Posted on 08/19/2010 4:53:22 AM PDT by Kaslin
If Christianity dies in America it will not be for a lack of evidence of its truthfulness. It will be for a lack of dissemination of the evidence of its truthfulness. And the blame for the lack dissemination of that evidence will fall squarely on the shoulders of Christian men who are simply too weak and passive to deserve to be called “Christian” or “men.”
In the last few months, I have been in no less than one dozen arguments with “Christian men” who have attempted to persuade me to stop my advocacy of, and direct involvement in, litigation against public universities. This is despite the fact that the universities are seeking to curtail the rights of Christian students and professors.
Three common arguments I have heard, and my brief responses to them, follow: Argument for passivity: In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells us to turn the other cheek to whoever slaps us on our right cheek. How do you reconcile that with your assertion that “a lawsuit a day keeps the atheists at bay”?
Response: This one is easy. A slap on the face is a personal insult. Jesus is clearly admonishing us to ignore such personal insults; He isn’t saying we can’t aggressively call out evil. Jesus Himself aggressively called out evil as recorded later in the same Gospel (Matthew 23).
This coming year I am planning a series of legal challenges to universities that have launched “Queer Resource Centers” and “LGBTQIA Centers” on campus. The goal is not to shut the centers down but, instead, to force them to present issues in a more balanced fashion.
For example, those centers using mandatory student activity fees to bolster the case for gay marriage will be pressured (legally) to invite speakers like Frank Turek who will argue the other side of the issue. We will rely on the ten-year old Southworth case in our efforts to ensure that student fees are spent in a viewpoint neutral manner.
When I launch these challenges the “liberal” blogs will say I am secretly gay. That is the way they always respond. It’s a silly personal insult revealing nothing more than the unfortunate fact that many gays secretly hate themselves. I will simply ignore such insults and proceed with the lawsuits.
I would urge everyone – especially those who trumpet the importance of “context” - to read the entire Sermon on the Mount. When they do, they will realize that Jesus also said that those who are persecuted in His name will be richly blessed. The tallest blade of grass is the one that gets cut first. Similarly, the Christian who stands tallest is the one that gets persecuted first. Therefore, those who stand tall and do not roll over will be the first to be blessed.
Argument for passivity: In Luke 6:29, Jesus urges that one who has his coat taken from him to should also hand over his tunic. Doesn’t that suggest that we should not resist campus efforts to take away Christian rights?
Response: The coat and tunic are material things. We would do well to hand over material things to those in need. If we were more generous on the front end, people would be less inclined to steal. But religious liberty is not a material thing. It is a non-material thing that is the principal basis for this nation’s founding. It belongs to everyone and, therefore, cannot be handed over by any one individual to any other individual.
Put simply, we have a right to hand over our own tunic. But we cannot hand over someone else’s tunic as well. When we give away our rights we give away the rights of others without their consent. That is not a requirement of Christianity. It is a hallmark of cowardice.
Argument for passivity: Doesn’t the Bible tell us to abide by laws and submit to the authority of government?
Response: It sure does. And the First Amendment is the law of the land. When it is violated, we should protest by using the First Amendment. If our protests are ignored we should use civil litigation to uphold the laws that lawless secular humanists seek to destroy. The key word here is “civil.” Christians should not hurl stones in the streets. They should remain civil by filing civil suits.
The Apostle Paul tells Christians they should not sue one another. But he did not say we should not sue heathens. Let us never forget that a large proportion of what is written in the New Testament was written by Paul from inside prison. He was boldly asserting his rights as a Roman citizen. He was not cowering in the face of abject evil, as so many man-boy “Christians” are today.
I agree with you about the liberal college,s, they are becoming nothing more than an institute for the ungodly practice of homosexuality.
But its even more than that, what it really amounts to is that they are at an open warfare with God and are trying to make people believe that there is no God and that man can make their own laws, and that they can change those laws to suit themselves, mans law.
At the same time we need to remember that Satan is the ruler of this world, and will be until judgement day, there are many scriptures pointing to that idea.
1 Corinthians 15:19
If in this life only we have hope ° in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.
Meaning that Christians will be more miserable than other people.
if satan were not the ruler of this earth why would that be?
Rom13 in part. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong.
The above scripture is a little strange to me since it was the authorities who sentenced Jesus to death and also murdered Steven and James an put Peter and John in jail and put Paul in prison, maybe paul had reverted back to (Roman first) for a while.
We should not let that happen to us, yes the united states was built as a nation under God but it is being taken over by Satan and that is why we are even having this discussion,
so it would be a bad idea to put this country first, God must be first.
In Germany the authorities persecuted Jews, If it could happen there, it can happen here.
I will end this by just saying that Christians will do good just to be able to put up with the laws, they were not intended to be law makers or law enforcers and personally i have all i can do just to try to be like i know that god wants me to be. but like i said, i agree with you about the college,s and good luck to you.
And it says right here
We are all spiritual children of a loving Heavenly Father who sent us to this earth to learn and grow in a mortal state. As Mormons, we are followers of Jesus Christ. We live our lives to serve Him and teach of His eternal plan for each of us.
What Mormons believe about Jesus Christ
Would they say that Jesus Christ is our Savior? Or that he is the Son of God, or that God send Jesus Christ to earth to give us a way to overcome our imperfections, or that Jesus Christ suffered and died on the cross for us? I don't think so
And btw I am not a Mormon, nor have I ever been in a Mormon church, and have no intention to go in one
A long time ago I read The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. It states that Christianity, with its emphasis on the afterlife, was one of the main causes of the fall of Rome.
As a teenager, I thought this was wrong. But seeing how weak mainstream Christianity has gotten in the last 40 years, I think Toynbee was right. Just today on FaceBook, the lady who plays the piano at my church posted articles from some pseudo-christian publication affirming the construction of the mosque near Ground Zero as the “Christian thing to do”.
A topic for a whole 'nother thread! For God so loved the world, He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. So far as I know, Mormons aknowledge Christ as Savior; and the scripture does not add "unless they have some strange side beliefs".
But then, there are some fundamenalist Christian sects who claim that Catholics are not really Christians either.
They also believe that Christ is the pattern...that they will rule their own worlds after death because Christ rules this one.
They are very good at using christian rhetoric and fabulous at "family values" but do not believe in orthodox theology.
GK Chesterton is one of Christianity’s most powerful champions. I am rereading Orthodoxy right now, and it is so thick with brilliant observations that I marvel at it anew! I admit that I also find Shaw amusing, although his chosen philosophy was regrettable.
But yes, we can do battle and still be clear in our hearts.
This liberal parish that I am attending Mass at during this summer vacation is the type that you describe. Milk toast. They are lucky to have any altar servers. There are very few young people and I can see why.
This liberal parish that I am attending Mass at during this summer vacation is the type that you describe. Milk toast. They are lucky to have any altar servers. There are very few young people and I can see why.
They believe that Mormon men can become another Jesus Christ of their own planet and that they can take their wives with them and be lord of that planet.
If this is contrary to Mormon teaching, please, a knowledgeable Mormon, explain my misunderstanding!
We weren't laughing at them, it is just that their explanation struck us as very funny.
I don’t know why Stonewalls even brought Glenn Beck up. Mike Adams doesn’t even mention him, nor does he mention Mormonism. Please go back to the actual subject of the article
“A topic for a whole ‘nother thread! For God so loved the world, He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. So far as I know, Mormons aknowledge Christ as Savior; and the scripture does not add “unless they have some strange side beliefs”. “
Yes, it is a topic for another thread ... but ... when you claim John 3:16 and elevate contrary teachings and propagade false teachings, that makes their claim less valid.
Ah, “unless they have some strange side beliefs” ... apparently you are not Bible based. Those “strange belifs” are what make it false teachings. They are there to DISTRACT you away from Christ. There is nothing new about this. Paul wrote about it all the time in the Bible.
“But then, there are some fundamenalist Christian sects who claim that Catholics are not really Christians either.”
I have no doubt many Catholics have a personal relationship with Christ. Elevating Mary as co-redeemer is flat out wrong. Praying to Mary is flat out wrong. I let Christ decide on how He wants to deal with that and a few other things.
OTOH, Mormomisnm is not Christian no matter how you cut it. Sure they “value” the Bible but it is teachings of OTHERS that pull them away from Christ.
LOOK at their TEACHINGS!
I gave you a credible link and encourage you to dig deeper.
BTW, I voted for Mitt in the primary. Later I was disappointed when I learned more about the health care stuff he passed ... fooled once but not twice.
I don't dislike Mormons. I like Glenn Beck too but there is no way Mormonism passes for Christianity. You might want to ask yourself if you are okay with Mormonism, why YOU don't become one? Maybe that is a better way for you to discover their unBiblical teachings.
There is a parallel to Islam as well. Muslims believe when they die and go to paradise they will be serviced by countless virgins. Well, Mormons believe they will get a planet and be serviced by countless virgins. No where is that in the Bible.
Joseph Smith, as an adolescent also ADDED polygamy to his flavor of “Christian” teachings. The Untied State Supreme Court stuck it down as not compatible with our Judeo Christan principles. They are embarrassed by that bt still Joseph Smith dreamt that up. It goes on and on. Deception, bait and switch are nothing new even in the world of "religion".
I have no problem being around Mormons. They are typically nice people and very conservative. I know conservative atheists too that are decent people. They try to reason their way through life but refuse to acknowledge there is a God. It is a choice.
You don’t know our pastor then! We’ve been blessed with some strong priests, younger and older over the years. Our latest one is pretty conservative and doesn’t fool around with what’s wrong and right; and he’s probably the youngest pastor we’ve had so far! He looks like the boy-next-door, but he’s feisty! He’s definitely not mean about things, but he’s very firm!
For example: he told us when the heath-care bill was going through, to listen to what our bishops said (at least those in opposition to bill)about the bill! He said there were some groups of R. Catholics who were misleading people about the bill. Most of the bishops were opposing the bill. He said to listen to the bishops about it, not those people or those groups!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.