The End of the Idols

American Minute from William J. Federer

A thirty-three year old conquistador landed in Mexico with five hundred men. He was shocked to find the Aztecs taking prisoners of the weaker tribes, ripping their hearts out atop temples, and in a frenzy eating their bodies. The conquistador freed the prisoners, knocked down idols, and erected crosses. His name was Hernando Cortez, and he died DECEMBER 2, 1547.

His personal secretary, Francisco Lopez de Gomara, recorded how Cortez spoke to the Tabascan tribe through his interpreter, Jeronimo de Aguilar, a Catholic priest who had been shipwrecked on the Yucatan eight years earlier: "Cortez told them of their blindness and great vanity in worshiping many gods and making sacrifices of human blood to them, and in thinking that those images, being mute and soulless, made by the Indians with their own hands, were capable of doing good or harm. He then told them of a single God, Creator of Heaven and earth and men, whom the Christians worshiped and served, and whom all men should worship and serve."

Gomara's report on Cortez continued: "In short, after he had explained the Mysteries to them, and how the Son of God had suffered on the Cross, they accepted it and broke up their idols."

William J. Federer is a nationally recognized author, speaker, and president of Amerisearch, Inc, which is dedicated to researching our American heritage. The American Minute radio feature looks back at events in American history on the dates they occurred, is broadcast daily across the country and read by thousand on the internet.

Nun Claims God is Pro-Abortion

It's bad when Christians not only fail to live up to the teachings of the Bible, but give a testimony in opposition to that teaching. It's even worse when such decayed theology comes from a leader in the Christian community.

LifeSiteNews features a commentary by Judie Brown concerning a letter written by a nun to the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

According to the article, God is apparently pro-abortion:

GOD IS PRO-CHOICE

"Even though Catholic bishops are already pressing President-elect Barack Obama on the issue of abortion, it is time they begin to realize that 54% of Catholics who voted for him do not agree with the bishops telling people how to vote.

"Obama may be pro-choice, but so is God. God gave everyone a free will and he does not pressure people into using that free will to do what is right. Obama promised to do what he can to prevent abortion. What more need he do when so many other pressures to make changes are upon him?

"Yes, abortion is the killing of an innocent life. So is war and violent killing on the street. I have often seen many starving babies in hospitals in Honduras and witnessed their pain. In these cases, abortion might have been the lesser of two evils, and even the most merciful alternative.

"I challenge our bishops to dwell more on unjust economic issues that both create and perpetuate the need for children to die of starvation, and for women to choose abortion. It would be better to aim at eliminating poverty rather than focus only on abortion. Poverty in our country and the world at large is a disgrace that cries to heaven for vengeance.

"Sr. Arlene Welding, SSSF; Campellsport, WI"

I have a few questions for Sister Welding:

1. You said: "Even though Catholic bishops are already pressing President-elect Barack Obama on the issue of abortion, it is time they begin to realize that 54% of Catholics who voted for him do not agree with the bishops telling people how to vote." When did the morality of an issue suddenly become determined by majority vote?

2. You said: "Obama may be pro-choice, but so is God. God gave everyone a free will and he does not pressure people into using that free will to do what is right." God does indeed graciously give us a choice of whether to choose right or wrong. However, where do you find ANYWHERE in the Bible that God (a) doesn't care which we choose, or (b) that making the choice for evil is free from negative consequence--ostensibly something everyone would want to avoid?

3. You said: "Yes, abortion is the killing of an innocent life. So is war and violent killing on the street." By this logic, if war and violent killing on the street make abortion morally acceptable, couldn't we just as easily take that logic to mean that, if we accept abortion to be morally acceptable, then violent killing on the street is also morally acceptable?

4. You said: "I have often seen many starving babies in hospitals in Honduras and witnessed their pain. In these cases, abortion might have been the lesser of two evils" Though forced starvation is morally reprehensible, how do you reason that starvation (where human life remains) is more less morally acceptable than murder (where human life does NOT remain)? Also, how do you reason that death (where there is no possible remedy) is superior to starvation (where there are possible remedies)?

5. You said: "It would be better to aim at eliminating poverty rather than focus only on abortion." This is a disingenuous statement, as both Catholic and Protestant forces are well known for fighting poverty and hunger around the world; they are not focusing only on abortion. Further, why do you assume one must be done at the expense of the other?

This nun is obviously possessed--at best--of a fundamental lack of common sense. She is also dangerously bereft of moral discernment. It's hard to imagine how she managed to get through her religious training to become a nun with such a severe lack of moral compass.

Perhaps the more likely explanation for her moral bankruptcy is one common to many Christians--even Christian leaders: rather than following Christ's admonition to be "in the world, but not of the world," she has allowed her thinking to become conformed to the dark and twisted wisdom of a fallen world.

Each of us will be held accountable for the things we laud and promote. But those in positions of authority where others look to them for guidance will be held to an even higher standard.

If this nun doesn't get right with her God before it's too late, it won't be pretty. Promotion of or even ambivalence toward the taking of innocent human life is no small matter.

Still Another Study Points to Link Between Abortion, Mental Health Problems

On the heels of a report last week published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research pointing to a link between abortion and mental health problems in women, this week LifeNews reports on a New Zealand report published in the British Journal of Psychiatry.

The New Zealand study conducted by researchers at Otago University found a 30% increase in mental health problems among women who had abortions.

They surveyed 500 women who live in the city of Christchurch, located on the southern of the two New Zealand islands. It included 284 women who had a total of 686 pregnancies and 117 women who had a total of 153 abortions.

The women were asked whether the pregnancy was wanted or unwanted, and if this had caused them to be upset or distressed. They were also given a mental health assessment during each interview, to see if they met the diagnostic criteria for major depression, anxiety disorders, alcohol dependence and illicit drug dependence.

Ultimately, the New Zealand team concluded that abortion more adversely affects women's mental health while childbirth and miscarriages do not.

The American Psychological Association (APA) has shown itself to be a more-and-more politically motivated group, and issued a statement earlier this year which found no link between abortion and mental health problems.

This statement was roundly refuted by many other health professionals and the testimony of women who have had abortions, only to find themselves plagued by depression, anxiety, substance abuse and a host of other problems.

Dr. Rachel M. MacNair, an APA member, denounced the APA statement as politically motivated and based on very shallow research.

And now we see the results of two separate studies released within the last week refuting the APA statement.

Abortion not only ends a human life, but hurts the women who choose to take the life of their unborn child.

State of Calif. Investigating Mormon Church Support for Proposition 8

Reprinted by permission of The Christian Post

By Eric Young
Christian Post Reporter
Sun, Nov. 30 2008 06:13 PM EST

The government body that enforces political campaign, lobbying, and conflict of interest laws in the state of California will be conducting an investigation of the Mormon church and its role in the campaign to ban gay marriage in the state.

The California Fair Political Practices Commission said this past week that it would investigate whether the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints accurately described its role in the campaign to pass Proposition 8 in response to a complaint by a gay rights group.

Fred Karger, founder of Californians Against Hate, accuses the religious body of failing to report the value of work it did to support Proposition 8, the constitutional amendment passed earlier this month by California voters that defines marriage as between one man and one woman.

“We are very pleased that the FPPC has agreed to launch an investigation based on our complaint,” expressed Karger, who filed a four-page complaint on Nov. 13, in a statement. “We’re hopeful the Mormon Church will fully cooperate with the investigation, and that we will find out the full extent of their involvement in the Yes on 8 campaign.”

Since the passage of Prop. 8 by a 52-to-48 percent vote, the Mormon church has been among the largest targets of outraged activists who want same-sex unions to be recognized as marriages.

“The Mormons played a vital role in the Prop 8 battle, and traditional marriage would have lost had it not been for their support,” explained Donald E. Wildmon, founder and chairman of the American Family Association, in an e-mail alert to supporters last Wednesday.

“While other churches were also involved in the battle to protect marriage – including Catholics and evangelicals – the homosexuals have singled out the Mormons as their target of anger,” he added.

In the months leading up to the Nov. 4 elections, the Mormon church had encouraged its members to work to pass California's Prop. 8 by volunteering their time and money for the campaign. Thousands of Mormons worked as grassroots volunteers and gave tens of millions of dollars to the campaign.

Following the passing of Prop. 8, protests erupted outside Mormon temples, Facebook groups formed telling people to boycott Mormon-affiliated companies, and Web sites such as mormonsstoleourrights.com began popping up, calling for an end to the religious group’s tax-exempt status.

Letters containing white powder - found later by the FBI to be nontoxic - were sent to the Salt Lake City headquarters of the religious group and to a temple in Los Angeles.

Utah's growing tourism industry and the star-studded Sundance Film Festival have also been targeted for a boycott by bloggers, gay rights activists and others seeking to punish the Mormon church for its aggressive promotion of California's ban on gay marriage.

"People of faith have been intimidated for simply exercising their democratic rights," Mormon church president Thomas S. Monson said in a statement.

"Attacks on churches and intimidation of people of faith have no place in civil discourse over controversial issues," he added. "People of faith have a democratic right to express their views in the public square without fear of reprisal. Efforts to force citizens out of public discussion should be deplored by people of goodwill everywhere."

Though Mormons and Christians often clash over theology, believers have been rallying together in support of the Mormon church, including the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which has offered "prayerful support and steadfast solidarity" to the Mormon church for its efforts on behalf of Prop. 8.

An online petition is circulating on the worldwide web to thank the Mormon church for its efforts and to “express ... outrage at the vile and indecent attacks directed specifically and uniquely at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its members because of [their] courage in standing up for marriage.”

“It is deeply unfair, and contrary to the best American traditions, that any faith community, much less a minority one, should be singled out and attacked in this way by powerful, well-funded political forces determined to ‘make them pay’ for participating in the normal political processes of democracy,” reads the statement signed by over 4,600 individuals, including prominent evangelicals Chuck Colson of Prison Fellowship and Richard Land of the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission.

“We, the undersigned, utterly condemn and reject the ongoing unprecedented efforts to incite religious hatred and bigotry towards members of the LDS Church because, as American citizens, you have courageously exercised your core civil rights to speak, to vote, and to donate to protect marriage as the union of one man and one woman,” the statement added.

In the past, the Mormon church was regarded by evangelicals as a Christian cult over diverging beliefs and is still regarded as such among some circles. Many, however, have come to view Mormons as members of another religious group, similar to Judaism or Islam. Mormonism was formally listed under “cults and sects” by the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant body in America, but has since been categorized among “newly developed religions” on the North American Mission Board apologetics page.

Copyright 2008 The Christian Post. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Adrift From Our Past

By S. Michael Craven
Center for Christ & Culture

Last week my family and I spent Thanksgiving at my wife's ancestral farm, a beautiful spot located between Navasota and Brenham in historic Washington County, known as the birthplace of the Republic of Texas in 1836. The land, possessing rolling hills, tranquil ponds, and a plethora of bluebonnets (in the spring) has been in my wife's family since the mid-nineteenth century. It is a wonderful place, rich in beauty and nostalgia. I confess: it is one of our favorite places on earth.

It was during this trip that we occasioned to visit the museum in nearby Chappell Hill (population 553) where the region's–and much of my wife's family–history are on display. Housed in what used to be the Chappell Hill Female College (established in 1856), one felt immediately transported into another place and time. There were letters, photographs, and placards, all of which offered amazing insight into the lives and culture of this nearly forgotten community.

I was reminded that history is not merely some abstract record of facts and events, but rather the record of prior human beings made in God's image and their experiences dealing with the challenges and opportunities of life within a fallen and yet beautiful world. This form of history is what connects us to our own personal past, in the case of my wife and children, but also our collective cultural past as Americans. This connection, I would argue, is of profound importance—if for no other reason than it tends to arrest our tendency toward self-centered individualism, which not only disconnects us from our past but also from enjoying real "community" in the present.

In Scripture, God Himself continually reinforces the importance of the past as a valid means of knowledge that is helpful in guiding us into the future through His dealings with the nation of Israel. God was continually commanding the people of Israel to remember what He had done for them in prior generations, so that they would remain steadfast in their faith and obedience. In the New Testament, Jesus established the sacrament of the Lord's Supper as a sacred ceremony of remembrance so that every subsequent generation of believers would recall and reflect upon the Lord's ultimate act of grace and mercy.

Every human action, both past and present, is either in accord with or in contradiction to the truth as revealed in Scripture and confirmed in nature. History is the record of these acts, both great and small, that we can examine and, one hopes, discern from a biblical perspective so that we, too, may walk uprightly in our own day.

So what did I learn from my encounter with history in Chappell Hill, Texas? First and foremost, these–and, frankly, their generation–were a people with a strong sense of community. Much of their life and activity was invested in contributing to the establishment and maintenance of important civic and social institutions that enriched their community.

In this small rural hamlet, the citizenry established two institutions of higher learning: the Chappell Hill Female College mentioned earlier, and Soule University, a Methodist college for men with chairs in law, medicine, and biblical science. Community leaders in Chappell Hill established five churches, thriving industries, a Masonic Lodge, a railroad line, and numerous social organizations, such as the Mandolin Club, Racquet Club, and Study Club (whose subjects included the opera). These efforts and activities continued well into the twentieth century.

These "civic virtues" contrast dramatically with the determined individualism so prevalent in today's culture. In Robert Putnam's important book Bowling Alone, he points out, "For the first two-thirds of the twentieth century a powerful tide bore Americans into ever deeper engagement in the life of their communities, but a few decades ago–silently, without warning–that tide reversed and we were overtaken by a treacherous rip current. Without at first noticing, we have been pulled apart from one another and from our communities over the last third century" (New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 2000).

Letters collected from the women of that era revealed that they were active in the study of theology and philosophy, representing a generation that pursued education for education's sake and not merely as a means to an end. There were no college courses–or interest, for that matter–to study techniques helpful in selling nonessential consumer goods to people who have to borrow to buy what they cannot afford. Even in high school, as evidenced by a report card from 1887, the subjects were rooted in the humanities, logic, and elocution. I admit that I had to chuckle at the grading system of that day. Grades were based on a ten-point scale, with ten being perfect and five failing. However, they were anything but ambivalent about substandard work. The failing grade of five was described "5 = Very bad and a complete failure"—a stark contrast to today's educational philosophy that often exalts self-esteem above personal responsibility measured by absolute standards.

In addition to the aforementioned subjects, there was also on display a copy of A View of the Evidences of Christianity by William Paley, which was part of the core curriculum in the local public school. Published in 1794, Evidences is an extremely scholarly work in which Paley supplemented human reason with divine revelation as supporting foundations for the existence of God and miracles over and against the deistic thinkers of his time, addressing some his arguments specifically against the notable David Hume. This was not a superficial course in bible stories that merely satisfied cultural religiosity typical of "country folk." Here again, we see a society that was very intentional in its effort to transmit its faith from one generation to the next.

The loss of community and civic virtue, along with all of their deleterious effects; the inadequate transmission of values and beliefs from one generation to the next; the reduction of education to mere utilitarian purposes; and the idealization of a superficial existence are symptomatic of a culture adrift from its past. The solution to these issues lies within the realm of a renewed church that endeavors to recover historic Christianity and press these unchanging biblical values into contemporary public life and culture.

(This is a reprint of an article which first appeared April 17, 2006)

S. Michael Craven is the President of the Center for Christ & Culture. Michael is the author of Uncompromised Faith (Navpress).The Center for Christ & Culture is dedicated to renewal within the Church and works to equip Christians with an intelligent and thoroughly Christian approach to matters of culture in order to demonstrate the relevance of Christianity to all of life. For more information on the Center for Christ & Culture, the teaching ministry of S. Michael Craven, visit:
http://www.crosswalk.com/blogs/mCraven/www.battlefortruth.org