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Tenth Anniversary of CultureWarrior.net – March 6, 2013 – March 6, 2023

CultureWarrior.net was founded on March 6, 2013 when the author published his first article online. The “About” section in the heading of the CultureWarrior.net describes its mission:

The mission of CultureWarrior.net is to participate in the redemption of culture in all of the institutions of American life through sharing the truth of the biblical worldview which was the heart of the American cultural vision upon which the United States was founded.

The mission statement is followed by six strategies for accomplishment of that mission. Over the last ten years more than two hundred articles have been written and posted on CultureWarrior.net.

The first article written for CultureWarrior.net was a prophetic warning about the agenda of homosexual leaders and their supporters. The recognition of marriage between homosexuals was merely the first salvo in their war to utterly transform American culture by destroying the Judeo-Christian moral foundations upon which America was built. Over the last ten years the sin of homosexuality and its many tentacles have been deeply woven into the fabric of every institution of American life – marriage, family, the organized church, education, government, business, media, and arts/entertainment.

During February 2013, there was considerable debate and press coverage of the efforts of the homosexual lobby to overturn all bans against gay marriage. Although marriage between homosexuals was widely supported among liberal politicians, the Democratic leadership was dithering about how to deal with this divisive issue. Vice President broke the dam of opposition when he boldly spoke in support of gay marriage. Sensing a favorable outcome, President Obama cast his support for gay marriage on March 1, 2013.

This was a defining moment of victory for the homosexual lobby, and ten years later, America has become a moral cesspool. Leaders of the American government now require flying the homosexual’s rainbow flag alongside of the American flag at our embassies around the world. Against their moral and religious beliefs, business owners are required to provide services for homosexual-themed products and events. The LGBTQ+ agenda for K-12 schools includes promotion and use of cross-sex hormones, surgical procedures, and puberty-blockers, all based on the child’s perceived gender identity. Drag queen story hours are common in our school houses and public libraries. Vast numbers of people in business, the military, and government offices are schooled in the proper use of pronouns so as not to offend members of the LGBTQ+ crowd. These are just a few examples of the pervasive reach of the homosexual agenda into every nook and cranny of American life.

Printed below is the first article written for CultureWarrior.net. It reveals how the initial 2013 Trojan horse of equality in the battle for cultural acceptance of gay marriage was just the beginning of the homosexual agenda to dramatically undermined America’s moral foundations after March 2013.

Equality – The homosexual agenda’s Trojan horse in its battle for cultural acceptance – March 6, 2013

“Trojan Horse” is a term used to refer to someone or something intended to undermine or subvert from within. The term derives from a tale of the Trojan War in which the Greeks built a giant wooden horse and hid forty soldiers inside. Then, the Greeks, appearing to have abandoned the fight and wooden horse, sailed their ships over the horizon. The unsuspecting Trojans pulled the horse into their city as a victory trophy. That night the hidden soldiers crept out of the horse, opened the gates for the Greek army that had returned under cover of darkness. The Greeks invaded and destroyed Troy, decisively ending the ten-year siege.

America is in the midst of a battle for supremacy in the central cultural vision of the nation. The battle between the biblical worldview and the humanistic worldview (under the guise of secularism, liberalism, progressivism, etc.) is popularly known as the culture wars and has been ongoing far longer than ten years. One of those battles centers on the homosexual agenda’s quest for legitimacy, respect, recognition, acceptance, and affirmation by American culture. The battle has escalated, and the homosexual agenda now requires the removal of all bans against gay marriage.

This past week President Obama, citing the principle of equality that drove the nation’s founding, spoke out against California’s ban on gay marriage and said that the Supreme Court should strike it down.[1] This tactic has been very effective and successful is casting the proponents of homosexuality and same-sex marriage as commanding the moral high ground. They present themselves and their cause as morally superior to their opponents who are cast as villains in the morality play widely disseminated in popular culture. To oppose homosexuality is deemed the moral equivalence of racism, bigotry, ignorance, and homophobia. Those persons who are not accepting of homosexuality are labeled as intolerant.[2]

But William Bennett identifies the humanists’ perversion of the concept of tolerance. He calls it “…the disfigurement of the idea of tolerance at the hands of the agenda-pushers of our day…that would brand as bigots those of us who exercise our elementary responsibility…to make firm moral judgments in matters touching on marriage and the raising of our children.” The humanists would force all to worship at the shrine of tolerance, but their price of admission is a tolerance rooted in moral relativism with no room for finding truth or judging something based on the concept of right and wrong. For those that fail to enter the humanist shrine, they become the objects of intolerant harassment through restrictions on free speech (speech codes), coercion, and intimidation. To the proponents of homosexuality, tolerance means forced acceptance, and such acceptance necessitates “normalization, validation, public legitimation, and finally public endorsement.”[3]

Effectively, the advocates of gay marriage are using the Trojan horse of equality as a means to breach the gates of American culture built on the foundation of a biblical worldview. But the case against homosexuality entails far more than just the argument that it is contrary to the cultural traditions upon which America was founded. The accumulated weight of history> speaks loudly against the homosexual agenda. The author has described this “weight of history” in his book Ye shall be as gods .

The ordered family structure is part of the human constitution, a universal truth, one of the permanent things, and exists in every known society. The family attains status within society—legitimacy, social identity, legal recognition, cultural tradition, and an estate. Humans have fashioned numerous methods by which to organize their societies, but the common link to all is the family unit—a father, a mother, and children living together in bonds of committed caring. It is the fundamental unit upon which societies are built.[4]

By contrast, homosexuality is a disorganizing concept with regard to human relationships and ultimately disorganizing in building stable, enduring societies. Proponents wish to lift the status of homosexuality in society through its attainment of legitimacy, legal identity, and respect as a cultural tradition, a place at the table so to speak. These efforts involve court challenges to long-standing and culturally established norms, enactment of laws which favor the homosexual agenda and that diminish marriage, and promotion of homosexuality in the popular culture.[5]

As marriage is the central organizing concept in society, it is critical for proponents of homosexuality to redefine what it means to be a family, and this has become the primary field of battle. There are two general conceptions of marriage in society. The first is that marriage is at its core about the children born of that marriage and by default is limited to heterosexual marriage relationships. The second concept held by the humanists is that marriage is essentially a private relationship. This is from whence comes the attack by the proponents of the homosexual agenda. The legislative and legal efforts to redefine marriage to include homosexual couples of either gender, whether under the law or in culture, would weaken the idea of a mother and father for every child.[6]

This is a seismic shift not only in how one views life but of culture itself. We have stated that culture is the central vision that binds, unifies, and gives direction to society, without which a society disintegrates. Individuals may think, feel, and act upon their personal and private liberties in any society as long as their actions fall within the limits of the laws that express the central vision of that society.

Heterosexual marriage is a universal, and the strength and unity provided by traditional marriage is the foundation of a strong and enduring society. Although traditional marriage is in broad disarray, as it is in most Western societies, that does not disprove the truth of the heterosexual marriage universal but rather speaks of the ravages caused by the ascending humanist worldview. Where traditional marriage declines, so do those societies decline that allow it to occur.[7]

America continues to invite cultural disintegration if we endorse homosexual marriage hidden within the Trojan horse of equality.

Larry G. Johnson

Sources:
[1] Julie Pace and Mark Sherman, “Obama says no way to avoid gay marriage case,” Associated Press, March 1, 2013. On-line source: http://news.yahoo-says-no-way-avoid-gay-marriage-case-172022149–politics.html (accessed March 5, 2013). No longer available.
[2] William Bennett, The Broken Hearth, (New York: Doubleday, 2001), p. 107.
[3] Ibid., p. 121.
[4] Larry G. Johnson’s Ye shall be as gods – Humanism and Christianity – The Battle for Supremacy in the American Cultural Vision, (Owasso, Oklahoma: Anvil House Publishers, 2011), pp. 354.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Ibid. 365.

Vote NO – March 7 – Oklahoma State Question 820 – Legalization of Recreational Marijuana

Oklahomans must not ignore the lessons learned from the approval of Medical Marijuana in 2018.

In 2018, sixty percent of Oklahoma voters overwhelmingly approved legalization of marijuana for medical purposes (SQ 788). Just four years later Oklahoma leads the nation with 2,300 marijuana dispensaries and is also the leading source of marijuana trafficking nationwide due to cheap land, cheap licenses, and the most lax regulations on marijuana in the country.[1]

Beth Wallis, writing in State Impact Oklahoma, call’s Oklahoma the “Wild West” when it comes to marijuana policies and regulations.

With the relatively low cost of starting a business, few regulations on facility placement, and the ease of obtaining a medical card, the Sooner State has become a prime destination for businesses looking to cash in on the Green Rush. Compared to Colorado — a state with legal medical and recreational marijuana — Oklahoma has nearly seven times the number of grow licensees.[2]

Escalation of the carnage by legalizing Recreational Marijuana

Like the 2018 legalization of medical marijuana, 2023’s State Question 820 to legalize recreational marijuana was written by individuals in the marijuana industry and presented through the petition process for a vote. Over $3 million has been spent by organizations and individuals in the marijuana industry to promote SQ820. The complete language of SQ 820 is found at the Oklahoma Secretary of State Website.[3]

Proponents of legalization of recreational marijuana point to the large amount of tax and licensing revenues projected to be generated through sales of recreational marijuana. However, these revenues are dwarfed by the massive societal costs due to loss of life, declining mental and physical health, increased criminal activity, and increased cost of public services (police, judicial system, over-burdened infrastructure and health systems, etc.).

Dumbing Down America

The Center for Disease Control has reported that marijuana is the most commonly used federally illegal drug in the United States, with an estimated 48.2 million people using it in 2019. Marijuana use may have a wide range of health effects on the body and brain. The cannabis plant contains more than 100 compounds (or cannabinoids). These compounds include tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which is impairing or mind-altering, as well as other active compounds, such as cannabidiol (CBD). CBD is not impairing, meaning it does not cause a “high”.[4]

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration of the United States Department of Health and Human Service presents a frightening picture of the destruction of the mental and physical health of a growing number of Americans using marijuana:

Contrary to popular belief, marijuana is addictive. Research shows that:

• 1-in-6 people who start using the drug before the age of 18 can become addicted.
• 1-in-10 adults who use the drug can become addicted.

Over the past few decades, the amount of THC in marijuana has steadily climbed; today’s marijuana has three times the concentration of THC compared to 25 years ago. The higher the THC amount, the stronger the effects on the brain—likely contributing to increased rates of marijuana-related emergency room visits. While there is no research yet on how higher potency affects the long-term risks of marijuana use, more THC is likely to lead to higher rates of dependency and addiction.[5]

Even though the proposed law restricts usage of recreational marijuana by persons under age 21, the ease with which marijuana will be obtainable and used by minors will markedly increase if recreational marijuana usage is approved. Minors are the ones most prone to long-term mental and physical declines due to marijuana use.

Marijuana use can have negative and long-term effects:[6]

Brain health: Marijuana can cause permanent IQ loss of as much as 8 points when people start using it at a young age. These IQ points do not come back, even after quitting marijuana.

Mental health: Studies link marijuana use to depression, anxiety, suicide planning, and psychotic episodes. It is not known, however, if marijuana use is the cause of these conditions.

Athletic Performance: Research shows that marijuana affects timing, movement, and coordination, which can harm athletic performance.

Driving: People who drive under the influence of marijuana can experience dangerous effects: slower reactions, lane weaving, decreased coordination, and difficulty reacting to signals and sounds on the road.

Baby’s health and development: Marijuana use during pregnancy may cause fetal growth restriction, premature birth, stillbirth, and problems with brain development, resulting in hyperactivity and poor cognitive function. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and other chemicals from marijuana can also be passed from a mother to her baby through breast milk, further impacting a child’s healthy development.

Daily life: Using marijuana can affect performance and how well people do in life. Research shows that people who use marijuana are more likely to have relationship problems, worse educational outcomes, lower career achievement, and reduced life satisfaction.[6]

Oklahoma must not compound the damage already done to the citizens of Oklahoma by approving recreational marijuana. However, those promoting recreational marijuana are also encouraging a get out the vote campaign in order to pass SQ 820. The Tulsa County Election Board has reported that there has been a significant jump in new voter registrations in the last two months presumably to vote yes on the state question.[7]

Your Personal Action Plan to stop the legalization of Recreational Marijuana in Oklahoma

• Vote on Tuesday – March 7
• Get your family and friends to vote against SQ820
• Use Facebook and other social media to send this post to your contact list.
• Contact your pastor and ask him to publicly encourage congregational members present on Sunday, March 5, to vote against SQ820 on Tuesday – March 7 (Some pastors have given lengthy resentations two or three times to their congregations of the reasons to vote against SQ820.)
• Pray daily for the defeat of SQ820

Larry G. Johnson

Sources:
[1] Karen Hardin, SQ 820 Recreational marijuana vote March 7, Tulsa Beacon, February 23, 2023, 1.
[2] Beth Wallis, “Where does medical marijuana stand in the state legislature?” State Impact Oklahoma, February 17, 2022, https://stateimpact.npr.org/oklahoma/2022/02/17/where-does-medical-marijuana-stand-in-the-oklahoma-legislature/
[3] Oklahoma Secretary of State website: https://www.sos.ok.gov/gov/questions.aspx (Click in the search box 820 and then click on the number to download the document.)
[4] “Health Effects of Marijuana,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, https://www.cdc.gov/marijuana/health-effects/index.html (accessed 2-27-2023).
[5] “Learn About Marijuana Risks,” Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, https://www.samhsa.gov/marijuana (accessed 2-27-2023).
[6] Ibid.
[7] Karen Hardin, Tulsa Beacon, 1.

Owasso School Board Election 2-14-2023 – Vote for Vincent Donaldson

For Those of you in the Owasso School District, it is very important that you vote in tomorrow’s election! If you are a Christian and/or a support of the nation’s founding Christian values of morality, you should vote for Vincent Donaldson.

School board elections have a low voter turnout. This means your vote carries a lot of weight. The following Voter Guide was supplied by Chris Wills [chris@votebible.com]:

VINCENT DONALDSON – OUR PICK

Vincent believes our school board needs an overhaul. He upholds biblical values and desires to bring morality back int our school systems. Transparency and accountability are extremely important to him.

NEAL KESSLER

Neal has served on the owasso School Board for the past five years. The current board lacks transparency with its decisions. Neal voted unanimously with the rest of the board to ban a concerned parent from the campus. The parent wanted pornographic material removed from the school library. The case went to court, where the judge ruled for the parent and his right of free speech.

KRISTY MOON

Kristy agrees that our school board needs to be transparent and accountable for its actions. At the same time, she believes teachers should be able to choose and create their own curriculum instead of being decided by the school board. She does not believe our nation’s founding Christian values of morality are necessary.

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If you want to know more about the about the issues and occurrences surrounding the pornography found in the Owasso Public Schools’ library, please read my two articles by clicking the following links:

Pornography in Owasso Public Schools – Will local churches remain silent? https://www.culturewarrior.net/2022/11/08/pornography-in-owasso-public-schools-silence-of-the-local-churches/

Pornography in Owasso Public Schools – How it happened and what is being done about it https://www.culturewarrior.net/2022/12/17/pornography-in-owasso-public-schools-how-it-happened-and-what-is-being-done-about-it/

Larry G. Johnson