The Unsung Davids

Looking for a good read?

Author and conservative talk show host of KTEM 1400, Ben Barrack, is releasing his new book, The Unsung Davids. It is available for pre-order on amazon. It will be released September 2012. It will reach book stores nation wide so get your copy now!

http://www.amazon.com/Unsung-Davids-Battled-Goliath-Without/dp/0982567995/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1332952527&sr=1-3

Below is a summary from the author

The story of David vs. Goliath is perhaps the best personification of the fight between good and evil. Righteousness was overmatched and evil was overconfident. Each of the ten men featured in this book knows what it's like to be engaged in such a battle. They all share a common bond consisting of common traits that even further reinforce that bond. Amazingly, so do their adversaries. These ten men each perceived things like injustice, persecution, corruption, deceit, and dishonor as personal affronts they simply could not tolerate. Each chose to stand up to evil and didn't back down, even after seeing its face. Armed with little more than the truth, these men fought valiantly and relentlessly, entities and institutions that would do us all harm.

Yet, they remain unsung as of this writing.

Peter Paul vs. HILLARY CLINTON: When one man who the Clintons attempted to double cross, didn't go quietly, the woman who would run for president got far more than she bargained for.

Richard Landes vs. PALLYWOOD: When one man was exposed to the underbelly of manufactured news, he blew the lid off of a strategem of war used against western civilization.

 

Roberto Micheletti vs. THE WORLD: When one man stood up for his country by following its Constitution while international forces pressured him to compromise, he took on the world.

 

Larry Grathwohl vs. WEATHER UNDERGROUND: When one man infiltrated a terrorist organization for the FBI in 1969, he would become an even bigger nemesis for that group's founders years later.

 

David Conn vs. JIM JONES: When one man was ignored by the church, the media, and political leaders, he would become the most dangerous, yet surreptitious threat to an insane preacher.

 

Wayne Perryman vs. DEMOCRATIC PARTY: When one man demanded an apology for how the Democratic Party had treated his race, that Party went to the mat in order to prevent having to do so.

 

O'Neal Dozier vs. REPUBLICAN PARTY: When one man expressed his opinion about Islam, he was blacklisted by an establishment that lacked the political courage to stand with him.

 

J.D. Cash vs. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE: When one man decided after the Oklahoma City bombing, that he wanted to be a journalist at the age of 43, he showed the media how to do its job.

 

Anthony Shaffer vs. DIA BRASS: When one man did what he thought was patriotic, a powerful bureaucracy attempted to destroy him as a traitor to that bureaucracy.

 

Walid Shoebat vs. ISLAMIC FUNDAMENTALISM: When one man, armed with the ability to speak Arabic, converted from Islam to Christianity, powerful Islamic propagandists suffered greatly.

 

 

www.benbarrack.com

 

Soul Surfer Review

I decided that I really like doing movie reviews. The other week, John talked me into doing a "vlog" aka video blog of a movie we saw together called Source Code and a movie I saw with my mom called Soul Surfer. If you want to check out the vlog and the Source Code review, go to Youtube and type in TheJohnVandivier in the search box and it should be the second video.

But I won't be talking about Source Code in this post just because I think we covered most of it in our "vlog".
I would like to talk about Soul Surfer. It is a PG movie that recently came out and let me tell you, I really enjoyed it. Like I said in the video post, most PG rated movies are directly towards children, not necessarily for all ages. This movie, however, was appropriate for all viewers.

If you haven't seen trailers, this movie is about a 13 year-old girl named Bethany Hamilton who grew up in Hawaii and had been out in the water ever since she was little. She started entering championships at a very young age. At 13, she got sponsored and was going to enter the BIG championship. While out on her board with her best friend, she was attacked by a shark and lost her left arm. According to her friends and family, she didn't cry or panic at all (pretty sure I would be doing both, I am terrified of sharks). About a month after the attack, she got back into the water, learned how to surf with a disability and entered nationals.

This movie is based on a true story. Bethany Hamilton was played by actress Anna Sophia Robb. Her parents were played by Dennis Quaid and Helen Hunt. I would really like to emphasize how awesome the family in this movie was portrayed. Think back to movies you have seen and answer this:
How many movies have BOTH parents, happily married, never divorced and even after so many years of marriage, they are still in love, happy and able to play?
For me, the movies I see fall under these categories:
1) Parents are divorced and fighting
2) One or both parents have died in some sort of accident
3) They are still married but unhappy

Think even to television shows, for one example: Disney Channel. Out of all the shows they run, 2 at the moment have happily married parents. But that is for a different blog, maybe someday.

My point is this:
The parents in Soul Surfer laughed, played, and went to church together. You just don't see that.

But now to my biggest point.
How many movies have Christian families? And before you answer that, I'm not talking about "hinting" christians. No, I'm not talking about Christian "references" where the movie could go either way. I am talking about church, bible verses, prayer, mission trips, and faith. All of those were in this movie and more. To me, this made the movie (Not because I'm Christian and biased, that's not my point even if it may be true) because the family gave all their struggles to God and gave Him the credit for their strength.
One scene in the movie, Bethany is crying to her youth director and asking why God would do this to her. The youth director did not give a direct answer but she told her that maybe God wanted her to see life from a different view. After this talk, she went on a mission trip and saw all the people suffering because of a natural disaster. She saw people without food and water and ones hurting from loss of a loved one. Long story short, she realized that surfing wasn't everything, it was not the meaning of life. Even through her pain and suffering, she realized she was still blessed.

I can honestly say I don't think I have ever seen a movie that was really this open with Christianity. People are standing up for what they believe in now and I like it. I know they are just actors and they may or may not believe in their character, but the fact that Hollywood would come out with a movie like this, tells me our world is turning back around.

On the other hand, Soul Surfer received bad reviews from the critics. One critic gave the movie a C rating because (and I quote) "For a movie about surfing, the focus needs to be a little less on her Christian walk"
I read that and was shocked. It is a true story, yes it has surfing, but I think that all the things she overcame was way more of a story than her surfing. The fact that she had enough determination to get back in the water and re-learn how to surf is awesome, but because she was able to grow in her walk with Christ is what really captured me.

Ex Terrorist Speaks Out Against Islam

A man raised in the violence of Palestinian terrorism is now speaking out against the life he used to live.

Walid Shoebat is a former Palestinian terrorist who believes that the truth about Islam is widely misunderstood and misleadingly presented throughout the world.

In his youth, Shoebat joined the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). As a member he was involved in attacks against Israel and was later imprisoned in the Russian Compound.

“I planted a bomb in a bank in Bethlehem called Bank Leumi, I got involved in many of the riots in the Palestinian areas, in Bethlehem and Jerusalem, I nearly beat an Israeli soldier to death, and stonings. So from bombing to stoning and fundraising for terrorism, I did it all,” said Shoebat.

Shoebat was trained by Jamal Said, who is a colleague of Sayyed Imam Al-Sharif, the Godfather of Al’Quida. After his training Shoebat was involved with the Muslim Brotherhood in Chicago, Illinois.

“The main goal of the Muslim Brotherhood is to destroy the West from within, take over the American government, and replace it with Shariah Law, otherwise known as Islamic Law,” said Shoebat.

After coming to the United States Shoebat became a counselor for the Arab Student Organization in Chicago and continued his anti-Israel activities.
While in the U.S Shoebat met a Christian woman named Maria and they fell in love. He attempted to convert her to Islam and she attempted to convert him to Christianity. They compromised by exchanging challenges. She would read the entire Quran and he would read the whole Bible. After studying the Bible for six months Shoebat converted from extremist Islam to Christianity in 1993.

“I have challenged everything in the bible, I have hated God’s people, I have persecuted the Jewish people, and by reading the bible, I have found that it is an amazing manuscript,” said Shoebat.

In the middle east, questioning Islam can be punishable by death. Because Shoebat has chosen to speak out against terrorism, his family is constantly faced with security issues.

“The question I always ask myself is why are the Muslim Movement and the terrorists able to give their names and the Islamist movement in the West has no problem giving their addresses, but I have to be in hiding? It is because Christians don’t kill the Muslims, it is the Islamists who kill the Christians,” said Shoebat.

Since his conversion Shoebat has spoken at universities across the country. He has appeared on FOX, NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN, and has been interviewed on countless radio stations. Many of his views are controversial. He even claims that deception is a regular tool of Muslims.

“When I was disseminating Islamic dogma and revolutionary causes for the PLO in Chicago, I would invite Americans to come to a ‘cultural party’ when indeed it had nothing to do with a cultural party, it had something to do with collecting donations for the PLO for the cause of Islam,” said Shoebat.

Shoebat warns westerners to observe things said in Arabic rather than English. For example, the invitations to the ‘cultural party’ were pamphlets which stated in Arabic, “We are conducting a Jihad expedition against Israel in the west. Bring your friends so we can raise the funds.” In English it was an invitation to attend a cultural party.

Shoebat surmised, “During my terror days, I lied to the westerners and they believed me. Now that I am telling the truth, I am called a liar.”

Shoebat believes part of the reason for America’s denial is the news they are fed.

“The reason you are denying this is because the media that you have. It is not building the American’s confidence, it is building the enemies confidence,” said Shoebat, “We have a War on Terrorism, but terrorism is working.”

While Shoebat speaks to a majority of the media, there is a minority that agrees with him. A member of this minority, conservative talk show host Ben Barrack, has done extensive research on Walid’s story. Barrack opposes accusations of fraud made by Christopher Hedges of the New York Times and Jorg Luyken of the Jerusalem Post.

Through his research Barrack has corroborated the identity of Shoebat’s mentor, Shoebat’s bombing of Bank Leumi, and the fact that Shoebat beat an Israeli soldier.

Barrack says“He knows what he is talking about, so maybe people should start listening.”

What Is Christianity Becoming? The Museum of Idolatry

Have you ever come across a website where your first thought was something like "what in the world" or "is this serious"? Have you ever had your beliefs mocked and ridiculed?

As I was browsing the web, just trying to possibly find a topic, and I came across a website that literally made my jaw drop in disgust.

The 2nd youtube video on this website is a "man" called The Demoniac Preacher, 'preaching' to his audience while he mocks my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. There is also a advertisement of a Sunday service at this "church" and the introduction is, and I quote: "Jesus' death and resurrection are just not relevant anymore. So...rather than risk being irrelevant, Pastor Tom Skiles decided to preach about the movie Avatar on the highest holy day in the Christian Church". A church service on Avatar? On Easter Sunday?

Also, this 'church' promotes a play called Corpus Christi. The only reason I have ever heard of this disgusting and offensive play is because it was performed at Tarleton (another reason why the school now disgusts me). Anyways, ever heard of it? Well if you have not, read on for a quick summary.

The 'gay Jesus' play may be hitting the stage in North Texas after all.
Cathedral of Hope , the large Dallas church whose ministry is primarily directed toward gay and lesbian Christians, has announced that it will host a Los Angeles production of Corpus Christi, a play by Tony Award-winner Terrence McNally. The play is about a 20th-century Christ-like figure (called Joshua) who is gay. In one scene, Joshua kisses Judas at the senior prom at "Pontius Pilate High School." In another, he performs a wedding ceremony for two of his disciples, who are also gay.
Earlier this month, the play made headlines when a theater student at Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas, chose to direct a version as a class project. The student's play was to be staged on the Tarleton State campus. But that show was canceled at the last minute, after vociferous criticism from Stephenville clergy members and others.

Another name for this play is the "Gay Jesus Play".

First of all, I find it shocking that a so-called 'christian' church supports and promotes gay and lesbianism. Does it not specifically say in the bible that homosexuals will NOT enter the kingdom of heaven? Don't believe me. Get a bible and read it! Here are examples:

• If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.(Leviticus 20:13)


• Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. (1 Corinthians 6:9-10)


• Romans 1:26-27 - For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.

And what is even worse about this, is while introducing this play, the director said that although there may be some who disagree with this play, he would ask that you not judge. THEN has the audacity to use the bible and say "Judge not lest ye be judged"!

Needless to say, you should check the website out for yourself and speak up against those who mock your beliefs. This is unacceptable and I speak for myself when I say that I am tired of the mockery, I am tired of people thinking it is ok to say it is ok to be homosexual by trying to say Jesus was homosexual. Jesus was perfect, sinless, and died on the cross so that christians could go to heaven, so that they could be forgiven for their sins, and this is how 'christians' are repaying Him? Pathetic. I am at the point now where I do not even want to call myself a christian if this is what 'christianity' is coming too. I know my beliefs and I am sticking to them. I believe in God, the maker of heaven and earth, who sent His son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for our sins. Why is there any need to label my beliefs if I stand strong on what they are? Should I give anyone the right to think that I believe Jesus was a homosexual or that I think His death and ressurection are irrelevent to Easter Sunday? Should I give anyone the right to believe that this church's preachings are acceptable? NO! If being a 'christian' means mocking my Lord and Savior, supporting homosexuality, and leading a life of hypocrisy, then I am not a christian.

Here is the website, check it out and get the word out. It is time we start standing up against this mockery and hypocrisy. Also, notice the categories on the side labeled "Christian Erotica" which is a link that takes you to a section of the site where you can purchase pornography, sex toys, prostitution in the church, how you can meet homosexual singles, a "Belly Dance for God" video, and it also talks about about a youth group sex series. The video of this series starts with a line that reads "12 reasons to do it before you're in 12th grade" and "Undress her with your eyes before you get caught". Whatever happened to lust and immorality being a sin? Have these people forgotten that Corinthians says that every other sin is committed outside the body, but immorality is a sin committed inside the body which is where Christ dwells? Or do they just not care? And this is supposed to be ok? This is supposed to be what God wants?! Or how about their line "Undress her with your eyes"? Is that not lust? What if I mentioned Matthew 5:29 where it says: "So if your eye--even your good eye--causes you to lust, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell."? Once again, maybe they just don't care.

http://www.alittleleaven.com/
http://cathedralofhope.com/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=305

That's the website. I know you'll be just as shocked as I was. And just incase, I added the website for the church in Dallas (the 2nd link).

Spread of Christianity Through Actions, Not Words

With each blog posted, you learn a little bit more about me, my opinions, and my view of the world. So far, you know that I am in love with a wonderful, romantic guy (unbelievable right?), I enjoy writing songs/poems, I love movies almost as much as I love to read, I do not support PETA because of their immoral advertisements, and I am a fan of EasyHits4u. With this next blog, you will come to find that I am strong in my walk as a christian. I normally do not forward e-mails or even give forwards a second thought, but I decided this would be a good message for those of you who are Christians, but do not spread the word of God through actions. Think about it and enjoy.

His name is Bill. He has wild hair, wears a T-shirt with holes in it, jeans, and no shoes. This was literally his wardrobe for his entire four years of college. He is brilliant. Kind of profound and very, very bright. He became a Christian while attending college. Across the street from the campus is a well-dressed, very conservative church. They want to develop a ministry to the students but are not sure how to go about it.
One day Bill decides to go there. He walks in with no shoes, jeans, his T-shirt, and wild hair. The service has already started and so Bill starts down the aisle looking for a seat. The church is completely packed and he can't find a seat. By now, people are really looking a bit uncomfortable, but no one says anything.
Bill gets closer and closer and closer to the pulpit, and when he realizes there are no seats, he just squats down right on the carpet. By now the people are really uptight, and the tension in the air is thick. About this time, the minister realizes that from way at the back of the church, a deacon is slowly making his way toward Bill. Now the deacon is in his eighties, has silver-gray hair, and a three-piece suit. A godly man, very elegant, very dignified, very courtly. He walks with a cane and, as he starts walking toward this boy, everyone is saying to themselves that you can't blame him for what he's going to do.
How can you expect a man of his age and of his background to understand some college kid on the floor? It takes a long time for the man to reach the boy. The church is utterly silent except for the clicking of the man's cane. All eyes are focused on him.. You can't even hear anyone breathing. The minister can't even preach the sermon until the deacon does what he has to do. And now they see this elderly man drop his cane on the floor. With great difficulty, he lowers himself and sits down next to Bill and worships with him so he won't be alone. Everyone chokes up with emotion. When the minister gains control, he says, 'What I'm about to preach, you will never remember. What you have just seen, you will never forget.''Be careful how you live. You may be the only Bible some people will ever read!'