Pastor Elam's Blog

Like a bad penny, the proposed federal "hate crimes" law just keeps coming back.

It doesn't matter that there is no evidence that crimes against homosexuals are prosecuted any less vigorously than crimes against other victims. It doesn't matter that actual crimes against homosexuals have declined in recent years.

Liberal GOP Sens. Orrin Hatch, Utah, and Gordon Smith, Ore., are planning to bring up a new version of the Kennedy-Smith federal "hate crimes" law, which has been filed as an amendment to the defense authorization bill.

Proponents of the Hatch-Smith bill insist that their version seeks to empower state officials to better handle "hate crimes" and that it mitigates the more radical aspects of the Kennedy-Smith bill. But it still endorses the concept of "hate crimes," greatly expands federal power and will lead inevitably to "thought crimes."

Let's agree that we're all against hate and abuse of anybody. Nobody in America should live in fear. That is what the criminal law is for, and there is no evidence that it is not working. But "hate crime" laws are fraught with the possibilities of abuse.

Such laws create a multi-tiered system of justice, in which some crime victims' cases are taken more seriously than others, thus violating the constitutional guarantee of equal protection.

Seeking federal dollars, police and prosecutors will define more and more cases as "hate crimes." Expect such crimes to soar. After California enacted a "hate crimes" law, incidents went from 75 to 2,052 in four years.

In a media- and dollar-driven situation, your grandmother's mugging will not receive as much attention as the "hate crime" committed against a homosexual. Both victims deserve the full protection of the law, but the one that snags the headlines will get more of it.

All citizens who treasure freedom and the fundamental protections afforded by our legal system should see the latest drive for a federal "hate crimes" law for what it is: a sop to the homosexual lobby, fresh from its victory in Massachusetts, where weddings no longer require a bride.

But the real danger of "hate crime" laws is that they criminalize thoughts and beliefs. The law should concern itself only with actions. Prosecutors must prove intent, but examining underlying beliefs goes far beyond that.

Let's go to the bottom line: The federal "hate crimes" bill lays the groundwork for persecution of Christians in this country.

Homosexual activists have redefined any opposition to homosexuality as "hate speech." Laws already criminalize speech that incites violence. It's easy to imagine a scenario in which any incident involving a homosexual can be blamed on people who have publicly opposed homosexual activism.

Imagine what the activists could have done with a "hate crimes" law in 1998, when Matthew Shepard was beaten to death by two bar-hopping thugs in Wyoming. Everybody from Katie Couric to the San Francisco city supervisors blamed the killing on a "climate of hate" fomented by conservative Christians. Their evidence was newspaper ads from the "Truth in Love" campaign, in which former homosexuals told their stories of hope and redemption. Pure hate, according to the liberal chattering classes. Now they want to put teeth behind their charges.

Because of the publicity surrounding Mathew Shepherd's death, the state spent a small fortune prosecuting the case and handling media. By contrast, the rape and murder of 8-year-old Kristin Lamb, whose body was found in a landfill that same year, did not burden the state in the same way. Should Mr. Shepherd's killers receive justice? Absolutely. And they did. But Kristin's case should be at least as important and disturbing.

"Hate crime" tabulation can be quite misleading. Even though crimes based on religion constitute the second-highest category, according to the FBI, many such crimes go unreported. Some property crimes against churches are listed merely as "vandalism," not as "hate crimes."

In Tulsa, for instance, someone wrote the words "kill" and "death" on the walls of a Catholic elementary school. According to civil-rights attorney Leah Farish, the perpetrator also wrote "messages referring to devils and to sex with Christian girls. Pentagrams and the number 666 appeared as well. But the police said, 'It is not a hate crime per se. In order for it to be a hate crime, it has to be an act of malicious intimidation.'"

In Cleveland, Farish notes, shots were fired at a synagogue, "but these were not reported as hate crimes either." Can you feel the love yet?

A "hate crimes" law can lead to "thought crime" as is found in totalitarian countries and increasingly in Western nations that have fallen into the trap.

In Canada and Sweden, it is now a "hate crime" to criticize homosexuality in any fashion. Canadian broadcasters are forbidden to air any critical discussion of homosexuality. Private citizens and public officials have been hauled before "human rights" commissions and threatened with fines and jail time. In Sweden, a pastor was arrested at his church after he read Bible verses about homosexuality.

The "gay" lobby is frank about its desire to persecute Christians in America in just the same way, and this "hate crimes" bill is a key step in that strategy.

During the Supreme Court hearings in 2000 on the Boy Scout case, pro-life Rev. Rob Schenk was sitting in the audience next to the White House liaison for "gay" issues. Thinking the pastor was a fellow liberal, the woman whispered, "We're not going to win this case, but that's OK. Once we get 'hate crime' laws on the books, we're going to go after the Scouts and all the other bigots."

This isn't a slippery slope; it's a luge ride toward totalitarianism.

If you value the freedom to speak our minds, you might want to let public officials know in no uncertain terms how you feel about politicians who aid and abet the effort to create "thought crimes."

Grocer Kroger Recalls Ground Beef

CINCINNATI (June 26) - Grocer Kroger Co. said Thursday it is voluntarily recalling all ground beef products sold between May 21 and June 8 at its stores in Michigan and in central and northern Ohio.

Major Product Recalls

Grocery chain Kroger recalled ground beef products sold between May 21 and June 8 at its Michigan and central and northern Ohio stores after health authorities linked the products to E. coli illnesses.

Kroger said it has been notified by state and federal health authorities that E. coli illnesses reported in Michigan and in the Columbus and Toledo areas in Ohio have been linked to ground beef products sold in some Kroger stores in those areas.

Kroger said customers can return any ground beef with sell-by dates of May 21 to June 8 to stores for a full refund or replacement.

The company said none of the ground beef is currently available for purchase.

Kroger said it is working to identify the supplier of the specific ground beef that could have caused the illnesses.

The company added its stores in those areas have placed signs in the meat department to notify customers.

MEXICO CITY: Mexico is banning poultry imports from Arkansas because of a bird flu outbreak in the U.S. state.

The Agricultural Department says poultry meat, fertilized eggs, song birds and messenger pigeons are banned indefinitely.

Avian influenza cases led to the destruction of 15,000 hens in western Arkansas earlier this month. The virus strain was not harmful to humans.

Mexico is a major market for U.S. chicken. The U.S. Agriculture Department says Mexico imported some 221,000 tons (200,500 metric tons) of chicken products in 2007

More Bad News on our Plates: Tainted Tomatoes

By Steve Berg
Minnesota Post, June 11, 2008

Until recent years, the subject of food was pretty much restricted to the recipe columns or the restaurant reviews toward the back of the papers, but now food news - usually bad news - is showing up on the front page.

Two years ago it was contaminated spinach; now it's tainted tomatoes, probably from Mexico.

So far, 167 people have fallen ill because of a salmonella outbreak in a current crop of red plum, red round and red Roma tomatoes. Growers in Florida, the largest producing state, were relieved on Tuesday when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration cleared much of the state from culpability, although losses could total as much as $40 million because picking and packing were halted on Saturday, dooming much of the crop.

As a precaution food markets in a score of states, from California to Virginia, pulled some tomatoes from their bins, and major restaurant chains, including McDonald's, Taco Bell and Burger King said they are leaving tomatoes off of their sandwiches and salad bars. The tomatoes in question are dangerous only if eaten raw. Cherry, grape and on-vine tomatoes are not directly affected. Still, as with the e coli spinach problem of 2006, some consumers may choose to avoid all raw tomatoes for a period of time.

"The reality is that the entire tomato industry is being impacted," said Ed Beckman, president of the California Tomato Farmers...

It takes faith in this day and age to believe that the Bible.
Ephesians 4:4-6 "There is one body and one Spirit, just
as you were called to one hope at your calling; One Lord,
one faith, one baptism, one God and father of all,who is
above all and through all and in all. AMEN!!!!

Many other religious groups have a passion for what they
believe. For instance the passion Muslims have for Islam
will make them board a plane and die for the God they believe
in. There young people understand and can defend what they
believe. Do we have that same Passion for Christianity?
Did you know that Islam is the fastest growing religion today?
Did you know that America is becoming a post Christian Nation?
Do you believe that the only way to eternal life is through Jesus?
Did you know that some Christians believe that there are other
ways to eternal life? We are seeing the decline of truth and one day
soon you may have to defend your faith with your life. Will you?

Finally there are so many denominations and so many different
ways in which the christian believes it leaves the convert confused.
One group say it's the trinity, another says oneness,one says we
should sprinkle when we baptize, another says pour,others say
you must be submerged totally in water. There is also a group that
says you don't need baptism at all. This leads to confusion of which
God is not the author. It is no wonder an article like this can be written.
This proves what I have been saying. We are seeing the invasion of
other gods. I know God is not pleased. let us begin to follow what
2 Chronicles 7 :14 says or we might end up bowing to other gods.
Be Blessed ,Pastor Elam

Americans Tolerant of Religions, Poll Says

(June 23) - America remains a nation of believers, but a new survey finds most Americans don't feel their religion is the only way to eternal life — even if their faith tradition teaches otherwise.

The findings, revealed Monday in a survey of 35,000 adults, can either be taken as a positive sign of growing religious tolerance, or disturbing evidence that Americans dismiss or don't know fundamental teachings of their own faiths.

Religious Traditions in the US

Christian - 78.4%
Protestant - 51.3%, Catholic - 23.9%, Mormon - 1.7%, Jehovah's Witness - 0.7%, Orthodox - 0.6%, Other Christian - 0.3%
Among the more startling numbers in the survey, conducted last year by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life: 57 percent of evangelical church attenders said they believe many religions can lead to eternal life, in conflict with traditional evangelical teaching.

In all, 70 percent of Americans with a religious affiliation shared that view, and 68 percent said there is more than one true way to interpret the teachings of their own religion.

"The survey shows religion in America is, indeed, 3,000 miles wide and only three inches deep," said D. Michael Lindsay, a Rice University sociologist of religion.

"There's a growing pluralistic impulse toward tolerance and that is having theological consequences," he said.

Earlier data from the Pew Forum's U.S. Religious Landscape Survey, released in February, highlighted how often Americans switch religious affiliation. The newly released material looks at religious belief and practice as well as the impact of religion on society, including how faith shapes political views.

The report argues that while relatively few people — 14 percent — cite religious beliefs as the main influence on their political thinking, religion still plays a powerful indirect role.

The study confirmed some well-known political dynamics, including stark divisions over abortion and gay marriage, with the more religiously committed taking conservative views on the issues.

But it also showed support across religious lines for greater governmental aid for the poor, even if it means more debt and stricter environmental laws and regulations.

By many measures, Americans are strongly religious: 92 percent believe in God, 74 percent believe in life after death and 63 percent say their respective scriptures are the word of God.

But deeper investigation found that more than one in four Roman Catholics, mainline Protestants and Orthodox Christians expressed some doubts about God's existence, as did six in ten Jews.

Another finding almost defies explanation: 21 percent of self-identified atheists said they believe in God or a universal spirit, with 8 percent "absolutely certain" of it.

"Look, this shows the limits of a survey approach to religion," said Peter Berger, a theology and sociology professor at Boston University. "What do people really mean when they say that many religions lead to eternal life? It might mean they don't believe their particular truth at all. Others might be saying, 'We believe a truth but respect other people, and they are not necessarily going to hell.'"

Luis Lugo, director of the Pew Forum, said that more research is planned to answer those kinds of questions, but that earlier, smaller surveys found similar results.

Nearly across the board, the majority of religious Americans believe many religions can lead to eternal life: mainline Protestants (83 percent), members of historic black Protestant churches (59 percent), Roman Catholics (79 percent), Jews (82 percent) and Muslims (56 percent).

By similar margins, people in those faith groups believe in multiple interpretations of their own traditions' teachings. Yet 44 percent of the religiously affiliated also said their religion should preserve its traditional beliefs and practices.

"What most people are saying is, 'Hey, we don't have a hammer-lock on God or salvation, and God's bigger than us and we should respect that and respect other people,'" said the Rev. Tom Reese, a senior fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University.

"Some people are like butterflies that go from flower to flower, going from religion to religion — and frankly they don't get that deep into any of them," he said.

Beliefs about eternal life vary greatly, even within a religious tradition.

Some Christians hold strongly to Jesus' words as described in John 14:6: "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." Others emphasize the wideness of God's grace.

The Catholic church teaches that the "one church of Christ ... subsists in the Catholic Church" alone and that Protestant churches, while defective, can be "instruments of salvation."

Roger Oldham, a vice president with the executive committee of the Southern Baptist Convention, bristled at using the word "tolerance" in the analysis.

"If by tolerance we mean we're willing to engage or embrace a multitude of ways to salvation, that's no longer evangelical belief," he said. "The word 'evangelical' has been stretched so broadly, it's almost an elastic term."

Others welcomed the findings.

"It shows increased religious security. People are comfortable with other traditions even if they're different," said the Rev. C. Welton Gaddy, president of the Interfaith Alliance. "It indicates a level of humility about religion that would be of great benefit to everyone."

More than most groups, Catholics break with their church, and not just on issues like abortion and homosexuality. Only six in 10 Catholics described God as "a person with whom people can have a relationship" — which the church teaches — while three in 10 described God as an "impersonal force."

"The statistics show, more than anything else, that many who describe themselves as Catholics do not know or understand the teachings of their church," said Denver Roman Catholic Archbishop Charles Chaput. "Being Catholic means believing what the Catholic church teaches. It is a communion of faith, not simply of ancestry and family tradition. It also means that the church ought to work harder at evangelizing its own members."