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| Vol. 15 No. 2 February 2013 | Page 6 |
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| Vol. 15 No. 2 February 2013 | Page 6 |
Donald R. Fox
I have been racking my brain, my memory concerning how we Americans thought in the 1940’s into the middle 1960’s. You see, these years were my youthful years since I was born in 1932. I turned eighteen years old in November 1950. I enlisted in the Regular Army in March 1951. I spent twelve years on active duty, five years serving overseas. Thinking about this period reminded me that overall Americans thought alike. It was a period of God, country, apple pie and Mom. Americanism was understood throughout the USA – North, South, East and West.
By the middle 1960’s things started to change. Movies, music and even the appearance of some people started to change. As an example, younger men let their hair grow to a girlish style. Movie musicals that were part of the family entertainment throughout the 1930’s until the early 1960’s, a period of thirty plus years, almost completely stopped. There was a time past when even the smallest child could go to the local movie house and have no fear of gratuitous nudity and vulgar speech. Have we lost our sense of right and wrong and an understanding of disgracefulness? The truth is that a large portion of our population no longer thinks alike. Were we in time past perfect people? No, there have always been strange, unconventional and reprobate people. Presently, we do not think alike any longer. Our mooring, our Christian heritage has sadly drifted away.
We are now living in a morally decaying America. Normal is not normal any longer. What was normal is shifting at a rapidly changing pace. When will it stop? It will stop when people decide to return to God-given commandments, principles and civilized government. Our greatest need is to repent as a nation. “And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead” (Acts 17:30-31 KJV).
As I was working on this essay, I received my local newspaper, Sunday, September 2, 2012. I always go to the “Letters to the Editor” page to see what my fellow citizens have to say. A letter from Earnest “Dee” Streit of Saltillo, Mississippi caught my eye. The caption on his letter was entitled, “Obama criticized about religion-related actions.” Mr. Streit’s letter is furnished in its entirety as follows.
I hate to think we as a nation are gradually leaving God out of our lives, but it appears this is happening. The older generation of which I am a member was mostly raised in a church and our numbers are declining and the number of the younger generation not going to church appears to be increasing. Our government has helped in causing this decline. It has taken prayer out of our schools and sporting events and removed Ten Commandments from public buildings.
This is ironic because as you walk up steps of the U.S. Supreme Court, you can see near the top of the building a row of the world’s lawgivers and each one is facing a man in the middle. It is Moses holding the Ten Commandments. As you enter the Supreme Court courtroom the two huge oak doors have the Ten Commandments engraved on each door and you can see on the wall above where the judges sit a display of the Ten Commandments and this same court debates whether or not to remove “one nation under God” from the “Pledge of Allegiance.” Yet, Congress begins with a prayer by a minister whose salary has been paid by taxpayers since 1777.
Even our president who professes to be a Christian, by his actions has promoted this decline. In April 2009 when speaking at Georgetown University, he requested a monogram symbolizing Jesus’ Name be covered while he was making his speech. In May 2009 Obama declined to host the National Day of Prayer (a day established by federal law). Also in May 2009 he hosted a White House dinner in honor of Ramadan.
February 2012, the Obama administration forgives student loans in exchange for public service, but announces it will no longer forgive student loans if the public service is related to religion. There are numerous other actions he has taken against Christianity which make me question whether he is actually what he professes to be.
We as Christians need to pray to God that our nation does an about-face and returns to the fundamentals that our forefathers intended our government to stand on.
[Editor’s Note: The Children of God must not “follow a multitude to do evil” (Exodus 23:2) no matter whether encouraged or legalized by government or its leaders. “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God” (Psalm 9:17). Perhaps only the children of God have persuaded Almighty God to delay punishing America for its collective sins, but fewer and fewer observably are serving God faithfully in their lives. How long, then, will God’s longsuffering wait? Child of God, are you helping persuade God by your godliness to restrain Himself from punishing America, or are you helping to hasten that day? ~ Louis Rushmore, Editor]
Make Straight Paths for Your Feet
Ernest S. Underwood
The writer of the Book of Hebrews exhorted: “Make straight paths for your feet…” (Hebrews 12:13). This is good advice in any spiritual context.
One needs to go straight intellectually. He must make a diligent effort to learn the will of God as reveal in His Word – the Bible. After learning it, he must apply it by loving it and obeying it. Mind, not emotion, is what must guide one in his search to be pleasing to God.
One must go straight morally. One’s speech must be morally pure. Vulgar and profane speech is a sign of ignorance and extremely poor manners. Our minds must be pure, untainted by vile movies, music and magazines. Honesty and integrity should always be our guide in our dealings with our fellow man.
Then, one must go straight religiously. To do so he must make sure that all teachings and actions are authorized by the Scriptures. He must preach and teach truth, and he must live by that truth.
Are you making straight paths for your feet, or are you traveling the broad way that leads to eternal destruction?