http://tinyurl.com/286hxh4
Art. 22. Every person who shall be chosen a member of either house, or appointed to any office or place of trust, before taking his seat, or entering upon the execution of his office, shall take the following oath, or affirmation, if conscientiously scrupulous of taking an oath, to wit: "I, A B, will bear true allegiance to the Delaware State, submit to its constitution and laws, and do no act wittingly whereby the freedom thereof may be prejudiced." And also make and subscribe the following declaration, to wit: "I, A B, do profess faith in God the Father, and in Jesus Christ His only Son, and in the Holy Ghost, one God, blessed for evermore; and I do acknowledge the holy scriptures of the Old and New Testament to be given by divine inspiration." And all officers shall also take an oath of office.
Jerusalem Occupied by Non-Jews Until Latter Days Arrive
http://tinyurl.com/2a2aq7t
(Luke 21:24) "And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. (emphasis added)
From the early 4th century, when Christianity became legal in the Roman Empire, Jerusalem developed as a center of Christian pilgrimage. The Church of the Holy Sepulcher and many other Christian shrines were erected. Except for a brief period of Persian rule (614-28) the city remained under Roman (later, Byzantine) control until 638, when the Muslim Arabs took Jerusalem. The Arabs built (688-91) the Dome of the Rock mosque on the site of the Temple.
In the 11th century, Muslim toleration of both Jews and Christians gave way to persecution under the FATIMID caliph al-Hakim (r. 996-1021) and under the SELJUKS, who seized Jerusalem in 1071. European Christendom responded by launching the CRUSADES. The Crusaders conquered Jerusalem in 1099 and established a Crusader state. SALADIN recaptured the city for the Muslims in 1187, and the Ayyubid and Mameluke dynasties ruled until 1517, when the Ottoman Empire took control.
In 1917 the British occupied Jerusalem, and it became the capital of mandated PALESTINE from 1923 until 1948. During this period the city saw Arab rioting against the Jews. The 1948 United Nations partition plan for Palestine called for internationalization of the city. The Arabs rejected this resolution, and, from 1949, Jerusalem was divided into an Israeli and a Jordanian sector. The city remained divided until 1967, when Israel took the entire city following the Six Day War. (Groliers Academic American Encyclopedia).
Constitution of Massachusetts 1780
CHAPTER II.--EXECUTIVE POWER
Section I,--Governor
Art. II. The governor shall be chosen annually; and no person shall be eligible to this office, unless, at the time of his election, he shall have been an inhabitant of this commonwealth for seven years next preceding; and unless he shall, at the same time, be seized, in his own right, of a freehold, within the commonwealth, of the value of one thousand pounds; and unless he shall declare himself to be of the Christian religion.
Section I,--Governor
Art. II. The governor shall be chosen annually; and no person shall be eligible to this office, unless, at the time of his election, he shall have been an inhabitant of this commonwealth for seven years next preceding; and unless he shall, at the same time, be seized, in his own right, of a freehold, within the commonwealth, of the value of one thousand pounds; and unless he shall declare himself to be of the Christian religion.
Epiphany
Just this past Monday, I had an epiphany. I was thinking about my deathbed as I oftentimes find myself doing when I wondered what would I be reaching for at that time. What type of assurance would I have that I am going to heaven? At that time, it would be difficult to go back and to assess all the "good" that I did over my life since there is little good to review. I believe I would need to solely rely on the good that Jesus did. That I would only be able to trust in Him. But that wasn't all...
I went to a small group meeting just one day before that when it was presented to me that the theophanies (God-sightings) in the old testament were really Christophanies (Christ-sightings); even when Moses was in the cleft of the rock and the hind-parts of God passed by creating an almost unbearable radiance. This is Jesus! He is God, the Radiant One! He said, if you see Me you have seen the Father. What an incredible Saviour. Most of the time, I think of him dying on a cross and performing various miracles, but to find that His radiance is overwhelming is, well, overwhelming. But that wasn't all...
Reading Luther's commentary on Ephesians, it is apparent that our works are as rags. There is no Law, but only Christ or His fulfillment of that Law.
Putting all of this together, I realized, why wait until my death bed to fully trust in Jesus alone. Yesterday I evaluated whether I was a Christian based on the good that I did. That would be a good indicator. How much did I study His Word; another good indicator. How did I treat others; another good indicator, etc, etc. But that is not it. Its not about me, my feelings, the "good" that I do, it is all and only about what Jesus did 2000 years ago. That is all I can rely on. Nothing else on my deathbed and nothing else today. Nothing I feel, do, and even think matters. The only thing that matters is Christ and Him crucified. So now, I can stop wondering and live in the liberty that is mine through Christ and what He has done.
I went to a small group meeting just one day before that when it was presented to me that the theophanies (God-sightings) in the old testament were really Christophanies (Christ-sightings); even when Moses was in the cleft of the rock and the hind-parts of God passed by creating an almost unbearable radiance. This is Jesus! He is God, the Radiant One! He said, if you see Me you have seen the Father. What an incredible Saviour. Most of the time, I think of him dying on a cross and performing various miracles, but to find that His radiance is overwhelming is, well, overwhelming. But that wasn't all...
Reading Luther's commentary on Ephesians, it is apparent that our works are as rags. There is no Law, but only Christ or His fulfillment of that Law.
Putting all of this together, I realized, why wait until my death bed to fully trust in Jesus alone. Yesterday I evaluated whether I was a Christian based on the good that I did. That would be a good indicator. How much did I study His Word; another good indicator. How did I treat others; another good indicator, etc, etc. But that is not it. Its not about me, my feelings, the "good" that I do, it is all and only about what Jesus did 2000 years ago. That is all I can rely on. Nothing else on my deathbed and nothing else today. Nothing I feel, do, and even think matters. The only thing that matters is Christ and Him crucified. So now, I can stop wondering and live in the liberty that is mine through Christ and what He has done.
One Way?
Response to oped:
In the Reverend Paul Downie’s July 3 opinion article, he tells us that Barak Obama is a beautiful Christian. However the Reverend’s premise is based on Obama’s words that there are “many paths” to God. If this is correct, then all of these “paths” must be true. Does that make sense? Are all religions around the world true? Buddhism does not believe in God at all; Mormons believe we (they) will be gods of their own planets; Muslims believe that Allah is the one true God and that Muhammad is his prophet; Scientologists believe that we are all “thetans”-immortal spirits with unlimited powers we are not all aware of; and Hindus believe in perpetual reincarnation until we reach “Nirvana”. I could go on. Are these all true? They are, in fact, contradictory. And they are in direct opposition to Christianity which is quite exclusive. The Reverend cites John 14:6 which says that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. No one goes to the father except through him. The Reverend says that this exclusive statement depends upon how it is heard. Actually it depends on how it was said and who said it. There are many other exclusive statements in the Christian bible. A simple test is Jesus’ own prayer just before going to the cross. He prays that if there were any other way, to let this event pass. But, there was no other way. Jesus had to endure the cross, bear the brunt of God’s wrath for our sins, die and overcome death for our sakes. If this was not necessary, if one could believe in Muhammad, Buddah, Moronia, whomever or whatever, then God the Son would not have had to pay such a terrible and horrific price. No other religion has a solution for the consequences of our sins. Only Christianity has a Savior - who still saves even today. Reverend Downie, please read Galatians 1:8.
In the Reverend Paul Downie’s July 3 opinion article, he tells us that Barak Obama is a beautiful Christian. However the Reverend’s premise is based on Obama’s words that there are “many paths” to God. If this is correct, then all of these “paths” must be true. Does that make sense? Are all religions around the world true? Buddhism does not believe in God at all; Mormons believe we (they) will be gods of their own planets; Muslims believe that Allah is the one true God and that Muhammad is his prophet; Scientologists believe that we are all “thetans”-immortal spirits with unlimited powers we are not all aware of; and Hindus believe in perpetual reincarnation until we reach “Nirvana”. I could go on. Are these all true? They are, in fact, contradictory. And they are in direct opposition to Christianity which is quite exclusive. The Reverend cites John 14:6 which says that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. No one goes to the father except through him. The Reverend says that this exclusive statement depends upon how it is heard. Actually it depends on how it was said and who said it. There are many other exclusive statements in the Christian bible. A simple test is Jesus’ own prayer just before going to the cross. He prays that if there were any other way, to let this event pass. But, there was no other way. Jesus had to endure the cross, bear the brunt of God’s wrath for our sins, die and overcome death for our sakes. If this was not necessary, if one could believe in Muhammad, Buddah, Moronia, whomever or whatever, then God the Son would not have had to pay such a terrible and horrific price. No other religion has a solution for the consequences of our sins. Only Christianity has a Savior - who still saves even today. Reverend Downie, please read Galatians 1:8.
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