The title for this post is a quote from George Washington Carver. It is true in every sense of the phrase because if there is one thing that levels the secular playing field, it is education. Education makes even those that hate you have to respect you. I always encourage my students to pursue advanced degrees to open up more options for them as they enter the workforce. Education is an equalizer. I can remember going to graduate school and getting some pretty nasty looks and overhearing some even nastier comments regarding my status. This came from students that were not of my ethnicity of course. Token, special, minority, affirmative action...you name it, they (not all) thought of it and displayed it either verbally or through their actions. As I matriculated and my level of knowledge increased and rivaled that of my counterparts, while the comments may have still been made, they HAD to respect me which in the end nullified the comments.
In this election cycle, we keep hearing the Republicans harp about entitlement programs such as welfare and food stamps. I won't get into the "who gets more" debate. I understand that the reason that the numbers are higher for whites is because they outnumber us in population. I wish those entitlements like tax loopholes and tax breaks and Cayman Island accounts to hide taxable revenue were also shut down too. Then we wouldn't be having such a vigorous debate about the "rich" versus the "poor" because everyone would be paying their fair share of taxes...in an ideal case.
One misconception that Republicans love perpetuate is that blacks are ALL on welfare or on some type of entitlement program. I would totally disagree. While there are some sectors of the black socioeconomic strata that rely heavily on these programs, they do not represent all of black America. Furthermore, when you look at the numbers of people that are actually on welfare and look at their educational systems...you see a distinct connection between their socioeconomic status and their educational status.
I would argue that instead of trashing entitlements, Republicans need to go against the party norm and start to build up education. Rick Perry, who I am elated about no longer being in the race, wanted to SCRAP the ENTIRE Department of Education. Stop raping the educational system by constantly cutting the education budget and constantly cutting educational resources. In doing that and by creating a robust educational system that actually teaches students to become learners and not numbers for AYP, you have essentially created a more competent and competitive workforce! People that can find gainful employment and have the critical thinking skills to actually think BEYOND the test will not need welfare or food stamps or any other entitlement. But, what always happens is the educational systems in low socioeconomic sectors are always the worst when it comes to funding, teacher quality, facilities and overall quality. All of these factors create a setting where learning is not promoted and students see NO meaningful end to the educational process. What you end up with is a permanent underclass that are only educated enough for low wage jobs. In my mind, I am sure that this is the intended result of trashing the educational system but I am going say that enough is enough.
Republicans cannot continue to talk out of both sides of their necks. If you are going to get rid of entitlements, then you better have an alternative. If you are going to continue to curtail educational services then get ready for the entitlement rosters to explode. The ADHD generation is growing up and there are no jobs for them nor are they educationally equipped to go any further than a diploma. What will it be Republicans? You can't have it both ways. Stop stepping on education and start equipping tomorrows leaders.
Friday, January 27, 2012
The Reinvention of Everything
OK so I know that the technological revolution is plowing ahead at full steam. There are more gadgets now to keep us distracted from doing real work than ever before. I mean Apple has the market cornered when it comes to tablets, portable music devices and laptops. I think though that the more advanced we get, the more we keep reinventing the wheel.
For instance, the tablet is a marvel of engineering. Merging the technologies of the cellular phone, PDA, the computer, the portable music device and the handheld videogame (which is what most tablets are) is a great feat. Considering that many of them cannot be used to make calls, they are more similar to juiced up laptops...which is what they become when you purchase a small keyboard to go with them! Why in the world would you buy a keyboard for a tablet when the purpose of said tablet is to move us away from the laptop? Can you say Laptop part Deux?
Next on the list is the i-pod docking station. A handheld music player that fits in a shirt pocket is pretty cool. Add a "docking" station complete with speakers and a plug and you've just reinvented the boom box, which costs around $30 at Wal-Mart. Sure, you may have 2000 songs on your ipod, BUT you could just as easily load up the boom box with a CD full of MP3 files, which many of them are able to play, and viola- you have the music sans the docking station and have saved about $300 smackeroos.
Finally, the retro Air Jordan dilemma. Why would anyone pay double what the shoes were worth in 1988 or in 1993 or in 1999? Nike is making a killing reissuing shoes that they simply could have left on the market. But they are smart because the second they go off market, people start salivating even though they had plenty of time to buy them when they were in stores. I don't buy Jordans. I have several pairs but they are all gifts from others. They are too expensive and they are NOT comfortable at all. To top it off, just like other Nikes, they are usually made from cheap material that does not last very long and they want $200 for them! I can't see it.
I guess the old saying is true, the more things change, the more they stay the same.
For instance, the tablet is a marvel of engineering. Merging the technologies of the cellular phone, PDA, the computer, the portable music device and the handheld videogame (which is what most tablets are) is a great feat. Considering that many of them cannot be used to make calls, they are more similar to juiced up laptops...which is what they become when you purchase a small keyboard to go with them! Why in the world would you buy a keyboard for a tablet when the purpose of said tablet is to move us away from the laptop? Can you say Laptop part Deux?
Next on the list is the i-pod docking station. A handheld music player that fits in a shirt pocket is pretty cool. Add a "docking" station complete with speakers and a plug and you've just reinvented the boom box, which costs around $30 at Wal-Mart. Sure, you may have 2000 songs on your ipod, BUT you could just as easily load up the boom box with a CD full of MP3 files, which many of them are able to play, and viola- you have the music sans the docking station and have saved about $300 smackeroos.
Finally, the retro Air Jordan dilemma. Why would anyone pay double what the shoes were worth in 1988 or in 1993 or in 1999? Nike is making a killing reissuing shoes that they simply could have left on the market. But they are smart because the second they go off market, people start salivating even though they had plenty of time to buy them when they were in stores. I don't buy Jordans. I have several pairs but they are all gifts from others. They are too expensive and they are NOT comfortable at all. To top it off, just like other Nikes, they are usually made from cheap material that does not last very long and they want $200 for them! I can't see it.
I guess the old saying is true, the more things change, the more they stay the same.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
With God, NOTHING shall be impossible
I like to think of myself as a weird guy sometimes. I think about stuff differently and I enjoy challenging myself to think outside of the box. One of the things that has recently challenged me is the following paradox: "Can an omnipotent being create a stone so heavy that even that omnipotent being cannot lift it?" This is called the omnipotence paradox and it is used in many instances to question the omnipotence of God. The argument is this: if the being is truly omnipotent there is nothing that the being cannot do therefore if the being: 1. creates the stone and then cannot lift it, the being is not omnipotent or 2. cannot create the stone itself at all then the being is not omnipotent. On the surface, the paradox presents a real problem. But only on the surface. God, as we conceive of Him as believers, is omnipotent. The definition of omnipotent is simply having unlimited power. We have always been taught that God has unlimited power and the bible affirms this belief. We know that God created the universe, He set the laws of the universe in motion, He intervenes in the universe providentially and He foreknew everything that would ever happen even to this very day in history and in time. That's pretty amazing.
But is there anything that God cannot do? I would answer yes. There are many things that God cannot do because the things, if done, would be contrary to His nature. God will never contradict his nature. God cannot sin. God sinning would imply that God is subject to outside forces within the universe. Man sinned because man was tempted by Satan. God is not subject to the temptation of Satan because God cannot be tempted by something that He created. James 1:13 "Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone." The question might arise that Jesus was tempted but when taken in the proper context, we understand that this is a resolvable argument. The humanity of Christ was tempted and while Christ existed in the hypostatic union being fully divine and fully human at the same time, his divinity was not tempted nor could it be tempted because God cannot be tempted. Although his flesh was tempted, as Jesus was God incarnate (in the flesh), he NEVER yielded to the temptation to sin because to do so would have resulted in a failed attempt to redeem man from sin. Jesus, the Son, resisted sin in order that man might be reconciled back to God, the Father. God, the Father, is a spirit and is not subject to the temptations that we are subject to in the flesh.
God cannot lie. A lie is contrary to the nature of God. The nature of God is truth and not falsehood. Also, God will not do what He commanded us not to do. We are commanded not to bear false witness. God will not contradict Himself by breaking his own law- that would make God a sinner- which I have already established that He cannot be. There is a scripture in 1 Kings 22 that refers to a spirit that would become a lying spirit, or a spirit that chose to cause the false prophets to lie in order to entice Ahab into believing that he would win in battle. This would ultimately prove false. The fact should immediately occur to us that in this text there is a spirit standing before a holy God that is choosing to cause the prophets to lie (see Job 1 also where Satan stood before God with the rest of the "sons of God"). However, the scripture does not indicate that the spirit was a deceiving spirit while in the presence of God but became a deceiving spirit when it went out from God, with God's permission to entice Ahab. It also states that there were spirits on the left and right hand of God that conversed among themselves when God asked who would entice Ahab. God never commanded the spirit to lie, the spirit devised its own methodology by which it would entice Ahab. God said, "you will entice him and prevail" knowing the pridefulness of Ahab and his inability to resist the tickling of his own ears, even with lies from his prophets. What God allows and what God does is totally different- and in this case, Ahab's pride caused him to heed the enticing words of his false prophets, go into battle and ultimately be killed. His death was simply an execution of God's judgment. Before we accuse God of setting Ahab up, Ahab KNEW that the prophets were lying because Micaiah, the true prophet in the text, told him that the prophets had words put into their mouths by a deceiving spirit- and Ahab could have easily NOT gone into battle.
The heart of this argument against the omnipotence paradox is another thing that God cannot/will not do. God will not create a situation that is impossible for Himself. In the words of St. Augustine "God can do and does everything that God wishes, which resolves all possible paradoxes, because God, being perfectly rational, never wishes to do something that is paradoxical." C. S. Lewis argues in reference to and in favor of God's omnipotence by saying that this is essentially a nonsense paradox. According to Lewis. "a rock so heavy that God cannot lift it" is nonsense just as much as referencing "a square circle." Thomas Aquinas in Summa Theologica says it this way " Therefore, everything that does not imply a contradiction in terms, is numbered amongst those possible things, in respect of which God is called omnipotent: whereas whatever implies contradiction does not come within the scope of divine omnipotence, because it cannot have the aspect of possibility. Hence it is better to say that such things cannot be done, than that God cannot do them." Therefore, we can conclude the following: God does things that have the possibility of being possible, even if only remotely possible. Something that CANNOT be done, by God in His omnipotence, is not something that God WILL do. The fact that something cannot be done does not render God non-omnipotent, it renders the thing absolutely impossible. If something implies contradiction to the nature of God or the nature of possibility, it becomes nonsense because God would have to purposefully change His nature to do it and God does not change.
What does this all mean? God IS omnipotent, all powerful and the fact that there are things that God will not do does not change that. The mere fact that it takes a nonsense paradox to try and limit God's omnipotence is a great testament to the ability of God to do ANYTHING that He deems possible. The fact that God will not do something does not diminish His power in ANY way. Every miracle in the bible is real because for every sickness, there is the possibility for healing. "Wha about AIDS?" Well, if the AIDS virus is natural, which it is regardless of the bioengineering that it took to create it, and is subject to natural biological process, it can be healed- the cure simply has not been discovered yet. What about the mountains that are before us? God can move those mountains because there is nothing created that is not subject to His power! What often times LOOKS impossible to us is actually well within the realm of possibility for God. It looks impossible for God to have bypassed the natural mode of conception and implant Christ into the womb of Mary- but the angel said to Mary in Luke 1:37 that NOTHING is impossible WITH God. Nine months later, the Savior was born in Bethlehem. Therefore, as God exercises His omnipotence and His power there is nothing that can stand His way. It may defy human logic but is very much comprehensible for an Almighty God. God asked the rhetorical question on numerous occasions: Is there anything too hard for Me? The good news of the gospel promises that those that believe in Christ will face a very real, and very possible death but will also be resurrected (impossible by human standards yet guaranteed by God's word) to live in eternity with Christ!
Today, there may seem to be an impossiblity in your life. God does not create impossiblities. God removes impossibilities. When Jesus was talking with his disciples in Matthew 19 regarding salvation, he said to them that it was easier for camel to go through the eye of a needle than it was for a rich man to be saved. This is a purely metaporical statement in that it illustrates the unwillingness of man, especially one with lots of material wealth, to sacrifice for the sake of the kingdom of God. The disciples were astonished because this looked and sounded like an impossibility to them. A camel is a mllion times the size of the eye of a needle. It is important to note here that the impossibility arises not because of God but because of the unwillingness of man to submit to God. But Jesus came back and affirmed the omnipotence of God by saying "with man this is impossible but with God all things are possible." God will either shrink the camel or enlarge the eye of the needle, but it is possible. Could God create a camel small enough to fit through the eye of a needle...absolutely, if He so chooses. Could God give man the ability to construct a needle with an eye so large that a camel could go through it? Can a camel walk through the Empire State Building? I think you see my point. There is nothing impossible for God, there is nothing too hard for God. He said it Himself and He cannot lie! The impossiblility that you might be facing right now could very simply be due to an unwillingness to let something go. Trust God for all things. Not just for the humanly possible but also for the humanly impossible. The second we realize that we can trust God in His omnipotence to work in every area of our lives as belivers, that is the second that we can say with confidence "with God, nothing is impossible." God bless you and keep you.
But is there anything that God cannot do? I would answer yes. There are many things that God cannot do because the things, if done, would be contrary to His nature. God will never contradict his nature. God cannot sin. God sinning would imply that God is subject to outside forces within the universe. Man sinned because man was tempted by Satan. God is not subject to the temptation of Satan because God cannot be tempted by something that He created. James 1:13 "Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone." The question might arise that Jesus was tempted but when taken in the proper context, we understand that this is a resolvable argument. The humanity of Christ was tempted and while Christ existed in the hypostatic union being fully divine and fully human at the same time, his divinity was not tempted nor could it be tempted because God cannot be tempted. Although his flesh was tempted, as Jesus was God incarnate (in the flesh), he NEVER yielded to the temptation to sin because to do so would have resulted in a failed attempt to redeem man from sin. Jesus, the Son, resisted sin in order that man might be reconciled back to God, the Father. God, the Father, is a spirit and is not subject to the temptations that we are subject to in the flesh.
God cannot lie. A lie is contrary to the nature of God. The nature of God is truth and not falsehood. Also, God will not do what He commanded us not to do. We are commanded not to bear false witness. God will not contradict Himself by breaking his own law- that would make God a sinner- which I have already established that He cannot be. There is a scripture in 1 Kings 22 that refers to a spirit that would become a lying spirit, or a spirit that chose to cause the false prophets to lie in order to entice Ahab into believing that he would win in battle. This would ultimately prove false. The fact should immediately occur to us that in this text there is a spirit standing before a holy God that is choosing to cause the prophets to lie (see Job 1 also where Satan stood before God with the rest of the "sons of God"). However, the scripture does not indicate that the spirit was a deceiving spirit while in the presence of God but became a deceiving spirit when it went out from God, with God's permission to entice Ahab. It also states that there were spirits on the left and right hand of God that conversed among themselves when God asked who would entice Ahab. God never commanded the spirit to lie, the spirit devised its own methodology by which it would entice Ahab. God said, "you will entice him and prevail" knowing the pridefulness of Ahab and his inability to resist the tickling of his own ears, even with lies from his prophets. What God allows and what God does is totally different- and in this case, Ahab's pride caused him to heed the enticing words of his false prophets, go into battle and ultimately be killed. His death was simply an execution of God's judgment. Before we accuse God of setting Ahab up, Ahab KNEW that the prophets were lying because Micaiah, the true prophet in the text, told him that the prophets had words put into their mouths by a deceiving spirit- and Ahab could have easily NOT gone into battle.
The heart of this argument against the omnipotence paradox is another thing that God cannot/will not do. God will not create a situation that is impossible for Himself. In the words of St. Augustine "God can do and does everything that God wishes, which resolves all possible paradoxes, because God, being perfectly rational, never wishes to do something that is paradoxical." C. S. Lewis argues in reference to and in favor of God's omnipotence by saying that this is essentially a nonsense paradox. According to Lewis. "a rock so heavy that God cannot lift it" is nonsense just as much as referencing "a square circle." Thomas Aquinas in Summa Theologica says it this way " Therefore, everything that does not imply a contradiction in terms, is numbered amongst those possible things, in respect of which God is called omnipotent: whereas whatever implies contradiction does not come within the scope of divine omnipotence, because it cannot have the aspect of possibility. Hence it is better to say that such things cannot be done, than that God cannot do them." Therefore, we can conclude the following: God does things that have the possibility of being possible, even if only remotely possible. Something that CANNOT be done, by God in His omnipotence, is not something that God WILL do. The fact that something cannot be done does not render God non-omnipotent, it renders the thing absolutely impossible. If something implies contradiction to the nature of God or the nature of possibility, it becomes nonsense because God would have to purposefully change His nature to do it and God does not change.
What does this all mean? God IS omnipotent, all powerful and the fact that there are things that God will not do does not change that. The mere fact that it takes a nonsense paradox to try and limit God's omnipotence is a great testament to the ability of God to do ANYTHING that He deems possible. The fact that God will not do something does not diminish His power in ANY way. Every miracle in the bible is real because for every sickness, there is the possibility for healing. "Wha about AIDS?" Well, if the AIDS virus is natural, which it is regardless of the bioengineering that it took to create it, and is subject to natural biological process, it can be healed- the cure simply has not been discovered yet. What about the mountains that are before us? God can move those mountains because there is nothing created that is not subject to His power! What often times LOOKS impossible to us is actually well within the realm of possibility for God. It looks impossible for God to have bypassed the natural mode of conception and implant Christ into the womb of Mary- but the angel said to Mary in Luke 1:37 that NOTHING is impossible WITH God. Nine months later, the Savior was born in Bethlehem. Therefore, as God exercises His omnipotence and His power there is nothing that can stand His way. It may defy human logic but is very much comprehensible for an Almighty God. God asked the rhetorical question on numerous occasions: Is there anything too hard for Me? The good news of the gospel promises that those that believe in Christ will face a very real, and very possible death but will also be resurrected (impossible by human standards yet guaranteed by God's word) to live in eternity with Christ!
Today, there may seem to be an impossiblity in your life. God does not create impossiblities. God removes impossibilities. When Jesus was talking with his disciples in Matthew 19 regarding salvation, he said to them that it was easier for camel to go through the eye of a needle than it was for a rich man to be saved. This is a purely metaporical statement in that it illustrates the unwillingness of man, especially one with lots of material wealth, to sacrifice for the sake of the kingdom of God. The disciples were astonished because this looked and sounded like an impossibility to them. A camel is a mllion times the size of the eye of a needle. It is important to note here that the impossibility arises not because of God but because of the unwillingness of man to submit to God. But Jesus came back and affirmed the omnipotence of God by saying "with man this is impossible but with God all things are possible." God will either shrink the camel or enlarge the eye of the needle, but it is possible. Could God create a camel small enough to fit through the eye of a needle...absolutely, if He so chooses. Could God give man the ability to construct a needle with an eye so large that a camel could go through it? Can a camel walk through the Empire State Building? I think you see my point. There is nothing impossible for God, there is nothing too hard for God. He said it Himself and He cannot lie! The impossiblility that you might be facing right now could very simply be due to an unwillingness to let something go. Trust God for all things. Not just for the humanly possible but also for the humanly impossible. The second we realize that we can trust God in His omnipotence to work in every area of our lives as belivers, that is the second that we can say with confidence "with God, nothing is impossible." God bless you and keep you.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
My Issue with the Anti-Abortion Movement
Let me begin this post by stating my beliefs regarding abortion. I think that it is wrong. I think that it is murder in the cases of late term/partial birth abortions. We could argue all day about when "life" begins but considering the fact the the primary event that precipitates pregnancy is fertilization of an egg by a sperm, I believe that it is pretty safe to say that life begins at conception. The miracle of conception is something that is downplayed or even overlooked in the whole argument against abortion. How in the world can two microscopic pieces of matter, a sperm and an egg, come together and then ALL of the genetic material that is within them code properly to produce a human being with 10 fingers, 10 toes, two eyes…etc.? That is totally amazing and it is one of the reasons that I know that there is a Creator, God, that has created everything on this planet and that there is really no such thing as “natural selection” or evolution, in the sense of all life springing from a primordial ooze (i have blogged about that already so if you are interested, please see "From Big Bang to Evolution"). It is also a great reason to promote the sanctity of life, to borrow a line from the religious right. Some of their other reasoning, however, does not cut it in my opinion.
What we needed was some godly counsel, not demagoguery. Instead of railing against the government for protecting the personal rights of a person that can make whatever personal choice that they want, why don’t we start ministering to these mothers that choose abortion or are considering abortion? When certain drugs were made illegal, which is what the "right" wants to do with abortion, did people stop using them? No. On the contrary, drug use escalated and it also became more dangerous. Instead of criminalizing a personal choice, why don’t we start teaching abstinence AND birth control, the latter of which the right wing will not touch. They harp on and on about abstinence and yet refuse to believe that people have pre-marital sex. Most of us did not wait until we were married. I didn’t. But that was because I had no one to teach me about abstinence in a way that was biblically sound and loving, with an emphasis on loving. Why bury our collective heads in the sand as if there was something NEW under the sun? The same temptations and sinful pleasures that enticed many of us into lustful, unhealthy, sexual relationships are STILL HERE today. Let us reach out to those that are faced with these tough decisions. Teaching birth control does not promote pre-marital sex, it prevents some of the consequences of pre-marital sex. Should abstinence be taught first? Yes. I have a son and a daughter. If they chose to have pre-marital sex, which I pray that they don’t, I would want them to understand the ramifications of doing so and not using contraception or protection from disease- which is rampant. In many cases, had birth control been used or self-control been practiced (abstinence), there would be no need to have a discussion about abortion. Don’t jump off the ship because this is a preacher that is facing reality. The spirit of lust is real and someone that walks in the flesh, which we all did prior to coming to a saving knowledge of Christ [emphasis on saving knowledge and not just a superficial knowledge], does not have the ability to resist the devil- which is why sex is an issue that must be attacked from a practical and a theological stand point. I don't want to paint a picture of sex being bad either. Sex is beautiful, but it is portrayed by the world in such a salacious and unbecoming light that people walk away from the issue altogether instead of bringing the correct and biblical perspective of sex to the forefront.
T his article is not promoting or condoning abortion in any way. It is strictly an exercise in thought. I believe that this new tactic of predicting what an unborn fetus would have done is ridiculous. It is not necessary. Why try to dazzle with cleverness of speech? Let us focus on the bible and what it teaches about abortion. We don’t need a straw man argument that will be totally demolished by those that see nothing wrong with abortion. We need to be able to stand on the Word of God which says, simply, that murder is a sin and that we should not kill. Never mind the status of the life, it is wrong to murder. That’s the basis of the argument against abortion. Keep the argument biblical and let’s use the opportunity to minister to the ones that are considering abortion. Killing abortion doctors is no more humane or righteous than the procedure that those doctors perform on a daily basis. Walking into a church filled with innocent people and murdering a man that has a family and children himself, even if he participated in abortions, is not right. We are not the judge, God is. We are not the ultimate authority, God is. Focus on the Family and other groups like it need to focus on the real issue- that is spreading the gospel to the lost, and preaching to gospel to ourselves every day. I heard Sekulow say that organizations like “Planned Parenthood” worship at the altar of abortion. Well, when you make it your business every day to harp on abortion and not mention Christ or the gospel- you’ve also bowed at that same altar. When any singular issue rivets you into a spot such that you no longer focus on the totality of the gospel message (see Matthew 25)- i.e. feeding the hungry, assisting the poor, visiting the sick- in other words, showing the compassion of Christ to all men, the enemy has rendered you ineffective.
Having said that, I am growing tired of anti-abortionists making abortion a political issue. I was listening to Jay Sekulow on Family Talk and I listened to him pound on the President for his pro-choice stance. I listened to him take some of the president’s words out of context and all of this was done to suit his own political agenda. I will be the first one to say that the government has no right paying for a woman to have an abortion. I don’t want my tax dollars going towards that. But if I am going to remove the government from that area, I cannot come back and ask the government to step in and tell that same woman what she can or cannot do. The government is not supposed to have a say in moral and personal issues. Should the laws that are written reflect a moral and ethical society? I think so. Should the men and women that create the laws be conscious and cognizant of their God-given authority (Romans 13) and duty to protect their citizens? I think so. However, having said that, it is also my belief that abortion is a personal choice. Most sins are personal choices. Yes it is wrong, but it is a personal, often misguided decision. I remember being a college student and I was dating a young lady. She got pregnant by someone before we met. In my arrogance and self-centeredness, I told her point-blank that we couldn’t be together because “I’m not raising another man’s baby”. Some time passed and she decided to abort the baby. I will not sit back glibly or self-righteously and act as if I didn’t play a role. I even drove her to the clinic. I didn’t understand then what I understand now. I had no real concrete ideas about life, conception or how bad abortion really is. I was a freshman in college. Do I regret the unsound, unwise counsel that I gave the young lady? Absolutely.
What we needed was some godly counsel, not demagoguery. Instead of railing against the government for protecting the personal rights of a person that can make whatever personal choice that they want, why don’t we start ministering to these mothers that choose abortion or are considering abortion? When certain drugs were made illegal, which is what the "right" wants to do with abortion, did people stop using them? No. On the contrary, drug use escalated and it also became more dangerous. Instead of criminalizing a personal choice, why don’t we start teaching abstinence AND birth control, the latter of which the right wing will not touch. They harp on and on about abstinence and yet refuse to believe that people have pre-marital sex. Most of us did not wait until we were married. I didn’t. But that was because I had no one to teach me about abstinence in a way that was biblically sound and loving, with an emphasis on loving. Why bury our collective heads in the sand as if there was something NEW under the sun? The same temptations and sinful pleasures that enticed many of us into lustful, unhealthy, sexual relationships are STILL HERE today. Let us reach out to those that are faced with these tough decisions. Teaching birth control does not promote pre-marital sex, it prevents some of the consequences of pre-marital sex. Should abstinence be taught first? Yes. I have a son and a daughter. If they chose to have pre-marital sex, which I pray that they don’t, I would want them to understand the ramifications of doing so and not using contraception or protection from disease- which is rampant. In many cases, had birth control been used or self-control been practiced (abstinence), there would be no need to have a discussion about abortion. Don’t jump off the ship because this is a preacher that is facing reality. The spirit of lust is real and someone that walks in the flesh, which we all did prior to coming to a saving knowledge of Christ [emphasis on saving knowledge and not just a superficial knowledge], does not have the ability to resist the devil- which is why sex is an issue that must be attacked from a practical and a theological stand point. I don't want to paint a picture of sex being bad either. Sex is beautiful, but it is portrayed by the world in such a salacious and unbecoming light that people walk away from the issue altogether instead of bringing the correct and biblical perspective of sex to the forefront.
Sekulow went on and on with this bombastic, religio-political rhetoric about abortion without realizing that he was not actually ministering to anyone. Except maybe those on the right that foam at the mouth over abortion like he does. Their argument is that the 52 million babies thathave been aborted “could have made society more productive.” [note: I did not hear what year he was referring to; i believe he was referring to the number of abortions since it was legalized by Roe v. Wade]. While I totally agree that that number is astronomically high, this argument against abortion is very weak. How do we know that those 52 million people would have been productive citizens? How many of them would have been on disability? How many of them would have been serial killers? How many would have figured out some way to con the government out of welfare and other resources? The answer to each and every one of those questions is a resounding, “WE DON’T KNOW!” It is bordering on deception when the heart of your argument against abortion is based on an unknown quantity. We don’t know what any of those fetuses would have done as adults. What we do know is that it was wrong to abort them and that murder is a sin. But what I have never heard an anti-abortionist say is that although murder is a sin, it is forgivable by Almighty God. Maybe I missed it in translation. Let us focus on the real issues and let us minister to the ones that need ministering to. Marching on the date of Roe versus Wade does nothing to put people back to work. The economy is still in a tail-spin and truthfully, from a totally practical standpoint, I am going to vote for someone that does not try to use incendiary tactics to rouse me but someone that is going to try to fix what is broken. These same people argue for smaller government- well guess what: The government not meddling in the personal affairs of U.S. citizens in the best example of small government that there is.
The right wing, especially the religious right, has used abortion as their number one issue to determine the electability of a president for several years. I was shocked to hear a man that I respect very much and listen to almost every day, Hank Hannegraaf (the Bible Answer Man), resort to this tactic when a caller called in with concerns about Mitt Romney's Mormonism. Hannegraaf had been working Mormonism over most of the Fall season, created an anti-Mormon flip chart and marketed it, called Romney out for his Mormonism and all of a sudden, when the caller expressed his reservations concerning Romney's mormon background, reservations that Mr. Hannegraaf shared only months ago, Hank Hannegraaf told the caller to consider "life" issues when choosing a presidential candidate to vote for. He said it was about the "sanctify of life" or something to that effect [January 17th 2012 show, topic "is it ok for a Christian to vote for a Mormon?"]
The religious right lauded George W. Bush for his stance on abortion. They never even flinched at the fact that he used cocaine and never gave a straight answer when posed with that question. They never flinched at the fact that he weaseled out of his military service (it’s funny how the “chicken hawks” on the right are always the first ones to send troops into harm’s way- that goes for you too Mr. Cheney and Mr. Rumsfeld). Never mind that his foreign policy has resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi women and children, children that were ALREADY BORN, I might add. What about their lives? We cannot say with certainty that they are/were enemies of the United States. They were collateral damage and yet no one from the right protests the use of “pre-emptive strikes”, as the Bush administration called it, or MOABS (Mother of All Bombs) to protect foreign oil interests. I still support our troops because they are simply following orders. I believe that the operation in Afghanistan was necessary and we have achieved the primary objective which was to take out Osama Bin Laden. This is not meant in any way to diminish the service of our men and women in uniform to this country. My wife is an Iraq war veteran and I thank all of the military for their sacrifice. This post, however, IS meant in every way to point out the hypocrisy of the religious right. If you are going to stand on the “protect life” soapbox, you’d better be ready to stand on it for ALL mankind up to and including unborn babies.
The religious right lauded George W. Bush for his stance on abortion. They never even flinched at the fact that he used cocaine and never gave a straight answer when posed with that question. They never flinched at the fact that he weaseled out of his military service (it’s funny how the “chicken hawks” on the right are always the first ones to send troops into harm’s way- that goes for you too Mr. Cheney and Mr. Rumsfeld). Never mind that his foreign policy has resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi women and children, children that were ALREADY BORN, I might add. What about their lives? We cannot say with certainty that they are/were enemies of the United States. They were collateral damage and yet no one from the right protests the use of “pre-emptive strikes”, as the Bush administration called it, or MOABS (Mother of All Bombs) to protect foreign oil interests. I still support our troops because they are simply following orders. I believe that the operation in Afghanistan was necessary and we have achieved the primary objective which was to take out Osama Bin Laden. This is not meant in any way to diminish the service of our men and women in uniform to this country. My wife is an Iraq war veteran and I thank all of the military for their sacrifice. This post, however, IS meant in every way to point out the hypocrisy of the religious right. If you are going to stand on the “protect life” soapbox, you’d better be ready to stand on it for ALL mankind up to and including unborn babies.
Let us not be ineffective Christians. If you are reading this and are considering abortion, while it is your right to do what you please with your body, think about the gift of life that resides within you. Think about the fearfully and wonderfully made person that is in your womb. Obviously, there are situations like rape or incest that make it difficult to come to grips with what I just said, but even then, adoption is a wonderful option as opposed to abortion. I am not trying to get in anyone’s business, but there are also other cases where abstinence or birth control would have made it impossible to be in a situation where you have to choose whether or not to keep a baby. We’re all grown here, and we all know that if you do what it takes to make a baby, a baby can be made. The economic and social factors of bringing a baby into the world are often not considered in the heat of passion/ lust but they should be. If you know someone struggling with this decision, or if you are struggling with it yourself, seek godly counsel. You can even send me an e-mail. Talk to your pastor or someone close to you that knows Jesus on a personal level. Pray and ask God to guide you through the decision and remember that He STILL loves you, even if you messed up. Be blessed.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
The Venom of Sin
In nature, there are all types of creatures that possess venom: snakes, spiders, scorpions, ants, wasps, and hornets to name a few. Most venoms contain neurotoxins that affect the central nervous system and either paralyze or partially immobilize prey to make it easier for the predator to capture it. Some venoms, especially the venom of snakes, also contain enzymes that begin to break down the tissues of the prey to make the prey easier to digest. Venom has one objective and that is destruction. Its destructive power works from the inside out. Once bitten by a venomous creature, unless there is an antidote or unless the venom is not very powerful, there is not really much that you can do about it. The toxicity of the venom is based on the size of the thing that is bitten and for small animals like rabbits and mice, snake venom means certain death. One thing is for certain, venom has powerful and often times lethal effects on its victims.
Nature is quite amazing. There are some animals that are totally immune to venom and are usually animals that make snakes their prey. Honey badgers and warthogs are two animals that exhibit venom immunity. They possess antibodies (defensive chemicals produced by the body to fight off infection) that make the venom powerless against them. Antivenom can also be synthesized if a small, diluted dose of venom (especially from a snake) is injected into an animal such as a horse. The horse creates antibodies that can be harvested and used as antivenom for bite victims. It is vitally important to understand that there is not an antivenom for every venom.
While nature is amazing, it can also be a mirror into the spiritual world. The very fact that animals and insects possess venom that is able to kill other animals is a consequence of sin. The harmony and balance that existed prior to sin was lost when Adam and Eve fell in the garden. That sin made the world a scary place to live in. According to author and theologian WIlliam Dembski, the disarray that is present in the natural world is a mirror of the disarray that sin caused in the spiritual world. Death is the final outworking of sin in the natural world (Rom 6:23).
Sin itself has powers that are similar to those of venom. Venom destroys prey from the inside out. Sin does as well. Sin does the same thing as venom, it immobilizes its victims and also eats away at them from the inside. In essence, the power of sin softens its victims up to be devoured by our adversary, Satan. A life lived under the power of sin and enslaved to sin is a life that will ultimately result in physical and spiritual death. There are some that are content to live in a paralyzed state, powerless to the effects of sin.
Here is the good news. The venom of sin has an antidote- and unlike antidotes for snake venom, this antidote is effective against ALL sinful venoms. The antidote for sin is Jesus. The venomous effects of sin are evident in the lives of unbelievers. The neurotoxic effects of sin cause us to live lives devoid of spiritual worth, unable to think spiritually and unable to reason on a spiritual level. It also causes us to be unable to see its effects which makes the venom of sin so powerful. Only when exposed to the antidote do we really see how devastating and disintegrative the venom of sin really is (John 3:19). Lives are destroyed, relationships are destroyed, people are destroyed and WE are destroyed by the venom of sin. But the antidote is so effective that once exposed to it, the POWER of the venom is arrested. Jesus can stop the destructive processes of sin that persist in our lives once we SURRENDER our lives to Him. It is important for all of us to be infused with the antidote to sin. It is important for all of us to have Christ as our savior so that we understand our wretchedness and his redemptive power.
As a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ, I pray that anyone that is immobilized by the power of sin's venom, anyone that is being destroyed by it's power would call out to the Sovereign God for salvation. If you hear God calling you, drawing you to Christ...respond and accept the invitation to salvation. Don't live a life marred by the venom of sin, live a life of victory in Christ. God bless you and God keep you.
Nature is quite amazing. There are some animals that are totally immune to venom and are usually animals that make snakes their prey. Honey badgers and warthogs are two animals that exhibit venom immunity. They possess antibodies (defensive chemicals produced by the body to fight off infection) that make the venom powerless against them. Antivenom can also be synthesized if a small, diluted dose of venom (especially from a snake) is injected into an animal such as a horse. The horse creates antibodies that can be harvested and used as antivenom for bite victims. It is vitally important to understand that there is not an antivenom for every venom.
While nature is amazing, it can also be a mirror into the spiritual world. The very fact that animals and insects possess venom that is able to kill other animals is a consequence of sin. The harmony and balance that existed prior to sin was lost when Adam and Eve fell in the garden. That sin made the world a scary place to live in. According to author and theologian WIlliam Dembski, the disarray that is present in the natural world is a mirror of the disarray that sin caused in the spiritual world. Death is the final outworking of sin in the natural world (Rom 6:23).
Sin itself has powers that are similar to those of venom. Venom destroys prey from the inside out. Sin does as well. Sin does the same thing as venom, it immobilizes its victims and also eats away at them from the inside. In essence, the power of sin softens its victims up to be devoured by our adversary, Satan. A life lived under the power of sin and enslaved to sin is a life that will ultimately result in physical and spiritual death. There are some that are content to live in a paralyzed state, powerless to the effects of sin.
Here is the good news. The venom of sin has an antidote- and unlike antidotes for snake venom, this antidote is effective against ALL sinful venoms. The antidote for sin is Jesus. The venomous effects of sin are evident in the lives of unbelievers. The neurotoxic effects of sin cause us to live lives devoid of spiritual worth, unable to think spiritually and unable to reason on a spiritual level. It also causes us to be unable to see its effects which makes the venom of sin so powerful. Only when exposed to the antidote do we really see how devastating and disintegrative the venom of sin really is (John 3:19). Lives are destroyed, relationships are destroyed, people are destroyed and WE are destroyed by the venom of sin. But the antidote is so effective that once exposed to it, the POWER of the venom is arrested. Jesus can stop the destructive processes of sin that persist in our lives once we SURRENDER our lives to Him. It is important for all of us to be infused with the antidote to sin. It is important for all of us to have Christ as our savior so that we understand our wretchedness and his redemptive power.
As a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ, I pray that anyone that is immobilized by the power of sin's venom, anyone that is being destroyed by it's power would call out to the Sovereign God for salvation. If you hear God calling you, drawing you to Christ...respond and accept the invitation to salvation. Don't live a life marred by the venom of sin, live a life of victory in Christ. God bless you and God keep you.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
The Paradox of Blindness
There are various logical reasoning and philosophical definitions of the word paradox, which comes from the Greek word paradoxos. A distilled and simple definition of a paradox is "something that is contrary to expectation". We often speak in paradoxical statements to show irony. A common euphemism is "Stevie Wonder could see that..." We know that Mr. Wonder is a blind man and we use this statement to indicate that something is so obvious that it should not be missed by someone with sight. Many times, however, things that are readily apparent escape the detection of those with 20/20 vision.
This brings us to the story of the man born blind, recounted in John's gospel in the 9th chapter. I recommend that you read that story and when reading it, keep in mind that John likes to show contrast. He especially likes to play up the difference between light and darkness. In the story of the man born blind, John paints a picture of two types of people. The blind and those who claim to "see". The blind man received his sight from Jesus and he worshipped Him. He stood up to opposition regarding this "man" that performed his healing on the Sabbath and he even taught the Pharisees something. In verse 30, the man stated something that was quite obvious and no religious leader should have missed it. He says, in response to the Pharisees' weak dismissal of Jesus as the Christ on the grounds that they "did not know where He was from...", "The man answered and said to them, "Well, here is an amazing thing, that you do not know where He is from, and yet He opened my eyes." Here is the paradox of blindness: This man, who was not schooled in the law or the prophets saw Jesus for who He was. The Pharisees on the other hand, the leaders who supposedly knew God and could "see" did not recognize that the Christ, the Messiah, the same one that they read about in the synagogues every Sabbath, was among them. They refused to acknowledge, believe in or accept Him as the Messiah.
Confessing Jesus as Lord and Savior means one thing. You are saying "I understand that I am a sinner in need of a savior!" The Pharisees' refusal to accept the Christ indicated that they saw no need for a savior because they did not "see" their sin! In actuality, the blind man was the one that could actually see whereas the ones that supposedly had sight were blind. This story not only shows Christ performing a physical healing but also paints a picture of fallen humanity receiving their sight and the forgiveness of their sins through Him! Of course the fallen must come to a saving knowledge of Him as the Messiah in order to actually finally be able to see. Christ is the one that can show us our sinfulness and our need to repent and then FORGIVE us for all of our sins!
According to the text, there are three signs of true blindness.
1. A refusal to be taught: when the man debated the Pharisees on whether or not Jesus was a sinner, they rebuked him and did not accept the truth that came from his mouth.
2. A refusal to accept that you are a sinner: The Pharisees told this man..."you were born ENTIRELY in sin, how can you teach us?" This statement is consistent with the assumption that they were born only partially submerged in sin, therefore they are better than everyone else. Nothing could be further from the truth. We are all born into sin and brought forth in a state of iniquity (Psalm 51:5). We are all fallen and there is only one way to get up, that's Jesus.
3. Those that are truly blind ostracize those that do not think like them: The end result of the discussion/argument between the man that was blind and the Pharisees was his ejection from the synagogue. He stood up to their opposition whereas his parents were more concerned with their seat in the synagogue. The truly blind cannot accept the truth and therefore do not want the truth to be around them.
The conclusion is this. The blind will remain in their sin if they do not acknowledge and ACCEPT the way out of sin. The paradox of blindness is this: The ones that say “I can see” in a way that is self-affirming, self-sufficient, and independent of God cannot see a thing in reality. True sight only comes from Christ! The arrogance and the presumptuousness of those that refuse to confess and repent of sin results in spiritual blindness.
We are all born blind because prior to Christ, none of us really understood our sins nor did we understand the gravity of our sinful condition. If we had no sin, Jesus would not have had to come. He came to forgive sin and also to restore the fellowship between sinful humanity and a holy God. He came to give mankind a way out of sin, but there are many that are still blind. They cannot see Christ because they want Christ on their terms as opposed to coming on His terms. Modern day Christianity presents, in many cases, a watered down version of the gospel that depicts Jesus as a big brother or a BFF rather than the Holy God that He is. Do not remain in blindness. We must recognize the supremacy of Christ and accept Him as our Savior and our Lord. He is the only way to actually regain your sight. He's waiting for you and if you hear the call of God, do not hesitate to respond to it.
This brings us to the story of the man born blind, recounted in John's gospel in the 9th chapter. I recommend that you read that story and when reading it, keep in mind that John likes to show contrast. He especially likes to play up the difference between light and darkness. In the story of the man born blind, John paints a picture of two types of people. The blind and those who claim to "see". The blind man received his sight from Jesus and he worshipped Him. He stood up to opposition regarding this "man" that performed his healing on the Sabbath and he even taught the Pharisees something. In verse 30, the man stated something that was quite obvious and no religious leader should have missed it. He says, in response to the Pharisees' weak dismissal of Jesus as the Christ on the grounds that they "did not know where He was from...", "The man answered and said to them, "Well, here is an amazing thing, that you do not know where He is from, and yet He opened my eyes." Here is the paradox of blindness: This man, who was not schooled in the law or the prophets saw Jesus for who He was. The Pharisees on the other hand, the leaders who supposedly knew God and could "see" did not recognize that the Christ, the Messiah, the same one that they read about in the synagogues every Sabbath, was among them. They refused to acknowledge, believe in or accept Him as the Messiah.
Confessing Jesus as Lord and Savior means one thing. You are saying "I understand that I am a sinner in need of a savior!" The Pharisees' refusal to accept the Christ indicated that they saw no need for a savior because they did not "see" their sin! In actuality, the blind man was the one that could actually see whereas the ones that supposedly had sight were blind. This story not only shows Christ performing a physical healing but also paints a picture of fallen humanity receiving their sight and the forgiveness of their sins through Him! Of course the fallen must come to a saving knowledge of Him as the Messiah in order to actually finally be able to see. Christ is the one that can show us our sinfulness and our need to repent and then FORGIVE us for all of our sins!
According to the text, there are three signs of true blindness.
1. A refusal to be taught: when the man debated the Pharisees on whether or not Jesus was a sinner, they rebuked him and did not accept the truth that came from his mouth.
2. A refusal to accept that you are a sinner: The Pharisees told this man..."you were born ENTIRELY in sin, how can you teach us?" This statement is consistent with the assumption that they were born only partially submerged in sin, therefore they are better than everyone else. Nothing could be further from the truth. We are all born into sin and brought forth in a state of iniquity (Psalm 51:5). We are all fallen and there is only one way to get up, that's Jesus.
3. Those that are truly blind ostracize those that do not think like them: The end result of the discussion/argument between the man that was blind and the Pharisees was his ejection from the synagogue. He stood up to their opposition whereas his parents were more concerned with their seat in the synagogue. The truly blind cannot accept the truth and therefore do not want the truth to be around them.
The conclusion is this. The blind will remain in their sin if they do not acknowledge and ACCEPT the way out of sin. The paradox of blindness is this: The ones that say “I can see” in a way that is self-affirming, self-sufficient, and independent of God cannot see a thing in reality. True sight only comes from Christ! The arrogance and the presumptuousness of those that refuse to confess and repent of sin results in spiritual blindness.
We are all born blind because prior to Christ, none of us really understood our sins nor did we understand the gravity of our sinful condition. If we had no sin, Jesus would not have had to come. He came to forgive sin and also to restore the fellowship between sinful humanity and a holy God. He came to give mankind a way out of sin, but there are many that are still blind. They cannot see Christ because they want Christ on their terms as opposed to coming on His terms. Modern day Christianity presents, in many cases, a watered down version of the gospel that depicts Jesus as a big brother or a BFF rather than the Holy God that He is. Do not remain in blindness. We must recognize the supremacy of Christ and accept Him as our Savior and our Lord. He is the only way to actually regain your sight. He's waiting for you and if you hear the call of God, do not hesitate to respond to it.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
The Biggest "Duh" Moment EVER...for me
I recently had a passing thought regarding the company "Apple" and it really messed me up. First of all, I think that Apple has some amazing products. They have figured out a way to make their products about as close to being a part of our biology as possible. Phones that talk to you and tell you your schedule, the world at your fingertips, every application that is even thought worthy...they've already developed two versions of it. I am being sarcastic but you get my point.
Steve Jobs was a man with a brilliant mind but he was also a man that could be quite ruthless. I watched a documentary on him and he was totally business, all the time. He was cold, calculating and he only dealt with those that would benefit him. He was, quite frankly and in my own opinion, the dark side of Bill Gates- who seems from outer appearances to be a decent man with a less cold persona. I could be totally wrong, but again, it's my opinion.
Anyway, what I thought about was the whole concept of the "Apple". Where it gets interesting is the fact that the Apple has always been a symbol used to identify with original sin. We've all heard in church that "Eve ate the apple", etc. and so the connection to the Garden of Eden for me was quite easy to make. The bible doesn't say that it was an apple, some theologians say that the fruit is purely symbolic...but you get the picture. I always think of everything that I see in a theological sense. So what made me really go off on this tangent was seeing the new CEO, clad in a black, button down shirt (not a turtle neck) and looking almost identical to Steve Jobs. I wondered out loud, "why are these guys always dressed in black?" Then I looked at the Apple on their products with a huge chunk bitten from it and I had an epiphany and asked another question out loud..."Is Apple after my soul?" Their products get intimate with the users, they dominate the digital music industry, their products are used by BILLIONS to feed their brains mush (i.e. many types of secular music) and they have created a generation of zombies. If you don't believe in zombies, come to my classroom and check out my students that wear i-pods to class...they are totally zoned out. A truck could hit them and they'd still have the ear-buds in and everything else tuned out (this is the part where you should laugh...).
Seriously, the connection between the forbidden "fruit" spoken of in the Bible and the Apple logo is quite uncanny. At least it is from my unorthodox perspective. Is their logo a swipe at God? Is their logo a subliminal message for you/us to "taste the fruit"? Considering Jobs' religious leanings, the avant garde attitude of the company and Jobs' new age theology, it is not that far fetched. It is actually something to ponder when we see symbolism in our culture that has some sort of religious significance. I could be dead wrong, but I believe that there is more to the apple than meets the eye.
Steve Jobs was a man with a brilliant mind but he was also a man that could be quite ruthless. I watched a documentary on him and he was totally business, all the time. He was cold, calculating and he only dealt with those that would benefit him. He was, quite frankly and in my own opinion, the dark side of Bill Gates- who seems from outer appearances to be a decent man with a less cold persona. I could be totally wrong, but again, it's my opinion.
Anyway, what I thought about was the whole concept of the "Apple". Where it gets interesting is the fact that the Apple has always been a symbol used to identify with original sin. We've all heard in church that "Eve ate the apple", etc. and so the connection to the Garden of Eden for me was quite easy to make. The bible doesn't say that it was an apple, some theologians say that the fruit is purely symbolic...but you get the picture. I always think of everything that I see in a theological sense. So what made me really go off on this tangent was seeing the new CEO, clad in a black, button down shirt (not a turtle neck) and looking almost identical to Steve Jobs. I wondered out loud, "why are these guys always dressed in black?" Then I looked at the Apple on their products with a huge chunk bitten from it and I had an epiphany and asked another question out loud..."Is Apple after my soul?" Their products get intimate with the users, they dominate the digital music industry, their products are used by BILLIONS to feed their brains mush (i.e. many types of secular music) and they have created a generation of zombies. If you don't believe in zombies, come to my classroom and check out my students that wear i-pods to class...they are totally zoned out. A truck could hit them and they'd still have the ear-buds in and everything else tuned out (this is the part where you should laugh...).
Seriously, the connection between the forbidden "fruit" spoken of in the Bible and the Apple logo is quite uncanny. At least it is from my unorthodox perspective. Is their logo a swipe at God? Is their logo a subliminal message for you/us to "taste the fruit"? Considering Jobs' religious leanings, the avant garde attitude of the company and Jobs' new age theology, it is not that far fetched. It is actually something to ponder when we see symbolism in our culture that has some sort of religious significance. I could be dead wrong, but I believe that there is more to the apple than meets the eye.
Friday, January 6, 2012
Enough IS Enough Already!
I recently encountered an article (http://www.christianpost.com/news/opponents-gear-up-as-calif-gay-history-law-takes-effect-66330/) that says that California has passed a law MANDATING that children be taught of the contributions of gay and lesbian (why is there a distinction if they are ALL homosexuals?) people to U.S. History. I am dumbfounded and baffled. I am not homophobic, I don't hate gay people but this is TOTALLY RIDICULOUS. I have never seen a bunch of folks that are more paranoid, narcissistic and selfish in my life.
These are the MOST confused folks that I have ever witnessed. They have more designations than Wal-Mart has brands of milk. I recently heard that they have added a new letter to their already growing list of characters. LGBT is now LGBTQ (Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender and, drum roll please.....Queer). What a joke. What I see is a bunch of people scrambling to make themselves into a separate and favored class of citizens. Not based on racial discrimination or religious persecution but because they CHOOSE to gratify an unnatural desire for the same sex. YES, I said it, it is unnatural. The "I was born this way" reply to questions of sexual orientation/preference can be refuted with scripture in that Psalms 51 says that we are all born into sin. Biology or no biology, which the evidence for actually being born gay is scant at best, it is still a sin and it is no more grave than any other sin. We are ALL sinners, therefore we don't need to create a special class for certain sinners when we will ALL be judged by the same God!
If we must teach children of gay history, then we also need to reinstitute Christian history as well. We also need to reinstitute prayer in the schools. The same way that gay people are freaking out about not being "included", I would be freaking out too as a parent if my child had to attend a school that put a special emphasis on homosexuality. I would immediately yank my son and my daughter from such a place. This is hilarious to me because these are the same people that are angry at Christians for wanting to share their faith and wanting to pray in schools and wanting to share the gospel of Jesus Christ. These are the people that rebuke and scorn Christians for being against a lifestyle that is totally antithetical to the Christian value system- yet they want people to make a concession and now aggrandize their lifestyle?
In all sincerity, whether a person is gay or not had absolutely NOTHING to do with whatever their contribution to society was. I wonder if we can use J. Edgar Hoover as an example- will they include him? How about Adolf Hitler? The whole idea stinks. It reeks of narcissism and pride. Let people's accomplishments stand on their own merits. Being gay is nothing special. It is certainly nothing to blast to the world. Only in our athesitic, laissez-faire society has this now become the "in-thing". Enough is Enough already! The same uneasiness that you all feel when you perceive that Christians are trying to "shove their religion down your throat" is the same way that Christians feel when you take EVERY possible opportunity to let everyone in the entire cosmos know that you are gay. If you are gay, that's your own business. Don't invade Disney on the first week of June and expose unsuspecting patrons to the foolishness and the debauchery of your so-called "gay days" celebration (I have witnessed this first hand and I must say that it was quite uncomfortable for me to see all of these flaming men and boyish women- especially the "couples" that had children who have not been given a chance to choose their own lifestyle). Don't try to enact special laws so that we recognize you. And please do not equate your "cause" with the civil rights movement. Black people in America were forced here as slaves and the treatment we endured was not because of a sexual choice that we made, it was because there was no escaping the color of our skin AND the bigotry, arrogance and hatred of some Whites/Eurpoeans. The perception of racial superiority fueled the mistreatment of Africans and African-Americans in this country. There has been no such event in the gay community. That is borderline blasphemy to even equate the two situations, again stemming from a narcissistic attitude and overly inflated self image. People do not dislike the gay lifestyle because they think that they are superior to you, they dislike it because it does not fit with their sensibilities. White supremacy and racism are based on a hatred of people of a certain race or ethnicity- something that cannot be changed and is not a choice. The so-called gay community is made up of all ethnicities so there is no way to equate racism with the anti-gay movement.
Humility is always the best way to present your case. Just live your lives. Stop wasting energy trying to force people to accept something that is not natural to them. What gay people do not seem to understand is that real Christians do not hate you. I don't. It is the lifestyle that is not acceptable to people nor is it acceptable to God, whose opinion carries a whole lot more weight than mine. It is foreign to people and it always has been. I don't and I can't hate people. As a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ it would be against everything that Jesus taught to hate people. I do not have to accept your lifestyle, however. The same way that I don't have to accept anyone's lifestyle that openly or secretly lives in willful sin. I don't have to like it because I have that choice. It also clashes head on with my Christian beliefs. It is my prayer that the gay crusaders see the hypocrisy in their actions. They scorn Christians and yet are guilty of the same thing. Even those so-called radical Christians that rant against gay people need to check their agenda. Their rantings are based on hatred many times. Many of them only rant because someone told them to rant and yet they are not seeking to minister to anyone. Sometimes it is their own self-hatred and the need to disguise their own personal leanings, especially in the cases of Ted Haggard and Eddie Long, that these people denounce homosexuality.
This is not intended as a "hate" speech but simply to say that being gay does not make you a special class of citizens. You are subject to the same things as everyone else and it is my prayer that you read this and seek a true knowledge of Christ Jesus. Sin is sin and to legislate sin does not take away from its sinfulness. Stop trying to indoctrinate little kids in schools that have a choice and were not "born this way" into your lifestyle. Stop trying to force us to accept your behavior if we do not agree with it. Being a Christian is a choice. When the gospel is preached, you can accept it or reject it. If you reject it, Christ commands the one that delivered the message to shake the dust off and move on. Please shake the dust off and move on because I will not accept the rhetoric and the grandstanding that is taking place to legitimize homosexuality. I pray that the folks that are fighting this in California fight it with the love of Christ and not with hatred in their hearts. I also pray that the ones that are trying to push this agenda through the California educational system wake up and see that it is wrong to do that. Enough is Enough already.
These are the MOST confused folks that I have ever witnessed. They have more designations than Wal-Mart has brands of milk. I recently heard that they have added a new letter to their already growing list of characters. LGBT is now LGBTQ (Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender and, drum roll please.....Queer). What a joke. What I see is a bunch of people scrambling to make themselves into a separate and favored class of citizens. Not based on racial discrimination or religious persecution but because they CHOOSE to gratify an unnatural desire for the same sex. YES, I said it, it is unnatural. The "I was born this way" reply to questions of sexual orientation/preference can be refuted with scripture in that Psalms 51 says that we are all born into sin. Biology or no biology, which the evidence for actually being born gay is scant at best, it is still a sin and it is no more grave than any other sin. We are ALL sinners, therefore we don't need to create a special class for certain sinners when we will ALL be judged by the same God!
If we must teach children of gay history, then we also need to reinstitute Christian history as well. We also need to reinstitute prayer in the schools. The same way that gay people are freaking out about not being "included", I would be freaking out too as a parent if my child had to attend a school that put a special emphasis on homosexuality. I would immediately yank my son and my daughter from such a place. This is hilarious to me because these are the same people that are angry at Christians for wanting to share their faith and wanting to pray in schools and wanting to share the gospel of Jesus Christ. These are the people that rebuke and scorn Christians for being against a lifestyle that is totally antithetical to the Christian value system- yet they want people to make a concession and now aggrandize their lifestyle?
In all sincerity, whether a person is gay or not had absolutely NOTHING to do with whatever their contribution to society was. I wonder if we can use J. Edgar Hoover as an example- will they include him? How about Adolf Hitler? The whole idea stinks. It reeks of narcissism and pride. Let people's accomplishments stand on their own merits. Being gay is nothing special. It is certainly nothing to blast to the world. Only in our athesitic, laissez-faire society has this now become the "in-thing". Enough is Enough already! The same uneasiness that you all feel when you perceive that Christians are trying to "shove their religion down your throat" is the same way that Christians feel when you take EVERY possible opportunity to let everyone in the entire cosmos know that you are gay. If you are gay, that's your own business. Don't invade Disney on the first week of June and expose unsuspecting patrons to the foolishness and the debauchery of your so-called "gay days" celebration (I have witnessed this first hand and I must say that it was quite uncomfortable for me to see all of these flaming men and boyish women- especially the "couples" that had children who have not been given a chance to choose their own lifestyle). Don't try to enact special laws so that we recognize you. And please do not equate your "cause" with the civil rights movement. Black people in America were forced here as slaves and the treatment we endured was not because of a sexual choice that we made, it was because there was no escaping the color of our skin AND the bigotry, arrogance and hatred of some Whites/Eurpoeans. The perception of racial superiority fueled the mistreatment of Africans and African-Americans in this country. There has been no such event in the gay community. That is borderline blasphemy to even equate the two situations, again stemming from a narcissistic attitude and overly inflated self image. People do not dislike the gay lifestyle because they think that they are superior to you, they dislike it because it does not fit with their sensibilities. White supremacy and racism are based on a hatred of people of a certain race or ethnicity- something that cannot be changed and is not a choice. The so-called gay community is made up of all ethnicities so there is no way to equate racism with the anti-gay movement.
Humility is always the best way to present your case. Just live your lives. Stop wasting energy trying to force people to accept something that is not natural to them. What gay people do not seem to understand is that real Christians do not hate you. I don't. It is the lifestyle that is not acceptable to people nor is it acceptable to God, whose opinion carries a whole lot more weight than mine. It is foreign to people and it always has been. I don't and I can't hate people. As a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ it would be against everything that Jesus taught to hate people. I do not have to accept your lifestyle, however. The same way that I don't have to accept anyone's lifestyle that openly or secretly lives in willful sin. I don't have to like it because I have that choice. It also clashes head on with my Christian beliefs. It is my prayer that the gay crusaders see the hypocrisy in their actions. They scorn Christians and yet are guilty of the same thing. Even those so-called radical Christians that rant against gay people need to check their agenda. Their rantings are based on hatred many times. Many of them only rant because someone told them to rant and yet they are not seeking to minister to anyone. Sometimes it is their own self-hatred and the need to disguise their own personal leanings, especially in the cases of Ted Haggard and Eddie Long, that these people denounce homosexuality.
This is not intended as a "hate" speech but simply to say that being gay does not make you a special class of citizens. You are subject to the same things as everyone else and it is my prayer that you read this and seek a true knowledge of Christ Jesus. Sin is sin and to legislate sin does not take away from its sinfulness. Stop trying to indoctrinate little kids in schools that have a choice and were not "born this way" into your lifestyle. Stop trying to force us to accept your behavior if we do not agree with it. Being a Christian is a choice. When the gospel is preached, you can accept it or reject it. If you reject it, Christ commands the one that delivered the message to shake the dust off and move on. Please shake the dust off and move on because I will not accept the rhetoric and the grandstanding that is taking place to legitimize homosexuality. I pray that the folks that are fighting this in California fight it with the love of Christ and not with hatred in their hearts. I also pray that the ones that are trying to push this agenda through the California educational system wake up and see that it is wrong to do that. Enough is Enough already.
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Hard to Be Sad
I recently lost my next door neighbor of 33 years. She was a brilliant thinker, a great tutor, a great educator and a strong Christian. She lived to be 71 years old but her face only showed about 50 of those years. One of the most gentle and kind people that you would ever want to meet, Ms. Myrtle Williamson was a very special person. She was extremely active in the church and she taught Sunday school. She taught in the "special needs" division of Old Shell Road elementary school and Augusta Evans school for many, many years. What is even more remarkable about all of her accomplishments is that she achieved many of them while battling a debilitating case of rheumatoid arthritis.
Ms. Williamson was a great example of the scripture in Ephesians 3:20. The power of God was at work in her mangled, bent and broken body to keep her for all of those years and through her He was able to do exceedingly above all she could ask or think. Hundreds of kids have sat in her den and received tutoring in math, English, speech and many other subjects. I don't remember when her condition reached the point where her mobility was limited but I know she suffered for as long as my memory serves. Yet she lived without complaint. Many of us get up in the morning and start it off with a complaint, she began her days with praise and adoration for God. Atheists use the fact that God allows suffering to point to a severe character flaw in our mighty God yet she never once questioned God that I am aware of. She simply lived every day to worship God. Her thick study bible was worn out from her intimate and quiet times with God. We don't know why certain things happen or why God allows suffering but we who worship God understand that ALL things work together for our good when we've been called according to the purpose of God and when we love the Lord.
Ms. Williamson or "Lil Sister" as she was affectionately called by everyone that was close to her, departed this life on Christmas Eve 2011. Her mother passed away fifteen years ago also on Christmas Eve. She had also lost a nephew a few weeks earlier to a senseless act of violence and her grief was so heavy that she could no longer fight this fight down here. However, it is very difficult for me to be sad. She lived a rich and full life and she sowed seeds of righteousness into the lives of so many people that her legacy will never die. I also have a hard time being sad because I know that she now resides in a place where rheumatoid arthritis cannot touch her anymore. Her limbs are free from pain. She doesn't have to take another pill or use crutches ever again. She's been glorified and that to me is so sweet. She dealt with hell here and now she can, in the words of the Mighty Clouds of Joy, "walk around heaven, all day!" That gives me comfort knowing that she's in paradise now. Her family should rest easy knowing that she is safe in the arms of the Master. I know that I was hurt when I first received the news, but the more that I thought about it, if there was anyone that deserved to get a glorified body, it was Lil Sister. She needed to leave here and God saw fit to call her home from battle.
Whenever you lose a loved one, it is very difficult. If it is a sudden loss, that's an even heavier burden to bear. When death strikes, we have to understand that death is something that is the final outworking of sin. Sin brought death into the world but God even gave us a way to escape death. We have Christ Jesus who took the sting out of death and took the victory away from the grave.m Jesus said in John 6 that the one that believes in Him, who eats his flesh and drinks his blood will never die. I'm glad to report that we have been freed from the power of death through the life of Christ! If you are reading this and you have not accepted the call to believe in Christ, please don't hesitate. The consequences are so grave because not only is the first death inevitable, the second death awaits all who reject Christ Jesus. When I die, I have the assurance that I will live with Jesus for eternity. Knowing that makes it hard to be sad. When Christian soldiers are called home, the pain of their loss is real, but when the pain subsides, the joy of knowing where they are and Who they are with makes everything alright. Be blessed and if you've suffered loss recently, may God give you the peace that surpasses all understanding.
Ms. Williamson was a great example of the scripture in Ephesians 3:20. The power of God was at work in her mangled, bent and broken body to keep her for all of those years and through her He was able to do exceedingly above all she could ask or think. Hundreds of kids have sat in her den and received tutoring in math, English, speech and many other subjects. I don't remember when her condition reached the point where her mobility was limited but I know she suffered for as long as my memory serves. Yet she lived without complaint. Many of us get up in the morning and start it off with a complaint, she began her days with praise and adoration for God. Atheists use the fact that God allows suffering to point to a severe character flaw in our mighty God yet she never once questioned God that I am aware of. She simply lived every day to worship God. Her thick study bible was worn out from her intimate and quiet times with God. We don't know why certain things happen or why God allows suffering but we who worship God understand that ALL things work together for our good when we've been called according to the purpose of God and when we love the Lord.
Ms. Williamson or "Lil Sister" as she was affectionately called by everyone that was close to her, departed this life on Christmas Eve 2011. Her mother passed away fifteen years ago also on Christmas Eve. She had also lost a nephew a few weeks earlier to a senseless act of violence and her grief was so heavy that she could no longer fight this fight down here. However, it is very difficult for me to be sad. She lived a rich and full life and she sowed seeds of righteousness into the lives of so many people that her legacy will never die. I also have a hard time being sad because I know that she now resides in a place where rheumatoid arthritis cannot touch her anymore. Her limbs are free from pain. She doesn't have to take another pill or use crutches ever again. She's been glorified and that to me is so sweet. She dealt with hell here and now she can, in the words of the Mighty Clouds of Joy, "walk around heaven, all day!" That gives me comfort knowing that she's in paradise now. Her family should rest easy knowing that she is safe in the arms of the Master. I know that I was hurt when I first received the news, but the more that I thought about it, if there was anyone that deserved to get a glorified body, it was Lil Sister. She needed to leave here and God saw fit to call her home from battle.
Whenever you lose a loved one, it is very difficult. If it is a sudden loss, that's an even heavier burden to bear. When death strikes, we have to understand that death is something that is the final outworking of sin. Sin brought death into the world but God even gave us a way to escape death. We have Christ Jesus who took the sting out of death and took the victory away from the grave.m Jesus said in John 6 that the one that believes in Him, who eats his flesh and drinks his blood will never die. I'm glad to report that we have been freed from the power of death through the life of Christ! If you are reading this and you have not accepted the call to believe in Christ, please don't hesitate. The consequences are so grave because not only is the first death inevitable, the second death awaits all who reject Christ Jesus. When I die, I have the assurance that I will live with Jesus for eternity. Knowing that makes it hard to be sad. When Christian soldiers are called home, the pain of their loss is real, but when the pain subsides, the joy of knowing where they are and Who they are with makes everything alright. Be blessed and if you've suffered loss recently, may God give you the peace that surpasses all understanding.
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