Saturday, January 30, 2016
Friday, January 29, 2016
The Great American Culture War: Religious Liberty, Gay Rights, Naturalism & the Christian Faith
What's really happening here in our country? What's the reason? Is there any way out of this predicament?
I find myself on the conservative Christian side of this present culture war. Yet only ten years ago I was very much a dedicated liberal non-religious individual. I've seen the battle from both sides.
The
culture war is very troubling to me. It keeps me up at night. I read
about it on social media, and get aggravated. I feel the weight of it.
The burden of it is heavy. And I fear for the future of the great
nation I call home.The United States has always been a diverse bunch of misfits and heroes. Many of the founders were Christians with seminary degrees. Still others were agnostic or atheist, deeply interested in philosophy, science, and invention. The diversity has grown as millions have migrated to the USA. The United States has prospered a great deal from diversity.
In the history of the United States there have been philosophical enlightenments as well as great awakenings and temperance movements. It seems to me that the current liberal side of the culture war is a development from the American enlightenment and scientific breakthroughs of the United States. And it seems to me that the current conservative side of the culture war is a product of the great awakenings and temperance movements within the United States. The interesting thing is that from a perspective of being on both sides of the culture war, one notices that each side tends to function in keeping the other side honest.
Women were oppressed in the United States in the past. Slavery and prejudice were tolerated by the public for many years throughout the history of the USA. The family has at times been oppressive to children. And yes, those holding to LGBT sexual preferences were treated shamefully by many who held to the teachings of Jesus Christ. Yet those same teachings said "Love thy neighbor, and pray for those who persecute you" (Mark 12:31, Matthew 5:44). Even more shamefully still, Priests were found to have sexually abused children. Yet Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them" (Luke 18:16). Thank God that liberals, progressives, and some conservatives have had the courage to decry loudly these tragic injustices.
Yet in the past 10 years in this country we've seen the coin flipped the other way. Christianity is openly mocked in the academic institutions of the United States. Religion is considered to be, well, always bad and always oppressive. Those holding to conservative Christian views are often decried as bigots, homophobes, and racists in the public square. Opposition is silenced. Secular humanism is the new ethic. LGBT is pure and good, traditional views are considered corrupt and always suspect. Those supporting traditional marriage are bullied and forced to resign from their jobs, or forced to close their businesses. Sex is fine before, during, and after marriage, because well, we say so. Modernity has replaced all the backwards views of religious fanatics, and we have converted many of the Christians to our sexual views, and the hold outs won't last much longer under the onslaught of science, modernity, and sanity! Many such statements were made in a recent New York Times article.
The latest manifestation of the culture war is the Indiana controversy over a religious liberty bill passed by the state legislature. The LGBT community lead by George Takei assaulted the state of Indiana over the religious liberties bill which they said could be used to turn away homosexuals from local businesses. George Takei called for a boycott of no less than the entire state of Indiana over the religious liberty bill. Later Charles Barkley chimed in calling for the NCAA to move out of Indiana permanently. Arkansas passed a bill shortly after, and once again the call went out to boycott another state. Yet 20 other states have bills passed quite similar to the bills in Indiana and Arkansas. No cries have gone out to boycott businesses in those states though.
Conservative newspapers, online and otherwise came out explaining how other states have similar laws on the books. Then liberal newspapers came out and explained why Indiana's bill is different. Still other conservative newspapers explained why those liberal newspapers are wrong, and that the difference is marginal.
I read an article written by Hans Fiene a Lutheran minister explaining that the current mass support for gay marriage is the millennial generation embracing a revolutionary cause that requires no effort or sacrifice to embrace. He called it Selma envy. Click here to read that article.
The situation developed further when a small family owned pizzeria was forced to close it's doors. The owners went into hiding, all from the onslaught of LGBT activists threatening them and blasting them for a rather mild interview with a local media outlet in which they said they would probably not cater for a gay wedding. Conor Friedersdorf of The Atlantic, a supporter of gay marriage wrote an article titled "Should Mom-and-Pops that forgo Gay weddings be Destroyed?" in which he indicated that LGBT activists shutting down business owners is not an ethical approach to achieve their ends.
The liberal solution to these issues, like gay marriage, women's rights, racism, and so on is for the bullied to become the bully. But that cannot be the solution. It only leads to culture war. Both sides of this debate don't seem to understand that we need each other. We check and balance one another. We keep each other honest.
Yet I'm a conservative Christian. I won't stand by and allow the United States to crumble under the weight of a new bullying majority. But let's table that for a minute. The real question is very basic: Is homosexuality wrong? Or is it dangerous and/or harmful to society?
The Bible says homosexuality is wrong (Romans 1:24-27). But let's table that too for the moment. What does the science say? What do the studies say? According to Mayo clinic, those engaging in homosexuality activity are at greater risk for diseases like AIDS. Sexual intercourse through the rectum can be damaging over time, because simply, it wasn't designed for sexual use. Long term irritation of the bowels can lead to cancer and chronic irritation. (further statistics on medical concerns regarding homosexuality).
Of course people are outraged when you bring up those facts. Then come the ad hominem attacks. They call you a bigot, homophobe, racist, sexist, and so on. People will attack personally when they don't have a counter argument for your arguments. Don't insult me, give me a good counter argument.
Is homosexuality socially destructive? The raw facts say that it is. But once again, the gay activists will raise the noise, and try to bully people into silence. Why don't they deal with the arguments? Why does the US government need to endorse an activity that is medically dangerous and socially destructive? I just don't understand it. Yet the current Supreme Court seems to ignore the Constitution time and again, and rubber stamp such destructive behavior as legal and acceptable. Should the government encourage destructive behavior? Of course not. Yet that's what is happening. Click here to watch a video where author Frank Turek breaks down the issue of gay marriage and it's ramifications for society.
Religious liberty is an extremely important issue. Christians and non-Christians a like need to stand up for freedom of religion. Freedom of religion is inexorably linked to personal liberty, and Libertarians ought to remember that as well.
Those in the LGBT community should be treated with dignity and respect. All people should be treated with dignity, love, and respect. The Bible commands all Christians to love their neighbors. Love and respect is vital. But we as Christians have the freedom to disagree with gay marriage, while still loving and respecting those on the other side. Love does not mean "I agree with your views on everything." Love means we can disagree respectfully, and still love and tolerate one another. But don't let anyone sell you on the idea that you must hate or fear them if you don't agree with their views on sexuality. Yet that is the lie being perpetrated. That somehow my support for traditional marriage makes me a bigot or a monster. Most certainly, that is a total fabrication. People are very afraid to stand up on this issue of marriage, because the LGBT community has gotten very hostile. As much as they call for tolerance, they seem to be a very intolerant bunch. This group seems to try to claim the moral high ground, yet their actions make it clear that they do not have the moral high ground. Yet many Christians seem to concede to that, because the call of being a "bigot" is such a severe claim. Of course it's total nonsense. Ad hominem once again, the science and psychology indicates that homosexuality is detrimental to society and the individual. Yet I'm the bigot. If a bigot is someone intolerant of another's beliefs, then many in the LGBT community are guilty of being bigoted toward religious faith and traditional marriage views.
“Our culture has accepted two huge lies. The first is that if you disagree with someone’s lifestyle, you must fear or hate them. The second is that to love someone means you agree with everything they believe or do. Both are nonsense. You don’t have to compromise convictions to be compassionate.” -Rick Warren
Why should Christians care? This is an issue by which all people of faith are being attacked. Religious liberty is under attack. It's a divisive issue by which all Christianity is dismissed as backwards and false. And some Christians are caving to pressure, and endorsing gay marriage. Recently a liberal branch of the Presbyterian church embraced gay marriage. That makes it a very important issue for the people of the United States.
Yet I would say that the gay marriage issue is a symptom of a greater problem. The problem is that we have religion being taught in our public schools today. What you say? How can that be you say? Yes, I'm afraid it's true. Unproven beliefs are taught in all public schools. A total worldview based on presuppositions and unproven beliefs is being taught in public schools, a religion: the religion of naturalism.
The underpinning is simple: Everything in reality must be described within the natural world, natural terms. If something doesn't fit that construct, it's disregarded.
"Our willingness to accept scientific claims that are against common sense is the key to an understanding of the real struggle between science and the supernatural. We take the side of science in spite of the patent absurdity of some of its constructs, in spite of its failure to fulfill many of its extravagant promises of health and life, in spite of the tolerance of the scientific community for unsubstantiated just-so stories, because we have a prior commitment, a commitment to materialism. It is not that the methods and institutions of science somehow compel us to accept a material explanation of the phenomenal world, but, on the contrary, that we are forced by our a priori adherence to material causes to create an apparatus of investigation and a set of concepts that produce material explanations, no matter how counter-intuitive, no matter how mystifying to the uninitiated. Moreover, that materialism is an absolute, for we cannot allow a Divine Foot in the door." -Professor Richard Lewontin, a geneticist (and self-proclaimed Marxist)
No spiritual views may be taught, no possibility of intelligent design may be mentioned. Creationist scientific interpretations are rejected in favor of naturalistic interpretations of the data.
The underlying philosophy in the United States seems to be that religious views must be excluded from all areas of society. That is insanity, given a historical perspective of the United States. The nation was founded for the governance of a religious society. The religion was not forced, yet the hints were placed everywhere. The society was considered functioning "under God." The ten commandments were placed on buildings. And there was nothing wrong with that. No one was being forced. Maybe a few were "offended" but then fine, let them be offended! The government may make reference to those ideas because they are universal. The government of the USA was designed for the governance of a religious people, and the Constitution was considered useless to govern anyone but a religious people. By making reference to biblical beliefs the government was not endorsing those beliefs, but they were vital to the framework of the nation. It showed that religious views were universal, reasonable, and logical. In fact many of our laws are based on those moral beliefs, the belief that the universe is a moral place. When a homosexual decries religious people for their "bigoted" attitude, that individual is assuming that he or she lives in a universe governed by objective morality. Where did that belief come from? The Judeo-Christian worldview. There will never be a theocracy in the United States. We don't want or need one. But detaching all society from any mention of the Bible or the Christian worldview will lead to the destruction of society itself. By forcing naturalism on the US population through the public school system, well, we have seen the results. Each generation of young people becomes progressively more and more depraved. As a result less and less people are willing to be a law unto themselves, so more and more laws must be put on the books to protect people from each other. Or as the philosopher G.K. Chesterton put it,“If men will not be governed by the Ten Commandments, they shall be governed by the ten thousand commandments.” So more and more, the United States becomes a police state governed by innumerable laws. There are so many vague and oddly stated laws on the books in the United States that it's estimated that the average American commits three felonies a day without even realizing it. Click here to learn more about the problem of authoritarian governance.
Is it any wonder that Congress, the presidency, and the Supreme Court have become so corrupt? When the Judeo-Christian ethic is jettisoned, where does the ethic come from? Personal opinion? The corruption in business and banking is destroying the United States. Those same businesses and banks then get their hands into the political process, and we have our present state: a Congress with billions of dollars flowing into it from special interest groups. There are 11,500 lobbyists at work in Washington D.C. Very simply, the mass bribery is destroying the economy, and eroding trust in the government process. Much of the corruption being seen can be attributed to the secularization of American society.
The logical outworking of naturalism, or darwinism, is a society of dog eat dog. There is no reason for moral behavior, one must find a way to scam or conquer the others and spread their DNA as far and wide as possible, correct? Most certainly that is the case. Secular humanism really has no reason behind it, it is simply borrowing the Christian ethic and redressing it with secular language. (Michael Ramsden's a noted apologist expounds on the grounding of naturalism in an excellent presentation on living the faith. Click here to view/read that.)
It's best stated by atheist Professor John Gray in his book Straw Dogs: "Modern humanism is the faith that through science humankind can know the truth — and so be set free. But if Darwin’s theory of natural selection is true this is impossible. The human mind serves evolutionary success, not truth. To think otherwise is to resurrect the pre-Darwinian error that humans are different from all other animals. The idea of humanity taking charge of its destiny makes sense only if we ascribe consciousness and purpose to the species; but Darwin’s discovery was that species are only currents in the drift of genes. The idea that humanity can shape its future assumes that it is exempt from this truth." (Ibid., 4)
I've often said, and not exclusively in jest: If one studies religion at a major university (Harvard, Princeton, Yale) aren't they in fact studying pre-suppositional secular humanism? The arrogance and presumption of these religion departments is astounding in their approach to the scriptures of the Bible. They approach it with intense skepticism, ruling out any possibility of the supernatural, approaching scriptures with the eyes of naturalism, excluding any possibility that the scriptures might mean what they say, and instead declare their own superiority over the scriptures, altering them to be interpreted through the lense of ascribing all meaning and worldview within those scriptures to local culture and mythos. Their approach is such an absurd act of unmitigated gall the casual observer might as well call it egotistical blasphemy. Oh the irony, that schools like Harvard now turn out "Secular Humanist Chaplains." What, I wonder, are they standing on? According to the atheist Prof. John Gray, they stand on nothing less than the Judeo-Christian ethic, stripped of Christian terms and redressed with humanist philosophy.
When the public schools indoctrinate children into naturalism, is it any wonder that the United States is becoming a post-Christian culture? All the power of the Christian churches across the USA cannot fight that kind of indoctrination. Is it any wonder then, given the public schools, that universities (many started by Christians) now unquestioningly adhere to the Darwinist, Marxist, Freudian view of reality? The final piece of this worst case scenario is the mainstream media, radically secular, dedicated to mocking the church and the Christian faith: the television, internet, and print news media. Included is Hollywood, and day time television, filled to the brim with every manner of depravity, temptation, violence, and sexual sin. These three keys: public schools, universities, and the media, matched with the corrupt US Congress and Supreme Court leave the Christian majority disarmed and facing a radically shifting paradigm.
These three strongholds must, must, must be retaken by US Christians: the public school, the university system, and the mainstream media. Otherwise in 100 years Christianity will be a myth in the United States. Why? Because all of those institutions manufacture the minds of young people. And young people are the key to the future. Hitler himself said give me their minds before their 7, and they'll be Nazi's until they die. Well the naturalists have claimed the minds of young people. The result has been horrendous. There are many statistics. One telling statistic is that since Bible's were banned from public schools the suicide rate among teenagers has tripled. Let that sink in for a few minutes.
When you think about it.. everything in our society is false. People stare at screens in their living rooms, screens at work, screens in their pockets. Society exterminates unwanted children by the millions in clinics. Child sacrifice is legal, sacrificed to selfishness and "sexual freedom." Banks and corporations run Congress. Bombs drop in the middle east. Minimum wage keeps the poor getting poorer and corporate subsidies keep the rich always getting richer. Christianity is mocked, self worshiping "spirituality" is encouraged. Lies are everywhere. Temptation for food, alcohol, prestige, and sex are constantly blasted from the media outlets. Children are trained in naturalism indoctrination centers they call "public schools." No Bibles, and no praying allowed in public schools (though they were allowed there for hundreds of years prior.) The Supreme court says gay marriage is fine, despite the clear science indicating that the practice is medically dangerous and socially harmful. Hospitals (originally started by Christians) have become secular money making machines for the medical industrial complex. Universities (originally started by Christians) are now largely training grounds for Darwinist, Marxist, Freudian ideologies that mock and denigrate people of faith and appose liberty, democracy, and free thought. Hollywood, Disney, and the mainstream media feed the population depravity, and make sin seem cool while good is portrayed as boring. The number one cause of death in the USA is heart disease, and obesity, cancer, and diabetes are skyrocketing due to the processed, genetically modified, chemical filled food that Americans eat. Yet liberal sociologists, philosophers, and critics indicate that everything is fine, and anyone who follows Jesus Christ is a fool for believing in all that nonsense about love, hope, truth, forgiveness, grace, and God-forbid, hope after the grave.
“So the final conclusion would surely be that whereas other civilizations have been brought down by attacks of barbarians from without, ours had the unique distinction of training its own destroyers at its own educational institutions, and then providing them with facilities for propagating their destructive ideology far and wide, all at the public expense. Thus did Western Man decide to abolish himself, creating his own boredom out of his own affluence, his own vulnerability out of his own strength, his own impotence out of his own erotomania, himself blowing the trumpet that brought the walls of his own city tumbling down, and having convinced himself that he was too numerous, labored with pill and scalpel and syringe to make himself fewer. Until at last, having educated himself into imbecility, and polluted and drugged himself into stupefaction, he keeled over--a weary, battered old brontosaurus--and became extinct.” - Malcolm Muggeridge, Vintage Muggeridge: Religion and Society
Yet the way back is simple. If Jesus Christ is real, then we must follow him out loud in truth and we will prevail against the greatest enemy. If Jesus Christ is not real, then we will fail. Since Jesus Christ is in fact really God, and alive today, the only way we can fail is if we fail to stand for what we believe in at this critical time in history. So what can you do? Speak up to your friends. Speak up on social media. Get educated on the issues. Join a political action group. Support groups like Liberty Institute, Campaign for Liberty, and Alliance defending Freedom. Write your local newspapers. Spread the word. Get active on these issues. And we can save the United States. Not by destroying those of naturalist conclusions, but by living love and standing by our convictions.
Related Posts:
- The Great American Culture War: Religious Liberty, Gay Rights, Naturalism & the Christian Faith
- Christianity in the Public Square: The Apologetics & Philosophy Renaissance
- Christian Activism: Can Christianity survive the new cultural attitudes?
- Gay Marriage, LGBTQ Issues, and the Christian Worldview
- A Rational Inquiry of the Bible: Is it reliable? Is it the word of God?
- On the Fourth of July: Freedom of Speech & the New Intolerance
- The Supreme Court, Same Sex Marriage, Religious Liberties
- Ten Great Minds, Ten Controversial Presentations
- What is the Truth about Abortion? Fact, Fiction, Christianity, & Humanism
- Faith in the 21st Century: The Seven Key aspects of Faith
Thursday, January 28, 2016
Monday, January 25, 2016
Five Powerful Speeches on the USA that Touched my Heart
As I've always said, Youtube is a wonderful free market of video content. You can find anything from funny cat videos to inspiring sermons and everything in between. I know in the past we've centered in on apologetics many a-time from the likes of Ravi Zacharias, Frank Turek, William Lane Craig, and many others. We've dabbled into the antics of men like Eric Metaxas and Stephen Meyer as they rebuff the redoubts of modern intellectual subculture. But today I'd like to offer up five powerful speeches that really hit me hard, in light of the United States and the future of the nation. These are some great leaders, and great minds, with messages that we desperately need in the USA today. Enjoy.
1. Dr. Ben Carson at the National Prayer Breakfast
2. Eric Metaxas at Liberty University
3. Ben Stein at Liberty University
4. Dr. Ron Paul to Congress "What if.."
5. Judge Andrew Napolitano - What ever happened to the Constitution?
Related Posts:
- Christians in Politics: A Brief Analysis of Issues in the USA
- Power Structures: The Pyramid & the Inverted Pyramid
- The Entrenched vs. the Minimized: Five Paradigms of Western Society
- Five Causes for the New Christian Activist to Champion
- Pray for the World
Saturday, January 23, 2016
Friday, January 22, 2016
Christianity in the Public Square: The Apologetics & Philosophy Renaissance
Christianity in the public square? For the public good? The people of the United State are divided in many ways, but in this area the consensus seems to be: Sure you can practice your religion, as long as you do it behind closed doors on Sunday. Of course a religion that only functions an hour a week on Sunday and is silent the rest of the week is useless, pointless, and might as well be discarded. Freedom of religion must, and indeed does, by definition, mean freedom to practice that faith at all times, in the public square, at work, at home, and everywhere in between. We the people of the United States do not have freedom of speech to talk about the weather, we have freedom of speech so we may freely proclaim controversial views.
We seem to be at a watershed moment in our history as a nation. All of the shared values of the past are being called into question. Many things that were once considered sacred are no longer considered such, like marriage and sexual intimacy. What might be considered "traditional moral views"are often disregarded by a growing movement that insists on "our way or the highway" with an added hashtag "#tolerance." Tolerance indeed. Perhaps better stated "tolerance if you agree, but intolerance if you disagree with our opinion." Or "endorse or we will punish you."
Issues unrelated to civil rights have been portrayed as civil rights movements. If I were to say, "I'm an alcoholic, stop oppressing me, and just let me drink. Oh and by the way, you need to endorse that position or my buddies are going to get you fired from your job" you would think I was crazy. Yet issues of mental health and unhealthy behavior are being portrayed just like that, despite the scientific, medical, and sociological evidence to the contrary.
The very crux of the situation is this: We have been sold on the lie that the United States, in the public square and in the realm of government must be divorced entirely from Judeo-Christian values for the sake of fairness. The idea of cutting off the United States from Judeo-Christian influence is painted as the only way to allow for a freedom of thought. But one might as well core an apple and see how long the peel stands without it. The United States was founded on freedom of religion, not freedom from religion. The founders of our great nation knew full well, that the Constitution governing the people of the country was only an effective document if implemented for the governance of a religious people.
The view was simple, the founders knew they did not want a theocracy (a government ruled by religious authorities). But they also knew that the USA could only function if the people were moral, and spiritual. So they used the term "God" often, on the print currency, on government buildings, in various legal documents, in the pledge of allegiance, and in the declaration of independence. The idea was that faith was reasonable, logical, and indeed many hold to religious convictions. That needed to be encouraged. They would leave the specific "God" open, so that people would have the freedom of religion (not from, but of) to fill that in with whatever God they worshiped. And if the individual did not worship any God, well, then they would not be compelled to. But they may have to be occasionally "offended" by the word "God" on money, government buildings, and other areas of society. And that was acceptable. Sometimes, well, people can just be offended.
Is it any surprise then, as the people of the USA have discarded moral behavior and spiritual thought, the United States has had to become increasingly authoritarian with endless pages of laws and statutes to prevent every manner of behavior destructive to society. Or as the philosopher G.K. Chesterton said, "If man will not be ruled by the ten commandments they will be ruled by the ten thousand commandments." It seems he was right. A deeply moral and religious nation doesn't need authoritarian governance, and for a depraved population, even an authoritarian government won't be enough to keep it standing.
It seems the voices that want to endorse any and all behavior the culture of the moment deems "good" fails to learn from history. The ancient Roman empire was in just the state we are in now when it fell to internal corruption and external powers noticing her weakness. For anyone who has studied in depth the fall of ancient Rome, the similarities are absolutely striking. Click here to read an article I wrote on just that topic.
Faith is at the very core of our being as a nation. In fact people all across the planet are deeply influenced by religious thought. It is at the core of the human nature, the desire to know a transcendent power. This is the case for not just the United States people, but of all thinking humans on Earth. In fact, 84% of the population of the planet hold to a religious view (32% of them being those confessing to follow Jesus Christ)(Statistics from a 2012 survey).
Unfortunately the process of secularization continues in the United States. Yet this was not ever what was intended for our nation. In fact over our nation's we've always had the Bible taught in public schools. The Ten Commandments and other spiritual statements were placed on buildings and in the official documents of the nation, such as the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. This was not just from the founding of the nation, but also throughout the history of the nation, up until the 1940s and 1950s.
It was then that the US Supreme court began handing down some very troubling decisions regarding the future of our nation. Those decisions have indeed been truly terrible in their scope. Since Roe v. Wade over 56 million children have been exterminated at abortion clinics. Not to mention today those abortion clinics are state funded. Since the shifts in scientific thought surrounding the scopes trial, the Bible was banned from public schools by the Supreme court in 1963. Prayer was banned from public schools in 1962 (Engel v. Vitale). Since then the teen suicide rate has tripled.
Unfortunately in our country something is taking place called secularization. Secularization is the process by which religious institutions have lost their social significance. Secularization could also be defined as the process by which Christian thought is evicted from the public square and government body.
Many have celebrated this as a good thing. They say "why should one religion be forced on anyone?" Christians back-peddle in the face of this argument. Yet is this a good argument? The United States, our form of government, the Constitution, Bill of Rights, and Declaration of Independence were all directly and indirectly informed by Christian principles. There is no way to entirely disconnect the government of the United States from Judeo-Christian values. One might as well try to rewrite the entire form of government. Though I imagine many would like to. President Obama himself has called the Constitution a deeply flawed document.
There is no need to disconnect Christian principles from the US government. If Christian ethics inform the United States government, her leaders, politicians, and laws, so be it. And if that "offends" people, then it's high past time that we let them be offended. Maybe they need to be offended for a while. Maybe it's time that we stop worrying about offending people. If a law were passed to outlaw everything that offends this person or that person, then everything would be illegal.
There are in fact a few things that offend me. Do you know what offends me? I'm offended by the depravity on the television screen. I'm offended by LGBT activists shutting down mom and pop pizzerias. I'm offended by the naturalist religion taught in public schools. I'm offended by the decline and death of morality in the public square. I'm offended by the war on religious freedom. But it doesn't matter what offends me. It doesn't matter at all. The most important thing to consider is this: What will allow for the best possible future for the United States?
There is an incredible drive in my home country, the USA, to cut out the Protestant ethos, the Christian ethic, and toss it aside. History is rewritten in many ways, in the hearts and minds of young people. No mention is made of the many, many good deeds of great Christian men and women across the ages. But the bad is emphasized, underlined, boldened, and even worse, exaggerated, and many times simply made up on the spot. Eventually the general mindset is that religion is always bad, and on inspection has led to nothing but suffering and darkness for the body of man. Yet upon my own inquiry, actually studying events... I found that it wasn't true.
I had never been told that the first hospitals and orphanages were devised by Christians. I had never been told universities in the United States were largely founded by Christians. I had never been told many of the founders held seminary degrees. I had never been told of Bonhoeffer, Wilberforce, Mother Teresa, Martin Luther, G.K. Chesterton, C.S. Lewis, the Salvation Army, or any of the other giants of history. I had been told of the crusades, yet no one had mentions they were in response to the Muslim invasion of Europe. I had even been led to believe that the dark ages were the fault of Christians. But I discovered that too was false. I had never been told, history had been preserved in the monasteries of Christians during those times. I had been told about the religious wars that ever rage, yet upon inquiry I had discovered that the most brutal genocides had been committed by dedicated Marxists and atheists (Stalin's Russia, Hitler's Germany, and the Cambodian Genocide). I believe they call that revisionist history?
So what is at stake? What is the problem with evicting the Judeo-Christian ethic? Myself, and many others believe it will lead to nothing less than the collapse of western civilization. Many will respond that such a thing could never happen. Really, is that so? Consider what has happened already. The family has really totally collapsed. 50% of marriages now end in divorce. Culture has declined and sexual depravity, and media depravity are on an incredible rise. The atheist, agnostic, liberal is generally unphased by that argument. But here is where their ears perk up: Look at the growing corruption in business, economics, and government. That is one thing both liberal and conservative can clearly see. It is a very serious problem. The recent great recession underlines the issue. What happens when our business leaders live out the new values of the culture: moral relativism, post modernism, and naturalism? Corruption grows by leaps and bounds. I think we all take note when the moral problems of the nation begin to adversely affect our bank accounts.
Thankfully, it's not all bad news. I'm seeing a turning of the tide in our country. I'm seeing a new great awakening. It's a sort of apologetics and philosophy renaissance in this country. A Christian awakening. Some have called it an emerging evangelical intelligentsia, with a power to influence culture. I'm deeply encouraged by this new movement. Many are standing up for religious liberty, including people like Frank Turek, Ravi Zacharias, Lee Strobel, William Lane Craig, and Eric Metaxas. It's a beautiful thing to witness, Godly Christian men standing for their principles. There is much hope left. We have reason for hope, faith, and to be pleased and encouraged. I walked in with the bedrock laid, and now I stand on much of what will help turn the tide in our great nation. And we will. I promise you, we will. But you, the reader, must stand with us. Please do, in the name of Jesus Christ, the savior of all people, of all nations.
The best moments in the history of the United States have been the enlightenments, the temperance movements, and the great awakenings. Our best moments as a people tend to be when it's all on the line. Consider the valiant charge of good men to the front lines of World War II. Consider how Americans noticed a rising evil, and didn't think, they didn't stutter step, they simply brandished their weapons like giants, walking to the front lines, voices silent, eyes shining like the glass of a church window, indwelt by the Spirit of God to change history, and change the world forever. And change the world they did. They swept across Europe driving the enemy back on all fronts, and ended the war. They won the day.
So how can it done? We must ask ourselves, how can we prevent the destruction of our way of life? Don't be mistaken, it is on the line.
It would take a uniting of the various strands of the Christian movements in the United States. Protestant groups, Catholics, Lutherans, Christian apologetics ministries, Christian charities, Young Earth, Old Earth, small churches, mega-churches, influential leaders, bloggers, writers, Christian newspapers, Christian websites, and most important, ordinary everyday Christians all aiming to stand for religious liberty, Christian ethics, the end of abortion, and dedication to change culture. Evangelism is vital. Getting loud about our faith is so important. Standing our ground is a must. Most important we must petition the Lord daily in prayer, and just as importantly, live for him in public, with love, humility, and dignity.
We face some very powerful, entrenched strongholds. Those strongholds must be taken. They are the strongholds of the public schools, the mainstream television media outlets, the major universities of this country, Congress, and the Supreme court. If we keep avoiding those strongholds and calling it "impossible" then we'll have to keep fighting a losing battle. These are the institutions that keep us on the defensive, continuously falling back. Why? The reason should be obvious. Those institutions shape the minds of young people. The naturalists and atheists were smart, they knew which institutions to move in on. And now they're entrenched. They've evicted the Bible, and their ideologies are taught in public schools, universities, and largely in all the media outlets. That is an untenable situation for the future of Christianity in the USA. If those institutions are not retaken, there isn't much hope.
I called it an apologetics and philosophy renaissance. But those are actually the words of William Lane Craig. Why apologetics and philosophy? The answer is: Because people are hungry for answers. Young people are hungry for answers. Young people are tired of all the scams and schemes, they're tired of people trying to take their money and use them. They want to know the truth. They want to know what it all means. Within the realm of apologetics and philosophy we translate the words of the Bible for people of today to connect to in a real way.
In a lot of ways, in our society, we have to watch out for scams. We have to watch our for people trying to con us. Many assume Christianity, at least stateside, is about taking your money. Just dressed up differently. In fact a lot of things in our country are dressed up ways for somebody take your money. Some might even argue college has become something like that even. I remember my sister telling me she had graduated with honors from the University of Wisconsin, but upon graduation they wanted to charge her an extra $100.00 for the honors cord, so she elected to skip honors. Ridiculous, don't you think? So when I tell someone that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life the first thought is inevitably going to be: "Why? Why should I believe that? What evidence can you show me that this is true?"
That's where Christian apologetics come in. Christian apologetics is the practice of Christians going about apologizing for being so religious. Just kidding. Apologetic comes from the ancient Greek word "apologia" which means to give an answer, to give a defense of the reason for faith in God. Christian apologetics is analogous to what the apostle Paul did when he spoke to the Greeks at Mars Hill.
Acts 17:22-31 (NIV)
22 Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.
24 “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands.25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. 26 From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. 27 God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. 28 ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’
29 “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill. 30 In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. 31 For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”
Did the apostle Paul quote the Bible to the people of Athens? No he didn't. Paul most certainly did quote the Old Testament when he taught Jews about Jesus, because Jews believed in the authority of the scriptures. But the ancient Greeks did not. If a Christian tells you that we're going to win over atheists and agnostics by quoting them scriptures, they've missed the incident at Mars Hill. Did you notice what Paul did in his apologia?
He did several very important things:
1. Notice how he was polite. He went out of his way to compliment the Greeks. He calls them a deeply religious people (v. 22). Paul is polite and nowhere does he rebuke the Greeks. He doesn't throw it in their face that they're decadent pagans, or insult their false gods. In fact he works hard to find common ground.
2. Notice how Paul built a bridge by describing the altar to the unknown god (v. 23). He continues to build the bridge by correcting the Greeks in several areas, and indicating what God is truly like. He completes the bridge by relating the truth about God to what the Athenian poets are already saying about men being the offspring of god (v. 28). Paul then invites the Greeks over the bridge through a request to have a change of mind and move to God through Christ (v. 30, 31).
3. The third thing Paul did was he encouraged the Greeks to pursue a relationship with God. Paul suggests the idea of seeking God, and finding him (v. 27).
The Christian of today seeks to do the same with the current western culture through apologetics. We look into the natural world and see God's footprints. In astronomy we see design. In history we see evidence. In archaeology we see confirmation. In biology we see information. In mathematics we see probability. In logic we see reason. In philosophy we see truth. In Christ we see love. In the manuscripts we see inerrancy. In the scriptures we see God.
Western man has often been sold the lie that Christian thought is basically a fool believing something that is contrary to reality. That is what men like Richard Dawkins indicate. However that is most certainly false. Christian faith is reasonable faith, in a reasonable God who does in fact existence. There are many evidences for that God, many of which we have discussed on this website. Perhaps the most powerful evidence for the existence of God is the argument from design (the fine tuning argument). Of course there are many other ways to approach the topic, from historical verification, archaeology, textual criticism, and other areas. But I would say the best arguments come from science ironically, the discipline often used by naturalists to explain away creationism. Yet the universe had a beginning, and everything that has a beginning has a cause. Given the scope of the universe, it's cause must be timeless, omnipotent, and outside the system much like... God. Can you see how this can be put to powerful use toward the minds of skeptics, liberals, agnostics, and uninterested parties? Yet how many times have I been told "love is the answer" and then been rebuked? Quite a few.
Of course once the apologetics are presented, Christian philosophy helps to put the faith into practice. Christian philosophy helps us to coordinate the facts of the Bible into a strategic framework, into a coherent worldview that answers the pertinent questions of the day like: Why am I here? What is the meaning of life? What morals should govern a society? And what is my ultimate destiny?
Do you see what I'm getting at? The only way to win the culture is 1) Retake corrupted social, government, and media institutions and 2) Bring the lost to a loving relationship with Jesus Christ.
Can it be done? I believe it can. And it must. The time it late. The board is set. The pieces are moving. It has begun. God is with us. Godspeed. 1 O LORD, how many are my foes! How many rise up against me!
2 Many are saying of me, "God will not deliver him." "Selah"
3 But you are a shield around me, O LORD; you bestow glory on me and lift up my head.
4 To the LORD I cry aloud, and he answers me from his holy hill. "Selah"
5 I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the LORD sustains me.
6 I will not fear the tens of thousands drawn up against me on every side.
7 Arise, O LORD! Deliver me, O my God! Strike all my enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the wicked.
8 From the LORD comes deliverance. May your blessing be on your people. "Selah"
Related Posts:
- Expert Testimony: the Demise of Evolution, Complexity in DNA
- Expert Testimony: Intelligent Design, Archaeology, and the Historical Jesus
- The Great American Culture War: Religious Liberty, Gay Rights, Naturalism & the Christian faith
- Five Powerful Speeches on the USA that Touched my Heart
- How to trigger a Great Awakening
- Mighty Men, Men of Valor, Men of Honor, Men of Renown
- What is the Gospel?
- Does man need God in Western Civilization: Young People are Hungry for the Truth
- Real Christianity: Clothing, Buildings, Money, & Extravagance
- Christians in Politics: A Brief Analysis of Issues
Thursday, January 21, 2016
Wednesday, January 20, 2016
Tuesday, January 19, 2016
The Great Pillars of Society: Morality & Religion
"The great pillars of all government and of social life are virtue, morality, and religion. This is the armor... and this alone, that renders us invincible." -Patrick Henry, Letter to Archibald Blair, January 8 1799
Our nation is at a crossroads. Yet perhaps it's even more dire than that. Our nation is past the crossroads and we're mired in the ditch. This could certainly be true. For our country has fallen far from it's roots. It's fallen far from the dictates of the founding fathers.
The founding fathers are not holy, but they were inspired of God. Which is why our system works pretty well. Of course it's not perfect. But it has functioned very well, for a free society to flourish. Yet we see that our society is beginning to crumble under the weights of moral depravity, economic stagnation, political corruption, and spiritual bankruptcy.
"America is in moral decline as domestic adversaries dismantle our nation's twin pillars of "religion and morality." Christians must unite and fight back or we will certainly lose our religious liberties and basic freedoms! The American Revolution was born from the spiritual foundation of the Great Awakening. Pastors and patriots rose up to fight side by side. We need that resolve again."
-Mathew Staver, Founder and Chairman Liberty Counsel
It's as if we've lost something that we can't quite comprehend. We grasp for it. We can sense it. We can feel it. But we're not allowed to talk about it. And it never comes up in the discussion or in the media.
At some point we as a nation lost focus, we started to drift in a hundred different directions. We drifted away from the truth. Perhaps it was in the glare of pretty lights and dynamic processing machines. Or perhaps it was in the bulbs of the television screens.
"We became so involved and fascinated by the intricacies of television that we found it a little more convenient to stay at home than to come to church. It was an unconscious thing. We didn’t mean to do it. We didn’t just go up and say, now God, you’re gone. We had gone a whole day’s journey, and then we came to see that we had unconsciously ushered God out of the universe. A whole day’s journey-didn’t mean to do it. We just became so involved in things that we forgot about God." -Martin Luther King Jr, 28 Feb 1954, Rediscovering Lost Values
We lost touch with who we are. And who we are is a nation based on a Godly standard. We are a nation who flourished in the strength of the pillars of moral virtue and religious thought. That's something that still holds sway in smaller towns and medium size cities in the United States. But in the violent major cities of our nation, a different dynamic is taking hold. A dynamic based on authoritarian governance for a depraved, selfishness human population.
But it wasn't me who lost touch. In fact, I was never taught the truth growing up. I, myself as well as the millennials and the gen exers are those raised by and taught by those that supplanted the Judaeo-Christian worldview. Or if you like, natural law.
The evidence should be very clear: Those values do not work. What values are those? There are a dozen different systems that could be clumped into the overarching worldview of this bizarre secular movement. Included under that umbrella would be: naturalism, the view that categorically excludes the supernatural and views the universe as a closed system. That's the base. Atheism, the view that there is absolutely no God. That's the outworking from naturalism into the area of religious thought. Also included would be Darwinism, the view that all life evolved from one base, from rocks to goo through the zoo, to you; If you like. Given naturalism, that there is no supernatural, and given atheism that there is no personal God, then Darwinism is a necessity to explain the fact of the existence of a complex, yet precisely harmonious universe.
And just like that, within the realm of neo-darwinism we have a magician, and his name is time. And time takes his top hat, matter, and pulls out a rabbit, the superbly complex yet infinitely harmonious observable universe. And the human being... and the human eye. Time must be quite a magician. And I thought naturalism had precluded the supernatural. Time + matter + chance = the miraculous?
These views that have been built to shift our nation away from religious thought are failed ideologies, useless, and unable to provide an acceptable framework for a prosperous society. They lead to moral depravity and corruption.
From the vacuum of spiritual darkness provided by naturalism, atheism, and neo-darwinism we have something called humanism: the idea that there is something special about the human race, without any God around. Then you get worldviews and political ideologies like communism and socialism.
These views see humans as basically good, and therefore able to work in total equality and harmony. Yet the systemic corruption the United States and the west is the best evidence against such a theory. The human heart tends toward wealth, power, pleasure, and corruption. It's a hard fact to swallow. But look at our nation: The framers of our country set up intricate checks and balances between government agencies, as well as a Constitution to limit the powers of the Federal government. Why did they bother to do this? Because they knew man's heart tends to seek power, and absolute power. They knew they had to build in protections against that. Within socialism and communism, those kinds of checks and balances don't exist. Those are systems built for angels. Men are not angels, therefore when communism is tried it ends in genocide. A few corrupt men set themselves at the top of the equality system and use it for their own ends. Eventually millions die, like in Stalin's Russia. It doesn't work, it never has, and never will. Because men are not angels.
"...only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt & vicious, they have more need of masters." -Benjamin Franklin, Letter to Messrs. The Abbes Chalut and Arnaud, April 17, 1787
The "secular" worldview, if you will, is systemically illogical, contradictory, and unsustainable. It's a worldview. It's a set of presuppositions about life, the universe, the human race, and who we are. Spawned from these presuppositions are all manner of views: Progressivism, abortion, Freudian psychology, Maslow's hierarchy of needs, self help psychology, and all forms of Marxism. It's destroying western civilization, and the people of the west are in complete denial about that fact. They refuse to see it. No matter how much debt piles up, they can't see it. No matter how far the west descends into moral depravity, people don't want to see the self evident truth.
When a school shooting takes place, the presuppositional response of a humanist, a modernist, is that the gun is the problem. Why? Because man is basically good, it can't be a moral problem. Tucked into the humanist view is that if man is evil, it's because social institutions corrupted him. Guess which they go after? Christianity and the church. How ironic, don't you think?
"And all the time—such is the tragi-comedy of our situation—we continue to clamour for those very qualities we are rendering impossible. You can hardly open a periodical without coming across the statement that what our civilization needs is more ‘drive’, or dynamism, or self-sacrifice, or ‘creativity’. In a sort of ghastly simplicity we remove the organ and demand the function. We make men without chests and expect of them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honour and are shocked to find traitors in our midst. We castrate and bid the geldings be fruitful." -C.S. Lewis, The Abolition of Man
G.K. Chesterton said that if you abolish the God, then the government becomes God. We see that with the political far left. Every time there is a problem or a social ill, the government needs to fix it. The government is appealed to for everything from racism to gun violence. The government needs to fix all of it! In stark contrast is the Christian worldview, which understands that if man is shooting up schools, then there is a heart problem with the man. It's not a problem of laws or objects, but of the reigning moral views within the culture.
"Some things in this universe are absolute. The God of the universe has made it so. And so long as we adopt this relative attitude toward right and wrong, we’re revolting against the very laws of God himself." -Martin Luther King Jr. 28 Feb 1954, Rediscovering Lost Values
Sometimes I sit back and think... is there any hope for western civilization? Is there any hope for the United States? And I'm reminded that prayer can change the world. This doesn't have to be a Jeremiah situation. There is definitely a way forward. But it will take the movement of a sleepy church to action. We've been pessimistic, apathetic, and disengaged for far too long. That is the message from every preacher who touches on this issue, from Dutch Sheets to Franklin Graham to James Dobson and many others. The church has to wake up, repent, and take a stand.
I'm sure some might wonder: But what if the modernists are right? What if our current culture is right in believing that God is dead? Could they be right? Doesn't all their science and skepticism prove that God is gone?
I'll refer you to the agnostic scientist, Dr. David Burlinski's evaluation of the science communities forays into this area:
“Has anyone provided proof of God’s inexistence?
Not even close.
Has quantum cosmology explained the emergence of the universe or why it is here?
Not even close.
Have our sciences explained why our universe seems to be fine-tuned to allow for the existence of life?
Not even close.
Are physicists and biologists willing to believe in anything so long as it is not religious thought?
Close enough.
Has rationalism and moral thought provided us with an understanding of what is good, what is right, and what is moral?
Not close enough.
Has secularism in the terrible 20th century been a force for good? Not even close, to being close. Is there a narrow and oppressive orthodoxy in the sciences?
Close enough.
Does anything in the sciences or their philosophy justify the claim that religious belief is irrational?
Not even in the ball park.
Is scientific atheism a frivolous exercise in intellectual contempt? Dead on.”
― David Berlinski, The Devil's Delusion: Atheism and Its Scientific Pretensions
God's not dead. God is alive. He's watching carefully. The divides are so powerful, but God remains sovereign. We are his church, the body of Christ on Earth. What we do matters! What one person, a single man does, can change the entire world. Don't let anyone sell you the lie that you can't change things. Don't submit to apathy and sorrow. Take a dogged stand and refuse to be dissuaded.
There are two great pillars that make the United States a functional and prosperous republic: morality and religion. Morality, the ability to discern right and wrong, and then choose right. The Constitution of our nation was designed for a people who would not need 10,000 laws to be governed by, because within each person would have one law within their hearts, the moral law. Thus, they would be self-governing. But morality could not exist in a vaccuum. Morality was and is inexorably linked to religion, and by religion, the founders meant the various forms and denominations of Christianity. One cannot be consistently moral apart from God, one needs a religious foundation. When morality was linked with the foundation of trust in God then an individual could truly be self-governing. As it says on our currency to this day: "In God We Trust."
"Of all the dispositions and habits, which lead to political prosperity, Religion and Morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of Patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of Men and Citizens. The mere Politician, equally with the pious man, ought to respect and to cherish them. A volume could not trace all their connections with private and public felicity." -George Washington, Farewell Address
There is hope for us. There is still hope. There is great weakness, it's true. We're divided and leaderless. But there is still hope. There is still strength in the men of the west. There is still a fundamental desire to do right, despite the many temptations around us.
I'm seeing something very special happening in my time. It's something that I had hoped for, for the past ten years. I'm seeing that people are waking up. People are beginning to see the truth about the corruption in our society, in our government, and in our media and banking institutions. Principled young men and women are rising up to take a stand for the truth. Christians are gathering together to rise up from the drowning oceans of progressive noise in the media, in academia, and in the sciences. Young people ache at the political correctness. I'm seeing young people waking up by the thousands. It's a beautiful thing. But we need to organize. We need a plan. Here are some thoughts on how we can do that.
This is what we can do:
We must re-engage. - Too many Christians are completely disengaged. According to James Dobson, only 50% of evangelicals are registered to vote. And only 25% will tend to go and actually vote on election days. That's not acceptable. I understand why. It's tough. It's extremely disheartening to be engaged. It's insanely frustrating. But that's what we're called to. We're called to participate. So we must. Or we've already lost. Period. But it's much more than political engagement. It's cultural engagement. It's gathering for a push into all areas: academia, the sciences, government, the arts, music, cinema, and all major cultural institutions. The situation in politics today is simply the result of the secular progressive conquest of the universities, media, and cultural institutions. We need to retake those institutions or we're doomed. We can, we will.
We must innovate. - The thing about a morally depraved culture is that they lose the ability to innovate and develop new technology. Art suffers under moral depravity. If we are willing to stand in Jesus Christ, pure and holy, and live principled lives then we have all the tools necessary to be the innovators and movers of society. By doing this, we can within 50-75 years render corrupt institutions irrelevant simply by innovating and transforming current industries.
We must organize. - Why is it that progressives and atheists are so well organized and Christians and conservatives aren't? We need to organize and stand united. This is so difficult in the United States. But there are so many Bible verses that emphasize oneness. How can the church, the body of Christ, stand united? Given Protestantism my first reaction would to be say "It's impossible. There are too many ideas and too many rivalries." It's not impossible. Nothing is impossible with God. If we believe, we can make it happen. We can stand united, because now is the time to unite. If we don't unite against this common enemy, then we'll most certainly hang separately.
We must set clear goals.- Goals are vital. I've read recently about a list of 45 communist goals that were intended to help circumvent western civilization. They were read into the Congressional record in the 1950s, from a book called "The Naked Communist." I'm still learning about this situation, but it reminded me that goals are vital. We need clear cut goals, achievable goals. If secularists make a list of 45 goals to fundamentally transform America, then we need to make a list of 50 goals to reclaim our nation. Goals are vital, otherwise we're sticks in the wind, geese flying in formation, but not in any given direction.
We must work together. - There are a lot of lone wolfs out there. I've often been guilty of that. But the best way to make a difference is when we unite and work on common goals. Lone wolfs aren't the way to win this. We need to gather together and hold doggedly to creeds and missions, not over months or years, but over decades and longer.
We must stand firmly morally.- We can't help redeem a depraved culture if we look just like that culture. I'm tired of seeing churches take cues from the world about what to believe. We trust the Bible, not the shifting opinions of the world. But standing morally begins on a personal basis. If I'm smoking dope every other week, and drinking and sleeping around with girls, there is no reason to think I will be able to impact others. My life and how I live it speaks volumes. Living rightly, in holiness starts with me on a day to day basis, prayerfully standing against temptation and refusing to submit to sinful lusts. This is about making hard decisions when a quick fix is placed before us. This has been a thorn in the side of Christianity in the west, first with the Catholic priests molesting boys, later on with high profile minister after high profile minister being caught up in public sex scandals, infidelity. It's a disgrace and it ruins the witness of an entire generation of Christians. We've got to stand firm on a personal basis and also on an organizational basis. That means that we're willing to call out our own people, those in our party, or in our own church when they do something that is obviously wrong or corrupt. We don't need more party partisans, we need people actually working for the common good. And those who stand for the truth and live for the truth, wherever it leads.
We must refuse to become jaded.- The temptation to throw our arms up in the air is huge. There is so much evil, so much destruction, so much sexual depravity, human trafficking, corruption in D.C., school shootings; so much madness that it becomes completely overwhelming. We are forced by the agony of it to disengage and retreat. But I'm asking you to refuse that. When the worldly clamors threaten to turn your skiff, turn instead to the holy scriptures. Let them inspire you, rejuvenate you, and fill you. Don't let the faucet always be pouring in the bad news from the world, but instead switch the faucet over to the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Pace yourself carefully, know when you've had enough for the day, that way you'll remain in hope.
We must pray to God.- Appeal to heaven brothers and sisters. This makes all the difference. Without prayer, we might as well not even try. But with prayer, everything will change. When events and situations are bathed in prayer, it's shocking. You can see a situation that seemed utterly hopeless suddenly transformed into a new hope for the future. It's happened time and again in history. Think of Great Britain's dogged stand against Nazi Germany. The entire free world held on by a knife edge, as Winston Churchill led Great Britain through the darkest hours of night, alone, facing a powerful enemy. It looked impossible, France was conquered and the remains of the British army were being shuttled across the channel by fishermen and private citizens. Yet everything changed, the U.S.A. became involved and the war was won. Think of George Washington, our first president, as he prepared to engage in battle with the most powerful army in the world. As he took command of the continental army and was apprised of the situation, he was told that his army had almost no gun powder. And the colonies had no ability to produce gun powder. It was recalled that George Washington went silent when hearing this news, and seemed horrified by the situation. Yet later in the war General Washington led a surprise attack against the enemy on Christmas day. And it worked. Washington's fleet was tiny and the British dominated the waterways. It was fitting then that George Washington commissioned the fleet with the "Appeal to Heaven" flag flying on the flagship. The appeal of the colonies was successful and a Christian nation was born.
We must obtain all our strength from the Holy Spirit.- If you think that this is impossible, that we can never retake our country, well, you're right. It is impossible. But in the power of the Holy Spirit and only by the power of God, does it become possible. And it is more than certain in the power of God, because it's achieved by God, not by man. When you are tired and befuddled seek the Holy Spirit. He gives grace, and more grace.
We must preach the gospel of Jesus Christ.- The gospel of Jesus Christ is what drove the first colonists to settle on this continent. Missionaries and Christian movements have transformed entire civilizations. It can happen today. Jesus Christ is alive and active in the world today. You can believe in Jesus, because he is here with you now. He is at work through your actions. He is real.
Always be glad because of the Lord! I will say it again: Be glad. Always be gentle with others. The Lord will soon be here. Don’t worry about anything, but pray about everything. With thankful hearts offer up your prayers and requests to God. Then, because you belong to Christ Jesus, God will bless you with peace that no one can completely understand. And this peace will control the way you think and feel.
Finally, my friends, keep your minds on whatever is true, pure, right, holy, friendly, and proper. Don’t ever stop thinking about what is truly worthwhile and worthy of praise. You know the teachings I gave you, and you know what you heard me say and saw me do. So follow my example. And God, who gives peace, will be with you. -Philippians 4:4-9 CE
The time is now friends. There is still hope for our nation. We can take a stand. We can change the world. Young people are the future. You are the future. Be the change you wish to see. Never give up, never stop fighting. Stand firm, no matter what. Stand on the principles of God. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and believe in the righteousness of our cause. May God be with you all, amen.
"That’s what we need in the world today-people who will stand for right and goodness. It’s not enough to know the intricacies of zoology and biology. But we must know the intricacies of law. It is not enough to know that two and two makes four. But we’ve got to know somehow that it’s right to be honest and just with our brothers. It’s not enough to know all about our philosophical and mathematical disciplines. But we’ve got to know the simple disciplines, of being honest and loving and just with all humanity. If we don’t learn it, we will destroy ourselves, by the misuse of our own powers...
....if we are to go forward today, we’ve got to go back and rediscover some mighty precious values that we’ve left behind. That’s the only way that we would be able to make of our world a better world, and to make of this world what God wants it to be and the real purpose and meaning of it. The only way we can do it is to go back, and rediscover some mighty precious values that we’ve left behind." -Martin Luther King Jr, 28 Feb 1954, Rediscovering Lost Values
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