedom of Press is not the enemy, Freedom of Speech is not the enemy either- They are two of the foundational principles of Liberty that make America great. But since we are on the topic, let us examine the nature of the true enemy. You see, Free Press is not a person, it is a principle. 1. The enemy is a group of people who call themselves journalists joining together in a cabal to push their social and political agenda and then call it Free Press. 2. The enemy is an organized clan of media pundits who drive their agenda by demonizing the true market place of ideas and targeting opposing opinions with their tar-and-feather tactics of division. 3. The enemy is any politician that encourages and or supports this politically and sociologically driven agenda to silence opinions they do not approve of or which may threaten the power they possess. Thomas Jefferson said it so eloquently to John Norvell, June 14, 1807: "Nothing can now be believed which is seen in a newspaper. Truth itself becomes suspicious by being put into that polluted vehicle. The real extent of this state of misinformation is known only to those who are in situations to confront facts within their knowledge with the lies of the day." Jefferson being a staunch advocate of freedom of
press, knew that the terms "journalist," "newspaper," and "freedom of press" were not synonymous. In this same letter Jefferson makes this point: " It is a melancholy truth, that a suppression of the press could not more completely (sic) deprive the nation of it's benefits, than is done by it's abandoned prostitution to falsehood." Facts may be obtained by the news today. However, the devil is in the details and that is where the enemy makes is living. Driven by political agenda and a false Utopian desire mold and shape the psyche of America, these so-called journalists abandon truth for power, persuasion, and profits. In his day, Jefferson lamented over the condition of such a state of journalism: “I really look with commiseration over the great body of my fellow citizens, who, reading newspapers, live & die in the belief, that they have known something of what has been passing in the world in their time; whereas the accounts they have read in newspapers are just as true a history of any other period of the world as of the present, except that the real names of the day are affixed to their fables.” America ought to share the same distaste for the condition of most mainstream, corporate media today. It is no wonder that these people feigning journalism while engaging political prostitution have lost the respect of the people. It’s not freedom of press that the America people are angry at, it is the continual stream of lies and manipulated half-truths that are driving the public into outrage as seen at a recent Trump rally, where the crowd yelled their sentiments of disgust at CNN’s John Acosta. The people were not yelling “truth sucks,”
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“freedom of press sucks,” they were yelling “CNN sucks,” THERE IS A DIFFERENCE. Many Americans have come to think as Jefferson did in 1807: “I will add, that the man who never looks into a newspaper is better informed than he who reads them; inasmuch as he who knows nothing is nearer to truth than he whose mind is filled with falsehoods & errors. He who reads nothing will still learn the great facts, and the details are all false.” Perhaps that is why the rebuttals by these people and their corporate sponsors have become louder and more frequent; people are tuning them out, turning them off, and their bottom line and their market share are in jeopardy. Too bad they aren’t as dedicated to the truth they abandoned long ago in the name of Market Shares.
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President Donald J. Trump – Savior of U.S. Leadership at Home and Abroad By Stevens P Ray Former Candidate of Iowa Governor
In all my years of following presidential politics, I have never witnessed such an excoriation of a sittingpresident across so many fronts, even from members of President Donald J. Trump’s own party, my party.
Donald Trump attained success as a businessman through the very methods and knowledge which has aided him in transforming the role of the presidency since he took office in January 2017.
What does this say about the future of politics within our nation? And, even more importantly, what does this say about the future of the presidency and the perceived right of some to feel they can simply usurp the constitutional authority of the president of the United States by their very voice through accusations and, at times, proven fabrications with the intent to derail a duly-elected administration by the people?
For the last 25 years of modern presidential administrations, the power of the presidency was diminished because the office-holders, who represented the apex of the executive branch of our government, often deferred their role, or accepted submissiveness, to others in times where they needed to pull the reigns harder and steer others toward their vision and use their “bully-pulpit” to set the direction
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of domestic and foreign policy as the president believes it should be. This is the president’s elective privilege granted to him by the U.S. constitution by the very power of the people who elevated him to the highest office in the land through their individual freedom to do so at the ballot box. When President Trump announced he was running for president in July 2015, I was not immediately onboard with his candidacy. I, initially, was behind Governor Jeb Bush. After Bush failed to secure primary wins, and as Donald Trump’s surge moved toward the GOP nomination, I quickly realized that the reason I was not behind him at first was because he was different than all other presidential hopefuls I had been accustomed to, both Republican and Democratic. This soon evolved into my view of President Trump as a revolutionary, a voice for those who didn’t have one before, and the true antiestablishment president that so desperately needed to roll into our nation’s capital like a tsunami. I ran in the Iowa GOP gubernatorial primary season from July 2017 through February 2018. Like President Trump, I recognized the that our state’s capital city was rife with special interests who enjoyed being in the pockets of both major political parties. I was not part of the “establishment” in Des Moines, so the party rallied around the current GOP governor, despite having myself and another GOP gubernatorial candidate challenging a sitting governor of our own party, who had only taken over as governor just months before I announced, serving previously as lieutenant governor. I quickly realized that, as President Trump had warned those seeking office, like himself, who were also“outsiders” will soon see the circling of the wagons by those who wish to protect those on the inside establishment tract who want to protect their interests and preserve their power for themselves, not in the interests of their constituents, to keep sacred the bond among those in both parties to maintain their back-door deals and keep the trappings of power they so enjoy at the expense of American taxpayers, or state taxpayers in my case when running for governor. Someone new as governor? Egad, we
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can’t have that! He/she might change something for the better or do something completely different. The establishment cannot tolerate that.\ President Trump has been successful in helping GOP candidates running in tight races this mid-term election, most notably in primaries nationwide, with his endorsements of GOP candidates that have been winning! I only hope that these candidates hold true in supporting the president’s agenda if they are elected and are not simply using his endorsement, or speaking in support of his measures, to benefit from President Trump’s voicing on their behalf in state elections. I fear many in the GOP like to use the president’s high achievements across the mainstream electorate in our nation, but don’t practice what they preach back-home. They continue to feed the establishment in their backyards and refuse to drain the swamps within their own states, such as in my own state of Iowa. If they fail to do that, I hope a good ‘ol calling-out by the president will get them on the right track or let them know he won’t support them in the future if they fail to show the same results the president touts at the national level for the good of our nation first and the new ideals of the GOP under President Trump. Speaking of achievements, let’s look at some of the significant, positive-impacting endeavors President Trump and his administration have implemented since he took office: • Tax-cuts – much needed, beneficial for the average working American family while helping small businesses, which employ a clear majority of Americans and doesn’t burden them with excessive tax burdens. • The economy is robust and keeps moving the bar even higher. The president’s leadership has been the impetus behind this with major manufacturing and Fortune 500 companies that know he means business when he says, “America First!” • Dismantled the Iran deal, so bogusly implemented by President Barack Obama and then-Secretary of State John Kerry with them giving away billions of
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American dollars to the largest producer of statesponsored terrorism is anathema to every Christian value we cherish as a nation. • Supporting our military and letting them do their jobs to preserve peace around the world. This also includes his commitment to U.S. veterans, doing what is right for them, ending bureaucratic red-tape and fighting to reduce veteran homelessness. • Lowering unemployment rates among minorities and other notable groups, including of-work-age teenagers. The mainstream rarely reports this. I wonder why? Maybe the truth hurts “fake” media. • Trade: keeps working toward fairer trading on U.S. imports and exports of goods. Many countries have taken advantage of us for years, under many administrations and congressional sessions who let it occur. President Trump will not let this be the case anymore. • Still fighting to remake the healthcare system to be simpler, smarter, and economically advantageousfor the average American. Obamacare has been a disaster. The president has said this many times, and he is committed to changing that. Some drug companies have frozen their prescription drug prices with the president’s plea. I believe more will follow suit. • The United States has become more respected around the globe because leaders know we have a president that means what he says and does what he intends. Gone are the days of paying lip-service to other nations and paying their way in international organizations. It’s time for them to pay toward world peace and security and President Trump has made that abundantly clear. • The president seeks comprehensive immigration reform and will build that wall to keep less desirable illegal aliens from coming into our country and committing crimes. Congress needs to get off their collective behinds and pass immigration legislation to build the wall and deal with immigration issues easier and clearer as it relates to the protection of Americans
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and our borders, especially for law enforcement. • President Trump began his run for the presidency with the mantra to “Make America Great Again,” and to drain the swamp. He has been met with resistance from individuals and groups from both political parties, but he has proven them wrong and succeeded in more ways than we even imagined. The president works tirelessly and will not give up. I believe he will win the 2020 election in a resounding victory against any Democratic nominee, due in large part to most Americans who believe he has set our nation on the right path, a path inclusive of Christian values and doing what is right for everyday Americans. The mainstream media has denied President Trump the recognition he deserves at every single turn, not willing to recognize all his efforts for the people of the United States. It truly is shameful. The political landscape is changing in this country, day-by-day. Voters are growing weary and down-right tired of the same political mouthpieces talking a good talk but never accomplishing anything but holding on to their own power, the power of their friends and rich donors, their own special interests, all while holding their seats forever and drawing their large elected-office salaries and other benefits they enjoy. Current and future office-seekers better understand that voters want results. It is no longer enough to have the “name,”but you must showcase the work you’ve done, or want to do and what results you have delivered. President Trump delivers everyday on numerous campaign promises and that is what is helping him ride high in his successful presidency. I support our president and, like him, wanted to shake-up and drain the swamp in my own state if I was given the opportunity. This 2018 election-cycle was not my time, but perhaps another time will come. Just knowing that you want to do right for the people, rid the system of those who take advantage of their office, and their buddies, makes one realize you want to utilize your Christian faith to serve your constituents as a true servant of Christ on earth. We need more of this in politics, in both parties, pursuing that focus every day. I will be behind President Trump’s reelection in 2020. I may very will run for governor of Iowa again. Who knows, maybe I’ll get lucky and get and endorsement from the president in the future. I’d be honored and will work hard for my state just as he has for our nation. God Bless
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The General Election “The Super Bowl of Politics” By Pastor David Colbert
Like the first of the Super Bowl Games between the (AFL)Kansas City Chiefs and (NFL)The Green Bay Packers so goes the Super Bowl of Politics. The Chiefs are the Republican and the Packers are the Democrats. The Chiefs are concerned about all Americans, while the Packers are trying to pack their pockets with our hard earned money, our taxes. I have been around a few years. The Republicans unlike the AFL Chiefs came back and won the Super Bowl of Politics, The Trump Administration seeks to retain the trophy and continue to win for all Americans. I want to share the definition I found for Nationalism. Nationalism (NFL) is defined as being devoted to your country, or the feeling that nations should act independently instead of working together. The Democratic Party like the NFL Packers say we should not work with Nations that play do not nice, like maybe Russia, North Korea or maybe Iran or some other nations. President Trump however knows, that in this quote, unquote “Global Economy” We must attempt to work within this structure if we want to make America great again as stated as his campaign promise. He knows if we want to do this we must participate more in this Global economy. The President however also wants to insure we get our fair share in the Market Place of the World. We can no longer as a country act like we are the only ones who have something to offer the world. God made this nation great and I believe he will do it again. God bless America. There are many countries that can bring new technologies, and innovative products to the Market Place of the World. We are not the only ones, though admittedly we do very well on improving on what is already out in the Market Place. President Trump is simply saying we can’t rely on pass successes, thinking we are “all that a bag of chips” to coin a phrase. We need to let go of our Superiority Complex and realize we are not the only players on the field.
We were once producers, but to the world now we are consumers. President Trump is trying to make “Made in America” hold clout in the world’s economy again. America has a lot of great companies and we need to introduce them and their products and services to the world. President Trump wants America to become a more competitive producer, and will not work with those who want to stop our forward movement such as China. I know there are some countries who have held the rings for a while and will not make it easy, but I believe that the good old U.S. of A. will prevail in the end. We will make America Great again in the world market place. I urge all Republicans, Conservatives and Independents to get out and vote in this Super Bowl of Politics. We must prevail for the American People. We must maintain as Republicans our control over the House and the Senate, because if we don’t the wheels of progress will grind down to a halt under Democratic Party politicians control. I for one have had enough of that. Please vote so that we can move towards a renewed economy and a strong and united government for All Americans. Please support your Republican Party. In these final weeks the attacks are going to come against all the Chiefs. Don’t be surprised because the Democratic Party are professionals at using smoke and mirrors to get us off focusing on the true needs in this country. We have a great President in Donald Trump. He knows how to keep his composure while under attack amidst all the wild and truly unfounded accusations hurled at him and his administration. We need to win the “Super Bowl of Politics” so our team can continue to improve American lives. The Republicans at this time maintain a majority in the House and the Senate. In order for this government’s recovery we must as Republicans help our party to maintain control. I believe it will happen, but I am encouraging you to vote to make sure we don’t lose our edge.
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In the way of information we as Republicans have 51% in the Senate while the Democratic Party has 47%. In the House we have 238 representatives and the Democratic Party has 197 Representatives. We need to gain more seats but let’s at least maintain what we have. I predict another victory for the Republican Party, but we the people need to vote. We the American people win, when the Republican Party is in control of the House and the Senate. Please keep the McCain Family in your Prayers on the loss of a great politician and servant to the American people Senator John McCain. We will miss you dearly. Let’s help our boys and girls bring home the trophy once again for the “Super Bowl of Politics” The General Election in November 2018. God Bless You and God Bless America and the World.
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The 21st Century Church: “This Is Not Your Great Grandmother's Church!” by Pastor Evangelist Arthur L. Weathersby
Life is full of changes; things that we have to adjust and adapt to that allow us to successfully live our lives! We as human beings, go through changes; becoming mature as we age (hopefully) as well as wiser as we gain greater knowledge as we go through our daily learning. For those who are of my era, baby boomers; we've seen great technological advances that have propelled us to do things in this 21st century in ways we never would have imagined. Wi-Fi, iPhones, smartphones, computers, the internet and digital technology have allowed us to communicate with one another through mechanisms that were only seen in science-fiction movies! Truth is, we human beings are creatures of habit. We enjoy knowing that something or what we do is consistent with what we were taught and have done throughout our lives. We love knowing exactly what to expect from one another and the things we use and/or encounter because, we don't like surprises! We want to be comfortable in knowing that things are always the way they have been; change is not an option we look to! So, what is going on with our Christian churches? Why do they not physically resemble the churches of old and why do our worship services seem to be something like a “theatrical play?” There is a new generation born of this century and they have a whole different perspective on life, the things of life and how they are presented to them! The growth of mega churches also greatly influence the way church is being seen today! Instead of a traditional church building with pews and stained windows; you now have what looks like theaters and/or an amphitheater! A stage instead of a pulpit! Preachers in suits and if women, in dresses and/or skirts instead of robes! There are drama and dance ministries instead of regular devotion and praise and worship! Oh yeah, many do not see attending church as something viable in this day and age although the scripture says in Hebrews 10:25 from The Amplified Bible as follows; “Not forsaking or neglecting to assemble together [as believers], as is the habit of some people, but admonishing (warning, urging, and encouraging) one another, and all the more faithfully as you see the day approaching.” Instead of attending church as of old; many do “virtual church” brought to them by television and the internet! Oh yeah, there is no fundamental teaching nor preaching of God's
Word as Preachers of The Gospel (Good News) have allowed and/or have been persuaded to preach “social gospels (news of the day) or prosperity (without considering Matthew 6:33 --- “Seek you first the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness and all these things will be added unto you.)!” Living holy and teaching and/or preaching about sin, “is a thing of the past or the way we used to do it!” Although new presentations of our worship services is not a bad thing; we must stay true to the integrity of Christianity! Hebrews 13:8 in The Amplified Bible states this; “Jesus Christ (the Messiah) is [always] the same, yesterday, today, [yes] and forever (to the ages). If Jesus Christ never changes and according to John 1:1 as found in The Amplified Bible: “IN THE beginning [before all time] was the Word (Christ), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God Himself.', why should our worship of Him change? Truth is, IT SHOULDN'T! Seeing as how he tells us that in John 4:23-24 (KJV); “23 – But the hour cometh, and is now, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. 24 – God is a Spirit; and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” Thus lies the answer why the modern day “church” does not resemble the churches of old! There is NO operation of God's HOLY SPIRIT within our worship! Oh, there is a lot of entertainment and for many of today's church attendees (note I didn't say worshippers and/or congregations), this satisfies them as this is just what they are looking for; to be entertained! This is the reason my wife, Pastor Sherry O. Weathersby and my self have been endowed with Sound The Alarm Ministries (God gave it to my wife as a vision close to 8 to 9 years ago while she lived in Columbus, Ohio)! Joel 2:1 is our foundation scripture and it states: “Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh;” In other words, God is not pleased with how His believers are portraying themselves as His representatives/ambassadors! Just because we believe we can redefine the way we worship in our churches in order
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to gain a “large crowd” and; preach messages that will not offend “anyone” by avoiding talking about sin so that we can have “large offerings;” don't be deceived God is not mocked, you will reap what you have sown! By the way, He is soon to return! Our primary motto for Sound The Alarm Ministries comes from Isaiah 58:1 as follows: “Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show my people their transgressions, and the house of Jacob their sins.” In case you didn't know, these 2 scriptures are applicable to the modern day Believers in Christ! God is not pleased with our service nor our worship services! It's time to go back to when you attended church, you were assured of “hearing a Word from The Lord!” Our worship services should not resemble “Showtime At The Apollo!” Let's have church...
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Thank You to President Trump By Brandon Cook
First let us start this editorial out by giving a huge Thank You to President Trump. He is absolutely doing what we elected him to do. Never in history has a political figure completed as much as he has in as little time as he has done it in or keep as many promises. For that I Thank You and God bless you Sir. The questions posed to me for this editorial were “Why do Democrats want to impeach President Trump and why do they really fear President Trump?”. These are both very great questions and I’m really not sure that the Democrats themselves can honestly answer them.
The Trump Derangement Syndrome is real for these Americans and the only cure is to get rid of President Trump. If you thought the screaming into the sky was bad in 2016 just wait until they lose in November then again on President Trump’s historic victory in 2020.
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Let me take on the impeachment question first. The quick easy answer is that they fear him. They truly believe that Russia and Trump colluded against Hillary to steal the presidency from their candidate. Even though absolutely no evidence has been found to this day after fifteen months and millions of dollars. Next we have the so called facts that Trump is a racist, bigot, Xenophon, sexist white male that they say make him unqualified to hold the office of the President. Now the fear question. The Democrats are just scared that he will actually succeed and go down in history as the greatest President of our time. Plain and simple answer is he is doing more in him first 18 months in office then most of the Democrat Congress members have done combined in the last twenty years. He is keeping his promises which never happens in politics. He is a complete outsider and can not be controlled by any special interest groups. He is creating jobs for their voting base and their voters are leaving in droves. We don’t even want to bring up the fact that they have no platform to run on in this cycle not to mention that they have no chance of beating him in 2020. I could go on and on with all of President Trump’s great accomplishments but I will not. The fact is they just don’t know how to control him and that has them scared senseless.
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