Called By Christ To Be ONE: April 2022

Saturday, April 30, 2022

The values that built Western civilization are the ones we're discarding

Exclusive: Hanne Nabintu Herland cites key principles from Greek, Roman and Christian cultures

By Hanne Nabintu Herland
Published April 27, 2022 at 7:17pm

It is truly remarkable to watch how the West is dismantling its own cultural stability, its principles of reliability, trustworthy institutions, fair trade and the belief in a justice system that protects the weak and renders all citizens with equal rights.

In a time of dramatic upheaval and arguably unparalleled stagnation, it is well worth remembering the values that once produced a strong Western civilization – the very values we are now leaving behind.

The threefold cradle of Western ideals are found in the Greek, Roman and Judeo-Christian heritage. The Greek contributions included concepts of democracy and a culture of sharp debates where philosophers discussed public matters.

Greek philosophy brought, apart from its richly advanced moral philosophy, the idea of government by the people. However, Greek democracy differed substantially from modern democracy. Only adult male, highly educated citizens had the right to vote, not women, foreigners or slaves.

Around 400 B.C.,the city-state of Athens suffered from political instability. The search for justice and better governance led to the development of the Greek ancient form of democracy. The purpose of common education for Greek citizens was to supply the state with a source of skilled political leaders.

Through the formation of good habits and knowledge-based insight, education and the search for wisdom was thought to provide the means for men to govern the Greek city states in the best possible way.

It is apparent that the philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle were both critical of democracy and only supported a democracy for selected male citizens. They feared that democracy easily could turn into the rule of the mob.

The Athenian structure thus had the form of a state based on an oligarchic, democratic government, in which state officials, the military and philosophers comprised the leading political elite in society. Yet, slavery remained an institution in Athenian society. Women and children had second-class status.

The Roman contribution to what we today understand as Western values consists mainly of the development of a highly disciplined administrative system, Roman law and the concept of the dutiful citizen – best exemplified by the Stoic Emperor Marcus Aurelius.

Roman law worked on the basis that no human custom is necessarily right, but that there is a universal law that will be acceptable to all men since its standard rises from human nature and reason, as pointed out by professor and historian Robert R. Palmer and Joel Colton in "A History of the Modern World."

Through an authoritarian administration emphasizing military control, the Romans continued the Greek elitist definition of what it meant to be a "citizen." The organization of the state reached its zenith under Roman law, and the military system was equally effective.

Even though philosophers like Cicero and Seneca made contributions to the concept of humanism, in reality, the Roman Empire was negligibly concerned with individual rights and personal freedom.

The radical Hebrew-Christian contribution differed from both the Greek and Roman ideals in several important areas. "A History of the Modern World" is one of the most highly praised history texts ever and adopted in more than a thousand schools. It asserts that Christian philosophy was revolutionary in that its definition of humanity was inclusive of all people. It represented an altogether new definition of the value of human life, developing human rights, the value of tolerance, accepting differences and the concept of equality regardless of race, creed, gender and class.

It simply is impossible to exaggerate the importance of Christianity's influence on Western values. It was Christianity that introduced the principle of equality, which unleashed the revolutionary idea that each man, regardless of class, gender and race, has a unique value.

While the Greeks demonstrated the excellence of the mind, the Christians explored the soul and taught that in the eyes of God all souls were equal. They taught that human life was sacred and inviolate, and spoke of worldly greatness and beauty as subordinate values.

While the Greeks contemplated much on the beautiful and thought ugliness to be bad, the Christians saw spiritual beauty in even the most unpleasant exterior and sought out the diseased and those in need.

Even suffering itself, states Palmer and Colton, was proclaimed as in a way divine, since God himself had suffered on the Cross. Christians worked to relieve suffering as none before them, protested against the massacre of prisoners of war, against slavery, against gladiators who killed each other and so on. They taught humility and that all men were brothers. These are precisely the ideals we lack today.

https://www.wnd.com/2022/04/values-built-western-civilization-ones-discarding/

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HELL ENLARGES ITS MOUTH

Therefore My people go into captivity [to their enemies]

Without knowing it

And because the have no knowledge of God.

And their honorable men – their glory – are famished,

And their common people are parched with thirst.

Therefore Sheol – the unseen state, the realm of the dead -

Has enlarged its appetite

And opened its mouth without measure,

And [Jerusalem’s] nobility and here multitude

And her pomp and tumult and [the drunken reveler]

Who exults in her descend into it.

And the common man is bowed down,

And the great man is brought low,

And the eyes of the haughty are humbled.

(Isaiah 5:13-15, AMP)

This accurately describes America today.

Unless there is a 180 degree turn, most will go to Hell.

This makes our witness as Christians Vital.

Pastors, you cannot be silent!

Michael Brown on LGBT+ issue: 'This is not a matter of politics but of human lives'

By Michael Brown
Published April 29, 2022 at 7:00pm

If you have accepted God's calling on your life to serve His people as a shepherd and a leader, then you have my respect. I honor you for your service, and I recognize your sacrifice.

Pastoral ministry is anything but easy, and only those who have served as pastoral leaders know the immense pressures you face.

You are the one to get the phone call from the shocked parents who just learned that their child was killed in a car accident. You have to bring comforting words at the funeral. You have to answer the questions like, "Where was God?"

And you have to do this while preparing your message for Sunday. And while counseling a couple on the verge of divorce. And while helping a young man struggling with porn. And while figuring out how to make up for the budget shortfall. And while trying to encourage your people to spend more time in prayer and reading the Bible. And while looking for new ways to do community outreach.

No wonder so many pastors burn out and quit, especially when they do not have a strong support team with them.

That's why the last thing I want to do is add more pressure to your life.

Instead, on behalf of many of your people who are hurting and really need help, I want to make this appeal: My brothers and sisters, at times like this, you simply cannot be silent.

What, exactly, am I speaking about? I'm speaking about LGBTQ+ issues and people.

I'm speaking about the mothers and fathers facing crises within their own home, not knowing where to turn. I'm speaking about the kids in school (from pre-K to college) who are getting indoctrinated with all the radical LGBTQ+ talking points until they have embraced them for themselves.

I'm speaking about the family members who write to me in tears, sharing their own horror stories.

That's why I say that, at times like this, you cannot remain silent.

I understand the reticence you may have had in the past to talk about homosexuality or transgenderism from the pulpit. Why stir up a hornet's nest? Why be branded a homophobe and a bigot? Why subject your church to a flood of hateful attacks and bad publicity? And who has time to research all the relevant issues? Isn't it just better to preach through the Bible and bring your flock into spiritual health? Why not leave the politics to others?

The answer is that this is not a matter of politics but of human lives.

The answer is that the Bible absolutely speaks with authority and relevance to these difficult cultural issues.

The answer is, as representatives of Jesus, we can never avoid controversy and conflict.

And the answer is that people in your own congregation are hurting, and you have a sacred responsibility to help them.

Last Sunday, after touching on some of these issues while preaching at a fine church near Saint Louis, there was a line of people waiting to talk with me.

One woman told me that in a local, private preschool, a boy recently announced that he was a girl, because of which the teacher decided to educate the other kids about trans issues. (We're talking about kids as young as 3 or 4.)

Books were read to them about a red crayon that feels like a blue crayon, helping them understand that they too might be trapped in the wrong bodies. And this went on for a few weeks before the parents found out about it.

Another woman told me that she has been working in special education in a local high school since 2006. When I asked her if the school had changed over the years, she replied, "Totally."

She then told me that the new principal only wants gay faculty at the school and that he will not hear a dissenting word from anyone.

Those were just some of the stories.

My driver then told me he had been working at Wells Fargo bank for 41 years. When I asked him if things had changed (with specific reference to LGBTQ+ activism), he literally grabbed his head with his hands (while driving). He was grieved beyond words.

Things have gotten to the point, he explained, that if you do not actively support this radical agenda, you will be marginalized and pushed out.

In fact, a friend of mine who used to work for Bank of America left the company a few years ago after getting systematically pushed out because of his failure to be an open and active LGBTQ+ ally.

For years now, I have heard horror story after story, including impassioned pleas from a mother whose teenage daughter is now getting hormone shots to help her transition rather than getting the mental health care she needs.

Or teary-eyed looks from a father whose 17-year-old daughter suddenly began to identify as a boy. (An older daughter has cut off all communication with their father because he won't affirm her sister's trans identity.)

The list is as endless as it is heartbreaking – and in truth, I have not even scratched the tip of the tip of an absolutely massive iceberg.

To say it again, these are your people too, families and individuals within your own congregation. (Perhaps that 15-year-old who walked into your building last week is struggling with same-sex attraction, considering either suicide or embracing his gay identity. You may be his last hope.)

At times like this, you cannot be silent.

And, if I may be totally candid, one reason that we are in the midst of this very real crisis, which is affecting millions and millions of people, is because, for all too many years, we have failed to address the relevant biblical and cultural issues.

I appeal to you, then, as a fellow-worker in the Lord, please don't wait another minute. Ask the Lord for His wisdom and strategy, and then take the plunge. Our Father will be pleased, your people will thank you, and whatever opposition you endure will be worth it.

If you need a good place to start, consider this terrific resource that you can share with your people, a terrific documentary from American Family Studios titled "In His Image." And be assured that there are many support ministries around the country that would be glad to lend a helping hand.

Let the healing begin!

Note: No sooner had I finished writing this article than I saw this tweet from a colleague: "My son got in trouble today for 'misgendering' a confused sixth grade girl. The mother actually came to our house, told my wife she's a disgusting parent, screamed at her and said she's gonna sue us. This is what all you poor homeschoolers are missing out on."

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The death of the pastor-centric church and rise of the Spirit

Exclusive: Craige McMillan envisions revivals that don't include teaching about God from the pulpit

By Craige McMillan
Published April 29, 2022 at 7:02pm

It makes so much sense (to everyone but God) that churches should be run by pastors. After all, who went to theology school to learn all about God, so that he could teach the flock who God is? Famous churches are almost always famous because of their preaching, right?

Yes, the book of Acts has something to say about that, too ("I am of Paul"; even early on people were following teachers over God). But the main thing the book of Acts spells out is the gifts of the Spirit that were given to the church. The primary gift of the Spirit to the church was the Holy Spirit of God. He was the one to lead us into all Truth. So how do we get to the truth without the Spirit?

After Creation, God didn't ask Adam to explain to Him the differences between all the animals that God had just created. All God asked Adam to do was to name them. Moving back into our present age, who do you think knows more about God: a seminary professor or the Holy Spirit? Your answer will determine where you go for your instruction.

The coming revivals aren't going to be teachings about God from the pulpit. They are going to be encounters led by the Holy Spirit of God whom everyone will feel enter into the gathering. Bodies and minds will be healed supernaturally in His presence. The knowledge of God will be imparted to people simply from being in the Spirit's presence.

Most churches that pride themselves on teaching the Word of God (pride is always a telltale sign in relating to God) emphasize preaching over the other gifts of the Spirit. Why is that? Many even decided that after the original disciples had died, some of the gifts of the Spirit ceased. That seems to have been when the church transformed from a hospital for humanity into a school of theology. Never a dull moment, right?

The book of Acts really is the model for the church, regardless of the era in which that church finds itself. Jesus was more inclined to tell the paralyzed man to "take up your bed and walk" than to explain in a sermon how his sins had been forgiven.

Today's superstar pastor normally doesn't conduct a healing service, but he is quite willing to preach a sermon about why the gift of healing disappeared with the Apostles. My estimation is that the sick and lame in the congregation would rather be healed of their infirmities than listen to a cessationist sermon preached about supernatural healing.

All the gifts of the Spirit of God are important, not just the teaching gifts. The leadership of the churches wasn't assigned to pastors, but to elders, whose qualifications the book of Acts describes clearly enough. Would the Gospel have been preached to the ends of the earth if the original Apostles had all become pastors to individual churches? I think that would have insured that the Gospel would have become a footnote to human history.

What if instead of calling pastors to run churches, we instead relied on elders? The elders could invite itinerant preachers to speak at their church or conduct revival meetings or healing ministries, where newcomers could clearly see the Spirit of God at work in their midst.

This would return the focus back onto God and His Spirit, instead of star preachers. The Gospel (good news) that the early church taught didn't make theology students out of church members, yet it turned the world upside down with its message of grace and mercy, and the message that God is Love.

The reason all of this matters is that the world is filled with broken people who want to be made whole again. Christians might see churches as places of fellowship and learning more about God. The broken people are looking for hospitals, where they can be made whole again – body, mind and spirit.

What in the world gave them that idea? Was it the Gospel? The lost and broken don't need big-name pastors and big theology. They need the supernatural part of God to touch them with his love and healing and deliverance. We need to be reborn, not reeducated. What we need to learn is how to hear God when He speaks to us, individually or corporately as a church.

The Bible teaches us that we are made in God's image. We didn't evolve from pond scum. God is equally at home in the supernatural and natural parts of His creation. We are to be also. We were made to inhabit both realms. If that were not so, how does the Holy Spirit and the resurrected Jesus indwelling us work? The Father is everywhere present. That includes inside of us. How can we even be whole if we don't recognize our spiritual or supernatural reality?

But how can a church even exist without a full-time pastor? Well, it could be under the guidance of a group of godly men, sometimes known as elders or deacons. That was the Acts model. They could teach the congregation themselves, or they could invite guest pastors for more in depth or special messages. Members could run Sunday School and child care and the other elements needed to have a functioning church, including pastoral counseling and care. A certain amount of reliance on the Spirit encourages His presence, which is the ultimate goal, if the church is to become God's hospital for broken humanity.

The war that we now find ourselves in is not going to be won by sermons. This is a supernatural battle. If the Body of Christ is to prevail, it will take both the Spirit and the Bride, and the supernatural weapons they can call upon to bring victory.

https://www.wnd.com/2022/04/death-pastor-centric-church-rise-spirit/

craigemcmillan.com: Earth's Final Kingdom, Vol. 4 in the Armageddon Story novel series

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Musk no fan of 'far right,' but says 'far left' 'hates everyone'

On social media posts cartoon about how liberals have gone extreme

By Bob Unruh
Published April 29, 2022 at 5:29pm

Elon Musk at the 2019 Tesla annual shareholder meeting. (Wikimedia Commons)

Elon Musk already has sent progressives into shock with his purchase of Twitter and his not-at-all-veiled references to free speech returning to the industry-leading social media site.

That alone could disrupt the entire liberal strategy for America's future, as for years now Twitter has been a leading site for suppressing conservative thought, and amplifying the Democrats' agenda.

But now he's gone further, stating online that "By 'free speech', I simply mean that which matches the law. I am against censorship that goes far beyond the law. If people want less free speech, they will ask government to pass laws to that effect. Therefor, going beyond the law is contrary to the will of the people."

Further, he confirmed he's no fan of the "far right," but charged that "the far left hates everyone, themselves included."

And he posted online a cartoon showing himself as slighty to the left of center, close to his "fellow liberal," in 2008. By 2012 the "left" was running away from him and he was AT the center.

In 2021, he was to the right of center, with "woke 'progressives'" standing at the edge of the scale calling others "bigot."

Fox News said there was a liberal "melt down" over Musk's comments.

Will Twitter improve under Elon Musk's guidance?

"New Twitter owner Elon Musk broke leftist brains with tweets Thursday accusing the Democrat Party of moving way too far to the left and being 'hijacked by extremists,'" the report said.

"Adding more insult to injury, Musk then stated that the Democratic Party is being run by the extreme left. In response to writer Tim Urban’s assessment of Musk’s graph, the billionaire declared, 'I strongly supported Obama for President, but today’s Democratic Party has been hijacked by extremists.'"

A leftist journalist, David Leavitt, promptly claimed that the message was propaganda and MSNBC entertainer Dean Obeidallah called the Twitter owner "part of the GOP propaganda apparatus."

And MSNBC analyst Jonathan Alter wildly tweeted, "Given his new purchase, this is an ominous tweet by @elonmusk and a poorly-informed one. One of our major political parties has become a white grievance party that is set to renominate an authoritarian, pro-Putin demagogue who tried to stage a coup. It's not the Democrats."

The New York Post explained that while Musk considers himself relatively liberal, the extremists see him as a "bigot" because they are so far to the extreme.

https://www.wnd.com/2022/04/musk-no-fan-far-right-say-far-left-hates-everyone/

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'The Great O'Biden Depression' is here, and its purposeful

Wayne Allyn Root offers solution to Democrats' execution of Cloward-Piven strategy

By Wayne Allyn Root
Published April 30, 2022 at 12:47am

First, I want to explain the disaster happening right now in front of all of our eyes. Then I will present a solution. Everyone talks; it's time for action. I have the plan.

Everything I've predicted has come to pass. Back on Oct. 30, 2016, in my opening speech for then-candidate Donald J. Trump's last Las Vegas rally before the election, I told the crowd of 15,000-plus that a Trump victory was our last chance to save America.

I told the crowd that if Hillary Clinton were to be elected, it would be Obama's third term. It would be the end of America. She would finish off America with Obama's plan. It was a plan I learned at Columbia University, class of '83, with my classmate, former President Barack Obama. The plan was called Cloward-Piven.

The Cloward-Piven strategy was to overwhelm the U.S. economy with welfare and debt, causing the economy to collapse, bankrupting the business owners, making the middle class jobless, and causing everyone to panic and beg big government to save them. That would open the door for socialism.

I predicted the main tool to do this would be opening the borders to let the whole world in, give them all cradle-to-grave welfare checks, free health care and free education (all paid by the great American middle class), and as a bonus, turn these millions of people here illegally into Democrat voters.

Sound familiar?

I also predicted Hillary and Democrats would use massive tax increases; draconian increases in government regulations; the green energy boondoggle that would waste billions of dollars and kill middle-class jobs; expand Obamacare to triple health care bills for the middle class; destroy the justice system to allow violent criminals to roam free while the corrupt DOJ and "woke" district attorneys funded by George Soros persecuted conservatives.

That was the Cloward-Piven plan Obama and I learned at Columbia. That would have been the third term of Obama. But a funny thing happened in 2016: Trump was elected president. Hillary never got a chance to carry out Obama's plan.

Recognize all of that? It's all happening today under the "O'Biden administration." That's the deadly combo of Biden as the brain-dead dummy and Obama as the ventriloquist.

Have you seen the latest GDP (economic growth number)? We had NEGATIVE 1.4% growth. But that's only the tip of the iceberg. We are experiencing massive hyperinflation. Economic experts that I trust say the real inflation number is 20% or higher.

The real destruction to the economy and the middle class is -1.4% GDP plus 20% inflation. Add it up. That means the average American is experiencing a -21.4% economic decline.

This is "the Great O'Biden Depression."

What's the solution? When I wrote the bestselling book, "The Great Patriot Protest & Boycott Book," my intent was to teach conservatives to practice "civil disobedience" by boycotting the biggest companies in America who support these woke, destructive, insane, Marxist politicians and policies. Without their money and support, Democrats could not pursue these radical policies.

If we all stopped spending with these companies, I predicted we could bring them to their knees. So, in my book, I listed the names of the CEOs and boards of directors, phone numbers, emails, physical addresses and social media addresses for 116 woke companies – including Disney and Netflix.

Disney has since lost $60 billion in stock value. Netflix has lost tens of billions in stock value. Both companies are listed prominently in my book. We did it. #BULLSEYE

But now I have an updated plan. It's time to DOUBLE DOWN.

Don't just boycott their products. It's the perfect time to boycott their stocks. The middle class has enormous power. The middle class has IRAs, SEP IRAs, other retirement accounts and pension plans. We control trillions of dollars on Wall Street. My plan is simple: Sell off the stock in your retirement account of all the woke companies listed in my book or demand the managers of your pension fund do the same. The woke stocks will plummet.

Say goodbye to Disney and their transgender agenda. Say goodbye to Netflix and their stars: Barack and Michelle Obama. And punish those other 114 companies too.

It's your money. Send a powerful message. We must punish woke companies who support Democrats and their radical, insane policies, like open borders, vaccine mandates, green energy, BLM, Critical Race Theory, transgender education for kindergartners, defund the police, and opposition to voter ID (which leads to stolen elections).

This is how we fight back: with our pocketbooks. This is how we stop the flow of corporate money to the people hellbent on the destruction of America and capitalism. This is how we stop O'Biden.

We shall see who gets the last laugh.

https://www.wnd.com/2022/04/great-obiden-depression-purposeful/

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