The Right to Refuse Based on Religious Beliefs

67 year-old Dutch civil servant Wim Pijl was fired recently in The Hague (Den Haag) for refusing to perform same-sex marriages.  Pijl cites his Christian beliefs as the reason.  “As a Christian, I learned from the Bible that there is only one marriage, between a man and a woman.”

The Hague city government dismissed Pijl because he “refused to take back his remarks.”  Pijl, one of 104 known Dutch civil servants who refuse to perform same-sex marriages, says he may take civil action against the city.

The Netherlands was the first country (2001)to legalize gay marriage.  The prime minister has guaranteed that same-sex marriages will be available coutrywide.

The issue brings into sharp focus the conflict between governmental policies and the right of government employees to refuse to act in ways which would violate their religious beliefs.  The same issue has begun to arise in the United States where the discussion is about whether physicians may refuse to perform abortions.

In the United States a person may, based on their religious belief, refuse in court to "swear on the Bible."  They are allowed instead to promise to tell the truth.  I believe that the same principle should apply in the cases above.  Surely a way short of dismissal can be found to accommodate legitimate religious objections. 

http://www.cip.nl/nieuwsbericht_detail.asp?id=25595 

http://www.persecution.org/2011/11/18/dutch-christian-civil-servant-fired-for-opposing-gay-marriage/   

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.  Readers are encouraged to suggest persons who should be included on this list.  This is a recurring segment in this blog.

Sun Yat-sen: b. 1866, China – d. 1925) Revolutionary, physician, President of the Republic of China, Congregationalist.

Cornel Ronald West: (b. 1953, Oklahoma) Civil rights activist, philosopher, author, actor, socialist.

Takeda Kiyoko: (b. 1917, Japan) Feminist intellectual.

John Glasgow Kerr: (b. 1824, Ohio – d. 1901) Surgeon, Presbyterian missionary to China.  One of his medical students was Sun Yat-sen.

Arthur Gostick Shorrock: (b. 1861, England – d. 1945) Surgeon, Baptist missionary to China.

May God Bestow on Us His Grace

In 1523, Martin Luther (1483-1546) wrote the lyrics of the hymn "Es woll' uns Gott genadig sein" (“It wanted us to be God Genade”) Genade is a Dutch word meaning “grace” or “mercy.”  The English title is “May God Bestow on Us His Grace.”

The song has been called “the first missionary hymn of Protestantism.” "Timeline of Christian Missions," Wikipedia.  The hymn is inspired by Psalm 67:1.  It is Hymn 500 in the Lutheran Hymnal.

http://cyberhymnal.org/htm/m/a/maygodbs.htm 

Paul's Metaphor of the Old Man and the New man

Paul uses the metaphor of the “old man” and the “new man” to help explain what Christ did for us in His crucifixion.  Jesus was fully God.  Because He was also fully Human, His death was our death (Romans 6:6), His resurrection was our resurrection (2 Corinthians 5:17).

The excellent article in the link below is by Pastor Greg Herrick of Hillside Community Church in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.  http://bible.org/article/“old-man”-and-“new-man”-paul 

Bible references:

“Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;” Colossians 3:9

“Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;” Ephesians 2:15

“That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;  And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;  And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.” Ephesians 4:22-24

“Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.” Romans 6:6

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17

The Early Spread of the Gospel

Christianity began among a very small group of Jesus' followers, many of whom were related to one another.  By about 30 AD/CE, there were probably about 1000 Christians.  In the next few years, the number rapidly grew into about 10,000 and soon, there were Christians even in the household of the Roman Emperor.  It was not until about the year 40 that they were known as "Christians" and the word was probably used by others as an insult word.

Paul carried the Gospel into Greece, Turkey, Cyprus, and Malta during his missionary journeys and into Italy during his imprisonment.  In 52 AD/CE, Thomas carried the Gospel into India.  Thaddeus evangelized Armenia in 66 AD/CE.  By the year 80 there were Christians in Tunisia and France; by 100 they were in Monaco, Algeria, and Sri Lanka; by 196 they were in Persia; by 300 AD/CE it is estimated that 10% of the world's population was Christian; in 341 the Goths in Romania were evangelized.  A form of Christianity known as Nestorianism arrived in China in 635 and survived for several hundred years.

Today there are about 2.1 billion persons who identify themselves as Christian.

A Christian Discussion of Sexuality

Just as I predicted, my post about the .XXX internet domain brought searches from pornographic sites.  Though you and I may not subscribe to every idea expressed in the interview (and Christians are not required to agree on every issue *) the link below is very interesting.  It is a question and answer session with two sexologists on the Christian sexually-oriented website Intimacy4us.

http://www.intimacy4us.co.za/fifteen-jawdropping-questions-sexologists/

*

"I wish that all men were as I am. But each man has his own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that." 1 Corinthians 7:7

"If anyone thinks he is acting improperly toward the virgin he is engaged to, and if she is getting along in years and he feels he ought to marry, he should do as he wants. He is not sinning. They should get married. But the man who has settled the matter in his own mind, who is under no compulsion but has control over his own will, and who has made up his mind not to marry the virgin—this man also does the right thing." 1 Corinthians 7:36, 37.

"A woman is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, but he must belong to the Lord." 1 Corinthians 7:39

In all these verses, Paul uses the word thelo (wish), which carries the idea of personal preference or opinion. 

A Mikmaq Christmas Song

P.J. Doucette singing a Mikmaq Christmas song, Tetuji Kesalnu’k 

A Miqmaq honor song

A wikipedia article on the MiqMaq people
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mi%27kmaq_people

Animals of You Tube Sing "Jingle Bells"

Just for fun!

We Wish You a Merry Christmas - Japanese Christmas Song

The Jesus Toaster

You will have to decide for yourself what you think about this.

http://www.christianpost.com/news/jesus-toast-toaster-sears-christs-face-onto-bread-63568/

http://www.burntimpressions.com/ 

This does not appear to be a Christian company.  They obviously just want to sell toasters.  They also sell other toaster designs, including the “pot leaf” toaster.

ChristianMingle.com

ChristianMingle.com is an online dating service specifically designed for Christians.  It gives its users access to e-mail, chat rooms, message boards, and instant messaging.  They claim that they handle over 100,000 messages a day. The site has a traditional statement of orthodox Christian belief and appears to be totally non-objectionable from a Christian standpoint.  If you decide to use the site, it appears to be totally above board with no hidden agendas.  I am not a member so I don't know if you will begin receiving unwanted advertising and offers from "affiliated" companies. Also, be aware that they do not perform background checks on members or subscribers so you will have to trust that everyone is who and what they say they are.  ChristianMingle.com states that "We bring Christian singles together."

It always is advisable to check further than just the surface.  Christian Mingle is one website of the Spark Networks,  a for-profit company which describes itself as a "provider of online personals services."  The other websites they maintain are mostly self-explanatory by their names.  Some of them may be objectionable to orthodox Christians.

AdventistSinglesConnection.com
AsianSinglesConnection.com
BBWPersonalsPlus.com (BBW = Big Beautiful Women)
Believe.com
BlackChristianSingles.com
BlackSingles.com
CanadianPersonal.net
CatholicMingle.com
CollegeLuv.com (same as Kizmeet)
Cupid.co.Il (a Hebrew language site)
DeafSinglesConnection.com
GreekSingleConnection.com
HurryDate.com (This site organizes speed dating parties.  Groups of men and women get together and meet one another and talk as pairs while a timer is set.  When the timer goes off, the pairs split and new couples are paired.  At the end of the party, arrangements are made for further meetings between those who are interested in one another.)
IndianMatrimonialNetwork.com (This network caters to the special traditions of Indian marriage.)
InterracialSingles.com
ItalianSinglesConnection.com
JDate.fr (A Jewish dating site.)
JDate.co.Il (A Jewish dating site.)

JDate.co.uk (A Jewish dating site.)

JDate.com (A Jewish dating site.)

JewishMingle.com

JPicks.com (A Jewish dating site)

Kizmeet (A college dating site.)

LatinSinglesConnection.com

LDSMingle.com (A Mormon dating site.)

LDSSingles.com (A Mormon dating site.)

Matchnet.com (This is a dating search engine.  The categories are man seeking woman, woman seeking man, man seeking man, and woman seeking woman.)

MilitarySinglesConnection.com

SingleParentsMingle.com

SilverSingles.com  (For those over age 50.)

Spark.com (Similar to eHarmony or match.com)

UKSinglesConnection.com

AshleyMadison.com

"Life is short.  Have an affair."  That is the motto of the online dating service, AshleyMadison.com.

In the 15 December - 22 December, 2011 issue of Birmingham Weekly, a local community weekly newspaper, there is a half-page advertisement for AshleyMadison.com which says "The average escort will have sex with 7 men today ... the average woman will have sex with seven men in her lifetime.  92% of our men hook-up with real, c lean women within 24 hours.  Join now for a free trial."

This website is targeted at married men and is a direct assault on marriage and monogamy.  It advocates "casual encounters."  There is also a side website for "married men looking for something hot and discreet with other men."

Ashley Madison is not an actual person, but is a name coined from two common female personal names.  The site is entirely commercial.  The site claims over 10,000,000 members with about 700,000 unique vistors per month.

It was unusual to see the advertisement in the local newspaper since many magazines, newspapers, television networks, etc. refuse to accept the company's controversial advertising.

Read tomorrow's post about a Christian alternative to this vile company.

Book Comment: The 10 Most Common Objections to Christianity

The 10 Most Common Objections to Christianity (2007), by Alex McFarland, is a book of Christian apologetics which addresses what McFarland says are the ten criticisms he most often hears as he speaks in all fifty states of the United States and internationally. He points out that these objections are repeated almost verbatim wherever he goes. In the book, McFarland addresses each criticism individually and gives a reasoned, rational biblically-based response to each, pointing out the weaknesses and intellectual inconsistencies of each attack.

The ten objections are:
1. God is not real.
2. Creation is a myth.
3. The Bible is not completely authentic.
4. The Bible is not completely accurate.
5. Jesus was just a man.
6. Jesus is not the only way to Heaven.
7. A loving God would not send people to Hell.
8. People are basically good.
9. Christians are all hypocrites.
10. A merciful God would not allow suffering.

I heartily recommend this book to you. You have probably heard or will hear most or all of these charges at one time or another. Don't allow yourself to be left standing flat-footed.


"But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:" 1 Peter 3:15

A Milestone

A milestone!  This blog just went over the 20,000 visit mark with visitors from 101 countries!  Thank you all for visiting and reading this blog!  I hope that something here has been helpful to you or has challenged you as a member of the  ἐκκλησία.

What They Think of Us: The Buddy Christ

“Buddy Christ is a parody religious icon in the film Dogma. In the film, he is part of a campaign ("Catholicism Wow!") to renew the image of (and interest in) the Catholic Church. Viewing the crucifix image as "wholly depressing," the Church, led by Cardinal Glick (George Carlin) decides to retire it, and creates Buddy Christ as a more uplifting image of Jesus Christ.[1] The icon consists of a statue of Jesus, smiling and winking while pointing at onlookers with one hand and giving the thumbs-up sign with the other hand. The Buddy Christ was later produced as an action figure and a bobblehead.“ (Wikipedia)

The statue also appears in the comedic films Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Clerks: The Lost Scene, and Clerks II.  The original statue from the Dogma film is housed in a comic book store named Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash, in Red Bank, New Jersey.

The world does not like the real Jesus and so, it remakes him as an otherwordly Cosmic being; a Great Enlightened Teacher; a spirit masquerading as a human; a humorous butt of jokes; a political revolutionary; a sweet feminine -natured savior; a wonderful example of humankind; a visitor from an extraterrestrial culture; a totally mythical fabrication; a deluded genius; part of the universal mind, just like you; a charlatan; your elder brother; your best friend; and any number of other totally inadequate and erroneous interpretations.  The Bible clearly presents Jesus as a man and as the Creator of the universe.


"Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." Galatians 6:7

The Jesus Christ Lizard

The name for Basilisk lizards derives from the Greek word “basiliskos” (little king) and the name derives from the “crown” that the legendary basilisk monsters had on their heads.  In European legend, the basilisk was the king of the serpents, able to kill with only a glance.

The name “Jesus Christ Lizard” comes from the fact that basilisks actually can run on water. See the video below. 

Running at about 1.5m/4.9ft per second on webbed toes, the lizards can run about 4.5 meters before sinking into the water.  There are four species in the genus Basiliscus.  I believe that the lizard in the video is classified as Basiliscus basiliscus.

The reference to Jesus comes from the lizard’s ability to run on water and references Matthew 14:22-33.

“And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away.  And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone.  But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary.  And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.  And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.

 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.  But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.    

And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?  And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased.  Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.”

Contrast Jesus with the Jesus Lizard offered by the world.  The Jesus Lizard was a “noise rock” (their term, not mine) band formed in Texas in 1987.  They broke up in 1999 and then briefly regrouped in 2008.  In the video below, the aggressive and confrontational band comes up against an aggressive and confrontational audience.  Someone in the crowd hits the singer, David Yow, with a beer bottle.  Be warned that the people in this video are very free with their use of profanities.  

The Jesus Lizard

.XXX Domain Names

The ICM Registry of ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) has recently opened up registration of .XXX domain names to General Availability status.  Domain names are  specific unique identifiers of individual websites on the internet.  General availability means that anyone can register and own any domain name. And, sometimes, anyone does.

Cybersquatters are people and companies who buy up domain names in the hope of selling them later for a large profit.  Imagine how much money a celebrity or company would spend to block a pornographic website bearing their name.   Imagine www.Disney.xxx.  That is why the Disney company snapped up the domain name before anyone else could.  This is defensive registration of the domain name to prevent what amounts to legal extortion, or worse, an actual pornographic website bearing the iconic name.

Universities have begun to pro-actively buy up domain names.  The University of Kansas wisely has bought the domain www.kugirls.com and many others.  Other universities which have bought .xxx domains include Michigan, Penn State, Purdue, Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon, and Missouri.  Many companies are doing the same thing.  It might be wise for well-known churches and ministries to consider.

One very good thing about the .xxx suffix is that it can be used to filter out or block known pornographic websites from search engine results.  ICANN also has a proposed suffix .KIDS which would be for use by websites designed specifically for children.

"The Domain Name System (DNS) is a hierarchical distributed naming system for computers, services, or any resource connected to the Internet or a private network. It associates various information with domain names assigned to each of the participating entities. Most importantly, it translates domain names meaningful to humans into the numerical identifiers associated with networking equipment for the purpose of locating and addressing these devices worldwide.

An often-used analogy to explain the Domain Name System is that it serves as the phone book for the Internet by translating human-friendly computer hostnames into IP addresses. " (Quotation taken from Wikipedia)
.

For more reading:

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/story/2011-12-09/xxx-university-domain/51825300/1?csp=ip 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.xxx 

http://www.icmregistry.com/

Anytime I post anything related to sex or pornography on this blog there are several visits by searchers originating on pornographic sites.  My hope is that these visitors may see Something on this blog which speaks to them. 

Prayer Time

I do not know the source of this cute photo.

Christian Action Figures

Yesterday's post was about a blasphemous spoof commercial for a children's action figure.  You may not realize it but there really are children's Christian action figures.  See the links below:

http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/easy_find?N=0&Ne=0&Ntk=keywords&Ntt=bible+action+figures&action=Search&cms=1&event=AFF&nav_search=1&p=1027100

http://www.amazon.com/Jesus-Christ-Talking-Action-Figure/dp/B000B91OFU

http://www.christianpost.com/news/g-i-joe-creator-launches-biblical-action-figures-line-27380/

http://www.deepershopping.com/item/biblequest/bible-quest-resurrection-action-figure-jesus-and-the/81423.html

http://www.squidoo.com/top-gifts-for-christian-children

What They Think of Us: Jesus Christ Action Figure

DO NOT WATCH THIS VIDEO IF YOU ARE EASILY OFFENDED!

This is a spoof commercial for a children's action figure.  What I find especially problematic is that whoever made this piece of garbage thought it was funny to involve their children in the project.

(Some videos will not play properly when you click on the triangle.  Instead,  click on the title line in the picture and the video will begin .  When the video is completed, close the You Tube pop-up window to return to this blog.)

Spire Christian Comics

Spire Christian Comics  was a line of Christian-themed comic books published from 1972 to 1982 by the Fleming H. Revell company.  They were kept in print until 1988 and over forty million copies were sold.  Most were written and drawn by the Christian artist, Allan Hartley (b. 1921, New Jersey, USA - d. 2003).

At the link above, there is a listing of several Spire comic book editions.  Those which are underlined are links to files which include copies of every page of that particular comic book.  The most famous was Jesus (1979).  The Jesus comic had an original cover price of 49 cents.  Depending upon the current condition of the book,  copies now are valued at between $6.00 and $20.00.

Links:
http://www.dougcomicworld.com/INVENTORY-Christian&ReligionSite.html
http://www.mycomicshop.com/search?pl=Spire%20Christian%20Comics

http://www.nostalgiazone.com/doc/publisher_pages/SPIRE.html

Large People

"Given their numbers, it appears that God loves large people as much as the small."  Charles Henderson , Christian internet blogger

Do You Need the Services of a Christian Lawyer?

The Christian Lawyer Connection  is a free service to Christians who are seeking attorneys who are also Christians.  The website does not give legal advice.  Rather, they are a client to attorney matching service, referring seekers to lawyers who specialize in the client's specific area of need.

Each attorney listed in the site must agree to the statement of faith which includes belief in the Trinity, the deity of Jesus, the Virgin Birth, the vicarious atonement of the Cross, Jesus' bodily resurrection from the dead, the power of the Holy Spirit, and that the Bible is the inspired Word of God.

Hello, Iceland!

Halló, Ísland! Velkomin í hóp lesenda úr 101 önnur lönd sem einnig heimsækja þessabloggsíðu. Ég vona að þú finnur einhverjar af innlegg gagnlegt eða þroskandi.
The "Þýða þessa síðu" græja beint fyrir ofan "Total pageviews" Counter hefur getu að þýða enska texta þetta blogg beint í fjölmörgum öðrum tungumálum, þar á meðalíslensku.

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