Monthly Archives: July 2013

Bible, Politics, Sexuality

It is here: “Silence will be interpreted as disapproval”

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As I pointed out to our Sunday School class when doing a few lessons on Refuting Pro-Gay Theology, there is no more fence.  By that I mean that the Left is forcing you to pick a side.  No more mushy middle when you can give lip service to the word of God yet not have it cost you anything.

Here is the clearest example I’ve seen: DOJ on ‘gays’: ‘silence will be interpreted as disapproval’ (text below).  Note that DOJ = Department of Justice.  Let me repeat that: Department of Justice.  You know, the people charged with executing justice in the land.

You can thank the false teachers and theologically Liberal “Christians” for this.  You would think that they would at least pretend to care about religious freedom, but they don’t even offer the mildest rebuke.  And why would they?  When your religion is worshiping the government then you don’t care if they take away real religious freedom.

Read it carefully.  This is where things are going.  You can’t just “tolerate” these behaviors, you must actively affirm them — or else.

Following are excerpts from the “DOJ Pride” decree. When it comes to “LGBT” employees, managers are instructed:

“DON’T judge or remain silent. Silence will be interpreted as disapproval.” (Italics mine)

That’s a threat.

And not even a subtle one.

Got it? For Christians and other morals-minded federal employees, it’s no longer enough to just shut up and “stay in the closet” – to live your life in silent recognition of biblical principles (which, by itself, is unlawful constraint). When it comes to mandatory celebration of homosexual and cross-dressing behaviors, “silence will be interpreted as disapproval.”

This lawless administration is now bullying federal employees – against their will – to affirm sexual behaviors that every major world religion, thousands of years of history and uncompromising human biology reject.

Somewhere, right now, George Orwell is smiling.

The directive includes a quote from a “gay” federal employee to rationalize justification: “Ideally, I’d love to hear and see support from supervisors, so it’s clear that there aren’t just policies on paper. Silence seems like disapproval. There’s still an atmosphere of LGBT issues not being appropriate for the workplace (particularly for transgender people), or that people who bring it up are trying to rock the boat.”

Of course there’s “still an atmosphere of LGBT issues not being appropriate for the workplace.” When well over half of federal employees, half the country and most of the world still acknowledge objective sexual morality (and immorality), “the workplace,” especially the federal workplace, should, at the very least, remain neutral on these highly controversial and behavior-centric issues.

Still, to borrow from self-styled “queer activist,” anti-Christian bigot and Obama buddy Dan Savage, “it gets better”:

“DO assume that LGBT employees and their allies are listening to what you’re saying (whether in a meeting or around the proverbial water cooler) and will read what you’re writing (whether in a casual email or in a formal document), and make sure the language you use is inclusive and respectful.”

Is this the DOJ or the KGB? “[A]ssume that LGBT employees are listening …”? And what are “LGBT allies”? If you disagree with the homosexual activist political agenda, does that make you the enemy?

Yes, in any workplace, language should remain professional, but who defines what’s “inclusive”? Who decides what’s “respectful”? If asked about “LGBT issues,” for instance, can a Christian employee answer honestly: “I believe the Bible. I believe that God designed sex to be shared between husband and wife within the bonds of marriage”? Or is that grounds for termination?

Here are some more DOs:

DO “Attend LGBT events sponsored by DOJ Pride and/or the Department, and invite (but don’t require) others to join you.”

DO “Display a symbol in your office (DOJ Pride sticker, copy of this brochure, etc.) indicating that it is a ‘safe space.'”

Are you kidding? Does this administration really think it’s legal to induce managers to “attend LGBT events,” or to “display pride stickers” against their will? That’s compulsory expression. That’s viewpoint discrimination.

That’s unconstitutional.

But there’s more:

“DO use inclusive words like ‘partner,’ ‘significant other’ or ‘spouse’ rather than gender-specific terms like ‘husband’ and ‘wife’ (for example, in invitations to office parties or when asking a new employee about his/her home life).”

Oh, brother.

Sorry. Oh, gender-neutral sibling.

“DO use a transgender person’s chosen name and the pronoun that is consistent with the person’s self-identified gender.”

In other words, lie. Engage in corporate delusion.

“DO deal with offensive jokes and comments forcefully and swiftly when presented with evidence that they have occurred in the workplace.”

“DO communicate a zero-tolerance policy for inappropriate jokes and comments, including those pertaining to a person’s sexual orientation and gender identity or expression.”

Who gets to decide what’s an “inappropriate joke [or] comment”? I thought we had a Constitution for that. It sure ain’t Big Brother Barack. Sure, I get it, it’s probably better not to start your work day with: “A lesbian, a tranny and two gays walk into a bath house …” but still, “no law … abridging the freedom of speech,” means no law. No matter how much Obama wishes it so, we don’t leave our constitutional rights at the federal workplace door.

The DOJ edict even addresses cross-dressing man woes:

“As a transgender woman [that’s a man in a skirt], I want people to understand that I’m real. I want to be recognized as the gender I really am [again, you’re a man in a skirt]. Yes, there was awkwardness with pronouns at first for folks who knew me before the transition. But it hurts when several years later people still use the wrong pronouns. And just imagine if people were constantly debating YOUR bathroom privileges. Imagine how humiliating that would be.”

Tell you what, buddy: I won’t “debate YOUR bathroom privileges” if you return to this planet. You’d better stay the heck out of the ladies room while my wife or two daughters are in there; otherwise, we have a problem. Women have an absolute right not be sexually harassed in the workplace – a right to privacy when using the facilities. To constantly worry whether a gender-confused, cross-dressing man is going to invade her privacy creates a hostile work environment.

Uncategorized

Bizarre advice from the UCC

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Then again, what do you expect from a denomination that makes people like race-baiting false teacher Chuck “Jesus is not the only way” Currie?

Via #Facepalm Friday: Dear Theo, My Partner Wants an Open Relationship.

The United Church of Christ has an advice column on its official website.  This week a reader is caught between embracing polyamory and stifling his partners lust with old fashioned monogamy.  It is hard to pick the best bit of wisdom offered by Theo.  Perhaps it is, “Whenever I don’t know what to do, I go to the Bible. Jesus is not much help in this case…” or “I’m not making a case against desire. Humans are animals, and we rut like any other animal. It is natural to feel desire for multiple humans.”

With this kind of spiritual advice from a UCC minister it no wonder this particular church is imploding.

 

Roundup

Roundup

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The Self-Evident Nature of Objective Moral Truths — When people try to deny the obvious truth that there are objective moral truths, you can make simple examples and add “for the fun of it” to make your point.  People may rationalize all sorts of things — rape, murder, etc. — but when you add “for the fun of it” it makes it harder for them.

It’s never OK to steal “for the fun of it” It’s never OK to lie “for the fun of it” It’s never OK to kill “for the fun of it”

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“If your persecution were to cease, it might be the worst thing that could happen to you.” 

To be truly saved, to be a Christian, to be on Christ’s side, to know that you have an everlasting Saviour, is worth a great many fools’ laughs, is it not? You can bear to let all the asses bray at once, and yet not be troubled if you know that you have Christ, and eternal life in Him. My dear friends, I do pray that you may be led to weigh and estimate these things, and that you may be drawn by the Divine Spirit to say, “Jesus shall be mine, I will trust myself to Him whatever the consequences may be.”

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Stolen Obligations: Why do atheists care about truth, reason or morality?

Truth, rationality, and morality under naturalism, are irrelevant commodities, in and of themselves. The naturalist’s (atheistic materialist’s) concern with truth, reason and morality are stolen obligations – obligations that are not derivable from naturalism. If minds are the computed product of physics, they output whatever they output.  There is no ideal form, perfection, or “truth” outside of what physics produces in any particular instance to compare what physics produces against.  Whatever any individual computation of physics outputs with the label “rational” attached is the natural limit of what can be termed “rational”.  There’s nothing the individual can compare it against; they are stuck with their own ruler and no means by which to check its length.  What is considered “true” can be both X and not-X.

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Archaeology supports the Bible.  Again.

Israeli archaeologists recently discovered a coin dating from the 11th century before Christ. It depicted “a man with long hair fighting a large animal with a feline tail.” Ring any Old Testament bells? The coin was found near the Sorek River, which was the border between the ancient Israelite and Philistine territories 3,100 years ago. Sound vaguely familiar? The archaeologists thought so, too. While Shlomo Bunimovitz and Zvi Lederman of Tel Aviv University don’t claim that the figure depicted on the coin is proof that Samson actually existed, they do see the coin as proof that stories about a Samson-like man existed independently of the Bible. Stated differently, the story of Samson was not the literary invention of a sixth-century B.C. scribe living in Babylon, as has commonly been assumed by mainstream biblical scholarship.

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Nidal Hasan Climbs Atop Soapbox to Denounce America, Praise Jihad — It is sickening how the Feds have handled this.

Four years ago, self-described “soldier of Allah” Nidal Hasan shouted “Allahu akbar” and proceeded to kill 14 and wound 32 others at the Fort Hood Army base. Not only is he still alive, he has been provided with a platform from which to propagandize against America and in favor of Islamic jihad. . .

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Remind people of Obamaville, aka Detroit, as often as you can.

Detroit has been run exclusively by Democrats since 1962, it is the most liberal city in America, and its politically degenerate population voted 98% for Obama in the last election.

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How Sport Drinks Companies Trick Us (Plus 4 DIY Recipes) — This story is important by itself, but also a great reminder that when money is on the line — say, with Darwinian evolution or “global warming climate change” — lots of scientists will lie.  Lots.

Let’s face it – Sports drinks like Gatorade and PowerAde are some of the worst things you could possibly put in your body. They are made up of mostly chemically treated & refined sugar (as much as a typical soda), artificial colors, artificial sugars and other ingredients that are dreadful for your body. They usually contain natural flavor to cover up the fact there is absolutely no fruit juice in the drinks to make their fruity flavors. To think athletes and exercise enthusiasts drink this to refuel is crazy! Even more upsetting, many doctors – not knowing any better – recommend these sports drinks to parents with sick children. I remember it was always the remedy of choice for hydration in my household growing up. So how did we get so duped? The Atlantic reported that scientists 40 years ago were paid by sport drink companies to tell us we would not be able to sufficiently hydrate ourselves with just water, that our children didn’t drink enough at meals, and that we would lose performance during sporting events if we didn’t drink this artificially flavored and colored salt water. These companies developed school outreach programs to get even more children to buy into the thought of drinking sports drinks at an early age.

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Not a surprise: Media selectively edits interview with Zimmerman juror to make it look like she thought he got away with murder. — A pro-“same-sex marriage” ad says, “Congratulations, you’re having a lesbian!”  They forgot a few things.  First, there is no evidence that people are “born that way” (other than that we are all born sinners).  And even if they were born that way it would not make the behavior moral.  Finally, since 90% of parents abort Down Syndrome children it is likely that the vast majority would abort any LGBTQ children.  Ironically enough, I think that would be horrific.  But all the pro-abortion / pro-LGBTQ people I’ve ever posed that hypothetical question to like abortion more than gays. — Why don’t feminists stand up for women raped by “Middle Eastern Men” in the UK?  The government fears Islam and is doing nothing about this.  Shockingly, a vast majority of the people in these rape gangs were named Mohammad. — “My Body, My Choice” for Abortion, But Not for Those Who Want a Large Family — Just another reason that “pro-choice” is really pro-abortion.  It is amazing how much hate is poured out on the self-reliant Duggar family, who appear to have raised a great group of kids. — New study: marijuana use by teens is linked to permanent brain abnormalities — Joints were called Stupid Sticks for a reason. — — The IRS scandal, day 78. Image

Bible, False teachers

The Episcopals’ interesting strategy: Hire non-Christians as leaders

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Diversity, not Jesus, saves says Presiding Bishop.

The Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church has denounced the Apostle Paul as mean-spirited and bigoted for having released a slave girl from demonic bondage as reported in Acts 16:16-34 .

In her sermon delivered at All Saints Church in Curaçao in the diocese of Venezuela, Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori condemned those who did not share her views as enemies of the Holy Spirit.

. . . She continued stating: “Human beings have a long history of discounting and devaluing difference, finding it offensive or even evil.  That kind of blindness is what leads to oppression, slavery, and often, war.  Yet there remains a holier impulse in human life toward freedom, dignity, and the full flourishing of those who have been kept apart or on the margins of human communities.”

That’s an odd thing for a pro-abort like Schori to say.  She denies the humanity of the unborn to rationalize their legal and taxpayer-funded destruction.

Just as the forces of historical inevitability led to the ending of industrial slavery, so too would the march of progress lead to a change in attitude towards homosexuality, she argued.

“We live with the continuing tension between holier impulses that encourage us to see the image of God in all human beings and the reality that some of us choose not to see that glimpse of the divine, and instead use other people as means to an end.  We’re seeing something similar right now in the changing attitudes and laws about same-sex relationships, as many people come to recognize that different is not the same thing as wrong.  For many people, it can be difficult to see God at work in the world around us, particularly if God is doing something unexpected.”

Anything Schori says that agrees with God is purely coincidental.  The Bible teaches the value of each human being made in God’s image.  It also teaches that homosexual behavior is a sin.

And, uh, isn’t she offended by those who disagree with her?  Seems kinda hypocritical.

To illustrate her point presiding bishop turned to the book of Acts, noting “There are some remarkable examples of that kind of blindness in the readings we heard this morning, and slavery is wrapped up in a lot of it.  Paul is annoyed at the slave girl who keeps pursuing him, telling the world that he and his companions are slaves of God.  She is quite right.  She’s telling the same truth Paul and others claim for themselves,” Bishop Jefferts Schori said, referencing the first chapter of the Epistle to the Romans.

“But Paul is annoyed, perhaps for being put in his place, and he responds by depriving her of her gift of spiritual awareness.

The poor girl was demon possessed.

Paul can’t abide something he won’t see as beautiful or holy, so he tries to destroy it.  It gets him thrown in prison.  That’s pretty much where he’s put himself by his own refusal to recognize that she, too, shares in God’s nature, just as much as he does – maybe more so!,” the presiding bishop said.

She was demon possessed, and Schori puts her on par — or above — the Apostle Paul?!

The New Testament passage goes on to say that Paul and Silas were imprisoned for freeing the girl of her demonic possession. Presiding Bishop noted “an earthquake opens the doors and sets them free, and now Paul and his friends most definitely discern the presence of God.  The jailer doesn’t – he thinks his end is at hand.”

However, Paul now repents of his mistake in casting out the spirit of divination, she argues.  “

This time, Paul remembers who he is and that all his neighbors are reflections of God, and he reaches out to his frightened captor.  This time Paul acts with compassion rather than annoyance, and as a result the company of Jesus’ friends expands to include a whole new household.  It makes me wonder what would have happened to that slave girl if Paul had seen the spirit of God in her.”

It is fascinating how she makes it up as she goes along.  It was an evil spirit in the slave girl, not the spirit of God.

And note that the text specifically says she was a slave.  Schori wished she would have stayed that way!  It is fascinating how wolves in sheep’s clothing can’t even get the simplest passages right.

In support her argument for radical inclusion and diversity over doctrine Bishop Jefferts Schori adds that the day’s reading “from Revelation pushes us in the same direction, outward and away from our own self-righteousness, inviting us to look harder for God’s gift and presence all around us.  Jesus says he’s looking for everybody, anyone who’s looking for good news, anybody who is thirsty.  There are no obstacles or barriers – just come.  God is at work everywhere, even if we can’t or won’t see it immediately.”

Yes, just come, but on his terms: Repent and believe.

. . .

Responses posted on the Episcopal Church’s website to the Presiding Bishop’s sermon have been uniformly harsh, noting her interpretation was at odds with traditional Christian teaching, grammar, and logic. “This is quite possibly some if the most delusional exegesis I’ve ever read in my life,” one critic charged. “I’m sorry, but this sermon is not a Christian sermon.”

The reception by bloggers has been equally unkind. The Rev Timothy Fountain observed the presiding bishop had up ended the plain meaning of the text. “Instead of liberation” in freeing the slave girl from exploitation, presiding bishop finds “confinement.  Instead of Christ’s glory, there’s just squalor.”

The Rev. Bryan Owen argued “What’s happening here is the exploitation of a biblical text in service to a theopolitical agenda.  Given what she says in the first paragraph I’ve quoted from her sermon, the Presiding Bishop suggests that anyone who doesn’t buy into that agenda – anyone who holds to the traditional, orthodox understanding of such matters – is likewise afflicted with the same narrow-minded bigotry as Paul, and thus in need of enlightenment.”

That’s good news!  There is some hope for people there.

Bible

Ahab repented. Jezebel didn’t.

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If you’ve read the Old Testament — and all of you should have! — you’ll recall the pattern of the seemingly countless evil kings, especially in the Northern Kingdom of Israel.  King Ahab and his wife, Jezebel*, were over-the-top evil.  Here’s a sample:

1 Kings 16:30–33 30 And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord, more than all who were before him. 31 And as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, he took for his wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and went and served Baal and worshiped him. 32 He erected an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he built in Samaria. 33 And Ahab made an Asherah. Ahab did more to provoke the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him. 

Then consider this message from Elijah:

1 Kings 21:20–29 (ESV) 20 Ahab said to Elijah, “Have you found me, O my enemy?” He answered, “I have found you, because you have sold yourself to do what is evil in the sight of the Lord. 21 Behold, I will bring disaster upon you. I will utterly burn you up, and will cut off from Ahab every male, bond or free, in Israel. 22 And I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, for the anger to which you have provoked me, and because you have made Israel to sin. 23 And of Jezebel the Lord also said, ‘The dogs shall eat Jezebel within the walls of Jezreel.’ 24 Anyone belonging to Ahab who dies in the city the dogs shall eat, and anyone of his who dies in the open country the birds of the heavens shall eat.”

That sound severe, but fair (especially if you read the rest of the passages about this fun couple).  So Ahab is really going to get it, right?  Not exactly.

Ahab’s Repentance

25 (There was none who sold himself to do what was evil in the sight of the Lord like Ahab, whom Jezebel his wife incited. 26 He acted very abominably in going after idols, as the Amorites had done, whom the Lord cast out before the people of Israel.)

27 And when Ahab heard those words, he tore his clothes and put sackcloth on his flesh and fasted and lay in sackcloth and went about dejectedly. 28 And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, 29 “Have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself before me, I will not bring the disaster in his days; but in his son’s days I will bring the disaster upon his house.”

Wait a minute — this guy is the most evil king ever, and by repenting for 15 minutes God lets him off the hook?  Where is the “mean and vengeful” Old Testament God I’ve been hearing so much about?  Note that I’m not necessarily saying that Ahab is in Heaven.  The text isn’t completely clear on that.  But God did withhold that judgment when Ahab repented.

But did Jezebel repent?  No.  She was eaten by dogs, just as predicted.

God’s grace is huge and wonderful, but you must repent.  If you haven’t done so already, I recommend doing it now.  And read all of God’s word.  You never know what you’ve been missing.

* As my youngest daughter likes to note, it is too bad that Jezebel was so spectacularly evil.  It would have made a really pretty name for a girl.

Roundup

Roundup

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Irony: IRS employees union wants no part of ObamaCare

The simple irony is fairly obvious, but you need to also appreciate the more profound irony – the IRS is ObamaCare’s enforcement arm.  Remember those 16,000 new IRS agents that are going to make sure you comply with the law?  Well, it seems they’ll only pleased to do that if they are exempt from the ACA . . .

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Great advice from Randy Alcorn to engaged couples

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Big Three broadcasters gave Wendy Davis three times as much coverage as Gosnell trial — She filibustered in opposition of a ban on 20+ week abortions.  That makes her a Leftist hero.  Uh, shouldn’t the Gosnell trial have garnered attention and even opposition from the media?  After all, he was the kind of person Davis is trying to keep in business.

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Comprehensive survey of all the research (pro and con) on gay marriage — Spoiler alert: The pro-gay stuff is poorly done in an effort to skew the results.

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OPEN THE FLOODGATES: Pedophiles Arguing Their Sexual Orientation is No Different than Homosexuals — If you are surprised — or worse yet, if you don’t care — then you are a part of the problem.
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Mother Of Sean Smith Wants Obama To Answer How Her Son Being Dead Is A “Phony Scandal” — What contempt the President has, and the media lackeys for parroting it uncritically.  Benghazi?  Not phony.  Fast and Furious?  Not phony.  IRS?  Not phony.  Invasions of privacy?  Not phony.

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Racist Zimmerman Supporter Is Actually Moonbat — I know we shouldn’t be surprised, but Leftists are so unethical that they will infiltrate conservative gathering and pretend to be racists.  This kinda proves our point that we’re not, right?  I mean, if we really were, why would they have to plant fakes like this?

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Christian worldview

How many translations did your Bible go through?

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bible5.gifOne (1). 

Really. Just one time from the original language to the language and version of your Bible.  The original writings were copied many times, but the Bible you hold was only translated once.   This is one of my favorite lessons in apologetics (defending the Christian faith) because it is such a simple and accurate explanation to a common and important objection.

Many people – including some Christians – are quick to say that the Bible has been translated and changed so many times over the centuries that we don’t know what the original writings said.  For example, I saw a video clip where Deepak Chopra (alleged religious expert) claims that the King James was the 13th iteration of the Bible.

But contrary to that myth, the books of the Bible have only been translated once and the copying process was very robust, dependable and verifiable.  This is an easy way to politely correct people on one of the most common errors they make, so please commit this response to memory.  I’ve used this to persuade agnostics and Mormons, among others, in literally a minute or so.  They didn’t concede that the writings were divinely inspired, but it was easy to correct them about the translation myth.

For example, Paul wrote in Greek, and we have Greek manuscripts to make translations from.  That is one translation.

Conventional wisdom: Tranlations from one language to another to another . . .

Greek original ==> Latin translation ==> other translations ==> King James version ==> English Standard Version, etc.

What actually happened

Greek original ==> copies of Greek original ==> Latin version

Greek original ==> copies of Greek original ==> King James version

Greek original ==> copies of Greek original ==> English Standard Version

Etc.

So the real issue is how accurate and reliable the copying process was.  The science of textual criticism shows that the copies of the New Testament are 99.5% accurate and that the differences are minor and have no impact on Christian theology.  Even atheist textual critics like Bart Ehrman, an “ex-Christian” who makes a living attacking Christianity, will concede that.

Regarding the Old Testament, here are some notes from the Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry.  The existence of the Dead Sea Scrolls provided spectacular evidence to refute the myth that the Old Testament had been changed significantly.

The OT does not have as many supporting manuscripts as the NT but it is, nevertheless, remarkably reliable.

  1. The Septuagint, a Greek translation of the Hebrew OT done around 250 B.C., attests to the reliability and consistency of the OT when it is compared to existing Hebrew manuscripts.
  2. The Dead Sea Scrolls discovered in 1947 also verify the reliability of the OT manuscripts.
  3. The Dead Sea Scrolls were ancient documents that were hidden in a cave in Israel about 2000 years ago. The scrolls contained many OT books, one of them being Isaiah.
    1. Before the Dead Sea scrolls, the earliest existing manuscript of the OT was dated around 900 A.D. called the Masoretic Text. The Scrolls contained OT documents 1000 years earlier. A comparison between the manuscripts revealed an incredible accuracy of transmission through copying, so much so that critics were silenced.

In summary, the Bible you hold has only been translated once, and the copying process was very robust, dependable and verifiable. 

Also see Is the New Testament Text Reliable? and Hasn’t the Bible been rewritten so many times that we can’t trust it anymore?

This was a favorite updated for your reading pleasure.

 

Roundup

Roundup

4 Comments

A brief history of sex ed: How we reached today’s madness — good summary.  Where will it end?

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Speaking of sex ed, did you see where Planned Parenthood paid $1.4 for commiting Medicaid fraud?  Oddly enough, people who kill babies for all living seem to break all sorts of rules.

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Never heard of this guy but liked this quote I saw on Facebook.

Because the gospel is not just salvation from sin but salvation from self-righteousness, we don’t need to worry about filling every spare second with unrestful duties, even ones we think are in service to God. God desires mercy, not sacrifice (Matt. 9:13). Christ made the sacrifice sufficient.   Jared C. Wilson

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Obviously: White House meets with celebs on how they can help promote ObamaCare to young people

When it comes to persuading young people between the ages of eighteen and about thirty five that they should voluntarily shoulder the higher costs of the inherently riskier insurance pools being peddled to them through the auspices of ObamaCare — without whose participation the system’s already rising costs will skyrocket all the further — the usual dry, boring government stuff just isn’t going to cut it. . . .

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New Documents Show NBA Player J. J. Redick Pressured Girlfriend to Have Abortion — He certainly had the “Bro-choice” philosophy.  The link has images of creepy emails where they hashed out the legal agreement requiring her to abort.  Note that the abortionist did the procedure even though she checked the “forced into it” box.  Tell me more about how abortion is good for women . . .

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Science Shows New Atheists to be Mean and Closed-Minded — If the new atheists are so reason-based, why do they always resort to personal attacks?

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Emergent Monday: Joel Osteen – Pantheist, Pagan, Agent of Satan — Osteen is so much worse than most people think.  He may wave a Bible around but he’s a fake.  It is bizarre that the people who made the recent movie about the Bible would have him as a consultant.  He has zero training!

John MacArthur put it best when talking about Osteen’s message:

You need to understand that he is a pagan religionist in every sense.  He’s a quasi-pantheist.  Jesus is a footnote that satisfies his critics and deceives his followers.  The idea of his whole thing is that men have the power in themselves to change their lives.  In his definitive book Your Best Life Now, he says, and that ought to be a dead giveaway since the only way this could be your best life is if you’re going to hell.  He says, “that anyone can create by faith and words the dreams he desires.  Health, wealth, happiness success”…the list is always the same…
MacArthur continues, “What is the source of this?  Where does this come from?  Answer…Satan. This is not just off-center.  This is satanic.  Why do I say that?  Because health, wealth, prosperity, the fulfillment of all your dreams and desires…that’s what Satan always offers.  That’s called temptation based on the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life.  That’s exactly what corrupt, fallen, unregenerate people want.  That’s why it works so well, right.  You can go right into Satan’s system make everybody feel religious and turn their desires, their temptations into somehow honorable desires.

So where does being a bible college dropout with no biblical teaching and a satanic message of prosperity get you? If you’re Joel Osteen it gets you a position with the history channel as Biblical and Theology advisor to their production of The Bible. (Which explains why it was not so biblical)

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New CDC report finds soaring rates of HIV among men who have sex with men — The CDC is obviously homophobic.  Seriously, if you really love people won’t you want to warn them of dangers like this?

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Apologetics, Bible

“Jesus is the only way” PowerPoint slides

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I taught one of my favorite lessons last month: Jesus is the only way. Really. (Click the link to download the PowerPoint slides.) Feel free borrow or adapt.

This is such an important lesson and it does so much heavy lifting for us. Since we can point to literally 100+ passages supporting this theme, it means that anyone claiming the name of Christ must hold this view. Just scan the New Testament: Nothing else makes sense in light of this truth.

This alone will seriously challenge theological liberals who insist that Jesus is just one path to salvation. They often don’t know there are any passages besides John 14:6 (Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.), let alone 100+ more. They often freak out when they hear this truth, because it is so obvious that to deny something taught that clearly and that often makes it hard to claim to be a Christian.

As I noted on the next to last slide, when Jesus was in the garden of Gesthemene the night before He was crucified He was in physical and emotional anguish. Picture him face down on the ground. He asks God the Father if another way was possible besides the cross. What was God’s answer? No. There was no other way. I repeat: God the Son asks God the Father for another way, and the answer was, “No.” If we deny that Jesus is the only way, we mock the cross and we mock the millions of persecuted Christians and martyrs over the centuries who could have avoided pain, suffering and even death if they just denied that Jesus was the sole source of salvation. If He isn’t the only way, don’t tell Jesus!

There is only one way to forgiveness for all of your sins and to be reconciled to God, to true transformation in your life and to eternal life in Heaven. Jesus.P.S. John 14:6 is a classic verse on this topic, but this lesson is such a softball that I didn’t even need it.