TWO MURDERS

TWO MURDERS

       Less than two weeks separate St. Patrick's Day and Easter, giving
us the opportunity to observe both historical occasions in the same
season. This is a tough love study, because both special days provide
us with innocent people being murdered falsely in the Name of God.
The first murder was the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, which began a
new religion called The Way, and later was at least partially corrupted
by individuals adding man-made rules establishing denominations. If
you think I'm making a mistake with my conclusion, at least read about
the second murder which indirectly was caused by St. Patrick's work
and devotion to Christ.

    If you are continuing with this message, we'll go to why St. Patrick's
Day is teamed with Easter. St. Patrick was not your regular priest, and
he was responsible for bringing Christianity to Ireland. I wrote about
him and his work a year ago. See the archives under "Maewyn  Succat."
That was his real name. Christ was hung on a Cross, often called a
tree by Christians. (Hence the symbol of the Cross by a Christmas tree.)
The second murder involving a "tree," was actually a tree, and was in
the United States at Salem. If you're loudly proclaiming your patriotic
allegiance, you should know that Salem is in New England where the
Pilgrims set up shop.

    What murder took place there? If you are one of the conservatives
who doesn't want to know anything bad about our ancestors, you may
as well ring off this message. I've read and reread the bible many, many
times, and it's the ultimate history book. Both bad and good things
happen because all of us are sinners. The Pilgrims may have worn
wonderful clothing, but their religious "clothing" might as well have
been masks like the radical Arabs of today, or the pointed hoods of
the Ku Klux Klan. They are listed in our history books as Christians
who came to America for religious freedom. Herein is the name of the
murder victim at Salem...Ann Glover.

    Ann was the last person to die at Salem after being convicted of
being a witch. So the Christians at Salem were primitive, you say. Of
course that's not much of an excuse because Christianity had been
taught for many years before the Pilgrims arrived. Now, let's get to
know the details of this murder. Ann and her husband were slaves.
They were Irish slaves. They weren't black or red or yellow. They were
white people of Irish descent. Ann's husband was killed by Christians
\because he refused to recant his Catholic faith. The Christians didn't
accept Catholics as real Christians. You may recall at an earlier period
of history in Europe, that the Catholic church conducted its own version
of the Holocaust called the Inquisition, where Protestants had to
become Catholics or burn at the stake.

     Now the tables were turned because the Protestants were in control
at Salem. You have to understand that leaders of the church following
the presence of Christ quickly ran off course with their teaching as
Jesus called them out in His preaching in the temple (Matt. 23). People
did not understand Christian teaching because Catholics preached in
Latin, which few people understood, and developed rituals. When Martin
Luther posted the Protestant rules on the church door, that branch of
the church was already awash because of bad teaching and their own
rituals.

    You want me to cut to the chase, and here it is. After Ann's husband
was murdered in the name of religion, she was sent to work at Salem
as a housekeeper. There were several young children in the household,
and some became sick. The Protestants at Salem blamed Ann for the
sickness, and put her on trial accused of being a witch. They demanded
she recite the Lord's Prayer. She did in her native Gaelic language
because she didn't know English. That was not good enough, because
the owners and court didn't understand Gaelic. So...they hung her from
a tree. Christ wasn't a sinner. She was, but she also was a Christian.
The Salem "Christians" weren't remotely Christians. Their leaders did
not know Christian principles, but thought they were "enlightened."

     Perhaps, like me, you didn't spend enough time studying history.
The attempts to cover up truth abounds in books and speeches by
people with personal agendas. There is so little truth in our media
today, few people know what is really happening. Owners or publishers
control the media, and the news rarely is accurate. Reporters write
what they're told to write, which is usually slanted and far from the
actual truth. From my educational experiences, I conclude history
is a subject poorly or not taught at all. Many conservative leaders
want to eliminate education departments and cut funding. Liberals
want to appease every idiot with their personal desire. Church schools
aren't off the hook, either, because they incorporate denominational
rules and regulations. Before you delete, answer this question: Do you
know the problem of Irish slavery resulted in more Irish than black
slaves in the English colonies?

    How did the slave dealers get free Irish citizens to become slaves?
The king of England wanted to eliminate Catholics. When Oliver
Cromwell rose to power, he extended the king's elimination orders,
which included sending all political prisoners to the West Indies as
slaves. This was seven years before there were any slaves in America.
Because there weren't enough Irish criminals to fill the need by the
English land owners and businessmen in the West Indies, officials
stepped up their police actions and arrested people for any trivial,
real or imagined violation of the law. When charged, the people were
simply sold to the slave dealers. This was easier than going to the
difficulty of buying blacks in Africa. In America we don't turn trivial
suspected law breakers into slaves. We direct them into an economic
poverty. An Irish Catholic was not considered a good enough Christian
to be free. This was the same ploy the Catholics used in reverse in the
Inquisition. Many Americans today believe you must be a conservative
or you aren't good enough to be a Christian. You must be white or you
aren't good enough to be a Christian. Pastors and church leaders today
don't appear to be concerned with the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke
and John. Why are they sending missionaries to Africa if conservative
churches and congregations here are condemning blacks as thugs and
criminals? Why are devoted black Christians, including Nobel Peace
winners, condemned as part of our citizens we don't want?

     This separation in America has gone so far that foreign nations,
including world leaders, are questioning our ability to govern ourselves,
let alone the world. When arch conservatives tell leaders of other
nations to forget about anything our leader does, that is the beginning
of anarchy. They have concluded a minority may rule on demand, one
step below assassination. Where are the Christian leaders in churches
calling out this anti-God anti-scripture direction? You may not be
concerned because you are not being directly affected. Scripture
tells us to be the "light" of the world. Matt. 5:14, "You are the light
of the world." You may also think it's not your problem. If you're a
Christian, your duty to God is to tackle the problem. James 1:20
tells us, "But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving
yourselves."

    Christianity has no place for racism, which is driven by leaders
with false "bible" teaching, ego and greed. Christ did not discriminate,
nor did the disciples. These false teachers aren't necessarily pastors
or church leaders, but they may just be going with the flow. When a
business is lucrative, it's difficult to clean it up. The slave trade
between 1600 and 1700 was a major international business, and not
because of blacks. In 1659 a petition listed 72 English, 200 French and
7000 to 8,000 Scots. Great Britain boasted "the sun never sets" on
their country because of their colonial holdings. America was one of
them. Most colonies thrived to a large extent on the backs of the
slaves. Slaves did not usually live long because of the hard work
and miserable working conditions. When shortages arose, the traders
moved to kidnapping. Boys and men were taken for work, while girls
and women were taken for work or the gentleman's pleasure. History
tells us some of the signers of the Declaration of Independence had
personal slave girls or women. These were men who wrote about
equal rights for all men. Perhaps they omitted women purposely,
because women didn't get the vote until 1920.

    If you are a Christian, you'd better sit up and wake up. God has
given America the opportunity to repent for its evil deeds that
included slavery and subjection of women. We partially redeemed
ourselves by leading the world to freedom in World War II. I was
taught in history that Germany caused the war because of economic
conditions in that country. Then, in economics, I learned another
word for that economic problem was greed, not the Jews. Wealthy
industrialists financed Hitler and feathered their own nest which
today in America we call the military-industrial complex. Now there
is a radical branch of conservatives attempting to return our nation
to the Civil War days. We lost more troops in that war than all our
other wars combined.

    Before we leave Irish history, you need to know the great Irish
famine that brought many Irish immigrants to America was caused by
the deliberate destruction of food stores by the English. It was just
another way to eliminate Catholics. Eventually, soldiers were
employed to drive Irish landowners out of an area, the land was
confiscated, and soldiers were encouraged to kill resistors. Now you
may have a better understanding of why Ireland is actually two
states and there is such enmity between the Protestants and
Catholics. Ireland gained its independence in 1921.

    I had the privilege of attending a historical presentation by the
local historical society, and was startled to find out that the Ku Klux
Klan had not ceased burning crosses on selected local properties
in the Southern Tier of New York until the late 1970s. There were
strong and active chapters all around Steuben and neighboring
counties. There was a meeting hall near our farmette, and some
of the area chapters had very large membership. These Klanners
targeted Jews and Catholics because there were few blacks in
the area. If you were a black, a Jew or Catholic, you weren't Christian
enough to be a Protestant Christian. I was able to see pictures of
the Klan as they marched in local parades and other activities,
including circling a Catholic church. there were two KKK gas stations
in the area, one in nearby Bath, the county seat. As a native New
Yorker, I was astounded at the depth the KKK had reached in this
largely rural area. There was also a picture of the Boston Tea Party,
showing Klansmen in their hoods and robes. Oh yes, one more thing
necessary to belong to the KKK. You had to be a man.

    The main talking point of the KKK was that they were a white,
Protestant nation. Their religious teaching was much like that of
the Westboro Baptist Church. That is to say, it was scrambled
scripture and opinions of the leaders to sway people to the leader's
agenda. The KKK thrived because people didn't know the bible,
were not educated, and blamed all misfortune on a scapegoat
exactly like the Salem "Christians." Don't look now, but we are seeing
the rebirth of the KKK by radical pretending Christians. The goal,
as always is money and power. The method, as always, is deliberate
misinformation, race and gender separation, character assassination
and emotional subjects to take attention away from more serious
issues. To become a Klansman, you had to fill out a lengthy
questionnaire, which asked questions such as color of eyes and
hair (2 of Nazi requirements). Next you were investigated, and finally
could become a member. Women were later allowed to become
auxiliary members, but not regular members.

     The KKK got its start after the South lost the Civil War. Although
the south surrendered, the hard core States Rights southerners did
not change their feelings about slaves nor their desire to do anything
they desired, including the federal government. The North largely
rebuilt the South, but the separation idea never left the people who
had their own idea of Christianity. The underlying reasons are always
the same: a layer of privileged people, and the ability to increase an
already considerable material holding (money). This character trait
seems to pass from generation to generation. The current uprising
is the third since KKK began. And we must not forget there were
slave holders in the North, but not many.

    Who would have won World War II if America was divided? Who would
have broken the Russian blockade of a divided Germany? Who would
have kept South Korea free? You would be hard pressed to enumerate
the many things America has contributed to the world because it is a
United States. People proposing secession have little or no knowlege
or understanding of the network required for a separate country. The
states threatening separation would have a merry time sustaining
their road networks, communications, human services and all the
other necessities of a nation. It's easy to talk big, but difficult to
walk big.

    Christ walked the talk voluntarily. Ann Glover walked the talk by
force of the type of Christians we can see today and Christ warned
us about as false teachers and leaders. As 2 Peter 2:19 warns us,
"While they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of
corruption; for by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is
brought into bondage." America became the greatest nation in
the world as 50 states. Matt. 12:25 tells us, "Every kingdom divided
against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house
divided against itself will not stand." Christ will judge you, whether
conservative or liberal. Your Christianity will be evaluated according
to your knowledge and obedience to scripture, which as John 1:1
declares, the Word is God. Think carefully and twice before you listen
to emotional contrived detours from the road of truth.

Rev. Walbear