Weekly Articles

I was watching Sci-Fi Science, a show featuring theoretical physicist and author Michio Kaku, and I had a startling insight into the big difference between those who place their faith in God and those who place their faith in “science”.  The episode was about the science behind teleportation devices in science fiction; a hypothetical device which could scan, transmit, and fabricate a person was visualized.  The scenario was that a person could step into a machine in New York, be scanned and analyzed at the atomic level, and then the data would be sent to Tokyo where an exact copy would be produced. 

Now the obvious problem comes up:  what to do with the original!  Does the person then step back out of the device and continue on his way?  Or does that person then need to be destroyed so that only one version of the person exists?  At the end of the show they had some interviews with people in the crowd at the convention where this was discussed.  One person cheerfully said that he hoped he would be able to talk to his copy before he (the original) was killed.  REALLY?!?  But this is the “Aha!” moment that I had:  the sanctity of individual human life is bound together with the belief that God created man in his image.  Those who reject that truth find themselves contemplating (or even rationalizing) horrendous things.

If man is not made in the image of God, but rather evolved from a common ancestor with the Apes, then morality is merely a delusion and a product of our cooperative instinct.  Those who hold to this belief have in the past justified:

Eugenics programs – controlling who breeds with whom in order to improve the species (who lives and who dies is the end result of these initiatives)Abortion – disposal of unwanted or unhealthy fetuses (not called babies, of course)Right-to-die – assisted suicideEuthanasia – disposal of unwanted or unhealthy individualsAnimal Liberation – the granting of coequal status between humans and animals (some proponents even go into areas of human/animal intimacy)

Of course most who reject Christianity in favor of this new religion of naturalism do not realize that it is a religion (complete with holy texts and ordained priesthood) and they certainly do not understand the end result of their beliefs.  But it is easier than getting up on Sunday, going to church, and hearing about the changes that God requires in their lives.Not surprisingly God has a different viewpoint:

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”  So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.  God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it.  Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”  (Genesis 1:26-28 NIV)

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear.  Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?  Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not much more valuable than they?  Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?”  (Matthew 6:25-27 NIV)

God said he made man in his image, in his likeness, and that he was given dominion over the other creatures and the all the earth before he was even made!  God wanted man to fill the earth and to subdue it.  And Jesus said that God did not create the world and then just walk away, but rather takes care even of feeding the birds of the air, and because of this we know God will take care of us because we are more important!

Men continue to reject God and instead they make up notions and cling to worthless beliefs.  In the past, parents sacrificed their children to stone and wood idols; today parents are sacrificing their children on the altars of convenience and ideology.  But we who believe in Christ Jesus know that the God in whose image we were made will one day put an end to those notions and beliefs.  The big difference is that our God is real.

-Charles Peterson

It is no secret that the internet is a vitally integrated part of our daily lives.  Everyone does their banking through the internet – those who still walk into their bank’s local branch office and still send paper checks through the mail, who think “but I don’t use the internet,” would be surprised to learn their funds are transmitted electronically.  Most of us gladly embrace the internet.  I remember the pre-email days and shudder at the thought of how slowly information was disseminated throughout organizations.  I love being able to research any topic I want to from the comfort of my home; I love being able to sit with my daughters and pull up a video of an elephant and teach them about that particular animal by simply performing a quick Google search.  The internet is extremely useful and necessary in our modern lives.

The internet is useful for criminals as well.  The FBI, the US Military, and numerous other agencies are struggling to cope with the myriad of threats in the “cyber” realm.  Companies such as McAfee and Norton strive to stay ahead of hackers.  Local police. teachers, and parents try to cope with children who are being exposed to dangers that didn’t exist five years ago (who ever heard of teens emailing pornographic videos of themselves via cell phones?), and predators that reach them through instant messaging and Facebook.  When the danger lurks around every corner, but in such a way as to seem benign, it can be hard to not feel overwhelmed.

Christians in America are facing dangers from sources that, like child predators on the internet, seem to lurk around every corner and seem capable of reaching into our very midst.  From the atheist lies of the Secular Progressives to the violent intolerance of the Islamic Fundamentalists, and even the internally compromising threat of the Liberal Christians, Biblical Christianity is under a constant siege.

Secular Progressives are unbelievers who generally scoff at any substantive belief in God and view belief in the Bible with particular scorn.  They are often like Richard Dawkins (author of the book “The God Delusion”) who has the following view:

“Faith is the great cop-out, the great excuse to evade the need to think and evaluate evidence. Faith is belief in spite of, even perhaps because of, the lack of evidence.”  (Richard Dawkins, http://richarddawkins.net/quotes)

They often attack believers for using faith as a cop-out, but do not accept the fact that they are users of faith just as much as Christians!  Both creationists and evolutionists have the same facts from real science (based on observation and measurement), but they come to vastly different conclusions based on their respective core beliefs:  creationists believe the universe was created by God through supernatural means, and evolutionists believe the universe arose through purely natural means.  Neither belief is provable by science, rather each belief is the filter through which each group interprets the scientific data.

Islamic Fundamentalists are idolaters who worship false gods and make war on all those who live near them.  The history of Islam is one of blood and fire, having spread through invasion and conquest, converting through torture and threats of murder.  This so-called religion of peace is currently writing its name in the 21^st century in blood and tears through Jihadist suicide bombers and publicly broadcasted beheadings.  They are among those who try hardest to persecute the church globally, and try to intimidate her domestically. 

Attacks from without are bad enough, but perhaps the most severe damage that has been done to the church in America has come from attacks from within.  There has been a movement within Christianity that is decidedly worldly in nature:  Liberal Christianity.  While it has taken many forms and assumed many names, it’s fundamental purpose is to redefine faith from a literal belief in the Bible to a figurative understanding of the scriptures.  Whether simply compromising with “science” by accepting the universe is billions of years old (so Genesis chapters one and two must mean something other than God creating the earth in six days), or by denying the existence of the spiritual realms and labeling sacred texts as “allegorical,” these insider attacks do what outsiders could never do:  they take Christians’ eyes off of God and put them on man.

Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done.  Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts.  Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.  Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always.  (Psalm 105:1-4 NIV)

We cannot control what goes on around us, but we can keep the inside pure.  When danger lurks near and we are clearly beset on all sides from those that seek our demise, we know that there is one to whom we can turn.  God is ever faithful and will always work out what is best for us who love him.

-Charles Peterson

As our country faces turbulent economic times, with unemployment exceeding ten percent and a growing concern over the weakening of our currency, it is important to examine America’s choice in hope and change.  It is interesting to note that the states that have been hardest hit by budget shortfalls and higher than average unemployment rates such as Michigan, California, and New York are also states with lower than average worship attendance and charitable giving.  They are also states that tend to vote for more government control in individual lives and are generally proponents of agendas such as the mainstreaming of homosexuality and the abortion movement.  This is not to say that the states that tend to vote against these agendas have escaped the economic woes, but they do have lower than average unemployment rates; these states also tend to have higher than average worship attendance and charitable giving.

Hear this, you leaders of the house of Jacob, you rulers of the house of Israel, who despise justice and distort all that is right; who build Zion with bloodshed, and Jerusalem with wickedness.  Her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price, and her prophets tell fortunes for money.  Yet they lean upon the LORD and say, “Is not the LORD among us?  No disaster will come upon us.”  Therefore because of you, Zion will be plowed like a field, Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble, the temple hill a mound overgrown with thickets.  (Micah 3:9-12 NIV)

Our nation was founded on Christian principles and a strong belief in limited government and individual responsibility.  Over the last century we have wandered from our founding beliefs and have increasingly rejected God and turned to the government to protect us in troubling times.  Because of this, our schools have become battlegrounds and our courthouses have become dens of corruption.  When times are good, we bask in the glory of democracy and human achievement; when times are bad, we turn to the government for our salvation.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.  Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil.  This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.  Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.  (Proverbs 3:5-10 NIV)

This country’s biggest problem is that the Church has not trusted in God but has turned to the world for hope and faith.  When Christians do not look to God for guidance, but instead accept worldly principles, they cannot expect divine rescue from the worldly consequences!  Too many in the Church have abandoned the principle of sola scriptura (Scripture Alone), and have accepted any number of manmade things to have equal or better authority than the Bible; much of the time they have seized upon the belief in “science” to reinterpret the Bible (such as deistic evolution and the Big Bang theory).  God’s people have become wise in their own eyes and have lost the fear of the LORD and have embraced evil.

But God’s people can turn this around.  We can seek out God through his word; we can apply God’s rule in our lives, and we can tell others about him.  When we vote, we must vote for the candidate most likely to steer the nation back towards God; if no such candidate exists, we should vote for the candidate least likely to interfere with our Christian pursuits.  We need to become involved in our neighborhoods and shine the light of God’s word to our fellow Americans.  But you cannot shine forth the light of the word if you are ignorant of what that word says.

We must seek God and read his word, applying it in our lives and teaching our neighbors and coworkers the Gospel message.  And when worldly problems arise, we need to turn to God for sustenance instead of turning to government.  As lean times come upon us, government becomes increasingly useless; people in need are looking for help and direction.  Let us make sure that we are prepared to show them the God who is leading us through famine towards eternal prosperity.

-Charles Peterson