Joe Murray of Agape Press running off at the mouth.
The Judeo-Christian compass that once guided our leaders and citizens has been displaced. A new moral order, one fueled by hedonism and a mutated form of individualism, has taken its place. Translation: Christians have become strangers in their own country.
What is the state of our Union's culture? Poor. In regards to Christian values, Jesus has not just been moved to the back of the bus, he has been thrown out the emergency exit door. Not only has talk of Jesus, and His Church, been evicted from public discourse, but Jesus has become a favorite target of a cultural elite who have grown intolerant of His nagging presence.
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If one digs deeper into the cultural psyche of America, he will find that Christianity no longer sets the standard for proper human behavior. The Sodomy Squadron has been flying high, for the Supreme Court has deemed sodomy a fundamental right, the Federal Marriage Amendment was DOA, and Massachusetts strong-armed the Catholic Church into ceasing its adoption program when it demanded that a Catholic agency allow same-sex couples to adopt children under the care of the Roman Catholic Church.
The Sodomy Squadron? Wagner's "Ride of The Valkyries" swells underneath. Jets with massive thrusting power soar overhead. Missiles stand by to deliver their awesome phallic-symbol type payloads.
Murray quotes liberally (no pun intended) from George Washington in his editorial.
"It is the duty of all Nations," thundered George Washington, "to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favors." To Washington, obedience to God would ensure a prosperous and free America. God was the rock upon which our liberties rested. How far we have fallen from the standard espouse by President Washington.
Unfortunately, I haven't been able to scare up that quotation from my reference library, but I'll take Murray's word for it that Washington did in fact say those words. Washington also said, however,
"The Citizens of the United States of America have a right to applaud themselves for having given to mankind examples of an enlarged and liberal policy--a policy worthy of imitation. All possess alike liberty of conscience and immunities of citizenship. It is now no more that toleration is spoken of, as if it was by the indulgence of one class of people that another enjoyed the exercise of their inherent natural rights. For happily the government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance, requires only that they who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens in giving it on all occasions their effectual support.
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May the children ... who dwell in this land, continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other inhabitants, while every one shall sit in safety under his own vine and fig-tree, and there shall be none to make them afraid."
George Washington, to the Jewish Congregation, New Port, Rhode Island, August 1790
"As mankind becomes more liberal, they will be more able to allow that those who conduct themselves as worthy members of the community are equally entitled to the protection of civil government. I hope ever to see America among the foremost nations in examples of justice and liberality.
George Washington, message to Catholics, 1789
And while he didn't write these words, President Washington did swear an oath to defend, preserve, and protect them, (among others)
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, nor prohibit the free exercise thereof..."
U.S. Constitution, Amendment I.
While President Washington and the First Amendment are specifically addressing religious choices, on the broader scale it's a matter of individual choices in general; choices of faith, of conscience, of association, of what makes one happy, and the choice to live free from the interference of others. Especially from the interference of the government.
Mr. Murray's rant, while comical at first, displays the very real and frightening mindset of the pseudo-fascists whom I've dubbed "The Holy Terrors." Notice how he frames the debate so that so-called "Christians" are the minority facing persecution. Notice also how he's framed the debate into a "my way or the highway" point of view.
The Judeo-Christian compass that once guided our leaders and citizens has been displaced. A new moral order, one fueled by hedonism and a mutated form of individualism, has taken its place. Translation: Christians have become strangers in their own country.
As if respecting someone else's right to be left alone is anti-Christian. Here's a key passage:
And the final nail in America's cultural coffin? The American public. In a poll recently conducted by Gallup, just 48 percent of Americans believe that the federal government should "be involved in promoting moral values." Another 48 percent believe the feds should mind its own business. Thus, we have become a nation home to two different peoples, and we Christians constitute the counter-culture.
Nearly half of the American people believe in my mantra of "Mind Your Own Business." To me, that's ecstatic news. To Mr. Murray, this is a sign of the Apocalypse. He and the rest of his ilk can't fathom giving people the respect and trust to which they're entitled. They can't be left alone to live by their own values. The Holy Terrors have to do that for them.
Mr. Murray's ultimate point is one of optimism in his point of view. That the forces of sodomy and individual "hedonism" will give way to the principles on which he believes the U.S. was founded; faith in absolutes. Black and white. No gray areas. He references Napoleon's defeat in Russia and compares it to the Holy Terrors' battle against freedom. "Napoleon may have had the manpower, but he did not have the staying power."
Mr. Murray has a point, but he's got the outcome backwards. The Holy Terrors have the manpower; they've got the White House, the Supreme Court, Congress, and the airwaves.
We've got the staying power. Ultimately, moral behavior is a matter of respect for someone else's choices, whether we understand them or not. Hell, we don't HAVE to understand them. We just have to respect them. The notion that shoving one's position down someone else's throat is the antithesis of moral behavior. And that's the position Mr. Murray has taken. That position is in direct opposition to that of President Washington, the Framers of the Constitution, and of the United States in general.
Mr. Murray also quotes Ben Franklin in saying, "rebellion against tyrants is obedience to God." Again, Mr. Murry doesn't cite the quotation, but I'll take his word for it. Apparently, in his mind, the "Sodomy Squadron" is the tyranny, and the so-called "Christians," by opposing their right to be left alone, are the rebellion.
Here are some more sage words from Mr. Franklin:
"Without freedom of thought there can be no such thing as wisdon, and no such thing as public liberty, without freedom of speech; which is the right of every man, as far as by it he does not hurt and control the right of another: and this is the only check it ought to suffer, and the only bounds it ought to know"
Benjamin Franklin, "Dogwood Papers, 1722." (He was 16 at the time!!)
"If we look back into history for the character of the present sects in Christianity, we shall find few that have not in their turns been persecutors, and complainers of persecution."
Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard's Almanac.
Rant over. Back to your holiday.
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