Mr. Obama's Statement of Faith in Christ

I grew up in a small church in Illinois where the tradition was to make a "Public Confession of faith". It was a regular experience for adults as well as kids to say something like this: "I was saved when I was fifteen years old and baptized in the Casey Creek right then."

My friends from the Holiness Tradition might say: "I was saved, sanctified and filled with the Holy Ghost when I was thirty years old." Testimonies were as an important part of our Evangelical culture as crossing themselves before a meal was to my Roman Catholic friends.

Why is there so much controversy among Christians about the faith of Mr. Obama? There may be several reasons but, in my view, it is not helpful for anyone, but especially for Christians, to suggest he is a Muslim. In fact, it is harmful. Why? it contradicts our long held practice of accepting a person's word about his or her faith and it makes us look like judgmental bigots rather than fruit inspectors.

In an interview with Christianity Today in January 2008, Mr. Obama talked about his belief in Jesus Christ.

“I am a Christian, and I am a devout Christian. I believe in the redemptive death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I believe that that faith gives me a path to be cleansed of sin and have eternal life. But most importantly, I believe in the example that Jesus set by feeding the hungry and healing the sick and always prioritizing the least of these over the powerful. I didn’t ‘fall out in church’ as they say, but there was a very strong awakening in me of the importance of these issues in my life. I didn’t want to walk alone on this journey. Accepting Jesus Christ in my life has been a powerful guide for my conduct and my values and my ideals.”

This testimony certainly sounds authentic and sincere. I know that some of us do not believe a word of it because we cannot believe any politician. Others disbelieve because they say his policies are contrary to the Christian faith. Others disbelieve because of his biological father's heritage and his childhood.

But conversion is a long tradition with us Evangelicals. Of all groups we need to accept change in a person's life. I disagree with much of Mr. Obama's politics but it is not up to me to judge that he is not a Christian. Why not celebrate it in his life?

Abortion, Sarah Palin and Disability

I just came across an article on the blog Disability Matters by Dr. Mark Moster who teaches at Regent University. Regent is one of the most progressive and creative Christian Universities in the world and Dr. Moster is on the cutting edge of promoting a Pro-Life Ethic.

Dr. Moster wrote the article in July 2009 but I am just now seeing it. Read and reflect upon its message.

Tolerance Ends, Animus Arises Where Disability Begins
Posted: 08 Jul 2009 06:34 AM PDT

Cyberspace has been alive with discussions of a hit piece written by the Huffington Post’s Erik Sean Nelson. Nelson used the now well-worn epithets of being retarded in commenting on Sarah Palin’s resignation as Alaska Governor last week.

The piece was pulled almost immediately, but not before several media watchdog groups had downloaded screen captures. Nelson swiftly offered an apology for what he wrote, but not for the way he thinks about people with disabilities.

I’ve decided to share the piece in it’s entirety because it reveals the palpable animus toward people with disabilities that’s alive and well in the US. Penned as a “humorous” piece (it’s not), had this been written about almost any other group of people (take your pick: minorities, women, on and on) there would have been nothing less than a media firestorm that would have had the potential to wipe the Michael Jackson coverage from our TV screens.

However, Nelson is in good company. It wasn’t too long ago that Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) repeatedly said, on the record, that Sarah Palin was retarded. And don’t let’s forget President Obama cheerfully noted that he bowls like a retard.
Just so that it’s clear: Palin is targeted in this way because Trig has Down Syndrome.

Funny, I don’t recall anything like this ever being said about a person in the Kennedy family who had mental retardation.
Here’s Nelson’s vitriol:

Palin Will Run in '12 on More Retardation Platform
In Sarah Palin's resignation announcement she complained about the treatment of her son Trig who always teaches her life lessons. She said that the "world needs more Trigs, not fewer." That's a presidential campaign promise we can all get behind. She will be the first politician to actually try to increase the population of retarded people. To me, it's kinda like saying the world needs more cancer patients because they teach us such personal lessons.
Her first act as President: To introduce a Pre-K lunch buffet that includes lead paint chips. Sort of a Large HEAD-START Program.

She will then encourage women to hold off on pregnancies until their 40's just to mix up some chromosomes.

She now is in favor of abortion only in case of diploid birth.
Her policies will increase jobs because Wall-Mart is building new stores each day and someone has to be the greeter.

This will lead to smaller government because fewer Americans will have the cognitive ability to hold a government job.

Look, she says she's resigning as governor because people are making attacks on her and Trig. If she ever did become president, all Osama bin Laden would have to do to defeat the United States is Photoshop a picture of Trig and she'd surrender the country that night. As she said, "That's not politics as usual." It isn't. Politicians don't usually quit for so stupid of reasons.

I’m sure you’re all laughing your heads off.

A final thought: A raft of disability advocacy groups have been stunningly silent on this issue. They get their alerts, they read the blogs every day, and are lightning quick to defend against the kind of bigotry that Nelson showed.
They’ve been AWOL here. Why? Do they believe that for Sarah Palin and her son Trig this kind of nastiness is OK?

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

We at Sweeten Life Systems are decidedly Pro Life for all life. We are strongly committed to respecting the people with disabilities as well as their families. This is why we are doing research on ways we can support them.

Is our nation becoming more callous toward people with disabilities? Is the government focusing so strongly on "Abortion Rights" that "The Right to Life" is being threatened? Are US politicians getting so cold hearted that they would rather see Down syndrome children aborted than live and bring love to their family and friends?

TV Writers Attack Christians at Christmas

The TV show, NCIS is very popular and it has a lot of people tuning in to see how the stars outwit terrorists, thugs and the dark underworld. Each week a new episode tries to draw us into the plot and, like the old Perry Mason series, turn our minds inside out with the surprise ending.

The recent episodes tried to fool us on one of the holiest days of the year for Christians by a bait and switch scheme. Here is how they did it. The most probable villains were switched with the least likely to be villains. That story line, along with a very heavy dose of Political Correctness, shows conservative Christians killing Muslims with suicide bombs for reasons that are regularly promoted by Islamic radicals but never seen in the entire 2000 year history of Christianity.

Here is my question: Did the writers do this as an act of:

1. Supreme ignorance. (They are unaware that Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ and 90 million adults in America follow Christ.)

2. Supreme intentional hatred. (The writers are so full of rage they will do anything to show Christians in a bad light.)

3. Supremely bad writing. (The writers ran out of real villains and thought that this script would go over big in Hollywood.)

4. Supreme fawning over Muslims. (the writers want to get Muslims to finance their new projects.)

5. Other? Why do you think the writers would do such a thing?

George Washington's Thanksgiving Proclamation

Thanksgiving Proclamation

George Washington

City of New York, October 3, 1789

Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor, and Whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me "to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanks-giving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness."

Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th. day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be. That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks, for his kind care and protection of the People of this country previous to their becoming a Nation, for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his providence, which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war, for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed, for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted, for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.

And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions, to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually, to render our national government a blessing to all the People, by constantly being a government of wise, just and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed, to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shown kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord. To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and Us, and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.

Where have all the Terrorists Gone?

Frank Goig, is a man I met when he was a Chaplain at Ground Zero. I was there ministering to the First Responders. Frank sent me a very interesting email. I must admit that the contents of the email shocked me.

It included a link to an Internet site that contains a report on the National Security Team that advised the President Obama as to what he needed to do after the Inauguration. The Internet site is run by George Washington University, one of the best schools in America.

I will let you read the report without my guidance or editorial input, but go to page 29, Appendix C and read the names of the members of the task force. Look carefully and see if you notice any names that have been in the news recently. Then write me a note and tell me what you think when you find the name of a man who was advising the new President and his team how to deal with terrorism.

Some days I think I am being a bit paranoid but others it seems as though I am not suspicious enough. Of course my many visits to the former USSR have taught me that authoritarian leaders will stoop to any and all kinds of evil.

Gary Sweeten

Learning to Make Decisions

We in the USA live in a Representative Democracy that is considered to be a Republic. It is not a "Pure Democracy" as decribed by Aristotle. That, in Aristotle's view, is anarchy. The Republican form of government is based on a shared set of values we call "The Constitution" and allows the citizens to vote on men and women to represent them in accordance with that set of values. A Republic requires a citizenry with great interpersonal skills.

First is the skill or value of respecting other people. Dictators have not learned to be respectful so they attempt to make decisions that are selfish and self serving. Good decisions in the family, church and community must serve all the people not just the people in control.

Secondly, we must learn how to listen patiently to each other and learn from people with whom we disagree. The underlying characteristic for that skill is humility. My own temperament is skewed toward intellectual competence so I tend to be prideful rather than humble. Unfortunately I have to learn humility and patience along with listening over and over again.

More thoughts on this later.

Gary Sweeten

State Constitutions

My friend Jon Hershberger sent me this on an email. I don't know the original author. It is a shocker.

Alabama 1901, Preamble

We the people of the State of Alabama , invoking the favor and guidance of Almighty God, do ordain and establish the following Constitution..

Alaska 1956, Preamble We, the people of Alaska , grateful to God and to those who founded our nation and pioneered this great land.

Arizona 1911, Preamble We, the people of the State of Arizona , grateful to Almighty God for our liberties, do ordain this Constitution...

Arkansas 1874, Preamble We, t he people of the State of Arkansas , grateful to Almighty God for the privilege of choosing our own form of government...

California 1879, Preamble We, the People of the State of California , grateful to Almighty God for our freedom...

Colorado 1876, Preamble We, the people of Colorado , with profound reverence for the Supreme Ruler of Universe...

Connecticut 1818, Preamble. The People of Connecticut, acknowledging with gratitude the good Providence of God in permitting them to enjoy.

Delaware 1897, Preamble Through Divine Goodness all men have, by nature, the rights of worshipping and serving their Creator=2 0according to the dictates of their consciences.

Florida 1885, Preamble We, the people of the State of Florida , grateful to Almighty God for our constitutional liberty, establish this Constitution...

Georgia 1777, Preamble We, the people of Georgia , relying upon protection and guidance of Almighty God, do ordain and establish this Constitution...

Hawaii 1959, Preamble We , the people of Hawaii , Grateful for Divine Guidance ... Establish this Constitution.

Idaho 1889, Preamble We, the people of the State of Idaho , grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, to secure its blessings.

Illinois 1870, Preamble We, the people of the State of Illinois, grateful to Almighty God for the civil , political and religious liberty which He hath so long permitted us to enjoy and looking to Him for a blessing on our endeavors.

Indiana 1851, Preamble We, the People of the State of Indiana , grateful to Almighty God for the free exercise of the right to choose our form of government.

Iowa 1857, Preamble We, the People of the St ate of Iowa , grateful to the Supreme Being for the blessings hitherto enjoyed, and feeling our dependence on Him for a continuation of these blessings, establish this Constitution.

Kansas 1859, Preamble We, the people of Kansas , grateful to Almighty God for our civil and religious privileges establish this Constitution.

Kentucky 1891, Preamble.. We, the people of the Commonwealth are grateful to Almighty God for the civil, political and religious liberties..

Louisiana 1921, Preamble We, the people of the State of Louisiana , grateful to Almighty God for the civil, political and religious liberties we enjoy.

Maine 1820, Preamble We the People of Maine acknowledging with grateful hearts the goodness of the Sovereign Ruler of the Universe in affording us an opportunity .. And imploring His aid and direction.

Maryland 1776, Preamble We, the people of the state of Maryland , grateful to Almighty God for our civil and religious liberty...

Massachusetts 1780, Preamble We...the people of Massachusetts, acknowledging with grateful hearts, the goodness of the Great Legislator of the Universe In the course of His Providence, an opportunity and devoutly imploring His direction

Michigan 1908, Preamble . We, the people of the State of Michigan , grateful to Almighty God for the blessings of freedom, establish this Constitution.

Minnesota, 1857, Preamble We, the people of the State of Minnesota, grateful to God for our civil and religious liberty, and desiring to perpetuate its blessings:

Mississippi 1890, Preamble We, the people of Mississippi in convention assembled, grateful to Almighty God, and invoking His blessing on our work.

Missouri 1845, Preamble We, the people of Missouri , with profound reverence for the Supreme Ruler of the Universe, and grateful for His goodness . Establish this Constitution...

Montana 1889, Preamble. We, the people of Montana , grateful to Almighty God for the blessings of liberty establish this Constitution ..

Nebraska 1875, Preamble We, the people, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom . Establish this Constitution.

Nevada 1864, Preamble We the people of the State of Nevada , grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, establish this Constitution...

New Hampshire 1792, Part I. Art. I. Sec. V Every individual has a natural and unalienable right to worship God according to the dictates of his own conscience.

New Jersey 1844, Preamble We, the people of the State of New Jersey, grateful to Almighty God for civil and religious liberty which He hath so long permitted us to enjoy, and looki ng to Him for a blessing on our endeavors.

New Mexico 1911, Preamble We, the People of New Mexico, grateful to Almighty God for the blessings of liberty..

New York 1846, Preamble We, the people of the State of New York , grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, in order to secure its blessings.



North Carolina 1868, Preamble We the people of the State of North Carolina, grateful to Almighty God, the Sovereign Ruler of Nations, for our civil, political, and religious liberties, and acknowledging our dependence upon Him for the continuance of those...

North Dakota 1889, Preamble We , the people of North Dakota , grateful to Almighty God for the blessings of civil and religious liberty, do ordain...

Ohio 1852, Preamble We the people of the state of Ohio , grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, to secure its blessings and to promote our common.

Oklahoma 1907, Preamble Invoking the guidance of Almighty God, in order to secure and perpetuate the blessings of liberty, establish this

Oregon 1857, Bill of Rights, Article I Section 2. All men shall be secure in the Natural right, to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their consciences

Pennsylvania 1776, Preamble We, the people of Pennsylvania, grateful to Almighty God for the blessings of civil and religious liberty, and humbly invoking His guidance....

R hode Island 1842, Preamble. We the People of the State of Rhode Island grateful to Almighty God for the civil and religious liberty which He hath so long permitted us to enjoy, and looking to Him for a blessing...

South Carolina , 1778, Preamble We, the people of he State of South Carolina grateful to God for our liberties, do ordain and establish this Constitution.

South Dakota 1889, Preamble We, the people of South Dakota , grateful to Almighty God for our civil and religious liberties .

Tennessee 1796, Art. XI..III. That all men have a natural and indefeasible right to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their conscience...

Texas 1845, Preamble We the People of the Republic of Texas , acknowledging, with gratitude, the grace and beneficence of God.

Utah 1896, Preamble Grateful to Almighty God for life and liberty, we establish this Constitution.

Vermont 1777, Preamble Whereas all government ought to enable the individuals who compose it to enjoy their natural rights, and other blessings which the Author of Existence has bestowed on man .

Virginia 1776, Bill of Rights, XVI Religion, or the Duty which we owe our Creator can be directed only by Reason and that it is the mutual duty of all to practice Christian Forbearance, Love and Charity towards each other

Washington 1889, Preamble We the People of the State of Washington, grateful to the Supreme Ruler of the Universe for our liberties, do ordain this Constitution

West Virginia 1872, Preamble Since through Divine Providence we enjoy the blessings of civil, political and religious liberty, we, the people of West Virginia reaffirm our faith in and constant reliance upon God ...

Wisconsin 1848, Preamble We, the people of Wisconsin, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, domestic tranquility...

Wyoming 1890, Preamble We, the people of the State of Wyoming , grateful to God for our civil, political, and religious liberties, establish this Constitution...

After reviewing acknowledgments of God from all 50 state constitutions, one is faced with the prospect that maybe, the ACLU and the out-of-control federal courts are wrong! If you found this to be 'Food for thought' send to as many as you think will be enlightened as I hope you were.

(Please note that at no time is anyone told that they MUST worship God.)

Being a Religious Minority is Good

It is important for us who follow Christ to remember this fact: We are in the minority and we have always been in the minority. Unfortunately, we have thought we were a majority religion in America and that led us to adopt a laissez faire attitude toward sharing our faith in the power of the Holy Spirit and the healing grace of His love.

I have enjoyed my many trips to Asia, Africa and Europe where my minority faith is obvious. The Christ Followers are very much aware of their need to share the good news and to witness in love and good works. Humility is demanded in such places.

It is also obvious in most of those places that life in a society without Christ and Christian values is harsher for its citizens. Family relations are less wholesome and an attitude of "love thy neighbor" is rare. We tend to think that Socialism's impact will be primarily economic but in Russia and Eastern Europe the loss of love and mutual caring have been the greatest losses.

When the USSR started to cataclysmic fail in the late Eighties, Mr. Gorbachev sent his ambassador to Norway a message. "Ask the Norwegian Bible Society to print a million Bibles in Russian and send them to us." Why would he,a confirmed atheist, do such a thing? The ambassador said, "We have discovered that without a biblical and Christian foundation the people will not be motivated to care for each other. We need the Bible again."

Is the USA ready to not only lose our economic freedom but also our tradition of "Love one another"?

Gary Sweeten

Free Speech is Theatened

The advent of what is being called, "Hate Speech" is a threat to all of us who enjoy freedom and liberty. The last post I mentioned the rise of Climate Fundamentalists whose fears and anxieties are forcing citizens to adopt "Carbon Free" activities even if it destroys our way of life.

We are also seeing fears and anxieties about expressing ideas about religion and its leaders. Go to the Washington Post for an interesting article about what is being proposed in the U.N. and is actually happening in Europe.

The Fundamentalists are Coming

The Climate Fundamentalists are trying to completely control everything we do. See this link for a partial list of what they will control in our lives.


I grew up in a very strict Fundamentalist Christian Culture. One of the hallmarks of Fundamentalist thinking is the need to angrily punish us for having fun and control what people do and say. My Fundamentalist fore fathers could have learned a lot from the Fundamentalist Climate Masters of the Universe. Christian leaders try to control alcohol, smoking, sex and sexually revealing clothing. For this modest focus we are forever to be hated and reviled.

Why are Al Gore and the Democrat Party trying to punish all of us for being Climate Sinners?

Muslim-Christian Conflict and Obama

President Obama is trying to calm the fears of Muslims and secularists around the world by saying nice things to the Turks and bowing to the Muslims. Will it work? Is this an enlightened bit of politics or coming from a naive President who thinks we can convince people to start loving and stop killing each other?

I heard David Brooks on a recent pod cast say an interesting thing about why he is a Conservative and I think it is why I am a Conservative. Like Reinhold Neiebuhr I do not think it is possible to change people as individuals, groups or nations very easily or quickly. Good changes in the life of an individual take a long time and great wisdom on the part of the change agent. Group and national changes take even longer and more wisdom.

Obama wants to change the USA and the world into his image quickly and very radically. He seems to think he can change Muslims by saying nice things to some of their leaders. George Bush thought the same thing but they chose different avenues of bringing the changes.

The Atlantic Monthly has a great article on Neiebuhr with an interview by David Brooks that I suggest you read.

There is also a good article on Obama's approach to Islam in Wall Street Journal Online.

I will close with a prayer written by Rev. Dr. Neiebuhr. Part of it is used by all the Anonymous groups for wisdom, hope and encouragement. It was carried into war by all the soldiers in WWII.

It lays out a large part of my theology and why I am a Conservative.


A Prayer for Courage and Serenity

Rev Reinhold Niebuhr

God, grant me the serenity to accept
The things I cannot change
The courage to change the things I can,
And the wisdom to know the difference

Living one day at a time,
Enjoying one moment at a time:

Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace:
Taking, as Jesus did,
This sinful world as it is,
Not as I would have it:

Trusting that you will make all things right
If I surrender to your will:
So that I may be reasonably happy in this life
And supremely happy with you in the next

Distributed by Dr. Gary Sweeten
P.O. Box 498455
Cincinnati, Ohio 45249
513-300-5065

Why Are People Ignorant about Religion?

Generally speaking the public knows little or nothing about religion in general and Christianity specifically. Why are so many people either ignorant or mistaken about the facts? Religion is rarely reported in the news.

The Pew Research Center reports that:

Throughout much of 2008, the media generally seemed to follow two patterns in its coverage of religion. First, religion reporting was often episodic, clustering intensely around big events such as the pope's visit and religion stories related to the 2008 holiday season. Religion stories also faded quickly from the headlines.

Second, the angle of religion coverage frequently gravitated toward controversies, such as Barack Obama's relationship with Jeremiah Wright and stories about the clergy sex-abuse scandal that surfaced during the pope's visit. This was particularly problematic for the presidential and vice-presidential candidates, who were inundated with questions concerning their faith.

The media loves controversy. They rarely report the good things we do so 99% of Christianity is missing in the minds of the public. If people are to understand us we must do a better job of reporting our own news.

Gary Sweeten

All Materialsm-No Heart

I am in my second week among the Socialist Scandinavians and have some reflections. First, living here is comfortable. Everything that the government does is designed to make sure that the streets, public services and environment are clean, tidy and orderly. The trains run on time and many creature comforts are available to the masses.

There are few material differences between the rich and poor. Most homes are the same size small apartments and most cars are newer models from Japan and Germany or Sweden. Most people dress informally in jeans and few seem obviously poor.

Young people are placed in clean, orderly schools and old people into clean orderly retirement homes. Not many people seem to work hard or break a sweat about anything.

The pay is low and the taxes are high. Good producers are punished with even higher taxes so no matter how smart, how clever or successful you are the government makes sure you do not have much conspicuous wealth.

Everyone pays at least 40% taxes to the Federal Government. Then, everyone pays 25% Value Added Tax or VAT on everything that is purchased. A Coke is about $3.00 as is a bottle of water and 25% of that is tax. So, poor people must pay 1/4 of their income on sales' tax when they purchase food, clothing, train tickets, etc.

Is this the future of America? Probably. It seems to have created a huge "leisure class" of bored, tired, robots with little excitement, drive or energy. People are isolated from close interaction and the secular humanistic ideals do not seem to lead people to lives of anything but quite desperation.

Few are involved in caring for others of caring for anything outside themselves. Selfishness and narcissism are rampant and many are bored with too much stuff. I am constantly reminded of the passage that says, "Give and it shall be given unto you; pressed down, shaken together and placed into your lap."

Many of the older, retired pensioners are engaging in drunken orgies with films of themselves on Facebook throwing up and having sex. Anything for a momentary thrill to break out of boredom.

The last part of I CO 13 ends like this: "These three remain; faith, hope and love and the greatest is love."

Here it seems to be: "Faith in the government, hope that the economy stays strong and love the technology".

This society might be summarized as "Clean, orderly and technically healthy with no heart, no soul and no love". Thank God the committed Christians here are praying, witnessing and reaching out to others to they can find a reason to live for something other than food, clothing, shelter and public transportation.

Gary Sweeten
Randers, Denmark

Obama's Disgraceful Actions

President Obama just acted to remove all ethical and moral considerations from stem cell research. It is one of the things he and other Democrats promised and they are continuing to claim it is "A return to science over ideology". That claim is a lie and worse. It attacks President Bush for his careful and studied approach to stem cell research and reinforced the lie that such research and cloning can be carried out with no ethical concerns.

I hope you will read the article of Charles Krauthammer in the most recent Washington Post. He brilliantly reveals the despicable approach of Obama and unveils his deceptions.

Mrs. Clinton's Miscues

I have done a lot of international travel and training. This means I have made many mistakes over the years when I tried to say or do something in the language and traditions of my host. It is embarrassing to flub a term or do something that is vulgar or offensive and you only find out later what you did.

Mrs. Clinton, the new Secretary of State under President Obama, has already flubbed her lines on several occasions and she has not been in office that long. In some ways I am glad she and other top officials often open mouth and insert foot. It makes my mistakes seem petty in comparison.

Recently Mrs. Clinton visited Russia and gave the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov a made up copy of the famous RED BUTTON only used by Russian and US Presidents when nuclear war is threatened. Here is the rub, the State Department misspelled the key word for "reset" that Madam Secretary Clinton was using to make the point that the old regime is gone and a new day has arrived.

Instead of the Russian word for "reset" (perezagruzka) the button featured a slightly different word meaning "overload" or "overcharged" (peregruzka). The Russian media made light of the slight and Mrs. Clinton recovered nicely. However, it is getting off on the wrong foot when the State Department does not have anyone who knows Russian well enough to see the mistake.

I am off to Norway and Denmark Sunday and will not return until March 19. I am hoping and praying that in my fortieth or so visit to these nations that I will be more successful than Mrs. Clinton.

Please pray for my trips and my teachings. I will be teaching several times over the ten days and meet with old friends and Christian leaders. My friends in Scandinavia have taken our model and skills and implemented them wonderfully in a variety of settings. I am excited to reconnect with them and see what God is up to now.

Gary Sweeten

Save the Monkeys-Kill the Babies

Sometimes I wonder about the Congress. Especially when they do things like pass an emergency bill to save monkeys from being pets.

Read Ben Smith's blog.

Fast action on the Hill

Forget the stimulus -- this one moved really fast.

From the Humane Society:U.S. House of Representatives Passes Captive

Primate Safety ActWASHINGTON (Feb. 24, 2009) — Eight days after a chimpanzee kept as a pet attacked and critically injured a Connecticut woman, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Captive Primate Safety Act, H.R. 80, introduced by U.S. Reps. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., and Mark Kirk, R-Ill., to stop interstate commerce in primates as pets. The bill passed by a vote of 323 to 95. The bill now moves for consideration to the U.S. Senate, where the effort to pass the legislation is being led by U.S. Sens. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and David Vitter, R-La.

This is especially tragic when we consider that Congress refuses to ban late term abortions. Life is cheap but monkeys are precious.

Gary Sweeten

Pelosi and the Pope

Elephants are living beings in their mother's womb

The Speaker of the House of Representatives is Nancy Pelosi. Ms. Pelosi is very proud of her Roman Catholic heritage and speaks about it often. In fact, she took the opportunity not long ago to lecture Americans about the fact that the Roman Catholic Church had only recently begun to think abortion was wrong.

Ms. Pelosi has also noted her personal opposition to abortion but, she suggests, she is bound to support it because it is in the Constitution of the United States. She, like many of her colleagues, regrets the fact that Roman Catholics must not allow their personal, religious views get in the way of supporting the Constitution.

On her recent trip to Rome and the Vatican, Ms. Pelosi seems to have gotten a personal lecture on Roman Catholic theology from Pope Benedict, a theological expert. According to some reports, he told Ms. Pelosi that under no circumstances was a Roman Catholic politician allowed to promote abortion.

I do not know if Ms. Pelosi, the third person in line for the Presidency after Mr. Obama and Mr. Biden, was able to correct the Pope about the US approach to Catholic theology, but I sure hope so. According to many Catholics, the new Pope is very confused about abortion and actually thinks that babies are alive in the womb.

Way to go Ms. Speaker!

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

Un American to Vote?

Tom Hanks slipped up and told the truth about what he thinks of Christians and other conservative believers who vote our conscience. He thinks we are un-American. Here is what he said.

The truth is this takes place in Utah, the truth is these people are some bizarre offshoot of the Mormon Church, and the truth is a lot of Mormons gave a lot of money to the church to make Prop-8 happen. There are a lot of people who feel that is un-American, and I am one of them. Tom Hanks

Yep, voting one's conscience is un-American to the billionairre elites of Hollywood.

Gary Sweeten
www.sweetenlife.com

Hopeless for 2009

Atheists are sick and tired of aggressive Christians talking about God. So, they are raising money to put on a hard hitting campaign to rebut our faith.
According to The Herald American paper, militant atheists and humanists are spending lots of money to spread their powerful message: "There's probably no god; now stop worrying and enjoy life."

According to the Herald: Next week, the Atheist Bus Campaign plans to place 1,000 advertisements in the subway system, featuring enthusiastic quotations from Emily Dickinson, Albert Einstein, Douglas Adams and Katharine Hepburn.


An interesting element of the bus slogan is the word "probably," which would seem to be more suited to an Agnostic Bus Campaign than to an atheist one. Dawkins, for one, argued that the word should not be there at all.


But the element of doubt was necessary to meet British advertising guidelines, said Tim Bleakley, managing director for sales and marketing at CBS Outdoor in London, which handles advertising for the bus system.

I wonder if thousands will rush to convert to doubt after this campaign.

Gary Sweeten
www.sweetenlife.com