Commentary

Atlanta Shootings Blame Game: The Christian “Purity Culture”

I was honored to have this article originally posted at World Net Daily, on April 8th–Brian

The deadly shootings at the Atlanta massage parlors were horrifying.  A 21-year-old man has been charged with eight counts of murder in connection with the attacks.  It was the worst mass killing in the U.S. in almost two years.

Despite the fact that seven of the eight people who lost their lives were Asian, the shooter told police that the attacks were not racially motivated. He stated he “frequently visited those places [parlors] in the past” and claimed to have a “sexual addiction” problem. He also said he was striking back at sources of “temptation.”A former roommate told Reuters the shooter spent months in a halfway house for sexual addictions and felt deep remorse and shame for his repeated sin.

It was also reported that the shooter had been re-baptized three years ago at a Baptist church he and his family have been a part of for many years.

In light of those confessions, in short order The French Press reported, “The shooter’s stated beliefs and deadly actions represented a hyper-violent and extreme manifestation of a toxic theology that long corrupted a slice of Evangelical Christianity.”

Several commentators began referring to the shooter’s actions as a display of “white Christian terrorism.”

Let’s be clear, The New Testament has some distinct instructions on dealing with temptation. One of those states, “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be temptedbeyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted  he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it (1 Corinthians 10:13).”

Nowhere in scripture are followers of Jesus taught to bring harm to those they perceive as being sources of temptation. Temptation is always quite personal. It’s between you and God.

The smears we’re seeing towards Christianity are uncalled for and seem to be growing. Some on the left are describing those who believe in Biblical morality to be part of a judgmental “Purity Culture,” which they contend is dangerous to society at large.

The “Purity Culture” is also being blamed for opposition to abortion, standing in the way of the demands from the LGBTQ movement, and not being for passage of the pending Equality Act in Congress.

And, that same so-called “Culture” is being blamed for the tragic massage parlor deaths.

Given that we’ve just celebrated Easter, I’m reminded of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. As he was about to be arrested by Roman troops, one of his disciples, Peter, brashly pulled out a sword to defend Jesus. In the process he sliced off a man’s ear.

The Bible says Jesus commanded Peter, “Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?”

Jesus then turned and compassionately healed the man’s ear.

As Christians, we’re not called to violence, but to witness people healed—inside and outside—via the almighty power of God.

Yes, Jesus was resurrected from the dead to bring healing to all—even those who oppose his will. And yes, there are distinct moral standards in the Bible, some of them quite challenging to uphold. Yet through the power of God’s Holy Spirit we are able “to do all things through Him who gives us strength (Philippians 4:13).”

Let us pray for those terribly impacted by tragedy in Atlanta. May all come to personally witness the power of God’s healing virtue.

As for purity, consider these lovely words from the Apostle Paul, a man who, prior to becoming a follower of Jesus, was an effective persecutor of Christians:

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things (Philippians 4:8).

 

Vaccines, Immunity Passports vs Personal Privacy – Mark of the Beast?

This was originally published by World Net Daily on February 15th and then republished here on February 17th. I’m re-dating it to give it more attention as the topic is now gaining more acceptance by “mainstream” news sources.

By now most have decided their stance on the COVID-19 vaccine.  You’ve either received it, plan on getting it, or are flat out saying, No way!

This commentary is not meant to argue vaccine versus no vaccine. Instead, I’m concerned about the many conversations I’ve recently had with friends who are convinced that COVID-19 vaccination passports—for air travel, access to job sites, schools and public places—should be, and will be, instituted soon. I also know of someone who is considering proof of vaccination to attend their private wedding ceremony and reception.

Currently, vaccination verification is limited to a paper form. Such a document could be easily forged. As such, alternate proposals are turning to tech. One proposal involves vaccination authentication that could be stored in a digital token on a smartphone app with various forms of two-step authorization as a safety mechanism.

In fact, the International Air Transport Association (IATA), an airline trade association that represents 290 airlines worldwide, said on November 23, 2020 that it was in the final stages of developing a digital vaccine passport for travelers. The IATA Travel Pass will let travelers share their vaccination status and COVID test results with airlines and border authorities, via a contactless passport app.

But there’s a problem: what about those without a smartphone?

Analysis has shown that African Americans are far less likely than white, Hispanic, or Asians to be tested before they end up in the emergency room. Mobile testing sites administered by Verily Life Sciences (a subsidiary of Google’s parent, Alphabet) require people to have a smartphone and a Google account before getting tested. Residents in San Francisco’s Tenderloin district, one of the city’s poorest neighborhoods, were turned away from testing sites because they didn’t have a smartphone.

No surprise given that Google’s entire business model is based upon gathering personal information for marketing purposes.

In addition to those who don’t have smartphones there are countless individuals who do not want to share their personal health information with the likes of a private for-profit corporation like Google.

But don’t worry, there’s a plan for these concerns.

It’s Called The Slippery Slope

Let’s be clear, there is currently no vaccine for COVID-19 that insures immunity; one can still become ill. Also, the current vaccines do not prevent the spread of the virus.

So what’s going on here?

Digital-format immunity passports would eventually likely normalize digital-format proof-of-status documents.

Advocates of COVID passports visualize a world where we can’t pass through a door to a plane, workplace, school, or restaurant until the gatekeeper scans our credentials. In no time the public would be conditioned to submit to these demands.

This digital system could easily be expanded to check not just a person’s immunity status, but any other bit of personal information that a gatekeeper might deem relevant, such as banking information, age, pregnancy, HIV status, or criminal history; and all data—your data—could be accumulated into one database.

And could we really trust those overseeing the databases?

Of course not.

The next step in this plan will move from smartphone apps to invisible barcode-like tattoos stamped on the body of those who have been vaccinated. This would accommodate those without cell phones and prevent hackers from stealing personal information. The tattoo plan is funded by Bill and Melinda Gates. The easily applied invisible tattoos would likely be placed on the hand or forehead.

Students of the Bible will immediately recall the mark of the Beast from the New Testament’s Book of Revelation:

He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast… (Revelation 13:16-17).

No, I’m not claiming the vaccine is the mark of the Beast, but I am emphasizing that society is moving very quickly into a brave new world. Especially in the realm of personal privacy and information security.

Our government was designed to protect our liberties, not recklessly allow them to be abused.

Brian Sussman is the author of Climategate: A Veteran Meteorologist Exposes the Global Warming Scam

Brokenhearted: Lulu is Gone

I’m brokenhearted. We put our dog, Lulu, to sleep today.

Lulu was a “Catahoula Leopard Dog” that my wife and boys selected from the San Francisco SPCA over 14 years ago.

Susie just sold her business and had promised our two younger boys, Ben and Josh, that once she sold the company our family could get a dog.

At the time I was hosting the KSFO Morning Show in San Francisco where each Friday we had a segment with the SPCA called “Puppy Love.” The folks from the SPCA would bring an adoptable  dog into the studio and introduce it to our audience. On this particular Friday it was a really cool looking pup with a leopard-like coat. I immediately called my wife and said, “Get to the SPCA right away, you will love this dog!”

Susie and the boys took off for the SPCA, but they were beat by another listener. However, there was different puppy from the same litter who became ours! The dog’s name was declared on the ride back home by Ben: “Lulu,” short for “Honolulu.”

Lulu quickly became the great guardian of our family and property.  She loved to tree racoons and even mix it up with skunks (successfully I might add). Eventually she actually broke her pelvis chasing three raccoons up a tree, and later blew out her left ACL running down the stairs in a chase for more.

Sadly she never fully recovered from those injuries. Nonetheless, Lulu remained a faithful friend to anyone who gave her loving attention.

During the past year she struggled a lot with the physical ailments and a variety of digestive issues.  She often groaned, and had occasional difficulty laying down and getting back up. That said, she continued to enjoy slow walks on the beach and getting hugs and pets from Susie and me. She also loved sunbathing on our deck while keeping a watchful eye on the beach below.

We decided to put her life to an end three separate times. I chickened out and called off the first two, and then finally we knew it was time. True confession: I actually prayed that the Lord would give me a sign that this was the right move.

I took Lulu to the beach for one final walk yesterday. I told her, “it will be the best day ever!”

I planned on letting her walk off-leash in an area near a lagoon where she always desired to sniff around. I was ready to be there with her as long as she wanted. Sadly, less than a half-hour into the walk Lulu’s left leg failed and she immediately collapsed to the ground. She was in such discomfort that she refused to even budge. I called Ben to come help carry her home. While waiting for Ben I laid on the sand and talked to Lulu, stroking her graying coat. More than anything I was inundated with a flood of wonderful memories involving my wife and kids. Lulu was with Sue and I for some  super monumental years.  About twenty minutes later, as Ben was arriving, Lulu determinedly, yet gingerly, stood up and pointed her nose towards home.

That was my sign.

I keep thinking of that ride to the vet. Poor Lulu had no idea what was going to happen; however, placed in a similar role would any of us really want to know? Lulu followed our commands all the way into the patient room where she obediently rested on a mat on the floor. Susie and I took a knee and looked her in the eyes telling her what a great friend she was and how she had been the perfect dog for our family. We told her we knew she was in a lot of pain lately and we thanked her for always trying do her primary duty: take care of us.

We told Lulu she was going to sleep and it wouldn’t be painful at all.

Faithful Lulu.  She accepted everything we told her.

Through our tears we thanked God for giving us such a great dog. She was just what our family needed.

Soon the doctor entered, administered a sedative, and left. Lulu immediately became drowsy as we continued to pour out our love.

A few minutes later the doctor returned and asked if we were ready.

Manning up, I replied, “I guess so.”

It wasn’t really true.

Susie looked into Lulu’s drowsy eyes and softly said. “We love you, Lulu. You’re a good doggie. You’re going to have a nice sleep.”

Indeed, seemingly seconds later the vet gently informed us, “She’s asleep.”

Gosh, I miss that dog and wish I could relive those last minutes with her.

We took her body back home and buried her in a nice spot overlooking the beach.

Curiously, The Bible does not give any explicit teaching on whether our beloved four-legged friends have “souls” or whether they will be in Heaven. And yes, I know the Bible is fairly clear on the fact that only humans are made “in the image of God.”

However, The Bible does state that both humans (Genesis 2:7) and animals (7:15,) possess the glorious “breath of life.” The Bible’s ancient book of Book of Psalms also states,  “A good person is concerned for the welfare of their animals…” (Proverbs 12:10).  So on this matter, I don’t know.  But I do know this: there will be a ton of wonderful surprises in Heaven.

That said, I can’t help but dream that Lulu’s having the best day ever.

 

 

 

Voter Fraud in 2020 Election? As Good Ol’ Joe would say, “Come on, man!”

Right. Like any Federal investigation of voter fraud would prove positive?

With the Democrats in control of the White House and half of Congress?

To quote Good Ol’ Joe, “C’mon man!”

Here’s the latest: Federal agencies investigating foreign influence in the 2020 presidential election have concluded that they “have no evidence that any foreign government-affiliated actor prevented voting, changed votes, or disrupted the ability to tally votes or to transmit election results in a timely manner, altered any technical aspect of the voting process, or otherwise compromised the integrity of voter registration information of any ballots cast during 2020 federal elections.”

Heck, foreign governments didn’t have to interfere; the Democratic Party and their henchmen were doing it on their own.

The Department of Justice, Homeland Security stated: “We have no evidence—not through intelligence collection on the foreign actors themselves, not through physical security and cybersecurity monitoring of voting systems across the country, not through post-election audits, and not through any other means—that a foreign government or other actors compromised election infrastructure to manipulate election results.”

So what about claims of domestic interference?

“C’mon, man!”

Nothing to see here, folks. Even though Michigan Court of Claims Chief Judge Christopher Murray ruled (last week) that Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (Democrat, of course) broke state law by unilaterally issuing rules and “guidance” regarding absentee balloting there’s nothing to see here, folks.  Even though a complaint was filed a month before the election that Benson unilaterally eliminated effective signature validation of mail-in ballots which allowed “invalid votes to be counted” the media titans remain silent. Fortunately, the court is about to rule that Benson’s actions were illegal.

Nonetheless, I guarantee you if that if this subject is brought up before the TV talking heads they’d mimic Good Ol’ Joe–“C’mon, man!”

Meanwhile, in response to a December lawsuit filed in Atlanta, Georgia, Superior Court Judge Brian Amero signaled he could unseal Fulton County’s absentee ballots for an investigation by an independent third party. If so, the ballots could call into question the 2020 presidential and senatorial election results in that state.

The real question is, even if there was fraud that could have tipped Michigan and Georgia to Trump, the election has been certified (a sarcastic Thank you to Mike Pence). Biden still wins 274 to 264, but what about fraud in other states?

Normally I would say, if laws were broken there must be accountability, but I guess not in this case. Instead the left tells us to Shut up and quit the conspiracy theories.

And then there’s Leviticus 19:11, Do not steal. Do not lie. Do not deceive one another.

“C’mon, man!

 

But, IS IT REALLY A TRUE VACCINE?

If you want to take it, that’s your business. But I’m just saying, this COVID-19 shot is likely not the vaccine you thought it was going to be.

A vaccine provides immunity. In other words when a vaccine is administered to you for X, Y, or Z, you are guaranteed to never get X, Y, or Z.  Think polio vaccination.

Apparently with the current injections being given for COVID-19, you can still catch the virus, still pass the virus to others, and still die from the virus. Your chances may be lessened, but it’s all true.

One of my sports heroes, baseball great Hank Aaron, died from COVID-19 twenty days after receiving the shot. Unlike others, I’m not saying the shot killed him. I am simply stating that Hammering Hank caught the COVID and died after getting the injection!  The medical excuse is that the vaccination doesn’t fully kick in for up to 14 days, so Aaron must have caught the virus during that time.

We’ll never know.

But Hank was not alone. According to a March 8, 2021 Newsweek article, 996 people have died after getting the so-called vaccination.

Again, medical public relations persons claim these death likely occurred because of the 14 days required for the shot to take effect.

Again, I’m not blaming the “vaccine” for these deaths.  I’m just asking out loud, WHERE’S THE IMMUNITY?

A well known researcher with the University of Alabama, Paul Goepfert, M.D., a professor with the UAB Division of Infectious Diseases, says the bottom line is that the vaccine most likely does not prevent spread of the virus, but probably does reduce the length of time a person sheds virus.

Additionally, a February 19, 2021 story in Nature said,

It’s possible that vaccines won’t stop or significantly lessen the chances of infection. But jabs might make infected people less able to pass the virus on, or make them less infectious, and so reduce transmission.

“The vaccine is very effective in preventing symptomatic disease,” said Dr. Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security in Maryland. “But is it effective at preventing asymptomatic disease? There’s an open question about how much the vaccine is going to decrease transmission. It will take time to do those studies,” he told Healthline.

Here’s a 101 on what the Centers for Disease Control says about vaccines:

Immunity: Protection from an infectious disease. If you are immune to a disease, you can be exposed to it without becoming infected.

Vaccine: A product that stimulates a person’s immune system to produce immunity to a specific disease, protecting the person from that disease. Vaccines are usually administered through needle injections, but can also be administered by mouth or sprayed into the nose.

Vaccination: The act of introducing a vaccine into the body to produce immunity to a specific disease.

Immunization: A process by which a person becomes protected against a disease through vaccination. This term is often used interchangeably with vaccination or inoculation.

So, you tell me: is this jab so many seem excited to get really a vaccine?