Atheism: Analytic Thinking Results in Qualified Belief, not Disbelief

It has become fashionable to assert that Atheism is simply a lack of belief. Of course position denies the definition of Atheism and skews the meaning of belief. I have included the definitions of these words at the end of the article for reference.

Analytic Thinking Results in Qualified Belief, not Disbelief

Disbelief is the result of "Intuitive″ type of thinking. Intuitive thinking is spontaneous, unreflective thinking which generally results in short, easy, binary answers like "Yes" or "No" to questions.

Belief is the result of "Analytic″ type of thinking. Analytical thinking is careful (suspicious due to skepticism), deliberative and reasoned thinking. Conclusions from this type of thinking result in qualified belief. 

People who initially answer questions in an intuitive mode, which is prone to easy binary answers, will say, "Yes" or "No." But when you engage their analytic traits, they will begin qualifying their response through a process of cognitive thinking or reasoning based upon a body of evidence whether seen or unseen. 

Consequently if an Atheist is going to present an intellectual argument, denying a supreme being or beings, they would be doing so from an analytic perspective which is grounded in qualified belief. Therefore, they too are subject to the same "burden of proof" as those they oppose. Otherwise there is no opposition and their entire argument fails by default. 

The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good. (Psalm 14: 1)

a·the·ism

noun

1. the doctrine or belief that there is no God.

2. disbelief in the existence of a supreme being or beings.

be-lief:

 noun

1. something believed; an opinion or conviction: a belief that the earth is flat.

2. confidence in the truth or existence of something not immediately susceptible to rigorous proof: a statement unworthy of belief.

3. confidence; faith; trust: a child's belief in his parents.

dis-belief:

 noun

1. the inability or refusal to believe or to accept something as true.

Pulpits Are Silent

Jeremiah 5:26-31

For wicked men are found among my people; they lurk like fowlers lying in wait. They set a trap; they catch men. Like a cage full of birds, their houses are full of deceit; therefore they have become great and rich; they have grown fat and sleek. They know no bounds in deeds of evil; they judge not with justice the cause of the fatherless, to make it prosper, and they do not defend the rights of the needy. Shall I not punish them for these things? declares the Lord, and shall I not avenge myself on a nation such as this?” An appalling and horrible thing has happened in the land: the prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule at their direction; my people love to have it so, but what will you do when the end comes?

Despite what the political parties would like you to believe, the problem in America is not the politicians, it is the pulpits. I hate to break the news to you, but most of America’s pulpits are filled with cowardly men unwilling to address the issues that have swept over our country like a tidal wave.

I am about fed-up with what I see. How did we ever get such man-pleasing leaders? All that our fore-fathers held dear is being destroyed before our very eyes and hardly a peep from the pulpit. They don’t want to hear it. It's the pulpiteers that I am talking about. They are concerned with being too harsh, they tell me that “Jesus is in control,” that they are not “called” to fight evil and that "we should pray for our enemies.”

What we need is a return of the Voice of God thundering through the prophets standing in America’s pulpits. Not the prissy purpose driven therapeutic Christianity drivel passing as the Gospel today. Few of the feminized-preachers of the day can hold a candle to those who ushered in The Great Awakening which led to the American Revolution, and the abolition of slavery -- two world-changing events spearheaded by the pulpit.

·         Public schools are destroying the faith of Christian children and the pulpits are silent.

·         Legislation is introduced to remove the rights of parents and the pulpits are silent.

·         Children are taught they came from apes and the pulpits are silent.

·         Millions of children are “medicated” to control their behavior and the pulpits are silent.

·         Gambling is promoted to pay for schools and the pulpit is silent.

·         Precious babies are being murdered in the womb and the pulpits are silent.

·         Planned Parenthood kills babies with our tax dollars and the pulpits are silent.

·         Judges make laws and the pulpits are silent.

·         Tolerance trumps Truth and the pulpits are silent.

·         Sodomy is granted legal protection and the pulpits are silent.

·         The institution of marriage is crumbling and the pulpits are silent.

·         Obama says the Sermon on the Mount justifies gay marriage and the pulpits are silent.

·         Government has replaced God as defender and provider and the pulpits are silent.

·         Faith-based initiatives invite the government into the Church and the pulpits are silent.

·         The IRS muzzles the voice of the Church and the pulpits are silent.

·         Taxes are levied to do the work of the Church and the pulpits are silent.

·         The Church locks arms with compassionate-conservativism and the pulpits are silent.

·         Children’s service agencies separate family members and the pulpits are silent.

·         Self-help books replace the Bible and the pulpits are silent.

·         A Purpose Driven Life is elevated above dying to self and the pulpits are silent.

·         Leaders say Christians and Muslims worship the same God and the pulpits are silent.

·         The Constitution is ignored and the pulpits are silent.

·         Pagans pray to open a session of Congress and the pulpits are silent.

·         Our elected officials lie and steal and the pulpits are silent.

·         Private property is stolen by government and the pulpits are silent.

·         Mother Earth is protected more than Father God is defended and the pulpits are silent.

·         Illegal aliens over-run our borders and the pulpits are silent.

·         The entertainment industry celebrates debauchery and the pulpits are silent.

Learning from Young Atheists

Learning from Young Atheists

What Turned Them off Christianity

By: Eric Metaxas|Published: July 1, 2013

 

Have you ever asked a young atheist why he or she doesn’t believe? Well, one researcher did. And the answers may surprise you.

 

It’s something most Christian parents worry about: You send your kids off to college and when they come back, you find they’ve lost their faith. The prospect of this happening is why many parents nudge their kids towards Christian colleges, or at least schools with a strong Christian presence on campus.

But in many ways, the damage has been done long before our children set foot on campus. That’s the message from a recent article in the Atlantic Monthly.

My friend Larry Taunton of the Fixed Point Foundation set out to find out why so many young Christians lose their faith in college. He did this by employing a method I don’t recall being used before: He asked them.

The Fixed Point Foundation asked members of the Secular Students Associations on campuses around the nation to tell them about their “journey to unbelief.” Taunton was not only surprised by the level of response but, more importantly, about the stories he and his colleagues heard.

Instead of would-be Richard Dawkins’, the typical respondent was more like Phil, a student Taunton interviewed. Phil had grown up in church; he had even been the president of his youth group. What drove Phil away wasn’t the lure of secular materialism or even Christian moral teaching. And he was specifically upset when his church changed youth pastors.

Whereas his old youth pastor “knew the Bible” and made Phil “feel smart” about his faith even when he didn’t have all the answers, the new youth pastor taught less and played more.

Phil’s loss of faith coincided with his church’s attempt to ingratiate itself to him instead of challenging him. According to Taunton, Phil’s story “was on the whole typical of the stories we would hear from students across the country.”

These kids had attended church but “the mission and message of their churches was vague,” and manifested itself in offering “superficial answers to life’s difficult questions.” The ministers they respected were those “who took the Bible seriously,” not those who sought to entertain them or be their “buddy.”

Taunton also learned that, for many kids, their journey to unbelief was an emotional, not just an intellectual one.

Taunton’s findings are counter-intuitive. Much of what passes for youth ministry these days is driven by a morbid fear of boring our young charges. As a result, a lot of time is spent trying to devise ways to entertain them.

The rest of the time is spent worrying about whether the Christian message will turn kids off. But as Taunton found, young people, like the not-so-young, respect people with conviction—provided they know what they’re talking about.

Taunton talks about his experiences with the late Christopher Hitchens, who, in their debates, refrained from attacking him. When asked why, Hitchens replied, “Because you believe it.”

I don’t know what that says about Hitchens’ other Christian debate partners, but it is a potent reminder that playing down the truth claims of the Christian faith doesn’t work. People don’t believe those they don’t respect.

Here’s something that one of the students told Larry Taunton; he said, “Christianity is something that if you really believed it, it would change your life and you would want to change [the lives] of others. I haven’t seen too much of that.”

Folks, that’s pretty sobering. This puts the ball in our court. Are we living lives that show our children that we actually believe what we say we believe? And here’s another question—do we actually believe it? I have to say, as a parent I’m taking this very seriously. If possible, join me in reading Taunton’s excellent article. Come to BreakPoint.org  for other resources to equip young adults to contend for the faith.

My Apology to Mormon Readers

Mike Adams | Jun 05, 2013

Dear Stacey:

You have written demanding an apology for my recent characterization of the Mormon religion as "non-Christian." I am happy to write a public letter of apology to you and to the countless Mormon readers who responded negatively to my characterization.

I am sorry that so many of my Mormon readers have brazenly accused me of ignorance of their religion and suggested that I read the Book of Mormon. I am sorry that they were unaware that I read the Book of Mormon back in 2006.

I am sorry that the science of genetics has refuted claims made in the Book of Mormon concerning the relationship between Native Americans and Semitic people. These refutations undermine the entire historical premise of the Book of Mormon.

I am also sorry that while archeological discovery supports the claims of the Bible it clearly does not support the claims of the Book of Mormon. Battles that were supposed to have occurred in specific locations in North America simply never took place. The archeological evidence just isn't there.

I am sorry about the plagiarism of the Holy Bible that runs through the Book of Mormon. I am sorry that Mormons cannot see that Joseph Smith's refusal to reveal the golden tablets is strong evidence of their nonexistence. The heavy plagiarism in the Book of Mormon puts the lie to the rest of the story of Smith, the former seeker of the lost treasures of Captain Kidd.

I am sorry that my Mormon readers have put all their eggs in one basket by constantly writing to me quoting Matthew 7:16. So I am sorry that I must now apply that verse to the very first Mormon.

I am sorry that among the 33 well-documented plural wives of Joseph Smith, there were close to a dozen unions in which the wife was already married to another man.

I am sorry that in his lifetime, Joseph Smith married four different pairs of sisters. I am sorry that Joseph Smith married a young woman and also married her mother.

I am sorry that some of Joseph Smith's marriages were the result of religious coercion secured only after he told the prospective bride that marrying him would ensure the bride’s place in heaven. I am sorry that Smith also coerced teenagers into marrying him by promising their families a place in heaven.

I am sorry that Joseph Smith kept fourteen-year-old Helen Mar Kimball from marrying her sweetheart Horace Whitney because he wanted to marry the teenager instead. I am sorry that Joseph Smith also asked Helen’s father Heber C. Kimball to give him his wife.

I am sorry that before he eventually married Helen, Joseph Smith gave her a 24-hour deadline to give in to his offer of a place in heaven. I am sorry that two years after the death of Joseph Smith, Helen married her old sweetheart Horace Whitney. I am sorry that the marriage between Helen and Horace was only temporary because Helen was already "sealed" by marriage to Joseph Smith for eternity. I am sorry that Horace Whitney was "sealed" to an already dead Mormon woman before his “temporary” marriage to Helen.

I am sorry that after her mother died, Joseph Smith approached teenager Lucy Walker with a command that she marry Smith with the threat of eternal damnation as the punishment if she refused. I am sorry that the year before Joseph Smith died, he said the following to Lucy: “I will give you until tomorrow to decide (whether to marry me). If you reject this message the gate will be closed forever against you.”

I am sorry that the Book of Mormon, which Joseph Smith claims to have transcribed from the golden plates given to him by the Angel Moroni, says the following: “Behold, David and Solomon truly had many wives and concubines, which thing was abominable before me, Saith the Lord.” (Jacob 2:24).

I am sorry that Joseph Smith said the following shortly before his death: "(W)hen I get my kingdom, I shall present it to my father, so that he may obtain kingdom among kingdom, and it will exalt him in glory. He will then take a higher exaltation, and I will take his place, and thereby become exalted myself.”

I am sorry that Smith’s polytheism is not consistent with John 14:6. I am also sorry that since these are the words of Christ, polytheism cannot be Christian. Moreover, I am sorry, my Mormon friends, but the the words of Christ trump the words of Joseph Smith who will never be God.

I am sorry that Mormonism teaches that Christ was not there in the beginning, that god was just a man who became God by following a moral code he did not create, and that we may all become gods by following the same moral code that predates the existence of Jesus. I am sorry that the theological mess caused by Joseph Smith is irreconcilable with the teachings of the Holy Bible.

Finally, I am sorry that my Mormon readers have unfairly accused me of criticizing Mormonism without doing my homework. But I am glad I did. Now I understand the significance of Galatians 1:6-9.

The Magician's Twin - The Case Against Scientism - C.S. Lewis

1st Pres Colorado Springs votes to leave PC(USA)

By Michael Gryboski , Christian Post Reporter

April 23, 2012|5:01 pm

The largest Colorado congregation of the Presbyterian Church (USA) has voted to leave the denomination over theological differences.

First Presbyterian Church of Colorado Springs voted Sunday morning to leave the Pueblo Presbytery of PC(USA) in large part due to the denomination's decision in 2010 to allow the ordination of non-celibate homosexuals.

Of the 1,769 congregants of the 4,000-strong church present for the vote, 1,689 members voted in favor of dismissal from PC(USA) to join the recently created Evangelical Covenant Order of Presbyterians.

Ronald D. Anderson, executive presbyter for the Pueblo Presbytery, told The Christian Post that he was not surprised by the result of the vote.

"I was not surprised at the overwhelming vote because of the earlier 'straw vote' and the extensive process the church has enacted since to address the questions of people who had unanswered questions," said Anderson.

When asked if he felt that there might be a large percentage of the members who did not vote that would have supported remaining in PC(USA), Anderson stated that he had "no indication that this was the case."

First Presbyterian is one of many PC(USA) congregations across the country that have voted to leave the mainline Protestant denomination due to the decision at the 219th General Assembly of PC(USA) to allow presbyteries to decide to ordain non-celibate homosexuals to church positions.

Amendment 10A, which amended the PC(USA) rules to allow for this, was passed by a vote of the presbyteries with 373 yeas, 323 nays, and 4 abstentions. Pueblo Presbytery voted nay.

In the months that followed, efforts organized by the Fellowship of Presbyterians, a conservative group within PC(USA), led to the creation of a new reformed church body known as the Evangelical Covenant Order of Presbyterians (ECO).

Last month, as part of the process First Presbyterian was taking for dismissal, leaders at the church asked the congregation to vote on whether or not the church should continue to consider leaving PC(USA).

In that vote, also held on a Sunday, 88 percent of the members approved the continuation of the process for dismissal. In an interview with CP not long after that vote, Alison Murray, leader of staff for First Presbyterian Church, explained that there were many reasons connected to "the decline in the PC(USA)" that prompted members to want to join ECO.

"What we are trying to do is make an adaptive change that would keep us engaged and relevant as a faith community in today's culture," said Murray.

"We don't feel that the PC(USA), the way its structured, is really supporting the local churches in their outreach Kingdom building efforts. So really that is what this is about."

"Under Presbyterian polity only the presbytery can dismiss a congregation," said Anderson, regarding what step in the dismissal process would come next.

"The congregation's request to be dismissed to ECO will come before the presbytery at its next meeting, which is June 16th."

Vandals smash windows at Mars Hill Church in southeast Portland

 "Hate Crime"?

PORTLAND, OR (KPTV) -
Vandals smashed nine windows with rocks at Mars Hill Church in southeast Portland overnight and a group claimed responsibility in an email sent to FOX 12.

Authentic Love

“Authentic Love” -  Phil. 1:9-10

Hi, I'm Crawford Loritts with a Legacy Moment.

Some years ago, I had a disturbing conversation with a pastor. Without going into all the details, he told me of some families in his church who were breaking the law. This was not questionable stuff or gray area things, it was flat out wrong, no question about it. He said if the police came, they would be in big trouble.

I asked him if he or the other leaders in his church confronted them. I was fully expecting for him to say “yes.” His response made my jaw drop. He said, “We’ve chosen the law of love in this case. We’re looking past their behavior and affirming them as people.”

Now listen, love never ever endorses what is wrong. That’s not love. Love never says, “I’m going to ignore the wrong you’re doing, the self-destructive behavior, and the poor testimony this is projecting because I just want to affirm you as an individual.” No, true love cares enough to overcome fear of confrontation and speak the truth.

Philippians chapter 1, verses 9 and 10, really underscore this principle; “And this I pray that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment so that you may approve the things that are excellent in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ.”

Did you hear those words? God is calling us to operate from informed love. He says “real knowledge and discernment,” not just sentiment, not just a warm feeling. This type of authentic love produces Christ likeness. He says right here, “so you may approve the things that are excellent in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ.”

Here’s what I want you to remember today. Love is more than just a feeling. It is surrounded by knowledge and discernment, and it will never, ever endorse what is wrong.

Changing Culture

By T.M. Moore

Christians are rightly concerned about the state of culture in our day. The fear is that, as the culture continues its decline into mere sensuality and self-indulgence, it will drag our children and us down with it.

Which makes it appropriate to ask, Are you changing culture, or is culture changing you?

For the followers of Christ there is no middle ground. We're either actively engaged in bringing the reality of God's Kingdom to light amid the cultural contexts of our lives, or we're allowing those cultural contexts to dim or obscure the light of Christ. Either the light of Christ in us is shining in the culture, or the bushel basket of the culture is turned upside-down over our heads.

All of us spend our lives in a variety of cultural settings. Our Personal Mission Fields unfold within the various cultural spheres in which we live and work. Every cultural setting is characterized by norms, protocols, and practices which embody the values and priorities of those spheres. What messages do the cultural spheres of our lives proclaim?

The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it. Thus, we who are ambassadors of Christ and His Kingdom have a responsibility to bring the manifestation of that Kingdom to light wherever we occupy space for the Lord. Our Kingdom citizenship should make a difference - in our homes, schools, work places, communities, and the like – showing that we are there, living for Christ and seeking to take every thought captive and make it obedient to Him (Matt. 5:13-16; 2 Cor. 10:3-5).

The way things ought to be

Changing the culture in which we travel is a high calling and ongoing task. Can you envision ways the cultural arenas of your life would be different if they were wholly devoted to Christ and His Kingdom? If things were more the way we think they ought to be, what would that look like?

Cultivating a vision for transforming culture is the starting-place for this work, and Scripture is the place to turn for nurturing such a vision. By learning the Biblical meaning of such concepts as beauty, goodness, and truth, and then by envisioning the outworking of those concepts in our various cultural spheres, we can begin to get an idea of where we might establish goals and objectives for our own work in changing the culture around us.

"Culture" is not some abstract, far-off idea which is only amenable to shaping by academics and "cultural types." We are all involved in culture, all the time - using it, making it, and either shaping or being shaped by it. We can't escape culture, and we must not allow culture to define the values and practices of our lives. Instead, we need to take up the challenge of changing culture, in as many ways as we can to reflect the beauty of Christ, the goodness of God, and the truth of His Word.

If our culture is not the way we think it ought to be, then we can do something about that.

Culture - along with the people in our lives - is where the cutting edge of the Kingdom engages the world, through each of our lives. God is determined to bring His Kingdom to light on earth as it is in heaven, and we are the tools of His Spirit for sculpting, crafting, and creating a new world for the glory of God.

We don’t have to let the culture change us or our children. If we will sharpen our culture-making skills and take up the daily challenge of shaping the world, we might begin to see our culture start to reflect the reality of Christ's rule.

Christians are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. These are transforming attributes which bring wholesomeness and goodness to the world. Believe this, and act on it, and you may be surprised to see what God is able to do through you in bringing the light of Christ to your world.

If we’re not changing the culture in which we participate, shaping it in the ways of beauty, goodness, and truth, then we’re probably being shaped by the culture according to its own vision of the way things ought to be.

Change the culture, or be changed by it. You’re making that choice every day.

Can it be Christianity without the Church?

 By Chuck Colson|Published Date: March 26, 2012

This BreakPoint commentary was published October 1992.

Americans today hold a paradoxical attitude toward religion: Polls show a rise in people's interest in religion--but at the same time there's a decline in church membership.

This appears to be a contradiction.

But the explanation is simple: A lot of people think they can have religion without the church. The baby-boomers have given up their beads and guitars, but they still harbor a deep distrust toward institutions--including organized religion. 81 percent say they can find their own religious truth apart from the church.

Many Christians--especially evangelicals--see their faith primarily in individualistic terms, as the gospel of "Jesus and me."

It's true, of course, that the gospel begins by restoring our relationship with God. But that's only the beginning.
Listen to what Jesus said about the church. In Matthew 16, He asked his disciples, "Who do you think I am?" Peter burst out, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." It was a confession of faith inspired directly by the Holy Spirit.

But notice Jesus' response. He did not say, "Peter, that's wonderful. Go your way and have an abundant life." No, immediately Jesus announced that He would establish His church--a new society of people who share Peter's confession.

What does it mean to be part of this new society? Do we just join the neighborhood church?

No, when we become Christians, we first become part of what theologians call the church universal: the whole body of believers throughout the ages and across the globe, of every nation and color.

This universal body is broken down, however, into smaller units--the church particular. This is where the work of the church is done: preaching the Word, making disciples, and administering the sacraments.

You can think of it like an army. At first, army recruits are an untrained mass. Then they are clustered into training units to learn the skills of warfare. Later they are stationed into divisions. Finally, when the army is fully deployed, it is able to carry out its task.

It's the same way with God's people. Every Christian is a member of the church universal, which reigns invisibly in the hearts of all true believers. But to make that church visible to the world, we unite with other Christians into smaller units.

That means, for example, a local congregation; it may also include command structures, like denominations; it may include special training forces, like Prison Fellowship, to equip the church's fighting units.

Once we see this bigger picture, it becomes obvious that membership in a local church is not optional; it's the very essence of what it means to be a Christian.

This has to be the answer we give to those who say it doesn't matter whether you belong to a church--the advice we give to friends who are church-hopping. As I write in my new book The Body, a casual attitude toward the church is the central reason we Christians have so little influence in society.

Sucked in by the individualism of the age, we undermining the very instrument God has chosen to witness His kingdom to the world.

Outrageous Choice

Religious Freedom or Healthcare? By: Chuck Colson | Published: February 2, 2012

I’ve told you that the Obama Administration is intentionally restricting religious freedom. I’ve told you we are in danger of losing the right to exercise our faith in public.

Well, maybe I’ve been too understated. The attack is relentless.

Just recently, the Obama Administration announced that the Affordable Healthcare Act, otherwise known as ObamaCare, requires that employers pay for contraception, including abortifacients, and that Catholic institutions are not exempt from this requirement.

Well, Catholic Bishop David Zubik of Pittsburgh and other bishops are blowing the trumpets on the ramparts. And my hat’s off to them. They see the Administration’s actions for what they truly are.

In an open letter released last week, Zubik said that, “Kathleen Sebelius and through her, the Obama administration, have said ‘To [H-] with You’ to the Catholic faithful of the United States. To [H-] with your religious beliefs, to [H-] with your religious liberty, to [H-] with your freedom of conscience.” I’ll leave it to your imagination what the H- stands for.

In the administration’s twisted way of thinking, contraception is “preventive care” that helps prevent illness in the same way that cholesterol, high blood pressure and diabetes screening do — even though pregnancy is the means by which life is perpetuated and the species’ existence continued.

Even worse is the willful refusal to accommodate the beliefs of the nation’s largest religious body.

Sibelius defended the decision as “striking the appropriate balance between respecting religious freedom and increasing access to important preventive services.” This is the same Kathleen Sibelius who told the crowd of abortion supporters at a NARAL fund-raiser, “we are at war” over the “pregnancy prevention” issue.

This the same Kathleen Sibelius whose department has issued hundreds of waivers for plans that fail to meet other Health and Human Service standards, including those offered by McDonalds. “Appropriate balance,” my foot!

Every Christian, not just Catholics, should be outraged by the Obama Administration’s decision. The regulations represent a move to define religious liberty in the narrowest possible terms. As one wag put it, the exemptions in these regulations are so narrow Jesus would not have been able to get through them.

Given the Catholic presence in areas such as health care, education and other social services, this is folly. Think of the public serves that won’t be delivered to people in need.  And, Catholics are being asked to make a choice no Christian should ever be forced to make: heeding your conscience or serving your neighbor.

Folks, we’ve got to stand with all Christians and protest the Administration’s outrageous assault on religious liberty. Our religious freedom is in grave peril. Today, now, I want you to go to BreakPoint.org. We will link you to Bishop Zubik’s letter. I want you to read it and then send it to everyone you know.

And then today, as well, go sign the Manhattan Declaration. Again, we’ll link you to it. In the coming months, you will be hearing much more from us on efforts to defend life, marriage, and religious liberty, for we have no time to lose.

According to the Scriptures

Legacy Moment | Crawford Loritts
1 Cor. 15:3-4

Recently I had a conversation with some friends. We were talking about how important it is to believe that the Bible is the Word of God, that it’s the final authority for how we live and what we do with our life. It’s without error. Not everyone who claims to be a Christian believes that. In the course of the conversation, I made reference to a seminary I know about. They teach people how to be preachers and Bible teachers, and they release people to Christian service. But a few faculty members are post-Christian. They would say they’ve grown beyond the need to believe that the Bible is the Word of God. They embrace other teachings, even though they might contradict the Bible. They’re post-Christian.

Well, it’s not popular to say this in our relativistic culture, but not everybody can be right. The claims of Jesus Christ are not merely warm sentiments and optional perspectives. The Gospel is not advice to be considered, it is objective Truth to be believed.

That was the Apostle Paul’s passion when he penned these words in 1 Corinthians chapter 15 verses 3 and 4; “…I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.”
Notice: Paul appeals to authority, and his appeal to authority is nothing less than to the Word of God. He says, “I’m not giving you ideas, I’m not giving you my truth, I’m not giving you my insight. What I’m telling you is anchored to the Truth.”

Here’s what I want you to remember today. It matters a great deal whether or not we believe the Bible is the Word of God. It’s the difference between a life-changing message and merely good-but-impotent advice.

Celebrate Halloween or Reformation Day?

October 31st is celebrated as Halloween but it is also marked as the day that Martin Luther nailed his Ninety-Five Theses to the door of the All Saints' Church in Wittenberg Germany.

It was October 31, 1517 that marked the official beginning of the Protestant Reformation. However, several men such as John Wycliffe and John Huss laid much of the groundwork that helped inspire Martin Luther to challenge the papacy.

October is observed as Protestant Reformation month, which serves as an opportunity to better understand the people, issues and the influence the Reformation had on our society. I encourage everyone to take some time to study and reflect upon this highly influential event. I’m sure that in doing so you will truly find cause for celebration on this, and every other, October.

Christians need no longer question the observance of Halloween by trying to repackage or “Christianize” the occasion. Indeed, that was taken care of for us by our LORD through His workman, Martin Luther in 1517. Share this nugget of little known history with others and take this Halloween Reformation Day as a reminder and opportunity to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with those who may not know that their Hope rests in Him alone.

Secret Disciples

“Some of you who love the Lord have never yet told anybody. You are secret Christians—you hide away behind pillar and post. Oh, but God’s Word is very sweet to you, you say, as you eat your morsel of bread in the corner! So it is, but you would have another and a greater sweetness if you would come out and avow that you love the Lord! I am sure you would. In fact, there is many a child of God who never enjoys the full sweetness of religion because he has not had the courage to confess Christ before men. I wish that some of you halting ones, you who are much-afraid and fearing, would obey the whole of the Gospel. You know the Gospel—‘He who believes and is baptized shall be saved.’ ‘With the heart man believes unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.’”—1893, Sermon #2340

Civility Matters

Our oldest daughter and I attended a town-hall style forum titled, The definition of marriage and civil unions as they relate to couples’ sexual orientation. This forum was sponsored by The Wyoming Association of Churches as part of the Civility Matters Campaign in conjunction with the University of Wyoming.

It was interesting as well as civil. Some good points were made on both sides of the issue but as is often the case in discussions of this nature there wasn’t enough time and when the floor was opened to audience participation the focus was lost, for the most part.

The most interesting question asked was from a member of The Wyoming Association of Churches; he was also an organizer of the forum and a pastor of a UCC church in Sweetwater County. His question was; “why are we even talking about the Bible in this discussion?”

This lone question spoke volumes as to the state of the church in Wyoming.

One of the most disheartening things that I observed is that while the majority of Wyomingites believe that marriage can only exist as the union of one man and one woman those who oppose that belief are far more engaged in advancing their belief in counterfeit “marriage”.

I applaud the two guest speakers, Rev. Bob Norris and Rev. Rodger McDaniel, for traveling from their homes, in Cheyenne, to Casper to engage in this sensitive and often divisive issue confronting our communities and churches today. I sincerely thank you both!

Click here to read a follow up discussion with Rev. Rodger McDaniel on our internet discussion forum Ephesians 4 Forum.

“The Power Source”

Crawford Loritts | Legacy Moment

Karen and I have some friends who had a tree fall on the power lines that connected to their house.  It was a really a bad storm that came through, and when the tree fell down it knocked out everything.  They had no electricity for several days.  What an inconvenience!  Everything came to a standstill.  Well, in a few days the tree was cut down and removed, the wires were fixed, and the power was turned on, but they were reminded through that experience that without power, life slows WAY down.

That’s true in our personal lives, too, isn't it?  I am talking about our walk with Christ.  Without genuine, legitimate, authentic, supernatural power, our Christianity is at a standstill.  As Christians, we have this power Source.  He is the third person of  the Trinity, the Holy Spirit.

Listen to Romans 8: 11.  "If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he (that is the Holy Spirit) who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also (listen to this line) give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you."  The source of life, the source of energy, so to speak, the power
of the Christian life, is found in our relationship to the Holy Spirit.  He lives inside of us.  But unfortunately, too many of us ignore His presence.  It’s the role of the Holy Spirit to give us life, to combat the pull of death that is all around us.

Here's what I want you to remember today.  Don't be afraid of the Holy Spirit.  He’s your Friend, your Ally.  Most importantly, He’s your power source. There’s no need for the lights to go out in your spiritual life.  Get plugged in.  Ask God to fill you, to control you by His Holy Spirit.  Then watch Him shine through your life.

Evangelicals and the Gay Moral Revolution

By R. Albert Mohler, Jr. | August 10, 2011
The Christian church has faced no shortage of challenges in its 2,000-year history. But now it’s facing a challenge that is shaking its foundations: homosexuality.

To many onlookers, this seems strange or even tragic. Why can’t Christians just join the revolution?

And make no mistake, it is a moral revolution. As philosopher Kwame Anthony Appiah of Princeton University demonstrated in his recent book, “The Honor Code,” moral revolutions generally happen over a long period of time. But this is hardly the case with the shift we’ve witnessed on the question of homosexuality.

In less than a single generation, homosexuality has gone from something almost universally understood to be sinful, to something now declared to be the moral equivalent of heterosexuality-and deserving of both legal protection and public encouragement. Theo Hobson, a British theologian, has argued that this is not just the waning of a taboo. Instead, it is a moral inversion that has left those holding the old morality now accused of nothing less than “moral deficiency.”

The liberal churches and denominations have an easy way out of this predicament. They simply accommodate themselves to the new moral reality. By now the pattern is clear: These churches debate the issue, with conservatives arguing to retain the older morality and liberals arguing that the church must adapt to the new one. Eventually, the liberals win and the conservatives lose. Next, the denomination ordains openly gay candidates or decides to bless same-sex unions.

This is a route that evangelical Christians committed to the full authority of the Bible cannot take. Since we believe that the Bible is God’s revealed word, we cannot accommodate ourselves to this new morality. We cannot pretend as if we do not know that the Bible clearly teaches that all homosexual acts are sinful, as is all human sexual behavior outside the covenant of marriage. We believe that God has revealed a pattern for human sexuality that not only points the way to holiness, but to true happiness.

Thus we cannot accept the seductive arguments that the liberal churches so readily adopt. The fact that same-sex marriage is a now a legal reality in several states means that we must further stipulate that we are bound by scripture to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman-and nothing else.

We do so knowing that most Americans once shared the same moral assumptions, but that a new world is coming fast. We do not have to read the polls and surveys; all we need to do is to talk to our neighbors or listen to the cultural chatter.

In this most awkward cultural predicament, evangelicals must be excruciatingly clear that we do not speak about the sinfulness of homosexuality as if we have no sin. As a matter of fact, it is precisely because we have come to know ourselves as sinners and of our need for a savior that we have come to faith in Jesus Christ. Our greatest fear is not that homosexuality will be normalized and accepted, but that homosexuals will not come to know of their own need for Christ and the forgiveness of their sins.

This is not a concern that is easily expressed in sound bites. But it is what we truly believe.

It is now abundantly clear that evangelicals have failed in so many ways to meet this challenge. We have often spoken about homosexuality in ways that are crude and simplistic. We have failed to take account of how tenaciously sexuality comes to define us as human beings. We have failed to see the challenge of homosexuality as a Gospel issue. We are the ones, after all, who are supposed to know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the only remedy for sin, starting with our own.

We have demonstrated our own form of homophobia-not in the way that activists have used that word, but in the sense that we have been afraid to face this issue where it is most difficult . . . face to face.

My hope is that evangelicals are ready now to take on this challenge in a new and more faithful way. We really have no choice, for we are talking about our own brothers and sisters, our own friends and neighbors, or maybe the young person in the next pew.

There is no escaping the fact that we are living in the midst of a moral revolution. And yet, it is not the world around us that is being tested, so much as the believing church. We are about to find out just how much we believe the Gospel we so eagerly preach.

Faith demonstrated is faithfulness

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (Hebrews 11: 1) 

Hebrews 11:1 defines Christian faith. But what defines our faithfulness? Words define and are easily repeated. Yet with out exhibit we have nothing more than hollow phrases recited from memory. Do our actions demonstrate our faith in Christ Jesus as LORD? Do you do what is right even when it is contrary to culture? Are you consistent in daily living?  

The apostle Paul modeled faithfulness in every endeavor even as he was bound with chains. (2 Timothy 8:13) 

Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound! Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.

            The saying is trustworthy, for:

            If we have died with him, we will also live with him;

            if we endure, we will also reign with him;

            if we deny him, he also will deny us;

            if we are faithless, he remains faithful—

            for he cannot deny himself.   

Here we have the perfect picture of faithfulness in Christ Jesus as Scripture tells us that He remains faithful, He cannot deny Himself. Therefore we have no excuse to not exercise complete faithfulness in Him, just as others before us have done.

The Question of Evil

Prison Fellowship | President Mark Earley

Skeptics often toss the problem of evil at Christians as if it were a ticking time bomb. “If there is a God, and He is all-good, all-knowing, and all-powerful, then why is there evil in the world?” It often seems as if we have got five minutes to dismantle the problem to their satisfaction, or we have exploded any chances of continuing a spiritual conversation.

But a new book, Evil and the Justice of God by author and theologian N. T. Wright, turns the age-old question of evil on its head. Wright suggests that perhaps more important than asking, “Why evil?” is asking, “What is God doing about it?”

According to Wright, “the entire canon [of Scripture] . . . tells a story which, from a bewildering variety of angles, is all about what . . . the Creator God . . . is doing about evil.” From forbidden fruit to flood, we watch evil enter the world and spread like a wild vine to cover it. God deals categorically with evil in the flood, but also mercifully spares Noah’s imperfect family to start again. Almost before the rainbow recedes from the sky, evil raises its ugly head in Noah’s own family. It continues to spiral out of control until the Tower of Babel, where God again deals with the problem by confusing our languages.

In Abraham, God again chooses one imperfect family to be a part of the solution to the problem of evil. It doesn’t take long, however, to see that the solution is again part of the problem. The same pattern occurs with David and his lineage.

How will God solve the conundrum? How will He deal with the problem of evil? He will send Jesus Christ, a fully human, fully divine answer. As Wright says, at the cross God draws “evil to a point in order to deal with it there.” Justice is satisfied. But mercy, through forgiveness, is also extended. From there, God calls a new-born people to be a part of the ongoing solution.

Though we still struggle with sin, we are called to be God’s agents of restoration until Christ’s final return, when evil will be dealt with once and for all.

The question of evil then becomes, not a philosophical one, but a practical one. As Gary Haugen of the International Justice Mission has said, “Over time I have come to see questions of suffering in the world not so much as questions of God’s character, but as questions about the obedience and faith of God’s people.” God’s people must herald God’s solution: Jesus Christ, who forgives our evil and makes righteous living and justice possible.

Organizations like Haugen’s International Justice Mission are answering the problem of evil by freeing women held as sex slaves. Prison Fellowship volunteers are answering it by going into prisons and bringing the light and hope of God’s forgiveness.

I could list countless other examples, but here’s the point. The next time someone poses the problem of evil to you, tell them, while you may not be able to answer the why, you do know what God has done and is doing about evil. And He has called us to join Him in His work. 

The "Poverty and Justice" Bible

Phil Johnson | Spaeking of Justice
This excerpt was part of a longer post that covered several topics a couple of years ago. I had been asked to review a niche Bible designed, I gather, for Sojourners-style lefties.
(First posted 4 December 2009)

The American Bible Society has published The Poverty & Justice Bible—on recycled paper (because, you know, that makes a statement against Global Warming, perhaps the greatest human "injustice" some of our liberal friends are capable of imagining). They've sent me four copies to give away to our blog readers, and they hoped I would review the publication at TeamPyro. Here's the most succinct review I can give you tonight:

The "Bible" aspect of this work is of course its best feature, though I'm not at all a fan of the watered-down, dumbed-down, gender-neutraled, politically-correct "Contemporary English Version" they have used. I can't see any scenario in which such a poor translation would be truly useful, and with the plethora of translations available today, this one certainly would not be my choice. Perhaps one example of this translation's deep-down badness will suffice for this short review. Here's the CEV rendering of Acts 9:22: "Saul preached with such power that he completely confused the Jewish people in Damascus, as he tried to show them that Jesus is the Messiah." (ESV: "But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ.")

The worst feature of the book, however, is the way it treats "poverty & justice." The editors' and (most of the endorsers') notion of "justice" is clearly straight from the canons of political correctness. Not that they really have much of any substance to say about either poverty or justice. There's a thin section of United-Methodist-style devotional essays stitched into the center of the book and unwisely titled "The Core." Aside from that, the main clues about the editors' perspective on "poverty & justice" come from the verses they have selected to highlight (or not). The highlights are in burnt orange (another unfortunate choice). Ostensibly these are all the key Bible verses about poverty and justice.

So with that in mind, I thumbed through to check a few verses that I knew would pose a challenge to the currently-popular politically-correct perspectives on "poverty & justice." It was frankly not surprising to see that 2 Thessalonians 3:10 ("If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat") didn't merit the editors' orange smear of approval. Neither did Deuteronomy 7:1-5, which spells out God's prescription for justice to the Canaanites, Perizzites, Amorites, and so on. Galatians 6:7 ("whatever one sows, that will he also reap") was ignored by the highlighter pen. Predictably, so was the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19 and God's judicial abandonment of sinners to their sin in Romans 1.

In other words, the view of "justice" this Bible tries to promote is the same humanistic perspective we have heard nonstop from Tony Campolo, Ron Sider, Shane Claiborne, most of the Emergent/ing districts of the blogosphere, and Acorn.