Memphis Crime, The National Guard, Liberalism & The 117th Annual Holy Convocation

From New Bethel COGIC Facebook post:

Recently, Presiding Bishop J Drew Sheard released a statement regarding safety and security at the upcoming 117th Holy Convocation, suggesting that to the Saints that they not be "afraid" due to the presence of the National Guard.

I posted the following regarding that statement:

"Why would anyone be nervous when the city is more safe now than it has ever been??? 

You have missing kids that have been found, folk are reporting that they can walk and shop freely without fear of being robbed or mugged and our church feels we need a "disclaimer" regarding people keeping safe???

Can't be serious that we are that obtuse."

I would like to affirm this statement. It seems that, like many political liberals, we have been sold on "looks" and "appearances" greater than results. The result of the presence of the National Guard has been positive for the citizens of of Memphis and have provided a long needed sense of safety for her residents.

The "spill-over" effect is that Memphis will be a much more safe place than ever for the Saints attending the 177th Annual Holy Convocation.

I would hope that we can rise above the negative political epithets that divide us as a nation and body of people. It is the people we serve, the Black and minority community, that have been the first recipient of a safer community. No matter who has facilitated that beneficial measure we should rejoice and encourage the Saints rather than add a level of fear based on erroneous stereotypes and political leanings.

THE EXTRA

The last 2 statements regarding major events, such as the murder of Charlie Kirk and this one regarding Memphis and the security of the Saints, have been underwhelming. 

Charlie Kirk was just as much of a Christian and follower of Jesus as anyone else who serves Christ. and it seems that the Presiding Bishop's statement stopped short of claiming that he was a Christian and represented Christian views and moral ethics. The overall statement regarding Charlie Kirk was disturbing. 

But then, to top it off with a statement disregarding the vast benefits that a new and revised community safety and community plan has afforded the citizens of Memphis, TN., and the lives that have been saved as a result, makes us question is this church truly seeking to serve ALL men, or only those who embrace liberal and Democrat politics and political leanings?  

Let's be TRUTHFUL...Our leadership is not short on political and social liberals at the highest levels and ranks. We have Bishops, some of whom, support, and at the very least are silent about abortion, homosexuality and even transgenderism. While some may be politically and socially conservative, they certainly keep it to themselves.

Then, we have yielded our spaces and Holy Desk at the Holy Convocation to them who even have views contrary to the scripture and antithetical to Christ, community and Biblical Values...YEP...I can name them...I can present what THEY themselves say and teach regarding topics of racism, social and moral ills and values, and their views fall far short for anyone representing holiness...

Then, when we exit the social and political realm, in the last year, we have allowed at least 3 (certainly more) Pastor's stories to go viral regarding their illicit affairs, pedophillic abuses and sins without saying a word or distancing ourselves from immorality...Don't believe me? See HERE, HERE and HERE and this doesn't mention why we're calling the police on National choir members  such as Sybil Finney, or explain how we plan to address the issues raised HERE...Are we arresting folk, talking about good, faithful church members, in our churches now???

All these things have resulted in us becoming a laughingstock as noted...HERE...

No, I have not written about these issues as they are adequately covered by others who are delivering RECEPTS...I don't have time, these folk are grown and I really want to focus on things that will benefit the Body of Christ instead of focus on COGIC issues and our ability to overlook problems and shout on anyway...

However, to the point, it would seem that with all that we have going on in our church at this time, that we would welcome the safety and security that many of the residents of Memphis have found with the presence of the National Guard and a heightened police presence within the City.  

TOO MUCH LIBERAL SOCIAL and even LIBERAL POLITICAL THOUGHT has come through this church. No one can say that there was not a concerted effort to keep Bishop Wooden off of the Church's General Board because of his openly conservative political and social views. I don't think an argument can be made to the contrary. 

Black liberal "association" does not guarantee any benefits for Black people or for the Black community. In fact, many of our most popular embrace the worst political and social policies contemplated. Policies that have damaged our communities and kept whole segments of our community, the communities which the church serves, the Black population in particular... DOWN for generations. 

I would hope that we could see the benefits of diversity in political and social thought within this church, rather than buying in to stereotypes and lies of the culture. We are serving a generation who is rising and waking up every day to a better and more real truth than what we have been pushing. 

Hopefully, we can join the stream of them that want true reform and restoration for our children and families, rather than just to simply look good. 

Blessed!

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"The Triumph Of Moral Conviction" ~ Guest Post by Stacey Rudin

While I don't know her personally, I was highly impressed by the writing of this attorney and author in a recent twitter posting. I actually gave her piece a title and asked if I could share it. Thankfully she granted me permission. I suppose I was drawn to it because I relate to this post as I have suffered great loss due to having a solid and strong moral conviction as it pertains to life, the service of God and service to mankind. I pray that you will enjoy and affirm many of these thoughts as I did.  

"The Triumph Of Moral Conviction"

By Stacey Rudin @Stacey_rudin

Reprinted by permission

"Robert Malone says in his Joe Rogan interview that the Woke Atlantic writer who smeared him was “obsessed” with the question, “what are you getting for doing this? Who is paying you?” Malone said, “I do it because it’s the right thing to do.” The writer couldn’t believe it.

This recalled to mind my first encounters with pro-lockdown liberals in early March 2020. These people—who I’d considered friends—were furious with me and very stuck on this point. “I don’t understand what you get by doing this.” They couldn’t comprehend the moral imperative.

David McCullough is $150k in the hole defending his medical license. Scott Atlas was smeared by 100 of his Stanford colleagues. Most of us taking the contrary view have had a tough ride, and we made $0. Yet people believe the mainstream. This has always amazed me.

I wrote about it here.

https://t.co/MGSlZ8cdmD

It says a lot about the mindset of people like that Atlantic writer that he can’t comprehend a selfless moral act. He can’t believe a human would do such a thing, act against his/her own interest for the sake of the greater good. His own behavior is motivated by the accrual of power in this moment. This is why he has to be part of the majority in an event like Covid. He needs to stay close to power bc that is the safest and sets him up optimally to succeed (shallowly speaking—he will be inherently miserable but will cope/ignore it).

We can see the results of a society filled with people like (pathological narcissists) this very clearly now. The geographical areas that are more power-obsessed can’t get rid of Covid. They need to virtue signal and form groups and “stay cool” because they’re empty inside

for the precise reason that they cannot stand alone, as complete individuals like @P_McCulloughMD @RobertKennedyJr @MartinKulldorff @DrJBhattacharya can do. All of their actions are focused on the short term accrual of status, so they will never realize how to fix their misery.

Deeper characters like those listed above will achieve the status of greatness over the long term, but they are not motivated by that. It is inherent to greatness not to be motivated by “being great.” The truly great risk everything for a conviction, an idea.

The triumph of the conviction creates the happiness, not the achievement of greatness. People are chasing the wrong thing when they chase status for status’ sake. It doesn’t work. It’s the doing hard very things, taking hits, enduring scorn and ridicule and staying upright.

That makes a person fulfilled. I guarantee the apparent “losers” in the Covid war are happier than the apparent “winners.” So this Atlantic writer of whom Malone speaks is hopelessly lost. He will live a shallow life chasing shiny things and be forgotten.

Malone may lose the battle, maybe even the war, but he will know at the end of the day that he did so “daring greatly.” He’s actually doing things, taking risks, throwing punches in the arena. He’s LIVING. He’s FREE. No one defines him but himself.

That’s what we all get, we anti-lockdowners. We are still free. If we lose this fight & along with it our freedom, well, at least we haven’t given it up without a fight. They can never take away our ability to look ourselves in the mirror and know that we tried.

There’s a spiritual chasm between Malone and his Atlantic detractor (I am purposefully not linking). That chasm is dictating the global Covid disaster. Until people re-examine their misplaced trust & motivations behind their own actions (status? comfort?) we remain stuck."

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Church Shootings & The Value Of A Father

A recent article by the Washington Times  brought to light a recently released book,  “The Boy Crisis: Why Our Boys Are Struggling and What We Can Do About It,” by Warren Farrell and John Gray. 

The Washing Times reports Mr. Farrell stating the following regarding some boys who have no fathers or limited access to fathers:

“They’re much more likely to drink, much more likely to do drugs, much more likely to be depressed, much more likely to be suicidal, much more likely to be violent, much more likely to be in prison,” ... “And they’re also much more likely to commit mass shootings.”

Mr. Farrell also relates many issues to purpose and self identity that male school shooters fail to receive from their fathers:

“Today, there’s a purpose void, because you don’t need as many boys in war, and both girls and boys share the potential for being breadwinners,” he said. “When that purpose void combines with fatherlessness, boys don’t have a way of being guided to a more nuanced sense of purpose.”

Also in the article, Peter Langman, a child psychology expert, who wrote a 2016 article on the subject, sampled a 56 person school shooter group and found the following:

“Out of this sample of 56 school shooters, only 10 (18%) grew up in a stable home with both biological parents,”... “In other words, 82% of the sample either grew up in dysfunctional families or without their parents together (for at least part of their lives).”

The Alternative Facts Of The Anti-Family Pro Gay Movement

What is bound to be a controversy is already brewing with statements and sentiments like these. Now to be fair we should not assume that just because one is pro-gay that they are anti-family. That is NOT the point of the article. However, we must be real in recognizing that the current trend is to remove any concept of gender identity such as the words or titles "Father" and "Mother" from the context of the family and public discourse all together. Those terms are being replaced by parent 1 and parent 2. In fact France has sought to ban the terms (Mother and Father) from governmental or official applications. 

Because of open sexuality and societal acceptance of the homosexual agenda, and a push for the establishment and acceptance of transgenderism, there has been a noteable push for unisexism and gender fluidity which also has sought to minimize the unique differences between male and female.

The Gender Myth

Society is embracing a moral ethic which in essence contends that  our identity at birth is a "myth" and is flexible, depending upon how one feels. We are bombarded with existential values that promote that individuals can "find our own path", "create our own purpose" or "identify as who you want to be".

In the process of doing all of that the gender differences have been minimized and even eliminated from public discussion and discourse. However, there is a way that a man has or is positioned that should be different than a woman. The differences are given to humanity for our benefit, not our detriment.

I believe that studies will show and continue to show that we damage our children by not allowing those differences to be on display and exist.

The temperament of a women is given to enhance the family and society. The temperament of a man is given to society and the family to enhance both as well. A work environment that contains both men and women allows then to work together through their differences not to the amalgamation of some type of identity(less) work force, but one in which individuals of both genders (as there is only two) enhance community, society and family.

In other words humanity has been given two genders within humanity for the benefit of humanity and each gender has a set of unique differences that they bring to society and the family. When those differences are allowed to flourish a family and community can be enhanced. 

The Father's Role

A fathers role is a very significant one. While I certainly don't intend to be comprehensive in all here, I will more than affirm that from a biblical perspective it can be observed that the moral, spiritual and essential values and duties are given to the children by the father. It is through the father that an inheritance is given. It is through the Father that the purpose and role, duty and commitment and direction to family and society is given. Identity is a product of fatherhood.

It is this role of fatherhood that has been diminished within society. Institutions such as education and the corrections system have taken the place of father within society. Then it is estimated that in 2015 that over 670,000 children were in foster care within the United States. 34% of all children live in a single parent family today. Within the African American community nearly 67% of children live in a single parent family and most of those families are headed by women.

THAT IS NOT TO INDICT THOSE women children and or families as is often done. This information is presented to inform individuals of  the issues involved as we seek to provide solutions to society and create environments where young people feel and embrace their fulfillment and purpose rather than experience the hopelessness and despair that leads to school violence and any other violence. 

Within The School Setting 

Society expects so much of the school. Especially within the public school. The thought is that it is the school's duty to train students to be productive or informed individuals within society. It has even ventured into the area of moral values education and implementation. The school now not only provides curriculum based on evidence based sex education, but also for moral values based education centered in how one should "think" about moral issues, such as sexuality.

As the role of the school has increased in this area, the role and position of the church has decreased dramatically. Now, church is mainly about entertaining the masses, collecting offerings and receiving the next "blessing" or "word" and following or finding ones "destiny or purpose"...In other words the church has failed in her responsibility and let the community down dramatically.

However, I believe that the role of the family, both mother and father are irreplaceable and not for sale!

As a Native American/Black man, I understand the perceptions of a public school system who is 1- not used to seeing men that look like me intimately involved with their children's education and 2- unfamiliar with men that are leaders, that seek to implement plans for their families and find ways to impact their communities.

Can we stop a school shooter or a child bent on committing suicide by delivering to him or her the values of God, purpose, and morality? I don't know i it is just a simple one to one ration, but I'll tell you what, society will be better if we at least try! 

In our Parent Forum on Facebook, I delivered the following commentary in relationship to this article and I would encourage other fathers to share their experience and ask that their school district not only see them, but acknowledge them for the valuable resource that they are within the school setting. 

To what I wrote:

Now, I believe this is an area of high concern in all educational settings. Within District 150 the mostly White Administrators and even some Black one's don't know how to take, receive and or accept the Black male Father in a school setting.

In all the inner city schools in Peoria I have been in, if they need someone to have a seminar, instruct or encourage kids by far and large most administrative teams look for either a popular Black women or a White male. The Black father isn't even a consideration.

How do I know? After having 2 kids matriculate through District 150 from Valeska Hinton to Sr. High, (one still in) and after setting hitory in the African American community as a male role model who is also Black, I can count the number of times on one hand that an administrative staff, when led by mostly White administrators, called me for anything in the school.

They would see me everyday. I would be involved in everything, but when it came time to reach the students, they would invariably call White men or look for popular Black women such as political leaders and other socialites, many of whom rarely, if ever, show up in the school for anything.

Then, just plainly looking at the employee integration ratio, there are not enough Black male teachers, Now, this is tragic.

Fathers make a difference. In my case I was able to coach a team my son participated on. I was able to interact with the kids in a fatherly manner as well. Not all kids need this, but to have that type of relationship available to kids is what the District should foster.

With excuses like, "we want an in house person" and all the other nonsensical avoidance jargon that Principals and leadership teams use to avoid hiring parents and in particularly Fathers, this lets me know that they are not prepared for 21st Century leadership or have as a top priority the advancement and well being of our children as a whole. It is about their "process" and the stability of their teacher groups and not about the cultivation of parents and how that positively impacts students.

Principal, next time you have an event and want to showcase someone or reach students, look at the parents and fathers in particularly that you already have. There are some who are business owners, some who are doing great things of which you are not aware. Then find an interest in those who support you and your school. Recently we had a program related to Black history and the team creating the program looked over the leaders that have committed to the school to try to cultivate someone whom the school rarely if ever sees. That is ridiculous.

Then parents that want to participate with their children in education and extra curricular activity, should be made to feel welcomed and embraced throughout the entire system and their values and viewpoints embraced instead of being told "that's not the way we do things"

I know from experience as it pertains to all the things I have outlined and more. It is time that if we truly want a safe environment for our children and really have a concern for them that we PUT UP OR SHUT UP!!!

But if one can be hateful to a child, then I suppose it is not an issue to express or show a similar hate to the parent and in particularly to a Father and to a Black Father as well. We can do much better!

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James Damore & GOOGLE. But What Of Black Employees?

We all have seen a lot on the internet. Most of you got to this site through and by means of some process of "GOOGLE". it is a regular and ordinary part of our lives. 

Through GOOGLE and other internet social connection services, and shrewd advertising, usually delivered by left leaning liberals both morally, politically and socially, the process of moral and social value re-engineering has long been underway. Moral and social value re-engineering is the attempt to redefine what we should accept as individuals and ultimately as a society. 

Their efforts (those of the engineers) and messages tells us what we should perceive as normal, or what we should embrace as "main stream". It can be something as subtle as the color of a picture, or a work of art, that is used to direct us to this "secular" standard of normal. It could be something as in your face as a flat out message or a direct command to act or a question that attempts to morally shame. 

Social moral values re-engineering can also take place in aligning ideals and grouping values together as being positive or negative values, suggesting that those who are in a certain "class", because of what they believe, are more favored within society and more useful to the community. Example: 

In the "Ad Council's" moral value campaign called "Love has no labels" former wrestler and current movie star John Cena sets forth the notion that accepting homosexuality is tantamount to being "patriotic" and groups the acceptance of homosexual behavior to the acceptance of race, age, ability, religion and the proliferation of real love. 

First of all, both he and The Ad council are full of GARBAGE!!! Rejection of a person's CHOICE of homosexuality, and resultant behavior, has nothing to do with love. It has everything to do with rejection of behavior that millions feel that is immoral both on religious and non-religious basis. However, it is messages like this that are clear examples of social, moral values re-engineering. This is what we are seeing so prevalent within today's society at nearly all levels, and from the liberal leaning left primarily, although the right is certainly not excluded by using the same or opposite types of propaganda.

To The Point Of The Article:   

It seems that a former GOOGLE employee, James Damore, dared to challenge the moral value and social issue grouping, and re-engineering that has taken place within society and specifically within GOOGLE itself over the years. 

From the read, (listed below) and I certainly don't claim that James is a Christian nor to be using biblical values morality as a basis for his beliefs, what he seems to have done is kicked over, or at least kicked at, the golden calf of the liberal social re-engineering message, and called it into question so far as how these values are applied within the GOOGLE workplace and culture (at least at his location)

Kind Of Conflicted

In his memo, Demore addresses sexism, claiming that sexism could be right by pointing to psychological and biological differences between the sexes as justification for his assertions. Demore addresses work culture and racism within it, by claiming that efforts to diversify the workplace are off-track and even damaging to the work-place and society. 

He addresses what he called the traditional "left leaning" approach to business which, in his opinion, may have set a backdrop for the damage done in corporate America towards women and within the work environment for all people in corporate America and GOOGLE in particularly.    

When Freedom Of Speech  & Though Is Not Free

“We are unequivocal in our belief that diversity and inclusion are critical to our success as a company,” Danielle Brown, Google’s Vice President of Diversity, Integrity & Governance, wrote in a memo responding to Damore’s document, “Part of building an open, inclusive environment means fostering a culture in which those with alternative views, including different political views, feel safe sharing their opinions. But that discourse needs to work alongside the principles of equal employment found in our Code of Conduct, policies, and anti-discrimination laws.”

Damore's opinion are certainly controversial however they are in line with materialism which has long taught that the differences between men and women are reason that men should "rule" over women. Materialism once taught that because a man's head was larger and his brain bigger, that males had a greater capacity to think, do math and intellectual superiority. Reading from Demore's memo, it seems that acceptance of materialistic thoughts are held over for this new generation of materialists who see a "better way" to do nearly all things. 

The GOOGLE Culture & The Black Employee

Damore lives in a "free country" working for a non-religious corporation built on capitalism. However, that corporate society, when faced with values that under-gird it, seem to reject those values opting to embrace values that  that appear to be and align more closely with traditional social moral values. 

While I know too much to fully agree with his assessment of the problem and how to fix it, it appears that Damore was free to do anything else but speak his mind on what he believes the current condition of his employer, his industry and society in general is and that is a problem. 

Just in case you didn't know, there is a raging war from Simi Valley to Wall Street on how women are valued and treated at the highest levels corporately within the United States and even more so within corporate technology company ranks. read a 2016 article in the New Yorker regarding this HERE

What Of GOOGLE'S Black Employees?

However, with all of that said, GOOGLE appears to have a much greater problem than outlined by Demore, who, at least morally, seems to be endorsing the perpetuation of more problems by his memo, rather than solving or addressing anything.

According to a CNBC report on the issue, GOOGLE'S workforce consists of 53% White employees with 80% of them being men. Although women, both Black and White only make up 20% of all GOOGLE employees, only 1% of all employees, men and women, are Black. This is the problem that I have. It seems that Demore's memo claimed that GOOGLE's efforts to embrace racial minorities, and make provisions for them would only lead to greater problems and a worse workplace, while embracing new policies to embrace "female employees" would be worth changing the culture.  

In the "old days", numbers such as this would immediately invoke NAACP marches and in many cases sit-ins, until the corporation addressed the issues. However, what this memo incited was a new round of talks about the disparity of women in the workplace to the exclusion of Blacks in technology all together. 

It seems that Demore has invoked the ire of conservatism, from the mainstream conservative to the alt-right, neo-nazi conservative because some of the more extremists elements within conservatism agree with his assessments and his right to say what he wishes to say. While I agree with the latter sentiment, to a degree, I have a problem with his methods and solutions as he outlines them. 

Read the memo for yourself and draw your own conclusions, but I don't believe that you'll find me hailing this guy as some sort of champion for free speech and moral uprightness anytime soon...

Blessed!

James Demore memo:

James Demore's GOOGLE memo from Pastor Harvey Burnett

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Black Conservative Leadership Summit June 15-17, 2017

As I have stated before, the term "Black Conservative" is nearly an anomaly. Especially in light of the leadership of one of the most liberal Black leaders that history has ever seen in the person of former President Barack Obama. It was the nonobjective and unhampered lean to the liberal left that lost the bid for Democratic reelection and that continues to stun TV liberal talk shows such as "The View" and others. It seems no matter how they try to inundate the airwaves with inconsistent moral value statements and most times incoherent philosophical ramblings, that they still come up short, and conclude by telling people to "wake up" or calling them, I mean US, "deplorables". 

Well, ultra liberals such as Whoopie and Joy, and all these other late night pundits, have you ever considered that WE ARE AWAKE? We are awake to moral relativism, the destruction of the family, the disintegration and redefinition of marriage, the inconsistent ramblings that babies, in the womb, don;t have rights, the rise in opiod use among suburban families and individuals, the confusion over what constitutes gender, and the strong desire to make being a woman, along with woman's rights, a myth, while at the same time saying that you are fighting for a woman's rights????

We are awake to the fact that we need a CURE and that CURE should begin within every family and every home and each individual should be educated on where our values comes from and why they exist, and what it means if we allow them to slip. We need help from the ground up and I am committed to doing my part, whether in the church or community to make it a reality. And we have some good friends that are doing their part too. 

May I present, once again, my friend Star Parker and some very serious associates

From The Urban Cure Network

Star Parker, Walter Hoye, Dr. Alveda King, Dr. Eric Wallace, Bishop Harry Jackson and others will meet June 15-17 in Washington D.C., to discuss the Moynihan Report’s predictions about the black family, current research on black families, and why black families matter. 

Fifty-two years ago, the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan issued a warning to America in the The Negro Family: The Case For National Action about how the rising rate of illegitimacy in the black community would have devastating social consequences. 

His predictions have come to pass. Black conservatives will gather in the nation’s capital as part of the Black Conservative Summit Leadership Initiative to discuss the consequences of fatherless households and offer solutions.

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Omarosa Bakes Behar & Her Supporters Pointing The View In The Right Direction

Loved this and loved Omarosa's responses and no fear to go into the cauldron of what I consider to be the most intolerant and least insightful critic in the world at times.

The praise for the Women's March, which is a topic that I will undertake shortly, was overwhelming here. The problem is that neither Behar or the liberal left critics see a problem with excluding women who disagree with their liberalism. See, conservative values were not praised. Pro-life women were restricted from the march. But in The View's world, that is normal...

Part 2 Blessed!

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LIFE Matters

I don't need to say anything else but ZIANNA OLIPHANT...You should remember that name. I will!

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Stalked...Just Adding To The Testimony

Update: Unfortunately, on April 7th, the body of Teleka Patrick was discovered. Read the recap: HERE

"I’ve already had one come to my home and move to my city, thinking that God said that I’m supposed to be their husband." ~ Dr.Pastor Marvin Sapp, Pastor Lighthouse Full Life Center Church, Grand Rapids, MI. 

Have you seen Teleka Patrick?

That is the question that many, including Teleka's family, would like to know. Teleka disappeared Dec. 5th, 2013, after taking up residence in Kalamazoo, MI. to go to school and also attend Lighthouse Full Life Center Church, in Grand Rapids, MI. pastored by the # 1 selling gospel artist of all time, Dr. Marvin Sapp. 

Under any other circumstance, that would be good and the end of the story. However, in this case, there is more. 

It seems that Teleka came to the church with some "visions" or should we say "delusions" about what her ultimate relationship with Pastor Sapp would be. You see, according to sources, she thought that the 46 year old, widowed pastor, and father of 3, would be her "husband" and that God certainly had told her this.

"God please help me understand. ... But I am not giving up on you. I love you. I am in love with you. No. You do not deserve me." ~ Teleka Patrick tweet after The Root interview was released

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Hunt For Terrorists...Were Their Actions A "Test Run"?

The Dunamis Word unites with the rest of the country and even the world in prayer for all of the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing. May the grace of the Lord and continued strength be upon all. 

The Hunt Is On!

One thing that President Obama can't be criticized for is the fact that when he says, "we will find you and bring you to justice", you can count on it! Yesterday, the FBI released the following video of the suspected Boston Marathon bombers (as they have become known)

Overnight, suspect 1(the one in front) was allegedly killed in a firefight with police that included handheld grenades and an extreme shoot out with certain "unknown" police.  Boston.com reported the following of the eventst:

"The suspect is Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev, 19, a government official told the Globe. The Associated Press reported this morning that the suspects came from the Russian region near Chechnya, which has been plagued by an Islamic insurgency.The Globe has also learned that the dead suspect is Tsarnaev’s brother. 

An MIT police officer was killed and an MBTA Transit Police officer, Richard H. Donahue Jr., was wounded. Ten police officers were being evaluated at St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center in Brighton early this morning, according to a source, who said the officers said they were hurt from grenades being thrown from the window of a car during a car chase. The source did not have information about where the officers were from or the nature of their injuries"

So it seems that the terrorists responsible for this activity are cornered and will be brought to justice either by the government or God himself.

Could There Be 3 Or More?

In cases such as this, rarely are things confined to one or two individuals. Although his 26 year old brother is dead, the 19 year old remains on the run (see below for additional info) Usually there is a network of persons and people who have provided input and assistance. I believe that a possible 3rd person is right before our eyes in the video as well. It appears to be a woman with a yellow jacket, with a backpack across both her shoulders, holding a cell phone and following the 2 alleged suspects from somewhat of a greater distance. Do you see her in all the frames of the video? I do. There even could possibly be 4 persons outlined. Until now, I have heard no one mention how 3 individuals following one another in such close company, who primarily have the same equipment, may all be suspect in this case. The focus has been on 2 men, who were initially thought to be Black or of Saudi Arabian descent. 

City On Lockdown, Guns Drawn & Helicopters

Although the President has already made a visit to the city, some say way too prematurely (a sentiment to which I agree) officials in Boston have already told their residents to stay in their homes and that the city is basically closed for business. According to current reports, the younger of the two murderers is trapped in Watertown, MA and may have planted bombs and be ready to fight to the death. The police have responded as swiftly as they could. Yet, terror fills the streets of not only this city, but countless cities all over the country. Could this be a signal to others to step up their efforts? Or could it be a diversion? have you heard of North Korea since this began?  

Test Run?

Since the actions of these individuals evidently passed the ramped up efforts of the Dept. Of Homeland Security and every other agency placed in charge of American overall domestic security and safety, I began to wonder is this was some sort of a "test run" for the new terrorists. 

In a test run of domestic terror, I would believe that criminals such as this would simply test to see how far they can go and what they could get away with and to what point would their actions be stopped. In this case, creating the incident is one thing, watching how officials respond is another.  

What We Have Seen In This Case? 

We have seen a President far to eager to come into a hot crime scene to personally encourage victims. This is a problem. Not one criminal had been apprehended when he arrived and nobody knew who was responsible for these events. What if there was a second "sleeper cell" ready to make a play and attempt to kill the President and officials?  As stated, we have seen a Homeland Security Dept. that had no idea that a threat was eminent. So this establishes a pattern for other to follow. How did they do it? What devices and systems did they use to bypass all efforts to intercept terrorist activity? We have seen the public deliver misinformation initially claiming that the suspects were Black men or dark skinned Arabs. We have seen local police deliver conflicting and in some cases wrong information. We have seen a time frame of piecing together evidence so extended until any potential criminal could have long been gone from the scene and region IF they didn't want to get caught or reach more havoc. 

There is suspicion that these individuals also laid low in small town USA. On the same day in Quincy, IL. there was a raid on a home in which pipe bombs were being manufactured and this was reportedly after someone had set a bomb off in an open area of town. Could terrorists be testing the method of delivery of their terror and a way to byass authority to deliver their evil directly to the public?

The Trust & Rising Faith Of The Saints

Ps. 91:5 ~  Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;

Terrorists are enemies of righteousness and even more enemies of God. They are spineless cowards that must hide behind threats and destructive actions, living a fake and pretend life to be successful. They are inspired of the devil himself. It is evil men that have allowed themselves to be used in this manner. Plain and simple. 

Of a certainty, these are the times and days in which our soul is being tried. These are perilous times. However, as believers, our trust must remain in the Lord. He and he only he is our keeper and is a very present help even in the face of terror and terrorism. God and trust in HIM is the antidote to all fear. Yes, we may walk "the valley of the shadow of death"  but HE is with us with a rod and a staff that comforts us.(Ps. 23). 

Saints and believers around the country can unite with those in Boston in an even greater way. Unite in prayer, because in spite of what the critic thinks, prayer changes things. God yet responds to believing prayer and petition. Survivors must be comforted and encouraged that this life is not the end of things. That there will be an ultimate justice and ultimate price that every terrorist will pay to a just and upright God. In God's eyes, ever life is important and every one means something. If there is no God, then everything is all meaningless. but because HE lives, we can all face tomorrow. 

Criminals will get caught, Boston will heal and we will get better in the name of the Lord and with the help of Christ. I know that to be truth!   

Blessed!

CBS Boston
Terrorist Caught. Update 4/20/13:

Boston Police Dept.        ✔ @Boston_Police

CAPTURED!!! The hunt is over. The search is done. The terror is over. And justice has won. Suspect in custody.

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The Anomaly Of The Black Conservative...How Should We Vote?

New Audio Radio-Casts For This Article

The Anomaly Of The Black Conservative Pt. 1

The Anomaly Of The Black Conservative Pt. 2

This election season there has not been more of a heatedly debated topic. "How should the Christian vote?" "should religion and faith have any impact on the voting process? "and if so, who should the Christian vote for especially considering the liberal, if not non-bible believing President, and a Mormon (Non -Christian) Presidential candidate. Within the Black community the argument has been ramped up to include that the thought that "You're Not Black If You Don't Vote For Obama" Which I discussed in a previous post entitled The New Civil Rights.

This conflict has been sadly revealed and heightened to epic proportions as people criticize others for their political choices in the most vile ways and manner. While individuals such as former NBA star and

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Sexuality; A Moral Issue. Not An Issue Of Equality Pt. 2

As we stated in Pt. 1 of this examination of the confusion and resultant fallout over the President's decision to  pay gay advocacy, by openly standing in favor of homosexual marriage, there is much confusion over what the church should do and how the church should best respond. Ministers are allover the board on the issue (as planned) with many bailing out on biblical morality more quickly than the first titanic sank. 

Already some are simply calling for Presidential reelection at all costs minimizing the moral and social issues involved, claiming that the community is better off when moral values are lowered to facilitate and endorse homosexual marriage, while obfuscating and infusing the issue with emotives such as "love" and "acceptance"  all of which have nothing to do with the extension of homosexual marriage as a civil right. However, what NONE of the advocates say, whether in the pulpit or on congressional or state house floors, is exactly what happens to everything else when marriage is allowed to move from it's traditional root into the homosexual based root of marital acceptance. For example, do we hear any of the advocates discussing these things:

• (California)....Foster Parents must take a "Reeducation Class" embracing the gay agenda, to be allowed to house foster kids.

• (California) - Public Schools have a mandated pro-homosexual policy that sends objecting students to "appropriate counseling" without notifying their parents.

• (California) - A business was put out of business (with a $150,000 fine) for firing a male employee who wore a dress to work.

• (Colorado )- A dad was told by a judge that he can't teach his daughter anything "homophobic" [who defines what that is?]

• As stated in a teacher's lesson aid, published by the Gay & Lesbian Educators (GALE)..... "We must dishonour the prevailing belief that heterosexuality is the only acceptable orientation, even though that would mean dishonouring the religious beliefs of Christians, Jews, Muslims, etc" 

• (Massachusetts) As reported on The Dunamis Word, in 2004, Dr. David Parker would receive jail time for taking the school and school board to task over the book delivered to his kindergartner,  "Who's In A Family" by Robert Skutch. The book introduced the concept that two fathers and two mothers were acceptable family arrangements, regardless of the child's rearing or family moral values.  When Dr. Parker sought to opt his child out of the segment he was told that was not an option. When he further questioned and protested the issue not only was he placed in jail and fined, he was told by the courts that the school had more authority to educate his child in the law (homosexual acceptance) than he had as a parent to instill moral values regarding marriage and gender relationships. 

Dr. David Parker & Spouse

Now is anyone pointing out those things as the real issue when it comes to homosexual marriage, marital acceptance and normalization? This has nothing to do with the quality of life for those who are homosexuals. However it has everything to do with the moral values of those of us who are not homosexual. We boldly and vehemently stand against homosexual rights being a tool to re-engineer family and moral values and uprooting closely held beliefs? Traditional values would mean nothing in face of the law 

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Sexuality; A Moral Issue, Not An Issue Of Equality Pt. 1

2 Timothy 4:3 ~ For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 

"Moreover, given the increasing diversity of America's population, the dangers of sectarianism have never been greater. Whatever we once were, we are no longer just a Christian nation; we are also a Jewish nation, a Muslim nation, a Buddhist nation, a Hindu nation, and a nation of nonbelievers. And even if we did have only Christians in our midst, if we expelled every non-Christian from the United States of America, whose Christianity would we teach in the schools? Would we go with James Dobson's, or Al Sharpton's? Which passages of Scripture should guide our public policy? Should we go with Leviticus, which suggests slavery is ok and that eating shellfish is abomination? How about Deuteronomy, which suggests stoning your child if he strays from the faith? Or should we just stick to the Sermon on the Mount - a passage that is so radical that it's doubtful that our own Defense Department would survive its application? So before we get carried away, let's read our bibles. Folks haven't been reading their bibles." ~ Senator Barack Obama, "A Call To Renewal" Washington DC 6/8/2006

Since President Obama made specific statements regarding his endorsement of homosexual marriage, the church community has been divided, some even realigning what they believe and how they interpret the bible to align with the Obamaian political agenda and pluralistic world view.

Religious Confusion & The Surprise?

One of the most interesting things regarding the President’s endorsement of gay marriage is that so many preachers, such as Jamal Bryant, say that they were “surprised” at the President’s position.

“A lot of African-American leaders right now are really dazed by this because we didn't see it coming. For the last four years, the African-American clergy have really supported, covered, and prayed for President Obama, and it really came without any warning. Sunday is going to be a real great divide in Black churches and churches across America discussing the issue. African-Americans are, by and large, sexually conservative and socially more aggressive. And so, pastors on Sunday morning are going to be really walking a balancing act. How now do we juxtapose this issue up against a president that we have supported over the last four years?"  ~ Pastor Jamal Bryant  to CNN 5/10/2012

After Jamal's statement of "surprise" he then goes on to say that one particular area of disagreement was no reason to withdraw from supporting the President. I believe that  some of these folk were either asleep, or are “acting” and pretending that they didn’t know what the President stood for afar off. The fact is that a

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New Atheism...Same Old Confusion

According to the Huffington Post Black Voices, not only have the Harrisburg, PA. American Atheists taken the time to spread utter lack of biblical understanding, but they did it in the most racially offensive manner possible.

This billboard which has since been torn down, was hoisted in PA's most racially diverse neighborhood, by them who believe in Charles Darwin's "Origin Of The Species by Means Of Natural Selection: The Preservation Of Favored Races In The struggle For Life." (Hear atheist Richard Dawkins invoke the name of God as he struggles to remember the title of what he calls the most import book ever written) 

Correction Of A Horrible Social Appeal

Supposedly this was done in protest to the PA, House's declaration that 2012 be the "Year Of The Bible". However it turned into a victimization of the neighborhood in a sense. American Atheist Harrisburg director, Ernest Perce V, said that he feels that if there are any victims, that he is one as well because he has received multiple death threats as a result of the billboard's short debut. (Ya Think Ernest???)

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Take Charge: Black Women HIV & AIDS Awareness

Saturday March 10th was National Women & Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. The alarming facts are that within the United States, women constitute 25% of all new HIV infections annually. If that weren't alarming enough, out of that 25%, Although Black women only constitute 14% of the United States population, they are approximately 60% of all new HIV infections among women. When compared to less technologically advanced sub-Saharan countries within Africa, such as in the Congo (0.28%) and Kenya (0.53%), the American numbers become especially alarming. 

According to The Huffington Post Black Voices, the HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN), announced results from its HPTN 064 Women's HIV Seroincidence Study (ISIS)  stating the following findings among 2,099 women ages 18 to 44, 88 percent of whom were black:

• 1.5 percent (32 women) tested positive at the outset of the study, even though they all thought they were negative. 
• Among those who initially tested negative for HIV, the rate of new infections was 0.24 percent within a year after joining the study.

Additional statistics are as follows:

• More than 290,000 women in the United States are living with HIV/AIDS. Studies show that women tend to face greater gaps when it comes to accessing care. 
• One in 32 Black women will contract HIV/AIDS in their lifetime. 
• Black women constitute 13 percent of the total AIDS epidemic.
• Heterosexual Black women have the second highest rate of new infections behind only gay and bisexual men. 
• Black women contract the disease at 15 times the rate of white women

Quite naturally, this leads to questions of rates of incidence among black women in particular. 

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If Madonna Is Right...

>>>>> Say "HI" To Your Cousin <<<<<

On her 1984 album, Like A Virgin", Madonna introduced a song called "Material Girl" in which she claimed that she was simply a "material girl living in a material world". If her statements are true, there are many implications than can be drawn from it. Let's simply look at a few of them.

Rocks Do What Rocks Do

In the picture above, you see a rock. It is simply a rock. It is no more than a rock. It materially exists as a rock. It will always be a rock.

Rocks have no morals. Rocks have no values. You can call rocks good or evil, but they are nothing but rocks until you use them for a specific or certain purpose. Rocks have no value until someone, with a sense of values, ascribes values to them. In fact rocks have no thoughts nor do they have a mind. Rocks don't kill people, people kill people.

What makes one think that this rock or any rock will one day, over eons of time, and environmental pressure, develop DNA, gain consciousness, become self aware, gain a sense of values, start to think, develop a moral "ought" and ultimately make moral decisions, (settle down and have other, "little rocks") and further formulate opinions regarding abstract concepts such as logic, math and science?

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Scandinavia...Atheism?...Really???

Psalms 9:17 ~ The wicked shall be turned INTO HELL, [and] all the nations that forget God.

Across the internet, Scandinavia and other so called "secular" nations are held up as the poster children for atheism and secularism, being hailed as a place that proves that men can be "good without God" and that societies in general are better off without God or religion of any sort. Why is this so? It begins with assertions that the country enjoins the lowest rate of social ills and speculations that the country is among some of least religious countries in the world.

I certainly don't intend to bash the good ole Scandinavian homeland, (Denmark, Finland, Norway & Sweden) but current trends show that crime rates are ever increasing in certain Scandinavian provinces and in some places crime exceeds that of dreaded New York City. With a reported number of rapes being 6 times higher than New York  One online news source reported the following as long ago as 2007:

"No country has fewer police per capita than Norway, as many as 70 percent of so-called petty crimes are never followed up, and while the police force has increased 150 percent since 1960, the crime rate has increased 700 percent."

The Controversy

Atheist/Humanist Phil Zuckerman, associate professor of sociology at Pitzer College in California, in his article, "Is Faith Good For Us" certainly doesn't see things this way at all. He contrasts religious and so called secular societies and states the following:

"A comparison of highly irreligious countries with highly religious countries, however, reveals a very different state of affairs. In reality, the most secular countries-those with the highest proportion of atheists and agnostics-are among the most stable, peaceful, free, wealthy, and healthy societies. And the most religious nations-wherein worship of God is in abundance-are among the most unstable, violent, oppressive, poor, and destitute." ~ Phil Zuckerman

Now, this is a staving and no holds barred assertion and one based on Mr. Zuckerman's experience living within the nations for a certain period of time. Aside from the fact that the statistics, which are public knowledge, don't equal or support his assertions, as Christians I believe that there are questions that we should ask ourselves and  more profound discussions to undertake when addressing the real issues surrounding the argument. I would say this: 

For centuries as Christians we've held, the more God the better. Not just "a god" but the true and living God, through Jesus Christ the Lord as described within the text of the Holy written word of God...but Scandinavia, at least according to the critics, is living proof that the word of God is wrong and Jesus and religion in general aren't necessary for a healthy and vibrant society. Is there any possibility that anti-theistic worldviews are more healthy and beneficial to mankind than those found within religion and Christianity in particular? Secondly, is there any possibility that a nation is better off when they are described as "organically atheist" and therefore not reliant upon biblically described and defined moral values and theism in general?

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Black Women, The Black Church & The Black Community

Within ethnic and urban communities, the atmosphere of crime and violence has caused many to question and reevaluate the condition of the family and the church. Within the black community in particular there has been recent special attention and focus upon the disparity that exists in the statistical makeup of the modern black family as opposed to it's white or non-ethnic counterpart.

The general assertion of most modern approaches is that crime and violence is escalating and has escalated because of the absence of black men within the community. There are many social pressures that has feed into this understanding. For example, statistics say that black men are still 6.35 times more likely to be in prison than their white counterparts(1) but have improved since claiming that there were more black men in jail than in college(2, 3). In addition, there is yet employment and economic disparity between Black males and their White male counterparts.

The modern black church in America (churches that have traditionally served the needs of the African-American community, individual and family, even through the "Jim Crow" era) consists predominately of women. Not surprisingly, due to multiple social realities, this is also a reflection of the cultural and social makeup of many modern urban and ethnic communities. Because of this, many claim that the absence of the black male has contributed to and even been the cause of the disparity that is being witnessed and moral and social decay that we have both observed and experienced at street level.

Black Women Aren't The Problem

Is there another more elusive and ominous problem that has occurred and been revealed within Black America, or is what we are witnessing simply an anomaly?

I pose that the problems facing the Black community and family are problems that have more to do with moral strength and substance emanating from the church, than it has to do with the consistency or makeup of the family, who lives in the neighborhood, or the absence of any particular family member. 

Pictured: Latricia Ryan of Flint, MI and 9 of her 10 children in 2008.

Now, don't get me wrong, I believe that strong, healthy families, with an active and present father, can be the strength of the community and the church, but beyond absent individuals, there are right moral choices, decisions and a God who can more than make up for any deficit that anyone has.

Grandparents and foster-parents are raising successful children. Single men and women are doing the same. Certainly, I believe God's intention is for a family to be a family consisting of many parts and each part in it's place, however families have been raised successfully before by single woman and will continue to be successfully done in the future. What is the church making of its opportunity to reach and teach this generation and how is the church supporting the community? Are we bringing our young black mothers and fathers to right and morally correct decisions, or are we serving our own needs with an each for himself mentality? In other words, a body occupying a position or place WILL NOT stop some of the ridiculous decision making that we are seeing and have seen from many of our ethnic and Black communities.

There are some fathers that are in the home which are functional alcoholics or addicts, that do not contribute to the moral growth or benefit of the family. Simply occupying a position won't cut the muster, male or female. However, being what God has called one to be will satisfy all needs and create resounding strength.

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