Category Archives: current events

by Anthony Baker | June 14, 2016 · 12:44 pm

Orlando On My Mind

Still no computer, only an iPad, so here goes some thoughts on Orlando, sans fancy fonts and graphics.

Thoughts

The shooting in Orlando happened Sunday morning, but I’m just now getting around to writing anything about it. Of course, I did bring it up first thing that morning from the pulpit, but it’s just now that I’ve decided to sit down and pen – more like “thumb” – my thoughts.

But who am I, really? What do my thoughts matter? I’m not gay; I’m a straight male (born that way and happy with my biology). I do not affirm the homosexual lifestyle; I preach it is a sinful attack on the design of our Creator for human relationships, even an affront to the very nature of God. I’m not even anti-gun, nor do I want to repeal the second amendment to the Constitution; I think gun-free zones (aka “soft targets”) are the epitome of idiocy. So, who am I to speak out? It’s not like I’m going to be flying a rainbow flag in honor of the 49 killed, or anything.

I am a voice, and that’s why my thoughts matter. I don’t deserve to be heard, but I have a right to speak my mind. And if I don’t take advantage of this right, while I still have it, along with the right to bear arms it might be taken away before what I want to say has a chance to be heard.

So, here’s my thoughts.

Guns and Gun-free Zones

It has been said that “Guns don’t kill people; people kill people.” It may be considered cliché, but it’s still true. I have multiple weapons in my home, even on my body, and I have no fear any one of them will rise up when I least expect it and try to kill me. I could yell at my Smith & Wesson from now till the proverbial cows come home, but it will never get offended, angry, or try to avenge itself. It’s only a tool.

As always when a shooting takes place, people are calling for more gun control in America. Some are even calling for repealing the Second Amendment. They argue that the only way to keep things like this from happening is to take away access to guns – all guns, not just assault-style weapons. But taking guns away will not take the murderers away, will it?

Gun-free zones? How’d that work out for you? Compare how many people have died in gun-free zones as opposed to gun-friendly zones. For example, when the eight were killed in Charleston, they were hiding behind and under pews in the church as the deranged freak reloaded his .45 multiple times! If just one or two of those poor folk had been armed as those in our church are, he might have emptied one magazine, but he sure as hades wouldn’t have reloaded and kept shooting!!!

When seconds count, the police will show up in minutes. In a world where Islamic hate is intent on wiping out all opposition; in a world where criminals care nothing about life or the law; because you will never be able to rid America of all its weapons, especially from the hands of criminals; only fools will sit like lambs waiting to be slaughtered as they seek comfort from the other end of a 911 call. Just in case the police don’t show up in time, I’d much prefer to be able to return fire. I’d rather die fighting than hiding.

Flying the Rainbow

Here’s the thing: I don’t hate homosexuals. I know that might be hard for some to understand, but it’s absolutely true. However, there are those who would call me a liar, all because they believe that it’s impossible to love people without affirming their behavior…because somehow behavior, self-perception, and inherent human value are inextricably linked. But where were the Christian flags outside the gay bars the day after Charleston?

No, I don’t hate gays, but I’m not going to jump on the bandwagon and change my Facebook profile pic to a rainbow. I’m not going to fly a rainbow flag in my front yard or from the church flag pole. I’m not going to yield to public pressure to give credence to a sexually-immoral lifestyle and anti-religious agenda by displaying the co-opted colors of God’s covenant with Noah. I will, however, continue to fly our flag at half-staff – because 50 lives were taken in a senseless act of hate.

The Blame Game

Right now the mainstream media and the social left are playing the blame game, but few are laying the blame at the proper feet. What happened in Orlando is not the fault of guns, a lack of security, or anti-LGBTQ bigotry and hate. What happened was not a result of me preaching that same-sex marriage is an abomination. What happened in Orlando was not incited by conservative talk-radio shows or Tea Party activists. What happened in Orlando at the Pulse nightclub was the result of Islamic, sharia-style, intolerant hatred.

Many want to blame all religion for what happened Sunday. Most, however, want to lay the blame at the feet of Christianity! No, Islam is not to blame, for it’s a religion of peace, or so we are told. On the other hand, were it not for those Christians who refuse to accept the forced change of their beliefs, none of this would have happened. The whole problem with that accusation is that it’s not true. Actually, it’s the complete opposite.

If you want to blame anything, blame man’s fallen nature; blame sin. The last ones to blame are those who try to pattern their lives after the One who gave His own life to save sinners.

In Conclusion

May God have mercy on and show compassion to those who mourn. May genuine love, not cheap pandering, reign supreme. May evil be exposed and the light of Truth shine bright.

16 Comments

Filed under Christianity, Culture Wars, current events

Tagged as orlando

by Anthony Baker | June 6, 2016 · 3:12 pm

June 6th… Would We Do It Again?

Seventy-two years have passed since the pride of the Allies, 156,000 strong, stepped out of landing craft and jumped out of airplanes into the mouth of a monster ready to eat them alive.

Seventy-two years have passed since young men from America, England, and Canada (and we must not forget Australia, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, France, Greece, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway and Poland) landed on beaches called Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword.

Seventy-two years ago, long before the fancy rock-climbing walls which are so popular in today’s health clubs and gyms, the 2nd Ranger battalion “led the way” up the 100 ft. cliffs of Pointe du Hoc.

Seventy-two years ago, on the 6th of June, 2,499 American and 1,914 from the other Allied nations, a total of 4,413, gave their lives for the sake of freedom.

Seventy-two years ago men were stepping on the backs of their comrades as they sloshed through red water, breathed in the mist of war, and wondered if they would live to see the ground only yards (meters) in front of them.

On June 6, 1944, seventy-two years ago, it was said of those who landed:

“They fight not for the lust of conquest. They fight to end conquest. They fight to liberate.” — President Franklin D. Roosevelt, radio broadcast, June 6, 1944

It is June 6, but are we a people with the stomach to liberate? If we were the ones living seventy-two years ago, where would we be today?

Ask those in pajamas talking on free smart phones. Ask the protesters who don’t even know why they protest. Ask those who are burning the American flag because “America was never great.”

It cost a lot to buy seventy-two years of freedom. Would we do it again?

2 Comments

Filed under America, Countries, Culture Wars, current events, General Observations, Life Lessons, Struggles and Trials, World View

Tagged as D-Day, freedom, June 6, Normandy, veterans, war, WWII

by Anthony Baker | May 16, 2016 · 12:19 pm

A Battle Worth Fighting

Many times, especially as a parent, I’ve had to determine which battles to fight and which ones to just walk away from.

Then came Friday the 13th, 2016.

Well, because our family has been directly affected by predatory sexual abuse, this is a battle I will fight.

Please watch the attached video from ADF. Then, be bold and fight along with me – for our daughters.

8 Comments

Filed under abuse, Culture Wars, current events, Parenting, politics

Tagged as bathroom, Child abuse, Obama, predators

by Anthony Baker | May 13, 2016 · 11:16 pm

The Bathroom Controversy: It’s Not that Simple

My Two Cents

I have to drop my two cents into the toilet (dropping them into the urinal would mean I might have to take them back).

Seriously, I feel compelled to share my thoughts regarding the current debate over allowing transgender and transexual individuals into the bathroom of their choice, and not necessarily the one which corresponds with their anatomy.

It might even turn into 3 cents.

What You’re Not Hearing

People are giving North Carolina all kinds of grief over HB2, the law that requires one who uses restrooms in public buildings and rest stops to choose the one which corresponds to the individual’s sex at birth (or what’s on the birth certificate). Bruce Springsteen cancelled a concert; Paypal cancelled plans for a facility; and a whole bunch of politicians in other cities banned public employees from going there on public money.

I’m sure you’ve all heard about it by now, especially since President Obama has now sent a prime directive to all public schools and universities.

But what you’ve probably missed is that it’s not just about a guy who’s had a sex-change operation going into a woman’s restroom, or a young person who is totally convinced he is a she and looks and dresses the part to perfection.

It’s not just about the teenage girl who’s won the legal right to be called a boy because she’s always lived as one, dressed as one, and thought she was one.

It’s not even about the psychological term Gender Dysphoria (a mental disorder) which describes most of the above.

No, it’s about the fact that a small percentage of society are doing their best to render any traditional classification of gender and sexuality irrelevant. It’s about eroding any taboos regarding erotic behavior and forcing morality to conform to the image of immorality. This is a generation that is pure in its own eyes, and yet is not washed from its filthiness (Proverbs 30:12).

It’s not about the less than 1% of society having a safe place to relieve themselves; it’s about the rape of morality and common sense: “We’re going in, no matter what.” And when there’s no more fight left, they’ll just grin and move on to another ideological victim.

The Camel In the Tent

Do you remember the story about the camel (or it could have been a horse) that wanted to come inside the tent? He was cold, so he asked his owner to allow him to come into the tent where it was warm. The owner refused, but that’s when the camel said, “Oh, please! What about just my nose? How bad could that be?” Long story short, once the camel’s owner allowed the camel to stick its nose inside the tent, the head came next, followed by the neck, then the front legs, and then the whole body.

All we hear in the news is that transgender and transexual students are being denied their civil rights. They say it is wrong that these pitiful folk should be harassed by being made to go into the bathroom or shower which corresponds to their anatomy.

But it’s FAR more complicated and convoluted than that! Do you seriously think that once you’ve let the transgender/transexual nose into the bathroom the rest of the gender-confused will be denied? Of course not!

If you think it’s just as simple as male/female/trans, think again!

The following are a consolidation of the 56 (yes, 56!) gender options offered by Facebook. You can read the whole article at Slate.com.

1. Agender/Neutrois — These terms are used by people who don’t identify with any gender at all—they tend to either feel they have no gender or a neutral gender. Some use surgery and/or hormones to make their bodies conform to this gender neutrality.

2. Androgyne/Androgynous — Androgynes have both male and female gender characteristics and identify as a separate, third gender.

3. Bigender — Someone who is bigender identifies as male and female at different times. Whereas an androgyne has a single gender blending male and female, a bigender switches between the two.

4. Cis/Cisgender — Cisgender is essentially the opposite of transgender (cis– being Latin for “on this side of” versus trans-, “on the other side”). People who identify as cisgender are males or females whose gender aligns with their birth sex.

5. Female to Male/FTM — Someone who is transitioning from female to male, either physically (transsexual) or in terms of gender identity.

6. Gender Fluid — Like bigender people, the gender-fluid feel free to express both masculine and feminine characteristics at different times.

7. Gender Nonconforming/Variant — This is a broad category for people who don’t act or behave according to the societal expectation for their sex. It includes cross-dressers and tomboys as well as the transgender.

8. Gender Questioning — This category is for people who are still trying to figure out where they fit on the axes of sex and gender.

9. Genderqueer — This is an umbrella term for all nonconforming gender identities. Most of the other identities in this list fall into the genderqueer category.

10. Intersex — This term refers to a person who was born with sexual anatomy, organs, or chromosomes that aren’t entirely male or female. Intersex has largely replaced the term “hermaphrodite” for humans.

11. Male to Female/MTF — Someone who is transitioning from male to female, either physically (transsexual) or in terms of gender identity.

12. Neither — You understand this one: “I don’t feel like I’m fully male or fully female. ‘Nuff said.”

13. Non-binary — People who identify as non-binary disregard the idea of a male and female dichotomy, or even a male-to-female continuum with androgyny in the middle. For them, gender is a complex idea that might fit better on a three-dimensional chart, or a multidimensional web.

14. Other — Like “neither,” this is pretty self-explanatory. It can cover everything from “I’d prefer not to specify how I don’t fit in the gender dichotomy” to “My gender is none of your damn business, Facebook.”

15. Pangender — Pangender is similar to androgyny, in that the person identifies as a third gender with some combination of both male and female aspects, but it’s a little more fluid. It can also be used as an inclusive term to signify “all genders.”

16. Trans/Transgender — Transgender is a broad category that encompasses people who feel their gender is different than their birth sex—sometimes known as gender dysphoria. They may or may not choose to physically transition from their birth sex to their experienced gender.

17. Transsexual — Transsexual refers to transgender people who outwardly identify as their experienced gender rather than their birth sex. Many, but not all, transsexuals are transitioning (or have transitioned) from male to female or female to male through hormone therapy and/or gender reassignment surgery.

18. Two-spirit — This term refers to gender-variant Native Americans. In more than 150 Native American tribes, people with “two spirits”—a term coined in the 1990s to replace the term “berdache”—were part of a widely accepted, often respected, category of gender-ambiguous men and women.

Summary

Let me summarize this nonsense. If I, a grown man with children, decided I felt like I had a few female feelings, then I could literally walk unabated into a women’s locker room, disrobe, and stroll into the open showers, genitalia showing, and have the full force of Obama’s Justice Department backing me up (more like spooning).

“But that’s crazy!” you say. “Someone would stop you.” Oh, really? And whom would that brave soul be? Should you stop me, then I would sue you for violating my civil rights. Who are you to judge me by my looks? Technically, I’m a Native-American (really, I am), so how could you say I’m not Two-spirited? Even more, it’s all about how I self-identify, right? So if I claim to be Gender-fluid, how can you tell by the way I look naked? What would that matter, anyway?

Have you ever seen the movie Starship Troopers? Remember the shower scene? That’s where we are headed if this lunacy is not stopped. The only difference is that this isn’t science fiction; it’s reality.

Here’s the naked truth: When nothing’s sacred, NOTHING will be sacred. That much is simple.

15 Comments

Filed under America, community, Culture Wars, current events, World View

Tagged as bathroom, DOJ, HB2, Obama, transgender

by Anthony Baker | May 8, 2016 · 7:35 am

The Witness of a Mother’s Love

The invisible things of God from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the love of a mother…therefore, we are without excuse.

Marie Baker. My Mother 🙂

Listen to “The Mother’s Day Song” (by Anthony Baker)

Whatever Happened to a Woman’s Right to Privacy?

The “Right to Privacy.” It’s something the left has argued for decades as one of our most important rights guaranteed by the 14th Amendment. Yet, when it comes to a woman’s right to privacy in a restroom or shower, the staunch defenders of Roe v. Wade are silent.

my_body_my_right_to_privacy_t_shirts-r56e595f83bab429eacc899556629898e_jg957_324

Image credit: http://www.zazzle.com.au/

I find it interesting that Roe v. Wade affirms and guarantees “a right of personal privacy, or a guarantee of certain areas or zones of privacy” (410 U.S. at 152-53), yet the very “zones” where some of the most intimate and private moments of a woman’s life takes place are being allowed to be violated.

What about women’s health? In the abortion debate, “health” is not limited to the physical, but includes all facets of psychology. Therefore, according to the left, abortions cannot be limited only to those births which could pose a risk to a woman’s life, but must also include those which could have the potential of bringing about mental and psychological stress.

Essentially, proponents of Roe v. Wade have argued that abortions should be kept legal because a woman could risk becoming embarrassed with her body should she start gaining unwanted weight. Well, then, what’s wrong with trying to protect a woman from the mental anguish of having her genitals exposed to uninvited male gazes?

It seems to me that women from both the right AND the left should be rising up against what is essentially nothing more than a male-friendly infringement upon a woman’s right to deny access to her most intimate moments.

But then again, it wasn’t really about a woman’s rights as much as it was about money and the loosening of moral restraints, was it? If not, then instead of protesters carrying posters reading, “Stay out of my uterus,” where are the ones shouting, “Stay out of our bathrooms!“?

Ladies, your “privy” is no longer private, and your safe zone is has been compromised. It would seem you have a civil rights issue powdering its nose while your rights are being flushed.

14 Comments

Filed under Abortion, America, Culture Wars, current events

Tagged as bathroom, culture, current-events, Equal Rights, Right to Privacy, Women's Health

by Anthony Baker | April 22, 2016 · 12:28 pm

A Dad’s Vent about Virtue and Purity

No graphics. No fancy fonts. Just words.

Tonight my youngest daughter is going to her “homeschool” prom. Yes, home-educated kids DO have lives and opportunities for socialization. The dress she chose is a beautiful, long, white gown worthy of a princess – of which she is.

This morning I mentioned to my wife how that after all she’s been put through…all she’s had to endure…white was an appropriate choice. My wife replied, “Because Jesus makes us clean.”

Then, like a flood, all of the vitriolic comments from writers, bloggers, columnists, celebrities, and even so-called Christian youth ministers came washing over my mind. Look them up, if you like, but I’m not going to give them the courtesy of a link on my blog.

Oh, but what the heck. Here’s just two names: Selena Gomez (done with the purity ring); Rachel Held Evans (“Christians idolize virginity”). You have to go look ’em up yourself.

They condemn parents and preachers like me within the fast-dwindling conservative subculture called “right-wing” Christianity, for seemingly elevating “purity” and “virginity” to an iconic, or even sacramental level. They lash out at us for celebrating sexual abstinence and purity before marriage. They say we put too many pressures on young girls and then devalue them once they make a mistake.

News Flash: It doesn’t matter what my daughters do… You mess with them and you’ll find out how valuable they are to me. Don’t count on grace. That is NOT hyperbole.

Here’s the thing, though. Do you want to know why so many social liberals – the same kind who now want my little girl to share a shower stall with a man, should he decide that day he’s a woman – want to denigrate, degrade, and devalue purity, chastity, and virtue? It’s pretty hellaciously simple.

The desires of the flesh, pure and damned (literal context) simple.

You see, it’s not about standards being too high. It’s not about restricting a person’s rights to have fun. No, it’s all about hating God’s plan for waiting till marriage and wanting everything now … with no regrets, no condemnation, and no consequences.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve read and listened to the complaints from women who say we put too much of a premium on virtue, on sexual purity. I’ve heard so many, frankly, that the fleshly, sinful part of my nature begs me to let it punch one of them! Yet, what are they really saying when they cry for loosening the reigns, relaxing the standards, providing the condoms and clean sheets, and accepting the casual oat-sowing that dating has become?

This is what they are actually saying, and a lot more…

I know better than God.
My sexual passions are more important than my spiritual fulfilment.
Who cares about marriage? That’s later; this is now.
My spouse? Who gives a flip what baggage he/she will have to deal with 20 years from now? Take it or leave it.
I have no concept of, nor do I care to understand the “greater mystery” of marriage.
I will never have to answer to God for what I do. And if I do, He will understand, so I’m not going to worry.
Parents, why don’t you leave your children alone?

For those of you out there who might like to leave a nasty comment, well, that’s up to you. However, I, for one, refuse to condone your Corinthian perversion of what God designed. I refuse to lower my standards.

My desire is for every little girl and boy to grow up and experience God’s perfect design for marriage. Unfortunately, none will … and none of us have … because we’ve all sinned since Eden. Nevertheless, virtue and purity are the ideals for which we should strive! By doing so we honor God’s creation and expose the lies of the Enemy who only wants to steal, kill, and destroy.

So, I like the white dress. I like what it symbolizes, whether Haley realizes it or not.

But who am I? I’m just a dad. And I love my daughter.

17 Comments

Filed under Culture Wars, current events, Marriage, Parenting

Tagged as fathers, Prom, Purity, Purity ring, Virginity

by Anthony Baker | April 21, 2016 · 9:58 pm

Just a Thought

Maybe it’s not the culture, the activists, or the agenda-driven erotics forcing this whole male/female/wishy-washy restroom controversy.

Maybe it’s nothing more than a passive-aggressive, unacknowledged jealousy of one group by another. One wishes she could drown a fly; the other wishes he could be invited to.

Email Hacked? And You Clicked On It?

The Notification

“Anthony, your email has been hacked,” so said my wife when she called me. “Are you serious?” I replied in disgust. “Maybe you should reset your password,” she suggested.

yahoo_icon Oh, I did…again! This wasn’t the first time I’ve received a notification that my email has been hacked (#*!%#@! Yahoo!). And, it’s not easy keeping up with new passwords, much less when you constantly have to change them after some boob has hacked your email! Dang it!!

(And in this case, when I say “dang it,” I really do mean what I can’t write.)

I might as well just give all of you my password right here and now. Why not? I mean, I’m going to have to change it tomorrow, anyway, right?

So, you get it… Some jerk (whether it be a person or a machine) found a way to send emails with my name attached. Somebody, posing as ME sent emails to my FRIENDS…as ME.

Why Would I?

But, honestly, all of this would be a non-issue if those people who get these hacked emails would just stop and think. I mean, seriously!

Why would I (the pastor, the preacher, the Christian author) send stuff like the following to people I know?

Anthony Baker ………#1 way to boost your testosterone!
Anthony Baker ………Hey hot stuff! Got plans for tonight?
Anthony Baker ………Long time, long night! U R gonna LUV this!
Anthony Baker ………Best DEAL EVER! Gotta check it out!
Anthony Baker ………Happy w/ur job? Make Million$$ frm HOME!!

If you are stupid enough to click on any of the above emails supposedly from me, just unfriend me, don’t call me, and delete me from your contact list. If you seriously think I would send out trash like that…give me a break!

If nothing else, am I making millions from home? Hardly. So why would you take my advice? Or, you could be wanting to just see what kind of perversion I could be smeared with, right? Shame on you.

My Name

Seriously, folks, what bothers me most about this email fiasco is that some people would actually click on something vulgar, even with my name attached. Why?

When you see my name attached to an email, letter, tweet, Facebook message, or whatever, and it doesn’t fit my character, delete it!

“A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold.” – Proverbs 22:1
“A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one’s birth.” – Ecclesiastes 7:1

My name and my reputation are important to me, and what I send out on the internet should be that which reflects a man of God. If it is trash, it’s not from me.

And, yes, I’m considering a new email provider.