Subtitle: We predicted a week ago that the major danger posed
by all these new broad "Antiterrorism" powers the government
was seeking was that, after the powers have been granted, the
government may simply redefine who a terrorist is and what constitutes
terror. That redefinition began yesterday [10/3/01] by Governor
Tom Ridge of Homeland Security! Christians who write the plain
truth may suddenly be pursued as terrorists!
NEWS BRIEF: "Ridge Vows Balance of Rights, Security",
News-Item Newspaper, Shamokin, Pennsylvania, 10/3/01, Page 1.
"To those Americans who would lash out at your fellow citizens,
simply because they worship differently, or dress differently,
or look differently than you, there is one word for such behavior:
terrorism." [Governor Tom Ridge, in his farewell address
to the State Legislature as Pennsylvania Governor, before taking
up his new position at the White House as Director of Homeland
Security].
The Bush Administration has just redefined who is a terrorist
and what a person has to do in order to be classified by the
Federal Government as a terrorist. In NEWS1550, "Bitter
Fruits of Bush's War On Terrorism ", I predicted that such
a redefinition would take place! However, I thought this inevitable
redefinition would wait until after President Bush had received
the Congressional legal authority to expand intrusive intelligence
measures against "terrorists". Now, we see that this
new definition has occurred even as the bills are working their
way through Congress.
Terrorist has always been defined as someone who "uses terror,
violence, and intimidation to achieve an end, especially a political
end." [Tormont Webster Illustrated Dictionary, p. 1708]
Terror is defined by this dictionary as "systematic violence
carried out against private citizens, public property and political
enemies with the aim of enforcing demands and achieving supremacy."
[Ibid.]
This is the standard definition of terror and terrorist. When
the President and his Attorney General were lobbying Congress
for the kind of broad authority that would have made Clinton
and Reno blush, we warned that the real targets may be people
other than those Muslims operating under Osama bin Laden. Listen
to our warning in NEWS1550:
"However, the most troubling aspect of President Bush's
proposals is that they were to be written so vaguely as to enable
the Administration to redefine the person or persons against
whom the laws were aimed. As this article stated: "Some
civil libertarians have complained that the administration is
seeking language so broad that it would allow the antiterrorism
laws to be used against common criminals." [Ibid., p. A-10]
In other words, while Congress may pass the legislation originally
aimed at Arab terrorists who work for Osama bin Laden, the actual
wording of the proposed law is so broad and vague that some highly
elected official might just redefine who and what constitutes
a terrorist. A simple redefinition might just make a terrorist
out of anyone who disagrees strongly with the government. A simple
redefinition might just make terrorists out of the Fundamental,
Born Again Christian ..."
This redefinition may have already begun . In Tom Ridge's statement,
he also uses the vague verb, "lash out" to redefine
terrorist. There are several ways in which a person can "lash
out". They can do so physically and violently. They can
"lash out" verbally, calling a person false derogatory
names. But, is it possible for government authorities to so construe
"lash out" as to apply to a situation in which the
truth is told about a person, his country, or his religion --
a truth that is not popular to hear?
In other words, if a Christian ministry tells the truth about
Islam, even quoting from their writings, including the Koran,
can that ministry then be called a "terrorist" organization?
If this is the case, then all the broad authority which Bush
and Ashcroft are seeking could then be turned on that Christian
ministry. Then, the Federal Government can:
1. Wiretap all our communications without a specific court order
2. Intercept all our emails and faxes, again without a specific
court order
3. Seize all our assets without court order and without specific
charges
4. Incarcerate us without charges and for an indefinite period
of time
Cutting Edge Ministries has regularly been labeled as a "Hate
Group" simply because we dare speak the truth of the entire
Word of God, including the aspects of Judgment, Sin, and the
exclusivity which Jesus demands of Himself and His followers.
In other words, Jesus vigorously stated that He was the only
true path to the Father in Heaven, that all other religions were
pretenders and offered a false path that does not lead to Heaven,
but to Hell [John 14:6; 10:7-18]
We suspect the time is coming soon when ministries like this
one who dare speak the truth lovingly but plainly will be silenced
through the exercise of these new broad, police state type powers.
Events do seem to be moving along very rapidly now. Former Satanists
have all unequivocally stated that, once the first blow is struck
in the campaign to produce Antichrist, precisely 13 weeks [91
days] later, Antichrist will arise. In that 13-week period, all
the wars, rumors of wars, terrorism in our cities, financial
collapse, natural disasters, and events designed to just produce
panic, will have occurred.
When Antichrist arises, amidst great panic and bloodshed, and
displaying great occult "signs and wonders", people
will universally greet him with great enthusiasm and hope. These
are the times in which we live, and the path down which we are
treading. [The Cutting Edge http://www.cuttingedge.org] |