BTT Back! (Marriage Amendment)

Dear Readers,

It has been about 16 months since I last wrote on this blog! I know, I know! It's been too long to keep my audience engaged. This time around, I am changing my approach. Last time, I was thinking about pleasing my readers with my posts. Not that there's anything wrong with keeping y'all happy, but it got to be too canned and too much work. This time I am going to focus more on the things that are burning in my soul and not so much on teaching lessons!

Since I last wrote, the presidential race has developed and heated up. (That may be the understatement of the year!) The economy has taken a severe downward plunge. My personal financial situation has tracked with the rest of the economy and I am days away from turning 50!

On the plus side, I have a new grandson. Peyton Cole Flood was born on February 27, 2008! He is HUGE, has red hair, blue eyes and has the happiest disposition that our family has seen in at least three generations.

All in all I'd say it's been a great year.

While I'm at it, I want to make a comment about what is happening in our country today. For anyone that has read my old posts, I am sure that it is evident that I am not very happy about the direction that things are going. It seems that the further in time that we move away from the age of the founding fathers, the more we move toward a society that loves all things anti-biblical.

First, since it is heavy on the minds of many, I want to comment on the "Marriage Amendment" that will be voted on in Arizona, California and Florida. The fact that such an amendment is even necessary speaks volumes about where things are headed. I am amazed that we are trying to protect an institution that absolutely no one would have dreamed needed protecting only 20 years ago. I remember when Billy Crystal played a homosexual character on Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman and many people were horrified. Now, you can scarcely find a movie or a TV series that doesn't at least tip its hat to the sodomite lifestyle. My wife loves the TV show "House". This week the show ended with a preview of the next episode, featuring a lesbian couple engaged in some sort of physical encounter. The show comes on at 8 PM here, the time slot that used to be called "family time".

I am convinced that this garbage on TV is just a barometer indicating what direction our whole society is heading. This week, the Connecticut Supreme Court legalized "gay marriage". I have no doubt that the rest of the states are only a few years behind. The most alarming thing is that the so-called Christian right is ridiculously ill-equipped to argue with the secular-progressive world about why "gay marriage" is wrong and foolish and threatens to take our society over the cliff.

Do I sound like an alarmist? Heck, yes! I am alarmed. The so-called moderate Republicans would like us to believe that their conservatism on economic issues can and should be entirely dissociated from social issues. I submit that the entire basis for our economic prosperity can be directly linked to our society's mores.

Let's take this economic meltdown as an example. The government's attempt to make risky loans to unqualified applicants has resulted in an economic poison that threatens the fiscal health of the entire world. This ill-conceived idea is based upon a faulty presupposition: Since man is basically GOOD, if you give him opportunity, he will pull himself up by his own bootstraps and by doing so will benefit the rest of society. As I have stated in previous blogs, the Bible clearly says that "there is NONE who does good. . . not even one". The founding fathers recognized this when drafting the Constitution and came up with the idea of the three branches of government, even citing Jeremiah 17:9 in their personal writings. The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, who can know it? They realized that a centralized government like that in a monarchy was an invitation for evil behavior.

Some people would disagree with my premise here, saying that the greed of politicians for power, enticed them to pander to their constituents, providing them with mortgages in exchange for votes, or in the case of Fanny Mae and Freddy Mac, campaign contributions. They would be right, but on a more basic level, this makes my point again. Man is NOT good. In spite of the economically motivated statements made by TV commentators about the "good people in America", we are corrupt and but for the restraining hand of God, we would eat our own children.

(Outrageous! Really? Obama voted four times against a bill that would require abortionists to provide comfort and care to children that survived the attempt on their lives by their mother and her physician. We are only a half step behind the folks in the Old Testament that offered their children as a sacrifice or ate them in times of famine. According the the latest polls, more than half of the electorate is going to vote for him!)

When we call man "good" we speak directly against God's word.

Next time I'd like to address the actual arguments for the preservation of traditional marriage.

Yours in Christ,

D. L. Culiver