During our troubling times, we have another resurgence of a departure for heaven. Among Evangelical Christians it shall be similar to the ascension of Jesus. It is the belief that humans in some bodily form can ascend to heaven. Many Christians in North America place their trust in Paul who predicted the removal of Jesus' followers from the earth before the hour of chaos strikes the world (I Thes.4: 13-18). Paul, himself, did not see that day neither did we during the devastation in World War II. According to Jesus, his followers shall face worse times than we did before He shall intervene (Mt.24). With the future in doubt and evil on the rise, it is not surprising that there is renewed interest in the ascension.

Being human, we are all prone to be misguided. Salomon knew it when he wrote: "There is a way that seems right to a man, but the end leads to death" (Prov.14: 12). This is election time and we hear the charge "They are stealing our democracy." We should ask immediately, "Who is making the charge and what do they mean by 'our democracy?'" Where do these political bosses get the idea that it is their democracy when we never had one? By the way, there is none in the world. We are not even a "Constitutional Republic" any longer. In fact, we are governed by a political handful of individuals that have complete sway over us. Again and again, these individuals get us to vote for their candidates that protect their interests and not the people's. They are skillfully showing us that what they are doing is right for us, when it is not. They are not making the sacrifices, we are. Our youth is dying among strangers. We are all indebted to some financial institution. We are losing our homes. We are forced into expensive health programs. We are losing jobs to other countries. We borrow money to pay taxes. We cannot pray in public and when we complain, we are labeled as "bigots" and "racists." Where is our freedom?

It has been some time since I visited a Senior Departure Center. These are the places named differently; nevertheless, they are places where we seniors make our last earthly abode. Recently, my wife's sister's husband departed and we went to comfort the bereaved widow. It was a rather mixed feeling of melancholy and gladness. My wife's sister lives in a comfortable facility; yet, I had this eerie feeling of being on a train headed for "Never Land." I felt depressed and not prepared to take this final ride. I was thankful that I had more time to prepare myself for that last trip into the other world.

The other day, I heard a Christian clergy on the tube getting his people ready for a sudden and unexpected trip to heaven just prior to some terrible event. Earlier, politicians were expounding that their programs would create a utopian environment. Another group of politicians were bemoaning the fact that this nation was loosing her freedom and pre-eminence in the world. In the midst of what was, what is and what could be a commentator identified himself as a realist. He was a breath of fresh air. He reminded the others that one could not change a huge system like one changes clothes. Such massive changes without collateral end in catastrophic consequences. What has become of good and sound realism?

I wonder whether we are taking to heart the concept of demoralization. It is a technique used by powerful minorities and politicians to gain the advantage over the majority and their opponents. Small pieces of pie are generously handed out among the crowds that cause both, acceptance or rejection by confusion. In most instances people with good intentions get hung up on issues that disrupt unity. Particularly, a News Media can become obsessed with policies that hide the opposition's goals. I recall how I was lead to vote for a third party candidate that unseated a good man. Fortunately, his successor had the insight to change for the good and this nation prospered. That no longer is the case. Our present head of the Union has set forth enough diversity to demoralize several Unions. The voices that are warning us are no longer heard.

Fifty years ago, we sang, "Give me the Old Time Religion." Change was in the works. The majority of us did not take change serious. Some leaders attempted change on a larger scale but soon learned that the people were not ready for it. There was no script to guide the people. The first act was to modernize the history and the text that would justify change. With regard to the nation, the history of the founders had to be secularized and the Constitution turned into a living document. This revised interpretation of the nation's Manifesto has become the sole authority over everyone. It has become more powerful than a theocracy, a monarchy or a dictatorship. It is tragic that it has also become a tool to reform this nation into that it was never intended.

Thomas Hardy, Christmas, 1924 wrote: "Peace upon earth was said; we sing it and pay a million priests to bring it. After two thousand years of mass, we've got as far as poison gas." Since then we have had the "H" bomb and the nuclear with no peace in sight. These devastating weapons were developed in countries where the peace of God in Christ was being proclaimed. The reason for their existence is that they were meant to be deterrents against those that intend to destroy our freedom. To our horror, human bombers are replacing our expensive chemical weapons. How can we reverse this trend?

Last Sunday I saw myself behind a pulpit and felt guilty over the use of "you" rather than the "we." My memory awakened to the past when I told the people, "you must repent, you must forgive, you must get right with God" and so on. Inadvertently, I was separating myself from my flocks. No wonder they perceived me as being on a higher level in my religious life. Without my cognizance, they were afraid to come to me for guidance. The "you" had separated me from the "we." I should have gone with my people to do what I had told them to do.

President Obama's talks often begin with "Let me be clear." Then he adds, "My salvation depends on collective salvation." Instantly, different conclusions are drawn. Black liberation theologians see the distribution and equalization of wealth. The Glen Beck program with some Christian clergy denied collective salvation in favor of personal salvation. Their distinction on personal and collective salvation made me go back to the Bible for clarity. Well, the Bible does endorse their views as partial and not as the whole truth. In fact, they are interdependent and we cannot have one without the other.

We are living in a progressive nightmare. Every generation regarded itself as being progressive but none as much as ours has. For example, the Bible for centuries was accepted with minor changes. Today we have many versions with cultural and linguistic changes. Even Jesus has become a contemporary. In our church, we honor the Trinity in a traditional and contemporary in separate services. It is troubling that both are accepted by God but not by the people. It is equally inapprehensive that what is traditional was once contemporary. These irreconcilable differences do not only plague our Christian faith but also the constitutionality of our nation.