Election 2016: Of American Christianity and “True Conservatives” (A KJ Analysis)

On September 10, 2016September 10, 2016 By kingsjesterIn Politics, UncategorizedLeave a comment

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While Democratic Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton speaks to barely-filled rooms, in between “resting”, Republican Presidential Candidate Donald J. Trump continues to speak to sold-out crowds of average Americans who genuinely want to hear what he has to say.

Thehill.com reports that

Donald Trump Donald accused the media of mocking Christians and vowed to be a champion for religious liberty at a gathering of social conservatives in Washington on Friday.

Speaking at the Values Voter Summit, the GOP presidential nominee received several standing ovations from the packed ballroom of Christian conservatives.

Trump has at times struggled to convince social conservatives that he can be a trusted advocate for the causes that are important to them, but many have come around as they consider the prospect of a Hillary Clinton presidency.

On Friday, Trump thrilled the crowd with a speech that flashed an increased familiarity with the language Christians use and the issues that are most important to them.
Trump focused heavily on school choice, religious liberty, the Supreme Court and the threat of terrorism — all of which are among the top issues for the social conservatives at the yearly conference.

And he hit the social conservative sweet spot in bemoaning how culture, aided by the liberal media, has turned away from traditional values.

“Our media culture often mocks and demeans people of faith,” Trump said. “All the time, I hear from concerned parents how much harder it is for Christian families to raise their children in today’s media environment. Your values of love, charity and faith built this nation. So how can it be that our media treats people of faith so poorly?”

“One of the reasons is that our politicians have abandoned you to a large extent, and Hillary Clinton you can forget about her,” he said.

The crowd erupted, with one conference-goer shouting: “Put her in jail!

Several of the early speakers at the conference — Sens. Tim Scott and James Lankford (R-Okla.) among them – expressed ambivalence toward Trump, while acknowledging that he is still the best choice between the two major-party nominees.

“I would like to tell you that one day we’ll have the perfect candidate to lead this country, but I don’t know what to tell you, I don’t think it will happen anytime soon,” Scott said.

“But this year our election, it matters and it’s a binary choice for me,” he continued. “It’s either you vote for the policies to continue that have been in place … or you can vote for hope, for an alternative, you can vote, to make America great again.”

That was the theme that emerged throughout the day, as conservatives warned that a Clinton presidency would be death blow for social conservatives.

There is tremendous anxiety among Christians that Clinton will tap ultra-liberal Supreme Court justices who will infringe on their right to freely practice their faith.

Trump on Friday won big applause for vowing to repeal The Johnson Amendment, which prohibits churches and other tax-exempt organizations from endorsing political candidates.

Trump left his script to tell the story of how frustrated he was when asking for the endorsements from a group of Christian leaders that gathered to meet with in New York City earlier this year, only to find out they were prohibited from doing so.

“The first thing we have to do is give our churches their voice back,” Trump said. “The Johnson Amendment has blocked our pastors from speaking their minds from their own pulpit. If they want to talk about Christianity, if they want to preach or talk about politics, they’re unable to do so, they take a tremendous risk that they’ll lose their of their tax-exempt status.”

Trump also warned that Clinton does not understand the threat of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), casting the threat from the terror group as one of particular urgency to Christians.

“ISIS is hunting down and exterminating what it calls the nation of the cross,” Trump said. “ISIS is carrying out a genocide against Christians in the Middle East and we cannot let this evil continue. ISIS must be destroyed.”

And he basked in the plaudits he’s received from conservatives for releasing a slate of conservative Supreme Court justices he’d appoint as president.

“Hillary Clinton has refused to provide such a list, because she knows the extremist judges she would pick would be rejected by the overwhelming majority of the American public,” Trump said. “Clinton’s judicial picks would allow her to completely takeover American healthcare, the American economy, and Americans’ religious liberty.”

This past week, , on a Facebook Political Page that I normally post on, I was accused of not knowing what “Conservatism” is.

That accusation struck me as funny as I sat down to write this morning, considering that this is my 2,378th blog that I have written daily since April of 2010 as a Christian American Conservative.

Let us see if I can define that term for that self-appointed pundit, boys and girls.

Conservative -A person who holds to traditional values and attitudes.

J. Matt Barber once wrote in the Washington Times that

Ronald Reagan often spoke of a “three-legged stool” that undergirds true conservatism. The legs are represented by a strong defense, strong free-market economic policies and strong social values. For the stool to remain upright, it must be supported by all three legs. If you snap off even one leg, the stool collapses under its own weight.

A Republican, for instance, who is conservative on social and national defense issues but liberal on fiscal issues is not a Reagan conservative. He is a quasi-conservative socialist.

A Republican who is conservative on fiscal and social issues but liberal on national defense issues is not a Reagan conservative. He is a quasi-conservative dove.

By the same token, a Republican who is conservative on fiscal and national defense issues but liberal on social issues – such as abortion, so-called gay rights or the Second Amendment – is not a Reagan conservative. He is a socio-liberal libertarian.

Put another way: A Republican who is one part William F. Buckley Jr., one part Oliver North and one part Rachel Maddow is no true conservative. He is – well, I’m not exactly sure what he is, but it ain’t pretty.

Even the Brits understand what American Conservatism is.

Per blogs.telegraph.co.uk:

Conservatism is thriving in America today because liberty, freedom and individual responsibility are at the heart of its ideology, one that rejects the foolish notion that government knows best. And its strength owes a great debt to the conviction and ideals of Ronald Reagan, who always believed that America’s best days are ahead of her, and for whom the notion of decline was unacceptable. As the Gipper famously put it, in a speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference in 1988:

Those who underestimate the conservative movement are the same people who always underestimate the American people.

I believe that Trump is not as Conservative on some issues as I am. However, while I do disagree with Trump every now and then, I also believe that

He genuinely loves this country and cares about the American People.
He is not a Hillary Clinton plant, simply running to secure the election for her.
He is not a part of the plot by the Illuminati to destroy America.

…Or, any other cockamamie “theory” that the “True Conservatives” on the Internet have vomited forth about him, in order to justify their America-endangering ongoing temper tantrum, caused by Ted Cruz’s failure to win the Republican Primary.

I am a member of a Contemporary Evangelical Church, which I attend regularly, when I am not working on Sunday.

My faith is not marginal. I stand on The Solid Rock, not shifting sands.

America is a Constitutional Republic, not a Theocracy. And, as such, Americans, including the 75% of us who declare that Jesus Christ is our Personal Savior, must each make our own individual choice as to whom would best represent us as the Leader of the Free World, based upon both logic and the Spiritual Gift of Discernment.

Logic dictates that I vote for someone who will keep my family, my friends, and my country safe from the murderous barbarians that are at our gates. It also drives me to keep Hillary Clinton out of the White House as the representative of the political party whose sitting President has driven this Sovereign Nation straight down the Highway to Hell, over the last seven years.

Judging from the Republican Primaries’ outcome, and the overflowing crowds at his Campaign Rallies that the MSM still refuses to acknowledge, the overwhelming majority of voters believe that candidate to be Donald J. Trump.

During the Republican Primary Season, I was called everything but “a Child of God”, simply because I wrote factual posts about Donald J. Trump and stated that I would pencil in the bubble beside his name as my choice to fill the Office of President of the United States of America.

According to some people, you are not truly a Christian, nor a “True Conservative”, if you are willing to make that choice.

However, I beg to differ.

#NeverTrumpers are so consumed with their hatred for Trump and their disappointment over the results of the Republican Primary Elections, that they simply do not care was sort of damage they can do to the quest of average Americans to keep the Queen of mean, Hillary Clinton, from succeeding President Barack Hussein Obama.

Their hatred has eradicated their rationality.

Quoting Conservative Radio Talk Show Host Laura Ingraham, from an article written for her website, Lifezette.com,

…a Donald Trump administration that would face real checks and balances, or a Hillary Clinton administration that would face almost none. Under these circumstances, it seems obvious that the prudent thing for a skeptical conservative to do is work with the Trump supporters to defeat Hillary Clinton — she is the much greater, and much more immediate, threat. I believe that a lot of conservatives realize these facts, but are troubled with the notion that by voting for Trump, they would be personally endorsing everything he says and does. But that is simply not true. We are talking about a temporary political alliance to keep Hillary Clinton out of the White House. No one seriously believes that John Adams supported slavery because he worked with slaveholders to throw the British out of Massachusetts. No one seriously believes that Churchill supported communism because he worked with Stalin to defeat Hitler. No one seriously believes that Hamilton and Madison agreed on everything because they cooperated on the Federalist Papers. There’s a reason we say that “politics makes strange bedfellows” — because political crises sometimes force people to form alliances with people they would otherwise oppose. For some conservatives, the 2016 election is plainly one of those times.

In short, when you apply the Cruz test to this election, it is clear that conservatives of good conscience can and should support Donald Trump. Indeed, failure to do so will put our entire political system — with all of the civil liberties we hold dear — at risk. I urge those conservatives who are concerned about Trump to think very, very carefully about this election, and work with the rest of us to defeat Hillary Clinton.

Please join us.

In closing, to those self-identified “True Conservative Facebook Political Pundits” out there, who seem to be suffering from a “logic impaction” (i.e., their head is presently lodged in a very dark and lonely place):

If your own personal , emotional, visceral temper tantrum-inducing hatred of Donald Trump precludes you from exercising your right to vote or causes you to think that a “protest vote” for a non-viable candidate is the correct action to take in this crucial election which will determine America’s Future…

…perhaps it is YOU who is not a “TRUE CONSERVATIVE”.

Until He Comes,

A KJ Sunday Morning Reflection: The Role of American Christianity in Today’s Political and Cultural Arena

On August 7, 2016August 7, 2016 By kingsjesterIn Christianity, PoliticsLeave a comment

On this Sabbath Morning, I was thinking about my Christian Faith, one shared by the overwhelming majority of Americans, and the role that it has played in shaping our nation’s past and the role that it will play in shaping our nation’s future.

I then started remembering all the recent efforts by self-proclaimed political pundits and “cultural leaders” to place American Christianity in a box.

Do American Political Leaders have the right to invoke the Name of the God of Abraham in their public speeches?

Do political bloggers, such as myself, still have the right to express our concerns about the direction that America is taking, by framing it in the context of traditional Christian American Faith and Values?

Or, should Christian Americans keep our faith out of the Public Arena of Ideas, like the “Smartest People in the Room” keep insisting?

Several months ago, The Washington Post reported that

METAIRIE, La. — Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia said Saturday the idea of religious neutrality is not grounded in the country’s constitutional traditions and that God has been good to the U.S. exactly because Americans honor him.

Scalia was speaking at a Catholic high school in the New Orleans suburb of Metairie, Louisiana. Scalia, who was appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1986 is the court’s longest serving justice. He has consistently been one of the court’s more conservative members.

He told the audience at Archbishop Rummel High School that there is “no place” in the country’s constitutional traditions for the idea that the state must be neutral between religion and its absence.

“To tell you the truth there is no place for that in our constitutional tradition. Where did that come from?” he said. “To be sure, you can’t favor one denomination over another but can’t favor religion over non-religion?”

He also said there is “nothing wrong” with the idea of presidents and others invoking God in speeches. He said God has been good to America because Americans have honored him.

Scalia said during the Sept. 11 attacks he was in Rome at a conference. The next morning, after a speech by President George W. Bush in which he invoked God and asked for his blessing, Scalia said many of the other judges approached him and said they wished their presidents or prime ministers would do the same.

“God has been very good to us. That we won the revolution was extraordinary. The Battle of Midway was extraordinary. I think one of the reasons God has been good to us is that we have done him honor. Unlike the other countries of the world that do not even invoke his name we do him honor. In presidential addresses, in Thanksgiving proclamations and in many other ways,” Scalia said.

“There is nothing wrong with that and do not let anybody tell you that there is anything wrong with that,” he added.

Scalia’s comments Saturday come as the court prepares to hear arguments later this year in a case that challenges part of President Barack Obama’s health care law and whether it adequately shields faith-based hospitals, colleges and charities from having to offer contraceptive coverage to their employees.

For what now seems like an eternity, those on the Left side (along with some of those who claim to be on the Right Side) of the Political Aisle, spearheaded by President Barack Hussein Obama, have focused their attention on “radically changing” America.

They soon realized that they simply could not do it through popular culture and educational indoctrination, inundating America’s children with both overt and subliminal imaging designed to countermand the Traditional American Values that they were being raised with, in normal American Households, out here in “Flyover Country”, otherwise known as America’s Heartland…or “the Red States”.

Modern Liberals soon figured out that the way to program Americans into believing that “all paths lead to God” and that cradle-to-grave Nanny-State Government were the new American Standards for living our daily lives, was to turn Christian American Houses of Worship away from being instructors of the Word of God and a sanctuary in which to worship Our Creator, to, instead, being purveyors of the joys of Popular Culture. Wednesday Night Bible Studies were soon replaced by Yoga Classes and Encounter Groups. Religious Leaders were soon quoting philosophy, instead of the Bible in their Sunday Morning Sermons.

And, instead of taking a stand against those things of the world which were directly opposed to what is found in God’s Word, these “new, enlightened” churches started standing up for the “right” of a woman to have her baby prematurely yanked out of her womb with a set of tongs, standing up for the right of Adam to “marry” Steve, when the Bible states that marriage is between a man and a woman, and standing up for the equality of all faiths, when the Son of God firmly states, in John 14:6, that

I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

So, when as all this Christianity in America going to “fade away” as predicted by “the Smartest People in the Room”?

As recent polls show…not any time soon.

America remains a nation whose population consists of 70-75%, who proclaim Jesus Christ as their Personal Savior and 92%, who believe in God.

However, if you read some of the comments posted on Conservative Websites and Facebook Political Pages, by self-appointed “pundits”, you would think that Christian Americans are the minority in this nation.

I can testify from personal experience, having caught flack for sticking to my Christian American Conservative Principles, since beginning my daily posts on this blog in April of 2010.

My posts, concerning American Christianity, seem to “touch a nerve” in both Liberals and Atheists, alike. (But, in at least some cases, I repeat myself.)

Their reaction has hardly been unexpected.

Of course, one of the Hot Button Issues, which those Liberals and Atheists who responded, over the years, immediately denied, was that our Founding Fathers were Christians and that our country was founded on a Judeo-Christian Belief System.

Evidently, they had never read anything, except what their like-minded, non-believing soothsayers, allowed them to. Or else, they would have read historical documents like President George Washington’s Thanksgiving Day Proclamation, written on November 1, 1777, and found at wallbuilders.com:

The committee appointed to prepare a recommendation to the several states, to set apart a day of public thanksgiving, brought in a report; which was taken into consideration, and agreed to as follows:

Forasmuch as it is the indispensable duty of all men to adore the superintending providence of Almighty God; to acknowledge with gratitude their obligation to him for benefits received, and to implore such farther blessings as they stand in need of; and it having pleased him in his abundant mercy not only to continue to us the innumerable bounties of his common providence, but also smile upon us in the prosecution of a just and necessary war, for the defense and establishment of our unalienable rights and liberties; particularly in that he hath been pleased in so great a measure to prosper the means used for the support of our troops and to crown our arms with most signal success:

It is therefore recommended to the legislative or executive powers of these United States, to set apart Thursday, the 18th day of December next, for solemn thanksgiving and praise; that with one heart and one voice the good people may express the grateful feelings of their hearts, and consecrate themselves to the service of their divine benefactor; and that together with their sincere acknowledgments and offerings, they may join the penitent confession of their manifold sins, whereby they had forfeited every favor, and their humble and earnest supplication that it may please God, through the merits of Jesus Christ, mercifully to forgive and blot them out of remembrance; that it may please him graciously to afford his blessings on the governments of these states respectively, and prosper the public council of the whole; to inspire our commanders both by land and sea, and all under them, with that wisdom and fortitude which may render them fit instruments, under the providence of Almighty God, to secure for these United States the greatest of all blessings, independence and peace; that it may please him to prosper the trade and manufactures of the people and the labor of the husbandman, that our land may yield its increase; to take schools and seminaries of education, so necessary for cultivating the principles of true liberty, virtue and piety, under his nurturing hand, and to prosper the means of religion for the promotion and enlargement of that kingdom which consisteth in righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost.

And it is further recommended, that servile labor, and such recreation as, though at other times innocent, may be unbecoming the purpose of this appointment, be omitted on so solemn an occasion.

Of course, the Poster Boy for the claim by Liberal/Atheist responders, concerning the Founders’ lack of Christianity, is Thomas Jefferson.

Atheists like to bring up the fact that he wrote a version of the Bible which left out Christ’s miracles. What they are reluctant to do, though, is explain why he wrote his book that way. David Barton explains on wallbuilders.com:

The reader [of a newspaper article which Barton is replying to], as do many others, claimed that Jefferson omitted all miraculous events of Jesus from his “Bible.” Rarely do those who make this claim let Jefferson speak for himself. Jefferson’s own words explain that his intent for that book was not for it to be a “Bible,” but rather for it to be a primer for the Indians on the teachings of Christ (which is why Jefferson titled that work, “The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth”). What Jefferson did was to take the “red letter” portions of the New Testament and publish these teachings in order to introduce the Indians to Christian morality. And as President of the United States, Jefferson signed a treaty with the Kaskaskia tribe wherein he provided—at the government’s expense—Christian missionaries to the Indians. In fact, Jefferson himself declared, “I am a real Christian, that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus.” While many might question this claim, the fact remains that Jefferson called himself a Christian, not a deist.

Atheist Activists and young and/or misinformed Liberals and self-proclaimed “Libertarians” (but, in a lot of cases, I repeat myself), who reply to my posts, insist that Crosses and other Christian symbols have no place in the Public Square.

With Obama or their own opinion as their “highest authority”, they continue their push to eliminate the practice of American Christianity and the Traditional American Morality and Ethics which go with it from Everyday American Life, attempting to regulate Christians’ role in American Society as remaining unseen and unheard from, worshiping in private, on Sunday mornings, only.

Or, as Actor and Professional Wrestler Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson would say, Obama and his minions want American Christians to

Sit down, shut up, and know your role!

Unfortunately for them and the Lame Duck President (Praise God!), the First Amendment to the Constitution still holds.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Being filled with human beings, churches have made a lot of mistakes, However, they have also done a lot of good in the name of the Lord.

For example, the church I attend, houses a Food Pantry, operated in co-operation with other churches in our area, which feeds 2,000 people per month, counseling them, and getting them the assistance that they need.

Churches today have to walk a fine line.

The spiritual battle the influence of American Popular Culture and those seeking the Will of God in their lives, takes all the strength…and prayer, that Christians can muster.

Modern Liberals seem to have great difficulty comprehending the role which Our Creator, the God of Abraham, played and plays in this Grand Experiment, known as the United States of America.

Why have Liberals ratcheted up their anti-Christian Vitriol and Negativity since January 21, 2009?

Why are they so focused on removing America’s Christian Heritage?

Well, as is usually my wont, I have been doing some “reckoning” about this.

It seems to this ol’ Southern Boy, living here in the Heartland, that America’s Christian Heritage and the very real fact of His influence in building and shaping America’s growth into the greatest country on the face of God’s Green Earth, not only stifles and interferes with Modern Liberals’ “anything goes”, “share the wealth”, “hive-mind”, “man is his own god” Political Ideology, but the reality of God’s very existence, somewhere deep in their miserable, bitter psyches, scares the mess out of them.

Why else would they be trying so hard to fight against the influence of Someone Whom they really don’t believe in?

I see them every single day on the television, on the Internet, on Facebook Political Pages, posting stupid meme (a picture with words on it) after stupid meme, attempting to make fun of The Great I Am and those of us who have given our lives to Him.

They are so hateful, and filled with such bitterness, that it is difficult to engage them in “conversation”.

Perhaps, somewhere in their back of their minds, all of these Modern American Liberals, realize that they are fighting a losing battle.

Christianity continues to thrive in America, despite their best efforts.

For, as the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia stated so eloquently,

God has been very good to us

America was built upon a Solid Rock.

To ignore our nation’s Faith-Based Founding and Heritage is to live in purposeful ignorance.

As President Ronald Reagan said,

If we ever forget that we are One Nation Under God, then we will be a nation gone under.

And, as Hebrews 13:8 tells us,

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Regardless of the Political Machinations of Modern American Liberals, God will have the final word, as to our country’s future.

He always does.

Until He Comes,

“Gender Identity”, Liberal Hypocrisy, and the Rock Upon Which America Was Built (A KJ Sunday Morning Reflection)

On April 17, 2016April 17, 2016 By kingsjesterIn Christianity, Politics1 Comment

The reaction to the passage of laws in North Carolina and Mississippi, banning those of the opposite biological sex from using the public restrooms of the opposite gender’s, continues.

The latest “socially-conscious” Show Business Act to cancel their performance in one of those states is the stylistic Cirque du Solie, presently on tour with their latest production, “Varekai”.

The Acrobatic Group announced Friday that

Cirque du Soleil strongly believes in diversity and equality for every individual and is opposed to discrimination in any form. The new HB2 legislation passed in North Carolina is an important regression to ensuring human rights for all.

Quite a noble sentiment, huh?

There’s one problem with their “piety”…

Cirque du Soliel has no qualms about performing on a regular bases in the United Arab Emigrates Nation of Dubai, where they publicly hang homosexuals.

They join the ranks of other “high-minded” Liberal Entertainers, like Bruce Springteen and Bryan Adams, who have also canceled tours stops in those states.

Of course, Springsteen was having a torrid affair with his present wife and bandmate, Patti Scialfa, while still married to his first wife, and Bryan Adams also performs in Muslim Countries in the Middle East, where they hang homosexuals as well.

But, other than that, they’re outstanding Moral Arbiters.

Sheesh.

This push to allow “Transgendered” Americans to invade women’s restrooms in public places, is a logical (at least , using the convoluted logic of Liberals) next step, following last summer’s SCOTUS ruling, which overturned the will of the voters, in the overwhelming majority of states, legalizing “Gay Marriage”.

However, per usual, the hubris of the Political Minority in America, known as Liberals, precluded them from foreseeing the massive blowback that they have received, in regards to this latest attempt by them to make up a new “Constitutional Right”.

One of the arguments that Liberals have been countering the objections to their ludicrous demand with, is the fact that Europe has had Unisex Public Restrooms in place for a while, now.

While that is true, what they fail to mention, is the fact that those restrooms all have PRIVATE stalls, which a common area to wash your hands, after you “finish your business”.

They also neglect to mention the fact that the decades-long degeneration of Morality and Virtue across Europe has lead to the current chaos being wrought by “immigrating” Muslims, who are setting up Sharia Law in Europe, even as I write today’s post. The same laws which call for the public execution of homosexuals in Muslim Countries, including the hangings which I mentioned earlier.

What Modern American Liberals still fail to grasp is the concept of American Individualism, a concept strengthened by our American Faith and Traditional Values System, concepts which trace all the way back to our nation’s birth, set in place by our nation’s Founding Fathers.

Modern Liberals seem to have great difficulty comprehending the role which Christianity, the “Faith of Our Fathers”, the professed faith of 75% of Americans, per Gallup, played and plays in this Grand Experiment, known as the United States of America.

Why have Liberals ratcheted up their anti-Christian Vitriol and Negativity since January 21, 2009?

During the Obama Administration, there has been a concerted and very visible effort to limit the role that Christianity plays in the day-to-day lives of average Americans.

This was already done, decades ago, in Europe, and now, they are suffering the consequences of their actions.

The Christian Post published an article, last October, reporting that

The Church of England is reportedly considering plans to keep some historic village churches across the country opened only on holy days such as Christmas and Easter due to population shifts and the ever-growing decline in attendance and church membership.

A major 66-page report by the CofE’s Church Buildings Review Group noted that many churches are no longer sustainable, and that about one in four parishes have fewer than 10 regular worshipers.

The report proposes turning some parishes into “festival churches” in order to ease the financial burden, suggesting that they will only be used for key dates on the religious calendar, or occasions such as marriage and funerals.

Festival churches are only one of the widespread changes proposed by the review group, which says it is focused on “securing spiritual and numerical growth and serving the common good.”

“We believe that — apart from growing the church — there is no single solution to the challenges posed by our extensive responsibility for part of the nation’s historic heritage,” the group added.

The CofE has had to deal with sharp decline over the past 30 years, as reported in May by NatCen Social Research.

The group’s Social Attitudes survey found that 40 percent of the British population identified as Anglicans in 1983, but that number is down to only 17 percent in 2014. Presently only 8.5 million Britons identify as Anglicans, the survey said.

People of no religious faith now make up close to half of the population in Britain, or 49 percent, which is up from their 31 percent count in 1983.

With the steady rise of immigration, the rise of non-Christian faiths has also been well documented, with Islam making up close to 5 percent of all Britons in 2014, up from 0.5 percent in 1983.

Why are Modern American Liberals so focused on removing, or, at the very least, marginalizing, America’s Christian Heritage, as found in our System of Traditional Values and Beliefs?

Well, as is usually my wont, I have been doing some “reckoning” about this.

Why else would they be trying so hard to fight against the influence of Someone Whom they really don’t believe in?

They are so hateful, and filled with such bitterness, that it is difficult to engage them in “conversation”.

Perhaps, somewhere in their back of their minds, all of these Modern American Liberals, realize that they are fighting a losing battle.

Christianity continues to thrive in America, despite their best efforts.

America was built upon a Solid Rock.

To ignore our nation’s Faith-Based Founding and Heritage is to live in purposeful ignorance.

As President Ronald Reagan said,

If we ever forget that we are One Nation Under God, then we will be a nation gone under.

And, as Hebrews 13:8 tells us,

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Regardless of the ongoing Political Machinations, by Modern American Liberals, to tear asunder the Moral fabric of the nation for the “Good of the State” and the propagation of the “Hive-Mind”, the God of Abraham, who brought our Founding Fatehrs to this Land, will have the Final Word.

He always does.

Until He Comes,

April 1, 2016, “National Atheists Day”: Of Atheists, Restricting Religious Liberty, and “Complaining Christians”

On April 1, 2016 By kingsjesterIn Christianity, Politics1 Comment

The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”- Psalm 14:1

Lifeway Research reports that

A growing number of Americans believe religious liberty is on the decline and that the nation’s Christians face growing intolerance. They also say American Christians complain too much.

Those are among the findings of a new study of views about religious liberty from LifeWay Research. Researchers surveyed 1,000 Americans in September 2013 and September 2015 and then compared the results.

Two-thirds (63 percent) say Christians face increasing intolerance, up from half (50 percent) in 2013.

A similar number (60 percent) say religious liberty is on the decline, up from just over half (54 percent) in 2013.

Forty-three percent say American Christians complain too much about how they are treated, up from 34 percent in 2013.

“More Americans worry the U.S. has a hostile environment for religious liberty,” said Ed Stetzer, executive director of LifeWay Research. “As this perception grows, some approve of it while others speak up against it.”

Religious liberty has become an increasingly contentious issue in American culture—with disputes over birth control, same-sex wedding cakes, headscarves at work, and prisoner’s beards.

The more recent LifeWay Research survey found faith plays a key role in how Americans view the state of religious liberty.

Two-thirds of Christians (64 percent) and those of other faiths (65 percent) say religious liberty is on the decline. Self-identified evangelicals (71 percent) and those who attend worship at least once a week (70 percent) are most likely to agree.

Catholics (56 percent) and non-evangelicals (55 percent) are more skeptical. So are Nones (46 percent).

“Christians are particularly sensitive to what they see as intolerance towards their faith,” said Stetzer. “But they share a common concern with people of other faiths—that religious liberty in general is declining. And this perception is growing rapidly.”

Age also played a role in how Americans view the state of religious liberty.

Less than half (42 percent) of those 18 to 24 say religious liberty is on the decline. By contrast, 6 in 10 (62 percent) of those over 25 see a decline.

LifeWay Research also found non-Christians are less convinced that Christians face intolerance.

Less than half of those from other faiths (43 percent) and Nones (48 percent) agree when asked if intolerance towards Christians has increased.

By contrast, most Christians (70 percent), self-identified evangelicals (82 percent) and Protestants (74 percent) see more intolerance. So do two-thirds (76 percent) of those who attend services once a week or more.

Researchers found some signs that Americans are tired of arguments over religious liberty. A sizable number of Americans believe Christians’ complaints about how they are treated are excessive.

Among them:

38 percent of Christians
39 percent of Americans of other faiths
59 percent of Nones
53 percent of those who rarely or never attend worship
American Christians face a challenge, as the nation becomes more secular, said Stetzer. Calls for religious liberty may fall on increasingly deaf ears in the future.

“Most people now believe Christians are facing intolerance, however, a surprising large minority perceives Christians to be complainers,” said Stetzer. “Both of those facts will matter as Christians profess and contend for their beliefs without sounding false alarms around faux controversies. It won’t be easy to strike that balance.”

Really? Really?

C’mon now.

As John McEnroe says,

You can’t be serious.

(Look him up, boys and girls.)

At first glance, this article should be upsetting to the 74% of Americans, including myself, who, as described by the “cool” word of the Millennials, self-identify as Christian Americans.

The fact of the matter is, no matter how some seek to restrict the Religious Liberty of Christian Americans, the death of Christianity in America has been greatly exaggerated.

“Organized Religion”, a term usually spoken in derision by those seeking to somehow impugn the generations-old practice of Christian Americans to be a member of and attend the weekly worship service of the denomination and church building of their choice, is being attacked constantly by Atheists, Liberals, and Progressives (but, I repeat myself) to further degrade the spiritual backbone of the “Shining City Upon a Hill”, as President Ronald Reagan referred to our country.

For what now seems like an eternity, those on the left side of Political Aisle, have focused their attention on “radically changing” America.

I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

So, is Christianity in America going to “fade away”?

Not any time soon.

Being filled with human beings, churches have made a lot of mistakes, However, they have also done a lot of good in the name of the Lord.

Churches today have to walk a fine line.

The spiritual battle the influence of American Popular Culture and those seeking the Will of God in their lives, takes all the strength…and prayer, that Christians can muster.

Articles, such as the one which I quoted earlier, are usually written by Liberals, especially those found in a Liberal Publication like USA Today.

Modern Liberals seem to have great difficulty comprehending the role which Our Creator, the God of Abraham, played and plays in this Grand Experiment, known as the United States of America.

Why have Liberals ratcheted up their anti-Christian Vitriol and Negativity since January 21, 2009?

Why are they so focused on removing America’s Christian Heritage?

Well, as is usually my wont, I have been doing some “reckoning” about this.

According to a Pew Forum Survey, more than 13 million Americans are self-described atheists and agnostics, comprising less than 6% of the U.S. public.

I have never understood Atheists, especially the so-called activists among them.

Our Constitution provides for Freedom of Religion.

According to the Supreme Court, in their Ruling abolishing School Prayer, Atheism is a religion, which the Americans who embrace this nihilism are free to practice.

So, why the continuous full-blown attack on the Faith which our Founding Fathers wrote so eloquently about, and which has sustained this “shining city on a hill” through times of internal and external strife?

In other words, why are activist Atheists (and Progressives) so intent to either limit or completely eliminate Christianity’s influence on everyday American Life?

Why don’t they attack the political/religious ideology of Islam with the same fervor?

The answer to this question is simple: Cowards will always tell you whom they are afraid of. They will avoid them, like one avoids a child with Chicken Pox.

Additionally, they expect Christians to allow them to take control by “turning the other cheek.”

Evidently, they never read the scriptures which describe Jesus running the “money lenders” out of the temple, overturning tables, and expressing his righteous indignation in a way in which no one could mistake it for anything else.

Or, perhaps, it’s the overwhelming overestimation of their own intelligence, which results from ignoring the influence of the God of Abraham in their life.

So, what drives them in this “Unholy Crusade”?

Bitterness, emptiness, and an unfulfilled longing in their soul which they cannot put a finger on, is the only explanation.

Otherwise, why would they fight so hard against the influence of and worship of Someone they don’t personally believe in?

Until He Comes,

The Race For the Republican Nomination: Of Trump, Evangelicals, and Self-Appointed Prophets

On March 24, 2016 By kingsjesterIn Christianity, PoliticsLeave a comment

Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies. – Groucho Marx

The Christian Post reports that

At a campaign rally for Sen. Ted Cruz in Utah Saturday, popular radio host Glenn Beck accused evangelical Christians who are supporting Republican frontrunner Donald Trump of “not listening to their God.”

“Utah has an incredible opportunity. So many Christians have been standing up. But all throughout the South the evangelicals are not listening to their God. Let us raise a standard in Utah,” Beck said in support of Trump’s Republican rival.

Addressing Mormon voters directly, Beck then asked: “Where the hell are the priesthood holders? Where are you? Thank you. It’s time to stand up. It’s time to stand up. You know what time it is. The priesthood is supposed to rise up and restore the Constitution. Now is that time. Period.”

Cruz went on to win the Utah caucuses Tuesday, capturing 69.2 percent of the vote and taking all 40 delegates, though he still trails Trump in the delegates race.

Beck has strongly criticized Trump’s portrayal of himself as a Christian, suggesting back in February that even the idea that Trump reads the Bible is a “crock of [expletive].”

Beck said at a South Carolina Cruz rally that “too many people are looking at Trump and believing that man has ever opened a Bible … that’s the biggest crock of [expletive] I’ve ever heard.”

Trump has insisted that he is a Presbyterian and has a “great relationship” with God. He’s also claimed that “nobody reads the Bible more than me.”

Polls have showed that there is an important distinction to be made in regard to what type of evangelicals are voting in the elections, however.

A Pew Research analysis found that 39 percent of self-identified evangelical voters in the Republican Party do not believe that the Bible is the literal Word of God, while a separate Wall Street Journal poll showed that only 38 percent of Trump supporters attended worship on a weekly or more basis.

Anthony B. Bradley, chairman of the program in religious and theological studies, who also serves as associate professor of religious studies at King’s College in New York City, told The Christian Post during an interview last month that evangelicalism is not among the top concerns of evangelicals going to the polls.

“Trump evangelicals are evangelicals who have been on the margins. They are not mainstream evangelicals who are burdened by the sort of traditional concerns of the Church. Trump evangelicals are angry. They are mad at the Obama administration. They believe that the Obama administration has ruined the country,” Bradley told CP.

Dr. Richard Land, president of the Southern Evangelical Seminary and executive editor of The Christian Post, questioned the self-identified evangelical supports of Trump, and said that true evangelicals vote for their values.

“I vote my values, my beliefs and my convictions, I’m not pragmatic. Which means I don’t compromise my values, beliefs and convictions for what I may perceive to be my own narrow self-interests. I don’t see pragmatic in the New Testament, I see being salt and light,” said Land.

Okay. Before I begin this rant…err…analysis…please allow me to state up front, that I am a Bible-believing Christian, who lives in the Northwest Corner of the Magnolia State, and I am heavily involved in my local Contemporary Southern Baptist Church.

Dr. Bradley, judging by your position in academia, you are no doubt a learned man.

Saying that, please allow me to ask you this: Who are you to question my Christianity, over whom I decide to cast my vote for in any election, much less this very important one?

Sir, my faith is not marginal. I stand on The Solid Rock, not shifting sands.

Logic dictates that I vote for someone who will keep my family, my friends, and my country safe from the murderous barbarians that are at our gates. It also drives me to choose someone who actually has a chance to defeat the Democrat Candidate, the representative of the political party whose sitting President has driven this Sovereign Nation straight down the Highway to Hell, over the last seven years.

Judging from the Republican Primaries’ outcome, so far, the overwhelming majority of voters believe that candidate to be Donald J. Trump.

Concerning the Gift of Discernment, that gift has led me to observe that there are no Saints running for the Presidency of the United States of America…not one.

It has also led me to discern that Glenn Beck has become crazier than an Outhouse Rat. (That’s a Southern Colloquialism for meshuga, Professor.)

I can remember when The Glenn Beck Program first came on in the Memphis Radio Market.

I remember thinking, “Hey, this fellow’s pretty sharp. He’s entertaining and he makes some excellent political points.”

Through the era of the TEA Party and the 2008 elections, Beck became a TEA Party Darling, standing in solidarity with those Americans, who were “Taxed Enough Already”.

But then…things slowly started to change.

Imperceptible at first, Beck slowly, over a span of years, changed from being an analyzer of the news, to a maker of it. He changed from being a commentator to being a self-appointed prophet.

Now, with the very real possibility of Donald J. Trump becoming the Republican Nominee as their Presidential Candidate, Beck, whose severe case of Trump Derangement Syndrome, has made his once-entertaining radio program unlistenable, has now turned into an Old Testament Prophet, shaming those Christians who may even be thinking about voting for Trump, instead of Beck’s “Anointed” Candidate, Senator Ted Cruz.

I do believe that Beck’s Holy Garments have ridden up into a dark and lonely place.

Finally, addressing Dr. Land…I respect you tremendously, sir.

In responding to your admonition, please allow me to reply with a Facebook Post from last Saturday, from someone that I also respect tremendously, Rev. Franklin Graham:

Trump Madness—It’s “trumping” everything in the news, even March Madness. Do you believe protesters blocking the road to his rally to stop people from getting there today? There are those who passionately support him and others who are adamantly against him. He’s a political phenomenon like our country hasn’t seen before. I don’t think America has ever had a presidential candidate opposed by both establishments, Republican and Democratic, as well as the sitting president. I just hope that as a result of this unforgettable campaign season, politicians on all sides will get the message loud and clear that Americans are tired of the status quo and the corruption that has gripped Washington. Join me in praying for the 2016 elections and for the future of this nation.

That is my hope, as well, sir.

This is in no way meant to be an equal comparison, but, it is the best that I can come up with…

Just as my choice to accept Salvation through Jesus Christ was a Personal Experience, so is my choice as to whom to vote for in both the Republican Primary and this coming November.

Rest assured, Dr. Land, and all of my “Facebook Friends”, who are so concerned about my Christianity, in light of my perceived Presidential Choice, as a Christian, before I make any decision, I always consult with Someone “above my Pay Grade”.

Way Above.

Until He Comes,

Can You Vote For Donald J. Trump and Still Be a Christian? Are You Kiddin’ Me?

On March 18, 2016March 18, 2016 By kingsjesterIn Christianity, Politics1 Comment

In our Sovereign Nation, 75% of Americans still proclaim Jesus Christ as their Personal Savior.

What role will Christian Americans play during this Election Cycle?

The Christian Post reports that

The Reverend Franklin Graham recently stated that Christians need to vote come November and that might include having to choose “the least heathen of the two.”

In an interview with CBN in Denver earlier this week, Rev. Graham stressed the importance of evangelical Christians being involved in the electoral process, saying “I don’t care who wins and who’s out there, you have to vote.”

“And I’m not going to tell people who to vote for, I’m not going to do that — let God tell you who to vote for,” said Graham. “You may have to hold your nose, you may have to decide which is the least heathen of the two heathen.”

Graham’s comments came as he continued his travels across the country to speak on behalf of his Decision America Tour.

“I want to challenge Christians to boldly live out their faith and to pray for our nation and its leaders. I want to encourage Christians to get out and vote, and to cast their ballots for candidates who uphold biblical principles,” stated Graham last April.

“I want to strongly urge Christians to run for public office at every level — local, state, and federal. We will not be endorsing any political candidates, but I will be proclaiming the truth of God’s Gospel in every state.”

Graham’s tour is taking place during a heated primary season of controversial statements, actions, and even legal battles.

Donald Trump, the Republican frontrunner, has been criticized for his inflammatory rhetoric and for the violence that happens at his campaign rallies.

Hillary Clinton, the Democratic frontrunner, is weathering issues surrounding the private email server she had while Secretary of State and may face an indictment as a result.

On Facebook, Graham commented about these developments during the campaign season, believing it to be evidence that America needs a “Godly revolution” to heal its “broken” situation.

“This past week we saw violent protests at political rallies. One candidate is under investigation by the FBI. Another candidate says we need a political revolution. What America needs is a Godly revolution,” wrote Graham.

“Our nation is broken — politically, spiritually, and morally — and our only hope is Almighty God. Let’s take a stand together and pray for God to intervene in this country, to forgive us, and to give us another chance.”

This article attracted my eye, simply because, as the subtitle on my blog states, I am a “Christian American Conservative”.

However, during this Republican Primary Season, I have been called everything but “a Child of God”, simply because I have written factual posts about Donald J. Trump and have stated that, if and when he becomes the Republican Party’s Nominee, I will pencil in the bubble beside his name, as my choice to fill the Office of President of the United States of America.

According to some people, you are not truly a Christian, if you are willing to make that choice.

However, I beg to differ, and I stand with the Reverend Franklin Graham on this issue.

And, here’s why…

I do not believe that Jesus would be a part of the Social Justice Movement, which is so popular among Liberal Churches, today. His was and is a soul-saving movement. One that still brings hundreds of thousand of people to individual salvation on this terrestrial ball every day. A movement that, in fact, was embraced by the founders of this cherished land.

That being said, Rev. Graham, in the article, spoke of “a left movement within the evangelical community that are telling people, ‘If so-and-so wins or this person wins don’t vote.’ ” Rev. Graham went on to add, “I’m just saying, I don’t care who wins and who’s out there, you have to vote.”

When Mitt Romney was the Republican Candidate for President in 2012, a lot of Americans stayed home, rather than vote for Romney.

That may have helped those individuals feel better about themselves, but it also helped to bring them and their fellow citizens four more years of economic suffering under the Presidency of Barack Hussein Obama (mm mmm mmmm).

Just as a Christian’s Salvation is not manifested as a Collective Experience, but a Personal one, so is a Christian American’s Voting Rights a Personal Experience.

I had somebody tell me yesterday, that they would “pray for me” to make the “right” choice, in the upcoming Presidential Election.

While the prayers of others are always appreciated, that hit me as if it was “The Church Lady” saying,

Well, bless your heart.

That’s an old Southern insult, in case you didn’t know.

While Christians, in church and outside of it, represent the corporate Body of Christ, according to scripture, we each possess the gifts of Free Will and Discernment.

These gifts are used by each of us on a daily basis, including aiding in our decision to support a Presidential Candidate in the Election of 2016.

Unlike Liberals and Marxists (but, I may be repeating myself), we do not vote as a collective, nor should we.

There are no Saints running as candidates, on either side, during this Primary Season. Just men and a woman…a very mean woman.

But, I digress…

Each of us must decide for ourselves, as Rev. Graham said, which “heathen” we will vote for.

Since the “Shot Heard ‘Round The World” was fired on April 18, 1775, this country has been built by Christian Americans making individual choices.

My perceived support of Donald J. Trump, through the articles that I write, is my inidivual choice, made through a detailed study of facts and with a heart-felt reverence toward this Sacred Land and the One who brought our Forefathers here.

So…can you vote for Donald J. Trump and still be a Christian?

Certainly you can.

Your Salvation is not determined by your vote…but, by God’s Grace.

So, this November, get out there and vote!

A Charge to Keep We Have.

Until He Comes,

The War Against Christianity: The Myth of “Constitutional Religious Neutrality”

On January 3, 2016 By kingsjesterIn Christianity, Politics1 Comment

Do American Political Leaders have the right to invoke the Name of the God of Abraham in their public speeches?

Or, should they keep their faith out of the Public Arena of Ideas, like the “Smartest People in the Room” keep insisting?

The Washington Post reports that

METAIRIE, La. — Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia said Saturday the idea of religious neutrality is not grounded in the country’s constitutional traditions and that God has been good to the U.S. exactly because Americans honor him.

Scalia was speaking at a Catholic high school in the New Orleans suburb of Metairie, Louisiana. Scalia, who was appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1986 is the court’s longest serving justice. He has consistently been one of the court’s more conservative members.

He told the audience at Archbishop Rummel High School that there is “no place” in the country’s constitutional traditions for the idea that the state must be neutral between religion and its absence.

“To tell you the truth there is no place for that in our constitutional tradition. Where did that come from?” he said. “To be sure, you can’t favor one denomination over another but can’t favor religion over non-religion?”

He also said there is “nothing wrong” with the idea of presidents and others invoking God in speeches. He said God has been good to America because Americans have honored him.

Scalia said during the Sept. 11 attacks he was in Rome at a conference. The next morning, after a speech by President George W. Bush in which he invoked God and asked for his blessing, Scalia said many of the other judges approached him and said they wished their presidents or prime ministers would do the same.

“God has been very good to us. That we won the revolution was extraordinary. The Battle of Midway was extraordinary. I think one of the reasons God has been good to us is that we have done him honor. Unlike the other countries of the world that do not even invoke his name we do him honor. In presidential addresses, in Thanksgiving proclamations and in many other ways,” Scalia said.

“There is nothing wrong with that and do not let anybody tell you that there is anything wrong with that,” he added.

Scalia’s comments Saturday come as the court prepares to hear arguments later this year in a case that challenges part of President Barack Obama’s health care law and whether it adequately shields faith-based hospitals, colleges and charities from having to offer contraceptive coverage to their employees.

For what now seems like an eternity, those on the Left side of Political Aisle, spearheaded by President Barack Hussein Obama, have focused their attention on “radically changing” America.