Alan Shore: "When did religion get such a good name, anyway? Hundreds of millions have died in religious conflicts..."

Are Christians and other religions responsible for the majority of bloodshed in history?

Consider this: Have all policemen in all history always stood for justice? Have some accepted bribes, imprisoned innocent civilians, assaulted suspects beyond reason? Are they taught to do such things? No, of course not. But such things do happen.

Not every fireman rescues every victim from every fire. Or even arrives at the fire on time.

Am I attacking the police or the firemen? Of course not. They are heroes and do great things and perform a necessary service. We need them. A few bad police or bad firemen do not spoil the whole department, let alone the whole profession.

Sometimes people act outside of their teachings or beliefs.

So, unless a religion demands conversion by the sword, the religion cannot be judged by those who operate outside its teachings to do those things. Galatians 5:22-23a states,

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control...

In sharp contrast to the works of the flesh:

Sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these.

Paul goes on to say:

I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

So you cannot judge Christianity by those who claim Christianity, yet practice "enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, etc." Paul says they are not Christians.
It cannot be stated much more clearly than in 1 John 3:4-10

Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. You know that he appeared to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.

Okay, Dragnet time. Let's look at the Salem Witch Trials where millions were burned at the stake. Oh--er, according to Wikipedia, the trials "led to the death of 20 people (14 women, 6 men) and the imprisonment of 150 more people." Oh, and scroll down to "Closure." It was the Reverend Francis Dane who led the opposition. I'm not minimizing the 20 who died or the 150 who were imprisoned. It was tragic. However, 20 is not anywhere near "millions."

Now, that's America. In Europe the numbers were much higher. From 1484-1782, the Christian church executed 300,000 women accused of witchcraft. Again, I don't want to minimize the tragic loss of 1,000 women per year. But 300,000 is still less than "millions."

The Crusades, everyone's favorite topic, killed tens of thousands. An atrocity to be sure, but still less than "millions." And, again, these were all, at best, misguided, if not outright denials of Biblical teaching.

So, what has Secular Humanism contributed? According to Wikipedia, Mao Zedong (Mao Tse Tung) "pursued the ideal of a strong, prosperous and socially egalitarian China, endeavoring to build a modern socialist nation." According to Matthew White's 30 Worst Atrocities of the 20th Century, Mao's responsible for 40 million deaths.

Nobel Prize winner Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn estimated 66.7 million killed from 1917-1959 under Lenin, Stalin, and Khrushchev.

From Wikipedia:

Saloth Sar (May 19, 1925 – April 15, 1998), better known as Pol Pot, was the ruler of the Khmer Rouge and the Prime Minister of Cambodia (officially Democratic Kampuchea during his rule) from 1976 to 1979, having been de facto leader since mid-1975. During his time in power Pol Pot instigated a policy of relocating people to the countryside in an attempt to purify the Cambodian people as a step toward a communist future. The means to this end included the extermination of intellectuals and other "bourgeois enemies". Today the excesses of his government are widely blamed for causing the deaths of up to three million Cambodians. In 1979, he led Cambodia into a disastrous war with Vietnam which led to the collapse of the Khmer Rouge government.

Consider, those were three million out of a total population of eight million.

Zhang Xianzhong was responsible for an estimated 40 million deaths. When scholars rejected his claim as emperor of the Great Western Kingdom, he had them killed. Then he killed women, merchants, and all officials. "Then he had his soldiers kill each other and the officers' wives' feet cut off and put on top of a mound."

So, where do we find "hundreds of millions" killed? In non-religious conflicts-- God-less conflicts-- atheist conflicts. So, Mr. Shore, when did humanism get such a good name?

On this day in 1517, Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses to the door of Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. We would do well to remind ourselves of that famous document by reading it again today.

Oh, and you should wear something appropriate today. Get your "Martin Luther is my Homeboy" threads here.

Tonight, my three-year-old daughter announces, to my wife's dismay, "Daddy, we got you a trampoline for your birthday and its downstairs at Gran's house."

Yesterday, our neighbors were out walking their new puppy. As my daughters squealed with delight at the sight of the bundle of white fur, my five-year-old son declares, "Oh, great, dad! Now they've got two dogs to poop in our yard."

I'm still contending with assertions against religion and religious freedom made during the "Whose God is it Anyway" episode of Boston Legal. Specifically, Sally Heep's assertion, "We never hold religion up to standards of reasonableness. If we did, what religion could pass?" Yesterday, I presented arguments for the reasonableness of theism. Today I want to bring arguments for the reasonableness of Christianity.

Let's look at Jesus of Nazareth.

According to the Jesus Seminar's founder, Robert Funk, he was a "secular sage who satirized the pious and championed the poor." He then adds, "Jesus was perhaps the first stand-up Jewish comic. Starting a new religion would have been the farthest thing from his mind." Hmm... Really?

The Jesus Seminar rules out over 80% of the Gospels because they presuppose that miracles cannot be historically accurate. And that is where they begin. Not where they conclude.

The Jesus Seminar is considered to be on the extreme fringe of liberal scholarship. Interestingly, in the past twenty years, liberal scholarship in general has become more conservative due to archaeological discoveries. For example, archaeology shows that funerals were not performed the same in Jerusalem and Galilee. If the Gospels were fabricated after AD 70, the writer would not have had access to this information due to the Roman's destruction of Galilee.

The Apostle Paul died during Nero's persecution, which took place in AD 64. He was still a participant at the end of Acts, so the Acts of the Apostles must have been written before AD 64. Acts is the sequel to the Gospel According to Luke, which must have been written even earlier. The Jesus Seminar openly admits that Mark was written before Luke, which pushes Mark into the 50's. Paul also wrote Romans in the 50's, in which he says Jesus "was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead" (Romans 1:4). That's only twenty years from the crucifixion. There were too many eyewitnesses still available to contradict Paul's records for this to be a fabrication.

Look at Matthew 24: 1, 2:

Jesus left the temple and was going away, when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. But he answered them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”

The Gospels record that Jesus prophesied the destruction of the temple. And we have shown that the Gospel of Mark and Luke must have been written before AD 64. The temple was destroyed in AD 70. Miracles are historical.

Stephen was stoned to death. James the son of Zebedee was beheaded. Philip was crucified. A halberd killed Matthew. James was crucified, stoned, and clubbed to death. Matthias was stoned and beheaded. Andrew was crucified. Mark was beaten to death. Peter was crucified upside down. Paul was beheaded in Rome. Jude was crucified. Bartholomew was crucified. A spear killed Thomas. Luke was hanged. Simon was crucified. And, John was boiled in oil, survived, and finally died of old age. These men did not suffer such extreme deaths to defend a fabrication. They knew the claims of Jesus to be true.

And the greatest claim of Jesus of Nazareth, which separates him from all other religions is this one: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6)

Belief in the Gospels as historically accurate is absolutely reasonable.

So, it is not unreasonable to "believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth: And in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord: Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary: Suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, dead, and buried: He descended into hell: The third day he rose again from the dead: He ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty: From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead: I believe in the Holy Ghost: I believe a holy catholic church: the communion of saints: The forgiveness of sins: The resurrection of the body: And the life everlasting."

On October 17, ABC aired the episode "Whose God is it Anyway" which featured a case where an employer fired a Scientologist. You can view this section of the episode here. (I've already stated my reduction in television viewing on this blog. I've never actually watched an episode of Boston Legal, just never been interested, but when I came across this clip at Watchman Fellowship, I thought debunking its assertions could benefit many). I'm not interested in debunking Scientology here at this time, just the many stabs at religious freedom and religion in general. (I will break this into multiple posts for the sake of time and length).

1. Sally Heep states, "We never hold religion up to standards of reasonableness. If we did, what religion could pass?"

Is religion reasonable? Let's back that up even further... is theism (belief in the existence of a god or gods) reasonable?

Well, yes. There is the kalam cosmological argument (aka "first cause"): It is not possible that the universe has always existed. Reason with me. Add 1+1. You get 2. Add another 1. You get three... 999,999,999+1=1,000,000,000... etc. At which point do you reach infinity? Never. It's not possible to accumulate enough to equal infinity. Your number keeps getting bigger, but it is always a finite number. Now is future in relation to the past, right? Events have passed in progressive order from the past to the point where we now exist. Each moment that passes adds one more to the sum total of time. But you cannot accumulate infinity by adding one thing at a time. (Consider dominoes. One domino hits another until they all fall down. Pick any one of the dominoes, and you know that a certain number of dominoes must fall before that domino will fall. If there were an actual infinite of dominoes, that domino would never fall because the progression of dominoes would never reach it.) So we have this one moment in time. If the universe were eternal, we could never reach this moment in time by progression. So, if we were to go back one year, two years, etc., we could never reach a past infinity. There could only be found a finite number. So, the universe must be finite. Therefore, the universe must have had a beginning. If it had a beginning, it had a Beginner who was infinite, self-existent, uncaused, and non-contingent. Someone who by definition would be a god.

There is the teleological argument, or argument from design: A watch has many moving parts which interact with each other in complex ways. A watch is obviously the work of a watchmaker. The "simplest" living cell has over one trillion molecules in it. Each molecule must be in exactly the right place at the right time or it simply will not work. Such intelligent design demands an Intelligent Designer -- a god.

The moral argument: Morality tells us what to do, or what not to do. So what is its source? There is an authority to morality and that authority is higher than human institutions. The source must be supernatural -- a god.

Morality implicitly has as its goal moral perfection. Yet no human has ever or can ever be perfect. Morality, to be moral, cannot demand perfection without a provision for the attainment of that perfection. As humankind cannot become perfect on its own, there must be something beyond humankind to aid mankind in perfection -- a god.

Morality suggests that it is in man's best interest to be moral. Yet immoral behavior is often rewarded in this life. If morality is true, then there must be a just judge who will set all things right in an afterlife -- a god.

Atheists often argue that the existence of an omnipotent, omniscient, and wholly good God is logically incompatible with the presence of evil in the world. How does this deny theism? If, for example, I know that Mike is a Carolinian, the vast majority of Carolinians do not finish high school, and Mike is a college graduate. I can certainly accept that Mike is a Carolinian. I can also accept that most Carolinians do not finish high school. So how could accepting both of those statements as true, completely rule out Mike being a college graduate? That something is improbable does not make it untrue.

Yet, there is still more evidence that God exists. Theism offers something that atheism cannot -- explanations. Evolution states that in the beginning was the Big Bang. Suddenly all matter came into existence from nothing. But where did the matter come from? Theism explains that God created all matter out of nothing. Theism explains that we see intelligent design everywhere because God is the Intelligent Designer. Theism explains that we sense right and wrong because there are moral absolutes. Theism explains that we feel morally inadequate because we are morally inadequate. Theism explains that we sense moral injustice because there is a Just Judge who will set all things aright.

Is theism reasonable? I believe I have shown that it will definitely pass.

Next time I hope to show the reasonableness of Christianity specifically.

I was taking a walk at lunch the other day and talking with God. I've been reading the book Mind Siege by Tim LaHaye and David Noebel, and I was asking God to help me solidify the Biblical Worldview I've been learining in it. I was asking God to help me to think Biblically. I sensed the need to fill my mind with Scripture if I wanted to think Biblically.
That afternoon, in Piper's When I Don't Desire God, in Chapter 8, I found he references Andrew Davis's booklet An Approach to the Extended Memorization of Scripture. This is an inspiring work that gives a very practical approach to memorizing an entire book of Scripture. Davis recommends starting with a book of 90-160 verses.
So, for the last couple days, I've been reviewing the books of that length to determine with which book to start. I felt that Ephesians, Galatians, or 1 John looked the most beneficial, and I have settled on Ephesians.
I have prayerfully committed to memorize the book of Ephesians by May 17 next year.

And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest."
Luke 10:2

The souls of men have a great need. How does this affect you? Are your emotions stirred? Do you hear their cries for help?
Can you see the need? Are you looking? What are you seeing? Are you seeing the harvest? Are you seeing the greatness of the harvest?
I have two pear trees at my house. Each year I look forward to tasting their ripe fruit. You would be amazed how many pears two trees can produce. My wife makes delicious pear pies and cooks many of them down into pear butter. Oh, they are so good. But every year, there are many fruit that fall before being picked, and in their ripeness they spoil and rot where they fall.
I would not tread on the doctrines of election, but I do hope to stir you up, myself included, to look upon the harvest and desire that fruit and treasure it, not willing that any should fall and rot. "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Matthew 6:21) Treasure the sacrifice of Christ. Treasure His glory.
See how great the harvest is. If you labor it will not be in vain. You will find abundant opportunities. Do you sense the expectancy and hope?
Is it important to you that the laborers are few? At least, our laborers are few. As I've shown recently, the laborers of the enemy are many.
The laborers of atheism are not few.
The laborers of evolution are not few.
The laborers of amorality are not few.
The laborers of human autonomy are not few.
The laborers of globalism are not few.
They indoctrinate children in the public schools and universities. They broadcast their messages each night on the news and in their entertainments. They broadcast their philosophy in the songs and talk shows on the radio. They write their own laws from the benches of the courts. They proclaim their own morality through their organizations and charities. The laborers of humanism are not few and you even pay their salaries with your taxes and charitable contributions.
The harvest is plentiful and the Lord's laborers are few. Are you pleading?
Why are we asked to pray to the Lord to send laborers? I believe John Piper gave a great answer to this question in his sermon, "Prayer at Harvest Time: Now!" from January 3, 1982:

God has willed that his miraculous work of harvesting be preceded by prayer. He loves to bless the world. But even more, he loves to bless the world in answer to prayer. It is God's way before he does a great work to pour a Spirit of supplication upon his people so that they plead for the work... If in his sovereign kindness he pours out upon you the Spirit of compassion and supplication and there is a great movement of prayer, then I would begin to count the days till harvest begins.

Do you wonder at your purpose? Apparently 25 million people want to know their purpose. Are you waiting for a sign? A herald?

All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.
Matthew 28:18-20

You don't need to find a purpose. You have a commission. (This really is the best word for it. Consider the definition from the American Heritage Dictionary: "The act of granting certain powers or the authority to carry out a particular task or duty.")
You need a response.

And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”
Isaiah 6:8

May the Lamb that was slain receive the reward of his suffering.

At this year's Desiring God conference, Voddie Baucham addressed this issue:

Here is how you ask that question properly: You look me in my eyes and you ask me this: “How, on earth, can a holy and righteous God know what I did and thought and said on yesterday and not kill me in my sleep last night?” You ask it that way and we can talk. But until you ask the question that way, you don’t understand the issue. Until you ask the question that way, you believe the problem is out there. Until you ask the question that way, you believe that there are somehow, some individuals who in and of themselves deserve something other than the wrath of Almighty God. Until you ask me the question that way, until you flip the script and ask the question this way and say, “Why is it that we are here today? Why has He not consumed and devoured each and every one of us? Why? Why, oh God, does your judgment and your wrath tarry?” When you ask it that way, you understand the issue. When you ask it the other way, you believe in the supremacy of man. “How dare God not employ his power on behalf of almighty man?” You flip the question around when you believe in the supremacy of Christ.

It's, of course, even better to hear him say it.

In 1930, in his book Humanism: A New Religion, Charles Francis Potter, leader and founder of the First Humanist Society of New York, wrote,

So Humanism is not simply another denomination of Protestant Christianity; it is not a creed; nor is it a cult. It is a new type of religion altogether.

On page 128 of that same book, he wrote,

Education is the most powerful ally of Humanism, and every American public school is a school of Humanism. What can the theistic Sunday Schools, meeting for an hour once a week, and teaching only a fraction of the children, do to stem the tide of a five-day program of humanistic teaching?

In the January-February 1983 issue of The Humanist, John J. Dunphy's article "A Religion for a New Age" states,

The battle for humankind's future must be waged and won in the public school classroom by teachers who correctly perceive their role as the proselytizers of a new faith: a religion of humanity that recognizes and respects the spark of what theologians call divinity in every human being. These teachers must embody the same selfless dedication as the most rabid fundamentalist preachers, for they will be ministers of another sort, utilizing a classroom instead of a pulpit to convey humanist values in whatever subject they teach, regardless of the educational level--preschool day care or large state university. The classroom must and will become an arena of conflict between the old and the new--the rotting corpse of Christianity, together with all its adjacent evils and misery, and the new faith of humanism, resplendent in its promise of a world in which the never-realized Christian ideal of "love thy neighbor" will finally be achieved.

Richard Baxter (1615-1691) was an English Puritan leader and scholar. Dean Stanley of Westminster called him "the chief of English Puritan Schoolmen."
Among many other excellent treatises, Baxter wrote an "Advice on Reading," in which, he provided four questions to ask yourself while you are reading:

1. Could I spend this time no better?
2. Are there better books that would edify me more?
3. Are the lovers of such a book as this the greatest lovers of the Book of God and of a holy life?
4. Does this book increase my love to the Word of God, kill my sin, and prepare me for the life to come?

Excellent and challenging advice. Applicable to many areas (music, television, movies, video games, etc.) But consider this, if Baxter gave this advice to your reading, would the same advice not also apply to your writing?
When you are writing your post, ask yourself if you could not be spending your time better. Could your post be more edifying? Could it be made more valuable to the reader? Is your goal to be popular? Or to hold high the Word of God? Will this post help other live a life of godliness? Or will it distract from God or raise unnecessary skepticisms?
I have certainly been challenged in my own blogging.

I love comics. I always have.
That's why I was so excited to see Heroes was coming to NBC. Five ordinary people who discover they have extraordinary powers. I was really impressed with the pilot episode. Much like Lost, the main characters regularly pass each other on the street or even interact with each other without knowing each other yet. And, also like Lost, it ended with a shocking twist.
But there were problems. The character Niki was introduced as a stripper. I had to spend a significant portion of the show looking away, waiting for my wife to tell me when I could look up again. The violence is on par with a graphic, gory horror flick. Another character, Mohinder Suresh, explains the powers, much like X-Men, as the next stage of evolution.
At first, I considered this was the pilot, which many times is exaggerated for shock value, and the regular show gets tamer. So I continued tuning in. "Obligatory" scenes and graphic violence continued.
Two things I want to say about this:
First, there is violence and immorality in the Bible. But the Bible does not tempt you to do these things. God is honored and glorified as the immorality is brought to justice in the Bible. The motive for the inclusion of these elements in the Bible is clearly pure. On Heroes, the immorality is presented temptingly. The immorality is presented as a lifestyle choice, even a necessary lifestyle choice based on situational ethics.
Second, I have heard many Christians say, regarding similar content, "I can handle it." I even initially expressed such a sentiment to myself. But then I asked myself, "Why should I want to?"
I am sorry to say that I did not come to these conclusions sooner. But I am sharing them with you, hoping they might be instructional and beneficial to you as you examine your own viewing habits.
By the way, Heroes is not the only show I'm dropping. I've enjoyed Deal or No Deal. I haven't seen every episode, just picking it up occasionally, but I enjoy watching the contestants squirm at the prospects of losing everything as the result of a poor choice. I felt it even provided some beneficial example of making good or bad choices and the dangers of greed. However, when I turned it on the other night, instead of noticing the contestant, I noticed the plunging necklines of the models. Since the last contestant had an interesting story (the show had flown in her family, which she had not seen in over a year, from South Africa to be in the audience to surprise her) and did not complete her game, my wife wanted to know when it aired next. So I looked up the show's website. I found the emphasis was not on the contest, but on the models, which it described as the "hottest models on television."
We've all heard the saying, "sex sells." But it's not entirely accurate. A more accurate statement would be "the female body sells." I'm surprised the feminists do not rally against these marketers.
All that to say that with the show's emphasis, I'm saying "No Deal."

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart."
Matthew 5:27, 28

Let's consider this: According to the Kinsey Institute's FAQ, "54% of men think about sex every day or several times a day, 43% a few times per month or a few times per week, and 4% less than once a month." So let's average that out to a very conservative estimate of twenty sexual thoughts per month. That's just one lustful thought every day or two. If we assume that these thoughts begin around puberty, for most men around 11 or 12, then by the time a man has reached the median age of 35 years, he will have, according to Jesus, committed adultery in his heart no less than 5,640 times.

Now, let's give him a break, shall we? Let's assume he got married at 27, the median age, and his thoughts from that point on were only for his wife. He never had another lustful thought apart from his bride. At 27 years, he still will have accumulated 3,720 commissions of heart adultery. Frankly, that's not that much better.

What about women? Most would agree that women think about sex less than men. So let's again take a very conservative estimate of once every 4 or 5 days. At 35 years, our average woman has accumulated 2,000 commissions of heart adultery. If she also attains purity of thought at marriage, around 25, she still has 1,200 commissions of heart adultery. Sure that numbers really been whittled down, but how well would you fare in a court of law with 1,200 guilty charges against you?

Now how's that "little" sin looking? And that's just one of the Commandments from our holy and just Creator.

In Matthew 7:6, Jesus says, "Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs." Here we have some practical advice in witnessing and reproving. Since I began witnessing, my personal prayer has been for God to consume me with zeal for the glory of Jesus Christ. I believe such zeal will overcome the many fears and inhibitions that prevent so many from being an effective witness. But here Jesus warns us to let our zeal be guided by discretion, "lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you."
Notice that the gospel or the reproof is a holy thing, a pearl. A wise man will see it so and welcome it.

Like a gold ring or an ornament of gold
is a wise reprover to a listening ear.
Proverbs 25:12

Let a righteous man strike me—it is a kindness;
let him rebuke me—it is oil for my head;
let my head not refuse it.
Psalm 141:5

[Wisdom] is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her;
those who hold her fast are called blessed.
Proverbs 3:18

Doctrine should be held in the highest estimation.
But there are dogs and pigs in this world. Remember, dogs and pigs were unclean animals. Does this mean that we should not share the gospel with wicked and profane people, then? Of course we should. Jesus said to, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation." (Mark 16:15) Paul said that "we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life." (2 Corinthians 2:15, 16)
In fact, only in preaching to them, will you discover the dogs and pigs. I see two ways God has given us for detecting dogs and pigs. One is to share the gospel with them. You cannot know if someone is a child of God or a pig, so you must present the gospel to everyone indiscriminately. Do not judge on appearances. If you have truly preached to them sin, righteousness, and judgment and they stubbornly blaspheme the gospel, even persecuting you, you have probably discovered a dog or pig.
I see the other method for detection in church discipline. Perhaps like Bill O'Reilly, you're not familiar with this essential passage. It is Matthew 18:15-20:

“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”

By these two methods, you can discover dogs and pigs. By walking so long in the counsel of the wicked, taking their stand in the way of sinners, and sitting with the scoffers, they have hardened their hearts. "The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire." (2 Peter 2:22)
Do not waste your time or your holy words on them. “It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.” (Matthew 15:26)

“‘Look, you scoffers,
be astounded and perish;
for I am doing a work in your days,
a work that you will not believe, even if one tells it to you.’”
Acts 13:41

As the prophet said to King Amaziah, "I know that God has determined to destroy you, because you have done this and have not listened to my counsel.” (2 Chronicles 25:16b)
Notice also in this passage the love of Jesus for his sheep. By his own admission, he has sent us out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Persecution will come. But he warns us, so we do not seek persecution by our zeal for his glory.

From oppression and violence he redeems their life,
and precious is their blood in his sight.
Psalm 72:14

I arrived in Ormond Beach Saturday night - er - Sunday morning, with quite the head cold/sinus infection. So my first couple days of vacation were just south of miserable. But it left me to myself in the room and that meant a lot of reading, so I can't complain.
Today, praise the Lord, I was feeling fabulous. It got up to the mid-80's so I took my 5-yr-old son out to the beach to teach him body surfing.
I was about 11 years old and swimming near the pier at Myrtle Beach when I first witnessed body surfing. I swam over to the guy doing it, asked him what he was doing and if he could teach me how. He did and I've been doing it for twenty years or so now.
The waves were 3 to 4 feet high. I kept my son in waist-deep water (for him) and pretty much spent the day "dolphin popping," which involves diving into the wave as it caps and letting the force propel you to the top and drive you to the shore. Great fun.
He had a blast and dubbed us "Aquaman" and "Aqualad."

On October 2nd at 2:30 p.m., Lorans Wageah Emeel, a 15-year-old Christian girl, was kidnapped by Muslims in the Egyptian city of El Mahala Al Kobra, about 60 miles north of Cairo. The incident was publicized by El Tareek, the only Arabic Christian newspaper in the Middle East. It is reported that the abductors are trying to force Lorans, a student of Saida Nafesa High School in El Mahalla Al Kobra, to deny Christ and accept Islam.

View the entire article

Used by Permission The Voice of Martyrs www.persecution.com

I penned this humble poem last night:

Oh, sweet presence of the Lord,
Is this what is meant by loving Thee
with all my heart,
with all my soul,
with all my strength?
Then truly is thy command sweet to me.
May my heart beat always in this,
my mind think only in this,
all my strength pour out into this,
That I might dwell always in Thy Presence.

Sink my roots deep in Thy temporary tomb
that there they may drink deeply of Thy atoning blood.
Strengthen and grow my trunk firm in Thy doctrine.
Spread a verdant canopy to be ever nourished
in the radiance of Thy holy light.
And lift my branches ever in your praise.

Pastor Bhadikar Barshi was on his way to conduct a regular service at his house in the Barshi area of Solapur district in Maharashtra state on July 5th, when two youths approached him. Asking him to join them in a prayer for a friend who had been suffering from a sickness over the past 15 years, the young men walked alongside the pastor for some time until a Hindu mob ambushed him.

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Used by Permission The Voice of Martyrs www.persecution.com

Free Online Worldview Test

In his new book, Thanks a Million: Adventures in Biblical Witnessing, evangelist Ray Comfort, co-host of the award-winning "Way of the Master" TV show, writes all about real-life witnessing experiences with a variety of people, from atheists to gang members to psychics and more.

As a result of a religious dispute, nearly 5,000 Christians were displaced and six were injured on September 20th, when Muslim rioters destroyed and torched at least 18 churches, 20 Christian homes, and 40 Christian shops in Dutse, the capital of Jigawa state in Northern Nigeria. After an Islamic young man made several unsuccessful advances on Jummai, a female Christian, he angrily reacted by calling her a fake Christian who follows a “useless Jesus.” Jummai responded by telling the boy he followed “a useless prophet—Muhammad.” Furious, the Muslim boy raised alarm through the town by proclaiming that a Christian lady blasphemed Muhammad. She was quickly taken to the local police station where she was kept in custody to diffuse the potentially volatile situation.

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Used by Permission The Voice of Martyrs www.persecution.com

TankerBob, thank you! Thank you! THANK YOU!

I was hoping to find a Westminster Confession to put on my Palm, when I came across TankerBob's downloads page.

I found a wealth of great documents, including:

Calvin's Commentaries
Catechism for Young Children
Owen's Death of Death in the Death of Christ
Three Forms of Unity (which includes the Heidelberg Catechism)
U.S. Foundational Documents (Constitution, Bill of Rights, Declaration)
Westminster Standards (Confession and Larger & Smaller Catechisms)
Westminster Subordinate Standards (includes Sum of Saving Knowledge)

Again, THANK YOU!