Do Saved People Sin?

 *Housekeeping note* This article is a part of a paper that my church puts out each month called "Bible Monthly", I'm going to be adding a new page dedicated to these papers that way if anyone would like to download a PDF version of the paper, they may.

This is a question that gets posed often by people that have either grown up in a religion that teaches sinless perfection once a person receives salvation or by one who tries to attack the Bible believing they have found some type of contradiction.  I once heard a man who belonged to a charismatic religion change the words of the song “I’m Just a Sinner Saved By Grace” to “I’m Just a Singer Saved By Grace” because he believed it was wrong to call himself a sinner after his supposed conversion.

The best way to attempt to answer any question of this sort is to go to the Word of God, and stay there throughout the duration of the discussion which is what we intend to do.

Saved People Sin

I John 1:8 says,

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  

The context of this verse is clear; anyone who says they don't sin is a liar.  Therefore all people, saved or not, sin.  And when you consider the magnitude of the Bible stating that if someone claims no sin, the truth is not in them.  The Bible is unequivocally clear on this topic, all people sin.

Saved People Don't Want To Sin

Consider the words of Paul, one of the greatest Christians who have ever lived, in Romans chapter seven:  

Rom 7:14  For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. 

Rom 7:15  For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. 

Rom 7:16  If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. 

Rom 7:17  Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. 

Rom 7:18  For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. 

Rom 7:19  For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. 

Rom 7:20  Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. 

Rom 7:21  I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. 

Rom 7:22  For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: 

Rom 7:23  But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. 

Rom 7:24  O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? 

Rom 7:25  I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin. 

Even though the Apostle Paul is clearly saved at the time of this writing, we see that he struggles mightily with sin, so much so that he declares himself to be a “wretched man”, a statement that I’m sure anyone who knew him would have vehemently disagreed with.

Let me state this plainly, ALL Christians are sinners.  ALL of us mess up constantly.  All of us do things that we loathe ourselves for after we have done them. And this will not stop until the day we reach the pearly gates of Heaven, whether through death or the return of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Not only does the Word of God declare that we sin after salvation, but our conscience declares this as well.  What do you think you are doing when you lie, or cheat, or use language unbecoming of a Christian, or when you gossip?  Do you not know those acts to be sin?  Do you believe that God changes the definition of sin after you’re saved?  Every Bible-believing saved person knows that He does not.

The difference after salvation is that we no longer want to sin, and we wish with all of our hearts that we could stop, but we can't.

A Saved Person is a New Spiritual Person

This is where some "controversy" can come in.  Read what John said in I John 3:9:

Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.

The word commit here has to do with “abiding or living” in sin.  This statement is of course perfectly true.  A saved person will never be content to continue to take part in sin on a constant basis because the saved person no longer agrees with his sin, and because he knows the sin is displeasing to the Lord.

Another verse that has caused some confusion for those who believe in sinless perfection after salvation is II Corinthians 5:17:

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

I have heard people say, “If I’m a new creature, why would I sin?”  Well, because the new creature is spiritual, not physical.  Even though I’m a new creature, I still have the same body, personality, and mind, but it’s what lies within me that is new.  I now possess a spirit that is no longer happy with sin.  So, the Scripture is, as always, correct, I am a new creature, a new spiritual creature.

Here is the Hard Truth.

When we go to the Word of God we see three facts that become crystal clear: 

1. Saved people sin.  
2. Saved people don’t want to sin.  
3. A saved person is a new spiritual creature.

As Christians the ONLY place we should ever go for answers is the Word of God.  If you don't feel like you understand the Word of God enough to get the answers you are looking for, pray that God will grant you understanding, and I guarantee you He will. It's good to get advice from people who you believe to be more knowledgeable in the Scriptures than you, ESPECIALLY if that person is faithfully serving God, but never forget that God is no respecter of persons, and that He will teach you as well if you read His Word and pray, and that is the Hard Truth.

"Churches" Continue to Accept Homosexuality Because They are Turning Their Back on God's Word

Unless you've been living under a rock this past week you know that our president has come out in favor of gay marriage, citing of all things, the Bible as his motivation for doing so. Of course we know this to be a complete lie and that his only motivation was to raise money from these groups in order to help him win his re-election bid this November.  Since it is clear that our president is unsaved, it is also clear why he could come to this conclusion.  He's lost, never experiencing the new birth that comes when one receives Christ as their Lord and Saviour.

But why are more and more so-called "churches" joining him in his error?  Why do "churches" feel this need to not only reach out to homosexuals, but accept their open sin and wickedness?  I believe the answer to this question is also crystal clear, they are turning their back on God's Word.  There was a time in this country that when you went to church you were able to know, for the most part, what to expect.  There would be singing, praying, and preaching, usually in that order.  The songs would lift up the name of Christ, prayers would be prayed in Jesus name, and preaching would involve the Bible, God's Holy Word. It is sad to say that this is no longer the case, and churches like the one I just described are getting more and more rare, so much so that just hearing about one will probably move you to rejoice.

Which brings me to the motivation for this article; the North Point Community "Church." (I don't put church is quotes to be snarky, but because North Point and other groups like it simply are not churches) The pastor of this "church" is a man named Andy Stanley, and he preached a sermon on April 15, and to illustrate the love of Christ, he told the story of man who left his wife for another man.  Here is the video for this part of the sermon, it is about eleven minutes long, and highly recommend that you watch it.

(For the message in its entirety, go here.)

Before we get into the remarks themselves, did you notice something was missing? That's right, the Bible.  All that talk about this guy and his boyfriend wanting to represent that "church", and nothing of what the Bible says about the situation.  Calling what this man was doing "good old fashioned adultery" without once dealing with, you know, what the Bible might have to say about the issue of adultery.  He does go on at the close of his message to quote some things that he claims Jesus said, even though Jesus said NONE of things Mr. Stanley claims, and his representations of Jesus' remarks were nothing short of shameful.

All one must do to expose the sinful nature of Mr. Stanley's comments is go to the Word of God.  You can read Leviticus 18:22-28, or I Timothy 1:9-10, or I Corinthians 6:9-10, Romans 1:25-27, and there are many more.  No, Mr. Stanley doesn't deal with any of these passages in the Bible, and as a matter fact, he doesn't even offer up his own opinion on the matter of homosexuality. The fact that he doesn't state his belief has led some pastors of "churches" to believe that he doesn't deserve any criticism because he was quiet on the issue.  Look at what Pete Wilson, pastor of Cross Point "Church" has to say about Mr. Stanley's sermon:

Last week the internet was all abuzz (and I’m sure it still is) over some comments or lack of comments that Andy Stanley made in a recent message. Apparently there were some that thought he was “soft-pedaling” when it came to homosexuality. You can read a detailed explanation of the event HERE.

Man, if we’re going to start criticizing and denouncing pastors for something they “did not say” by trying to read their mind and predict their motives than I’m in REAL trouble.

Could any of you ever dream there would come a day when a pastor would come to the aid of another because he DID NOT take a stand for what he believes?  As a pastor, there should never, ever be any ambiguity about where we stand on any Biblical issue.  And for Mr. Stanley to give this illustration and not declare homosexuality to be wrong is, in fact, to declare homosexuality to be right. By calling homosexuality just "good old fashioned adultery" you are claiming that it would not be wrong if neither of the people joined in homosexuality were married.  To say the only reason that a gay couple could not represent your church is because one of the two were still married is to say they could represent your church if neither were married.  Mr. Wilson and Mr. Stanley have to face the facts; by not coming out against homosexuality, you are endorsing homosexuality. 

The other part of Mr. Stanley's words that I want to focus on were what he said at the very end, which was when he stated that this sordid picture of the sin that took place in this family and subsequent acceptance of that sin was a picture of the church.  First of all, this disgusted me, and second of all, he couldn't be more contrary to the Word of God. In Ephesians chapter 5, God is teaching us how marriages are to function, with the husband sacrificially loving the wife, and woman showing great deference, respect, and honor to her husband.  And all of these thoughts about marriage are intertwined with the institution of the Lord's church, because the two function the same way, with the church playing the role of deference to the Lord who sacrificially gave Himself for us.  This passage culminates with verse twenty-seven, which says this:

That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

Here is the Hard Truth.

The institution that the Bible calls the Lord's church is not a messy, wicked picture of Sodom where all sin is open and accepted.  A church is a place where the Jesus Christ of the Bible is preached.  A church is where sinners get saved.  A church is a place where saved members worship God, learn the Word of God, and are always invited to repent of their sin to God.  It is a place where sinners are accepted, but never is it a place where sin is accepted.  And you know what, I totally get why lost people don't understand that, but people who claim Christ has made a change in their heart?  Men who stand before large congregations supposedly representing Christ?  I have no idea why they think they have to accept the sin in order to accept the sinner.  The only conclusion I can make is that maybe, these men who stand before these crowds are also unsaved, which would explain their "church's speedy retreat from the Word of God, and that is the Hard Truth.

Hateful Atheists Make Me Thank God That Much More

Two days ago I posted on this blog some of my reasons for restarting Hard Truth.  I talked about the fact that doing this blog is a good way to keep myself writing on a regular basis, which is something that I think is important because I believe God wants me to write.  I discussed the fact that I believe God wants Christians to have a mindset of being on offense, not retreating in any phase of the spiritual battle we fight as Christians.  I also mentioned, as sprinkles that go on top of the icing on the cake that traffic over at Pharyngula, PZ Myers blog, is down by an amazing margin.  This was an encouragement to me because he spreads an anti-God message to his followers, and he uses those followers to attack any Christian voices that he comes across.

Evidently I awakened a sleeping giant.

Even though I mentioned in the post that I had no idea why his traffic was down, and only mentioned it as a side note to my larger point, PZ felt the need to once again attack me on his blog with all the personal attacks and insults we've come to expect from him.  I want to point out to all three of the people reading this that PZ claims his traffic is not down, and that it only looks that way because he has moved to a new web host, "Free Thought" blogs.  I tried to find out what his traffic was by going to his "sitemeter" link at the bottom of the page, but when you click on it you find that it's basically an advertisement trying to get you to sign up and buy their service.  To be perfectly honest, I have no idea what Pharyngula's traffic is, and I don't care.  As I stated clearly in my previous post, if his traffic was down, I found this to be VERY insignificant, but that if it was, I would have enjoyed it none the less.

But the fact that I thought his traffic was lower than it actually is was evidently so egregious an error on my part that his followers sent me many angry tweets on twitter, and they flooded me with vicious emails all day long, with this one being the "winner":

Your book has made you impossibly stupid. Die already, so you stop wasting oxygen.

So what I learned yesterday is that atheists are still angry, still on the offensive, and still looking to shout down anyone who stands for up for true, Biblical Christianity. But believe it or not, all the vitriol spewed at me yesterday actually made me feel something that I never felt when I was doing this blog a couple of years ago; thankfulness.

That's right.  I was actually thankful that I was under fire from atheists yesterday. You see, contrary to what they will admit, I know that I wasn't being attacked because I made a mistake about Pharyngula's traffic, but because I believe in something called TRUE CHRISTIANITY, and because I will say it publicly.

But you still might be wondering, "Ok, but why were you thankful?"  I am thankful because being attacked for being a Christian identifies me with Christ, which is where I want to be.  I'm ashamed to admit that this has not always been the way I have felt.  I think of times growing up when I was made fun of for going to church, and instead of not letting it bother me, it made me hide what Jesus had done for me, rather than being a force for the cause of Christ.

Well, I'm going to say this for everyone who accidentally lands on this page; I want to be identified with Christ!  That means, atheists will attack.  Pseudo-Christians will attack.  I say, good, let them attack, because that is what God wants me to do.  If you don't believe that, consider the apostles reaction to being physically beaten for preaching Christ in Acts 5:

⁴⁰ And to him they agreed: and when they had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.

⁴¹ And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.

⁴² And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.

They rejoiced over being physically beaten!  If the apostles rejoice over being publicly, physically attacked, then surely I can rejoice over having a prominent atheist professor/blogger and all of his followers attack me.  

Being mocked by the world is also something that we should just come to accept as part of the life for a Christian. Consider the words of Christ in John 15:18:

If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.

Jesus told us it would be this way. And as we all know, Jesus didn't just talk the talk about being mocked, He walked the walk.  Consider this passage from Mark 15:

²⁹ And they that passed by railed on him, wagging their heads, and saying, Ah, thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days,

³⁰ Save thyself, and come down from the cross.

³¹ Likewise also the chief priests mocking said among themselves with the scribes, He saved others; himself he cannot save.

³² Let Christ the King of Israel descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe. And they that were crucified with him reviled him.

If Jesus was mocked, I want to be mocked.  And I know is this, if you take a public stand for Biblical Christianity, the world will not only hate you, they will mock you.  They will laugh at you.  They will call you names.  As Christians, we need to remember the great joy that should come from knowing that we are being treated the way Christ was treated.  I know that we're not treated as harshly as Christ, for this is not possible considering that everything He endured was without sin, but being attacked does count us in with Him, which should be every true Christian's desire.

Here is the Hard Truth.

Atheists like PZ Myers and his followers are always going to mock Christians.  He's already done it to me several times, and I'm sure he'll do it again in the future.  I can't, and by God's grace, I won't let it stop me from doing anything that God wants me to do.  If this blog ends up being read by no one, so be it.  If this blog gets read by everyone, so be it.  If the only people who read this blog are atheists who want to mock me, so be it.  All that matters to me is that I please the Lord.  And if I please the Lord I can rejoice, regardless of what attacks come my way, and that is the Hard Truth.

Obama's Continued Assault on the United States

So, President Obama came out yesterday against God, and in favor of the most intense Bible-haters in our society, the homosexuals. Good work, Mr. President, we can't thank you enough for pitting this nation once again against our all-powerful God. Please don't misunderstand my tone here, I'm not saying this in jest, I believe with all my heart that that is exactly what Obama has done.

Please allow me to first consider what I believe to be his motives.

I have no doubt in my mind they are strictly political. I don't believe Obama to be a principled man, therefore I do not believe this decision is based on anything other than that he must believe this will help him in the upcoming election if he makes this an issue. All I can say about that is if it's true that coming out in support of gay marriage helps him win an election, then God help us all, because this country is going down faster than we Christians thought.

Now we should take a look at what he said.

I’ve just concluded that for me personally, it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married. . .We[He and Michelle] are both practicing Christians and obviously this position may be considered to put us at odds with the views of others. . .but, you know, when we think about our faith, the thing at root that we think about is, not only Christ sacrificing Himself on our behalf, but it’s also the Golden Rule.

So he used, of all things, the Bible to support his politically motivated stance that gays should be able to get married, claiming that it somehow fits what Jesus Christ would want because He "sacrificed Himself on our behalf." Christ's sacrifice for our sin, and Obama's belief about gay marriage are completely at odds with one another, which is why it is curious that he mentioned them as if they are somehow linked. But it makes more sense when consider what the Bible says about the way sinners think.

Consider this passage from Romans, which Obama called "obscure."

Rom 1:25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

Rom 1:26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:

Rom 1:27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.

Obama did in verse twenty-five what the sinners of his day were doing, turning the truth of God into a lie, which lead to the unseemly behavior of homosexuality, which, make no mistake, is severely damaging this nation.

Then our president goes on to cite the Golden Rule found in Matthew 7:12:

Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.

This will shock you, but Obama has no idea how to properly apply this verse. We know this verse basically means that we should treat others as we would like to be treated. Well, let me tell you, if I ever fall into sin, the last thing I would want anyone to do is tell me that sin is okay. You see, Obama is using this verse as a license to sin and to endorse sin, which was never its purpose. This verse does imply kindness, but is there any better kindness we could show a fellow human being than to show him/her the error of his ways? Of course not, but Obama is most assuredly lost, and therefore has no concept of this kind of thinking.

This country needs to remember that it was God who instuted the family, and we have no right to redefine it. Let us go all the way back to Genesis:

Gen 2:23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.

Gen 2:24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

A marriage is between a man and a woman because God said so. People who spout off at the mouth about how true Christians would never be against gay marriage would do well to remember these verses.

Here is the Hard Truth.

It angers me that Obama has said this because he is my president, and like it or not, he represents me before God. (Let us not forget that Obama was placed in his position by God Romans 13:1) This is why these comments, infuriating as they may be, are saddening. Obama is only thinking about elections, and how to please fringe groups in our society, rather than about how to please God, who gave Him his seat and authority. It also saddens me that many people feel that there is a political solution to this problem, when there is not. Obama needs a spiritual solution. Obama needs Christ. Not the caricature of Christ that he was taught growing up in Chicago at Reverend Wright's church, but the Christ of the Bible. The One who shuns sin and forgives sinners. The One who loved us enough to give Himself so that we might be saved. We need to pray that God will stir the heart of Obama and his staff, because that is the only hope we have on Biblical issues like these, and that is the Hard Truth.

Update on Thursday, May 10, 2012 at 12:47PM by Tom Estes

And now Obama's motive has been made very clear. As soon as he made his announcement in support of gay marriage, his campain started reaping the financial benefits from the pro-gay Hollywood scene.  To learn more, click here.

Ok, So Why Come Back to Hard Truth? (Updated)

I'm sure that both of my readers are wondering why I decided to get back into the Hard Truth, so I thought I would take a post and explain what has pushed me back to this blog.  

What I have learned over the past couple years is that, newsflash everyone, time flies and life is busy. Between three children, pastoring, leaving the pastorate to go into full time evangelism, and now back into pastoring, very little time is left for casual writing.  With sermon preparation and other church duties, there is just so little time to give any mental energy to anything else.

So, over the past couple of years I have done very little writing.  The motivation just was not there.  I had considered a couple of different formats for different blogs, and even starting working on a couple, but the desire would quickly dry up.

But recently I've been having a particular thought about Christians being on offense, with Matthew 16:18 being the catalyst:

And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

While this verse is one of the most quoted and memorized verses in all of Scripture, the Lord made it come alive to me in a way that it never has before.  Not even the gates of hell will stop the institution that we call the "Lord's church."  And since I am a member of this sacred assembly, that means the Lord can actually use little me to do anything He wants, whether it be small or great, and the only One I need to fear is Him.

This got me thinking about the nonsense I dealt with from atheists when I was running this blog before, and how frustrated it made me, and how I fealt like what I was doing was ultimately a waste of time.  But lately I feel like God has wanted me to go back to the beginning of what motivated me to start this blog to begin with, and work from that point of view.  This is why my subtitle is, "The Truth From a Biblical Perspective." I still plan on telling the truth, no matter whose feathers it ruffles, but it will always be the type of response that I believe God would be pleased with.

This leads me to another motivation.

I wandered over to Pharyngula, where our old pal PZ Myers writes.  I looked at a couple things, who he was picking on now, if my name was still in his "dungeon"(it is), and what his traffic was llike. (He has a "sitemeter" link at the bottom of his page)  And I was shocked at what I found.

 

 Yes, you are seeing this correct.  Pharyngula's traffic is way, way down.  I must point out that I have absolutely no idea what has caused this.  But none the less, it was very motivating to see the great Pharyngula down by around eighty-four percent.

This encouraged me because it showed me that changes in this world, however small, however insignificant (which, let us be very clear, the fact that PZ's traffic is plummeting is very insignificant) can happen, and that Christians have to remain on offense.  This is why I'm back doing this.  This is why I hope that I can be the best pastor, husband, soul-winner, father, etc. that I can be.  Because I know it makes a difference because I know God is still on the throne. Please don't misunderstand me, seeing a meaningless atheist blog down in traffic is not why I've come back to blogging, it was just something that encouraged me along the way to making this decision.

Here is the Hard Truth.

Christians are in a war that we're going to win, and we're going to win big.  We're not going to win on some fronts of the battle and lose on others, we're going to win every battle, because of God, and God alone.  So whether it's the battle in your neighborhood to present the Gospel to the lost around you, whether it's tv, internet, print media, whatever, we win.  It may not look that way now but every Christian reading these words knows I'm telling the truth.  We will win, and we need to make sure we never forget that fact, and that we STAY ON OFFENSE, and that is the Hard Truth.

The Hard Truth is Back!

Hello everyone, I just wanted to make a quick post letting everyone know that the Hard Truth is back, and I can't wait to get started. But before the posts start flowing, I just wanted to point out a few basic things:

Tom, Kristin, (from right) Noel, Natalie, and Nicole

1. The blog will have a slightly different tone and focus than the previous version of Hard Truth.


2. I will engage in wrongs that I believe need correcting, whether it be in politics, atheism, or pseudo-Christianity, but I probably won't give these topics the same level of intensity that I did before.


3. There will be plenty of posts about Scripture in hopes of helping those who want/need it.


4. There will never be comments, because most of the time comments end up being more like graffiti than anything that adds substance to the post.


5. There will never be forums.


6. If you visit this site, you will have something to read, and hopefully it will be something you enjoy, but that is all.


7. If you have something to say about a post, use the "contact" page.

That's all for now, we'll be back with a bang very shortly.

Atheists and Far Lefties Love the Nobel Prize

If you're reading this blog, than you must have a computer, which means you probably have access to a television, which means by now you are undoubtedly aware that Barack Obama has won the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009.  To say this is a joke would be the understatement of the century.  To say that since he has accomplished nothing, he doesn't deserve the award, would only mean that I'm capable of stating the obscenely obvious, so I'm not going to go that route.  If you have a brain you have already lost whatever tiny amount of respect you might have had for the Nobel Prizes, so I don't need to go into the fact that no one will ever care about this award ever again.

I want to talk about what I believe to be the most interesting element of this story; what the atheist and far left blogs are saying about it.  I find the bile they are spewing today to be so out of touch with reality, that it would almost be criminal on my part not to share it with you.

Let's start with PZ Myers from Pharytales.

After reluctantly admitting that Obama, while being a great and wonderful man, hasn't accomplished anything at all in the way of world peace, he mentioned some conservatives that believe Obama should be impeached, and after calling them crazy, he said this:

So I guess I'd have to say that maybe a Nobel was a useful counterbalance to the lunacy going on here.

Is that why one wins the Nobel Peace Prize?  To balance out the arguments about one's inability to accomplish anything of substance while being President of the United States?  No, it's not.  While the only thing that makes one qualified to win the award is being nominated, (really, no qualifications are mentioned on the Nobel website) I seriously doubt that was the envisioned intent of the award.

Next let's look at Helga's Battle-Ax.

To the Obama Nobel Prize haters saying he hasn't done anything yet - inspiring hope in not just the US, but the entire world is an amazing feat. Making many nations stop utterly loathing the US is an amazing feat. Averting possible new wars is an amazing feat. He has been trying to do so much, but when stubborn, uncompromising Republicans do nothing but stop progress, what do you expect? If anything, receiving this prize will give him even more clout, and make the path towards the goals he envisions even easier. Remember, the Nobel Peace Prize isn't necessarily given out for successful accomplishments - it is also given to people with great visions who are working hard for human rights and democracy. It is used to help them achieve their goals.

Where do I begin?  Inspiring hope is an amazing feat?  Hope in what?  Someone please tell me, what hope has Obama given anyone?  Wait a minute!  What am I saying?  He has given hope!  Let me list a few things he's made me hopeful of;

1. I hope he starts to do his job sometime soon.
2. I hope he quits being a wimp and makes a decision about Afghanistan.
3. I hope he can do something to help unemployment.
4. I hope he stops trying to socialize our health care system.
5. I hope he stops making tax payers pay for him to take his wife on a date.
6. I hope he stops supporting partial-birth abortion.
7. I hope he hires a new Press Secretary.

Should I go on?

See, he really has brought hope!  Maybe he does deserve the award! Or, maybe not.  Helga also said that Obama has made the world stop hating us.  Really?  Is that why when he tried to get the Olympics moved to Chicago all he did was ensure that it was never going to happen?  Yeah, everyone loves us now.  But then she encouraged us to remember something; this AWARD isn't given for accomplishments.  What was I thinking?  Why would someone get an AWARD for accomplishing something?  Thank you for straightening us out, Helga.

Next up, the Circadian Crackpot. (Daily Kos)

I'm going to put everything the Daily Crackpot said on this subject, are you ready?  This may take a long time to read.

Conservatives and the Taliban agree- President Barack Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize is a very bad thing.

Discuss.

Wow!  They really shut us up on that one didn't they?  While the Circadian Crackpot did use a couple of posts that quote others on this matter, this was the only argument they could make.  Now, let me quickly dismiss this nonsense using an stylistically atheistic argument: I bet Republicans also agree with the Taliban on wearing underwear, does that mean wearing underwear makes you in agreement with Terrorists?  Enough said.

I saved the best for last.  The Huffington Humus weighed in with a post so hilarious, I actually almost spit out my drink all over my computer.

Obama got the prize not for doing, but for being.  Not for making peace, but for exemplifying something new on the world stage--the politics of dignity.

The Nobel Committee has simply made explicit what many of us have sensed. President Obama is the herald of dignitarian politics.  Not libertarian, not egalitarian, but dignitarian.

I hope none of you ruined you computer while reading that.  He got the award not for doing, but for being?  What?  I wish it would have been this way when I was in high school.  At each of my basketball games I would have attempted to convince the referee to give me points not for making a basket, but simply for being on the court.  Seriously, how stupid a remark is that?  Then he calls him the herald of dignitarian politics? Obama? Dignified?  Is it dignified to insert race at every possible moment during a presidential campaign?  Was he dignified when he was hanging out with crazies like Reverend Wrong and William, I'll bomb you if you disagree with me, Ayers?  Yeah, dignity, not so much.

Here's the HardTruth.

If the world wants to give Obama awards for doing nothing, I really don't care.  But do there always have to be knuckle heads willing to defend it?  Why can't Obama supporters just say, "I like Obama, but he doesn't deserve this award, and I hope by the time his presidency is over that he does."  I'll tell you why, because a statement like that would require a rational mind, and as all rationalists know, atheists and far lefties are lacking this basic element.  Seriously folks, how could you defend this award being given to Obama; unless you already defend things like euthanasia, murder of the unborn, Marxism, gay marriage, ACORN, etc.?  They may defend this nonsense, but I'll be right here to point out the insanity every time they do, and that's the HardTruth.

Gang Violence Will Stop When America Turns Back to God

As pretty much everyone knows, a horrible tragedy took place recently in Chicago, when Derrion Albert was brutally killed in a gang fight.  Albert was an honor student who was simply trying to get home from school, but when he saw this fight going on, tried to help, resulting in thugs repeatedly beating him over the head with a two by four, and kicking him until he was reduced to pile of blood and bones.

Eric Holder with Barack Obama

Like many of you, this act of violence disturbed me because I can't believe that young people are capable of such violence, and I'm also shocked by the fact that no one was willing help Albert until it was too late.  And while I appreciate the fact that government officials want to see this violence be stopped, I find the solutions they have offered to be bordering on insanity.

Enter Attorney General, Eric Holder.  In his remarks yesterday at a Chicago press conference, made probably the most ridiculous suggestion in the history of the world; we throw money at the problem.

We need a comprehensive, coordinated approach to address youth violence, one that encompasses the latest research and the freshest approaches. Our administration is committed to implementing such strategies, which is why we've asked for $24 million in next year's budget for community-based crime prevention programs such as Ceasefire and Project Safe Neighborhood.

While I totally believe that Attorney General Holder is sincere in his desire to stop gang violence, this suggestion shows just how inept he will be accomplishing this goal.  Think about it, how is funneling money into Chicago for more programs going to stop gang violence? 

He mentions two programs; one is called Ceasefire, and the other is Project Safe Neighborhood.  Ceasefire calls itself:

an evidence-based public health approach to reducing shootings and killings.

An evidence-based approach?  Evidence is going to reduce shootings?  Do you think young people need evidence in order to be convinced that shooting people could kill them?  Do they need scientific studies to figure out that killing someone might land them in jail, or worse, get them killed?  I think it's safe to say that Ceasefire will cause nothing to cease, especially gang violence.

And the only accomplishment that Project Safe Neighborhood can speak of is that they have had two billion dollars donated to them since 2001.

Holder went on to say:

There are no quick and easy fixes. Our approach will need to involve not just law enforcement, but also faith-based organizations, the business community, and social services groups. We will need a combination of prevention, intervention, and targeted enforcement.

He mentions several groups here, but leaves out the two most important ones; the family and the individual.  None of the groups Holder mentions have the capacity to PREVENT gang violence.  They can react after it happens, but no one, not even the police can stop the madness on our streets, but families can.  And not the village model family the progressive left is pushing on us, but real families.  Families with a mom AND a dad, who both work hard and teach their children the proper way to behave.  I wonder how many of the young men involved in the gang fight that took Derrion Albert's life have strong families?  I don't know, but I'll go out on a limb and say that NONE of them did.

And Holder also left out the individual.  What is so wrong with challenging people to do the right thing?  Why can't we tell young people that they don't HAVE to live this way?  Why can't we demand they do better?  The truth is, we can, we just don't.

Now we have to figure out why we don't tell young people how they ought to behave.  Conservatives would say because the radical elements in our government want to train our young people to rely upon the government, and of course their is a lot of truth in that, but I would still ask, why?  Why has Amercia so badly lost its way?

Because we have turned away from God.

Yesterday, Bruce Feiler from Fox News wrote an article about the impact of Moses on America's history.  From our Declaration of Independence, to the anthem of the slaves, to many of our presidents, all were influenced heavily by Moses.  And who did Moses take his cues from?  You guessed it, God.  That's right, God used to have a lot of influence in this country.

There was a time when people didn't beat each other over the head with thick pieces of wood because they feared the same God who lead Moses as he led the Israelites to freedom from Pharaoh.  Their was a time in this country when Americans wouldn't look to senseless government programs to stop violence, because they would stop it themselves.  If those young men had responsible parents, none of them would have been out there, but they would have been home, or on their way to an after-school job, or at football practice.

Here's the HardTruth.

I don't believe in fairytales, so I don't expect Attorney General Holder to hold anyone accountable for their actions, and I'm not surprised when I hear him say giving Chicago more money will solve the problem. But you know what?  I should be surprised, and quite frankly we all should be.  We should expect government to at the very least tell people to take responsibility for their own lives, and for the lives of their families.  We should expect society to expect men to be men, and teach their sons how to one day become responsible young men themselves.  But we don't expect government to do the right thing, because we all know that government has turned its back on what made us great; God.  And I can assure you that until we, as a nation, turn back to God, nothing will change for the better, but will only get worse, and that's the HardTruth.