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Wimpy, Weak, and Woke (Book Review)
“We think that for a general about to fight an enemy, it is important to know an enemy’s numbers, but still more important to know the enemy’s philosophy” (G.K. Chesterton).[1] Imagine living in a world of chaos, complete irrationality, and histrionics, a world where reason, history, and reality do not exist or no longer matter. Imagine living in a world where people who claim to be “oppressed” and “powerless” can riot in the streets with impunity and use their “marginalized”[2] status to get you fired or charged with hate crimes and dragged through court for years. Wait, we do not need to imagine this. Ever wonder what the heck[3] is…
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He Regrets Us
“But the Lord saw that the wickedness of humankind had become great on the earth. Every inclination of the thoughts of their minds was only evil all the time. The Lord REGRETTED that he had made humankind on the earth…. So the Lord said, ‘I will wipe humankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth – everything from humankind to animals, including creatures that move on the ground and birds of the air, for I REGRET that I have made them” (Genesis 6:5-7). “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so too it will be in the days of the Son of Man. People were…
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Gaze On God, Not the Wicked
News headlines are bleak these days. Factual events are spun as fiction to benefit the guilty. Differing accounts cause confusion and disguise the truth. And just when it seems things can’t get worse, violence breaks out again, communities are displaced, and thousands tragically perish. The marginalized suffer (again) while the wealth of the privileged increases. It can seem like the wicked are winning. We can feel like Asaph, the writer of Psalm 73. 3 For I envied those who are proud, as I observed the prosperity of the wicked.4 For they suffer no pain; their bodies are strong and well fed.5 They are immune to the trouble common to men; they do not suffer as other men…
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True Story – ad Absurdum
“They invent ways of doing evil” – The Apostle Paul, Romans 1:30. This begins as a true story: When I was an outcast, oddball, “loser” in high school, bottom of the pecking order and always in danger of getting picked on or beat up, I came up with the idea of pretending to be a Satan worshiper. I found this could be helpful to me in several ways: 1. It made people think twice about picking on me. 2. It brought me the attention I craved as an awkward, outsider teenager. After all, any attention is good attention. Now let us imagine a nightmare scenario. (Think along the lines of…
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Slavery and Abortion in a Nutshell
“Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.” Proverbs 14:14 In these most recent heated debates, I thought some food for thought might be appropriate: SLAVERY existed in America for about 300 years. It is possible that up to Approximately 60 million human beings died in and due to the American version of slavery during that time.[1] Half the country believed they were “free” to own slaves and that it was their “right.” (Constitutional right, certainly. God-given right even.) Many argued that blacks and Africans were not even human beings but were property. Who were others to tell them what to do with their own property?…
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Rejoicing in the Results of the Fear of the Lord
Scriptures contain over 390 verses that have to do with some sort of fear of the Lord. Obviously, it is an important subject to God. When we fear (have an awe, respect, or reverence of) the Lord, we can expect certain results that cause us to rejoice! Our attitude toward evil is affected when we fear the Lord. We will develop a hatred of evil (morally objectionable behavior) (Prov 8:13) not only in others but in ourselves. It is easy to hate evil in others, but it takes humility to see our own evilness as just as bad. We will hate evil so we will turn away (leave a set…
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Pray Imprecatory Psalms Against Evil
When the twelve disciples faced the impossible task of feeding 5,000 people, they said to Jesus, “We only have five loaves and two fish” (Matthew 14:17). That’s how I feel as I watch yet another injustice destroy innocent lives in a far corner of the world. Once again, I only have my prayers to bring to Jesus. But because God is able to multiply them, I join my voice with the psalmist to plead that he would stop evil. This time, I turn to the imprecatory psalms. The imprecatory psalms are those that call down destruction, calamity, and God’s judgment on enemies. These psalms express our outrage about injustice unleashed on…
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Right Thinking When Facing Evil
“Why, God?” The question that always comes up when something evil happens. Yes, something evil is happening in many places around the world, including right here in the United States. God does not do the evil. Evil humans do it. The next question is usually, “Why didn’t God stop it?” Now you are at the bigger questions, which are “Why does God let any of us do evil? Why doesn’t He stop it if He is capable of doing so?”
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The Devil Made Me Do It
In 1985, Richard Ramirez, a Satanist, killed fourteen Californians. Ramirez claimed evil spirits made him mutilate the elderly, women, and children. His savagery even terrified his trial judge. What do we make of this monstrosity? Or of racially motivated violence, where even Christians misappropriate Scripture to deny the basic human dignity of those they deem inferior to them? The testimonies of Christ and the apostles give evidence that demons work by seducing us with pride, greed, and lust. But can we hold demonized humans responsible for the sins committed under demonic influence? Who bears ultimate responsibility for 9/11 or the Nazi genocide of Jews? Satan, or those who commited the…
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What’s Love Got to Do with It?
Some would argue that a loving personal God could not allow the existence of evil and social injustice. Others blame an omnipotent God for malignancies like terrorism and the trafficking of young girls for sexual slavery. God foreknew evil. By the act of creation, God instilled evil's feasibility. But does that make Him responsible for it? Not according to 1 John 2:16. Enter: Free Will. Some may scoff at the notion, as if by supplying it God has given us license to misbehave. But free will does not hinder God’s ability to encroach upon choice. He can stop the madness anytime he chooses. And let’s not forget Jesus Christ—the one…
