PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS

On November 3 2019 I spoke at Cloverdale Baptist Church on the subject Persecution and the Response that must be expected from us toward other believers in jeopardy in many nations where freedom of religion is denied.

The link presents the 35 min presentation. Persecution and a CBC Response November 03, 2019
 

RAPID CHRISTIAN RESPONSE IS NOT A TOO-TALL EXPECTATION.

It’s not surprising that some Christians become disillusioned and disappointed with a church, with its leaders and with the Christian friends who comprise it. Christian education and evangelism are not the only services a church should prioritize. When a person, or couple or family experiences a crisis, the church should respond. Rapid Christian response should be the ready position. Christian friends should jump to assist. Even when the presenting issue is awkward, distressing, immoral, angry, or hopeless, it is a God-assigned responsibility to love and to listen and to counsel and to shelter and to give aid. That’s not a too-tall expectation.

COUNTERING THE CLAIM THAT OBAMA WAS THE MOST ANTI-CHRISTIAN PRESIDENT

Claims that are Made to Justify the Opinion that Obama was the Most Anti Christian President. 

First, this allegation is made without an comparative information about other US Presidents. Second, I have answered each of Conservative activist David Horowitz’s eight itemized accusations with some factual evidence that invalidates the majority of the claims. He himself could have ferreted out these details. Nothing is gained by these crazy claims. But Horowitz managed to sell another book with this diatribe. Dark Agenda. No one should share either liberal or conservative activist exaggerations without first examining them and validating them.

PRO-LIFER OPINIONS ABOUT SOCIAL ISSUES OTHER THAN ABORTION

An acquaintance wrote a statement recently. It prompted me to think and to respond. He wrote, “Things I'll never understand: how American "pro-life" advocates can justify the violation of the right to personal bodily integrity to prevent abortion, but cannot entertain the thought of ANY violation of the right to access firearms that would prevent the mass murder of school children.”

Immediately thereafter, he added a second statement. “If you're "pro-life" in America, you are most likely fine with forcing a 13 year old rape victim to carry to term and give birth to the perpetrator's child, but vehemently opposed to restrictions that would limit access to fully automatic military weapons that kill thousands every year.” 

I enjoy thoughtful people whose minds stimulate significant discussion points.

FALSE NEWS WON’T STOP BUT WE DON’T HAVE TO SPREAD IT

My Monday appeal. Debunk them, junk FB posts & junk Tweets. By junk I mean False. Yep, I’m serious. Be4 you post it, check it, confirm it, be4 you swallow it. Be a fact checker. Why? Because false stories go viral sooner than truth. Don’t be a propagator. Be4 you post it, STOP, do a gutcheck. Take 90-120 sec. to verify source & credibility. 

To help checking, here are some fact check sites.

• Politifact : http://www.politifact.com/ 
• Factcheck.org:  http://www.factcheck.org/
• Washington Post Fact Checker Washington Post Fact Checker
• Snopes:  Snopes
• Truth be Told:  http://truthbetold.news/category/fact-checks/
• NPR Fact-Check:  http://www.npr.org/sections/politics-fact-check
• Hoax Slayer:  http://www.hoax-slayer.com/ 
• FactsCan:  http://factscan.ca/
• Guardian Reality Check:  https://www.theguardian.com/news/reality-check

DOES LOVE OR BLOOD CLEANSE HUMANS FROM SIN?

Some of our contemporary Christian worship music errs when it suggests that the love of Jesus drenches us with forgiveness or suggests that love cleanses us of sin. This is not a matter of semantics but theological accuracy.

Sure, love has a place in this salvation equation. It is because of God’s love for the world of sinners (John 3:16) that he sent His Begotten Son Jesus to earth where because of Jesus love for and obedience to the Father, he surrendered his body to a death whereby his blood would be spilled. 

TIME ZONES, Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow

Paul McCartney wrote about 'Yesterday,' still one of his most popular songs. In 1999 BBC acclaimed it to be greatest song of the past 100 years. I'm sure there are contenders for that title but that is not my purpose for mentioning two more songs. They are 'Today,'' words and music by Randy Sparks and made memorable by the New Christy Minstrels and by John Denver; and 'Tomorrow,' by Quvenzhané Wallis, written for the musical, "Annie."