Road trip - Alan Keyes - Liberty University

Discussion in 'Off-Topic Discussions' started by Charles, Mar 31, 2004.

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  1. Charles

    Charles New Member

    On Monday, I read that Dr. Alan Keyes would be speaking at Liberty University today.

    So, I decided - road trip and took a day off. Alan Keyes is one of my hero's! The drive was about four hours each way, but it was well worth it.

    Highlights of the speech have already been emailed in today's Falwell Confidential:

    "Falwell Confidential

    Date: March 31, 2004
    From: Jerry Falwell

    KEYES SAYS CHRISTIANS MUST BATTLE 'NEW ERA OF OPPRESSION'

    On Wednesday, Dr. Alan Keyes electrified a packed audience of students and faculty during a special Liberty University convocation service. Mere words cannot do justice to the passionate Dr. Keyes' discourse in which he told students to uncompromisingly live out their faith in the social and political worlds in order to halt the modern-day movement to silence Christian expression - and even the mere appearance of Christian faith - in the public square.

    The theme of Dr. Keyes' address was that the fundamental truth of the authority of God has been willfully forgotten and shunned by many leaders in our nation. Subsequently, Christians have been cast as second-class citizens who are characteristically accused of being hate-mongers solely because they embrace the truth of the Bible.

    "We can't build a house on shaky foundation and expect it to stand," Dr. Keyes admonished, utilizing a biblical context. He said that while our Founders built this nation on godly principles, we continue to witness the deterioration of our rights as leftist politicians and judicial activists attempt to cast the nation in their image - the image of secularism.

    Dr. Keyes, who served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Economic and Social Council in the Reagan administration, said that in virtually every component of our lives, we are abandoning our foundation.

    "We walk down a path that must and will lead to ... a new era of oppression for us and for all of human kind," he said, clearly stating what the future holds for people of faith if we continue to allow our rights to be eradicated.

    "We are at the end of our rope as a free people," he continued as the rapt audience reflected on his ardent warning. "We either turn around or this must happen - there is no way to avoid it."

    But Dr. Keyes offered a solution to the soulless invasion of secularism that is being forced on America. He said the simple solution is that we must look to Christ in the "confrontation of evil."

    "Like [Christ's] disciples when He sent them out to preach to the lost sheep of Israel, we must be ready for all of the challenges we must face," he said, pulling no punches on the fact that people of faith will face even more aggressive persecution if we choose to rise up against the growing tide of abject secularism.

    Dr. Keyes told of the recent rally he and I attended for Chief Justice Roy Moore, citing him as an example of what can happen when we stand up for our faith.

    "What did the chief justice do wrong?" he asked. "He simply refused to give up his right to acknowledge God almighty."

    As a result, he lost his job. Chief Justice Moore's case served as a reminder to all Christians, he said, that we are confronted with the fact that we are being compelled to accept social policies that directly counter what the Bible teaches us.

    "The comfortable life is over for Christians in America," Dr. Keyes advised, again referring to a biblical passage supporting this notion: "And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake" (Matthew 10:42).

    Dr. Keyes then suggested that Christians will one day face bona fide persecution because we refuse to give up our right to believe in and live out the Word of God.

    He utilized this stark warning in order to encourage those present to be politically active and informed voters who step into the voting booth ready to elect officials who reflect the godly principles we love. The only people who can sustain our freedoms, he said, are those people who live in the basis of a trust in God. He also deeply criticized "so-called Christian voters" who often believe we can afford to choose "the lesser of two evils" in political terms.

    "In Christian patriotism," Dr. Keyes advised, "the Christian comes first."

    "We must be uncompromising in the insistence of our rights to worship and acknowledge Him as a free people - not only in our thoughts, but in our actions," Dr. Keyes added.

    Finally, Dr. Keyes encouraged young people in the audience to not only be politically active, but to go out into the world with the idea of making a positive impact on the culture.

    "If we are truly Christian patriots ... we must show that true love that ought to be characteristic of the Christian heart. [This nation] started out with a treasure trove of truth - the authority of the Word of God. We must be a reminder of the truths of that great treasure ... so that once again our nation can be made whole on the basis of that foundation. ... If it does not begin with us, that foundation will be permanently destroyed."

    He warned that such action will "require sacrifice," but "we must stand for it in our citizenship if this country is to be saved."
     
  2. Guest

    Guest Guest

    I would love to have the opportunity to hear Keyes in person.

    If you haven't read his book, MASTERS OF THE DREAM, please do. You will thoroughly enjoy it.









     
  3. Bruce

    Bruce Moderator

    I'm jealous.....I really admire & respect Dr. Keyes. I saw him debate Alan Dershowitz on TV, and Dr. Keyes totally dismantled him.
     
  4. Quite fitting...

    Keyes' comments urging the creation of "Christian patriots" sounds a lot like the same type of religious patriotism that is going on in the Islamic world right now.

    So.... we step up our ideology to combat their ideology. Escalation strategy.

    I'm afraid the world is in for a long, long period of battle (crusades?) again between Islam and Christianity. Too bad that folks like Falwell and Keyes can't instead preach tolerance and understanding. Maybe if we did that, the other side would too. But whether that is wishful thinking or not, I can't see this Christian patriotism thing leading to anything but more suffering and death in the world.
     
  5. telefax

    telefax Member

    Dr. Keyes: "If we are truly Christian patriots ... we must show that true love that ought to be characteristic of the Christian heart."

    Carl: "Keyes' comments urging the creation of "Christian patriots" sounds a lot like the same type of religious patriotism that is going on in the Islamic world right now."



    Carl,

    I disagree completely. Keyes and Falwell have never advocated suicide bombings, or driving the nation of Israel into the sea.

    Dave
     
  6. Bruce

    Bruce Moderator

    Re: Quite fitting...

    Really?

    Please name the last Christian homicide bomber.

    "Not all Muslims are terrorists, but so far it appears that all the terrorists are Muslims" - Jay Severin
     

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