The Prophecy Fulfilled

Matthew 1:18-23

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly.

But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. "She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins."

Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: "BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL," which translated means, "GOD WITH US."

John 1:14

And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Merry Christmas!

From the cradle to the cross:

What the Child has done for those who receive His pardon…

The Prophecy Foretold

Isaiah 9:6-7

For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.

There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.

Planned Parenthood's Christmas Special

Earlier this month, ABC News reported Planned Parenthood Offers Gift Certificates.

"Planned Parenthood provides contraception, pap smears and other routine health services for women, as well as abortions. The gift certificates, ranging in values from $25 to $100, can be redeemed for all clinic services."

So let me get this straight.

• During the season when we celebrate the birth of a child, Planned Parenthood (PP) gives a certificate to prevent the birth of a child.
  
• During the season that is about family and relationships, PP gives a certificate to permanently end the relationship with the most innocent and defenseless member of your family.
  
• During the season when we celebrate life, whether through the child that will defeat death or symbols like the Christmas tree representing life (an evergreen that stays green even in the winter season), PP gives the gift of death.

PP is worthy of such scorn and mocking, that I therefore present:

"The Very Merry Planned Parenthood Christmas Special"

Planned Parenthood Christmas Carols

Away in a Clinic, no room for a bed,

My innocent baby was aborted and shed.

Joy to the World, I killed my baby.
Let All the World Rejoice!


Silent night, holy night, all is calm, all is bright.
Round yon virgin Mother and Corpse,
Holy Infant so abused and now dead,
Tossed in the trash bin, Tossed in the trash bin.

Planned Parenthood Christmas Pageant

The Christmas Pageant, starring Planned Parenthood as the Magi and starring a corpse as Jesus:

We three Abortionists from Planned Parenthood are,

Bearing gift certificates we've traveled so far.

Mary - We present to you: contraceptives, gift certificates, and death.

Oh, yeah. And a website displaying (complete with animation) all

"the ways for you to practice safe sex so that you won't conceive when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and the power of the Most High overshadows you"
- The Holy Gospel of Birth Control, chapter 1, verse 1.

O, Holy Winter Solstice

Today, Sun., Dec. 21, 2008 at 7:04 AM est(the time this post is published), marks the Winter Solstice - the beginning of winter in the Northern Hemisphere and summer in the Southern Hemisphere. See Wikipedia for more information on the Winter Solstice.

This is the "holy"day for which atheists erected a display in the state of Washington's capital building (Olympia, WA). What is entailed in a celebration of the Winter Solstice by these atheists? Their display explains:

"At this season of the winter solstice, may reason prevail. There are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell. There is only our natural world. Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds."

Evidently, the atheist celebration entails attacking those who celebrate this season as a celebration of God breaking into human history (aka the "natural world").

Although I've written previously on the flaws of the atheists' display:
We Wish You A Winter Solstice
Being Grateful For Nothing
The Fallacy of Atheism
Morality - Evidence for God

I personally have no problem if atheists wish to have a display celebrating the Winter Solstice. However, one must wonder why these atheists don't have a positive message regarding their "holy"day.

Perhaps they might accept the intellectually honest position of Bruce Ramsey of the Seattle Times editorial board, a self-described atheist, who writes (the full post is worth reading):

"I don't feel the need for any atheist displays, but if there has to be one, make it on Charles Darwin's birthday, or the anniversary of the publishing of The Origin of Species, or some date like that. Don't make it during Christmas or the Jewish or Muslim festivals. Have it off by itself."

The only fault I have with Ramsey's analysis is that the purpose of this display wasn't to celebrate Atheism or the Winter Solstice. It was to express a hatred for religion. And

Wisdom seldom finds harbor in the hearts of hateful men.

Morality - Evidence for God

I have one more thought on the atheist's intolerance display in Olympia (Washington state capital). The display states:

"At this season of the winter solstice, may reason prevail. There are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell. There is only our natural world. Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds."

Notice the claim that "Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds." (emphasis mine)

This is language that is, by design, negative.

Question. By what standard does the atheist claim that hardening hearts and enslaving minds is bad? The atheist is making a claim that a moral standard exists. But it is a standard that does not just apply to themselves. If so, they would need no display attacking another person's worldview.

No, these atheists believe this moral standard applies to everyone. It is transcendent. But transcendent rules of right and wrong, by definition, only come from a transcendent being.

Otherwise, it is simply the atheists personal moral rule that he is trying to impose upon others, in this case, those who are religious.

Then my question is: Who died and made the atheist God?

The Fallacy of Atheism

More irony on the Atheist's display at the state of Washington's capital. The display states:

"At this season of the winter solstice, may reason prevail. There are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell. There is only our natural world. Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds."

The atheists long that "reason may prevail". They then make the claim that "there are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell. There is only the natural world."

Question. How do they know that "there are no gods"? Have they looked in every corner of the universe?

This is what strikes me as odd about the claim of atheism: it is a claim that a universal negative is true. But universal negatives cannot be proven. The claim is unreasonable. Thus, the atheist, by definition is rejecting the very reason he claims must prevail.

The intellectually honest position would be agnostism; that gods (or the supernatural) may exist but that we cannot know for sure.

Therein lies the rub. These individuals aren't really interested in reason or intellectual honesty. They have a hatred for anything religious and they willingly offend those who hold differing views.

The Bill of Rights - December 15, 1791

On December 15, 1791, the united States of America ratified the Bill of Rights, which is the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution.

The First Amendment guarantees freedom of religion, speech, and the press, and the rights of peaceful assembly and petition.

Other amendments guarantee the rights of the people to form a well-regulated militia, to keep and bear arms, the rights to private property, to fair treatment for accused criminals, to protection from unreasonable search and seizure, to freedom from self-incrimination, to a speedy and impartial jury trial, and to representation by counsel.

The Tenth Amendment guarantees the right of the states not to have their power and authority usurped by the federal government except in limited areas as defined by the U.S. Constitution.

The Bill of Rights did not come out of the blue but takes its inspiration and builds on various declaration of rights that came before:

• Magna Carta
• John Locke's thesis - Two Treatises of Government: excerpts here
• Virginia Declaration of Rights
• Declaration of Independence
  

Read more at the Library of Congress Bill of Rights page

Being Grateful for Nothing

There are lots of comments to be made about the displayed some angry Atheists have placed in the capital building in Olympia, Washington. Story here. The display reads:

"At this season of the winter solstice, may reason prevail. There are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell. There is only our natural world. Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds."

My first thought is that the Preamble to the Washington State Constitution states:

We, the people of the State of Washington, grateful to the Supreme Ruler of the Universe for our liberties, do ordain this constitution.

Which means:

• in the very building
• where legislation is conducted
• by people who have sworn an oath to uphold a state constitution (including the preamble)
• is a sign that is contradicted by said state constitution
  

If these atheists are truly serious about their "Freedom from Religion" belief why don't they try to pass a Constitutional amendment eliminating the Supreme bieing phrase from the Preamble.

Of course, this may raise the question as to what the people of the State of Washington are so grateful that we need a constitution (i.e. a framework for government). I offer the following suggestions:

We, the people of the State of Washington, grateful to nothing for our liberties, do ordain this constitution.

Or how does this sound:

We, the people of the State of Washington, grateful to myth and superstition for our liberties, do ordain this constitution.

Funny, being "grateful to myth and superstition for our liberties" is the very claim with which they charge Christians.

We Wish You A Winter Solstice

Here in the state of Washington, angry Atheists have decided enough is enough with a Nativity scene in our state capital and have taken matters into their own hands. Story here. The display reads:

"At this season of the winter solstice, may reason prevail. There are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell. There is only our natural world. Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds."

A colleague has given permission to post her letter to Governor Christine Gregoire:


Governor Gregoire,

I am very disturbed by your willingness to allow the hateful message of a few to be displayed in our state capitol. Yes, I am one of those people who believe that Christmas is about our Lord and Savior, however, this is about more than if Religion is true or not.

This is about Hate. "Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds." This statement declares that anyone who believes in Christ, or for that matter any religion, HAVE hardened hearts and do not have a mind of their own. It is my belief that discrimination against any specified group of people is wrong and should never be promoted.

While it is true that people have freedom of speech, responsibility comes with that freedom. I have never seen a Christmas message expressed in hate, “put downs” or negativity towards people who do not believe. Christmas should be a time of love and joy, this statement is only negative and discriminatory.

Our government officials also have a responsibility, a responsibility to promote respect of each other and an environment of acceptance. These people have the right to express their opinions, that does not give them the right to have it displayed in our state capitol.

Respectfully,
Sandra Crispien