Why the U.S. is in such economic upheaval . . .

In the former country of Rhodesia (now called Zimbabwe) the ruling elite (white Europeans) had been brutal in their economic exploitation of the indigenous African people. Once Zimbabwe was liberated, however, the draconian dictator Robert Mugabe espousing Marxism (Mugabe is a lapsed Catholic) then, in "good Stalinist-style," sought to reallocate land away from white Europeans and to the African ruling elite of his country (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Mugabe).

So how does this apply to the United States of America?

Well, like the colonized nations of Africa and Latin America, like it or not, the U.S.A. has been built up first on the backs of black African slaves, then on the hard-fought sweat labor of Poles, Irish, Mexican and other ethnic Catholic enclaves, and now finally, on the sweaty brow of the white European-descended middle class.

Our C.E.O.'s enslave us, and rather than unifying around the name of Jesus Christ (i.e. the first economic reform movement leading to minimum wage law, anti-child labor law, etc.) now the only options left are meek compliance with the Oil Barons, the C.E.O.'s and the Bankers OR to elect Barack Obama.

Barack Obama, an eloquent orator, Harvard-Law trained, and the son of a Kenyan father and American mother could very well become the next President of the United States of America!

Sadly, due to racist, jingoist rhetoric on the right, whether the new President is named Obama or named McCain, the sad state of the U.S.A. will be an increasingly divided Nation State--divided racially, divided ethnically, divided financially!

Thanks Mitt Romney and fellow racists in the G.O.P.!

Your earlier anti-Hispanic paranoia has led to the impoverishment of the Nation!

As Jesus Christ Himself once said, "a house divided will not stand!"

And so, in seeking an alternative to being further enslaved by Republicans catering to BIG BUSINESS, we will now welcome in an untested president (Barack Obama), a man who had to accept abortion-on-demand and homosexual marriage to get himself elected, and now, sad to see, also a DIVIDED NATION!

But, like St. Augustine wrote in his City of God concerning the collapse of Rome, so also must the true blood-bought believer in Jesus Christ not despair!

Yes, yes, the U.S.A. will be 'dirt poor' for a while, barely able to afford food, gas and electricity, but as St. Augustine wrote concerning our true citizenship, our home and thus our ONLY true political allegiance is in Heaven with Jesus Christ!

A DIVIDED NATION, A UNIFIED HEAVEN

IN JESUS CHRIST'S NAME, Rob J. King

The Matrix

One of my all-time favorite movie series are the Matrix movies. In the Matrix trilogy, in addition to the standard 'critique of technological sophistication at expense of human personhood,' are also some quite adroit Christian Trinitarian Theological Themes . . .

The main character (played by Keanu Reaves) is this Messiah name Neo whose love relationship with Trinity is a corporeal, flesh-&-blood, and passionate love between the two characters. Yes, yes, the passion borders on an eroticism that is not in keeping with Christian understanding of the filial love between God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, yet as I would watch these movies, I could not help but reflect upon St. Augustine's view that the Holy Spirit was somehow, mysteriously, the love between God the Father and God the Son.

Again, filial love is quite different from what the movie portrays, but nonetheless, as Pope Benedict XVI's first encyclical showed (http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/encyclicals/documents/hf_ben-xvi_enc_20051225_deus-caritas-est_en.html), it is the LOVE of God that is at the heart of Christian witness, life and discipleship!

Perhaps this is why "love" is so easily misinterpreted in this world.

On one side are those who have exchanged love for the Creator for love of the creature, and as St. Paul writes in his Epistle to the Romans (chp. 1), either male-on-male homosexuality OR female-on-female lesbian homosexuality is the end-result.

Similarly, on the 'far right' socially and religiously are those groups that wish to constrain ALL signs of affection.

No, love is not to be misdirected to "self." No, love is not to even be directed to 'things' such as art, sculptured bodies, music, etc. Each of these "loves" directed toward the creature instead of the Creator result in distorted sexual patternings.

But, in confronting libertinism on one side (i.e. homosexuality as the result of loving the creature), so also is it a mistake to forgo love at all!

In some cultures (e.g. Italian, Romanian, etc.) such love is well-pronounced as a "kiss" on the cheek is the norm, and a hand-shake, well, is rather cold! I was friends with one such European, a Romanian Orthodox priest who would literally "bear hug" me each time we would meet! Nothing other than fraternal love as brothers-in-Christ Jesus!

So, maybe the Matrix is on to something! Maybe, rather than the cold, lifeless love that often is felt in many churches, something passionate is needed to re-invigorate our faith! After all, it is the LOVE that God has for us that transcends ALL!

Love in Jesus Christ!
Rob J. King

Being the Body of Jesus Christ

Yesterday, I spent my morning getting ready for church. This might not sound very abnormal, but in our increasingly secular U.S. society, this truly is.

Christians, that is TRUE Christians, are a minority in the U.S.A. now! A recent Pew Foundation poll had listed that although 75% or so of Americans claim to be Christian, when 'push comes to shove,' only about 25% of Americans actually believe that Jesus is the only source of salvation!

Whether it is the Catholic Church's internal apostasy (i.e. priests and academics who no longer believe the Historic Faith as found in Acts of the Apostles 4:12) or whether it is Southern Baptist Military Chaplains who trade prayer in Jesus' Name for comfy "rank & privilege" to include health insurance and retirement pay, the folks who actually believe that Jesus Christ is the ONLY source of salvation are about 25% or so of Americans!

In the future, however, I wonder if TRUE APOSTOLIC-CATHOLIC Christianity will not flourish! Yes, yes, many deny the name Christ (Jesus said if you deny me before men, so I will deny you before the Father!). Yes, many will seek to "pressure" you through intimidation, demotion even, BUT, in spite of such bullying tactics, TRUTH prevails!

I have seen a student, a Methodist believer, intimidated into a corner by another apostate student, BUT what I was able to do in a secular university setting was simply affirm the Religious Freedom principle of the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment! The state is not to impose a religion, including the denial of Christian identity, upon we the people! If one believes that JESUS is the ONLY source of salvation then one should not be bullied into believing otherwise! Likewise one should not be bullied into a 'personalistic' view either--i.e. "Jesus is savior for me."

No, Jesus is SAVIOR for ALL PEOPLE!

Now, whether it was Billy Graham or Pope Benedict XVI's recent visit to the U.S.A., the universal Lordship of Christ Jesus is not to be denied!

KURIOSIESUSCHRISTOS = "Jesus Christ is LORD" in Greek! Martyrs of the Christian Faith have died for this claim! Whether it was Polycarp who dared to say that Jesus Christ is GOD and NOT Caesar or whether it is our brave Evangelical and Catholic Chaplains who will not deny Christ Jesus' Name before men (e.g. former navy Chaplain Gorden Klingenschmidt), one's salvation is at stake concerning whose Name one is willing to live and die for!

For Pope Benedict XVI this meant opposing Hitler during WW II by literally leaving the German army!

For Casey Bernall this meant admitting her Christian allegiance when a gun was placed in her face by fellow students involved in occultic activities--i.e. the Columbine Christian martyr.

As Tertullian (Early Church Father . . .) once wrote, "the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church."

This was true in the first three centuries of Christianity and is still true today!

PEACE IN CHRIST JESUS! Rob J. King

The Politics of God

Just for 'fun' I actually asked the Pope to be my Facebook "friend." After all, I am a staunch Opus Dei-supporting Catholic who believes (Acts 4:12) that ONLY in Jesus Christ are people saved.

I also believe that abortion is murder, that homosexual activity is a sinful sign of a distorted 'creature-worship.' Finally, I do believe that institutionally, although flawed in its historical fidelity, the Catholic Church nonetheless represents the true version of the Gospel. Yes there were the Crusades. Yes, there was the Spanish Inquisition. But, nonetheless the Catholic Church represents what is UNIVERSAL among Christian belief and practice (e.g. even Pentecostalism is an expression of Catholic theological self-identity!).

Well, in being On-Line Friends with the Vicar of Christ here on earth (i.e. Benedict XVI!), I was pleasantly surprised to see the Pope's own unique sense of humor. Although I have a somewhat awkward designation of my political affiliation of 'liberal/moderate economic, yet PRO-LIFE view,' the Pope just simply wrote, "God!"

Huh?

God

Well, I guess that makes sense!

God is the politics of the Pope . . .

Well, what do the politics of God look like? Yes, they would include the fullness of Catholic teaching, to include Catholic prohibition of artificial insemination, opposition to secularism, etc. BUT, the fullness of Catholic teaching also includes safeguarding the poor, the worker, the disadvantaged economically!

Huh?

Well, I guess I will VOTE GOD!

For a new, radical introduction to Jesus Christ, please see me, our supreme Pontiff, oh yeah, and the Dean of Duke University's DIVINITY SCHOOL!!!

PEACEINJESUSCHRIST<><ROBJKINGhttp://it.spcollege.edu/course_info/inquiry.cfm?number=1162

Demons, Angels and Atheists . . . ;-)

I read the pre-Da Vinci Code book (or rather skimmed) called Angels and Demons by novelist Dan Brown.

You know the story, the so-called Illuminati against the Catholic Church, yada yada yada . . .

Well, how does one evaluate such fancy?

Are these 'myths?' Is any of it factual?

Is there really a cosmic struggle of "good versus evil?" (George W. Bush seems to think so! :-)

What about the Pope? What are his thoughts on such "conspiracy theories?"

Oh yeah, while we're at it, is Barack Obama a secret-closet Muslim who's linked to Al-Quaida???

Okay, well, we all know that Barack is a liberal evangelical Protestant (i.e. Barack believes in "gay rights" and "abortion," but somehow claims to have also "given his life to Christ").

We also know that groups such as the Freemasons have been secretly controlling things for years! George Washington was a Freemason even (i.e. he even would slip out from Holy Communion before the bread and wine were served at the Episcopal church he "attended" . . .).

So, are we to buy into the standard media line!?

Does the Catholic Church represent all that's bad?

Well, apparently so. After all, so-called 'objective secular history' has deemed the Catholic Era in European History as the "Dark Ages" before the advent of capitalism and the so-called renaissance, humanism, etc. Even world religions textbooks show their anti-Catholic bite as all things Catholic are ridiculed! Gay rights, abortion, inclusivism (i.e. Jesus as one way among many) are all celebrated, yet TRUE CHRISTIAN THOUGHT IS ATTACKED AT ALL COSTS!

Well, friends, this is all about to change!

The new western world will look increasingly like the supposedly "Dark Ages." Secular university standards will continue to cheapen. Gas will continue to grow more outside of the middle class's affordability (guess we'll all be riding buses thanks to George W. and Dickie Cheney!), but in the midst of the cultural disintegration initiated by George W. Bush and cronies (i.e. his opposition to Judeo-Christianity!), the "future will be Catholic transnationalism . . ."

No longer will the evil powers of the world control the world's money supply!

We will have U.S. ingenuity out-witting the "capitalists" in Europe who enslave us, Africa and Latin America!

We will have REVIVALISTS! http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/FaithMatters/story?id=5338963&page=1

We will have a new Christian West!

FOR JESUS CHRIST, FOR AMERICA!
Rob J. King

G-8

The financial power to create long-term sustainable agriculture and long-term sustainable transportation is at the finger-tips of the G-8 (meeting next week in Hokkaido, Japan http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/jul/07/g-8-faces-setbacks-to-un-development-goals/).

But, will short-term 'cheap profits' of the Big Oil Barons squelch our political voice?

Folks, this is neither a 'liberal,' nor a 'conservative' issue.

This is a common sense issue!

We spend too much money feeding the meat producing farms which require far too much investment of time, effort and grain to produce those scrumptious Outback steaks that fill our first-world bellies!

We spend too much money on oil to fuel our gas-guzzling SUV-fixation.

We spend too much money on gasoline through not car-pooling!

And so, what is the state government's solution?

Off-shore drilling!!! When I can no longer even swim in my beloved Tampa Bay (Florida) due to recent storm water run-off polluting the environment, what does the fickle Gov. Charlie now do?

Well, he advocates off-shore drilling!

Come now, Charlie!

You are from the 'Burg, as I am (St. Petersburg, FL; Shorecrest Prep Class of 1990).

You know full well that an oil spill would pollute our precious waters.

As a resident of the 'Burg (you are a member of First U.M.C. in St. Petersburg, which is right across the street from the homeless refuge called Williams Park!) you know full well how inadequate the State's mass transit system is!

Unlike Chicago where one does not even need a car, Tampa, Orlando, and the rest of the state are largely inaccessible without a mass transit system!

Yet, what do you do?

You advocate the archaic 1960's McCain era oil exploration model.

Well, as a concerned citizen of Florida, I think you should be impeached! (If only our sea creatures such as the dolphins and manatees could vote! :-)

All the very best,
Rob J. King
(St. Petersburg College Instructor of World Religions and Applied Ethics)

Pregnant 'men,' Gay Studies and the Curious Future . . .

I was first introduced to 'Gender Studies' while studying for the M.Div. at Duke.

Yes, it was Duke University, ever the bastion of Pro-Catholic, Evangelical and 'Post-Liberal' (Lindbeck) Christian Theology that also, curiously enough, had a homosexual Christian Education Professor!

Of course, this fact was not known by me at the time, and so this homosexual professor (who is no longer employed by the Divinity School . . .) proceeded to leave his wife, 'seek other options,' and now has left quite a mess of a family-life!

BUT, secularism does not even want the 'question' mark to be levied at homosexuality! Homosexual as morally acceptable citizen is all that the U.S. will now tolerate! You can speak your mind, but the second you protest a gay pride event with a sign that is deemed to be too large you find yourself sitting in front of a judge! Yes, yes, homosexual practice can now be flaunted openly, 'gay marriage' celebrated, but once any cry of public dissent is given the cops are called!

Sadly, more than anything, such a 'condition' (i.e. the "cultural malaise") is a symptom of something larger. St. Paul in Romans 2:1 does say not to judge the homosexual, but in not judging this is not to blindly accept a practice that is out of harmony with Natural Law family planning! Thus, to have a so-called 'pregnant man' (http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=4581943&page=1) is a symptom of the times . . .

Yes, this supposed 'pregnant man' is indeed PREGNANT, but as far as being a 'male,' well, this is a fiction! Have a gender-change operation and it is just that, a medical operation, no more no less! To actually become a 'woman' if born a man or a 'man' if born a woman is, to be frank, a miraculous possibility, but short of the Buddha having been actually fathered by a white elephant inseminating his mother such miracles simply do not happen! Religious myths aside, the true question to levy at the homosexual community is simply 'what biological data do you utilize to support your new gender politics?' A 'man' who is in fact a woman (sex change operation already duly noted!) is still biologically female . . . If the Gay Community does not accept this biological FACT, then I challenge these transgendered individuals to actually undergo DNA testing!

No, a DNA of a 'man' who is in fact a woman really will be the XX chromosome still!

Yes, a DNA of a woman who has had a sex-change will, again, still be an XX chromosome.

There you have it! Gender politics may be the stuff of Duke University professors who leave their wives, but when compared to the microscopic analysis of real-life biological data, a man is a man, a woman is a woman and it takes an actual sperm and an actual egg (NOT two eggs . . . :-) to produce a baby.

BIOLOGICAL FACT = heterosexuality is normative.

BIOLOGICAL FICTION = the Gay Rights agenda!

Blessings in Jesus Christ, XY Chromosome-holder for Christ Rob J. King

K-cars, gasoline, SUV's and Indentured Servitude . . .

I recently watched a U-Tube video (sent to me by the ministry of Bernice King) which predicted (in 2007) how we would be paying $4 - $5 per gallon for gasoline in California.

This 'prediction' was given from someone who worked with the oil barons in Alaska and was given credence recently by, you guessed it, $4 - $5 per gallon gas prices!

Ahh, if only 'common-sense' can be returned to the U.S.

My father, a career military serviceman, in the wake of the 1970's O.P.E.C. oil crisis, and ever the pragmatic military man, decided (wisely . . .) to buy a Plymouth "K-Car" when purchasing a new car in the 1980's. My father saw, perhaps more than most, that if a 'structure' had systemic problems, then one must 'handle it yourself' many times! The end-result was a highly fuel-efficient Plymouth sedan! :-)

Well, as inspired by my father I also seek pragmatic, non-judgmental decisions.

Do I vote for Barack Obama?

Well, the true question has little to do with Party affiliation (I often vote for both Democrats and Republicans), but more his stand on key issues.

Here, this election is tricky . . .

Do I support a candidate who supports abortion-on-demand?

Well, no, this is unethical.

Do I support a candidate who is pro-life, a sensible man, yet does not seem to be an adequate military leader? McCain, although a former P.O.W., nonetheless seems to be a bit too confident in U.S. military power to resolve complex world geo-political realities! Bomb Iran? Well, that may be the only way to keep them from building a nuclear bomb . . .

But, if war is declared on Iran, is such 'preemptive strike' a Just-War?

Well, obviously St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas say NO!

Jus ad bellum is the Just-War principle in which one attacks ONLY if attacked first.

IF, and only if, we enter into yet a third Middle Eastern military conflict will we then become even more cash-strapped as a Nation State?

Well, yes, of course.

BUT, in safe-guarding National Defense are we doing so only because we are addicted to foreign oil supplies? We already live uncontrollably beyond our means, factory-producing gas-guzzling cars, addicted to electric usage, and in short the most consuming nation in the world!

And so, many will likely vote for Barack, sadly, inadvertently supporting the mass killing of babies-in-utero in the process . . .

Maybe we could just vote for one of them and then make sure that they just don't hurt themselves or the rest of us! :-)

Blessings in Christ, Rob (Waiting for a New, Better HOPE in '12 . . . McCain and Obama are not much of a choice! ;-)