Divided Nation / Divided Christians

Part II

Divided Nation / Divided Christians

Reading the comments in social media is alarming to me. It seems to me that many Christians today are traveling the same path that Islamic radicals are traveling they feel they are right and there is no discussion on the matter.

I believe that the Quran contains passages about fighting and I believe that the Bible contains passages about fighting that we would not agree with in 2016. I believe most Muslims today read those passages in  the same way most Christians read stories from Joshua in our Bible about the killing of Canaanite men, women, and children.  Most Muslims and Christians do not see these passages as commands to kill those who do not share their faith. However there are some Islamic extremists that see the Quran’s passages about the rules of engagement in wars from Mohammed’s time and prior as permission for violent activities and there are some Christians extremists (generally those who translate the Bible literally) that see the violence in the Bible towards those that did not believe as they did as a pass to violence today. The Quran and the Bible all contain passages that are not peaceful and passages that are peaceful. It is how we react and interpret those passages that makes the difference in 2016.

The Five Pillars of Islam are: (1) There is only one God – Christians should not have a problem with that; (2) Pray five times a day – it would be helpful if Christians adopted that practice; (3) Give to support the needy – Christians have always believed that; (4) Fast from dawn till sundown during the month of Ramadan – many Christians practice the tradition of fasting and I believe it is a healthy tradition; and (5) If possible make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in a lifetime – many Christians go to Israel each year and many more would like to make a pilgrimage to Israel.

You see we have many things in common. Why don’t we try and concentrate on those things. Why do we generalize that all Christians and all Islamist are bad? Why are the extremist on both sides determined to prove that the Quran and the Bible is evil from beginning to end?

There are divisions among Christians and there are divisions among Muslims. Muslims and Christians have their own liberals, moderates, conservatives, fundamentalists, and extremists.

ISIS truly believes what it professes: that it is engaged in a conflict to bring about the end times. The primary enemies of ISIS are other Muslims who do not share their beliefs. The Islamic view of end times involves victory in a climactic battle in Syria among all the nations of the world and God’s people.  I would say the majority of Christians believe that there will be a climatic battle in the Middle East among nations and God’s people. Because Fundamentalist Christians and Islamic Extremist believe what they are doing is God’s work they are a difficult force to fight. Is it even possible to win over Christians who think God wants all homosexuals dead and when they voice hated for homosexuals they are doing God’s work or Islamist that believe God wants all Christians dead? I honestly do not know. If it is it will take a mighty work of the Holy Spirit to do so.

The division in the U.S.A. now over racism, disdain for the police, riots in the streets, a few rogue police officers, yelling at  one another on Kelly’s show (FOX) and bigoted social media post does not speak well around the world for the U.S.A. or Christianity. I think a  lot of people around the world and in the U.S.A. believe some American’s are acting as extremist. Many of us want to think of ourselves as a Christian Nation so we should act like it.

Paul, in his Letter to the Romans, expresses how we are to wage spiritual war: never avenging ourselves, never repaying evil for evil, overcoming evil with good. Most of us believe it’s wrong to judge an entire category of people based on the actions of a relatively small number of extremists within that group. At the same time, terrorist attacks by Islamic extremists within our midst have heightened our concerns about future attacks — from Adam Hamilton. I am not saying we should not use military force against ISIS. I am saying we cannot generalize about any group of people and we must be careful to the best of our ability to target ISIS and not all Muslims in general. I certainly do not want to be associated with literal radical Bible interpreters and many Muslims do not want to be associated with I.S.I.S.

We have legitimate fears about attacks by Islamic extremists, but how do we apply our faith in ways that balance those concerns for people’s safety with our belief that it is wrong to judge someone only on the basis of religion or nationality or gender or sexual inclination?

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” No, “if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good (Romans 12:14-21). These scriptures are extreme and it  may be impossible to follow all of them, but the harder we try to follow them the better we will be and the world will be.

We are not battling Islam, because there is no such thing as one Islam. One Islam cannot be extracted from the numerous offshoots, branches, and sects that make the world's 1.3 billion Muslims as ideologically, religiously, and politically fractured as the other two monotheistic faiths, Christianity and Judaism.

The "War on Terror" should really be called the "War on Militant Islam or War on Radical Islamic Terrorist." The terrorists of September 11, Osama bin Laden, al-Qaeda, and the Taliban all adhere to an ideology we have come to know as militant Islam, a minority outgrowth of the faith that exudes a bitter hatred for Western ideas, including capitalism, individualism, and consumerism.

It rejects the West and much that it has to offer seeking instead to implement a strict interpretation of the Koran and sharia (Islamic law). America, as radical Muslims see it, is the primary impediment to building an Islamic world order.  Radical Muslims have a history of violence against American, Western, and even Muslim interests. But the movement did not appear spontaneously it has taken 14 centuries to evolve.

Many Muslims adapted to the fast-paced changes common to Western industrialization and modernization, but some Muslims rejected them. Instead, they created a rigid ideology embedded in the traditional values and laws of the Koran. This is the known today as Islamic fundamentalism, or Islamism.

Islamism represents a yearning for the "pure" Islam as practiced by the prophet. Not unlike the American Amish, the movement rejects much that is innovative. Islamist, however, take the rejection of modernity a step further. They perceive those who have introduced these innovations as its enemy.

Islamist Radical Muslim Terrorist not only reject the influence of the West, they reject the legitimacy of their own governments in the Arabic world, which they see as subservient to the West. Therefore the overthrow of these regimes has become an important part of their agenda.

The biggest push for this agenda came in 1928, with the founding of the Ikhwan al-Muslim or Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. This organization became the cornerstone for most of today's Islamist movements, advocating Islamic beliefs and values as expressed by the common Egyptian. The organization rejected western rule and England's secular influence over Egypt. Obama made a grave mistake when he embraced the Muslim Brotherhood over the dictator ruling Egypt for over three decades.

"The earthquake" came in 1979 when Iran became the first modern Islamic republic, as Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini overthrew Iran's secular regime and established a new order in which sharia became law. Suddenly, Islamism was no longer an ideology of movements. It had inspired a state. America's first violent introduction to militant Islam came shortly after Khomeini's Islamic Republic was established in 1979, when Islamic extremists seized the U.S. embassy in the Iranian capital of Tehran.

Given that militant Islam has plagued America for 22 years the attacks of September 11 should not have been surprising. A trend had been established. So, perhaps the biggest shock of that tragic day was the nation's utter surprise. Psychologically, America was completely unprepared for the attacks - why? I think because our government has refused to make it clear who our real enemy is and name them – all for the sake of political correctness and a President Obama that seems to have some need to defend ALL Islam thinking that we are so naive that if we reject some Islam we will reject it all.

Bin Laden's own words. "We have seen in the last decade the decline of the American government and the weakness of the American soldier. He is ready to wage cold wars but unprepared to fight hot wars...We are ready for all occasions, we rely on God."

Militant Islam has strongholds in Algeria, Egypt, Somalia, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, the Palestinian territories, Lebanon, Jordan, Yemen, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Pakistan, to name just a few countries. The challenge now for the western world is finding ways to destroy the radical infrastructure and arrest or kill militants while bolstering the influence of moderate Muslims.  No one in the Obama administration seems to know how we can accomplish this task. We cannot win without the support of moderate Muslims.  Hatred of ALL Muslims is not going to gain the support of moderate Muslims. Americans must come to terms on who are enemy really is and it is not ALL Muslims.

Until we Americans learn to love ourselves and each other we cannot expect the world to love and respect us. If we want to talk about Radical Islamic Recruitment I would imagine showing the division among our people is a great tool to use in their recruiting. One 30 second video of Americans fighting among ourselves in the streets is worth millions of words. It becomes okay to kill homosexuals if you can demonstrate that even your enemies, the Americans, hate homosexuals. It is easy to claim that Americans are out to destroy you if you can demonstrate that Americans are willing to destroy other Americans that do not agree with them. Finally it is easy to demonstrate that Democratic Laws do not work when we take to the streets and riot over injustice in our country rather than engaging in civil conversations about our differences and injustices.  

I opposed the war in Iraq at the time - Did Donald Trump?

Donald Trump is being attack by Republican politician’s for saying he opposed the war in Iraq and thinks it was a mistake.  I know this is probably shocking to many Republicans and some Democrats, but there were Republican voters back then who possessed the foresight to know that the Iraq War was going to be something we would regret for many years to come. We stood on street corners in front of Federal Buildings around the country carrying signs protesting our participation in the Iraq conflict. Those who opposed the war in Iraq from the very beginning took no end of abuse for taking that position.  We were booed, threatened and had cigarettes flicked at us by fine upstanding people passing by who believed the lies being told them by politicians. We were often resented by other protesters because we were older, conservative and Republican – we were not one of them.  

It was not difficult for us to figure out that Iraq was about to become our next Iran. We understood that it was a religious dispute among Muslims that had gone on for generations and no outsider was going to fix it or end it. We felt sorry for the weaker Muslims, but were thankful the conflict had not been brought to our shores and knew if we interfered it would cost American lives and accomplish nothing. Saddam Hussein, just as the Shaw of Iran, had not caused us problems the problems in Iraq were internal problems and between Muslims. 

Rightly or wrongly some of us believed the reason for America’s involvement was oil. If that was the reason then China should thank us for getting involved because they benefit from the oil not us. I always believed some politicians feared a return of oil shortages as experienced during the Carter years and the oil corporation’s feared lost profits and assets in Iraq. The oil industry's political donations may have influenced politicians to make bad decisions. 

I agree President Bush was close to gaining a better Iraq, but he or anyone else would have solved the problems within Iraq and outside of Iraq among Muslims. If we would not have gone in to Iraq then Obama would not have had any American troops to bring home. I also agree that Obama made a terrible mistake in withdrawing our troops after we were engaged in the internal conflicts of Iraq. It did not take a Middle East expert to know that Iran would attempt to fill the vacuum when we were gone.

John Kasich, Chris Christie, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio have all said at one time or another they would not have invaded Iraq in the first place, but that they would not have withdrawn our troops after we were there as Obama did. Rand Paul said the same thing, but that's no surprise. Jeb Bush has even made statements that the Iraq war was not a good idea. Do you remember the Kelly question to Jeb Bush “… if you knew then what you know now would you have invaded Iraq” – it took five days for Bush to come up with a final answer? Trumps mistake in stating he opposed the Iraq war was he made it a personal attack on President “W” Bush to upset Jeb Bush. That would have worked if Trump was running as a Democrat, but he claims to be running as a conservative (progressive) Republican.

 With everything that has happened over the last dozen years, including events of just the last year, it's very hard to say that the invasion was a good idea. Iraq has loomed large over every aspect of US politics and foreign policy for more than a decade.

Republican politicians had moved the debate to the 'surge', where they had a much better argument to make. The ‘surge’ created an opening for a political solution, which never ended up happening and I personally never believed would.

 In the 2008 presidential race, the Iraq 'debate' was largely fought over who was right about the surge. Donald Trump has in 2016 brought the debate back into a territory that the Republican establishment does not want to go – should we have invaded in the first place. 

Public opinion has turned decisively against the Iraq war. But political fights recently have largely been fought over ISIS, whether there should have been a full pull-out from Iraq, chaos in Syria, Libya and Yemen and more. Most American I think would agree we have to stop ISIS and other terrorist groups, but Republican politicians and Democrat politicians, including Hillary Clinton and John Kerry who supported the invasion of Iraq, would like to leave the question if we should have invaded in the first place in the closet never to be revisited again – Donald Trump has opened that closet door.

Would we have the ISIS problem we have today if we had not invaded Iraq – I guess we will never know? The invasion certainly destabilized the Middle East even further. Today we are in such a hellish situation in the Middle East that it is hard to defend the original invasion.  Did the invasion speed up the terror coming to our shores?

I am sorry it is not the ‘hawks’ in Washington that deserve any credit for Iraq it is those politicians who had the good sense to oppose the Iraq invasion from the outset. Iraq is a reality and we now must try to make the best of it and unfortunately that probably means leaving troops in the Middle East for many, many years to come – perhaps forever. It means increasing our military presences which means modernizing and increasing our military. It means it is going to be even more difficult to lower our National Debt. But, most of all we must consider Americans may have died and suffered for nothing.

Yes, some Republican voters were arguing at the time against invading Iraq, on the grounds that Iraq did not pose a threat to the U.S. imminent enough to justify an invasion. Some Republicans and I was one of them were publicly shouting themselves hoarse, pointing out at the time that, at the very least, there were serious questions about whether Iraq really posed the threat the Bush administration and other politicians claimed it did.

Jeb Bush said, "…the focus needs to be on the future." We should always focus on the future, but we should never forget the past. I do not think we should let the present moment pass without acknowledging that those who were most focused on the future during the run-up to the war in Iraq were the ones working to stop it from happening.  

In closing, I would like to give credit where credit is due Vice President Al Gore and Illinois State Senator Obama and twenty-one other Democrats like Teddy Kennedy opposed the Iraq war from the beginning and publicly stated they did at the time – all politicians that I would have never voted for.  Bernie Sanders an Independent who was in the House at the time was against the invasion. I only know of one Republican who spoke out loud and clear against the invasion and it was Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island who is now a Democrat. I have no recollection of Donald Trump saying anything whatsoever in public about invading Iraq before the war began, although I am not sure I even knew who Donald Trump was at that time.

It was not just those in the Bush White House who were responsible for the tragedy, but leading Democrat members of Congress as well, some of whom are now in senior positions in the Obama administration supported the invasion of Iraq. There is enough blame to go around in both parties.

Obama and American Christians are failing Assyrian Christians.

 A small army of Assyrian Christians are fighting back against the advances of ISIS and they are depending heavily on the United States and other Christian nations to help them, but military help has not been forth coming.  There are Christian leaders in the United States meanwhile telling them to pray and telling us to pray for ISIS members and to love ISIS so much they will convert to Christianity.

I wonder if those Christian leaders, that want us to love ISIS to conversion and pray for their conversion, would be begging for military help or our love and prayers for ISIS if they were living in ISIS controlled areas. I know if I was in that group of Assyrian Christians fighting to save the lives of my family members, the lives of my neighbors and fighting to preserve my heritage I would be praying that Christians and Western Allies would provide me the military aid I desperately needed to defend my way of life. Talk is cheap unless you have a dog in the fight!

Obama argues that equipping and arming a rebel army would carry risks for the U.S. and other Western nations. I admit the advance of ISIS into Iraq demonstrated that risk. The Iraqi forces quickly surrendered and abandoned their American-made equipment when ISIS advanced upon them.

The United States has a track record of supporting the wrong people and the wrong fighters. I can recall Iran, Yemen, Vietnam, Egypt, Philippines, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Palestine, Afghanistan, Nigeria, Uganda, Bolivia, Cuba, Brunei, South Africa, Haiti, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Rhodesia, Pakistan and the list goes on. Our leaders seem to have a penchant for supporting dictators are those in power right or wrong.

I would prefer we support those who are fighting for their own land, their own villages, their own cities and their own future. The Iraqi troops had no attachment to the land they were defending. The Assyrian Military Forces began fighting in the summer of 2014 and to this date they have not been adequately supported. They have a dog in the fight! The group started with just 12 fighters. Assyrian Christian women sold their wedding rings and other objects made of gold to finance the purchase of AK-14s and other munitions.

Assyrian Christians lived comfortable lives prior to the invasion and lost everything in one night when ISIS swept through. America support’s the Peshmerga, the Sunnis and the Yezidi, but not the Assyrian Christians of Nineveh? Are these bold speaking Christian’s leaders supporting The United Assyrian Appeal an organization that provides aid to the Assyrian military families who are fighting against ISIL/ISIS? I doubt it!   

"I am one of the servants of Allah.  We do our duty of fighting for the sake of the religion of Allah.  It is also our duty to send a call to all the people of the world to enjoy this great light and to embrace Islam and experience the happiness in Islam.  Our primary mission is nothing but the furthering of this religion. “Osama bin Laden.

Many Christian leaders would like to bury their heads in the sand or look for ways to modify Islamic radical terrorism to fit their own Christian beliefs, but the fact is that violent radical Islamic Muslims are quite clear about their religious goals. Their acts are done specifically in the name of Allah and for the cause of Islam and Islamic rule across the globe.

“The Taliban are simply a band of dedicated youths determined to establish the laws of Allah on earth... The Taliban will fight until there is no blood in Afghanistan left to shed, and Islam becomes a way of life for our people. “Mullah Omar, Taliban leader.

"Our animosity is based on religion.  We hate Americans for their secular ideology." Tehrik a Taliban spokesman.

"In the name of Allah the Avenger, I swear on the holy book to perform my sacred duty as a soldier of Islam in this Jihad to restore to this world the light of divine justice... Allah demands no less for me to die in the cause and be sent immediately to paradise." A Taliban official.

“Islam came for the good of humanity.  If someone doesn't like our good we fight them.” Faruq Khalil Muhammad in Canada.

“We are working until we make Allah's religion supreme and we live a precious life in the shadow of Islamic Sharia law, or else be rewarded with martyrdom in the cause of Allah.  We are plotting for the Chinese to suffer the torture of Allah, or else by our hands” Abdul Haq, leader of the Turkistan Islamic Party.

“The attack by the Islamic State in America is only the beginning of our efforts to establish a wiliyah [Islamic territory] in the heart of our enemy. Allah said those who fight you kill them wherever you find them." Statement by ISIS following the shooting massacre at San Bernardino.

How can the Islamic radical Muslims make themselves any clearer than they have? I stand with Reverend Frankly Graham.  We need to be praying for our country and Christians first. We need to be showing love and support for Christians around the world fighting to survive. Obama may think all religions are the same, but I do not. I apologize for Christian (Catholic crusades and inquisition) actions in the past, but that is the past and this is 2015. I know of no Christians taking delight in killing those of other religions like the radical Islamic Muslims are doing today. Christians who use violence against their enemies can expect no special reward from Jesus Christ.

I would also like to remind Obama and Ron Paul about the Islamic Crusades in 630 A.D. Muhammad invaded and conquered Mecca. Later on, Muslims invaded Syria, Iraq, Jerusalem, Iran, Egypt, Africa, Spain, Italy, France, etc. Obama and Ron Paul act as if the Christians are the only ones that conducted Crusades.

The Western Crusades started around 1095 to try and stop the Islamic aggressive invasions. In 1094 Byzantine emperor Alexius Comnenus I ask western Christendom for help against Seljuk (Muslim Turks) invasions of his territory. In 1095 Pope Urban II agreed to help.

It is estimated that Islam has killed at least 270 million people: 120 million Africans, 60 million Christians, 80 million Hindus, 10 million Buddhists, etc. and forced conversions to Islam has been the norm, across three continents—Asia, Africa, and Europe—for over 13 centuries.

Defeat of ISIS is the only thing that will slow down Radical Islamic Muslim Terrorist. Only one thing will possibly stop Radical Islamic Muslim Terrorist and that is for Moderate Islamic Muslims to take up the fight and I do not see that happening.  They are like some American Christian leaders all talk and no action.

Don't fight ISIS - Islamic radical terrorist love them!

I just read an article written by JR Vassar the lead pastor, Church at the Cross, Grapevine, Texas.  He claims, “I am saddened by the tendency of some Christians to call for the sending of missiles upon our nation’s enemies more than to pray for the sending of missionaries to the hardest places.” When is he leaving for Syria, Iraq or Afghanistan? I am capable of praying for both.

He admits, “The Islamic State is a horrific evil and must be stopped. The destruction it is bringing on innocent life and human civilization is heartbreaking and should fill us with righteous indignation. Likely, it will take the international community to defeat the Islamic State, and it will almost certainly mean military conflict.” Who does he expect to volunteer for the military conflict non-Christians?

He is, “… grieved that some influential pastors and Christian leaders eagerly call for the bombing of regions that will inevitably lead to the destruction of human life (innocent image-bearers who suffer as collateral damage), and do so without tears and a broken heart.” I do not know of any Christian leader that would call for the bombing of ISIS if they thought there was another way.  I also do not think any Christian leader has ever called for the destruction of ISIS without having a heavy heart when doing so.

He suggested we, “Pray for our enemies and desire their salvation.” He claims God would want us to show them mercy and give them an opportunity to repent. He knows that is what God would want us Christians to do. If he believes in the literal translation of the Bible he must know that God called for the destruction of innocent women, children and animals of the Israelites enemies. I do not believe in the literal translation of the Bible so I think it was more the men of Israel that wanted their destruction, rather than God, but they may have thought that was what God wanted them to do.  The same as Reverend Vassar thinks he knows what God wants us to do as it pertains to the terrorist. If God wanted the enemies of the Israelites destroyed, but does not want our enemies destroyed does that mean God loved the Israelites more than He loves us?

He went on to write, “Our call is to follow the command and example of Jesus who told us to love our enemies and pray for them, and who himself laid his life down for his enemies, even praying for their forgiveness as they killed him. Again, if we are calling for missiles, but not praying for missionaries, we have lost touch with the heart of God.” I am sorry, but I am not prepared to have my throat cut by the followers of ISIS and honestly I do not think he is either. It is easy for him to write or say the things he does from Grapevine, Texas. I guess if his wife and children were caught in a terrorist situation he would prefer to allow them to be slaughtered than try to kill his enemy.

Jesus was not fighting a foreign enemy He was trying to reform His own people – the Jews. Jesus did not have a military, but he had no problem displaying his anger in the temple turning over the tables of the money changers. King David had a military given to him by God and he certainly used it. If we are going to use Biblical comparison King David and his enemies are more like our enemy ISIS and Muslim terrorist than Jesus and His enemies. If it was Protestants and Catholics (Ireland) fighting over differences I would agree with Reverend Vassar, but it is not. It is good versus evil!  

He admits that as we pray to God we know there will never be peace on this earth, “…we know that ultimately complete peace and justice are a world away, in the new heavens and new earth.”

He says, “We do not need to fear Muslims, but love them, befriend them, and seek to share the good news of Jesus with them.” I do love some Muslims, those that are not trying to kill me, my caregiver is Muslim.

I probably have more experience dealing with Muslims than he does, since I have lived on the Island of Mindanao in the Philippines for the past ten years. I live in Davao, but I am not about to travel to Cotobato or Sula where Muslim terrorist are kidnapping foreigners regularly. I welcome him to come to Southern Mindanao at any time and love the Muslim terrorist and the Communist insurgents to the peace table. The Philippine government has been trying to do it for thirty years and have failed.

 “We are not Americans first, but Christians first. We belong to a kingdom that is not of this world — a kingdom with no boundaries or borders. We may disagree on policy or diplomacy, but infinitely more important is that we agree on Jesus, his rule, and his great love for his people and for this world. We don’t have to be divided by our lesser loyalties when we are united by our greatest loyalty.” This all sounds good, but it is not realistic when it comes to dealing with terrorist in 2015. I do not think God intends for us to let Islamic terrorist cut our heads off, destroy our religion, invade our country and not resist.

I think a diplomatic solution would be impossible with groups like ISIS or other groups of Islamic Muslim Terrorist. Reverend Vassar wrote Jesus faced radicals and He did not try to kill them if I am not mistaken Jesus was killed.  Jesus knew pain, suffering, persecution and terrorism first hand is Reverend Vassar willing to do the same, is he willing to sacrifice his family without a fight, I am not.

If men like Reverend Vassar had reached out to the young men that make up ISIS and other terrorist groups a decade ago maybe we would not be in the mess we are in today. I think Reverend Vassar should consider that perhaps the church failed in reaching out to the Arabs in the Middle East.

Paul was once a terrorist killing Christians just at ISIS is doing today and he came to accept Christ as his Savior so there is hope. But, who is willing to go today and try to convert ISIS members. Is Reverend Vassar willing, if not he should not be so asking someone else to.

Jesus’ way of putting His enemies in their place was by shaming them. How does Reverend Vassar propose that we shame ISIS?

Christian leaders should have taken more seriously education reform, business opportunities, economic reforms and employment opportunities in Iraq, Syria, Pakistan, Africa and Afghanistan and maybe there would be no ISIS today. Was Reverend Vassar pushing for those reforms prior to now?

I am not Reverend Pat Robertson and I do not say, “Convert or die”. I would like to see them convert to Christianity, but that is not a requirement for me to have peace. But, I do not think it is possible for us now to love the members of ISIS to a negotiated peace. I say that because they are telling us, “Convert or die”.

The Iraqi Christians since 2003 until about 2014 were known for being passive. They finally realized they could no longer be passive and stay alive. Unfortunately they began to stand up for their religious liberty and their freedom too late. Are Americans being ask to do the same by religious leaders like Reverend Vassar? Are we going to wait for ISIS to tell us to convert, pay a tax or die as they did the Christians in Mosul? Did not Obama take the passive role and allow ISIS to grow stronger, accomplish more evil and kill more Christians?

I am not for the destruction of ISIS only because they are killing Christians. I am for the destruction of ISIS because I am against any group of people that practice genocide against a weaker group of people.

ISIS is nothing more than a gang like those in any large city in the United States that kill people in order to expand their territory.  They both are criminals (terrorists) who are determined to murder people in order to gain control. They must be stopped and I truly believe God condemns their actions.

I do not believe God expects us to only pray and take no defensive action against them. Most of us do not sit back and refuse to work and expect God to feed us. Most of us do not refuse to take preventive action to maintain our health simply because we believe God can heal us. Most of us would not sit down on the couch and watch while a robber took our belongings and possibly raped our wife and do nothing but pray. Why do some Christians expect us to only pray and take no military action to protect our families, neighbors, country and us?

I believe in prayer and I have no doubt that pray is powerful, but I also believe God expects us to take action along with prayer. Why don’t we just stop being charitable and pray to God to take care of the poor, orphans and widows?  

More Hillary Clinton B.S. to win an election!

In an interview Sunday, Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton (of course she is the front-runner she has no Democrat competition) defended herself against critics of her words against radical Islamists and her actions immediately after the Benghazi attacks. Only Obama and Clinton could find a way to defend incompetency and blame someone else.

Clinton was interviewed by George Stephanopoulos, a former staffer to her husband, President Bill Clinton, a close friend to both Bill and Hillary, a donor to the Clinton Foundation and served on the board of the Clinton Foundation until he embarrassed himself and thought it was in his best interest to resign if he wanted to continue to have a media career.

Stephanopoulos pressed Clinton on a common Republican criticism, that she refuses to say the United States is fighting "radical Islam." He pressed her as much as any best friend who wants to see her elected would press.

Clinton claimed she says radical Islamists all the time. Really! I do not think I have heard her or Obama make those types of comments.

She did add, “Using the term "radical Islam sounds like the United States is going after an entire religion, ignoring the vast majority of peaceful Muslims. Also, she said, it helps create the notion of a "class of civilizations" that actually aids Islamic State (ISIS) recruiting.” According to her and Obama they do not call it what it is in order not to aid the terrorist.

No one denies that there are more Muslims not waging terrorist attacks than Muslims that are. I think she is trying to buy Muslim and Liberal votes by being politically correct. I do not think we are fighting Islam the religion or all Muslims if I did I would not have a Muslim caregiver. We are fighting “RADICAL ISLAM MUSLIMS”. How can you fix a problem if you cannot or will name it?

When asked if the United States is winning the fight against ISIS, Clinton said, "I can say today that we have a new set of threats.” You had better watch your back Obama, Mama is turning against you to win an election! It was interesting to me that she in no way implied that we were losing the fight against ISIS – which we are.

Clinton attacked Texas Sen. Ted Cruz for suggesting we should "carpet bomb" ISIS, She mocked him by saying; "He's never had any responsibility for trying to figure out who the bad guys are and who innocent civilians are." As if she has! Civilian casualties are the cost of war and quite frankly I prefer civilian casualties in Syria and Iraq than in the United States. If we are not willing to risk causing civilian casualties abroad we should get out and bring our people and equipment home and wait until we are fighting on our own soil, risking the lives of American citizens.

She said current and retired military leaders should come together to rebuild the Sunnis and Kurds to fight on the ground in Iraq against ISIS. I am all for that, but it was Obama and Mama Clinton that prior to her campaigning were not willing to take the advice of military leaders to do just that. What a difference how ones greed to be President can alter their thinking.

She said people are within their rights to buy and carry guns after the San Bernardino attack. Yes, Mrs. Clinton the Constitution gave us that right before and after the San Bernardino attack. It is a shame it took San Bernardino to make you realize that.

She addressed charges she lied to family members of the four Americans killed in Benghazi by blaming the attack on an anti-Muslim YouTube video: she said, "I understand the continuing of the grief of the loss that parents experienced with the loss of these four brave Americans. … This was a fast-moving series of events in the fog of war." She does not and cannot understand what the parents are going through because she has never experienced that kind of loss. She did lie to not only the parents of those murdered she lied to the world. Fast moving – if she would have misspoken within hours of the event and corrected herself the next morning I could cut her some slack, but she, Obama and all the rest of his administration continued to lie for WEEKS after the event.

She talked about how Americans see her as untrustworthy: "Obviously, I don't like hearing that, George, but I think people who have worked with me, people who voted for me twice in New York, people I've had a very long relationship with and working on their behalf, are going to know what I do and when I say I'll do it, I'll move everything I can to get it done." The people that work with her are as dishonest as she is or they could not work with her. As far as her winning elections - that is the result of her being a good politician capable of saying what the people want to hear in order to get votes. Americans all know she lies and covers up and the majority may elect her President in 2016 even knowing those facts.

She said the U.S. should not declare war on ISIS because it is a "legal term" and only Congress has the authority to declare war. CONGRESS should declare war or not risk the lives of American soldiers. Anytime we send our troops to foreign soil to fight or advise we should be willing to do whatever is needed to WIN!!!!!

I am sorry Mrs. Clinton I am one that did not buy your campaign spill.

 

 

Obama's Legacy!

I recently mentioned in a piece I wrote that Obama is concerned about establishing a legacy in his last year of his imperial rein. I read an article recently that made me realized that Obama could stop worrying about his legacy because he has already established several.

Every president has a legacy that he is remembered by - George Washington was the first president; Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves; Ronald Reagan revived the economy; Bill Clinton balanced the budget; Carter coward to Iran; First Bush attack Iraq and second Bush will be remembered by 9/11.

How will Obama be remembered? He was our first black president? Let take a minute to review his accomplishments: He killed Bin Laden; He screwed up our health care; He increased federal spending by one-fifth and the national debt by two-thirds; He expanded presidential power via executive action, often without legal authority; He was responsible for the Democrats losing 69 House seats, 13 Senate seats, both houses of Congress, 12 governorships, 30 state legislative chambers, and more than 900 state legislative seats; He was the worst President since Carter;  His Iran deal will give Israel a decade to figure out how to defend itself against a nuclear-armed theocracy bent on its destruction; He mismanaged the withdrawal of troops in Iraq so badly that it allowed the “J.V.” ISIS terrorist group to organize and grow stronger than anyone could imagine; He received an undeserved 2009 Nobel Peace Prize; He oversaw a Job growth so weak that the definition of what constitutes a “recovery” had to be redefined downward; He increased the National Debt more than all Presidents before him put together; He oversaw increasing the food stamps program from 26 million to 46 million recipients, etc. He could promote his ability to fail and not learn from it!

He can pick and choose or lay claim to all the above for his legacy, but he no longer has to worry about leaving behind a legacy – he already has.

I hope his primary legacy will be that Americans woke up and realized we cannot afford to have another President like Obama ever again and will not vote for Hillary Clinton. We do not need a Third Obama Term.   

There is more than one Christian solution to the refugee problem.

The Christian Church in the United States may be about to face the largest divisive issue we have faced in decades. The issue of homosexuality may pale to the Syrian refuge issue.

Christians that want us to welcome the Syrian refugees with open arms will tell us: The story of Exodus is the story of God’s people without a land and without a home. God delivered the Israelites because “He heard their cry. - The story of the Good Samaritan is Jesus’ way of saying, remember that Jews and Samaritans did not get along it is a story of how you have to care for people, even those who you despise. - If we claim to be a Christian, or even claim we are a Christian nation we have to care for those in need regardless of who they are. - “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these, you did for me.” Jesus serves as the final authority of how we are to greet and care for the least of these. - James writes to scattered people, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” - As tens of thousands of refugees flee Syria, they are a people without a land. They are aliens without a home. Syrian refugees are strangers to us who have a culture, language and religion different from us. They are the least of these. They are men, women and children who are in need of a new place to call home. This “Christian nation” is called by scripture to care for Syrian refugees.

A decade ago, maybe even five years ago, I would have agreed whole heartily without hesitation with all those words. I might be up in arms against those that did not want to welcome the Syrian refugees, but times have changed. I hope that I would not have called those that disagreed with me a bigot and hypocrite as many of the Christians supporting bringing the Syrian refugees to the U.S. are doing, including our President.

When it comes to Muslim immigration, we must not be led by our emotions. The spread of political Islam and creeping sharia law is often accomplished by means of immigration. BBC reports that fake passports are already being used to get jihadists into Europe. German customs officers have seized packages containing Syrian passports and police suspect they are being sold illegally to asylum seekers. Honduras stopped six Syrian men with false passports on their way to the United States. A finance ministry official said both genuine and forged passports were in the packets intercepted in the post office. ISIS has threatened to send 500,000 migrants to Europe as part of jihad. Do we close our minds to these facts?

ISIS claims they have fighters that are already in place in Europe and with the reason events in Paris I have no reason to doubt them. Our own Homeland Security and F.B.I. say they are investigating reported terrorist suspects in every State. There can be and most likely will be consequences to badly directed compassion.

We must also ask why most rich Muslim nations are refusing to take in these refugees. Perhaps they know something we don’t. Five of the wealthiest Muslim countries have taken no Syrian refugees, arguing that doing so would open them up to the risk of terrorism. Muslim nations are admitting that Muslim refugees pose a genuine terrorist threat. Yet, Obama, Liberals and a lot of Christians are asking us to throw our doors wide open with no questions asked. Western countries tend to want to be more politically correct than right and God knows they do not want to be accused of Islamophobia.

Please, do not lecture me about vetting and that it would take 18 to 24 months before we saw the first Syrian refugees. We did not do such a good job vetting the terrorist that came on student visas. We did not do such a good job of keeping up with the terrorist that over stayed their tourist visas. We have estimates as high as sixteen million illegal aliens in our country today and no one in our government can tell us where they live.

I had a friend send me two pictures of dead children that washed ashore asking me how I could look at those pictures and question if we should open our doors to Syrian refugees. I admit the pictures broke my heart. The children in my opinion were not dead because advanced countries have immigration laws. The children were dead because criminal traffickers risked the lives of their victims in pursuit of money.

The President of Turkey said that one of those children and his parents had been living in Turkey for three years and were provided shelter. The President of Turkey claims they were safe so I ask were they fleeing from danger, or fleeing towards a higher standard of living. I thought the definition of refugee was one that was fleeing danger. Am I supposed to automatically assume that the President of Turkey is lying?

Michel Houellebecq, has a new book out where he prophesies a Muslim dominated government in France about seven years from now, ushered into power by the French Tory and Labor parties. He says his research reveals they want France to disappear.

How many people today remember the community in Wasco County, Oregon? It was incorporated as a city in the 1980s, and was populated with followers of the spiritual teacher Bhagwat Shree Rajneesh, later known as Osho. They eventually imported 7000 people to this small community. Initially, they had stated that they were planning to create a small agricultural community; their land was zoned for agricultural use. But it soon became apparent that they wanted to establish the kind of infrastructure and services normally associated with a town. The land-use conflict escalated to bitter hostility between the commune and local residents, even leading to murder.

In 1986 the courts ruled that the religious group had the right to incorporate the city and elect their own government officials. The city eventually went bankrupt. Unfortunately most of the local farmers and ranchers had already been forced to move away. This could be an example of a refugee problem in a small established community.

Will there be any type of control where these refugees will settle. What if they eventually take over a small town in the Western United States and force the locals out. You believe that is farfetched, well I believe bringing refugees in without any terrorist being among them is farfetched. I believe bringing Syrian refugees to our country without a plan that covers vetting, housing, medical, education, clothing, food, where they will work and what cities they will live in is not worth the risk.

We cannot rely on emotions and sadly we cannot rely only on scripture to solve this serious problem for us. We had to override scripture when it came to slavery, women’s rights, killing children that talk back, killing adulterous people, etc. The Good Samaritan story just may not be applicable to this situation we are in now.

One Baptist minister from Alabama said, “If we cannot trust the process by which the United States Government vets refugees fleeing violence and persecution, then we cannot trust any form of our border security or immigration or visa processes.” At the moment I don’t trust any form of our border security or immigration or visa processes. If these policies were working then how did the terrorist carry out 9/11 and how did maybe sixteen million illegal aliens get into our country?

The Baptist minister quotes John Sandweg, former acting director of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement: “The United States employs a robust and layered approach to the screening of refugees. Prior to setting foot on U.S. soil, refugees must first clear a comprehensive background investigation that includes multiple layers of in-person interviews, biographic and biometric background checks, and interviews of third-persons who may have information related to the individual. No refugee may be admitted into the U.S. unless and until this lengthy process is complete and reveals no information that would suggest the person poses a security risk.”

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton denied she had a private server and had classified information on it. The head of the I.R.S. Lois Lerner said the I.R.S. was not discriminating against conservatives for tax exemptions, but then she took the fifth. President Obama said there was not one smidgen of corruption in the I.R.S. and we found out differently. Obama said if you like your health care plan you can keep it – did that turn out to be true? Obama said my father left my family when I was 2 years old and we now know he never spent one night with his father. Obama said The Fast and Furious program was a field-initiated program begun under the previous administration we now know for a fact it began in 2009 under his administration. Obama claimed they revealed to the American people exactly what they knew about the attack on the American consulate in Benghazi and that turned out not to be true. Obama said transparency and the rule of law would be the touchstone of his Presidency - what a joke!

Does the Baptist minister expect me to believe John Sandweg? Isn’t this the same John Sandweg that left his position in less than a year? He walked out without providing a clear explanation. Is he not the same John Sandweg that had no experience in Immigration and was opposed by many when he was being vetted? Isn’t this the same John Sandweg that tried to stop a Freedom of Information investigation into spending in the DHS? I am sorry, but I have a hard time taking John Sandweg’s word on anything.

I wish some Christian had facts that were proven to be trustworthy so I could reconcile the conflict I have in my heart with the Syrian Refugee problem, but no one has.

The only viable solution I see at the moment is extending more financial aid to Muslim countries, particularly Jordan, Turkey and Lebanon to take care of the Syrian refugees where they are. These refugees will have a better chance of getting back into their country and possibly gaining control of their country if they are living near where they came from rather than moving them to Europe, Australia and the United States. I do not deny that our country and all Western countries, regardless if they are Christian or not, has an obligation to protect their security and provide adequate living conditions for them. Supporting them there would help stop them from needing to go elsewhere.

Syria in my opinion will remain a serious problem for many years, that's all the more reason for a longer-term humanitarian response, including setting up schools and medical facilities. We would probably get more loyalty from the Syrians and they would be more encouraged to stand up to ISIS by helping them with aid than spending millions on training a few Syrian rebel fighters.

I have read the Syrian refugees do not want to live in camps where all the tents look alike. They want to live in homes. I wish that was possible. I am sure the people in the Philippines that have been without homes for over two years due to typhoons would like to have a home. We cannot always have what we ‘want’ we sometimes have to settle for what we can get at the moment.

I do believe building permanent homes may be more feasible than tents, since this is going to be a long term problem. I guess the Syrian refugees would complain that the home all look alike. The people of the Philippines that have been given government homes that all look alike are thrilled. It makes me question the Syrian refugee’s real motives.

One last point the Syrian refugees I see on television appear to be healthy young men.  If these are real refugees, where are the women? Where are the elderly? Where are the weak and the sick? It appears to me that they have no intention of fighting for their own freedom in Syria. They have made up their minds they want to live in the West.

This is a quote from a group of young men that left the refugee camp in Hungary, “No good here in Hungary. No good. They try and lock us up. But we want Germany, there it is good. We have no worry about nothing there. They give us food and house and job. In Hungary they want to watch us all the time.” They are in the majority amongst the thousands who arrive each day in Hungary on their way north. While they wait they want to charge their iPhones, eat more pizza and board their trains.  Everyone either has an iPhone or knows someone else who does. They use them to talk to family members on the other side of the world or network with each other sharing information. This is what they told an aid worker.

Several of the young men had already spent $5000 on travel when they got to Hungary. Refugees have $5000 plus in cash? One said, “I want new life. I want to go to university. Make money. I want to work in a bank, be a banker. Bring all my family later.” When ask why he did not stay and fight for his homeland he said, “There is nothing worth fighting for.”

There is no future there because Obama took away all their future by allowing the “J.V. Team” as Obama called ISIS to take over their country. Obama says as long as he is President he will befriend the refugees. If he was truly a friend of the refugees he would not have withdrawn the troops against the advice of his military advisors and he would have stood up to the President of Syria when he crossed Obamas red line.

I am not convinced that God expects us to risk allowing terrorist to come into our country as they did in France and kill our citizens. I am convinced God does expect us to help the Syrian refugees. There is more than one way to accomplish that and other ways have far less risk for the citizens of the United States. Help them where they are!

A Jewish man was taking a trip alone and was attacked by robbers. A Samaritan man came by. Even though they both lived in the land of Palestine and shared a similar religion, the Jews and the Samaritans definitely did not think of each other as "neighbors." In fact, they hated each other. They had considered each other enemies for hundreds of years and refused to even talk to each other! This Samaritan man took pity on the injured Jewish man. He bandaged his wounds. He put him on his own donkey and took him to an inn where he could be safe and recover. Jesus was pleased with the Samaritan man in the story even though he did not take the Jewish man back into his home, but took care of him where he was.

God led the Jews into battle and they took the Promise Land from its inhabitants and the Jews settled on it. Why aren’t the Christians and Obama that advocate bringing the refugees to the United States willing to take the land back from ISIS and let the Syrian return to their land? God and the Jews defeated the pagans cannot God and the United States defeat the ISIS pagans? I think we can.

Have we stopped believing that God hears the cries of the Syrians? God said, “Whatever you do for the least you do for me.” James wrote we are to look after the orphans and widows are Christians not capable of doing that there instead of the United States? There is not just one Christian solution to the Syrian refugee problem.