God has given us over to our national, collective reprobate mind

In Romans 1 shows how sin gets worse and worse, and why. It says in the middle of the passage regarding homosexuality, that God gives them over to a depraved mind. When a culture is so deeply involved with homosexuality it stands to reason that collectively the nation isn't thinking straight.

I think that link can clearly be sees in the Congress: Congress is a broken toy that has a critical piece missing and is turning in circles spouting gibberish. Same with businesses, same with the President, same with law enforcement (all those terrible stories of harassment & excessive force)...this is what a culture looks like that isn't thinking straight. And CANNOT think straight- ever again. The reason why is that God has given us over.

Here is the Romans 1 chapter and interspersed on between the passages I'll show in pictures and news how this illustrates what a nation that collectively has gone crazy looks like. If you watch the news and shake your head wondering why everything seems so crazy, this is why. God has given us over.

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. (Romans 1:18-20)

In Upstate NY, there was a terrible flood this week. God was not glorified but Mother Nature was mentioned.

“This is unbelievable,” he said as he watched several backhoes scoop up debris at the corner of Maple Grove Avenue and West German Street. “Mother Nature can be a mean one.”

"For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things." (Romans 1:21-23)

Mesoamericans worship a deity named Quetzalcoatl. He is named after the rare Quetzal bird of South America. Quetzalcoatl literally means feathered serpent. He is a serpent bird, and is one of many such types of local deities the Catholic Church accepts and absorbs into its pantheon of syncretism. Serpent-gods are culturally ubiquitous. They're everywhere. Many cultures worship the creeping thing and the bird. Below is an altar cloth that shows the blend of serpent god with a cross-

Source

Above is a Quetzalcoatl carving inside a South American Catholic church. The Catholic church is just as pagan as the indigenous church, but has an overlay of Christianity to it that blinds most people to its falsity. In any case, many cultures worship the creeping thing and the bird and other idols.

"Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen." (Romans 1:24-25)

Anthony Weiner defines lust and impurity. He was a Congressman who resigned from Congress, effective June 21, 2011, due to a sexting scandal. In the sexting scandal, Weiner sent a link to a sexually suggestive photograph of himself via his public Twitter account to an adult woman who was following him on Twitter. After several days of denying he had posted the image, Weiner held a press conference at which he admitted he had "exchanged messages and photos of an explicit nature with about six women over the last three years." On May 21, 2013, Weiner announced that he would run for Mayor of New York City in 2013." (Wikipedia). Weiner, despite being an adulterer, (dishonoring his body) and having lied, and then resigned in disgrace, is now moving up in the polls for his bid to become Mayor of NY City.

"For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error." (Romans 1:26-27)

Source

"A l-esbian couple who spearheaded a fight for same-sex marriage in California have become the first to tie the knot hours after a ban was lifted in a landmark US Supreme Court ruling. Ms Stier and Ms Perry were the plaintiffs in the initial action challenging the ban, which wound its way through the legal system before eventually being heard by the top US court." (source)

"And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done."

They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 

Once God gives them over, it unleashes all other sins with force. They become 'filled' with it. They cannot think straight. In effect, they are spiritually insane.

Some things are just purely bizarre. Brawling at McDonald's, lying , boasting; all things in the Romans passage happen ona daily basis and are getting weirder and weirder each day.

Though they know God’s decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them." (Romans 1:28-32)

Obama applauded and approved of those who practice that which ought not to be done.

"I applaud the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down the Defense of Marriage Act. This was discrimination enshrined in law. It treated loving, committed gay and l-esbian couples as a separate and lesser class of people. The Supreme Court has righted that wrong, and our country is better off for it."

Homosexual George Takei of Star Trek, gave hearty approval to the homosexual marriage decision on his Facebook page, writing- "Today marks a watershed moment in history and a tremendous victory for the principle of equality. The 5-4 decision by our Supreme Court striking down DOMA affirms the universality of love — the desire of all people not only to find, but to value and affirm, a lifelong commitment to another person. ... Let the joy of this day ring out with PRIDE."

"Russell Brand informs us that, “If you’re gay married in California your gay marriage is now legal. Good. #allmarriageisabitgay.” (source)

All marriage is a bit gay?

The reason we shake our heads at the headlines is because the nation has gone mental. The people of the United States chose a political platform that opposes God at every level: killing children, endorsing homosexuality, destroying marriage, wanton entitlements, fiscal irresponsibility... the nation chose it. God let us have it.

That is why our leaders from the top down, those in authority, seem not to be thinking clearly. Supreme Court, House of Representative, Senate, President, Law Enforcement, civil authority...collectively the people who make this nation run are operating in a climate of debased mind and many, many of its citizens are following suit. Here are just a few examples from headlines, and these are representative, not comprehensive. If you want a comprehensive view of how the nation is operating in a manner that clearly shows God has given us over to a nationally debased mind, just read any newspaper, anywhere.

Despite this nation being in a fiscal emergency and dire distress upon taxpayers, and many are in terrible poverty, he jetted off for a 100 million dollar vacation. Yet another expensive vacation.

Barack Obama’s $100M African vacation is now a family affair
"Barack Obama is set to jet off to South Africa tomorrow, embarking on a rather long and costly African “goodwill tour” which has no actual economic or foreign policy purpose, but will prove to be a pretty fun vacation for his family, as they travel across sub-Saharan Africa using approximately $100M of your money." [He brought his mother-in-law along and also his niece]

"Remember, America, you still can’t tour the White House because, apparently, the Obama Administration mandated that the Secret Service embrace their Sequester cuts by ending protection details that would help guide tourists through the people’s palace on Pennsylvania. Instead, a huge wad of cash is being spent sending them, armored vehicles and a whole entourage of protection to a continent we currently don’t care about so that everyone in the Obama family can experience world travel."

The IRS targeting scandal, the IRS spending scandal, the government spying scandal, a broken Congress...all adds to the concept outlined in Romans 1. When God gives us over, it collapses fast.

Three reasons Congress is broken
Congress actively undermines the best of legislative practices by:
--Politics trumps policy
--Staffers do most of the work
--Issues, even the big ones, are no longer really debated

I respect law enforcement in general, but it is a fact that I am seeing more of these kinds of stories each day.
A Police Officer That Shot Five Kittens While Children Were Watching

Crime is crazy. Not just the amount of it but the kind of it-

Wendy's Customer Totally Loses It When They Put Cheese On His Hamburger

Women Throwing Bleach Into The Eyes Of A Man On A City Bus In Boston

Godlessness in general is more bold now.

Atheists install monument next to Ten Commandments in front of FL courthouse

"knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires." (2 Peter 3:3)

I watched a Dateline show about the horrific accident last year, the woman in the completely crushed car that was hanging over the overpass in Jan. 2012.

Everything about this was a miracle. You can see the hand of God all in this. The mother survived, the baby survived and the girl survived the worst crash possible, which collapsed the car into a mini-version of a toaster. Amazing. The mother said she was thankful... but did not praise God for the obvious miracle. Then there were the Seabees who were unexpectedly delayed, and then unexpectedly were told to bring a last-minute piece of equipment, and were delayed in traffic yet again, and it turned out that this last minute addition of the certain kind of equipment as the only kind of equipment that could save the car from falling off the bridge and extract the survivors. So many improbably coincidences and yet the men said, "it was luck."

They just don't give Him glory for anything, anymore.

John MacArthur said this week, "One example of that degenerative process is the modern view of sexual immorality.  Decades ago we witnessed the sexual revolution and the normalizing of abortion. If those weren't devastating enough, now we're seeing the homosexual revolution with the push for same-sex marriage. That is the Romans 1 reprobate mind in full bloom. All that matters is personal fulfillment and the approval of every possible personal choice. The only thing not tolerated is any intolerance of evil."

Stand for biblical truth. Stay in the Word and pray often. Know your doctrine and be clear about it. Lovingly but firmly confront sin. Worship, praise, love and serve. These actions are increasingly at odds with the world but increase you in closeness to Jesus. The more we submit to Him and keep Him in our heart and glorify Him with our actions, the more He will sanctify us and transform our minds. (Romans 12:2) And we all need that now- being close to Jesus in as many ways and for as much of the time as we consciously can.

Because ... someone has to.