Is This for Real?

Perspective on the Crusades

The Crusades seem to be view by today’s secularist just another bunch of religious fanatics conquering and slaughtering in the name of their god. The Crusades are viewed much like radical Islam is viewed today. To the secular mind, there is no difference. It’s just the radical cause-du-jour. In a way, the secularists are right.

Indeed, the Crusades are a black eye on the name of Christianity. But the fact of the matter is that the people who perpetrated the crusades did so under false pretenses and did so for power and political reasons only. What many people today don’t realize is that while these military campaigns were supposedly conducted in the name of Christ, they were not led by those who were truly Christian.

I do realize I am going out on a limb since I am not the keeper of the Lamb’s Book of Life (Rev. 3, 13, 17, 20), I do stand firm on the fact that “you will know them by their fruits “ (Matthew 7).

Surely it is and would have been appropriate for anyone to go to battle over a just cause such as national defense, protecting the innocent, preventing genocide, or stopping violent oppression. While the leaders of the crusades claimed that such things were their goals, they conducted their campaign in such a way that revealed their true intent, that is, power. They sold thousands of well-meaning conscriptees a bill of goods, they claimed they were fighting for and establishing the Kingdom of God, when they really were just establishing a kingdom for themselves. It all just ended up in a horrible blood-bath, and has precipitated centuries of hate and discontent between Islam and the West.

The scriptures clearly teach us that in this age we are not to be in the business of setting up a physical kingdom, but rather we are to be calling people to His Name (Acts 1 and 15). Our job is a spiritual battle right now which is to compel people (Jude) to receive Christ in their hearts and become part of His Spiritual Kingdom. Then one great day after the time of God’s divine mercy on earth has expired, we will be called to heaven, and God’s wrath will pour out upon the earth. After that seven year period of judgment, the one, true, righteous, and justified military campaign led by Jesus Himself will descend from Heaven, and He make war with Satan and all those who have allied themselves with him. After Satan is conquered and bound the physical Kingdom of God on earth will be established. This is the one, true, proper, right, and just crusade. Anything else beforehand is a horrific misrepresentation of God’s plan, and is not of God at all.

Still, in some ways God has used it for His glory, even though He was misrepresented. Certain cultural changes occurred with the temporary mixing of European and Arab cultures. Some things enriched both cultures, while the undue violence as a whole has precipitated such a rift between Arab and Western culture that the effects can still be seem today. Yet, as the pages of history are written before our eyes, the precursors to fulfilled prophecy can be seem before our very eyes. The rebuilding of the ancient city of Babylon, the revival of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, and on and on it goes. The things written in Daniel and Revelation can be seen as coming just around the corner. Maranatha! The Lord is coming.

This is for real.

You are as created

I love the quote from C.S. Lewis that says, “You are a soul, you have a body.”  Interestingly enough the manufacture of the human being by our Divine Creator happened in the opposite order of this statement, yet this statement holds true.  We read the order of events in God’s Word.  The account is found in the Book of Genesis:

“The LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.”  Gen. 2:7 NIV

Physically speaking, our bodies are formed from the elements found in the material universe.  We also know this by our senses when we engage in scientific observation of the physical.  Mentally speaking, we are more than our bodies.  We know this scientifically when we engage in scientific observation of the psychological. We are more than biological machines.  We are spiritual beings that live in biological machines that together with the spiritual fully integrate and make up what we know as our ’selves’.  As we develop from infancy, we come to understand this.  We naturally and innately know that we are different from animals.  We know there is something unique about us, something higher, something cognitive, something sentient.  We have self-awareness and can ponder our existence with rational thought.  We can communicate our thoughts with complex and rational words.  Animals do none of this.

It seems that only when we try to subvert ourselves and tear down natural understanding and deconstruct what is true, that we start to think otherwise.  Movements that try to debase humans to the level of animals, or exalt animals to the level of humans with the goal of trying to confer civil rights for animals are erroneous, unnatural, and intellectually dishonest.   Any honest human being naturally knows human beings are different.  just consider that phrase “human being”.  We’ve known that we are not like the animals and have thought of ourselves as ‘beings’.  We do not think of animals this way.  When was that last time you heard of a ‘fish being’ or a ‘rodent being’?

This term ‘being’ carries a meaning of uniqueness and distinction.  When we are philosophically honest, we know that our thoughts are more than material chemical reactions happening in our brain.  The very fact that we can attempt to be ‘philosophically honest’ shows that we are different.  We have a mind.

What is this mind?  Where did we get it?  How is it that a cognitive mind rests inside of us whereas what animals do is only material and merely instinctive?  Our minds came from our Creator.  The account in Genesis tells us that God took the inanimate biological machine formed from the dust of the ground and did something unique with it.  He breathed the breath of life into it, and made it a living being.  What did this do scientifically speaking? I will attempt to describe this in my own feeble way.

God is the source of all material, life, truth, existence.  His putting of this described ‘breathe’ is a way of saying a spiritual essence was placed in the body of humans.  The ancient languages often use derivative of words that mean air and wind to describe what is the spiritual.  This act of blending of spirit and body we know in philosophical terms to be what Descartes described as mind/body dualism.  We know that the mind effects the body and the body effects the mind.  This is God’s unique design of human beings.   No other biological being has this unique essence attached to it’s cell structure.  No other beings are made in His image.  Unlike animals that simply cease to function as a broken biological machine (die), when bodies break down completely (die), our consciousness is still real, still alive, and had an eternal destiny.

We see in God’s Word in Ecclesiastes Chapter 3 that God has set eternity in our hearts, yet as the writer struggled on philosophically trying to grasp purpose and meaning in life, he questioned what he knew was true.  He saw the struggles that we face and wondered if we actually were in fact better off than the animals.  At the end of his theses, the writer King Solomon finally did figure out the absolute truth:

“Not only was the Teacher wise, but also he imparted knowledge to the people. He pondered and searched out and set in order many proverbs. 10 The Teacher searched to find just the right words, and what he wrote was upright and true. The words of the wise are like goads, their collected sayings like firmly embedded nails—given by one Shepherd. 12 Be warned, my son, of anything in addition to them.  Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body.  Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.

There is nothing greater than to know God and do what He says to do.  And I want to tell you dear reader that you can know God.  God loves you and created you to know Him personally. He has a wonderful plan for your life.  God’s Love “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16).  God’s Plan “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent” (John 17:3)

This is for real

references:

http://www.campuscrusadeforchrist.com/knowing_god/knowing1.htm

www.biblegateway.com NIV translation

http://www.needhim.org/g/pages.php3

Ten Commandments - yep, I said it.

Food for thought:

Do the rules listed below sound bad to you? They sound good to me, but apparently there are leaders of our country who think these words should be banned from the public setting. I guess freedom of speech only applies to those who agree with their ideology.

Maybe you don’t believe in God, but don’t you think if we read and applied these words to some degree then maybe we wouldn’t have some of the trouble we have in our country like Murder, Rape, Theft, School Shootings, Corporate Plunder, Political Corruption, Suicide, Drug Addiction, Alcoholism, Sexual Immorality, broken homes, Racism, Fraud, Child Abuse, and even heath issues related to stress? Maybe, just maybe if we started with these rules, things would be a little better. And don’t we all want that?

God Said:

- You shall have no other gods before me.
- You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand {generations} of those who love me and keep my commandments.
- You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
- Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
- Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.
- You shall not murder.
- You shall not commit adultery.
- You shall not steal.
- You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
- You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.

Click on Read More to see a simple breakdown of how these rules could be helpful.

Think about it. Give it a try.

For more great articles like this go to http://redstateradical.com/

While I am a believer in Jesus resting firmly on the authority of the Scriptures, I will attempt in my own feable way to place practical argument aligned with the 10 Commandments as they are called.

- You shall have no other gods before me.

Would not putting God or for you agnostics out there a “higher power” first in our lives steer away our own natural tendency to live for ourselves help us be better people? Is not selfish ambition really the root of all crime and social offense?

- You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything ….

All too often we engage in a self-centered pursuit of our own happiness, and put first or idolize things that we believe will make us happy. There is nothing wrong with being happy, but it’s when we pursue other things at the expense of doing right and at the expense of other’s well-being, that we sacrifice our very souls by living for something that in the end doesn’t bring true and lasting joy. We end up being empty and depressed. And of course our Creator deserves first-place in everything.

- You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.

Imagine for a moment this Creator I am describing who deserves all of our respect simply for who He is. Wouldn’t we be better off living in such a way out of respect? Would we not take pause in our actions and reflect as to whether or not we should do certain things?

- Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy….

Imagine a set day off for everyone. Health would be better with less stress

- Honor your father and your mother,…

How much better our homes and family relationships would be. Yeah, nobody’s perfect. My parents weren’t but my respectful attitude towards them made and makes a big difference.

- You shall not murder.

Well, wouldn’t the scene at Columbine be different… or in our cities and towns?

- You shall not commit adultery.

The institution of marriage has been under attack ever since the beginning of time. The family is the building block of society. The ideal and strongest family is one that is comprised of a faithful, loving, monogamous relationship between a man and a woman who lead their home together teaching their children how to grow to be good people and repeat the process. How very disrespected and degraded the family has become, because we are not respecting morality.

- You shall not steal.

From petty theft to corporate plunder to the abuse of eminent domain. How different would the lives of countless victims be if people did not move to satisfy their own greed.

- You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

No one will ever forget words like “I did not touch that woman”, “no new taxes”, “cooking the books”. How much damage has it caused to hear someone make a statement only to find out later that is was a lie. Whether it’s in everyday interpersonal relationships or national leaders, lying destroys. Lack of integrity is rampant. It is a battle that individuals must wage within themselves. If we deteriorate to the point where no one can trust the word of another, life with each other will be most miserable.

- You shall not covet …

At the core of our society, coveting is vogue. Shame on us. If we did not covet, you would not see the rash of corporate fraud, or the epidemic of credit debt. We see things, and we want them and put ourselves and our livelihood at risk to have them some people are dumb enough to blame capitalism for these kinds of problems. Not so. Capitalism is free and healthy and allows people the freedom to take care of themselves and others, as they should. The problem is covetousness. We need to break the ‘keeping up with the Jones’ scenario, and learn to work hard, plan, earn, store, and help.

I quickly typed out these observations. I could have poured more into it, waxed more eloquent, and engaged in more Bible apologetics. But again, my intent is to appeal to a common-sense analysis of the problems we face in our culture today and offer some observations as to how these timeless rules are still relevant, and how the application of them today could help us resolve the issues we face.

One final thought. If these are good, practical ideas that came from the ancient Judeo-Christian Scripture, what more beneficial guidence might they have to offer. Shouldn’t we pursure this knowledge.

Doomed to Repeat History

This is a discussion posting I wrote for a Humanities course that I am taking. I decided to post it here for posterity.

I love what I like to call “mental morsels”. I am talking about those interesting little tidbits of information that you get when studying subjects like this where certain elements of cultural development and etymology are discussed. These kinds of thoughts that the mind can savor, are some of what makes history so important to me.

One such rational repast is connection of creation to the Egyptian goddess Ma’at, to the Greek word logos, as it is used to describe the Word, Jesus Christ in John 1:1. This whole concept really piqued my interest. As described in the lessons and some other research that did, Ma’at was represented by twin girls symbolizing Truth and Order. (This is also near to my heart because I have twin girls.) According to the pagan Egyptian philosophy, the goddess Ma’at was present at creation, involved in creation, and also in some ways sustains creation. Being great in philosophy and abstract thought, the Greeks had a way of absorbing and homogenizing the thoughts, religion, and philosophy of the different cultures they encountered. They took the concept of Ma’at in the Greek word ‘logos’. In our limited English language we merely translate the word ‘logos’ to the word ‘word’. This Greek word logos is found in John 1:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.”

As readers of Greek, the original audience would have had a much richer understanding of the concept that God’s Word is communicating. The real God, not merely a god, the real Truth and Order, was at creation with God, and is in fact Creator God. We also see this concept further expounded upon in Colossians 1:16-18:
“For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.”

The whole concept of Ma’at as understood by ancient culture was used to give understanding of the truth as clarified in the scriptures. Jesus Christ is not part of some polytheistic collective. He is not subordinate to any. He is also not female. Jesus is Creator God. He keeps it all together, and all creation is about giving Him first-place. There is no room for doubt here; Jesus is God. Can I get a witness?!

How is this relevant to the importance of history? Old Testament history makes this clear that since the beginning of time, people knew that there was a Creator, but they went their own way after the fall of humankind (Genesis 3). People began to invent their own rules, their own morality, their own value systems apart from God (Genesis 4-6). The truth slipped away, and was replaced with fables. I am hypothesizing that there must have been some thread of truth that carried the concept of creation through to the Egyptians that found it’s way to the symbolism of Ma’at. Because of their past knowledge of Creation, they could not help but to include some concepts of truth in their systems of philosophy and religion.

The period of Western culture that we live in now is referred to as ‘Postmodern’. It appears that Postmodern culture is repeating the mistakes of humanity’s most ancient ancestors. In doing so we are inventing our own rules, morality, and value systems apart from God. We are repeating the mistakes of the ancient Egyptians. In doing so we are turning away from God to spiritual symbolism. We are repeating the mistakes of the Greeks. In doing so we are absorbing and homogenizing the thoughts, religion, and philosophy of the different cultures of the world without a foundation of absolutes. Once again the truth slips away, and is replaced by fables. Thus, this phase of Postmodern culture has earned the term ‘PostChristian’. This shouldn’t be a surprise. God told us this was going to happen in 2 Timothy 4:3-4:
“For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.”
George Santayana said “Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” I guess history is not very important to us at all. Our culture is repeating the ancient mistakes all over again. If only we’d learn.

Contrast and comparison of the cultural propagation of Ancient Rome and America

The goal of imperialism is to conquer and control. By contrast, the goal of democracy is to put the power and control of a nation in the hands of the electorate, that is, the people. America promotes the ideal of democracy around the world. America is not trying to conquer or rule the world. It is actually those who favor their own version of imperialism who are the ones who accuse America of it. This is irony on a global scale.By proud admission, the Ancient Romans were imperialists. They believed they had the ideal culture, and that it was their destiny to conquer and rule the world under their system. While America has certainly been accused of imperialism, the American way is truly different.

The truth be told, by promoting democracy, America is actually promoting anti-imperialism. Even when we go to war, we do not conquer or take land and resources, we give it back to the people of the country so that they can rule themselves. If America maintains any presence in a country, they pay rent. They do not try to make other countries part of America. That would go against the American ideal of democracy.

It is not the goal of democracy to duplicate culture in another country, but to duplicate the idea of the rule of the people and the rule of law. A country and culture can become a democratic version of itself without becoming American. A country that experiences this experiences justice, fairness, equality, and prosperity because it honors the rights of its people.

The Romans were also eclectic. They were eclectic because they took all the best elements from the cultures that they conquered. America is also eclectic, but for a different reason. America is eclectic because of all the cultures they embrace. America is made up of people groups from all over the world, and America consistently extends it’s good will all over the world, even to those who cannot reward America for its kindness.

We can’t do this on our own

Another one of my Humanities coursework discussion postings:

If one could attribute a theme to the history of humanity it would be this: “we can’t do this on our own”. If we just take western culture as an example, we see that humanity has washed, rinsed, and repeated revolutions of philosophical thought over and over again. We have gone through several micro-cycles of chaos, adjustment, and balance.

After the fall of Rome, western culture had to ‘re-find’ itself. Humanism had failed, but a new direction was given, Christ, the revealed truth. Truth was what the early philosophers sought long before, and now it had arrived. As the years passed, politics took over, and the truth was scattered and mixed among paganism. In the early stages of the medieval period, when we realized that we were too pagan, so we became religious. When we realized that major religious establishment was corrupt, we reformed. But even then some of the reformed doctrines were in error. Once we realized this, we became rational. As a result of rationalism, during the renaissance, we became humanistic all over again. When we realized we were too humanistic, we revived, but by this time we became even more fragmented. Revival gave way to scientific rationalism. The effects of the age of enlightenment continued on. This term is a contradictory term in and of itself for the so-called age of enlightenment was a plunge into darkness whereas there is no truth apart from God. And apart from God we can never get it right. We can’t do this on our own.

Surely each time we woke up and sought after God, it marked a brighter spot in human history. Each of these times, we progress in knowledge and learning. But then somehow with each step of progress, we find a way to mess it up. (Rom. 1:22) With each improvement in social structure, we intervene with human understanding. (2 Tim. 3:7) Rather than continuing to rely on God, we introduce more problems. We practiced slavery, then we abolished it, now we have special rights which are a form of racism. We had tyranny, feudalism, fascism, and Nazism. We abolished the idea of hierarchy, and now have socialism in government, and anarchy in the individual. We promoted liberty for all, but had to fight for women’s suffrage and child protection. Now we have feminism and child rebellion. (2 Tim. 3) New freedoms bring new immorality. (Rom. 1;2) New rights bring new wrongs. It seems like every time we get some knowledge we mess things up just like in Genesis 3. We can’t handle enlightenment apart from God. We can’t do this on our own.

In today’s postmodern culture we have a panacea of philosophies. Anything and everything we have seen before in ancient philosophy is practiced today by modern people. Because the idea of individualism is so prevalent, everyone ascribes to the philosophy with which they feel the most comfortable. All schools of thought are accepted, and none are denied, except for that which is of the truth. The last 2000 years has produced what one could call a great splintering in philosophy. All that has happened has led to great skepticism and disillusionment with the possibility of absolute truth. Surely we have done this to each other; indeed we have done this to ourselves. Seeing the great tragedy of war, Wilfred Owen felt that it was pointless to die for the fatherland. Hemingway communicated an indulgently hedonistic lifestyle with no sense of direction. All the strife we have brought upon ourselves has left people wondering “Where do we go now?” The fact is there is no direction, purpose, or meaning in life apart from God. We can’t do this on our own.

Another micro-revolution is occurring inside the post-modern period. Once again we are facing another crisis in the modern Christian church. The modern-day stronghold of the truth is facing corruption from the inside. A disillusionment and dissatisfaction with traditional methods has led to a movement to change in how we relate to the world. This has brought about some good changes, and a re-thinking in how we reach people in modern culture. However, at the same time and postmodern thought has crept in. The “acceptance of all, denial of none except the truth” is now inside the walls of bible-preaching churches. The emerging church movement has brought in a message of antinomianism and a denial of absolute truth. The corruption postmodernism is creeping in to the church. Those who claim the name of Christ are weak in the Word, and are turning to this system of thought in droves. The desire to be liked by the world, overshadows holding to the truth of God’s Word. (Matt. 24:12) Humanism has crept in. Many church leaders are thinking like Protagoras that man is the measure of all things. In straying from the truth, they are forgetting church cannot survive apart from God. We can’t do this on our own.

I know I am painting a grim picture here, but one must realize that this is just an analysis of what has been happening. Furthermore, we have been told that this would happen. (Col. 4, 2 Pet. 3) Am I disillusioned, frightened, or depressed? NO! Nor should you be. (Col. 2, 2 Pet. 3) I choose to stand for the truth. I recognize these are the last days and I say MARANATHA! Even so some Lord Jesus! (Rev 22) As we see the next revolution in culture unfold before our eyes, just realize that this could be the last one. This could be the last generation. These could be the last days. Just remember that things fall apart, the center cannot hold unless the center is Christ alone. He is our core. He is the truth. We can’t do this on our own.