Ob·fus·cate, tr.v. To make so confused or opaque as to be difficult to perceive or understand
I'm sure we all remember the furor cause over Franklin Graham's comment in 2001 that Islam is, "very evil and wicked." I remember how Evangelical leaders tripped all over themselves to distance themselves from Graham. The remark that particularly bothered me was when one minister acknowledged that technically Graham was correct, but that his statement, "lacked nuance." I hate nuance!
The past decade and a half of PC sensibility has turned us all into spineless cowards that are no longer able to speak their minds. That's why I hate "nuance." Nuance is just another way cloud one's meaning enough to avoid the inconvenience of stating what one actually believes. Instead of just stating that the Bible abominates homosexuality, our ministers hem and haw, they multiply their words and obfuscate their intentions so that no one can pin them down as "intolerant" or narrow-minded. When asked about Islam, Franklin's own father beat around the bush and started talking about friends and acquaintances who are Muslim. Can no one just speak the plain truth anymore?
I have sat through countless sermons where an obviously intentional effort was made to avoid saying anything emphatic or objective that might convict the listeners. I think of the era of the Fathers and Reformers: no ambiguity with them! I long for that again.
Here is the way preachers used to speak; no "nuance" here. At least we knew what they really meant.
"...a melon, which Marcion must have had in lieu of a heart!" - Tertullian, The Five Books Against Marcion, Bk 4, Ch. 40.
But there is another among these heretics, Marcus by name, who boasts himself as having improved upon his master. He is a perfect adept in magical impostures, and by this means drawing away a great number of men, and not a few women, he has induced them to join themselves to him, as to one who is possessed of the greatest knowledge and perfection, and who has received the highest power from the invisible and ineffable regions above. Thus it appears as if he really were the precursor of Antichrist. For, joining the buffooneries of Anaxilaus to the craftiness of the magi, as they are called, he is regarded by his senseless and cracked-brain followers as working miracles by these means. Irenaeus, Against Heresies, Bk 1, Ch. 13
Lord, keep us in Thy Word and work,
Restrain the murderous Pope and Turk,
Who fain would tear from off Thy throne,
Christ Jesus, Thy beloved Son.
Martin Luther, Lord, Keep us in Thy Word and Work.
"We are all Papists; at least, I am sure, we are all Arminians by nature; and, therefore, it is no wonder so many natural men embrace that scheme." George Whitefield, The Lord Our Righteousness
"And what are the new Arminians but the varnished offspring of the old Pelagians, that makes the grace of God to lackey it at the foot, or rather, the will of man? that makes the sheep to keep the shepherd? that puts God into the same extremity with Darius, who would gladly have saved Daniel but could not (Dan 6:14)?" Christopher Ness, An Antidote Against Arminianism
UN-AMERICANS FIGHT FRANKLIN GRAHAM !
ReplyDeleteWhat kind of wine has Mikey Weinstein been drinking?
As an anti-Christian Jewish supremacist and as the president of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, he's doing all he can to create an anti-Jewish backlash and help bring about the predicted endtime Holocaust of Jews that'll be worse than Hitler's.
Neither Falwell, Hagee nor any other Christian initiated this prediction. But Weinstein's ancient Hebrew prophets did.
In the 13th and 14th chapters of his Old Testament book, Zechariah predicted that after Israel's rebirth ALL nations will eventually be against Israel and that TWO-THIRDS of all Jews will be killed!
Malachi revealed the reasons: "Judah hath dealt treacherously" and "the Lord will cut off the man that doeth this."
Haven't evangelicals generally been the best friends of Israel and persons perceived to be Jewish? Then please explain the hate-filled back-stabbing by David Letterman (and Sandra Bernhard, Larry David, Kathy Griffin, Bill Maher, Sarah Silverman etc.) against followers of Jesus such as Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann.
Weinstein wouldn't dare assert that citizens on government property don't have freedom of speech or press freedom or freedom to assemble or to petition the government.
But God-hater Weinstein maliciously wants to eliminate from government property the "free exercise" of religion - especially by evangelicals - a freedom found in the same First Amendment. Significantly, this freedom was purposely listed FIRST by America's founders! (Not-so-subtle Weinstein has even authored a book which has "One Man's War Against an Evangelical Coup" in its title!)
And Weinstein wouldn't try to foist "separation of church and state" on strongly-Jewish Israel, but he does try to foist this non-Constitution-mentioned phrase on strongly-Christian America.
In light of Weinstein's Jewish protectionism and violently anti-Christian obsession, Christians in these endtimes should be reminded of Jesus' warning in Mark 13:9 (see also Luke 21:12) that "in the synagogues ye shall be beaten."
Maybe it's time for some modern Paul Reveres to saddle up and shout "The Yiddish are Coming!"
PS - Some, like Weinstein, are so treacherously anti-Christian they will even join hands at times with enemies, including Muslims, in order to silence evangelicals. It was Weinstein, BTW, who put pressure on the Pentagon to dis-invite Franklin Graham from speaking there on the National Day of Prayer!
PPS - Weinstein is an echo of the anti-Christian, anti-American Hollywood which for a century has dangled every known vice before young people. We seriously wonder how soon the lethal worldwide "flood of filth" (global harming!) that Hollywood has created will engulf and destroy itself and help to bring to power the endtime Antichrist (a.k.a. the Man of Sin and the Wicked One)!