Tyler Speaks

It seems like every day we’re hearing of another multi-billion dollar bailout. I believe it bears repeating what was said over 200 years ago about the fall of the Athenian Republic by Scots Historian Professor Alexander Tyler, circa 1787:

"A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse (generous gifts) from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, (which is) always followed by a dictatorship."

There it is folks. A nation of fools will we be if knowing history, we simply repeat it. It’s up to those who know the truth to take a stand if we are to see our nation spared from the consequences proven through all of history to be our fate if we continue on the current path. Tyler also taught:

"The average age of the world's greatest civilization has been two hundred years. These nations have progressed through this sequence. From bondage to spiritual faith; from spiritual faith to great courage; from courage to liberty; from liberty to abundance, from abundance to complacency; from complacency to apathy, from apathy to dependence, from dependence back into bondage."

I'd say we're presently between the apathy and depency stage. What do you think?

At the very core of this entire issue is our collective trust in the King of the Universe. Remember, it was Ronald Reagan who taught us that,

"if we ever cease to be one nation under God, we will be a nation gone under."

That’s the bottom line. No economic plan will save us from the bondage that befalls nations that turn their backs on God. This, too, is proven by history. It is my constant prayer that our nation will turn back to the God of our Fathers. Only then will there be real “hope” for a future of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

It must begin with the people of God. Church leaders must rise up to the call or we will have to answer to our children and grandchildren for the liberty lost, because of our complacency. God has always had a people, a faithful remnant willing to sacrifice "our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor." I'm confident He still has.

LESSONS FROM NADYA

The case of Nadya Suleman, the “octomom” who had eight children by in vitro fertilization adding to the six she already had, presents a clear warning sign indicating where our culture is headed if we continue on this present course to societal chaos and dysfunction.

God has a design for his human creation: First marriage, then children raised by a mother and a father, not by a village or government welfare. Unfortunately, Nadya’s case is slowly becoming more “normal.” In many communities across our nation young girls no longer associate child-bearing with marriage. They see these as two unrelated events, with the former being more desirable than the latter.

For the sake of generations to come we must do our best to support single parent families, while we work to re-establish the prominence of the natural family. Men must step up to the plate to provide loving leadership while we all reaffirm that children are a sacred gift from God for whom parents must be willing to sacrifice. God help us if we become a nation that sacrifices the children for the parents’ happiness. God help the next generation if we don’t turn things around.

CUT THE HOLE OUT OF MY JEANS

The “stimulus” package the feds are about to execute reminds me of the story of the little boy who came home crying because he had fallen and torn a large hole on the kneecap area of his brand new jeans. He pleaded with his mother, “Please Mom, cut the hole out of my jeans so it won’t be there any more.”

Needless to say, cutting out the hole just creates a bigger hole, but alas, at least “we’ll be doing something!” For people who claim at least a minimal level of intelligence, this is a pretty dumb move.

All one has to do is to look at the facts, look at our history, and project out into the future to see that by every measure this is a loser. But then again, that presumes the ability to defer immediate gratification for a long-term good, which the present administration and Congress doesn’t seem to have the common sense to do. Goodbye prosperity; hello poverty. God help us, and God help the next generation.

COMING "CORRUSION"

Already, we’re seeing plenty of evidence of what I believe will be the norm for the next four years. Let’s call it “corrusion.” That’s the combined effect of corruption and confusion. Let me explain.

Confusion will take place when the new administration attempts to govern by situational ethics rather than by the time-tested principles codified by our founding fathers. The liberal view of our constitution held by Barak Obama sees a document interpreted by the light of current trends. As they see it, the Constitution, and all laws that derive from it, should be “liquid” enough to change as conditions change. They call it a “living” constitution. In effect, this means that the Constitution, and the entire legal system that flows from it, can mean anything depending on who is reading it. The final authority is the “reader,” not the document. Thus with many different readers you will have mass confusion. (The conservative view holds that the Constitution and the written law is the final authority.)

Corruption will then follow, because without a fixed sense of authority human nature will cause many to see their way as the right way. This will be further accelerated by our move away from being “One Nation Under God.” Everyone will be a god unto himself. More people in government will be driven by self-interests, and fewer will be there to serve others. It is a Judeo-Christian idea to live to serve others, while those gazing through a humanistic-evolutionary lens are guided by a drive for “survival of the fittest” and “self-preservation.” In this environment the “right thing” will be whatever is self-serving. The means justifies the ends. Just don’t get caught!

We will begin to resemble third world countries where the law is determined by who you know.

The confusion and corruption –the corrusion- will steal our peace and prosperity. Enemies, foreign and domestic, will take advantage of the confusion. Social, political and economic corrusion will be the norm.

That’s why the “What’s next?” question for the Christian has to be prayer –a lot of prayer! We must pray for our new president and those in power over us. We must pray for revival in our land. We must repent of our own sin of religious pride that shows up in ways that keeps us divided and ineffective.

“If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from Heaven, forgive their sin and heal their land.” 2 Chron 7:14

We’ve heard it enough, now we must do it!

The End of Liberty?

With all this talk about the federal government bailing out car manufacturers, and financial institutions, there comes a valid question we must ask: “Has capitalism failed? Is this the end of our liberties and our free market system?” First of all we must realize -and make it known- that the reason our financial institutions got into trouble is not because of the free market, but rather because of government intervention. When the federal government mandated that banks make loans to people who weren’t financially sound we injected a manipulation into the market that caused it to operate according to a model doomed to eventual failure. Then everyone just kept passing the buck until it stopped at the American taxpayer. Now if the federal government bails out the auto industry they will again inject a false set of numbers that will eventually have to be paid by the taxpayer. The federal government will become an enabler to shoddy business practices. We’ll be like the rest of the world. Our free enterprise system is the best in the world, but it can only remain so as we adhere to sound principles based on a solid Judeo-Christian ethic.

Obama Wins - Now What?

Barak Obama has won the election for President of the United States. There was a time when the nation of Israel asked for a king like all their surrounding neighbors, and God granted their wish. King Saul became their leader to their detriment. God has, once again, honored the free will of his creation. The person we have chosen is a reflection of the character of the nation. If we have elected an individual driven by selfish ambition, it is because we, as a people, are driven by selfish ambition. There will be change. That’s not the issue. My concern is that the coming change will be to our detriment, and to the detriment of our posterity.

If there is any blame to be laid, it must be directed toward the Church. It is righteousness that exalts a nation, and that standard of righteousness has been entrusted to the Church. We have failed to teach righteousness –the principles of liberty under God- and we have failed to teach those under our care that our responsibility to provide godly leadership for our nation is part of our responsibility to God. 2 Chronicles 7:14 never rang more true than it does today:

“If my people, who are called by my name”


Now it’s time to gird our loins and prepare for battle. Unless Barak Obama has a Damascus Road experience with God, (We must all be in constant prayer for his salvation and for the salvation of his family) we will have to fight for the lives of 3,000 babies every day that are being murdered in the womb by fighting Obama’s promised “Freedom of Choice Act.”

We will have to fight to protect what God has called holy, “marriage” and work to keep the spirit of Sodom from permeating our culture by the repeal of the federal Defense of Marriage Act, as promised by Obama.

We will have to fight to protect our right to preach the Gospel in the church and on every street corner, by fighting Obama’s promised hate crimes laws and the Fairness Doctrine.

We will have to fight for the right to raise our children according to our value system without government interference by fighting Obama’s plans to indoctrinate our children using the Department of Education.

We will have to fight to preserve our liberty under God by resisting Obama’s plan to bring more of our economy and our society under government control. Woodrow Wilson taught us,

“The history of liberty is the history of the limitations of power, not the increase of it. When we resist, therefore, the concentration of power, we resist the powers of death, for the concentration of power always precedes the destruction of human liberties.”

We We will have to fight, or we will repeat the sins of the complacent church, in days past, that stood by while leaders driven by selfish ambition committed atrocities on innocent people. It’s nothing new.

My question is, “Will we?” Will we, as the prophet Nehemiah challenged the people of God,

“Remember the Lord who is great and awesome and fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.” (Nehemiah 4:14)

I pray we will.

GLITTER OR GAVITAS?

The contrast between the competing tickets in the Presidential race seems to have come to a simple matter of “glitter vs. gravitas.”

I began to see this when I watched the dual interview of Obama and McCain at Saddleback Church. I remember how after Obama spoke, I thought how polished he sounded. McCain was going to have to do pretty well to compete. But when McCain came on, it was clear he was in a totally different league than Obama. Where Obama’s responses were articulate and well reasoned, McCain’s responses took on an air of authority, depth of character and confidence. The contrast was stark. Obama sounded like a decent politician whose rhetoric was nice but superficial. McCain sounded like a leader. One was glitter, the other had gravitas.

Now with McCain’s choice of Sarah Palin for VP we see a team that has a proven record of performance cleaning up government, something many have dismissed as ever being possible beyond theory.

The electorate was ready to settle for promise of change, but now there is a renewed sense of hope in the possibility of real change. Glitter or gravitas.

The choice is ours. I pray we make the right one.