For God and Country: Head of Southern Baptists Speaks Out About June 21st Evangelical Meeting With Trump.

th0MSCP94RThe blessing and protection of Heaven are at all times necessary but especially so in times of public distress and danger. The General hopes and trusts that every officer and man will endeavor to live and act as becomes a Christian soldier, defending the dearest rights and liberties of his country. – General George Washington, First President of the United States of America, July 9, 1776

The Christian Post reports that

Southern Baptist Convention President Dr. Ronnie Floyd will join other evangelical Christian leaders next month in a meeting with Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.

Dr. Floyd was invited to the gathering, which may get over 500 attendees, by the conservative Christian group United in Purpose.

In an interview with The Christian Post, Floyd explained that he wants to get a “deeper understanding” of Trump and his goals should he become president.

“I am highly interested in a deeper understanding and the genuineness of his commitment to appoint strong conservative justices for our Supreme Court,” said Floyd.

“I was honored to be invited, and I’m genuinely interested in getting to know the person who could be the next president of the United States.”

Floyd also noted to CP that he hopes to ask Trump about matters like Supreme Court nominees, the pro-life and religious liberty issues, and racial reconciliation matters.

“The silence of all candidates on this issue is deafening, yet it remains explosive and concerning to our future as a nation. From the beginning of my tenure as president of the Southern Baptist Convention, I’ve worked to heal the racial divide in this and in fact we will be dedicating a good portion of our annual meeting to this cause,” continued Floyd.

“So, this is also an issue of great importance. I want to know how he will stand up for what we care about but also how he will bring together a divided country.”

Earlier this week the conservative Christian groups United in Purpose and My Faith Votes announced that evangelical Christian leaders will meet with Donald Trump.

Dubbed “A Conversation About America’s Future with Donald Trump and Ben Carson,” the event is scheduled for June 21 in New York City. Hundreds of evangelicals have been invited.

Dr. Ben Carson, the head of My Faith Votes and former primary opponent to Trump, said in a statement Wednesday that dialogue is the major theme for the gathering.

“This moment is perhaps the most critical in the history of our nation, and people of faith can make a crucial difference for our children and grandchildren by exercising their civic duty to cast an informed vote based on a biblical worldview,” stated Dr. Carson.

“The goal is that coming out of this meaningful ‘conversation,’ the faith leaders and Mr. Trump will be more informed about each other and would know one another better, and that he would see their unity in seeking God’s direction for the future of America.”

A crucial component of the Republican voting bloc, evangelical Christians have given mixed results for the billionaire real estate mogul and GOP presidential hopeful.

Darren Patrick Guerra, an associate professor of Political Science at Biola University, recently released research from exit polls showing that while a plurality of evangelical Republicans voted for Trump, the vast majority supported other candidates.

“64% of evangelicals in all southern states voted for someone other than Trump. Indeed, a majority (51%) voted collectively for either Rubio or Cruz instead of Trump,” wrote Guerra in March.

“In addition, one must also realize that these polls only address Republican primary voters, but there are significant groups of evangelicals who are Democrats or Independents, so the anti-Trump vote amongst all evangelicals in the country might reach 80-90% once non-Republican primary voters are accounted for. With these numbers it seems difficult to draw the conclusion that evangelicals widely support Trump.”

Floyd, who is involved with My Faith Votes, told CP that he believes the June meeting has a “cooperative spirit” and that like many fellow evangelical leaders he has neither endorsed Trump nor any of his remaining opponents.

“Most of us have chosen to endorse issues rather than candidates and we have been seeking to find out more about him in this uncertain election process,” said Floyd.

“Additionally, when I found out the meeting was going to be a conversation with Mr. Trump about the things that concern us as conservative Americans and conservative evangelical Christians, rather than listening to a speech from him to us, I knew I must be a part of this conversation.”

As a Southern Baptist who supports Donald Trump, this article interests me.

Dr. Floyd, as much as I respect you, sir, I must advise you that I, through God’s Gift of Discernment, will decide, as a  Christian American Conservative, whom I will vote for in the Presidential Election this November.

I also question the conclusion reached by Dr. Guerra and the validity of the polls which he used to reached that conclusion.

But I digress…

Sir, 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 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, the overwhelming majority of voters believe that candidate to be Donald J. Trump.

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, 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 a recent article which was posted during the Republican Primaries, 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 not too long ago, 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 and disingenuous woman.

But, again, I digress…

Each of us must decide for ourselves whom we will vote for to fill the position of President of the United States of America.

Since the “Shot Heard ‘Round The World” was fired in April of 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.

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.

And…

‘Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far,

And grace will lead me home!

Until He Comes,

KJ

Keeping the Faith: Lighting a Candle in the Darkness (A KJ Op Ed)

WashingtonPrayingThere are times that I feel like  an anachronism.

I have been told that, in no uncertain terms, over and over again, by  self-identified “Libertarians”, and Modern American Liberals, both groups who worship at the altar of Popular Culture and Political Correctness, which these individuals so vociferously “evangelize” for on Political Facebook Pages on the internet…all day and all night long.

My crime?

I refuse to sublimate my American Heritage of Christianity to situational ethics and relative morality, which they have embraced with a Jim Jones-like cultish fervor, while sacrificing their individuality to become a part of the “Hive Mind”.

Dictionary.com defines an anachronism as

something or someone that is not in its correct historical or chronological time, especially a thing or person that belongs to an earlier time.

I suppose that’s me.

I started this Blog as a way to vent my frustrations with the ever-evolving “societal norms” and political mayhem around me. A lot of things just grated on my nerves. They still do.

I was “reared” (as we say in Dixie, a term that is now under attack by the “Hive Mind”) by a Mother and Daddy (Southern colloquialism for a Male Parental Unit) who were members of the Greatest Generation. In fact, I was born 3 days before my mother’s 40th brithday. To this day, I believe that they were going to name me “Oops”.

My view of the world around me was shaped and nurtured by my Daddy, a Christian American, and the finest man I’ve ever known, who served with an Army Engineering Unit, as a Master Sergeant, in World War II, and who jumped off of a perfectly good boat into a hail of gunfire to join his American Brothers in the tide-turning American Victory known as “D-Day”.

Between him and my Mother, they taught me what it was to be a hard-working, Middle Class Christian American Conservative….and, to be proud of it.

But now, at 56 years old, living in a nation whose president, an anti-American, Muslim-sympathizing, political-pandering, class warfare-preaching, card-carrying Communist, got re-hired for a job in which, if he were in the private section, his butt would have gotten canned  within the first 7 months, I feel as if I’m beating my dadgum head against the wall until it’s bloody, and for no cotton-pickin’ reason at all.

Why am I feeling that way?

Well, there are several reasons.

1. This country re-elected an idiot. Now, I realize that’s been done before. But, they all paled in comparison to this guy. I believe that “Scooter”, my pet name for Barack Hussein Obama (mm mmm mmm), burnt up the vast majority of his gray matter during his “Choom Gang” days in Hawaii, and now, as an old friend, a former Meth-head, who, sadly, later committed suicide, used to tell me, he has “2 brain cells left and they’re fighting to the death”. I pray we survive until the end of his tenure, which, praise God, is coming quickly.

2.  Evidently, Americans, at least the majority of the ones that actually got up off the couch (Pookie, included) to vote on that November 6th, wanted the Federal Government to take care of them, cradle to grave. Rush Limbaugh labelled this symptom, “The Baracky Claus Effect”.  I pray, that, just as the Proletariat eventually figured out in the old Soviet Union, Americans are going to wake up one day, to find that mega-dependence on The State to run your life, leads to the loss of personal freedom. And those, who believe that they are “the most enlightened people in the room”, will be the first ones hollering, when they discover that their freedom has been taken away.

3. America seems to be devolving into a collection of Libertines. Notice, I did not say “Libertarians”, although, both descriptive words come from the same root word. A Libertine is, per Merriam-Webster.com,

a person who is unrestrained by convention or morality: one leading a dissolute (lacking moral restraint) life

Being a Libertarian used to mean you wanted less Government in your life and less restrictions on your personal happiness. Notice I said used to mean. Now, Libertine and Libertarian both seem to mean the same thing to the majority of posters self-identifying as members of the latter group on Internet chat boards.

Caligula’s Horse approves.

I suppose I could pontificate on the fallen nature of Man at this point, but, that’s fairly self-evident…and, as the late Freddie Prinze used to say, “Ees not my yob, man.”

4. Finally, but not the least important observation, by any means, I have watched The Faith upon which our nation was built, come under attack, by this president and his Administration, and by the “smartest people in the room”, who seem to empathaze more with those who wish to tear this country asunder, our enemies, both internally and externally.

A while back, I was asked to define what it means to be a Christian American Conservative.  After all, that’s how I identify myself and that is what it says on the top of this blog, since I began this exercise in ranting and raving in April of 2010.

Let’s perform a dissection, shall we?

First word:  Christian – A follower of Jesus Christ.

I was raised as a Christian by my parents and accepted Christ as my personal Savior many years ago.

Here are some interesting things about Christianity to consider, written by Dr. Ray Pritchard and posted on christianity.com:

1) The name “Christian” was not invented by early Christians. It was a name given to them by others.
2) Christians called themselves by different names—disciples, believers, brethren, saints, the elect, etc.
3) The term apparently had a negative meaning in the beginning: “those belonging to the Christ party.”
4) It was a term of contempt or derision.
5) We can get a flavor for it if we take the word “Christ” and keep that pronunciation. You “Christ-ians.”
6) It literally means “Christ-followers.”
7) Over time a derogatory term became a positive designation.
8) Occasionally you will hear someone spit the term out in the same way it was used in the beginning. “You Christians think you’re the only ones going to heaven.”
9) There was a sense of suffering and reproach attached to the word in the New Testament.

In working my way toward an answer to “What is a Christian?” I decided to check out the dictionary. I found these two definitions:

1. One who professes belief in Jesus as Christ or follows the religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus. 2. One who lives according to the teachings of Jesus.”

That’s actually quite helpful because it gives some content to the word. To be a Christian means that you . . .

Believe Something
Follow Something
Live Something
A Fully Devoted Follower To borrow a contemporary phrase, we could simply say that a Christian is a “fully devoted follower of Jesus.” As I think about that, two insights come to mind.

1) It doesn’t happen by accident. You are not “born” a Christian nor are you a Christian because of your family heritage. Being a Christian is not like being Irish. You aren’t a Christian simply because you were born into a Christian family.
2) It requires conversion of the heart. By using the term “conversion,” I simply mean what Jesus meant when he said that to be his disciple meant to deny yourself, take up your cross and follow him (Luke 9:23). The heart itself must be changed so that you become a follower of the Lord.

Second word: American – A citizen of the United States of America.

Stephen M. Warchawsky, wrote the following in an article for americanthinker.org:

So what, then, does it mean to be an American? I suspect that most of us believe, like Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart in describing pornography, that we “know it when we see it.” For example, John Wayne, Amelia Earhart, and Bill Cosby definitely are Americans. The day laborers standing on the street corner probably are not. But how do we put this inner understanding into words? It’s not easy. Unlike most other nations on Earth, the American nation is not strictly defined in terms of race or ethnicity or ancestry or religion. George Washington may be the Father of Our Country (in my opinion, the greatest American who ever lived), but there have been in the past, and are today, many millions of patriotic, hardworking, upstanding Americans who are not Caucasian, or Christian, or of Western European ancestry. Yet they are undeniably as American as you or I (by the way, I am Jewish of predominantly Eastern European ancestry). Any definition of “American” that excludes such folks — let alone one that excludes me! — cannot be right.

Consequently, it is just not good enough to say, as some immigration restrictionists do, that this is a “white-majority, Western country.” Yes, it is. But so are, for example, Ireland and Sweden and Portugal. Clearly, this level of abstraction does not take us very far towards understanding what it means to be “an American.” Nor is it all that helpful to say that this is an English-speaking, predominately Christian country. While I think these features get us closer to the answer, there are millions of English-speaking (and non-English-speaking) Christians in the world who are not Americans, and millions of non-Christians who are. Certainly, these fundamental historical characteristics are important elements in determining who we are as a nation. Like other restrictionists, I am opposed to public policies that seek, by design or by default, to significantly alter the nation’s “demographic profile.” Still, it must be recognized that demography alone does not, and cannot, explain what it means to be an American.

So where does that leave us? I think the answer to our question, ultimately, must be found in the realms of ideology and culture. What distinguishes the United States from other nations, and what unites the disparate peoples who make up our country, are our unique political, economic, and social values, beliefs, and institutions. Not race, or religion, or ancestry.

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

J. Matt Barber 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.

In conclusion, I, a Christian American Conservative, am a follower of Jesus Christ and a citizen of the United States of America (by the Grace of God), who holds to traditional values and attitudes.

So, where do I go from here? Do I run away, with my tail between my legs, and live out the rest of my days in quiet desperation?

To any of you who repled, “yes”…you don’t know me very well.

Greater is He who is in me, than he who is in the world.

My Creator, while endowing me with certain inalienable rights, also endowed me with an indomitable will. Then, somewhere along my journey, He gave me the gift of being able to express my thoughts and feelings on this computer keyboard.

I will not give up. I will not surrender my Christianity, my love of the greatest nation on God’s green Earth, or my Conservatism, to appease those who wish everybody would just get in line and acquiesce to the prevailing “societal norms”.  I follow another set of guidelines, written a long time ago, but which remain as relevant as the moment in which the Hand of God guided those who wrote them down.

Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, – Colossians 3:23 (ESV)

I pray that you, the reader, are able to glean that from my blogs.  Because, as Matthew 6:21 tells us:

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

May God bless you and yours,

KJ

Shining the Light? Or, Just a Quixotic Folly? Why Do I Keep Blogging? (A KJ Sunday Morning Reflection)

American Christianity 2I am an anachronism.

I have been told that,  by “Libertarians”,repeatedly, on Internet Chat Boards, on the World Wide Web.

Dictionary.com defines an anachronism as

something or someone that is not in its correct historical or chronological time, especially a thing or person that belongs to an earlier time.

I suppose that’s me.

I started this Blog as a way to vent my frustrations with the ever-evolving “societal norms” and political mayhem around me. A lot of things just grated on my nerves. They still do.

I was “reared” (as we say in Dixie) by a Mother and Daddy (Southern colloquialism for a Male Parental Unit) who were members of the Greatest Generation. In fact, I was born 3 days before my mother’s 40th brithday. To this day, I believe that they were going to name me “Oops”.

My view of the world around me was shaped and nurtured by my Daddy, a Christian American, and the finest man I’ve ever known, who served with an Army Engineering Unit, as a Master Sergeant, in World War II, and who jumped off of a perfectly good boat into a hail of gunfire to join his American Brothers in the tide-turning American Victory known as “D-Day”.

Between him and my Mother, they taught me what it was to be a hard-working, Middle Class Christian American Conservative….and, to be proud of it.

But now, at 55 years old, trying to survive the presidency of an anti-American, Muslim-sympathizing, political-pandering, class warfare-preaching, card-carrying Communist, who went golfing yesterday, while sending more than 3,000 of our Brightest and Best, to Africa to be exposed to a disease which has now landed on our very shores, threatening our citizenry, I wonder if at times, if my self-assigned duty of writing this blog everyday, is actually worth the effort.  I’m beginning to feel like I’m beating my dadgum head against the wall until it’s bloody, and for no cotton-pickin’ reason at all.

Why am I feelng that way?

Well, there are several reasons.

1. This country re-elected an idiot. Now, I realize that’s been done before. But, they all paled in comparison to this guy. I believe that “Scooter”, my pet name for Barack Hussein Obama (mm mmm mmm), burnt up the vast majority of his gray matter during his “Choom Gang” days in Hawaii, and now, as an old friend, a former Meth-head, who, sadly, later committed suicide this time of year, used to tell me, he has “2 brain cells left and they’re fighting to the death”. I pray we survive the next 4 years.

2.  Evidently, Americans, at least the majority of the ones that actually got up off the couch (Pookie, included) to vote on November 6th, want the Federal Government to take care of them, cradle to grave. Rush Limbaugh labelled this symptom, “The Baracky Claus Effect”.  I pray, that, just as the Proletariat eventually figured out in the old Soviet Union, Americans are going to wake up one day, to find that mega-dependence on The State to run your life, leads to the loss of personal freedom. And those, who believe that they are “the most enlightened people in the room”, will be the first ones hollering, when they discover that their freedom has been taken away.

3. America seems to be devolving into a collection of Libertines. Notice, I did not say “Libertarians”, although, both descriptive words come from the same root word. A Libertine is, per Merriam-Webster.com,

a person who is unrestrained by convention or morality: one leading a dissolute (lacking moral restraint) life

Being a Libertarian used to mean you wanted less Government in your life and less restrictions on your personal happiness. Notice I said used to mean. Now, Libertine and Libertarian both seem to mean the same thing to the majority of posters self-identifying as members of the latter group on Internet chat boards.

Caligula’s Horse approves.

I suppose I could pontificate on the fallen nature of Man at this point, but, that’s fairly self-evident…and, as the late Freddie Prinze used to say, “Ees not my yob, man.”

4. Finally, I was told the other day, during the before-mentioned “discussion” on that Facebook Page, that my blog was considered a “joke”. I allowed this to hurt me very deeply. You see, since April of 2010, I have devoted a lot of time and effort to putting my ideas, however old-fashioned and cornball they are, down on paper. I truly enjoy doing it. I must. I haven’t made a dadgum dime off of it.

A while back, I was asked to define what it means to be a Christian American Conservative.  After all, that’s how I identify myself and that is what it says on the top of this blog, since I began this exercise in ranting and raving in April of 2010.

Let’s perform a dissection, shall we?

First word:  Christian – A follower of Jesus Christ.

I was raised as a Christian by my parents and accepted Christ as my personal Savior many years ago.

Here are some interesting things about Christianity to consider, written by Dr. Ray Pritchard and posted on christianity.com:

1) The name “Christian” was not invented by early Christians. It was a name given to them by others.
2) Christians called themselves by different names—disciples, believers, brethren, saints, the elect, etc.
3) The term apparently had a negative meaning in the beginning: “those belonging to the Christ party.”
4) It was a term of contempt or derision.
5) We can get a flavor for it if we take the word “Christ” and keep that pronunciation. You “Christ-ians.”
6) It literally means “Christ-followers.”
7) Over time a derogatory term became a positive designation.
8) Occasionally you will hear someone spit the term out in the same way it was used in the beginning. “You Christians think you’re the only ones going to heaven.”
9) There was a sense of suffering and reproach attached to the word in the New Testament.

In working my way toward an answer to “What is a Christian?” I decided to check out the dictionary. I found these two definitions:

1. One who professes belief in Jesus as Christ or follows the religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus. 2. One who lives according to the teachings of Jesus.”

That’s actually quite helpful because it gives some content to the word. To be a Christian means that you . . .

Believe Something
Follow Something
Live Something
A Fully Devoted Follower To borrow a contemporary phrase, we could simply say that a Christian is a “fully devoted follower of Jesus.” As I think about that, two insights come to mind.

1) It doesn’t happen by accident. You are not “born” a Christian nor are you a Christian because of your family heritage. Being a Christian is not like being Irish. You aren’t a Christian simply because you were born into a Christian family.
2) It requires conversion of the heart. By using the term “conversion,” I simply mean what Jesus meant when he said that to be his disciple meant to deny yourself, take up your cross and follow him (Luke 9:23). The heart itself must be changed so that you become a follower of the Lord.

Second word: American – A citizen of the United States of America.

Stephen M. Warchawsky, wrote the following in an article for americanthinker.org:

So what, then, does it mean to be an American? I suspect that most of us believe, like Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart in describing pornography, that we “know it when we see it.” For example, John Wayne, Amelia Earhart, and Bill Cosby definitely are Americans. The day laborers standing on the street corner probably are not. But how do we put this inner understanding into words? It’s not easy. Unlike most other nations on Earth, the American nation is not strictly defined in terms of race or ethnicity or ancestry or religion. George Washington may be the Father of Our Country (in my opinion, the greatest American who ever lived), but there have been in the past, and are today, many millions of patriotic, hardworking, upstanding Americans who are not Caucasian, or Christian, or of Western European ancestry. Yet they are undeniably as American as you or I (by the way, I am Jewish of predominantly Eastern European ancestry). Any definition of “American” that excludes such folks — let alone one that excludes me! — cannot be right.

Consequently, it is just not good enough to say, as some immigration restrictionists do, that this is a “white-majority, Western country.” Yes, it is. But so are, for example, Ireland and Sweden and Portugal. Clearly, this level of abstraction does not take us very far towards understanding what it means to be “an American.” Nor is it all that helpful to say that this is an English-speaking, predominately Christian country. While I think these features get us closer to the answer, there are millions of English-speaking (and non-English-speaking) Christians in the world who are not Americans, and millions of non-Christians who are. Certainly, these fundamental historical characteristics are important elements in determining who we are as a nation. Like other restrictionists, I am opposed to public policies that seek, by design or by default, to significantly alter the nation’s “demographic profile.” Still, it must be recognized that demography alone does not, and cannot, explain what it means to be an American.

So where does that leave us? I think the answer to our question, ultimately, must be found in the realms of ideology and culture. What distinguishes the United States from other nations, and what unites the disparate peoples who make up our country, are our unique political, economic, and social values, beliefs, and institutions. Not race, or religion, or ancestry.

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

J. Matt Barber 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.

In conclusion, I, a Christian American Conservative, am a follower of Jesus Christ and a citizen of the United States of America (by the Grace of God), who holds to traditional values and attitudes.

So, where do I go from here? Do I run away, with my tail between my legs, and live out the rest of my days in quiet desperation?

To any of you who repled, “yes”…you don’t know me very well.

Greater is He who is in me, than he who is in the world.

My Creator, while endowing me with certain inalienable rights, also endowed me with an indomitable will. Then, somewhere along my journey, He gave me the gift of being able to express my thoughts and feelings on this computer keyboard.

I will not give up. I will not surrender my Christianity, my love of the greatest nation on God’s green Earth, or my Conservatism, to appease those who wish everybody would just get in line and acquiesce to the prevailing “societal norms”.  I follow another set of guidelines, written a long time ago, but which remain as relevant as the moment in which the Hand of God guided those who wrote them down.

Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, – Colossians 3:23 (ESV)

I pray that you, the reader, are able to glean that from my blogs.  Because, as Matthew 6:21 tells us:

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

May God bless you and yours,

KJ

Troubling Week/Troubled Country – Reflections From a Christian American Conservative

GodRonald ReaganFlag9122014As I sit here, reviewing the events of the past week, I have come to the conclusion that this noble experiment, which our Forefathers pledged their “lives, fortunes, and sacred honor” to birth, is in serious trouble.

Being a Christian American Conservative, as the subtitle of my blog states, I invariably turn to the Living Word of the One Who Made Me, for answers.

This American Saturday Morning, I am going to relate the scriptures which have helped me to reflect upon the problems besetting this Shining City Upon a Hill and the conclusions I’ve reached after reading them.

But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.- 2 Timothy 3:1-5 (ESV)

This past week, America witnessed a speech by an American President in which he promised to defeat evil by remote control, the National Football League covering up for a player who knocked his fiancé (now wife) out in an elevator, and 100 black youths attacking one shopper and two Kroger employees at a store which sits on Poplar Avenue, the most-traveled street in my hometown.

1. In Obama’s speech, he stated that ISIL was not a part of Islam. I guess them shouting “Allahu Akbar!” as they behead the infidels, means they’re Jehovah’s Witnesses?

2. Baltimore Ravens Player Ray Rice, has been fired for knocking out his fiancé (now wife) while they were arguing in an elevator, which just happened to have a camera in it. As the story continued to roll out this past week, it was learned that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell had a hand in covering up the brutality. Thursday night, Ravens Fans showed up at this week’s game dressed in Ray Rice Jerseys in jaw-dropping support of the low-life.

3.  Last Saturday night, in my hometown of Memphis, Tennessee, one shopper and two Kroger Employees were attacked by a mob of over 100 black youths. The incident happened around 9:15 p.m. in the parking lot of the Kroger at Highland and Poplar. A store employee caught video of the attack. A 25-year-old man said he was attacked by the group as he walked to his car. Two Kroger employees, 17 and 18, ran to help the man. Both were repeatedly hit in the head and face. The teens told police pumpkins “in excess of 20 pounds” were thrown on their heads while they were on the ground. Police say both teens lost consciousness.  Eventually, a security guard stopped the attack.  The Kroger Employees were taken to the hospital and released to their parents. The video has spread via Facebook and other social media sites. So far, police have arrested 11 out of the 100 youths.

There seems to be an air of selfishness, immorality, and lawlessness, which has settled, like a dark cloud, over our country. Instead of caring for others and trying to accomplish something with their lives, we seem to be bearing witness to a generation which was perfectlydescribed in 2 Timothy.

But, what is the answer? Is there a chance to restore America?

For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. – Galations 5:1 (ESV)

First off, in order for America to remain free, our military must be strong.

On the 8th of March, 1983, President Ronald Reagan spoke to the National Association of Evangelicals. This speech became widely known as “the Evil Empire Speech”, because, within the context of the speech, he detailed the evils of Marxism. Within that speech, President Reagan spoke of our duty to God and to our Country…and to PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH…

It was C.S. Lewis who, in his unforgettable “Screwtape Letters,” wrote: “The greatest evil is not done now…in those sordid ‘dens of crime’ that Dickens loved to paint. It is…not even done in concentration camps and labor camps. In those we see its final result, but it is conceived and ordered; moved, seconded, carried and minuted in clear, carpeted, warmed, and well-lighted offices, by quiet men with white collars and cut fingernails and smooth-shaven cheeks who do not need to raise their voice.”

Well, because these “quiet men” do not “raise their voices,” because they sometimes speak in soothing tones of brotherhood and peace, because, like other dictators before them, they’re always making “their final territorial demand,” some would have us accept them at their word and accommodate ourselves to their aggressive impulses. But if history teaches anything, it teaches that simpleminded appeasement or wishful thinking about our adversaries is folly. It means the betrayal of our past, the squandering of our freedom.

So, I urge you to speak out against those who would place the United States in a position of military and moral inferiority. You know, I’ve always believed that old Screwtape reserved his best efforts for those of you in the Church. So, in your discussions of the nuclear freeze proposals, I urge you to beware the temptation of pride–the temptation of blithely..uh..declaring yourselves above it all and label both sides equally at fault, to ignore the facts of history and the aggressive impulses of an evil empire, to simply call the arms race a giant misunderstanding and thereby remove yourself from the struggle between right and wrong and good and evil.

 I ask you to resist the attempts of those who would have you withhold your support for our efforts, this administration’s efforts, to keep America strong and free, while we negotiate–real and verifiable reductions in the world’s nuclear arsenals and one day, with God’s help, their total elimination.

While America’s military strength is important, let me add here that I’ve always maintained that the struggle now going on for the world will never be decided by bombs or rockets, by armies or military might. The real crisis we face today is a spiritual one; at root, it is a test of moral will and faith.

Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. – 1 Peter 2:16 ( ESV)

A strong military will ensure our external defense against our enemies. How do we ensure the internal defense of our country?

Benjamin Franklin said,

Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters.

What Dr. Franklin was talking about is the fact, as you’ve seen me state time and time again, that with Freedom comes Responsibility. Our actions have a direct effect on those around us.

Furthermore, man is a corrupt animal. Every child learns how to lie, at an early age. That is why we are told as parents to “raise a child in the way in which they should go”.

And, as those of us my age have observed, in the last couple of generations, there are less parents heeding that admonition from God’s Word.

Walk into any Walmart across America, and observe the behavior of children and their parents. It have become almost impossible to walk though a Walmart without almost running over a kid. And, please don’t stand there and wait for an apology from the mother of the “precious darling”, those come few and far between.

To be bold, a lot of these undisciplined children, grow up to be young adults, who seem to be allergic to responsibility. These are the ones, who, after college, refuse to leave home. Like the movie title, they experience a “Failure to Launch”.

Their every breathing moment is a quest for self-fulfillment, and an all-consuming involvement in a love affair…with themselves.

This selfishness guides their political ideology, as well. Usually these individuals become, either Liberals, or, they identify themselves as (l)ibertarians. Those who identify themselves as Liberals, believe that their intellect is innately higher than the rest of us, and, therefore, they should be able to be the Elite Class, political party in charge of our nation. Those who choose to identify themselves as (l)ibertarians, claim to believe in Fiscal Conservatism, and  Social Liberalism.

There is also a different sort of Libertarian in America….those who believe in the Constitution and the liberty of the individual. Those “Constitutionalists” are not the ones to whom I am referring.

Where the problem arises is the fact that Liberalism, (l)ibertarian, and Libertine all share the same root word “lib”, which means “free”. The word “Liberty” contains that word, also.

The problem is, “Freedom” or “Liberty” without conscience, is licentiousness. And, unrestricted  licentiousness will destroy an empire.

If man is left to his own devices, he usually builds his own Golden Calf.

And, I am afraid that is what has happened in this sacred land.

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.- 2 Corinthians 3:17 (ESV)

America’s Progressives, who are presently in power, are relentless in their mission to remove the God of Our Fathers from “the Shining City on a Hill”.

Just as the Ancient Greeks and the Roman Empire, through their acceptance and acquiescence to the trappings of a morally bankrupt society, allowed their enemies, foreign and domestic to overrun them and destroy their civilizations, so is our nation, carved out of the blood and sacrifice of those who have gone before, in danger of allowing the Tyranny of the Minority to subjugate the 78% of us who claim Jesus Christ as our Personal Savior.

The thing about a slippery slope is: once you start down it, its hard to climb back up.

The Good News? 

I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. – John 12:46 (ESV)

Jesus Christ is over all…and, He loves us.

Stay strong, Americans…and PRAY FOR OUR NATION.

Until He Comes,

KJ

My 1,600th Blog: Making Sense of a “Ball of Confusion”

BrancoObamaKerryBibi 7282014As I sit down to write today, the world all around us continues to unravel.  Israel and  the Muslim Terrorist Organization, Hamas, are engaged in a bloody conflict.  Russian is in the process of annexing all of the Eastern European countries it lost during the dissolution of the old Soviet Union. Europe is being invaded by Muslim Immigrants, seeking to establish Sharia Law in their “new homes”.

Meanwhile, here in the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave, the petulant prevaricator, who won the last two elections by promising FREE STUFF to the 47% of Americans dependent on Uncle Sugar for their very existence, is well into “radically changing” “the Shining City Upon a Hill” into a Third World Barrio.

In 1970, the world, including our Sovereign Nation, was also in turmoil, as one generation clashed with another over social mores and the “antiquated concepts” of Right and Wrong.

Out of that tumultuous time, came a lot of great songs chronicling what was happening, none better than the classic song ” Ball of Confusion”, performed by the mighty, mighty Temptations.

Taking keyboard in hand, I channeled my inner “David Ruffin” and penned some new lyrics for the mess we find ourselves in today.

BALL OF CONFUSION 2014

People at our border, from across the open range

Obama’s let them in, just a part of  “radical change”

Swam the Rio Grande to the other side

One man, one vote! We tote the note!

We gotta take care of these “refugees”!

Rap on, Barry, rap on

While the only people talking ’bout taking them in, are the Liberals

And it seems nobody’s interested in the fact…that they’re criminals

Immigration, migration, invasion, demonstration,

Deportation, aggravation, obfuscation,

No obligation to our nation

Ball of confusion

Oh yeah, that’s what the world is today

Woo, hey, hey

Birth Control Pills should be free, the Libs cry

Even though they cost eight dollars to buy

For Hobby Lobby Lobby, the Supreme Court ruled

On the Constitution, the Libs got schooled

Patricide, Fraticide, Chicago Homocide, the elderly brutilized,

American Infanticide, there’s no place to hide

Obama says more taxes will solve everything

And Obama golfs on

So, round and around and around we go

Where the world’s headed, said nobody knows

To a great extent

Obama’s voting “Present”!

Just a ball of confusion

Oh yeah, that’s what the world is today

Woo, hey, hey

Israel getting bombed, being told not to respond

Unemployment is still high, Americans need not apply

And the only ones getting taken care of…are the “refugees”

And Obama golfs on

Eve of destruction, military reduction, “Religion of Peace”, “Mark of the Beast”

Healthcare on demand, taxes out of hand, Death Panels, marijuana legalized

Assisted Suicides, Muslims all over Europe are shouting

‘Kill the Jews!’

And Obama golfs on

To a great extent

Obama’s voting “Present”!

It’s a ball of confusion

That’s what the world is today, hey, hey

Let me hear ya, let me hear ya, let me hear ya

Sayin’ ball of confusion

That’s what the world is today, hey, hey

Let me hear ya, let me hear ya

Let me hear ya, let me hear ya, let me hear ya

Sayin’ ball of confusion…

As a Christian American Conservative, trying to understand the cavalier attitude toward the world crumbling around them, by those whose political ideology and morality lies on the “other side” of the Political aisle, makes my head hurt.

Being an average American, having been raised by members of the Greatest Generation, I cannot fathom not worshiping the God of Abraham, Who numbered the hairs on my head. I cannot fathom not saying the Pledge of Allegiance with my hand over my heart (Yes, Mrs. Obama, all this for a flag.). And, I cannot comprehend how anybody, being privileged to live in America, could believe that there is a better country on the face of God’s green Earth.

A while back, I was asked to define what it means to be a Christian American Conservative.  After all, that’s how I identify myself and that is what it says on the top of this blog.

Let’s perform a dissection, shall we?

First word:  Christian – A follower of Jesus Christ.

I was raised as a Christian by my parents and accepted Christ as my personal Savior many years ago.

Here are some interesting things about Christianity to consider, written by Dr. Ray Pritchard and posted on christianity.com:

1) The name “Christian” was not invented by early Christians. It was a name given to them by others.
2) Christians called themselves by different names—disciples, believers, brethren, saints, the elect, etc.
3) The term apparently had a negative meaning in the beginning: “those belonging to the Christ party.”
4) It was a term of contempt or derision.
5) We can get a flavor for it if we take the word “Christ” and keep that pronunciation. You “Christ-ians.”
6) It literally means “Christ-followers.”
7) Over time a derogatory term became a positive designation.
8) Occasionally you will hear someone spit the term out in the same way it was used in the beginning. “You Christians think you’re the only ones going to heaven.”
9) There was a sense of suffering and reproach attached to the word in the New Testament.

In working my way toward an answer to “What is a Christian?” I decided to check out the dictionary. I found these two definitions:

1. One who professes belief in Jesus as Christ or follows the religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus. 2. One who lives according to the teachings of Jesus.”

That’s actually quite helpful because it gives some content to the word. To be a Christian means that you . . .

Believe Something
Follow Something
Live Something

A Fully Devoted Follower –  To borrow a contemporary phrase, we could simply say that a Christian is a “fully devoted follower of Jesus.” As I think about that, two insights come to mind.

1) It doesn’t happen by accident. You are not “born” a Christian nor are you a Christian because of your family heritage. Being a Christian is not like being Irish. You aren’t a Christian simply because you were born into a Christian family.
2) It requires conversion of the heart. By using the term “conversion,” I simply mean what Jesus meant when he said that to be his disciple meant to deny yourself, take up your cross and follow him (Luke 9:23). The heart itself must be changed so that you become a follower of the Lord.

Second word: American – A citizen of the United States of America.

Stephen M. Warchawsky, wrote the following in an article foramericanthinker.org:

So what, then, does it mean to be an American? I suspect that most of us believe, like Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart in describing pornography, that we “know it when we see it.” For example, John Wayne, Amelia Earhart, and Bill Cosby definitely are Americans. The day laborers standing on the street corner probably are not. But how do we put this inner understanding into words? It’s not easy. Unlike most other nations on Earth, the American nation is not strictly defined in terms of race or ethnicity or ancestry or religion. George Washington may be the Father of Our Country (in my opinion, the greatest American who ever lived), but there have been in the past, and are today, many millions of patriotic, hardworking, upstanding Americans who are not Caucasian, or Christian, or of Western European ancestry. Yet they are undeniably as American as you or I (by the way, I am Jewish of predominantly Eastern European ancestry). Any definition of “American” that excludes such folks — let alone one that excludes me! — cannot be right.

…it must be recognized that demography alone does not, and cannot, explain what it means to be an American.

So where does that leave us? I think the answer to our question, ultimately, must be found in the realms of ideology and culture. What distinguishes the United States from other nations, and what unites the disparate peoples who make up our country, are our unique political, economic, and social values, beliefs, and institutions.Not race, or religion, or ancestry.

The following United States Oath of Citizenship must be taken by all immigrants who wish to become naturalized citizens of the United States:

I hereby declare, on oath,

that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen;
that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic;
that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same;
that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by law;
that I will perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States when required by the law;
that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law;
and that I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God.
In acknowledgement whereof I have hereunto affixed my signature.

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

J. Matt Barber 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.

In conclusion, I, a Christian American Conservative, am a follower of Jesus Christ and a citizen of the United States of America (by the Grace of God), who holds to traditional values and attitudes.

When I started this blog, in April of 2010, I did not  know what I was going to write about,  I just knew that I needed to vent. And vent, I have. On this, the occasion of my 1,600th post, I wish to thank you, my faithful readers, for your support.

You will never know how much it means to me.

May God Bless You All.

Until He Comes,

KJ.

America and the Son of God

American FreedomI have been writing a lot lately about the Culture War going on in our nation and the war between Christianity and those who would rather our nation ignore the “Faith of Our Fathers”, because if we do, we are a more subservient to the will of those who stride the Halls of Power.

Unfortunately for “The New Pharisees”, us darn American Christians are still alive and well, by the Grace of God.

According to The Hollywood Reporter,

Church groups are seeking to take over entire theaters for opening night screenings of Son of God, the upcoming movie about the life of Jesus Christ.

Various religious organizations throughout the country have been buying out screens and distributing tickets to groups of thousands of people for “Theater Take-Overs” on Thursday, Feb. 27, the night before the film’s officially released, according to production company Lightworkers Media.

Crossroads Church in Cincinnati is bringing thousands of people to a Cinemark theater, where Son of God will be showing on 13 screens at the same time.

“Our church bought out every screen in the theater,” Crossroads’ Brian Wells said in a statement. If anyone comes to the theater to see another movie that night, they’ll be out of luck, unless we have a few extra tickets to give them!”

There are a few other theater buyouts for Son of God scheduled at Cinemark locations throughout the country, according to the theater chain’s marketing and communications head James Meredith.

“It’s very interesting to see this level of excitement around the movie,” Meredith said in a statement. “The interest level for meetings, events, screenings and buyouts seems to be on par with that of major blockbuster, tentpole or franchise movies.”

Mega-church pastor Rick Warren is buying out screens in eight different theaters throughout Orange County.

“I’ve seen most of the films about Jesus produced in the past 50 years, and Son of God is the best,“ Warren said in a statement. “We’re excited Jesus is back on the big screen, and we’re going to fill the theaters. I want every other faith leader in America to do the same. Whether you can buy out a whole theater, or just one screen, now is the time to show up. This is a rare opportunity to bring the story of Christ into our mainstream culture. We want to see Jesus in movie theaters where sight and sound can open up our senses and let grace come in. The message of the Gospel deserves to be on the big screen – and this is our chance to see it there.”

Other churches and organizations, ranging in size from 10,000 to 4 million, are distributing tickets for a “Theater Take-Over.” Some pastors will also buy out screens showing the film in Spanish and Korean. There’s even a Catholic “Theater Take-Over” planned for Miami.

Various business leaders throughout the country are also donating tickets to churches and non-profits.

Son of God is a version of the hit Bible miniseries, featuring new and used footage, focused just on the story of Jesus Christ. The Bible averaged 11.4 million viewers during its five-week run on the History channel and became the top-selling miniseries on DVD of all time.

What a concept.  A movie about the life of Jesus Christ, aimed at attracting the 75%  majority of Americans who proclaim Christ as their Savior.

Why, next thing you’ll be telling me is that a well-known Hollywood actor will also produce a movie about the Life, Crucifixion, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, with English sub-titles, which will stay in release for 156 days, and bring in a worldwide gross of $611, 899,420.

Oh, wait…

I am a Christian American Conservative. I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and I will not apologize for the greatest country on Earth.

There has been a lot of conversation during the reign of Barack Hussein Obama The First, within the ranks of American Conservatives. In-fighting about what political philosophy and attitude to take. Should Conservatism be abandoned for the same kind of pseudo-intellectual arrogance and snarkiness that the Liberals practice with regularity and glee?

Or should Americans embrace Conservatism? Which kind of Conservatism? Fiscal? Social? Beltway/Moderate/Independent (a.k.a. Squishy)?

The Republican Party has been practicing “Squishy” Conservatism since the Clinton Administration. We are currently living with the consequences of that. Practicing this political philosophy of relative ethics and relative morality is akin to building a house on shifting sand.

Americans do not tolerate vacillating leaders for very long. Look at the problems besetting The Magnificent One, Barack “Scooter” Obama. Few Americans, except for his Far Left sycophantic base, are still buying the “Hope and Change” he is selling. And, they are upset with him because all of his promises of a “Socialist Paradise” have proven to be empty ones,

He even tried to reach out to the rank and file of his party and the Independents (one or two) who still might support him by attending church a few times over the years, such as on Easter Sunday when, once again, he held a photo op at Allen Chapel, a historic African Methodist Episcopal Church, founded shortly after the Civil War. These actions came from the man who once said, “Whatever we once were, we’re no longer just a Christian nation…” and who regularly worships at the Sanctuary of the Holy Basketball Court and kneels at the Sacred Putting Green. But I digress…

Conservatives have a great opportunity ahead of us this November. But we will blow it if we do not present a united front. Our country is under siege from enemies, internal and external, that want to turn the “shining city on a hill” into a third-world barrio. We don’t have time for Internet Flame Wars, questioning the legitimacy of each other’s Conservatism. Nor do we have the luxury of wasting time ridiculing another Conservative for being old-fashioned or Christian. It’s time to man up. The barbarians have knocked down the gate and they are ransacking our homes. They have burdened future generations with a tax burden that may be insurmountable.

For our children’s children’s sake, we must politically repel these invaders who wish to make us subservient to their failed ideology.

It is time for America to reclaim Our Heritage and, there is only one way in which we will be able to succeed: and that, is through the Power and Grace of the One Who Made Us and Bestowed Upon Us this Sacred Land.

I wish to leave you with the words of the greatest American President in my lifetime. There are those who say he wasn’t a believer. I beg to differ.

“Freedom prospers when religion is vibrant and the rule of law under God is acknowledged.“

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

“We are never defeated unless we give up on God.”

“We have the duty to protect the life of an unborn child.”

“Within the covers of the Bible are the answers for all the problems men face.”

“Without God, democracy will not and cannot long endure.” – President Ronald Reagan 2/6/11-6/5/04

Until He Comes,

KJ

Keeping the Faith: Lighting a Candle in the Darkness

WashingtonPrayingI am an anachronism.

I was told that, in no uncertain terms, yesterday, by “Libertarians”, on a Conservative website I frequent.

My crime? I refused to be in favor of legalizing marijuana, and I had the nerve to say that I felt that it was more dangerous than alcohol. What’s more, I refused to say that there was a moral equivalency between them.

But, that’s a discussion for another day.

Dictionary.com defines an anachronism as

something or someone that is not in its correct historical or chronological time, especially a thing or person that belongs to an earlier time.

I suppose that’s me.

I started this Blog as a way to vent my frustrations with the ever-evolving “societal norms” and political mayhem around me. A lot of things just grated on my nerves. They still do.

I was “reared” (as we say in Dixie) by a Mother and Daddy (Southern colloquialism for a Male Parental Unit) who were members of the Greatest Generation. In fact, I was born 3 days before my mother’s 40th brithday. To this day, I believe that they were going to name me “Oops”.

My view of the world around me was shaped and nurtured by my Daddy, a Christian American, and the finest man I’ve ever known, who served with an Army Engineering Unit, as a Master Sergeant, in World War II, and who jumped off of a perfectly good boat into a hail of gunfire to join his American Brothers in the tide-turning American Victory known as “D-Day”.

Between him and my Mother, they taught me what it was to be a hard-working, Middle Class Christian American Conservative….and, to be proud of it.

But now, at 54 years old, having just seen an anti-American, Muslim-sympathizing, political-pandering, class warfare-preaching, card-carrying Communist, get re-hired for a job in which, if he were in the private section, his butt would have gotten canned  within the first 7 months, I’m beginning to feel like I’m beating my dadgum head against the wall until it’s bloody, and for no cotton-pickin’ reason at all.

Why am I feelng that way?

Well, there are several reasons.

1. This country re-elected an idiot. Now, I realize that’s been done before. But, they all paled in comparison to this guy. I believe that “Scooter”, my pet name for Barack Hussein Obama (mm mmm mmm), burnt up the vast majority of his gray matter during his “Choom Gang” days in Hawaii, and now, as an old friend, a former Meth-head, who, sadly, later committed suicide this time of year, used to tell me, he has “2 brain cells left and they’re fighting to the death”. I pray we survive the next 4 years.

2.  Evidently, Americans, at least the majority of the ones that actually got up off the couch (Pookie, included) to vote on November 6th, want the Federal Government to take care of them, cradle to grave. Rush Limbaugh labelled this symptom, “The Baracky Claus Effect”.  I pray, that, just as the Proletariat eventually figured out in the old Soviet Union, Americans are going to wake up one day, to find that mega-dependence on The State to run your life, leads to the loss of personal freedom. And those, who believe that they are “the most enlightened people in the room”, will be the first ones hollering, when they discover that their freedom has been taken away.

3. America seems to be devolving into a collection of Libertines. Notice, I did not say “Libertarians”, although, both descriptive words come from the same root word. A Libertine is, per Merriam-Webster.com,

a person who is unrestrained by convention or morality: one leading a dissolute (lacking moral restraint) life

Being a Libertarian used to mean you wanted less Government in your life and less restrictions on your personal happiness. Notice I said used to mean. Now, Libertine and Libertarian both seem to mean the same thing to the majority of posters self-identifying as members of the latter group on Internet chat boards.

Caligula’s Horse approves.

I suppose I could pontificate on the fallen nature of Man at this point, but, that’s fairly self-evident…and, as the late Freddie Prinze used to say, “Ees not my yob, man.”

4. Finally, I was told the other day, during the before-mentioned “discussion” on that Facebook Page, that my blog was considered a “joke”. I allowed this to hurt me very deeply. You see, since April of 2010, I have devoted a lot of time and effort to putting my ideas, however old-fashioned and cornball they are, down on paper. I truly enjoy doing it. I must. I haven’t made a dadgum dime off of it. Although, as I’ve previously written, it did help me land my present job.

A while back, I was asked to define what it means to be a Christian American Conservative.  After all, that’s how I identify myself and that is what it says on the top of this blog, since I began this exercise in ranting and raving in April of 2010.

Let’s perform a dissection, shall we?

First word:  Christian – A follower of Jesus Christ.

I was raised as a Christian by my parents and accepted Christ as my personal Savior many years ago.

Here are some interesting things about Christianity to consider, written by Dr. Ray Pritchard and posted on christianity.com:

1) The name “Christian” was not invented by early Christians. It was a name given to them by others.
2) Christians called themselves by different names—disciples, believers, brethren, saints, the elect, etc.
3) The term apparently had a negative meaning in the beginning: “those belonging to the Christ party.”
4) It was a term of contempt or derision.
5) We can get a flavor for it if we take the word “Christ” and keep that pronunciation. You “Christ-ians.”
6) It literally means “Christ-followers.”
7) Over time a derogatory term became a positive designation.
8) Occasionally you will hear someone spit the term out in the same way it was used in the beginning. “You Christians think you’re the only ones going to heaven.”
9) There was a sense of suffering and reproach attached to the word in the New Testament.

In working my way toward an answer to “What is a Christian?” I decided to check out the dictionary. I found these two definitions:

1. One who professes belief in Jesus as Christ or follows the religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus. 2. One who lives according to the teachings of Jesus.”

That’s actually quite helpful because it gives some content to the word. To be a Christian means that you . . .

Believe Something
Follow Something
Live Something
A Fully Devoted Follower To borrow a contemporary phrase, we could simply say that a Christian is a “fully devoted follower of Jesus.” As I think about that, two insights come to mind.

1) It doesn’t happen by accident. You are not “born” a Christian nor are you a Christian because of your family heritage. Being a Christian is not like being Irish. You aren’t a Christian simply because you were born into a Christian family.
2) It requires conversion of the heart. By using the term “conversion,” I simply mean what Jesus meant when he said that to be his disciple meant to deny yourself, take up your cross and follow him (Luke 9:23). The heart itself must be changed so that you become a follower of the Lord.

Second word: American – A citizen of the United States of America.

Stephen M. Warchawsky, wrote the following in an article for americanthinker.org:

So what, then, does it mean to be an American? I suspect that most of us believe, like Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart in describing pornography, that we “know it when we see it.” For example, John Wayne, Amelia Earhart, and Bill Cosby definitely are Americans. The day laborers standing on the street corner probably are not. But how do we put this inner understanding into words? It’s not easy. Unlike most other nations on Earth, the American nation is not strictly defined in terms of race or ethnicity or ancestry or religion. George Washington may be the Father of Our Country (in my opinion, the greatest American who ever lived), but there have been in the past, and are today, many millions of patriotic, hardworking, upstanding Americans who are not Caucasian, or Christian, or of Western European ancestry. Yet they are undeniably as American as you or I (by the way, I am Jewish of predominantly Eastern European ancestry). Any definition of “American” that excludes such folks — let alone one that excludes me! — cannot be right.

Consequently, it is just not good enough to say, as some immigration restrictionists do, that this is a “white-majority, Western country.” Yes, it is. But so are, for example, Ireland and Sweden and Portugal. Clearly, this level of abstraction does not take us very far towards understanding what it means to be “an American.” Nor is it all that helpful to say that this is an English-speaking, predominately Christian country. While I think these features get us closer to the answer, there are millions of English-speaking (and non-English-speaking) Christians in the world who are not Americans, and millions of non-Christians who are. Certainly, these fundamental historical characteristics are important elements in determining who we are as a nation. Like other restrictionists, I am opposed to public policies that seek, by design or by default, to significantly alter the nation’s “demographic profile.” Still, it must be recognized that demography alone does not, and cannot, explain what it means to be an American.

So where does that leave us? I think the answer to our question, ultimately, must be found in the realms of ideology and culture. What distinguishes the United States from other nations, and what unites the disparate peoples who make up our country, are our unique political, economic, and social values, beliefs, and institutions. Not race, or religion, or ancestry.

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

J. Matt Barber 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.

In conclusion, I, a Christian American Conservative, am a follower of Jesus Christ and a citizen of the United States of America (by the Grace of God), who holds to traditional values and attitudes.

So, where do I go from here? Do I run away, with my tail between my legs, and live out the rest of my days in quiet desperation?

To any of you who repled, “yes”…you don’t know me very well.

Greater is He who is in me, than he who is in the world.

My Creator, while endowing me with certain inalienable rights, also endowed me with an indomitable will. Then, somewhere along my journey, He gave me the gift of being able to express my thoughts and feelings on this computer keyboard.

I will not give up. I will not surrender my Christianity, my love of the greatest nation on God’s green Earth, or my Conservatism, to appease those who wish everybody would just get in line and acquiesce to the prevailing “societal norms”.  I follow another set of guidelines, written a long time ago, but which remain as relevant as the moment in which the Hand of God guided those who wrote them down.

Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, – Colossians 3:23 (ESV)

I pray that you, the reader, are able to glean that from my blogs.  Because, as Matthew 6:21 tells us:

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

May God bless you and yours,

KJ

I’m 54 Today and I’m Not Taking It Anymore

jesterluteI’m 54 years old today.  It has been a remarkable journey.   Some years have passed by much too quickly.  Others have been as slow and painful as Morning Joe on MSNBC.   Some of the lessons that God has taught me have been more painful than others.  But, through it all, His Grace has been sufficient for my every need.

I’ve always had a big mouth.  One of the most painful lessons I’ve had to learn is when to keep it shut.  However, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve noticed that those who seek to impose their will on us, as a free nation, appear to be doing and saying whatever outrageous, hurtful, treasonous, and unpatriotic things that they want to, counting on all of us average, Christian Americans (78% of the population, per Gallup) to keep our collective mouths shut.

Well, you know what?  I’m 54 and I’m Not Taking It anymore.

05_08_11---Three-Crosses_webI’m not taking it anymore off of the less than 10 % of our population who are so self-involved and bitter in their belief that all of this fantastic Universe around us just happened, that they try to make Christians as bitter as they are.  Especially, this time of year as we celebrate the birth of our Savior.

These learned individuals completely ignore the writings of brilliant men, such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, who said:

All I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator for all I have not seen.

or G. K. Chesterton, who said:

When men stop believing in God, they don’t believe in nothing.  They believe in anything.

WashingtonPrayingOur nation was founded by people who wished to practice Freedom OF Religion, not Freedom FROM Religion. They were not led in their decision-making by an earthly king, but by their love for the heavenly King.

American Christianity is not comprised of empty rituals. It is fueled by an intrinsic understanding of where our freedoms come from, and Who gave them to us. It is a legacy of Faith handed down to us, generation through generation.

Just as my father, who landed on the beaches of Normandy, made sure that I got to Sunday School, so did I make that opportunity available to my daughter, step-sons, and grandson. I am blessed by the fact that one of those young men is in seminary as I write this.

Shake your fist and try to believe that Divine Providence had nothing to do with the growth of this nation, you will still find that the majority of Americans will not believe you.

hyenasI’m not taking it anymore from the bunch of amoral, treasonous hyenas controlling the entertainment industry.  These are the brilliant individuals who have brought us such cinematic masterpieces as Redacted and The Golden Compass and such high brow television entertainment like @#$% My Dad Says

In the music industry, the song  @#$% You! (which was sung on Glee as Forget You!) was, at one time, honored for an industry award.

I can remember when The Rolling Stones had to change the words to their hit, Let’s Spend the Night Together to Let’s Spend Some Time Together on The Ed Sullivan Show because of the CBS Censors.

By the way, they are on tour right now…sponsored by Geritol, I think.

spoiledlakerI’m not taking it anymore from spoiled, crybaby, collegiate,and professional athletes.  These young men have been gifted by God with extraordinary abilities, placing them in the spotlight. They are followed and proclaimed as role models by American’s youth.

Just last week, the Captain of the University of Memphis’ Basketball Team, walked away from a practice, telling the coach that he just “wasn’t that into it.”

He’s back with the team, now, after a game’s suspension and a “come to Jesus” meeting with the Coach.

Some leader. Gimme a break.

mitchdanielsI’m not taking it anymore from so-called Fiscal  Conservatives (i.e., Moderates and Liberals), who believe that whatever you want to smoke, whomever you want to sleep with, is fine and dandy, while expecting Social (Reagan) Conservatives to keep our mouths shut about where the GOP is headed, as it slowly swirls down the porcelain receptacle.

michellestinkeyeI’m not taking it anymore from the Obama’s, and the pinheaded bureaucrats and academicians in their administration who believe that they have the right to tell us how to raise and what to feed our children.

These are our children and grandchildren.  We will raise them as we see fit.

Not only do they want to tell us what we can feed to our children, they want to control what our Armed Forces eat! They want the finest fighting force in the world to run on arugula!

Feed our Brightest and Best steak every day! They deserve it!

I’m 54 years old. If I want to have Popeye’s Fried Chicken with mashed potatoes, fried okra, and biscuits, it’s none of your dadblamed business, Michelle (ma belle).  People in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.  Have you surveyed your own Southern flank lately?

pelosigavelFinally, I’m not taking it anymore from Obama, his administration, his political party, and Congress.  These people are so riddled with self-importance, and so intellectually constricted by their self-imposed boundaries of the Beltway Elite society that they live in, that they have completely lost touch with the citizens of the country that they are supposed to represent.  They somehow believe that it is in their best interests to govern on behalf of the 18 % of Americans who identify themselves as being Liberals.

And, judging from the Fiscal Cliff Negotiations, those who don’t really believe in this Liberal/Progressive/Marxist ideology, don’t seem to possess the intestinal fortitude to man up and actually serve the people who elected them.

This oblivious pack of political scavengers seem bound and determined to gnaw as much meat off of the bones of the American Dream as they can.

However, as angered as I am by the irrational, amoral nature of American politics and popular culture, I always have hope.  My hope springs not from any political figure or political ideology, but from the One who created me and loves me, in spite of all my shortcomings.  This video of one of my favorite songs sums up what I’ve been trying to say.   God is good.  All the time.  May God bless you all.

Until He Comes,

KJ

An Interruption in Programming

Dear Friends and “Family”:

I will be off the grid for about a week or so.  Wednesday night, the Generation XY kids above our apartment decided to cook fried chicken and neglected to watch it cook, resulting in a grease fire.  Our ground-floor apartment was flooded by their sprinkler system, resulting in us being relocated (by the grace of God) to live for a while in a Corporate Unit at another apartment complex, owned by the corporation who owns ours.

Your prayers are welcome and appreciated.  It could have been a lot worse. Until I return, here is a recent post, to remind you of what I’m about.

God is Good.  All the time.

WHAT IS A CHRISTIAN AMERICAN CONSERVATIVE?

I have been asked to define what it means to be a Christian American Conservative.  After all, that’s how I identify myself and that is what it says on the top of this blog, since I began this exercise in ranting and raving in April of 2010.

Let’s perform a dissection, shall we?

First word:  Christian – A follower of Jesus Christ.

I was raised as a Christian by my parents and accepted Christ as my personal Savior many years ago.

Here are some interesting things about Christianity to consider, written by Dr. Ray Pritchard and posted on christianity.com:

1) The name “Christian” was not invented by early Christians. It was a name given to them by others.
2) Christians called themselves by different names—disciples, believers, brethren, saints, the elect, etc.
3) The term apparently had a negative meaning in the beginning: “those belonging to the Christ party.”
4) It was a term of contempt or derision.
5) We can get a flavor for it if we take the word “Christ” and keep that pronunciation. You “Christ-ians.”
6) It literally means “Christ-followers.”
7) Over time a derogatory term became a positive designation.
8) Occasionally you will hear someone spit the term out in the same way it was used in the beginning. “You Christians think you’re the only ones going to heaven.”
9) There was a sense of suffering and reproach attached to the word in the New Testament.

In working my way toward an answer to “What is a Christian?” I decided to check out the dictionary. I found these two definitions:

1. One who professes belief in Jesus as Christ or follows the religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus. 2. One who lives according to the teachings of Jesus.”

That’s actually quite helpful because it gives some content to the word. To be a Christian means that you . . .

Believe Something
Follow Something
Live Something
A Fully Devoted Follower To borrow a contemporary phrase, we could simply say that a Christian is a “fully devoted follower of Jesus.” As I think about that, two insights come to mind.

1) It doesn’t happen by accident. You are not “born” a Christian nor are you a Christian because of your family heritage. Being a Christian is not like being Irish. You aren’t a Christian simply because you were born into a Christian family.
2) It requires conversion of the heart. By using the term “conversion,” I simply mean what Jesus meant when he said that to be his disciple meant to deny yourself, take up your cross and follow him (Luke 9:23). The heart itself must be changed so that you become a follower of the Lord.

Second word: American – A citizen of the United States of America.

Stephen M. Warchawsky, wrote the following in an article for americanthinker.org:

So what, then, does it mean to be an American? I suspect that most of us believe, like Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart in describing pornography, that we “know it when we see it.” For example, John Wayne, Amelia Earhart, and Bill Cosby definitely are Americans. The day laborers standing on the street corner probably are not. But how do we put this inner understanding into words? It’s not easy. Unlike most other nations on Earth, the American nation is not strictly defined in terms of race or ethnicity or ancestry or religion. George Washington may be the Father of Our Country (in my opinion, the greatest American who ever lived), but there have been in the past, and are today, many millions of patriotic, hardworking, upstanding Americans who are not Caucasian, or Christian, or of Western European ancestry. Yet they are undeniably as American as you or I (by the way, I am Jewish of predominantly Eastern European ancestry). Any definition of “American” that excludes such folks — let alone one that excludes me! — cannot be right.

Consequently, it is just not good enough to say, as some immigration restrictionists do, that this is a “white-majority, Western country.” Yes, it is. But so are, for example, Ireland and Sweden and Portugal. Clearly, this level of abstraction does not take us very far towards understanding what it means to be “an American.” Nor is it all that helpful to say that this is an English-speaking, predominately Christian country. While I think these features get us closer to the answer, there are millions of English-speaking (and non-English-speaking) Christians in the world who are not Americans, and millions of non-Christians who are. Certainly, these fundamental historical characteristics are important elements in determining who we are as a nation. Like other restrictionists, I am opposed to public policies that seek, by design or by default, to significantly alter the nation’s “demographic profile.” Still, it must be recognized that demography alone does not, and cannot, explain what it means to be an American.

So where does that leave us? I think the answer to our question, ultimately, must be found in the realms of ideology and culture. What distinguishes the United States from other nations, and what unites the disparate peoples who make up our country, are our unique political, economic, and social values, beliefs, and institutions. Not race, or religion, or ancestry.

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

J. Matt Barber 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.

In conclusion, I, a Christian American Conservative, am a follower of Jesus Christ and a citizen of the United States of America (by the Grace of God), who holds to traditional values and attitudes.

I pray that you, the reader, are able to glean that from my blogs.  Because, as Matthew 6:21 tells us:

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

May God bless you and yours,

KJ

What is a Christian American Conservative?

I have been asked to define what it means to be a Christian American Conservative.  After all, that’s how I identify myself and that is what it says on the top of this blog, since I began this exercise in ranting and raving in April of 2010.

Let’s perform a dissection, shall we?

First word:  Christian – A follower of Jesus Christ.

I was raised as a Christian by my parents and accepted Christ as my personal Savior many years ago.

Here are some interesting things about Christianity to consider, written by Dr. Ray Pritchard and posted on christianity.com:

1) The name “Christian” was not invented by early Christians. It was a name given to them by others.
2) Christians called themselves by different names—disciples, believers, brethren, saints, the elect, etc.
3) The term apparently had a negative meaning in the beginning: “those belonging to the Christ party.”
4) It was a term of contempt or derision.
5) We can get a flavor for it if we take the word “Christ” and keep that pronunciation. You “Christ-ians.”
6) It literally means “Christ-followers.”
7) Over time a derogatory term became a positive designation.
8) Occasionally you will hear someone spit the term out in the same way it was used in the beginning. “You Christians think you’re the only ones going to heaven.”
9) There was a sense of suffering and reproach attached to the word in the New Testament.

In working my way toward an answer to “What is a Christian?” I decided to check out the dictionary. I found these two definitions:

1. One who professes belief in Jesus as Christ or follows the religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus. 2. One who lives according to the teachings of Jesus.”

That’s actually quite helpful because it gives some content to the word. To be a Christian means that you . . .

Believe Something
Follow Something
Live Something
A Fully Devoted Follower To borrow a contemporary phrase, we could simply say that a Christian is a “fully devoted follower of Jesus.” As I think about that, two insights come to mind.

1) It doesn’t happen by accident. You are not “born” a Christian nor are you a Christian because of your family heritage. Being a Christian is not like being Irish. You aren’t a Christian simply because you were born into a Christian family.
2) It requires conversion of the heart. By using the term “conversion,” I simply mean what Jesus meant when he said that to be his disciple meant to deny yourself, take up your cross and follow him (Luke 9:23). The heart itself must be changed so that you become a follower of the Lord.

Second word: American – A citizen of the United States of America.

Stephen M. Warchawsky, wrote the following in an article for americanthinker.org:

So what, then, does it mean to be an American? I suspect that most of us believe, like Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart in describing pornography, that we “know it when we see it.” For example, John Wayne, Amelia Earhart, and Bill Cosby definitely are Americans. The day laborers standing on the street corner probably are not. But how do we put this inner understanding into words? It’s not easy. Unlike most other nations on Earth, the American nation is not strictly defined in terms of race or ethnicity or ancestry or religion. George Washington may be the Father of Our Country (in my opinion, the greatest American who ever lived), but there have been in the past, and are today, many millions of patriotic, hardworking, upstanding Americans who are not Caucasian, or Christian, or of Western European ancestry. Yet they are undeniably as American as you or I (by the way, I am Jewish of predominantly Eastern European ancestry). Any definition of “American” that excludes such folks — let alone one that excludes me! — cannot be right.

Consequently, it is just not good enough to say, as some immigration restrictionists do, that this is a “white-majority, Western country.” Yes, it is. But so are, for example, Ireland and Sweden and Portugal. Clearly, this level of abstraction does not take us very far towards understanding what it means to be “an American.” Nor is it all that helpful to say that this is an English-speaking, predominately Christian country. While I think these features get us closer to the answer, there are millions of English-speaking (and non-English-speaking) Christians in the world who are not Americans, and millions of non-Christians who are. Certainly, these fundamental historical characteristics are important elements in determining who we are as a nation. Like other restrictionists, I am opposed to public policies that seek, by design or by default, to significantly alter the nation’s “demographic profile.” Still, it must be recognized that demography alone does not, and cannot, explain what it means to be an American.

So where does that leave us? I think the answer to our question, ultimately, must be found in the realms of ideology and culture. What distinguishes the United States from other nations, and what unites the disparate peoples who make up our country, are our unique political, economic, and social values, beliefs, and institutions. Not race, or religion, or ancestry.

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

J. Matt Barber 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.

In conclusion, I, a Christian American Conservative, am a follower of Jesus Christ and a citizen of the United States of America (by the Grace of God), who holds to traditional values and attitudes.

I pray that you, the reader, are able to glean that from my blogs.  Because, as Matthew 6:21 tells us:

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

May God bless you and yours,

KJ