Call for Prayer

I'm coming to you guys in desperation. A good friend of mine here at school has decided it is his duty to "convert" everyone he can to athiesm. I don't understand his motivation because there is nothing to gain from it, other then damning the souls of Followers of Christ. His goal is not merely to destroy individuals, but to tear down religion itself. My friend is very intelligent, and I fear for a great many Christians who may not be extra strong in their faith, or in their knowledge of the Word. Friends, I'm sure many of you think of angels and demons and things of the spiritual world as something that belongs in the Old Testemant and not in todays world. Whether you want to accept it or not, there is a spiritual domain in this physical world, where angels and demons battle over souls in vast array. Satin's hand is in this, I know this for certain. I am asking for you to join me in prayer. Pray for my friend's soul, because he needs it, desperately. Pray for me and my fellow Christians here that we might break through his delusions. Pray for all those who have, are, and will come in contact with this friend of mine that he will not be a stumbling block in their path, that they instead be a stumbling block to his misguided ignorance. Pray that God show himself in a very real and powerful way to him. Thanks, and God bless.

~AndyJams~

Voting Party Lines

Well, the Democrats won. Worse than that, Nancy Pelosi is now third in line for the presidency (pray very hard that Bush and Cheney don't decide to die in the next 2 years). Hey at least I got to go party at Heritage Hills with Todd Platts! One thing that annoys me almost more than anything regarding the election, however, is the deal that people are making over voting "party lines." Everywhere I go and hear people talk about the election, I hear someone being criticized for voting a "straight ticket" (hey, it's better than a gay ticket). I even had a teacher in school today talk about his mother always voting straight up Republican. He said he asked his mother one time who she would vote for if God ran as a Democrat and Satan ran as a Republican. Her response, obviously, was that God would never run as a Democrat -- and this teacher criticized his mother for saying that. But I submit to you, what is wrong with what she said? What is wrong with voting for only one party?

People often talk about voting for "the best man for the job." But why would anyone with any form of a backbone on any issue at all vote on anything BUT the issues? As a general rule, Republicans are pro-life, pro-war, and pro-tax cuts. Democrats are typically pro-abortion, anti-war, and for repealing the tax cuts and imposing higher taxes on the wealthy. Gee, do you think they're a member of the party they are a part of because they share common views on the issues? Therefore, if when you voted, you were mostly concerned about the war in Iraq, why would you not vote straight Republican? What is wrong with voting straight Republican? Now I can see why someone would not vote straight lines if a candidate differed from their party's views on an issue, but come on people -- if you're going to criticize someone for voting the way they did, it's almost more accurate to criticize those who did NOT vote straight lines. NOT voting straight party lines shows that you really do not care about the issues (unless of course, as I said, the candidate differs from his or her party). Grow a backbone! Take a stand!

~Tribal

John Kerry's View Of Our Fighting Men And Women

''You know, education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don't, you get stuck in Iraq.''

-- Sen. John Kerry

~Tribal

Iraq: The Real Story

Glenn Beck created an interesting video that details some of the more overlooked victories in Iraq. With the terms "Vietnam" and "quagmire" still being thrown around, I think it's worth a minute to see what else has been accomplished (as if destroying a murderous regime that tortured thousands of its citizens and then tossed their corpses into mass graves is not enough of a victory for some). Here's the link for the video. In addition to this, a while back Fox News had posted a series of articles regarding Saddam and his possible terror links. These are also worth a look for those who continue to be "nay sayers" (I won't even get into the Sarin nerve gas shells that troops found, but you didn't hear about that one in the Tokyo Rose media either). The links for these articles are as follows: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4.

~Tribal

One Nation Under God

Many people in America today do not realize the moral and religious foundations that their country was built upon. They blindly insist that our founding fathers intended for such things to exist as "separation of church and state." My personal favorite is "Oh, well the founding fathers would have meant for same sex marraige to be legal." In Brad Stine's words, "Yup. That was their master plan!" Citizens today have absolutely no concept of what the founding fathers believed in, and the majority of them won't even listen to the historical facts. It does not take much research to break through the swarm of BS that surrounds this situation. That is the purpose of this post: to tell all of our readers out there what it is the founding fathers believed...using their own words. To begin with, however, I would like to refute some pretty popular claims concerning the founders. Most people I talk to on a regular basis believe that the founding fathers were all either deists or masons...but yet no one can conclusively tell me what either one of those is. Classical deism holds that God created the world but takes no active part in its day to day operations -- He essentialy made creation and then stepped back to let it take its course. Freemasonry is, despite some wild claims, not an anti-religious group. It is, in fact, very closely tied to religious belief. They do not force their members to accept a certain set of religious principles, and the organization itself states that freemasonry is not a replacement for religion. Whether one agrees with freemasonry or not, one cannot coherently argue that freemasonry was or is anti-religious. While a certain number of founding fathers were definentaly involved with freemasonry, only a small percentage truly believed in deism. To much of the relief of many reading this, I am now going to shut up and let the founding fathers speak for themselves on the issue. These quotations can all be found here and here. Enjoy...

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John Adams

“ The general principles upon which the Fathers achieved independence were the general principals of Christianity… I will avow that I believed and now believe that those general principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the existence and attributes of God.”

"We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."

"Without Religion this World would be Something not fit to be mentioned in polite Company, I mean Hell."

"It must be felt that there is no national security but in the nation's humble acknowledged dependence upon God and His overruling providence."

Samuel Adams

“He who made all men hath made the truths necessary to human happiness obvious to all… Our forefathers opened the Bible to all.”

“Let divines and philosophers, statesmen and patriots, unite their endeavors to renovate the age by impressing the minds of men with the importance of educating their little boys and girls, inculcating in the minds of youth the fear and love of the Deity… and leading them in the study and practice of the exalted virtues of the Christian system.”

Benjamin Franklin (wow this sounds like one hardcore deist)

“God governs in the affairs of man. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid? We have been assured in the Sacred Writings that except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it. I firmly believe this. I also believe that, without His concurring aid, we shall succeed in this political building no better than the builders of Babel”

“In the beginning of the contest with Britain, when we were sensible of danger, we had daily prayers in this room for Divine protection. Our prayers, Sir, were heard, and they were graciously answered… do we imagine we no longer need His assistance?”

In Benjamin Franklin's 1749 plan of education for public schools in Pennsylvania, he insisted that schools teach "the excellency of the Christian religion above all others, ancient or modern."

In 1787 when Franklin helped found Benjamin Franklin University, it was dedicated as "a nursery of religion and learning, built on Christ, the Cornerstone."

Alexander Hamilton

Hamilton began work with the Rev. James Bayard to form the Christian Constitutional Society to help spread over the world the two things which Hamilton said made America great: (1) Christianity (2) a Constitution formed under Christianity. “The Christian Constitutional Society, its object is first: The support of the Christian religion. Second: The support of the United States.”

On July 12, 1804 at his death, Hamilton said, “I have a tender reliance on the mercy of the Almighty, through the merits of the Lord Jesus Christ. I am a sinner. I look to Him for mercy; pray for me.”

"For my own part, I sincerely esteem it [the Constitution] a system which without the finger of God, never could have been suggested and agreed upon by such a diversity of interests."

"I have carefully examined the evidences of the Christian religion, and if I was sitting as a juror upon its authenticity I would unhesitatingly give my verdict in its favor. I can prove its truth as clearly as any proposition ever submitted to the mind of man."

John Hancock

“In circumstances as dark as these, it becomes us, as Men and Christians, to reflect that whilst every prudent measure should be taken to ward off the impending judgments, …at the same time all confidence must be withheld from the means we use; and reposed only on that God rules in the armies of Heaven, and without His whole blessing, the best human counsels are but foolishness… Resolved; …Thursday the 11th of May…to humble themselves before God under the heavy judgments felt and feared, to confess the sins that have deserved them, to implore the Forgiveness of all our transgressions, and a spirit of repentance and reformation …and a Blessing on the … Union of the American Colonies in Defense of their Rights [for which hitherto we desire to thank Almighty God]…That the people of Great Britain and their rulers may have their eyes opened to discern the things that shall make for the peace of the nation…for the redress of America’s many grievances, the restoration of all her invaded liberties, and their security to the latest generations."

Patrick Henry (my personal favorite)

"This is all the inheritance I can give my dear family. The religion of Christ can give them one which will make them rich indeed.”

“It cannot be emphasized too clearly and too often that this nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religion, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ. For this very reason, peoples of other faiths have been afforded asylum, prosperity, and freedom of worship here.”

“The Bible is worth all other books which have ever been printed.”

"It is when people forget God that tyrants forge their chains."

Thomas Jefferson

“God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are a gift from God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, and that His justice cannot sleep forever.”

“Of all the systems of morality, ancient or modern which have come under my observation, none appears to me so pure as that of Jesus.”

“ The doctrines of Jesus are simple, and tend to all the happiness of man.”

James Madison

“ We’ve staked our future on our ability to follow the Ten Commandments with all of our heart.”

“We have staked the whole future of American civilization, not upon the power of government, far from it. We’ve staked the future of all our political institutions upon our capacity…to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God.”

In 1812, President Madison signed a federal bill which economically aided the Bible Society of Philadelphia in its goal of the mass distribution of the Bible.

At the Constitutional Convention of 1787, James Madison proposed the plan to divide the central government into three branches. He discovered this model of government from the Perfect Governor, as he read Isaiah 33:22.

Noah Webster

“In my view, the Christian religion is the most important and one of the first things in which all children, under a free government ought to be instructed...No truth is more evident to my mind than that the Christian religion must be the basis of any government intended to secure the rights and privileges of a free people.”

“The Bible was America’s basic textbook in all fields.”

“Education is useless without the Bible”

George Washington

"...reason and experience both forbid us to expect, that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle..."

“ It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and Bible.”

“What students would learn in American schools above all is the religion of Jesus Christ.”

During his inauguration, Washington took the oath as prescribed by the Constitution but added several religious components to that official ceremony. Before taking his oath of office, he summoned a Bible on which to take the oath, added the words “So help me God!” to the end of the oath, then leaned over and kissed the Bible.

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This is just a sample of the fully documented information that can be found here. Please take a look at all of it and stop being stupid about "separation of church and state." It was meant to protect the church from the state's involvement (i.e. Church of England). I may post more about this topic sometime down the road.

~Tribal~

"Army Recommends Death Penalty for 4 Soldiers Accused of Murder"

Stories like this really eat at me. I personally have not heard too much about this individual case, but I have heard the details in other cases similar to this, and for the most part these are attempts to dishonor our soldiers and disrupt the war in Iraq. It is sickening. How can we expect our soldiers to win the war on terror when we keep trying them and jailing them for killing? Isn't that their job? If these soldiers really were told that the raid was on an al-Qaida base, of course they would have shot at people who were attacking them. That's what you do when you're in the Army and you get attacked! You attack back! What gets me with this particular story is that they're actually accusing the one soldier of stabbing another to make it look like they were attacked by the "civilians." If that actually is the case, these are some very mentally ill soldiers. Have we forgotten the enemy we are fighting? We are fighting against enemies that disguise themselves and walk around like civilians! If these soldiers were told before they went in that this was a terrorist base, and they were attacked by these men once they got there, how can anyone say with certainty that they were not terrorists? So why are we putting them on trial for the freaking death penalty??? Is this how America treats our soldiers, by telling them to do a job and then executing them for it? This story is absolutely outrageous. If I hear anything more about it, I will keep you all updated as to what is going on. If you have anymore information about this story other than what is in the link above, please leave a comment.

~Tribal~

The World Hates Christians and Americans - Part 2

Well now that the fury over me supporting Mel Gibson has died down, I think it's high time I publicly support another popular recipient of the world's hate: Tour de France champion Floyd Landis! I won't say much about this topic, I will let Floyd speak for himself. I fully believe that Floyd is innocent of the doping charges, and this is why:

"In the past week, I have gone from the 'Top of the World' to the depths of scandal. I have been thrust into the international spotlight and am being asked to defend myself against something that I did not do, for reasons that I do not understand. Although this has been a hard time for my family and me, we are confident that I will be vindicated. I am innocent of any wrongdoing and want to take an opportunity to clear up some misconceptions that exist regarding the situation.

It is widely known that the test in question, given as a urine sample after my victorious ride on stage 17 of the Tour de France, returned an abnormal T/E ratio from the 'A' sample. I want to be entirely clear about one point of the test that has not been fairly reported in the press or expressed in any statements made by international or national governing bodies; the T value returned has been determined to be in the normal range. The E value returned was LOW, thus causing the skewed ratio. This evidence supports my assertion that I did not use testosterone to improve my performance. I emphatically deny any claims that I used testosterone to improve my performance.

Much has been speculated about the presence of exogenous testosterone in the 'A' sample. Together with some of the leading medical and scientific experts in the world, we are reviewing the documentation about the 'carbon isotope ratio test.' All I can say at this time is that I did not take testosterone, so there must be another reason for the result, as leaked by the UCI.
Beyond the specifics of the testing, however, I am particularly troubled by the actions of the UCI. Information about an 'adverse analytical finding' was prematurely released by the UCI in order 'to avoid a known leak' within the lab. A direct statement followed from UCI President Pat McQuaid that left little to infer as to whose test was in question.

I was notified of the 'A' sample results while attending post-Tour criteriums in Europe. As a result of these breeches in protocol, confidentiality and disregard for due process, I view this as a clear violation of my rights as a professional racer licensed by the UCI.

I became the center of media attention with little time to understand the nature of the 'A' sample results, possible causes or explanations. As I tried to come to terms with the situation, my statement and attempts to understand the results were interpreted as 'excuses' before I had time to fully grasp the facts of the case. The inappropriate actions of the UCI has caused undue, and potentially irreparable, harm to my reputation and character. I feel I am being prosecuted without regard to my basic rights.

It is now my goal to fight to clear my name and restore what I worked so hard to achieve. I am a fighter. I did not give up during the Tour and I won’t give up now, no matter what the results of the 'B' sample are.

Keep the Faith,
Floyd "

Our prayers go out to Floyd and his family as they put up with all this crap. The world just cannot stand Americans winning, and they will do everything they can to see us lose. The same accusations were brought against Lance Armstrong multiple times, but multiple times he was able to prove that he fairly beat the competition. When will it end?

~Tribal~

Wallace! Wallace! Wallace!

Over the past few days I have grown very sick of hearing about Mel Gibson's DUI and "anti-semitism." Flipping through the channels on TV last night alone (a full two or three days after Gibson's incident) I passed three separate channels talking about nothing but Mel Gibson. One channel I passed had some Hollywood hotshot going on about how he would never work with Gibson again over this terrible outrage. In fact, many in Hollywood are saying just that. Ironic, because many of these actors have probably been charged with DUI themselves. Dr. Phil is probably the only person so far that I've heard support Mel. It's just ridiculous. You go on any news website and there's half a dozen stories about Mel Gibson. The world loves to hate Christians when they slip up and fall.

I have been a Mel Gibson fan for a good bit of my life. Braveheart is probably my favorite movie of all time next to the Star Wars and Lord of the Rings films. The Patriot and The Passion also would make an appearance in my top 10 list if I indeed made a top 10 list. The point is, I am not going to stop watching these films because of this one DUI incident. Mel's actions that night were deplorable, but I still support Mel. I will continue to go see his films, and I accept the many apologies he publicly issued. I hope he faces the same punishment as everyone else in his situation would face, and I hope he overcomes his alcoholism. But that really is the only issue here to deal with. Despite what Mel may have said that night, he is not an anti-semite.

Like Dr. Phil said, you can't judge a man by what he says in a drunken stupor on the side of the road. Now granted the man is still in a drunken stupor, but for that see the above paragraph. Many like to point out how Mel's father reportedly said things about the Holocaust never happening. They then like to draw the connection that since Mel's father may have been anti-semitic, that obviously means Mel must be. Personally, I find any argument accusing Gibson of anti-semitism rather baffling. If Gibson "hated the Jews," why would he make a film about Jesus Christ, the most famous Jew in history? Why would he be working on a tv mini-series about the horrors of the Holocaust? Why would he himself repeatedly say that he does not hate Jews? Here's a bit of interesting information many of you may not have known: Mel's bodyguard is a Jew! Mel's publicist is even Jewish! Let me tell you, that is one hardcore anti-semite. I wish people would just shut up and let this man get on with his life of making great movies. I also wish that someone would videotape some of these people bashing Mel when those people are drunk -- it probably happens many more times and with harsher things being said.

~Tribal~

Congratulations Steve!

It is my pleasure to announce that Steve is finally going to graduate Army Boot Camp. It has been a rough road for him at times, but our best wishes and prayers go out to him and his family as he begins his career. I do not have any other information at this time, but keep him in your prayers as he graduates and progresses to his next stage of training. Congratulations Steve, and thank you for your service.

~Tribal~

Jungle Jump Off

Since last Sunday I have been on a journey..."A Journey to the Center of Christ's Heart." Every two years our church sends a group of youth to the Wycliffe/JAARS center in Waxhol, North Carolina, for a program that is known as Jungle Jump Off. For those of you who don't know a thing about Wycliffe or JAARS (a good bit of you), Wycliffe is a Bible translation organization comprised of missionaries from around the country. JAARS originally was an acronym for "Jungle And Aviation Radio Services," and was/is an essential support group to translators overseas in difficult areas. Jungle Jump Off itself is run by JAARS and is pretty much a week long simulation of missionary camp life, culminating in a realistic experience that spans from receiving the call to actually beginning translation for a foreign people group. Along the way, we had an opportunity to explore the different aspects of missions, the different roles of missions, the support that missionaries need, and we all grew closer as a youth group as well.

Among the things we did while there, we actually served JAARS itself by doing various tasks around the compound. We also had class room sessions about Bible translation and missionaries, and we watched numerous movies. One such movie we saw was called something like "Ee-Taow: The Next Chapter." It chronicled the life of a native people group before missionaries arrived. It then traced the evolution and development of the Word of God written in this group's native tongue. When the translation was complete and the people received their Bibles, the response was overwhelming to watch. The entire village of thousands repented of their ways and turned to Christ. Celebration broke out in the streets, and for hours the natives sang, jumped, ran around, and praised God. It soon gave way to hysterical weeping, however, as the people realized that everyone from their village who already passed away were living in a dark, Christless eternity. About an hour later, the celebration resumed as the people would not let the new hope they had found be smothered. Keep in mind that this was not an acted out movie. This entire film was shot by camera men as these events actually unfolded. Nothing was scripted. Later on, the missionary was teaching these people out of God's word, and they were all sitting under their grass huts. The missionary got to a part in his Scripture reading about God sending a great earthquake as a sign, and the entire village was actually suddenly hit with an earthquake. The missionary ran around in a panic trying to get people away from the huts, but the people remained as motionless as statues without a shred of fear on their faces. The earthquake soon subsided, and the natives never flinched once. They knew it was their God showing Himself to them, and they knew they had nothing at all to fear.

Now I could tell you hundreds of stories from this week, either things I experienced or things missionaries told me in conversations, but I chose this specific story for a purpose. I think we have alot that we need to learn from these people groups. I am not trying to bash that missionary and I am not trying to criticize the church in more developed countries like America, but how come in America there isn't mass celebrating when people get saved? How come we don't cry for those who have died without Christ? How come the natives had the faith to remain calm and see the earthquake as a sign of God while the American missionary feared for the lives of those he was teaching to? It's just kind of heartbreaking I think to see these people who have never heard about God until just recently have such a strong faith and such excitement and dedication while we really couldn't care less in most circumstances. I'm not excluding myself from anything I'm saying here, I would probably have run during the earthquake and I really don't get as excited as I should when people get saved. It's just kind of ironic that sometimes the ones we go to teach can teach us more than anyone thought. We're so comfortable where we live that we really don't need God or faith...at least that's how it seems to us. We have an abundance of food everyday, we have electric, we have running water -- most of these tribes have to find their food to survive everyday, they have no modern conveniences, and most of their water sources are contaminated and unfit for consumption. Like C.S. Lewis says in The Problem of Pain, it's not when we're comfortable and content that we seek God -- it's when we're hurting, lost, and miserable. These natives have lived in constant fear of witchcraft, evil spirits, starvation, dehydration, and natural disasters all their lives (all of these things do exist). Our culture naturally makes us closed to God's Word, and it's time that we took a stand for God and for the Bibless people groups in the world.

~Tribal~

Love

I've been absent for quite a while, and there's been quite a lot on my plate, but I thought I'd throw this up there....love is a funny thing. I'd even say that love is a many splendid thing. Why, love lifts us up where we belong! All you need is love! Alright, so I didn't come up with that, and anyone who knows anything about any good music should know that. Hmm...but love's complicated and confusing...can bring you extreme happyness and extreme sadness. It drives people to do crazy things. Some people take their lives, others take others' lives. Love doesn't always drive people to murder though, cause if it did the world would be a pretty sucky place. Love can drive someone to work harder, to become better at whatever it is they do. Afterall, girls like guys with skills, right? That's my experience at least. So what's this all about? The mistake people make is they devote they're all and everything to another person. I can understand it. I've made that mistake before. Well, maybe mistake's a bad word for it...but whatever you want to call it, I've certainly been guilty of making a girl the most important thing in my life. Don't get me wrong, love is wonderful, and I for one am in favor of it. I'm a hopeless romantic, and there's no two ways about it. Whenever it is I finally am able to find that one girl who makes me sigh like listening to the Great Gates of Kiev (if you don't know what I'm talking about, it's an absolutely amazing piece of music that, well, makes me sigh because it's so beautiful), she's going to be the most important thing to me here on Earth. The point is, that out of this amazing love I keep dancing around, Jesus let Himself be slaughtered for us. He loves us more than I could possibly ever love a girl, and you know what? Jesus gets to have the number one spot. He's got to. There's just really no way around it. If He's not, then what's all the rest of this stuff worth? I don't know if any of this makes sense. Just something I thought about this evening while I was running.

Flag Burning and Free Speech

A few years ago when credit card commercials of the same format were popular on television, my uncle told me a joke:

"Lighter: $2. American Flag: $10. A**hole catching his shirt on fire while trying to burn the American flag: priceless."

I honestly can not understand why this whole flag burning issue is even an issue to begin with. I can't believe the amendment banning the burning of the American flag didn't pass, and I fail to recognize its controversy. In what way would such an amendment be a restriction of free speech? How is speech even related to the physical, non-vocal action of burning a national symbol? In case you all forgot what exactly our flag is, here's a refresher. Our flag is not made out of a piece of fabric with some artificial dyes that probably come from China. Our flag is made of the blood of every soldier who died while defending this country since its birth. Our flag is made of human lives -- hundreds of thousands of human lives to be more specific. Burning the American flag is not merely destroying a rectangular piece of cloth, it is desecrating the memory of hundreds of thousands of dead American soldiers. No man has the right to do that, no matter how much he think he does. Not only is the flag made out of blood, but the flag represents American freedom -- it is the definitive symbol of liberty. When one burns the flag, he essentially burns the symbol of his freedom -- he burns and desecrates his own rights to free speech, free press, etc. If someone wants to burn up the symbol of their own freedom, why should they be given any of the freedoms associated with the symbol? It makes no sense. One can think of it as a contract. Burning an American flag is essentially equal to rejecting America and America's freedom -- therefore one rejects his freedoms when he burns a flag, so lock him up and throw away the key! This is a sickening debate that shames our soldiers living and dead, and I pray that the government will stop toying around with the issue and do something.

~Tribal~

Who's Going to Hell?

A recent poll was taken among Beliefnet members that showed some...well quite frankly...not so surprising results:

"Conservatives are more secure in their beliefs that they will not go to hell and that they know someone who also won't suffer eternally, according to a June poll of 10,000 Beliefnet members.
Liberals expressed less confidence in their chances of escaping the underworld and in their ability to identify the damned, the poll shows."

Let's be honest folks, is this honestly some sort of breaking news headline? If i supported the gross murder of millions of babies, I would be pretty worried about where I was going after I died as well. If I supported banning God from schools, science, and oh, I dunno, even the freaking pledge of allegiance, for kicks and giggles, I would be very worried about being eternally damned to hell too. Why is this poll such a surprise? What should be surprising, or at least revolting, is that if liberalism has all of the answers, why are they the ones who think they're going to hell? Isn't that kind of a surefire sign that you're on the wrong path, you know, if you think that you might be going to hell and all? Oh well. You can read the full Fox News article about the poll here.

~Tribal~

BREAKING NEWS: WMD'S IN IRAQ

From FoxNews.com:

"WASHINGTON -- The United States has found 500 chemical weapons in Iraq since 2003, and more weapons of mass destruction are likely to be uncovered, two Republican lawmakers said Wednesday.

'We have found weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, chemical weapons,' Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., said in a quickly called press conference late Wednesday afternoon.

Reading from a declassified portion of a report by the National Ground Intelligence Center, a Defense Department intelligence unit, Santorum said: 'Since 2003, coalition forces have recovered approximately 500 weapons munitions which contain degraded mustard or sarin nerve agent. Despite many efforts to locate and destroy Iraq's pre-Gulf War chemical munitions, filled and unfilled pre-Gulf War chemical munitions are assessed to still exist.'"

More can be read of this article here. The site also contains a link to the declassified portion of the NGIC report detailing the weapons. I guarantee you that this story will never make the front pages of any major liberal news outlets, so pass this article along to everyone you know. I can hear Murtha and Sheehan and Kennedy now: "This is an outrageous piece of government propaganda! How dare the president lie to us again!" Oh well, maybe Ann Coulter is right about liberals being traitors. Or maybe Michael Savage is right and liberalism really is a mental disorder. Who knows for sure the insanity of the leftist mind?

~Tribal~

Red Fridays

I got this in an email today and thought it was very worthwhile to pass this on to all of you in a slightly modified form:

RED FRIDAYS -- Very soon, you will see a great many people wearing red every Friday. The reason? Americans who support our troops used to be called the "silent majority". We are no longer silent, and are voicing our love for God, country and home in record breaking numbers. We are not organized, boisterous or over-bearing. We get no liberal media coverage on TV to reflect our message or our opinions. Many Americans, like you, me and all our friends, simply want to recognize that the vast majority of America supports our troops. Our idea of showing solidarity and support for our troops with dignity and respect starts this Friday and continues each and every Friday until the troops all come home, sending a deafening message that every red-blooded American who supports our men and women afar will wear something red. By word of mouth, press, TV -- let's make the United States on every Friday a sea of red much like a homecoming football game in the bleachers. If every one of us who loves this country will share this with acquaintances, co-workers, friends, and family, it will not be long before the USA is covered in RED. And it will let our troops know the once "silent" majority is on their side more than ever, certainly more than the media lets on. The first thing a soldier says when asked "What can we do to make things better for you?" is...We need your support and your prayers. Let's get the word out and lead with class and dignity, by example; and wear something red every Friday. WE LIVE IN THE LAND OF THE FREE, ONLY BECAUSE OF THE BRAVE. THEIR BLOOD RUNS RED---- SO WEAR RED! --- MAY GOD HELP AMERICA TO BECOME ONE NATION, UNDER GOD.

This sounds like a very worthwhile effort and I encourage you all to wear red on Fridays in support of our troops. Pass this on to everyone that you know, as well.

~Tribal~

Da Vinci Code Cracking 5/25/06

The first topic I wish to discuss in my Da Vinci Code series deals with a statement made at the beginning of the novel itself. Page 1 of Dan Brown's book reads as follows: "All descriptions of artwork, architecture, documents, and secret rituals in this novel are accurate." With a little research (mostly cited from Josh McDowell's research) one will find, however, that this is not the case. For starters, there are not 666 panes of glass in the Louvre pyramid as Brown says on page 21, but rather there are 673. On page 131 of the novel, Brown says that "Madonna of the Rocks" is a 5 foot tall canvas painting. In reality, it is 6.5 feet tall and is painted on wood. Now, at this point, most of you have probably lost interest in this all together because there is no point in bitterly arguing about little details such as the height of a painting or the number of glass panes in the Louvre. Normally, I would agree with you, but this is actually an issue of importance. The problem arises because Brown uses these pieces of incorrect information to support his theory and storyline. It would not be a problem if he would not have included the "fact page" at the beginning of the book, but he did. He sells these untruths as fact and then uses them as actual, "historical" proof for his flawed viewpoints. Any respectable historian in the art world would also tell you that Da Vinci did not go by "Da Vinci," but rather his name Leonardo. Vinci is the town Leonardo lived in, "Da Vinci" literally means "of Vinci." No art historian or museum curator would ever refer to him as Da Vinci. It is basically the equivalent of referring to me as "of Albuquerque." That's just splitting hairs, however. An interesting aside. Check back soon for more updates about the artwork the book is centered around as well as some organizations that make an appearance in the novel.

~Tribal~

Da Vinci Madness

We all knew it was coming; we all knew -- okay, maybe just those of you who read this blog with some regularity (all 2 or 3 of you not on the writing staff) -- that I would eventually write a post about The Da Vinci Code spouting off my radical, intolerant, racist, biased, sexist, unfeeling, cruel, pompous, fundamentalist viewpoints on this holy work of fiction that no one can DARE to question. So, I'm gonna pull a one up on all of you. Rather than do just one post about this excellent, infallible, sacred, GOD INSPIRED novel by Dan Brown, I will take the pleasure of mercilessly ripping it to shreds in (hopefully) daily segments! This series, however, will most likely not begin until early next week, so make sure you check back then for some updates.

As for this post, I would like to explain the purpose behind why I am doing this, as well as inject my own thoughts about the work and Dan Brown himself. To start, I recognize that The Da Vinci Code is indeed a work of fiction. I am not one who is going to go lead marches down the streets of D.C. to get the book banned, because I know that our soldiers die to protect our freedom of speech -- no matter how false, slanderous, inaccurate, historically flawed, or RETARDED that speech may be, I know that if I expect people to not silence and ban my works, then I should not do the same to them. It's a matter of freedom as well as simple politeness. So, to get on with it, why would a recognized work of literary fiction be such a hot topic of debate anyway? Up until recently, I was under the impression that the author himself only professed it to be fiction. After reading several quotes from Brown's website, however, I am now under the very evident impression that he does believe in his theory, and he does claim that the theory "may hold merit." In addition to this, he makes a statement at the beginning of the text saying that all information about art, architecture, and the like is indeed fact. After a little research, that proves to be incorrect as well, and he uses these "facts" as evidence to his theory.

The problem with The Da Vinci Code starts when uninformed, unchurched, or unschooled people pick up the novel and begin to read it. It goes from "Wow, what a page turner!" to "Whoa! I never knew that about Jesus and Christianity!" People do not realize that in addition to being bad philosophy and bad theology, it is just horrible history. Hardly anything in the novel proves to be true besides maybe the occasional "Leonardo painted the Mona Lisa." People read this book and then suddenly absorb the inaccuracies with it, thinking that an overnight success author knows all the secrets to the universe. Now before I go further, I will admit that I have not read the book. Our family has a copy, however, and I intend to read it at my earliest opportunity. In addition, I will be going to see the film sometime in the near future. However, I have read very much about the book, and fact remains fact if I read the story part or not. I specifically know of claims the book makes (in the form of actual quotations from the book) and in what context it makes them. I can comment and research the correctness of these claims without having to have read the book itself, and not having read the book makes me no less of an "expert" than if I had read it. So check back often for updates on this issue. At the most, I have about 24 posts planned out, but I may end up condensing a great deal of those for time's sake. I will also turn on the comment feature of this site so you may leave me your love letters, hate mail, and anything in between. Feel free to leave us a message if you wish. Everything you say is welcomed here, even if you are an off the deep end liberal. We will still listen to what you have to say before we laugh. So, check back often and please leave comments! I hope this subject will prove to be a valuable weapon for those who know the truth.

~Tribal~

"Ethical Decision Making"

A few Fridays back, the junior class at the Dallastown Area High School embarked on what is known to be Ethical Decision Making day at the Penn State York campus. Now, when I first heard of this, I thought it might actually be something to look into, and it might actually be something good. Then I began to think...what is a public high school doing teaching young people about morality? These are the same public high schools that banned the longstanding tradition of morning prayer and rejected the scientific validity of intelligent design. These schools are trying to push God and religion out the back door while at the same time trying to keep a hand on the values that coexist with such belief. Well, their efforts are definentaly in vain. Rather than hearing what IS right or IS wrong, we were enlightened with the "truth" that the ethical code of conduct varies with every job or career. Kind of amazing what some of these "educators" can come up with.

~Tribal~

Conservative Insanity

Tonight marked the premier of Glenn Beck's nightly television show. It runs every weeknight at 7, 9, and 12 ET on CNN (though make sure you have the right CNN, there are multiple CNN channels -- with Suscom cable the one should be channel 40). The TV show works basically like his radio show. It's a "fusion of entertainment and enlightenment" -- very commical and entertaining while retaining its informational nature. You should all watch it...TONIGHT.

~Tribal~

Well, You Don't Look Christian To Me...

I would like to start this entry by saying that I am sorry if I come across has edgy or aggressive with this post. This is something that has been pent up inside of me for a long time. It all started when the P.O.D. promo team (of which I am a member) sent me a free copy of Risen magazine. This issue happened to have a picture of Sonny (P.O.D.'s singer) on the front cover, in all of his dreadlocked/tattooed glory. Well to get on with it, the first thing I heard when I pulled the magazine out of the box of promo materials was, "That does not look like a Christian man." This is actually a very old subject of tension between me and several elder members of my church, but this incident just happened to revive the fight. I deal with this kind of thinking on a regular basis. I am also criticized by many for "having friends that look like bums" and for even "dressing like a bum off the street" myself. Christians (and it is often the older generations) tend to have a problem with how people look, which is ironic if you ask me. We as teens are always taught by our pastors and parents to not be caught up in the aesthetic and shallow things in life. Yet at the same time, these same people often condemn others merely for looking a certain way.

Now let me continue here with some very relevant ancient history. You know, the funny thing about history is that it always contains a lesson for future generations. Well, enough rambling, I will get on with my point. In New Testament times, was Jesus wearing a tie and a suit? Well maybe that's a bit overdoing the question because ties and suits did not exist back then, but did Jesus wear the best of the best in clothing? Did he own several sets of "synagogue clothes" for His Saturday morning excursions to temple? Why, the answer to that question is a more than resounding NO. Did Jesus "hang" with the well dressed, "well groomed," clean shaven and fair faced people? Well, okay He hung with everybody, but if you look, He spent most of His time with those considered unclean and godless by the standards of the time. Did they have several sets of Saturday clothes? No. Now the interesting part is if you look at the ones who did insist on dressing well and being well groomed and keeping good hygiene. I'll give you a hint, they're the ones who wanted to crucify Jesus. Yes I'm talking about the Pharisees. They were too shallow to see through people's appearances and into who each person really was. Jesus, on the other hand, cared about the people, not how they looked or dressed.

The Bible says that God will not judge by how one looks, so why should we? If Christ does not judge by one's clothing or one's tattoos or hair, then what makes us think we have a right to do so? Do we honestly think we are that much better than God, that we know how to judge and He doesn't? As Montgomery Gentry sings in one of perhaps the coolest country songs ever, "you do your thing and I'll do mine...who are you to judge me? My Judge is going to judge us all one day." Did you hear that? MY JUDGE IS GOING TO JUDGE US ALL ONE DAY. Not Pastor so and so, not Deacon him, and not our parents. Someone with tattoos and dreadlocks can very much be a Christian man. There is no such thing as "looking Christian." That is such a shallow, plastic form of Christianity that I can't believe it.

While I am on the issue, I would like to comment on some similar issues. People have this concept that when you go to church you must wear a dress shirt and tie and nice dress pants and shoes. HEAVEN FORBID that you even think about wearing shorts or jeans. That is a cardinal sin that will condemn you to hell forever. Okay, well this is the part where I tell you that what I just said was completely sarcastic in case you could not pick up on it. So, the main argument for dressing up for church happens to be that is shows respect for God (although I also hear a lot that it's just not good to show up looking like a bum...gee wonder what Montgomery Gentry would say to that). So, this would imply that not dressing up would be disrespecting God's holiness. As the father of a friend of mine has said, "Does that mean when I'm sitting at home in an undershirt and shorts that God doesn't like me praying or doesn't hear my prayers?" This man holds a high position in our church might I add. Anyway, his point is 100% correct. Does God care what you look like in church or does God care about what your heart looks like in church. "Come just as you are."

If any of these people that condemn for looking "unChristian" actually spent time with people on the street, they would realize that their actions actually drive people away from the church. I have prayed with numerous people on street corners in York city who tell me they go to very casual churches. Most of these people do not even have enough money to buy their food for the next week, so how in Christ's name are they to buy an overpriced, made in Indonesia, piece of fabric suit? I have had people tell me that people all decked out in suits with slicked back hair scare them away. No lie. They honestly feel not welcomed by churches because of HOW THEY DRESS. I have also held conversations with a very steadfast atheist who almost turned Christian at one point. This girl would be described by many as a "goth," and she said that the first time she walked into a church, they all kept away from her and cast very askance glances at her. So, for this reason she will probably forever see Christians as an exclusive group of people haters that are so blinded and narrow minded by their ignorance that they stop caring about people. Please tell me this is not Christ's church, because I feel it is. PEOPLE SHOULD NOT BE PUSHED AWAY FOR THE SOLE REASON OF THE WAY THEY LOOK. If by the end of this post anything looks "unChristian," it should be those who are too set in their ways to see Christ's love. Wake up, people.

~Tribal~