24 April 2008 by Brian.

I get the iTunes free Single of the Week each week, which happens to be a great value (most weeks, anyway). Occasionally, I don’t get the chance to listen to the song until it pops up randomly on my iPod and I realize I’m hearing it for the first time. Sugarcult’s, “Los Angeles” was one such song. I’ll warn you before you proceed, that the lyrics are harsh, but I’m posting them because they represent the stark reality of life as the center of one’s own universe. For contrast, I offer the 8th century hymn, “Be Thou My Vision” which hints at the enduring joy of a life of worshipping God through Christ.

Do you want to live a life of enduring hunger, never satisfied, simply consuming everything and everyone around you in your search for satisfaction? Or is a life of purpose, satisfaction, and joy which transcends circumstance a more reasonable goal? Read the lyrics and think about it…

Sugarcult – Los Angeles

I want a girl, girl that won’t talk back
And a job, job that gives me slack
And a car, car that won’t break down
In the heat of Los Angeles
Want to go, go without a map
Far away, away, I won’t get trapped
By the sound, a town, the sun beats down
In the heat of Los Angeles

One more holiday
I will not celebrate
I’m almost desperate
Cause I’m down, I’m down, I’m so beat down

This city’s killing me
I want, I want, I want everything
This city’s killing me
In the heat of Los Angeles

I want a love, love that won’t hit back
Want sex, sex without a catch
Want a face, to trust, to feel, to lust
In the heat of Los Angeles
Want to FUCK, FUCK, FUCK this up
Gonna feel, feel, feel you up
Had enough, enough, enough’s enough
In the heat of Los Angeles

This city’s killing me
I want, I want, I want everything
This city’s killing me
In the heat of Los Angeles
What has become of me?
I want, I want, I want everything
This city’s killing me
(I want everything)

Come on, come on
It’s alive and breathing
Come on, come on
Come alive today
Come on, come on
It’s a heartless beating
The sun is burning down Los Angeles
Los Angeles
Los Angeles

I want a girl, girl that won’t talk back
And a job, job that gives me slack
And a car, car that won’t break down
In the heat of Los Angeles

Come on, come on
It’s alive and breathing
Come on, come on
Come alive today
Come on, come on
It’s a heartless beating
The sun is burning down

(This city’s killing me)
Come on, come on
It’s alive and breathing
Come on, come on
Come alive today
(This city’s killing me)
Come on, come on
It’s a heartless beating
The sun is burning down Los Angeles (one more holiday)
The sun is burning down Los Angeles (I will not celebrate)
The sun is burning down Los Angeles (one more holiday)
The sun is burning down Los Angeles (I will not celebrate)

Be Thou My Vision

Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;_
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art_
Thou my best Thought, by day or by night,_
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.

Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word;_
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;_
Thou my great Father, I Thy true son;_
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.

Be Thou my battle Shield, Sword for the fight;_
Be Thou my Dignity, Thou my Delight;_
Thou my soul’s Shelter, Thou my high Tower:_
Raise Thou me heavenward, O Power of my power.

Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,_
Thou mine Inheritance, now and always:_
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,_
High King of heaven, my Treasure Thou art.

High King of heaven, my victory won,_
May I reach heaven’s joys, O bright heaven’s Sun!_
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,_
Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.

Posted in Abortion, Homosexuality, Community, Humanism, Naturalism, Social Injustice, Eurabia, Politics, Trinity, Missionaries, Europe, Christmas, Missions, Evil, Trinitarianism, Environmentalism, Social Justice, Religion, Sex, Biblical Worldview, Postmodernism, Contemporary Christianity, Relativism, Sanctity of Life, Marriage, Postmodern Philosophy, Postmodernity, New Age Spirituality, Morals, Morality, False Doctrine, New Age, North Korea, Spirituality, Secularism | No Comments »

22 April 2008 by Brian.

George Bernard Shaw is widely considered a brilliant author, but if someone had offered him a penny for this thought, they would’ve overpaid.

“Lack of money is the root of all evil.”

Are we to believe that evil does not lurk within the hearts of the rich?  Why, then, do we find greed and corruption at all economic levels?  Perhaps poverty is not the cause of evil, but only one more symptom of man’s fallen condition.

Thoughts?

Posted in Humanism, Naturalism, Eurabia, Quotes, Abortion, Community, Christmas, Evil, Environmentalism, Politics, Social Injustice, Israel, Biblical Worldview, Sex, Contemporary Christianity, Islam, North Korea, Spirituality, Religion, Morality, Morals, False Doctrine, Sanctity of Life | No Comments »

14 April 2008 by Brian.

I’ve been reading a very good book, edited by Ravi Zacharias, called “Beyond Opinion”.  I highly recommend it, as it offers insight into the challenges and opportunities offered by a variety of world views competing with Christianity today.

In the course of reading the chapter on Islam, I learned an interesting fact which explains a lot of the information I’ve heard regarding the religion of Mohammed.  There is a doctrine in Islam known as ‘abrogation’, which allows scholars to explain away one passage which stands in direct opposition to another by saying that the second passage abrogated (repealed) the former.  This explains how Islamic scholars can say that the Quran advocates tolerance of Christians while another passage exhorts Muslims to make war against Christians and to kill them.   It gets really tricky when you consider that there is no clear logic (at least to the casual reader) that indicates which passages supercede the others.

Next time you hear someone defend Islam as a religion of peace while quoting the Quran to “prove” it,  consider the fact that the speaker may be reading a passage that isn’t even considered the final word on the topic.  I’ll share another doctrine in the near future which makes this even trickier.  Bottom line: don’t believe everything you hear…Islam is decidedly different from Christianity or Judaism.  We need to know how so we don’t allow it to simply enforce its will in the world while we look the other way and tell ourselves there’s nothing to be concerned about.

Keep in mind that this has NOTHING to do with the call to love and reach out to Muslim friends and neighbors.  Just because a particular religion is hostile to our own, doesn’t mean we’re not called to love its adherents.  This is just as true of Secular Humanism as it is of Islam and it’s a calling we can never ignore or diminish in any way…we must take up our crosses daily wherever God has called us.

Posted in Community, Politics, Social Medicine, Abortion, Humanism, Social Injustice, Eurabia, Trinity, Trinitarianism, Europe, Christmas, Missionaries, Missions, Environmentalism, Evil, Social Justice, Bible study, Postmodernity, Spirituality, Postmodernism, Biblical Worldview, Islam, Contemporary Christianity, False Doctrine, Morals, Religious fanaticism, Israel, Radicals, Radicalism, Morality, Religion, Sanctity of Life | No Comments »

9 April 2008 by Brian.

It drives me nuts when I hear people use emotional terms when describing their thoughts about an objective, fact-based issue:

Question:  “What do you think should be done in order to prevent Social Security from going bankrupt?”  Answer: “I feel like privatization is the best option.”

What?!?  Nobody asked which flavor of ice cream you prefer today or your emotional reaction in the face of such a daunting challenge.  The question is one that needs rational analysis of a variety of facts and the consequences of the various potential solutions to the problem, producing a well thought-out decision.  Now, the decision could be wrong…nobody expects that the respondent will provide THE definitive, correct answer.  However, the question is one which requires and intellectual response, not an emotional one.

Jesus said, “Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.”  Our language betrays the fact that our generation has lost faith in objectivity, rationality, fact, and truth.  People rarely “think” or “believe” anything about anything anymore.  Now, they “feel like” everything from the sum of 2 plus 2 to their favorite flavor of ice cream to the results of their monthly budget or the existence or non-existence of God.

As believers, we should be aware that a rational, objective approach is insufficient for 100% of life, but this approach is foundational to reality because a Constant exists in the universe and He is the source of reality, the moral law-giver.  We should never be so arrogant as to believe that we perfectly understand everything and that we cannot be wrong about an issue.  However, we shouldn’t back away (nor slip into our culture’s habit) of speaking as if everything were up to personal choice.  This, I believe.

Posted in Humanism, Abortion, Homosexuality, Community, Naturalism, Eurabia, Bible study, Inductive Bible study, Social Justice, Social Injustice, Politics, Social Medicine, Missions, Missionaries, Europe, Christmas, Evil, Environmentalism, Taxes, Trinity, Trinitarianism, Israel, Religious fanaticism, Sex, Biblical Worldview, Postmodernism, Postmodern Philosophy, Contemporary Christianity, Relativism, Sanctity of Life, Islam, Marriage, Postmodernity, North Korea, Morality, Religion, Radicalism, Radicals, Morals, New Age Spirituality, Spirituality, New Age, False Doctrine, Secularism | No Comments »

1 April 2008 by Brian.

Well, at least insofar as they all purport to make claims as to the existence or non-existence of God.  Beyond that, there are some striking differences.  Here’s an example…see if you can pick out the subtle differences between Islam and Christianity as exposed by this FoxNews article.

“You are innocent if you are a Muslim,” Choudary tells the BBC. “Then you are innocent in the eyes of God. If you are not a Muslim, then you are guilty of not believing in God.”

Choudary said he would not condemn a Muslim for any action.

“As a Muslim, I must support my Muslim brothers and sisters,” Choudary said. “I must have hatred to everything that is not Muslim.”

One of the fundamental tenets of Islam is that everyone is born Muslim.  This means that all those who adhere to other faiths are apostate and enemies of Allah.  Further, enemies of Allah are to be hated and devotion to Allah can be measured by the intensity of the hatred for his enemies.  In stark contrast, the God of the Bible expresses His love and mercy toward humanity, even those who presently oppose Him.  As scripture clearly states, “God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  As followers of Christ, indwelt by His Spirit, we are called to express this same love for our enemies.

Do we always live up to this high calling?  Sadly, we must admit that we do not.  However, we ARE, in fact, called to live out this same kind of self-sacrificial love for others…enemies included.  The Islamic worldview condones and even inspires hatred.  Same God?  I don’t think so.

Posted in Social Injustice, Eurabia, Social Justice, Religious fanaticism, Radicals, Community, Trinity, Missionaries, Europe, Missions, Evil, Trinitarianism, Radicalism, Religion, Postmodernism, Postmodern Philosophy, Biblical Worldview, Contemporary Christianity, Islam, Postmodernity, Spirituality, Morals, Morality, New Age Spirituality, False Doctrine, New Age, Sanctity of Life | No Comments »

17 March 2008 by Brian.

What comes to mind when you think of the term, “spiritual”? Angels? God? Heaven? Demons? Prayer? What about evangelism? These are all good answers, but what about digging ditches, mowing the yard, or even heartbreak? Too often, we forget that God is interested in our reliance on Him in ALL of life’s experiences. He created us and He knows our strengths, weaknesses, and struggles. We can bring any of our experiences to Him, the highs and lows included.

Check out the lyrics, to Larry Norman’s, “I’ve Got to Learn to Live Without You“. If the lyrics don’t seem “spiritual”, maybe you need to reconsider how you relate to God.

You came into my life, you took me off the shelf
You told my name to me and taught me what to do.
But then you went away and left me by myself,
I feel completely lost and lonely without you.

Why’d you go, baby? I guess you know,
I’ve got to learn to live without you.
I’ve got to learn to live without you.
I’ve got to learn to live without you, without you.

Today I thought I saw you walking down the street
With someone else, I turned my head and faced the wall.
I started crying and my heart fell to my feet
But when I looked again it wasn’t you at all.

Why’d you go, baby? I guess you know,
I’ve got to learn to live without you.
I’ve got to learn to live without you.
I’ve got to learn to live without you, without you.
It’s just no good without you, without you.
It’s just no good without you, without you.
It’s just no good without you.

I’ve got to learn to live without you.
I’ve got to learn to live without you.
I’ve got to learn to live without you.

Not hopeful or uplifting enough? Sometimes life isn’t. We need to be willing to face that fact and remember that God is present in all aspects of our life. His grace is available for the abandoned spouse as well as for the joyful Sunday morning worshiper. We should never run from an honest relationship with God in the interests of appearing “more spiritual”. If you’ve got a friend facing hard times, lift them up in prayer, but be willing to walk through the low times without condemning them for their lack of “victory” as they face the trials.

Posted in Abortion, Homosexuality, Community, Politics, Humanism, Naturalism, Social Justice, Social Injustice, Quotes, Eurabia, Social Medicine, Taxes, Missionaries, Europe, Christmas, Larry Norman, Missions, Evil, Trinity, Trinitarianism, Environmentalism, Israel, Religious fanaticism, Sex, Biblical Worldview, Postmodernism, Postmodern Philosophy, Contemporary Christianity, Relativism, Sanctity of Life, Islam, Marriage, Postmodernity, North Korea, Morality, Religion, Radicalism, Radicals, Morals, New Age Spirituality, Spirituality, New Age, False Doctrine, Secularism | 1 Comment »

11 March 2008 by Brian.

Hypocrites in church, you say?  Next thing you know, they’ll be trying to tell us that the forest is full of trees or that the ocean is teeming with fish.

Actually, my experience is that churches are filled with people and…guess what?…people tend to be hypocritical!  Heck, we tend to try to fool ourselves into thinking that we’re better than we are.  It only follows that we’d be attempting to perpetrate the same illusion on everyone around us.

I posted the other day and was rewarded with a rather angry-sounding diatribe against Christianity.  As a Christian, aware of my own hypocritical leanings, I always try to learn from my critics.  We shouldn’t let critics define us, but we should never add self-righteousness and/or pride to our hypocrisy, and fail to see our own shortcomings.  One accusation in particular should give us pause.  The comment stated, “Love thy neighbor, sure, unless they need help that would inconvenience you in any way then they can just fall by the wayside. i cant wait till the post Christian era comes, because only then will we be able to look back in clarity at the centuries of brainwashing and realize the true extent of the hypocrisies you represent.”  It’s easy to respond that believers love others all the time, which is true.  However, do we reach beyond the boundaries of those who are easy to love?  Do we care for the poor, the homeless, the disenfranchised?  Do we give sacrificially and show the love of Christ to those who don’t look, smell, or think like we do?  These are tough questions for believers in a country where we’re so busy that “loving” our brothers and sisters in Christ can often be limited to a smile and a handshake during a 60 second window in the church service each week.  We shouldn’t look away from this issue, but rather look to Christ’s example.  He picked up a cross and showed love to the human race, who in no way deserved his great sacrifice of love.  The Church is called to follow THAT example, aren’t we?

I spend plenty of time on this blog discussing the hypocrisy of secular humanists, the hypocrisies inherent in the sexual revolution, etc., so I’m going to avoid any of that tonight.  What is YOUR part in expressing sacrificial love to a lost world?

We should never wink at hypocrisy, but if it’s there, let’s own it, repent, and trust the Holy Spirit to continually work on us, to convict us of sin (both of commission and of omission), and allow Christ to live His life through us in ever increasing measure.  Let’s never give the impression to the world around us that we’ve got everything so together that can’t learn and grow, nor should we “play church” and then go live our lives self-centeredly disgracing the name of our Lord.  Let’s get real: with God, with ourselves, and with each other.  Perhaps more authenticity and humility would make the church more welcoming to those who currently see nothing attractive about us.

Posted in Abortion, Homosexuality, Community, Humanism, Naturalism, Social Justice, Social Injustice, Eurabia, Politics, Social Medicine, Missions, Missionaries, Europe, Evil, Environmentalism, Trinity, Trinitarianism, Israel, Religious fanaticism, Sex, Biblical Worldview, Postmodernism, Contemporary Christianity, Relativism, Sanctity of Life, Islam, Marriage, Postmodernity, North Korea, Morals, Morality, Religion, New Age Spirituality, False Doctrine, Spirituality, New Age, Secularism | 2 Comments »

3 March 2008 by Brian.

If it’s broke, you’d better fix it.

Listen to the liberals in the USA as they sing the praises of socialism.  If we were all as smart as our intellectual elite, we would entrust everything to their care and rest easy while they take care of us, right?  Well, the Socialist Utopian Kingdom of Sweden continues to see the socialist ideal crumbling beneath their feet.  Do we really want to follow them down this path?

The Local has an interesting article which I offer for your consideration.  Here’s an excerpt describing the methods which Swedes use to avoid paying into the system.  (Trust me, the vast majority of Swedes never fail to take “their fair share” out of the system.)  Sound like a welfare state on the road to bankruptcy?  Maybe, maybe not.  One thing’s for sure, as the article points out, the system had better change quick or it won’t last long.

The release of Plan B last October was accompanied by an opinion piece in Dagens Nyheter, in which the authors explained that 95 percent of Swedes had confessed to having, in one way or another, tampered with social welfare systems for their own benefit.

“Bergström explains that our ministers are not the only ones challenging the system. Sweden was once a country in which it was very common to choose “Plan A” – to live your life according to existing social systems. Today, however it has become common to go for “Plan B” and bend the rules.

In their book, Bergström and his fellow authors explain that a Swede with a marginal tax a little over fifty percent must earn 28,550 kronor in order to have 10,000 kronor left over after visible and hidden taxes have been paid.

If the latter sum is to be paid to a labourer facing the same marginal tax, the labourer will have just 2,196 kronor left after taxes. Thus only 8 percent of the original sum can be consumed by the person performing the service, with 92 percent going to taxes.”

Posted in Humanism, Naturalism, Eurabia, Community, Politics, Europe, Taxes, Social Medicine, Social Injustice, Social Justice, Relativism, Islam, Sanctity of Life, Contemporary Christianity, Biblical Worldview, Radicals, North Korea, Secularism | 3 Comments »

26 February 2008 by Brian.

We “lost” a gifted brother in Christ two days ago (I just learned of this today).  Larry Norman died today.  Relatively few of us will miss him, but his influence has touched almost every believer in the Western world to one extent or another.  I had the great pleasure of seeing him in concert once and it’s a treasured memory.  The following bio can be found at www.larrynorman.com:

 ”For almost thirty years the press has referred to him as “the father of Christian rock” because it was he who first combined rock and roll with Christian lyrics. In the 70’s Billboard Magazine called him “the most important writer since Paul Simon.” To the church, in the early years, these accolades only deepened their doubts about him. He was banned in most Bible bookstores. But in later years he began to gain wider acceptance. Christian Artists Seminar awarded him their Lifetime Achievement Award and Contemporary Christian Music Magazine named Norman’s Only Visiting This Planet record the most significant and influential gospel album ever released in the field of contemporary Christian music. This kind of recognition is not new to Norman. Time Magazine once called him “the most significant artist in his field.” He has said, “I’m just an artist, reaching toward Heaven.”

I know that Larry is enjoying his rest right now and I rejoice with him, as I’m sad that we’ll no longer have him here.

Posted in Missions, Community, Missionaries, Europe, Larry Norman, Eurabia, Religion, Contemporary Christianity, Biblical Worldview, Morals, Morality, Sanctity of Life | 3 Comments »

20 February 2008 by Brian.

If you’re not familiar with dictionary.com, I highly recommend you check it out.  (I find it helps me appear to be smarter than I actually am.)  The word of the day on 18 Feb 2008 was ‘sine qua non’ (isn’t that really three words?), which means, “an essential condition or element; an indispensable thing.”  Now there’s a useful word (or three)!

My wife had some great advice for a friend recently while they were struggling with a difficult decision.  The advice boiled down to the following questions: “What is the most important thing in the world to you?  What SHOULD BE the most important thing in the world to you?  What decision will result in moving closer to alignment with the thing you know to be most important in your life?”

Clearly, our worldview drives us.  If God is the most important thing in an individual’s life,  then that person’s life and his/her decisions will reflect this fact.  If the accumulation of material wealth is ultimate, this, too, will be revealed.  If it’s Power, then you get a Hitler, if it’s Pleasure, an Oscar Wilde.

As a believer in Christ, I offer the following observation by G.K. Chesterton as food for thought:  “God is like the sun; you cannot look at it, but without it, you cannot look at anything else.”

Posted in Abortion, Homosexuality, Community, Humanism, Naturalism, Social Injustice, Quotes, Eurabia, Politics, Social Medicine, Missionaries, Europe, Christmas, Missions, Evil, Trinity, Trinitarianism, Environmentalism, Social Justice, Israel, Sex, Biblical Worldview, Postmodernism, Contemporary Christianity, Relativism, Sanctity of Life, Islam, Marriage, Postmodern Philosophy, Postmodernity, Morals, Morality, Religion, New Age Spirituality, False Doctrine, North Korea, Spirituality, New Age, Secularism | 1 Comment »