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Advancing Christian Life and Culture
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P. 3
C O N T E N T S
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DR. MYLES MUNROE: THE KINGDOM OF GOD AND LEADERSHIP
6 LIVING A LIFE OF FIRE
Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke has seen multiplied millions come to Jesus. Now, he’s telling his life story in a new book called “Living a Life of Fire.” Check out this exclusive one-on-one interview with The Voice magazine. B Y J E N N I F E R L E C L A I R E
DISCIPLESHIP VS. EVANGELISM By David Coker
14 Economy & Culture SAVING FREEDOM
Some say the United States – the world’s great bastion of freedom – is sliding towards socialism. Senator Jim DeMint is standing in the gap and drafting a blueprint to restore and protect the economic and social freedoms our founders fought for.
By Jennifer Leclaire
If you liked this you’ll also enjoy:
JUDGE NAPOLITANO: THE CAUSE OF LIBERTY PROCLAIMING LIBERTY FROM ECONOMIC BONDAGE By Jonas Clark
4 Publisher’s Desk
RESISTING EVIL POWERS By Jonas Clark
THERE’S MORE EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ONLINE
ROD PARSLEY GETS CULTURALLY INCORRECT AND SEES AMERICA’S GREAT AWAKENING
ARE ALL CHRISTIANS RIGHTWING EXTREMISTS? By Jonas Clark
Visit The Voice magazine online
www.TheVoicemagazine.com The Voice magazine also features articles on topics such as education, Christian life, leadership, marketplace and more.
T H E
P. 4
THE VOICE
V O I C E
No. 4
PUBLISHER’S DESK
®
Volume VI • Issue 4 September 1, 2009 Edition
__________________________
T H E V O I C E magazine’s mission is to advance Christian life and culture. _______________________
PUBLISHER Jonas Clark
RESISTING EVIL POWERS
T
he
EDITOR Jennifer LeClaire
Case MANAGING EDITOR Melanie Madon ART DIRECTOR Brian Burke DIRECTOR OF ADVERTISING Karen Ledbetter EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Elvera Baker Rhonda Clark C o p y r i g h t © 2 0 0 9 b y Jo n a s C l a r k Communications, Inc. All rights reserved, including translation. Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations in this magazine are from the King James version of the Bible. EDITORIAL INQUIRY: Have a question? Send your letters to: T H E V O I C E , 27 W. Hallandale Beach Blvd., Hallandale Beach, Fla. 33009 or send e-mail to editor@thevoicemagazine.com. CUSTOMER SERVICE: For a change of address or other customer service issues, call 954.456.6032 or send e-mail to service@thevoicemagazine.com.
Kingdom
of
God
never manifests without a battle.
The
battle,
however, is not really against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers that have crept in unawares.
in point:
One
of the most-read magazines in our nation focuses on
fashion, sex information and dating tips. This reveals the “dumbed down” condition of our nation. Issues like advancing Christian life and culture are void. Fiscal responsibility, personal liberty and the need for smaller government never reaches our ears amid the flood of mainstream media propaganda.
The spirit some call “change” is in fact attacking the very foundation of our Judeo and Christian beliefs. I believe there are forces trying to create a different America, what I like
to call a New America. This New America still has the same flag, the same Constitution and the same oaths… but make no mistake – it’s got a markedly different moral fabric. The spirit some call “change” is in fact attacking the very foundation of our Judeo and Christian beliefs.
Here at The Voice magazine we believe there will be no end to the increase
of Christ’s government, Kingdom and peace, to order it and establish it forever. Our nation is still great, but we’ll need to take up arms against an “ideological revolution” to keep it great. I am convinced the awakening has begun and God’s true patriots are running to the battle just like David, asking who dares to challenge the armies of the living God.
In this issue of The Voice, you’ll catch an evangelistic fire in an exclusive
interview with Reinhard Bonnke and explore America’s slide into socialism with Senator Jim DeMint. Be sure to visit our Website for more content that will help you advance Christian life and culture. Your partner, Jonas Clark
Visit The Voice magazine online
The Voice magazine sat down with Reinhard Bonnke to talk about his life, his ministry and his advice for others who, like him, have a burning desire to preach the Gospel.
LIVING A LIFE of FIRE Interview by Jennifer LeClaire
I
n large parts of the world, the
name Reinhard Bonnke needs no introduction – his reputation goes before him. Millions attend his massive crusades. Millions receive Christ. Millions witness spectacular demonstrations of God’s power. And millions receive the Holy Spirit.
Bonnke’s God-given
vision of a blood-
washed Africa changed his life, and has brought change to many parts of the world. In just the last decade alone, Bonnke’s evangelistic campaigns in Africa are responsible for over 52 million documented decisions for Christ.
His faithfulness in preaching the Gospel to forgotten people in some of the most remote places on the planet has created a modernday revival unknown to the Western media.
Bonnke
often says he went from
“zero
to hero,” which is an accurate portrayal of the youngest son of a preacher from a small village in Northern Germany. Today, his life is a model for generations of preachers to come and his stor y should inspire Christians to preach the Gospel without compromise. In fact, he’s challenging Christians everywhere to do something great for God.
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Why do you think God chose a young German man to evangelize Africa?
I
actually don’t know.
It
seems that
God Almighty does not need to explain Himself as to why He chooses one and not the other. He is Lord. He is God, and somehow He had planted such a hunger in my heart for Him that I didn’t hesitate at all and moved in God’s general direction which then became a specialized direction. When God placed it on your heart to bring the message of salvation to the entire continent of Africa, was it difficult to fathom? Did your mind struggle with that concept? How did you know for sure that God really called you to do that?
It was a struggle because I was
a missionary in Lasutu. That is how I arrived in Africa as a national missionary and I was not at all successful. I was with my back against the wall. I was g reatly disappointed that people were not interested in the message that I preached. It was absolutely frustrating. And then in the night I had
V O I C E
a vision – it was much more than a dream – seeing all of the continent of Africa being washed in the precious blood of Jesus, cleansed from all its sin and chains and bondages and evils. When I woke up it didn’t make sense to me at all. I said, “My ministry has no impact in this tiny little country called Lasutu and now I hear of a whole continent to be saved?” And I could not grasp that easily.
I had that dream for four consecutive
nights, and after night number four I said to my wife, “I think that God is trying to tell me something.” In that dream, I didn’t just see Africa washed in the blood of Jesus. I also heard a voice cry. I still think today that it was the voice of the Holy Spirit, “Africa shall be saved!” It penetrated my bone and my marrow. After night number four, wherever I went I said, “Did you hear already? Africa shall be saved.” My own fellow missionaries from Germany declared it to be crazy. They said, “Lets talk about Lasutu. It’s nonsense to talk about the whole continent.” I said, “You talk about Lasutu. God speaks about Africa.” I left Lasutu and I founded Christ for All Nations and the first crusade was a huge breakthrough and we just took off. Did you have mentors that helped to guide you, or were you just following the Holy Spirit?
I didn’t know with whom to speak. Who
could have helped me? I asked my superiors in the denomination where I was, “When is
God saving souls on a large scale?” All they said to me was “Wait for revival. Wait for revival,” until it dawned on me revival can only come when the Gospel is preached because the preaching of the Gospel precedes mass salvation. The preaching is always central. How did you deal with misunderstanding and rejection in the early days of your ministry?
THE MASSES Evangelistic Gospel Campaign in ILE IFE, NIGERIA
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V O I C E
A FLAME OF FIRE FOR EACH Reinhard Bonnke preaching the baptism of the Holy Ghost and Fire at FULL FLAME FIRE Conference in Stuttgart, Germany.
I
learned quite early in life to bless
those who hate you. I’ve learned that one basic thing. You need to always forgive others if you feel that you are being wronged so that my own channels to heaven will remain open.
Many times in the middle of the night
I jumped out of bed and my mind was full of things of what some people had said about me. I didn’t like it because it was a bunch of lies and I was walking up and down for hours at night in my little home and I prayed, “Lord I bless them that curse me, I bless them that curse me, I bless them that curse me.” And then after maybe an hour or so heaven just pierced my heart and crept into my soul. I had blessed them all and I had my channels open to heaven and the next meeting I saw great results. I think that is a true key point. If we start to defend ourselves and respond to every little rumor, we are actually paralyzing ourselves. That’s a powerful lesson and that’s a powerful truth. The spiritual warfare must be immense. What kind of opposition have you faced in your ministry? Have you faced opposition from denominations, leaders, other religions, demons? How did you press through it?
We are going to areas where there are
many other religions, whether they are animists or whether they are ancestry spirits or Islam. We are really in a hot terrain, so to speak, but I’ve learned that the Gospel is the power of God for all who believe. We don’t need to pray for power. The Gospel is the power. When it is preached, it is released and it does its own glorious work. It’s not a struggle. I always feel we are on top of it all.
Oftentimes we are in areas where they
told me, “No evangelist has ever come here” and I couldn’t believe my own eyes. I had 400,000, 700,000, 800,000 people in a single meeting and when I arrived there it felt to me, in my spirit, as if the satanic infrastructure in that region had never ever been challenged and that is why all these animism, these spirit worships and ancestry worship and all the occult things were striving and festering and tormenting the people.
Jennifer,
every time
I
stood up and
preached the Gospel, it was sometimes as if I could hear how this satanic infrastructure, as I call it, was crushed and destroyed and how God’s Kingdom began to replace it. To stay five days in a row was minimum. I needed it. And things are truly changing.
More Related Articles Online: Christian Living
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A year later sometimes people call me
from areas like and they say, “You know, since you were here the occult spirits no more speak. They have fallen silent.” I say, “That’s no surprise to me. We cast them out in the name of Jesus.” You can see there is an awesome change. The tables have turned and Jesus is Lord, and the whole area is rejoicing. So you pressed through the opposition with the power of the Gospel.
Always
with the
Gospel. And I
don’t
go and preach the Gospel because I have all power. I go and preach the Gospel because
V O I C E
“I go and preach the Gospel because Jesus said that all power is given unto Me, so He is with us. We go out and preach the Gospel, we preach it together with the One who holds all power and I tell you, He never falls short to chip in.” – Reinhard Bonnke Jesus said that all power is given unto Me, so He is with us. He goes with the goers and He works with the workers. But He doesn’t sit with the sitters, and neither does He sleep with the sleepers. We go out and preach the Gospel, we preach it together with the One who holds all power and I tell you, He never falls short to chip in. How marvelous. What do you think makes you dif fer ent fr om other evangelists?
I
don’t think
I’m
different.
We
all
have the same Gospel, and there are great men of God. I tell you, I have come to honor the humblest missionary, I’ve come to honor those men who, hundreds of years ago, went to Africa not seeing a single soul saved. They actually have been sowing with tears what we today are reaping with joy. According to the words of Jesus in John Chapter 4, He said, “You have entered the labor of other people.” So we connect with their work. They have been sowing in tears what we are reaping in joy together. One party is in heaven. The other is on earth.
Were there times when you felt like you wanted to give up? How did you overcome your feelings?
There
are times where things
don’t seem to go so well. There are times where we look at each other and say “What is wrong?” But this has been a great lesson to me. A year
or two later I had kicked off a crusade, I said, “Well, it didn’t go so well.” Then we move on. Then I heard reports of what happened in those areas and the awesome manifestations of God’s power and changes in that area.
O h,
we must never judge quickly.
We
must leave it to God. God’s Word never returns void. I’ve learned my lesson. I’ve told my team we will never, never, never say this crusade was not good. Never. It would be an insult to the Gospel and the God of the Gospel. We are now experienced and we know how the rapids run, as we would say in Germany, and we keep plugging away and some places harder than another. It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter. That’s a wonderful perspective. That’s a way to keep yourself encouraged, knowing that God’s Word indeed never returns void. It will accomplish what it was sent forth to do. What is one of the most surprising things you’ve learned about the moving of the Holy Spirit?
Well I grew up with the truth of the
Holy Spirit because my parents were Pentecostal and my father was a pastor and what I learned there was just, I would say, the minimal truth of the Holy Spirit, of His power, God’s fire. In Africa, it suddenly dawned on me and the Holy Spirit Himself started to teach me that God has decided from the beginning, that in the last days He would pour out His spirit upon all the flesh. I thought that prayer for the Holy Spirit was inaccurate in a closed prayer meeting just with some insiders so to speak.
And then the Lord spoke to me, right
at the beginning. He said, “Tomorrow I want you to pray for the baptism of the Holy Spirit.” I said, “Lord, this is not for a stadium, this is an evangelistic crusade, to pray for the baptism of the Holy Spirit is for a church service.” And the Lord said to me, “I‘ll give
More Related Articles Online: Christian Living
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V O I C E
P. 11
ever produce, whether it’s our good preaching or good communication or something in the natural. The real heart of real success is in the Holy Spirit. That is so true. You’ve met State Presidents and addressed Houses of Parliament. What role should the Body of Christ play in world governments?
I only represent myself and what I say
SAVED A new born disciple from the Great Gospel Campaign in Mubi, Nigeria. you a good reason why that is not so. On the last day, my Spirit bled on all flesh.” I could see there was so much flesh around. That promise would never be fulfilled if we just think in terms of churches, and then I started to pray for the baptism of the Holy Spirit
in the biggest meetings whether I preached to a million or just to 50,000 and the Lord has been faithful. I can honestly say He has been saturating all nations with His glory and with the Spirit of God. It is something so powerful that exceeds anything we could
is my opinion. I stayed of out politics when I was preaching wherever I went and I’ll tell you why. The moment I would identify with a political party – let’s say the same party as the president – I would be politically tainted and would only be acceptable to that section of society that happened to like that party. But the Gospel is for all. So I always refuse to endorse politicians and when their election times came I sometimes made enemies because I didn’t endorse anybody. I am not the servant of a handful of rich people. I’m not the servant of a political majority. I am a servant of God. I have a Gospel that is for each and every one and anything that could taint this message, I will avoid. That has kept me on the road until today. This is my personal
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V O I C E
No. 4
“I realized my mortal lips preached the eternal Gospel, my mortal hands build God’s eternal Kingdom, and all heaven is involved when sinner’s get saved on earth.” – Reinhard Bonnke
Ah, there are so many. You know I have
BLIND EYES OPENED The muslim gentleman with the yellow hat was totally blind for 8 years, but Jesus healed him. approach and my personal opinion. I thank God for Christian politicians. I truly thank God. I pray for them. But I as an evangelist, I have to remain neutral so that I’m acceptable to the whole spectrum of society. I can see the wisdom there. What advice would you give to other evangelists? What can you impart that would help them along their way?
Anyone
who preaches the
Gospel
has
true greatness in their mouth and it’s the greatest thing that we could ever speak because it is God’s eternal Word which is confirmed as we preach it by the Holy Spirit.
I would say to anyone don’t be timid. Don’t be intimidated. Keep storming the gates of hell. Jesus says unhinge them. And we will plunder hell and populate heaven as we keep preaching the Gospel and bringing those who got saved in contact with Bible-believing
churches where they can be nourished and where they themselves can become preachers of the Word of God.
I think we often don’t like to offend people, but we don’t mind to offend God. We must preach the Gospel as it is. If we preach what the apostles preach we will get what the apostles got. It is no secret. It is as simple as that. So to anyone who wants to launch out to preach the Gospel, I would say preach the cross of Christ, teach the blood of Jesus Christ, make a clear, clear call for a decision for Jesus and don’t forget to pray for the sick because this is part for the Great Commission and that is part and parcel of our job. We pray for the sick to be healed and Jesus does the healing. All glory and honor goes to Him.
Looking back over the past 35 years and all you’ve witnessed of God’s glory, what has left the greatest impression on your life?
More Related Articles Online: Christian Living
seen how in one meeting well over 1 million people receive Jesus as their Savior and completed a decision card that they got from the counselor. The number is not an estimate. It is a proper count from these cards. But one thing I will never forget, when I left that huge crowd there were 1.6 million people – an ocean of humanity. When I lead them into prayer of salvation, I felt as if I heard an echo from heaven. I really felt I heard an echo from heaven. And that was so profound, so awesome, so fantastic. I realized my mortal lips preached the eternal Gospel, my mortal hands build God’s eternal Kingdom, and all heaven is involved when sinner’s get saved on earth. I mean, we’ve seen fantastic manifestations of the power of God. But that, I would classify as number one. What do you see as the biggest challenges facing the Body of Christ in this hour and how do we overcome them?
I do not want to use a big brush because
there are always fantastic exceptions. The Church of Jesus Christ, in very many countries, has become sleepy, self-concerned, preaching a Gospel of self-affirmation instead of salvation. These are things I’m sure which don’t please the Lord. It reminds me of the parable of the 10 virgins. Five had trimmed their lamps and five had forgotten some extra oil. They all fell asleep. But soon thy will come. Behold the Bridegroom. May the Lord help us. We can rise with burning lamps to meet Jesus in the clouds of heaven. I believe it’s time for God’s people to shake up and wake up and speak up and never shut up, when called upon and even when not called upon. We preach the Gospel in season and out of season.
ONE ON ONE WITH SENATOR JIM DEMINT
No. 4
T H E
Senator Jim DeMint is standing in the gap and drafting a blueprint to restore and protect the economic and social freedoms our founders fought for.
What are some of the subtle ways you see socialism creeping in?
In “Saving Freedom,” I focus on the Great Depression and
thing is certain: high-profile bailouts and a
As Christians, we look to God and Christ as our provider. Looking to the government is the total opposite of what we should be doing.
United States –
bastion of freedom – is sliding towards socialism. Others characterize the slide as fascistic.
stimulus bill have toppled the walls between government and private sectors. Federal control now extends in various ways to education, healthcare, financial markets, real estate, businesses and even religion.
Out-of-control
spending is increasing
America’s
debt to
unsustainable levels. All signs point to an impending national bankruptcy and a drain on the political strength our framers fought for and our people worked so hard to achieve.
But
is the complete opposite of building on an
individual. It is building on the power of government and a collectivist approach to governing people.
the world’s great
ome say the
One
S ocialism
what FDR did during that period of vulnerability in our country to convince Americans that our free enterprise systems had failed. That’s how he ushered in the whole idea of labor union power that’s supported by government. Since that time we see every decade several new agencies at the federal level taking over education, a large part of health care, which they’re trying to finish that control now, transportation, energy, now General Motors, and the banks. We can see it over long period of time, particularly since the depression and FDR. We seemed to turn the corner in America where we no longer resisted government but we started looking to government for solutions.
BY JENNIFER LECLAIRE
S
P. 15
V O I C E
there is hope.
According
to
Senator Jim DeMint,
You’re right. We can’t serve two masters. It’s no coincidence
that Socialist Europe is post-Christian because socialism and secularism are two sides of the same coin. Basically as you become dependant upon the government for your income, health care, and the education of your children, that becomes a spiritual sickness. We see it in America today where people no longer look to God to help them in crisis. When
we
can stop America’s slide into socialism. In his book, “Saving Freedom,” DeMint has laid out a complete action plan to reclaim America’s freedom based on legislation that would reduce the nation’s debt. His plan also emphasizes reversing America’s cultural decline by restoring a strong spirit of faith, family and freedom.
The Voice magazine sat down with Sen. DeMint to discuss his strategies for saving freedom.
You’ve said that socialism is the true enemy to freedom. Explain the dangers of socialism for our audience.
We almost have to explain first the principles of freedom,
because if Americans don’t know what made us exceptional, what made us prosperous, what made us good and compassionate, then the policies of socialism will go unnoticed or they will seem natural. Socialism is when the government owns or controls a large part of our economic system – and in the case of America today also our culture – determining what is right or wrong and what our morals should be.
Freedom, on the other side, focuses on the individual. The
key to being able to live in this freedom is for those individuals to be able to restrain themselves. That’s why the Christian-Judeo principles and value system was so important to the founding of our country. It made not only our culture work, but also our political and economic systems.
U.S. Senator Jim DeMint (R) South Carolina
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V O I C E I think we can look at Europe as a model of where we seem to be headed if we don’t stop this slide.
You’re right. People need to know this has been tried before
and it has been tried many times in the world. Our founders warned us that there is a tendency for your freedom to rescind and government to grow and that’s why they took such pains to divide the power of government between the federal, state, and local, assuming most of our economic growth would come from free people in the private sector. But once the government seeks to attempt to manage things by force, a lot of the things that work in a free society stop working. Now we see health care moving in that direction. The government has already infiltrated GM. We’re sliding quickly under the new administration. Are we nearing the point of no return?
I
think we are and
I
think that’s the urgency of
“Saving
Freedom.” It’s my cry for help, in a way, because I can’t change the Senate. I’m out numbered there unless Americans stand up and speak out all across the country. Forget the labels Democrat, Republican, or Liberal or Conservative. We have to think about what has worked and will always work in America. Two of the chapters in this book focus on how important the Christian faith, particularly after the Protestant restoration, was after the founding of this country. And how all observers, when they looked at this country, saw this amazing phenomenon where government was separated from religion but religion was key to making government work.
We
U.S. Senator Jim DeMint (R) South Carolina
“This is not money that we have. This is borrowed money. The increase in debt and the cost of that debt is threatening the future of our country. I’ve heard it from our allies and trading partners when I’ve been in Europe.” – Senator DeMint
a crisis comes, everyone seems to be looking to the government. I shouldn’t say everyone because I think a large number of Americans still know that we don’t want government running our lives. But, I think, particularly in the last election, at least emotionally, that we just wanted someone to take care of things for us. But there’s no evidence that has ever worked, whether in Europe or in the United States.
do want a secular government .
We
don ’ t want a
government forcing secularism on our society, on our schools, on our business, on our Boy Scouts as they’ve been doing. So it’s so important to our whole system that we have a people that have strong religious convictions that focus on the accountability of the individual to God. When that happens you don’t need the force of government to restrain you. That is why the Christian faith has proven to work so differently than any other religion around the world, particularly in secular societies, because it focuses on that individuals relationship with God and our accountability to Him. That’s what compels us to live a life that’s worthy of the Kingdom of God, but also improves our countries and our communities. It has always made America different. That’s a really good point. That’s undeniable. Looking at government’s spending, we see spending increasing at breakneck speed. What is the real cost of unrestrained government spending?
Spending
is at such unprecedented levels that it’s mind
numbing right now. If you think back to Bill Clinton, he proposed an $18 billion stimulus and everyone was astounded at that extravagance. Now we’re talking about well over $700 billion just for one bill, and that’s not working so we’re talking about another one. This is not money that we have. This is borrowed money. The increase in debt and the cost of that debt is threatening the future of our country. I’ve heard it from our allies and trading partners when I’ve been in Europe. The other countries that depend on our economy working are just astounded at what we’re doing to ourselves and they wonder if we will continue to be the economic and military power in the world.
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P. 17
THEIR FUTURE Florida Kids at Ft. Lauderdale TEA Party. I’ve seen some surveys in which the respondents seem to think that we won’t be a superpower within 10 years because of the decisions we’re making now.
Well that’s true. We’re mortgaging our future to try to
make some political promises and help people politically now. America is great for a reason and we’re sliding away from that towards a type of government and a type of country that has always failed in the past. But this country doesn’t belong to the government. It belongs to the people. I have seen on a number of occasions over the last few years people stand up against an immigration bill or against the auto bailout and a lot of Congressmen and Senators changed their minds. I think we have the ability to bring change now, if people would start standing up more, speaking out, e-mailing, calling their congressman and senators, and getting informed.
Courage
is a key.
To
get involved in public life, even as
someone writing an ad in the local paper or starting a blog or sending e-mails to print, there’s always a sacrifice because you’re going to always find enemies as soon as you express your opinion. I’m afraid Christians have been intimidated with this idea of separation of Church and State (which is not in our Constitution at all) and that maybe their views aren’t welcomed in the public square; that maybe expressing a value judgment about right or wrong is no longer welcomed. But we can’t have that anymore, because if a society can’t speak out about what’s right or wrong according to their religious convictions, the culture will continue to decline and those who want lower and lower standards will continue to prevail. But the biblical standards have preserved our country to this point. To what point we’re declining you can trace to a loss of those biblical standards. You really can. You can trace a lot of it back to taking prayer out of schools. More Related Articles Online: Economy | Culture
No. 4
I think that happened all over the country. Literally millions of people came out to protest our government and the media didn’t cover it very much. People are starting to see, when they show up for [these TEA Parties] that a lot of other people feel the same way they do. It’s giving them courage to continue their involvement.
I can tell you as someone who’s
Senator Jim DeMint (R) addressing citizens at a South Carolina TEA Party protest.
“The government, with a lot of bad policy, has hurt our whole financial system and now a lot of us are concerned about the Federal Reserve... They can bring our whole country down by destroying our monetary system and a lot of us are concerned that they might.” – Senator Jim DeMint
not any kind of denominational prayer at all. It was asking God to protect the teachers and the parents and it was showing honor to those people. When the courts threw that out a lot of things happened. Up to that point, the federal government had not gotten involved in education and the “State” as defined in this separation of Church and State did not define schools. They were not federal schools. But that court decision not only took prayer out of schools, it also began the process to separate values from our culture. That has really destroyed a lot of what makes America work. of faith are going to have to stand back up.
Our
pastors have been relegated to just preaching on Sundays. They’re afraid to go out in the community and say what’s right and wrong and challenge the culture. When I speak to pastors today I challenge them and say, “Don’t let this government make you hide within the walls of your church.” We need leaders. If we didn’t have pastors to lead this country in the revolution, America would never be free. What do you think about these TEA parties? Are they making a difference?
I
think they’re real important.
There
were
Why aren’t we seeing the fraud prosecuted? I know you have taken up the fight to audit the fed with Ron Paul. But so far the only guy we saw prosecuted was the only guy that confessed: Bernie Madoff.
A
You really can. I put that prayer in this book because it was
People
been a congressman and a senator, if I get a call from one of my offices in the state that 50 people are standing out there with signs telling me not to vote for this cap and trade electricity tax, I know that it is a serious issue. I know if 50 people come stand there that means thousands of people feel the same way. If I think I can vote for something like that to appease special interest groups and that the people back home are not paying attention, then I can have it both ways. That’s what politicians have been doing for years. They will say one thing at home and then they will go to Washington and vote with special interest groups. They’re not afraid of their constituents.
30
of them in
South Carolina on the 4th of July and the media largely ignored them.
lot of this
– I
don’t know if
I
would call it fraud,
ineptness, or just laziness is really with the politicians. They’re trying to blame everyone else, but this came down to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac a government entity that got in the middle of our financial system and encouraged banks and mortgage companies to make loans to people who couldn’t pay them back. Fannie Mae bundled all these up and sold them to securities all over the world and once some of these people started defaulting it was like a set of dominoes starting to fall. This wasn’t a problem with free enterprise and deregulation.
The
government, with a lot of bad policy, has hurt our
whole financial system and now a lot of us are concerned about the Federal Reserve, which is set up as an independent organization that was supposed to protect the value of our currency by regulating the money supply along with working with our banks. But now it’s doing so many other things and our laws forbid us from actually auditing all aspects of their operation. They can bring our whole country down by destroying our monetary system and a lot of us are concerned that they might. They’ve doubled our money supply in the last year and that’s something that has a lot of us concerned. Ron Paul in the House and I in the Senate and – even people to the far left like Bernie Sanders – are on the same bill to force an audit of the Federal Reserve. So far the democrats have blocked it, but we’re going to keep bringing it up until we get a vote on it.
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