Wall Street Journal and Graduation

Here is an article in the Wall Street Journal describing the attacks of Barry Lynn attacking the ability of a high school to even hold graduation ceremonies in a church building. The rationale, "Some students feel uncomfortable" in a place where there are crosses and symbols of Christianity?"

According to the ACLU, people are so super sensitive that the government must force churches to take crosses and spires off of buildings near the street because people are offended by them when they drive by the building.

These kids are so super sensitive that just looking at a cross makes them ill.

Or, just being on holy ground makes them susceptible to be converted.

Here is my question: "How can the possibly live in or even drive though Saint Louis or Santa Fe?" The hate speech of the ACLU is extremely offensive to me because they are accusing all Christians of hostile acts. Shall we sue them?

The Medical System is Broken?

A post from my other blog, Spiritual Healing and Growth. Is it? When we travel to other countries it doesn't look bad at all. In fact, most wealthy and famous people almost always choose to come to the USA for medical care from their home nations. Ken Blackwell writes about this in his recent post on the Huffington Post.

Blackwell points out that "World famous tenor Plácido Domingo has undergone surgery for the removal of a cancerous polyp. The surgery took place at New York's Mount Sinai Hospital. The hospital's spokeswoman announced that the cancerous growth was small and the opera star is expected to make a full recovery."

Despite the fact that Mr.Domingo is a millionaire man from Spain he came to America for medical care. Why did he not stay in Spain or go to the countries with the supposedly vaunted Socialist medical care such as Norway, Denmark, England? Why not Canada? Well, even the Canadians who head their health care system come to America for treatment.

American health care can be improved. It can be made less expensive. The insurance issues can be made more efficient and human. But those are things that need to be accomplished in small steps not by a take over by the Federal Government.

We are just finishing up a year long study of families with severely disabled children. One of their greatest complaints was the bureaucracy and lack of compassion they found. That kind of thing can be and needs to be changed. However, adding Federal oversight by the IRS will not reduce the coldness and inhumane treatment. Has anyone ever told you that the IRS is a model of care and compassion?

Medical care in the USA is superior at the technical level to that of any nation on earth, and it can be made better. Let's all work to improve it but not by giving more power to the Feds.

Stright Talk About Atheists

A Pagan With Nazi Tatoos

Over the last few weeks there has been some dust ups over signs placed in public places as well as government buildings over whether God exists or not. Atheists in Illinois have placed a very aggressive sign in the state capitol that attacks Nativity scenes, the birth of Jesus and the idea that God is real.

I am happy the atheists are finally coming out of the closet. They have been a hidden resource for far too long and used their influence through the shadow organizations to attack historic traditions of the USA through lawsuits, legal maneuverings and left wing judges. Now they are admitting their anti God and anti Christ and anti religious biases. Only when we flush out the real beliefs and ideas behind such groups can we get a true picture of who we are dealing with.

I have no doubt that Christianity will fare well in the public square of ideas if we get a chance to engage atheists honestly. As long as their aggressively promote their ideas as though they are from The US Constitution it is difficult to have a fair hearing. However, now they will need to be honest and open about their religious biases.

The atheist lobby has recently attacked Christianity, and all religious traditions, by suggestion that faith in God and organized religions have been and are responsible for most wars, oppressions and evil in the world. With the advent of radical Islam, the Crusades and other evil examples it is hard to debate their conclusions. However, when we and they must both stand in the full light of history and debate facts, the ideas of Judeo Christian thought are bright lights of liberty, justice and progression compared to pagan, Druid and atheist thought and behavior.

So, as we celebrate the birth of Jesus, let us live daily with the truth that God sent His Son into the world to rid it of all sin, sickness and psychopathology. We Christians have often failed to live out the legacy of love and truth but all in all God's rule and reign are growing whoever the gospel has been preached. Without Judeo Christian thought we could not even judge a behavior such as war, rape, abuse and murder are good or bad. Even an atheist cannot argue for a position of superior morality and ethic without resorting to the Bible either overtly or covertly.

Worship God in Spirit and truth this week and celebrate the fact that when atheists take a stand we can better witness to God's love, power and healing.

Cable TeleVision's Top Jocks

Whos is the most popular TV shows on cable? You might be surprised. I was but here are the data from the Drudge Report.

FOXNEWS HANNITY/PALIN 4,200,000: More than MSNBC & CNN
FOXNEWS O'REILLY 3,868,000
FOXNEWS BECK 2,512,000
FOXNEWS GRETA 2,383,000
FOXNEWS BAIER 2,235,000
FOXNEWS SHEP 1,980,000
_______________________
FOXNEWS TOTAL 18,000,000--WOW!!
_______________________
MSNBC OLBERMANN 1,041,000
CNNHN GRACE 1,036,000
MSNBC MADDOW 957,000
CNN KING 835,000
MSNBC HARDBALL 625,000
CNN COOPER 611,000

Who do you watch? who does President Obama watch?

Seasoned Believers Discerning the Times

Revival Camp Meeting Time


I believe we are in a new zeitgeist but the politicians, religious leaders and corporate leaders are missing most of it. Mr. Obama and his brain trust seemed to have caught the wave and rode it to victory in last year's election but they have currently regressed back to an earlier time. It will crush them if they don't wise up.


Many religious leaders seem to also miss what is happening as well. They talk about personal relationships, small groups, seeker friendly churches and meeting with people in Starbucks and on Face book. But in reality, when they set up a church they tend to fall back on what my professors used to call, "Theory X Leadership" when the world is rushing headlong into "Theory Y Partnerships".

Theory X is leadership from ignorance, hierarchy and distance. It is fond of bureaucracy, top down decisions, one way communication, secrecy, big meetings, mass communication, impersonal mass emails and talking heads with no feedback.

Theory Y Partnerships assume that we are equals in person hood, different in gifts and talents and that everyone has a place at the decision and action table. It is non hierarchical and open in communication while yearning for information and feedback as well as feed forward information.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

We are in the Fourth Great Awakening with an overarching emphasis upon personal involvement in all affairs, mistrust of authority, hatred of fakes and a deep desire for spiritual involvement.

Great Awakenings begin with an outpouring of the Holy Spirit that brings masses of people to faith in Christ. The next stage is marked by enormous enthusiasm for God, the Bible, worship and fellowship. Then people decide that they need to grow and learn how to follow Christ as His Disciples so study under a person, a church or institution is crucial. The next stage is that of involvement as a Disciple who serves God, usually in a religious setting.

After this stage the masses move from external religious emphasis to developing a deeper experience of the Spirit within. This leads them to seek ways to serve Go outside the church and religious realm so they turn to influencing family, society, community, politics and financial system.

In the late 1700's widespread revivals spread from town to town and village to village in the Colonies. This radically changed the face of the church situation from one dominated by Anglicans and Congregationalists, who were financially supported by taxes ala Great Britain, with a few Presbyterians thrown in to the rapid growth of two new groups. Baptists and Methodists.

The Baptists and Methodists wanted nothing to do with state support nor with seminary training. They relied on enthusiasm, individualism and God's personal leading to propel ministers on horseback and in house churches to preach, teach, baptize and support. After a few years these people dominated the life of the Colonies. They were generally anti-hierarchical, anti-organizational and defiantly independent.

In a few years these red blooded Colonialists started to preach that God had created all men equal and there was no such thing as "The Divine Rights of Kings". Until now such thoughts were foreign and unknown. Now they were openly preached, studied and believed by all but a few traditionalist Anglican Clergy and British Nobles.

Awakenings always focus on two issues: Political and Economic Freedom of choice. That was soon interpreted as "No taxation without representation" and "We have no God named King George". The Revolutionary War was a result of the First Great Revival that turned into the First Great Awakening.

Stay tuned for the second Great Awakening as well as the Third and today's Fourth Awakening.

Was the Killing Cover Up Worth It?

It is sometimes difficult to come up with a eulogy about a beloved political leader by supporters who must also be reminded of the truth. In a funeral of an unknown person the Minister and family can easily "forget" the facts of the person's life. But how can we forget the deadly and public part of Ted Kennedy's huge lifestyle.

Well, some liberals have decided to act like Kennedy was a saint whose life mirrored Mother Teresa or St. Francis. Perhaps we shall soon see bronze memorials with him talking to the birds. But one very liberal blogger faced his obvious sins and dealt with it in a unique manner. So unique, in fact, that it backfired.

Here is what the Huffington Post had to say about the Senator.

But in all the florid or scalpel-sharp prose, there's one constant: Peeking out from the center of the story is the matter of his playing a major part in the death of a 28-year-old woman.

Mary Jo wasn't a right-wing talking point or a negative campaign slogan. She was a dedicated civil rights activist and political talent with a bright future -- granted, whenever someone dies young, people sermonize about how he had a "bright future" ahead of him -- but she actually did. She wasn't afraid to defy convention (28 and unmarried, oh the horror!) or create her own career path based on her talents. She lived in Georgetown (where I grew up) and loved the Red Sox (we'll forgive her for that). Then she got in a car driven by a 36-year-old senator with an alcohol problem and a cauldron full of demons, and wound up a controversial footnote in a dynasty.

We don't know how much Kennedy was affected by her death, or what she'd have thought about arguably being a catalyst for the most successful Senate career in history. What we don't know, as always, could fill a Metrodome.

Still, ignorance doesn't preclude a right to wonder. So it doesn't automatically make someone (aka, me) a Limbaugh-loving, aerial-wolf-hunting NRA troll for asking what Mary Jo Kopechne would have had to say about Ted's death, and what she'd have thought of the life and career that are being (rightfully) heralded.

Who knows -- maybe she'd feel it was worth it.

This post originally appeared on Opinionistas.com.


So, maybe this young woman with a tremendous future ahead of her might speak from the grave after having her life prematurely ended by a drunken rich boy and say: "My life was a worthy sacrifice to give so your fame and fortune could grow."


I am constantly amazed at how far a worshipping political group will go to laud people who do not deserve it.

Gary Sweeten

The Best Layed Plans of Iran have Gone Away

Time Mag has printed an interesting article about how Iran's hard line actions are killing marriages and upsetting young people.

This is why it is impossible to predict the future.

Why is Mr. Obama Popular

Do you ever wonder why polls show President to be so popular despite his reckless, power hungry behavior? Maybe I have a partial answer. Many citizens of the United States are pretty ignorant about our history, values and traditions to say nothing of our laws.

For example, I was discussing the last election with a friend and mentioned that almost half the people in America pay no income tax. He called me a right wing liar. But it it true. I also told him that there is no money in the Social Security Trust Fund. He called me a right wing liar. It is also true.

A recent survey the 2008 Civic Literacy Report, write Patrick M. Ford, americancivicliteracy@mail2.isi.org, reveals that many Americans are unaware of the most basic aspects of our nations political system.

1. Nearly a third of the respondents failed to name two of America's enemies in World War Two; 22% of college graduates did not answer that question successfully.

2. Only 53% knew that congress retains the power to declare war. Nearly 40% believed this power belongs to the president--a finding with obvious perennial relevance.

3. 54% of respondents (and only 44% of 18- to 34-year-old) knew that Congress shares foreign policy power with the president; nearly a quarter (and almost a third of elected officials!) believed Congress shares such power with the United Nations.

4. Only 41% of Americans, and 53% of college graduates, could recognize that free enterprise or capitalism exists insofar as "individual citizens create, exchange, and control goods and resources." 17% of respondents thought that free enterprise or capitalism is a system in which "government implements policies that favor businesses over consumers.

This reveals once again that our voters are woefully ignorant so no wonder they support the current policies. Write to Mr. Patrick M. Ford americancivicliteracy@mail2.isi.org to get the entire report.

Also see this report for information about the nation's laws.

Gary Sweeten

Oama and Non Profits

Will Obama kill charities? Maybe. His drive to tax high income eraners and reduce tax deductions looks pretty ominous. Take a look at the analysis of Dick Morris.

OBAMA SOAKS THE RICH: CHURCHES, DAY CARE, HOMELESS SHELTERS

By DICK MORRIS & EILEEN MCGANN

Published on DickMorris.com on March 28, 2009

President Obama's glib assertion that his reduction in tax deductions will not reduce donations is absurd. His pathetic defense at his press conference - that he would still give a $100 dollar check to charity even if he only got $11 less of tax deduction from it was both disingenuous and beside the point.

And his comment that his reduced deduction would only impact one or two percent of the nation misses the point that it is these folks who are doing almost half of the donating.

In 2006, the most recent year for which data is available, four million taxpayers had adjusted gross incomes of $200,000 or more. They comprised 3% of the tax returns, made 31% of the income, but donated 44% of all charitable contributions. Together, they provided charity with $81 billion in that year.

Obama's plan will cost them $10 billion in extra taxes on the income they allocated to charitable donations. How can the president be so glibly certain that they will not curtail their charitable contributions by a like amount or even more?

Imagine all the harm Obama's program will cause. Churches will be hit most hard. They account for the largest share of charitable donations, but universities, disease research, hospitals, soup kitchens, and cultural institutions will also be hard hit. So will international relief efforts that funnel aid abroad through churches or directly.

It is totally dishonest for Obama to pretend that his curtailment of these deductions won't hurt the poor. It will most directly impact them since most of the charities Obama is hurting focus on helping the impoverished.

This proposal is not about saving money. It is about controlling it. By, in effect, transferring at least $11 billion a year from private philanthropy to government spending, Obama empowers the public sector at the expense of the voluntary one.

President Obama's recommended reduction in the tax deduction for charitable giving reflects his fundamental belief that only the government can or should help the poor. He wants to keep the impoverished directly dependent on the government - and the Democratic Party - for their daily bread.

The voluntary sector has always been the backbone of compassion in the United States. Our charitable donations dwarf those of any other country. And our system of tax deductions for giving permits us to decide what charities are worthy of our generosity - a decision Obama will transfer to the politicians under his program.

Go to DickMorris.com to read all of Dick's columns!

My Letter to a Friend

My old time friend from the Jesus Movement, Michael Cristiani, is a compassionate Believer who feels the hurts and pains of people in need. He often writes about our Christian responsibility to care for the hurting among us. Below is a note I sent to him tonight in response to an article he sent me.

My response to Michael is partially in response to an article I read by Ron Sider of Evangelicals for Social Action. Ron is a wonderful man who has worked to help the poor for generations. He believes strongly that high earners should be taxed at very high rates to give directly to the poor. He calls it "biblical justice" but I call it "forced charity" which is not charity at all.

Dear Michael,

It seems to me that the very worst thing a government can do is to give direct payments to poor people without also interacting with them in an up building manner. For over forty years I have tried to help the poor, the broken hearted and downtrodden. I learned very early in the process that poor people are of two types. The situation ally poor and the chronically poor.

We can assist the person with money who is poor because of sickness, job loss or a weather catastrophe. However, the chronically poor ought not receive direct payments from taxpayers. They must also have someone work with them to teach them better living and financial habits. Otherwise they will not be able to alter their lifestyle and, as Jesus said, "You will always have them with you".

This is the same with an addict. Direct aid to an addict moves them deeper into the addiction. They will simply ingest more of the toxic substance. Change from addiction to sobriety can rarely be achieved unless loving persons enter into the world of the addict and walk with them through the pain of recovery. This is also true of the chronically poor.

When we over function for the poor, the addicted or the under performing we condemn them to further pain. The current Obama Socialism approach to helping the poor is poorly conceived and will move poor people further into poverty. Placing higher taxes on workers to pay the poor directly is stealing from the productive to place higher burdens on the unproductive chronically poor.

IWW. (It Won't Work!)

Gary Sweeten

Bread and Circuses

Narcissus

It has long been a tenet of historians that the thing that brought down the Roman Empire would also bring down the American and Western European Empires. It appears that the fall is almost complete.

I often listen to ministers and youth workers tell stories about the almost total lack of boundaries among today's youth. I read a story in the paper today that needs to be read by everyone so we can increase our prayers for Americans, English and Europe. You can find it here on the Daily Mail's web page.

When the sexual license of today is added to the way Government is spending money to entertain us and keep us happy, it appears that it won't be long before football will be supplanted by lions and Christians.

We must prayerfully seek God's guidance on how to reach the western societies with Christ. Calling all Seasoned Believers to rise from our padded pews and rise up with grace, love and power to defeat the enemy. Passivity will never win the battle.

Write me about how you will contribute.

Gary Sweeten

www.sweetenlife.com

Thoughts About Right and Left

“I think the phenomenon of the religious right in the U.S. (we really have no parallel in the United Kingdom) may be construed as a clumsy attempt to recapture the coming together of God and the world, which remains stubbornly in scripture but which the Enlightenment had repudiated, and which fundamentalism itself continues to repudiate with its dualistic theology of rapture and Armageddon.

It is as though the religious right has known in its bones that God belongs in public, but without understanding either why or how that might make sense; while the political left in the U.S., and sometimes the religious left on both sides of the Atlantic, has known in its bones that God would make radical personal moral demands as part of his program of restorative justice, and has caricatured his public presence as a form of tyranny in order to evoke the cheap and gloomy Enlightenment critique as a way of holding that challenge at bay.”

N.T. Wright

Charities Threatened by the New Administration

The corps of Mr. Obama's administrative group is busily looking for new sources of revenue. Since foundations give out over 43 Billion Dollars each year in grants to non-profit groups, the new guys in town are thinking about getting their hands on some of it.

The Wall Street Journal has a good article about the many positive things that are accomplished by foundations and the non profits that are funded by them. Since I head a non profit I am biased about how much good we can accomplish for less money. I know that a lot of stuff we do, if not most of it, is done by volunteers and lowly paid workers.

We are motivated by a passion for helping people not money so we tend not to be as interested in remuneration. Despite that, non profits produce amazing benefits to the local and national society. In fact, research indicates that faith based groups are the glue which holds our society together. But we need to watch out lest the radicals on the Left Wing squash us like bugs because we are not always "Politically Correct".

Political Map of the Election

How did we vote?

Will the new government govern in accordance with every body's wishes?

Gary Sweeten
www.sweetenlife.com

A Winner

My good friend Michael Cristiani sent in a winning entry on the question about what three things happened in 1619 that were hinges of history for America and the world. In fact, Michael was showing off by giving me a fourth hinge that I did not know about. Thanks Michael!

I am not going to publish Michael's comments until I give some others and opportunity to also write in. I am offering you another gift certificate for writing in with just three of the four hinges of history that occurred in Virginia in 1619.

Media-Misleading and Myopic

Narcissistic Journalists

I think the biggest losers in this election season were the people who write newspaper stories and appear on TV as journalists. They were little more than cheerleaders for Obama who openly and covertly promoted his campaign and attacked McCain and Palin. They were extremely narcissistic.



Take a look at the way the editors and writers are talking about Obama now that it is too late for voters to do anything about the truth. Evan Thomas and Jon Meacham were on the Charlie Rose Show and said some extremely troubling things about Obama. However, their weekly magazine wrote stories and had his photos on ten cover as though he were Saint John.



Are these "News Weeklies" or "Inspirational Stories of the Divine"? Newsweek is obviously not about reporting the facts of news but interested in making news. Will they get away with it? I do not think they will. Dan Rather was actually fired for lying about George Bush and his reputation is tarnished forever. But even Dan spoke up and said that today's media has mistreated Palin and McCain.

Remember, it is the task of Christians to "Speak the truth in love." Viva the Internet.

Gary Sweeten
http://www.sweetenlife.com/

Faith Based Voters for Obama

The Old Way to Communicate

The Wall Street Journal has an interesting article about the ways the Obama campaign wooed and won religious voters. The article says that:

Reversing his party's poor showing among faith-based voters in the 2004 presidential election, Mr. Obama won among Catholics, 54% to 45%, made gains among regular churchgoers and eroded a bit of the evangelical support that has been a fixture of Republican electoral success for years, exit polls showed.

It is hard to believe that Roman Catholic and Evangelical voters would elect to the Presidency one of the most rabid supporters of abortion that we have ever seen in America. Yet, they did. Catholics voted for Obama 54% to 45% for McCain. This is shocking.

Perhaps the real answers can be found on the blog by my friend Ron Tate. (Click the Boomer Wave link.) We are in a Post Modern era when single issues are not seen as key to a person's life. Young men and women tend to be Post Modern thinkers who see dismiss Obama's radical abortion policies while being strongly pro family and pro life themselves. Post Modern thinking somehow equates poverty with abortion. Obama was able to communicate the notion, wrongly I think, that he is for helping the poor so many Christians voted for him.

We are certainly in a time of transition in America. If we who are older in years and faith want to have influence over the future we need to understand how our kids think. Ron's blog offers some great insights for us. We need to learn how to communicate God's Word in the Post Modern world.

Gary Sweeten

http://www.sweetenlife.com/

Getting Settled

It does take some time to get settled in a new home. My friend Dave Baker did the hard work of putting the computers in place. My son-in-law David K also helped me with the Wi-Fi but I need more assistance. There is a bad connection somewhere along the line and I can barely read the screen.

Tomorrow is the final day of 2008 elections. Wow! What a trip!

I think we are on the brink of tipping the USA into a Western European type of Socialist Democracy that will mean the end of Capitalism as we know it. That seems to work in Scandinavia and Europe but the American drive to innovate, create and compete will be severely curtailed.

God only knows the future and He alone controls what is happening. Is He moving us this way because it is our best option or because He is angry with us? I do not know.

I am praying for His best.

Gary Sweeten
www.sweetenlife.com

Who Pays Taxes?

One of the mantras we hear from some politicians this year is that if elected, they will cut the taxes of 95% of all people and raise the taxes of the rich. Well, here is a breakdown of who pays the most taxes and who pays the least. (See the blog Carpe Diem for an explanation for the percentage of all income taxes.)

Top 1% pay 39.89% (Income $388,000+)
Top 5% pay 60.14% (Income $153,000+)
Top 10% pay 70.79% (Income $108,000+)
Top 25% pay 86.27% (Income $64,000+)
Top 50% pay 97.01% (Income $32,000+)

The bottom 50% Income less than $32,000 pay 2.99% of all income taxes.

The bottom 50% who make under $32,000 already pays almost no taxes so how can a President cut their taxes?

Second, it is the Congress that passes laws so a President cannot raise or lower our taxes.

Evangelism in the U.S. Congress

I was surprised to read that one of the members of Congress made a very provocative statement when speaking as a government official. However, there has been no outrage by the ACLU or People for the American Way who normally protest any kind of religious remarks by government officials. Where is the ACLU when we need them.

I suppose I ought to be happy when a Democrat Congressman, especially one who is also Jewish, makes a statement promoting the policies and activities of Jesus Christ. But, I am not at all sure he was being serious because it is rare for folks from his background to so strongly evangelize on the floor of Congress.
However, you must judge for yourself so here is the statement he made.

Tennessee Rep. Steve Cohen compared Barack Obama to Jesus Christ and suggested Sarah Palin is akin to Pontius Pilate. The Tennessee Democrat, who supports Obama, was on the House floor giving a one-minute speech when he offered the comparisons.

“If you want change, you want the Democratic Party,” Cohen said. “Barack Obama was a community organizer like Jesus, who our minister prayed about. Pontius Pilate was a governor.”

What do you think?