Such a confused little man.

He goes from religion to government to Christianity to faith to fear all in one sentence. My favorite line is “As long as they submit to our laws…” Submit is an accurate word and that is at the heart of this. Scared people make other people submit. Constantine had a glorious vision. His vision was the marriage of politics and religion. The empire of Rome could live forever with that alliance and it has.

Burning someones magic book because you think the author of your magic book told you to do it to make him happy is insane. If the one true God wrote your magic book, I am quite certain he wouldn’t need your help making sure it sticks around by burning the magic books of all other Gods. On the other hand, if your magic book tells you to kill everyone that does not believe your magic book to make the author of your magic book happy, I am also quite certain if he is the one true God he also would not need your help.

Can we just stop killing each other over our magic books about an all powerful God already? It makes him look pathetic and weak and very much human.

Can we stop provoking each other long enough to let the dogs of war sit down and remember what it is like to live in peace?

Burning the Holy Koran will lead to one thing:

August 2010 casualties

Master Sgt. Jared N. Van Aalst, 34, of Laconia, N.H.

Cpl. Max W. Donahue, 23, of Highlands Ranch, Colo

Spc. Faith R. Hinkley, 23, of Colorado Springs, Colo

Sgt. Andrew C. Nicol, 23, of Kensington, N.H.

Pfc. Bradley D. Rappuhn, 24, of Grand Ledge, Mich

Lance Cpl. Kevin M. Cornelius, 20, of Ashtabula, Ohio

Pfc. Vincent E. Gammone III, 19, of Christiana, Tenn

Pfc. Paul O. Cuzzupe, 23, of Plant City, Fla

Pfc. John E. Andrade, 19, of San Antonio, Texas

Sgt. Jose L. Saenz III, 30, of Pleasanton, Texas

Sgt. Jose L. Saenz III, 30, of Pleasanton, Texas

Cpl. Kristopher D. Greer, 25, of Ashland City, Tenn

Staff Sgt. Michael A. Bock, 26, of Leesburg, Fla

Spc. Jamal M. Rhett, 24, of Palmyra, N.J

Staff Sgt. Derek J. Farley, 24, of Nassau, N.Y.

Pfc. Benjamen G. Chisholm, 24, of Fort Worth, Texas

Pvt. Charles M. High, IV, 21, of Albuquerque, N.M.

Lance Cpl. Kevin E. Oratowski, 23, of Wheaton, Ill

Sgt. 1st Class Edgar N. Roberts, 39, of Hinesville, Ga

Sgt. Martin A. Lugo, 24, of Tucson, Ariz

Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Collin Thomas, 33, of Morehead, Ky

Cpl. Christopher J. Boyd, 22, of Palatine, Ill

Lance Cpl. Cody S. Childers, 19, of Chesapeake, Va

Spc. Christopher S. Wright, 23, of Tollesboro, Ky

Lance Cpl. Nathaniel J. A. Schultz, 19, of Safety Harbor, Fla

Pfc. Alexis V. Maldonado, 20, of Wichita Falls, Texas

Sgt. Brandon E. Maggart, 24, of Kirksville, Mo

Sgt. Jason D. Calo, 23, of Lexington, Ky

Spc. Pedro A. Millet Meletiche, 20, of Elizabeth, N. J.

Sgt. Steven J. Deluzio, 25, of South Glastonbury, Conn

Spc. Tristan H. Southworth, 21, of West Danville, Vt

Sgt. Ronald A. Rodriguez, 26, of Falls Church, Va

Lance Cpl. Robert J. Newton, 21, of Creve Coeur, Ill

Spc. Justin B. Shoecraft, 28, of Elkhart, Ind

Petty Officer 3rd Class James M. Swink, 20, of Yucca Valley, Calif

Master Sgt. Daniel L. Fedder, 34, of Pine City, Minn

Staff Sgt. James R. Ide, 32, of Festus, Mo

Spc. James C. Robinson, 27, of Lebanon, Ohio

Spc. Chad D. Coleman, 20, of Moreland, Ga

Pvt. Adam J. Novak, 20, of Prairie du Sac, Wis

Capt. Ellery R. Wallace, 33, of Utah

Pfc. Bryn T. Raver, 20, of Harrison, Ark

Gunnery Sgt. Floyd E. C. Holley, 36, of Casselberry, Fla

Sgt. Patrick K. Durham, 24, of Chattanooga, Tenn

Spc. Andrew J. Castro, 20, of Westlake Village, Calif

Capt. Dale A Goetz, 43, of White, S.D.

Staff Sgt. Jesse Infante, 30, of Cypress, Texas

Staff Sgt. Kevin J. Kessler, 32, Canton, Ohio

Sgt. Joseph A. Bovia, 24, of Kenner, La.

Lance Cpl. Cody A. Roberts, 22, of Boise, Idaho

1^st Lt. Mark A. Noziska, 24, of Papillon, Neb

Staff Sgt. Casey J. Grochowiak, 34, of Lompoc, Calif

Staff Sgt. Vinson B. Adkinson III, 26, of Harper, Kan

Sgt. Raymond C. Alcaraz, 20, of Redlands, Calif

Pfc. Matthew E. George, 22, of Gransboro, N.C.

Pfc. James A. Page, 23, of Titusville, Fla.

This and the list from the “other side” of our sons and daughters paying the price for you to act reckless and evil in the name of your god.

You want to make the author of your magic book happy?

Stop hurting and killing his kids.

I love you guys, but are you serious? 

Others have joined the fight and this is your call to action. Every citizen is duty bound to defend the Constitution and the Republic. We are called to stand up to oppression and when our government no longer serves the people, we are to replace that government with one that will.

Get involved. Get vocal. Get angry at what is happening to your freedom and do something! At a minimum, vote everyone out that voted for this illegal grab of power and support those who believe in the power of freedom.

My friend George Lutz is coming up on the anniversary of the death of his son Tony this December. George started a grass roots foundation to establish a national flag to honor the men and women that have paid the ultimate price for our freedom.

Please visit HonorandRemember.org and sign the petition and if you are able, consider giving a tax deductible donation this Christmas.

There is nothing more destructive and dangerous to our world than religion and I want nothing to do with it. When people think I am religious, I cringe a little, vomit in my mouth, and plead that they give me another chance.

In spite of my detest for religion, I love religious people. I am not all that fond of the zealots that think God is telling them to kill doctors, strap on bombs, topple sky scrapers, turn the desert to glass, or invade sovereign nations, but I have empathy for them none the less.

They have been deceived.

Being a gullible chap by nature, I understand how one can lose oneself into religion. It can happen to the best intentioned soul and before you know it you have a well worn path of religious tradition in your life.

Religion is comforting.

God is a concept that is challenging to grasp even on a sober day and religion gives us something we can hold in our hands. Beads, crosses, prayer rugs, candles, Bibles, Korans, statues, rocks, guns, knives, legislation, all of it calls to us and gives us the sense that we are somehow in control.

I think at the heart of who we are is this insatiable need to touch the hand of our maker. Religion gives us something we can touch, it is a counterfeit, but if feels good none the less.

I am struggling with religion again.

I am not personally struggling with it, perhaps a better way to say it is that it is struggling against me, and it has taken out some of my friends.

The election seems to have polarized something in the church. I want to make a distinction between the church and religion because they are vastly different. The church, outside of its religious traditions, is a wonderful force for good on the earth. The problem is, most of the church has slipped into religion and as such has starting barring the doors and shoring up walls getting ready to defend all they believe.

I witnessed this type of behavior two Sundays in a row where I worship. I wish I knew how we move from trusting and promoting a God of love to trusting and promoting legislation to appease Him? Fearing His judgment and forcing those who do not know Him to change is baffling. To mandate law instead of offering a better way through love smacks of serving a god we can not hold, and are desperately trying to.

Instead of changing anything, we lash out at people whom by their very nature are unaware of what they do to assuage our own guilty conscience and realization that we have blood on our hands, because we know better.

They have been deceived, but we have been deceitful.

The apostle Paul writes about the law and how before the law we were blameless but now that the law has come we are guilty. He goes on to lament that the more he knows about the law the more he is convicted by it. The law is simply a standard. If you go through life never knowing the standard was there, you are ignorant of it and not guilty of breaking it intentionally, but you are still guilty of missing the standard.

I don’t want this to get too theological, but that impossible scenario – Not knowing the law and falling short of it through ignorance and now knowing the law but still falling short of it even more hopelessly – was the reason we needed a Savior.

I happen to think that if God went to all the trouble to murder his Son, and He was pleased to do it to set us free from the consequences of falling short, I think He can handle those who do not know Him yet. The most difficult questions He asks is for those who do know Him, but that is a for another post.

Hearing the declarations Sunday, loosely and appallingly veiled in scripture, I felt the familiar sting of religion slap my face. It starts with the self righteous assurance of standing on the “one truth” and before you know it walls start to close in and doors slam shut as people start grasping for handfuls of god. We shake our bloody fists of god at the world, at one another, at those who don’t look like us proclaiming his judgment on them. We plead and cry and rend our garments in vain attempts to relieve our conscience of the guilt we feel inside. We lash out at our brothers and sisters with our religion and proclamations and fear because their handful of God doesn’t look like our handful.

We divide.

We alienate.

We segregate.

We destroy the very thing that mattered all along, the thing worth living and dying for.

Unity.

God forgive us.

Even though I fundamentally disagree with the social policies of both parties, I could not be prouder of my country right now.

I was moved to tears many times tonight, but perhaps the most profound moment for me was Jesse Jackson crying.

Simply overwhelming.

God bless and protect President Obama, and God bless the USA.

I am officially supporting Chuck Baldwin of the Constitution Party, but I am torn.

Torn like the fabric of this great nation.

I have been made acutely aware lately that there comes a time in every generation that defines that generation. 2008 may be that time for my generation and the weight of it feels familiar.

It may be my recent foray into facebook, but I remember an event in High School where someone from our class wrote “SBA” on the football field with fertilizer. Too much fertilizer effectively burns the grass and this act of youthful angst destroyed a portion of the field.

It was our class president and his lackeys.

Our study hall class was talking about it and something rose up in me. I didn’t want our class to be remembered as the class that destroyed the football field and suggested we impeach our president.

I still remember the following Friday night being confronted in the hallway by a very drunk, very agitated class president. He had got wind of the conversation and was not happy about my suggestion to kick him out of office. He was a bully, a drunk bully, and our conversation almost came to blows. Were it not for the intervention of a mutual girlfriend, we would have. Nothing more happened, but I learned an important lesson that night.

People in power do not like opposition and will do everything within their power to remove that opposition, and the most effective way to deal with opposition is fear.

Granted, the power of the high school class president is laughable today, but I learned a valuable lesson that fear is real, and I hate being manipulated by fear.

Fast forward to 2008 and all I hear this election cycle is fear.

Fear of Islam, fear of terrorists, fear of recession, fear of change, fear of taxes, fear of war, fear of spending, fear, fear, fear.

Fear is a powerful motivator and once you get past all the arguments, they boil down to one core issue.

Obama is black, McCain is white.

You see the Republicans have held power for 6 years. 6 years to end abortion, 6 years to lower taxes, 6 years to reduce government, 6 years to do anything conservative.

What have they done to reduce the power of government? Nothing. In fact, in 6 years we have more polarization on the abortion issue, higher taxes, more government regulation, and the destruction of the Republican party I grew up with.

It is because of this, the reality that the Republican Party is the Democrat Party light, that the only real issue this election cycle is race.

I can hear it now, you are a Christian, what about abortion? McCain is pro-life and Obama is Pro-death, shouldn’t you vote for the one that is pro-life?.

Sorry kids, this election is not about abortion and no election will ever be about abortion. Abortion, or more importantly the social acceptance of abortion as birth control, is not a government issue, it is a Church issue.

I am actually pro-choice when it comes to government. I think the choice to keep the baby should be so overwhelmingly better than abortion, that abortion becomes rare. I prefer an agnostic government over a theocracy. As long as my government holds to the value of liberty and that all men are created equal, we are good. If you truly want to impact abortion rates don’t just hold signs, offer to support a mother through her pregnancy. If you want to reduce pregnancies don’t just tell kids to stop doing the nasty, actually get involved in the lives of fatherless boys and girls and love them. And for God sake, stop thinking that pro-choice means pro-abortion and pro-life means anti-abortion.

If those labels were accurate, abortion would already be illegal again in the United States as the Republicans had 6 years to change it. Wake up Republicans, voting for an “R” means nothing when it comes to abortion and does not exempt you from doing your part. In fact, voting for a pro-life candidate (again) that promises to change law without addressing the underlying issue of eugenics is a greater evil.

For me, it comes down to one issue, race.

As a white man in power, I feel an obligation to move the issues I can actually effect forward. I can’t change the abortion issue with my vote, I can only change the abortion issue with my life. I can’t change the role of government with my vote, the power of the Constitution was destroyed during the civil war, and will take another to change it back. I can’t change the way the world sees our country, I can only teach my children to love and that war is the last resort. I can’t roll back the effects of decades of socialism with my vote, I can only reach out to those in bondage to socialism and offer them a better way.

I can’t do much with my vote this year but what I can do is very powerful.

I can remove the argument of racism from my own life and God willing, from these shores.

I can willingly use the power that has been granted me because of my skin color and advance a man that doesn’t look like me to the highest office in the land. I don’t have to agree with his ideas, because no matter who wins this year, they both have the same ideas. I don’t have to boil Obama down to a sound bite and decide that because he is pro-choice, he is pro-abortion. I don’t have to listen to fear and and miss my opportunity to do what is right, do what is courageous, do what might cost me something. I can willingly choose to do something that might actually make a difference. To willingly do something that in one fell swoop will start dismantling the wall of racism in my heart, and the heart of America.

Now that is one issue I may be willing to hold my nose and vote for.

There are so many things that could be said about this predicament we find ourselves in. I wrote this post ten different ways in my head while washing my glorious naked body this morning, and as the shampoo drained away so did my fear. No one likes a no-it-all so I won’t pound the drum that I told you so, even though I did. No, instead of yelling to the wind about government education, Ron Paul, the Constitution, taxation without representation, I am going to try and connect the dots to what is really going on in all of this.

There is a foundational premise that we must understand about the world. That premise is that God is good and He has an enemy that is not. God loves us and the Devil hates us. This is key, every bit of knowledge comes from this foundation and is the magnetic north that must be established.

Point #1: Only God makes stuff.

This is rather self evident, but it is a foundational truth. God is the creator, nothing else can be that, He is it. He is the beginning and the end, the big cheese, big daddy, the man, and woman, but let’s not go there.

Point #2: Every created thing wants to be God.

God is so amazingly awesome that everything wants to be like Him. It is programmed into our DNA, we are created in the image of God to be like Him, to rule and reign, to create and multiply, to love and be loved. We really really want to be worshiped and praised and adored and put on a pedestal and all that comes with being an awesome God. Even the angels, as glorious as they are, want to be like God – He is just that amazing.

Point #3: God gives people the choice to love.

One of the most amazing feelings is when you realize your mate loves you. Another person has chosen us, out of all the other people on the planet, they said you are the guy or the gal for me. Nothing else satisfies our need to be loved like finding someone that loves us for who we are. The same is true for God. He could have made us love Him, but He hides himself for us to discover and it brings Him great joy when we choose Him. The fact that we must discover His nature all on our own makes it that much sweeter when we do. If we were to see Him in heaven in all His awesomeness, it wouldn’t be as sweet as falling in love with Him from His still small voice.

Point #3: The Devil hates that God get’s all the glory.

I really don’t need to elaborate on this. All we have to do is look into our own lives and see we are the same way – selfish.

Point #4: The ultimate goal of the Devil is to take what God made.

Since only God can make stuff, the Devil has been working overtime to steal what he made and claim it as his own. God really loves what he makes. Obsessively, painfully, loves everything He makes. The heartache we feel when we lose someone or something we love is an attribute of the heart of God. Multiply that by billions and you can see why the Devil is so fundamentally evil. His one goal is to destroy the heart of God and everything that brings God glory because he wants it.

Point #5: Money and currency are ways to steal Gods stuff.

Things that God makes have value or wealth because they have been created. Land, livestock, precious metals, oil, gas, people are all wealth. They have actual value outside of any currency because they are “God stuff”.

Money has no actual value. It only represents wealth and only sometimes is it backed by wealth. Our currency used to be backed by gold and silver, but not any more. Now, it is only currency, an ingeniously fabricated tool to transfer wealth without actually requiring wealth.

Our current “financial crisis” is a ruse, a lie, a trick. We have been sold into slavery to money. The top prize for the devil is people as God places a value on them above Himself. I wish I could really get a hold of that in my spirit, deep down when times get tough, but it is the message of the cross. If the Devil can make people exchange their “God wealth” for money, he has effectively stolen their wealth from God. If we exhaust our lives pursuing money, the devil gets the reward or value of our life. We literally exchange the wealth God placed in us for paper.

If you take a close look at money you will see Egyptian symbols. Call me crazy, but I think that is neat. The history of Israel and Egypt has a striking similarity to the history of all mankind. We may not be making bricks but we are certainly slaves none the less. If you don’t think so, what would happen if you stopped working and paying taxes on your home? We are owned brothers and sisters. Our task masters are government and banks and they are just as cruel as an Egyptian Pharaoh. In a matter of seconds, your entire life is summed up and assigned a value. They call it a credit score.

The most glaringly sadistic example of the Devil stealing God’s stuff is the abortion industry. We can now literally place a monetary value on human life in 2008 by figuring out the fees charged to end a human life. There is much I could say about this, but my heart can’t bear to think about it.

Point #6: There is hope – God loves to set the captives free.

Help is on the way, and it sure isn’t a power grab bail out package from the Republican or Democratic party. If there is one thing I know, one thing that resonates deep within my soul, it is that God loves His stuff. He hears the cry of His people and has promised to never leave or forsake us. Our only problem right now is us. We could fix this country overnight if we turned back to God. If we could only stop giving ourselves over to the spirit of money and put our trust in God. If we could step back and see that the people in power do not have answers, they made the problem, God is the answer.

Our currency says “In God we Trust”, and even though the God they are thinking about is money, we don’t have to go along. We can trust in God Almighty – the God of Abraham, the Father of Jesus Christ, the maker of Heaven and Earth.

All we need to do is ask.

Point #7: God is for us.

Who can be against?

MoveThatBus.org

It is bad enough that I can’t use school services becuase we home school, even though we pay taxes, but enough is enough!

Who in their right mind would think that parking a school bus in a cul-de-sac is a safe thing?

Move That Bus – Chesapeake!

I found this movie “Who Killed the Electric Car” very eye opening.

[googlevideo=http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7202740060236675590]

The dollar is tied to oil.

The value of oil is what backs our currency.

Anything that threatens this backing is systematically destroyed.

Rising oil prices in the short term means a stronger demand for dollars.

“The main factors behind the rise today are the U.S. dollar remains fragile and geopolitical tensions, particularly surrounding Iran,” said David Moore, a commodity strategist at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney. “That’s unsettling for the oil market.”

The dollar will keep falling, oil will keep rising, and we will keep paying for it.

I would tell America to wake up and vote the criminals out of office – but no one will listen anyway.