The only reason the Boise, ID, city council yanked out a Ten Commandments monument from a public park was because they feared the ACLU just might drain their pockets with a lawsuit. That's exactly what the billion-dollar terrorist enterprise has done to cities and towns around the U.S. They got tens of thousands of dollars out of poor and rural Adams County Ohio for it's Ten Commandments displays--and more than $1 million from tiny Dover, PA, after school officials there dared to say what our Declaration of Independence asserts: There is a Creator! (In point of fact, all they said was, there might be a Creator.)
All this extortion money comes, of course, from the public treasury--your tax dollars. And it's not like the ACLU or its co-conspirators need it. What the ACLU does is troll around the country, looking for a vulnerable community, then menace them with threats of a lawsuit. If the victims don't capitulate, they proceed with a suit. All the while, ACLU fundraisers are rolling out mass mailings and Internet appeals, begging donors to cough up millions of dollars. So far, the ACLU and its subsidiaries have amassed a fortune of more than $300 million in savings! So, their legal expenses are well paid for even before they get into court. But that's not what ACLU lawyers tell the judge after they win. They claim they have unpaid bills and the public owes them their due. So, what happens? The tax-payers end up paying through the nose (sometimes at $300 - $400 per hour, plus all expenses) and the ACLU gets paid twice! What a scam!
Well finally, the ACLU has got its comeuppance! The House of Representatives passed the Public Expression of Religion Protection Act, 244 to 173, ordering the courts to stop making town councils, school boards and other public treasurers paying-off the ACLU. BUT, the measure must pass the US Senate to become law. No doubt President Bush will sign it, but there's barely any movement in the Senate. Best thing you can do is call your US Senator at their local offices (number in your phone book) and urge them to pass "PERA," the Public Expression of Religion Protection Act! Leave your name, address and phone number (whether they want it or not) and tell them you do vote!
Thank God for the courage of the Republicans and some 20 Democrats that voted for this common sense measure. And many heartfelt thanks to our ministry partner, Phil Jauregui of the Judicial Action Group for his outstanding leadership on this key issue! God bless you, Phil!
Friday, September 29, 2006
Friday, September 22, 2006
TEN COMMANDMENTS AND POLITICS
Never have the Ten Commandments been more important to American civilization than now. With the rise of murderous terrorism, the relentless advance of flagrant immorality and an attempt by so-called “religious” liberals to redefine right and wrong, America needs to routinely recalibrate its moral compass.
This weekend Gary Bauer hosts a “Values Voters” conference here in Washington. I can’t be there, but if I could, I’d suggest the bottom line is always those simple “Ten Words of Sinai.” Why? Because the big question is, how do we judge whether something (or someone) is right or wrong?
God gave the Ten Commandments to answer precisely that question. When it comes to evaluating candidates for public office, legislative initiatives or court opinions, here’s a simple test based on each of the Commandments:
1) Does it (he/she) honor or dishonor God? (Belief or unbelief?)
2) Does it (he/she) suggest that we must put our beliefs about God aside in favor of other considerations? (Idolatry is putting anything in front of God and His will.)
3) Does it (he/she) claim to speak for God, yet contradict His moral standards? (False religion.)
4) Does it (he/she) work for or against the corporate worship of God? (Pro or anti-church?)
5) Does it (he/she) preserve or dismiss the wisdom handed down through the ages? (Wise or foolish?)
6) Does it (he/she) respect the Sanctity of Life? (Acknowledge or dismiss the Creator status of God?)
7) Does it (he/she) preserve and protect the family or militate against it? (Pro or anti traditional family of mother + father + children.)
8) Does it (he/she) preserve and protect personal property, including the work of one’s own hands? (Characterized by giving or taking?)
9) Does it (he/she) stand for honesty and transparency? (Ring true or false—plain speak or sophistry?)
10) Does it (he/she) seek to undermine relationships (especially between husband and wife), separate people and their legitimate property (think Supreme Court on “takings”) and get what is not earned or deserved? (Greed or graft?)
The Bible says the law of God is written upon the heart. (Read that “conscience.”) The Commandments are really common sense right and wrong. What makes them so common is that they’re embedded in our very DNA. While many consciously and deliberately chafe against the Commandments, few honestly disagree with them.
Who and what to vote for? Measure them against the Commandments and you’ll know!
This weekend Gary Bauer hosts a “Values Voters” conference here in Washington. I can’t be there, but if I could, I’d suggest the bottom line is always those simple “Ten Words of Sinai.” Why? Because the big question is, how do we judge whether something (or someone) is right or wrong?
God gave the Ten Commandments to answer precisely that question. When it comes to evaluating candidates for public office, legislative initiatives or court opinions, here’s a simple test based on each of the Commandments:
1) Does it (he/she) honor or dishonor God? (Belief or unbelief?)
2) Does it (he/she) suggest that we must put our beliefs about God aside in favor of other considerations? (Idolatry is putting anything in front of God and His will.)
3) Does it (he/she) claim to speak for God, yet contradict His moral standards? (False religion.)
4) Does it (he/she) work for or against the corporate worship of God? (Pro or anti-church?)
5) Does it (he/she) preserve or dismiss the wisdom handed down through the ages? (Wise or foolish?)
6) Does it (he/she) respect the Sanctity of Life? (Acknowledge or dismiss the Creator status of God?)
7) Does it (he/she) preserve and protect the family or militate against it? (Pro or anti traditional family of mother + father + children.)
8) Does it (he/she) preserve and protect personal property, including the work of one’s own hands? (Characterized by giving or taking?)
9) Does it (he/she) stand for honesty and transparency? (Ring true or false—plain speak or sophistry?)
10) Does it (he/she) seek to undermine relationships (especially between husband and wife), separate people and their legitimate property (think Supreme Court on “takings”) and get what is not earned or deserved? (Greed or graft?)
The Bible says the law of God is written upon the heart. (Read that “conscience.”) The Commandments are really common sense right and wrong. What makes them so common is that they’re embedded in our very DNA. While many consciously and deliberately chafe against the Commandments, few honestly disagree with them.
Who and what to vote for? Measure them against the Commandments and you’ll know!
Friday, September 15, 2006
HISTORY BEING MADE IN BOISE!
Yes, it's Boise--Idaho, that is! This relatively quiet river city where the desert meets the mountains is also the staging ground for an epic battle in the war for America's soul. Faith and Action sent our partner, Rev. Pat Mahoney, out to Boise this week to help organize a citizen's movement against the removal of a Ten Commandments monument.
Two years ago the Boise city council decided, of its own accord, to remove a beautiful monument of the Ten Commandments from a city park. The mayor and certain council members claimed they were "afraid" of an ACLU lawsuit that would waste taxpayers' money. (No lawsuit has ever been filed.) But, then, they launched their own suit against their own citizens when the electorate demanded the decision be put to a vote at the ballot box! I've posted below Boise's FOX News 12 reporter Dan Hamilton's complete story from their website. Please take time to read it.
Brandi Swindell (quoted in Hamilton's article) is well-known to us and has been with us at our ministry center numerous times and at many of our events over the years. She's a young, articulate, fresh face in the culture wars. Rev. Mahoney has been working with Brandi's group for over two years. He went out this week to help her train and organize for the upcoming referendum.
This showdown is critical because--if successful--it will set a precedent for citizen action on the public display of God's Word all over the country. One of the greatest challenges in Boise is the cost for commissioning a Zogby Poll, a necessary step in executing the right strategy. It's going to run somewhere around $6000. If you can help with this and other expenses for this critically important effort, you may do so at our website: www.faithandaction.org (use the donation button at the upper right). Then, send us an E-mail telling us when you made the gift online and the amount (info@faithandaction.org). We will speed it out to Boise!
Here's Hamilton's story:
Boise, Idaho -- Boise's Ten Commandments monument that once stood in Julia Davis Park was moved over two years ago to Saint Michael's Cathedral.
The decision was made after Kansas preacher Fred Phelps tried using the monument as an avenue to install his own anti-gay monument.
But a group of Boise citizens fought to keep the Commandments in place, and have continued fighting to get them moved back. And today, the Idaho Supreme Court decided the Commandments should go to a vote.
"So we're making history here in Boise, Idaho," said Brandi Swindell of the Keep the Commandments Coalition.
Two years ago, a group of Boise citizens began collecting 19,000 signatures in order to allow voters to decide whether or not to move the Ten Commandments monument back to Julia Davis park.
And now the Idaho Supreme Court ruling determined voters would get that opportunity -- so on Nov. 7, Boise residents will be the first in the country to vote on such an issue.
"This is a huge victory that not only has significance here in Boise, but really has national significance as well," said Swindell.
Boise Mayor Dave Bieter and Boise city council members had fought to keep the issue off the ballot saying it was an administrative decision and not legislative in nature, and in late August 2004 a district judge agreed.
"I also have to say that this clearly shows that Mayor Bieter and Councilman (Alan) Shealy wasted city time, city money, city resources. They spent thousand and thousands of dollars to fight against their own citizens," said Swindell.
"From the beginning, we have said that we will abide by the will of the people at the ballot box, and we expect the mayor and the council to do the same thing," added Bryan Fischer of the Keep the Commandments Coalition.
But according to Boise city, the ruling, unlike the monument, may not be set in stone.
According to Boise Spokesperson Elizabeth Duncan the vote will go forward, but what happens after that is still anybody's guess.
"Today, the supreme court essential said, 'we don't have enough information to make a decision. We'd like you to put this on a ballot, and then we'll make a ruling,' which is exactly what we plan to do," said Duncan.
According to the ruling, the Idaho Supreme Court is a little confused itself as to whether or not this is an administrative or legislative issue.
No matter how things eventually end up, city officials said this has never been about the monument itself -- rather how the city can avoid further legal distractions.
"This is about making sure that the city of Boise conducts itself in a very conservative, prudent, measured way so we're not having to get in the middle of legal battles in the future," said Duncan.
Should voters decide in favor of the monument, and that decision stands, we're told a new monument would be created to go back into Julia Davis Park.
The original statue would stay in place at Saint Michael's Cathedral.
---
Keep a watch on this and pray. God is doing something big!
Two years ago the Boise city council decided, of its own accord, to remove a beautiful monument of the Ten Commandments from a city park. The mayor and certain council members claimed they were "afraid" of an ACLU lawsuit that would waste taxpayers' money. (No lawsuit has ever been filed.) But, then, they launched their own suit against their own citizens when the electorate demanded the decision be put to a vote at the ballot box! I've posted below Boise's FOX News 12 reporter Dan Hamilton's complete story from their website. Please take time to read it.
Brandi Swindell (quoted in Hamilton's article) is well-known to us and has been with us at our ministry center numerous times and at many of our events over the years. She's a young, articulate, fresh face in the culture wars. Rev. Mahoney has been working with Brandi's group for over two years. He went out this week to help her train and organize for the upcoming referendum.
This showdown is critical because--if successful--it will set a precedent for citizen action on the public display of God's Word all over the country. One of the greatest challenges in Boise is the cost for commissioning a Zogby Poll, a necessary step in executing the right strategy. It's going to run somewhere around $6000. If you can help with this and other expenses for this critically important effort, you may do so at our website: www.faithandaction.org (use the donation button at the upper right). Then, send us an E-mail telling us when you made the gift online and the amount (info@faithandaction.org). We will speed it out to Boise!
Here's Hamilton's story:
Boise, Idaho -- Boise's Ten Commandments monument that once stood in Julia Davis Park was moved over two years ago to Saint Michael's Cathedral.
The decision was made after Kansas preacher Fred Phelps tried using the monument as an avenue to install his own anti-gay monument.
But a group of Boise citizens fought to keep the Commandments in place, and have continued fighting to get them moved back. And today, the Idaho Supreme Court decided the Commandments should go to a vote.
"So we're making history here in Boise, Idaho," said Brandi Swindell of the Keep the Commandments Coalition.
Two years ago, a group of Boise citizens began collecting 19,000 signatures in order to allow voters to decide whether or not to move the Ten Commandments monument back to Julia Davis park.
And now the Idaho Supreme Court ruling determined voters would get that opportunity -- so on Nov. 7, Boise residents will be the first in the country to vote on such an issue.
"This is a huge victory that not only has significance here in Boise, but really has national significance as well," said Swindell.
Boise Mayor Dave Bieter and Boise city council members had fought to keep the issue off the ballot saying it was an administrative decision and not legislative in nature, and in late August 2004 a district judge agreed.
"I also have to say that this clearly shows that Mayor Bieter and Councilman (Alan) Shealy wasted city time, city money, city resources. They spent thousand and thousands of dollars to fight against their own citizens," said Swindell.
"From the beginning, we have said that we will abide by the will of the people at the ballot box, and we expect the mayor and the council to do the same thing," added Bryan Fischer of the Keep the Commandments Coalition.
But according to Boise city, the ruling, unlike the monument, may not be set in stone.
According to Boise Spokesperson Elizabeth Duncan the vote will go forward, but what happens after that is still anybody's guess.
"Today, the supreme court essential said, 'we don't have enough information to make a decision. We'd like you to put this on a ballot, and then we'll make a ruling,' which is exactly what we plan to do," said Duncan.
According to the ruling, the Idaho Supreme Court is a little confused itself as to whether or not this is an administrative or legislative issue.
No matter how things eventually end up, city officials said this has never been about the monument itself -- rather how the city can avoid further legal distractions.
"This is about making sure that the city of Boise conducts itself in a very conservative, prudent, measured way so we're not having to get in the middle of legal battles in the future," said Duncan.
Should voters decide in favor of the monument, and that decision stands, we're told a new monument would be created to go back into Julia Davis Park.
The original statue would stay in place at Saint Michael's Cathedral.
---
Keep a watch on this and pray. God is doing something big!
Monday, September 11, 2006
TEN WAYS 9/11 VIOLATED GOD’S MORAL LAW
Today, we remember all those who lost their lives on September 11, 2001, and the loved ones who survive them. We pray God's greatest comfort for those who still bear the terrible scars of that day, physically and emotionally. We ask the Lord of Life to fill the emptiness left by the sudden and painful departure of treasured friends and loved ones.
As I reflect on my own experience on September 11 and the days following, I am struck by how profoundly evil the machinations of the terrorists were. In fact, it took 9-11 to reintroduce the word "evil" into the American lexicon.
Polls have consistently shown Americans believe in God and heaven by an overwhelming majority. The numbers are usually in the high 90th percentile. Yet, at the same time, most Americans dismiss the idea of Hell and the Devil. On September 11, though, we were left with no other explanation for what had happened. At a loss for words, it seemed when anyone was asked what the meaning of such a thing could be, they stammered until they found the right tag: It was just plain evil.
Sadly, it takes a grotesque act as barbarous as the 9/11 attacks to snap us out of our Pollyanna worldview and wake us up to reality. The deliberate, premeditated, intentional mass murder of thousands of innocent children, women and men epitomizes the complete violation of God's moral law for the Universe. Once again, the exception proves the rule: 9/11 couldn't have been evil unless an absolute Good truly exists. The Bible says that the Law of God is written upon our hearts. Somehow, even the most irreligious among us know this heinous act contradicted that often ignored Law.
There was no gray, moral fuzziness about what the terrorists and their accomplices did in 2001. They raised an angry fist in the face of God and His Holy Law. In fact, in less than one hour, the world-wide terrorist machine managed to violate virtually every one of the Ten Commandments:
"I AM THE LORD YOUR GOD . . . YOU SHALL HAVE NO OTHER GODS BEFORE ME."
The terrorists began by effectively declaring themselves to be God by deciding among themselves, over a long period of time, who would live and who would die. In short, they played God. This was the original satanic sin. It was Lucifer who declared that he would exalt himself above God. He would later seduce Eve in the Garden by whispering, "You shall be like God." The terrorists did that when they took into their own hands the power of life and death.
"YOU SHALL NOT MAKE FOR YOURSELF A CARVED IMAGE . . . YOU SHALL NOT BOW DOWN TO THEM OR SERVE THEM."
But they didn't stop there. Bin Laden and his sycophants engaged in the most blatant idolatry by employing their own self-centered hatred and resentment as the motive for killing. In a sense, they practiced human sacrifice, offering their victims to appease themselves.
"YOU SHALL NOT TAKE THE NAME OF THE LORD YOUR GOD IN VAIN . . ."
Furthermore, to do this in the name of God obliterated the Commandment against taking the Lord's name in vain. To invoke the name of God for an act so morally reprehensible and illegitimate is the height of hubris.
"REMEMBER THE SABBATH . . ."
Even the rule of the Sabbath was atrociously violated that fateful day. By resting after He created mankind, God reminds us in the Sabbath that we are created in His image. That fact alone demands the utmost respect for human life. What the terrorists did on September 11, 2001, brutishly desecrated human dignity and mutilated God's magnificent handiwork.
"HONOR YOUR FATHER AND YOUR MOTHER . . ."
More than 400 profoundly sad children left in the aftermath of the terrorists' campaign of horror flies in the face of the Commandment to honor mother and father. This edict is aimed at keeping together the bond of mother-father-children. To rip a child from her parents is to take away the earthy prefigurement of the Heavenly Father. To take a child from a parent is worse than bestial. The violent tearing of the family is irreparable. It is a lifelong wound to the very soul of a child and the heart of a parent.
"YOU SHALL NOT MURDER"
Little needs to be said about the terrorists and their total disregard for the Sanctity of Life. The Commandment against murder can be best rendered from the original language as, "No willful taking of innocent human life." Only God gives life and only He can say when and how it is to be ended. The terrorists ignored the Author of Life and decided for themselves to target even the most innocent among us--even tiny children in day care centers!
"YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY"
And could what the terrorists did on 9/11 include breaking the code against adultery? You bet it does. Adultery protects the deepest earthly covenant, marriage, because marriage reflects the highest spiritual covenant between God and man. Adultery refers to the "adulteration," or polluting of those covenants. The Bible refers to the worship of false Gods as whoredom. The terrorists went whoring after angry gods made in their own images. Nothing is more purely adulterous than that.
"YOU SHALL NOT STEAL"
And, in taking so many lives, the terrorists stole what is most precious: The pleasure and security of companionship with our loved ones, the exchange of feelings, knowledge, opinion, humor, sympathy, empathy and physical touch. Children left without protectors, mentors, or disciplinarians; spouses left without their soul-mates; employees left without bosses; bosses left without employees; friends lost friends; cities and businesses lost every kind of worker and professional; even skylines were emptied of architectural icons.
Plenty of stealing took place on 9/11. The worst of the evidence occurs in the everyday events of life: empty chairs at dinner tables, empty seats at ball games, empty doorways on school mornings. The absence of these treasurers is excruciating to think about. Added to all of this, the terrorists stole the innocence of our young people and for all of us, our sense of security and well-being.
"YOU SHALL NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS . . ."
False witness goes without saying. The essence of this Commandment is knowingly making a false accusation against the innocent. The terrorists accused as infidels school children, babies in strollers, pregnant moms, a mentally retarded kitchen worker, office clerks, firefighters, grandmas and grandpas, and countless other innocent people. Then, they meted out an egregiously unjust sentence of death by crushing, dismemberment and burning. Unthinkable.
"YOU SHALL NOT COVET . . ."
Finally, the mass murderers of 9/11 coveted what wasn't theirs to have. They wanted victory for their self-serving cause of terror, repression and vindictiveness. No one would legitimately give these miscreants what they demanded, so they took it with fury and cruelty on an unimaginable scale. As those who covet pursue the morally impossible, murder is employed as the only available means to achieve their craven ends.
This fifth anniversary of the attacks on 9/11, I give the only award ever granted for those who managed in one grand act to violate everything moral, everything good, everything godly. The plaque is cast in black and inscribed in blood red for the diabolical and dastardly way in which their deeds were done. The recipients can take it to Hell with them and show it off to Nero, Vlad the Impaler, Pol Pot, Stalin and Hitler, and whoever else down there may admire it.
But on the brighter side, I give the "Wonderful Works of God Award" to the selfless firefighters, police and rescue workers, soldiers, sailors and airmen, public officials and private citizens who reached out to help family, friends and fellow Americans in their grief and suffering. Jesus said, "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends." (John 15:13 NKJV) And John the Apostle urged, "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. (1 John 4:7 NKJV)
Here's to those who preached these texts better through their deeds on 9/11 than any of us pulpiteers have done in a lifetime through our words!
As I reflect on my own experience on September 11 and the days following, I am struck by how profoundly evil the machinations of the terrorists were. In fact, it took 9-11 to reintroduce the word "evil" into the American lexicon.
Polls have consistently shown Americans believe in God and heaven by an overwhelming majority. The numbers are usually in the high 90th percentile. Yet, at the same time, most Americans dismiss the idea of Hell and the Devil. On September 11, though, we were left with no other explanation for what had happened. At a loss for words, it seemed when anyone was asked what the meaning of such a thing could be, they stammered until they found the right tag: It was just plain evil.
Sadly, it takes a grotesque act as barbarous as the 9/11 attacks to snap us out of our Pollyanna worldview and wake us up to reality. The deliberate, premeditated, intentional mass murder of thousands of innocent children, women and men epitomizes the complete violation of God's moral law for the Universe. Once again, the exception proves the rule: 9/11 couldn't have been evil unless an absolute Good truly exists. The Bible says that the Law of God is written upon our hearts. Somehow, even the most irreligious among us know this heinous act contradicted that often ignored Law.
There was no gray, moral fuzziness about what the terrorists and their accomplices did in 2001. They raised an angry fist in the face of God and His Holy Law. In fact, in less than one hour, the world-wide terrorist machine managed to violate virtually every one of the Ten Commandments:
"I AM THE LORD YOUR GOD . . . YOU SHALL HAVE NO OTHER GODS BEFORE ME."
The terrorists began by effectively declaring themselves to be God by deciding among themselves, over a long period of time, who would live and who would die. In short, they played God. This was the original satanic sin. It was Lucifer who declared that he would exalt himself above God. He would later seduce Eve in the Garden by whispering, "You shall be like God." The terrorists did that when they took into their own hands the power of life and death.
"YOU SHALL NOT MAKE FOR YOURSELF A CARVED IMAGE . . . YOU SHALL NOT BOW DOWN TO THEM OR SERVE THEM."
But they didn't stop there. Bin Laden and his sycophants engaged in the most blatant idolatry by employing their own self-centered hatred and resentment as the motive for killing. In a sense, they practiced human sacrifice, offering their victims to appease themselves.
"YOU SHALL NOT TAKE THE NAME OF THE LORD YOUR GOD IN VAIN . . ."
Furthermore, to do this in the name of God obliterated the Commandment against taking the Lord's name in vain. To invoke the name of God for an act so morally reprehensible and illegitimate is the height of hubris.
"REMEMBER THE SABBATH . . ."
Even the rule of the Sabbath was atrociously violated that fateful day. By resting after He created mankind, God reminds us in the Sabbath that we are created in His image. That fact alone demands the utmost respect for human life. What the terrorists did on September 11, 2001, brutishly desecrated human dignity and mutilated God's magnificent handiwork.
"HONOR YOUR FATHER AND YOUR MOTHER . . ."
More than 400 profoundly sad children left in the aftermath of the terrorists' campaign of horror flies in the face of the Commandment to honor mother and father. This edict is aimed at keeping together the bond of mother-father-children. To rip a child from her parents is to take away the earthy prefigurement of the Heavenly Father. To take a child from a parent is worse than bestial. The violent tearing of the family is irreparable. It is a lifelong wound to the very soul of a child and the heart of a parent.
"YOU SHALL NOT MURDER"
Little needs to be said about the terrorists and their total disregard for the Sanctity of Life. The Commandment against murder can be best rendered from the original language as, "No willful taking of innocent human life." Only God gives life and only He can say when and how it is to be ended. The terrorists ignored the Author of Life and decided for themselves to target even the most innocent among us--even tiny children in day care centers!
"YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY"
And could what the terrorists did on 9/11 include breaking the code against adultery? You bet it does. Adultery protects the deepest earthly covenant, marriage, because marriage reflects the highest spiritual covenant between God and man. Adultery refers to the "adulteration," or polluting of those covenants. The Bible refers to the worship of false Gods as whoredom. The terrorists went whoring after angry gods made in their own images. Nothing is more purely adulterous than that.
"YOU SHALL NOT STEAL"
And, in taking so many lives, the terrorists stole what is most precious: The pleasure and security of companionship with our loved ones, the exchange of feelings, knowledge, opinion, humor, sympathy, empathy and physical touch. Children left without protectors, mentors, or disciplinarians; spouses left without their soul-mates; employees left without bosses; bosses left without employees; friends lost friends; cities and businesses lost every kind of worker and professional; even skylines were emptied of architectural icons.
Plenty of stealing took place on 9/11. The worst of the evidence occurs in the everyday events of life: empty chairs at dinner tables, empty seats at ball games, empty doorways on school mornings. The absence of these treasurers is excruciating to think about. Added to all of this, the terrorists stole the innocence of our young people and for all of us, our sense of security and well-being.
"YOU SHALL NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS . . ."
False witness goes without saying. The essence of this Commandment is knowingly making a false accusation against the innocent. The terrorists accused as infidels school children, babies in strollers, pregnant moms, a mentally retarded kitchen worker, office clerks, firefighters, grandmas and grandpas, and countless other innocent people. Then, they meted out an egregiously unjust sentence of death by crushing, dismemberment and burning. Unthinkable.
"YOU SHALL NOT COVET . . ."
Finally, the mass murderers of 9/11 coveted what wasn't theirs to have. They wanted victory for their self-serving cause of terror, repression and vindictiveness. No one would legitimately give these miscreants what they demanded, so they took it with fury and cruelty on an unimaginable scale. As those who covet pursue the morally impossible, murder is employed as the only available means to achieve their craven ends.
This fifth anniversary of the attacks on 9/11, I give the only award ever granted for those who managed in one grand act to violate everything moral, everything good, everything godly. The plaque is cast in black and inscribed in blood red for the diabolical and dastardly way in which their deeds were done. The recipients can take it to Hell with them and show it off to Nero, Vlad the Impaler, Pol Pot, Stalin and Hitler, and whoever else down there may admire it.
But on the brighter side, I give the "Wonderful Works of God Award" to the selfless firefighters, police and rescue workers, soldiers, sailors and airmen, public officials and private citizens who reached out to help family, friends and fellow Americans in their grief and suffering. Jesus said, "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends." (John 15:13 NKJV) And John the Apostle urged, "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. (1 John 4:7 NKJV)
Here's to those who preached these texts better through their deeds on 9/11 than any of us pulpiteers have done in a lifetime through our words!
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