Archive for the ‘Christian’ Category
The New Black Panthers, La Raza and the KKK
There are some racial groups around the United States that are promoting racial hatred and bigotry. During the last elections several polling places were haunted by persons of a certain race who carried impact weapons, dressed an in intimidating way and basically did their best to keep people of other races from voting. Racial epithets were used and on occasion even violence was implemented against those with whom they did not agree, either on the basis of opinion or simply because of the color of skin. The new news media, YouTube, has plenty of videos on the subject for those curious enough to take a look. Interestingly enough, the current Attorney General has seen to it that charges against such perpetrators were dropped. Of course, surely it isn’t because they share the same race, is it? Isn’t it time justice were really blind, not hampered by the color of anyone’s skin? A white attorney general dropping similar charges against a white perpetrator of racial hate actions would have been called on the carpet, at best. In fact, we’ve seen this government even go after their own Navy Seals for doing their job and bringing in a terrorist, why do they cut a racist slack when he was doing his best to disrupt the electoral process? Read the rest of this entry »
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People of Faith
“People of Faith” – a term that many in today’s culture bandy about with derision and scorn. They look down on folks who are “people of faith” and turn up their nose at the ideas such folks espouse. And yet, what does the term mean? What are “people of faith”? Are they people who have faith in faith? Are they folks who trust in trust? As far as that goes, who ISN’T a “person of faith”. Even the atheist is a “person of faith” – they have faith that their ideas are right. They have faith in the non-existence of a divine being who will one day ask for an accounting. Each one of us had faith in something or someone. Each one of us expects life to be a certain way and to run by certain rules.
So, what is this with “people of faith’? When it is used in today’s culture, most often it refers to people who believe in God, the Creator. The people who are immersed in our post modern culture looks down on such people because supposedly they are so much more “enlightened” and have a better perspective on life. It is high time we started to use words correctly and to hold others responsible for doing so too. The next time someone looks down their nose at you and says, “You say that because you are a person of faith” – or some such silly “put ‘em in their place” argument – simply smile and respond, “You, too, are a person of faith.” It’s time to reclaim our language – and our culture.
A Complainer Or A Doer?
We all have it within us to complain and criticize. We all have it within us to become an agent for positive change. So the question is – which will we put in practice? The former is far easier than the latter. But in the long run, the latter is SO much better. Which will you have as your epitaph – “A Complainer” or “A Doer”? Someday we must stand before God’s throne and give an account of our life. How much better it would be for us to stand there and say, “I did not like what I saw because it did not match Your Nature – so I did what I could to restore Your order to the world around me.”
Sexual Purity – Christian Dating
Recently a friend posted on Facebook the following question: If a man cannot stay sexually pure while he is single, why would God trust him with someone the Lord really loved? This question generated quite a bit of discussion and a few responses of my own. What follows are the responses I made to the initial question but edited and expanded for the purpose of my blog. I don’t include that written by others, other than the original question.
Knowing my friend and his desire to honor God I knew that the original question is a rhetorical one. So in my first response I summed it up as follows: In other words, if you want a special someone for a wife (or husband) – be a special someone. God takes sexual purity seriously, so should we.
What follows are the rest of my contribution to this thread as well as further amplification and clarification of the theme. Read the rest of this entry »
Some Thoughts On Church Growth
“Church Growth” – it is now the stuff of books and seminars and college courses. Men dedicate their lives to understanding how to achieve this holy grail. Huge temples are built and marketing experts consulted with the goal of being “seeker friendly” and filling the huge hall with crowds of people. Different denominations and congregations find different ways of fulfilling this goal. Rallies and “Crusades” are held to “bring in the sheaves” (although that ancient hymn is not sung anymore by the majority of those seeking “church growth” ).
Over the years I’ve seen “revivals” and “crusades” and “rallies” performed with the intent of bringing growth to the church. And over the years I’ve seen the same people flocking to the “altar call”, time after time after time. Yes, there are some souls reached through mass means. Yes there are some lives transformed. But are they really effective? The last figures I saw for a huge “Crusade” were something less than five percent (if I recall correctly it was less than one percent, but let’s be generous anyway) of the “decisions for Christ” actually resulted in a person who joined in with a local congregation.
Health Care
Growing up on the edge of the Amazon rain forest forms the back ground for a lot of my ideas and thoughts. Having a father and uncle who taught us to be upright and self reliant helped too. We were our own first responders, capable of taking care of any thing common such as a cold, a cut or a fever and even some of the more “exotic” situations such as amoeba, giardia, subcutaneous fly grubs, sand fleas, hookworm and hepatitis A – to name but a few of the things we came across. When a health issue would come we’d use common sense and do what we could to take care of it. Medicine was readily available over the counter at that time. For common problems we had no need of a doctor to tell us “You’ve got amoebas again, take flagyl every day for a week and you’ll get over it.” After you or a family member have had amoebas a few times you know the symptoms and the treatment. Why spend money on a doctor and a lab when they’ll just confirm the obvious? Of course if you’re in a place where the lab technician can’t ID an amoeba to save their soul and the doctor won’t trust your knowledge and the pharmacy won’t sell without a prescription – you’re in a bind. That happened to my mom one time. Soon after we hit the U.S. she came down with classic amoeba symptoms. I’ve no idea how much they spent on doctor and lab – but the lab never could come up with a diagnosis and the doctor wouldn’t prescribe based on another person’s (especially a non-medical professional) experience. So she suffered until she got back home to Brazil, walked into a pharmacy, bought the medicine and was well in a matter of days. We took personal responsibility for our health and actions and sought medical attention when something beyond our capabilities came up.
Favorite Sins
Sin – the wedge that separates man from God. Ever since Adam and Eve went against God’s will there has been a great chasm between God and man. Through Jesus the Christ, God reached out to bridge that gap. And His grace allows us to come into His presence, cleansed by the sacrificial death and resurrection of His Son.
If we walk in the light then we learn to abhor sin. But as humans we all harbor varying degrees of attraction to sin. The big problem is that we also tend to have blind spots. We may say “I don’t smoke and I don’t chew and I don’t date the girls that do.” – but what about less obvious sins? What about that which we allow our minds to dwell on, taking comfort in “well, at least I didn’t DO it!”. And what about those thoughts and attitudes that do not reflect the mind of Christ?
Thoughts on Earth Day
Yesterday, April 22, 2010, “Earth Day” celebrated its 40th anniversary. There were celebrations around the world and all kinds of “Save the Planet!!!” messages on just about every major TV channel of every kind. Folks were bombarded with a message of “humans are the only thing wrong with the planet” and millions bowed at the altar of Gaia, the earth goddess. Read the rest of this entry »
When Justice Is Not Done
When justice is done, it brings joy to the righteous but terror to evildoers. – Proverbs 21:15
Hate evil, love good; maintain justice in the courts. Perhaps the LORD God Almighty will have mercy on the remnant of Joseph. - Amos 5:15
“This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. – Zechariah 7:9
Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. - Matthew 23:23
Why is it that now evil doers do not fear the government, but the righteous do?
Thoughts On Tax Day 2010
“This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.” (Romans 13:6-7)
This is a day in which millions of Americans will be sending in their tax forms. There will also be a lot of groaning, muttering and complaining. There will also be a lot of preaching on how it’s our “Loyal duty” to pay the taxes. Few people I know would claim that we should pay NO tax. MANY people I know believe we are over taxed – and for wasteful purposes. Read the rest of this entry »
