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M-F Relations-C

11 Oct

Few people realize that the women’s liberation movement began as a movement of women in the church. Though Southern white churches generally supported slavery, many churches in the North strongly condemned it. The women heard about the poor treatment of slaves in the South through churches in the South that did not agree with slavery. The women had learned to raise money and organize through the church mission societies that raised funds to support missionaries and used that knowledge and the church communication networks to spread information about slavery. Though some preachers opposed slavery and preached against it, much of the work and the fund raising was done by the women’s societies in the church. Through their efforts, they learned that they needed the right to vote in order to pressure Congress to oppose slavery. The women’s liberation movement soon spread beyond slavery and the right to vote. Women soon took up the cause of temperance and other issues threatening women, families, and society, including getting greater protections for women in industry. Though the issues quickly spread beyond the church, the women of the church were instrumental in getting greater protections and opportunities for women and families. The modern feminist movement has become self-centered, seeking their own agenda, with no thought to its effect on other women. The liberal push has centered on getting free from the burden of having children. They have demonized motherhood and sought to abolish it, in spite of the fact that many women still desire having kids and a family. Liberal promoters have portrayed motherhood as a threat to women because they say it prevents them from getting and holding prestigious jobs, yet many women have still risen to highly prestigious jobs while raising a family. Many modern feminists look down on women who choose to stay home and raise their kids and portray motherhood as a degrading occupation, in spite of the fact that the family is instrumental in raising children. Many also portray marriage as enslavement of women and feel a woman should not limit herself to one man. Their efforts have done much to break down the institution of marriage and deprive women of the benefits of marriage. Liberal promoters have promoted abortion as a way of enabling women to have sex freely without having to worry about having children. In their zeal to get rid of unwanted children, they have taken no thought about the women and girls who have faced unwanted pregnancies as a result of their promotion of free sex or the physical and emotional suffering they have endured due to their abortions. They have also not taken any thought to the millions of babies that have been aborted. The liberal churches have been caught up in the liberal philosophies and many support abortion. However many Bible-centered churches continue to fight to protect women and girls from exploitation by those who profit from abortion (see the section on “Where Are The Children” in “The Servant’s Heart”-Lulu Press).

 

 

Politics-AB-AD

07 Oct

Democrats are continuing to claim that China is trying to influence our elections and trying to get us to believe that Donald Trump is behind it. The media continues to rehash that argument. It is a replay of the old argument in 2016 that Trump was working with the Russians to subvert the election. It is the old story of “if you say something often enough and long enough, people will begin to believe it”. Those who follow politics, which unfortunately is not a lot of people these days, know that it doesn’t make sense. Russia would not try to get Trump elected in 2016 because Hillary Clinton was feeding them benefits. As Secretary of State she arranged for the sale of a large amount of American uranium to Russia for their nuclear program. We don’t know what else she was doing because she used her private unsecure server instead of a secure government computer which the Russians and Chinese could have easily hacked and then had all the computers and phones destroyed when she left office to prevent an investigation. It was later discovered that she was behind the fake Russian accusations to discredit Trump in order to help her win the election. Biden is supporting the Ukraine against Russia only because the Bidens have more financial interest in the Ukraine than in Russia. Now they are warning that Trump is working with the Chinese to win the 2024 election. Yet Biden, Clinton, and other top Democrats are pushing socialism in the United States and have large financial holdings in Chinese companies and have pushed trade benefits for China for their own benefit. Tik Tok is owned by China and monitored by it and many American phones are made in China enabling them to monitor them. In addition, China pours a great deal of money into American universities and have propaganda organizations on many American university campuses pushing socialism. Why would Republicans want to support China? Democrats are the ones who would benefit the most from Chinese interference and China would not want to promote a Republican president that would undermine their influence in America.

 

 
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Politics-C-A-N

03 Oct

While the Biden administration took a long time before they acknowledged the massive devastation of hurricane Helene, they finally got around to surveying the damage, however they continue to drag their feet on providing help. FEMA claims it is out of money due to helping illegal immigrants and when Musk set up a satellite link to help victims of the hurricane who were without cell phone use due to the cell towers being destroyed, the FCC canceled the program leaving many people still stranded without food, water, or electricity and no way to call for help. It seems like they do not want to help and are frustrating attempts by others who are trying to help. That is a bad way to treat people, especially coming up to an election.

 

 

 
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Sixth Sunday of Kingdomtide-Oct 6

02 Oct

Encourage involvement-Many church positions are filled by a few central members. They often ignore the vast majority of members who are often little more than spectators. Many members don’t really feel a part of the church’s mission and don’t support it wholeheartedly. As a result, they are easily distracted by activities that may take them away from church. Involving more members in a church in the church’s ministry will increase the morale of the members and decrease the number of members who drift away from the church. By being actively involved in the church’s ministry, they feel a part of the church’s work and are more willing to support it financially and with their attendance and less likely to drift away from the church. It will also supply the workers needed to carry on the church’s ministry. Few churches make a real effort to enlist members in the churches program. They usually wait until an opening occurs and then try to twist the arm of one of their central members to take it on in addition to the other work they do and few approach members at large. Those recruited often have no interest and no experience in what they do. If the church does try to recruit help, it is normally between Easter and Pentecost when they recruit volunteers to help with summer activities but should be a year-long program to enlist members in active ministry. Many churches have a nomination committee selected at random but have little knowledge in recruiting personnel. They usually meet a few weeks before the annual meeting to nominate candidates to be elected to church positions but it should be a permanent committee of people with knowledge and experience in personnel recruitment that meets regularly with various members to inform them about opportunities for service in the church and community and helping them discover their talents. They should also help them find places in the church and community to serve. This allows the church to find people with an interest in what they do and allows time to train them before the workers take over the position.

 

Freedom of Religion-D-AB

29 Sep

When Hitler moved against the Jews, some churches spoke out but were attacked by politicians for doing so, as liberal politicians are doing today. Many churches chose to remain silent, as many are doing today. While many people talk about how many Jews died as the result, nothing is said about the Christians who were imprisoned and even killed because they spoke out against the extermination of the Jews. We say it won’t happen here but it already is. We don’t hear about it because the press is not reporting it. Liberal politicians are demonizing Christians just as Hitler did the Jews. Christians are being jailed and churches are being burned for speaking out against abortion and Gay privileges, as well as other government abuses. Our country was founded on Christian principles and Christian values spread as pastors preached the Word of God. However, recently liberal values have spread through our country because liberal politicians and media have been vocal about their values but the church has been silent about God’s values. We have the privilege of voting for candidates for political office but Christians cannot vote intelligently if they are not informed about issues and where candidates stand on them. Either the church speaks up now or it will be silenced for good.

 

 

Freedom of Religion-D-AA

29 Sep

I was asked by a well-known organization to notify local pastors that voter guides were available for the upcoming election and began calling pastors. A common answer I got was that they didn’t tell their people how to vote. The voter guides don’t tell you how to vote, they merely tell you what the candidate’s position is on various issues, so the real question is why they don’t want to do it. Is it fear that the government would harass them, is it fear that their people will not want them to, or is it merely because they don’t feel the church should influence society by encouraging their members to exercise their right to vote. The guides don’t tell you how to vote, so it isn’t endorsing any candidate so the government has no legitimate objection. The unions and other organizations freely distribute lists of who they want their members to vote for and the government doesn’t object. Churches are no different than other organizations, other than the fact that their position is not politically correct. It differs from the beliefs of those who are in power. When the government  denies churches their first Amendment rights, solely because they are Christian, then we have a very serious problem. Churches should be teaching Christian values and Christians will want representatives that will uphold Christian moral values, and there is nothing wrong with distributing information on the candidate’s positions on issues, it is public  information. Pastors should want their members to be informed so they can vote responsibly. Many pastors have been cowered into silence by liberal lies about the separation of church and State. The Constitution forbids the government from prohibiting the free exercise of religion and then follows with prohibiting it from restricting the freedom of speech. There is no exemption clause allowing the government to restrict the freedom of speech of pastors or churches. That is a fabrication of liberal politicians who believe they are not bound by the Constitution or federal law and can make their own laws. It is time the church stands up for  its God-given rights or it will lose them altogether.

 

 

Senior Citizen issues-J

28 Sep

Lawmakers are pushing a bill called the Social Security Fairness Act which would repeal (WEP) Windfall Elimination Provision and (GPO) Government Pension Offset. They allow Social Security to be reduced by the amount of their pension. They were designed to prevent double dipping for those who worked at jobs taking out Social Security and jobs that took out for government retirement benefits, such as police, fire fighters, and other government workers. WEP is for individuals who are eligible for the pensions and GPO is for spouses and survivors of pensioners. It would affect only two million receiving WEP and 800,000 receiving GPO and would not benefit the majority of Seniors. While they say it deprives Seniors of benefits they earned, repealing them would enable them to draw from both funds. People who worked two jobs paying into Social Security had their credits combined and the same should be done with those working government jobs. The government jobs are high end union jobs which pay well so they are receiving good benefits from their government pension. If both husband and wife worked at both kinds of jobs, they could draw four pensions, far above the average Senior. Repealing them would add about two billion dollars to cost of Social Security and strain an already stressed system.  At times while I was out of work, I did substituting in the schools and I taught at a community college on the side for a while but didn’t have enough credits to draw a pension so I merged my school benefits in with my Social Security because they were so few. If they make any changes, they should require the two funds be merged so those eligible only drew from one fund. It is evident the Democrats want to appease government union workers who are becoming unhappy with the performance of the Democrats and abandoning them after a  long history of supporting Democrats who in turn gave special benefits and privileges to government union workers through closed shop laws requiring that government workers had to belong to the union and pay union dues, as well as fighting right to work laws that allowed people to work in union shops without being forced  to join the union. They also pushed through generous wage packages that provided government workers with wages and benefits well above the market average.

 

Senior Citizen issues-I

28 Sep

While Democrats continue to declare that Republicans want to cut Medicare, they hide the fact that they are the true threat. This coming October, Medicare Advantage plans will change a lot. Recent cuts in payments by President Biden will result in drastic cuts in services available to Seniors. They will also result in more doctors refusing to accept Medicare Advantage plans. Many doctors are already beginning to refuse to accept Medicare Advantage plans as a result of last year’s cuts. My wife just got notice one of her medical providers no longer accepts Medicare Advantage coverage. Medicare Advantage plans are paid for with Medicare funds but are administered by private companies which have lower overhead and a lot less waste. As a result, they can offer clients a lot more services than traditional Medicare administered by the government for the same amount of money. Many Seniors prefer them because they can get more services without having to pay more, however, with cuts in government payments, those companies can not offer a lot of the benefits previously provided. The goal of Democrats is to return many Seniors to government plans where the government can weed out those requiring expensive services by denying them services resulting in an early death or directing them to lower cost maintenance plans where the symptoms are treated but they are not cured. Their goal is to eventually merge it with a universal health care plan where a government panel could cut off treatment to those no longer felt worth the expense. Republicans on the other hand want to cut benefits to illegal immigrants and others who did not pay into the system or meet eligibility requirements to preserve the fund for Seniors who paid into the program and deserve to receive it.

 

Fifth Sunday of Kingdomtide-Sept 29

26 Sep

Adults-Dealing with Issues Many pastors tell me they don’t get involved in political issues, however many of those political issues are also moral issues. Supporting abortion isn’t just a political viewpoint, it is a violation of God’s moral law and destroys the fabric of the nation. Many adults have no other source of information besides the liberal media, which has increasingly pushed liberal agendas without any discussion. In fact, the liberal media often blocks any attempt to present the facts and allow voters to decide the issue for themselves. Politicians seek to control the population by controlling what they hear. If people only hear one view, they think it is true. As a result, the church must teach Christian values and help people decide what is right. Christians cannot live a Christian lifestyle unless they have the freedom to be able to do it. Liberal politicians and judges are determined to take away our right to do that through laws and judicial decisions. The church must help members understand the results of liberal policies and oppose attempts to impose liberal policies which are detrimental to the country and violate God’s moral law.  If we are to maintain the right to spread the Gospel, we must oppose attempts to force Christians to go against their beliefs and support actions condemned by Scripture. That requires a membership that understands the issues and who votes in judges and politicians who will uphold citizen’s rights and the rule of law. Liberal politicians are trying to silence the church because they know that informed citizens will not fall for their lies.

 

Sanctity of Life-A-3-G

21 Sep

Rapists hope the woman will abort the baby if they become pregnant so that it will destroy the evidence and protect them from prosecution. However, when the woman decides to keep the baby, they sometimes file for child custody to harass the woman and gain custody so they won’t have to pay child support. Rapists also use custody laws to get at children and molest them. They may also use the laws to threaten the mother and force her to continue submitting to the rapist. Right to Life groups seek to help rape victims choose life for the baby and protect the mother and the child. They have been pushing a Federal law, “The Rape Survivors Child Custody Act” to protect women who are victims of rape and choose to keep their child. We must also encourage States to pass laws terminating the custody rights of rapists. Recently, a 10 year old girl was raped and became pregnant. Children’s Services seized the girl and took her to an abortion clinic and got her an abortion against her parent’s wishes. While the rapist stole her innocence, Children’s Service took her child. Adults can say it is different because the baby was conceived during rape, but a 10 year old girl does not make that distinction. To her, it was her child regardless of how it was conceived. She was victimized as much, if not more, by Children’s Services than she was by the rapist. In addition, by aborting the baby, the rapist probably went free because the abortionist destroyed the evidence.