My final election prediction

 

People will vote their appetites. They will vote for whoever scratches their itching ears. They will vote for the person who promises to protect their debaucheries.

 

I've lived long enough, have studied plenty of history, to know that our society is getting worse, not better. Because people will almost always choose what is convenient over what is right.

 

The candidate who I believe will win tomorrow, will cause more harm to be wrought upon the United States than any individual in her almost two and a half centuries of existence.

 

But that doesn't matter. Only that this candidate "wins". And that's what's most important, right?

 

I am almost tempted to say "damn the fools who would choose such evil." But as a Christian I am cautioned against calling anyone "fool".

 

Maybe, someday, if we survive what's coming, some people will remember that I and others warned about this. We saw it coming. We did our best to alert our neighbors. But it was all in vain.

 

"Those who do not learn from history are condemned to repeat it," indeed.

 

 

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Today I voted

And just as I said that I would do a few days ago, I cast a write-in vote for Chuck Baldwin for President of the United States...

There were a few others that I voted for too, but I'm keeping that information to myself.

There was a surprisingly low turnout at the poll that I went to today. There's been light rain since this morning. Two years ago when I ran for Board of Education, there was a heavy, steady drizzle and the polls were packed! But I've also heard that there was gobs of early voting this year: far more than there had been in previous elections.

So once again, I've done my civic duty by casting an informed and enlightened - as best I can muster anyway - ballot.

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A message to every political candidate in the United States

To whom it may concern:

The very next "robocall" that comes into this house, I will go out, find the candidate who authorized it, and have him/her hung from the nearest telephone poll by his/her circular reproductive units. With piano wire.

This notice is being made regardless of party affiliation.

You have been duly warned.

Thank you.

EDIT 3:14 p.m. EST: I should elaborate that this only comes after I received four such automated calls from political campaigns within a span of five minutes. So yeah, I'm feeling more than a little honked-off right now...

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Obama's disastrous fuel tax proposal

Barack Obama is suggesting a $15 billion tax on the profits of oil companies. That would allegedly be used to provide $1000 of tax relief for families and other "assistance".

This is a worse idea than George W. Bush's "stimulus" package... and that's already the most irresponsible and foolish bit of enacted legislation that I've seen in Lord knows how long.

Does Obama believe that his proposal is going to slash the cost of fuel, which is soaring well past the ability of most people to easily afford? If anything it's going to make those costs increase even more dramatically. The oil companies will simply pass along the expense to their customers.

Obama's only motivation in forwarding this idea is that he wants to tap into the seething rage that many people are now feeling toward the oil companies, which are enjoying record profits. It's just a gimmick he's pushing to further his chances at getting elected President. But I wonder how many of the people he's aiming this proposal toward would understand that much of that extra "profit" is only because of this government's reckless financial policies, which have resulted in an over-inflated dollar. I'm inclined to believe that there is very little here that could seriously be attributed to "greed" on the part of the companies, for which they must be "punished".

But if Obama were to see this policy enacted, it would be the consumers and not the oil companies that would suffer.

I've already written here about the diminishing value of the dollar. In addition to shoring-up our currency, a wise energy and economic policy should entail...

1. Dramatically reducing fuel taxes

2. Not just allowing but also actively encouraging domestic petroleum production

3. Building more refineries, especially those that can readily process "sour" (sulfur-rich) crude

4. Offering financial incentives to corporations to actively research new potential sources of petroleum, such as the promising work regarding oil shale and bacterial-produced synthetic crude

5. Recognizing that for the foreseeable future, that ethanol and other so-called "biofuels" are not commercially viable and in fact have a deleterious impact on available food supply

Those are some of the bigger things we could be doing to improve both our economy and our fuel resources. But they require some long-term vision and commitment. Not knee-jerk emotionalism and election year duplicity.

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UPDATE: Pastor takes down Obama/Osama sign, gives pathetic excuse

Regarding Jonesville Church of God in upstate South Carolina that a few days ago caused a furor with it's vile church sign attempting to link presidential candidate Barack Obama to Osama Bin Laden: today it's being reported that Pastor Roger Byrd chickened out and removed the message.

And why did Byrd do this in the first place? In his own words...

"His name is so close to Osama I feeling might be Islamic therefore he doesn't recognize Christ."

Ummmm... saywhu...?

So simply because "Obama" sounded "Islamic" (whatever the hell that means) that this meant he automatically had to be assigned a religion? Isn't that fully counter to everything that Jesus, and then Paul and the other apostles, preached?

Roger Byrd can't get out of this no matter what he tries. It's obvious to everyone that this was a petty blow, motivated by worldly politics, that did nothing but inflict damage to the testimony of sincere believers. There is nothing constructive or beneficial that this preacher and his church did in the least bit.

And if these professed Christians spent as much time living humbly for Christ as they do with obsessing on things of this passing realm, this would indeed be a much happier world.

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South Carolina church's sign shows un-Christlike attitude toward Obama

Could somebody please tell me where there is a scriptural mandate for what the Jonesville Church of God in upstate South Carolina is doing with their sign?

From the story at WYFF in Greenville's website...

Small Church's Obama Sign Causes Big Controversy

POSTED: 4:20 pm EDT April 21, 2008
UPDATED: 10:18 pm EDT April 21, 2008

JONESVILLE, S.C. -- The sign in front of a small church in a small town is causing a big controversy in Jonesville, S.C.

Pastor Roger Byrd said that he just wanted to get people thinking. So last Thursday, he put a new message on the sign at the Jonesville Church of God.

It reads: "Obama, Osama, hmm, are they brothers?"

Byrd said that the message wasn't meant to be racial or political.

"It's simply to cause people to realize and to see what possibly could happen if we were to get someone in there that does not believe in Jesus Christ," he said.

(snip)

Pastor Byrd, it's an open question as to whether we already have someone "in there" who seriously believes in Jesus Christ today. So why is your church showing such concern now?

And how is what this pastor and his church showing that they sincerely believe in Christ, anyhow?

I said a few weeks ago that this kind of thing was going to continue leading up to the election. And though I'm not now and never will support Obama or cast a vote for him, I'm not nearly so worried about what he might do if he were to become President as I already am about too many of my fellow Christians who are not only frightfully paranoid - when scripture tells us many times to not be afraid of the things of this world - but also show such selective myopia on the basis of worldly politics. George W. Bush is already the most un-Christlike President in American history... so has the Jonesville Church of God ever condemned him?

Pastor Byrd says that the congregation of Jonesville Church of God unanimously voted to keep the message. Too bad they likely never bothered to pray and study scripture about the issue before deciding to press forward.

EDIT 11:43 pm EST 04/22/2008: I couldn't help it...

Courtesy of Church Sign Generator. Credit for the idea goes to Ed Darrell who suggested it on Kevin Bussey's post about Jonesville Church of God's ridiculous sign.

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We are sooooo screwed

Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and John McCain using WWE Pro Wrestling to pimp themselves.

America really is turning into that movie Idiocracy, isn't it?

What a contrast. Last night we watched the finale of HBO's John Adams, which conveyed the virtue and nobility of the Founding Fathers as beautifully as any production that possibly comes to mind. And less than 24 hours later, we see what has become of the fruits of their labors and sacrifice: three of the worst possible candidates for office of President of the United States, using metaphorical bread and circuses to reach out to what is supposed to be an enlightened constituency.

Some smart-alec is probably going to say that this is nothing different than when Richard Nixon appeared on Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In. But I disagree. Laugh-In was a smart show, and had serious cultural relevance. And that was just a gag anyway. This presentation by the three "front runners" smacks too much of serious campaigning.

John Adams, I'm sorry: we couldn't be responsible with the freedom you and your friends gave us.

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Baptist preacher on WPIP "conservative Christian" radio claims Obama is "Antichrist" and going to Hell

I've a nasty suspicion that this is only a taste of what's barreling toward us...

So I was headed west down I-40 from a day trip to Raleigh (which I'll be posting about tomorrow) this afternoon and around Burlington, I started flicking through radio stations.

And as I was going across the AM dial just after 5 p.m. I happened to catch some pastor preaching with all due exuberance and conviction that Democrat presidential candidate Barack Obama is "the Antichrist". This pastor also added that just as the Antichrist does not have "a single Christian ounce in his body" that Obama is going to Hell.

I checked the frequency. It was 880 AM. Which means it was a broadcast of WPIP, a radio ministry out of Berean Baptist Church in Winston-Salem.

Not that this really surprises me.

Apart from sporadic music, from sunrise to sunset WPIP's broadcasting is pretty much wall-to-wall a network of "good ol' boys" who like to preach variations on (1) the King James Version is the only Bible and any other translation is a work of Satan, (2) independent fundamentalist conservative Baptist churches are the only real churches (similar to the local "Church Of Christ In Name Only" that's been talked about here lately) and (3) Democrats and "liberals" are evil and are all Hell-bound sinners.

You can get a sense of what WPIP stands for just from its bumpers. WPIP's staff likes to call it the "conservative Christian radio voice". Berean Baptist's head pastor Ron Baity is often heard proclaiming that WPIP is "the way radio ought to be": apparently holding to the notion that to contend for the faith means aping Rush Limbaugh. And then sometimes I hear this station boast that it sticks to the "old paths".

Yeah, they're "old paths" all right: as old as Babylon.

Any Christians that obsess on the American flag, American military might, love of George W. Bush, hatred toward "liberals", and electing Republican candidates far more than they do with serving Christ in love and humility, are not Christians that God can possibly bless the work of. I'm hard-pressed to believe that these "Christians" worship anything but power.

And part of me has to wonder how many of these preachers have truly experienced the salvation that can only come with the grace of God. Think about it: How can so many professed "Christians" in America be free from sin if they can't even be free from the Republican Party?

But then, any "Christian radio station" that sincerely believes the world needs to listen to a cult leader like the late Lester Roloff is hard to take seriously, anyway.

According to WPIP's program log for Monday through Friday, this would make the program that I heard this afternoon that of Meadowview Baptist Church in Winston-Salem. I found the church's website. If this is indeed the same show that I heard this afternoon - although this being AM radio and how lax WPIP seems to be in maintaining its website, this is not a confirmed certainty - then its pastor Robert Hutchens is apparently the one who's already consigning Barack Obama to Hell.

If you're a longtime reader of this blog, then you know where I'm coming from. I don't call myself a "liberal" any more than I call myself a "conservative". I don't profess to being an active supporter of any political party. I'm just a guy trying to do what's right and what God would have me to do. So nobody can claim that I'm trying to pursue a "political agenda" by taking these supposedly "God-called pastors" to task for their un-Christlike motives and methods.

First of all, it's not this preacher's place to already condemn someone to Hell. As long as anyone... any person... has breath in his or her lungs, he or she is free to call upon God for forgiveness. In rashly stating that Obama deserves Hell, this minister is forgetting that he himself deserves Hell also, just as we all do.

And it's a much worse thing to practically be gloating about Obama or anyone else going to Hell. Especially if the basis of that condemnation is something so silly as a political dispute.

But what bothered me especially is that this preacher, whoever he is, is way too consumed with the patterns and politics of this world. Now, I do believe that we as Christians should be fully active wherever it is that God puts us, and that if they happen to live in America then this means living up to the stewardship that God has charged us with over this land. But that means taking our roles as citizens seriously... and that's not something that's possible by blindly following a political party! And these "men of God" are trying to goad us into doing just that, when they seek to rile up our emotions.

For someone who claims to be a "man of God", this kind of vitriol is symptomatic of an unregenerate mind. A mind that is yet carnal and has not been transformed like unto that of Christ.

It's a shame that these "conservative Christians" are scouring the gutter. As it is, they show nothing in their actions that could convince the lost of the existence of a real and loving God. Not when they focus more on this world than they do on Heaven.

And I think we can expect worse from some of them as the months progress.

Maybe if they would repent of their own arrogance, their prayers that America as a nation might repent could come true.

Will that happen? Could these people do that?

Let's put it this way: I have faith in God. I do not have faith in too many of my fellow Christians.

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Obama, Clinton, and McCain: Just Say NO!

Me calling into Star Talk on WGSR Star 39 a few nights ago...

I've voted in every election for as long as I've ever been able to be a registered voter. And more than that, I've gone the extra mile and run for public office. Nobody can ever accuse me of being an apathetic citizen.

But I mean it: as things stand now, I won't be casting a vote for either the Democrat or Republican nominee for President this year. Because none of these people have demonstrated that they sincerely want to serve the American people.

Voting for the lesser of two evils is still voting for evil. There is no excuse for it.

Not once did I vote for Bill Clinton, and not once did I ever vote for George W. Bush. The two worst Presidents in American history can never claim that I cast a ballot for them. I'm proud of that (though I will admit that had I been wiser I would have refrained from voting for President at all in 2004). Why should I cast a vote for President this time, knowing full well that Obama, Clinton or McCain would ruin America even more, no matter which one of them is elected?

I've got a Ron Paul bumper sticker on my car. It's going to stay on there 'til well after this coming November. If I get the chance, I'll write in Ron Paul's name on the ballot come Election Day. But I sure as hell won't vote for any of these three losers.

Time to just say no.

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The best commentary you'll read anywhere about the condition of this country ...

"Mene, Mene, Tekel, Peres"

To those who think that today's so-called "Super Tuesday" primary elections actually means something: Feh!

American politics is being told to pick between two separate cages of howler monkeys that are throwing handfuls of dung at each other.

Unless you are absolutely, beyond all doubt, convinced of a candidate's worthiness to earnestly serve you in office, do yourself a favor and don't bother to vote today if you're in one of the primary states. Save your gas and money.

Because the fact of the matter is, America is so screwed-up by this point that the outcome of the election won't make any difference.

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I've got one word that describes this "debate" going on right now from the Reagan Library ...

"Bullcrap".

(Only at the last minute did I change that word before posting from something else.)

And some of you still think this is a free country with a legitimate press?

Some of you even dare think that these are the people that we should give our prayers and support to?

Tonight Lisa and I watched The Remains of the Day on our DVD player. Probably Anthony Hopkins's finest film role ever. That line he says toward the end has never failed to haunt me...

"I'm sorry sir, I was too busy serving to listen to the speeches."

Some of us do listen to the speeches, regardless of how many other people are too damned occupied with American Idol or Britney Spears's underwear or with the dog-and-pony show that the mainstream media and the party bigwigs and the power-mongers in our own government parade in front of us... as if those things really matter.

Yeah, some of us are listening. And we know damned well what's going on with this country. What America is turning into.

I'm not just angry because Ron Paul is being treated so unfairly. I would be this pissed-off if any candidate was being treated this way by supposedly "objective" journalists. Because I'd rather every candidate be allowed equal opportunity to come to the table and make their case, and let the chips fall where they may. Let us decide which one we'd rather listen to most. Anything less than that is an insult to the American people (yah like these bastitches care about whether they insult us or not).

Four years ago I posted my now-infamous list of "People Who Should Be Shot When the Revolution Comes". I'm thinking of amending it in the near future. Perhaps I should put "Partisan Pathetic Excuses for Journalists" on the revised list? I mean, the threat of assassination can work wonders...

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So I'm "watching" this Presidential "debate" from Myrtle Beach...

But when I say "watch", I mean that I'm paying attention in my own fashion: only listening to it, with my back to the television screen, so that my mind tunes-in to what the candidates are actually saying, without any distraction from visuals.

And it must be said: in spite of Fox News doing its damndest to manipulate things, Ron Paul is kickin' tail and takin' names!

He just nailed something that I haven't seen anyone touch: the fact that people like Saddam and Osama were at one time allies of the United States. We trained them, supplied them... and then they turned on us. And maybe, just maybe, if we did as Dr. Paul suggests and stop taking sides all over the world, this kind of thing wouldn't be coming back to haunt us as often as it does.

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The Ron Paul "Affair"

Without a doubt, the support for Ron Paul has been the most passionate and creative that I've ever seen from regular people for a candidate for President. And it's also wonderful to see that, unlike too much of modern-day politics, the pro-Paul campers aren't afraid to laugh at themselves from time to time.

Check this out f'rinstance...

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Ron Paul campaign is shattering fundraising records today (and it's not over yet!)

It must be said: supporters of presidential candidate Ron Paul are, by the widest of margins, the most passionate and creative of any candidate for President out there right now... and perhaps ever. Look at all of the Ron Paul videos on YouTube, and everything else going on to show that we believe in Dr. Paul's message of personal liberty and responsibility... along with limited government.

Some have claimed that this "enthusiasm" is nothing more than the work of a relatively few rabid followers working out of their mom's basement. That's gonna be a hella thing to claim, after tonight.

A few weeks ago some Ron Paul supporters had a great idea: "detonate" what they are calling a "money bomb" (meaning a single day of mass contributions to the Ron Paul campaign). Inspired by the movie V for Vendetta the date was set for today, November the Fifth. Beginning at 12:01 a.m. this morning, Ron Paul supporters were encouraged to donate as much as they can for this fundraising quarter.

It's now 6:42 p.m. Look at this chart comparing fundraising throughout today, with funds raised for the Ron Paul campaign over the previous two days...

That's almost $3 million... raised in a single day. Some are now seriously saying that it could reach 4 or 5 - and perhaps even 6 million - dollars by the end of this evening. In fact, by the time you read this Dr. Paul has probably already overwhelmed the single-day fundraising record (set by Mitt Romney) of $3.1 million earlier this year.

I know of no better way to celebrate such an awesome accomplishment, than to post V's televised speech from the movie V for Vendetta:

"Remember, remember, the Fifth of November."

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How about a Ron Paul Jack-o'-Lantern instead?

Okay, this will be the last post I make before getting back to my much-needed break from blogging! Because after making and publishing the Ron Price Jack-o'-Lantern pattern, I couldn't in good conscience leave things dangling with something that scary.

So here's a Jack-o'-Lantern pattern of the candidate for President that I'm backing: Ron Paul. Same basic instructions as the original: Click on the image to get it full-sized and print it out. Use pins or tape to secure it to the side of a pumpkin. Then use a Pumpkin Carving Kit from Pumpkin Masters, and do with this as you would do with any other pumpkin pattern.

Happy Halloween! :-)

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Chuck Baldwin slams Bob Jones III for prostitution of principles

As was written about here a few days ago, earlier this week Bob Jones III - the head of Bob Jones University - came out in support of Mitt Romney for President. I had a few things to say about it then.

And now Chuck Baldwin has a lot more to say about it and he does it better than I ever could.

In his latest article, "Bob Jones Dances With The Devil", Baldwin goes at length as to why it is wrong for any sincere Christian to support Romney (and not it has nothing to do with Romney being a Mormon). But here's where he really nails how bad Jones has become...

Folks, here is the problem: Christian leaders such as Bob Jones III have succumbed to the temptation to become glorified politicians. They surrendered their convictions thirty years ago when the old Moral Majority married the Republican Party. Ever since then, Republican politicians have made a living by making dupes out of the so-called Religious Right.

There is another problem: our so-called Christian "leaders" crave attention. They desire notoriety. They are obsessed with having access to power. They want a seat at the king's table. As a result, they are willing to believe the lies being told them by shrewd and cunning frauds--as long as they are Republicans, of course. As Doc Holliday said in the movie Tombstone, "My hypocrisy only goes so far."

Accordingly, our Christian "leaders" will never promote a man's candidacy on principle alone. They want to pick a "winner." They want to be on the good side of the last guy standing--even if that guy is a no-good, compromising louse.

If you want to know where the real Christian leadership is in America, it's not found at Bob Jones University or at Focus on the Family. It's found with people like Chuck Baldwin and the rest of that curious group sometimes known as "the Remnant". These are the ones that I would associate with more than any other "faction", if they might count me among their number.

It's not a popular message, but it's one that history has proven to be highly accurate over the millennia: Give up your lust for power. Don't just kill it, but crucify it with all your strength. Destroy it, lest it destroy you in time.

Because is it really worth selling-out who we are in Christ, for a tiny share of a world that is passing away?

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Bob Jones III says "This is all about beating Hillary"

Dr. Bob Jones III, chancellor of Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina and grandson of the founder, has endorsed Mitt Romney for President.

Which I don't particularly have a problem with. Dr. Jones is free to endorse whoever he wants to for President.

Here's where he goes totally wrong...

"This is all about beating Hillary," Jones said.

What a wonderful Christ-like sentiment that Dr. Jones is expressing here. And yes, I am being sarcastic.

You know, so-called "Christian leaders" like Dr. Jones just don't get it. They haven't bothered to understand that not in a million years can they claim America for Christ. Because they can't even let Christ take claim over their own hearts and minds. Christ cannot change America anymore than we let Him change us first.

And that is something that people like Dr. Jones refuse to do at all. To them, Christ is something to wield as a weapon to make others yield. When instead a relationship with Christ is supposed to break us down and make us yield to God, so that we become what He wants us to be.

That is how it is that in the name of God, people like Bob Jones III and James Dobson and too many others have lost sight of how they are to serve Christ, and instead have turned His name into something to use for political power.

And it's something that completely disgusts me.

If nothing else, Bob Jones III is showing that he is worse than a fool: he is a willing slave, who cannot resist the patterns of this world.

And he wants us to believe he's some great witness for Christ, for this?

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Obama won't wear an American flag pin... and I agree with him

I will never vote for Barack Obama to be President. Let me be absolutely clear about that. You'll never see me trying to persuade others to vote for him either. But if he seriously believes this, then I'll absolutely agree with the man on this much. Obama has stopped wearing the American flag pin that is seen adorning just about every politician in this country.

Why? Because since 9/11, Obama told an Iowa TV station, the pin has become "a substitute" for "true patriotism."

He's right.

And it's going to be interesting to see how many "patriotic conservative" pundits come out of the woodwork to condemn him about this. I think Obama is doing something perfectly conservative: he's choosing not to wrap himself up in the flag and portray phony patriotism. Obama's patriotism, if it's really there, is going to be on display for whatever it is. For however the voters choose to accept it or reject it. Which is just as it should be.

In all honesty, I hate those stupid little American flag pins. And I think that elected officials or those running for office are shallow and tacky when they wear them. I didn't wear one when I ran for school board, and I'll never wear one if I ever run for office again. If some prospective voter thinks less of me on that basis, I won't care and wouldn't have wanted their vote to begin with. I'd rather win an election based on my beliefs and ideas, not cheap theatrics or gaudy decorations.

Because the fact of the matter is, I still do believe in what the American flag stands for - or what it used to stand for - too much than to want to use it to hide my own shortcomings.

But it's this kind of use of the American flag, like wearing it as jewelry, that has almost completely robbed the flag of any meaning whatsoever.

The American flag is not our own version of the Blutfahne. In fact, there is nothing very special or significant about the American flag itself, at all. There is no intrinsic value or power imbued in the thing. And yet many Americans - and too many politicians - hide behind it as if it were the Shield of Perseus.

We've come to think that it guards us when facing evil. In truth we use the American flag to guard against facing ourselves.

If the American flag is to have meaning, it's only going to be because the American people have given it meaning, first.

So folks, what exactly can we say, that we have given this flag?

Because I don't know how we can still be proud of this flag, when we dare fly it while we keep surrendering the freedoms that too many of our ancestors fought and died for us to have. The American flag does not give us freedom. The American flag can't give us freedom.

Without that freedom, it's just a worthless scrap of cloth. That's practically all it is now.

And we're not going to regain that freedom by slavishly following after some power-mad lunatic in a suit and a silly flag pin.

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Christian "leaders" considering third-party for President

According to The New York Times:

Alarmed at the chance that the Republican party might pick Rudolph Giuliani as its presidential nominee despite his support for abortion rights, a coalition of influential Christian conservatives is threatening to back a third-party candidate in an attempt to stop him.

The group making the threat, which came together Saturday in Salt Lake City during a break-away gathering during a meeting of the secretive Council for National Policy, includes Dr. James Dobson of Focus on the Family, who is perhaps the most influential of the group, as well as Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council, the direct mail pioneer Richard Viguerie and dozens of other politically-oriented conservative Christians, participants said. Almost everyone present expressed support for a written resolution that "if the Republican Party nominates a pro-abortion candidate we will consider running a third party candidate."

After reading the story, I had the following thoughts...

1. Why are these people considered to be "Christian leaders"? I sure as hell don't follow them. I don't see why any other Christian should be beholden to them, either.

2. There is a candidate for President running on the Republican ticket who is everything that so-called "Christian conservatives" have always claimed to have wanted in a candidate: Ron Paul. None of these "leaders" however, to the best of my knowledge, has ever come out and said that they support Dr. Paul.

3. These Christians should not be looking toward supporting a third party... because these Christians should have never stood behind any political party to begin with, at all. To follow Christ means to defy the patterns of this world, and not adhere to them at the cost of Christ-like principles and character. Do I believe that Christians in America should be politically active? Yes. But only so far as individual candidates go. Hitching our wagon onto the Republican party has led Christianity in this country toward disaster time after time. As it is, it's not enough to talk about going with a "third party": if these "Christian authorities" are going to show serious leadership, then they are going to have to advocate that this country's Christians break away from the party structure and process completely. It must be an absolute divorce, with no turning back as Lot's wife did at Sodom.

4. The previous observations, sadly, can only lead me once again to believe that too many Christians in this country are more fixated on acquiring worldly power than they are with seeking out Christ and serving Him with due humility.

5. It is our failure to do that which is destroying America. Yes, I blame the Christians in America for that. Because we have chosen not to be the salt of the earth any longer.

6. Being that the previous point demonstrates a monstrous lack of skills contributing to criminal negligence in the spiritual sense, I propose that we, the followers of Christ in these United States, kick Dobson, Perkins, and other self-proclaimed "leaders" to the curb. We should then proceed to find and install new "leaders" if we are to insist on having them. Because the current management is, to put it mildly, screwed beyond all hope.

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Great Delusion: Why evangelicals WILL back Fred Thompson

The Politico today has a story about why evangelical Christians - who are almost entirely registered Republicans - will be opposing Fred Thompson.

Don't believe it.

If Fred Thompson is nominated to be the Republican candidate for President next year, you will not only see most of these so-called "conservative evangelicals" not oppose Fred Thompson, but will see them support him with their wallets and their prayers.

You will hear preachers - as much as they can get away with it - crying out from their pulpits to their congregations that it is their "good Christian duty" to vote for Thompson.

You will witness the supposed "leaders" of Christian virtue in America do an about-face and instruct their followers via websites and radio programs and "voter guides" that they "cannot turn away from their God-given task" by failing to support Fred Thompson... especially if Hillary Clinton is the Democrat nominee.

And if Hillary is the Democrat candidate, you'll hear it preached far and wide that it will practically be a mortal sin not to do everything in our power to defeat her. The raw hatred for Hillary Clinton will blind so many that they won't even want to consider what exactly they will be choosing as the alternative.

You think it won't happen? I'm talking about the same people who still believe that George W. Bush was directly anointed by God to lead America. The ones who still refuse to believe that Bush can do wrong and who adamantly hold that whatever evil is attributed to him is merely "liberal media bias".

And you don't think they'll buy into the con that Fred Thompson is a "good Christian man" just like them?

They'll not only buy it, they will insist that he is good and virtuous. In spite of his lobbying for dictators and for the abortion industry, they will accept him. So long as he has that magic "R" stamped next to his name on the ballot come November 2008 and it's the "right" Democrat he's running against, they will gladly cast a vote for Fred Thompson.

I know these people well. Have met far too many of them over the years. For the most part, sincere and earnest Christian men and women. But try to tell them how Bush and other Republicans have been so un-Christlike in their actions, and they tune you out. They turn their heads away. They don't want to hear it. It's almost impossible for them to reconcile whatever you are telling them - however truthful it is - with the perceptions they like to entertain. It would literally hurt them if they tried to contemplate your facts. You want to see Orwell's "doublethink" in action? Find one of these self-proclaimed "evangelical conservatives" and get them to talk about how Bush is right to want to bomb Iran. Look at how much they will seem to want such an attack... and then confront them with Matthew 5:44. Brace yourself if you do such a thing: he or she will probably tell you that you're not being a "good Christian". Or a "good American" anyway.

It's the Great Delusion, happening right before our eyes: people who proclaim to follow Christ, throwing their principles away for sake of worldly power. It's as if Jesus rebuked Satan when He was offered all the kingdoms of the Earth and millions of those who professed to follow Him immediately raised their hands and waved to Satan crying "PICK ME! PICK ME!"

Evangelical Christians are the battered spouses of the Republican Party. They are beaten, exploited, raped, and subjected to indignity. But plenty enough of them to matter will keep crawling back to the GOP. Because as they say: "Who else is gonna take you in? Where else are you gonna go?"

Too many Christians in this country have decided we want the kingdoms of Earth over the Kingdom of Heaven. What does that say about the measure of our faith, indeed? Why should the rest of the world want to look at us and want what we have, if this is our testimony?

This is why I hate so much of what Christianity in America has become. It's turned into a spineless pile of mush that will do whatever the hell it's told to do, so long as the person giving the orders has money or power or picks up a Bible and waves it around and says the right words for itching ears.

No wonder this country is screwed-up. No wonder this world is so screwed up. Because we as Christians, who are supposed to be representing something apart from this earthly realm, keep demonstrating over and over that we don't really want that at all. We are commanded to be "the salt of the earth" but we've lost the saltiness and as Jesus said, we've become worthless. Everything is rotting because of it.

Okay, I'll go ahead and say it: "Americanized" Christianity is, literally, a God-damned piece of crap.

Why do I say "God-damned"? You surely don't think God is going to bless what we've done in His name, do you?

So if Fred Thompson is nominated and is on the ballot a year from now: just watch. The evangelical Christians - at least the ones still locked in this lust for power - will absolutely support and follow the man. They're too inebriated with the Great Delusion to want or know to do otherwise. It won't occur to them that "voting for the lesser of two evils" is still voting for evil.

They will do this, because they do not truly have Christ as the foundation of their lives upon which to stand.

You might could consider this little rant to be "Part 1" of a "diptych" that I am working on. The second part will follow sometime in the next day or so, and will likewise examine Christians in America and how we have let our desire for power overcome us to the detriment of all.

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