 |
Birdwell Lane Church of Christ Big Spring, TX |
Weekly Thoughts - February 2010
| <---- January 2010 | -- | March 2010 ----> |
|
07 - RENEW YOUR MIND - By: Brad Harrub, Ph.D. 14 - RENEW YOUR MIND - By: Brad Harrub, Ph.D. 21 - UNDERSTAND WHAT HAS HAPPENED IN OUR COUNTRY 28 - IS IT RIGHT TO TRY TO LEGISLATE MORALITY |
| |
|
RENEW YOUR MIND By: Brad Harrub, Ph.D. Steve Wells, author of The Skeptic’s Annotated Bible, claimed that the Bible is “unworthy of belief” because of its numerous contradictions and false prophecies. He is not alone. Dan Barker, in his book Losing Faith In Faith—From Preacher to Atheist, noted “People who are free of theological bias notice that the bible contains hundreds of discrepancies…. The bible is a flawed book.”
A good example of an alleged contradiction can be found in 1 Corinthians 15:4-5. Regarding Jesus Paul wrote: “and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve.” However, Bible students recognize that in Matthew 27:5 we learn that “He [Judas] threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went and hanged himself” (before Jesus’ resurrection). And we know that Acts 1:26 informs us that Judas’ replacement came after Jesus ascension into heaven: “He [Matthias] was numbered with the eleven apostles.” So why did Paul say He was seen by twelve when there were only eleven living at the time? Can this discrepancy be explained? Certainly! Consider for a moment how many teams are in the Big Ten conference. Or how about the actual measurements of a 2 X 4. Those familiar with the Big Ten conference know that there are actually more than 10 teams in that conference. Furthermore, carpenters know that a “2 X 4” does not actually measure 2 X 4. While we recognize these items by descriptive terms, the terms do not accurately define their present numbers. The term for this is prolepsis. It is the assignment of something, such as an event or name, to a time that precedes it. There once was a time that the Big 10 conference had ten teams, and a 2X 4 was precisely that. In Paul’s letter to the Christians in Corinth he was simply referring to the group commonly known as the twelve apostles. [Brad Harrub is an apologist who works full-time with Focus Press—www.focuspress.org] |
| |
|
RENEW YOUR MIND By: Brad Harrub, Ph.D. On September 28, 2004, the federal mint will release a brand new fifty-dollar bill. The new bill, which was unveiled in April, will have subtle background colors of red and blue, along with a blue-silver star. While the appearance of the bill has many new features, one thing that has not changed can be found on the back. Prominently displayed above the picture of the federal capital building will be the words “In God We Trust”—words that are found on most American currency. Those words first appeared on the 1864 two-cent coin after Congress passed the Act of April 22, 1864. The motto was partially the result of increased religious sentiment exhibited during the Civil War. Many individuals wrote letters to then Secretary of Treasury, Salmon P. Chase desiring that America acknowledge its dependence on Deity in some form or fashion. The barrage of letters prompted Chase to write James Pollock, director of the Philadelphia mint, encouraging him to prepare a motto. In a letter dated November 20, 1861 Chase wrote: Dear Sir: No nation can be strong except in the strength of God, or safe except in His defense. The trust of our people in God should be declared on our national coins. You will cause a device to be prepared without unnecessary delay with a motto expressing in the fewest and tersest words possible this national recognition.Having received the mint director’s proposal, Secretary Chase wrote back on December 9, 1863 altering Pollock’s initial proposal to “In God We Trust.” After the Act of April 22, 1864 passed, Congress approved another on March 3, 1865, allowing the mint director (with the Secretary’s authorization), to inscribe the motto on all gold and silver coins that “shall admit the inscription thereon.” The words “In God We Trust” have appeared uninterrupted since, on almost all of America’s coinage. Almost 100 years later, in 1956, the 84th Congress passed legislation establishing “In God We Trust” as the national motto of the United States. The following year, in 1957, the phrase began appearing on paper money. Interestingly, the idea of paying homage to Deity on American currency can be traced back to times long before 1865. Coins from the 1780s—just after the Revolutionary War—known as Constellatio Nova Coppers, also gave credence to God. These coins typically featured an “eye” on one side, with rays stretching out to thirteen stars, which represented the thirteen colonies. The eye represented the all-seeing “providential eye” of God. Thus, the rays symbolized God’s looking down on each of the new thirteen colonies. That same eye can be found today, sitting on top of the pyramid on the back of the one-dollar bill. The eye is located just under the Latin words, Annuit Coeptis—which means, “He (God) has favored our undertakings.” This all-seeing eye suggests the importance of divine guidance in favor of the American cause. How foreign that phrase seems in a country filled with materialism. Many individuals place their real trust in things, bank accounts, or investment accounts. At what point will America really put their trust back into God? What will it take for “In God We Trust” to be more than just a familiar “catch phrase?” Could it be, that as more and more currency rolled off the press, Americans lost more and more trust in God and placed it instead in the freshly printed bills? [Brad Harrub is an apologists who works full-time with Focus Press—www.focuspress.org] |
| |
|
UNDERSTAND WHAT HAS HAPPENED IN OUR COUNTRY Are Public Schools Allowed to Promote A Religion? ANSWER: YES. “Secular Humanism” is now the established religion in American public schools. Secular Humanism is a religion in the same way that Hinduism and Buddhism are religions. The doctrines of Humanism have been set forth in two Humanist Manifestos. The first tenet of Manifesto 1 states: “Religious humanists regard the universe as self-existing and not created.” The United States Supreme Court has identified Secular Humanism as a religion. It ruled that the 1st Amendment grants the same protection and imposes the same limitations on the “religion of Secular Humanism” as are applicable to other religions. In another SC decision, Justice Clark stated, “The State may not establish a “religion of secularism” in the sense of affirmatively opposing or showing hostility to religion, thus “preferring those who believe in no religion over those who do believe.” Neutral education is therefore impossible. Teaching knowledge without God is the religion of Humanism. “Something wonderful, free, unheralded, and of significance to all humanists is happening in the secondary schools. It is the adolescent literature movement. Nothing that is part of contemporary life is taboo in this genre, and any valid piece of writing that helps to make the world more knowable to young people serves an important humanistic function: Jan/Feb., 1976 issue of The Humanist magazine. The Humanist Manifesto II contains the statement: “We affirm that moral values derive their source from human experience. Ethics is autonomous and situational, needing no theological or ideological sanction. Ethics stems from human need and interest. To deny this distorts the whole basis of life.” Next article: Is It Right To Try To Legislate Morality? See Ya Sunday, Ralph |
| |
|
IS IT RIGHT TO TRY TO LEGISLATE MORALITY? ANSWER: YES Every Law legislates morality—either God's or man’s Every legal system must be based on a set of religious beliefs. Public policies require decisions which inevitably reflect moral judgments. Every time a law is passed, one set of beliefs is preferred over another set. For this reason a “pluralistic” society in which “all points of view” are treated equally is unrealistic and ultimately unworkable. In reality, a “pluralistic” society is one which is making a transition from one controlling set of beliefs to another controlling set. American law was established on the moral principles of the Bible. The colonies made this very clear by statements such as the following in their charters: “We…submit our persons, lives, and estates unto our Lord Jesus Christ, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords and to all those perfect and most absolute laws of His, given us in His Holy Word.” Some who cry out against legislating morality may be trying to say that you cannot force people to do what is right, This half-truth completely overlooks the function of law as a basic instruction for wise, healthy, and prosperous living. See Ya Sunday, Ralph |
| |
Back to Index