NEW YORK—The American Jewish Congress is praising a federal appeals court ruling that an official seal of a New Mexican county which featured a Christian cross was in violation of the separation of church and state. The U.S. court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit struck down the 60-year-old seal of Bernalillo County (Albuquerque) which featured the cross and a Spanish motto, Con Esta Vencemos or "With This We Conquer."
"When the power, prestige and financial support of government is placed behind a particular religious belief, the indirect coercive pressure upon religious minorities to conform to the prevailing officially approved religion is plain," ruled the court in Overturning a federal district court and a three-judge appellate panel.
The AJC argued in a friend of the court brief that the seal was endorsing Christianity.
HOUSTON CHRONICLE January 1986
"There are work worn farmers all across America who have blood as blue as that of the Queen of England. In fact, there are more than a few to whom the Queen could claim kin. In spite of their mortgages and worry lined faces, they are not just poor farmers". Their forefathers were the warrior "old nobility" of Britain who came to this country in the 1600's to escape the executioner's ax. Before that they were Crusaders and Vikings. Penniless, they took up small farms in Virginia and New England."
PORTFOLIOS INVESTMENT ADVISORY Richard K. Hoskins Jan. 6, 1986
"There is about as little resemblance between "popular" religion and genuine theology as there is between Santa Claus and Saint Paul." "A government is the only known vessel that leaks from the top".
SYDNEY J HARRIS Jan 3, 1986 Such was the invincible spirit of the ancient Britons who formed a living wall around the sacred boundaries of Avalon in the domain of Arviragus. No Roman army ever pierced it. These were the lands which Roman writers referred to as 'territory inaccessible to the Roman where Christ is taught'. Behind this heroic warrior wall of protection Joseph and the disciples of Christ were safe from harm, free to preach and teach the glorious faith on the Sacred Isle of Avalon. To the Britons this was holly ground and they died willingly to preserve the first planting of the Christian Way, so that it might thrive and blossom to bless the whole world."
Moving on in history to 732 A.O. the Christians were still fighting for survival. The following is taken from The Church in History by B.K. Kuiper.
The emblem of Mohammadism is the crescent (the shape of the moon as it appears at first quarter). This crescent now lay across northern Africa with one point resting on Asia Minor and the other on France. It seemed as if the moon might became full, and that all Europe might become Mohammedan. The moment was one of the great crises in the history of the Church and the world. A great Christian army under the command of Charles met the countless
Mohammedan hosts on the plain of Tours in the year 732.
Moving up still further in history to 1620 we read of the Pilgrims' faith as they state their purpose in life, and as they write in the Mayflower Compact, "Having undertaken for the glory of God and advancement of the Christian faith." The following is from Pilgrim William Bradford in, Of Plymouth Plantation, pp. 101, 103.
"But presently, all of the sudden, they heard a great and strange cry, which they know to be the same voices they heard in the night, though they varied their notes, and one of their company, being abroad, came running in and cried, "Indians, Indians!" and withal, arrows came flying in amongst them ••• two muskets were discharged at them, and two more men stood ready in the entrance of their rendezvous, but were commanded not to shoot till they could take full aim at them ... the cry of the Indians was dreadful •••. " (notice they carried muskets as well as Bibles).
Moving on in history to the War of Independence, we find the Christian ministers fighting as well as preaching. The following is taken from The Light and the Glory by Peter Marshall and David Manuel, pp.290 and 291.
"Nor were the exhortations of their ministers confined to words. These men did not hesitate to put their own lives on the line. During the battles of Lexington and Concord, Chelsea’s ministers, Philips Payson, captured two British supply wagons single handedly. John Craighead raised a company of militia from his parish and himself led them off the join Washington in New Jersey, where it was recorded that he "fought" and preached alternately.
So numerous, in fact, were the fighting pastors that the Tories referred to them as "the black regiment," and blamed them for much of the resurging zeal of the colonial troops.
One of the most colorful examples is what happened in a staid Lutheran church in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, one Sunday morning in 1775. The thirty-year-old pastor, Peter Muhlenberg, delivered a stirring sermon on the text, For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven, from Ecclesiastes 3:1.
He reached the end of his sermon and said a solemn prayer, and then continued to speak. "In the language of the Holy Writ, there is a time for all things. There is a time to preach and a time to fight." He paused, and then threw off his pulpit robe to reveal to the startled congregation the uniform of a colonel in the Continental Army. "And new is the time to fight!" he thundered and then he called out, "Roll the drums for recruits!" The drums rolled, and that same afternoon he marched off at the head of a column of three hundred men. His regiment was to earn fame as the 8th Virginia, and Muhlenberg was to distinguish himself in a number of battles, rising to the rank of Brigadier General, in charge of Washington’s first light infantry. Now is it possible that all the past men of the Christian faith who carried a sword were in error, not understanding that Christianity was to be a life of pacifism and that only the last half century of pacifist-type Christian ministers have been right? It is also possible that today's pacifist ministers are in error, either intentionally or unintentionally .
We believe history and Scripture shows the latter to be the case and that our present pacifist-Christian doctrine which the communists know allows for slaughter and plunder, was prophesied by Ezekiel in Chapter 22, verse 27, where is shows political slaughter and plunder.
Her princes within her are like wolves tearing the prey, by shedding blood and destroying lives in order to get dishonest gain.
If you read the two preceding verses you will see that this was made possible by the phony religious leaders (prophets and priests) who were involved in a conspiracy. Verse 28 states also that while the murder and plunder was going on, the prophets "smeared white wash" for them. This Billy Graham did, when he told Americans that Christianity was prospering in Communist countries.
As for their key little scriptural phrases used to promote pacifism, all can be easily answered.
Thou shalt not kill can be found in Exodus 20, verse 13 in the King James translation. The translation of that verse is not entirely accurate, as it should be translated "thou shall not murder." The word means murder and has been thus translated properly in many other translations such as the Amplified version, the New American Standard version and the New International version, just to name a few.
This can be further verified by reading on in the next chapter, verse 16, where God's people are told to kill or put to death any convicted kidnapper. This is just one example where His people were told to put someone to death.
In fact, God gave them complete instructions on warfare (see Deuteronomy 20). Remember, Scripture teaches that God does not change!
Some say the New Testament teaching is different and that now we are to "love thy neighbor." The phrase is found in several passages in BOTH the Old and New Testaments. In Matthew 5:43 and 44 Jesus was correcting a false teaching the Pharisees were promoting of loving your neighbor and hating one's enemy. The Law in Leviticus 19 taught how one should love (vs. 18) and deal justly with one's neighbor, and did not teach to hate one's enemy. The hatred part was an inference by the Jewish Pharisees.
A neighbor can be someone near to us literally or by acts of kindness (Luke 10:36), but suppose that neighbor becomes a kidnapper or a murderer? Then true Christian Law and justice is that the neighbor should be put to death.
Even Romans 1:32 teaches there are certain deeds, such as murder and homosexuality, that are worthy of death. There is a higher love, which is to love God, which is done by keeping His Law!
How about "resist not evil" and "turn the other cheek"? This teaching is found in Matthew 5:39. To understand it fully, one needs to understand the custom of the day. To strike a man on the cheek was similar to challenging him to a duel. The teaching is to humble yourself in order to stay out of the fight and to not resist evil as a general principle. Past ministers once understood this. The following is from Barnes Notes, 1832.
"'The general principle which he laid down was, that we are not to resist evil; that is, as it is in the Greek, not to set ourselves against an evil person who is injuring us. But even this general direction is not to be pressed too strictly. Christ did not intend to teach that we are to see our families murdered, or be murdered ourselves, rather than to make resistance. The law of nature, and all laws, human and divine, justify self-defense when life is in danger."
In regard to the teachings in Matthew Chapter 5, they should all be taken in light of Jesus's words in Matthew 5:17. Think not that I am come to destroy the Law or the prophets …
Paul understood that God's law was to protect us from unlawful men (I Timothy1:9,10).
We need to understand that that same law of God does not take away our right and responsibility to protect ourselves from lawless men. Our forefathers knew that when they fought the tyrant called King George with the slogan, "Trust in God, but keep your powder dry"!
Hope you enjoyed this writing, “Nothing New Under the Son.”
