The Need To Know--Is Ignorance Bliss?

"My times are in your hand..."  (Psalm 31:15, ESV).
"My future is in your hands..." (ibid., NLT). 
"The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever..." (Deut. 29:29, ESV).
"They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience"  (1 Tim. 3:9, ESV).
"Knowledge is power."--Sir Francis Bacon (cf. Prov. 24:5).

Even though intelligence officers and personnel in the NSA have top-secret security clearances and access, they still must demonstrate a need to know in order to protect classified info.  This is a hedge of protection to prevent people from knowing too much and having a higher likelihood of betraying it.  They say everyone has a price and they don't want to put personnel into temptation and give them the opportunity; in other words, the purpose is to keep honest people honest.  Even the president doesn't have a need to know certain intelligence and is spared the details on many matters of espionage.  Just like "power tends to corrupt," and "absolute power corrupts absolutely," according to Lord Acton, so also too much info coupled with opportunity can likewise corrupt an individual, including those in power.  There are some things people are just better off just not knowing and remaining ignorant of for the sake of sanity.

God only reveals His will to us on a daily basis as a rule and no one has the outline for his whole life given at the beginning of his career.  We would not be able to accept dismal events and cannot bear the burden of more than one day at a time.   Our future is sure in God's hands and He sees what's best for us.   The principle to live one day at a time is a lifesaver and keeps us from having attitudinal disparities and mood swings--trying to live in the future or dwell on the past.  We ought not to misinterpret the present either, but live in light of God's Word and eternity.

They say that ignorance is bliss!  Sometimes it is because we cannot bear the truth or the knowledge yet.  But there is a kind of willful ignorance that is sin.  When we neglect to know what we did have the opportunity to know, we are culpable and will be judged accordingly; for instance, no one has an excuse for not believing in God--the evidence is everywhere (cf. Rom. 1:20).  The person who got stopped by the police for speeding and claiming ignorance of the law finds out it's no excuse either.  If you travel abroad you are still responsible to know traffic laws and customs.

How does this all relate to believers then?  We are given the whole counsel of God in the Scriptures and also ample opportunity to know it and be exposed to the truth.  Everyone who owns a Bible cannot claim ignorance because he never found time to read it!  Staying away from church intentionally is wrong and doesn't excuse one from knowing the truth.  The more you know or have the opportunity to know the more culpable and responsible you are.  Children, who are innocent, are not judged by the same standards.  Willful sin will be judged by God and the Christian who believes he can avoid the assembling together of believers and remain ignorant will find out the truth at the Bema of Christ and will have a rude awakening.  It's better to sound the alarm now and give the body their wake-up call so they will not be intentionally or willfully ignorant--especially ignorant of God's will and Word.

God chooses to guide us one day at a time in order to foster faith in us and to give us the challenge to seek His will and presence in our lives.  God doesn't want robots who simply follow a program and have no choices to make along the way.  In other words, we are not meant to be automatons. If God has blessed some Christian with wisdom, knowledge, and understanding, it's on a need-to-know basis and there is a rationale behind it in God's eyes.  Knowledge is never the end per se, but the means to the end and must serve a purpose--not just to know all the answers or be a better specimen than the run-of-the-mill believer who is relatively ignorant.  When we share and learn from our knowledge, God grants more light.  But remember the Christian principle that enlightenment comes from light and God is light to us.

We can celebrate the fact that God holds the future and we don't know it and cannot control it, namely, because we couldn't handle it without being ill at ease.  We shouldn't be curious concerning the future, because we are privileged to know the One who holds the future!  God knows our limits and what is in our best interest and will make us in the image of Christ, by way of affliction.  When Christ brings us to a trial, He will bring us through it.  Just like the need to know, God grants no one a monopoly on the truth so that it shouldn't go to his head, because "knowledge puffs up," according to 1 Cor. 8:1 It is the immature believer who balks at learning the things of God in depth and shies away from doctrine; we are stewards of the mysteries of God and faithfulness counts!

In the final analysis, everyone deserves the knowledge of the gospel message and the word must get out--the good news is for everyone who is willing to hear it and called of God (cf. Acts 2:39)!  No one has an excuse to be ignorant of the Great Commission as a believer or the knowledge of God as an infidel.  Jesus came to bear witness of the truth, and everyone who is of the truth hears Him--no excuses!  All believers should realize the value of knowing the scoop or the lowdown on what the Bible teaches, and bring every thought into the captivity of Christ while his mind is renewed in the image of Christ and he girds up the loins of his mind (cf. 1 Pet. 1:13) to fight the good fight, not from ignorance, but from enlightenment.   Soli Deo Gloria!

Roots Of Secular Humanism

Humanism, An Idea From Antiquity:

You may believe that Secular Humanism is something "new under the sun," but it was an idea in the Aegean Sea area of classical Greece. Protagoras said, "Man is the measure of all things" (homo mensura).  It goes earlier than that to the plain of Shinar in Gen. 11:4 where men sought to "make a name for themselves."

"For though they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God or show gratitude.  Instead, their thinking became nonsense, and their senseless minds were darkened claiming to be wise, they became fools..." (Romans 12:221-22, HCSB).  

"...Do you have a monopoly on wisdom?  (Job 15:8b, NIV).

What the essence of humanism is, is glory to man in the highest:  the deification or exaltation of man, and dethroning of God.  Humanism 101:  "Up with man; down with God, because we can do good without Him!"  What they mean is to start with man as the measure or standard and judge everything accordingly:  Instead of starting the rationale with God--"In the beginning God..," the commence with man and his finite cerebral capacity, whereby God is infinite and the Greeks said that the finite cannot grasp the infinite--how ironic!  "In all his scheming, the wicked arrogantly thinks: 'There is no accountability since God does not exist" (Psalm 10:4, HCSB).  "...[A]ll is thoughts are, 'There is no God'" (Psalm 10:4, ESV).  (God is in none of his thoughts!)  When you take God out of the reckoning man becomes depraved without limit and God gives them up to go their own way--yes, even man's brain or intellect is depraved and is incapable of spiritual apprehension:  "No one understands" (cf. Rom. 3:10f).   "...My people do not understand" (Isaiah 1:3, NASB).   "...So the people without understanding are ruined"  (Hos. 4:14, NASB).  "...The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint"  (Isaiah 1:5, ESV).

Secular Humanism is defined as a religion without God in the equation.  It is completely incompatible with the Judeo-Christian worldview. Humanists do not believe that there is a supernatural and deny any deity or divinity of any notion in their reckoning.  When you take God out of the equation man loses focus and orientation, and has no moral compass to guide him and sees a distorted reality: such as Eastern religion seeing all reality as Maya or an illusion.  Humanism is a religion with high priests, meetings, and even has the Humanist Manifesto of doctrines to adhere to John Dewey was one of the early proponents who introduced the ideas into our educational system and is the so-called father of American public education.  They even have "Secular Humanist of the year" awards!  Their chief tenet is that there is no absolute moral code to live by and we are capable of concocting our own morality.

America is entering the New World Order (or era):  Trump vows to keep God out of it [politics]. Humanists want a world without God and any religious influence--even banning signage of the Ten Commandments in courtrooms and schools, taking the motto "In God We Trust" off our coins, and "One nation under God" off our pledge of allegiance (they have already banned Bible reading and classroom prayer in public schools in 1963, when infamous atheist Madalyn Murray O'Hair protested and litigated).  Will we have a National Day of Prayer and a prayer breakfast at the White House? They are opposed to Christianity because they cannot stomach the fact that some people are "lost" and need salvation, and they believe in their Humanist Manifesto II of 1973:  "No deity will save us, we must save ourselves."

Their faith is in science, or should I say "scientism," which is using science for non-scientific purposes such as finding ethical, philosophical, and religious truth (an example is saying that the cosmos is all there is and all there was and all there ever will be--Carl Sagan). They are people of faith too--in the scientific method to solve our problems and lead to all truth.  There are not people of faith and people of reason or rationale, because everyone has faith and starts with some presupposition they cannot prove.  The building block of the "religion" is evolution and they regard any encroachment upon this dogma as heretical and intolerable. For example, Carl Sagan said that evolution is a "fact", not a "theory." Note:  It's unproven and unprovable since history is nonrepeatable, there are no witnesses, they cannot account for the origin of life nor the arrival of the fittest,  and a new species has never been observed to evolve in either the fossil record or in real time.

Humanism is indeed a religion, though they say it is not because they don't believe in "God." But even John Dewey said in A Common Faith that you can be "religious" without having "religion." Atheism has been declared a religion by the Seventh Court of Appeals!   Humanism is more than disbelief in God; it's anti-God and, as a worldview, interprets everything without God in the picture, which is contrary to the rise of Western civilization.  We might call Secular Humanism a post-theological worldview and they are in the process or rewriting history--a red flag!

A fundamental repercussion of their worldview is that God never intervened in history (Jesus is seen as a legend, myth, lie, etc.), and worse yet, man is not created in the image of God with a soul and spirit, but is a materialistic, naturalistic hodgepodge of atoms colliding with no divine purpose--life has no meaning or purpose (words anathema to them), and, since we are animals in heat avoiding pain and seeking pleasure, we can feel free to live without moral restraint, hell to shun, nor judgment to fear, just like animals and feel no "guilt," which comes only from religion. Note:  We are not a freak biological accident or some fluke of nature!  In scientific parlance, they are monists, not believers in dualism like Christians, in that they don't believe we have a mind, separate from our brain, but it's only a projection of brain activity and there is no soul or spirit within us.

The whole point of Secular Humanism is to be good without God and to be religious without the so-called religion! They deify and exalt man and dethrone and ignore God, making a name for the man and blaspheming God's name! Idolatry is not giving God His rightful domain!

So what?  Secular Humanists want Christians in their camp, but they must be willing to privatize their faith, not flaunting it or making it public--keep it in church!  What we are beholding is the secularization of our society where "we have forgotten God" (Will Durant, humanist historian).  The Constitution guarantees the free expression of faith or religion with no State interference or regulation.  Playwright George Bernard Shaw said that "no nation has ever survived the loss of its gods."  Dostoevsky said that without God all things are permissible--this is our future?  Caveat: Secular Humanists pin the blame for our problem on man's preoccupation with the spiritual element and mostly fault Christianity!  Soli Deo Gloria!

Loving The Romanists

People can be sincerely wrong, though sincerity is important, it is not everything.  You can have a sound theology without a sound life, but not a sound life without a sound theology; however, it is more vital to have a heart in tune or in sync with Christ, and in the right place than to be orthodox and impeccably correct in one's doctrines--man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart.

Keeping our eyes, focused on the goal, which is to win them over and not be a stumbling block or artificial roadblock, that hinders one's search for the truth will set him free. Our goal should be to build bridges not tear them down. We may even have to pray for an open door. Caveat:  You can be dead right as well as dead wrong!  The only solution is one of mutual respect and love. What follows is my attempt to bridge the gap and put us on the same page.

We all may have Roman Catholic friends (22 percent of America is Roman Catholic) and colleagues that we are in daily or regular contact within our sphere of influence, that God has made us responsible for as a witness.  The key is to meet them where they are and get to know them first. I do not have an ax to grind against the Romanist tradition or feel vengeance to "get even" or "even the score" for the so-called bitter Thirty Years' War between Protestants and Catholics (1618-1638) that practically destroyed Christendom in Western Europe, and ended in a stalemate and an edict of "toleration" and mutual recognition (Treaty of Westphalia). At one point even the Jews and Christians decided to "live and let live," to "agree to disagree," and stop feuding with each other, but to cease fire and seek peace.  We must love others into the kingdom of God!  Jesus said we'd be known by our love!  The Protestant Church wasn't officially recognized by Charles V until the Peace of Augsburg (1577).

Catholicism and Protestantism split subsequent to October 31, 1517, when Martin Luther, an Augustinian monk, nailed his Ninety-five Theses on the Castle Church of Wittenberg, and was promptly summoned to the Diet of Worms to recant by Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and Pope Leo X, who declared him a heretic and excommunicated him.  He escaped by virtue of being kidnapped to Wartburg Castle and proceeded to translate the Bible into German (completed in 1534 and still a work of art in German prose to this day). And so the split in 1521, like that of the Western and Eastern Churches in 1054 to form the Orthodox Church, is almost 500 years in the making.  It was not the Protestants who condemned the Catholics, but vice versa (they were told to recant or be excommunicated).  Luther didn't intend to start a new denomination or church in his name--he only intended to reform, but this is what happened nevertheless.

The motto and spirit of the movement:  I dissent, I disagree, I protest (how we get Protestant). Luther continued the Protestant movement (known as Evangelicals or Lutherans) along with other reformers.  He had held to the Word of God, plain reason, and his conscience as his guide--the former monk and theology professor never recanted, but continued his reforms of Romanism until his death in 1546.

We are no longer at the mercy of church dogma.  Today, many believers in the Protestant faith have even already come full circle by submitting to everything their church says and decrees without question.  Remember the Bereans (cf. Acts 17:11), who were nobler than the Thessalonians who went home and searched these things out that Paul preached, and found out whether they were true. We are all believer-priests in the Christian church and have the Holy Spirit's illuminating ministry and the anointing to understand the Scriptures, and don't need a priest or teacher to tell us everything.

There is a fundamental difference between the way the Catholics and Protestants understand salvation which is called the doctrine of soteriology by theologians:  The former primarily see the instrumental means via the sacraments (viz., baptism and communion) of the Church, and the latter as through faith alone as the instrumental means.  The Catholics deemed the Church as necessary for salvation in Vatican Council II of 1962-1965.  Note that Catholics always refer to their denomination as "the Church" and NOTE:  Jesus said, "No one comes to the Father except through Me."(Not through the  church!)  Roman Catholics declared non-Catholics to be "heretics," and that the "Church is necessary for salvation...  For it is through the Church alone...."  This Church likes to pronounce a curse on those that sincerely disagree or beg to differ, they cannot even agree to disagree by decree or council.

Grace is necessary, and faith is necessary, and even Christ is necessary, but not sufficient in Catholicism. They also acknowledge three varieties of merit that are being added to grace (at least congruous merit, but condign merit is obligatory to reward, and supererogatory merit is above and beyond the call of duty, such as martyrdom and can be shared with others to help them.)  They do not believe faith is adequate but works must be added to the faith to make it complete.  While Protestants generally all agree with the formula that we are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone (cf. Ephesians 2:8-9)--which was one of the battle cries of the Reformation. However, the Catholics contradicted Jesus:  In 1891, Pope Leo the Twelfth declared, "No one can approach Christ except through the Mother [the Co-Mediator or Mediatrix and Co-Redeemer]."

Reacting: The Catholics were very upset at the Reformed dogma and summoned the Counter-Reformation and the Council of Trent from 1545-1563 to declare "anathema" or cursed anyone who believes in sola fide or faith alone (because they could not find the phrase "faith alone" in Scripture!). This council further alienated the Church by declaring tradition of equal authority as Scripture, and also that the Apocrypha was to be canonized.  In explanation:  James (cf. James 2:34), said we are justified by works and not by faith alone;  but he was saying that the kind of faith that doesn't produce good works or fruit is not saving faith, and is "dead."  Then the Reformers countered with their definition of saving faith with this formula:  We are saved by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone.  This may seem like splitting hairs or nitpicking, but it makes you either a Protestant or Catholic by your stand on whether faith alone is adequate to save and consequently whether we have any right to "boast" in God's presence of any merit or work we have done. Faith is regarded as a meritorious work and not a gift, and this is the beginning of merit.   "Faith alone" became the rallying cry of the Reformation.

Now to get to our premise as to how we must love our Catholic friends:  We must not compromise our faith, water down, or domesticate the gospel to make it sound appealing to them, but we must stick to our guns and stand fast in the faith.  "The Lord's servant must not strive..." (2 Tim. 2:24).  We don't go out of our way to condemn them, but if the subject comes up we are to remain faithful to our credo and not try to gain their favor or be "people-pleasers" by sounding less abrasive or offensive to their standards.  Sometimes the truth hurts and convicts, and if we really belong to Christ, we must be willing to take a stand, willing to suffer the consequences of our cross to bear.

For example, in a Bible study, we don't go out of our way to point out the differences of doctrine, but if the subject comes up we are to tell it like it is in a loving way, and not waver or cower in our stand--there comes a time when we must and take our stand for Jesus--we must make it clear that it is not just our opinion, but that we can show from Scripture why we believe what we do; as another of the Reformer's mottoes was, sola Scriptura (Scripture alone), we must appeal alone to divine Scripture as our authority--not the Supreme Pontiff or the Pope, tradition, the Church, or even ourselves.

Most of all, we must realize that the best witness is a loving testimony that shows we aren't just trying to argue them into the kingdom (we can never argue someone into the faith), but we must wait for the open door that we have prayed for and take the cue to witness when called for, and do so humbly and honestly from the heart.  If they realize you really love them that is the best witness, not how brilliant we are. They don't care how much you know, till they realize how much you care.  The best way to love them is to tell them the truth and not live a lie or deny the truth.  By all means, never condemn them, nor tell them bluntly that they are not Christians, but let God do the convicting--John 16:8 says this is the Holy Spirit's domain.  We can never convert someone--only God can accomplish this task!

Note that I am not saying that you cannot be saved if you're a Catholic (I believe Mother Teresa of Calcutta is doubtless one of the closest saints to the Father), but some are saved despite their church dogma and not because of it (faith in the Catholic tradition means agreement or acquiescence with Church dogma or the official teachings of the Church per se). God has his "angels" in every church as a witness and testimony if people are looking for Him. Like Paul said to the Philippians:  "I want to know Christ ... [it is not our theory of soteriology that saves us, but Christ]."  It is the object (Christ) of faith that saves, not faith itself.  Feelings don't impress God, faith does (cf. Heb. 11:6).!


In conclusion:   A word to the wise is sufficient. There is such a thing as "dead orthodoxy" or having a well-thought-out theology and no spiritual life to match! The Pietists arose during the Reformation to neutralize this same situation.  You can be orthodox in your creed and not be saved, and wrong in your doctrine and be saved, because salvation is a relationship (knowing and believing in Christ) not a creed per se.  Creeds change over time as the church is semper reformanda or Latin for "always reforming" according to the Reformers; however, Christ never changes, and is the same yesterday, today, and forever! Let us learn to love Him more dearly, follow Him more nearly, and know Him more clearly!

The Gibraltar Of Christianity

"To them he presented himself alive after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God"  (Acts 1:3, ESV).
"Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers a one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep"  (1 Cor. 15:6, ESV).  

This is apologetic for the resurrection of Christ and is included with worldview posts because acceptance or rejection affects one's interpretation of history, and whether he believes God intervenes in it or plays an active part (as Deists deny).   God is no spectator or passive observer of humanity.  A so-called uniformitarian view holds that God if there is one, doesn't intervene in human affairs, nor cause any cataclysmic events.   As Ben Franklin said, "I have lived a long time and the longer I live the more convincing proofs I see that God governs in the affairs of men."  Believing in a supernatural God, and that with God nothing is impossible, settles the issue, for this is merely child's play for the almighty Creator of the universe and the one who holds all things together in His hands.

One's approach to interpreting history is affected because his philosophy biases him for or against the supernatural and how we can "know" historical events and verify them to our satisfaction.  It is not the denial of the miracle of the resurrection that is at stake, but the whole concept of their existence and possibility.  Denying the fact of miracles leads to the ultimate conclusion that there is no God, which cannot be proved (logicians know you cannot prove a universal negative!).

"To them he presented himself alive after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God"  (Acts 1:3, ESV).
"Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers a one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep"  (1 Cor. 15:6, ESV).

This is an apologetic for the resurrection of Christ and is included with worldview posts because acceptance or rejection affects one's interpretation of history, and whether he believes God intervenes in it or plays an active part (as Deists deny).  A so-called uniformitarian view holds that God if there is one, doesn't intervene in human affairs, nor cause any cataclysmic events.   As Ben Franklin said, "I have lived a long time and the longer I live the more convincing proofs I see that God governs in the affairs of men."  Believing in a supernatural God, and that with God nothing is impossible, settles the issue, for this is merely child's play for the almighty creator of the universe and the one who holds all things together in His hands.

One's approach to interpreting history is affected because his philosophy biases him for or against the supernatural and how we can "know" historical events and verify them to our satisfaction.  It is not the denial of the miracle of the resurrection that is at stake, but the whole concept of their existence and possibility.  Denying the fact of miracles leads to the ultimate conclusion that there is no God, which cannot be proved (logicians know you cannot prove a universal negative!).

The crux of the Christian faith is its dependence on the resurrection of Christ to be the foundation and inception.  You must accept this fact or the whole faith is disemboweled.  The resurrection is the final proof that Christ's sacrifice was accepted, that there is a heaven to hope for and that Christ is the one and only Son of God.  This is the most crucial and vital fact of history--the most astonishing and fantastic fact, or it is the biggest and cruelest hoax ever perpetrated on mankind, according to Josh McDowell.  There is no middle ground; it is not a legend since there was not the time for it to develop until the gospels were written (probably before AD 70).  The historicity of Christ is beyond dispute by any reputable modern historian because it is vouched for by many secular forces as well as the internal testimony of the Word.

How do we know this as historical fact, though?  History, by its very nature, cannot be proved in a scientific manner (it's out of the realm of science because it's nonrepeatable).  How do we know that Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth?  There are no witnesses alive today to verify it, but we do have documentation that is credible, and trustworthy.  We must assess the veracity of the records and the dependability of the eye-witnesses--consummate, inveterate liars, and lunatics or madmen are not reliable witnesses, no matter the number.

However, in the case of Scripture, we have four noblemen who lived in the times of skepticism and persecution for their faith, and they have the character that one could believe. We can believe the records written because they give no evidence of rantings and ravings of madmen.  Simon Greenleaf, a prof at Harvard, and one of the world's foremost authorities on legal evidence became a believer in Christ by examining the evidence and announced that, if an unbiased jury were to hear it, they would proclaim the resurrection as historical fact.  There certainly isn't a lack of evidence to support it, one must have preconceived ideas or prejudices to deny it.  The heart of the matter is that it's a matter of the heart, and people feign intellectual problems as smokescreens to hide their moral rebellion and unwillingness to do God's will.

There is no way you can disprove it:  The opposite of the resurrection is not that people don't rise from the dead, but that God cannot raise the dead, specifically, that He cannot rise from the dead Himself.  All science can say is that people don't normally rise from the dead, all things being equal. There is no law that says so, it has just been observed that men normally die and conclusions were drawn.

Jesus predicted His resurrection and there is plenty of circumstantial evidence to verify it: The appearances of Christ to doubting apostles, who had to be convinced against their better judgment (Thomas said he wouldn't believe unless he could put his hand in Christ's side) and they had become disillusioned, reverting to their former way of life, such as fishing; the many eyewitnesses that were alive when the gospels were written that could've dispelled the belief--it would be like someone saying that FDR claimed to be the Son of God today; one famous lawyer (Frank Morrison) asked the pivotal question, who moved the stone--it was guarded and heavy; one must account for the empty tomb and everyone knew where it was and could've checked it out; how do you explain the rise of the church that taught the resurrection, the martyrdom of thousands for the faith, when all they had to do to save their hide was deny this fact; the day of worship was changed from the Sabbath day to the Lord's day (and Jews practically had a fetish about this command); the grave clothes were undisturbed and this made an instant believer out of John, showing supernatural exit; and most convincing is the dramatic change in the lives of the apostles, going from timid and frightened to roaring lions for the faith.

The only way to dismantle Christianity is to disprove this historical fact and this has never been done, and cannot be done--it would raise more issues and questions than it solved--there's no legitimate evidence against it; only a preconceived notion that it's untrue brings doubt.

Note that the burden of proof falls on the party making the challenge that a document is not authentic or bogus (Socrates' dictum):  Every document apparently ancient, coming from the proper repository or custody, and bearing on its face no evident marks of forgery, the law presumes to be genuine and devolves on the opposing party the burden of proving it to be otherwise"  (Professor, an expert on law and evidence, Simon Greenleaf of Harvard).  He also states:  "[That] the competence of the New Testament documents would be established in a y court of law." 

All the above are compelling, circumstantial evidence, and this kind of evidence is admissible in a court of law; however, no evidence can be conclusive in itself, but one must weigh it and go with the preponderance of the evidence--all the popular theories about how Christ didn't rise from the dead have been refuted and aren't believed seriously anymore by scholars (like that the disciples merely stole the body, and no one should believe the testimony of guards while they were asleep--this is not admissible evidence, and this tale circulated and the Jews believed it).

What is so compelling about the evidence and makes the gospel writers so credible?  They were willing to die for it and were in a position to know whether it was true--unlike radical Muslims dying for what they think is true--and people will gladly die for what they believe, but not for a known lie.  Finally, the integrity of the Scriptures is well-established and its reliability, authenticity, and faithful reproduction with utmost fidelity leaves no doubt that they have survived without being corrupted, as Islam claims.  Soli Deo Gloria!

Blind Faith...

 "...' You foolish people!  You find it so hard to believe all that the prophets wrote in the Scriptures" (Luke 24:25, NLT).
"...' O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!'"  (Ibid., NKJV).
"Therefore my people go into exile for lack of knowledge..." (Isaiah 5:13, ESV).
"...and a people without understanding shall come to ruin" (Hosea 4:14, ESV).
"...There is no faithfulness or steadfast love, and no knowledge of God in the land" (Hos. 4:1, ESV).
"For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings"  (Hosea 6:6, ESV).
"Let us know; let us press on to know the LORD..." (Hosea 6:3, ESV).
"I don't have enough faith to be an atheist."--Norman L. Geisler, noted biblical scholar

Note: Not knowing what you believe is a kind of unbelief or blind faith. 

Christians have sound reasons to have faith in Christ:  circumstantial evidence that is most compelling and unexplainable otherwise;  the convicting work of the Holy Spirit, especially through the Word of God (its inspiration, transmission, and canonicity); the objective, cumulative, historical evidence of the resurrection; plus the subjective experience ("Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good..." cf. Psalm 34:8, NKJV) and value of knowing Christ personally ("[N]ow that you have had a taste of the Lord's kindness" cf. 1 Peter 2:3, NLT).

Christianity is the only faith that is based on fact, not a fable, fiction, myth, old wives' tales, legend, or tall tale--if it's not a historical religion, it's nothing at all.  The historical evidence is further validated by the veracity of the witnesses, who were willing to go to their deaths for their faith. One usually tells the truth on one's deathbed.  It's not a matter of whether you believe the resurrection was possible, but are the historical records reliable, credible, dependable, and accurate?

The difference between them dying for their faith and other martyrs of different faiths is that they were in the position to know whether it was true.  Any faith not based on evidence is blind faith--even an atheist who doesn't know why he's one or has no evidence has blind faith.  It's not a battle or challenge between faith and reason, but which set of presuppositions one begins with and is willing to accept as true--secularists bet the farm on science being the only reliable source of truth.  Secularists are people of faith too!   If you say that you only believe what can be proved by the scientific method or empiricism, you must first begin by proving the validity of that premise.

Epistemological humility comes in to play where one admits he doesn't have a monopoly on the truth or know everything and is therefore teachable. In the final analysis, no preacher has cornered the market on truth and can speak ex-cathedra or pontificate.  Socrates said that to begin learning you must admit your ignorance!  Education is merely going from an unconscious to a conscious awareness of your ignorance.  Everyone must admit that they could be wrong--no one is infallible. 

Christians today are inclined to believe that their faith is indefensible, and don't know how to defend their faith or even know what they believe and should defend.  We must not let secularists win by default or by concession--we must stand our ground and declare our colors!  What is negotiable and what isn't?  We have sound reasons to believe; God doesn't expect us to believe despite the evidence.  God will reveal the truth to anyone who is willing to do His will (cf. John 7:17) and has an open mind, willing spirit, and needy heart.  God doesn't expect us to believe contrary to reason, but will manifest Himself to us if we search for Him--He is no man's debtor.

Faith is a gift but we must exercise it.  The problem is when we become lax in the faith or our faith is dead, we can do nothing (John 15:5 says, "For apart from Me you can do nothing"), that faith doesn't save; only a living and growing faith that produces fruit can save--no fruit, no faith, no salvation.  Saving faith is not a leap in the dark, but a step into the light--God asks no one to commit intellectual suicide and believe for the sake of believing alone (faith doesn't save, nor faith in faith, but only faith in Christ as the object saves).  Faith feeds on facts and experience, while Paul said in Romans 10:17, NKJV, concerning that precious faith:  "So then faith comes by hearing, and by hearing [i.e., preaching] by the word of God."  We must mature in the faith and have childlike, not childish faith; simple, but not simplistic!

Christians can have strong faith, but if they aren't able to defend it or have a reason for their faith, it's blind faith and may succumb to the devil's Anfectung or attack.  It's not how much faith, but the object of the faith that's vital-you can be sincerely wrong, though sincerity is a requisite.  We are always to be ready to have a reason for our hope (cf. 1 Peter 3:15).   In the study of apologetics, one will realize that Christians haven't kissed their brains goodbye, and that faith is rational, though Christianity isn't rationalism.  God had a rationale for sending His Son and the gospel is about realizing that work of grace is done on our behalf.

In sum, the heart of the matter is that it's a matter of the heart; there's never enough evidence to convince the hardened skeptic, but there's ample evidence for the willing. Christians cannot argue someone into the kingdom!   But they should be able to have an answer as to why they believe (cf. 2 Tim. 2:15).  The problem is that some people catch their beliefs like one catches a cold: hanging around the right people and letting osmosis do its work.  Also, you don't have to be able to defend your faith to have one! However, you cannot rationalize God or put Him in a test tube or under laboratory conditions, because the existence of God is not in the scientific domain-- it takes faith and faith is what pleases God; skeptics are rarely convinced by debate--a work of grace must woo their hearts toward God.  Soli Deo Gloria!

Being Part Of The Answer

"My times are in your hand..." (Psalm 31:15, ESV).
"My future is in your hands..." (Ibid., NLT).
"The course of my life is in Your power..." (Ibid., HCSB).
" ...Now I will rescue you and make you both a symbol and a source of blessing..." (Zech. 8:13,   NLT). 
"...So I shall save you and you shall be a blessing..." (Ibid., NKJV). 
"I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt..." (Gen. 12:3, NLT). 

Some people are part of the problem or a detriment to others (prodigal, as in the parable of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15, means being wasteful or lost), while others are a blessing and asset to have as a company, or being part of the solution!  I'm not necessarily talking about being the life of the party, but about being a conduit or channel of God's grace and blessings. We all have gifts given as the Holy Spirit wills (cf. 1 Cor. 12:11,18) and are responsible for their faithful stewardship.  

I'm talking about any type of resource:  time; money; talent; spiritual gifts; property and possessions; real estate; opportunity; friendships; relationships; business associates and colleagues; education or training; knowledge, wisdom, and understanding from God, ad infinitum. In God's eyes were all richly endowed and once we've experienced it we want to pass it on!  Be the one to make a difference! Stand up and be counted, don't sit on the sidelines, instead, fly your Christian colors!

God only blesses us in order to be a blessing to others, not just to hoard for ourselves: a pastor is given discernment and insight into the Word to give a message to enlighten the flock, not just for his own edification.  All of us are blessed by God: some in all ways, but all in some ways (cf. Psalm 145:9)--God even blesses and prospers the wicked.  If we are successful, we owe it to God, it's not our own doing (cf. Isa. 30:18; Psalm 84:11).  Deut. 8:17-18 says plainly, "He did all this so you would never say to yourself, 'I have achieved this wealth with my own strength and energy.'  Remember the LORD your God, He is the one who gives you the power to be successful, in order to fulfill the covenant..." (NLT).  Isaiah 48:17, ESV, says, "..'I am the LORD your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you in the way you should go.'"  The trouble with most people is that they give themselves credit for success and blame God for failure (cf. Prov. 19:3, NLT, says, "People ruin their lives by their own foolishness and then are angry at the LORD.").

We are not called to be a burden on society (everyone can pay back something from his blessings), but to find meaning, purpose, and fulfillment in contributing our share of the pie that God has given us--the cards dealt us in the form of provision or blessings.  If a person has a lot of time on his hands, for instance, though he is poor, may find fulfillment in making use of it for the Lord (redeeming the time) and investing it in others.  Seize the moment!   We can do only a few things with time, and God allows all of us our fair share, and they include:  wasting it; making it; investing it; and spending it.  In one sense we are all living on borrowed time! So spend it on something that will outlast you!  Prayer, for example, is never a waste of time, but an investment with immediate and long-term dividends and payoffs.

When we make use of the gifts God does give us, He grants more accordingly.  If you pass on insights God gives you, you will receive more!  Faithful use of time grants more time also to use for God.  Be a time manager!  After all, the end result of our blessings should be to use them to invest in the kingdom of God.  God blesses us financially so we can be financial support to those in need, to remember the poor, not to live lavishly or luxuriously.  If you have a musical talent that is untapped, get with it, and invest it in the service of God!  Using your spiritual gift faithfully will bring more opportunities and blessings.  Some people have opportunities to witness to people of influence or the rich and famous, and God may honor them with fruit that can be a blessing to the church at large.

Zech. 8:13 says that God will save us in order that we can be a blessing!  God has His glory in mind when we get saved and sees how to plant us for a harvest--so bloom where you are planted!  Some people may wonder why God saved them; they may be the only ones that can reach a certain niche or group that relates to them.  God may save a nurse to be a light to doctors!  God may save a professor to be a light to his students!  J. R. R. Tolkien was saved so he could bring his colleague, C. S. Lewis, to the Lord, who was a skeptic like Tolkien used to be, and they could relate to each other.

It is important for our mindset to realize that we are mere stewards of God's blessings (but this only makes sense to the faithful), and everything ultimately belongs to Him.  This life is but a staging area to see how we handle God's grace and provision.  It is also vital to realize that when we are faithful in our stewardship, we honor and bless God!  According to the Westminster Shorter Catechism, the "chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever."  Isaiah 49:3, ESV, promises, "...' You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.'"  We are all created for His glory in Isaiah 43:7, ESV:  "[E]veryone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made."

Bringing blessing to God is more than lip service, going through the motions, uttering empty phrases or vain repetitions, or mouthing the words, but living it out: the faith you have is the faith you show; our lives are to bring glory to God by being worthy of our Lord and our calling--showing faithfulness cannot be divorced from faith.     Soli Deo Gloria!

Man: One Of A Kind!

"Where is the one who makes us smarter than the animals..?" (Job 35:11, NLT).
"Do you think we are mere animals?  Do you think we are stupid?"  (Job 18:3, NLT).
"There is something about the way God is that is like the way we are."--J. P. Moreland, Scott Rae

It is vital to know that mankind is not some grown-up ape or descended from any species of the animal kingdom; he's the climax of creation and the special creation of God, in His image or imago Dei, i.e., he has a spirit, soul, mind, heart, and will to know God.   Mankind is the magnum opus of God's creation--His ultimate expression and woman is the finishing touch!  What makes us so unique though? Our DNA is actually closer to pigs though!   There are similarities with the apes on a superficial level, but most evolutionists are inclined to believe we're apes or animals because they don't want to be responsible and want to act like animals with no accountability (cf. Psalm 10:4).

Animals communicate on a limited level, but mankind knows that he communicates; e.g., dogs bark, but don't bark about barking; i.e., they don't argue, have conversations, or communicate with their barking!  We learn through dialogue.  Animals may be conscious, but we're self-conscious!  We alone have a developed language and are intelligent beings with the ability to reason.   We increase our knowledge and pass it on to the next generation; we don't start from scratch with each generation but have a legacy.  Mankind alone is conscious of God and has the volition to obey God, the heart to love God, and the intellect to know God--to communicate with God.  Animals are oblivious to God's presence and have no appreciation nor awareness of Him, while mankind has eternity in his heart and feels the tug towards God, and a yearning to know Him and have a relationship.

Mankind alone has meaning, purpose, dignity, and fulfillment in life beyond himself or his kin.  He lives for something bigger than himself, and something that will outlast him. Most live in light of eternity not for the here and now.   All the senses of mankind, hearing, taste, tactile, vision, olfactory, and even balance are at a much higher level of awareness than that of the animals.  We know that we taste, smell, see, hear, etc. We alone see all the colors and appreciate art that uses them.  We appreciate good tasting food with discrimination and are creative in our cooking beyond what is instinct, we appreciate with our vision fine art and beauty, we fall in and out of love, we have a love for music, we have a sense of humor, and the ability to laugh, we love to have conversations and dialogue, and we love to smell fine aromas and scents.

We know that we have these senses and can communicate about them and appreciate them with pleasure animals don't know.  For instance, we see all the colors and animals don't!  God made us so that we would see beauty and things from His perspective, appreciating the beauty!  We are highly discriminating in our tastes and know it.  Mankind also has the unique ability to fall in love and to stay in love, and even to fall out of love, romantic love is unique, even though some animals have a courtship, they aren't creative, but go by instinct.  It is said that elephants mourn their dead and eagles mate for life as similarities, but we know we do and get closure, resolution, meaning, or satisfaction!

Mankind is no animal!  God placed us as stewards of the earth and to rule over it and subdue it with responsibility  We are at the top of the food chain!  Mankind alone has a sense of time and a consciousness of past and present, but this is to his detriment when misused:  he tends to worry about the future and regret the past and anticipate the future while living in the past!  Animals clearly live for the here and now!  Mankind alone plans for the future, and not just storing nuts for the winter!  Indeed, man is so creative that God said that if He let us be, we could do anything (referring to the tower of Babel). Have you ever observed an animal building a chapel?

The reason we are in the image of God is so that we can communicate with God and relate to Him; there's something about us that God is like--everything a person is, except sin and evil, God is! God is more and not less than we are and our Creator, so he knows our needs and desires.  In fact, God is able to satisfy the desires of all creatures, and as creatures, and we have the inherent duty to obey God, whether rewarded or not.  Animals have no choice to obey God as creatures, but God gave us the choice to choose Him and to obey Him willingly, not of coercion from some outside force.

In the image of God, we are spiritual, rational, emotional, humorous, musical, communicative, and moral beings (according to scholar Mark Fackler). Mankind senses the moral code or compass of God, and has a conscience to guide behavior, knowing fair play, decency, good faith, unselfishness, justice, good works in progress, whereby we become conformed to His image from glory to glory.   Being in the image of God, we were made to know God (cf. John 17:3) and there is no greater thrill than sportsmanship, altruism, courage, bravery, integrity, honesty, truthfulness, fair play, straightforwardness, and all known fifty-two known virtues, (all biblical) that are from our image of God.  We have this image so we can bring praise to God in a meaningful relationship and enjoy Him to the max forever.   We alone are created for God's glory (cf. Isa. 43:7).  We wonder at the image of Christ becoming manifest in our lives as God finding us.  Per contra, animals don't build cathedrals!

God has searched us and knows us (cf. Psalm 139:1).  "He made [our] hearts, so he understands everything [we] do"  (Psalm 33:15, NLT).  We not only know God, but He knows us (cf. Gal. 4:9).  Not only do we relate to God, but He also relates to us and since Jesus became a man in the incarnation, God feels our pain and is in a position to understand us and what we go through (would you worship a God who knew nothing of pain and suffering?).  We are to find out about the Lord's goodness on our own ("Taste and see that the LORD is good..." cf. Psalm 34:8).  We wouldn't know what crooked was, unless we had an understanding of what straight is!   Soli Deo Gloria!

Anatomy Of Rejecting Christ

There is no such thing or category of Christian known as a disobedient believer, though Christians can disobey they are chastened of the Lord if they belong to Him.  John 3:36 in the ESV and NASB correlates unbelief with disobedience.  Hebrews 3:18-19 also equates the two--they were not allowed to enter the Promised Land because of their unbelief (disobedience).   Heb. 5:9 says God grants salvation to all who obey.  We must obey the gospel!  The Fourth Commandment to honor our parents is the first commandment to respect authority and show obedience to the Lord, so as not to harden our hearts.  "They were disobedient to the Word."  There is a curse on anyone who despises or rejects the Word of the LORD--we must always regard God's Word with respect and honor.

What the problem with most evangelists is that they fail to get the people lost before they try to save them.   Christ came to seek and to save that which is lost, and not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.  In order to be saved, one must realize how bad he is to God's standards; one doesn't really know just how bad he is till he has tried to be good--that's the paradox!  (i.e., the alcoholic doesn't realize his addiction and problem till he's tried to quit).  We need prepared soil to sow the seed of the Word of God.  Another problem in the church is that they don't present the gospel clear enough to be rejected!   We have become so seeker-sensitive that people feel right at home without even giving testimony or showing themselves disciples--there is to be a certain sense of acceptability, but privilege comes with membership, not mere attendance.  The order of faith is believing, belonging, and then becoming.

What takes place in the "hardened" heart (Rom. 11:7) of the unbeliever who rejects what light God has given him?  We are only responsible for the light given us; however, no one has an excuse and we are all culpable and held accountable before God's justice.  If we are sincere there is an expectation of more light that Christ, the light, will reflect on us.  The unbeliever walks in darkness and doesn't come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed (cf. John 3:19).  The problem with the blinded Pharisees is that they witnessed the miracles of Jesus, and "would not" not "could not" believe.  The didn't believe because they didn't want to believe.  No miracle can make a believer out of a skeptic, there has to be the will to believe.  It is not an intellectual thing (they feign intellectual problems), but a moral dilemma.

The heart of the matter is that it's a matter of the heart.  Sincerity is not everything, though God requires sincerity and looks for "sincere faith" (1 Tim. 1:5; 2 Tim. 1:5) and not perfect faith (unfeigned faith)--it isn't the amount but the direction and the object of the faith that is important.  You can have a lot of faith in the wrong direction and be sincerely wrong.  God opens the heart of the prepared heart like that of Lydia's in Acts 16:14.  Faith is granted according to Philippians 1:29 as well as repentance in Acts 11:18. Faith is our act but God's work.  We are incurably addicted to doing something for our salvation (they asked Jesus:  "What shall we do, to do the works of God? This is the work of God, to believe in Him..." in John 5:28.)

Salvation is not by works lest we are able to boast (Eph. 2:8-9); hence, faith cannot be a meritorious work as Rome believes!  It is the gift of God according to 2 Pet. 1:1 where it says we "received a faith."  Rom. 12:3 says that we are responsible for the faith we have "received."  We are no more virtuous nor meritorious that we can boast or brag before God; Soli Deo Gloria (to God alone be the glory in Latin).

The unbeliever doesn't believe the gospel because his heart is not right--the soil is not good and the seed cannot grow.  He doesn't understand the gospel and is really rejecting something he doesn't fathom--"Who has known the mind of the Lord?"  It is only by grace that we come to perceive the gospel message that God has once and for all settled the sin problem by the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ on our behalf as a substitute.  The natural man cannot accept the things of the Spirit, for they are foolishness unto him (cf. 1 Cor. 2:14).

The unbeliever starts out doubting and questioning, then he won't listen or pay attention ("To obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams," says 1 Sam. 15:22), and  becomes hardened and hostile and finally he sees Christ as the enemy of himself and society (the enemy of God is also the enemy of the state).  He closes his mind because to arrive at the truth you have to admit you could be wrong and be open to all possibilities--and they have made up their minds and don't want to be confused with the facts!  Christ doesn't ask an unreasonable faith, but only one going in the direction the preponderance of the evidence leads.  You can believe without having all your questions answered, because it takes faith and only faith pleases God--however, it takes more faith to deny Christ and the gospel than to accept it ("I don't have enough faith to be an atheist, says Norman Geisler), due to all the proof cited by former atheists and skeptics who have examined the evidence and have become believers against their own wills.

You need an open mind, a willing spirit, and a needy heart to arrive at the truth: Jesus said, "If any man wills to do His will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of Myself," says John 7:17.   God doesn't force anyone to believe and the system is rigged such that anyone can willingly reject Christ and find a reason to do so.  We don't believe despite the evidence, because there is adequate evidence for anyone who is looking for it.  There is more evidence in the affirmative and more questions for the skeptic to answer than the believer would have to answer.

The surprising thing is that it is forgivable to reject Christ, though our hearts do become hardened.  The average believer has heard the gospel 7.6 times before actually accepting it.  The unforgivable sin is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit and attributing the miracles of Jesus to the devil's doing.  It is deliberate and a state of impenitence is the result, and if you are afraid you have done it, it means you haven't. The good news is that the gospel is for as many as the Lord our God shall call (Acts 2:39) and all whom the Lord calls shall be justified, sanctified, and glorified!  [This is the inner call of God on the soul which is efficacious and not the outward or general call of the gospel message given by the Christian to the world at large.]     Soli Deo Gloria!

Seeking A Christian Worldview

"No nation has survived the loss of its gods" (George Bernard Shaw).

A worldview is a way of interpreting your world, such as purpose in living, where you came from, and where you are going--our role in the world-system--questions such as:  Is there right and wrong? Is there a God?  What is the meaning of life? How do you interpret reality?  There is a current war of ideas in the world:  Marxism (basically an economic understanding, but also totalitarian, aiming to establish a domination of the proletariat or working class and abolishing the bourgeoisie in class warfare), secular-humanism (basically that man is the measure of all things, up with man down with God, or deifying man and dethroning God, and reality starts from man), New Age (the idea of cosmic consciousness or superconsciousness, being in touch with the inner god), postmodernism (founded by Nietzsche as the patron saint,  saying that "God is dead" or irrelevant and we can live with Him), Islam (believing the future belongs to Islam and being bent on world hegemony), and  Christianity (Christ's kingdom is in the hearts of man and not of this world) itself--the first five have one thing in common in that they oppose Christianity.  Any viewpoint that doesn't start with God is evil!

We are to discern good and evil to be able to handle the meat of the Word (Heb. 5:14).  Once we get saved, the battle has just begun and we enter Satan's turf as the god of this age.  But the battle is the Lord's  and as John said in 1 John 4:4, "Greater is he who is in you, than he who is in the world."  Paul says in Rom. 8:31, "If God be for us, who can be against us?"  We have to know our enemy according to Sun Tzu in The Art of War, because he believes in dividing and conquering, and playing mind games, and waging psychological warfare.  "For we are not ignorant of his schemes."  Don't give him a beachhead, but arm yourself with a divine viewpoint to understand what he is doing.  Do not fight among yourselves as Lord Nelson noticed his troops doing when he said, "Gentlemen, remember, the enemy is over there!"  In Walt Kelly's cartoon Pogo, he says, "We have met the enemy, and he is us."   We can be our own worst enemy because the three enemies are the world-system itself, the devil and his minions, and our own flesh or old sin nature.  The government is not the enemy, for all the powers that be are established of God (Rom. 13: 1).

We are exhorted to "hate that which is evil and cling to that which is good" in Rom. 12:9 and in 1 Thess. 5:21-22 it says, "...hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil."  [which means that when evil appears, resist it.]  Only those who have their senses trained to "discern good and evil" can digest the meat of the word and the infants in Christ can only live on the milk of the Word according to Hebrews 5:14.  We need to love God with our whole minds and not be indolent or anti-intellectual--we are to use the minds God has given us (Mark 12:30).

 We are in the world, but not of it according to Scripture (John 15:19 says, "You are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world").  If we love the world-system or cosmos of Satan, the love of the Father is not in us--indeed he entices us with many delicacies of the world to compete with our spiritual appetites.  Beware of the pseudo-philosophies of this age as the admonishment in Col. 2:8 says, "Let no man spoil you through philosophy or vain deceit..."  We need to "contend for the faith" like Jude said in Jude 3 and that means taking stands for Jesus and sticking up for what is right in an evil world.  We are the salt and light as the children of God.

Paul's swan song was:  "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith" (2 Tim. 4:7).  We all have a conscience and can tell right from wrong (Rom. 2:15), and we are all responsible and don't have any excuses for knowing God (Rom. 1:18-20).  In 1 Chron. 12:32 it says that only a few people were able to interpret the times and knew what to do.  Daniel 11:32 says that the "people who knew their God "shall be strong and do exploits."  At the time of the end, the wise will understand and the wicked will not (Dan. 12:10).  When Nebuchadnezzar realized that God was sovereign he came to his senses (Dan. 4:35).

Today we seem to be doing what's right in our own eyes (similar to the Israelites in Judges 21:25--"They did what was right in their own eyes").  The culture says that there is no standard of right and wrong--it is all relative and you can't force your morality on another person.  It isn't that we can't legislate morality, it's whose morality we legislate.

In Allan Bloom's book The Closing of the American Mind, he says that people now believe "all truth is relative"--if that is true then that statement has no value because it is also relative. They say nothing is always wrong and nothing is always right; what matters is sincerity.  This goes back to Satan's lie:  "Hath God said?"   They seem to believe that the only truths that are relative are those that defend the Christian worldview!  One prof was reported as saying, "You can know nothing for certain." One astute student asked, "Are you sure?"  "Yes, I am!"

Jesus was the Truth itself, the incarnation of Truth with a capital T and came to bear witness of the truth--the Romans, including Pilate, doubted the existence of absolute truth (true no matter who believes it and whether anyone believes it).  They thought that "might made right."  This was the epitome of cynicism and an insult to Christ's veracity--he didn't even wait for an answer! The secret is to stay away from extremes:  "Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil" (Prov. 4:27).

 As Christians we are to "submit [ourselves] to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; or unto governors..." (1 Pet. 2:12-13)  Paul says something similar:  "Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God" (Rom. 13:1).  We are to "render unto Caesar" according to Matthew 22:21 and even be light and salt in the world, trying to make people see the light to get saved according to our gift.  With privilege there is the flip side of responsibility; they go hand in hand.  There is such a thing as "social justice." One only need refer to the prophets, Amos and Micah.  We assert that  God is the only legitimate legislator (positive law says that man can make any law he desires) and His character is the law of the universe. Isaiah said, "Woe unto them who decree unjust laws..." (Isa. 10:1-2).  It has been said, "If we have contempt for government, we get contemptible government."


God's providence works all things according to His divine decrees and He has no Plan B; He has no other plan, but to use us as His vessels of honor and to bring glory to him (cf. Isa. 43:7).  Everything is going according to plan as Isaiah says in Isa 37:26 and He is in control according to Isa. 14:24, 27 and 46:8-11. "Behold, the nations are as a drop of the bucket..." (Isa. 40:15).    "He's got the whole world in His hands."  Psalm 22:28 says that God is sovereign over the nations and we can be sure even over every molecule in the universe.  Eph. 1:11 says that God works out everything according to His will.  John Wesley used to read the paper to "see what God is doing in His world."  God is even in control of the toss of the die (Prov. 16:33) and in control of the whims of the king (Prov. 21:1).  He leaves nothing to chance:  Einstein said, "God doesn't play dice with the universe."

Christian worldview sees social injustice: "What do you mean by crushing My people and grinding the face of the poor...?" (Is. 3:15).  "Rescue the weak and the needy..." (Ps. 82:4).  The believer who knows the Lord is concerned about the plight of the poor (Ps. 41:1) and the evil in the world:  he doesn't just see evil and say, "Why?" He also sees good and says, "Why not?"  This is what it means to know the Lord according to Jeremiah 22:16--to be concerned about those less fortunate and defending those who can't defend themselves, the weak ("He pled the cause of the afflicted and needy; Then it was well. Is not that what it means to know Me?" declares the LORD [in Jer. 22:16]).

Amos and Micah are champions of the underdog and the underprivileged and deplore how "they sell the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals--those who trample the head of the poor into the dust of the earth and turn aside the way of the afflicted (cf. Amos 2:6-7).  "...Who oppress the poor, who crush the needy..." (Amos 4:1).  Malachi is appalled at those  "who oppress the hired worker in his wages..." (Mal. 3:5).  We are not to be partial to the poor nor to the rich but show justice to all (Deut. 19:15).  Charity and welfare were mandated in Israel according to Lev. 19:4, Deut. 15:4, and other passages--they were allowed to "glean the fields" of the landowners.  There was to be "no poor in Israel."

Now, what kind of values are Christians supposed to espouse? They should subscribe to the sanctity of the family unit as having preference over the government's authority, because it was established before it; it should believe in the inherent worth of the individual  (you have rights, but they end where mine begin--you can swing your fist but not hit my nose!) as being in the image and likeness of God (the imago Dei), and that means having a mind to know and communicate with God, a heart to love Him, and a will to obey Him.  These are called unalienable rights and our culture is based on it in the constitutional Bill of Rights.  We are merely stewards of God's riches ("The earth is the LORD's and the fullness thereof" says Ps. 24:10) and are responsible to Him to give an account at the judgment.  (There is a Protestant work ethic mentioned in 2 Thess. 3:10 that declares that those who are not willing to work shall not eat.  


All authority ultimately comes from God and we get our rights and dignity form Him; "unless you assume a God, the question  of man's purpose is meaningless," and without God, man is a "useless passion." (Bertrand Russell and Jean-Paul Sartre).  We believe the government has limited power derived from God--it is not a necessary evil, as Augustine said, but necessary because of evil.  We have a duty to this government since we owe them our security and protection of our property and our person from crime--justice and law and order are the primary functions.  Marriage is to be held in honor and a "man shall leave his mother and be joined to his wife and the two shall become one flesh" and "God made them male and female and said that it was good."  No rights are absolute, such as you say it's your religion to be a cannibal or that you can yell fire in an auditorium!  Sometimes it may be our duty to disobey, which is termed civil disobedience--God's laws trump the government; shall we obey God or man? ("We must obey God rather than man," according to Acts 5:29).

I believe firmly that the Bible sanctions no certain type of government, as long as human rights are respected.  Government was first documented to be divided into three parts in Isa. 33:22 into the legislative, judicial, and executive branches (king, judge, lawgiver).  I refer to Lord Acton's adage  that is a cliche now:  "Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely."  We do not believe that our rights (note that the obverse of a right is responsibility necessitated) are derived from the government, but directly from God, who gives us dignity and worth as man in His image or the ikons of God, as it were.

In the final analysis, it is vital to know Scripture to combat the prevalent secular humanistic viewpoint (deifying man and denying God) in the world and not to fall into the devil's trap.  Sir Francis Bacon said, "Knowledge is power."  And the Bible backs this up in Proverbs 10:14 saying, "The wise lay up knowledge..." And Proverbs 24:5 says, "And a man of knowledge enhances his might."  We must not remain silent and concede everything away.  They are trying to eradicate Christianity from the marketplace of ideas and the public square.

If God doesn't exist, everything is permissible.  Albert Camus said, "The absurd is sin without God."  But we believe in transcendent or natural law that everyone is able to know by nature apart from the government.  Law is designed for wrong-doers and should recognize and secure our rights.  People are in a state of rebellion against our so-called bourgeois values (which really is the Judeo-Christian heritage or Western civilization).  As the psalmist says, "What can the righteous do when the foundations are destroyed?" (Ps. 11:3).  For one thing, we should pray for our leaders, not condemn them [It is our God who put them there, as Paul said in Acts 23:5, "It's unlawful to speak evil of a ruler of your people?"]

Christians are not "Utopians" but are waiting for Christ to usher in His Millennial Kingdom at His second coming.  A word to the wise is sufficient: Christians have no geopolitical aspirations like the Muslim world bent on dominating the world with their hegemony, and they should not sound the alarm, but "occupy till He comes" (business as usual).  As Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world."

In conclusion, we have read the last page of the Bible and know how it all will turn out and are assured that we are on the winning side and victory is inevitable in the end.  NB:  Keep the faith!  "The LORD frustrates the counsel of the nations; He thwarts the plans of the peoples...Happy is the nation whose God is Yahweh!" (Ps. 33:10-12).  A word of encouragement--all is not lost:   God is able to heal our land if we confess our corporate sins and humble ourselves in repentance as His people (2 Chron. 7:14).    Soli Deo Gloria!

My Spiritual Pilgrimage Abridged

My Journey of Faith, by Karl W Broberg

This is a first-hand account of my spiritual pilgrimage without glorifying my sins.

I was baptized as an infant in a Lutheran church and the pastor was my sponsor, while friends of the family were my godparents--we corresponded for years (i.e., the pastor).  Some of my earliest memories are of listening to my grandmother telling Bible stories.  My parents made sure I was confirmed.  I can remember as a youth making a scrapbook of Jesus' life and the pastor showing it to the church, teaching vacation Bible school, and inquiring whether I should go into the ministry.  I also went to Summer camp and believed I knew the Lord because I was preoccupied with the book of Revelation and Billy Graham's book World Aflame

I recall no particular or sudden moment of surrender or spiritual awakening, but my faith was very important to me and I loved the Bible--I recall the habit of underlining favorite verses.

I made the leap of faith, realizing my sin and Christ dying for me, and then dedicated my life to Christ during a Billy Graham crusade at age 15 and subsequently got involved in a Seventh-Day Adventist Church Bible study.  Being counseled by my pastor, he told me to study Martin Luther's Commentary on Galatians.  I then wrote a paper debunking the study and defending the faith.

Later, at Augsburg College, I was exposed to "liberal theology" and "textual criticism," and found out I didn't know all the answers!  Being disoriented in my faith, I dropped out, did some soul searching, and tried to "find myself" as they said back then.

I enlisted in the Army and heard another Billy Graham crusade.  The missing link--I needed to repent (my church never mentioned this!)  I was under grave conviction and rededicated my life--it was then that I felt I "found Christ."  I called my mom and told her she would like the "new me," but she said she liked the "old me."  It seemed like I had done this before, but this time it was for real.  I guess I had to get to the end of my rope!

Back at the base, I hooked up with the Navigators and was mentored or "discipled," as they term it. "Once you've experienced it, you want to pass it on," and so I got the bug to witness.  Gradually I matured doctrinally, and I got interested in eternal security or "Once saved, always saved"--even writing Billy Graham to get his stand.

Upon discharge I became convinced of "believer baptism," and was officially "dunked"--the pastor knew me personally and didn't give me a hard time--it was then that I first took my stand for Jesus in church.

Later I became concerned about my beliefs and "keeping the main thing the main thing."  I didn't want to "major on the minors."  I had to learn grace toward those I disagreed with, without splitting hairs.  I've learned when not to be dogmatic--and never to be divisive or quarrelsome--we can disagree without being disagreeable or contentious!  As Augustine's dictum says, "In essentials, unity; in nonessentials, liberty; in all things, charity."

Now I have a rewarding relationship with the Lord that manifests itself in many ways, including having inner peace; a purpose for living; being on the same page as other believers; understanding the Word; seeing the Light; knowing God's will;  and assurance of salvation.

In conclusion, I am not what I ought to be, but thank God, I am not what I used to be!  I don't believe in perfectionism--God isn't finished with me yet!  When I see lost sinner, I say, uttering the words of George Whitefield, "There but for the grace of God, go I." And I echo Paul, "I am what I am by the grace of God."

My assurance is simply this:  "God said it in His Word, I believe it in my heart, and that settles it in my mind."

My favorite verse is Job 23:10:  "The LORD knows the way that I take, when He has tried me I shall come forth as gold."

[Note that part of my problem was that I was never exposed to sound doctrine in a church that answered all my problems,  I knew something was awry, so I heard I should repent, raise my hand, come forward,  receive Christ, commit my life to Christ, be baptized, or this or that, ad infinitum. You can be born again without assurance of salvation (it's not an automatic fruit of salvation--no one's faith is perfect, but it must be sincere) or have doubts and insecurities--my journey took me a long way to where I am now understanding the assurance of salvation and the eternal security of the believer in Christ as doctrines that are distinguished, but not separated.]  Soli Deo Gloria!