USA Attacked: Personal and Off Topic

[Guest guest]

Thank you, Dr Siff.

I may get hammered for this but I have no choice but to write it.

My heart aches at this moment as it did when I heard of the

assassination of President Kennedy, the explosion of the Challenger

space shuttle, the bombing of the government building in Oklahoma City

and so many other tragedies that this nation has witnessed. Such

unexpected tragedy is never easy to understand in terms that most

reasonable human beings comprehend. This present attack reaches a new

level of horror to most of us. While judgement must be reserved as to

who is responsible, there can be no doubt that a unique type of hatred

for the United States is at play. My heart breaks for those who have

lost their lives, for their families and friends and for those men an

women who have dedicated themselves to protecting us from these

attacks. Clearly they couldn't stop this one and it must be tearing

their hearts out at this time. My heart also breaks for my

grandchildren because of the violent and evil world they will inherit

if people's hearts don't change.

What I find interesting in so many comments on this event is that we

are encouraged to be in prayer to God and that prayer on our behalf

from people around the world is offered by so many. But the truth is

that it has become America's national policy to exclude God, prayer to

Him and respect for His Laws (The Ten Commandments, etc.) from our

schools, government buildings, libraries, businesses, homes and often

from our churches and seminaries. How hypocritical it must be to the

mind and heart of God that we deny His deity and even His

very existence, defy His sovereign authority, denigrate His ministers

and those who claim the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, practise

lifestyles that are antithetical to His revealed will, lie, cheat,

steal and generally spit in His holy face, and when we are faced with

national crises on any scale we expect Him to bail us out!!

I have absolute faith in God's grace and willingness to forgive and

restore us to a proper relationship with Himself. But, ladies and

gentlemen, make no mistake about it, God is not to be denied, taken

lightly, scorned or " killed " in our consciousness if we expect to

continue in His grace. Look up the lyrics to the hymn " America " and

you will get a good sense of how far we have drifted from our heritage

of faith in a sovereign God. Armies have never been the first line of

defense for any nation. With our open arms policies America has been

vulnerable at all times. It has been God's grace, blessing and

protection and our basic belief in Him that have made us strong. It

is time for this nation to re-evaluate our attitude toward Him and for

all of us to get on our knees in confession of personal and collective

sin and beg forgiveness.

When I was in New York public schools we recited a prayer every

morning after we saluted the " Stars and Stripes " . That prayer was,

" Almight God, we acknowledge our dependance upon Thee and beg Thy

blessing on us, our parents, our teachers and our country " . Mrs.

Madeline Murray O'Hare succeeded in getting our U.S. Supreme Court to

declare that prayer illegal and the years since have been

characterized by steady progress away from our national belief and

trust in the God we now so desperately want to help us.

Lying and cheating in the market place are well expected. Our families are

falling apart.

Wives and children are being neglected, abused and killed because

they are a nuisance. From inside we are killing thousands of our own

people a few at a time in our schools and on the streets and millions

more before birth in medical facilities and back alley abortion mills.

Lately we have been rocked by mass killings from both inside and

outside. " The wages of sin IS death " !! While many entities in the

world are plotting our destruction, too many of our leaders are having

a good time at tax payers' expense, having adulterous affairs,

covering each others' backsides, making important decisions based on

sociological statistics or just plain whim rather than on what is

right, and generally ignoring the laws they enact and expect the rest

of us to live by.

The Bible, our ONLY reliable source of understanding Who God really

is, tells me, " Be not deceived, God is not mocked. For whatsoever a

man soweth, that shall he also reap " . My Dad used to paraphrase that

with, " Don't kid yourself. You can't make a monkey out of God. " I

would suggest another way to put it is that, " You can't expell God

from your life and expect Him to bail you out when things get tough " .

What is true for one man is true also for a nation.

The Good News (a.k.a.. the Gospel) is that God is always ready to

forgive and restore those who turn their back on Him if they will

repent. The Bible, in 2 Chronicles 7:14, says, " If my people, who are

called by my name, will humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face,

and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and

will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. " Please, notice the

conditions for healing!! Professing Christian people must get serious

about their relationship to God and His Truth.

Our leaders must understand that character, morality and integrity are far more

important than parties (both political and social) power, polls, or

their pension plan. The " fun and games " are over, folks. It is time

to get back to reality. God IS real. " But without faith it is

impossible to please Him; for he that comes to God must believe that

He IS, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. "

(Hebrews 11:6) Foxhole religion never had any value and it still doesn't.

What this nation may yet face cannot be known at this time. We have

been through two world wars and smaller wars and conflicts. Now we

are under attack by an enemy yet to be definitively identified and

very difficult to expose and deal with. Real life bears not an iota

of resemblance to the silly sit-coms and " reality " shows on TV. It is

time to wake up to that fact.

Respectfully and Prayerfully,

Bob Duchardt

Head Athletic Trainer

Cedarville University

Cedarville, Ohio

duchardt@...

--------

Hobman <khobman@... wrote:

My heart goes out to my American friends for the cowardly attack on their

country. My thoughts and prayers are with you all, especially with the

innocent victims and their family and friends.

I hope your leadership displays strength, courage and wisdom in their

response to this attack.

May God be with you on this black day.

Hobman

Saskatoon, Canada

[Guest guest]

Mr. Duchardt, I won't hammer you, but I find it in very poor taste to

proselytize one faith while thousands of our countrymen lie dead because of

fanatical devotion to another faith.

When governments and religious institutions are one and the same, tragedy is

the gross national product.

Lou Schuler

town, PA

USA Attacked: Personal and Off Topic

Thank you, Dr Siff.

I may get hammered for this but I have no choice but to write it.

My heart aches at this moment as it did when I heard of the

assassination of President Kennedy, the explosion of the Challenger

space shuttle, the bombing of the government building in Oklahoma City

and so many other tragedies that this nation has witnessed. Such

unexpected tragedy is never easy to understand in terms that most

reasonable human beings comprehend. This present attack reaches a new

level of horror to most of us. While judgement must be reserved as to

who is responsible, there can be no doubt that a unique type of hatred

for the United States is at play. My heart breaks for those who have

lost their lives, for their families and friends and for those men an

women who have dedicated themselves to protecting us from these

attacks. Clearly they couldn't stop this one and it must be tearing

their hearts out at this time. My heart also breaks for my

grandchildren because of the violent and evil world they will inherit

if people's hearts don't change.

What I find interesting in so many comments on this event is that we

are encouraged to be in prayer to God and that prayer on our behalf

from people around the world is offered by so many. But the truth is

that it has become America's national policy to exclude God, prayer to

Him and respect for His Laws (The Ten Commandments, etc.) from our

schools, government buildings, libraries, businesses, homes and often

from our churches and seminaries. How hypocritical it must be to the

mind and heart of God that we deny His deity and even His

very existence, defy His sovereign authority, denigrate His ministers

and those who claim the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, practise

lifestyles that are antithetical to His revealed will, lie, cheat,

steal and generally spit in His holy face, and when we are faced with

national crises on any scale we expect Him to bail us out!!

I have absolute faith in God's grace and willingness to forgive and

restore us to a proper relationship with Himself. But, ladies and

gentlemen, make no mistake about it, God is not to be denied, taken

lightly, scorned or " killed " in our consciousness if we expect to

continue in His grace. Look up the lyrics to the hymn " America " and

you will get a good sense of how far we have drifted from our heritage

of faith in a sovereign God. Armies have never been the first line of

defense for any nation. With our open arms policies America has been

vulnerable at all times. It has been God's grace, blessing and

protection and our basic belief in Him that have made us strong. It

is time for this nation to re-evaluate our attitude toward Him and for

all of us to get on our knees in confession of personal and collective

sin and beg forgiveness.

When I was in New York public schools we recited a prayer every

morning after we saluted the " Stars and Stripes " . That prayer was,

" Almight God, we acknowledge our dependance upon Thee and beg Thy

blessing on us, our parents, our teachers and our country " . Mrs.

Madeline Murray O'Hare succeeded in getting our U.S. Supreme Court to

declare that prayer illegal and the years since have been

characterized by steady progress away from our national belief and

trust in the God we now so desperately want to help us.

Lying and cheating in the market place are well expected. Our families are

falling apart.

Wives and children are being neglected, abused and killed because

they are a nuisance. From inside we are killing thousands of our own

people a few at a time in our schools and on the streets and millions

more before birth in medical facilities and back alley abortion mills.

Lately we have been rocked by mass killings from both inside and

outside. " The wages of sin IS death " !! While many entities in the

world are plotting our destruction, too many of our leaders are having

a good time at tax payers' expense, having adulterous affairs,

covering each others' backsides, making important decisions based on

sociological statistics or just plain whim rather than on what is

right, and generally ignoring the laws they enact and expect the rest

of us to live by.

The Bible, our ONLY reliable source of understanding Who God really

is, tells me, " Be not deceived, God is not mocked. For whatsoever a

man soweth, that shall he also reap " . My Dad used to paraphrase that

with, " Don't kid yourself. You can't make a monkey out of God. " I

would suggest another way to put it is that, " You can't expell God

from your life and expect Him to bail you out when things get tough " .

What is true for one man is true also for a nation.

The Good News (a.k.a.. the Gospel) is that God is always ready to

forgive and restore those who turn their back on Him if they will

repent. The Bible, in 2 Chronicles 7:14, says, " If my people, who are

called by my name, will humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face,

and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and

will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. " Please, notice the

conditions for healing!! Professing Christian people must get serious

about their relationship to God and His Truth.

Our leaders must understand that character, morality and integrity are far

more

important than parties (both political and social) power, polls, or

their pension plan. The " fun and games " are over, folks. It is time

to get back to reality. God IS real. " But without faith it is

impossible to please Him; for he that comes to God must believe that

He IS, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. "

(Hebrews 11:6) Foxhole religion never had any value and it still doesn't.

What this nation may yet face cannot be known at this time. We have

been through two world wars and smaller wars and conflicts. Now we

are under attack by an enemy yet to be definitively identified and

very difficult to expose and deal with. Real life bears not an iota

of resemblance to the silly sit-coms and " reality " shows on TV. It is

time to wake up to that fact.

Respectfully and Prayerfully,

Bob Duchardt

Head Athletic Trainer

Cedarville University

Cedarville, Ohio

duchardt@...

--------

Hobman <khobman@... wrote:

My heart goes out to my American friends for the cowardly attack on their

country. My thoughts and prayers are with you all, especially with the

innocent victims and their family and friends.

I hope your leadership displays strength, courage and wisdom in their

response to this attack.

May God be with you on this black day.

Hobman

Saskatoon, Canada

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