GREATEST MYTH

                                           GREATEST MYTH

    I'm going to write today about America's greatest myth. It's not Santa Claus
or the Easter bunny. It tells us about not only our Christian religion, but about
others as well. If you are a proud believer in the United States Constitution,
this message is for you. This is a solid message about Jesus Christ and
Christianity as it applies to the United States.
    If you have ever had anything to do with the law, you should know American
law is based on history. Even a little thing such as a traffic ticket is based on
history. A law was passed establishing rules you must follow or pay the 
consequence. Our Constitution sets a basic pattern of law. You live in freedom,
but under rule of law.

    To understand how we got where we are, and the various things our ancestors
have done to get us here, we must turn to the (hated) history books. Until recently,
history books have told a reasonable account of the past. We are now in the age
of revisionists, who are attempting to change both history and the bible.
    To make this sermon as digestible as possible, I will try to hit the major highlights.
We'll go back to A.D. 312-337, when Constantine ruled the western world from
Rome. He saw a vision that he believed showed him Christianity would give him
victory in a great battle. He won, and then dictated that Christianity would be the
national religion. It didn't work out. Here is your first set-in-cement lesson about
Christianity or any religion. "Your belief has to come from your heart. You commit
yourself through your spirit, not through any specific set of words, but your own
words from your heart. That is true of Christianity or any other religion. It is totally
a personal relationship."

    Citizens of the Roman Empire became Christians because the government 
decreed you had to be a Christian. Belief in Christ was somehow expected to 
simply occur. It didn't work, as the Devil noted with glee. In fact, it caused the
Christian effort a great deal of trouble including the eventual death of Christ,
the Devil's greatest mistake.
    What it did do, however, was bring about Christianity's most savage and horrible
attempt to force Christ upon the people. This was not caused by civil government
officials or kings, It was caused by the Catholic Pope, who declared everyone must
accept Christianity or die. Yes, Catholic friends, it was the Catholic church that
caused this murderous reign. They used torture and burned people at the stake
as late as 1543 in Spain. This inquisition covered the period of 1231-1834.

    Difficult to believe the inquisition lasted all the way into the 1800s. This religious
horror covered many countries in Europe, and it is interesting to note Spain
expelled Jews in 1492, the same year Columbus discovered America. The Jews
were periodically expelled from various western European nations during this period, 
and suffered differing abuses. You see, Jews and Christians are brothers, even
with differences.
    I want to point out the inquisition is much the same as Islam's Sharia Law, taught
through the Muslim Koran. Their law clearly states that everyone must become a
Muslim or die. American Muslims don't teach that (at least not openly), but it is in
their Koran (bible). Think hard about this. The Christians carried out the "join or
be killed" law for about 600 years. This is the reason other religions find it so easy
to hate Christianity and Americans. Never did Christ say anyone had to become a
Christian. These proponents of Christianity could not be Christians, but they
claimed they were. Carefully look around you. You cannot force belief in Christ and
predominantly Christian practices on the majority of the world, or Americans, for
that matter. Read the New Testament. Understand Christ's teaching. Don't try to
spin His words. It's not your world, it's His world.

    Now we should understand that those who claimed to be Christians in the years
we've covered really weren't Christians, and they gave the religion a very bad name.
But, you, say, we've changed. Well lets just move on to 1619, when the first slaves
were brought to America. The very next year, the Pilgrims arrived. We'll get to the
slavery subject shortly, but first we need to see what was up with the Pilgrims.
    We all know the story about Plymouth Rock. At least we older Americans do, but 
our educators are vastly downsizing history, so our younger people,probably won't
know much about the Rock. To them rock is more attuned to music or Kid Rock.
    The Pilgrims came to America to practice religious freedom. When they arrived,
they established a strict religious system, much more stringent than most systems
in Europe. They immediately built stocks to hold sinners, and even burned some
people at the stake. It was anything but Christian. In the late 1600s, Roger Williams
established a church in Connecticut that was based on real Christian principles.
The Puritans were not pure.

     As we agree to dispatch history as unimportant, we ignore one of the most
important lessons that exists. If we don't learn from our past mistakes, we are
doomed to repeat them. I'll get to the current status of Christianity in America
shortly, but now it's time to check into the establishment of the United States.
    You'll note the inquisition was still on-going in the 1800s, well after the
establishment of the United States. America began with the ratification of the
Constitution, the greatest document for the freedom of everyone who is a
citizen. I hear and see political candidates emphasize their patriotism and
commitment to its principles and Christianity.

    I'm going to quote and examine some parts of the Constitution, and I'm afraid
you wont like my findings. In fact, some of you may never read another of my
messages. The truth really hurts, and nobody wants to realize they reached this
present age in years not knowing what they were talking about. The Constitution
is our civil bible. Don't be one of the loudmouths who claims to be a "patriot" and
constitution wise.
    The first problem you have is that you don't know what the Declaration of
Independence states. Without this declaration, there would be no Constitution,
and you wouldn't know what the Constitution means. So read these words, and
remember this is your civilian bible, next in importance only to the Holy Bible.

    "We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal, that
they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among 
these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." That means we have the
right to live here, to be free from oppression and to try to find happiness. To be
able to do these things, we have the Amendments to the basic Constitution. The
first amendment--freedom of religion, speech, of the press, and right of petition--
is frequently quoted and misunderstood. 
    Freedom of religion means the freedom of CHOICE--denomination, faith, or
even no religion. It does not mean we must belong to any specific faith, including
Christianity. If, like Constantine, our leaders try to force Christianity on people,
it will give us the same result. Likewise, those who oppose Christianity have no
right to censor Christianity.

    Now let's go back to the amendments. Slavery was prohibited in 1865. Of
perhaps more interest is that it was the thirteenth amendment. The nineteenth
amendment was ratified in 1920. That was 55 years later. That amendment
gave women the right to vote. Men certainly never paid much attention to the 
rights of women, abolishing slavery before giving women the vote.
    The latest actions by ultra conservative men have been the unbelievable,
stupid, and anti-Christian legislative and governor attempts to take away women's
right to control her own person and the "pursuit of happiness". They have stated
they want to cut spending, but are trying to create a situation where a new
agency must be created, thousands of workers hired, endless paper trails, and
additional medical expenses. On top of that, if all abortions are illegal, who is
going to care and pay for the babies who have very serious and life-threatening
problems? These ultra conservative men will not permit women to sit on boards
or panels discussing women's issues or regulations. Doesn't sound much like
freedom and liberty to me.

    Back again to Christianity. I would like these religious zealots who profess
puritanical qualities to give me just one quote where Christ required anyone He
healed to be become a Christian. He told people they needed to commit to Him
as Savior to enter heaven. That was it. If people believed Christ had the power
of God, they were healed when He prayed for them. I pray you note these
people didn't necessarily have to say a prayer or statement of commitment,
although some certainly did. 
    If you study other faiths, you will find that healing can occur in these faiths,
too, because God has power over everyone. Healing is just one benefit of
faith that was evident in Christianity. 

    Those who loudly claim America was founded on Christian principles and
is a Christian nation are mistaken. If the foundation was Christian, slavery
and women's suffrage wouldn't have to have been added as amendments.
The principles were predominantly Christian, because religious freedom
was included. Remember, that doesn't mean you have to be a Christian or 
act as Christians think you should act.
    The ultra conservatives have learned nothing from Christian history and
the failure of their attempt to prohibit liquor. That failed attempt was the
breeding ground for serious advances in crime and greed leading to the
Great Depression.

    Political and supposedly Christian church leaders are leading Americans
astray with their very unChristian teaching and unbiblical claims. Christ came
to bring salvation, not prosperity money-wise. The prosperity He taught was
abundance. Abundance of talents. not money talents, but the talents or gifts
that are bestowed on committed Christians. These talents (we each have at
least one) are for ourselves, but most importantly, to be used to spread the
Word. Read the New Testament and get some understanding.
    The ultra conservatives are attempting to establish a theocratic nation
ruled solely by Christian "pretenders" and their laws. They are the very ones
we are warned about in 2 Thes. 2:3, "Let no one deceive you by any means;
for that day (end time) will not come unless the falling away comes first."

    There are two forces at work in America, and each, in its own way, is out
to rule our nation. I have described the ultra conservatives as one force. They
want to return to Plymouth Rock. The other force is Islam. They are growing
rapidly in America, and appear no threat at present. However, in other nations
they are ruled by Sharia Law Imams who follow the rule of become a Muslim
or die.
    The Islamic leaders are continuing their centuries old quest by that religion
to control the world. They are building strict Islamic states in the Middle East
and Asia. They must have the United States to succeed. This is another
example of a Theocratic rule. Neither is anything an American patriot wants.
    If you don't understand this message and take heed, you will eventually
suffer the consequences. If you follow Christ's teachings, you will escape
the chaos and tribulation when the Rapture occurs. If you don't study to be
approved, you won't pass the test. (2 Tim. 2:15)

Rev. Walbear
    

OLD MAN of the SEA -- PART 4

Old Man of the Sea (Part 4)

     Once again we return to our interview with the Old Man of the Sea who
witnessed the life and times of America over nearly 100 years, and was part
of changes in the religious movements. He studied scripture mostly alone,
but was self educated in many academic subjects.

  Pastor: You had returned from your cross country trip, followed the Scopes
monkey trial, and were now saving up money to start or buy a business. This
apparently was not such a good idea had you known the finances of the nation
would crash in a matter of months and the Great Depression would begin?

  Old Man of the Sea: This is another yes and no answer. When the market
crashed, it seemed a total financial disaster. For many it was. There were two
kinds of savers in those days. One kind believed in banks and the money
advisers who traded stocks and bonds. They made big profits, especially after
corporations took advantage of labor. The other kind didn't trust banks and
more wealthy people. After the end of the war, we rushed into the Roaring
Twenties, and people considered excesses normal. On the one hand we had
the strict church people, and on the other hand we had people using money
like water to satisfy desires of all kinds.

  Pastor: Are you saying there was a division of people over money?

  Old Man of the Sea: In a way, yes. The people with money just dived into
the market. The upper crust of America was loaded with money, and they
began the division between the haves and the have nots. They got their huge
amounts of money by taking advantage of labor and much of the middle class.
If anybody doubts that, all they have to do is look at the history books. In the
cities, corporate leaders paid laborers an amount leaders chose, virtually nothing
for children, and not a living wage for adults. It was especially hard on women
who had to work, because they weren't paid much more than children. This was
true for many years afterward. If you are familiar with the Molly Maguires in the
Pennsylvania coal region, you know that's how corporate America worked.

  Pastor: I doubt many people today realize how bad those conditions were at
the turn of the century and into the 1930s. But what about the middle class and
the poor?

  Old Man of the Sea: The poor were more poor than today's poor, if you can
imagine that. They had nothing and little hope for anything. Unless they were
connected to a caring church, it was very, very bad. The middle class did have
some material things; a sizable number owned homes, cars, and were saving
some money. These people were small business people--we called them Mom
and Pop businesses, who sometimes employed a few people, and the skilled
workers who received a wage quite above regular labor. Many in the middle class
did not trust banks and kept most of their savings at home. Some saw the great
profits of stockholders and invested in stocks in a small way. I recall two young
women who worked in a Five and Dime discussing their stock investments when
I shopped there one day. It was only a few shares, but they considered themselves
in the chips.

  Pastor: So much of the middle class was suspicious of the financial system?

  Old Man of the Sea: The level headed ones seemed to sense that the whole
system was too good to be true. And they were right.

  Pastor: How did the crash begin?

  Old Man of the Sea: Communications were very sketchy at that time. The general
public knew little about finances, banks, stocks, how the market worked. There was
a top layer of what we call insiders, but even many of the "quick" millionaires were
not aware of the dangers. You went to sleep one night, and your money was safe.
The next morning when you went to the bank, it was closed. It was more dynamic
in the big cities, where the big investors held court in the skyscrapers. There, people
on the sidewalks got a preview of 9/11, as now broke millionaires came plummeting
from the towers.

  Pastor: Did you lose your savings, too?

  Old Man of the Sea: No, I didn't. By this time, I had learned enough about economics
and finances that I knew something was terribly wrong. My parents had always been
thrifty, and they only lost a small amount of savings. Hiding your savings under the
mattress or elsewhere turned out to be a good idea.

  Pastor: So, what was the effect of the banks closing and chaos on the economy
for you?

  Old Man of the Sea: Well, I thanked God that I hadn't fallen into the trap of greed we're
now into. I don't call it Capitalism anymore; I call it Greedism. I didn't lose my savings,
and the beginning of the Great Depression was a giant favor to me.

  Pastor: Would you mind explaining that statement?

  Old Man of the Sea: Course not. You see I had my savings. The economy tanked.
Lots of people lost jobs, homes and everything. Lots of small businesses came onto
the market. People needed money, and real estate sort of tanked in many areas. I
found a nice, little country business, house, and a few acres offered at a very
reasonable price. I didn't have all the money, but most of it. I got a small loan without
interest from my in-laws, and bought the property. It was difficult, but I had a steady
group of customers. A small country store at that time was really a small gold mine,
because people couldn't afford to travel far and there were no supermarkets. The
previous owner didn't have a good handle on how to operate the business. I offered
very little credit. Most stores offered none. The people I offered credit were owners of
land, buildings and/or businesses. Even with the hard times, they had steady income.
I kept prices as low as possible, making only a small profit. I tried to be generous,
especially with my poorer customers. giving 13 ears of corn for a dozen, adding a
little bit of weight on the scale, and giving poor children penny candy. It paid off,
because I developed a loyal clientčle right up to the day I sold the business.

  Pastor: You seemed to have followed the Golden Rule of doing unto others as you
would have them do unto you. Were the churches helpful in the rural areas?

  Old Man of the Sea: Not only the churches, but farm families as well. The area I
lived in was basically an area of dairy farms and some truck vegetable and fruit
farming. Dairies in those days were small with most having a dozen or less cows.
There were lots of rural families that had only one cow. Growing vegetables or fruit
was done on a small scale. Remember, most things were done with hand labor.
Farmers and truck patch owners were generous with what they considered left
overs. They were following in the footsteps of Boaz, who we read about in the
Book of Ruth. I'm not going to quote from that book, but I encourage everyone to
read that short book and understand the principle it teaches. That principle is
the forerunner of Christian redemption.

  Pastor: It's interesting you would mention the Book of Ruth and redemption,
because that was my first sermon at Christmas time. The Lord directed me to
use that example rather than the usual Bethlehem story. Was it really as wild
as the stories and movies we've heard and seen?

  Old Man of the Sea: After the Roaring Twenties, how could you expect things
to continue to be so wild? But they did, only in different ways. Desperate people
do desperate things, and people got really desperate after the market crash. Laws
take second place to the need for food and shelter. Crime was bad, but instead
of gangster shoot outs, we had more petty crimes and common violence--not the
serious injury type, but more like mugging and thievery. There were also the
more spectacular crimes, the Bonnie and Clyde type stories. We also saw the era
of hobos begin. Most people today don't know what a hobo was.

  Pastor: So you weathered the storm of the Great Depression and actually
emerged much better than before the crash?

  Old Man of the Sea: My, yes. The buildup to the Great Depression was caused
by the ungodly acts of the people of America. The social excesses of the Roaring
Twenties, the greed, the oppression of the common man by wealthy businessmen
and leaders, and the general decline of morality brought about the hardship of
Americans. Some of the population, such as myself, farmers and small business
owners came through it scarred, but healthy.

  Pastor: History tells us the depression and recovery so distracted us that we
didn't realize much of the world was using the 1930s to prepare for world
domination and war. What happened in America while so many foreign countries
were preparing for war?

  Old Man of the Sea: There was no instant fix, so it was up to our government
to pull us out of the tailspin. As usual. there was a lot of disagreement among our
leaders. Apparently unnoticed by our leaders was the rise of the Nazi party in
Germany, where wealthy German industrialists financed its growth to close to
a million members. They also ignored Japan's invasion of Manchuria.  Solving
our money problem was important, but a little more attention to what was going
on in the world would have been helpful. It is noteworthy for us to remember the
Nazi party rose to power on the bountiful money of wealthy industrialists. When
any segment of society unjustly influences a nation, very serious problems are
created.

  Pastor: Are you by chance warning us that recent action such as the Supreme
Court ruling that permits corporations to contribute funds to political campaigns
was a bad idea?

  Old Man of the Sea: As the wise man says, follow the money trail. Corporate
donations are provided in an amount and to those politicians who will do their
bidding. The money and recipients are decisions made by a small group of people
that includes top administrators and shareholders. Small shareholders have no say
on the matter. We would be pretty naive to think corporate leaders would consider
anything but the bottom line.  Corporate decisions are based on dollar signs, not
the bible. For a long time they didn't include ethics in the business schools of
America. In fact, they are just now  adding ethics classes in our colleges. How far
into the pit have we fallen that ethics has to be taught to college students? How
did Christians allow this to happen?

  Pastor: Now the depression has to be checked by our federal government. If
politics then was as gridlocked as now, that would seem a super human task.

  Old Man of the Sea: We had two important things going for us. The end of the
Roaring Twenties sobered up the population. Christians grasped the evangelism
of preachers like Billy Graham, the churches were helping the poor and jobless,
and people realized those previous years had been a fantasy. We also had some
fine minds in some of our political leaders. I am disappointed to hear young people
today trash the men who brought us out of the depression. They were brave to
chart us through an unknown ocean to recovery. I lived through it, I experienced
it first hand. We said many a prayer, and God answered. There is a carryover for
us if we read and understand the books of the Old Testament written by the
prophets. A general theme runs through them that clearly illustrates the folly of
mankind. We see over and over a cycle. The people listen to God.The people
prosper. The people become lax and forget who has blessed them. God has to
straighten the people out, and they go into captivity. Then God has mercy on
them, and they are restored. He was especially merciful on America, because,
although we suffered in World War II, we were not taken into captivity.

  Pastor: You are saying we don't read, study or understand what God tries
to teach us in the bible, especially in the Old Testament. Why do you suppose
that is?

  Old Man of the Sea: Same reason some school kids have trouble understanding
subjects like math. They don't put together basic math and its use in the real world.
They don't realize adding and subtracting is a principle in money. Leaders don't
understand biblical principles are principles of life.

  Pastor: I want to return to the actions by our leaders that pulled us out of the
depression. There were some major changes for our society that have proved
instrumental in quality of life.

  (We'll continue this interview in the next message.)

Rev. Walbear