We Must Rightly Discern 21st Century America

It is now fully apparent that American society is slowly sliding into oblivion. The signs are all around us, in a quiet chorus muttering the same word: “Decay, decay, decay.” We also live in a nation that is increasingly polarized. As evidence of the latter, simply study a map of the polling results from the November 2016 election.

“And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?” – Matthew 16:3 (KJV)

The Bygone Era

If you read nearly any 19th Century or early 20th Century book, you will get a glimpse of a bygone society that in the middle and upper classes was substantially more literate, courteous, reserved, and considerate than we see in the early 21st Century. It was a culture that had a rich vocabulary. They were often schooled in music and well-versed in scripture. Families that aspired to send their children to a college or university insured that they studied Latin and usually at least one modern foreign language—usually German or French. (Or perhaps, it was Spanish for those living in the southwest.)

It was standard practice in many schools to memorize not just Bible verses but also poems of moderate length. Parenthetically, I should mention that my paternal grandfather could rattle off the full text of Longfellow’s Evangeline, A Tale of Acadie in dactylic hexameter, with nary a pause, 60 years after he left high school. I’m pleased to report that my homeschooled children seem to have better recall and a wider base of general knowledge than I gained in public schools. So, perhaps there is hope for us!

The Public Fool System

Take a few minutes to read Harvard University’s entrance examination, for the year 1869. That would be considered almost graduate school level work today.  And, again, that was considered entrance level, in 1869. How far we have fallen, America!

Our public schools now produce legions of illiterate fools who are just barely capable of sustaining themselves with a productive job. Often, employers must resort to remedial training. They do so just to get their employees to the point that they can do rudimentary mathematics and construct a complete sentence at an 8th grade level.

Because education has been reduced to the “No child left behind” lowest common denominator, standards have degraded dramatically. We now live in era where achievement testing is considered “unfair” or even “cruel”, and where everyone goes home with a pat on the head and a Participation Ribbon. The priority is positive self image rather than academic vigor. Discern the truth:  If this trend continues to its logical end, then we are doomed.

Public high school students now “graduate” largely ignorant of history, geography, the sciences, and literature. Most of them cannot balance a checkbook or count out change at a cash register. Nearly half of them cannot even read an analog dial clock. They do not know the parts of speech and cannot diagram a sentence. Some cannot correctly answer simple three column subtraction problems. Very few can write a sentence cursively. Their vocabularies are considerably truncated, compared to past generations. They have never had the Constitution taught to them in detail. They have never memorized the Declaration of Independence, as children often did up until the 1930s.

SAT Score Shenanigans

By the middle of the 20th Century, Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores had been rising steadily for nearly five decades. But then, in 1967, the trend reversed dramatically, and scores have never recovered. The response to this dilemma from academia was laughable. Instead of improving the educational process, they declared: “Re-norm the tests!” And in 1995, that is just what they did. And when even that proved insufficient, our colleges simply lowered their entrance requirements.

A substantial percentage of baccalaureate degrees are now awarded to “special cases” with low GPAs. The end result: The once-revered Bachelor of Arts degree is no longer any relevant gauge of either intelligence or knowledge.

Not surprisingly, America’s academic decline has led to both a decline in real (inflation-adjusted) wages and a decline in competitiveness in global trade. Secondary school students in the United States now rank in the bottom one-third in math scores of the 34 Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) “developed” countries.

Adjusted for the real rate of inflation, average after-tax income has fallen in 10 of the past 15 years. This has meant that the middle class is shrinking. We are living in the midst of a hidden economic depression, but few in the mainstream media want to admit it.

Some Signs of the Times

Beyond the aforementioned academic decline, I believe that we need to step back and discern the signs of the times. The following is an incomplete list that describes our present times:

Big and Intrusive Government

The scale of government has expanded greatly since 1931. Bigger government by its very nature tends to be more intrusive, more controlling, more politically motivated, more likely to engage in social engineering, and less respective of individual liberty. I could pen an entire essay detailing the expansion of our government since 1930, but for the sake of brevity I’ll just say: The record is clear. It has happened, and the results were devastating.

Corrupt Political Parties

George Wallace may have been an insufferable bigot, but he certainly had one thing right. He once famously said: “There’s not a dimes’s worth of difference between the Democrat and Republican parties.” That hasn’t changed. We now have two dominant socialist political parties in our country. The only difference is that one of them is in more of a hurry than the other.

Degraded Property Rights

A man can no longer do what he wishes with his own land. There are a myriad of laws, codes, taxes, mandatory inspections, and fees. And because the Prussian-inspired American public school system brought with it property taxes, it is now virtually impossible to live off the land. Everyone now needs a regular income so that they can pay their annual property taxes. In essence we are now renting our land from the government.  If that sounds like an extreme statement, then I suggest this, as a test:  Stop paying your property taxes for the next five years.  At the end of that experiment, write and tell me who owns that land.

Confiscatory Taxation

I suspect that the real tax burden in most of the United States now exceeds 50% for most Americans, and 55% for those earning more than $200,000 per year. If those figures seem high to you, then consider the combined bite (mordida) of all taxes and fees. These include: income taxes, sales taxes, capital gain taxes, excise taxes, fuel taxes, import duties, regulatory fees, license fees, telecommunications taxes, vehicle registration fees, building permits, “late penalties”, environmental impact study costs, and so on. But there are also many hidden forms of taxation. One of these is inflation of the currency. This is the slow robbery of the buying power of our savings. Another that is almost imperceptible is the relentless cost of the indirect tax and regulatory compliance costs that are now built into the cost of everything we buy.

Over-Regulation

The United States government and the state governments now horribly over-regulate us. Countless other essays from organizations like the Cato Institute have heavily documented this. So I won’t belabor this point. I will suffice with just a couple of examples:

It has been estimated that for cars produced by Detroit’s “Big Three”, the built-in regulatory costs (associated with air bags, padded dashboards, and other safety standards, Federally-mandated black boxes, and meeting emission regulation standards) now exceed $3,000 of an average car’s sticker price.

Higher Cost = Quality Improvements

There was a bureaucratic stroke of genius in March of 1971: The Bureau Of Labor Statistics stopped treating charges for mandated pollution control equipment on automobiles as “price increases” and instead classified them as “pure quality improvements”. Some of these “quality changes” were tied to decreased weight in order to meet corporate average fuel efficiency (CAFE) standards, which have actually made cars less safe in crashes. The bureaucrats claim that the added expense of meeting the CAFE standards is offset by fuel purchase savings over the service life of a car. But with gasoline now selling for $2.20 per gallon in my region, I’m rather dubious. And one cannot put a price tag on the lives lost as a result of people now driving around in flimsy cars. (In the event of a crash, would you rather be driving a big Mercedes, a big SUV, or a tiny Smart Car?)

In the coal mining industry, the ballooning cost of regulatory compliance, environmental studies, taxes, and various fees now leave the owners just a 2% profit margin. Meanwhile, in the oil industry, things are even worse, with most producers now operating at a net loss and just barely hanging on in hope of a turnaround. But only World War 3 and oil embargoes would bring that change in anything less than a decade. (I should mention that any astute politicians have surely come to the same conclusion. So let that be a warning.)

Bad Doctrine and Morally Adrift Churches

Most mainstream churches now preach a watered-down gospel. They have abandoned church discipline. And sadly most of them have devolved into happy-clappy feel good social clubs.

Bad Company and Corrupt Morals

Raise your children to be discerning about the company that they keep. The mass media barrages our sons and daughters with examples of bad behavior. Even homeschooled kids are under attack. Provide good role models to counteract this. So we must be very careful about the adult company that we keep. Shun those who don’t lead Godly lives. Your children will mirror your behavior. So if you keep good company, then so will they.

The Welfare Mentality

A steadily growing segment of our society is on the dole. One out of every seven Americans uses food purchased with EBT cards. (Those are the electronic replacement for Food Stamps.)  At the last tally I read, 45.3% of American households pay no Federal income tax.  So in effect the “have nots” are a huge voting bloc that keeps leftist politicians in office for their lifetimes, and those same politicians consistently vote for high taxes, more regulation, and big government.

Cities of Sprawl and Scrawl

We live in an urbanized society. Graffiti has become ubiquitous, especially in metropolitan regions. Paralleling the tattooing and piercing culture, the graffiti culture is a headlong assault against civility and respect for property. It is also a means for criminal gangs to mark their turf.

Decline of Traditional Marriage

In England, it is estimated by 2019 that the majority of children will be born out of wedlock. (The figure is presently 47.5%.) In the United States, the figure was around 40%, as of 2013. And of course I must mention that in 2015 homosexual “marriage” was forced nationwide in the United States by a Federal court order, overriding state’s rights.

A Debased Currency

Through the crafty tool of currency inflation—which is essentially a hidden tax—the purchasing power of the U.S. dollar has declined more than 90% since 1913. Silver coinage was removed in the 1960s. The next step will likely be the advent of a digital currency and outlawing cash transactions.

The Slow Slide into Tyranny

In the 1960s, I grew up hearing and believing: “It’s a free country.” But what can we honestly say now? Do we rightly discern a degradation of freedom? There is rising tide of oppression against fundamentalist Christians and gun collectors. This is something akin to the rise of Nazi Germany in the 1930s. As John Jacob Schmidt of Radio Free Redoubt eloquently described it: When tyranny rises, it first targets a specific demographic group. To amplify what he has written, here is the historic pattern, in sequence: Parody and Ridicule -> Marginalization -> Registration/Mandated Self-Identification ->Demonization -> Criminalization -> Forced Segregation -> Incarceration ->And finally, Extermination.

If you think “that could never happen in America”, then just consider the internment of Japanese Americans WWII. Consider the fact that most Concealed Carry permit holders by law must inform any law enforcement officer that they encounter that they are armed. They must do so without being asked in 13 states, and if asked in 33 other states. (As of the time of this writing, only in Vermont and Georgia is there no “duty to inform”.)

And you might not have heard that in the bellwether state of California, neighbors and relatives may now report gun owners who they consider unstable under a “ex parte gun violence restraining order”. This is done without full due process of law. Do you discern the gravity of this recent change?

Adios to Probable Cause

Alarmingly, the 2016 Utah v. Strieff supreme court decision effectively destroyed the longstanding Fruit of the Poisonous Tree doctrine. This decision now gives the police in 24 “stop and identify” states carte blanche to stop anyone at any time for any reason (or even for no reason) and to conduct searches without probable cause, and then have any evidence found in those unconstitutional searches still possibly be admissible as evidence.

Mass Murder of the Unborn

Since abortion was legalized following the Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton decisions, more than 58.5 million unborn children have been murdered. Alarmingly, it is minority populations that have suffered the most from the abortionist genocide.  Do the minorities discern this?

Abandonment of Standards of Dress

Aside for the brief New Moderne wave of the mid-1980s, clothing has become progressively more sloppy and de classe since the late 1960s. I realized that we had hit rock bottom when I saw a man in his 40s wearing pajama bottoms while shopping at WalMart.

And The Rest

Rather than continue on in detail with this lengthy list of trends, I’ll resort to mere bullet points for the remainder of my list of items to discern:

• Imperialism and Endless Wars

• Feminized Men and Lesbianized Women

• Narcissism

• Media and Celebrity Obsession

• Materialism and the Shopping Society

• Enforced Equality and Social Justice Warfare

• A Pervasive Demands for Entitlement and Reparations for Wrongs in the 19th Century

• Widespread use of foul and profane language

• Increasingly tyrannical police employing legalized property confiscation

• Politicized Bible translations

• Curtailed freedom to travel

• Political Correctness and Cultural Marxism

Our Responses

All of the preceding might seem depressing, but there is a viable exit strategy. I recommend the following as personal responses to these perilous times:

Personal

A.) Commit your life to Christ. If you don’t know what it means to be a Christian, then inquire of one, and they will explain Christ’s Gospel to you. And if you already are a Christian, then recommit your life to a Christian walk and all that it entails, including tithing, good stewardship, fellowship, verse memorization, and outreach to the lost.

B.) Become more self-sufficient. Grow an expansive vegetable garden. Repair your own appliances. Raise livestock. Cut and split your own firewood.

Family

A.) Get out of the Obamacare trap. Instead, join a Christian cost sharing plan. For example, Samaritan Ministries offers a fully legal alternative to health insurance that thankfully is exempt under the Affordable Healthcare Act.

B.) Arm your family and get the best weapons training you can afford. Raise your children to be safe, confident, and competent around weapons. Take heed: Never register your weapons. (If you live in a state like California or New Jersey that has mandatory registration, then vote with your feet. Relocate!)

C.) Avoid the Boys Scouts of America and Girl Scouts, USA. Both were once pillars of moral uprightness. Self-proclaimed “progressives”  have horribly corrupted these organizations. Instead, consider more moral alternative groups, such as Royal Rangers.

D.) Join a church with detailed expository preaching of scripture and sound doctrine. It takes wisdom and prayer to discern good churches from bad churches. If you cannot find a worthy church that is within reasonable distance, then poll your neighbors and start a home church.

E.) Depending on your stage of life, your mode of employment, and your income level, consider getting a second passport or perhaps even expatriating. This is often easy for  the self-employed or for independent contractors. However, there are trade-offs in various offshore nations, such as taxes, gun laws, homeshooling laws, et cetera. Don’t plunge into such a life-changing move without substantial study and thoroughly weighing the risks and rewards.

Education

A.) Get your children out of the Public Fool System, and homeschool them, preferably using the Classical model. Statistically, homeschoolers score substantially higher on standardized tests, and those who go on to higher education end up in higher-paying jobs and are statistically more likely to start their own businesses and save for their eventual retirement. Discern and learn!

B.) Invest in your own education and in the education of your children. Develop a comprehensive home library, and instill a love of literacy in your family. That will benefit you, your children, and many generations to come.  Protect and hand down those books to your progeny.

An aside: For the sake of completeness and the most recent statistical content, try to find a reasonably-priced used 32-volume 15th Edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica, preferably one printed in or after 2005. (The most recent editions have a two-volume index—that is your first visual cue. Then look for the copyright date.) For side by-side comparison you should also purchase a set of pre-1930 encylopedias. By comparing articles, the liberal/statist bias of more recent editions will be apparent. Again, discern and learn!

Politically

A.) Be active, nay, be aggressive in the political realm. The cause of freedom has never been advanced by timid men. Learn to discern and to pick your fights. (Some political battles must be anonymous and quasi-clandestine. For example, anonymously snail-mail letters to the editors of newspapers.) Remember that we live in the digital age, so any of your interaction in public will go on permanent record. Ditto is true for anything that you do on the Internet, even something that you save in “draft” form. Discern the threats to your privacy and take prudent countermeasures!

B.) Support candidates who honestly believe in smaller government.  Ignore their rhetoric and discern their intentions. Don’t compromise and vote for the lesser of two evils. Make it clear when you are withdrawing your support from any individual or group, and say why. (We must shout our “consent withdrawn” moments.)

Financially

A.) Starve the Beast. Sell off your Dollar-denominated investments. Minimize your tax burden through legal exemptions. In the current economic environment, be content with just preserving your wealth. (We’ll be fortunate if we can accomplish that in the next two decades.) Discern the investments where you only have to pay tax once.  Find legal investments where Uncle Sam won’t tax you a second time. This is one reason why I prefer investing in tangibles, like guns and silver. In most jurisdictions I can simply hand them to my heirs without a “taxable event”. Learn and discern, folks!

Note: In the United States, one good exemption is making your teenage children employees of your home business and paying them each below the Federal tax filing requirement. Not only will it shelter your family from greater taxation, but it will also give young people experience living in the real working world, and teach them the value of a dollar, vis-à-vis their hours of work. Make sure to put “EXEMPT” on line 7 of their Form W-4. But note that even a small amount of unearned income (such as interest and dividends) for dependent minors can be a tax trap that could force them to file a Form 1040. Be sure to consult a qualified tax accountant!

B.) In some careers, you might consider moving to a state that has no individual income tax. (These include Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming.)

C.) Start your own business. Discern the best long-term opportunities. Owning a business is a key facilitator, if you have plans to relocate your family.

In Conclusion

Never lose hope in restoring Constitutional government, and more importantly never lose your faith in Christ. Without that, we are mere pawns in the game and simply victims of our circumstances. But with faith, we can be courageous defenders of Christian Liberty and good government. And to my mind, good government is synonymous with minimalist government. – JWR

(Note: SurvivalBlog grants permission to re-post this entire article. You must re-post it in full, with proper attribution to James Wesley, Rawles and SurvivalBlog, and you must preserve the included links.)

 




24 Comments

    1. For the most part I agree with you James. But on your call to reloacate to another country I have issue. At least in the area of firearms rights and ownership I would ask what country,besides maybe Switzerland ( hard to emigrate there, have to be a physicist or bio genius ) has the freedom of gun rights that America has right now. Granted some states have oppressive laws on AR type weapons and large mag capacities. As you say get out. Here in WI we can own any legal weapon and any amount of large capacity mags.

  1. For a cogent expansion of the ideas in this article, see the book ‘The Benedict Option: A Strategy for Christians in a Post-Christian Nation’ by Rod Dreher.

    BLUF: believing (practicing)Christians can learn from the example of St. Benedict to become stronger beacons of rightness in an increasingly ‘wrong’ world.

  2. I did not see any mention of immigration which is transforming the nation economically, politically, culturally, socially and environmentally. Please tell us how a single thing you claim to care about, or a single problem you claim to fear would be made better by importing a million Wahabi Saudi Arabians or Reconquista Mexicans or 40 million Indians, Chinese or Somalians. I am not blaming immigrants. Immigrants just want to take our jobs or country. the real problem is those fellow citizens working to make that happen. Immigration has become a racket, it is about profit, power, and punishment. it is a way for the elite to profit and pass on all the true costs, the social, economic and environmental costs to our poor communities. it is foolish to sit and let our country become a balkanized tribal society that will cause a loss of personal liberties and require a massive strong central government to keep the peace among our divided people. Learning who your elected city, county,state and federal elected officials are and how they stand on immigration is ten times as important as learning how to use a firearm or grow your own crops. There is little time left and we need to have courage. Wanting an end to massive endless unassimilating immigration is not racist, nativist, xenophobic, white supremacist, bigoted or any other epithet the billionaire open border globalists use to stop us from defending ourselves.. wanting to lock your doors and windows does not mean you hate people outside your home, it means you love those inside your home. Even heaven has a border and an angel at the gate.

  3. Great article. Shared it on progressive liberal site “yabberz” can’t wait to see their sensitive heads explode with anger. It is truly sad the state we have allowed our country to degrade to. You identify a big reason we got here with your statement “the cause of freedom has never been advanced by timid men.” We, largely meant as, Christian, white, men, have become timid in the face of the destruction of our country and culture because we don’t want to be labeled as racist, homophobe, sexist, etc… We have allowed the enemies of freedom to shut us down and look at the damage they have done.

  4. Awesome State of the Former Union.

    The two greatest gifts parents can give their children are Jesus Christ and schooling at home.

    One caution: I believe our constitutional Republic has been lost, or more accurate, squandered. The Constitution died by a thousand paper cuts and now we are normalized to government without it. Hope lies in what rises from its ashes. DC as well as metropolitan areas are long gone. Avoid them as they self-destruct.

  5. Greetings James,

    Thank you for your recent well written article:

    https://survivalblog.com/rightly-discerning-21st-century-america/#more-41896

    You are preaching to the choir as I read this, and hopefully the vast majority of your readers would concur with your statements.

    The one thing I am sad to disagree with is the following statement:
    “In Conclusion

    Never lose hope in restoring Constitutional government.”

    What I will never lose hope in is the Lord Jesus Christ is in control of all things, but unless He intervenes, this country and the western world is doomed.

    The Lord was greatly merciful to have Donald Trump win the 2016 election defeating the Whore’s Whore, but at best this is a 4 year reprieve from the progressive movement’s continuing destruction of the America our founding fathers envisioned.

    Have you ever witnessed the chaos after an election that the progressives are creating? The snowflakes are so brainwashed they desire to be controlled by the fascists.

    I do not know the Lord’s plans for America, but I feel it will be under His rightful righteous chastening whether a civil war, an attack from outside, financial collapse, a CME, or as Robert Moffett mentioned regarding immigration. Certainly moral decline. Reread Romans 1: 20-32

    The United States is not mentioned during the end times.

    May the Lord give us great wisdom in these last days.

    May we allow Him to love the unlovely through us for His glory.

    MtH

  6. This article is a perfect example of why those of us in this community follow Mr Rawles. Well researched and written. Never in my younger years would I have believed that this country would sink to this level. From this point on all any of us can do is live the best life we can and try to pass on the truth whenever we can.

  7. “Wanting an end to massive endless unassimilating immigration is not racist, nativist, xenophobic, white supremacist, bigoted or any other epithet the billionaire open border globalists use to stop us from defending ourselves.. wanting to lock your doors and windows does not mean you hate people outside your home, it means you love those inside your home. Even heaven has a border and an angel at the gate.”

    Well said!

  8. Re pre-1930s encyclopedias, the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica –created at the height of the British Empire — is esteemed by some survivalists due to its how-to articles on technology (blacksmithing,etc). Something subsequently dropped in later editions.

    Wikipedia’s article on the 1911 Encyclopedia has links to several FREE ONLINE COPIES of the encyclopedia — useful if one wants to scan for the still useful technology /skills articles and print out paper hardcopies for archival.

  9. Good article. Short and sweet, I disagree with two things. I hate taxes also. I know if I don’t pay property tax I will not have a decent road to drive home on. Look at he cost of labor and equipment to build and maintain this smooth asphalt road, not a gravel road that tears up my truck. But, I see your point on taxes, we are at the 50% mark and still rising. Not fair.
    Second point, Probable Cause. I read the decision about that druggie. Question: are drugs illegal? Why are they illegal? Do drug dealers pay taxes? Users pay taxes? Do users burglarize your home to support their use? Do they rob, steal, murder innocent persons because of drugs? If a person is guilty of a crime he should be punished. Lawyers have created a society of criminals because they twist the law and make a profit from it. Look at Miranda decision, it has release criminals back into society for decades. Was he guilty? Yes, and he should not be set free to continue his criminal behavior. Somewhere an innocent person awaits being a victim because of our twisted laws setting criminals free to continue mocking the law. I say go back to the question, are you guilty, did you commit the crime, then here is your punishment. simple. quick. no drain on society.
    Probable Cause still exists and will always exist. you have nothing to fear from PD if you are honest.

    1. Remember that before the government took over road building, roads still existed. There was a system in place for the private industry to handle it. I believe that the private sector is much more efficient at handling it than the public sector. We build roads on our farm, and guess what? No government help. And our roads are much superior to most of the public roads.

  10. Great summary of where we are/were as a country.
    One note: Always check local firearms laws before traveling; they can change frequently. I almost got stopped in PA once without realizing they had just changed the law to not recognize my state CCW.
    You can go to http://www.handgunlaw.us for real time updates.

  11. Regarding state taxation. Washington state has no income tax, but it has a huge sales tax. 9% now in my county. 11% I believe in King County (Seattle). Gasoline tax is one of the highest in the nation. Property taxes are high.

    I don’t know if it still holds true but I had a friend who moved to Idaho several years ago over taxation. He and his wife had built their dream house here. Spared no expense. They then looked at their tax situation and compared it to what it would be in Idaho. The husband and wife both worked and by the time they did the math they determined that ALL of the wife’s income was going for EXCESS taxes that they would not be paying if they moved to Idaho. To make this clear, all of the wife’s income AND a fair portion of the husband’s income were going out in taxes.

    So think carefully about Washington state taxes. Eastern Washington is very nice but make no mistake. Seattle dominates the state and desires to make it California on steroids.

  12. Mr. Rawles;
    I agree 100% with all you state, with the approaching, ahem, ripe age, I too have noticed a slide backwards toward oblivion. Sad to say I still cannot define the proper sentence structure, but believe I do write in a fairly literate manner. I mark this up to continually reading anything of interest. Remember when civics was the norm, along with geography and history. Was required to memorize the Gettysburg Address, and could name all state capitols as well as capitols of major foreign nations. I find with every year the desire to return to the age of my granparents with the wisdom, love, simplicity and understanding, as well as the lessons they taught seemingly by them simply being there. I sincerely believe it is time for the two Americas to seperate, each going their own way. The heart of the real Amrica, defined by the Declaration, Bill of Right, and our Contsitution very well could have it’s start centered in the great American Redoubt….. Have enjoyed all your books and though fiction, found them to have valuable lessons pertainig to real life. Thanks for all you do.

  13. Re:Bad Doctrine and Morally Adrift Churches

    Sermonette’s for Christianette’s…

    Paul warned us of these times in Timothy’s epistle and many of us have seen the rancid fruit of these “churches”. The search for solid doctrinal fellowship that loves the Lord is a VERY frustrating journey. We have been going through this after a coup at our last church over our Pastor refusing to go along with purpose driven church drivel. Sad…

  14. Great article. I disagree with only one point: teaching students to diagram sentences. I learned this in school and taught it for one year; I also taught the linguistic system. However, as I moved into college teaching, my attitude changed. We teach the knowledge of grammar so students will write and speak correctly; I personally saw no carry-over from diagramming to either correct writing or speaking. Linguistics is a specialized field and while I find it fascinating again, there is no positive effect on student knowledge of correct grammar. I believe grammar can be taught in more efficient ways.

  15. You are right. The decline of education and et al is merely the vehicle of the adversary to speed up his assault on Christian values the degradation of society. People haven’t changed, sin hasn’t changed we are simply surrounded by more of it, and people are willingly calling that which is evil good and what is good evil more so now than ever before.

  16. from the old hymn
    Even though it be a cross; That transfigures me;
    Still all my song shall be: Nearer, my God, to thee.

    Two witnesses establish the increasingly fervent plea for the restoration of all the earth: How long?

    Old Testament witness
    “Then the angel of the Lord answered and said, O Lord of hosts, how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which thou hast had indignation these threescore and ten years?”
    ~~Zechariah 1:12

    New Testament witness:
    “And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?”
    ~Revelation 6:10
    ============

  17. Thank you for this article. My husband and I have considered purchasing second passports. What holds us back is wondering what would happen if the #### hits the fan and we are in another country. What are the chances the passports would be honored? And how does one transfer assets to another country? And are there countries you recommend?

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