1: YOUR EGO OR MINE?
We all want others to feed our ego and our sense of self-worth. We all want to be flattered, admired and appreciated. But how many of us want to return the favor, particularly when that appreciation doesn’t pay us dividends in some way? Here lurks a most putrid of human traits which God calls “pride”. It calls us to elevate ourselves above God and others in any way possible. After all, if we’re all on the same value level, how are we to impress and so feel really good about ourselves?
(STEVE LAW “Lumbar Spasm” from “Anatomy in Suspension”)
Ah, but God requires humility. Paul put it this way:
“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only on your own interests, but also on the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus, who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant…” (Philippians 2:3-4).
2: ARE YOU REALLY READING THIS?
In April 2012 I wrote a post called, “If There Is No God…” in which I said the following:
(If there is no God), “Love is just a matter of chemicals and energy acting on our bodies. Next time you’re with your wife or girlfriend and she asks if you really love her, tell her that you are experiencing some chemical reactions, and as long as they continue you will stick around”.
A similar point was made far more eloquently by John Stonestreet this week for “The Point” Radio, in an article titled, “Is It All in Your Head?” John superbly highlighted the kind of irrational and biased thought emanating from many who use their positions of influence against us, and the ease of answering such nonsense if we only have the will:
You’re not really conscious. You just think you are.
In a recent New York Times essay, Princeton neuroscientist Michael Graziano repeats a tired assertion of modern materialism: consciousness is “nothing but” an illusion. Our experience of our own existence, free will and even our minds are effervescent byproducts of chemical reactions inside our skulls.
“How does the brain go beyond processing information to become aware of information?” Graziano asks. The answer: it doesn’t…Awareness is an erroneous conclusion.
But as neuroscientist Michael Egnor writes at Evolution News and Views, calling awareness an erroneous conclusion presupposes awareness!
“If I am aware that I’m not aware,” he writes, “then I’m aware… that I’m not aware, in which case I’m aware.”
Published: November 3, 2014 6:17 AM http://www.thepointradio.org/listen/entry/38/26329
3: ENFORCED DIVERSITY GETS MORE BRAZEN
A recent article by John Bingham of the UK’s “Telegraph” reported that a successful Christian school in England has been warned it is to be downgraded by inspectors, and could even face closure after failing to invite a leader from another religion, such as an imam, to lead assemblies.
The small independent school was told it is in breach of new rules intended to promote “British values” such as individual liberty and tolerance in the wake of the Trojan Horse scandal, involving infiltration by hard-line Muslim groups in Birmingham.
Details of the case are disclosed in a letter to the Education Secretary, Nicky Morgan, from the Christian Institute, which is providing legal support to the school.
I would be interested to know if the “tolerant” UK government is going to require an evangelical Christian to speak at a Muslim school?
Remember, if everything is “true” then nothing is objectively true. The “all roads lead to God” assertion is by definition intolerant of the Christian God and the Christian Savior (see my post, “Are All Religions Worshipping the Same God?”).
4: ATTACK OF THE VOWEL KILLERS
Our five and a half vowels have multiple possible sounds, do they not? When I went to school, “family” was pronounced “fam-i (as in “in”)-ly”. Now Dictionary.com gives the modern, fashionable pronunciation:
family
I’ve noticed in recent months that it’s the vowels which are most likely to be shaped according to fashion:
Suptumbrr…Aaktobrr…Novumbrrr…
Well, WHUT-AAVRR!
5: NAIIVITY, LACK OF WILL, OR SILENT SUBMISSION?
The mighty United States, along with its “partners” in the West, plus its Arab/Muslim coalition can’t defeat Islamic State…really?
6: PAJAMARAMA
In a cultural rejection of the ubiquitous uniform of the street-blue-jeans and t-shirt-people in the town where I live resort to the ease and comfort of pajamas. You can see them walking their dog, strolling in the park, and vacuuming out their cars in bright pink or yellow pants with favorite characters like Spider Man or Betty Boop. One day I counted five pairs of pajamas in Wal-Mart.
7: HOMOPHOBIA-PHOBIA
I was a little surprised to dispel my misconceptions and learn that the prefix “homo” does not speak of man in general, but of “homosexual” men. Does this mean that “homo-erectus”, “homo-habilis” and all the other “homos” were the “other way” inclined? If so, how did we all get here? Hmm, that’s a little confusing, but I’m probably just showing my higgorance here.
“Homophobia”, then, is not the fear of man (as I had mistakenly assumed) or the fear of ape-man or missing links, but the undue fear of homosexuals. The word is another in a long list of words used to trash my views, my opinion, my freedom of thought, my Bible and my God. I’ve had friends who were homosexuals, but my stance on their way of life, according to some, would make me a “homophobe”.
It leads me to wonder if some people out there are not suffering from the fear of homophobes: we could call the malady “homophobia-phobia”, or perhaps “paranoia”.
8: BUSHOPHOBIA
I still hear people blaming George Bush for all the ills of the world-well, him and the Israelis. In a world and a culture of blame, it’s necessary for us all to blame someone else for our problems. However, on the Day we all appear before our Creator to give an account for our lives, it just won’t cut it for us to say “It was all Bush’s fault!” Instead, the blame will lie much closer to home. Who did our hearts and our minds and our proclivities lead us to vote for? Who played on while the people in charge attacked the foundations of Christian society and culture? Who agreed with his and their views of morality and origins and integrity?
9: HOW TO REPORT YOUR CARBON FOOTPRINT TO A GOVERNMENT INSPECTOR (picture copyright © Nick Fisher 2014):
Fuel for Faith 