But even with those things aside, many secularists and non-Christians realize that something drastic has changed in America over the last few years that goes beyond any fear over terrorist threats. Sorrow is felt over the direction our beloved country has taken. Many see through the facade and realize that Americans have lost more then we ever have realized.

Our Constitution is being whittled away. Today even orderly, law-abiding protestors know they will be shunted off to something called the free speech zone—hidden from news cameras. This was proven even at the previous Democratic Convention in Chicago and has continued to this day.⁽⁶⁾

Also today with the Patriot Act, several constitutional guarantees have become eroded. Our founding fathers would be rolling in their graves to realize Americans could be labeled as enemy combatants and refused due process of law.⁽⁷⁾ The courts are making more recent rulings to hold this back, but President Bush has supported this erosion of constitutional rights.

This is a manipulated population (whatever happened to Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s message of “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself”?) shivering in its shoes from unending terror warnings and endless Orange alerts. Many are willing to line up against Ben Franklin’s advice about not giving up freedom for the sake of security.

Every day we see news from the White House that is contradictory, has endless holes in logic and outrageous lies such as  Bush's statements that "Saddam was never an imminent threat while during 2003, it was nothing but a drumbeat of the same! The very definition of a threat is that it is "imminent." ⁽⁸⁾ The Bush administration has been named the most secretive presidency in history, even giving Nixon a run for his money. Most Americans of whatever persuasion have seen the door slammed shut on open discourse and knowing the truth.  Endless theories about 9-11 proliferate and there are very few answers. Today people actually whisper when speaking politics in a public venue: things have drastically changed from the America we all have known and loved.

Christians who line up behind the Republican bandwagon are people with good intentions. They believe they are being obedient to God by voting for the party that presents itself as the standard bearer of prolife and Christian “values.” Some see no other choice compared to Kerry and other liberal agendas but they don’t realize that underneath the rhetoric are some very questionable agendas. Christians are not to choose “lesser evils” We are not to collude with evil whatsoever. Sadly, many see no  choice other than joining hands with the Republican Party and compromising their beliefs even with the misgivings inside their hearts. Choosing what is right is not an “either-or” proposition. If both parties are wrong neither should be supported.

Many have forgotten the warnings of the past about what happens when church and state totally combine and support Bush’s faith-based initiatives, which sound good on paper but in practice, will bring more governmental intrusion into churches. One shocking fact many Christians are unaware of is that Bush has said that these groups would not be allowed to proselytize:

"But I do believe that groups should be allowed to access social service grants so long as they don't proselytize or exclude somebody simply because they don't share a certain faith.” ⁽⁹⁾

What kind of Christian would be against the preaching of the gospel? Do most Christian churches that sign up with faith-based initiatives realize that it will be against the rules to preach the gospel to those they are helping? This is one of the many things that remain underneath the radar.

Another matter of concern related to Bush is his involvement in Skull and Bones. Many theories about this club speak of it as a boy’s fraternity to a secret group for world power. Ironically, even the book, “The Faith of George Bush” admits the troubles foreshadowed by Bush’s involvement in this group:

“Bush mentions of the society in his book, A Charge to Keep, has not served him well. He writes “My senior year, I joined Skull and Bones, a secret society, so secret, I can’t say anything more.” It is hard to imagine a sentence better designed to awaken suspicion. He should have known better.” ⁽¹⁰⁾

As the public now realizes, both presidential campaigners are in this group. Two years apart in school, Kerry and Bush had to know some of the same members. It is hard to trust those who are in secret societies and many churches have outlawed involvement in such groups for centuries.

Historically, many leaders have abused religion to gather support. Throughout history, leaders have used God to wage war and to further political agendas. The problem is that while even the Catholic church historically has defended a just war—and other churches have supported the rights of countries to defend themselves—there have been many unjust political agendas promoted—including wars that have led to the deaths of innocents.

Not many realize the true geo-political plan as put forth in the Project For A New American Century (PNAC) report. This report basically outlines a new global agenda for America before 9-11 that is now being carried out.⁽¹¹⁾ The pro-Bush book, “The Pentagon’s New Map,” ⁽¹²⁾ actually outlines the new plan (written by a top naval officer). This book can be found down at your local Borders. This might raise some questions as the war drums beat over and over again. While many people laugh at those on the right and left who speak of plans for global domination, and use terms like New World Order, globalism is a real force in the world and is not a myth nor the rantings of supposed "conspiracy theorists." For while Christians can see the march towards Revelation 17 as the world becomes one, even unbelievers can at least see the threat to America on many different levels ranging from endless outsourcing of American jobs to the rise of world governing organizations like the International Criminal Court. There is very little honest discourse about the realities of Globalization.

Christians who speak to liberal youths at anti-WTO demonstrations have made stands against the fact that multi-national corporations and the very rich have sought power and wealth, and seek to end the national sovereignty of nations. One problem is realizing that while Bush went against the wishes of the UN to go to war with Iraq, he recently approved the OSCE—a group under the auspices of the UN—to supervise our national elections.⁽¹³⁾ Many Americans are unaware of the ramifications of such decisions and that both the Democratic and Republican parties—as far as globalism goes—share the same agendas. It is worrisome that many Christians who identify themselves with the Republican Party rarely question these plans.

Truly only God knows the absolute state of the soul of our president and where good intentions may lie or not. But Jesus said to judge by the fruits and I believe there are many issues Christians need to be concerned about— such as the direction our country is heading— and not just accept everything that is going on. Christians are to be the salt of the world and make stands for what is right. Pray for all our leaders because anyone can be reached with the gospel and truth. Pray for our country. Pray for conversion of souls to the Lord Jesus Christ. — contributed

notes:

(1) http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/11/20011119-14.html

“According to Muslim teachings, God first revealed *His word* in the holy Qur'an to the prophet, Muhammad, during the month of Ramadan. That word has guided billions of believers across the centuries, and those believers built a culture of learning and literature and science.


And the more we learn, the more we find that many commitments are broadly shared. We share a commitment to family, to protect and love our children. We share a belief in God's justice"

The notions of other religions leading to God are a false one put to rest with this Bible Verse John 14:26 which reads: "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."

(2) http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20020219a4.htm

(3) http://www.unesco.org/dialogue2001/delhi/values.html

“It was also suggested that inter-religious dialogue should be preceded by intra-religious dialogue, and the dialogue should aim at the discovery of universal sources of consciousness. It was further suggested that all religions can come together in joint service to man. It was then pointed out that this joint service to man will be manifest in the promotion of human rights, justice and development that is sustainable and development that creates constant movements of harmony and good will.

A suggestion was made that peace will come when we can accept in our own temple the divine presence celebrated in the temples of other religions. In a remarkable poetic expression, it was declared that as one advances in age, one learns more and more how to smile and wait. It was also felt that a truly spiritual being wishes sincerely that a Christian should become a better Christian, that a Muslim should become a better Muslim, that a Buddhist should become a better Buddhist, instead of wishing that one should be converted from one religion to the other. True conversion, it was underlined, is the inner conversion from egoism to universality, to the realization of the divinity of man , and to the program of action of developing good individuals and enlightened citizens.

Bush has US rejoin UNESCO—

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/09/20020912-1.html

(4) http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/10/20031028-9.html

“According to the teachings of Islam, Ramadan commemorates the revelation of *God's word* in the Holy Koran to the prophet Mohammed.”

http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/ramadan/eid_greeting.html

(5) as reported in http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=35787

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/01/20040115-7.html

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/09/20020912-1.html

(6) Free Speech is under attack with even conservatives noticing…

http://www.townhall.com/columnists/johnleo/jl20030505.shtml

(7) Americans can be named as enemy combatants...

http://www.truthout.com/docs_02/011003D.hamdi.rule.htm

(8) http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2002-09-11-bush-iraq_x.htm

(9) http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/06/20040601-10.html

Comment in context: Look, I fully understand it's important to maintain the separation of church and state. We don't want the state to become the church, nor do we want the church to become the state. We're on common agreement there. But I do believe that groups should be allowed to access social service grants, so long as they don't proselytize, or exclude somebody simply because they don't share a certain faith. In other words, there's a way to accomplish the separation of church and state, and at the same time, accomplish the social objective of having America become a hopeful place, and a loving place.

(10)The Faith of George Bush, page 49. Chapter: The Nomad Years.

(11) Plan for A New American Century

http://www.newamericancentury.org/

For new American defense plan go to this page and click on report of this title

http://www.newamericancentury.org/publicationsreports.htm

Rebuilding America's Defenses: Strategy, Forces and Resources For a New Century

A Report of the Project for the New American Century September 2000

(12) The Pentagon's New Map: War and Peace in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas P. M. Barnett  From www.amazon.com

This bold and important book strives to be a practical "strategy for a Second American Century." In this brilliantly argued work, Thomas Barnett calls globalization "this country’s gift to history" and explains why its wide dissemination is critical to the security of not only America but the entire world. As a senior military analyst for the U.S. Naval War College, Barnett is intimately familiar with the culture of the Pentagon and the State Department (both of which he believes are due for significant overhauls). He explains how the Pentagon, still in shock at the rapid dissolution of the once evil empire, spent the 1990s grasping for a long-term strategy to replace containment. The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Barnett argues, revealed the gap between an outdated Cold War-era military and a radically different one needed to deal with emerging threats. He believes that America is the prime mover in developing a "future worth creating" not because of its unrivaled capacity to wage war, but due to its ability to ensure security around the world. Further, he believes that the U.S. has a moral responsibility to create a better world and the way he proposes to do that is by bringing all nations into the fold of globalization, or what he calls connectedness. Eradicating disconnectedness, therefore, is "the defining security task of our age." His stunning predictions of a U.S. annexation of much of Latin America and Canada within 50 years as well as an end to war in the foreseeable future guarantee that the book will be controversial. And that's good. The Pentagon's New Map deserves to be widely discussed.

(13) http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewPolitics.asp?Page=\Politics\archive\200408\POL20040809c.html

OSCE under UN auspices—

http://www.unodc.org/unodc/unlinks.html

Right from USA embassy's mouth—

http://japan.usembassy.gov/e/p/tp-20040720-34.html