The Fourth of July (Independence Day) , “…will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever.”
Founder John Adams
Tag: Government
“…I can’t understand how this people [United States] dare to defy Christ’s explicit orders as our Lord prohibited mankind from sodomy,” …the American tradition and heritage was based on lofty Christian principles, but to the detriment of this great nation, America’s corrupt political elite is acting according to their diabolic whims.
Robert Mugabe on Same-Sex Marriage
President
Zimbabwe
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Same-Sex ‘Marriage’ (?) United States Supreme Court Wins—Children Lose
Is that picture of the White House troubling? I hope so!
The ramifications of the United States Supreme Court decision to sanction same-sex marriages and require such marriages to be licensed in all 50 states are many. One of the most damaging is the impact on children. They are the biggest losers.
Dr. Michelle Cretella, President of the American College of Pediatricians (an apparently secular group) issued a statement saying:
“This is a tragic day for America’s children. The SCOTUS has just undermined the single greatest pro-child institution in the history of mankind: the natural family. Just as it did in the joint Roe v Wade and Doe v Bolton decisions, the SCOTUS has elevated and enshrined the wants of adults over the needs of children.”
Whenever a legislature passes a law or the judiciary issues a ruling that
- expands or ignores the God-given boundaries of morality,
- encroaches on the sanctity of life,
- infringes on the sanctity of marriage, or
- encourages abortion,
they always do so to satisfy the selfish desires of adults and is always at the expense of children.
Imagine you are asked to identify the most selfish decisions any person can make. Inescapably, the list must include
- abortion,
- divorce,
- sacrificing child rearing on the altar of career, and
- identifying parenthood as anything other than the child’s natural parents.
Each of the selfish decisions is scorned by God, but approved, sanctioned and encouraged by the government (most government entitlements subsidize sin). Children pay a fearful price for all of them.
Only the natural parents are directly charged by God with the responsibility of raising their children to be adults of strong character. Same-sex ‘parents’ cannot do it. The churches cannot do it. The schools will not do it. Children simply cannot raise themselves. Yet, many today find themselves with little direction from parents who are suffering from career absenteeism.
When we fail to raise our children to become adults of strong character, their lives are compromised, the cohesiveness of the family is seriously damaged, and the weakened culture will eventually self-destruct.
“And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.“ [Matthew 18:5-6 NIV]
The Supreme Court ruling codifying same-sex marriage is simply a barometer of a much broader cultural decline. Today, we are very near the point of cultural implosion. Nearly 200 years ago, Alexis de Tocqueville observed that, “America is great because she is good. If America ceases to be good, America will cease to be great.”
He also summarized the results of his search for America’s greatness:
I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her commodious harbors and her ample rivers – and it was not there . . . in her fertile fields and boundless forests and it was not there . . . in her rich mines and her vast world commerce – and it was not there . . . in her democratic Congress and her matchless Constitution – and it was not there. Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits flame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. (emphasis added)
Same-sex marriage is wrong according to God and every reasonable temporal measure. It is now the law of the land, ultimately because the body of believers allowed it to happen just as the body of believers have allowed every other compromise and cultural controversy to emerge. Sadly, the body of believers have adopted many of the same compromises as the background secular culture. Sin has all-to-often become the new norm. After all, we must be “tolerant.”
Do America’s pulpits “flame with righteousness” today? If not, why not?
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Imperial Justices Shake Their Fists at God!
“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]
That’s marriage—one man and one woman for one lifetime, an institution created by God, defined by God, and accountable to God. On 6-26-2015, five of the nine unelected and unaccountable United States Supreme Court Justices voted to overrule God. They voted to codify same-sex marriage as the law of the land in all 50 states. With the stroke of a pen, they declared sin to be a Constitutional “right.”
Intimate same-sex relationships are immoral. Formally codifying them within the institution of marriage is unconscionable. The Biblical condemnations of such relationships, primarily in the Books of Leviticus and Romans are well known. Nevertheless, the Supreme Court Justices have shaken their fists in the face of God effectively proclaiming, “God—We don’t care what you think! We know better and are determined to do it our way.” “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” [Galatians 6:7 KJV]
For believers, God’s Word, the Bible, is the final authority. No outside support is necessary. He established certain moral limits as an expression of His infinite love, knowing that painful natural consequences lurk outside those limits. Let’s take a look.
Holistically, when people live happily within God’s moral requirements, including limiting sexual intimacy to within marriage, the result is cohesive families and a strong sustainable culture throughout the generations. Flagrant flouting of God’s requirements produces weakened and failed families as well as an unstable and eventually collapsed culture. “Marriage is to be held in honor among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled; for fornicators and adulterers God will judge.” [Hebrews 13:4 NAS] Same-sex ‘marriage’ will weaken the traditional family and ultimately lead to an acceleration of the downfall of America. No civilization or culture has ever survived the breakdown of the family!
God designed a man and a woman to complement each other in awesome and miraculous ways. He designed them to have vital complementary roles for raising children. Consider the devastating impact of same-sex adoptions on children.
The birth of a child is the greatest expression of the love between a man and a woman. The conception of a child is a miracle from God; the birth of a child is a gift from God. After conception, the mother bonds with the child throughout the nine months of pregnancy. She bonds with the child during childbirth and continues bonding with the child throughout the period she is nursing the child. Her husband does not participate in the physical bonding. He nevertheless bonds with his wife and child emotionally and spiritually throughout that period. A gay or lesbian couple cannot participate in any of these events and therefore do not have the soul-deep roots necessary to sustain them throughout the child rearing years.
What happens during the growing years after birth? A boy must have a role-model father to learn what it means and how to be a man, husband and father. He needs a role-model mother so that when he reaches the age of searching for a wife of his own he knows how and where to look. A girl must have a role-model mother to learn what it means and how to be a woman, wife, and mother. She needs a role-model father so that when she reaches the age of searching for a husband of her own she knows how and where to look.
A powerful Sunday school lesson will not do it; an emotion-charged message at a summer camp for teens cannot do it. Even the best of churches cannot do what God designed Mom and Dad to do. Same-sex couples not only cannot do it, they may and often do damage the child and his or her future. The damage, cited in numerous studies, seriously weakens the traditional family and substantially damages the national culture.
The massive difference between natural God-given biological parents and artificial same-sex adoptive ‘parents’ is like the difference between and emotional passion and a spiritual passion. Perhaps a sports analogy illustrates it best.
An emotional passion is like a short-term roller coaster ride that arises when your favorite NFL team makes it to the Super Bowl. For a week or so before the big event that’s all you can talk about. The anticipation and excitement builds. On the big day, you invite your friends and put on a pot of your favorite chili. You spend the evening cheering loud and often until your overworked voice is reduced to a whisper. Win or lose, the Super Bowl is all the water cooler talk at work for a day or so afterwards. Then—it’s gone. It’s over. It’s forgotten. Forever!
A spiritual passion is what drives and Olympic athlete to painfully train for 4, 8, 12, 16 years or longer for the privilege of participating in one or a few events with the possibility of winning a medal. The medal actually has little intrinsic value. But it creates significance and meaning in the life of the athlete who has become part of something much bigger than the athlete.
Now, return to the comparison of God-given biological parents with artificial same-sex adoptive ‘parents.’ Biological parents have a strongly bonded soul-deep passionate love for their children. The family has meaning because it is bigger than either parent alone. It’s God’s picture of the church and its relationship to Him. Even if their teenagers are found to have committed a crime, the natural parents will be among the first to forgive their children and search for ways to overcome the impact of the crime. The offending children may have a public price to pay for their crimes, but they can count on their parents to love them for a lifetime.
Artificial same-sex adoptive parents cannot love as deeply or provide for the children in many other ways that can only be provided by traditional parents. The same-sex parents necessarily have more of an emotional passion for the children. Some people try to argue that same-sex parents love their children the same as natural parents. It is not the same.
Although not often publicized in the main stream media, there are growing numbers of adults raised in ‘families’ with same-sex ‘parents’ who report seriously troubled childhoods. One young woman was interviewed by The Christian Post, an outstanding online Christian news service. The woman was raised by two lesbians, one of whom was bio-mom. The woman said that throughout childhood she felt an emotional vacuum, because of not having a father. She reported seeing things at gay pride parades that no child should ever have to see.
When the woman, raised by lesbians grew up and went to college, she met a young Christian man who was different than the negative, bigoted stereotype she had been taught. Eventually, he took her home to meet his parents. His parents turned out to be loving and not negative in any way. The family began taking her to church regularly. She maintained a pretty face on the outside, but inwardly mocked the “hypocritical Christians.”
Nevertheless, the “Great Hound of Heaven” eventually captured her attention. She became a believer. The young couple were married. In scriptural terms, in the fullness of time she gave birth. The moment the new mother held her baby for the first time, she reported that the vital importance of a father hit her “like a ton of bricks.” Her long-term emotional longing for a father, became a soul-deep understanding through the birth of her child.
The impact of licensing same-sex marriages will be devastating. It may ratchet the body of believers even further from the anchor of Scripture. The reason? Many believers have come to view same-sex marriage as a responsible concept, because they simply do not understand this message and have been caught up in the cultural flow.
The good news is that God is still in charge! Pray the all believers will come to understand the true nature of this vitally important issue. Pray that God will unleash the greatest awakening of all time. Otherwise, prepare for His judgment.
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“It is not our duty to leave our children wealth, it is our duty to leave our children Liberty.” – Chaim Solomon – Financier of The American Revolution
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Sing a Little Louder
An old man tells a profound story about a childhood experience. As a young boy during World War II, he lived in Nazi-controlled Germany. His family regularly attended a church located along side railroad tracks. Trains regularly passed the church during the church services.
They were long strings of cattle cars painfully overloaded with terrified Jews destined for work camps, concentration camps, and usually death. There was no food, no provisions for personal hygiene, and no considerations for people with special needs. In the heat of summer, the extremely cramped cattle cars became ovens. The stench from accumulating body waste was suffocating.
On at least one occasion, a train stopped outside the church. In the absence of air conditioning, the windows were frequently open. The congregation could hear anguished cries of pain and desperate pleas for help.
The pastor raised his voice so he could be heard above the din. When it was time for the choir to sing, the pastor instructed them to, “Sing a little louder,” to cover the disturbing sounds from outside. The compelling experience seared into the boys mind and changed his life forever. The story has become a book and recently a movie.
What about today? Are we being told to “Sing a little louder?”
- 55,000,000 unborn babies have been murdered using increasingly gruesome processes euphemistically called “abortion.” When we hear their cries, are we being told to “Sing a little louder?”
- America’s Judeo-Christian culture is being destroyed by massive government-encouraged immigration that includes the immigration of large numbers of criminals, terrorists, and people adhering to religious beliefs that are hostile to Jews and Christians as well as millions of immigrants too poor and uneducated to support themselves. (Refer to Ann Coulter’s new book, “Adios America.”) Are we being told to “Sing a little louder?”
- Our culture, including a large portion of the body of Judeo-Christian believers is rapidly sinking into a moral abyss. Are we being told to “Sing a little louder?”
- The witness of believers is being crushed by the relentless pressures of political correctness. Are we being told to “Sing a little louder?”
- The public school system has become intellectually inept as well as emotionally and spiritually toxic. (Refer to “Crimes of the Educators: How Utopians are Using Government Schools to Destroy America’s Children,” by Samuel Blumenfeld and Alex Newman.) Are we being told to “Sing a little louder?”
- The politicians of both political parties are spending America into irretrievable bankruptcy. Are we being told to “Sing a little louder?”
- The United States Supreme Court appears poised to declare the sin of oxymoronic “same-sex marriage” to be a Constitutional right. Are we being told to “Sing a little louder?”
- The military valiantly protects our freedom from without. But our individual freedom is being lost from within by the feeding frenzy of a rabid, out-of-control government. Freedom is a gift from God, not a grant from government. Are we moving to protect that divine gift or are we being told to “Sing a little louder?”
- Large numbers of believers around the world, especially in the Middle East are being tortured, shot, hanged, burned alive, or beheaded, because they refuse to renounce their Messiah. Are we being told to “Sing a little louder?”
Who among the clergy or laity has the courage to stand up and demand that we sing a new song? No—not the one we will sing in glory, but the new song for today that actively confronts the exponentially increasing evils of 21st Century America.
What would the Apostles Paul, Peter, and John say if they were with us today?
The movie, Sing a Little Louder, is now available for viewing in places of worship. Find it at http://singloudermovie.com/
What will YOU do?
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A Majority Vote Cannot Overrule God (Same-sex “Marriage”)
The United States Supreme Court is nearing a decision on a case that could mandate recognition of same-sex marriage nationwide. If so, nine unaccountable, unelected black-robed justices will have succeeded in turning the sin of homosexuality, an abomination to God, into a government endorsed Constitutional Right. The results would be devastating.
According to Franklin Graham, freedom of speech, press, and religion “have suffered greatly” in Canada since it began federally mandating same-sex marriage in 2005. “[In Canada] If you say or write anything questioning same-sex marriage you could face discipline, termination of employment , or prosecution by the government!” (Graham’s Facebook page) We can expect the same here if the Supreme Court federally sanctions same-sex marriage.
For 7,000 years, marriage has been defined in virtually all cultures as a man and a woman married in a lifetime commitment. The Christian scriptures are clear, “Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.” [Hebrews 13:4 KJV] Many cultures elevate traditional marriage because it is the incomparable nucleus of a cohesive culture that is sustainable across many generations. Since the traditional family was created by God, it cannot be arbitrarily redefined by the government or anyone else. No culture has ever survived the breakdown of the traditional family.
A majority vote cannot overrule God
A majority vote cannot turn a vice into a virtue.
A majority vote cannot declare a sin to be non-sin.
Are you willing to sign the “Pledge in Solidarity to Defend Marriage” at http://www.defendmarriage.org/pledge-in-solidarity-to-defend-marriage lead by Dr. James Dobson and other prominent Judeo-Christian Leaders? The exact language was crafted in part by Mathew Staver, Chairman of Liberty Counsel Action. Many of the signers have pledged civil disobedience as necessary if the Supreme Court hands down a ruling establishing same-sex marriage as a nationwide new norm that defies God and millennia of worldwide experience. Rev. Rick Scarborough, president of Vision America Action, says our nation is approaching a Bonhoeffer moment. Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German minister who sacrificed his own life for his faith in Nazi-controlled WWII Germany.
You must save America and the family. The rest is up to YOU!
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“We are not to simply bandage the wounds of victims beneath the wheels of injustice, we are to drive a spoke into the wheel itself.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer
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“If ye love wealth greater than liberty, the tranquility of servitude greater than the animating contest for freedom, go home and leave us in peace. We seek not your council, nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you; and may posterity forget that ye were our country men.” Samuel Adams
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I Will NOT Render Unto Caesar That Which is God’s!
The traditional family and institution of marriage are under relentless and ferocious attack. Together they are the bedrock of American culture. Yet most believers are unable to articulate, advocate, and defend them. Nor are they able to cast an informed vote.
Scripture says, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s. [Mark 13:17 KJV] Caesar (the government) can confiscate all of my material possessions as excessive taxes, but:
- The institution of Marriage was created by God millennia before man’s creation of the American government. Marriage belongs to God, not Caesar! The government is NOT free to redefine marriage.
- The institution of the Family was created by God millennia before man’s creation of the American government. The family belongs to God, not Caesar! The government is NOT free to redefine the family.
- Life was created and given by God millennia before man’s creation of the American government. Life belongs to God not Caesar. The government is NOT free to redefine or exterminate life, except for capital punishment as prescribed by God.
- Freedom was given by God millennia before man’s creation of the American government. Freedom is an incredible gift from God, not a piece meal grant from Caesar. The government is NOT free to restrict freedom beyond Biblical restrictions that come from God.
Believers should have no problem rendering unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s, However, believers must be willing to exert whatever effort is necessary to defend that which is God’s and prohibit takeover by the government. We owe that much to God, to our children, to our grandchildren, and to our great grandchildren.
Otherwise, the iniquity (sins) of the fathers will be visited, “upon the children unto the third and fourth generation” [Numbers 14:18 KJV] and “Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered with the LORD; and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out.” [Psalm 109:14 KJV] Are YOU willing to allow your sins of neglect to be passed on to the next three or four generations?
“If ye love wealth greater than liberty, the tranquility of servitude greater than the animating contest for freedom, go home and leave us in peace. We seek not your council, nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you; and may posterity forget that ye were our country men.” Samuel Adams
The body of believers has always impacted their surrounding culture to an extent far greater than their numbers. It is unlikely that conservative believers have ever been a majority in the United States. Yet, the culture was largely driven by Judeo-Christian tradition and values for nearly 200 years. Today, our light is dim and we have lost our saltiness. In recent decades, the body of believers has negatively impacted the American culture. It is way past time to turn that negative impact into a lasting positive impact. The Master expects it! We owe it!
Marriage, family, life, and freedom are all extraordinary gifts from God. He would reasonably expect believers to respect, value, treasure, protect and defend those gifts for now and posterity (future generations).
One day, He will ask each believer, “What did YOU do with my gifts?” Will we be excited about sharing our love and protection of His awesome, incomparable gifts? Or will we hang our heads in shame as we feebly attempt to explain that we were so addicted to material and other self-indulgent pursuits that we allowed His precious gifts to be taken from us without a whimper?
America’s founding documents, The Declaration of Independence and The Constitution of the United States, considered together, were written in their entirety to preserve and guarantee personal freedom in the broadest sense and religious freedom in a special sense. The founding package was and is unique in all of recorded history. It was designed to protect the people and their God-given gifts from a potentially runaway government. Reducing an understanding of the Founders intentions as expressed in those documents to a mere discussion of the First Amendment or even the Bill of Rights (the first ten amendments) is a monumental distortion of America’s governing principles.
Today, the founding documents are continually undermined by public ignorance, apathy, and indifference enabling a government that increasingly ignores the Constitution and its strict boundaries.
“There is no nation on earth powerful enough to accomplish our overthrow. Our destruction, should it come at all, will be from another quarter. From the inattention of the people to the concerns of their government, from their carelessness and negligence. I must confess that I do apprehend some danger. I fear that they may place too implicit a confidence in their public servants and fail properly to scrutinize their conduct; that in this way they may be made the dupes of designing men and become the instruments of their own undoing…Hold on, my friends, to the Constitution and to the Republic for which it stands. Miracles do not cluster, and what has happened once in 6000 years, may not happen again. Hold on to the Constitution, for if the American Constitution should fail, there will be anarchy throughout the world.” Daniel Webster
Are YOU willing to do whatever is necessary to restore and protect our God-endowed “unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness?” Or will YOU merely slip back into your materialistic, self-indulgent slumber after reading this statement?
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“While most nations trace their origin to barbarians, the foundations of our nation were laid by civilized men, by Christians. … The memory of our fathers should be the watchword of liberty throughout the land; for, imperfect as they were, the world before had not seen their like, nor will it soon, we fear, behold their like again. Such models of moral excellence, such apostles of civil and religious liberty. … To ridicule them is national suicide.” McGuffey’s Eclectic Sixth Reader (1907)
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“…the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight.” I Corinthians 3:19 NIV
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Baby Boomers Gave Us the Greatest Cultural Collapse in History!
The widely acclaimed “Greatest Generation,” those that came of age during the 1930s and 1940s are often and rightfully praised for the sacrifices they made throughout the Great Depression and World War II, their firmly held values, and the quiet unobtrusive way they conducted their post-WWII lives.
However, the subsequent Baby Boom Generation (born between 1946 and 1964) emerged as the most selfish, self-indulgent, self-absorbed, irresponsible generation in the history of America and exhibited the greatest example of generational groupthink in history. The following account is not intended to point a finger or condemn an entire generation, but rather to provoke thoughtful consideration and meaningful discussion.
The Baby Boomers presided over the fastest and greatest cultural collapse in history. It was the Baby Boomers who gave us:
- Woodstock
- Much of the chaos of the 1960s
- Replacement of love with lust
- Abandonment of personal responsibility
- An erosion of fundamental values
- Explosion of abortions
- Skyrocketing divorce rates
- Splintering of the family
- Alternative lifestyles that undermine and devalue the family
- Widespread “dumping” of children into day care centers
- Children to be raised by strangers
- Large-scale shuffling of parents or other inconvenient loved ones perceived as less than whole to adult day care centers or nursing homes
- Substantial concentrations of politicians and journalists of low character
- People in Hollywood and on television who used their God-given creative talents to tear people down, rather than build them up
- Multiculturalism that creates barriers to communications and relationships
- Deterioration of the school systems
- Removal of morality and religion and from public discourse
- Separation of rights from responsibilities, exhibited by pushing the Bill of Rights to absurd extremes that ultimately lead to anarchy
- Extreme political correctness, which stifles communication and the growth of meaningful relationships
- By far, the greatest national debt in history imposing a bone-crushing burden on our children and grandchildren
- Over-zealous government regulations that invade virtually every area of life
- A malignant national government that makes god-like decisions, ranging from life/death to a limitless array of minutiae
God says, “Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it.” [Proverbs 22:6 KJV] Whose responsibility is it to “train up a child”? Day care centers and the schools cannot do it; at best, they are geared to educating the intellect. The churches cannot do it in only a few hours per week. Only the parents can do it!
Yet, many of the Baby Boomers effectively abandoned their single most important responsibility, raising godly children. Instead, the Boomers turned their children over to strangers to be raised. In the Boomers’ view, their personal desires trumped the needs of their children.
The Baby Boomers’ careers, recreational, and other self-interests trumped everything. Do not mess with the Boomers or disrupt their golf game, tennis match, hunting trip, fishing trip, career plans or anything else that they want. In addition, their sheer numbers enable them to demand and get virtually anything they want when they want it. Of course, there are exceptions. There are a minority of Boomers who determined early in life that they would live their lives according to God’s purpose and plan. God always has a remnant. [Romans 9:27 KJV]
The Baby Boomers notable successes are mainly intellectual and include people like Bill Gates and other high technology leaders. However, the magnetically powerful effect of the intellectual achievements has all too often crowded out the emotional and spiritual influences that give life its richness as intended by the Creator. Despite the enormous importance and usefulness of high technology it has had the unfortunate and perhaps unintended consequence of progressively isolating individuals.
A walk down virtually any street, through any mall, or through any airport quickly reveals that nearly everyone is plugged into some electronic device and therefore unavailable for even casual conversation much less thoughtful engagement. The Bible says that, “I come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly” [John 10:10 KJV].
The abundant life lies in the richness of interpersonal relationships, beginning with the family. God seldom rewards the accumulation of “stuff,” but always rewards relationships when they are given a selfless priority. Yet, the “gift” of technology has all too often become a barrier to communications and the growth of interpersonal relationships. Indeed, the Boomer-spawned culture continues the relentless pursuit of stuff at the expense of relationships.
What do YOU think?
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“Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.” [Prov. 14:34 NIV]
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“Only fools say in their hearts, ‘There is no God.'” [Psalms 14:1 NLT]
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Biblical and Evolutionary Worldviews Cannot Coexist
Evolution, also known as scientific naturalism, is a faith system that underlies secular humanism. According to The Humanist Manifesto 2000, “The unique message of humanism on the current world scene is its commitment to scientific naturalism.” In 1961, the Unites States Supreme Court declared, “Among religions in this country which do not teach what would generally be considered a belief in the existence of God are…Secular Humanism, and others.” MacArthur observes that,
Religion is exactly the right word to describe naturalism. The entire philosophy is built on a faith-based premise. Its basic presupposition—a rejection of everything supernatural—requires a giant leap of faith…The notion that natural evolutionary processes can account for the origin of all living species has never been and never will be established as fact. Nor is it “scientific” in any true sense of the word. Science deals with what can be observed and reproduced by experimentation. The origin of life can neither be observed nor reproduced in any laboratory. By definition, then, true science can give us no knowledge whatsoever about where we came from or how we got here. Belief in evolutionary theory is a matter of sheer faith. And dogmatic belief in any naturalistic theory is not more “scientific” than any other kind of religious faith.
Even Charles Darwin remarked, “I was a young man with unformed ideas…to my astonishment the ideas took like wildfire. People made a religion of them.” A century later, Whittaker Chambers added, “Humanism is not new. It is, in fact, man’s second oldest faith. It’s promise was whispered in the first days of the Creation under the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil: “Ye shall be as gods.”
Consider the practical implications of the two opposing worldviews expressed in Figure. The dichotomy of the two worldviews is clear. The evolution dominated worldview isolates the individual as a temporary, purposeless, and insignificant fragment of the universe dedicated to self-centered survival, a self-indulgent life and promotion of self-interests. It is a view that evokes all the characteristics on the left side of the Figure. Civilization eventually dissolves into chaos, which is soon overtaken by totalitarianism, personal freedom is lost and the individual is controlled by others. Ultimately he/she dies—that is the end—there is nothing more.
In contrast, the Judeo-Christian worldview recognizes the uniqueness of a person made in the image of God and assigned the dual purpose of loving Him and loving others. “’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’[Matthew 22:37; Deuteronomy 6:5 NIV] This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ [Matthew 22:39; Leviticus 19:18 NIV] All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” [Matthew 22:40 NIV] The Judeo-Christian worldview considers life as sacred to be honored and protected. The focus is on self-sacrifice, giving, and meeting the needs of others. Culture (civilization) is strengthened and personal freedom is maximized and guaranteed by a limited representational government. Ultimately, his/her eternal life is the supreme joy of being forever in the presence of the Creator.
Which do you prefer? Is it the frantic and frenzied high-stress short-term hedonistic pursuit of pleasure and avoidance of pain ending in annihilation (death)? Or is it the orderly, joyful satisfaction of meeting the needs of others, sharing life in a network of many others holding similar views, relishing the ultimate joy of sharing eternity with God and others in a place called Heaven? The choice should be an easy one, don’t you agree?
There is no evolutionist that perfectly fits the left side of the Figure. Similarly, there is no Christian that perfectly fits the right side. Nevertheless, a person’s wholly or partially adopted worldview will tend to drive him/her either toward the left or the right. Life is not static; the absence of movement is not possible. There will be “growth” in one direction or the other. In recent decades, growing cultural pressure has resulted in a general drift to the left of both the background American culture and also the Judeo-Christian culture, although the believers’ culture tends to be a few steps “behind” the background culture.
Jews and Christians have collectively displayed a growing character weakness primarily because they must live within a culture saturated with the fruit of evolutionary thinking. However, they are only available to a gathering of other believers in the churches and synagogues a few hours each week for what tends to be primarily a one-dimensional, spoon-fed intellectual education, i.e. listening to the teacher/preacher/rabbi in an atmosphere devoid of real personal experience. Believers often lack the soul-deep tools for resisting the nearly overwhelming cultural pressure. Consequently, a series of very slight compromises causes a sort of devolution (evolution in reverse) of moral sensitivities. The aggregate result of thousands of very slight compromises, by many people, is the leftward drift of the Judeo-Christian culture. The remedies will be in upcoming blogs. Meanwhile, what do YOU think?
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“The philosophy of the school room in one generation will be the philosophy of government in the next.” Abraham Lincoln
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“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?” Thomas Jefferson [Engraved on the walls of the Jefferson Memorial]
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Public Apathy Enables Rise of Statism Said President Ronald Reagan!
At Reunion Arena in Dallas, 1984, President Ronald Reagan stated: “Without God there is no virtue because there is no prompting of the conscience. … Without God there is a coarsening of the society; without God democracy will not and cannot long endure. … America needs God more than God needs America. If we ever forget that we are One Nation Under God, then we will be a Nation gone under.”
In 1961, Ronald Reagan stated: “One of the traditional methods of imposing statism or socialism on a people has been by way of medicine. It’s very easy to disguise a medical program as a humanitarian project. … James Madison in 1788 … said … ‘There are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachment of those in power, than by violent and sudden usurpations.’ … What can we do about this? … We can write to our congressmen and our senators. … Say right now that we want no further encroachment on these individual liberties and freedoms. … We do not want socialized medicine. … If you don’t, this program I promise you will pass … and behind it will come other federal programs that will invade every area of freedom as we have known … until, one day … we will awake to find that we have socialism. And … you and I are going to spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children, what it once was like in America when men were free.”
Excerpts courtesy of Bill Federer
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“Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it.” Thomas Paine
Dr. Lloyd Stebbins 