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Anti-theists all aflutter over a street sign.
No one can trample on the memories of fallen firefighters and spit in the face of their families quite like the anti-theists.
Now, I know that not all atheists are angry and walk around with a chip on their shoulder (some are actually pleasant to be around), but here is a classic example of why atheists have still not found broad acceptance among the populace.
Below are some morsels from a FoxNews article (found here) about what has anti-theists in a tizzy . . . this week:
A group of New York City atheists is demanding that the city remove a street sign honoring seven firefighters killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks because they say the sign violates the separation of church and state.
The street, “Seven in Heaven Way,” was officially dedicated last weekend in Brooklyn outside the firehouse where the firefighters once served. The ceremony was attended by dozens of firefighters, city leaders and widows of the fallen men.
“There should be no signage or displays of religious nature in the public domain,” said Ken Bronstein, president of New York City Atheists. “It’s really insulting to us.”
Never mind that your words and actions are insulting to everyone else.
Bronstein then shares this revelation:
“We’ve concluded as atheists there is no heaven and there’s no hell.”
Then Bronstein shows his sensitivity regarding the matter:
He was nonplussed over how his opposition to the street sign might be perceived – especially since the sign is honoring fallen heroes. “It’s irrelevant who it’s for,” Bronstein said. “We think this is a very bad thing.”
Of course we’ll never be told how it’s “a very bad thing.”
Then the president of the American Atheists makes this statement:
David Silverman, president of American Atheists, agreed calling on the city to remove the sign. “It implies that heaven actually exists,” Silverman told Fox News Radio.
See, in Silverman’s world it’s ok to claim Heaven doesn’t exist but don’t you dare suggest otherwise.
“People died in 9/11, but they were all people who died, not just Christians. Heaven is a specifically Christian place. For the city to come up and say all those heroes are in heaven now, it’s not appropriate.”
I agree with this last sentence from Silverman, but for different reasons.
Now it’s time to muddy the waters:
“All memorials for fallen heroes should celebrate the diversity of our country and should be secular in nature. These heroes might have been Jews, they might have been atheists, I don’t know, but either way it’s wrong for the city to say they’re in heaven. It’s preachy.”
Don’t you think it would be important to find out if one of the seven firefighters was an atheist before taking up this cause? Not knowing reveals that you are driven by your agenda and facts don’t really matter.
Perhaps the seven firefighters comprised several beliefs. Maybe one was a Christian, one a Jew, one a Roman Catholic, one a Muslim, one a Mormon, one a Jehovah’s Witness, and one a Seventh-day Adventist. All of these believe in a Heaven. So if none of the seven were an atheist, then this whole argument is moot.
And believing the seven firefighters are in Heaven is “preachy” but declaring that there is no Heaven is not?
Also, how does one “celebrate the diversity of our country” and at the same same time “be secular in nature?” That’s called doublespeak.
And then there’s this interesting fact:
City leaders seemed dumbfounded by the atheists’ outrage because no one complained about the sign as it was going through a public approval process. “It’s unfortunate that they didn’t raise this as an issue while it was undergoing its public review either at the community board level or when it came before the City Council on their public agenda,” said Craig Hammerman, the district manager for Brooklyn Community Board 6.
Hammerman told Fox News Radio that the community was “solidly behind this proposal. Not a single person stood up to speak out against it. I think it’s a little late in the process for someone to be bringing this up now.”
That’s because they wanted the sign to be approved so they could protest it on a grander scale and get the publicity they so desperately seek. There would have been much less press if they protested the matter during the city council meetings.
“The patriotic and right thing to do is to obey our own law and to realize that we are a diverse nation, a melting pot full of different views,” Silverman added.
We’re a melting pot but don’t you dare reflect the religious part of that melting pot, because if the majority of religious views conflict with the minority of anti-religious views, by golly, it’s time to knock the pot over. So much for diversity, huh?
But the city has no intention of removing the sign. If that’s the case, Bronstein said he may consider a lawsuit.
Good for the city! What’s one more threat of a lawsuit? Muslims use threats of terrorism, anti-theists use threats of litigation. They’re both designed to cause terror in an attempt to destroy an enemy. I hope NYC stands up to these anti-theist threats as they do to the Islamic threats.
Bottom line, is it’s just a street sign. It’s not going to cause anyone to become a Christian nor is it going to alter the course our nation is currently on. In the grand scheme of things this sign is much to do about nothing and the anti-theists know it. They’re just using it to reach for another 15 minutes of fame.
The families of those seven firefighters are ok with the memorial, as well as the overwhelming majority of the city; the only ones with objections are a small band of anti-theists who seem to exist only to be a nuisance to others.
I’m still waiting for these atheists to muster up the courage to cackle and threaten lawsuits over the Islamic festival held every year in Dearborn, Michigan.
While I’m waiting, I think I’ll protest the signs in my city that are “anti-Christian.” Signs like First Street, Thurston Way, and Riverview Lane.
The sovereignty of God.
Mother charged with a felony for spanking her child.
Unbelievable news coming out of Texas.
“You don’t spank children today,” said Judge Jose Longoria. “In the old days, maybe we got spanked, but there was a different quarrel. You don’t spank children.”
Rosalina Gonzales had pleaded guilty to a felony charge of injury to a child for what prosecutors had described as a “pretty simple, straightforward spanking case.” They noted she didn’t use a belt or leave any bruises, just some red marks.
Read the article here.
Sermon of the week: “The Grim Reality of the Last Days” by John MacArthur.
Your sermon of the week is The Grim Reality of the Last Days by John MacArthur. This is not a topic Joel Osteen would dare touch, and it’s definitely not a message for the faint-hearted.
Mike Ratliff had this to say about this sermon:
John MacArthur preached something I had never heard before, which compared the eschatology of Islam with that of the Book of Revelation from our Bible. The main character in Islam’s eschatology is called the Mahdi. Also, according [to] their eschatology, Allah sends Jesus back to Earth to serve as the Mahdi’s greatest servant to convert the world to Islam. John MacArthur shows in his sermon how all of this lines up with the Antichrist and the False Prophet. Toward the end of their reign on earth, a false prophet comes to earth who opposes them and there is a great war. In Muslim eschatology, they win and this false prophet is overthrown, but as we know in the book of Revelation, This “false prophet” is the real Jesus Christ who will win that war. My summary pales in comparison to Dr. MacArthur’s fine sermon. I suggest you listen to it.
They just don’t get it.
For I testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge. For not knowing about God’s righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. Romans 10:2-4
They just don’t get it.
The false religions and cults simply cannot grasp the simplicity of the gospel message. This is evidenced anytime you have a conversation with one of them about sin, grace, faith, and justification.
You can go round and round in debate with a member of one of these organizations and you often walk away with a headache because they can’t see the forest for the trees.
They have been so indoctrinated to believe their respective organization’s interpretations of biblical texts that when someone presents them with the proper interpretation of biblical texts (using Scripture to interpret Scripture) they simply reject it.
It is so sad to watch the deceived continue in their deception, especially when they are leading others down the same broad path.
It’s like trying to convince a fish that it’s wet; the fish has known nothing but wet, so it cannot even fathom what dry is.
Recently the Jehovah’s Witnesses stopped by my home and dropped off an advertisement with my wife for an upcoming event. They won’t stay to talk (our house has been flagged for almost five years now) but they will occasionally still drop off literature . . . and run.
In their latest dump-and-run literature drop they gave my wife a flier for their upcoming commemoration of the anniversary of Jesus’ death. Here’s the opening line from that advertisement:
“John the Baptizer stated that Jesus ‘takes away the sin of the world.’ (John 1:29) This drew attention to Jesus’ role in saving obedient mankind.”
Jesus saved the obedient?
See how subtle their deception is?
The obedient don’t need a Savior. Jesus Himself said He came for the sinner, not the righteous (Matthew 9:13, Mark 2:17).
This declaration by the Jehovah’s Witnesses is predicated on the erroneous assumption that our obedience is a prerequisite for Christ to be able save us. This is classic Watchtower Organization rhetoric and is essentially the doctrine of all cults and false religions: Believing you must do your part and cooperate with God to help Him or enable Him to save you.
They just don’t get it.
If the Jehovah’s Witnesses believe obedience is required as a means or requirement of salvation (which anyone who knows Watchtower doctrine can attest that this is indeed their position) then they better be obedient to all the Law without ever sinning once from cradle to grave, otherwise they will be found guilty of breaking all the Law (James 2:10):
For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.
But what’s even more damning to those seeking salvation via the conduit of obedience is the fact that they are under a curse for doing the very thing they think will save them (Galatians 3:10):
For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written, “CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO DOES NOT ABIDE BY ALL THINGS WRITTEN IN THE BOOK OF THE LAW, TO PERFORM THEM.”
What Jehovah’s Witnesses (and Mormons, and Roman Catholics, and Muslims, etc.) fail to understand is that regeneration comes before obedience, not the other way around. Romans 8:6-8 makes our inability very clear:
For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
It’s a classic case of putting of the cart before the horse.
They just don’t get it.
It’s only after we’ve been saved, regenerated, made alive in Christ, been born again, that our works and obedience are pleasing and acceptable to God
Our obedience is borne out of a love and desire to please the One who purchased us with His own blood, not out of us trying to appease Him and merit His favor like the pagans try do for their idols.
Our obedience, and the good works we do after being saved, come from God and are prepared beforehand for us to walk in (Ephesians 2:10). This is why our behavior should reflect our conversion (Matthew 3:8, Luke 3:8, Acts 26:20, Ephesians 4:1) and why the absence of which should cause us to question whether or not we’ve been genuinely converted.
Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you– unless indeed you fail the test? 2 Corinthians 13:5
Simply put, regeneration precedes obedience (John 14:15, John 14:21-24, 1 John 3:24).
What obedience did Abraham offer to become righteous before God (Genesis 15:6, Romans 4:3)? What obedience did John the Baptist declare to those coming to be baptized (Matthew 3:2)? What obedience did Christ declare upon the start of His earthly ministry (Matthew 4:17) or later in His ministry (Luke 13:5)? What obedience did the thief on the cross exhibit to be with Jesus that very day in paradise (Luke 23:39-43)? What obedience did Paul tell the Philippian jailer he needed to perform to be saved (Acts 16:30-31)?
The false faiths that dot the landscape of Christianity like pock marks all invalidate the word of God for the sake of their traditions (Matthew 15:6), and their works-righteousness gospel is in complete contradiction to Jesus’ teaching of the means of the free gift of God’s grace and mercy as cited in His example of the Pharisee and the tax collector in Luke 18:9-14. You cannot read those words of our Lord and still believe that your obedience (or anything for that matter) merits you any favor in God’s eyes. If you still believe otherwise, then you make Christ’s brutal, bloody, and barbaric sacrifice null and void because it was all done in vain.
I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly. Galatians 2:21
See also: Why Don’t They Get it?
Dalai Lama the Marxist?
According to a reliable source, the Dalai Lama is claiming to be a Marxist. The reliable source is the Dalai Lama himself.
Read the USA Today article here.
Should Christians vote for the lesser of two evils?
The topic of whether or not Christians should vote recently came up in the comment thread of this post that originally asked the question of whether or not Christians should vote for a Mormon (i.e. Mitt Romney). However, the predominant question that emerged from the comment thread was: Should a Christian vote for the lesser of two evils?
Now, if a truly blood-bought, born-again, child of God was running for political office, the debate would be moot. But let’s face it, we will probably never be given that option (at least not on the presidential ticket). Any genuine Christian with presidential aspirations would be facing an insurmountable obstacle of opposition because the world would hate him because it hated Christ first (and no pupil or Christian presidential candidate is above His master).
The unfortunate truth is, gaining the approval of the voting populace would require compromising one’s faith and morals in order to be accepted and in order to procure the votes needed to win. The Christian candidate would have no choice but to assimilate to the world in order to garner the approval of the world. (To see how successful that pragmatic approach is just look at the result of years of pastors pandering to the world while their sheep are dying of starvation. There’s a reason why God warned us not to mix light with darkness.)
Time and time again in America Christians are relegated to having to choose between the lesser of the two evils and it doesn’t appear that the upcoming presidential election will be any different.
So, with all that said, my current position is that true Christians should not have to vote if they first have to sit down and estimate which candidate is the lesser of two evils.
Although I cannot (and will not) dictate to others whether they should vote or not, my conscience tells me that voting for the lesser of two evils is still voting for evil.
Now, I know that there are many who will respectfully disagree with my position, and even suggest that it’s our duty as Americans and our obligation as Christians to vote for someone . . . anyone! So, for the furtherance of this discussion, I present the following four questions for your consideration:
How “socialized” government school kids “interact” on the bus.
It’s pretty bad when a local news station has to get involved in a matter like this because the school won’t help to put a stop to the violence perpetrated against a four-year-old girl.
You can see the video and read the article here.
If this is the Lord of the Flies socialization I keep hearing that my home educated kids are missing out on, then I think they’ll be just fine.
Well . . . is he or isn’t he?
Is Mormon presidential candidate Mitt Romney pro-life or pro-abortion? I often hear that Christians are willing to vote for him because he “shares their values,” and being pro-life is one of those values often cited. But is he really?
In the following video Mitt Romney makes his pro-abortion position very clear, so those expecting to vote for him because he’s pro-life may need to find another reason to do so.
And then there’s this whopper of a video in which for five minutes Romney defends his pro-abortion position, distancing himself from those nasty rumors that he might be pro-life.
At 4:22 seconds into the video Mitt Romney unequivocally decalres:
“I do not take the position of a pro-life candidate. I am in favor of preserving and protecting a woman’s right to choose”
But he’s changed, some may say. Has he? He’s now pro-life, some may say. Is he?
These final two videos reveal why it’s hard to determine Mitt Romney’s actual stance on the murder of unborn children because he flip-flops back and forth on the issue
I have to wonder if double-mindedness, pandering, and deception are just some of the character traits Christians voting for Romney consider to be their “shared values.”
Oh, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to vote for the lesser of two evils.
Should a Christian vote for Mitt Romney?
I recently read a piece entitled A Vote For Romney is a Vote for the LDS Church written by Warren C. Smith (not to be confused with the Warren Smith who exposed Rick Warren’s New Age agenda and ties to Robert Schuller in his book Deceived on Purpose).
Here’s a quote from the thought-provoking article that–for the record–I completely agree with:
“To elect a Mormon President is to advance the cause of the Mormon Church. Non-Christians likely don’t care much about this point one way or the other. But for the Christian, this is a vital issue. . . . The validation of the false religion of Mormonism would almost certainly have the effect of leading many astray. Evangelical Christians should have no part of that effort. . . . A Romney presidency would have the effect of actively promoting a false religion in the world. If you have any regard for the Gospel of Christ, you should care. A false religion should not prosper with the support of Christians. The salvation of souls is at stake.”
When silence is not golden.
Ingrid Schlueter recently posted a short but poignant piece on Christian cowardice. In light of the abandonment by fellow Christians after her resignation from VCY America (and after this utterly horrendous debacle), her recent post holds much weight. Here’s a quote from The Color of Silence:
“You find out very quickly who your Christian friends are when you tell the truth in a difficult situation. Those you have known for decades and assumed were godly Christian friends will abandon you overnight if they stand to lose something by associating with you.”
Are Americans Getting Comfortable With Immorality?
Interesting article by the Christian Post on the state of America’s morality. Here’s a sample from the article:
“You would never know by watching American television that 61 percent of Americans say religion is very important in their lives.”
For Philbin, one message in particular that the media is continuously throwing at Americans is that of affirming homosexuality and gay marriage.
A poll released by Gallup last week found that for the first time since 1996, more than half of Americans say marriage for gays and lesbians should be legal.
Philbin clarifies the data as the result of Americans being brow-beaten through various forms of media and being constantly sent a message that says “you’re wrong, now change your view.”
“I think frankly Americans are just tired of getting beat up over their resistance to it,” he explained. “I think that at a certain point cultural fatigue sets in and you get tired of being told that you’re backward, being told you’re puritan troglodyte (a caveman) and a homophobe who hates people. So you shrug and say, ‘yea, I’m for it’ and go about your business.”
Civilization, he lamented, is headed in a direction that devalues the family unit.
“If a family is just a group of people cohabitating or pooling resources, and ceases to be the very basis and building block of society, I think you’re in a sort of moral quicksand where things lose meaning,” Philbin cautioned.
Read the entire article here.
Married couples are now in the minority of households.
From the Associated Press:
“The data supports that, as the Census Bureau reported last year that opposite-sex unmarried couples living together jumped 13 percent from 2009 to 7.5 million. . . . And attitudes on marriage are changing, too. About 39 percent of Americans say marriage is becoming obsolete, according to a Pew Research Center study published in November, up from 28 percent in 1978.”
Read the entire article here.
What receiving the Bible in your native tongue for the first time looks like.
Rejoice with me and be greatly encouraged (and deeply convicted) by watching this video of the Kimyal tribe receiving the New Testament in their language for the first time on March 16, 2010.
Quote from the video:
“We [in the West] have no idea. We have had the Word of God for so long. We have taken it for granted. We have resources, we have translations . . . and we don’t cherish it. We don’t realize what a precious gift we have and hold in our hands.”
Find out more about the Kimyal tribe of Indonesia here.
Pay no attention the the government education professionals behind the curatin.
Here is a quote from a great article by Bruce Shortt writing for WorldNet Daily:
“Of course, evidence of catastrophic educational failure is always dismissed by highly trained education professionals by alternately screeching ‘socio-economic status’ and ‘demographics.’ These phrases are the education establishment’s equivalent of squid’s ink: When cornered by inconvenient facts, shouts of ‘socio-economic status’ and ‘demographics’ usually allow highly trained education professionals to create confusion and slip away quietly from embarrassing revelations about what they have done to the children entrusted to them.”
Read the entire article here.
Building bridges.
Go into all the world and build bridges?
Apologizing for believing a lie.
According to this article, an African pastor has apologized for believing and furthering Harold Camping’s false prophecy:
A pastor in Kasese District, who claimed the world would end on May 21, has apologised to residents. Pastor Isaac Muhindo, who has since early last year been moving around the district, spreading his doomsday massage, [sic] said he was ashamed of his act.
“I want to apologise to the people of Kasese and whoever heard my messages about the end of the world. I am very sorry for the inconveniences because I followed false prophets,” Pastor Muhindo said on Wednesday in his message sent to the media.
Many people in the district and the country at large spent the whole of Saturday waiting for the end of the world as presumed by Pastor Herold Camping, a California-based evangelist.
Camping’s followers had told people that at 6pm there would be an earthquake that would cause the world to end and usher in Judgment Day.
Repentance
Pastor Muhindo said: “I am ready to go back to my church and repent for misleading the people of God and I am now going to follow the scriptures seriously without wrong interpretations.”Last year, Pastor Muhindo was denied airtime at most local radio stations in Kasese to preach his alleged end of the world on May 21.
Panic gripped some people in Kasese after the predicted doomsday was characterised by a heavy downpour that started at 2pm and ended after 7pm.
Ms Gertrude Masika, a shopkeeper in Kasese town, said she did not open her shop on May 21 out of fear that the world would end.
“I thought even customers could not come on that day and I decided to remain home because customers were unlikely to appear as they waited to see the end of the world,” she said.
Sadly, America has exported many of its homegrown cults to places such as Africa, and Harold Camping is no exception.
Thanks to the Africa Center for Apologetics Research for keeping us apprised of this news.
Friel on Bell.
Part 1
Part 2
Perpetual spiritual infancy.
The Christian life is supposed to be one marked by sanctification and spiritual growth, but far too many in church–after years of being a Christian–are no further along in their faith than day one. Essentially they are still nursing on milk when they should be eating meat.
Churches too often make excuses for this lack of fruit in the lives of the masses of professing believers that fill pews on any given Sunday. Others simply pronounce “Judge not” if anyone dares to point out the problem.
But what if we could capture a glimpse of what this would look like in the physical realm? What if we could see with our eyes what this perpetual spiritual infancy looks like?
Wonder mo more. The man in this video could be the poster child for the average American churchgoer.
See related post: Gerber’s New Christian Baby Food
Christ Alone Wyoming 