The English Commonwealth existed for a short time. Far from perfect, it did enable the church to preach the gospel. Unexpectedly, Oliver Cromwell had died. The Commonwealth lasted only a few mores years without Cromwell's leadership. Charles II had taken the throne and the Restoration had begun. The Puritans were out of power and the English revelled in their new freedom to live without the boorish strictures of the Puritan "interpretation" of the Bible. Almost 2000 pastors were kicked out of their pulpits for refusing to preach the way the King demanded them to. Cromwell's body was dug up and "posthumously executed." His head was stuck on a pole outside Westminster Hall. The year was 1661.
The frivolity did not last long. The Great Plague of London hit in 1665 with 100,000 deaths including 1/3 of London. As the plague began to decline, the Great Fire of London ignited on September 2, 1666. 80% of central London would be destroyed including 13,000 houses. In America, we have just seen a rash of "anti-God" bestsellers, all happily publicized by the media. Richard Dawkins The God Delusion and God Is Not Great, How Religion Poisons Everything by Christopher Hitchens are two of the top offerings. Bill Maher's film Religulous is clear in its message. PBS has presented "scholarly" documentaries on the foolishness of believing in God. Religion is fodder for comedians. The NEA wants to ween children away from belief and higher education wants to snuff out smoldering embers.
President Obama was sworn in on Abraham Lincoln's Bible but the words of the oath were mixed up. He was sworn in again a few days later, this time with no Bible. The new term of acceptance is "People of faith." Is there a connection between such a large portion of America seizing the atheistic moment and the collapse of our economy and threat to the foundations of America. David Wilkerson is the pastor of Times Square Church in New York City. He was the young pastor that went to confront the gangs of the city with the love of Christ. The Cross And The Switchblade was the ensuing book and movie of that title. This week he says that God showed him a vision of catastrophes in New York City and America. I don't know if the nation's atheistic fervor is a portent of disasters or not, and even if they occur, I do not believe that Reverend Wilkerson's visions are necessarily from God. I do believe though, that when a nation rejects God whom it once honored, and proudly boasts of its wisdom in such rejection, that God's hand will likely be taken completely away...at least for a time.
The frivolity did not last long. The Great Plague of London hit in 1665 with 100,000 deaths including 1/3 of London. As the plague began to decline, the Great Fire of London ignited on September 2, 1666. 80% of central London would be destroyed including 13,000 houses. In America, we have just seen a rash of "anti-God" bestsellers, all happily publicized by the media. Richard Dawkins The God Delusion and God Is Not Great, How Religion Poisons Everything by Christopher Hitchens are two of the top offerings. Bill Maher's film Religulous is clear in its message. PBS has presented "scholarly" documentaries on the foolishness of believing in God. Religion is fodder for comedians. The NEA wants to ween children away from belief and higher education wants to snuff out smoldering embers.
President Obama was sworn in on Abraham Lincoln's Bible but the words of the oath were mixed up. He was sworn in again a few days later, this time with no Bible. The new term of acceptance is "People of faith." Is there a connection between such a large portion of America seizing the atheistic moment and the collapse of our economy and threat to the foundations of America. David Wilkerson is the pastor of Times Square Church in New York City. He was the young pastor that went to confront the gangs of the city with the love of Christ. The Cross And The Switchblade was the ensuing book and movie of that title. This week he says that God showed him a vision of catastrophes in New York City and America. I don't know if the nation's atheistic fervor is a portent of disasters or not, and even if they occur, I do not believe that Reverend Wilkerson's visions are necessarily from God. I do believe though, that when a nation rejects God whom it once honored, and proudly boasts of its wisdom in such rejection, that God's hand will likely be taken completely away...at least for a time.
