UN4GIVN

A post from this blog's past: https://saintsontheloose.blogspot.com/2015/06/car-tags.html  was about licensed "vanity"car tags with unusual readings which the driver may use for an extra fee above the required standard registration fee.

In the parking deck where I work, I recently saw a new tag which intrigued me: UN4GIVN. Using the English language letters and numbers this would transliterate as "unforgiven." What in the world could this mean?

After considering multiple possibilities, including a reference to a movie title or that the driver was a defiantly unrepentant philanderer, I decided that the most likely meaning was as a sarcastic insult to Christians, who often describe themselves as forgiven sinners.

Film Comment: Doctor Strange (2017)

Doctor Strange (2017), seen merely as film, is very enjoyable and technically well made. It is equally funny, frightening, visually amazing, and thought provoking. The acting is top-level and the music perfectly fits the film.

The story is based on the comic book character created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko in     1963.  Doctor Strange is a brilliant but hideously arrogant neurosurgeon.  He is a totally unlikable man, and is verbally and emotionally abusive of everyone around him, even the fellow doctor who considers herself to be his girlfriend.  As an atheist, he derisively rejects any mention of God or the supernatural. Then, his smug life is totally shattered as his talented hands are mangled in an especially violent automobile crash.    

Stephen’s entire self-worth has been built around what he considers to be his obvious superiority to those around him. He cannot accept that his prior life is gone. He desperately spends his entire fortune on increasingly experimental and questionable medical procedures. He is still broken with no improvement in sight.

Eventually his search leads him to Kathmandu and a secretive school led by a mystic known as The Ancient One. She claims to be thousands of years old. The Ancient One opens Strange’s eyes to the unseen world surrounding him.

This is an origin story and Stephen eventually becomes a Master Sorcerer charged with protecting the world from supernatural threats from powerful otherworldly beings. He has become a full-fledged hero even though he still carries just a touch of his former arrogance.

Doctor Strange is directed by Scott Derrickson, a publicly self-acknowledged Christian, and, while the film is about personal redemption, it is not a Christian film. There is no mention of Jesus at all.

Christians are commanded to stay away from magic and the occult. Magic is essentially the quest to use knowledge of spells, objects, and rituals to cause the universe (read spirits, demons, Satan, and God) to react in specific ways. This is the way in which Stephen Strange becomes a sorcerer. He is merely a man who learns how to manipulate space and time and how to leave his physical body to move about as his spirit self.

The primary sin is to place oneself in the place of God. This is essentially what magic does, harnessing supernatural beings and forces to impose one’s will upon the universe. It has no place in true Christianity.

Some commenters have said that director Scott Derrickson has used Doctor Strange’s eastern mystical roots to hint at a deeply Christian perspective on reality.  For example, the Ancient One teaches Strange that what we see around us is only a small part of reality. Paul says the same thing in the sixth chapter of Ephesians. Some commenters are much more troubled by the film’s roots and some denounce it.

In the film, The Ancient One is discovered to be a hypocrite in that, while fighting for Good, she is drawing much of her power and longevity from The Dark Dimension which is ruled by the utterly evil being known as Dormammu. Since she is their teacher, it must be assumed that the Ancient One’s students, including Stephen Strange, are also drawing power from the Dark Dimension. Surely he understands this once the revelation has been made and yet, he still uses the power.

Strange cannot possibly defeat a being as immensely powerful as Dormammu but he succeeds in outwitting the monster. Though Dormammu repeatedly and violently kills him, Doctor Strange has trapped Dormammu and himself in a repetitive time loop. The only way that Strange will release him from the loop is for the monster to agree to leave. Strange becomes a self-sacrificing savior who returns from the dead. This alone should be a massive red flag for Christians.

A Threatening Christian Assault!

At the start of 2017 one of my fellow employees placed a calendar in the employee break room. It featured beautiful high definition photographs of nature scenes. Along with each picture was a single praise verse from the Psalms. The overall tone of the calendar to a non-Christian would have been rather generic, along the order of a sweet Helen Steiner Rice poem.

Last week the calendar was taken off the wall.  The explanation from the supervisors was that there had been a complaint.  Someone had found the calendar to be offensive and threatening. Threatening?  REALLY???

Our national tradition in the United States is freedom of religion and a separation of church and state. Some have begun to believe that this means that any mention of religion must be removed from public sight.  Religion must be stifled and repressed.  Utter hypocrisy!

They, in effect, do what they accuse others of doing; they impose their religious view (agnosticism, humanism, or atheism) on others. They deny to others the right to practice or express their religious views.

Liberals and progressives scoff at and ridicule the idea that there is a War on Christianity in all corners of the United States.  In ways large and small, the evidence is ample and glaring that they are wrong or disingenuous.

The Passing of a Witness

Sixteen year old Sid Ortis died on 31 October 2015 after a fifteen month battle with osteosarcoma. 

He has become known around the world for the brave way he lived his life after his diagnosis and for his devoted love of Louisiana State University (LSU) football. Most of the reports also mention his “faith.” The real focus of most of the news reports is actually about the intense relationship which developed between Sid and Les Miles, the coach of The LSU Bengal Tigers football team.

Coach Miles exchanged cell phone numbers with Sid, gave Sid’s family a set of box seat tickets to the football stadium, and told Sid, “Life is not how long you live, but how well you live it.”

The news reports for the most part mentioned Sid’s “faith” without elaborating on what that actually meant. Either they were uncomfortable with it or did not actually understand what “faith” meant. Sid’s parents understand.

Of course, not everyone is impressed. One commenter said that this kind of thing is what drove him to be an atheist. He sarcastically wanted to know what kind of God would seem to ignore prayers and allow such a kind and gentle young man to suffer so much. Sid’s mother responded that her son was transformed into a fearless person by the power of the Lord. 

Sid’s mother, Lynn Ortis, said, “We are so proud of our son for not getting bitter, living life, trusting Jesus until the end.”

Sid’s father, Scott Ortis, knows the effect of his son’s illness, “Dozens and dozens have come back to a spiritual belief because of Sid.” Scott said that Sid told him that he was lucky because, if he lived, he was able to stay with his family and, if he died, he would be with Jesus.

Here is a prayer, one of the last things Sid was able to say before he died, 

"Dear Lord, thank you for everything you've given me and these wonderful friends who have been there with me through the fight. And let them all live prosperous lives once I'm gone, and let everybody stay on the path of righteousness and not get away from You. Amen."

"His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ Matthew 25:23 

"Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible®,
Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973,
1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org)

War on Christmas

In the United States there is a controversy raging over whether or not there is a conscious attempt being made by some to suppress Christianity. There is a war on Christianity. There is not a war on Christianity. Progressives and /or liberals insist that Christian claims of cultural persecution are merely paranoia. Conservative Christians point out the banning of public religious displays, the silencing and even shunning of Christian voices on university campuses, and the fact that Christians are rarely portrayed in a positive light in the popular media.

There is currently a legal challenge from the Madison, Wisconsin based Freedom from Religion Foundation against a public nativity scene on town property in tiny Rainbow City, Alabama (2010 census population 9602). The two locations are separated by 825 miles (1328 kilometers). The foundation seems to think that any public display of religion is dangerous and threatening. They call their challenge part of the "critical work to promote non-theism and defend the constitutional separation between religion and government." They charge that the views of the religious are being imposed on others who do not share those views. They fail to understand or to acknowledge that what they themselves are doing is the imposition of their own values upon others.

A Google Search of "War on Christianity"on 14 December 2014 pulled up 11,300,000 results.   A Google Search of "War on Christmas"on 14 December 2014 pulled up 149,000,000 results. Those who deny that a war is ongoing are often very derisive. Listen to these quotes from various internet sites:

"... the claims of religious persecution are laughable."
"... the intellectually atrophied..."
"... undereducated, white, rural, gun carrying, fat."

What do you think?

Christians

At some time during their lives, the following people have publicly identified themselves as Christian.   Inclusion in this list does not indicate approval or disapproval of the person, of their orthodoxy or lack of it, or of their actions.  Some of those listed may surprise you.  Readers are encouraged to suggest persons who should be included on this list.  This is a recurring segment in this blog.

Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff: (b. 1912, England - d. 2005) Prime Minister of the United Kingdom 1976 - 1979. Baptist, converted to Atheist.

Margaret Hilda Roberts Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher: (b. 1925, England - d. 2013) 

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom 1979 - 1990. Methodist, converted to Anglican.

Sir John Major: (b 1943, England) Prime Minister of the United Kingdom 1990 - 1997, Anglican

Anthony Charles Lynton Blair: (b 1953, England) Prime Minister of the United Kingdom 1997 - 2007, Anglican, converted to Roman Catholic

James  Gordon Brown: (b. 1951, England) Prime Minister of the United Kingdom 2007 - 2010, Church of Scotland

What They Think of Us: Adolf Hitler

“Christianity is an invention of sick brains; one could imagine nothing more senseless.” Adolf Hitler

23 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness;

24 But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.

25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:

27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;  (1 Corinthians 1:23-27)

The Worldview Shift in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries

“What happened in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries was that what for many had been the minimal theology of the Old World became the maximal of the New. … They found it in the world of Nature.”  John  V. Fleming (a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, university professor at Princeton University, and medievalist).

The “minimal theology of the Old World/maximal theology of the New World” is that the obvious order, mathematical nature,  and logic of the natural world all strongly imply the existence of an intelligence, a Creator.  Everything works as it must for us to exist at all.  If anything at all; gravitation, body pH, the amount of radiation in the atmosphere, the attractive and repellant forces between subatomic particles, etc.,  is  varied by even minute amounts, we will all die.  The extreme order and complexity of the physical world led to what is called the Argument from Design.  Design implies a Designer.

The shift  in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries denied the importance and sometimes even the existence of the Designer.  At best this is Deism (God exists but that is all that can be said), at worst, it is Atheism (God does not exist).

This shift in worldview led ultimately to the philosophy known as scientific materialism or naturalism.  This is the idea that the only things which can be known are those things which can be empirically measured.  A few steps more led to overt militant atheism.  A few steps more led to the idea that nothing can be known absolutely; that there is no Absolute Truth of any sort.  From this, people feel that they can, with a straight face, declare , “That is your truth, my truth may be different.”  Essentially, they are saying that there can be no universal standards of any sort, no declaration that anything is always wrong or right, and, ultimately, that “there can be no criticism of ME.”  This is the ultimate meaning of sin, the elevation of self above everything and everyone else.  Man making himself into God.

This is the Bible’s response to Deism and Atheism: “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:” Romans 1:20

About the Church of Satan

In a recent post, I reported on rumors that Alice Cooper, a rock musician who has been promoted as a "born-again Christian," has now publicly declared himself as a member of the Church of Satan.  This may all be some sort of publicity seeking April Fools prank.

Some information on the Church of Satan: first and foremost, this is not the baby-killing devil worshippers of the public imagination as depicted in such films as Rosemary's Baby, Race With the Devil, The Devil's Rain, or Michel Soavi's The Church. Members of the Church of Satan are emphatic that they do not worship or even believe in the Christian Devil.  Peter Gilmore, the current High Priest of the Church of Satan, has said, "My real feeling is that anybody who believes in supernatural entities on some level is insane. ... Satanism begins with atheism."

The Church of Satan was founded in the late 1960's by Anton Szandor LaVey (d. 1997) who wrote The Satanic Bible in 1969.

Satan is seen as the ultimate representation of the individual self.  This is not benign "rational self interest."  This is placing one's carnal self and will above everything else.  One's self is the only god that exists.

http://www.google.com/search?q=anton+szandor+lavey&hl=en&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=3gduUdv7A5TU9AT8ioGgAw&sqi=2&ved=0CIsBEIke&biw=1202&bih=812

What They Think of Us: Dave Allen on Religion

Irish comedian Dave Allen (David Tynan O'Mahony, b. 1936, Ireland - d. 2005, England) was a frequent critic of Roman Catholicism and Anglicanism.  Here, he talks about his first meeting with a nun at age four.  He often said, "I'm an atheist, thank God!"

An Atheist's Definition of Christianity

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2B5BemlHdIM

Wire Fencing

Atheists in Santa Monica, California apparently have mounted a campaign to displace the traditional Christmas nativity scenes usually created annually by a coalition of churches and the police department.

http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2011/12/10/atheist-group-ousts-church-christmas-displays-from-santa-monica-park/

The back and forth battle between Christians and outspoken atheists has been raging for several years across the United States to the point where many Evangelical Christians speak of a "War on Christmas."

The thing which struck me immediately when I saw the news reports on the current Santa  Monica situation was that the displays, including the non-Christian ones, had wire fencing in front of them to prevent vandalism.

The God Particle

On 4 July 2012 (today),  scientists from the CERN Hadron Collider  announced that they had produced a measurable particle consistent with the Higgs-Boson particle , also known as the “God Particle.”  As could be expected this has created a storm of discussion.  What does it all mean?

First, this discussion is not essentially religious in nature (except for those who already believe), even though the particle is commonly called the “God Particle.”  The particle was first predicted over fifty years ago (1964) by the atheist English physicist, Peter Higgs (b. 1929, England) to explain the behavior of sub-atomic particles.  The particle would fall into the category of particles known as bosons; named for the Indian physicist Satyendra Nath Bose 1894-1974.  Bosons are sub-atomic particles which are “force-carriers,”  ie: photons (particles of light), which carry the electromagnetic force; mesons, which carry nuclear forces, ;  gravitons, carriers of the gravitational force,; etc.  The Higgs Boson particle is associated with mass, which is similar to, but not exactly the same as, weight.  Mass is actually defined as “resistance to acceleration.”  The entire discussion is based largely on high level mathematics.

The “God Particle” name came from the book, The God Particle: If the Universe is the Answer, What Is the Question?, by Leon Lederman.  Lederman said he named the particle because it is “so central to the state of physics today, so crucial to our understanding of the structure of matter, yet so elusive.  … the publisher wouldn’t let us call it the Goddamn Particle though that might be a more appropriate title, given its villainous nature and the expense it is causing.”

Practical applications which theoretically could result from manipulation of the Higgs Boson particle and related particles include:

1.     Super-dense, super-hard, and super-light weighted materials.

2.     Super-heavy materials.

3.     Particle beam weapons and excavation equipment.

4.     Anti-gravity devices.

Some persons will see the religious implications of a particle which imparts physicality to a purely energy based reality just as some see the possible religious implications of laminin , a cross-shaped molecule which is involved in the connective tissue holding together all human tissue.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation Advertisement

The Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) placed a $26.690 full-page advertisement in the 1 June 2012 edition of the USA Today newspaper.  The advertisement calls for Catholics to “join those of us who put humanity above dogma.”  The issue which has stirred up the FFRF is the Catholic Church’s opposition to being forced to pay for contraception, sterilization, and abortion coverage in its employee insurance plans.  The FFRF calls this “irrational opposition,” and “incense-fogged ritual.”

I believe that there is a hidden, hate-based agenda.  What the FFRF seems to be really calling for is for Catholics to abandon Christianity, not just the Catholic Church.  And their 18,000 members are willing to spend $26,000 to further their agenda.

Read about this here and here.   

What They Think of Us: Religion is Garbage

Look at this advertising campaign from New Zealand.  The Muckmouth Agency in Auckland has produced posters advertising "Religion is Garbage" t-shirts and skateboards sold by Eshe Streetwear .  

Muck is an older English word which refers to a thick, moist, and sticky mixture of mud, barnyard manure, and decaying plant matter.

From the Other Side

Yesterday, the videos were about celebrity Christians. This video is by the atheist brother of a Christian minister. Click on the title line to start the video.

Book Comment: Christianity on the Offense (Part 2)

This is a continuation of my comments on the book, Christianity on the Offense: Responding to the Beliefs and Assumptions of Spiritual Seekers (1998), by Dan Story.  


Story calls on Christians to challenge and examine their own world view presuppositions and also those of others and to think logically and clearly about what they believe and why they believe it.  He presents and explains the use of tools to carry out this examination.  He shows "that the majority of the arguments hurled against Christianity are relatively easy to respond to" by the use of these tools to examine the unprovable and unsupportable presuppositions of those challenging Christianity.   He also correctly states that "Secular humanism has usurped Christianity as the guiding social force in Western culture," and he identifies the most dangerous of the new world views. 


Taking the world views in the order of their appearance, Story uses the same set of questions to examine each.  Each of these philosophies has millions of adherents and each has affected modern Christianity as we know it.


Pantheism: Everything is God.  Each person is innately divine and, ultimately, everything is absorbed into the one reality.
Christianity:  God is personal and Truth is absolute.  This absolute truth can be known and understood.  Reality is ultimately rational.  "Christianity encourages people to confirm its truth-claims. (Acts 17: 11)
Naturalism: There is no God, there is only nature and natural laws.  Reality is what we can see, feel, taste, hear, and measure.  All of reality can potentially be measured and understood.
Secular Humanism: This is the prevailing world view in modern Western society.  It began as the rationalism of the fourteenth to seventeenth centuries.  Man is God and is the ultimate measure of what is true.  Humans are of ultimate value.  The human mind is potentially the master of all reality.
Postmodernism: This is the newest and the most rapidly growing of the modern world views challenging the Christian ἐκκλησία, and potentially the most dangerous.  Postmodernism rejects human reason and logic as a source of truth because it declares that there is no absolute truth.  Since there is no absolute truth, ethics are relative, all religions are equally true, and personal experience is more important than any external authority.  There is no ultimate basis for proven knowledge of any kind.  Modern  Western culture is seen as repressive to the individual.  There is a deep distrust of reason and logic; truth is subjective, pluralistic, and collectivist, and is not reachable by reason.  Your truth may not be my truth.

Story correctly points out that the postmodernist philosophy leads to chaos on may levels.  Since chaos is quite uncomfortable, it can eventually lead to the imposition of authoritarian measures to restore order.  If there is no standard on which to base judgement, how is it possible to oppose the Hitlers of the world?

Book Comment: Christianity on the Offense (Part 1)

I very strongly recommend that you read Christianity on the Offense: Responding to the Beliefs and Assumptions of Spiritual Seekers (1998), by Dan Story.  Story discusses the underlying presuppositions of several modern world views,presenting their strengths and weaknesses, their intellectual consistency or lack of it, and presents strategies to use in evaluating the truth claims of of each worldview.  This is a powerful book of Christian apologetics which shows us clearly that we do not have to back down from our Christian truth claims.  It also takes a novel, highly aggressive approach to the inadequacies and logical inconsistencies of non-Christian and non-orthodox Christian world views.  Here is a link where you can find the book.


Story examines traditional orthodox Christianity and shows how it stands up under historical, scientific, and legal scrutiny.  "People who claim that they are being open-minded by accepting all religions as gateways to truth are actually being empty-headed. ... If we are to make heads-or-tails out of reality and if religious truth is to be known at all, we must adhere to the rudimentary rules of logic that govern all other areas of knowledge."

Did you realize that the strongest legal evidence is eyewitness testimony?  Paul understood this.  Mosaic law said that two witnesses were needed to prove a point as true.

“At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is worthy of death be put to death; but at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death.”  Deuteronomy 17:6

Paul says that over five hundred people saw Jesus after His resurrection and that most of them were still alive at the time he wrote 1 Corinthians.  What he was saying was, "If you don't believe me, ask them!"

“For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,  that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,  and that he appeared to Peter,  and then to the Twelve.  After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.  Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.”  1 Corinthians 15:3-8

 After demonstrating that the Christian truth claims are internally consistent, logically consistent, consistent with reality, and based on provable facts,  Story examines several of the major world views, each held by millions of people and each having affected the modern Christian Church, the ἐκκλησία,  sometimes positively and sometimes negatively.  

What They Think of Us: Mikhail Bakunin

“If God really existed, it would be necessary to abolish him. … the idea of God implies the abdication of human reason and justice.”  Mikhail Aleksandrovich Bakunin (b. 1847, Russia – d. 1876), Russian revolutionary and theorist of collectivist anarchism.

What They Think of Us: Woody Allen About God

"If it turns out that there is a God, I don't think that he's evil.  But the worst that you can say about him is that basically he's an underachiever."  Woody Allen