Posted by my Favorite Lutheran Chris Rosebrough

Thou Shalt Have no Other Gods:
Postmodernity's War on the 1st Commandment

There are a growing number of Christian leaders, pastors, authors and conference speakers who are either openly or tacitly teaching Christians that God is at work in other world religions. The way they speak leads many to believe that we need to recognize God's work in these other world religions and embrace the worshippers of these other gods as brothers in Christ who are experiencing Jesus differently than we are in their 'faith communities'.
These ideas are based on the assumptions of postmodernity and are having a devastating effect on Christian missions. In this post, I'm going to discuss what these postmodern assumptions are as well as provide the Biblical passages that explain what God has revealed regarding how Christians are to view other religions and those who are caught up in them.
Postmodernism's Irrationalism Regarding Truth Being Experienced in Community
Postmodernism is a philosophical worldview that has its origins in Counter-Enlightenment philosophy (for a more thorough discussion of the basic tenants of this worldview please listen to my lecture entitled Resistance is Futile: You Will Be Assimilated Into the Community). This worldview denies the existence of transcendent truths (these are truths that are universally binding on all human beings) as well as the existence of the individual. In the postmodern way of thinking, communities are the organic entities of note and truth is experienced or felt and never rises above a community. Therefore, in the postmodern worldview, one community's 'experience of truth' is just as valid as another community's 'experience of truth'. Neither community is wrong or right, their experience of truth is their experience and shouldn't be condemned or scrutinized but embraced as just one of many beautiful and messy ways of experiencing truth.
Those who hold this worldview would not call people in other religions like Islam, Buddhism or Hinduism out of those religions into Christianity. But, they would instead see those other religions as valid 'faith communities' or tribes where God is already working and where people are 'experiencing God'. They may even refer to them as "followers of God in the way of Mohammed" or "followers of God in the way of Buddha". In this postmodern way of thinking, the details about the 'god' you believe in (doctrines) don't matter. What matters is that people are plugged into a 'faith community' and that within that community they are experiencing 'god', life change and making a difference in the world.
Ultimately, the postmodern worldview reduces Christianity to one of many valid faith communities or faith traditions where people can have an experience of the divine. But as you will see, this worldview is in direct conflict with scripture, Jesus Himself and is fundamentally incompatible with Christianity.
Jesus' Description of Other Religions
Many so called, Red-Letter Christians forget that the red letters do not end in the Gospel According to John. They also appear in the book of Acts and in the book of Revelation. If Christianity were merely one valid faith community among many then we'd expect to see that same belief in action by the apostles during the early missionary activity of the church. Furthermore, we'd expect to see that attitude modeled and reinforced by Jesus, who is the head of the church. But what we do see recorded is the exact opposite of the postmodern pluralistic view.
In Acts 26, the Apostle Paul recounts his encounter with the resurrected Jesus to King Agrippa. Paul, who was named Saul at the time, was traveling to Damascus in order to arrest Christians when Jesus appeared to him. Here's Paul's account, including the words Jesus spoke to him.

“I journeyed to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. At midday, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, that shone around me and those who journeyed with me. And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ And I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles—to whom I am sending you to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’” (Acts 26:12–18)

Jesus' words to Saul make it absolutely clear those who follow other religions are not experiencing God in their "faith communities". Instead, Jesus said they are in darkness and under the power of Satan and need to be set free through the good news of the forgiveness of sins, which was won by Jesus on the cross.
Saul himself was freed by Jesus and was brought to repentance, had his sins washed away (Acts 22:14-16) and became the great Christian missionary to the Gentiles known as the Apostle Paul. It's important here to note that we can demonstrate from Paul's letters in the New Testament that he made Jesus' view of the pagan religions his own. This is clearly seen in passages from 1 Corinthians. Here are two that address this topic directly.

“Therefore, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that “an idol has no real existence,” and that “there is no God but one.” For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”— yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.” (1 Corinthians 8:4–6)

“Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. I speak as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. Consider the people of Israel: are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar? What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?” (1 Corinthians 10:14–22)

It's obvious from what Paul wrote in these passages that his missionary zeal was in part motivated by a firm belief that those people who were worshiping the pagan 'gods' were in bondage to Satan and were offering sacrifices to demons. Rather than embracing the followers of these pagan religions as "followers of God in the way of Zeus", he called them to repent and utterly forsake these worthless nonexistent 'gods'. In Lystra Paul proclaimed, “we bring you good news, that you should turn from these vain things (the 'gods' Zeus and Hermes) to a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them.” (Acts 14:15) In Athens Paul's “spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols.” (Acts 17:16). Paul's words and actions are consistent with the belief that all other 'gods' are false and that repentance and belief in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins is the only way of salvation. This is what Jesus taught, this is what Paul believed and acted upon and this is exactly what is revealed in the Old Testament as well.
Old Testament Revelation Regarding The One True God
Below, I've reproduced just a sampling of the Old Testament passages that reveal that there is only one God and that God does NOT accept worship of false gods as 'proxy' worship of Him.

“And God spoke all these words: ...“You shall have no other gods before me. “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand [generations] of those who love me and keep my commandments.” (Exodus 20:1–6)

“Oh sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth! Sing to the LORD, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples! For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; he is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations are worthless idols, but the LORD made the heavens. Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and beauty are in his sanctuary” (Psalms 96:1–6)

“You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD, “and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me. I, I am the LORD, and besides me there is no savior.” (Isaiah 43:10–11)

“Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: “I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god.” (Isaiah 44:6)

“Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, who formed you from the womb: “I am the LORD, who made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself,” (Isaiah 44:24)

“But the LORD is the true God; he is the living God and the everlasting King. At his wrath the earth quakes, and the nations cannot endure his indignation. Thus shall you say to them: “The gods who did not make the heavens and the earth shall perish from the earth and from under the heavens.”
It is he who made the earth by his power, who established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding stretched out the heavens. When he utters his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, and he makes the mist rise from the ends of the earth. He makes lightning for the rain, and he brings forth the wind from his storehouses. Every man is stupid and without knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols, for his images are false, and there is no breath in them. They are worthless, a work of delusion; at the time of their punishment they shall perish.” (Jeremiah 10:10–15)

“The LORD of hosts has sworn by himself: Surely I will fill you with men, as many as locusts, and they shall raise the shout of victory over you. “It is he who made the earth by his power, who established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding stretched out the heavens. When he utters his voice there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, and he makes the mist rise from the ends of the earth. He makes lightning for the rain, and he brings forth the wind from his storehouses. Every man is stupid and without knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols, for his images are false, and there is no breath in them. They are worthless, a work of delusion; at the time of their punishment they shall perish.” (Jeremiah 51:14–18)

“I am the LORD; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols.” (Isaiah 42:8)

“For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another.” (Isaiah 48:11)

“All worshipers of images are put to shame, who make their boast in worthless idols” (Psalms 97:7)

“They are turned back and utterly put to shame, who trust in carved idols, who say to metal images, “You are our gods.”” (Isaiah 42:17)

The Bottom Line
Christianity, contrary to the teaching and belief of those popular leaders who've bought into a postmodern worldview, is not merely one 'faith community' among many valid 'faith communities'. According to Jesus, all of the followers of Mohammed, Buddha, Shiva, Vishnu and all the so-called 'gods' of the other world religions are in darkness while Christianity alone has the light. All followers of false gods are in bondage to Satan and demons, while Christians alone have been set free by Jesus Christ. The one true God is not at work in the other religions of the world. They are not experiencing Him in their houses of worship. Furthermore, the One True God has sworn that all worshippers of 'false gods' will be put to shame because the One True God will not share His glory with a false god or idol. Therefore, all people who are Christians must not have a view other than this view. To do so is to put yourself in opposition to Jesus Christ, who is God of God, Light of Light, Very God of Very God and the LORD (YHWH) of the Old Testament.
If you've believed the postmodern pluralistic view of other religions then you must repent! Your false doctrine on this matter turns Jesus into a liar and ultimately has a devastating impact on evangelism and leaves people dead in their trespasses and sins. It leaves them in darkness and under the power of Satan.
If you are guilty of believing a view that is contrary to Jesus', confess your sin and your idolatry and be forgiven. “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:8–9)
Now, go bear fruit in keeping with repentance by proclaiming the narrow and exclusive message of salvation to your family, friends, neighbors, coworkers and those you come in contact with.
“God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:18–21)
Go!

Contra-Evolution, reject the Myth of Naturalistic Macro-Evolution

Scientific Summer Reading List

Atheists and skeptics like to call themselves freethinkers. They take the posture that they've been set free from the bonds of religious mythologies by their discovery of scientific, materialist and humanistic truth. These skeptics strut about as if they've taken the high ground in the realm of truth. Sadly, more and more professed Christians are all too quickly capitulating to these materialistic skeptics especially in regard to Darwinian Evolution when in reality, Christians have and always will have the truth cornered in regard to human origin. 
If Christians would actually take the time to read what dissenting scientists are saying regarding the scientific indefensibility of Darwinian Evolution then they'd be well equipped with real scientific reasons and evidence for being skeptical of evolutionary theory and firm believers in the Biblical account of the universe's creation and our own special creation in the image of God.
With just a little bit effort, education and discernment you too will quickly come to realize that Darwinian Evolution is not science but is instead a house of cards and that there are no reasons whatsoever for Christians to give even an inch of ground scientifically or theologically to Darwin. Truth be told, once you understand the just how flimsy the case for Darwinian Evolution is, then you'll realize that it is Christians, not materialistic atheists who are the real free thinkers.
With that in mind, I've compiled a summer reading list that will open your eyes and equip you stand against Darwinian evolution as you proclaim the Christian Gospel.

1. The Case for a Creator: A Journalist Investigates Scientific Evidence That Points Toward God by Lee Strobel. This book is a great primer. It will introduce you to the leading dissenting scientists and their scientific reasons for defecting from Darwinian Evolution.

2. Darwin's Dilemma: The Mystery of the Cambrian Fossil Record This is a DVD not a book and it is fantastic and devastating to Darwinian evolutionary theory.

3. The Deniable Darwin and Other Essays by David Berlinski Ph.D. David Berlinski, a senior fellow at Discovery Institute, writes about three profound mysteries: the existence of the human mind, the existence and diversity of living creatures, and the existence of matter.

4. Signature in the Cell: DNA and the Evidence for Intelligent Design by Stephen C. Meyer In Signature in the Cell, Stephen Meyer has written the first comprehensive DNA-based argument for intelligent design. As he tells the story of successive attempts to unravel a mystery that Charles Darwin did not address—how did life begin?—Meyer develops the case for this often-misunderstood theory using the same scientific method that Darwin himself pioneered. Offering a fresh perspective on one of the enduring mysteries of modern biology, Meyer convincingly reveals that the argument for intelligent design is not based on ignorance or "giving up on science," but instead on compelling, and mounting, scientific evidence.

By Kevin DeYoung

If We Believe All the Same Things, Why Do Our Churches Seem So Different?

Many Christians see the church world in black and white. You have liberals on one side–they are the bad guys who doubt the resurrection and don't believe in the Bible. And on the other side you have the good guys who believe in the miracles, do not waver on the deity of Christ, and want lost people to be saved. We call these folks evangelicals or conservatives or Bible-believing Christians. Give them a checklist of doctrines and they will get almost everything right.

Liberalism is a problem, but squishy evangelicalism is the much bigger problem.
I do not write thinking that churches self-consciously in the tradition of Bushnell, Beecher, and Briggs will do an about face, or that those in the stream of process theology, liberation theology, or feminist theology will abandon ship. I may vehemently disagree with full-on liberalism, but I can respect that there is an ecclesiastical and intellectual tradition behind it.
The audience I have in mind are those Christians, pastors, and churches that continue to affirm the basic contours of evangelical faith. They've never read Fosdick or Tillich or Schleiermacher. They don't read the Christian Century. They don't know much about Deutero- or Trito-Isaiah and don't really care to waste any more time with documentary hypotheses. They think Paul wrote Ephesians and John wrote John. They love Jesus and want other people to love Jesus. If you ask these Christians, pastors, or churches if hell is forever and people must be born again, they'll say yes. If you ask them whether you can trust everything in the Bible, they wouldn't dare say no. They have no problem with any of the historic creeds and confessions. The people and institutions I have in mind gladly affirm penal substitution, the bodily resurrection of Christ, and a real historical Fall. The folks I want to address are energetic about evangelism. They want to see churches planted and people come to Christ. They think small groups, accountability partners, and mission trips are excellent. And at least in private conversation they'll tell you that homosexuality is not. These Christians, pastors, and churches are not liberal. They don't feel like one of the bad guys.
The problem is they don't feel like the good guys either.
Have you ever been talking to a pastor or someone from another church and it seems like you should be kindred spirits. The person you meet is obviously a warm-hearted, sincere Christian. They don't have a problem with any of the doctrines you mention as precious to you and your church. They don't affirm liberal positions on major theological questions. They nod vigorously when you talk about the Bible and prayer and church planting and the gospel. And yet, you can't help but wonder if you are really on the same page. You try to check your heart and make sure it's not pride or judgmentalism getting the best of you. That's always possible. But no, the more you reflect on the conversation and think about your two churches (or two pastors or two ministries) you conclude there really is a difference.

Like us on Facebook

And what is that difference?
That's something I've thought a lot about over the past few months. I'm sure I don't have all the answers, but here are ten things that distinguish between what I would call a vibrant, robust Bible-believing church and one that gets the statement of faith right but feels totally different.
1. The mission of the church has gotten sidetracked. Recently I stumbled upon the website for a church in my denomination. Judging from the information on the site I would say this church thinks of itself as evangelical, in the loose sense of the word. Their theology seems to be of the "mere Christianity" variety. But this is their stated missional aim: "[Our] Missions are designed to connect people and their resources with opportunities to respond to human need in the name of Jesus." A church with this mission will be very different from one that aims to make disciples of all nations or exists to spread a passion for the supremacy of God in all things for the joy of all peoples.
2. The church has become over-accommodating. I'm not thinking of all contextualization (of which there are some good kinds and some bad). I'm thinking of churches whose first instinct is to shape their methods (if not their message) to connect with a contemporary audience. And because of this dominant instinct, they avoid hard doctrines, cut themselves off from history and tradition, and lean toward pragmatism.
3. The gospel is assumed. While the right theology may be affirmed in theory, it rarely gets articulated. No one believes the wrong things, but they don't believe much of anything. When pressed, they will quickly affirm the importance of Jesus' death and resurrection, of penal substitution, of justification by faith alone, but their real passions are elsewhere. What really holds the church together is a shared conviction about creation care or homeschooling or soup kitchens or the local fire station.
4. There is no careful doctrinal delineation. Theology is not seen as the church's outboard motor. It's a nasty barnacle on the hull. You will quickly notice a difference in message and methods between the church whose operating principle is "doctrine divides" and the one that believes that doctrine leads to doxology.
5. The ministry of the word is diminished. While preaching may still be honored in theory, in many churches there is little confidence that paltry preaching is what ails the church and even less confidence that dynamic preaching is the proper prescription. No one wants to explicitly pooh-pooh preaching, teaching, or the ministry of the word, but when push comes to shove the real solutions are structural or stylistic. How often do those engaged in church revitalization begin by looking at the preaching of the word and the role the Bible plays in the practical outworking of the congregation's ministry?
6. People are not called to repentance. It sounds so simple, and yet it is so easily forgotten. Pastors may call people to believe in Jesus or call people to serve the community, but unless they also call them repent of their sins the church's ministry will lack real spiritual power. And this should not be done by merely encouraging people to be authentic about their brokenness. We must use strong biblical language in calling people to repent and calling them to Christ.
7. There is no example of carefully handling specific texts of Scripture. People will not trust the Bible as they should unless they see it regularly taught with detail and clarity. Churches may still espouse a high view of Scripture but without a diet of careful exposition they will not know how to study the Bible for themselves and will not be discerning when poor theology comes along.
8. There is no functioning ecclesiology. If you put two churches side by side with the same theology on paper, but one has a working ecclesiology and the other has a grab-bag of eclectic practices, you will see a startling difference. Careful shepherding, elder training, regenerate church membership, a functioning diaconate, purposeful congregational meetings–these are the things you may not know you've never had. But when you do, it's a different kind of church.
9. There is an almost complete disregard for church discipline. If discipline is truly one of the three marks of the church, then many evangelical congregations are not true churches. All the best theology in the world won't help your church or your denomination if you don't guard against those who deny it. If we are to be faithful and eternally fruitful, we must warn against error, confront the spirit of the age, and discipline the impenitent.
10. The real problem is something other than sin and the real remedy is something other than a Savior. The best churches stay focused on the basics. And that means sin and salvation. Sadly, many churches–even if they affirm the right doctrine on paper–act and preach as if the biggest problem in the world is lack of education, or material poverty, or the declining morals in our country, or the threat of global warming. As a result we preach cultural improvement instead of Christ. We preach justice without Jesus. We lose sight that the biggest problem (though not the only problem) confronting the churchgoer every Sunday is that he is a sinner in need of a Savior.
If you read through this list and think you have everything down already, don't be haughty. If we get all these right and are proud about it, we'll rob ourselves and our churches of God's blessing. But my prayer is that somewhere out there in the frozen tundra of the internet a pastor or a congregation or a church leader will read through these ten items and think, "You know, this may be what we're missing." The evangelical church needs depth where it is shallow, thoughtfulness where it is pragmatic, and conviction where it has become compromised. A casual adherence to a formal set of basic doctrines does not guarantee real unity and does not ensure genuine spiritual strength.

please visit...

Calvary Baptist of Lenexa Podcast

Charles Dimsdale, best sermon of the year, so far

Gospel Centered Preaching (45:09)

<script src="http://www.buzzsprout.com/XXXX.js?player=small&tags=prophets" type="text/javascript" charset="utf-8"></script>

Date: May 20, 2012

By: Charles Dimsdale

I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. 

 (2 Timothy 4:1-5 ESV)

Hi Brazil and S Korea !

I was just looking at the website stats and saw that Brazil and South Korea were the 3rd and 4th most popular countries that view this site. Just a quick FYI, to remind you that there is a translator app at the top of this blog if you would prefer reading this blog in anything other than English.

Also I will be praying for you guys today if you have anything specific please reply to a post.

Brazil- FYI my mom is a missionary to both Brazil and Belize (I believe she is leaving today for a Belize trip) and I am a real Football nut (that's Soccer to you Americans) and so I have a lot of Brazil shirts and hats. I'm really looking forward to the Next World Cup! My favorite 4 teams (sorry US you're just not good enough) Italy, Brazil, England and Germany.

S Korea - I have been reading lately about the rise of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jung Il and how they have violently opposed Christianity or blatantly re-wrote Christianity to fit there own self-serving Dictator worship. I will be praying (I'm sure along with you) about the dire straights in N Korea and over any missionaries that try to reach out to the lost of N Korea from your country - God Bless!

B P Hasty 

from the Church of Satan

4.4. The Nine Satanic Sins     

1. Stupidity -- The top of the list for Satanic Sins. The Cardinal       

 Sin of Satanism. It's too bad that stupidity isn't painful.        

Ignorance is one thing, but our society thrives increasingly on        

stupidity. It depends on people going along with whatever they        

are told. The media promotes a cultivated stupidity as a posture        

that is not only acceptable but laudable. Satanists must learn        

to see through the tricks and cannot afford to be stupid.    

2. Pretentiousness -- Empty posturing can be most irritating and        

isn't applying the cardinal rules of Lesser Magic. On equal        

footing with stupidity for what keeps the money in circulation        

these days. Everyone's made to feel like a big shot, whether        

they can come up with the goods or not.    

3. Solipsism -- Can be very dangerous for Satanists. Projecting        

your reactions, responses and sensibilities onto someone who is        

probably far less attuned than you are. It is the mistake of        

expecting people to give you the same consideration, courtesy        

and respect that you naturally give them. They won't. Instead,        

Satanists must strive to apply the dictum of "Do unto others as        

they do unto you." It's work for most of us and requires        

constant vigilance lest you slip into a comfortable illusion of        

everyone being like you. As has been said, certain utopias would        

be ideal in a nation of philosophers, but unfortunately (or        

perhaps fortunately, from a Machiavellian standpoint) we are far        

from that point.    

4. Self-deceit -- It's in the Nine Satanic Statements but deserves        

to be repeated here. Another cardinal sin. We must not pay        

homage to any of the sacred cows presented to us, including the        

roles we are expected to play ourselves. The only time        

self-deceit should be entered into is when it's fun, and with        

awareness. But then, it's not self-deceit!    

5. Herd Conformity -- That's obvious from a Satanic stance. It's        

all right to conform to a person's wishes, if it ultimately        

benefits you. But only fools follow along with the herd, letting        

an impersonal entity dictate to you. The key is to choose a        

master wisely instead of being enslaved by the whims of the       

 many.    

6. Lack of Perspective -- Again, this one can lead to a lot of pain        

for a Satanist. You must never lose sight of who and what you        

are, and what a threat you can be, by your very existence. We        

are making history right now, every day. Always keep the wider        

historical and social picture in mind. That is an important key        

to both Lesser and Greater Magic. See the patterns and fit        

things together as you want the pieces to fall into place. Do        

not be swayed by herd constraints -- know that you are working        

on another level entirely from the rest of the world.    

7. Forgetfulness of Past Orthodoxies -- Be aware that this is one        

of the keys to brainwashing people into accepting something        

"new" and "different," when in reality it's something that was        

once widely accepted but is now presented in a new package. We        

are expected to rave about the genius of the "creator" and        

forget the original. This makes for a disposable society.    

8. Counterproductive Pride -- That first word is important. Pride        

is great up to the point you begin to throw out the baby with        

the bath-water. The rule of Satanism is: if it works for you,        

great. When it stops working for you, when you've painted        

yourself into a corner and the only way out is to say, "I'm        

sorry, I made a mistake, I wish we could compromise somehow,"        

then do it.    

9. Lack of Aesthetics -- This is the physical application of the       

 Balance Factor. Aesthetics is important in Lesser Magic and        

should be cultivated. It is obvious that no one can collect any        

money off classical standards of beauty and form most of the        

time so they are discouraged in a consumer society, but "an eye"        

for beauty, for balance, is an essential Satanic tool and must        

be applied for greatest magical effectiveness. It's not what's        

supposed to be pleasing -- it's what is. Aesthetics is a        

personal thing, reflective of one's own nature, but there are        

universally pleasing and harmonious configurations that should        

not be denied.

asside from Jesus it looks like Satanists hate Margins - I had to relign and resize each of these docs line by line

4.3. The Eleven Satanic Rules of the Earth

1. Do not give opinions or advice unless you are asked.

2. Do not tell your troubles to others unless you are sure they         

want to hear them.

3. When in another's lair, show him respect or else do not go         

there.

4. If a guest in your lair annoys you, treat him cruelly and         

without mercy.

5. Do not make sexual advances unless you are given the mating         

signal.

6. Do not take that which does not belong to you unless it is a        

 burden to the other person and he cries out to be relieved.     

7. Acknowledge the power of magic if you have employed it         

successfully to obtain your desires. If you deny the power of         

magic after having called upon it with success, you will lose         

all you have obtained.

8. Do not complain about anything to which you need not subject         

yourself.     

9. Do not harm little children.

10. Do not kill non-human animals unless you are attacked or for         

your food.

11. When walking in open territory, bother no one. If someone         

bothers you, ask him to stop. If he does not stop, destroy him.

this is kind of like the Purpose-driven church model

Straight from the Church of Satan 

4.2. The Nine Satanic Statements    

1. Satan represents indulgence instead of abstinence.    

2. Satan represents vital existence instead of spiritual pipe dreams.    

3. Satan represents undefiled wisdom instead of hypocritical self-deceit.    

4. Satan represents kindness to those who deserve it instead of  

love wasted on ingrates.    

5. Satan represents vengeance instead of turning the other cheek.    

6. Satan represents responsibility to the responsible instead 

of concern for psychic vampires.    

7. Satan represents man as just another animal -- sometimes better, 

more often worse than those that walk on all-fours -- 

who, because of his "divine spiritual and intellectual development," 

 has become the most vicious animal of all.   

8. Satan represents all of the so-called sins, as they all lead 

to physical, mental, or emotional gratification.    

9. Satan has been the best friend the Church has ever had, as He

has kept it in business all these years.

Straight from the Church of Satan, interesting philosophically

4. Satanism as seen by the Church of Satan 

4.1. Our philosophies     If you have not already done so, we strongly suggest you purchase    _The Satanic Bible_, and study it. It is a diabolical book, the    basis for our philosophy. Satanism is not for everyone, but if it    is for you, we welcome you. We are not a fan club, a pen-pal    society, or a lonely hearts group. We are a group of dynamic    individuals who stand forth as the ultimate underground alternative    -- the Alien Elite. We realize what we have, what we are, and what    we shall become. Our scope is unlimited, and the extent of your    involvement is based upon your own potential.     In recent years, we've wasted far too much time explaining that    Satanism has nothing to do with kidnapping, drug abuse, child    molestation, animal or child sacrifice, or any number of other acts    which idiots, hysterics or opportunists would like to blame on us.    Satanism is a life-loving, rational philosophy that millions    of people adhere to. Now we're ready for something that goes quite  a few steps beyond just explaining our principles. Every    revisionist movement needs a set of goals/guidelines that are    clear, concrete, and that will effect significant changes.     The following Five-Point Program reflects attitudes which allow    others to decide whether they wish to align themselves with    Satanism or not. Each is necessary for Satanic change to take    place. When asked what we're "doing", here's the answer:    

1) STRATIFICATION -- The point on which all the others ultimately    rest. There can be no more myth of "equality" for all--it only    translates to "mediocrity" and supports the weak at the expense of    the strong. Water must be allowed to seek its own level without    interference from apologists for incompetence. No one should be    protected from the effects of his own stupidity.    

2) STRICT TAXATION OF ALL CHURCHES -- If churches were taxed for    all their income and property, they'd crumble overnight of their    own obsolescence, and the National Debt would be wiped out as    quickly. The productive, the creative, the resourceful should be    subsidized. So long as the useless and incompetent are getting    paid, they should be heavily taxed.    

3) NO TOLERANCE FOR RELIGIOUS BELIEFS SECULARIZED AND INCORPORATED    INTO LAW AND ORDER ISSUES -- to re-establish "Lex Talionis" would    require a complete overturning of the present in-justice system    based on Judeo-Christian ideals, where the victim/defender has been    made the criminal. Amnesty should be considered for anyone in    prison because of his alleged "influence" upon the actual    perpetrator of the crime. Everyone is influenced in what he or she    does. Scapegoating has become a way of life, a means of survival    for the unfit. As an extension of the Judeo-Christian cop-out of    blaming the Devil for everything, criminals can gain leniency, even    praise, by placing the blame on a convenient villain. Following the    Satanic creed of "Responsibility to the responsible," in a Satanic    society, everyone must experience the consequences of his own    actions -- for good or ill.    

4) DEVELOPMENT AND PRODUCTION OF ARTIFICIAL HUMAN COMPANIONS -- The    forbidden industry. An economic "godsend" which will allow everyone    "power" over someone else. Polite, sophisticated, technologically    feasible slavery. And the most profitable industry since TV and the    computer.    

5) THE OPPORTUNITY FOR ANYONE TO LIVE WITHIN A TOTAL ENVIRONMENT OF    HIS OR HER CHOICE, WITH MANDATORY ADHERENCE TO THE AESTHETIC AND    BEHAVIORAL STANDARDS OF SAME -- Privately owned, operated and    controlled environments as an alternative to homogenized and    polyglot ones. The freedom to insularize oneself within a social    milieu of personal well-being. An opportunity to feel, see, and    hear that which is most aesthetically pleasing, without    interference from those who would pollute or detract from that    option.

I love heretics!

If you've read this site before then you probably already know this :

I've given years of my life listening to heretics, reading heretics, preaching to heretics so
I just wanted to get it out there. I could not do all I do for the Elect, to point sinners to Christ,
to proclaim repentance and the forgiveness of sins found only in Jesus if I didn't love
heretics. And you should love heretics too. Preach, Teach, Confess not Americanism, not you,
not Republicanism or Democrat-ism but Christ and Him Crucified for sinners.  

From Monergism.com my favorite place for articles on classic Christianity

Augustine's Doctrine of the Bondage of the Will

---

Augustine argued that there are four states, which are derived from the Scripture, that correspond to the four states of man in relation to sin: (a) able to sin, able not to sin (posse peccare, posse non peccare); (b) not able not to sin (non posse non peccare); (c) able not to sin (posse non peccare); and (d) unable to sin (non posse peccare). The first state corresponds to the state of man in innocency, before the Fall; the second the state of the natural man after the Fall; the third the state of the regenerate man; and the fourth the glorified man.
Augustine's description of the person after the fall "not able not to sin (non posse non peccare)" is what it means for humanity to have lost the liberty of the will. Fallen man's will is free from coercion yes, but not free from necessity... ie. he sins of necessity due to a corruption of nature.
With this in mind we better understand the following statements of Augustine:

"Without the Spirit man's will is not free, since it has been laid under by shackling and conquering desires." - Augustine, Letters cxlv 2 (MPL 33. 593; tr FC 20. 163f.)
"When the will was conquered by the vice into which it had fallen, human nature began to lose its freedom." - Augustine, On Man's Perfection in Righteousness iv 9 (MLP 44. 296; tr. NPNF V. 161)
"Through freedom man came to be in sin, but the corruption which followed as punishment turned freedom into necessity." - Augustine On Man's Perfection In Righteousness

"Man, using free will badly, has lost both himself and his will"
"The free will has been so enslaved that is can have no power for righteousness."
"What God's grace has not freed will not be free."
"Nature is commong to all, but not grace."
"The justice of God is not fulfilled when the law so commands, and man acts as if by his own strength; but when the Spirit helps, and man's will, not free, but freed by God, obeys."
"Man when he was created received great powers of free will, but lost them by sinning."
"We know that God's grace is not given to all men. To those to whom it is given it is given neither according to the merits of works, nor according to the merits of the will, but by free grace. To those to whom it is not given we know that it is because of God's righteous judgment that it is not given."
Augustine - On Rebuke and Grace
"How have you come? By believing. Fear lest while you are claiming for yourself that you have found the just way, you perish from the just way. I have come, you say, of my own free choice; I have come of my own will. Why are you puffed up? Do you wish to know that this also has been given you? Hear Him calling, 'No one comes to me unless my Father draws him' [John 6:44 p.]." - Augustine, Sermons xxvi. 3, 12, 4, 7 (MPL 28.172, 177, 172f., 174)
"Why then, do miserable men either dare to boast of free will before they have been freed, or of their powers, if they have already been freed? And they do not heed the fact that in the term 'free will" freedom seems to be implied. 'Now where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.' [II Cor 3:17]. If therefore, they are slaves of sin, why do they boast of free will? For a man becomes the slave of him who has overcome him. Now if they have been freed, why do they boast as if it had come about through their own effort? Of are they so free as not to wish to be slaves of him who says: 'Without me you can do nothing'" [John 15:5]
"...the human will does not obtain grace by freedom, but obtains freedom by grace; when the feeling of delight has been imparted through. the same grace, the human will is formed to endure; it is strengthened with unconquerable fortitude; controlled by grace, it never will perish, but, if grace forsake it, it will straightway fall; by the Lord's free mercy it is converted to good, and once converted it perseveres in good; the direction of the human will toward good, and after direction its continuation in good, depend solely upon God's will, not upon any merit of man. Thus there is left to man such free will, if we please so to call it, as he elsewhere describes: that except through grace the will can neither be converted to God nor abide in God; and whatever it can do it is able to do only through grace. "

AUGUSTIN CONFESSES THAT HE HAD FORMERLY BEEN IN ERROR CONCERNING THE GRACE OF GOD.
Augustin explains that at some point he changed his view from synergism to divine monergism in salvation. He argues that due to our fallen state, we are not only partly dependent upon Christ for our conversion but totally dependent upon Christ.

"It was not thus that pious and humble teacher thought--I speak of the most blessed Cyprian--when he said "that we must boast in nothing, since nothing is our own." And in order to show the, he appealed to the apostle as a witness, where he said, "For what hast thou that thou hast not received ? And if thou hast received it, why boastest thou as if thou hadst not received it?" And it was chiefly by this testimony that I myself also was convinced when I was in a similar error, thinking that faith whereby we believe on God is not God's gift, but that it is in us from ourselves, and that by it we obtain the gifts of God, whereby we may live temperately and righteously and piously in this world. For I did not think that faith was preceded by God's grace, so that by its means would be given to us what we might profitably ask, except that we could not believe if the proclamation of the truth did not precede; but that we should consent when the gospel was preached to us I thought was our own doing, and came to us from ourselves. And this my error is sufficiently indicated in some small works of mine written before my episcopate. Among these is that which you have mentioned in your letters wherein is an exposition of certain propositions from the Epistle to the Romans. Eventually, when I was retracting all my small works, and was committing that retractation to writing, of which task I had already completed two books before I had taken up your more lengthy letters,--when in the first volume I had reached the retractation of this book, I then spoke thus:--"Also discussing, I say, 'what God could have chosen in him who was as yet unborn, whom He said that the elder should serve; and what in the same elder, equally as yet unborn, He could have rejected; concerning whom, on this account, the prophetic testimony is recorded, although declared long subsequently, "Jacob have I loved, and Esau have I hated,"' I carried out my reasoning to the point of saying: ' God did not therefore choose the works of any one in foreknowledge of what He Himself would give them, but he chose the faith, in the foreknowledge that He would choose that very person whom He foreknew would believe on Him,--to whom He would give the Holy Spirit, so that by doing good works he might obtain eternal life also.' I had not yet very carefully sought, nor had I as yet found, what is the nature of the election of grace, of which the apostle says, ' A remnant are saved according to the election of grace.' Which assuredly is not grace if any merits precede it; lest what is now given, not according to grace, but according to debt, be rather paid to merits than freely given. And what I next subjoined: ' For the same apostle says, "The same God which worketh all in all;" but it was never said, God believeth all in all ;' and then added, ' Therefore what we believe is our own, but what good thing we do is of Him who giveth the Holy Spirit to them that believe: ' I certainly could not have said, had I already known that faith itself also is found among those gifts of God which are given by the same Spirit. Both, therefore, are ours on account of the choice of the will, and yet both are given by the spirit of faith and love, For faith is not alone but as it is written, ' Love with faith, from God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ.' And what I said a little after, ' For it is ours to believe and to will, but it is His to give to those who believe and will, the power of doing good works through the Holy Spirit, by whom love is shed abroad in our hearts,'--is true indeed; but by the same rule both are also God's, because God prepares the will; and both are ours too, because they are only brought about with our good wills. And thus what I subsequently said also: ' Because we are not able to Will unless we are called; and when, after our calling, we would will, our willing is not sufficiently nor our running, unless God gives strength to us that run, and leads us whither He calls us;' and thereupon added: ' It is plain, therefore, that it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy, that we do good works'--this is absolutely most true. But I discovered little concerning the calling itself, which is according to God's purpose; for not such is the calling of all that are called, but only of the elect. Therefore what I said a little afterwards: ' For as in those whom God elects it is not works but faith that begins the merit so as to do good works by the gift of God, so in those whom He condemns, unbelief and impiety begin the merit of punishment, so that even by way of punishment itself they do evil works'--I spoke most truly. But that even the merit itself of faith was God's gift, I neither thought of inquiring into, nor did I say. And in another place I say: 'For whom He has mercy upon, He makes to do good works, and whom He hardeneth He leaves to do evil works; but that mercy is bestowed upon the preceding merit of faith, and that hardening is applied to preceding iniquity.' And this indeed is true; but it should further have been asked, whether even the merit of faith does not come from God's mercy,--that is, whether that mercy is manifested in man only because he is a believer, or whether it is also manifested that he may be a believer? For we read in the apostles words: ' I obtained mercy to be a believer.' He does not say, ' Because I was a believer.' Therefore although it is given to the believer, yet it has been given also that he may be a believer. Therefore also, in another place in the same book I most truly said: ' Because, if it is of God's mercy, and not of works, that we are even called that we may believe and it is granted to us who believe to do good works, that mercy must not be grudged to the heathen;'--although I there discoursed less carefully about that calling which is given according to God's purpose." - Augustine, A TREATISE ON THE PREDESTINATION OF THE SAINTS chapter 7 [III.]
Man's original capacities included both the power not to sin and the power to sin ( posse non peccare et posse peccare ). In Adam's original sin, man lost the posse non peccare (the power not to sin) and retained the posse peccare (the power to sin)--which he continues to exercise. In the fulfillment of grace, man will have the posse peccare taken away and receive the highest of all, the power not to be able to sin, non posse peccare . Cf. On Correction and Grace XXXIII.

Augustine's ENCHIRIDION, CHAP. 118.--THE FOUR STAGES OF THE CHRISTAIN'S LIFE, AND THE FOUR CORRESPONDING STAGES OF THE CHURCH'S HISTORY.

When, sunk in the darkest depths of ignorance, man lives according to the flesh undisturbed by any struggle of reason or conscience, this is his first state. Afterwards, when through the law has come the knowledge of sin, and the Spirit of God has not yet interposed His aid, man, striving to live according to the law, is thwarted in his efforts and falls into conscious sin, and so, being overcome of sin, becomes its slave ("for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage"(4)); and thus the effect produced by the knowledge of the commandment is this, that sin worketh in man all manner of concupiscence, and he is involved in the additional guilt of willful transgression, and that is fulfilled which is written: "The, law entered that the Offense might abound."(5) This is man's second state. But if God has regard to him, and inspires him with faith in God's help, and the Spirit of God begins to work in him, then the mightier power of love strives against the power of the flesh; and although there is still in the man's own nature a power that fights against him (for his disease is not completely cured), yet he lives the life of the just by faith, and lives in righteousness so far as he does not yield to evil lust, but conquers it by the love of holiness. This is the third state of a man of good hope; and he who by steadfast piety advances in this course, shall attain at last to peace, that peace which, after this life is over, shall be perfected in the repose of the spirit, and finally in the resurrection of the body. Of these four different stages the first is before the law, the second is under the law, the third is under grace, and the fourth is in full and perfect peace. Thus, too, has the history of God's people been ordered according to His pleasure who disposeth all things in number, and measure, and weight.(6) For the church existed at first before the law; then under the law, which was given by Moses; then under grace, which was first made manifest in the coming of the Mediator. Not, indeed, that this grace was absent previously, but, in harmony with the arrangements of the time, it was veiled and hidden. For none, even of the just men of old, could find salvation apart from the faith of Christ; nor unless He had been known to them could their ministry have been used to convey prophecies concerning Him to us, some more plain, and some more obscure.

From this we conclude, again with Augustine, that:

- the children of God are actuated by His Spirit to do whatever is to be done
- they are drawn by Him, out of an unwilling state to be made willing
- since the fall it is owing only to the grace of God that man draws near to Him
- it is owing only to the same grace that God does not withdraw or recede from him
- we know that no good thing which is our own can be found in our will
- by the magnitude of the first sin, we lost the freedom of the will to believe in God and live holy lives
- therefore “it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs”—not because we ought not to will and to run, but because God effects both the willing and the running (Reisinger)

Note: There are times when Augustine uses the term 'free will' in a positive sense, As R. C. Sproul explains, "Augustine did not deny that fallen man still has a will and that the will is capable of making choices. He argued that fallen man still has a free will (liberium arbitrium) but has lost his moral liberty (libertas). The state of original sin leaves us in the wretched condition of being unable to refrain from sinning. We still are able to choose what we desire, but our desires remain chained by our evil impulses. He argued that the freedom that remains in the will always leads to sin. Thus in the flesh we are free only to sin, a hollow freedom indeed. It is freedom without liberty, a real moral bondage. True liberty can only come from without, from the work of God on the soul. Therefore we are not only partly dependent upon grace for our conversion but totally dependent upon grace."

Spurgeon+Cigar+Glory of God

Al Mohler on America's love affair with Murder!

“Abortion is as American as Apple Pie” — 

The Culture of Death Finds a Voice

Abortion is now one of America’s most common surgical procedures performed on adults. As many as one out of three women will have at least one abortion. In some American neighborhoods, the number of abortions far exceeds the number of live births.
Most Americans will pay little attention to the 39th anniversary of the infamous Roe v. Wade decision. In 1973, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that a woman has a constitutional right to arrange the killing of the unborn life within her. Since that decision was handed down, more than 50 million babies have been aborted, at a rate of over 3,000 each day.
One of the most chilling aspects of all this is the sense of normalcy in American life. Abortion statistics pile up from year to year, and each report gets filed. Moral sentiment on the issue of abortion has shifted discernibly in recent years, as ultrasound images and other technologies deliver unquestionable proof that the unborn child is just that — a child. Nevertheless, the larger picture of abortion in America is basically unchanged.
With predictable regularity, cultural authorities call for the emergence of a moderating position between the pro-life and pro-abortion positions. But efforts to achieve a stable compromise on the abortion issue are doomed to failure. The two positions hold irreconcilable views of reality. The pro-life movement holds that the central issue is the unborn child’s right to live. Abortion activists have staked their entire case on the claim that the only determinative issue is the woman’s unrestricted right to choose.

A middle position would require pro-lifers to accept that the deaths of some unborn children are acceptable, and abortion rights activists to accept that some decisions for abortion are wrong. Given the logic of their positions, there is no means of compromise.
In recent years, some on the pro-choice side of the controversy have called for abortion proponents to use language indicating that abortion is a painful and wrenching, but sometimes necessary procedure, and to accept that some reasons for abortion are just not sufficient. Nevertheless, this is received as a call for treason within the abortion rights movement, and these voices are regularly sidelined.
At the same time, there has been an effort to protect abortion with euphemism and evasion. Abortion rights activists speak of being pro-choice, not pro-abortion. The unborn child is reduced to a fetus, or a bundle of cells. Abortion clinics are described as women’s health centers.
There are some abortion activists who will not join that bandwagon. With chilling candor, they defend abortion as abortion, they defend the decision to abort as a morally superior decision, and they lament the evasiveness of their colleagues in the abortion rights movement.
Just recently, Merle Hoffman, a major voice in the abortion rights movement and founder of Choices, a major center for abortions in New York City, has written a memoir, Intimate Wars. In telling her story, Hoffman calls for her colleagues in the abortion industrial complex to defend abortion as a moral choice.
Abortion is the ultimate act of empowering women, she argues. “The act of abortion positions women at their most powerful, and that is why it is so strongly opposed by many in society,” she asserts.
A central portion of her memoir deals with the abortion rights movement’s attempt to defend abortion in the face of pro-life arguments that the fetus has a right to life.
“The pro-choice movement had to find a way to navigate these narratives,” she explains. “The simplest option was to negate the claims of the opposition. And so many pro-choice advocates claimed that the fetus was not alive, and that abortion was not the act of terminating it. They chose to de-personalize the fetus, to see it as amorphous residue, to say that it was only ‘blood and tissue.’”
As she explains, the pro-life movement thought that, if women really knew what abortion was — the killing of an unborn human being — they would decide to keep their babies. She rejects the argument.

Hoffman argues that women do know what an abortion is. Abortion does stop a beating heart and that it is not “just like an appendectomy.” Her conclusion is that women know that abortion is “the termination of potential life.”
She then makes this statement:
“They knew it, but my patients who made the choice to have an abortion also knew they were making the right one, a decision so vital it was worth stopping that heart. Sometimes they felt a great sense of loss of possibility. In the majority of cases, they felt a great sense of relief and the power that comes from taking responsibility for one’s own life.”
Rarely do we see abortion defended in such unvarnished terms — “a decision so vital it was worth stopping that heart.” Merle Hoffman goes on to explain how she can speak of abortion so directly. She has, she tells us, no conception that life is sacred.
“Abortion is as American as apple pie.” Hoffman made that statement in a recent interview about her book. She laments that abortion is the cause of shame in some women and that shame attaches itself to abortion in the larger culture, even now. In her view, if women would start talking more honestly and directly about their abortions, the shame would be removed and women would discuss their abortions like they speak of “a bikini wax.”

Is Merle Hoffman right? Is abortion “as American as apple pie?” To our great shame, she has a right to make that claim. How can it be refuted when abortion on demand has been legal in this country for almost forty years, when one out of three American women will have an abortion, when within some communities far more babies die by abortion than are born?
In Merle Hoffman, the Culture of Death has found a new voice. Almost forty years after Roe v. Wade, abortion remains a central part of the nation’s moral landscape. Over 50 million unborn children have been aborted within the span of just one generation.
A titanic clash of absolutes is taking place in full view, and this clash indicates just how much work remains to be done in the great effort to protect the dignity of every single human life. As those who contend for the sanctity and dignity of each human life try to reach the hearts and minds of our fellow citizens, others are at work as well. If they have their way, Americans will one day openly speak of abortion as nothing more shameful than a bikini wax.

---

NOTE: I revised the first sentence of the article on advice of medical authorities. Without doubt, abortion has been the most common surgical procedure performed on American adults in some years. This fact was cited in Congressional testimony during the debate over the Obama Administration’s health care proposal. More recently, other surgical procedures may have surpassed abortion in number in some years. The data is drawn from the Guttmacher Institute.

Life After Death - answering Atheists

The Atheist's handbook - denounces believe in life beyond the grave as "the basis of the religious theory" and "extremely dangerous."

But what is life if nothing follows after death?

Let us suppose that Socialists ideals are accomplished. We will have a perfect society, without the distinction between rich and poor, without wars and revolutions, with wealth, culture, and happiness for everybody. But men will still have to die. Poor men die easily. There is not much to lose. For happy men death is a catastrophe. Kirov, general secretary of the Communist Party of the Leningrad district, assassinated by Stalin, had a position of power. He enjoyed life. His last words were, "I wish to live and to live and to live." If Stalin had not killed him, he would have died a natural death a few years later and his last tragic words would have been the same.

We all have to die. The decision does not depend on us. If nothing follows, the most beautiful life is nothing more than a banquet offered to a condemned man before his execution. He gets dainties and then is hanged. He may live in an ideal society, but eventually he will rot, forgotten forever by everyone.

Go comfort somebody who is dying in a cancer ward, or his family, with these words: "We are building a happy Socialist society," or "Science achieves great things. We have been to the moon and soon we will be on Venus." There is not much consolation in this. But tell the dying and the bereaved about the heavenly Father and the Christian's hope of living eternally with Him, and you will see the difference.

If the Atheists are right and there is not life hereafter, "All our yesterdays have lighted fools the way to dusty death" (Shakespeare).

Excerpted and edited from The Answer to the Atheist's Handbook, pp. 150-151
By Rev, Richard Wurmbrand (1909-2001), founder of Voice of the Martyrs, spent a total of 14 years in Romanian prisons.  

. 

Teaching Thessalonians 1

To the Thessalonians: circa AD 51

A brief historical background –

This letter was written by Paul, with Timothy (from 1 & 2 Timothy) and Silas (a prophet from the Jerusalem church), it’s probably Paul’s second letter following the letter to the Galatians. Doug already set up the brief description from Acts 17 last week where it mentions Paul comes to the city, preaches in the Synagogue and then is ran out of town.

Thessalonica (or modern Salonica in Northern Greece) was the Capitol of Macedonia– if you’re familiar with ancient Greek history then you may remember that this is where my childhood hero, Alexander the Great was from. Thessalonica is named after Alexander’s sister. At this time Macedonia is under the rule of the Roman Empire, and since Thessalonica sat on an important East-West highway known as the Via Egnatia, it served as a hub for political and commercial activity and Thessalonica became known as the “Mother of Macadonia”. It was a successful metropolitan city and the population of Thessalonica during Paul’s time would have reached 200,000 people (that’s more than Olathe today – 2011 city stats say Olathe is only 120,000 people).

Among Paul’s new converts at this time and the probable Elders of this Church were Jason (who may have hosted the Thessalonican house Church) from Acts 17, Gaius Acts 20, Aristarchus Acts 20 and Segundas Acts 20, they all became Paul’s workers in Macedonia and specifically in Thessalonica. Because of their effective ministry, which we read about last week in Acts 17 – Paul’s team is flushed out of the city. After Thessalonica Paul, Timothy and Silas went to Beria where Timothy and Silas stayed behind to nurture the Churches, and Paul went on to Athens, once Timothy and Silas caught up to Paul now in Corinth, Timothy told Paul how the Thessalonica church was doing. And this letter back to the Thessalonican church is Paul’s response to Timothy’s report.

Topics in the letter include: God’s faithfulness during the persecution of believers, Christ’s return and the end times, and practical advise for Christian-living in an immoral culture.

Read 1:1-5a

Questions:

Question #1 – Who does Paul thank for the Thessalonian church, the wills of the Thessalonians or God? (Vs 2 God) Why? Is God a Calvinist? (No, Calvanism merely explains what Christianity is, believes, and teaches.)

Question #2 – Grace and Peace is a common Pauline opening, on who’s account do we have Grace and Peace with God? (Vs 1 Christ) Why can’t I find Grace and Peace directly through God the Father without going through Jesus? (Theological word: Double imputation – the Gospel.)

Question # 3 – A Synagogue of the Jews (you know God’s People) worship the right God – Yahweh from Exodus 3 so is a Synagogue a Church? (Vs 1 No, Paul defines a Church as being about the worship of both God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.) If that’s the case, then how about an Oneness Pentecostal Church that denies the Trinity?

Question # 4 – What 3 things does Paul praise the Thessalonians for that we should emulate? (Vs 2 The Work of Faith, the Labor of Love and Steadfast Hope in our Lord Jesus Christ)

Question # 5 – Does God’s Word say that the Thessalonians used their imaginary free-wills to choose God or did God choose them? (Vs 4 God, also read 1 Thessalonians 5:9 &

2 Thessalonians 2:11-14, the biblical doctrine of Salvation is always and only in this order: Election, Calling, Faith, Sanctification and finally Glorification – this is how all 3 members of the Triune Godhead act in Salvation: the Father Elects, the Son Redeems, the Spirit Regenerates.) Any questions?

Question # 6 – How can I know if I’m Elect? (Vs 5 because you becoming a believer in the God of Scripture shows that the Gospel did not fall on deaf ears but came with power, the conviction of sin, and the Holy Spirit.)