Month: September 2010

Bravo, Rick Joyner!

A few days ago, I used a quote from Rick Joyner’s website to point out a concern about people not seeking to understand what was going on before they responded to bad information.

I take this opportunity to give Mr. Joyner some appreciation for his latest newsletter. I don’t agree with everything he says every week, but he’s a respected friend of a man that I respect and honor, so I listen to what Mr. Joyner has to say. I don’t immediately and unthinkingly adopt what he says, but I consider it.

In the article linked above, Mr. Joyner writes about Christians’ mandate to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth (Matthew 5:13-14). He states:

To be the light that inspires the world and the salt that keeps if from falling into depravity is our calling. If the world is slipping into darkness, we must not condemn the world, but consider how our light has been dimmed. If the world is falling into deeper depravity, we need to determine how we, the salt, may have lost our savor so that we can no longer prevent this. Occupying until He comes infers not letting this happen. Therefore, the impetus for the meltdown of morality and growing corruption is on us to prevent, which we can only do by being who we are called to be as Christians. It is not the time to condemn the heathen for living in darkness—they cannot help this without us. It is time to judge ourselves, and resolve that we are here to help save them, not condemn them.

OUTSTANDING!!! Too many Christians in the West today are condemning their fellow man, thinking they’re “shining a light” on sin. In reality, they’re offending their fellow man, and showing an ugly, un-Christlike view of the Church to the world. Mr. Joyner has very eloquently challenged all of us to quit judging, and start loving!

A pastor friend recently cited statistics that most 18-29 year olds, when surveyed about Christians, first responded with “hates homosexuals”, followed by “judgemental”. WOW. Kinda the opposite of the Jesus I know. We, the body of Christ, need to get our act together. Our light’s going out, and our salt is tasting kinda sandy. In the process, we’re losing ground in a fallen world.

To my fellow Christians: If you’re going to judge, grab your Bible and a mirror. When the two images match, then you’re qualified to judge others. Until then, humble yourselves, and keep trying to get the mirror image to look like the Bible image.

To my non-Christian friends: We don’t deserve it, but would you consider giving us Christians another chance? I can only speak for me, but I’ve messed up more than I’ve gotten right in loving my neighbor. But God’s only had a few years to try to fix what I’ve worked real hard to corrupt for most of my life. He’s a miracle-working God, but I’m a pretty hard case, and I haven’t always gone along willingly. Would you please forgive us–we mean well.

Obama Administration declares Bible-believing Christians and Veterans “Terrorists”

PLEASE KEEP READING!!!

This headline, or others like it, has screamed at me several times from my inbox, as concerned Christian friends have attempted to “get the word out” about the coming persecution.

A recent article from Evangelical Christian writer Rick Joyner on his webpage states:

“Consider this: In the infamous memo put out by the Department of Homeland Security about potential terrorist threats in America, it named Christians who believe the end-time prophecies in the Bible and veterans, but did not name Islamic extremists. Think about how skewed that is. When was the last time a Christian flew an airplane into a building or was a suicide bomber? Over the last half century virtually every major terrorist attack in the world came from one group, Islamic jihadists, and yet that group is not even named as a potential threat by our DHS.” Prepared for the Times, Part 28, MorningStar Ministries

These statements concerned me, so I sought out the memo to see what it actually said. I’m concerned that Mr. Joyner, along with others who have forwarded emails citing this memo as a threat to Christians, did not read the memo. If they did, then I’m more concerned that they’re either:

a) Thoroughly misunderstanding what Christians stand for, or

b) So intent on finding fault with our administration that they are deliberately twisting the words so as to be offended by something that’s not inherent in the meaning.

The document in question is an intelligence threat assessment. It’s title indicates its subject matter (Right Wing Extremism). It does not state that Islamic jihadists are NOT a threat; they are just not within the scope of the document.

The references to veterans revolve around their potential recruitment by right wing extremist organizations. It does NOT state that veterans are likely to become right wing extremists, or that veterans themselves were potential terrorist threats, just that extremist organizations were targeting veterans for recruitment.

I’m even more taken aback by the comments about “it nam[ing] Christians who believe the end-time prophecies in the Bible…” as potential terrorist threats. I was eager to see what our government had to say that identified Bible-believing Christians (like me) as terrorist threats!

The only section of the document that mentions “Christian” or “end times” is the last paragraph on page 4, quoted in part here:

“Antigovernment conspiracy theories and ‘end times’ prophecies could motivate extremist individuals and groups to stockpile food, ammunition, and weapons. These teachings also have been linked with the radicalization of domestic extremist individuals and groups in the past, such as violent Christian Identity organizations and extremist members of the militia movement.”

Given that “end times prophecies” abound, and exist beyond the Bible, I decided to look into the “Christian Identity organizations” they referenced. Another quick Google search brought me to several websites about Christian Identity, and several other Christian Identity organizational websites. A brief review of these sites led me to several conclusions:

1) These organizations are NOT Christian

2) Their understanding of the “end times” is a grotesque bastardization of the Bible to justify their hatred of Jews and other non-white races

3) In at least one instance I found, they are very overtly targeting US veterans through deception and pandering to potential disillusionment in our returning veterans.

4) These guys are dangerous wackos that I want our government to keep an eye on!!!

Nowhere else in the government document does it address Bible-believing Christians. So I implore my fellow citizens of this great nation, at all points on the political spectrum, to take the time to do their homework before they respond to politically-charged sound bites.

“Seek first to understand…”

I’m baaack…

OK, so this attempt at starting a civil discourse took a 12 month sabbatical…

I’m going to try again. I just read through the old posts, and it’s interesting that although the events that I commented on are a distant memory, not much has changed in our world.

Part of my motivation is to see if I can initiate and support a civil discourse around the upcoming elections. I’ve got opinions and biases. I admit it. And I’m hoping that I can sway the opinions of others through the use of effective dialog. I care about our country, and am concerned where we’re headed. I’m not going to stake my position out today, but I’d like to open the door for discussion. Feel free to comment here, or on my Facebook page, but let’s keep the discourse civil, informed, and respectful.