Recently, I convinced my wife to leave her church. Well, OK, maybe "convinced" isn't the right word. As soon as I told her what I had discovered, she was gone.

It has to do with the International Criminal Court. This court is the perfect foot-hold with which to establish one World Government. A government that would destroy the sovereignty of the United States and subjugate her citizens to the will of European socialists and third-world dictators. Many advocates think a World Government would continue to allow us to live in freedom (perhaps even expanding it to others), while bringing about a long hoped for peace. This couldn't be further from the truth. A World Government would, without a doubt, be founded on the Communist principles of redistribution and unlimited state authority. Look no further than the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Specifically, I'd like to call your attention to Article 29, which reads:

1. Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his personality is possible.
2. In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society.
3. These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

The first two items establish that the rights and freedoms of individuals take a back seat to the needs of the community, and make purposely vague references to things like "public order" and "general welfare". The third item is a doozie. It renders the rest of the document completely worthless by stating that the UN can do whatever it wants with no consideration for anyone's rights. I don't know about you, but I need a slightly stronger guarantee of freedom than what the UN is offering.

John Kerry's support of the ICC, and the UN's agenda in general, was to me the biggest reason to keep him out of the White House. (Thankfully, he is giving his concession speech as I type.) While reading a column about Kerry's position on the ICC, I thought it very odd that the court also had the support of the United Methodist Church. It made me wonder what other organizations were on the list of supporters, so I checked it out. Son of a bitch! There were other Christian groups on the list, including the Presbyterian Church (USA), which my wife's congregation was a part of. I can't believe the fact that the American Humanist Association is endorsing the court didn't set off any alarms with all these churches. Anyway, when I went to the PC(USA) web site to read the reasons for their support of the ICC, I lost all respect for them. Here are some of the more notable statements.

Overlooked by much of the mainstream US media, this ceremony marked the coming into effect of one of the most talked about international bodies in recent time: The International Criminal Court.

Overlooked by the media, huh? That was no accident.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is a permanent international court designed to try individuals accused of the most heinous crimes in international law: genocide, crimes of war, and crimes against humanity. The Court will only try those cases that the countries involved are either unwilling or unable to try on their own. This is the first court set up by the international community with universal jurisdiction to try those accused of grievous human rights abuses.

The International Criminal Court will have jurisdiction to prosecute any crime that is declared genocide, a war crime, or a crime against humanity and is committed by a citizen of a country that has ratified the treaty or within the territory of a country that has ratified the treaty.

OK, this sounds like a great idea on the surface but this court, like all government entities, will suffer from "mission creep" and continually expand its role and its power. Maybe the church is just naive and doesn't think that will happen...

The International Criminal Court is also breaking new ground in terms of recognizing war crimes committed specifically against women. For the first time in international law, rape, sexual slavery, enforced prostitution, forced pregnancy, enforced sterilization, and other gender-based and sexual violence are recognized as war crimes.

Holy crap! Not only has the court already begun to expand beyond its intended purpose, and not only is the PC(USA) aware of it, but they think it's frickin' awesome!! What's wrong with them? Where do they think this is going, if not toward something we really, really don't want? Do they think the court will ever stop "breaking new ground" by defining new war crimes? I assure you, it won't.

the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has called for the strengthening of international institutions required for the cause of peace and justice, the development of nonviolent instruments for dealing with international issues, including calls for the establishment of international judicial mechanisms.

That is a quote from the PC(USA)'s rationale for supporting the court. I alluded to this fantasy of peace-making earlier, but let me be clear. This is not the path to peace. Not the kind of peace we want, at least. If "war" between nations was eliminated, but people were being killed by the millions anyway, would that make you feel better? Remember that in the 20th century, governments with unlimited authority, acting in the name of "social justice", were responsible for over three times as many deaths as war. You can take this "peace" and put it in your butt!

Review the list of the ICC's supporters. If you're associated with any of those organizations, break the association and tell them why.