Category: Culture Page 13 of 20
The New Age Trend Within Organizations – June 26, 2007
I have done a significant update to my post last year on the New Age trend going on right now on many corporate fronts. I felt it was important to clarify many of my points as well as add more content that I felt was necessary. More and more companies and organizations, including those that are public (such as AT&T and IBM), are apparently picking up this trend. At the end of the post, I have added what I feel to be where all of this could be headed, in the long-term political and private realms. We would do well to pay much closer attention to this and be on guard that, as believers in Christ, we must stand against such things, should they come our way.
http://blogs.usatoday.com/weather/2008/ … e-bra.html
What exactly would it take for you to be personally convinced that man-made global warming is a giant lie for the most part? Now to be totally fair, many scientists (even the one’s against the global-warming marketing agenda) actually agree that man-made influences have a factor to play in the warming of the Earth, but that the percentage is too insignificant to account for in the climatological models. Furthermore, the founder of the Weather Channel himself came out a while back saying those who believe man’s CO2 output is what is changing the atmosphere have absolutely no understanding of how the climate works.
Anyway, would you be convinced that the fear-mongering of those like Gore is totally without warrant if expert climatologists from MIT, Princeton (NOAA), and the National Hurricane Conference all said the data proposed by warming activists was bogus? I hope you would. And that is exactly what has happened. According to William Gray at the National Hurricane Conference this year, we are brainwashing our kids at a young age within the education system to believe our world is on the brink of utter “natural disaster” destruction (from hurricanes and floods in particular). This is misinformation at best. Think about the impact this has on a young mind’s perspective of the world. They are being taught that unless they act in drastic ways, the weather will get worse, floods will get worse and everything will fall apart in the natural order.
Yet these major scientists cited in this article are very clear that if the Earth warms, hurricanes will not increase but decrease in severity. Then they go on to say that what really influences hurricanes is the temperature fluctuations in the ocean. Hmm … so who do you believe? Al Gore, who says those (like these elite expert climatologists and myself) that deny man-made global warming are the same as those who say the Earth is flat? Or some hardcore scientists who know what the junk they’re talking about? I just don’t know how much clearer this could be. I would like to see Gore’s tax records … don’t you think it’s mildly possible he (and CNN, NBC (and its parent, GE), now the Weather Channel, and many many other organizations) are all doing this for a giant sack of mullah? Much in the same way they hypocritically accuse big oil? I mean let’s just be fair. Gore and his cronies are just as guilty of profiteering off of environmentalism as any oil exec, don’t you think?
The reason this is even an issue for me is not just because of the clear scientific data out there. And it’s really not even ultimately about guys like Gore making a ton of cash off of it (though of course that chaps me a bit). It has more to do with the fact that political policies are being implemented to steer this country toward a more secular view of the world in attempting to fix a phantom problem known as man-made global warming. That affects all of us, and ultimately it affects Christian witness to the Gospel. What if we are making policies and guidelines that are chasing after a giant lie, but that in doing so we are moving toward a more “utopian,” godless way of viewing the world and way of living? Is that remotely possible? Have we not seen in the 20th century what happens when godless, atheistic rulers take over entire cultures? Yeah, and they thought it would never happen there either …
As I was walking out the door this morning, the Today Show (no I don’t watch regularly) had a piece pertaining to cheating spouses and why it is or isn’t acceptable. The reason this was even brought up on the show was because of the new NY Governor (replacing the former governor who has been criminally indicted for being involved with a prostitution ring) admitting extra-marital affairs earlier in his marriage. In addition, his wife cheated on him as well. According to the “expert” they had on this morning, we need to be honest with our human nature when it comes to cheating. Is it really all that wrong? We need to understand that in the West we are in the minority of cultures around the world who do not accept adultery as morally correct. Therefore, maybe we should reconsider was the implication I gathered.
The only way to understand this response though is to understand the worldview it stems from: evolutionary secularism, we just exist, not because of anything creating us as it were, but we just are a bunch of chemical responses. So really what is right and wrong other than what the culture deems it to be? I noticed that he didn’t really give a fair representation of the different ways to understand cheating (secular vs. religious), he simply stated it as if it were an absolute law out there that just is what it is: the morality or immorality of multiple partners is based upon the culture. Where does he derive this from? If we are just the by-product of a bunch of random incidents making us who we are with no design behind any of them, no real purpose, then our understanding of monogamy vs. polygamy will be based purely on the culture in which we are raised because in his worldview there are no absolute moral truths governing the universe outside of ourselves, just like gravity governing that what goes up must come down.
So for us as a culture in the West, we come from a predominantly (though fast-fading) Christian worldview in which adultery is wrong and committed marriages are praised. Yet for this expert, that needs to be questioned on the basis of his premise, that morality only stems from the culture. Why is cheating wrong? Well, who says it really is other than the culture itself, he says? Hmm, maybe God Himself who exists outside of all cultures and dictates moral reality based on Himself and His character? This won’t do though for him though, on the basis of Romans 1:18, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.” The expert would position his argument that we need to question the morality of adultery as an accepting view of reality that is relativistic and holds to no one view. Yet his view is an absolute position and a view, according to him, we should all take. But there is no way he can account for his worldview to begin with, other than the fact that that is his personal preference (John Hendryx). But this still doesn’t account for the legitimacy of his worldview. We say our worldview is based upon a good and holy God who we’ve offended, who now offers redemption and restoration through His Son offered for us. And from where does he base his secular worldview?
So why do we cheat? The expert would say it’s built into our DNA and only the cultures’ morality dictates whether it is right or wrong. If the culture accepts this wholeheartedly, we will be even more devastated from the inside out than we already are. And in many ways, the culture has accepted it. Think about the moral train wreck the “free love” of the 60’s has cost us. Consider yourselves how many of your parents are now divorced. Most people in this country are single, divorced, cheating, with multiple partners, etc. People say it’s freedom, but really, it has made our culture utterly miserable and left a trail of moral collateral damage in its wake.
The Scriptures say we cheat (or sin period) because deceitfulness, vile, selfishness, and lawlessness are all built into our natures as fallen, depraved humans who are turned away from the glory of God. We need our natures restored in the glory and image of our Creator. This is our only hope. And this is exactly what Christ came to do. He came and lived the perfect life, (particularly in this instance, not once did He commit adultery) in order that He could take our punishment for our many adulteries (mainly against God) upon His shoulders on the cross and give us His perfect moral record through faith alone in Him and His work. This is the only way to truly change from the inside out. And it is the only way to get back on track with His absolute morality and to cease suppressing it in unrighteousness. Only when we have been finally, eternally accepted before the only One in the universe who ultimately matters will we desire to live according to His rules (that is really the best thing for us anyway).
If you want freedom but think freedom is really only obtained by being free from all constraints, including God Himself, then God can let you have that for eternity, apart from His goodness which is expressed in everything you experience that is good and beautiful. All that will be taken away and God will finally say to you who reject the Gospel, “Alright, have it your way, be free from Me.” Turn to the Lord and seek salvation through the cross-work of Christ. This is the true freedom: to be bound to the glory of our Creator in seeing what lengths He has gone in Christ to save those who come to Him through His power and strength.
Obama defends his Christian religion – News.yahoo.com
Nominal Christianity, that is, Christianity without Jesus as the single greatest of all people above all others for all time; Christianity that sees Jesus as just a man, and not as the God-man who effectually purchased sinners with His blood on the cross, is no Christianity at all. Christianity without Christ at its center, not as just a good teacher or moral founder, but as God Himself come in the flesh, is a utterly dead religion. And it is clear Obama’s form of Christianity is dead because of his stance on something so abominable. I find it contradictory that he claims Christianity as his religion of choice, seeing as how Christianity itself affirms with Proverbs 6:17 that God hates hands that shed innocent blood, mainly because Obama himself has approved of legislation in Illinois in favor of live-birth abortions, which I have spoken of before. He may not himself perform the abortions, but that does not negate his culpability in approving of this horrendous, evil, blatant form of infanticide that the West has ever seen at the legal level.
His passive approval (or even his active approval really) of this act defies the clear implications in Scripture that a heart supernaturally changed by the Holy Spirit will do things that please the Lord (albeit imperfectly), not things that He disdains with all His heart. There is no repentance for Obama concerning abortion (and in particular that form of it), but instead, he continues to fan the flames of something that is eating that heart out of the moral fabric of our society. I find it sad and frightening at some level, that so many high school and college students are buying into this guy wholeheartedly, just because he is such a charismatic, well-spoken individual, speaking the word “change” a thousand times.
Modified at 12:37 pm on 3/3/2008:
Smeared O Has ‘Cross’ Words – Original
Smeared O Has ‘Cross’ Words – Archived
“I pray to Jesus every night and try to go to church as much as I can.”
And this means you are a devout Christian, by living up to a list of moral “do’s” and “don’ts” as your basis for acceptance before God? Seems to me he confuses the Christian worldview understanding of what makes a person right before God with that of Islam. This here, again, demonstrates his misunderstanding of the fundamentals of orthodox Christianity, namely, the Gospel itself. He sees religion, and particularly Christianity, as a works-based religion, along with all the other religions in the world. Okay, so you’re not a Christian. That does not bother me in the least bit that as a non-Christian he is running for office. He has the freedom in this country to do that. But at least be honest about your faith.
The Christian message is the opposite of the world’s other various religions (just pick one). They pretty much all say, “Do this, do that, and you will be accepted by God for eternity in heaven.” But the Gospel, the fundamental heart of the Christian faith says, “We are unable to perform anything right that would please God enough for the degree to which we have offended Him. Therefore, Christ, God Himself, has entered into history as a man to perform that which we would never be able to accomplish by ourselves: moral perfection before the eyes of the Father on behalf of any who would trust Him for their salvation.” In other words, “Through Christ we are accepted, not on the basis of our good works and deeds, but on the basis of His good works and deeds for us, in our place, that we could never measure up to.”
Obama’s statement shows that before God, he has a laundry list of things he sees himself as having done right as payment for any wrongs committed against God’s honor and glory. However, none of his best deeds would ever be able to fish him out of the trouble all of us are in without Christ, because the one offended is infinitely glorious and the honor offended is infinite. You cannot buy off God basically. But Christ fulfilled the law of God out of love for those who trust Him. That is the Christian message. So please, Obama, do not abuse “the faith once for all delivered to the saints” as a means for political gain. That just turns me off even more from you.
Record-High Ratio of Americans in Prison – APNews.myway.com – Original
Record-High Ratio of Americans in Prison – APNews.myway.com – Archived
As Greg Koukl has talked about in a video on moral relativism (that I’m displaying below), a video I’ve wanted so many people I know to see so badly, each system of belief has a pinnacle, ultimate example of what that system produces. For example, the ultimate example of Judaism would be, say, Jesus; the ultimate example of Hinduism, Mahatma Gandhi; the ultimate example of modernistic atheism, Hitler and Stalin, and so on.
What is the end result of secular moral relativism though? Think about it. What does relativism say? All moral truths are equally valid and each person should decide for him or herself what is right and wrong without any outside influences imposed on them giving them direction. What does that ultimately produce? A sociopath, a person with no conscience. It produces a person that in an ultimate form bases the way in which they make choices upon what they think is right and wrong. Is that not what mass murderers do? Rapists? Thieves? “I think things should be this way and I will make it happen.” They are deciding for themselves what is right and wrong, aren’t they?
Why is the number of people in prison so high? And why are we the nation with the most people in jail per capita, more than any other nation!? Because moral relativism, evangelistically spread and lobbied for by secularists in our society (thus imposing their moral views on the collective society), particularly within major urban areas, is corrupting our society from the inside out and the statistics in the article above prove that to be the case. We have more and more people running around thinking they determine what’s right and wrong (that there are no moral absolutes) and we are now morally and spiritually bankrupt as a result. And it is getting worse. Teens are growing up in broken homes, looking for answers, and then they hear from teachers, “You decide what’s best for you.” That is culturally frightening on a macro scale. Just as modernistic atheism produced characters like Hitler and Stalin, so postmodern atheism will produce people on an equal plain, excluding anyone who would hold to any form of absolute divine moral truth outside of themselves (which by the way is the only logical explanation for why something IS absolutely and definitively wrong, like the hacking up of babies in Africa by genocidal tribes).
And we think this is going to get better with one of the most extremely morally relativistic Presidents to ever possibly enter the White House, setting the tone for the rest of the country? I think not. “Change” is not always a good thing my friends. May we turn to Christ and ask for His mercy to 1) revolutionize people’s thinking with the Gospel, and 2) prepare believers for hardship endured in the face of possibly being excluded for being exclusive. It’s already beginning to happen in Britain in the form of law suits. And it will soon be here if cultural patterns continue to mirror that of Europe.
To download the audio from this video in MP3 format, click here.
This video series is apparently sweeping the country in youth groups. And while I don’t doubt that there are a lot of good things that can be taken away from this series, we must pay very close attention to 1) how things are said (mainly the Gospel itself), and 2) what is not said (pertaining to the essential message of the Gospel). This series of reviews points out the high points of the series, but also the deficiencies when compared with the historic Christian faith message we have been entrusted with. Brothers and sisters, “We must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.” (Hebrews 2:1) Error always starts out small, like a ball slowly starting to roll from the top of a hill. Then the ball gains momentum, and by the time it reaches the bottom of the hill it is speeding so fast you can’t stop it, and the Gospel is lost and people are believing a lie craftily devised by Satan over time. One of the main ways Satan works to destroy the church is not so much persecution from without, but he comes and destroys the church from within by slowly (and sometimes rapidly) twisting the message just slightly. Church history proves this to be the case.
This is awesome … Tim Keller has the following sermons available that go along with his new book The Reason for God coming out this Thursday.
Exclusivity: How can there be just one true religion? (MP3)
Suffering: If God is good, why is there so much evil in the world? (MP3)
Absolutism: Don’t we all have to find truth for ourselves? (MP3)
Injustice: Hasn’t Christianity been an instrument for oppression? (MP3)
Hell: Isn’t the God of Christianity an angry Judge? (MP3)
Doubt: What should I do with my doubts? (MP3)
Literalism: Isn’t the Bible historically unreliable and regressive? (MP3)
Links point to: http://sermons.redeemer.com/store/index … gory_id=29
This was taken from the Penguin Books website from http://us.penguingroup.com/nf/Book/Book … 93,00.html:
The End of Faith. The God Delusion. God Is Not Great. Letter to a Christian Nation. Bestseller lists are filled with doubters. But what happens when you actually doubt your doubts?
Although a vocal minority continues to attack the Christian faith, for most Americans, faith is a large part of their lives: 86 percent of Americans refer to themselves as religious, and 75 percent of all Americans consider themselves Christians. So how should they respond to these passionate, learned, and persuasive books that promote science and secularism over religion and faith? For years, Tim Keller has compiled a list of the most frequently voiced “doubts” skeptics bring to his Manhattan church. And in The Reason for God, he single-handedly dismantles each of them. Written with atheists, agnostics, and skeptics in mind, Keller also provides an intelligent platform on which true believers can stand their ground when bombarded by the backlash. The Reason for God challenges such ideology at its core and points to the true path and purpose of Christianity.
Why is there suffering in the world? How could a loving God send people to Hell? Why isn’t Christianity more inclusive? Shouldn’t the Christian God be a god of love? How can one religion be “right” and the rest “wrong”? Why have so many wars been fought in the name of God? These are just a few of the questions even ardent believers wrestle with today. In this book, Tim Keller uses literature, philosophy, real-life conversations and reasoning, and even pop culture to explain how faith in a Christian God is a soundly rational belief, held by thoughtful people of intellectual integrity with a deep compassion for those who truly want to know the truth.