Humanists don't want to be counted among atheists. Atheists don't want to be counted among secular progressives. But they all share one thing in common: subjective morality. Case in point:
A doctor in Sarasota, Florida, has lost his license to practice medicine for performing an abortion....on the “wrong baby!”
Dr. Matthew Kachinas was asked to perform a “selective reduction” by a mother carrying twins. One baby had genetic markers consistent with Down syndrome and the other did not.
Dr. Kachinas was to abort the undesirable baby. He made a mistake, which he credited to faulty ultra sound equipment, and aborted the healthy child instead.
Did we think this could not happen?
Between 80-90% of all babies with genetic markers for Down syndrome are aborted in America. According to Dr. Al Mohler, President of the Southern Baptist Convention, children have become a consumer product. We pick and choose which child we want and which we do not want.
In China, this practice is focused on female babies, since law limits parents to only one child. Today, boys out-number girls, to such a significant degree, that sociologists and others are worried about a number of possibilities: a larger expansion of the international kidnapping of girls that is now a Chinese cottage industry, sex-trafficking, war or an increase in homosexuality.
One can only wonder where circumstances and human nature will take a society that abandons objective morality in favor of what appears to “work.”
Our shock at the doctor who aborted the wrong baby? Selective outrage!
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
There's Only Two Messages Being Proclaimed
In the world of men there are only two messages being offered. One is from God, the other isn't! God's message emanates from The Bible: The Revelation of God to man. The other comes from seducing spirits and devils [I Tim. 4:1]
We like to believe in the neutrality of ideas and standards. One society adopts this standard, the other adopts a conflicting standard. But both standards seem to work for each. The reality is that every message is packaged in a philosophy; in a worldview; in a religious context. These messages offer hope and prosperity to those who embrace them.
Societies reflect the messages they embrace. It is a fact of life that what we believe drives how we live. Americans, in the 21st century, have come to believe in everything and in nothing. Post-modern relativism has given way to the frustration of nihilism: nothing is any better than anything else. Everything is equally good/right. Traditional structures aren't important. Objective moral values are not necessary.
The result is a socio-political, religious reality that offers no emotional/rational footholds, nor hand-holds from which to stabilize ourselves and launch onto solid ground. Our entire stystem is floating on the sea of subjectivism and the "now."
The Bible calls this "doctrines of devils" [I Tim. 4:1]. The context is spiritual understanding. But what's true in our spiritual orientation flows over into every other area of life. What you believe about God, sin, salvation and right living, affects every area of your life.
American Christians gave heed to the seducing spirits of religious liberalism in the early 20th century. We ignored the seductive humanistic philosophy that took over American Education, in the mid-twentieth century. We were conflicted about the seducing spirits of the sexual and feminist revolutions, in the 1960's and 1970's. And we never really saw the socialism that steadily crept into our political and economic life, over the last 30 years.
Christian doctrine, characterized in The Bible as "the faith," has always stood against the "doctrines of devils," and the "seducing spirits" of compromise. It has been The Church of Jesus Christ which provided the moral conscience and authority of this nation, protecting us from our own selfishness and moral decline.
But God told us that "in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils." the result will be Christians [so-called] who speak lies instead of truth. Lies even they don't believe nor follow. They will corrupt people without fear or recrimination, their conscience seared as with a hot iron.
When the story of America's decline is written, it will include The Church. Had she not departed from the faith. Had Christians not given heed to seducing spirits. Had the doctrines of devils not been brought into The Church, citizen-leaders would have been less likely to abandon Truth for a 'mess of pottage.'
We like to believe in the neutrality of ideas and standards. One society adopts this standard, the other adopts a conflicting standard. But both standards seem to work for each. The reality is that every message is packaged in a philosophy; in a worldview; in a religious context. These messages offer hope and prosperity to those who embrace them.
Societies reflect the messages they embrace. It is a fact of life that what we believe drives how we live. Americans, in the 21st century, have come to believe in everything and in nothing. Post-modern relativism has given way to the frustration of nihilism: nothing is any better than anything else. Everything is equally good/right. Traditional structures aren't important. Objective moral values are not necessary.
The result is a socio-political, religious reality that offers no emotional/rational footholds, nor hand-holds from which to stabilize ourselves and launch onto solid ground. Our entire stystem is floating on the sea of subjectivism and the "now."
The Bible calls this "doctrines of devils" [I Tim. 4:1]. The context is spiritual understanding. But what's true in our spiritual orientation flows over into every other area of life. What you believe about God, sin, salvation and right living, affects every area of your life.
American Christians gave heed to the seducing spirits of religious liberalism in the early 20th century. We ignored the seductive humanistic philosophy that took over American Education, in the mid-twentieth century. We were conflicted about the seducing spirits of the sexual and feminist revolutions, in the 1960's and 1970's. And we never really saw the socialism that steadily crept into our political and economic life, over the last 30 years.
Christian doctrine, characterized in The Bible as "the faith," has always stood against the "doctrines of devils," and the "seducing spirits" of compromise. It has been The Church of Jesus Christ which provided the moral conscience and authority of this nation, protecting us from our own selfishness and moral decline.
But God told us that "in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils." the result will be Christians [so-called] who speak lies instead of truth. Lies even they don't believe nor follow. They will corrupt people without fear or recrimination, their conscience seared as with a hot iron.
When the story of America's decline is written, it will include The Church. Had she not departed from the faith. Had Christians not given heed to seducing spirits. Had the doctrines of devils not been brought into The Church, citizen-leaders would have been less likely to abandon Truth for a 'mess of pottage.'
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Social Justice v. Christian Charity
Glenn Beck stirred it up last week, encouraging Christians (or at least Church-goers) to check their church websites and/or other documents, to see if the words, "social justice" or "economic justice" appeared. If so, he said, leave your church!
At issue is Beck's belief that these terms are code words for the liberal, progressive, anti-American philosophy of forced social change and not charity.
Al Mohler, President of the Southern Baptist Convention, wrote to correct Beck for his rash statement, claiming it "lacked nuance, fair consideration and context." His thesis was: instead of exiting churches that favor social justice, we should exit any church which has abandoned The Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
My opinion is, except for church groups which are ignorant of the terminology and political implications of the phrase, social justice, the two are the same! It's the Liberal Churches, for the most part, that favor Social Justice. These are the same churches which have abandoned The Gospel in favor of a Social Gospel. One that focuses on man's earthly condition and not his eternal soul.
For those pushing for Social Justice, the phrase is but a euphemism for redistribution of wealth. Christian charity gives to relieve suffering. Social Justice seeks to balance society in terms of material things.
Look as long as you like and you will not find the word "social" in front of either "justice" or "gospel" anywhere in the Bible. If you find these phrases, anywhere, you will find they are perversions of the originals.
Religious Social Justice does not demonstrate the love, mercy or justice of God. Instead, it exalts political correctness, multiculturalism, progressive ideals and the advancement of an earthly kingdom instead of the work of Christ upon the Cross.
True Christians have no political agenda. Their purpose is to preach The Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, knowing that IT is the power of God unto salvation for all who believe. And in believing, people are transformed, spiritually and morally.
Enough transformed citizens and the society changes....for good.
Along the way, Christians in this country have an obligation to preserve, to the extent possible under law, our political heritage. This is because our political heritage is largely Christian! The Liberal, Socialist, Progressive philosophies are not about justice at all. They are about power and the elimination of Liberty.
At issue is Beck's belief that these terms are code words for the liberal, progressive, anti-American philosophy of forced social change and not charity.
Al Mohler, President of the Southern Baptist Convention, wrote to correct Beck for his rash statement, claiming it "lacked nuance, fair consideration and context." His thesis was: instead of exiting churches that favor social justice, we should exit any church which has abandoned The Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
My opinion is, except for church groups which are ignorant of the terminology and political implications of the phrase, social justice, the two are the same! It's the Liberal Churches, for the most part, that favor Social Justice. These are the same churches which have abandoned The Gospel in favor of a Social Gospel. One that focuses on man's earthly condition and not his eternal soul.
For those pushing for Social Justice, the phrase is but a euphemism for redistribution of wealth. Christian charity gives to relieve suffering. Social Justice seeks to balance society in terms of material things.
Look as long as you like and you will not find the word "social" in front of either "justice" or "gospel" anywhere in the Bible. If you find these phrases, anywhere, you will find they are perversions of the originals.
Religious Social Justice does not demonstrate the love, mercy or justice of God. Instead, it exalts political correctness, multiculturalism, progressive ideals and the advancement of an earthly kingdom instead of the work of Christ upon the Cross.
True Christians have no political agenda. Their purpose is to preach The Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, knowing that IT is the power of God unto salvation for all who believe. And in believing, people are transformed, spiritually and morally.
Enough transformed citizens and the society changes....for good.
Along the way, Christians in this country have an obligation to preserve, to the extent possible under law, our political heritage. This is because our political heritage is largely Christian! The Liberal, Socialist, Progressive philosophies are not about justice at all. They are about power and the elimination of Liberty.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
We Are About To Be Deemed Irrelevant
In the not-too-distant-past, in America, every child and every adult shared a common morality. They did not express it perfectly. They did not express it consistently. But we all knew what was right and what was wrong.
A stranger could correct your child for wrong behavior and you would appreciate it. Not only that, but the child would respond to it and change whatever they were doing. This behavior, on the part of the child, would be done with respect and politeness.
The moral standard we all shared, was biblical. It was the standard handed down through the Levitical Law and the Commandments of Jesus. It was taught in Public Schools and in Churches. It was taught in homes and in the public square. It was not oppressive, it was protective.
And it's gone! When it left, it took our American Heritage with it. All we're left with is the shell. We have a semblance of decency in our public face but behind that there is nothing of value to stand upon. Truth is whatever I want it to be. Character is whatever I think it to be. Every family, every community, every business has a different value-system. Words don't even mean what you think they mean.
And now, the U.S. House of Representatives is about to "Deem" the Health Care Bill to have passed, without ever voting to pass it!
Did you think you would live long enough to see the United States of America being sold down the river on this flimsy raft? Once Health Care becomes Law, it will grow and expand, until it becomes what Canada has and what Europe has: another nail in the coffin of individualism and personal responsibility.
So called Christians are telling us this is a 'moral imperative.' This from the same Bible that tells us, "if a any would not work, neither should he eat." [II Thess. 3:10] The context is a condemnation of disorderliness in living.
Take away mans' responsibility and he suffers in ways that can only destroy the society that sought to do him good. Once freed from the constraints of duty and responsibility, he is free to satiate his desires in more trivial pursuits. The end result being a man, a family, society must now take care of, completely.
The voices of reason, responsibility, independence and all things constructive, have been deemed irrelevant. In their place has come a new "Master," a new "Slave Owner." It's name: Self. The humanist's god. A most voracious task-master. One who's appetite is never satisfied.
A stranger could correct your child for wrong behavior and you would appreciate it. Not only that, but the child would respond to it and change whatever they were doing. This behavior, on the part of the child, would be done with respect and politeness.
The moral standard we all shared, was biblical. It was the standard handed down through the Levitical Law and the Commandments of Jesus. It was taught in Public Schools and in Churches. It was taught in homes and in the public square. It was not oppressive, it was protective.
And it's gone! When it left, it took our American Heritage with it. All we're left with is the shell. We have a semblance of decency in our public face but behind that there is nothing of value to stand upon. Truth is whatever I want it to be. Character is whatever I think it to be. Every family, every community, every business has a different value-system. Words don't even mean what you think they mean.
And now, the U.S. House of Representatives is about to "Deem" the Health Care Bill to have passed, without ever voting to pass it!
Did you think you would live long enough to see the United States of America being sold down the river on this flimsy raft? Once Health Care becomes Law, it will grow and expand, until it becomes what Canada has and what Europe has: another nail in the coffin of individualism and personal responsibility.
So called Christians are telling us this is a 'moral imperative.' This from the same Bible that tells us, "if a any would not work, neither should he eat." [II Thess. 3:10] The context is a condemnation of disorderliness in living.
Take away mans' responsibility and he suffers in ways that can only destroy the society that sought to do him good. Once freed from the constraints of duty and responsibility, he is free to satiate his desires in more trivial pursuits. The end result being a man, a family, society must now take care of, completely.
The voices of reason, responsibility, independence and all things constructive, have been deemed irrelevant. In their place has come a new "Master," a new "Slave Owner." It's name: Self. The humanist's god. A most voracious task-master. One who's appetite is never satisfied.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
What's Right About A Wrong Goal?
Listen to the cat-fight that is Washington, today. Accusations and condemnations being hurled back and forth, across the aisle. Each political party claiming the High Road of honesty and integrity, all the while illustrating just the opposite.
Of course, it's not limited to Washington. We see and hear it in State Houses and City Halls all across the country. It's become so common that most of don't pay much attention to it anymore. We've come to expect elected officials to be corrupt or at least self-serving.
For Christians, however, the problem has become that we tend to support a policy, a person or a Party, when we ought to be supporting what's Right!
Take Health Care. What's right about the Federal Government taking over health care? The answer is: Nothing! So, why are we supporting one version of the Bill or another?
The Constitution does not support National Health Care. Our Founding Documents point us more toward individual responsibility. Any and all versions of a National Health Care Program threaten both our fiscal well being and the level of service we receive. Listen to the debate: To cut costs, services will be limited and providers will receive less.
Let me suggest something radical: Why don't we just do right?
"Right" is following the rules, being honest, listening to the people, creating a safe, productive environment within the bounds of decency and integrity.
"Right" is a government that protects it's citizens from foreign enemies, illegal immigration, unsafe products or practices and destructive inequities. This includes government intrusion into private affairs, unjust limitations on what citizens can do and say, confiscatory tax structures and "entitlement" programs.
Enthusiastic Christians are at risk of being co-opted and marginalized when they hitch their wagons to one political party or another; one political policy or another. The Bible calls this, zeal without knowledge.
Christians should be advocating for doing right, not for choosing one destructive idea over another. We are able, as a nation, to help those who are truly needy. We are NOT able to take care of everyone and doing so is morally and socially destructive.
No amount of lipstick is going to make this pig look good!
Of course, it's not limited to Washington. We see and hear it in State Houses and City Halls all across the country. It's become so common that most of don't pay much attention to it anymore. We've come to expect elected officials to be corrupt or at least self-serving.
For Christians, however, the problem has become that we tend to support a policy, a person or a Party, when we ought to be supporting what's Right!
Take Health Care. What's right about the Federal Government taking over health care? The answer is: Nothing! So, why are we supporting one version of the Bill or another?
The Constitution does not support National Health Care. Our Founding Documents point us more toward individual responsibility. Any and all versions of a National Health Care Program threaten both our fiscal well being and the level of service we receive. Listen to the debate: To cut costs, services will be limited and providers will receive less.
Let me suggest something radical: Why don't we just do right?
"Right" is following the rules, being honest, listening to the people, creating a safe, productive environment within the bounds of decency and integrity.
"Right" is a government that protects it's citizens from foreign enemies, illegal immigration, unsafe products or practices and destructive inequities. This includes government intrusion into private affairs, unjust limitations on what citizens can do and say, confiscatory tax structures and "entitlement" programs.
Enthusiastic Christians are at risk of being co-opted and marginalized when they hitch their wagons to one political party or another; one political policy or another. The Bible calls this, zeal without knowledge.
Christians should be advocating for doing right, not for choosing one destructive idea over another. We are able, as a nation, to help those who are truly needy. We are NOT able to take care of everyone and doing so is morally and socially destructive.
No amount of lipstick is going to make this pig look good!
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Only Two Cultures In The World
A recent report indicated that our children spend 7 1/2 hours a day with digital media: cell phones, internet, gaming, TV, iPods, etc. They text, tweet, chat and blog. They talk on their phones, text and send pictures back and forth. And on the internet they not only use the video chat rooms, they have access to every sewer and cesspool in the world!
Once upon a time, parents "programed" their children with the family value system. They controlled what children saw, heard and did. They controlled what they ate and where they went. The end-product was an adult who understood, at least, even if he did not embrace the family value system.
Today, this model is seen as restrictive. We are not convinced a child can grow up balanced unless he or she is exposed to every evil, nasty, degrading and disgusting thing the world has to offer. We certainly don't want them shielded. What will happen to them when they are released into the world? They won't be prepared. The world will eat them alive!
Maybe. But consider this: is it better for a child to be desensitized to sin, or to be shielded from it so that when he encounters it, he is shocked?
Do we want our children to grow up accepting of evil or convinced they will either "get caught" or be damaged by contact with it?
I think we need to ask ourselves: "How's this new morality working out?" How's this new parenting program doing? Is it producing a better product? Every study says No! And even a casual look around would support those conclusions.
We have probably the smartest, most talented bunch of kids the world has ever seen. And, yet we can't educate them, we can't protect them and we can't give them hope. They seem hooked on sensual gratification, whether it's music, entertainment or drugs. The boys want to "party" until they're 35 years of age. Boys and girls want the fulfillment of a relationship without 'benefit of clergy.' And the girls still want babies (at some point), whether or not the fathers are around for the long haul.
Where is all this taking us? Certainly we are not improving, as a society. Our penchant for freedom and a non-judgmental social contract is driving us into distinction as a culture.
The reality is: There are only two cultures in the world: One is a godly culture the other isn't. And, even Christian parents are rejecting the godly one. Why? Because they don't want to be 'the bad guy.' Well, being the 'bad guy' is what parenting is about.
Once upon a time, parents "programed" their children with the family value system. They controlled what children saw, heard and did. They controlled what they ate and where they went. The end-product was an adult who understood, at least, even if he did not embrace the family value system.
Today, this model is seen as restrictive. We are not convinced a child can grow up balanced unless he or she is exposed to every evil, nasty, degrading and disgusting thing the world has to offer. We certainly don't want them shielded. What will happen to them when they are released into the world? They won't be prepared. The world will eat them alive!
Maybe. But consider this: is it better for a child to be desensitized to sin, or to be shielded from it so that when he encounters it, he is shocked?
Do we want our children to grow up accepting of evil or convinced they will either "get caught" or be damaged by contact with it?
I think we need to ask ourselves: "How's this new morality working out?" How's this new parenting program doing? Is it producing a better product? Every study says No! And even a casual look around would support those conclusions.
We have probably the smartest, most talented bunch of kids the world has ever seen. And, yet we can't educate them, we can't protect them and we can't give them hope. They seem hooked on sensual gratification, whether it's music, entertainment or drugs. The boys want to "party" until they're 35 years of age. Boys and girls want the fulfillment of a relationship without 'benefit of clergy.' And the girls still want babies (at some point), whether or not the fathers are around for the long haul.
Where is all this taking us? Certainly we are not improving, as a society. Our penchant for freedom and a non-judgmental social contract is driving us into distinction as a culture.
The reality is: There are only two cultures in the world: One is a godly culture the other isn't. And, even Christian parents are rejecting the godly one. Why? Because they don't want to be 'the bad guy.' Well, being the 'bad guy' is what parenting is about.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Will The Church Go Through The Tribulation?
The answer to this question is either YES or NO, or MAYBE, depending on who you ask.
Beware the person who makes elaborate efforts at defining words or explaining grammar, to make his point. The answer is not that hard, nor is it that complicated.
The Church is a unique organism. It is called a "Mystery" because it was unknown until God revealed it to us, through Christ. It is the "wild olive branch" which is "grafted in," now that Israel has been "cut off" for a while. [Rom 11]
It is called the Body of Christ, as each member is baptized into it at the moment of salvation [I Cor. 12:13].
It is called The Bride of Christ [Eph. 5], with Jesus her Bridegroom.
And it is called a Temple: the temple of God on earth. [Eph. 2:21,22]
The Church is said to be 'saved from wrath' through justification [Rom. 5:9]
And...not appointed unto wrath [I Thess. 5:9]. The wrath which God has "revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men... [Rom. 1:18]
Jesus promised another 'comforter' Whom The Father would send, once He was gone. This Comforter would indwell believers (The Church) to convict the world of sin. [Jn. 16:8]
In simple terms: This 'Mystery' had a beginning, with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. It is now the 'holy nation' of God, which will be the focus of God's blessings until Israel is restored, when 'the times of the Gentiles be come in.' [Rom. 11:25,26] And thus all Israel shall be saved.
And it will have an ending:
Before Israel is saved
Before God's wrath is poured out on those who dwell upon the earth [Rev. 3]
When The Comforter is removed, revealing the Man of sin [II Thess. 2]
When Jesus 'descends from heaven' [I Thess 4]
There is no "Church Ministry" in the Great Tribulation.
The Gospel preached is not the same as that preached today.
During the Tribulation, God is not building His Church.
During the Tribulation, God is not dwelling upon the earth.
Tribulation wrath is for earth-dwellers: The nations & Israel.
Christians are not earth-dwellers [Col. 2:20; 3:1]
The doctrines which have to be corrupted to allow The Church to go through The Tribulation are many. The Doctrine of The Church, The Holy Spirit & Salvation are the main ones.
Paul wrote to the Thessalonians about the coming of Christ and told them not to worry. He said the coming of Christ is not something they should be concerned about. The "coming" in view, with 'times and seasons' is all about "them" not us. I Thess 5
It's all about your hermeneutic and whether or not you use a sound exegesis. Without this, you are able to make the scriptures say almost anything.
Beware the person who makes elaborate efforts at defining words or explaining grammar, to make his point. The answer is not that hard, nor is it that complicated.
The Church is a unique organism. It is called a "Mystery" because it was unknown until God revealed it to us, through Christ. It is the "wild olive branch" which is "grafted in," now that Israel has been "cut off" for a while. [Rom 11]
It is called the Body of Christ, as each member is baptized into it at the moment of salvation [I Cor. 12:13].
It is called The Bride of Christ [Eph. 5], with Jesus her Bridegroom.
And it is called a Temple: the temple of God on earth. [Eph. 2:21,22]
The Church is said to be 'saved from wrath' through justification [Rom. 5:9]
And...not appointed unto wrath [I Thess. 5:9]. The wrath which God has "revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men... [Rom. 1:18]
Jesus promised another 'comforter' Whom The Father would send, once He was gone. This Comforter would indwell believers (The Church) to convict the world of sin. [Jn. 16:8]
In simple terms: This 'Mystery' had a beginning, with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. It is now the 'holy nation' of God, which will be the focus of God's blessings until Israel is restored, when 'the times of the Gentiles be come in.' [Rom. 11:25,26] And thus all Israel shall be saved.
And it will have an ending:
Before Israel is saved
Before God's wrath is poured out on those who dwell upon the earth [Rev. 3]
When The Comforter is removed, revealing the Man of sin [II Thess. 2]
When Jesus 'descends from heaven' [I Thess 4]
There is no "Church Ministry" in the Great Tribulation.
The Gospel preached is not the same as that preached today.
During the Tribulation, God is not building His Church.
During the Tribulation, God is not dwelling upon the earth.
Tribulation wrath is for earth-dwellers: The nations & Israel.
Christians are not earth-dwellers [Col. 2:20; 3:1]
The doctrines which have to be corrupted to allow The Church to go through The Tribulation are many. The Doctrine of The Church, The Holy Spirit & Salvation are the main ones.
Paul wrote to the Thessalonians about the coming of Christ and told them not to worry. He said the coming of Christ is not something they should be concerned about. The "coming" in view, with 'times and seasons' is all about "them" not us. I Thess 5
It's all about your hermeneutic and whether or not you use a sound exegesis. Without this, you are able to make the scriptures say almost anything.
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