Thursday, February 25, 2016

Can America Be Restored?

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America the Beautiful has become, in many respects, America the Bizarre.

The law is often openly defied by the government, Christians are prosecuted as criminals, children "transition" to the opposite sex, traditional marriage, a model created by God and as old as the human race itself is "redefined," killing unwanted unborn babies is a woman's right, therefore a value, the president supports our enemies and a nation founded upon biblical Judeo-Christian values is not allowed to talk about those values publicly because of a purposefully inverted comment by Thomas Jefferson.

Can America be restored politically and culturally?


Can America Be Restored Politically?

The news and commentary website Townhall is no fan of Trump, nor am I personally endorsing Trump. This young writer, Justin Holcomb, is fed up and disillusioned with the political system. He is not, as some of his peers are doing, supporting Bernie Sanders. He is, however, trying to work within the Republican Party to find a solution to our current cultural problems. He also is widely read.

My point in sharing his column is to point out how he and others define the state of affairs politically---and how they perceive the answer to the problems.

Justin Holcomb. Townhall.

Donald Trump is exposing the truth about the GOP. Our conservative party is led by delusional and incompetent politicians who cannot win at anything. A 15 year war, two trillion in funding that war, thousands of American lives sacrificed, and absolutely nothing to show for it is what the GOP has done for America. We need to start admitting the truth if we want to restore America to the powerhouse it once was.
For years, we have been told by numerous politicians that they would 'shake-up' Washington, D.C. None of those who made the promises have done anything. Obama has completely manhandled the weak House of Representatives and Senate and Americans are finally fed up. Everything the media has said is either a lie or completely wrong; out of respect, I will choose to believe the latter.
Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio refuse to get out of each other's way, and therefore, Trump continues to dominate all parts of this country. This is but a small sample of what has been going on in Washington for the past 8 to 16 years; politicians putting their own personal status above the common good for the country. Americans are fed up and have absolutely no trust in the Republican Establishment.
In nine months, Donald Trump has undoubtedly changed the political nightmare that has consumed this country. Donald Trump single handedly destroyed the Jeb Bush campaign and did it with ease. He is making a mockery of the two first term Senators and is on a clear path to winning the Republican nomination.
America, this is but a small sample of the 'shake-up' that you have been yearning for.

From this he goes on to make his pitch for Trump, whom he supports.

His take on American politics reflects the feelings of many in America today.

Yet, we will never be politically restored until we are culturally restored. And cultural restoration will follow personal and spiritual restoration.

Can America Be Restored Culturally?

In his book, "The Snapping of the American Mind: Healing a Nation Broken by a Lawless Government and Godless Culture," best selling author David Kupelian notes, "More than 130 million Americans are dependent on mind altering substances just to get through life, 1 in 4 middle-aged women taking antidepressants, 1 in 10 girls engage in 'cutting', and 110 million Americans have a sexually transmitted disease."

These statistics are much higher per capita on college campuses.

He recently told my friend Perry Atkinson, "You cannot teach, as the Left does, the next generation that there is no God, that there are no values, there's no right or wrong, that you can have sex with anything that moves, there's no morality, that America is a horrible country, and on and on---you can't do that to people without incurring these consequences."

According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, about 42,000 Americans die each year by suicide---about 13 per 100,000 people feel so negatively about their life they kill themselves. And for every successful suicide, there are 25 suicide attempts.

Washington State and Oregon are leading the nation in legalized physician assisted suicide---helping those who can't do it on their own, while calling it "death with dignity."

During this political season we hear a lot about the "Left" or the "Right" because that's how it once was, and it's convenient for the press in their reporting because many of them are still living in the past.

"Left" and "Right" refer to past political ideologies.

We've moved past that to a more defined ideology based on one's worldview.

Kupelian says, "Terms like 'left' and 'right' do not adequately capture the current political-cultural paradigm in America because those terms tend to convey moral equivalence," suggesting it's more a case of "up or down" with the Left intent on taking down traditional Judeo-Christian values and the Right intent on upholding them.

The "left" or secular progressives cannot function without consistently standing against God's laws.

An example: Winston Churchill defined socialism as "the gospel of envy," saying socialism was literally built on one's ability to institutionalize envy, which violates the Commandment, "Thou shalt not covet."

The left fights for abortion as a value---a right. What about "That shalt not murder?"

Review the Ten Commandments by placing them beside the top ten agenda items of the "Left."

Putting the secularist's priorities beside the Christian priorities is extremely revealing.

The Left is more and more becoming a voice for "remaking" America by fundamentally redefining the very foundations of society---marriage, family, the sanctity of life.

It is an act of rebellion, not only against America's historical past, but against God's eternal Word. Our Founders recognized the durability and sustainability of God's Laws. The secularists do not. They demand ever evolving "truth" so they can adapt it to affirm the preferred lifestyle at any given time.

What we call the "Left" is at war with God because they are at war with His Word, principles and values---even though many of the "Left" identify themselves as "Christian."

This administration has created a murky, dark, rebellious cultural environment.

And it has been enabled through the silence of the church. Silence has been the preferred hiding place for too many pastors and parishioners.

The church has, in too many cases, become silent and shallow, even hollow, while America, especially our kids, have skated onto the thin ice of spiritual deception and religious heresy.

Under the guise of "relating" to the world, we have become so like the world, there is no distinguishing difference.

In an attempt to replenish the pews, main line denominational churches have decided same-sex marriage is some how "right" even though God Himself says it's "wrong."

From this, the so-called religious Left has emerged with preachers like Jim Wallis, Tony Compollo and others who mislead people in local churches while becoming advisers to both President Barack Obama and President Bill Clinton.

These and other leaders within the church find reason to evolve with the times forsaking Scripture, adapting to the culture as the culture self destructs.

Chelsen Vicari formerly with Concerned Women for America, now with the Institute on Religion and Democracy, has written an insightful article of how the religious Left is deceiving millions in America.

She says, "Peek behind the curtain of some 'progressive' or 'hip' evangelical churches, past the savvy technology and secular music, and you will find more than just a contemporary worship service. You'll find faith leaders encouraging young evangelicals to trade in their Christian convictions for a gospel filled with compromise. They're slowly attempting to give evangelicalism an 'update'---and the change is not for the good."

It's a revealing article. I encourage you to read it.

Author David Kupelian says turning the culture around will be difficult, but not impossible---and it must be done.

He does not believe our country has passed a point of no return.

Neither do I. However, this is a time when Christians have got to get real about their faith--humble ourselves, ask forgiveness, speak the Truth to the culture, fear only God and trust Him to heal our land, in His way, in His time.

Be Vigilant. Be Informed. Be Discerning. Be Prayerful. Be Faithful. Be Blessed.