Wake Up - It's Worse Than I Thought

 

Read More

Standing for What is Right... Even if it Means Standing Alone!

 https://www.str.org/w/freedom-fading    By Greg Koukl

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn—Russian dissident, 10-year forced-labor Soviet Gulag inmate, Nobel Laureate, Christian—lamented the “fallacious belief” that “here such things are impossible,” that totalitarianism could not happen in one’s own country. “Alas,” he wrote, “all the evil of the twentieth century is possible everywhere on earth.”[1]

Read those words carefully. It is the point I have been building towards in the last two issues of Solid Ground.[2]

In the first article, I chronicled my own experiences behind the Iron Curtain in 1976 working with Christians living under brutal authoritarian rule in communist bloc countries like Hungary, Poland, Romania, and the former Soviet Union—places where believers suffered significant loss of personal liberty and, in some cases, severe persecution simply for following Christ.

In the next article, I pointed out that citizens in any culture will ultimately be ruled by one of two fundamental forces: either truth or power. Any nation whose people lack the liberty to pursue, discover, and live by truth will be destined to live as victims of lies and frequently crushed under the heels of powerful oppressors.

I then briefly traced the development of the first great lie—what I called “the primal heresy”—from its inception in the Garden to its current divinization of self that some have labeled “expressive individualism.” At the Fall, mankind replaced the external truth of God’s world and God’s morality with the internal “truth” of bald personal preference and naked individual desire. The act of rebellion that traded truth “out there” for truth “in here”—the outside/inside distinction—marked the birth of what has come to be known as relativism.

Remember, relativism is the ultimate negation of truth, and when truth dies, power is all that remains. The immediate payoff for relativism—the unrestrained narcissism of expressive individualism—may be satisfying for a season, but it’s a fleeting gratification. Bald force eventually fills the truth vacuum, and relativists’ values begin cannibalizing relativists’ liberties. Whoever has the power to nullify liberty ultimately gets to enforce his own preferences. Postmodern people are leaning on a bent reed.

These musings have not been idle reflections, however. Rather, the downward arc of the shifting ethos of the West has revealed a disquieting trend. Liberal democracy—in the best sense of those words—is becoming a thing of the past. America is moving rapidly toward the brink of a peculiar species of totalitarianism that promises to erode freedom, hinder our ability to proclaim the gospel, and compromise our liberty to live peacefully with our Christian convictions.

I have not been alone in my concern. Émigrés from former Soviet bloc countries who fled the totalitarianism of communism for the freedom of America are mortified at the trend. When author Rod Dreher asked if they thought America was drifting toward some type of totalitarianism, “They all said yes—often emphatically”[3] (emphasis in original).

Totalitarianism

I wrote “peculiar species of totalitarianism” above because what we are experiencing now is actually an amalgam of two forms of totalitarianism—soft and hard. First, a general description, though.

Totalitarianism is not the same as dictatorship, where an individual tyrant’s jackboot stands on the neck of liberty. That is simple authoritarianism. Totalitarianism goes further. Drawing on insight from expert Hannah Arendt, Dreher clarifies:

A totalitarian society is one in which an ideology seeks to displace all prior traditions and institutions, with the goal of bringing all aspects of society under control of that ideology. A totalitarian state is one that aspires to nothing less than defining and controlling reality. Truth is whatever the rulers decide it is.[4] [Emphasis added.]

Notice the militant relativism that makes totalitarianism possible. When truth comes not from the outside but from the inside, power prevails. Truth becomes “whatever the rulers decide it is.”

The indoctrination to an alternate reality at the heart of totalitarianism has a curious effect. When reality is persuasively redefined by the incessant drone of political propaganda and abetted by not-so-subtle social pressures, the populace is gradually persuaded by it and willingly embraces it in large numbers as the high moral ground. Those who do not are vilified as enemies of the good (“haters,” in the current vernacular)—the “good,” that is, as defined by the authorities. Orwell’s “Big Brother” comes immediately to mind.

At the moment, I am halfway through William Shirer’s remarkable work The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. I realize it’s risky conjuring the image of fascist dictators to make a point. Some have done this so frequently and so frivolously that people are inclined not to take such allusions seriously. In this case, though, they ought to. Santayana famously warned, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

Shirer noted the precise pattern I described above displayed by Germans in the 1930s, a dynamic (Shirer confessed) even he was vulnerable to: “A steady diet over the years of falsifications and distortions made a certain impression on one’s mind and often misled it.” He then referenced “the most outlandish assertions from seemingly educated and intelligent persons” who were obviously “parroting some piece of nonsense they had heard on the radio or read in the newspapers.” Opposing the nonsense was useless, he wrote, since “on such occasions one was met with such a stare of incredulity, such a shock of silence, as if one had blasphemed the Almighty.”[5]

And so today. The propaganda of the Left regarding sexuality, gender, the “bigotry” and “hate” of Christians, etc., is so pervasive and rhetorically clever, it has become irresistibly persuasive to many who are mystified that some—especially religious conservatives—are not falling into step with the times. Worse, they’re angry at unpersuaded dissenters who now loom as dangerous enemies of the common good.

That siren song of the new order now presses in on us from two directions, creating the peculiar amalgam of totalitarian tyranny I spoke of.

“Soft Totalitarianism”

In soft totalitarianism, compliance is not enforced by government. Rather, private cultural institutions controlled by elites accomplish that task—the academy, the press, “enlightened” corporations, Hollywood, and especially those controlling social media.

Many of us, particularly the young, live out our social lives online—through Instagram, Facebook, Twitter—and manage our lives at the behest of its aggressive stepsisters, Amazon, Apple, and Google. We post, we purchase, we tweet, we opine, we share vital information and also gather vital information using their platforms.

These enterprises provide the bulk of our access to the outside world. It has become obvious to careful observers, though, that these digital giants are not neutral players in this game. We are being watched, and we are being tracked. Corporate Goliaths are assiduously collecting every piece of information they can on our purchasing habits, our preferences, our private lives—even our travel patterns. [6]

Rod Dreher reports that this “surveillance capitalism hoovers up detailed personal data about individuals and analyzes it with sophisticated algorithms to predict people’s behavior.”[7]

The initial goal of this online data harvesting is, of course, monetization of information—profit, for short. But there is a darker side. Sophisticated algorithms have another consequence. “The rapidly growing power of information technology and its ubiquitous presence in daily life,” Dreher warns, “immensely magnifies the ability of those who control institutions to shape society according to their ideals”[8] (emphasis added).

Have you noticed how frequently social media moguls have been silencing dissenters by using “community standards” guidelines that appear to guarantee civility in their domains but often serve to weed out political dissidents? Worse, many are able to economically retaliate against nonconformists by demonetizing their platforms or banning them from business access. Even offline, corporate giants are increasingly and openly indoctrinating employees with progressive politics as a de facto condition of continued employment.

This is soft totalitarianism. Left-leaning corporations and other elites are its willing agents, and we consumers are its willing subjects. They have their “bully pulpit,” but they also have their “big stick,” the not-so-subtle social pressures I mentioned earlier.

One of the strongest evidences of totalitarianism is punishment of dissent. Dissidents can be destroyed. Here are a few examples. There are many, many more.

Shaming, Silencing, Canceling

For years, I have noticed a common practice among Christians, even in the relatively safe spaces of churches or Christian retreats: They lower their voice when they mention the word “homosexual.” Why? Because they are afraid. They’ve unconsciously adopted this habit out of fear of being shamed, or attacked, or belittled, or bullied simply for broaching the topic. This fear, of course, is an indirect pressure. Other pressures are not so subtle.

Journalist Bari Weiss reports that in California and New York, secret meetings are being held—not on Zoom or Facebook (too public, too traceable, and too permanent), but in backyards.

Wealthy parents of children enrolled in prestigious $45,000-per-year private prep schools like Harvard-Westlake in L.A. or Fieldstone in New York are mortified that their kids are being indoctrinated in the resentment and fear connected with Critical Race Theory (CRT), “collective racial guilt,” and so-called “white fragility.”

They are horrified and they are scared, with most too frightened to speak up. “The school can ask you to leave for any reason,” one parent said. “Then...you’ll be known as a racist, which is worse than being called a murderer.” Students begged their parents not to be interviewed by Weiss for fear of social shaming. “If you publish my name, it would ruin my life,” one kid said.

“They have a pattern of shaming anyone who…dissents from the group narrative,” one mother explained. “Once someone shames one person, many chime in agreement. The times I speak up to defend those they shame, they attempt to shame me.”

“The ideology,” Weiss writes, “has changed children’s self-conception.” The propaganda is so intense and the sophistry so sophisticated, the kids have begun to believe and internalize the lies. Recall the pattern Shirer noted in Germany.

Though Weiss’s focus was on high-end private schools, the same pattern is in play everywhere—even in some “Christian” schools. Public schools are most vulnerable, though, because the Left controls that educational system in many states. “To resist this ideology is to go against the entire institutional world,” Weiss concludes.[9]

Brendan Eich, creator of JavaScript and co-founder of Mozilla, served as its CEO until 2014. Then news surfaced of a 2008 donation of $1,000 to California’s Prop 8 limiting legal marriage to male-female unions. Though Eich never showed animosity towards the LGBT community in his personal or professional life, activists used social media to publicly pillory him, generating 50,000 signatures from those demanding Eich’s resignation. Because of his classical view of marriage, Brendan Eich was canceled from the company he founded.[10]

West Town’s Nini’s Deli was Yelp’s highest-rated restaurant in Chicago and listed as one of their top 100 places to eat in the U.S. three years in a row. A Cuban-Mexican immigrant couple founded Nini’s, and their sons, Juan and José Riesco, ran it. All were Christians and members of the multiracial, ethnically diverse Metro Praise International church. Nini’s sported a celebrated cuisine of Cuban-inspired dishes and had commercial ties with Adidas, Intelligentsia Coffee, Bang Bang Pie, Molly’s Cupcakes, and Nike.

The Riesco’s success story came to a screeching halt in a matter of days, though, in June 2020. Because they did not publicly signal solidarity with Black Lives Matter, and because of their Christian stance on homosexuality, they were labeled racist and homophobic. Droves of former satisfied customers turned on them, and protesters descended on Nini’s Deli like a tidal wave.

Militants threatened to burn the deli down and kill the Riescos. They found out where family members worked and pressed the employers to terminate them, which they did. Under pressure from activists, all of Nini’s corporate partners denounced them and canceled them. Thousands mobbed the previously popular corner deli and shut it down.

“If you don’t put Black Lives Matter on your restaurant, it’s just guaranteed to get destroyed,” Juan said. The video footage of the hatred displayed in the name of anti-hatred is chilling.[11] The family fled its beloved Chicago in the middle of the night. The Riescos now live in Dallas.

Three years ago, Ryan Anderson published When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment. You can no longer buy it on Amazon, though. The book violates the company’s current standards. “We have chosen not to sell books that frame LGBTQ+ identity as a mental illness,” Amazon’s Brian Huseman wrote.

“Everyone agrees that gender dysphoria is a serious condition that causes great suffering,” Anderson replied. “There is a debate, however, which Amazon is seeking to shut down, about how best to treat patients who experience gender dysphoria. Amazon is using its massive power to distort the marketplace of ideas and is deceiving its own customers in the process.” [12]

Amazon is responsible for 53% of book sales in the U.S. and 80% of all e-books. What other books will they blacklist, and how will this affect what publishers choose to publish?

“In July 2020, Niel Golightly, a 62-year-old Boeing communications chief was forced to resign for an article he wrote 33 years earlier. As a 29-year-old navy pilot, he’d argued against women serving in combat. He has since disavowed those views. No matter. Though Boeing admitted that the executive made “substantial” contributions in the short time he’d been there, the company has “zero tolerance for bigotry of any kind”—and, apparently, from any time, even the “bigotry” of a recanted view voiced half a lifetime ago.

Chief executive David Calhoun emphasized Boeing’s “unrelenting commitment to diversity and inclusion in all its dimensions, and to ensuring that all of our employees have an equal opportunity to contribute and excel” (emphasis added). The irony of his own statement escaped him, of course.[13]

Soft totalitarianism is frequently enforced with an almost spiritual passion. Former Attorney General William Barr observed:

The secular project has itself become a religion, pursued with religious fervor…including inquisitions and excommunication. Those who defy the creed risk a figurative burning at the stake—social, educational, and professional ostracism and exclusion waged through lawsuits and savage social media campaigns.[14]

“Hard Totalitarianism”

Indeed, the soft totalitarianism imposed by cultural elites can be harsh. When the government steps in, though, the totalitarian amalgam thus created between soft and hard can be Orwellian. For the sake of space, let me briefly offer two instances, though examples like these are increasing at an alarming rate.

In 2013, former Atlanta Fire Chief Kevin Cochran self-published a book for his men's Bible study that condemned homosexuality as contrary to God’s plan. For his efforts, he was suspended without pay for 30 days and told not to comment publicly on the affair.

When, in violation of then-mayor Kasim Reed’s directive, Cochran organized a public relations campaign on his behalf, he was terminated, even though the city’s legal team admitted he had not engaged in illegal discrimination. With the help of Alliance Defending Freedom, Cochran sued and settled out of court for $1.2 million.[15]

As I write, a nefarious bill is moving through the United State Congress that, among other things, effectively erases any physical distinctions between the sexes. It’s called the “Equality Act” and has already passed in the House.

Though federal law already prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, this bill treats sex as a psychological state of mind unrelated to biology. Consequently, males who self-identify as females cannot be denied access to female-only areas that guaranteed privacy in the past. Note the bill’s wording:

An individual shall not be denied access to a shared facility, including a restroom, a locker room, and a dressing room, that is in accordance with the individual’s gender identity.[16]

Further, the Equality Act would actually end equality in women’s sports by preventing women from competing on an equal basis with other women. Biological males—normally excluded from competing against females (that’s the point of women’s sports, after all)—could not be excluded, by law, if they self-identify as females. Women will not only lose races, they’ll lose scholarships, too, as also-rans to biological males who will easily defeat them.[17]

Worse, this act explicitly exempts itself from the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, removing any safe harbor for Christians resisting the provisions of this bill on religious grounds.

Since “discrimination against a married same-sex couple could be based on the sex stereotype that marriage should only be between heterosexual couples, the sexual orientation of the two individuals in the couple, or both,”[18] churches would be vulnerable to criminal prosecution simply for adhering faithfully to biblical teaching. That is how far down the slope we have slipped.

The act also prohibits “discrimination on the basis of pregnancy…or a related medical condition,” using wording that has already been interpreted by courts to include abortion. Thus, those who refuse to perform abortions could be vulnerable to punishment.[19]

RX

At times, the tsunami of change we’re facing seems overwhelming for its force, dizzying for its speed, and chilling for its darkness. It’s easy to begin feeling helpless, but that is not our path. There is another way.

In September 1974, Solzhenitsyn was expelled from the Soviet Union and sent into exile. His final salvo was an essay suggesting a remedy for the common citizen, the ordinary person dwarfed by the totalitarian state. He titled it “Live Not by Lies.”

Most of us are not in a position to effect any immediate change in the culture at large. That does not mean we’re powerless, though, he argued. The lies that drive the system can be resisted by ordinary people being faithful to truth while living lives of simple integrity. This approach entails two things.

First, we refuse to be cowed by pressure to affirm falsehood. Like the noble Christians at Nini’s Deli, we stand our ground. We live consistently with our convictions, firmly holding to truth even when we can’t defend it well or make sense of it to outsiders.

Solzhenitsyn counseled not to say, write, affirm, or distribute anything that distorts truth. Rather, walk out of meetings where discussion is forced and truth is not allowed to be spoken.[20] Refuse to affirm what you do not believe. Just say no, but do so respectfully, even when the price for fidelity is public shaming, silencing, or canceling.

Second, we act. “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil,” the saying goes, “is for good men to do nothing.” Resisting takes inner courage, of course, and courage starts with small steps. It also takes a group, a family, the Body of Christ. We stand together. It takes outward virtue, too. We are careful to live with integrity in all areas of our lives.

Be direct but courteous in the face of opposition. If asked what your preferred pronoun is, graciously say, “I don’t have a preferred pronoun. I have a sex. I’m male [for example].” When pressured at the office to participate in “sensitivity” seminars that go against your convictions, respectfully decline. If pressed, say, “It appears you’re using your influence as my employer to get me to accept your politics. Do you think that’s a proper use of your power and authority?”

Be prudent, however. Carefully weigh the risks of resistance, counting the cost. Not all hills are worth dying on—but some are.

If we’re clever, we can leverage the culture’s own values against it. For example, when considering adopting a radical sexual education curriculum, our local school district asked (disingenuously, I think) for input from the community during their public meeting. Here is what I wrote for my wife to deliver that evening:

We are a diverse community, and the school board values diversity. That means there are diverse understandings about controversial issues like human sexuality.

Traditionally, parents have been the ones to carefully inform their children about these issues at a time and in a way appropriate for their age, and within the protected environment of the family. The government—represented here by the school board—has not traditionally been allowed to interfere with educating issues so critical to family and so appropriate to private parental nurturing of their children. To do so would be to have individual family beliefs and values overridden by whatever group happened to be in power at the time.

No one set of personal values should be allowed to dictate the beliefs of our children in a public education system that includes such diverse groups as Muslims, and Christians, and Orthodox Jews, and Buddhists, and humanists, and atheists, and so many others.

Public values shared by all, on the other hand—values like honesty, kindness, truth seeking, integrity, respect, etc.—should be encouraged by all, including the schools, since they are agreed upon by all and are not controversial.

However, contentious and divisive personal views should not be forced upon our children. This is indoctrination and replaces the parent’s rightful role.

When government takes over the responsibility of informing our children’s private and personal moral values instead of the parents and individual families doing so, it is a step towards oppression and a significant and serious violation of the diversity and multicultural respect the school board stands for.

If any group in power gets to force their personal values on our kids, then when a different group gets power, they will be able to force their personal values on that group’s kids. Neither is consistent with diversity, tolerance, or appropriate American liberty.

Please, I respectfully implore you: Leave that job to the parents of the children that belong to them…and not to the state.

Until now, it’s cost us virtually nothing to be Christian in America. I am convinced those days are rapidly coming to a close. “A time of painful testing, even persecution, is coming,” Dreher warns. “Lukewarm or shallow Christians will not come through with their faith intact.”[21]

Choosing not to live by lies can change culture over time, but that is not its immediate purpose, in my view. Its purpose is not principally pragmatic, but ethical. We live not by lies because it’s wrong before God to do so, even if it costs us.

 

---

[1] Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, The Gulag Archipelago 1918–1956.

[2] Find “Iron Curtain Diary” and “The Primal Heresy” at str.org.

[3] Rod Dreher, Live Not by Lies: A Manual for Christian Dissidents (New York City: Sentinel, 2020), xi.

[4] Ibid, 7–8.

[5] William Shirer, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1960), 247–8.

[6] Note the sobering documentary “The Social Dilemma,” available on Netflix.

[7] Dreher, 76–77.

[8] Ibid, 71.

[9] Bari Weiss, “The Miseducation of America’s Elites,” City Journal, March 9, 2021.

[10] Alistair Barr, “Mozilla CEO Brendan Eich Steps Down,” The Wall Street Journal, April 3, 2014.

[11] “Paint the Wall Black—The Story of Nini’s Deli”

[12] Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg, The Wall Street Journal, “Amazon Won’t Sell Books Framing LGBTQ+ Identities as Mental Illnesses.”

[13] The New York Times, “Boeing Communications Chief Resigns Over 33-Year-Old Article.”

[14] William Barr, Justice News, “Remarks to the University of Notre Dame Law School,” October 11, 2019.

[15] NBC News, “Fired after Writing Anti-Gay Book, Ex-Fire Chief Set to Receive $1.2M Settlement,” October 17, 2018.

[16] H.R.5

[17] See, for example, Duke Law, “Comparing Athletic Performances: The Best Elite Women to Boys and Men.”

[18] Ibid.

[19] Melanie Israel, “Equality Act Is a Trojan Horse for Abortion Lobby and More.”

[20] Dreher, 18.

[21] Ibid, 160.

Read More

Bonhoeffer: The Life and Writings of Dietrich Bonhoeffer

 

Read More

Michael Voris - The Church Militant

 

Read More

Wolves in Sheep Clothing - Father Altman

 

Read More

Father Altman's Controversial Sermon!

 

Read More

Tanya Davies - "I Knew I Had to Stand and Fight!"

Read More

Are You Standing for Godly Convictions?

By Dennis Edwards

I was reading Psalm 94 today and came upon some interesting verses all in the same psalm which really got me thinking. “Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee, which frame mischief by a law?”[1] Governments often pass laws which are contrary to the laws of God. Just because the government passes such a law does not make it right. I would interpret that to mean that we as Christians should not have fellowship with that kind of government or political party that promotes that violation of God´s law.

The next verse in the psalm goes on to say, “They gather themselves together against the soul of the righteous, and condemn the innocent blood.”[2] What soul in its natural state could be more righteous than the soul of an unborn child? What blood could be more innocent than the blood of an unborn child?

Earlier in the same psalm we find the verses, “Lord, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked triumph? How long shall they utter and speak hard things? And all the workers of iniquity boast themselves? They break in pieces your people, O Lord, and afflict your heritage. They slay the widow and the stranger, and murder the fatherless?”[3] How often, these small ones killed in abortion are “fatherless.” A woman has conceived a child out of wedlock or has been raped. Therefore, to avoid shame and scandal the child is aborted. The child is paying for the sins of the parents. He or she has done nothing wrong. Nevertheless, he or she is punished with death.

The Bible tells us, “Thou shall not kill.”[4] Jesus went on to say, “In as much as you have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto me.”[5] He also said, “As you would that men should do unto you, do you likewise to them also.”[6] And in the Gospel of Luke we read, “It was better for him that a millstone was hanged about his neck, and he was cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.”[7]

The psalm continues, “Yet they say, ‘The Lord shall not see, neither shall the God of Jacob regard it.’ Understand, ye brutish among the people: and ye fools, when will ye be wise? He that planted the ear, shall he not hear? He that formed the eye, shall he not see?”[8] In other words, God is looking and sees and hears what we are doing. We will ultimately be required for our wrong doing, if not in this life, in the world to come, unless we confess, repent and change. Even then, we often suffer and others suffer because of our sins and mistakes, although God can bring this together for good, like He has promised in His word. “All things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose.”[9]

The Psalmists goes on later to implore, “Who will rise up for me against the evildoers? Or who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity?”[10] He is pleading for others to stand with him and speak out against the injustice that is happening around him, even if it is framed by law and is lawful, like abortion and homosexuality or the deportation of immigrants. Just because something is legal does not make it right in the eyes of God. Some countries like Holland have legalized euthanasia, but that does not make it right in the eyes of God. We need to go back to God´s book and find out what He thinks and make our judgments based on what He says, not the biggest political party or most popular opinion of the day.

“Unless the Lord had been my help, my soul had almost dwelt in silence.”[11] It is not easy to speak up about these controversial questions and one would probably rather just keep silent. But God´s spirit within us will push us to be a testimony for truth. It is not a popular route, but it is a route we must take if we want to sincerely please our Maker and defend the rights of the innocent which we are all required by God to do. In the Old Testament we read, "These are the things that ye shall do; Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbour; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates."[12] In the New Testament Paul tells us we should be "speaking the truth in love."[13]

The psalmist finishes the psalm with this warning. “And He shall bring upon them their own iniquity, and shall cut them off in their own wickedness; yea, the Lord our God shall cut them off.”[14] There will be a judgment day for each of us. “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he has done, whether it be good or bad.”[15] Or as we read from the book of Hebrew: "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment."[16]

It behooves us to take account of these things and do our best to love and help others and speak out against wrong doing. If we do not, who will? Is God´s voice calling you to stand up with conviction and lovingly point others to God´s truth? Do not be ashamed. God will help you. In turn, you will help others and they and you will be glad you did! “Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.”[17]

God bless you as you as you lovingly stand up for convictions based on His Word.

Notes:

[1] Psalm 94:20
[2] Psalm 94:21
[3] Psalm 94:3-6
[4] Exodus 20:13
[5] Matthew 25:40
[6] Luke 6:31
[7] Luke 17:2
[8] Psalm 94:7-9
[9] Romans 8:28
[10] Psalm 94:16
[11] Psalm 94:17
[12] Zechariah 8:16
[13] Ephesians 4:15
[14] Psalm 94:23
[15] 2 Corinthians 5:10
[16] Hebrews 9:27
[17]Matthew 10:32

Read More

12 Angry Men (1957)

Read More

WANTED: A MAN -- A MAN WHO WILL STAND

By Frank Carlson, July 1968:

Frank Carlson was a member of the Senate Breakfast Group, which met every Wednesday morning to pray together & ponder the issues of a spiritual heritage. About 20 Senators--of all denominations--usually were present. 

For 27 years, a writer from the News and World Report had attended as the only regular member outside the Senate. What was said at those gatherings was generally not for publication, but the talk made by Carlson on June 19th so impressed his listeners that special permission was granted for this printing of excerpts from it. Senator Carlson has since retired after 18 years in the Senate. Prior to that he served 12 years in the House of Representatives, and 4 years as Governor of the State of Kansas.

“The subject of the text I am using is ‘Wanted a man--a man who will stand.’ We have had men in both ancient & modern history who have had the courage to take a stand & stand firm…

In Ezekiel 22:80, the Prophet says:

‘And I sought for a man among them who would build up the wall & stand in the breach before Me for the land, that I should not destroy it.’

God is searching for men who are unique, thoroughly saved, & filled to running over with His Spirit. God & the world need men who will stand in the gap…

Modern Americans have accepted & are tolerating conditions never before permitted by any generation of our ancestors.

Never have so many hated on such flimsy cause. Never have so many denounced so many with such little knowledge. Never has the dollar been as important as it is today. Never has wild pleasure or physical abandonment been considered fitting human behavior as it is today.

Never have public officials been so brazen & open in seeking the vote of the people through promises of things that are morally & spiritually wrong. Never have ministers of the Gospel turned their pulpits & their pastoral duties toward direction of the social order to the near exclusion of the salvation order as abounds in our time.

In that same 22nd chapter of Ezekiel, the Prophet speaks of Israel’s religious leaders in these words:

‘Her priests have done violence to My law & have profaned My holy things; they have made no distinction between the holy & the common, neither have they taught the difference between the unclean & the clean, & they have disregarded My Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them.’

Israel's religious leaders of that earlier time would be appalled to observe what is transpiring in the churches of God today. Even the daily press--notoriously indifferent to religious news--reports a few lines on the inner & back pages that tell us clearly how growing numbers of Americans treat holy things with irreverence & sacred things with contempt.

Not only have vast numbers of Americans lost all sense of the sacred, the moral, & the ethical, but the spiritual leaders from both the laity & the priesthood are often found in the forefront of this irreligious pursuit of comfort rather than conviction--of accommodation rather than truth--of the pleasant life rather than the meaningful life.

If God is to have men who will stand in the gap & hold back the flood of destructive emotional & spiritual forces, we must first understand the nature of the problem & why things are the way they are.

There are 3 major forces that have brought about the chaos, frustration, & anti-Christian era in which we live. They touch both the philosophical & religious bases, were first voiced by few in number whose intensity deceived millions, & have been permitted to flourish by both the unwary & the fearful.

First, we live in this age of uncertainty because we have either accepted or endured a doctrine of universal conformity.

The forces that reduce the power of an influence of God & Christ in the lives of our people are seeking to become levelers of men. It is their conviction that only through lowering mankind to a dependency upon the ideas, ideals, & material judgments of superior people can we live together in harmony & peace.

Evidence is rampant that this kind of meddling & interference with God's natural law brings fearful conflict, death, destruction, riots, crime, & disregard of decency & principle among our people,

Today there is widespread devotion to the idea that nothing, absolutely nothing, can be allowed to remain the same. All things must change, & there is practically no consideration given as to whether the change is good or bad--right or wrong--easy or difficult--necessary or unnecessary.

The doctrine of change stands on just the precise idea that change is inevitable. That is absolutely true. Change of various kinds & sorts takes place every day everywhere. But irresponsible, erratic, violent change only for the sake of making things different, is as illogical & as unreasonable as it is unspiritual.

No intelligent person argues against the necessity of using question marks after many of our inherited ideas & practices of the past. But when the question mark is turned into a totem pole or a marble altar on which the people are supposed to lay their sacrificial offerings, such people have escaped the general limits of common sense & sound judgment, & have launched off into material idolatry & are rushing toward a degree of spiritual insanity.

If human reason has so totally lost its respectability & no-one is allowed to go from a major & minor premise to some sort of orderly conclusion, then the welfare of our people is entrusted to the care of strange & weird people.

Great changes had to take place during these recent years, & even greater changes will have to take place in the future. But no safe & proper change seen in recent times--& certainly none of the irrational changes that outnumber the sane ones--can justify the wholesale abandonment of the safe & sure principles of God & this country which have brought us safely this far. In the face of great changes, we Christians have to remember that we have a firm point of view, & that we operate from certain unchanging foundations.

We believe in a God Who does not change--in human nature which does not change except for its accommodation with & acceptance of God--in standards of right & wrong that do not change--in death & judgment which are inescapable--& we believe in a truth that is absolute, not relative, & which is forever settled in Heaven & can never pass away.

The Christian today--even in the midst of the erratic & erotic commitments of irreligious leaders--does not follow the failing steps of the priests of Israel. Christians make a clear distinction between the holy & the common. They teach the difference between the clean & the unclean. They observe & keep the Sabbath, & they do not profane either the Name, the Spirit, not the power of God.

The third cause of our uncertainties in this time is the doctrine of universal criticism. Today man is taught not to accept anything until he has first put it under strong & critical examination. Trust nobody--believe nobody--have faith in nothing--& accept no truth until it has been proved to you with mathematical exactness & material demonstration. That is the agony of the hour when the doctrine of criticism has taken over our people.

You cannot pick up a paper, magazine, or a book that is not in & of itself critical of something or somebody, even including among its victims almighty God Himself. In truth, the criticisms of God rank well above almost all other criticisms of the hour. More people--in more ways & on more occasions--cast doubt, hurl darts, & throw charges against God such as this country has never seen in all of its history.

To accept the doctrine of universal criticism leaves us with almost nothing that is sacred--almost nothing that is absolute--& nothing that is eternal. So real has our acceptance of the doctrine of criticism become that even the word “indoctrination” has been turned into an evil word that must be shunned, like “discipline,” “disciple,” or “patriotism.”

These 3 doctrines--universal conformity, universal change, & universal criticism--have left our nation without moorings or anchors. We are being tossed about in the sea of doubt & uncertainty that is about to sink the ship of God before our very eyes.

2 Chronicles 16:9 King James Version says  For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars.

Are you on God’s short list?

The world today is looking for:

Men who are not for sale;

Men who are honest, sound from center to circumference, true to the heart's core;

Men with consciences as steady as the needle to the pole:

Men who will stand for the right if the heavens totter & the earth reels:

Men who can tell the truth & look the World right in the eye;

Men who neither brag nor run;

Men who neither flag nor flinch;

Men who can have courage without shouting it:

Men in whom the courage of everlasting life runs still, deep, & strong;

Men who know their message & tell it;

Men who know their place & fill it;

Men who know their business & attend to it;

Men who will not lie, shirk, or dodge;

Men who are not too lazy to work, nor too proud to be poor;

Men who are willing to eat what they have earned & wear what they have paid for;

Men who are not ashamed to say ‘No’ with emphasis, & who are not ashamed to say ‘I can’t afford it.’

If we had men & women like this in abundance, our society would be dramatically improved. Our homes would be happier & healthier; our educational programs would be more effective; illegitimacy would drop dramatically; crime would be substantially reduced; the streets would be safe; opportunities would be greater; & everyone would benefit as a result.

God is looking for men. He wants those who can unite together around a common faith--who can join hands in a common task--& who have come to the kingdom for such a time as this. God give us men.”

The above speech was reprinted in the following book: Fourth Reich of the Rich by Des Griffin

Read More

How Private Religion Hurts Public Life

By John Stonestreet, BreakPoint, April 8, 2015

Frank Capra’s classic Christmas movie “It’s a Wonderful Life” showed a despairing George Bailey, played by Jimmy Stewart, learning how the world would be without him. Well, perhaps we need a similar cinematic telling for all those currently telling Christians to stay out of the public square and to keep their thoughts about marriage, religious freedom, and the dignity of human life to ourselves. And maybe a few wobbly-kneed Christians need to see it too.

Just like George Bailey was stunned to discover what Bedford Falls would look like had he “never been born,” I think it may be similarly shocking to see what the world would look like today without Christianity’s influence.

For one thing, we wouldn’t have thousands of volunteers working in prisons to help incarcerated men and women return to their communities as productive citizens. We’d certainly see fewer hospitals and free clinics. After all, I’ve seen a lot of Baptist, Methodist, Lutheran, and Catholic hospitals, but I can’t remember any Buddhist, atheist, or New Age ones, or for that matter food kitchens, or rescue missions, or adoption agencies, or disaster relief organizations, or entrepreneurial training programs. And good luck sustaining free, public education to the millions of students once religious schools shut their doors. When Christians “keep it to ourselves,” everybody loses.

Though many in the media don’t get that point, New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof does, and good for him. “In liberal circles,” Kristof recently wrote, “evangelicals constitute one of the few groups that it’s safe to mock openly. And yet the liberal caricature of evangelicals,” he continues, “is incomplete and unfair. But I’ve been truly awed by those I’ve seen in so many remote places, combating illiteracy and warlords, famine and disease, humbly struggling to do the Lord’s work as they see it, and it is offensive to see good people derided.”

To make his point, Kristof points to just one example. On a recent trip to the war-torn nation of Angola, he met medical missionary Dr. Stephen Foster, who has been working there–without the world’s acclaim–for 37 years. The white-haired doctor, who is now 65, has stood firm against six-foot cobras, enraged Marxist soldiers, and horrible health and working conditions. One of his sons contracted polio; a daughter survived a cerebral hemorrhage. As Kristof relates, his son Rob says, “For a while I blamed my dad and his high-risk dedication to others. Today … I am no longer bitter or resentful. If me getting polio meant that thousands of lives were either saved or immeasurably improved by my father’s work, then so be it.”

So we should keep our faith to ourselves?

Or consider those like Dr. Kent Brantley or other Christian medical professionals, who courageously fought and are fighting Ebola at great personal risk. Should they leave the public square and stop acting on the basis of their beliefs? Are the guardians of so-called “civil rights” willing to go in their place?

Now it’s true that sometimes we Christians undermine our witness by wrong words and deeds, but it’s also true that we’ve brought a lot more to our neighbors and communities than many folks realize.

A few years ago, for instance, a University of Pennsylvania researcher found that urban congregations, such as First Baptist in Philadelphia, provide millions of dollars in services to their communities in everything from marriage counseling, to helping people off drugs and alcohol, to providing K-12 education.

So like Bedford Falls and George Bailey, our society really will miss us if we are cowed into a privatized faith that keeps religion safely inside the four walls of our own churches. Christianity is not only to be believed; it must be lived–and not just for our own benefit, but for the good of our neighbors. Like Jesus, let’s be about the business of sharing it, both in word and in deed. Even when others tell us to keep it to ourselves.

Read More

Quotation from Chris Jackson "The Two Lives - Which Will You Live!"

“There are 2 lives awaiting you. The first is the life of common sense & sensibility. It is the safe, risk-free life of conventional wisdom & practicality. Many people settle into this vein of living. They go to college, they attend church, they marry, they have children, they retire. And often they love God. As wonderful as all these things are, they still wrestle with a secret question: ‘Is there more to life? Is this the extent of the life I anticipated when I came to Jesus?’ The Lord will still love you if you choose the ordinary life. But then there is the other life—THE LIFE THAT YOU WERE MEANT TO LIVE. The life that has been buried deep inside of you—buried so deep, in fact, that sometimes only an encounter with Eternity can awaken it. This is the life that whispers to you in your dreams. This is the life that will ruin you for all other living. This life will break your heart 1,000 times & fill you with the inspiration to change the world. It will be a harder life than you ever dreamed you would live, but it will be more beautiful & satisfying than anything you have ever imagined. This is the life to which God is calling you.

Your relationship with God is real. You’re a hero. Do you believe that? Do you believe that you should stand alongside those people listed in Heb.11? Quite a résumé, isn’t it? Unfortunately, there’s more to the text - the Bible goes on to say that they were also: tortured, imprisoned, stoned, sawn in 2, persecuted, left destitute, & afflicted. But then the Bible gives them the ultimate commendation when it says that they were those ‘of whom the world was not worthy’ (v.38). Do you know that God views YOU that way? Do you know that He’s mindful of the price you’ve had to pay, & that Heaven is probably sick-&-tired of hearing Him brag about you? He loves you! His call to the other life was not a trick—there is more awaiting you! It will be more exciting than anything you can imagine. Your life will impact the world in a way that you’ll never understand until you see it from His eternal perspective in Heaven.” -- Chris Jackson

Read More

He Is a Christian

By Tommy Jacek

“Did you touch it?” Soccer players from both teams shouted in my direction.

At this stage of the game, whether I had touched the ball or not was very important. It decided whether it would be a goal kick for us or a corner kick for our opponents. The game time was almost up, but the score stubbornly remained at a draw. That’s why the eager faces of players from both teams stared at me in anticipation. My answer, as the goalkeeper, would determine the next play.

“I did,” I admitted, nodding my head.

“Why did you have to say that?” a new player on our team shouted at me. His reaction was typical of a player under pressure and didn’t surprise me at all. It’s what happened next that amazed me.

“He’s a Christian,” came the simultaneous answer from two or three other players in my defense.

“I don’t like that,” mumbled the new guy, but it was obvious that he was dumbfounded by the response of the other players.

I was taken aback too. I had hardly witnessed to these guys at all. A couple of them knew me as a pastor, and some of them got an occasional Activated mag, but I had witnessed (at length) to only one man, and he wasn’t coming to our Tuesday evening games any longer. The rest of the guys would show up in time for the game and leave soon afterwards. It was hardly an opportunity for in-depth conversation.

That’s why their strong convictions about my beliefs amazed me.

Another similar situation happened to me once before. Some time back, the only man on our soccer team whom I had deeply witnessed to shouted at me from a distance, after I admitted to touching the ball before it went out of play. “Tommy, this is not a church; this is a football pitch!” Needless to say, everyone had a good laugh.

Why am I writing this and why is it important to me? Because it encouraged me immensely.

You see, I do much less personal witnessing than I used to. I miss it and I also feel bad about it. It’s almost like a part of my heart was cut out of me. After all, talking to people about Jesus was the main reason for my existence, I thought. At times I have had to fight off condemnation that maybe I wasn’t doing my job properly.

Yet, here, unsolicited and from the mouths of others, comes: “He’s a Christian.” When I least expected it and from the people that I least expected to hear it from.

It turned out that I was being a witness, simply by trying to follow the Lord. The Lord wanted me to be honest (as I should always be) about touching the ball. Simple as that. All I had to do was to tell the truth, and Jesus took care of the rest. It didn’t even need to be a showy miracle in order to attract their attention, like the five loaves and two fishes were. Just two words were enough.

There was something else about that whole situation that was both contradictory and sobering.

The majority of players that I play with would say they were Christians, yet they had a different standard for me as a missionary than they had for themselves. The funny part about it was that they saw no contradiction in it.

In their minds, it was okay for them to tell a little “white lie” in a game of soccer. At the same time, if I were to do that, it would be wrong. Since I professed to be a missionary, I was expected to stay on the straight and narrow path no matter what.

I thank God for His grace to do just that.

Read More

Are you standing for Godly convictions?

By Dennis Edwards:

I was reading Psalm 94 today and came upon some interesting verses, all in the same psalm. The following verse really got me thinking. “Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee, which frame mischief by a law?” [1] Governments often pass laws which are contrary to the laws of God. Just because the government passes such a law does not make it right. I would interpret that to mean that we as Christians should not have fellowship with that kind of government or political party that promotes that violation of God´s law.

The next verse in the psalm goes on to say, “They gather themselves together against the soul of the righteous, and condemn the innocent blood.”[2] What soul in its natural state could be more righteous than the soul of an unborn child? What blood could be more innocent than the blood of an unborn child?

Earlier in the same psalm we find the verses, “Lord, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked triumph? How long shall they utter and speak hard things? And all the workers of iniquity boast themselves? They break in pieces your people, O Lord, and afflict your heritage. They slay the widow and the stranger, and murder the fatherless?”[3] How often, these small ones killed in abortion are “fatherless.” A woman has conceived a child out of wedlock or has been raped. Therefore, to avoid shame and scandal the child is aborted. The child is paying for the sins of the parents. He or she has done nothing wrong. Nevertheless, he or she is punished with death.

The Bible tells us, “Thou shall not kill.”[4] Jesus went on to say, “In as much as you have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto me.”[5] He also said, “As you would that men should do unto you, do you likewise to them also,”[6] and “It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.”[7]

The psalm continues, “Yet they say, The Lord shall not see, neither shall the God of Jacob regard it. Understand, ye brutish among the people: and ye fools, when will ye be wise? He that planted the ear, shall he not hear? He that formed the eye, shall he not see?”[8] In other words, God is looking and sees and hears what we are doing. We will ultimately be required for our wrong doing, if not in this life, in the world to come, unless we confess, repent and change. Even then, we often suffer and others suffer because of our sins and mistakes, although God can bring this together for good, like He has promised in His word. “All things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose.”[9]

The Psalmists goes on later to plead: “Who will rise up for me against the evildoers? Or who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity?”[10] The Psalmist is seeking for others to stand with him and speak out against the injustice that is happening around him, even if it is framed by law and is lawful, like abortion and homosexuality. Just because something is legal does not make it right in the eyes of God. Some countries like Holland have legalized euthanasia, but that does not make it right in the eyes of God. We need to go back to God´s Book and find out what He thinks and make our judgments based on what He says, not the biggest political party or most popular opinion of the day.

“Unless the Lord had been my help, my soul had almost dwelt in silence.”[11] It is not easy to speak up about these controversial questions and one would probably rather just keep silent. But God's spirit within us will push us to be a testimony for truth. It is not a popular route, but it is a route we must take if we want to sincerely please our maker and defend the rights of the innocent which we are all required by God to do.

The psalmist finishes the psalm with this warning. “And He (the Lord) shall bring upon them their own iniquity, and shall cut them off in their own wickedness; yea, the Lord our God shall cut them off.”[12] There will be a judgment day for each of us. “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he has done, whether it be good or bad.”[13] 

It behooves us to take account of these things and do our best to love and help others and speak out against wrong doing. If we do not, who will? Is God´s voice calling you to stand up with conviction and lovingly point others to God´s truth? Do not be ashamed. God will help you. In turn, you will help others and they and you will be glad you did! “Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.”[14]

God bless you as you stand up for convictions based on the Word of God.

Footnotes:

[1] Psalm 94:20
[2] Psalm 94:21
[3] Psalm 94:3-6
[4] Exodus 20:13
[5] Matthew 25:40
[6] Luke 6:31
[7] Luke 17:2
[8] Psalm 94:7-9
[9] Romans 8:28
[10] Psalm 94:16
[11] Psalm 94:17
[12] Psalm 94:23
[13] 2Corinthians 5:10)
[14] Matthew 10:32

Read More