Hello there! Theo, cdh's administrative assistant, here. If you have ever spent a bit of time on Circuit Rider's Range, you know that my boss has the habit of writing letters to all kinds of people -- news editors, politicians, United Methodist Church bishops, etc. If you ask him why he does this, it's hard to tell what kind of answer you might get -- but basically it seems to be a kind of "calling" with him and something about sounding a warning! But you'll have to get more details from him about that.

Anyway, he recently read through the April 2005 issue of whistleblower (honest, that's how the title appears on the cover of each issue) which was devoted to the theme, "Why Are Christians Losing America?" And so, it happened -- a rather lenghty response was composed and sent to Mr. Joseph Farah and members of his staff. Mr. Farah heads up WorldNetDaily.com which is an excellent source of news happenings all over the world plus commentaries and available books on current issues.

Please understand, that as you read through this there will be a few graphics which have been added to emphasize certain points. These were not in the original letter. Also there is the standard closing which includes some Scripture quotes and a powerful poster about what is considered a "constitutional right" in the country at the present time.

Tuesday, May 24, 2005

Mr. Joseph Farah and Staff
WorldNetDaily.com, Inc.
P.O. Box 1087
Grants Pass OR 97528

Dear Friends:

This is a response to the April issue of Whistleblower magazine in which the question of Christians "losing" America is intensely discussed.

First, we tend to use the label "Christian" quite loosely and imply that the number of Christians in the United States is quite large. It is difficult to determine the number who have had a genuine "born again" experience in receiving Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. Part of the problem is that we in the churches have too often simply suggested in so many words, "Just believe in Jesus and you'll be OK -- heaven is at the end of the line!" To say the least, the numbers would shrink to a small minority when we seriously consider the 4 demands Jesus placed on us if we expect to enter His eternal Kingdom. These are found at Matthew 18:2,3; Luke 13:3; John 3:3; and John 6:53, 54 with this last statement being the one that drives a number of people away. He later explained what was involved in such a statement which some thought to be extremely insane!

It requires very little to profess Christianity but it is quite another matter to undergo a genuine life transforming experience in meeting the conditions as set forth by Jesus. He spoke in terms of "many" traveling the broad way to destruction and "few" finding the way to eternal life by entering the narrow gate.

Second, we have failed to realize the far reaching impact of "rebel seed" sown theologically in Germany in the latter years of the 19th Century. It so undermined the German church that there was little resistance when Hitler and the Nazis came to power! This theological junk, consisting of widespread denials of truth revealed in the Scriptures, was exported to the U.S. and disseminated in a number of seminaries.

Initially it resulted in a great controversy known as "Modernism versus Fundamentalism" in the early years of the 20th Century.

As time advanced the more sophisticated term "liberal' was applied to theologians, seminary professors, and pastors who could not or would not accept the body of Scriptures as the Holy Spirit inspired authoritative Word of God. It was with a sense of carnal pride that the miracles, the Person and work of Jesus Christ, and the issues of eternal destiny were "reinterpreted" and dispensed throughout the land with devastating results. The bitter fruit of such teaching and preaching began to "ripen" in the latter 4 decades of the 20th Century!

Evangelicals, who professed to believe the Scriptures as recorded, eventually found themselves in the position of wanting to be popular and to avoid being regarded as too "radical" and "divisive" in expressing and promoting the Christian faith.

For some time a number of "evangelicals" have succumbed to a deadly practice called "dialogue" which the liberals (more accurately identified as apostates) have long advocated.

In some quarters we have "evangelicals" sitting down to the table with the "liberals" and entering into discussion as to how they can better communicate, work with each other, understand each other's "points of view," and have respect for each other. Reports of such meetings are always positive and upbeat conveying the idea that we thrive in the midst of our diversity and in reality we are really one big happy family!

This thing of meeting on a cordial basis with the "opposition" has come to the place where we have evangelicals in dialogue with those who are seeking to advance the sodomite/lesbian agenda within the church as well as throughout our culture at large. The ultimate goal is full acceptance of sodomy/lesbianism as legitimate lifestyles with all the privileges and benefits now possessed by married heterosexual couples and their families. One case in point where this is happening is in my conference (W. PA Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church) which takes in about the western third of the state of Pennsylvania. Publicity from these "dialogues" has been very positive and favorable so that people will conclude that it is a good thing. Some of us like to drink milk and believe it is a good thing, but not when you start adding a few drops of arsenic to it!

Another area where the "dialogue" is taking a heavy toll is in the realm of world religions. Again, a number of evangelicals and a host of liberals feel it is necessary to "dialogue" with Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Jews, etc. with the idea that all religious groups are legitimate when it comes to addressing the issues of deity identity, origin and purpose of life, and eternal destiny. Not a few professing Christians have betrayed the Lord they claim to follow by entering into "dialogue" with those who refuse to acknowledge Jesus Christ in His exalted position as the one and only solution to the sin problem which plagues every member of the human race! It comes down to this -- will we stand by the exclusive claims Jesus made for Himself which allow for no other alternatives (His "I am …." statements found primarily in the Gospel of John) or capitulate and go with the popular flow which says, "There are many paths to the top of the mountain -- Allah, Vishnu, Shiva, Buddha, or self accomplishments will get you there just as easily as Jesus."

President G. W. Bush, who is the darling "poster child" of evangelicals, is a notable example of the destructive direction evangelicalism has taken in recent years. He sanctioned the appointment of an open and avowed practicing sodomite to be the U.S. ambassador to Romania. This guy's "lover" was present and all smiles when Colin Powell conducted the oath of office ceremony.

President Bush also made a devastating remark at a joint news conference with Tony Blair in England in November of 2003. On that occasion he publicly stated that he believed that Christians and Muslims worship the same God! One could expect that from a liberal -- political, theological or whatever!

Again, such a statement is diametrically opposed to the exclusive claims Jesus made concerning Who He really is and what His atoning sacrifice would accomplish for all human beings.

And of course President Bush also claims to be pro-life and uses rhetoric often heard within the ranks of the pro-life movement. But there is a disturbing lack of aggression in putting an end to the massive destruction of unborn children at the rate of about 100,000 per month. By way of contrast the Bush administration pulled out all the stops in taking aggressive action against Iraq, citing Saddam Hussein as a brutal dictator with loads of WMD's and it was absolutely necessary to remove him from power. Best estimates of the number of victims of Saddam & Sons' brutality number around 1 million. But since we started liberating Iraq from the brutality of S. Hussein & Sons as of March 19, 2003 there have been over 2.8 million unborn children brutally mutilated and murdered in the U.S. of A! Isn't there a word that applies to a situation such as this -- is it not hypo something or other? Oh yes, now I got it -- the word is hypocrisy -- and that of the first magnitude!

Hey! Look at the Number of Unborn Children Brutally Mutilated & Murdered in USA since the USA started "liberating" Iraq from the brutality of Saddam Hussein! March 19 2003

Watch this for about 60 to 90 seconds
and see what happens!

Which leads to another issue which "liberals" instantly dismiss and "evangelicals" do a lot of hem-hawing and foot shuffling about. The issue is undiluted judgment at the hands of a holy God Who has blessed this republic abundantly in times past but Who has seen in recent decades increased massive defiance of His holy standards by citizens and their leaders alike.

We profane the day set aside for worship with the majority of U.S. citizens choosing to use the day for pleasurable pursuits, spectator sports events, and the transacting of business. To show it the way it really is, the day's name on the calendar should be changed from Sunday to Funday!

We are out of control regarding sexual immorality and have come to the point where persons of all ages have bought into the philosophy so glorified by the entertainment industry -- "Sex is fun with anyone or more than one anyone at the same time or animal, anytime and anywhere."

While we have not constructed grotesque images as did the ancient Canaanites, we have established our own brands of idolatry with money as one of the premier deities which has a deeply devoted following. A repulsive ingredient in unregenerate human nature called "greed" insures the dominance of the money god. Just look at Wall Street shenanigans to witness the powerful influence of this deity.

Still another facet to consider as the country finds itself in a "graveyard spiral" has been the indoctrination of generations of our future citizens through the teaching of evolutionary theory in the educational process. With some very rare exceptions, our young are told that we basically have evolved from a lower life form and they are exposed to this stuff all the way through the graduate school level, if they go that far in pursuit of their academic degrees.

In effect this deadly and false doctrine says there is no God, or if there is a God, He is of no real significance when it comes to how life ought to be focused and experienced in terms of purpose. We are free to make up our own "rules" as we move along through life with no personal responsibility. If we should get ourselves into some kind of trouble, it will always be some other person's fault, or if nothing else, blame society at large!

Worst of all is the fact that we as a culture have adopted an extremely low-brow view of life and the fact that we can dispose of it as easily as yesterday's garbage and never blink an eye in the process. To date we have systematically destroyed about 45 million unborn children -- a number that is more than the combined population of some of our states. And the oldest of these victims which number in the millions would be paying millions of dollars into a distressed Social Security fund if they had been permitted to live, but our politicians are not intelligent enough to ponder this nor are they willing to consider the implications of all that this means in regard to the future health of the republic.

Unborn Babies Brutally Mutilated and Murdered since Roe vs. Wade January 1973

Watch this for 60 to 90 seconds
and see what happens!

There is a price to pay and we shall pay it -- the ancient Canaanites didn't get away with the shedding of innocent blood and the ancient Israelites didn't get away with it when they adopted the heathen practice of sacrificing their young. We in the U.S. have yet to experience Almighty God's response to the abominable practice of "shedding innocent blood." When He does respond none of us will want to be within any of the borders of any one of the 50 states!

While there are some who seem to be optimistic that the overwhelming tide of evil which has engulfed us can be turned back, the main barrier is the issue of repentance. We want the blessings and favor of God, but the dominant spirit at present is one that adamantly refuses to repent of extensive rebellion against God -- this is so at the individual level and even more so at the collective level. While we have stirrings here and there, large churches with multi-pastoral staffs, TV ministries that draw wide viewing audiences, and pastors of large churches who have written books which have sold millions of copies, there has been no significant move to wholeheartedly repent of our idolatrous, sinful, and abominable practices as a nation which claims to be "under God."

Repentance in order to be complete involves 3 critical elements. These are intellectual (the awareness of sin - "I am a sinner in need of forgiveness."), emotional (regret - "I am sorry that I have sinned against God and my fellow human beings."), and volitional (180 degree turn around - "I will forsake all my sins -- quite practicing them -- turn to God for mercy -- and receive His Son, Jesus, as Savior and Lord of my life.").

Some may experience the first 2 elements and claim to be Christian, but the clincher is the third element. Too often among professing Christians are those persons who admit they are sinners and who may be somewhat troubled about sinful habits and practices, but they are unwilling to forsake such sins -- a kind of "I want to have my cake and eat it too!" approach when it comes to dealing with sin and forgiveness.

God never brings judgment upon a people but what He does not precede such action with a clear warning and the employment of chastising actions in order to make a culture aware of its perilous condition and the possibility of divine wrath poured out if total repentance does not take place within a reasonable time.

The Old Testament prophets are a primary source as to God's warnings issued and His dealings with those who professed to be His people. However, the problem was the rejection of God's standards for living holy lifestyles and the incorporation of heathen practices. Jeremiah is an outstanding source due to his living at such a time when ethical, moral, and spiritual conditions were strikingly parallel to what we are witnessing in the United States at the present time. In fact, the best way to get a handle on the spiritual health of the United States is to intensely study the Old Testament prophets -- the "diagnosis" will not be pleasant, which is why those prophets are so commonly ignored in churches that profess to be Christian in faith!

A powerful summary as to how a nation self-destructs is seen in 2 Chronicles 36:11-21. It is clear that the 2 powerful forces of influence in any society are the religious leaders and the political leaders. If these accept their responsibility in the sight of God and are faithful, all the other elements which function in a society will be influenced to seek God's will and purposes for the society. But once corruption sets in and both the religious and political leadership lose sight of the need to be obedient to God, then disaster and collapse will take place if the calls to repent are ignored, which in most circumstances is the case!

Likely it is an extremely small number of persons who are persuaded on the basis of overwhelming evidence that the United States is duplicating to the letter the details given in 2 Chronicles 36:11-21 so far as massive transgression against God is concerned, the call to repent, and what the response has been thus far!

Are we so foolish as to continue to quibble over the question as to whether God will judge this nation when the more appropriate question is, "When will God pour out His wrath on a people who have pitched His holy name and all that He represents by way of holiness and purity into the garbage can?"

May God's best be your daily portion as you seek to serve Him in the place where He has located you as our Lord Jesus tarries in His return to this chaotic world as King of kings and Lord of lords!

Still contending at www.crrange.com

Clayton D. Harriger
Elder in full connection
Western PA Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church
and presently pastor of
Gipsy Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Gipsy PA

Encl: Letter sent to President Bush and Vice President Cheney on a regular basis every few days and letter sent to United Methodist bishops -- each is sent personally and the letter to President Bush is enclosed. I am now on my third time around to those bishops who have not yet responded. The responses are interesting -- if I were to cover the letterhead and the name, and you read the response, you would think it came from some politician in Washington DC -- I have an interesting collection of letters sent to me from politicians, both the DC variety and Harrisburg PA variety!

---

A Significant Selah Moment!

---

O LORD, how long shall I cry, and You will not hear? even cry out to You, "Violence!" And You will not save. Why do You show me iniquity, and cause me to see trouble? For plundering and violence are before me; there is strife, and contention arises. Therefore the law is powerless, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; therefore perverse judgment proceeds.
Habakkuk 1:2-2 (NKJV)