The Virtual Pew Daily: October 2008

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

How Talk Radio and The Religious Right Influenced The Election of 2008

Last Winter I took my son to see Senator Barack Obama speak at a rally in El Dorado Kansas. El Dorado is a small town outside of Wichita where Obama’s mother’s parents are from. After standing in the very cold snow storm for over an hour, we finally got in, sat in some VIP seats and listened to his presentation. At the time I was seriously considering voting for Senator Obama. You see, while I have been registered with the Republican Party since the election of President Bill Clinton, I am still open to voting for the best person, not the party. As a result, Senator Obama sounded like someone I could support.

Well the rest is history and the following is a continuation of the limited celebrity I have experienced since that rally. You see I was interviewed for an article at the rally by Salon.com. That story went international and since then I have heard from people all over the world regarding my position and beliefs. In the weeks leading up to the election I have been interviewed by various media including this week, The Canadian Free Press and The Daily Telegraph out of London England. I have also heard from various individuals, radio programs and more. To say the least, after some discussion I felt it important to give clarity as to my thoughts in this article. While the reporters have been respectful and friendly, I find it important and realize that no media can print or cover an entire interview; as a result, some of my opinions and thoughts have been misconstrued. , I am hoping to clarify some of my thoughts here. I do want to make clear, these are my thoughts. While I believe I have spoken to a large number of people who agree with me, there is no recorded data to support my positions. I do believe there are many others who will hold to, agree with my positions, and support the assumptions made. That said, here goes, hope you enjoy the read, and hopefully it clarifies up some of the misperceptions some have had.

Note: While the following shows who I am supporting and voting for regarding the President of the United States, I must make clear, I like Senator Barack Obama, I also have concerns about him. I am not one of those who will vilify him at this point, I just don’t know enough about him to do support his run for president.

The following is titled How Talk Radio and The Religious Right Influenced The Election of 2008

There are several things, among others, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and other in the Religious Right and I agree on:

1. We support John McCain for President.
2. We like Sarah Palin and believe her selection as Vice President helped the Republican ticket for President.
3. That I am wrong about what I am about to write.

Now don’t get me wrong, I actually like Rush, have listened to him since he started in the late 1980’s. At one time I considered myself an “Ottid Head.” Now you would have to have listened to Rush for sometime to know what that term is because it isn’t used anymore. Over the last year while I wouldn’t consider myself a “Ditto Head,” I would say I agree with Rush more than half of the time and am entertained by his radio program.

Sean Hannity on the other hand is one I tend to agree with philosophically but disagree a great deal with the approach used on his programs. I personally find Hannity degrading, inflammatory, and largely disrespectful to opposing views, seldom giving others the time to express their views when they call. I can’t deny it though, I listen to one as much as the other, likely Hannity more because of the hours his program is aired is times I am in my car more. I also enjoy watching his show and despite the unjustified criticism I believe Fox News gets, know that Hannity and Colmes along with The O’Reilly Factor are two of the programs that trounce all other cable news programs in the ratings wars. While this must keep some up in arms, it really don’t bother me as I believe that in comparison to most network programs and other media outlets, those like myself, centrist with a slight lean to the right deserve what I consider “fair and balanced” programming. While many may disagree with this assumption, I challenge they likely don’t watch the programming at Fox, if they did, they would see there are those who do present a countering view with programming and many guests from “the Left,” who support the assumption that Fox is more balanced than given credit for. If I must say so, one of the things that have as of recent turned me off of the Senator Obama band wagon is his continued blasting of Fox in ways I believe are largely unjustified.

One of the things I was asked in the early Salon.com article was of my reasoning for supporting Senator Obama on some areas and not on others. The answer to that is really simple. I appreciate some of the positions Barack Obama has taken. There are some positions such as his position of some social oriented programs, and especially health care that I support more than McCain. In some of the web sites you can visit to rate your positions alongside the positions of the candidates, there has been a even split, with a one or two percentage point separating my positions in comparison to these two candidates positions.

With the above said, there is I believe a reason John McCain will loose this election. While there is still a slight outside chance he can win, I personally believe McCain will loose the election between 6 and 11 points at the least. In this day and age, that will be considered a landslide. In this election year one may assume various reasons Senator Obama will win by a large majority. Some of those may include the large numbers of youth and blacks he has inspired and motivated to get to the polls, while this is certainly true, the other truth is many of those would have voted for the Democratic ticket anyway. Some will say it was President Bush, and while there is truth that President Bush has deservedly lost favor with the American people, for those that follow politics, we know better than to believe the political spin that Senator McCain will be another 4 years of President Bush. Some will point to Senator McCain, and while his campaign officials haven’t run the best campaign, there are other factors he has had to respond to which has made this election difficult for him. Some will ask then, what do you believe to be the contributing factors in this election? To that, I would say, Talk Radio and The Religious Right did Senator John McCain in before the nomination was even secured.

I realize there will be many who will take issue with my position here but let me respond with what I believe to be factual issues of how especially Conservative Talk Radio and The Religious Right did in Senator McCain even before he secured the nomination.

I am sure many will recall that it seemed as if the first priority of the Religious Right and Talk Radio during the early stages of this election was to belittle and tear down first and foremost Senator Hillary Clinton. I was one of those who stated there was no way I could vote for Hillary. I have realized and stated that her husband, President Bill Clinton did a much better job at president than many will give credit for. That said, his moral indiscretions concerned many people. Hillary among those on the right was unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on whom you talk to, directly associated with her husband, therefore being guilty by association. I am not certain if this was a fair criticism, and I will readily admit, I was pulled into the discourse and attacks. In fact, I changed my party affiliation in Kansas this year to specifically caucus for Barack Obama and vote against Senator Clinton. How much was I into Senator Obama, a little know fact is that at this point I haven’t spoken, I was 2 votes short of becoming a delegate for Senator Obama in the caucus delegate selection process.

If the attacks on Senator Clinton didn’t in part allow for the votes to swing the nomination to Obama, then the belittling of two candidates in particular by the Religious Right, and Talk Radio, would. This would show one of the great dangers of the marriage which had taken place between the Republican Party, Conservative Talk Radio, and The Religious Right.

It was apparent that the Religious Right and Conservative Talk Radio had put their cards behind Governor Mitt Romney. In the process the Religious Right would leave one of their own, former pastor and Governor Mike Huckabee behind. Even as Governor Huckabee gained in popularity from his debate performances, he received attacks from these groups. Both Governor Huckabee and Senator McCain were the blunt of many attacks for their positions during the primary process. Governor Huckabee was attacked because of his social positions related in part to his faith, and Senator McCain was attacked for the positions he had taken on issues such as immigration. Both of these individuals at the time were attacked with the threats of endorsing Hillary from such people as James Dobson, Laura Ingram, and Ann Coulter. Also hinting at such an endorsement was Rush Limbaugh. It is hard to tell though and truth is my memory isn’t totally clear with Rush on this one. I know he kids about things like this but do believe his attacks on McCain were legitimate as he had little respect for his political positions. The evidence was clear among these groups, Senator McCain had not made friends with the Religious Right or with Talk Radio.

Over the course of the primary season, the social conservative, and those within the faith community had taken their issues seriously. Their primary source of information was obtained by hearing primarily from Talk Radio and Religious Right Information Groups. It wouldn’t take much to confuse this population, and potentially drive those from the religious community over to Senator Obama. While I would consider many of those voters suspect, in other words not solid as to if they will vote for Senator Obama when they step in the voting booth, I think a good many of them are solid. It won’t surprise me if the numbers driven to Senator Obama are the numbers to show the difference in this election.

There are several things as a person of faith that bothers me on problems that have surfaced during this election. One is that Christians in particular have been duped to be persuaded by the so called leaders of the Religious Right who are driven more by Republican Policy than they are Jesus. Another thing is that we who are moderate on some issues seem to have no voice in either party, whether Democrat or Republican. As a follower of Jesus, I have a mandate to follow Biblical guidelines as opposed to policy and political guidelines as have been established by individuals in their smoke filled rooms, in their thousand dollar suits, while filled with deceit. Most of us would never bother to step through the doors of this corruption.

I have been asked several questions, one of which is what I think could have been done differently. I think the worst candidate to put up against Senator Barack Obama was Senator John McCain. I say that not out of disrespect of Senator McCain. It sickens me at how people have belittled him and ignored the significant contributions to his country, both via his military service, and his political service where he has been on the opposite side of the Republican Party numerous times. Senator McCain just doesn’t have an approach that can compare to a charismatic, well trained lawyer who has a legitimate gift of communication. Senator Obama, through the mantra of change has electrified a voting segment that in reality likely doesn’t know, and frankly don’t care what his political positions are. Just as Talk Radio and the Religious Right made the mistake of thinking they could capitalize on these facts, I believe the Democratic Party made the same mistake regarding what they thought was their ability to capitalize on a candidate like Governor Huckabee receiving the nomination. I believe Governor Mike Huckabee may have been the only Republican in this election who could have competed with Senator Obama.

Governor Huckabee was my candidate of choice. I admire a man who stands against his party, but also stands up for the rights of the unborn, plus having a large respect for life, even for one who is up for consideration for the death penalty. It is those issues of supporting Biblical justice though that got Governor Huckabee in trouble with many of the National Talk Show hosts as well as the Religious Right. While he garnished some support for his position on the flat-tax, that support always seemed to come as a secondary endorsement after he had been belittled in the bulk of the conversation. If one recalls though, Governor Huckabee showed a lot of promise.

Governor Mike Huckabee was a little known politician from Arkansas prior to the primaries. During the primary season Governor Huckabee gained more and more attention for his positions, lasting longer than any other candidate other than Senator McCain, and gaining in popularity all along the way. The one person, who in fact could counter Senator Obama’s eloquence and ability to communicate, was a trained speaker, who as a pastor had learned to use humor, and bring up talking points and sound bites at the spur of the moment. This would have continued to increase the popularity of Governor Huckabee up until the general election, but certainly in the debate process. One of the things we heard on a continual basis was there were no “moments” in the series of debates between Senator McCain and Senator Obama. As a regular guy who loves the political process, I agree, the debates were boring with no memorable moments that swung the victory in those debates to Senator Obama not Senator McCain.

There have been other questions asked; one I will spend limited time on is the selection of Governor Sarah Palin as the Vice Presidential Candidate for Senator McCain. I didn’t make up my mind as to who I was voting for until late. It was the open forum on faith with Senators McCain and Senator Obama hosted by Rick Warren at Saddleback Church that begin to move me in favor of Senator McCain. He simply knew what he wanted, was quick with his answers and it gave me the assurance, that at least on issues he was clearer than was Senator Obama. While I did not support every one of his positions, I knew where he stood and supported most of them. To the Senator Obama supporters I will say, with clarity, Senator Obama’s answer to the question regarding abortion in that forum still deeply bothers me. Not so much his position but how he responded and answered the question by avoiding it. This was the first time I had seen Senator Obama as more of a politician than I did a guy who cared about serving the nation. It was something else that came out of the Obama and Democratic campaign that finally moved my vote to Senator McCain.

The undue attacks on Governor Sarah Palin disturbed me. I as many others who did not care about the cost of her dresses, which she did not buy and is donating to charity, who did take seriously the allegations in the trooper gate stories, which in fact her brother in law did threaten the life of her father and did taze his son, saw Governor Palin as a regular person, who had addressed the issues of her state, and more importantly saw the need to stand up for what was right as opposed to standing up for her party. It was her willingness, as a Republican to take on the Republican Party which impressed me. The unfounded attacks, the blasting, sexist comments and more were the final nail in the coffin to cause me to vote for Senator McCain. I didn’t see this much different than those who supported Congressman Ron Paul. Like Congressman Paul, Senator Obama is a man I personally like, will consider voting for in the future depending on what his experience in the national spot light shows me, but get this, many of his followers and supporters scare the hell out of me. Like Congressman Paul supporters, many which believe the events on September 11 were an inside job by our Government, many in the Obama camp believe in fruitless, and insane concepts. If they actually believe some of the rubble that has been stated about Senator McCain or Governor Palin, I just can’t bring myself to support them. It is a case where the supporters may have done their candidate more harm than good.

Now as I stated earlier, I hope I am wrong about this election, I don’t think I am though. I blame part of that on the actions of President George W. Bush. I voted for him twice, but would not do it again. For me the turning point was what I believe to be the turning point in the war in Iraq, it was the lack of response to former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld during the Abu Graves Prison incident. Friendship and loyalty where not what was needed during this incident which seriously jeopardized our troops by damaging the respect of many of the people they were attempting to liberate. Rumsfeld and his cronies knew we had done wrong, and instead of swiftly and severely dealing with the issues for all involved, they attempted to pass the blame. President Bush on the other hand, was unwilling to admit the mistake and do what was right.

Now I realize that in my assessment, I have likely gotten President Bush supporters, Senator McCain supporters, and Senator Obama supporters mad at me, heck I even imagine that some Ralph Nader supporters are mad because I didn’t mention him. That was not my intent. My intent is to call each of us to the place where we watch carefully, we listen carefully, and we do something the forefathers in this country encouraged us to do, become involved in the political process. Now I am not here to say that Senator Obama supporters or any other supporter is ignorant or wrong in their positions. I am fully aware that many have watched Senator Obama and support his positions. I am also aware that thanks to some like Howard Sterns recent example of asking voters on the street about their candidates position, that many have no idea what their candidate of choice believes. That is sad, and as a result, in some ways, this may be the most uninformed decision the American Voter has ever made. Not just about any one candidate but about all of the candidates. How soon we forget people like Laura Ingram stating she is going to endorse Senator Hillary Clinton. How we forget people like Ann Coulter spewing her hate not just towards the Democrats but also the Republicans like Senator McCain. Frankly, I don’t know of any other way to say this, but for those not involved in the process, for those not knowing the issues, and for those believing the continuing tripe spewed out by their Party pundits, talk radio, and the religious right, we might, just might, deserve what we get.

The following is a video that is an indication of what I have been talking about. Tell me that didn't hurt the McCain party. Just click on the video below, and if the video don't appear, click on the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNe5U1lNH4c

Another post of many that could be posted:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Fyp0NQB33U

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Does My 401-K Bring Happiness? / Street Level Devotions

Luke 9: 23-27
Then Jesus said to all the people:

If any of you want to be my followers, you must forget about yourself. You must take up your cross each day and follow me. If you want to save your life, you will destroy it. But if you give up your life for me, you will save it. What will you gain, if you own the whole world but destroy yourself or waste your life? If you are ashamed of me and my message, the Son of Man will be ashamed of you when he comes in his glory and in the glory of his Father and the holy angels. You can be sure that some of the people standing here will not die before they see God's kingdom.

As I write this the United States of America is in financial crises. Some are predicting a great depression, some economic catastrophe, and other a total collapse of our worldwide economic systems. Many of the citizens in America are upset, upset with terms like bailout, and approaches where it appears large companies who overpay their executives are getting preferential treatment. People are losing their homes, there is a threat of job loss, and it seems as if the poor and working middle class continue to be abused by political powers that seem to be in charge.

While this is the case for most of America, it is rather interesting to look at the teachings and perspectives presented in the Bible. While the world seems to have a primary interest in retirement accounts, investments and their 401-K’s Jesus seemed to teach us that there is more to life than this. In fact, being a follower of Jesus is more about caring for others than it is caring for and providing for ourselves.

While some will have issue with this, it seems to be a constant message with Jesus teachings, and is carried out and taught by his followers who wrote most of the New Testament. There is no doubt that the early followers of Jesus, and Jesus himself taught about the importance of doing things for others more than doing things for self.

In one translation, it talks about building up for you treasures in heaven as opposed to treasures on earth. Many have wondered what those treasures are that Jesus is talking about. I think they are investments in the lives of others, whether seeing someone getting to know and have a relationship with Jesus as their forgiver and leader, or, learning more about, and becoming more like Jesus once they have known him.

The movie It’s A Wonderful Life with Jimmy Steward gives a wonderful illustration of the importance of helping others and developing lasting relationships. When all things fail, just like in the movie, the economy, what really matters is the friends you have. It matters what kind of an impact you may have had on the lives of others. Those are treasures that will have a fulfilled meaning, even after we are dead and gone. These relationships will mean something because they are relationships we will have the potential of having forever.

I don’t think Jesus would have us be foolish with our finances, but neither do I think he would have us place our finances in a place above and beyond people. When we do that, we are no better than the drug dealer who is simply looking out for his own welfare not considering the harm he or she is doing to those they pedal their drugs on. While they run the risk of destroying life because of their selfish ambitions, we do the same when we place our financial security above the need of people.

My prayer is that we all place a higher level of importance on the people we come into contact with than we do our 401-k. May we realize that one does us no good when we die the other will have eternal consequences and will go with us to Heaven.

Thought for the day: Dear God, may I spend as much time diversifying my faith by serving others, as I do diversifying my investments that in the long run, will do me very little good.

I love this video by one of my favorite groups REM. The video, titled Shiny Happy People has some great symbolism in it. Just click on the video, and if the video don't appear, click on the following link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwXSqWVXACE

Another one of my favorite groups U2 does a song called, Beautiful Day. One of the reasons I love YouTube is the ability to make videos like the following using It's A Wonderful Life. Enjoy the lyric, and the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfgXV3G9l2s

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

The Devil, Lies, Feuding, And Ultimately Truth / Making A Profit From Selling The Devil And Those Ministries Who Buy The Lie

First, a few Bible verses for you, now please read and take the time for this one, I have to get some things off my chest.

Your father is the devil, and you do exactly what he wants. He has always been a murderer and a liar. There is nothing truthful about him. He speaks on his own, and everything he says is a lie. Not only is he a liar himself, but he is also the father of all lies. – John 8:44

The LORD hates every liar, but he is the friend of all who can be trusted. – Proverbs 12:22

There are six or seven kinds of people the LORD doesn't like: Those who are too proud or tell lies or murder, - Proverbs 6: 16, 17

You were created to be like God, and so you must please him and be truly holy. We are part of the same body. Stop lying and start telling each other the truth. – Ephesians 4:24, 25
Now there are a lot more, but you can do a word search on your own, here is a link for you, just click here:

Let me yell out really loud, excuse me for this but here it goes, UHHMMMM UHHHMMMMM, I AM SICK OF CHRISTIANS WHO HAVE TO SELL THEIR PERCEIVED TRUTHS WITH LIES THAT COME FROM THE PITS OF HELL. CHRISTIANS, IF YOU ARE GOING TO TEACH, IF YOU ARE GOING TO OPEN YOUR MOUTH, MAKE SURE YOUR TEACHINGS AND BELIEFS ARE ROOTED IN TRUTH, AND MAKE SURE THAT YOUR INFLUENCES ARE PEOPLE OF CREDIBILITY. Now I still feel like yelling some so let me take a few moments to compose myself. In the meantime, go and take a break for about 5 minutes, get an ice cream or something and then come back.

Whew, how was that ice cream? Now for those who may want to complain, understand the appropriate use of sarcasm, but also understand, that what I am about to share is something I feel deeply about and believe I am Biblically justified in my comments.

Now the situation that brought this all about; recently I had a friend who I had befriended, opened up my ministry to and had a lot of respect for. Even providing support and I believe Biblical advice to during a crisis where this person was having marital and legal problems. I won’t mention the persons name but will say, after being arrested, and confronting him with the need to step back from ministry and heal his marriage, his initial reaction was quick, judgmental, and confrontational. Despite this, I offered in love that this person was not nearly as important as the cause and ministry of Christ, and that he had an obligation to make things right in his marriage, and that any application of ministry until this took place would not bring integrity to the ministry of Jesus. This wasn’t that far in the past, and after a recent, harsh response for no justifiable reason, find concern for this person and their ministry. I suppose they will likely see this, take offense, and become judgmental and harsh once again. I am not writing this specific to them, but as a concern which you will see more about in the next paragraphs. It is my hope that this person evaluates their relationship with God, the influences on their ministry, and reevaluate why they become so defensive and find the need to read into comments the things they do. When having a temper that would have you strike your wife, react to another brother in such a quick and hurtful way, when someone presuppose to know a persons heart by reading words on a computer screen when they in reality are making judgments that have an effect on others. When they are obtaining their teaching and belief from false teachers, and are unwilling to explore the possibility of those false teachings they have other issues that must be addressed.

This was a person I considered a friend which was the reason for the advice, even when it was taken wrong (btw, I still hold to the premise that when you have been arrested of spousal abuse, even if innocent, you should step back from ministry until the marriage is resolved. A couple of months is not enough time.) This person also had another web site and he had encouraged me to join over the last year or two. I was reluctant simply because I didn’t have the time. After a period of time however, I recently decided to join the forums and web site. This person, who had been a guest on my radio program, who had posted on my forums, knew me, we had spoken on the phone numerous times, we had prayed for each other, I thought he knew I had an edge but decided to go ahead and join his web page and forum. After doing so it took me all of 4 posts to realize I needed to leave his group, as a result he gets mad, take things totally wrong and decides to confront me in what I perceive to be a hateful way. If that was not his intent, his follow up responses did not give clarity as he made assumptions, and presupposed to make a judgment of my heart. After going back and seeing my responses to him, all of them, I don’t know where he did this. As a result I had several people I am aware of who are gifted in the area of discernment evaluate my response to him, and they had no idea where he was coming from, and were all in agreement that I was correct in my assessment regarding prayer, and one said individual, Rebecca Brown, more on that later though. (BTW, none of those people are on MySpace and have no idea who the person is other than the comments and forum posts I showed them. Even here, the persons name was deleted as was the web site they run.)

Some ask, why even bring this up, well it has rekindeled a passion in me that really bothers me regarding how some Christians gravitate to false and bad teachings, even when confronted with the fallacies of those teachings. This will be longer than some posts of recent but read on. For the Christian, there is what I believe to be profound truth in the things I am about to say, and for the non Christian, there is an explanation and a hope that you also understand, not all Christians are the same, and some of us are willing to stand up to the untruths that come from other so called “Christians.”

It was four posts on this person’s web site forum, before I realized I was in the wrong house. One may ask regarding those posts, what were they? The four posts were quite simple, one, I introduced myself, two, I posted information regarding The Virtual Pew and postings regarding the Street Level Devotions I have been doing, and three and four, which created the controversy and subsequent rebuke were on prayer; did you hear that, they were on prayer?

What about my postings on prayer would lead to such problems? There was a post on prayer by someone else about praying over meals while in public. Now I have to be honest; I value, appreciate and respect people who do this; I even do it myself on occasion, but not on every occasion. I posted in my initial response that not even Jesus did this. As an illustration I shared the story of how he was confronted by the Pharisees for not washing his hands while picking grain and eating on the Sabbath. What a lot of people don’t realize is that the washing of the hands was a part of the prayer custom at the time. The bottom line is we can clearly see Jesus didn’t follow this custom all of the time. I also pointed out the passage of the two people praying in public and Jesus stated we should go into our closets to pray. I think both of these biblical references spoke to the issue. There was a reply to the issue which called into question my comments, saying something along the lines that praying allowed God to protect us from the food and so forth. I then offered the reply that at least one took offense at as I received a pm afterward.

It is important I say what I am going to say now, especially for those that don’t know me. I don’t take credit for anything that has happened to me. It is clear to me that the things that have happened have happened because of the work of God and his Holy Spirit, not me. I am also reminded that we live in a world where Christianity has little or no respect because of the lies, manipulation, and horrible examples of some. May we never forget Jimmy Swaggart, Jim Baker, or the other indiscretions such as Ted Haggard that have occurred. The attitude of the non religious community towards followers of Jesus is not much different than during the time of Paul in the Bible. Paul addressed this in certain ways, which we are able to use if applicable. Paul made known his credentials prior to speaking to a public who was skeptical of faith. Many saw this as Paul having an attitude of pride or arrogance, but in reality, it was him sharing so that people would take his response seriously and know he wasn’t just some poor Joe, (no offense to Joe the Plumber,) but he was in fact one who Christ had used, and whom Christ had touched. Because I know of the skepticism of the unbeliever because I spend time with them, I often use this tactic.

I shared on the prayer topic that I had done a great deal of study on prayer, had presented it across the country and it was used around the globe. I had also been teaching a series on prayer. That said, I held to the convictions that it wasn’t always necessary to pray before a meal, and that natural or physical laws as established by God were in effect no matter how much we tried to get around them, including praying them away. I used the illustration that if you jump off a three story building you will learn about the laws of gravity. I also illustrated that washing hands, specifically under finger nails would reduce the spread of disease. I then asked the question, can someone provide me one scripture that says we should pray before we eat every time or if they could provide a single verse that countered the points I had made earlier. These things were not said in a skeptical way, but as a sincere question.
It was here I received a rebuke via email, which I have copied and saved for those who doubt. It was also in the exchange I came to the awareness of some of the teachings that drove the thought behind some of the “pastors” in this group discussion. It was in those discoveries that I draw my thoughts here, but more on that later.

After receiving the email from one of the “pastors” of the group, I responded with a simple reply, not implying controversy, not wanting to go there, I simply replied, “sorry, obviously taken wrong will resign from the group.” I won’t go into the detail about the confrontation of “arrogance” and more that occurred thereafter, but will say, again, for those who need verification, I have all of the correspondence, and while I will remove names, I will provide all correspondence from me and them for your inspection if need be. Some ask why I would be willing to do this or offer this, it is really quite simple, and it is due to the concept of integrity. I have stated for a long time, my life, my ministry, my failures, my all, is open for inspection. It is why I submit to the authority of a church, why I seek accountability from respected religious organizations, and submit to the leadership of a recognized church organization, denomination, and board of directors. I have learned a long time ago, while it is okay to be a lone ranger, it is more important that we who call ourselves Christians or followers of Jesus should present credibility.

First before going to the next chapter, let me state, as is evidenced in my autobiography, I am not a novice to the Occult, Satanism and so forth. I was involved in it but don’t talk about it a great deal because of the false sensationalism that is promoted by many, and has been hyped by others in the realm of “Christianity.” I have done a great deal of study in the field since becoming a Christian and am amazed at the number of “Christians” who hold to these lies and mistruths promoted by many who attempt to profit off of the sensationalism of Satanism. I am even more amazed at those who hold to those teachings despite the massive amounts of proof that disprove, their claims, prove manipulation, lies, and more. While we are set free from guilt, condemnation and fear, many would have us live under a spirit and attitude of fear, I assure you, the spirit of fear is not of God.

Much of this attitude comes from the book published a number of years ago and written by Mike Warnke called The Satan Seller. Another book written by Cornerstone Publishing goes into detail to disprove much of Warnke’s claims. Warnke and I were a part of a group that existed early on in the Jesus Movement called The Fellowship of Contemporary Christian Ministries, (FCCM) . We have many mutual friends and I had the opportunity to personally, face to face, confront Mike a few years ago at a See You Around The Pole Rally in Hutchinson Kansas. I had sought out the advice from some at Jesus People USA where I had close friends who also knew Mike and were a part of writing the expose on the fabrications and untruths presented in The Satan Seller. Jon Trott one of the authors of the book, and Glen Kaiser, a dear friend who is one of the elders at Jesus People were the two primary people I communicated with. Glen and I actually kept in touch for some time talking about the need to confront Mike which I did.

Let me say here, my interaction with Mike was a personal experience. I will say this about that face to face meeting prior to his presentation; Mike admitted to me the reality of the fabrications, had asked for forgiveness, and was trying to move on in ministry focusing on Gods’ ability to change and his comedy. I firmly believe Mike was sincere in his comments to me and I left my meeting with him feeling better about his ministry. If however I would have been under the understanding that Mike was building his ministry based on the lies used in The Satan Seller I wouldn’t have had the same feelings. It appeared to me, and I believe, Mike had recognized where he had done wrong, and had sought forgiveness for his past actions and fabrications. With a tear in his eye as he approached me prior to leaving after the event, he asked me to ask some for his forgiveness, and he thanked me for my willingness to confront him and talk to him directly.

While this was may be the case with Mike Warnke, it is not the case to my knowledge with some who use the Christian sensationalism presented by others including for one, Rebecca Brown, AKA Ruth Bailey, who told the story of Elaine Moses, AKA Edna Elaine Knost, a professed ex Satanist who states she was married to Satan and had numerous sexual encounters with him and his demons. Much of the information presented in the books, He Came to Set The Captives Free and the follow up, Prepare for War along with subsequent audio tapes, books and articles, and more have been proven to be based on lies and falsehoods by numerous reliable sources including The Cult Awareness and Information Center. It was the teachings of Brown that largely formed the opinions of the attitude regarding the responses I had received earlier via a pm and on the web site. I again, will provide the messages regarding this for those desiring with the names of the posters removed. To be blunt, I was accused of believing false lies about this person without recognizing the legitimate ministries they prefaced. On this point, I would simply say, Satan quoted Scripture to Jesus, that doesn’t make Satan a child of God or the writings of Anton Levay where he quotes the Bible the word of God.
On this point here is what bothers me, why do some Christians not look at where their false teachings are coming from, and why are they so reluctant to look at the facts. I challenge all people on this issue for a simple reason, Jesus don’t need liars to promote his message. In fact, there are numerous passages of Scripture that speaks to the issue of speaking truth. Why some feel the need to not adhere to these standards is beyond me. I challenge, a ministry foundation built in part on lies is not a foundation of God as the foundation of God’s truth is built on truth! I again reiterate, the use of Scripture does not validate truth, remember who the author of lies is, and then remember, he loves to quote the Bible.

What are some of the things about Rebecca Brown that are well known and proven? Well some of the following are from her own words, from investigations of her ministry via reliable sources. Let me ask you this though, after reading the following, would you use this person as a reliable source of information when promoting concepts of your beliefs and ministry?

On October 2, 1984, the Medical Licensing Board of Indiana met to consider Ruth Bailey's license to practice medicine. She refused to attend the hearing and sent no one to act as her counsel or agent. After deliberations, this board lifted Bailey's license (#29402) for the following violations and irregularities:

Bailey misdiagnosed patients including, but not limited to Edna Elaine Moses a.k.a. Elaine Moses A.K.A. Elaine Bailey, Claudia Moses, Lucia Lively, Lucinda Sisson, Kelly Sisson and Cheryl Maynard of "leukemia, various blood disorders, gall bladder disease, brain tumors, and various other ailments and conditions, all of which the Respondent stated were allegedly caused by demons, devils, and other evil spirits." In fact, these "patients... were not suffering from the diagnosed ailments and conditions."

The Medical Licensing Board appointed a psychiatrist to examine Bailey and the statements of her patients. This psychiatrist "diagnosed [Bailey] as suffering from acute personality disorders including demonic delusions and/or paranoid schizophrenia."

Much more available on her MD removal via online search:

After losing her medical license, Bailey adopted the name "Dr. Rebecca Brown" and continued to use the title "Doctor", despite the fact that since she had her license taken away she has never applied to be reinstated in any other state. "Brown" and her companion Elaine Moses began telling people of how Moses was a former high priestess of a Satanic cult and how "Dr Brown" had saved her from a hospital riddled with Satanic cult members who had infiltrated it. She eventually met up with Jack Chick of Chick Publications, who published two books authored by Bailey under her pseudonym "Dr. Rebecca Brown": He Came to Set the Captives Free and Prepare for War.

"Another area of witchcraft which Christians unwittingly use is in the area of herbs. Most of the herbalists and herb shop owners are involved in witchcraft. Incantations are done over the herbs, which is why they work so well... The same is true of a lot of health food stores. A large number of health food stores are owned and operated by Hindu gurus. Top yoga teachers openly tell us that their foods are prepared only by yogis who perform the necessary meditations so that the foods will carry the 'appropriate vibrations' to enhance the 'spirituality' of the eater. Beware, these 'appropriate vibrations' are demons." NOTE: The reason these herbs work is that they contain natural substances with medicinal properties: Many medicines that you can purchase at a pharmacy come from natural sources.
"Once you have sought for and have received confirmation from the Lord that your child has been abused, you are faced with a number of decisions. The first decision is whether to notify the authorities. You must carefully seek the Lord's wisdom on this issue. We are most certainly in the last days and our country is almost totally corrupt. The Satanists have infiltrated all police departments, welfare departments, and especially all areas of psychology and psychiatry... Satanists are already planted in all the governmental agencies which get involved in such cases. You must realize that once you notify the authorities you have essentially lost control of your child."

A Superior Court of California document No: VCV 009038, Petition for Change of Name and a Continue Order to Show Cause. These documents the application and granting of the petition by Ruth Irene Bailey to legally change her name to Rebecca Brown back in April, 1986.

All the details check out. The Petitioner was born in Shelbyville, Indiana. Her reasons for requesting the name change is because she has, "become more known by the proposed name through use as a pen name and use of the name in ministry than her present name."
"One evening at dusk I was driving from my office back to the hospital to see a patient who had taken a turn for the worse. I was alone in the car and was driving down a stretch of isolated country road where there were no houses or buildings within at least a one mile radius. Suddenly, about a block ahead of me a huge werewolf stepped out into the middle of the road. As I approached closer, he raised up and stood on his hind legs. I put my foot down hard on the accelerator intending to swerve around him but the car didn't respond. It glided to a stop, motor still running, despite all my prayers and attempts to make it go. I sat there staring in horror at the most incredibly ugly and fierce creature I had ever seen. I felt as if I was drowning in the pure evil power that radiated from him. He threw back his head and howled - a terrifying sound which I shall never forget.”

Then he looked straight into my eyes and told me, 'You can't go anywhere - see, I have stopped your car and there's nothing you can do about it. Now I'm going to enjoy ripping your throat out and drinking your blood. You have been interfering with Satan too long; I am going to punish you. You cannot stand against my power.'"

Brown writes that tattoos and hairstyles bring demonic curses and the former should be covered with oil and curses are to be broken at our command.
Brown's generalizations further damage her credibility. Brown cautions others in similar ministries to avoid eating out: "the craft [witches and satanists by her definition] will place their people as employees in all the restaurants in your area. We have been severely poisoned more than once through fast-food restaurants. NEVER develop a routine! The safest restaurants to eat in are smorgasbords or buffets. It is impossible for craft employees to poison all the food on a buffet or salad bar"
"The root of ALL mental illness is the sin of self-centeredness." "Mentally ill people choose to be mentally ill, for the most part.”

Now back to my thoughts, in other words, Mike Furches here. The above is a very small sampling of information regarding Rebecca Brown or from Rebecca Brown. There are a number of things you can do to gather the multitude of information about this person, simply do a Google of Rebecca Brown, Ruth Bailey, Elaine Moses, or Edna Elaine Knost. This does not even touch on the associations with the highly controversial Chick Publications and her husband. Now a note here about these individuals that needs to be understood. I am not saying there is the impossibility of some good being done by this ministry, what I am saying is that no ministry endorsed or supported by God is based on lies, and any ministry that presents the ministry of God has to make sure that as much as possible, their ministry does not rely on these lies to present Scriptural truth. To ignore the reality that this ministry is in large based on false premises is not only wrong; it is dangerous to those who adhere to the teachings of these types of ministries.

Now I want to be clear about something else, it is possible; even likely, that all ministries make mistakes and at times follow false teachings. It is important when this happens to repudiate those teachings and disassociate from those groups. If a group is unwilling to do this, then it is critical to disassociate from that ministry. To start with the attacks, to add the straw men arguments without addressing the real issue are not a Biblical approach. While some will quote and quote scripture I will again reiterate, even the Devil quoted scripture to the Son of God.

I am aware of the questions some may raise as to why I write this. I still spend time with those who struggle with Christianity, with Christians who struggle with teachings of certain legalistic groups, with those who are not Christian. I believe I try to follow a ministry and lifestyle resembling of Jesus. While I fall far short, he is the ultimate example and I know of his passion for The Lost, The Last, and The Least. I post this because some of us in the church have the responsibility to warn against legalistic, unbiblical teachings from groups whom promote themselves as Christian but in reality are based in part on false teachings and un Christ like attitudes. Am I saying those people who teach these things aren’t Christian? Absolutely not, but they still have a responsibility to represent the one who called himself Truth, with truth. When reading things like the above comments, which have been proven to be dangerous, (i.e. quotes on mental illness, not reporting child abuse, and many more not included here, including the over medication including lethal doses, and much more available on line) and lies, in other situations, then we are not presenting truth with truth, but truth with lies and those lies do irrefutable harm to the potential to reach some with absolute truth.

Some will take this posting as an attack on one or two ministries, I assure you, it is not. What this posting is is an attempt to encourage you to seek truth. While one may place their focus on a situation like should we pray before every meal or not, it is far more than that. When ones opinion is based on their belief that we pray because witches or Satanists have polluted the food and we need protection for it, as opposed to the real teachings of Christ, especially when those sources come from false testimony, I have to wonder if we are promoting a message of hope, freedom, forgiveness and liberation, or are we promoting a message of fear which we know is not of God. When that teaching contradicts scripture the answer becomes clear. It is amazing at how some will promote the use of Scripture, but when going against their most recent guru, no matter how unbiblical they are, and that person gets defensive as to which teaching to believe, the guru or the Bible, then I have to raise the question, will you follow the example of Jesus, or will you follow the example of the recent guru. I challenge, don’t follow my example, I am nothing more than a dumb poor street kid outside of the salvation provided through the blood of Jesus. Always, and I do mean, always, look at Jesus, and if need be, be like Paul, provide reason why we should listen to you. Then you measure that with the absolute truth of Scripture. If you can’t provide a Biblical basis to support the view of a charlatan, then question the charlatan, but hold to the truth of Scripture. If in doubt, get reliable individuals involved who know Scripture, who know God, and in some way is not only accountable to others, but ultimately accountable to the truth of Scripture.

Now to those that would make assumptions that this is about them, rest assured, if it was about you, I would have used your name. It is simply what it is, an article with the hope that those who are weak will carefully examine those they suppose to learn from, and those who would teach them and their foundational beliefs. It is also a hope that those who promote Jesus would make sure that those who they use for guidance would be rooted in truth, integrity and honesty. If a ministry is unwilling to do this, then I would encourage those seeking help to stay away from that ministry. My ministry has received recognition from well recognized religious leaders, various church denominations, local civic and social groups and more. Is this self promotion? No! It is providing you the opportunity to honestly evaluate this ministry. I ultimately realize this is not my ministry, but the ministry of Jesus Christ and he deserves honesty, integrity, and truth in the presentation. Any ministry unwilling, or unable to do this is a ministry to raise serious questions about. The cause of Jesus has been hurt enough without those who call themselves ministry doing more harm than good. Let me be blunt, promoting the ministry of Rebecca Brown, without refuting her teachings can not be of God because her so called ministry is based on lies! You can make all the accusations you want, but until the foundation of lies is removed from your ministry, little else you say has any validity.

On a last note, specific to this ministry where all of this started or any other ministry that is in a similar situation I would say the following. If using a source for your ministry that has been proven to be liars and presenting unbiblical concepts, it is simple, repudiate those ministries. God can and will enter in and bless you if your heart is pure. While there may be some that are not held accountable because they don’t know, once one is presented with truth, then it is catamount that the one presented with truth, investigate and search for truth. Don’t take my word, don’t pass judgment on my caution, seek truth on your own, and I am convinced that if the search is legitimate, you will come to the same conclusions I have, at least on this one issue, regarding this one ministry in question of Rebecca Brown, apparently still selling Satan to make a profit.

Word of caution, as stated earlier, I was once involved in the Occult and Satanism. I would say don’t take this posting lightly, while I caution against this one ministry, I will hold true, Satan is real, he is an adversary we should be cautious of and never approach outside of the full power given by Christ. But neither should we give him more power than he has. Truth is still truth, and it is true, the truth of Scripture will stand forever.

The following are links to some articles pertaining to the ministry of Rebecca Brown. There are many others and a simple google will provide you with much more detail.

Cult Awareness and Information Center

Scroll Publishing

Answers in Action

Personal Freedom Outreach

The Following is a video that touches on the lies of Satan and how he works, it is by a band called Samsong. Just click on the video and if the video don't appear, just click on the following link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8K_lbNiObPU

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Monday, October 20, 2008

Those Politicians Still Don't Get It / Street Level Devotions

Luke 9:7-9

Herod the ruler heard about all that was happening, and he was worried. Some people were saying that John the Baptist had come back to life. Others were saying that Elijah had come or that one of the prophets from long ago had come back to life. But Herod said, "I had John's head cut off! Who is this I hear so much about?" Herod was eager to meet Jesus.

In today’s world it seems as if religion and politics seldom mix without some form of argument taking place. A while back I had the opportunity to interview rocker Rob Zombie director of such films as Halloween and The Devil’s Rejects and a popular musician. I’ll never forget his response when asking about religion and politics; “I tend to not discuss religion and politics because when people talk about them someone seems to always end up with a broken nose.” Truth is, while there may not be as much physical violence as one would think, there is a lot of arguing.

To see the Rob Zombie Interview you can click on the above for the MySpace link or here for the Hollywood Jesus link.

I can think of few other things that tear apart friendships like religion and politics. Two people can be the best of friends, and suddenly when one or both of these topics come up, dear friends can become mortal enemies.

Despite the fact that many don’t like talking religion, especially within political circles, it doesn’t change the fact that politicians have involved religion in their attempt to attract voters. There has been for thousands of years now, the interest of getting religion on the side of various political views. We see this taking place in the Bible and one of the examples is with the ruler Herod.

Herod was a political figure during the time of Jesus we read about in various places both in the Bible and other historical documents. It was obvious that Herod was among those trying to get the favor of certain religious leaders. It is also obvious that he, like many of the politicians today was looking out more for his interest than he was to do what was right. Herod was even suckered into beheading John the Baptist in order to provide favor to a female. He was driven more about self gratification than he was spiritual truth.

Herod, like many of today’s politicians was at a loss when it came to understanding religion and specifically the teachings of those who followed Jesus. I am convinced that one of the reasons for this confusion was the desire to serve self more than serving others. While most politicians present their involvement in politics as being a desire to serve, a wonderful movie with Richard Gere some years ago, titled Power gave an appropriate portrayal that the real issue is for most politicians, gaining power.

Politicians often see something in religion they crave; they see the potential for power, power that can corrupt as much as deliver or help others in their difficulty. One has to wonder, are there also those involved in religion that use religion to corrupt and obtain power? The answer to that is obvious, without a doubt, yes.

When it comes to the person of Jesus, it is clear from later writings that Herod had no idea who Jesus was, or what his message was about. This is clear from the reality that Herod was a part of the process that later had Jesus crucified. Let me ask this question, if Herod and the religious and political leaders had truly understood the person of Jesus and had believed in his message, would they have crucified him? Let me ask this question about political figures today, talk show hosts, or any number of others who find a way to mix their politics with their religion. If in reality, these people understood who Jesus was, what he was about, and what his teachings meant, would they continue on with the emphasis on political power the way they do? I challenge, any of us can read the teachings of Jesus in the Bible. God through his Holy Spirit gives the ability to understand what Jesus’ teachings mean. Let me therefore ask the question, does it appear as if those who are mixing their religious beliefs and their politics, are putting an emphasis on doing, and acting out on the teachings of Jesus, or is their emphasis on something other than the message of Jesus? The reality is, there is nothing wrong with the follower of Jesus with being involved in the political process as long as the primary emphasis is on the message of Jesus. When it comes to helping the poor, to standing up for the oppressed, to feeding the hungry, seeking social justice and so forth, all of which are messages Jesus taught, we need to realize, those are political as well as spiritual issues. For those of us who have the freedom to be involved in decisions of this sort, we not only should be concerned with presenting the message of Jesus, we are somewhat obligated to do so. We must never forget though, our citizenship is in Heaven first and foremost and nothing we do should be contrary to the message of Jesus.

When looking at these types of messages we must realize we may come to different conclusions on such things as war, abortion, helping the poor and so forth. I won’t be so vain as to dictate how you respond to those things. I will be vain enough to say though; your views must be rooted and based on the teachings of the Bible. It is here we as followers of Jesus receive our ultimate authority. It isn’t from the Democratic Party, The Independent Party, The Republican Party or the Reform Party, it is from God and the directives given by God.

Often, those with an emphasis on mixing religion and politics don’t understand the person of Jesus; don’t understand the concepts of being like Jesus for a simple reason. They don’t know the person of Jesus. While many will put on a face, much like Herod did, they want to know about Jesus for the wrong reason, they want to know so they can have what they perceive as power. Jesus teachings teach not about power though, his teachings teach about serving and loving. These are concepts that are about more than words, they are concepts about following the example Jesus himself illustrated. They were examples that often offended the political system of time so much so that the religious people, and the political powers saw to it that he was crucified. While Jesus offered himself as a willing sacrifice for our sins, the power sought by many of the religious leaders and certainly the political leaders actually corrupted their actions and were partially responsible for the need of Jesus willing sacrifice.

As we move on in life, as we are involved in political and religious discussions, may we know Jesus more than Herod or any political leader who may have some knowledge of the Bible or spiritual issues. May we also realize that the power Jesus offered was from God, it was about serving, loving and providing hope, hope that promised a life with God in Heaven forever. While there are certainly political and religious influences that we come into contact with, may we realize that we are about a higher standard, we are about a standard of loving and doing what Jesus commanded.

Thought for the day: While there are religious and political rulers, none of them have a right to dictate a standard that goes against the directives of King Jesus.

I am reading a wonderful book now, Jesus for President written by Shane Claiborne. The following is a promotion for that book that will cause you to think about some of the things mentioned here in the article.

Click on the video below to see the video, if the video don't appear, just click on the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfLdVazh33E

Here is a thought provoking music video that I happen to like. If you like hip hop you may like it as well. Even if you don't like the style of music, check out the video as a lot of good things are said. Just click on the video. The video is of J Sky Walker and the song is Jesus for President.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEfUcRb3JcM

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Street Level Devotions, This Faith Respects Women

Luke 8: 1-3
Soon after this, Jesus was going through towns and villages, telling the good news about God's kingdom. His twelve apostles were with him, and so were some women who had been healed of evil spirits and all sorts of diseases. One of the women was Mary Magdalene, who once had seven demons in her. Joanna, Susanna, and many others had also used what they owned to help Jesus and his disciples. Joanna's husband Chuza was one of Herod's officials.

Over the years I have heard people make comments about Christianity that frankly bothers me, it bothers me because it shows a lack of understanding of the impact Jesus had on society. One of the criticisms often handed out deals with the attitude towards women that some followers of Jesus have, or the perception many have. The truth is, Jesus involved women in his inner circles and gave respect to women. This wasn’t a token move by Jesus, but a reality that changed the attitude given women.

During the time of Jesus, before, and unfortunately for much of the time afterward women were and are treated as second class citizens. Some cultures still carry on those traditions, yet in Christianity, women were critical to the faith, and were heavily involved in the development of Christianity. In cultures where some women must always walk behind a man, or never speak in public, Jesus chose to involve and develop friendships with women from all walks of life, from political leaders to prostitutes, Jesus appreciated women.

What is there to learn from this in today’s world? One is a lesson for men. We as men need to give the same amount of respect to women Jesus did. Married men are told to love their wife in the same way Jesus loves the church. The days of treating women as second class citizens where we lord and rule over them are over. Jesus set the example, and it is an example we should follow.

There is another lesson to learn for women. Unfortunately, many women allow men to lord and rule over them. It is as if God don’t give dreams, aspirations, gifts, vocations and more to women today. Yet, we see a Jesus contradict this concept. Women should strive to discover their gifts and purpose just as much as men. When marriages and families are involved, this journey should take place together, with the full measure of respect given for each other that was given by Jesus to those he loved.

One of my greatest joys is I helped raise a daughter to become a strong woman. She recognizes her gifts, has stood strong, and has refused to be treated as a second class citizen. All fathers want that type of thing for their daughter. I know I did and am glad my daughter turned out the way she did. She has a good husband, is involved in a great ministry, and has had a tremendous impact, even becoming the first female department director within her churches denomination. She is making a difference, Jesus made that possible.

As we go through the day, I hope that men who have made the decision to follow Jesus will treat women with the full measure of respect Jesus did. I hope women will in return see their full potential. The days of being a second class citizen are over, Jesus made that possible.

Thought for the day: God gives gifts to all people, gifts that are to be used for showing others His love and serving those in need. Jesus set the example by showing that women are a part of that plan. May all men and women realize the giftedness provided each of us by the King of kings.

The following is a great song, I encourage you to actually visit the link to see the lyrics to the song. Jesus had a special place for women, this song helps illustrate that. To watch and listen, just click on the video below. Otherwise, click on the link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7YyfOmF8sw

Just For You

You are important and I want you to know that you can feel free to contact me at any time. I always try to respond to comments posted here, when appropriate, and have learned from my work as a counselor and pastor that people need to know that they are important. My contact information is available and I encourage you to contact me when need be. The fact that you are a real person is not lost on me. While you are at it, if needing a place to plug in, you can also join and become a part of The Virtual Pew. Message boards and interaction are available there as well. Thanks for visiting and know that God loves you and so do I.