Friday, February 1, 2019

Which Damages The Christian Faith The Most - Atheists Or Compromising Christians? ~ Revisited

The edited and updated blog below was posted in February 2015, but I believe it is even more relevant today.  The Liberal Left Secular Society almost seems to be winning the battle for Abortion-on-Demand at any time within the pregnancy - and even after birth.  The LGBTQ community seems to have overrun all moral values in America. 

By all outward evidence it seems the Far Left and Anti-God Secular Society has won.  But we know that, while they may have won some of the skirmishes, God won the war over 2000 years ago when Christ went to the cross.

Yes God has won the war and today we are fighting the clean up skirmishes.  But like the Marines we have a duty that "no man (or woman) will be left behind" as long as we are breathing.  That is the core teaching of the Great Commission which I believe is encompassed in these Scripture passages: 


Matthew 28:19-20 (nasb), "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."


Acts 1:8 (nasb), "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth."


Mark 16:15 (nasb), "And He said to them, 'Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.'"

To summarize the Great Commission:  "GO, Make disciples, Baptize them, TEACH them. . . Be My witnesses in all the world"  (Matthew 28:19-20, Acts 1:8, Mark 16:15).

So we Christians have our marching orders to take the Gospel to the world, all non-believers, and to the best of our God-given abilities - Let no man/woman be left behind!

Considering my 2015 blog and what has transpired in America and the world since then, I believe we should get the following blog information out to all our FRANs (Friends, Relatives, Associates, Neighbors). 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
 
WHICH DAMAGES THE CHRISTIAN FAITH THE MOST - Atheists OR Compromising Christians?  Hands down, by far the compromising Christian does more harm to our Christian faith than any atheist ever could.  The atheists will just declare that God does not exist - and most will just walk away.  Those who do not walk away and attempt to prove their erroneous belief by arguing against God - only give the mature Christian a platform from which we can share the full Word of God.

On the other hand, the compromising Christian, one who is a member of our Christian family - by caving in and accepting anti-Biblical, anti-Christian teachings instead of refuting them from the Bible - helps the atheists and other non-believers fuel the fires against Christianity.  This has always been a problem in the Christian communities.   From the days of the early church, we read:

2 Peter 2:1, "But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves."


2 Timothy 4:3-4, "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths."

In our modern day, instead of standing on the teachings of the Bible, many Christians, churches, and denominations have chosen to insert antithetical teachings into their view of the Bible - rather than using the Bible to refute those false teachings.  In other words, it is easier to compromise than to take a firm stand for Christian teachings, morality, and Biblical truths.

About 150 years ago, Charles Darwin published his book "On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection" which is more commonly known as "On The Origin Of The Species."    Yet, this book which basically gave birth to the religion of Darwinian Evolution - does not, in any way, address the origin of life (as insinuated in its title).  In this book, the bible for atheists and other non-believers, there is absolutely no mention of how life on earth came to be.   So how can it explain the "Origin Of The Species"?

The religion of Darwinian Evolution teaches that billions of years ago lifeless single cell amoebae were floating in a primordial swamp.  And, over millions, maybe billions, of years - those lifeless cells somehow became living cells.  How?  Did an accident of nature, i.e., a random combination of chemicals in that primordial swamp, eventually cause those lifeless cells to become living cells? 

Consider this question: "What was the origin of the nature which brought life to those lifeless cells?"  How did that primordial swamp come to be?  Who or what put those simple lifeless cells into the primordial swamp?  While you are contemplating those points - truthfully ask yourself just how those first lifeless cells became life. 

Darwinian Evolution does not answer any of those questions.  Yet, we know that if the theory is true, the nature which supposedly birthed life into those lifeless cells - those lifeless cells themselves, the primordial swamp, the chemicals to convert lifeless cells into living cells - had to come from somewhere.  Were these elements preexisting?  Did they always, eternally, exist?  How?  If they are preexisting, they are God for only God can be eternally preexisting.

Even Darwin does not declare that the universe has always existed; only that it has existed for billions of years.  If that is true, then "In the beginning of those billions of years" something or someone had to create them.  Who or what?

The Bible has a simple answer, and the only viable answer, "In the beginning GOD CREATED the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1).   God created the heavens and the earth, including human, animal, and plant life, ex nihilo, i.e., out of nothing.  Part of His creation was the origin of life and all that sustains it.  And part of that creation was all of the sciences and all the laws governing those sciences.  In other words, since science did not create the universe - science has to be a subset of the His Creation.

There is no other viable explanation for the universe and all the life within the universe - other than God and His ex nihilo Creation.

But, to avoid a confrontation with Darwinian Evolutionists - in the latter part of the 19th century, to adapt the Bible into the realm of science liberal church leaders and theologians came up with a new form of Creation: Theistic Evolution.  Theistic Evolution tells us that God did create the universe and life, but He did it using the process of evolution, instead of ex nihilo, from nothing.  And that Theistic Evolution process took billions of years (an absolute requirement for Darwinian Evolution), thus giving birth to another false teaching, the Gap Theory. 

The Gap Theory teaches that, between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2, there was a gap of time - millions or billions of years - and within that gap of time God had previously created another world which became so evil that He destroyed it.  Then He began over again by creating our world.  That theory is describing a two step creation:  Step one - the first world which was destroyed.  Step two - our world. 

In that teaching, there had to have been a previous Adam and Eve who gave birth to generations of man.  Otherwise, without man and his free will, that created world could not have become so evil that God had to destroy it and start over.  Plant life and animal life cannot become evil, only man can do that through our Adamic sin nature curse.  So if one is to believe the Gap Theory, one must also believe that the story played out in Genesis 3 of our Bible - is only a repeat of that same story happening millions of years ago in the first earth.  That story requires too much faith, in the wrong god, for me.

The Gap Theory totally ignores this fact:  the Bible teaches that before the fall of Adam into the sin of disobedience, sin and death did not exist in God's creation.  Adam's fall brought sin and death into all the creation.  So, how could another world, populated with many people and animals, have disappeared without death being involved?  The only possible reason for anyone to even consider accepting the Gap Theory - is to compromise God's Word by trying to adapt it to fit into the the limited realm of science and the mores of modern day society.

Romans 5:12, "Therefore, just as through one man (Adam) sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned."

Rather than belabor this point any further, let me point you toward a good article to read which explains Theistic Evolution (or Evolutionary Creationism) more fully:

What is theistic evolution?

www.gotquestions.org/theistic-evolution.html

After you have read that article, we can "evolve" on down the road a wee bit to the end of the 19th century.  After the Civil War and on into the latter part of the 19th century and the early part of the 20th century, the specter of Liberalism began to loom largely over the Christian communities. 

A basic tenet of Liberal Theology is that of relegating the Bible to the status of being only a good book, a book of metaphors, symbolisms, and myths useful for teaching morals, a nice guideline for Christian living - but NOT the God inspired, God inerrant, literal Written Word of God.  In other words, the stories in Genesis are myths and metaphors, only stories which teach lessons - but, are not to be understood as the literal Written Revelation of God to man.

Why is the Liberal Theology view of the Bible so important to those who support it?   Because, if the Bible is only a good book, only a guideline for living - then man can insert his own beliefs and desires into it.  We call that Eisegesis, i.e., reading INTO the Bible what folks want it to say to support their beliefs and teachings.  Instead of using hermeneutical exegesis to read FROM Scripture what is truly written there.

Thus, with such a metaphorical Bible, you can insert the teaching that folks living an active homosexual lifestyle can be pastors.  You can insert the teaching that hell does not really exist and that all people will eventually go to heaven, i.e., universalism.   You can even teach that God does not condemn the homosexual lifestyle.  You can teach that the Bible allows women to be pastors, spiritual leaders over man and family.  But you can teach these ONLY if the Bible is not the Written Word of God.

You can even teach that because God loves us, He wants us all to be happy and wants us to be able to marry anyone or anything we want:  man to man, woman to woman, adult to child, human to animal, human to any inanimate object, etc..  All the way to the Far Left declaring that marriage should be abolished altogether.

In 2007, a guy married his guitar, honest!  (https://www.pulse.com.gh/filla/man-legally-marries-his-guitar-in-an-amazing-wedding-ceremony-video/1pgvtn3). 


In 2006, a woman marries a dolphin, honest!  (www.theage.com.au/news/world/woman-marries-dolphin/2006/01/01/1136050339590.html).

In 2012, Lesbian journalist Masha Gessen declares:  "The institution of marriage is going to change, and it should change. And again, I don’t think it should exist."
(https://illinoisfamily.org/homosexuality/homosexual-activist-admits-true-purpose-of-battle-is-to-destroy-marriage/)

You get the picture.  Without holding the inspired, inerrant, literal Bible to be our sole authority for salvation and Christian living - society can insert anything, any lifestyle, any teaching it wants into the Bible.  But, only if it is a liberal, non-literal, non-inerrant Bible.

In the last few years, a major bastion of anti-Biblical teaching has swept across America - Same-Sex Marriage.  And for the most part the DOMA (Defense Of Marriage Act) has been nullified.  Why has this happened?   The cause is multi-pronged, but let me list just a few:

1.  Liberals have relegated the Bible to the status of only a good book, into which they can insert any belief or teaching society wants to push on America.


2.  The Liberal Socialist regime of Obama pushed the Bible even further into the background of American living.


3.  Gay activists became more aggressive than Conservative Christians.  Thus that small minority who is pushing an unBiblical lifestyle makes more noise - than the passive Christian community to whom Christ has given the Great Commission, that we should be His witnesses in all the world, spreading His Gospel of salvation and the full Word of God to all the world.  This is the old "squeaky door gets the oil" philosophy being played out all across America.  And, the oily same-sex marriage perversion has become the law of the land. 


4.  Young people of the high school, college, and recent post-college age - tend to lean more toward liberalism.  In large part because our public education system in America is dominated by liberal and socialist thinking teachers and professors. 

When those young people leave their home nest, if they are not solidly grounded in their Christian faith - the influence of these liberal and socialist teachers and professors can have a strong effect upon them - pulling many away from their Christian faith and into the Liberal Socialist Left of the American society.  

That was a large factor in Obama winning the elections.  But, I have faith that now this pendulum has now swung to the opposite pole - and will help bring America back from the Liberal Socialist precipice.


5.  And, very damaging, is the Hollywood and Music Industry influence.  Hollywood and the Music Industry have long been and will, most likely, always be - the center of moral decadence in America.  Bring a young person into that pool of decadence, even one raised in a solid Christian home - and very soon the Hollywood peer pressure will be pulling him/her into walking with them, instead of walking with the Lord.

We have two good examples of that happening to young ladies who came from Christian homes - but entered the world of Hollywood:

The first is Miley Cyrus, who seems to have not only fallen into the trap of moral decadence - but appears to have willingly jump into the pool and is relishing her new found decadence.  I once viewed Miley as a good role model for young people.  But now I cringe whenever I see her on the television screen. 

And, sadly, the second is one that I have admired for a long time - Carrie Underwood.   The whole country, and I joined them, were greatly blessed when she and Vince Gill performed "How Great Thou Art" at the ACM Girls Night Out Superstar Women Of Country show in 2011.  For the next year, it seemed that every Christian home was buzzing about her amazing and spiritual rendition of that song.  I, too, was giving her that old spiritual pat on the back.

But, I did have some reservations.  As my wife and I were watching that performance on television, I turned to my wife and told her, "She has a great voice, she is a beautiful young lady, and I am blessed that she is open about her Christian faith.  BUT, I wish she had chosen a more modest dress for this performance.  She is open about her Christian faith - and, yet, she is on nationwide, maybe even worldwide, television wearing a dress which is way, way too short for a modest Christian girl.  At the same time she is singing this beautiful Christian song - she is also showing way too much earthly flesh, which belies that faith."

But because she did seem sincere in her Christian faith, I gave her the benefit of the doubt on that point - knowing that she was young.

However, since then she has shown herself ready to make a major compromise of that Christian faith.  In a 2012 interview, she publicly came out in support of Same-Sex Marriage.  And to add insult to injury - she tells us that "her Christian faith" demands that she support the homosexual lifestyle! 

Even the liberal Huffington Post writes about her erroneous stand.  But in its typical fashion, the Huffington Post calls her stance "in support of marriage equality" instead of what it truly is - in support of an unBiblical and God-condemned lifestyle:

Carrie Underwood Speaks Out For Gay Marriage, Cites Christian Faith As Influencing Her Liberal Views  
www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/11/carrie-underwood-gay-marriage-interview_n_1587250.html

Add Carrie Underwood to the list of stars who've come out in support of marriage equality.


The country songstress, who was raised Baptist, spoke at length about the topic in an interview with The Independent, noting that her Christian upbringing is at the core of her attitude toward same-sex marriage.


"As a married person myself, I don’t know what it’s like to be told I can’t marry somebody I love, and want to marry," 
Underwood is quoted as saying.  "I can’t imagine how that must feel.  I definitely think we should all have the right to love, and love publicly, the people that we want to love."

This all brings me full circle to the point I raise with the title of this writing:  "Which Damages The Christian Faith The Most - Atheists OR Compromising Christians?"

I was prompted to write this article by a post on Facebook by my nephew, Brad Gray.  He posted an article written by Kyle Butt who is a graduate of Freed-Hardeman University where he earned a B.A. with a double major in Bible and communications, and an M.A. in New Testament.  Currently, he serves in the Bible department at Apologetics Press and as editor of Discovery magazine.

The following is an excerpt from that Kyle Butt article:

Jesus Didn’t
Condemn Homosexuality
by Kyle Butt, M.A.- Apologetics Press www.apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=11&article=1627

By and large, the American culture is aggressively promoting the sinful lifestyle of homosexuality.  In the midst of such pressure, many people who call themselves Christians are caving in and accepting this perverted lifestyle in spite of God’s clear teachings against it (Butt, 2003). 

Just recently, the country singer Carrie Underwood stated that her Christian faith lead her to support gay marriage (Nilles, 2012).   In truth, the life and teachings of Jesus Christ could never be accurately understood to lead a person to conclude that homosexual marriage is moral (Miller and Harrub, 2004).


One of the most common arguments made in support of homosexuality is that Jesus Christ did not explicitly condemn the practice.  Supposedly, since Jesus never stated specifically: “Homosexuality is a sin,” then His failure to denounce the lifestyle can be interpreted to mean that He approved of it.  This reasoning is riddled with error.

And, in fact, Jesus Christ does condemn the homosexual lifestyle in the Bible.  The Triune God:  Father, Son (Jesus Christ), Holy Spirit - condemns that lifestyle in both the Old Testament and in the New Testament.   Therefore, Jesus Christ most certainly is condemning the homosexual lifestyle in the Bible.   Consider these Scripture references:

The homosexual lifestyle is an abomination (Leviticus 18:22), a detestable act (Leviticus 20:13), a degrading passion (Romans 1:26), an unnatural act (Romans 1:26), an indecent act (Romans 1:27), contrary to sound teaching (1 Timothy 1:10), that it is unrighteous and those who practice it will not inherit the kingdom of God, i.e., will not have eternal life in the presence of God (1 Corinthians 6:9-10).

I suppose the question I must ask my Christian Friends is:  Are YOU a Biblical Christian - OR - are YOU a compromising Christian as this young lady, Carrie Underwood, has shown herself to be? 

Either way, as a Christian believer, you are saved and have His promise of eternal life.  But, when you stand before Him at the Believers' Judgment (Bema Seat Judgment), will you be cringing like the young teen who has just put a dent in the fender of dad's new car?  Will you be comfortable, standing before Jesus Christ and explaining to Him your stand in favor of that Liberal view of His Bible, knowing that He has strongly condemned that lifestyle, and all sin lifestyles?  

God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,

Bill  
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