| Topic: |
Religions > Atheism |
| User: |
"Somebody Who Loves You Somebody Who Loves" |
| Date: |
17 Jul 2007 09:19:41 AM |
| Object: |
An Important Word to Begin With |
.. An Important Word to Begin With
This is an introduction on Bible doctrine. We could be devious and call it
by some other name like "Knowledge You Need" or "Truths for Today." But
why? The word doctrine is a perfectly good word that simply means
"teaching," and teaching is not yet in disrepute (though studying sometimes
seems to be!). So let's call this book what it is-a book that will try to
help you understand what the Bible teaches.
Some might think it necessary to apologize for such a book. And yet we have
books like "The Teaching of Kant" (which is another way of saying "Kant's
Doctrine") or "The Thought of Charles Darwin" (which is another way of
labeling "Darwin's Doctrine"). Why should we apologize for investigating
the teaching, of a Book which was here long before Kant or Darwin, which
has had a far greater circulation than any other book, and which will be
around when all the others have gone out of print? Our colleges and
universities rightly think it important to offer courses in psychology,
sociology, and education, for instance, yet all these fields of learning
are relatively new in the history of man. Why, then, should anyone be
embarrassed to study in the biblical field which has stood the tests which
time brings to any area of learning?
Are you about to embark on a study which is or shortly will be out-of-date?
The suspicion seems to be abroad that to study the Bible is a waste of time
since it is a book that needs considerable updating. A person who believes
that needs only to go to Israel and listen to the leaders quoting theBible
and showing how it is being fulfilled by the events occuring in that
country today. Even the Readers' Digest in August, 1966, printed an article
entitled "The Bible's Timeless Insights." It is amazing to discover how
frequently and from what unexpected quarters people keep coming back to the
teaching of the Bible. A study of the Bible is both contemporary and highly
relevant.
The important matter suggested by the title of this chapter is simply this:
Everyone has a basis of authority which becomes a base of operations for
his thinking and doing. Sometimes that basis of authority is complex, for
it is made up of several things; and sometimes people are ignorant of the
fact that they have such a thing as a basis of authority. But everyone,
without exception, has one. Let's name a few by way of illustration.
The man who believes in one of the non-Christian religions, such as
Hinduism or Islam, accepts the teachings of that religion, including its
writings. If he is a real disciple, he will seek to live according to its
teachings. He would, of course, reject Christianity outright simply because
its teachings are incompatible with what he has accepted as his basis of
authority.
The principal plank in the platform of the atheist is simply that God does
not exist. Acting within this frame of reference, the atheist acknowledges
no revelation from an transcendent being, nor does be seek or find his code
of ethics in an external authority. If he is wrong about his basic belief,
then his entire system of doctrine would have to be changed. And believe he
must, for he cannot prove that God does not exist.
Agnosticism seems to be little more than a popular form of atheism. Instead
of the bold assertion of atheism that God does not exist, agnosticism
softens the blow by affirming merely that one cannot know if God exists.
This basic belief is the frame of reference within which the agnostic
proceeds to operate. Again, his entire theology would be overthrown by the
ability to know, but, like the others, he believes that knowing is
impossible.
But we live in a day when things are not black or white, and systems of
theology cannot be categorized into neat pigeonholes. For example,
neoorthodoxy's basis of authority is Christ, which sounds good until you
begin to investigate how substantial their idea really is. The Barthian
(another name for neoorthodoxy) says that his authority is Christ and not
the Bible, for that is a fallible book. But since it is a book full of
errors (and if it is our only source of information about Christ), then how
do we know that Christ has any authority unless we arbitrarily assign Him
authority on the basis of our faith or of our reasoning? Operating within
the framework of this hybrid kind of thinking, the Barthian merrily goes on
his way, preaching like a conservative but believing everything that
liberalism has taught through the years.
The authority of liberalism resides in man himself and especially in his
reasoning processes. To the liberal, the Bible is entirely the product of
human reasoning and thus contains only man's thoughts about God and the
world and himself. It is the history of man's development of his religious
beliefs, but it is not a message from a transcendent God who breaks into
history from the outside. Ethics, then, are produced by our own minds. And
while many liberals adhere to lofty codes of ethics produced by some of the
best minds of history, even that one proclaimed by the noble Jesus, the
basic presupposition of liberalism allows for anyone to produce his own
ethical code.
Actually, that is what has happened in the "God Is Dead" theology. Even
though some of these "theologians" still incorporate a "tip of the hat" to
Jesus, a man or the community of men sets the guidelines for ethical
conduct. They teach that if God is to reappear in the thought and life of
mankind, he will do so only after we leave him dead for a while, cease
talking about him, and expect that when he reappears it will be under a
different label-one which men will come up with in due time. Thus, man's
reason is made the seat of authority in religion. When these modern systems
of theology are coupled with a belief in evolution, as they usually are,
the humanistic basis of authority becomes quite concrete.
Within the Christian orbit of theological systems, Roman Catholicism, for
instance, sees the Roman Church as the seat of authority. To be sure, the
Bible is believed, but it must be interpreted, they say, by the church.
Therefore, the church becomes the final authority, and its pronouncements
are binding on its members.
The evangelical Christian's basis of authority is to be found within the
framework of the revelation of God. Perhaps you are surprised that I did
not say it is found in the Bible. It is, but that is only part of the
revelation of God. God has revealed Himself in various ways, and all these
are included in the framework which becomes the basis of authority for the
Christian. God has revealed Himself in nature, in the course of history, in
special events like providential actions, miracles, visions given to the
prophets, etc.; but chiefly God has revealed Himself in Christ and in the
Bible. Nature tells us certain things about God, but not too much really.
The study of history from a Christian perspective is most rewarding, but
that is not the purpose of this book. What we know of Christ we get from
the Bible; therefore, study of the Bible is the most important means by
which a Christian can come to know this basis of authority which is the
revelation of God.
We have noted that every other system whose basis of authority we have
examined includes a large measure of faith. Therefore, it is perfectly
respectable for a Christian to say, "I believe it." Now this doesn't mean
that one should put his mind on the shelf while studying the teachings of
his faith. Quite the contrary. The teachings of the Bible, while simple in
their major outline, can be quite deep, complex, and demanding of the
intellect. But always the mind will operate within a framework of the basis
of authority which is the revelation of God, principally preserved in the
Bible. If one thinks he is going to put his mind to rest and use it no more
if he accepts the Bible, he should remember that the study of Bible
doctrine could require a knowledge of Greek and Hebrew, other Semitic
languages, the theological thinking of all the greats of the past, some
contemporary theology, a knowledge of church history, and a few other
assorted subjects. And as he progresses he will realize that God is not
putting his thinking or conduct into a strait jacket, but rather, He is
opening up before his thinking new areas of thought which he did not
previously know existed. His perspective, too, will change, and this will
give him a view of the world that will make sense.
Should someone be reading this who has some doubt about operating within
this framework of authority, why not continue to read and study anyway.
Would it not be fair to let the Bible speak its claims for itself before
you judge concerning them? Judgment cannot be rendered with scholarly
honesty unless the evidence is first heard. So even if your basis of
authority has not yet jelled, why not see what the Bible has to say for
itself?
In a book like this it is not possible to write out every Bible reference
that supports a given doctrine. Therefore, it will be necessary for the
reader to look up many of these references. Some books on Bible doctrine
put a string of references after the various doctrinal points. There is
nothing wrong with this, and at least it shows that there usually are
plenty of Scripture passages to support the various doctrines. But the
reader is often so overwhelmed with a long list of Scripture verses that he
does not look up any of them. A limited number of references appear in this
book, and usually they are listed in order of importance. Hopefully you
will want to check on the various points to see if assertions made are
really what the Bible teaches.
Before embarking on this study, here is a word of encouragement: God
intended you to understand what the Bible teaches. This does not mean that
you will comprehend all its truths at first reading or even in a lifetime,
but it does mean that you can expect to learn a great deal. God used
language which He meant to be taken just as normally and plainly as the
words in this book. So take it that way and assume He means what He says.
When a problem arises, look at it again and remember too that God has
promised that the Holy Spirit will also help you to understand His truth
(Jn 16:13; 1 Co 2:12).
[1]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1]Ryrie, C. C. (1995, c1972). A survey of Bible doctrine. Chicago: Moody
Press.
.
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| User: "Bill M" |
|
| Title: Re: An Important Word to Begin With |
17 Jul 2007 10:51:45 AM |
|
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"Somebody Who Loves You" <Somebody Who Loves You_fan_club@yahoo.com> wrote
in message news:13f8ni.jpj.19.1@news.alt.net...
. An Important Word to Begin With
This is an introduction on Bible doctrine. We could be devious and call it
by some other name like "Knowledge You Need" or "Truths for Today." But
why? The word doctrine is a perfectly good word that simply means
"teaching," and teaching is not yet in disrepute (though studying
sometimes
seems to be!). So let's call this book what it is-a book that will try to
help you understand what the Bible teaches.
The foundation of all Christian religions are the Bibles
The Bibles are a foundation of quicksand. There are NO ORIGINALS in
existence. Why would not any 'real' God protect the originals??? What are
available are altered copies of copies by unknown men of questionable
veracity. The books of the Bibles were written over 1,000 years before the
invention of the printing press. Even the so called originals were
supposedly written by 56 or more different authors of unknown veracity. They
are biased by, and dependent on the writings and opinions of the clergy. And
the status and survival of the clergy is totally dependent on their follower
's belief in their Bible stories. There are 18 different English versions
alone.
The Bible is true because the Bible says it is true!
There is NO - NADA _evidence the Bibles are the word of any Gods. They are
no more than the words of hundreds of errant religious leaders motivated to
impress and control their flock.
There is NO objective verifiable evidence as to their authenticity and
veracity. The Bibles are nothing more than books of myths, fables,
contradictions, human and animal sacrifices, genocide, slaveholding,
misogyny, destruction, barbarisms, and impossible tales. They are not
accurate history and certainly are not the words of any god unless he is an
insane and totally untrustworthy monster. They are not even good fiction.
NONE of the Bibles were written during Jesus' 'CLAIMED LIFE TIME'. Time and
distance was required to allow the creation of fictional stories and the
embellishment of history.
There is also the matter of the Biblical canon itself. After all, ancient
Israel and the early church knew of many more religious books than the ones
that now constitute the Bible. For example, there were over 50 gospels in
circulation at the time New Testaments were chosen by church leaders, yet
only four made it into the New Testament. Who decided which of the books
would become part of the Christian scriptures, and again, "Why?" Who
decided, "This book belongs... this book doesn't..."? What were their
reasons? What were their motives? How do we know if ANY of them were
authentic? In addition there is evidence that the Bibles were altered by
church leaders to support their personal motives and ambitions.
The fact is, there are no clear records available which document the
church's process of determining which books were acceptable and which books
were unacceptable and why. The general consensus of opinion among scholars
is that the decision was based on whether or not the book agreed with the
prevailing theological thought and motives at the time. In other words, the
only books accepted were the ones that agreed with the opinions, desires and
motives of the church leadership at the time
It is interesting to note that NONE of the Bibles were written during Jesus'
claimed life time. It seems time needed to pass to permit the creation of
tales and the embellishment of history.
According to Bart Ehrman, professor and Chair of the Dept. of Religious
Studies at the University of North Carolina, The Bible is not the error-free
word of any god. There are some 5,700 ancient Greek manuscripts that are the
basis of the modern versions of the New Testament, and scholars have
uncovered more thousands of differences in those texts.
The last 12 verses of the Gospel of Mark appear to have been added to the
text many years later -- and these are the only verses in that book that
mention Christ reappearing after his death.
Another critical passage is in 1 John, which explicitly sets out the Holy
Trinity (the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit). It is a cornerstone of
Christian theology, and this is the only place where it appears in any of
the Bibles -- and it appears to have been added to the text centuries later,
by an unknown scribe.
For a man who originally believed the Bible was the inspired Word of God,
Ehrman sought the true originals to shore up his faith. The problem: he
found there are NO original manuscripts of ANY of the Bibles - Old or New
Testaments!
If the history of the resurrection of Christ had not really happened, the
message . . . according to the authority of the apostle Paul, had to be
'null and void'. Ehrman slowly came to a horrifying realization: There was
no real historical record. It was, he felt, no more than myths and fables,
told by illiterate men and not set down in writing for decades that
followed.
There is no solid agreement even within the Christian community on the
interpretation of the Bibles. There are 18 English versions alone. There are
thousands of variations and opinions as to the meaning of various Biblical
statements.
If Jesus was God, why did he not leave behind an authentic record of his
rules and commands? Why are there NO Biblical documents written during his
'claimed' time on earth? The Old Testaments were written 'before his birth'.
The New Testaments were written '60 and more years after his death' by men
that could never have known Jesus personally. NONE were written during his
'claimed' life time. Studies by Tony Busby indicate the new testaments were
really not compiled until the third century by the church leadership at the
time.
There is NO objective verifiable evidence as to their authenticity and
veracity. The Bibles contain both historical and scientific errors. They
contain manifest absurdities, unfulfilled prophesies, immoralities,
indecencies, obscenities, atrocities, barbarities, myths, folklore and
legends. They are nothing more than hearsay, myths, contradictions and
implausible tales.
Here is just a small sampling of implausible Bible stories.
The Fallacy of Miracles
Is Jesus divine because of his miracles, particularly that he raised the
dead? If so, then why is he singled out as special when others have done the
same long before? Moses parted the sea, changed a stick into a serpent, and
changed water into blood. Must he not have been divine? We have seen Elisha
and Elijah do the same sort of miracles as Jesus. Elisha raised the dead,
resurrected himself, healed a leper, fed a hundred people with twenty barley
loaves and a few ears of corn, and healed a blind man (2 Kings 4:35; 13:21;
5:14; 4:44; 6:11), while Elijah made an inexhaustible bowl of flour and an
inexhaustible jar of oil, and also raised the dead (1 Kings 17:14, 22). Why
are they not equal to Jesus, if such miracles denote divinity? Indeed,
someone in the Jewish scriptures far surpasses Jesus in raising up dead
bodies-Ezekiel raised "a great, an immense army", and all in one go (Ezekiel
37:1-10). In fact, the miracle of stopping the sun in its daily rotation
(Joshua 10:12-13) was a vastly greater miracle than just raising the dead.
The story of creation
A totally illogical Biblical story is the story of creation. It is obviously
pure fiction.
Genesis says that God created first the earth, then the Sun and Moon.
We know from astronomical data that our Sun and Moon is much older than the
earth. And all of these are older by eons than man. Only uneducated
egocentric humans could have written such nonsense.
Biblically, God created the world about six thousand years ago. 'Scientific
Evidence' indicates the Universe, as we now know it, began more than 13
BILLION years ago or more.
In the Bible, the Universe is a firmament and the Earth is a fixed (not to
mention flat) Planet and the Son, Moon and other planets revolve around the
earth. This was believed until modern scientific inquiry showed this was
totally false. We now KNOW the Earth revolves around the Son and the
Universe is over 20 BILLION light years in diameter and is made up of
trillions of Stars and Planets of which our planetary system is a very
miniscule and inconsequential part. There was no concept of a 'Universe' in
Biblical times.
Everything beyond our immediate Son and planets was considered Heaven.
In the Bible the earth is created in the first day, before the Son, Moon and
Stars. Objective scientific evidence is that the Earth did not form until
approximately 10 BILLION YEARS after the beginning of the present Universe
and after the formation of the Son, and many other stars.
The Creation of the World
Genesis
In the beginning of creation, when God made heaven and earth, the earth was
without form and void, with darkness over the face of the abyss, and a
mighty wind that swept over the surface of the waters. God said, Let there
be light, and there was light; and God saw that the light was good, and he
separated light from darkness. He called the light day, and the darkness
night. So evening came, and morning came, the first day. God created light
before he created the Sun and the Moon!
Astronomical evidence shows the Son existed long before the Earth; therefore
the earth was not created before the Son. It is equally obvious that the
writers of that time thought the World was the center the firmament and that
they had no conception of the size and nature of the Universe. Everything
beyond the Sun and Moon was considered to be gods Heaven
God said, Let there be a vault between the waters, to separate water from
water. So God made the vault, and separated the water under the vault from
the water above it, and so it was; and God called the vault heaven. Evening
came, and morning came, a second day.
God said; Let the waters under heaven be gathered into one place, so that
dry land may appear; and so it was. God called the dry land earth, and the
gathering of the waters he called seas; and God saw that it was good. Then
God said, Let the earth produce fresh growth, let there be on the earth
plants bearing seed, fruit-trees bearing fruit each with seed according to
its kind. So it was; the earth yielded fresh growth, plants bearing seed
according to their kind and trees bearing fruit each with seed according to
its king; and God saw that it was good. Evening came, and morning came, a
third day.
And this good and loving God created animals that eat other animals (and
man) and poisonous plants and snakes that kill!
God said, Let there be lights in the vault of heaven to separate day from
night, and let them serve as signs both for festivals and for seasons and
years. Let them also shine in the vault of heaven to give light on earth. So
it was; God made the two great lights, the greater to govern the day and the
lesser to govern the night; and with them he made the stars. God put these
lights in the vault of heaven to give light on earth, to govern day and
night, and to separate light from darkness; and God saw that it was good.
Evening came, and morning came, a fourth day.
Ancient man erroneously thought the stars beyond the Sun and Moon to be
Heaven. The Moon was NOT considered a reflection from the light of the Sun
but a lesser light.
God, said, Let the waters teem with countless living creatures, and let
birds fly above the earth across the vault of heaven. God then created the
great sea-monsters and all living creatures that move and swarm in the
waters, according to their kind, and every kind of bird; and God saw that it
was good. So he blessed them and said, be fruitful and increase, fill the
waters of the seas; and let the birds increase on land. Evening came, and
morning came, a fifth day.
And this all loving God created creatures of that kill and eat other
creatures including man.
Archaeological evidence shows that animals evolved from primitive cells over
a period of about four billion years - not in one day!
God said, let the earth bring forth living creatures, according to their
kind: cattle, reptiles, and wild animals, all according to their kind. So it
was; God made wild animals, cattle, and all reptiles, each according to its
kind; and he saw that it was good. Then God said, Let us make man it our
image and likeness to rule the fish in the sea , the birds of heaven, the
cattle, all wild animals on earth, and all reptiles that crawl upon the
earth. So God created man in his own image; in the image of God he created
him; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, be
fruitful and increase, fill the earth and subdue it, rule over the fish in
the sea, the birds of heaven, and every living thing that moves upon the
earth. God also said, I give you all plants that bear seed everywhere on
earth, and every tree bearing fruit which yields seed: they shall be yours
for food. All green plants I give for food to the wild animals, to all the
birds of heaven, and to all reptiles on earth, every living creature. So it
was; and God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. Evening came,
and morning came, a sixth day.
And God created animals that need to kill and eat other animals including
man in order to survive. This is a loving and caring God?
Thus heaven and earth were completed with all their mighty throng. On the
sixth day God completed all the work he had been doing, and on the seventh
day he ceased from all his work. God blessed the seventh day and made it
holy, because on that day he ceased from all the work he had set himself to
do and rested.
Why would a God that is not physical but spiritual, get tired and need rest?
If this creator is such a loving and caring guy, why does he permit totally
innocent children to die at birth? Or worse, be born lacking eyesight, a
fully developed brain, deaf and dumb, missing limbs etc.?
Why are some born idiots and others with super intelligence?
Why does this loving and caring god create Plagues, Tsunamis, Tornadoes,
Volcanic Eruptions, Wars, cancers and hundreds of debilitating diseases and
serious body malfunctions that effect people indiscriminately regardless of
their conduct or religious beliefs? Why does he permit millions of both
young and old to starve to death?
These afflict humans indiscriminately - young and old, atheists and members
of all religious beliefs.
Why did he design humans to suffer the decrepitude and malignancies of old
age? Even those that devote their lives to religious leadership suffer these
punishments of old age.
Why did this caring benevolent god create animals that need to eat other
animals to survive?
If there is a god that created the Universe, he is obviously not an
all-caring and benevolent god. The objective evidence is that, if there is a
god creator, he has no concern about the welfare of the creatures on Earth.
Adam and Eve
In the Bible, there are two different accounts of Adam and Eve's creation.
According to the Priestly (P) history of the 5th or 6th century BC (Genesis
1:1-2:4), God on the sixth day of Creation created all the living creatures
and, "in his own image," man both "male and female." God then blessed the
couple, told them to be "fruitful and multiply," and gave them dominion over
all other living things.
According to the lengthier Yahwist (J) narrative of the 10th century BC
(Genesis 2:5-7, 2:15-4:1, 4:25), God, or Yahweh, created Adam at a time when
the earth was still void, forming him from the earth's dust and breathing
"into his nostrils the breath of life." God then gave Adam the primeval
Garden of Eden to tend but, on penalty of death, commanded him not to eat of
the fruit of the "tree of knowledge of good and evil." Subsequently, so that
Adam would not be alone, God created other animals but, finding these
insufficient, put Adam to sleep, took from him a rib, and created a new
companion, Eve. The two were persons of innocence until Eve yielded to the
temptations of the evil serpent and Adam joined her in eating the forbidden
fruit, whereupon they both recognized their nakedness and donned fig leaves
as garments. Immediately, God recognized their transgression and proclaimed
their punishments-for the woman, pain in childbirth and subordination to
man, and, for the man, relegation to an accursed ground with which he must
toil and sweat for his subsistence. Adam died at the age of 930!
In later Christian theology, the concept of original sin (q.v.) took hold-a
sin in which human kind has been held captive since the fall of Adam and
Eve. The doctrine was based on Pauline Scripture but has not been accepted
by a number of Christian sects and interpreters. Why should BILLIONS of
innocent people be punished over thousands of years for this original sin
that they had no part in?
This is both sadistic and ridiculous!
Jonah
As the story is related in the Book of Jonah, the prophet Jonah is called by
God to go to Nineveh (a great Assyrian city) and prophesy disaster because
of the city's wickedness. Jonah, in the story, feels about Nineveh as does
the author of the Book of Nahum-that the city must inevitably be destroyed
because of God's judgment against it. Thus Jonah does not want to prophesy,
because Nineveh might repent and thereby be saved. So he rushes down to
Joppa and takes passage in a ship that will carry him in the opposite
direction, thinking to escape God.
A storm of unprecedented severity strikes the ship, and it shows signs of
breaking up and foundering. Jonah confesses that it is his presence on board
that is causing the storm. At his request, he is thrown overboard, and the
storm subsides.
A "great fish," appointed by God, swallows Jonah, and he stays within the
fish's maw for three days and nights. He prays for deliverance and is
"vomited out" on dry land (ch. 2).
Totally implausible. He would have been digested by the fish in those three
days!
Sodom and Gomorrah
According to the Bible these cities and everyone in them, except Lot and his
family, were destroyed by fire and brimstone for their sinfulness. Lot's
wife was turned into a pillar of salt for disobeying God's command to not
look back at her city of birth being destroyed.
There is no way that EVERYONE in two cities could be so sinful, especially
innocent children, to deserve destruction by fire and brimstone.
Sodom and Gomorrah constituted, along with the cities of Admah, Zeboiim, and
Zoar (Bela), the five biblical "cities of the plain." Destroyed by"brimstone
and fire" because of their wickedness (Genesis 19:24).
Sodom and Gomorrah probably were devastated about 1900 BC by an earthquake
in the Dead Sea area of the Great Rift Valley, an extensive rift extending
from the Jordan River valley in Israel to the Zambezi River system in East
Africa. When the catastrophic destruction occurred, the petroleum and gases
existing in the area probably contributed to the imagery of "brimstone and
fire"
Cruel, inhumane and pure nonsense!
The Tower of Babel
Genesis 11.1 - 11.9
God became concerned that the Tower being built would reach his heaven.
He confounded the builders by giving them different languages so they could
no longer communicate with each other to continue the construction.
Why would this be of any concern to an all powerful God creator and wouldn't
this God creator realize that no tower could possibly reach his spiritual
heaven?
Noah and the Ark
The Bible is claimed to be the inerrant word of God
The story of Noah and the flood is only one of many ridiculous biblical
tales with no authentication or plausibility of any kind. It is an
impossible story.
1. The largest boat ever built to this day could not even come CLOSE to
housing Noah, his sons, wives and two of every type of animal on earth.
2. How were the 1.7 MILLION species collected in a boat and
cared for by a few people. How did he manage to get them all back to Asia,
Africa, Australia, North America, South America, the Arctic and Antarctic?
3. And this was a boat built of wood many thousands of years ago. There are
1.7 million KNOWN species of animals on this planet. This story is patently
impossible, using only materials and tools available to Noah, to build an
arch large enough to hold all these creatures, together with suitable
environments for each of them to live in, keeping them all separated so they
don't kill and eat each other. And then provide room and an environment for
many hundreds of millions of known species of insects, plants, molds etc. on
this planet?
4. Where did they house all of the new born during this ten month escapade?
5. In addition, the ship would have to carry a TEN MONTHS supply of food and
fresh water for the people and thousands of animals for them to survive.
What would the carnivores have eaten? Whatever prey they ate would have gone
extinct. How did they dispose of the thousands of tons of feces? It must
have been one stinking ship!
6. Now according to the Bible the earth was flooded for ten months. This
would kill off all the vegetation. What did the animals eat for an
additional year or more after the flood subsided?
7. Noah sends a dove out to see if there was any dry land. But the dove
returns without finding any. Then, just seven days later, the dove goes out
again and returns with an olive leaf. But how could an olive tree survive
the flood? And if any seeds happened to survive, they certainly wouldn't
germinate and grow leaves within a seven day period. 8:8-11.
8. And according to this myth, Noah was also over 600 years old!
This is a grossly implausible tale that ranks as a greater tale than Santa
Claus, The Wizard of Oz, The Easter Bunny and The Tooth Fairy!
Genesis 6:6
6 The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was
filled with pain.
7 So the LORD said, "I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face
of the earth: men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and
birds of the air-for I am grieved that I have made them."
9 Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he
walked with God.
Genesis 7
1 The LORD then said to Noah, "Go into the ark, you and your whole family,
because I have found you righteous in this generation. 2 Take with you seven
[a] of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate, and two of every
kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate, 3 and also seven of every kind
of bird, male and female, to keep their various kinds alive throughout the
earth. 4 Seven days from now I will send rain on the earth for forty days
and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the earth every living
creature I have made."
6 Noah was six hundred years old when the floodwaters came on the earth. 7
And Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons' wives entered the ark to
escape the waters of the flood. 8 Pairs of clean and unclean animals, of
birds and of all creatures that move along the ground, 9 male and female,
came to Noah and entered the ark, as God had commanded Noah. 10 And after
the seven days the floodwaters came on the earth.
This is patently ridiculous and impossible. How could they capture and load
over three million animals in a period of seven days???
11 In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, on the seventeenth day of the
second month-on that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and
the floodgates of the heavens were opened. 12 And rain fell on the earth
forty days and forty nights.
13 On that very day Noah and his sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth, together with
his wife and the wives of his three sons, entered the ark. 14 They had with
them every wild animal according to its kind, all livestock according to
their kinds, every creature that moves along the ground according to its
kind and every bird according to its kind, everything with wings. 15 Pairs
of all creatures that have the breath of life in them came to Noah and
entered the ark. 16 The animals going in were male and female of every
living thing, as God had commanded Noah. Then the LORD shut him in.
17 For forty days the flood kept coming on the earth, and as the waters
increased they lifted the ark high above the earth. 18 The waters rose and
increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the
water. 19 They rose greatly on the earth, and all the high mountains under
the entire heavens were covered. 20 The waters rose and covered the
mountains to a depth of more than twenty feet. [, 21 Every living thing that
moved on the earth perished-birds, livestock, wild animals, all the
creatures that swarm over the earth, and all mankind. 22 Everything on dry
land that had the breath of life in its nostrils died. 23 Every living thing
on the face of the earth was wiped out; men and animals and the creatures
that move along the ground and the birds of the air were wiped from the
earth. Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark.
24 The waters flooded the earth for a hundred and fifty days.
This of course would have also killed all the vegetation on Earth!
Genesis 7:6 (New International Version)
6 Noah was "six hundred" years old when the floodwaters came on the earth.
7 And Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons' wives entered the ark to
escape the waters of the flood
Genesis 8
1 But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that
were with him in the ark, and he sent a wind over the earth, and the waters
receded.
3 The water receded steadily from the earth. At the end of the hundred and
fifty days the water had gone down,
4 and on the seventeenth day of the seventh month the ark came to rest on
the mountains of Ararat.
5 The waters continued to recede until the tenth month, and on the first day
of the tenth month the tops of the mountains became visible
And what did they eat until all the vegetation recovered from the flood???
Genesis 9 God's Covenant with Noah
1 Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, "Be fruitful and
increase in number and fill the earth.
2 The fear and dread of you will fall upon all the beasts of the earth and
all the birds of the air, upon every creature that moves along the ground,
and upon all the fish of the sea; they are given into your hands.
3 Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave you
the green plants, I now give you everything.
4 "But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it.
5 And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting. I will demand
an accounting from every animal. And from each man, too, I will demand an
accounting for the life of his fellow man.
Before man learned how to create a fire, he had no choice but to eat raw
meat!
Samson
Hebrew Shimshon, Israelite hero portrayed in an epic narrative in the Old
Testament (Judg. 13-16). He was a Nazirite (q.v.) and a legendary warrior
whose incredible exploits hint at the weight of Philistine pressure on
Israel during much of the early, tribal period of Israel in Canaan
(1200-1000).
Samson was claimed to possess extraordinary physical strength, and the moral
of his saga relates the disastrous loss of his power to the violation of his
Nazirite vow. Credited with remarkable exploits-e.g., the slaying of a lion
and moving the gates of Gaza-he first broke his religious promises by
feasting with a woman from the neighboring town of Timnah, who was also a
Philistine, one of Israel's mortal enemies. Other remarkable deeds follow;
e.g., his decimating the Philistines in a private war. On another occasion
he repulsed their assault on him at Gaza, where he had gone to visit a
harlot. He finally fell victim to his foes through love of Delilah, a woman
of the valley of Sorek, who beguiled him into revealing the secret of his
strength: his long Nazirite hair. As he slept, Delilah had his hair cut and
betrayed him. He was captured, blinded, and enslaved by the Philistines, but
in the end he was granted his revenge; through the return of his old
strength, he supposedly demolished the great Philistine temple of the god
Dagon, at Gaza, destroying his captors and himself (Judg.16:4-30).
A truly implausible tale!
God created a three level Universe - Heaven above, a flat World resting on
water. Genesis 1:6-10; 7:11; 8:2; 11:11-9; 19:24; 28:12-13; Exodus 20:4;
Numbers 16:30-33; Deuteronomy 33:17.
God created the Sun and the Moon on the fourth day but created light on the
first day! Genesis1:1-9; 14-19
It is claimed that the Eve, first woman, was created from one of Adam's
ribs.
Genesis 3:1-5 Men and women have the same number of ribs on each side of
their body? And in any case why would a god that has created the Universe
and everything in it need to tale rib from Adam to create Eve???
The Bibles claim that a talking snake talked Eve into eating the forbidden
fruit.
The Bibles claim that Adam lived 930 years, Seth 912 years, Enosh 905 years,
Kenan910 years, Mahalael 895 years, Jared 962 years, Methuselah 969 years;
Lamech 777 years, and Noah 950 years. Genesis 5:-31; 9:29
God commanded that every baby boy at age of eight days be circumcised.
At that time sterilization (of knives) was unknown and many died of
infection for which they new no cure. Why did this almighty and all caring
God create baby boys with foreskins on their penis that he then required to
be painfully and dangerously removed?
This all caring and loving God sent ten horrible plagues upon the Egyptians
Exodus 7:14-12:32 and in his loving generosity gave Israel the land of the
Canaanites and the Israelites slaughtered every person of seven nations.
Twenty one million, men women and innocent children, were slaughtered
according to the Bible. Exodus 12:1-2
This is a loving god???
According to the verse, Jesus was being tempted by Satan, for forty
days. Assuming that Jesus is God, we are required to believe that God
was tempted by Satan, who was created by God in the first place.
[NIV, Mark 1:12-13]
Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all
the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. "All this I will give
you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me." Jesus said to
him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your
God, and serve him only.' " [NIV, Matthew 4:8-10] If Jesus is God,
would the Devil promise him that he will give him the kingdoms of the
world when all the all kingdoms of the world were created by and already
belong to God??
======================================================
God in the Bibles classifies bats as birds when anyone with an elementary
knowledge of biology knows that bats are flying MAMMALS!
Letiviticus11:13, 19
This God can't control his temper resulting in killing thousands of people.
Numbers 11:31-35; 25:1-9
He and Moses ordered the Israelites to kill all the male and Female
Medianites who had ever had sex but to spare the young women who were
virgins and keep them for themselves to enjoy. Numbers 31:14-1
Jeremiah:16:1: The word of the LORD came also unto me, saying,
2: Thou shall not take thee a wife, neither shall thou have sons or
daughters in this place.
3: For thus saith the LORD concerning the sons and concerning the daughters
that are born in this place, and concerning their mothers that bare them,
and concerning their fathers that begat them in this land;
4: They shall die of grievous deaths; they shall not be lamented; neither
shall they be buried; but they shall be as dung upon the face of the earth:
and they shall be consumed by the sword, and by famine; and their carcasses
shall be meat for the fowls of heaven, and for the beasts of the earth.
5: For thus saith the LORD, Enter not into the house of mourning, neither go
to lament nor bemoan them: for I have taken away my peace from this people,
saith the LORD, even loving kindness and mercies.
======================================================
According to the unerring Bible, the earth is the oldest object in the
Universe. (Genesis 1:1), snakes can talk (Genesis 3:1-5), and Man had
dominion over the dinosaurs (Genesis 1:26, 28)."
Really??? The Earth did not come into existence until 10 BILLION years after
the Universe. Man came into existence MILLIONS of years AFTER the extinction
of the Dinosaurs.
======================================================
God is satisfied with his works
[Gen 1:31]
God is dissatisfied with his works.
[Gen 6:6]
God dwells in chosen temples
[2 Chron 7:12,16]
God dwells not in temples
[Acts 7:48]
======================================================
Jesus' claimed last words on the cross, 'My God, my God, why hast thou
forsaken me?' Hardly seems like the words of a god that created and
controlled the whole world and who planned his entry and exit on earth.
More obvious nonsense!
======================================================
Additional Bible nonsense too voluminous to quote fully;
Mt.4:8: Gen. 1:6; Deut. 30.4; Job. 9:6,22:13, 26:11; PSA 75.3, 103.12;
1 Sam 2.8; Isa. 13.5, 40.21-22; Dan 4.10-11; Re. 7.1, 20.8; Psa 93:1, 96:10,
105.5Job. 22.14; Rev. 6.14; Acts 10:11; Rev. 6:13, 8:14; Mat. 2:9; Gen 1:16;
Lev.19.27, 11.7,10-12: Mat. 5:17-19; Luke 16:17; Lev. 19.19; Luke 16:1-9;
Amos 3:6; Isa. 45:7; Lev, 18.22, 20.13; Deut. 13.6; Judges 14.20; 1 Sam
16:21-23, 18.1-3; Sam 1:26, 13:3, 15:37, 16:16-17: Mat. 2:13-15; Luke 2:1-7,
21; Gen. 11.6, 18:21, 27:33; Exod. 9:14, 12:12; Num 33.4; Deut. 3.23; Exod.
18:11; Eccl. 9.5-6, 9:10; Job 7.9-10, 13:28, 14:1-2, 14:1-2, 10-12, 21; Prov
2:18-19; Eccl. 10:17, 17:27, 28, 30, 19.3, 44:9; wisdom 2:1-5
This is just a sampling of ridiculous Bible tales. The Bibles are obviously
a mixture of fiction, fables, folklore and pure nonsense.
And these Bibles were dictated by God??? Then this God must be a demented
idiot.
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| User: "Davej" |
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| Title: Re: An Important Word to Begin With |
18 Jul 2007 09:48:58 PM |
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On Jul 17, "Somebody Who Loves You" <Somebody Who Loves
You_fan_c...@yahoo.com> wrote:
[...]
Are you about to embark on a study which is or shortly will be out-of-date?
The suspicion seems to be abroad that to study the Bible is a waste of time
since it is a book that needs considerable updating. [...]
The Bible is a load of manure. It doesn't need updating. It needs to
be put away like the fraud that it is. The Bible begins with the story
of Genesis which describes the Original Sin that Jesus is later said
to be a cure for. The problem is that the creation story in Genesis
has been disproven -- it conflicts with known facts. This is a very
big "Oh *****" for Bible thumpers. No Original Sin means there is no
need for Jesus.
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| User: "Ben Kaufman" |
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| Title: Re: An Important Word to Begin With |
17 Jul 2007 01:16:09 PM |
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On Tue, 17 Jul 2007 10:19:41 -0400, "Somebody Who Loves You" <Somebody Who Loves
You_fan_club@yahoo.com> wrote:
. An Important Word to Begin With
This is an introduction on Bible doctrine. We could be devious and call it
by some other name like....
<SNIP>
Ok, I will start the list of suggestions:
1. Harry Potter and The Illogical Dream World.
2.
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| User: "UR Welcome! UR" |
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| Title: Re: An Important Word to Begin With |
17 Jul 2007 01:33:30 PM |
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"Ben Kaufman" <spaXm-mXe-anXd-paXy-5000-dollars@pobox.com> wrote in message news:mg1q93tgsmolgs6l7uvl06gv77298g1ko1@4ax.com...
. An Important Word to Begin With
Ok, I will start the list of suggestions:
1. Harry Potter and The Illogical Dream World.
2.
Another "atheist simpleton" with a kids view of the world.
Atheists are always so intelligent and so serious about
the important things, huh. (-: [same playbook]
.. A Nation Unravels
Progress has brought us both unbounded opportunities and unbridled
difficulties. Thus, the measure of our civilization will not be that we
have done much, but what we have done with that much. I believe that the
next half century will determine if we will advance the cause of Christian
civilization or revert to the horrors of brutal paganism. The thought of
modern industry in the hands of Christian charity is a dream worth
dreaming. The thought of industry in the hands of paganism is a nightmare
beyond imagining. The choice between the two is upon us.
.. -President Theodore Roosevelt, 1909
.. The Battle for America's Soul
During the first few decades of the 20th century, exciting things were
happening in our country. American optimism was high, and we were having a
positive influence on the world. It seemed as if technology could solve
almost any problem. One example of the energy and enthusiasm of American
enterprise was the building of the Panama Canal. The French had tried in
the 1880s, but disease and poor planning had foiled their efforts. Some
estimates place the French death toll at nearly 20,000.
When the United States received the rights to build the canal, American
engineers and workers flooded the Isthmus of Panama. They found the
project extremely difficult. Mosquitoes carrying malaria took their toll;
whole sides of mountains collapsed into newly dug ditches; high humidity
caused unbearable working conditions; and mold grew on almost everything.
But the Americans kept digging.
After spending $352 million and ten years, the United States completed the
project. More than 5,500 people had died during the construction,
including 350 Americans. But the project was a success. The elaborate
system of locks opened on August 15, 1914, saving ships thousands of miles
of travel around the tip of South America. It seemed as if America could
accomplish anything.
.. The Passion for Souls Continues
Exciting things were also occurring in the world of Christianity. If the
18th century was America's foundation and the 19th the era of spiritual
testing and growth, then surely the 20th century would be God's final
preparation for America to attain her purposes in His divine plan of
redemption. At the turn of the century, that seemed possible.
At that time, America took the lead in sending out missionaries. Hundreds
of Americans set off for places they had only seen on maps to spend the
rest of their lives serving God. Many died of disease or martyrdom, but
their passion for winning the world for Christ inspired others to follow
in their footsteps. These missionaries began to use their specialized
skills on the field and a new cross-cultural dialog began replacing the
old colonialism of the 19th century.
For the first time, single women like Lottie Moon and Johanna Veenstra
took a more active role in the Christian community. The Student Volunteer
Movement inspired daring young students from colleges and universities to
forego prestigious careers and follow Christ. It is estimated that half of
the Protestant missionary force came from this movement alone. John R.
Mott, a great missionary statesman, was its foremost speaker. Sherwood
Eddy wrote of his experiences as a student volunteer:
In retrospect, I find I have spent half a century along the far-flung
battle line of missions. I was one of the first of sixteen thousand
student volunteers who were swept into what seemed to us nothing less than
a missionary crusade. We were considered fanatical by some, and we made
numerous mistakes which we ourselves came to realize later in bitter
experience. Many sacrificed early plans and ambitions for wealth, power,
prestige, or pleasure to go to some distant country about which they knew
little save its abysmal need. Not wholly unlike the unity of Christendom
achieved during the Middle Ages was the feeling of these student volunteer
missionaries that they were one team, working for one world, under one
Captain.1
Also getting their start during this time were faith missions, where
missionaries are primarily responsible for raising their own support. A.
B. Simpson founded the Christian and Missionary Alliance, Peter Cameron
Scott the African Inland Mission, and C. I. Scofield the Central American
Mission. God raised up Christians who had a burden for such varied parts
of the world that it seemed as if the whole earth would soon be covered.
These men and women had a deep passion for Christ's work. Jim Elliot, who
was martyred for his faith, echoed their heart for the lost: "May we who
know Christ hear the cry of the damned as they hurtle head-long into the
Christless night without ever a chance . May we shed tears of repentance
for those we have failed to bring out of darkness."2
Faith mission societies became some of the most vibrant and innovative
segments of the Christian world. J. Herbert Kane, a missions historian,
writes:
Most of the innovations in the twentieth-century mission have been
introduced by the faith missions, including radio, aviation, Bible
correspondence courses, gospel recordings, tapes, cassettes, saturation
evangelism, and theological education by extension.3
Although times were hard during the Great Depression, the missionary
spirit never died in evangelical circles. Clarence Jones began the first
missionary radio effort; William Cameron Townsend trained missionary
linguists and founded Wycliffe translators; Joy Ridderhof birthed and
expanded gospel recordings. This period also saw the beginning of medical
missions.
On the home front, evangelist Billy Sunday, a former professional baseball
player, made waves across America during the first half of the century. It
all began when Sunday and his friends went to a bar to have a few drinks.
They walked outside to listen to the rescue mission musicians. There on
the street next to the bar, Billy Sunday was struck in the heart by the
old hymns and the testimonies. He sobbed and sobbed, and though his
friends mocked him, he accompanied a young man to the Pacific Garden
Mission. There he fell on his knees in repentance.
From that day on, Sunday gave up drinking and betting. Although he
continued his baseball career, he never played on Sundays. A few years
later, he felt called to tell others about Jesus Christ. He prayed for a
release from his contract with the Philadelphia team, and when it came, he
went into full-time Christian work. For almost twenty years, he packed
auditoriums as he preached the message of Jesus Christ.
.. The Battle Begins
Unfortunately, this exciting time for Christ's kingdom was also the hour
of Satan's frantic attempt to thwart God's purposes. Despite the many
challenges to our national purpose over the centuries, the battle for
America's soul did not begin in earnest until the 1920s. Then we began
using God's blessings for our personal gain. Millions of dollars were
traded in stocks, bonds, and commodities. Prohibition against alcohol was
flaunted in speakeasies. Money, fashions, and entertainment consumed the
American mind, while traditional morals and values were discarded.
C. S. Lewis once taught, "One of the dangers of having a lot of money is
that you may be quite satisfied with the kinds of happiness money can give
and so fail to realize your need for God. If everything seems to come
simply by signing checks, you may forget that you are at every moment
totally dependent on God."4 That is also true for nations. America's
wealth and material prosperity in the 1920s blinded us to our greater need
for God. By mid-decade, this rebellion reached into mainstream America and
tempted hundreds of thousands away from traditional beliefs.
One idea is flung against another with the heavy ring of contact. WHOSE
IDEAS will win the battle?
Two distinct forces were lining up to do battle for the soul of America.
Paul outlines the heart of the battle:
Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers,
against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against
the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 6:12).
In The Great Evangelical Disaster, the late Dr. Francis Schaeffer
describes the conflict in human terms:
The primary battle is a spiritual battle in the heavenlies. But, this does
not mean, therefore, that the battle we are in is otherworldly or outside
of human history. It is a real spiritual battle, but it is equally a
battle here on earth in our own country, our own communities, our places
of work and our schools, and even our own homes. The spiritual battle has
its counterpart in the visible world, in the minds of men and women, and
in every area of human culture. In the realm of space and time, the
heavenly battle is fought on the stage of human history.5
Potent forces were threatening to unravel our society. In 1830, Alexis de
Tocqueville captured the essence of who we were as a nation, our
successes, and the dangers to our future:
I sought for the key to the greatness and genius of America in her harbors
.. in her fertile fields and boundless forests, in her rich mines and vast
world commerce, in her public school system and institutions of learning.
I sought for it in her democratic Congress and in her matchless
Constitution. Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her
pulpits flame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius
and power. America is great because America is good; and if America ever
ceases to be good, America will cease to be great.6
In the 1920s, America traded her relationship with God for worldly
pursuits. We subscribed to ideals that put us at enmity with God without
acknowledging that it was God who had made America great in the first
place. What went wrong was that America was no longer "good." The battle
had begun.
.. The Battle of Ideas
What kind of foe were we facing? Imagine a great army of spiritual beings
battling in the heavenlies with sharply honed swords. These swords are not
made of tempered steel, but of strong ideas. One idea is flung against
another with the heavy ring of contact. Whose ideas will win the battle?
How we use the ideas we wield will determine who wins the battle for
America's soul. Will we keep our swords sheathed or come out fighting with
the ideas we know will win-the principles of God's Word?
Indeed, the 20th century could be labeled the battle of ideas. The Scopes
Trial of 1925, which took place in tiny Dayton, Tennessee, is a good
example. It revolved around the question of whether evolution should be
taught in public schools. While the ruling upheld the Christian belief in
creationism, Clarence Darrow and the ACLU leveled great public scorn upon
God, the Bible, and Christianity. The true goal of Darrow's efforts in the
Scopes Trial was revealed several years later when he returned to Dayton
and saw a new church under construction. He scoffed, "I guess I didn't do
much good here after all."7
Journalists like H. L. Mencken denounced Christianity as "a childish
theology founded upon hate" and called Christians "morons." His angry
diatribes, combined with those of other intellectuals, penetrated
mainstream thinking as many Americans began to believe they could actually
live without God.8
In the 1920s, Margaret Sanger, founder of Planned Parenthood and a
believer in the science of racial purity known as eugenics, began her work
to popularize birth control. She stated, "Birth control appeals to the
advanced radical because it is calculated to undermine the authority of
the Christian churches. I look forward to seeing humanity free someday
from the tyranny of Christianity."9 Sanger's work formed the foundation
for the radical feminist movement, and her birth-control crusade led to
promiscuity and a collapse of sexual purity. Sanger's Planned Parenthood
became the world's leading provider of abortions. Men and women such as
Darrow, Mencken, and Sanger knew well that they were engaged in a war of
ideas-and a war against God.
Another idea that challenged the Christian faith was existentialism, a
humanistic philosophy based on disillusionment and the emptiness and
despair of secular life. Philosophers such as John-Paul Sartre, Albert
Camus, Martin Heidegger, and Karl Jaspers disseminated this idea. In one
outburst, French writer and social critic Sartre said, "There is no human
nature because there is no God to have a conception of it. Man simply is .
Man is nothing else but that which he makes of himself. That is the first
principle of existentialism."10 These beliefs provided the foundation for
the radical hippie movement of the 1960s. And from these roots arose some
of the most threatening anti-Christian ideologies and social policies.
In the wake of World War I, philosophers and scientists began putting
forth an entirely new way of thinking. Ideas from intellectuals such as
Karl Marx, Charles Darwin, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Sigmund Freud conveyed
much the same message to the generation of the '20s-that the world was not
what it seemed to be. People began to question almost everything.
Sigmund Freud, founder of modern psychology, believed that the world
revolves around sexual dysfunction. Some of his supposed "findings" are
graphically sexual. In one of his most famous works, The Future of an
Illusion, Freud compared religion to a "childhood neurosis." He argued,
"Religious ideas have sprung from the same need as all the other
achievements of culture: from the necessity for defending itself from the
crushing supremacy of nature." Freud concluded that "the more the fruits
of knowledge become accessible to men, the more widespread is the decline
of religious belief."11
These men and women were well aware that they were engaged in a war of
ideas-and a WAR AGAINST GOD.
Before long, Marxism and the new field of study spearheaded by Freud,
called psychoanalysis, filled people with doubt and anxiety. Paul Johnson
explains:
Marxist and Freudian analysis combined to undermine, in their different
ways, the highly developed sense of personal responsibility, and of duty
towards a settled and objectively true moral code . The impression people
derived from Einstein, of a universe in which all measurements of value
were relative, served to confirm this vision of moral anarchy.12
Seduced by the "logic" of the age, many people turned their backs on the
God of their fathers. They developed a thirst for anything spiritual that
could add significance to their empty lives. Eventually, some experimented
with drugs, hoping that the release from pain and the hallucinatory
experiences might provide a mystical vision that was missing in their
de-Christianized lives. Others drowned themselves in alcohol and sex.
When Aldous Huxley published his astonishing novel Brave New World in
1932, he predicted that future societies would advocate the use of drugs
to help alleviate the emptiness of life. As other experimental works
helped introduce Eastern metaphysical concepts drawn from the Hindu
religion, thousands more were enticed by such exotic ideas and tempted
away from belief in God. In Time Must Have a Stop, Huxley lamented, "If we
must play the theological game, let us never forget it is a game.
Religion, it seems to me, can survive only as a consciously accepted
system of make-believe."13
Huxley wrote of man's dilemma: "If God were there and the world had
meaning, then he had to accept God's meaning and God's rules. But, if he
said there were no God there, and everything was meaningless, then he
could make his own rules."14 Suddenly, we come to the heart of the matter.
As we sped toward World War II, we willingly turned our eyes away from the
truth of God to pursue our own passions and pleasures. We hardly took note
of Mussolini's rise to power in Italy or the virulent propaganda and
dangerous threats of Adolf Hitler in Germany. Nor did we recognize the
threat of communism, which had by then overtaken Russia.
Thanks to their promotion by intellectuals and educators, America dabbled
in dangerous and potentially destructive new ideas. While some of these
developments seemed harmless at the time, these chilling influences soon
threatened our sense of national purpose and our very survival as a
nation.
Our Moment of History
In the continuing escalation of ideological hostilities, the outcome will
determine whether this nation will be able to fulfill the role for which
God gave us birth. What we do with our moment of history, as Theodore
Roosevelt observed, will make all the difference in our destiny. Will we
leave a legacy of destruction and death, or one of blessing and eternal
life? Will we come back to God and receive His blessings, or will we reap
the whirlwind of the evils we have sown? Author Paul Johnson describes how
these choices affect our future:
By the last decade of the twentieth century, some lessons had plainly been
learned. But it was not yet clear whether the underlying evils which made
possible its catastrophic failures and tragedies-the rise of moral
relativism, the decline of personal responsibility, the repudiation of
Judeo-Christian values, not least the arrogant belief that men and women
could solve all the mysteries of the universe by their own unaided
intellects-were in the process of being eradicated.
On that fact depends the chances of the twenty-first century becoming, by
contrast, an age of hope for mankind.15
In the closing years of the 20th century and the beginning of a new
millennium, the legacy that we leave our children and grandchildren is yet
to be decided. Our possibilities are limitless through the power of God.
Imagine what we could do for the cause of Christ with computer technology,
satellite communications, new methods of language translation, and
advances in transportation and medical science. We have the ability; all
we need is the dedication, personnel, and the finances.
Our Measure of Devotion
Our Founding Fathers signed the Declaration of Independence with full
knowledge that if they lost the war with England they would be executed as
traitors. They willingly risked their lives for their beliefs. The
Declaration, in fact, ends with the powerful statement, "We mutually
pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor." They
sacrificed everything to guarantee our freedom to worship and tell others
about our Lord Jesus Christ. Our duty is to protect these freedoms. Should
we not demonstrate the same measure of devotion in our willingness to
sacrifice to help bring about a rebirth of faith for our future
generations? Former President Ronald Reagan highlights the importance of
diligence:
Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. Madison
knew, and we should always remember, that no government is perfect-not
even a democracy. Our test today must be to reaffirm the ideals of those
days. Let it be said of this generation of Americans that when we pass the
torch of freedom to the new generation, it will be burning as brightly as
when it was passed to us. Then we will know that we have kept faith with
Madison and those other remarkable men we call the Founding Fathers, and
we will have kept faith with God.16
Sadly, as we stand at the threshold of a new millennium, our torch of
freedom is burning dimly. Looking back over the 20th century, we can chart
the downfall of our nation and her great mission. At each critical step,
we have shifted our focus further from God and onto ourselves. The church
has fallen into widespread decay and missed many opportunities to fulfill
its commission. The United States of America, far from being a shining
city on a hill, is in great danger of losing her sense of purpose and her
blessings. How do we stop this process of decay? How important is it to
regain what we have given away? If this generation cannot rise up and
reverse the disastrous trend of rejecting God, who can say where this
downfall will end?
"[W]hen we pass the torch of freedom to the new generation, . we will have
kept FAITH WITH GOD."
In this section of Red Sky in the Morning, we will take a look at the
consequences of integrating ungodly ideals into the heart and soul of
America. We will also discover the tragedies we have inflicted on our
families, schools, and society by abandoning our biblical foundations.
[1]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 Sherwood Eddy, Pathfinders of the World Missionary Crusade, (New York:
Abingdon-Cokesbury, 1945), p. 5,6. Quoted in Ruth A. Tucker, From
Jerusalem to Irian Jaya, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House,
1983), p. 263.
2 Elisabeth Elliot, Through Gates of Splendor, (New York: Harper & Row,
1958), p. 176. Quoted in Tucker, From Jerusalem, p. 290.
3 J. Herbert Kane, A Concise History of the Christian World Mission,
(Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1978), p. 102. Quoted in Tucker, From Jerusalem,
p. 290.
4 C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, (New York: The MacMillan Co., 1952), p.
180.
5 Francis Schaeffer, The Great Evangelical Disaster, (Wheaton, IL:
Crossway Books, 1984), p. 25.
6 William Federer, America's God and Country: Encyclopedia of Quotations,
(Coppell, TX: FAME Publishing, Inc., 1994), p. 205.
7 Scopes v. State; 289 S.W. 363 (Sup.Ct. Tenn. 1927). James Kennedy, The
Gates of Hell Shall Not Prevail, (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1996), p. 117.
8 Ralph Reed, Politically Correct, (Dallas: Word, Inc., 1994), p. 53.
9 Margaret Sanger from her personal writings. Quoted in Victory in Spite
of All Terror (video), (Traverse City, MI: Freedom Ministries, Inc., and
the Christian Broadcasting Network, Inc., 1997).
10 From Jean-Paul Sartre, Existentialism, 1947. Quoted in George Seldes,
ed., The Great Thoughts, (New York: Ballantine Books, 1996), p. 408.
11 Sigmund Freud, The Future of an Illusion. Quoted in Seldes, The Great
Thoughts, p. 161.
12 Dr. Paul Johnson, Modern Times: The World From the Twenties to the
Nineties, (New York: Harper Collins, 1992), p. 11.
13 Aldous Huxley, Time Must Have a Stop, 1944. Quoted in Seldes, The Great
Thoughts, p. 219.
14 Aldous Huxley, quoted by Dr. Os Guinness in Victory in Spite of All
Terror (video).
15 Johnson, Modern Times, p. 784.
16 President Ronald Reagan, Address to the Library of Congress, November
20, 1981.
[1]Bright, B., & Damoose, J. N. (1998). Red sky in the morning (87).
Orlando, Fla.: New Life Publications.
.
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| User: "Ben Kaufman" |
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| Title: Re: An Important Word to Begin With |
17 Jul 2007 02:59:10 PM |
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On Tue, 17 Jul 2007 14:33:30 -0400, "UR Welcome!" <UR
Welcome!_fan_club@yahoo.com> wrote:
"Ben Kaufman" <spaXm-mXe-anXd-paXy-5000-dollars@pobox.com> wrote in message news:mg1q93tgsmolgs6l7uvl06gv77298g1ko1@4ax.com...
. An Important Word to Begin With
Ok, I will start the list of suggestions:
1. Harry Potter and The Illogical Dream World.
2.
Another "atheist simpleton" with a kids view of the world.
Atheists are always so intelligent and so serious about
the important things, huh. (-: [same playbook]
<SNIP>
The one who bleats "God did it" for everything he cannot or does not want to
understand is the simpleton.
Ben
.
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| User: "Irv Hyatt" |
|
| Title: Re: An Important Word to Begin With |
17 Jul 2007 10:50:11 PM |
|
|
"Ben Kaufman" <spaXm-mXe-anXd-paXy-5000-dollars@pobox.com> wrote in message
news:hr6q93d7if0g0j6jj050b90hqf2rh9unep@4ax.com...
On Tue, 17 Jul 2007 14:33:30 -0400, "UR Welcome!" <UR
Welcome!_fan_club@yahoo.com> wrote:
"Ben Kaufman" <spaXm-mXe-anXd-paXy-5000-dollars@pobox.com> wrote in
message news:mg1q93tgsmolgs6l7uvl06gv77298g1ko1@4ax.com...
. An Important Word to Begin With
Ok, I will start the list of suggestions:
1. Harry Potter and The Illogical Dream World.
2. Fat Freddy's Cat and the Kitchen Army of Roaches... a real life saga
Another "atheist simpleton" with a kids view of the world.
Atheists are always so intelligent and so serious about
the important things, huh. (-: [same playbook]
<SNIP>
The one who bleats "God did it" for everything he cannot or does not want
to
understand is the simpleton.
Ben
.
|
|
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|
| User: "UR Welcome! UR" |
|
| Title: Re: An Important Word to Begin With |
17 Jul 2007 04:43:22 PM |
|
|
"Ben Kaufman" <spaXm-mXe-anXd-paXy-5000-dollars@pobox.com> wrote in message news:hr6q93d7if0g0j6jj050b90hqf2rh9unep@4ax.com...
wrote:
. An Important Word to Begin With
1. Harry Potter and The Illogical Dream World.
2.
Another "atheist simpleton" with a kids view of the world.
Atheists are always so intelligent and so serious about
the important things, huh. (-: [same playbook]
Broken Hearts, Broken Homes
People love to watch weddings. Whenever a network television program
includes a marriage ceremony, ratings go up. A young couple saying their
vows with radiant faces makes us think of a happily-ever-after life.
People also love babies. Today, one of the most popular television
advertisements shows a young couple holding their newborn. The picture is
so warm, it makes us think of bright, rosy futures for this baby and his
family.
Throughout history, the family has been the most essential building block
of society, the foremost institution of culture. More than government,
schools, or any other center of influence, the family is the principal
source of stability. Just think what would happen without families. How
tragic if parents dropped their babies off at a facility just after they
were born and did not take any part in raising their sons and daughters.
What a cold, impersonal world that would be! Now compare the joy of young
couples as they take home their new infant for the first time.
Families are essential to social life. The home is the best place to teach
values. It is the place where we first learn to interact and build
positive relationships. The family setting should also be where children
learn to respect others and to be accountable to God.
Families give us our first sense of community. A child learns how to say
"I love you" and hug his parents and to experience how important grandma
and grandpa are. Families introduce us to the rules of daily life and
personal interaction outside the home walls. By being held accountable to
family do's and don'ts, children learn that bad actions have bad
consequences. Families give a first critical glimpse of the way the
kingdom of God works. How precious when a little child first hears the
story of God's love from the lips of his mother or father. Fragmented
families, however, result in young lives riddled with emotional and
relationship problems.
Paul believed that healthy families are essential to the household of
faith. "Give the people these instructions, too," he writes, "so that no
one may be open to blame. If anyone does not provide for his relatives,
and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is
worse than an unbeliever" (1 Timothy 5:7, 8).
Family Values
Pastor T. D. Jakes recently observed that the family has become an
"endangered species."1 Christians should be among the first to stand up
for traditional family values, for rebuilding parent-child relationships,
and for religious education in the home. This is the real source of
strength, virtue, and integrity for future generations.
Yet today millions of Americans have accepted the lie that family values
are outdated. This lie is defended by those who want us to accept the
immoral values of modern humanism. The idea that "it takes a village" to
raise a child, for example, is a misleading assault on traditional
child-rearing. A village of faith and virtue may provide a protective
buffer for America's kids, but there is no substitute for a united,
caring, supportive, affirming, God-fearing family for raising healthy,
well-adjusted children. No village on earth can do the job of a mom and
dad together. You just cannot improve on God's formula for the family: one
man, one woman, for one lifetime. Any other formula leads to broken hearts
and broken homes.
The corrosion of family values first became visible in the mid-1940s when
traditional family structures began breaking down as a result of World War
II. When fathers went to war, mothers were forced into the workplace-in
plants, factories, and marketplaces-to carry on the critical work. For the
first time in our history, large numbers of children were alone, in the
care of strangers, or at best with elderly grandparents. This trend
continues today.
An even greater threat to the family is the exploding divorce rate. In the
1970s, California passed the nation's first no-fault divorce laws. Since
then, divorce has skyrocketed more than 250 percent. In fact, since 1960,
the divorce rate has shot up over 400 percent; out-of-wedlock childbirths
are up 500 percent; and the number of single-parent homes increased more
than 300 percent. Today, half of all first marriages end in divorce, and
the figure for second marriages is much higher.2
The Gallup Organization reports that 4 in 10 American children go to bed
without a father in the home; 26 percent of teens have been physically
abused in the home; one-fourth of all Americans say that drinking is a
problem in their home; and 6 out of 10 marriages this year will end in
divorce.3 When we fail to provide stable home lives, we propagate despair
throughout society. For example, multiple studies have shown that children
raised in dysfunctional families continue the patterns as adults in their
own homes.
Unsupervised Children
Due to pressures from the feminist agenda and a rising standard of living,
tens of thousands of American mothers who would prefer to stay at home and
nurture the next generation have been pushed into the workforce. Against
their wishes and maternal instincts, these women leave the majority of the
training of their children to others. Radical feminists tell women that
they have been cheated out of equality in the workplace by a history of
male exploitation. Many stay-at-home mothers are made to feel like
second-class citizens and believe they are "unfulfilled."
As a result of this massive plan of indoctrination, more and more children
are left alone. With today's high taxes and increased cost of living, a
majority of families feel pressured to have two incomes. In addition, most
single moms have no choice but to leave their kids and seek employment
outside the home. Consequently, more than 57 percent of American children
do not have full-time parental supervision. Is it any coincidence that 45
percent of all violent juvenile crimes occur between 3:00 p.m. and
dinnertime, the period when children are most likely to be unsupervised
because both parents work?4 On the other hand, is there anything more
reassuring to a young child coming home from school than to hear a
positive response to "Mom, I'm home"?
Tens of thousands of unsupervised children across America spend their
after-school hours soaking up destructive values. More than 63 percent of
young people say that movies, television, and songs lyrics encourage
teenage sex "a great deal" or "quite a lot."5 If the things that occupy
our kids have this kind of influence, why are we shocked to discover that
the United States has the highest teen pregnancy rate in the
industrialized world?
Even Christian families are tempted to forsake what is really important.
Under perceived pressures of not enough time and money, many parents fail
to make their children's spiritual well-being a priority. Some Christian
parents abdicate their roles as moral guardians by allowing their kids to
feed on a steady diet of rock and alternative music, MTV, daytime
television, and weird shock-jocks. Then these parents wonder why they have
lost control of their kids-and why the kids lose interest in Sunday
school, Bible study, and family devotions.
Redefining the Family
Former presidential candidate Alan Keyes believes that the greatest threat
to America is the collapse of the traditional, two-parent, marriage-based
family. "Every study I look at," he says, "when they talk about what
correlates with crime, with poverty, with gang involvement, with poor
performance in school, it is always the same. When kids come from broken
families, those kids have the deck stacked against them."6
Keyes argues that while we are busily throwing money at our problems, we
fail to confront the root cause: the collapse of the family. "We can spend
all the money we want, but if we don't work to put that institution back
together-including the moral values of commitment, sacrifice, and respect
for obligation that are really the foundation for family life-then we're
never going to get anywhere."7
The war against the family is waged on several fronts: by homosexuals who
seek legitimacy of their lifestyle through legal marriage; by
heterosexuals who see no need for marriage to maintain a family; by social
theorists who advocate "open marriage" or other kinds of "committed
relationships"; and by married men and women who see no reason to abide by
their marriage vows.
Those who want to redesign God's model for healthy families claim that
traditional values are repressive and dangerous, while their immoral
values are their "right." Is this not just what the Bible describes as
calling evil good and making a lie the truth?
The family is God's original design, and no amount of social engineering
will allow us to redefine the family. No matter how hard anyone tries to
mimic the traditional family structure, only biblically based families
will thrive in the real world.
Can homosexuals living together become a family? From Hawaii to the East
Coast, state legislatures are considering legalizing, and thus
legitimizing, homosexual marriages. Many of America's largest companies,
including Disney, Levi-Strauss, AT&T, American Express, and EDS, offer
health care and family benefits to the live-in lovers of homosexual
employees. The implications for medical insurers, not to mention the
obvious moral consequences, may prove disastrous.
The GREATEST THREAT to America is the COLLAPSE of the traditional,
two-parent, marriage-based FAMILY.
Keith Fournier of the Catholic Alliance recounts a recent article by a
radical homosexual activist who said that the real danger was from those
who would discriminate by requiring "opposite sex restrictions on marital
choice."8 How is that for reframing the issue?
Keith Fournier debated this issue with a homosexual activist. "[The
activist] took exception to my saying that homosexual sex was not
creative. What he actually said was, 'In this technological age, of course
it is-we will just use test tubes.' I thought to myself, How far have we
come? I asked him, 'Is this the brave new world that you are proposing?
Where the womb is replaced by a test tube?' " The activist obviously saw
no problem with that model. But Fournier quickly adds, "It won't work. It
simply won't work."9
As Christians, we must speak out against sexual license and destructive
social policies. However, we should not lash out at homosexuals. Our duty
as followers of Jesus Christ is to proclaim His love to those caught in
the grip of sin. Like Christ, we are to love the sinner, but hate the sin,
to show compassion as Christ was compassionate. When we come face-to-face
with sin, we need to remember Jesus' words, "It is not the healthy who
need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but
sinners to repentance" (Luke 5:31, 32).
Every sinner is someone who needs Jesus, someone God loved enough to send
His Son to sacrifice His life. Like any other sin, homosexuality needs to
be recognized as sin, confessed, and rejected. Only God has the power to
forgive and make it possible to conquer temptation. As believers who have
access to the love and grace of God, we can support and encourage those
who turn from the bondage of sin to live as new creations in Christ.
This does not mean, however, that we condone or encourage homosexual
behavior. We risk incurring God's judgment by legitimizing homosexuality,
permitting gay marriage, and misusing science for procreation. If we
legalize homosexual marriage in America, we will once again go "on the
record" as disregarding God's laws and offending the laws of nature. We
would do well to count the cost of such disobedience before we reap divine
displeasure.
Single-Parent Households
Another redefinition of the family to sweep the land in recent decades is
the acceptance of single-parent families as healthy and desirable. The
unprecedented increase in the number of single-parent households ranks as
one of the greatest moral failures of our time. I do not mean this as an
indictment of those who have been deserted by spouses and left to raise
their children alone. Single parents need our understanding and support.
But there are some who, as a result of their own sins of promiscuity and
infidelity and because of the availability of easy divorce and government
subsidy, have brought disgrace and dysfunction upon themselves and their
family.
Paul Johnson attributes the rise in single-parent homes to misleading
information about contraception and other reproductive choices. The spread
of contraceptives and the growing availability of abortion-on-demand have
made fortunes for pharmaceutical firms and abortion clinics, but have been
catastrophic for society. Johnson writes, "In a hedonistic and heedless
society, [these practices] did not appreciably diminish the number of
unwanted children. One striking and unwelcome phenomenon of the 1970s and
still more of the 1980s was the growth of what were euphemistically termed
'one-parent families,' in most cases mothers, usually dependent on welfare
payments, looking after children on their own."10
Some sociologists argue that family fragmentation is actually good for us.
But Johnson says there is no point in pretending that one-parent families
and illegitimacy are anything other than "grave social evils, devastating
the individuals concerned and harmful for society."11
Like Christ, we are to LOVE THE SINNER, but HATE THE SIN, to show
compassion as Christ was compassionate.
We need to recognize the valiant efforts of the single men and women who
are struggling, through no fault of their own, to raise their children.
Parents who do their best to lead godly lives as single moms and dads need
to be commended and supported. The same is true for those who have come to
know Christ as Savior and are now struggling to make the best of past bad
decisions. Jesus cares about each one of these families, and the Word of
God provides answers that really work. Christians need to be quick to
support those who have come to Christ in their time of need.
Damage Report on America's Children
The turmoil in America's families has damaged our children almost beyond
repair. According to research by the Barna Group, the children of divorced
parents receive less parental attention and discipline than their peers in
two-parent homes. These children have more frequent and more serious
health and emotional problems, and they are more pessimistic about the
future. They lack good role models and are more likely to suffer
depression than children from intact families. They are more likely to
commit crimes; to struggle with low self-esteem, anger, guilt; and to have
lower levels of achievement in school. Similarly, a government study
discovered that children from broken homes are more likely to be expelled
or suspended from schools than those from two-parent homes.12 Even the
American Medical Association recognizes that the condition of America's
young people is a "national emergency" and that we are facing an
"unprecedented adolescent crisis."13
Dr. James Dobson, president of Focus on the Family, points out the
problem: "There is a battle for the hearts and minds of teenagers today. I
am more convinced of it than ever before that if we lose the battle for
the minds of our young people, the entire understanding of the
Judeo-Christian ethic, which was so predominant from the foundation of
this country to the present day, can be lost in one generation."14
If we lose the BATTLE for the minds of our young people, the
Judeo-Christian ethic can be LOST IN ONE GENERATION.
Even the attitudes and behaviors of teenagers who have accepted Christ as
their Savior have been impacted by our popular culture. Consider the
following 1995 study by the Barna Group:
When we look at how the born-again kids think and live in comparison to
their non-Christian peers, there are some encouraging signs and some
not-so-encouraging signs. Among the not-so-encouraging signs is the fact
that the behaviors we tested are virtually identical among Christian and
non-Christian teenagers. Both segments were equally likely to volunteer
their time to help the needy, to cheat on an exam, to steal possessions,
to look through a pornographic magazine, to have had sexual intercourse,
to have attempted suicide and to spend time watching MTV during the week.
Born-again teenagers were slightly less likely to have watched an X-rated
or pornographic movie or to have used an illegal, non-prescription drug
within the last three months. They were also more likely to have discussed
their religious beliefs with other kids their age and to have felt God's
presence at some time in their lives. Overall, however, apart from their
engagement in religious activity, most teenagers' lives do not seem to
have been substantially altered by their faith views.
Among the encouraging signs, however, is that born-again kids hold views
on marriage and family that are more in line with biblical mores than do
non-Christian youth. They are more likely to perceive that God intended
marriage to last a lifetime; more likely to uphold the importance of the
traditional family to the health of our society; and less likely to
believe that divorce is inevitable for people who get married.
Teenage believers are also more likely to assert that having just one
marriage partner for life is a very desirable circumstance. Overall, the
differences between the views of Christian and non-Christian teenagers on
family issues are not huge, but at least the nature of the existing
differences are as we might hope for: the Christian teens are more likely
to have a biblical position.15
The Impact of a Culture
When moral chaos and confusion reign, certain segments of our society are
affected more deeply than others. Our children are the most susceptible.
The pattern follows a well-worn course. First nonscriptural ideas and
loose morals leave upcoming generations with no truth. Inevitably,
families begin to fall apart, damaging young lives. Reflecting society's
values, schools become part of the problem rather than part of the
solution. In the end, our youth reap a crisis because they have no sense
of belonging or moral foundation to shape their behavior.
The outbreaks of juvenile crime and gang violence show that the young feel
no sense of community or shared values. According to an Associated Press
report, American children are five times more likely to die violently than
children in twenty-five other industrialized countries; they are twice as
likely to commit suicide. Both the homicide and suicide rates have tripled
among teens since 1950.16
The Problem With Education
Other areas also show the impact of a culture that has abandoned God. The
educational deficit is one prime example. In the early 1960s, the Supreme
Court declared that students could not learn about God in the classroom.
Since then, spending on education has tripled, but standardized test
scores have plummeted. Some humanists have prescribed that public schools
be the state church of the unbeliever. Students in most public schools
today are taught that evolution is fact, that America was founded by
deists, and that God is irrelevant.
D. James Kennedy observes that what has been taking place over the last
three decades is like something out of George Orwell's ominous novel,
1984. In that story, the Department of Truth was dedicated to turning
truth into lies. Kennedy says, "That is what we have in revisionist
historians. It starts with their own atheism, their own unbelief, and then
they go back and attempt to revise and rewrite history in their own
image."17 Already, the agenda has taken a tragic toll on America's schools
and our students. One can only imagine what will happen as those young
people begin to assume positions of leadership throughout the nation.
Consequently, our schools have become battlefields. In a now-famous study
from 1940, teachers reported the seven most serious problems in the public
schools at that time: talking out of turn, chewing gum, making noise,
running in the halls, cutting in line, dress-code violations, and
littering. In 1990, public school teachers again listed the top problems
in schools: drug abuse, alcohol abuse, pregnancy, suicide, rape, robbery,
and assault. This shows how far we have fallen.
Research conducted by Eric Johnson reveals a deep sense of sadness and a
yearning for innocence among many of today's hardened youth. Johnson
reports on a recent program on CBS television which focused on the
teenagers of the '90s:
They showed educational films from the '50s about family life, teen
dating, peer pressure, manners, etc., to a group of high school students
on a Miami, Florida, campus composed of Hispanic, black, and white teens.
As I watched, I laughed. I grew up during the '50s and these films were so
hokie and corny, I could not believe it. But, what was more shocking was
the unexpected response of these 1990s students. They did not laugh or
make fun of these incredibly corny films, instead they were totally
mesmerized by them. The students were asked later what they thought about
the films. One after another said, "I wish it could be like that today."
The innocence, simplicity, security, and safety of the 1950s (except of
course without the prejudice and racism) is something today's youth know
nothing about but would give anything to experience. Students today say,
"I'm afraid of getting shot, raped, or getting AIDS."18
The violent and explosive climate faced by today's children comes in large
part from the teaching they receive in public schools. The U.S. Supreme
Court, despite an appeal from the state of Kentucky, ruled that the Ten
Commandments may not be posted in public schools, for fear that the mere
presence of God's laws may "induce the schoolchildren to read, meditate
upon, perhaps to venerate and obey, the Commandments," which they decided
"is not a permissible state objective."19 Who would imagine that the words
of God handed down at Mt. Sinai would be considered harmful to the young?
Yet, the public schools are free to distribute condoms, teach
homosexuality as an acceptable lifestyle, and provide abortion counseling
without the consent of parents. Public schools today have abandoned the
proven components of a classical education-the Three R's of reading,
writing, and arithmetic-to focus on the Three S's: sensitivity,
self-esteem, and safe sex. In the modern classroom, feelings are presented
as more important than facts. As one example, problem-solving exercises in
some social science and mathematics programs give "pretty good guesses" as
much credit as correct answers.
In a report from the American Enterprise Institute, one of the new radical
mathematics concepts called MathLand or Interactive Mathematics reveals
the bizarre thinking of educators. These math standards, author Lynne
Cheney says, recommend that students get together with peers in
cooperative learning groups to "construct" strategies for solving math
problems. Rather than learning math concepts from their teachers, students
invent their own ways of adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing.
There is no penalty for wrong answers, since program designers consider
socialization skills more important than mere numerical accuracy.20
No More Rules
Not only do many educators deny students real learning, but they also
believe it is dangerous to teach students moral principles that could save
their lives. Years ago, people knew the most common Bible stories, the Ten
Commandments, the Golden Rule, and the Sermon on the Mount. They had
probably learned some of the books of the Bible and could quote Scriptures
from memory. They seemed to know more about God, who He is, and how He
works.
Today, however, fewer young adults have a knowledge of the basic facts of
the Bible. They are unaware of the standards God expects of us, or the
principles He gave us in His Word. Some see Him as a dictatorial despot,
not realizing that He loves us and knows what is best for us. This is a
critical point because our view of God affects the way we think and act,
the books we read, the music we enjoy, and the friends we attract. Our
view of God determines every detail of our lifestyle.
More then 86 percent of teens claim to be Christians, yet only 42 percent
say FAITH IS VERY IMPORTANT in their lives.
In our society, the worldviews and moral philosophies of contemporary
culture have been boiled down to the level of soundbites and infomercials.
We have bought into a theology of consumerism and the philosophy that we
only go around once, so anything goes. Many people feel that rules and
laws don't apply to them, or that they can be bent to suit their needs. In
this environment of selective morality, we think we can pick and choose
which of God's laws we want to follow.
Read the findings in a 1993 survey conducted by the Josephson Institute of
Ethics:
.. 91 percent of Americans admit to lying regularly to the people
closest to them.
.. 77 percent see no point in observing the Sabbath.
.. 74 percent admit they would steal items from those who would not
really miss them.
.. 56 percent say they will drink and drive if they feel they can
handle it.
.. 55 percent say they would consider cheating on their spouse.
.. 50 percent say they regularly procrastinate at work and admit that
they do nothing for one full work day each week.
.. 40 percent claim they would use illegal drugs.
.. 30 percent confess they would cheat on their taxes.
.. 93 percent of adults and teens say that "they and nobody else
determine what is and what isn't moral in their lives."21
What if you took this survey? Would you fail the moral test on one or two
items? Perhaps even three or four? All of us are susceptible to conforming
to our society's values-or lack of values.
Overcoming Ignorance
Without absolute standards of right, law has no meaning and civilized
behavior has no foundation. Chuck Colson sums up the result: "There is no
longer any moral authority, because the leading nations of the world have
rejected the basis for that authority-ultimately, the law of God. Without
a basis in divine law, human law is only a matter of opinion, imposed by
force."22
School administrators who do not teach that violence is morally wrong
should not be surprised when teachers are threatened with bodily harm by
students or when they are assaulted and raped in the classroom. Should it
surprise us that 160,000 students skip school every day in fear of their
lives? If we do not teach our children that violence is wrong, why are we
surprised to learn that 20 percent of high school students carry guns,
knives, razors, clubs, and other lethal weapons to school?23
If our culture can offer young people no reason why drug use is wrong,
then we must expect that many will turn to drugs. According to the
Partnership for a Drug-Free America, the average age for the first use of
marijuana in America is 13. Marijuana use by eighth graders has doubled
since 1991, and 20 percent of fourteen-year-olds say they have used
marijuana at least once.24
When we offer no reason why teenagers should abstain from sex outside
marriage, they will have sex. Despite parental objections, Planned
Parenthood of Syracuse, New York, distributed pamphlets to teens that
state, "Many people believe that sex relations are right only when they
are married. Others decide to have sex outside of marriage. This is a
personal choice."25How can we win the battle against teen pregnancy,
sexually transmitted diseases, or abortion-on-demand when ideas like these
are promoted among the young?
And how about these disturbing statistics? More than 86 percent of
American teens claim to be Christians, yet only 42 percent say that faith
is very important in their lives. More than 55 percent say they believe
all prayers are heard by God, regardless of one's religion, or lack of
it.26
The Lost Generation
Left to fend for themselves in almost every area of life, America's
children are becoming a lost generation. Adults have neglected their
responsibility to teach them the Word of God. In the public schools, they
have been inoculated against the Christian faith. Consequently, we have
raised a generation of delinquents who, unless God should mercifully
change the situation, may contribute to the annihilation of civilization
as we know it.
Solomon said, "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old
he will not turn from it" (Proverbs 22:6). We have chosen the opposite: to
turn the children loose on the streets without moral guidance-and they
have gone astray.
James Dobson and Gary Bauer, president of Family Research Council, made an
urgent appeal in USA Today titled "Stop and Listen, America." They urged:
The American people know we are in a crisis. According to a poll conducted
by Pew research, eighty percent believe immorality is our greatest problem
as a nation. It's time we all pulled together-Americans of every political
party and religious faith-and began working together to recover a sense of
what it is that God wants us to do for our nation.
Let's do everything in our power to reverse the blight of violence and
lust that has become so pervasive across this land. Radical individualism
is destroying us! The creed that says, "If it feels good, do it!" has
filled too many hospitals with drug-overdosed teenagers, too many prison
cells with fatherless youth, too many caskets with slain young people, and
too many eyes with tears.27
In an environment of arrogant secularism, humanism, and moral chaos, it
will be difficult for many of these young men and women to find their way
to God. But God has not given them up. He has given us powerful resources,
including truth. With such weapons against evil, combined with fasting and
prayer, we can win many battles for our children-even the entire war.
Jesus said, "You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free"
(John 8:32). This is still our best hope of reversing the confusion in our
land and restoring strong families.
The demise of moral education results in upcoming generations who do not
have the moral fiber to become great leaders, to raise godly sons and
daughters, and to positively influence culture. Because of this and other
factors we have examined, deterioration has affected every part of our
culture. Some of these areas are technology, art, and the law. As we will
see next, these areas are also under siege in our country.
In the public schools, America's Children have been INOCULATED against the
Christian faith.
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1 Bishop T. D. Jakes interview by John N. Damoose in Virginia Beach,
Virginia, in 1996.
2 George Gallup, Jr., interview by John N. Damoose in Virginia Beach,
Virginia, in 1996.
3 Gallup interview.
4 Statistics by the Family Research Council, "The 700 Club: Crisis of
Confusion Special," aired in January 1997.
5 Dr. Alan Keyes interview by John N. Damoose in Virginia Beach, Virginia,
in 1996.
6 Keyes interview.
7 Keyes interview.
8 Keith Fournier interview by John N. Damoose in Virginia Beach, Virginia,
in 1996.
9 Fournier interview.
10 Dr. Paul Johnson, Modern Times: The World From the Twenties to the
Nineties, (New York: Harper Collins, 1992), p. 781.
11 Johnson, Modern Times, p. 781.
12 George Barna, Generation Next, (Glendale, CA: Barna Research Group,
1995), pp. 41,42.
13 Nicky Cruz, Code Blue: Urgent Care for the American Youth Emergency,
(Ann Arbor, MI: Vine Books, 1995), p. 13.
14 Eric Johnson, Say You Want a Revolution, (Debary | | | | |
