God is our Savior, not the State

I get why socialism continues to be an attractive philosophy to so many. Advocates include a variety of good hearted, well meaning people from all walks of life who truly care about the well being of their fellow man. They see suffering and injustice and want to relieve it. They see some with so much and others with hardly any and think if we just share the wealth, those with more than enough will still have plenty and those with hardly anything will at least have a little more and much suffering will be alleviated. Sounds good, in theory... But in practice, it just doesn’t work. History is replete with examples of failed socialism and none where it was/is successful when fully employed. Socialism does not, can not, bring about the utopia its devotees yearn for. Shangri-La remains elusive. Paradise will still be lost.

Socialism fails in practice for a number of reasons. Behind some lovely sounding platitudes are some fatal assumptions. Karl Marx, the father of socialism made this famous statement, “From each according to his ability, to each according to his need.” This statement naively assumes that the producers can’t wait to jump into their labor with enthusiasm so that at the end of the day they can give most of it away to those who need but can’t or won’t produce. That flies in the face of human nature. This is why free market systems always out produce communist systems. And communism is the only logical political end of socialist thinking. Marx and Engles outlined their ideal socialist classless society in their Communist Manifesto.

A socialist views man as basically good. But God tells us man is sinful at his core. Many ‘good’ men when they acquire power and wealth soon begin to abuse that power, craving more and accumulating excess wealth while still spouting platitudes about helping the huddled masses.

Socialism elevates the State to be in the place of God, but unlike the transcendent good God, the State is made up of flawed men however well intentioned they start out. The State will inevitably demand complete unquestioning allegiance desiring increasing amounts of power and control. It will simultaneously, incrementally remove liberties from the people all the while promising that their sacrifices are necessary for the greater good of the State and to usher in the coming utopia. When the State is given the place of God, eventually the State will see God as a threat to its goals and seek to remove Him. The State will seek to silence all dissenting voices for the good of the State. The State will always seek to further cement their socialist philosophy in the minds of their citizens by instructing the youth in this State promoting worldview in the State run schools and institutions of higher learning.

What I ‘get’ less is a growing group of Christians I’ve been interacting with that seriously think it would be good idea to adapt Socialism because it could be used to bring about the fulfillment of Christ’s commandment for the church to help the poor and hurting of the world. I think these sincere Christians are likely fed up with a lack of perceived progress the church has made in reducing the plight of the poor (whom if you remember, Jesus said would always be among us). The church should seek to bless the poor, the orphan, the widow, as they share the love of Christ because they have been blessed by His grace. It should be an act of charity. When the State seeks to give aid to the needy in a socialistic manner, they do so by forcibly taking money away from some and redistributing it as they see fit - devoid of the gospel.

Christians should be at the forefront of helping the hurting in our communities and the world as the Church. However, I think it is dangerous and wrong to think it is safe and good to use a godless philosophy to further God's commandments for the CHURCH to help the poor. It's like Abraham using Hagar to fulfill God’s promise of a son. Trouble will likewise come when Christians think it is okay to abdicate the duties of the Church to the State and put the State in a position that only God should be in. The Church needs to be the Church and the State needs to stick to what the State should do – punish evil and condone good. People have been taken captive by the lie that it is the State, and not God that is to be our savior and sustainer and source of all good things. Even some well intending Christians have been tempted to believe this lie. Lord, shine the light of Truth and give us eyes to see any lies we may be tempted to believe.

Is Unfair Always a Bad Thing?

Life isn’t fair. Have you ever thought that or had your child bemoan that sentiment to you perhaps in response to a parental ruling just handed down? Well, life is not fair. Why do we think it should be? And when it comes down to it, what would fair actually look like? Who gets to decide what fair is? Because of differing worldviews, we would never agree as to what being fair is. Hitler thought it was fair to rid Germany of those he determined were screwing up the gene pool. He thought it only fair to the über manch to eliminate inferior genes from being passed on. I don’t think it’s fair that just because I’m over 50 I can no longer eat the same things I did at 49 and not gain weight. UNFAIR. So by fair do I mean I don’t want any unpleasant consequences and basically I want my cake and to eat it too? (without gaining weight that is)

Well there is one case of unfairness that I actually rejoice over. My salvation is unfair! I am saved from the wrath of God to come not by merit but by grace alone, through faith alone in Jesus my Lord and Savior. Totally unfair! I deserve God’s wrath for committing cosmic treason against my Creator every time I sin. I deserve to go to hell. But I praise God and am so grateful for His mercy and grace who credits me with the righteousness earned by Jesus living a sinless life and also accepts on by behalf the payment given by Jesus sacrificing His perfect life on the cross in my place. I am freely given by grace what I could never earn and do not deserve based on anything found in me. I am reconciled to God through Jesus Christ my Lord. Really glad about receiving grace instead of what was fair when it comes to my salvation. Plus, since I didn’t earn it, I can’t lose it so I can rest sweetly in His grace. God thought of everything. That's why the Bible's message of salvation is called the gospel or 'Good News'. There could be no better news.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Pondering the Imponderables

Do you ever lay there at night and ponder the imponderables? When I was a teenager it used to be INFINITY that blew my mind. We were taught that the universe went on forever… Now we know that is not true. It is continually expanding but it does not go on forever. So now I get to ponder, what is on the other side of the edge of the universe??? Contemplating these things is child’s play compared to contemplating God. He’s the One who spoke and the Universe came into being. God has no beginning and no end. He created time and is not bound by it. So what will existing outside of time be like? Why did God make billions of people who will choose never to accept Him as their Lord and Savior? Why did God allow this or not do that? How does God accomplish His sovereign decretive will using our free will choices that often violate His prescriptive will… and is able to work it all out for the good of those who love Him and are called by Him according to His will and purposes?

Over years of pondering the imponderables (I have only mentioned a few here) I can only speculate as to the why and end up having to be content with, "I don't know" - but that's okay. God knows and I since I must trust Him for my next breath, I think I can trust Him with the whys to my imponderables. But pondering these imponderables is not an exercise in futility. It is exercise for my mind that has helped me arrive at some solid truths.

• Pondering these questions will either drive you to your knees in worship of your Creator or send you pridefully huffing away from Him. [Pray it is not the latter]
• God’s ways are not our ways

  [Isaiah 55:9 As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts. - I must accept that my finite mind cannot comprehend the infinite mind of God except for where He has sweetly stooped to lisp]

• God does not owe me an explanation

  [(book of Job) and why possibly would the clay pot get to lip off to the potter?]

• When ever I have the ridiculous thought that I am ever more loving, more caring, more fair than God I need to remember that the only reason I have a clue as to what loving, caring and fairness are, is because God gave me the ability to even value those qualities that are a reflection of who He is. [So, yikes. I should shut up]
• Is this universe with all it's pain and suffering the best possible universe for God's good purposes? Many times I end with echoing Peter from John 6, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” [LORD, I believe, help my unbelief]
  

The heavens really do declare His righteousness, and all the peoples have seen His glory. Selah.

The Fruit of Post Modern Thinking - Whatever

Our first Post Modern President selects the first Post Modern Supreme Court Justice with the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor. What does it all mean? Well what ever you want it to mean if you are a Post Modernist, because truth, after all, is relative. If you are a Post Modern thinker you manufacture your own reality based on what works for you. You determine from the richness of your extensive experience - what is true, what is just, what is morally good, what is right, what is acceptable – today… There is no bigger picture, no lasting truth, so you are left with only preferences. Hard to build a nation (or a life) on a foundation foolishly laid on the shifting sands of human preference, (which is always self serving). It will crumble, crash, burn. No basic truth system exists for the Post Modernist so reason is conveniently tossed out the window, because, well, they just don’t like it if it doesn’t serve their desires.

In selecting Sotomayor, Obama said he chose her not only because of her "brilliant" legal career, but her "wisdom accumulated from an inspiring life's journey." She has been brilliantly overturned five of the six times her decisions were brought before the Supreme Court. Oops. But don’t forget, post modern thought allows you to create your own reality, never mind those pesky facts. An inspiring life journey, while nice, does not qualify you to be on the Supreme Court. Obama also selected Sonia for her “empathy” and “common touch”. Since when does empathy trump justice? It did for a group of firefighters who sued New Haven Connecticut for tossing out the results of a promotion test they passed that happened to qualify too many whites and Hispanics for promotion but no African Americans. NOT FAIR and after they paid to have a test made that would not discriminate based on race. After all, we need a firefighting team that looks like America not those most qualified. Duh. Sotomayor empathetically sided with New Haven and against the fire fighters that deserved promotions based on their test scores but were denied them so those who flunked the promotion test (people of color) would not be discriminated against or feel bad or what??? She ruled there was no injustice on the part of New Haven as no promotions were handed out so all were treated the same… I don’t think so! Justice is no longer about the law or right and wrong, in a post modern world it is merely the empathetic preference of a “judge” using her power to redistribute justice based on her personal bias for or against a certain ethnicity or gender or… whatever. Our post modern president has already begun implementing his preference to redistribute the wealth from those who earned it by working hard to those who didn’t. Wow, what empathy. I’m going to work really hard and earn lots of money so my president can take it from me and give it someone else who doesn’t feel like working as hard as me. Remember the story the Emperor Has No Cloths? We’re living it.

Nothing, Nothing, Nothing --- EVERYTHING!!!

Where did the cosmos (all there is) come from?
There are only two possibilities.

1. The cosmos at one time came into being

2. The cosmos has always existed

Carl Sagan would opt for #2.

“The cosmos is all there is, or ever was, or ever will be”

But Carl had not considered the second law of thermodynamics when he made his faith claim. Simply stated, the second law demonstrates that all energy is becoming less efficient. The cosmos is winding down. If it has been around for not only billions and billions of years, but forever and always, logic insists that it would necessarily had to have wound down completely.

Both Macro-Evolution and Creation believe in #1, though they have very different views on how the universe and life began. Evolution affirms the ‘Big Bang Theory’ where the universe burst into existence about 13.7 billion years ago and time began. The bang wasn’t an explosion but actually happened when a very small point of singularity like those thought to exist in the middle of black holes, for no known reason, started to expand and the universe came into existence. So all the matter in the entire universe was compressed by a huge gravitational force into this infinitely small point and then expanded to become known as the universe, which science has observed is still expanding today. The singularity didn't appear in space; rather, space began inside of the singularity. Prior to the singularity, nothing existed, not space, time, matter, or energy - nothing.

Close your eyes and think of nothing….. you can’t do it. Once you think of anything, it is no longer ‘nothing’. But I digress.

In other words,

nothing, nothing, nothing --then-- EVERYTHING!!!

Creation also believes the universe burst into existence but not by chance but on purpose at the command of the Creator. Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” Isaiah 40:22 and Psalm 104:2 talk about God stretching out the heavens like a canopy, spreading them out like a tent to live in. So while Creationists share the belief that the universe and time had a beginning, they believe the cause of creation was the self-existent, eternal God of the Bible who created the universe to glorify Himself.

In other words,

Self-existent, eternal God –created-- EVERYTHING!!!

Even if you don’t believe in God, you have to admit, a self-existent, eternal God creating everything at least has logic on its side. Cause and effect. Everything coming from nothing or being coming from non-being, takes way more faith then belief in an eternal God. Ya kind of have to suspend some laws of physics as well.

Timeless Truths

Excerpt from a Michael Steele speech where he commented on policies pushed forth by our current president and democratic congress that will bring about an America that is more dependent on government, less industrious and less ambitious than our nation's ideals. I couldn’t agree more. I really want America to remain a free democratic republic and not get led by a Pied Piper into failed socialist ideologies that will bring us trickle up poverty and misery like they have everywhere they have ever been tried throughout history. Stop drinking the kool-aid people. Wake up.

"You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift."

"You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong."

"You cannot help the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer."

"You cannot further the brotherhood of man by encouraging class hatred."

"You cannot establish security by borrowing money."

"You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich."

"You cannot build character and courage by taking away one's initiative and incentive."

"You cannot help individuals permanently by doing for them what they should do for themselves."

Imagio Dei or Imagio Goo?

Are we - Imagio Dei, created by God, made in His image as stated in Genesis or are we imagio goo with no more significance than a grown up germ; a meaningless accident of time and chance and goo? Here are three quotes from people who ardently reject the idea of God being our Creator who designed our amazing world and filled it with abundantly diverse life.

"Biology is the study of complicated things that give the appearance of having been designed for a purpose" - Richard Dawkins in his book "The Blind Watchmaker"

"Biologists must constantly keep in mind that what they see was not designed but rather evolved" - Francis Crick, the discoverer of DNA double helix

"I remember well the time when the thought of the eye made me cold all over, but I have got over this stage of the complaint, and now small trifling particulars of structure often make me very uncomfortable. The sight of a feather in a peacock's tail, whenever I gaze at it, makes me sick." - Charles Darwin from "The Life Letters of Charles Darwin" - letter written to Asa Gray dated 3 April, 1860

Imagio Dei or imagio goo. It changes everything.