freedom april 2008

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IN THIS ISSUE PAGE 1 MCCAIN PROPOSES GAS TAX BREAK OBAMA, CLINTON ACCUSED OF HOLD- ING DRED SCOTT VIEW ON ABBORTION PAGE 2 & 3 TESTIFYING OF GOD'S HEALING POWER PROPHESY WATCH PAGE 4 & 5 TRADITIONAL FAMILIES ON THE RE- BOUND BEN STEINS FILM PASTOR'S CORNER PAGE 6 & 7 WALLBUILDERS PAGE 8 & 9 TAX BREAK CONTINUED KIDS ZONE PAGE 10 & 11 PRINCIPLES OF PROSPERITY TEEN SPOT PAGE 12 IRAQ REPORT CARD Subscribe to FREEDOM Only $25.00 per year! Write: FREEDOM 108 E. Oakland Ave. Austin, MN 55912 SUPPORT FREEDOM Help Us Reach 10,000 Homes Monthly 1. You can advertise a product, service, business, or make an announcement with FREEDOM. Our rates are very reason- able. Call us at: 507-355-1429 2. You can become a FREEDOM partner by giving a tax deductible one time dona- tion or a monthly tax deductible donation to: FREEDOM PUBLICATIONS 108 E. Oakland Ave. Austin, MN 55912 THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT December Issue 2005 John McCain called Tuesday for the federal gov- ernment to free people from paying gasoline taxes this summer and ensure that college students can se- cure loans this fall, propos- als aimed at stemming the public’s pain now from the troubled economy. In the longer-term, the cer- tain Republican presidential nominee said he would dou- ble the tax exemption for de- pendent children and offer people the option of choos- ing a simpler tax system. “We know from experience A prominent evangelical Christian political activist says both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama ap- peared “halting and un- comfortable” during a re- cent “Compassion Forum” on CNN when they were asked serious questions about religious liberty, when life begins, and how God created the universe. Both Democratic presiden- tial candidates reiterated their support for abortion-on-de- mand during the forum. But when asked if life begins at conception, Senator Clinton (D-New York) would only say “the potential for life begins at conception,” while Senator Obama (D-Illinois) claimed the subject was “something that I have not come to a firm resolution on.” Rob Schenck, president of the conservative National Clergy Council, says the event last night reaffirmed that neither Obama nor Clinton are “in the most important ways” compat- ible with the core beliefs of Evangelicals or core convic- tions of Christian traditional- ists of any kind. “There was no room in either the thinking of Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama for anyone who truly believes that all hu- man life is precious at all stag- es of development from con- ception until natural death,” explains Schneck. “They have a stratified philosophy of the value of human life,” he contin- ues, describing that philosophy as one that believes “there are some humans who are more valuable than others; there are humans who are not really human persons. “Now that’s Dred Scott language,” he adds. “That’s what the pro-slavers be- lieved.” Schenck contends pro- life voters need to “read between the lines” because both Democratic candidates are working with professional speech coaches and they will give just enough information to “beguile” voters. “We have to be extremely discerning in this -- prayerfully, carefully, bibli- cally discerning ...” in reading what was not said, he advises. He also maintains that both Clinton and Obama have “no real moral philosophy” or any room for Christians who be- lieve that “all human life is of equal value in the eyes of God.” FREEDOM 108 E. Oakland Ave. Austin, MN 55912 that no serious reform of the current tax code will come out of Congress, so now it is time to turn the decision over to the people,” McCain said in a sweeping economic speech A Publication of Rory Synoground Ministries International www.rsmifreedom.org April Issue 2008 F REEDOM Inspiring Hope and Faith FREE NONPROFIT ORG US POSTAGE PAID AUSTIN, MN PERMIT NO. 3 M CCAIN PROPOSES GAS TAX BREAK Liz Sidoti - Associated Press Writer - 4/15/2008 at Carnegie Mellon University a week before Pennsylvania’s primaries. To help people weather the downturn immediately, Mc- Cain urged Congress to in- stitute a “gas-tax holiday” by suspending the 18.4 cent fed- eral gas tax and 24.4 cent die- sel tax from Memorial Day to Labor Day. He also renewed his call for the United States to stop adding to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and thus lessen to some extent the worldwide demand for oil. Combined, he said, the two proposals would reduce gas prices, which would have a OBAMA, CLINTON ACCUSED OF HOLDING A ‘DRED SCOTT’ VIEW ON ABORTION Jim Brown - One- NewsNow - 4/14/2008 CONTINUED ON PAGE 8

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FREEDOM is a free monthly Newspaper produced by FREEDOM PUBLICATIONS, a member of FREEDOM BUSINESS GROUP. Rory & Amelia Synoground have a vision of impacting our world with the message of hope and faith. FREEDOM is an excellent source for information and encouraging ministry realted articles for the whole family.

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: Freedom April 2008

IN THIS ISSUEPAGE 1

MCCAIN PROPOSES GAS TAX BREAKOBAMA, CLINTON ACCUSED OF HOLD-ING DRED SCOTT VIEW ON ABBORTION

PAGE 2 & 3TESTIFYING OF GOD'S

HEALING POWERPROPHESY WATCH

PAGE 4 & 5TRADITIONAL FAMILIES ON THE RE-

BOUND BEN STEINS FILM

PASTOR'S CORNERPAGE 6 & 7

WALLBUILDERSPAGE 8 & 9

TAX BREAK CONTINUEDKIDS ZONE

PAGE 10 & 11PRINCIPLES OF PROSPERITY

TEEN SPOTPAGE 12

IRAQ REPORT CARD

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SUPPORT FREEDOMHelp Us Reach10,000 Homes

Monthly1. You can advertise a product, service, business, or make an announcement with FREEDOM. Our rates are very reason-able. Call us at:

507-355-14292. You can become a FREEDOM partner by giving a tax deductible one time dona-tion or a monthly tax deductible donation to:

FREEDOM PUBLICATIONS108 E. Oakland Ave.

Austin, MN 55912

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT

December Issue 2005

John McCain called Tuesday for the federal gov-ernment to free people from paying gasoline taxes this summer and ensure that college students can se-cure loans this fall, propos-als aimed at stemming the public’s pain now from the troubled economy.

In the longer-term, the cer-tain Republican presidential nominee said he would dou-ble the tax exemption for de-pendent children and offer people the option of choos-ing a simpler tax system.

“We know from experience

A prominent evangelical Christian political activist says both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama ap-peared “halting and un-comfortable” during a re-cent “Compassion Forum” on CNN when they were asked serious questions about religious liberty, when life begins, and how God created the universe.

Both Democratic presiden-tial candidates reiterated their support for abortion-on-de-mand during the forum. But when asked if life begins at conception, Senator Clinton (D-New York) would only say “the potential for life begins at conception,” while Senator Obama (D-Illinois) claimed the subject was “something that I have not come to a firm resolution on.” Rob Schenck, president of the conservative National Clergy Council, says the event last

night reaffirmed that neither Obama nor Clinton are “in the most important ways” compat-ible with the core beliefs of Evangelicals or core convic-tions of Christian traditional-ists of any kind.

“There was no room in either the thinking of Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama for anyone who truly believes that all hu-man life is precious at all stag-es of development from con-ception until natural death,” explains Schneck. “They have a stratified philosophy of the value of human life,” he contin-ues, describing that philosophy

as one that believes “there are some humans who are more valuable than others; there are humans who are not really human persons.

“Now that’s Dred Scott language,” he adds. “That’s what the pro-slavers be-lieved.”

Schenck contends pro-life voters need to “read

between the lines” because both Democratic candidates are working with professional speech coaches and they will give just enough information to “beguile” voters. “We have to be extremely discerning in this -- prayerfully, carefully, bibli-cally discerning ...” in reading what was not said, he advises.

He also maintains that both Clinton and Obama have “no real moral philosophy” or any room for Christians who be-lieve that “all human life is of equal value in the eyes of God.”FR

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that no serious reform of the current tax code will come out of Congress, so now it is time to turn the decision over to the people,” McCain said in

a sweeping economic speech

A Publication of Rory Synoground Ministries International www.rsmifreedom.org April Issue 2008

FREEDOMInspiring Hope and Faith

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MCCAIN PROPOSES GAS TAX BREAK Liz Sidoti - Associated Press Writer - 4/15/2008

at Carnegie Mellon University a week before Pennsylvania’s primaries.

To help people weather the downturn immediately, Mc-Cain urged Congress to in-stitute a “gas-tax holiday” by suspending the 18.4 cent fed-eral gas tax and 24.4 cent die-sel tax from Memorial Day to Labor Day. He also renewed his call for the United States to stop adding to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and thus lessen to some extent the worldwide demand for oil.

Combined, he said, the two proposals would reduce gas prices, which would have a

OBAMA, CLINTON ACCUSED OF HOLDING A ‘DRED SCOTT’ VIEW ON ABORTIONJim Brown - One-

NewsNow - 4/14/2008

CONTINUED ON PAGE 8

Page 2: Freedom April 2008

Page 2 FREEDOM

TESTIFYING OF GOD'S HEALING POWER

PHYSYICAL HEALINGI had a mass on my neck. My Doctor did an ultra sound. The results caused him much concern. He made an appoint-ment for me at Mayo Cloinic. I went to the Prayer & Healing Center and recieved prayer. After the prayer ministers prayed, I received my healing. A biopsy done at Mayo Clinic confirmed I was healed. Praise the Lord!

SHOULDER HEALEDMy left shoulder was healed during Healing School. After the service I asked Pastor Rory to pray for my shoulder. He said NO, because during the service He saw the power of God go into my shoulder. Then he got a Word from the Lord saying,. “It’s finished, It’s done.” My shoulder was healed. Pastor Rory asked me to move it like I counldn’t before. I did, and the pain was gone.

TWO HEARTS HEALEDTwo small girls ages 5 & 6 were dignon-sed with heart mrmurs during a physical The doctor arranged appointments at May Clinic. The day of the appointment Pas-tor Rory, the monther, and myself, prayed for the girls. The girls heart tests came out 100% OK! Thank You Jesus! Praise the Lord!

HEALED FROM CANCERI was diagnosed with 4th stage cervical cancer, and given 3-4 months to live. Pas-tor Rory and Prayer Ministry Team came to my house and prayed with me weekly. After two years of standing on the Word of God and prayer, I am now completely cancer free. My Doctor said that i should not be here. But my Jesus says I AM HEALED.

ARM & SHOULDER PAIN HEALEDAfter suffering fro three months with arm,

shoulder and neck pain, with no relief from Chiropractic or mes-sage Therapy, I went forward for prayer at a Service at the Prayer and Healing Center. I instantly felt the pain leave. The Lord healed me completely and quickly. I am now able to move my shoulder and arm with no pain. My neck is pain free to. Praise the Lord!

LOVE FROM JESUS TOUCHED MY LIFEI was emotionally distressed and depressed. I came in for prayer at the Prayer & Healing Center. I also began attending the services here at the Center. After hearing the truth and knowing the truth my life was changed. I know I would of died if my life would not have been touched by the Love of Jesus.

ASK US AND WE WILL PRAY FOR YOUGOD IS READY ARE YOU?

CALL US TODAY AT 507-355-1429JESUS SAVES

JESUS HEALS

HEALING

HEALING

Page 3: Freedom April 2008

FREEDOM Page 3

PROPHECY WATCH

“Heaven and earth are coming closer, and closer and closer together. For the time is right, the time is now and the time has come. When one thought is released in heaven and instantaneously picked up on the earth by peo-ple who are aware of the Spirit, and are aware of those things that heav-en is directing. Where in times past sometimes it tookyears for the earth to pick up on what God was doing and what He was saying to the earth, because there was so much doubt and unbe-lief and fear. But this is a time when God is mov-ing and people are mov-ing. And people are moving, and God is moving and heaven and earth is coming closer, and closer and closer together. And this gen-eration will know even greater than any other before it, because it has its ear tuned to the spirit of the living God, in the Word of the living God and has learned that it can walk in love andwalk in faith and walk in power. And perfected love casteth out fear and Satan is in his worst moment.“This is it. God’s dream is materializing, and it is moving now with such overwhelming force that there is nothing on the earth that can slow it down. It can’t slow it down, so it certainly can’t stop it. The days of Satan’s success are over. He’ll cause all the trouble he can, but he is outnumbered on every front, hallelujah. Hallelujah.

The marvels and the wonders that the Master has declared to come to pass, in your and my time. Your and my day, right now, are far over and above any thing any human mind has ever conceived, except the mind of Jesus. However, remember

that My Word says you have the mind of Christ. You can con-ceive it, you can see it, you can see into it. I will reveal it to you,” saith the Lord, “and to those that are hun-gry, and those that will stay in My pres-ence, and those that unashamedly praise Me, I’ll show it to you before it happens.

And many of you will declare it, and many

of you will be thrilled. And there are peoplethat will say ‘they are crazy, they’re nuts.’ Well, they may be crazy, but they’re walking like God, talking like God. They look like God, they sound like God. They’re not God, but they’re the people of God. And God himself, the Great One, creator of all things, is packing up. He packing up, preparing to move. He’s coming to the earth, mov-ing heaven.

Heaven and earth are coming together, and it is soon to come to pass. Much sooner than even you think,”

TESTIFYING OF GOD'S HEALING POWER

Prophecy given by Kenneth Copeland

March 8, 20082008 Branson

Victory Campaign

God Is Moving

You Could Win!Entries with the correct answerwill be entered in a drawing. The drawing will be held 4/31/08.

To enter send: Your Name, Address,& Phone #Freedom Publications/March How many? 108 E. Oakland Ave., Austin, MN 55912

$5$5How many times can you find the word FREEDOM in this issue?

Page 4: Freedom April 2008

FREEDOMPage 4

STATISTICS SHOW TRADITIONAL FAMILIES ON THE REBOUND

Statistics released by the Census Bu-reau recently are being acknowledged by many pro-family advocates as a good development for the traditional notion of two -pa ren t families.

The Census Bureau’s re-port of 2004 surveys says nearly 62 percent of the nation’s 73 million children live with both bio-logical par-ents, within a larger figure of 70 percent overall living with two parents and two-thirds living with two married parents. The New York Times reports that the sta-tistics represent a major trend slowdown between 2004 and a previous survey in 1990 versus a dramatic loss in two-parent homes and an increase in single-female parent homes between 1970 and 1990. Mike McManus, co-founder of Marriage Savers, says the traditional family -- and children who would otherwise suffer the devastating effects of divorce or dysfunc-tional homes -- could use the good news.

He calls the statistics “a good sign” and notes that “more and more marriages are staying together and fewer and fewer children are having [to suffer] these kinds

of effects.”

Bill Banuchi of Marriage and Family Savers Institute, which works to pro-mote and re-store families, says a biologi-cally intact fam-ily is still the true desire of most children.

“We also see in the families that we coun-sel that the children still have that desire for a stable family ... [and] that marriage as an ideal is still very much desired by the young people,” Banuchi contends. McManus acknowledges the part of the report which reflects 19 million children living with only unmarried biological moth-ers, or about 1 in 4, and 3.7 million living with one biological parent and an unmar-ried partner. He says that number is still too large, and that empirical evidence continues to show cohabitation is driving several major trends contributing to the deterioration of the family.

According to Tech-noranati ’s BlogPulse which sur-veys the h o t t e s t topics and sites in the

world of blogs, a site featuring Ben Stein’s controversial new film Expelled is the #1 blog on the net.

The web traffic spiked when P.Z. Meyers, a biology professor at the University of Minne-sota, Morris, attempted to sneak into a pri-vate, invitation-only screening of Ben Stein’s highly controversial upcoming movie, “EX-PELLED: No Intelligence Allowed.” But My-ers, who is an outspoken atheist and author of the science blog “Pharyngula” got caught and has used his blog to bitterly complain about not being allowed to see the film be-fore its release.

Myers, who was interviewed in “Expelled,” has apparently been asking supporters to sneak into the private screenings which are being conducted by marketing company Mo-tive Entertainment (which handled grassroots marketing for blockbusters “The Passion of the Christ” and “The Chronicles of Narnia”) for various leaders as part of the grass roots marketing of the film.

When confronted at the screening by Myers’ friend Richard Dawkins, a prominent atheist who is himself featured in the film, as to why Myers was “expelled” from the screening, producer Mark Mathis replied that the pro-ducers were eager for Myers to screen the film but only after he had paid $10 to watch it with the rest of America after it releases on April 18th.

Mathis saw rich irony in Myers’ discontent with being “expelled” from “Expelled”:

professors are fired from their jobs and per-manently excluded from their profession for questioning DarwinismProducer Mark Mathis “It was amazing to see the reaction of Myers, Richard Dawkins and their friends when one of them wasn’t allowed to screen a film. Yet, these men applaud the fact that throughout the nation, professors are fired from their jobs and permanently ex-cluded from their profession for questioning Darwinism.”

Executive producer Logan Craft of Premise Media noted:

“We can’t wait for all Americans, including our friend P.Z. Myers, to see the film when it opens on April 18th. We’ll even throw in some free popcorn for P.Z. if he’ll tell us which the-ater he’ll be attending.”

“Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed” opens in theaters nationwide on April 18th.

The Freedom Publication Staff

Welcomes your COMMENTSWrite to: Freedom Publications/Comments 108 E. Oakland Ave., Austin, MN 55912

BEN STEIN’S CONTROVERSIAL FILM “EXPELLED: NO IN-TELLIGENCE ALLOWED” TOPS THE BLOGOSPHERE

Page 5: Freedom April 2008

FREEDOM Page 5

PASTOR'S CORNER

Hebrews 12:3

“Consider [Jesus] that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.”

The Word of God says that we are to look to Jesus, we are to con-sider Him, not our circumstances, problems, or the latest gossip that is swirling around our circles. In fact, your very life depends on where you have your attention.

In recent times it appears that a spir-it of discouragement & weariness has been trying to work its way into our lives. These spirits work their way into our lives through all the pressures, bad news and gossip that surrounds us every day. They try to get our eyes off the Word of God by bombarding us with nega-tive reports and lies.

They try to get us to look at the storm that we’re in, instead of con-sidering Jesus. If we let this hap-pen, we will begin to loose our freedom. We will begin loosing strength. We will be drawn away from the very One Who has deliv-ered us and gives us the victory.

Gods Word tells us that the result of growing weak is to “be wea-ried and faint in your minds.” Jesus put it this way in Mark 4. He said that when the cares of this world enter into your heart, they’ll choke the Word and cause it to be-come unfruitful. When we allow the cares and anxieties of this present temporal world into our thinking, it will bring with it discouragement and weariness.

You’re faith is the product of the Word God. If you are looking at the storm, instead of Jesus, Who is the Author, Developer, and Finisher of your faith, your faith will wither and die, it will become unproductive.

You see faith comes by hearing the Word of God. (Romans 10:17) In 1 John 5:12 we read where “Faith is the Victory that overcometh the World.“ We need our faith in order to overcome the storms of life. We need our faith to be in full operation in order for us to stand against the strate-gies of the devil, who roams about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he

can devour.

So we need to keep our attention on Jesus. If we allow the enemy to pull our attention away from Je-sus, from the Word of God, we are headed for disaster.

So what can we do to stop this chain reaction of discouragement and weariness?

Look to Jesus!

Keep your eyes on Him! When we allow gossip, bad reports, and cares into our heart, discourage-ment sets in. We loose strength, we take on negative attitudes, and weariness begins pulling us away from our Father. When this happens, we become easily de-feated.

So keep your eyes on Jesus. He is your hope. He is your Joy, He is your Redeemer. The word “con-sider“, actually means to; in-tensely observe fully, until you understand, and come into agreement with.

So to win, to overcome, to do the impossible in life, we must keep considering Jesus. We must in-tensely observe Him, until we agree with His Word, instead of what our circumstances are say-ing.

Consider Him instead of the cares of this world. Consider what God says in His Word, instead of what the worlds says.

Be moved by the thoughts of God, instead of the enemy’s thoughts. Let Gods thoughts become your thoughts, by keeping your atten-tion, and focus on Him!

Get your eyes off the circum-stances around you and onto your heavenly source. Don’t be afraid you’re going to lose every-thing. God is your Source, not the world. He can take care of you re-gardless of what happens around you.

If you’ve gotten weary, and dis-couraged lately, turn your eyes to the One who can & will make a difference, He is your Answer tSo look to Jesus, and experience the impossible manifest in your life today!

Rev. Rory Synoground Founder and President of

Rory Synoground Ministries International, and Pastor of

Freedom Christian Center, Austin, MN

"And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."

John 8:32

LOOK TO JESUS!

Page 6: Freedom April 2008

FREEDOMPage 6

Wa l l B u i l d e r s

While uninformed laymen erroneously believe the theory of evo-lution to be a product of Charles Dar-win in his first major work of 1859 (The Origin of Species), the historical records are exceedingly clear that the evolution-creation-intelligent design debate was largely formulated well before the birth of Christ. Numerous famous writings have appeared on the topic for almost two thousand years; in fact, our Found-ing Fathers were well-acquainted with these writings and therefore the princi-ple theories and teachings of evolution – as well as the science and philosophy both for and against that thesis – well before Darwin synthesized those centu-ries-old teachings in his writings.

Nobel-Prize winner Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) explains: “The general idea of evolution is very old; it is already to be found in Anaximander (sixth century B.C.). . . . [and] Descartes [1596-1650], Kant [1724-1804], and Laplace [1749-1827] had advocated a gradual origin for the solar system in place of sudden creation.” 1 Professor Henry Fairfield Osborn (1857-1935), a zoologist and paleon-tologist, agrees, declaring that there are “ancient pedigrees for all that we are apt to consider modern. Evolution has reached its present fullness by slow ad-ditions in twenty-four centuries.” 2 He continues, “Evolution as a natural explanation of the origin of the higher forms of life . . . developed from the teaching of Thales [624-546 B.C.] and Anaximander [610-546 B.C.] into those of Aristotle [384-322 B.C.]. . . . and it is startling to find him, over two thousand years ago, clearly stating, and then re-jecting, the theory of the survival of the fittest as an explanation of the evolution of adaptive structures.” 3 And British anthropologist Edward Clodd (1840-1930) similarly affirms that, “The pioneers of evolution – the first on

record to doubt the truth of the theory of special creation, whether as the work of departmental gods or of one Supreme Deity, matters not – lived in Greece about the time already mentioned: six centuries before Christ.”

For example, Anaximander (610-546 B.C.) introduced the theory of spontane-ous generation; Diogenes (412-323 B.C.) introduced the concept of the primordial slime; Empedocles (495-455 B.C.) intro-duced the theory of the survival of the fit-test and of natural selection; Deomocritus (460-370 B.C.) advocated the mutability and adaptation of species; the writings of Lucretius (99-55 B.C.) announced that all life sprang from “mother earth” rather than from any specific deity; Bruno (1548-1600) published works arguing against creation and for evolution in 1584-85; Leibnitz (1646-1716) taught the theory of intermedial species; Buffon (1707-1788) taught that man was a quadruped as-cended from the apes, about which Hel-vetius also wrote in 1758; Swedenborg (1688-1772) advocated and wrote on the nebular hypothesis (the early “big bang”) in 1734, as did Kant in 1755; etc. It is a simple fact that countless works for (and against) evolution had been written for over two millennia prior to the drafting of our governing documents and that much of today’s current phraseology surround-ing the evolution debate was familiar rhetoric at the time our documents were framed.

In fact, Dr. Henry Osborn (1857-1935), curator of the American Museum of Natu-ral History in New York City, identifies four periods of evolution: I. Greek Evolution – 640 B.C. to 1600 A.D.; II. Modern Evolu-tion – 1600-1800 A.D.; III. Modern Induc-tive Evolution – 1730-1850 A.D.; and IV. Modern Inductive Evolution – 1858 to the present. 5 He describes the third period in the history of evolution – the period in which our Framers lived – as a period which produced the pro-evolution writings of “Linnaeus, Buffon, E[rasmus] Darwin, Lamarck, Goethe, Treviranus, Geof. St. Hilaire, St. Vincent, Is. St. Hilaire. Miscel-laneous writers: Grant, Rafinesque, Virey, Dujardin, d’Halloy, Chevreul, Godron, Leidy, Unger, Carus, Lecoq, Schaafhau-sen, Wolff, Meckel, Von Baer, Serres, Herbert, Buch, Wells, Matthew, Naudin, Haldeman, Spencer, Chambers, Owen.”

The debate over the origins of man has al-ways been between a theistic and a non-theistic approach; and among those who embrace the theistic approach have been found (and still are found) three distinct

sub-approaches: (1) intelligent-design (that which exists came into being by divine guidance, but the period of time required or the specif-ics of the process are unsettled, possibly unprovable, and therefore remain debat-able); (2) theistic evolution (that which exists came into being over a long, slow passing of time through natural laws and process-es but under divine guidance); and (3) special creation (that which exists came into being in six literal days). This, then, makes four separate historic ap-proaches to the origins of man: three the-istic, and one non-theistic.

In the non-theistic camp, Empedocles

(495-435 B.C.) was the father and origi-nal proponent of the evolution theory, fol-lowed by advocates such as Democritus (460-370 B.C. ), Epicurus (342-270 B.C.), Lucretius (98-55 B.C.), Abubacer (1107-1185 A.D.), Bruno (1548-1600), Buffon (1707-1788), Helvetius (1715-1771), Erasmus Darwin (1731-1802), Lamarck (1744-1829), Goethe (1749-1832), Lyell (1797-1875), etc.

In the theistic camp, Anaxigoras (500-428 B.C.) was the father of intelligent design; that same belief was also expounded by such distinguished scientists and philoso-phers Descartes (1596-1650), Harvey (1578-1657), Newton (1642-1727), Kant (1729-1804), Mendel (1822-1884), Cuvier

The Founding Fathers on

Page 7: Freedom April 2008

FREEDOM Page 7

growth for organs that only later had their functioning – these things are increasing-ly recognized with the progress of botany, zoology, paleontology, and embryology. Together, they added such prestige to the design argument that by the later eigh-teenth century it was, as approved by the sciences of organic life, the central point of theistic and idealistic philosophy. 9

(This position of in-telligent design, also called the anthropic or teleological view, is now embraced by an increasing num-ber of contemporary distinguished scien-tists, non-religious though many of them claim to be.

The second camp within the theistic approach is theistic evolution, which was first propounded by Aristotle (384-322 B.C.). Other prominent expositors of this view included Gregory of Nyssa (331-396 A.D.), Augustine of Hippo (354-430 A.D.), St. Gregory the First (540-604 A.D.), St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274), Leibnitz (1646-1716), Swedenborg (1688-1772), Bonnet (1720-1793), and numerous con-temporary scientists. In fact, many of Dar-win’s contemporaries embraced this view, believing that “natural selection could be the means by which God has chosen to make man.”

As confirmed by Dr. James Rachels, pro-fessor at the University of Alabama at Bir-mingham: Mivart [1827-1900, a professor in Belgium] became the leader of a group of dissident evolutionists who held that although man’s body might have evolved by natural selection, his rational and spiri-tual soul did not. At some point God had interrupted the course of human history to implant man’s soul in him, making him something more than merely a former ape. . . . Wallace [1823-1913, who advo-cated natural selection prior to Darwin] took a view very similar to that of Mivart: he held that the theory of natural selection applies to humans, but only up to a point. Our bodies can be explained in this way, but not our brains. Our brains, he said, have powers that far outstrip anything that could have been produced by natu-ral selection. Thus he concluded that God had intervened in the course of human history to give man the “extra push” that would enable him to reach the pinnacle on which he now stands. . . . Natural se-lection, while it explained much, could not

explain everything; in the end God must be brought in to complete the picture.

In fact, Clarence Darrow himself (the lead attorney during the famous Scopes Mon-key Trial in 1925 13 ), admitted during the trial that this was a prominent position of many in that day; 14 and Dudley Malone, Darrow’s co-counsel, even declared:

We shall show by the testimony of men learned in science and theol-ogy that there are millions of people who believe in evolution and in the stories of cre-ation as set forth in the Bible and who find no conflict be-tween the two.

Interestingly, writers who chronicle the centuries-long history of the evolution debate16 confirm that there have always been numerous evolutionists in both the theistic and the non-theistic camps, and much of the proceedings in the Scopes trial reaffirmed that a belief in evolution was not incompatible with teaching theis-tic origins and a belief in a divine creator.

The third camp, special (or literal) cre-ation, was championed by Francisco Suarez (1548-1617) and later by Pasteur (1822-1895) as well as by subsequent contemporary scientists.

Significantly, then, the history of this con-troversy through recent years and even previous centuries makes clear that sub-sequent scientific discovery across the centuries has not yet significantly altered any of these four views. Therefore, it was not in the absence of knowledge about the debate over evolution but rather in its presence, that our Framers made the decision to incorporate in our governing documents the principle of a creator. One example affirming the Framers’ view on this subject is provided by Thomas Paine. Although Paine was the most openly and aggressively anti-religious of the Found-ers, in his 1787 “Discourse at the Society of Theophilanthropists in Paris,” Paine nevertheless forcefully denounced the French educational system which taught students that man was the result of pre-historic cosmic accidents, or had devel-oped from some other species:

(1769-1827), Agassiz (1807-1873), etc. Significantly, even Charles Darwin (1809-1882), strongly influenced by the writings of Paley (1743- 1805), 7 embraced the intelligent design position at the time that he wrote his celebrated word, explaining:

Another source of conviction in the exis-tence of God, connected with the reason and not with the feelings, impresses me as having much more weight. This fol-lows from the extreme difficulty, or rather impossibility, of conceiving this immense and wonderful universe, including man with his capacity of looking far backwards and far into futurity, as the result of blind chance or necessity. When thus reflecting I feel compelled to look to a First Cause

having an intelligent mind in some degree analogous to that of man; and I deserve to be called a Theist. This conclusion was strong in my mind about the time, as far as I can remember, when I wrote the Ori-gin of Species.

John Dewey, an ardent 20th century pro-ponent of Darwinism, explained why the intelligent design position – scientifically speaking – was reasonable:

The marvelous adaptation of organisms to their environment, of organs to the organism, of unlike parts of a complex organ (like the eye) to the organ itself; the foreshadowing by lower forms of the higher; the preparation in earlier stages of

Author and historian David Barton is the Founder and President of WallBuilders, a national pro-family organization which distributes historical, legal, and statistical information; and helps citizens become active in their local schools and communities. WallBuilders is a name taken from the Bible book of Nehemiah. And just as Nehemiah led a grassroots movement in Jerusalem to rebuild the walls of that city and restore its strength and honor; so, too, WallBuilders seeks to energize the grassroots today to rebuild that which makes America strong—its constitutional, moral, and religious foundations.

Creation and Evolution

"Natural selection, while it explained

much, could not ex-plain everything; in the end God must be brought in to

complete the picture."

Continued In The Next Issueof FREEDOM

Page 8: Freedom April 2008

FREEDOMPage 8

trickle-down effect, and “help-spread relief across the Ameritcan economy.”

Addressing the feared fallout of the ongoing credit crunch, Mc-Cain also said the Education Department should work with the country’s governors to make sure that each state’s guarantee agency - nonprofits that tradition-ally back student loans issued by banks - has both the means and the manpower to be the lender-of-last-resort for student loans.

Lawmakers, students and finan-cial experts are worried that the credit crisis might make it more difficult for students and their families to find loans. Nearly two dozen lenders have dropped out of the federally backed student loan program.

Students, McCain said, “should not be denied an education be-cause the recklessness of others has made credit too hard to ob-tain.”

Among other proposals, McCain said he would:

-Require more affluent people - couples making more than $160,000 - enrolled in Medicare to pay a higher premium for their pre-scription drugs than less-wealthy people.

-Raise the tax exemption for each dependent child from $3,500 to $7,000.

-Offer people the option of choos-ing a simpler tax system with two tax rates and a standard deduc-tion instead of sticking with the current system.

-Suspend for one year all increas-es in discretionary spending for agencies other than those that cover the military and veterans while launching an expansive re-view of the effectiveness of fed-eral programs.

Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton said McCain’s propos-als offer “no change from George Bush’s failed policies by going full speed ahead with fiscally irre-sponsible tax cuts for the wealthi-est Americans,” and amount to “a gift basket of new tax cuts for corporate America at a time when some CEOs are making more in a day than some workers make in a year.”

The four-term Arizona senator packaged the fresh proposals with long-standing positions in a wide-ranging economic speech on Tax

Day in which he faulted not only Democrats but also fellow Re-publicans for failing to practice prudent spending and fix pricey entitlement programs.

“In so many ways, we need to make a clean break from the worst excesses of both political parties,” McCain said, adding “somewhere along the way, too many Republicans in Congress became indistinguishable from the big-spending Democrats they used to oppose.”

He also argued that Democratic rivals Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton would impose the single largest tax increase since World War II by allowing tax cuts enacted in 2001 and 2003 - and that McCain voted against but now wants to make permanent - to expire.

“Both promise big ‘change.’ And a trillion dollars in new taxes over the next decade would certainly fit that description,” McCain said. Playing on the title of an Obama book, McCain added: “All these tax increases are the fine print under the slogan of ‘hope:’ They’re going to raise your taxes by thousands of dollars per year - and they have the audacity to hope you don’t mind.”

The speech was part of McCain’s ongoing effort to counter the no-tion - fueled by his own previ-ous comments - that he’s not as strong on the economy as he is on other issues. He also sought to fend off criticism from Demo-crats, including Obama and Clin-ton, that his small-government, free-market stances don’t mesh with people feeling the pinch - particularly those hurting now.

He made his remarks a day after he said he believes the country has already entered a recession, a label the Bush administration has resisted even as a credit crisis, a housing slump, soaring energy costs and rising layoffs combined to soften the econo-my.

The speech also came the same morning the Labor De-partment reported another worrisome sign for the econ-omy: Inflation at the whole-sale level soared in March at nearly triple the rate that had been expected as the costs of energy and food both climbed rapidly. Oil prices hit a new high, rising over $112 a barrel

MCCAIN PROPOSES GAS TAX BREAK CONTINUED FROM

PAGE 1

Page 9: Freedom April 2008

FREEDOM Page 9

.“Bless the Lord, you mighty angels of his who carry out his orders, listening for each of his commands.” - Psalms 103:20

Angels. Do you ever think about them? The Bible is full of true stories about angels. The Bible says that angels are ministering spirits sent forth to serve the children of salvation. Are you saved and do you have Jesus living in your heart? Well then, you have angels that are waiting to serve you! They are ministering spirits. What does ministering mean? It means to give aid, help, or service. They are here to help and serve you! Our verse today says that they are listening (and waiting) for a command. Now you can’t go and command them to do something that is bad or against God’s Word, like robbing a bank. But you can command them to help you and get you out of a scary situation. My youngest daughter Molly sometimes gets scared when it gets dark out and it’s time for bed. She has a little bookmark hanging next to her bed which really helps her during these times. “A bookmark?!” you ask. Yes! On the bookmark is an awesome picture of an angel. The angel is big. He is tall. He has huge muscles! He has his sword drawn

and is standing beside the bed of a little girl that is sleeping. When I think of angels, I think of a group of men that came to our church one time to talk about Jesus. They were called the “Power Team.” It was a group of Christian men that were bodybuilders. They would do all kinds of things - tear a frying pan in half, bend and break a baseball bat, rip a four-inch thick telephone book in half - all with their bare hands! The muscles in their arms were as big as your waist! They were strong. They were big. But they loved Jesus. I think your angel would be on the Power Team! Your angel is just as strong and big - only stronger and bigger! I always send my angels out with my kids when they go to school. If I’ve lost something, I command my angels to help me to find the lost item. Have you ever been shopping at the mall or grocery store with your Mom and gotten lost? Don’t be afraid. Call on your angels to help you! The Bible also says in Psalms 34:7 that “The angel of the Lord will guard and rescue you.” If you ever are in danger or are scared, you can always call on the angels for help. God gave you His angels to help and protect you. Don’t ignore them. Don’t let them sit around all day. Give them orders! Thank God for them, and just see what they can do!

ANGELS by Cheri J. Ekbom

Early one morning, a mother went in to wake up her son. “Wake up, son. It’s time to

go to school!”

“But why, Mom? I don’t want to go.”

“Give me two reasons why you don’t want to go.”

“Well, the kids hate me for one, and the teachers hate

me, too!”

“Oh, that’s no reason not to go to school. Come on now and get ready.”

“Give me two reasons why I should go to school.”

“Well, for one, you’re 42 years old. And for anoth-er, you’re the Principal!”

Who won the first human race?

Either Adam or Eve! It isn’t recorded.

Where does the ginger-bread man

sleep? Under a cook-

ie sheet. .

What do you call a fish that chews with his mouth

open? See food!

Why did the cookie go to the

hospital? Because he felt crummy.

How do you make a hankie dance?

Put a little boogie in it!

LAUGH OUT LOUD

What are Angels? Word Search

For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

Psalm 91:11-12

Find the hidden words within the grid of letters.T U R V Z T K F M Q T K P F VO S I J R U R S V V S S Z Z Q

O T N S Y A W L R X A B E P SF A D I E T A E K L Y W N L J

J C T S A U K G M J O F C O XC P Y K X G P N Y T C O L D GP E R O J D A A Y M N P P L QJ S X V D V U X C C U T V B TS Q D K B E R I E K P R U S ZT Y W A K N Y R F I T B N H XO C H I H A N M I F H F Q U YN A R M O I G U A R D A I X ME T F J N W U Z G X T F N L N

S L B G D N A M M O C O R D MY J L W V W O Y R G C P B L S

against concerning hands stoneangels foot lift strike

command guard Psalm ways

Page 10: Freedom April 2008

Page 10 FREEDOM

God has designed one way of life for His children—the abundant life! Abun-dance means “more than enough, plenty, or amply supplied.” I like to think of it as having more than enough, so you will never have to say no to God again when it comes to funding the end-time harvest.

God wants His people to enjoy the abun-dant life! However, we come into God’s perfect will in our finances only by under-standing and applying His Word to them. I believe the truth of God’s Word will set you free from the bondage of debt, so you can experience the abundant life God pro-vides through Christ Jesus!

The Abundance of God

“For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich” (2 Cor. 8:9).

We serve an abundant God. His creation abounds all around us: water, land, moun-tains, animals, plants, trees, insects...it only makes sense that He wants our lives to abound “exceeding abundantly” too. The Word of God agrees.

“Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundant-ly above all that we ask or think, according to the pow-er that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen” (Eph. 3:20-21).

This Scripture contains three critical points:

1. God wants to give us not only more than we can ask, but more than we can even think about!

2. God wants to give us this unlim-ited blessing “according to the power that worketh in us.” His promises operate through us only to the degree that we let His power operate in us. We must totally submit to His will.

3. “Unto Him be glory!” The realm of more than we can ask or think belongs to those who seek God’s glory, not their own.

When you walk in God’s abundance and go beyond simply having your basic needs like rent, groceries, utilities, and car payments met, you can do powerful things

for His kingdom.

God wants to give you more than you can ask or think because His plan for you is infinitely greater than you can imagine!

By faith you can break out of the devil’s insufficiency thinking and God will open new visions of abundance. He wants you to flourish so you will have more than enough to finance the end-time harvest.

God’s blessings enable you to accumu-late wealth. A key principle in biblical eco-nomics is: “The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it” (Prov. 10:22).

The Purpose of Wealth

God is the author of your abundance; it is part of being blessed by Him. In the Scrip-tures He has laid down a firm foundational plan to teach you and me how to become rich! He wants us to grow beyond simply being blessed to the point where we be-come blessings to others.

Let’s be realistic. You cannot operate in an effective giving ministry from poverty or shortage. The only way out of these in-hibitors of abundance is generous giving. Remember, whatever you give to God will always be given back to you.

Be faithful over little and God will give you a lot to be faithful over. If you exercise faithfulness and patience, eventually you will find yourself in the ministry of finances and become a banker for God!

Source: The Basics of Abundance by John Avanzini Excerpt permission granted by Harrison House Publishers

Dr. John F. Avanzini was born in Paramaribo, Surinam, South America, in 1936. He was raised and educated in Texas, and

received his doctorate in philosophy from Baptist Christian University, Shreveport, Louisiana. Dr. Avanzini now resides with his wife, Pat, in Fort Worth, Texas, where he is the Director of

His Image Ministries.

Welcomes your COMMENTSThe Freedom Publication Staff

Write to: Freedom Publications/Comments 108 E. Oakland Ave., Austin, MN 55912

GODLY ABUNDANCE

"

"And my God shall supply all your need according to

His riches in glory by Christ Jesus"

Phillippians 4:19

Page 11: Freedom April 2008

Music News--www.tvulive.comSwitchfoot recently announced that Emery would be joining for almost the entire To Write Love On Her Arms Tour. Along with Emery, The Myriad will also be appearing at select shows. You can get all the details about the tour by logging on to Switchfoot’s website.

Sanctus Real has also announced a brand new fall tour. Sure, fall seems a long way off, but it’s a very short tour in the Mid-west so you don’t want to miss it. For more details, you can hit sanctusreal.com.

Alyssa Barlow was praying one day when a picture popped in her mind. “I saw this girl crying in a dark room,” Alyssa says. “There were broken pieces of a porcelain heart on the floor and she was trying to put it back together.”

Alyssa started crying, not knowing what the mental image meant. She thought, Lord, what is this?

“I think God was talking to me about how often we can allow our hearts to be broken by oth-ers,” she says. “We long for approval and definition. And while we’re built for that need to draw us to God, we are quick to pass our heart to anyone who will complete, de-fine or love us. But it’s a porcelain heart for a reason—it wasn’t meant to be passed around and treated care-lessly.”

In the BarlowGirl song, “Porcelain Heart,” the girls sing: “This can’t be the way … some-thing’s gotta change and mend this broken heart of mine.” Ignite asked Alyssa, Lauren and Becca: “How do

you protect your porcelain hearts? How do you keep them from shat-tering to pieces?” Here’s what they had to say.

FIND TRUE WORTH: “I need to let God be the one who defines me,” Lauren says. “We put so much importance on what people—espe-cially the opposite sex—think of us. We let that determine our worth. But what God says about me is worth

so much more.”

How do you find out what God thinks? “We’ve studied the Bible, such as the book of Es-ther, to see what God thinks of us,” Becca says. “By learning how much he loves us, we let God give us our worth.”

TAKE THOUGHTS CAPTIVE:

“The three of us really had to work to learn to take every thought cap-tive and make sure it fits to a life shaped by Christ, like 2 Corinthi-ans 10:5 says,” says Alyssa. “We believe that’s important because when you meet an amazing guy and find yourself obsessing about the last conversation you had and over what they might think of you, you’re getting too emotionally at-tached even if you aren’t dating. It’s OK to have romantic feelings, but you need to watch how much

you’re getting caught up with someone.”

“I can sometimes meet a guy and start thinking, ‘Wow this guy is amazing,’ and just start get-ting too wrapped up in it,” Becca says. “At times like these, it’s easy to think, ‘He must be the one!’ Instead, I’ve

learned to ask myself, ‘What do I like about this guy’s personality that I’d want in my future husband?’”

KEEP EACH OTHER ACCOUNTABLE: In addition to paying attention to how often she thinks about guys, each sister also shares what she’s thinking with her sisters and parents. In return, they often check up on each other by asking questions: “So, how’s that friendship going? Are you thinking too much about him? What quali-ties do you really like about him?”

WAIT FOR GOD’S TIMING: “God put Adam to sleep until he created the right one for him,” Alys-sa says. “So we always say, ‘OK, put me to sleep until I’m ready.’ That way, my heart doesn’t get destroyed before that happens. I know my husband isn’t going to fall from the sky. But I know God has a journey for us and until we’re ready, we choose to be friends with guys. We hang out in groups but we don’t want to get our value from guys. We don’t expect them to fill the hole in our hearts only God should fill. We don’t want to hand them our hearts. We need to view our hearts as a gift.”

Page 11FREEDOM

GenerationExtreme

youth group

Protecting Our Hearts

A PLACE TO BELONG

A PLACE TO BE REAL A PLACE TO BE FREE

WE MEET EVERY WEDNESDAY NIGHT7:00PM at

FREEDOM CHRISTIAN CENTER108 E. Oakland Ave

Austin MN 55912

Alyssa, Lauren and Becca Barlow talk about how they find their worth in God.by Todd Hertz

FUN

FRIENDS

FREE

REAL

OPEN

Page 12: Freedom April 2008

FREEDOM

optimism regarding the latest progress report from the nation’s top military com-mander in Iraq.

General David Petraeus warned mem-bers of Congress this week that security gains in Iraq are too “fragile and revers-ible” to speed up the withdrawal of troops or set a timeline for all combat units to leave the country. Petraeus, who has rec-ommended to President Bush that 20,000 extra troops be pulled from Iraq by the end of July, said he is unlikely to call for an additional troop buildup. Congressman Steve Pearce (R-New Mexico) agrees with Petraeus’ assess-ment, and says the general has given ample evidence the troop surge worked. “We’ve dropped violence dramatically. That doesn’t mean we’re tremendously closer to a solution, but that it’s safer as we work towards a solution,” says Pearce. “We’re seeing political progress; we’re

seeing the different elements in the Iraqi population come together. Ethnic differ-ences are being solved; it’s a sort of re-port I would like to see.” Representative Tom Price (R-Georgia) also agrees, and argues the responsibil-ity of the Iraqi government has “by and large increased” and Baghdad contin-ues to meet the benchmarks Democrats demanded. “But what we hear from the other side over, and over, and over is that they are interested in failure at virtu-ally any cost,” Price points out. “That’s the most striking thing to me.” When House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) was asked about Pe-traeus’ suggestion that the U.S. should have a “45-day period of consolidation and evaluation” before withdrawing any troops from Iraq, she responded by say-ing the general had “kicked the can down the road over and over again” and “[t]he government of Iraq is not making neces-sary political decisions.”hammad Rahim.”

Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press.

All Rights Reserved

REPUBLICANS HAPPY, DEMS UPSET WITH IRAQ REPORT CARD

John WitherspoonThose who wish well to the State

ought to choose to places of trust men of inward principle, justified by exemplary

conversation. . . .[And] the people in general ought to have regard to the moral character of those whom they invest with authority either in the legislative, executive,

or judicial branches.

[John Witherspoon, The Works of John Witherspoon Edinburgh: J. Ogle, 1815), Vol. IV, pp. 266, 277.]

Jim Brown - OneNewsNow - 4/12/2008

H o u s e Republi-cans are exp ress ing