Is America a Christian Nation?

President Barak Obama's declaration that America is not a Christian nation has sparked debate and controversy throughout the country. So, how would you answer the question?

For me,the answer to this question would depend on your interpretation of what it is to be a “Christian Nation”. America is not is not a theocracy (a church run state) and Americans have never been compelled to believe in any one faith perspective. But it is undeniable that America has a distinctly Judeo-Christian heritage and that our history is rooted in Biblical principles from which all freedom flows. Absent these Judeo-Christian principles, there would be no America and no liberty!

Consider the following:


1.52 of the 55 Founding Fathers who worked on the Constitution were members of orthodox Christian churches and many were evangelical Christians (see David Barton’s resources at Wallbuilders.com).

2. A study conducted at the University of Houston involving a sample of over 15,000 writings revealed that 94% of the Founders’ quotes were directly or indirectly based on the Bible (David Barton).

3. Key components of our governmental structure are clearly derived from Scripture:

a. The rationale for the Separation of Powers comes from Jeremiah 17:9 based on the Biblical idea of fallen man

b. The structure of the three-Branch System of Government comes from Isaiah 33:22 and

c. Tax Exemptions for Churches comes from Ezra 7:24.

d. The concept of Federal, State and Local Governments comes from Exodus 18:21

4. Our Founders instituted prayer at the beginning of every session of Congress and a Chaplain system in the military.

5. The Motto of the American Revolution was “No King but King Jesus!”

6. The Bible was called the “Great Political Textbook of the Patriot.”

7. The Mayflower Compact, dated November 20, 1620, records the purpose for the Plymouth colony and subsequent expansion across North America, “for the glory of God and advancement of the Christian faith…” This is the American Covenant, that is, the document which organized the first civil government with linkage to the Great Commission and based on the principle of Christian self-government!

8. Our Declaration of Independence, dated July 4, 1776, makes four direct references to God and our dependence on Him.

9. Our US Constitution was ratified on September 17 “in the Year of our Lord” 1787 (Article VII, subscription clause)! Its principles are distinctly Biblical.


And if our founders were truly Deists, how do you explain the following quotes:

George Washington
The first President of the United States in his Farewell Address (Sept. 19, 1796) stated, “Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, Religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of Patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great Pillars…”

John Jay
The First Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court and one of the three men most responsible for the Constitution said, “It is the duty—as well as the privilege and interest—of our Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers.”

Noah Webster
Founding Father, Author of Webster’s Dictionary, educator, largely responsible for Article I, Section 8 of the US Constitution “The religion that has introduced civil liberty is the religion of Christ and His apostles… to this we owe our free Constitutions of Government. …No truth is more evident to my mind than that Christian religion must be the basis of any government intended to secure the rights and privileges of a free people.”

John Quincy Adams
America's sixth President, said (in a speech delivered on July 4, 1837, at Newburyport): “Is it not that the Declaration of Independence first organized the social compact on the foundation of the Redeemer's mission upon earth? That it laid the cornerstone of human government upon the first precepts of Christianity?”

These are not the words of Deists. These are Christian men declaring that the precepts upon which our nation is founded are indeed Christian and to preserve the blessings of this nation, we must preserve this Christian foundation.

What are these precepts?

1. Man is fallen and capable of wickedness (Jer. 17:9), therefore, the powers of civil government must be separated (and found the Biblical pattern for separation in Is. 33:22).

2. God-granted inalienable rights to life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness (private property and free enterprise): this stands in stark contrast to the idea of Man-granted privileges (“divine right of kings” which allows the sovereign to live “above” God’s and man’s law).

3. God’s principle of individuality: Exalts God and explains how He works through individuals and individual nations; each person is a unique and valuable creation of God.

It exposes the error of secular collectivism (i.e., the idea that the state has value, not the individual) and the error of individualism separate from Christ. (I Corinthians 12:4-11)

4. The Christian principle of self-government: In order to have true liberty, man must be governed internally by the Spirit of God rather than by external forces. Government is first individual, and then extends outward to the family, church, and community. The principle of self-government involves God ruling internally from the heart of the individual and is dependent upon man’s obedience to “the spirit of the law of Christ” (Rom. 8:2; Prov. 16:32; Rom. 8:2; Eph. 6:6; I Tim. 3:5)

5. America’s heritage of Christian character: The image of God engraved inside the individual brings dominion and change to his outside environment. The Founders understood that Christian Character (based on a strong sense of accountability to God) in governmental leadership is essential to the preservation of liberty in America. The model of Christian character is the Pilgrim and Patriot character. Becoming accountable for one’s individual actions and productivity is the fruit of Christian character. (Matt. 7:24-29; Acts 24:16; Phil. 4:13; II Tim. 4:7)

6. Private property with conscience as the most sacred of all property: Christians are required to exercise faithful stewardship of their God-given sense of right and wrong which is the key to the proper use of private property. Conscience is also a tool for the development of self-government as each child learns to submit his will. (Acts 5:4, 24:16; Eph. 2:10; I Tim. 3:9; II Tim. 1:3; Heb. 13:18)

7. Planting the seed of local self-government and the importance of the home: Identifies the Judeo-Christian home’s responsibility for maintaining religious and civil liberty under law (and the fruits of local sovereignty) including teaching and practicing industry, charity, and obedience to all laws not contrary to Scripture. (Deut. 6:1-9; 10:12-14; Is. 9:6; Lk. 9:6)

8. The Christian principle of voluntary union: God wants His children to cooperate and work together politically, commercially, and in meeting community needs through voluntary consent, without compromising a Christian conscience or Scriptural separation. (Ps. 133:1; I Cor. 1:10; Eph. 4:1-3)

With all this, the question still remains, “Is America a Christian nation?”

If one were to judge based on our foundation the answer would be undeniably “Yes!” But as we turn away from these precepts, we become less and less a Christian nation. And despite what some would have us believe, this is not a good thing.

Is the Religious Right wrong for the GOP?

I knew it was only a matter of time before my fellow Republicans started taking pot shots at us religious conservatives; blaming us for the outcome of this most recent election. (See Kathleen Parker: Religious right threatens Republican Party's future)

Is it just me or wasn’t the man at the top of our ticket a guy who took great pride in the fact that he was not a member of the Christian right? And wasn’t his campaign run by folks like Steve Schmitt, who did everything possible to run their candidate as anything but a conservative Republican? Face it, this was the year of the “Moderate Republican” and they lost.

The only reason it was as close as it was, was because of the addition of Sarah Palin to the ticket. We all watched as crowds cheered, donors gave and volunteers flooded the campaign. Why were they doing this? It was because this young energetic PRO-LIFE, PRO-GUN, PRO-MARRIAGE, CONSERVATIVE woman was now on the ticket. Like her or not, Sarah Palin brought energy and excitement to this presidential election at levels her more moderate running mate could not. And had it not been for the conservative haters in the campaign undermining her at every turn, the ticket might have done even better.


But let’s be honest, considering the level of Obamania that swept the country and the media, an almost $1 billion war chest and a meltdown of the financial markets; Ronald Regan- heck, even Abraham Lincoln couldn’t have won. So, I don’t blame John McCain. But to blame religious conservatives for the state of our party is just plain wrong.

I believe that there are two primary culprits to this meltdown.

The first is Republicans not walking the talk. We claimed to be about smaller government, but the greatest expansion of government spending happened under our watch. We claim to be about family values, but we had leaders propositioning congressional pages and playing footsies in the men’s room. We claimed to be the party of “Ethics and Moral Values”, meanwhile members of our party are being run out of office (some to jail) under corruption charges. We claim to be a party who supports equality for all, but we can’t seem to find our way to some communities until we need their vote. To make a long story short, we lost because we governed like democrats.

The second culprit is the GOP infighting. Moderates blame conservatives, stating that the only way to win is to abandon our socially conservative principles and change the party platform. Then conservatives fire back, questioning the “Republicanism” of anyone who disagrees with them on anything. We become the proverbial circular firing squad shooting at each other instead of the Democrats. If we are to turn this around two things are going to have to happen. First, moderates need to stop attacking our conservative values. Conservatives make up the core to of the GOP's base. We are the meat and potatoes, moderates are the side dish. So, stop trying to change the platform. Likewise, conservatives must realize that not everyone is going to score 100% on the conservative values test. The party platform is the measuring stick we should use when judging our candidates. But we must also keep in mind that in some cases the perfect Republican candidate will not be the perfect Republican. Believe it or not, one can be a fiscal conservative and social moderate and still be convicted of being a Republican. In the infamous words of Mr. King (Rodney that is) “Can’t we all just get along?”


However, there is a silver lining to this rather dark cloud. The best solution for the syndrome that now ails the Republican party past has always been a Democratic administration. Nothing brings combatants together like a common enemy.

Let us not forget that Jimmy Carter helped us usher in the Regan Revolution. Then there was Bill Clinton’s liberal leadership, which led to the Contract With America. The election of Barak Obama could turn out to be best thing that could have happened to the GOP. That is, if we can learn to get along, govern according to our values and take a serious look at how we plan to attract new Republican voters.

So, what will Republican need to do to attract these new voters? We need to go to where they are; to get to understand their issues; and then, effectively communicate how our common conservative values can produce societal and public policy solutions to the challenges they face.

We have a lot of heavy lifting to do to rebuild our party. And if we are to be successful, it will not be as some sort of "Democrat-Lite" Party. "All the liberal values without the annoying tax increases." It will be because we have committed the resources necessary to build relationships with voters and have focused our message on shared values of family, opportunity and freedom as it applies to all Americans.

Halloween play propels church into the debate on Prop. 8

Assembly member Roberta Mitchell was the deciding vote in support of same-sex marriage. Little did she know that she would soon have to answer for her vote to none other than Satan himself.



This is just one of the many controversial, yet entertaining scenes within "Oh Hell No! A Revelation of Hell." This is the third year for this production at Calvary Christian Center, which is located in Del Paso Heights. "Our desire is to put on a production that speaks to real issues that people are dealing with today." Points out Lorraine Feltus, the Director of Calvary's Theatrical Arts Ministry (TAM) "We knew when we came up with this idea, it would challenge some folks. But we are here to speak the truth, in love."



Calvary's Pastor, Dr. Philip Goudeaux has taken the lead in promoting support for Proposition 8 in the Sacramento Region. And while the primary purpose for the production is not necessarily to promote the marriage protection initiative, it does make it clear that there could be dire consequences if Prop. 8 should fail. "We see this as an attack on the church and our values, "declares Craig DeLuz, TAM Assistant Director who also plays the Devil. "Failure of Prop. 8 will not only have real consequences for the church and for the community in general. People need to know that.



Oh Hell No started on Sunday, October 26th and has been played before audiences of up to 3,000. It runs nightly at 7 pm until Halloween, Friday October 31st. Attendance is free of charge.



Details:



OCTOBER 27-31, 2008

HOSTED BY:

CalvaryChristianCenter



LOCATION:

2667 Del Paso Blvd, Sacramento, CA95815



TIME:

7pm nightly



COST:

FREE!!!



CONTACT INFO:



Web: www.ohhellno.net

Email: info@ohhellno.net

Hate from the Pulpit

Senator Barak Obama’s quest for the presidency has been in major turmoil over the last few weeks. These problems have stemmed from controversial comments made by his former pastor, Jeremiah Wright. These statements were made from the pulpit of his church which Obama attended for over 20 years. For those of you who have not heard these comments, let me just say that they were incendiary, anti-American, racist and needless to say, not very Christ-like. (Click Here to see the video)

But the fact that Jeremiah Wright would make such hateful comments doesn’t surprise me at all. The truth is, he is not the only “Man of God” that has chosen to use his platform to advance an agenda that has nothing to do with God.

Just this week the San Francisco Chronicle wrote about sermon delivered by a Rev. Amos Brown on Easter Sunday. According to the Chronicle:

The Rev. Amos Brown's Easter sermon at the Third Baptist Church of San Francisco didn't have much to do with Jesus' crucifixion or resurrection from the dead and instead covered everything from skyrocketing gas prices and the subprime mortgage crisis to race relations in the United States and presidential politics.

During his fiery Sunday morning speech, he called President Bush a "one-eyed man," told the predominantly African American congregation that the country is as segregated now as it was 50 years ago and said "America is running on fumes right now ... we are on the wrong road."

So, instead of using the occasion to recognize the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ; Rev. Brown chose to berate the President of the United States, and declare the recent criticism of Obama to be a conspiracy hatched by white America. I must have missed that part of the Easter Story…

Like the Pharasis in Jesus’s time, Jeremiah Wright and Amos Brown have taken to perverting their roles as Shepards, leading their congregants not to Christ, but to a modern day “Black Nationalism” that is based in hatred and mistrust of America; White America, specifically.

Now this is not to say that these men are not entitled to express their opinions. But God holds those who represent him to a higher standard.

I will not go as far as saying the Barak Obama agrees with all of his pastor’s views. But I do believe that his decision to sit under the teachings of a man who possesses such heartfelt views does raise legitimate questions about his judgment.

And his lack of judgment in the selection of his pastor should serve as an indication of how he will go about selecting his advisors, should he become president.

Guilty by Association?

You had to know that I was going to post this!

Now I am not going to spend a lot of time trying to tie this guy to Barak Obama or insinuate that he thinks this way as well. There are enough pundits out there doing this. But I will raise the question about whether one should question his judgment when it comes to following a man who would preach such hate.

And before you get started….By any objective standard, this is hate speech. If you doubt it, ask yourself this question, “If a white pastor were saying the same thing about black people, would you consider it hate speech?” Barak Obama himself has worked to distance himself from his pastor’s comments by comparing his former “Man of God” to a crazy uncle with whom he does not always agree.

Well maybe you can’t choose your family. But you can chose with whom you chose to associate. And you most certainly can choose your pastor. Clearly, Mr. Obama chose this man to be his pastor; the man who married him to his wife, dedicated his children and was his spiritual teacher 20 years. One has to wonder how much his views line up with his pastor’s views and whether someone with that mindset should be president.

Things that should never appear in a school yearbook: drugs, alcohol, violence, gangs and God”

There a lot of things that have no place in a High School Yearbook. And at Liberty High School in Brentwood, California it appears that God is one of them.

The San Francisco Chronicle is reporting:

After years of banning God from its award-winning yearbook, a Brentwood high school recently reversed the policy. But the change of heart came after the book went to the printers, so a conservative religious-liberty group is threatening to sue to get the school to pay $21,000 for a partial reprinting that would include God.

The dispute arose after the yearbook staff at Liberty High School changed a parent's ad for his son's graduation from "May God bless your life" to "May He bless your life."

The Sacramento-based Pacific Justice Institute is demanding that the school spend the $21,000 needed to reprint the ad as the parent originally ordered it.

The ad, placed by Jeff Renner, was ordered in January as a tribute to Renner's son, a senior. About 75 pages of the 450-page yearbook consist of parent advertisements honoring seniors with photos, quotes and farewell wishes.

Until two weeks ago, the yearbook staff had a policy banning references to drugs, alcohol, violence, gangs and religion.

How does religion come to fall into the same category as drugs, alcohol, violence and gangs? And why isn’t sex on the list? This is just one more example of the education establishment’s hostility toward God. It is time that these educators get a civics lesson regarding free speech and religious freedom. And that is exactly what the Pacific Justice Institute is going to help them get. Unfortunately for them though, it will come with a $21,000 price tag.

The bottom line is, when a school district creates a public forum for free speech, it cannot engage in discrimination based on religion," said Brad Dacus, president of the institute. "If this is not resolved, a lawsuit would be in order."

Next week the district superintendent plans to meet with Renner to work out a solution. The district offered to refund his $175 ad fee, but spending $21,000 for reprinting has not been approved, at least not yet, Halloran said.

"It would be nice to be able to give in to all the wishes of parents," Halloran said. "Unfortunately we can't. Although in this case, it might be that we spend the money."

In the name of “not offending anyone” school districts have repeatedly usurped the rights of Christian students and their families to exercise their free speech rights. I am glad to see that they are standing up and speaking out.

Did God Create Evil?

I recieved this via email. I usually don't post this sort of "pass it on if you're a real Christian" type of stuff. But this piece is too good to keep to myself. Enjoy

A University professor at a well-known institution of higher learning challenged his students with this question.

"Did God create everything that exists?"

A student bravely replied, "Yes, he did!"

"God created everything?" The professor asked.

"Yes, sir, he certainly did," the student replied."

The professor answered, "If God created everything, then God created evil. And, since evil exists, and according to the principal that our works define who we are, then we can assume God is evil."

The student became quiet and did not answer the professor's hypothetical definition. The professor, quite pleased with himself, boasted to the students that he had proven once more that the Christian faith was a myth.

Another student raised his hand and said, "May I ask you a question, professor?"

"Of course," replied the professor. The student stood up and asked, "Professor, does cold exist?"

"What kind of question is this? Of course it exists. Have you never been cold?"

The other students snickered at the young man's question.

The young man replied, "In fact sir, cold does not exist. According to the laws of physics, what we consider cold is in reality the absence of heat. Every body or object is susceptible to study when it has or transmits energy, and heat is what makes a body or matter have or transmit energy.

Absolute zero (-460F) is the total absence of heat; and all matter becomes inert and incapable of reaction at that temperature. Cold does not exist. We have created this word to describe how we feel if we have no heat."

The student continued, "Professor, does darkness exist?"

The professor responded, "Of course it does."

The student replied, "Once again, you are wrong, sir, darkness does not exist either. Darkness is in reality the absence of light. Light we can study, but not darkness. In fact, we can use Newton's prism to break white light into many colors and study the various wavelengths of each color. You cannot measure darkness. A simple ray of light can break into a world of darkness and illuminate it. How can you know how dark a certain space is? You measure the amount of light present. Isn't this correct? Darkness is a term used by man to describe what happens when there is no light present."

Finally, the young man asked the professor, "Sir, does evil exist?"

Now uncertain, the professor responded, "Of course, as I have already said. We see it everyday. It is in the daily examples of man's inhumanity to man. It is in the multitude of crime and violence everywhere in the world. These manifestations are nothing else but evil.

To this the student replied, "Evil does not exist, sir, or at least it does not exist unto itself. Evil is simply the absence of God. It is just like darkness and cold, a world that man has created to describe the absence of God. God did not create evil. Evil is the result of what happens when man does not have God's love present in his heart. It's like the cold that comes when there is no heat, or the darkness that comes when there is no light."

The professor sat down.

The young man's name -- Albert Einstein

**********

Clarifiation

It has been pointed out to me by several readers that this confrontation featuring Albert Einstein never happened. For the record, let me state that I don't doubt that they are correct.

But whether or not the story is true, does that make the logic presented in the story any less true? Are the facts about cold and darkness stated in this fictional story false? I think not....

I did not post this story because it had Albert Einsteins name attached to it. I did so because the logic contained in it reveals truth that I thought my readers would benefit from.

Citizens protest county clerk's abuse of power

Dozens of men, women and children stood up for marriage and good government on Valentine's Day as homosexual activists demanded and got "certificates of inequality" issued by homosexual-marriage advocate Freddie Oakley, the county clerk for Yolo County. After San Francisco in 2004, this was the worst California county's attack on marriage between a man and a woman yet.

(Click Here for video)

Report labels same-sex marriage activist as “Evangelical Christian” Real evangelical cut out of story. Liberal media strikes again!

If there was ever any doubt about the left wing leanings of the media this story blows them out of the water.

KGO, the ABC affiliate out of the San Francisco Bay Area interviewed yours truly for a story they were doing on Freddie Oakley, the Yolo County Clerk Recorder who plans on handing out “Certificates of Inequality” on Valentines Day to same-sex couples who come in and ask to be married.

The interesting part of this whole story is how they go out of their way to portray Mrs. Oakley as an “Evangelical Christian”:

The mother of two, in a traditional marriage for 37 years, is herself an evangelical Christian who says she just wants to make a statement.

And while they did include some of my comments in the article posted on their website:

Craig DeLuz, traditional marriage supporter: "She shouldn't be on the government dime when she's doing it. And she shouldn't be utilizing government resources, for example the county clerk's office, in order to be doing it."

They left out all of my comments in the story they would run on the evening news.

Now I called Nannette Miranda, the reporter who interviewed me and asked her about it and she had no idea that the video clip did not include my comments. Her specific words were, “This is not the story I submitted.”

She went on to say that she did not know that they were in the habit of changing hers stories and thank me for the heads up. She then committed to me that she would get back to me and let me know what happened. I look forward to hearing back from her.

Now… I was also interviewed by Fox 40 News in Sacramento and they did run some of my comments. In that interview I made the following points:

1. Even though she is an elected official, she should not use government resources to undermine California law, especially since this law was so overwhelmingly supported by the voters.

2. I wondered if Mrs. Oakley’s supporters would support the free speech rights of a County Clerk if he/she were to use their office to issue “Certificates of Denial” to same-sex couples advising them that their request to be married is in violation of California law, the law of nature and God’s law? I think not!

3. And finally, because Mrs. Oakley is such an “Evangelical Christian” I questioned where in the Bible she finds the authority to undermine civil authority and God’s Word, when it clearly says that marriage is between a man and a woman and that homosexuality is wrong.

I will post the video as soon as I get it.

California Legislature to mandate STD vaccination for 6th grade girls

The childless author of the now infamous “anti-spanking bill” California Assemblywoman Sally Lieber, has introduced yet another bill intruding on the rights of parents to raise their children. Lieber’s AB 16 would mandate that all female students be vaccinated against human papillomavirus (HPV) before being allowed to enter the sixth grade.

Let’s begin with a few facts. First, 70% of cervical cancer cases are caused by the four strains of HPV targeted by the newly approved vaccine best known as Gardasil. But it is also important to note that all four strains are transmitted only through sexual contact; protected or not.

So the first question we should be asking is whether or not we should be mandating a vaccine for a sexually transmitted disease to children who should not be sexually active. Unlike other diseases for which we mandate vaccination (i.e. Tuberculosis and Small Pox) HPV is not highly communicable. Furthermore, the ONLY method of transmitting the HPV strains targeted by this vaccination is sexual contact.

We should also question the wisdom of mandating a vaccination that has been on the market for such a short period of time. Gardasil was just approved by the Food and Drug Administration back in June 2006, less than a year ago. And while it did go through extensive trials, does it really make sense to mandate it be given to children when we have so little history upon which to determine the long-term safety of the product? What’s the rush?

Finally, the hypocrisy of the “choice movement” on the left never ceases to amaze me. Explain to me how a twelve year old girl is mature enough to “choose” to be taken from a school campus and given birth control or even an abortion without her parents’ even knowing about it, but isn’t mature enough to “choose” whether or not the want to receive a vaccine for a disease that is only transmitted through sexual contact? Why can’t she simply “choose” not to have sex until she is in a faithful, committed marriage relationship?

The Culture of Christ (Uncommon Sense Radio)

One of the great things about growing up in the United States is the wonderful diversity of cultures here. And we can often identify one’s culture by their traditions and how they live their lives.

In this edition of Uncommon Sense, we ask whether or not others could look at your life and identify you with the Culture of Christ.

Click Here to Listen

Are you walking funny? (Uncommon Sense Radio)

Are you walking funny?



"If you are going to talk the talk, you should walk the walk."

How often do we question those who's deeds are inconsistant with the values they proclaim to hold? In this edition of Uncommon Sense we will help you anwer the key question, "Are you walking funny?"

Enjoy! -- Craig DeLuz

Oh Hell No! Coming to Calvary Christian Center- October 2006

"Oh Hell No- A Revelation of Hell" is an original production by the Theater Arts Ministry at Calvary Christian Center.

Watch the preview:


Runtime - 0:51
Pastor Joseph Warren is a passionate and God fearing man who has dedicated his entire life to reaching the lost for Christ. Joseph is a man who seeks the Lord in every area, so when he and his church body become the targets of an intense spiritual attack, he immediately turns to God.

God's answer to prayer is not at all what Joseph was expecting. A mysterious visitor, who Joseph soon learns is an Angel of Lord, has come to take Joseph on a journey into HELL.

Details:

OCTOBER 27-31, 2006

HOSTED BY:
Calvary Christian Center

LOCATION:
2667 Del Paso Blvd, Sacramento, CA 95815

TIME:
7pm nightly

CONTACT INFO:

Web:www.ohhellno.net

Email: info@ohhellno.net

Phone: (916) 922-1505

**Bonus***

The performance on Sunday October 29th will be broacast live over the internet at Streaming Faith.

Can a Republican win without Values Voters?

At a rally held earlier this week to encourage Governor Schwarzenegger to veto bills that would promote homosexuality in California’s public schools, I made the following statement:

“Our governor is a Republican. We represent what are called ‘values voters.’ No Republican has ever gotten elected in any state without the vote of values voters. No Republican has ever gotten elected in this state without our vote.”

Can a Republican get elected without our vote? There are those who are betting that this is not true.

Dan Walters writes in his Sacramento Bee column:

Schwarzenegger will probably veto some contested measures and sign others. He appears to lean against gay rights measures involving schoolchildren, but toward those that bar discrimination or enhance equality -- short of marriage -- for LGBT Californians in the larger society.

The question, of course, is whether positioning himself in no-man's land and dodging bullets from both sides help or hurt him in his quest for a second term. And all-in-all, it aligns him with the mainstream of voter ambivalence about gay rights.

As much as they may dislike Schwarzenegger's signing SB 1441 and other bills, those on the anti-gay rights side know that were he to lose to Democratic challenger Phil Angelides, the full gay rights agenda would be quickly enacted. Pro-gay rights blocs, meanwhile, are likely to already be committed to Angelides, so the downside political risk for Schwarzenegger is minimal.

Clearly there are those in the leadership of the California Republican Party and the Governor’s campaign who are betting on the fact that conservative voters will side with a candidate they agree with 20-40% of the time over one with whom they will never agree.

I wouldn’t bet on that if I were them. A lot of the votes he received during the Recall came from values voters who did not vote for the more conservative Tom McClintock because they did not believe he could win. And while nobody expected Arnold Schwarzenegger to be a right-wing relgious conservative, there were hopes that he would at least follow the example of Former Governor Pete Wilson.

Wilson was not prolife. Nor was he against the homosexual lifestyle. But he also did not do anything or sign any legislation that would expand or restrict abortion or gay rights. And without going into detail, it is obvious that the same cannot be said of Governor Scwarzenegger.

Many values voters are suffering from buyers remorse. They know that Arnold Schwarzenegger is better than Phil Angelides, but only marginally on the issues that are important to them. And to the most extreme conservatives there is no difference at all. They see this gubinatorial election as a choice between the lesser of two evils. And are thus, not motivated one way or the other.

Governor Schwarzenegger will not win without values voters. And the only way he will our votes is by distinguishing himself rom Phil Angelides on the issues that are important to us. And chief among them in keeping homosexual indoctrination out of our schools.

Governor, we don’t expect you to be perfect. And we have set a pretty low bar for you reach in order to be assured of getting many of our votes. Veto AB 1056, AB 606 and AB 1207 (the reincarnation of AB 866 you vetoed last year) And don’t take us or our votes for granted.

I think values voters have been willing to cut you some slack. However, you are on the verge of pushing their grace too far.

Governor frustrates gay rights warriors, but it works for him

Of the seven gay rights bills still awaiting Schwarzenegger's acceptance or rejection, Assembly Bill 606 is considered to be the most important by those on both sides. The measure, carried by Assemblyman Lloyd Levine, D-Van Nuys, would require the state schools superintendent to develop an anti-harassment and anti-discrimination program centered on sexual orientation, and allow state support to be withheld for school districts lax in adopting it. During a rally on the Capitol steps this week, Robla School District Board President Craig DeLuz labeled AB 606 "the worst of all of them."


(Click Here for More)

Liberal Christians? Now that’s an oxymoron.

The Democrat Party is leading an all out assault on moral values. However, they have come to realize that their fever to redefine marriage, kill the unborn, indoctrinate school children with sex education and homosexual lifestyles and remove all references to God from the public square (unless that god is Allah) has so offended the moral values of Christian voters they must to something to recapture at least part of this significant voting block. Enter in… the Liberal Christian Movement.

The Orange County Register is reporting:

This summer, hoping to attract believers who feel their faith has been hijacked by political interests, Progressive Christians Uniting, a 10-year-old Southern California-based organization, opened an Orange County chapter.

The group has already begun launching teach-ins and discussion groups, including one to be held Sept. 12 to Oct. 31 at First Christian Church in Fullerton. The seminars will be based on a 2006 essay collection, "Getting on Message: Challenging the Christian Right from the Heart of the Gospel," which was edited by the Rev. Peter Laarman, the group's executive director.

Who are these folks? These are cafeteria Christians who want to pick and choose which parts of the Bible they want to follow. I pretty much summed them up in an article I wrote “Liberal Christian Talk Show Host can’t handle Uncommon Sense” which chronicled my experience of being a guest on a liberal Christian radio show.

First, did you notice how Schoenwald dismisses the Bible in favor of his own definition of Christianity? Like most Christian liberals, he dismisses the validity of the Bible because much of the scripture is in conflict with this liberal world view. So, instead of altering their world view to fit their faith, they alter their faith to fit their world view. Thus, they only talk about those parts of scripture such as love, forgiveness, and charity that they agree with and dismiss those parts like the consequences of sin, righteousness and repentance that they don’t like. I also love how he throws in “Tolerance”. Maybe I’m mistaken, but I don’t know where in the Bible God says that we should be tolerant of sin.

To make a long story short, these people are idol worshipers.

Ok… I know that sounds harsh, but think about it….

By picking and choosing the parts of Christianity that they like and discarding the ones they don’t, are they not simply creating their own religion? Is that not what those who worship idols (false gods) do? They create their own object (religious code) and call it god. In his warnings against worshiping false gods (idol worship), God also admonishes those who do not honor all of his law. “Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it.” Deut. 12:32

Rev. Laarman and his group claim that their main focus will be on the “heart of the Gospel” which is Love. On this, I would have to commend them. Although, I don’t think that their version of the Gospel is the same as God’s.

Unfortunately, the differences are far to numerous to point out in this one article. But I will be writing a series of pieces comparing different aspects of liberal ideology to the Word. I think I’ll call it “To Liberal Christians- What the Word Says”.

I look forward to hearing what you think.

Calif. Pro-Family Groups Protest Bills Promoting Homosexual Education

Craig DeLuz, president of the Robla School Board, said SB 1437 would have allowed only "positive images of homosexuals in any context of education."

"Meaning that if you wanted to talk about the spread of AIDS, if you wanted to talk about high-risk sexual activities, male-to-male sexual contact could not be mentioned because you'll have violated SB 1437," he said. "But that's the truth! What kind of law hides the truth?"

(Click Here for More)

The Heart of a Leader (Uncommon Sense Radio)

What does it take to be an effective leader? It all starts in the heart.

That is why In this edition of Uncommon Sense we will study how to have the heart of a leader.

Let me know what you think…

(Click Here to listen)

Get a Job! (Uncommon Sense Radio)

God loves to work! Think about it… when creating the world, he worked six days and rested only one. And when he created Adam, the first thing he did was give him a job.

On the other hand, man tends to have a very negative outlook on work. We can’t wait for Friday to come so that we can leave work and dread Monday, when we have to return. And try to get people to give of their free time to volunteer.

As we are called on to have the mind of Christ, shouldn’t that also include our attitude towards work?

This edition of Uncommon Sense explores God’s perspective of work and our attitudes towards it and those with whom we labor.

(Click Here to Listen in!)

Should Christians be involved in politics (Uncommon Sense Radio)

For some reason, the Christian Church has bought into the false doctrine of "Separation of Church and State".

Well this edition of Uncommon Sense Radio provides an introduction into what I like to call "Christian Civics" and provides some biblical arguments as to why we are not only allowed to participate, but we are mandated to participate.

Click Here to Listen in!

Here are a couple of other posts on the subject:

Red States are going to church… Blue States are going to Hell!

Should Christians Vote Christian?