Goals for the New Year:
(Some of the following are borrowed from Stephen G.)(Not necessarily in highest priority order only roughly)
I. Live day to day in Christ's power
II.Memorize significant portions of scripture
III.Read through the Bible at least one entire time. (I'm in Jeremiah right now)
IV.Strengthen my fellowship with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
V.Sanctify in how I make conversation with others (including expanding who I talk, the purpose of the conversation, how I react, etc.)
VI.Learn Humility
VII.Learn Self Control
VIII.Finish Algebra 2
IX.Get my drivers license
X.Start some type of business/get a job
I know that through Christ's Power I will accomplish that which he gives me to do in the coming year (mainly the above but also much more)
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Monday, December 1, 2008
Pastor who Spearheaded ‘God’ in Pledge dies
Fifty-six years ago, the Pledge of Allegiance was different. At that time it had no reference to God. The man whose work is credited for changing this is the Rev. George M. Docherty, who died this past Thanksgiving. To us the Pledge would hardly seem normal without ‘God’ in it, but when Rev. Docherty evaluated the original “normal” pledge he realized something was missing. This feeling was so strong he went on to preach a sermon on the subject to President Eisenhower.
“I came to a strange conclusion,” he preached “There was something missing in this Pledge. And that which was missing was the characteristic and definitive factor in the ‘American Way of Life.’ Indeed, apart from the mention of the phrase, ‘the United States of America’, this could be the pledge of any Republic. In fact I could hear little Muscovites repeat a similar pledge to their hammer and sickle flag in Moscow with equal solemnity, for Russia is also a Republic that claims to have overthrown the tyranny of kingship… Russia also claims to be indivisible… Russia claims to have liberty… Again, the Communists claim, there is Justice in Russia. It is one fundamental concept that completely and ultimately separates Communist Russia from the democratic institutions of this Country… “Under God” are the definitive words… Two world convulsions shattered the illusion that you can build a nation on human ideas without a fundamental belief in God’s Providence. Crowns in Europe toppled not because of autocracy but because the peoples had lost the vision of God… The only point I make in raising the issue of the Pledge of Allegiance is that it seems to me to omit this theological implication that is inherent within the “American Way of Life.” It should be “One Nation, indivisible, Under God.” Once “Under God,” then we can define what we mean by “liberty and justice for all.” Some might assert this to be a violation of the First Amendment to the Constitution. It is quite the opposite… “Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion.” Now “establishment of religion” is a technical term. It means Congress will permit no state church in this land… This is separation of Church and State; it is not and never was meant to be a separation of religion and life…Philosophically speaking, an atheistic American is a contradiction in terms…This age has thrown up a new type of man we call him a “secular”… But they are “spiritual parasites”…Seculars are living upon the accumulated Spiritual Capital of Judaic-Christian civilization, and at the same time deny the God who revealed the divine principle upon which the ethics of this Country grow. The dilemma of the secular is quite simple. He cannot deny the Christian revelation and logically live by the Christian ethic. And if he denies the Christian ethic, he falls short of the American ideal of life. This is the issue we face today… A way of life that sees man, not as the ultimate outcome of a mysterious concatenation of evolutionary process, but a sentient being created by God and seeking to know His will and “Whose soul is restless till he rest in God.”
www.onenewsnow.com/Church/Default.aspx?id=337500
www.nyapc.org/congregation/Sermon_Archives/text/1954/under-god-sermon.pdf
The latter link is to the sermon manuscript. (I do not agree to his entire sermon)
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Civil Disobedience with Regards to Gun Control
I. Introduction
When it comes to Civil Disobedience, many people especially Christians feel uncomfortable. The have been brainwashed to accept government regulations and restrictions as almost as an eleventh commandment. Today, I will be attempting to show you, not only from the US constitution but also from the Scripture itself, that such unbending loyalty is not required or advised.
II. The Status Quo
A. The National Situation
It truly seems that year by year the hostility to guns and gun ownership increases. In the past century gun restrictions have gone from nil or near nil to waiting periods background checks, disarmament, and automatic weapons bans.
B. State Situations
While most states are still open quite open to handgun ownership, at least one, California, requires gun registration. In effect giving them the power to at any moment confiscate citizens weapons. Most other states have only banned the unlicensed carrying of handguns. In effect destroying any chance of handgun protection while traveling.
III. Constitutional Arguments nullifying Gun Control
A. The 2nd amendment
One of the first things American must realize about gun control on the federal level is it’s blatant unconstitutionality. The Bill of Rights specifically enumerates several fundamental rights the Feds are not to infringe upon. The second of these enumerated rights is this. “ A well Regulated Militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.
Many have wondered about the phrase a well Regulated Militia... Does it mean that only the Military have said rights? Not at all, a militia is in essence a citizenry who at a moments notice can pick up their weapons and defend their country. Those who started the American war for Independence were in effect militia, and their reason for attacking the British? The British were coming to take their ammunition. Now don’t get me wrong, I in no way support anarchy. That is why the phrase a well “Regulated” militia, is so crucial.
B. The Tenth amendment
It is incredibly interesting that most people also think that for a right to exist it must be explicitly enumerated in the Bill of Rights. This is not at all true, in actuality governmental power does not exist unless explicitly given. The Tenth amendment restates this very clearly in these words, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” This means that even is the 2nd amendment did not exist, gun control is still unacceptably unconstitutional.
C. State Constitutions
The constitutional argument against state gun control is, that of the fifty states only five do not explicitly enumerate said right, and all of them, like the feds can only do what has been explicitly given to them to do.
IV. The Biblical Argument
A. The Regulative principle.
For those of you who have not heard of the Regulative Principle before, in effect it is the exactly the same as the tenth amendment only directly from scripture. On of the places it is stated is Deut. 12:32 “Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it.”
What this means is that neither States nor feds can Biblically command anything which has not been commanded by God. They are helpless to rule ever action of our lives because they have not been given that power.
To put this in perspective for why we do not have to obey Gun control, I ask you, do you have to obey an impostor or a usurper? Not at all because they have no authority.
V. Refutation of opposing arguments.
A. Rom. 13
Many like to use Romans thirteen to prove that Civil disobedience is sinful. Let me quote the passage they refer to. “1 Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same.”
The phrase that is often missed is the one which says “And there is no authority except from God.” If God has not given them authority to restrict gun ownership, they have no authority to do so. An analogy of this is if your parent gives you permission to go to a party, but then your neighbor comes and says you mayn’t. To maintain that your neighbor has that authority is absurdity.
VI. Conclusion
In conclusion, I have explained the situation, and showed the constitutional arguments against it, not to mention the Biblical arguments. God’s Word is clearly and ruthlessly opposed to gun control, because God has given them no authority. And because they are without authority to do as they have done, we in all clearness of conscience, can disobey them in this area.
When it comes to Civil Disobedience, many people especially Christians feel uncomfortable. The have been brainwashed to accept government regulations and restrictions as almost as an eleventh commandment. Today, I will be attempting to show you, not only from the US constitution but also from the Scripture itself, that such unbending loyalty is not required or advised.
II. The Status Quo
A. The National Situation
It truly seems that year by year the hostility to guns and gun ownership increases. In the past century gun restrictions have gone from nil or near nil to waiting periods background checks, disarmament, and automatic weapons bans.
B. State Situations
While most states are still open quite open to handgun ownership, at least one, California, requires gun registration. In effect giving them the power to at any moment confiscate citizens weapons. Most other states have only banned the unlicensed carrying of handguns. In effect destroying any chance of handgun protection while traveling.
III. Constitutional Arguments nullifying Gun Control
A. The 2nd amendment
One of the first things American must realize about gun control on the federal level is it’s blatant unconstitutionality. The Bill of Rights specifically enumerates several fundamental rights the Feds are not to infringe upon. The second of these enumerated rights is this. “ A well Regulated Militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.
Many have wondered about the phrase a well Regulated Militia... Does it mean that only the Military have said rights? Not at all, a militia is in essence a citizenry who at a moments notice can pick up their weapons and defend their country. Those who started the American war for Independence were in effect militia, and their reason for attacking the British? The British were coming to take their ammunition. Now don’t get me wrong, I in no way support anarchy. That is why the phrase a well “Regulated” militia, is so crucial.
B. The Tenth amendment
It is incredibly interesting that most people also think that for a right to exist it must be explicitly enumerated in the Bill of Rights. This is not at all true, in actuality governmental power does not exist unless explicitly given. The Tenth amendment restates this very clearly in these words, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” This means that even is the 2nd amendment did not exist, gun control is still unacceptably unconstitutional.
C. State Constitutions
The constitutional argument against state gun control is, that of the fifty states only five do not explicitly enumerate said right, and all of them, like the feds can only do what has been explicitly given to them to do.
IV. The Biblical Argument
A. The Regulative principle.
For those of you who have not heard of the Regulative Principle before, in effect it is the exactly the same as the tenth amendment only directly from scripture. On of the places it is stated is Deut. 12:32 “Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it.”
What this means is that neither States nor feds can Biblically command anything which has not been commanded by God. They are helpless to rule ever action of our lives because they have not been given that power.
To put this in perspective for why we do not have to obey Gun control, I ask you, do you have to obey an impostor or a usurper? Not at all because they have no authority.
V. Refutation of opposing arguments.
A. Rom. 13
Many like to use Romans thirteen to prove that Civil disobedience is sinful. Let me quote the passage they refer to. “1 Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same.”
The phrase that is often missed is the one which says “And there is no authority except from God.” If God has not given them authority to restrict gun ownership, they have no authority to do so. An analogy of this is if your parent gives you permission to go to a party, but then your neighbor comes and says you mayn’t. To maintain that your neighbor has that authority is absurdity.
VI. Conclusion
In conclusion, I have explained the situation, and showed the constitutional arguments against it, not to mention the Biblical arguments. God’s Word is clearly and ruthlessly opposed to gun control, because God has given them no authority. And because they are without authority to do as they have done, we in all clearness of conscience, can disobey them in this area.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Institutes of Biblical Law
Institutes of Biblical Law is an astounding book, it openly condemns and sentences antinomians and dispensationalists. In the Intro. it makes the case that whatever is a society's source of law is it's god.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Global Warming?
A terrible threat? A horrible fate the Earth faces? A destructive force that will wipe out the world's population? It is not so, for God's word says,
Gen. 8:22
“While the earth remains,
Seedtime and harvest,
Cold and heat,
Winter and summer,
And day and night
Shall not cease.”
Is minor warming a possiblity? Of course. But minor warming is not a threat.
Gen. 8:22
“While the earth remains,
Seedtime and harvest,
Cold and heat,
Winter and summer,
And day and night
Shall not cease.”
Is minor warming a possiblity? Of course. But minor warming is not a threat.
The Bible
The Bible gives the answers for all life, including politics. 2 Tim. 3:16. In a country following God's law order Deut. 4 says that the other nation will look at that countrys laws and say how blessed that country is.
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