<font size="4"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: georgia">Good Christians and others who agree with the urgings of Christ to care for the poor and sick:</span></font><br style="FONT-FAMILY: georgia"><br style="FONT-FAMILY: georgia">
<span style="FONT-FAMILY: georgia">Latimer Tyndale correctly points out the way we can spot counterfeit Christians in our midst. He urges in a post (reprinted below):</span><br style="FONT-FAMILY: georgia"><br><font size="4">
<span style="COLOR: rgb(51,102,255)"><font style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold" size="6">I</font>n light of the words of Christ found in the four Holy Gospels, who is the real Christian and who is the counterfeit? </span><br style="COLOR: rgb(51,102,255)">
<br style="COLOR: rgb(51,102,255)"><span style="COLOR: rgb(51,102,255)"><font size="6"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Y</span></font>ou are gambling on whose views to follow to earn eternal salvation. Whose views do you think are most likely to lead you there? Whose views are most likely to lead you to eternal damnation?
</span><br><br>If you are unable to answer these questions promptly and with assurance, perhaps for your own and your family's eternal grace <span style="COLOR: rgb(255,102,0)">you need to read carefully the four Holy Gospels by yourself without some self-important, self-loving, self-serving, rapacious pretender to the credentials of an ordained pastor telling what he devises them to mean for his own purposes
</span>. After you have read unguided the Holy Gospels in God's very straightforward words for yourself, the answers to the above questions will be crystal clear. <br><br>You might also bear in mind <span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)">
God's stern admonition about following false prophets.</span></font><br><br><span style="FONT-FAMILY: georgia"><br><font style="FONT-FAMILY: georgia" size="2">I agree with Latimer that reading the four Holy Gospels is the correct way to understand Jesus, to understand what he wants us to do, and to understand how we are to show our love for him by our actions. However, some extra advice needs to be added to Latimer's.
<br><br>For those unfortunates foundering in the fraudulent Scots-Wannabe-kirk, the so-called Christ Church of Moscow, Idaho, which is organized, controlled, does attendance checks, and spies on its congregation more like a gulag than an alleged Christ-Centered Church, following advice
</font></span><span style="FONT-FAMILY: georgia"><font style="FONT-FAMILY: georgia" size="2">such</font></span><span style="FONT-FAMILY: georgia"><font style="FONT-FAMILY: georgia" size="2"> as Latimer's will be very, very difficult.
<br><br>It will take great courage and will demand that one's</font></span><font style="FONT-FAMILY: georgia" size="2"> fully committed </font><span style="FONT-FAMILY: georgia"><font style="FONT-FAMILY: georgia" size="2">
<font size="2">love of Jesus and thankfulness for God's Great Bounty is stronger and more important than the near term sacrifices the apostates may fear and the certain cruel reprisals from the egocentric Pastor Douglas Wilson they may dread to experience. The members of this false kirk have been unscrupulously misled, brainwashed, and bled by a very skillful manipulator for many years. Some of them, especially amongst the Elders, depend on employment in this phony kirk for their economic well-being, and thus depend on keeping in the good graces of Pastor Douglas Wilson at almost any spiritual cost or peril to their eternal salvation.
<br><br>Of course those of us who have seen the light can readily see that the rich and flamboyant lifestyle that Pastor Douglas Wilson lives and the kingly feasts with its fine wines and lavish, upscale foods that the Pastor Wilson provides his family and brags about in his Blog are clearly contrary to the teachings of Jesus and surely will result in eternal damnation.
<br></font><br>Matthew 19: 16 - 24, King James Version:<br><br><span style="COLOR: rgb(255,102,0); FONT-FAMILY: trebuchet ms">16 And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; COLOR: rgb(102,51,255)">
what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?</span> 17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. 18 He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said,
<span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; COLOR: rgb(255,102,0)">Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, 19 Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself
</span><span style="COLOR: rgb(255,102,0)">. </span></span><br style="COLOR: rgb(255,102,0); FONT-FAMILY: trebuchet ms"></font><br style="COLOR: rgb(255,102,0); FONT-FAMILY: trebuchet ms"><span style="COLOR: rgb(255,102,0); FONT-FAMILY: trebuchet ms">
20 The young man saith unto him, <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; COLOR: rgb(102,51,255)">All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?</span> 21 Jesus said unto him, <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; COLOR: rgb(102,51,255)">
If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven </span>: and come and follow me. 22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.
</span><br style="COLOR: rgb(255,102,0); FONT-FAMILY: trebuchet ms"><br style="COLOR: rgb(255,102,0); FONT-FAMILY: trebuchet ms"><span style="COLOR: rgb(255,102,0); FONT-FAMILY: trebuchet ms">23 Then said Jesus unto his disciples,
<span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; COLOR: rgb(102,51,255)">Verily I say unto you,</span> <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; COLOR: rgb(102,51,255)">That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. 24 And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God
</span>. </span><br style="COLOR: rgb(255,102,0)"><br>The Real Christian cannot also help but notice also how the Pastor Douglas Wilson's attentions are directed more at the wealthier members of his flock and how his recruiting and proselytizing efforts are focused disproportionately upon the affluent.
<br><br><br></span><span style="FONT-FAMILY: georgia">Those in the false kirk (and outside of it) who are familiar with Pastor Douglas Wilson's activities might also decide if he meets the requirements of Jesus given in Matthew 19: 16 - 19:
<br><br><span style="COLOR: rgb(255,102,0); FONT-FAMILY: trebuchet ms">16 And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? 17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. 18 He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder,
<span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; COLOR: rgb(51,102,255)">Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, </span> 19 Honour thy father and thy mother: and, <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; COLOR: rgb(102,51,255)">
Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.</span><span style="COLOR: rgb(102,51,255)"> </span></span><br style="COLOR: rgb(255,102,0)"><br></span><br><span style="FONT-FAMILY: georgia">Should any further proof of the Christ Church Faux Pastor Douglas Wilson's Perfidy be needed, Latimer Tyndale has also pointed out:
<br><br></span><font size="4">Fact: The post from the Princess contained the quote:</font><br>
<div><span><font size="4"><br><font size="2">"It should be added, as Doug Wilson has made clear repeatedly, the death penalty is not automatically required for adultery, homosexual acts, and other forms of "<span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; COLOR: rgb(255,102,102)">
porneia</span>." When guilt is established, <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; COLOR: rgb(255,102,102)">such crimes are to be dealt with severely</span>, but the meting out of the death penalty is just one option available to the judge."
<br></font><br></font></span></div>
<div><font size="4">See: <a onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)" href="http://mailman.fsr.com/pipermail/vision2020/2006-August/033961.html" target="_blank">http://mailman.fsr.com/pipermail/vision2020/2006-August/033961.html
</a>, fourth paragraph of response. <br></font><br><br><font size="4">Fact: His Phoniness, Douglas Wilson, wrote a letter to the court recommending of sexual predator and NSA student James Sitler's sentence:</font> <font size="2">
<span style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt"><font size="2"><font size="4"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; COLOR: rgb(255,102,102)"><font size="2"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">"</span>I would urge that the civil penalties applied would be measured and limited."
</font><br><br><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"></span></span></span><span style="COLOR: rgb(255,102,102)"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)">See <a onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)" href="http://www.tomandrodna/CR_2005_02027/CC_Ltr_081905.pdf" target="_blank">
www.tomandrodna/CR_2005_02027/CC_Ltr_081905.pdf</a>, last paragraph.<br><br><font style="FONT-FAMILY: georgia" size="2">It would be hard to find a clearer example of one who claims to be a man of God and Christ saying one thing and then hypocritically doing another. Such a revelation is convincing evidence that Pastor Douglas Wilson is not a man of Christ but a self-centered, arrogant, manipulative, unscrupulous confidence operator whose concern is not God's pleasure nor God's children's souls and salvation, but his own and his family's reputation, wealth, comfort, and ease. Also, it is clearly not loving one's neighbors to expose their children to a serial sexual predator and child molester.
</font><font size="2"><br style="FONT-FAMILY: georgia"></font></span></span></font></font></span></font></div><font size="2"><br><br><br><font style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-FAMILY: georgia" size="4">Here's the real point of this posting:
</font><br><span style="FONT-FAMILY: georgia"><br><font style="FONT-FAMILY: georgia" size="2">Those foundering in the false kirk but seeking to find the truth and to be wed to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit for eternity may need a little help in addition to just reading the Holy Gospels in order to find the real path to Jesus after being spiritually debauched for so long by one who resembles the Anti-Christ.
<br></font></span><br style="FONT-FAMILY: georgia"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: georgia">Besides reading for themselves unguided the perfectly clear prescriptions of God found in the Four Holy Gospels, these to-be-pitied-not-scorned suffering souls from the false kirk might find other area churches to attend for a few months to assist them in their quest. There are many sincere, non-manipulative men and women of Christ who would gladly and warmly with the proper kind of love and focus of that love offer succor and refuge to the sincere but abused and perhaps gun-shy pilgrim.
</span></font><br style="FONT-FAMILY: georgia"><br style="FONT-FAMILY: georgia"><font size="2"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: georgia">However a word of warning to those in the fraudulent kirk who are attempting to leave. Expect to be visited, harangued, and finally vilified by those false kirk members who have yet to see the light. Especially: if those loving Jesus enough to try other churches or to relate directly with God are rich enough or of enough influence, they may be interrogated and harangued by the odious Doug Jones, church disciplinarian, smokescreen generator, and snoop. If they are very, very rich or influential, Pastor Douglas Wilson will give them his
</span><span style="FONT-FAMILY: georgia">devious, sacrilegious but persuasive</span></font><span style="FONT-FAMILY: georgia"> attention. <font size="2"><br></font><br><font size="2">It is very important for everyone and especially for the foundering souls in the false kirk to know that a Christian's relationship and covenant is directly with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, not with any false prophet and his disciples, regardless of how cleverly and greedily a false prophet urges allegiance to himself in God's name. Despite any wildly egotistical claims, no Pastor can prevent you from going to heaven. Despite any wildly egotistical claims, no Pastor can deliver you to heaven; only you can make that delivery possible through your actions here on earth. Your eternal salvation is God's decision alone; no unscrupulous pretender will have anything to say about it. For one's eternal salvation then, relate directly to and act with God; do not lay with swine.
<br><br>The sincere new apostate from the false kirk will use their new found spiritual strength and true love of Jesus along with that of their fellow apostates</font></span><font size="2"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: georgia">
</span><span style="FONT-FAMILY: georgia">to build a mighty bonfire with any and all Canon Press God and Jesus libeling books and tracts they may have in innocence acquired so as to obliterate </span><span style="FONT-FAMILY: georgia">
</span><span style="FONT-FAMILY: georgia">from their soiled nostrils</span><span style="FONT-FAMILY: georgia"> </span><span style="FONT-FAMILY: georgia">the </span><span style="FONT-FAMILY: georgia">wretched, </span><span style="FONT-FAMILY: georgia">
filthy miasma </span><span style="FONT-FAMILY: georgia">emanating blasphemously from these yellowbacks falsely in the names of God and Jesus. <br></span><br style="FONT-FAMILY: georgia"></font><span style="FONT-FAMILY: georgia">
<font size="2">It will take great courage, strength, and especially a great and true love of Jesus by those unfortunates deceived and misled by the false kirk to exit this Christless, concocted kirk. For those whose love of Jesus is strong and pure, notice that it is not even necessary to worship or to attend a church, but only to act as commanded by Christ in Matthew 25: 31 - 46 to receive God's eternal grace, approval, salvation, and reward:
<br></font><br><span style="COLOR: rgb(255,102,0); FONT-FAMILY: trebuchet ms">31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: 32 <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; COLOR: rgb(102,51,255)">
And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:</span> 33 And <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; COLOR: rgb(102,51,255)">he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left
</span>. 34 Then shall the <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; COLOR: rgb(102,51,255)">King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
</span> 35 For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. 41
<span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; COLOR: rgb(102,51,255)">Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:</span> 42 For I was an hungered, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: 43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. 44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? 45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. 46 And
<span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; COLOR: rgb(102,51,255)">these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal</span>. </span><br style="COLOR: rgb(255,102,0); FONT-FAMILY: georgia"></span><br style="FONT-FAMILY: georgia">
<br><span style="FONT-FAMILY: georgia">THEREFORE, Let all True Christians join together, bow their heads, and offer this heartfelt prayer to our ALMIGHTY GOD: </span><br style="FONT-FAMILY: georgia"><br style="FONT-FAMILY: georgia">
<span style="FONT-FAMILY: georgia">THAT the captive, unfortunate victims of the false kirk will have the strength, courage, and truly love Jesus enough to leave that false house of God and all its schools and ministries, and to totally avoid all other materially or spiritually leeching tentacles of it; to openly and with gleeful agape shed that damning false pride that comes from being convinced wrongly by their sacrilegious, devious manipulator that they are "saints" and thus cloven from God's Children other children, and to resist all imprecations, temptations, extortion attempts, manipulations, threats, fraudulent and demonically manipulative God-will-be-angry-at-you fear tactics, diabolical, sacrilegious, egotistical "You are letting God down" arguments, transparently self-serving, claims of
</span><span style="FONT-FAMILY: georgia">calamitous </span><span style="FONT-FAMILY: georgia">persecution, devious tricks, pretended illnesses or other catastrophes, crocodile tears, and all other inducements to return to the false kirk or any part of it in any way, shape, or form, forever.
</span><br style="FONT-FAMILY: georgia"><br style="FONT-FAMILY: georgia"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: georgia">THAT the misguided Elders of the false kirk renounce their sinful, prideful egos, realize that they cannot hide from God, realize the errors of their ways, awaken from their cleverly induced spiritual slumbers, put God's Word and Commandments before their their own selfish economic interests, demonstrate the strength and courage demanded by the true love of Jesus, and therefore depose Pastor Douglas Wilson and disband the false kirk forever, thereby ending its mocking and belying of Christ and ending the putting of its members' eternal salvation in absolute peril, and may these same Elders also aid its injured flock to discover and to cherish the true succor of God within their own hearts by encouraging them to read
</span><span style="FONT-FAMILY: georgia">the Holy Gospels</span><span style="FONT-FAMILY: georgia">, unassisted by any self-serving, pride driven, vain obsessive control seeking, I-am-smarter-and-know-better-than-God bastardized interpretation, and to live their lives thereby accordingly.
</span><br style="FONT-FAMILY: georgia"><br style="FONT-FAMILY: georgia"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: georgia">THAT Pastor Douglas Wilson admit all the errors of his ways, </span><span style="FONT-FAMILY: georgia">publicly </span>
<span style="FONT-FAMILY: georgia">confess his sins, agree with the Elders to unequivocally lay asunder forever the false kirk. <br><br>THAT Pastor Douglas Wilson will finally and truly come to understand the meaning of the clearest of God's words found in Matthew 5: 38 - 48
<font style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; COLOR: rgb(102,51,255)" size="6">*</font> , and will piously conduct the rest of his entire life thereby accordingly. <br style="FONT-FAMILY: georgia"></span><br style="FONT-FAMILY: georgia">
<span style="FONT-FAMILY: georgia">THAT Pastor Douglas Wilson will finally and truly come to find and to love God and Jesus, avow that love, and that he will convincingly prove that newly avowed love of of God and Jesus is far greater than his present enormous, consuming self-love by selling all his worldly possessions, giving the proceeds therefrom to the poor as Jesus has commanded as the price for eternal reward, and that Pastor Douglas Wilson will begin to live a humble, selfless, itinerant life patterned after the life of Jesus to atone for the intentional, grievous wrongs he may have thus far inflicted
</span><span style="FONT-FAMILY: georgia">without conscience </span><span style="FONT-FAMILY: georgia">falsely in the names of God and Jesus on many, many others. <br><br>THAT FINALLY, if GOD IN INFINITE WISDOM, MERCY, AND LOVE sees fit to hear and to grant these humble prayers, that God grant full redemption to those above for whom these prayers are offered and who repent of their errors, and that GOD IN INFINITE WISDOM, MERCY, AND LOVE allows their lives shorn of the sinful pride that divides them from God's other children to begin and to continue to shine with the True Christian Love that propelled God to sacrifice tortuously on The Cross his begotten Son, Jesus Christ, so that we, his other daughters and sons may have thankfully an opportunity to earn eternal, heavenly bliss.
<br><br>Amen.<br style="FONT-FAMILY: georgia"></span><br style="FONT-FAMILY: georgia"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: georgia">Cameron Brown Cargill</span><br><br><br><font style="COLOR: rgb(102,51,255); FONT-FAMILY: trebuchet ms" size="4">
<span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"><font size="6">* </font>Matthew 5: 38 - 48: </span></font><span style="COLOR: rgb(255,102,0); FONT-FAMILY: trebuchet ms">38 Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: 39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil:
<span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; COLOR: rgb(102,51,255)">but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also</span>. 40 And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. 41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. 42 Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.
</span><br style="COLOR: rgb(255,102,0); FONT-FAMILY: trebuchet ms"><br style="COLOR: rgb(255,102,0); FONT-FAMILY: trebuchet ms"><span style="COLOR: rgb(255,102,0); FONT-FAMILY: trebuchet ms">43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. 44
<span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; COLOR: rgb(102,51,255)">But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;</span>
45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? 47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? 48
<span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; COLOR: rgb(102,51,255)">Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect</span>.</span><br style="FONT-FAMILY: trebuchet ms"><br><br><br><br><br style="FONT-FAMILY: georgia">
*************************************************************************************<br style="FONT-FAMILY: georgia"><font size="4"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Concerned Christians, especially those with reading comprehension ability above the fourth grade:
</span><br><br>Below are reprints of two recent opinion columns from newspapers. <br><br>The first column is one pressing upon you the views of the local Christ Church, pretenders to being a Scottish village kirk. It is written by Ed Iverson, Librarian at the the Christ Church reproduction mill, New Saint Andrews (another phony reference) and also the Church's press representative who has be given rein to present the church's views bi-weekly at the
<span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Daily News</span>.<br><br>The second column is from a much more humble writer, Oliver "Buzz" Thomas. This article appeared yesterday (Monday, September 18, 2006) in <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">
USAToday</span>.<br><br>Here are some questions a thoughtful Christian might want to answer while reading these articles.<br><br><span style="COLOR: rgb(51,102,255)"><font style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold" size="6">I</font>n light of the words of Christ found in the four Holy Gospels, who is the real Christian and who is the counterfeit?
</span><br style="COLOR: rgb(51,102,255)"><br style="COLOR: rgb(51,102,255)"><span style="COLOR: rgb(51,102,255)"><font size="6"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Y</span></font>ou are gambling on whose views to follow to earn eternal salvation. Whose views do you think are most likely to lead you there? Whose views are most likely to lead you to eternal damnation?
</span><br><br>If you are unable to answer these questions promptly and with assurance, perhaps for your own and your family's eternal grace you need to read carefully the four Holy Gospels by yourself without some self-important, self-loving, self-serving, rapacious pretender to the credentials of an ordained pastor telling what he devises them to mean for his own purposes. After you have read unguided the Holy Gospels in God's very straightforward words for yourself, the answers to the above questions will be crystal clear.
<br><br>You might also bear in mind God's stern admonition about following false prophets.<br><br>Latimer Tyndale</font><br><br>********************************************************************************************************
<br><br>
<div><span style="FONT-SIZE: 20px; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">HIS VIEW: It's folly to listen to pleas for Mideast cease-fire </span><br><br><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14px"></span><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12px">By Ed Iverson
</span><br><span style="FONT-SIZE: 10px"><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Daily News</span>, Saturday, August, 12th, 2006 - Page Updated at 12:00:00 AM </span><br><br><span style="FONT-SIZE: 14px">In the latest manifestation of the ancient rivalry between Jacob and Esau the smart money is on Israel. This is my reading of the global outpouring of sympathy and support for Hezbollah. Here is the truth: there would be no outpouring of sympathy if the Israelis were getting the stuffing beat out of them. There would be no anguished pleas for a cease-fire coming out of the United Nations if Israel was taking a beating. What we do have is Western Europe and the United Nations issuing distressed demands to stop the violence. This is a good indication that Hezbollah is getting spanked.
<p>Many observers of the conflict believe that Hezbollah is a cat's paw for Iran. If that is true (and I have no reason to believe it is not), Iran is playing an old game. Iran is probing for weakness while maintaining deniability. Committed to the destruction of Israel, they provoke a shooting war using Hezbollah as a proxy. They do this knowing full well that when things begin to go badly, they can call on world opinion to demand a cease-fire.
</p>
<p>The Washington Times and Fox News are now reporting Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah is holed up in a bunker and cut off from communication with others of his terrorist gang. Word is starting to leak out the Lebanese people are beginning to see Hezbollah in a negative light. Reuters was recently caught with its pants down, doctoring images from the front in an effort to further the media campaign against Israel. Add it all up and it should therefore come as no surprise that calls for a cease-fire have intensified.
</p>
<p>Certainly, Israel should immediately agree to a cease-fire. That would give Iran time to resupply its puppet, Hezbollah. The Sheik could then come out of hiding and, reconnecting with his junkyard dogs, plan the next cowardly raid on civilian populations. Hamas can begin to plan a new round of attacks upon school buses and pizza joints. Perhaps most importantly, those determined to see Israel "driven into the sea" will have gained some valuable insight about Israel's resolve.
</p>
<p>The Oslo and the Camp David accords are but two instances in which a brokered cease-fire soon deteriorated into renewed aggression. A cease-fire is just the ticket for renewed conflict in the future. It is an absolute guarantee that the struggle will go on.
</p>
<p>Perhaps Israel should snap up the offer in an effort to ensure job security for its armed forces? From everything I read in the liberal press, the big fathead generals in the loathsome military are forever looking for an opportunity to keep their men in fighting trim. No self-respecting general wants his troops to get soft. Yes indeed, Israel should accept a cease-fire with Hezbollah in anticipation of renewed war in the not-too-distant future.
</p>
<p>Like, not. Until Leviathan is destroyed or utterly disarmed, it is folly to listen to his plea for a cease-fire. There comes a point in the fight when every bully-boy begins to whine about the unfairness of it all. "Let me go, and I'll be nice," he whimpers. "I won't let you go," says Saint George to the dragon, "I have heard your lies before." "But this time it is different," says the dragon. "This time I will behave. And you are hurting me ever-so-much. Let us call a truce and I'll be nice." Right.
</p>
<p>Calls for cease-fire, appeals for a truce, and demands for "neutrality" are effective weapons especially favored by thugs and bullies and others that specialize in terror. They are hardly ever what they seem. Frantic calls for a cease-fire are nearly always demands for a "timeout" while those who are temporarily out of power reposition and plan the next offensive.
</p>
<p>Ed Iverson is the head librarian at New Saint Andrews College in Moscow. He earned a master's of library science at the University of Southern Mississippi and studied theology at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia. In 1990, he ran for the Idaho Senate as a Republican from Mullan. He lives with his wife at Viola. They have two children and six grandchildren.
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<h3>A Christian view of war</h3>
<h4>What would Jesus do in Iraq? He'd offer compassion, he'd feed the hungry, he'd even pray for the enemies. What he'd really do is give American Christians — Republicans and Democrats alike — something to think about.</h4>
<p><strong>By Oliver "Buzz" Thomas <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal; FONT-STYLE: italic">USAToday, </span><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal">09/18/07</span><br></strong></p>
<p><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">"Pray for our troops."</span> </p>
<p>Millions of signs and bumper stickers carry the message, and part of me likes it. But part of me keeps waiting for another bumper sticker — the one I still haven't seen. Whether Jesus would drive an SUV, I'm still not sure. Truth is he'd probably ride the bus. Or the subway. But if he had money for a car and didn't give it all away to the hookers and the homeless before he got to the used-car lot, I'm pretty sure that his bumper sticker would say "pray for our enemies."
</p>
<p><em>(Illustration by Adrienne Lewis, USA TODAY)</em></p>
<div>
<p>Before you write me off as a left-wing crackpot, consider what we know. During his famous Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said three things relevant to the subject of war:</p>
<ul>
<li>Blessed are the peacemakers. </li>
<li>Turn the other cheek. </li>
<li>Pray for your enemies. </li></ul>
<p>Here's something else we know. Three-quarters of the U.S. population consider themselves Christian. That translates into about 224 million Americans. </p>
<p>So why are so few of us taking the teachings of Jesus seriously when it comes to this latest war? Out here in the heartland, only a handful of churches are even talking about it.</p>
<p><strong>Christian obligations</strong> </p>
<p>The most plausible explanation is that we're scared. Some things, it seems, may trump religion. Fear is one of them. If Christians are afraid (and who could blame them after 9/11?), it's not surprising that they're listening to other voices besides Jesus' when it comes to the war in Iraq. So what should the three-fourths of Americans who identify themselves as "Christian" make of the Iraq war?
</p>
<p>We could spend a lot of time debating whether St. Augustine's "Just War Theory" can be stretched to accommodate our invasion of Iraq, but at this late date it really doesn't matter. We invaded. And, if the Just War Theory means anything, it means that we shouldn't leave Iraq in a bigger mess than we found it. Americans of faith, it would seem, are obligated to do at least the following:
</p>
<ul>
<li>Express concern for all suffering, including that of our enemies. That means more than paying lip service. As James, the brother of Jesus, said, it does not suffice to tell a hungry man "God bless you!" or "We will pray for you!" We must address his hunger. The same can be said for the additional food, health care, police and countless other things the Iraqi people need. And, though an immediate withdrawal would be precipitous, we must work diligently to respond to the Iraqis' desire that our troops leave as quickly as possible.
</li>
<li>Recommit ourselves to the fundamental principles of justice and human rights that have been a hallmark of our faith, as well as of our nation. That means no more secret prisons, no more secret trials and no more torture. America cannot resort to the worst
<a onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)" href="http://www.osa.ceu.hu/gulag/txt1.htm" target="_blank">practices of the Gulag</a> (where citizens were declared "enemies of the state" and whisked away to Siberian work camps without the benefit of a fair trial or the assistance of counsel) and expect to be an accepted member of the world community, much less a leader of it.
</li>
<li>Repudiate the statements of any religious or political leader who suggests that America has a special claim on God. He may have a special claim on us, but we do not have a special claim on him. Our beloved nation is a civil state, not a religious one. There are no references to God in
<a onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)" href="http://www.house.gov/house/Constitution/Constitution.html" target="_blank">our Constitution</a>. The only reference to religion — other than in the First Amendment — is found in Article VI, which proclaims that there will be no religious test for public office in the USA. The Founding Fathers gave us a secular state in which all religions are free to flourish or flounder on their own initiative without interference by the government. Those running around claiming we are
<a onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)" href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20040820-125028-3534r.htm" target="_blank">"in the army of God"</a> or slapping up copies of the Ten Commandments on government buildings threaten to turn us into the very sort of society we are fighting against in this new war.
</li>
<li>Force our elected officials to address the conditions that have given rise to global terrorism in the first place. Terrorism exists for a reason. One of those reasons is that our society has been far too unconcerned about the plight of Muslim people around the world. Why, for example, have we not instituted a mini-Marshall Plan for the millions of Palestinians who have often gone without adequate land, roads, hospitals and schools since the 1967 war with Israel? Corruption among Palestinian leaders has squandered billions in the past, but
<a onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)" href="http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/2003-07-28-our-view_x.htm" target="_blank">responsible partners</a> on the ground can and must be found. Private foundations with a long history of engagement might be a good place to start.
</li></ul>
<p><strong>Tackling terrorism's roots</strong> </p>
<p>We need not and should not repudiate our long-standing alliance with Israel to accomplish this. It's simply that our religious traditions teach us that to whom much is given, much is required. The irony, of course, is that it's in our best interest to relieve Palestinian suffering. True, some terrorist leaders come from affluent families and cite Western worldliness and decadence as their motivation for jihad, but the economic factor cannot be ignored. There is no better recruiting ground for the troops of terror than the maddening monotony and grinding poverty of a refugee camp.
</p>
<p>In ancient times, particular gods were associated with particular nations. "Tribal deities," we call them. Today we know better. God is not the mascot of Republicans, Democrats or, for that matter, Americans. God transcends all national and political affiliations. His precinct is the universe.
</p>
<p>America is in the deep woods. Never have we been less popular in the eyes of the world. Never have we faced so unsettling an enemy. But before we circle the wagons, Christians should get serious about following the teachings of the one by whose name we are called. He might just know the way out.
</p>
<p><em>Oliver "Buzz" Thomas is a minister in Tennessee and author of an upcoming book, </em>10 Things Your Minister Wants to Tell You (But Can't Because He Needs the Job). <br></p>
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