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24 May 04
PRINCIPLE – the source or origin of
anything; a general truth, a truth so
broad and sweeping that many other
truths can be considered offshoots of it
Guiding Principles |
PRAYER –
I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers,
intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; for kings, and
for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life
in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight
of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto
the knowledge of the truth. I Tim 2:1-4
ENCOUNTER –
And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come. Luk 19:13
May 29 – Absentee and Early Voting Ends
Jun 1 – NM Primary Elections
Jun 11 – Southwest Women's Festival, guest speaker Joni Eareckson Tada
6:30-9:00 p.m., Kiva Auditorium, Tickets $5 & $10
Jul 1 – Deadline for petitions for General Election issues
Sep 18 – Walk for Life, Abq CareNet, 880-0882
Sep 25 - Principle Approach Conference, Foothills Fellowship, The Pathway to Biblical Liberty: Implanting Christian Character, Virtuous Leadership, and a Biblical Worldview in Your Home, Church, and Nation
Sep 25 – Born to Run, Kit Carson Park, Abq
Nov 6 – Christian Heritage Speech Competition, see topics & register today!
Nov 5,6 – Women of Virtue Conference, Abq
Ongoing
Weekends – Portraits in Providence,
KFLQ FM 91.5
Daily - Focus on the Family Radio Broadcast
1st Thur, 8-9:30am - Rio Grande Pastor's Alliance, 821-1993
Fridays, 9:30-11:00 am - "Praise the Lord" program airs "live" on
KNAT TV 23 in Abq. Guest spots available for pastors to share the Good News! We'd love to have more local pastors preach, teach, encourage, and edify the Body of Christ." Call Cindy @ 836-6585.
UNDERSTANDING
- And of the children of Issachar, which were men
that had understanding of the time, to know what Israel ought to do; the heads
of them were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their commandment.
I Chron 12:32
Contents:
NM Primary Elections
Advocate Abstinence Education
Abq Bible College Summer Term
Machiavelli and Saul Alinsky
Campaign Volunteers
Christian Heritage Speech Competition Topics
FOF Dedicates the Month of May to Marriage
My "Country" Tis of Thee – The Good Stuff
Friend of the Family
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NM Primary Elections
There are three ways you can vote in the June Primaries:
> For early voting locations, contact your county clerk www.bernco.gov or www.state.nm.us/category/government/city_county.html. Get a sample ballot so you know what’s on it before you go to the polls. A link from www.bernco.gov allows you to download a sample ballot (PDF).
> Absentee ballots are available from the county clerk. Early and absentee voting ends on Saturday, May 29th
> Vote at the polls on Tue, June 1st. For locations, contact your county clerk.
I know I should vote, but I don’t know anything about the candidates. Here are some resources to help:
> Principles Voter Guides are at www.rges.cc/vg04p.htm
(includes state candidates and judges)
> Project Vote Smart www.vote-smart.org
> Contact candidates directly or visit their websites
www.sos.state.nm.us/Election/04Primary/04Candidates.htm
See www.rges.cc/elec04.doc for church bulletin inserts. Email info@rtlnm.org to receive pro-life candidate endorsements from Right to Life NM. League of Women Voters will NOT be publishing voter guides for the primary elections.
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Advocate Abstinence Education
The New Mexico Department of Health invites you to give your input on the Comprehensive Statewide Health Plan. Ask them about character based abstinence until marriage education. Ask them about explicit comprehensive sex education. Regional Public Meetings will be held at the following location:
Monday, June 7, 2004, 1:30pm-4:30pm
Auditorium, Belen High School
1619 W. Delgado Ave., Belen, NM
A Zogby poll of NM parents in Apr 2003 found that 71% approved of messages contained in character based abstinence until marriage education guidelines and over 58% oppose explicit comprehensive sex education messages.
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Abq Bible College Summer Term, "Equipping Christians for Service"
Albuquerque Bible College will commence its Summer Term classes beginning Monday June 14th. The college will be offering seven classes in the Albuquerque area. Registration is taking place now through June 11th. Class schedules are available with course description for the following courses: Introduction to Hermeneutics, Introduction to Biblical Languages, Survey to Church History, Topics in Mathematics, The Pastoral Epistles, New Testament Geography, and the Book of Psalms.
The college is approved for eligible veterans and admits students of any race, color, or ethnic origin. For more information, please call 828-1205 or visit the college at 120 Aliso Dr. SE (3 blocks E of Carlisle on Central) in the wonderful Nob Hill area.
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Machiavelli and Saul Alinsky
Rev 2:9 I know your works and tribulation and poverty (but you are rich), and I know the blasphemy of those saying themselves to be Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.
Rev 2:24 But to you I say, and to the rest in Thyatira, as many as do not have this doctrine, and who have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak, I will put on you no other burden.
Rev 3:9 Behold, I give out of those of the synagogue of Satan, those saying themselves to be Jews and are not, but lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you.
There are over 200 organizations operating in cities around the United States, with a substantial portion of their membership from Christian congregations, training political activists. These organizations use Saul Alinsky's Rules for Radicals as foundational principles. Why? Saul Alinsky founded the Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF). These organizations pay dues to the IAF and train with the IAF. Therefore, understanding the principles upon which the IAF operates ought to be of great interest to communities affected by it and congregations that give money and support to it.
Alinsky's Rules for Radicals opens with the disturbing lines: "What follows is for those who want to change the world from what it is to what they believe it should be. The Prince was written by Machiavelli for the Haves on how to hold power. Rules for Radicals is written for the Have-Nots on how to take it away." Nicolò Machiavelli published his notorious work on statecraft, Il Principe (The Prince) in the 16th century. It was written to assist his patrons in cold-blooded, practical methods for expanding and retaining political power. Machiavelli taught that the interests of the state supersede all others, including the moral law.
He says, for example: "So you see a wise ruler cannot, and should not, keep his word when doing so is to his disadvantage, and when the reasons that led him to promise to do so no longer apply. Of course, if all men were good, this advice would be bad; but since men are wicked and will not keep faith with you, you need not keep faith with them…But it is essential to know how to conceal how crafty one is, to know how to be a clever counterfeit and hypocrite." For such remarks, the book was condemned by the Church and placed on its Index in 1559.
Four hundred years later, Alinsky paid his debt to Machiavelli's thought by writing that:
· "The third rule of the ethics of means and ends is that … the end justifies almost any means." (Rules, p. 29)
· "All effective actions require the passport of morality." (p. 44)
· "The seventh rule of the ethics of means and ends is that generally success or failure is a mighty detriment of ethics. ... There can be no such thing as a successful traitor, for if one succeeds, he becomes a founding father." (p. 34)
· "The tenth rule of the ethics of means and ends is that you do what you can with what you have and clothe it with moral garments. ... Moral rationalization is indispensable at all tunes of action whether to justify the selection or the use of ends or means." (p. 36)
· "An organizer working for change ... does not have a fixed truth - truth to him is relative and changing." (p. 10-11)
Of course, Alinsky has developed each of these ideas at length, but their explanations render them more objectionable, not less. In fact, Alinsky himself alludes to the diabolical implications of his thought in the book's dedication: "Lest we forget at least an over-the-shoulder acknowledgment to the very first radical; from all our legends, mythology, and history (and who is to know where mythology leaves off and history begins - or which is which), the first radical known to man who rebelled against the establishment and did it so effectively that he at least won his own kingdom - Lucifer."
Quotes such as the above are difficult, if not impossible, to reconcile with Christian principles of political action. One wonders at the organizations founded under their influence.
By Stephanie Block, athanasius@aol.com
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Campaign Assistance
The Bush Campaign needs help with volunteers: Precinct Chairmen, Voter ID/Phone Bank Coordinators, Communication Coordinators, Make Phone Calls, Walk Door to Door, Voter Registration, Event Coordinators, E-County Coordinators, Sign and Bumper Sticker Coordinator. There are also diverse coalitions. These include 2nd Amendment, Union, Small Business, Social Conservatives, African Americans, Catholics, Hispanics, Veterans, Agriculture/Farmers, Doctors, Public Safety, Youth, Attorneys, Educators, Seniors, Religious Conservatives, Ranchers, Firefighters, Investors, Jewish, Labor, Seniors, Sportsmen, Students and Pro-Life. List any special abilities and skills you would be willing to help the campaign and/or organization you belong to that may be interested in campaign activities. Call (866) 644-Bush in New Mexico or www.georgebush.com.
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Christian Heritage Speech Competition Topics
Topics for the 14th annual Christian Heritage Speech Competition on Sat, Nov 6th, at Sandia Prep in Albuquerque can be viewed at www.rges.cc/chsc.htm. Hundreds of $$$ in awards are presented to top four winners in each grade level. Please pass the word to interested students and parents. Registration limited to the first 150.
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The Family – Building Block of Society
The nationally syndicated Focus on the Family radio broadcast is dedicating the month of May to the preservation of marriage. Programming designed to honor and protect the sanctity of traditional marriage includes timeless classics and exciting new topics. For the complete schedule, visit www.family.org/married/fomcalendar.cfm.
National broadcast of "The Battle for Marriage" on Sunday, May 23, 6pm (MDT) featured Dr James Dobson, Chuck Colson, Bishop Wellington Boone, Ted Haggard, and Tony Perkins. No matter how well homosexual activists are funded or organized, God is not done with America. Contact www.legacychurchnm.com or principles@integrity.com for a tape or DVD. For more information, visit www.frc.org.
Why is Vermont named among the most endangered places? Because of plans for several new Wal-Mart Supercenters across the state, the National Trust for Historic Preservation has placed the entire state of Vermont on its 2004 list of the most endangered historic places in the United States. Ask the NTHP if they’d like to preserve traditional marriage. I think it’s MORE endangered than Vermont, with significantly more serious consequences! The National Trust in NM.
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My "Country" Tis of Thee – The Good Stuff by Kenny Chesney
A man after a fight with his wife asks a bartender for the "good stuff." The bartender says "you can’t get that here. Go home!" Read the rest of the lyrics for a real blessing.
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Friends of the Family is a group of key supporters who invest monthly in family ministry. Their commitment is key to the ongoing effectiveness of Focus on the Family and enables us to extend the ministry to many who cannot afford the resources and services they need. They also enable our radio programs, our efforts to defend family values, and our outreaches to special groups like teens, unwed mothers, and non-Christians. For more information, call 1-800-A-FAMILY.
You can send tax-deductible donations to Foothills Fellowship for direct support of the Principles Community Impact Ministry in NM.
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RESOURCES
The following organizations are listed for your assistance and to promote the mission of the organizations. There is no intent, nor has there ever been any intent to imply these organizations endorse or support the Principles Newsletter, though it is a nice idea. Any organizations wishing to endorse or support the Principles Newsletter, please contact principles@integrity.com. Anyone finding these organizations helpful, please consider mentioning the Principles Newsletter when contacting them. Thank you.
Principles Newsletters Archive
Roster of NM Govt Officials
LOCAL
Albuquerque Bible College
Ask Jesus Now
CareNet Pregnancy Center of Albuquerque
Christian Assoc of Parent Educators
Christian Summer Camps
Creation Science Fellowship NM
Educate NM
Foothills Fellowship
Free Indeed Ministries
Greater Southwest Council BSA
Griffin Art Collections
Habitat for Humanity
Hands On Ministries and Education
Hope Christian Schools
IDnet-NM
InOneAccord@comcast.net – Faith Based Political & Social Newsletter
Joy Junction
KFLQ
KNAT TV 23
KNKT
KYNM TV 61
Legacy Church
Lightshine Ministries
NM Christian Community Foundation
Parenting Teenagers
Principles
Rio Grande Enrichment Studies
Shepherd's Guide
Tijeras Foundation
Trinity Southwest University
NATIONAL
America 21
America Bless God
American Christian History Institute
American Heritage Party
American Family Association
American History Pictures
Campaign for Working Families
Center for Reclaiming America
Center for the American Founding
Christian Heritage Mini-Course
Christian Heritage Series by Nancy Rue
Christian History Institute
CitizenLink Action Center
Crown Financial Ministries
Early Church Fathers
Faith Facts
Family Research Council
Focus on the Family
Focus on the Family Pastors Weekly Briefing
Foundation for Biblical Government
Founding Fathers
Frontline Fellowship
Pilgrim Institute
Preserve Liberty
Principle Approach International
Providence Foundation
Religious Freedom Coalition
Renew America
Saints and Heroes
Summit Ministries
TeenPact
Vision America
Vote Smart
Wallbuilders
Community Impact News is edited by:
Mark Burton, Foothills Fellowship, 294-0016
Pager 971-2053
Many thanks to contributing authors and businesses.
Please forward events/articles/links to
principles@integrity.com.
Current distribution is over 1,000 email addresses throughout NM.
If anyone you know would like to receive this newsletter directly
please have them send an email to principles@integrity.com.
It is also available on the web at www.rges.cc/news.htm and can
be accessed free of charge from any library internet service.
If you are reading this from outside NM, please locate and support
a Family Policy Council in your area.