"Understanding Today's America"

On May 15, 2001, CBS News Anchor Dan Rather appeared on a show called The O'Reilly Factor.  In an explanation that he gave as to why he thought Bill Clinton to be an upright man Rather said, "I think you can be an honest man and lie about any number of things."

 

Those who are deceived 
don't know they are deceived because they are deceived.

 

In order to truly understand today's America, we must first become students of our history.  Only then can we see how far we have "drifted."  In 1778 the 4th president of the United States, James Madison said,

 

We have staked the whole future 
of American civilization...
upon the capacity of each and all

of us to govern ourselves according 
to the Ten Commandments of God.*

 

102 years later "sin" had taken away our understanding.  In 1980, the "delusion of sin" was in full effect at the highest level of our legislative branch of government, the United States Supreme Court.  Literally ignoring 150 YEARS! of precedents, the Supreme Court ruled in a Kentucky case, Stone v. Graham, that the Ten Commandments could not be posted in schools:

 

"If the posted copies of the Ten Commandments

are to have any effects at all, it will be to induce

the school children to read, meditate upon, and

         perhaps to venerate and obey, the Commandments...

This is not...a permissible...objective."

 

Tragically, we have forsaken the warnings of our forefathers:

 

"Let the children...be carefully instructed in the principles and obligations of the Christian religion.  This is the most essential part of education.  
The great enemy of the salvation of men...
never invented a more effectual means 
of extirpation (removing) Christianity 
from the world than by persuading mankind 
that it was improper to read the Bible at schools."**

-Benjamin Rush, signer of the Declaration of Independence

 

 

*James Madison.  1778.  Beliles and McDowell, Providential History, p.221.

**Benjamin Rush.  Letters of Benjamin Rush, Princeton, New Jersey:  American Philosophical Society, 1951.

"It's Official...USA No Longer a 'Christian Nation'"

3

 

" Even if we expelled every Christian in America, 

whose Christianity would we teach in the schools...

which passages of scripture should guide our public policy?

Should we go with, uhh, Leviticus, which uhh, suggests slavery is ok?

Or we could go with Deuteronomy which suggests stoning your child

if he strays from the faith.  Or should we just stick to the sermon on the mount, a passage that is so radical that it's doubtful that our own defense department

would survive its application...Now I may be opposed to abortion for

religious reasons, to take one example, but if I seek to pass a law banning the practice I can't simply point to the teachings of my church

or evoke God's will.  I have to explain why abortion violates some

principle that is accessible to people of all faiths including those

with no faith at all.  Now this is going to be difficult for some who

believe in the inerrancy of the Bible as many evangelicals do, but in a

pluralistic society we have no choice."

 -President Barak Obama 
(bold mine)

 

Beloved, it is REALLY important that you take the necessary time to understand what the new President of The United States believes and teaches.  I implore you to take the necessary time to study and ponder what the above quotation means for the future of the United States.  "If I seek to pass a law...I can't simply point to...or evoke God's will." 

 

The student of United States history will immediately recognize how contrary and divergent these statements are.  Consider the words of the 4th President of the United States, James Madison,

 

"We have staked the whole future of American

civilization...upon the capacity of each and all

of us to govern ourselves according to the Ten

Commandments of God."+

 

And signer of The Declaration of Independence, Benjamin Rush,

 

"Let the children...be carefully instructed in the principles and obligations of the Christian religion.  This is the most essential part of education.  The great enemy of the salvation of men...never invented a more effectual means of extirpation (removing) Christianity from the world than by persuadingmankind that it was improper to read the Bible at schools."**

 

"When misguided public opinion honors what is despicable and despises what is honorable, punishes virtue and rewards vice,encourages what is harmful and discourages what is useful,applauds falsehood and smothers truth under indifference or insult, a nation turns its back on progress and can be restored only by the terrible lessons of catastrophe." -Frederic Bastiat, The Law, 1848*

 

"Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind and makes flesh his strength, and whose

heart turns away from the Lord...

Righteousness exalts a nation but sin is a disgrace to any people...

It is an abomination for kings to commit wickedness,

for a throne is established on righteousness...

Loyalty and truth preserve the king, and he upholds his throne by righteousness...

Take away the wicked from before the king, and his throne will be established in righteousness."

Jeremiah 17:5; Proverbs 14:34; 16:12; 20:28; 25:5

 

 

*Frederic Bastiat (1801-1850) was a French economist, statesman and author.  He did most of his writing during the years just before-and immediately following-the revolution of 1848, a period when France was rapidly turning toward complete Socialism, much like the United States of America today.

 

+James Madison.  1778.  Beliles and McDowell, Providential History, p.221.

 

**Benjamin Rush.  Letters of Benjamin Rush, Princeton, New Jersey:  American Philosophical Society, 1951.

"It's Official...USA No Longer a 'Christian Nation'"

4   "There is no attack on American Culture more destructive and more historically dishonest than the secular Left's  relentless effort to drive God  out of America's public square."  -Newt Gingrich,  Rediscovering God in America, p.6   One of the spectacular gifts that theGodThoughtWired! ministry affords me is an honest and real understanding of the varied cultural perspectives that are a part of today's 21st century reality.  And one thing's for sure:   The 21st Century is an... AGE OF DELUSION.   "God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false." -2 Thessalonians 2:11   Consider the following responses to our current series, "It's Official...USA No Longer a 'Christian Nation.'"  Under the category of:   ARROGANT IGNORANCE:   "An odd title to your article, "It's Official...USA No Longer a Christian Nation".  When were we ever  a Christian nation?  Yes, maybe the majority  of citizens have been Christian but  the founding fathers certainly were not."   "We have never been a Christian Nation."    There is an ever-increasing group of "ignorant multitudes" who sincerely believe that "We have never been a Christian Nation." This perspective is so "historically illiterate" that it can only be attributed to "last days delusion."  Consider the following statements by some of our "Founding Fathers:"   "Providence has given our people the choice of their rulers.  It is the duty as well as the privilege and interest of our Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers." -John Jay, the original Chief Justice of the USA (October 12, 1816.  The Correspondence & Public Papers of John Jay)   "This great nation was founded not by religionists but by Christians-not on religion, but on  the gospel of Jesus Christ." -Patrick Henry,  America's Providential History, p.184.   "In this age there can be no substitute  for Christianity...That was the religion  of the founders of the Republic,  and they expected it to remain  the religion of their descendents." -United States House of Representatives  Judiciary Committee, 1854   In fact, books have been written solely devoted to the preservation of the truth of the history of The United States of America as having been founded and established as a "Christian Nation."  The following are three such books (that I have read, studied, and wholeheartedly recommend):   1.  Rediscovering God in America, by Newt Gingrich, Thomas Nelson, 2006. 2.  One Nation Under God, by Dr. David C. Gibbs, Christian Law Association, 2005. 3.  Freedom Tide, by Chad Connelly.  Executive Books, 2002.		GODTHOUGHTSWIRED!  "EVANGELIZING  THE CHURCH  IN THE AGE  OF DELUSION." GODTHOUGHTS  WORLD HEADQUARTERS 1675 School St. Moraga, CA, USA  94556 1.925.376.3550 brad@godthoughts.org

"It's Official...USA No Longer a 'Christian Nation'"

1

 

"We are a nation of 
Christians and Muslems..."

-President Barak Obama, Inaugural Address, January 20, 2009

 

IT'S OFFICIAL!  According to the new president of the United States, America is now,

 

"One nation, under gods...
in gods we trust."

 

Lest you question the correctness of my interpretation of President Obama's inaugural address, please study and see for yourself, the resources that I have provided for you below.  President Obama has clearly declared in other venues,

 

"Whatever we once were, 
we are no longer 
a Christian nation..."

-Barak Obama

 

We are now a fundamentally different nation than we were under former President Abraham Lincoln who rightly warned,

 

'It is the duty of nations, 
as well as of men,

to own their dependence 
upon the overruling

power of God...and to recognize 
the sublime truth

announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, 
that those nations only 
are blessed whose 
God is the Lord." 
(bold and underline mine)

 

Please understand what this means practically.  The Bible clearly teaches,

 

"Blessed is the nation 
whose God is the Lord."

Psalm 33:12

 

Lest there be any more doubt among sincere seekers of truth,

 

-the United States of America is no longer blessed by God.*

 

-the United States of America is currently cursed of God.*

 

And my heart breaks to tell you that, as of this moment, according to the Bible...

 

The President of the United States of America is cursed of the Lord (see Jeremiah 17:5).

 

As you will study (see below), President Obama admonishes us to "Let's read our Bibles now..."

 

Unfortunately President Obama...

 

I HAVE BEEN.

 

*see Galatians 3:10; Jeremiah 17:5; Proverbs 14:34; 16:12; 20:28; 25:5

 

 

For further Study click on:

 

President Obama mocks Sermon on the Mount

 

President Obama says "We are no longer a Christian Nation..."

 

Why Barak Obama is NOT a Christian:  Reason #1

 

Why Barak Obama is NOT a Christian:  Reason #2

 

Why Barak Obama is NOT a Christian:  Reason #3

 

Why Barak Obama is NOT a Christian:  Reason #4

 

Why Barak Obama is NOT a Christian:  Reason #5

 

Why Barak Obama is NOT a Christian:  Reason #6

 

Why Barak Obama is NOT a Christian:  Reason #7

"Life's Greatest Secret"

THE MOST IMPORTANT KNOWLEDGE IN THE WORLD

 

Part 6:  PARABLE I:  The Garden

 

"A man's mind may be likened to a garden...whether

cultivated or neglected, it must, and will, bring forth."

-As a Man Thinketh, p. 9

 

And the mind is a garden.  A garden with the capacity for flowers and weeds as numerous as the stars.  As with any garden, we cannot always control every seed that the winds bring.  Nonetheless, it is our responsibility to deal directly with ALL seeds.  The seeds of no value MUST BE DISCARDED!  Why?  Weeds left unchecked destroy the garden.

 

"Every thought-seed sown or allowed to fall into

the mind, and to take root there, produces its own

blossoming sooner or later into act, and bearing

its own fruitage of opportunity and circumstance."

-As a Man Thinketh, p. 11

 

And the seeds that take root determine the extent of the garden.  To think is to become.  What plowing, digging, and cultivating is to the land; meditation, reflection, and self-examination is to the mind.  The soil is rich.  The harvest is up to us.

 

"For as he thinks within himself, so he is."  -Proverbs 23:7*

 

 

 

*New American Standard.  The King James translation:  "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he."  The Amplified translation:  "For as he thinks within his heart, so is he."  And then, the NIV's poor transmutilation:  "For he is the kind of man who is always thinking about the cost."  For further study on the terrible "translation" otherwise known as the NIV, click on: New International or Non-Inspired.

"Life's Greatest Secret"

THE MOST IMPORTANT KNOWLEDGE IN THE WORLD

 

Part 5:  Personal Responsibility

 

"A man only begins to be a man when he ceases to whine and revile,

and commences to search for the hidden justice which regulates his life."

-As a Man Thinketh, p.19

 

It is not what happens to us that makes the difference.  What happens to us, for the most part, happens to us all.  For every woman that excuses her life of waste on the curses of her Grandmother, there are ten other ladies that had it ten-times worse, yet chose to use the sins of their ancestors as a springboard to life and victory.  No, it's not what happens to us...it's how we RESPOND to what happens to us that makes all the difference.

 

"Good thoughts and actions can never produce bad results;

bad thoughts and actions can never produce good results.

This is but saying nothing can come from corn but corn...

Men understand this law in the natural world, and work with it;

but few understand it in the mental and moral world,

though it's operation there is just as simple and undeviating."

-As a Man Thinketh, p.19

 

One of the greatest evidences of emotional maturity is the willingness to take personal responsibility for our own lives and actions.  The maturity to know that what is happening today is largely the result of seeds that were planted yesterday.  That for things to change, we must change.  That for life to get better, I must get better.  Here's some wisdom:  "All that we have at any given moment...we have attracted by the people we have become"(GodThoughts, Volume 1, p. 202).

 

"The way to change your life is to change your thought...

The mind is the master weaver, both of the inner garment of character

and the outer garment of circumstance."

-As a Man Thinketh, p.x, xvii

 

Becoming an outstanding individual is not something to be wished for...it is something we choose to become.  As philosophers of the past have said, Don't hope for a better wind, learn how to set a better sail.

 

"Let a man radically alter his thoughts, and he will be astonished at

the rapid transformation it will effect in the material conditions of his life."

-As a Man Thinketh, p.20

 

"For as he thinks within himself, so he is."  -Proverbs 23:7*

 

 

 

*New American Standard.  The King James translation:  "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he."  The Amplified translation:  "For as he thinks within his heart, so is he."  And then, the NIV's poor transmutilation:  "For he is the kind of man who is always thinking about the cost."  For further study on the terrible "translation" otherwise known as the NIV, click on: New International or Non-Inspired.

"Life's Greatest Secret"

THE MOST IMPORTANT KNOWLEDGE IN THE WORLD

 

Part 3:  Life's Greatest Discipline

 

"We are taking every thought captive

to the obedience of Christ."

2 Corinthians 10:5

 

It is one of the most important admonitions in all of scripture; the exercise of the will to "take every thought captive."

 

"As the physically weak man can make

himself strong by careful and patient training,

so the man of weak thoughts can make them strong

 by exercising himself in right thinking."

-As A Man Thinketh, p. 35

 

God created the body to be the servant of the mind, not the other way around.  Life's greatest discipline is the willingness to "take every thought captive."  The man ruled by his lusts is a slave.  "By what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved" (2 Peter 2:19).

 

While we cannot always control what comes in to the mind, we most certainly can control what we do it once it's there!  Thus the biblical warnings are of inestimable value:

 

"He who walks with the wise will become wise,

but the companion of fools suffers harm...

Do not be deceived, bad company corrupts good morals...

Leave the presence of a fool,

or you will not discern words of knowledge."

Proverbs 13:20; 1 Corinthians 15:33; Proverbs 14:7

 

So just how import are our thoughts?  And why is "taking every thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ" considered "Life's Greatest Discipline?"  Well, consider this:

 

"Our destiny is determined by our actions.

And our actions...are the result of our thinking."

-GodThoughts, Volume 1, p.51

 

"For as he thinks within himself, so he is."  -Proverbs 23:7*

 

 

 

*New American Standard.  The King James translation:  "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he."  The Amplified translation:  "For as he thinks within his heart, so is he."  And then, the NIV's poor transmutilation:  "For he is the kind of man who is always thinking about the cost."  For further study on the terrible "translation" otherwise known as the NIV, click on:  New International or Non-Inspired.