then all that exists is time and chance acting on matter. If this is true then the difference between your thoughts and mine correspond to the difference between shaking up a bottle of Mountain Dew and a bottle of Dr. Pepper. You simply fizz atheistically and I fizz theistically. This means that you do not hold to atheism because it is true , but rather because of a series of chemical reactions… … Morality, tragedy, and sorrow are equally evanescent. They are all empty sensations created by the chemical reactions of the brain, in turn created by too much pizza the night before. If there is no God, then all abstractions are chemical epiphenomena, like swamp gas over fetid water. This means that we have no reason for assigning truth and falsity to the chemical fizz we call reasoning or right and wrong to the irrational reaction we call morality. If no God, mankind is a set of bi-pedal carbon units of mostly water. And nothing else.”
Feeding the Poor or Murdering Babies
So, when you want to choose sides for this election in November, which of these choices above will you favor on your ballot? Will you pick both? Or only one? Here are some comments from an OPC pastor on the logic of some in my generation who are choosing to walk down a certain liberal path…
Jesse Pirschel, pastor of Providence OPC in Temecula, CA, vented some frustration about the “logic†of recent political discourse:
I just wonder if the recent trend in the “young†church going DNC on issues (and I am not a republican, but far from a democrat) is really that well thought out. For instance, are we really saying it’s not the governments job to prevent murder but on the other hand it is their job to protect the environment, give to the poor, supply health care, save for my retirement and educate my kids?
Now help me with the logic. We can’t legislate morality on one issue, but must shove it down the throat on every other issue? Why is it the government’s moral duty to give me insurance and send my kids to school but not protect them if I want to kill them prior to them leaving the womb?
Or how is it we can give up that issue because the church should stop murder, but still expect programs to be extended by the government to feed the poor? Please tell me how things got so backwards in our thinking to come to this?
[HT: James Grant]
Obama, Muslims, and Victory?
In a recent Newsmax article I found out that many Iranians are hoping that Obama will win because they believe him to still be a Muslim. This is very telling about what the Muslim world thinks, but I also wonder what they would actually say once he got elected and didn’t profess faith in Allah? Would they then acknowledge that he’s actually a Muslim Apostate worthy of death under the laws of their religion? Here is the article:
Iranians Hoping for ‘Muslim’ Obama Victory
Iran’s leadership has expressed “great pleasure†at the prospect of a Barack Obama victory in November, according to Menashe Amir, the Iranian-born head of Radio Israel’s Persian language service. But Iranian President Ahmadinejad has said he doubts that the American establishment “will allow†Obama to win.
“One of the Iranian religious leaders said if Obama will enter the White House, then Islam will conquer the heart of the American nation,†Amir told Isracast.com.
The Iranian leadership likes Obama “mainly because he is a Muslim,†according to Amir. His first name, Barack, comes from “al-baraq,†which is the name of the horse that Muslims believe Muhammad rode on his way to paradise.
His middle name Hussein is also a Muslim name, and he was “born in a Muslim family,†said Amir.
In fact, Obama is a Christian. His deceased father was a Muslim, and though Obama attended a Muslim school in Indonesia, he never pursued the Muslim faith of his early childhood. While some commentators have suggested that this qualifies him as an apostate — a “crime†punishable by death according to Islamic sharia law — Menashe Amir disagreed.“If he wins the election, Muslims will be very proud of such a conquest, such a win. He didn’t convert [to Christianity] after he was 18. It happened much, much before,†so the sharia law judgment does not apply.
Also, check out this article on Obama’s Mulsim past: Obama’s Muslim Past Dogs Campaign
Obama, Apostasy, and the American Dream
Well, I can hardly believe that Obama did what he did tonight in his DNC acceptance speech… But with everything I’ve seen so far, I cannot say that I’m too surprised. For starters, I would like to point out two very important references that Obama made during and at the end of his acceptance speech. I quote from Collin Hansen over at the Christianity Today Live Blog regarding “Obama’s Code Language“:
Obama’s Code Language
Democratic nominee borrows from New Testament
By: Collin HansenI doubt any commentators will accuse Sen. Barack Obama of using religious code language in his acceptance speech. Yet two famous New Testament passages made an appearance. As is typical of civil religion today, God was replaced by the “American promise.”
“Instead, it is that American spirit – that American promise – that pushes us forward even when the path is uncertain; that binds us together in spite of our differences; that makes us fix our eye not on what is seen, but what is unseen, that better place around the bend,” Obama said, borrowing from 2 Corinthians 4:18.
Obama then concluded his remarks this way: “Let us keep that promise – that American promise – and in the words of Scripture hold firmly, without wavering, to the hope that we confess.”
This statement comes from Hebrews 10:23. But the context of this passage explains something far more beautiful than the American promise. “Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water” (Heb. 10:19-22).
This is truly to most ironic part about the whole Speech. Though every thinking Christian should realize that Obama is promoting the idolatry of “the American Dream”, I would like to point out that, based on one of my previous posts, the subsequent verses of Hebrews chapter 10 that follow verse 23 apply directly to Barack Obama and his apostasy from the faith once for all delivered to the saints.
The verse in Hebrews that he quoted was talking about holding fast to our confession of Christ as Lord and Messiah, not the American Dream! I wonder what people would think if he continued to quote the passage? I wonder if the speech write even bothered to read the context of the verse or if he just Googled it in from an online Bible and a vague memory he had about the wording of that particular sentence?
So, for those of you thinking about it now… here is the passage in full from verse 23 to verse 31:
23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. 26 For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. 28 Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. 29 How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has spurned the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.†And again, “The Lord will judge his people.†31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
So, you decide now who you will vote for in the November election. These are just some crucial thoughts we need to be having as Christians who are citizens in this great land of freedom and liberty and justice for all. Does Obama’s speech convince you of something? Talk back to me about it in the comments.
In Christ and In Defense of the Faith,
Glenn Jones
Quotes on Abortion from the Early Church
“You shall not kill the child by obtaining an abortion. Nor, again, shall you destroy him after he is born.†(Barnabas, 70-80 AD, 1.148)
“You shall not murder a child by abortion nor kill one who has been born.†(The Didache, 80-140 AD, 1.377)
“We say that those women who use drugs to bring on abortion commit murder. And we also say that we will have to give an account to God for the abortion.†(Athenagoras, 175 AD, 2.147)
“In our case, murder is once for all forbidden. Therefore, we may not destroy even the fetus in the womb, while as yet the human being derives blood from other parts of the body for its sustenance. To hinder a birth is merely a speedier way to kill a human. It does not matter whether you take away a life that has been born or destroy one that is not yet born.†(Tertullian, 197 AD, 3.26)
“Indeed, the Law of Moses punishes with appropriate penalties the person who causes abortion. For there already exists the beginning stages of a human being. And even at this stage, [the fetus] is already acknowledged with having the condition of life and death, since he is already susceptible to both.†(Tertullian, 210 AD, 3.218)
“Are you to dissolve the conception by aid of drugs? I believe it is no more lawful to hurt a child in process of birth, than to hurt one who is already born.†(Tertullian, 212 AD, 4.57)
“There are some women who, by drinking medical preparations, extinguish the source of the future man in their very bowels. So they commit murder before they bring forth.†(Mark Minucius Felix, 200AD, 4.192)
“The womb of his wife was hit by a blow of his heel. And, in the miscarriage that soon followed, the offspring was brought forth, the fruit of a father’s murder.†(Cyprian, 250AD, 5.326)
“The soul is not introduced into the body after birth, as some philosophers think. Rather, it is introduced immediately after conception, when the divine necessity has formed the offspring in the womb.†(Lactantius, 304-313AD, 7.297)
“You shall not slay your child by causing abortion, nor kill the baby that is born.†(Apostolic Constitutions, 390 AD, 7.466)
[HT: James Grant]
Islam: What the West Needs to Know
[HT: David Wood]
Buy Your Books From Us, Support Our Ministry
Just a friendly reminder… if you buy your books (or other products) online, in particular Amazon.com, then please prayerfully consider doing all your searching and purchasing through our ministry book store. Every purchase made goes toward helping our online ministry stay alive and well, financially speaking.
Thanks for your consideration!
In Christ and In Defense of the Faith,
Founder and Director,
Glenn Jones
Review of Biblical Literature – August 2008
Recently I joined the Society of Biblical Literature (SBL). I’ve seen other blogs mention the following type of book reviews, but now I’m actually getting the E-mails each month when the book reviews are released. So, I thought I would spread the word too and mention some of the book reviews that I found interesting from this months newsletter. Here they are. Enjoy!
=====================
Lester L. Grabbe
Ancient Israel: What Do We Know and How Do We Know It?
Reviewed by Brian B. Schmidt
Leslie Houlden, ed.
Decoding Early Christianity: Truth and Legend in the Early Church
Reviewed by Robert M. Bowman Jr.
Tom Thatcher, ed.
What We Have Heard from the Beginning: The Past, Present, and Future of Johannine Studies
Reviewed by Cornelis Bennema
Francis Watson
Paul, Judaism, and the Gentiles: Beyond the New Perspective
Reviewed by James D. G. Dunn
Lambeth 2008: A Conversation
For all of you interested in knowing about what happened at the Anglican 10 year meeting last month, please watch this video from August 1st where the Archbishop of the Southern Cone, Greg Venables, is interviewed about the happenings at Lambeth in July 2008.
Confession of St. Augustine – Free Audiobook
ChristianAudio.com is giving away a great audio book this month. I encourage all of you to download it and listen to it. It will be one of the most edifying books you will have ever read (or listened to). 🙂
Here are the details:
Saint Augustine’s Confessions
Saint Augustine’s contributions to Christian theology are second to no other post-apostolic author in the whole sweep of church history. Yet along side his doctrinal treatises, Augustine tells a story of his life devoted to Christ as his only satisfaction. The Confessions is at once the autobiographical account of Augustine’s life of Christian faith and at the same time a compelling theology of Christian spirituality for everyone. Among the most important classics in Western literature, it continues to engage modern readers through Augustine’s timeless illustrations and beautiful prose. Augustine’s Confessions is a book to relish the first time through and then profoundly enjoy over a lifetime of revisiting.
Browse to the Free Download Page to receive this offer.
Select the Download format and add it to your cart. Then use the coupon code AUG2008 during checkout to receive your free download.
