Should Not Perish

Immortality is prized by Christians as God's gift to whoever places their faith in Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of their sins. Its most famous formulation is in John's gospel when Jesus' tells Nicodemus: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (KJV)

Our own deeply-felt mortality is what makes the promise of immortality so potent.

And yet much of Western evangelicalism offers the promise of everlasting life to non-believers. Well, strictly speaking, they tell the faithless that their eternal life will be lived out in the torments of hell. So every human being will live forever... it's just a question of where.

How has modern evangelicalism come to contradict so much of scripture? The natural immortality of all humans is nowhere taught in the Bible. There are so many passages describing the end-state of the unredeemed as death, destruction, and perishing, 

The sole basis for this belief centers upon a few "proof-text" verses—four, to be precise—-that seem to indicate ongoing, endless, conscious punishment for the unredeemed. I contend evangelicals have uncritically accepted the Hellenistic Greek belief in natural immortality. 

In 1991 Zondervan published a book entitled "Four Views Of Hell," in which the late Dr. Clark H. Pinnock (Canadian) persuasively argued the view of Conditional Immortality. A growing view of Eternal Destiny among Western Christians in the last half-century is called Universalism. The 1st edition of the book did not include Universal Salvation as one of the four views. Finally after 25 years Zondervan has published a 2nd edition that does include Universalism. But in the original/first edition, Pinnock addressed Universalism very clearly as an underground, but increasingly widespread belief—-primarily due to the lack of teaching and preaching about hell from evangelical pulpits. The lack of teaching on Eternal Destiny is a sign of Pulpitical Cowardice, IMHO. The scripture is filled with teaching on the ultimate destinies faced by all human beings.

Here's the link to download a free copy of the original version of the book:
https://ia803008.us.archive.org/12/items/fourviewsonhell00croc/fourviewsonhell00croc.pdf

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Judging Others

The image below is not a jab at Baptists. I was raised Baptist, got married in Central Baptist Church (Edmonton, Alberta), sent our oldest daughter to a Baptist college, where she met and married a young man who is a Minister at Baptist Church in America's heartland. 

I was prompted to write about this particular epigram when a friend of mine—an outspoken Christian—posted the above statement on her Facebook page. Her version wasn't a photo of a church sign, it was one of those virtual "posters" that has become popular on FB and Pinterest. The social-media practice of posting images-containing-words may have sprung in part from the frequently misspelled, misidentified, unattributed, or materially changed maxims popping up in earlier days. We now have websites filled with clever/provocative/inspiring memes in attractive layouts designed to be freely "shared." 

But wait—where are my manners? You might feel all warm and fuzzy reading the proverb above. You may have been wondering why anybody would challenge its message. If you were halfway out the door to join your local Baptist Church; if you're a Christian who just loves our increasingly tolerant (permissive?) culture; if you're pleased that what used to be called "sin" is now celebrated as a valid lifestyle choice—then you, gentle reader, are the person to whom this blog is addressed.

Lighten up, you say, isn't the statement just a rephrasing of Jesus' famous line in the Sermon on the Mount? Where's the harm in warning against judging others? Alright, let's stipulate that to the extent the statement is consonant with Jesus' words, it's useful. I can imagine this clever catchphrase reminding a Jesus follower to be more Christ-like. But to the extent that this mini-proverb differs from scripture, it's actually worse than useless. And let's not ignore the times in which we live. 

First, with just a few minutes of basic web-searching we learn that this quip was popularized online by self-described "Muslim Egyptian/Canadian Human; Ryerson Journalism Student; Spoken Word Poet; Speaker; Da'ya; Change Maker" named Amal Ahmed Albaz. The quote is from her Facebook page called "Albaz Poetry." If, like me, your first Red Flag was "Journalism Student," congratulations—you may close your textbook and go home early.

Most of her "I Am" list is pretty self-explanatory, except for "Da'ya." Do you know what an Egyptian da'ya is? A midwife. Do you know what an Egyptian midwife does to girls age 6-12? I'll wait while you look it up. Dum-de-dum-dum-dum. Are you back? Good. Armed with that knowledge, let's reflect on what Ms. Albaz might be aiming at in publishing her don't-judge-me statement in North America. What kind of "change maker" do you think she aims to be? (Hint: it rhymes with Maria.)

Second, while Ms. Albaz likely didn't originate this clever paraphrase, it blends perfectly into Oprah Winfrey's renowned Sentiment Stew—floating alongside un-Biblical tropes like you've-gotta-forgive-yourself. These messages have been seeping into the culture since the 1960s. I remember when the book "I'm OK, You're OK" ushered in Situational Ethics, by way of Transactional Analysis. I watched the culture rush from Free Love, to Transcendental Meditation, and on to No-Fault Divorce. These kinds of make-it-easy-on-yourself concepts infect the societal bloodstream and affect followers of Jesus. Consider: divorce rates among Christians are little different from the general population. We are instructed to be in-the-world, but-not-of-it. I don't suggest withdrawing like the Amish or the snake-handling Pentecostalists. But neither should we heedlessly allow the culture to fill up our kettle until, like the frog, we're destroyed by the toxic brew.

Third, while Jesus made it clear that being judgmental—condemning, slandering, gossiping, back-biting, envying—is evil, scripture says those of us who have the Holy Spirit within us "will judge the world." Further...

"...and if the world is to be judged by us, why would we feel incompetent to decide trivial cases? Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, issues pertaining to this life!" Turns out that St. Paul's first letter to the believers in Corinth urged them to judge disputes among fellow believers. Also from 1st Corinthians...

...do not "associate with anyone who calls himself a Christian who is sexually immoral, or greedy, or an idolater, or verbally abusive, or a drunkard, or a swindler. Do not even eat with such a person. What do I have to do with judging those outside? Are you not to judge those inside? But God will judge those outside. Remove the evil person from among you." So we see that believers in Christ are not only instructed to judge, but are given specific parameters. 

Look, everybody has to make judgment calls every day. Should I hang out with that group at work? Is this conversation fruitful? Is that person wasting my time? Parents evaluate their kids' friends—and their friends' families too. Most celebrities caught in compromising positions defend themselves by saying they exercised "poor judgment." Life demands making judgments—often about other people.

Yes, we're prone to having a log in one of our eyes—preventing us from speck-removal. 

But no, we're not to abandon judgement—we are to use it Biblically, and with humility. 

Was 2020 America's Year Zero?

[NOTE: I wrote this brief blog post in early August of last year's Summer Of Leftist Violence. I didn't publish it then, because I couldn't discern an outcome. Last fall's controversial Presidential election was surely the strategic goal of all the disruption.]

August 3rd, 2020

"They wore black, were mostly teenagers, and people cheered them."

Burning St. John's Church, Washington, DC on May 30th, 2020 

"Schools closed. Religion was banned." 
"If you said one word against [them], you would be killed."
"The first to die in ... Utopia were the civil servants, soldiers and police ... the educated, doctors, [the] monks..."

The quotes above are from Cambodia in 1975 when the Khmer Rouge movement violently rose to power. The world paid scant attention to Cambodia, being relieved that the U.S. war in neighboring Vietnam had finally ended. But the suffering in Cambodia had just begun, detailed in 1979's little-seen documentary "Year Zero - The Silent Death of Cambodia" by Australian journalist John Pilger. However, millions of people in the West saw 1984's Academy Award-winning "The Killing Fields" by Roland Joffe.

America is not Cambodia, of course. Neither are we France, or Russia, or Germany, or Italy, or China, or Cuba, or Venezuela, or dozens of other smaller nations upended by violent, lawless, totalitarian insurgencies. But do we somehow imagine that the horrors visited upon so many countries in the aftermath of their bloody uprisings cannot possibly happen in "the land of the free and the home of the brave?"

In fact, the horrors are already happening. We've seen florists, bakers, photographers, college professors, journalists, and others lose their jobs for speaking truth to power. The power isn't the State, but the Mob (often via Twitter, but also violently in person). Have you ever been caught in a life-and-death panic with a large group of people? If so, you have seen what kind of behavior "normal" folks are capable of in dire circumstances. Imagine what kinds of things can be done by people who study, plot, and prepare to unleash a violent overthrow.

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November 4th, 2021

So now we can see that Cloward-Piven tactics, along with "Rules For Radicals," are undoubtably driving the Biden administration's new-outrage-every-day operating principle. Defund the police; the IRS must monitor every American bank account over $600; deny actual science in regards to COVID therapeutics/masks/vaccines; force American companies to force so-called "vaccination" on their employees; assert falsehoods like "Critical Race Theory doesn't exist;" stop building the border wall American taxpayers have already funded; encourage unlimited illegal immigration; pay illegals up to $450,000 each; abandon Americans in Afghanistan; spend $3.5 trillion on shovel-ready infrastructure; print and print and print new money; mint a few $1 trillion coins; etcetera, ad infinitum, ad nauseum.

There is simply not enough time for citizens to assess, critique, discuss, and intelligently respond to any one of these daily grenades... because by Thursday they will have launched two NEW mortar shells out into the fruited plain. They are keeping us off balance, and trying to discourage us from resisting their lawless takeover.

Well, thankfully a couple of days ago (11/2/2021) there were a bunch of off-year state/municipal elections which dramatically rejected many of the candidates responsible for these kinds of lunacy. In Virginia the Republicans swept all three state-wide offices (Governor, Lieutenant Gov, Atty General); in Minneapolis, Austin & NYC, Defund Police policies were overturned; the NJ President of the Senate, longest-serving legislator (a Democrat) was defeated by a truck driver who spent $153.42 on his campaign.

More importantly, there are rumblings of a religious awakening across the USA. Actor/activist Kirk Cameron is touring the country with his "American Campfire Revival" program; Franklin Graham just concluded his Route 66 Prayer Tour; evangelist Mario Murillo is seeing overflow crowds at his tent meetings in California's San Joaquin Valley and upstate New York; major protestant churches from coast-to-coast are winning court battles (and in some cases have received financial compensation) against state shutdowns of public worship—even outdoors. 

Christ-followers understand that we do not fight against flesh and blood, but against spiritual forces of darkness in heavenly places. And we have this promise: "When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him." - Isaiah 59:19b

No, 2020 was not America's Year Zero. Despite COVID shutdowns, despite lies and violence, despite corruption, despite all the usual suspects (press/media, Hollywood, academia, et al), America is still earth's pinnacle nation. As such this country matters greatly to God... and We The People will look back to 1776 and 1865 for our civic inspiration. We don't need the Left's Vision from 2020, we need God's Gift of 20/20 Vision. 

Rulers Of The Gentiles Lord It Over Them

2020 has been a kinda icky year, with a Presidential election as our cherry on top. 

You know the stereotype of Jewish mothers doting on, and bragging about, their sons. Having Peter and James's mom embarrass them in front of Jesus and the other ten disciples (Matthew 20:20-28) did nothing to erase that picture. But, as always with Jesus, he turned an awkward moment into a teachable one. The topic was leadership. Specifically the way-of-the-world versus the-way-of-God's-kingdom.

If anybody had the right to be demanding and authoritarian, it would've been Jesus Christ, maker of heaven and earth, who breathed life into man. Yet he did not act that way when on earth, and argued against it for those who would be his followers.

What of a leader who demands that you not leave your house, dictates what you must wear, orders selected merchants closed down, while deeming others "essential?" They go so far as to stipulate how many people are allowed on a privately-owned boat. And, as we all know, they decree that churches shall not gather to worship. That's more than mere authoritarianism. It's Totalitarianism. 

To be sure, not all elected Democrats in America are Totalitarians. But all American Totalitarians are Democrats. If you live in a Blue State, or in a Democrat-run major metropolitan area (some of which may be in Red States), you are much more likely to be oppressed than your friends in the rest of the country. A question for any readers who may say Trump is a Totalitarian: please name a Democrat Governor or Mayor he has overruled. Remember that the armed Feds he sent in to Portland were ONLY protecting a Federal Courthouse. And, at least in California, the Democrat Governor is openly defying Trump's classification of churches as "essential." No troops have been sent to Ventura county to guard churchgoers, the way JFK sent troops to Little Rock to guard school children.

And despite Leftists' repeated use of the word "science," Democrats are the ones suppressing the actual science, with a major assist from their bosses, the Leftist Mainstream Media. Hydroxychloroquine was the most widespread/famous science-denial*, but there's also been a dramatic exaggeration of coronavirus deaths, as described by California Pastor Rob McCoy (start at 24:48):

In fairness, counties receive extra money for "Covid Deaths," so the motivation to inflate the numbers isn't entirely about grabbing power. It's partly financial. But come-on-man, only TWO out of 102 actually died from the coronavirus? How's that not fraud? Ventura may not even be the most egregious county out there. County Medical Examiners are almost always appointed by State politicians, and in many counties aren't even required to have a medical license. Science will take a back seat to politics every time. Bureaucrats will do what bureaucrats do: protect their budget, and please their masters. And you may recall that 2020 is an election year.

So based on Jesus' description of leadership style, one can reasonably conclude that the less demanding and controlling an elected executive behaves toward her constituents, the more she is living out kingdom values. It's hard to imagine anything more "lording it over them" than forcing coronavirus patients back into nursing homes to infect all their friends. Or shutting down restaurants, churches, gyms, and hospitals (the latter to all but a handful of Covid patients), while leaving abortionists and marijuana peddlers alone.

One big reason I am a conservative, is that limited, non-intrusive government is a great blessing. A blessing Americans are increasingly pining for as the weeks turn into months. Thankfully, in America the "negative rights" that Barack Obama complained about (strictly speaking "enumerated powers"), are enshrined in our founding documents to protect citizens from overbearing rulers. It is no coincidence that Democrats are always whining about the constitution. It's the last thing standing between them and total domination.

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* Dr. Harvey Risch, a professor of epidemiology at the Yale School of Medicine: "The evidence in favor of hydroxychloroquine benefit in high-risk patients treated early as outpatients is stronger than anything else I have ever studied. So scientifically there is no question whatsoever.”