Get Real America--Guns Are Not The Problem

  For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. 2 Tim.1:

In 1973 I sold all my guns and have seen no reason to own a gun since. However, I am of the opinion that if there were more armed individuals many of these incidents would not occur with the same drastic results. What I have observed about the recent mass shootings is that psychiatric medications were involved and played a greater role than the guns used to kill so many.

We are shocked that, a young man would pick up a rifle and two hand guns and murder twenty children and six adults, then take his own life.  Our politicians, president, and anti-gun activists would have us believe that the "guns" are to blame for this tragedy but this is not the first such violent act by young men.  There is a more sinister cause behind these mass murders and violent acts that continues to be ignored-psychotic drug treatment.

A young man opened fire on holiday shoppers in Clackamas Town Center in Oregon, killing two people and himself.  Twelve people were killed in a movie theater in Colorado in July.  Three high school students were killed in Ohio in February.  These happening are far from rare any more but they have a common denominator and it is not guns. 

First off, why should I care about what type of weapon is being used?  What I should be concerned with is what driving behavior behind these murders is controlling the shooter? The common denominator in these shootings has been prescribed psychiatric mind altering drugs for behavior disorders.

The outcry from the public should not be against the type of guns or if they were purchased illegally or legally, but against the doctor who prescribes these mind altering drugs and pharmaceutical that profits from the disorders of these unfortunate young men.  Behavior problems cannot be changed with a pill.

I know it is easy to blame the shooter and disregard the emotional behavior disorder that was being treated by drugs that altered their minds but it is time we address the real root problem of these shootings.  How did we get to the place in America where 20% of the population is now on these mind altering drugs?  

My question is if there is a debate about gun control shouldn't there be a debate about the dangers of psychiatric drugs. After all, the violent behavior is a side-effect of many of these drugs. If we are to support the ban of guns shouldn't we also ban mind-altering drugs with violent and suicide side-effect?

It is not the gun causing these mass murders; it is the individual that commits the murders. It would be far better to outlaw the use of psychiatric drugs which has a major impact on the behavior of the individual.  I find it interesting that antidepressant drug have never been tested on children nor approved by the FDA for use on children.  It is also known that such drugs cause young men to think violent thoughts and commit violent acts.  But here in the United States we are putting our kids on mind-altering drugs because we do not want to deal with the behavior problems.  Even knowing that a 1200% increase in suicide risk is possible!  Give them a pill and ignore the root problem.

Young men on these mind-altering drugs are at twice the risk of violent behavior as those who are not on them.  If we are going to keep putting are kids on mind-altering drugs we should be prepared for more of these mass-killings.  I find it odd that in other countries where it is against the law to use these drugs on children that we are not seeing the mass-killings like we see in America.  When you change the brain for violent behavior what do you think the results will be?  Just like the young man in the recent shooting.  When you have a young man filled with psychotropic drugs that promote violence this is the results.

My concern is this we have thousands of these young men in our public schools right now.  Sooner or later it will happen again and the anti-gun crowd will be blaming the gun.  Many of these drugs are no more than an experiment for the pharmaceutical companies.  If we were to see the same outcry against the drug companies as we do against the gun dealers and manufacturer there would be less of these killings taking place.

Just as a side thought, how many automobile "accidents" have been caused by individuals using mind-altering drugs? Shouldn't we have laws for anyone on a prescribed mind-altering drug preventing them from having a driver's license? Should we prohibit anyone using psychiatric mind-altering drugs from holding jobs as teachers, doctors, law enforcement, and yes all politicians?

We are at greater risk from individuals on prescribed drugs than from a gun, knife, sword or any weapon and yet the politicians who are wanting to take away the "right to bear arms" are not requiring the root cause for these mass murders to be banned—psychiatric mind-altering drugs. Just my thoughts.

American Style Democracy—A failure around the world

Among those who are acquainted with me know my desire is that truth be central to our form of government.  However, I am well aware of the myth that has been perpetrated upon the America people about who we really are.  Many good conservative people have wrapped themselves in the flag of patriotism, self-determination, truth, justice and mercy.  But the reality is found in our spiritual condition more than our motto's, our slogans and even our Constitution. 

In the Revelation of Jesus Christ to John we read: These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;¹⁵ I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.  ¹⁶ So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.  ¹⁷ Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: ¹⁸ I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. ¹⁹ As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.  ²⁰ Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.  ²¹ To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. ²² He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.­­­­(Rev.3:15-22)

In our arrogance and pride we have allowed our leaders to be influenced by those who have destroyed the America of the past.  These misguided leaders are now set on “spreading democracy” around the world.  Their intent is world domination.  The reality is we have lost our spiritual foundation and our Nation is about to be “spued out.”   We are a divided Nation of hot and cold-- making us lukewarm.

American neoconservatives have pushed an aggressive foreign agenda to spread so called “American values” under the guise of democracy.  The concept is nations under a democratic rule will be unlikely to fight one another.  This will give us a more peaceful world.  There will be no peace as long as men deny God and serve their own evil desires.  These would be world leaders are pushing for “world peace through democracy”.

 How is that working?  Egypt is a prime example of pushing the democratic concept on a nation that does not comprehend the very foundation of democracy—liberty and freedom.  The powers that be made the decision that Egypt was ripe for democratic rule and change was needed.  How much support did America give to the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak-- we may never know but Egypt was ready for a democratic society and no one was going to stop it from taking place.  Egypt's newly elected Muslim Brotherhood President Mohammed Morsi was a historic first and was given the affirmation of Washington’s "strong support" for the change that had brought him to power. 

Under the regime of the former ruler Hosni Mubarak the Brotherhood was outlawed and has been a repressive organization all across the Middle East.  Our Secretary of State used the language that would sound good to the America people when she spoke of “. . . the strong support of the United States for the Egyptian people and their democratic transition".   She also stated, “We want to be a good partner and we want to support the democracy that has been achieved by the courage and sacrifice of the Egyptian people. Democracy is hard... It requires dialogue and compromise and real politics. We are encouraged and we want to be helpful. But we know it is not for the United States it is for the Egyptian people to decide."   

So when the Egyptian people made the decision to have democratic elections, American leaders were calling it the Arab Spring.  This Spring of Democracy didn’t last long.  The conflict in the Middle East required Egypt to declare sides with those who aligned with her values.  Listen how American leaders responded to their democratic decision, "Egypt, watch what you do and how you do it. You're teetering with the Congress on having your aid cut off if you keep inciting violence between the Israelis and the Palestinians."  What happened to self-determination, the right to choose, and all the other things we declared as American values and promised with the acceptance of democracy?  

Egypt has in the past determined the regional balance of power and it is a vital strategic land base for those who wish to control Egypt and it had better be the United States.  After all the United Stated invented democracy and it is Washington’s gift to the world.  If these countries fail to recognize their good fortune then we will take our money and overthrow their government.

The American people have bought into the “moral argument” that if it’s not “American democracy” it is not democracy.  That gives us the “right” to slaughter the heretics and bring them to acceptance of our form of democracy through military means.   In the past few attempts at spreading the American form of democracy we have backed the “rebels”.  The willingness of the American public to support the use of force for revolutionary purposes remains part of the American experience and we love the “underdog” after all we are a rebel nation.

American leadership has a poor history of supporting the wrong rebels.  Case in point- Afghanistan.  During the conflict between Russia and Afghanistan the American leadership made the decision to support the rebels in a program called Operation Cyclone.  One young man, who joined the mujahideen rebels against the Soviets later formed Al-Qaeda and made the Top Ten Terrorist list of America.  He established his base in Afghanistan and declared war against America, initiating attacks on America.  His name was Osama Bin Laden. 

The United States and its allies invaded Afghanistan in 2001 as part of Washington’s so-called war on terror. The offensive removed the Taliban from power but just this week the Taliban attacked the office of the CIA in the center of Kabul.  At least two people were killed in the bomb explosion. Does this sound like they want American democracy?

These past few days we have been watching as a branch of the Muslim Brotherhood-Hamas attacks Israel.  Hamas is supported by Egypt and Turkey countries that used to be our allies.  Our president and officials in his administration continue to sell the concept that the Brotherhood can be trusted.  Morsi has said that he will abide by the terms of Egypt's 1979 treaty with Israel but then so did Hosni Mubarak and we see what happened to him.  When will American political leaders realize the Brotherhood cannot be trusted and they do not want a democratic form of government?  Right after the mediated cease-fire a top leader of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood denounced peace efforts with Israel and urged holy war to liberate Palestinian territories. The Muslim Brotherhood doesn't recognize Israel nor will they honor agreements made by the United States.  They do not want democracy they want Sharia Law a far cry from a democratic form of government.

It is time that America gets her house in order and repent of the evil we have place upon the world.  As Americans we should be concerned about the liberty and freedom that we have lost and are losing.  We need to open our eyes to the spiritual condition in our own country before we spread our form of deceit and manipulation to the rest of the world.  Those we are trying to force democracy upon do not want what we are selling.  It is time to cut off aid to those who want to kill us.  It is time to get out of the countries that do not want us there.  It is time to put Americans first above the rest of the world’s interest and resolve our own problems.  It is time to return to the principles that made our country once a great nation and to remove from office those who have joined with our enemies to destroy us from within.  It is time to get back to the God of Creation, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords and the Savior of mankind.  It is time we return to God so that He will heal our land.  

By the way—America is not a democracy, we are a Republic.  Many American are under the false impression our form of government is a democracy, or representative democracy this is completely false.  The Founding Fathers were as fearful of democracy as much as a monarchy.  They understood that the only things that can take away the freedom and liberty of the people is their own government, either by being too weak to protect them from the enemies from the outside or by becoming too powerful and taking control of every aspect of life. 

In a Republic, the power resides with the people themselves—We the People are sovereign.  We have no obligation to the government; instead the government has an obligation to its owner—We the People.   The American people are the only people in the world that can stop the global drive to conquer mankind by a form of “democracy” whose ultimate goal is world domination.

Young Adults Leaving the Faith

This week a concern was brought to me that has been something that in my personal life I have avoided.  Maybe it is from the way I was raised.  Maybe it is I haven’t given it the attention that I should.  Nevertheless, I have now be forced to face my own concern about this issue.

I was reared by parents that gave their devotion and love to the church.  They were faith in attending every service—twice on Sunday and once on Wednesday.  Church attendance came first.  Nothing and I mean nothing came before our dedication and loyalty to the church.  All other activities were scheduled around church attendance.  Sound boring?  Well, it wasn’t.  This became important to me just as it was to my parents.  In over 44 years of married life there have been very few worship services I have missed.  Our vacations have been planned around our duty and obligation to the church where we have been members.  Our three boys were reared with the same sense of duty and obligation, although they do not have the same sense of loyalty and dedication to church attendance as their parents.

Over four decades as a pastor I have seen a major change in the young families in America.  There are a large number of parents who were professed Christians now rejecting the Christian faith. Some feel that if the current trend continues that churches will be closing at a rapid rate.   Why is this?

Many young adults within the church have never accepted the covenant of salvation.  They have called themselves Christian without truly accepting the duty and obligation that comes with being a Christian.  Becoming a Christian requires one to accept the New Covenant.  Even though, “God so loved the world that he gave his only son” the acceptance of his son and the ratification of the covenant is required which means, an acceptance and agreement to “keep my commandments”.  God will do his part but He requires us to do ours.

Young adults among those who attended church regularly during their elementary and high school years are now leaving church and taking their young children with them.  Almost half of those raised in the church now claim no religion.   Among these young adults they no longer hold a Biblical worldview.  Moral truth does not exist, the Bible is only a book, Jesus is only a man that has no relationship with mankind and God does not answer prayer.

This is the generation that is moving our country to a secularized nation.  In the next few years there will be hundreds if not thousands of churches closing because America’s young adults are rejecting the Christian faith.  What is sad about all this is that many within the church think everything is fine.  Everything is NOT fine.

American style Christianity is broken.  We have created a society where Christianity is not important.  Young parents today are more concerned about the social growth of their children than spiritual.  Many parents have used the excuse of their children’s activities to avoid their loyalty and obligation to the church where they hold their membership.  It is not uncommon among those who are Christian to place sporting events, secular entertainment and other activities before their obligation and loyalty to serve the LORD. 

We have never taught our children to trust the Lord so why should we be surprised that they are godless.  We are just reaping what we have sown.  They have struggled in their marriages, their children are disrespectful, they need two incomes to meet the demand of their life-style, their family life is dysfunctional and they have never felt the close relationship with the LORD that allows the trust needed to feel satisfied in life.  No wonder they are leaving.

The result is angry, bitter skepticism and rejection of the Christian faith.  So how did we get to the place that we are losing the next generation of Christians?  Could it be that we are more concerned with numbers than in the spiritual growth of the individual?  Or is it that we have reduced being a “Christian” to a superficial form of Christianity that has inoculated them against an authentic life changing faith? 

So what can we do?  I have struggled with this.  From personal experience hammering them with biblical truth will not work, ignoring the issues will not resolve the fact they have left the faith.  This brings me back to my growing up in the church.  There were those in my life that prayed for me.

First, my mother during our family devotions she would pray and weep for her children calling each of our names in prayer.  Her tears brought results.  She knew, “They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.  He that goeth forth and weepth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing bring his sheaves with him.” Ps. 126:5-6

Next, there were those within the church that would pray for us during worship again calling out our names in prayer asking the LORD to speak to us, keep us from sin, and give us the desire to serve the Lord.  These individuals felt that somebody has got to intercede, weep, pray and mourn to see the salvation of their children.  

When you have spent time mourning over the lost condition of our young adult parents, weeping with a burden in intercession for them, the scriptures says we “will DOUBTLESS come again rejoicing bringing your sheaves with you.”  Maybe the reason we are losing the battle to Satan is we have not taken the time to pray for them, never taking the time to intercede and mourn for them.  Is that what we are lacking?  Is that the reason we are losing the battle for the souls of our young adult parents?

Most pray within the church is about praying for the sick or those who have lost their jobs, very seldom do we prayer for those who have left the faith.  Our pray life should change if we are to see results in bring the prodigal back into the fold. 

All the questions I have asked in this blog, I have directed to myself.  My answers are not those I would be proud to make known, but I realize if there is to be a change in direction it must first start with me, not those who have left the faith.  As Christians we are experts at leaving the wounded to die on the battlefield in search for “newer converts”.  

As Paul wrote to the church at Rome, “Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites (young adult parents) is that they may be saved.”  Join me in intercession for those who have left the faith, who once knew the LORD but now have turned away from Him.