Dear Webserv,
It is indeed a rare thing for me to respond to a post on my blog site. The logistics make it difficult. I write Knee-mails and send them to CSE. They post one a week and people respond. After a week or so the responses are sent to me. In most cases, it would be old news by the time I gave a response. Plus, believe it or not, it’s busy in here for me.
However…your entry on July 11, 2009 at 10:21am needs an urgent response that all can read. Someone in our ministry posted an Action Alert June 19, 2009 to encourage people to write representatives and support HR 61 which would reduce Federal sentences by 50% for first time non-violent crimes. Your response was that this was a bad bill for various reasons which I really need to address.
Before I discuss specifics I will start with a general overview. First, I thank you for your prayers and support. This has been an unbelievably expensive battle against an enemy with unlimited funds. God’s people like you have been faithful to help us in our time of great need. Thank you!
Second, you are right that this bill would release some “real criminals just because their crime was non-violent.” You said, “People like Bernie Madoff would go free.” Getting 50% off a 150 year sentence for a man his age would not set him free, and I think people who support what happened to him are missing the real picture. Is it the government’s job to be sure we don’t make stupid investments? I didn’t follow the case very well, but it seems like the government has no authority from the Constitution to get involved in private affairs. Just because his swindle involved billions does not change the basic idea. If I get swindled investing in a bad hamburger or hot dog, is it the job of the US government to step in and right every wrong? What ever happened to, “Let the buyer beware!”? If it is the job of the government to stop people from making stupid purchases or investments, I would like to see where they got this authority. I am concerned about a much bigger picture. What is the authority for the government to get involved in things like: welfare, education, drugs, crimes committed in a state and not on Federal property (see Art. III, Sec. 2, Cl. 3 of the US Constitution)? Since the trial of all crimes is to be in the state where the crime occurred, and about 90% of the people in Federal prisons did not commit a crime on Federal property (like post offices, military bases, and Washington D.C.), they should never have been in Federal court or prison to start with. HR 61 would not even apply if the government obeyed the Constitution. State courts give much less time for the same crimes in nearly all cases. They are much more sensitive to the costs of locking people up because they don’t have the printing press to print money and they must balance their budget each year. Just making the Federal Government follow the Constitution would cut government back to about 10% of its current size and eliminate the financial problems that will probably destroy us in the next few years.
Third, there is no question that crime should be punished. I think we can all agree on that! We need to be careful though to define exactly what a crime is, what a fit punishment is, and who gets to make these decisions and administer the punishment. If we first look to God’s Word as our guide in all issues, we will see that He devoted a huge section of His Word to the subjects of law, crime, punishment, and how civil government should be organized and administered. He takes these subjects very seriously. Since He created the world and knows our very thoughts, and His law is perfect (Ps. 19:7) it would be foolish for us to not investigate what he has to say about subjects first.
In my 40 years of studying God’s Word, I have been unable to find where the possession of any substance should be punishable. I have never taken any drugs or tasted any alcohol (well, I’ve had Nyquil a few times) and, Lord willing, I never will. However, there should be no laws against anyone possessing or using any substance from what I see in God’s Word. A person is only punished for an action that injures another person. If you want to get drunk, that’s your business. If you drive drunk and injure my family, that’s my business.
Since about 90% of the men locked up with me are in here for drug related offenses – mostly using or possessing – if we followed God’s law, they would all go home now. Forget the 50%; they would get 100% off. If they injured someone or stole property that would be punishable under God’s law, but not possessing or using a drug. Anyone can get “high” sniffing gasoline or rubber cement, but those items are not causing a crime wave. It is the very fact that drugs are illegal that causes some to take them. It is also the fact that they are illegal that drives the price up and creates the crime associated with drugs. What if anyone could buy any drug at Wal-Mart? There would be no drug dealers, no border patrol wars or smuggling, no gang wars over drug traffic and 90% smaller prisons. When alcohol was made illegal, use and crime went up. When Prohibition was repealed, use and crime went down. I cannot see any reason (from Scripture or common sense) why any drugs should be regulated by any government. If you can find the verses I’m missing, please show me.
Along the same lines would be the “conspiracy” laws that allow thousands of people to be arrested and imprisoned with absolutely no evidence of a crime. I could get two people in here to agree that you sold them drugs. They could contact the US Attorney and you would be arrested, even though you have never met these people and have never used or sold drugs in your life. To make it worse, they would get time off their sentence! The system, at the Federal level, is out of control! HR 61 is a great step in the right direction. America has 5% of the world’s population, but 25% of the world’s prisoners! We are so far in first place that we have more than second and third place combined (per capita – Russia and China)! Who are we to talk about their human rights violations? Only a small percentage, maybe 5%, is in prison for crimes that actually injured someone. If you study the way Federal sentencing can be enhanced over gun issues it should cause you great alarm! There was a man in here with me that was arrested for giving some of his prescription pain killers to a friend with terminal cancer. They asked him if there were any guns in the house. He had a new hand gun that had never been taken out of the box, unloaded, in a locked box in the bottom of a locked duffle bag in another room. They couldn’t find it, so he helped them. He was given three years for the drug charge and an extra five years for the gun! Yes, Webserv, laws like HR 61 need to be passed. My former roommate was convicted of a crime ten years ago and served two years in prison. Then, five years ago he was riding in a truck with a friend to go to the store. The friend was stopped for speeding and ticketed and his passenger, my friend and cellmate, was given nine years for being near a gun! He has served 4 ½ already. He is a great Christian and not a threat to anyone. HR 61 would send him home. Another man in here was arrested for using drugs. He owned rental property in another state 200 miles away. After he was arrested, they went to the rental house and found that the renter had a gun. Because the owner had a key to the house, he was given an extra three year “gun enhancement” along with his three year drug sentence. One of my best friends in here was stopped for a routine traffic ticket and found to be on some drug. He had a hunting shotgun under the seat of his truck. It had been there for years and never in any violence or crime. He was enhanced three years for the gun. In all of these cases the gun was not used in the “crime” and this enhancement makes them a “violent” felon and prevents them from getting time off their sentence by taking the drug program offered here. There are thousands of stories like this that can be told showing that the system is way out of control. HR 61 is only a tiny step in the right direction.
In the Federal Court system, if you take a plea deal, you will get about 1/3 of the time you will get for the same crime if you take them to trial. The Feds have about a 98% conviction rate. The playing field is not level. Hitler and Stalin had a near 100% conviction rate. That does not prove they are right or that their victims are guilty. I strongly urge you to get and read The Kennel by Elijah Green (a pseudonym for a preacher who wears green). The book is only $6.50 including shipping from dthomas@usa.com, 803-613-1527, 160 Indian Ridge Drive, North Augusta, SC 29860. You should have your eyes opened a little by this book to see that HR 61 is a good bill and much more reform needs to take place fast in the Federal system if America is to remain the Constitutional Republic our Founding Fathers intended it to be. I suggest you call any lawyer that practices in the Federal courts and ask him to explain it to you.
We agree that crime needs to be punished, but what is proper punishment? Locking a man or woman away from their family for years punishes the wrong people. Almost all the guys in here are on a long vacation. They play ball, work out, read books, watch TV, and wait for the call that supper is ready and you pay for it! Prison punishes the wife, children, and the taxpayers. The “punishment” to the inmates is minimal. Even the Romans years ago said that, “Prolonged incarceration is cruel and unusual punishment.” If your son broke a household rule that called for a spanking and you said, “Son, I’m going to give you ten swats a day for the next four years,” he would hate you. The punishment doesn’t prevent the behavior in the future. It destroys your son’s respect for you. And it should. Or what if you said, “Son, I’m going to give you 3,000 swats for what you did;” he would hate you that way too. The federal system especially gives way too much time for offenses. Read The Kennel to see why.
God’s Word never calls for prison as a form of punishment. Beatings with a rod took place in the courtroom so the judge could see what his sentence actually did to the man. No one was to get over 40 stripes. Today, most judges never visit the prisoner or the family and have no clue what their sentence did to the family. See Luke 11:46 where Jesus said, “Woe unto you lawyers…” They bind heavy burdens grievous to be born (like long prison terms) and never touch the burdens themselves.
Fines and restitution as punishment are clearly spelled out in God’s Word. If you steal my sheep, you pay back four sheep. Everyone goes home happy. I now have four extra sheep! Come steal another one, please! Certain crimes were punishable by execution. Following God’s wisdom on this topic would eliminate overcrowding of max security prisons (or close them) and deter many violent crimes.
Sending people to prison causes lots of collateral damage. If we knew a terrorist was hiding in your town, would it be reasonable to just blow up the entire neighborhood – including you and your family – to kill the terrorist? That’s what prison does to children and families. The children should not suffer for the sins of the fathers.
These long prison terms cost the taxpayers a fortune. It is about $30,000 per year for a minimum security inmate. More for others. The people who profit from this system are the courts, lawyers, and prison employees (plus vendors). Did you know that Barbara Bush’s family owns Keefe that supplies lots of commissary items here (at 30% mark-up)? What a deal! I bet they want to see the prisons stay full!
It is an interesting fact of life that wicked people with skeletons in their closets tend to judge others more harshly. Wicked King Nebuchadnezzar ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter (Daniel 3). Sinful King David ordered an unnamed thief killed for stealing sheep when he had just committed adultery and murder (2 Sam. 12). A sinful group of hypocrites wanted to stone a woman taken in adultery (Jn. 8), but not the man? The very wicked Queen Athaliah brought charges of treason against those who were installing her own grandson as king. She had killed the rest and didn’t know she had missed one (2 Kn. 11; 2 Chr. 23). The hypocritical Pharisees often brought grievous charges against Jesus for minor events that they thought were infractions of their law (Mt. 12:2, 24, etc.). The more wicked America becomes (and its leaders) the longer prison terms will be and the larger the prison system will grow. Hypocritical Muslim rulers will often order people whipped with hundreds of stripes or beheaded for crimes they themselves are guilty of but never got caught. Jesus very wisely said, “let him that is without sin cast a stone” (Jn. 8).
I suggest HR 61 get passed immediately (be sure it is retroactive and watch the fine print). The BOP will try to stall or derail it. Big prisons are what give them a job, see The Kennel. I further suggest that max sentence for first time non-violent crimes be three months. That’s enough time to get the message, lose your job, get behind on the house payment, and make you not want to come back. If we still feel we need to lock people up, second offence should be max of one year and third or more, longer. We need to be cautious what is classified as a “violent” crime as well.
Yes, Webserv, I would have given your answer several years ago. You almost have to get attacked by the beast yourself and spend some time here to understand. It was the fundamentalist Christians, like me, that caused this problem with our cries for “tough on crime!” We didn’t seek God’s face (2 Chr. 7:14) on this matter. Long prison terms are tough on children, wives, society, and the men and women who come here.
Is the real hidden agenda to advance the “New World Order” by taking away guns from felons, building large prisons to house dissenters, and advance the socialization of America? Probably. It won’t matter soon. God is laughing at their plans (Ps. 2). Jesus is coming to set up His Kingdom on earth (Rev. 21-22). Some select children of His will get to rule with Him. Then we will see things run the way God intended. No prisons, but certainly tough on crime! I hope to be one of those chosen to rule. I hope you are there, too.
Thanks again for your support, prayers, and comments. Pray about this issue and support HR 61, please
Kent Hovind
Dr. Kent E. Hovind is currently at the Edgefield Federal Correctional Institution in South Carolina. Please send postcards and letters to:
Kent E. Hovind #06452-017
FPC Edgefield D-2
P.O. BOX 725
Edgefield, SC 29824
Feel free to send Dr. Hovind a letter or postcard. Please understand he is not able to answer every letter he receives, but he certainly appreciates any support and encouragement. He can also receive new books, but only directly from bookstores. And no hardcover books are allowed. No DVDs, CDs, or anything hard or sharp such as staples, etc (no tracts with staples in them). Do not send more than one tract at a time, as all gifts containing more than one tract will not be allowed. Do not put “Dr.” on his name, or it may be discarded by the guards. They do not always return postal items that are not delivered to inmates, so you may want to save a copy before mailing, so that you might try again in the event that he was recently moved for example.
Mrs. Hovind is currently at the Federal Correctional Institution in Marianna, FL. Because of prison regulations, Mrs. Hovind can only receive letters. Please refrain from sending stickers, stamps, books, or media of any kind. If you would like to write her letters of encouragement, please send them to:
Jo D. Hovind #06453-017
FCI Marianna, Satellite Camp
P.O. Box 7006
Marianna, FL 32447
Please write with the understanding that whatever you write could be subject to monitoring by the guards. Please do not write politically-charged or tax-related comments, etc. In the event that Dr. or Mrs. Hovind is moved to another facility, one can always check for current addresses by using the Inmate Locator on the Bureau of Prisons website:
http://www.bop.gov/
From the CSE team,
Thank you for your continued support.
While I am, at present, undecided on HR 61, there are a number of statements made by Mr. Hovind that deserve comment…..
Kent Hovind wrote:
“… it seems like the government has no authority from the Constitution to get involved in private affairs.”
Geno comments:
Article 1, Section 8 of the United States Constitution says:
“The Congress shall have the power to… regulate Commerce … among the several States.”
For more than 200 years, this has been held to give Congress the power to regulate interstate commerce.
*********
Kent Hovind wrote:
“What is the authority for the government to get involved in things like: welfare, education, drugs, crimes committed in a state and not on Federal property (see Art. 1, Sec. 2, Cl. 3 of the US Constitution)? ”
Geno comments:
I certainly agree that the Federal Government has far exceeded the restrictions placed on it by the 10th Amendment but I cannot find anything in the Constitution that resrticts the enforcement of Federal laws to Federal property. What Congress does is rather sneaky. They make funding available for welfare, education, drugs, roads, etc. Then they say if you want the money, you follow their rules. It becomes a simple choice… disregard the rule, forget the money. Few jurisdictions can afford to do this.
Oh yeah… Art. 1, Sec. 2 is about the House of Representatives.
********
Kent Hovind:
“eliminate the financial problems that will probably destroy us in the next few years.”
Geno:
Again, we agree. Mismanagement of the monetary system will likely lead to an economic collapse. Historically, this has been the demise of a number of democratic/republican systems of government. Unfortunately, in Article 1, Section 8, Congress is given the power “to coin Money, regulate the Value thereof”.
*********
Kent Hovind:
If you drive drunk and injure my family, that’s my business
Geno replies:
You do understand, that if I were to drive drunk and injure the family of another, there would be no consequences for me (at least in this life time). If you got a judgement against me for $100,000, it might as well be $100,000,000,000. You’d have about the same chance of collecting.
Mr. Hovind and I do, however, agree on the absurdity of many of our gun and drug laws.
********
Kent Hovind:
Prison punishes the wife, children, and the taxpayers. The “punishment” to the inmates is minimal.
Geno comments:
That isn’t the impression I’ve been getting from reading your comments…
*********
Kent Hovind writes:
Even the Romans years ago said that, “Prolonged incarceration is cruel and unusual punishment.”
Geno replies:
Right… but they had no problem at all with scourging, crucifixion, and torture. Are you sure you want to use Roman law as a standard?
*******
Kent Hovind writes:
God’s Word never calls for prison as a form of punishment.
Geno comments:
But it does call for the execution of adulterors and disobedient children. I’m not sure we want to go to that standard either….
*******
Kent Hovind writes:
Today, most judges never visit the prisoner or the family and have no clue what their sentence did to the family.
Geno comments:
Isn’t the damage to the family the responsibility of the criminal? The saying “if you can’t do the time, don’t do the crime” comes to mind.
********
In closing, I again commend Mr. Hovind on his ability to make lemonade from lemons and turn this tragic set of circumstances around by making it something useful to the Lord.
Geno,
As the administrator for this blog, I almost never weigh in, but you made some comments that need to be addressed. I hope no one minds me taking the liberty to do so. First, you cited the commerce clause as a justification for federal intervention into what Dr. Hovind called “private affairs.” In the past 200 years of judicial activism and legislating from the bench, I don’t think one justice has gone quite that far with the commerce clause, which clearly limits federal jurisdiction to just that: interstate commerce – not private affairs. I’m not sure how you can equate the two.
Second, you cite Article 1, Section 8, as justification for the mass pillaging of our economy. What you fail to understand is that Congress has not been in the business of coining money since 1913 (nearly a century now). Currently, the private banking cartel known as the “Federal Reserve” (no more federal than Federal Express)has been given this responsibility that Congress alone rightly had. This is criminal, and we are reaping the whirlwind for it. It is a VIOLATION of Article 1, Section 8.
Third, I don’t know where you get your legal advice, but every state that I’m familiar with will punish you heavily if you drive drunk. The deaths or injury of others in this infraction will result in much heavier penalties, almost always in the form of heavy time.
Lastly, I fear that your statement about God’s form of punishment bewrays your vantage point, thus explaining your error. You do not seem to hold God’s Word as your final authority, stating “I’m not sure we want to go to that standard.”
Please understand, Geno, Dr. Hovind holds God’s Word as the Final Authority in all matters. It is not just something we carry to church or use to learn about spiritual things. There is a danger in the kind of compartmentalized religion that will give God’s Word jurisdiction in some areas of life, but not in others. II Peter 1:3 tells us that God gave us “all things that pertain unto life and godliness.” Therefore, yes we would like to “go to that standard” in all things. Thank you for your comments, and I do hope mine have given you reason to consider your position and its foundation.
Joshua Joscelyn
Blog Manager
CSE
Well, as usual, this is all good. I appreciate Dr. Hovind for his info on everything from Creationism to apricot pits. (I have been crticized for the apricot pits and was told I’d get poisioned if I ate them. When I said I just blended up 25 for a shake I was told they were almonds -not apricot pits!!! Some folks are so deceieved they are no longer capable of logical thought…)
Thanks Dr. H for the blessings over the years.
Dear Kent,
WOW….
I am so impressed with this Kneemail, I am not sure where to start. I have read every kneemail since you were first sentenced, and this one (to me) seems to stand out as a real landmark statement showing Gods work upon your heart. God has changed you from the Kent Hovind of your videos/seminars, worked upon your heart, given you wisdom and UNDERSTANDING that you previously didn’t have. You are newer and better for your experience.
Quote:
“Yes, Webserv, I would have given your answer several years ago. You almost have to get attacked by the beast yourself and spend some time here to understand. It was the fundamentalist Christians, like me, that caused this problem with our cries for “tough on crime!” We didn’t seek God’s face (2 Chr. 7:14) on this matter.”
One thing though, (a small point) I understand that people see a negative connotation with the phrase “Fundamentalist Christian”; associations with a lack of understanding which you seem to admit in the above statement were once lacking in your judgement.
I hope the contrarians who once frequented this blog in abundance come to understand this:
In truth God has actually made you, Kent Hovind, more “Fundamental” in Christianity than ever before.
Although I admit I know nothing about this “HR 61” and therefore cannot comment upon it, I find the perspective and understanding that you have communicated about the problems with the Law thoroughly refreshing. Your perspective upon drugs for instance is totally bang on, drugs should not be illegal.
A case in point, in relation to your point on prohibition.
In Britain during the 1980’s (Liverpool area) heroin was given to existing addicts for free on the National Health Service, another debate could be made as to whether it should have been free, but never the less it was made available in an official regulated way and cheep (heroin is actually very cheap to produce).
These things were noted in the areas where this service was provided:
1. The existing heroin dealers within the area had no trade, they went out of business.
2. The progression of new addicts (young people becoming addicted to heroin for the first time) was considerably reduced. (no dealers pushing their trade).
3. The number of reported crimes within the area was notably reduced, heroin addicts were not turning to crime in order to fund their addiction.
4. The heroin addicts themselves, were getting jobs and becoming responsible productive members of society. A heroin addiction is actually less problematic to the user than an alcohol addiction given an equal ability to fund and maintain with quality controls regulating the respective drugs.
All this fly’s in the face of mainstream propaganda which says that we should treat drug addicts as a disease infecting society’s well being. The fact is that people within society will use drugs whether we like it or not. Society is therefore given a choice as to how these people should obtain their drugs.
1. Via the medical service.
2. Via licensed retail outlets, in the same way alcohol is sold (with age restrictions).
3. Via regular shops, possible regulations on quality control but no age restrictions.
4. Via the criminal, absolutely no quality control or age restrictions will be adhered to by the vendor at any time.
It is bizarre that society chooses option 4 the criminal. The British government Conservative led brought an end to this service and soon after all the negatives normally associated with the drug culture returned.
Although in my past life I may have done otherwise, I wish to say that in no way do I participate in or advocate the use of any intoxicants or addictive substances whether legal or illegal whatsoever.
There is much more that I agree with in what you say in this kneemail such as the punishment hurting the family much more than the criminal. The children do not commit the crime yet it is they that suffer the unseen punishment when their parents are convicted of the crimes and do the time.
I have to finish here but I was really pleased to read this kneemail, I would say more on how our God is a living God who teaches us all things etc but I have to end it here, I love you more than ever having read this.
Lots of Love
Jason x
Dear Mr. Hovind,
I read your response and still am not sure where I stand on HR 61. I do think there are some flaws in it. You referenced Bernie Madoff in your post. I totally disagree with you on this point. Lying and deceiving many out of their life savings and retirement, ecspecially those who are already retired, destroys lives. If you are blind and I tell you that I will help you across the street and lead you into the path of a truck…is it your fault because you trusted me? Of course not. If my intentions where to deceive you and cause you harm, I should be punished. You made the comment on how prison destroys families, but so does bilking someones life savings that they worked 40 years for and leaving them with nothing. Also, how many people I hurt and how much hurt I impose DOES make a difference. If I steal a dollar from you, there should be a consequence. It shouldn’t be as severe as if I steal your retirement, your home, your car, and then do the same thing to your neighbor and so on and so on. The amount of pain and wrong I cause should be taken into account when doling out punishment.
I also take issue that the Bible never calls for prison as a form of punishment. We know that satan is punished in prison and in Revelation 20:7 is released from his prison after a thousand years. It also implies in the old testament that one of the punishments for the Israelites for their disobedience is slavery and imprisonment by their captives. Now the Bible doesn’t explicitly say that “prison should be a form of punishment”, but I certainly don’t think that it implies that in shouldn’t be.
One more comment, we need to be careful not to use Levitical law as our standard, (as you did with the sheep stealing), when it suites us…yet shy away when it doesn’t. If we are going to use those standards, we are going to be executing a lot of people…those who work on the Sabbath, homosexuals, adulterers…we can make quite a list. We are under the new covenant of the shed blood of Jesus. Are some of those laws reaffirmed in the New Testament, absolutely, but we must be careful not to twist scripture to make our points, as I think most of us have done at some point in our lives.
Joshua…be careful how you rebuke those who share their opinions on this blog. Telling someone that “You do not seem to hold God’s Word as your final authority”, is a strong statement. I may not agree with Geno, but I think his point was in reguards to trying to reconcile Levitical law to our present judicial system, and Dr. Hovind used the example from the Old Testament that sparked the comment. If I disagree with you on a particular issue, I must lay out why I disagree before accusing you of not using the Bible as your authority.
Finally, I must say that I agree with Dr. Hovind on the severity and length of many of the prison sentences in this country. People kill people and get a slap on the wrist, but people who may use cocaine or steal may get 10 or 20 years. When you impose those kind of sentences you leave virtually no chance for reabilitaion. Families are destroyed and it puts a huge burden on all of us. After watching what happened to you Dr. Hovind it really opened my eyes. The severity of your sentence was ridiculous.
May God bless you Mr. Hovind and I hope to hear of your release soon. In Christ -Steve
I for one would like to do whatever I can to help Hovind and his wife get out of prison ASAP.
Whatever happen to being released early for good behavior?
Can someone provide us a suggested / sample letter to get HR 61?
Who do we send to – senators or congressmen or both?
Thanks!
Dear Dr. Hovind,
I agree with you wholeheartedly and have contacted my rep about HR 61. If we were still at common law, which was guaranteed by our founders but eroded almost entirely by insurances and other forms of mercantilism (interstate commerce is key here) drunk drivers would rightly receive a death penalty.
Many offenders will be let out of jail due to budget constraints, but, alas, I don’t look for a reduction in the sentences of our tax patriots. Fiscal crimes against the state are always the most serious, since control, not justice, is the issue. In Christ, Kathy for the Jaggers Family
For those wishing to contact your representatives about HR 61, the following sample letter was provided in the original Action Alert that this blog is discussing…
To the Honorable Representative _________________,
As a constituent who is concerned with our corrections system, I highly urge you to support HR 61 to reduce the sentences of non-violent offenders. This is a good bill, and your support will be greatly appreciated. Please co-sponsor and vote for HR 61.
Sincerely,
____________________________ (your name)
____________________________ (your physical address)
Dear Brother Kent,
Crime necessarily means that there is a victim.
Seeing no one could stand up at your trial and say that they are a victim of your actions I don’t think the word “crime” or “criminal” applies.
Victims, in a very real sense, are DinoAdventureLand staff.
I think the word you are looking for is “Quasi-criminal”; in this form “quasi” assumes the meaning “not really”.
Kind of like today’s money is “quasi-money”; not really money at all.
Since the resurrection/ ascension/ baptism of the Holy Spirit, I think that there has only been one single yardstick for the judgment of this world. Peoples acceptance or rejection of the gift of Jesus. A rod of iron, I would suggest, is what shall fall upon all manifestations of unbelief. Sodomy, thieving or idle gossip are all the same shade of jet black [I would suggest]. Jesus set a standard that a lustful thought/ imagination (to “look upon”) is no different from the acting out of fornication.
So the man or woman who acts to remove or separate a family/ husband from wife is exactly like the rapist. The guards who profit from these filthy deeds?
There certainly is a “Victim” in all this.
Jesus shall execute wrath in a real visitation.
Sin is to be judged.
Quasi-criminal, like all the other forms of fiction, is only acceptable to the extent that everyone benefits. To the extent that any one member suffers, the purpetuation of the “fiction” itself becomes a criminal act. And certainly the unrepentant can expect wrath, because Jesus if good for His word – all of them.
First, let me comment on Johsua’s request you contact your representative concerning HR61. Do this by either hand-written letter or by telephone call. These means of contact tell your representative that this is an issue you really care about. Do not bother with email petitions, printed “fill in the blank” forms, or just an email as these get little attention. It is also (probably) not worthwhile to contact those who represent some other district. These people are most responsive to their own constituents. Finally, contact them as early in the process as possible since their minds are usually made up by the time these matters reach the floor of the Congress.
Now, for Joshua’s comments on my post…..
Joshua said:
I almost never weigh in, but you made some comments that need to be addressed. I hope no one minds me taking the liberty to do so.
Geno responds:
I’m one of the “contrarians” mentioned by Jason. Since the changes to this blog when you took over from Paul Abramson, I’ve made little effort to post here. That said, there were clear errors of fact in the most recent Kneemail as well as some issues I didn’t think had been thought thru very well.
I do appreciate that you allowed my comments thru and, after this post, I intend to return to “lurk mode”.
#####
Joshua said:
First, you cited the commerce clause as a justification for federal intervention into what Dr. Hovind called “private affairs.” In the past 200 years of judicial activism and legislating from the bench, I don’t think one justice has gone quite that far with the commerce clause, which clearly limits federal jurisdiction to just that: interstate commerce – not private affairs. I’m not sure how you can equate the two.
Geno replies:
to get involved. In fact, there are some states (Montana comes to mind) that are passing measures to ensure firearms manufactured entirely within their state are not subject to federal firearms controls.
“Commerce” is the sale or trade of goods or services. If you engage in the sale or trade of goods or services across state lines, you are engaged in interstate commerce and Congress has the Constitutional authority (from Article 1, Section
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Joshua said:
Second, you cite Article 1, Section 8, as justification for the mass pillaging of our economy. What you fail to understand is that Congress has not been in the business of coining money since 1913 (nearly a century now). Currently, the private banking cartel known as the “Federal Reserve” (no more federal than Federal Express)has been given this responsibility that Congress alone rightly had. This is criminal, and we are reaping the whirlwind for it. It is a VIOLATION of Article 1, Section 8.
Geno responds:
You misunderstand. Article 1, Section 8 gives Congress the power to regulate the value of our money. Congress has delegated the authority to do this to the Federal Reserve. They cannot, however, delegate their responsibility. In general, I agree with you that Congress has failed in this responsibiliity. In fact, I even pointed it out in my initial post when I said: “Mismanagement of the monetary system will likely lead to an economic collapse.”
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Joshua comments:
Third, I don’t know where you get your legal advice, but every state that I’m familiar with will punish you heavily if you drive drunk. The deaths or injury of others in this infraction will result in much heavier penalties, almost always in the form of heavy time.
Geno replies:
Yes. But Mr. Hovind’s complaint was that this should NOT result in “heavy time”. Instead, according to him, “If you drive drunk and injure my family, that’s my business.” He seems to propose that these matters should be settled in a civil action which would result in a court ruling that the driver should pay the victims some monetary compensation rather than jail time. My point is that many people would NOT be able to pay that compensation which would mean there would be NO impact on the drunk driver. Like I said, if I were to injure someone while driving drunk, a judgement of $100,000 would just as likely be paid as one of $100,000,000,000.
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Joshua says:
Lastly, I fear that your statement about God’s form of punishment bewrays your vantage point, thus explaining your error. You do not seem to hold God’s Word as your final authority, stating “I’m not sure we want to go to that standard.”
Geno:
Not quite.
Mr. Hovind had compared our current imprisonment with Roman justice by claiming that the Romans thought long term imprisonment was “cruel and unusual punishment”. I pointed out that I don’t think the Roman idea of what is “cruel and unusual” would be a good standard for us to use since they had no problem at all with torture, dismemberment, and deliberately cruel executions.
As for the matter of “Biblical justice”… that would include stoning to death for disobedient children, those who commit adultry… even those who pick up sticks to make a fire on the Sabbath.
Do you really believe, for even one second, that the American people would buy into either of these justice systems? More important, do you really think either of these justice systems are one that we should actually implement?
Dr. Hovind says: In my 40 years of studying God’s Word, I have been unable to find where the possession of any substance should be punishable.
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Try telling that to Achan, his wife, children and everything that he had. You’ll have to move a few stones first.
I agree with what Steve (Cookster) said.
Dr. Hovind I pray daily for you and your wife’s release from prison and for the work of your ministry. I have listened to you for over ten years now and have turned a lot of people your way. I have always appreciated the way you communicate creation science and the gospel.
I also pray that once you get out of prison that you would go back to teaching creation science and preaching the gospel, that is what this country needs in it’s last hours.
I believe we as Americans have allowed the wicked to rule us for so long without any dissent that it is too late to turn the laws around.
Our biggest problem and error is that we have forgotten God. How many churches send out missionaries anymore? There are untold millions of dollars spent for buildings and self entertainment instead of outreach for God’s kingdom.
I believe if you take your resources and spend them on prison reform and every other political thing you don’t agree with, it will be one great voice silenced for the gospel.
David