The Leaven of Liberalism - Introduction

I Thought it might be beneficial to post the Introduction of my book, The Leaven of Liberalism, in order to give you a better idea of what the message is all about. This book is written to the 70 - 80% of people in America who still claim to be Christian. Obviously, the direction of our nation does not reflect this statistic. I believe the reason for this is because of the "strong delusion" of the last days which the apostle Paul wrote about in his second letter to the church at Thessolonica. He is speaking in this context of the coming of the anti-christ, during which time will be great and powerful "signs and lying wonders and unrighteous deception" as the lawless one comes to power (II Thes. 2:7-12).

I believe liberalism plays a great part in Satan's strategy as he plots for the battle of the final days. This is not a time for believers to be uncertain or uncaring about their faith. These are days full of temptation, decay, and mass deception. These are the days in which we as believers must understand why we believe what we believe. In the weeks to come, I want to expand on the subject of this "strong delusion" Paul talked about.

Introduction

Who Am I?

            Who am I? I suppose this is a question which, at this point, we should all be asking ourselves. Let’s just say I am a lone voice crying in the wilderness, yet I suppose I am the voice of perhaps millions of others just like me, the multitude of “average Joe’s” out there that actually have no voice. Oh, I know the old cliché’s, “everyone has a voice” or “every vote counts” etc… but I’ve come to find that simply is not an absolute truth. Albeit, I’ll write my book anyway, a book that no one will publish so I’ll publish it myself. This is a book by a “nobody”; written for all the “nobodies” in America.

            Who am I? I am a 54 year old average Joe. I am a high school drop out who spent many years partying and playing live music in clubs. I’ve done just about everything at one time or another. I’ve been a maintenance man, grounds keeper, brick layer, frame carpenter, trim carpenter, concrete worker, forklift operator, janitor and delivery driver for multitudes of products. I’ve been a musician, preacher, teacher, computer tech, writer, poet and too many other things to mention here. A real jack of all trades, master at none, that’s me! Like millions of other Americans I struggle just to get by, living paycheck to paycheck and I blame no one but myself.

            Just in case you’re thinking, based on the brief description of myself, it doesn’t sound like I represent the “average Joe” American, consider this: Nearly 70% of the baby boomer generation (that’s me) have not graduated college. 42% are high school dropouts. Looks like you educated folk are in the minority! Most baby boomers are blue collar workers who have done many different jobs throughout the course of their lives. With their various “hands-on” skills and hard work they are the backbone of this country, they are the faithful employees of the other 30% who graduated college.

            Most importantly, I am an American! I am an average citizen of the United States of America who is watching his beloved country go to hell in a hand basket. I am a man who can no longer sit by quietly and say nothing while the supposed educated elite turn my homeland into a third world country. I am a man with many questions, and few answers.

  

What am I Saying?

            This is a book about the two things you’re not supposed to talk about, politics & religion. I’ve never understood why these two subjects are taboo. In my opinion, these are the two things we need to be discussing most of all, both with our friends and with our children. They are the two things that matter most in any society. How can we be expected to cast an intelligent vote for a political candidate while at the same time be forbidden to discuss politics? Are we expected to worship a God we can’t even mention without being labeled as small minded bigots? What has America come to?

I openly admit my knowledge concerning this subject matter is greatly limited, but in light of the recent decisions our educated folk have been making, I suppose my opinion can’t be any more ridiculous. The way I see it, the people with all the degrees have had plenty of time to show us their brilliance, they’ve had plenty of time to fix this sham of a political system we call the United States government. They’ve had a couple of centuries to come up with a justice system that actually provides justice for the law abiding citizens and apt punishment for criminals… and I say that as a convicted felon.  It seems our educated elite have gotten too big for their britches! Furthermore, our churches hardly replicate the wisdom of Godly faithfulness. The present state of America reminds me of a passage in the Bible that reads:

 “…since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that 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 themselves to be wise, they became fools...”  (Rom. 1:20-22).

What am I saying? I’m saying that the two most important systems in our country are broken and no one seems to know what to do about it. Even worse, many aren’t even aware of it! Liberalism is permeating our nation like a vicious leaven; slowly, surely and subtly, it is rising in America. It seems our nation’s leadership has forgotten this country was founded on Godly principles. In essence, our founding fathers made a covenant with the God of the Bible as they dedicated America to Him. Just like the nation Israel, God blessed them and put a supernatural hedge of protection around their nation. No enemy, foreign or domestic, could penetrate that hedge, as God’s people would drift away from His commandments, He would send His prophets to warn of pending disaster. Time and time again, they refused to repent and turn to God. Eventually, the Assyrians came and destroyed Israel, and that once great nation was turned to rubble as God’s blessing and hedge of protection was lifted.

For those of you, who may not agree the Bible mentions this hedge of blessing and protection, let me give you some Scripture references. You will find this is true on the national level, as well as an individual basis. In the book of Job, we see a man who loved God and lived righteously and holy before God. As a result, God had blessed him with a hedge of blessing and protection.

“Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them. And the LORD said to Satan, ‘From where do you come?’ So Satan answered the LORD and said, ‘From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.’ Then the LORD said to Satan, ‘Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?’ So Satan answered the LORD and said, ‘Does Job fear God for nothing? Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.  (Job 1:6-10).

In the book of Isaiah we see the same thing on a national level. Israel was blessed by God with a hedge of blessing and protection, but as they drifted away from God, they positioned themselves for destruction.

“Now let me sing to my Well beloved

A song of my Beloved regarding His vineyard:

My Well-beloved has a vineyard on a very fruitful hill.

He dug it up and cleared out its stones

He built a tower in its midst, and also made a winepress in it;

So He expected it to bring forth good grapes,

But it brought forth wild grapes.

“And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah,

Judge between Me and My vineyard.

What more could have been done to My vineyard

That I have not done in it?

Why then, when I expected it to bring forth good grapes,

Did it bring forth wild grapes?

And now, please let Me tell you what I will do to My vineyard:

I will take away its hedge, and it shall be burned;

And break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down.

I will lay it waste; it shall not be pruned or dug,

But there shall come up briers and thorns.

I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain on it.”

For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel,

And the men of Judah are His pleasant plant.

He looked for justice, but behold, oppression;

For righteousness, but behold, a cry for help. (Is. 5:1-7).

America is an exact parallel to Israel’s example. Our forefathers trusted the God of the Bible and they prayed to Him for blessing and guidance. God honored their prayers by putting that same hedge of blessing and protection around our great nation. Slowly but surely, America has drifted away from the Godly principles which made her a great nation. For years, God has sent forth the prophetic voice in America, crying and pleading for repentance, yet we have neglected to obey. As a result, we are experiencing the manifest “lifting” of God’s blessing and supernatural hedge of protection. As a young man growing up in America, never once did I imagine our enemies could penetrate the borders of this great nation. Yet, on 9-11-01 I watched in disbelief, as the twin towers in New York City plummeted to the ground. There was another near miss on the pentagon as our enemies struck within our borders for the first time in our nation’s history. Wake up America; can’t you see we are removing ourselves from the blessing of God? Even the tender loving kindness and mercies of God have their limits.

It’s time for a little common sense to rise up in this country. It’s time to quit tippy toeing around like a bunch of politically correct pansies and make some practical, logical decisions for the good of our country. In my opinion, the first decision needs to be for our nation’s leadership to repent and turn back to God. The further we drift away from Him, the worse things get for America. Something I learned about writing; you’ve got to have something to say. I may not have all the answers but I do have something to say and I don’t believe I’m the only one saying it.

I hear it spoken in the political arena so often: “we want to know what the people are saying; we want to know what the average American is saying…” That just goes to show you how out of touch the politicians are with the average American. Just by making such a statement they admit they are not average Americans. No, they are part of a political elite society that has no idea what it’s like to be an average American. Some have claimed to be Christians, others have claimed to come from humble beginnings and that may be true, but somewhere down the line it seems they have forgotten where they came from. Of course there are some real average Americans serving in the political office, but not many. So, if you’re interested to discover what the real average American is saying, read on.