DECLARING WAR ON ISLAM: Fruit of an Apostate Church

"Most Americans are unaware of the fact that over two hundred years ago the United States had declared war on Islam, and Thomas Jefferson led the charge!"

This bit of ignorance is from a chain email designed to promote fear and loathing of Muslims. The Politifact site has a well reasoned rebuttal. And yes I know that fact check sites themselves need to be fact checked, which I did.

For a less shrill take on the Barbary Pirates, I recommend Brian Kilmeade's book on the subject. A great read, like a novel, but well researched. I found it to be slanted towards support for interventionist foreign policy, but with that caveat it's still a fact filled introduction to the subject for our history deficient culture.

Thomas Jefferson didn't declare war on Islam. That's as silly and ignorant as saying he was against Christianity because he collected some of Jesus's words in a book.

If corsairs sent by Muslim states meant that Islam is our enemy, then Christian and Jewish involvement in the African slave trade meant the other two monotheistic faiths are enemies as well. That would be absurd, but also logically consistent. And that is the danger of anti Muslim hysteria - it easily boomerangs against us Christians, and historically Jews end up being victimized by both Christians and Muslims when these religious wars occur. The Crusades being an example.

Last but not least. Most of the anti Muslim hysteria comes from Trump supporters. So, here's a question for Trump supporters who think Islam is the top threat to civilization: why is President Trump selling $billions worth of advanced weapons to the Saudis, who for three centuries have allied with Wahhabists, the actual leading sponsors of jihadist terror?

If I Was Trump's Speechwriter

My fellow Americans.

My physician put something in my tea that he said will help me speak more clearly.

America is great again, thanks to my magnificent leadership.

As the greatest President of the greatest country that ever countried, it is imperative that I enforce humane standards of military aggression in the world, especially when it comes to murdering civilians.

I have ordered hundreds of sorties which have killed thousands of innocent men, women, and children. But there were some terrorists killed, too. More importantly, NOT ONE person was killed by chemical weapons. Rest assured, that if you are ever targeted for a violent death at the hands of America's military, it won't be by chemical weapons. America kills children with drone strikes, cluster bombs, napalm, as well as by conventional artillery fire and small arms. And nukes too, I think - history isn't my forte'. Because we are great, it is the United States' prerogative to decide the moral and proper way to kill innocent people. Only America and it's allies may murder civilians, and only with weapons approved by America.

Israel and Saudi Arabia have 007 status, and are licensed to murder with impunity in places like Syria, Gaza, the West Bank, and Yemen.

Now, about Syria. One year ago, a chemical weapons attack occurred in that country. All the people I regularly denounce as "fake news" assured me that Assad was responsible. For reasons I won't disclose, I heeded that mob, and launched about $100 million worth of Tomahawk missiles against Assad's Syrian Arab Army. I realize that evidence later emerged that the chemical weapons were actually launched by terrorists fighting against the SAA, but that is quite beside the point. You see, there have long been plans for a pipeline across Syria - which would redound to the benefit of Iran, Syria, and perhaps Russia. It would undermine American-Israeli-Saudi hegemony in the region, and that is unacceptable to the psychopaths who actually run our great country.

So, a year later, we have another chemical attack in Syria, and the same fake news people who blamed Assad last year, are again laying it on him. Therefore, I will be ordering more attacks on Syria, and will do so before facts have a chance to undermine the anti Assad hysteria.

Because despite the fact that I, your great President, decry the waste and harm caused by our endless wars, those wars will go on no matter who is President.

Please don't tell anyone that I'm not really in charge.

Nationalism, Crusades, and Anti-Semitism

Just learned that today is both Holocaust Remembrance Day and the March for Life. The latter is on a different date each year, the former is always on January 27, commemorating the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp in 1945.

Many seem to think that the Nazis rose to power in some backward, unrefined place.

But Germany in the 1930's was the most educated country in the world, according to historian Paul Johnson. A culturally advanced, learned people allowed a monster to take control of the government, and two state supported churches - Catholic and Lutheran - helped the regime scapegoat Jews. Thank God for some exceptions (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the Confessing Church), but the sad truth is that anti-Semitism has its historical roots in "Christian" churches.

If the church doesn't exist to stop tyranny like Hitler, what is the church here for? I am not reassured by the blind allegiance to Trump among Evangelicals - the spirit of nationalism is foul smelling and not easily reined in once loosed.

I've been studying the Crusades lately, and learning some things I didn't want to know.

To wit:

In 1095, Pope Urban II called Christians to a crusade to take Jerusalem from the Muslims. En route, the Crusaders learned to love killing, including entire Jewish villages. They started out hating the Muslims as "enemies of Christ" and along the way many of them decided that Jews were "enemies of Christ" as well. These demonic hordes, marching in the name of our Lord, were the source of blood libels and pogroms, and the evil and stupid idea of blaming all Jews for the crucifixion of Jesus.

When the Crusaders arrived at Jerusalem in 1099, they not only slaughtered Muslims within the city, but also Jews as well. The Muslims had banned Christians because they were regarded as polytheists for adhering to the doctrine of the Trinity.

Interesting to me is the fact that Jews were banned from Jerusalem until Muslims retook the city in 1187. Saladin invited them back to the city, and also allowed Christians from Greek and Eastern churches to remain, because they had not persecuted Muslims.

It seems that anti-Semitism has been more prevalent among "Christians" throughout history than it has been among Muslims, with notable exceptions.

Spiritually speaking, I observe the same filthy spirit in today's anti-Muslim crusade as inhabited the anti-Muslim crusades of the middle ages. I hope it doesn't redound to a new wave of anti-Semitism, although it apparently already has in parts of Europe. There were neo-Nazis among those who staged the Ukrainian coup that our government and NATO backed during Hillary Clinton's tenure at the State department. It also is not helpful for our government and evangelical Christians to blindly support Netanyahu's oppression of Palestinians, or the demonization of the entire Persian/ Iranian race.

This is a heart issue. Stereotyping of any one ethnic or religious group tends to snowball into hatred of other groups. Pope Urban II called forth a mob against Muslims. He didn't intend for the mob to go after Jews, but he was powerless to restrain the juggernaut he had launched.

Do we ever learn?

The answer is blowing in the wind?

Balaam, Branson, and Donald Trump

Beware of the false prophets...  (Matthew 7:15a)

Mario Murillo is at it again, and God's people should be aware of the latest efforts by Mario to attach the Lord's name to his own sensational pronouncements.

I believe God had me speak out because America was on the brink of an unalterable disaster.  On November 8^th, we will either be rescued by Trump or driven into the ground by Hillary. 

Thus saith Mario via blog post on September 15, 2016.

I have a wait and see attitude about certain prophecies regarding Donald Trump, including some that see him as a modern day Cyrus (Persian king who allowed Jews to return to Jerusalem and rebuild Solomon's Temple) or Jehu (Israelite king who destroyed Jezebel and hundreds of Baal worshippers).

I know that many godly Christians believe Donald Trump will be used by God to stem the advance of evil in our country.

I have no quarrel with most of them, whether I agree or not.

But Mario Murillo has earned our mistrust, and when he speaks of our country being "rescued by Trump" he doesn't rate the benefit of the doubt.

Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.(Psalm 20:7)

Remember, this is the same Mario Murillo who came on his high horse to Branson claiming to be the fulfillment of the (thoroughly debunked) Branson - Corrie ten Boom legend. On October 16th, 2015, Mario proclaimed that the so called "Branson Outbreak" that he spearheaded would be known worldwide within two weeks.
 
Did that happen?

For those who guide this people are leading them astray; And those who are guided by them are brought to confusion. (Isaiah 9:16)

Jesus is our Savior, not Donald Trump.

Furthermore, God doesn't need the United States to fulfill His plan.

God's people need to be full of God to fulfill their callings.

Warning about false prophets is not popular in Charismania today. One reason for this is that false prophets bring in a lot of money. Another is that bible teaching is not valued unless it is "prophetic" - this results in liberty for prophetic utterance, but no provision to judge such utterance.

Branson has more than its share of false prophets.

How do we identify a false prophet?

Well, start with prayerful reading of Deuteronomy 13 and 18.

In Branson, here's a sure sign of a false prophet: if the prophet has promoted the Corrie ten Boom legend, and hasn't repented, you have a false prophet. The reason is that Corrie ten Boom did not prophesy about any worldwide revival beginning in Branson, and the legend that she did is simply Charismatic-Evangelical folklore.

Balaam was a prophet. He was gifted to operate in the spirit realm, both with Yahweh, the Creator, and with evil spirits. There are many such "prophets" loose today, including here in the Branson area. 


Beware.

Trump vs. the Race Card Industry

Donald Trump: racist?

I doubt it. I could be wrong, but not based on what people are showing me.

I think three or four denunciations of the KKK should suffice. After that, the reporters are just badgering the candidate, and obstructing the airing of other issues. The exception would be if there is credible evidence of Klan involvement, like all the evidence the Left ignored in the life of the late Senator Robert Byrd (D- WV). Senator Byrd skated on that, everywhere but talk radio.

But what about video showing black people being roughed up at his rallies?

That could be racist. It could also be misanthropic, or just thuggish.

In some circumstances, it could be justified - depending on what sort of menacing actions the person might have been doing.

If white people are doing the same thing, and getting kid glove treatment, while black people are singled out for the rough stuff - that would indicate racism.

Just the fact that protesters are removed from a rally is not wrong.

If I pay for a hall, it's so people can hear from me, not from my detractors - that is right in line with the first amendment. You don't have a constitutional right to disrupt a meeting in a venue for which someone else paid.

That said, I believe Trump is not a friend of the first amendment, and that some of his comments about the press - as dishonorable as many of them are - portend a return to the Alien and Sedition Acts under John Adams, and the imprisonment of those who protested wars under Lincoln and Wilson.

Also, it is certain that Trump is a nationalist, and that his followers have authoritarian tendencies (based on this article and my own interaction with many of them). And yes, Trump comports himself as a potential dictator, especially at his rallies.

Reminds me very much of when ancient Israel demanded a king.

Which did not end well for them.

Nationalism is not synonymous with racism, although many racists are also nationalists.

Ben Carson struck me as a nationalist, even before he announced his support for Trump today. An endorsement which likely shocked some of Ben's supporters, but not those who pay close attention. Ben is as ignorant about foreign affairs as he is brilliant in his field of neurosurgery.

I don't think Ben Carson is stupid, nor is it helpful when Trump's opponents call Trump supporters stupid.

Also, I don't think Carson is a racist, and if he was, I would assume his racism would not be directed at black people, eh?

Hillary's Email to Donald

Darling Donald,

We've been friends a long time, and your support has been greatly appreciated.

Congratulations on your pending nomination. You've made sport of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy, and for that you have my undying gratitude. These vermin made a huge deal out of a few rapes and assaults that my husband may have committed. You of all men know what a tough road it can be for an alpha male with a severe testosterone imbalance.

It's gratifying to see you steamroll over these little people - but I wonder if you might be enjoying yourself a bit too much? Duping all those Christian leaders into supporting you was understandably fun for you - especially that ditz, Sarah Palin - but I frankly became alarmed that in order to fool those naive people, you denied your progressive views on abortion. You've amassed an impressive list of Christian luminaries: Falwell, Peter Wagner, Pastor Jeffress, Paula White, etc. who have bought the idea that you are God's man to protect them. Is it possible that your ego has been stroked a bit too much by these zealots? These are the same people who regard my husband as a moral reprobate, and they don't seem to mind that you have openly boasted about sleeping with other men's wives! Their cognitive dissonance is marvelous theater, but their ignorance of their own book could redound to your harm if you allow them to crown you as king - they may not be mindful of the story of King Saul, but you would do well to consider it.

Donald dear - please recall what the script calls for during the coming campaign between us.

Remember, our arrangement was for you to help me win this election by making me seem likable by comparison. Also, don't forget how friendly my administration will be to aggressive business men such as yourself - for one thing we can assure that federal judges will continue to uphold your very creative interpretation of eminent domain takings that benefit your enterprises.

My dear friend, I know that Latin is not your forte', but I was led to believe that you understand the meaning of 'quid pro quo.'

My affection for you is deep - the admiration that a witch feels for a warlock. Out of love, I remind you that "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned!"

Know what I mean?

Love ya,

Hillary

P.S.
Should this FBI business take an unexpected turn for the worse, I'll consent to a change in our agreement, and will of course need you to issue a full pardon when you take office.