JOHN ASHCROFT'S SPEECH
AT BOB JONES UNIVERSITY
We will have to watch John Ashcroft carefully to make sure he does not lead America to violate the First Amendment and separation of Church and State. His law and order innovations, his intrusions into America's hard drives, and his efforts to make arrests outside of Constitutional protocols, are very disturbing. We must pray that he is not on a One World agenda-- only a bit too eager. Otherwise, his speech at Bob Jones U. is very much in the order of Thomas Jefferson and George Washington when American Royalists tried to make Washington King of America, literally.
Attorney General-designate
John Ashcroft's remarks
at Bob Jones University's commencement on May 8, 1999:
Thank you very much, Dr. Bob. I want to thank each of you for investing yourselves in the mission of Christ -- in redemption and forgiveness, and for preparing yourselves in the way that you have.
A slogan of the American revolution which was so distressing to the emissaries of the king that it was found in correspondence sent back to England, was the line, ``We have no king but Jesus.'' Tax collectors came, asking for that which belonged to the king, and colonists frequently said, ``We have no king but Jesus.'' It found its way into the fundamental documents of this great country. You could quote the Declaration with me, ``We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, and are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights.'' Unique among the nations, America recognized the source of our character as being godly and eternal, not being civic and temporal. And because we have understood that our source is eternal, America has been different. We have no king but Jesus.
My mind, thinking about that, once raced back a couple of thousand years when Pilate stepped before the people in Jerusalem and said, ``Whom would ye that I release unto you? Barabas? Or Jesus, which is called the Christ?'' And when they said ``Barabas,'' he said, ``But what about Jesus? King of the Jews?'' And the outcry was, ``We have no king but Caesar.''
There's a difference between a culture that has no king but Caesar, no standard but the civil authority, and a culture that has no king but Jesus, no standard but the eternal authority. When you have no king but Caesar, you release Barabas -- criminality, destruction, thievery, the lowest and the least. When you have no king but Jesus, you release the eternal, you release the highest and best, you release virtue, you release potential.
It is not accidental that America has been the home of the brave and the land of the free, the place where mankind has had the greatest of all opportunities, to approach the potential that God has placed within us. It has been because we knew that we were endowed not by the king, but by the Creator, with certain unalienable rights. If America is to be great in the future, it will be if we understand that our source is not civic and temporal, but our source is godly and eternal. Endowed by the Creator with rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I thank God for this institution and for you, who recognize and commit yourselves to the proposition that we were so created, and that to live with respect to the Creator promises us the greatest potential as a nation and as individuals. And for such we must reacquaint ourselves daily with His call upon our lives.
Thank you. God bless you, and thank you for honoring me by allowing me to stand with Asa (Hutchinson) and Lindsey (Graham) and a great governor.
FOR THE RECORD:
03/01/00
Sen. John Ashcroft said Tuesday that he rejects Bob Jones University's anti-Catholic beliefs and its policy against interracial dating, even though he holds an honorary degree from the school. "I didn't really know they had these positions," Ashcroft said in an interview on KMOX Radio in St. Louis. "Frankly, I reject the anti-Catholic position of Bob Jones University categorically." Bob Jones University, a non-denominational Christian college in Greenville, S.C., which lost its tax-exempt status in the 1970s because of racial discrimination, is a popular stop for many Republican candidates seeking conservative support. GOP presidential candidate George W. Bush was criticized for speaking at the university.
Ashcroft, a Missouri Republican, stopped short of saying he would return the degree. Ashcroft said he would do so only if Gov. Mel Carnahan - his Democratic challenger in the November election - returns money that he received from those who supported his veto of a bill last year banning certain late-term abortions.
FROM THE FUNDAMENTAL
BIBLE CHURCH WEB SITE
LOS OSOS, CALIFORNIA
"TOWARD TRADITION" PRESENTS "TOWARD A NEW ALLIANCE" Under this title, we just received an invitation to participate in a national conference for Jewish conservatives to be held in Washington, D.C., September 21-23, 1997, further described as: "Toward a New Alliance-American Jews and Political Conservatism." The attractive brochure says, "Join us for a unique and exciting event in the nation’s capital!" The following questions are listed for discussion at the conference:
• Are the liberal Jewish organizations fighting anti-Semitism-or encouraging it?
• How can Jewish and Christian conservatives cooperate politically while respecting their theological differences?
• What does the Torah have to say about welfare, school choice, and affirmative action?
• Do social and economic conservatism depend on one another?
Before listing some of the conference speakers, it is important to note that question three asks, "What does the Torah have to say…?" but no question is raised as to "What does the Bible have to say…?" The majority of speakers are identified either as Jewish Rabbi’s or political figures with only two men particularly identified as "Christian"—D. J. Gribben, National Field Director, Christian Coalition; and Gary Bauer, President, Family Research Council. Of course, there may be other speakers who would identify themselves as "Christian," but there appears to be no one on the program who would present Bible answers to the questions to be considered.
The opening keynote speaker is listed as Honorable Jack Kemp, Co-Director of Empower America. Senators and Congressmen either participating or having been invited to do so are the following: Dick Armey, John Ashcroft, Steve Largent, Chris Cox, Jon Fox, Ernest Istook, David McIntosh, Jennifer Dunn (the only woman listed), Trent Lott, Tom DeLay, Newt Gingrich and John Kasich.
Jewish Rabbi’s listed include: Mendel Epstein, Daniel Greer, Leonid Feldman, Barry Freundel, Daniel Lapin, David Dalin, and Mayer Schiller. A number of participants edit publications or are columnists. Michael Medved is listed as an "Author, Film Critic, Talk Radio Host." Several other speakers represent various conservative organizations.
No, we cannot participate in any such conference which evades and ignores the basic theological differences involved. Most Christians and Jews today are hopelessly divided among themselves, but instead of turning to God’s eternal, infallible, inerrant Word, they are desperately seeking solutions to national and world problems based upon man’s wisdom. They are headed for failure and must be warned as well as urged to turn to Jesus Christ who alone can save and satisfy.
LINKS:
ASHCROFT AND SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE
ANOTHER DISCUSSION OF THE SAME
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