Values Voters Summit

Here is a link to the Values Voters Summit. It will be held September 12 - 14 in Washington D.C.

Watch the video and look at the list of invited speakers and the list of those who have already committed. The committed are already a fantastic line-up: Dr. Bill Bennett, Lou Dobbs, Chuck Colson, Newt Gingrich, David Horowitz, Mitt Romney, Tony Perkins, Micheal Steele, Alan Sears, and more.

Register now while seats are still available.

The Greatest Threat to the United States Is...

I have heard many people claim they know the greatest threat to America. Neal Boortz for example claims that teacher unions are the greatest threat. Though this group is high on the list (I put them at third and national education in second), I have to disagree with Neal.

I have heard others say that terrorism is a great threat. Others say that unfair taxation is that threat. I agree these are great threats but still I do not see them as the greatest.

If I was to point out one single area that is a great threat, it would have to be the secularization of America - in other words, the tenacious removal of God from America.

If you are one who believes that God was not a founding factor in the founding of American politics and governing, then let me challenge you to read Newt Gingrich's Rediscovering God in America: Reflections on the Role of Faith in Our Nation's History.

Why do I believe this is the biggest threat?

Benjamin Franklin once said, that "the longer I live," (81 years old at the time) "the more convincing proofs I see of this truth - that God governs in the Affairs of Men." He the exhorted the Continental Congress to begin each session with prayer. It was this prayer to God that brought a spirit of peace to the men gathered to hammer out their differences on the Constitution, and it was the glue that keep them from splitting apart the greatest and most successful experiment in government.

John Adams, another of our founding fathers, said "it is religion and Morality alone, which can establish the Principles upon which freedom can securely stand."

Benjamin Franklin is often seen as non-religious and Adams is seen as a deist. Yet in their actions and in their writings, along with the countless others who had their hand in the founding of our country, Freedom of religion is the standard, not freedom from religion.

By removing God from the public life, Liberals are removing all standards of our laws. The problem is that they can then begin to redefine those standards and change them on any whim they please to whatever they please. It will eventually lead to communism, socialism, or anarchy.

The greatest danger of a fully controlled Congress and Presidency is it being controlled by the Democrats and their ultra-liberal leaders.

Unfortunately many Americans have become completely empathetic about the whole election process, and Republicans have hurt the process with their failure to commit to anything. This year's presidential election has been reduced to nothing more than a worthless American Idol contest.

Liberal educators also control the Smithsonian Institute and strongly oppose any views of religious value. Their goal has been to get religion out of the school, to dumb down America, and then re-educate America with false heritage and ever changing principles. Don't belive me - watch Expelled and listen to them say so.

They are succeeding. This is what scares me. This threat is a threat against justice and truth. Suppress truth and you can get people to believe anything. Control justice and you can manipulate people to do anything. The Supreme Court has taken upon itself to illegally redefine its role and now creates law instead of just interpreting it.

This is why there is such a great attack on religion. God represents freedom in its purest form. Liberals hate this idea becuase as long as people can think for themselves they cannot get what they want.

Destroy religion and you destroy the knowledge of freedom. Take away freedom step by step and you lose every principle upon which we stand.

The threat against religion is a threat against the Bill of Rights. Lose the battle of religion and the Bill of Rights is lost.

Tomorrow I will offer some ideas for helping to reverse this trend.

Saving the Housing Industry

Are you as aggravated as I am? I am not mad that people who are losing their homes are getting help. I am angry that it had to be an election year fix which always costs us more than they originally intend.

Besides, who is going to pay for this? Has Congress found places to cut back? No. They are increasing spending with money that they do not have, and they are cutting some taxes!

This is what angers me. We have a government without any fiscal responsibility! The Congress has absolutely no one who knows anything about money.

My wife and I have a home we are paying for. We make our payments on time. We do not have to rely on someone else to bail us out. Why? We know our finances. We know our budget. In fact, our lender and our real estate agent told us that we could "easily qualify" for a home that would have cost $40,000 more. I said sure and then we would have to cut a ton of expenses to pay for it - NOT!

The government has now decided to spend at least $25 Billion dollars, then I found this also included in the bill in a Fox News Report...

"The Treasury Department gains unlimited power, until the end of 2009, to lend money to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac or buy their stock should they need it. The Federal Reserve takes on a new "consultative" role overseeing the companies."

Again I repeat myself - This is the biggest baloney I have ever seen. And to pay for it, they are cutting taxes. Where are they cutting expenditures? No where!

If you do not have a budget, you do not need to be buying a house in the first place. Many who bought these overpriced homes had absolutely no right to buy these homes - Yes, they did not have the right! Why? They do not understand financial decisions well enough to pay for a home. Americans have become extremely ignorant about money. They lack responsibility and believe living on credit is the true way of life.

Now, because I can pay for my home, I have to help others pay for theirs through my taxes. To be honest, I do not agree with bailing out an industry that scammed people with questionable loans. I also believe that people need to be more responsible.

Now I am not going to just complain, I am going to offer better solutions:

• One way of helping to break this vicious cycle is to teach a financial class in high school. In fact, that class should be taught every year of high school on a graduated level. One of the best classroom curriculums I have seen is from Dave Ramsey.

• Next, for banks to be insured by the FDIC, they need to have very tough lending regulations in place. The American dream should not be to have a home. Every American should be able to pay off a home within 15 years with a $20,000 down payment. If you can not meet those terms, you are not ready to buy a home.

• Congress needs to get a clue - if they spend money to help people, they better be prepared to cut spending as well. If I need an emergency fund, why shouldn't the government have one as well?
  

Of course, I could be dreaming.

Are All Muslims Violent

Yesterday I let out a lot of frustration towards those who haven't taken time to understand the enemy that we face and yet they are all too eager to grab hold of one thought process or the other.

The truth Christians have to understand is that our enemy is not human. A Muslim is not our enemy. They are loved by God. They care for one another. They have dreams and hopes.

According to the Bible, our true enemy is unseen and operates in the shadows. He is skilled in manipulation and nefarious in his attacks. His name is Lucifer or Satan.

As Christians, we have one one way to deal with those of the Islamic faith. We are to love them. No matter how calloused they are to Christians in their countries. No matter how dangerous mission work is in the Middle East, we are to love them. Romans 12:17 says, "Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. Do your part to live in peace with everyone, as much as possible." (NLT)

This does not mean we become push overs and tree huggers. "As much as possible" shows that there are limits to behavior.

Can we work with Muslims?

Yes. I belief we can. The Bible says that "Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good." Love is an action. Our mission work must grow beyond just spreading the message of hope that comes from Jesus Christ. That message comes with permission. Mission work must meet needs, and needs open the door to permission.

We in the United States must not believe that we have the perfect society and the best culture. That is arrogance on our part. We must learn to respect the culture of the Musilim world if we are ever to gain their ear.

If we are to truly win in Iraq, we have to leave their infrastructure in the best possible condition as possible. Government will not win the hearts of the people. Besides, Romans 12 tells us that to avenge is not our job.

We cannot take out our frustrations on all Muslim people. The Bible tells us that the best course of action is "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give hime something to drink. In doing so you will heap burning coals on his head (they will be ashamed of what they have done to you (NLT)). Do not be overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good." (NIV).

The best possible way of sharing God's love with the Musilim populations is to leave Iraq better than when we came to it! There really is not any better path. Not only do we stand a better chance of changing the minds of those in the Muslim world, we will also gain a better footing with other world powers. We begin to restore our honor.

Evil (our enemy) would have us pick up and leave a mess. Evil would have us be half-hearted in our efforts. Evil would have us establishing governments instead of sharing love and kindness.

So are all Muslims violent?

No. Does the Islamic faith seem to have violent tendencies? Yes. Do we have a right to stand up for what is right? Yes, according to Romans 12 - "...cling to what is good," or as in the another text - "Stand on the side of the good."

That's my opinion on the subject. Let me know what you think.

Threat of Terrorism

I am reading "Winning the Future" by Newt Gingrich. In the first chapter, he reminds his readers of the dangers that still loom as a threat to our nation.

Muslim extremist are still targeting those who disagree with their views, and they would like nothing better than to see the United States of America destroyed. They have a very extreme Islamic faith that drives hatred towards those who differ from them.

Christians and Jews are their primary targets. They will take their time and research all available ways to hurt us or those who agree with us. They hope all nations will fold like Spain during election periods. Nothing against Spain because they have had their share of Islamic turmoil.

Islamic extremist are bent on world domination. Political extremists such as the tyrant in Iran will do anything to bring glory to their nation.

The problem we face is on two fronts. We have politicians that honestly believe that if we back away from the fight and get out, then the Muslims will back down. The other erroneous thought process is the belief that bringing democracy to the Middle East will then cause the other Islamic territories to capitulate and to change.

Both thought processes are born out of an ignorance of history. History has shown the ability of these nations to grow into super powers. Their history is exotic at some points and virtually brutal in others.

Modern science, mathematics, literature, and thinking have roots in the history of this area. Some of those areas owe everything to their discoveries.

But since the 700s, when Islam was created by an angry man, Muslim extremists have used that faith to do one of three things: kill dissenters, force conversion (they do not allow freedom of thought), or for richer communities, when they needed funds to run their warring campaigns, a payment of tribute.

What I mean by a lack of freedom grows out of what was becoming one of the most advanced societies in education and knowledge. Their faith was growing dim so strong imams taught that such advancements were contrary to their existence. They cracked down on education and forever destroyed their advancements and offerings to the world.

Freedom is very counter to their belief system. Look at how they treat women. Look at how they allow mercy killings. Look at how vehemently they oppose someone turning to Christianity.

To them the United States is the Giant Satan, and Israel is the little Satan. Until their giant Satan can be subdued or controlled, they know that they cannot overrun Israel.

Their bitterness grows deeper than a simple system of democracy can cure. I have to disagree with Mr. Gingrich's assessment that democracy will bring change. It may for a little while, but for how long? They had freedom of thought once, and it disagreed with their religion.

This disagreement can be seen the the Sunni and Shia relations. Sunnis are too secularized for the extreme passions of the Shia clans.

But why are they so hostile when so many claim that it is a faith of peace?

They lack the true grace of Christ. As a Christian, I know that their commitment to violent acts is due to their sin. Without God's grace and mercy. they will always act in ways contrary to God's love and kindness. People cannot share grace and mercy when they have not experienced it.

This can be seen in Christian history as well. Christians in the past killed one another due to an inability to except differences. Governments and power hungry men used the name of Christianity to spread their empires. These times are very dark stains on a faith that stems from the peace that surpasses all understanding.

I just hope people will research the past a little more, becuase they will not have a clear understanding of the current Islamic faithful until they do.

Obama for the World

I was able to watch Senator Obama's speech to the world. As you know, he was on a non-campaign trip that is being paid for by his campaign.

Here are two highlights you may have missed:

• Senator Obama was so busy giving a speech to the world that he announced he wasn't going to visit our wounded U.S. soldiers in Germany. Apparently he did not want it to look political. Isn't he a senator?
• The media is saying the crowd in Germany was in the hundreds of thousands. Did they also mention that two of the top musical artists in Germany gave a free concert prior to the Senator's speech?

The last time I checked, diplomacy takes place after a person becomes president. I also thought presidents were trying to win the support of the American people first, not the world's.

Also, why do we need to prove ourselves to Germany? Isn't it Germany that helped instigate two world wars? Shouldn't they be trying to prove themselves to us?

I may not support him as a candidate - mainly do to his lack of experience and a number of his policies - but as a man, he appears to be very intelligent, a great communicator, and passionate about his stances. I respect him for this.

A speech in Germany, however, will not get you elected.