Stopping to Think

Just a couple brief thoughts. I was flipping back through Rodney Stark's, "The Triumph of Christianity" yesterday. And one of the themes he explains to be prominent in the early years of the church was the opposition to the (widely embraced) practice of infanticide. The exposing of children to the elements, often on dump heaps, was most often done to little girls because the culture valued men more highly. Christians, following in the footsteps of the Jews, rightly rejected this practice as abominable to God, who created mankind in His own image. And this seeing of humans, women and girls included, as the image bearers of God, is the only sure footing for valuing human life and protecting the dignity of all persons. And furthermore, this valuing of life provides a stark contrast to much of the world around us. It did in ancient Rome, it does in China with one child laws, it does in America with abortion on demand. -------- Most of my conservative Christian readers we...

I have, for a while now, been attempting to communicate to very well-meaning folks that there is not, and has never been a truly Christian nation; and that this statement includes America. I mean to tackle this at length at a later date, but for now here are a couple quotes from Rodney Stark's book, "The Triumph of Christianity" (HarperCollins, 2011). Emphasis is added. "In 1776, on the eve of the Revolutionary War, only about 17 percent of those living in one of the thirteen colonies actually belonged to a religious congregation ; hence more people were probably drinking in the taverns on Saturday night than turned up in church on Sunday morning. As for this being an 'era of Puritanism,' from 1761 through 1800, a third (33.7) of all first births in New England occurred less than nine months after marriage, and therefore single women in Colonial New England were more likely to engage in premarital sex than to attend church." (353) "The very low l...

A brief thought here. God never says "love yourself," "accept yourself," or "I think you're wonderful." He says, "You're made in My image, which makes you valuable beyond belief. You are also desperately wicked and broken and deserve to be under my wrath in hell forever. But I love you. Not because you deserve it. You don't. You don't deserve my love or anyone else's. But I choose to love you. I sent my Son to die for you and reconcile you to myself. I'm better than self-love and self-acceptance, and I'm better than love and acceptance from others. I am the greatest person and reality in the universe, and if you will embrace me as your greatest treasure, you will come to see that your need for approval elsewhere isn't actually a need. It is a desire that will shrink until one day, when I perfect you, it will be gone." Check Romans 3, 5, 8, and 9. This is important. Self-love is one of Satan's biggest ploys ...

I have noticed an encouraging trend. That being the urge to provide high quality Biblical education to anyone who wants it, either free of charge or for a very minimal cost. The traditional paradigm of going to Bible college or seminary if you want to learn about the Bible or pursue ministry is either impractical or impossible for many people. If this is you, here are three links you may want to check out Biblical Training http://www.biblicaltraining.org/ Bible Training Center http://www.rmbible.org/btc/index.html Contenders Bible School http://www.machias.org/bible-school.aspx I'm a graduate of the Bible Training Center, so my bias is there. However, my main encouragement to you would be to plug into something like this (if your church offers similar classes, so much the better!). If you can go to a brick and mortar school, that is wonderful. Many can't or won't. Don't let that stop you from pursuing a deeper knowledge of God and His word. As I said, this tr...

Before we dive in, I think a slight preface is in order. I try not to comment too often on current events, for a number of reasons. First of all, I spent several years of my life totally wrapped around what was current, and the reality of this age is that what is current today is obsolete tomorrow. Even stories that get run for a week or more will be long forgotten by this time next year. Why become wrapped up in what is transient? Secondly, it is often hard to see enough of an issue to make intelligent comment upon it when the issue is still upon us. There are more reasons, but those two will suffice for now. So why am I writing now? Well, I am angry. Last week Michael Sam was taken in the 7th round of the NFL draft, becoming the first openly homosexual player to have had this honor. Unless something goes terribly wrong in training camp or preseason, he will become the first openly homosexual man to play in the NFL. This of course is no small feat considering the hyper-testost...

Wind shifts, rain falls Storm comes, night calls Rainbow disappears in grey Daytime slowly drifts away Clouds block starlight Thunder brings fright Lightning brightens up night sky Sticks and branches start to fly Day comes, storm lifts Wind dies, clouds drift Fresh rain smell saturates air Though night was dark, day is fair

Today, roughly 1,980 years ago, Jesus observed the Passover with his disciples for the last time, pointing toward the next day when he would become their Passover lamb. His atoning, sin covering, wrath absorbing blood is applied to all who place their faith and trust in Him; those who would have it placed on the proverbial doorposts of their souls. The first Passover was a shadow, a picture of Christ to come. It pointed year after year to the necessity of blood to cover sin, and the deliverance afforded to those who trusted God. Jesus made the final sacrifice, and covered it once for all.