Thumbs Up on Dinesh D'souza's Movie, America

  I missed seeing the movie, 2016, but I did get to see the movie, America, Imagine a World Without Her, a couple of weeks ago. It was sad that there were only 4 people in the movie theater, and that Costco decided to remove the book by D'Souza from their shelves (I have heard that they changed their minds).

  It was so enlightening, because I have heard many people complaining about how America stole their land from the Native Americans and how Columbus killed thousands of people, meaning that America is a country that was established by conquest. The movie explains why this is a falsehood.

   People have been conquering other nations since the time of the fall of Adam. That is the effect of the fall on mankind. God was angry with people and destroyed everyone, except 8 people. Once everyone got out of the Ark, and civilization started again, so did fighting and conquering.

   Our current president wants us to believe that America is a nation that was started because of conquest. If you know anything about History, you know that this is not true. There were many conquerors who did try to win America, but were not successful.

   America is a nation that was built upon the ambition of many people. People used their talents and skills and created a society where we could all live together and benefit each other. That is what free enterprise is all about. We use our skills to build and to serve, not to conquer and overcome other people groups.

  Most certainly, there were people who lived in Early America, who were users and abusers. But they did not found our country. They did not have good work ethics. Their goal was to become rich by finding gold, not by working hard at a job which in turn helps build the community.

   There were a lot of good points in the movie, and I was so intrigued, that I bought the audio book of America, Imagine A World Without Her. It's not hard to find the hidden agenda that is in the hearts of the united Liberals today.

God Intended Us For Pleasure? Really? What Saith The Scriptures?

  I'm going to put this article on this particular blog, as I have lots of blogs to choose from. I want to put it on the blog that corresponds best with the topic at hand.

 I am troubled by something, and I can't quite pinpoint what it is. But, after reading an article a little while ago, I think I have come closer to identifying what the problem is.

 The foundation of why I am writing has to do with the condition of the church. (By church, I mean the body of Christ, in general, not any particular church). I know I sound like a complainer, at times, but I want to communicate something on my heart, that I believe we could pray for and see God at work in.

 The condition/health of our nation is related to the condition/health of the church. If the church generally believes that the Bible is no longer authoritative, in the way it used to be, then we are in trouble. If the church loses the 'fear of the Lord' it will no longer be the light in the community it was intended to be, and it will no longer be the salt that preserves what is valuable in society.

 About 40 years ago, Madeline Murray O'Hair went to court and succeeded in having prayer taken out of our schools. Also, the 10 Commandments were no longer allowed to be in our school systems as well as in any governmentally owned buildings. This was unfortunate, for now, all kinds of chaos has been taking place in our society, and God is being mocked every day, while the authority of Scriptures declines.

 Today, people commit all kinds of crimes, yet never get caught. Even if the speed limit is 50, and someone goes 75, police do not care anymore. Many of them will go 75 in a 50 miles speed limit zone. The standard of right and wrong is disappearing.

  Let's get to what is bothering me though. I hear supposed Christians saying things like, 'When Scripture and culture are at odds with each other, Scripture must bow to the culture." No wonder people think it is ok to sleep together or get an abortion. In their minds, God must not have known how hard life would be in America, in the 21st Century!

 Why is this thinking so prevalent? I will give you an example of something I read tonight, from an article in 'Christianity Today'. See what you think.
"To counter hook-up culture, Christians remind young people if they follow God's good design, it will actually be better for them. The hook-up culture promises freedom, excitement, and the occasional orgasm, Christians promise something more. Within the confines of a loving, committed, marital relationship sex is actually the most satisfying and enjoyable.

In some ways, they're right. God intended us for pleasure. He created sex, and he made sex good."

Did you catch it? I hope as you read the excerpt, you will see it right away. If you didn't, here it is: "God intended us for pleasure". Really?? Where is that in the Bible? I thought the Bible says that God created us for His pleasure?

Here is another one. This one is written by a 'Christian' Blogger who is struggling with the CCM director on his decision to dismiss Amy Grant due to her having an affair, and divorcing Gary Chapman. The blogger is pleading with this director to allow Amy Grant to stay in CCM, but the director believes that divorce is not an option for people who want to get out of their marriage (except for the case of adultery). 

"Amy Grant made a very bad choice in divorcing Gary Chapman.  But from what she says in the CCM piece that I linked, it seems that her relationship with Gary Chapman had deteriorated to the point where there were no good choices left for her to make.  In our fallen world, sometimes that’s how it is.  Sometimes there just aren’t any good choices; sometimes one is forced to choose the “least worst” alternative.

But whatever the case may be, God’s grace and redemptive power is big enough to cover all of it.  This is the big idea in Turner’s piece, that Amy Grant had found redemption for her failure to fulfill her marriage vows to Gary Chapman by leaning hard into the Gospel.  Too bad that his boss was blinded to this by his concern for upholding what he understood to be God’s moral absolutes."

Really? Again? What is wrong with holding up God's moral absolutes? C'mon people. Do we really believe that God made us so we can have a blast and ignore His statutes when they violate our fun? Do we think God is some kind of cosmic Santa Claus waiting to bless us with pleasure and fun all the time? How have we gotten so far away from the truth? Who are we to not uphold His laws any more? 

  Do you see a problem here? Do you see that many in the modern church do not know God? They do not know what He is like. God doesn't change. He wants us to have a relationship with Him, but He is holy and we are selfish. These people think that God made us to be selfish and that He caters to us, but nothing is further from the truth!

   What God has is so much better, and so much higher than any of us can imagine. First of all, God is uncreated. Everything in existence is here because He made it. God never had a beginning, nor will He have an end. God is all knowing. He knows the beginning and the end. He knows what will happen 20 billion years from now. God is all powerful. God is sovereign and in control. God is holy and perfect. God is love. God is judge. Every person will give account of his or her life to God. 

  God does not bend to the culture. If 100% of the people believe it is ok to sleep around and have abortions, guess what? God says 'no'. Culture will have to submit to God, if not now, it will in the future. Every knee will bow to God, and acknowledge that God is God. Richard Dawkins will bow one day and acknowledge that God is God. Hitler will face God one day. Every one of us will be before the throne of God, giving account of our lives. 

  If God commanded us to not commit adultery, 4,000 years ago, the same command applies to us today. We live in recycled sin. It is the same things people were doing from the time of the fall, until today, just repackaged differently. 

  If God says he will judge the sexually immoral, 2,000 years ago, the principle still applies today. It will apply as long as it is in existence. God's word will be valid throughout eternity. 

  This, of course, is why we need to 'Pray for the church, and pray for the country'. 

Thoughts on D'Souza's Movie 'America; Imagine A World Without Her'

  I love the idea of being an entrepreneur and have lots of ideas on how I can make this happen in my life.
  I was talking with a young man yesterday who has a 'dream room' (which was a closet) filled with pictures he dreams of doing or owning in the future.
  I believe God designed people to use their talents and skills to help build a society, and also the creative side of people is evidence of their being created in God's image.
  Throughout History, nations have been lost due to being conquered by other nations. This has been going on since the fall of mankind, recorded in Genesis 3, and will continue until the King of Kings returns to earth to rule and reign.
  In American History, situations have been written down of people coming in who have conquered other people groups and won. These would include the Native Americans, and also, in a sense, African Americans who were brought over to America as slaves. In American History, some connections have never been made, nor were they taught in our History classes that would be helpful for us to know. One of those things that needs to be brought out is the fact that, while people came over from England, primarily to be freed from a king who wanted to rule in the church, other people groups were coming to the New World as well. On the Mayflower, for example, half the people were the Pilgrims, but the other half were called, 'Adventurers'. The Pilgrims and the Adventurers did not get along well, as the Adventurers were coming to America to find gold and for adventure. They did not know the Lord, nor did they live out what the Scriptures taught. But both groups landed in America in the early 1600s.
   Throughout our known History, America has always had people come to try to conquer the land. Spanish conquerers were always arriving on the shores, usually wanting to find gold. They were ruthless and heartless people. But they did not ultimately take over America. The ones who took over America did not take over the land by conquest! They settled here and built their kingdom based on peaceful principles. Unfortunately, the acts of conquest that others used are all woven into the story of the establishment of Early America, and this is an unfair understanding of what really happened and how our country came into being.
   In the movie, America, D'Souza brings this out. He starts with the accusations that are used by our current president and other influential authority figures. Even college professors write books framing early America as a nation that is wealthy because of the supposed conquest of our Forefathers.
  America has really been built on the work of industrious people who want to make a community work properly. There are two ways to build a kingdom. One of them is through conquest and the other is through industry. America was not built by stealing the wealth from others! America was built by people who loved to work and build their businesses. That is the way God intended for people to build their communities.
   So, next time you hear the famous quote by Obama, saying 'you didn't build that', know that that statement is false. People are building businesses all around us and are being successful. They are successful because they are creating products and services that people will use. Obama's plan is to destroy all of that and build large corporations that people will have to work for instead. Pretty soon, the government will support all these large corporations, and people will not really have much choice of what they want to do for a career. Creativity will be lost. Entrepreneurship will be gone. Schools to train people for a trade will disappear. Those who grow vegetables and fruits will not be able to do so anymore, because large industrial farms will replace local farms.
   This is why we need to be aware of what is going on in our government. This is why we need to pray for the church and the country. It starts in our own hearts first, then the church. The health of the church will determine the health of the nation. This is a good reason to be on our knees before the Lord of All today.