Posts Tagged ‘sin’

The following is the second part of a book excerpt from The Cost of Our Silence: Consequences of Christians Taking the Path of Least Resistance. This is from the compelling, statistic-filled chapter, “The Anguish of Abortion.”

Largely unreported by pro-abortion media is the fact abortion often causes women years of emotional pain, torment, and guilt. Many young women try to act normal and hide the fact that they are in pain, often experiencing severe trauma soon after receiving an abortion. Moreover, countless women have experienced increased alcohol or drug use and eating disorders. They suffer from depression and nightmares. They agonize with self-destructive behavior and suicidal thoughts or attempts. God help us help them!

There are two battles on this front and we should be engaged in both. First, we must raise awareness about biblical truth that God is the Author and Creator of all life. He values every single human being. Life begins at conception, and destroying innocent life is an immoral act against His law. Second, we must love, support, and care for women and young girls who have had abortions, pointing them to the forgiveness of Jesus Christ and loving arms of the Father. We also need to embrace and support struggling single moms, praying and caring for them however we can.

If you have had an abortion, here are some questions to consider: Would you now advise your best friend or sister not to have an abortion if she were considering it? If you were a Christian before having an abortion, has your relationship with God or with those in the church changed?

growing_growingA young woman who gets pregnant is often confused and intimidated into aborting her baby through emotional, financial, or relational threats. According to a 2004 study on post-abortive women reported by the Medical Science Monitor, 64% of the women felt pressured to have an abortion. Sadly, an often-neglected subject is how women are affected afterwards. As many as 91% of all abortions cause severe psychological problems, both immediate and long-term, according to reports of the Department of Education and Alan Guttmacher Institute.

Approximately 40% of minors who’ve had an abortion don’t tell their parents, and 51% of women having abortions are under twenty-five years old. This is another important reason to have open communication with your daughters. Conversely, in cases where young women do tell others about their abortion, they often try to act normal and hide the fact that they are unhappy or in any kind of pain. Many experience severe trauma soon after receiving an abortion. The following are post-abortion symptoms that may be experienced:

Alcohol or drug use to distract from the pain; anger, anxiety (probably non-specific or in forms of a panic attack), abusive relationships (believing she doesn’t deserve better).

Denial or repression (the “pushing down” of intolerable emotions), depression, deterioration of self-worth/self-image, disruption in relationships (increasing inability to be intimate or social with friends and family), anger, violent behavior.

Eating disorders, feelings of helplessness or powerlessness, flashbacks, grief, guilt, purposely having unprotected sex or increased sexual activity as self-punishment.

Nightmares about a baby or babies crying, the same nightmare over and over; preoccupation with the abortion procedure or thoughts of babies.

Regret, remorse, sadness to the point of inability to handle basic responsibilities, self-destructive behavior and suicidal thoughts or attempts; death.

In a study of post-abortion patients eight weeks after their abortion, researchers found 44% complained of nervous disorders, 36% had experienced sleep disturbances, 31% had regrets about their decision, and 11% had been prescribed psychotropic medicine by their family doctor.[1] A New Zealand study that tracked women for more than three decades discovered 42% of women who aborted experienced major depression.

According to Priscilla Coleman of Bowling Green State University,

Women who have had an abortion have an 81% higher risk of subsequent mental health problems compared to women who have not had an abortion. Also, women who aborted have a 138% (another study showed 160%) higher risk of mental health problems compared to women who have given birth.

Tragically, many so-called “counselors” at abortion clinics downplay mental and physical health risks the majority of the time in order to sell customers abortions, not to mention the fact the procedure will violently end their child’s life. My heart goes out to those who believe the godless lie that this “procedure” can be justified in any way.

I came across a familiar Bible verse from the story of Mary that you and I have probably read dozens of times through the years during Christmas. But something jumped out at me this time when I read Luke 1:43-44:

But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.

Notice babies in the womb are able to sense such feelings as “joy.”

It is also indisputable and documented that babies in the womb have a developed nervous system and feel pain. How irrational to think a baby senses or feels nothing until the very moment they are delivered, and then all of a sudden upon seeing daylight or when the umbilical cord is cut, pain receptors kick in. Abortion mills such as Planned Parenthood do not give a baby in the womb pain medication before they are destroyed.

Here is some eye-opening information about newly conceived babies:

Her DNA, everything she will grow into, was fully present at the moment of conception.

Her heart began to beat eighteen days after conception.

Her brainwaves were detectable forty days (six weeks) after conception.

Your baby could move at six weeks.

She could suck her thumb (and hiccup!) at seven weeks.

Eight weeks after conception, all of her major organs had developed.

Your baby’s respiratory system began to function, and she began to breathe amniotic fluid at nine weeks.[2]

…Abortion in America has created a culture that disregards the dignity and value of human life, endangers women, and demeans motherhood. Our sexually permissive and progressive culture encourages young women and teenage girls and boys to be sexually active. Those who have had abortions need our prayers, not our judgment. Being a product of America’s secular culture, post-abortive women, especially religious women, suffer enough for their sin. They first need God’s forgiveness; they then need to learn how to forgive themselves.

We hear little talk of purity and self-restraint. The teaching of biblical principles and abstinence education in churches, schools, and society is vital to effect positive change. Stop messing around, yes. Limit abortions, yes. Vote for pro-life candidates, yes. Stop funding Planned Parenthood with our tax dollars, yes! But we also need to remember the power of prayer and true, caring Christianity. People may not respond to debates, laws, or rules, but many will – eventually – respond to genuine love and truth.

Are we willing to confront abortion defenders and speak about some of these facts? Will we do a better job promoting the truth that every baby is a gift from God, created in His image and has value? We need to reach people with the message “every single life matters.” The root of this culture of death and of every problem is sin, and the only solution is Jesus Christ.

Read the entire excerpt here:

The Anguish of Abortion – part one of this book excerpt

all-lives-matterOne danger in our society is many people have gotten used to the back and forth debate over the most sacred of rights on earth – life. Though the pro-life movement has had some recent success, there is so much political give and take depending on who gets elected and who follows through on campaign promises, too many people tune out.

It’s tragic however, when Christians, religious folks, and true conservatives look the other way as well. Make no mistake: this is a battle of worldviews. Who should be born, how long should people live, and who determines the quality, productivity, and value of human life?

Pastor David Platt often emphasizes God’s heart for the unborn and recently said:

“Children are so precious. They are a treasure to be cherished. And yet, we live in a culture where children are a problem to be avoided.”

Most of us have heard the argument by some pro-abortion activists insisting pregnancy is comparable to a disease that must be cured and thus, a baby is something to be removed. The logical progression of this extreme thought process and its lack of value for human life doesn’t stop at the dismembering of baby body parts. Support for assisted suicide has also increased – even among church-goers in America.

First, in a story ignored by the media and that few paid attention to because it came out just before Christmas, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee published a 500-page report on Planned Parenthood. The report gives a small glimpse into a very dark, strange and chilling world of selling baby parts, a world where nothing goes to waste in this huge, profitable business.

And it is a sick, twisted industry. The law is very clear: it is illegal to make any profit from the body parts of fetuses or any body parts of any human. But the documents subpoenaed from Planned Parenthood and related companies show how the law was completely and willfully ignored.

Journalist and filmmaker, Phelim McAleer produced the Gosnell movie and co-authored a book about America’s most prolific serial killer, abortionist Kermit Gosnell. McAleer describes how the Committee documented how one $15 an hour “technician” spent his time on a summer day in 2014:

The ABR “technician” obtained a 20 week-old fetus at a [Planned Parenthood] clinic. From that one fetus, ABR sold its brain to one customer for $325; both of its eyes for $325 each ($650 total) to a second customer, a portion of its liver for $325 to a third customer; its thymus and for $325 and another portion of liver to a fourth customer; and its lung for $325 to a fifth customer. These fees are merely the service fees for the specimens themselves; ABR separately charged each customer for shipping, disease, screening, cleaning and freezing, as applicable. So from that single fetus for which ABR paid a mere $60, ABR charged its customers a total of $2,275 for tissue specimens…

…How long has it been since America lost its collective conscience and heart for truth? Just like Kermit Gosnell who was allowed to kill for years, most of us have turned a blind eye to the baby-part selling even though hundreds, perhaps thousands of professionals were part of it.

Incidentally, it costs $120 to send an aborted baby’s brain through FedEx Priority Overnight. The report does not detail where the parts were shipped but presumably they went to universities across the nation who kept signing the invoices and paying them.

And just today there was more breaking news – “Congressional panel publishes final report on Planned Parenthood body parts scandal.”

Representative Diane Black said the report should “incense all people of conscience.”

In another breaking story, Alabama becomes the seventh state (Illinois, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and West Virginia) to allow wrongful-death actions before the pre-born child becomes viable.

Next, two more unreported stories came out last month on the subject of euthanasia. One activist in Australia claims assisted suicide is not just for the terminally ill and the option should be available to everyone. Philip Nitschke once wanted to make suicide pills available in supermarkets, even to “troubled teens.”

It may seem like an extreme position to believe that individuals have the right to dispose of their lives for any reason, but this has more support than most of us realize.

Why discuss this issue in the same context as abortion and profiteering from baby body parts? For many decades, we have allowed the culture of death to spread across America right under our noses and with the approval of many Christians.

A majority of Americans – including 4 in 10 professing evangelicals – want doctors to help terminally ill patients end their lives and believe it is morally acceptable. A recent article reveals opposition to assisted suicide is dying and the heart of the problem is our apathy and indifference as a civilized society. It proves we may not have the will to take a stand for righteousness and truth.

Even the American Medical Association (AMA) has described physician-assisted suicide as a serious risk to society and “fundamentally incompatible with a physician’s role as healer,” but apparently millions of Americans disagree.

Man thinks he knows best about life and death and should be able to play God; what could go wrong?

Read the extensive post here:

*Photo credit: Times of Malta

Open pages of bible isolated on white backgroundNow after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”  Mark 1:14-15

Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures. 1 Corinthians 15:1-4

In 1965 the epic religious movie The Greatest Story Ever Told was released, retelling the story of Jesus Christ from His humble birth and His teachings through the crucifixion and resurrection. The media and critics at the time gave it excellent reviews and some even raved about the brilliant and inspiring, Bible-based production. Times have changed; but the gospel has not.

The gospel, aka the “good news,” is the greatest gift God has given the church, because its message is about Jesus Christ of Nazareth, the greatest treasure God has given the world. Like the apostle Paul, we are to deliver to others what we also received, because people’s salvation depends on it. No one would keep the best news in the universe to themselves – would they?

As committed Christians, our priority in this life must be to consistently believe, live, and deliver to others the message about Jesus Christ and the truth about His life, teachings, death, resurrection, and ascension. For those who have believed and have confessed Jesus as Lord, our ticket is punched and our place in God’s presence is reserved for eternity! Our faith is in Him and our hope is in heaven.

Every person alive today and who has ever lived will stand on one side of eternity or the other. The universe revolves around the most pivotal event in the history of the world: The resurrection of Jesus Christ; the eternal Son, one with the Father and the Spirit, and the exact representation of God’s nature.

… The gospel is not some formula or a simple “sinner’s prayer.” It encompasses the entire Bible as its framework with plenty of background setting the stage. Its truth can transform our lives and its power can save the worst of sinners.

With the increasing attacks on free speech and religious expression in America today, do you see how important it is for us to be able to preach the gospel? This basic freedom is affected by politics, laws, and government. Enemies of Christianity will not relent in their agenda to squelch the mention of sins they endorse, but when push comes to shove, we must obey God rather than man. Speak the truth and leave the results to Him.

Since we have received and accepted the gospel, we must reject the world because the two are in opposition to each other. This can present a problem for many of us. If we love Jesus, we will obey Him (John 14:15), but if we love the world, we will end up following anything else except Him. Because this temporary earth is passing away and we are faced with an eternity that will not wait, the choice should be clear…

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age (Matthew 28:19-20).

Where does Jesus get such authority? It bears repeating Jesus Christ overcame death and the grave and is seated at the right hand of the Father. His tomb is famous for what it does not contain. Even the Jewish leaders who opposed Jesus acknowledged His tomb was empty when they made up lies to try and conceal the resurrection.

Isn’t it interesting in their attempted cover-up, the religious leaders testified to the empty tomb? The story gets even more bizarre, because their lie included instructing the soldiers to say they were asleep instead of guarding the tomb of Jesus. This was not some small conspiracy, because in those days a Roman soldier caught sleeping on duty would have been executed.

Moreover, all other gods or religious leaders who have lived on the earth have burial sites or memorials where their bones remain. We can easily understand how some of their followers hate Jesus, because He is the only true, living God; other gods people worship are false, dead gods.

… The disciples did not have all the resources and technology we have today, and yet the early church grew in numbers day by day even in the midst of threats and persecution.

But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge; for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.” Acts 4:19-20

Please understand regardless of whether or not you have placed your trust in Jesus and bowed before Him acknowledging His majesty, a day is coming in which every human being will bow down before Him and confess this truth – Jesus is Lord.

… Charles H. Spurgeon once stated:

My hope is not because I am not a sinner, but because I am a sinner for whom Christ died. My trust is not that I am holy, but that, being unholy, Christ died for me. My rest is, here, not in what I am, or shall be, or feel, or know, but in what Christ is and must be, – in what Christ did, and is still doing as He stands before yonder throne of glory.

Are we willing to preach this gospel in an increasingly rebellious culture and risk being called intolerant, narrow-minded, or worse? Are we willing to be criticized and misunderstood for delivering the truth Jesus commanded us to speak? Do we love others enough to live what we believe, expose the darkness of sin, and when necessary, confront wayward Christians?

… God’s foreordained solution (Acts 2:23) was to send His only Son, Jesus, to give His life as a ransom for us. By believing, confessing Jesus is Lord, and repenting of our sins, we are saved and have everlasting life with God. May we not muddy up the message that we are saved by grace through faith in Him (Ephesians 2:8).

If the Bible is true, then this is why you and I live: To make sure the greatest story ever is told!

 

*This a book excerpt from The Cost of Our Silence. To read the entire chapter, click here:

chipped flag on brick wallMore sobering polls have emerged recently further proving America’s downward spiral. Our decline has been so gradual many of us did not notice – or did not want to notice – how the lines of acceptable behavior have shifted and the standards of morality have plummeted – even among professing Christians.

A friend of mine who works on several farms came over recently to help me get a nice garden started. He emphasized the importance of tilling the ground, fertilizing and possibly erecting a small fence to protect the garden. But even before starting the work, he evaluated the land in order to find the best location and soil.

Not only have we failed to protect our spiritual and national heritage, but due to a generally lukewarm church, America has been easy, fertile ground for enemies of God to cultivate, plant and water seeds of immorality. They have taken root and produced an abundance of what the Bible considers sin.

Barna’s new research shows 41% of “practicing Christians” think cohabitation is a good idea, and 48% live with or have previously lived with their boyfriend/girlfriend. Let that sink in a moment.

According to Gallup’s recent poll on what is morally acceptable to Americans, cohabitation is up to 65% approval. Next, divorce is at 72%, and birth control is up to 89%. If we think like liberals, that abortion is another form of birth control, this latter number is not at all surprising. As Matt Walsh stated after the Supreme Court ruled against Texas abortion restrictions, “if leftists believe abortion mills are medical clinics, why don’t they want them to be treated that way?”

Jesus stated in Luke 18:20:

You know the commandments, ‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.’

Sadly, truth and moral absolutes are now based on feelings, opinion, and what’s popular in culture rather than a fixed moral and ethical standard.

Those who think sex between an unmarried man and woman (fornication) is acceptable is now at 67%, and not surprisingly, homosexual sex is up to 60%.

In addition, the number of Americans who think it’s fine to have a baby out of wedlock has risen, from 45% in 2001 to 62% today. To me, this is a double-edged sword because sexual promiscuity is rampant, but at least more women seem willing to choose life over abortion. It has been proven that as truth and medical facts about abortion are promoted, many more lives are saved!

Though there has been a radical LGBT agenda since at least the 1970s, Christians have helped pave the way by minimizing God’s covenant of marriage between one man and one woman through no-fault divorce, adultery, pornography, and fornication. God abhors all sexual sin.

How can Christians preach the gospel and shine in darkness when we have had so much sin in our own camp?

No wonder homosexuality is now accepted by a majority of citizens (up 20 points since 2001) and by some in the church. The problem is we have gone from loving our neighbor (which is biblical) to accepting their lifestyle (which is unbiblical) to flat out celebrating sin (sinning with them). What major city or state does not have a gay pride parade or similar event?

The LGBT hijacked rainbow is everywhere; but the current estimate of LGBT adults is around 3.9% pf the U.S. population and less than 0.4% are married to a same-sex spouse. This proves the left is definitely winning the war of words, gaining ground and swaying popular opinion.

One year after the SCOTUS decided to rebel against and redefine God-ordained natural marriage, less than ten percent (123,000 couples) have married a same-sex spouse. The way the media portrayed their plight you’d think the majority of LGBT people would have flocked to the courthouses and wedding chapels in America.

Apparently, marriage wasn’t the end goal after all; and the Left’s appetite for evil cannot be satisfied.

Truth be told, we all need our sins forgiven and I hope you’ve trusted Jesus Christ for salvation. He is Lord and the Bible is true whether we believe or not!

Reflecting on the anniversary of last year’s SCOTUS decision, apologist, Alex McFarland stated:

God has the ultimate veto power. As an evangelist, I don’t want any of those 123,000 couples to be surprised by this fact. All same-sex couples should realize that what they’ve entered into will never be recognized by God. As an evangelist, I want to tell every person that they should turn to God now and be saved.

I believe God is also calling a lukewarm church to turn back to Him and repent. Jesus is standing at the door!

Is our faith strong enough to survive the massive tides of moral relativism, humanism, and secularism? It is vital we wake as many soldiers of Christ as we can before time runs out. In order for us to be more influential in our culture, let’s get back to the basics of speaking God’s eternal truth and of course, living it ourselves.

 

Children seduced by LGBTIt is undeniable the LGBT movement has grown in acceptance, public opinion, influence, and more recently – in boldness throughout the West. Almost simultaneously, just over fifty years ago Christians in America became less active, visible, and vocal in public while LGBT proponents gladly stepped in. As our passion for truth and biblical morality faded, those fighting against God and Christian values have become more committed and emboldened.

Last week: in Illinois, a transgender student was granted access to a public school’s female locker room after filing a civil rights complaint with the school, in Minnesota, a judge ruled that a national check-print company must pay $115,000 and apologize to a transgender man for banning “her” from the women’s bathroom, and the International Olympic Committee has just ruled that transgendered athletes can now compete against the gender with which they identify. Translation: male athletes can compete against women (without even having to undergo “gender reassignment surgery,” which used to be called a sex-change operation).

We might trace this incremental transfer of influence back to the early 1960s when homosexuality as an identity was first recognized. In fact, prior to that time the word “gay” was not used to describe homosexuals, and those who practiced the lifestyle were considered in need of psychological treatment because it was classified as a disorder by the medical profession.

If we only listen to the liberal media, Hollywood, government, and culture today, LGBT rights trump all others. Christianity is belittled, considered abnormal and sadly, the minority are the ones with the loudest voices. Though not all are hostile and agenda-driven, the activists refuse to allow disagreement or dissent any longer. If you do not conform to the takeover, you may be steamrolled, silenced, and if they have their way, exiled.

Political correctness and the powerful LGBT lobby will no longer coexist with religious freedom and practicing Christians; the fact is they never really could. With the help of the Left and progressives in government, the LGBT community has successfully rewritten history to further their cause.

Pastor Gary Gilley of Southern View Chapel stated the LGBT community now demands respect and full acceptance, and homosexuality has evolved from an act or behavior to:

•  a thing in itself, classified as a disorder needing treatment for healing/change,
•  to an orientation and, thus, a political movement,
•  to identity and, thus, a right.

Christians who believe in the Scriptures as their final authority are in a most difficult place. If we live in obedience to written revelation, we cannot accept homosexual behavior as anything less than immorality. Yet, if we speak against the homosexual lifestyle, we are accused of hatred, judgmentalism and homophobia.

Add to this the fact that most Christians have never seriously examined the biblical teachings on homosexuality and issues are now arising that have rarely been seriously debated throughout church history, then we can readily see why the faithful children of God are being squeezed. They find themselves between the immovable Word of God and its clear teachings on all forms of immorality, including homosexuality – and the changing Western culture, which now sees homosexuality as perfectly acceptable and normal, as it does most other forms of immorality.

Obviously, homosexual behavior is not an unforgivable sin nor is it the worst of sins. All forms of sexual sin are serious as they hurt other people, often countless people, but sin offends a holy God. Adultery, abortion, lust, pornography, pedophilia, rape, and coveting are serious sins in God’s eyes. The difference is someone’s natural identity (who a person is) is not the same as their chosen sexual lifestyle (what a person practices).

Though every one of us were created in God’s image, it is important to remember none of us are without sin and we all need a Savior. Sin is any behavior contrary to God’s Law and the very reason Jesus Christ suffered and died.

It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life (1 Timothy 1:15-16).

The marketers of evil claim the battle is over discrimination, equal rights, and “love.” The Bible teaches God is love (1 John 4:8) so what do they mean by love? God cannot contradict His Word. We must remember how important it is to define the terms being used. Enemies of God are using the LGBT movement to normalize homosexuality and transgenderism to squelch Christianity, undermine natural marriage, tear apart the traditional family, and create as much chaos as possible.

Clearly, the LGBT agenda is being implemented with little resistance and we’re witnessing the consequences of our past silence. Where have the nation’s spiritual leaders and people of faith been? Where are concerned parents? The prevailing worldview is now humanism, atheism, and moral relativism; just about anything goes in our ABC culture; anything but Christ.

The following is a very abbreviated historical timeline showing the LGBT progression in America:

1915 – 1930s: Planned Parenthood founder, Marxist, and feminist, Margaret Sanger is celebrated by liberals from Katie Couric to Hillary Clinton. Sanger was known to some as a serial adulterer and coined the term “birth control.” She believed in sex with no consequences, the liberation of women such as wives and mothers, (one of her publications was The Woman Rebel) and promoted eugenics, population control, and the elimination of “inferior” minority races as well as those deemed less fit for society.

Sanger was a huge promoter of adultery and free sexual expression, setting the stage for things such as legal prostitution, Ashley Madison, and Fifty Shades of Grey many years later. Sadly, in a recent report on the state of dating in America, 87% of on-line dating site members said they would have sex before getting married. The survey included professing Christians.

1947: Alfred C. Kinsey founded the Institute for Sex Research at Indiana University, now known as the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction. Some refer to Kinsey as the Father of the “Sexual Revolution” in America, while others refer to him as the most influential bisexual pedophile and child molester in this nation’s history. Kinsey aimed to launch a crusade to undermine traditional sexual morality and to prove that the earlier in life people start to experience sexual pleasure, the better.

Before receiving grants, Kinsey conducted most of his surveys in the attic of his Bloomington, Indiana home. If you consider this horror, he truly inspired the future trend of pornography. Kinsey’s work soon catapulted the bisexual, gay and lesbian movement in America. His reputation is generally protected today by academia, Hollywood, and the elite media even though many critics insist he should have been convicted of child molestation, incest, and pedophilia.

Moreover, his earliest privately conducted studies were not monitored. A pioneer of perversion, the man who basically regarded humans as animals is still respected today in colleges and universities. Hollywood even did a movie on his life and completely whitewashed the truth, portraying him as a misunderstood scientist. There may be no bigger, damaging influence on unhealthy sexuality in America than Alfred Kinsey.

1964: After “transitioning” from a man to a woman, activist and businessman Reed Erickson created an educational foundation donating millions of dollars to the gay and transgender cause. Before we continue let’s clarify something: Contrary to pop culture, Hollywood, and the Left; most of us know God created us either male or female and Nature’s laws require a man and a woman to procreate.

But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and the two shall become one flesh; so they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.” Mark 10:6-9

Therefore, a person’s sex cannot be changed. What is known as “sex-reassignment” surgery is simply a method of accommodating one who chooses to appear physically different. This may be offensive to some, but as one doctor said, “a mutilated male pumped full of estrogen remains just that—a mutilated male pumped full of estrogen.”

If God is right and His Word is true, man cannot “transition” into being a woman. If there is a Creator and we are all uniquely designed, then women cannot become men either.

1967: The sexual revolution exploded in the sixties and 1967 was the Summer of Love in San Francisco. One hundred thousand hippies celebrated “free love” and experimented with drugs. During Vietnam, “make love, not war” was the motto and rebelling against authority and sexual expression became the norm. That same year the first gay campus group was formed at Columbia College in New York City.

– Two years later in 1969, Woodstock took place in White Lake, New York during which thirty-two acts performed outdoors in front of nearly 500,000 concert-goers. There were drugs, sex, rock and roll, and lots of mud from long periods of rain. Woodstock marked the peak for hippie counterculture. Their naive ideals of peace, love, tolerance, and unity resonated throughout the country at a time when Americans were divided over politics, race, religion, and war – not unlike today.

– In 1977, Renee Richards (formerly Richard Raskind) sued the U.S. Tennis Association for the right to play professional tennis as a woman and won the case in the New York Supreme Court. Divorced after five years of marriage and father of a son, he began cross dressing in college, later received hormone injections, and eventually had “sex reassignment” surgery. He now regrets having the surgery and discourages others from doing so.

– Activist, Louis Sullivan founded FTM International (Female to Male) in 1986, and was a pioneer of the grassroots movement identifying himself as a “female to male transsexual.” Sullivan influenced the modern understanding of sexual orientation and gender identity as distinct, unrelated concepts. He died of HIV in San Francisco in 1991.

– In 1987, the Gay and Lesbian Caucus of the National Education Association was established.

1990: Not many people know the Boy Scouts of America were initially challenged by homosexual James Dale under a “sexual orientation nondiscrimination” law in New Jersey. Ultimately, in 2000, the case found its way to the U.S. Supreme Court, where the Scouts narrowly won their right to avoid having homosexual scoutmasters and members – only to toss away the fruits of their victory 13 years later by changing their rules under corporate pressure to allow open homosexuals.

– In 2002, the Transgender Law Center was founded “to change law, policy, and attitudes” so that regardless of a person’s gender identity and expression, discrimination would not be an issue. It is a self-proclaimed San Francisco-based “civil rights organization advocating for transgender communities.”

– In 2004, Massachusetts held the first same sex marriage ceremony – the first of its kind to be held in the United States.

– In 2008, Crystal Dixon, an employee of the University of Toledo, was fired after writing a column critical of comparing “homosexual rights” to the noble Black civil rights movement. A black Christian, she argued that those choosing to embrace a homosexual lifestyle are not “civil rights victims.” Dixon is appealing her case to the U.S. Supreme Court.

– That same year, America’s Top Model reality show featured its first transgender model.

 

2009: The Obama administration wasted no time implementing pro-gay policies. When President Obama was inaugurated, his “civil rights” goals were immediately posted on the official White House website including:

To allow homosexuals to serve openly in the military, repeal “Don’t ask don’t tell,” use the federal government to expand adoptions of children by homosexuals, and encourage the federal government to promote sex-education and contraception in schools.

Protect cross-dressing and transgenderism in the workplace (including schools) through federal law, pass “Employment non-discrimination Act” [EDNA] to prohibit “discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity or expression,” and expand hate crime statutes which includes giving the federal government the power to prosecute those crimes…, repeal the Defense of Marriage Act [DOMA], and push for full civil unions and federal recognition of homosexual couples, plus benefits equal to actual marriage.

– Also in 2009, Chaz Bono announced her transition to the public; in 2010, President Obama boasted the first presidential transgender appointee; and in 2012, the Miss Universe pageant opened competition to transgender contestants.

– In 2012, homosexual activist Floyd Corkins planned to massacre employees of the Family Research Council at their Washington, D.C. headquarters. Corkins targeted FRC based on its mention on the left-wing Southern Poverty Law Center’s alleged “hate group” list.

– Jennifer Braly, an Arkansas transgender student fought and won the right to use the ladies’ washroom in 2012, saying the state recognizes him as a woman since he legally changed his name and gender. Even though he did not have surgery to complete the “transition,” Braly said, “I feel like I should be treated equally as a woman because that’s what I’m transitioning into.”

2015: Finally, propelled by his enablers, Bruce Jenner became the face of the transgender movement last year as he changed his name to “Caitlyn.” Glamor Magazine named him Woman of the Year and ESPN named him the Arthur Ashe Courage Award winner at the ESPY Awards.

– At Harvard University, the school’s faculty of arts and sciences’ registration tool expanded the number of pronouns students could use to identify as “transgender.” They can now state a preference for “ze, hir, hirs” or “they, them, theirs.” LGBT student groups forced this change “to make students feel more comfortable with their gender identity.” Ohio State University also offered housing for transgender freshman beginning last year.

In January this year, Allstate produced a video commercial depicting two men reflecting on their “marriage” to each other and their adoption of a baby girl in 2015. With his arm around his male partner, one of the men says about the child: “The second we held her, we knew that she was ours. We’re her dads.” Campbell’s Soup also aired an ad featuring two dads. We can expect many more to hit the airwaves as corporations cave to LGBT pressure.

Do you think it is a coincidence or intentional that you can hardly find a scripted show on prime time television and cable that does not feature at least one friendly, likable, well-adjusted LGBT character? Every year, Hollywood honors LGBT-inclusive entertainment with awards from the Grammy’s, SAG, Golden Globes, and Image Awards nominations. The LGBT movement receives plenty of support from corporations, unions, the media, entertainment industry, and the government.

One of the most disappointing things to see however, is the influence secularism has had on the American church, particularly in the increase of gay ministers and pastors in churches and denominations along with a growing openness to homosexuality. Please note I did not say ‘openness to homosexuals’; we should be loving and compassionate toward anyone struggling with sin. But in the Christian church, we’re seeing the rise of apostasy as gay churches and leadership preach accommodation rather than conviction of sin leading to repentance and salvation.

Forcing humanity to accept sodomy has little to do with homosexual rights. Rather, it is part of a wider campaign to undermine the very fabric of society itself. Without the traditional family structure and God-ordained marriage, none of us would be here, and healthy societies would not have flourished for centuries.

The more recent roll-out of the agenda is promotion of the transgender cause, and there is one question that should be asked: Is surgical mutilation the answer?

Margaret A. Hagen, JD, PhD, is a Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Boston University. Hagen writes:

Most proposed legislation is driven not by medical research or theoretical differences but by the desire to make private or government insurance money available for hormone and surgical “treatment” for nonconformists experiencing psychological distress. The American Psychiatric Association has stated this unambiguously in its DSM-5, the current diagnostic manual.

Pathologizing states of mind—even distress—simply to make insurance money available for attempts to change those states through surgical, medical, and cosmetic alterations to the body is simply not sound science. Neither is it just to the larger community that pays for medical insurance and funds the Affordable Care Act.

One sad, hidden fact is depression rates for transgender individuals is through the roof while the suicide rate in post-surgical patients has been reported to be twenty times higher than in controls matched for birth year and birth sex.

Here is one example of how powerful the LGBT lobby can be: there has been an explosion of controversial legislation known to the lay person as “Bathroom Bills” that completely lack reasonable legal or scientific basis for proposed changes!

The federal Department of Education recently mandated schools provide access for sexually nonconformist students to the toilet and locker room facilities of their choice. Why? They claim that requiring biological males and females to use the facilities appropriate to their biological sex amounts to a violation of rights under Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972.

Astonishingly, the ED mandated that every student who found any action—including speech—of anyone at school offensive is entitled under Title IX to make a complaint of sexual harassment that must be investigated by the school.

Proposed accommodation statutes would require toilet facilities and locker rooms be made available according to the wishes of sexually nonconforming individuals—regardless of the privacy rights and wishes of the other individuals using the same facilities.

Lookout, because once professional institutions like the American Bar Association, American Association of Pediatrics and American Counseling Association adopt pro-LGBT “sexual orientation” codes, these policies become the basis for discriminating against people of faith. Then, what will happen to Christian ministries and non-profits?

How should Christians respond? I believe we can walk and chew gum at the same time; love others and obey the teachings in the Bible while at the same time taking a stand for truth out of sincere concern for their spiritual and physical well-being. With the help of the Holy Spirit, we can avoid the extremes of harshly judging others and being silently apathetic. The latter can lead to accommodation or approval of sin.

God never changes; people do. Fifty years ago, homosexuality was considered a disgraceful, sinful lifestyle which most attempted to hide; to a psychological disorder that needed to be cured, to a normal “alternative” lifestyle, flaunted in public and defiantly daring any to oppose it. Bible-believing Christians are called haters today when the truth is Jesus warned his followers if the world hates us remember that they hated Him first (John 15:18).

Pastor Gary Gilley puts it this way:

The world has changed so rapidly that many of us are getting whiplash. The church has been put in a unique and difficult position by standing for the truth which has been thoroughly rejected by the majority. But in darkness light shines best. May the church not cave to the demands of the many but honor the Lord who has set them free from the bondage of darkness.

Speaking the truth in love often involves confrontation. Authentic faith demands we not stay silent in the face of evil. Finally, our obedience to Christ and our love for others compel us to share the gospel and take appropriate action which includes exposing evil (Eph. 5:11) so that we can be instruments in God’s hands to save as many people as possible.

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation… and He has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 2 Corinthians 5:17-19

 Check out David’s new book The Cost of Our Silence

ARTICLES & RESOURCES:

Homosexuality: The Most Pressing Issue of Our Times

Transgenderism Has No Basis in Science or Law

Alfred Kinsey and Sexual Anarchy in America

Trouble In Transtopia: Murmurs of Sex Change Regret

Sex Change Regret

GLAAD Timeline: A Look Back at the History of Transgender Visibility

Normalizing Homosexuality

Civil war rolls on over ‘civil right’ to be ‘Caitlyn’

‘Gay Rights’ vs. Religious Liberty: WND Whistleblower Report Documents Victims of Homosexual Agenda

Barack Obama’s Radical LGBT Legacy: An Immoral Transformation of America

Teaching an 8-year old Drag Makeup to ‘Embrace His True Identity’?

Gay Group Demands Christian Churches Be SHUT DOWN for Opposing Same-Sex Marriage

Gender Chaos: The Insanity (and Impossibility) of “Sex Change”

Trans-Species Joins LGBT’s on Alternative Lifestyle Scene

HOMOSEXUALITY: Up-to-date articles with both a biblical and a scientific perspective

Pew Research: a Gay Marriage Timeline

cardiogram

Most of us can see the writing on the wall: our nation will either return to God and He will heal our land, or we will do nothing and remain on the present path to destruction. It depends on the course individual Christians choose and sadly, too many profess to believe, but fail to live according to the Bible. Only the Lord knows if they were truly saved in the first place.

I have never seen so much moral and spiritual confusion even among Christians. If we are not established in the Word of God and a preserving influence on culture, how can we expect it to improve? Proverbs 14:34 states,

“Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.”

Many of America’s founders promoted or supported the idea that our nation will only advance, be blessed, and prosper if we the people continue in the things of God and if we actively and intentionally influence every aspect of society – including politics – for Christ.

This country began with sure footing on the eternal Rock of Jesus Christ and His teachings, but the question is raised in Scripture,

“If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” Psalm 11:3

As some chip away at America’s foundation, are we forgetting the God who once made us an exceptional nation?

Al Whittinghill of Ambassadors for Christ, International, pointed out that twenty-one of the last great empires on earth all showed the same common signs of decline just before they dissolved and disappeared from world history.

The Social Symptoms: 1. An increase in lawlessness and promotion of the wrong people. 2. A loss of economic discipline and self-restraint; greed. 3) Rising government taxes and regulations, and a growing bureaucracy. 4. A decline in the relevance and quality of education.

The Cultural Symptoms: 1. An increase in materialism and selfish luxury. 2. The weakening of the foundational principles that built the nation and made it great. 3. Policies based on feelings and not moral discipline. 4. A loss of respect for established authority.

The Spiritual Symptoms: 1. A rise in immorality and perversion. 2. The lure of alien gods and the exaltation of man. 3. A decline in the value placed on human life as evidenced by abortion, brutality, loss of natural affection, and lack of care for the elderly.

The de-valuing of life is just one heartbreaking symptom. Research reveals that twenty percent of women who have had an abortion, a staggering 200,000 a year, identify as Christian. Sadly, though they are hurting, most of them will never reveal their secret pain.

Sins often beget other sins. Adultery, coveting, promiscuity, and pornography can all lead to pregnancy which too often results in abortion. In our culture of death, over 57 million lives have been eliminated since 1973. We are out-sinning nations long gone.

America has been corrupted and compromised by minions within the usual suspects: Government, the media, Hollywood, the education system, and practically anything with “Federal” in its name. Moreover, the minions: anarchists, atheists, communists, progressives, and socialists, are not even trying to hide their agenda any longer.

Enemies within have been grinding America down, and we have allowed deadly symptoms including moral decay to metastasize. How many more warnings do we need before we drop to our knees, turn from our wicked ways, and live as if the Bible were true? Will it take a major terror attack, an economic collapse, or perhaps government tyranny? Let’s not give up hope or merely pray from a distance.

With backs up against the wall, more citizens seem to be returning to God, fighting for truth and freedom, and working to raise awareness. The gospel must be preached. You and I are here for this time in history and in order to be on the winning side, God’s, we need to fully commit to and engage in the battle for righteousness because the clock is ticking.

David Fiorazo’s new book, The Cost of Our Silence, is available from Aneko Press!

path-of-least-resistance-sign

What are the consequences when Christians back out of culture and take the path of least resistance? Many of us do not recognize America as the shining city on a hill we once were, but what can we do about it now?

As the church goes – so goes America. One reason we are seeing an increase of godlessness in our society today is because many of us have become too busy or comfortable, forgetting God’s purpose for our lives. As a result, we are having less influence on morality.

Revelation 3:2 says,

It’s time to wake up and strengthen what remains and is about to die…”

It is true God is doing some great things in lots of churches, but America is suffering the effects of decades of sin and Christian apathy. In addition, our religious freedoms are being threatened more every day. Are we failing to learn from history?

Dietrich Bonhoeffer once said,

Silence in the face of evil is itself evil. God will not hold us guiltless…”

But too often we find ourselves backing down from the slightest opposition and ducking the issue of sin. Rather than accommodating sin in culture, we should be confronting and exposing it (Ephesians 5:11). What are we so afraid of?

Even when Peter and the Apostles were ordered not to speak in the name of Jesus, they refused and said:

We must obey God rather than men. (Acts 5:29)

And in Galatians 1:10, Paul said,

If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.

The early church understood this important truth: silence never saved anyone.

If we really love others, wouldn’t we tell them the truth that sin separates us from God? Sure it’s unpopular. Why do you think Christians who do preach the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ alone are often called hateful, intolerant, or judgmental?

This is exactly the environment our silent indifference has helped create, but there’s more to it than that. What happened to the salt and light? We also need to live what we claim to believe because when Christians blend in with the world, it weakens our witness and our credibility.

Rather than retreat and hide the influence of Jesus, we need to know the word of God and then stand up for what is right! 1 Peter 3:15 says we always need to be ready to defend the gospel and give an answer to others for the hope we have. Are we ready to have these debates about God, the Bible, truth, sin, eternity, and who Jesus is?

Look around. People are seeking answers and it is up to you and me to lovingly direct them to the only God who can save their lives! Some will refuse to believe no matter what, but as culture becomes more dark and people more hopeless, others will be open to hearing the truth.

If most Christians remain silent, fewer people will be saved, society will continue to collapse, and history will show that we were part of the problem. It is indisputable: there is a cost to our silence.

God is still working in a remnant of truth defenders and proclaimers. However, it is also obvious Christianity is not having the impact He desires and our founders intended. The question is – what are we doing about it?

Learn more and get involved! Please go to: DavidFiorazo.com

God save America

O God, restore us and cause Your face to shine upon us, and we will be saved. Psalm 80:3

Many people wonder what has happened to our country. Out of frustration, some ask questions on social media about the moral decline in America: How did we get here? When did the erosion of our biblical values begin? How did we reach this point where this people, a nation under God, failed so miserably to keep His commandments and be effective witnesses for Christ? John R.W. Stott once said:

We should not ask ‘what’s wrong with this world?’ For that diagnosis has already been given. Rather, we should ask, ‘What has happened to the salt and light?’ 

There are many ways to dissect the problems in our culture, and explanations are just as numerous. One observation is too many believers have backed out of culture, no longer being an influence while others have conformed to this world. So what’s the bottom line here?

The root of every moral failure, problem, and societal decline is sin. And in a culture in which sin is celebrated and promoted, God’s judgment is right around the corner.

A society that used to claim Christianity now allows the murder of 4,000 innocent babies a day – government approved and funded by our taxes. We have an irresponsible spending addiction and instead of cutting spending and paying down the national debt, government keeps spending what they do not have. Judges overrule the will of the people in many states that once voted to protect the definition of marriage, and homosexual activists continue to push their agenda in every part of our culture. The next step must necessarily be to silence the speech of Bible-believing Christians. God was kicked out, and His Word was banned from public schools that once promoted and valued its principles. Instead, they’ve ushered in sex education including the approval of sexual experimentation and government-funded distribution of condoms to young kids, promoted by Planned Parenthood.

We used to have it all, didn’t we? In such a blessed nation, it’s obviously very easy to take things for granted. It’s also easy to trust in our own strength, wealth, and accomplishments. We forget what it cost our founders and early American patriots to form this republic. Most importantly, we forget what it cost our Savior, Jesus Christ, to provide a way for us to be set free from sin and the chains of this temporary world.

We have also forgotten much of the history that has under-girded America and society’s tone has gone from spiritual to secular. We have gone from having a reverence for Almighty God to being complacent at best and hostile toward God at worst. Pride comes before a fall and this country is tumbling quickly.

Early in our history, practically every anthem, hymn, and song written within a 150-year period referenced Jesus Christ, God’s blessings, glory, gratitude, America’s beauty or religious freedom. For example, in 1861, after a visit to a Union Army camp, Julia Ward Howe wrote the poem that came to be called “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.” Published in February 1862 in The Atlantic Monthly, the poem has become perhaps the best-known Civil War song, and is a well-loved American patriotic anthem. Here are the first and last verses:

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored
He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword
His truth is marching on…

In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea
With a glory in his bosom that transfigures you and me:
As he died to make men holy, let us die to make men free
While God is marching on.

Around this time, President Abraham Lincoln, perhaps one of the most well versed presidents in the Holy Bible, resided in the White House. In November 1863, he gave his now famous Thanksgiving proclamation in which he mentioned America’s need for softened hearts and appreciation of God’s providence. Lincoln encouraged all people of the United States to be grateful for the “year filled with blessings of fruitful fields” and to acknowledge the Lord saying, “No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.”

Earlier that year, President Lincoln, with full agreement and support of the U.S. Senate, declared a lesser known national day of fasting and prayer to God. Only 87 years after celebrating America’s independence and freedom as a nation, Lincoln saw that the country was showing signs of comfort and complacency which went hand in hand with spiritual apathy. As some Christians believe the terrorist attacks on 9-11-2001 were part of God’s judgment on America, Lincoln believed the civil war in America was God’s judgment on the nation for its sinfulness. Here is a partial text from Abraham Lincoln’s proclamation:

And, insomuch as we know that, by His divine law, nations like individuals are subjected to punishments and chastisements in this world, may we not justly fear that the awful calamity of civil war, which now desolates the land, may be but a punishment, inflicted upon us, for our presumptuous sins, to the needful end of our national reformation as a whole People? We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven. We have been preserved, these many years, in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth and power, as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God.

We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us! It behooves us then, to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.[i]

Imagine what Lincoln or our founders would say if they could see America today. It’s time we get back to the basics.

Our nation reflects the Church and is suffering because we have grown lukewarm. Jesus is standing outside knocking on the door asking to be allowed back inside (Revelation 3:20). We must set an example for unbelievers by repenting of our individual sins and our apathy. We must then recommit our lives to the Lord Jesus Christ and proclaim His truth to a dying culture regardless of current trends and the popularity of moral relativism. Next, we need to decide if we will live our lives seeking the approval of God or of man. Who are we serving right now, today? The choice is ours.

If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”   Joshua 24:15-16

 

 

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A CONDENSED CHRONOLOGICAL LOOK AT AMERICA’S MORAL DECLINE FROM A CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE

[The following excerpts are taken from the book, Eradicate: Blotting Out God In America, chapter 14, “The Last 50 Years in America.” These selected events reveal the increase of immorality, secular progressive agendas, and the lack of Christian influence on our culture happening at the same time.]

1970s

1970: The EPA is created to enforce increasing number of environ¬mental protection laws and regulatory agencies. The first Earth Day protests take place.

1972: Abortion is addressed for the first time on television in the prime time sitcom Maude. In a two part episode entitled “Maude’s Dilemma” forty-five-year-old Maude Findlay (Beatrice Arthur) finds she is unexpectedly pregnant and chooses an abortion. Leading up to her decision, her daughter reminds her abortion is now legal. The episode draws millions of protest letters.

1973: In the Saturday Review of Education, radical feminist leader Gloria Steinem declares, “By the year 2000 we will, I hope, raise our children to believe in human potential, not God.”

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AMERICA, YOU MAY NOW KILL YOUR BABIES

1973: Roe v. Wade – court makes final decision to legalize abortion in all states. This single, detrimental decision by seven unelected justices defines life and death via federal abortion policy in America. Invalidating 200 years of state law, the ruling is made on the naive basis claiming that “no one knows when life begins.” The judgments made in Roe v. Wade were argued based on a “right to privacy.”

1973: President Richard Nixon orders all remaining U.S. troops to leave Vietnam.

1974: After the Watergate scandal, Richard Nixon is the first US president forced to resign.

1975: First Uncensored Comedy Special HBO features Robert Klein exclaiming, “It’s subscription … we can say anything. Sh*t! How’d you like that? Sh*t!”

1976: State laws requiring parental or spousal consent for abortion are thrown out. Planned Parenthood challenges abortion regulations in Missouri. Abortion again makes its way to the Supreme Court in Planned Parenthood v. Danforth. Court decides that husbands have no say over their wives decision to abort, and parents have no say over their daughter’s decision to abort. In his dissent from this landmark opinion, Justice William Rehnquist argued that the State should recognize the husband’s interest in the life of his child and that this decision was “tantamount to the biological disenfranchisement of fathers.”

1976: Jonestown, Guyana Massacre. On November 18, 1978, “Peoples Temple” cult leader Jim Jones instructs his followers to commit “revolutionary suicide” by drinking cyanide-laced fruit punch. Many drink willingly while some drink by force. At the Jonestown compound in Guyana, 912 Peoples Temple members (276 of whom were children) died. Jim Jones died the same day from a gunshot wound to the head. Earlier, California Rep. Leo Ryan took reporters and a camera crew to Guyana to investigate suspicions that some people were being held against their will. Their visit went fine until Ryan offered to take a few people back to America with his team. While leaving, they were shot and killed near the plane on the air strip.

Jonestown-massacre-Newsweek-cover

Jim Jones envisioned a communist community and Jonestown was to be a utopia away from U.S. influence and under his control. He was simply a lying cult leader who manipulated sincere Americans who wanted a better life. He sought an isolated community where they could escape American capitalism and practice a more communal way of life.

According to CNN, Jones was a phony faith healer, and much of his money came in mail-order donations. Elderly members handed over their Social Security checks, working adults gave 25 percent of their wages to the church, and some signed over all their property. Government investigators would later find at least $10 million in Swiss banks, mainly in Panama. Another $1 million in cash was recovered in Jonestown. Jones, a leftist who had no formal theological training, based his ministry on a combination of religious and socialist philosophies.

1976: The Hyde Amendment is enacted. Congress adopts the first version of the legislation proposed by pro-life Congressman Henry Hyde (R-IL), barring the use of federal funds to pay for abortions.

1977: The ACLU opposes the Hyde Amendment claiming it unfairly targets low-income women and the amendment is revised. The original measure made no exceptions for cases of pregnancies that were the result of rape or incest or that threatened the lives of pregnant women. As a result, beginning in 1977 language was added to provide for such circumstances.

1978: Federal Communications Commission v. Pacifica Foundation – the “Seven Dirty Words” case. The Supreme Court holds that the government can constitutionally regulate indecent broadcasts. It came about when a father complained to the FCC about his son hearing George Carlin’s “Filthy words” routine one afternoon on the radio. The station received a letter of reprimand from the FCC. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the FCC action by a vote of 5 to 4, ruling the routine was “indecent but not obscene.” The Court stated the FCC had the authority to prohibit such broadcasts during hours when children were likely to be among the audience.

1979: The Iran Hostage Crisis – American Hostages are taken in Tehran. Islamic radicals take over the American embassy holding sixty-six Americans hostage for 444 days. The crisis was a diplomatic one between Iran and the United States over the support of the Iranian Revolution. President Carter called the hostages “victims of terrorism and anarchy.” The crisis which followed this seizure created a near state of war, ruined Jimmy Carter’s presidency, and began an environment of hostility between America and Iran which continues to this day. In 1981, the hostages were formally released into United States custody shortly after the new American president, Ronald Reagan, was sworn into office.

1980s

ten commandments1980: Take the Ten Commandments down! In a five to four decision, the Supreme Court rules a Kentucky law, requiring the Ten Commandments to be posted, is unconstitutional. For years, the schools in Kentucky had copies of the Ten Commandments posted in the hallway. In the case Stone v. Graham, it was ruled: “If the posted copies of the Ten Commandments are to have any effect at all, it will be to induce schoolchildren to read, meditate upon, perhaps to venerate and obey the Commandments … this … is not a permissible state objective.”

1981: “Music Television” – MTV launches an entirely unique new product that would be one of the biggest influences on American youth for twenty-five years. Having a profound influence on the music industry, fashion and pop culture, MTV’s moral influence on young people, including issues related to censorship and social activism, become subject of intense debate.

mtv vjs

  • In 1992, MTV started a pro-democracy campaign called Choose or Lose, to encourage millions of people to register to vote, and the channel hosted a town hall forum for then-candidate, Bill Clinton.10
  • In 2001, MTV’s hate crimes awareness campaign included airing a made-for-TV movie Anatomy of a Hate Crime, based on the 1998 murder of twenty-one-year old homosexual Matthew Shepard.
  • In 2005, the Parents Television Council released a study, MTV Smut Peddlers, which sought to expose MTV’s excessive sexual, profane, and violent content.
  • In 2010, a study by the GLADD found that of the 207.5 hours of prime time programming, 42% included content reflecting the lives of gay, bisexual and transgendered people – the highest gay-friendly percentage ever.

1981: Gay-Related Immune Deficiency (GRID) identified by CDC (Later changed to “AIDS”).

1981: An Arkansas state law passes, mandating the teaching of Creation Science in schools. Equal time was to be given also to evolution. A legal action was mounted (McLean vs. Arkansas) to overturn the law. Scientists and many main-line Christian churches were pitted against conservative Christian groups. The law was declared unconstitutional.

1984: Berkeley, California becomes first city with a domestic partner law.

1984: President Ronald Reagan announces the “Mexico City Policy.” The Reagan Administration denies U.S. family planning funds to any overseas organizations that used their own private funds for abortion services, counseling, or referral.

1986: The first time the word “condom” is used in prime-time on the show Cagney & Lacey.

1986: The first openly lesbian couple is granted legal joint adoption (California).

1986: No more abortion restrictions whatsoever! In a five to four court decision in Thornburg v. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, all restrictions on abortion were struck down. No more requirements to inform women about alternatives to abortion. No more requirement to: educate women about prenatal development, to inform women about the potential risks of abortion, to keep medical records of abortions, and no requirement that third trimester abortions be performed in such a way as to spare the life of the viable child. All these were argued to be violations of a woman’s right to privacy.11

Nea GLBT caucus

1987: The Gay and Lesbian Caucus of the National Education Association is established.

1987: The Last Temptation of Christ hits theaters. Like the novel, the film depicts the life of Jesus Christ and His struggle with various forms of temptation including fear, doubt, depression, and lust. The movie depicts Christ being tempted by imagining Himself engaged in sexual activities. Naturally, secular reviewers including Roger Ebert gave the film four stars out of five. Though the movie tanked at the box office, Martin Scorsese received an Oscar nomination for Best Director. In one offensive scene, Jesus and Mary Magdalene consummate their marriage.

1989: Seinfeld airs for the first time on NBC. The sitcom runs until 1998 and becomes a classic. In 2002, TV Guide named Seinfeld the greatest television program of all time. E! named it the “number 1 reason the ‘90s ruled.” The show had a dramatic impact on American culture. For example, in 2009, the episode on masturbation was ranked #1 on TV Guide’s list of “TV’s Top 100 Episodes of All Time.” The prevalent theme on Seinfeld was that life is pretty much meaningless or irrational. This is consistent with the philosophy of absurdism. The characters had an indifference to morality and never seemed to learn their lessons.

1989: Denmark is the first country to legalize same-sex marriage.

1989: Communism fails and the Berlin Wall comes crashing down, signaling the end of the Cold War. In Poland, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia in 1988 and 1989, communism falter and new exodus points are opened to East Germans who want to flee to the West. People are in shock that the borders are really open. Jennifer Roesnberg writes in The Rise and Fall of the Berlin Wall that there was a spontaneous and “huge celebration along the Berlin Wall with people hugging, kissing, singing, cheering, and crying.”12

 

Click Here for: The Previous Decade: The 1960’s & Introduction to The Last 50 Years in America

Click here for: The 1990′s timeline of immorality – part three of four excerpts

Click here for: The Conclusion of chapter 14 and the years 2000 – 2012, part four of four

Robertsons praying

UPDATE: A&E has lifted their suspension of Phil Robertson – no surprise here. The Robertson’s released this statement to Fox News:

“The family is excited to keep making a quality TV show for our dedicated fans, who have showed us wonderful support. We will continue to represent our faith and values in the most positive way through Duck Dynasty and our many projects that we are currently working on. The outpouring of support and prayer has encouraged and emboldened us greatly.”

Much has been written regarding the fallout and many good points have been made. Most of us are tired of hearing about it however, this debate is way too important to dismiss.

I submit to you the biggest reason these public squabbles rarely get resolved: we now have a clear cultural, moral divide in America and both sides cannot coexist peacefully any longer. There is too much at stake.

Though I agree with Phil Robertson’s views of the Bible and sin, I wish he would have answered the question on homosexuality with more tact in the GQ interview. Regardless, what did we learn?

In one corner of the public battle are those that believe in the Bible as well as America’s founding principles of Christianity; in the other corner are those who not only oppose us, but claim they are offended (threatened) by the presence of practicing Christians. The minority has the loudest voices and the support of Hollywood, the mainstream media, and government. Because of this ungodly alliance, we sometimes think conservatives and people of faith are now outnumbered.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Less than 4 % of the U.S. population is LGBT (Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender), and in a recent census of American citizens, less than 1% were verifiable same-sex couples. Moreover, about 73% of the media favor same-sex marriage while over 75% of Americans support Christianity.

This lopsided dichotomy was revealed a few years ago during the attempted intimidation of Chick-fil-A after the CEO had the audacity to say he runs his company on Christian values and believes in marriage between one man and one woman. Gay activist groups cried “hate” and after the intense, media-trumpeted backlash (bullying), millions of Americans supported Chick-fil-A by eating at their restaurants and rallying on social media.

You may also remember in 2009, Miss California, Carrie Prejean, was asked a question about legalizing same-sex marriage during the Miss USA competition. One of the judges, homosexual activist, Perez Hilton, viciously attacked Prejean and later admitted she would have won the Miss USA crown had she not answered the question in support of traditional marriage. What an interesting twist to ‘judge ye not.’

In the Duck Dynasty controversy, we again witnessed the political and public pressure by homosexual activists from GLAAD (Gay and Lesbians Alliance Against Defamation) and the Human Rights Campaign to not only force suspension of family patriarch Phil Robertson, but also insist he undergo sensitivity training and tolerance education.

Often ignored when discussing Robertson’s interview is the fact he also referred to many other sins even heterosexuals commit (1 Cor. 6:9-10). We all sin and fall short of God’s glory, and every one of us needs forgiveness. To Robertson, sin is sin no matter who you are, but opportunistic activists cried fowl.

The LGBT community claims it’s all about love and equality, but if you don’t agree with or approve of their lifestyle, they often resort to hateful attacks and refuse to permit speech that opposes homosexuality. This is totalitarian intolerance.

If we love someone, we’ll tell them the truth. If we believe Jesus is the only way to salvation (Acts 4:12) and we fail to warn others, we don’t really care about them. The way Christians demonstrate their love for non-believers is by addressing sin so they can repent and receive the grace God offers which leads to everlasting life (Ephesians 2:8).

One major issue at stake here is the First Amendment: Do all Americans, including Christian conservatives, still have legal speech protections or not? I purposely mention “conservatives” because there are far too many liberal Christians as well as those who profess Christianity and fail to accept the Bible’s authority or strive to live in obedience to its precepts. Some of these folks don’t think we should speak openly about our faith or quote certain Scriptures. Thanks to the emergent church, Christianity has been watered-down.

The foundational issue is whether or not the Bible is a divine source of inspiration and truly God-breathed (2 Tim. 3:16). Are there moral absolutes or not? God’s truth never changes and cannot be altered or adapted to a compromising culture.

The reason sin has become such an explosive topic is many Christian and religious leaders don’t teach or preach the undiluted gospel – the whole counsel of God – as much as they used to and therefore, many Christians don’t talk about sin; especially homosexuality.

How selfish of us who believe the Bible if we don’t share with non-Christians the only good news that can save them! Ironically, sin is the reason God sent His only Son, Jesus, to be sacrificed for us. He was brutally tortured and crucified and we don’t talk about WHY He had to die? Sin separates all mankind from a holy God.

Did you know originally, A&E’s plan for Duck Dynasty was for viewers to laugh and mock a family of ‘backwards’ Christian rednecks? Instead the show became the most popular cable program in history averaging 14.6 million viewers. The very plan that backfired ended up making them millions. A&E knew what they were getting with the Robertson’s.

Sadly today in culture, evil is considered good and good is considered evil (Isaiah 5:20), and activists will no longer tolerate those who say their behavior is sinful. Some believe we’ve reached a tipping point.

As for the media in America, they freely give liberals a platform, but rarely report the whole story. For example, are they not being hypocritical by refusing to mention the intolerance of Islam toward both gays and Christians? Muslims hang homosexuals. They also burn Christians, and destroy their churches & villages; and gay activists are bent out of shape when someone warns them about their sinful behavior?

We cannot remain neutral any longer. The lines have been drawn in the sand. This present darkness is not about Duck Dynasty, A&E, the Robertsons or Hollywood. It’s not even political, it is spiritual and the battle has just intensified. Take up your positions or hide under a table.

Author Michael Brown suggests:

“Those of us who agree fundamentally with Robertson make clear that: 1) We are unashamed of our belief in Jesus and in biblical morality. 2) We stand against the mistreatment of all people, including gays and lesbians. 3) We will not support the radical redefinition of marriage, regardless of the cost involved, nor do we see cultural capitulation to gay activism as inevitable.”

This never would have been a debate 50 years ago, so what changed? God, or America? Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). We’ve reached the point where activists are forcing conformity and calling it tolerance. I believe this is good for a comfortable Christian church.

Know this: God is at work orchestrating events and warning us to understand the times.

The problem has been diagnosed. The moral decline in America is evidence we cannot rely on church leaders because people are obviously not getting the message. If Christians fail to speak about the Bible, Jesus Christ, and the issue of sin; our society will only grow worse, the battle more intense, and the hostility more volatile.

One thing is certain: silence never saved anybody.

David Fiorazo is the author of ERADICATE: BLOTTING OUT GOD IN AMERICA

Phil Robertson silenced