The god of Chance
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Today is January 7, 2005. The tsunami that killed at least 150,000 people just took place. I've heard numerous prayers in Evangelical churches for the families of victims. All the prayers were based on a false premise...that God had nothing to do with the destruction, |
and as such, there was no appealing to God for this disaster to be instrumental in the spread of the gospel to people who might otherwise go to hell.
Many ministers think like heathen when it comes to real life. They spout doctrinal platitudes about the sovereignty of God in sermons, but when a real object lesson presents itself, they can't see it. They're schizophrenic. Their foundation is not Biblical. The media has preached so many good sermons on the god of Chance that most Americans now believe She's more powerful than the God of the Bible.
This is one reason American Churchianity has little to offer the lost. Our Gospel is so shallow and gutless, when the going gets tough, we say the same things as the heathen. Worse, we're so impotent, even if we believe God had something to do with the disaster, we're too afraid to speak up. What if someone thought God was judgmental? (Forgetting the fact that God is going to throw the most people into eternal hell.)
If the Church doesn't have the answers when God causes or allows a disaster, then what good are we? We're like dry wells with no water to slake the thirst of seekers.Worse, we're like ambassadors who've forgotten country and King. Lounging in the fleshpots of this heathen land, we've forgotten who we serve. Eventually the Master will come to reward his lazy servants. Matt 24:51
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A few days before the disaster, I spent over an hour on the phone talking to a computer technician who lives near where the tsunami hit. He told me how he worships many gods and prays for them to protect his family. His culture has largely rejected the Gospel because their gods would be angry if they chose to serve the One God. I wonder if the tsunami devastation caused him to rethink some of the things we discussed. |
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FALSE GODS
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The Bible teaches without a doubt that all natural
disasters are either caused or allowed by God.
"Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin?
And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father's will.
But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore;
you are of more value than many sparrows." Matt 10:29-31
God works through nature. When God brings destruction on earth, they are
birth pangs of the Day of Judgment. He expects Saints to explain to the
people of this dying world the meaning of the birth pangs, so they can
avoid what's coming.
But most Evangelical pastors have a worldview shaped by the 6 o'clock newscast. (They watch so much TV, they're conformed to it's image.) "Chance," "accident," "coincidence," and "just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time" are the reasons why bad things happen.
Chance Is the highest god in The American Pantheon
The main idol of most American "Christians" is the god of Chance. Chance is the highest god in the American pantheon, having been lifted above all others by the demigod science and the demigod law. Chance gives the other gods their power. If chance were not on Her throne, science and law would be lowly servants and not demigods of the American ethos.
Imagine the upheaval if Chance was not seen as the cause for the circumstances of life. What if the God of the Bible and not Chance was responsible for the forces of nature - it would force the insurance companies to have a natural disaster clause in their policies called "an act of God." (Yes, there is still this last vestige of Biblical ethos in our culture.)
What if the God of the Bible and not the Law was responsible for saying what was right and wrong? It would force the courts to acknowledge God by compelling every person involved with court proceedings to swear an oath before God and man that they submitted to God's truth. (Yes, there is still this last vestige of Biblical ethos in our culture.)
These last two vestiges are soon to be done away with. Only the shadows of a former Biblical ethos exist in our culture. We do lip service to the God of the Bible while ignoring or destroying the last symbols of obedience to God.
The demigod Law
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A seminal event took place on August 27, 2003. The 10 commandments were declared unconstitutional as a public display. This means that the public grounds of virtually every form of government will need to be changed to reflect the ascendance of the demigod Law over the God of the Bible. The god Chance enabled the demigod Law to publicly step on the face of the God of the Bible. The symbol of the God of the Bible was the Ten Commandments. |
It's public display is an acknowledgment that God led men and women to found this great nation for a purpose - God's purpose. The god Chance laughs at this version of history. She says the fact that America is a great nation has nothing to do with the God of the Bible - It was the god Chance who made America great. And now Chance helps the demigod Law to usurp the God of the Bible. Chance says She is the reason America remains great - not the God of the Bible. She says, without Law, America would be nothing.
All Men Were Created Carnal
On June 27, 2003, the Supreme Court Of the United States ruled that local government could not prohibit Biblically prohibited sex between consenting adults. The implications are obvious -morality laws against deviant sex, prostitution, and familial sex are now called "unconstitutional" by the highest court of the land. If it weren't for animal rights groups, I'm sure this ruling would protect bestiality. (The only thing stopping the legalization of pedophilia are the "archaic" laws respecting the age of accountability.)
This ruling was not a first step down a slippery slope. It was the last gasp of the American corpse of Biblical morality. Nevertheless, we cannot blame the heathen - it is the church that is responsible for a 30-year moral free-fall. If the churches had made a stand 30 years ago against fornication, adultery, and divorce, this ruling would never have been possible. Sodom would have been saved if there were 10 righteous men in it. America would not be a whore today if the majority of people who go to church were truly Christian.
The demigod Science
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Evolution is the founding principle of most modern science. Evolution is the greatest accomplishment of the god Chance. Chance created man. Chance exalts the demigod Science by "proving" that Chance and not God created man. Science rules by the power of Chance. |
Science "proves" without a doubt that the circumstances of our lives are caused by Chance. Accidents, tsunamis, earthquakes, and all other natural disasters are caused by Chance. People get sick because of Chance environmental and genetic factors. Science teaches that we're all subjects of chance. A man could stay indoors his entire life and go out just once, and lightening could strike him because of Chance.
Many American Christians say God is good. But in their deepest heart they don't think He has power over Chance. Most people don't believe God can save His people from a tsunami. They choose to believe the god Chance. But the God of the Bible says, " in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion: in the secret of His tabernacle shall He hide me; He shall set me up upon a rock." Ps 27:5
When we listen to Chance instead of God, we become dull. Most American Christians are like what Jesus saw in the religious community of his day. "For the heart of this people has become dull, and with their ears they scarcely hear, and they have closed their eyes lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart and return, and I should heal them." Matt 13:15
When the birth pangs come on the Earth as a warning of the judgment to come, will American Christians listen to the god Chance, or the God of the Bible? " For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be." Matt 24:38-39
The Sovereignty Of God in The Teri Shivo Case
Without a Biblical understanding of the sovereignty of God, divorce, birth control, abortion, euthanasia, stem cell research, cloning, and growing bodies for spare parts are logical, reasonable, solutions to life's "problems."
I recently debated a man on the radio on the Teri Shivo euthanasia case. He said my view that God should be the only one to determine when to kill people was Christian right wing propaganda. He's right. Without the view that God is sovereign, we have not only the right, but the duty to "put people out of their misery." Most Americans think like existentialists. This caller said he "pulled the plug" on his father who had Alzheimer's disease because he was "no longer his father." What God thought about his father was irrelevant.
All during the public debate of the Shivo case, conservatives fought for her life reasoning that it would be illegal to starve a dog to death. That begged the question of why we don't make it legal to inject her with poison, so she can die painlessly? Of course this is what the hippie liberals want. They want American to allow "no-fault" assisted suicide after the Western Europe model.
Marriage
Protestants used to teach marriage as a union determined by the sovereignty of God, and therefor not divisible for any reason other than adultery. Now that sexual infidelity is rampant, divorce ends over 50% of marriages. Conclusion: Man is sovereign.
Artificial Birth Control
Before the 1930's, Protestants were taught that artificial birth control was usurping the sovereignty of God. Through the years, birth control has been universally adopted by Protestants. Protestant pastors routinely counsel young couples to use artificial birth control so they can save some money before they have kids. Conclusion: Man is sovereign.
Abortion
Protestants used to teach that abortion was wrong unless the life of the mother was at risk. Then, most Protestants were taught abortion was wrong except in the case of rape or incest. Then, most Protestants were taught abortion was wrong except in the case of birth defects. Today, most Protestants believe abortion is wrong, only if the mother thinks it's wrong. Conclusion: Man is sovereign.
Euthanasia
Protestants used to teach euthanasia was always wrong. Then, Protestants were taught euthanasia was OK as long as the person was "brain dead". Today, Protestants "pull the plug" by consenting to withdraw life-giving help from otherwise healthy people. The Teri Shivo case illustrates this procedure. Notice the public wringing of hands over this murder. It is evident that America is not yet willing to completely ignore the sovereignty of God in the euthanasia issue. But it's not because America is conscious of the the sovereignty of God. Rather, it's a residual holdover from the Judeo-Christian ethic inbred into our national psyche.
The Pathology Of Godlessness
Hippie Liberals have taken hold of, and promote a "brave new world" where the shackles of Christianity and Judaism are thrown off with the help of science. Science is modern man's tool to deal with the consequences of Chance. Hippie Liberals can't figure out why conservatives tried to save the life of a woman, who from their point of view, no longer exists. To them, what's left of Teri Shivo is a useless, hideous, victim of Chance. When they look at the shell that was her body, they see a mockery of the memory of the real Teri Shivo. The Hippie Liberal believes it's his responsibility as a servant of Chance to clean up after him, so people can live their lives in the illusion that everything is OK. As long as Teri Shivo's body lives, it's a reminder to Hippie Liberals that Chance is a cruel god. Since Chance is the only god they have, (outside of themselves) anything that reminds them of their ultimate destiny must be cleaned up as soon as possible.
I experienced some of the revulsion Hippie Liberals must feel when my 3 month old son died. I remember holding his little body as it swelled up with fluid. It was hideous. It looked like an evil thing had taken over. I felt an urge to bury it as soon as possible to get it out of my sight. I had to force myself to remember him the way he was before death changed his body. I comforted myself with the thought that I would see him in heaven. But Hippie Liberals have no such hope. They know they've sold their soul to the god of Chance, and as part of their worship, they must "clean up" the evidence of his destruction as quickly as possible to preserve the illusion that he isn't quite as sick as he seems.
To preserve their fragile illusion that everything is OK, they must destroy anything that unsettles them. Christians know that death is allowed by God. Hippie Liberals believe death happens because of Chance. Christians are at peace with God when death comes because they know He is in control. Hippie Liberals believe they are more "grown up" than "self-deluded" Christians when they proudly pull the plug on Teri Shivo because the god of Chance has given us the power and responsibility to clean up after him. It's up to man to maintain a tidy existence till the very end.
Residual Effects of the knowledge of the Sovereignty Of God
When Christians who understand the sovereignty of God see the body of Teri Shivo, they don't see a hideous, distorted shell, but rather the hope of Terri Shivo as God sees her. Not flesh and blood, but an eternal soul. But most Americans aren't Christian, and fewer still understand the sovereignty of God. So why are most Americans still against euthanasia? The American psyche is still influenced by the Residual effect of 2000 years of Judeo-Christian ethic.
Americans reluctantly inject a suffering dog or cat with poison to put them out of their misery. So why aren't they willing to do the same thing to someone like Teri Shivo. The dog or cat runs from the hypodermic, suspecting that it means them harm. Just so, Teri Shivo didn't want to be starved to death. But aren't we responsible to determine what's best for the dog or cat or Teri Shivo?
Without the understanding of the sovereignty of God, humans and pets are the same. In fact, without the sovereignty of God, we should be more willing to kill suffering humans than we are to kill suffering pets. After all, no matter how much it hurts us personally, we should do what's best for the ones we love. Hippie Liberals know this well, which accounts for their zeal in wanting to kill Teri Shivo. When you hear all the sick rationalizations for killing Teri Shivo, remember, without the understanding of the sovereignty of God, they're absolutely right.
Most Americans feel that killing Teri Shivo is wrong, but can't remember why. They're like the woman that invited guests to her apartment. When the coat rack was full, a guest looked for a place to lay his hat. He starts to lay it on a bed, and the host yells, "don't put it there!" Why not, he asks. She doesn't know why. The next day, the woman calls her mother and asks why someone shouldn't allow hats on the bed. The mother explains that 40 years ago, when she was a little girl, there was a lice epidemic, and everyone was taught to keep hats off of beds. Most Americans don't know why the sovereignty of God is important, but still have the residual effects of this perspective.
Go To Next Chapter, The Heart Is A Hungry Hunter