Christianity in America - Reality, Myth, Truth and Lies

Nothing Can Turn Into Something - #8

2009-11-11T06:36:00.000-08:00

"Nobody can imagine how nothing could turn into something. Nobody can get an inch nearer to it by explaining how something could turn into something else." -- G.K. Chesterton

"The Darwinian theory of descent has not a single fact to confirm it in the realm of nature. It is not the result of scientific research, but purely of imagination." - Dr. Fleishman, quoted from "F. Meldau, Why We Believe In Creation, Not Evolution, page 10.

This is the tenth day of quotes from non-Christian (non-creationist) scientists who are pointing out that evolution cannot be true. There are plenty more... many more than I'll be able to include here. Where am I finding all these quotes? From an excellent book called the Evolution Handbook. It is a 992 page paperback book that provides thousands of scientific facts disproving every basic area of evolutionary theory. The book as a cover price of $10.95. That's a bargain! But we made a bulk purchase and can make copies available for $7.00, including shipping within the U.S. Just send $7.00 to: Mission to America, P.O. Box 974, Tualatin, OR 97062. Be sure to include a note that says you'd like a copy of the Evolution Handbook.

Fixing The Real Problem - Government

2009-11-11T05:06:00.000-08:00

There's starting to be a hint that things are getting better, but many things sure seem to be messed up these days.

There is the financial crisis that started with the meltdown on the home mortgage industry. What caused that? Fingers have been pointed at bankers, "greedy" executives, Wall Street brokers, investors and "greedy" home owners. But what is the one group of people whom the government never identifies as the source of the problem? The government. Yet if you read the reports now being written by economists, the #1 cause of the financial meltdown was government. In brief, our laws, codes and regulations were (and still are) written to encourage as many people as possible to buy homes, and encourage (and many times require)the lending institutions to do it in such a way that the risk was hidden.

What needs to be fixed in order to get us out of this mess, and prevent it from happening again, is the government. If we leave things as they are you can expect a bigger crash, and greater loss of savings and jobs, coming your way.

What about health care? The finger gets pointed at "greedy" insurance companies, overpaid executives, the drug companies, and even at doctors as being the cause of the problems we have with health care. But the true problem is ignored... government. Government regulation, codes, laws and favoritism of special interests groups (tort lawyers and unions for example) drive up the cost and limit access to health care. The solution is not a big expensive, unaffordable government program. The solution actually costs nothing and will save you money. The solution is to get the government out of health care. Implement tort reform. Allow insurance policies to be sold across state lines (so you don't have to pay high premiums mandated in the state where you live). Free doctors to practice medicine and legal defense.

I'm not against government. But I am against government stepping outside of the areas it should be in. God has defined the role of government -- essentially telling us those things government can do well and those things government will make a mess of (and hurt people). People have been serious hurt by what the government has done in the financial (mortgage) markets. People are already being serious hurt by what government has done in health care. But instead of changing this, we heading in the direction of doing more of what will hurt people. I doesn't make sense.

Let's Check The Encyclopedia - #7

2009-11-10T06:22:00.000-08:00

Here is what the Encyclopedia Britannica, Volume 18 (15th Edition, 1974) page said. This was writen by S. Toulmin in the section called "Science, Philosophy of,"

"It seems to me astronomy has proven that forces are at work in the world that are beyond the present power of scientific description; these are literally supernatural forces, because they are outside the body of natural law."

One of the problems of Darwinism is that it does not explain where the "natural laws" came from. Why does everything conform to a very precise set of natural laws that just "happen" to be perfect for life to exist on earth? The Bible tells us that God is upholding the universe--that God is the source of the "natural laws."

Here is another quote:

"The theory of evolution suffers from grave defects, which are more and more apparent as time advances. It can no longer square with practical scientific knowledge." -- Albert Fleishman, zoologist

150 Years of Darwinism and Evolution - #6

2009-11-09T06:15:00.000-08:00

"The particular truth is simply that we have no reliable evidence as to the evolutionary sequence... one can find qualified, professional arguments for any group being the descendant of almost any other." -- J. Bonner, American Scientist 49, 1961, Page 240

Norman Macbeth writing in "Darwin Retried (1971) Page 77 said: "When the most learned evolutionists can give neither the how nor the why, the marvels seem to show that adaptation is inexplicable. This is a strange situation, only partly ascribable to the rather unscientific conviction that evidence will be found in the future. It is due to a psychological quirk."

It's The Year Of Darwin #5

2009-11-08T06:01:00.000-08:00

We're celebrating the 150th anniversary of the publication of Darwin's "On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life." That anniversary is coming up on November 24th.

To celebrate we are publishing quotes from scientists who do not believe in creation. That's right, these are scientists who DO NOT BELIEVE IN CREATION. But as is true with many scientists, they are having trouble accepting evolution.

Today's quote is from Michael Denton, writing in his book: "Evolution, A Theory In Crisis" (1985) Page 327.

"The overriding supremacy of the myth has created a widespread illusion that the theory of evolution was all but proved one hundred years ago and that all subsequent biological research--paleontological, zoological and in the newer branches of genetics and molecular biology--has provided ever-increasing evidence for Darwinian ideas. Nothing could be further from the truth."

"The fact is that the evidence was so patchy one hundred years ago that even Darwin himself had increasing doubts as to the validity of his views, and the only aspect of his theory which has received any support over the past century is where it applies to microevolutionary phenomena. His general theory, that all life on earth had originated and evolved by a gradual successive accumulation of fortuitous mutations, is still, as it was in Darwin's time, a highly speculative hypothesis entirely without direct factual support and very far from that self-evident axiom some of its more 'aggressive advocates' would have us believe."

Continuing the Celebration Of Origin of Species #4

2009-11-07T16:14:00.000-08:00

Louis Agassiz, a Harvard University Professor said, "The theory [of evolution] is a scientific mistake."

Pierre P. Grasse, in "The Evolution of Living Organisms (1977 - page 202) wrote:

"Present day ultra-Darwinism, which is so sure of itself, impresses incompletely informed biologists, misleads them, and inspires fallacious interpretations."

"Through the use and abuse of hidden postulates, of bold often ill-founded extrapolations, a pseudoscience has been created. It is taking root in the very heart of biology and is leading astray many biochemists and biologists, who sincerely believe that the accuracy of fundamental concepts has been demonstrated, which is not the case."

Continuing the Celebration Of Origin of Species #3

2009-11-06T13:46:00.000-08:00

The first quote today comes from H. Lipson. It is from an article published in the Physics Bulletin 31, 1980, page 138. The article has the title: A Physicist Looks At Evolution"

"To my mind, the theory does not stand up at all."

The next quote is from P.P. Grasse, Evolution Of Living Organisms (1977) page 31:

"From the almost total absence of fossil evidence relative to the origin of the phyla, it follows that any explanation of the mechanism in the creative evolution of the fundamental structural plans is heavily burdened with hypothesis. This should appear as an epigraph to every book on evolution. The lack of direct evidence leads to the formulation of pure conjecture as to the genesis of the phyla; we do not even have a basis to determine the extent to which these opinions are correct."

Believers In Evolution Speak About Evolution #2

2009-11-05T19:43:00.000-08:00

In celebration of the 150th anniversary of the publication of "Origin..." here are two more quotes from scientists who are not creationists:

"Evolution is baseless and quite incredible." - Ambrose Flemming, president of the British Association for Advancement of Science

"I personally hold the evolutionary position, but yet lament the fact that the majority of our Ph.D. graduates are frightfully ignorant of many of the serious problems of the evolutionary theory. These problems will not be solved unless we bring them to the attention of students. Most students assume evolution is proved, the missing link is found, and all we have left is a few rough edges to smooth out. Actually, quite the contrary is true; and many recent discoveries.. have forced us to re-evaluate our basic assumptions." - the Director of a large graduate biology department.

Believers In Evolution Speak About Evolution #1

2009-11-04T17:57:00.000-08:00

This month is the 150th anniversary of the publication of "On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life". This year is also Darwin's 200th birthday. In celebration I'll be posting quotes from people who support evolution.

Today's first quote is from L. Harrison Matthews, from the Introduction to the 1977 edition of Origin of Species, page xxii.

"[The theory of evolution] forms a satisfactory faith on which to base our interpretation of nature."

R.E.D. Clark, Victoria Institute, 1943, page 63 wrote:

"If complex organisms ever did evolve from simpler ones, the process took place contrary to the laws of nature, and must have involved what may rightly be termed the miraculous."

Not Socialism, But A New Life As A Serf

2009-11-04T17:49:00.000-08:00

Continuing on yesterday's post...

Congressman Mike Pence said today that it is now clear the health care bill "is not about health care, but about changing the fundamental relationship between Americans and their government." In short, it will mean serfdom, as Americans will be made entirely dependent on federal bureaucrats for allocation of health care. Yes, this means "death panels" and the rest of it. Senior citizens will take the brunt of the "savings" that will be mandated, including $500 billion in designated cuts in Medicare. A study by Price Waterhouse Cooper estimates that the average family will have to pay $4,000 more for insurance by 2019, and individuals another $1,500.

The above is from a Front Line Alert from: Coral Ridge Ministries

Scientists Say There Is No Global Warming

2009-11-03T19:21:00.000-08:00

Last week I wrote a post about global warming. I though I was done writing about government, but there one more peace of information I'd like to add. Based on what you hear on the news you'd think that every scientists agreed that global warming existed, and we need to do something about it. But that's not true. For example, over 31,000 scientists have signed a petition stating that there is no convincing evidence that human activities that release greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane, etc.) are causing heating of the earth's atmosphere or climate change.

You'll find the petition here: scientists reject global warming.

Another good web site about global warming was put online by an Oregon State professor. It is available at: global warming.

If scientists do not agree about global warming, why is the government working so hard to get agreement that something must be done? Because it's not about global warming. What government is looking for are crisis they "save" us from. This is what happens when the people get lazy and turn away from their responsibilities. When people turn away from God given responsibilities. They bellow for the government to step it, which it is more than willing to do, putting more power into the hands of those in control. The result is a lose of freedom and increase in tyranny.

The roles for government and people, as described by God in scripture, result in the maximum freedom and good for all. When we reject that, and turn to the government for salvation, you can count on tyranny and suffering to soon follow.

Ardipithecus ramidus - The New Myth Of Science

2009-10-29T16:54:00.000-07:00

For the past month the "big news" in science has been Ardipithecus ramidus, the latest fossil find in mankind's evolutionary background. Evolutionists are a-glow with satisfaction! There's "more" "hard" evidence that proves evolution is true.

But what did they actually find 15 years ago?

A lot of crushed bones. How do you put a crushed skull together the right way when you don't know how the originally looked? You take a guess at what you think is the right way, put the skull together, then compare it with what you want the skull to look like. When the skull looks like an early hominin, you declare that it is now correct. In this case it only took ten attempts to get the skull looking they way they wanted it to look.

What's next? Declare that the skull looks like any early hominin and announce you've discovered one of the earliest hominins and the "find of the century."

By the way, don't assume a complete skull was assembled from the collection of crushed bone. What they have is a partial skull assembled from fragments.

The pelvis helps determine whether the original creature walked upright or like a monkey. In this case it took 15 tries to get the pelvis looking like it walked upright. Then, of course, you announce that the scientific evidence shows it walked upright.

What kind of science is this?

By the way, another announcement this week took revealed that Archaeopteryx, a supposed early link between dinosaurs and birds, has been determined to be fully a... dinosaur. A scientific, microscopic examination showed that this long heralded fossil is not a link between birds and dinosaurs.

The belief that evolution is true depends on ignorance. They are counting on you not knowing the facts. Trust the one book that has never changed, and has never been shown to be false -- even after thousands of years of efforts to do so. Trust the word of an eye-witness. Trust the word of the one who was there when everything was created. Trust God's word.

Government and Global Warming

2009-10-25T17:41:00.000-07:00

What are we treating our government like?

As though it was our savior.

Is t the role of government to save us from global warming?

Of course we first need to ask whether global warming is real. Science Magazine reports that global warming stopped ten years ago (October 2, 2009 - page 28). But don't worry, they say, of course it will resume increasing in a year or two. But the current scientific evidence shows there is no global warming.

From a Biblical view does global warming make sense? Yes, it does. Following the flood what would naturally happen is a very cold period (ice ages) followed by warming. We're still in that warming period

So who is responsible for dealing with this? God assigned that responsibility in the Garden of Eden. It is our responsibility to care for the environment. It is also our responsibility to read God's word and use His word to guide our actions.

Our world was once much warmer. It will once again be much warmer. Our stopping the burning of fossil fuels will not make any difference, except to hurt people, cause hunger, and make people poorer - expect for those in power. Yes, we need to be taking care of the environment, but turning to the government as our savior is turning to the wrong savior.

Your Responsibilities Vs. Government's Responsibilities

2009-10-23T13:51:00.000-07:00

To start this series I pointed out some of the things government does that they should not be doing, such as welfare. There is a role for government in providing for those in need, but it is very small, with the vast majority of the responsibility falling on:

1. Close Family
2. Distant Relations
3. Friends & Neighbors
4. The Christian Church

Another area the government should not be involved in is that of education. Education is the responsibility of parents, who are also accountable for their children's education. Deuteronomy 6:6,7 says:

"These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up."

We are commanded to teach our children.

Ephesians 6:1 says how children are to respond... they are to obey their parents.

Parents have the ultimate responsibility for teaching their children. In today's world this may involve home schooling, or teaching them through a co-op type school. I describe it as a co-op because it needs to be a school in which the parents are heavily involved, and a school that is accountable to the parents. Government schools do not meet this criteria. Parents are only involved at the edges of the education that goes on and the school has no accountability to the parents.

Role Of Government - The Fall Of Rome

2009-10-23T04:22:00.000-07:00

Today I'd like to quote from John MacArthur's book, "Why Government Can't Save You" written in the year 2000.

"In its final years the Roman Empire deteriorated into a huge welfare state in which those people who still worked hard had to pay increasingly greater taxes to support the growing number who no longer worked."

The Role Of Government

2009-10-22T03:06:00.000-07:00

Romans 13:3-4 provides a concise summary of the role of government:

"For rulers are not a cause for fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same; for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil."

Note that government workers are called "ministers of God" not once, but twice. This term also means "servants" of God. All governments are put in place by God and all government workers are ministers of God, putting them in a very special place and giving them serious responsibilities both to God and the people they serve. But this also makes sense, since all goverments are from God, then those representing the government are, in a way, representing God's will.

I find it interesting that some of the requirements for government service, in the early years of America's history, where that those in government positions be Christians. Our founding fathers understood what the Bible says about government workers being "ministers of God" and they wanted to help ensure wise choices where made for government service.

Let's look at the list of the three roles of government from yesterday, but I'll say them in a different way.

1. Punish wrongdoers - it is very clear from Romans 13:4 that government is to punish those who do wrong

2. Restrain evil - Romans 13:4 tells those who do evil that they should be afraid and notes that the government wields the sword (weapons) to be used against those who do evil. The way government restrains evil is by putting fear in the hearts of wrongdoers. This, of course, means that if they are not restraine by fear (the best option) then #1 above applies and it is the government's responsibility to punish those who do wrong.

3. Promote good - this means to treat citizens, who are doing good, in a just and fair manner. For example, government should be protecting the legitimate rights people have.

Role Of Church and Government - Basics

2009-10-21T11:57:00.000-07:00

Let's go back to the basics of understanding the roles government and Christian churches have.

First and foremost, God is supreme. All authority for government comes from God (see John 19:10,11). More than that, all governments come from God (Romans 13:1). Whether we think they are good, bad or evil... all governments are given to us by God and thus should be obeyed when not in conflict with obeying God.

But, government and Christian churches each have a legitimate jurisdiction. Matthew 22:21 makes this clear, we are to give to Caesar the things that are Caesar's. But we are also to give to God the things that are God's. Each has it's area of authority and responsibility (2 Chron 19:11 & 26:16-21)

What is the legitimate jurisdiction of government?

There are three areas:

1. Provide justice
2. Provide order.
3. Provide freedom - this means to protect people from interference with their free exercise of their legitimate rights, such as property rights.

What are the legitimate ares of jurisdiction for the Christian church?

1. Defend and spread the gospel
2. Provide for those in need (welfare)
3. Education

We'll take a more detailed look at government's role tomorrow.

Government & Church - Biblical Welfare #2

2009-10-16T06:43:00.000-07:00

I've read accusations that the Biblical position of individual people providing charity assistance to those in need only applies to Christians. In other words, Christians only help other Christians and everyone else can starve.

Anyone who thinks that is the Christian attitude have not paid attention to what happens during disasters. It is Christians who provide the major of the relief and aid. It does not matter where the disaster strikes... in a Christian community or a Muslim country. Atheists, Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims and Christians are all helped equally and without distinguishing who belongs to which religion.

Yes, there are some cults that call themselves Christian that limit their assistance to those who are members of their church. Or they serve their church first and if anything is left over they'll help others. But that's not what you see from Christians.

What are some examples from the Bible?

Leviticus 19:9-10 says: "When you harvest your crops, do not harvest the grain along the edges of your fields, and do not pick up what the harvesters drop. It is the same with your grape crop--do not strip every last bunch of grapes from the vines, and do not pick up the grapes that fall to the ground. Leave them for the poor and the foreigners who live among you, for I, the Lord, am your God."

At that time most people were farmers raising crops. They were commanded to leave some of their crops for the poor. They were to give some of what they received to help those who could not help themselves.

An important point to note is, God did not command them to harvest crops and then give the food to the poor. Those who were in need--you could say they were in need of a job--could come and harvest what was left. They had to work to get their food. Those who had a harvest were responsible for providing for them, but they still had to put in some work to get what was given to them.

Let's look in the New Testament. This is from Mark 2:23-24

"One Sabbath day as Jesus was walking through some grainfields, his disciples began breaking off heads of wheat. But the Pharisees said to Jesus, 'They shouldn't be doing that! It's against the law to work by harvesting grain on the Sabbath.'"

Were they accused of stealing grain? No. Jesus did not accuse them of stealing. And what the Pharisees said they were doing wrong was working on the Sabbath. Leviticus 19 allows travelers to glean grain from the unharvested edges of the fields. Jesus' followers were applying this principle.

How do we applythis principle today?

1. We are to put aside some of what we earn to be used to help those in need.

2. We should provide it to those in need, and who can work, in a way that gives them dignity; that builds them up; that strengthens them; and helps them build the habits they need to take are of themselves. In other words we should not just give them the cash, they need to work.

This does not mean we should take advantage of others, forcing them to be our servants so they can buy the food they need. Those who gleaned from the fields did not plow, plant, weed, nor put in all the work needed to care for the fields. They did a lot less work than the farmer. Yet, they still had to do something to earn their food. We need to structure our support for those in need the same way.

Government & Church - Biblical Welfare

2009-10-15T06:05:00.000-07:00

What does the Bible say about taking care of the poor? Who is supposed to met the needs of those who can not care for themselves?

First I'd like to point out that the Bible says there is no free ride. Only those who truly are in need, and can not help themselves, are deserving of assistance. In 2 Thessalonians 3:10 it says:

"...we gave you this rule" 'Whoever does not work should not eat."

Paul goes on to write in verse 11: "Yet we hear that some of you are living idle lives, refusing to work and wasting time meddling in other people's business. In the name of the Lord Jesus Chist, we appeal to such people--no, we command them: settle down and get to work. Earn your own living."

Paul is talking to people who could work, but "refuse to do so."

I have read criticisms of this passage saying that it is used to treat needy people badly. This is not a correct understanding of what Paul is saying. He is not telling the disabled, the elderly, or others who can not work that they should not receive charity. But those who are capable of working, need to work or they don't eat.

What if there are no jobs? First we need to look at a fundamental problem.

We are in a situation in which unemployment is above 9% and jobs are difficult to find. Who are we turning to to create jobs? The government. The government has taken over GM and Chrysler to save jobs. The government is spending vast sums of money as a stimulus to create jobs. Meanwhile the government pays people to do nothing while they wait for jobs to be created.

I can hear people saying that this is the loving and compassionate thing to do. Is that true? What does the Bible say we should do?

Can governments be loving and compassionate? No. It is people are can be loving and compassionate. We are to show that love and compassion by helping our neighbor when they need help. Here is a key reason why this is best... because we know our neighbor. We have a personal relationship with our neighbors. We know those who are in need, and those who are trying to get a free ride would quickly be revealed.

We have open our home to people in need. In one case the husband always had an excuse for not taking a job, even when I arranged one for him. He was capably of working, a job was available, he refused to work... he did not deserve to eat. Instead he found a way to live off free handouts from the government.

The point is, if those in need are help by their family and friends, those who need help will get it and freeloaders will have to learn how work and help others who are in need.

No, the Biblical command to work or you don't eat is not cruel. It is wise. It is truly loving and caring about other people.

The Proper Role Of Government

2009-10-14T17:46:00.000-07:00

I should have started this series many months ago, but other projects always seemed to push their way to the top of the pile. The Bible very clearly defines the role of government and the role of Christians. Unfortunately Christians have been neglecting what they are supposed to do and government has slowly moved in to take over the responsibilities of the church.

For example, part of the role of government is to provide protection and regulate commerce.

Part of the role of the church is to educate children and provide for the poor, both of which are now done mostly by government.

This ever growing expansion of government into areas of the church's responsibility is the source of many of the societal problems we have today.

I am not advocating a theocracy, a type of government that is run by the church. With the government involved in services such as welfare and education, it may seem that when I say these are church functions I'm saying the church should be running the government. Not at all. We're just thoroughly indoctrinated in those being a government function that we can't think of them being done in any other way. But they should be.

In the next post we'll take a look at the Biblical view of welfare, which includes the hot topic of the day... health care.

Beautiful Day For God's Judgment

2009-08-07T19:21:00.000-07:00

What does it look like when you are living in a country that is under God's judgment instead of blessing?

I look out the window and see blue sky, green grass and beautiful flowers. The Mama's and Papa's Anthology is on the CD player. The air is warm, just perfectly right. I had a pleasant meeting with some Christian clients this afternoon. It a beautiful day... nothing is going wrong. Is this what it looks like to be in God's wrath?

Yes.

God's wrath takes several forms, one of which is the withdrawal of His blessing. I'd guess this has been happening in America for at least the past 40 or 50 years, maybe longer. What does the withdrawal of God's blessing look like? Roman 1:24-32 describes what happens.

"Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another." [Gay marriage and homosexuality being recognized as not on acceptable, but right and good.]

"They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, andworshipped and served created things rather than the Creator--who is forever praised. Amen" .." [Evolution, although not based on fact or scientific proof, becoming the only accepted explaination for life.]

"The have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice." [Corporate executives' greed. Politicians' adultery. The murder of millions through abortion. A socialistic government that thinks nothing of lying if it furthers their cause.]

Verse 32 ends the list of evil and wickedness with a perfect description of America: "Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them."

Look at the countries America is trying become friends with. It's a list of evil dictators. Who are we turning away from? Israel.

Look out your window. The America you see is what a country under God's wrath looks like.

Is America Under God's Wrath Now?

2009-08-02T09:38:00.000-07:00

There is an excellent sermon by John McArthur on this subject. You can read or download it from this page:

What's Wrong With America?

This message points out that what we are seeing in America is as described in Romans 1. We should not be expecting God's wrath on America at some time in the future because of all the evil that is going on now, but the evil we see going on now is because America is already under God's wrath.

I agree with this assessment. It makes sense. A country that turns away from God, as America has done, finds that God's blessings are withdrawn. That in tern leads to further decline and a greater level of God's wrath (withdrawal of blessing). This continues in a downward spiral until people become so revolted and sickened by the depths of depravity that they cry out to God to save them.

Are you crying out to God to save America? Are you sharing the gospel? That's the only way that masses of people will cry out to God. If you do as God has commanded you. Go out and share the gospel. Tell people the good news, so that they too may become children of God and cry to God to save His children from evil.

Trillions To Fight Poverty

2009-08-02T09:08:00.000-07:00

I was reading a newspaper article today about the trillions of dollars that have been spent on fighting poverty, poor levels of education (and high drop out rates), gang violence, and drugs since the Great Society government programs were started by President Johnson in the 1960's. The author was lamenting that with all the money that has been spent, nothing has changed, and in fact things have gotten worse, particularly in the decline of education. He could not understand why this was. His only answer was that we needed to spend more money and have more government programs.

Do more of what hasn't worked? Does that make sense?

What's has intentionally been left out of these efforts to help people? God, and God's methods for helping people who need help.

Government can never solves these problems.

For example, how does the Bible deal with poverty? Does it say the government should feed those who cannot afford food? No, it does not. Does it say churches should feed those who cannot afford food? No, it does not. The Bible gives the principle of gleaning. People who grow food are to leave some in the fields for those who don't. Do they just give it to those who need food? No. People must harvest their own. They must work for the food they need.

Yes, there are some people who are not physically about to work. But the Biblical principle is that those who are able to should work to support themselves. And the form of charity that we should provide is opportunities for people in need to work.

How does this apply in our situation? We are not all farmers who can leave parts of our fields unharvested so that poor people can gleen. An example of what we can do is: business owners can hire one more person than they actually need. Is this a charity job? No. The person would be expected to get to work on time and do useful work. If they don't show up for work, just like anyone else they get fired. No work. No money. No food. (2 Thessalonians 3:6-12) People not only get fed, they learn good work habits and gain work skills.

But more importantly we can not leave God out. People need to know who they are. That they are created in God's image. That means we are not some unimportant bit of random biological stuff that came from swamp goo a billion years ago. You are created in God's image! You are loved by God. God knew you and loved you even before you were conceived in you mother's womb. God even sacrificed His only Son so that you can be saved from God's wrath.

Since you are created in God's image, you represent God to all the universe. That's important. You are important. Are you representing God well? Or are you misrepresenting who God is?

What's Satan's Next Target?

2009-07-06T17:47:00.000-07:00

The true battle is a spiritual battle with many fronts. In the past few years we've seen America take many big hits, both physical and spiritual. The physical affects the spiritual because it can lead us away from from God.

America took a big financial hit during the past year. Who did we turn to? Was it God? No it was government. Actually in many cases our government stepped in in the name of "saving us" without being asked to save us.

America has been hit from several directions, and what has been the physical world cause? In most cases government. They always point fingers at others, but it was government lending policies that led to the real estate meltdown.

Remember, the more crisis there are, the more government can convince people to turn to them for salvation. But, the truth is that each time this happens people will get less and less "salvation" and more entrapped in a system that leads them away from God.

So what's next? Think about some area's in which America is strong and you've found the next targets. An obvious one is energy. Everything takes energy to run. Without energy we return to the stone age. America has more energy reserves than any other country. Enough energy to last us for over 500 years. That energy is coal. And what is now under attack? Coal as an energy source. The tool is called "global warming."

Saudi Arabia as 25% of the world's oil resources and the Middle East in general has 40% of the world's natural gas. On the other hand America has 27% of the world's coal resources.

If you were Satan what would you do?

America is called an energy glutton because we use more energy than other countries. The argument is that our energy use must decrease. Those that make that argument should spend some time in countries that use less energy. I was in southern India earlier this year. I didn't need an alarm clock because the city power went off every morning at 7:00 AM and a few minutes later the noisy diesel generator for the hotel kicked in. It was a nice hotel, but there was no hot water... which wasn't too bad because the weather was so hot that the cold water wasn't very cold. In some sections of the city at night shop owners lit their shops with candles and lanterns, because there was no electricity. Women washed clothes in the river, pounding them on rocks. Overall I loved India and look forward to returning. But shouldn't we be working to raise their standard of living instead of lowering ours.

It's just a guess, but look for America to be further beat up as a result of government energy programs and policies... and then of course to save us from those results we'll get more government programs that further steal our work, treasure and lives.

So why aren't you out sharing the gospel?

Fighting The Truth War

2009-06-21T12:19:00.000-07:00

Speaking to Christians: "So we are ambassador-soldiers, reaching out to sinners with the truth even as we make every effort to destroy the lies and other forms of evil that hold them in deadly bondage. That is a perfect summary of every Christian's duty in the Truth War." - John MacArthur (in the book "The Truth War")

The battle is not a physical battle of guns and swords, it is a spiritual battle and the enemy's chief weapons are lies and deception... which we let creep into our churches, some in small ways, others in large amounts--in some cases to the extent that a church is no longer Christian.

Martin Luther said, "If I profess with the loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of the truth of God except precisely that little point which the world and devil are at the moment attacking, I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Christ. Where the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is proved; and to be steady on all the battle fields besides, is mere flight and disgrace if he flinches at that point."

If you are a Christian you are in the battle... aren't you?