Pride is Opposed By God

Pride. The month of June for homosexuals is Pride month and many government and state agencies also educational entities have promoted Pride month.

I think that homosexuals are right in exclaiming PRIDE as their rallying call, it fits perfectly!  That is because Pride is diametrically opposed to God. The Bible speaks of God's view of pride over and over

1. Leviticus 26:19
   I will break down your stubborn pride and make the sky above you like iron and the ground beneath you like bronze.
   Leviticus 26:18-20 (in Context) Leviticus 26 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations      
2.  2 Kings 19:22
   Who is it you have ridiculed and blasphemed? Against whom have you raised your voice and lifted your eyes in pride? Against the Holy One of Israel!
   2 Kings 19:21-23 (in Context) 2 Kings 19 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
3. Psalm 10:4
   In his pride the wicked man does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God.
   Psalm 10:3-5 (in Context) Psalm 10 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations 
4.  Psalm 31:18
   Let their lying lips be silenced, for with pride and contempt they speak arrogantly against the righteous.
   Psalm 31:17-19 (in Context) Psalm 31 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
5. Psalm 59:12
   For the sins of their mouths, for the words of their lips, let them be caught in their pride. For the curses and lies they utter,
   Psalm 59:11-13 (in Context) Psalm 59 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
6.  Psalm 73:6
   Therefore pride is their necklace; they clothe themselves with violence.
   Psalm 73:5-7 (in Context) Psalm 73 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
7.  Proverbs 8:13
   To fear the Lord is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech.
   Proverbs 8:12-14 (in Context) Proverbs 8 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
8. Proverbs 11:2
   When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.
   Proverbs 11:1-3 (in Context) Proverbs 11 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
9. Proverbs 13:10
   Where there is strife, there is pride, but wisdom is found in those who take advice.
   Proverbs 13:9-11 (in Context) Proverbs 13 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
10. Proverbs 14:3
    A fool’s mouth lashes out with pride, but the lips of the wise protect them.
    Proverbs 14:2-4 (in Context) Proverbs 14 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
11. Proverbs 16:18
    Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.
    Proverbs 16:17-19 (in Context) Proverbs 16 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
12. Proverbs 29:23
    Pride brings a person low, but the lowly in spirit gain honor.
    Proverbs 29:22-24 (in Context) Proverbs 29 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
13. Isaiah 2:11
    The eyes of the arrogant will be humbled and human pride brought low; the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.
    Isaiah 2:10-12 (in Context) Isaiah 2 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
14. Isaiah 13:11
    I will punish the world for its evil, the wicked for their sins. I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty and will humble the pride of the ruthless.
    Isaiah 13:10-12 (in Context) Isaiah 13 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
15. Isaiah 16:6
    We have heard of Moab’s pride— how great is her arrogance!— of her conceit, her pride and her insolence; but her boasts are empty.
    Isaiah 16:5-7 (in Context) Isaiah 16 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
16. Isaiah 23:9
    The Lord Almighty planned it, to bring down her pride in all her splendor and to humble all who are renowned on the earth.
    Isaiah 23:8-10 (in Context) Isaiah 23 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
17. Isaiah 25:11
    They will stretch out their hands in it, as swimmers stretch out their hands to swim. God will bring down their pride despite the cleverness of their hands.
    Isaiah 25:10-12 (in Context) Isaiah 25 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
18. [ Woe to the Leaders of Ephraim and Judah ] Woe to that wreath, the pride of Ephraim’s drunkards, to the fading flower, his glorious beauty, set on the head of a fertile valley— to that city, the pride of those laid low by wine!
    Isaiah 28:1-3 (in Context) Isaiah 28 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
19. Isaiah 28:3
    That wreath, the pride of Ephraim’s drunkards, will be trampled underfoot.
    Isaiah 28:2-4 (in Context) Isaiah 28 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
20. Isaiah 37:23
    Who is it you have ridiculed and blasphemed? Against whom have you raised your voice and lifted your eyes in pride? Against the Holy One of Israel!
    Isaiah 37:22-24 (in Context) Isaiah 37 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
21. Ezekiel 16:56
    You would not even mention your sister Sodom in the day of your pride,
    Ezekiel 16:55-57 (in Context) Ezekiel 16 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
22. Ezekiel 28:2
    “Son of man, say to the ruler of Tyre, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: “‘In the pride of your heart you say, “I am a god; I sit on the throne of a god in the heart of the seas.” But you are a mere mortal and not a god, though you think you are as wise as a god.
    Ezekiel 28:1-3 (in Context) Ezekiel 28 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
23. Daniel 5:20
    But when his heart became arrogant and hardened with pride, he was deposed from his royal throne and stripped of his glory.
    Daniel 5:19-21 (in Context) Daniel 5 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
24. 1 John 2:16
    For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world.
    1 John 2:15-17 (in Context) 1 John 2 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations

Aren't We All So Proud?

We’ve all been bombarded by the story of Jerry Sandusky the football coach at Penn State who brought shame and sanctions to the whole football program by his sexually deviant behavior, even punishing the innocent and taking away records.  As shocking as Sandusky’s sins are these very same actions are applauded in other venues. In the name of tolerance, diversity and inclusion many schools and municipalities encourage sexually confused youth to explore the “gay” identity.

I am posting a letter written by a man named Adam Flanders. Mr. Flanders sent this letter to local authorities and media to expose what he saw at a gay youth organization that disturbed him. Since he sent his letter and various outlets have printed it he has had a change of mind and now wants his letter out of the public domain. I guess he no longer is concerned about these vulnerable youth. That doesn’t change the truth that gay people prey on vulnerable youth, they always have and always will but now we have tax-funded agencies to facilitate their activities!  

Below is the letter as posted on Mass Resistance:

January 13, 2007

To Whom It May Concern:

My name is Adam Flanders. I am 20 years old and a current resident of Belfast, Maine. I am writing to you on behalf of my own concerns, as well as the concerns of other youth members and past members (who wish to remain anonymous) of the nonprofit organization, OUT! ... As I Want to Be located in Rockland, Maine. We wish to inform you of the negligence and abuse of OUT advisors and adult members. Let me briefly summarize the original purpose of this organization.

OUT was thc rebirth of Outright, a Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning non-profit organization for youth support, affirmation, and advocacy. When Outright Portland began demanding monetary compensation for their name (copyright), we were forced to alter ours. In addition, Rockland Outright fell into a difficult financial situation after the close of the Coastal AIDS Network (CAN), our primary source of funds. In addition, after several legal disputes, Portland Outright closed and has been renewed under the name, "PRYSM " 'The remaining members of Rockland Outright formed OUT, a small group consisting of several youth members and a few adult advisors. The policies and ground rules were lazily thrown together as a direct copycat of the former Portland Outright.

OUT has since been mismanaged in many ways, but I (we) wish to inform you of the apparent negligence of the adult advisors and board members resulting in the emotional distress, abuse, and harm brought to youth members as young as fourteen years old. We can only speak from personal experience, and since I am the only individual willing to reveal my identity, I will begin with my personal experience of OUT and I will then summarize the complaints of those individuals who wish to remain anonymous.

The majority of my time with OUT was spent at the (public) Lincoln Street Center (LSC) in Rockland, Maine once a week; every Friday night from 7 to 10 PM. However, the location has now moved to the private home of Ed and Virginia Slawson in Rockland, Maine and is now held 3 times a week. During my time at OUT meetings, my boyfriend [JL] and I would oftentimes sneak down to the restrooms in the lower part of the building to have sex, beginning when he was 14 and I was 18 -- mostly because his father disapproved of our relationship and these meetings were our only opportunity to do this. We did this on many occasions, and several of the other youth were aware of this fact and I wouldn't doubt that similar relations occurred between other members of OUT during our nightly meetings from 7 to 10 PM. I bet the advisors were aware of this, too.

There was virtually little to no level of chaperoning, as adult advisors such as Phil Hansen and Lis Clark stressed the importance of a youth-led organization. I recall that we never really knew where maybe half the youth members were at any given time. At least two-thirds of our group smoked avidly and I witnessed adult advisors "bumming" cigarettes to youth members, some of them under the age of 18, and also offering a light to those who already had cigarettes. OUT has its own special smoke break, sometimes several a night in which most if not all of the members gathered outside the LSC to smoke, while the few non-smokers (myself included) stood and socialized.

Several members. particularly two friends, Chris and Courtney (also youth members of the board) almost always showed up to our meetings high on marijuana and/or drunk on alcohol. Even worse, I witnessed several advisors drinking too much at such special events as OUT barbecues or other social events, with an especial focus on the night of the Question 1 victory: many of the adults were completely drunk, and our advisors, wanting to join the celebration, made the choice to simply bring along OUT youth members. The celebration was held at the home of Michael Mayo in Thomaston and I remember being touched and even groped by one of the older men there (who was clearly intoxicated), and I've heard that other youth had similar experiences. OUT advisors were also getting drunk and flirting with youth members. It made the entire situation very uncomfortable, especially at the "Rainbow Potluck," a weekly event inclusive of OUT members (still going on), attended primarily by gay and lesbian adults past the age of 40. I, myself and other youth were hit on by some of the adults at the Rainbow Potluck, and I cannot possibly imagine that our advisors were oblivious to this fact. In fact, it was occurring within our own organization.

I once spent the night at one of the advisor's homes (Jeff), with another youth member who was also his nephew (Tyler) up from Florida. Tyler and I engaged in minor sexual contact beneath Jeff's loft that night, though I awoke to find the two of them showering together outside, completely in the nude. In my personal opinion, it is highly inappropriate for an adult advisor in his thirties to be showering nude with a youth member, age 14 at the time. The abuse did not stop there.

Late in the Summer of 2006, the president of OUT, Phil Hansen was forcefully required to step down from his position. The other board members held a secret meeting against Phil, and it was reported to me that the reason being was because he had expressed some extreme forms of sexism by completely disregarding what the female members of the board had to say. One of the youth board members (Courtney) reported to me that she left crying due to a sexual remark and personal attack Phil had made against her during one of the board meetings, which have always been held in the private home of Ed and Virginia Slawson. I was not entirely surprised -- I recall Phil's stories he told to OUT members, affectionate stories from Greek literature about young boys having sexual relations with older men and open jokes about pedophilia at meetings in his own positive spin on things. This type of sexual abuse and verbal harassment has become a common part of OUT and its advisors and youth members -- almost like a mutual joke shared by everyone, but making many if not most of the youth very uncomfortable and distressed. It especially concerns me now because the meetings are being held 3 times a week in the private home of Ed and Virginia Slawson.

To summarize some of the experiences of other youth members at OUT meetings and events, I will list the following for the purpose of simplicity, and then finish with a final, more personal note.

• [AC], a youth member, continually and repeatedly sexually harassing other youth members with advances and lies about his sexual relations, which according to him, were with every member of OUT. Even our coordinator (advisor) Lis Clark joked about how pathetic his constant lies were, and yet when myself and other youth members complained of the sexual harassment, Lis simply scoffed it off as immaturity.
• Another youth member, [JC] threatened suicide online and blamed it on myself, because he looked up to me and was jealous of my relationship with [JL]. The youth member Chris discovered [JC]'s online post while browsing a gay porn hookup site (www.gaywatch.com) during an OUT meeting. It caused a lot of distress to all of us, knowing he was out on the streets attempting suicide while we are at our meeting.
• Suicide threats and attempts have been a common part of our organization. We once invited a counselor to speak at one of our meetings, and 3 of the members just ran out of the building crying because they couldn't handle the situation. What most concerned me (and others) was the fact that none of the advisors made any attempt to catch up to them or follow up with them afterward.
• Several of our OUT meetings were spent writing letters to seemingly every democrat in Knox County. The youth members were made to write sympathetic letters at the heavy pressure from OUT's new president, J.P. Fecteau. I guess it worked because only a few months ago OUT received a $4,000 donation.

As you can see, there has been a lot of abuse and negligence that has caused more harm to innocent youth than I could possibly begin to describe, and it continues today, and tomorrow, and the next.

My own personal association with OUT came to a sudden and violent end when my boyfriend [JL] of 14 months broke up with me. I knew I could find him at the meeting, and when I physically latched onto him and refused to let go, OUT advisors were forced to restrain me. I had also brought a knife with me with plans to commit suicide and possibly attempt to murder [JL] along with myself. I was arrested on domestic assault charges. I think this is one example, among many I have already shown, that reveals the inherent dangers an organization like OUT creates for vulnerable youth. Even before that, there was a court-issued order against [JL] to not have any contact with me, and while Lis Clark (advisor) knew this, she still allowed us to sneak and see one another at OUT meetings, helping us lie to [JL]'s parents on several occasions. Advisors have been known to lie to parents. One 14 year old (Eric); his parents were under the impression he was attending an art class every Friday night.

With my terminated membership, I've had time to reflect on the horrors of this organization and how much influence it has on the Rockland community and beyond -- especially impressionable youth -- youth who are encouraged by OUT advisors to disobey their parents and develop their GLB or T orientation. OUT hands out condoms and lubricant like candy. Being the web designer and owning exclusive rights to all photos and code, I, being permanently exiled from the organization I brought up, made the obvious, perhaps bitter choice to take the site with me. I threatened legal suit if they did not remove all web content from the URL www.outasiwanttobe.org. 

I am writing to you because I fear for the well-being of OUT youth members, especially now that meetings are being held 3 times more often and now in a private home rather than a public facility. It is my hope that the Bureau of Health will do everything in their power to seriously investigate this seemingly innocent organization that has such a dark past full of negligence, irresponsibility, sexual harassment, abuse, and ultimately emotional harm that could leave permanent scars in the lives of many vulnerable youth in Maine, or even destroy their lives completely. It makes me wonder, what horrendous acts will occur this week, or the next, or in the many months to come? More importantly, what will the BoH and the Rockland community do to make sure these destructive adult "advisors" are no longer allowed to have influence on these poor youth?

I appreciate your time and hope you will consider my words seriously with the utmost concern for the welfare of Maine's children.

Sincerely,

[Signed]

Adam Flanders

Here is the link to the actual letter itself.

Here is what God says:

Psalm 40:4
Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust, who does not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after a lie!

Psalm 94:2
Rise up, O judge of the earth; repay to the proud what they deserve!

Isaiah 2:11-13

For the LORD of hosts has a day against all that is proud and lofty, against all that is lifted up—and it shall be brought low;

 
Jeremiah 50:30-32

Behold, I am against you, O proud one, declares the Lord GOD of hosts, for your day has come, the time when I will punish you.

 
James 4:5-7
But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

And now believing in traditional marriage is a hate crime and not a value to be esteemed or even allowed in big important cities like Chicago and Boston. Aren’t we all so proud!

Hunger Games

The Hunger Games offer a vision of a future where people have become little more than slaves to a totalitarian regime. Most of the population of the country of Panem has been stunted to a subsistence living standard under the surveillance of the Capital’s peacekeepers. They are confined and fenced off into districts. Each district produces specific products for the Capital. The people who live in the Capital live in luxury, able to fulfill any hedonistic desire. The President makes sure they are entertained and also kept in line by the Hunger Games.

 The Hunger Games came about after the Capital put down a rebellion in one of the districts, totally destroying it as an example to the others. For the entertainment of the Capital’s citizens and to remind the districts of its power over them; every child from 12 to 18 must put their names in to be chosen as tributes. Every year a boy and a girl from each district are chosen. They are put into a cleverly designed arena where they struggle to survive and kill off the other tributes.

It’s written in the first person narrative of the main character 16 year old Katniss Everdeen. It took me a few chapters to get into it, after it got to the point of Katniss getting ready for the game it was a real page-turner.

Susanne Collins (I read somewhere) was inspired to write these novels by the Iraq war and reality shows like Survivor. What struck me most about it was this is just the kind of society you would expect if everyone turned away from God. Through out history there have been societies like this and they still exist today where the ruling elite exert their power.

The good thing I see in the popularity of these novels is it may make young people more aware of the danger of an all-powerful government. There are real world initiatives to control human populations and to cordon them off into sustainable developments. The United Nations Agenda 21 is being implemented as you are reading this:    http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/10/un_agenda_21_coming_to_a_neigh.html

I hope these novels inspire young people to get politically active and to want to claim back our founder’s vision of liberty and freedom and self-reliance. Maybe they will see and understand how government control of an economy reduces everyone to poverty.

America was unique in that it was founded on the principal that human beings get their rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness from our Creator. Somewhere in one of the books I think Katniss asks Gale something like ‘what kind of government do the rebels want? He answers, ‘a republic, along time ago this country was a republic.’ There is no more explanation after that.

Nowhere in the books is there a mention of God or prayer or with all the deaths, any reference to an afterlife. All their hopes and courage comes from the love of family and relationships. In the first book Katniss takes her little sister’s place as a tribute and it’s her love for her little sister that gives her courage. In the end there is still little hope in a better future no real escape from the nightmares of the past. A just society cannot exist without faith in God. Human beings left to their own devices will always seek to serve themselves and dominate others.  The Roman Empire put on elaborate games at great expense to entertain the ruling elite. It was during that time in history that the King of  Kings began to reign and the rock that smashed the idol in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream Daniel 2:35 began to grow and it will grow into a mountain that will fill the whole earth!

Unlike Katniss and her friends we really can hope for a just and righteous future and we can use our God given abilities to free people with the truth, Jesus is Lord!            

Who Are The Sons of God?

I have not used this blog account very often not that I can't think of interesting things to blog about, but I want to post things that other people don't blog about. My husband's blog covers brilliantly worldview issues that I feel passionately about so I don't feel the need to add on.

The following is a paper I wrote identifying the "Sons of God" that modern Bible translations have confused in many places. I have not found an answer as to why this has been done or where the idea came from. Maybe by posting this someone in the blogasphere may by chance come across this and enlighten me.

Identifying the sons of God by Debbie Binder

God through His Spirit working over centuries of time, inspiring men to write and keep this written record so that all people everywhere may understand and know Him, gave the scriptures to us. However difficult it may be to translate from one language to another the translator who understands what the scripture means and understands the language receiving it should be able to make it clear. We have a lot of translations into English, they are constantly being revised and updated hoping to reach more and more readers so that they can understand God’s word.

But I have found something very troubling and I cannot understand why several popular Bibles make the same error by forcing or implying an erroneous interpretation of the term “sons of God”. It all begins with Genesis 6.

¹ Now it came about, when men began to multiply on the face of the land, and daughters were born to them, ² that the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were ^[a]beautiful; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose. ³ Then the LORD said, “My Spirit shall not ^[b]strive with man forever, ^[c]because he also is flesh; ^[d]nevertheless his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.” ⁴ The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.

The text above is the New American Standard Version the bible I started my Christian life 35 years ago. It tried to stay true to literal word for word translation and still be readable. My only problem with it comes in the Book of Revelation where they translate the measurements of the New Jerusalem into miles and obscure the meaning of the number symbolism. But that is really minor compared to what I want to expose.

This portion of scripture is plainly saying that the sons of God married the daughters of men and had children. The [a] by the word beautiful in the footnote says ‘good’. So literally the daughters of men were good looking and the sons of God were attracted to them and married them, they were sexually attracted to them and had children with them. So the sons of God could not be angelic beings. Angels do not procreate. How do I know this? Jesus says so in Mark 12! When the Sadducees tried to ask Jesus what they thought was a trick question about marriage after the resurrection:

²⁴ Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are mistaken, that you do not ^[n]understand the Scriptures or the power of God? ²⁵ For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.”

So clearly the angels in heaven do not marry nor do they procreate which was the reason the woman in the silly question given to Jesus married all those brothers. Angels are not sexual beings, they cannot be sexually attracted to women, just as a fish has no desire to play basketball! This should be beyond obvious.

Here is what I find so troubling about newer English Bible translations they imply either outright or in footnote that the sons of God were other than human as I will show starting with the very popular New International Version published in 1984. This version is straight forward, not implying anything strange about the sons of God here.

When men began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, ² the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose. ³ Then the LORD said, “My Spirit will not contend with^[a] man forever, for he is mortal^[b]; his days will be a hundred and twenty years.”

⁴ The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of men and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown.

However in the book of Job the NIV turns the sons of God into angels.

⁶ One day the angels^[a] came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan^[b] also came with them. ⁷ The LORD said to Satan, “Where have you come from?”

The [a] by the word angels says in the footnote “Hebrew sons of God”. Why did they do that? They replace sons of God with angles throughout Job. Wasn’t God pointing out Job to Satan as one of those sons of God who were presenting themselves (worshiping)? Angles are Gods messengers to men. They don’t present themselves to God as God’s people do. Satan was there to accuse those who were presenting themselves to God. So here the 1984 version changes the meaning of sons of God.

Going back to Genesis 6 the New 2010 version of the NIV implies that the sons of God were something other than human.

¹ When human beings began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, ² the sons of God saw that the daughters of humans were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose. ³ Then the LORD said, “My Spirit will not contend with^[a] humans forever, for they are mortal^[b]; their days will be a hundred and twenty years.”

⁴ The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of humans and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown.

So instead of fixing the wrong interpretation in Job they try to reconcile their error in Genesis! The NIV is not the only version that does this. Here is what the New Century Version says:

¹ The number of people on earth began to grow, and daughters were born to them.² When the sons of God saw that these girls were beautiful, they married any of them they chose.³ The Lord said, "My Spirit will not remain in human beings forever, because they are flesh. They will live only 120 years."

⁴ The Nephilim were on the earth in those days and also later. That was when the sons of God had sexual relations with the daughters of human beings. These women gave birth to children, who became famous and were the mighty warriors of long ago.

The Contemporary English Version:

^1-2More and more people were born, until finally they spread all over the earth. Some of their daughters were so beautiful that supernatural beings ^[a] came down and married the ones they wanted. ³Then the LORD said, "I won't let my life-giving breath remain in anyone forever. ^[b] No one will live for more than one hundred twenty years." ^{[c] 4}The children of the supernatural beings who had married these women became famous heroes and warriors. They were called Nephilim and lived on the earth at that time and even later.

The Common English Version:

¹ When the number of people started to increase throughout the fertile land, daughters were born to them. ² The divine beings saw how beautiful these human women were, so they married the ones they chose. ³ The LORD said, “My breath^[a] will not remain in humans forever, because they are flesh. They will live one hundred twenty years.” ⁴ In those days, giants^[b] lived on the earth and also afterward, when divine beings and human daughters had sexual relations and gave birth to children. These were the ancient heroes, famous men.

The Good News Translation:

¹ When people had spread all over the world, and daughters were being born,² some of the heavenly beings^[a] saw that these young women were beautiful, so they took the ones they liked.³ Then the Lord said, I will not allow people to live forever; they are mortal. From now on they will live no longer than 120 years.⁴ In those days, and even later, there were giants on the earth who were descendants of human women and the heavenly beings. They were the great heroes and famous men of long ago.

The Holman Christian Standard Bible implies the sons of God were other than human in the footnotes.

¹ When mankind began to multiply on the earth and daughters were born to them, ² the sons of God saw that the daughters of man ^[a] were beautiful, and they took any they chose as wives ^[b] for themselves. ³ And the LORD said, "My Spirit will not remain ^[c] with ^[d] mankind forever, because they are corrupt. ^[e] Their days will be 120 years." ⁴ The Nephilim ^[f] were on the earth both in those days and afterwards, when the sons of God came to the daughters of man, who bore children to them. They were the powerful men of old, the famous men. [a] Genesis 6:2 Or the human women [b] Genesis 6:2 Or women [f] Genesis 6:4 Possibly means "fallen ones"; traditionally giants; [Nm 13:31-33]

Here is why it is important to understand the identity of the sons of God it has to do with understanding our salvation and our relationship with God. I will be quoting scripture from the New American Standard because it doesn’t use “inclusive language”. Hebrews 1

¹ God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, ^{2 [a]}in these last days has spoken to us ^[b]in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the ^[c]world. ^{3 [d]}And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and ^[e]upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, ⁴ having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they.

⁵ For to which of the angels did He ever say,

“YOU ARE MY SON,
TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU”?

And again,

“I WILL BE A FATHER TO HIM
AND HE SHALL BE A SON TO ME”?

⁶ And ^[f]when He again brings the firstborn into ^[g]the world, He says,

“AND LET ALL THE ANGELS OF GOD WORSHIP HIM.”

⁷ And of the angels He says,

“WHO MAKES HIS ANGELS WINDS,
AND HIS MINISTERS A FLAME OF FIRE.”

⁸ But of the Son He says,

“YOUR THRONE, O GOD, IS FOREVER AND EVER,
AND THE RIGHTEOUS SCEPTER IS THE SCEPTER OF ^[h]HIS KINGDOM.
⁹ “YOU HAVE LOVED RIGHTEOUSNESS AND HATED LAWLESSNESS;
THEREFORE GOD, YOUR GOD, HAS ANOINTED YOU
WITH THE OIL OF GLADNESS ABOVE YOUR COMPANIONS.”

¹⁰ And,

“YOU, LORD, IN THE BEGINNING LAID THE FOUNDATION OF THE EARTH,
AND THE HEAVENS ARE THE WORKS OF YOUR HANDS;
¹¹ THEY WILL PERISH, BUT YOU REMAIN;
AND THEY ALL WILL BECOME OLD LIKE A GARMENT,
¹² AND LIKE A MANTLE YOU WILL ROLL THEM UP;
LIKE A GARMENT THEY WILL ALSO BE CHANGED.
BUT YOU ARE THE SAME,
AND YOUR YEARS WILL NOT COME TO AN END.”

¹³ But to which of the angels has He ever said,

“SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND,
UNTIL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES
A FOOTSTOOL FOR YOUR FEET”?

¹⁴ Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?

How then can the sons of God be angels? Hebrews 2 says more about the relationship of God, man and angels:

⁵ For He did not subject to angels ^[g]the world to come, concerning which we are speaking. ⁶ But one has testified somewhere, saying,

“WHAT IS MAN, THAT YOU REMEMBER HIM?
OR THE SON OF MAN, THAT YOU ARE CONCERNED ABOUT HIM?
⁷ “YOU HAVE MADE HIM ^[h]FOR A LITTLE WHILE LOWER THAN THE ANGELS;
YOU HAVE CROWNED HIM WITH GLORY AND HONOR,
^[i]AND HAVE APPOINTED HIM OVER THE WORKS OF YOUR HANDS;
⁸ YOU HAVE PUT ALL THINGS IN SUBJECTION UNDER HIS FEET.”

For in subjecting all things to him, He left nothing that is not subject to him. But now we do not yet see all things subjected to him.

Hebrews explains that it is through Jesus that God will give man the inheritance.

Galatians 3: ²⁶ For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.

Romans 8:

¹² So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh— ¹³ for if you are living according to the flesh, you ^[f]must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. ¹⁴ For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. ¹⁵ For you have not received a spirit of slavery ^[g]leading to fear again, but you have received ^[h]a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” ¹⁶ The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, ¹⁷ and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.

¹⁸ For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. ¹⁹ For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. ²⁰ For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, ^[i]in hope ²¹ that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. ²² For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. ²³ And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. ²⁴ For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? ²⁵ But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.

You see the sons of God are people who have a relationship with God. In the Old Testament that relationship was established through faith in a coming salvation; in the New Testament the relationship is established in Christ, who is the salvation and will finally accomplish our physical salvation when He returns for the resurrection.

Writing a new Constitution?

Aaah, the fruit of democracy blossoms from the Arab Spring. And a decade of tearing down tyranny? Yes we went to war for oil and we deserve that oil. We can keep blowing up terrorists and more terrorists will come. Our murky military mission to " free " the middle-east is a mirage. They will never be our allays no matter how much we do for them. There is no political solution, there can never be freedom and prosperity for them if they found their constitution on Islamic principles.

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bater Ginsberg expressed her opinion recently on Egyptian TV.

"I would not look to the U.S. Constitution, if I were drafting a constitution in the year 2012," Ginsburg said in an interview on Al Hayat television last Wednesday. "I might look at the constitution of South Africa. That was a deliberate attempt to have a fundamental instrument of government that embraced basic human rights, have an independent judiciary. It really is, I think, a great piece of work that was done."

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/02/06/ginsburg-to-egyptians-wouldnt-use-us-constitution-as-model/#ixzz1licIrzuj

That comment angered me at first because Ms Ginsberg was equating our U.S. Constitution to that of other countries. Of course our constitution is unique and could not co-exist with an Islamic worldview so she may be right about developing constitutional rights built on a humanistic platform. Here is the South African preamble.

We, the people of South Africa,

Recognize the injustices of our past;

Honor those who suffered for justice and freedom in our land;

Respect those who have worked to build and develop our country; and

Believe that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, united in our diversity.

We therefore, through our freely elected representatives, adopt this Constitution as the supreme law of the Republic so as to ­

• Heal the divisions of the past and establish a society based on democratic values, social justice and fundamental human rights;
• Lay the foundations for a democratic and open society in which government is based on the will of the people and every citizen is equally protected by law;
• Improve the quality of life of all citizens and free the potential of each person; and
• Build a united and democratic South Africa able to take its rightful place as a sovereign state in the family of nations.

May God protect our people.

Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika. Morena boloka setjhaba sa heso.

God seën Suid-Afrika. God bless South Africa.

Mudzimu fhatutshedza Afurika. Hosi katekisa Afrika.

So there you have it. We build our constitution on our best conscientious so now we ask God to bless it! Beautiful! We will build our Utopia and every one will be happy because we will fulfill all their needs! God must be at awe at what the framers of the South African Constitution have come up with!

The problem is what do they recognize as fundamental human rights? Perusing the "rights" section in the South African Constitution is mind-boggling, they have every single "right" you can think of and some you couldn't! If there were ever a constitution on earth where everyone can fit in this is it! Unless you happen to be an unwanted unborn child you are out of luck because there is a right of "reproduction" in other words "no womb for you".

Everything in this constitution is spelled out precisely unfortunately the arbiter of these rights has the view of the collective whole when disseminating the provisions. So the individual has to fit precisely into the plan.

Would the Egyptian leaders, those who have taken authority, adopt such a constitution? I don't think so. How about the Iraqis? What is there constitution based on? http://www.uniraq.org/documents/iraqi_constitution.pdf Check it out.

Here are the first two articles.

Article 1:
The Republic of Iraq is a single federal, independent and fully sovereign state in which
the system of government is republican, representative, parliamentary, and democratic,
and this Constitution is a guarantor of the unity of Iraq.
Article 2:
First: Islam is the official religion of the State and is a foundation source of
legislation:
A. No law may be enacted that contradicts the established provisions of Islam
B. No law may be enacted that contradicts the principles of democracy.
C. No law may be enacted that contradicts the rights and basic freedoms
stipulated in this Constitution.
Second: This Constitution guarantees the Islamic identity of the majority of the
Iraqi people and guarantees the full religious rights to freedom of religious belief
and practice of all individuals such as Christians, Yazidis, and Mandean Sabeans.

Do you feel it? The FREEDOM do you feel it? You are free as long as you follow the rights given to you by Islam! Wonderful! Everyone everywhere should be so free! Yes even Christians can exist and Yazidis, and Mandean Sabeans I'm sure they are all thrilled!!!

Can freedom truly exist under the South African or Iraqi constitutions? Not really, not like it can exist under the United States Constitution. Because the United States Constitution is founded on the Christian concept of our rights coming from our creator. The Christian concept of freedom and tolerance cannot exist under those two other constitutions. The individual has the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. These things are up to the individual to provide for himself without the government getting in the way. It is the governments job to see that the individual does not infringe on another individual's rights and that's all. It does not matter if you reject the source of your rights they are yours regardless.

Under Islamic law you are not permitted to change your religion and that puts the kabash on a lot of things. You can't say I don't believe in Allah and you can't say Mohammad was a pervert.
Under Christian law you can say whatever you want to say about Jesus and reject God and do what ever you want to the bible, like I said before you can reject the source of your rights and still have them. That is freedom my friend and it can only come about through the tolerance of Christianity.

You can't build a free society on humanistic principles that can change by conscientious. You can't have a free society based on man made religion. So I'm afraid that unless there is massive Christian conversion the whole middle east will continue to collapse. I just hope we don't go down with them. Please Ms Ginsberg, tell me you didn't mean that the South African constitution would be good for us US! As long as I am alive I will never give up the giver of my rights.

Politics and religion

Politics and Religion

My mother once told me it is unwise to discuss religion and politics in polite company. Apparently she thought that these were private personal matters. Many people of her generation were taught to avoid controversy by keeping your religion to yourself; my mother-in-law is the same way. We are taught to compartmentalize our lives; separation of church and state is the virtue that must be upheld at all cost.

This is the viewpoint of those who have assumed the leadership of the Western world. The American, European and Russian socialists, all believe that those compartments are intact and that governance proceeds without any divine intervention.

In Islam this compartmentalizing of politics and religion does not exist. The whole goal of Islam is to conquer the world for Allah. The Moslem must first try to convert the infidels, if that fails then he must coerce the infidels to pay for their protection, if they refuse they are considered enemies of Allah and all good Moslems have to fight for Allah.

How different the Christian goal is. Christ is our conqueror; He wants us to conquer the world through Him. When the Christian seeks to convert people it is not his goal to conquer them if they refuse. If they refuse Christ’s sacrifice on their behalf they will go to hell. The only thing the unbeliever has to fear from a Christian following the dictates of his religion is that he will be offended.

The recent shooting at Fort Hood; Major Nidal Malik Hasan stood up at a graduation ceremony and open fired on unarmed unsuspecting service men and women. He succeeded in killing 14 people before two police officers shot him. This really should not have surprised anyone. He was following the dictates of his religion. As a psychiatrist Major Hasan had tried to convert some of his patients and was disciplined for this. The Army didn’t want it to look like they were discriminating against him on the basis of his religion. The treasured value of diversity must be upheld at all cost!

How long can we keep pretending that all people compartmentalize their politics and their religion? In the military there are chaplains of various faiths to give guidance and encouragement to service men and women as they serve to protect our country. The Christian serviceman fights for freedom that has been given to us by God. God has given everyone the freedom to determine his own destiny. The Moslem doesn’t see it that way; the Moslem religion compels him to defend the honor of Allah. So how can a Moslem serve in the military? This was the conflict Major Hasan had.

Why does the military go out and recruit Moslems? What good would a Moslem chaplain be unless he guides the people who come to him for guidance not to follow the dictates of their religion? But our leaders keep on pretending that radicals have hijacked a religion!

As an avid fan of the T.V. show 24 (don’t you wish you could recover from injuries as easily as Jack Bauer?) I was incredulous at the ending of the last season. Jack Bauer is facing certain death yet again and as he lies in the hospital he calls out for some spiritual assurance from a Moslem cleric who helped him foil a terrorist plot. Yeah the cleric was a good guy but what possible assurance could he have given him? Lets pretend that a Moslem following the dictates of his religion visits Bauer. He says, “Jack you must convert to Islam and if you recover you must do everything you can to get other people to convert. If they do not convert then they are enemies of Allah and you must do all you can to defeat them.” How comforting.

How can we all just keep on pretending that religion and politics are two separate things?

I am a better poet than Al Gore

I think that I am a better poet than Al Gore he just wrote a new book of nonsense and put a poem at the end of it.
Here is Al Gore's poem:

One thin September soon

A floating continent disappears

In midnight sun

Vapors rise as

Fever settles on an acid sea

Neptune's bones dissolve

Snow glides from the mountain

Ice fathers floods for a season

A hard rain comes quickly

Then dirt is parched

Kindling is placed in the forest

For the lightning's celebration

Unknown creatures

Take their leave, unmourned

Horsemen ready their stirrups

Passion seeks heroes and friends

The bell of the city

On the hill is rung

The shepherd cries

The hour of choosing has arrived

Here are your tools

The inspiration for his poem is what he sees as the blight of the human race on the planet, we must not progress and prosper using the resources of the earth and create wealth and improve our standard of living. He doesn't believe that God made the earth for man to be fruitful and multiply.

My poem was inspired by the way Obama, Reid and Pelosie are trying to make us submit to their dishonest, despicable, destructive sociologist agenda. Now that they think they have absolute power and their structure firmly in place through all the intelligentsia infrastructure.

Under cover of darkness in the middle of the night they made up their rules out of our sight.

Now it’s begun it has to be done and we’ll have to like it and not try to fight it, they know what we need we must follow their lead

Forget the way it used to be now that freedom means getting things for free.

Old forms and traditions need new definitions history’s heroes have been turned into zeros their struggles and deeds now reported as greed.

And marriage no longer a man and his wife joining together producing new life, that’s called discrimination against the gay rights proclamation.

Now all that is human is seen as pollution harming the Earth they’ll make us pay what its worth.

They say, “just relax it’s just a small tax we know better than you our presumptions are true. You know you should trust us we determine the justice.”

They assure us that they will provide for our health pretending that they are protecting our wealth, but they’re taking us hostage and our children in bondage

Expanding the debt with little regret making deals being chummy with other people’s money paying off special interest that’s political incest.

They think we won’t notice they ignore our protests they think we won’t fight to recover our rights they’ve made a mistake freedom is not theirs to take.

Let us join and make a pact to take our country back for the solution read the Constitution.


Of course I will never get a Nobel Prize or any acclaim that I'm wiser than Al Gore is really a shame.