How America lost its way & freedom
By Berit Kjos – March 2, 2009
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Francis Schaeffer, Obama’s stated beliefs or Adolf Hitler
“Who controls the past controls the future; who controls
the present controls the past,’ repeated Winston obediently.”[1]
George
Orwell’s 1984
“The classroom must and will
become an arena of conflict between the old and the new – the rotting
corpse of Christianity… and the new faith of humanism.”[2]
The Humanist“…a reconfigured collective memory
will also allow individuals to see their personal experiences differently and
place events… in a new matrix of meaning.”[3]
Memory and Power in Post-war Europe“As the memory of the Christian base grows ever
dimmer, freedom will disintegrate…. The [old] system will not
simply go on, divorced from its founding roots.”[4]
Francis Schaeffer,
How Should We Then Live“If you by any means forget
the Lord your God, and follow other gods . . . you shall surely
perish….”
Deuteronomy
8:19
My favorite book as a child was a Norwegian translation
of an old British book titled The Wide Wide World. It tells
about a young
girl sent to live with a distant aunt after the death of her mother.
Since Ellen had already learned to trust Jesus, she knew He was with
her in the midst of her dark
and lonely surroundings. She saw His love in amazing ways — especially
through a kind young woman who used every painful hurdle in Ellen’s early life
to point her to God’s ever-present comforts.
Since my family rarely mentioned God in those days, this book opened
my eyes to His loving sovereignty. The truths it showed me became my life-line to His
special strength
during Norway’s post-war years. And when we moved to America, this book was the main treasure I
brought with me.Such books may soon be forgotten — banished by
a law that prohibits the sale of children’s books published
before 1985. The justification for
such an outrageous decree is that the print might contain a tiny amount of
lead. Yet, testing books for lead is prohibitively expensive. According to an article titled,
“The New Book Banning,”“no one seems to have been able to produce a single instance in which an American child has been made ill by the lead in old book illustrationsnot surprisingly, since unlike poorly maintained wall paint, book pigments do not tend to flake off in large lead-laden chips for toddlers to put into their mouths.”[5]
Could political goals have prompted this
specific ban? I don’t know. [see
note] But if I were a postmodern change agent, I would want to hide
the precious old books that refresh young minds with moral absolutes and the
unadulterated memories of our
historical
roots. Truth and freedom are incompatible with today’s evolving
standards for global solidarity.Today’s books for Christian children are different.
The actual
Scriptures are usually missing, and new marketing
schemes have led even Christian publishers to adapt their books to postmodern
demands. Since entertainment is vital to sales,
their new children’s books often show silly images of our holy God — designed to
amuse, not show reverence. We seem to have forgotten God’s admonitions:“I will not let them profane My
holy
name anymore.” Ezekiel 39:7Changing our Memories
Nothing speeds America’s memory loss faster than
its spreading boundaries for Biblical truth. And it’s no accident that
today’s emphasis on politically correct tolerance
rarely applies to Christians.Like Obama’s
Faith-Based
Partnership, our schools
and colleges are silencing “faith-based” expressions. So when little
Sallie wanted to tell
her friend about Jesus, the principal scolded her. When Antonio
included a small drawing of Jesus in an Earth Day picture (after all,
He
made the earth) the bewildered kindergartner faced humiliation. Do you wonder what
happened to their free speech?When Christian words are confined to homes
and churches (or dismissed altogether), they soon fade from public
awareness. Francis Schaeffer, founder of L’Abri, saw the coming amnesia more
than thirty years ago. In his book, How Should We Then Live, he described
the consequences:“As the Christian consensus dies, there are not
many sociological alternatives. One possibility is hedonism, in which every man
does his own thing. Trying to build a society on hedonism leads to chaos….
“In the days of a more
Christian culture, a lone individual with the Bible could judge and warn
society, regardless of the majority vote, because there was an absolute by
which to judge. There was an absolute for both morals and law.
But to the extent that the Christian consensus is gone, this absolute is gone as a social force.”“Much of the church is no help…
because for so long a large section of the church has only been teaching a
relativistic humanism using religious terminology.”[7]Why didn’t we notice it sooner? What are
the consequences of such blindness? Francis Shaeffer explains:“We see two effects of our loss of meaning and
values…. [First] degeneracy, decadence, depravity, a love of violence for
violences sake…. [Second] Society cannot
stand chaos. Some group or some person will fill the vacuum.”“At that point the words left or right
will make no difference. They are only
two roads to the same end. There is no
difference between an authoritarian government from the right or the left: the
results are the same. An elite, an authoritarianism as such, will gradually
force [a totalitarian] form on society so that it will not go on to chaos…. And most people will accept it…
That is just what Rome did….”“Will the West be able to stand against the
totalitarian nations now that the Christian base of the Western freedoms is
largely gone? Obviously this could be related to… the possibility
of
economic breakdown in the West.”[8]
New Rules for the Global
Community
“Let us remember,” wrote Francis Schaeffer,
“…Hitler was
perfectly entitled to do as he wished, if he had the popular support.”[9]Hitler did have the needed support.
His
rousing oratory persuaded the masses, and his brutal paramilitary “Brownshirts” quenched opposition.
His pragmatic orders and Darwinian values became the new absolutes.“On this basis,”
continued Schaeffer, “it would become ‘right’ to kill the old, the
incurably ill, the insane — and other groups could be
declared non-persons. No voice could be raised against it.”[9]Could that happen here? Yes! When
nations ignore Christian values, life becomes cheap and expendable. Consider
the new Oregon Health Plan:“The plan ranks various surgeries and diseases
and conditions in order of importance and places abortion high on
the list…. ‘the rapid and complete treatment of
medically correctable problems and diseases’ are now
lower.”[10]Do you remember President Obamas
2009 stimulus bill? It preceded ObamaCare but gave us a brief glimpse of
what we might expect. In article titled, “Ruin Your Health With
the Obama Stimulus Plan,”
we read:
“Your medical treatments will be tracked electronically by
a federal system…. One new bureaucracy, the National Coordinator
of Health Information Technology, will monitor treatments
to make sure your doctor is doing what the federal government
deems appropriate and cost effective. The goal is to reduce costs
and ‘guide’ your doctors decisions. … Hospitals and doctors that are
not ‘meaningful users’ of the new system will face penalties.
“‘Meaningful user’ isnt defined in the bill. That will be left
to the HHS secretary, who will be empowered to impose ‘more stringent
measures of meaningful use over time.’… In his book, Daschle proposed
an appointed body with vast powers to make the ‘tough’ decisions
elected politicians wont make….He praises Europeans for being
more willing to accept ‘hopeless diagnoses’ and ‘forgo experimental
treatments,’ and he chastises Americans for expecting too much from
the health-care system.”[11]Few books illustrate this
materialistic view of human life more
vividly than the popular classroom novel,
The Giver, winner of the 1994 Newbery Medal.
It immerses sixth graders into a totalitarian world
where children are born to professional “birth mothers.” The newborns are placed in Nurturing Centers where older
children help care for them during their mandatory service hours. To
free the community from stress, handicapped babies and low-weight
twins are “released” to go to a mystical “Elsewhere.”[12]At age twelve, Jonas and the other “young
adults” receive their permanent
service Assignments from “Elders” who observe and assess each child. Jonas, who
had intuitive power to “see beyond,” is chosen to be the Receiver of
Memories — the only one who would actually know the past. The
previous Receiver now becomes the Giver,
who transfers all past memories to the
boy. Eventually, Jonas would become the community’s only source of
historical information.The Giver fits into the flood of classroom literature that forces children to think
the unthinkable, dialogue [see
dialectic process] with their classmates, and re-evaluate the
Christian values they learned at home. Dismissing
the past, this book suggests a “safe” and benevolent future — an
Orwellian
“common good” that brings unthinkable “common” restraints!
Such “common good” means government
surveillance and control over
everything —
health,
attitudes,
beliefs,
values,
parenting and
work assignment.[13] Yet God still reigns!
“Who shall separate us from the love of
Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine…?
[In] all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved
us.” Romans 8:35-37Redefining
“Christian” in a Postmodern contextDuring his first years in office, our president calls himself a “Christian.” But what does that word mean in today’s diverse culture?
When people forget God’s standard for truth and error, how do they define “Christian”? In the light of
current cultural standards, a
good “Christian” would apparently have to believe in a universal “God” and be
tolerant (toward all that conflicts with God’s guidelines), accepting, always ready to compromise for the sake of
an
illusive “common
good.”How does that view match the Bible? How does it fit Obama? Ponder his description of his faith in this
2004 interview with Cathleen Falsani:OBAMA: I am a Christian. So, I have a deep faith…. On the other hand, I was born in Hawaii where obviously
there are a lot of Eastern influences…. I believe that there are
many paths to the same place, and that is a belief that there is
a higher power, a belief that we are connected as a
people….FALSANI: Have you always been a Christian?
OBAMA: I was raised more by my mother and my mother was Christian.
…a deeply spiritual person, and would
spend a lot of time talking about values and give me books about the
world’s religions….FALSANI: So you got yourself born again?
OBAMA: Yeah…. And I’m not somebody who is always comfortable with
language that implies I’ve got a monopoly on the truth…. I’m a big
believer in tolerance….FALSANI: Do you have people in your life that you look to for guidance?
OBAMA: Well, my pastor [Jeremiah Wright] is certainly someone who I have
an enormous amount of respect for…. I am a follower, as well, of our
civic religion. I am a big believer in the separation of
church and state…. I am a great admirer of our founding charter…
and its resolve to prevent disruptive strains of fundamentalism from
taking root in this country….FALSANI: Do you believe in heaven?
OBAMA: Do I believe in the harps and clouds and wings? …if I live my life
as well as I can… I will be rewarded….FALSANI: What is sin?
OBAMA: Being out of alignment with my values….
FALSANI: …An example of a role model, who combined everything you
said you want to do in your life, and your faith?OBAMA: I think Gandhi is a great example of a profoundly spiritual
man who…
never slipped into intolerance or dogma.”[14]
Looking ahead
As history repeats itself, the old crumbling
foundations are replaced with flexible ideals, tempting illusions, and a
bewildering scaffold of unthinkable controls.
Typical of Marxism, America’s new “freedom” is reserved for
supporters of the system, not resisters. Even churches are touting heresies and
“tolerating”
immorality. No wonder we face uncertainty,
chaos and temptations to conform!Long ago, God
warned us about such a time:“…they are
without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify
Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and
their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became
fools.” Romans
1:20-22“My people would
not heed My voice…. So I gave them over to their own stubborn heart,
to walk in their own counsels. Oh, that My people would listen to
Me….” Psalm
81:11-14To those who do listen, God promises victory
and peace — even in the midst of the turmoil:
“Be strong and of good
courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for
the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.
Joshua 1:9
Endnotes:
1.
George Orwell,
1984
(Secker & Warburg, England, 1949)
www.crossroad.to/Excerpts/books/transformation/orwell-memory.htmJohn Dunphey, “A Religion for a New Age,” The Humanist,
January/February 1983, p. 26.
3.
United Nations Population Fund leader
says family breakdown is a triumph for Human Rights at
www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/feb/09020312.html
4.
Francis Schaeffer, How Should We Then Live (Fleming H. Revell, 1976), p. 250.
5. Walter Olson, “The New Book Banning,”
February 12, 2009.
http://www.city-journal.org/2009/eon0212wo.html. You can read the law
here:
www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h110-4040
6.
Faith-Based
Partnership at
www.crossroad.to/articles2/009/faith-based-partnership.htm7.
Schaeffer, pps. 223 and 227.
8. Schaeffer, pps. 226,
245, 247.
10. Steven Ertelt, “Abortions need more
funding than medical surgeries,” February 19, 2009,
www.lifenews.com/state3874.html
11. Betsy McCaughey, “Ruin Your Health With
the Obama Stimulus Plan,” February 9, 2009,
www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20670001&refer=columnist_mccaughey&sid=aLzfDxfbwhzs
12.
The Giver at
http://www.crossroad.to/text/articles/sgw1196.html
13.
HR
1385 – Workforce Development Means Life-Long Indoctrination at
www.crossroad.to/text/articles/hr1385.html. See also
Obama’s “Universal” Service Plan and
Dear Hillary.
14.Cathleen Falsani, Sun-Times Columnist, Interview with State Senator Barack
Obama, March 27, 2004.
http://blog.beliefnet.com/stevenwaldman/2008/11/obamas-interview-with-cathleen.html.
See also Sun-Times’ article: “Obama: I have a deep faith,” Interview with State Senator Barack Obama, April 5, 2004, ww.suntimes.com/news/falsani/726619,obamafalsani040504.article.
Special note: The long list of co-sponsoring Democrats
includes Rahm Emanuel [D-IL],
www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h110-4040