Thursday, November 29, 2007

Nehemiah 2:9-20

Then I came to the governors beyond the river, and gave them the king’s letters. Now the king had sent captains of the army and horsemen with me.

When Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, heard of it, it grieved them exceedingly that there was come a man to seek the welfare of the children of Israel.

So I came to Jerusalem, and was there three days. And I arose in the night, I and some few men with me; neither told I any man what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem: neither was there any beast with me, save the beast that I rode upon. And I went out by night by the gate of the valley, even before the dragon well, and to the dung port, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem, which were broken down, and the gates thereof were consumed with fire. Then I went on to the gate of the fountain, and to the king’s pool: but there was no place for the beast that was under me to pass. Then went I up in the night by the brook, and viewed the wall, and turned back, and entered by the gate of the valley, and so returned.

And the rulers knew not whither I went, or what I did; neither had I as yet told it to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest that did the work. Then said I unto them, Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire: come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach. Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also the king’s words that he had spoken unto me.

And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work. But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, heard it, they laughed us to scorn, and despised us, and said, What is this thing that ye do? will ye rebel against the king? Then answered I them, and said unto them, The God of heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we his servants will arise and build: but ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem.

State Constitutions and God

Do you know the Preamble for your state ?

Alabama 1901, Preamble ~ We the people of the State of Alabama, invoking the favor and guidance of Almighty God, do ordain and establish the following Constitution.

Alaska 1956, Preamble ~ We, the people of Alaska, grateful to God and to those who founded our nation and pioneered this great land.

Arizona 1911, Preamble ~ We, the people of the State of Arizona, grateful to Almighty God for our liberties, do ordain this Constitution...

Arkansas 1874, Preamble ~ We, the people of the State of Arkansas, grateful to Almighty God for the privilege of choosing our own form of government...

California 1879, Preamble ~ We, the People of the State of California, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom.

Colorado 1876, Preamble ~ We, the people of Colorado, with profound reverence for the Supreme Ruler of Universe.

Connecticut 1818, Preamble ~ The People of Connecticut, acknowledging with gratitude the good Providence of God in permitting them to enjoy.

Delaware 1897, Preamble ~ Through Divine Goodness all men have, by nature, the rights of worshipping and serving their Creator according to the dictates of their consciences.

Florida 1885, Preamble ~ We, the people of the State of Florida, grateful to Almighty God for our constitutional liberty, establish this Constitution...

Georgia 1777, Preamble ~ We, the people of Georgia, relying upon protection and guidance of Almighty God, do ordain and establish this Constitution...

Hawaii 1959, Preamble ~ We, the people of Hawaii, Grateful for Divine Guidance ... Establish this Constitution.

Idaho 1889, Preamble ~ We, the people of the State of Idaho, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, to secure its blessings.

Illinois 1870, Preamble ~ We, the people of the State of Illinois, grateful to Almighty God for the civil l, political and religious liberty which He hath so long permitted us to enjoy and looking to Him for a blessing on our endeavors.

Indiana 1851, Preamble ~ We, the People of the State of Indiana, grateful to Almighty God for the free exercise of the right to choose our form of government.

Iowa 1857, Preamble ~ We, the People of the State of Iowa, grateful to the Supreme Being for the blessings hitherto enjoyed, and feeling our dependence on Him for a continuation of these blessings establish this Constitution.

Kansas 1859, Preamble ~ We, the people of Kansas, grateful to Almighty God for our civil and religious privileges establish this Constitution.

Kentucky 1891, Preamble ~ We, the people of the Commonwealth are grateful to Almighty God for the civil, political and religious liberties...

Louisiana 1921, Preamble ~ We, the people of the State of Louisiana, grateful to Almighty God for the civil, political and religious liberties we enjoy.

Maine 1820, Preamble ~ We the People of Maine acknowledging with grateful hearts the goodness of the Sovereign Ruler of the Universe in affording us an opportunity ... And imploring His aid and direction.

Maryland 1776, Preamble ~ We, the people of the state of Maryland, grateful to Almighty God for our civil and religious liberty...

Massachusetts 1780, Preamble ~ We...the people of Massachusetts, acknowledging with grateful hearts, the goodness of the Great Legislator of the Universe .. In the course of His Providence, an opportunity and devoutly imploring His direction ...

Michigan 1908, Preamble ~ We, the people of the State of Michigan, grateful to Almighty God for the blessings of freedom establish this Constitution.

Minnesota, 1857, Preamble ~ We, the people of the State of Minnesota, grateful to God for our civil and religious liberty, and desiring to perpetuate its blessings:

Mississippi 1890, Preamble ~ We, the people of Mississippi in convention assembled, grateful to Al mighty God, and invoking His blessing on our work.

Missouri 1845, Preamble ~ We, the people of Missouri, with profound reverence for the Supreme Ruler of the Universe, and grateful for His goodness, Establish this Constitution

Montana 1889, Preamble ~ We, the people of Montana, grateful to Almighty God for the blessings of liberty establish this Constitution

Nebraska 1875, Preamble ~ We, the people, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom . Establish this Constitution.

Nevada 1864, Preamble ~ We the people of the State of Nevada, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom establish this Constitution

New Hampshire 1792, Part I. Art. I. Sec. V ~ Every individual has a natural and unalienable right to worship God according to the dictates of his own conscience.

New Jersey 1844, Preamble ~ We, the people of the State of New Jersey, grateful to Almighty God for civil and religious liberty which He hath so long permitted us to enjoy, and looking to Him for a blessing on our endeavors.

New Mexico 1911, Preamble ~ We, the People of New Mexico, grateful to Almighty God for the blessings of liberty

New York 1846, Preamble ~ We, the people of the State of New York, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, in order to secure its blessings.

North Carolina 1868, Preamble ~ We the people of the State of North Carolina, grateful to Almighty God, the Sovereign Ruler of Nations, for our civil, political, and religious liberties, and acknowledging our dependence upon Him for the continuance of those

North Dakota 1889, Preamble ~ We, the people of North Dakota, grateful to Almighty God for the blessings of civil and religious liberty, do ordain...

Ohio 1852, Preamble ~ We the people of the state of Ohio, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, to secure its blessings and to promote our common

Oklahoma 1907, Preamble ~ Invoking the guidance of Almighty God, in order to secure and perpetuate the blessings of liberty ... establish this

Oregon 1857, Bill of Rights, Article I. Section 2 ~ All men shall be secure in the Natural right, to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their consciences...

Pennsylvania 1776, Preamble ~ We, the people of Pennsylvania, grateful to Almighty God for the blessings of civil and religious liberty, and humbly invoking His guidance

Rhode Island 1842, Preamble ~ We the People of the State of Rhode Island grateful to Almighty God for the civil and religious liberty which He hath so long permitted us to enjoy, and looking to Him for a blessing

South Carolina, 1778, Preamble ~ We, the people of he State of South Carolina grateful to God for our liberties, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the preservation and purpetuation of the same.

South Dakota 1889, Preamble ~ We, the people of South Dakota, grateful to Almighty God for our civil and religious liberties

Tennessee 1796, Art. XI.III ~ That all men have a natural and indefeasible right to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their conscience...

Texas 1845, Preamble ~ We the People of the Republic of Texas, acknowledging, with gratitude, the grace and beneficence of God

Utah 1896, Preamble ~ Grateful to Almighty God for life and liberty, we establish this Constitution.

Vermont 1777, Preamble ~ Whereas all government ought to enable the individuals who compose it to enjoy their natural rights, and other blessings which the Author of Existence has bestowed on man

Virginia 1776, Bill of Rights, XVI ~ Religion, or the Duty which we owe our Creator, can be directed only by Reason and that it is the mutual duty of all to practice Christian Forbearance, Love and Charity towards each other

Washington 1889, Preamble ~ We the People of the State of Washington, grateful to the Supreme Ruler of the Universe for our liberties, do ordain this Constitution

West Virginia 1872, Preamble ~ Since through Divine Providence we enjoy the blessings of civil, political and religious liberty, we, the people of West Virginia reaffirm our faith in and constant reliance upon God ...

Wisconsin 1848, Preamble ~ We, the people of Wisconsin, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, domestic tranquility

Wyoming 1890, Preamble ~ We, the people of the State of Wyoming, grateful to God for our civil, political, and religious liberties ... establish this Constitution.

Special thanks to the Stop the NAU site for these quotes.

A New Look

In lieu of some recent controversy over the "militaristic" tone of this website (and also of course to increase traffic here ~wink~) I gave my site a fairly good-sized makeover this afternoon.

The concept of the changes is to be more free and airy in appearance, while also perhaps modifying the content to include a broader audience of young people as well as a more complete representation of the various political perspectives of Bible-believing Christians.

While I will continue to examine issues from strictly the Constitutionalist perspective, I will not so much give my own opinion as examine the facts and allow readers to make an objective decision. This site will thus become moreso a reporting site rather than a philosophy site. Of course, I will always have articles of a philosophical nature too.

So, when we sum it up, the new design shows what will hopefully be a more informal atmosphere and a new, even brighter series of posting!

Thanks to everyone who likes this blog.


-From Jos :-)

Monday, November 26, 2007

YCLA Newsletter

Here are the results from the poll here (percentage of voters supporting each title; results will equal more than 100%):

The Biblical Bulletin - 60%
The Truth Report - 33%
The Pilgrim Warrior - 27%
The Celestial Citizen - 13%
The Measurement - 7%
The Citizen-Leader - 7%

Thanks to everyone who took part in this important planning venture. We are now examining these results to determine newsletter strategy, content, and of course the title itself! We hope to issue our first newsletter by email for the month of January.


-R. Josiah Magnuson

P.S. Our "What's New" page on the YoungChristianLeaders.org site is now the third most visited page. Wonderful!

Straw Polls and Ron Paul

Here's something new and unique - a Google map of Ron Paul's straw poll results. Red is first place, blue is second, and green is third. Looks like our hero tends to get the most on average in the South and in New England, and the least in the Midwest.

You may also visit an actual list of them here.

Aren't the results just great?! Ron Paul!, Ron Paul!, Ron Paul!,... :-)


From Josiah

Mrs. Paul's Cookies - from the campaign site

Yankee Magazine is hosting its "first-in-the-nation cookie primary" online, and you have the opportunity to make and vote for Mrs. Paul's apricot-coconut balls cookie recipe. Vote now through December 14 at http://www.yankeemagazine.com/cookieprimary/ by selecting the photo of Ron Paul until a green checkmark appears, then click the "send my cookie vote" button.

Then on December 14, culinary students at Southern New Hampshire University will bake the cookies for a panel of judges to taste. The winner will be announced that day, based on the combined results of the online poll and the judges’ voting.

Help Mrs. Paul win by voting here-- and don't forget to try out her recipe!

Conference Calling!

The YCLA now has conference call capability! I would like us to have our first conference call on Thursday, November 29 at 9 PM. If you would like to join us, the dial-in number is (712) 432-1100. The access code is 963139#. You may press *4 for phone instructions once there.

We will be discussing projects and strategy, as well as taking questions if you have any.

If you would like to join us but cannot, please post a comment or question here.

Thanks!


-R. Josiah Magnuson

Saturday, November 17, 2007

Please re"member"

If you are a YCLA Member, please re"member" to visit our yclamembers.blogspot.com site from time to time. We are voting right now on a couple of Constitution changes. These will edit the membership requirement of "two meetings," and insert wording regarding churches in the Goals and Vision.

It is easier to discuss things with comments, votes, etc. on that site than it is by e-mail. If you need the passcode again, ask me and I'll send it to you.

Thanks! From Josiah

Nehemiah 1:1 - 2:8 (first in a series)

The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. And it came to pass in the month Chisleu, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the palace, that Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire. And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven.

And said, "I beseech thee, O LORD God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments: Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father’s house have sinned. We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses.

Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations: but if ye turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there. Now these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand.

O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man."

For I was the king’s cupbearer.

And it came to pass in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that wine was before him: and I took up the wine, and gave it unto the king. Now I had not been beforetime sad in his presence. Wherefore the king said unto me, Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick? this is nothing else but sorrow of heart. Then I was very sore afraid, And said unto the king, Let the king live for ever: why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers’ sepulchres, lieth waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire?

Then the king said unto me, For what dost thou make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven. And I said unto the king, If it please the king, and if thy servant have found favour in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me unto Judah, unto the city of my fathers’ sepulchres, that I may build it. And the king said unto me, (the queen also sitting by him,) For how long shall thy journey be? and when wilt thou return? So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time.

Moreover I said unto the king, If it please the king, let letters be given me to the governors beyond the river, that they may convey me over till I come into Judah; And a letter unto Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the palace which appertained to the house, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall enter into.

And the king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me.

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Web visits update

The page views of this site will more than likely surpass 4,000 within the week. The unique visits are more than 1,600. We are beginning to see a more diverse audience here too - in the past couple months it was mostly people from North and South Carolina, whereas there have lately been a good number of hits from around the country.

However, the average visit length is down - from almost twenty minutes back a few weeks ago, to hardly more than five now.

In any case, let's keep working! :-)


From Josiah

Newsletter Poll

Please do vote on the newsletter title for the YCLA. If you have an idea for it which is not on the list to the side here, please feel free to post it as a comment below. The three top finalists will be voted upon by the YCLA members, hopefully at our next meeting.

Thanks a lot! From Josiah


Update, Nov. 15: I edited this poll a bit, due to a couple good new suggestions. See which one you like best!

Monday, November 12, 2007

Happy Veterans' Day!

We very much appreciate all those who served the United States in the armed forces. While in recent days there has been some confusion as to what exactly the purpose of the US has been in various wars, that is no reason to disrespect the veterans. One of the most tragic events in history was when the Vietnam soldiers came back home and were completely hated and turned upon. My family is currently working on a couple packages to send to some soldiers in Iraq. We need to support and encourage everyone who has supported the United States. Hurrah for freedom!

Thanks From Josiah
P.S. Vets need more benefits, which is constitutional. They are being treated terribly, still...

What Do We Mean By "Equal Rights?"

I have received some questions lately regarding our use here of terminology such as "equal rights," "teamwork," and "church community." The questions were in relation to the idea of Communism, as to whether we believed in that kind of political system. We most certainly do not. It is in fact the very antithesis of our principles. So, what exactly do we mean by such phrasing?

1. Equal rights: Unalienable rights must be equal for everyone in society if they are to be unalienable at all. "Unalienable" means "not changeable" or "not transferable." If the rights were not equal, tyranny would be acceptable. A hierarchy would be established of people with more rights and less rights. There would be no way of determining which rights were whose, and anarchy would result. A synonym for "equal rights" is thus of course simply "justice."

When one believes as I do that rights come from God and are absolute, one cannot help but believe in justice and equal rights. It is the purpose of the government to protect us, and secure these rights as they already exist in God's Law. Government can positively NOT create or decide upon the existence of new rights.

Thus, the "equal rights" system of the Biblical worldview comes down squarely on the side of non-interventionism and smaller government, rather than on the Left's idea of big, all-"helping" government. While the Left in America would like a monopoly on the phrase "equal rights," their true system is very much of the opposite.

2. Teamwork: By "teamwork" and "working together" we by no means wish to demean people as individuals. As Ron Paul has said, most of the problems in America could be solved if we realized and categorized people as individuals, not as groups. We simply believe things can be accomplished much easier through a group with common principles and goals than through people working alone. The idea is not to micromanage each others' activities or create some sort of collectivist society, but contrariwise to encourage and support people in fact as individuals. We will thus help to complement and complete each other.

3. Church community: I have mentioned before that I thought the YCLA would become a kind of church community. Please note that I did not intend to imply that we were starting a new denomination, or creating a new collectivist organization. I simply meant that since we were believers and would be working together, we would more or less be being church. The church is supposed to be a community anyway. We are not putting down any existing church organization, nor are we expressing intent to do so. Our purpose is to encourage and mobilize.

Thanks a lot!


-R. Josiah Magnuson

Thursday, November 08, 2007

Neat stuff with the YCLA

Today I finally got in contact with Ted Adams, the SC Constitution Party state chairman, after a long bunch of phone tag. :-) He is very excited about being on our Council, giving us a second definite member for that body. The first one is Pastor ----------. I have tried contacting Ken Ham as well, but have not got a response back from him yet. Next, I am looking to ask Roger Magnuson (my great uncle) and Cory Burnell. Both of them are very busy people though. I will probably not get a clear response from them for a while.

We made some good updates to the YoungChristianLeaders.org site over the last few days. Specifically, we made several changes which reduced the appearance of being "uppity" and gave a little more accurate, friendly spirit to the site. We also put four quick-link icons on the bottom of the home page, for the Members' site, the Contact Us page, the What's In Progress page, and the Feature Column. Check it out if you want.

Finally, we are once again re-considering the name for the Newsletter. If you have an idea, please leave it in a comment, or e-mail me at rjm@youngchristianleaders.org. So far the most popular are "The Celestial Citizen," "The Citizen-Leader," and "The Biblicist."

We ran into issues with each of them; while the issues could probably be solved or worked around, it would be nice to have something just right which would both fit us and not make us sound bizarre in any way.

Our support is not increasing very fast, but enthusiasm regarding us is. Hopefully of course, this enthusiasm will indeed transfer into new Members and contributers in the near future... :-)

Let's keep praying.

Thanks a lot!


-R. Josiah Magnuson

Note from our Governor

Dear Friend:

A vote was taken this week in Columbia that again illustrates why it's never been more important for you to make your voice heard on the need for change in state government.

On Tuesday, the state Budget and Control Board approved a total of $117,000 in salary increases - a more than 20 percent increase for some - for 10 agency heads, despite no performance review for the raises, despite some of those affected only being on the job for a few months, and despite no one asking for the raises.

It's something that seems like it could only happen in state government. Imagine this if you will: your boss walks in after you've been on the job for just a few months and says 'I'm going to increase your salary by 20 percent.' You'd be surprised, given there were no performance requirements, no time yet to have proven your work, and not even something that you've requested. Yet this is exactly what happened Tuesday, which is especially amazing considering the deficit we're going to be walking into next year. Our state is heading into what will be about a $220 million deficit because the winning position in Columbia over the last three years was to grow state government by about 40 percent. It would seem with decisions like yesterday's, some in Columbia appear almost intent on making that deficit even larger.

This is exactly why it is so critical that you get involved and tell your elected officials that this kind of decision-making is not what you sent them here to do. If you live in the Charleston area, I'd ask you talk to Converse Chellis who holds the key third vote on the Budget and Control Board and to date has been voting against me and Richard Eckstrom on taxpayer issues like this. I've included a news story about the vote at the end of this email. Please forward this to a friend if you have a minute, and thanks again for your willingness to be involved.


Mark

The Dreaded "D" Word

Here is an article from Andrew Strom, a preacher from Australia, and Director of RevivalSchool.com. His point on greed may be applied to government as well; our democracy has done exactly what James Madison said democracy always did - it has gone bankrupt from people voting to give themselves funds out of the public treasury. Returning to the rule of Law is the only way to avoid a crisis like we probably cannot imagine.

People hate it when David Wilkerson talks about it - and they hate it just as much when I talk about it. But right now I have to bring it up again because of what is happening. Yesterday WorldNetDaily published the following:

"Alarm: China signals flight from dollar- Investment CEO says he's 'never seen people more nervous' An unprecedented signal from senior Chinese leaders that the Asian economic giant might abandon the U.S. dollar sent shockwaves through the markets today as the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 360 points and the greenback fell to arecord low against the euro.
Xu Jian, a Chinese central bank vice director, told a conference in Beijing, "The dollar is "losing its status as the world currency." Meanwhile, at the same meeting, Cheng Siwei, vice chairman of China's National People's Congress, said, "We will favor stronger currencies over weaker ones, and will readjust accordingly." Craig Smith, CEO of Swiss America Trading Corp., told WND he's been in the investment business for 30 years and has "never seen people more nervous." Alarmed by today's economic news, he dispatched a note to brokers with a warning of ominous potential consequences if China and other trading partners abandon the dollar. "If that were to happen, all bets are off, and we will be in a depression that makes 1929 look like child's play," he said, "or we will experience Weimar Republic inflation as the dollar makes extreme moves toward devaluations." [- http://worldnetdaily.com ]

A. STROM Again: Actually, according to all the data that I have seen, the Dollar situation is not even the worst of the problems.There is a global Credit Crunch underway - affecting giant banks and Investment companies the worst - and every day we are getting news of MULTI-BILLION dollar write-downs. All of this is linked to the Housing and Mortgage crisis in America - and its effects are being felt worldwide. -And it is growing worse.

This Credit crisis by itself actually threatens the entire SYSTEM -no exaggeration. And it is already underway - NOW. Many international banks are in crisis mode already - but how long it takes to reach "Main Street" is difficult to know. There is already some fallout. For instance, giant retailers such as Wal-Mart reported yesterday their worst October in over a decade. But this is just the beginning of sorrows.

As one commentator put it today: "The dollar fell another 2 per cent last night, gold soared to $840 per ounce, oil topped $98 per barrel, General Motors reported a $39 billion loss after the market closed on Tuesday, the real estate market continued its downward slide, and the major investment banks are marching in lock-step towards bankruptcy..."

For many months now we have been saying that this Housing bust will be the worst (by far) that this nation has ever seen. This is no longer a "controversial" viewpoint. Even many of the most mainstream economists now openly admit the same thing.

The "D-WORD" that I mentioned in the title of this article is, of course, the word "DEPRESSION". I continue to stand by my statement of many months ago that within 3 years this nationwill be in a terrible financial depression - possibly the worst thatit has ever seen. Right now, things are right on track to see this fulfilled.

But WHY?? The answer to this question mostly lies in one word - "GREED".

There has been an absolute orgy of Greed in this country - from the Investment Bankers selling shady Mortgage-Backed Securities to the condo flippers and Real Estate Appraisers and "Junk Bond"specialists and "Liar's Loan" officers. And what is left is an absolute mountain-pile of shameful, unethical financial garbage - which nobody is willing to swallow any more. -And then there are the DERIVATIVES. -A market worth over $400 TRILLION which, if itever gets infected by this toxic junk (-which is close to happening), may cause the WORST SYSTEMIC AVALANCHE that the world has ever seen. GREED is the word. At the end of the day, all of this has been for the love of the Almighty Dollar. In fact, even CHRISTIAN AMERICANS love the Almighty dollar so much that they are willing to make up ENTIRE DOCTRINES to prove that God loves money just as much as they do. It is a new kind of gospel - never seen in the history of the world before.

The Americans invented it and spread it around the earth. And now, even in REVIVAL COUNTRIES, this gospel of greed is taking over. Carter Conlon says that he was in a poor African nation recently where there are 700,000 little children living without parents on the streets - and yet the PASTORS ARE DRIVING BMW's and preaching SELFISH PROSPERITY. Where did they get such sickness? -They got it from America. We beam it to them live by satellite. And this is why I believe God is about to make an EXAMPLE of the USA. -He has to. All the nations follow her lead. The entire church worldwide looks to her for guidance. And she has become a center of corruption and spiritual sickness almost without precedent in the history of the world. She has made the whole earth "drunk" with her fornications, her movies, her MTV, her music, her rebellion, her love of money. And so I am convinced that God is about to make an 'example' of her before all nations. He cannot have a "Christian" country spreading such things in the earth.

When I am in Nigeria again this February I plan to preach this very thing. -That God is making an example of America so that all the nations will fear. -That this is what happens when you follow a creed of "God wants me rich", of pleasure-seeking, materialism, selfishness and greed. -That God is about to demonstrate to the whole earth what will happen to such a nation. Do you think He is just going to stand by and watch us ruin His Revivals forever?

God has a controversy with you, America. He is girding Himself up for war. I hope you are ready to find out what it is like to get yourself on God's "wrong side".

Enjoy the coming Christmas, America. It may be your last really enjoyable one for a very long time.

This article is being discussed at- http://www.revivalschool.com


A watchman of the Lord, Andrew Strom.

Wednesday, November 07, 2007

What is a Biblical Worldview?

We as Americans today are in the midst of a worldviews war - a war between two philosophies of what the nature of life is and how things really work. One side supports freedom, values, and God's Word, and the other side does not.

The Declaration of Independence tells us, “All men are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights…. To secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” The Founding Fathers held the Biblical worldview.

Karx Marx in contrast believed in Communism (an example of the Evolutionary worldview), which, he stated, "abolishes eternal truths, it abolishes all religion, and all morality."

Another way to express "unalienable rights" or "eternal truths" is absolutes. The Biblical worldview, in short, is one of complete reliance on God and His instructions. The Biblical worldview is that of Sola Scriptura (The Scriptures alone).

Let us take a brief look at the tenets of this belief system.

The basic premise of the Biblical worldview is that God is the Creator, and is supreme over all things. Since God created our universe, He knows everything about it and its workings. It thus follows that His Word must be supreme, and true in all matters. Finally, because the Bible contains (true) promises that it would be preserved, it must have been!

Government under the Biblical model exists only to protect one from harm. Government does not have an inherent sovereignty over its citizens. It can do nothing which would overreach God's moral boundaries which apply to everyone.

Science is the way we learn about the world. It is not a method for discovering origins, but a tool which enables us to serve God with knowledge and efficiency.

Work is good and necessary. The free enterprise system is the normal system which has existed throughout civilization, and is the way which God intended commerce to be.

Education of children should be accomplished by parents, either directly or indirectly. The State has no place in determining the societal future of any person.

Religion is not something to be stacked up and stored in the church, but something to be integrated into every facet of our lives. Our "rely"gion in God must continue everywhere.

Those who hold the Biblical worldview believe in proclaiming God's Truth, exemplifying morality, justice, and appreciation for others, and encouraging others to do the same. Finally, they treasure God's commands as contained in His Word, and live with Jesus Christ as Lord of their lives.

Let us each live with the Biblical worldview.


-R. Josiah Magnuson

P.S. Here's how to get started!

The Democracy Problem (a re-post)

By R. Josiah Magnuson

The Constitution of the United States, Article IV, Section 4 states, “The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a republican form of government.” Why not democracy?

Karl Marx, in The Communist Manifesto, Section II declared the climactic goal of Communist revolution to be “to raise the proletariat to the position of ruling class; to win the battle of democracy.”

The Founding Fathers generally expressed distain for democracy. Benjamin Rush, for example, referred to democracy as “mob rule.” James Madison declared that “democracies have ever been found inconsistent with personal security or the rights of property” and noted that in a democracy "there is nothing to check the inducement to sacrifice the weaker party or the obnoxious individual."

Yet some leading "Christian conservatives" believe that the solution to the decline of morality in this nation is promotion of democracy!

Just what is democracy? It is the reign of the omnipotent Majority. It is government by changing public policy and demagoguery. It is actually THE RULE OF RELATIVISM, and as such, becomes merely popular dictatorship!

A republic, on the other hand, is a government created by the people (or someone truly acting in the interest of the people) for the protection of their rights. The word republic has of course been defined in various ways. However, it is apparent in true republics that although the opinion of the majority is respected, individual rights are supreme. For instance, the Founding Fathers often referred to republics as "the rule of laws and not men."

Rights are, by nature, enduring and absolute. Therefore, they must be granted by a source from outside man; that is, man’s Creator, God. Such rights are indeed implicit to His Law. The Law includes primarily the Ten Commandments, or Decalogue, and then also the rest of the directives in the Bible.

A republic is therefore THE RULE OF THE LAW OF THE CREATOR. It is separation of powers, checks and balances, and perhaps most importantly, limited government. In a republic, no dictator or even Majority class can change the individual's unalienable rights as given in God's absolute Law!

Democracy has become a major problem in America. Because people have been taught to believe that everything must be decided by majority vote, they are led to believe that individuals' liberties and even the essence of Truth itself are subject to question based solely on popularity.

Thomas Jefferson wrote, “The people are inherently independent of all but moral law.” This fact is recognized in republics. The converse is true in democracies, where the people are “freed” from God's principles and moral law, only to be chained to the arbitrary whims of those in power (the majority).

Clearly, “republic” and “democracy” are not simply two forms of free government. They are the difference between a liberty in law and a liberty from law. America is a republic, and must regain its moral foundation and traditional understanding of limited, lawful government in order to be safeguarded from democracy and a tragic, chaotic end.

Ron Paul Traffic

from Bill Rummell, Meetup Group member

The www.ronpaul2008.com ranks #12,424 in the WORLD of tens of millions of web sites!.....

I plugged in the variables at the top of the graph with the other candidates websites and WOW.... look at what you find!!!

http://www.alexa.com/data/details/traffic_details?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ronpaul2008. com

Now tell me if you will who looks more popular? The graphs or THE SPIN YOU SEE AND HEAR ON TV?? GO RON PAUL!!!!!! Ohhhh it gets even better...plug in Hillaroid's website and click on 1 month, 3 months, 6 months and last 7 days....ROFL!!! It's too much!

Don't believe the "border security"

I posted a column the other day which supported a bill introduced by Congressman Health Shuler (D-N.C.) which supposedly increases border security. The concept is that of Attrition Through Enforcement, the same idea advanced by people such as Tom Tancredo. However, I did not realize that part of the program would be the creation of a mandatory employee database on a Federal level. I have thus removed the article and am replacing it with the following response (to a news email) written by an American citizen named Vicky Davis.

This email makes me really sad. Roy Beck is gleeful that a Democratic Congressman has a bill requiring employers to eVerify every potential employee before hiring them. Why is this something to be sad about? Because they (the traitors who are running our government) are insulting your intelligence and they are taking another step toward government management of the labor force.

The Problem
The scam was relatively simple. Allow Mexicans to flood into our country and pretend that we couldn't tell the difference between a hispanic American and a Mexican. Cripple border patrol and ICE.

The Solution
Step One: The eVerify system is the first step to get employers to use the Internet - government system to verify the legal status of an applicant.

Step Two: There will be crys and moans from employers that this will put them out of business - they will have "shortages of workers". So what the government must do is to establish a "Guest Worker" program. (demanding a solution)

Step Three: There will be a system (it already exists) for employers to put in their requests to the government for "guest workers". The hitch will be that they must list the jobs for which they claim to need guest workers on the government job search website (this already exists too). Listing on the government job search engine will eventually be a requirement for all employers just like the eVerify. The reason given will be that the Labor Department needs to be able to assess the Labor Market demands for that particular job type. If the listings show high demand over a long period of time, that would indicate that a shortage exists and the guest worker applications would be approved. At the point when all jobs must be listed, all job seekers will also register on the system as a matter of necessity if they hope to obtain a job. Otherwise, a job they might get could be given instead to an imported guest worker. For children who are in school, their information will automatically be in the government registry system because the computer systems for the schools and workforce are already integrated. This is the cradle-to-grave national workforce management system designed by Marc Tucker of the NCEE as described in a letter to Hillary Clinton in 1992.

End Game
At this point, the Labor Department has full control over the labor market and will be able to set wages by controlling the supply of labor in the market. They will also have the control mechanism for people by allowing or inhibiting their access to gainful employment. This is a classic Hegelian Dialectic which is being used to "transform" the United States to a communist system to "compete" with the COMMUNIST Chinese slave labor system.

I hope to God you're smarter than they think you are.

Ron Paul on Nov.5th Success

Amazing! I have to admit being floored by the $4.2 million dollars you raised yesterday for this campaign. And unlike the fatcat operations of the opposition, the average contribution from our 36,672 donors was $103.

I say "you raised," because this historic event was created, organized, and run by volunteers. This is the spirit that has protected American freedom in our past; this is the spirit that is doing so again.

Some of the mainstream media have sat up and taken notice. Others have pooh-poohed our record online fundraising. But the day is coming--far faster than they know--when they will not be able to ignore our freedom revolution.

We are working hard, with you, to spread our message far and wide-in New Hampshire, in South Carolina, in Iowa, and in every other state with a primary. And people are listening.As you and I know, there is hope for America-in liberty and peace, and the prosperity they bring. There is hope for America--in a sound dollar, the rule of law, and the Constitution. There is hope for America--in a people's revolution that brings us all together, of whatever race and age and background.

What momentum we have! Please help me keep it up. As you and I know, and our opponents are only suspecting, we have Success on our minds, and in our hearts.

Freedom! Surely it is worth all our hard work. Please help me continue to do that work, with your continuing support https://www.ronpaul2008.com/donate Without your help, this campaign would be dead in the water. Help us keep steaming towards victory.


Sincerely,
Ron

Monday, November 05, 2007

Support Morality

Please visit here to send a brief message expressing your support for family values and free speech for Christians. There is a bill progressing through Congress which would ban discouragement of "gay" behavior by anyone. Noting the fact that this lifestyle is sinful and immoral would legally be considered a hate crime. Don't ignore the possibility of this bill being enacted... it's up to us to stop stuff like this.

American View

I finally was able to log in yesterday to the American View web forum.

This is a good site with good ideas. If you can get in into it, you can contribute to the forum some more good ideas! It is run by Mike Peroutka and John Lofton.

From Josiah

What a day, and counting

I am listening right now to Ron Paul Radio with live coverage of the historic November 5th event. The campaign has already received more than $2.5 million today! Wow...

The target amount is $10 million, but most people are projecting 5 or 6. Help complete the boost! Donate now!

Also, here is a YouTube video of Ronald Reagan which contains quite near direct quotes from Ron Paul. Or could it be that it's the other way around...? Hmmm


Thanks From Josiah

P.S. We need at least $3.2 million to break the current record, set by Mitt Romney in January.

Please donate RIGHT NOW

Today is November 5th!!!

www.ronpaul2008.com/donate

Thursday, November 01, 2007

Freedom of religion for our military

We had a quick battle over the last three days or so which was amazingly won just as quickly.

The US Department of Veterans' Affairs received a letter expressing displeasure that prayer and mention of God was allowed at military funerals. The VA succumbed and banned these things, news of the decision was spread all over the country, and thousands of Americans sent a blitz of outraged e-mails. There even were several Congressmen who spoke out on the issue. Suddenly, the VA issued a statement saying people were allowed to invoke God after all! Of course the VA was never trying to infringe on free speech - this statement was nothing more than a "clarification." ;-)

But who cares what they call it? We won it!

The Foundation for Moral Law, and our hero Roy Moore, played a large part in this victory. Thanks, y'all! Praise God for wonderful efforts like these.


-R. Josiah Magnuson

RP and me

Here is a link to a video of Ron Paul on Jay Leno's Tonight Show.

Also, I am posting a picture of myself with Congressman Paul, which I just received back from whoever were the photographers for the event in July. I'm not sure why it is so yellow.

Our family would not have been able to get in to get our official pictures with Dr. Paul, had it not been for some special Providence, and generosity on the part of a leading figure in the national r3VOLution campaign, who paid for everyone who had been involved in Ron Paul sign-making.


Thanks From Josiah :-)

A Ron Paul Poem

by Nathaniel Duarte, 11 year-old homeschooler

From Ron Paul Homeschoolers website


We want Ron Paul for President,
He is the best we know,
He will follow the Constitution,
Say yes to Dr. No.

Working Americans like lower taxes,
Claims the Honorable Paul,
So we must vote for him next year
To make the IRS fall.

Taxpayers best friend
Is the name that fits him best,
For he won’t raise our taxes;
Doesn’t he sound better than any of the rest?

The war in Iraq must end,
Our own country we need to defend,
Says Republican Candidate Ron Paul,
To all the Congressmen.

He wants to protect our privacy,
And stop the national ID card;
And he will follow the Constitution,
Let’s campaign with him hard.

Yes, we want Ron Paul for President,
He IS the best we know,
And he will end the IRS,
SAY YES TO DR. NO!