Why Mainline Denominations Fail so badly

The grace of facts about the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of knowledge about God and the fellowship of theological description of the Holy Spirit be with you all. (2 Corinthians 13:14 re-mix)

From Alan Knox

How many from overseas SEE our Apprenticepresident (Oh How I Miss GWB)

The following is the first paragraph from this Telegraph UK op-ed.

“No apologies for posting consecutively on Barack Obama: the Looney Tunes President’s sell-out of US and Western interests is proceeding at such a speed that it is difficult to keep pace. Well said, Nile Gardiner, for asking if Barack Obama is the most naïve president in American history. The answer is undoubtedly yes - unless he has a secret agenda to cut America down to size.”

And then the author gets kind of harsh.

Obama's Insanity in Spending for the Lame of Brain

Just to be clear, the amount of Money Obama is and has borrowed from thin air to spend on nothing is well in excess of the cost of WWII and all other spending from that time to this.

Don't believe me. You need to look at this GRAPHIC representation from the Washington POST. No right wing rag that. We are about to go off the edge of the cliff driven by people with paper thin resumes and ideological assumptions for brains. It's over folks. The end has come.


My concern is even if we take back the house, senate and presidency, the nation will be in ruin. We have squandered our future. Your children and grandchildren will NEVER pay this off. You can't blame Bush for this. Oh you can, you'd just be really wrong and hiding your head in the sand.

I have a favor to ask

My son TIM made a nice poster for the Bismarck Tea Party. It's listed here. He's sign number 22.

It says, "Are you better now than you were 12 Trillion Dollars Ago".

You can vote for him and he might win $500 bucks. I know this is self serving. But, It's for a good cause. Honest.

Thank you.

Obama in Moscow: Stupid is as Stupid Does

Along the way, you gave us a pretty good deal on Alaska. Thank you.

D’OH!!!

The man is a Laff Riot!!!

That’s the way to “hit the Reset button”, Mr. President. Remind the Russians of perhaps the stupidest thing they ever did.

(Can you imagine the teeth-grinding rage of a person like Putin, a guy who has clawed his way to the top on sheer wit, cunning and brutality, having to deal with this lightweight and take him seriously? I almost feel sorry for Putin.)

Can you imagine if any Republican said this? How about if Sarah Palin said it? Geez.

Bottom line: The guy is a smooth-talking ignoramus: not all that smart, not well-read, with a wafer-thin resume.

Some people who are paying attention don’t call our President His Holiness Messiah Barack I or even just The One: We call him J. Danforth Obama!

Hold on to your hats, folks. We are in for at least 3.5 more years of comedic hijinks.

Bottom line: The guy is a smooth-talking ignoramus: not all that smart, not well-read, with a wafer-thin resume.

In reality, I think the bottom line is actually a bit worse than you suppose. Not only is our President an educated ignoramus but he shares a failing common to a great many of our educated elites: He doesn’t even know what he doesn’t know. He is ignorant of his ignorance.

Wind Power foolishness finally hits the wall

I was just in North Dakota, land of way too many wind turbines. Now the question is beginning to be asked..... What about reclamation. The wind turbines are beginning to look like they are going to come down and who is going to pay for the deconstruction and returning of the land to it's former state. At least with coal and oil there are requirements in the law to restore the land. And in coals case in North Dakota most of the land is indeed restored to it's former glory or better.

Wind power is dumb. Coal, CH3, Nukes are all wise plans. Solar when they figure out how to do the technology will be OK. It's not now. I got 31.5 MPG in the Buick LeSabre 2000 with 200,000 miles on it. Why can't all cars be like that? I think they can. Hybrids are stupid.

PLUS, there is no global warming. Climate change, yep, but not anthroprogenic warming. Thinking we can change the climate is insanity.

The cap and trade idea is simply a scheme of the left of control our lives.

Chicago Boyz reported today on the foolishness of wind power.

Today Reuters posted a story called “Pickens backs off wind farm project”

Texas oil billionaire T. Boone Pickens has called off plans to build the world’s biggest wind farm in the Texas Panhandle, the Wall Street Journal said.

Pickens said the wind farm project was scuttled partly because of the lack of adequate transmission lines to carry the electricity from remote locations to cities, according to the paper.

The oil tycoon had hoped to build new transmission lines but could not secure financing, the paper said.

This paper neatly summarizes the impossible economics for most of these large scale alternative energy projects, focusing on areas that aren’t usually covered well by the media or academics.

One of the favorite alternative energy projects involve wind energy, basically giant windmills / turbines that generate electricity when the wind blows. Wind energy viability is determined by a lot of factors, including:

1. how much the wind blows, or more accurately, how “steadily” the wind blows at a relatively high rate of speed
2. cost of the turbines / windmills
3. reliability of the turbines / windmills (one of the major manufacturers out of India has been recalling and having issues with the blades)
4. ability to find permits to site the blades (famously the Kennedy’s are blocking them for damaging the “view” off their compound on the East coast)
5. amount of subsidy that the state power commission / Federal government is providing for the energy (else they generally aren’t financially viable)
6. access to transmission lines to bring the electricity back to the urban areas that are most likely to utilize this electricity
7. access to funding (debt and equity) that allows the developer to build and secure the land, materials and equipment to complete the job

Of all these items, people tend to focus on items 1-4 above, with some understanding that without 5 (subsidies or requirements to “source” a certain percentage of generation alternatively), it isn’t going to just happen.

However, #6 and #7 are actually the biggest bottlenecks right now, and tied to long term items that the state, local and Federal authorities are doing the least about.

Item 6 - I would view our transmission grid the same way that you’d view the layout of factories during communism; based on a blueprint of assumptions from a methodology long since passed by. Back in the days when you could actually BUILD a transmission line, before you had to snake it around every coyote, plant, and sign of human habitation, the lines were built to connect the power sources at the time (hydro, coal, nuclear) with the population centers and large industrial areas at the time. Basically, we are talking about the 60’s and the early 70’s. This grid is what it is - in some places it makes a lot of sense, in some places (like near high growth areas in Nevada and California) it makes little sense - but you need to understand that it simply can’t be “fixed” by a policy paper or by throwing a few billion dollars at it here and there - it would take a major project, on the order of construction of the original interstate highway system, to fundamentally “fix” the grid to map it today where the people, industry and power sources of the FUTURE will lie, and require massive amounts of political will to fight NIMBY’s every step of the way to make it happen. Basically, this means we have what we have and, with only minor changes and upgrades along existing “rights of way”, it isn’t changing.

Item 7- access to funding for transmission is VERY difficult, for a host of complex reasons. Basically the underlying financial support network for many types of projects was taken away by “deregulation” (I use the words in quotes because it wasn’t deregulated, just regulated differently), where utilities in MOST areas could recover these types of infrastructure costs in the “base” rates charged to customers. Today generation has been mostly deregulated (meaning no one is building anything except for “toy” alternative projects and gas-fired peak plants) and the local distribution company (which is saddled with buying power and makes little money in the best of times) has to front the bill for transmission. Building transmission is a lonely business - it costs billions, and all it does is lower the price of power to the end customer and can reap a “toll” along the way between the generation site and the power user. Back in the old days, utilities would invest in transmission because it is critical to reliability and allowed them to expand their revenue base, but today these super high risk investments, which face fanatical opposition from local residents, are generally beyond the pale.

Pickens basically gave up because #6 and #7 were not viable.

Reality is going to hit all of the alternative energy concepts, sooner or later.

Computer back and not

I had a computer meltdown. Well collapse anyway.

Much wrong. Little right.

It's back now and so am I with one hand tied behind my back. I can't get flash player to install again. I hate having to reload everything.

And I lost ALL my passwords and bookmarks.

BOO.

A long week. Very long. Very Very long. Highlights were going to the Tea Party protest in Bismarck. Nice time. About 1100 people but not so anyone would know. Media wouldn't cover. That's ok. We know. This will build. This takes time.

This was the largest protest of it's kind in Bismarck in the last decade. No protest of any other kind accumulated as many people. Certainly people come out to conferences, concerts and ball games.

But to stand up and say this is right or wrong is an act of courage.

It was fair and balanced. Not like left wing protests where any opposition speaker is shouted down. The left is unable to hear opposing viewpoints.

It was great to stand together with like minded people.

One thing is certain, the take over of our government by the left wing loonies is going more badly than first expected. This is paving the way for another 1994. We need leadership. Perhaps Sarah.

In any case as someone said. It's time for a change. We need hope to be delivered from the evil empire.

What's good for the goose is good for the gander.

Throw the bums out. This time they really are bums.

Why Sarah Palin Matters - She Singlehandedly Exposed ....

the Democratic Party for what it really is: a criminal organization masquerading as a political party.

This is from a stirring article written for NRO. You will want to read the whole thing. It is shocking and represents what is really going on. Nothing less than the evil take over of our country by fascist Marxists.

But that's just me.

Hope in a troubled economy

Here's the Word that Pastor Phil brought that impressed me so.. You will want to hear the whole thing.

Satan and the Economy

Week Away and protesting in Bismarck

We are making the trek to ND to see relation. A highlight is to be part of the Tea Party in Bismarck.

Looking forward to it.

Thursday Night 6-8 on the mall in front of the capital bldg.

Kevin and Tim (both my sons) will be with me.

Gonna be fun.

See you in ONE WEEK. BUH Bye.

Believers in Pixie Dust brought us the Fantasy Named Obama

Peter Pan got people to believe and fly because they were sprinkled with Pixie Dust.

People voted for Obama because they believe in Pixie Dust. Obama is the chief pixie.

Not enough MPG. POOF. Pixie Dust. Therefore all cars will get 40MPG or more

Bad Health care. POOF Pixie Dust time. Obama will mandate national health care and fix all your problems.

Don’t like the Environment. POOF Cap and trade pixie dust.

Economy in the tank? POOF printing money pixie dust.

And on it goes.

None of his “solutions” are real. None substantive. All of them are pixie dust sprinkled on foolish believing drones who actually believed and voted for this man.

Sorry folks, there is no such thing as pixie dust. No magical thinking that there will be a credit card solar panel on your car that will take the place of your engine, no government will help you, just hurt you.

There is no pixie. Just a monster ready to destroy your way of life.

Welcome to the real never never land. Welcome to HELL brought to you by the chief pixie…. BHO.

My view of the current administration's ability thus far

Best Ever Sermon by Pastor Phil Ressler

I was proud of how well he did. He will post it and when he does I will link to it.

Here are a few notes and a few reflections on what he said. I would give you all the context but then you wouldn't listen to it.

There are benefits that can come from the pain of recession. It uncovers hidden sin that can lead to repentance: Sins that made me go OUCH - impatience, self reliance, wasteful living, dependence on THINGS, fearfulness, grumbling, murmuring and injustice. (My reflection, when you are squeezed by life whatever is in you will come out).

When we experience financial difficulty it opens our eyes to the plight of others. When we have prosperity we can become hardened to people in need and how difficult they have it. (my reflection - this is true of people who are happy, people who are healthy, people who are prosperous. When we are in one state we may not be compassionate with people who are NOT as we are. Healing is one such, if we are well it makes ministering healing less)

The idea that things are going to get back to normal, things are going to get better, things are going to improve soon that this difficulty will all be over soon as you hear in the news media is a uniquely AMERICAN ideal. People in some countries are so desperate and poor they don't' even THINK about things getting better soon. They just want to find something to eat, a place to stay out of the sun and clean water to drink just for today.

God USES recession and difficulty to release faith for the future. The fastest growing churches are in areas where people are in the most difficulty. God may be starting a revolution by starving us all out. We prayed for revival. This may be God's way. We can get on board or keep complaining.

This is a crime of Equal Opprotunity Law

I knew Adrian Monahan. I did not know Roland Harper. They did nothing wrong. Not in real terms. They were tripped up for a small amount of money by a law that should not exist.

This is a crime of stupidity. Not of Adrian or Roland. Stupidity of laws trying to make equal something that makes no sense.

You can read the story here.

Things that DON'T work

We in the USA now have leadership intent on pushing down our throats things that DON'T work. Thing untested and more important unconsidered. Unthought thru.

• Wind power for more than a fractional part of our power needs
• Bio Fuels (this one is a boondoggle)
• Hybrid cars (never made sense, never will)
• Plug in electrics for more than just a few miles (I would like one, but I would have to think carefully where I would drive when I did)
• Green Jobs (doing WHAT)

Meanwhile things that DO work are abandoned. Oil we have on our own territory, Coal, Oil Shale, Nuclear, many things that are abandoned because they don't fit into a parameter that we seem to have built that is not going to work.

Monkey's running the zoo. The denial of science.

OH, and that's another thing. There is no human caused global warming. Never was. It's all a lie.

It doesn't work.

The evil that LURKS in the hearts of men

I don't know quite how to understate this. Your life just changed for the worse, if this inane cap and tax bill makes it all the way. This is a plot to bring us to the New Dark Ages. This is a power grab. This is a way to enrich a few at the expense of many. Serfdom and feudal states politics.

Expect very much more expensive fuel. More expensive groceries. Much more expensive utilities, heat and cool and electricity. Much Much more restrictive life style choices.

This is East Germany 1968.

Pure Evil Marxism. And the media could only focus on the death of some poor black boy born in Gary Indiana who grew up to be a rich white girl who sang and danced.

And while our heads were turned like a slight of hand artist the evil magicians pulled it off.

This is beyond the pale.

Way TOOO Bold

No more silenced by threats or cowed by fear...

By Reinhard Bonnke

When Peter saw Jesus raised from the dead, he certainly did not go straight out and preach about it. He could not believe his own eyes and was too apprehensive about how the authorities would react to the rumor of Jesus rising from the dead. The disciples gathered together to encourage each other because they lived in “fear of the Jews” (John 20:19). Peter did not know what to do but he had to do something so he decided to go fishing again, back to square one (John 21).

Then dawned the day of Pentecost and the fellowship meeting of the 120 disciples. The Holy Spirit came down to them through the heavens that had been torn apart by Christ’s ascension and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. “They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them” (Acts 2:3).

They were transformed. That day they all stood up in public as witnesses of the eesurrection (Acts 2:32). Peter preached and the crowds trembled at the power of his words. The secret of their new-found boldness was the baptism in the Spirit and fire. they now knew – by their own experience – that Jesus had risen and had taken his place at the right hand of God. They became burning and shining lamps, witnesses to the resurrection. We never read again that they were silenced by threats or cowed by fear; instead, their life’s work became to boldly declare the gospel wherever they went. “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV).

Who is Heidi Baker?

One of my faithful readers has asked a good question about Heidi Baker, her quote and her ministry.

I am an admirer of Heidi.

Here is a full look at their ministry. If you are looking for someone to support, Iris is a good place to look.

I wish I could write this well.... From Reinhard Bonnke

The Holy Ghost is a Tempest of Wind and Fire

The Spirit of God has come as a tempest of fire and wind (Acts 2:1-3). He is a driving force. Today, mighty throbbing steam trains are polished and set up in museums - no fire in their belly, no steam screaming through the mountains. No fire!

God gives the Holy Spirit to make us what we are not. It is not just to bless us with a nice meeting, an emotional stimulant, some heavenly candy and a sugar lollipop. The Holy Spirit is not concerned with the state of our feelings, but with the state of the godless world. The Spirit comes in to send us out, to give us stamina and fibre for our backbone of boldness. "And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen." (Mark 16,20)

The Holy Spirit is God’s arm of deliverance and emancipation. He makes slaves the partners of His throne. The Bible is our fire-guide. Some read God’s Word critically but the Word is their critic and by their own attitude towards the Word they condemn themselves. Unbelief is judgment. But "faith is the victory...

Is the Ark of the Covenant about to be unveiled?

Personal note: I have some Ethiopian Christian Friends who are as confident as anyone could be of the credibility of this story. Even twenty years ago they told me that they knew for sure the Ark of the Covenant was in Ethiopia.

So, this story has some meaning to me. It may be true.

© 2009 WorldNetDaily

Ark of the Covenant as depicted in 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' (Paramount Pictures)

The patriarch of the Orthodox Church of Ethiopia says he will announce to the world Friday the unveiling of the Ark of the Covenant, perhaps the world's most prized archaeological and spiritual artifact, which he says has been hidden away in a church in his country for millennia, according to the Italian news agency Adnkronos.

Abuna Pauolos, in Italy for a meeting with Pope Benedict XVI this week, told the news agency, "Soon the world will be able to admire the Ark of the Covenant described in the Bible as the container of the tablets of the law that God delivered to Moses and the center of searches and studies for centuries."

The announcement is expected to be made at 2 p.m. Italian time from the Hotel Aldrovandi in Rome. Pauolos will reportedly be accompanied by Prince Aklile Berhan Makonnen Haile Sellassie and Duke Amedeo D'Acosta.

Abuna Pauolos, patriarch of the Orthodox Church of Ethiopia

"The Ark of the Covenant is in Ethiopia for many centuries," said Pauolos. "As a patriarch I have seen it with my own eyes and only few highly qualified persons could do the same, until now."

According to Pauolos, the actual Ark has been kept in one church, but to defend the treasure, a copy was placed in every single church in Ethiopia.

He said a museum is being built in Axum, Ethiopia, where the Ark will be displayed. A foundation of D'Acosta will fund the project.

The Ark of the Covenant is the sacred container of the Ten Commandments as well as Aaron's rod and a sample of manna, the mysterious food that kept the Israelites alive while wandering in the wilderness during their journey to the promised land.

The Bible says the Ark was built to the specifications of God as He spoke to Moses. It was carried in advance of the people and their army by priests. It was also carried in a seven-day procession around the walled city of Jericho.

Sketch of Ark of the Covenant based on a description by the late explorer Ron Wyatt (wyattmuseum.com)

The idea that the Ark is presently in Ethiopia is a well-documented, albeit disputed, tradition dating back to at least 642 B.C. The tradition says it was moved to Elephantine Island in Egypt, then to Tana Kirkos Island in Ethiopia and finally to its present site at St. Mary's of Zion Church in Axum.

Ethiopians believe it is destined to be delivered to the Messiah when He reigns on Mount Zion – the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

Jeremiah 3:16 points to a time when the Ark will vanish not only physically, but from the minds of the people: "And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, saith the LORD, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the LORD: neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any more."

The Book of Revelation says the Ark is in the temple of God in heaven (Rev. 11:19). Muslim scholars say it will be found near the end of times by the Mahdi – a messianic figure in Islam.

The Reinhard I knew then and his NOW

I was blessed long ago, over 18 years ago to make acquaintance with Reinhard Bonnke. In Frankfurt Germany. We attended the same church. He sat behind me when he came.

He was kind, gentle and fairly quiet. Unassuming. Yet when we hear or see him in public meetings he's a passionate Evangelist. It's the anointing.

He becomes like King Saul did when the Holy Spirit invaded his life for a while. He became a different man.

Yesterday I got a link to a healing testimony of a Lutheran Pastor who knows Reinhard too and who might have been healed if Reinhard had laid hands on him. Pastor Phil sent it to me.

When the pastor who was crippled stopped Reinhard, and told him why, I know Reinhard....He's a gentleman. He backed off. This is the flow of the Holy Spirit. When you are Baptised in his flow you know. You just know.

Blessings on you Reinhard. I may never see you again in the flesh, but my remembrances of you and your humble heart help me walk better. This is a recent picture just taken of Reinhard and his wife Anni.

When it all becomes TOO real

I have a friend who's son is battling the cancer demon. I know most every single healing passage in the Bible, and I can make some speak of healing without blinking.

When it becomes more than difficult is when someone who knows this as well as I do is facing the demon down and the demon roars back.

I become angry. Not at God. At the Devil. I cry out.

I read this morning where Heidi Baker cries out, "If you don't show up God, we're all dead".

Sometimes it's all just too real. I guess that's where the Lord has us all today, if we don't live this with expectation that God WILL show up we're all dead anyway.

My certainty of the healing power and will of God is unmoved. I am without doubt. Once again, it's the power of what, just not WHEN.

"If you don't show up God, we're all dead".

It was 50 years ago today I was Orphaned

On June 24th 1959 I had been working on a pile of lumber pulling nails. Dad and Mom had taken a load of grain to Duluth MN. Grandma Skoglund was taking care of us.

Late that night I received a phone call from a Dr someone. He asked how old I was. I told him 14. He then told me my parents had been killed in an accident.

It was brutal.

Life turned on a dime in that moment.

Everything changed. Everything. It is of no little consequence when your life turns like mine and my brother and sister's did that night.

I think about what if. This takes nothing away from Ruth and Earl who took us in and raised us. Life has been good. They were wonderful. BUT, what if Mom and Dad had lived. What if.

How would I be different? I don't know.

It's just that it's 50 years ago today. And I wanted to think about it with you.

Erbschaft = Inheritance

"I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe" (Eph 1:18-19).

Paul's letter to the Ephesians exhorts believers to experience three important things in their spiritual lives that he experienced personally. As a good mentor, he desires those he is leading to follow his example.

First, God wants you to have the eyes of your heart enlightened in order to know the hope to which He has called you. God has called each of us to a future and a hope. Some do not ever realize the dreams they envision for their lives. Paul prays they will experience this.

Second, God wants you to know there is an inheritance for each believer in Jesus Christ. There are riches to be had - not financial riches - but spiritual riches that are laid up for every saint. As you are faithful to His calling in your life, there will be a reward for your faithfulness.

Third, God desires you to tap into the power that is available to every believer. Paul often exhorted believers not to look at his persuasive words, but the demonstration of the power of God in his life. He wants you to know this same power is available to you. After all, Jesus said we would do even greater works than He did after He sent the Holy Spirit to us.

Pray that God reveals the hope that exists inside of you, be encouraged that there is an inheritance awaiting you, and know that you have power that resides in you that awaits those who exercise their faith to release it.

Os Hillman

For Barry - Quit watching those weenies playing PRO BASKETBALL

Wouldn't Photo Shop work here?

I am not of the Birther Mentality, but now they are getting to me. This story asks the question BETTER than I could. Much better.

Doesn't this seem like something you could easily gin up off the internet. I'll bet I could PROVE I was born in Hawaii in 1963 if this is to be accepted as real documentation. Take a look and YOU decide.

Things I would like to KNOW about Barack Hussein Obama

If I decided to run for the Senate from Illinois, you can bet your bippy that my underwear would be scrutnized. Not a pretty thought. But that's part of the scutiny one goes thru...this has to do with John Edwards. Just ask him.

However. BHO seems to have been left out of the Microscope normally placed above those seeking public office. Here are a few of the documents I would like to see. I wonder what he is hiding?

• - Obama kindergarten records
• - Punahou School records
• - Occidental College records
• - Columbia University records
• - Columbia thesis “Soviet Nuclear Disarmament”
• - Harvard Law School records
• - Harvard Law Review articles
• - University of Chicago scholarly articles
• - Passport
• - Medical records
• Other missing documents, or at least withheld from public disclosure include:
• - Complete files and schedules of his years as an Illinois state senator from 1997 to 2004
• - Obama’s client list from during his time in private practice with the Chicago law firm of Davis, Miner, Barnhill and Gallard
• - Illinois State Bar Association records
• - Baptism records
• - Obama/Dunham marriage license
• - Obama/Dunham divorce documents
• - Soetoro/Dunham marriage license
• - Adoption records

When we don't believe in healing we don't believe in the fullness of the Atonement

We have seen pictures of disciples of various religious traditions that beat themselves with bloody whips in sorrow for their sin. Priests in the middle ages did this. Crucifying their flesh. It was a flawed theology. We get that in our Gospel Message. You can't pay for your own sins.

They believed that the price paid by Jesus on the Cross was insufficient in payment for their sin. So. They add to it by their own sacrifice.

That's the essence of a cult. Jesus PLUS. We certainly all agree that it is an abrogation of the Gospel to think that we can add to or take away from our salvation be the complete work of the cross in the atonement by our personal Crucifixion. If I were crucified today for my sin, my sin goes unpaid for. I can't die for my or your sins.

This is why I reject the idea that because JESUS suffered and died on the Cross at the hands of God's intent WE must therefore be willing to suffer because Jesus Suffered. That argument is not Biblical as I see it.

Of course people do, they were martyred, they suffered. They did so with the understanding that this was a season of life that would end and then there was glory set before them. If we must endure suffering and many of us do, it is with this understanding. It must be coupled with an understanding that this is happening not as punishment, not as some way to crawl up on the Cross with Jesus, not because of our sin or lack of faith. It happens because we live in a sinful fallen world with a devil who hates us and wants to make our life miserable.

We discredit the Father when we say, "It's GODS WILL for me to be in pain and suffering. That makes of our Father a split personality. On one hand blessing, providing, good God and on another hand a child abuser.

Yes, God IS a God of vengeance and fully capable of carrying out his vengeance with violence on his enemies. I know the Old Testament pretty good and can't seem to find evidence of God's violence to his sons and daughters... if they were truly his son or daughter. I only see grace and mercy.

So, while I can see the cross, I can see the pain. I don't see where it is ever GODS WILL that WE are to suffer and die without recognizing who and what causes our pain.

Sometimes it's US and sometimes it's just the world flesh or devil. Even the martyrs who were burned at the stake would testify with their last breath, His Grace is Enough. You know the stories. Grace from what? The will of God?

Think about this and then ask yourself the key question. Is the suffering and Pain I am enduring right now of God or of the enemy? If it's OF GOD then you should try to suffer MORE, it would be more GODLY. Then you would be no different from those who engage in self mutilation to pay an impossible price for their sin.

I'm not trying to be harsh here, I'm trying to help people who suffer lay the blame for their suffering squarely at the feet of the source of their pain .... It's NOT JESUS.

I'm one of a kind or I'm an Oddity.... But you knew that

I found this website. It appears that in the USA I am all alone.

HowManyOfMe.com

There are 1 or fewer people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

On IRAN

I know it seems like I am off the reservation here, but, I ACTUALLY agree with Obama's handling of the Iranian election situation.

The right is taking him to task. If I thought THEY were right on this one I would too.

The Left is in it's usual state of confusion. CNN is all Verklempt over this.

But as horrible as this all is, to see that beautiful young woman killed, to see the thugs beating up the protesters (Acorn anyone?) I believe the Pres has kept the right stance.

Consider, if he supported directly the crooked elections he would not make friends. They wouldn't hate him any less. They are bad people. That's for certain, but for now they are the bad people we have to deal with.

On the other hand, IF he were to openly support and encourage the protests he could be considered fomenting revolution. In the worst way. It might cause the protesters to take action beyond what is driving them anyway.

The genie is out of the box. They must revolt as we well may in this country someday against an evil regime. It's only that when we do, consider if Russia or China openly supported one side or the other, what that would mean to the dynamics.

So, I hope for the best for the Iranian People. I want to see the violence stop. I hope that the government in Iran will be deposed for a more just government. They are a great people, the Persians. People of history and prophecy. I hope for a better outcome than the nut that claims illegitimate power right now.

But, this is something the Iranian people must do without my or Obama's direct interference.

He will be accused of it any way. Just, don't lean into the punch.

How Church should be

This is pretty great. A BBC announcer sees the broadcast of a Pentecostal service in Great Britain. He is astounded, never seen anything like it. Compares it to the churches he had visited as a kid. It's amusing and instructive for those of us who work in Church. This is pretty much what will cause an unbeliever to come in and look around.

See it here

Dead Trees fallen in the Forest

I have been a blogger since 2004. December. Five years almost. About 3500 posts on both blogs more or less. I don't have a huge number of viewers but many, some more appreciative than others.

When I first began to blog I asked the mother ship blogger what I should do. She said to write every day. ANYTHING.

I did.

I do.

I post stuff I find interesting. I write what suits my fancy. Or post up.

The net result is I have developed a small following. Not huge. The truth is most blogs are dormant or dead. Here's a truth about the blogosphere most people don't know.

According to a 2008 survey by Technorati, which runs a search engine for blogs, only 7.4 million out of the 133 million blogs the company tracks had been updated in the past 120 days. That translates to 95 percent of blogs being essentially abandoned.

To put it another way. If you survey all the blogs that ostensibly live out there in blogdom, for every 100 you find, only 5 are updated regularly at all.

Now in full disclosure, I have 7 blogs. I update 2 every day, one annually, one never, one occasionally and two that have no value any more. So, I'm nearly a statistic. Some blogs become nothing more than electronic paper piles on a desktop of ideas. I have some of those.

According to this writer of blogs, he maintains that facebook and other newer formats are replacing blogs. Maybe. Perhaps. I'm enjoying facebook, Thanks Kelly and Karma for pushing me into it although Karma abandoned me as soon as I became a Jesus Junkie on line pushing the ultimate high.

Who knows what the future holds? I'll tell you this much for sure. I have read so few newspapers and magazines in the past few months that there is a clear personal evidence for this....when the last dead tree falls in the forest in homage to them no one will hear.

Their day is clearly over. I'm getting a kindle or whatever is going to be better.

The REALLY BIG O-BAMA

Jib Jab has created a very clever video. You decide. I think it's funny and honoring at the same time.

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

When I Speak in Tounges none of my normal Speech Centers are in Operation... Just like the Bible says...now science discovers it

You have to watch this video, a choir sings TOTO's Africa.. Amazing

The President Cries the Blues about News

The media government complex is fully in the bag for Obama.... that much is clear. There isn't an objective watchdog media outlet in the country among the various letters of CNN, MSNBC (a fully owned Obama outlet), ABC (that has decided to do a shamwow infomercial for Obama's policies), NBC, CBS, NYT, Washington Post and a host of other outlets, electronic and dead tree alike (time and newsweek among them with more covers of Obama than any human in history).

Only one network still stands for truth justice and the American way. FOX.... And in a smaller way, CNBC.

So, what to do if you are Obama? Cry your eyes out about those meanies who tell the truth about you. Yesterday during an interview with CNBC, President Obama spoke out against Fox News. He stated that he has one television network “entirely devoted to attacking my administration".

He overlooked the other half dozen entirely devoted to propmoting the flykiller in charge.

My Pityometer needle didn't budge.

Always the victim that Obama.

This is sick. And below the office of the President. How much longer Lord, how much longer?

God CAN - but WILL He? Here is a clear answer!

Often afflicted people are thought to be less intelligent. The Bible is not like that. An example is the leper mentioned in Matthew chapter eight. He was outstanding in acumen, and saw what few others ever expressed. He met Jesus and said, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean” (Matthew 8:2). Many put the cart before the horse, saying, “If you can, you will.” That is human thinking, not revelation, and certainly not Bible talk. God always can, but will He?

For the leper, it was a revelation. He saw that everything depended on Christ’s will. The leper’s faith was reasonable – “if You are willing, You can.” The Bible was not written to tell us what God can do. We all know that. God is Almighty, or we would not call Him God. The Bible is here to tell us what He will do. That is what we want to know.

So, what is He willing to do? The answer is, “His Word is His will;” a short answer, but it comes in a long book – 66 Bible books in fact. Each book gives us special help; it builds our understanding of God and His character. Then we know what He will do.


Rheinhard Bonnke

Life-Long Power-Failure?

God spoke, and heaven and earth materialized. For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast (Psalm 33:9). Then John’s Gospel makes the tremendous assertion that the Word became flesh (John 1:14). The same voice that created all things now spoke to us. What He said comes with absolute authority. It is the Word of the Lord.

When Christ spoke, He said heaven and earth would pass away but not His words (Matthew 24:35). He was not like the prophets. They spoke FOR the Lord, but Christ spoke AS the Lord. The prophets said, “Thus saith the Lord." Jesus never did. He said, “Most assuredly, I say to you.”

There was something else different. The prophets were sent with a message, but Jesus IS the message. The prophets spoke about the Lord, but Jesus spoke about Himself. He not only brought the Word of God, but He is the Word of God. He did not point to the way; He is the way. Jesus was not one of the roads that led to God. He is God.

That is why we have no right to doubt the Word of God, or to bend God’s exclamation marks into question marks. If we do so, “To whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68), as the apostle Peter recognized. We either obey or die. Using our technology language, we blow the fuse, and suffer a lifelong power failure. The heating fails, the lights go out, communications cease, the systems break down, and cold eternal night settles in. Come on! Trust in God and His Word!

Reinhard Bonnke

Obama isn't a Christian as I understand Christian... He was a member, showed up for Easter and Christmas and little else

During the election, Obama’s association with Rev. Wright was first used to dismiss claims that Obama was a closet Muslim. Later, the good reverend was proved to be a racists, anti-semite, and radical liberation theologist. Obama responded by saying he had never heard any of the offensive comments.

Now Newsweek columnist and MSNBC contributer Richard Wolffe tells America has The One probably didn’t hear the comments, because he was more of a church member…as opposed to a church goer.

If you’ve ever wondered why the mainstream media didn’t show much curiosity about how 20 years of attending Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s church shaped President Barack Obama, there is a perfectly logical explanation. Obama wasn’t really there.



According to Richard Wolffe, an MSNBC contributor and former Newsweek columnist that covered the Obama presidential campaign for the weekly magazine, people don’t have to worry about the rantings and ravings of Obama’s controversial preacher having any impact on his world view because he wasn’t there.



Wolffe, in an appearance at the Politics & Prose bookstore in Washington, D.C. on June 15 promoting his book about Obama, “Renegade,” told the audience the president wasn’t naïve about Wright – he was ignorant.



“I don’t think I phrased it as naïve, but I was curious to know, as everyone was what he heard and what he thought about it,” Wolffe said. “And my conclusion from talking to him and his friends was that the dirty secret of the Rev. Wright episode, which he couldn’t really explain, was that he actually really wasn’t much of a churchgoer.”

While Obama wanted the voters to know he was a card carrying Christian, he apparently didn’t like wasting a Sunday morning on the whole church thing.

He explained Obama was reluctant to attend Wright’s services because they were time consuming events.



“When he said he wasn’t in church – he was trying to get at that, but I think this is kind of embarrassing for him,” Wolffe said. “And he told me look, ‘Yeah,’ he said. ‘It’s true, I didn’t go much, I had young kids. The services would go on for hours, if you’ve ever taken young kids to church, for three hours.’”

This is coming from one of the fluffiest pooches in the lapdog media.

Wolffe, who has been criticized for his coziness with Obama, was granted unprecedented access to the president, crediting having covered the Obama campaign from Day 1, going back to Feb. 10, 2007 when he announced in Springfield, Ill. as the reason.

Or someone more cynical might assume that the great community organizer merely saw religious affiliation as another base for building a political career.

Wolffe told the audience Obama was using religion, specifically his church attendance to garner support for the various offices he held – from Illinois state senate, the U.S. senator and ultimately President.



“And then at the same time, he was running for various offices,” Wolffe said. “So when he went to church, and this is where the politician’s slipperiness comes in – he didn’t say, ‘I wasn’t much of a churchgoer.’ If he was in church, it just wasn’t his church. He wasn’t going to church to pray. He was going to church around the state of Illinois to get votes.”

Rev. Wright was important in helping The One develop a base of support in Chicago’s African American community. Afterwards, when he was no longer needed, Obama tossed Wright under the bus.

Wolffe said the Obama-Wright relationship was important allowed the future president “to find community.” He describe Wright as “charismatic, erudite figure” and said the controversial preacher of Chicago’s Trinity United Church of Christ was who Obama leaned on to “make sense” of the civil rights struggle of the 1960s “in a modern world.”

Wolffe reference a Feb. 22, 2007 Rolling Stone article and said that was the actual first warning sign to the Obama campaign the radical preacher was a problem for Obama.

“Rolling Stone did a story about Wright’s sermons right at the start of the campaign,” Wolffe said. “The candidate saw it. He disinvited Wright from giving the public prayer at the start of the Springfield launch. He gave a private prayer with the family and he ordered his campaign staff to go research the sermons. He said, ‘Go find out what’s in these sermons,’ obviously he wasn’t there.”

Oh…and there’s this tidbit:

Wolffe described the Obama campaign as lucky the news didn’t surface before the Iowa caucuses or in the heat of the contest with Democratic challenger Hillary Clinton during the early part of 2008.


“They were lucky, lucky, lucky that it didn’t emerge before Iowa, just before Iowa or before he had won that whole string of primaries through February,” Wolffe said.

Luck had nothing to do with this. The media refused to cover Obama’s association with radicals like Rev. Wright and William Ayers. Obama won the Democratic nomination because the media took his side over Hillary’s.

Sarah Palin's responce to Letterman's "Apology"

"Of course it's accepted on behalf of young women, like my daughters, who hope men who 'joke' about public displays of sexual exploitation of girls will soon evolve.

Letterman certainly has the right to 'joke' about whatever he wants to, and thankfully we have the right to express our reaction. And this is all thanks to our U.S. Military women and men putting their lives on the line for us to secure America's Right to Free Speech - in this case, may that right be used to promote equality and respect."

Governor Sarah Palin

I have had it with Letterman!

I used to defend this guy to all of my friends who liked Leno better. I would say from a comic stand point that Jay was a great comic but Letterman was more original and had more style and class than Leno. Two recent events have changed my mind: Jay’s classy departure from the “Tonight Show” and Letterman’s classless left-wing attacks on the kids of politicians.

A comic needs to be an equal opportunity offender. We can’t pick sides in politics. We can have a point of view and a favorite but being a comic means when our guy drops the ball, you have to pick it up and smash it in his face. My friend and political opposite, Will Durst, said this a few years back about Mort Saul (I am paraphrasing here), “You can’t sit down to dinner with the Reagans and then pretend you’re still willing to sling mud at them.”

That is what is wrong with comedians like Letterman, Garofalo, and Stewart. They only see one side. Why do none of them at least give love taps to Obama? Why didn’t at least one of them make some comedic hay out of Obama gaffs like “57 states” and a reference to speaking “Austrian?”

The guy is the President and he can’t shake his mother-in-law and you can’t find a joke in that?

Not one of these comics can come up with one joke about Obama like, “Since Michelle Obama’s mother is living in the White House, does that mean it is qualified as section 8 housing?” Or, “Did you ever notice that President Obama is like a televangelist, no matter how much money you send him, he still asks for more?”

So I decided to give Dave a send off with one of his favorite bits, a top ten list. Here are my top ten reasons it sucks to be David Letterman:

10) In a few years his “baby momma” is going to leave and take half his stuff.

9) 30-year-old Alfred E. Newman look-a-like, kind of cute; 60-year-old Alfred E. Newman look-a-like, just creepy!

8) Held onto double-breasted suit look longer than Billy Ray Cyrus had his mullet.

7) Amount of Botox needed to smooth out face would kill a humpback whale.

6) Wanted to be racecar driver but couldn’t find crash helmet big enough to cover ego.

5) By the time his son graduates from college he’ll be dead.

4) Once his stalker got to know him she started following Leno around.

3) Has lower ratings than Glenn Beck or Bill O’Reilly.

2) Got passed over for Leno, O’Brien, Fallon, Kimmel, Ferguson, and Kilborn.

1) Three words, “You’re on CBS.”

Wisdom is NOT part of the Atheist's Inheritance

If the Fear of GOD is the beginning of Wisdom, then No fear of God must ultimately result in Folly or Foolishness..... I think if you look at an Atheist's Mindset you may see what I mean.

I was quoted and lambasted for being insensitive and uncaring about the feelings of Atheists. Paul, I appreciate you as a person, but I hope I ticked you off real good. I want you to know the truth. I want you to understand that the mindset you have is leading you to eternal damnation.

You are making a bet with the universe and eternity that you can only lose.

So, if you are offended, so be it. I'm not here to make friends, I'm pretty clear on what I am, what I believe and how I believe Atheism run amok is an insidious plot to destroy our western culture.

So, be offended and then ask yourself this question, why. Why am I offended. Because in the end, whatever offends the mind reveals the heart.

If you were settled in your heart none of this would matter.

I remember enough about being a teenager to know that when it came to dating the guys that got Lucky were the ones with persuasive words and reason. If then.....

That's what you are hanging your hat on. I'm sure you are a nice fellow. Just foolish, If you believe God, which I DO.

OH, and, one other thing. If JESUS was here talking to you, that nice JESUS you think you know from common parody in literature and film, he would say the SAME THING. Repent, for the kingdom of GOD draws near. Turn from the way you are on and come to ME.

Jesus is nearer than you can possibly imagine. If being an atheist and being unafraid is who you really are... that is pure folly.

Face of a GOP Serious About Good Policy? How About Sarah Palin?

So, Republicans, you're looking for people who can serve as faces of a party on the upswing. What qualities would we want to see in such people?

Maybe these:

* They've served in public office and have actually governed effectively.
* Rather than just talking about fiscal responsibility, they've made it happen under their watch.
* When possible, they've made sure the private sector would take the lead in crucial initiatives.
* They've taken on corrupt, entrenched interests to make government more responsive to the people it serves, even when those interests were fellow Republicans.
* They pull no punches in criticizing Democrats, but they do so with a positive outlook and a pleasant demeanor.
* They're not intimidated by the inevitable crap they will catch from the media, celebrities and whomever else.
* They have an enthusiastic following upon which to build.
* Finally, if you've got all of the above, it can't hurt if you also look fantastic.

Republicans, would you like people with some or most of these qualities to be the faces of a resurgent political party? Guess what. There's one person who possesses all eight.

Sarah Palin.

The Alaska governor was once again in the news this week for a silly reason – her recent public spat with David Letterman. But she deserves to be in the news for a substantive reason: The way she governs Alaska represents a principled, serious approach that is missing in the conduct of far too many Republican officeholders. What's more, the way she talks about the excesses of the Obama Administration shows that she not only sees the problems we are creating for ourselves, but understands the alternatives we should be championing.

Once she found herself back in the national spotlight thanks to Letterman's idiocy, she shined in national broadcast interviews with her discussion of the coming Alaska pipeline project, of the perils of excess federal spending and even of events in the Middle East.

Palin knows her stuff, backs it up with action and expresses herself with the perfect mix of substance and agreeable style.

I am not writing this to tout Palin as a presidential candidate. Unlike most who write about her, I do not view everything she does through the prism of presidential aspirations she may or may not have. This column is about the importance of prominent Republicans who are serious about good governance and can serve as the face of a party that represents such ideals.

Republicans should embrace everyone they can find whose track record in public office – and in the public eye – demonstrates the best of Republican governance. And no one fits the bill better than Palin.

But do you know about Palin? The real Palin?

Certain Republicans fear Palin's prominence because their image of her is based on Tina Fey routines and background turkey slaughters. Others are obsessed with inside baseball like the nonsense concerning her invite/non-invite/acceptance/non-acceptance of a speaking role at a recent GOP fundraising dinner.

If you read substance-challenged media like Politico, you think it's all about unnamed GOP operatives grumbling about the way her scheduler works, or GOP senators (who refuse to put their names on the record) finding her annoying.

Have you ever listened to Palin talk about policy? Have you examined her record in Alaska? Do you know the political courage she has demonstrated achieving crucial goals there?

It's especially important to listen to Palin's discussion of policy matters now, as compared with during the presidential campaign, because then she was hamstrung by the need to tout the McCain campaign's discombobulated message. Now that she is free to craft her own message, and can base it on her own record, she is exponentially more compelling.

Unlike their Washington counterparts, there are Republicans around the country who have done well in state and local positions, and they deserve to be the party's new stars. Wherever you can find them, put them in the spotlight. No need to take sides. You like Bobby Jindal? Mark Sanford? Mitch Daniels? Awesome. The more, the better.

But start with Sarah Palin. It's about her record, her vision, her message and her sincere appeal. They are all top-notch, if you don't realize that, it's because you've been focused on nonsense instead of what really matters.

Make her the nominee for president? I don't really care, and I'm not sure she cares as much as you think she does. But by all means, make her a star, because the Republican Party doesn't have anyone who comes even close to fitting the bill like she does.

I wish I could write like that

I read a few Blogs. Some are better than others. Some are really really good. The writing is brilliant.

I wish I could do that. Sigh....

I'm just me, but wishing and hopin...

Life Verses for Athiests

Most atheists don't spend much time in the Bible. If they did, however, they would find a couple verses to ponder:

Judges 17:6 In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.
Proverbs 14:12 There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

How is that different from the atheism we see practiced today?

I have always been bemused by atheists who say on this blog and others, I'm moral, I live by a moral code that allows me to get along with others. I don't say they are bad people, just ignorant of one other verse....

I will put my law within them, and I will write it upon their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each man teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. Jeremiah 31:33b-34

They don't understand that what they believe is morality and good behavior based on reason is God trying to impart wisdom by writing it on their hearts.

Atheism is a funny religion. Adherents think they serve no God, they serve ONE, themselves and their reason. Reason will always take your down further than you wanted to go. Reason built gas chambers for people that were not a good part of society in the view of some.

Read the heart God gave you, learn of HIM.

Divine Church Order is a House made of Living Stones, NOT BOARDS

I am watching a slow motion train wreck.

I'll bet you would enjoy my telling you all about it. NOPE. Too many confidences. Too many relationships at risk.

But, I know this. There is no place in ministry for boards in the house of God. The existence of boards is usually a desire for consensus. I understand that.

God's defined order is First in the House there to be an apostolic overseer. One who carries a vision and a direction that came from the throne. Sometimes that vision will be one given him or her directly from Father. Other times it will be a vision that a presbytery of prophets in the house will have given him. Preferable a combination where visions are submitted and developed.

The prophets, if they are true prophets, will give this vision in unity. God doesn't argue with himself.

The apostle will declare and proclaim the vision to set it in motion. The Prophets will watch as watchmen on the wall. The the Pastors, Teachers and Evangelists will execute the vision by equipping the saints to carry out the will of God.

Since it all comes from the throne, there will be little argument.

In the end, God will be glorified. He will be honored. And he will cause favor in the house.

This is the will of the Father in heaven.

Of course there will be well equipped saints to gather and distribute information, resources, ministry function, table waiting if you will. And, sometimes they are going to come to the Prophets to inquire of God regarding situations and circumstances. If the Apostle of the house becomes derailed in some area, the prophets will need to hear of it and then deal with the Apostle of the house.

Sometimes those people will be gathered into groups, committees. The problem is, they will become little kingdom's unto themselves not submitted to the vision.

The problem with committees, boards is they become vision casters, groups of Apostles. God's plan was never meant to be this way. It doesn't work.

God's house is to be made up of living stones, not boards.

A Kent State Killing First Hand Report

Friday Night I sat up and listened carefully to a man who was at Kent State during the Kent State massacre. He is no left winger. He was there. The story he told me was so chilling. This was a government cover up. I'm afraid it makes me less trusting of the government, and casts a shadow on the government we have today. Here from Wiki is a pretty good report of that day. It lines up exactly with the story the man who was there told me.

On Monday, May 4, a protest was scheduled to be held at noon, as had been planned three days earlier. University officials attempted to ban the gathering, handing out 12,000 leaflets stating that the event was canceled. Despite this, an estimated 2,000 people gathered^[16] on the university's Commons, near Taylor Hall. The protest began with the ringing of the campus's iron Victory Bell (which had historically been used to signal victories in football games) to mark the beginning of the rally, and the first protester began to speak.

Fearing that the situation might escalate into another violent protest, Companies A and C, 1/145th Infantry and Troop G of the 2/107th Armored Cavalry, Ohio ARNG, the units on the campus grounds, attempted to disperse the students. The legality of the dispersal was later debated at a subsequent wrongful death and injury trial. On appeal, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled that authorities did indeed have the right to disperse the crowd.

The dispersal process began late in the morning with campus officials Harold Rice,^[17] riding in a Guard Jeep, approaching the students to read them an order to disperse or face arrest. The protesters responded by throwing rocks, forcing the Jeep to retreat.^[18]

Just before noon, the National Guard returned and again ordered the crowd to disperse. When most of the crowd refused, the Guard used tear gas. Because of wind, the tear gas had little effect in dispersing the crowd, and some began a second rock attack with chants of "Pigs off campus!" The students lobbed the tear gas canisters back at the National Guardsmen; however, they had put on gas masks upon first throwing tear gas at the students.

When it was obvious the crowd was not going to disperse, a group of 77 National Guard troops from A Company and Troop G, with bayonets fixed on their weapons, began to advance upon the hundreds of protesters. As the guardsmen advanced, the protesters retreated up and over Blanket Hill, heading out of The Commons area. Once over the hill, the students, in a loose group, moved northeast along the front of Taylor Hall, with some continuing toward a parking lot in front of Prentice Hall (slightly northeast of and perpendicular to Taylor Hall). The guardsmen pursued the protesters over the hill, but rather than veering left as the protesters had, they continued straight, heading down toward an athletic practice field enclosed by a chain link fence. Here they remained for about ten minutes, unsure of how to get out of the area short of retracing their entrance path (an action some guardsmen considered might be viewed as a retreat). During this time, the bulk of the students congregated off to the left and front of the guardsmen, approximately 50 to 75 meters away, on the veranda of Taylor Hall. Others were scattered between Taylor Hall and the Prentice Hall parking lot, while still others, perhaps 35 or 40, were standing in the parking lot, or dispersing through the lot as they had been previously ordered.

While on the practice field, the guardsmen generally faced the parking lot which was about 100 yards away. At one point, some of the guardsmen knelt and aimed their weapons toward the parking lot, then stood up again. For a few moments, several guardsmen formed a loose huddle and appeared to be talking to one another. The guardsmen appeared to be unclear as to what to do next. They had cleared the protesters from the Commons area, and many students had left, but many stayed and were still angrily confronting the soldiers, some throwing rocks and tear gas canisters. At the end of about ten minutes, the guardsmen began to retrace their steps back up the hill toward the Commons area. Some of the students on the Taylor Hall veranda began to move slowly toward the soldiers as the latter passed over the top of the hill and headed back down into the Commons.

At this point, at 12:22 PM,^[1] a number of guardsmen at the top of the hill abruptly turned and fired their M1 Garand rifles at the students. The guardsmen directed their fire not at the closest students, who were on the Taylor Hall veranda, but at those on the grass area and concrete walkway below the veranda, at those on the service road between the veranda and the parking lot, and at those in the parking lot. Bullets were not sprayed in all directions; instead, they were confined to a fairly limited line of fire leading from the top of the hill to the parking lot. Not all the soldiers who fired their weapons directed their fire into the students. Some soldiers fired into the ground, while a few fired into the air. In all, 29 of the 77 guardsmen claimed to have fired their weapons, using a final total of 67 bullets. The shooting was determined to have lasted only 13 seconds, although a New York Times reporter stated that "it appeared to go on, as a solid volley, for perhaps a full minute or a little longer." The question of why the shots were fired remains widely debated.

Photo taken from the perspective of where the Ohio National Guard soldiers stood when they opened fire on the students.

Bullet hole in a sculpture by Don Drumm caused by a .30 caliber round fired by the Ohio National Guard at Kent State on May 4, 1970.

The Adjutant General of the Ohio National Guard told reporters that a sniper had fired on the guardsmen, which itself remains a debated allegation. Many guardsmen later testified that they were in fear for their lives, which was questioned partly because of the distance of the wounded students. Time magazine later concluded that "triggers were not pulled accidentally at Kent State". The President's Commission on Campus Unrest avoided probing the question regarding why the shootings happened. Instead, it harshly criticized both the protesters and the Guardsmen, but it concluded that "the indiscriminate firing of rifles into a crowd of students and the deaths that followed were unnecessary, unwarranted, and inexcusable."

The shootings killed four students and wounded nine. Two of the four students killed, Allison Krause and Jeffrey Miller, had participated in the protest, and the other two, Sandra Scheuer and William Knox Schroeder, had been walking from one class to the next at the time of their deaths. Schroeder was also a member of the campus ROTC chapter. Of those wounded, none was closer than 71 feet to the guardsmen. Of those killed, the nearest (Miller) was 265 feet away, and their average distance from the guardsmen was 345 feet.

Look at the distance from which they were killed. And many more shots were fired than admitted.

This much is clear:

• The protest had gone on for days and was winding to a close
• More shots were fired from more guns than were identified
• The Guardsmen were given orders and they carried them out
• The government covered this up
• The people hurt and killed were looked upon as criminal
• A couple killed weren't even protesting, just going to classes carrying books
• The killings were random and vindictive
• The guardsmen were being directed to violate any rule of war
• This is a pattern of how the government will act militarily against the left or right

I trust the government even less than I did a week ago.

Why are young people leaving the church?

Groundbreaking study says Sunday School makes exit more likely

What does the age of the Earth have to do with the exodus of young people from American churches?

Ken Ham, known for his Answers in Genesis creation-science ministry, says a major study he commissioned by a respected researcher unveils for the first time in a scientific fashion the startling reasons behind statistics that show two-thirds of young people in evangelical churches will leave when they move into their 20s.

The study, highlighted in Ham's new book with researcher Britt Beemer, "Already Gone: Why your kids will quit church and what you can do to stop it," finds church youth already are "lost" in their hearts and minds in elementary, middle and high school – not in college as many assume.

"A lot of the research already done has been to find out how many believe, how many support abortion, believe in the resurrection, say they're born again," Ham told WND. "But nobody has really ever delved into why two-thirds of young people will walk away from the church."

Get "Already Gone: Why your kids will quit church and what you can do to stop it"

The first-of-its-kind study by Beemer – a former senior research analyst for the Heritage Foundation and founder in 1979 of the American Research Group – included 20,000 phone calls and detailed surveys of 1,000 20 to 29 year olds who used to attend evangelical churches on a regular basis.

The survey found, much to Ham's surprise, a "Sunday School syndrome," indicating children who faithfully attend Bible classes in their church over the years actually are more likely to question the authority of Scripture.

"This is a brutal wake-up call for the church, showing how our programs and our approaches to Christian education are failing dismally," Ham writes in the book.

Among the survey findings, regular participants in Sunday School are more likely to:

* Leave the church
* Believe that the Bible is less true
* Defend the legality of abortion and same-sex marriage
* Defend premarital sex

The book explores a number of reasons for the findings, but Ham sees one overarching problem that is related to how churches and parents have taught youth to understand the Genesis account of creation.

Ham – who believes in a literal six-day creation that happened 6,000 to 10,000 years ago – says the church opened a door for the exodus of youth, beginning in the 19th Century, when it began teaching that "the age of the Earth is not an issue as long as you trust in Jesus and believe in the resurrection and the Gospel accounts."

"What you see in the Bible is that when there is compromise in one generation, and it's not dealt with, you usually notice it to a greater extent in the next generation," Ham told WND.

In previous generations, young people could live with this inconsistency, he said, but with an increasingly secular and atheistic public education system – where some 90 percent of church-going youth are trained – today's youth find it hard to see a connection between what they are taught in church and what they learn at school.

"Because of the way in which they've been educated," Ham said, teens come to believe "that what they are taught in school is reality, but the church teaches stories and morality and relationship. Bible teaching is not real in the sense of real history."

Now, as parents or leaders tell youth they can "continue to believe in evolution, millions of years," Ham said, young people are starting to see, 'Well, I can then believe what I'm taught at school – but school has nothing to do with God.'"

The key issue is that this doubt about the Bible's account of origins causes youth to doubt the authority of Scripture, he said.

"Salvation is not conditioned on what you believe about the age of the Earth and the six days of creation," Ham said. "There are many who believe in millions of years and are Christians."

But the Genesis issue does matter, he contends, "because salvation does rise or fall on the authority of Scripture. The message of the Gospel comes from these words of Scripture."

When that Bible is undermined, he explained, everything it teaches is in doubt.

Ham's new book shows how young people can be given "answers to help them understand you can really believe God's word, that it "connects to reality and it's really a book of history."

Helping young people makes sense of reports such as the claim last month of the discovery of a "missing link" proving Darwin's theory of evolution is Ham's specialty.

In a May 19 interview with WND, he pointed to a line in the scientific report about the discovery that countered the researchers' bold claims to media.

The fossil's species "could represent a stem group from which later anthropoid primates evolved [the line leading to humans]," states the report, published in the online journal Public Library of Science, "but we are not advocating this here."

The London Guardian newspaper also reported that scientific reviewers of the research asked that others "tone down" claims that the fossil was on the human evolutionary line.

"The reviewers said we don't know this is a missing link, and they asked the people who wrote [the newspaper reports] to tone it down," Ham told WND, "and yet we have this media hype claiming this is it, this is the missing link."

Will Obama's clock run all the way?