Thursday, July 24, 2014

Arizona Charter School Textbook Says Slavery Was Good for Blacks

Most historians agree that the enslavement of Africans for profit remains one the darkest religious periods of American history. So why is an Arizona charter school teaching students that slavery actually benefited blacks?

According to a lawsuit against the Arizona State Board for Charter Schools by the Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, two books used by charters in Arizona, The 5,000 Year Leap and The Making of America by Cleon Skousen, teach Christian fiction and racist nonsense.

University of Baltimore legal scholar Garrett Epps told the Arizona Republic that The Making of America by Skousen are inaccurate.

“Parts of his major textbook, ‘The Making of America,’ present a systematically racist view of the Civil War. … A long description of slavery in the book claims that the state (of slavery) was beneficial to African Americans and that Southern racism was caused by the ‘intrusion’ of northern abolitionists and advocates of equality for the freed slaves,” Epps said.

The organization reached out to the charter school’s board to raise concerns about the school’s teaching of debunked and outdated information.

“Reading the text of The 5,000 Year Leap easily demonstrates that the book does not merely acknowledge the influence of religion in the nation’s founding, but actively promotes and endorses specific religious views and ideologies,” reads a letter from the Americans United for the Separation of Church and State to the charter school’s board, according to the Huffington Post. “For example, the fifth of twenty-eight principles taught by the book is that ‘All Things Were Created by God, Therefore upon Him All Mankind are Equally Dependent, and to Him They are Equally Responsible.’”

Here’s a bit of what your child will learn if they’re assigned to read The Making of America.

“If pickaninnies ran naked it was generally from choice, and when the white boys had to put on shoes and go away to school they were likely to envy the freedom of their colored playmates.”

Monday, July 21, 2014

Does the Bible Condone Premarital Sex?

by Bob Russell

Does the Bible Condone Premarital Sex?Occasionally church leaders email me, asking for my opinion on various personal or church problems. This spring, I received a note from a church leader in another city. The location isn't important, because the situation he outlined is common across the nation. He wrote of how a number of members ages 25 to 35 had reached the conclusion that premarital sex is “OK.” Some even play on the praise team, teach in the children’s program, or film videos for weekly announcements. “The problem is that some of them will tell me that they cannot find anything in scripture that says that what they are doing, having sex with someone, is wrong,” he said. “I have taught on the subject, but they do not see a direct statement against premarital sex.”

Dealing with sin.

He asked for other scriptures he can use, as well as about the church’s stance. Should it allow them to continue leading ministries or bring them before the congregation and—as the Bible says—have nothing to do with them in hopes it will help them see their sin and return to Christ? “I know that Satan wants to get in and cause problems in the church, but I also know the need to accept them and love them,” he concluded. “But we also have to deal with sin, or Satan wins.” In my response, I pointed out that the Bible repeatedly instructs God’s people to “flee fornication.” For 2,000 years, the word translated “fornication” in Scripture has been understood to include the prohibition of sex prior to marriage. Webster’s dictionary definition is clear: “consensual sexual intercourse between two persons not married to each other.”

A privileged experience.

God designed the physical union of a man and a woman as a privileged experience within the bounds of marriage. The Lord intended marriage as a secure environment for raising children and a uniquely meaningful union that symbolizes God’s committed relationship to us (Ephesians 5:32). If there was nothing wrong with premarital sex, then why was Joseph determined to divorce Mary when he discovered she was expecting a child prior to marriage? If there is nothing wrong with premarital sex, then one could conclude there is nothing wrong with having children out of wedlock.

Obviously, those who would suggest the liberalization of the biblical standard are ignoring the clear teaching of Scripture, conforming to the values of the world, and yielding to the desires of the flesh. As Jesus said, “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil” (John 3:19).

The church’s responsibility.

Just as I said to this letter writer, I say to all church leaders: The church has a responsibility to practice discipline in regard to flagrant, known sin.  This is especially true for those in leadership. We are to gently confront believers who are known to be living in sin and encourage them to repent. In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus cautioned us not to attempt to remove a speck from someone else’s eye without first examining ourselves to make sure there is not a log protruding from our own. Later, He explained that if the person living in sin doesn’t repent, then the believer is to take two or three others to confront again. If the backslider still refuses to change, the issue is to be taken to the church (Matthew 19:16-17). The shepherds of the flock are then to confront in love and encourage restoration to Christ. If the offender still refuses to repent, he/she is to be treated as an unbeliever.

Removal option.

The Apostle Paul instructed the Corinthian church to remove from their fellowship a man who persisted in living in incest, warning, “With such a man do not even eat” (1 Corinthians 5:11). Now, I know such measures sound harsh in an era of super-tolerance, but I’ve seen them work very effectively—often in the first stages. God designed the church to consist of people who are “called out” from the world. We are to live separate and holy lives. Unless we practice some measure of church discipline, the church is in danger of simply reflecting its culture rather than transforming it.  In Matthew 5:13, Jesus said if salt loses its saltiness, it is good for nothing except to be cast out and trodden under men’s feet. This is the present-day danger all church leaders face. May we have courage to point others to the truth instead of settling for the path of least resistance. 

Monday, July 14, 2014

Teen Sentenced to 23 Years for Killing Police Dog During Burglary


After NFL quarterback Michael Vick’s career was almost ruined for taking part in a dog fighting ring, some observers wondered whether society valued the life of dogs more than black men. This conversation is bound to be reignited now that a 17 year old black teen has been sentenced to 23 years behind bars for taking the life of a retired police dog during a burglary.


Ivins Rosier, 17, and two other teens broke into the home of a Florida trooper and gunned down his retired K-9. The dog passed away several days after the  burglary.
Rosier was convicted in May for the break-in and shoοting the five year old German Shepherd named Drake.


Although Rosier was only 16 when he broke into the home of trooper Robert Boody in 2012, Judge Robin Rosenberg said sentencing requirements left her little choice but to throw the book at the teen In addition, Rosier’s history with police didn’t help his case any.

During trial, Boody wept as he described coming home to find Drake lying in a pool of bloοd  critically wounded. Drake’s injuries were so severe that he eventually had to be euthanized.

Rosier admitted to Palm Beach County police that he was the one who shοt Drake. “If you shoot that dog and he dies, that’s murder of a law enforcement officer,” Detective Philip DiMola told Rosier during an interrogation, which was recorded and played during trial. 

Rosier’s attorney pressed for leniency but the judge pointed out the teen’s history of criminal activity and that he was even wearing an ankle monitor for a previous burglary during this incident. Rosier was tried as an adult for burglary and animal cruelty and sentenced to 23 years in prison.

Dr. Boyce Watkins, author of the book, “The 8 Principles of Black Male Empowerment,” says that this case is indicative of how society has never seen black men as being human. “Think of it this way.  You get a quarter century in prison for killing a dog, but the killers of Jordan Davis and Trayvon Martin were not even convicted.  This very clearly and logically reminds us that the lives of black men are worth less than animals,” said Dr. Watkins. “You must link the psychology behind rulings like this to the fact that there are thousands of dead black boys all across the country who barely get a peep from the media, almost no serious police investigation and few repercussions for those responsible for the violence or the guns behind it.  If these boys were dead dogs, white people would be outraged.”

What are your thoughts? Post your comments below.