Is Conservative Talk Radio Getting the Job Done? by Frederick Hoehn, copyright 2013, all rights reserved. Most of the time, when I write, it's about Bible topics such as being an overcomer, or the Baptism with the Holy Ghost, or spiritual warfare against the forces of darkness. I'm not a political animal. My major in college was not Political Science, it was Engineering. Though I had a career in technology, my primary calling now is to be a Priest for the Lord. It is not to set the government straight. And yet, as an American, I would like to do what I can to help my nation go in the right direction. I was born an American. I live here. I don't want the U.S. to go down the drain. As a Priest for the Lord, I can shed some light on this issue. I had a friend in Glendale, California, Bill Falling. For a while, he drove a United Parcel Service truck, I guess while he was finishing his education. He was also my Sunday School teacher at Faith Center Church. He later became a pastor of a church in Escondido, CA, near San Diego. Then I learned that Falling had quit his pastorate to start a Christian Voter's League. I appreciate his desire to try to improve our nation, and yet, I think he might have missed the will of God by doing so. I believe you do more for the nation by helping people spiritually than by going into politics. As a pastor, he could get people born-again, baptized with the Holy Ghost, casting out demons, healing the sick. If you get people right spiritually, when they vote, they'll make good choices. But if your main approach is political, you're up against powerful forces, the only hope of conquering is with the mighty weapons spoken of in 2 Cor. 10:3-5-- 3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, 4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds,) 5 Throwing down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ, There was a period when I used to listen quite a bit to Conservative talk radio. You've got your Rush Limbaugh, your Sean Hannity, your Mark Levin, your Tom Marr, etc. I mostly agree with what they have to say, and yet, are they really moving the nation in the right direction? Not that they want to go in the wrong direction, but are they effective in changing things for the better? Mark Levin is wrong to advise people to invest in gold. Please see what I wrote about, "Why Gold is a Bad Investment." James chapter 5 shows that gold and silver will lose their value. But Mark is Jewish, so I guess he doesn't read the book of James. He probably also didn't read my emails to him. And then on TV, I watch Fox News Channel. Sean Hannity is there, too. Prior to the Presidential election of 2012, Hannity had at the introduction of his radio program the phrase, "The Stop Obama Express." I was sympathetic to that. I thought Romney would be a better president. But did Hannity stop Obama? Who is the current resident at the White House? Obama. No, Hannity didn't stop Obama. Did Mark Levin or Rush Limbaugh stop Obama? Apparently not. So then, after all that talk, talk, talk, what is the benefit? Well, it gives you kind of a good feeling to be empathizing with those who want to improve the nation, but aside from that, I don't see that there has been a lot of benefit, except for good intentions. Good intentions are commendable, but they don't necessarily get the job done. Talk show hosts might say, "We're doing all that we know to do." I say, "Did you ever consider that your knowledge might be rather shallow?" The above passage from Corinthians says our weapons are not carnal, but spiritual. While I sympathize with the Conservative commentators, I don't recall any of them trying to employ Christian spiritual weapons. Mark Levin doesn't know about spiritual weapons. That's New Testament, and Jews pretty much stay away from the New Testament. Some of the others might be Christian. Hannity says he's Catholic, so maybe he's born-again, I don't know. No doubt some Catholics are born again, but some are not. In Houston, my wife and I broke bread with Charles and Elizabeth Melton. They said they had been in the Catholic church, and while there, they were not taught what Jesus said, "You must be born again," (John chapter 3), but no, they were taught you'll go to heaven if you're a good Catholic. There is no church, membership in which, will get you to heaven without being born again. Not one. So then, these conservative talk radio and TV people, for all their good intentions, without Christian spiritual weapons, seem to be rather ineffective. After Mark Levin had spoken so much against Obama for perhaps a year and a half, and then Obama got a second term, wouldn't it be time to pause for a reevaluation of the strategy? Wouldn't it be time to say, "Wait a minute, why have I not accomplished my purpose?" But another factor, of course, is the fact that the talk show people are making good money. If that were not the case, their broadcasts would go away and be replaced by programs hosted by others who would get better Nielsen ratings, or whatever rating service is being used now. So, if you're making good money by doing what you're doing, there's the tendency to continue doing it. I'm not accusing them of being primarily motivated by financial profit, but I'm saying let's face the fact that they haven't accomplished very much with their present strategies. So I say to all conservative TV and radio speakers, if you want to get serious about making a significant difference, "Seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness," and the other things will be added to you. (Matt 6:33) Here's another scripture to support this indirect approach: "He that finds his life shall lose it, and he that loses his life for my sake shall find it," Jesus says. (Matt 10:39) You need Jesus anyway, to go to heaven instead of hell. Now put Jesus into your strategy for the nation, and don't lean so much to your own understanding. (Prov 3:5,6) But someone might say, "But what are you doing for your nation, Fred?" I've served in the Army and Navy, and I'm being a good citizen by following Christian principles like our nation was founded on. It's not my calling to go and run for office, nor to campaign for various candidates, but I'll speak out from time to time to try to help steer my nation in the right direction. But primarily, I'll try to win souls for Jesus, and try to strengthen my fellow Christians in their walk with the Lord. The present administration in Washington, has been plagued by various scandals in its second term. The IRS problem, the Benghazi problem, the Associated Press problem, apparent misstatements by Susan Rice, apparent wrongful persecution of a journalist with Fox News, the issue now of to what extent the federal government is looking into our phone conversations. I believe I've also been a victim of discrimination by the government. I used to have a blog at www.FredHoehnBlog.Wordpress.com At the blog, I had posted one hundred thirty six postings, including individual postings of each of the sixty six books of the Holy Bible, Hoehn Version, copyright 2011. But I had written some articles very critical of Barak Obama. When I went to post the 137th article, as I recall, Wordpress shut down my FredHoehnBlog, saying I had violated their terms and conditions. They didn't go into detail. I don't think I violated their terms and conditions. I suspect that someone in the Obama administration put pressure on Wordpress. Perhaps they said to Wordpress, "Either you shut him down, or we'll shut you down." So Wordpress shut me down. I believe they've violated my Constitutional right to freedom of speech. Why did they offer me a free blog if they were going to be hypercritical of what I might write? Surely God will punish Wordpress, and whomever else it might be that conspired with them. In the world situation, there is also cyber spying apparently by China. There is the Syrian civil war. Not all the problems have been wrapped up with Iraq and Afghanistan. The issue of Iranian nuclear weapons. The immigration problem. Border security. The world economic situation. Starvation. Disease. Poverty. The terrorist threat. There's a lot of talk. Everyone has an opinion. God has the solutions to our problems, but to get God in on it, our citizens must seek him. As an American for more than six decades, I'm pretty sure your average American spends hardly any time seeking the Lord. They have their careers, their families, their TV programs, their sports, their recreations, none of which will necessarily send you to hell, but Jesus taught that we have to put him first, or we're not worthy of him, and if we don't do so, there's a hell at the end of the road. Another scripture says, "Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any country." (Prov 14:34) But our nation is a long way from the righteousness it once had through fear of God, and living according to God's principles. I've heard there are some laws now prohibiting speaking against gays. But the Constitution of the United States with its amendments still gives me freedom of religion and freedom of speech, and I'll continue to preach the Bible for as long as I'm on earth. If it's necessary to die as a martyr for Jesus, I'm available for that, but I think the Lord's not going to let that happen until I've won many more souls for Jesus. God is very much against homosexuality. In 1 Cor 6:9,10, God says homosexuals don't go to heaven. The King James Version says "the effeminate," which means gays. And if God won't let male homosexuals into heaven, he won't let lesbians in either. What they're doing is selling their souls for some short-term pleasure. God has provided an acceptable form of sex--normal relations between a man and a woman who are husband and wife. But if you must do things contrary to God, you'll pay the price. And our nation is paying a price because of sexual perversion, blasphemy, pornography, lust, covetousness, lying, and other sins. Porn is wrong because Jesus said, "He that looks at a woman to lust for her has committed adultery with her already in his heart." (Matt 5:28) Scriptures quoted are from the Holy Bible, Hoehn Version and the New Testament, Hoehn Version, copyright 2011, both available as ebooks for the Kindle readers from Amazon.com