Music Comment: WOW Christmas

Music Comment: WOW Christmas

Capitol Record’s WOW Worship release, WOW Christmas, is a 2 compact disk collection of “30 top Christian artists and holiday songs.” The songs are a mixture of religious and secular tunes all performed by Christian artists. All the songs have a Christmas theme. The musical styles range from contemporary pop, to country, to rap.  The artists include Casting Crowns, Sidewalk Prophets, Matthew West, Hillsong, Mandisa, Third Day, and Amy Grant.

Some may object that not all the songs are specifically  Christian. They include “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” and “Jingle Bells.” The thing to remember is that all the artists are Christian. Their work is done “as to the Lord.”

Whether you are a lawyer, deliver dairy products, are a professional athlete, install carpet, perform lawn care, write magazine articles, are a soldier, drive a truck, are a hospital venipuncturist, grow potatoes, are a florist, or engage in any other legitimate occupation, the following words of Scripture apply to you. For the Christian there is no secular. We belong to God and all of our activities should be performed for His glory; “as to the Lord.”

“Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.”

Colossians 3:23,24, NASB

“With good will render service, as to the Lord, and not to men, knowing that whatever good thing each one does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether slave or free.” Ephesians 6:7-8, NASB

"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)

WOW Christmas WD2-888766

Excellence

Nick Saban, the football coach at the University of Alabama, has coached two American college football teams (Alabama and the Louisiana State University) to national championships and is currently one win away from another national championship game.  Speaking about the fact that many of his former players have gone on to professional football careers and that many of his current players probably will do so, he gave his players this advice: “Don’t save yourself for something that won’t happen if you don’t spend yourself now.” This is very good advice.

Very good advice indeed. It can be applied to any endeavor. Never accept mediocrity when you can display excellence by the full application of your abilities.

Jesus said this exact thing in Revelation 3:16.  “So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth.”

This is not expecting excellence. It is demanding excellence. It is disgust with half-hearted, nominal Christianity. Jesus is worthy and deserves our best.

"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)

The Purpose of Christianity

Dr, Atul Gawande is an internationally known surgeon and author working in Boston, Massachusetts. He writes books and articles about performance and the human quest to do and be “better.”

Dr. Gawande has said that, despite the best efforts of his parents, he is not a very good Hindu. He did, however, find the Hindu rituals meaningful when his father died and the family gathered in India to scatter his father’s ashes into the Ganges River which is sacred to Hindus.   The rituals gave Dr,. Gawande a sense of solidarity with his family and a feeling of continuity with his history; a sense of belonging to something bigger than himself.

I think that many Christians also see this as the purpose of religion. That, and also the civilizing effect that religion can have on their children. They totally miss the point!

Here is a list of some of the things which Christianity is NOT about, Making us feel good about ourselves. Connecting us with our families. Socializing our children. making us into nice people. Creating social justice. Fighting abortion or sex slavery. Fighting poverty. Continuity with our traditions. And many more.

Christianity is about bringing glory to the Lord God. All the other good things, important as they are, come about because we wish to obey and glorify God. 

"The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows his handiwork." Psalm 19:1

A Collection of Contemporary Christian Music

I am not usually a follower of modern contemporary Christian music. Much of it seems to me to be repetitive and representative of a consistent “sound.” It can easily become background noise, what some people call “elevator music.”

My wife has a compact disc which features thirty-five songs by various Christian artists. All of the songs are of top-notch professional production quality but, to me, most are forgettable. There are three, though, which stand far above the others. They are “This is Amazing Grace,” by Phil Wickham, “Thrive,” by Casting Crowns,and “Do Something,” by Matthew West.

“This is Amazing Grace” is a praise song.

“Thrive” proudly declares that Christians are not meant to be passive weaklings. We are meant to thrive.

In “Do Something,” the singer yells at God. “God, why don't you do something?” God answers, “I did. I created you.” Jesus did not propose government programs. He always brought everything back to the individual. 

The compact disc is WOW Hits 2015: 30 of Today’s Top Christian Artists and Hits. It is released by the Capitol Christian Music Group, a division of Sony. The list number is B002162802. The website for the compact disc is wowilovechristianmusic.com

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)

Explode

Sequoyah (born about 1760 - died 1843) was a Cherokee silversmith who, although he did not speak a single word of English, noticed that the white men communicated using “talking leaves.” He thought that this was a wonderful idea and decided in about 1809 to create a way to make “talking leaves” for the Cherokee language.

In his first attempt, Sequoyah created a logographic writing system. He quickly decided that there were far too many Cherokee words for this to be practical. Japanese uses a logographic system, with symbols representing ideas, individual words, and individual syllables. Chinese uses a logosyllabic system with each symbol representing a separate sound. 

What Sequoyah eventually decided to do, rather than copying the English language alphabetic system, was to use symbols for each sound used in the Cherokee language. He created an eighty-five character syllabic system which represented all the individual Cherokee sounds.

The Cherokee Nation had no tradition of a written language and there was some individual resistance but Sequoyah’s syllabary began to spread rapidly among an excited populace. By 1825, the syllabary was declared to be the official written language of the Cherokee Nation. In the span of only sixteen years the Cherokees went from being totally illiterate to almost universally literate. I believe that Sequoyah’s syllabary awakened something which was already there among his people. It just needed a spark to make it explode.

(For more on Sequoyah and the Cherokee language see the end of this post.)

The same principle applies to the unevangelized. Many are aware that someting is missing in their lives, that there has to be more than just living a few years trying to be happy and staying out of trouble ... and then dying. They are like the Cherokee tribe, ready to explode. They just need to hear, they need a spark.

I have seen several people die. The color suddenly leaves their skin and they are gone.

If you have ever seen the spark of the Holy Spirit take over a life you realize that it is also just as instantaneous. The change in the person is immediately obvious. I have seen gasps of breath pulled in in surprise and eyes widened at suddenly seeing the Truth.

" ... since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made ... Romans 1:18-20   (NASB®)

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Here is a statement from the Cherokee Nation website:

“Between the years of 1809 and 1821, he accomplished a feat, which no other person in history has done single-handedly. Through the development of the Cherokee Syllabary, he brought our people literacy and the gift of communicating through long distances and the ages. This one person brought to his people this great gift without hired educators, no books and no cost."

Shown below is a Cherokee translation of Acts 28:31, the guiding scriptural reference for this blog. From the Cherokee Bible Project. (Copyright ©2001. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/.)

ᎠᎵᏥᏙᎲᏍᎬᎩ ᎧᏃᎮᏍᎬᎩ ᎤᏁᎳᏅᎯ ᎤᎬᏫᏳᎯ ᎨᏒᎢ, ᎠᎴ ᏓᏕᏲᎲᏍᎬᎩ ᎧᏃᎮᏍᎬᎩ ᎤᎬᏫᏳᎯ ᏥᏌ ᎦᎶᏁᏛ, ᎤᏍᏗᎤᏅ ᎾᏍᎦᎢᎲᎾ, ᎠᎴ ᎩᎶ ᏄᏅᏍᏓᏕᎲᎾ. 

Here is an example of spoken Cherokee.

The 2016 Candidates for the Office of President of the United States of America

Religion has always played a major part in world events. In the current political environment in the United States it has become almost taboo to even mention it. We have a strong national heritage of freedom of choice in religion and a separation of church and state. There is no Established Church in the United States.

Some have come to interpret our heritage of separation of church and state to mean that religion must be totally stripped from any public mention. There even exists a group named the Freedom From Religion Foundation.

There is no legal requirement or definition of any sort concerning the religious affiliation of a candidate for the office of President of the United States of America. There is also no reason why we cannot know the religious affiliations of the candidates.

There are five political parties in the United States which are considered to be “major” parties. There are at least thirty-one minor political parties. The major groups are the Democratic Party, the Republican Party, the Libertarian Party, the Green Party, and the Constitution Party.

Here is a listing of many of the current candidates for the office of President of the United States of America, with their known religious affiliations.

DEMOCRATIC PARTY

Hillary Clinton: United Methodist Church

Bernie Sanders: Jewish

Lincoln Chaffee: Episcopalian

Martin O’Malley: Roman Catholic

Jim Webb: Protestant

Lawrence Lessig: None stated

Jeff Boss: None stated

Harry Braun: None stated

Robby Wells: None stated

Dr. Willie Wilson: None stated

REPUBLICAN PARTY

Donald Trump: Presbyterian

Ben Carson: Seventh-day Adventist

Marco Rubio: Originally Mormon, now Roman Catholic

Jeb Bush:  Originally Episcopal, now Roman Catholic

Carly Fiorina: Originally Episcopal, now Non-denominational Christian

Ted Cruz: Southern Baptist

Lindsey Graham: Southern Baptist

John Kasich: Anglican

Chris Christie: Roman Catholic

Jim Gilmore: Methodist

Mike Huckabee: Southern Baptist

Bobby Jindal:  Roman Catholic

George Pataki: Roman Catholic

Rand Paul: Presbyterian

Mark Everson:  None stated

Jack Fellure: None stated

Andy Martin: None stated

Rick Santorum: Roman Catholic

LIBERTARIAN PARTY

No religious affiliation information was found for these candidates.
Marc Feldman
Steve Kerbel
Cecil Ince
Darryl Perry
Joy Waymire
Derrick Michael Reid
Rhett Smith

GREEN PARTY

Jill Stein: Not stated

CONSTITUTION PARTY
No religious affiliation information was found for these candidates.
Chad Kopple
J. R. Myers
Scott Copeland

Treat Your Bible Like Your Cell Phone

Found this excellent 2011 post today. It was written by Salvation Army Major Tim Lynn in Victoria, Australia.
http://tdlynn.blogspot.com/2011/01/if-our-bible-were-just-as-important-as.html

Magic

After you read this post go back and watch this and this. You did not see what you thought you saw. Both are illusions. The first video is essentially an advertisement for a magic company's Floating Card Trick which they sell, with instructions, to stage magicians. The second is a video of illusionist Criss Angel.  I have no idea how he does this but it is an illusion and is not real supernatural magic.

The Egyptian priests in Exodus 7:8 - 8:7 were able to duplicate the miracles performed by Moses using what the Bible calls their "secret arts." Whether or not they actually performed supernatural acts or were merely skilled illusionists, we do not know. The effect, though, was to cause haughty unbelief in Pharaoh's heart. Because he did not believe, God hardened Pharaoh's unbelief.

Jesus does not appear to have been particularly impressed with His own supernatural powers. He expected belief because of who he was, not because he did "magic." He remarked that if the people did not believe Moses, why would they believe him? And he seems to have had what on the surface appears to have been a rather harsh attitude toward unbelief. Harsh unless he was who he clearly said he was.

“And he could do no miracle there except that he laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them.” Mark 6:5 NASB®

"Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.” Matthew 7:6 NASB®

"Whoever does not receive you, nor heed your words, as you go out of that house or that city, shake the dust off your feet.” Matthew 10:14 NASB®

"And as for those who do not receive you, as you go out from that city, shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.” Luke 9:5 NASB®

There is no biblical record that Jesus ever returned to Nazareth after that day.

These two sites discuss whether or not the unbelief in Nazareth actually limited Jesus' ability to perform miracles.

https://www.christiancourier.com/articles/872-was-christs-power-limited-by-mans-faith

http://home.earthlink.net/~ronrhodes/qjesusmiracles.html

Theophoric Names

Often, we fail to recognize that many personal and family names also have religious origins. Many are easy to see when we actually look. Others require a little effort.

Surnames originating in Western culture are of several types: occupational (example: Baker), relating to a place (example: Lincoln), relating to a particular family trait (example : Jolly), named for historical people (example: Kennedy), sarcastic or silly names (examples: Naaktgeboren (“born naked”), family relationships (example: Harrison), animal names (example: Bird), emotions: (example: Love), vulgar names (example: Mist, translate this name from German to English), and other types of name origins. This post will present a few names of theophoric origin.   

Surnames and personal names in the Far East appear to be based primarily on nature or philosophical concepts.

Chinese surnames http://www.yutopian.net/names/, Japanese surnames http://surnames.behindthename.com/names/usage/japanese, and Korean surnames https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_name appear to be primarily based on philosophy or nature.

θεόφορος (theophoros) is a Greek word meaning “God bearing.” The word “theophoric” in English is used of pronames, surnames, and place names which have religious origins. This blog has a recurrent segment profiling religious place names. 

The religious meanings of most of the ancient biblical personal names are known, including those of the foes of the Israelites and early Christians. An example is Tiglath-pileser III, King of Assyria (745 - 727BC).  He is mentioned in 2 Kings 15:19 and 2 Kings 15:29. His Assyrian name is Tukulti-apil-esharra, which translates as "my trust is in the son of Esharra." Esharra is Ashur, the main god of the Assyrian pantheon.

Following is a listing of several theophoric surnames occurring in English language usage. The religious origins of some of the surnames is readily obvious, some are more indirect:  Benjamin, Aaron, Abraham, Isaacson, Bishop, Abbot, Church, Grace, Eglise, Bartolo, Sofer (Hebrew  = "scribe"), Dayyan (Hebrew = "Jewish civil judge"), Abdullah (Arabic = "slave of Allah"), di Moise, di Angelo, Kohen/Cohen (Hebrew = "priest"), Simon, Stephens, Dennis (Latin = "of Dionysus") Godwin/Godwynn, Goodwin, Goodwyn (Old English = "God's friend"), Gotfried/Gottfried, Holiness, Nunmaker, Faith, Kirk (Scottish = "church"), Angel, Theodore (Greek = "gift of God"), Oden  (Swedish form of Odin, the main Norse god), Johnson ("son of John". John is derived from the Hebrew personal name Yohannan, which means "Yahweh is gracious"), Christian, Soul, Monk, St. James, Zacharias, and many others.  

Book Comment: The Secret Life of Angels

In The Secret Life of Angels: Who They Are and How They Help Us (2014), biblical teacher Ron Rhodes examines many of the prevalent modern pagan (yes, I said pagan) ideas about the existence, nature, and activities of angels. In the modern secular culture, there are far more people interested in angels than one might think. The main unifying theme in all of these secular culture views is that they diminish or totally eliminate Jesus from the discussion.

Some people, including some who call themselves Christians, would deny the existence of angels or would explain that what seems to be angelic activity is merely a manifestation of God. Rhodes points out that both the Bible and Jesus Himself are explicit in their statements that angels are real persons.

Teacher Rhodes discusses many of the erroneous prevalent beliefs about angels and shows how and why these teachings are at odds with the Bible's teachings.  He also points out that many modern angel beliefs include occultic activity and open one up to other types of contact. Some of the unbiblical views include:

1. Angels are the spirits of humans who have died and gone to Heaven.
2. Angels always present a positive uplifting message and their purpose is to bring meaning into our lives by helping us to feel loved.
3. Angels are never the instruments of God's wrath. They have nothing to do with the Old Testament image of a vengeful and wrathful God. (This plays into the unscriptural idea that the Gods of the Old Testament and of the New Testament are radically different persons.)
4. Angels are proper objects of worship.
5. Angels teach us that our true nature is divine.
6. Angel activity is increasing in modern times. This is an indication that the world is nearing an evolutionary change, a tipping point.
7. Angels protect all people regardless of their religious beliefs.
8. Angels can be summoned by humans.
9. If we tell an angel what we want, the angel will work to satisfy that desire.

Teacher Rhodes then spends several chapters of the book in discussing the Biblical teachings concerning who God's angels actually are and their true nature and origin. He also discusses our proper relationship with the angels. He backs up each statement with numerous biblical quotations.

The Secret Life of Angels would be incomplete if it ignored one final element of angelology; the most controversial element. Teacher Rhodes points out that, just as the Bible and Jesus explicitly affirm the existence of God's angels, they also are explicit in affirming the existence of the fallen angels, the demons. Rather than being the imaginary stuff of superstition and ignorance, the demons are real persons just as real as the angels. The Bible gives us quite explicit instructions about how to deal with these persons.

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A general caution: books may give you wonderful new insights and explanations of subjects, but you should never base your Christian beliefs on any one book or the teachings of one person, no matter who they are. All teachings must be consistent with scripture. Read as the Bereans did, with discernment. “… for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.” Acts 17:11 NASB

Any doctrines must be consistent with the historical full body of Christian thought. Doctrines or teachings inconsistent with scripture in any way must be rejected. You would not eat cheese which had a fuzzy fungus growing on it.

  

Flowers for the Living

Annellies Marie Frank (1929 - 1945), better known as Anne Frank, was only fifteen years old when she died in the Bergen-Belsen Nazi concentration camp in Germany. She and her family were hiding with the help of brave Christians in concealed rooms behind a bookcase in a building where her father worked in Amterdam. After the Jewish family was eventually betrayed and arrested, Miep Gies, one of their protectors, was able to rescue and preserve Anne's diary. The book was published as Het Achterhuis (in English as Diary of a Young Girl.)

The diary contained Anne's thoughts on many subjects such as growing up, sexuality, her hopes to become a meaningful writer, and her present situation. One very thoughtful quotation is, "Dead people receive more flowers than living ones because regret is stronger than gratitude."

Anne understood that we should appreciate the people around us. Christians, especially, should understand this. As I have said before, since Jesus was willing to shed His Blood for our salvation and since His Blood is of infinite value and is freely offered to everyone, this means that each of us is of infinite value. We should be always ready to explain this Good News to anyone who will listen. (1 Peter 3:15)

Also, one of the things which non-believers noticed most strongly about the early Christians was how much they loved each other as Jesus told them to (John 13:34-35). For example, in this quotation from the Roman convert and Christian apologist Marcus Minucius Felix in his book, Octavius. The book is presented as a dialogue between a pagan and a Christian. The pagan is talking in this quotation.

"And now, as wickeder things advance more fruitfully, and abandoned manners creep on day by day, those abominable shrines of an impious assembly are maturing themselves throughout the whole world. Assuredly this confederacy ought to be rooted out and execrated. They know one another by secret marks and insignia, and they love one another almost before they know one another; everywhere also there is mingled among them a certain religion of lust, and they call one another promiscuously brothers and sisters, that even a not unusual debauchery may by the intervention of that sacred name become incestuous: it is thus that their vain and senseless superstition glories in crimes."

From Minucius Felix, Octavius, R. E. Wallis, trans. in The Ante-Nicene Fathers
(Buffalo, N. Y.: The Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1887), Vol. 4, pp. 177-178.

Film Comment: The Box

The premise of The Box (2009) is simple. A nice couple's world is going nowhere. They (Cameron Diaz and James Marsden) are not poor but are having money troubles. Norma and Arthur Lewis are comfortable but not satisfied. They are in careers which do not bring them personal fulfillment. Then Mr. Steward, the always creepy Frank Langella) arrives with The Box and the proposition.

The box is just that, a wooden box, otherwise totally empty. On the top of the box is a red button. Mr. Steward explains the offer being made by his "employers." He opens a briefcase and shows the couple the $1,000,000 carefully stacked inside. All the couple has to do is to push the button. These are the conditions of the offer:

1. When you push the button someone whom you do not know will die.
2. Mr, Steward will hand you the briefcase and walk away.
3. You are not allowed to ask any questions.
4. If you say no, Mr, Steward will simply walk away with the box and the money.
5. If you tell anyone else about the offer, the offer is terminated.

Of course, the couple decides to push the button, not really believing that anything will happen.  Then Mr. Steward delivers the money.

When Norma and Arthur try to give back the money, Mr. Steward tells them, "I'm sorry, Mr. Lewis, the button has been pushed." And later, he says, "If you didn't want anyone to get hurt, you shouldn't have pushed the button." It is obvious that the only way to pass the test is by not pushing the button.

There are numerous ideas invoked by this film.

1. Mr. Steward can be seen as a type of the Serpent and Norma and Arthur of Adam and Eve.
2. Eternal damnation and the possibility of redemption are mentioned but there is no mention of Jesus.
3. Arthur and Norma are being held personally responsible for their actions but their actions also have global consequences.
4. The belief that "we" are somehow superior to some unidentified "other person." If we profit by their death but are not personally involved in that death are we in some way guilty? What if they were a "bad" person?
5. Is there any way we can undo the bad things we have done?

There are many criticisms which can be leveled at this film. One which bothered me very much as a Southerner was the totally awful attempt at a Southern accent by Cameron Diaz. James Marsden does not seem to have even tried to sound Southern.

This is not a Christian film. It is not even a very good film. Parts of it border on incoherency. The name of the polite and friendly "villain" is Mr. Steward, who is faithfully working for his "employers." The film hints at control of the Earth by an extraterrestrial group with the compliance and assistance of the American government. There is a hint that the Earth may face destruction if we are judged to have failed in this "experiment." This is somehow tied to a very amorphous and numinous idea of the afterlife. The idea actually works better in the original short story written by Richard Matheson.

Existence is Futile

When I saw Pastor Steve Griffin’s post, "Existence is Futile,"on his blog, Just Thinking (and Writing), I immediately thought of the Borg, a fictional alien race featured in the Star Trek series of films and television programs. The Borg are a frightening race of living beings who have been forcibly enhanced with cybernetic implants and assimilated into a group mind culture. All individuality has been erased. 

The Borg are frightening because your only value to them is what your forcible assimilation can add to the collective. Their ominous trademark phrase is "Resistance is futile." The Links below exhibit the menace of the Borg.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZEJ4OJTgg8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yokaRFrTIic

Many people see the world to be like the Borg. The individual does not matter in any way. The hopes and dreams of the individual are meaningless, there is ultimately no meaning to existence. The individual will be crushed. This is the philosophy of nihilism, that there is utterly no meaning to existence. The grafitti artist in Pastor Grifffin's post seems to be trying to express this philosophy.

Pastor Griffin and all other Christians know the real truth. We are of infinite value, bought with the Blood of Jesus. Jesus, the Second Person of the Trinity. Jesus, who was present at the creation. Jesus, the Lord and Sustainer of the universe.

The Blood of Jesus, the most valuable thing in the universe, was given as a totally free gift and is offered to each one of us as if we were the only one.

Are You "Picky"?

This video shows a person throwing pieces of turkey to Gemma, a pit bull. Gemma eagerly grabs the turkey out of the air before it hits the floor. When the person substitutes a broccoli floret, Gemma declares "That is not food!" We laugh at such a "picky" dog.

The Bible instructs us to be just as "picky" as Gemma. We are to use our powers of discernment. We are free under the Blood of the Lord (Romans 8:1) but not all things are useful to us and some things are positively harmful to us or to our witness. These things are to be rejected as quickly as Gemma spit out the broccoli.

Was Bill O'Reilly Divinely Inspired to Write Killing Jesus?

The Fox News Channel political commentator Bill O’Reilly was a high school history teacher before he embarked on his television career. He has written numerous books such as Killing Kennedy, Killing Lincoln, The Last Days of Hitler, and Killing Patton.   He is a Roman Catholic believer and has said that he thinks he was inspired by the Holy Spirit to write his excellent Killing Jesus. This set off a firestorm of criticism with some people saying that they think he is insane or blasphemous. I think he is probably correct that he was inspired.

I know the implications of what I am saying. I also think that this blog is inspired by God. Of course, it is not inspired on the same authoritative level as Scripture. That idea is the core heresy which led to modern Mormonism. The canon of scripture and doctrinal interpretation is closed. 

The Bible clearly states that each of the Saints (us, not a special class of extra-holy people) is divinely inspired. We  have the Mind of Christ. We have a direct link to the Holy Spirit who indwells, leads, instructs, and counsels individual believers.

Of course He leads us. Of course He inspires us. If He does not, then the problem is with us. We are not listening.

If you do not feel the Holy Spirit moving in your life, now is the time, today. If you are a Christian, ask Him, then listen.

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A general caution: books may give you wonderful new insights and explanations of subjects, but you should never base your Christian beliefs on any one book or the teachings of one person, no matter who they are. All teachings must be consistent with scripture. Read as the Bereans did, with discernment. “… for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.” Acts 17:11 NASB

Any doctrines must be consistent with the historical full body of Christian thought. Doctrines or teachings inconsistent with scripture in any way must be rejected. You would not eat cheese which had a fuzzy fungus growing on it.

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Are People Afraid of the Truth?

I was walking in to my workplace when a fellow employee whom I did not know spoke to me.

"Is that a murder mystery? ... That book you are carrying."

In my hand was The Case for the Real Jesus by Lee Strobel. I planned to do some reading in the book during my lunch break from work.

As we walked, I explained that the book was a work of apologetics. It responds vigorously to the numerous modern attempts to discredit the historical accuracy of the Bible and, more specifically, its depiction of Jesus.

A strange look spread across the face of the woman. She backed away and said, "It's because of all the translations and all the edits. That's why it doesn't have any credibility." The same unsupportable, incoherent, historical fact denying, vapid popular culture, anti-intellectual charges that we hear over and over and over!

She sped up and walked quickly away, probably to escape from the crazy religious person. She never looked back. Perhaps she feared for her life.

My thought was, "Wow! You really do need to read this book." Perhaps she was afraid that she might hear something which challenged her shallow postmodernist views.
 

Religious Place Names

Pomona, California State, USA: Named for the ancient Roman goddess of fruit.

Shiloh, Tennessee State, USA: Named for the ancient Israelite religious site, nine miles north of Bethel. The modern site of the ancient Shiloh is a mound of ruins named Khirbet Seilun.

Tewin, England: Named for the ancient Norse god Tyr. The name comes from Tyr plus
"ing" (meadow) or "ingas" (people belonging to)."

Weedon Lois, England: From the Old English words "weo" (temple) plus "dun" (hill). "Lois" comes from the local religious figure, Saint Loys.

Nymph, Alabama State, USA: Nymphs were minor nature deities of ancient Latin and Greek mythology. They were depicted as beautiful and amorous young maidens who loved to dance and sing. The word "nymph" has been said to mean "a rosebud" or "a swelling" (as in "pregnant"), connoting fertility.

Film Comment: Summer of Fear

Summer of Fear, the somewhat misleading title of this 1996 made for television movie, gives the viewer no idea of what is about to happen. When you think you know what is going on, you don’t. The story does not actually produce fear in the viewer but more of an anticipation of what is about to happen, since you soon realize that something is not quite right with Simon. People expecting “blood and guts” have called it “too tame to be a thriller.” Admittedly, this is not an Oscar winning film. It is more like a film one would expect from the Lifetime Movie Network. (The film should not be confused with the more intense 1978 Wes Craven film, also titled Summer of Fear. Both films are based on the novel, Simon Says.)

Echo Bridge Home Entertainment posted this plot synopsis on the Internet Movie Database (IMDB.com):  “When Lucas Marshall and his family are attacked en route to their summer vacation, a passing drifter comes to their rescue. But soon after being welcomed into their home, the stranger engages the family in a treacherous game of deceit and manipulation, forcing them to realize that his encounter with them was no accident.” The film features several television actors who were once quite ubiquitous on television but who now are seldom seen.

Lucas (Gregory Harrison), a city-living middle class businessman, inherits his aunt’s summer home in a small town. While he and his family are traveling to the home for a summer of relaxation and home remodeling, they are carjacked by two thugs. The men seriously damage Lucas’ foot and ankle and he watches helplessly as they sexually molest his wife.

The only thing which prevents the men from raping the wife (Glynnis O’Connor) is the arrival of Simon (Corin Nemec), a local teenager, who chases the men away with his shotgun. The shotgun turns out to actually be just a large walking stick. Simon is a very resourceful and talented young man.

Gratefully, the family invites Simon to the summer home for a day. Soon, Simon is using their boat, fixing the malfunctioning clothes dryer, cleaning the house’s gutters, wooing the the teenaged daughter, becoming a buddy to the young pre-teen son, and, eventually, successfully seducing the mother. Simon is clearly in charge, taking over the family from the loving but ineffectual father and husband.

This is a story of deceit, guilt, psychological horror, hints of incest, anger, resentment, adultery, and a very dark, long-hidden secret seeking a resolution. It is an example of how “the sins of the fathers” can come back to haunt the children for generations to come.

Lucas ends the dangerous situation non-violently by bravely telling the truth. In the effort, he finally wins the respect of his family. He also seems to have finally come to respect himself.

Though this movie presents itself as a horror film, it ultimately is a drama about a disturbed family. Very prominent themes are personal responsibility, the destructiveness of keeping “secrets,” the generational effects of hatred and revenge, and the redemption which can come from “clearing the air.”

There Are Many Wolves Lurking About

Recently, we received the following phone call, pretending to be from the Internal Revenue Service, the United States taxation agency. I have replaced the phone number with X because you absolutely do not want to call this number.

"The reason of this call is to inform you that the IRS is filing lawsuit against you. To get more information about this case file, please call immediately on our department number, XXX-XXX-XXXX. I repeat XXX-XXX-XXXX, Thank you."

There are so many things obviously wrong with this phone call. So many RED FLAGS flapping in the wind!
1. The use of English is quite clumsy.
2, The caller offers no self-identification. All Internal Revenue Service agents identify themselves by name and by IRS employee identification number.
3. The IRS notifies taxpayers of potential problems by official mail and not by phone. The agency also will not ask for identification numbers, credit card numbers, social security numbers, etc, over the phone.
4. The IRS does not issue vague threats of legal action if there is not immediate payment. The IRS will be quite specific with dates, case numbers, contact information, etc.
5. Any IRS contact of any kind with a taxpayer will clearly identify upfront the intended recipient of the contact.
6. The female caller on the phone had a very strong vocal accent which sounded as if it were possibly Eastern European.

The phone calls of this particular scam use stolen cloned cell phone numbers with Washington, District of Columbia area codes so that if you check the number it will appear to be authentic. The Merriam -Webster online dictionary defines a scam as "a dishonest way to make money by deceiving people."

The Internal Revenue Service reports that they have received over 90,000 complaints about this fraud scheme. About 1500 people have complied with the scam and have been tricked into losing a minimum of $5,000,000 to the criminals. If you should receive a phone call like this, the IRS phone number to report the incident is 1-800-366-4484, a free phone call. This particular fraudulent activity is happening in the United States, but similar scams are probably also happening in numerous other countries as well.

Do not be deceived. This is just another confirmation that we live in a totally fallen world in need of the redemption offered by the Lord Jesus Christ.

President Obama Sings "Amazing Grace"

At the memorial held at Emanuel African Methodist Church for the Bible study members murdered by a white supremacist, United States President Barack Obama sang the hymn, "Amazing Grace."

The Confederate Flag

During the memorials for the members of the Bible study class in Charleston, South Carolina who were murdered by a white supremacist, the media's attention suddenly shifted to the flag of the Confederate States of America. The killer was seen in several photos with a Confederate flag and suddenly the national discussion shifted to the removal of that flag from all public places. Why suddenly now? Why not ten years earlier? Why not fifty years earlier? The flag was surely just as offensive then. The effect of the focus on the flag was to shove the Bible study class to the side.

Some say the Confederate flag represents racial hatred. Some say the Confederate flag represents a remembrance of the Southern heritage and history. It probably represents both. The Confederate flag belongs in a museum. We must acknowledge our history, learn from it, and never forget any of it.

Having said that, I believe that the Confederate flag discussion is an intentional distraction from what was and is happening in Charleston. One by one, the family members of the murdered people publicly announced that they forgave the killer. Thousands of Christians gathered daily at the church to pay their respects to the victims and to publicly declare their allegiance to Jesus. The woman who noticed the killer in a town several hundred miles away said that she believed that God placed her there to see the man and to aid in his capture. She publicly praised Jesus and declared her testimony. The public gatherings began to happen in other cities as well.

I believe that this phenomenon made non-believers extremely uncomfortable because they absolutely could not understand it. When someone hurts you, you are supposed to hurt them back! Isn't that what our culture teaches us? How can you forgive someone who has killed one of your family members?
I say, "Good for them! Obey the Lord!" We Christians should make the world uncomfortable.

Film Comment: Bill and Ted;s Excellent Adventure

The video clip below is from a cult classic movie named Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989).  The film is truly hilarious because it is so ridiculously mindless and vapid. This is repeat of a prior post because the video was soon blocked by you tube. 

In 2688 AD/CE, Rufus is chosen to save the Utopian future by using a time traveling phone booth to go to 1988 and to ensure that the Two Great Ones,Bill and Ted , are able to form the rock music band Wyld Stallyns (Wild Stallions) because their music is destined to save the world. To preserve the future, Rufus has to help the two empty headed boys make a passing grade on their high school history project.

The future society has based itself upon the music and philosophy of the rock music band, resulting in world peace.

(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.) 

This video replay is blocked. Try this link instead.

“I think they want us to say something.”

“What should I say?”

“Make something up!”

“Be excellent to each other!”

“Be excellent to each other!”  This is excellent advice but is a very naive basis on which to build a society because of the fallen nature of man.  History has repeatedly proven that we will not “Be excellent to each other!”

Only a complete change in our nature, a total transformation in our understanding of the nature of reality, will suffice. We need to be of one mind about things.  Christians are capable of this because we are indwelled by the Holy Spirit.  We have the Mind of Christ. (1 Corinthians 1:10, 2:16; Philippians 1:27)

“In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother. For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.” 1John 3:10-11

Car Tags

In the United States there is a tradition of "vanity" automobile license plates. For an additional fee, authomobile owners can have customized messages on their car tags. Some of the most well-known of the vanity tags have these messages:

2THDR       This reads as "tooth doctor" and belongs to a dentist.
GRLPWR   This reads as "girl power."
NOSUP4U  This reads as "no soup for you!" and echoes the famous Soup Nazi episode on the         popular Sienfeld television series.
ISWALO     This reads as "I swallow" and is a vulgar reference to fellatio.
HIOFICER This reads as "Hi, officer!" and is a message to any police officers following the vehicle.
GONPLCS This reads as "Going places."

An extended list of car tags is at www.coolpl8z.com, check out the constantly changing Top 100.  Some are quite vulgar and offensive. You may wonder how some of the slogans got past the censors.

I recently saw a license plate which at first I could not decipher; GETMULA. I eventually understood that it reads as "get moolah." Moolah is a slang word for money. How sad.

The acquisition of money sadly is the primary motivation for many people. A Christian understanding of money is that it is simply a tool, neither evil nor good in and of itself. Ethical acquisition of money, a proper relationship to that money, and its use in furthering the Kingdom of God are proper subjects for Christian discussion.

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

Vassilios Tzaferis: (b. 1936, Samos, Greece - d. 2015) biblical archeologist, university lecturer, museum curator, author, historical agency executive, specialist in the history of monasticism during the Byzantine period.  As an ordained Greek Orthodox deacon, he served in Nazareth. After renouncing his monastic vows, he married and fathered several children.

Roger S. Boraas: (b. 1926 - d. 2014) Ordained Lutheran minister,  United States Navy World War II veteran, university chaplain and professor, associate editor of the Harper's Bible Dictionary.

Marcus Borg: (b. 1942, Minnesota State, USA - d. 2015) University professor, author, Lutheran canon theologian. He was a member of the controversial Jesus Seminar which voted on the authenticity of the sayings and miracles of Jesus, rejecting many.  He was married to Marianne Wells Borg, an episcopal priest.

Robert Binn: (fl. 1840; aka Rob of the Reek) Binn lived on Croag Phadraig (Irish: Patrick's Stack), which is considered to be Ireland's Holy Mount because St. Patrick spent 40 days in prayer and fasting there in the fifth century. Patrick is said to have ended the pagan practice of human sacrifice which had been performed on the mountain for centuries. The word "reek" is Hiberno-English for "rick" or "stack," possibly referring to the rectangular bed of stones which mark where Patrick slept.
Those who were physically unable to climb the hill paid Robert Binn a fee to climb to the three holy stations and say prayers for their sick or dead loved ones.

Helen Hayes: (b. 1900, Washington, District of Columbia, USA - d. 1993; aka: Helen Hayes Brown McArthur; "the First Lady of American theater") Helen Hayes won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, a Tony, and a Presidential Medal of Freedom. She was the mother of actor James McArthur. Roman Catholic.

Christian Emoji

In a recent article in The Wall Street Journal, Joanna Stern talks about the pleasure of expressing herself in emoji, what some have called emoticons. She has learned to write entire sentences in the format.

"Emoji" is derived from two Japanese words, "e" meaning "picture" and "moji" meaning "character." and the emoji system amounts to a pictographic or ideographic writing system. It was created by Shigetaka Kurita in 1998. Emoji has not yet developed into a full language and lacks a consistent grammar and syntax. The characters are different on different operating systems. An attraction of the use of emoji is that it can be mutually understood by people whose spoken languages are different.

The Wall Street Journal article made me wonder if a Christian message could be written in emoji. I thought the idea was silly, but apparently other people have had the same idea and there are now sets of Christian emoji available.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/holy-emojis/id581960629?mt=8

http://www.religionnews.com/2014/07/11/move-smiley-face-new-religious-emojis-way/

Joy

Our Sunday School class lesson was recently about Joy, not the gleeful emotion, but the Joy which can, and should,be experienced by Christians even in times of severe persecution.

This is the joy expressed by Paul and Silas singing in prison after they were beaten and chained to a damp stone wall. The joy with which Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego stepped into the oven, The joy of Daniel in the lion's den. The joy of Job after his children were killed and everything he owned was stripped away. The joy which can best be described as peace or calmness.

Our class discussed exactly what the Christian Joy is. The best answer: the Christian Joy is the absolute knowledge that our God is in total control. He cannot be surprised or thwarted and those who belong to Him cannot be removed from Him. He is Love and works everything out for our good. Our good is to become conformed to Him.

Dominant Religious Groups in the United States

This link at businessinsider.com shows a graphic of the dominant religious groups in each county in the United States of America. I believe that the article itself will translate, but I am not sure about the legends accompanying the graphic itself, For readers in languages other than English, the listing below gives the colors of the boxes and the names of the associated religious groups. In most of the major metropolitan areas there are, of course, hundreds of different religious traditions present.

Current statistics show Christian identification declining and "non-affiliated" or "non-religious" identification rising in the USA.

http://www.businessinsider.com/the-religious-makeup-of-america-2015-4

Lavender: American Baptists Churches in the USA
Blue: Roman Catholic Church
Yellow: Christian Churches and Churches of Christ
Light Brown: Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Grey: Latter-day Saints (Mormons)
Dark Brown: Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod
Red: Southern Baptist Convention
Dark Green: United Methodist Church
Light Green: Other
White: None Reported

Blogger Interest Page Rankings

I am not sure how Blogger ranks their blogger's interest pages but I suspect that it is based on the number of posts on the blog. The current number of posts on this blog is 1614.

On each blogger's Profile Page there is a listing compiled by that blogger of their specific interests. Each interest page lists and ranks other bloggers who share the same interest. Most of the more common interests list more than 5000 people.

Here are the Interest Page listings for Saints on the Loose! as of 15 April 2015.  The rankings are constantly changing.

Baptist #1
Christian Writers #1
Trinity #1
Evangelical Theology #1
Doctrine #1
Christian Publishing #1
Theology #1
Medical Technology #1
Competitive Sports #1
Hematology #1
Inventions #1
Horror #1
Christian Blogs #1
Literary Agents #1
Christianity #2
Religion #2
Humor #2
Biography #2
Grandchildren #2
Grace #2
Films #3
Genealogy #3
Baseball #3
Science Fiction #4
Comedy #4
Philosophy #5
Football #6
Science #8
Art >#10
History >#10
Writing >#10
Books >#10

Papal Organ Donor

A piece of Christian trivia: Pope Benedict XVI was the first pope in history to enter office as a declared organ donor.

The About This Blog Page

I have updated the About This Blog page. It is in the white box in the rights side sidebar.

Update to the Blog Header

I have recently updated the header message on this blog. The new header: κηρυσσων την βασιλειαν του θεου και διδασκων τα περι του κυριου ιησου χριστου μετα πασης παρρησιας ακωλυτως. The underlying meaning of this blog is this: the essential unity of Christians worldwide regardless of race, nationality, or religious denomination. There are real disagreements among us but there is a small remnant in every authentically Christian gathering. The Holy Spirit is leading His remnant into deeper understandings of the "meat" of the Gospel and not just the "milk.

The Meaning of This Blog

The underlying meaning of this blog is this: the essential unity of Christians worldwide regardless of race, nationality, differing doctrinal emphases, church governance, or religious denomination. Even with real, substantive disagreements among us, there is a remnant (sometimes very small in number, but very real) in every country and in every authentically Christian denomination. The remnant is composed or same-minded people, led by the Holy Spirit, who are the real true Church, the ekklesia. The Holy Spirit is leading His remnant into every area of life and into increasingly deeper understandings of the "meat" of the Gospel and not just the "milk."

Family Crosses

This last Sunday was Easter day. At the church which my son and his family attend, the families participated in a wonderful ceremony. The parents and their children built small crosses and wrapped them in burlap. Nails were placed in the cross at the points where the hands and feet of Jesus were positioned. The parents read a text explaining the meaning of the cross and the nails and said a family prayer.

Then the parents explained the Resurrection and the children and parents placed flowers and plant branches into the burlap to represent the beauty of life. The parents explained to the children that Jesus was really dead and then rose, defeating death forever.

Afterwards, the families carried the crosses home. There were as many different crosses as there were families. The crosses were all different. The crosses were all the same. The crosses were all beautiful. Just like us.

Amazing Grace Snow Globe

Snow globes are glass balls filled with water and a substance resembling snow. When the globe is shaken, the interior of the globe seems to be engulfed in a blizzard of swirling snow. Various scenes, often of a religious nature, but not always, are depicted by tiny figurines and landscapes inside the globe.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkPl01j13IQ
http://www.pinterest.com/dianeharrisday/snow-globes-music-boxes/

Eschatology Series, Post #3: Christian Eschatology

Prior posts in this series:
http://saintsontheloose.blogspot.com/2015/01/film-comment-left-behind.html
http://saintsontheloose.blogspot.com/2015/01/eschatology-series-post-2-eschatologies.html

Christian eschatology is the study of the end times of the world as related to Christian doctrine. This is far less settled than many people think. Some Christians see eschatology as the major emphasis of their ministry activities while other Christians seem to be totally uninterested. Others merely point out that Christians are clearly instructed in the Scriptures to be ready for the end times but to not set dates. We are instructed to watch the signs and to stay aware. Much of the discussion centers on the book of Revelation.

There are numerous concepts in Christian eschatology which have engendered much discussion (and sometimes heated arguments leading to church splits) among the Saints. There seem to be as many opinions on this subject as there are Christians. Below is a short listing of some of the terms involved in the discussion.

ANTICHRIST: The Antichrist is a world religious and political figure in Christian Eschatology who represents everything opposed to God and Jesus. He is called the Beast and the Man of Perdition who will declare himself to be God. Some believe that he will be a human son of Satan. Others believe that he will be Satan himself. Some see the Antichrist as not a person but a political system or a false church system. Others say that he is in some way merely a symbolic figure representing the world system which opposes the teachings of Jesus Christ. Various persons throughout history have been suspected by some of being the Antichrist: The Roman Emperor Nero, Oliver Cromwell, the Pope, and even United States President Barack Obama. There is a number associated with the Antichrist, 666, which we are told is the number of a man. Intense numerological speculation has occurred with it being demonstrated, for example, that the Emperor Nero's name totals to the number 666. My view is that when the true Antichrist appears it will be readily obvious to members of the Body of Christ. 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4, 1 John 2:18, 2:22, 4:3, 2 John 1:7, Daniel 7:24-25, Revelation 13:5-8, 15:2

FALSE PROPHET: The False Prophet is a person who uses seemingly magical powers to convince people to worship the Antichrist as God. Some believe that he will be of Jewish origin, others that he will be a Gentile. Revelation 13:11-15, 16:13, 19:20, 20:10, Matthew 7:15, 2 Thessalonians 2:9

MARK OF THE BEAST: The Mark of the Beast is some sort of marking placed upon those persons who accept the divinity of the Beast/Antichrist. Without the mark, a person will be unable to buy, sell, or hold a job. Speculation as to the nature of the mark includes that it might be a tattoo, an actual branding, a bio-chip, or just the internal mark of having chosen allegiance to the Antichrist. Revelation 13:16-18, 14:9-10.

THE GREAT TRIBULATION: A time period ruled by the Beast during which Christians will be intensely persecuted and martyred. Revelation 6, Daniel 9:24-27, 12:1, 14:1-5, Matthew 24:21, Jeremiah 30:7, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, 5:2, 9, 1 Corinthians 15:51-53, Isaiah 2:2, 13:6-9, Joel 1:15, 2:1-31, 3:14, Deuteronomy 4:30, Zephaniah 1:1

THE MILLENIUM: A one thousand year time period during which Jesus Christ literally rules the entire Earth from His throne in Jerusalem. There are numerous comments and interpretations about this period: they include:
  1. Some insist that it is first mentioned in the Persian Zoroastrian religion and was copied by Christianity.
  2. The word merely means "a long time."
  3. The millenium is merely symbolic.
  4. We are in the millenium now and the world will progressively become better until the Kingdom of Heaven is finally achieved.
Matthew 24, 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18, Revelation

ARMEGEDDON: A terrible world-wide war provoked by the Antichrist in which the majority of the Earth's population will die. Daniel 9, Matthew 24, Revelation 4:19.

THE RAPTURE: The Rapture is the event when Jesus returns to take believers into the air with Him, leaving the Earth populated only by unbelievers. Exactly when, or even if, this occurs is disputed among Christian believers. There are many conflicting interpretations of this doctrine. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18, Matthew 24:29-31, Mark 13:24-27, Luke 21:25-27, 1 Corinthians 15:52, Isaiah 27:13.

Book Comment: The Bible as History

Werner Keller's, The Bible as History, has sold over three and a half million copies since its first publication in 1956. There is clearly a reason why. Though there can be no absolute proof that the Bible is what it says it is, there is a continually building body of evidence that the Bible is historically accurate in its claims. Kings and cultures are mentioned in their correct historical context, the presented customs and practices reflect those which prevailed at the time the individual books were written, mentioned individuals are found in extra-biblical documents and archeological sites, and recorded weather and natural events correspond to known science.  Individuals and cultures mentioned only in the Bible have later been confirmed by archeology to be historical.  As Dr. Keller states, " Many events that previously passed for pious tales must now be judged to be historical."

In the thick book (almost 500 pages), Dr. Keller brings together evidence from archeological sites, history, meteorology, astronomy, architecture, sociology, geography, topography, agriculture, language translation, textile technology, and even botany, to give, as he calls it "a confirmation of the Book of Books." The massive weight of the evidence clearly points to the historicity of the Bible. This is a major work of apologetics.

Some readers may not appreciate or wish to accept all of Dr. Keller's conclusions, but as the renowned archeologist Andre Parrot said, "How can we understand the Word, unless we see it in its proper chronological, historical and geographical setting?"

___________________________________________________________________

A general caution: books may give you wonderful new insights and explanations of subjects, but you should never base your Christian beliefs on any one book or the teachings of one person, no matter who they are. All teachings must be consistent with scripture. Read as the Bereans did, with discernment. “… for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.” Acts 17:11 NASB

Any doctrines must be consistent with the historical full body of Christian thought. Doctrines or teachings inconsistent with scripture in any way must be rejected. You would not eat cheese which had a fuzzy fungus growing on it.

福音歌 (The Gospel Song)

This is absolutely beautiful!  William Chong’s daughter loves her daddy and helps him sing his song.  William is a gathered worship leader at Howick Baptist Church in Auckland, New Zealand.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OAPxinCISU

聖潔神以愛成為
完美人承擔我罪
十架上受苦犧牲
祂受死我得永生

Holy God, love becomes

Perfect bear my sins

Sacrifice on the cross of suffering

His death I have never

Shèngjié shén yǐ ài chéngwéi

wánměi rén chéngdān wǒ zuì

shí jià shàng shòukǔ xīshēng

tā shòu sǐ wǒ dé yǒng