Baghdad's Dilemma

The Kurdish Peshmerga fighters are poorly armed.
When you hear an occasional conversation in Persian, you listen harder, or should.

There are U.S. boots on the ground in Iraq. Most, as in the first months in Afghanistan after 9/11, appear to be CIA ground troops. The airline passengers who get off in Erbil, Kurdistan are all males in good shape and appear to be members of Western intelligence agencies, military advisors or diplomatic personnel.
The unobtrusive but well-guarded U.S. Consulate is a tiny, hole-in-the-wall compound on the main thoroughfare in the town of Ankawa, Erbil Governorate. The CIA and military intelligence compound rests on high ground on a nearby mountain. U.S. and West European military advisors train Kurdish Peshmerga fighters behind walled compounds. The American military advisors seem particularly drawn to the Kurdish volunteers' willingness to fight ISIS. The far thunder of allied bombing raids on ISIS pin-point targets can be heard late on most nights.

German military advisors train Kurdish Peshmerga fighters, October 2014. (Image source: Euronews video screenshot)

And of course, there is the U.S. Consulate's small, but larger than usual, Marine guard contingent. Despite this U.S. presence, the Americans are ghost-walkers. They are nowhere to be seen. It is lonely. You do not see anyone who looks like you. So many of the Western businessmen and investors got out when ISIS seemed on its way to Erbil. You can walk for hours and not hear any language except Kurdish or Arabic. However, when you hear an occasional conversation in Persian, you listen harder, or should.
Despite a few missteps in August in the fight against ISIS forces,[1] the Peshmerga's will to fight seems strong and, as can be seen by the huge processing backlog on volunteers, their morale seems high. The backlog list includes many women as well, some of whom may have been inspired by the brave young women fighting ISIS in the Syrian town of Kobane, near the Turkey-Syria border.
The Peshmerga fighters, however, are poorly armed. Iraq's former Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki, was largely responsible for blocking the delivery of weapons, ammunition, and salaries to the Peshmerga. Nevertheless, since the combined efforts of the newly appointed Prime Minister, Haidar al-Abadi, Kurdistan Regional Government [KRG] Prime Minister Nerchivan Barzani, and Federal Finance Minister Hoshyar Zebari, himself a Kurd, the situation has eased but is not totally resolved.[2] One KRG official, in conversation with its Minister of Peshmerga Affairs, Mustapha Sayyid Qadir, exclaimed, "Only half of the new recruits are outfitted with automatic weapons."[3] Peshmerga officers are bitter at Baghdad's failure to supply their troops with heavy weapons, while many such weapons fell into the hands of ISIS, after being left behind by fleeing Iraqi Army units. The Kurds, however, understand the logic of the Iraq's Arab regime: "The more weapons they permit us to have," one wounded Kurdish soldier explained," the more difficult it will be for them to suppress us as they have done so often in the past." [4] This is Baghdad's dilemma: Does it arm one of the few elements presently capable of resisting ISIS, even though such a decision risks strengthening Kurdistan's ability to secede from Iraq in the future?
The new, heavy footprint of allied military assistance for the Kurds may relieve Baghdad of that choice.

Thousand Churches Destroyed in Nigeria
Muslim Persecution of Christians, October 2014

A court in Pakistan upheld the death penalty for Asia Bibi, a Christian mother of four. She is accused of having made derogatory remarks about Islam after neighbors objected to her drinking water from their glass, because she was not a Muslim and therefore "unclean."
A successful Christian school in the United Kingdom was warned that it would be downgraded by inspectors and might even face closure after failing to invite a leader from another religion, such as a Muslim imam, to lead assemblies. "A Government consultation paper... makes clear that even taking children on trips to different places of worship would not be enough to be judged compliant."
"They then told me that since I refused to [convert to Islam] they would kill me.... They pinned me down and told me they will make death painful and slow, as they are not prepared to waste bullets on me. They said, 'Be warned that if any of you Muslims dares to assist him, he is also an infidel and we shall make sure that he too is killed.'" — Adamu, a Christian; Nigeria.
They are searching [for me] to cut my throat. When I go to mass, I say I am going to English classes because I plan to travel." — "Tarek," a convert to Christianity in Lebanon.
The police, far from interfering, actually incited the Muslim man.
"With no one on hand to know what is going on, it's easier to mistreat them." — Jason Demars, President, Present Truth Ministries.
About 100,000 Christians die every year because of their religious beliefs. — The Center for the Studies of Global Christianity in the United States.

In just two months, from August to October, nearly 200 Christian churches were destroyed in Nigeria by the Islamic organization Boko Haram and its Muslim allies, after their capture of towns and villages in the north-eastern states of Borno and Adamawa. In the words of Reverend Gideon Obasogie, the director of Catholic Social Communication of Maiduguri Diocese in Borno State: "The group's seizure of territory in both states has seen 185 churches torched and over 190,000 people displaced by their insurgency."
Obasogie added that Boko Haram's "ransacking and torching" of churches was "sad, heart-aching and potentially dangerous to the territorial integrity and common good of Nigeria.... Our priests are displaced, while citizens... are counting their losses and regrets as they have been reduced to the status of Internally Displaced Persons [IDP]. Where is the freedom?... Life is really terribly difficult."
In 2011, hundreds of Christians were killed and 430 churches destroyed or damaged in Nigeria by Boko Haram. In 2012, 900 Christians were slaughtered and an unknown number of churches destroyed. In 2013, 612 Christians were slaughtered and approximately 300 churches destroyed.
This suggests that in the last four years alone, approximately 1,000 Christian churches have been destroyed by Boko Haram and its Muslim sympathizers in a nation that is approximately half Christian half Muslim.
Moreover, according to an October Human Rights Watch report, Boko Haram has so far been responsible for killing 2,053 people in 2014—a number that likely exceeds the previous four years put together.
A typical church attack in Nigeria that occurred in October was reported as follows: "Armed Muslim extremists stormed two churches in Taraba state on Sunday (Oct. 19) and killed 31 people as they worshipped... Two pastors, one pastor's son, and 28 other Christians were slain in the attacks." According to the Rev. Caleb Ahema, president of the Christian Reformed Church of Christ in Nigeria, "The attack on Christians in Taraba state is a planned genocide against Christians by Islamic insurgents who have invaded the southern part of the state, inhabited mostly by Christians, since February."
The experiences of Adamu, a 28-year-old Christian man who refused to abjure Christianity for Islam, appeared in October. One day while working on his farm, a Boko Haram member came to him:

He told me to convert to Islam and join them in waging a jihad to establish an Islamic state in Nigeria. I told him that I will not renounce my Christian faith in order to embrace Islam. He left me there on my farm without saying anything again. [Two days later, five other Boko Haram members showed up.] They said their member told them that I refused to renounce being a Christian and wanted to know whether it is true that I refused to become a Muslim. [Adamu repeated his decision again.] They then told me that since I refused to recant, they would kill me.... They pinned me down and told me they will make death painful and slow, as they are not prepared to waste their bullets on me. They also said they would not give me the honor of slaughtering me by cutting my neck from the front, because that is the way they slaughter their rams. They forced me down on my stomach and then proceeded to slaughter me by cutting my neck from the back. I was bleeding and went blank as the knife cut through my neck. It was pains I cannot explain to you. After cutting my neck, they left me bleeding…. It was only after I was taken to the hospital that I was told that the Boko Haram members who attacked me on the farm had gone to the village shortly after leaving me bleeding to death and had warned other Muslims that if any of them dares to rescue me, he would be killed. They sternly warned other Muslims in Musari, "We have butchered an infidel there on his farm. Be warned that if any of you Muslims dares to assist him, he is also an infidel and we shall make sure that he too is killed.'" [Days later, a fellow Christian snuck onto the farm and rescued the barely living man.]

Also in October, the Center for the Studies of Global Christianity in the United States concluded that

About 100,000 Christians die every year because of their religious beliefs, that is to say one every five minutes. In addition, in many countries, many other religious minorities suffer violence and persecution. In countries such as Iraq, Syria, Nigeria, Cameroon, Sudan, Pakistan, Somalia and Egypt the Christian elderly, women, men and their children live in conditions of total insecurity. They are driven from their homes; put in prison for blasphemy, and brutally killed during liturgical celebrations, churches are burned. Girls are kidnapped and forced to marry.

The rest of October's roundup of Muslim persecution of Christians around the world includes (but is not limited to) the following accounts, listed by theme and country alphabetical order, not necessarily according to severity.

Muslim Attacks on Churches

Egypt: According to a terse report relayed from Arabic media, "homemade bomb exploded today [October 7] next to the Evangelical Church of God, in Sarie district in Minya [Upper Egypt]. The bomb caused great panic, but no casualties or deaths. Police were reported and the matter is still under investigation."
Germany: Just as happens regularly in Egypt, a Coptic Christian church in the European nation was attacked and torched. According to the report, "The mayor of Berlin condemned attacking and burning St. Athanasius and St. Shenouda Coptic Orthodox Church in Berlin by extremists describing it as a crime against peaceful coexistence. On his part, Abba Demian, bishop of Germany, said that he didn't expect such attack against a church in Germany."
Iraq: Bombings by the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State hit and devastated the Church of the Resurrection near the town of Qaraqosh. The Christian place of worship was being used as a base for jihadis, who had broken off the cross from the building's roof before occupying it.
Philippines: A grenade attack on a church during worship service left two Christians—Felomina Ferolin, a 54-year-old nurse, and teacher Gina Cabilona, 39—dead, and three others injured, one critically. Two men on a motorbike fired a grenade launcher at the door of the United Church of Christ before fleeing the scene. The attack took place in the island of Mindanao, where Islamic groups have previously targeted Christians and churches. In a separate incident, an attempted bomb attack took place on October 11 in Mindanao. At that time, the improvised explosive device was defused at the scene by security forces with no reports of injuries. Another location, Zamboanga had been the location of a previous attack on a church by Islamic militants in February 2014. Members of two other militant Islamist groups in the Philippines recently pledged allegiance to the Islamic State.
Sudan: The nation's air force dropped four bombs on an Episcopal Church in complex in the Nuba Mountains. According to the Rev. Youhana Yaqoub "The bombs have completely destroyed our church compound in Tabolo. A family living at the church compound miraculously escaped the attack, although their whole house and property were destroyed."

Muslim Attacks on Christian Freedom

Iran: In what was called a "serious blow," three Christian leaders were sentenced to six years in prison for their involvement in house churches. Pastor Benham Irani, Abdolreza Ali-Haghnejad, and Reza Rabbani, all leaders in the Church of Iran, were sentenced for "action against national security" and "creating a network to overthrow the system" -- generic terms the Islamic republic uses to suppress Christian activities. All three are being moved to remote prisons along the nation's borders. Jason Demars, president of Present Truth Ministries, an evangelical group that works in Iran, said, "Basically they want to silence them—they want to move them away to a place that is tough to get to, for their family to get to. With no one on hand to know what is going on, it's easier to mistreat them." Separately, three other converts to Christianity were arrested by intelligence officers in Foolad-Shahr, Esfahan province. Security forces also raided the home of arrested Christian actor Shahram Ghaedi. It is thought that Ghaedi and the two other believers, Heshmat Shafiei and Emad Haghi, were targeted by authorities because of their involvement in a "Jesus Film" project.
Pressure had previously been placed on the filmmakers by the security authorities, forcing some cast members to leave the country and disrupting the project.
Kazakhstan: Two Christian men, Vyacheslav Cherkasov and Zhasulan Alzhanov, were given ten-day prison terms for distributing Christian literature after authorities claimed that one of the books incites religious hatred. The book Jesus: More than a Prophet—a collection of testimonies of former Muslims—which was among 252 Christian books seized by the authorities -- was found by officials who conducted "expert analysis" to contain "elements inciting religious hatred and discord." A Christian source in Kazakhstan characterized the plight of Christians in the Muslim-majority nation as follows: "The situation in every Central Asian republic is different, but we see that persecution is increasing. The Kazakh authorities put tougher pressure on… churches. All countries have passed new regulations in administrative and criminal laws that toughen punishments for illegal religious activity. At the same time the authorities don't protect… churches from zealous local Muslims or just criminals. [Violence] happens not very often but we don't have any protection from the authorities."
Lebanon: A Syrian-born Muslim convert to Christianity who goes by the name "Tarek" is in hiding from his father and stepbrothers who are determined to slaughter him: "They are searching to cut my throat. I've been told they have hired someone to find me to get the mission accomplished.... Sometimes, I feel in danger. Especially when I go into the streets, when I come to Beirut. You never know if someone is looking for you. I'm living in a place where the majority are Muslims. So whenever I go to church on Sunday, they would know I'm Christian. So I don't say anything about my religion, and when I go to mass, I say I am going to English classes because I plan to travel."
Malaysia: Ibrahim Ali, the leader of the Muslim supremacist organization Perkasa, said during a press conference that: "Muslims must unite to protect their religion. They must seize those Bibles, including the Malay editions, which contained the term Allah and other Arabic religious terms, and burn them. This is the way to show our anger against disrespect to our sensitivity." A police investigation was launched to see if Ali was in breach of Section 298, which criminalizes saying words with deliberate intent to wound religious feelings, or Section 505, which criminalizes making statements that could cause public mischief. The government concluded that Ibrahim Ali would not be charged with anything because "he only meant to defend the sanctity of Islam." But as the Christian Federation of Malaysia points out, by portraying calls to burn the Bible as acts "to defend the sanctity of Islam," the government just gave "free rein to other extremists to do likewise, not just to Christians but to any other religious community that is not Muslim."
Pakistan: A court upheld the death penalty for Asia Bibi, a Christian mother of four, who was accused of blasphemy, imprisoned, and sentenced to death in 2010. She is alleged to have made derogatory remarks about Islam after neighbors objected to her drinking water from their glass, because she was not Muslim and therefore "unclean." After Bibi's arrest in 2010, two top Pakistani politicians who sought to intervene on her behalf were gunned down, one by his own bodyguard.

Sudan: Ibrahim Ismaeil Ibrahim, a 34-year-old Muslim convert to Christianity and father of two, once worked as a human rights defender. Today he lives in a refugee camp after surviving an attempt on his life by Muslims trying to kill him for apostatizing from, and criticizing, Islam. Before leaving Islam, he worked as a writer and human rights defender in the Darfur region. As he chronicled human rights violations by Muslim militants, he became disillusioned with Islam and converted to Christianity: "I defected from Islam and started writing articles through my [pseudonymous] page on Facebook, in which I described Islam as a religion of terror and killing. Then some people discovered my identity and sent me messages of intimidation on my phone that they were looking for my head. Suddenly, I was attacked.... An unknown Islamic extremist broke into my house at midnight and opened fire on my room." Ibrahim and his family fled the nation. He later discovered that the government of Sudan was behind the Islamic assassins trying to kill him.
Uzbekistan: Artur Alpayev, a Christian man, was given a large fine—50 times the nation's minimum monthly wage—and threatened with further punishment after religious literature was seized from his home during a raid on a prayer meeting. Police also raided several other homes in the repressive country, in search of Christian materials. When sentencing Alpayev, Judge Oltinbek Mansurov said, "We will continue fining you unless you stop storing religious literature in your home." Police also raided the homes of two other Christian couples in search of religious literature; 65 Christian books and materials were seized, including children's Bibles.

Dhimmitude: Islamic Discrimination Against Christianity

Egypt: Lisa Nasim Basari, a 28-year-old Coptic Christian woman, made a video describing the advances of a Muslim man who has been pressuring her to convert to Islam and marry her. According to her account, Wa'il Hassan Abdul Mu'min began stalking her whenever she left home. He eventually asked her to convert to Islam and marry him —even offering her money—but she refused. In retaliation, he attacked and burned portions of the grocery store in which she worked; tore her clothes and sexually abused her. Lisa eventually went to local police to file a formal report against him, but, as she explained in the video, the police, far from interfering, actually incited the Muslim man—who appears to be affiliated with the police department—to keep harassing her. They also imprisoned her for a time and, as she said, "tortured" her into abandoning the complaint against the Muslim man. In the video, she pleas for help, begging some authority in Egypt to intervene and prompt Abdul Mu'min to leave her in peace. Another Coptic female was kidnapped. The 20-year-old Christian woman was on her way to St. George Church in Sohag governate in the early morning but never returned. The family later received a phone call from one "Muhammad" who said that if they wanted to see the girl again they must ransom her for 250,000 Egyptian pounds ($35,000). When her brother went to the authorities, the head captain told him, "So what, one Coptic girl missing? Look at how many millions of Muslims are dying in Palestine. Who would've thought so many millions of Muslims would die in Syria? And you're bothering us about one girl?"
Libya: The old Christian cemetery in Tripoli has been vandalized three times since the fall of the Qaddafi government in 2011. According to an eyewitness who took pictures, several crosses were destroyed or had their sides broken off: "Halfway to the ossuaries, bent steel rods that once strengthened a large concrete cross reminded me of the trouble the Islamists had to go through to destroy that symbol of Christianity… The statues of an angel clutching a cross that was pushed over and of a small boy that had its head chopped off were among other Christian relics that were damaged…. As the Islamists' grip on Libya tightens and Tripoli's Christian population dies out, it is only a matter of time before the Christian cemetery is bulldozed and erased from history.
Pakistan: In a nation where the mere accusation of offending Islam leads to incarceration and possibly death—see Asia Bibi's entry above—offending Christianity leads to nothing. A Muslim shopkeeper started selling shoes which depict the Christian cross on their sole. Christians demonstrated but police did nothing. According to the report, "In Pakistani culture, showing the sole of one's shoe or foot is offensive because placing anything on the ground is considered to be an insult to the object. Therefore, something on the sole of a shoe is going to be constantly insulted as the person walks. The designs are considered very offensive by some local Christians, who feel that they are intended to insult believers, to express hatred towards them, and to try to stir up tensions between Christians and their Muslim neighbours." This is not the first case of its kind. In 2011 a similar case was lodged against a Muslim shopkeeper in Lahore for selling shoes with crosses on the top, although the police did not investigate the incident further.
Syria: Father Hanna Jallouf, a Franciscan priest and around 20 other Christians—among them young boys and girls—were kidnapped by brigades linked to the Islamist Nusra Front from a village near the border with Turkey. Members of the Franciscan order had been present in the village for more than a century.
United Kingdom: An otherwise successful Christian school was warned that it would be downgraded by inspectors and might even face closure after failing to invite a leader from another religion, such as a Muslim imam, to lead assemblies. According to the Telegraph, "In the latest case inspectors are understood to have warned the head that the school, which was previously rated as "good" that it would be downgraded to "adequate" for failing to meet standards requiring it to "actively promote" harmony between different faiths because it had failed to bring in representatives from other religions. They warned that unless the school could demonstrate how it was going to meet the new requirements there would be a further full inspection which could ultimately lead to it being closed. A Government consultation paper published in June, explaining the new rules, makes clear that even taking children on trips to different places of worship would not be enough to be judged compliant."

About this Series

While not all, or even most, Muslims are involved, persecution of Christians is expanding. "Muslim Persecution of Christians" was developed to collate some—by no means all—of the instances of persecution that surface each month.
It documents what the mainstream media often fails to report.
It posits that such persecution is not random but systematic, and takes place in all languages, ethnicities and locations. 

Erdogan in Wonderland: "Freedom" in Turkey

Erdogan can be very sure of himself when he claims that Turkey has the world's freest press. But then there are facts.
Police detained a 16-year-old boy for "insult," with the prosecutors asking for up to four years in prison. He allegedly said that he considered Erdogan as "the leader of corruption, bribery and theft."
A Turkish journalist and anchorwoman, Sedef Kabas, was detained after a tweet in which she called on citizens not to forget the name of the judge who dropped, apparently under government pressure, a high-profile corruption probe against Erdogan, his four cabinet ministers at the time, their sons and a shady businessman.
Pinar Turenç, head of Turkey's Press Council, portrayed the "world's freest country" as: "Censorship, self-censorship... injuries, use of tear gas, batons, journalists... who are being tried under or without arrest, and bans of media publications.... a really serious picture for law and democracy."

Apparently, there are lies, statistics -- and Turkish lies.
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan thinks that he can claim the world is flat and everybody will believe him. He has little idea how he ridicules his own country when he sounds like former North Korean and Iranian presidents Kim Jong-il ("If I am being talked about, I must be doing the right things.") and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ("In Iran, we don't have homosexuals.")
"We used to think that he [Erdogan] resorts to such rhetoric for domestic consumption. Now we tend to think that he lives in a make-believe world, a kind of parallel universe," a European ambassador told this author over another jaw-dropping Erdogan speech.
On Dec. 26, Erdogan claimed in televised remarks that Turkey had the freest press in the world. When he said that, the country "with the freest press in the world" was ranking 154th on the international press freedoms index. In 2012 and 2013, Erdogan's Turkey had jailed more journalists than in China and Iran combined. The numbers for 2014 will unlikely change.
"Nowhere in the world is the press freer than it is in Turkey. I'm very sure of myself when I say this," Erdogan said, leaving the European ambassador (and probably millions of others too) almost speechless.
Erdogan can be very sure of himself when he claims that Turkey has the world's freest press. But then there are facts. This is a glimpse of the country with the "freest press" a few days before and after Erdogan portrayed Turkey as such.
Turkey woke up to a chilly morning on Dec. 4 when, in a series of police raids, journalists, editors and playwrights, including the editor-in-chief of a popular newspaper, were arrested on charges of terrorism. Some of the suspects are still behind bars, pending trial.
More recently, police detained a 16-year-old boy at his school for "insulting President Erdogan" in remarks he allegedly made a day earlier. The teenager, identified only by his initials M.E.A., was kept in custody with adult detainees for two days before his release. He will be tried for "insult," with the prosecutors asking for up to four years in prison. M.E.A. allegedly said that he considered Erdogan as "the leader of corruption, bribery and theft."
"My son has not robbed. He has committed no ignominious crime. But they took him from school as if he were an armed terrorist," M.E.A.'s jobless mother, Nazmiye Gok, said. "The decision for his arrest is a disgrace ... Because he is still a child, but they sent him to jail while he has to be at school."
Ironically, on the same day as the minor M.E.A. was in custody and Erdogan spoke of the world's freest country, a 17-year-old high school student was sentenced to three months in jail with four other teenagers for setting up tents during anti-government protests in 2013. Mustafa Ali Tonbul's sentence was turned into a fine and will not be executed unless he commits the same offense in the next three years. But Tonbul, who was left permanently injured after a police tear gas canister hit his skull, said that the ruling would not intimidate him from continuing political activism.
Meanwhile, only four days after Erdogan's speech, a Turkish journalist and anchorwoman, Sedef Kabas, was detained after a tweet in which she called on citizens not to forget the name of the judge who dropped, apparently under government pressure, a high-profile corruption probe against Erdogan, his four cabinet ministers at the time, their sons and a shady Iranian businessman.
"Do not forget the name of the judge who decided not to pursue the proceedings in the Dec. 17 [2013 corruption] probe," Kabas tweeted. Despite massive evidence including audio recordings, a chief prosecutor in Istanbul on Dec. 16 dropped all charges against the suspects.
Kabas was later released but remains a suspect; her first hearing is scheduled for Jan. 5. Kabas is charged with "targeting people who are involved in anti-terror operations," which in this case is the prosecutor who dropped the corruption probe. According to the prosecutors, Kabas' tweet was criminal, the prosecutor who dropped the corruption charges was an anti-terror official and, naturally, the prosecutors who had indicted the bigwigs were terrorists. Too complex? Just Turkish.
Against such backdrop, Turkey's Press Council released a report detailing the state of the media in 2014. "It was a tough year," the Council concluded. According to Pınar Turenç, the head of the Council, there are signs of a "witch-hunt against journalists."

Activists from Amnesty International-Turkey protest limits on freedom of expression. (Image source: Amnesty International-Turkey)

Turenc portrayed the "world's freest country" as: "Censorship, self-censorship, [problems when getting] accreditations [for the prime minister's office], injuries, use of tear gas, batons, hundreds of unemployed journalists, those who are being tried under or without arrest and bans of media publications ... When you put all these together, it is a really serious picture for the rule of law and democracy."
Erdogan is Turkey's best ever story teller. He can be many Turks' nightmare, but when he speaks, he certainly is fun.

China's New International Mindset?

China seems to have realized the extreme difficulty of simply barging into a world already shaped by centuries of traditions alien to it.
On this political side, this change of heart underscores, internally, Xi's new clout in politics. He managed to shelve critics with different views on foreign policy.
It is a change, it may have many implications; at least for now it is in a positive direction.

China's political mindset about international politics is at a turning point, one that could mark the beginning of a new role for China in global affairs.
On December 27, 2014, the Chinese press reported a speech by Vice Premier Wang Yang, entitled, "The United States is the guide of the world; China is willing to join this system." In the text, Wang Yang reportedly said, "China and United States are global economic partners, but America is the guide of the world. America already has the leading system and its rules; China is willing to join the system and respect those rules and hopes to play a constructive role."

These statements mark a stark contrast from the times when China seemed extremely suspicious of America's hegemonic role in the world. Implicitly, China now appears to admit that America has the leading role in the world and to be willing to work with it. It is a change, it may have many implications; at least for now it is in a positive direction.

The speech does not give any explanation for the dramatic change of heart by the Chinese leadership; it is not clear, in fact, what brought it about. However, it is clear that, after the recent successful meeting between presidents Barack Obama and Xi Jinping at the APEC summit in Beijing, this is the next step. At the APEC meeting, the two sides agreed on a number of issues that had been pretty irksome in previous years. In many ways, after many years of strong distrust, the meeting between might have succeeded in turning a new leaf in bilateral relations.

U.S. President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping pose together at the APEC meeting in Beijing, November 10, 2014. (Image source: RT YouTube video screenshot)

This change goes beyond the idea floated some years ago of a "G2" (a US-China special relationship). The G2 idea was based on faulty thinking: of U.S.-Chinese ties as isolated from the rest of the world. This time, the concept is more comprehensive, and in many ways reassuring, because it accepts US leadership for both the U.S. and for the many countries that feared being left out of the new strong bond between Washington and Beijing.

As for the reasons the change occurred, we can only infer them. There are possibly a number of historical and political reasons that brought about the Chinese change of heart. There could, possibly, have been a new historical analysis — the way the Chinese love to think about problems: that there is a sense of history which changes according to civilizations; the Chinese have their own, Indians have their own, and so on — that helped form this new mindset.

The United States inherited a leading role in the world from the British Empire, which took it on from the French, and before them the Dutch in the late 17th century, who took it on from the Spanish, who first started the globalization process with the discovery of America in the late 15th century.
America, in other words, inherited a world shaped by values and rules conceived of by Western countries for over 500 years. Before the discovery of America, the world worked in different major areas: Europe, India, China, for instance, but with only loose connections between one another. The discovery of America for the first time made an effort in connecting all sides. These values and rules are largely alien to China's historical tradition, yet they are widely accepted not only by Western countries, but also by the world at large. China seems to have realized the extreme difficulty of simply barging into a world already shaped by centuries of traditions alien to it. Moreover, since the fall of the Qing Empire about a century ago, these Western traditions had already partially entered Chinese political discourse. Since then, the foundation of the People's Republic has been organized according to Western Marxist values.

With a mindset shaped by economic calculations, the Chinese may have realized that challenging this present system, toppling it, and replacing it with something more "Chinese" could be an extremely risky and costly proposition. China may have concluded that, in the process, it might well be defeated or suffer great losses; that it would be much more effective and economical just to join the system and play a constructive role while slowly and steadily introducing Chinese tenets For thousands of years they have thrived without many ties with the West, why should they now accept all the Western values into their system?

Political concerns also possibly helped shape the new thinking. The Chinese, along with everyone else, saw the U.S. completely defeat the USSR in the Cold War, even though the USSR was much stronger scientifically and politically than China is now. The USSR had been at the center of a vast web of allied states; it had an appealing ideology that made inroads among many intellectuals and working people of the Western world, and it had "converted" many of them to "Soviet beliefs." China has no allies, no system of values or any ideology making inroads in the West; it is pretty isolated. So, politically, if it were to engage in a head-on confrontation with the Western world, the outcome could be even worse than that with the USSR.

As further proof, one could look at the extreme difficulties of Russia now as it tries to confront America. Despite the fact that Washington is coming out of 14 years of setbacks and poor political management in the Middle East and Central Asia, it still has quite easily managed to put Moscow on the defensive over Ukraine. Russia's invasion may not be over, but Putin has been put on the defensive. This is already a result visible to China, and may well have been enough to lead it to a new way of thinking.

The final element is the massive rebound in 2014 of the American economy, officially recording growth of about 5% at the end of 2014. The Chinese are still wondering what made America grow so much in one year. What is clear is that the development of new technologies and the ability to innovate and blaze new trails in economic growth is playing a huge role. The new technologies for extracting oil and gas through fracking, to store and save energy -- such as batteries for Tesla cars, which look as if they could revolutionize the auto industry -- have impressed a whole new dynamic into America's economic system and geopolitics. The Middle East, which, thanks to its oil reserves, was so crucial to the global economy until a couple of years ago, has largely been sidelined. In addition, the present plunge in oil prices seems to beckon a new season of cheap energy, which could spur unforetold developments in many areas.

This expansion, plus possible investments in rebuilding America's poor infrastructure, could boost growth in the future. Those potential improvements are all signs that America's decline might not be inevitable, as many pundits worldwide recently predicted, and may well have led China to underscore the necessity of treading carefully and not underestimating Washington's capabilities.
On the political side, this change of heart underscores, internally, President Xi's new clout in politics. He managed to shelve critics with different views on foreign policy. These differing views, and the difficulty in finding a unified voice, have been plaguing Chinese foreign policy for virtually two decades.

The new position of Wang Yang can, in fact, be seen as a result of internal party cleansing. According to a report by Xinhua News Agency on December 29, the Politburo of the Communist Party announced that, "within the party there will be absolutely no tolerance for factionalism and gangs; no way to use the party to pursue individual benefits or to form gangs and cliques."
Furthermore, Xi's new stance -- admitting the influence and role of the U.S. in the world -- in a way could be a late response to Obama's policies toward China in 2009. Immediately after his election, Obama seemed to offer China a sweeping opportunity for cooperation. This offer was received in a lukewarm fashion by Beijing, then plagued by deep rifts on crucial political choices. Now, of course, times and conditions are different, but Xi, in more than one way, seems to be trying to set the clock back -- and forward.

It is still too early to see how these statements will play out. The U.S. now may be less ready to welcome a Chinese opening, and the world largely seems far more confused than just six years ago. Moreover, no one is yet clear, possibly not even the Chinese, what the meaning to the existing world order of the "constructive contributions," mentioned by Wang Yang, will be.

Today Jan 4, 2015 at 11:00am PST call-in (347) 826-7353

Could this happen in America?

China+ ANC= Genocide 

 

Chinese troops are on South African soil, at this very moment, after negotiations that took place just before Christmas between China and the ANC. Now, let's connect the dots. My name is Engela Moorcroft Hughes. From 2009 to 2011, I resided within China; Beijing, Shunyi. When the 2010 riots between international and local companies took place, the first 100 people were taken out of the crowd and decapitated. Within seconds of these events, there was no cellphone service, no Internet connection, no television or radio services and planes could neither land nor leave the country. That is the kind of power and influence China has over the world. Control over weather, Chinese authorities didn’t become such meteorological freaks overnight. Chinese research into weather controls back to 1958. Forty years later, the government-run Weather Modification Program launches thousands of specifically designed rockets and artillery shells into the sky regularly in attempt to manipulate weather conditions. Chinese farmers, who are paid to handle anti-aircraft guns and rocket launchers. These heavy duty weapons launce pellets containing silver iodide into the clouds. Silver iodide is thought to concentrate moisture and cause rain, a process known as cloud seeding. China has invested heavily in this technology, using more than 12,000 anti-aircraft guns and rocket launchers in addition to about 30 plains…???

Sanctions;

South Africa attempted to justify their foreign and domestic policies throw-out the 1960s and 1970s as combatting communism. While in truth the ANC was heavily funded by the Kremlin, Moscow. San Francisco passed registrations June 5th 1978, the result was by the end of 1989, 26 states, 22 countries and over 90 cities had taken some form of binding economic action against companies doing business in South Africa.

White Genocide;

‘We in  the ANC have declared all white farms war-zones….White Men, Woman, and Children are targets, they are part of the military and paramilitary units and the local police force’. Source: BBC Monitoring. July 10 1987 and October 28 1986.

 

WHAT IS THE INVOLVEMENT BETWEEN SOUTH AFRICA, CHINA AND WHITE GENOCIDE?

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/sisterthundershow/2015/01/04/china-anc-genocide

 

One Nation, One people, One Banner under God

 

On Jan 1, 2015 at 5:00 pm PST , call-in (347) 826-7353 I need every America” we the people” to stand up and be counted... we need to  United  under One Nation, one people, one banner under God :  that`s includes MILITIA, tea party, oath keeper, bikers,, military, pastors, patriots and all-American.. I want my country back time to STAND-UP NOW OR submit later….

 

We have hundreds of various religious political groups supposedly fighting against the agendas of a government gone wild. Yet we are all content to work alone. Why?

 

We have thousands of citizen’s action groups that oppose the government agenda. Yet we work as individual groups. Why?

 

We have various patriot and militia groups all across the land. We aren’t working with any real solidarity though. Nothing we have done in the last 4 decades has even slowed their agenda. Why?

 

We have SO many small 3rd rates political parties opposing the republican and democrat paradigm… and every one of them are underfunded and every single one is under manned. If ALL of America is really sick of their government, I have to ask WHY we keep voting democrat and republican. And yet not even these political parties will work together to defeat the powers that be, by combining their people in order to consolidate their power. Again I just have to ask WHY?

 

It isn’t just the fault of the people of the United States (including myself) who have joined these various groups and parties. We can rightfully say that the leadership of these various organizations and parties are at least just as guilty. Why? Because we as leaders have not consolidated our power to unite the American people. But again we are left with the question of WHY?

 

What kind of people do we have in leadership of these various groups and organizations and parties? Basically there are 3 types of leader occupying positions of power.

 

1) We have the rare leader who doesn’t care about ego, and doesn’t care about money. They cannot be bought and their position is to create opposition to the government agenda by forming alliances. These are the smart, intelligent, thoughtful and reasonable leaders.

 

2) We have the egotistical leader. This leader doesn’t encourage his people to band together, uniting to increase their power. He wants all the press. He wants to sit there and take your money into his organization, while the country is destroyed right in front of their eyes. These are the morons, doing more to separate us than to unite us. They can’t see the big picture because of the mountain of ego standing in the way.

 

3) We have the controlled opposition. These leaders are covertly working for the powers that be. They are funded to catch those who would fight against the government agendas, and gather them into an organization that will not work with others to mount an effective offensive strategy. They literally answer to their government handlers. These are the traitors to their own people. Even their own families.

   http://www.blogtalkradio.com/sisterthundershow/2015/01/02/one-nation-one-people-one-banner-under-god

 

 

 

What kind of group or party do you work with? What kind of leader leads you? America I think it is time to find out what kind of catch all org you have fallen into.

 

It is time to make a call to the leaders. It is time to make a call out to the members.

 

First of all… allow me to address the leaders of every group and organization and political party other than the democrats and republicans, who by the way do not deserve capitalization.

 

It is time for a new paradigm. Not one single thing WE have done has stopped the government from pursuing their agendas of destroying us as a people, and destroying this nation. Every single one of our efforts has been in vain. We may point to a few small wins all you like, but the reality is we haven’t even slowed the agenda being carried out against us, and we are SORELY and very quickly losing this war now. It’s almost to the point of being too late to act together.

 

Let me make this clear. There are NOT enough people in any one organization or even any 10, or even 100, to combat the forces against us. If WE are real leaders of ANY caliber, then we MUST take responsibility to LEAD our people to unite with EVERY organization and party whose goal is to stop the powers that be. Leaders lead... The question is where have we led our people? We certainly have not led our people to UNITE as a single voice with other groups and orgs. We have not secured the cooperation of every group around us who are working against the government agenda. We have also failed to counter their massive propaganda campaign, when the countering is so easily done.

 

This is where we have gone wrong and THIS is the paradigm that MUST change is we are truly serious about leading our people to truly rescue this nation. “Taking Action” must be defined as being more than simply writing, speaking, meeting and voting.

 

I challenge us ALL to prove the type of leader we are. I challenge EVERY SINGLE ONE of us to unite our groups and orgs into ONE people. Unite our groups, unite our organizations and unite our ostracized and underfunded political parties into a single organism, seething with the outrage at the things perpetrated against us. Let us provide a TRUE and CREDIBLE threat to the power structure. Let us all prove there is no ego involved and that we certainly are not bought and paid for covertly operating from the inside to insure failure. Let us prove we aren’t egotistical morons, refusing to encourage our membership to work with EVERY group working against the Government agenda. Let us prove we truly love this nation and our motives are single and sincere… namely that we just want our nation back. If we aren’t leading our people to unity, we are leading them to nothing but division, and therefore ruin. God bless every one of you that lead your people to unify and work together with every group that wants this thing to happen.

 

Now a word to “we the members” of all these groups and organizations. We join our various groups and organizations simply because we TRULY want to make a difference. We WANT to win this nation back and restore our constitutional rights. We WANT to correct a runaway government that legislates our wealth away… and legislates to perpetrate criminal activity around the world. We want to STOP the legislation responsible for sending our children into unjust chaos that WE have caused in the Middle East. We want to repeal the patriot acts and we want to stop the surveillance and the drone attacks and the unlawful detention that our constitution protects us from.

 

In my 56 years I have joined so many groups and organizations whose goals were to stop all the bull feces being forced down our throats. I have raised my voice, sent the letters and the emails. Marched and spoke out in written word. It’s all been for nothing. Now we simply are not taken seriously at all because they pretty much KNOW they have it all sewn up… and they nearly do. They also know for a fact that most Americans are intimidated by them into silence and inaction.

 

I simply do not see where we have the time to indulge in this pointless game any further. America is nearly dead and destroyed beyond fixing. If we refuse to change our methods NOW, we are condemning ourselves and our loved ones to the madness and murder of a post-apocalyptic America, and most of us will be among the depopulated. We will be responsible for the death and the squalor of slavery left to our children, IF our children even make it through all that we see coming down on us. You know reality shows us clearly that the odds of our children making it through the culling are nearly nil, if this is not stopped immediately… NOW, before the odds are stacked even worse against us. They grow worse with each passing day. And each passing day we talk about it a little more, maybe post a link or send a letter or start a petition or sign 10, and then turn the channel again.

 

Ultimately, it is up to each and every single individual to take responsibility. It is now up to every member to speak to your leadership. It’s not time to talk any more. It’s time to do something or just let it happen. We frankly have run out of time. We MUST, as a mass of people let our leaders know what we want. We HAVE to INSIST they do what they have been collecting money to do in many cases, and UNITE their people into a fight that actually stands a chance of winning. You may be surprised how many organizational and party leaders will steer you the other way. You may have to insist quite loudly or even simply move on to some other group who IS uniting people and working together to form a very LOUD and SINGLE voice.

 

Fellow members of so many groups and organizations, it IS up to you to hold your groups and parties responsible to UNITE to create a REAL power base for ALL Americans. This cannot be done if everyone decides to donate another 10 bucks, write another email, post more links, and talk about it more in our groups… this HAS to stop or we let it happen out of slothfulness, and fear.

 

The very sad truth is, if every single one of us do not stop acting ineffectually, if we do not force ourselves to unite and ACT together in real ways that actually threaten the power structure, we have already lost. We must ALL stand tall, and take responsibility to unite ourselves. This HAS to be the number one goal. We MUST put the heat to our organizational leaders and party leaders or simple move quickly away from the no nothings, joining with those of us who ARE calling for everyone to unite. This is the ONE thing the powers around us fear. A truly united people demanding that they step down peacefully or face charges of treason as well as various and sundry war crimes. The election process is a farce. The system is a fraud and everyone reading this knows this is the truth. There is only one way to take this nation back peacefully… only one at this point. They are guilty of dividing our people. We are NOT many peoples; we are ONE made from many. We are AMERIICANS and USED to be respected for it. It’s time to EARN this respect back.

 

Let’s look at the real world for a minute. It isn’t true that any kid can become president of the United States. It isn’t true that we still stand a chance at an honest election, and it isn’t true we can vote these psychopathic traitors out of office. If it WERE true, we would have done so. Let’s look even deeper. These people are NOT going to take you seriously. They are NOT going to just step down. At this point in time legal arrest is our VERY LAST peaceful recourse, IF we are seriously going to attempt to fight for our very lives and the lives of our children and grandchildren. By arresting the criminals we remain within the confines of the laws of our land. They must understand we hold the power to arrest them and hold them and charge them with treason. Some of them are already wanted for war crimes in other nations. They MUST feel the threat of very real public humiliation, convictions and severe punishments, if we hope to take this nation back in any real way. MAKE them step down and replace them with people who will serve the public good by IMMEDIATELY under threat of arrest, repealing the laws passed that infringe on our rights and liberties, and restore the power of the constitution to the people. These people are criminals. They certainly are guilty of destroying this nation. They certainly are guilty of NOT protecting the constitution they were sworn to protect. And they certainly are responsible for the death of millions across the ocean. They are very potentially traitors and murderers. Arrest them and offer them immunity if necessary for a smooth transition process, for as long as they remain on US soil, but arrest them and remove them none the less. We will ONLY have the power to do this when we are speaking with ONE powerful voice willing to walk in and arrest them ourselves in mass as citizens AND with law enforcement if necessary.

 

It is time to drop the walls and unite or die. Put up or shut up. Make our organizations and people work together or find others that will.

 

You cannot write off, nor can I understate this. America does not HAVE any more time to wait. I urge you all to join with us. Put pressure on your leaders, and leaders lead your people to unity NOW.

This IS our final cut.

 

   http://www.blogtalkradio.com/sisterthundershow/2015/01/02/one-nation-one-people-one-banner-under-god

David McClure (1748-1820) graduated from Yale in 1769. Though he taught for a time, he was ordained in 1772 and was a missionary to the Delaware Indians for sixteen months shortly after his ordination. McClure was the pastor to a Congregational church at North Hampton (1776-1785) and later a church in East Windsor, CT (1786-1820). He also served as a trustee of Dartmouth (1777-1800). The following sermon was preached by David McClure on the first Sunday in 1799.

---

The NEW-YEAR.

A

SERMON,

Delivered at East-Windsor, first
Society, on the first Lord’s
Day, after the
commencement of
the year
1799

By DAVID M’CLURE, A. M.
Minister of the Church in said Society


*** The following plain discourse, on an important practical subject, is published at the request of a number of hearers.


Preparation for death and eternity.
Ecclesiastes ix. 10.
Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might: for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in the grave whither thou goest.
NOTHING is more certain than that man is born to die; yet there is no one important truth, less practically believed!
Altho’ we daily see our fellow men falling around us, victims to death, and mouldering [disintegrating] to dust, it is strange that we who are living are so secure, and unalarmed, and that we do not consider ourselves equally exposed to the arrest of death, as others. “All men think all men mortal but themselves.” Constant experience verifies the solemn truth, THAT MAN’S LIFE IS LIMITED, AND HIS ABODE ON EARTH OF SHORT DURATION. Our life is indeed short compared with the eternal existence on which we must speedily enter. The few days of life, with many, are full of trouble; and all experience more or less sorrow and vexation.
There are a happy few who make the brevity of life, and a preparation for death, the interesting subjects of their daily devout meditation; and earnestly seek for grace, that they may be prepared for a speedy summons from life, and appear with acceptance before God, thro’ the mediation of the great Redeemer. One of the ancient, servants of God, reflecting on the uncertainty and sorrows of life, earnestly prays, “teach us O Lord, so to number our days, that we may apply our hearts to wisdom.” In the right estimation of our days, consists that wisdom by which men are made wise for eternity.
Multiplied and various are the calls which God gives to mankind, by his word and providences, to improve life, in preparation for death and eternal scenes. Among these, let me invite you to the solemn thoughts suggested in the exhortation given by the wisest of the sons of men. “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might.”
This life is a scene of labor. We have much to do. And whatever our duty dictates to be done, either of piety and devotion towards God, of goodness to men, or for our own comfort and usefulness in the world, or our eternal benefit beyond the grave; these great duties we are to do with zeal, labor and perseverance. The reason given for the faithful and diligent improvement of life, as a state of labor and probation for eternity, is, that no labor of ours, will avail to secure salvation beyond the grave. There is no DEVICE, nor KNOWLEDGE, nor WISDOM, after this present state of probation is ended, to secure eternal happiness. This life is our only state of trial for immortality. At death, all means of grace will cease, and men will be fixed in a state of happiness or misery, according to their works.
Knowing therefore what our duty is, in the various business of life, and in the momentous concerns of salvation, we are to engage therein willingly, pursue zealously, and finish faithfully, the work assigned us.
Directed by the solemn exhortation contained in the words that have been read, let us,
1. Inquire what we are to do in this life, so as best to answer the end of our creation.
2. Consider particularly the great motive suggested in the text, to hasten our preparation for death and eternity, which is, that this life is our only state of probation for that life which will never end.
1. We are to persevere in the ways of WELL-DOING. All evil doing, either the omission of duty or the commission of sin, is most strictly forbidden.—Whatever our hand findeth to do, in ways of obedience to the divine authority, we are to do with our best ability, and that perseveringly, and to allow no temptation to draw us into sin. The Most High assured Cain, that if he had DONE WELL, he would have been accepted; and if he did not well, but ill, sin lay at the door. The exhortation to do with our might, what we do, is to be understood of well-doing only. The divine law condemns all those evil doings of men which are dishonorable to God, or injurious to men. It condemns all profanation of the name of God, his holy word and ordinances. It condemns the works of unrighteousness, dishonesty, fraud and violence towards any; the indulgence of the vices of intemperance, sensuality, covetousness and every work that is opposed to the purity of the gospel. Multitudes of our fellow men do the works of sin and disobedience to God, with all their might, and turn not from the wickedness which they have imagined to do. They pervert the end of their creation, and prepare for themselves an aggravated condemnation. The important duties which we are to do in a preparation for death and eternity, do not forbid or interfere with those social and relative duties and labors which we owe to mankind and ourselves. These are important ranches of well-doing. The business of both worlds, the present and the future, may be conducted without interference. The person who is wise for eternity, will be careful to perform the duties of the present life. “Diligent in business, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.” He will do everything in its proper time and place, so far as he has ability and advantages.
The confident Christian will be anxious to fulfill the duties, which he owes to others, as well as to himself. He will be sober, diligent and faithful in his calling; just and merciful to all men. As becometh a good soldier of Jesus Christ, he will be vigilant and fixed in his post. Not unstable or wavering; but established in his principles, and persevering in duty. The duties which he owes to parents, to children, to the poor and afflicted, to government, to society, to religion and sacred ordinances, he will faithfully and cheerfully perform.
Men are to do with their might their whole threefold duty to God, to man, kind and themselves. The duties which men owe immediately to God, essentially consist, in a cordial and perpetual obedience to his will, and dedication of themselves to him, whose absolute property they are. This is the first and great commandment: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with all thy heart, and with all thy might, and with all thy mind.”
2. We are to live under an habitual, and impressive sense of dependence on GOD, and accountableness to him. So to do, in the sense of scripture and agreeably to its familiar language, is, “to walk with GOD.” He who habituates himself to meditate on God as a present witness, and righteous Judge, and his only portion and happiness, will feel a most powerful motive to well-doing, and an effectual restraint from all voluntary evil, in thought, temper and behavior.
3. Men are penitently to confess to GOD their offences, and implore his merciful forgiveness. By nature we are enemies to GOD and to holiness, and prone to sin. Influenced and governed by a depraved principle, they fall under the guilt and condemnation of GOD’s holy law; and laboring under a moral inability, to adopt of themselves a pure principle, they are wholly dependent on grace. And that grace which changes the heart, and turns the soul to GOD, he is ever ready to give to him, who is deeply convinced of sin, of righteousness and of the judgment to come.
Renouncing dependence on ourselves, we are with all the heart, to trust in JESUS CHRIST, “the Lord our Righteousness, who hath loved us, and given himself for us.” By sincere repentance, a cordial faith in Jesus Christ and persevering obedience to his gospel men are to secure a good hope of eternal life. “Whoso confesseth and forsaketh his sins shall find mercy.” Divine assistances are given to men to convince them of the justice of the law, and the grace of the gospel; to prepare their hearts to seek after God, and lead them to the Saviour.
In the performance of the duties which men owe to one-another, they are to have respect to the divine authority. It is this principle which will make the charities and good deeds of the righteous, accepted at the day of judgment. This is implied in the favorable sentence of our final Judge, “inasmuch as you have done it unto one of the least of these, my brethren, ye have done it unto me. From a principle of love and loyalty to JESUS CHRIST, the accepted Christian will do good to men. He will be just and merciful, knowing, that “if he forgives not men their trespasses, neither will his father in Heaven forgive his trespasses.”
The duties which men owe to themselves, they are to do with sincerity and purity. To cultivate the Christian (graces) and virtues, the habits of sobriety, temperance and the government of the appetites and passions; mortified to the (vanities) of the world and every lust.—Man’s threefold duty, is comprised by the apostle, in his direction to Christians, to live soberly, righteously and godly, By sobriety, we are taught the duties of temperance and self-government; by righteousness, the duties we owe to men; and by GODLINESS, those duties which are due immediately to God. This is the whole duty of man: and these duties we are to do, with all our might, in the best and most perfect manner, and which we are capable, as rational, immortal and accountable beings.
We come,
2. To the consideration of the powerful motive, so to do, even that this is our only state of trial, for death and the judgment.
“There is no device, nor knowledge nor wisdom in the grave.” This life is man’s harvest-season for eternity. His labor to obtain salvation, will cease at death. This, our Lord hath taught us by precept and example; saying, (“He) must work the works of him that sent me while it is day: the night cometh when no man can work.” We have a great work to do, and a short time to do it. “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of CHRIST, to give account of all things done in the body,” and to receive an eternal sentence. This life is the commencement of an existence which will never end. Our [ineligible] began a few years past, and will never cease; tho’ the body dies, the soul lives, and God has made it immortal.—Most powerful are the motives, which urge and impel us to improve life, in a preparation for that never ending existence; for
1. Death is near. It is nearer than we are aware. Persons in the possession of health know not why they are more exposed to die at the present moment that the past, and flatter themselves with the sure prospect of living many years. But death arrests men suddenly and unexpected. “It is appointed to man once to die;” and the time when, is wisely and kindly concealed from us, that the uncertainty may excite us to be always ready. The body composed of perishable materials, is continually liable to unknown accidents and death. When we look forward to future life, we view the time long; but in the retrospect, our life appears to have passed hastily away. We are deceived in our expectation of the length of time allotted us, to do the business of life, and prepare for eternal scenes. The sacred scriptures warn us of this deception, and in lively figures shew us, how short and vain our life is. It is compared to things of swiftest motion, and shortest duration. To the arrow that cuts the yielding air; to the swollen stream that rushes down the precipice, bearing all before it; to the ship that swiftly passes over the ocean; to the shuttle that flies through the loom; to the eagle that darts upon his prey; to the green and short-lived grass; to the flower which flourishes a moment and dies.
We are speedily brought to the utmost verge of life, and to the boundless shores of eternity. When our departing spirit shall stand upon the narrow isthmus, which separates time from eternity, and look forward to the endless prospect , how short and trifling will the time that has passed appear! And of how small account the cares and amusements of this fleeting world! No part of life will then appear of value, but that which has been spent in wisdom’s ways.
2. We are faithfully to improve life, to do the works assigned us, because after death, a judgment will be passed upon us. What makes life of value to us, is its connection with our future existence; for then a sentence will be pronounced upon us, either of acceptance to endless joy, or banishment to endless sorrow. After death it will be well with the righteous; but it will not be well with the wicked. Then to each candidate for eternity it will be said, either, “well done good and faithful servant;” or, alarming thought, “depart ye workers of iniquity!” At the resurrection, this sentence will be confirmed with circumstances of inconceivable happiness to pious men, and of misery to the wicked; when “they that have slept in the dust of the earth shall arise, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.”
3. We are faithfully to improve life, because the promises of grace to obtain salvation, are limited to the present state. By all the descriptions given in the sacred scriptures of a future state, this solemn truth is established, that the time of the sinner’s preparation for eternity, and obtaining the great salvation, is confined to this life and world. It cannot be fairly deduced from the general tenor of revelation, that gospel sinners, living and dying in an unholy state, will have another time of trial; or that the punishment of Hell will be disciplinary.—The opposite of this, is repeatedly asserted. It is this consideration that makes time, of such vast moment to men.—This, sirs, should excite our just fears, lest we be found in the unhappy number of misimprovers of that grace, and those means of salvation, which our merciful God now gives to men. How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation.”
Thus have we taken into consideration, the salutary and solemn exhortation, TO DO with all our MIGHT the various work and labor, which God has assigned us in this life. That we are to be diligent in well-doing, in the conscientious and faithful performance of our whole three-fold duty, to God, to mankind and to ourselves: That we live under an habitual and impressive sense of dependence and accountableness to God: that we penitently confess to God our sins, and implore his merciful forgiveness, thro’ Jesus Christ his son, our Almighty Redeemer: that we believe in Jesus Christ, and live in new obedience to his gospel: that we are to do these works, and obtain this grace, because a judgment for eternity will be passed upon us, when we leave the world.
Some improvement will conclude.
1. We infer the duty and necessity of laboring to obtain an interest in the kingdom of Heaven, and to be accepted in JESUS CHRIST, that it may be well with us at death, and after death. Let me endeavor to bring this solemn subject home to your thoughts.
The different conditions of men in the future world, will be occasioned by sin and holiness. Heaven is a holy place to which without holiness, none will be admitted. Hell is a world of sin, to which the enemies of God will be doomed.
Constant experience, and the word of the eternal JEHOVAH, unite to assure you of the approach of death; and you must be rationally convinced of the importance of a preparation. For in the grave, the precious advantages now enjoyed, will be no more repeated. If, sirs, any of you will not be persuaded to attend to the calls of the word and spirit of GOD, in this state of your trial for eternity, can you expect to find in the world of misery, a more favorable season, or more suitable means? Must you not rationally conclude, that if it is the purpose of GOD, that sinners should come to the knowledge of the truth, and be saved, that he would afford them the most suitable and persuasive means and advantages to obtain in this life? Why should other or better means be denied to men here, if other or better means are possible? Defer not then to a future period, or to a future state, the great work of salvation, “for NOW is the accepted time, and NOW is the day of salvation.”
Every moment brings you nearer to the eternal world. Are you prepared for your final summons? Instances of mortality around you are often repeated. The young, the gay and thoughtless as well as the aged, are called away. Neither the vigor, nor the strength of youth, can ward off the shaft of death. Let every moment be improved in wisdom’s way’s, and in hastening a preparation for that world, to which the immortal spirit will be introduced, on its leaving the body. Thousands have lost Heaven by delay. In youth they have deferred the work of preparation to some more convenient season, which alas, they have never found. Now sirs, is the best, best because it may be the ONLY time. Many think little of a preparation, until sickness arrests them. But wise and happy is the youth, who in the days of health, and bloom of life, remembers GOD his Creator, and his merciful Redeemer. Early piety lays a good foundation for a useful life, for comfort in age, and support in death.—Your time, my fellow immortals, will speedily come, you know not but it will be this night. Should you die in an un-renewed state, how dismal must be your prospects, when your unwilling soul is about to take its departure into the world of spirits, to appear before GOD, your righteous and injured Judge!
Reflect a moment on your present state and danger. Let the text remind you that you are now on your way to death and the grave. “The grave whither thou goest.” It is not a peradventure, whether you will go there at all, or will go at some future period; but you are now on your way to that dark and narrow house, appointed for the living. That you may arrive there, and find it a peaceful rest, let me invite you to JESUS CHRIST, who hath said, “He that believeth on me tho’ he were dead, yet shall he live: and he that liveth and believeth on me, shall never die.”
A weighty motive, urging us to a diligent improvement of our time to prepare for death and eternal scenes, is, “that another year of our short and fleeting life is passed and gone.” And thro’ the good hand of God upon us, we are now entering on the threshold of a NEW YEAR. But who can assure himself that he shall see the end of it? How many have been arrested by the arm of death the year past?
God has loudly called us to prepare to meet him, in the return of mortal sickness, with which some of our populous towns have been visited. While we sympathized with our afflicted brethren under the awful scourge, his goodness spared us, and favored us with uncommon health. In the healthiest seasons, our acquaintance and dear friends leave the world. “There is no order in death,” and every age and condition of life, have abundant admonitions of his approach. This year, no doubt, some of us will be carried to our long home. It is the wise beforehand to be prepared for the solemn moment. To the sinner it will be a day of darkness and gloominess; but to the sincere Christian it will be a good day; the termination of all his sorrows, and the commencement of a happy eternity. Since we, my brethren, both preacher and hearers, have around us, and within us, daily admonitions of our approaching dissolution, let us be stirred up to give diligence to make our calling and election sure: that supported by that grace which God, the father of mercies, gives to every humble soul, we may meet our summons without terror or surprise; and be supported in death, by the gracious promises and presence of our Almighty Redeemer.
The word of God, speaks only of a blessed or miserable eternity. Heaven or Hell, sirs, are before us, and to one or the other, our immortal spirit must go. By sin we are condemned to the world of sorrows; but thro’ the abounding grace of God, may obtain the Heavenly world. How ought we then to improve every moment of time to “escape the wrath to come, and lay hold of eternal life!”
The best preparation for Heaven, is a conformity to God in holiness”—Let us strive to be holy, that our minds may be Heavenly. And may we be prepared for our departure, should it be THIS YEAR, or this day; and “stand with our Redeemer at the latter day, upon the earth.”
In “our hope towards God, that there shall be a resurrection, both of the just, and of the unjust, let us be faithful unto death,” and then we shall with joy, hail the happy morning of the resurrection, and see the face of our judge in peace.
A M E N.