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Weiner According to Webster's
Weiner According to Webster's
Weiner According to Webster's
By Jack Kinsella
Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw is credited having observed that "Britain and America are two nations separated by a common language." We both speak English, but we don't speak the same language.
For that we can thank Noah Webster. Noah Webster is the reason Americans spell "center"and Canadians spell it "centre"; why "defense" is spelled "defence" in Australia; why "traveler" is spelled "traveller" in the UK.
Noah Webster is often called the "Father of American Scholarship and language."
Through his "Blue-Backed" Speller and the dictionary that bears his name, Noah Webster both created and continues to define the uniquely American understanding of the use of certain words.
Webster's 1828 dictionary defines "liar" in two senses; the English sense of the word and in the way Noah Webster intended for Americans to understand it.
1. a person who knowingly utters a falsehood; one who declares to another as a fact what he knows to be not true, and with an intention to deceive him. The uttering of falsehood by mistake, and without an intention to deceive, does not constitute one a liar.
2. One who denies Christ. 1 John 2
To Americans in 1828, denying that America was founded as and was intended to be governed as a Christian nation was the literal dictionary definition of the word "liar."
(Which means, as an aside, that according to Webster's definition of "liar", one of the most honest politician of the twenty-first century so far has been George W. Bush. Nobody knew the true state of Iraqi WMD – Bush could not know, either. But Bush knew Who Christ was and said so many times.)
In early America, the mere insinuation that a man's word was not to be trusted was acceptable grounds for killing him. Even (and especially) among American politicians.
In the 1800 presidential election, Founding Father and America's first Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton supported Thomas Jefferson over Vice-President Aaron Burr, insinuating that Jefferson was more honest than Burr.
In 1804, the Albany Register published allegations that Hamilton expressed "a still more despicable opinion" (i.e. 'liar') of Vice President Burr. This led to a confrontation that led to a duel that led to Vice President Burr killing one of America's Founding Fathers.
Because of the challenge to his honor, although Burr was initially charged with Hamilton's murder, he was never prosecuted and served out his full term as Vice President of the United States.
When Noah Webster was creating a dictionary of American English, being labeled as a liar in America was an affront to one's honor so grievous that it justified killing the person throwing around the label. Indeed, it was synonymous with the ultimate sin of denying Christ.
In early America, it didn't get more serious than that.
When Paul was writing to the Thessalonians about the last days, his letters were separated by a period of time. In the first letter, Paul was explaining that at the end of the Church Age, the Lord will return secretly for His Church.
Paul's second letter aims at clearing up a heresy circulating in Thessalonica that the Lord had already returned and they had been left behind.
"Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition." (2 Thessalonians 2:4)
I've read all kinds of novel interpretations of what that verse really means. Personally, I think it means what it really says. What is rendered "falling away" in English is taken from Paul's use of the word "apostasia" which literally means, "defection from the truth."
Defection is an interesting word choice in its own right. It means, "the act of abandoning a person or cause to which one is bound by allegiance or duty, or to which one has attached himself."
It is more than simply accepting a lie – it is the knowing acceptance of a lie, not out of belief, but as a matter of allegiance. A good example would be the partisans rallying to justify Anthony Weiner's dishonesty by arguing that "everybody lies about sex."
Read literally and in context, the verse says that the "Day of Christ shall NOT come until the way is first prepared by a mass defection from the truth for the coming of the antichrist."
The antichrist is the Master Deceiver. The Apostle Paul defines 'antichrist' using the same terms that Noah Webster used to describe the American definition of the word "liar" in 1828.
"And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world." (1 John 4:3)
I'm often asked where America is in Bible prophecy. It is hard to believe that a nation as powerful as America would escape mention in the last days. Particularly since America is the only nation founded on the principle that denying Jesus Christ is the dictionary definition of "liar."
Two hundred years ago, an American politician's honor was more valuable than his life. By the time the 20th century drew to a close, the American people were comfortable with knowing that "all politicians lie" because "everybody lies about sex."
That's what Congressman Weiner was counting on when he flatly denied "with certitude" that he sent the lewd picture of himself to a woman in Seattle. He lied straight-faced to every major network anchor, and by extension, to every American of every political persuasion.
To support his lie, Weiner launched a merciless attack on Andrew Breitbart for breaking the story, wrongly accused him of hacking his Twitter account (a federal crime) encouraged one of the women with whom he had contact to lie about it, all from his Congressional office or on his Congressional office phone.
For ten days, the Congressman lied about his conduct and threw everyone within reach out in front of him for use as human shields. Yesterday, Weiner came clean and admitted it was ALL a lie but that since he didn't think he did anything illegal, he doesn't think he should resign.
I am not saying Anthony Weiner is the antichrist. He's just another proven liar and pervert who just so happens to be an elected member of Congress.
Summing up the view from the perspective of the American Left is Barbara Walters who said this on Monday's broadcast of "The View":
"He is a good congressman. He has been an effective congressman. If Sarah Palin can still ride around on her bus and be considered as a possible president, this man can override this, stay in Congress and just hope there is another scandal that will take him."
Speaking of defections from the truth, Sarah Palin is a private citizen whose reputation for honesty and record of accomplishment is above legitimate reproach.
Anthony Weiner is a serial liar who, as an elected, sitting member of the US House of Representatives, used his office to perpetuate a cover-up by knowingly and deliberately slandering the reputation of others.
The Apostle Paul said "that day" would not come until there was first a defection from the truth. Then he explained why.
"And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for THIS cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness." (2 Thessalonians 2:10-12)
Now, just to summarize, here is another example of apostasia as expressed in modern American English:
"If Sarah Palin can tour America, then Anthony Weiner can stay in Congress until the next scandal."
Where is America in Bible prophecy? At the moment, it is precisely where Paul said it would be when he was describing the last days of the Church Age.
"This know also, that in the last days, perilous times shall come." (2 Timothy 3:1)
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