Are You Controversial?

As you may have figured out already, I receive emails on a regular basis from Jerry Falwell....at least until he died recently. His two sons have taken over their father's responsibilities and one of those responsibilities includes sending out the newsletters like I receive. I loved the one I received today because the beginning part really got me to thinking. I was going to just post the first part but decided that I should post all of it. This way, you can get the full picture.

I want to encourage all of you to be controversial! Why not try and see if you can get people to try and stone you? Afterall, isn't the world suppose to hate us as Christians? They hated Jesus. If the world loves us, maybe it's time we take a close look at ourselves and make some changes that bring about a real Christian life.

I once heard a man telling a story about a king and one of his servants. The servant was going out, with the title of his king, and doing things that brought disgrace upon the king and his kingdom. The king summoned the servant and told him that he either needed to change his ways or change his name.

It's time we did the same. If we are going to call ourselves CHRISTian, we better start living like one. Otherwise, we need to change our name.

Jennifer


Here is the email from Jonathan Falwell:



FALWELL CONFIDENTIAL
Insider weekly newsletter to The Moral Majority Coalition and
The Liberty Alliance http://www.moralmajority.com

From: Jonathan Falwell
Date: June 8, 2007

Are You Controversial?

This week, a local television station conducted an interview with me and asked an interesting question: Am I going to be as controversial as was my father?

My answer was this: “If your definition of controversial is that we are going to continue to speak to the issues of the day, speak out against abortion, speak out in favor of traditional marriage, speak out in favor of the family, then I can assure you we will be.”

After that interview, I began to think about that question and my answer.

And it suddenly dawned on me that, in this modern culture that largely encourages secularism and hazy diversity, you really cannot be an effective Christian without being controversial.

If we embrace the Word of God and its standards for Christian conduct, we are going to unavoidably find ourselves at odds with the mainstream.

In this regard, my father wasn’t really controversial at all. He was just a Christian following the tenets of the Bible.

Also this week, I read a report from Planned Parenthood Federation of America showing that the organization had conducted 264,943 medical or surgical abortions in their facilities during 2005 (or 5,095 per week).

Those are shocking numbers. And I believe, as Christians, we must speak out against this continuing American holocaust.

In Psalm 139:13, the Psalmist writes, “… thou has covered me in my mother’s womb” (KJV). The NIV translates this passage, “… you knit me together in my mother’s womb.”

What a beautiful image of a sovereign God at work in our lives from our very inception.
How can we not then, as Christians, oppose abortion that halts the heartbeat of innocent babies who are in communion with their Maker?

Controversial?

So be it.

Let’s add to the controversy.

Jim Sedlak, vice president of American Life League, a great pro-life organization, is an expert on Planned Parenthood and has authored books and articles about Planned Parenthood. He studied the aforementioned Planned Parenthood report, which shows a total income of $902.8 million dollars, a record number for the organization.

“Once again, Planned Parenthood took in much more money than it needed,” Mr. Sedlak stated. “This marks the 34th year in a row that Planned Parenthood has reported ‘excess revenue’ – otherwise known as profit. Over the years, Planned Parenthood has reported total profits of over $700 million. It has amassed a treasure chest of assets worth $839.8 million.”
But the controversy continues.

That’s because a key Planned Parenthood revenue source is the American taxpayer, with the organization receiving taxpayer funds totaling $305.3 million, “a whopping $32.6 million (12 percent) more than last year,” as Mr. Sedlak noted. Taxpayer money now accounts for 34 percent of Planned Parenthood's income.

This is a national disgrace.

With Planned Parenthood suffering losses in donations, taxpayers — you and me — are being compelled by our government to fund this organization that is killing more than 5,000 babies a week.

“When you study the work of Planned Parenthood, you come to realize that it really considers itself an entitlement program,” says Mr. Sedlak. “It believes it is entitled to our money. Never mind the horrible work it does or the fortune it has amassed over the years at our expense. It is Planned Parenthood; therefore, it should get our money – that's how it feels.”

It may not be popular and it may be considered controversial, but I believe Christians need to rise up and oppose this outrage. Life is precious — a gift from God. I pray that we never become so comfortable and complacent in our faith that we will not speak out to protect innocent life in our nation. I believe that, as Christians, it is our inherent responsibility to do so.