| MANY TODAY WONDER- WHAT CAN I DO There are many things concerned citizens can do to HELP (THE MOST IMPORTANT, IS TELLING OTHERS OF THE LOVE OF JESUS CHRIST)  REPENT OR BURN!!
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IF PAUL’S LETTER TO GALATIANS RAN IN CHRISTIANITY TODAY
March 10, 2010 (David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org; for instructions about subscribing and unsubscribing or changing addresses, see the information paragraph at the end of the article) -
The following is a modified edition of piece of satire that was forwarded to me. We added a note that Brian McMerging wanted us to forward to Christianity Today.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Dear Christianity Today:
In response to Paul D. Apostle's article about the Galatian church in your January issue, I have to say how appalled I am by the unchristian tone of this hit piece. Why the negativity? Has he been to the Galatian church recently? I happen to know some of the people at that church, and they are the most loving, caring people I've ever met. Phyllis Snodgrass; Ann Arbor, MI
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Dear Editor:
How arrogant of Mr. Apostle to think he has the right to judge these people and label them accursed. Isn't that God's job? Regardless of this circumcision issue, these Galatians believe in Jesus just as much as he does, and it is very Pharisaical to condemn them just because they differ on such a secondary issue. Can't we just focus on our common commitment to Christ and furthering His kingdom, instead of tearing down fellow believers over petty doctrinal matters? Ed Bilgeway; Tonganoxie, KS
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Dear CT:
I've seen other dubious articles by Paul Apostle in the past, and frankly I'm surprised you felt that his recurrent criticisms of the Church deserved to be printed in your magazine. Mr. Apostle for many years now has had a penchant for thinking he has a right to "mark" certain Christian teachers who don't agree with his biblical position. Certainly I commend him for desiring to stay faithful to God's word, but I think he errs in being so dogmatic about his views to the point where he feels free to openly attack his brethren. His attitude makes it difficult to fully unify the Church, and gives credence to the opposition's view that Christians are judgmental, arrogant people who never show God's love. Ken Groener; San Diego, CA
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Dear Christianity Today:
The fact that Paul Apostle brags about his public run-in with Peter Cephas, a well-respected leader and brother in Christ, exposes Mr. Apostle for the divisive figure that he has become in the Church today. His diatribe against the Galatian church is just more of the same misguided focus on an antiquated reliance on doctrine instead of love and tolerance. Just look how his hypercritical attitude has cast aspersions on homosexual believers and women elders! The real problem within the Church today is not the lack of doctrinal devotion, as Apostle seems to believe, but in our inability to be transformed by our individual journeys in the Spirit. Evidently, Apostle has failed to detach himself from his legalistic background as a Pharisee, and is unable to let go and experience the genuine love for Christ that is coming from the Galatians who strive to worship God in their own special way. William Zenby; Richmond, VA
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Kind Editors:
I happen to be a member of First Christian Church of Galatia, and I take issue with Mr. Apostle's article. How can he criticize a ministry that has been so blessed by God? Our church has baptized many new members and has made huge in-roads in the Jewish community with our pragmatic view on circumcision. Such a "seeker-sensitive" approach has given the Jews the respect they deserve for being God's chosen people for thousands of years. In addition, every Gentile in our midst has felt honored to engage in the many edifying rituals of the Hebrew heritage, including circumcision, without losing their passion for Jesus. My advice to Mr. Apostle is to stick to spreading the gospel message of Christ's unconditional love, and quit criticizing what God is clearly blessing in other churches. Miriam "Betty" Ben-Hur; Galatia, Turkey
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Dear CT:
Paul needs to be pitied. He is in such a pathetic straight jacket of dogmatism. He should remember the words of Jesus, "Judge not that ye be not judged." Jesus obviously gives every man the freedom to find his own truth. Paul is also frequently spouting off on that “imminent” Rapture theory of his and warning that time might be short and that Christians need to be busy preaching Christ (I believe he mentioned that in the second of his judgmental epistles to that very exciting church at Corinth). Such an eschatology of pessimism will weaken the hands of those of us who are trying to save the environment and bring a new social justice consciousness to the Roman Empire. These are exciting new times and they call for new thinking.
Brian McMerging, Emergent Village, on the way to Rome
EDITOR'S NOTE: Christianity Today apologizes for our rash decision in publishing Paul Apostle's exposé of the Galatian church. Had we known the extent in which our readership and advertisers would withdraw their financial support, we never would have printed such unpopular biblical truth. We regret any damage we may have caused in propagating the doctrines of Christ.
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| | LIFE IS SHORT! ARE YOU TELLING OTHERS ABOUT THE NEED FOR BIBLICAL REPENTANCE ? America Becoming A Police State?
By Chuck Baldwin
February 26, 2010
This column is archived at
http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/c2010/cbarchive_20100226.html
There is a classic story about how no one had been able to capture a herd of
wild hogs that was rooting up crops from numerous farms. It got so bad that
rewards had been posted for anyone clever enough to corral the critters. But
even this resulted in only limited success.
One day a stranger (who was a wily old trapper) came into town and--entering
the general store--ordered a truckload of fence posts and fencing, along
with some feed. When asked what he was going to use it for, he said, "I'm
going to get those wild hogs y'all are having trouble with." Of course,
everyone in the store laughed at the overconfident stranger. A few weeks
later, however, the stranger rode into town with the back of his truck
tightly packed with the smelly swine.
When asked how he was able to accomplish what no one else had been able to
do, the old trapper replied, "Simple. I started putting the feed out in a
small clearing and the hogs began freely eating the feed. It didn't take
long and they were there every day. Then I put up the fence posts, but with
no fencing. At first the hogs were a little skittish, but it wasn't long and
they ignored the posts. Then I began putting the fence up, but I left the
gate off. Again, the hogs were skittish at first, but soon realized they
could come and go freely, and before long, they were devouring the free food
with a vengeance. Then, one day when the hogs were aggressively consuming
the vittles, I slammed the gate closed."
Ladies and gentlemen, I submit that what the old trapper did to the wild
hogs is exactly what our soon-to-be oppressors are doing to us! What is
worse, most Americans seem about as oblivious to the whole thing as that
bunch of pigs. For anyone who is paying attention, however, the signs of
growing enslavement are everywhere.
Inside my web site is a link page that is constantly updated with pertinent
information relating to how America is quickly being turned into Huxley's
Brave New World. I invite readers to regularly visit this page. It is
entitled "The Emerging Police State."
See the web page at:
http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/patriotact.html
Here is a sampling of just this year's relevant headlines to date:
"Police Push For Warrantless Searches Of Cell Phones" (CNET News)
"During The Olympics, The Feds Will Be Reading Your Tweets--And The Blotter"
(ABC News)
"Feds Push For Tracking Cell Phones" (CNET News)
"Troops Randomly Patrol Streets In Pittsburgh, Respond To 'Domestic
Disputes'" (PrisonPlanet.com)
"Residents Fumed Over Weekend Alcohol, Firearm Ban" (WXII-12 TV News,
Winston-Salem, North Carolina)
"Ron Paul Warns Of Social Unrest And Martial Law" (Texas Congressman Ron
Paul)
"FBI Broke Law For Years In Phone Record Searches" (The Washington Post)
"Top Obama Czar: Infiltrate All 'Conspiracy Theorists'" (World Net Daily)
"President Gives Foreign Cops Power Over Americans" (Retired lawman Jim
Kouri)
Those are just some of the headlines from 2010 so far. Check out the
headlines from 2009 and backward to discover that the list of relevant news
stories is extensive. And as you peruse those news stories, keep reminding
yourself about what you are actually seeing: you are watching the old
trapper put the fence around the hog feed.
Again, the web page address is:
http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/patriotact.html
Only a blind or deliberately naïve man cannot see that America--the
once-proud "land of the free"--is being systematically turned into a
twenty-first century police state. Good grief! The Heritage Foundation's
Index of Economic Freedom notes that America is not even listed among the
"free" countries of the earth. We are ranked in the second tier, of "mostly
free" countries. Beyond that, the Heritage index ranks the US as only the
8th freest nation on the planet.
And both the Republican and Democrat parties in Washington, D.C., are
equally culpable for America's slide into socialism and oppression. And so
are many local and State leaders--including political, business, and law
enforcement leaders. Suffice it to say that most big city governments have
become almost totalitarian. Government buildings--even local ones--are
sealed fortresses, not unlike the old palace-forts of antiquity. In big and
not-so-big cities, cameras monitor virtually everything we do. Even here in
my hometown of Pensacola, Florida, a nearby city (Gulf Breeze) has recently
installed traffic cameras, which issue automated tickets for red light
runners. (How unconstitutional can one get? Surely someone will aggressively
challenge the legality of these cameras in court!) What is worse is that
many residents and local authorities see nothing wrong with it. These people
are behaving just like those wild hogs that nonchalantly ate their food
while the fence was being built all around them.
In the name of "security" or "safety" or "protection," Americans are
surrendering their liberties. Ladies and gentlemen, face it: freedom is
risky business! If our Founding Fathers had wanted security or safety, they
would have stayed in Europe--or at least remained a compliant colony of the
Crown. So, if one wants government enslavement in twenty-first century
America, one should move back to Europe--or better yet, to Red China or
North Korea!
Instead of demanding that government take care of us, we should be demanding
that government get out of our wallets and off our backs, and let us live
free, as our Creator intended we live! But how can we do that when we
constantly clamor for more and more government handouts and benefits? By
demanding welfare checks, food stamps, government-assisted housing and
medicine, etc., Americans are putting the shackles around their own throats.
Even churches and religious institutions are gorging themselves at the
government teat. America doesn't need to worry about terrorist attacks from
Baghdad or Tehran as much as we should worry about the terrorism from Big
Brother--brought about with our own approbation--right here at home.
When will we say, "That's enough"? When will we truly rise up against this
out-of-control federal monstrosity? When will we demand that government once
again be our servant and not our master? When will we begin to see through
these Big Government politicians from both major parties that are selling
our posterity into tyranny for their own selfish pursuits? When will we wake
up to what both Big Business and Big Religion are doing to us? Why do we
have to shop at the "Super Center"? Why do we have to worship at the
"Mega-Church"? Why do we have to believe everything ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN--and
yes, FOX News--tell us? Why do we have to keep reelecting these career
politicians? And when we do replace them, why do we have to replace one
dirty, rotten scoundrel with another dirty, rotten scoundrel?
When will we recognize that the Department of Homeland Security would be
more properly named the Department of Homeland Enslavement? When are we
going to wake up to the fact that the Patriot Act is nothing but a tool of
the federal government to usurp constitutionally protected liberties? When
are we going to realize that the federal "war on drugs" inflicts more damage
on the Bill of Rights than it does any major drug dealer? When will we get
fed up with these random police checkpoints (manned by agents from virtually
any and every police agency, including federal agents) going up everywhere?
When will we tire of our local policemen and sheriff's deputies more
resembling military commandos than peace officers? When will we demand that
our State and local officials stop begging the federal government for
"stimulus" money? In other words, when are we going to decide that we want
to live in FREEDOM?
Until we Americans get serious about answering the questions above, we are
only fooling ourselves when we talk about the United States being a free
country. We are not free, and we are getting less free by the day. We are as
those wild hogs that were first fed by--and then enslaved by--a wily
trapper. When will we see it?
*If you appreciate this column and want to help me distribute these
editorial opinions to an ever-growing audience, donations may now be made by
credit card, check, or Money Order. Use this link:
http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/donate.php
(c) Chuck Baldwin
DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU BELIEVE CAN YOU SUPPORT WHAT YOU SAY YOU BELIEVE ARE YOU WILLING TO DIE FOR WHAT YOU BELIEVE!! IT'S IMPORTANT TO KNOW WHAT AND WHY YOU BELIEVE THINGS BEFORE THE TIME COMES TO HAVE TO TAKE A STAND ON THOSE THINGS |
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