Archive for the ‘Hollywood’ Category

Berkeley Reflects America as Chaos Drives Politics

Posted: February 4, 2017 by David Fiorazo in Abortion, David's Blog, Government Schools, Hollywood, LGBT agenda, liberalism
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this-is-war-berkeley-riot-signCan you really call it a war when only one side seems to be doing all the fighting? The left are aggressively pushing their agenda across America – immorality, lawlessness, and anything opposed to biblical Christianity – and the troops are advancing through every major institution. This obviously includes academia.

They’ve taken control of the media, corporate America, the entertainment industry, the education system, the culture, the courts, and government. But wait, Donald Trump just became president of the United States and it is nearly driving some of them insane. Hollywood in particular is becoming unhinged.

Madonna publicly admits she has thought about “blowing up the White House.” Actress Lea DeLaria (Orange is the New Black) said she wanted to “pick up a baseball bat and take out every [expletive] Republican and Independent I see.” Bruce Springsteen told an Australian audience he is now embarrassed to be an American. Nordstrom stores drop Ivanka Trump’s clothing line, and the list goes on.

Just days ago on The View, Whoopi Goldberg lamented America’s new president and criticized the administration’s policies on women, Planned Parenthood, the media, and refugees, and asked the audience, “are these values really much different than the Taliban’s?” Oh, and Robert De Niro said about Trump, “We have to bully him back.”

And decades ago, the left conquered higher education by gaining control of most every college and university. Tragically, too many of us are just now seeing the rotten fruit academia has been producing for years.

Cue the snowflakes at California University in Berkeley, CA.

Milo Yiannopoulos, an editor for Breitbart News, was scheduled to speak to conservative students at Cal Berkeley Wednesday night when radical left wing students and George Soros-funded groups organized a protest including hateful rhetoric, rioting, setting vehicles on fire, and throwing paint and Molotov cocktails at the building the speaker was in.

Cal students along with paid protesters carried signs against homophobic attitudes toward gays and against Trump’s refugee policies and get this: telling an open homosexual and legal immigrant he is not welcome at their university! Some shouted he has no right to speak here, and hatred is not welcome, blah, blah, blah.

Here are just a few of the protest signs:

  • Kill Trump
  • Become Ungovernable
  • Shut it down
  • Out of Berkeley, Nazi Scum
  • No Facist USA
  • I Love what Trump Hates

Leftists and progressives claim to be beacons of reason, tolerance, and “love,” but their actions prove they are hypocritical liars. The public only buys it because Hollywood and the media are on their side and have cornered the propaganda market. They defend the blatant Saul Alinsky tactics implemented by these agitators.

Alinksy dedicated his book, Rules for Radicals, to Satan (“…the very first radical known to man who rebelled against the establishment and did it so effectively that he at least won his own kingdom — Lucifer.”), and it has been the playbook for the Left. He provided marching orders that decades of loyal disciples across the country as well as in the Democratic Party today have used to gain power. A few goals are to destroy the American system of government, free markets, and the Judeo-Christian ethic the nation was established upon.

  • They only tolerate people who believe exactly what they believe.
  • They are some of the most hate-filled, violent, intolerant people anywhere.
  • And they are so depraved in their thinking and so immersed in contradictions that they turn against the very people they claim to represent if that person doesn’t tow the entire liberal line.

I co-host a radio program called Stand Up for the Truth, and host Mike LeMay shared his concerns on Thursday’s program:

We must fact this fact. American public education has become a breeding ground for Marxist Humanism. Today’s youth have been programmed to hate God, the Bible, truth, and anyone who thinks differently than they do.

Has one Democratic politician spoken up and condemned this violence?  No, and in fact, Obama has encouraged it, even up through yesterday saying he is “heartened” by the pushback against Trump. Have they condemned this treatment of a homosexual and an immigrant at Berkeley?  No. Because the progressive left in this nation is the greatest example of bigotry and hypocrisy you will find anywhere.

Remember all the protests and arrests and riots and police activity and violence right after Obama was elected? I don’t either.

At Cal however, the crowd even threw rocks and fireworks at police officers and damaged several buildings in downtown Berkeley. Ironically, they threw stuff and smashed windows of the Martin Luther King Jr. Student Union building. (Can’t snowflakes be called ‘racists’ for doing that?)

The mob also attacked various Trump supporters who were there including:

  • One young lady wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat was attacked during a television interview. An unknown man sprayed some sort of liquid in her face.
  • The Daily Californian reports another Trump supporter was grabbed by a crowd of agitators and thrown to the ground. He escaped, but they grabbed his red hat and set it on fire. And police had to rescue another man who was bloodied and beaten.

What did the university do? They blamed the violence on outsiders and due to their policy, no arrests were made and campus security stood back and watched.

America is reaping the seeds we have sown in public education and pop culture for the past fifty years. And to be honest, I don’t blame the kids. (How about parents, pastors, teachers, coaches, and youth leaders over the last fifty years?) This is the fruit of our silence as well as the extreme lack of resistance to the immoral, hostile takeover of our culture and country.

Milo Yiannopoulos told Tucker Carlson on FOX News,

“No one’s safety is at risk from different opinions; No one’s physical safety is endangered by political ideas from a speaker on campus, but universities have sort of allowed this stuff to happen, and even in some cases, encouraged it.”

There are those on both the left and right who call for civility and unity in America. I get it. But these calls are either naive or disingenuous. It is almost always conservatives, Republicans, and Christians who end up compromising in our society. The parallel is not unlike those who are committed practitioners of radical Islam; you cannot coexist with those whose goal is to either force you into submission, make you pay high taxes and fines, or to kill you.

Liberals have been emboldened and would rather shut down the conversation – or shut you down – than allow conservative or Christian values and ideas to be considered and promoted.

It was Joseph Stalin who reportedly once stated, “Ideas are more powerful than guns. We would not allow our enemies to have guns, why should we let them have ideas.”

Former Obama administration official, Rosa Brooks, recently wrote about four ways to “get rid” of President Trump, including a military coup or declaring him mentally unfit for command. (Foreign Policy magazine posting here)

Brooks is a Schwartz senior fellow at the New America Foundation, which is funded by billionaire George Soros’s Open Society Foundations. She served from 2009-2011 as Counselor to the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy and served as a senior adviser at Obama’s State Department. In an apparent effort to make a case against Trump, Brooks questions his mental stability saying, “has made it all too clear: Yes, he is as crazy as everyone feared.”

Militant liberal, actress Sarah Silverman also called for a military coup against the president, tweeting a list of moves Trump made in his first days in office to 9.8 million followers:

WAKE UP & JOIN THE RESISTANCE. ONCE THE MILITARY IS W US, FASCISTS GET OVERTHROWN. MAD KING & HIS HANDLERS GO BYE BYE

At the leftist-funded “Women’s March” a few weeks back, professing Christian, Ashley Judd went on a profanity-laced feminist rant on behalf of the new “nasty woman” movement. She likened Trump to Hitler a few times, ranted about women’s menstrual cycles, and raved about how women’s private parts are for pleasure rather than babies. Scarlet Johansson complained about having to use Planned Parenthood with when she was 15 years old.

Finally, the media would never mention this, but a main organizer of the event, Linda Sarsour, is a Muslim who wants Sharia Law in America. She is a Palestinian-American activist, executive director of the Arab American Association of New York, and an Obama White House “Champion of Change.”

These protests stem from people’s warped worldview and rebellion against God the Creator of all life, also known as God the Father. Many on the left have an insatiable disdain for Christianity, America, capitalism, conservatives, patriotism, Republicans, Israel, and most recently, Donald Trump.

In her article, “The War On Sanity,” Jennifer Hartline describes the dilemma well:

In the new civil war… There is no objective reality based on observable, physical or natural law. There’s only the tyranny of feelings. And you are not permitted to disagree.

The world is not ending because Trump is president, and every citizen has the freedom to speak up, vote, and resist peacefully and politically without it leading to violence. I’m just not so sure the far left can restrain themselves any longer, but I could be wrong.

Many on the far left believe we’re in a new civil war, and they’re taking it seriously. 

Most of these poor souls don’t realize it yet, but they need the hope, truth, and salvation of Jesus Christ. Pray for them, they’re lost; and pray for the new administration.

First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 1 Timothy 2:1-4

 

David Fiorazo’s latest book can be found here: The Cost of Our Silence: Consequences of Christians Taking the Path of Least Resistance

*Photos from this site: Breitbart News

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Liberal Media Disconnect Exposed – Again

Posted: November 18, 2016 by David Fiorazo in David's Blog, Hollywood, liberalism, Media Bias
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trump-with-reporters-wndAmericans are fed up and tired of being insulted by condescending elites on the Left. It is no surprise trust in the mainstream media is at all-time lows with less than 30 percent of people buying what reporters are selling as “news.”

We’re on to them; the numbers do not lie, and the recent presidential election results should reinforce how the liberal media’s (indirect campaign) bias against Donald Trump and support for Hillary Clinton backfired.

A new Media Research Center (MRC) poll shows a high number of voters rejected Democratic media bias and that by a 3-to-1 margin, the public saw media bias favoring Clinton.

Here are a few of the findings:

  •   7 in 10 (69%) voters do not believe the news media are honest and truthful.
  •   8 in 10 (78%) of voters believe the news coverage of the presidential campaign was biased, with nearly a 3-to-1 majority believing the media were for Clinton (59%) vs. for Trump (21%).
  •   Even 1/3 (32%) of Clinton voters believe the media were “pro-Clinton.”

Media Research Center (MRC)’s Brent Bozell said:

In 30 years, I’ve never seen anything like this. The media are in full panic mode because the American people rejected their leftist agenda — and them… There is an institutional bias at major media networks that must be repaired and I am highly skeptical that news executives are interested or capable of undertaking this responsibility.

When major news outlets appear to be admitting the obvious, you know it has to be bad! This from the failing New York Times:

After such an erratic and unpredictable election, there are inevitable questions about Donald Trump’s sheer unconventionality and did that lead us and other news outlets to underestimate his support among American voters?

Just days after the election, Joe Concha at The Hill reviewed the NYT’s website to see if there was any evidence that they learned a lesson and wrote:

“… When it’s impossible to find one headline out of 19 on the [New York Times‘] homepage that can be deemed positive [about Trump], that shows without ambiguity the Times has no plans to be remotely balanced any time soon.”

We shouldn’t expect the media to get back to the basics and do what America’s founders created it to do because the general public knows it is too far gone at this point. They have given in to ideology over truth. Most of us already know the answers to the following questions, but they still must be asked:

Do the elite media monitor the power of the United States government regardless of whether there is a Republican or Democrat in the White House?

Do they report on subjects such as abortion, sanctuary cities, same-sex marriage, Muslim immigration, the national debt, Planned Parenthood funding, or welfare with no bias?

When it comes to corruption and investigations, do they treat conservatives differently than they do liberals?

Do you think some in the major media simply omit stories if the facts don’t support their narrative?

And finally, how do the media handle political campaigns and elections? Reporting hasn’t been the same since media liberals ganged up with Hollywood and the Left to obliterate Sarah Palin and exalt Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential campaign.

FLASHBACK: Eight years ago, I wrote extensively on the presidential campaign cycle and tried raising more awareness so people would do their own research in the future and see the glaring hypocrisy and double-standards of the Left:

People tend to believe half-truths or lies, if they are repeated often enough. What happened in 2008 should be taught in journalism classes and should go down as the final nail in the coffin of media objectiv­ity. The character assassination, personal attacks, and brutal political assault on former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin should never have been allowed to happen. I’ve never seen so much hatred toward one person trumpeted by the media.

It should be something fair-minded Ameri­cans won’t soon forget.

Here’s some quick history we have forgotten -Post-election polls from 2008:

  •  Rasmussen: By 10-to-1 Margin, Public Says Reporters ‘Tried to Hurt Palin’
  •  By Nearly 8-to-1, Voters Say Journalists Wanted Obama to Win
  •  By 5-to-1 Public Thinks Most Journalists Tried to Elect Obama

As if we needed more evidence, journalists overwhelmingly donate money to Democrats over Republicans and in terms of dollars given, it was a 15-to1 ratio. What about employees of big media companies?  Their campaign donation ratio is 100-to-1 favoring Democrats. Surprised?

As Christians and true conservatives, though we know the Bible is the ultimate truth, we should be no less concerned about truth in our country, culture, and media. Sadly, the media doesn’t even try hiding their bias anymore. The fact that the Christian worldview is not popular in today’s society shouldn’t be surprising to us, but we are American citizens and we deserve to know the facts and the truth about government and issues that affect us.

In order to determine if there’s much hope for a turnaround, let’s first look at a few basic Principles of Journalism:

  1. Journalism’s first obligation is to tell the truth
  2. Its first loyalty is to citizens
  3. Its essence is a discipline of verification
  4. Its practitioners must maintain an independence from those they cover
  5. It must serve as an independent monitor of power

Richard Sambrook, a Journalism Professor at Cardiff University wrote about this and analyzed why the media got the election so wrong:

The lure of celebrity status has taken too many journalists into the arms of those they should be challenging. True independence – political, corporate, cultural – is rare and hard to achieve. It is to be prized for that reason.

Big media is now part of the political/celebrity bubble and tends to forget that journalism as originally defined is meant to be an “outsider” activity. As Shambrook put it – “outside the halls of power, but not outside the communities it serves.”

Another glaring issue is the fact many sycophants in major news organizations hang out with those they should be holding accountable. We’ve seen this occur in the cozy relationship elite liberal reporters have enjoyed with the Obama administration.

Then there’s the issue of tense corporate competition which often leads media to rush to be the first to break a story rather than getting all the facts right.

The current unbalanced news environment has caused a massive increase of activity on social media in part because people tend to trust friends and family over today’s clearly biased media.

One of the glaring double standards was exposed by TMZ which reported that sources say many NBC executives have open disdain for Trump.

The network planned to roll out the [Trump sex comments] tape 48 hours before the debate with Hillary Clinton so the outrage would dominate the news cycle. NBC’s “sex talk tape” generated nearly two hours of news coverage about Trump.

(In contrast, the MRC reported the fact that when Paula Jones held a press conference about Bill Clinton sexually harassing her, that he dropped his pants in front of her and told her to ____ – ___, the liberal media gave the story exactly 16 seconds.)

After the media’s burying reports on Benghazi, classified emails, and Clinton Foundation scandals, the media tried keeping a lid on the Wikileaks revelations but it may have been too much. Plus, many people still don’t know that DNC Chairman and CNN contributor Donna Brazile gave presidential debate questions to the Clinton campaign. Also, according to MRC’s The Watchdog:

New York Times reporter Mark Leibovich allowed Clinton Communications Director Jen Palmieri to pick and choose which quotes she would like him to use in a July article, and which to bury. Palmieri emailed Leibovich, “Let me know if that is not clear. Working from an iPhone on the plane so am not able to access the transcript to cut and paste.”

A senior Clinton campaign official editing NYT  “news” stories about the campaign?

Wow.

The insurmountable problems with this level of bias however, go even beyond basic elitism and disdain for those who hold opposing views. They stem from an intolerant, anti-Christian worldview cultivated through years of godless indoctrination in an education system and culture that has become hostile toward conservatives and people of faith.

The solution is a spiritual one because the underlying problem affecting us all is sin. The heart of man is prideful, selfish, and wicked and only God can change hearts and worldviews. Jesus is the Truth, and truth is definitely needed in our nation more than ever.

Romans 6:23 states:

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The mainstream media’s agenda was again exposed, and so was the media’s disconnect from the American public. As a result, more and more of us who are “connected” on social media are choosing to research and get most of our news elsewhere.

To see original post and ten related links and articles, click here.

*Photo credits: the New York Observer and WND News

 

Strangers in Jenner, Pokémon, Kardashian Country

Posted: July 22, 2016 by David Fiorazo in Christianity, David's Blog, Hollywood
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KardashiansWe love our entertainment in America and it’s so easy to waste a lot of time. But perhaps more important is a fact most people do not seem to realize: how we spend our time affects both soul and spirit, either drawing us closer to God or further away.

It’s the ‘hours of influence’ principle which in early computer days was known as “garbage in, garbage out.” It’s easier to reprogram a computer than it is our minds, which the Bible says we are to renew (Rom. 12:2).

Christians are to be set apart, striving for holiness instead of happiness and godliness instead of ungodly pursuits. We should stand out from the world and shine light in the darkness, not participate in its deeds (Eph. 5:11).

Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus:

Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. (Ephesians 5:15-17)

With so much of today’s entertainment falling under the category of soul pollution – much of it promoting what the Bible considers to be sin – it’s no surprise American culture has gone into the gutter.

But this is where people such as Kim Kardashian and other so-called reality TV stars are taking us. This stuff wouldn’t be on television if people didn’t watch it and if advertisers didn’t make a profit.

(Lest you think I’m picking on a few people, there’s just not enough time to write extensively about the entertainment industry, the music and gaming industry, media, corporations, pro sports, and the evils involved.)

Even beyond the stunning popularity of shows like Keeping Up with the Kardashians, think of their negative influence on young people today: offensive language, style of (and lack of) dress, disrespect for authority, promotion of promiscuity, selfishness, and extremely liberal attitudes about sex and morality.

Not only is immorality celebrated, the message is this: bad behavior gets rewarded.

We have succumbed to the values of Hollywood and the meaninglessness of today’s entertainment, and one day each of us will be held accountable for what we did with the talents God gave us.

To end the book of Ecclesiastes, King Solomon stated:

The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil. (Eccl. 12:13-14)

What matters from a biblical perspective is not necessarily the massive cultural shift in opinions about truth and morality, but the fact these views are more common among professing Christians and religious Americans. I am only surprised at the speed by which these attitudes have infested the Church.

Just fifty-four percent of evangelicals now believe it’s wrong to identify as a different gender; 35 percent of Muslims and only 26 percent of Catholics agree. Religious folks are either not reading, not understanding, or not obeying the teachings in their holy books.

A new national survey was done by LifeWay Research indicating a changing worldview that is becoming more and more secular. The poll reveals an increasing percentage of Americans no longer believe in right and wrong, and don’t think there’s absolute truth.

Sixty percent believe that it is not morally wrong for individuals to self-identify with a gender that is different than their natural biological sex. From this we can conclude a majority of Americans now reject the fact that a Creator (God) gave them a specific gender that cannot be changed…

 

Read more here:

Gun Control, Hollywood, And Violent Ignorance

Posted: March 12, 2013 by David Fiorazo in David's Blog, Government Corruption, Gun Control, Hollywood, Politics
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gangster-squad-sean-penn

The push for gun control in America sure won’t be slowing down anytime soon, but the legislative efforts and proposals to curb gun use ignore the nonstop violence promoted by the entertainment industry.

A majority of American adults, 80%, agree with the statement that “violent games and films contribute to violence in society.” That’s according to a brand new Vanity Fair/60 Minutes nationwide poll. Of those respondents, 45% believe those media contribute a lot to societal violence, while 35% believe it contributes “some.”

Massive evidence is available and countless studies prove the effects of simulated violence on all consumers, but especially on children. Why is Hollywood pardoned for the carnage its product constantly produces? It’s difficult to confront Hollywood decision makers and hold them accountable when they’re helping get you reelected.

In a 2013 study, the Culture and Media Institute found that in the Top 5 movies – in just one weekend – the tally included 65 scenes depicting violence, 185 people killed, shot, stabbed, beaten, burned, blown up, etc.  Hollywood supporters talk about gun control, but are unwilling to address the issue with the entertainment industry.

Meanwhile, Hollywood continues producing the most violent, sadistic movies, television programs, and morbid video games that glorify graphic violence and mayhem. Our culture has been desensitized similar to the blood-thirsty crowds in the Roman Coliseum thousands of years ago being entertained by human slaughter. One difference is we’re exposed to more violence and death than they could have imagined.

But if this was part of the problem, people would address it honestly – wouldn’t they?

Just a few days ago, California Senator, Diane Feinstein, made another plea to ban assault weapons in one of her greatest hits as far as quotes go. Feinstein stated:

“We have federal regulations and state laws that prohibit hunting ducks with more than three rounds. And yet it’s legal to hunt humans with 15-round, 30-round, even 150-round magazines. Limiting magazine capacity is critical, because it is when a criminal, a drug dealer, a deranged individual has to pause to change magazines and reload that, the police or brave bystanders have the opportunity to take that individual down.”

The heart of the problem today doesn’t lie with the instruments and tools of violence. We can’t outlaw hammers, shovels, knives, and rope, for example. To ban them would not stop evil because evil always finds another method. The Bible teaches that the heart of man is deceitful and desperately wicked, (Jer. 17:9) and America has all but abandoned God.

It’s no wonder we continue to fill Planned Parenthood dumpsters; too many Americans value choice (self) more than they value life.

George Washington, among others, emphasized religion and morality as primary foundations for a free, successful society. This is what the American way relies upon and the more God is removed, the less morality we will have. Our Founding Fathers believed it unpatriotic to remove God from the public square.

In the 1960’s, the Left increased their efforts targeting American classrooms, courtrooms, newsrooms; Hollywood, government and even our churches to promote moral relativism and minimize our Judeo-Christian way of life. In that decade, they truly advanced their agenda to eradicate God from the United States, and we’re living with the results today.

Be reminded our rights don’t come from man, but from the God of creation. If government had given us our rights, government could take them away. Chairman Mao Zedong and his regime of godless communists executed more people than anyone in world history. His view was basically that right and wrong is determined by who has all the guns.

When moral and religious standards decrease, chaos and crime increase. Passing gun legislation is just a politicized answer to a spiritual issue. We are naïve to think we can eliminate evil when few truly understand the cause. We need common sense, especially in politics.

Illinois Democrat, Jan Schakowsky, recently said that they were on a roll now with gun control and “we’re gonna push as hard as we can and as far as we can.” In other words, the assault weapons ban is really the tip of the iceberg for liberals. Schakowsky isn’t shy about admitting to liberal agendas the media refuses to report on. For example, in 2009 she told a crowd that the goal of Obamacare would be to “put the private insurance industry out of business.”

And who can forget – in an admission caught on tape – during a discussion on drilling that liberal Democrat Maxine Waters admitted they’d be about “socializing” and “taking-over” the oil companies. They want power and control.

In other government power grabs, we now know the Obama administration could legally use deadly force against Americans inside the U.S., authorizing itself to shoot anyone thought to be a threat. Drones are something right out of a Hollywood movie – but this time it’s not a movie.

We can continue having gun debates and policy arguments, but this doesn’t address a few core issues: Man has an evil, sinful nature and without God there’s little hope for this country; We place too high a priority on entertainment; Hollywood keeps promoting unlimited violence and in one way or another, America keeps paying for it.

not guns, control

Click to read David’s article, ‘The Audacity of Drones’

In the Midst of Evil, Hope; for Sandy Hook School, Newtown, and Us

Posted: December 16, 2012 by David Fiorazo in Christianity in America, David's Blog, Hollywood
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roadside memorial

The Lord is slow to anger and great in power, And the Lord will by no means leave the guilty unpunished… The Lord is good, A stronghold in the day of trouble, And He knows those who take refuge in Him. (Nahum 1:3; 7)

A horrific tragedy, and so close to Christmas, leaves a shocked nation mourning.

The darkness and ugliness of evil has captured America once again. This time it was a massacre inside Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut where a masked gunman took the lives of six adults and twenty children between the ages of 5 – 10. Stories are emerging and details will continue to be learned about that day; the victims, the heroes, the school, the security of public schools, and the motives and psychology of the killer, Adam Lanza. Debates will continue about how to prevent something like this from happening again.

Many will try to make this a political issue and point to gun control, better security or safer buildings and classrooms. Few will suggest there is no way to stop someone that is committed and determined to kill. How unthinkable that a person could aim a gun at precious, innocent children and take their young lives. There are reports the twenty year-old killer may have had mental health problems, but how could anyone take so many lives, especially children? He saw them them as objects rather than human beings.

Early reports said the killer was a ‘goth kid’ into dark video games. Have we become desensitized to how violent video games have become? They don’t rate many of them ‘M for Mature’ for no reason. Guns have been around for hundreds of years; video games have been around for just over a few decades.

Hollywood continues producing the most violent, sadistic movies, television programs, and morbid video games that glorify graphic violence and killing people. They’re selling like crazy to today’s youth and our entertainment-driven culture. Some kids now have a harder time differentiating between fantasy and real life when it comes to violence. Why don’t more people cite the countless studies that have been done proving violent movies, TV, and video games encourage children to act out and to justify violent behavior?

Why are we reluctant to call this what it truly is? This is a moral issue and America has all but abandoned God in the public square. Satan is a very real enemy and the Bible teaches, “The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy.” (John 10:10) Jesus however, came to lay down His own life for us that we might have access to God the Father and be given eternal life. (John 10:11)

Yes, the Sandy Hook School massacre was a senseless, heart-wrenching tragedy, but we are powerless to completely stop the forces of evil. Pure evil cannot and does not wait; evil respects no one. A shocked America has again been reminded of this present darkness. The answer is not more laws, better security or thicker windows and walls in public places. The answer is not gun control. (In Israel, female teachers carry guns in school to protect children.)

Are we ready to face the truth about evil? Will we now take some responsibility for how and what we are teaching young people in American schools? The killer had been out of school for less than two years. Almost anything is allowed in government-run public schools that the Bible would consider unwise, harmful, and in many cases, sinful. What has been kicked out of public schools? Prayer, the mention of Jesus Christ, God’s laws, and the Bible itself. How has this been working out for us?

Kids are learning moral relativism and more Americans are having a hard time discerning good and evil. Our standards of morality and responsibility have dropped dramatically and we have allowed life itself to be devalued in our ungodly society. We are naïve to think ignoring the causes of evil will eliminate evil. We need common sense.

American culture devalues life and in the process has all but eradicated God and the Judeo-Christian principles we were founded upon. The tragedy in Connecticut will leave many broken lives, but we can be confident because we know Christ can heal broken hearts. However, too many of us forget the ongoing abortion holocaust in a country that claims to be predominantly pro-life. I’m talking about 55 million babies killed in mother’s wombs since unelected judges legalized abortion in 1973.

A cowardly killer takes the lives of twenty children at a school and it impacts a nation while complicit killers take the lives of thousands of babies every day in America and we silently give them permission to use our tax dollars to help fund the slaughter.

Last Friday’s tragedy in Connecticut reminds us there is a spiritual battle between good and evil; without God there can be no morality. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?”  (Jeremiah 17:9) Newtown, CT is a very small community about 45 miles from Hartford. If this kind of evil occurred in a small town, it can happen anywhere, but who knows – it may not have happened at all if God had not been blotted out of the public square starting in 1962.

The only answer to evil and heartache and sin is the life, person, and teachings of Jesus Christ, without whom there is no cure; no hope, no solution, and no salvation. He was sent to heal the brokenhearted and preach the good news to the poor in spirit. (Isaiah 61:1-2) God sent His only Son – because He loves every one of us. In spite of the darkness, wickedness, and our ungodly culture, He is called ‘Immanuel’ which means ‘God with us’. This is the hope we profess. Our God is faithful, His love is everlasting, and His promises are true.

There will always be evil in the world, and what happened in Newtown, CT is a sobering reminder of why we must understand the times and share the Gospel with others who need hope. Let’s not just say ‘our thoughts and prayers go out’ to the hurting; let’s actually pray.

Only God knows the number of our days. While we’re here on earth, we are called to love, to bear one another’s burdens, and “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (Romans 12:21) Jesus didn’t promise an easy life, but through Him, He did promise an overcoming life! In dark or desperate times, people are more open to the love and life Jesus Christ offers. Though we’re in a spiritual battle with evil all around us, we’re never without hope. Let’s share this message of hope with those who need encouragement. God promises to make a way where there seems to be no way.

How Can They Hate Kirk Cameron?

Posted: September 4, 2012 by Amy Spreeman in David's Blog, Hollywood
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Fame can get pretty crazy. There were times when young Kirk Cameron had to be driven from his home to the set of the hit television show Growing Pains in a bulletproof car. This was not because Kirk was a Christian; it was because he was a TV star with some fanatical fans. From 1985 to 1992, Kirk Cameron starred as the lovable teen troublemaker Mike Seaver, and Kirk became a worldwide teenage idol at the peak of his teen success on the popular sitcom. The downside of fame is that Kirk’s family also had to deal with kidnapping threats, stalkers, and a lack of privacy. When Kirk Cameron was growing up as a child star in Hollywood on Growing Pains, he was not a Christian. Therefore, he was not controversial.

But his experiences caused him to start thinking about salvation and his own mortality. In his testimony, he talks about having it all according to the world’s standards, but still feeling empty, like he was missing something. Kirk later shared:

“I was rich, I was young, I was famous, I could do anything I wanted with whomever I wanted…I thought that I was too smart to believe in a fairy tale like that [God].”

The Way of the Master web site reads “About Kirk Cameron”: But much more noteworthy than his acting career was his conversion to Christianity. Kirk was not raised in a church-going home and describes himself as a devout atheist from a very young age. By the age of 14 he was so convinced there was no God that he laughed at those who thought there was. But that all changed one afternoon as he sat in his sports car pondering the first Gospel message he had ever heard.

When he was 17 years old, Kirk met a young girl that he liked and her father invited him to go to church. Her father told Kirk that he didn’t have everything because he didn’t have the Lord. Because he really liked the man’s daughter, he decided to go along to church with them one Sunday. Kirk shared that as he listened to the message on the holiness and the love of God, he felt guilty, but he also felt a sense of hope. He really wanted to believe. Cameron started reading the bible and going to church; changing his language and changing his life.

In more recent years, Kirk played “Captian Caleb Holt” in the 2008 blockbuster movie, Fireproof.  Kirk played “Buck Williams”, a character from the Left Behind series. He has grown as an actor, but more importantly, Cameron has shared the Gospel with millions on television, radio, through his Way of the Master ministry, and at churches and public appearances. Senior Pastor of Shadow Mountain Community Church, Dr. David Jeremiah said that he had never heard the gospel presented more powerfully, more correctly, or more clearly than when Kirk Cameron shared with their church.

Fast forward to March 2, 2012 when Kirk Cameron appeared on CNN’s “Piers Morgan Tonight” to promote his new film, “Monumental”. During the television segment, Piers Morgan steered the interview away from the movie and to the subject of homosexuality. I am proud of Kirk Cameron for not avoiding the trap and for answering honestly when Morgan kept prodding him about his views on gay marriage.

Cameron responded to Morgan by saying, “Marriage is defined by God in the garden between Adam and Eve, one man, one woman for life, till-death-do-you-part.” He said that he would never attempt to re-define marriage and that he did not support gay marriage because of his Christian beliefs. The statement ignited outrage from homosexual activists, Hollywood, and liberals in the elite media.

Gay gossip columnist and activist, Perez Hilton, labeled Kirk a “bigot,” “disgusting,” and called him a “homophobe.” GLADD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) stated that Cameron was “out of step with the majority of Americans.” The classy Rosanne Barr tweeted “kirk or kurt or whatever cameron is an accomplice to murder with his hate speech…their peers r killing gays in uganda.”

In an L.A. Times blog, the lone conservative voice on The View, Elizabeth Hasselbeck sadly noted that she did not agree with Cameron at all, but did go on to say, “I do believe that the beauty of this nation is that he can, upon being asked, or of his free will, stand up and say what he believes.” Co-host Joy Behar finally agreed that Cameron had a right to free speech, but said she thought he should “just shut up.” Behar is a consistent example of liberal intolerance.

GLADD spokesman Herndon Graddick concluded “his views are harmful and have no place in modern America.”

Notice the recurring theme that Christians and our faith are not welcome in the Christian nation of America. Not surprising, ABC’s George Stephanopoulos set up a segment by saying that Cameron “kicked off a Twitter feud with his condemnation of homosexuality, and the heat is blowing back on him…”

NBC’s Ann Curry got into the act by saying that Kirk “set off a firestorm” with his comments on gay marriage. Curry began her interview with Cameron – which was supposed to be to promote his movie “Monumental” – by asking if he was “encouraging people to feel hate towards gay people”. Starting with his response, here is part of the interview:

Cameron:  “When you take a subject and reduce it to a four-second sound bite and a check mark on a ballot, I think that’s inappropriate and insensitive…”

Ann Curry: “Do you feel any responsibility, saying words like that, that it might encourage people to feel it’s okay to mistreat gay people?”

Cameron:  “Nobody should mistreat anybody. Homosexuals, heterosexuals, bisexuals should not be mistreated…the interviewer that asked me this question used the words with me saying “I think your views are destructive.” We all have our convictions formed by different things and mine are informed by my faith. They’re formed by the word of God, and I found that to be an anchor for me, a compass, and a guide for me. When people start bullying one another and calling each other names for those different convictions, then I think you get into problems. I’ve also been on the receiving end of that.”

Ann Curry:  “Why do you even talk about it then…This is not the first time you’ve made comments that have caused people a lot of alarm.”

Cameron:  “That’s a good question. I was surprised, frankly, that people were surprised by the things that I’ve said. I have been consistent for 15 years… I’m a Bible-believing Christian. What I would have thought was more newsworthy is if I had said something that contradicted the word of God, if I had contradicted my faith.”

It’s hard to miss Curry’s elite attitude in the way she framed the questions, as well as asking Kirk why he even talks about his beliefs. This is astounding because interviewers ask the questions and the interviewee responds with an answer. They think that even though a Christian is asked a specific question, they don’t need to “stir up hatred” by answering the question! You can also tell which side of the issue she is on by noting that she said his “comments have caused people a lot of alarm.” This is her opinion; it is not journalism.

Jesus Christ is divisive and doctrine divides. Either the entire Bible is true and Christ is the Way or Christianity is wrong. There is no middle ground and this is one reason things get so heated. Because the Christian-bashing went on and on, Kirk released a statement to ABC News to clarify his position. He reinforced the fact that it is his life’s mission to love all people. He wrote:

“I should be able to express moral views on social issues, especially those that have been the underpinning of Western civilization for 2,000 years — without being slandered, accused of hate speech, and told from those who preach ‘tolerance’ that I need to either bend my beliefs to their moral standards or be silent when I’m in the public square.”

“I believe we need to learn how to debate these things with greater love and respect… “I’ve been encouraged by the support of many friends (including gay friends, incidentally).”

I have a greater respect Kirk Cameron, not only for what he stands for, but because of how much class and love he has shown in his handling of this “controversy”. Let’s get in the bunker with him as soldiers of Jesus Christ and do our best to promote the truth of God’s Word in bold and loving ways. We are called by Him to stand for truth.

Finally, I thought it was interesting that in an interview with Christianity Today about Kirk’s movie, Monumental, he was asked what he thought was the biggest problem in the church today. The very first thing he said was, “Apathy in the church.”  Most of us understand that our time is short. We understand that we are here to proclaim the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. There will always be people who hate us. Will we be faithful or fearful?

But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.     1 Timothy 6:11-12

notes:

[i] http://www.wayofthemaster.com/about_kirk.shtml

[ii] http://www.wayofthemaster.com/about_kirk.shtml

[iii] http://www.mrc.org/articles/lefties-accuse-kirk-cameron-hate-speech-christian-beliefs

[iv] http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/hollywood-piles-on-kirk-cameron-for-gay-comments-roseanne-calls-accomplice

[v] http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/gossip/2012/03/kirk-cameron-anti-gay-comments.html

[vi] http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/entertainment/2012/03/exclusive-kirk-cameron-responds-to-critics-hate-speech/

[vii] http://popwatch.ew.com/2012/03/20/kirk-cameron-today-show/?cnn=yes

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