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Whitehouse Birth Certificate is Indeed a Forgery

Posted by jefferis on January 5, 2012 in Political Events, Technology

I am not and have not been a “birther.”  Frankly, if Obama was not born in the USA, then international powers far greater than our democratic institutions are at work, picking and choosing our “leaders” for us. However, after watching this video on YouTube and downloading the birth certificate myself and opening it in Illustrator, I can attest that the document the Whitehouse posted is a forgery. Someone, either knowingly or stupidly, did a very bad job at a counterfeit.  Any document that is scanned in, which this document should have been, would be a flat document, where no parts would be able to be pulled apart in Illustrator.  However, the idiot who forged this document forgot to flatten the file and left all the Illustrator layers intact, showing exactly which elements were doctored.  This documentary is of several parts and you can view it here:

Obama Birth Certificate Faked In Adobe Illustrator – Official Proof 1

This leads me to a question, however, if Obama was really born in the USA, why all this effort to create a forgery?

A second question would be, if he were not born in the USA and not legally allowed to serve as President, would all the legislation he signed become null and void?

 

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Redfield Scope

Posted by jefferis on December 19, 2011 in Guns and Ammo, Technology

Trying Out a New Scope – The Redfield Revolution

Just before hunting season this year, I took my .30-30 Marlin and my .30-06 Winchester Model 70 Lightweight out to the range to sight in. To my dismay, at 100 yards, I could not get the Winchester inside an 18” grouping with a 3×9 power scope, so I put it aside and took my trusty Marlin with a 4x, which was getting me within a 3” grouping. I bought my Winchester second hand from a dealer 15 years ago or more, and never had a problem with it before. The last season I used it, I jumped a deer in the field and shot it on the run with no problems. So this targeting issue made me wonder what might be wrong.
I called my buddy, Jeff Nesbit, before I went on my trip and he said, “Bring the rifle in and we’ll take a look at it,” but I didn’t have time to go to his shop before opening day. So last week I went into the store and Dick Nesbit, Jeff’s dad, put it up in secure bench rest to bore sight the rifle. When he did, he said, “There’s something wrong with the crosshairs… When you move your position, they line up differently each time and that shouldn’t happen. There is some misalignment inside the scope.” It was an old, low cost Simmons scope that came, used, with the rifle, and I hadn’t been happy with it because of the narrow field of view. He asked how old the rifle was and I told him the story of its second hand purchase, and he said “It could be off if there is rust inside the barrel, but one way to tell for sure is to put a new scope on it and try it out. If you can get consistent shooting from the new scope, that would eliminate the barrel. The rifle is worth something if there isn’t a rust problem.”

Nesbit Guns offers free mounting and bore sighting with any new scope purchase, as long as the rifle is pre-drilled, which most new rifles are. Dick showed me a couple of scopes… and inexpensive Tasco and a Redfield Revolution 3-9 40mm for about $159. I chose the latter, since, if I had to get a new rifle, the scope would be worth porting to a new purchase; and if I didn’t need to, I plan to keep the Winchester a long time.

1" grouping at 50 yards with front rest only

I took the gun out to the range today, and I’m glad to report that after sighting in the scope, I was able to get a 1” grouping using a front rest. Now this final test was at 50 yards using 180gr Winchester ammo. I wanted it about an inch or so high, which will put me about on target at 100 – 150 yards. This grouping is a little to the right, but I was starting to get a bit tired. I initially was sighting in at 100 yards, but I forgot to bring my binoculars, so I wasted about 10 cartridges before moving to the 50 yard target. What I really wanted to check was that the barrel was not a problem and I believe the photo proves it. I plan to do some serious, long range practice before next deer season, but it was starting to rain and I decided that was enough for one day.

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DECT 6 Phones and Disconnects: Can You Hear Me Now?

Posted by jefferis on December 16, 2011 in Technology

DECT 6 Phones’ Major Problems: Dropped and Disconnected Calls

Panasonic KX TG9333T – Cordless

Panasonic KX TG9333T – Cordless
phone w/ call waiting caller ID &
answering system – DECT 6

DECT 6 Phones’ Major Problems: Dropped and Disconnected Calls. Related to Cable Modem Services?

Symptoms of DECT Failings:

  1. Call comes in. Pick up on one ring, phone disconnects from base unit, and call is dropped.
  2. Call comes in or call out. Switch to speaker, call is dropped, phone loses link to base.

I thought it was just me and a bad phone system, but it is not. It appears to be such a widespread problem with DECT 6 phones that many people are complaining about this very issue.
It isn’t just one brand either, or one model of a phone. The problem is so pervasive that Panasonic has a set of instructions on how to “fix” the disconnects and dropped calls:

Verify if the phone cord is connected directly from the base of the phone to the wall jack. Remove any accessories such as Caller ID Boxes, other phones from the same jack, splitters, couplers or T adapters.

Change the line mode of the unit using the handset. Please follow the procedure below.
1. Press MENU POUND, and then 122.
2. Set the line mode to B if it is on A or set it to A if it is on B.
3. Press SAVE, then OFF.

As a last option, please move the phone to another known working wall jack and replace the phone cord, and see if the phone works there.

The problem with this fix is that it may work for day or two but the problem just reappears. I bought this set of Panasonic KX TG9333T in 2003 and it has been nothing but trouble for me. I have replaced one, two, and then entire set under warranty with Panasonic. They do not know what the cause is nor how to fix the problem. I had to replace one phone because the battery burned up inside. As I read the consumer complaints on Amazon, there still is no fix for this issue, but DECT phones are now just about all you can buy in the stores.

Interestingly, I had no problems with a Panasonic 5.8 GHz phone that I used for several years, until I wore out the earphone jack.

Are Cable Modems, DSL Modems, or VOIP/Internet Phone Services to Blame?

I raise this question, because there isn’t really any statistic on which type of phone services people have who are also having this disconnect issue. It could be that the problem is only manifest on homes that are using cable modems, DSL, and/or Internet phone service companies like Vonage.
If you are having a problem with DECT phones and are/or are not on VOIP, please comment.

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Learning to Shoot a Compact Pistol – The Sig Sauer P238

Posted by jefferis on November 21, 2011 in Guns and Ammo, Technology

I have been looking for a concealed carry pistol, and in my previous reviews, I was considering a Bersa .380, a Beretta 21 Bobcat .22 LR, and the Ruger LCR .38 Special. After a trip to the range with our friend’s LCR, I decided that my desire for a revolver was misplaced. Even with the light trigger of the LCR, I have a tendency to pull the gun to the side, and, being a short barrel, my aim was way off. It reminded me of the snub nose .38 Smith & Wesson I inherited from my grandfather. I could not hit the broad side of a barn with that thing, so I traded it in years ago towards a used hunting rifle at a local dealer’s shop. I hadn’t owned or shot handguns for years, until 2008, when we got a S&W M&P 9mm. And I’ve gotten pretty comfortable with it for accuracy and use. In fact, I love that gun. But it is too big for me for a concealed carry. Some larger guys may be able to carry and hide something that large, but at 5’ 8”, the only way I can carry that is in a holster. So the quest was on for a smaller concealed carry pistol.

Visiting my local dealer, Nesbit’s Guns, in New Castle, PA, I compared the Bersa and the Beretta, and found that the Bersa was not as compact as I remembered, although it is an easy pistol to operate and it shoots well. I was also considering the Beretta for size and concealability, but Jeff Nesbit’s original shipment of Berettas had a safety that took two hands to flick off. I thought that would not be very advantageous in an emergency situation. (Jeff returned those and got another shipment I tried out later and the safety was just fine on those.) I think, all in all, the Beretta would have been my second choice, and I’d still like to get one for my wife when she gets her concealed carry permit.

P238-Blackwood Sig Sauer

Jeff encouraged me to consider the Sig Sauer .380 as a concealed carry. While not as small as the Beretta, it fits nicely in my pocket if it is the only thing I have in there. It has a safety switch, and the quality of construction is superb. Jeff’s main line of reasoning was this: “If you are in a life or death situation, God forbid, what price is your life worth? Do you want something inexpensive, or do you want something that is top quality?” Jeff and I are friends, he’s not just a store owner, and he was speaking to me about his belief in the quality of the gun for himself. In the end, after a few weeks of reading reviews and research, I decided to get the Sig Sauer P238 Blackwood. I like the feel in my hand and it looks nice, although looks are a secondary consideration.

To the Range – Breaking In the Sig P238 with Different Types of Ammo.

Even though I have a concealed carry permit, I will not carry a gun until I am completely familiar with it and comfortable with it’s operation and peculiarities. So over the past several weeks, I’ve taken the Sig out to the range. Reviews I’ve read of almost all compact 380’s say that they have a tendency to jam when new and that you have to break them in, preferably shooting at least 200 rounds through them. To date, I’ve had the Sig fail to eject a cartridge two times: once on Hornady Critical Defense 90 grain FTX and once on Winchester 95 Grain Full Metal Jacket Target/Range load. When I say fail to eject, the casing is partially ejected and the slide closes on the casing, locking up the firing mechanism. However, there was a cartridge in the chamber. To clear the slide, I had to drop the magazine and roll the pistol sideways and pull back on the slide. If a cartridge is in the chamber, once you pull back on the slide, the cartridge will drop out through the empty grip. I have now shot just over 200 rounds in this pistol.

The only other problem I have had with the pistol is that 2 times, when I released the slide, a cartridge was not loaded into the chamber. I am not sure what happened the first time, but the second time I did not have the magazine completely inserted into the pistol. It should snap into place when fully inserted. Since then, I always roll the pistol to check and see if a cartridge is in the chamber, and this problem has not recurred. So, I would say the problem was user error and not the pistol itself.

Aiming the Pistol:

Unlike my other pistol, where you aim in the 6 o’clock position, I found the P238 to be most accurate when I put the front site right on the target to cover it. When I aimed at 6 o’clock, I was shooting low. The other difficulty with a short barreled pistol is that is is much harder to line up the sites accurately and you are more apt to be at a variance on the target with the slightest misalignment. I found that was shooting consistently to the left of the bulls-eye, and it took me a long while to get on target. As I begin to practice with a new firearm, I start slowly, taking full time to aim with one eye, until I get used to the feel of the firearm. But as I progress, I try to operate it as if I were in a panic situation without being able to take time to slowly aim. In this case, I keep both eyes open and look at the target, not the sites. As I get used to the pistol, my accuracy with this method improves markedly. I learned this technique, since I have not been through a self defense training course, from years of skeet shooting, where you must watch the target and anticipate, but not try to aim down the barrel of the shotgun. If you try to aim, you’ll miss every time, but if you follow the target with your eyes and move the gun with your body, you can become very accurate.

The Ammunition

To date, I’ve shot four types of ammunition through the Sig.

The first time out, I shot 50 rounds of Blazer while getting used to the gun. I had no problems with it, but I can’t vouch for its accuracy, compared to the Winchester, because I was just learning how to shoot it. I also shot about 70 rounds of the Winchester ammo. One of the odd things I noticed is that several of the Winchester casings were bent when I retrieved them. I suspect that the force of the ejection, hitting the low roof of the range, and thin brass casings on the target load made this ammo subject to damage.

Winchester Casings Bent on ejection
Winchester .380 ACP Casings Bent on ejection

I don’t think you could use these casings for reloading. However, aside from the one ejection failure noted above, I had no problem with the Winchester ammunition. I was able to improve my accuracy shooting the rest of the 100 rounds my next time out.

My last time out, I was sent a box of Sellier & Bellot ammo to test by AmmoForSale.com. Now, as an amateur to intermediate pistol shooter, you’ll have to take my review with a grain of salt, because any inaccuracy on the target itself may be due to my limited abilities and not to the ammunition. But wanting to give this ammo the fairest test that I could, I set a target up at 25 yards (arguably too far for short barreled .380 ACP accuracy). I then rested my hands on the bench and aimed carefully. At 25 yards, the L&B seemed to be shooting left and in a 14” group. So, I put in some of the Hornady ammo, and did the same bench rest shooting. I was able to bulls-eye the target at 25 yards. The grouping was more like 8”.

Lellier & Bellot FMJ 92 grain, Browning Court, made in Czech Republic
Final Grouping at 7 yards

After moving from the bench and shooting up about 20 rounds of the S&B at 25 yards, I then moved in to 7 yards and started again. This time the S&B performed very well using two handed, standing position.. See the target.. I could not see any difference between the performance of the S&B at that range and the Hornady. Since most assaults or confrontations that might require an armed response happen within 7 yards, I feel perfectly comfortable putting either the S&B or the Hornady in my concealed carry, and don’t have any fear that either will fail to hit the target. Hopefully, the ejection jam problem will not ever occur again, but even if it does, I hope the first shot will be all I need. I’ll keep practicing with it and see if I encounter any troubles.
Burn marks on .380 shellsOne other thing I notice with all the ammo except the Hornady is the burn marks on the brass. Not sure if this is a characteristic of .380 short barrel powder burns or just the way these cartridges are made.

 Item Number 238-380-BG
  Caliber .380 ACP (9mm short)
  Action Type SAO
  Trigger Pull DA N/A
  Trigger Pull SA 8.0 lbs
  Overall Length 5.5 in
  Overall Height 3.9 in
  Overall Width 1.1 in
  Barrel Length 2.7 in
  Sight Radius 3.8 in
  Weight w/Mag 15.2 oz
  Mag Capacity 6 Rounds
  Sights SIGLITE® Night Sights
  Grips Blackwood Grips
  Frame Finish Black Hard Coat Anodized
  Slide Finish Natural Stainless
  Accessory Rail No
  Features Beavertail style frame, Blackwood grips
  MSRP $738.00
  CA Compliant No
  MA Compliant No
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Small Concealed Carry – the Bobcat 21, .22.

Posted by jefferis on October 20, 2011 in Guns and Ammo, Technology

Beretta Bobcat .22 & .32 Tomcat – The Perfect Ladies Gun

UPDATED REVIEW, Oct. 1, 2012 – now negative. See here.

Bobcat32 300x300 Beretta Bobcat The Perfect Pocket GunAt Nesbit Guns,  Jeff Nesbit showed me a little Beretta 21 Bobcat .22 LR Matte Black with a break front loader,  for under $300, which might be the perfect concealed carry for the ladies. It  is smaller than the Bersa and would fit in a pant’s pocket without much problem. It also has a safety. The advantage of the break front semi-automatic pistol is that there is no slide action. Our lady friends, who find a slide on a pistol difficult, can breach load this pistol with no problems.   It would also be a handy pocket gun for any guy who wants less bulk but immediate access to a concealed carry weapon. At a little under 2.5 inches of barrel length, it is smaller than many smart phones.

Dick Nesbit informed me that the .22 caliber high-velocity long cartridge may even be more dangerous and better for protection that the .32.  ”I’ve seen a .32 bounce off a heavy leather jacket, while a .22 long will go right through.”

We had a little trouble with the ease of the safety switch on the initial batch of Bobcats, and Jeff had to send them back, but the next round, especially the Inox finish (stainless look pictured above) was the smoothest of them all. It is a little more expensive, but may be worth it for those who like that smart look. 779 big 1 340P 340P Beretta Bobcat The Perfect Pocket Gun

Model Caliber Magazine Capacity Action Total Length (mm/inch) Barrel Length (mm/inch) Total Thickness (mm/inch) Total Height (mm/inch) Sight Radius (mm/inch) Weight Unloaded (gr/oz)
3032 Tomcat Inox 7.65 7 Single/Double 125/4.9 61/2.4 28/1.1 95/3.7 84/3.3 410/14.5
Model Caliber Magazine Capacity Action Total Length (mm/inch) Barrel Length (mm/inch) Total Thickness (mm/inch) Total Height (mm/inch) Sight Radius (mm/inch) Weight Unloaded (gr/oz)
21 A Bobcat 6.35 8 Single/Double 125/4.9 61/2.4 28/1.1 94/3.7 88/3.5 325/11.5
21 A Bobcat 22LR 7 Single/Double 125/4.9 61/2.4 28/1.1 94/3.7 88/3.5 335/11.8
21 Bobcat Inox 22LR 7 Singola/Doppia 125/4.9 61/2.4 28/1.1 94/3.7 88/3.5 335/11.8
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Practicing with the LCR and Looking at Alternatives

Posted by jefferis on September 23, 2011 in Guns and Ammo

Practicing the LCR

Shooting the Ruger LCR – Second Report

We took our friend out to our local sportsman’s club to practice with her Ruger LCR Double-Action Revolver (. 38 special), with Crimson Trace Laser sites last Saturday. First we adjusted the Laser to line up with the top of the sites in the 6 o’clock position.  We braced the revolver on the bench and did some two-handed test firing.  We shot up a box of rounds.  By the end of the session, our friend was hitting a man-sized target at 30 feet, but not consistently. The laser, in daylight, was hard to see on the target, and she seemed to do better when I asked her not to aim with the sites, but to use instinct and general direction. There seemed to be a tendency for her to shoot low when taking time to aim.

779 big 1 340P 340P Practicing the LCR

My wife tried the LCR as well. She did better, but she also had a harder time with that than with our S&W M&P 9.   Here, at Nesbit Guns,  Jeff Nesbit showed me a little Beretta 21 Bobcat .22 LR Matte Black with a break front loader,  for under $300, which might be the perfect concealed carry for the ladies. It  is smaller than the Bersa and would fit in a pant’s pocket without much problem. It also has a safety. For some reason, I don’t like the idea of my M&P 9 concealed and pointing below my waist with no safety. And the Bersa was a little larger than I remember.  Since the Beretta doesn’t have a slide, it is a good solution for our friend who fights carpal-tunnel syndrome.

Jeff also showed me a compact Sig Sauer in .380 ACP that was a really nice compact: expensive, but a quality production. The slide was easy enough for a lady.

Our friend has decided to keep the LCR and believes that it will be an effective pistol in close quarters in her home, and the Crimson Trace will frighten any intruder.  However, because the Trace doesn’t always show up, depending upon how strong your finger grip is, you don’t want to be hesitating to fire because you can’t see the trace. Shooting should be second nature and much practice is needed to attain that instant reaction time. I found that when she was waiting to find the Trace, she was concentrating more on effects than upon purpose. Practicing the hesitation of waiting to see the light point is a bad habit. It is okay for testing alignment of shots, but not for regular practice.

P238 Blackwood Detail L Practicing the LCR

– Jefferis Peterson

 (First Published on USEDGUNSPA.COM )
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A Lawyer Gets Just What’s Coming to Him

Posted by jefferis on June 23, 2011 in Political Events

Funny Story « Contact Printing.

A Charlotte, NC, lawyer purchased a box of very rare and expensive cigars, and then insured them against fire among other things. Within a month having smoked his entire stockpile of these great cigars and without yet having made even his first premium payment on the policy, the lawyer filed claim against the insurance company….

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Shooting the Ruger LCR – First Report

Posted by jefferis on June 21, 2011 in Guns and Ammo, Technology
This is an image of a Ruger LCR chambered in 3...

Image via Wikipedia

I took our friend out to our local sportsman’s club to try out her new Ruger LCR Double-Action Revolver (. 38 special), with Crimson Trace Laser sites today. After our test run, I think I may get my wife a Bersa 380 instead, which she has fired before and loved.  One of the problems for some women is the slide action on a pistol. It is too hard on my S&W M&P9 for our friend to operate, and it is difficult for my wife. So a revolver seemed like a better choice. And for concealed carry, we want a safe, smaller firearm. A revolver is unlikely to go off by accident and the S&W is too big to carry, but  we found out today that there are difficulties with a revolver…

Years ago, I had a snub nose 38, but I found I could not hit the broadside of a barn with it. The double-action trigger’s pull was so hard that I was all over the place with it. Using the LCR, even with it’s lighter trigger action, reminded me of the problems with revolvers in general. A couple of helpful gentlemen at our sports club suggested we use dummy rounds (empty shells) with the laser to see how our trigger pull caused motion in the barrel.  Even using the two handed stance, it was amazing to see how much the trigger pull caused the laser to move off target.   We got better as we practiced, and I dare say, someone attacking within 10 feet would be in a heap of trouble, but it was difficult to score bulls eyes with the revolver. Out of 50 rounds, we probably got it in the black 5 times.

The other issue was the site position. Because of either the gun’s layout or our wrist action when pulling the trigger (and inadvertently moving the barrel!), to get the shot on target, I had to put the front site over and above the target. A shot using the traditional 6-o’clock position made me shoot way too low. Let’s just say, I would have made a male attacker, at 25 feet, into a soprano.  At 5 to 10 feet, the revolver is deadly, but down the hall, you might scare him to death before you did any real damage.  The bottom line, the hefty trigger pull for a woman, or including someone like me, not used to revolvers, makes using the LCR more difficult than I imagined.

Just to make sure I wasn’t just off my game, I picked up my M&P9 and put 9 out of 9 in the black or the bulls eye right way. The difficulty of the double action makes me wonder if the S&W Bodyguard, with the lighter trigger action, might not be a better deal for most people, in spite of the bad placement of the laser activator.  However, I am now re-thinking my desire to get a revolver for concealed carry.  I will take my wife to check out the slide action on a Bersa to see if that makes more sense for us.

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An Appeal to My Fellow Presbyterians

Posted by jefferis on May 17, 2011 in Religion

Come Out of Her – Leave the Dead to Bury Their Own Dead!


In a debate, if we do not agree on what is truth or how to discover truth and how to determine what truth is, how can we ever decide who is right  and who is wrong?  If I say, “Truth derives from God’s revealed Word,” but you say, “All truths are relative and depend upon the individual… whatever a person believes is true for them,” then how can we ever agree on anything? Will we not be talking past one another?

“Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?” Amos 3:3, NKJV.

“Then I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, so that you do not take part in her sins, and so that you do not share in her plagues; for her sins are heaped high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities,” Revelation 18:4, 5, NRSV.

There are many Presbyterian pastors, churches, and laity who are now wondering what they should do. The confessing church, made up of the conservative and biblically faithful believers, has been filled with grief, disbelief, and dismay. They finally lost the majority vote over acceptance and ordination of homosexuals, bisexuals, trans-genders, adulterers and fornicators into offices of ministry in the denomination. The truth is they lost this argument years ago by accepting principles of authority that predetermined this outcome. By staying and fighting they will accomplish nothing. They have been outwitted and out-maneuvered and have lost ground they will never regain. They can never win or reform the institution, and I will explain why it is better to leave than to try.

To Compromise is to Surrender

The liberal mantra of the “progressive and open-minded” pastors, bureaucrats, and left-wing of the PC(USA) goes something like this: “Let us all agree to disagree and still remain in unity, and thus to show Christian charity by remaining in fellowship. We can all disagree and still get along.”  Tolerance and “open-mindedness” is the key Christian virtue in this mantra, and the greater sin is division. However these same “liberal” voices would be aghast if you said something like, “I personally don’t believe in abusing women, but I think it is perfectly okay to invite wife beaters and rapists into the church and ordain them,” or, “I personally don’t believe in slavery, but its okay if you want to own slaves. I don’t think we should divide the denomination over issues like that.” Tolerance is a virtue to the liberal as long as you share liberal values and politically correct thinking, but the liberal is no more tolerant of divergent beliefs than the conservative is; it just depends upon what those beliefs are. So to assume the liberal wing of the PC(USA) is more tolerant and open-minded, and therefore more “Christian,” is a lie of intimidation and an insinuation that anyone who holds a different view is less enlightened, less tolerant, less loving, and therefore less Christian.

“For, in the first place, when you assemble as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you; and I partly believe it, for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized.” 1 Corinthians 11:18, 19, RSV.

You see, the liberal loses nothing by compromise, because to compromise means that you are willing play on his terms. You agree with him that what you believe is not that important. The issue is not so important to you that you would die for it, fight for it, or even leave the denomination over it. You will surrender whatever you believe for the greater good of “Christian unity, the denomination, and the values of tolerance, acceptance, and open-mindedness.” And you thereby agree that these liberal values better express the true meaning of Christian love and charity than whatever things you believe. You also, by agreeing to this compromise, agree with them that what you believe is not essential to faith, or to righteousness, or morals, or obedience to Christ.

Like those who want all religions to deny their claims to ultimate truth and so make peace by agreeing to all get along, so the liberal wants you to get along by denying your deeply held convictions as essentials of the faith: calling them instead merely your personal opinions about truth. In essence, you have agreed with the liberal that your beliefs are not the only truth, or even the majority truth. You have become a liberal. And you have not compromised your essential beliefs – you have surrendered them.

Different Game, Different Rules

The problem Bible believing Christians now face in the PC(USA) – and in the other denominations going through similar changes like the Episcopal, Methodist, Lutheran, United Church of Christ, etc. – is that the liberals and the conservatives are not playing by the same rules. They are not even playing the same game. The liberals have home field advantage, and have drawn up the all lines on the football field, but the conservatives come out expecting to play baseball. The umpire is a football official, and the liberal team demands that you play this game on their field. The liberal field is the belief in relativism. As soon as you step on the field, you have consented to be governed by their rules, and that means that all your beliefs are relative, not the only truth, but merely one truth among others. In order to try and hold the denomination together and maintain a majority, you have been asked to surrender your commitment to the scriptures as the Word of God and the only standard for faith, life, and practice.

In a nutshell, that is what is happening when the conservative Christians try to argue for righteousness in the denomination. The conservatives appeal to the Scriptures, but the liberals do not accept God’s Word as a standard, much less as THE standard, for faith, life, and practice. They do not believe that the Bible is actually God’s unchanging Word, but merely a document written by men, who lacked present day knowledge. Instead of being revealed truth, the Bible is subject to reinterpretation because of the more enlightened, scientific, and tolerant age in which we now live.  You are arguing apples and they are arguing oranges.

For liberals, the truth is whatever the democratic majority says. For the conservative, no truth is decided by majority vote, but by God alone, through the Holy Spirit, written in the revealed Word of God.  There is no authority for the liberal, so when the conservative appeals to the Word of God for a decision, the liberal feels free to ignore it. That is not the umpire on their field. The Word of God and the arguments for it, carry no weight at all. It is as if the conservative says, “you struck out,” but the liberal says, “no one strikes out in this game, everyone gets a touchdown.” And the liberal ignores your cries of “foul!” It is meaningless to him.

Thus the liberal can rejoice when the majority votes in his favor, because that means he wins. Truth is decided by men, not by God. With this disagreement on sources of authority and ultimate truth, there is no way to win a debate with a liberal or come to agreement on essential principles. You cannot even agree about the meaning of truth. And so, it means that by agreeing to stay within the denominational structure of the PC(USA), you have surrendered to their rules, their game, their concept of authority, and you have renounced your own. You will never be able to convince those who do not accept the Bible as God’s revealed Word that it is the source of ultimate truth. You are trying to stop a rising tide on the beach with a sand castle wall.

It Is Better to Break Fellowship with the Ungodly

“And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret,” Ephesians 5:11, 12, NKJV.

“Do not be deceived: ‘Bad company ruins good morals,’” 1 Corinthians 15:33, RSV.

You are compromised even by your continued association with the immoral.  You have several problems.

  1. Your witness is polluted by what the denomination believes. It has called evil “good” and good “evil.” It has defined homosexuality, universally condemned in scripture as good, but those who oppose it are called intolerant and bigoted. That is near to blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.
  2. Your headship, your covering, your government is apostate. By consenting to live within it’s rule and regulations, you submit yourself to that apostate system of values and beliefs, where your deeply held convictions are not supported but are controverted by those with authority over you. You are, in a sense, making a sacrifice to Caesar and calling him Lord by your refusal to renounce this jurisdiction over you. All for the sake of what? Property? Salary? Tradition?
  3. You will have to support same sex marriage in your health plans and you will be supporting the denomination’s policies on marriage by your per capita contributions. You will also be supporting their legal teams when they argue before courts and governments for the rights of homosexual marriage. You will be funding apostasy by your giving. You cannot escape the collusion.
  4. Rather than spending your energies on the Great Commission, you will spend all your energies, time, and emotions battling your own church government. You will be fighting Satan in the house, not taking the word of Christ to the world.

Why would the Lord bring new Christians into a house of perversion? It would be like giving your children to a pedophile to babysit them. The Lord will not bless this work or entrust his newborn children to this demonic, apostate system. It would be child abuse.

Why Will You Not Leave?

Will you not leave because of pensions, property, or endowments? It is a great evil that the Presbyterian Church in the USA was set up as the owner of the properties of the local church. It gutted the local congregations of the courage to leave years ago when this all began to unravel.  And now it is too late. You must leave and be willing to leave your property behind as a witness and a testimony.

“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” Matthew 6:24, RSV.

Are you so comfortable in your current position that you will not trust the Lord and risk it all for righteousness sake? Are you faithless and unbelieving, or worse, a coward?

 “My righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.” Hebrews 10:38, RSV.

First of all, let me tell you, your pension is kept for you even after you leave, for I still have mine and I left 21 years ago. But yes, to leave may require a sacrifice of security, income, comfort, and the certainty of your future calling. But what testimony will you give on judgment day, when you say to God, “I knew the denomination was wrong, but I was afraid I’d lose my life of secure comfort”?

What I can say to you is that there is life after the denomination. I had to work odd jobs for a few years. I was a salesman, a laborer, a web designer, but through it all, the Lord provided and I learned more about the world and what it means to minister to those who struggle in the marketplace.

Maybe you and your whole church will have courage and leave. I have a suggestion for you: give all your endowments away to valid missions and ministries, indebt your buildings, and then see if the presbytery still wants them. Walk away if they do. Start from scratch with an uncompromised people who will follow God no matter what the cost.  Then you will have agreement on righteousness and truth, morals and faith, and your prayers will be those of agreement, not of compromise. Your conscience will be clear and you will be able to look to your God with hope and faith.

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My Resignation from PC(USA) – A Prophetic Letter 1990

Posted by jefferis on May 15, 2011 in Religion

What follows is my letter of resignation from the Presbyterian Church USA in 1990 over what I could see coming in the denomination. It was a prophetic vision anticipating the natural and the inevitable consequence when the opinions of men are elevated above the Word of God. That prophesy has come to full fruition 21 years later as this denomination has fallen into total apostasy with flagrant and boastful violation of the Word of God in sexual immorality. 

“By turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction and made them an example to those who were to be ungodly…For, uttering loud boasts of folly, they entice with licentious passions of the flesh men who have barely escaped from those who live in error. They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption; for whatever overcomes a man, to that he is enslaved. For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overpowered, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them.” 2 Peter 2:6,18-21, RSV

October 30. 1990
The Rev. William P. Crooks, Chair
Chair, Committee on Ministry
Trinity Presbyterian Church
110 E. Market St
Mercer, PA 16137

Dear Bill,

You asked me to send you a letter requesting a change in my status. And I am privileged to respond to you in love and with love for you and for many of my brother pastors here in Shenango Presbytery. I have watched with admiration the devotion and dedication of many fine pastors, who have truly been called by God to work in his vineyard. I have seen the grief in their spirit as they cry over the course our denomination has taken, turning from the Word of God as the authority for matters of faith and practice. They have witnessed, as I have, how human opinion and contemporary cultural values have become as authoritative as scripture in General Assembly decisions and positions; whether that be political or moral. As a result, our debates, which should have the character of godly deliberation, have degenerated into mere political posturing to bring about a majority rule for one side or the other. But God ‘s Truth is not decided by majority vote, but discerned with reverential fear by men seeking the voice of God in His revealed Word.

The fact that we are arguing about things like homosexuality and abortion only reveals how the scripture has lost its place of authority in our denomination. We are arguing about things which should not even be up for discussion, because the Word of God is clear on the matter; but this happens when God’s Word falls into disrepute in religious institutions. And so, our presbytery and Assembly meetings have changed from the intimate worship of God in Spirit and in Truth to one more like a political convention. That is not how it is meant to be. God has called us to Peace (I Corinthians 7:15), not to contention. Therefore, with peace in my spirit, I truly believe the Lord Jesus is calling me out of the denomination.

I have great respect for our history and our heritage as Presbyterians, and it is not without some regret, for I dearly love the fellowship of like-minded, precious brothers who pastor the flocks in their care. I know there are indeed many fine, faithful, and biblical congregations in our presbytery. I have preached at several and visited many, and heard of even more. But the Lord has a different call on my life, and I beg you to respect it and release me with your blessing. Therefore, with malice towards none and respect for all, I submit my resignation from the Presbytery of Shenango, effective this date; believing the Lord has called me to live at peace and to be part of a fellowship where the central matters of the faith, as I see them, are not up for dispute. As a result of the Lord’s leading and call, I joined Living Word Church yesterday night and plan to further pursue the ministry through its oversight and direction.

I would like to leave you with one final concern I have: it is my grief and fear for the denomination as a whole. It says in Psalm 24, “Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in His Holy place? Only he who has clean hands and a pure heart.” And in Isaiah 1, it says, “I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly…when you spread forth your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers. I will not listen; your hands are full of blood. Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean…”

God will not hear us when we pray to him if we do not repent of our evil and wickedness. It is vain to praise him while we walk in compromise. This is what he says in his Word. How then can he bless the denomination when it holds up before him moral compromise on a matter so essential as child sacrifice (abortion)? Will he hear with innocent blood on our hands? Our prayer should be for his mercy. We have no right to ask for his blessing.

In Jesus’ Name,

Jefferis Kent Peterson

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