onward christian soldiers

1. Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war,
with the cross of Jesus going on before.
Christ, the royal Master, leads against the foe;
forward into battle see his banners go!
Refrain:
Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war,
with the cross of Jesus going on before.

2. At the sign of triumph Satan's host doth flee;
on then, Christian soldiers, on to victory!
Hell's foundations quiver at the shout of praise;
brothers, lift your voices, loud your anthems raise.
(Refrain)

3. Like a mighty army moves the church of God;
brothers, we are treading where the saints have trod.
We are not divided, all one body we,
one in hope and doctrine, one in charity.
(Refrain)

4. Crowns and thrones may perish, kingdoms rise and wane,
but the church of Jesus constant will remain.
Gates of hell can never gainst that church prevail;
we have Christ's own promise, and that cannot fail.
(Refrain)

5. Onward then, ye people, join our happy throng,
blend with ours your voices in the triumph song.
Glory, laud, and honor unto Christ the King,
this through countless ages men and angels sing.

(Refrain)

why, you may ask, am i reprinting a christian hymn here at the journey? to highlight a real potential problem for america. many folks are aware of 'jesus camp'- but are you aware of christian folks founding mercenary groups? no, i guess i wasn't either. i knew that the pentagon was using various mercenary troops to fight in the middle east- i didn't realize that one in particular had been founded by a board member of christian freedom international- an international non-profit missionary group that attends and helps persecuted christians throughout the world- while trying to convert more. helping persecuted folks doesn't sound like a bad thing- but this group is also a powerful lobby group in washington- and blackwater usa has governmental contracts. this really puts the patriot act into perspective for me- what with the fbi admitting to abusing data collecting on american citizens, and jose padilla's interrogation tape missing, and not to mention those pesky internment camps again- when you look at the byline on the website:

"Blackwater USA is the most comprehensive professional military, law enforcement, security, peacekeeping, and stability operations company in the world."

and- it was founded by a christian.

kind of makes you wonder- what with this group also war profiteering- where did all of those billions of dollars go for iraq? halliburton for sure- but given bushco's affinity for all things evangelical- i hope this wasn't a private army fundraising. i'm just sayin'.