Christians need to take responsibility for the shape America’s in right now because Christians have abdicated their role in civil society.
Too many Christians have bought into the lie that says the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence are not Christian documents. The rest of the world understands this quite clearly, but here in America, we seem to have lost our way. We also seem to be trying to destroy everything in this country that has made it strong and good, i.e. God and the Bible.
Not many people know that of the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence, 24 of them held seminary degrees. George Washington and Alexander Hamilton said they got the idea for our government’s separation of powers from Jeremiash 17:9. The concept for our three branches of government -- legislative, executive, and judicial -- originated in Isaiah 33:22 where God is described as judge, lawgiver, and king. The idea for the tax-exempt status for churches came from Ezra 7:24.
The text from Deuteronomy 17:6 can be found in Article 3, Section 3, paragraph 1 of the United States Constitution. The text for Ezekiel 18:20 can be found in Article 3, section 3, paragraph 2 of that same document.
John Adams himself stated that the founding fathers used the principles of Christianity to achieve independence. No wonder the United States of America is the longest running constitutional republic in the history of the world.
What I wouldn’t give to listen in on some of the sermons that were preached during the times of the founding fathers. Talk about applying the Bible to everyday life! Pastors in those days regularly preached in response to current cultural and social issues. They covered such current events as earthquakes, the great fire of Boston, and solar eclipses, After a man was sentenced to death, pastors often preached from the Bible about capital punishment. How many of our pastors today do this? How many know their Bibles well enough to even attempt it? And thus so many of the issues of today which are clearly laid out in the Bible fall into heated and unnecessary dispute.
Did you know that Jesus taught two parables on the issue of capital gains? He taught about minimum wage (once) and which kind of tax system is biblical (twice). The BIble addresses the issue of an unjust war vs the proper use of military action. How handy this might have been in the Iraq war among other instances.
The Bible speaks about the importance of Christians being involved in elections. In Exodus 18:21, God even gives the qualifications for an elected official -- they should be a person of faith who hates covetousness and who will rule with the fear of God. How many men and women in our Congress fit that description? And we wonder why the country is tanking on pretty much every front.
Christians need to realize that Congress doesn’t necessarily represent the values of Americans -- they represent the values of those who vote. Between 1992 and 1996, there was a 17% decrease in the number of evangelicals who voted. From 1996 to 2000, it decreased another 23%, for a 40% total decrease. In the year 2000, out of the 60 million evangelicals living in America, only 15 million voted. Can you imagine if the other 45 million had gone to the voting booth in this latest election? We would surely have a different president sitting in the oval office.
We could take back this country in a heartbeat if we only took the Bible seriously and did what God wants us to do. So why don’t we?
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Monday, January 26, 2009
What In The (Christian) World Is Going On?
A new Barna Group poll shows depressing results for any Bible believing Christian.
Half of Americans who call themselves Christians don’t believe Satan exists.
Fully one third are confident that Jesus sinned while on earth.
Another 40 percent say they don’t have a responsibility to share their Christian faith with others.
Twenty-five percent dismiss the idea that the Bible is accurate in all of the principles it teaches.
These results have huge implications. Americans are growing increasingly comfortable picking and choosing what they want to believe and leaving the parts they don’t like behind. They have no problem discarding huge portions of the Bible and what it teaches. Hey, if Oprah does it, it must be okay.
Not only are we living in a post-modern world, it seems to me we’re living in a post-Christian world as well.
When you think about it, people are being pretty darned arrogant to think they can pick and choose specific elements from God’s word and forget the parts they’ve decided are too hard or that they don’t want to have to apply to their lives. God is God. Why shouldn’t He be able to demand how He wants to be worshipped? Who are we to disagree? Not only that, God is all-knowing. That means He’s right on top of what works in our lives and what doesn’t. We don’t have to look far to see the utter mess we’re making by taking matters into our own hands and doing what seems right to us. Just walk down any city street and you’ll find that pornography, drugs, drinking, swearing, rudeness, and selfishness abound. And that’s just for starters.
How convenient that so many American Christians don’t believe in Satan -- convenient for Satan, that is. That kind of mindset gives him free rein to carry out the business of keeping as many souls from heaven as he possibly can before his time is up. Multiple express lanes on the already broad highway to hell are now wide open for business. Satan and his demons must be laughing all the way.
In too many places, Christianity has become a feel-good religion that leaves all the hard parts like sin and hellfire out of the equation. In this new ‘Christianity, we don’t even have to worry about sharing the gospel. Whew, there’s another uncomfortable task off our plates.
It’s only going to get worse. Our new president has set out a decidedly anti-Christian agenda. Many of our pastors, who have been during a lukewarm job already, may soon be muzzled in their preaching by new hate crimes legislation, especially when it comes to homosexuality. Many have already muzzled themselves on this topic. It’ll be interesting to see which ones stand firm on their Biblical principles.
We can’t count on our leaders to do what’s right and moral. The corruption and wrong-headedness of our elected officials has gone off the charts. Our politicians don’t even follow the straightforward precepts of our Constitution, never mind the Bible. Revival only comes from the grassroots up and always has. It’s time for those of us who are serious about Christ to step up to the plate.
Half of Americans who call themselves Christians don’t believe Satan exists.
Fully one third are confident that Jesus sinned while on earth.
Another 40 percent say they don’t have a responsibility to share their Christian faith with others.
Twenty-five percent dismiss the idea that the Bible is accurate in all of the principles it teaches.
These results have huge implications. Americans are growing increasingly comfortable picking and choosing what they want to believe and leaving the parts they don’t like behind. They have no problem discarding huge portions of the Bible and what it teaches. Hey, if Oprah does it, it must be okay.
Not only are we living in a post-modern world, it seems to me we’re living in a post-Christian world as well.
When you think about it, people are being pretty darned arrogant to think they can pick and choose specific elements from God’s word and forget the parts they’ve decided are too hard or that they don’t want to have to apply to their lives. God is God. Why shouldn’t He be able to demand how He wants to be worshipped? Who are we to disagree? Not only that, God is all-knowing. That means He’s right on top of what works in our lives and what doesn’t. We don’t have to look far to see the utter mess we’re making by taking matters into our own hands and doing what seems right to us. Just walk down any city street and you’ll find that pornography, drugs, drinking, swearing, rudeness, and selfishness abound. And that’s just for starters.
How convenient that so many American Christians don’t believe in Satan -- convenient for Satan, that is. That kind of mindset gives him free rein to carry out the business of keeping as many souls from heaven as he possibly can before his time is up. Multiple express lanes on the already broad highway to hell are now wide open for business. Satan and his demons must be laughing all the way.
In too many places, Christianity has become a feel-good religion that leaves all the hard parts like sin and hellfire out of the equation. In this new ‘Christianity, we don’t even have to worry about sharing the gospel. Whew, there’s another uncomfortable task off our plates.
It’s only going to get worse. Our new president has set out a decidedly anti-Christian agenda. Many of our pastors, who have been during a lukewarm job already, may soon be muzzled in their preaching by new hate crimes legislation, especially when it comes to homosexuality. Many have already muzzled themselves on this topic. It’ll be interesting to see which ones stand firm on their Biblical principles.
We can’t count on our leaders to do what’s right and moral. The corruption and wrong-headedness of our elected officials has gone off the charts. Our politicians don’t even follow the straightforward precepts of our Constitution, never mind the Bible. Revival only comes from the grassroots up and always has. It’s time for those of us who are serious about Christ to step up to the plate.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
End Times Miscellanea
Talk about watching the Bible and prophecy come alive right before our very eyes! The birth pangs keep getting closer and closer together as things continue to fall into place for the return of Jesus Christ.
1.) It’s been a puzzle to many Americans that their country, the land of the brave and the home of the free, a country founded on godly Christian principles and blessed above any other nation on earth, would not be present in the end times scenario. Fifty years ago this seemed well nigh impossible. Today, it’s all too easy to see how quickly this is going to happen.
America is well on its way to being a super-power no longer and out of the picture by the time Antichrist comes along. America is speeding down the road to perdition and straight into the arms of God’s totally justified wrath. Our new president is certainly no friend of God’s and has an agenda in direct opposition to almost every principle the Bible stands for from abortion to gay rights to the totally non-Biblical way he wants to continue to handle our economic meltdown.
We have gone from the most pro-life to the most pro-abortion president in our nation's history. We’ll see how quickly he signs the Freedom of Choice Act to allow every kind of abortion conceivable under the sun.
The inauguration has already given us further hints at what’s to come, just in case you weren’t paying attention during the campaign. Obama may have been sworn in using Lincoln’s Bible, but he also chose an openly gay Episcopal clergyman (if you can call him that) to give one of the prayers at the presidential inauguration, a prayer this so-called Christian addressed to the ‘God of our many understandings’ whoever that is. The Obama administration had their Hate Crimes agenda on their website within hours of him taking office, so we know what we’re in for on that front.
2.) The bird flu has hit Asia again with people dying in China and Thailand. Nepal and India have also been hit as they were forced to destroy thousands of birds to avoid the spread of the deadly disease. This is likely a precursor setting up some of the final plagues which are outlined in Revelation.
3.) Israel has done a number on Hamas. The terrorist group might even be weakened enough to allow Israel to live more securely in the land, one of the preconditions for Ezekiel 38 and 39 to occur.
4.) Speaking of Ezekiel 38-39, Israel has discovered huge quantities of natural gas reserves off the coast of Haifa. This could eventually make the country energy independent and might perhaps be part of the tempting loot that Russia and her allies want to plunder.
5.) Russia continues to build alliances with her Ezekiel 38 and 39 partners in a myriad of ways including working to establish navy bases in Libya and Syria. Russia is also helping Iran with her nuclear power plant.
6.) Turkey, another ally of Russia from Ezekiel 38-39, has recently called for Israel to be barred from the United Nations, thus aligning this formerly more secular and moderate country into line with the rest of the Muslim world.
1.) It’s been a puzzle to many Americans that their country, the land of the brave and the home of the free, a country founded on godly Christian principles and blessed above any other nation on earth, would not be present in the end times scenario. Fifty years ago this seemed well nigh impossible. Today, it’s all too easy to see how quickly this is going to happen.
America is well on its way to being a super-power no longer and out of the picture by the time Antichrist comes along. America is speeding down the road to perdition and straight into the arms of God’s totally justified wrath. Our new president is certainly no friend of God’s and has an agenda in direct opposition to almost every principle the Bible stands for from abortion to gay rights to the totally non-Biblical way he wants to continue to handle our economic meltdown.
We have gone from the most pro-life to the most pro-abortion president in our nation's history. We’ll see how quickly he signs the Freedom of Choice Act to allow every kind of abortion conceivable under the sun.
The inauguration has already given us further hints at what’s to come, just in case you weren’t paying attention during the campaign. Obama may have been sworn in using Lincoln’s Bible, but he also chose an openly gay Episcopal clergyman (if you can call him that) to give one of the prayers at the presidential inauguration, a prayer this so-called Christian addressed to the ‘God of our many understandings’ whoever that is. The Obama administration had their Hate Crimes agenda on their website within hours of him taking office, so we know what we’re in for on that front.
2.) The bird flu has hit Asia again with people dying in China and Thailand. Nepal and India have also been hit as they were forced to destroy thousands of birds to avoid the spread of the deadly disease. This is likely a precursor setting up some of the final plagues which are outlined in Revelation.
3.) Israel has done a number on Hamas. The terrorist group might even be weakened enough to allow Israel to live more securely in the land, one of the preconditions for Ezekiel 38 and 39 to occur.
4.) Speaking of Ezekiel 38-39, Israel has discovered huge quantities of natural gas reserves off the coast of Haifa. This could eventually make the country energy independent and might perhaps be part of the tempting loot that Russia and her allies want to plunder.
5.) Russia continues to build alliances with her Ezekiel 38 and 39 partners in a myriad of ways including working to establish navy bases in Libya and Syria. Russia is also helping Iran with her nuclear power plant.
6.) Turkey, another ally of Russia from Ezekiel 38-39, has recently called for Israel to be barred from the United Nations, thus aligning this formerly more secular and moderate country into line with the rest of the Muslim world.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Defeating the Totalitarian Lie
With the recent advent of VALKYRIE and DEFIANCE into movie theaters, there seems to be a minor upsurge of World War II flicks. And not solely for entertainment, since both of these are based on true stories. For a different perspective on Hitler and the Nazis, check out DEFEATING THE TOTALITARIAN LIE: A Former Hitler Youth Warns America by Hilmar Von Campe.
The author tells his story of growing up in Hitler’s Germany, joining the Hitler Youth, and eventually enlisting in the army to fight. Even more interesting, at least to me, he explains how Hitler built his totalitarian regime. The author considered himself a ‘Christian’ like most of the rest of Germany, and yet like everyone else, he did nothing to stop Hitler. Because he was morally compromised, he didn’t feel responsible for the Holocaust. He considered himself guilt-free because he personally hadn’t killed any Jews. The rest of the country pretty much felt the same way.
It wasn’t until he wrote down a list of all his sins and realized he’d been a Christian fraud rather than a true, Bible believing Christian that he was able to see the truth. He’s written this book because he sees the same kind of thing happening in America.
One of the main points the author makes and one that many people don’t realize is that Nazis are not right wing Fascists. The name of the party was National Socialism. Nazis are radical, left-wing socialists. They hold a philosophy similar to that of the sadly misnamed ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) in this country which was founded by a communist and which is trying its hardest to disconnect Americans from their history, their heritage, and their traditions. The ACLU works diligently to undermine anything to do with God and His moral absolutes. The Nazis also denied God and went to great lengths to remove Him from all facets of society. The ACLU does the same while promoting itself as upholding democracy and freedom.
The Nazis had godless judges who made the law subject to Nazi ideology. Here in America we have godless judges who are also pushing God aside and violating our Constitution by removing prayer from our schools, making abortion legal, and working to make homosexual marriage a civil right among other perverse concepts.
Children were a big target of the Nazis as they are in this country. Control how young people are taught and you can control the world. That’s why the Nazis insisted all children attend public school. In this country as well, the schools have taken control of our kids’ education and now show little desire to consult with parents. Even more alarming, various courts have upheld the rights of the schools over those of the parents. If you think the Nazis used biased textbooks, you should check out the texts they’re using in a public school near you, particularly in science and history.
The Terri Schiavo case is another example of America following a Nazi-like path. A judge condemned Terri Schiavo to die a slow and torturous death by dehydration and starvation. Hitler gave orders right after the beginning of the war that allowed the Nazis to murder hundreds of thousands of people they considered unfit to live because they were of no use to society. This euthanasia was just the beginning of the slippery slope leading to the Holocaust. Even now Oregon and other states have instituted policies of euthanasia and assisted suicide.
The author covers lots of other similarities between America and the Nazis. He talks about the corruption of the U.N., the push for a North American Union, how Israel fits into the picture, and the rise of liars and lying throughout our country and our government among other interesting topics. Free societies can only exist when they’re based on truth which is why America has prospered for so long. That truth is being trampled on all the time. It was the mindset of Germany that allowed Hitler into power. DEFEATING THE TOTALITARIAN LIE gives fair warning so something similar won’t happen here.
The author tells his story of growing up in Hitler’s Germany, joining the Hitler Youth, and eventually enlisting in the army to fight. Even more interesting, at least to me, he explains how Hitler built his totalitarian regime. The author considered himself a ‘Christian’ like most of the rest of Germany, and yet like everyone else, he did nothing to stop Hitler. Because he was morally compromised, he didn’t feel responsible for the Holocaust. He considered himself guilt-free because he personally hadn’t killed any Jews. The rest of the country pretty much felt the same way.
It wasn’t until he wrote down a list of all his sins and realized he’d been a Christian fraud rather than a true, Bible believing Christian that he was able to see the truth. He’s written this book because he sees the same kind of thing happening in America.
One of the main points the author makes and one that many people don’t realize is that Nazis are not right wing Fascists. The name of the party was National Socialism. Nazis are radical, left-wing socialists. They hold a philosophy similar to that of the sadly misnamed ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) in this country which was founded by a communist and which is trying its hardest to disconnect Americans from their history, their heritage, and their traditions. The ACLU works diligently to undermine anything to do with God and His moral absolutes. The Nazis also denied God and went to great lengths to remove Him from all facets of society. The ACLU does the same while promoting itself as upholding democracy and freedom.
The Nazis had godless judges who made the law subject to Nazi ideology. Here in America we have godless judges who are also pushing God aside and violating our Constitution by removing prayer from our schools, making abortion legal, and working to make homosexual marriage a civil right among other perverse concepts.
Children were a big target of the Nazis as they are in this country. Control how young people are taught and you can control the world. That’s why the Nazis insisted all children attend public school. In this country as well, the schools have taken control of our kids’ education and now show little desire to consult with parents. Even more alarming, various courts have upheld the rights of the schools over those of the parents. If you think the Nazis used biased textbooks, you should check out the texts they’re using in a public school near you, particularly in science and history.
The Terri Schiavo case is another example of America following a Nazi-like path. A judge condemned Terri Schiavo to die a slow and torturous death by dehydration and starvation. Hitler gave orders right after the beginning of the war that allowed the Nazis to murder hundreds of thousands of people they considered unfit to live because they were of no use to society. This euthanasia was just the beginning of the slippery slope leading to the Holocaust. Even now Oregon and other states have instituted policies of euthanasia and assisted suicide.
The author covers lots of other similarities between America and the Nazis. He talks about the corruption of the U.N., the push for a North American Union, how Israel fits into the picture, and the rise of liars and lying throughout our country and our government among other interesting topics. Free societies can only exist when they’re based on truth which is why America has prospered for so long. That truth is being trampled on all the time. It was the mindset of Germany that allowed Hitler into power. DEFEATING THE TOTALITARIAN LIE gives fair warning so something similar won’t happen here.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Allah vs God
We’re often told that the God of the Bible and Allah are the same, that Christians and Muslims worship the same God. I even saw recently where some British clergyman announced it would be a good idea for Christians to use the name Allah in the spirit of tolerance and friendship, since there’s no difference.
This idea, of course, is utter nonsense.
The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob has many qualities as outlined throughout the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. He’s good, just, merciful, loving, and full of grace. He’s all powerful and all-present. God cannot learn since He knows all things nor can He lie. And best of all, God keeps His promises and delights in doing so. We can count on Him in all things.
Allah, the god of the Muslims is capricious. No one knows what he’ll do which means Muslims have no real assurance of salvation. One Muslim descendent of Muhammad once said that even if he had one foot in Paradise, he still couldn’t be sure that Allah would let him in. You may do a ton of good works, you can live your entire life with a Mother Teresa-like selflessness, but in the end there’s still no guarantee you’ll get into Allah's heaven.
Sadly, the one and only sure way to enter Paradise is to die wielding the sword for Allah against the infidel. It’s no wonder there’s a waiting list to become a suicide bomber!
And speaking of heaven, isn’t it strange that the rewards promised to Muslims like endless sex with dozens of virgins and all the wine you can drink are considered sins and highly condemned on earth. Talk about flip-floppng standards!
Allah is known for having 99 names. Some of them, however, are downright Satanic. Allah is called The Greatest of All Deceivers, The Lord of the Dawn (or Morning Star which is used to refer to Lucifer in Isaiah 14), The Humiliater, and The Most Proud One among others.
Here's another reason Allah can’t be the same as the God of the Bible -- Muslims fiercely deny that Jesus was the son of God. It's written right on roof of the famous Dome of the Rock mosque in Jerusalem where it says 'there is no god but Allah and he has no son'. After being rejected by the Jews, Muhammad waited until he grew strong enough and then returned to slaughter them all. The Koran reflects his hatred of Jews and Christians throughout and is in many ways a reaction to them. Why else would the Koran keep repeating that God has no son? And why else do Muslims continually shout Allah Akbar, which means ‘Allah is greater than’. Greater than what? The God of the Jews and Christians, of course. As Shakespeare might say, methinks they protest too much.
The God of the Bible is also a jealous God. Oprah got very turned off by that quality when she was in her twenties; it’s part of what led her down the new age path. Jealousy has gotten a bad rap. Although it can be, it's not necessarily an irrational, knee-jerk reaction that results in crazy behavior with no ties to logic or reality. Jealousy in this case means being vigilant in guarding something you care about. We should all be on our knees thanking God for being jealous of us when we don’t deserve it. Jealousy means He cares. Jealousy means He wants our love and reverence all to Himself. And why shouldn’t He have it? After all, He’s the one who created us. We can maybe understand this better using marriage as an example -- who wants a spouse who doesn't care what we do or who we see? No matter what they might say otherwise, we wouldn't think much of the level of their affection.
The Bible tells us that God loved us so much He sent His only begotten son to die for us to pay for our sins so that we might spend eternity with Him. All we have to do is believe in Jesus and obey His commands.
Indeed, Allah of the Koran and Jehovah God of the Bible are nothing alike.
This idea, of course, is utter nonsense.
The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob has many qualities as outlined throughout the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. He’s good, just, merciful, loving, and full of grace. He’s all powerful and all-present. God cannot learn since He knows all things nor can He lie. And best of all, God keeps His promises and delights in doing so. We can count on Him in all things.
Allah, the god of the Muslims is capricious. No one knows what he’ll do which means Muslims have no real assurance of salvation. One Muslim descendent of Muhammad once said that even if he had one foot in Paradise, he still couldn’t be sure that Allah would let him in. You may do a ton of good works, you can live your entire life with a Mother Teresa-like selflessness, but in the end there’s still no guarantee you’ll get into Allah's heaven.
Sadly, the one and only sure way to enter Paradise is to die wielding the sword for Allah against the infidel. It’s no wonder there’s a waiting list to become a suicide bomber!
And speaking of heaven, isn’t it strange that the rewards promised to Muslims like endless sex with dozens of virgins and all the wine you can drink are considered sins and highly condemned on earth. Talk about flip-floppng standards!
Allah is known for having 99 names. Some of them, however, are downright Satanic. Allah is called The Greatest of All Deceivers, The Lord of the Dawn (or Morning Star which is used to refer to Lucifer in Isaiah 14), The Humiliater, and The Most Proud One among others.
Here's another reason Allah can’t be the same as the God of the Bible -- Muslims fiercely deny that Jesus was the son of God. It's written right on roof of the famous Dome of the Rock mosque in Jerusalem where it says 'there is no god but Allah and he has no son'. After being rejected by the Jews, Muhammad waited until he grew strong enough and then returned to slaughter them all. The Koran reflects his hatred of Jews and Christians throughout and is in many ways a reaction to them. Why else would the Koran keep repeating that God has no son? And why else do Muslims continually shout Allah Akbar, which means ‘Allah is greater than’. Greater than what? The God of the Jews and Christians, of course. As Shakespeare might say, methinks they protest too much.
The God of the Bible is also a jealous God. Oprah got very turned off by that quality when she was in her twenties; it’s part of what led her down the new age path. Jealousy has gotten a bad rap. Although it can be, it's not necessarily an irrational, knee-jerk reaction that results in crazy behavior with no ties to logic or reality. Jealousy in this case means being vigilant in guarding something you care about. We should all be on our knees thanking God for being jealous of us when we don’t deserve it. Jealousy means He cares. Jealousy means He wants our love and reverence all to Himself. And why shouldn’t He have it? After all, He’s the one who created us. We can maybe understand this better using marriage as an example -- who wants a spouse who doesn't care what we do or who we see? No matter what they might say otherwise, we wouldn't think much of the level of their affection.
The Bible tells us that God loved us so much He sent His only begotten son to die for us to pay for our sins so that we might spend eternity with Him. All we have to do is believe in Jesus and obey His commands.
Indeed, Allah of the Koran and Jehovah God of the Bible are nothing alike.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Bible Version Trends
In NEW AGE BIBLE VERSIONS: An Exhaustive Documentation Exposing the Message, Men, and Manuscripts Moving Mankind to the Antichrist’s One World Religion, the author, G.A. Riplinger, lists 12 trends that she sees occurring in the new translations (NIV, NASB, etc.) as opposed to the venerable KJV. The things she points out may be subtle, but they definitely give you something to think about!
Here’s a brief survey of the first six trends. (I’ll cover the other six trends another time).
1). One tendency of the new translations is to soften the definition of what’s right and wrong, thus leaving more wiggle room for people to interpret the scriptures in a more humanistic, liberal way. The NASB uses the word immorality instead of fornication in a myriad of places including Rom 1:29, 1 Cor 5:1, 1 Cor 6:13, Eph 5:3, Rev 2:14, Rev. 9:21, and Rev. 17:2 among others. Immorality is defined as the state or quality of being immoral (not moral) which is a lot more nebulous than calling it fornication, the word the King James version uses, which means illicit sexual intercourse on the part of an unmarried person. The NASB also takes the KJV term whoremonger which is a man given to whoring which is again unlawful sexual intercourse and translates it as immoral person or immoral men (as in 1 Tim 1:10, Rev. 21:8, and Rev. 22:15).
2). A second trend is to take out or soften the idea of holiness. ‘Holy men’ becomes simply ‘men’ in 2 Pet 1:21 and men are ‘equipped’ or ‘mature’ rather than ‘perfected’ (Eph 4:12 and 13, Heb 13:21, 1 Cor 2:6).
3). The new versions tend to blur the line when it comes to showing that salvation brings spiritual riches like faith, mercy, and good works and not necessarily material wealth. Compare the NIV translation of Prov 21:21 -- ‘finds life, prosperity’ -- with the KJV translation which says ‘findeth life, righteousness’. Jeremiah 29:11 as famously stated in the KJV says “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace’ comes across very differently when you say ‘I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you’ as the NIV does In 1 Tim 6:6, the KJV says ‘Godliness with contentment is great gain’ as opposed to ‘godliness actually is a means of great gain’ in the new versions which again hints at material rewards. It's certainly much easier to preach the ‘prosperity gospel’ using the new translations.
4). The new versions feed the hardheartedness which will characterize the last days. These versions omit Matt 5:44 ‘do good to them that hate you’ and also Matt 11:26 ‘ But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.’ The KJV says ‘do violence to no man’ (Luke 3:14), but this becomes ‘don’t extort money’ in the new versions. Instead of ‘despisers of those that are good’ (2 Tim 3:3), the new versions have ‘haters of good’. Drunkenness in the sense of sobriety also goes missing. Instead, the new versions translate ‘sober’ and ‘sobriety’ as sensible, temperate, self-restraint, discreetly, and prudent.
5). Honesty seems to have become more of an irrelevant concept in the new versions. ‘Thou shalt not bear false witness’ from Romans 13:9 is completely omitted. The word ‘honest’ instead becomes ‘honorable’ or ‘excellent’ (i.e. Phil 4:8, 1 Pet 2:12) while ‘dishonesty’ in the KJV becomes ‘shame’ (2 Cor 4:2) and ‘deceit’ becomes ‘error’ (1 Thess 2:3).
6). The new versions subtly feed men’s self-esteem, thus giving fuel to the idea that men are proud and lovers of their own selves. The KJV tells us ‘not to please ourselves’ while the new versions have us ‘not just please ourselves’ (Rom 15:1). Somehow the latter statement doesn't pack the same Biblical punch. In 1 Pet 3:3 we have ‘whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning’ vs ‘let not your adornment be merely external.’ That qualifier (merely) makes a lot of difference.
Bottom line: it certainly behooves all of us to contrast and compare the newer versions to the KJV, especially when it comes to Bible study.
Here’s a brief survey of the first six trends. (I’ll cover the other six trends another time).
1). One tendency of the new translations is to soften the definition of what’s right and wrong, thus leaving more wiggle room for people to interpret the scriptures in a more humanistic, liberal way. The NASB uses the word immorality instead of fornication in a myriad of places including Rom 1:29, 1 Cor 5:1, 1 Cor 6:13, Eph 5:3, Rev 2:14, Rev. 9:21, and Rev. 17:2 among others. Immorality is defined as the state or quality of being immoral (not moral) which is a lot more nebulous than calling it fornication, the word the King James version uses, which means illicit sexual intercourse on the part of an unmarried person. The NASB also takes the KJV term whoremonger which is a man given to whoring which is again unlawful sexual intercourse and translates it as immoral person or immoral men (as in 1 Tim 1:10, Rev. 21:8, and Rev. 22:15).
2). A second trend is to take out or soften the idea of holiness. ‘Holy men’ becomes simply ‘men’ in 2 Pet 1:21 and men are ‘equipped’ or ‘mature’ rather than ‘perfected’ (Eph 4:12 and 13, Heb 13:21, 1 Cor 2:6).
3). The new versions tend to blur the line when it comes to showing that salvation brings spiritual riches like faith, mercy, and good works and not necessarily material wealth. Compare the NIV translation of Prov 21:21 -- ‘finds life, prosperity’ -- with the KJV translation which says ‘findeth life, righteousness’. Jeremiah 29:11 as famously stated in the KJV says “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace’ comes across very differently when you say ‘I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you’ as the NIV does In 1 Tim 6:6, the KJV says ‘Godliness with contentment is great gain’ as opposed to ‘godliness actually is a means of great gain’ in the new versions which again hints at material rewards. It's certainly much easier to preach the ‘prosperity gospel’ using the new translations.
4). The new versions feed the hardheartedness which will characterize the last days. These versions omit Matt 5:44 ‘do good to them that hate you’ and also Matt 11:26 ‘ But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.’ The KJV says ‘do violence to no man’ (Luke 3:14), but this becomes ‘don’t extort money’ in the new versions. Instead of ‘despisers of those that are good’ (2 Tim 3:3), the new versions have ‘haters of good’. Drunkenness in the sense of sobriety also goes missing. Instead, the new versions translate ‘sober’ and ‘sobriety’ as sensible, temperate, self-restraint, discreetly, and prudent.
5). Honesty seems to have become more of an irrelevant concept in the new versions. ‘Thou shalt not bear false witness’ from Romans 13:9 is completely omitted. The word ‘honest’ instead becomes ‘honorable’ or ‘excellent’ (i.e. Phil 4:8, 1 Pet 2:12) while ‘dishonesty’ in the KJV becomes ‘shame’ (2 Cor 4:2) and ‘deceit’ becomes ‘error’ (1 Thess 2:3).
6). The new versions subtly feed men’s self-esteem, thus giving fuel to the idea that men are proud and lovers of their own selves. The KJV tells us ‘not to please ourselves’ while the new versions have us ‘not just please ourselves’ (Rom 15:1). Somehow the latter statement doesn't pack the same Biblical punch. In 1 Pet 3:3 we have ‘whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning’ vs ‘let not your adornment be merely external.’ That qualifier (merely) makes a lot of difference.
Bottom line: it certainly behooves all of us to contrast and compare the newer versions to the KJV, especially when it comes to Bible study.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Our Brilliant Founding Fathers
Thanks to the culture’s revisionist teaching both in school and in the media, you will oftentimes hear that our Founding Fathers were not really Christians, that they were mostly deists or that they were a group of secularists, agnostics, and even atheists who didn’t believe in God.
The truth is the vast majority of them openly proclaimed a strong Christian faith.
Not only that, they also strongly believed in the benefits of a Christian education for the new nation because they felt Christian principles provided five distinct benefits for society.
First comes the benefit of a civil society. Civilized behavior is not the result of a good constitution or good laws. No matter how good the laws may be, you can’t have a civil society if people’s manners are universally corrupt. Manners teach you to focus on someone other than yourself and to have concern for other people. If only the tough and the rough survive, then you must govern by brute force and raw power.
Second, the Founders believed any self-governing nation needed self-governing citizens and Christian principles provide the basis for just that. If citizens can’t control themselves, then government control must increase and limited government correspondingly decreases. Civil laws can attempt to regulate and restrain outward conduct, but these laws can’t address the heart. Christianity addresses theft, murder, and all other evil human behaviors before they occur, while they’re only a thought in the heart.
The third benefit of a Christian worldview is good citizenship. Even Benjamin Franklin, who was not a believer in the divinity of Christ, still urged the instruction of youth in the principles of Christianity because he believed those principles laid the foundation for the honorable traits like integrity and honesty that made for good citizenship. It doesn't matter for the purposes of their citizenship if your neighbor doesn’t believe in Christ as long as he conducts himself according to the basic tenets of Christianity including the Ten Commandments and the Golden Rule.
The fourth benefit is the elevation of every kind of knowledge. The Founding Fathers were excellent students of history and they knew that history has consistently shown that the elevation of academic achievements always accompanies the open promotion of Christian principles. Up until very recently science and religion have kept company together and have helped the world progress in amazing ways. Many of the greatest achievements in literature, art, sculpture, music, government, philosophy, science, etc. have occurred at the hands of openly professed Christians. Just think of Milton, Defoe, Calvin, Bach, Handel, Michelangelo, Locke, da Vinci, Newton, Kepler, and Galileo just to name a few.
Fifth and finally, teaching Christian principles results in the cohesive value system necessary for the successful governance of a nation composed of millions of individuals from diverse backgrounds and different ethnic and religious groups. Having a standard value system in society means that everyone, no matter their beliefs, can still know what is right and wrong as far as living in the society goes. This common set of values used to give us national stability and tranquility. Without a firm Christian foundation, our values now flip-flop, often depending on which judge who gets the case.
Since the courts removed Christian principles from schools and the public arena starting in the 1960’s, violent crime has gone up nearly 700 percent. teen pregnancies have increased 700 percent, and academic achievement scores have plummeted. America now consistently places among the last in the world in math and science, and literacy has fallen from the best in the world to 48th -- the worst of any industrial nation.
I sure wish we had more men like the Founding Fathers around today. This country was mightily blessed by God for over two centuries because of the rock-solid foundation they laid. I pray our nation will open its collective eyes and recognize the source of our prosperity before it’s too late. (Check out Wallbuilders for more great info on our Founding Fathers to counteract all the misinformation that’s out there.)
The truth is the vast majority of them openly proclaimed a strong Christian faith.
Not only that, they also strongly believed in the benefits of a Christian education for the new nation because they felt Christian principles provided five distinct benefits for society.
First comes the benefit of a civil society. Civilized behavior is not the result of a good constitution or good laws. No matter how good the laws may be, you can’t have a civil society if people’s manners are universally corrupt. Manners teach you to focus on someone other than yourself and to have concern for other people. If only the tough and the rough survive, then you must govern by brute force and raw power.
Second, the Founders believed any self-governing nation needed self-governing citizens and Christian principles provide the basis for just that. If citizens can’t control themselves, then government control must increase and limited government correspondingly decreases. Civil laws can attempt to regulate and restrain outward conduct, but these laws can’t address the heart. Christianity addresses theft, murder, and all other evil human behaviors before they occur, while they’re only a thought in the heart.
The third benefit of a Christian worldview is good citizenship. Even Benjamin Franklin, who was not a believer in the divinity of Christ, still urged the instruction of youth in the principles of Christianity because he believed those principles laid the foundation for the honorable traits like integrity and honesty that made for good citizenship. It doesn't matter for the purposes of their citizenship if your neighbor doesn’t believe in Christ as long as he conducts himself according to the basic tenets of Christianity including the Ten Commandments and the Golden Rule.
The fourth benefit is the elevation of every kind of knowledge. The Founding Fathers were excellent students of history and they knew that history has consistently shown that the elevation of academic achievements always accompanies the open promotion of Christian principles. Up until very recently science and religion have kept company together and have helped the world progress in amazing ways. Many of the greatest achievements in literature, art, sculpture, music, government, philosophy, science, etc. have occurred at the hands of openly professed Christians. Just think of Milton, Defoe, Calvin, Bach, Handel, Michelangelo, Locke, da Vinci, Newton, Kepler, and Galileo just to name a few.
Fifth and finally, teaching Christian principles results in the cohesive value system necessary for the successful governance of a nation composed of millions of individuals from diverse backgrounds and different ethnic and religious groups. Having a standard value system in society means that everyone, no matter their beliefs, can still know what is right and wrong as far as living in the society goes. This common set of values used to give us national stability and tranquility. Without a firm Christian foundation, our values now flip-flop, often depending on which judge who gets the case.
Since the courts removed Christian principles from schools and the public arena starting in the 1960’s, violent crime has gone up nearly 700 percent. teen pregnancies have increased 700 percent, and academic achievement scores have plummeted. America now consistently places among the last in the world in math and science, and literacy has fallen from the best in the world to 48th -- the worst of any industrial nation.
I sure wish we had more men like the Founding Fathers around today. This country was mightily blessed by God for over two centuries because of the rock-solid foundation they laid. I pray our nation will open its collective eyes and recognize the source of our prosperity before it’s too late. (Check out Wallbuilders for more great info on our Founding Fathers to counteract all the misinformation that’s out there.)
Monday, January 5, 2009
Thoughts on a One World Religion
The Bible talks about planet Earth having a One World Religion in the end times.
In order for this to happen, everyone around the world, all the major religions, will have to get with the program -- or at least play nice with each other.
I don’t see a problem with most religions. The hierarchy of the Catholic Church is already positioning itself for just such a scenario by showing that they’re wiling to work with those of other faiths (except, of course Protestants whose Reformation they can never forgive). Mary, the mother of Christ, will probably be key in this as witnessed by the many sightings of “the blessed Virgin Mary” around the world. The Hindus who have a multitude of gods and the Buddhists who don’t have a god at all will have no trouble with a one world religion. New Agers, secular humanists, and atheists have nothing to lose and will easily fall in line.
The two main groups who won’t go along with this are the Evangelical Christians (those who truly follow the Bible, not the wishy-washy modern Christians willing to compromise to the point of saying there are many ways to get to heaven) and the Muslims.
The Rapture will take care of the Christians. It will probably be readily explained by the New Agers as a massive, but much needed planetary cleansing. How else can the world be rid of those reactionary, intolerant, uncompromising Christians who refused to get along and were thus hindering the dawning of the Age of Aquarius (or whatever the term will be for what they consider the next stage of mankind’s evolution).
As for the Muslims, I think Ezekiel 38 and 39 might provide the answer. According to these chapters, Russia, Turkey, Iran, and other Muslim countries come to attack a peaceful Israel who’s minding her own business and dwelling in the land without walls, bars, or gates. The Bible then tells us what will happen in Ezekiel 39:2 “And I will turn you back, and leave but the sixth part of you.” In other words, God destroys five-sixths of this attacking army.
Not only that, but in the process, God also provides victorious Israel with fuel for seven years from their attackers’ leftover (nuclear) weapons. “And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the handstaves, and the spears, and they shall burn them with fire seven years: So that they shall take no wood out of the field, neither cut down any out of the forests; for they shall burn the weapons with fire: and they shall spoil those that spoiled them, and rob those that robbed them.” (Ezekiel 39: 9-10)
This foolish attack on Israel will likely finish off the Muslims as far as them being a major threat to the world or to a one world religion. Those Muslims who are left can easily find a home with the Catholic Church which has already made overtures to Islam as evidenced by that well-known photo of the pope kissing the Koran.
This is just one of many possible scenarios that could pave the way for a One World Religion.
In order for this to happen, everyone around the world, all the major religions, will have to get with the program -- or at least play nice with each other.
I don’t see a problem with most religions. The hierarchy of the Catholic Church is already positioning itself for just such a scenario by showing that they’re wiling to work with those of other faiths (except, of course Protestants whose Reformation they can never forgive). Mary, the mother of Christ, will probably be key in this as witnessed by the many sightings of “the blessed Virgin Mary” around the world. The Hindus who have a multitude of gods and the Buddhists who don’t have a god at all will have no trouble with a one world religion. New Agers, secular humanists, and atheists have nothing to lose and will easily fall in line.
The two main groups who won’t go along with this are the Evangelical Christians (those who truly follow the Bible, not the wishy-washy modern Christians willing to compromise to the point of saying there are many ways to get to heaven) and the Muslims.
The Rapture will take care of the Christians. It will probably be readily explained by the New Agers as a massive, but much needed planetary cleansing. How else can the world be rid of those reactionary, intolerant, uncompromising Christians who refused to get along and were thus hindering the dawning of the Age of Aquarius (or whatever the term will be for what they consider the next stage of mankind’s evolution).
As for the Muslims, I think Ezekiel 38 and 39 might provide the answer. According to these chapters, Russia, Turkey, Iran, and other Muslim countries come to attack a peaceful Israel who’s minding her own business and dwelling in the land without walls, bars, or gates. The Bible then tells us what will happen in Ezekiel 39:2 “And I will turn you back, and leave but the sixth part of you.” In other words, God destroys five-sixths of this attacking army.
Not only that, but in the process, God also provides victorious Israel with fuel for seven years from their attackers’ leftover (nuclear) weapons. “And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the handstaves, and the spears, and they shall burn them with fire seven years: So that they shall take no wood out of the field, neither cut down any out of the forests; for they shall burn the weapons with fire: and they shall spoil those that spoiled them, and rob those that robbed them.” (Ezekiel 39: 9-10)
This foolish attack on Israel will likely finish off the Muslims as far as them being a major threat to the world or to a one world religion. Those Muslims who are left can easily find a home with the Catholic Church which has already made overtures to Islam as evidenced by that well-known photo of the pope kissing the Koran.
This is just one of many possible scenarios that could pave the way for a One World Religion.
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