| Topic: |
Religions > Atheism |
| User: |
"Alright" |
| Date: |
27 Jun 2007 08:37:36 PM |
| Object: |
Re: How Should We Then Live? ! |
"Uncle Vic" <address@withheld.com> wrote in message news:Xns995CBAB73C05Bvicman@216.196.97.142...
One fine day in alt.atheism, "No Reply" <nr222_a@shotmail.com> bloodied
us up with this:
You wonder what ethical (absolute) or moral system
these atheists live under, or do they just roll their own.
(If I don't get caught, then it's OK, right!)
If you say morality only comes from God, then you are also saying
humans are incapable of moral behavior. This is demonstrably false.
Our closest cousins in the evolutionary family tree, the Chimpanzee,
show moral behavior. Where did they get it?
(Jeremiah 17:9 NASB)
No, *****, THINK! Bible verses are not going to solve your pitiful
problems.
Oh Yes! They already Have! (-:
My Strength comes from the Word of God.
.. (Luke 15:29-32 NASB)
29 "But he answered and said to his father, 'Look! For so many
years I have been serving you and I have never ?1?neglected a command
of yours; and yet you have never given me a young goat, so that I
might celebrate with my friends;
30 but when this son of yours came, who has devoured your
?1??a?wealth with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.'
31 "And he said to him, 'Son, you ?1?have always been with me,
and all that is mine is yours.
32 'But we had to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of
yours was ?a?dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been
found.' "
[1]
15:28-30 The older son was consumed with a jealous rage. He refused to
participate in his father's joy. J. N. Darby put it well: "Where God's
happiness is, there self-righteousness cannot come. If God is good to the
sinner, what avails my righteousness?" When his father urged him to
participate in the festivities, he refused, whimpering that the father had
never rewarded him for his faithful service and obedience. He had never
been given as much as a young goat, to say nothing of a fatted calf. He
complained that when the prodigal son returned, after spending his
father's money on harlots, the father did not hesitate to make a great
feast. Note that he said "this son of yours," not "my brother."
15:31, 32 The father's answer indicated that there is joy connected with
the restoration of a lost one, whereas an obstinate, ungrateful,
unreconciled son produces no cause for celebration.
The older son is an eloquent picture of the scribes and Pharisees. They
resented God's showing mercy to outrageous sinners. To their way of
thinking, if not to God's, they had served Him faithfully, had never
transgressed His commandments, and yet had never been properly rewarded
for all of this. The truth of the matter was that they were religious
hypocrites and guilty sinners. Their pride blinded them to their distance
from God, and to the fact that He had lavished blessing after blessing
upon them. If they had only been willing to repent and to acknowledge
their sins, then the Father's heart would have been gladdened and they too
would have been the cause of great celebration.
[2]
NO PLACE FOR ANGER
In Jesus' story, the older brother represents the Pharisees, who were
angry and resentful that sinners were being welcomed into God's kingdom.
"After all," the Pharisees must have thought, "we have sacrificed and done
so much for God." How easy it is to resent God's gracious forgiveness of
others considered to be far worse sinners than oneself.
[3]
There are many Christians who are not living in a far country; they are
trying to live for God, but they are as poor as Job's turkey. Why? They
are blessed with all spiritual blessings, but they will not lay hold upon
them. God says, "It is all yours; everything that I have belongs to
you-take it." Our heavenly Father is rich in spiritual blessings and they
belong to us, but He will not force them upon us. We must reach out and
take them for ourselves. The story closes with the elder son out of
fellowship with his Father. The Father, however, left the door to
fellowship wide open.
Years ago Dr. Chadwick made the statement that there is a third son in the
parable of the Prodigal Son. The younger son broke the Father's heart, the
elder son was out of fellowship, and the third Son is the One who uttered
the parable. He is Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He is the ideal Son
without sin. He came to a far country, not to run away, but to do the will
of His Father. He did not spend His life in riotous living but in
sacrificial dying. He was not a Prodigal Son but a Prince of Peace who
shed His blood for the sins of the world. He was not a wayward son but a
willing sacrifice. He says, "But as many as received him, to them gave he
power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name"
(John 1:12). Salvation comes to those who simply believe on His name.
If you are the son who went away to a far country, you can come back to
the Father by confessing your sins to Him. Perhaps you are like the elder
son who was out of fellowship. He had no concern or love for his brother.
He thought he was serving God; he had never transgressed as his brother
had. Yet he had never enjoyed a feast with his friends. The Father says to
you, "All that I have is thine." How wonderful to have a Father like this!
Sinner friend, if you have never trusted Jesus Christ as your Savior, you
are not the Father's son. You can become a son only by putting your faith
and trust in Christ who died for you. If you accept Christ and come to
Him, God becomes your Father and He will never throw you overboard. If you
leave Him and one day return, He will be waiting to put His arms around
you. How wonderful He is!
[4]
Imagine what would have happened had the prodigal been welcomed by his
self-righteous elder brother rather than by his merciful father. Because a
lot of prodigal people are greeted by elder brothers, by self-righteous
Christians, they think they cannot go home to the Father, that forgiveness
and mercy is too much to hope for, that their only choice is to return to
the pig slop of the far country. What a tragedy. We are all
prodigals-elder brother and younger brother alike.
Each of the three portions of the parable presented here in Luke 15 speaks
of a different aspect of sin: The sheep was lost due to foolishness. The
coin was lost due to the carelessness of another. The son was lost due to
rebelliousness. I have observed that virtually any sin can be categorized
by one of those three characteristics: Sometimes we make foolish mistakes.
Other times, as in the case of child abuse, the sins of others leave their
marks upon us. And oftentimes we are intentionally, willfully rebellious.
I have also observed that most people can be very understanding toward any
two of those three reasons for sin, but become an elder brother regarding
a third. And it's a different third for each person. Some people see a
brother caught in a foolish sin, and their heart goes out to him. Or
they'll see someone hurt by an unloving spouse and will offer help and
healing to them. But when it comes to rebelliousness, all they can say is,
"You should have known better."
Others say, "I can relate to the rebel. I know what it feels like to hear
the call of the far country. And I can relate to the one who makes foolish
mistakes. But why can't those who are abused just get over it and move
on?"
Still others can relate to the one who's lost because of another's
carelessness or to the one who stubbornly chooses to walk in
rebelliousness. But they can't figure out how someone could be so dumb as
to wander off in foolishness.
But here's the Good News: The Father feels compassion for all three. Our
God does not say to the foolish, "You idiot," to the one who is abused,
"Grow up," or to the rebellious, "You're getting what you deserve." No, He
runs to meet all three equally the moment they turn toward Him. That's the
kind of God we serve.
[5]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 Or disobeyed
1 Lit living
a Prov 29:3; Luke 15:12
1 Lit are always with me
a Luke 15:24
[1]New American Standard Bible : 1995 update. 1995 (Lk 15:29-32). LaHabra,
CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[2]MacDonald, W., & Farstad, A. (1997, c1995). Believer's Bible Commentary
: Old and New Testaments (Lk 15:28). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
[3]Barton, B. B., Veerman, D., Taylor, L. C., & Osborne, G. R. (1997).
Luke. Life application Bible commentary (379). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale
House Publishers.
[4]McGee, J. V. (1997, c1981). Thru the Bible commentary. Based on the
Thru the Bible radio program. (electronic ed.) (4:317). Nashville: Thomas
Nelson.
[5]Courson, J. (2003). Jon Courson's Application Commentary (374).
Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson.
.
|
|
| User: "Irv Hyatt" |
|
| Title: Re: How Should We Then Live? ! |
27 Jun 2007 10:27:48 PM |
|
|
"Alright" <alwrong_32@shotmail.com> wrote in message
news:11rout.ncm.19.1@news.alt.net...
"Uncle Vic" <address@withheld.com> wrote in message
news:Xns995CBAB73C05Bvicman@216.196.97.142...
One fine day in alt.atheism, "No Reply" <nr222_a@shotmail.com> bloodied
us up with this:
You wonder what ethical (absolute) or moral system
these atheists live under, or do they just roll their own.
(If I don't get caught, then it's OK, right!)
If you say morality only comes from God, then you are also saying
humans are incapable of moral behavior. This is demonstrably false.
Our closest cousins in the evolutionary family tree, the Chimpanzee,
show moral behavior. Where did they get it?
(Jeremiah 17:9 NASB)
No, *****, THINK! Bible verses are not going to solve your pitiful
problems.
Oh Yes! They already Have! (-:
My Strength comes from the Word of God.
The only strength you have is your breath!
<CHOMP>
.
|
|
|
|
| User: "Uncle Vic" |
|
| Title: Re: How Should We Then Live? ! |
27 Jun 2007 11:56:07 PM |
|
|
One fine day in alt.atheism, "Alright" <alwrong_32@shotmail.com> bloodied
us up with this:
My Strength comes from the Wood of God.
My, my. Change one letter and it takes on a WHOLE new meaning. <G>
--
Uncle Vic
aa Atheist #2011
Supervisor, EAC Department of little adhesive-backed "L" shaped
chrome-plastic doo-dads to add feet to Jesus fish department.
Convicted by Earthquack.
.
|
|
|
|
| User: "Uncle Vic" |
|
| Title: Re: How Should We Then Live? ! |
27 Jun 2007 09:56:34 PM |
|
|
One fine day in alt.atheism, "Alright" <alwrong_32@shotmail.com> bloodied
us up with this:
You wonder what ethical (absolute) or moral system
these atheists live under, or do they just roll their own.
(If I don't get caught, then it's OK, right!)
If you say morality only comes from God, then you are also saying
humans are incapable of moral behavior. This is demonstrably false.
Our closest cousins in the evolutionary family tree, the Chimpanzee,
show moral behavior. Where did they get it?
(Jeremiah 17:9 NASB)
No, *****, THINK! Bible verses are not going to solve your pitiful
problems.
Oh Yes! They already Have! (-:
My Strength comes from the Word of God.
You should try reading the damn thing instead of doing curls with it.
--
Uncle Vic
aa Atheist #2011
Supervisor, EAC Department of little adhesive-backed "L" shaped
chrome-plastic doo-dads to add feet to Jesus fish department.
Convicted by Earthquack.
.
|
|
|
| User: "Mickey" |
|
| Title: Re: How Should We Then Live? ! |
27 Jun 2007 10:48:25 PM |
|
|
"Uncle Vic" <address@withheld.com> wrote in message news:Xns995CCAEB62D9Fvicman@216.196.97.142...
You wonder what ethical (absolute) or moral system
these atheists live under, or do they just roll their own.
(If I don't get caught, then it's OK, right!)
If you say morality only comes from God, then you are also saying
humans are incapable of moral behavior. This is demonstrably false.
Our closest cousins in the evolutionary family tree, the Chimpanzee,
show moral behavior. Where did they get it?
(Jeremiah 17:9 NASB)
No, *****, THINK! Bible verses are not going to solve your pitiful
problems.
Oh Yes! They already Have! (-:
My Strength comes from the Word of God.
(Matthew 7:6 NASB)
6 "?a?Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your
pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet, and
turn and tear you to pieces.
[1]
7:6 Do not give what is holy to the dogs. This principle is why Jesus
Himself did not do miracles for unbelievers (13:58). This is to be done
in respect for what is holy, not merely out of contempt for the dogs and
swine. Nothing here contradicts the principle of 5:44. That verse governs
personal dealings with one's enemies; this principle governs how one
handles the gospel in the face of those who hate the truth.
[2]
7:6 Verse 6 proves that Jesus did not intend to forbid every kind of
judgment. He warned His disciples not to give holy things to dogs or to
cast ... pearls before swine. Under the Mosaic Law dogs and swine were
unclean animals and here the terms are used to depict wicked people. When
we meet vicious people who treat divine truths with utter contempt and
respond to our preaching of the claims of Christ with abuse and violence,
we are not obligated to continue to share the gospel with them. To press
the matter only brings increased condemnation to the offenders.
Needless to say, it requires spiritual perception to discern these
people. Perhaps that is why the next verses take up the subject of
prayer, by which we can ask for wisdom.
[3]
We have to determine who the dogs are and who the pigs are, don't we?
These are not fourlegged animals He is talking about. We are not to give
that which is holy unto dogs or cast our pearls before swine; therefore,
there is ajudgment that we need to make.
There are certain times and places where it is not worthwhile to say a
word. This is a judgment you need to make. I remember a Tennessee
legislator friend of mine who was a heavy drinker. He was wonderfully
converted and is a choice servant of God today. The other members of the
legislature knew how he drank. Then they heard he "got religion," as they
called it. One day this fellow took his seat in the legislature, and his
fellow-members looked him over. Finally, someone rose, addressed the
chairman of the meeting and said, "I make a motion that we hear a sermon
from Deacon So-and-So." Everyone laughed. But my friend was equal to the
occasion. He got to his feet and said, "I'm sorry, I do not have anything
to say. My Lord told me not to cast my pearls before swine." He sat down,
and they never ridiculed him anymore.
A police inspector in the city of New York told me about certain
apartments which were filled with no one but homosexuals. He told me,
"They know I'm a Christian, and when they are brought into the station,
they say to me, 'Preach us a sermon!' But I never cast my pearls before
swine." He looked at me and said, "I guess you think I'm a little
hardboiled, but I was a flatfoot in that area, and I know those folk. I
worked with them for years."
May I say to you, there are swine and there are dogs in our society. What
are we to do? Jesus tells us that we are not to judge, and then He tells
us we are to judge. Well, He tells us in the next verse what we are to
do.
[4]
To be effective in ministry, we must make judgments-not for condemnation,
but for identification. Is this person open? Is he sensitive? Is he
hungering? Or does he just want to argue and discuss endlessly? The Lord
loves to see us effective, and Satan would love to see us sidetracked.
How do we know what is wise in these matters? How can we know what we
should do and where we should invest our time? How does this work out
practically? Jesus gives the answer in the next verse.
[5]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
a Matt 15:26
[1]New American Standard Bible : 1995 update. 1995 (Mt 7:6). LaHabra, CA:
The Lockman Foundation.
[2]MacArthur, J. J. (1997, c1997). The MacArthur Study Bible (electronic
ed.) (Mt 7:6). Nashville: Word Pub.
[3]MacDonald, W., & Farstad, A. (1997, c1995). Believer's Bible
Commentary : Old and New Testaments (Mt 7:6). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
[4]McGee, J. V. (1997, c1981). Thru the Bible commentary. Based on the
Thru the Bible radio program. (electronic ed.) (4:40-41). Nashville:
Thomas Nelson.
[5]Courson, J. (2003). Jon Courson's Application Commentary (42).
Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson.
.
|
|
|
| User: "Uncle Vic" |
|
| Title: Re: How Should We Then Live? ! |
27 Jun 2007 11:54:56 PM |
|
|
One fine day in alt.atheism, "Mickey" <mickeyko_21@yahoo.com> bloodied us
up with this:
7:6 Do not give what is holy to the dogs. This principle is why Jesus
Himself did not do miracles for unbelievers (13:58).
IOW, you have to beleive to believe. Circular logic. Catch-22.
This is to be done
in respect for what is holy, not merely out of contempt for the dogs and
swine.
We're PEOPLE, you idiot! And you call us blind. Your jesusbook has taught
you one of the most anti-social behaviors you can ever learn. Bigotry.
Are you happy, bigot? ***** you bigot. Now are you happy, bigot?
Nothing here contradicts the principle of 5:44. That verse governs
personal dealings with one's enemies; this principle governs how one
handles the gospel in the face of those who hate the truth.
Atheists don't hate the truth, moron. We just don't believe you when you
say your beliefs are the truth. Wise up, moron. They're BELIEFS. If they
were true, belief would not be necessary.
Look up the word "think". I know, it's a foreign subject to you. But
someone has to expose you to it. It's the first step out of the hole
you're in.
--
Uncle Vic
aa Atheist #2011
Supervisor, EAC Department of little adhesive-backed "L" shaped
chrome-plastic doo-dads to add feet to Jesus fish department.
Convicted by Earthquack.
.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Related Articles |
|
|
