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Christian Nation
by James Glaser December 15, 2009 Last time we put a heavy embargo on a country we ended up killing hundreds of thousands of their children. That was Iraq, and our Secretary of State at that time was Madeleine Albright. Here is what she told Lesley Stahl about those killings.
Now today, we have a group of "Christian" leaders in America telling Congress we need to start another embargo. This time it is Iran that will suffer. It makes you wonder if their Jesus Christ is the same Jesus Christ that said, "Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God." Luke 18:16 Is he the same Jesus Christ some of us think of as The Prince of Peace? The following is a news release and letter to Congress from some of America's Christians. Christian Leaders Urge Immediate Passage of
Leaders representing millions of Evangelicals and Roman Catholics call for immediate passage of sanctions As the House of Representatives prepares to vote on the matter next week, Christian leaders representing millions of evangelicals, Roman Catholics, and other Christians have sent a letter to leaders in the House of Representatives today urging immediate passage of tough sanctions on Iran intended to prevent that rogue regime from obtaining nuclear weapons. "Now that supermajorities in the House and Senate have made their support for sanctions known, and now that the Iranian regime has made its increasing defiance clear to the world, the time for Congress to act has arrived," according to Dr. Richard Land, of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention. The letter urges the House to pass, at a minimum, a cut-off of exports of refined petroleum products, including gasoline, as a firm yet peaceful measure against the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism. After repeated efforts to persuade Iran to comply with its international obligations and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has recently reported to its member nations that its diplomatic efforts with the Iranian regime have come to a "dead end." Since then, defiant Iranian officials have announced plans to begin building additional nuclear facilities. The leaders point out that at the onset of his diplomatic effort with Iran this spring, President Obama said that "by the end of the year we should have some sense whether or not these discussions are starting to yield significant benefits," and specifically held out the prospect of sanctions against Tehran "to ensure that Iran understands we are serious." That deadline is mere days away, and just as President Obama said, Tehran needs proof we are serious. The Leaders include Pat Robertson of Christian Broadcasting Network, Chuck Colson, Richard Land of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, Bill Donohue of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, Dr. James Merritt of Cross Pointe Church, Wendy Wright of Concerned Women for America, Gary Bauer of American Values, Tom Minnery of Focus on the Family, and Dr. John Hagee of the Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, and Jordan Sekulow of the American Center for Law and Justice. The leaders urge Congress to take advantage of the overwhelming bipartisan majority in both the House and the Senate and bring legislation implementing sanctions to a vote immediately. The letter is an initiative of Christian Leaders for a Nuclear-Free Iran, an ad hoc coalition of evangelical, Roman Catholic and other faith leaders who have come together as a united, ecumenical voice that is reaching out to policy makers and opinion leaders calling for urgent action to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. The coalition argues that Iran's nuclear weapons program will destabilize the Middle East, lead to an arms race in a volatile part of the world, and threaten the United States and its allies in Europe.
December 10, 2009 Dear Member of Congress: We write to you today as Christian leaders, deeply concerned about Iran obtaining nuclear weapons, and urge you to bring legislation to the floor of the House and Senate that will impose meaningful sanctions against the Iranian regime unless and until Iran abandons its efforts to develop nuclear weapons. At the onset of his diplomatic effort with Iran this spring, President Obama said that "by the end of the year we should have some sense whether or not these discussions are starting to yield significant benefits," and specifically held out the prospect of sanctions against Tehran "to ensure that Iran understands we are serious." That deadline is mere days away, and just as President Obama said, Tehran needs proof we are serious. In a report issued November 26, the IAEA Director General reluctantly concluded that talks meant to steer Iran's nuclear program away from weapons development had come to a dead end because Iran has repeatedly lied about the extent of its nuclear enrichment program. This was most recently demonstrated by the discovery of a secret Iranian nuclear facility, the existence of which Iran has repeatedly denied. The IAEA member nations that "there has been no movement on remaining issues of concern which need to be clarified for the agency to verify the exclusively peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear program," and that the IAEA has "effectively reached a dead end, unless Iran engages fully with us." As you know, the "issues of concern" to which the IAEA referred are the growing body of evidence that the Iranian regime has experimented with nuclear weapons programs, including missile-delivery systems and tests of explosives that could serve as nuclear-bomb detonators. Powerful voices within the Iranian government have responded with defiance to the IAEA report and its resolution condemning Iran's secret nuclear-enrichment plant in Qom. On November 30, the Speaker of Iran's parliament, Ali Larijani, suggested Iran will withdraw from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. And, the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, Ali Akbar Salehi, said that, as a direct response to the IAEA resolution, Iran intends to build an additional 10 nuclear enrichment facilities—which would give Iran a total of 500,000 centrifuges, enough to produce over 150 bombs a year. The stakes are exceedingly high. A nuclear-armed Iran is almost certain to initiate an arms race with other Middle Eastern and Arab nations who have reason to fear the religious, political and military ambitions of Iran's extremist leaders. As the world's leading state sponsor of international terror, we must assume Iran will sell or give nuclear weapons to extremist groups that are declared and demonstrated enemies to America and her allies. As demonstrated by their co-sponsorship of implementing legislation, an overwhelming, bipartisan consensus exists among your colleagues in the House and Senate in support of sanctions on foreign companies that: export refined petroleum products, including gasoline, to Iran; help maintain Iran's domestic refining capacity; provide ships or shipping services to transport such products; underwrite those shipments to Iran; or finance or broker those shipments. Although these proposed sanctions are a serious start, we urge you to consider other, targeted sanctions as may be required to demonstrate our seriousness to the Iranian regime. There is an overwhelming bipartisan consensus in Congress in favor of these sanctions. President Obama's December 31 deadline is days away. And the IAEA has concluded that diplomatic efforts have reached a dead end. It is time for you to bring legislation implementing these sanctions to the floor for a vote. Additionally we urge you to make your actions and concerns known to the United Nations Security Council and our allies in the international community who share a common interest in preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. As the clock runs out, we must remember that Iran remains the world's leading state sponsor of terror, is funding Hezbollah and Hamas in Lebanon and Gaza, has sought to destabilize democratic and Western-leaning regimes throughout the Middle East, is currently arresting and detaining political opponents, actively persecutes its Christian citizens, has shot protestors in cold blood in the streets, and its president has denied the Holocaust and vowed to wipe Israel off the face of the earth. We speak out today on behalf of millions of Christians who believe that the interests of peace and security would best be served by our elected representatives sending a powerful signal that this tyrannical Iranian regime shall never threaten the world with nuclear weapons. Sincerely, Dr. Pat Robertson, President of Christian Broadcasting Network
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