Life in the Spirit

The Sanctity of Life and Its Enemies

Hello

Great to see you here in Little Rock recently. We were relieved to hear that you made it home. I want to share some perspectives with you, but first want to let you know that nothing you do, say, or believe (or who you vote for) alters my love for you. Really! That should be freeing to you.

In this missive, I want to focus on one issue – human life. This is an attempt to describe a pro-life perspective and apply that perspective to what is going on in the U.S. and the world. This is a 5 year or perhaps a 10 year letter. You may dismiss it now, but five or ten years from now you may have an experience that connects with some element of this letter.

As you know, the Biblical perspective on human life is that we were created in the image of God; although He is a Spirit, we are like Him. We look like Him, we have a spirit that can connect with Him, as well as emotions, will, and reason, which He also has. We are not merely animals but are a special creation. This sanctity of life perspective shaped the foundation of our nation, and is in contrast to the cultures and political systems from which our forefathers and foremothers came.

Furthermore, God is not a respecter of persons, and we – both men and women – are all equal under the law of God. Under kings, the king and his cohorts are elite rulers who make all of the decisions; the people have little or no voice. The same is often true for sultans, czars, emperors, pharaohs, and chiefs. Many of these considered themselves to be gods, and some practiced human sacrifice.

So the rule of law, in which everyone is equal under the law, was a departure from historical precedents. One of the first to embrace this was when God gave Moses the Ten Commandments. Even Moses was treated as equal to other people by God, and was not allowed to enter the Promised Land because of his transgression. In most of the elitist systems, human life was cheap and expendable for the cause of the regime in power. In direct contrast, early Christians rescued abandoned babies off the trash heaps in ancient Rome because they believed in the sanctity of human life.

I would add that our nation’s history and treatment of Native Americans and African Americans has been a dark stain on our nation’s history, for which there is no excuse. Our Declaration of Independence laid out the basic premise that all men are created equal, but it has taken years and at least one war before that ideal has started to become more fully realized.

Although our nation is still a work in progress, the existence of slavery, persecutions, and lack of basic freedoms and economic opportunity in many other countries today may account for the continued flow of people into our nation from other nations.

Modern attacks on the sanctity of human life and the notion that we were created in the image of God come from:

Charles Darwin, who favored evolution (really macro-evaluation from one species to another) as the best explanation of origins, leading to the perspective that we are merely animals, albeit smart animals. If we are merely animals, then there is no creator with a purpose for our lives, and we can make up our own rules. This is taught in most public schools and universities as “scientific”, ignoring the substantial body of knowledge in creation science that confirms the Biblical world view. The Intelligent Design Movement consists of a group of evolutionary scientists, some of them quite prominent, who have concluded that the data, and the intricate nature of nature forces them to conclude that nature (like Mount Rushmore) did not happen by chance, but by design from some kind of intelligence.

Radical environmentalists embrace evolution and are more concerned for the future of the earth and its ecosystem than people. This leads to laws that protect endangered species (such as the spotted owl) at the expense of the jobs and livelihoods of thousands of people in Oregon, Washington, and other states.

The New World Order, espoused by every U.S. president since George H. Bush, is a movement toward a one world government, one world economy, one world financial system, and one world religion. New World Order advocates are globalist elitists – leaders of multi-national corporations, foundations, banks, and governments, who see population reduction as an essential part of their agenda. The New World Order people are ruthless criminals who start wars and have absolutely no regard for human life.

Hitler also embraced evolution, and sought to eliminate those people who he did not view as highly as the Aryan race (Jews, gypsies, handicapped, etc.), as well as individuals who opposed his regime (Christians, priests, traditional German patriots, etc.)

Karl Marx and Frederich Engels founded Marxism, a materialistic, totalitarian system which advocates replacing God with the state (federal government), and destroying or co-opting all intermediary associations between the individual and the state, including families, the church, businesses, and voluntary organizations. (This is exactly the agenda described by the Communist Party USA, when they met in the 1960s).

Based on the faulty presupposition that we are by nature good, Marx contended that as capitalism is replaced by socialism (government control of the means of production), which then evolves to communism (government control of the entire society), there will be no crime because everyone’s needs will be met, and the state will “wither away”. The reality is that communist states become repressive, totalitarian states ruled by ruthless thugs, with a track record of murdering tens of millions of their own people, even during peace time.

That is why millions of people have fled those countries to come to the U.S., while a much smaller number of Marxist idealists have chosen to move there. These totalitarian societies eliminate freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom to bear arms, and freedom to own private property. (It is alarming that these freedoms are now under assault in this country and in the world.) It is not uncommon among Marxists (even in this country) to discuss the need for millions of people to die (particularly those opposed to their regime), which they see as a necessary evil if the “dictatorship of the capitalists” is to be replaced by the “dictatorship of the proletariat” i.e. the working people.

Although they have the same goal – a totalitarian communistic state, there are two camps within Marxism – those who advocate violent overthrow of existing capitalist systems, and those who favor the gradual takeover of a society’s institutions from within. Antonio Gramsci, an Italian Marxist count, advocated the latter. One of his ardent students was Saul Alinsky, the infamous community organizer from Chicago, who wrote “Rules for Radicals” and dedicated it to “the first rebel, Lucifer”. Alinsky has a famous pupil in very high political office, Barack Hussein Obama. As you may know, I was a Marxist for a time, studied Marx and Alinsky in grad school, and have visited five communist countries. I also presented a paper on Marxism at a national conference. A close friend lost her position in the University of California – Davis History Department when the Marxists took over and she would not toe the party line.

Hinduism has a system of castes that people are born into and from which there is no escape (without leaving that system). Unlike Christianity, with its admonition to feed the poor, the Hindu perspective is that if you help someone in dire poverty, you will interfere with his/her karma, in which he must suffer in this life for wrong-doing in his previous life, in order to be reincarnated at a higher station of life in the next life. New Agers basically embrace Hinduism, its reincarnation, and pantheism.

Islam is a special case. We can learn a lot by studying the founder of a religion. While Jesus treated women with respect and taught his followers to love their enemies, Mohammad personally led multiple raids on passing caravans for booty, women, and slaves. Observing the gradual increase in Muslims in a Western nations, the pattern that is emerging is that rather than assimilate within the culture, Muslims increase their demands for sharia law, with its barbaric treatment of criminals and women. A few other clues:
- Within Islam, the only sure way you know you are going to Paradise when you die is when you die in Jihad – holy war. Perhaps that is why a Palestinian mother exclaimed a few years ago that the happiest day of our life was when her son blew himself up as a suicide bomber in Israel. Amazing – this describes a culture of death!
- During the Iran-Iraq war, a war between two Muslim nations, Iran sent out thousands of its teenagers to clear the minefields prior to a military battle. They became human fodder in this tragic war.
- Honor killings takes place in the Middle East and this country when a family member, usually the father, kills another member of the family who has shamed the family. If a young woman is raped, she is killed by her father because she has shamed her family. Meanwhile, the rapist faces far lesser charges. Unbelievable. So the family’s “honor” is more important than human life.
- In similar fashion, an Egyptian professor at Cairo University converted to Christianity and had to flee because his father was about to kill him to restore honor to the family.

Abortion – with the perspective that human life is just a blob of tissue, abortionists have killed an estimated 70 million babies in the U.S. since Roe vs. Wade in 1973. The tide turned somewhat when “Silent Scream” came out – a video that shows the pain that an unborn child experiences during an abortion. Under President Obama, our government pressures other nations to embrace abortion. I heard an interview with a pastor from Kenya, in which he described how the U.S. government pressured Kenya to change its constitution to accept abortion. President Obama has also sought to force Christian health organizations (Catholic hospitals, etc.) to provide abortion services, in direct conflict with their fundamental beliefs. Worldwide, approximately a billion babies have been killed since 1973, for which our nation bears some responsibility. The blood of these murdered babies cries out from the ground against our nation and our government.

Abortion leads to bizarre things happening. I recently read that 400-500 babies every year are alive due to botched abortions. I saw a video clip of one of these individuals, in which she told her story of how her mother and abortion “doctor” tried to kill her, but she survived. Now that is a dysfunctional family!

In contrast, the Word of God states:

“Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Your hand shall lead me, And Your right hand shall hold me… for You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb.

I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;marvelous are Your works, that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them.” Psalm 139:7-16

Unlike materialistic/communistic systems, in which people have no transcendent or special purpose other than utility, or systems that embrace evolution in which we are just animals, the Biblical world view describes a world in which we were created by God teleologically – with a purpose.

Just as nature is a product of design (as opposed to evolutionary chance), so was human life was designed with a purpose. We – you and I, were created by God with a purpose, and that purpose is to draw close to Him on earth, to reflect His love and truth to all people, and to enjoy His presence here on earth and in heaven when we die. But He won’t force anyone to be there who does not want to be in the presence of God.

God invites us to into a relationship (not just a belief) with Him, in which we fellowship and can be led by the Holy Spirit of the sovereign, living God. And this is truly amazing.

Many people’s experience with Christianity has not been positive. Perhaps they encountered a dead church or Christians who did not walk the walk, or were stuck in stifling social roles. Or perhaps they were just seeking a social organization, and became tired of hearing about Jesus, sin and guilt. (False guilt comes from man and is often manipulative; true guilt comes from the Lord and is redemptive.)

Most people don’t like to be called sinners – it is like telling someone they are a bad person. I find it more useful (and Biblically accurate) to note that teleologically, sin is merely missing its mark, like a car that runs off the road and hits a tree. Cars were not designed to hit trees; they are designed to drive down the road. In like manner, we were not created to crash off the road; we were created with the capacity and desire to know the Lord. This is expressed in the following – the Greatest Danger.

The Greatest Danger

The greatest danger facing all of us is not that we shall make an absolute failure of life, nor that we shall fall into outright viciousness, nor that we shall be terribly unhappy, nor that we shall feel that life has no meaning at all – not these things.

The danger is that we may:

fail to perceive life’s greatest meaning,
fall short of its highest good,
miss its deepest and most abiding happiness,
be unable to tender the most needed service,
be unconscious of life ablaze with the light of the Presence of God,
and be content to have it so.

That is the danger – that some day we may wake up and find that always we have been busy with husks and trappings of life and have really missed life itself.

For life without god, to one who has known the richness and joy of life with Him, is unthinkable, impossible. That is what one prays one’s friends may be spared – satisfaction with a life that falls short of the best, that has no tingle or thrill that comes from a friendship with the Father. Phillip Brooks (1835-1893)

Sophia, God of Wisdom

“I am at point in time where I question belief systems (be they spiritual or otherwise) to see how they fit into my experience… I remain open to receiving “answers” that are always true no matter time/space/circumstance. I must say though when I have received such information it has come from within….”

[Paraphrase] I am drawn to Sophia, personified wisdom (and Goddess of Wisdom); here is a link to an article about Sophia’ Exile and Return” written by Kathleen Granville Damiani. She articulates here (much better than I can) a significant part of my questioning/thinking.

“Who is Sophia? Literally she is Wisdom, because the Greek word Sophia means “wisdom” in English. More than that, Sophia is the Wisdom of Deity. She has been revered as the Wise Bride of Solomon by Jews, as the Queen of Wisdom and War (Athena) by Greeks, and as the Holy Spirit of Wisdom by Christians… Sophia personifies wisdom, an ancient tradition concerned with integrity in the marketplace, politics, and royal court. Because the teachings were rooted in life instead of doctrine, Sophia became problematical and excluded from the religious formulations of monotheism.” http://www.northernway.org/sophia.html

Response:

Great to hear from you. Thanks for your thoughts, and sharing “Sophia: Exile and Return” with me. I found it very interesting and revealing about Ms. Damiani’s personal journey. I appreciate her openness and your sharing her story with me. Each of us is on a personal journey, and although our journeys may intersect or be along the same path for a time, it is still personal and one that each of us must live out in our lives.

I also question belief systems to see how they fit into my experience. And as I meet people, read books, and have other encounters, they inevitably become part of my experience. Although I used to see religion as a matter of belief, a “blind leap of faith”, I now see a profound opportunity – that of a relationship with the sovereign, living God, the creator of the universe. Furthermore, I see many manifestations of God’s supernatural intervention into the natural world and our lives. A few examples:

A colleague of mine who is on the faculty at the University of Arkansas Medical Sciences campus told me about an experience that transformed her life. In the 1970s, she said it was the worst time of her life. She was going through a divorce, and she had a 2 year old girl. She felt strongly that she should stay home and take care of her daughter, but didn’t have enough money. So she wrote down how much money she would need, and then said: “Lord, you know I want to stay home with my daughter and take care of her, but you know I don’t have the money. So let me know what I should do.” The total amount of the money she needed was $10,750.56 (this was back in the 70s).

The next day she received a letter from her mother, telling her that she knows she is going through a tough time in her life, and perhaps this will help. Enclosed was a check for the exact amount of $10,750.56! The letter from her mother was sent a day before she wrote down the amount. I think this is how the Lord works – something happens in our life and we know it could not have happened by chance.

Three weeks ago, I heard a large man, whose name is Ed, tell his story – an incredible story, in some ways similar to the story of the Apostle Paul in the New Testament. Ed was drafted into the army and went to Vietnam, where he witnessed great brutality and became heavily involved in drugs. When he returned, he became an enforcer with the mob in New Orleans. He was arrested for a murder he did not commit, and was sentenced to die. While on death row, he heard an audible voice tell him “I know who you are and what you have done”. At first he thought it was a guard, but finally realized it was the Lord, and became a Christian. He was still destined to be executed, when another person confessed to the murder. As soon as he was free from prison, he was arrested for a murder he did commit. He was let out on bail after several years, and now goes to visit prisoners to tell them how they can become spiritually free.
The New Testament is full of stories of the Holy Spirit guiding, nurturing, convicting, and supporting the apostles and early believers.

As I mentioned before, I find it helpful to make clear distinctions whenever possible, which gives us choices and perhaps provokes us to deeper thought. Here are some distinctions (please forgive me if I don’t do justice to Sophia):

Where Sophia, personified wisdom, looks to personal experience, illuminated by myths, stories, and legends, Biblical Christianity looks to the sovereign, living God of the universe as the ultimate source of wisdom.
Sophia, personal wisdom, encourages us to listen to ourselves, and seek wisdom from our experience that emerges from our unconscious. For a Christian, the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord: a profound respect that God for who He is and recognizes our inadequacies and sin in the presence of the Holy God.

Ms. Damiani stated in her dissertation: “Wisdom used to be the highest virtue, but with the coming of Christianity, wisdom left the Western world.” An astute observation, and I agree with her.

The two realms – human wisdom and wisdom from God are distinct and ultimately compete for the attention of people. It is interesting that the Bible addresses this very issue:

“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.’

Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? …For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” I Corinthians 1:18-25

Perhaps the ultimate question is this: how can human wisdom guide us in eternal, supernatural, spiritual matters – an arena in which our human senses and reason fail us, but can only be understood as revealed by the sovereign, living God of the universe?

By the way, I just read a book entitled: “The Math of Christ”, by retired Army Colonel Steve Bauer. Bauer calculates the odds that 40 of the Old Testament prophecies that have been fulfilled happened purely by chance. He found the odds to be one chance in 10 to the 136^th power. To gain some perspective on this number, let’s say that the United States was covered by silver dollars, one of which is red. If we asked a blind man to go out and pick up the red one, his chances of success are one chance in 6.8 chances x 10 to the 13^th power. Fulfilled prophecies are another indication of God’s intervention into our natural world.

I hope this note finds all is well with you. On with the journey…

Best regards,

Some Day We Will Stand Before the Lord

Good to hear from you. Yes, I appreciate our ability to agree on many things and disagree on others. This is what happens when we get older – we share with each other when our next operations are. I have another lithotripsy in July as well, although I am sure it is much milder than what you have had to endure. Best of luck to you with your surgery.

It strikes me that we have a lot in common – an intellectual bent toward reason, science, evidence, and the like; observations about the changing climate (which I believe are real, regardless of their cause), and a concern about the future of our nation and possible hyperinflation.

By the way, I heard an interview with a private investigator who has a friend who is high up in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. His friend indicated that the Department of Homeland Security is anticipating hyperinflation in the U.S. and great civil unrest. The term he used is “massive civil war”. Perhaps that is why the Department of Homeland Security recently purchased 450 million hollow point bullets, enough to kill every American 1½ times. So the huge federal debt, which we have discussed and which everyone has known is unsustainable, will likely lead to a financial crisis that will be terrible for our nation and probably the rest of the world.

I confess that when I visited you in your hospital bed, I thought it might be the last time I would see you. But you are a tough guy, and have survived to live another day. You have been given another chance at life. Good for you. As a friend, I would encourage you to think about what happens when you die.

Simon Greenleaf was the nation’s most eminent legal scholar on the rules of evidence, and the U.S. Supreme Court often referred to his books on tough cases. A Jew, Greenleaf occasionally would speak disparagingly about Christianity. When his students challenged him by asking if he had ever examined the evidence for Christianity, he replied that he had not, but agreed to do so. After several months of examining the evidence for Christianity, Greenleaf converted to Christianity, convinced that the evidence was so compelling, he had no other choice.

Ken, some day you (and I) will meet the Lord. We will stand before Him and give an account of our lives. The key will not be what we have done to help the poor, to alert people about global warming, or how much we know. The key will be whether or not we know Jesus, the son of the sovereign, living God, who died for our sins and set us free, and whether or not we have accepted Him as our Lord and Savior.

Now we have that choice. Once we cross the line from this earth to eternity, it will be too late. The Lord does not force people to go to heaven, but He welcomes all who seek to spend eternity with Him and His son, Jesus Christ.

I hope this note finds all is well with you and your beloved.

Best regards,

Ridiculing Conspiracy Theorists

Dear Editor

I got a kick out of your editorial entitled “Blown Away Blueways – When Conspiracies Flood the Land”. After disparaging “conspiracy theorists” as “tin-foil hats”, you cite several instances in which they were ultimately vindicated: Benghazi, the IRS scandal, Operation Fast and Furious, and “If you like your health plan, you can keep it”. If the mainstream media would do its job of investigative journalism instead of reporting as news the story line of whoever happens to be in power, the gap between what most people believe and the news headlines would not be so great.

By the way, 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”.

So which is it – 1) this is all baloney and JFK is a tin-foil hat conspiracy theorist, 2) you truly are oblivious to this, or 3) you are part of the game?

Secondly, I was interested in your editorial: “Change: It happens”, about the military changing rules about hair length and head coverings. While your insights were useful about the changing times, you IGNORE the greatest story impacting our U.S. military – Obama firing over 250 of our top military leaders. Just google that topic, and you will see a lot of articles, or you can take a look at these articles:

http://thecommonsenseshow.com/2014/01/10/the-mother-of-all-false-flag-attacks/

http://thecommonsenseshow.com/2014/01/05/would-you-prefer-a-civil-war-or-world-war-three/

This is huge, and you would rather write about hair length and head coverings! This brings me back to the question stated above – are you oblivious to this, or are you part of the game?

Best regards,

Religion vs. Science

“The Bible is about religion, but science is a separate category.” (Quote from an editorial)

Response: Rather than viewing Christianity and science as two separate realms that have nothing to do with each other, or even compete, it is more useful to see how Christianity and science are different, but complement one another. Christianity claims that the sovereign, living God of the universe created the heavens and earth, and many of the earliest scientists saw science as a way to learn more about God’s creation. The following questions help us see how Christianity and science intersect, and how godless evolution is in conflict with both:

Occam’s Razor, a problem-solving principle devised by William of Ockham (c. 1287–1347) states that among competing hypotheses, the one with the fewest assumptions (i.e. the most direct and simplest) should be selected. Other, more complicated solutions may ultimately prove correct, but—in the absence of certainty—the fewer assumptions that are made, the better.

Using Occam’s Razor as a guideline (check all that apply)

1) If a frog turns into a prince, is it:

___a) Magic

___b) Science (you just have to wait a long time – evolution in action)

___c) Other:____________________________________

2) The Bible, written by 40 authors with widely differing occupations from 3 continents over 1,500 years, tells an integrated story that is woven together in a progressive story of human life, with God’s involvement over the centuries, including dozens of prophecies that are fulfilled. This unity is:

___a) by chance – the books just happen to have a common theme and story, and the prophecies just happened to have been fulfilled,

___b) the Roman Catholic Church commissioned all of this work to be done, and pulled it together,

___c) there was a common author (the Holy Spirit), who inspired and guided the writing of the books of the Bible,

___d) other:___________________________________

3) 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. This is best explained by:

___a) chance – it just happened that way. Their cultures also probably have stories about dogs as well.

___b) as evolution is based on the premise that every change must be advantageous to the organism for it to be adopted, there is a survival advantage to all cultures that developed the flood story versus those that didn’t.

___c) Noah really did build an ark, the Bible story is true, and these stories/myths are exactly what we would expect.

___d) other:_____________________________________

4) If we were hiking through the Black Hills and came upon Mount Rushmore, we would logically conclude that:

___a) it happened by chance – just a fluke of nature and erosion over time,

___b) it is a sign of design and intelligence; that one or more persons created it,

___c) some creature from outer space created it,

___d) other:_____________________________________

5) The human brain is more complex than the largest supercomputer ever developed. It came from:

___a) A long time ago, there was this thing that exploded, and some of the stuff that exploded joined together (all by itself) into order – tremendous order. Then it came alive (also all by itself), and eventually became a human being with a brain. Of course this took a long time. This is called “science”, and just goes to show what can happen if you wait long enough.

___b) Intelligence; design reflects intelligence, and tremendous design reflects tremendous intelligence. We were created by the sovereign, living God who was there, and tells us about it in the Bible, which He inspired. (Which would explain why an Intelligent Design movement is emerging, led by former evolutionary scientists.)

___c) We came from outer space (which raises another question – when we were in outer space, where did we come from?)

___d) Other:_____________________________________

6) The assumption that the origin of the universe and life as we know it is from material causes:

___a) is scientific – we can prove that natural causes were the forces that led to the universe, and that there was no super-natural cause involved.

___b) is a philosophical presupposition that cannot be proven scientifically because the origins of the universe and life were not observed by human beings and cannot be replicated.

___c) is false. The origin of the universe and life can only be truly known by observation, and only God was there to observe it. He then revealed this in the Bible.

___d) is fundamental to Marx’s theory of scientific materialism (which has led to the deaths of hundreds of millions of people)

___e) other:______________________________________

7) Jesus was:

___a) a great teacher, and perhaps even a prophet, but not the Son of God.

___b) either who He said He was – the Son of God and part of the eternal triune God, or a false teacher and imposter, who claimed to be someone who He was not,

___c) who He said He was – the son of the sovereign, living God (which is why Simon Greenleaf, the nation’s greatest legal scholar on rules of evidence, ultimately converted from Judaism to Christianity, compelled by the evidence before him.)

___d) other:_____________________________________

8) Life or existence beyond the grave is:

___a) clearly beyond the reach of science,

___b) not beyond the reach of science if we could just figure out how someone could observe it and come back and tell about it,

___c) beginning to give us clues. Dr. Maurice Rawlings was a non-Christian cardiologist who lost many patients. As his medical skills improved, he was able to bring many of them back from the dead. About half of them did not want to come back, as they were experiencing great bliss. The other half were absolutely terrified that they were die again and once experience what they described as hell.

___c) other:_____________________________________

Best regards,

Pretty Cool to Design Your Own Religion

“My religion is a religion of love and my god is a god of love”.

Response: You seem to describe a “designer religion” – the notion that each of us can fashion our own god or gods to suit our wishes and desires. We thus create god in our own image. Here are some clues about choosing (or designing) our own gods:

Did your god create the heavens and earth, or did it all just happen by itself?

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. An example is the fossil record, within which the missing links are still missing. (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 scientists who have abandoned evolution because the evidence of intelligence in design is too compelling to ignore.

Where do you want to end up after this life on earth?

Every religion has a distinctly different ending for life. So you might consider the following:

“Good” Moslem men go to paradise with 73 virgins and “bad” Moslem men go to hell;
Hindus believe that the end their life on earth leads to being reincarnated as a person, animal, or perhaps a mosquito, and (hopefully) eventually escaping reincarnation to become one with the All;
Mormons – get their own planet if they are good Mormons;
Atheists – turn into a pile of ashes and are buried or blown away by the wind;
Christians – go to heaven to be with the Lord; those who reject Christ and His offer of eternal life spend eternity in Hades; and
Universalism – everyone gets to go to heaven, whether they want to or not.

NOTE: These different perspectives raise these provocative questions:

Are they all true? (Is it even possible for all of them to be true?)
On what basis do you assume that we get to select the ending we want (paradise with virgins, have our own planet, one with the all, go to heaven to be with the Lord, etc.)?
Are there clues as to which of these is most likely to be the truth?

Have you considered the evidence for Christianity:
The Bible: Written by 40 authors with widely differing occupations from 3 continents over 1,500 years, the Bible tells an integrated story that is woven together in a progressive story of human life, with God’s involvement over the centuries. 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.

Fulfilled prophecy – Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection fulfilled dozens of prophecies, the odds of which happening by chance are truly astronomical.

The Flood – 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. This 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.

Vast archaeological evidence that testifies to the historicity of the Old and New Testaments, rather than being merely an inspiring book authored by a charismatic religious or cult leader. There have even been expeditions that have found Noah’s Ark, and brought back physical evidence of the ark’s existence.

Evidence Consistent With Rules of Evidence – From a legal perspective, what does the evidence tell us? Simon Greenleaf was the nation’s greatest legal scholar on rules of evidence, with his work known as the standard for rules of evidence, even by the U.S. Supreme Court. A person of Jewish descent, Greenleaf was challenged by his students to examine the evidence for whether or not Jesus Christ was indeed the savior of mankind, or a great imposter. He accepted the challenge, and after much study, became a Christian, compelled by the evidence before him.

Coming Back From the Dead – Evidence comes from many different sources. Dr. Maurice Rawlings was a non-Christian cardiologist who lost many patients. As his medical skills improved, he was able to bring many of them back from the dead. About half of them did not want to come back, as they were experiencing great bliss. About half of them were absolutely terrified that they were to die again and once experience hell.

A Personal Relationship with the Sovereign, Living God of the Universe

Christianity is unique in that it offers the opportunity for a personal relationship with the sovereign, living God, unlike other religions. The sovereign, living God of the universe created us in His image, with the capacity and yearning to know Him and walk in His ways. The Word of God reveals that He knows each of us, that He created each of us with unique gifts and talents, and that we have a purpose in our lives. Furthermore, we will never experience true joy and peace (that transcends circumstances) unless we discover and live to carry out that purpose. Have you discovered your purpose or mission in your life?

The central question for designer religions: Anyone can develop a philosophy or religion – a conceptual framework for life and what happens after we die.

But what is the source of their knowledge?
Did they receive some revelation from the sovereign, living God about life and death (the only true authority about life and death), or did they just make it up?
If you take a little from this religion and a little from that religion, to create a new (synthetic) religion, is it valid?
Does your explanation for your eternal destiny explain what will really happen when you die? The stakes are very high, as eternity is a very long time.

Political Solutions to Spiritual Problems

“If we could only get the right people in Washington, our nation could be turned around.”

Response: There are many pundits and political animals who contend that the real battle today in our nation is between Democrats and Republicans, or perhaps the establishment parties vs. the Tea Party. Is that really true that the profound challenges facing our nation are merely political in nature, and therefore can be solved by getting the right people into office?

Perhaps, but ultimately the leaders of our nation reflect the values of our citizens. We elect people who espouse our vision for America, and we vote out those who don’t share our vision, or are inept at implementing that vision. Look at what has happened in our nation in recent years:

The seven leading problems in public schools in the 1940s were chewing gum, talking, running in the hallways, making noise, getting out of place in line, wearing improper clothing, and not putting paper in wastebaskets. Seventy years later, the seven leading problems have become alcohol abuse, drug abuse, pregnancy, rape, suicide, arson/bombing, and assault/burglary. We’ve gone from gum chewing and talking to rape and school bombing. But what do we expect when we teach our kids they are just smart animals?
Our nation has engaged in continuous warfare against other nations, promoting regime change in multiple countries (such as Iraq, Libya, Egypt, Ukraine, Syria, and Iran) and killing millions of innocent people (over 1 million people have died in Iraq because of “weapons of mass destruction”).
Our political leaders have created a federal debt that is so massive, it will never be repaid, and will burden our children and grandchildren for generations to come.
Over 50 million unborn babies have lost their lives since Roe vs. Wade in 1973. This is the equivalent to an atomic bomb wiping out the population of the states of New York, Virginia, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island, and New Jersey.
Our nation promotes abortion and homosexuality in our foreign policy, often tying foreign aid to other nations’ willingness to adopt policies supporting these practices (Kenya is just one example).
President Obama, the most pro-homosexual president in our history, was re-elected, in part due to a solid voting bloc of Christians.
He also stated that we are no longer a Christian nation, and “the future must not belong to those who slander the Prophet of Islam”.
Over 30 states (and many churches) have now embraced homosexual marriage, in spite of the Biblical admonitions against homosexuality.
When the planes hit the World Trade Towers on 9-11, the response from the American people was righteous indignation, almost a demand that “God bless America”, and a religious service for our leaders in the Washington cathedral that featured leaders from Christian, Catholic, Jewish, and Muslim faiths. Incredible. The most prestigious center of commerce and our defense establishment are attacked by unknown forces, and we respond with the religion of universalism! What did not happen was the people of our nation crying out to God, repenting of our sins, and seeking the protection and guidance from the sovereign, living God of the universe.

So it appears that we have the leadership that we want, and are moving along the path we have chosen.

From the Word of God we read:

“For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?” I Peter 4:17

“If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” II Chronicles 7:14

The Word does not say “if you elect the right person to be your leader”, or “if all of the people”; it says “If My people will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways…”

We need to repent, to turn back to the Lord, and pray for our nation, for God is just.

Only Science Can Explain the World and Reality

“Only science can explain the world and reality. Everyone else, particularly those who believe in religion, are holding on to mythological systems, without adequate proof.”

Response: Very interesting. You have staked out a world view that is different from everyone else’s, and at the same time claim it is not a belief system, and that everybody else is holding to “mythological systems” without adequate proof. So in reality, you hold to a set of beliefs, like everyone else’s. You just claim it is not a set of beliefs. Like having your cake and eat it too.

Perhaps you have heard this story of the end times: everyone is on this big field, with Satan on one end and Jesus on the other. There is a fence that goes through the middle of the field. Satan says: “That one is mine”, and picks a person out of the crowd. Jesus says: “That one is mine”, and picks another person out of the crowd. This continues until there is one guy left, who is sitting on the fence. Satan says: “You’re mine.” The guy protests, claiming that he is sitting on the fence, and therefore Satan has no claim over him. Satan replies: “I own the fence.”

You are the guy on the fence, claiming to be unbiased (by “mythological systems”). And people are starting to gather in the field…

Best regards,

Only Love, Caring, Justice, Joy, and Truth Will Endure

“Those aspects of life actually are all that endure in the largest perspective when they are made with eternity in mind…. Those acts include love, caring, justice, giving, forgiving, fairness, kindness, selflessness, joy, and truth. That’s why every religion values those qualities.”

Response: I am a fan of yours, and always enjoy reading your column. But I did want to respond to your recent column entitled: “Leaving a Mark”.

You mentioned that “those aspects of life actually are all that endure in the largest perspective when they are made with eternity in mind…. Those acts include love, caring, justice, giving, forgiving, fairness, kindness, selflessness, joy, and truth.”

I am in full agreement that having eternity in mind enriches our lives and those around us as we carry out our lives. However from a Christian perspective, the largest perspective would really be eternity – heaven and hell, and how we have assisted people move toward the former (or not). So we could treat people very well, but if we don’t help them see Jesus and learn about eternal life, we will not have helped them in the long run. And eternity is a very long time. As they burn in hell, they may remember how kindly we have treated them, but wonder why we did not introduce them to the sovereign, living God of the Bible and His Son Jesus Christ, who alone saves men and women unto eternity.

By the way, Maurice Rawlings is a cardiologist who discovered that about half of his patients that he revived from death came back screaming for him to save them, as they were in hell. Very interesting, as it directly contradicts liberal seminaries, which often teach that hell does not exist.

“Those acts include love, caring, justice, giving, forgiving, fairness, kindness, selflessness, joy, and truth. That’s why every religion values those qualities.”

Response: Is this really true? The Bible is clear that there were other religions in place at the time of the Old and New Testaments, and they were condemned by prophets in the Old Testament and Christ and His apostles in the New Testament:

Moses directly confronted the spiritual leaders of Egypt, who espoused another religion. He could have said: “I know we have the same values, so I wish you well.” No, he rejected their religion and their gods, and each of the plagues brought upon the Egyptians demonstrated that their gods were impotent against the God of the children of Israel.
There are many other examples of the prophets of the sovereign, living God of the universe rejecting pagan gods in the Old Testament and their practices such as sacrificing their children by passing them through the fire. (Similar to abortion today – over 50 million unborn babies to the gods of convenience, lifestyle, and reputation.) The Judeo-Christian respect for human life as created in the image of God and of a higher order than animals is unique.
The New Testament is also full of examples of Christ and His disciples rejecting other religions. Christ clearly taught that the (Talmudic) Judaism taught be the Pharisees and Sadducees was insufficient to go to heaven. He told Nicodemus, a Pharisee, that he must be born again to go to heaven.
When Paul spoke to the Greek philosophers in Athens, he noted that they had statues to many gods, then expounded on their “unknown god”, making the case that their unknown god was really the God of the Bible. These were professional, hardened, skeptical philosophers, and yet he found a way to reach them. But he did not reach them on the basis of shared values.
Finally, Jesus stated: “I am the way, the truth, and the light; no one goes to the Father but through Me.” John 14:6 This claim to exclusivity is either true or false; there is no middle ground. He was either who he said he was – the Son of the sovereign, living God, or a false teacher and charlatan.

“Each of us finds ways to weave and wind through the time we spend here. Many turn to religion in an effort to connect with the signal. I’ve chosen Christianity. I’ve also had friends of the Jewish faith. Others over the years have become followers of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam, all seeking the higher frequency.”

Response: You imply that different religions are merely different ways to reach the same goal (“the higher frequency”), sort of like a bicycle, motorcycle, car, or truck are all equally valid ways to travel to Memphis.

As the Bible describes multiple gods in both the Old Testament and New Testament, it follows that everyone who worshipped a “god” back then was not necessarily worshipping the God of the Bible. A closer look at religions today reveals that not only is the nature of their gods quite different from the God of the Bible, but their eternal destinations are also quite different. They don’t all go to heaven, but to other places. Here are just three examples:

Mormons believe that Jesus and Lucifer were brothers, and Jesus was more successful at persuading the council of gods that he should go to earth and represent them than Lucifer. So god the father came to earth, had physical sex with Mary, and Jesus was born. Furthermore, if you are good Mormon, you and your wife(s) get your own planet when you die, where you procreate new spirit babies that are then born on earth, just one aspect of reaching godhood.
Hinduism is also polytheistic, and if you are a good Hindu, after some reincarnations, you escape the wheel of samsara (reincarnation), and become one with the Atman – the All. Similar to a drop of water falling into the ocean, the person then loses all personal identity.

Furthermore, the positive traits that you mentioned: “love, caring, justice, giving, forgiving, fairness, kindness, selflessness, joy, and truth” are either absent or reinterpreted within the framework of Hinduism. For example, Hindus are known for not helping the poor in India because that would interfere with their karma. And their “truth” would include the perspective that Jesus was just one of many gods, and not even the main one.

Allah, the moon god, was one of the pagan deities worshipped by the people of Arabia prior to Mohammad arriving on the scene. When he promoted his monotheism to the polytheistic inhabitants of Mecca, they chased him out of town. He traveled to Medina, where he gathered his forces, came back and took over by deception and bloodshed. He was a pedophile, a murderer, and a marauder who institutionalized deception (called taqiyya) within Islam, a practice embraced by Muslim leaders today. Allah is not known for his love, and the only way you can be assured of going to paradise is if you die in jihad – religious war. If you are a good Moslem man, you go to Paradise, where you have your own harem of 72 beautiful virgins. (I don’t believe Muslim women end up with 72 handsome men). The hyper-sexed Islamic culture is evident in Saudi Arabia, home of Islam’s most holy sites, where women dare not venture out of their homes without male escorts, and then covered up with a burka, lest they tempt a man to take advantage of them. If a daughter or wife were to be raped, the father of the family would be duty-bound by Islam to kill her, thus restoring honor to the family.

These elements are fundamental to Islam, and not merely some radical sect of Islam. The “love, caring, justice, giving, forgiving, fairness, kindness, selflessness, joy, and truth” is largely absent within orthodox Islam. (I used to live with Moslems while in grad school in Missouri).

NOTE: Just one of the ways that Islam is profoundly different from Christianity is how it treats women as second class citizens, even as property. Ann Barnhardt is a brilliant, totally outspoken, former financial broker and devout Catholic who provides key insights into Islamic sexuality. You can see her analysis here (part 1 of 4 parts) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2MelBr5VVE. Her videos provide great insight into the works of satan to destroy and pervert God’s ultimate creation – men and women, created in the image of God.

“Others over the years have become followers of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam, all seeking the higher frequency.”

Response: You mentioned “the higher frequency”. By this do you mean there is some all-pervasive power that believers in religion can tap into? Sooner or later most believers in power religion (tapping a higher power) discover that the source of their power is ultimately Satan, who comes as an angel of light, and employs his minions and multiple religions to move us toward the creation of a one world religion, one world economy, one world currency, and one world government. By the way, we can see the foundation for this system now being established – economically, politically, socially, and religiously.

This is in direct contrast to Christians who live a life in the (Holy) Spirit, who worship and serve the sovereign, living God of the universe and His Son Jesus Christ, Who has sacrificed His life that we may be truly free. Furthermore, in contrast to religion, which are largely man-made belief systems, Christianity offers a personal relationship with the Lord. Jesus said: “I am the good shepherd and My sheep hear My voice.”

Further evidence of the uniqueness of Christianity:

The Bible is not a single book, but a collection of 63 books written by 40 different authors with widely differing occupations from 3 different continents over 1,500 years. And yet it portrays a common theme and a common message, indicating that it was inspired by a common source – the Holy Spirit. The common theme is that of a sovereign, living God who is holy, just, and merciful – a God who created a universe of beauty and design, who created man in his own image with the capacity for choice, and a plan for salvation that satisfies His nature and requirements for holiness, justice, and mercy.
Simon Greenleaf was the nation’s most eminent legal scholar on the rules of evidence, and the U.S. Supreme Court often referred to his books on tough cases. A Jew, Greenleaf occasionally would speak disparagingly about Christianity. When his students challenged him by asking if he had ever examined the evidence for Christianity, he replied that he had not, but agreed to do so. After several months of examining the evidence for Christianity, Greenleaf converted to Christianity, convinced that the evidence was so compelling, he had no other choice. A legal scholar, he rejected the religion of his upbringing for the truth and freedom of Christianity.
In the book “The Math of Christ”, retired U.S. Army Colonel Stephen M. Bauer identifies 40 prophecies from the Old Testament that have been fulfilled, and the odds that they have happened by chance. He discovered that the chances that these happened by chance is one chance in 1×10 to the 136^th power. Some scientists believe that the earth is 10 billion years old. Translating this into seconds, this would amount to a mere 4.8 x 10 to the 17^th power seconds. Among all religious, only Christianity has such a record of fulfilled prophecies.
An intelligent design movement has emerged from within the evolutionist

community (including some prominent evolutionary scientists). These scientists have come to the conclusion that the complexity of the universe cannot be explained by Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution, but reveals evidence of intelligence – of design by a conscious being. All of which is totally consistent with the Biblical account of creation.

Stepping back and looking at these issues from an overall perspective, what difference does it make? The Bible not only articulates a world view and theology that is exclusive, it provides a strong admonition against those who teach other views:

“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

We cannot serve both God and mammon. We will either love one and hate the other, or hate one and love the other.

I apologize for the length of this note to you. I would welcome the opportunity to continue this conversation – by e-mail or in person.

Best regards,

One Tamale Away From Eternity

Great to see you this past Saturday, and to go through the concealed carry permit class together. The class reinforced for me that we are just one heartbeat (or one bullet) away from eternity. One shot and we are no longer here. Very sobering.

I wanted to tell you about an experience I had several years ago in Mexico. I was invited to speak at a meeting of the Gorman-Rupp company, a company that makes all kinds of pumps. I was working in irrigation at that time for the University of Missouri, and they found my work with pumps to be interesting. The evening after the meeting, several of us traveled to Tijuana, Mexico, just across the border, to have dinner and watch dog races.

We were enjoying the evening, when three tables away we heard a great commotion. A man was standing, coughing, and gasping for breath, as some of his Mexican food had lodged in his windpipe. He turned two or three colors as he was frantically trying to breathe. Finally another man in his party performed the Heimlich maneuver on him, dislodging the Mexican food from his windpipe. As we witnessed a man who was facing eternity, it raised the question as to whether we have planned for eternity. We may think we will live for another 20-30 years, but in reality, we are just one tamale from eternity. Are you ready?

I appreciate your insights, your intelligence, and your friendship. Have a great week.

Final note: I recently shared this story with a non-Christian, from whom we purchased a piece of furniture. When I saw him two weeks later, I asked him if he had given thought to the story I told him. His response was: “Yes, I have. I had some tamales in the refrigerator, and I threw them away. And I haven’t eaten any since.”