Paganism and Militant Islam
But, with all due respect and civility to Sen. Obama (and to anyone who may disagree), we contend that on these paramount issues of natural marriage, family and children, his policies are at odds with the 4,000-year-old, Judeo-Christian view; instead, they would move America further down the low road toward paganism – where sex has few if any rules and human life is very, very cheap.
And, that pagan path is certain to incite further conflict with militant Islam: Full embrace of homosexual unions by our nation and the next administration would tell violent Islamists that the infidel USA has expressly rejected once-shared Abrahamic, Mosaic and Christian teaching regarding "sodomy". So too would flagrant "gay integration" of our overseas military forces. We advocate "love the sinner, hate the sin"; militant Islamists would murder our fellow Americans for sexual error, as well as us for offering them hope and forgiveness!
Franklin Graham, the son of evangelist Billy Graham and father of a 28-year-old Army Ranger who has served in Afghanistan, quite correctly contends that "Islamic extremists are bent on destroying us" – and horrifically, the lineup in Western societies will be gays, lesbians, “modern” girls and women; then dissenting artists, filmmakers and journalists; then all Jews, Christians, Buddhists, Hindus, atheists, agnostics; and last but not least peaceful Sufis, Shiites and Sunnis – anyone and everyone who who fails to submit (the very meaning of the word “Islam”) to the Q’ran in exactly the way the radicals read it.
Meanwhile, if our presidents and judges will not uphold marriage and sexuality as only between one man and one woman, how can American society continue to inhibit polygamy27 – a mainly Muslim custom today that manifestly fosters rapid growth of Islamic populations and undercuts the rights of women?
Furthermore, full embrace of Partial Birth Abortion by Barack Obama – combined with his effort to kill a bill that would protect babies who survive abortions – tends to gut the USA's moral standing to condemn jihadic use of Muslim children as suicide bombers.
28 National embrace of taxpayer-funded, late-term abortion on demand and post-abortion infanticide grossly undermines American authority to condemn the misogynist murders of young Islamic girls by way of ritual stonings and honor killings. Let’s be honest: If we have any integrity, we will admit that
all of the above are horrific cases of child sacrifice that support a Culture of Death and demonstrate utter contempt for the Judeo-Christian Culture of Life.
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Child Sacrifice:
Offering them up to Allah
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For the record, we REJECT the falsehood that Sen. Obama is today a "secret Muslim"30 – and it is irrelevant to us that his father was Islamic, that he was enrolled in a Muslim school in Indonesia, or that his middle name is "Hussein"; this is America, a land of opportunity for all – including persons of Muslim descent willing to peacefully uphold human rights, religious liberty and abide by the Constitution.
We ACCEPT Sen. Obama's denominational affiliation and we do not feel it is fair to attribute every extreme of his former pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, to the Senator. We categorically REJECT white racism, Wright's racism and for that matter, bigotry against peaceful Muslims for the intolerant acts of violent Islamists.
That is our attitude toward erring politicians as well. Please join with us, you and your congregation, in our prayers that Sen. Obama will reconsider Judeo-Christian teaching on homosexuality and child sacrifice. Enactment of his current policies will not only sharpen cultural struggles here in America, they will exacerbate our nation's conflict with militant Islam. We also are gravely concerned about Sen. Obama's promise to engage "without preconditions" in direct, personal talks with Iranian president Ahmadinejad -- an Islamic extremist who denies the Holocaust, does "not recognize a nation and government called Israel," and pledges to wipe that tiny nation off the map.
Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6)
Official Intolerance of the Judeo-Christian View
Finally, the Judeo-Christian view (and all of our congregations) may soon face radical, official intolerance here at home to rival Islamist intolerance abroad. Sen. Obama supports legislation that would outlaw freedom of association (or non-association) in local hiring/firing/promotions when it comes to homosexuals, lesbians, bisexuals, transsexuals (surgically-altered), transvestite (cross-dressing), or transgender (sexually confused) individuals31 -- treating these chosen lifestyles and practices on a par with the G_d given trait of skin color under federal civil rights law. Under such a regime, private, self-funding organizations and their people could not legally avoid associating with open, even flagrant practitioners of "politically-correct" forms of immorality.
If our prayers are ineffective to change his views, it seems Sen. Obama would also require Catholic charities, evangelical soup kitchens and prison ministries, and Jewish community groups which accept federal "faith-based" funding to adopt his selective morality on "sexual orientation," and perhaps even his universalist outlook,32 in their hiring in order to maintain their social-service budgets:33
Obama said [faith-based] groups that accept federal funds shouldn't be allowed to take religious beliefs into consideration when hiring employees. The senator's aides say the regulations should extend to sexual orientation as well. Obama's critics say that such regulations could shut out many faith-based groups, especially conservative ones. For example, the policy could force Christian organizations accepting federal grants to hire non-Christians or homosexuals, even if that violates their Christian standards and goals.34
What a tragic assault upon American freedom and religious liberty! But, there's more: Sen. Obama instead wants special national "Hate Crime" penalties based on whether a perpetrator holds homosexuality to be immoral -- Federal penalties for disallowed thoughts, rather than simply the evil deeds already punishable in the 50 states
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NON-DISCLOSURE
More campaign copy distributed to churchgoers by Sen. Obama’s presidential campaign, absent disclosure on the paramount issues of sexuality and human life. Obama supports same-sex unions, full integration of homosexuals into U.S. military barracks, and equating “sexual orientation” with race for purposes of federal non-discrimination law. He would also eliminate all restrictions on partial birth abortion. |
Courage or Censorship?
The Judeo-Christian view on sexual immorality, however, must never be officially censored -- or self-censored -- as a "Thought Crime" or "Hate Speech", even if someone, somewhere who holds that view has done a hateful act. Just as we must "love the sinner, hate the sin," government must hold people accountable only for evil deeds and intent, not for their benign religious convictions. And, our deeply-held convictions must embolden us to so say so, now.
So, what do we seek from you? Simply this:
Courageously proclaim and pray for the Judeo-Christian view in your congregation.
- Preach: On one or more of the Sabbaths in the next few weeks, we urge you to boldly preach and teach, according to conscience and Scripture, the Judeo-Christian view on the paramount subjects of natural marriage, homosexuality, and the sanctity of human life – and then let them know precisely where their sitting or aspiring leaders stand on these issues. Let us repeat: We do NOT advise formal institutional endorsements or statements of opposition (although pastors, priests and rabbis can clearly say whatever they please as individual citizens on personal time); we instead urge you to preach/teach the Bible while simultaneously ensuring that your congregation understands where Senators Obama and McCain stand on crucial moral issues affecting us today.
- Teach: If you feel so led, preach/teach from the enclosed Sermon Outline to your congregation, which provides useful Biblical references on these subjects, as well as careful documentation of where Senators Obama, McCain and perhaps others stand on these issues. (The citations are mostly from the Torah and other passages from the Jewish Scriptures; synagogues may wish to simply cite Christian references by way of academic reference, or download an editable version from the link above or the DVD you received by mail).
Be Strong and of Good Courage
(Deuteronomy 31:7)
An evangelical view on freely exercising the First Amendment's Free Exercise clause. |
- Watch: At the very least, educate yourself and your congregation by way of two free and outstanding video presentations:
A Video Sermon that very briefly and dramatically follows the Sermon Outline’s Scripture references to remind your congregation of the Judeo-Christian view on marriage, homosexuality and child sacrifice. If your own speaking texts are already "set in stone" for the year, you may simply want to use this video for a stand-alone presentation to your congregation in an appropriate venue. Or, this little movie could be a "teaser" or "capstone" in a service or meeting that helps augment your own messages on these paramount family issues. The Video Sermon was sent on DVD to every congregation of Judeo-Christian heritage in the USA – over 325,000 churches and synagogues! – and should be in your mailbox or on your desk right now. Or, you can go to the top of our Video Page for instructions on how to use the online version for your congregation.
- We also sent every congregation of Judeo-Christian heritage the award-winning, one-hour documentary film, Obsession, the DVD. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then this film is worth a million to help us all grasp the nature of the existential threat that militant Islam poses to Christians and Jews, men and women, hetero- and ho
mosexuals, America, Europe, Israel and the West. The film has nothing to say about either Sen. Obama or Sen.McCain ... but both men have said much about the geopolitical struggle we face with jihadi violence, terror and Islamic expansionism.
(We understand that an outstanding sequel,
The Third Jihad, has just been released. Certain apologists have attacked these documentaries for slurring peaceful Muslims. The filmmakers, on the other hand, argue that they have painstakingly distinguished intolerant, militant Islamists from peaceful individuals who reject violent jihad: The courageous narrator of the latest film, for example, is a moderate American Muslim physician and military veteran. The critics also seem to assert that any documentary about the risks of Islamic terrorism must somehow be a front for Sen. McCain – who along with Sen. Obama, again, goes unmentioned in either movie. Islamic calls to censor these films -- sometimes supported, curiously, by sympathetic
Western journalists and artists! – may convey far more about the censors than they do about the content. But, view the films for yourself, via broadband if you wish by clicking
Obsession or
The Third Jihad. If you decide they are indeed straight and fair, then by all means, use them to educate your congregation as appropriate.)
By so alerting and educating, you help ensure educational "Full Disclosure" for your members as they determine how to act (or abstain) with regard to their civic duties, e.g., petitioning their officials and would-be officials on these issues of deep, shared concern, or how to pray appropriately for their nation in this time of great uncertainty. And yes indeed...
- Pray: For Sen. Obama, Sen. McCain, for other leaders and for the people of G_d who, like Joseph, Moses, Elijah, Esther and Daniel, intercede with the powerful. Use your access, to Heaven and the halls of power, to call for righteousness. As you know so well, the Bible shows over and over the power of prayer and truth-telling to affect kings and other rulers. Finally, please pray fervently with us – and with your congregation – for our country, for our freedom, for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6) and for all of this troubled world.
- Be Courageous -- and don't be intimidated by "false prophets" or "secure mullahs" who order you to gag yourself and suppress Scripture. You have a Constitutional right to "speak truth to power" from pulpit to pew just like Martin Luther King, Jr. and other religious leaders have. Legal organizations like the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, Alliance Defense Fund, Freepreach.org, the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, The Liberty Counsel, The Thomas More Law Center, The Anti-Defamation League, Agudath Israel and other organizations proclaim readiness to aid and defend rabbis or pastors who stand up for the First Amendment, for religious liberty and tolerance, for Scripture, or for freedom of speech in the pulpit.35 Don't be afraid.
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© 2008 The Judeo-Christian View, All Rights Reserved. Permission granted to reproduce this journal (print or electronic), accompanying Sermon Outline (print, electronic or DVD versions) with attribution to our web address.
