It seems like Christianity and Jesus are increasingly under attack. What's going on? What we'll be looking at is what happens when Christians use human wisdom to interpret the Bible, twisting scripture away from its intended message. This blog is dedicated to using Scripture itself to interpret and help us understand Scripture. You are welcome to add your comments and thoughts. Other viewpoints are welcome. Disagreements are welcome.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Ten Year Old Girl Forced To Attend Public School Because of Her Christian Beliefs
A court in New Hampshire ordered a ten year old home school girl to attend public school instead of being home schooled. Why?
Was it because she was falling behind academically? No, she was doing better than the children in public school.
Was it because she was not socially developing? No, she was outgoing, happy and "well-adjusted."
What was the reason? Because her mother was raising her daughter to be a evangelical Christian. According to the court order the girl “appeared to reflect her mother’s rigidity on questions of faith” and that the girl’s interests “would be best served by exposure to a public school setting” and “different points of view at a time when she must begin to critically evaluate multiple systems of belief...in order to select, as a young adult, which of those systems will best suit her own needs.”
In other words, parents cannot teach their Christian beliefs to their children.
Did you know that under communism in the Soviet Union there was religious freedom. That was the law of the land. How it worked was that you could practice your religion inside the walls of your church. But, you could not talk about your religion outside of the church. And you could not discuss your religion, or teach your religion to your children in your home.
A Massachusetts man has been fired from his sales position at the Logan Airport branch in Boston of Brookstone allegedly for telling a female manager that his Christian faith says homosexuality is wrong.
Peter Vadala was fired, and the company says he violated a tolerance policy. But Vadala reports his dismissal came because he expressed his Christian view of homosexuality after a female manager made repeated references, as she approached him four times during work hours, to her plans to marry her lesbian partner.
"At the start of the day, she told me she was getting married. I told her 'Congratulations,' and asked, 'Where's he taking you on your honeymoon?'" Vadala said.
"She replied that her partner was a 'she,'" he continued, "So I immediately tried to change the subject.
"I think she knew I was uncomfortable talking about it," he continued. "But, she brought it up to me three more times during the day.
"After the fourth time she told me about her plan to marry her partner, I told her, 'I think homosexuality is bad stuff,'" Vadala said.
"That's what I said. I wasn't rude about it and I didn't act disrespectfully to her," he said. "All the woman said to me as she left the store was, 'Human Resources buddy. You keep your opinions to yourself!'"
Vadala said when he was hired he went through the company's training program, including a requirement to watch a video.
"In the video, there was a homosexual man who said he overheard two workers talking. One man in the outsourced video tells the other, 'If a homosexual man hits on me, he better watch out.'
"The homosexual man in the video said he was offended, but I'm not allowed to be offended by a homosexual ... I was told that since homosexual marriage is supposedly legal in Massachusetts, that I was wrong for being offended," Vadala said.
A Brookstone human resources staffer called a few days after the incident and Vadala said he told the caller he wanted to resolve the matter.
"I spoke to (the human resources staff member) and I wanted to resolve it. I said that for his sake, the matter needed be resolved because this manager will be around customers who, chances are, will be offended by the types of things she is saying," Vadala said
But during the course of the conversation Vadala said it became clear the call wasn't about resolving the issue.
It was a few days later Vadala received a termination letter from Brookstone.
The letter accused Vadala of "harassment" and described his comments as "inappropriate and unprofessional." Further, the letter charged, he was "imposing" his beliefs upon others.
Vadala said the letter from Brookstone, signed by Susan McGrath, contained numerous false accusations.
In a copy made available to World Net Daily, the letter reads, “You acknowledge that you then expressed to Ms. (name blacked out) that you disagreed strongly with her homosexual lifestyle and that [you] believe it is wrong. You describe it in your statement, as you did when speaking with me, as 'deviant.'"
But Vadala said he didn't use that word.
McGrath's letter further asserts that a sales associate "who was working with you at the time … provided a written statement indicating that while she did not witness the conversation … you did tell her later that you 'knew (she) is marrying another woman' and that you 'hate people like that.'"
Vadala reports he also did not say that.
McGrath refused WND's request to comment on the dispute. Instead she suggested Brookstone’s legal department be contacted. That department did not respond.
When contacted about the firing, store manager Katelyn Woodard said, "You need to speak to human resources about this and if you call this number again, I'll file harassment charges."
Vadala said it's clear to him he was fired for his faith.
"Absolutely," he confirmed.
If you'd like to sound off on this issue, please take part in the WorldNetDaily poll.
Can you know which religion is true? Is more than one religion true?
We've been working on a DVD that answers this question. There are three questions you can ask to determine whether a religion is true of created by mankind. Here's the first:
Is the religion self-centered? Every religion will claim to be God centered, if they believe in a God. The way to get the answer to this question is to get the answer to another question: What happens after you die? If the answer is centered on what YOU can do, then it is a self-centered religion and thus is a false religion. Here are some examples:
Hinduism: you must live your life well within your caste. This will result in your being reincarnated into a higher level in your next life. Is this self-centered or God centered? It is self-centered and thus a false religion.
Islam: to enter paradise your good deeds must outweigh your bad deeds. Is this self-centered or God centered? It is self-centered and thus a false religion.
Christianity: there is nothing you can do to save yourself (get into heaven). Only God can save you. Is this self-centererd or God centered? It is God centered and thus is the true religion.
All religions other than Christianity are self-centered. They all claim there are things you can do to obligate God, the creator of the universe, to allow you into heaven. All other religions put man in authority over God. They say there are things you can do (good works) that then obligate God to do something for you in return. Christianity says that there is nothing we can do to obligate God to do anything. God is GOD. He is supreme. He is in charge. He is the creator and we are the created. We never have power over God. God saves us not because of what we've done, but because of what He has done... died on the cross to pay the penalty we owe for sin.
John Wesley lived almost 300 years ago. In 1729 John Wesley, his brother Charles and other students formed the "Holy Club" at Oxford University. This was the beginning of the Methodist Church. These are 22 questions members of John Wesley's Holy Club asked themselves every day in their private devotions.
Am I consciously or unconsciously creating the impression that I am better than I relly am? In other words, am I a hypocrite?
Am I honest in all my acts and words, or do I exaggerate?
Do I confidentially pass on to another what was told to me in confidence?
Can I be trusted?
Am I a slave to dress, friends, work, or habits?
Am I self-conscious, self-pitying, or self-justifying?
Did the Bible live in me today?
Do I give it time to speak to me everyday?
Am I enjoying prayer?
When did I last speak to someone else about my faith?
Do I pray about the money I spend?
Do I get to bed on time and get up on time?
Do I disobey God in anything?
Do I insist upon doing something about which my conscience is uneasy?
Am I defeated in any part of my life?
Am I jealous, impure, critical, irritable, touchy, or distrustful?
How do I spend my spare time?
Am I proud?
Do I thank God that I am not as other people, especially as the Pharisees who despised the publican?
Is there anyone whom I fear, dislike, disown, criticize, hold a resentment toward or disregard? If so, what am I doing about it?
Most Americans think they are Christian... but is that true?
Are you a Christian? Are you truly a Christian or are you just calling yourself a Christian because... you've never thought about it. Or your family was Christian. Or you believe in God. But are you truly a Christian? Watch this video.
Are you a Christian? Feel free to comment on this video using the "comments" link below.
So You May Also Have Fellowship With Us -1 John 1:3
Over the past two weeks I've made ten posts based on 1st John. These give the characteristics of a Christian (or non-Christian). An index to these posts is provided below.
Are these ten points a test that can be used to determine a person's Christianity? Yes and no. You can not go through the list, checking of yes and no, and adding up your "points" to see if you are a Christian. The Christian walk is not a steady walk. At times we fall back, make wrong choices and just plain screw up.
Where you can see the difference between a Christian and a non-Christian is in how the react to learning they might be have one of the characteristics the define a non-Christian. A Christian will be immediately concerned and looking for a way to change their life to address that problem.
We are now at the 6th characteristic than can be used to distinguish a Christan from a non-Christian..
#6 - "They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if the had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us." 1 John 2:19
Those who are Christians enjoy the company and fellowship of other Christians. All Christians immediately have something in common, the Bible and Jesus Christ. Someone who does not enjoy the fellowship of Christians is probably not a Christian.
Although this seems straight forward, I do have a word of caution. Just because someone attends church, that does not make them a Christian. Just because a church calls itself Christian, that does not make that church a Christian church. Walking away from people or a church that is not truly Christian is not what John is talking about.
I've attended church services in mainline churches, and felt totally out of place. For example, this past summer I visited a New England church in which communion is all about radical hospitality and everyone is invited to partake of communion. This is not a Christian church. It is a church I'd leave and never return to. In doing so I would not be doing what John describes in 1 John 2:19, because in this case I am not leaving Christian fellowship.
John is also not referring to someone who leaves one Christian church to attend a different Christian church. There is no one church that has a lock on Biblical truth. Different churches have different missions, different styles of worship, offer different classes, etc. We may find our gifts to be a better fit with a different church, or with a different group of Christians, and that is okay.
The person John is talking about here is the person who rejects fellowship with Christians.
My wife became a Christian several years before I did. At times she would be working around the house and would be singing spiritual songs and hymns. I love her singing, she has a wonderful voice. But those songs grated on my nerves. I did not like them and I did not want to be around her when she was singing them. That's what John is talking about.
The third characteristic of a non- Christian, as described in the book of 1st John is: (See previous post.)
#3 - "The one who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going because darkness has blinded his eyes." 1 John 2:11
In this verse the word "brother" refers to someone who is a Christian. It refers to your Christian brothers and sisters. If you hate another Christian, you are walking in darkness.
Tony [not his real name], a member of our church had been divorced. He had met another woman and asked our pastor to marry him. The pastor declined on the basis that the Bible says you may not remarry while your original spouce is alive. Tony was upset and felt the pastor's manner had been rude when he told Tony he could not perform the marriage. Tony found another pastor who would perform the marriage, and has since refused to step inside the first pastor's church... not even to attend the funeral of a friend.
A characteristic of a Christian is that they are forgiving and do not hate any other Christian.
What is hate? The Bible is not talking about feelings. It is talking about actions. Biblically, hate is the absence of deeds of love. Love expesses itself in concrete actions of love.
"Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself." - Leviticus 19:18
Hate is considering your own needs first (1 Corinthians 13:5) and disregarding those who are truly in need (Luke 10:30-37).
Love is putting the needs of others before your needs. Whenever a Christian brother has a true need and you, as a Christian, do not help them, then you have hated your brother and you walk in darkness.
The Ten Commandments give us God's definition of love. For example:
If you love God, there is nothing more important to you than God; you do not have idols in your life; and you never use God's name in an inappropriate manner.
If you love your parents you honor and obey them.
If you love other people you do not lie to them; you do not steal from them; you do not murder--which Jesus defined as being angry at someone. God looks at your thoughts and sees your anger as being the same as murder.
This is why throughout the Bible love and obedience to God are equated as being one and the same thing.
A few years ago I attended a local festival. I walked around asking people the question: "Would you consider yourself to be a good person?" Out of about 300 people I spoke with that day, 290 said they were a good person. Most people think they are good. But the Bible, and our conscience, tells us something different.
If you answered this question by saying, "Yes" you reveal that, as 1 John 1:8 says, the truth is not in you. You are not a Christian.
The Bible tells we all are sinners: "For all have sinned..." - Romans 3:23
There is no one who does not sin. Based on God's standards, there is no one who is good. What are God's standards? Start with the Ten Commandments and Jesus' Sermon on the Mount (Matthew chapters 5,6 & 7). Have you ever told a lie? Have you ever taken something that did not belong to you? (Even something small?) Have you ever looked at another person with lust? Jesus said that if you look with lust you have already committed adultery in your heart. (Matthew 5:27-30) These are just three of the Ten Commandments.
On the other hand Christians know they are not good people, because they know they fall far short of God's standards for good.
"We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands." - 1 john 2:3
If when you face Jesus on judgment day, you feel you are good enough to get into heaven, then you are not a Christian. No one is good enough. We have all failed to meet God's standards and we owe the penalty for breaking His law... it's the death penalty. The only way we can avoid the death penalty is if someone else is willing to pay that penalty for us, on our behalf. And Jesus Christ did that on the cross.
"We are telling you about what we ourselves have actually seen and heard, so that you may have fellowship with us." - 1 John 1:3
"I write this to you who believe in the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life." - 1 John 5:13
1st John provides a list of characteristics that define someone who is not a true Christians. This series of posts looks at these characteristics as described in 1st John.
There is no scoring used for these characteristics. There is nothing in the Bible that says that if you met any of these criteria, you are not a Christian. John only says that he provides this list so that believers will know they are truly saved.
Here is the first one:
#1 - "If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the true." 1 John 1:6
What does it mean to walk in darkness? Most of us believe we are walking in light... we think we are good people. Would you consider yourself to be a good person?
Have you been living with someone or having sex outside of marriage? Then you are living in darkness.
Do you regularly go out to get drunk or use drugs? Then you are living in darkness.
Are you looking at pornography, or spending a lot of your time reading romance novels? You are living in darkness.
Do you regularly use the name of God as a cuss word? Do you download copyrighted music from the internet? Do you regularly tell lies? Then you are living in darkness.
These are just a few of the clearer, easy to see examples.
In general...
If you are not actively trying to live a life in obedience to God, and struggling with sin, then you are living in darkness.
If you are not putting effort into knowing God, reading your Bible regularly, then you are living in darkness.
You can not claim to have fellowship with God and be willingly involved in sinful behavior. Sin separates us from God. You can not have fellowship with God when you are separated from God.
Do you know what it means to live in obedience to God? Do you know what sin is?
Definition of Sin
To sin is to disobey God, meaning to break God's laws.
"Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact sin is lawlessness." -1 John 3:4
We are all sinners. We all break God's laws.
"If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us." - 1 John 1:8
The difference between a Christian and a non-believer is that a Christian falls into sin and struggles with sin. A non-believer dives willingly into sin.
