Category: Political

And Then Jesus Showed Up

Where do we go from here? Let’s talk about it on Deeper Waters.

Like several of you, I’m quite depressed today. Let me tell a little bit about where I’m coming from.

My birthday is September 19, 1980. That means politically, that when I was born, Carter was finishing his term as president. I grew up then in the Reagan years. My dad worked for USA Today and my mother worked at an Elementary school. I also have an older sister. Now, she lives in Nashville and is trying to make it in the music business. (She goes by the name of Angela Ross over there if anyone is interested in finding her music.) My family is conservative and I grew up conservative, but they said nothing about politics really growing up. They decided to let me make my own decisions. I did grow up in church, and I did make my faith my own at the age of 11. Today, chances are both of my parents would say I know more about both politics and the matters of the church due to a large amount of reading.

We did have financial struggles growing up. My father lost his job when the company was being transferred seeing as my sister was about to graduate. Things have been more difficult since then. The reason I got to go to college was because of disability (Asperger’s). Vocational Rehabilitation was willing to help me. I did graduate and was the first in my family in a long time to have a college degree.

I went on to SES to pursue a Master’s in Philosophy. While there, I got married to Allie, who as readers know is the daughter of Mike Licona and his wife. I bring that up because about a year after that, a controversy broke out over if my father-in-law was denying Inerrancy or not. Readers know I spent much time writing up on that topic. I don’t let anyone mess with my family. It did mean that my education there was pretty much done on my own part as well. I was sure I’d developed some opposition.

Also, three months before my wedding, I had lost my job. It was later that I got a part-time position at a Wal-Mart which later became a job on the night shift. Unfortunately, that job was too stressing for me. Before too long, I got fired, and that has been a black mark on me. I had appealed to managers and told them about the difficulties of the job beforehand, but they did not listen. My wife and I moved back to Knoxville and we live in my grandmother’s old house. (She passed away in November of 2010) We are right next door to my parents. We depend highly on our families to make it as no job has come in yet and donations are down to Deeper Waters. (Keep in mind that any reader who is interested in our newsletter can leave a comment and let me know. Also, we have a page on Facebook that you can like and support)

Seeing all of this, I was hoping for a conservative win last night. I’ve seen the economy dropping and people are not hiring. Any time I have gone on Careerbuilder or Monster, I have been disappointed. My skills are in the area of ministry and there are many jobs I cannot do and do not have the credentials for. Meanwhile, in my field, I see several in the church who have no business being in that position.

So last night, it looks like much of our path got cemented. Not only that, for the first time, marriage lost in some states. We dropped our guard. So the questions are two.

How did we get here?

What do we do now?

Let’s start with the first.

I have several speculations on how it began, but I’ll list a few points.

When the Reformation began, which I think needed to be done, there were still unintended consequences. People tend to move on a pendulum and make great swings from one side to the other. We had trust in the authority of the church and then all of a sudden, that authority was gone. The sad reality is that often at those times some can think “Well what else have we been misled about?” Unfortunately, few people were willing to look for the answers that needed to come. This led to the coming of the Enlightenment. In many ways, our societies were acting like rebellious teenagers. We didn’t like what our parents did so we would grow up and rebel against them.

Like rebels, we sought to see how much we could do on our own. Let’s try to make it without God. Let’s see what we can do. It’s my stance that this led to a greater emphasis on the material world to exclude the world of God. What could be done then? Science is pretty much eventually the only answer. In saying this, it does not mean that science is bad. It most certainly is not. It just means that our society had a wrong focus. We started thinking of science without philosophy or sound metaphysics. After all, to do those could get us into the realm of the divine again.

Next came evolution.

The church made a big blunder here. Let’s realize something immediately at the outset.

Evolution is either true or false.

That’s not too difficult is it?

Evolution can be proven true or false by science.

That’s also not too difficult is it?

The problem is we too quickly took evolution into the religious field. If there’s something I’ve seen lately, it’s been the danger of the Inerrancy of interpretation. Now let’s suppose a macroevolutionary theory would contradict our reading of Genesis. Does that mean that Genesis is wrong? Not necessarily. It means that our interpretation is wrong and what we have to ask is “Is our interpretation correct?” Note that to establish that, we can also use literary methods to study the text.

In fact, recent studies are showing that our interpretation could be wrong. Some works on this include John Walton’s “The Lost World of Genesis One” and Henri Blocher’s “In The Beginning.” Does this mean they’re right automatically? No. But like anything else, we need to just say “Bring forward your case and let’s examine it.” Too often, the church has had a habit of deciding the case before the evidence has come in. This can only cost us.

What our actions did made it a case of science vs. the Bible instead of realizing that if we believe the Bible is true, then if something is true scientifically, it will contradict the Bible. Instead of firing shots, we should have said “Okay. We’ll wait and see what the evidence is on your side.” If the Bible is true and Inerrant, nothing in science can go against it. If we believed in the Inerrancy of Scripture, there would be no need to worry. We could wait and see what happens.

Note also that Darwin’s argument was meant to counter Paley, who had a design argument different from that which has been the case historically. The fifth way of Aquinas, for instance, is not about the internal make-up of objects, but about things working for a final cause, the cause that Aristotle said was the most important cause of all. Darwin dealt with an argument that is not the one the church should have been relying on to begin with.

Note also that neither argument is metaphysical.

When we made a battle go on between science and religion, some decided to return the favor. This includes the works of Draper and A.D. White whose works have largely been found to be lacking in substance, but at the time, people were believing them simply because they did not do the background work and check up on what was said. This is always a problem for us. In fact, it’s a problem for anyone.

Well what happens if we think the external world is no longer our friend?

That’s right! We go to the internal world. Christianity then became a system that is meant to give us good feelings and became a more personal belief system than one that described the world as it is. Religion slowly becomes a personal preference just like a favorite ice cream flavor. We were in fact doing Stephen Jay Gould’s NOMA long before he came up with it. There was an emphasis on internalization to demonstrate that Christianity is true. In other words, we became anti-intellectuals. We withdrew from the world.

And this rift has grown. The church has become less effective in its approach. People have grown more individualistic and more focused on what is going on internally.

Those of us watching last night should see the results of this. A lot of Christians were saying that we cannot support a Mormon. If that is the case, then why did we not have a Christian out there? Could it be because we have so isolated ourselves from the world that we are no longer raising up good Christians in the area of politics? How is it we are to be salt and light in the world and think that we cannot directly influence the governments of our world?

Instead, we became a society that was interested in what can be done for us, or rather for each of us, me. Claims were not studied. Few people have really read anything on economics. People often go by what is going on with them personally instead of looking at the big picture of all the world. We should not be surprised if the world has a self-focus. We should be extremely disappointed if the church is doing the same thing.

As we were sitting here today watching a movie with Allie trying to lift up my spirits, Allie’s Mom called her. I had the phone on speaker as I was sitting here, which is what I usually do, and she wanted to speak to Allie. She told Allie that she was thankful for her. Why? Because she’s seen too many who are compromising with the world. They are looking out for themselves and the great example she had was the marriage debate and how it turned out in some states last night. She was thankful Allie had not compromised and agreed to meet the world halfway. I’m thankful for that as well. She did her own research to decide, something a lot of people don’t do.

That gets us into what we do from here, the second question.

Mike Licona wrote a piece that made it onto Parchment and Pen. I will have a link to it at the end. One term showed up in there. Before the claim, let me show what he said.

“In the first century, the Roman Empire was, for most people, a brutal place to live. Rome ruled with an iron fist and crushed everyone who challenged it and even many who didn’t. An overwhelming majority of those under Roman rule lived below the poverty level.”

This is a hopeless situation. What happened then? Mike Licona goes on to say:

“And then Jesus showed up.”

That changed everything. The world has been going up because Jesus showed up. Jesus turned everything around. Today, we are asking what is going on in our world. Where is Jesus?

He’s not showing up.

Now does this mean I expect Jesus to physically return to save us? Well he will eventually, I know, but I’m not saying that that was the only solution and until that happens, we give up. No. Not at all. There is one way Jesus can show up and that is the way He has not been showing up.

That is, we have not been showing up.

We are to be the body of Jesus, and how are we showing Jesus? We are not. We are withdrawing into ourselves when Jesus went out into the world and confronted others who disagreed. He raised up disciples who went forward with his message. The Roman Empire was a hopeless situation and unlike us, the Christians could not say “We’ll wait until the next election comes about and then we’ll get our Christian choice for emperor on the ballot and we’ll make sure he gets the vote.”

What hope did they have? The government was against them. Heck. It was persecuting them regularly. The other people were looking down on them. They were in the minority. They were a new group and they could not look to past precedent. None of them could say “We can look at the past Christians hundreds of years ago and see what they did.” What did they do? They first off made the arguments that they needed to make. The apologists were busy constantly.

Not every Christian could do this of course, but several were then busy being what the apologists proclaimed. When plague struck, Christians would often care for those no one else would. The lives of Christians were a constant testimony to the world around them. It was unbelievable to people that they were so willing to die for the faith that they were claiming. As Tertullian said “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.”

The Christians were salt and light in their world. Intellectual grounds were being manned and people were living for Christ. Today, we are living for ourselves and not willing to face any discomfort. Meanwhile, in other places, the church is being persecuted and we are not really taking that into consideration. In fact, in those places, the church there is often praying for us to be persecuted. Why? Because that will get us going.

Many of us talk about dying for Christ. That’s a thought we might have to consider. Some of us could have to do that, and it is not a pleasant thought to think about. There is a great danger in some of us that are so quick to say we’d be willing to die for Christ. Let’s keep in mind that the head apostle also made the same claim and later denied that he even knew who Jesus was. There was a lot of talk, but there was no substance behind it. (Kind of like politicians and preachers today and it is a great fault of us that we fall for style instead of substance)

Dying for Christ is a moment and it’s done. Of course, there could be exceptions where a death is drawn out, but if anything is longer than that, it is life itself. Few of us talk about living for Christ. We cannot fault the world for acting the way it does. Yes. It’s sin. Yes. God will hold to account. The big failure last night was not on the part of the world. We cannot expect the world to live like Christians when Christians are living like the world. If there is no difference between how we live and how they live, why should we be surprised?

What that means for us is that we need a revolution. No. I am not talking about a physical battle. I do not oppose the right to bear arms. If we are in physical danger at times, I think physical fighting is justified, but it is not the final solution to our problems. We need a revolution of the mind. We need the church to stand up and say “We are here and we will not be silent any longer.”

We also need to avoid this fear we have of offending people. The world is more than ready to do what it can to the church and we think that if we bend over and do nothing, that the world will just stop what it’s doing. It won’t. We’ve got a long track record to show that. We cannot expect to live as non-Christians and have the world come to embrace the Christian message. Christ did not raise up the church to be reactive. He raised it up to be proactive.

The church is supposed to be a force that the gates of Hades will not stand against. Gates are defensive. We are to be offensive. Do we believe that we are to be that force?

The church is supposed to be yeast filling through the dough. We are to spread our influence. Do we believe that?

The church is supposed to be a mustard seed growing into a tree to fill the Earth. Do we believe that?

If we believe that, then we realize that there is no real “Game Over.” (Yes. I grew up a gamer as well and still am.) We just have to start playing a better game. We should realize that the person behind the game knows that in the end, the good guys always win. We can realize that our world is a really dark place, but that a dark place is a place where heroes can rise up. Right now, the church needs that. It needs us to stand up and lead the charge.

If you’re reading this blog and a Christian, I’m going to assume you’re a Christian who at least somewhat takes your faith seriously. Do it more so. Do your part. It could be tempting to lie down and surrender and I will say part of me is having a “Why bother?” attitude. What I write I write not only for you, but also for myself. This is not the case for us. The early church won the battle overall, and they did not have America to do it with. They didn’t even have free elections.

We can’t guarantee America will last. Great empires do fall. The gospel will not fall. If we believe that, we must live it. We must stand up to our age and say “No. You will not marginalize and bully us. You will not trample on us. You will not deny us our right to speak. We will get our message out. We will live our message. We are going to be what Christ wanted us to be. We will say what we believe and we will make no apology for it.”

It is only by the church standing up and being the body of Christ can we hope to make an impact. Let’s hope we do it here in America. If we do not, we can know that someone else will somewhere, maybe in China, but when we stand before God, the line of “It was someone else’s job” won’t work.

Let’s do our part. Our Lord deserves 110% and still more.

In Christ,
Nick Peters

Mike Licona’s blog entry can be found here

A Mormon in the White House?

Should Christians be concerned about a Romney presidency? Let’s talk about it on Deeper Waters.

A friend at church asked me to write about this topic. I am not writing about this as someone in politics but as an apologist dealing with the issues of Mormonism. I really don’t write on politics as politics in this blog, but I do comment on moral issues that can show up in politics. I understand the concern of many Christians. There are some that have a great fear with a Mormon like Romney getting into the White House. Let’s address that then.

First off, I will unequivocally state that in my view Mormons are not Christians. We have essential differences on the nature of God, the nature of Christ, and the nature of salvation. This does not mean that there is no common ground between us. For those of us who are thankful that we won the Prop 8 battle in California, it has been said, and I agree, that we could not have won that battle if the Mormons had also not taken part in it. On numerous moral and political issues, Christians and Mormons can work side by side.

Many of us know this because while we disagree with Mormons, they tend to be very good people to us. I’ve only met one to this day I can think of that really rubbed me the wrong way. When I lived with a roommate in Charlotte, we went out of our way to witness to the Mormons when they came by. We’d stop and get pizza for them and some gatorades and have them enjoy a meal with us. We even went out to eat one time with them. There was a time they weren’t showing up for some reason and I called them and they said they didn’t have good transportation. I asked where they were and came and got them myself. That had the added bonus of having them a captive audience in my car while I got to share the real gospel with them. One of them became friends with us on Facebook when his missionary journey ended. One Mormon we suspect was on the verge of conversion when they switched him out and we wonder to this day if we will see him in eternity. Hopefully someone will finish the work we started.

Therefore, my claim is clear. I am not going to claim Mitt Romney is a Christian. That does not mean I think he is a bad person overall. I just say that I do not trust him on religious issues. Thankfully, as I’ve told people before, I am not electing a pope or a priest. I am electing a president. What issues is it the president is supposed to reside over in our country? Let’s take a look.

The president is to make sure that our country is kept safe. In our day and age, we know that there are forces that would like to see America fall. We’ve already seen it from Muslims such as happened on 9/11 in both 2001 and this year. There is much strife going on in the Middle East and it could wind up coming our way. N. Korea could one day build a weapon that could be capable of reaching us as well. Could Communism still be a threat. Wouldn’t surprise me.

Keep in mind when I speak of these threats, as devout readers of this blog will know, I am not speaking of a “Last Days” scenario with asking if this will be the president that will be the antichrist. That’s been thought about every president in recent history. I greatly admire Reagan and I know there were several who said he was the antichrist. After all, his name was Ronald Wilson Reagan. 6 letters in each name! 666! Reagan was the beast!

Well, no.

So when I write this, I do not have any fear about Romney being “The Antichrist” any more than I had or have fears about Obama being “The Antichrist” or any other world figure for that matter.

Oh but Nick! Don’t you know about the White Horse prophecy?

Yes. I do. It’s the idea that when the Constitution is hanging on a thread, the Mormon church will rush in and save the day. Then, the Mormons will control the government.

Some might think Mormons want to do that, but is it really feasible is the question? An expert in counter-cult apologetics has even informed me that he doesn’t think this will happen since the LDS church is crowing about the Romney candidacy. The truth is that Mormons, like Jehovah’s Witnesses, are in a much more precarious position today because of the internet. The information that their church would not let them get is now readily available for anyone to see.

To be fair, some would say that about Christians. The difference is many of us already know about said information and have responses to it. Also, we do not want to shield the church from this information. We instead want them to know about it and know what to say to it. This is not the same in the case of Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses. Granted however that there are a few in those camps who will go out and interact with the other side.

A Mormon presidency would bring Mormonism out into the open even more and in many ways, I consider that a good thing. Consider what I have said about the new atheists. I thank God for them. They are bringing the discussion of what Christianity is out into the open and doing their side a great harm with having people think that their arguments are just so destructive to Christians, not realizing the majority of us just laugh about them. I hope the new atheists add to their number of published books and keep it up. We’ll keep writing scholarly books that show the mistakes and errors and let their side deal with what they’ve done.

If we can start talking to Mormons more and witnessing to them, then that is all the better. I also think that if ever some group tried to force itself on the Constitution, we would not have to worry since this country has already had one revolution and could have a second. The Mormon church would be taking a huge risk to make a move like that and it is doubtful whether they would ever want to attempt it.

Another issue for us today that a president deals with is the economy. I do happen to think from an economic perspective that Romney’s ideas do work better. I recommend for people reading a book like Henry Hazlitt’s “Economics in One Lesson.” (If you can only read one book on economics, read that one.) From a Christian perspective, one can read the book of Ronald Nash “Poverty and Wealth.”

What about health-care? For those of us who want to do away with Obamacare, then we do need to support Romney. He’s said he will repeal it and the voters definitely expect that. For those who want to speak about pre-existing conditions, My Mrs. and I both have pre-existing conditions. Since moving, I had to go see my old doctor so the health insurance company could know that my Asperger’s is not a problem for my insurance.

Some might disagree, but this is a question that we have to ask. Which candidate is better equipped to help grow our economy?

Moral issues certainly play a part in how we vote and that was the main reason voters were voting in 2004. There are a number of issues we have coming up. The debate over redefining marriage is going on. Obama has already said his view is in support of doing that. Abortion is another major issue. We can be thankful that Mormons stand with us by and large on these issues. We need to especially get into the Supreme Court people who will support our views. Hugh Hewitt, a conservative radio talk show host, has said the most important rule is to be able to count to 5. I would even vote for a pro-choice Republican if I thought he’d put someone conservative on the Supreme Court who is more likely to overturn Roe V. Wade.

What we have to ask is not “Who believes like me the most in religion?”, but “Who is more capable of doing the job?”

If there is one area we should be concerned about, it’s that Christians unfortunately are not producing the best candidates. Christians are shying away from politics when we shouldn’t. There are several brilliant Christian minds that could make a difference in the world if we will allow them to do so.

I can end this no better I think than the way Bill McKeever and Eric Johnson of the Mormon Research Ministry did in their article from the Christian Research Institute. (Link below) It’s from 2008 but still valid.

It doesn’t appear that Romney’s Mormonism is causing many evangelical Christian leaders to oppose his candidacy. In fact, one group of Christians has even jumped on his bandwagon by hosting an Internet site (www.evangelicalsformitt.org). Perhaps University of Notre Dame sociologist Christian Smith summarized the precarious position of many when he said (Los Angeles Times, October 15, 2006), “Some evangelicals may think that Mormons are going to hell, but at the same time, they might think that it wouldn’t be too bad to have one in elected office.”

In Christ,
Nick Peters

Bill McKeever and Eric Johnson’s article can be found .

Thoughts on the Norway Killer

Hello everyone and welcome back to Deeper Waters where we are diving into the ocean of truth. I’d like to thank a reader for the comment on the 1 Corinthians 13 series. It’s good to know it’s appreciated. By personal request before doing the next series, I’m going to first take a look at what’s happened in Norway. The question I am addressing is that of the relationship of religion to violence.

Like most of you, I haven’t read the manifesto. I doubt any of us fully have seeing as how long it is. I have heard bits and pieces of it, and although some think that he was a Christian, I am inclined to think that he was not. However, even if he was, it doesn’t really matter to me.

The question to be asked tonight is if religion leads to violence. I think the answer to that question is yes…sometimes. I think non-religion can also lead to violence. What is the cause of violence is the evil that exists in the human heart. There are facets of beliefs that can spark those violent tendencies in people. There are some beliefs of secularism that I believe can do that and there are some beliefs that are religious that I believe can do that.

Note also that because a worldview leads to violence, that would necessarily mean it is false. For instance, I am not a Muslim, but if it was true and there was an Allah and it was His order to kill the infidel, well that’d be that. I don’t believe Christianity is like that however nor do I believe in a voluntaristic approach to morality. Of course, if God says to do something, it is good, but it is not good just because God says it.

While we could look at this and see if it proves or disproves a belief system is true or false, it does not. It is a factor we can consider in looking at a belief system. However, as a Christian, I also realize that my belief system lies on a different foundation. The argument will not work this way and it doesn’t even follow.

The Norwegian killer was a Christian. (Assumed for the sake of argument. Not a belief I hold.)

Therefore, Jesus did not rise from the dead.

Thus, rather than actually studying the accounts and seeing if they are historical and then if they are historically accurate, the solution to some supposedly is to just look at an event today and say that based on this event, that one in the past didn’t happen, even though there’s no logical connection between the two. This is also the case with arguments from the problem of natural evil. Because a tsunami or earthquake hits, it does not prove that Jesus did not rise from the dead.

This is something also that sets apart Christianity from other religions. Other religions do take place in history of course. Muhammad, Moses, and others are all said to have lived at a certain point in time. They’re all said to have handed down what they wrote at a certain time. (Some qualification with Muhammad based on whether he could write or not. If not, he at least dictated his writings.) Joseph Smith lived. The Buddha lived. These are historical truths.

However, in the Christian tradition, a historical event is at the heart of the belief system. As I told a friend tonight over dinner, science and philosophy are important. You can use science to defend Christianity. You can use philosophy. However, if you are going to prove that Jesus rose from the dead, you will have to go to history.

With Islam and Judaism, I cannot really point to a historical event that confirms the teachings of Muhammad or the teachings of a prophet like Isaiah. In that case, we often look at their teachings. Both of these religions can easily rely on right living. For Chfristianity, it’s also right beliefs since our beliefs about Jesus have Him central to the religion and thus, some claims about Him are essential.

That’s not saying how you live isn’t important. It definitely is. However, the resurrection of Christ is not proven or disproven by events that happen today. If you want to see if Christianity is true, you have to look at Christianity. While I could say that if atheism is true, what happens in atheistic societies follows, that also does not prove atheism false. I have to look at the claims of atheism and study them. If I don’t approve of killing the infidel in Islam, that doesn’t prove Islam is false. I have to look at the claims.

Debate about the killer might tell us about ethics, but if we want to see the truth, we need to look at the worldview.

Prayer Pansies

Hello everyone and welcome back to Deeper Waters where we are diving into the ocean of truth. I’m going to be taking a break from our series to look at a situation that has happened recently concerning prayer at a high school graduation. Many of us when we graduated had a prayer said and the older you are, I would think it’s more likely that that took place.

However, the Medina Valley School District in Texas has ordered that public prayer be prohibited at a high school graduation ceremony. (Link at bottom) Note that in the link when clicked, the judge says that if there is a prayer said, the family and their son will suffer irreparable harm.

What?!

So if someone dares mention the name of Jesus publicly (Except of course if they’re using the name of the person that Christians hold in the highest esteem as the perfection of all that is good and holy) then this family will suffer great harm? Exactly what kind of harm are we talking about? Are we talking about being on a psychiatrist’s couch for years saying “It was awful. They actually said ‘Jesus’ around me and prayed.”

When some of us were growing up, we actually learned how to deal with that which did not go our way and did not try to shape the rest of the world to fit our particular tastes. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to change the world, but this is simply forcing everyone else in the area to bow to the sensitivities of one family without cause.

This is along the lines of people who are told at their workplace to not say “Merry Christmas” but “Happy Holidays” lest someone get offended. If a Jew comes up to me and wishes me a happy Passover or a Muslim wishes me a happy Ramadan, I’m not going to be offended. I would in fact be happy to discuss their religious beliefs with them.

Strangely enough, this offense is never a big deal when it goes the other way. Jesus can be openly mocked and maligned anywhere, after all, that only offends Christians. If someone wants to mock Jesus, that’s their right. I also have a right to respond to them, but the way to do it is not through bullying in the courts but in debating our worldviews.

There is also much mockery for Christian practice in the world. I know someone who is a devout Christian who recently got a job at a Wal-Mart where he works with several guys his age. He is a college student and he is often mocked because as a single man, he is a virgin and plans to stay that way until marriage, a common Christian practice.

Is what’s being done to him wrong? You bet it is. Offensive? No doubt. Painful? Sure. What’s the proper way to handle it? The way he’s doing it. He’s looking for reasons why he does think pre-marital sex is wrong and until then, just not giving in. If some people want to be jerks, let them be jerks. For now, he’s dealing with something obviously wrong and he’s not whining to the court system. He’s growing up and taking it for the time being believing standing strong in his virtue will win out.

Instead, our culture has become so weak that we’re crying out that the worst thing you can do to someone is offend them. There is no place for needless offenses of course, but there are some offenses that ought to just be overlooked instead of thinking that one has to be a victim entirely to one’s circumstances.

This family however thinks it’s more beneficial to treat their son like a child who must have everything go his way and make everyone else go without a simple prayer just because of the cause of offense. The early Christians were thrown to the lions and set on fire and in response, they wrote to the emperor and stated their case. They simply wanted toleration.

For the people who often speak the most about tolerance, you’d think they’d be willing to tolerate some. Apparently not. Tolerance is a great virtue, provided everyone else practice it.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/06/02/prayer-prohibited-at-graduation-ceremony/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To The Veterans: Thank You

Hello everyone and welcome back to Deeper Waters where we are diving into the ocean of truth! Today, before we go back to a regular topic, I’m going to take a break once more because I believe today we need to recognize Veterans’ Day and honor those who are alive and have served in the armed forces.

I am not a pacifist. It does not mean I like war. I believe Patton once said “War is Hell.” I agree with him from what I’ve heard. I cannot serve due to disability. However, I have respect for those who do. It amazes me some people are willing to face taking a bullet so that I won’t have to fear taking one myself some day.

As I write this blog, I realize I do live in the best nation on Earth. I’m not going to say I love everything about America. I hate that we are killing our children in the name of women’s rights. I hate that we are taking the sacred institution of marriage and changing it just to make some people happy. I hate that we are building up a victim mentality where we have to put a safeguard around everyone’s feelings.

What do I love however? I love that our nation was founded on Christian principles that embrace the dignity of man made in the image of his creator. I love that I can state that I am free. There are some people who are atheists here. That’s their right. I also have the right to go and worship in church freely and carry a Bible and no one can stop me. I also realize that there are people of other faiths here and they have the right to worship also.

Right now, our economy is bad and my wife and I are in tough times. However, I realize this is the best nation on Earth for us to be in those times. I come home to a place with heating and electricity and indoor plumbing. I can drive my own car to a grocery store and pick up items that my wife and I can eat.

Let’s not forget knowledge. I love knowledge. I can get on the internet and read what I want to on there and this blog I am doing now could be read by people all over the world. I have several libraries around me and I can go and get books and better educate myself on a number of topics. I am pursuing my education in Seminary now and I have the freedom to do that.

The ontological basis of my freedom is of course God, but the instrumental means he’s often used to preserve that is men and women who are willing to go out and fight because they believe that this nation is worth defending. They believe this nation is even worth dying for and they’re prepared to do that.

We must never lose sight of what these people did. Let us never take freedom for granted, for we will then cease to see how great a gift it is.

God bless our Veterans!

234 Years

Hello everyone and welcome back to Deeper Waters where we are diving into the ocean of truth. Lately, we’ve been going through the doctrine of God but as many would suspect by now, today is a special day. Here in America, we are celebrating 234 years of existence as a nation and the freedom that we have. Today, I’d like to write out some thoughts to keep in mind on this special day and we can continue looking at the doctrine of God tomorrow.

I will begin by stating flatly that this is a Christian nation founded on Christian principles. That does not mean that Christianity is an official religion, but that it is the dominant shaping force, or at least was, in America. It is because we’re Christian that we have freedom of worship. Muslims, Buddhists, Jews, Hindus, and those of non-faith are free to exercise their religious beliefs here provided they do so in legal means. For those who want more information on the founding of America being Christian, I recommend visiting wallbuilders.com, the ministry of David Barton. I also recommend going to the following links all by my good friend J.P. Holding of Tektonics ministries:

http://www.classicapologetics.com/special/americaclassics.html

http://www.classicapologetics.com/special/4th.html

http://www.classicapologetics.com/special/godtrust.html

That having been said, I have a saying that the gospel does not need America, but America needs the gospel. This nation is founded on the principles of Jesus Christ and without those principles, we cannot survive. The further we move away from the gospel, the more our country will slide away towards oblivion as we become more and more self-focused. We have abortion now legal for instance, in which a mother may allowably take the life of the innocent child that is in her womb. A selfish act indeed and one of the most anti-feminine of all as it denies several women the right to exist and denies the woman the great privilege she has of being able to give birth.

We have homosexuals seeking to marry one another coming on the scene. Once again, we are dealing with a selfish act that says we need to change the very nature of marriage itself just in order to bring about the happiness of some people. I could writer further on my problems with the homosexual lifestyle, but that would be another blog. Needless to say, I share the Christian worldview that says that homosexual activity is immoral.

Our policies today are quick fixes designed to handle things for our generation and not looking ahead to what the future will hold. There are long-term consequences to all our actions and if we just look at how it affects us today without considering our children and our grandchildren, we will do them a disservice. We need to keep that in mind as this is their nation to, or at least we hope it will be.

That having been said, I am thankful however that this is a nation that I can enter my church freely on Sunday and worship. I can have a Bible in my home and I don’t need to fear the government coming in and taking that away from me. There are many nations where such a privilege doesn’t exist.

I truly believe we can still be a city on a hill, for whatever happens in America shapes the rest of the world. We have maintained a constitution for 234 years. In a class I was in recently after the health-care bill passed, a bill that I opposed and still do oppose, one student said “234 years. It was a good run.” I do believe that the bill is damaging to the fabric of our country, but I don’t believe it’s the end of it. America has not been about giving up. America has been about standing up in the face of opposition.

There is much in America and we have extreme potential to be a force for good in this world. Keep in mind like Esther that the gospel will survive just as the Jews would. However, if America doesn’t provide, help could come from another place and our nation could exist for such a time as this. Not only could it exist for such a time, you and I could exist for such a time.

If you are an American, what are you going to do today to return America to her principles? If you are not, celebrate for those who are and if possible, be proud of your own country and seek what you can do to bring the gospel to that country more and more. America can be an example of what can be done.

We shall continue our look at the doctrine of God tomorrow.

Honor The Fallen

Hello everyone and welcome back to Deeper Waters. While here, we have been lately going through the doctrine of God, I’m going to take a break from that for today. Here in America, it’s Memorial Day. We are remembering those who have fallen in combat so that our country could be free. I admit that I don’t do as much as I should for Memorial Day, but I do hope my one blog here will suffice for a tribute.

Go by and graveyard and think about what you see. There are caskets underground. Sure, a lot of them have decayed and no doubt the bodies inside have as well, but each of those is there because of a person. A person has left this world. He will not be heard again to greet his family or make love to his wife or play with his children or greet you in the marketplace.

Some people leave this world pre-emptively. Some do so knowing the possibility of that happening. They’re the ones that put their lives on the line because they think their country is worth dying for. They will kiss their wives and children as they head onto a plane to go to another nation and do so knowing that they might never see those people again.

For them, there is something worth dying for. They are prepared to face death so their wives and children won’t have to. They are willing to die for complete strangers. Some will one day go out on a battlefield and they know that they are walking to certain death and will never come home again and yet they walk anyway. They leave with their comrades a request that they simply let their families know that they love them.

What are we doing to honor them? Do we consider how serious death is? If we do not, it could be because we do not take life itself seriously. If you do not have something worth dying for, it is quite likely that you also do not have something worth living for. Is there anything out there that is greater than you are that you are willing to say “Yes. For this I will live my life and die if need be.”

I live in America and I wake up free. I can read my Bible without fear of the government coming in and arresting me. I can go to a house of worship and enjoy the freedom of worship. I can speak as I fit. I can write this blog and not do so with fear. I have property and I can buy and sell in the marketplace. I am allowed to hold the opinions that I hold.

Why can I do this? Someone thought that freedom was worth dying for. Before you go to bed tonight, say a prayer to God to give thanks for those who came before us. It is because of the sacrifice of good men and women that you are free today. They were also people just like you and I. The only difference is in what they believed. They believed something truly good is worth dying for.

God bless those who are left behind. Today, your loved ones are saluted! Thank you for giving them to us.

A Day Which Shall Live In Infamy.

Greetings everyone from Deeper Waters. We’re going to take a break from our Trinitarian commentary tonight to take some time to remember the events of today, Pearl Harbor Day. I ask, however, for your continued prayers. There has been a lot happening in my own life lately and I seem to be getting a grip on things. I also ask for prayers for my financial situation. Things are getting really tight around here. Finally, I ask for prayers for the continued situation going on in my life. There are a lot of events going on I do not wish to describe, but God knows them. For now, let’s talk about Pearl Harbor Day.

I know someone who is an older man in the apologetics world who talked to me and a few others one time about that day. He spoke of people walking in Hawaii and seeing the planes flying overhead and wondering what was going on. It wasn’t too long before they found out as the attack started and before we knew it, we were involved in a strike in a way that we had never been involved in. Our peace time had been interrupted by an attack from Japan.

The attack was said to rouse up America like a sleeping giant, and indeed it did. In an episode of Smallville, Lex Luthor tells a corrupt politician of Smallville that when Churchill heard that America had been attacked by the Japanese, he broke open a bottle of champagne and said “We’ve won the war!” His staff thought he was crazy. He told them that America is a sleeping giant. If you wake them up, they will be ready to fight.

One aspect I’d like us to remember is that while there is real warfare in the world with guns and tanks and planes and bombs, there is also spiritual warfare going on. When innocent people in our nation are attacked, we stand up and fight. When 9/11 happen, the military recruiters had several signing up who wanted to go and fight for this nation of ours.

Would that we had the same about innocent souls being attacked. We have the abortion movement destroying our children. We have the homosexual lobbyists wanting to destroy marriage. We have false teachings rising up in the church like the Word of Faith movement and cults like the Mormons and the Jehovah’s Witnesses, as well as the charge of the new atheists.

The church has just as much potential today and events like this should remind us. Men and women were willing to die for our great nation, and I applaud that, but who will stand up for the church? There is nothing wrong with wanting to give your life for your country, but I would hope more of us would want to give our lives for the gospel. Are we willing to stand up and be counted for?

Let us remember and honor those who died for our country, but let us never lose sight of the ones who are giving their lives for the gospel. We stand in an age where wolves are trying to invade the church. Too often we’re busy coddling to them instead of treating them as the threats to innocent souls that they are. We are in a much more serious war than any physical war is. Let’s live accordingly.

Happy Veteran’s Day

Hello everyone and welcome back to Deeper Waters. I know I said I’d go on with our Trinitarian Commentary today, but I really think it would be more proper today to salute our troops. There are several men and women overseas as I type this right now putting themselves in harm’s way. I can only think of one friend who is in the armed forces in some capacity, so most of them don’t even know what I’m doing here right now, but they’re willing to die so I can have the right to keep doing it.

Our country is here today because there have always been such men. There were men who saw freedom as a good thing and saw it as something worth dying for. They died not only for their families, but for the families they knew nothing about. They risked everything knowing that they would receive nothing in return in this life maybe. Now they could receive some honors spoken over their grave and they could survive and get medals and honor, but more than likely, they do it because it is simply the right thing to do.

These are the men and women who have no idea at times if they will ever see their loved ones again. These are people who have children at home who they might never see again. They might have children at home who they’ve never even got the chance to see. Why are they doing it? What makes someone leave the people he loves the most and go off and risk life and limb?

What is it? It’s something greater than just this lifetime. It’s the cause of freedom not only for their generation but the next. Because they are protecting our generation, the next one can live in freedom. Mothers are free to raise up daughters to be women. Dads are free to train up their sons to be men. Some of those sons could be the next generation of soldiers as well.

These people also believe in a right and a wrong. They believe that there are things worth living for and that there are things worth dying for. They want to live their lives for the good and want to be willing to eliminate that which is evil. They believe that there is something out there that is greater than themselves.

They believe in not just looking to themselves and their time but to the future. We are free because of wars that were fought even in this country two centuries ago. Today, we’ve reached the level we have partly due to the sacrifice of those men and women just like the ones that are fighting for our lives today.

May the blessings of God be on our troops. They are out there taking a bullet so you and I don’t have to worry about taking one some day. These people deserve all the honor that we can give them. Before you go to bed tonight, make sure you’ve taken time to thank God for those people that have died and that are fighting now so that you can sleep comfortably tonight.

 

Happy Fourth of July

We’re still going to break from our talk on the Trinity in honor of the Fourth of July. Now I don’t go political on here often, but I did spend this morning at a tea party. Unfortunately, it wasn’t as enjoyable as the last ones were and my friends and I didn’t stay too long. However, I am pleased about how free our country is. We can gather and protest against our government. Do we stop to realize that there are many nations where you would get executed for that? If you don’t agree with the message of the tea parties, fine. Agree with this however. It is a good thing that they have the freedom to express their opinion and they should not be persecuted by the government for doing such.

As I traveled, I took the transit system since it has a cheaper round trip than paying for parking elsewhere. I consider it a great freedom that I can get on a vehicle like that safely and that I didn’t have to see guards with machine guns around and didn’t have to be searched thoroughly to make sure I was safe. As I say that, I am not against searches in other areas. I have been pulled out of line at the airport and I’m grateful for that. Airplanes no doubt can be more dangerous than the transit system, but even then, you have great freedom on an airplane and most of us don’t fear for our lives from terrorists. (If we have fear, it’s usually more a fear of flying than anything else.)

I also saw walking through a parking lot today police officers deailng with an incident that seemed to involve trouble with automobiles. I considered that later today and thought of how great it is to be living in a nation where I do not have to live in fear when I see the police force and can be thankful that they’re out there securing my freedom. I am not having to duck in back alleys in order to avoid coming in contact with a representative of the law.

I gathered with the church this evening at a family’s house to celebrate the 4th with a picnic. I’m thankful we can assemble as friends together in this nation and get to celebrate that we truly are a free nation. Freedom is a great gift and those of us who live in America should be thankful that we live in what I truly believe is the greatest nation on Earth.

This morning, I was free to read my Bible and I will be free to this evening. All around the world, there are people who would give anything to get to have a copy of Scripture. Some can be arrested and thrown in jail or even killed for the practice of the Christian religion. I don’t have to hide in this nation. In fact, my church is open to all.

I am doing this blog. I have the freedom to do that. I have the freedom to evangelize. I can look on the net and read anything on religion that I want to. I could write a book and get it published and get to spread the message of the gospel that way. I can own books others have written. That is a great privilege.

We are free, and let us not forget that we are free because men and women throughout history have given their lives up for a greater cause. As we celebrate today, let us not forget their sacrifice. Let us honor those who did and those who are making that sacrifice today. Freedom is not free as it has been said. We have a great gift.

Also, those of us who are Christians have another gift, the freedom from the penalty of sin. As we are being sanctified, we are free from its power. When we reach glory, we will be free from its very presence. Men and women died for a great freedom. Christ died for the greatest freedom of all. Government can try to stop the spread of the message of that freedom, but they cannot stop that freedom. Let us rejoice about that.

Happy 4th of July everyone!