Tolerance not Compromise

By:  Dale Weckbacher

John 14:6

Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

NKJV

The first amendment of the U.S. Constitution says the following:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

The original purpose of this amendment was to place a restriction on the government in order to prevent them from passing legislation prohibiting free speech, freedom of the press, and freedom of religion.  The founders of the United States had fought a bloody war with the British Empire in order to gain their liberty.  The founders understood that power can corrupt and it was their desire to place limits designed to prevent the new republic from turning into a government resembling the tyranny from whom they had won their independence. 

As time has passed however, some leaders in government, corrupted by the power their position grants them, have begun to interpret the first amendment as empowering the government to restrict religious practices so as not to offend someone of another religion, or those choosing to be atheists.  This interpretation has led to court rulings ordering the removal of nativity scenes, the Ten Commandments, and even prayer in schools and other public places.  Anyone daring to display something that professes their faith in a public place finds themselves asked, or ordered, to remove it in the interest of tolerance. 

In Matthew 10:32-33 Jesus said the following, "32 Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven.  33 But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.”  (NKJV)  In other words, anyone professing faith in Jesus Christ as savior is commanded by scripture to profess or confess their faith before men.  Therefore, if some government official or some legislation prohibits the free expression of faith, it prohibits a Christian from practicing their faith as outlined in scripture. 

On the surface, it might appear that the calling of Christians is to be intolerant of those of other faiths.  However, Jesus also said the following in the Sermon on the Mount, “Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God.”  (Matthew 5:9, NKJV)  Jesus was a man of peace proven by his willingness to give his live when he could have, as the Son of God, ordered the destruction of those that crucified Him.  Those that have dedicated their lives to following Jesus Christ understand the command to confess and profess their faith but also understand they are to be peacemakers and profess their faith in a peaceful manner. 

The calling of Christians is not to profess their faith through coercion or force but instead to let their words and deeds demonstrate the change their relationship with Jesus has made in their lives.  The prayer of most Christians is that when people see the positive change their relationship with Jesus Christ has made in their lives, they will want a similar relationship.  The founders understood this and it was their desire to preserve the free expression and practice of religion among the citizens of the country and therefore proposed and ratified the first amendment to the U.S Constitution. 

Tolerance does not have to mean compromise.  If ones religion is beneficial to someone, their lives should reflect these benefits.  This is where I believe those practicing radical Islam fail.  Their religion offers little if any benefit to others, especially women, and therefore those practicing radical Islam must use threats of force or coercion to bring others over to their faith. 

In addition, the first amendment right to practice ones religion ends when the practice of one’s religion results in threatening someone’s right to life, liberty, or the pursuit of happiness as declared in the Declaration of Independence of the United States.  We as citizens of the United States therefore have no obligation to extend freedom to practice radical Islam in the United States for as we have seen recently, those practicing radical Islam believe they are somehow doing god’s will when they behead someone not practicing their faith thus depriving them of their right to life. 

Christianity or any other peaceful religion has first amendment protection to express and practice their faith in the United States.  However, this does not mean they must tolerate religions using threats of death, injury, or coercion to convert others to their faith.  Religious tolerance does not include compromise with religions proselytizing through force or coercion and we who practice our faiths in a peaceful manner must stand against these violent religions.  After all, Jesus did teach that peacemakers would see God.  

A Shining City on a Hill

By:  Dale Weckbacher

Revelation 21:2

Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

NKJV

As John was reaching the end of his life and nearing the end of writing the Book of Revelation, God gives him a vision of the Holy City, the New Jerusalem coming down.  We can only imagine what a beautiful sight it must have been but the good news is that each of us who make Jesus our savior has the opportunity to see this shining city when Our Heavenly Father establishes his Kingdom here on earth. 

If you are reading this and have not made Jesus your Lord and Savior, I recommend you pause and pray this prayer, 

Lord Jesus, I know I have sinned.  I know you came to earth and suffered the death penalty for my sin so I can have eternal life.  I also know you arose from the grave.  I ask you to forgive me of my sin and I make you Lord of my life. 

If you prayed this prayer, you are now a child of God and will see the vision John saw in Revelation 21:2 when God establishes His Kingdom here on earth.  When times are tough and it seems there is no hope, you can now close your eyes and imagine the vision you will see that day.  I know for me this seems to make the day better and I hope it does the same for you. 

I live in Arizona and even though I have not done so for many years, my wife, and I used to make an annual trip to Nogales Mexico to do some shopping.  There is also a Nogales Arizona and there is a definite contrast between these similarly named cities only divided by a border.  When on the Mexico side of Nogales looking over the border at how people live in the United States, I know why they would want to come here. 

However, just as one cannot enter the New Jerusalem without a relationship with the Son of God, Jesus Christ, there are laws for those desiring to enter the United States and enjoy the opportunities it presents.  Unfortunately, the recent executive amnesty ordered by President Obama demonstrates his belief that the nation’s immigration laws are unfair to those living in poverty south of the border.  As such, he believes that as a compassionate nation, the United States somehow has an obligation to open up its borders and let everyone come in. 

On the surface, this may seem like a compassionate thing to do but just as the Trojan horse looked beautiful on the surface, this executive amnesty presents many problems.

1)      Massive tax refunds to newly amnestied illegal immigrants – The national debt of the United States continues to grow with no end in sight.  (1) The expanding debt however is a symptom of an even greater problem out of control spending and failure to operate with a balanced budget.  Every year that the government outspends its revenue, the deficit grows.  Add to this out of control spending, newly amnestied individuals, many of whom will earn incomes low enough to qualify for massive Earned Income Tax Credits, and we will see deficits rise at an even faster rate.  (2)

2)      Increased competition for a shrinking universe of jobs - The February unemployment rate was 5.5%.  This is the lowest rate for the U3 unemployment since May of 2008.  (3)  If we are to look at this number alone, it would appear more and more people are finding jobs, and the economy is booming.  However, to get a true picture of the state of the labor market we must also look at the labor participation rate for this number is an indicator of how many able bodied people in the nation are working.  Unfortunately, this number has been continuing to decline.  (4) Since the U3 unemployment rate does not include those who have been out of work so long that they have exhausted their unemployment benefits, we would expect to mathematically see a decline in the unemployment rate accompanying a prolonged reduction in the labor participation rate.

3)      Amnestied individuals will not be encouraged to assimilate into society – illegal immigrants are overwhelming our culture.  These individuals have little interest in assimilating into the culture of the United States and instead are beginning to transform it.  I moved with my parents in 1964 into the west side of Phoenix Arizona.  I still live only a few miles from the home in which I grew up.  During that time I have seen my community transform from a middle class suburban community into a community that resembles what I saw when traveling to Nogales.  Left unchecked, Obama’s executive amnesty promises to accelerate this transformation of the culture.  We must wonder if this is part of the fundamental transformation candidate Obama ran on in 2008. 

Just as Net Neutrality appeared good on the surface, amnesty appears like a compassionate thing to do for those living in abject poverty south of our border.  However, simply opening up the border and letting anyone in will only serve to transform the United States into an impoverished third world nation similar to Mexico.  The compassionate thing to do for those living in poverty in Mexico are to assist them in coming to this country legally and then helping them assimilate into our culture of prosperity so they too can enjoy the American dream as our ancestors did. 

1. Brown, Kirby. U.S. federal debt continues to grow. www.deseretnews.com. [Online] Deseret News, July 4, 2014. [Cited: March 10, 2014.] http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865606073/US-federal-debt-continues-to-grow.html?pg=all.

2. Frum, David. The Cost of Amnesty. m.theatlantic.com. [Online] The Atlantic, December 4, 2014. [Cited: March 10, 2015.] http://m.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/12/the-cost-of-amnesty-obama-executive-order-earned-income-tax-credit/383405/.

3. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Databases, Tables & Calculators by Subject. data.bls.gov. [Online] united States Department of Labor, March 10, 2015. [Cited: March 10, 2015.] http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS14000000.

4. —. Databases, Tables & Calculators by Subject. a.bls.gov. [Online] United States Department of Labor, March 10, 2015. [Cited: March 10, 2015.] http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS11300000.

A Dangerous Game of Thrones

By:  Dale Weckbacher

Joshua 1:7

 7 Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go.

NKJV

I had originally intended to write about the Trojan horse of executive amnesty with this posting but in light of the historic speech of Benjamin Netanyahu Tuesday before a joint session of Congress, I am going to comment on the speech instead.  I believe the speech was historic for it revealed a genuine leader, in touch with the very real danger faced by civilized nations in our world.  It is my prayer that the people of Israel will reelect this great leader in the upcoming elections.  I believe Netanyahu is a modern day Joshua, a man of strong courage. 

The main topic and purpose of the speech was to point out the very real danger Iran poses to the civilized world and how the current negotiations by Secretary of State Kerry will only empower Iran to carry out its often-stated goal, the annihilation of Israel.  Netanyahu presented substantial evidence supporting Iran’s goal and the danger it poses to the free world.  Among the evidence presented by Netanyahu was,

1)      Recent military exercises by Iran – In these exercises Iran sunk a mock U.S. aircraft carrier while in the middle of negotiations with Secretary of State Kerry (1) .  Anyone with any ounce of common sense understands that this demonstrates Iran does not intend to adhere to the terms of any deal made with the United States. 

2)      Iran’s possession of Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBM) – A nuclear weapons program must have 2 components, a nuclear weapon, and a delivery system (2) .  Iran already possesses ICBM’s, which can deliver a nuclear weapon not only to Israel but also to any part of the world, including the United States.  Unfortunately, there is no mention of ICBM’s in the current negotiations between Iran and the United States (3) .  Once again, we have a demonstration of the Obama administration’s failure to seriously address national security. 

3)      Recent revelation of a previously unknown nuclear facility – While in the middle of negotiations, there was the discovery of a previously unknown nuclear facility (4) .  Once again, this demonstrates that Iran does not intend to be honest with the United States about its nuclear program.

4)      Iran’s proxy war – Through proxy, Iran has virtual control of many nations and terrorist organizations in the Middle East (5) .  This proxy control provides radical terrorists multiple platforms from which to launch not only nuclear weapons upon the world, but also acts of terrorism.  Left unchecked, it is only a matter of time before we see another 911-type attack or something worse involving a nuclear weapon. 

In one part of Netanyahu’s speech, he mentioned that the developing threat of Iran was a dangerous game of thrones.  Unfortunately, the inept attitude of the Obama administration towards the threat of Iran demonstrates that they see this situation as just that, a game.  Fortunately, we do have one world leader, Benjamin Netanyahu, who understands that this is more than just a game, it is a serious threat to the security of not only Israel, but the rest of the free world. 

We can only hope and pray that our Congress and Senate see the seriousness of this issue and do not ratify any treaty with Iran that will enable them to develop a nuclear weapons program. 

1. Tejas, Aditya. Iran Sinks Mock US Aircraft Carrier In Military Drills. www.ibtimes.com. [Online] International Business Times, February 25, 2015. [Cited: March 7, 2015.] http://www.ibtimes.com/iran-sinks-mock-us-aircraft-carrier-military-drills-1827572.

2. Zarif, Maseh. Potential Delivery Systems for Iran's Nuclear Program. www.irantracker.org. [Online] IranTracker, April 9, 2009. [Cited: March 7, 2015.] http://www.irantracker.org/nuclear-program/potential-delivery-systems-irans-nuclear-program.

3. Krauthammer, Charles. The fatal flaw in the Iran deal. www.washingtonpost.com. [Online] The Washington Post, February 26, 2015. [Cited: March 7, 2015.] http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-fatal-flaw-in-the-iran-deal/2015/02/26/9186c70e-bde1-11e4-8668-4e7ba8439ca6_story.html.

4. Collins, Steve M. Report: Iran Has Previously-Unknown Nuclear Facility. www.stevenmcollins.com. [Online] Word Press. [Cited: March 7, 2015.] http://stevenmcollins.com/WordPress/?p=7457.

5. Apps, Peter. Iran's proxy war? www.csmonitor.com. [Online] The Christian Science Monitor, November 6, 2012. [Cited: March 7, 2015.] http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Latest-News-Wires/2012/1106/Iran-s-proxy-war.

The Trojan Horse of Net Neutrality

By:  Dale Weckbacher

Genesis 3:4-5

4 Then the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

NKJV

The story of the Trojan horse is a great example of what happens when something looks good on the surface but later proves to be destructive.  In the account of Eve’s interaction with the serpent in the Garden of Eden, we see Satan appealing to Eve’s pride.  God had explicitly instructed both Adam and Eve not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  Had Adam and Eve simply obeyed the command of God, there would not have been a fall of mankind.  However, Satan created the impression that God was somehow depriving them of something they needed, the knowledge of good and evil. 

Looking back at what Adam and Eve did we can surmise that they might have thought how dare God deprive us of the knowledge of good and evil.  They might have then looked at the fruit and thought how beautiful and tasty this fruit is.  It was then that God steps in and they discover the destructive reality contained in their decision to disobey God.  Satan continues to use this pattern of deception to entice us to disobey God only suffer the consequences of this disobedience. 

We also see this pattern of deception at work in the story of the Trojan horse.  The gift of the Trojan horse looked good to the people of Troy and without a second thought, they brought it into the city.  When the people of Troy saw the Greek fleet sailing away, they believed they had made the right decision, putting the final nail in the coffin of the deception that would be their downfall.  (1)

The idea of cheap and affordable anything is appealing to us all.  However, something that is cheap and affordable might also be of lessor quality.  We must therefore exercise caution for we usually get exactly what we pay for.  This is especially true of most government programs.

Obamacare is a prime example of this.  With the promise of affordable health insurance for all (2) , the promise people could keep their doctors and even their health insurance plans (3) , many voted for Obama and their members of Congress, in essence bringing in the Trojan horse.  Once Obamacare passed the Congress and Senate and the President signed it, voters discovered the truth of what was in the Trojan horse.  We than discovered that the Trojan horse of Obamacare contained higher premiums and deductibles (4) , loss of doctors (5) , people losing their insurance due to the employer mandate (6) , a website that does not work (7), and now fines assessed on tax returns (8). 

Now, the Trojan horse of net neutrality has entered our nation.  The only difference this time is that the Trojan horse did not enter the nation through the front door as Obamacare did by going through Congress, but through the back door of the unelected forth branch of government, the administrative branch.  However, like Obamacare, this Trojan horse promises affordable, fast internet for all but once the people discover the contents of the Trojan horse, people will discover equality in the internet, but it will be equally slow, not equally fast.  This is simply due to the economics of the internet. 

Faster internet is not free for the provider to provide but requires them to have additional server space and infrastructure (9) .  Under the present free market system, these providers provide this faster service by charging a premium price in order to pay for the additional costs they incur.  However, if these providers are no longer able to provide this premium service at a premium price, they will most likely not provide faster connections, relegating us all to slower connections. 

Even though net neutrality will mean slower service, the most alarming, and destructive, part of net neutrality is that it opens the door for governments to regulate internet content (10).  We could equate this to death panels for free speech.  Since there will be reduced bandwidth, providers will be looking for ways to restrict usage, similar to denying certain individuals health care.  This will most certainly lead to content restrictions in the interest of reducing usage to insure the internet infrastructure continues to function. 

Net Neutrality is just another government program promising something will be affordable and available for all, only to have citizens find out after its implementation that it actually destroys what it was intended to fix.  However, unlike Obamacare, Net Neutrality came about through an unelected regulatory government department, the FCC.  We must send a message to President Obama and any future president that might believe they can implement their agenda through the back door instead of going through the constitutional process by stopping net neutrality.  This can be accomplished through the legislative process or in court but it must be stopped. 

We must also ask if anyone has given it a thought to the fact that the same government that could not launch a successful website for Obamacare will not be in charge of net neutrality.  Saturday, we will look at the Trojan horse of Executive Amnesty. 

1. Stanford University. The Trojan War. www.stanford.edu. [Online] [Cited: March 2, 2015.] https://web.stanford.edu/~plomio/history.html.

2. Kessler, Glenn. President Obama’s claim that insurance premiums ‘will go down’. www.washingtonpost.com. [Online] The Washington Post, August 10, 2012. [Cited: October 4, 2013.] http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/post/president-obamas-claim-that-insurance-premiums-will-go-down/2012/08/09/424048f2-e245-11e1-a25e-15067bb31849_blog.html.

3. Bier, Jeryl. HHS Admits: You Might Not Be Able to Keep Your Doctor Under Obamacare. www.weeklystandard.com. [Online] The Weekly Standard, July 19, 2013. [Cited: August 2, 2013.] http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/hhs-admits-you-might-not-be-able-keep-your-doctor-under-obamacare_740093.html.

4. Millman, Jason. Ohio becomes latest battleground in Obamacare premium wars. www.politico.com. [Online] Politico, August 2, 2013. [Cited: August 2, 2013.] http://www.politico.com/story/2013/08/ohio-premiums-rates-going-up-95067.html?hp=l5.

5. Pipes, Sally. Thanks To Obamacare, A 20,000 Doctor Shortage Is Set To Quintuple. www.forbes.com. [Online] Forbes, June 10, 2013. [Cited: September 20, 2013.] http://www.forbes.com/sites/sallypipes/2013/06/10/thanks-to-obamacare-a-20000-doctor-shortage-is-set-to-quintuple/.

6. Roy, Avik. White House To Delay Obamacare's Employer Mandate Until 2015; Far-Reaching Implications For The Private Health Insurance Market. www.forbes.com. [Online] Forbes, July 2, 2013. [Cited: August 17, 2013.] http://www.forbes.com/sites/theapothecary/2013/07/02/white-house-to-delay-obamacares-employer-mandate-until-2015-far-reaching-implications-for-the-private-health-insurance-market/.

7. Simon, Phil. Healthcare.gov: Government IT Project Failure at its Finest. www.huffingtonpost.com. [Online] The Huffington Post, October 18, 2013. [Cited: December 30, 2014.] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/phil-simon/healthcaregov-government_b_4125362.html.

8. CPA, Robert A Green. Obamacare Ushers In Pile Of New 2014 Tax Forms. www.forbes.com. [Online] Forbes, November 14, 2014. [Cited: March 3, 2015.] http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2014/11/14/obamacare-ushers-in-pile-of-new-2014-tax-forms/.

9. Brain, Marshall. What does a gigabyte of Internet service really cost? A look at the worst case scenario . blogs.howstuffworks.com. [Online] howstuffworks, April 7, 2011. [Cited: March 3, 2015.] http://blogs.howstuffworks.com/brainstuff/what-does-a-gigabyte-of-internet-service-really-cost-a-look-at-the-worst-case-scenario.htm.

10. Lee, Timothy B. How net neutrality regulations could undermine the open Internet. www.washingtonpost.com. [Online] The Washington Post, May 20, 2013. [Cited: March 3, 2015.] http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/05/20/how-net-neutrality-regulations-could-undermine-the-open-internet/.