There has always been a significant factor in legal matters known as “guilt by association.”  Judicial rulings confirm that “bad company corrupts good . . .”

With the rise of analyzing everything psychologically in recent decades, we have a very real and troublesome twist on the reasonable conclusion of “guilt by association.”  It is now superseded and replaced with “guilt by accusation.”

Without my explaining, I’m sure you can easily come up with examples and applications in today’s world.  Here are some of mine:

ONE—–I first realized the application in marriage disputes and marriage counseling.  It is one of those handy tools that are easily employed to manipulate friends and professionals alike to take your side.  Just say that someone is controlling, and you gain immediate sympathy without evidence, and the other person is at a loss without defense.  Needless to say, that example is only the tip of the iceberg.

TWO—–“Intolerant” is perhaps the best tool or weapon to sling and make “guilt by accusation” stick.  Again, how do you defend against a charge of intolerance?

THREE—–“You don’t have the right to offend me” is another classic angle currently used to the point of absurdity.  Sadly, the courts have lost all sanity in bowing down to yet another wave of anti-God and anti-American ideology sweeping over this country—sweeping us away like a tsunami.

FOUR—–“Israel (or U.S.) military killed civilians” gets full press and ensuing international sentiment against the good guys.  Reality is—the other side is usually committing such atrocities more, by ten to one.

FIVE—–“We must be more reasonable and understanding with terrorists [who have all vowed to kill us].”  America’s unfounded guilt trip spread around the world the past four years is killing us now.

SIX—– Hate Crimes.  Thought Crimes.  (need I explain?)

SEVEN—–“Extremists are always wrong.”  (that would include Jesus)

EIGHT—–“You must limit your fight for life, family, and religious freedom to the democratic process and non-violence.  Anything more than that negates your cause—guilty, even if you just think or talk about it.”

—Where would that leave us with England 236 years ago?

—Where would that leave us with England 200 years ago?

—Where would that leave us with slavery 160 years ago?

—Where would that leave us with Germany 100 years ago?

—Where would that leave us with Germany and Japan 70 years ago?

—Now, where has that left us with God out of schools for 50 years?

—Now, where has that left us with killing a whole lot more babies than last Friday, for 40 years?

—Now, where has that left us with bowing to gay ‘rights’ for 30 years?

—Now, where does that leave us with the blitzkrieg dictatorship currently blowing up every single thing listed in this paragraph for 4 years?

—Now, where does this “guilt by accusation” (which we allow by free will, nationally and individually) leave us today, and tomorrow?

—Where does it leave the rest of our babies that are still alive?

—Where does it leave our marriages that are still God-ordained?

—Where does it leave our faith and freedom we still have to tell others about freedom from all guilt, with Jesus?

Is not this something worth fighting for, again, like others did for us?  What measures were they willing to use, for us?  What measures are we willing to use, for our children?

NINE—–Another example on the individual level, that affects the entire country:

This one explains the dramatic rise in child abuse for the past several decades.  We had an entire generation conditioned without authority and confidence in parenting.  They were told,

—“You don’t have the right to discipline with physical pain.”

—“You have to earn the respect of your children first.”

—“You have to reason with your children.”

—“If your children don’t act right, figure out what you are doing wrong.”

When parents start off feeling guilty and reluctant to discipline quickly enough to instill instant regret, they delay the inevitable.  Pressure builds and defiance escalates, and ultimately the parent lashes out abusively instead of authoritatively.

TEN—–Now the most volatile current “guilt by accusation”:

“Guns are the cause of violent crime.”  That gets a lot of mileage at a time like this.

Just say “NO”  to gun control.  Don’t let anyone make you or anyone else feel guilty for owning guns.  It is what it means to be an American—FREE.

Gun control made last Friday’s horror possible, and all but one like it since 1950, and probably the next one.  Your gun could be the one to stop the next one.  Think about it.  Think about the lives you may be called to save, with deadly force.  You will be right before the Constitution, you will be right before your fellow citizens, and you will be right before God.

AND PRAY.

First Story:

404 A.D.  A monk named Telemachus felt let by the Spirit of God to travel to Rome.  He found himself following the crowds heading to the Colosseum.  When he saw the horror of gladiators set to kill each other for the entertainment of the crowd, he was so moved with indignation that he jumped over the wall, confronted the gladiators, stood between them, and shouted, “In the name of Christ, forbear [stop].”  He was obviously attacked and fatally wounded.  But he kept repeating, “In the name of Christ, forbear,” until he died.

And the rest of the story—That was the last time gladiators fought in the Roman Colosseum.

Second Story:

In the late 1970’s I had a student named Katy Telemachus in my fourth grade class in Hollywood, Florida.  She was sweet, but frail because she needed a liver transplant.  The time came for a donor match, and the operation was successful (paid for entirely by her father, who owned an upscale restaurant in Ft. Lauderdale).  Katy’s life was transformed, and she became a happy, lively girl.  Her father showed his appreciation by treating us and the principal to a very special evening at the restaurant—a treasured memory.

And the rest of the story—A few years after we moved to Texas in 1990, we got a letter from friends in Florida, with a newspaper article.  It told of three teenagers robbing a man’s home, resulting in his murder.  Katy was one of the teenagers, and the man who was killed was her father.   I have no information since.