July 26, 2016

Home Sweet Home by Gary Rose



I saw this saying in one of my pictures today, but the quality of the picture was so bad that I decided to redo it and add my own touch. This is the first time I have ever used the "Christian font" and the "Home sweet Home" font together.  I chose them for a reason, which will become obvious after you read the following passage from the Gospel of Luke.

Luke, Chapter 3 (WEB)
 1 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene,  2 in the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness.  3 He came into all the region around the Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for remission of sins.  4 As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, 
“The voice of one crying in the wilderness,

‘Make ready the way of the Lord.

Make his paths straight.
  5 Every valley will be filled.
Every mountain and hill will be brought low.
The crooked will become straight,
and the rough ways smooth.
  6 All flesh will see God’s salvation.’”


  7  He said therefore to the multitudes who went out to be baptized by him, “You offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?  8 Therefore produce fruits worthy of repentance, and don’t begin to say among yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father;’ for I tell you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones!  9 Even now the ax also lies at the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that doesn’t produce good fruit is cut down, and thrown into the fire.” 


  10  The multitudes asked him, “What then must we do?” 


  11  He answered them, “He who has two coats, let him give to him who has none. He who has food, let him do likewise.” 


  12  Tax collectors also came to be baptized, and they said to him, “Teacher, what must we do?” 


  13  He said to them, “Collect no more than that which is appointed to you.” 


  14  Soldiers also asked him, saying, “What about us? What must we do?” 


He said to them, “Extort from no one by violence, neither accuse anyone wrongfully. Be content with your wages.” 


  15  As the people were in expectation, and all men reasoned in their hearts concerning John, whether perhaps he was the Christ,  16 John answered them all, “I indeed baptize you with water, but he comes who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to loosen. He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and fire,  17 whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing floor, and will gather the wheat into his barn; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” 


  18  Then with many other exhortations he preached good news to the people,  19 but Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him for Herodias, his brother’s wife, and for all the evil things which Herod had done,  20 added this also to them all, that he shut up John in prison. (emp. added, GDR)


John the baptist was a very forceful preacher. It is quite apparent that he challenged everyone he met with a message that was meant to make them repent and follow God. But Herod did not want to hear what John said about his own life, and when John's message hit a little too close to "Home Sweet Home", Herod, had John imprisoned (and later killed).

Some people will listen and change, some will not. Others will oppose the presentation of truth violently. True then, true NOW!!!  Just follow Jesus and the message of the cross; heaven is worth it!!!

Bible Reading July 26 by Gary Rose


Bible Reading July 26 (WEB)

July 26
2 Chronicles 10-12

2Ch 10:1 Rehoboam went to Shechem; for all Israel were come to Shechem to make him king.
2Ch 10:2 It happened, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard of it, (for he was in Egypt, where he had fled from the presence of king Solomon), that Jeroboam returned out of Egypt.
2Ch 10:3 They sent and called him; and Jeroboam and all Israel came, and they spoke to Rehoboam, saying,
2Ch 10:4 Your father made our yoke grievous: now therefore make you the grievous service of your father, and his heavy yoke which he put on us, lighter, and we will serve you.
2Ch 10:5 He said to them, Come again to me after three days. The people departed.
2Ch 10:6 King Rehoboam took counsel with the old men, who had stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, saying, What counsel do you give me to return answer to this people?
2Ch 10:7 They spoke to him, saying, If you are kind to this people, and please them, and speak good words to them, then they will be your servants forever.
2Ch 10:8 But he forsook the counsel of the old men which they had given him, and took counsel with the young men who had grown up with him, who stood before him.
2Ch 10:9 He said to them, What counsel do you give, that we may return answer to this people, who have spoken to me, saying, Make the yoke that your father did put on us lighter?
2Ch 10:10 The young men who had grown up with him spoke to him, saying, Thus you shall tell the people who spoke to you, saying, Your father made our yoke heavy, but make it lighter on us; thus you shall say to them, My little finger is thicker than my father's waist.
2Ch 10:11 Now whereas my father burdened you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke: my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.
2Ch 10:12 So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king bade, saying, Come to me again the third day.
2Ch 10:13 The king answered them roughly; and king Rehoboam forsook the counsel of the old men,
2Ch 10:14 and spoke to them after the counsel of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add thereto: my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.
2Ch 10:15 So the king didn't listen to the people; for it was brought about of God, that Yahweh might establish his word, which he spoke by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.
2Ch 10:16 When all Israel saw that the king didn't listen to them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: every man to your tents, Israel: now see to your own house, David. So all Israel departed to their tents.
2Ch 10:17 But as for the children of Israel who lived in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them.
2Ch 10:18 Then king Rehoboam sent Hadoram, who was over the men subject to forced labor; and the children of Israel stoned him to death with stones. King Rehoboam made speed to get him up to his chariot, to flee to Jerusalem.
2Ch 10:19 So Israel rebelled against the house of David to this day.

2Ch 11:1 When Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he assembled the house of Judah and Benjamin, one hundred eighty thousand chosen men, who were warriors, to fight against Israel, to bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam.
2Ch 11:2 But the word of Yahweh came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying,
2Ch 11:3 Speak to Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all Israel in Judah and Benjamin, saying,
2Ch 11:4 Thus says Yahweh, You shall not go up, nor fight against your brothers: return every man to his house; for this thing is of me. So they listened to the words of Yahweh, and returned from going against Jeroboam.
2Ch 11:5 Rehoboam lived in Jerusalem, and built cities for defense in Judah.
2Ch 11:6 He built Bethlehem, and Etam, and Tekoa,
2Ch 11:7 Beth Zur, and Soco, and Adullam,
2Ch 11:8 and Gath, and Mareshah, and Ziph,
2Ch 11:9 and Adoraim, and Lachish, and Azekah,
2Ch 11:10 and Zorah, and Aijalon, and Hebron, which are in Judah and in Benjamin, fortified cities.
2Ch 11:11 He fortified the strongholds, and put captains in them, and stores of food, and oil and wine.
2Ch 11:12 In every city he put shields and spears, and made them exceeding strong. Judah and Benjamin belonged to him.
2Ch 11:13 The priests and the Levites who were in all Israel resorted to him out of all their border.
2Ch 11:14 For the Levites left their suburbs and their possession, and came to Judah and Jerusalem: for Jeroboam and his sons cast them off, that they should not execute the priest's office to Yahweh;
2Ch 11:15 and he appointed him priests for the high places, and for the male goats, and for the calves which he had made.
2Ch 11:16 After them, out of all the tribes of Israel, such as set their hearts to seek Yahweh, the God of Israel, came to Jerusalem to sacrifice to Yahweh, the God of their fathers.
2Ch 11:17 So they strengthened the kingdom of Judah, and made Rehoboam the son of Solomon strong, three years; for they walked three years in the way of David and Solomon.
2Ch 11:18 Rehoboam took him a wife, Mahalath the daughter of Jerimoth the son of David, and of Abihail the daughter of Eliab the son of Jesse;
2Ch 11:19 and she bore him sons: Jeush, and Shemariah, and Zaham.
2Ch 11:20 After her he took Maacah the daughter of Absalom; and she bore him Abijah, and Attai, and Ziza, and Shelomith.
2Ch 11:21 Rehoboam loved Maacah the daughter of Absalom above all his wives and his concubines: (for he took eighteen wives, and sixty concubines, and became the father of twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters.)
2Ch 11:22 Rehoboam appointed Abijah the son of Maacah to be chief, even the prince among his brothers; for he was mindedto make him king.
2Ch 11:23 He dealt wisely, and dispersed of all his sons throughout all the lands of Judah and Benjamin, to every fortified city: and he gave them food in abundance. He sought for them many wives.

2Ch 12:1 It happened, when the kingdom of Rehoboam was established, and he was strong, that he forsook the law of Yahweh, and all Israel with him.
2Ch 12:2 It happened in the fifth year of king Rehoboam, that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, because they had trespassed against Yahweh,
2Ch 12:3 with twelve hundred chariots, and sixty thousand horsemen. The people were without number who came with him out of Egypt: the Lubim, the Sukkiim, and the Ethiopians.
2Ch 12:4 He took the fortified cities which pertained to Judah, and came to Jerusalem.
2Ch 12:5 Now Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam, and to the princes of Judah, who were gathered together to Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said to them, Thus says Yahweh, You have forsaken me, therefore have I also left you in the hand of Shishak.
2Ch 12:6 Then the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves; and they said, Yahweh is righteous.
2Ch 12:7 When Yahweh saw that they humbled themselves, the word of Yahweh came to Shemaiah, saying, They have humbled themselves: I will not destroy them; but I will grant them some deliverance, and my wrath shall not be poured out on Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak.
2Ch 12:8 Nevertheless they shall be his servants, that they may know my service, and the service of the kingdoms of the countries.
2Ch 12:9 So Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, and took away the treasures of the house of Yahweh, and the treasures of the king's house: he took all away: he took away also the shields of gold which Solomon had made.
2Ch 12:10 King Rehoboam made in their place shields of brass, and committed them to the hands of the captains of the guard, who kept the door of the king's house.
2Ch 12:11 It was so, that as often as the king entered into the house of Yahweh, the guard came and bore them, and brought them back into the guard chamber.
2Ch 12:12 When he humbled himself, the wrath of Yahweh turned from him, so as not to destroy him altogether: and moreover in Judah there were good things found.
2Ch 12:13 So king Rehoboam strengthened himself in Jerusalem, and reigned: for Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which Yahweh had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there: and his mother's name was Naamah the Ammonitess.
2Ch 12:14 He did that which was evil, because he didn't set his heart to seek Yahweh.
2Ch 12:15 Now the acts of Rehoboam, first and last, aren't they written in the histories of Shemaiah the prophet and of Iddo the seer, after the manner of genealogies? There were wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually.

2Ch 12:16 Rehoboam slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David: and Abijah his son reigned in his place.

Jul. 26, 27
Acts 16

Act 16:1 He came to Derbe and Lystra: and behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewess who believed; but his father was a Greek.
Act 16:2 The brothers who were at Lystra and Iconium gave a good testimony about him.
Act 16:3 Paul wanted to have him go out with him, and he took and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those parts; for they all knew that his father was a Greek.
Act 16:4 As they went on their way through the cities, they delivered the decrees to them to keep which had been ordained by the apostles and elders who were at Jerusalem.
Act 16:5 So the assemblies were strengthened in the faith, and increased in number daily.
Act 16:6 When they had gone through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia.
Act 16:7 When they had come opposite Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit didn't allow them.
Act 16:8 Passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas.
Act 16:9 A vision appeared to Paul in the night. There was a man of Macedonia standing, begging him, and saying, "Come over into Macedonia and help us."
Act 16:10 When he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go out to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the Good News to them.
Act 16:11 Setting sail therefore from Troas, we made a straight course to Samothrace, and the day following to Neapolis;
Act 16:12 and from there to Philippi, which is a city of Macedonia, the foremost of the district, a Roman colony. We were staying some days in this city.
Act 16:13 On the Sabbath day we went forth outside of the city by a riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we sat down, and spoke to the women who had come together.
Act 16:14 A certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, one who worshiped God, heard us; whose heart the Lord opened to listen to the things which were spoken by Paul.
Act 16:15 When she and her household were baptized, she begged us, saying, "If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and stay." So she persuaded us.
Act 16:16 It happened, as we were going to prayer, that a certain girl having a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much gain by fortune telling.
Act 16:17 Following Paul and us, she cried out, "These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us a way of salvation!"
Act 16:18 She was doing this for many days. But Paul, becoming greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!" It came out that very hour.
Act 16:19 But when her masters saw that the hope of their gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas, and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers.
Act 16:20 When they had brought them to the magistrates, they said, "These men, being Jews, are agitating our city,
Act 16:21 and set forth customs which it is not lawful for us to accept or to observe, being Romans."
Act 16:22 The multitude rose up together against them, and the magistrates tore their clothes off of them, and commanded them to be beaten with rods.
Act 16:23 When they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, charging the jailer to keep them safely,
Act 16:24 who, having received such a command, threw them into the inner prison, and secured their feet in the stocks.
Act 16:25 But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.
Act 16:26 Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone's bonds were loosened.
Act 16:27 The jailer, being roused out of sleep and seeing the prison doors open, drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped.
Act 16:28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, "Don't harm yourself, for we are all here!"
Act 16:29 He called for lights and sprang in, and, fell down trembling before Paul and Silas,
Act 16:30 and brought them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"
Act 16:31 They said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household."
Act 16:32 They spoke the word of the Lord to him, and to all who were in his house.
Act 16:33 He took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes, and was immediately baptized, he and all his household.
Act 16:34 He brought them up into his house, and set food before them, and rejoiced greatly, with all his household, having believed in God.
Act 16:35 But when it was day, the magistrates sent the sergeants, saying, "Let those men go."
Act 16:36 The jailer reported these words to Paul, saying, "The magistrates have sent to let you go; now therefore come out, and go in peace."
Act 16:37 But Paul said to them, "They have beaten us publicly, without a trial, men who are Romans, and have cast us into prison! Do they now release us secretly? No, most certainly, but let them come themselves and bring us out!"
Act 16:38 The sergeants reported these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that they were Romans,
Act 16:39 and they came and begged them. When they had brought them out, they asked them to depart from the city.
Act 16:40 They went out of the prison, and entered into Lydia's house. When they had seen the brothers, they encouraged them, and departed.

Learning the fear of the Lord Psalm 34 by Beth Johnson


http://www.oldpaths.com/Archive/Johnson/Edna/Elizabeth/1939/learning.html

Learning the fear of the Lord
Psalm 34
Psalm 34:11-14 talks about learning the fear of the Lord. The inspired Psalmist says: "Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the LORD. What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good? Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile. Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it."
By looking more closely at this passage, we see there are several things that must be done to learn the fear of the Lord.

  1. First we must listen in order to gain the knowledge of the fear of the Lord. We might ask the question: To whom shall we listen?
  2. The next step is to desire life. Which kind of life is this? Is it only physical life? Many desire physical life, but they do not desire to please the Lord in any way.
  3. Later, we see that we must love many days in order to "see good." Which good is this?
  4. Afterward, we are told that we must keep our tongues from evil and our lips from speaking guile.
  5. Finally, in the last section, we are told to depart from evil, do good, seek peace and pursue it. That is quite a list of things we must do in order to learn the fear of the Lord, but we should be willing to learn how to please Him.

Why should anyone want to learn the fear of the Lord? What advantage does it have for us as Christians?
Notice what Job said about it, when he spoke with his friends. "And unto man He said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding" (Job 28:28). Here we see a strong encouragement to gain wisdom and understanding through the fear of the Lord. By the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the Psalmist David states the same truth, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever" (Psalm 111:10).
King Solomon emphasizes this same point when he states, "My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God. For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: He is a buckler to them that walk uprightly" (Proverbs 2:1-7).
In another passage, Solomon repeats, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding" (Proverbs 9:10). Furthermore, Solomon says, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction. My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother: For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck" (Proverbs 1:7-9).
This is truly strong encouragement for us to gain the fear of the Lord. We see that it is closely intertwined with spiritual wisdom and understanding. Through this study, the deeper meaning of James 1:5 becomes clearer in our minds: "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him."
Beth Johnson


Published in The Old Paths Archive
(http://www.oldpaths.com)

Did Jesus Perform Miracles Or Not? by Eric Lyons, M.Min.


http://apologeticspress.org/AllegedDiscrepancies.aspx?article=3747&b=Mark

Did Jesus Perform Miracles Or Not?

by Eric Lyons, M.Min.


A gentleman who was struggling with his beliefs in the inerrancy of the Bible recently contacted our offices questioning why Jesus told the scribes and Pharisees that “no sign shall be given to this generation” (Mark 8:12; cf. Matthew 12:39; 16:4; Luke 11:29). Since other scriptures clearly teach that Jesus worked “many signs” (John 12:37; 20:30-31; 3:2; Acts 2:22), how could Jesus truthfully and consistently say, “no sign shall be given to this generation”? According to certain Bible critics, Jesus was a false prophet since His “prediction that no sign would be given to that generation is clearly false” (McKinsey, 1995, p. 114; cf. Wells, 2010). How can a Christian reasonably and biblically respond to such an assertion?

Sadly, Bible critics (and some Christians) are fond of disregarding the context in which biblical statements are found. Yet, no statement can be understood properly without some kind of background or contextual information. Words mean different things depending on how, when, and where they are spoken. Figures of speech abound in all cultures around the world (cf.Lyons, 2010). Truthful people, for example, have been joking, exaggerating, and using sarcasm for millennia (cf. Job 12:2; Psalm 58:3), all the while rightly expecting their listeners to interpret their language accurately, and without accusation of lying. Unfortunately, skeptics of the Bible’s inspiration often ignore much of the necessary information needed to properly understand Scripture.

When Jesus first made the statement, “no sign will be given” to this generation (Matthew 12:39; Luke 11:29), He had just healed a person who was blind, mute, and demon-possessed (Matthew 12:22; Luke 11:14). Notice that, rather than acknowledging that the great miracle Jesus worked was proof of His deity (John 20:30-31), the hard-hearted Pharisees alleged that His power came from the devil (Matthew 12:24). They did not simply turn away from Jesus; they turned 180 degrees away from the direction that such miracles led the honest and good-hearted truth-seekers. And Jesus’ enemies had not simply seen one miracle. Earlier in Matthew 12, Jesus had healed a man with a withered hand (vss. 9-13). How did the Pharisees react then? Rather than acknowledge the power of Christ, they “plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him” (vs. 14). The fact is, by this time in Jesus’ ministry He had already worked a number of miracles (Matthew 11:4-5), and many of the scribes and Pharisees absolutely refused to believe in Him (cf. Matthew 9:32-34). Regardless of what Jesus did or said, some of His enemies would never be convinced (cf. Matthew 12:31-32; see Butt, 2003).

So what did Jesus mean when He said on two different occasions that “no sign” would be given to “this generation” except “the sign of the prophet Jonah” (Matthew 12:39; 16:4; Mark 8:12; Luke 11:29)? Jesus was responding to the Pharisees’ desire to see a sign. But they had already witnessed and heard about many of Jesus’ miracles. They wanted something “more.” They sought “a sign from heaven” (Luke 11:16; Matthew 16:1; Mark 8:11, emp. added). Exactly what Jesus’ enemies meant by this, we may not know. What we do know is that while on Earth Jesus manifested His power over nature, disease, demon, and death (see Lyons and Butt, 2007), yet the Pharisees said they wanted more. It seems, as Burton Coffman noted, they “meant some spectacular wonder without moral value but which would appeal sensationally to man’s curiosity” (Coffman, 1984, p. 179). Jesus, however, always rejected doing such miracles. He refused to turn stones to bread or to jump from the temple’s pinnacle simply because Satan challenged Him to do so (Matthew 4:1-7). Jesus could have performed any miracle that He wanted—whether when tempted by Satan, prodded by Herod (Luke 23:8-12), or tested by the Pharisees. He could have pulled rabbits from hats for the sole purpose of amusing people. He could have turned His Jewish enemies into stones or given a person three eyes. He could have commanded that it literally rain cats and dogs. He could have lit the robes of the Pharisees on fire with the snap of his fingers and told them that hell would be ten times as hot. He could have done any number of wonders. But the insincere Pharisees would see none of that (i.e., “no sign [like these] will be given”).

What sign would be given? Other than the kinds of miracles that Christ’s enemies had already rejected, the only other sign Jesus prophesied was “the sign of the prophet Jonah” (Matthew 12:39; 16:4; Luke 11:29)—Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection.

Most certainly, Jesus performed miracles. And though Jesus “humbled himself...taking the form of a bondservant” (Philippians 2:7-8), He refused to get on the lowly, perpetually defiled spiritual level of His enemies. He worked no miracle of the kind that the Pharisees wished to see. But make no mistake, He worked plenty of the kind that provide honest-hearted people sufficient evidence to come to the conclusion that He is, indeed, “the Christ, the Son of God” (John 20:30-31).
 

REFERENCES

Butt, Kyle (2003), “Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit—The Unpardonable Sin,”http://www.apologeticspress.org/articles/2272.

Coffman, Burton (1984), Matthew (Abilene, TX: ACU Press).

Lyons, Eric (2010), “The ‘Twelve,’” http://www.apologeticspress.org/article/177.

Lyons, Eric and Kyle Butt (2007), “The Very Works that I Do Bear Witness of Me,” Reason & Revelation, 26[3]:17-23, March,http://www.apologeticspress.org/articles/2857.

McKinsey, Dennis (1995), The Encyclopedia of Biblical Errancy (Amherst, NY: Prometheus).

Wells, Steve (2010), “Did Jesus Perform Many Signs and Wonders?” http://www.skepticsannotatedbible.com/contra/signs.html.

The Christianity that Made America Great by Dave Miller, Ph.D.


http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=7&article=1515


The Christianity that Made America Great

by Dave Miller, Ph.D.

Though humanistic, secularist forces have been steadily chipping away at America’s Christian heritage, perhaps the greatest threat to the stability and perpetuation of American civilization is what has happened to Christianity itself. The vast majority of the Founders, Framers, and Judiciary of early America were unquestionably aligned with the Christian worldview in general, and Protestantism in particular. They went on record stating quite forcibly that America’s political prosperity, popular government, and even human happiness are dependent on the moral foundation of the Christian religion. For example, after serving two terms as president of the United States, George Washington articulated in his farewell address to the nation the essentiality of Christian morality to national survival:
Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, thesefirmest props of the duties of men and citizens. The mere politician, equally with the pious man, ought to respect and to cherish them. A volume could not trace all their connections with private and public felicity. Let it simply be asked: Where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert the oaths which are the instruments of investigation in courts of justice? And let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle. It is substantially true that virtue or morality is a necessary spring of popular government. The rule, indeed, extends with more or less force to every species of free government. Who that is a sincere friend to it can look with indifference upon attempts to shake the foundation of the fabric? (1796, emp. added).
When one compares the Christianity that was practiced by the majority of Americans in early America, with the Christianity that is being practiced in 21st century America, one cannot help but marvel at the disparity. Consider the following four contrasts.
First, those who professed Christianity in early America believed firmly that Christianity was the one and only true religion. The vast majority of them believed that all other belief systems (i.e., Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Judaism, and Atheism) were false. They even largely rejected Catholicism as an acceptable expression of Christianity. But in today’s politically correct climate, few are willing to assert that all other religions are defective. Pluralism has softened attitudes to the extent that most Americans no longer recognize the superiority of Christianity to every other ideology—and its critical role to national survival.
Second, those who claimed to practice Christianity in early America were staunch in their advocacy of sexual purity. They believed homosexuality to be a great wickedness that would undermine human civilization. They frowned on and stigmatized divorce, and never in their wildest dreams would they have anticipated that abortion would become widely practiced, let alone legalized. Yet, even as an unrestrained judiciary systematically coerces the nation to sanction same-sex marriage, those who profess to be Christian have been gradually relaxing the historic Christian stance against sodomy. Those in America who claim to be Christians have the same likelihood of divorce as do non-Christians, and a majority of Christians disagree that divorce without adultery is sin (“Born Again...,” 2004). Attitudes against abortion have likewise eased.
Third, the practice of the Christian religion by early Americans was focused on God and Christ—not on the worshipper. A reverential awe characterized the worshippers’ demeanor when they worshipped God. They came before Him with a cautious seriousness and a respect that would appear today to be austere, staid, boring, and insincere. When one sees the direction that much of Christendom has gone, wherein worship has been transformed into “inner-tainment,” in which worshippers clap their hands, sway to rock-type music, and otherwise work themselves up into a frenzy that resembles the pagan worship practices of the Old Testament (cf. 1 Kings 18:26-29), the dilution of Christianity is evident. The shift from the rational to the emotional, irrational, and “touchy-feely” is an obvious by-product and reflection of the same abandonment of truth, right, and spiritual sanity that characterizes American civilization as a whole.
Fourth, early Americans were unflinching in their view of afterlife. They believed that all men would one day stand before God at the Judgment and give account for their behavior while on Earth. They believed that all people would then be ushered to one of two eternal abodes: heaven or hell. They embraced the historic Christian doctrines of eternal punishment in hell and everlasting bliss in heaven. For example, in the early state constitutions, it was not uncommon to require those who wished to hold public office to believe in “a future state of rewards and punishments”—as in the constitutions of South Carolina and Tennessee, and to believe in God as “the rewarder of the good and the punisher of the wicked”—as in the constitutions of Pennsylvania and Vermont (The Constitutions..., 1785, pp. 81,146; The Constitutions..., 1797, pp. 257,274). Yet, even as courts, schools, and parents have softened their attitude toward firm and uncompromising punishment for lawbreakers, even so, many Christians are now questioning the eternality of hell. The overemphasis on tolerance and acceptance that has gripped Christendom has effectively muted Bible teaching on punishment that will be inflicted on the majority of humanity by a just God (Matthew 7:13-14).
The implication of this social scenario is that the bulk of those who claim to be Christians are unsuitable and unable to assist in recalling America to its moral senses. By opting for the “fun and games” approach to the practice of the Christian religion, they, too, have become infected with the entertainment-oriented, pleasure-crazed lifestyle of the population at large. Instead of being a part of the solution, they have become a part of the problem. They are essentially unfit to assist the nation in achieving a spiritual reawakening and a return to the foundational biblical principles that made America possible.

CONCLUSION

George Washington offered another haunting observation in his farewell address that ought to give every American pause:
Observe good faith and justice towards all nations; cultivate peace and harmony with all. Religion and morality enjoin this conduct; and can it be, that good policy does not equally enjoin it? It will be worthy of a free, enlightened, and at no distant period, a great nation, to give to mankind the magnanimous and too novel example of a people always guided by an exalted justice and benevolence. Who can doubt that, in the course of time and things, the fruits of such a plan would richly repay any temporary advantages which might be lost by a steady adherence to it? Can it be that Providence has not connected the permanent felicity of a nation with its virtue? The experiment, at least, is recommended by every sentiment which ennobles human nature. Alas! is it rendered impossible by its vices? (1796, emp. added).
Washington was asking rhetorical questions—questions that carry their own affirmative answers. In other words, the “permanent felicity” (i.e., happiness and well-being) of the nation is intimately connected to “its virtue” (i.e., adherence to Christian morality). Hence, America’s national survival is “rendered impossible by its vices.” Its widespread abandonment of the moral principles of the Bible portends its doom.

REFERENCES

“Born Again Christians Just as Likely to Divorce as Non-Christians” (2004), The Barna Update, [On-line], URL: http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=BarnaUpdate&BarnaUpdateID=170.
The Constitutions of the Several Independent States of America (1785), (Boston, MA: Norman & Bowen).
The Constitutions of the Sixteen States of America (1797), (Boston, MA: Manning & Loring).
Washington, George (1796), “Farewell Address,” The Avalon Project at Yale Law School, [On-line], URL: http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/washing.htm.

Thinking Like Scientists Think They Think by Kyle Butt, M.Div.


http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=9&article=2230

Thinking Like Scientists Think They Think

by Kyle Butt, M.Div.

In the July 9, 2007 issue of Newsweek, science writer Sharon Begley penned a four-page section on “scientific” topics such as cloning, evolution, and the Big Bang. Near the end of the section, she wrote a brief article titled “How to Think Like a Scientist.” Begley quotes Alan Leshner,CEO of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, as saying that one of the real problems today is that “people don’t understand what is and isn’t science” (2007b, 150[2]:65). Begley then proceeds to define scientific thinking for the reader. Begley states: “Explanations of large classes of phenomena must make testable predictions and be falsifiable. That is, there must be a way to make an observation that could disprove the explanation” (150[2]:65). Begley continues by stating: “The requirement of falsifiability rules out supernatural explanations; you cannot disprove, for instance, the claim that God scattered fossils throughout rock strata.... God may have done that, but we’ll never know and there is no way to disprove it. In that way, faith is fundamentally different from science” (150[2]:65).
Begley contends, as do many other “science” writers, that belief in a supernatural creator falls outside the realm of science. Thus, science textbooks that deal with scientific explanations must exclude any mention of a supernatural creator. Begley is wrong in this regard. In a previous article, I have dealt with the false notion that what passes for modern science is testable (seeButt, 2005). More specifically, however, consider Begley’s discussion of the Big Bang as it relates to her claim of scientific falsifiability.
Near the beginning of her four-page section, Begley wrote a single-column post titled: “Glimpses of A Cosmic Creation” (2007a). In that article, she states: “It [the Big Bang—KB] occurred 13.7 billion years ago, an explosion that created all matter and energy.... The universe expanded from a very hot, condensed ‘singularity’—the likes of which can be found today in black holes” (150[2]:62). Begley makes it sound like you could hop on a space shuttle, stop off at the nearest “black hole” and find a “singularity” (whatever that is) that perfectly coincides with the beginning of our Universe. In truth, however, such is an absolutely false idea. Evolutionary scientists themselves admit that the Big Bang theory is fraught with “testability peril.” Recently, Eric Lyons wrote an article titled: “The Big Fizzle: Admissions from an Evolutionary Astrophysicist” (2007). In that article, he documented several quotes from Dr. Peter Coles, professor of astrophysics at the University of Nottingham. The gist of Dr. Coles’ sentiments are summed up in his statement: “Within just a few years inflation [the expansion of the Universe after the Big Bang—KB] had become an indispensable part of cosmological theory.... The only problem was that there wasn’t a shred of evidence that inflation had actually happened” (as quoted in Lyons, 2007, emp. added). Paul Davies, Professor of Mathematical Physics at the University of Adelaide in Australia, wrote: “Most scientists regard the cosmic initial conditions aslying outside the scope of science altogether” (1992, p. 88, emp. added). Professor Lawrence M. Principe, from Johns Hopkins University, wrote concerning the inception of the Universe: “This seems to be something that science, at least as we know it, can’t address” (2006, p. 113).
Begley’s attempt to present the Big Bang as a scientific theory that is testable and falsifiable manifests an inexcusably dishonest approach to legitimate science. Real scientific thinking means following the evidence to any conclusion warranted by the data. The scientists of the past knew this—men such as Newton, Farraday, Von Braun, Pasteur, Carver, and a host of others. That is why their scientific minds were forced by the overwhelming evidence to conclude that a supernatural creator exists. Thinking like biased evolutionists, however, means throwing out such conclusions because, if they are considered, evolution crumbles under their weight.

REFERENCES

Begley, Sharon (2007a), “Glimpses of A Cosmic Creation,” Newsweek, 150[2]:62, July 9.
Begley, Sharon (2007b), “How to Think Like a Scientist,” Newsweek, 150[2]:65, July 9.
Butt, Kyle (2005), “Evolution, Intelligent Design, and Testability,” [On-line], URL:http://www.apologeticspress.org/articles/2778.
Davies, Paul (1992), The Mind of God: The Scientific Basis for a Rational World (New York: Orion).
Lyons, Eric (2007), “The Big Fizzle: Admissions from an Evolutionary Astrophysicist,” Reason & Revelation, [On-line], URL: http://www.apologeticspress.org/articles/3393.
Principe, Lawrence M. (2006), Science and Religion (Chantilly, VA: Teaching Company).

How Could Jesus be God if He was Seen by Man? by Eric Lyons, M.Min.


http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=10&article=1404

How Could Jesus be God if He was Seen by Man?

by Eric Lyons, M.Min.

According to Jehovah’s Witnesses, one of the reasons Jesus could not (and cannot) be God is because Jesus was seen by humankind. The official Web site of Jehovah’s Witnesses (www.watchtower.org) indicates that “[a]s the Son of God, he [Jesus—EL] could not be God himself, for John 1:18 says: ‘No one has ever seen God’ ” (“What Does the Bible Say...,” 2000). The problem with such reasoning is two-fold.
First, it ignores the fact that man only saw Jesus (“the Word”—John 1:1) after “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). He came in a veiled form. No human has ever seen Jesus in His true image (i.e., as a spirit Being—John 4:24—in all His glory and splendor). In his letter to the church at Philippi, the apostle Paul mentioned that Christ—Who had existed in heaven “in the form of God”—“made Himself of no reputation,” and took on the “likeness of men” (Philippians 2:6-7). Men saw an embodiment of God as Jesus dwelt here in a fleshly form. Men saw “the Word” that “became flesh.” But no one has ever seen God’s true, complete image (as a spirit Being).
The second problem with Jehovah’s Witnesses’ denial of Jesus’ deity (based on the fact that “no one has ever seen God”) is that their argument crumbles when Jehovah God’s appearances to man are considered. Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that Jehovah is God and “is the name of the true God only” (“Identifying...,” 2002). According to their doctrine, Jehovah, not Christ, is God Almighty. Yet, man has seen Jehovah. Genesis chapter 18 records an occasion when “Jehovah appeared” to Abraham near Mamre (vs. 1). Jehovah spoke directly to Abraham (vs. 13), and the faithful servant of God “stood before the Lord” (vs. 22). The final verse of Genesis 18 states: “And Jehovah went his way, as soon as he had left off communing with Abraham. And Abraham returned unto his place” (vs. 33). If Jehovah’s Witnesses were consistent with their argument, Jehovah could not be Almighty God because man has seen Jehovah. If John 1:18 somehow disqualifies Jesus from being God, it must also prohibit “Jehovah” from being God, because they both were seen. What Bible students must understand is that man has only seen manifestationsof God (i.e, in human flesh, or in the midst of a burning bush—Exodus 3:2, etc.); he has never seen God (the Father or the Son) in His true spirit image.
[NOTE: If you would like to read further on the subject “Has Man Seen God?” and examine the alleged contradiction between such passages as John 1:18 and Exodus 33:11, click on the following link: http://www.apologeticspress.org/AllegedDiscrepancies.aspx?article=2682.] 

REFERENCES

“Identifying the True God Only,” (2002), [On-line], URL:http://www.watchtower.org/library/g/1999/2/8/article_04.htm, originally appeared in Awake!, February 8, 1999.
“What Does the Bible Say About God and Jesus?” (2002), [On-line], URL:http://www.watchtower.org/library/ti/index.htm.