Anyway here's a little song I just came across so enjoy:
Lyrics - Tell me why - Declan Galbraith
Lyrics are at YouTube
Oh My these are indeed dangerous times especially for America as Americanized Christianity under the banner Evangelical Christianity or Conservative Religious Right never tires of telling us through their Media outlets & the Internet which they have learned to use rather effectively for example:
The Prophesied End-Time Revealed
The end-time has come. Hundreds of millions will die in the worst time of tribulation the world has ever known. You need to be informed so you can know how to respond.
2008 - God's Final Witness
The year 2008 has witnessed many prophecies being fulfilled, especially the Seven Thunders of the Book of Revelation, which the apostle John saw but was restricted from recording. Those thunders, which will continue to increase in strength and frequency, are revealed in this book, as well as detailed accounts of the final three and one-half years of man's self-rule on earth, which are recorded in the account of the Seventh Seal of Revelation.
And a little more on Rumsfeld's Biblical enhanced Memos with pictures & bible quotes.There are those in America & outside America who find this rather disturbing or just rather ridiculous. There is smething rather disturbing about the fact that President Bush & other US government & military personnel would believe that this sort of thing was somehow acceptable or even that these images & biblical quotes would be inspiring , uplifting and helped their morale. It seems to give away the game as it were. It does help as Olbermann points out to explain the unwavering attitude of Bush et al towards their mission against Saddam which was a giant leap of faith. No matter what the facts appeared to reveal they still claimed that Saddam had to be gotten rid of even though he had no WMDs, had no connection with Al Qaeda or other terrorists or with the events of 9/11. To them Saddam was "evil" incarnate & therefore if he could be defeated eventually evil itself could be defeated. Or as I have suggested George Bush believed this was all part of his destiny which was being guided by God. In that case he may have to a certain extent to have been following the orders of his commander in Chief that is God Himself who told him what to do. Bush may have believed that he was to play a major role in bringing about the final clash between "Good" & "Evil" or between in this case between the forces of Christendom & those forces of evil or Satan that is Islam & other anti-Christian or anti-God forces.
Rumsfeld: ONWARD CHRISTIAN SOLDIERS Slideshow
Besides these Rumsfeld memos we also have the various conversations Bush had with world leaders in which he revealed his motivation for starting a war with Iraq and then going on to somehow transform the Middle East. He prayed with Tony Blair & he tried to explain the religious dimensions of his policies to President Chirac of France . Chirac knew little or nothing about the whole Americanized Christian End Times scenario which is familiar to tens of millions of Americans. So is it any wonder that Chirac refused to go along with Bush's plan to attack Iraq after Bush had told him about Gog & Magog & Armageddon . Maybe Chirac realized what others have come to realize about Bush over the last eight years that he was a bit unhinged believing that God was speaking to him and that his foreign policy decisions were based upon those imaginary conversations.
What one needs to remember is just recently we discovered how entrenched these Evangelical Fundamentalists are in the Top Brass of the U.S. military, the Pentagon , at the various military colleges such as West Point and that the Chaplaincy of the U.S. military is also now dominated by Christian Evangelicals who believe it is their mission & their duty to proselytize to not just other U.S. military personnel but also to the citizens of the nations where they are fighting or are stationed. So as we talk about The National Security State and its bureaucracy one wonders how much of it has been compromised by these religious zealots. So how far fetched is it to surmise that many policy decisions are made based upon these religious beliefs which are rather extreme . So combining the secular belief in America's Exceptionalism with this form of Americanized Christian Evangelicalism and we have an explosive and for the rest of the world a toxic and dangerous mix.
If it is America's destiny by Divine Providence or by some form of Natural Law or Manifest Destiny to achieve & maintain Global Dominance then how does one argue against it. Does the rest of the world just have to wait for the American Empire to slowly come apart as other Empires have done so that it is no longer such a threat to the rest of the world.
What is also disturbing is why the US media did not report more on the subject ? Were they afraid this might offend Bush and other Americans who believe with absolute certainty that they are at this moment living in the Last Days in a time of " signs and wonders". Is it that there are many people in the U.S. media on T.V. or radio or journalists working for major newspapers who also believe in this twisted end times scenario and who are also convinced that America will eventually if not now have a major role to play as God's Chosen Nation in The Last Days. Or do these journalists just cynically pander to these nutters to protect their TV or Radio ratings or the circulation of their newspapers & magazines. I thought one of the roles of journalism was to alert the citizenry to charlatans, quacks & zealots and other barbarians who try to infiltrate one's country whether they are Neo-Nazis or the Klu Klux Klan or the The Christian Taliban in a Megachurch in your neighborhood or preaching propaganda , misinformation and lies on TV or Radio or who flood the internet til no one can discern the truth from a lie. Isn't it the responsibility of journalists to seek out the truth wherever it may lead them.
If you pay attention to some these conservative commentators & journalists one does get the feeling that they may in fact themselves believe in this distinct form of Americanized Christianity which combines the notion of American Exceptionalism with the religious fervor of Evangelical Fundamentalism. For instance the Religious Right in the U.S. believe that America was founded as a Christian Nation and that there is not supposed to be a Separation of Church & State. They believe the separation means that the state cannot impose its will on the churches. So the government is not supposed to pass laws which go against whatever it is that the church teaches. So if the churches & the Bible are against homosexuality the state has no right to create legislation or laws giving homosexuals equality with other citizens. So it becomes easier to understand why to these Christians even civil marriages for homosexuals for instance is abhorrent to the religious right or allowing homosexuals to join the military or stay in the military or at any other job once they are outed.So if you run a business such as a restaurant or bar or a store etc. they believe you shouldn't be compelled to serve homosexuals if you don't want to.
God speaks to Bush through Rumsfeld.
Keith Olbermann describes how Rumsfeld's Intelligence briefings on Iraq were couched in Bible quotes.
Gog and Magog Story Confirmed by Chirac by Benito at Daily Kos May 27, 2009
Well folks, here's something a little terrifying to go with your morning cup of coffee.
Remember back in 2003 when it came out from French sources that President Bush, while having dinner with then French president Jacques Chirac mentioned Bible prohpecy - specifically 'Gog and Magog' - as reasons for invading Iraq?
Well, apparently the story is true... and has been confirmed by Chirac himself.
* Benito's diary :: ::
*
The story of the conversation emerged only because the Elyse Palace, baffled by Bush's words, sought advice from Thomas Romer, a professor of theology at the University of Lausanne. Four years later, Romer gave an account in the September 2007 issue of the university's review, Allez savoir. The article apparently went unnoticed, although it was referred to in a French newspaper.
The story has now been confirmed by Chirac himself in a new book, published in France in March, by journalist Jean Claude Maurice. Chirac is said to have been stupefied and disturbed by Bush's invocation of Biblical prophesy to justify the war in Iraq and "wondered how someone could be so superficial and fanatical in their beliefs".
Terrifying. Can you imagine the French president and his staff upon hearing this being uttered from the mouth of Bush?
We came 'that' close people.
From The Dead Zone - Movie by David Cronnenberg
and here's an article about Israel & the American Christian Zionists and why they believe they must not just contain Iran but must sooner or later destroy Iran:
The War of Gog & Magog (The Iran War)
by Michael Carmichael at Planetary Movement May 12, 2005
http://planetmove.blogspot.com/
According to current reports on the rapidly escalating preparations for a US war against Iran, it now appears that the prophecies of the Bible are driving President Bush, Vice President Cheney and their inner circle of neoconservatives to design a strategic platform for the prosecution of the final war for control of Planet Earth. In the Bible, this conflict is called The War of Gog & Magog, and the final battle of that war is Armageddon. This scenario has been graphically detailed in the best-selling Left Behind fantasies authored by the Rev Tim LaHaye, a true believer and a devout political supporter of George Bush.
You might well ask, "Who, what and where are Gog and Magog?" According to the literature of fundamentalist Christianity as it is peculiarly practiced in America, Magog, is the prince of Gog, an area that is frequently described as including many of the following nations: Iran, Iraq, Syria, Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Chechnya, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan. While accounts of the geography of Gog vary, the consensus is that it includes the mass of central Asia, and may involve European nations as well who will form an alliance to attack Israel.
and here's an article on American Exceptionalism & Sarah Palin the darling of the Religious Right & Christian Evangelicals in which it is explained why she would start using the phrase in her speeches & interviews. She is directly inferring that the US is God's Chosen Nation and will play a major role in the Endtimes .
"Sarah Palin, Amalek, American Exceptionalism and Genocide "Truman at Irregulartimes, Oct. 6, 2008
Sarah Palin has recently taken to referring to America as a nation of “exceptionalism”. To those listening casually, it sounds as if Sarah Palin is merely saying that the USA is a spiffy place to live.
Others, who know something about the history of the use of religion in politics, know that there’s a particular reason that Sarah Palin is using the word “exceptionalism” instead of just calling America “exceptional”. They know that there’s an important distinction. They know that American exceptionalism is a particular religious ideology that goes all the way back to the time of the early colonization of the North America by the British.
Way back then, the first leader of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, John Winthrop, inaugurated the colony with a sermon entitled A Model of Christian Charity. That’s a pleasant sounding title, but the sermon actually established a rather sinister program of violence and repression for the New World. That vision included strict theocratic control instead of freedom, and a harsh separation of rich and poor.
Winthrop’s program of American exceptionalism also included genocide. Yes, John Winthrop’s idea of “Christian charity” included wars with the divine purpose of wiping out entire populations of nonChristians.
Here's a short video about Gog & Magog as referred to in Ezekiel of the Old Testament.
Ezekiel 39 - The Gog Magog War
For instance see Christian Evangelical website of Roy Comfort & Kirk Cameron Living Waters:Mission Statement
&Living Waters Homepage
"Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."
John 3:3
"Vision
To inspire in every Christian a God-glorifying passion to fulfill The Great Commission
Mission
In our passion to glorify God, magnify His grace, and exalt His Son, Jesus Christ, it is our mission to serve the local church by assisting in globally educating God's people in the principles of biblical evangelism; Exhorting them to fulfill the Great Commission; and equipping them with every necessary resource along the way. We do this primarily through the teaching and preaching of God's Word, strategic conferences, academic and practical training opportunities, networking platforms, and the production and dessemination of various printed and audio/visual media."
This reference to being born again is found on most of the Christian Evangelical websites from Pastor Hagee to Rapture Ready to Begin Living Ministries etc. This is a rather extreme statement because it means that anyone who has not accepted Jesus as their savior and gone through the "Born Again Experience" is doomed to eternal damnation. According to this theological view being a good person & living a decent life or doing Good Works is meaningless unless one is "Born Again". Once you are Born Again you are saved . So even those who call themselves Christians who have not been Born Again are not saved along with all those who follow other Religions . Of course there are a host dogma which the believer must accept such as the divinity of Jesus & the Trinity & a belief in the Bible as Inerrant -literally true without error etc. & a belief in the whole Endtimes scenario mentioned in various parts of the Bible and especially as it is laid out in The Book of Revelation.
The belief is not merely one of personal belief but that these beliefs must be preached to other Americans but also throughout the world in an aggressive proselytizing campaign . This proselytizing to the world is known as "The Great Commission".
These proselytizing Evangelical Christians believe that before the Second Coming of Jesus the Great Commission must be fulfilled in which the word of God is preached to all the nations & peoples of the earth . Each person hearing this Gospel must be able to make the choice of accepting or rejecting "The Word of God" and there is no Middle Way.There are in their view two opposing forces of Good & Evil.
This is why it is distressing to hear even Obama inserting this sort of language of a dichotomy between God and Evil when he refers to "Evil Doers" . With such a mindset as we have seen with George Bush there is no room for compromise or diplomacy its either Bush's way or Obama's way or the highway as it were. So Obama has also demonized America's enemies and those who do not commit themselves completely to side with whatever America's policies are. It is not merely a matter of a difference of opinion over policies or strategies or tactics but of being as Bush said " with us or against us" - he used this phrase after 9/11 while also using the term "Crusade" which was not merely a slip of the tongue but again captures the whole essence of America's Global War on Terror which is America's Mission from God.
or from The Church Of God Homepage :
More than ever, this is the time to prepare for the return of Jesus Christ. The Seventh Seal has now been opened and the world is being plunged into the final tribulation for mankind. Ronald Weinland, who is the pastor of God's Church on earth, has also been appointed by the God of Abraham to be His end-time prophet and one of the two end-time witnesses (and spokesman of both), preceding the return of Jesus Christ.
Or see: The Prophesied End-Time Revealed
The end-time has come. Hundreds of millions will die in the worst time of tribulation the world has ever known. You need to be informed so you can know how to respond.
2008 - God's Final Witness
The year 2008 has witnessed many prophecies being fulfilled, especially the Seven Thunders of the Book of Revelation, which the apostle John saw but was restricted from recording. Those thunders, which will continue to increase in strength and frequency, are revealed in this book, as well as detailed accounts of the final three and one-half years of man's self-rule on earth, which are recorded in the account of the Seventh Seal of Revelation.
also see:
beginLiving.com
Living Waters
Jews For Jesus
Endtime Ministries
John Hagee Ministries
&
The Church Of God formerly of Herbert W.Armstrong (1892-1986)
on the origins of American Exceptionalism see:
Models for Reformation: John Winthrop, Massachusetts (1588-1649) By Jay Rogers at foreunner March 2008
A Model of Christian Charity
Governor John Winthrop (1630 on board the Arbella) at The Foreunner
and so it goes,
GORD.
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