Apathy

Who Cares About Apathy
 By Ray Comfort

I watched the TV monitor as the pastor of a church in West Virginia invited his congregation of 600 to join him, as he held a sign saying that abortion was wrong. He said that he stood on the side of the road for one hour the previous year, and asked who would join him this time. Twenty people raised their hands. I could sense his disappointment at their apathy. He then introduced me as the morning’s guest speaker.

I told the congregation that I felt passionate about the subject of abortion, for a good reason. Many years ago someone told me that a new Christian (named Fran) was about to take the life of her child through the procedure. I was horrified, and found out that she was due to have it done within a couple of hours. I sped to the hospital, praying all the way that God would give me the words to change her mind. I rushed in, ran up to the second floor and into her room. She was sitting on the bed, and had already had her preoperational medication. I pleaded, "Please don’t do this!"
To my surprise, she just looked at me, and smiled. Then she said, "It’s okay. I’m not going to have it. I just prayed 'God, if you don’t want me to have an abortion, make Ray Comfort come up and see me.'"

Two years later, I was at a church picnic when I saw a beautiful little girl playing in the grass. It was Fran’s child. As I knelt down by the cute toddler, it hammered home the issue that we are dealing with when it comes to abortion.

I told the congregation (with some passion), that I would never, ever, vote for a man who advocated the murder of a child in the womb. I don't care about his fiscal policies, because the blood of the innocents is on his hands. I also encouraged them to follow the wonderful example of their faithful pastor. I heard later that afternoon that between 400 and 500 turned out. God bless them.

However, the answer to the issue of abortion isn’t just to protest, although that's a start. A nation that kills 50 million of its citizens through abortion with no qualms of conscience needs more than a voice of protest. We are no different than Nazi Germany. We have given ourselves to the wickedest of sins, and that will eventually have terrible national consequences. We desperately need God’s forgiveness, and we need a new heart that can only come with conversion. Only the gospel can take a self-righteous, blaspheming, idolatrous, hypocritical, baby-killing nation, forgive it, and make it brand new:

"Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them" (Ezekiel 36:25-27).

 

(http://raycomfortfood.blogspot.com/2008/10/who-cares-about-apathy.html)

AFA Ends McDonald's Boycott

Not sure if I'll be going back any time soon, but this is good news:

AFA ends boycott: McDonald's agrees to changes

October 9, 2008

Dear Kristina,

Great news! Because of AFA supporters like you, McDonald’s has told AFA they will remain neutral in the culture war regarding homosexual marriage. AFA is ending the boycott of McDonald’s. As you know, AFA called for the boycott in May after McDonald’s joined the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC).

McDonald’s said McDonald’s Vice President Richard Ellis has resigned his position on the board of NGLCC and that his seat on the board will not be replaced. McDonald’s also said that the company has no plans to renew their membership in NGLCC when it expires in December.

In an e-mail to McDonald’s franchised owners the company said, "It is our policy to not be involved in political and social issues. McDonald’s remains neutral on same sex marriage or any ‘homosexual agenda’ as defined by the American Family Association."

We appreciate the decision by McDonald’s to no longer support political activity by homosexual activist organizations. You might want to thank your local McDonald’s manager.


Thank you for caring enough to get involved. If you feel our efforts are worthy of support, would you consider making a small tax-deductible contribution to help us continue?


Sincerely,

Donald E. Wildmon,
Founder and Chairman
American Family Association

For Whom Should We Vote?

For Whom Should We Vote?

The "Heart" of the Issue

By Ken Ham, Answers in Genesis

Would you vote for someone like Eliab if he were running for office? He was an impressive Old Testament character. And he was a tall and handsome man! Surely we should vote for such a person? After all, when comparing him to his little brother David (the future king of Israel), the prophet Samuel did!

 

The Lord said to Samuel, however: "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart" (1 Samuel 16:7).

 

Many of us will soon be deciding whom to vote for in the U.S. presidential election (as well as congressmen, senators, and other offices.) This will be just the second opportunity for me to vote for the president of the most powerful nation on earth.

 

Just over four years ago, my homeland of Australia passed legislation to allow its citizens to obtain citizenship in another country, yet retain their Australian citizenship. My family and I (having lived in the USA for over 17 years at the time) immediately applied to become American citizens.

 

Not long after, there was a presidential election. My wife and I had to decide who we should vote for, and I learned a lot in the process. Here's how we came to our decision.

 

First of all, as a Christian, I recognized that I needed to seek God's direction, just as the apostle Peter and others did in Acts 1:24: "And they prayed and said, 'You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two You have chosen.'" So I now pray today: "Lord, please guide me as I take seriously this great responsibility to vote."

 

Second, we need to remember God's lesson to Samuel: it is not about how impressive a person is on the "outside"--it's what is on the "inside" that counts!

 

I was also reminded of Matthew 12:34: "For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks" and how important it is that "Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You" (Psalm 119:11).

 

So I recognized that as we consider candidates, we cannot see their hearts. Christians must evaluate them by their actions and words--judging those actions against the absolute authority of the Word of God.

 

Third, we need leaders who are wise and knowledgeable. How do we determine that? God's Word tells us that: "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom" (Psalm 111:10) and also: "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge" (Proverbs 1:7). Do the exhibit a reverence for the Lord and His Word?

 

Fourth, and probably the most applicable to each of us on a personal level, I should not consider a person's politics in light of what might benefit me materially. After all, the Scriptures tell us: "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in a steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither most nor rust destroys and where thieves do no break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Matthew 6:19-21).

 

As I ponder all these things, I also realize what King David said: "I know, my God, that You test the heart." Only God can really know a person's heart. I can certainly judge a person's actions and words against Scripture as a test of the heart--but then I'm suddenly reminded: "But what about my own heart?" And then I ponder: "Knowing my own heart, would I vote for me?" Well, frankly I could not!

 

Oh Lord, "Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my thoughts; And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting" (Psalm 139:23-24). "O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?" (Romans 7:24).

 

But how I should fall upon my face and thank God that He voted for me! You see, "God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). And: "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy..." (Hebrews 4:16).

 

Let this election time be a heart reminder!

 

(Answers Update - Volume 15 - Issue 10)

Boys Punished For Refusing to Pray to Allah

From WorldNetDaily

BRAVE NEW SCHOOLS

Boys punished with detention for refusing to pray to Allah

Parents outraged: 'If Muslims were asked to go to church on Sunday and take Holy Communion there would be war'

Posted: July 04, 2008 6:15pm

Two seventh-grade boys were given detention and their classmates forced to miss their scheduled refreshment break when the pair refused to kneel and pray to Allah during a religious studies class.

Outraged parents called the punishment of the boys for not wanting to take part in the practical demonstration at Alsager High School near Stoke-on-Trent, UK, of how Muslims' worship Allah a breach of their human rights.

"This isn't right, it's taking things too far," parent Sharon Luinen told the London Daily Mail.

"I understand that they have to learn about other religions. I can live with that, but it is taking it a step too far to be punished because they wouldn't join in Muslim prayer. Making them pray to Allah, who isn't who they worship, is wrong and what got me is that they were told they were being disrespectful.

"I don't want this to look as if I have a problem with the school because I am generally very happy with it."

Last month, WND reported Principal Robin Lowe was reassigned after staging a mandatory lesson in Islamic religious beliefs for nearly 900 students at her Houston-area school.

The controversy erupted at Friendswood Junior High when students were diverted from a scheduled physical education class and taken to a special assembly.

In the 40-minute session, representatives of the Houston office of the controversial Council on American-Islamic Relations, an organization critics link to terrorist groups, presented a lesson in the religious beliefs and requirements of Islam.

The CAIR representatives instructed students that Adam, Noah and Jesus are prophets; announced "there is one god, his name is Allah"; taught the five pillars of Islam; told students how to pray five times a day; and gave instruction on Islamic religious requirements for dress.

The assembly had not been authorized by the district, officials confirmed.

In May, officials at a Minnesota charter school, housed in the same building as a mosque, attacked a television news crew investigating whether the publicly funded institution had complied with a state order to stop accommodating Islamic prayers and religious programs.

The investigation followed revelations by a substitute teacher who observed children being forced to participate in Islamic prayers.

In the Alsager School incident, the religion teacher, who was not named, made the class wear Muslim headgear and watch a short film. Afterward, she took prayer mats from her cupboard and said, "we are now going out to pray to Allah," parents claimed.

"I am absolutely furious my daughter was made to take part in it and I don't find it acceptable," said parent Karen Williams.

"Not only was it forced upon them, my daughter was told off for not doing it right. They'd never done it before and they were supposed to do it in another language."

"My child has been forced to pray to Allah in a school lesson," the grandfather of one of the students said. "It's absolutely disgusting, there's no other way of putting it. My daughter and a lot of other mothers are furious about their children being made to kneel on the floor and pray to Islam. If they didn't do it they were given detention.

"I am not racist, I've been friendly with an Indian for 30 years. I've also been to a Muslim wedding where it was explained to me that alcohol would not be served and I respected that. But if Muslims were asked to go to church on Sunday and take Holy Communion there would be war."

Keith Plant, Alsager's deputy headmaster, said with summer break, many of the staff was unavailable and he could not comment fully.

"I think that it is a shame that so many parents have got in touch with the press before coming to me. I have spoken to the teacher and she has articulately given me her version of events, but that is all I can give you at the moment."

Cheshire County Council issued a statement telling parents "inquiries are being made into the circumstances as a matter of urgency.

"Educating children in the beliefs of different faith is part of the diversity curriculum on the basis that knowledge is essential to understanding. We accept that such teaching is to be conducted with some sense of sensitivity."

Revelation of the incident follows this week's pronouncement by the UK's top judge, Lord Chief Justice Lord Phillips, that Islamic sharia law should be used in the UK.

In a speech to an East London mosque, Phillips said, "Those entering into a contractual agreement can agree that the agreement shall be governed by a law other than English law.'

"Those who are in dispute are free to subject it to mediation or to agree that it shall be resolved by a chosen arbitrator. There is no reason why principles of sharia law or any other religious code should not be the basis for mediation or other forms of dispute resolution."

Phillips signaled approval of sharia principles as long as punishments – and divorce rulings – complied with the law of the land.

In February, WND reported Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, chief of the 70-million-strong worldwide Anglican Communion, advocated the establishment of Islamic law in Britain.

Boycott McDonald's

'Gay' McDonald's prompts boycott
AFA urges millions to shun fast-food giant over its promotion of same-sex marriage

---

Posted: July 03, 2008 4:29 pm Eastern

© 2008 WorldNetDaily

Following a link from the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce's website leads to a promotional for children's Happy Meals at the McDonalds website

The American Family Association, whose earlier boycott of Ford Motor Co. over its promotion of homosexuality was dropped after company sales fell 8 percent per month for two years, now is asking consumers to stop buying Big Macs and Happy Meals at McDonald's.

In a brief announcement today, AFA, whose constituents number in the millions, said it is "asking its supporters to boycott the restaurant chain."

"This boycott is not about hiring homosexuals, or homosexuals eating at McDonald's or how homosexual employees are treated. It is about McDonald's, as a corporation, choosing to put the full weight of their organization behind promoting the homosexual agenda, including homosexual marriage," said AFA chairman Donald E. Wildmon.

AFA pointed out McDonald's donated $20,000 to the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce in exchange for membership in the NGLCC and a seat on the group's board of directors. The NGLCC lobbies Congress on a wide range of issues, including the promotion of same-sex marriage.

AFA had asked the corporation to remove its name and logo from the NGLCC website, where it is listed as a "corporate partner and organization ally." AFA also requested that McDonald's remove the endorsement of NGLCC by Richard Ellis, vice president of communications for McDonald's USA, from the website.

"McDonald's refused both requests," the AFA announcement said. In fact, Pat Harris, global chief diversity officer and vice president of "inclusions & diversity," told AFA the burger-and-fries conglomerate would "reaffirm our position on diversity."

The McDonald's logo is featured on the website of the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, among other well-known companies

"Ellis, who is openly homosexual, was given a seat on the NGLCC board of directors. … He was quoted as saying, 'I'm thrilled to join the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce and ready to go to work. I share the NGLCC's passion for business growth and development within the LGBT community, and I look forward to playing a role I moving these important initiatives forward,'" AFA said.

The AFA initiative followed an exchange of words between the pro-family organization and the corporation. WND reported then that McDonald's was running an e-mail campaign responding to concerns expressed by AFA to constituents.

The restaurant corporation had told consumers expressing opposition to its pro-homosexual stance that the company treats "all our employees and customers with dignity and respect regardless of their ethnicity, religious beliefs, sexual orientation or any other differentiating factor."

"We are not telling McDonald’s who they can hire to work for the company, nor are we demanding that they stop serving Big Macs to homosexual customers," AFA said then. "This issue is about the world’s largest fast food chain allying itself and partnering with an organization that lobbies Congress to enact laws that we feel can be used to repress religious freedom or undermine the sanctity of marriage."

McDonald's noted, "While one McDonald's employee is affiliated with the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC), McDonald's is in no way 'aggressively promoting the homosexual agenda' as suggested in the newsletter."

But AFA said, "To refer to Richard Ellis, who is the vice president of communications for McDonald's, as 'one McDonald’s employee,' as if he is a teenager flipping hamburgers, is disingenuous at best. While 'aggressively' is admittedly a subjective term, AFA believes that giving money to and partnering with a homosexual lobby organization is certainly an enthusiastic promotion of the homosexual agenda."

AFA asked the corporation for honesty in its communications and called its verbal maneuvers "disingenuous."

"As a Christian organization, the American Family Association always seeks to be honest, accurate and completely forthright in the information we pass along to our supporters," AFA said. "We expect corporations in this country, especially those that position themselves as 'family friendly' businesses, to do the same."

McDonald's officials declined to return a WND call seeking comment on the placement of its executive on the "gay" advocacy organization. But the corporation sent a subsequent e-mail confirming its support for the agenda of the homosexual business lobby.

"McDonald's is indeed a Corporate Partner and Organizational Ally of NGLCC. Our vice president of U.S. communications, Richard Ellis, was recently elected to its board of directors," said the brief statement to WND from Heidi M. Barker, senior director of media relations.

A spokeswoman for NGLCC refused to speak with WND except on "background" when asked about McDonald's financial contribution to the group. But she did confirm the organization would not release information on its sponsors.

As WND reported, after joining the NGLCC, Wal-Mart's income later started declining as Christian organizations reacted to the news.

CNN reported Wal-Mart officials later decided to pursue a lower level of homosexual promotions.

"We are not currently planning corporate-level contributions to LGBT groups," Mona Williams, the company's senior vice president of corporate communications, told CNN only months after the issue arose.

WND also reported AFA's suspension of its two-year boycott of Ford after the auto giant met the conditions of an original agreement with the pro-family group.

Wildmon said the original agreement between AFA and Ford contained four items:

• Ford would not renew current promotions or create future incentives that give cash donations to homosexual organizations based on the purchase of a vehicle.
• Ford would not make corporate donations to homosexual organizations that, as part of their activities, engage in political or social campaigns to promote civil unions or same-sex marriage.
• Ford would stop giving cash and vehicle donations or endorsements to homosexual social activities such as 'gay'-pride parades.
• Ford would cease all advertising on homosexual websites and through homosexual media outlets (magazines, television, radio) in the U.S. with the exception of $100,000 to be used by Volvo. The Volvo ads would be the same ads used in the general media and not aimed at the homosexual community specifically.

According to AFA, during the 24 months the boycott was in effect, Ford sales dropped an average of 8 percent per month. The organization said its boycott was not entirely responsible for the drop in sales but played a very significant role. A total of 780,365 individuals had signed AFA's Boycott Ford petition