"Well..so much for Mormon prophecy" and other thoughts from this week

     Well Tuesday was  the election, I tried to watch most of the coverage that night, at the time I didn't have cable and it was literally on every channel, but after about two and a half hours I got over it and turned on something else, and curled up on the couch, and fell asleep. I woke up about 45 minutes later thinking it was really late at night, it wasn't it was about a quarter after 10pm, so I sleepily turned it back to the election coverage just in time to see them declare President Obama the winner of the 2012 presidential election and my first thought was not a lament for the country it was "Hmm so much for Mormon prophecy" and I went up stairs and went to bed.

Of course my thoughts the next morning were a little different the next morning. they were a little more like this (from my facebook page)

So...we've had another election come and go. And once again...we chose poorly. Now, I was never a huge fan of Romney he always struck me as a big government Republican though his knowledge of economics and seemingly genuine patriotism and love of our country far more endeared me to him that the our current president whose seeming anti-american and anti-freedom att

itude has done more damage to this country than 9/11. This election was an eye opener to me.

The American people have spoken loud and clear "We Choose Government over freedom", "We choose Government handouts over the chance of prosperity" "We reject American exceptional-ism for mediocrity" The American landscape has very much changed and is not likely to change back anytime soon. It's sobering to hear sound bite after sound bite of those who grew up in east Germany and the Soviet Union lament the direction our country is going, seeing it go down the same path . This is a wake up call...we're heading for a cliff far more dangerous than the fiscal cliff.

And while I still stand by this comment, I think I'm a little less angry about it now then when I wrote this,  I don't think was a complete thought.  I think I would like to add some more thoughts to this.

However...all is not lost. And I'm still not saying that this re-election is a good thing but I think good things can come out of it. Our country has a way of turning hard times and tragedy around. So those who see the direction our country is going must not give up and give in to those who are taking  us down a dangerous road

So...the other thing I wanted to comment on was the spiritual component of this election and there was (and is) very much a spiritual component to this election. I continue to see around the blogosphere and the Twitterverse and the Facebook world how we turned from God by electing Obama and are destined for judgement and how We chose between a fallen christian and a good example of a practicing Christian. 

I have some issues with these statements. First is Obama judgement or blessing from God? Well so far he seems to fall in to the judgement category but for the next four years, we'll see God can and will use all things for his purposes. However that being said. I believe Romney could have been used for judgement just as easily, judgement is up to God. As far as voting for a fallen Christian over a practicing Christian, we did not have a Christian candidate this year. 

Romney was a bishop in the Church of latter day saints, contrary to the name this is not a Christian church. Mormonism is closer to the polytheism of the "New Age" than the Christian church, they believe one can become a God by following the law and doing good works as well they believe the god of the book of Mormon and the Bible is just one of many gods,  These teachings are heretical and antithetical to the teachings of the Bible. Obama on the other hand is actually a little harder to get a bead on. He spent 20 years in a "Black liberation theology" church, which is a heresy in itself, as well he grew up in Islamic Indonesia as well in speeches have confessed to being "one of them" to Muslim audiences yet I know of no reports of him currently being a practicing Muslim. but his actions have only shown an antagonistic attitude towards the church. so.. we did not have a Christian candidate this year. 

But this is ok...we are a secular nation. Would I and many other Christians prefer a Christian candidate, sure, but I think mostly we need a wise, fair, candidate who will actually fulfill his oath to protect and defend the constitution and not toss it in the shredder. 

So the big question on many peoples mind is how did the Republican's loose this election? It seemed to be in the bag, The economy is in the toilet for crying out loud! I've heard many ideas ranging from it was the GOP focus on "social issues" (I agree with this but not for the reasons others do) to Romney was a weak candidate to the election was fixed to the landscape of American culture has just changed after four years of Obama. 

I would say that there is probably a grain of truth in all of these. America has changed. The video game generation is coming of age!. I think Limbaugh had it right we had a choice between Santa Claus and a real president and we chose the Obvious answer...Santa Claus. Not only did we choose Santa but we chose Santa with a warped naughty and nice list. This was pointed out by John McAurthur in one of his sermons before the election that if you compare the Democratic platform to the warnings in the book of Romans, they're the same! The Democrat platform was Pro everything that Romans says brings judgement!

This is where our country is. We call good evil and evil good and I don't think changing presidents would change that.

Holidays: Chrstmas, Easter and Halloween?

Christmas, Easter and Halloween are three of the four biggest holidays celebrated in the United States. The question has come to my mind, what should Christians do with them? These holidays have a lot in common. They're all on the same day as historical pagan holidays, they all still use some historic pagan symbolism and traditions, and they're huge commercial money makers.  They also have some differences, so lets play a game.  Lets play one of these things is not like the others

Let's take a look at the three individually starting with Christmas. Christmas is one of the biggest holidays in the world really. It's celebrated on December 25th which was originally the date of the Roman holiday of Saturnalia it also coincides with the Norse and Germanic Yule festivals and in fact many of the traditions and decorations we use for Christmas are hold over from these pagan celebrations, decorating trees, holly, giving presents, Santa Claus, all these things are hold overs from  paganism

However we have added some things. While the original meaning of these holidays varied we have added what has become a near universal meaning. We celebrate on Dec 25th the birth of Jesus Christ. We have redeemed this day. Many ask why this particular day? Why do we celebrate the birth of Jesus on a day so full of pagan symbolism? The short answer is (and this goes for Easter too) The Roman Catholic church were fantastic at marketing. The Catholic church absorbed pagan holidays and worship site in an attempt to create converts, and it worked, of course in the end I'm sure if the pagans or the Catholics were the ones who were actually converted but that's for a different blog.

Easter is one of the holiest days on the Christian calender yet in the west it has the same problem as Christmas,  it's over flowing with pagan symbolism. The Easter bunny, coloring and hunting eggs, etc.... Again this is a hold over from the eastern European Norse and Germanic traditions and yet again we've attached the holiest of meanings to this day. The resurrection of Jesus Christ after his crucifixion. Indeed Christmas and Easter are two of the highest attendance times of the year for churches, both Catholic and Protestant.

And now Halloween, celebrated on October 31st. It was the end of the Celtic calender. It was many things. It was a celebration of dead ancestors. It was a day when the veil between worlds was said to be at it's thinnest and demons and ghosts would roam amongst the living. People would dress up as animals and demons hoping to confuse the wondering spirits. I've heard several different origins for "trick or treating" and Jack o lanterns. This was a time of divining the dead and worshiping the gods of the death and the underworld. However today we in the western Christian world have...done nothing with this day.

The traditions of Halloween have no other meaning than these. I would say most Christians in the United States celebrate Halloween in some fashion, but why? Why do Christians celebrate Halloween? It's not ours. Practicing Jews don't celebrate Christmas. We as Christians don't celebrate Yom Kippo or Ramadon. So why do we celebrate Halloween. It has nothing we can link back to Christ. To This day it's purely a pagan holiday...so Why?