WHAT'S THE BIG RUSH??

WHAT’S THE BIG RUSH??
HOW ABOUT A LITTLE TRANSPARENCY TOO!

Earlier this year, 12 HOURS TO REVIEW A 1,073 PAGE STIMULUS BILL–COSTING THE AMERICAN TAXPAYER $787 BILLION. The 1, 428 PAGE CAP AND TRADE BILL COSTING A COOL $846 BILLION HAS THE LONGEST TIME–16.5 HOURS.

“ A billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you're talking real money"? (or anything very close to that?)” “Scoop” Jackson (Dem. of Wash.) or Evertt Dirkson (Rep. of Ill.)

NOW THE 1000+ PAGE HEALTHCARE REFORM LOOMS OVER AMERICA
--And 12 hours to read it??

Congress (in fact 359 members of Congress) wanted a 72-hour review period for an agriculture appropriations bill, why not the same for all bills. With all the thousands of protests about this major reform of healthcare, how dare the U.S. Congress rush this one through. Not only should there be more time–the taxpayers who are going to pay for this should also read it.
AND THAT’S POSSIBLE WITH THE INTERNET AVAILABLE.
ISN’T THIS COUNTRY STILL A GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE AND BY THE PEOPLE??

The Wall Street Journal recently had this article::
“Polls show overwhelming agreement outside the Beltway that it's more important for Congress to get health-care reform done right than done quickly. A Polling Company survey conducted last month found 95% agreeing that members of Congress shouldn't vote on any bill they haven't read in full. … It's time for Congress to change its ways. Haste can make for more than waste and lead to populist outrage that often takes on a life of its own. That happened after this year's stimulus bill included the infamous provision authorizing executives of bailed-out AIG to get retroactive bonuses. (“Congress needs a 72-hour waiting period,” by John Fund, Sept. 26)”

Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.) and Rep. Brian Baird (D-Wash.) launched a petition to bring H. Res. 554 up for a vote, which would ensure that the public, press, and members of Congress have at least 72 hours to read and understand bills in the House.

“If the 72-hour rule is good enough for the agriculture appropriations bill, then what stops my colleagues from signing the petition to give the public time to review all bills, like major healthcare reform?” Walden said. “This is about one thing: the public’s right to know. It’s time to change how Washington works.”

Evertt Dirkson,, as Scoop Jackson, had a lot to say about "spending" bills::

"One time in the House of Representatives [a colleague] told me a story about a proposition that a teacher put to a boy. He said, ‘Johnny, a cat fell in a well 100 feet deep. Suppose that cat climbed up 1 foot and then fell back 2 feet. How long would it take the cat to get out of the well?'

"Johnny worked assiduously with his slate and slate pencil for quite a while, and then when the teacher came down and said, ‘How are you getting along?' Johnny said, ‘Teacher, if you give me another slate and a couple of slate pencils, I am pretty sure that in the next 30 minutes I can land that cat in hell.'

Somehow I have the feeling that’s exactly where this administration is taking us.
SLOW DOWN–LET US AT LEAST READ THE BILL!

KOINONIKOS

Daniel 10

Saturday, the chief of staff for Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the second enrichment plant "will become operational soon"
"God willing this new plant will become operational soon and make the enemy blind," Mohammad Mohammadi Golpayegani was quoted as saying by the semi-official Fars news agency.
.Israel says the disclosure that Iran is building a second nuclear enrichment facility proves it "wants to equip itself with nuclear weapons". Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Israel wanted to see an "unequivocal" Western response to the development. According to BBC
"You don't want a messianic apocalyptic cult controlling atomic bombs,” Prime Minister [Binyamin] Netanyahu said, underscoring the concern he has for the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and Iran.
“When the wide-eyed believer gets hold of the reins of power and the weapons of mass death, then the entire world should start worrying. That is what is happening in Iran."
In a recent interview with The Atlantic, Netanyahu said “Western civilization” will have failed if Iran is allowed to develop nuclear weapons.

With a country that is less than 100 miles wide in some places, Netanyahu must be stressed out. What would a nuclear strike do–maybe a dirty nuclear bomb?

Vice President Joe Biden issued a high-level warning to the Israeli government, saying it would be "ill-advised" to carry out a military strike against Iranian nuclear sites.


Should we be concerned about this?
Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, head of U.S. forces in the Middle East, at a recent meeting of senators, warned that the Israeli government may react. They may be "so threatened by the prospect of an Iranian nuclear weapon that it would take preemptive military action to derail or delay it.”

Israel, widely held to be the only nuclear power in the Middle East, has also refused to rule out the possibility of attacking Iran's nuclear facilities.
Israel has never officially admitted having nuclear weapons, but is widely recognized to possess at least 75 warheads.

Also speaking on Saturday, UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband told the BBC that the UK was "100% committed" to finding a diplomatic solution to the Iran issue, but refused to rule out military action altogether.

Well good luck on stopping the Iranian bomb, but I really think that the world is going to have a nuclearized Middle East. The Obama Administration is not going to stop them, and they will prevent the Israel from stopping them so it’s going to happen. What happens then.
Nostradamus is often quoted, I would like to quote a prophet that predates him by at least a thousand years.
Daniel writes of Jerusalem:
"Know therefore and understand, That from the going forth of the command To restore and build Jerusalem Until Messiah the Prince, There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; The street shall be built again, and the wall, Even in troublesome times.
"And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; And the people of the prince who is to come Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, And till the end of the war desolations are determined DANIEL 9:26-27

And he said to me, "O Daniel, man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak to you, and stand upright, for I have now been sent to you." While he was speaking this word to me, I stood trembling.
Then he said to me, "Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words.
But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia.
14 Now I have come to make you understand what will happen to your people in the latter days, for the vision refers to many days yet to come."
DANIEL 10:11-14 (NKJV)

KOINONIKOS

Obamacare

What’s the latest on Obama’s Health Care Program?
The people seem to have let the politicians know how they felt by the
“Town Hall Meetings”–Oh oh maybe I shouldn’t bring that up–somebody might snitch on me!
Well go ahead! It looks like we’re gonna get it anyway!
No doubt you have all watched this on T.V. –at least Fox News T.V. This little item was from Fox.

“A provision in President Obama's health care reform bill encourages "end-of- life" counseling for seniors -- sparking euthanasia fears among some of the legislation's critics and leading others to believe that the White House is looking to save money by pressuring insurers to provide less coverage to seniors.
The provision, tucked deep within the House bill, would provide Medicare coverage for an end-of-life consultation every five years, and more frequent sessions if a person is suffering a life-threatening disease.”
FOX News' Wendell Goler and FOXNews.com's Stephen Clark contributed to this report.

Just to show you I’m not too biased in my news reading I picked this up by DAVID ESPO, AP Special Correspondent.

“WASHINGTON – The nation's drugmakers stand ready to spend $150 million to help President Barack Obama overhaul health care this fall, according to numerous officials, a staggering sum that could dwarf attempts to derail his chief domestic priority.
The White House and allies in Congress are well aware of the effort by Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, a somewhat surprising political alliance, given the industry's recent history of siding with Republicans and the Democrats' disdain for special interests....
Numerous people with knowledge of PhRMA's plans said they had been told it would likely reach $150 million and perhaps $200 million. They spoke on condition of anonymity, saying they were not authorized to divulge details.”

KOINONIKOS

ISRAELI MOVES

JERUSALEM --
"’There is nothing unusual about the navy being in those waters _ they often train there,’ said Shlomo Brom, a former Israeli general and a security expert at the Institute for National Security Studies.”

What was the former Israeli general speaking about so causally?

According an article in Newsmax’s Newsfront, “Two of Israel's Saar class missile boats crossed through the Suez Canal and into the Red Sea, Israeli defense officials said. Speaking on condition of anonymity because the move was not officially publicized, they said it was connected to ‘the navy's recent activities around the Red Sea.’"

Of interest was what that recent activity was. Whatever other ships were involved, one was an Israeli Dolphin class submarine. One had moved to the Red Sea..Egyptian officials said, a move that appeared to be a new signal to Iran that Israel's reach could quickly extend to its archenemy's backyard.
The Dolphin sub can carry a bigger threat. Some foreign media say, these subs not only have the ability to sink shipping, but they can fire nuclear-tipped cruise missiles. These subs allow Israel to launch nuclear weapons from afar even if the country itself is suffering a nuclear attack. So they serve as Israel's deterrent "second-strike" capability,

About the Israeli moves: "What is unusual, though, is that this information was made public,” Brom said. “ I believe it was likely leaked on purpose in order to signal to Iran that Israel has the capability of reaching them,".

KOINONIKOS

THEOCRATIC DICTATORSHIP SAYS; “PROTESTS MUST STOP”

U.K’s. The Guardian says:“Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says protests must stop.”
On the other hand, Washington Post’s Columnist Charles Krauthammer brings out: “Millions of Iranians take to the streets to defy a theocratic dictatorship...a self-declared enemy of America and the tolerance and liberties it represents. The demonstrators are fighting on their own, but they await just a word that America is on their side.”

The Guardian reveals some Iranian’s thoughts: “The most clear, straight speech I have ever heard from Seyed Ali Khamenei [the supreme leader]: he backs Ahmadinejad...definitely not going to annul the election, and now annulment is what we really want....I don't think people will do the same....Tomorrow is very important for Iran to see whether people dare to come out or not. If they come out, it's a clear no to the supreme leader”

The Guardian had a rather balanced presentation with another Iranian–a housewife’s thoughts: “Our great supreme leader, Khamenei, has always had the first voice in this country....It's finished. Nothing will happen by tomorrow. The supreme leader has accepted the results and has already called it divine, so we need to obey it, it's our religious responsibility to obey what our leader says.”

But yet another Iranian professional says this: “They have always tried to find an excuse to crack down on people. This time they had no excuse as the United States and the Europe were keeping silent and were not even condemning the vote fraud....they have no other excuse to put pressure on people other than accusing foreigners of meddling in our affairs...some analysts have criticised the west for not reacting enough...it's ridiculous that Khamenei is accusing the US or the UK for meddling in our affairs.”

I appreciate the Guardian for putting these quotes out there. Ahmadinejad, with his impending nuclear bombs, is the obviously threat to America or Israel, but apparently the real threat, and power propping Ahmadinejad, up is this great supreme leader, Khamenei, .

So what is Obama doing? Is he going to bow down to this Theocratic dictator?

OBAMA DID NOTHING TO HELP !! WHICH REALLY MEANT PROPPING UP AHMADINEJAD.

KOINONIKOS

WATCH ISRAEL

TEHRAN -- WORST VIOLENCE IN DECADE

The violence is the worst seen in Tehran in 10 years.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was declared the winner of Iran's presidential poll.

“The sky was thick with black smoke. Police attacked the crowd with sticks and maybe teargas.
Riot police used batons and tear gas against backers of Mir Hossein Mousavi...,” as one BBC reporter, John Simpson put it:
“Thousands of opposition supporters have clashed with police...”

Mousavi, who called the results a "charade.” has also claimed victory, as his supporters said the election had been stolen and vowed to appeal for a re-run.” But observers say this would have little chance of success.

So what does all this mean?

Israel is running out of options. Ahmadinejad will very likely continue its efforts at making a bomb. And this will tighten the tension like a violin string.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has been pressured by Obama into accepting the creation of a Palestinian state. And naturally Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas rejected the plan.

In fact, Mr Abbas's spokesman Nabil Abu Rdainah said: "Netanyahu's remarks have sabotaged all initiatives, paralysed all efforts being made and challenges the Palestinian, Arab and American positions," Reuters news agency reported.

Netanyahu won’t go much further.

KOINONIKOS

Surprise–surprise! CIA didn’t buy Pelosi's excuses.

Pelosi Backpedals on CIA Criticism

Saturday, May 16, 2009 12:36 PM
“An unclassified chart released last month by the CIA describes a total of 40 briefings for lawmakers, including Pelosi, over a period of several years on enhanced interrogation techniques. The chart's indicate Pelosi was briefed as early as Sept. 4, 2002, when she was the senior Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee.

Stung by criticism by members of her own party as well as the GOP, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has backpedaled on claims that the CIA lied to her about the agency's use of waterboarding on suspected terrorists.

Pelosi now says she was trying to criticize the Bush administration, rather than intelligence officials.” by Newsmax
Pelosi's statement came hours after CIA Director Len Panetta, a fellow Democrat, defended his agency and said "it is not our policy or pracice to mislead Congress,"

How in the world did this person ever get as far as Speaker of the House? Isn’t this person third in line of succession for the presidency?
There’s little doubt Pelosi’s thought was criticism of the Bush Administration, “the most corrupt administration in history”–right? As I remember it, Bush usually responded to these criticisms by saying, “freedom to say that is the great thing about our country....” Maybe that’s what Pelosi was expecting from her lofty position.
Surprise–surprise! Apparently the CIA didn’t buy into that.

KOINONIKOS

WELL HERE WE GO AGAIN–“THE MEDIA-ENTERTAINMENT COMPLEX” PROBLEM

Sunday, May 10, 2009 11:49 AM

At the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner, our president, President Barack Obama directed a snide comment toward Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele, who was at the benefit dinner.

Obama asked: "Michael, for the last time, the Republican Party does not qualify for a bailout. Rush Limbaugh does not count as a troubled asset, I'm sorry,"

Not all that hostile in tone, but there was no doubt who the target was.

One Newsmax article quotes that “Comedian Wanda Sykes ripped into Limbaugh during her routine before an assemblage of politicians, celebrities and journalists.

"You've had your fair share of critics," she said of Limbaugh. "He just wants the country to fail. To me that's treason. He's not saying anything different than what Osama Bin Laden is saying. You might want to look into this, sir, because I think Rush Limbaugh was the 20th hijacker but he was just so strung out on Oxycontin he missed his flight. ... Rush Limbaugh, I hope the country fails, I hope his kidneys fail, how about that? He needs a good waterboarding, that's what he needs."

That reminds me of a few comments made about that other president.

AMERICA IS NOT CHRISTIAN???

“Obama is pushing an anti-life and anti-family agenda, a Catholic archbishop says.”... “Dobson Slams Obama's Prayer-Day Absence.”

There seems to be a rather obvious direction this new president is going. But so what?
As America’s President Obama says, “America is not a Christian country....”

Some years ago, Dr. Charles Malik addressed the same topic in one of his book, "Christ and the Crisis." The "Cold War" was in full flower, and the good doctor told of his concerns.

"Surely every conceivable weapon should be employed in self-defense - military, political, diplomatic, economic, psychological. Now there are limits to self-defense, because mere self-defense could become self-defeating, and because, precisely in self-defense, one must at times pass to the offensive. What concerns us most here is the moral and spiritual weapon. And here too this dialectic of the defense and the offense is most apparent. Morally and spiritually... they make us feel guilty, and we supinely accept the terms of their debate. They talk in terms of capitalism," "imperialism," "colonialism," "monopolies," "profits, "exploitation," "means of production," - all purely economic, purely materialistic terms. And in answering them usually all we say is that the exploiting, capitalism of the nineteenth century no longer exists, imperialism has been liquidated, monopolies are now owned by the people, and as to profits, everybody now shares in them.

There is about this response a pathetic air of apology, a ring of feebleness, a sickly note of timidity....

This will not do. They should be answered, not apologetically, not on a materialistic basis, but in human, moral, and spiritual terms."

(Perhaps you are not acquainted with Dr. Malik. Charles Malik was a University Professor at The American University in Washington, D.C.. He received his B.A. from the American University of Beirut, and his M.A.and Ph.D. from Harvard. He was a Lebanese ambassador to the USA before his becoming president of the UN Security Council. Following that, he was elected as the president of the General Assembly of the United Nations.)

In a twist of fate that is bathed in irony, the American Christian Culture has one admiring source .

David Aikman--former Beijing Bureau Chief for Time Magazine, wrote in his book, "Jesus in Beijing,"some startling statements, made in a Beijing tourist's scene.

"We studied everything we could from the historical, political, economic, and cultural perspective. At first, we thought it was because you had more powerful guns than we had. Then we thought it was because you had the best political system. Next we focused on your economic system. But in the past twenty years, we have realized that the heart of your culture is your religion: Christianity. That is why the West has been so powerful. The Christian moral foundation of social and cultural life was what made possible the emergence of capitalism and then the successful transition to democratic politics. We don't have any doubt about this."

We don't have any doubt about this!

As Jounalist Aikman mentioned, "This was not coming from some ultraconservative from a think tank in Orange County, California, or from Jerry Falwell's Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. This was a scholar from one of China's premier academic research institutes, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) in Beijing, in 2002.

CHRISTIANITY IS REALLY AMERICA’S STRENGTH AND ALWAYS HAS BEEN!

KOINONIKOS

BLASPHEMY

“Enough is enough. It is about time the laws were repealed”, said Mr. Mall, pointing to the widespread abuse of the blasphemy laws.
He urged the international community to pressure Pakistan into repealing blasphemy laws.

In a special report by Dan Wooding and Sheraz Khurram Khan of ASSIST News Service
In HARRAPA, SAHIWAL, PAKISTAN (ANS)
“A Muslim mob of 500 attacked a Christian village of Punjab province on May 1 at 11:00 am Pakistan time to avenge the alleged blasphemy....that they claim was committed by some five Christian men a few days ago.

Police arrested Christian men, including Ashfaq Gill, Naseer Masih, Harris Masih, Israr Wilson and Imran Masih on April 28 and April 29 after they were accused of tearing up pages of the Quran.
“An outraged Muslim mob invaded Christian village no. 90 near Sahiwal city to “kill” Christians,” the Voice of People UK’s Country Coordinator in Pakistan, Aneel Ashiq Chaudhry, told ANS by phone on May 1.

The Christian village is thought to be over 100 years old and most of the Christians still own lands despite the fact that some of them have sold their lands to Muslims.
Following an attack of Muslim mob in 1997 on Shantinagar, a predominantly Christian village in east-central Pakistan, Muslim extremists razed 800 homes and desecrated 13 churches in and around the town.
Possible loss of lives and damage to properties of Christians was averted due to intervention of the Police and Rangers, who dispersed the mob that included Islamists armed wi th weapons and clubs.
Police and Rangers are still patrolling the area to avert any possible eventuality during night.”

The same day Sunday, May 03, 2009, in a story by Sami Abraham of WASHINGTON:
“President Obama’s special representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke is saying that Pakistan’s civilian government was fully capable of governing and resolving the issues being confronted by the country.”

Well maybe–but watch those blasphemy laws.

KOINONIKOS

A WORLDVIEW IN THOSE FIRST 100 DAYS.

PRESIDENT OBAMA REALLY DID PRETTY GOOD–depending on your worldview.

He actually got Congress to Give Him Things That Undermines Their Own Power.

-- Under the "economic stimulus" he was able to pass a $787 billion gift for his liberal special interest base–doing it so quickly that Congress voted for it before they were able to read it.
–He signed an appropriations bill loaded with 8,000 earmarks after campaigning on a pledge to end earmarks-- paying no political penalty–and not even a whimper from the media.

–He didn’t call it this but he was able to turn the Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) into enormous machines for spending the equivalent of the entire federal budget for 2007–doing this without having to disclose where the money went.

COMING IN THE NEXT 100 DAYS?
We have the surprise offering of an out-of-control EPA forcing Congress to pass a $1 trillion to $2 trillion energy tax in the form of cap-and-trade legislation.

“A trillion here--a trillion there, pretty soon we’re talking real money.” Scoop Jackson

“* Just two weeks ago, the President presided over an unprecedented bureaucratic power grab when his Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ruled that greenhouse gases pose a threat to public health. This seemingly innocuous decision opens the door to wholesale regulation of American life by government.
* President Obama has kept congressional Democrats marching with him in lockstep. House Democrats tow the party line an amazing 94 percent of the time and Senate Democrats vote Democratic 91 percent of the time.” Newt Gingrich

KOINONIKOS

WHY IS IT?

ONE MAN’S WORLDVIEW & TRUTH CLAIM

“Why is it that, next to the birthday of the Savior of the world, your most joyous and most venerated festival returns on this day [the Fourth of July]?"
“Is it not that, in the chain of human events, the birthday of the nation is indissolubly linked with the birthday of the Savior? That it forms a leading event in the progress of the Gospel dispensation?
Is it not that the Declaration of Independence first organized the social compact on the foundation of the Redeemer's mission upon earth?
That it laid the cornerstone of human government upon the first precepts of Christianity"?

President John Quincy Adams, July 4th, 1837 when he delivered a Fourth of July speech at Newburyport, Massachusetts

TRUTH CLAIM

TRUTH CLAIM

There is nothing wrong with sex–I have 4 kids. I’ve been married longer than many of you have lived. The issue I’m raising about sex isn’t about whether sex is great. I believe it is great and is a gift of God. Sharing this in marriage with your life partner has very profound meaning in life. I believe the sex drive comes from God, but I also believe our culture has become too absorbed in it. Isn’t life more than that?.
Are we only muscle and bones? Extrapolating that–are we just a biological accident trapped in a body controlled by instincts?
There should be more than sex that drives us.

Let me lay something else on your mind.
I believe something that drives us–in fact how we act–how we think or feel is how we view the world.

So what is our worldview?

WHAT IS A WORLDVIEW?

I BELIEVE OUR WORLDVIEW is our adopted set of truth claims that purports to paint a picture of reality;
This picture is really how we view reality and make sense of life and the world.
And as mentioned in a previous blog, something that drives how we act–in fact how we think or feel--how we really view the world. We may say different things about our beliefs, but this is how we really believe. This is our truth. What you do with these TRUTH CLAIMS forms your “ WORLDVIEW”
SO WHAT IS TRUTH?

SEX: IS THAT ALL THERE IS?

Our interests seem to be focused that way. Viewing the number of clicks on different blogs makes me wonder. So what’s wrong with that? At the least, sex definitely attracts our interest, and all the more if the writer is female. Again–so what? Sex is a natural thing, and really beautiful in the right circumstances. But that’s the problem, it often leads to abuse–sometimes very bad abuse.. Viewing some of those “stings” on T.V,. reminds me of a pack of male dogs chasing after a female dog in heat. Obviously we’re not all like that, and I don’t believe any person is like a dogs, nor an animal--man is made in the image of God.

The truth of it–maybe I should have written “Sex: is that all life is?”

Really aren’t we allowing our thinking–our minds to become absorbed in something that is really very very temporary–almost minute. Isn’t life more than that?.

I believe something that drives how we act–in fact how we think or feel is how we view the world.

What is our worldview?

Are we only muscle and bones? Extrapolating that–are we just a biological accident trapped in time?

LIVING LIFE IN A POST-CHRISTIAN WORLD

I recently received a letter from a sceptic who had decided to “abandon the faith,” and be “honest” about life. I know this topic can take on a broad view like looking at religion or a much narrower view like looking at a church experience. I have lived in both of those world too. As I understand the letter-writer, he was abandoning the Christian Faith.
Many years ago, in 1973, actually during the Watergate period, the late William F. Buckley Jr.was a quite well known intellect. For a number of years he had a TV talk show program on PBS. Buckley would often have some well known personality along with a panel of intellects. He had a series of TV discussion interviews with Malcolm Muggeridge. The discussion brings out some interesting points about Christian ity.
Malcom Muggeridge was also quite well known. He had been a journalist of some 50 years. During that time, he had been the editor of “Punch”–a British weekly magazine (1841-1992) which used humor and satire to make its point. Using his writing and journalist talents, Muggeridge had been a ardent socialist. He lived as a controversial figure - known as a drinker, heavy smoker and womaniser in earlier life. However, some of his best work came as a result of finding faith late in life, eloquently expressed in broadcast and in writing, and fighting energetically on moral issues.”


This particular exchange took place in London, in August of 1973

MR. BUCKLEY: Is it the notion of the clergy you speak of that they won't otherwise be noticed unless they come out for free ping-pong or whatever?
MR. MUGGERIDGE: Well, they won't otherwise have anything to say, because, for the most part, they’ve lost their, faith, I mean, the faith in Christianity as a transcendental view of life has dimished enormously in all....they've either got to go out of business altogether or look around and see some earthly equivalent of that, something they can hold up-“
...That change is really the most--it's much more important, in my view, than, for instance, Marxism, or than the Russian revolution or the Chinese revolution. This is the total collapse of transcendental Christianity, but what is even more fascinating is. where do you find this transcendental Christianity,raising its head again? You find it in the communist countries, among the dissidents, of whom, obviously, Solzhenitsyn is a classic example.”
Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn was a political prisoner of the Soviet Union for some 20 or more years. He wrote “The Gulag Archipelago” and “One Day in the Life Of Ivan Densovitch.” Before he left that country, he wrote an open letter to the Soviet government. He wrote:"I'm not against the Soviet regime as such. I'm not against dictatorial government. I don't think that by dismantling a dictatorial government you will automatically achieve freedom.
What I am against is the ideology Marxism, which gives the notion that men can satisfy their aspirations in worldly terms. That is the great fallacy, that is the great illness, and that the only answer is Christ.”

Confirmation Code: GNHBBMB7340070

GENUINE CHRISTIAN?

“[H]e (Obama) must have come to understand that, to succeed in politics, it would help to acquire the trappings of being a good Christian — regardless of what he may or may not have personally believed. It is generally beyond the pale to question a public figure's personal religious commitment (Democrat's, anyway) —and I don't personally care whether he is a genuine Christian (whatever that may be) or not. But, if he was there to absorb the spiritual stuff, he can't have missed the political message, since they were pretty closely intertwined.”
NRO's Lisa Schiffren makes a good point about Obama and his pastor. He “can’t have missed the political message.” However, while she confidently uses the terms “good Christian,” apparently she doesn’t know what constitutes a “genuine Christian.”
I can say with some confidence, genuine Christians are not "clinging to their guns and religion" because of low wages.

So what is a genuine Christian?
KOINONIKOS