When Danger Lurks Near 12-13-09
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 21st 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