From the Desk of Pastor Rick Scarborough
WHITMAN URGES SUICIDE ON "HER PARTY"
In her just-published book, "It's My Party Too," Christine Todd
Whitman urges Republicans to commit political suicide, by
adopting the Democrats' losing positions on social issues.
The former New Jersey Governor and ex-cabinet member is free
with her advice for the GOP -all of it bad. Whitman is a
Northeastern liberal who wants the party of Reagan to embrace
abortion on demand, racial quotas and homosexual rights, along
with tax cuts.
The New Jersey RINO (Republican in Name Only) is particularly
hard on the folks who just handed the GOP its greatest electoral
victory in 80 years.
She calls us "ideological extremists" and "social
fundamentalists" who "have claimed the mantle of conservatism"
but "show no inclination to seek bipartisan consensus on
anything." And when was the last time the elitists of Planned
Parenthood, the ACLU or Americans United for Separation of
Church and State showed the least inclination to compromise - at
any time, on any thing?
Whitman's book was written before the 2004 election. By not
following her advice - by supporting Christian conservatives and
their agenda - George W. Bush became the first Republican
president in 20 years to be elected to a second term.
More significantly, by championing the cause of the unborn and
defending marriage, Bush became the first Republican president
since the 1920s to win reelection and increase his party's
representation in Congress! The five new Republicans elected to
the Senate last year all won office on the issues Whitman urges
her party to shun.
For Republicans, "It's My Party Too," is a prescription for
disaster. It's difficult to say which is less connected to
reality - Michael Moore's movies or Christine Todd Whitman's
advice.
A CALL FOR JUSTICE DEPARTMENT INTERVENTION IN
PHILADELPHIA CASE
Bob Knight, director of The Culture and Family Institute at
Concerned Women for America, is calling on the U.S. Justice
Department to intervene in the case of 4 Philadelphia Christians
whose civil rights are being violated in an on-going campaign of
religious repression.
The Christians, members of Repent America, were arrested for
reading Scriptures and quietly praying at a municipally
supported homosexual celebration on October 10, 2004. The
Christians protestors obeyed all police orders, threatened no
one and remained peaceable at all time. Still, they were
promptly arrested by Philadelphia police (at the direction of
gay lawyers!). A homosexual mob -- called the Pink Angels --
that obstructed and harassed the Christians suffered no
penalties.
If convicted, the Christian martyrs (who are charged with five
separate felonies) could face 47 years in jail. Says Knight,
"The District Attorney's Office went berserk, saddling them (the
Christian protestors) with criminal charges including trying to
incite a riot.... Their crime was to cite Bible verses, which a
prosecutor called 'hateful,' and to urge homosexuals, like other
sinners, to repent. It's frightening to see religious
persecution on American soil, especially in the birthplace of
the Declaration of Independence. The Justice Department needs to
step in and investigate this civil rights violation by the city
of Philadelphia."
To Knight's call, we would add a fervent amen. In the 1960s, the
Justice Department investigated violations of the civil rights
of African-Americans by racists. The same thing is happening in
Philadelphia. Except, today, Americans are being persecuted not
for their race but their religion - their adherence to Biblical
values.
The goal of militant homosexuals has always been to ban the
Bible, as it relates to sodomy. The persecution of the Philly 4
is an ominous step in that direction.
RELIGIOUS LIBERTY IMPERILED IN TEXAS
Earlier this week, the Texas Supreme Court heard a landmark case
involving a challenge to the state's authority to regulate
seminaries.
In Texas, the state claims the right to approve the directors,
professors and curriculum of seminaries. The Tyndale Seminary
was fined $173,000 by the state for operating a seminary and
issuing degrees in theology without a state license. Plaintiffs,
including an African-American seminary and a Hispanic Bible
Institute, are represented by the Liberty Legal Institute
(http://www.libertylegal.org).
Says Kelly Shackelford, the Institute's chief counsel: "The
outcome will forever determine the way the future leaders of our
churches are trained. If the state controls the religious
training and education of church leaders, it is able to control
all of our churches and religious organization."
Then, it won't be long before bureaucrats are telling ministers
what sermons to preach on Sunday.
Where are the ACLU and Americans United Against Separation of
Church and State? What happened to their much-vaunted "wall of
separation"? Is it it intended only to keep religious values out
of political affairs, but to allow government to interfere with
religious institutions any way it chooses?
If Christians don't get involved in politics, politicians will
soon be running the churches.
BLACK WOMEN'S MAGAZINE TAKES ON HIP HOP
"Essence," the most successful black women's magazine, has
launched a full-frontal assault on hip-hop lyrics and music
videos.
The publication is furious over the degradation of black women
by this genre. Says editor Diane Weathers: "We started looking
at the media war on young girls, the hypersexualization that
keeps pushing them in sexual directions at younger and younger
ages... We found rap lyrics astonishing, brutal, misogynistic
... So we said we were going to pull no punches, especially
since women were constantly being assaulted."
Hip-Hop is infamous for treating women as objects of lust, scorn
and abuse. It glorifies the so-called "pimp culture," based on
the physical and economic exploitation of women. Artists (and I
use the word loosely), who probably belong in prison, have made
fortunes performing these sick, savage songs. White record
producers are equally culpable.
We live in a toxic culture, where children are sexualized, women
dishonored and families besieged. It's encouraging to see a
prominent black publication joining the fray. Cultural polluters
are well-heeled, hence powerful. In this battle, Christians need
all the allies they can get.