June 7, 2014

From Gary... Feel like "playing"???


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hce74cEAAaE&feature=kp

OR
PLAY THE GAME

Today, while I was on Facebook, I actually followed the link about a song "..written about you.."
that you see above.  This song just happened to be a favorite of mine when it came out in 1965 and I have enjoyed it ever since.  Now that I think about it, I played the game for a bit of self-discovery. I am a strong advocate of re-discovering life (on a daily basis), so it was quite a "normal" thing for me to do this. Then, I thought- When was the last time I thought about re-discovering Jesus and what HE means to me?  A good place to start seems to be with this verse from Luke...
Luke, Chapter 9
Luk 9:20  And He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" And Peter answered and said, "The Christ of God."

Peter responds with a statement about Jesus and that is quite true.  But, its not just what we say, its also what we do that counts.  I am quite sure that the song "wild thing" will be on my mind today, but will Jesus be as well?? The outcome of this will say more about me than any song ever could!!!  Want to come out of your shell and PLAY?  Who knows, you might find out something about yourself if you try????? 

From Gary... Bible Reading June 7

Bible Reading  
June 7
The World English Bible

 
June 7
1 Samuel 7, 8

1Sa 7:1 The men of Kiriath Jearim came, and fetched up the ark of Yahweh, and brought it into the house of Abinadab in the hill, and sanctified Eleazar his son to keep the ark of Yahweh.
1Sa 7:2 It happened, from the day that the ark abode in Kiriath Jearim, that the time was long; for it was twenty years: and all the house of Israel lamented after Yahweh.
1Sa 7:3 Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, If you do return to Yahweh with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you, and direct your hearts to Yahweh, and serve him only; and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.
1Sa 7:4 Then the children of Israel did put away the Baals and the Ashtaroth, and served Yahweh only.
1Sa 7:5 Samuel said, "Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray for you to Yahweh."
1Sa 7:6 They gathered together to Mizpah, and drew water, and poured it out before Yahweh, and fasted on that day, and said there, "We have sinned against Yahweh." Samuel judged the children of Israel in Mizpah.
1Sa 7:7 When the Philistines heard that the children of Israel were gathered together at Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. When the children of Israel heard it, they were afraid of the Philistines.
1Sa 7:8 The children of Israel said to Samuel, "Don't cease to cry to Yahweh our God for us, that he will save us out of the hand of the Philistines."
1Sa 7:9 Samuel took a sucking lamb, and offered it for a whole burnt offering to Yahweh: and Samuel cried to Yahweh for Israel; and Yahweh answered him.
1Sa 7:10 As Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel; but Yahweh thundered with a great thunder on that day on the Philistines, and confused them; and they were struck down before Israel.
1Sa 7:11 The men of Israel went out of Mizpah, and pursued the Philistines, and struck them, until they came under Beth Kar.
1Sa 7:12 Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and called its name Ebenezer, saying, Hitherto has Yahweh helped us.
1Sa 7:13 So the Philistines were subdued, and they came no more within the border of Israel: and the hand of Yahweh was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.
1Sa 7:14 The cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron even to Gath; and its border did Israel deliver out of the hand of the Philistines. There was peace between Israel and the Amorites.
1Sa 7:15 Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life.
1Sa 7:16 He went from year to year in circuit to Bethel and Gilgal, and Mizpah; and he judged Israel in all those places.
1Sa 7:17 His return was to Ramah, for there was his house; and there he judged Israel: and he built there an altar to Yahweh.
1Sa 8:1 It happened, when Samuel was old, that he made his sons judges over Israel.
1Sa 8:2 Now the name of his firstborn was Joel; and the name of his second, Abijah: they were judges in Beersheba.
1Sa 8:3 His sons didn't walk in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted justice.
1Sa 8:4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel to Ramah;
1Sa 8:5 and they said to him, Behold, you are old, and your sons don't walk in your ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.
1Sa 8:6 But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. Samuel prayed to Yahweh.
1Sa 8:7 Yahweh said to Samuel, Listen to the voice of the people in all that they tell you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me, that I should not be king over them.
1Sa 8:8 According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even to this day, in that they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also to you.
1Sa 8:9 Now therefore listen to their voice: however you shall protest solemnly to them, and shall show them the manner of the king who shall reign over them.
1Sa 8:10 Samuel told all the words of Yahweh to the people who asked of him a king.
1Sa 8:11 He said, This will be the manner of the king who shall reign over you: he will take your sons, and appoint them to him, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and they shall run before his chariots;
1Sa 8:12 and he will appoint them to him for captains of thousands, and captains of fifties; and he will set some to plow his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and the instruments of his chariots.
1Sa 8:13 He will take your daughters to be perfumers, and to be cooks, and to be bakers.
1Sa 8:14 He will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your olive groves, even the best of them, and give them to his servants.
1Sa 8:15 He will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants.
1Sa 8:16 He will take your male servants, and your female servants, and your best young men, and your donkeys, and put them to his work.
1Sa 8:17 He will take the tenth of your flocks: and you shall be his servants.
1Sa 8:18 You shall cry out in that day because of your king whom you shall have chosen you; and Yahweh will not answer you in that day.
1Sa 8:19 But the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel; and they said, No: but we will have a king over us,
1Sa 8:20 that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles.
1Sa 8:21 Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he rehearsed them in the ears of Yahweh.
1Sa 8:22 Yahweh said to Samuel, Listen to their voice, and make them a king. Samuel said to the men of Israel, Every man go to his city.
 
Jun. 7, 8
John 12

Joh 12:1 Then six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, who had been dead, whom he raised from the dead.
Joh 12:2 So they made him a supper there. Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with him.
Joh 12:3 Mary, therefore, took a pound of ointment of pure nard, very precious, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the ointment.
Joh 12:4 Then Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, one of his disciples, who would betray him, said,
Joh 12:5 "Why wasn't this ointment sold for three hundred denarii, and given to the poor?"
Joh 12:6 Now he said this, not because he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and having the money box, used to steal what was put into it.
Joh 12:7 But Jesus said, "Leave her alone. She has kept this for the day of my burial.
Joh 12:8 For you always have the poor with you, but you don't always have me."
Joh 12:9 A large crowd therefore of the Jews learned that he was there, and they came, not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might see Lazarus also, whom he had raised from the dead.
Joh 12:10 But the chief priests conspired to put Lazarus to death also,
Joh 12:11 because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus.
Joh 12:12 On the next day a great multitude had come to the feast. When they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem,
Joh 12:13 they took the branches of the palm trees, and went out to meet him, and cried out, "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel!"
Joh 12:14 Jesus, having found a young donkey, sat on it. As it is written,
Joh 12:15 "Don't be afraid, daughter of Zion. Behold, your King comes, sitting on a donkey's colt."
Joh 12:16 His disciples didn't understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about him, and that they had done these things to him.
Joh 12:17 The multitude therefore that was with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb, and raised him from the dead, was testifying about it.
Joh 12:18 For this cause also the multitude went and met him, because they heard that he had done this sign.
Joh 12:19 The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, "See how you accomplish nothing. Behold, the world has gone after him."
Joh 12:20 Now there were certain Greeks among those that went up to worship at the feast.
Joh 12:21 These, therefore, came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, "Sir, we want to see Jesus."
Joh 12:22 Philip came and told Andrew, and in turn, Andrew came with Philip, and they told Jesus.
Joh 12:23 Jesus answered them, "The time has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
Joh 12:24 Most certainly I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains by itself alone. But if it dies, it bears much fruit.
Joh 12:25 He who loves his life will lose it. He who hates his life in this world will keep it to eternal life.
Joh 12:26 If anyone serves me, let him follow me. Where I am, there will my servant also be. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.
Joh 12:27 "Now my soul is troubled. What shall I say? 'Father, save me from this time?' But for this cause I came to this time.
Joh 12:28 Father, glorify your name!" Then there came a voice out of the sky, saying, "I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again."
Joh 12:29 The multitude therefore, who stood by and heard it, said that it had thundered. Others said, "An angel has spoken to him."
Joh 12:30 Jesus answered, "This voice hasn't come for my sake, but for your sakes.
Joh 12:31 Now is the judgment of this world. Now the prince of this world will be cast out.
Joh 12:32 And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself."
Joh 12:33 But he said this, signifying by what kind of death he should die.
Joh 12:34 The multitude answered him, "We have heard out of the law that the Christ remains forever. How do you say, 'The Son of Man must be lifted up?' Who is this Son of Man?"
Joh 12:35 Jesus therefore said to them, "Yet a little while the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, that darkness doesn't overtake you. He who walks in the darkness doesn't know where he is going.
Joh 12:36 While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become children of light." Jesus said these things, and he departed and hid himself from them.
Joh 12:37 But though he had done so many signs before them, yet they didn't believe in him,
Joh 12:38 that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke, "Lord, who has believed our report? To whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?"
Joh 12:39 For this cause they couldn't believe, for Isaiah said again,
Joh 12:40 "He has blinded their eyes and he hardened their heart, lest they should see with their eyes, and perceive with their heart, and would turn, and I would heal them."
Joh 12:41 Isaiah said these things when he saw his glory, and spoke of him.
Joh 12:42 Nevertheless even of the rulers many believed in him, but because of the Pharisees they didn't confess it, so that they wouldn't be put out of the synagogue,
Joh 12:43 for they loved men's praise more than God's praise.
Joh 12:44 Jesus cried out and said, "Whoever believes in me, believes not in me, but in him who sent me.
Joh 12:45 He who sees me sees him who sent me.
Joh 12:46 I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in me may not remain in the darkness.
Joh 12:47 If anyone listens to my sayings, and doesn't believe, I don't judge him. For I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.
Joh 12:48 He who rejects me, and doesn't receive my sayings, has one who judges him. The word that I spoke, the same will judge him in the last day.
Joh 12:49 For I spoke not from myself, but the Father who sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.
Joh 12:50 I know that his commandment is eternal life. The things therefore which I speak, even as the Father has said to me, so I speak."

From Mark Copeland... Tribulations For The Kingdom Of God (Acts 14:1-22)

                          "THE BOOK OF ACTS"

             Tribulations For The Kingdom Of God (14:1-22)

INTRODUCTION

1. Previously, we read about Paul and Barnabas at Antioch of Pisidia...
   a. Where they experienced both success and conflict - Ac 13:42-45
   b. They were eventually expelled, though leaving joyful disciples
      behind - Ac 13:49-52

2. Paul and Barnabas then went on to Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe...
   a. Cities of Phrygia and Lycaonia, in Asia Minor (Turkey)
   b. Establishing churches to which Paul likely wrote Galatians - cf. 
      Ga 1:1-2

[As with Antioch, Paul and Barnabas found success mixed with ill 
treatment (cf. 2Ti 3:11).  Paul's observation about such treatment (Ac
14:22) raises some questions, but let's first summarize...]

I. THE MINISTRY AT ICONIUM, LYSTRA, AND DERBE

   A. ICONIUM...
      1. Again the procedure was to start with the local synagogue - Ac 14:1; 17:1-2
      2. Unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles against the brethren 
         - Ac 14:2; 13:45
      3. Paul and his companions stayed "a long time", speaking boldly in
         the Lord with signs and wonders - Ac 14:3; cf. Mk 16:19-20; He 2:4
      4. It may have been during this time to which Paul had reference 
         when he later wrote to the Galatians of their reception of him 
         - cf. Ga 4:13-15
      5. The city eventually became divided between the Jews and the
         apostles - Ac 14:4
         a. Note that Paul and Barnabas are referred to as "apostles"
            - cf. also Ac 14:14
         b. Likely because they had been "sent" by the Holy Spirit - cf.
            Ac 13:2,4
         c. Not in quite the sense as used of the Twelve - cf. Ac 1:15-26; Re 21:14 
      6. An attempt to stone them forced Paul and Barnabas to flee to
         Lystra and Derbe - Ac 14:4-6

   B. LYSTRA...
      1. They preached the gospel throughout the region - Ac 14:6-7
      2. Paul healed a lame man, whom he saw had faith to be healed - Ac 14:8-10
      3. The Gentiles assumed Paul to be Hermes, Barnabas Zeus, and
         prepared to offer a sacrifice to them - Ac 14:11-13
      4. Barnabas and Paul reacted strongly, scarcely restraining them
         - Ac 14:14-18
         a. By proclaiming there is one living God, the Creator of all
            things
         b. Who bore witness of Himself through the blessings of nature
            - cf. Ac 17:24-25
      5. Jews from Antioch and Iconium persuade the multitude to stone 
         Paul - Ac 14:19; 2Co 11:25
      6. The next day Paul and Barnabas departed and went to Derbe - Ac 14:20

   C. DERBE...
      1. They preached the gospel - Ac 14:21a
      2. They made many disciples - Ac 14:21a

[Paul and Barnabas soon retraced their steps, returning to Lystra,
Iconium, Antioch (Ac 14:21).  There they strengthened the disciples and
exhorted them to continue in the faith, saying "We must through many 
tribulations enter the kingdom of God." (Ac 14:22).  This has led some
to ask...]

II. MUST ALL CHRISTIANS SUFFER TRIBULATION FOR THE KINGDOM?

   A. THE APOSTLES CERTAINLY DID...
      1. As Jesus said they would - Mt 10:22
      2. As Paul mentioned of others and himself - 1Co 4:9-12; 2Co 4:8-10; 11:23-29
      3. Indeed they all died as martyrs, with the exception of John who
         suffered exile

   B. MANY EARLY CHRISTIANS DID...
      1. The church in Jerusalem - Ac 8:1,3
      2. The churches in Thessalonica and Philippi - 1Th 1:6; 2:14;
         3:2-4; 2Th 1:4-6; Php 1:29-30
      3. As Jesus warned those of Smyrna - Re 2:10

   C. BUT NOT ALL EARLY CHRISTIANS DID...
      1. There were periods of peace among the churches - Ac 9:31
      2. Jesus promised the church at Philadelphia they would be spared
         - Re 3:10
      3. Why pray for peace /aspire for quiet lives/ if tribulation is 
         inevitable? - 1Ti 2:3-4; 1Th 4:11

   D. HOW DO WE RECONCILE PAUL'S STATEMENTS...?
      1. Which sound as though all Christians must suffer - e.g., Ac 14:22; 2Ti 3:12
      2. Consider the context:  To whom and when did he say such things?
         a. Was it to those who would be given the privilege to suffer? 
            - cf. Php 1:29-30
         b. Living at a time and in a place where persecution might 
            arise?
      3. It seems that some of the early Christians were permitted to
         suffer
         a. To confirm the testimony of those early witnesses of the 
            faith
         b. But not all Christians suffered the persecutions of others
      4. But Christians were not told to seek out persecution
         a. They were permitted to flee persecution -  Mt 10:23
         b. As Paul did on one occasion - Ac 9:23-25; 2Co 11:32-33 
      5. If they were persecuted for the cause of Christ...
         a. They were told to glorify God - 1Pe 4:16
         b. They were told to rejoice for the honor - 1Pe 4:14; Mt 5:10-12

CONCLUSION

1. When Paul and Barnabas suffered tribulation for the kingdom of God...
   a. They did not give up preaching the gospel
   b. It did not hinder the growth and development of the church

2. We may not suffer the persecution they did...
   a. Ours may in the lesser form of ridicule, or being ostracized
   b. But we must always be prepared to suffer should it become our lot

Are we preparing ourselves with the proper mindset should persecution
come our way?  Willing to suffer for Christ?  Quick to forgive those
who persecute us?  Steadfast in the proclamation of the gospel of
Christ...?

Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2012

by Jeff Miller, Ph.D. ... Simultaneous Causation


http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=12&article=687

Simultaneous Causation

by  Jeff Miller, Ph.D.

In 2011, the renowned atheist, theoretical physicist, and cosmologist of Cambridge University, Stephen Hawking, was given a platform to spread his atheistic perspective (“Curiosity…,” 2011). Discovery Channel aired a show titled, “Curiosity: Did God Create the Universe?” Hawking adamantly claimed, “No.” He claimed that there is no need for God in the picture, since he believes everything in the Universe can be explained without Him (see Miller, 2011a for an in depth response to Hawking’s claims in the show).
Towards the end of the episode, Hawking asserted that “[t]he role played by time at the beginning of the Universe is, I believe, the final key to removing the need for a Grand Designer and revealing how the Universe created itself” (“Curiosity…”). According to Hawking and other atheists, the initial moments of the Big Bang were supposedly similar to the nature of a black hole (see Miller, 2011a for a response to this idea). Hawking believes that due to the nature of a black hole, time would not have existed before the Big Bang. He asserts:
You can’t get to a time before the Big Bang, because there was no before the Big Bang. We have finally found something that doesn’t have a cause, because there was no time for a cause to exist in. For me, this means that there is no possibility for a Creator, because there is no time for a Creator to have existed…. Time didn’t exist before the Big Bang. So, there is no time for God to make the Universe in (“Curiosity…,” emp. added).
So, according to Hawking, there could not have been a cause for the Big Bang since that cause had to temporally precede the effect of the Big Bang, and yet time supposedly did not exist prior to the Big Bang. Setting aside the fact that this theoretical black hole, which is speculated to have been in existence at the time of the alleged Big Bang, had to itself have a cause (according to the Law of Causality even if time did not exist before the bang), Hawking still made a blunder in supposing that a Creator could not exist if time did not exist.
It is a common mistake to oversimplify the Law of Causality, assuming that it states: “Every effect must have an adequate cause which preceded it.” In actuality, the law more correctly states: “Every material effect must have an adequate antecedent or simultaneous cause” (see Miller, 2011b for an in depth discussion of the Law of Causality). The Law of Causality as a law of natural science only applies to that which can be empirically observed—namely, the natural Universe (i.e., that which is “material”), not supernatural entities. So, it does not even apply to God. But even if it did apply to the Creator, Hawking’s belief that there’s no room for the Creator since the Law of Causality requires a previous cause—which could not be the case if time did not exist before the Big Bang—is erroneous. Philosopher William Lane Craig explains that this argument rests on a pseudo-dilemma, since the argument does not “consider the obvious alternative that the cause of the [alleged—JM] Big Bang operated at to, that is, simultaneously (or coincidentally) with the Big Bang” (Craig, 1994). Simply put: the Law of Causality allows for simultaneous causes.
When one sits in a seat, his legs form a lap. The effect of creating a lap occurs simultaneously with its cause—the act of sitting—though sitting is obviously the cause of making a lap. So clearly, causes can take place simultaneously with their effects. Renowned German philosopher, Immanuel Kant, in his book, The Critique of Pure Reason, under the heading, “Principle of the Succession of Time According to the Law of Causality: All changes take place according to the law of the connection of Cause and Effect,” explains that, “The principle of the connection of causality among phenomena…applies also when the phenomena exist together in the same time, and that cause and effect may be simultaneous” (Kant, 1787, I.3.3.2.3.3, emp. added). He then proceeds to provide two examples of simultaneous causation, the first being the scenario in which the effect of a heated room occurs simultaneous with its cause—a fire in the fireplace. He explains that, “In this case, then, there is no succession as regards time, between cause and effect, but they are simultaneous; and still the law holds good” (I.3.3.2.3.3). He then provides the example in which a lead ball lies on a cushion and simultaneously causes the effect of an indention or “hollow” in the cushion. Again, the effect occurs simultaneously with its cause. Kant explains:
The greater part of operating causes in nature are simultaneous with their effects, and the succession in time of the latter is produced only because the cause cannot achieve the total of its effect in one moment. But at the moment when the effect first arises, it is always simultaneous with the causality of its cause, because, if the cause had but a moment before ceased to be, the effect could not have arisen…. The time between the causality of the cause and its immediate effect may entirely vanish, and the cause and effect be thus simultaneous, but the relation of the one to the other remains always determinable according to time (Kant, 1787, I.3.3.2.3.3, emp. added).
Logically, a cause can occur simultaneous with its effect. So, for Hawking to argue that a cause for the Big Bang is unnecessary and even impossible since it must precede the Big Bang, is simply incorrect. It seems to imply a shallow understanding of the Law of Causality on the part of Hawking. A proper understanding of the Law of Causality reveals that the Law does not rule out the existence of a Creator even if the Big Bang were true, since the effect of the Universe could occur simultaneous with its causal activity. That said, ultimately, even though Hawking is inaccurate in his use of the Law of Causality, it is irrelevant since the Big Bang Theory is not in keeping with the scientific evidence anyway (see Miller, 2007; Thompson, Harrub, and May, 2003 for a presentation of some of this evidence).

REFERENCES

Craig, William Lane (1994), “Creation and Big Bang Cosmology,” Philosophia Naturalis, 31[1994]:217-224.
“Curiosity: Did God Create the Universe?” (2011), Discovery Channel, August 7.
Kant, Immanuel (1787), The Critique of Pure Reason (South Australia: The University of Adelaide Library), 2nd edition, trans. J.M.D. Meiklejohn, http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/k/kant/immanuel/k16p/.
Miller, Jeff (2007), “God and the Laws of Thermodynamics: A Mechanical Engineer’s Perspective,” Reason & Revelation, 27[4]:25-31, http://www.apologeticspress.org/apPubPage.aspx?pub=1&issue=588&article=643.
Miller, Jeff  (2011a), “A Review of Discovery Channel’s ‘Curiosity: Did God Create the Universe?’” Reason & Revelation, 31[10]:98-107, http://www.apologeticspress.org/apPubPage.aspx?pub=1&issue=1004&article=1687.
Miller, Jeff (2011b), “God and the Laws of Science: The Law of Causality,” Apologetics Press, http://www.apologeticspress.org/article/3716.
Thompson, Bert, Brad Harrub, and Branyon May (2003), “The Big Bang Theory—A Scientific Critique” Reason & Revelation, 23[5]:33-47, http://www.apologeticspress.org/apPubPage.aspx?pub=1&issue=541&article=28.

From Jim McGuiggan... IS sin inevitable?


IS sin inevitable?

I love it when the kids turn out to be glorious men and women of God. Is there anything more precious to Christian parents than that? I can’t think of it. And how they beam—these parents—when someone turns to them and says something like, "You two have done a wonderful job with the children." And why wouldn’t they beam? That is a great job you’ve done with that garden, fence, extension or whatever! That pleases us so why would anyone imagine that we wouldn’t (or shouldn’t) be ecstatic about our kids and grateful that we didn’t get it all wrong? Certainly we realize we didn’t do it alone. There were our parents or friends, Sunday school teachers and preachers that helped shape us and so blessed our children. Rejoice in this, I can hear John saying (see 2 John 4 and 3 John 4).
All this joy assumes that our input matters! All this assumes that the nature of our input matters. We think—and why wouldn’t we?—that nurturing children in the good is vitally important. Is there anyone anywhere that thinks differently? Even behaviorists like B.F. Skinner and bio-ethicists like E.O. Wilson would agree with that. Nurturing people in the good helps them to be good. It doesn’t guarantee that the child will be good in later life because there are other influences operating but to deny that someone raised in a loving, warm and disciplined home where righteousness matters and Jesus is Lord isn’t helped toward faith is nonsense! If a child raised in such a home grows into a fine Christian man or woman we shrug with joy (not presumption) for we more than half expected it. If a girl raised in such a home became a vicious serial killer we’d be astonished precisely because it runs against expectation. Even Christ marveled when he met unbelief in Capernaum (it might have been Nazareth—see Mark 6:1-6). And why did he marvel? Guess!
All this is so obviously true! And what about the other side of the coin? What other side? The child is raised in a house of garbage! He’s nurtured in moral filth and stink. He is taught bitterness by the two leading figures in his life and knows how to mistreat a woman and how to get even when you lack physical strength. He is shaped by cruel peers, bullied by people in power, fed moral muck in movies, books and cyberspace. And how will he turn out? Well, in point of fact we know many young people who beat all that junk and grew to be glorious people. Of course, praise God! But weren’t we amazed with a glad amazement? Didn’t we shake our heads in happy disbelief? And why is that? Guess!
So move beyond the individual to the family and then the community and then the city and ask what we expect of people raised in moral and spiritual gloom. Haven’t we said things like, "Well, wadaya expect in Miami (or New York or London or Belfast or San Francisco)? Move from there to nations and ask about expectations? And then ask yourself about the human family. Do you really think we will grow to manhood without sin? When Jesus both holds us responsible for our offenses and says they’re "inevitable" we need to affirm both truths. See Matthew 18:7 and 1 Corinthians 11:18-19. This inevitability is not something laid down in eternity on the basis of some flaw in the nature of something. It is an existential inevitability. In the light of how the world is, in light of how the Corinthians were occasions of sin and division are inevitable. They "must needs be". It’s for this reason that John in his epistle says that anyone who says he/she doesn’t sin is not only kidding themselves, they walk in darkness.
There was one Adam and one Eve and when they sinned they set something in motion that swept the world and swept the human race up in it. Since they introduced sin to us the world has never been the same. The idea that we are born into the same world they were is foolishness. The notion that our situation is like theirs is nonsense! We don’t inherit their sin but we are born into a human family that has been twisted like a corkscrew by ceaseless sinning that has affected structures as well as individuals. We are born into a planet shrouded in moral pollution and we breathe that junk until we too become sick and start coughing up our own configuration of pollution into the moral atmosphere. (I’ve developed this a little in a thing called The Dragon Slayer. You might find that helpful.) None of us growing to adulthood gets out of life without sinning. Say that we are responsible but insist also that what Jesus said is true—sinning is inevitable. If we have difficulty affirming both truths the right response is not to deny one or the other but to work to integrate them both.