All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 2 Timothy 3:16
Earlier today, we came across the flyer for this event next Tuseday at UT. It looks awesome. We intend to attend and report back:
"But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive." Genesis 50:20
Last night, a friend told us about this story out of Lindale, TX; re-printed (with permission) in full from Seven Spheres news:
School District Defies Lawsuit Threats to Perform “In God We Trust” the Musical
By Patrick Butler, Seven Spheres News
710 Words
LINDALE, Texas – In defiance of lawsuit threats from the Freedom From Religion Foundation, an estimated 2,200 people turned out Wednesday night in Lindale, Texas, to view the Lindale Independent School District’s 5th Grade musical "In God We Trust."
The Lindale High School's performing arts center was filled to its capacity of about 1,300 people said event organizers, and overflow rooms were set up in the school gymnasium and cafeteria.
U.S. Congressman Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) attended the event to “show his support” as did civic representatives and staffers including Jason Wright of Senator Ted Cruz's office and Texas State Rep. Bryan Hughes (R-Dist. 5). The mayor of Lindale, and other local elected officials, joined a standing-room-only capacity crowd to see the musical.
“We also have an overflow room of 200 filled to capacity,” said the Rev. Tom Buck, senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Lindale, to the cheering audience, “and another overflow room of 700 also filled to capacity. Those who can't fit in the rooms are out on the lawn, listening to an audio-only,” feed from the auditorium.
Buck said he was “overwhelmed” by the community support for “In God We Trust,” as did the play's co-authors, Chris and Dian Machen of Plano, Texas, located on the outskirts of Dallas, about 90 miles west of Lindale. The couple came to Lindale when they heard the Freedom From Religion Foundation had threatened to sue the Lindale School District if the play was performed as a school function.
“The number of people here tonight is far beyond what a play like this would normally attract,” said Machen. “Because of what they [Freedom From Religion Foundation] have done, more people than ever are seeing this play.”
While the words of the songs originated with the Machens, the spoken elements of the play were, for the most part, direct quotes from America's Founding Fathers affirming the role of God in the formation of the country.
The recitations by the Founding Fathers were re-enacted by fifth grade class members, often in period costume. Direct quotes affirming the role of religion in America from the writings of Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and William Bradford (governor of Plymouth Plantation in the 1600's), were recited without elaboration or interpretation, allowing the writers to speak for themselves.
Fifth-grader Francisco Mata delivered Bradford's observation that, “A vessel, called the Mayflower, delivered us in pursuit of a new country. To declare our faith, we travelled under a sail inscribed with the words, 'In God We Trust.’”
The “separation of church and state” controversy was met with Thomas Jefferson's own words taken from the letter to the Danbury Baptist Association in Connecticut, recited by fifth-grader Colton Beeler to heavy applause: “I believe with you,” wrote Jefferson, “that religion is a matter that lies only between man and God. The people have voted that no law controls the decisions of churches in America. It is not that the state should be separate from religion, but that religion should be separate from the state.”
A consortium of churches in Lindale, including First Baptist Church of Lindale that spearheaded the event, rented the high school’s performing arts center for the evening and staffed the venue. That enabled the fifth grade class at E.J. Moss Elementary school to present their play, which had been stopped when the Freedom From Religion Foundation out of Wisconsin threatened a lawsuit just two days before the scheduled event.
Gohmert spoke afterwards congratulating the children, parents and community supporters.
"Don't you just love Lindale, Texas?" Gohmert said, to a cheering crowd.
To the class he said, “I've been in the presence of presidents of our country. I've been in the presence of prime ministers and queens. There is nowhere I'd rather be tonight than right here in Lindale with you.”
Gohmert quoted Benjamin Franklin, too.
“Franklin also said, 'God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground, is it possible an empire can rise without his aid? We have been assured, sir, in the sacred writings that unless God builds the house, they labor in vain that build it.'”
Turning to the class on stage he said, “You have shown this, exemplified this, to us tonight in such a wonderful way.”
Kudos also to Congressman Louie Gohmert and Texas State Rep Bryan Hughes, two perennialfavorites of Cahnman's Musings!!!
This video from former KGB agent Yuri Bezmenov, who defected towards the end of the Cold War, explains the process by which Moscow undermined the West from within; understanding this process is crucial to understanding the Sexual Revolution:
Highlights:
85% of KGB activity was subversive.
Subversion -- A destructive, aggressive, activity aimed to destroy the target country.
Sun Tzu -- Subvert your enemy until he no longer sees you as an enemy.
FOUR STAGES OF SUBVERSION
Demoralization
15 to 20 years
The time it takes to maleducate one generation.
Influencing public opinion via various means.
Stiring up greivances
Textbook Alinsky
Destroy and ridicule Biblical Religion and replace it with sects and cults.
Distract education away from traditional academics.
Exploit a gullible media.
Moral relativism
A slow watering down of standards.
Destroy the relationship between employer and employee.
Flood influencers of public opinion with Marxist propaganda about 'equality.'
Destabilization
Economy, Law and Order, Military.
Radicalization of the bargaining process.
Make Constructive compromise impossible.
Raise contempt for traditional sources of authority
Media Puts itself opposite society
Students spring into action
eg. Occupy Wall St
Antagonistic Clashes between groups of society.
Crisis
Traditional sources of authority collapse.
Growth of non-elected committees
Population looks for a 'savior'
Strongman comes in to stop chaos.
Top down, Bottom up, and inside out.
Normalization
Self-appointed leaders no longer need revolution.
Stabilize the situation by force.
Elimination of agitators from earlier phases.
At this point, requires military force to reverse.
The easiest way to combat this is to bring a society back to Biblical religion; faith in God prevents subversion.
"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female He created them." Genesis 1:27
"We hold these truth to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness." United States Declaration of Independence
"Of all the dispensations and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports." President George Washington, Farewell Address, 1796 "My objective in life is to dethrone God and destroy capitalism." Karl Marx, 1848 "The basis of those ideals is a commitment to freedom and personal liberty that, itself, is realized only where the blessings of God are avidly sought and humbly accepted." President Ronald Reagan, Evil Empire Speech, 1983
Yesterday, on MSNBC, S.E. Cupp made the following statement:
S.E. Cupp nailed it. I couldn't agree more.
Man was created in the image of God; once you reject that you open yourself up to the temptations of utopianism. When political leaders start thinking they don't report to a higher power, really bad things happen. That is why Godless people need to be kept as far from political power as possible.
History is quite clear on this topic. From the French Jacobins, to the Soviet Communists, to the Nazi's, to countless other examples (*cough* Fidel Castro *cough), governments built on a foundation of Godlessness always lead to Mass Murder, Major Wars, and Economic Collapse. The reason for this is that, once a government rejects the belief that it's individual citizens are created in the image of God, the earthly temptation to use government to 'perfect' citizens and create heaven on Earth will eventually overwhelm those in charge.
This is not to argue that governments built on a biblical Judeo-Christian foundation have a perfect track record; they certainly don't. One need look no further that our own government under (Democrat) Andrew Jackson to understand that. The difference is that governments built on a biblical Judeo-Christian foundation will self-correct and (at least) contain the horrors. In the United States, as horrific as (Democrat) Andrew Jackson was, he led directly to (Republican) Abraham Lincoln a generation later. In Russia, by contrast, Vladmir Lenin and Joseph Stalin has led to ... Vladmir Putin.There's a reason Martin Luther King succeeded where Dietrich Bonhoeffer failed.
Man was created in the image of God. Political leaders who understand this are far less likely to succumb to the tyrannical temptations of power. This is not to say they are perfect. Any honest comparison, however, between the shortcomings of biblical Judeo-Christian governments and the deliberate horrors unleashed by Atheistic, Godless governments speaks for itself. And that's why I will never vote for an atheist.
