Posts filed under Culture War
Did America Have a Christian Founding?
“America’s founders were all deists!”
Earlier this year, I heard a preacher make this very proclamation from the pulpit. It struck me as odd, because I happen to know this particular preacher is not lazy in his preparation. So, I had to assume this preacher had either bought into some historical revisionism, or had simply been negligent to fact-check.
Since the brother did not cite any source for his universal declaration that ALL of our Nation’s founders were deists, I really have no way of knowing where he read or heard that claim. I know he didn’t just decide on his own that this is accurate historically. He had to hear it or read it somewhere. But again, no source cited. So, I am in the dark as to how an otherwise diligent man of God becomes so convinced of what is patently false, and then declares it to his flock during a sermon.
To be sure, it has become popular to make such assertions about America’s founding. I remember an anthropology professor at Vanderbilt University saying our Founders were not Christian. It was the first time I had ever encountered this liberal, historical revisionism. This professor claimed our Founding Fathers were pagan rebel bigots, drunks, profligates, and so on. He likened them all to the gunslinging cowboys of the wild, wild west. Since I had actually read several writings of our Founders, I gave his hair-brained accusations no credence.
But in today’s culture, precious few students (and apparently pastors) are reading original documents. It is always easier to just parrot what some so-called expert claims. Or some YouTube influencer.
And that’s what disappointed me so about hearing this come from an otherwise solid preacher. He should have known better. Just because today’s authors are re-writing history with their books and articles and blogs, does not mean the actual writings of our Nation’s Founders have somehow changed. The writings of James Madison, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, John Witherspoon, Roger Sherman and others are very much still available to us all. And if one were going to prove or disprove the claim that most or all of them were deists, it’s a simple matter of letting them speak for themselves.
“The Founding Fathers were at most deists – they believed God created the world, then left it alone to run” (Gordon Wood, American Heritage Magazine).
“The God of the founding fathers was a benevolent deity, not far removed from the God of eighteenth-century Deists or nineteenth-century Unitarians . . . They were not, in any traditional sense, Christian” (Mark A. Noll, Nathan O. Hatch, and George Marsden in The Search for Christian America).
These quotes demonstrate how easily anyone, even a well-meaning pastor, might fall into this trap. But there is real history, based upon original texts and the writings of the men-in-question, that put these claims to the test. One such work of disproving these historical revisionists is the book Did America Have a Christian Founding by Mark David Hall. I commend it to you.
Hall uses the writings of the founders themselves to show how ridiculous it is to say they were deists. Hall shows that even Thomas Jefferson’s writings demonstrate that one would be hard-pressed to squeeze him into a traditional deist camp. Jefferson was no orthodox Christian, for sure. But neither was he a classical deist. Even the most “pagan” member of the Constitutional Convention, Ben `rank`lin, said, “God governs in the affairs of men.”
Whatever that is, it is most definitely not Deism!
Mark David Hall uses the writings of the well-known Founders, such as Adams and Madison and `rank`lin, to disprove the deist argument. But he also highlights the writings of many of the unknown and unsung Founding Fathers, as well. So many of them were Congregational and Anglican and Presbyterian and Baptist pastors, laymen, deacons, and churchmen. Jedidiah Morse was a Congregational Minister and the “father of American geography.” His son, Samuel Morse invented the telegraph. The elder Morse wrote:
“All efforts to destroy the Foundation of our holy religion, ultimately tend to the subversion also of our political freedom and happiness. Whenever the pillars of Christianity shall be overthrown, our present republican form of government, and all the blessings which flow from them, must fall with them.”
Hall fills his book with such quotes. He cites various sources that demonstrate the majority of the earliest colonists and Americans were Reformed Calvinists. The book most often read, cited, and quoted in writing in the early decades of American history was the Bible. Even their school text books, such as the New England Primer, were chocked full of orthodox, reformed Bible doctrine. Children in the early days of our Nation learned the ABCs by memorizing, “A – In Adam’s Fall, we sinned all.”
Indeed, the Founder’s belief in the Doctrine of Original Sin and Total Depravity compelled them to provide our Constitutional system of checks and balances, with three branches of government. One can hardly look anywhere in their writings without seeing the clear and evident influence of their Calvinistic, biblical faith. Whatever the majority of America’s Founders were, they were most certainly not Deists! They appeal repeatedly to God as Creator and Governor and Providential Ruler of all things. They write from the prevalent Puritan viewpoint of their times.
While our Founders were sinners, just like us, many if not most of them made direct appeals to faith in Jesus Christ alone as their only hope of salvation. Read their writings. These men were not Deists. Their robust Calvinistic Christianity influenced their view of everything, every aspect of life, including government and laws and wars and life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
This preacher is not down with current trends of America-hating. This preacher is not down with the 1619 Project, which is fake history. The United States of America, like all nations, is flawed. Governed by fallen sinners. But many of the very first Presidents, and Legislators, and Judges, all across this land, were robustly Christian and wrote from a biblical worldview. That’s actual history.
Don’t take my word for it. Read their writings for yourself. Or, get a copy of Mark David Hall’s excellent book where he will collate the original citations for you in a way that helps strongly debunk the myths now being promulgated in the halls of academia, in pre-school classrooms, and yes, even in pulpits.
I, for one, pray for God to send a revival of the very kind of Christianity captured in so many of our Founders’ writings. I pray for God to inflame our pulpits with the Doctrine of Whitefield and Edwards and Nettleton once again. I pray for God to give us government leaders that hold to the same worldview as Founders like John Witherspoon (Presbyterian Minister) and Roger Sherman (Puritan Congregationalist) and Roger Williams (Baptist). O God, awaken our Nation once again to the great Reformation truths held to by so many early Americans:
That mankind is dead in sin and therefore may only be saved by God’s grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone, to the glory of God alone. This we believe because our authority is Scripture alone.
God doesn’t need America. But America needs God. And I am praying for the Lord to keep mercifully employing this Nation to send the Gospel to the very ends of the earth. For His name’s sake. Amen.
For further study and consideration:
Abolish Abortion!
Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute. Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy” (Proverbs 31:8-9).
Will the true Pro-Life Republicans please step forward? Will the true Pro-Life Christians please stand up?
The overturning of Roe has really exposed us, in conservative circles, hasn’t it? I have lost track of the evangelicals who are salivating over half-hearted, incremental measures in their States. In my own State of Indiana, lawmakers were too cowardly to simply abolish abortion. Instead, our GOP-controlled Legislature gave us an incremental bill which they touted as stopping 95% of all abortions. My guess is, if they had a voice, the 5% of babies still being dis-membered and carved up in wombs might not be happy.
Senator Lindsey Graham is now offering a national piece of legislation that proposes a ban on abortion after 15 weeks. Again, this is being widely lauded by conservatives and evangelicals. Read more here: https://washingtonstand.com/commentary/a-postroe-starting-point-for-republicans-on-abortion-
Is this what “courage” now looks like in America? Is this what the pro-life movement fought for fifty years to achieve? Millions of babies still having their skulls collapsed as their brains are sucked out of their tiny heads? Being chemically poisoned and burnt to death? Being torn limb-from-limb? All in the name of “Protecting the Health of the Woman.” By which they clearly mean only women outside the womb.
This is the language being used by so-called pro-life politicians and pastors now. God help us.
I understand the GOP reflex to offer at least some alternative to the Democrats’ blood-thirsty attempt to legalize infanticide throughout pregnancy, and for some, even after birth. [True colors are showing.] But where are the lawmakers who will simply ask a few pointed questions to force our society to come to grips with the reality of abortion? Such as . . .
Please complete these sentences:
- It is OK to kill a baby when ______________________.
- It is OK to stab a baby in the skull when ___________________________.
- It is OK to dismember a baby tortuously until the baby dies when _________________________.
- It is OK to pour acid on a baby or chemically burn a baby to death when ___________________.
These kinds of questions cut to the quick. Would you fill in the blank with . . .
“When a mother was raped.” Or,
“When the life of the mother is in danger.”
But would you want that logic applied to you? Should you be killed for the wrongs of others? Should you be punished for crimes you literally had nothing to do with? Talk about injustice! Should your life be considered somehow less valuable than others simply due to a medical diagnosis, or prognosis, or prediction? Medicine is a “practice” remember. I personally know a mother that just gave birth to a baby boy, and both mother and baby (and dad) are fine; even though she was told repeatedly by doctors that if she carried this baby to term she had a 90% chance of dying! They also said the baby would surely die too. But this Mom put her faith in the Sovereign Savior who is Lord of Life. This Mother did what mothers do – she sacrificed herself for even the potential life of her child. Could she have died? I suppose so. Could the baby have died? I suppose so. But either way, what this woman did was an example of true courage. What this husband and wife did was true pro-life. God be praised! And may their tribe increase.
Evangelical pastors and believers need to stop pandering to incrementalism. Stop applauding half-measures. Accept nothing less than the abolition of abortion in our land. Hold politicians’ feet to this fire at the ballot box. God give us courageous leaders who stand in the gap for righteousness.
Isn’t one aborted baby one too many?
Wouldn’t we say that about rape? Or incest? Or childhood cancer deaths? Nobody wants to brag about half-measures when it comes to these atrocities. So why do we do so when it comes to abortion?
And evangelical pastors and believers also need to stop equating pro-life with government socialism. [They do this primarily to justify voting for baby-killers.] Saying I am not pro-life because I believe God ordained the Church and individual generosity to help the poor or needy, and not government, is ludicrous. These kinds of arguments are based upon shoddy interpretation of biblical texts, or outright twisting or misuse of Scripture. We may well disagree on how to best apply biblical principles to government policies regarding poverty or immigration. But I dare anyone who takes the Word of God seriously to defy or disagree with:
“Thou shalt not murder.”
Back to School: The State of Education Should be Turned Back Over to the States
It’s that time of year again. Kids standing on curbs at 6 AM, and yellow buses noisily grinding up and down our roads. Public and private schools seem to almost go year-round these days. Long gone are the days of a full three months of summer vacay. And, for all the required class-time, every indicator over the last decade or so reveals that students in the United States are performing poorly, and are not even learning the basics: Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic.
But public school students are excelling in woke-ness. The public schools, urged onward by the radically left-leaning NEA, continue to `rank` out social justice warriors who know how to Defund the Police and fill American cities with riots and violence, while simultaneously insisting that everyone respect their pronouns. Granted, this radicalization and politicization of education may more squarely be blamed on institutions of higher learning (colleges and universities), but make no mistake, the groundwork for Marxist revolution is being laid now as early as Kindergarten in our public (and some private) schools.
For all the damage that the non-scientific, draconian COVID policies had upon our children’s education, the silver lining was the awakening of parents to what their kids were being taught and expected to do in public schools. Parents are yanking their children out of state-run schools in droves. The homeschool cooperatives are overflowing, often struggling to find facilities that can accommodate them. Parochial schools and other educational models such as cottage schools and classical schools are experiencing a revival. I personally receive this as good news. I have long thought that local churches in particular should do more to both encourage and accommodate education grounded in a biblical worldview. Because all education springs forth from a worldview. And the spiritual and educational harm now being done to children because of a Christ-hating, atheistic, demonic worldview that is dominating our public schools has gone on long enough.
All education is religious. Every teacher has a religion. And a worldview. Every teacher is a disciple-maker. Jesus said, “A student is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher” (Luke 6:40). The biblical worldview, which is absolutely and objectively true, tells us repeatedly that we cannot compartmentalize concepts such as educate, train, raise, nurture, instruct, correct and disciple. These terms are synonymous throughout the Holy Scripture. Christians are to “take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience” (2 Cor 10:5-6).
The Washington Stand recently ran an article that is very worthy of our attention. Author Ben Johnson argues, “This would be an ideal time to get the federal government out of education altogether. Ronald Reagan won two landslide elections while campaigning to abolish the Department of Education. At that time education policy, like post-Roe abortion policy, would revert to the states.” If that is an idea that has not crossed your mind, then you should definitely brush up on the US Constitution! I recommend you read the full article here: https://washingtonstand.com/commentary/public-school-bureaucrats-want-to-choose-your-childs-religion
As a Pastor, I have for decades encouraged Christian parents to seek alternatives to the public schools. This has in no way diminished my love and appreciation for the public school teachers that are members of my flock. I thank God for them and pray regularly for their courageous care of students to shine the light of Christ into dark hearts and dark systems. Nor has my vocal support of home-schooling and doctrinally sound, private Christian schools ever compelled me to treat public school parents and students in my flock like second-class Christians. There is freedom of conscience in this matter, and gospel unity can and must prevail. In other words, if we disagree with each other regarding educational choices, we do so with Christ-like love and respect that enables us to keep proclaiming the gospel together for the glory of God and the salvation of our neighbors near and far. Educational choices do not rise to the level of Doctrines such as the Trinity, the Inerrancy of Scripture, the Person of Jesus as God-man, Salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, the Depravity of Man, and so on.
That said, the education of the next generation of believers in Jesus Christ is important. It is so important that as a pastor, I am compelled by love for Jesus, for His Church, for families, and for our Nation, to gently but firmly ask every parent of a school-aged child to make an honest assessment. The assessment might need to answer several key questions:
- Who is really raising my child? If my child spends 40-50+ hours a week with someone other than me, who is really raising my child?
- Are there ways to involve my child in extra-curricular activities, such as sports, without having to submit my child to public school classroom instruction?
- Are there doctrinally sound alternatives to public schools in my area? Homeschool cooperatives? Private schools? Cottage schools? If not, should I approach my pastor about the possibility of our church’s involvement in such an undertaking?
- If I homeschool, can I partner with other families in my church to make sure my children are learning key subjects as proficiently as possible? For example, if I am weak in math, can I find a brother or sister in Christ who excels at math and will help teach my child?
- How are my educational choices affecting my family’s ability to serve in and through our Church? Do we have time to visit widows, orphans and the sick? To clean the church building every now and then? To employ our spiritual gifts to edify the body? To build accountable relationships that are Word-driven? To practice hospitality to guests and neighbors? To meet practical needs of those around us? To evangelize intentionally?
- Is my child spiritually mature enough to actually withstand the onslaught against the biblical worldview within the public schools? Is my child spiritually equipped to actually be a missionary or evangelist in the school system? Am I seeing any evangelistic fruit from my child’s gospel witness to friends and peers and teammates?
- If I do not have personal access to my child for most of every day of the week, how can I rebuke and correct sins? How can I counsel my child in the ways of the Lord, and in a way that meets his or her ongoing spiritual or emotional struggles in the real world?
- Do I have a discipleship plan for my child? If not, should I ask a pastor to help me develop one? Those who fail to plan, plan to fail.
- If I must use public schools, am I willing to carve out extra time each week to disciple my children and to expose them to godly mentors in the local church?
These questions strike at the heart of the matter. While politically I maintain that the US Constitution gives the authority for public education only to the States, and not to the Federal Government, the more important matter is the spiritual authority in the lives of our children. All education is spiritual. All education is discipleship. Who we entrust our children to in this life-forming endeavor is a matter to approach with the most reverent prayer and submission the Word of God.
Pray For The Supreme Court!
“I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way” (1 Tim 2:1-2).
The “leaked” document published by Politico pertaining to the upcoming Supreme Court decision on Roe v. Wade is a stunning development. Add the highest court of our land to the ever-growing list of institutions that have proven to be infiltrated with untrustworthy snitches who care more about themselves and their personal agendas than the higher good or the overall integrity of the institution or offices themselves. Whatever we might think about this “leak,” one thing is clear to us all – it was done for personal political motives.
Now we wait to see how it all plays out. Will it backfire? Will it accomplish what the leaker intended? Regardless, we can be sure that “The counsel of the Lord stands forever” (Ps 33:11).
Whether or not Roe is overturned by the Supreme Court (final decision coming in a month or so), it is all but certain infanticide will not cease in our depraved nation. It might be a political or constitutional victory to return the authority to the states in this matter, but until our citizens embrace the truth that no state ever has any right or authority to sin against God, we born-again believers in Christ must not give up the fight! There can never be a “right” to murder babies. There is never a “right” to worship and idolize self to the point that an unborn child is viewed as such a distraction to my life that I poison the child or allow the child’s brain to be punctured with scissors or permit the baby to be sawn in two. So, until all abortion is illegal in every state, in the entire nation, yea, in the world, we must not rest. Abortion must be abolished! In the Name of Jesus, we must insist it be abolished!
This is a war we fight on our knees, dear saints. Let’s pray! Pray for the Supreme Court. Pray for the courts all over our nation. Pray for legislators and governors. Pray for the hearts of citizens. Pray for pregnant moms all over our land. Pray for pro-life pregnancy centers. Pray for gospel-driven sidewalk counseling ministries that stand outside baby slaughter houses every weekend. Pray!
Then consider how you might engage personally. Do you know how you can serve a local pro-life pregnancy center? Will you get trained for sidewalk prayers and counseling? Will you love a pregnant mom enough to take her to a pro-life pregnancy center to get her help? Will you adopt a baby? Will you invest in young men who know nothing but fatherlessness? Will you help mobilize your local churches to more fully engage in this most critical war of our culture? Will you sign petitions? Will you call and write and email elected officials? Will you share the gospel of Jesus with dads, moms and children all around you? Will you pray? Will you give? Will you engage?
Dear Christian, you by grace have come to know the Lord Jesus, the very One who “has life in Himself” (John 5:26). Stop holding back! Unleash the powerful gospel upon your neighbors and friends and co-workers and peers at school. Urge them to repent of sin, including abortion or support of it, and to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Legalized abortion is the clearest sign of a pagan Nation who hates God and rages against His Messiah (Psalm 2). Abortion seeks to eradicate the precious image of God. Abortion disobeys the very first command of God to mankind to “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.” Politics matter, but they’re not ultimate. Sin has only one lasting solution. His name is Jesus.
To engage more fully in the Southern Indiana and Louisville region, click here:
An Unjust Justice
A quick Google search for the definition of racism yielded these results:
prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism by an individual, community, or institution against a person or people on the basis of their membership in a particular racial or ethnic group, typically one that is a minority or marginalized
And this from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/racism
a belief that race is a fundamental determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race
Similarly, a Google search for the definition of sexism spits out this:
prejudice, stereotyping, or discrimination, typically against women, on the basis of sex
OK, so it is not my intent here to argue against the way our society defines “race.” I have done that elsewhere in blogs addressing the false definitions employed by Critical Race Theorists. I do appreciate that Google’s definition added the phrase “or ethnic group.” Biblically, there is one race – human – but many people groups / cultures, ethnicities. But that’s not my point here.
Also, I am a bit surprised that Google’s definition of sexism does not immediately put forward some phrase like “gender identity.” But, that, too, is neither here nor there pertaining to the purpose of this blog post.
Rather, I merely mean to point out that prejudice based upon skin color or sex (a creational and biological category based upon the presence of either XX or XY chromosomes at conception), is still viewed as racism and/or sexism. While we typically think of “prejudice” in negative terms, it can also be enacted in a positive way. Affirmative Action and hiring quota systems serve as Exhibit A. In other words, to prefer or reject a person based solely upon skin color and sex is the essence of racism and sexism.
Now, I ask, was it not precisely racism and sexism that motivated President Biden to nominate Ketanji Brown Jackson for the Supreme Court? He promised to nominate a black woman. He boldly declared himself to be a racist and sexist in the matter of choosing a potential Justice, and Democrats and liberals cheered wildly! Well, I guess we can say at least he kept his promise.
Objections by various conservative legislators and Christian leaders to her nomination had nothing to do with her skin color, or her biological sex. I am not saying that somewhere out there among Republicans and Christians there is no one who needs to repent of the sin of partiality. Rather, I merely mean to assert that we have no good evidentiary reasons to think any of the senators or evangelical leaders opposing her nomination and her confirmation to the Supreme Court are actually racist or sexist. In fact, the questions they asked her dealt with her record as a judge, her rulings on cases, her views on pertinent matters being debated in our nation. In other words, they sought to examine her as Martin Luther King, Jr, would have wanted – by the content of her character as it has manifested in her actions and her words.
And by her record of rulings and her own words, she demonstrated herself to be imminently unqualified for the Supreme Court. Our Senate just confirmed the most leftist judge in the history of our nation! Her record on soft sentencing of child pornographers and child predators, and her words associated with those rulings, ought to have been more than enough to disqualify her in the mind of any sane and morally upright person. Even among the prisoners in state penitentiaries, pedophiles receive outcast treatment. Murderers find the pedophile repugnant! My point here is not an endorsement of murder, but rather to simply show how morally insane the rulings of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson are, not to mention legislators and Christians who applaud her. Even hardened criminals know better.
As if the soft stance on abusing children were not enough, we confirmed a judge who refuses to say what a woman is. Can’t or won’t provide a basic definition to the word “woman.” Irony of ironies. She was nominated precisely because she is a woman! Here again, the fog of confusion enveloping our land in matters of simple creational and biological categories is dumbfounding. And now we have a Supreme Court Justice with a foggy mind on such rudimentary matters.
And her record on abortion is, well, an abortion of its own. She loves the blood of babies. We have no doubt how she will rule in the matter of the sanctity of human life as created in God’s image.
Far worse, however, is the pandering of pastors and evangelical leaders all across our nation. Thabiti Anyabwile tweeted out comments lauding Judge Jackson’s “character.” Hundreds of others have done likewise. Brent Leatherwood, the interim President of the ERLC of the SBC (my current denomination), tweeted, “Despite the philosophical and legal differences individuals like me will have with her, Judge Jackson’s confirmation is a history-making moment. We should appreciate it as such.” Professor at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Daniel Darling, tweeted, “I disagree with her judicial philosophy but I celebrate the history of Judge Jackson’s appointment and am praying for wisdom and discernment as she serves on the highest court.” These pastors and leaders are considered “conservative, Bible-believing evangelicals.” But one wonders.
In what way is her appointment a “history-making moment” worth celebrating? It’s definitely a history-making event, but should we laud it and appreciate it? Or should we decry it in the name of the thrice holy God? And Dr. Darling, you should be praying for more than “wisdom and discernment” for her. She needs to repent and believe the gospel! She needs to be saved from her sins and certain death and hell.
True Christian courage is a vanishing virtue in America. When prominent pastors and evangelical leaders are given opportunities to call their nation to repentance and faith in the only Supreme Judge of the Universe, the Lord Jesus Christ, they rush instead to say nice things that keep them in the good graces of the politically correct elite. Scared to death to be labeled a racist or sexist or homophobe. Or, worst of all, to be called “mean.”
I am not endorsing unkindness nor mean-spiritedness. But I am searching the evangelical Christian landscape for men and women of courage. Dare I say God is too? (Ezek 22:31) I am not on Twitter and never will be (no doubt I would get banned on Day 1). But if I were, I think my tweet would have been:
The occasion of the confirmation of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court is yet another manifestation that “sin is a reproach to any nation” (Prov 14:34). We just confirmed a Judge who is hard-hearted towards unborn babies, and soft-hearted towards child abusers. If “righteousness exalts a nation,” then her confirmation is more affirmation that the God of heaven is judging the United States of America as we plummet headlong on our forsaken, idolatrous paths to hell (Rom 1:18-32). It is not loving nor kind to endorse evil. Therefore, I urge upon you the words of Jesus Christ, “Repent or you will all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3). And again, “Repent and believe the gospel” (Mark 1:15). And again, “Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already” (John 3:18). Join the Prophet Habakkuk in praying, “O Lord, in wrath remember mercy.”
Wait, is that too many characters? O well, just one more reason I don’t belong on Twitter.
April Fool’s In A Nation Of Fools
“A fool’s lips walk into a fight, and his mouth invites a beating” (Prov 18:6).
“A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man quietly holds it back” (Prov 29:11).
Was it a publicity stunt? Intended to rescue a Hollywood awards show from years of plummeting ratings and viewership? Or was it a real, raw expression of insult, injury and angst?
Either way, the debacle between Chris Rock and Will Smith at the Oscars a few days ago was foolish. It was an exchange between two fools. Both of them wicked. Broken in sin. Lost. Chris’ foolish mouth has been inviting a beating for many years. At some point in my lifetime, our culture decided unkind and crude personal jabs and insults were “comedy.” Shame on us. Will’s venting of anger (pretended or not) was foolish. Will’s response was childish and girlish. (If you’re going to supposedly defend the honor of your wife against a personal “attack” then at least be man enough to punch the guy; none of this open-palm girlish slapping.) Will’s moral reasoning is foolish and faulty. So, I smile and laugh as my wife tells the world in front of me that she had sex with our son’s friend, but I publicly slap a man who tells a joke about my wife’s haircut? But many Christians and cultural icons rushed to initially defend Will. Shame on us. We are a nation of fools. We celebrate folly. And we’re horrified by folly. We can’t make up our minds. We’re confused. We’ve lost our way. Slipped from our moral moorings. Should we defend Mr. Rock? Or Mr. Smith?
How about we condemn the whole bloody mess as sinful foolishness, that left unchecked by God’s saving grace in Christ, will ruin the souls of men and women. And how about we stop looking to Hollywood for anything other than entertainment (and often shoddy, sinful entertainment at that). This industry celebrates violence, gratuitous sex of all kinds, abuse of women, objectification of women, feminization of men, and narcissism of the highest degree. Why would we expect anything other than profligate, pagan behavior from these actors, directors, and this industry?
Even Disney now openly supports sexualization and objectification of 5-7 year old children. There is no “gray area” when it comes to this matter. Kindergarten students should not be taught anything about sex in any schools, other than, “God created man in His own image . . . male and female He created them.” Period. Hard stop. Even 5-year-olds can quite easily discern the difference in boys and girls. It’s a matter of nature. Of what our Christian forefathers called “natural law.” And biology done rightly is the pursuit of discovery of those creational designs and natural laws ordained by the God of life. No young child would even know to think about anything associated with the LGBTQIA+ agenda on his or her own. The only reason any 5-year-old child would have any reason to think about (as if they have the mental capacity to do so rightly) gender “transitions” is if evil, God-hating adults introduce such a sinful topic to them.
And why would any adult want to do such a thing? Why would any adult want to sexualize children? To teach children that the sexual organs they were born with, given to them by God, are optional? Non-binding? Able to be exchanged? Or ignored? Or abused? Or mutilated? Or stimulated? Why?
This is the classic definition and picture of “grooming.” This is exactly what child predators have done for decades. Sexualization of young children can only have one goal logically – the normalization and legalization of pedophilia. And Disney supports it. And so do many Republicans and political conservatives. What are conservatives conserving anymore? We are out of our minds. Fools!
Some of you think I (and other Christians sounding this alarm) are too extreme. Surely our culture would never accept pedophilia? Fifty years ago, people were saying the same thing about pornography. And no fault divorce. And cohabitation. And intentional fatherlessness. And homosexuality. And “gay marriage.”
Where is the caboose on this woke, depraved train? Dare we think it will stop at simply acknowledging political “rights” of those who identify as LGBTQ? Those in that community are already demonstrating they have no intention of stopping it at the level of adult political rights. We’re being duped! We’re a nation of fools, and in some cases, churches and denominations of fools!
Consider how many political conservatives and Christian evangelicals rushed to “congratulate” Dave Rubin on his announcement that he and his gay partner (I refuse to call him a husband, as only God has the right to define marriage) are “expecting” two babies. They thumbed through an online catalog of egg donors (objectifying women as no more than sexual products and parts), and selected an egg donor who had all the traits they desired. This is called eugenics. It’s given us Nazi Germany and Planned Parenthood and euthanasia. Then they hired out a womb (again abusing a woman, objectifying her, with no thought to how she might be manipulated or hurt by their selfish, toxic gay masculinity). They’re intentionally depriving this precious baby of a mother. They are using women for their various sexual parts and products. Much more could be said, but nothing about this is righteous. Nothing about this is natural. This is spitting in the Creator’s face. It is abuse of women and children. And if our culture and churches and politicians and citizens do not start rebuking and renouncing and standing against this at every turn, there will be hell to pay. In every way there can be hell to pay. We had better stop playing the fool. God is not mocked. We sow what we reap (Gal 6:7).
Well-meaning evangelicals are caving to the “born this way” mantra. I realize Dr. Albert Mohler, a man whom I have the highest respect for, meant well when he began 20 years ago trying to prepare evangelicalism for the possibility of the scientific discovery of a “gay gene.” He insisted rightly that sin has affected every part of us, including our DNA. This is the Doctrine of Total Depravity. And he insisted rightly that the only remedy would still be the gospel of Jesus Christ. But I think where he, and others such as those in the Revoice movement, miscalculated, was just how such an idea would be hijacked by the LGBTQ movement. (I am very grateful, by the way, for the stand Dr. Mohler has taken against the Revoice movement within evangelicalism.) Despite the fact that science has not discovered a “gay gene” just as they have not discovered a “transgender gene,” the LGBTQ socio-political movement has convinced much of our society that these behaviors, are in fact, natural. In-born. Present at birth / conception. Can’t be helped. Thus, they must have a “right” to live out their truth and teach it to others, especially kids. Theology and biology be damned. Imagine how this plays itself out if our vaunted (and often corrupted) scientists ever claim to discover a “rapist gene” or a “pedophilia gene.”
Jackie Hill-Perry, another Christian I respect and appreciate in many regards, convinced many evangelicals that we should not tell our gay and lesbian neighbors and friends that what they are doing is unnatural. She said when she was living as a lesbian, nothing felt more natural. But feelings and thoughts have nothing to do with what is actually natural or in line with God’s creational design and intent. Sinners can (and will) justify any wicked act. But the Word of God is our final and sufficient authority on these matters. And God’s Word clearly views and treats sexual sins of every category as actions or behaviors flowing from a depraved heart that must necessarily bring both spiritual and physical consequences (and legal consequences under the Old Covenant). The Word of God condemns sins that distort God’s creational design for male and female with special reprobation.
“For this reason, God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error . . . those who practice such things deserve to die, they that not only do them but given approval to those who do them” (Romans 1:26-27, 32).
We evangelical Christians desperately need to recover God’s words, God’s language, when addressing any and every sin. First in our own lives. And in the lives of others as well. For only an accurate diagnosis leads to a right remedy.
Sin has so corrupted our nature that we do unnatural things. Perverted acts. Shameless in the act. Twisting the very design and intent of our Holy Creator God. The thoughts and intents of our hearts are only evil continually (Gen 6:5). And we sometimes act on those base impulses and thoughts. Our inner lives, our wills, our thoughts, our hearts, are spiritually corrupt to the point of being dead (Eph 2:1). The vicious cycle of sin and God giving sinners up even further to it, as described in Romans 1, all starts like this: “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth” (v. 18). This truth suppression leads to idolatry, a rejection of our Creator and His good designs. And it all ends in a death sentence.
But good news! God sent His Son to live a perfect, holy life of righteousness. Jesus is the truth. And Jesus willingly sacrificed His sinless life on the cross, bearing God’s wrath against all the unrighteousness of those He redeems. Jesus paid the sin debt of God’s people in full, crying from the cross, “It is finished!” And God gave proof to everyone that He is completely satisfied with Jesus as both Savior and Judge by raising Him from the dead (Acts 17:30-31). By grace through faith in Christ, sinners are raised from spiritual death to life (Eph 2:4-9). God’s Spirit is able to birth sinners anew as they repent and believe the gospel (Mark 1:15; John 3:1-17; 2 Cor 5:17). We are under a righteous death sentence from God as sinners. But hallelujah! Christ Jesus, the righteous One, exchanged Himself for me and died in my place (2 Cor 5:21; 1 Peter 2:24). Only Jesus can give us a new nature! A nature that abhors all sin, and loves the Savior. A nature that no longer suppresses the truth, but joyfully submits to it. A nature that “speaks the truth in love” no matter how politically incorrect or culturally offensive. A nature that loves wisdom found in Christ alone, and a nature that rebukes folly.
America – the truth of Christ the Lord, and only His truth, can still set you free (John 8:31-34). Would you be free from your enslavement to sin? From your infatuation with sin? From your celebration of sin? Then you must come to the Light of Christ and confess Jesus is Lord (1 John 1:5-10). This has been the message of the Church to sinners, all sinners, every kind of sinner, for thousands of years. It’s sufficient. Let’s not tamper with it. Although sin is “natural” to humanity, in one sense; in another sense, sin is always a distortion of God’s good creational design and intent. And only God can make straight what is crooked (Prov 3:5-7; Luke 3:5-6). Fear God. Shun evil. Come to Christ. And then, and only then, all your perversions will suddenly appear exactly as they are – unnatural. Sick. Suicidal. Hellish. God-hating. And then and only then will you come to relish the old hymn’s question and answer: Would you be free from the burden of sin? There’s power in the blood! Power in the blood!
For further contemplation, I commend this short video:
NO MORE WAR!
“He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore” (Isaiah 2:4).
For my faithful few readers out there, you know that I try to resist the urge to blog as quickly as possible about whatever is in the 24-hour news cycles. I think far too many pastors and Christian leaders and bloggers reverse James 1:19 and are quick to speak, and slow to listen.
The plethora of opinions inundating Twitter and the blogosphere regarding the 6-day old war between Russia and Ukraine serves as Exhibit A.
How quickly we jump onto whatever wagon the mainstream media is pulling. How lightning fast we are to parrot our favorite politicians or political party lines in a matter in which, if we’re honest, most of us are very ignorant. How many of us have actually read up on the history of Russia and Ukraine? Have we educated ourselves for years on the complexities of the relationships between these two peoples and nations? Do we actually know what was happening on the borders of Ukraine in the months and years leading up to the present conflict? What role has our own government played in it all?
From what I can gather, for many years the government of Ukraine has been a puppet. It’s just a matter of who pulls the strings. Russia? Or Europe / US? And from what I gather, the government of Ukraine as it has existed for decades has not been nor is it now an actual democracy. Seems Kiev, like Moscow and Washington, D.C., is rife with corruption. Jeremiah 17:9 is true not just of our lost, pagan neighbors, but also of our lost, pagan leaders. It really is hard to know who or what to believe anymore when it comes to world events, isn’t it?
To be sure, I have been formulating some thoughts on the present war in Ukraine. As a former Captain of United States Marines, and an unashamed patriot, I rarely find myself thinking America should just stay out of the conflicts around the globe. Truth be known, our government is very likely already involved in ways we could not fathom, and that might shock if not disgust us, long before these kinds of wars break out. Neither do I, though, think we should commit our troops to every conflict around the globe. But, it might be worth noting that the US Government did in years past promise to defend Ukraine if they would agree to denuclearize. I wonder if the Ukrainian people are learning now to distrust the US Government as much as I am / do? I mean what are we all to make of Climate Czar John Kerry expressing more concern for the climate change agenda than the men, women, boys and girls being slaughtered? We’re being led by evil people who hate God!
However you come down on these matters politically, what seems clear is that a weak America hurts the world. An America under judgment from Almighty God surely means more suffering for the peoples of the world. And an American Church under His judgment is a dim city on a hill for the believers of the world. Consider the irony (hypocrisy?) of two years of feckless prominent evangelical Christian voices berating us so-called “Christian Nationalists” only now to hear those same voices wildly idolizing the Christian Nationalists of Ukraine. We’re in trouble, dear Americans. All of us. Christian or not.
An American military more intent on inculcating tenets of Critical Race Theory and ensuring women fight our wars is really in no position to defend much of anything. A US Government that systematically drives out more conservative and overtly Christian soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines, is ever-bit as insane as Putin. An America that flirts with drafting our 18-year-old daughters is out of its mind. An America that wants a LGBTQ+ military, and spineless Generals who refuse to tell the truth on these issues as it pertains to actual combat effectiveness, is doomed to implode. National and State and Municipal governments all across America that handle peaceful protests with Police crackdowns are tyrannical. And Christians who support such tyranny and encourage believers to vote more of them into office are at best horribly misled, and at worst, spiritually deceived. Our freedoms come from God, and we ought to derive as much of our law as possible from God’s Word as well.
Am I the only one struck by the scenes of courageous Russian citizens publicly protesting Putin’s war only to be arrested, sometimes beaten, imprisoned and silenced by military-style law enforcement? It is now impossible to discern where such a scene is occurring. Could be Canada. Might be Australia. London or Paris. Moscow or Beijing. Portland or New York City (unless it’s a BLM riot, of course, in which case it’s totally unthinkable for the police to crack down). O dear Christian, the corruption of human governments is pandemic. Freedom Bell’s ring is growing fainter by the day.
To be sure, my heart goes out to both the peoples of Ukraine and Russia. I hate war. I cannot bare to see the scenes of suffering now splashed across every screen. I pray daily for God to end this war quickly and with minimal loss of life. I pray for the warriors on both sides who are having to engage in mankind’s most horrific act – mass slaughter of their fellow man. The emotional, physical, mental, economic and spiritual toll of war is nearly unspeakable. I pray especially for my brothers and sisters in Christ in both Russia and Ukraine. Imagine every man in your church family taking up arms to wage war against the invading army now blowing up your city or village. Imagine most of the women and children in your congregation fleeing for their lives, living as scared refugees, hoping for safety in a foreign land. How now shall you do church? O God have mercy! Use their witness to raise up gospel beauty from these sinful ashes. Get glory to the Name of Jesus, as only You can, even in and through this hellish atrocity.
Our only refuge, our only hope, is that Jesus is Lord. God still rules over the affairs of men. God still builds up and tears down nations. God still sets the boundaries of all peoples. And God still saves sinners by the Spirit’s application of the bloody cross work of Jesus Christ to those who believe. The most wicked act of mankind was nailing the spotless Son of God to a tree. And look what God has done, is doing, and will do in and through it!
We long for the day when men will learn war no more. We long for the only perfect government available in the whole universe – the Absolute Monarchy that is the cosmic consummated end-time rule and reign of King Jesus.
Come quickly Lord Jesus.
Hoosier Communism
For any American Christian who imagined that the radical Marxist, anti-Christian, church-hating agenda of the LGBTQ+ movement would simply remain in Europe, Canada (see my previous blog) and California, think again.
In my home state of Indiana, in the city of West Lafayette, the city council is pushing to pass an ordinance that mirrors Bill C-4 in Canada. If passed, the city ordinance would essentially criminalize (with fines of up to $1,000 a day), any attempt at so-called “conversion therapy.” But take careful note that the West Lafayette City Council is specifically targeting only “unlicensed” counselors and counseling. If anyone dreams that this is not a direct assault on the evangelical churches who practice biblical counseling, you must already be living in a utopian colony on Mars.
In particular, Faith Baptist Church in West Lafayette has been offering their members and community free biblical counseling services for decades. This church has served as a model and inspiration for so many other evangelical churches who believe, yea know, that the only hope for the sin-wrecked heart and the sin-muddled mind and the sin-hurt body, is the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. There is no secular therapy or counsel that is the power of God unto salvation for everyone that believes (Rom 1:16). There is no prescription med that can get a person’s sins forgiven, and place that sinner into a right standing with a Holy God. There is no gene therapy or talk therapy or Zen meditative therapy that can actually give someone the power and presence of Holy Spirit God to enable him or her to “walk in the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh” (Gal 5:16).
What are the desires of the flesh which only the Spirit-filled believer in Christ can struggle against victoriously? “Sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these” (Gal 5:19-21).
Ironically, evangelical biblical counselors oppose secular “conversion therapy” just as much as the LGBTQ+ community does. Indeed, this is a key reason that biblical counselors do not seek or submit to State sanctioned certifications or licensures. Biblical counselors reject the entire premises and worldview of secular counseling. Biblical counselors know they have no power, no eloquence, no ability to convert a human heart, or to make a sinner have a changed mind that leads to repentance of sin and faith in Jesus.
So, the biblical counselor simply loves the sinner, warts, confusion, rage, hate, victim mentality, and all. The biblical counselor listens, empathizes as a fellow sinner, indeed the chief of sinners, who understands “there but for the grace of God go I” (John Bradford). The biblical counselor then opens his or her Bible, reads and studies it with the counselee, praying fervently and believing that only the Son can possibly set the sinner free (John 8:36). Believing that a sinner can only be born again as the Spirit applies the Word (John 3:8; 1 Peter 1:23). Knowing that only the Word of God saves and makes a sinner holy (John 17:17). And loving the sinner enough to proclaim, with Jesus, “Repent and believe the gospel” (Mark 1:15).
Why would this be considered criminal? In Canada or anywhere for that matter?
And I remind you, now, that this is happening in West Lafayette, Indiana.
Turns out, our enemy stalks about as a roaring lion even in the Red State heartland. Church, we had better wake up! We had better be raising our children to expect to suffer for Christ, even as we ask God for the grace to do so faithfully ourselves. God teach us to rejoice to share in suffering for our Savior (Matt 5;11-12; Phil 3:7-11; James 1:2-4). To my West Lafayette, Hoosier brothers, I say “Preach the Word!” And may our God fight for you as you calmly trust in Him and His Word (Ex 14:14).
To hear keen analysis on the West Lafayette ordinance, listen to Dr. Albert Mohler’s podcast: https://albertmohler.com/the-briefing
To become much more well-informed on the comprehensive Marxist strategy to upend the American Constitution and Institutions, as well as to cut us from any biblical moorings as a society, read Erwin Lutzer’s book We Shall Not be Silenced (Harvest House: Eugene, OR, 2020). Seriously, get the book and read it.
Canadian Communism
“Whereas conversion therapy causes harm to the persons who are subjected to it;
Whereas conversion therapy causes harm to society because, among other things, it is based on and propagates myths and stereotypes about sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression, including the myth that heterosexuality, cisgender gender identity, and gender expression that conforms to the sex assigned to a person at birth are to be preferred over other sexual orientations, gender identities and gender expressions;
And whereas, in light of those harms, it is important to discourage and denounce the provision of conversion therapy in order to protect the human dignity and equality of all Canadians . . .” (Preamble to Bill C-4 passed by Parliament of Canada on December 8, 2021).
Just a few days ago, one of the most wicked pieces of legislation in the history of humanity took effect in Canada. Bill C-4 effectively criminalized what has been labeled “conversion therapy” regarding sexuality and gender. Any Canadian citizen who promotes or attempts in any way to convince a person that heterosexuality and/or actual biological gender is to be preferred may now be imprisoned for up to 5 years!
Take careful note of the language of the preamble. It labels any ideologies that dare to assert biological sex at birth is to be preferred, and/or that asserts any certain sexual orientation is to be preferred, are “myths and stereotypes.” One wonders what kind of biology they are teaching up north. This is anti-scientific science at it worst.
But far graver are the implications for biblical Christians in Canada. The Parliament of Canada has now officially called the Bible myth (along with many other religious texts considered sacred by adherents). The Canadian Parliament has ascended the throne of the Almighty, and declared His decrees to be myth. This Bill criminalizes the faithful preaching of the Word of God, as well as the faithful practice of New Testament Christianity, which demands sinners repent of all sin and be converted by and to Christ. True evangelism is now outlawed in Canada! True preaching is now criminal! And true love is damned.
Friends, it is not loving to let sinners plunge headlong into hell without a warning. It is not loving to let people do harm to themselves and scar themselves (in every way) for life. Sexual sin and gender dysphoria are ultimately sicknesses of depraved, self-deceived hearts (like all sins). And the only answer to sin-sick, spiritually dead, self-deceived hearts has always been the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ (Mark 7:14-23; Rom 1:16-17; Eph 2:1-10). To withhold the only true balm for the soul is the most hateful act any person or people or Parliament could ever do. Canada’s government is now officially on record as hating God and loving Satan.
If any American Christian is still wondering where this “Social Justice” train takes a society, all confusion is surely now cleared up. Canada is Exhibit A. And be warned, even the “conservatives” in Canada’s Parliament approved this legislation.
But fear not, little flock. It is the Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom! Many pastors in Canada are planning to preach the truth of God’s Word on sexuality and gender this Sunday, January 16th. They have asked American pastors and believers to stand with them in solidarity. So, I want to publish here a few strong encouragements for all who love God, submit to the absolute authority of His Word, and who treasure political freedoms derived from the very commands of God Himself.
To read the Nashville Statement, which is part of our church’s official statement of faith, click here:
https://cbmw.org/nashville-statement#articles
Here’s an alarming and simultaneously encouraging podcast, where two Canadian pastors speak out against the godlessness of Bill C-4:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77QBzt1KyMM
“If sinners be damned at least let them leap to hell over our dead bodies. And if they perish, let them perish with our arms wrapped about their knees, imploring them to stay. If hell must be filled, let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions and let not one go unwarned and unprayed for” (C. H. Spurgeon).
And let us conclude with the absolutely sufficient and authoritative Word of the Living God, to which we all one day will answer:
“Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:9-11).
Preach the Word, my dear Canadian brothers in Christ! Preach on! May God Almighty raise up a new generation of William Tyndale’s, John Bunyan’s and John Knox’s. Soli Deo Gloria!
Vaccine Equity
I trust the World Health Organization . . .
About as far as I can throw them!
Or, almost as much as I trust the CDC and Dr. Fauci.
But, some of my few faithful readers may recall many months ago that I wondered why seemingly nobody was saying anything about “vaccine equity.” Rich nations have clearly been hoarding the COVID vaccines. The Biden Administration thinks it good policy to foist tyrannical mandates upon US citizens (which for a large block of us only stiffens our resolve to stand against such unconstitutional power-grabbing non-sense), to shove booster shots down our throats, to threaten our holiday gatherings, to force thousands of good soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines out of the military (China and Russia are licking their chops), to cause the biggest labor shortage crisis in my lifetime, including the exodus of thousands of nurses from our medical system, to close schools, and so on ad nauseum.
And for what?
A vaccination fascination. Dare I say vaccine idolatry?
No emphasis from our national leadership on the role of natural immunities, or burgeoning and amazingly effective therapeutics, or good old common sense. No admission that no long-term data exists on this vaccine.
Turns out the brazen campaign promise of then Presidential Candidate Joe Biden to “kill the virus” was ever-bit as prideful as former President Trump’s often ill-advised tweets. We traded one form of pride for another, and were encouraged to do so by far too many feckless evangelical leaders. As far as I can tell from my Bible, God hates pride. Period. Regardless of the form it takes. And, God despises greed.
So, imagine my delightful surprise to recently stumble upon an article detailing how leaders in the WHO are now chastising wealthy nations for trying to boost their way out of a pandemic, whilst the poorer nations and peoples languish under the full weight of COVID-19’s wrath.
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/22/who-says-covid-vaccine-booster-programs-will-prolong-pandemic.html
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus recently argued at a news conference that wealthy nations hoarding vaccines and pushing booster programs, instead of distributing their stockpiles to poorer nations, are only ensuring that the virus continues to spread and mutate in poorer countries. He went on to say, “No country can boost its way out of the pandemic.”
Wow. Rarely do I ever find myself in agreement with WHO. But given the worldwide pandemic of wokeness and Critical Theory driven by neo-Marxism, it is very shocking that it has taken so long for someone to say these kinds of things. I mean, a Marxist Utopian world demands equality of outcome, even if it means forcefully “redistributing” material resources and finances. Why this philosophy has not been applied to the vaccine until nearly two years into the pandemic, is befuddling, to say the least.
Of course, I do not personally support the forceful government redistribution of wealth. That brand of socialism I believe the Bible labels stealing. And no, it is not OK for the state to steal. Just ask King Ahab how God thinks on this matter (1 Kings 21).
And this brand of socialism is precisely what is driving our nation now during this ongoing virus circus. This kind of thinking, that the state has the right to hoard, steal, redistribute, accountable to no one, exacerbates the greed already resident in depraved human hearts. Contrary to what Critical Theory Marxists claim, Free Market Capitalism produces and induces more generosity, far more, than any socialistic economy ever has. For 100+ years, the citizens and corporations and churches of the United States have given more to alleviate hardship and suffering around the world than the rest of the developed and western nations combined. You see, it might be in vogue to hate the American systems (and surely our nation is far from sinless in so many ways), but the systems handed down to us in our Constitutions (Federal and State) have given us this privilege to be a blessing to the world.
Only prosperous nations have any potential to actually bless the rest of the world in any significant ways. Where are the legions of missionaries and aid and relief organizations from Albania? Or Nicaragua? When has Burma or Nigeria ever flown its doctors all over the world to offer free care to the rest of the world? What “Feed the World” campaign has been organized by Iran?
So, I ask you, why are Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson, not donating millions upon millions of vaccines to the poorer peoples and nations of the world? As Americans get their 4th or 5th booster shots, COVID ravishes whole villages around the world. Where has corporate generosity gone? And why are Americans not demanding this kind of generosity from our government and businesses? What is happening to us? Why are we growing more greedy? For all our barking and protesting and rioting about “systemic injustice,” especially against “oppressed peoples of color,” why are we so happy to hoard this vaccine? Do we really care about oppressed peoples? To my knowledge nobody is being denied this vaccine or medical treatments for COVID in the US because of skin color, ethnicity, religion, so-called gender identity, sexual identity, etc. We are ALL very privileged, seems to me, as Americans.
The erosion of the foundations of our nation, what we have typically called the “Judeo-Christian ethic,” and the inroads of atheistic Marxism into every conceivable area of government, business, law and education, and the growth of irreligiosity, atheism and agnosticism, are taking a toll. On us. And on the world.
The Marxist Utopia being promised to us by the Left (politically) and by the Progressives (in Christendom), is leaking like a sieve. Indeed, it won’t hold water. But it will hoard water.
“But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God . . . Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and imposters will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived” (2 Timothy 3:1-4, 12-13).