Tag: Education

The Fruit of Evolution is Devastating to YOU! (Part 2)

On By Dr. Lloyd StebbinsIn American Culture, American Exceptionalism, Baby Boomers, Church, Education, Freedom, God's Love, Government, Judeo-Christian CultureLeave a comment

Part 1 considered the power, pervasive, and culture-changing fruit of evolution as well as the chaos that it produces. It has infected every area of life. The reasoning, increasingly accepted since Darwin’s publications, is that if life actually evolved, then virtually every area of human endeavor should be subject to the principles of evolution.

Choices of a businessman

For example, in the late 19th Century, Harvard University President Charles William Eliot worked to apply evolutionary principles to education and legal study. His appointed Dean of Harvard Law School, Christopher Columbus Langdell created the evolutionary “stream of law.” From that point on, the law was no longer fixed; it had to “evolve” with the times.

The principles of evolution have also been infused into the fields of education, sociology, psychology, and liberal religion. Virtually every major institution had become evolutionary in practice:

  • Media—From truth/fact driven to agenda driven
  • Politics—From protection of individual freedom/liberty to government control of the masses
  • Entertainment—From moral to amoral
  • Education—From educating the whole person and building character to training in skills needed for a career
  • Family—From centered to career-centered
  • Liberal religion—From Judeo-Christian tradition to Humanism, cloaked in religious language.

Many would agree that evolutionary thinking moves society from the desirable to the undesirable. What actually happened? By definition anything or any culture that evolves moves from point A to point B.

Point B is largely unknown, but it can be expected to include high levels of stress, nearly uncontrollable anxiety, painful interpersonal relationships and breakups, all while preserving the “right” to unlimited short-term, selfish, hedonistic, frequently sexual, pleasures traditionally regarded as sinful. Eventually, the evolutionary thinking of Point B leads to cultural chaos and tyrannical government control in some totalitarian form.

In short, Point B is the cultural analog of the Second Law of Thermodynamics: The randomness of the universe is constantly increasing, i.e. moving from order to disorder. The absence of anchor-like moral boundaries leads to ultimate cultural disorder that can only be controlled by unlimited power of the self-appointed elite.

In contrast, Point A is clearly known. It is the anchor. It is what made America strong, great, and the envy of the world. America has been exceptional for hundreds of years because of Judeo-Christian tradition and its life principles. America was founded on those principles and hung on to them for hundreds of years.

America has been exceptional, not because the people are exceptional, but because God is exceptional. As long as the people of America and later the United States looked to God as the source of everything, we have been blessed beyond belief. As the people increasingly use the theory of evolution to conclude that there is no god and the American culture drifts further away from God, His incredible hand of blessing is being removed.

America is moving, at an accelerating pace, from Judeo-Christian stability that evokes predominantly selfless people to Humanist instability that fractures and eventually decimates the culture as increasingly selfish people demand their “rights,” with progressive violence.

Evolutionary change in any field of human endeavor moves away from the anchor. The starting point for America has always been God. The continual movement away from God is fearsome to contemplate. In The Brothers Karamazov, Fyodor Dostoyevsky wrote, “If the is no God then everything is permissible.”

Woe to those who call evil good and good evil,

who change darkness into light and light into darkness,

who change bitter into sweet and sweet into bitter! (Isiah 5:20)

“Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin condemns any people.”

[Proverbs 14:34 NIV]

In short, the fruit of evolution is rotten to the core and should not be tasted much less eaten. It produces terminal cultural disease. In direct contrast, the fruit of God’s Spirit is, “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” [Galatians 5:22-23 KJV] Only a restoration of Biblical living or at least a desire for Biblical living can save our beloved America.

Would you choose to live at a stable Point A, which the Founders intended to last to posterity or would you choose to live at an ever-changing, ever-decaying Point B? Would you like your children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and beyond to live a Point A or Point B? Unless YOU act NOW, the portion of the population living at Point B will continue to rapidly increase and the portion living at Point A will dwindle nearly as fast.

Pray often for God’s direct intervention as the greatest awakening of all time. Meanwhile, encourage and train your people to actively defend our God-given freedoms, the God-created family, limit the man-created government and vote wisely for candidates of strong character. The Founders did not merely refer to the importance of informed voting. They referred to casting the sacred vote.

What does it take to wake up the body of believers?

What does it take to wake up the clergy?

The Fruit of Evolution is Devastating to YOU!

On By Dr. Lloyd StebbinsIn American Culture, American Exceptionalism, Baby Boomers, Church, Education, Family, Freedom, God's Love, Government, Judeo-Christian Culture2 Comments

“By their fruit you will know them” is another way of saying, “Actions speak louder than words.” Evolution is far more than an academic controversy. It permeates every aspect of life, in many ways seldom contemplated.

Office chaos

For a moment, sidestep the controversy regarding biological evolution. Full disclosure: This writer has devoted an entire chapter of his upcoming book to the flaws and fallacies of biological evolution and about a page to on his blog site to achieve the same objective. Numerous other writers have done the same.

Nevertheless, the concept of evolution is embedded in our culture, especially in the public school systems. For now, consider the “fruit” or the long-term effects of evolution. The first fruit spawned Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution was a worldwide eugenics movement.

The eugenics movement began in the late 19th Century and continued up until World War II. Movement leaders reasoned that if evolution was true, then man could help it move faster along an intellectually desirable path. After all, man had been breeding horses and dogs for centuries. Why not people?

Eugenics propelled the adoption of laws enabling the killing or sterilizing of people not considered “useful” or people who should no longer be allowed to reproduce, as determined by bureaucratic “wisdom.” Scary? You bet!

Such decisions could be based on age, physical or mental limitations, or race. Years later, during the post-WWII Nuremburg trials, the highest level Nazis cited actual American eugenics laws as part of their defense.

Karl Marx considered Darwin’s work scientific support for forced socialism and even offered to dedicate one of his books to Darwin. The result? Every 20th Century genocide! A very clear paper trail reveals that Adolf Hitler was convinced that he was helping evolution (42,000,000 deaths; 5,700,000 Jews).

Josef Stalin was “helping evolution” (30,000,000 deaths). Evolution-driven Mao Tse-Tung was responsible for 50,000,000 deaths. There were millions more deaths resulting from the Stalin-drive Holodomor (forced starvation in the Ukraine and in Pol Pot’s “killing fields.” Furthermore, in the United States alone, there have been about 60,000,000 evolution-driven deaths caused by abortion.

But there is far more. Evolution has infected every area of life. The reasoning, increasingly accepted since Darwin’s publications, is that if life actually evolved, then virtually every area of human endeavor should be subject to the principles of evolution. Part 2 will examine how evolution affects YOU personally and what to do about it.

What does it take to wake up the body of believers?

What does it take to wake up the clergy?

Government is force!

On By Dr. Lloyd StebbinsIn American Culture, American Exceptionalism, Baby Boomers, Church, Education, Freedom, God's Love, Government, Judeo-Christian CultureLeave a comment

“Government is not reason; it is not eloquence; it is force! Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master.”                                                                       George Washington

banknote in one American dollar closeup

America and Believers Go From Selfless to Selfish! (Part 3)

On By Dr. Lloyd StebbinsIn American Culture, American Exceptionalism, Baby Boomers, Church, Education, Family, Government, Judeo-Christian Culture, Marriage5 Comments

Personal Responsibility

Judeo-Christian tradition insists on personal responsibility, meaning that each individual is responsible for the consequences of both selfless and selfish behaviors. Each individual will enjoy the benefits of selfless behaviors and live with the extended pain of the selfish behaviors, without external intervention.

Secular Humanism minimizes personal responsibility and readily accepts claims shifting the blame to others. Government programs, euphemistically called ‘entitlement programs,’ often pay for and therefore reward the consequences of sin. Examples include the vast bureaucracies designed to support divorce, government-financed abortion, child care, and alternative lifestyles. The table compares the ultimate outcomes of both lifestyles. In effect, the government is saying we are entitled to sin.

Selfless Living Assures

Selfish Living Breaks Down

Bullet proof marriage

 Marriage

Cohesive family

 Family
Sustainable culture

Culture

National Stability to Posterity

Nation

Sin hides in the darkness; love thrives in the light. Sin and love always have opposing consequences that ripple through the third and fourth generation. Selfish behavior puts career first. Selfless behavior puts family first.

To fully understand the benefits of selfless living contrasted with the ultimate pain of selfish living, we must understand the enormity of the gap between good and evil; God and Satan; and love and sin. Compare sinfulness and godliness.

Sinfulness

Sinfulness is a mindset predisposed to sin and satisfying the needs and desires of self. Sin is natural and reinforced by modern culture. Sin is driven by pride, always selfish and at the expense of others, typically many others. Sinfulness leads to the addictive use of technology, sex without marriage, cohabitation, abortion, giving up a child for adoption, premature use of a nursing home, divorce, adultery, illegal drugs, gambling, pornography, gay/lesbian couple adoption, excessive materialism, time/money devoted to self-indulgence, and the avoidance of marriage and children.

Abortion is a crime against God and the unborn baby; it is not birth control

Sin blocks or destroys a person’s desire to share faith with others; Love magnifies (amplifies) the desire to share faith. Love simply overflows from the selfless believer.

Godliness

Judeo-Christian godliness is a mindset predisposed to love and satisfying the needs and desires of others. Due to inborn pride, godliness is unnatural. It usually grows slowly and can only be protected and reinforced by surrounding oneself with likeminded believers. God never intended the believer to stand alone.

One cannot live for God, family, and others apart from the enabling power of the Holy Spirit, especially in today’s “everybody’s doing it” culture. Believers must be surrounded by faithful people who do not engage in the self-centered lifestyle. Standing alone against powerful Humanistic cultural pressure, constantly amplified by the news and advertising media, commercial entertainment, politicians, and academia, is a bit like spitting into an oncoming tsunami.

God blesses the life of those who wait and their descendants through the third and fourth generations with:

  • Fullness of marriage
  • Devotion of children
  • Comfort of lasting love
  • Certainty of faithfulness
  • Less stress
  • Less anxiety

Compare God’s many blessings with the modern predisposition to sacrifice marriage, by avoidance or divorce, and sacrifice children, by not having them or by allowing them to be raised by strangers. How many of the selfish behaviors have you personally experienced? How many have you actively or tacitly endorsed among your friends (HINT: Silence is an endorsement.)?

Has the comfort of other compromisers scarred your conscience or is there still room for the piercing conviction of God’s Word? The transformation to a true Judeo-Christian culture can only happen one person at a time. It begins with YOU. You MUST take a stand, supported by other believers, rather than compromise and seek the support of other compromisers. Spread God’s love every waking moment and vote for candidates of strong character.

What does it take to wake up the body of believers?

What does it take to wake up the clergy?

America and Believers Go From Selfless to Selfish! (Part 2)

On By Dr. Lloyd StebbinsIn Abortion, American Culture, American Exceptionalism, Baby Boomers, Church, Family, Father, Freedom, Judeo-Christian Culture, Love, Marriage, Mother1 Comment

All Behavior has Specific Worldview Roots

World Globalization International Life Planet Concept

Selfish behavior is promoted by the Humanist worldview, provides short-term happiness leading to long-term pain, excessive personal stress and lasting uncertainty as well as broken families and cultural chaos. There are profoundly negative consequences to self, those within immediate contact, and continue to ripple through many others. Such behaviors are called sinful, because they are offensive to God and at the expense of others. Nevertheless, the apparent attractiveness of the short-term delight is so powerful that large numbers of people will go for it, regardless of the cost. Have YOU ever succumbed to the siren call? How did it work out for you?

Selfless behavior is promoted by the Judeo-Christian worldview, provides long-term, soul-deep joy, life satisfaction, greater certainty, strong families, a sustainable culture, less stress and reduced anxiety. However, the life enriching benefits do not come easily because they emerge slowly and seem a bit abstract compared to the immediate physical thrills of the Hedonistic pursuit of personal pleasure. Waiting is unnatural, especially in the modern culture, which demands instant everything. Still, the wonderful rewards are absolutely worth the pursuit and the wait!

For now, consider that many of the selfish behaviors are incited by the natural and powerful attraction between a man and a woman. The lure of physical intimacy can become nearly uncontrollable, especially in our modern American culture that has separated sex from love. Life is far more beautiful than when they are combined within the context of the marriage created by God.

Sex is the Capstone

Sex is the capstone of a loving, godly, relationship after two people have bonded intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually. After a couple is married, physical intimacy “seals the deal.” Premature or illicit sex is such a powerful and bonding experience that it renders the parties virtually powerless to determine whether or not they are good candidates for a life-long marriage. Love has been sidetracked by lust.

The consequences of all sin ripples. Selfish behaviors always negatively affects others (many others). The particular consequences of sexual sin include:

  • sexually transmitted disease, which may cause death or result in lifelong medically forced abstinence
  • pregnancy and the stresses of dealing with an out of wedlock pregnancy
  • scarred and loss of rich and lasting family and other interpersonal relationships
  • damaged relationship with God
  • negative consequences rippling through family and friends for up to four generations

The reward of waiting, for physical intimacy until after marriage is a lifelong commitment and faithfulness of spouse and children. Sex and love cannot be separated without huge negative consequences that are painful and lasting. Rewards of waiting far exceed the apparent benefits of caving in to temptation.

Part 3 considers the impact of the acceptance or rejection of personal responsibility on individuals, families, and the American culture as well as a comparison of sinfulness and godliness as applied to daily living.

What does it take to wake up the body of believers?

What does it take to wake up the clergy?

America and Believers Go From Selfless to Selfish!

On By Dr. Lloyd StebbinsIn American Culture, Church, Education, Family, Judeo-Christian Culture, Marriage3 Comments

The rapidly growing rate of selfishness among Judeo-Christian believers is astonishing! The cultural collapse of America and the collateral collapse within the body of believers is the result of large numbers of believers moving away from God. Virtually every family, social, and cultural controversy is rooted in and caused by historically unprecedented indifference among Judeo-Christian believers.

The number of people caught in the cultural drift increases with each successive generation. The inevitable consequence is a migration from God-inspired selfless behavior to Humanist-inspired selfish behavior, from stability to instability, from order to chaos and from limited government by the people to a metastasized increasingly tyrannical government, controlling the people.

Only YOU can stop and reverse the ungodly drift. If you want your children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and beyond to grow up in the culture we inherited up until the mid-1960s, YOU must trade your indifference for a positive and aggressive effort to make a difference. Not convinced? Consider the table.

Americans and Believers Go From Selfless to Selfish
Selfless Behavior Selfish Behavior
Frequent lifestyle giving Addictive use of technology
Sex without marriage
Willingness to wait for what is right Cohabitation
Abortion
Willingness to wait for others Give up child for adoption
Premature use of nursing home
Seek godly marriage Divorce
Adultery
Eagerness for children Illegal drugs
Gambling
Avoid selfish behavior Pornography
Materialism
Time/money devoted to the needs of others Time/money devoted to self-satisfaction
Avoid marriage/children
Gay/lesbian couple adoption

 

Each of the listed selfish behaviors are so common today that they are considered to be a “new norm.” Tragically, the rates of divorce and abortion among conservative believers are statistically indistinguishable from the rates among atheists and agnostics. The same is likely true of the other selfish behaviors as well. Whatever the churches and synagogues have been doing for the last 40 years clearly is not working.

People tend to perceive “normal” as the conditions that existed while they were growing up. Later, changing conditions are perceived as abnormal and discomforting, producing criticism of the rising generation. Conversely, as the younger generation experiences a new normal, they tend to criticize their predecessors as old fashioned and out of touch with the times. The pattern is so culturally ingrained that it is taken for granted. However, modern America has produced conditions that are distinctly new in American history.

The generation that grew up prior to the mid-1960s experienced an American culture that was largely driven by Judeo-Christian tradition and values. Their normal was essentially the same normal that was experienced by all generations for the last 400 years on this continent, beginning with the earliest settlers. It was the same value system experienced by hundreds Judeo-Christian generations before anyone ever came to America. Consequently, the widespread acceptance of selfish behaviors today is the real abnormal. The devastating behaviors are not simply different from the previous generation; they fly in the face of thousands of years of deep-rooted stability established by God.

Part 2 will demonstrate that all behavior is rooted in a specific worldview and many behaviors are related to the use and abuse of physical intimacy.

What does it take to wake up the body of believers?

What does it take to wake up the clergy?

Politics and Religion are Inescapably Linked

On By Dr. Lloyd StebbinsIn American Culture, American Exceptionalism, Baby Boomers, Church, Education, God's Love, Government, Judeo-Christian Culture3 Comments

 

Have you ever heard someone say, “I never talk about politics or religion?” Good heavens, why not? Those two define who you are, what you think, choices you make and how you act. If those discussions are off limits, what is left to talk about—the weather, sports scores, latest fashions, and what’s for dinner? How boring is that?

Politics and Religion

The self-imposed boundary is particularly egregious for Judeo-Christian believers. “I never talk about politics or religion” is something a Judeo-Christian believer must never say. It is a betrayal of God, faith, and other believers. Capitulation to political correctness—which always sugar coats the poison pill of sin—substantially interferes with the believer’s relationship and obligations to God. Political correctness is simply the Humanist’s tool designed to shut down the Judeo-Christian worldview. Consider God’s commands in Deuteronomy:

Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds…Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them on the door frames of our houses and on your gates, so that your days and the days of your children may be many… [Deuteronomy 11:18-21 NIV]

We are commanded by God to talk about scripture virtually all the time, teach it to our children, and advertise it outside our home. It is not possible for a believer to be completely saturated with God’s words and His love, without that love spilling out in every area of life. Just to make sure, God warns anyone suppressing His love, because of political correctness. “Be careful, or you will be enticed to turn away and worship other gods and bow down to them. Then the Lord’s anger will burn against you…and you will soon perish from the good land the Lord is giving you.” [Deuteronomy 11: 16-17 NIV]

To have an impact on our surrounding culture, we must be able to freely, enthusiastically, and lovingly discuss politics and religion. When political correctness silences the Judeo-Christian worldview, the Humanist worldview aggressively fills the vacuum with little opposition or hindrance.

Politics is an expression of religion which is an outgrowth of our worldview. All political issues have spiritual roots. Our religious and political views emerge from one of just two worldviews that are an earthly manifestation of the eternal battle between good and evil, God and Satan.

Consider the graphic. It qualitatively displays the conservative to liberal religious spectrum horizontally and the conservative to liberal political spectrum vertically. Conservative religion and conservative politics at the lower left visually exhibit the Judeo-Christian worldview. Why? Because the believer relies on God (not government). Government is sharply restrained by the U.S. Constitution. It is the only worldview that assures a sustainable American culture, where the family reigns supreme, God-given freedom is treasured, and the passions of men are voluntarily restrained by their faith in God.

In contrast, Humanist religion and liberal politics at the upper right visually display the ultimate Humanist worldview that God does not exist. Man has declared himself to be his own god. The Humanist relies on government (not God). Growth of government is largely unrestrained, because of the belief that the “best and brightest,” whoever they are, should be vested with whatever authority and resources are necessary for them to make decisions for the rest of us.

The elite decision-makers are convinced that the rest of us are not capable of making basic life decisions. The Humanist road is a pathway to cancerous government growth, eventual self-destruction, and chaos. The family is optional and has a structure that defies definition. Freedom arises from the grace of government and is strategically dribbled out as a means of controlling the people.

Occasionally, a Humanist with a liberal mindset, perhaps cultivated in a liberal church or by childhood memories of religious training will remind the rest of us that scripture tells us to feed the poor, clothe the naked, care for the sick, and visit those in prison. However, those admonitions were directed at individuals and small groups that later became known as churches. When the government coopts those important tasks, its actions are both inefficient and deficient.

When the government does anything, it is financially inefficient (read wasteful) and an inefficient use of the labor of the employees. More importantly, government actions are emotionally and spiritually deficient. For example, the concept of mercy is elegantly explained by Portia during her famous courtroom speech in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice:

The quality of mercy is not strain’d;

It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven

Upon the place beneath: it is twice bless’d;

It blesseth him that gives, and him that takes:

‘Tis mightiest in the mightiest: it becomes’

The thronéd monarch better than his crown;

His scepter shows the force of temporal power,

The attribute to awe and majesty,

Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings;

But mercy is above this sceptered sway;

It is enthronéd in the hearts of kings,

It is an attribute to God himself;

And earthly power doth then show likest God’s

When mercy seasons justice.

Portia proclaims that the “quality of mercy…is twice bless’d; It blesseth him that gives and him that takes” and is “above this sceptered sway” (above government). Finally, “It is an attribute to God himself.”

When God directly instructs us in scripture to feed the poor, clothe the naked, care for the sick, and visit those in prison each effort is intended to bless the beneficent as well as those who benefit. When the government undertakes the same activities, the people and churches are robbed of the blessings and character building opportunities that result from giving. (Personal note: I’ve never been blessed by paying taxes.).

Most schools, including Ivy League universities, were started by churches to enable people to read the Bible for themselves and build strong character. The early Ivy League universities were established to prepare young men for the ministry. Most hospitals were created by the churches. Later, the schools and health care were commandeered by the government, with honorable intentions and still later commanded by the government with less than honorable intentions.

When people claim to hold conservative religious views and liberal political views or vice versa, their faith has been compromised to accept and support some degree of Humanism. The claim to be a “moderate” is even worse.

I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were either one or the other. So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. You say, “I am rich, I have acquired wealth, and do not need a thing. But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked… [Revelation 3:15-17 NIV]

Now that you understand, take a stand—for the Lord. Express your religious and political views whenever they naturally arise in conversation. Along the way, be sure to live a life that others will envy, because of your strength of character, love, and calm assurance that God still has everything under control. That way your views will be respected even if not agreed upon.

Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. It is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. [1 Peter 3:15-17 NIV]

What does it take to wake up the body of believers?

What does it take to wake up the clergy?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pastors and Politics

On By Dr. Lloyd StebbinsIn American Culture, American Exceptionalism, Baby Boomers, Church, Freedom, God's Love, Government, Judeo-Christian Culture6 Comments

Bible and Declaration of Independence.“I’m being accused of being controversial and political. I’m not political. But moral issues that become political, I still fight. It isn’t my fault that they’ve made these moral issues political. But because they have doesn’t stop the preachers of the Gospel from addressing them…”

“What then is wrong? I say the problem, first of all, is in the pulpits of America. We preachers must take the blame. For too long we have fearfully stood back and failed to address the issues that are corrupting the republic. I repeat Proverbs 14:34: ‘Righteousness exalteth a nation.’ Not military might, though that’s important. Not financial resources, though that has been the enjoyment of this nation above all nations in the last 200 years. But spiritual power is the backbone, the strength, of a nation.”

Rev. Jerry Falwell

America Unmoored from Three Vital Anchors (Part 3)

On By Dr. Lloyd StebbinsIn American Culture, American Exceptionalism, Church, Education, Family, Freedom, Judeo-Christian CultureLeave a comment

All three, once rock-solid, anchors (Bible, U.S. Constitution, and Family) have been continuously attacked for over 60 years. God’s perfect wisdom has been progressively replaced by man’s often erroneous and easily corrupted wisdom. As Humanist thinking has cancerously swept the elite in politics, the media, academia, and Hollywood, the results have been so tragic that they need not be catalogued here.

Anchor with chain

Judeo-Christian believers historically have always impacted their surrounding cultures to an extent far greater than their actual numbers. That influence can be either positive or negative. For over 400 years, the believers have had a positive impact on the American culture. However, for the last 50 years their impact has become increasingly negative. For example, presuming a believing family, what would YOUR mother or grandmother think about how you live your life today? Are you wiser than both of them and 6,000 years of their predecessors?

Where have the Judeo-Christian believers been? Ask any group of believers today to describe their beliefs. Typical responses will be “religious,” “spiritual, but not religious,” “somewhat religious,” or “moderately religious.” Alternatively, they may claim that their faith is “very important,” “important,” “moderately important,” “somewhat important,” or “relatively unimportant” to their daily lives, depending on the language of any contemporary survey. All such terms reflect some extent of compromise. What are they actually saying?

Many will intellectually agree that the Bible is the inspired, inerrant, Word of God, but it is merely an intellectual assent, not a spiritual conviction. The Bible is the ultimate anchor of the American culture and the primary influence on the other anchors. Since the founding documents and traditional family, are derived from the Bible, all three anchors are rock-solid. Any deviation or erosion of that foundation must necessarily give man’s imperfect thinking a priority higher than God. “Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.” [James 3:15 NIV] “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight.” [1 Corinthians 3:19 NIV] “And he said to man, the fear of the Lord—that is wisdom; and to shun evil is understanding.” [Job 28;28 NIV]

How can any honest believer replace any of God’s perfect instructions for living with man’s imperfect constructions? Abandoning God—to any extent—undermines and eventually destroys the family, the Constitution, capitalism, and freedom. The result is a runaway government and tyranny. Now, more than ever before, believers MUST overlook their doctrinal differences and unite to save the family, the freedom that came from God, and the beloved American culture that has been blessed by God and the envy of the world for hundreds of years.

What does it take to wake up the body of believers?

What does it take to wake up the clergy?

America Unmoored from Three Vital Anchors (Part 2)

On By Dr. Lloyd StebbinsIn American Culture, American Exceptionalism, Church, Education, God's Love, Government, Judeo-Christian CultureLeave a comment

Before 1960, there was a comprehensive set of laws in each state prohibiting nearly everything identified in the Bible as sin, i.e. doing something my way instead of God’s way. Why? Until that time, the American culture rested on the three rock-solid anchors, 1) the Bible (spiritual), 2) the Declaration of Independence/U.S. Constitution combination (physical/intellectual), and 3) the God-created, God-designed virtually impregnable family (emotional). The interactions among people and groups aligned with those anchors assured cohesive families and a culture that would be sustained in perpetuity.

 

The old rusty anchor on beach, Ravenglass, Cumbria, UK

However, long before 1960 forces began to grow and gather in a way that would create unprecedented pressures for Judeo-Christian tradition and the American culture. All three anchors would be attacked. Charles Darwin published, The Origin of the Species By Means of Natural Selection or the Preservation of Favored Races in the Struggle for Life, in 1859. It became known as the theory of evolution, purporting that all life forms evolved by chance over extremely long periods of time. Darwin’s theory appeared to give scientific sanction to a concept that had been around for a very long time. Although it has been shown by Dr. Lloyd Stebbins and many others that evolution in its purist form is not possible, the theory of evolution became the basis for some to claim that God does not exist. The first anchor, the Bible, came quickly under attack. The theory of evolution has since become embedded throughout America’s public school systems. It is taught as factual, despite abundant flaws.

The relentless attacks on Judeo-Christian tradition were just the beginning. It was later suggested that if all life formed by an evolutionary process, then other realms of civilizational development should also be amenable to long, slow evolutionary changes.

The Founders intended and declared the Constitution to be a firm anchor-like foundational document for the American culture. They knew that although societies change over time, the self-centered essence of human nature does not change. John Adams proclaimed, “We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” [emphasis added]

If the “passions of men” were not voluntarily restrained and reigned-in by law and by Scripture, the Great American Experiment in self-government would fail. Yet, in modern times there has been a powerful movement claiming that the Constitution must be flexible and keep up with or evolve with the times. Hence, the second anchor has been subjected to ruthless attack.

The widely acclaimed, but fraudulent, Dr. Alfred Kinsey falsely claimed that the sexual and moral behavior of Americans was nowhere near the conservative Biblical beliefs that prevailed at the time. His misguided work projected an image of a coast to coast orgy. As an aggressive atheist, Kinsey’s personal mission was to destroy all the Biblical limits on sexual behavior. In his mind, morals had to evolve. His close friends in the legal profession were persuaded that the laws had to evolve to more closely match the supposed real behaviors of American society. Since then, thousands of laws prohibiting immoral behavior have been repealed.

Similarly, the family had to evolve (or devolve?) accordingly. The definition of “family” has been re-defined and diluted to the point of near non-existence. A wave of no-fault divorce laws swept the country in the 1970s and 1980s, fracturing the concept of personal responsibility and guaranteeing record high divorce rates. The United States is among the few countries with the highest divorce rates in the world. The third anchor has been unmercifully attacked.

The stability of the family and sustainability of the American culture exist to the extent that we tenaciously hang on to all three anchors. Humanism attacks and undermines all three, setting adrift the ship of life, which will eventually be caught in the vortex of a perfect storm and sink. A culture without direction and purpose collapses. “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” [Proverbs 29:18 KJV]

What has been the impact on the American culture? Are believers to blame? Watch for the next blog.

What does it take to wake up the body of believers?

What does it take to wake up the clergy?

America Unmoored from Three Vital Anchors

On By Dr. Lloyd StebbinsIn American Culture, American Exceptionalism, Judeo-Christian Culture2 Comments

Three vital rock-solid anchors have made America strong and virtually impregnable for hundreds of years. Today, all three are targets of relentless attacks that threaten to destroy the American culture and the nation.

Anchors Part 1

The strength of a culture emerges from the continuous interactions of the intellectual, emotional, and spiritual aspects of the culture. Each must have its own anchor. The interactions among the three become a strong tether that assures a cohesive family and a sustainable culture that will be passed from generation to generation. “And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.” [Ecclesiastes 4:12 KJV] In America, the three anchors are:

  1. The Bible—spiritual anchor
  2. U.S. Constitution—physical/intellectual anchor
  3. The Family—emotional anchor

The Bible is the spiritual anchor—the ultimate anchor. It is known by many believers as the inspired, inerrant Word of God. It is directly inspired by God and is without error.

The combination of the Declaration of Independence and the U. S. Constitution is the physical/intellectual anchor. It is an earthly embodiment of the Biblical message. It was the Founders’ desire to build Biblical principles into the founding documents in such a way that those principles would operate freely for posterity. Although the documents are not inspired by God, they are informed by scriptural principles as the Founders understood them.

The family, as God created and designed it is the emotional anchor. The three anchors are rock-solid. Anything that weakens any one or all of them is like whittling away at one or more legs of a three-legged stool. Eventually, the stool will fall.

All three anchors are a reflection of God’s infinite love and perfect wisdom. Any effort to change, alter, dilute, move away from, or re-characterize any of the anchors places man’s wisdom higher than God’s wisdom, causing individuals and the national culture to drift away from God.

Millennia ago, God identified through scripture certain thoughts and activities as sin, because they puff self and weaken the family. The family, as God designed it, is the only way to preserve a thriving human culture from generation to generation. Banning sinful thoughts or activities is God’s way of bolstering and protecting the family. America’s network of pre-1960 temporal laws prohibiting Biblical sin, reinforced the integrity of the family.

Personal growth in godly character is a lifetime journey learning to value others before self. Such learning must begin early within the family as parents and children learn from each other as they face daily challenges that tend to reinforce prideful self at the expense of others. If people do not learn to exercise self-restraint and value others before self, within the family, they are unlikely to learn it anywhere else. In the absence of collective, cultural self-restraint, a culture or country declines rapidly into chaos and self-destruction.

What happened? The answer will be in the next blog.

What does it take to wake up the body of believers?

What does it take to wake up the clergy?

Unplanned Pregnancy? A Different View!

On By Dr. Lloyd StebbinsIn Abortion, American Culture, Church, Education, Family, Father, God's Love, Judeo-Christian Culture, Marriage, Mother3 Comments

Teenage girl with pregnancy test

Are you married and pregnant at what seems to be an inconvenient time? Are you unmarried and pregnant? Have you experienced the trauma of rape or incest and discovered that you are pregnant as a result?

The term “unplanned pregnancy” is today’s reigning euphemism for an inconvenient pregnancy or a pregnancy begun under immoral or illegal circumstances. The term implies that there are higher priorities in life than creating new life. Most of our modern life is the relentless pursuit of whatever satisfies man’s desires. However, scripturally there is no higher priority than loving God, creating new life, and raising the children to sustain a God-loving culture, from generation to generation. Any other priorities lead to a decaying culture that ultimately self-destructs.

It is doubtful that people in Biblical times ever considered a pregnancy to be unplanned. Married couples likely lived their life embracing every pregnancy that naturally occurred, praising God for the blessing of each new life. Perhaps that is why barrenness was considered such a curse. Of course, a pregnancy outside of marriage was typically followed by an “unplanned marriage.”

Child bearing is God’s special gift to women even when a conception occurs in immoral circumstances. Radical feminism, in the 1960s, turned God’s blessing upside down, proclaiming childbearing to be a curse unfairly imposed on women by evolution.

But what is a woman to do when a pregnancy results from a forced activity such as rape or incest which is immoral and illegal? Abortion is wrong. It crushes the life out of God’s precious gift. The details have been often discussed elsewhere.

The typical Judeo-Christian believer’s fallback is to advise the pregnant girl that if she senses that she is incapable of raising the child she consider placing it for adoption. That is a plausible intellectual choice for the do-gooders giving the advice. But it is an incredibly painful, emotional and spiritual decision for the girl.

With perhaps rare exceptions, a young woman cannot experience an abortion or give a child up for adoption without a lifetime of unconquerable regret and other negative consequences ranging from an unquenchable anxiety to serious guilt and a broad range of physical health issues triggered by the anxiety or guilt. In addition, the aftereffects of abortion or giving a baby up for adoption can elicit future issues with interpersonal relationships, especially with men.

For a discussion of the negative effects refer to http://www.firstmotherforum.com/2013/02/how-giving-up-child-affects-you-in-long.html. Lorraine Dusky is a blogger who cites several studies that explored and documented the long-term, virtually permanent, emotional and spiritual pain experienced by mothers who have given a baby up for adoption.

Often the baby destined for adoption is whisked away immediately after birth. It is considered best to separate the baby from the mother before they have had a chance to bond. However, she has already bonded for nine months. Bonding begins from the moment of conception, even when it occurs immorally or illegally.

Bonding continues as the mother experiences the early hormonal changes associated with pregnancy. The bonding continues later when she feels the baby’s movements and again when she experiences the hormonal changes preparing her for childbirth. The childbirth process itself is not merely biological. The mother bonds with the baby during the process. She experiences the triumph of nine months of bonding when the baby draws its first breath. She has clearly bonded with her baby not an alleged nonhuman fetus. The bonding is a beauty that only God could have created.

When the pregnancy was initiated by rape or incest, the initial trauma may well subside before the baby is born. An early decision to place the baby up for adoption will be revisited again and again, many times before the birth of the baby. Despite the adoption decision, the mother cannot help but daydream about what to name the baby and future experiences with the baby as an infant and throughout its growing years. For nine long months, she irresistibly fantasizes about her baby’s future, even after making the adoption decision.

There are perhaps a rare few for which adoption is appropriate. Examples may include a mother with severe mental illness or very long-term drug abuse. Aside from those exceptions, a mother should never be separated from her baby. The situation is bad enough if the father is in prison or wasted on drugs. The baby is already deprived of one parent. The solution is not to deprive the baby of the other parent. Most mothers will rise to the occasion, some surprisingly so, despite the unplanned nature of the pregnancy.

Outside of extreme circumstances, such as rape or incest, the father must also rise to the occasion. He is far more than a mere source of funds. Collectively, mom and dad have a huge responsibility to the God-given miracle they call their baby. That responsibility likely includes getting married, if they are not married already.

Among Judeo-Christian believers, the extended family must be available to help the teen mother or an older mother, single by circumstances beyond her control. The grandparents are not built-in, taken-for-granted babysitters. There is no substitute for the mother shouldering her own responsibilities. However, members of the extended family are or should be able to provide physical, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual support far beyond what is available through so called support groups. While adoption may be a consideration, it should absolutely be a very last resort. God’s family sticks together!

What does it take to wake up the body of believers?

What does it take to wake up the clergy?

Home Happiness!

On By Dr. Lloyd StebbinsIn American Culture, American Exceptionalism, Baby Boomers, Church, Education, Homemaker, Judeo-Christian Culture, Love, Marriage, Mother3 Comments

Home HappinessHome is the true wife’s kingdom. Very largely does the wife hold in her hands, as a sacred trust, the happiness and the highest good of the hearts that nestle there. In the last analysis, home happiness depends on the wife.

Her spirit gives the home its atmosphere.

Her hands fashion its beauty.

Her heart makes its love.

And the end is so worthy, so noble, so divine, that no woman who has been called to be a wife, and has listened to the call, should consider any price too great to pay, to be the light, the joy, the blessing, the inspiration of a home.

The woman who makes a sweet, beautiful home, filling it with love and prayer and purity, is doing something better than anything else her hands could find to do beneath the skies.

A true mother is one of the holiest secrets of home happiness. God sends many beautiful things to this world, many noble gifts; but no blessing is richer than that which He bestows in a mother who has learned love’s lessons well, and has realized something of the meaning of her sacred calling.

~ James Russell Miller (1840 – 1912)

If Truth Be Not Diffused, Error Will Be

On By Dr. Lloyd StebbinsIn American Culture, American Exceptionalism, Baby Boomers, Church, Education, God's Love, Government, Judeo-Christian Culture9 Comments

Imacon Color Scanner

“If religious books are not widely circulated among the masses in this country, I do not know what is going to become of us as a nation. If truth be not diffused, error well be: If God and His Word are not known and received, the devil and his works will gain the ascendancy; If the evangelical volume does not reach every hamlet, the pages of a corrupt and licentious literature will; If the power of the Gospel is not felt throughout the length and breadth of the land, anarchy and misrule, degradation and misery, corruption and darkness will reign without mitigation or end.”

Senator Daniel Webster

Americans Have Bought Into the Big Lie!

On By Dr. Lloyd StebbinsIn American Culture, American Exceptionalism, Church, Education, Freedom, God's Love, Government, Judeo-Christian Culture1 Comment

Separate Chruch State

Editorial note: This writing began with another topic in mind. But the concept of the separation of church and state recurred so relentlessly that it could not be ignored. Perhaps it was the Lord’s prompting. You decide. Initially, I resisted, confident that I had a good understanding of the matter and it had already been talked to death by many others. Nevertheless, an abundance of fresh new material emerged during the writing. It became increasingly clear that the secular distortion of the separation of church and state has had profound and tragic consequence on America and even worse consequence on the body of believers. Read on. You’ll see why.

 

“A lie told often enough becomes the truth.” Who said it? If you thought, Joseph Goebbels, Nazi Germany’s Minister of Enlightenment and Propaganda, not quite. The quote was first spoken by Vladimir Lenin, Father of Communism. But Goebbels developed it into a highly specialized art form:

“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State.”

We tend to associate such thinking with totalitarianism. But does it happen in the United States? You bet it does! Often! Consider, for example, a perverted interpretation of the “separation of church and state.” Throughout recent generations, the lie has been repeated endlessly in court proceedings, by politicians, the media, and throughout the entire educational system.. Believers routinely parrot the secular politically correct interpretation of Thomas Jefferson’s metaphor

The separation of church and state lie has weakened America’s faith and opened the door for all manner of evil. Private immorality is possible only after compromising God’s Word. Private immorality leads to public immorality a breakdown of trust, and an erosion of integrity, which incite all other forms of wrongdoing. Civilization first decays then collapses, slowly at first, then becoming a virtual free fall. The free fall America is currently experiencing cannot last long. Unless there is direct action by believers accompanied by a spiritual awakening, oblivion is at America’s doorstep.

What happened? It is generally well known that the phrase, “wall of separation between church and state,” is not in the U. S. Constitution. President Thomas Jefferson coined the phrase in a letter to the Danbury Baptist Association in the State of Connecticut. To establish context, the full letter provides:

Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man& his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should “make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,” thus building a wall of separation between Church & State

Adhering to this expression of the supreme will of the nation in behalf of the rights of conscience, I shall see with sincere satisfaction the progress of those sentiments which tend to restore to man all his natural rights, convinced he has no natural right in opposition to his social duties.

“I reciprocate your kind prayers for the protection & blessing of the common father and creator of man, and tender you for yourselves & your religious association assurances of my high respect & esteem.”

 Thomas Jefferson Jan.1.1802

The faith held by the Founders, including Thomas Jefferson, has been widely documented and is beyond any serious dispute. Collectively, the Founders feared the European religious persecution, from which the early settlers fled.

The persecution emerged each time a European government adopted an official religion for a country and named the king as the head of that religion. It was a recipe for the abuse of anyone differing from the king’s interpretation of any religious matter. In Biblical times, kings often deferred to the prophet of the day, a kind of separation of church and state. But in 17-19th Century Europe, kings had no accountability. There was no check on the worst of human nature.

The Founders were determined to prevent a recurrence of the European abuses. They wanted a written guarantee that all citizens would be free to worship God in the manner of their choice, without any government interference or restrictions. It was never anticipated that the government would abandon any form of religious expression or recognition or aggressively prevent such recognition in public places.

The Founders fully and clearly intended that the government would routinely participate in non-denominational religious observances. To that end, they adopted the First Amendment to the Constitution, declaring that their legislature (U.S. Congress only) should “make no law respecting the establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” The amendment was clearly intended to protect individual freedom. It was never intended to ban religion from the public square.

Secular groups, particularly atheistic organizations have attempted to paint Thomas Jefferson as an atheist. Such claims are clearly antagonistic to the readily available public record. He was part of a three-man committee assigned to create a seal for the fledgling nation. Jefferson proposed an image of the children of Israel in the wilderness, led by a cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night.

Generally, it’s best to let historical figures, such as Jefferson speak for themselves. Consider this selection of quotes:

“God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the Gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that His justice cannot sleep forever.”

Thomas Jefferson, 1781

Query XVIII, Notes on the State of Virginia.

“No power over the freedom of religion…[is] delegated to the United States by the Constitution.”

Thomas Jefferson, 1798

Kentucky Resolution

“I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man.”

Thomas Jefferson, September 23, 1800

Letter to Dr. Benjamin Rush

“And let us reflect that having banished from our land that religious intolerance under which mankind so long bled and suffered, we have yet gained little if we countenance a political intolerance as despotic, as wicked, and capable of as bitter and bloody persecutions…”

Thomas Jefferson, 1801

First Inaugural Address

“The Christian Religion, when divested of the rags in which the [the clergy] have enveloped it, and brought to the original purity and simplicity of its benevolent institutor, is a religion of all others most friendly to liberty, science, and the freest expansion of the human mind.”

Thomas Jefferson, March 23, 1801

Letter to Moses Robinson

“The Northwest Ordinance—Article III Religion, morality, and knowledge being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall be forever encouraged.”

Thomas Jefferson, signer, April 30, 1802

“My views…are the result of a life on inquiry and reflection and very different from the anti-Christian system imputed to me by those who know nothing of my opinions. To the corruptions of Christianity I am, indeed, opposed; but not to the genuine precepts of Jesus himself. I am a Christian in the only sense in which he wished any one to be; sincerely attached to his doctrines in preference to all others…”

Thomas Jefferson, April 21, 1803

Letter to Dr. Benjamin Rush

“I consider the doctrines of Jesus as delivered by himself to contain the outlines of the sublimest system of morality that has ever been taught but I hold in the most profound detestation and execration the corruptions of it which have been invented…”

Thomas Jefferson, June 17, 1804

Letter to Henry Fry

The inescapable conclusion is that Thomas Jefferson’s life was driven by his faith in God and his persistent efforts to grow in godly character as expressed in the life of Jesus.

In 1840, U. S. Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story clarified the roll of the Constitution’s First Amendment:

“We are not to attribute this prohibition of a national religion establishment [in the First Amendment] to an indifference to religion in general, and especially to Christianity (which none could hold in more reverence than the framers of the Constitution)…at the time of adoption of the Constitution, the [prevailing] sentiment was, that Christianity ought to receive encouragement from the State so far as was not incompatible with the private rights of conscience and the freedom of religious worship. Any attempt to level all religions, and to make it a matter of state policy to hold all in utter indifference, would have created universal disapprobation, if not universal indignation.”

Joseph Story, Justice-U.S. Supreme Court

Abstracted from “A Familiar Exposition of the Constitution of the United States”

In 1892, U. S. Supreme Court Justice Josiah Brewer bolstered the argument:

“No purpose of action against religion can be imputed to any legislation, state or national, because this is a religious people.”

Josiah Brewer, Justice-U.S. Supreme Court

Church of the Holy Trinity v. United States,

143 US 457-458, 465-471, 36 L ed 226

However, a major symbolic and substantive change occurred, when the U.S. Supreme court rendered a decision in Everson v. Board of Education (1947). According to Dr. Scott Lively, (attorney, pastor and human-rights consultant) “That was the case that adopted Jefferson’s “separation of church and state” metaphor as a justification for declaring all religions to be equal with Christianity in America, and equally subservient to secular humanist authority… It intentionally and officially dethroned the God of the Bible after more than 300 years of His being acknowledged as Lord over this nation.” The clear understanding of the separation of church and state concept was consistently reinforced by the U. S. Supreme Court and many others for 147 years. With the stroke of a pen in 1947, The Supreme Court stood the concept on its head.

A new secular concept of separation of church and state was established that was exactly the opposite of the original. The government’s unbiased participation in and support of religious observances and an ironclad guarantee of freedom of religion has been replaced by a virtual ban on public religious expression, especially by government employees, anyone using government property for private functions, or any group receiving government funds.

Since the 1947 decision, the secular version of separation of church and state has become embedded in the public school systems, proclaimed by the media, and repeatedly reinforced by the Supreme Court. The government has increasingly run roughshod over religious institutions. Religion, especially, Judeo-Christian tradition has become increasingly ridiculed and denied access to the public square. The government has made every conceivable effort to isolate believers, as well as their spiritual thoughts and actions to within the four walls of their homes and places of worship.

However, some Supreme Court justices did not agree with their 1947 colleagues. In 1962, Justice Potter Stewart lamented that jurisprudence was not “aided by the uncritical invocation of metaphors like the ‘wall of separation,’ a phrase nowhere to be found in the Constitution.”

In 1985, Chief Justice Warren Burger declared:

“The Constitution does not require a complete separation of church and state. It affirmatively mandates accommodation, not merely tolerance, of all religions and forbids hostility towards any.”

Warren Burger, Chief Justice-U.S. Supreme Court,

Lynch v Donnelly, 465 U.S. 668, 669-670 (1985)

That same year, Chief Justice William Rehnquist observed:

“The establishment clause had been expressly freighted with Jefferson’s misleading metaphor for nearly forty years…There is simply no historical foundation for the proposition that the framers intended to build a wall of separation [between church and state]…the recent court decisions are in no way based on either the language or intent of the framers.”

William Rehnquist, Chief Justice-U.S. Supreme Court

Wallace v. Jafree, 472 US 38, 99

By far, the most serious threat to freedom of religion is the body of believers. They have largely bought the big lie. From casual conversations to the university classroom, believers are routinely heard advocating and proclaiming the secular concept of separation of church and state. Most are unaware of what they are doing, because the lie sounds so plausible and has been endlessly repeated since their earliest childhood, while the clergy has been virtually silent and often mislead themselves.

Believers are called by Scripture to be the light of the world, the salt of the earth, and ambassadors for Jesus. They can be none of these, when they have become so intimidated by political correctness that they are terrified of saying “Merry Christmas,” during the holiday season—a phrase that roughly means “I love you,” regardless of anyone’s personal religious views.

What does it take to wake up the body of believers?

What does it take to wake up the clergy?

The Genius of the God-Designed Family

On By Dr. Lloyd StebbinsIn Abortion, American Culture, American Exceptionalism, Baby Boomers, Church, Education, Family, Father, God's Love, Homemaker, Judeo-Christian Culture, Love, Marriage, Mother2 Comments

God’s arrow of time from the Garden of Eden to Heaven passes through the family. Yet history is littered with the baggage of broken families. The amount of baggage increases just before the collapse of every civilization and culture in all of recorded history.

Genius of Gods Family

The genius and power of the God-designed family is jaw-dropping. The family is one of God’s greatest creations. The specific roles of the man and woman were assigned directly to Adam and Eve. They have never changed. To do so would compromise God’s infinite genius.

Man was created in the likeness of God. The God-designed family is a picture of God. We know Him as one God manifested to us in three Persons, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Similarly, the one impregnable family is represented by Dad, Mom, and the children. The family is an unbeatable team. It is the only way to carry out God’s commandments in a reliable way throughout posterity. It is the only way to enjoy all God’s blessings and the fullness of the life experience.

Marriage was created in the Garden of Eden, before Adam and Eve were disobedient to the Lord. God said, “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.” [Genesis 2:24 KJV] Since marriage was created in the Garden of Eden, it was created in an environment of virtual perfection. After disobeying God by eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, God, proclaimed their respective, but perfectly complementary roles in a fallen world.

God’s Assignment for the Man

“…unto Adam he said, Because thou has…eaten of the tree, of which I commanded you, saying you shall not eat of it: cursed is the ground for your sake; in sorrow shall you eat of it all the days of your life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to you; and you shall eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shall you eat bread, till you return unto the ground: for out of it were you taken; for dust you are, and unto dust shall you return.” [Genesis 3:17-19 NKJV]

The man protects and provides for his mother, wife, and children. When his father and son do the same, they form an unbroken shield of protection assuring a perpetually safe, secure environment within which the family can thrive. His protection of the family is fueled by God’s love. As such, the man is the primary, but not exclusive, model for the commandment to love God with body, mind and soul:

“And you shalt love the Lord your God with all thine heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength. And these words, which I command you this day, shall be in your heart: You shalt teach them diligently unto your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in thine house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise up…You shall write them upon the posts of your house, and on your gates.” [Deuteronomy 6:5-7 & 9 NKJV]

God has assigned to the man a vital role in developing the character of his children. His role is far greater than merely providing for security and financial needs, for food, clothes, and shelter. He is the protector of his family physically, intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually.

The man actively and routinely provides emotional and spiritual nourishment by being a conduit of God’s love. The man protects his family from outside influences that would weaken the character of his wife or interfere with or disrupt the development of character in their children.

God’s blessings for the obedient man are, “Who can find a virtuous woman? For her price is far above rubies. The heart of her husband does safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil. She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.” [Proverbs 31:10-12 NKJV]

However, God requires of the husband an ironclad ultimate commitment, “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it…” [Ephesians 5:25 KJV] The husband’s love and commitment to his wife must be so great the he would be willing to risk death for her.

God’s Assignment for the Woman

“Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; in sorrow you shall bring forth children; and your desire shall be to your husband, and he shall rule over you.” [Genesis 3:16 NKJV]

The woman is the connector and propagator of life assuring a continuity of generations from the Garden of Eden to Heaven. All reproduction, physical, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual pass through the woman. As the connector and propagator of life, she is the primary, but not exclusive, model for the commandment, “…you shall love your neighbor as yourself…” [Leviticus 19:18 NKJV]

God’s blessings for the obedient woman are, “She opens her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness. She looks well to the ways of her household, and…Her children arise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her. [Proverbs 31:25-28 NKJV]

However, God requires a commitment of her, “Wives submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.” [Ephesians 5:22 KJV] Submission merely means voluntarily choosing to respect and defer to his leadership even when he is wrong. When he does make a wrong choice, the shared consequences will be character building for the whole family. Actually, God’s perfect family plan is mutual submission, “Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.” [Ephesians 5:21 KJV]

The practice of mutual submission should characterize all interpersonal relationships. Within the context of marriage and family, the stakes are simply higher than anywhere else. The blessings of mutual submission are greatest in marriage. The consequences of lack of mutual submission are more painful in marriage.

Together the Married Man and Woman Are Truly Awesome!

Combining the man’s vertical responsibility with the woman’s horizontal responsibility, Jesus proclaimed, “On these two commandments hang all the Law and the prophets.” [Matthew 22:40 KJV] Their roles are perfectly complementary. After all, they were created by the greatest genius of the universe, God Himself.

Multi-generational contact is vital to the maintenance and stability of the chain of life. The woman is responsible for the cohesion of the family and the sustainability of the culture. She is the primary facilitator of the commandment to love your neighbor as yourself.

There is nothing like the genius of the God-designed family. Dad and Mom are an awesome team specifically designed by God to:

  • Create a cohesive family that mirrors God’s relationship with humanity.
  • Solidify the family assuring that God’s symbolic representation of His relationship with us is maintained throughout all generations.
  • Establish a sustainable culture that remains unbroken for posterity.

The God-designed family minimizes overall stress by reducing time pressures, encouraging character development among parents and children, and building warm close interpersonal relationships. When the woman’s career is at home pursuing God’s design, there are an additional 40 hours per week available to destress the entire family, compared to the married career woman trying to have it all.

If either Dad or Mom contemplates and chooses divorce or any path that undermines and devalues the family, the continuity is broken and the surviving family fragments become especially vulnerable to all manner of evil.

Today, the American culture has almost completely lost sight of God’s plan. The results have been tragic. It is up to us as Judeo-Christian believers to step up, restore, and magnify His amazing and magnificent vision.

What does it take to wake up the body of believers?

What does it take to wake up the clergy?

Value of a Soul!

On By Dr. Lloyd StebbinsIn Abortion, American Culture, American Exceptionalism, Baby Boomers, Church, Education, Freedom, God's Love, Judeo-Christian CultureLeave a comment

Value of a Soul

What is the value of your soul? Don’t miss this 28-minute video! Three lives search for true worth as their worlds crumble. Follow their unexpected journeys as Franklin Graham addresses the real value of the soul. Just click on the link below or copy/paste into the address block on your Internet browser.

Value of a Soul

On By Dr. Lloyd StebbinsIn American Culture, American Exceptionalism, Baby Boomers, Church, Education, Freedom, God's Love, Government, Judeo-Christian CultureLeave a comment
Ronald Reagan
“Freedom is never more than one generation from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.”
President Ronald Reagan
On By Dr. Lloyd StebbinsIn American Culture, American Exceptionalism, Baby Boomers, Church, Education, Freedom, God's Love, Government, Judeo-Christian CultureLeave a comment

harry_s_truman“The fundamental basis of this nation’s laws was given to Moses on the Mount. The fundamental basis of our Bill of rights comes from the teachings we get from Exodus and St. Matthew, from Isaiah and St. Paul…If we don’t have a proper fundamental moral  background, we will finally end up with a totalitarian government which does not believe in rights for anybody except the State!”

President Harry S. Truman

Big Guns are Aimed at YOUR FAMILY! Will It Survive? (Part 4F)

On By Dr. Lloyd StebbinsIn Abortion, American Culture, American Exceptionalism, Baby Boomers, Church, Education, Family, Father, God's Love, Homemaker, Judeo-Christian Culture, Love, Marriage, Mother8 Comments

mother and child little daughter planting vegetable in home garden field

Leverage the Forgotten Power of the Homemaker

Acclaim and demonstrate the vital importance of the homemaker—The Biblical homemaker enjoys the most vital and exciting career in the universe. Family and culture decline rapidly when the homemaker leaves home. To destroy a culture, remove the homemaker from the home. A major strategy of the spiritual and temporal enemies of the traditional family is to deflate or collapse the family by enticing the homemaker out of the home. But God says otherwise, “The women of my people have ye cast out from their pleasant houses; from their children have ye taken away my glory forever. Arise ye, and depart; for this is not your rest: because it is polluted, it shall destroy you, even with a sore destruction.” [Micah 2:9, &10 KJV] All roads go through the homemaker; she is the real, not just metaphorical heart of the home:

The homemaker is the heart of the home physically—Everyone is born through the womb of the mother. The bond between mother and child begins at the moment of conception and strengthens throughout the child’s growing time in the womb. No other bond in the universe comes close to matching the early mother-child bond. The bond is reinforced during the period of breast-feeding and continues to grow even as the mother lets go of the emancipated adult. Her loving bond with the father cements the continuity of generations, is a source of personal satisfaction for both, and provides desperately needed role models for the children. Her efforts to maintain or improve the home environment are an expression of love for her husband and children.

The homemaker is the heart of the home intellectually—Scripture assigns parents the responsibility of educating the children. For millennia, the mother was the primary teacher, later assisted by the Church. Schools were created by the Church to teach children about life, God, and His amazing creation. The great universities, including most Ivy League schools, were founded to teach young men to be ministers. But in the last century, the Church and parents have largely abdicated their roles and responsibilities for education in favor of government schools that have become increasingly abusive regarding all aspects of Judeo-Christian tradition. Raising the children is far more than simply taking care of the children.

The homemaker is the heart of the home emotionally—Children learn emotional awareness and compassion far more from the mother than from the father. Indulging a sports analogy, dad is primarily a coach; mom is the quarterback, the source and catalyst of virtually all action in the family and the home. What would happen on game day if the quarterback decided to go fishing instead of instead of going to the stadium? The athletic coach probably has a backup quarterback who may not perform quite as well as the star quarterback. But in the home, every homemaker is a star and there is no backup when she is not there.

The homemaker is the heart of the home spiritually—In most homes, it is the mother who primarily instills spiritual principles through day-to-day training. Often it is the mother who takes the children to church or synagogue. Shame on the dads who are not the spiritual leaders in their homes as well. But even in the homes where dad is a strong spiritual leader, the children still spend far more time with the mother and are therefore more available to her for spiritual training. Dad becomes the reinforcer.

These vitally important lessons are not learned when strangers, such as nursery schools, babysitters, an endless round of age-graded day care centers, and government-run schools raise the children. Lifestyle absentee parenting is tragic and leads to disastrous consequences.

To survive, a family must actively and irrevocably commit to Biblical values and fight aggressively and continuously to maintain those values.

No civilization has ever survived the breakdown of the family.

If parents want their children and grandchildren to enjoy a free society (country), they absolutely must deeply embed Biblical family values in their children. It is an impossible task for absentee parents.

In perilous times, there will be people “Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof…Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” [2 Timothy 3: 5 & 7 KJV] Never be satisfied with a “form of godliness.” Do everything God’s way. You will be glad you did.

What does it take to wake up the body of believers?

What does it take to wake up the clergy?