lifeinthespirit222

Is Love Really All There Is

“Although I was raised as a Christian, I have explored other spiritualities and believe that the Universe, God, the All That Is, whatever name we attribute to a greater creative power, conspires to help us succeed, if we know how to tap into that power within ourselves.”

Response:

Very interesting. You have described a world view that is becoming increasingly popular in our nation. In contrast, the Biblical Christian perspective would see the sovereign, living God and creator of the universe as a spiritual being distinct from the universe, His creation. The God of the Bible is not only holy, just, and merciful; He is also personal – having a personality – as opposed to the universe, which is impersonal. Biblical Christianity would say that within ourselves, we only have human power. We have a body, heart, emotions, mind, and spirit, with the latter having the ability to connect with spiritual powers – good or evil. Christians can become filled with the Holy Spirit, and I know of many miracles that have taken place as the Lord has worked through His people, just as Jesus promised. Furthermore, individuals can become possessed by demons, sometimes attaining supernatural strength. But they are in service to their master, the great deceiver named Satan.

Unlike New Age beliefs about tapping into power within ourselves (the higher power), the Christian perspective is that Christians are sinners saved by Christ, and that the power of the Holy Spirit can flow through us. But it is His power, and not our own.

“My own beliefs and faith are rooted in the commonality and community between all spiritual beliefs – the core belief that Love is all there is.”

Response:

While this notion is appealing, it overlooks the fact that “Love” is interpreted defined through the lens of each religion. For example, I understand that devout Hindus believe that to help a poor person interferes with his/her karma, so it shouldn’t be done. The poor person is living out the consequences of his past life, so he has to go through this in order to be born into a better station in his next life.

Love for a Muslim would entail converting non-believers to Islam, which requires their repudiation of all other religions. While Christians also seek to win non-believers to Christ, we are also admonished to love all people, including our enemies.

How different religions see life after death is a clue that the “commonality of all spiritual beliefs” is more theory than real:

Devout Muslims believe that if they die in jihad, they go to Paradise, with access to 73 virgins (I don’t think Muslim women fare so well).
Devout Mormons believe if they call out their wife’s name when they die, they get their own planet, where they can procreate spirit babies that are then born on earth as persons.
Devout Hindus, if they are good enough, eventually escape the Wheel of Samsara (reincarnation) and become one with all that is, like a drop of water falling into the ocean.
Devout Christians believe they go to heaven, where they dwell in eternity in the presence of other saints and the Lord.

By the way, a cardiologist named Maurice Rawlings received a lot of patients in bad shape over the years. Many of them died under his care, and he was able to revive many of them with modern medical means. He discovered that about half of them did not want to come back to life, as they were having a very pleasant experience which some described as being in heaven. The other half came back screaming that they did not want to die again as they were experiencing hell. This would not be the case if there was a “commonality of all spiritual beliefs” and “Love is all there is”.

”As the Dalai Lama said “Loving kindness is my religion”, I too believe. But this also entails, for me, embracing the duality of our nature and understanding that you can’t have light without darkness, beauty without ugliness – all very subjective, human-based concepts anyway.”

Response:

Biblical Christianity would define duality of our nature from two perspectives. First would be the distinction between the physical world we inhabit vs. the spiritual world, which is just as real, but largely invisible to us. Christians are citizens of heaven and ambassadors for Christ into this world.

The second duality would be for life in the flesh vs. life in the Spirit. The fruit of life in the flesh is selfishness, deceit, violence, etc., while the fruit of life in the Spirit would be love, peace, joy, concern for others, etc. An example of this would be when the early Romans threw their unwanted babies on the trash heap, they were rescued by Christians, who knew they were created in the image of God.

We are all subjects/persons (as opposed to objects), so from one perspective, we encounter the world subjectively. On the other hand, historic Christianity is based on the premise that the world as we know it exists objectively, and is not an illusion. Its existence does not depend on our awareness of it. (If the bear craps in the woods, it is real, even if no one else knows about it).

There is substantive evidence supporting the Biblical world view. One example is the fact that the Bible was written by 40 authors from many stations in life, on 3 continents, in 3 languages, over 1,500 years, and yet has a single theme that runs through it, testifying to a supernatural author. The fulfillment of over 40 Old Testament prophecies is another.

“Transcending duality is really the objective of Buddhism – to reach the point of the great emptiness, which isn’t an easy concept to grasp, but once in awhile, in my meditations, I get a glimpse.”

Response:

It sounds like “transcending duality” is to deny/transcend one’s physical reality and to dwell in the spiritual realm. But rather than encountering the sovereign, living God of the universe as a Christian would, the Buddhist, in his/her highest state, seeks to find and experience nothing. Perhaps it is similar to a drop of rain falling into the ocean; it loses its identity as a drop and becomes part of the ocean.

The image of emptiness which comes to mind is that of the survivors of the Nazi death camps in WWII – poor souls who stagger out from behind barbed wire, their bones sticking out from starvation, with a gaunt look on their faces. Have these people achieved emptiness? Can emptiness be forced on us, or do we have to achieve it by ourselves?

Finally, the Biblical perspective is that the spirit realm is inhabited by angels and demons. Seeking to enter the spiritual realm without the protection of the Holy Spirit may even be dangerous, as it opens a person up to demonic influence and possession.

“If we accept that the world’s dramas are an illusion – a huge stage play – and we all have a starring role, it becomes easier for me to feel equanimous when things seem to be spinning out of control. That’s my spirituality in a nutshell.”

Response:

Yes, and if we accept that the moon was made of cheese, we would never starve if we could just bring a chunk of it back to earth. While it is an intriguing intellectual exercise, it poses some real questions:

Then food would also be an illusion; so how would you account for hunger if life is just an illusion?
What would your loved ones feel or think of you if they knew we perceived them as just an illusion?
If life is illusory, then moral constraints would also be illusory, would they not? So anything goes, including mayhem and murder.

We had dinner with some friends recently, and the husband stated that life was an illusion. His wife seemed a little startled, so she pinched him – hard, and asked if that was real. He stated that it was.

Finally, when things seem to be spinning out of control in our lives, we can call on the Lord, who promises to be with us through thick and thin.

George Washington’s Secret to Success

Your February 22 editorial spoke of George Washington: “What was the secret of his success? How did he found a nation, this self-made man, this self-taught general, this self-abnegating statesman? …he did it by his concern for ‘civility and reputation, which tamed and smoothed his natural endowments, and brought his ideals into daily life’. He did it through an unbroken series of successful gestures.”

Response: The editorial omits a crucial fact: that Washington was a strong Christian, known for his avid prayer life. Washington stated: “You do well to wish to learn our arts and ways of life, and above all, the religion of Jesus Christ. These will make you a greater and happier people than you are.

While we are zealously performing the duties of good citizens and soldiers, we certainly ought not to be inattentive to the higher duties of religion. To the distinguished character of Patriot, it should be our highest glory to add the more distinguished character of Christian.

I now make it my earnest prayer that God would… most graciously be pleased to dispose us all to do justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that charity, humility, and pacific temper of the mind which were the characteristics of the Divine Author of our blessed religion.”

That whirring sound you have been hearing is George Washington, turning over in his grave upon learning that his success was attributed to his own virtue without the hand of almighty providence, the real secret of his success. One of his successful gestures was to always tell the truth.

Everyone is Going to Heaven

“After all, everyone is going to heaven.”

Response:

Great to see you recently. When you were here, I mentioned my Egyptian roommate Said, who married a young lady who was a Catholic. Said was a wonderful friend, and we had a great time together. Here is a little more to that conversation. I mentioned that their wedding ceremony was conducted by a Catholic priest and Muslim Iman.

What they shared was religious liberalism – the notion that different people come out of different religious traditions, but that all worship the same God, and that we all go to heaven. Not only does religious liberalism (which is different from political liberalism) deny the fundamental beliefs of each of the religions it “embraces”, but it uses a Christian view of heaven, when other religions have widely differing perspectives on what happens when we die.

In contrast to this perspective (that Christianity is merely a tradition), Jesus stated “I am the way, the truth, and the light; no one comes to the Father except through Me,” John 14:6. This claim to exclusivity is a stumbling block to many people in this modern era, because it denies the validity of other religions and philosophies. It would be inappropriate to say Jesus was a great teacher but a little misguided. Either Jesus was a blatant liar and fraud, or he was telling the truth. If Jesus was fake, we should be all against him. If He is real, we should be all for Him.

In contrast to other religions, which are attempts to reach God (or create god in their own image), only Christianity offers a relationship with the sovereign, living God of the universe. It is only in this relationship can we truly be free; free of the constraints of religious (and secular) traditions, free of sin (when we repent), and free to be all that we were created to be. And our Lord wants to be with us: “I am with you always, even to the very ends of the earth.”

By the way, I don’t expect to you to agree with me. I don’t think a person can come to their own belief system until they critique how they were raised, and consider alternative belief systems. (Much to the consternation of my family, I was a Marxist for a time). I also don’t think a person is truly educated until they can discuss an issue from at least two different perspectives. Each of us is on a personal journey – a great adventure, and we can learn from each other, as we learn from other people along the way. I do ask that you listen to me, and consider what I share with you, as I listen and consider what you share with me.

Best regards,

Does God Reveal Himself Through All Religions

“God reveals Himself through all religions.”

Response:

* If God reveals Himself through all religions:

He would not have condemned the pagan religions in the Old Testament.
He would not have condemned the religion of the Pharisees and Sadducees (Talmudic Judaism) in the New Testament.
He would not have claimed exclusivity: “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’” John 14:6

The sovereign, living God of the universe reveals Himself through nature, the created world, through His Word, and through His Holy Spirit today as it works in the hearts of Christians. He reveals that He is a God of love, of holiness, of justice, and of mercy. He invites us to a close walk with Him on earth and for eternity, but we must accept His invitation, and not be drawn away to other pursuits and other gods.

* Christ distinguished between believers and non-believers:

^“Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, ‘First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’ Matthew 13:30
“He who is not with Me is against Me…” Matthew 12:30a
“Only those who enter the narrow gate shall be saved: And He went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem. Then one said to Him, “Lord, are there few who are saved?” And He said to them, ^‘Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able.

When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open for us,’ and He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know you, where you are from,’then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.’ But He will say, ‘I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.’” Luke 13:22-28

* All religions have different requirements, and their adherents do not end up in the same place:

Christians believe we must accept Christ as Lord and Savior, then we go to heaven.
Muslims believe they go to Paradise, with each man having 73 virgins; the only guaranteed way to reach heaven is by dying in Jihad.
Mormon men believe if they are good Mormons (good works), they get their own planet, where they and their wife/wives procreate endlessly, creating spirit-babies that are then born on earth.
Buddhists believe they enter Nirvana, or nothingness, by becoming empty of self.
Hindus believe that if they are good, after a few reincarnations, they will escape reincarnation and become one with the Atman (the all), like a drop of water that falls in to the ocean.
Secular humanists (declared to be a religion by the U.S. Supreme Court) believe when you die, it is all over – you cease to exist, like a bug that gets squashed (no requirements, but no hope).
Because several of these directly contradict each other, these do not appear to be different manifestations of the same God, but descriptions of different gods.

* What is the evidence for Christianity above other religions?

In the book “The Math of Christ”, author Stephen M. Bauer calculates the likelihood that 40 Old Testament prophecies that were fulfilled by Christ would have happened by chance. The odds that they happened by chance were one chance in 1 x 10 to the 136^th power. To gain some perspective on that number, if you covered the whole earth – land and sea, with silver dollars, one of which was red, and asked a blind guy name George to go out and pick out the red one, the chances of George being successful are one chance in 1 x 10 to the 17^th power.

* What difference does it make?

“I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.” Galatians 1:6-9

Did We Really Evolve From Nothing?

Hello

Just another note to let you know it was great to see you at the CDS conference in Cincinnati. I always appreciate our shared history and friends, your insights about what is happening in the world of community development, and your sense of humor. I also appreciate our spirited discussion about matters temporal and eternal.

I wanted to follow up our discussion about origins, specifically the evolution / creation issue. A few key points always seem to arise in these kinds of discussion:

The fossil record: Some religions, like Hinduism, are based on evolution. And yet there are 10,000 scientists in this country who see evolution as an unproven theory, with stronger evidence for creation than evolution, such as the fossil record, within which the missing links are still missing. The missing links are exactly what is predicted from the creation science perspective. Darwin even said that the validity of his theory depended on the fossil record, and yet the gaps are still missing.

Macro-evolution vs. micro-evolution: By the way, both creation scientists and evolutions embrace micro-evolution, such as changes in moths or birds. It is on macro-evolution – the notion that a whale can evolve to a bear – where they disagree. There is even an emerging Intelligent Design movement of evolutionary scientists who have abandoned evolution because the evidence of intelligence in design is too compelling to ignore. They just don’t take it to the next logical conclusion, which is that the designer is really the God of the Bible.

Speaking of the Bible, it was written by 40 authors with widely differing occupations from 3 continents over 1,500 years, telling an integrated story that is woven together in a progressive story of human life (starting with the creation), of God’s involvement over the centuries, and dozens of prophecies that are fulfilled. This unity is evidence of a common author (the Holy Spirit), who inspired and guided the writing of the books of the Bible, in contrast to other religions.

Stories within cultures: Over 130 cultures have stories / myths in their history that they are descendants of a family who was saved in a boat from a world-wide flood. Could this possibly come about by chance? This phenomena is best explained by the story of Noah – that he really did build an ark, the Bible story is true, and these stories/myths are exactly what we would expect. This is in contrast to evolution, which claims that a fish can turn into a bear if we just wait long enough.

Evolution lacks face validity: The theory of evolution claims:

* if we wait long enough, something can come from nothing,

* that the 100 billion galaxies in the observable universe were contained in a volume smaller than the size of a single atom prior to the “Big Bang” 13.7 billion years ago,

* that something can come to life,

* that great order can come from a big explosion (like a tornado blowing through a large junkyard and producing a Boeing 747),

* that people can evolve from primordial soup, and

* that all of this is scientific. (Science depends on observation, and yet no person was around at the origin of the universe except God, who revealed these truths for us in the Bible.)

Mount Rushmore – If we were hiking through the Black Hills of South Dakota and came upon Mount Rushmore, no one would say: “Wow – look what has evolved over centuries”. We would be more likely to remark that this is a sign of great skill and intelligence. And yet the human brain is thousands of times more complex than Mount Rushmore, and evolutionists claim it evolved from simpler forms.

Who gets the prize – Evolutionists claim that creation science is religion, a matter of blind faith. But the prize really belongs to the evolutionists – it takes a much greater leap of faith to believe in evolution than to believe that the incredible complexity and design of the universe reflects intelligence – that of the sovereign, living God – the creator of the universe. By the way, an excellent source on this issue is the Institute for Creation Science http://www.icr.org.

Finally, the relevance of all this is that severe times are coming to our nation; some refer to this as a perfect storm. I believe those who know the Lord will be best able to weather the storm.

Best regards,

Conspiracy Theorists vs. Coincidence Theorists

Letter to the Editor:

I am responding to your recent newspaper column ridiculing conspiracy theories and “tin-hat conspiracy theorists”. It is a common ploy of governments and the complicit mainstream media to label those who don’t buy the official story line as “conspiracy theorists”, i.e. as not telling the truth. After all, what do these folks know about what really took place? However, it is more difficult to dismiss a U.S. president, particularly one who died under suspicious circumstances:

“For we are opposed around the world by a monolithic and ruthless conspiracy that relies on covert means for expanding its sphere of influence on infiltration instead of invasion, on subversion instead of elections, on intimidation instead of free choice, on guerrillas by night instead of armies by day. It is a system that has conscripted vast human and material resources into the building of a tightly knit, highly efficient machine that combines military, diplomatic, intelligence, economic, scientific, and political operations.”

John F. Kennedy’s speech to the American Newspapers Publishing Association on April 27, 1961

If we define a conspiracy as two or more people planning/plotting in secret to do something (usually bad), then hundreds of prosecutors set out every day to prove conspiracies of people who have planned and executed crimes. History and the Bible are full of conspiracies. In the Old Testament, it was usually false prophets and rulers conspiring against God’s true prophets.

“Then Hoshea the son of Elah led a conspiracy against Pekah the son of Remaliah, and struck and killed him; so he reigned in his place in the twentieth year of Jotham the son of Uzziah.”

II Kings 15:30

In the New Testament, it was the Pharisees and the Sadducees plotting against Christ and His apostles. Given that Satan is lord over the world, and he is known as the great deceiver, we should be expect conspiracies and be surprised when there isn’t one.

There are many current examples of official story lines, supported by the mainstream media, that were later proven to be false. Examples include U.S. government representative Susan Rice claiming that the attack in Benghazi was caused by a video, denials about IRS targeting certain organizations, and Operation Fast and Furious arming Mexican warlords.

Those who dismiss conspiracy theories as being not valid are really “coincidence theorists”, who look at the myriad of events taking place, of multiple players with strong vested interests and no moral compunctions, and conclude that it is all a coincidence. Stuff just happens – key leaders get killed just like anyone else, wars arise spontaneously, and rebel groups like ISIS are self-supporting with arms, food, and supplies. Perhaps they have gardens, cottage gunsmiths, and bake sales to raise funds.

Best regards,

Columnist Leaves Out God

In a recent column “We Cannot Escape History”, Daniel Burnett described a time of war in the U.S. (1963), in which President Abraham Lincoln signed a proclamation of thanksgiving, urging Americans, to take a moment and reflect on the greatness of our nation.

Response:

What Burnett leaves out is that Lincoln attributes this greatness to God. Lincoln described the blessings accrued to our nation and stated: “No human counsel has devised nor has any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, has nevertheless remembered mercy.” Lincoln then proceeded to“set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwells in the heavens.”

Bemoaning the fact that our college students are ignorant of American history, Burnett betrays that history by omitting the most significant aspect of Lincoln’s Proclamation of Thanksgiving – that he was urging the nation to thank God for the many blessings of our nation.

Burnett encourages us to “be thankful for the wisdom of a president seven score and eight years ago who saw the importance of giving thanks as a unified nation,” but denies that Lincoln’s wisdom points us to the sovereign, living God of the universe.

Burnett asks:“Without a strong foundation, how can the leaders of tomorrow set the course for our future?” Good question. Perhaps he should ask Abraham Lincoln.

Coincidence Theorists vs. Conspiracy Theorists

Dear Editor

In your June 25 column, “The paranoids are back”, you state: “Now the conspiracy theorists are back with a new source of all evil. This time it isn’t communism but Common Core, an innocent attempt to set up some national standards for American education.”

As you ridicule “conspiracy theorists”, you demonstrate that you are a “coincidence theorist” – a person who contends that what happens in the political, financial, and geo-political arena (including wars) are just matters of coincidences. Stuff just happens. (To see how the Federal Reserve “just happened”, read “Creature From Jekyll Island”).

By the way, you mentioned Joe McCarthy as an example of paranoid delusion. A Sovietologist researcher (forgot his name at the moment) went to Russia during a window of time when they allowed Westerners to come in. He spoke and understood Russian, and found multiple documents that proved that in fact the Communist Party USA was a tool of the Soviet Communist Party, and took orders from them. A close look at the Communist Party USA and their agenda from the 1960s reveals that they have been successful in accomplishing several of their goals. They even have a neo-Marxist now in the White House; the torch passed from Marx to Gramsci to Alinsky to Obama.

Coincidence theorists (usually Washington politicians and the main stream media) would have us believe that World Trade Center Building 7 imploded shortly after the twin towers, (although it was not hit by an airplane) because of fires, even though skyscrapers are routinely design and built to handle such fires without imploding. And that it is just a coincidence that WTC Building 7 housed records of tremendous financial and bond fraud on Wall Street. Stuff just happens…

Coincidence theorists would have us believe that JFK was killed by a disaffected lone gunman, even though Kennedy opposed the Viet Nam War (alienating the military industrial complex) and started the U.S. government printing U.S. dollars (threatening the international bankers/Federal Reserve). Bad stuff sometimes just happens to good people…

By the way, on April 27, 1961, in a speech to the American Newspapers Publishing Association (a little irony there), John F. Kennedy stated: “For we are opposed around the world by a monolithic and ruthless conspiracy that relies on covert means for expanding its sphere of influence on infiltration instead of invasion, on subversion instead of elections, on intimidation instead of free choice, on guerrillas by night instead of armies by day. It is a system that has conscripted vast human and material resources into the building of a tightly knit, highly efficient machine that combines military, diplomatic, intelligence, economic, scientific, and political operations.” Hmmm… the dots are starting to connect here.

When the Reichstag (German parliament building) burned in 1933, Hitler’s shills blamed it on the communists, and no doubt criticized anyone who might have wondered if it had been caused by Hitler as a “conspiracy theorist”. Looking back through history, we can see the steady rise of Nazi power and control, with false flag events and a complicit media playing important roles in the drama that led to WWII and the holocaust.

Whether it is “weapons of mass destruction” that precipitated our war with Iraq (and a million Iraqi deaths) or a little video that “caused” the Benghazi slaughter, it is the “conspiracy theorists” who question the official lies spouted from Washington and their shills in the mass media (MSM). So when the Washington politicians and MSM start talking about conspiracy theorists, be sure to look behind the curtain for the real agenda and culprits; they are there.

With regard to Common Core, “an innocent attempt to set up some national standards for American education”, the proponents of evolution and manmade climate change are ecstatic about the Common Core science standards. Climate change is accepted as manmade in the standards and children are expected to accept this notion. “The standards make clear that evolution is fundamental to understanding the life sciences,” according to Education Week.

So here is the federal government mandating this curriculum (through the tests) that pushes the fraudulent man-made climate change agenda and the theory of evolution as settled science. When Al Gore received his Nobel Peace Prize, a real scientist receiving the same prize refused to stand on the podium with Gore, stating that his “An Inconvenient Truth” is propaganda, not science.

31,487 scientists have signed a petition stating that “there is no convincing scientific evidence that human release of carbon dioxide, methane, or other greenhouse gases is causing or will, in the foreseeable future, cause catastrophic heating of the Earth’s atmosphere and disruption of the earth’s climate” (www.petitionproject.org).

The lie of evolution is evident from intelligent design, a movement of prominent scientists within the evolution community that state that the data drive them to the conclusion that the complexity of the universe could not have been developed through evolution, but only through design by some intelligence. They usually do not go further to describe this intelligence, but their work shatters the foundation of evolution. Furthermore, I understand Common Core would represent a lowering of educational standards of several states.

Yep, it is a coincidence that these falsehoods are incorporated by this “innocent attempt to set up some national standards for American education”. And I have a bridge to sell you…

So how to sort through this milieu of hidden agendas, propaganda, and lies? We can learn from the New Testament: “Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed him, ‘If you abide in My Word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free’” John 8:32.

Best regards,

Children Are a Gift From the Lord

Just a note to let you know it was great to meet you. I am so impressed that you have such a large family. I am sure sometimes you feel like you are herding cats, and other times that it is just overwhelming. But you have a huge opportunity to make a major impact on the lives of each of your children; it is an opportunity that many people do not have and wish they had. Children are a gift from the Lord, and you have been blessed!

When you are older, and the lure of the world becomes less strong (hopefully), the relationships you have with your children and their friends and loved ones will be more precious than gold. Parents who become estranged from their children, for whatever reason, have an ache in their souls that nothing in the world can fill.

Treasure each moment – they will be grown up and gone before you know it. I understand that your husband has some kids and you have some. Although there is nothing as special as your own flesh and blood, you are in a key position in their lives to love and nurture them – each one of them, regardless of how difficult that might be. That’s our job – to love them so much they will also become lovers of other people.

Remember that each one loves something, is afraid of something, and has lost something in their lives. (Same for each of us). One of my goals in life is to become really good at loving others – really loving them – with the same unconditional love with which the Lord loves us. If we really love our spouses, our children, and those around us, we will do all we can to hold them up, support, and nurture them, with no conditions – no expectations of it being returned. If we really learned how to love them as the Lord loves us, do you think they would ever stray from us? We would become so indispensable, so much an integral part of who they are and want to become, that to do so would be unthinkable.

I heard a story – I believe it is true, about a woman who wanted to divorce her husband. He was a rat, she was fed up, and she wanted to ditch him and get on with her life. She was seeing a counselor, and the counselor asked if he had treated her poorly, and she replied that he had. The counselor then asked if she really wanted to get even with him before she ditched him. She said yes. So the counselor recommended that for the next three weeks, she really care for him – be sensitive to him, nurture him, and really meet his needs, so that after three weeks, when she dumps him, he will experience the maximum pain.

So she followed the plan, and after several weeks passed, the counselor contacted her to find out the latest, and if she dumped him. She said “are you kidding? He has responded so well, that we are getting along better than ever before”.

But this kind of love is only possible as we draw close to the Lord. The Lord has plans for you – He is calling you for a greater purpose, one that no doubt involves your family. The Lord is seeking a close relationship with you, which in my experience is the most incredible thing in the world. But it requires our spending time with Him, and a surrender of all of our problems and our lives over to Him. As the author C.S. Lewis stated: “God can’t give us happiness and true peace apart from him because there is no such thing.”

Be blessed this day. Let’s stay in touch.

In His grace,

Edutainment Misnamed

Lisa Miller’s June 4 story entitled “Belief Watch Edutainment” was a great example of edutainment – an entertaining, one-sided perspective on a complex topic. Miller refers to Creation Museum founder Ken Ham as an evangelist, overlooking the scientific books he has written. Portraying the creation museum as “Bible-based edutainment…posing as science”, Miller ignores the scientific evidence for creation. Charles Darwin stated that the validity of his theory of evolution depended on the fossil record. And yet the gaps – lack of fossils – between species persists, thus contradicting Darwin’s theory.

There are over 10,000 scientists in the U.S. today, who embrace the creation perspective. No one would look at a Boeing 747 and conclude that there was no designer, that it all happened by chance over millions of years. And yet evolutionists would have us believe that the human brain, which is much more complex than a 747, happened by blind chance, given enough time. Now that’s edutainment!

Mark Peterson

Little Rock, AR