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Hooray for Angelina's Daddy!
YouTube video
It is rare to find one of the Hollywood types who isn't a left wing crackpot, but here's one. I like what he has to say:
Separation of Church and State?
There is a biblical concept of separation that is nothing like the modern-day concept.
Modern thought would have us believe there ought to be a separation of governing *from* religion. Religion belongs in the private recesses of one's mind, not out in the open. Religion, some would say, has nothing to do with government.
The biblical concept, based on Paul's letter to the Romans, is first, that all authority comes from God. Whether you like the current President or not, he is God's man for the job!
In fact, scripture clearly states that all elected officials are ministers, ordained by God! There are two types of ministers according to Romans: ministers ordained by God to serve as civil authorities, and ministers, also ordained by God, to serve as ecclesiastic authorities. The important thing to remember is that God and His Ordination play the central role in both ministerial functions. They are both, at their root, spiritual and, like all of life, religious in nature. Their separation is only in their *function* and there is to be no overlapping or confusion.
The civil ministers function to protect the people and enforce, with punishment if necessary, the laws ("he does not bear the Sword in vain!" Romans 13:4). Ecclesiastic ministers are to preach the word of God and offer the sacraments. Aside from church discipline, they do not hold the power of life and death when civil laws are broken. Neither do the civil authorities have the power to administer the sacraments, etc..
So, government is not devoid of its spiritual roots, but confirmed by them. The separation comes only in the realm of function. It is the same God who rules them both. Knowledge of godly principles, therefore, must be exercised in order for there to be good government. These principles should be part of the public discourse, not hidden behind closed doors.
Why Environmentalism and the Global Warming Hysteria is a Farce
I will preface my main point with this: there is good science and bad science. There are also folks with an agenda, usually economic in nature, who will ignore science, or manipulate scientific data to their advantage. Whatever occurs in our atmosphere, in the earth's core, on the sun's surface--wherever--there is so much we do not know, that current scientific knowledge is infantile at best.
The data seems to say many things, but the preponderance of data would lead any sensible person to reject the hysteria currently manifesting itself among people of our world. Putting economic terrorism aside, it also happens that end-times prophecies tend to appear as we approach and enter a new century, or especially, a new millennium. Look at the movies of the last decade. Some of the end-time disasters depicted have nothing to do with our use of automobiles. They would include death by asteroids or solar flares.
So what is my point; what are we missing? It is this: our conclusions about the nature of things fall short of the truth if we begin with the belief that the universe is merely a self-contained, self-existent entity controlled by impersonal cause-effect, material laws. But if we acknowledge the existence of the God Who is There, as Francis Shaeffer used to say, our understanding of the nature of things will grow in accordance with the truth, or "true truth," as Shaeffer would say.
And what does this have to do with Global Warming and our destruction of our world? Everything, once we realize that apart from normal stewardship and care of our world, it is God, alone, who sustains or destroys worlds. And He has made it clear that this world will remain as long as His church walks upon it. Moreover, He will Renew this world, not destroy it, when He decides.
What I am not saying is we are free to trash the planet. But what I am saying is the push for Green this, and Green that, is misguided. Global warming is not a threat to our existence, if it even exists at all. Climates always change. Populations grow and shrink. He has the whole world in His hands, as the song goes, and a plan for our world that all our automobiles, factories and oil spills cannot thwart. Because of this, we have much to be hopeful for! There is no place for spreading doom and gloom.
2012
I liked the movie. It was a bit long though. Great Sci-Fi, but I hope nobody really takes this to heart. The guy who wrote the original calendar got a serious cramp in his hand and had to quit.
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