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James' Articles  Wednesday, March 23 2011
Continuing with the observations I have been making of the dynamic shift in the standing of our country, this month I will address the issue of our country being divided in its overall interest and pursuits. As a general overview, the points I have intended to cover are as follows: 1) the economy remains in flux; 2) national security remains threatened by outside enemies; 3) government corruption is at an all-time high; 4) we have increased our national debt in just 2 years to an amount that exceeds the entire history of our country combined; and lastly, 5) our country is divided in its overall interests and pursuits. Last month, I addressed the fourth issue of the radical increase in our national debt. We concluded that biblically in doing so, we have enslaved ourselves to not only other nations but enemy nations. Now we turn to an internal issue as opposed to an external problem, and it is one that we cannot avoid.
We are at Civil War. I know– the notion seems absurd. But when you contemplate what civil war is and the self-defeating conclusion that it always reaches, you can’t help but land at the same conclusion that we are our own worst enemies.
We have long left the goal of pursuing the truth for winning. The average American interest is not based upon what is good for the whole. Rather, it is based on selfish interests. As outstanding as the Republic is, and by far and away the best form of government that exists, it is only as good as the people who attempt to uphold it. Understand that a Republic is based upon the representative system. That is the beautiful difference between a Republic and a Democracy. Republics are to represent. Democracy is ‘one man, one vote’ which ultimately equals ‘mob rule’. That’s why every single Democracy ever attempted has degenerated into anarchy. But, when the people become so self-centered that they only select representatives who are focused on what they want, regardless of what it does to the rest of the people around them, it is then that the Republic begins to erode. Subsequently, based upon the very people who have elected them, it is those elected officials who begin to reflect not only the corrupt values of the people but began to have their own corrupt pursuits, which we see evident daily now in our governmental system in this country.
One must ask the question– how did we get to this point? Wasn’t our system based upon ‘checks and balances’? The answer is relatively simple; when self-centeredness becomes saturated into a system, even the ‘checks and balances’ will infect itself to a boil of selfishness. It is at this juncture that the system begins to become addicted to itself and therefore is the actual parasite bleeding itself to death. The desire for more—or even to keep the status quo, at the expense of anyone else but ourselves, has become our cancer. Our selfishness is our disease. My words have no authority; however, Scripture does. "Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; (Philippians 2:3)." At this point, I cannot help but point out how obvious it is that all of my precepts (the past four articles) are now overlapping — because they are biblical. For example — in the context of elected officials– unless an elected official is Christian, we are wasting our time quoting this passage to him/her. Unless they adhere to this (these) principal(s), we are destined to fail. So let us test all of our thoughts and conjectures against this Scripture. After all, everything else is simply a secular worldview.
In the history of wars that the people of the United States (or people in colonial America) have been involved in, the number of deaths is an interesting statistic to observe. For example, the following are statistical numbers of deaths including deaths caused by issues during war other than combat: The American Revolutionary War had a total of 25,000 deaths. The Northwest Indian War – 1056(+); the Quasi-War of 1798 to 1800 – 514; The First Barbary War – 74; The War of 1812 – 20,000; The Second Barbary War – 138; The First Seminole War – 47; The Black Hawk War – 305: the Second Seminole War – 1535; The Mexican American War – 13,283; The Spanish-American War – 2446; and The Philippine American War – 4196. In fact, there are several skirmishes that do not qualify as war in American history that claimed anywhere from single digits to triple-digit numbers of lives. But it’s the larger-scale wars that we know would claim the most lives. Such as World War I exacted 116,516 American lives. World War II claimed a whopping 405,399 lives – a dynamic jump from World War I. The Korean War was considerably less at 53,686 lives. And The Vietnam War slightly topped the Korean War with 58,209 lives. And even today as we continue in a war on terror in Afghanistan, Iraq, and otherwise, the cumulative number is approximately 5,796 and growing weekly. But of all the wars that America has been involved in, nothing compares in the total number of casualties to The American Civil War. Estimates of deaths attributed to this war alone are Union troops – 364,511 people; Confederate troops – 260,000. Combined, these two sides give a whopping total of approximately 625,000 deaths of American people. And little wonder –because when you have a country killing itself, casualties naturally will be astoundingly higher than fighting another country. It is the apex of a ‘lose–lose’ situation.
We are in another Civil War. Those are tough words that many people are unwilling to accept. But consider this: our political venue has become so divisive that we have two sides that are supposed to be representing the whole of the people, and the best they can do is make a ruination of things and then point fingers at one another blaming the other side. It is identical to a couple of children arguing over something, breaking it, and when confronted by an adult, they accuse the other one of being at fault. Meanwhile, our country suffers. It is our country that is the ‘thing’ that is being argued over and broken in the process. And now, we have exceeded hateful rhetoric. Violence is beginning to ensue– and in some venues, it is even encouraged. Should an insane person seize the moment to make an exhibition, the political camps jump at the opportunity of attempting to blame the other party for people's injury or death. Abominable behavior—all for the sake of political promotion. This is somewhat comparable to an ‘auto-immune disorder.' That is when a body begins to fight itself, one part thinking that another part is an invasive enemy that needs to be destroyed. Those who suffer from this disorder endure excruciating pain and illness. America has an auto-immune disorder of sorts. And in case you have not noticed while you have been distracted by all of the shouting, arguing, protesting, fighting, and even killing; the Word and name of God have been trampled underfoot. It has not been enough that people have had a choice of whether or not they would choose to follow the Lord God of the Holy Scriptures. The antagonists want everything about Him completely removed from not just the public sector, but the American sector. And this is a war—a Civil War within ourselves.
In 1 Corinthians 12, the apostle Paul makes an analogy of the worldwide community of believers in Jesus Christ, the Church, as a body—like a human body. He states in verse 14 that ‘the body is not one member, but many’. Then, he goes on to illustrate that different parts of a human body cannot start saying that because they are not one thing or another, they cannot be in the body. In other words, it’s cyclic. Once a part of the body starts thinking it is something different than the rest of the body, it is at odds with the very thing that gives it sustenance.
Rewind to the founding fathers and the documents they wrote. Their words are so blatantly Christian that any argument saying they are not is asinine. But don’t underestimate someone who is determined to have their way. Historical revisionists have been hard at work for the last 50 years and the rotten tree is bearing rotten fruit. You have a full generation of not only students, but professors at universities who are pumping out lie after lie—misrepresentation after misrepresentation stating that the founders were not basing the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence and the very soul of this country on blatant Christian principles: “the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and Nature’s God entitle them;" “We hold these truths to be self –evident, are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” But my space for argument here won’t allow for the discussion of the driving principles of our forefathers. Rather, my point is because our nation and many of its leaders are striving to drive out references to God, defy His laws and Word, and lead by humanistic existentialism, we have become divided. Why? Because (to borrow another one of Paul’s illustrations), our country is a branch that has been grafted into the stock of God’s Word. And to divide our branch from His stock is most certain withering and death. Ladies and Gentlemen—Brothers and Sisters: a house divide cannot stand. But we have long been spending our time being convinced to move into a strange house. America has been swindled out of her home. It’s time we claim it back—not for our comfort, but for His glory—and that alone. We must abandon all pride and self-centeredness and recall that great and victorious moment when a group of colonists put their commitment to God in writing that this great nation belongs to Him, and therefore it was solely to be governed by Him—and we are to be His representatives to the rest of the world. Freedom of religion? Not by our contemporary definition. It was and should still be, freedom of worship—and only the worship of the Lord God of the Holy Scriptures. This is a Christian nation: regardless of what anyone says otherwise. And even if the whole of our country were to vote and declare it not so, the truth would remain, and God will drive the roaches out of His place. United we stand—but only united in Christ. We must pledge our allegiance to the King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Christ our Savior, our Redeemer. This is key to our very survival. Keep the Faith, jas
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