The last verse in Ephesians chapter 4 reads; "And be kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake, hath forgiven you". The crux of Christianity rests in the fact that all of us are flawed and in need of redemption. Not a single one of us is perfect. None of us are all knowing or in any manner above reproach. Our first duty to our neighbor and the rest of the world is to quit doing harm.This involves much more than staying out of trouble with the law. It means taming a selfish nature that is quick to ridicule, judge and slander.We are all given to immoral appetites, envy as well as a propensity to get even.
Our first duty is not to get the world to repent; it is to realize our own need for redemption. People of all stripes all over the world can be overcome with shame. We all know we are not what we need to be. It is a miserable state indeed to realize we are inwardly fallible, somewhat corrupt and without self remedy. What often happens to those of us who are unaware of Christ's redemption, or do not take advantage of it if we do know. We in a private misery rehash over and over our mistakes, sins and foolishness. To avoid thinking about them we dive even deeper into sin and destructive behavior, and in an effort to justify ourselves we only focus on the faults and sins of others. It is a vicious cycle that only Christ can break. Even Christians struggle with this.
There are essentially two ways to change the world..Change can come violently with little regard for casualties or collateral damage. It can be forced and demanded of others without any regard for personal liberty, or circumstances.This kind of change is illusive or temporary at best. The alternative is to begin the process of change with oneself. A realization that we are not superior to those we want to change is the first order of business. I know without the intervention of Jesus Christ in my life I have no advantage or worthiness to dictate anything to other people. I was as lost and ignorant as anyone before I repented and was redeemed..So I have no business mistreating or demanding perfection of others. I was not one bit different from anyone else before I submitted to Jesus..
The apostles taught the leadership of the early church to be servants not dictators. They were to lead by example and wisdom, not restraint or threats. They were told to study to show themselves approved ( selected to lead ) and to acquire enough knowledge they would not be put to shame. Our duty as Christians is not to acquire as much power as we can to force others to behave and think like us. Our job and/or duty towards mankind, is to convince them to voluntarily submit themselves to Jesus Christ, and to live by what He taught in the Bible. Not because we say so, or have the power to make them. Because we have lived it ourselves, and the benefit and wisdom of doing so is obvious to others.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Sunday, March 27, 2011
The Holy Bible First In Science. This Will Amaze You.
It is widely believed that in Columbus's time most people believed the earth was flat. However almost all, if not all, literate people knew the earth was round. The Greek mathematician Eratosthenes three centuries before Christ had accurately calculated the earth's circumference. It is also commonly believed that the church was the proponent of the flat earth theory. In actuality it was pagan philosophers like Leucippus and Democritus who believed the earth was flat.
The first historical reference to the earth being round is found in the Biblical book of Isaiah 40:22; "It is He ( God ) who sitteth above the circle of the earth". ( written 750 years before Christ and 400 hundred years before Eratosthenes) The Dead Sea Scrolls confirm the age of the book of Isaiah.
Before the telescope it was commonly believed there were just over 1000 stars, because that is what can be counted with the naked eye. However the Bible in the books of Genesis twice, and the books of Jeremiah and Hebrews, tell us the stars are too numerable for one man to count ( It would take 3000 years for one person to count the stars in our galaxy alone)..This was not known until a few hundred years ago.
In ancient times pagans believed the earth was placed on the back of animals or giant men. Until 1887 (Michelson- Morley experiment ) many scientists believed the earth and planets and stars floated in ether. The book of Job is believed to be the oldest book of the Bible, predating Abraham; it states in Job 26:7, "He (God) hangs the earth on nothing"..
The fact that the sun moved and had an orbit was not known until recently. The Passage in Psalm 19 where King David poetically described the circuit of the sun was scoffed at. We now know the sun travels this circuit ( orbit ) at 600,000 miles per hour.
The Conservation Of Mass And Energy
The First Law Of Thermodynamics: (Paraphrase) There is a finite amount of matter in the universe no more can be produced and none can be destroyed.... Genesis tells us after creation, ch.2, "Thus the heavens and earth were finished and all the host of them"..There is no more creation or destruction of matter going on..
The Second Law Of Thermodynamics. (What Einstein called, the premier law of science.) All systems ( organization of matter) degenerates from order to disorder..In other words at the beginning the universe was at the height of perfection and has been deteriorating since. This is exactly what the Bible teaches.
Isaiah 51:6, For the heavens will vanish away like smoke, the earth will grow old like a garment.
Hebrews 1:10-11 Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands. They shall perish, but thou remainest; and they shall all wax old as doth a garment"...
The Bible was the first to accurately describe ocean currents, the hydrological cycle and the atmosphere. I hope to expound on these and give many more examples in future posts.
The first historical reference to the earth being round is found in the Biblical book of Isaiah 40:22; "It is He ( God ) who sitteth above the circle of the earth". ( written 750 years before Christ and 400 hundred years before Eratosthenes) The Dead Sea Scrolls confirm the age of the book of Isaiah.
Before the telescope it was commonly believed there were just over 1000 stars, because that is what can be counted with the naked eye. However the Bible in the books of Genesis twice, and the books of Jeremiah and Hebrews, tell us the stars are too numerable for one man to count ( It would take 3000 years for one person to count the stars in our galaxy alone)..This was not known until a few hundred years ago.
In ancient times pagans believed the earth was placed on the back of animals or giant men. Until 1887 (Michelson- Morley experiment ) many scientists believed the earth and planets and stars floated in ether. The book of Job is believed to be the oldest book of the Bible, predating Abraham; it states in Job 26:7, "He (God) hangs the earth on nothing"..
The fact that the sun moved and had an orbit was not known until recently. The Passage in Psalm 19 where King David poetically described the circuit of the sun was scoffed at. We now know the sun travels this circuit ( orbit ) at 600,000 miles per hour.
The Conservation Of Mass And Energy
The First Law Of Thermodynamics: (Paraphrase) There is a finite amount of matter in the universe no more can be produced and none can be destroyed.... Genesis tells us after creation, ch.2, "Thus the heavens and earth were finished and all the host of them"..There is no more creation or destruction of matter going on..
The Second Law Of Thermodynamics. (What Einstein called, the premier law of science.) All systems ( organization of matter) degenerates from order to disorder..In other words at the beginning the universe was at the height of perfection and has been deteriorating since. This is exactly what the Bible teaches.
Isaiah 51:6, For the heavens will vanish away like smoke, the earth will grow old like a garment.
Hebrews 1:10-11 Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands. They shall perish, but thou remainest; and they shall all wax old as doth a garment"...
The Bible was the first to accurately describe ocean currents, the hydrological cycle and the atmosphere. I hope to expound on these and give many more examples in future posts.
Friday, March 18, 2011
The Fear of God Is The Beginning Of Wisdom....Is There Historical Proof ?
If the Bible is correct and all good and useful thought and/or wisdom is a product of acknowledging the God of the Bible; while denying the Biblical God exists, is the foundation of all that is foolish and harmful to mankind. There should be be historical evidence. So I set about researching whether these Biblical maxims would hold up historically. To my amazement they did. And not just in a small insignificant way. Throughout history great moral leaps made in the advancement of human society were in direct correlation with the faithfulness of individual believers in the Bible's God, and the Bible's teachings. Conversely when people in large numbers follow those who have claimed the God of the Bible and His laws are irrelevant to modern man . Great suffering and violence has ensued.
I have found in my research a very real pattern. The great injustices visited upon mankind, whether from religious or secular sources were perpetuated by those in denial of the Biblical God or those who acted in opposition to the principles taught by Him in the Bible. Often the greatest harm was done by those who believed themselves wiser and more just than the Biblical God. Not only what was historically foolish had it's origins in unbelief, but what was historically violent ,cruel and inhumane as well. Doubters will want examples. Believe me they are plentiful. I will begin by looking at what religions were like before Abraham and Moses.
Before Abraham expounded upon his knowledge of God, and before Moses wrote down in scripture the character and expectations of the Bible's Creator God. Man's attempt at replacing the true God was nothing more than carving images out of inert material; then falling down and worshiping them. There was no set principles or code of conduct that transcended those who held power. Human sacrifice was the norm and it often involved children. Those who controlled what was worshiped could engage in any kind of cruel behavior or any sexual activity with who, or what, whenever they wanted. Whether it was consensual or not mattered little. Many who held power made themselves god and decided for everyone else what attributes and limits their man made god would have.
The Roman empire with it's many false deities epitomized the cruelty of pagan society. Animals and humans alike were tortured and killed for amusement. The empire had many more slaves than freemen. Criminals were tortured and executed publicly. Gladiators were forced to butcher each other for sport in front of thousands.Caesars declared themselves deity and demanded to be worshiped at the penalty of death. This went on for centuries until Christian martyrs like Telemachus and Ignatius cried out against the barbarity. Early church leaders like the apostles Paul and Peter taught that all people, Jew and gentile, male and female, slave and free were equal in the sight of God. Slaves of all races were treated as equals and could hold positions of authority in Christian churches. Although both Peter and Paul were martyred by the Roman pagans.This was the beginning of the end of Roman savagery and slavery.
It is true there has been and always will be those who call themselves Christian who like pagans and atheists ignore the God of the Bible, and His moral precepts. There are also many examples of Christians who by sticking to, and advocating for the Biblical worship of God, have changed and transformed nations. What ails mankind does not have its origin in the fear of the God or the Bible. What has caused mankind the most distress can be laid at the feet of those who in callous indifference ignored God and the admonitions given to us in the Bible. History is full of examples of what happens when man chooses either to ignore, or chooses to obey the God of the Bible.
While Voltaire and Diderot in their atheism laid the foundation for the guillotine and the blood bath known as the French revolution. The Rev. George Whitefield and Rev.John Wesley laid the foundations of American liberty in the colonies. While the Christian founding fathers of America such as Benjamin Rush and John Adams were trying to secure a just and fair liberty for all people. Atheists like Robespierre and Saint-Just were murdering thousands in France.
At the same time Christian abolitionists like William Wilberforce and Abraham Lincoln used the Bible to help set men free. Atheists Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels were laying the foundation of communism. It would enslave, starve and murder millions. While atheists Charles Darwin and Charles Lyell laid the foundations of atheistic materialism that eventually Lenin, Stalin, Mao, Castro and Pol Pot along with many other secular despots would build on. Devout Christians like Faraday, Mendel, Maxwell and Pasteur were laying the foundations of modern science, physics and medicine.
While the Christian pro-life feminist and abolitionist Susan B Anthony was championing the cause of equality for blacks and women, in society, politics and the courts. The atheist and socialist Margaret Sanger was laying the foundation of Planned Parenthood which is today responsible for the deaths of millions of innocent unborn children.
Atheists and pagans can mimic Biblical Christianity and often do in societies with Biblical origins.They will even claim the Bibles teachings on such things as justice and liberty are their own. However, when they really do go off on their own in rebellion and pretend they know more and better than the Biblical God. History is proof, they cause nothing but death and misery for the rest of mankind.
The fear of Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. Proverbs 1:7
The fool hath said in his heart , there is no God. They are corrupt and can do no good. Psalms 14:1
I have found in my research a very real pattern. The great injustices visited upon mankind, whether from religious or secular sources were perpetuated by those in denial of the Biblical God or those who acted in opposition to the principles taught by Him in the Bible. Often the greatest harm was done by those who believed themselves wiser and more just than the Biblical God. Not only what was historically foolish had it's origins in unbelief, but what was historically violent ,cruel and inhumane as well. Doubters will want examples. Believe me they are plentiful. I will begin by looking at what religions were like before Abraham and Moses.
Before Abraham expounded upon his knowledge of God, and before Moses wrote down in scripture the character and expectations of the Bible's Creator God. Man's attempt at replacing the true God was nothing more than carving images out of inert material; then falling down and worshiping them. There was no set principles or code of conduct that transcended those who held power. Human sacrifice was the norm and it often involved children. Those who controlled what was worshiped could engage in any kind of cruel behavior or any sexual activity with who, or what, whenever they wanted. Whether it was consensual or not mattered little. Many who held power made themselves god and decided for everyone else what attributes and limits their man made god would have.
The Roman empire with it's many false deities epitomized the cruelty of pagan society. Animals and humans alike were tortured and killed for amusement. The empire had many more slaves than freemen. Criminals were tortured and executed publicly. Gladiators were forced to butcher each other for sport in front of thousands.Caesars declared themselves deity and demanded to be worshiped at the penalty of death. This went on for centuries until Christian martyrs like Telemachus and Ignatius cried out against the barbarity. Early church leaders like the apostles Paul and Peter taught that all people, Jew and gentile, male and female, slave and free were equal in the sight of God. Slaves of all races were treated as equals and could hold positions of authority in Christian churches. Although both Peter and Paul were martyred by the Roman pagans.This was the beginning of the end of Roman savagery and slavery.
It is true there has been and always will be those who call themselves Christian who like pagans and atheists ignore the God of the Bible, and His moral precepts. There are also many examples of Christians who by sticking to, and advocating for the Biblical worship of God, have changed and transformed nations. What ails mankind does not have its origin in the fear of the God or the Bible. What has caused mankind the most distress can be laid at the feet of those who in callous indifference ignored God and the admonitions given to us in the Bible. History is full of examples of what happens when man chooses either to ignore, or chooses to obey the God of the Bible.
While Voltaire and Diderot in their atheism laid the foundation for the guillotine and the blood bath known as the French revolution. The Rev. George Whitefield and Rev.John Wesley laid the foundations of American liberty in the colonies. While the Christian founding fathers of America such as Benjamin Rush and John Adams were trying to secure a just and fair liberty for all people. Atheists like Robespierre and Saint-Just were murdering thousands in France.
At the same time Christian abolitionists like William Wilberforce and Abraham Lincoln used the Bible to help set men free. Atheists Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels were laying the foundation of communism. It would enslave, starve and murder millions. While atheists Charles Darwin and Charles Lyell laid the foundations of atheistic materialism that eventually Lenin, Stalin, Mao, Castro and Pol Pot along with many other secular despots would build on. Devout Christians like Faraday, Mendel, Maxwell and Pasteur were laying the foundations of modern science, physics and medicine.
While the Christian pro-life feminist and abolitionist Susan B Anthony was championing the cause of equality for blacks and women, in society, politics and the courts. The atheist and socialist Margaret Sanger was laying the foundation of Planned Parenthood which is today responsible for the deaths of millions of innocent unborn children.
Atheists and pagans can mimic Biblical Christianity and often do in societies with Biblical origins.They will even claim the Bibles teachings on such things as justice and liberty are their own. However, when they really do go off on their own in rebellion and pretend they know more and better than the Biblical God. History is proof, they cause nothing but death and misery for the rest of mankind.
The fear of Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. Proverbs 1:7
The fool hath said in his heart , there is no God. They are corrupt and can do no good. Psalms 14:1
Friday, March 11, 2011
Darwin's Sword Of Damocles
What a fortress ye have built around a wee ragged hair.
A great sword dangles from it; O my such a tiny thread.
I have heard and weighed thy argument, in order to be fair.
Science is thy enemy. Truth is what swings o'er thy head.
A single strand for decades hath kept the truth at bay.
A fortress built around it keeps science outside the wall.
The bricks made of dogma are theories as pliable as clay.
Science in time will scale them, then the sword shall fall.
The tiny cord must be guarded from knowledge and the light.
Only sworn allegiance to protect and promote thy single hair.
Allows one to sit beneath the sword to join the lofty rite.
After all, science can not be free to seek the truth just anywhere.
It must be chained outside, and used to guard arguments as thin as air.
Wesley Jones
A single strand for decades hath kept the truth at bay.
A fortress built around it keeps science outside the wall.
The bricks made of dogma are theories as pliable as clay.
Science in time will scale them, then the sword shall fall.
The tiny cord must be guarded from knowledge and the light.
Only sworn allegiance to protect and promote thy single hair.
Allows one to sit beneath the sword to join the lofty rite.
After all, science can not be free to seek the truth just anywhere.
It must be chained outside, and used to guard arguments as thin as air.
Wesley Jones
Monday, March 7, 2011
Rattle Thy Sacred Bones
O how history's tide of knaves mar truth's pristine shore.
Look up ye fool, your ditch is not wisdom's hoary peak.
In thy squalid hole Darwin is king, and God is no more.
Shut thy eyes, plug thy ears, lest ye learn thy mind be weak.
Scratch the dirt, sift the dust for that illusive perfect bone.
Perhaps it shall be thy comfort when misery and death doth appear.
Children look proof ! When all fails why pray for we are all alone.
Who needs God! Thou hast monkey bones, no need for thee to fear.
O ye blind ones, hide thy tawdry ignorance behind a fossil curtain.
Claim any that disagree are fools to question such perfect reason.
Science stop! Forsake reason, prohibit doubt, it is settled, it is certain!
We are descendants of apes there is no other view, if so it is treason!
Like thugs ye roam the halls of learning, looking for dissent.
Scholar beware! There is no room here for you to question!
Spread not thy hope; nor rebellion against our king foment.
Our mind is made, no new science, evidence shall we shun.
O ye unbelievers thy king Darwin is powerless, rotting in a booth.
Our God is, and shall avenge us, for our children ye have stole away.
He sees thee mocking, rattling your sacred bones, calling our youth.
Ye say; except for fools, all believe like me, there be no other way.
Save thy glib smile, your callous wink and thy pat on my ignorant head.
Scholarship hath brought me here, honest study, hard work and sweat.
Jaundiced eyes have led you to a doctrine, that like it's king is dead.
Truth it's corpse shall bury, when honest science and public hath met.
When evolution's absurdities and hoaxes alas meet the glaring light.
It's priests shall scream and curse our God. O but it will be too late.
Without politics and courts to quell the truth, how then shall they fight?
Truth shall set science free, while shame falls upon the scoffer's pate.
Wesley Jones
Scholar beware! There is no room here for you to question!
Spread not thy hope; nor rebellion against our king foment.
Our mind is made, no new science, evidence shall we shun.
O ye unbelievers thy king Darwin is powerless, rotting in a booth.
Our God is, and shall avenge us, for our children ye have stole away.
He sees thee mocking, rattling your sacred bones, calling our youth.
Ye say; except for fools, all believe like me, there be no other way.
Save thy glib smile, your callous wink and thy pat on my ignorant head.
Scholarship hath brought me here, honest study, hard work and sweat.
Jaundiced eyes have led you to a doctrine, that like it's king is dead.
Truth it's corpse shall bury, when honest science and public hath met.
When evolution's absurdities and hoaxes alas meet the glaring light.
It's priests shall scream and curse our God. O but it will be too late.
Without politics and courts to quell the truth, how then shall they fight?
Truth shall set science free, while shame falls upon the scoffer's pate.
Wesley Jones
Sunday, March 6, 2011
" Folly is set in great dignity and honor sits in a low place. Fools ride horses while princes are forced to walk." King Solomon
What If
What if ye are false, and the lowly carpenter true?
They who mocked and cried for the cross.
Thought themselves wise, and learned as you
What if like they, what ye think gain is actually loss?
What if scoffers are the dullards and the skeptics blind,
If ye knew the majority seldom the truth has had?
Are ye honest and wise enough to change thy mind?
What if the doubters be dull and unbelievers mad?
What if ye proud unbelievers, held so high in esteem;
die and find what thou hath taught admirers be wrong.
Can ye deliver thy deceived and thine own soul redeem.
What if ye no longer in sport are hated by thy throng?
What if thine effort to dismiss and refute thy God's word,
were equalled in seeking Him and finding His way?
Thou will not be welcome in the grand places to be heard.
What if pleasing God mattered not the lies of the day.
Wesley Jones
What if ye are false, and the lowly carpenter true?
They who mocked and cried for the cross.
Thought themselves wise, and learned as you
What if like they, what ye think gain is actually loss?
What if scoffers are the dullards and the skeptics blind,
If ye knew the majority seldom the truth has had?
Are ye honest and wise enough to change thy mind?
What if the doubters be dull and unbelievers mad?
What if ye proud unbelievers, held so high in esteem;
die and find what thou hath taught admirers be wrong.
Can ye deliver thy deceived and thine own soul redeem.
What if ye no longer in sport are hated by thy throng?
What if thine effort to dismiss and refute thy God's word,
were equalled in seeking Him and finding His way?
Thou will not be welcome in the grand places to be heard.
What if pleasing God mattered not the lies of the day.
Wesley Jones
Friday, March 4, 2011
Professing Themselves To Be Wise They Became Fools
The period between the two world wars was a time of great change in the western world. German universities were the epicenter of anti-biblical thought, both religious and political The German religious and political philosophers of that day were becoming increasingly famous and renowned. However the moral vacuum they created was quickly being filled by Nazis and Marxists.
The so called "educated class" not only in Germany but all over the western world was tinkering with ways to explain our existence and purpose apart from the Holy Bible. There was nothing too outlandish or ridiculous to be considered. The only criteria was it had to contradict Christianity and the Bible. This was not unlike the philosophers the apostle Paul encountered on Mars hill. They worshiped any and every god except for the Biblical one. Anything new and provocative was much in demand. Anything that held them accountable in any way was rejected.
If it had not been for the nations like Great Briton and the United States who had not yet succumbed to an irrational preoccupation with destroying Biblical influence in their societies. Hitler and Stalin could have easily destroyed or completely dominated human civilization. The damage done by these tyrants often in the name of the poor and working class was not a product of either. The atrocities committed by Marxists and Nazis were not conceived or orchestrated in factories or on farms by the common man. They were hatched in universities and organizations within the privileged populace that were considered the avant-garde of sophisticated modern thought. This group thought they were too wise and educated to seek wisdom and knowledge from either God or the Bible. Their ignorance and foolishness cost millions their lives.
The Bible clearly teaches; the wiser men believe themselves to be the more foolish and destructive they become. Hitler and Stalin hated Biblical Christianity. Not on it's merit, but because Biblical Christianity teaches free men to govern themselves. Not only that, it teaches us leaders are subject to God and Biblical principles just like everyone else. It is not a coincidence that every tyrant in the western world, religious or secular fought to keep the Bible out of the hands of ordinary people. The same thing is done in many parts of the world today for the same reasons.
Foxe's Book Of Martyrs is an early history of Biblical Christianity's efforts to get the Bible translated into the language and into the hands of everyone no matter what their station in life. Biblical Christians were often persecuted and killed by the established church hierarchy and political despots.The reason; the Bible teaches men are to be free to seek and serve God according to the light they posses, and their own conscious. The Bible also teaches Jesus Christ is our King and the final arbiter of our fate; not the despot who disdains God's word, and is in rebellion against Him. The personal freedom as well as the religious freedom taught in the Bible is antithetical to the purposes of those who want to oppress others without being accountable to a higher authority. Whether tyrants are secular or religious, the knowledge of the Holy Bible and love of Christ is the biggest obstacle in their quest to dominate others.
It is very apparent in the study of history, and in our own time as well. The further people are removed from the knowledge of Biblical scriptures, the more likely they are to desire to be ruled and controlled by others. And the more likely they are to support and eventually suffer at the hands of dictators. There always have been and always will be those who believe themselves wiser than the God of the Bible. They view God's word as antiquated nonsense. When they gain power they in their pride and arrogance rule with ruthless cruelty. Accountable to no one.
The Apostle Paul also warned that there would be those who would adopt and use Biblical teachings while denying they came from God or the Bible. 2 Timothy 3-5 "Having a form of godliness but denying the power of it, from such turn away." Paul warned us those who did this were outwardly acceptable, but inwardly corrupt. This is where much of the western world is at today. Many in politics and education will profess their belief in religious and political freedom and claim the ideas spring forth from their own, or mankind's goodness. Some even claim to be our protectors against the tyranny of Biblical Christianity. When in fact Biblical Christianity is where our political and religious liberties originated.
I would like to challenge anyone who believes Biblical Christianity thwarts individual liberty and academic excellence to study the origins of the beliefs held by our founding fathers. Read their speeches and personal papers. Read our founding documents in their entirety. Examine the faith of those who founded the different disciplines of scientific study. Examine the faith of the scientists who's discoveries transformed and enlightened the world. Look into the faith of those who built and organized our oldest and greatest universities. Find out what faith built our first orphanages, nursing homes and looked after the mentally impaired. While your at it glance at the faith of the abolitionists here and abroad who helped end the slave trade. Read about how Biblical Christians changed the child labor laws, campaigned for a shorter work week and giving women the right to vote. ABOVE ALL READ THE BIBLE FOR YOUR SELF.
I have found the most ardent critics of the Bible are usually the most ignorant of it's content. Anyone can take a verse out of context ( either historical or Biblical ) and build a case against it's authority. Christians are mocked and the Bible misrepresented everyday by people who have no idea that the few worthy things they believe in, have their origins in the Bible. Many have a form of godliness but deny it comes from God through the Bible.. If the next generation does not know the scriptures even this will be lost. To mimic Biblical Christianity one first has to know a little about it.
There are things taught today in the highest levels of academia simply because they contradict the Bible. Even though reason, commonsense, and even science itself have proven them to be foolishness. For many their aversion to the Bible and Jesus Christ is so great they will believe, promote and defend even the most ridiculous ideas before they will admit their ignorance to God. We all have been so indoctrinated by false information about the Bible and have been taught so many stereotypes of Biblical Christians. It is easier to believe the absurd than to believe the truth.
1 Corinthians 3-18 Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the the wise in their own craftiness.
Many have staked their reputation and career on promoting and teaching foolishness. Usually because of self deceiving pride and love of money. Some out of a spite towards God and the Bible. Others because they love the praise of men more than the approval of God. Whatever the reason the answer is the same we need to humble ourselves before God and let Him give us a true and lasting wisdom that does not lead us or others into misery and destruction.
The so called "educated class" not only in Germany but all over the western world was tinkering with ways to explain our existence and purpose apart from the Holy Bible. There was nothing too outlandish or ridiculous to be considered. The only criteria was it had to contradict Christianity and the Bible. This was not unlike the philosophers the apostle Paul encountered on Mars hill. They worshiped any and every god except for the Biblical one. Anything new and provocative was much in demand. Anything that held them accountable in any way was rejected.
If it had not been for the nations like Great Briton and the United States who had not yet succumbed to an irrational preoccupation with destroying Biblical influence in their societies. Hitler and Stalin could have easily destroyed or completely dominated human civilization. The damage done by these tyrants often in the name of the poor and working class was not a product of either. The atrocities committed by Marxists and Nazis were not conceived or orchestrated in factories or on farms by the common man. They were hatched in universities and organizations within the privileged populace that were considered the avant-garde of sophisticated modern thought. This group thought they were too wise and educated to seek wisdom and knowledge from either God or the Bible. Their ignorance and foolishness cost millions their lives.
The Bible clearly teaches; the wiser men believe themselves to be the more foolish and destructive they become. Hitler and Stalin hated Biblical Christianity. Not on it's merit, but because Biblical Christianity teaches free men to govern themselves. Not only that, it teaches us leaders are subject to God and Biblical principles just like everyone else. It is not a coincidence that every tyrant in the western world, religious or secular fought to keep the Bible out of the hands of ordinary people. The same thing is done in many parts of the world today for the same reasons.
Foxe's Book Of Martyrs is an early history of Biblical Christianity's efforts to get the Bible translated into the language and into the hands of everyone no matter what their station in life. Biblical Christians were often persecuted and killed by the established church hierarchy and political despots.The reason; the Bible teaches men are to be free to seek and serve God according to the light they posses, and their own conscious. The Bible also teaches Jesus Christ is our King and the final arbiter of our fate; not the despot who disdains God's word, and is in rebellion against Him. The personal freedom as well as the religious freedom taught in the Bible is antithetical to the purposes of those who want to oppress others without being accountable to a higher authority. Whether tyrants are secular or religious, the knowledge of the Holy Bible and love of Christ is the biggest obstacle in their quest to dominate others.
It is very apparent in the study of history, and in our own time as well. The further people are removed from the knowledge of Biblical scriptures, the more likely they are to desire to be ruled and controlled by others. And the more likely they are to support and eventually suffer at the hands of dictators. There always have been and always will be those who believe themselves wiser than the God of the Bible. They view God's word as antiquated nonsense. When they gain power they in their pride and arrogance rule with ruthless cruelty. Accountable to no one.
The Apostle Paul also warned that there would be those who would adopt and use Biblical teachings while denying they came from God or the Bible. 2 Timothy 3-5 "Having a form of godliness but denying the power of it, from such turn away." Paul warned us those who did this were outwardly acceptable, but inwardly corrupt. This is where much of the western world is at today. Many in politics and education will profess their belief in religious and political freedom and claim the ideas spring forth from their own, or mankind's goodness. Some even claim to be our protectors against the tyranny of Biblical Christianity. When in fact Biblical Christianity is where our political and religious liberties originated.
I would like to challenge anyone who believes Biblical Christianity thwarts individual liberty and academic excellence to study the origins of the beliefs held by our founding fathers. Read their speeches and personal papers. Read our founding documents in their entirety. Examine the faith of those who founded the different disciplines of scientific study. Examine the faith of the scientists who's discoveries transformed and enlightened the world. Look into the faith of those who built and organized our oldest and greatest universities. Find out what faith built our first orphanages, nursing homes and looked after the mentally impaired. While your at it glance at the faith of the abolitionists here and abroad who helped end the slave trade. Read about how Biblical Christians changed the child labor laws, campaigned for a shorter work week and giving women the right to vote. ABOVE ALL READ THE BIBLE FOR YOUR SELF.
I have found the most ardent critics of the Bible are usually the most ignorant of it's content. Anyone can take a verse out of context ( either historical or Biblical ) and build a case against it's authority. Christians are mocked and the Bible misrepresented everyday by people who have no idea that the few worthy things they believe in, have their origins in the Bible. Many have a form of godliness but deny it comes from God through the Bible.. If the next generation does not know the scriptures even this will be lost. To mimic Biblical Christianity one first has to know a little about it.
There are things taught today in the highest levels of academia simply because they contradict the Bible. Even though reason, commonsense, and even science itself have proven them to be foolishness. For many their aversion to the Bible and Jesus Christ is so great they will believe, promote and defend even the most ridiculous ideas before they will admit their ignorance to God. We all have been so indoctrinated by false information about the Bible and have been taught so many stereotypes of Biblical Christians. It is easier to believe the absurd than to believe the truth.
1 Corinthians 3-18 Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the the wise in their own craftiness.
Many have staked their reputation and career on promoting and teaching foolishness. Usually because of self deceiving pride and love of money. Some out of a spite towards God and the Bible. Others because they love the praise of men more than the approval of God. Whatever the reason the answer is the same we need to humble ourselves before God and let Him give us a true and lasting wisdom that does not lead us or others into misery and destruction.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Promoting Justice Is More Than Choosing A Side
Proverbs 21 -3 To do justice and judgement is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.
Justice is beyond and more desirable than our attempts to win political or social victories for whatever group we claim to champion. Justice is not bound by denomination, party, social class, gender, race, nationality or any other way we choose to fragment our societies. It is above self interest and shallow temporary victories. Justice is not prejudice or favorable to one side at the expense of the interests of others. An injustice directed towards an enemy is no more acceptable to God and Biblical justice than one directed towards us and ours.
Blind obedience to a group is how many of us define justice. Whatever our group does is always right and who ever opposes our group is always wrong. It is a very dangerous and lazy way for us to promote justice. To not question or doubt what the leaders of our group do and say, while always doubting the motives and criticizing opposing views; ( often before they are even heard.) This is not beneficial to anyone in the long run.. If we never examine the merits of opposing views and never question our own. We in a sense neglect justice in favor of promoting our chosen, or inherited group's short term gain.
Before a society or a group can promote justice and make any moral judgments; its members must have an individual understanding of morality, and love of justice apart from the group. They also need to find a morality that is universal, not prejudice or myopic. If not we are doing nothing more than advancing the name and power of our group no matter what it promotes. Unfortunately most people derive their political and moral views, from groups. Not from within a heart taught and nurtured by a just God....Too often it is me and mine have always belonged to this party, faith or group; so no matter what it promotes must be defended. This mentality is the reason social ills, injustices and lopsided, foolish policies are handed down from one generation to the next.
The lingering effects of 20th century Marxism and fascism still haunt the political landscape today. We still want to promote equity by destroying those we think have some kind of advantage or threaten ours. Justice is never served by tearing down one group to promote another. A minority is not made more equal by destroying or ignoring the rights of the majority. Majorities are not made safe by ignoring the rights of minorities. There are groups and individuals who prey upon our lust for vengeance, our false sense of superiority and the envy of success. Justice is not the promotion of us at the expense of you. Nor is it revenge or forced equality. Justice is liberty granted and protected in an equitable, universal way. This is the kind of justice taught by the Biblical Jesus.
There will always be those calling for; the exacting of a pound of flesh. The counter to that is making moral judgments based upon a desire to treat all justly and none preferably. I have not found any better source for teaching justice,equity and making sound moral judgments than the Holy Bible. The teachings of Jesus Christ are the very reason things like justice and equity are even considered in western society. Jesus took up the cause of the poor while not threatening those who had more. He championed the cause and redemption of social outcasts, without denying personal responsibility or Biblical morality. He taught us to forgive and feed our enemies. While at the same time encouraging us to stand against injustice and cruelty.
The Psalms, Proverbs and old testament prophets are lessons on how much God loves and wants justice and equity for mankind. How being a kind, merciful and fair person is of more value than any strict observance to religious ceremony. The Bible teaches, righteousness exalts nations and sin is a reproach to any people. The righteousness taught in the Bible is more than ceremony or self denial. It is dealing honestly and fairly with all. It is living morally yourself while being merciful and patient with those that don't. There is no other faith or Holy Book that teaches both personal morality, and a benign, merciful and consistent social justice.
Isaiah 58-6 " Is this not the fast I have chosen? To loose the bands of wickedness. ( deliver others from sin ) To undue the heavy burdens, ( release others from unreasonable burdens put on them by those in power.) To let the oppressed go free, ( to free, protect and help those oppressed by others ) and break every yoke." ( to strive for the liberty of all people ). There are many other passages like this throughout the Bible. Verses like this are what gave our forefathers the courage to demand freedom. The Bible is what inspired subsequent generations to apply it to all people.
We can seek and learn of justice from our Creator and His Holy Word. Or we can do what has always led us to disaster in the past.( Everyone can define and dispense justice anyway they choose.) Those who hold power can deny it or grant it not based on morality but convenience. We can seek revenge and privilege for our favorite group or party. Or we can believe the Bible and have a relationship with our Creator through His son Jesus Christ. Then and only then are we are able to learn how to promote a fair, equitable justice that is based on more than our own caprice, or that of those in power.
Micah 6-8 " He hath showed thee, O man what is good; and what the Lord requires of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God."
.
Justice is beyond and more desirable than our attempts to win political or social victories for whatever group we claim to champion. Justice is not bound by denomination, party, social class, gender, race, nationality or any other way we choose to fragment our societies. It is above self interest and shallow temporary victories. Justice is not prejudice or favorable to one side at the expense of the interests of others. An injustice directed towards an enemy is no more acceptable to God and Biblical justice than one directed towards us and ours.
Blind obedience to a group is how many of us define justice. Whatever our group does is always right and who ever opposes our group is always wrong. It is a very dangerous and lazy way for us to promote justice. To not question or doubt what the leaders of our group do and say, while always doubting the motives and criticizing opposing views; ( often before they are even heard.) This is not beneficial to anyone in the long run.. If we never examine the merits of opposing views and never question our own. We in a sense neglect justice in favor of promoting our chosen, or inherited group's short term gain.
Before a society or a group can promote justice and make any moral judgments; its members must have an individual understanding of morality, and love of justice apart from the group. They also need to find a morality that is universal, not prejudice or myopic. If not we are doing nothing more than advancing the name and power of our group no matter what it promotes. Unfortunately most people derive their political and moral views, from groups. Not from within a heart taught and nurtured by a just God....Too often it is me and mine have always belonged to this party, faith or group; so no matter what it promotes must be defended. This mentality is the reason social ills, injustices and lopsided, foolish policies are handed down from one generation to the next.
The lingering effects of 20th century Marxism and fascism still haunt the political landscape today. We still want to promote equity by destroying those we think have some kind of advantage or threaten ours. Justice is never served by tearing down one group to promote another. A minority is not made more equal by destroying or ignoring the rights of the majority. Majorities are not made safe by ignoring the rights of minorities. There are groups and individuals who prey upon our lust for vengeance, our false sense of superiority and the envy of success. Justice is not the promotion of us at the expense of you. Nor is it revenge or forced equality. Justice is liberty granted and protected in an equitable, universal way. This is the kind of justice taught by the Biblical Jesus.
There will always be those calling for; the exacting of a pound of flesh. The counter to that is making moral judgments based upon a desire to treat all justly and none preferably. I have not found any better source for teaching justice,equity and making sound moral judgments than the Holy Bible. The teachings of Jesus Christ are the very reason things like justice and equity are even considered in western society. Jesus took up the cause of the poor while not threatening those who had more. He championed the cause and redemption of social outcasts, without denying personal responsibility or Biblical morality. He taught us to forgive and feed our enemies. While at the same time encouraging us to stand against injustice and cruelty.
The Psalms, Proverbs and old testament prophets are lessons on how much God loves and wants justice and equity for mankind. How being a kind, merciful and fair person is of more value than any strict observance to religious ceremony. The Bible teaches, righteousness exalts nations and sin is a reproach to any people. The righteousness taught in the Bible is more than ceremony or self denial. It is dealing honestly and fairly with all. It is living morally yourself while being merciful and patient with those that don't. There is no other faith or Holy Book that teaches both personal morality, and a benign, merciful and consistent social justice.
Isaiah 58-6 " Is this not the fast I have chosen? To loose the bands of wickedness. ( deliver others from sin ) To undue the heavy burdens, ( release others from unreasonable burdens put on them by those in power.) To let the oppressed go free, ( to free, protect and help those oppressed by others ) and break every yoke." ( to strive for the liberty of all people ). There are many other passages like this throughout the Bible. Verses like this are what gave our forefathers the courage to demand freedom. The Bible is what inspired subsequent generations to apply it to all people.
We can seek and learn of justice from our Creator and His Holy Word. Or we can do what has always led us to disaster in the past.( Everyone can define and dispense justice anyway they choose.) Those who hold power can deny it or grant it not based on morality but convenience. We can seek revenge and privilege for our favorite group or party. Or we can believe the Bible and have a relationship with our Creator through His son Jesus Christ. Then and only then are we are able to learn how to promote a fair, equitable justice that is based on more than our own caprice, or that of those in power.
Micah 6-8 " He hath showed thee, O man what is good; and what the Lord requires of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God."
.
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