Satan's Counter-Attack Against International Evangelism
1. The
What
is "evangelism", anyway? Ultimately, it is a word used
by Christians to describe the operation of fulfilling the
Great Commission given to the Church and all Christians
to fulfill before the end of the age. Evangelism has become
an integral part of fulfilling the Great Commission Jesus
gave to the Church and all Christians. When looked at from
a modern "military" point of view, we've basically been
given a command to wage an "information war" that would
by its very nature lead people to Jesus and salvation through
him. Satan and the demons are the enemy who directly oppose
Christians who are actively engaged in this evangelistic
info-war. The more successful Christians are at evangelism,
the harder Satan fights, and the more fierce his warfare
gets. Satan's primary method of blunting or countering
the proclamation of the gospel is found in Revelation 12:9-deception.
A prime example of his deception is the theory of evolution,
which denies creation. But what happens when evangelism
really starts to succeed anywhere, as it has been doing
in the third world countries due to the JESUS Film showings,
Samaritan's Purse, and Gospel for
Just what kind of success, effects are these modern international evangelistic organizations having on the "enemy". For a more detailed description of what each one is currently doing, log onto http://www.UNITYINCHRIST.COM/evangelism/whyjesus.htm, http://www.UNITYINCHRIST.COM/evangelism/excerpts_isawjesus.htm, http://www.UNITYINCHRIST.COM/evangelism/samaritan_purse.htmand http://www.UNITYINCHRIST.COM/evangelism/worldmission.htm
International
evangelism is going crazy, billions have seen the JESUS
film, multiple hundreds of thousands have responded favorably,
calling Jesus into their lives. Samaritan's Purse and
Gospel for
[How bad is it? This is from the mouth of a credible witness, a senior a this voc-tech high school. She had this to say when I asked her how many were actually practicing gay-lesbian at the school she attends, "It is around 25 percent of the students that are gay-lesbian (mostly lesbian). I see them all necking in the hallways between classes." She has been a student here for four years, so she knows most of the students and can judge percentages pretty well. So we have a school that represents 18 communities, with 25 percent of the student population exhibiting gay-lesbian habits in the hallways between classes. Also I misjudged the voting age, forgetting that the voting age was lowered to 18 during the Vietnam War. This means the 40%pro-gay-lesbian/60%anti-gay-lesbian percentages in the United States voting population will reverse rather rapidly, and much sooner than most think if these trends continue. With a 60% pro-gay-lesbian population in place, unfair hate-crime legislation will effectively be introduced, which will then muzzle the Word of God and drive true Christian congregations underground. Preachers and lay-people alike could face stiff fines and jail sentences for merely preaching out of the Word of God. Don't think it could happen here in the United States? It's already happening in Australia.]
This acceptance attitude is wide-spread and all-encompassing.
For whatever reason, true Christians are going to be "hated
for His name's sake" around the world, and for various reasons.
In the
So how can we beat the tactics that Satan is employing to
cut off money going into these very successful international
evangelistic organizations, and do so before our American
Christian churches are ultimately driven underground, no
longer able to send funding anywhere? That is the central
question facing us-it goes far beyond what's happening on
the gay-lesbian battle-field. That battle is being leveled
at us due to the success of evangelism in the third world
countries, make no mistake about it. The only way to beat Satan's tactic of cutting off our
supplies to international evangelism is to get those precious
funds and supplies to our front-line evangelistic troops
BEFORE THEY'RE CUT OFF.
That's the only way we can succeed at this point. In the
next part of this article, we'll be reading Dr. Dobson's
letter, which fully explains the gay-lesbian battle that's
raging between Christians and the gays and lesbians (which
very interestingly are only a very small fraction of the
Regarding the photo's that follow: The bombing raids on Ploesti were carried out by very brave and gallant bomber aircrew, and were responsible for bringing the mighty German war machine-army, navy, air force-to a grinding halt. It shortened the war by at least one year. It was a highly successful military tactic of cutting off vital supplies-fuel oil and gasoline-which all German equipment ran on. This very tactic is one Satan is attempting to now utilize on International Evangelism.
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2. The
With that in mind I present a letter written to me by Dr. James Dobson. As you read this letter, I hope you read between the lines, as I have, to see Satan's real reason behind this gay-agenda push. And have no doubt in your mind, the gays and lesbians hate anything and everything to do with true born-again Christians and Christianity. They will do ALL in their power to ultimately make it illegal to proclaim the gospel or preach openly out of the Word of God. True Christian churches will have to go underground to continue to do so.
"Dear Mr. Benson,
I realize that you may already have received a letter from me on this issue. But it is so important, I wanted to be sure you were aware of it.
It is with great concern that I share with you my conviction that the institution of marriage is in grave danger-more than at any other time in history. The battle could be won or lost in the next few months.
The homosexual activist movement is poised to administer a devastating and potentially fatal blow to the traditional family. And sadly, very few Christians in positions of responsibility are willing to use their influence to save it. I believe that duty has now fallen to people like you and me.
Researchers have been warning about this looming cultural storm for the past decade. Evidence is rapidly accumulating that they were right. A handful of power-obsessed judges is determined to force the homosexual agenda down the throats of the people and thereby change forever the legal definition of marriage. [and once homosexual marriage is legal, preaching out of Romans or Leviticus or anywhere in the Bible that condemns homosexuality will become illegal by the very laws of the land--read between the lines on this issue!]
I cannot overstate the dire ramifications of what is happening
in the
So it was with a growing apprehension about this situation that I resigned my academic position in 1977 and started a fledgling organization called Focus on the Family. In the 26 years since then, we have been working tirelessly to preserve traditional marriage and parenthood.
Over the past several months, we've been in a downward spiral. Now, the very institution of marriage is on the ropes. Imagine a future where marriage means only a temporary relationship between any number of people of any gender. We could see polygamy, group marriage, even things I wouldn't want to mention. Our sex-crazed society could fall right into the abyss. Western civilization itself appears to hang in the balance.
How Did We Get Into This Mess?
The first blow came on June 10, 2003, when three imperious judges on the Canadian Supreme Court declared the exclusivity of marriage between one man and one woman to be unconstitutional. Homosexuals everywhere cheered the decision-and for good reason.
Within two weeks, on June 26, 2003, the U.S. Supreme Court
struck down the
On November 18, the Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled that gay couples have the right to wed. By a 4-3 decision, the Court gave the state legislature six months to rewrite the state's marriage laws to include homosexual couples. Observers believe the ruling will drive same-sex marriage to the center of the upcoming election. Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney has vowed to fight the ruling through an amendment to the state constitution.
These and other disturbing judicial decisions are accompanied by a virtual avalanche of gay and lesbian advances. Consider:
On July 28, the New York Board of Education announced the
creation of a gay-oriented high school in
On August 5, the United Episcopal Church ordained its first gay bishop and on August 7, affirmed the establishment of "gay unions."
During the first week of August, the California State Legislature passed Assembly Bill 196 with the intent to "protect" transgendered people from employment and housing discrimination. Cross-dressers will have the same right to work in your business or live in your rental home as anyone else. It's amazing that sinful lifestyles are gaining this kind of protection.
In an obvious attempt to solidify his crumbling base, California Governor Gray Davis has publicly supported a bill that would give gay "partners" almost every legal benefit and privilege that married couples now enjoy. This act of legislative arrogance ignores the will of the vast majority of Californians. Just two years ago, the state's voters overwhelmingly passed by a margin of 61 to 39 percent Proposition 22, which declared marriage as a union "between a man and a woman."
It seems as if every television sitcom now includes a gay character portrayed in a positive light-whereas heterosexual men are displayed as bumbling fools. Then we have a rash of new programs that center on homosexuality, including Bravo's new makeover show, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy and Boy Meets Boy. Meanwhile, ABC is rolling out its own gay sitcom, It's All Relative. The bottom line was summarized in an article in The New York Times on July 29, which followed this headline: "Gay-Themed TV Gaining a Wider Audience." Who can deny that?
What makes these developments so shocking is that the legal acceptance of homosexual marriage was little more than a pipe dream just a few years ago. But it has become a tidal wave that is sweeping the globe.
More Trouble on the Horizon
Homosexual activists, heady with power and exhilaration, now feel the climate is right to tell us what they have wanted all along. This is the Real Deal: most gays and lesbians do not want to marry each other. That would entangle them in all sorts of legal constraints. Who needs a lifetime commitment to one person? The intention here is to destroy marriage altogether.
With marriage as we know it gone, everyone would enjoy all the legal benefits of marriage-custody rights, tax-free inheritance, joint ownership of property, health care, and spousal citizenship and more-without limits to the number of partners or their gender. Nor would "couples" be bound to each other in the eyes of the law. This is clearly where the movement is headed. If you doubt that this is the motive, read it for yourself.
Liberal columnist Michael Kinsley wrote an op-ed piece in the Washington Post entitled "Abolish Marriage: Let's Really Get the Government Out of Our Bedrooms." [Yeah, get them out of our bedrooms and into our Christian churches, Mr. Kinsley! See where this is going, Christian.] Note the date of the piece: July 3, 2003. In this revealing editorial, Kinsley writes, "(The) solution is to end the institution of marriage, or rather the solution is to end the government monopoly on marriage. And yes, if three people want to get married, or one person wants to marry herself, and someone else wants to conduct a ceremony and declare them married, let 'em. If you and your government aren't implicated, what do you care? If marriage were an entirely private affair, all the disputes over gay marriages would become irrelevant."
Polygamy, anyone? That is precisely what the more radical activists want. And as we all know, they have gotten nearly everything they have cooked up in recent years.
Admittedly, this hostility to marriage is not all that new. In 1918, the Russian revolutionary Vladimir Lenin abolished marriage and declared the family obsolete. His motive was simple: the "family" prevented women from doing work that was useful to the state. Do you see the stunning parallel to the current crisis of our times? The stability of the American family today is not only being slandered, but slaughtered! Indeed, bad things will continue to happen if good people do nothing.
We Face Unimaginable Consequences
Stanley Kurtz, a research fellow at the Hoover Institution, summed up the crisis in a recent Weekly Standard article. He noted that if gay marriage is legalized, "Marriage will be transformed into a variety of relationship contracts, linking two, three or more individuals (however weakly or temporarily) in every conceivable combination of male and female.the bottom of this slope is visible from where we now stand."
In a recent National Review Online article, Maggie Gallagher noted that "Gay marriage is not some sideline issue, it is the marriage debate..The consequences of our current retreat from marriage is not a flourishing libertarian social order, but a gigantic expansion of state power and a vast increase in social disorder and human suffering." [Did you catch that?-"a vast expansion of state power"-and where do you think that state power will be aimed? It will be aimed at regulating what detractors want to say or preach against the gay agenda.]
Her dire warning is echoed in a Boston Globe editorial by Jeff Jacoby. He noted that "the adoption of same-sex marriage would topple a longstanding system of shared values. It would change assumptions and expectations by which society has long operated-that men and women are not interchangeable, for example, and that the central reason for marriage is to provide children with mothers and fathers in a safe and loving environment."
His commentary concludes with these words: "My foreboding is that a generation after same-sex marriage is legalized, families will be even less stable than they are today, the divorce rate will be even higher, and children will be even less safe. To express such a dire warning is to be labeled an alarmist, a reactionary, a bigot, and worse..But it is not bigotry to try to learn from history, or to point out that some institutions have stood the test of time because they are the only ones that can stand the test of time."
Can you now see that the legalization of homosexual marriage is for gay activists merely a stepping-stone on the road to eliminating all societal restrictions on marriage and sexuality? Perhaps it is evident now why I began this letter by predicting that unless we act quickly, the family as it has been known for 5,000 years will become extinct. With its demise will come chaos such as the world has never seen before. Why? Let me explain.
God's Design for Marriage
First and foremost, the Holy Scriptures set forth the Creator's plan for marriage and family. To deviate from that model is to invite disaster. As early as the second chapter of Genesis, we learn that God created Eve as a "suitable companion" for Adam who would complement him physically, spiritually and emotionally. This "marriage" was the very first institution that God created. And it continues to be the primary institution of society to this day.
God's design for marriage is not simply some lofty spiritual ideal. The Bible also outlines a specific plan for human sexuality. Throughout Scripture, God's intention for human sexual relationships is clearly limited to the heterosexual union between a man and a woman in marriage (see Genesis 1:27-28 and 2:18, 23-24).
By stark contrast, sex outside of that relationship, whether it be of a heterosexual or homosexual nature, is clearly identified as sin. With particular regard to homosexuality, Paul warns: ".God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relationships for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion" (Romans 1:26b-27).
But even for those who don't take the Bible into account, heterosexual marriage has been the cornerstone of every civilization from the beginning of humanity. Only in the last few "milliseconds" of human history have we even entertained the idea that marriage is anything other than the union of a male and a female. If you spin the globe and stop it with your finger on an inhabited landmass, you can be assured that the region on which it rests has always embraced heterosexual marriage as the norm. There are no exceptions.
We Must Act Now for Our Children's Sake
If the God-ordained basis for the family does fail on a large scale, children will pay a terrible price. Social science confirms that two parents of the same sex, however loving or nurturing they may be, cannot meet the unique needs of children in the same way that a mother and father can.
The destruction of the traditional family will condemn millions of kids to temporary relationships, involving multiple "moms" or "dads," six or eight "grandparents," and perhaps a dozen or more half-siblings who will come and go as those who care for them meander from one sexual relationship to another.
These children will be shuffled from pillar to post in an ever-changing pattern by two (or more) androgynous beings. "Mother" and "father" will become meaningless words that will not define anything substantive about women and men. Any apparent differences between the sexes will be seen as merely superficial and of no practical consequence.
I have only begun to describe the meltdown that will occur if same-sex marriage is finally thrust upon society. But for the moment, there is still time to act.
A Promising Solution
How can we counter the drive to obtain legal recognition of same-sex marriage? I believe there is only one way.
In a recent article for National Review, Notre Dame law professor Gerard V. Bradley noted: "The only way to rein in this runaway Court is to change the supreme positive law: the Constitution. The Federal Marriage Amendment (FMA) would do that. It would impose upon willful judges and justices a limitation on their ability to redefine the family. The amendment would leave legislatures free to extend some benefits to non-marital households. But courts could not."
Here is the wording of the Federal Marriage Amendment, which the House and Senate will be debating shortly:
Marriage in the
The FMA represents what may truly be our last opportunity to ensure that traditional marriage is legally protected. The key strength of the FMA is that it will ensure that the constitutional status of marriage is determined by the American people and their representatives, rather than by un-elected judges. [And I might add here, that this will slow the trend, this attack of Satan, but it will not stop it. Why? When the majority becomes gay, lesbian, or sympathetic to their cause, then the "representatives and American people" will make another constitutional amendment, pushing this whole situation the other way. That is the inherent weakness of a democracy and republican form of government, one which the Founding Fathers well understood. And the gays and lesbians have achieved huge successes in the public relations arena. Click on and read the article "War Against Jewish Evangelism" for more details on that.]
This effort to save the family is our D-Day, our
I'm thankful that our President spoke out on this divisive issue during a recent press conference, saying "I believe marriage is between a man and a woman and I believe we ought to codify that one way or the other." More than 100 editorials and articles followed his statement, and all but three were negative! It's important that we remind our leaders in the strongest possible terms how important this issue is to us. We cannot accept compromise or uncertainty in the face of the current onslaught of gay activism.
Clearly, the struggle to pass the FMA is going to be long and arduous. Passage of any Constitutional amendment is a massive undertaking. The FMA will require the support of two-thirds of the House of Representatives, two-thirds of the Senate and a full three-quarters of the states in order to pass and become a part of our Constitution. That cannot be accomplished by only a few concerned citizens like you and me.
You Can Help Save Marriage
In light of this reality, I want to implore you to commit yourselves to an unprecedented degree of social activism in defense of marriage. Take the message that traditional marriage must be preserved to literally everyone in your circle of influence-your friends, neighbors, co-workers and extended family. It is vitally important that you do so.
And please also prayerfully consider joining with Focus on the Family once again as a financial partner by sending a special gift to help with this effort. The sacred institution of marriage cannot be saved unless all of us who care deeply about it help support aggressive action to preserve it. Together, we must draw a line in the sand here and now.
The battle to defend biblical marriage will likely be long and difficult. And it will be most definitely costly [Satan's design, drawing needed funding away from international evangelism-get the big picture here folks, we're in a massive spiritual World War, not some isolated attack against American Christianity! But this attack against American Christianity is designed to draw to a screeching halt the funding for international evangelism. If the gays and lesbians win these legal battles, we as Christians will ultimately, and sooner than you think, be driven underground, no longer able to preach openly from God's Word! This is more than an isolated attack against marriage as we know it, it goes deeper than that. Think folks, put on those thinking caps. Our central command from our Commander in Chief, Jesus Christ, is found in Matthew 28:18-20 and Acts 1:6-9. Satan is desperately trying to cut off the major funding for international evangelism which is accomplishing Jesus' central command for all Christians. But Jesus did prophecy we'd get the job done, in the end. Read Matthew 24:14. My guess, we have five years to get the job done in the international arena, before the gay-lesbian agenda with their PR campaigns totally outgun us and have the laws changed by the very House of Representatives and Senate that we are seeking to have writing the FMA into the Constitution. I will propose a very simple and individually inexpensive way we all as Christians can beat this deadline and really proclaim "this gospel of the kingdom" to the entire world within the next five years. I'll do that at the end of this letter. Do not under-estimate the seriousness of this onslaught of gay-lesbian agenda, or where it's really coming from. And we must, as Dr. Dobson begs us to do, contribute in this battle he's describing. But we must not cease from supporting our Christian front-line troops who are on the front-battle-lines of international evangelism. As much as I hate setting dates, but I think the whole show will be over within five to ten years, Matthew 24:14 will be fulfilled, and the Lord's coming will only be 3.5 years away. That's my estimate--not a sure thing, merely an estimate. Now let's get back to Dr. Dobson's letter.] We are doing everything we can to devote sufficient resources to this fight while at the same time preserving funding for the many other worthy endeavors being carried forth by this ministry; strengthening families, preserving traditional values and changing lives through the power of the Gospel.
But I believe so strongly in our duty here that I stepped out in faith and authorized $500,000 for the expansion of our public policy budget in order to respond to this threat to marriage, and you and I know that this is just the beginning of our struggle! We will not be able to fight this battle without the help of people like you-concerned citizens who believe deeply in the sanctity of marriage.
Your gift of $25, $35, $50 or even $100 or more will make a difference. Your contribution will help underwrite efforts in state legislatures and our nation's capital. It will help us put the word in the streets that the family is under direct attack. And most important, it will help us speak out about the dire consequences that will surely result from a wholesale dismantling of marriage as we know it.
If you can join Focus on the Family at this turning point
in our nation's history, I'd like to say thank you with
a complimentary copy of a wonderful book called
There is hope
Before closing, I want to offer a word of hope. I have said on numerous occasions that the institution of marriage was created and ordained by God. If that is true-and I wholeheartedly believe that it is-then no wrong-headed law can destroy it.
But while God's plan for marriage cannot be undone, man's attempt to create an "alternative" promises to leave a legacy of confusion, turmoil and broken lives throughout our society. Please pray with me that a meltdown of that magnitude does not happen. Yes, do be in concerted prayer for the family, for our leaders, and for our nation. If we get out of the mess we are in now, it will be due to nothing short of divine intervention and guidance.
We face a daunting challenge. However, the well-being of future generations is dependent upon the way we answer this imminent threat now. God and history will judge us on how we handle this crisis. In the National Review Online article by Maggie Gallagher, the author notes: "Marriage is not an option, it is a precondition for social survival..Winning the gay-marriage debate may be hard, but those of us who witnessed the fall of Communism, despair is inexcusable and irresponsible."
I pray that the Lord would grant us the wisdom and strength to defend marriage. For additional information, please visit our CitizenLink Website at http://www.citizenlink.org , or call us at 1-800-A-FAMILY. God bless you.
Sincerely,
James C. Dobson, Ph.D.
Founder and Chairman
P.S. Please help save traditional marriage by sending the most generous gift you can today. The need is both grave and urgent. What we do today could determine the future of marriage as we know it. I cannot overstate the importance of your support. Thank you-and God bless you.