And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through.
- God (Luke 12:39)
They say that ignorance is bliss. If that is true Michael Moore must be in a constant state of ecstasy. Actually, I don't believe that Michael Moore is ignorant. I could excuse him if he were. No, His Royal Haughtiness is something far more malevolent - he is a bold-faced liar and distorter of truth. The sad thing is that he is right about one thing: there are a lot of really stupid Americans. Let me take that back. I don't know how many Americans are really stupid, but I will say that there are a lot that are pretty ignorant. These people act like they have been hypnotized. They fall for everything that they see or hear hook, line, and sinker.
One of my greatest laments these days is, "Where have all of the thinkers gone?" It seems like way too many Americans checked their brains at the door of the hospital when they left the maternity ward. I lay much of the blame at the feet of the educators of this country. There is very little in the education of our population that actually challenges an individual to learn the basic principles of logic and reasoning. There are very few courses that require this sort of thought. Geometry and Trigonometry and some of the higher maths incorporate proofs into their curricula. These certainly train individuals to use logical thought to solve problems. Computer programming requires an understanding and application of logic. However, these courses are few and far between, and (with the exception of computer programming) few emphasize the logical aspects of the disciplines. If you think back on your education, I dare say that like me, you will have to admit that you were rarely ever forced to think logically. 90% of all education today doesn't require thought. It requires an ability to memorize, regurgitate, and apply. That is a far cry from real thought.
I guess I was one of the fortunate ones. One of my teachers in Junior High School began my logic instruction. Oddly enough it was my English teacher in 7th and 9th grade. Mrs. Emerson was a great teacher. I hated her in 7th grade because she actually made you work! Sheesh! But occasionally she would give our class logic puzzles to solve. They were incredibly hard! But eventually I began to get the hang of drawing accurate conclusions based on incomplete information. In college I actually had a course that applied logical principles to more abstract ideas like morality and ethics. Fortunately, my professor did not take advantage of this opportunity to force me to conform to any predetermined conclusions. (Thank you SO much Dr. Stalnaker! I am eternally grateful to you!) The two courses that I took with Dr. Stalnaker at NC State taught me like nothing else to follow an argument to its logical conclusion. They also forced me to look at the major issues of the day and form well conceived opinions. He also taught me to be consistent in my arguments to avoid contradicting myself. Perhaps the honorable Senator Kerry would benefit by taking Dr. Stalnaker's class. I would be willing to say that these two courses were the most valuable ones that I took in 5 years at the university. But I digress.
The point that I intend to make at some point this evening is that people like Michael Moore are trying to convince Americans that the events of 9/11 were either an aberration - a fluke, or that they are a fabrication of the great satan, President Bush. I am here to assure you tonight that neither assertion is true. Sadly, there are many who would prefer to live their lives like the proverbial ostrich with their heads in the sand. They have chosen denial because they cannot handle the undeniable truth that there is a rather large group of unreasonable people out there who hate America regardless of who is in the White House and have made it their mission and quest to destroy as many of us as possible.
My friend WB wrote an incredible post today entitled Woman With Possible Terror Ties Arrested that is a MUST READ. Folks, I am not kidding. You REALLY need to read this post. When I read it I was reminded that this war on terror is VERY real and isn't just being played out somewhere over in the Middle East. People, the enemy is here and is looking for an opportunity. READ THE POST.
After reading what he had to say a couple of things just jump out at me. First of all, it is evident that we don't hear about all of the potential terrorists that are caught by our law enforcement officers. I don't know who is covering this up. Perhaps it is the government. There are very good economic and security reasons to not let this sort of information get out. Perhaps it is the media. Most of them don't want us to realize that there is still an imminent threat to our country. That would go a long way to getting President Bush re-elected. I'm guessing that it is probably a combination of the two, but if I had to pick one, I'd probably lean more heavily towards the government. Neither of these stories were covered by the Drudge Report or Newsmax, two very conservative news sources. Secondly, we are very blessed to have such a great group of people protecting us. It has been almost 3 years since 9/11 and there hasn't been a successful major attack on America since then. With the type of activity that WB describes in his post that is nothing short of a miracle.
Folks, we need to get real about the threat to our country. The danger is very real, very clear, and very present. How many of the WMDs that the world was convinced existed in Iraq prior to the coalition invasion are now in terrorist hands inside of the United States or our coalition partners? (Yes, the WORLD. The US didn't make this stuff up! Stop believing that tripe that Moore tries to pass off as truth! The UN passed resolution after resolution and asserted over and over that these weapons were there. Why does everyone seem to have such a hard time remembering something that happened longer than 8 hours ago?) How many of the missing Russian "suitcase" nuclear weapons are hidden inside major US cities? If these weapons are used against us, they will make the attack on the World Trade Center look like a bad traffic accident by comparison. These weapons have the capability of destroying CITIES. They don't discriminate between Republican or Democrat, liberal, moderate, or conservative, white or black, male or female, young or old either.
Now let's consider this: who would the terrorists prefer to have in the White House? Would they rather have someone who thinks that we should get a consensus from the UN and especially from countries that are partners with the regimes that support terrorists? Or would they prefer to have a team in Washington that has proven that they are willing to take the fight to the terrorists even if we are the only country on the Earth with the courage to fight them, freeze their assets, and hunt them like the dogs that they are? Where do John Kerry and John Edwards fit into that picture? How about President Bush and Dick Cheney? Which one is the most likely to strike fear into the heart of the enemy? If you were a terrorist would you rather be treated as a criminal or as a combatant? Do you want to agree with a terrorist? Not me!
How about this: which of the candidates has demonstrated an ability to choose a course of action and follow it through to completion? Which of the candidates has actual foreign policy experience? Which team has the most experience actually governing the country? Is this a time for dual mindedness? The Bible says that a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways. Is this a time for instability? Is this a time for on-the-job-training? I think not.
I know this is some heavy stuff. It is easy to become fearful when you think of the possible destruction that could be done by a single successful terrorist. I am here to tell you that there is hope though. If we had to rely solely on our ability to catch every terrorist and to uncover every plot against us, we would have reason to fear, but we don't. We can repent of our self-reliance and cry out to the God of our forefathers. We can turn back to Him and ask Him to protect and heal our land. The Bible tells us:
The LORD is my strength and my shield; My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart exults, And with my song I shall thank Him.
Psalm 28:7
O GOD the Lord, the strength of my salvation, You have covered my head in the day of battle.
Psalm 140:7
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the LORD, "My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!" For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark. You will not be afraid of the terror by night, Or of the arrow that flies by day; Of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, Or of the destruction that lays waste at noon. A thousand may fall at your side and ten thousand at your right hand, but it shall not approach you. You will only look on with your eyes and see the recompense of the wicked. For you have made the LORD, my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place. No evil will befall you, nor will any plague come near your tent. For He will give His angels charge concerning you, to guard you in all your ways. They will bear you up in their hands, that you do not strike your foot against a stone. You will tread upon the lion and cobra, the young lion and the serpent you will trample down." Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name. "He will call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him. "With a long life I will satisfy him and let him see My salvation."
- Psalm 91
This is good news. I am so grateful to have a God who loved me enough to rescue me from my own wickedness by sending His Perfect Son as a sacrifice to wash away my sin and imperfection so that I could enjoy the benefits of knowing and loving Him. That is something the terrorists don't understand. I have a God who is into LIFE! He loves to give us life! Isn't that amazing?! We have no need to fear if we have accepted the sacrifice of Jesus the Christ to cleanse us and bring us peace with a just God. I don't have to fear the destruction. My God is more than capable of defending me and my life here on earth, but even if He chooses to let my body die, He has promised that I will live with Him FOREVER. If THAT isn't good news, NOTHING is!
If all of this is foreign to you, but you want to know how to gain this confidence it is really simple. Just ask God for it. He says that He will give the gift of salvation to anyone who is willing to ask Him for it, who will confess that Jesus is the King of their life, and who believes that God raised Jesus from the grave. That may still be hard to grasp so I'll try to lay it out in simple steps tomorrow.
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