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News & Views, September 2003 - Edited By E. L. Bynum
Can Abomination be Made Holy? - By E. L. Bynum
Madonna and Britney Spears - By E. L. Bynum
Email to Editor E. L. Bynum
Baptized Bones - By Norman H. Wells
Felix Mantz, a Baptist Martyr - By J. Newton Brown
U. S. Supreme Court: Yes, To Sodomy - By George Neumayr
Chapter 15 from the book "The Religion Racket." The Old Testament prophet Ezekiel was assigned a which was most unusual. God called upon him to preach to a congregation of dead, dry bones. Most preachers have similar experiences of preaching to this type of congregation. Ezekiel's experience, however, was unique. As he preached to the congregation of dead, dry bones, "the bones came together, bone to his bone." Nearly everyone has heard song that commemorates this event. After these "bones came together" it is said that "the sinews and flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them." Ezekiel kept on preaching. Finally it is said, "the breath came into them, and they lived and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army. " This was a real service.
Somehow, today's preachers don't seem to have the results of Ezekiel. Most of them start out the same way with a congregation of dead, dry bones. Some even get a little movement among the bones and they might even "come together, bone to his bone" until they begin to look like something. Today's religion is content to stop about here, and this is about as far as the average preacher ever gets; the flesh and life never seem to come. Our congregations are falling short of becoming exceedingly great armies.
The result of all this is that the modern preacher and church is spending most of its time arranging dead, dry bones to look like an exceedingly great army surging with life. This is a little difficult and frustrating, to say the least, and it does present some problems. Anyone knows that dead, dry bones can't hear, yet a pastor must keep preaching and pretending someone is listening. Sunday after Sunday he delivers sermons no one seems to hear...dead, dry bones.
Dead, dry bones cannot feel; they have no sensitivity to the appeals that might be made. Today's preacher has to continually present truths for which his congregation has no appetite. The average pastor comes before his congregation with a challenging message of inspiration. He reaches the climax of enthusiasm and looks to his congregation, expecting them to be stimulated into heroic action and sacrifice. This is what he looks for, but what he sees is dead, dry bones. The Scripture says, "And, lo, they were very dry."
The pretense that a congregation of dead, dry bones is really an exceedingly great army is a little difficult to maintain. It requires a lot of doing and a pastor really has to work at it diligently. Just about the time he gets one bundle of bones stacked up so they look pretty good, he turns around and finds that the ones he was working on the day before have fallen down, and he has to run and do a repair job. His days are consumed running from one bundle of bones to another trying to keep the heads on, the arms in place, and the feet on the right end.
There is possibly no place where people are as sensitive and get their feelings hurt as easily as in a church congregation. A large part of a pastor's time is consumed running from one church member to another trying to soothe people whose "feelings have been hurt." Someone has made a remark they didn't like, or possibly passed them by without saying, "Hello." Oh, the tragedy of it all! The pastor has to get out the oil can in an effort to get the dead, dry bones working smoothly and use a little genial glue to stick the bones back together. He generally has to hurry the job because there is always someone else who is about to come unglued and is crying for attention.
The Bible speaks of those church members, "who loveth to have the preeminence." These folks must have a constant supply of recognition and praise, or they'll just throw bones all over the place. Let a pastor forget to publicly praise one of these or something they do and it will take him two weeks to get the bones back together again.
There are very few things as pathetic to watch as a pastor who must spend most of his time out calling in the homes of his delinquent church members, begging them to come to church on Sunday so he can stack their dead, dry bones in a church pew and pretend they are part of a victorious, conquering army. With all the emphasis that is given to numbers today, the average church is so consumed with counting how many bones are present there is no time to be concerned about the fact the bones are dead and dry.
These dead, dry bone congregations expect the pastor to be present at every social affair, afternoon tea, committee meeting, homecoming, etc. If he doesn't show up, he'll have a pile of bones that will be almost impossible to ever sort out and assemble.
The pastor finds it necessary to run a kind of complaint department. A great deal of time must be spent listening to all the gripes and complaints of the dead, dry bones. If he doesn't come up with an acceptable solution, these folks will fall apart right before his eyes. This is a horrible sight!
The preacher generally feels he must keep his ears tuned to pick up all the gossip. There are few things that will scatter bones like a good wind of gossip sweeping through a congregation. A preacher feels sometimes that half of his time is given in an effort to stop gossip before it starts and the other half is spent in trying to explain it away after it starts.
Another duty of the pastor is to stand guard like a vicious dog to keep other pastors from stealing his bones.
One of the really discouraging things a pastor faces is to bring in a fine, unchurched family whose spiritual interest has been kindled and then watch their expression as they look around on a congregation of dead, dry bones. Might as well try to convince them they should take up residence in the middle of a deserted graveyard.
There is nothing like a bone battle! Let a congregation of dead, dry bones choose up sides and start a real church fight, and it is a sight to behold! The young pastor is usually completely unnerved at his first encounter with this kind of thing. Crushed and scattered bones are a ghastly sight. To be able to glue them back together is a rare skill.
Another difficulty that always seems to be present in these congregations of dead, dry bones is missing parts. Someone always seems to be showing up with some bones missing. One of the most common of these missing bones is the backbone. When the backbone is missing the individual can never stand courageous and tall in an exceedingly great army but rather collapses into a puny pile of bones.
There are some who always seem to be missing the top part of their skull. This leaves them utterly devoid of any ability to think or understand. Those who continually mislay the part of the head where the ears fit can never be expected to hear ... no matter how often or how loudly it might be said. Leaving the mouth part home eliminates the need for singing, praying, teaching, etc. Misplaced feet eliminate the necessity of marching in service. A great number find they have forgotten their hands when it comes to reaching out to drop something in the offering plate.
Mixed up bones can be a real problem. Sometimes it will be found that the same individual might have on a Baptist head, a Presbyterian body, Catholic arms, Methodist legs, etc. This is usually difficult to straighten out, and if one is not careful this type can wind up scattered all over town.
Another difficulty is that sometimes these different bones get out of proportion to the rest of the body in size. The most common of these is a mouth that is too big and ears that are too small. Always talking and never listening. Some have ears that are too big and cause them to hear every whisper of gossip in a ten mile radius. Those who aren't missing the top part of their skull sometimes find they have one that is too small.
Maybe we need to look back to Ezekiel. In faith, he looked to God for the spiritual work that clothed the dead, dry bones in flesh and made them live. They stood up an exceedingly great army. We still have the same God. Let's turn from pretense and look for the real thing. Let's get some life in the old bones.
Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination. (Leviticus 18:22) If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them. (Leviticus 20:13)
The recent decision of the Episcopal Church denomination to ordain an open homosexual as the bishop of New Hampshire is another signpost that should warn Christians of the horrible apostasy that is upon us. The Episcopal denomination and every other denomination in the world may vote to make homosexual behavior holy, but it is still an abomination in the sight of God. Homosexuals insist on calling themselves gay, but they are anything but gay. They have hijacked that word and they really ought to be called "SADS." Let that stand for "Sad And Deranged Sinners." They may call Gene Robinson a bishop of the church, but he is really a bishop of the devil.
"Five years ago, a conference of Episcopalian church leaders flatly declared that the homosexual lifestyle was in direct violation of biblical scriptures. Therefore, they reasoned, it would be wrong to seat an openly gay bishop. In just the short time since, the homosexual agenda has inundated the culture, and the Bible has been tossed out on its axis." (Columnist Armstrong Williams, 8/20/03).
The Rev. V. Gene Robinson, now bishop of the Episcopal Church of New Hampshire, is a hypocrite, and his very life is a living lie. Why do I say that? Fifteen years ago he violated his marriage vows by leaving his wife and two little girls. A man who cannot keep his marriage vows has no business being in the ministry. He betrayed his wife and children, and for what reason? He went off to enter into an unholy shack-up with another man, and has been living that way for years. He defied the doctrinal position of the Episcopal Church, which he had agreed to when he was ordained in his church. The Episcopal Church had always taught that homosexual behaviour was a sin. So he ended up breaking both his marriage vows and his ordination vows. Then he has the unmitigated gall to ask to be ordained as the Episcopal bishop of New Hampshire.
This unprincipled man is a heel of the first order and needs to repent and be saved from his ungodly sins. After breaking every vow he ever made, this hypocrite Episcopal bishop now proclaims undying faith to boyfriend Mark Andrew. What a moral cesspool of sin churches are in who would accept such immoral behaviour!
Homosexuals compose less than 3% of the population (USCDC, 1995 and 2000), but they are a vocal, well-financed minority that is determined to force all of the rest of the population to accept their lifestyle as normal. They do not reproduce children, at least in the normal way, therefore they must increase by recruiting and inducing young people to fall into their sin. They have their eyes on the sons and daughters of normal people. Parents should wake up to what is happening, for they have skillfully gained great influence in the news media, entertainment media, in religion and in education. They are using this to soften the attitudes of our population. So far they are succeeding at an unbelievable rate. They have their plans for the future of the USA, and it is not a pretty picture. Wake up Christians and decent people, or soon it will be too late.
The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal (8-17-03), carried this headline, "Lutherans avoid further delay on homosexual issues." They voted 526 to 462 to defeat an amendment that would have postponed the decisions from 2005 to 2007. So the majority voted make a decision in 2005 whether they will bless same-sex marriages and allow active homosexuals and lesbians into the clergy.
The newspaper reported that the ECLA is the largest Lutheran denomination in the USA. They already welcome homosexual and lesbian members, and its ministers can be openly be homosexual or lesbian if they are celibate. I can't help but wonder how many of them are really celibate.
The Presbyterians, Methodists and other denominations are wrestling with this problem. Even some Baptists are afflicted with this putrid way of thinking. The only solution to this problem is to come out of these churches and denominations. I would not belong to any church or denominational organization that would consider the approval of such an abomination. If it is even an item that is open for debate, it is most likely too late to do anything to save the organization. Why can't Christians and decent religious people just obey the scriptures? And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. (Revelation 18:4). "Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you," (2 Corinthians 6:17).
In Genesis 13 you read the tragic story of Lot who moved into Sodom. In chapter 19 we find that he stayed in and lost everything. He thought he could live among Sodomites and survive, but he lost his wife, his children, and his own decency and fellowship with God. Oh yes, Lot did not approve of their way of life, but he did not have the moral courage to come out from among them. "And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;)" (2 Peter 2:7-8)
What good does it do to be vexed like Lot if, like Lot, you are not willing to come out? He did not lose his salvation, but he sure lost his rewards. As a result of his sin he became the father of the Moabites and Ammonites, two tribes that were continual enemies of Israel.
I can already hear someone say, "we should be tolerant, loving, and accepting toward homosexuals." Others might say, "Jesus taught us to love everybody and accept them just like they are." If Jesus taught this, it was another Jesus, not the Jesus of the Bible. Everyone needs to know there is another Jesus and another Spirit. "For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him." (2 Corinthians 11:4).
The New Testament is no more tolerant of homosexuals than the Old Testament. We are told that God gave them up. "Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: ... For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient." (Romans 1:24, 26-28).
These are not the words of Paul or any mere man. These are the inspired and infallible word of God. God's word and His will have never been changed. How could God change and still be immutable and eternal?
God has always condemned those who defile themselves with mankind. "But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully; Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine." (1 Timothy 1:8-10). The word whoremongers in the above verse comes from the Greek word "pornos," which means "a man who prostitutes his body to another's lust for hire, a male prostitute." Whether it is done for hire or without payment does not change the enormity of this sin. It is an abomination in the sight of God. The quote in v. 10 that reads "for them that defile themselves with mankind" comes from the Greek word "arsenokoites" which means "one who lies with a male as with a female, sodomite, or homosexual." This clearly identifies and forbids homosexuality.
There is a widespread belief among many that homosexuals are born that way and cannot help it; therefore, they are acceptable to God and can also go to heaven. This is false and utterly contrary to the word of God. "Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God." (1 Corinthians 6:9-10).
In v. 9 the statement, "abusers of themselves with mankind" comes from the Greek word "arsenokoites" which identifies that he is talking about homosexuals. Whether you call them homosexuals, gays, or sodomites, it is all the same, for they are guilty for God holds them to be guilty of being "arsenokoites." Because of this, they cannot "inherit the kingdom of God."
If we only read the above verses without reading the next verse, we would come to the conclusion that there is no way that a person who has practiced the homosexual way of life could ever go to heaven. We must read v. 11 to learn what God says about this. "And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God." (1 Corinthians 6:11). Please note that he says, "And such were some of you," which indicates that their practice of these sins was in the past. In other words, they were no longer practicing homosexuality. They had been washed, sanctified in the name of the Lord Jesus. The washing was not in baptism, but the washing of regeneration through the blood of Jesus Christ. Their justification was not by works and had not been accomplished by doing good works. It was because they had been saved and justified that their works and their way of life had been changed. "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Corinth was considered to be the most wicked city in the Roman Empire. Every sin known to man was common in that city. This does not mean that each one of the saved people in the Corinthian church had been guilty of being a homosexual, but some of them had. All of them had been guilty of one or more of the above listed sins. We are so thankful for the saving gospel of Jesus Christ which has the power to save from the vilest of sins. The word for "wash" means to wash away, and carries the idea of separation, of departing, of fleeing. They were not washed so they could continue in their sin, but they were washed to separate them from their sins. "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." (1 John 1:7). In the blood of Jesus Christ dwells all the cleansing power that is needed. "In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace." (Ephesians 1:7).
If you are guilty of homosexuality or any other sin, I plead with you to turn in repentance from your sins, and put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ the Saviour.
Dear Pastor Bynum, I am Pastor Paul Oliver with Amazing Grace Baptist Church in Bridgetown, Nova Scotia, Canada. I would like permission to photocopy 3000 copies of the Harry Potter tracts you publish to distribute them throughout our area of the Annapolis Valley. I will not copy them without your permission. -Sincerely, Pastor Paul Oliver
Bro. Bynum, I read your article on Shady Language in the Pulpit. I wholeheartedly agree. Of course the problem in the pulpit is only the tip of the iceberg. Many men who stand in the pulpit think nothing of outright vulgar language in private. As language is a small revelation of what is in the heart, so the pulpit is a small revelation of what goes on in the private lives of men. Thank you for speaking out. Keep on preaching!! Doug Hammett, Lehigh Valley Baptist Church Emmaus, Pa.
Dear Sir: I read what you have written about the Catholic Church, the Pope, and your other comments. I disagree with your tone, and judgments concerning the church and the Pope. The rhetoric you use is indicative of Christians who are un-educated with the Catholic Church. You learn to disrespect other denominations at an early age, and do not have the courage to educate yourself on true information. Find a priest in Texas, and speak with him about concerns you have, and then prayerfully discern the conversations. If, as a Baptist Minister, you propagate disinformation concerning Catholics and our faith, then you will be responsible for wrongful beliefs of your flock. Christians need unity at this hour not division. I pray for you tonight. In Christ Jesus, Barry Moran
Editor's Answer: Thank you for your email. I respect your opinion, but I must tell you that you are the one that is misinformed. Very few Catholics understand what the Bible teaches, and that is especially true of priests. I do hope that you are not a priest. We cannot have unity with a false form of Christianity that is devoid of the truth. May you be led into the truth of salvation and deliverance from false religion. "Can two walk together, except they be agreed?" (Amos 3:3) E. L. Bynum
THIS distinguished man, a leader in the Reformation in Germany, was a native of Zurich, and was educated in all the learning of the age, his father being a canon of the great minister in the place of his birth. In 1519 we find him studying the Hebrew language with the eminent Zuingle, under the tuition of Carlstadt, and to have been on terms of intimacy with that Reformer, as well as with Myconius, Capito, and other leaders of the Swiss Reformation.
About the year 1522, he began to doubt as to the scriptural character of infant baptism, having many conversations on that subject with Zuingle, who was at first inclined to embrace the same views. The progress of his investigations led him further to object to tithes and usury, and to desire to lay aside the peculiarities of Rome more rapidly than was consistent with the opinions of Zuingle. This led to a separation, and to a final adoption, on the part of Mantz, of the sentiments of the Baptists. In 1523, he began to preach publicly on the subject of baptism, and to urge the necessity of a church constituted in accordance with the word of God. "He wished," says Zuingle, "to form a church free from sin." In this way did the reformer express the sentiment of Mantz, that a church of Christ should consist of believers baptized into Christ, and of them only. Mantz likewise objected to the presence and use of secular power in the church of God.
In the three disputes held at Zurich during the year 1525, Mantz appears to have taken part, and after that of March, to have been thrown into prison, from which, however, he escaped. His pious reference to the escape of Peter by the assistance of an angel, as in some measure applicable to his own, gave his enemies occasion to assert, that he said an angelic being had likewise opened to him the gates of his prison house.
He now diligently proclaimed the freeness of the gospel in different parts of Switzerland, and taught the true constitution of the church. He was baptized by Blaurock, a companion in suffering; and in the fields and woods, as occasion offered, with the Hebrew and Greek Scriptures in his hand, he expounded the word of God to the people who flocked to him. As this was contrary to the prohibitory command of the magistrates of Zurich, he was deemed a rebel against legitimate authority, and an exciter of the people to sedition.
Towards the end of 1526, he was seized and imprisoned in the tower of Wellenberg. He confessed that he had baptized contrary to the edict. It was right, he said, to obey God rather than man. Exhibiting no sign of repentance, he was at last adjudged, and on the 5th of January, 1527, was drowned.
Bullinger thus writes, "As he came down from the Wellenberg to the fishmarket, and was led through the shambles to the boat, he praised God that he was about to die for his truth; for anabaptism was right, and founded on the word of God, and Christ had foretold that his followers would suffer for the truth's sake. And the like discourse he urged much, contradicting the preacher who attended him. On the way, his mother and brother came to him, and exhorted him to be steadfast; and he persevered in his folly, even to the end. When he was bound upon the hurdle, and was about to be thrown into the stream by the executioner, he sung with a loud voice, `Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.' And herewith was he drawn into the water by the executioner, and drowned. His body was then taken to the Place and buried at St. Jacob's." "It is reported here," says Capito, writing to Zuingle, near the end of the same month, "that your Felix Mantz hath suffered punishment, and died gloriously; by which the cause of truth and piety, which you sustain, is weighed down exceedingly."
Mantz left behind him a paper, written in his last days, with a view to encourage his companions in their sorrows, which the reader will be glad to see.
"My heart rejoiceth in God, who giveth me much understanding, and guideth me that I may escape eternal and endless death. Wherefore I praise thee, O Christ, Lord of heaven! that thou succorest me in my affliction and sorrow; which Saviour God hath sent me for an example and a light, who hath called me before my end is come, to his heavenly kingdom, that I might have eternal joy with him, and love him in all his judgments, which shall endure both here and hereafter in eternity, without which nothing avails or subsists. Therefore are then so many, who not having this are deceived with a vain opinion. But, alas! nowadays, we find men who boast themselves of the gospel, speak much of it, teach and publish it, to be full of hatred and envy; who have in them no divine love, whose deceit is known of all the world, even as we have been told, that in these last days, they that come to us in sheep's clothing are ravening wolves, who hate the godly in the earth, and hinder the way of life and to the true sheepfold. Thus do the false prophets and hypocrites of this world; with the mouth they curse and with the same mouth likewise pray, whose life is bad; these call upon the magistrates to put us to death, and herewith they destroy the body of Christ. But I will praise the Lord Christ, who hath all patience with us. He instructeth us with his divine grace; he showeth, after the nature of God, his heavenly Father's love to all men, which none of the false prophets can do.
"Herein must we observe the difference; the sheep of Christ seek the honor of God. This they choose. They suffer not themselves to be hindered by gain or temporal good, for they are in the keeping of Christ. The Lord Christ forces no man into his glory; but the willing and ready alone enter, who come thereto by true faith and baptism. When a man bringeth forth the true fruits of repentance, for him is purchased and procured, by Christ, through grace, the heaven of everlasting joy, by the shedding of his innocent blood, which he so willingly poured out. Thereby he showeth us his love, and endueth us with the might of his Spirit; and he who receiveth and exerciseth this, groweth and becometh perfect in God.
"Love to God, through Christ, will alone endure and profit; no boasting, railing, or threatening. There is nothing but love with which God is pleased. He who can show no love shall find no place with God. The true love of Christ shall cast off the enemy. It is set before him who will be an heir with Christ, that he must be merciful, even as his heavenly Father is merciful. Christ never accused any one, as the false teachers now do; whence it appears that they have not the love of Christ, nor understand his word. Yet they will be shepherds and teachers. But at last they must tremble, when they find that eternal pain will be their reward, if they do not amend.
"Christ never hated any, and his true servants likewise hate no one, continuing thus to follow Christ in the right way, as he has gone before them. This light of life they have before them, and rejoice to walk therein; but those who are full of hatred and envy, who thus wickedly betray, accuse, smite, and wrangle, cannot be Christians. These are they who as thieves and murderers run before Christ, and under a false show shed innocent blood. Thereby may men know them, they take no part with Christ, for through malice, as the children of Belial, they annul the command of Jesus Christ; as Cain slew his brother Abel when God accepted his offering.
"Herewith I will finish my discourse, and request all the pious to meditate on the fall of Adam, who followed the serpent's counsel; and being disobedient to God, death followed him. So shall it also befall those who receive not Christ., but oppose him;who love this world, and have no love to God. With this I conclude. I will abide close to Christ and confide in him; he knoweth all my distresses, and can help me out of them Amen."
From the book, "Memorials of the Baptist Martyrs." Originally published in 1854 by the American Baptist Publication Society.
It is tragic that the worst elements of the music and entertainment industry arrive at the top of fame and fortune. Such people as Madonna and Britney Spears become the icons of popularity. Nobody knows how many girls have used them as models of dress and behavior. How any mother can allow her children to watch or play the records of such people is a mystery to me. Mothers, do you really want your daughters to emulate the lifestyle of such people?
Some months ago the Texas Tech University basketball arena was filled to capacity with fans there to be entertained by Britney Spears. Women drove from miles around to bring their little daughters, many of them pre-teen, to see Britney. They paid extravagant prices to expose their children to her gyrations, suggestive body moves, and sinful dress style.
No doubt, many of the mothers profess to be Christians. Are they so blind that they want their daughters to be like such people? Christians ought to burn or break all the CDs and other recordings of this type. Wake up before you help make your daughters into harlots and your sons into libertines.
Even though one of the Dixie Chicks is from Lubbock, the radio stations in Lubbock will not play their music, since she made the insulting remark about President Bush in London. She may be ashamed that the President is from Texas, but I am ashamed that she is from Lubbock, TX.
Let me go back to Madonna and Britney Spears and discuss their lesbian kiss on national TV recently. This was a disgrace, and it is a shame that such things could be shown on television. The following is quoted from a syndicated columnist who does take a stand on moral issues.
The open-mouthed kisses between aging pop star Madonna and 15th-minute celebrity clingers Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, broadcast on MTV last week, received widespread media attention. The Sapphic spectacle was rightly condemned as vulgar, cynical, and desperately pathetic.
But the commentariat missed the real horror.
Up on stage for the raunchy performance of Madonna's "Like a Virgin" was 6-year-old Lourdes Maria Ciccone Leon. Little Lourdes was dressed in First Communion white, decked out in lace gloves, a crucifix, and a studded belt with the words "BOY TOY." Paving the way for the entrance of Madonna and her entourage of sexual exhibitionists, Lourdes tossed flower petals on the dance floor while a mosh pit of fans writhed in front of her and the porno soundtrack throbbed behind her.
Lourdes is Madonna's firstborn child. What kind of craven, twisted mother would do this?
U.S. Supreme Court decisions increasingly read like transcripts from the Oprah Winfrey show. Justice Antonin Scalia notes the court's "famed sweet-mystery-of-life" howler: "At the heart of liberty is the right to define one's own concept of existence, of meaning, of the universe and the mystery of human life."
Thursday's [June 26, 2003] Supreme Court decision announcing a recently discovered inalienable right to sodomy contained a few more: "When sexuality finds overt expression in intimate conduct with another person, the conduct can be but one element in a personal bond that is more enduring." Sodomy is a very high-minded business, according to the court, part of the lofty "liberty protected by the Constitution." Such is its preciousness that states can't be trusted to regulate it.
That sodomy is an inalienable right would no doubt come as a big surprise to the Constitution's framers. They are, of course, the last constitutional experts the Supreme Court would ever consult. The Supreme Court, judging from the majority opinion's slavish attention to Europe's regard for sodomy, is much more interested in the thoughts of modern Danes than dead Americans.
The framers didn't approach sodomy with the same level of awe as today's court. What the Kennedys and Souters call "liberty," the framers called "license," the abandonment to acts high in the catalogue of sin that spells the end of republics.
The majority on the Supreme Court declares that anti-sodomy laws compromise the "dignity" of homosexuals. The framers would reverse the judgment: it is sodomy that compromises their dignity, and it is the rule of law which points to and protects that
dignity. The framers belonged to communities that passed such laws so as to safeguard a moral culture in which human dignity is possible.
The framers would say that the assault to dignity comes from a legal culture that sanctions sodomy, a culture that turns children over to homosexual couples, a culture that places homosexual relationships on the same level of sanctity as the traditional family.
The Supreme Court says anti-sodomy laws "demean" people. The framers thought those laws would discourage people from demeaning each other through the slavery of sin. It would befuddle the framers greatly to hear sodomy and dignity in the same sentence. They held that the dignity of democracy depended on citizens governing themselves according to moral standards, not according to a respect for each other's basest instincts. If citizens couldn't govern their own dark passions, how long would a democracy that relies on their capacity for self-government last? This concern made anti-sodomy laws eminently sensible to the framers.
But now, in our vast modern wisdom, we know better. What quaint fools the framers were. They thought society would teeter if vice had rights over virtue. We are doing just fine. They thought, can you believe it?that such consensual acts as adult incest were wrong. Now we know that "it can be but one element in a personal bond that is more enduring."
Apparently any sexual relationship, with man or beast, is constitutionally permissible, provided that the parties to the personal bond give consent. Since animals can't give proper consent, perhaps the court will let certain uptight communities outlaw bestiality. We'll see. On the other hand, the "sweet--mystery-of-life passage" Scalia cites gives practitioners of bestiality a pretty strong defense. If the passage has any meaning, as Scalia says, it will be the passage that "ate the rule of law"
Needless to say, we are not doing fine. We are losing real liberties while the Supreme Court invents bogus ones. To deprive a community of the liberty of preserving traditional laws is a monstrous distortion of the framers' work and an act of judicial despotism that should outrage the public.
License won for homosexual activists is liberty lost for communities and families. As America hurtles past homosexual adoption toward homosexual marriage, who but the obtuse can deny this? -The American Spectator (on the web), June 27, 2003. The Schwarz Report