Another Mass Murderer Obsessed with Sex (updated)

As our nation mourns the victims of yet another mass murderer, we are barely two days removed from the crimes and the media yet again seems determined to demonize one particular instrument of death used by the killer, Elliot Rodger. Three of Rodger's six fatally wounded victims were shot to death, three were stabbed to death, and several others were seriously injured as a result of Rodger crashing his car, but of course, the focus will be on guns.

As early as late last night, CNN posted the headline: "Father of rampage victim: 'When will this insanity stop?'" The quote is from Richard Martinez, the father of one of the victims, Christopher Martinez. "Why did Chris die? Chris died because of craven, irresponsible politicians and the NRA. They talk about gun rights, what about Chris' right to live?" Mr. Martinez asked. He added, "When will this insanity stop?"

I won't bemoan a father who has just lost his young son. After all, tens-of-millions of Americans have been conditioned for decades now to blame guns, pro-gun politicians, and the NRA as Mr. Martinez demonstrates, instead of the perpetrators when it comes to criminal gun violence. Is there any doubt that the mainstream media will again take the opportunity to call for more gun control by the government as a solution to this violence?

Whether a shooting rampage, or the mass murder of the most defenseless among us using a pair of scissors, it seems that most of America is now blind to the real problems that plague our culture. As Uncle Si, one of the prophets of Duck Dynasty, taught us last year, when it comes to criminal violence with guns, "It ain't gun control we need, it's sin control."

How likely is it that Elliot Rodger was brought up in a home where the "virtues" of gun control were taught? His father being a noted Hollywood director, I would say that the chances are pretty good that Rodger often heard of the "evils" of guns. Whether this happened in the home, he certainly would have been privy to such preaching in the circles of the Hollywood elite.

One thing we do know, young Elliot almost certainly did not get the truth when it comes to family, women, and sexuality. Along with his directorial duties, his father Peter Rodger has another line of work: photographing the bare-backsides of women and selling the photos as "art." In fact, according to online reports (I refuse to visit the site), it seems that all Mr. Rodger sells on his website are his perverted works of misogyny.

According to The Blaze, Peter Rodger's website also contains sexually suggestive photos of his wife (Elliot's stepmother). Can there be any real surprise then that his son had misguided views about sex and therefore came to hate women? It is worth noting that the most common element among the worst murderers in the history of the United States is not guns, but sexual deviancy. This is especially true of serial killers. From Gary Ridgway to John Wayne Gacy to Ted Bundy to Jeffrey Dahmer, American serial killers are notorious for their sexual perversions. (Homosexuality is also common among these killers.) These mass murderers rarely, if ever, used guns.

And yes, as so often is the case with disturbed young people, Rodger's parents were divorced. "I was absolutely shocked, outraged, and above all, overwhelmed," wrote Rodger of his parents’ divorce. He further described the divorce as "a huge life-changing event." Rodger would also note that, prior to his parents' divorce, "I thought a man and a woman had to be married before living together in such a manner." His dad's subsequent behaviors would, tragically, teach him otherwise.

Whether its mass murder, mass out-of-wedlock births, rampant divorce, millions of abortions, marriage perversions, and the like, how long before America wakes up to the sin "that so easily entangles us?"

Bundy, Dahmer, Rodger, Gacy, and Ridgway--All mass murderers obsessed with sex

Copyright 2014, Trevor Grant Thomas

At the Intersection of Politics, Science, Faith, and Reason.
Trevor and his wife Michelle are the authors of: Debt Free Living in a Debt Filled World
tthomas@trevorgrantthomas.com

Fear Not the "Fiery Furnace"

Around 600 BC, during the reign of Jehoiakim (who “did evil in the eyes of the Lord”), Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon invaded Judah and laid siege to Jerusalem. This was, as the prophet Jeremiah reveals, because the Israelites refused to listen to and obey God. Nebuchadnezzar eventually captured King Jehoiakim, robbed the magnificent temple that Solomon had built, and carried the goods back to the temple of his god.

Additionally, Nebuchadnezzar ordered his court officials to bring to Babylon select young Israelites “without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand” and otherwise qualified in every way possible to serve in the king’s palace. Among those selected from Judah were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.

Of course, most of us know the latter three by their Chaldean names: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. The biblical account of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego recorded in the book of Daniel are great examples of a faith that runs counter to the culture—even the legal code of the culture, and even when it means facing the harshest of consequences. Though such faith is required in many parts of the world today, few Americans have ever had to make life or death decisions because of whom or how they worship.

However, given the vengeance-minded left and their literal lust-driven desire to redefine marriage, kill children in the womb, and the like, more and more Americans are facing, at minimum, harsh financial consequences through fines, the loss of their jobs, the loss of their businesses, the loss of television shows, and so on.

Given increasingly friendly judiciaries and legislatures that are intent on accommodating the Gay Gestapo, it is likely to become more and more difficult, and the consequences more and more severe, to stand for the truth when it comes to the moral issues facing us today. It will not be enough simply to try to keep our heads above water in such matters—to “live and let live” as some might say. We must either stand against the swelling tide that seeks to remake our culture forever, or be swept away into the sex-obsessed sewers occupied by today’s liberals.

In other words, the choice before us is somewhat like it was in the days of Nebuchadnezzar and his ninety-foot high “image of gold:” fall down and worship at the altar of the modern-day Baals, or defy those bent on immorality and face their consequences. Those with Christian, or similar, worldviews, will soon face, if they are not already facing, some stark choices.

As same-sex marriage is forced on more-and-more states, what will be our recourse? If you’re a Christian adoption agency, business owner, church, or school and you don’t want to hire, marry, provide, or otherwise compromise with abortion and homosexuality, what will you choose? If you are sued and the courts rule against you, what then?

As a pro-homosexual curriculum becomes more and more a part of our government schools, where will parents turn? When churches are forced to hire or perform ceremonies for homosexuals, what then? Are we never to speak out in favor of or contribute to causes in which we believe?

As Al Mohler recently pointed out, “We are in the midst of a massive revolution in morality.” He adds that, “sexual morality is at the center of this revolution.” Mohler refers directly to a “crossroads” and alludes to an unavoidable showdown that is looming within the evangelical church. However, I believe this is the case for our nation in general.

Should we simply retreat into our churches, homes, private schools, and home-schools? Should we acquiesce to immorality in the name of keeping our jobs? As I implied above, even then we will still unlikely be safe from the long arms of the demons that are bent on destroying us. Make no mistake, if the culture continues its collapse into the ever increasing depths of debauchery, the consequences will continue to be far reaching.

Rev. Mark Creech elaborates on this point in his Mother’s Day column when, using the historical example of the upbringing of Joseph Stalin, he wisely warns us that we often “fail to recognize that we are all interconnected in ways that we would never imagine. What happens in the culture plays a huge role in the outcomes of our lives and the lives of our children (link is mine).”

Thus, when it comes to the grave truths of life in the womb and the sacred institution that consists of a husband and a wife—the most important relationship in the universe after our relationship with our Creator—it is time for more of us to take our stand.

This is especially the case in the political, information, entertainment, and education industries. Not because these industries are the most important, but because they reach so many lives, and because they are so corrupt. As Michael Sam the homosexual (not Michael Sam the football player) is being celebrated by the NFL, ESPN, and others, where are those who know the truth and will stand up and be heard?

We need people who will look at their “fiery furnace” and boldly declare: “We do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we lose our jobs or our positions, the God we serve is able to provide for us, and He will deliver us from your immoral hand. But even if He does not, we want you to know that we will never support the killing of children in the womb, a redefinition of marriage, or any kind of sexual immorality.”

In other words, we need more folks like the Benham brothers. As you are probably well aware by now, HGTV dropped the reality show featuring the Benhams due to pressure from liberal groups. The pressure was the result of the pro-life, pro-family activities of the two Christian brothers. Upon losing their show, and sounding a bit like Esther, who, as the Old Testament describes, was willing to challenge the law of her time declaring, “if I perish, I perish,” the Benham brothers announced, “If our faith costs us a television show, then so be it.” Americans need to witness more of this, especially from those with high profiles.

As we stand against the immorality that liberals seek to legitimize through our legal code, who knows but that the end result could be, as it was with Nebuchadnezzar and a later Babylonian king, Darius, recognition of the truth and subsequent repentant actions. Whatever the result, the very fate of our culture depends on it.

(See this column on American Thinker.)

Copyright 2014, Trevor Grant Thomas

At the Intersection of Politics, Science, Faith, and Reason.
Trevor and his wife Michelle are the authors of: Debt Free Living in a Debt Filled World
tthomas@trevorgrantthomas.com

The Devil and the Democrat Party

The surest way to corrupt a culture is to have those who lead us—spiritually, politically, and economically—along with those who entertain and inform us, not simply to abandon, but to wage war on the truth. Just as “We hold these truths to be self-evident” forever changed the fate of humans the world over, as history clearly demonstrates, an abandonment of the “Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God” will reap equally great, albeit destructive, consequences for humanity.

Multiple illustrations of such consequences are contained in the Old Testament. Scripture reveals that wicked Kings often led God’s people astray, with disastrous consequences. From Ahab to Zedekiah, time and again we see accounts where the kings of both Israel and Judah “did evil in the sight of the Lord” and “caused Israel to sin.” In a covenant relationship with God, and entrusted with His written law, such disobedience often yielded harsh judgments.

Though the covenant relationship God had with Israel was unique in the annals of history, as author, pastor, and theologian John Piper points out, “the Bible portrays God as sovereign over the nations and ruling them for his purposes. This includes ethnic peoples as well as the political states that emerge around them: ‘Kingship belongs to the Lᴏʀᴅ, and he rules over the nations’ (Psalms 22:28).”

Thus, in addition to judgments against Israel, Scripture also reveals harsh consequences for Gentile nations (or city states) as a result of sin as well. Sodom, Gomorrah, Egypt, Ammon, Moab, Tyre, Sidon and others all suffered under God’s wrath as the result of the sin of their leaders and their people.

To be sure, Americans have seen immoral leaders of every stripe and flavor. However, in the history of our nation, only the pro-slavery Democrats of the 19^th century rival the immorality practiced and preached by today’s liberals that lead the modern Democrat Party.

Support of everything from abortion, to gender perversions, homosexuality, pornography, a redefinition of marriage, wicked climate policies, and an enslaving welfare state have made today’s Democrat Party little more than a modern-day Mephistopheles. Instead of magic to lure their Faustian targets, today’s Democrats employ, among other things, bribery, class warfare, fear, greed, lust, propaganda, scientism, vengeance, and violence.

The evidence is, of course, all around us. This is especially the case given that we are in the midst of another election season. Take note of the political ads run by Democrats. How long before we get to meet the next Julia or Pajama Boy? How many times will we get to hear about, if elected, what Democrats will do in order to give out more goodies from the government? Where will the next fraudulent statistics in the “War on Women” originate?

How much “linguistic limbo” will Democrats perform in order blandly to describe their embracing of the “right” to kill children in the womb? (Or they simply video their abortions and tell us that everything is “super great!”) What deceit will liberals use to explain or embrace the fiscal and medical disaster that is Obamacare? How many times will we get to hear the phrase “marriage equality” (knowing full well that the liberal position on marriage also “discriminates”)?

“Truth makes the Devil blush,” wrote English historian Thomas Fuller. As liberalism has created a culture that is nearly bereft of shame, today’s Democrats rarely blush. This usually happens only when someone becomes a political liability and not because some proper moral standard has been violated. 

Of course, as many continue to point out, the consequences of the wide variety of immorality proffered by today’s Democrat Party go well beyond the political realm. Individuals, families, businesses, churches, and the like are suffering. In other words, America is suffering.

As Al Mohler recently put it, “We are in the midst of a massive revolution in morality.” He adds that, “sexual morality is at the center of this revolution.” Mohler refers directly to a “crossroads” and alludes to an unavoidable showdown that is looming within the evangelical church. However, I believe this is the case for our nation in general.

Deep lines in the sand are being drawn. There are going to be few places to hide. Americans are going to have to make distinct choices about the morality by which our government is going to operate. Such choices may make many unpopular with their family and their neighbors. However, must we end up with the kind of suffering we saw during the Civil War before our lesson is learned?

Many, including President Lincoln himself, saw the American Civil War as God’s judgment on our nation for indulging in the sin of slavery. America contained about 4 million slaves at the height of slavery in the U.S.

Since Roe v. Wade, well over 50 million American babies have been killed in the womb. As Alveda King, MLK’s niece put it recently, “Every aborted baby is like a slave in the womb of his or her mother. The mother decides his or her fate.”

In addition, over 40 percent of children in America are born out of wedlock. Record numbers of Americans are cohabitating. The family is disintegrating and liberals celebrate! With many seemingly content to nurse on the ample bosoms of Big Government, record numbers of Americans are not working and are on the welfare rolls. After all, who needs mom and dad or a job when you have Obama’s Stash?

With millions of Americans addicted to pornography, it is little wonder that so many lack the ability to have healthy intimate relationships that lead to healthy families. With the hook-up culture rampant, sexually transmitted diseases are also at record levels.

What’s more, in the name of their green god, deceptive climate policies are destroying wealth and harming the poor. In spite of the apathy most Americans have shown this false religion, Democrats, perhaps searching for some political traction in this increasingly hostile political climate (pun intended) in which they find themselves, continue to push their climate agenda.

Instead of direct judgment, some might deem the harsh suffering many of us are experiencing (whether a direct result of our sin or the sin of others) simply as the “natural” consequences of violating “Natural Law.” Whatever one chooses to call it, and whatever awaits us, one thing is clear: the past and current policies of the Democrat Party have aided and abetted the evil forces who seek to destroy mankind.

(See a version of this at American Thinker.)

Copyright 2014, Trevor Grant Thomas

At the Intersection of Politics, Science, Faith, and Reason.
Trevor and his wife Michelle are the authors of: Debt Free Living in a Debt Filled World
tthomas@trevorgrantthomas.com

"Emily Giveth, Emily Taketh Away"

You almost certainly have already at least heard of Emily Letts' abortion video. She, and many of her comrades on the left, seem to think that something significant has been accomplished.

In case you're unfamiliar with Emily's story: After engaging in immoral sexual activity, (surprise!) Emily found herself pregnant. Wanting to continue in her self-absorbed lifestyle, she decides to kill her unborn child. Having worked for a year as an abortion counselor at Cherry Hill Women’s Center in New Jersey, the 25 year-old purportedly could not find a single video that detailed a mother's experience in an abortion clinic.

If Emily was a bit more patient, perhaps she could have caught the upcoming film on Kermit Gosnell. I mean, if she really wants to show the world what really goes on (warning: graphic) in an abortion clinic, then let's get the complete story.

Of course, the left wants no such thing, and all Emily's video really does is to continue to perpetuate the lie that killing a child in the womb is a clean simple out-patient medical procedure like most any other. There is nothing surprising, revealing, or ground-breaking about this three minute display of extreme human selfishness. Liberals have been peddling such deceit for decades now. It's one of the biggest reasons over 50 million such procedures have occurred since Roe v. Wade.

As Al Mohler rightly concludes, what this video actually does is cast more light onto the worldview by which the vast majority of today's liberals live their lives.

Mohler writes:

"She grants to herself the power to give life; to 'make a life'” What she gives, she can destroy. Emily giveth, and Emily taketh away.

"And she is also the creator of her own moral system of value and the judge of her own solitary moral universe — 'I knew what I was going to do was right, ’cause it was right for me and no one else. No one else matters."

Exactly. When "no one else matters," when you make yourself, as Satan tells us in the Garden of Eden, "like God," it makes it so much easier to rationalize--even celebrate--your sin. "Fools mock at sin," reads Proverbs 14:9. It seems that the left videos it for millions to see.

Copyright 2014, Trevor Grant Thomas

At the Intersection of Politics, Science, Faith, and Reason.
Trevor and his wife Michelle are the authors of: Debt Free Living in a Debt Filled World
tthomas@trevorgrantthomas.com