However, let us delve into a bit of controversial speculation. I will not be so presumptuous as to use the pronoun we for this section, which I shall refer to as A Parable of the Suicide Bomber, even though there could indeed be a substantial number who would agree with both the theology and the manner of presentation. Those who find some basis to part with either the theology or the method of dealing with the matter will not produce any ill feelings in me, for I do not have a corner on the truth and am myself continuing to learn throughout life.

Having thus declared my intentions with qualifications, I present with no apology the reflection of truth in principle as I perceive it, and revealed through the following A Parable of the Suicide Bomber. Since this has no specific reference to any definite historical event, we shall use no names to avoid any possible association with real persons.

The young lad enthusiastically prepared for his mission that would not only bring him honor and glory from his perspective but by his god also assure him untold wealth and young virgins to suffice his deepest lust. After all, his god would be compelled to honor his promise to this young man. Even though his god expressed himself with fierce anger and took pride in selecting whom he chose to slay or to heap great torture upon or to bring misfortune without cause, for he himself is god and needs no reason to act on his own whims. It remains forever irrelevant that his god is capricious and selects only the ones he wants to be his workers. No one ordinarily has any guarantee to receive his salvation, except those who do extraordinary acts as the killing of the enemies. If such an act of killing others brings death to the believer, then that god is bound to provide the great wealth and fulfill the deepest lust of the one engaging in that act.

Hence, the young man, wrapped up completely in his delusion, strapped the explosives to himself and rushed into the crowd of people, including women and children, who had gathered into the shopping center. As though impatient for the exact moment of maximum potential for wholesale destruction and with a smirk on his face, the young man held his hand on the hidden detonator. Soon he would not only give vent to his hatred of those who surrounded him, but at that moment find rapture into his great glory, a place to embellish his own arrogance to no end.

He judged the moment to be exactly right and quickly depressed the button.

A thunderous, clear, absolute communication without words intruded without mercy into the young man’s consciousness, "Who are you to take away all our hopes and punish us with your cruel hatred? Our loved ones left behind will experience untold suffering and grief because of your dastardly act. How can you be so callous and arrogant, so hateful and uncaring, so filthy and selfish?" This communication of the intense suffering and grief could not be evaded. All the faces clearly induced torture within the soul of the young bomber, who could not escape those unfading images.

The cries continued for what seemed to be a hundred thousand years, stabbing like painful, hot swords into his heart. Awareness grew like the flames of hell wrapping around the entire body and soul with torture that exceeds the most vivid imagination, destroying completely every vestige of the young man’s arrogance and pride, leaving him empty in the knowledge of the tragedy he had forced upon the lives of thousands.

To understand evil properly, we must see an indisputable link between the origin of evil and its nature. Evil originates out of sin, which, among other things, involves rebellion against God. Sin marks a person’s claim to his own world, his circle of interests and domain. Out of this infatuation with self and darkness, humanity broke links with God, and thus severed the umbilical cord, the source of life and fellowship.

Each person born into this world from the time of the fall (that entrance and domination of evil causing suffering, loneliness, confusion, hatred, injustice, greed, jealousy, murder, exploitation, death, etc.) tends to see the world through distortion. From the time of birth, each person sees the world from where he is. Spaciously, the horizon depends on the location at a point in time where each person finds himself. This physical view has spiritual and psychological corollaries. We seek to establish our relevance based upon the reference point of self and our own secluded existence, our own domain and our own rights. Even our friends become those who embellish us and our own notions, who do not contradict us nor obstruct our goals. We are the sole proprietors of what we have staked as our claim.

Of course, much of this abstraction cannot be easily deduced, simply because we have become very gifted at covering up, making our secret world jealously protected such that we can manipulate others while feigning to be interested in them and their needs. The forces of evil  find great strides along the avenues of deception and empty promises.

A complication enters the scope of our distorted and self-serving perception in that most frequently we can at the very best detect only a faint, nebulous hint that something deep within us doesn’t ring true. Frequently we yield to the temptation to suppress this diffused consciousness even deeper from any mental access. This observation focuses on the fact that our hearts actually deceive us during moments of life’s journey. This deception, however, reflects our own failure to acknowledge the truth, our preoccupation to live our own lives from our frame of reference that shuts out the light from beyond.

On the other hand, this raises a question with respect to the very definable character which we brand as evil, the character demonstrable in vile acts of abuse, including murder, rape, robbery, savagery, etc. Societies by and large throughout history have condemned such acts of violence. Even ruthless tyrants generally execute laws against these destructive acts, though the tyrants frequently reserve for themselves the sole right to resort to any act of violence which would foster their own ends. Does not this suggest that the very overt, crass and openly defiant resort to violence easily lends itself to quick recognition and prompt rejection with relatively broad acceptance by most societies?

Nevertheless, such laws designed to curb crime meet with only limited success. Why? The answer to this involves more than a simple explanation. Some resort to acts of violence, for instance, as an expression of rebellion against authority. They despise limits imposed upon them by authoritative figures or governments or society and resort to violence or other destructive behavior to defy the limitations. Others devise schemes to exploit situations or people to gain advantage, profit or notoriety and seek to cover up any violation of laws or ethically deplorable action.  And we could go on and on.  The reasons are many, but these illustrations should suffice our purposes.

While we have sought to assort through the nature of evil itself, (and we have indicated this earlier, but the origin of evil deserves to be reiterated strongly) evil could not even exist apart from rebellion (sin) against God, which brought about the fall. The sequence may thus be declared absolutely: Sin, the fall and the entrance of evil. That sequence represents the very natural order. Sin separates from God. Separation brings in the fall. The fall gives birth and expression to evil, demonic, human and natural catastrophies.  Yes, even natural catastrophes could never intrude into our world, except by way of the fall! Therefore, the seed root of it all is sin. Without sin there would have been no fall. Without the fall, we would have continued in paradise, a rightful relationship with God, but sin itself barred humanity from paradise because the right relationship with God had been breached by sin. And sin cannot exist within paradise. Hence, outside of paradise we find the fallen world, one already marred by rebellion against God. The fall reflects the general presence of sin and the perfect environment to experience evil, the consequences of sin and the fall.

This does not suggest in the least that every sin bears immediate consequences, but we must rest assured that every sin will, sooner or later, and sometimes in multiplicity of avenues, rebound to impact, not only the sinner, but many of the innocent bystanders. Moreover, the most innocent Person Who ever lived upon this ball we call the earth, Jesus Christ, suffered the total consequences of all our sins!

This very reality that Jesus suffered untold agony for us tends to elicit an awe that the world at large cannot understand. We find ourselves impacted with deep sorrow and intense grief that He took our place willingly before we even knew Him. Can it be an accident that His arms were outstretched and His wounded forehead retained the marks of trailing blood? Neither the vertical, eternity entering humanity’s history, nor the horizontal, God’s gesture to embrace humanity, could have been an accidental symbol. In the cross both the vertical and the horizontal find union, for herein we discover the only juncture which brings together God and humanity into the threshold of genuine, transforming relationship, if we please. Yet, as with the blood staining His forehead and hands, the price for that union between God and humanity came through great cost.

Then, need we vent great displeasure at our own unjust suffering when we can come to understand that through such suffering we often identify with our Savior? All the insult and barbs we sometimes suffer among those who cannot see nor know what it’s all about could become our crucifixion to introduce others to the kind of God we serve!

Therefore, whatever else we may say, our suffering can sometimes serve a redemptive purpose, especially when we determine never to compromise our principles and moral convictions, never to surrender our faithfulness to our Lord.

3. The Ramifications of Evil

Essentially, evil, like water, will seek its own level. As evil reflects the outward nature and actions set in motion by sin, evil will retain the natural disposition of its birth, that of sin itself. As for example, the sin of hatred reflects through actions often leading to murder, to assassination of character through words, deeds, innuendoes, distortion of facts, etc. Even where there can be no identifiable outward actions, hatred dehumanizes the person harboring those hostilities, thus curbing his ability to function in a constructive fashion.  Envy, in like manner, will find avenues to put down the person or persons envied. Often, this reveals itself through disparaging remarks concerning the one envied and/or underhanded efforts to devalue and/or discredit the person(s) envied.

We could take any number of thousands of sins and continue to relate each sin to various avenues of manifestations.

But sin itself reflects a state of self-centered rebellion against God, from which spring forth multitudes of sins. While those individual sins find expressions through many ramifications, each of those sins arises from that state of sin. The state of sin has undermined every person who has ever lived here on earth, with one exception, Christ Jesus. Yet, Jesus Himself became the sole remedy for sin. When sin is remedied within the redeemed person, then sins, like rotting fruit on a tree, will begin to fall from the tree itself. Each redeemed person who has been transformed has a new nature, which resists the old nature, such that in the growth process through the new nature, each child of God will begin to see the destruction of the sin nature. That destruction can never be totally achieved instantaneous, but through the new nature, each of us clearly has the desire to move above the flesh (the carnal tendencies to succumb), and each of us strives to starve the old, sinful nature. Notwithstanding, here on earth it remains forever a goal that each of us moves toward.

Moreover, many of us who have come to the new birth do stumble, slip and falter along the way. But we can find solace and comfort in the words of John’s little epistle, I John 1:9, If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Yet, how can we deal with weaknesses and departures from the path if we fail to recognize the path or fail to perceive our own failures and indiscretion throughout life? Indeed, we must sharpen our focus; we must equip ourselves with the full armor (Ephesians 6:10-18). There can be no time within the urgency of these days to teeter precariously on the sidelines where hidden pitfalls may deny further opportunities to join the Lord’s army or have chances to salvage our own lives in His ministry. Christianity can be no toy to cast aside with intention to retrieve when circumstances dictate our need for God. We can never use God toward our own ends! But if we cultivate such a distorted perspective, either God will discipline us, if we are His own, or allow us to destroy ourselves in our own bigotry and self-centered pursuits. If we have never been His children and we refuse to heed warnings and convicting efforts by the Holy Spirit to turn us toward God, we renounce the light God provides for us and cannot escape the dire consequences.

We come now to the point of placing these principles into the everyday life situations to explore the application and perhaps gain some insights into the avenues through which these principles affect us where the water hits the wheel, so to speak. Allow us to present scenarios as a basis for some analytical and probing questions. Except for my personal references all names and exact stories remain fictitious. Any association with real people or actual events is only coincidental. However, some scenarios may elicit similar experiences we ourselves have had or know about.

Righteous Indignation

An eleven-year-old boy, James, burst into the house and erupted in an outrage of anger, "My teacher says that we can no longer say the Pledge of Allegiance. She said that the court stopped it!" Then he threw his books down heavily, slamming them on the tabletop as he continued, "I wish God would burn that court with fire from heaven!"

Observations: This sentiment all too frequently strikes at our hearts, especially at the miscarriage of justice or the failure to uphold righteousness. Indeed, it is not a novelty of our generation. Jesus Himself addressed this sentiment among His disciples, who wanted the Lord to allow fire to be called down against those who rejected Him (Luke 9:51-56).

If I may bring to bear one of my experiences as an illustration, I recall years ago when the so-called abortion clinics (a euphemistic misnomer for torture and death chambers, reminiscent of Nazi Germany’s concentration camps) impacted me such that I could have wished for the very same end to all those so-called clinics. Yet, the Lord knew how to prick my bubble and bring me down to size.

A former abortion clinic owner of three locations in Texas came to know Christ as personal Lord and Savior. She not only closed the clinics but also over the years has become a prime example of God’s love and grace. Moreover, she has become an avowed anti-abortion, pro-life activist and has done much to turn the tide.

Because of that experience, I have been bathed in the awareness that God indeed retains the reins of history and knows how to deal with our sinful, rebellious society in which we live. If I could have had my desire fulfilled to bring fire down from heaven upon all abortion clinics, people like this example presented herein would have never entered the scene.  Society would have suffered great loss and that abortion clinic owner would have herself been lost eternally.

Many testimonies I have been privileged to hear or read about in the Christian news media focus on women who have had abortions and have suffered untold agony in unabated grief over the loss of their children. Some even entertain morbid wonder about what their lost children could have been! Might they have brought new dimensions of joy and interaction, had they lived? Did they miss any opportunity to interface with the problems of civilization? Could they have conceivably shed great light and hope to others, perhaps discovering a cure for certain ailments pronounced incurable?

Many of these abused women have come to place their lives under the Lordship of Christ and now wage a battle to inform others of the atrocities they underwent in the name of right of choice!

In observation of the young boy outraged over the loss of his right and privilege to say the Pledge of Allegiance along with his classmates, we would agree, would we not, that the courts once more threaten our liberties? However, anger and hatred do not tally with biblical admonition. Certainly, we have a right to be angry, but we need to turn our anger over to the Lord, Who indeed is in control and will mete out justice in the end. We must also pray and use the opportunities God provides us to act in such fashion to bring about change where possible—write letters, call others (even congressmen or other authorities), discuss possibilities with others, especially church members or those who know how to help us.

Analysis: From where does righteous indignation come? Often we perceive our own rights and dignity violated. We can scarcely tolerate infringements upon our territory, our safe haven, our entitlements, our lives, etc. In areas detached from us or from our immediate concerns we tend to push from our consciousness and concede that those matters, though perhaps horrible, either do not merit our specific efforts or do not present a genuine opportunity to affect changes. As for example, masses in parts of Africa starve because of the evil devices to keep them under subjugation and under absolute control. We may truly sense a bit of sorrow, but nothing to the degree that would prompt us to step upon our soapbox in seeking changes. After all, the immediate impact of those we are closest to, of the tangible concerns at hand, of the present moment, etc., bear the greatest influence upon us.

BUT how then should we respond?

Cure: When we look at ourselves, are we looking to the wrong place to find the answer? Should we not look to the One Who holds the whole world in His hand? How would He respond?

Indeed, Christ held an unlimited view of the world, did He not? What is our worldview? Must we not develop a Christian worldview?

Christ renounced His right to conquer the world by force and thus circumvent the cross. He reserved for Himself no rights, but freely gave all He had that others might have salvation (John 1:10-11; Matthew 8:20). Self-denial and the cross became His by His own choice. He willingly gave of Himself to bring about changes. Love, genuine love, must be outgoing, self-giving and unqualified to reflect our Savior’s love.

Caring for others more than caring for ourselves can cause us to sacrifice our self-interests and ourselves for others, can it not? Righteous indignation must never solely dictate preservation of our purposes, our goals and our rights, if we walk in the steps of Christ.

This response does not mean, however, that we should resign and seek to become insensitive to all the injustice and wrong which surrounds us. Quite the contrary, Christ Himself drove out the moneychangers (Matthew 21:12-13).

However, Christ’s response had nothing to do with self-preservation and self-centered goals on this occasion. He acted in His authority to protect the sanctity of the temple and the welfare of those who were exploited. Christ continues through His authority to assume His role to direct and undergird His church! He forever remains the Head of His church.

Indeed, times come when we must take a stand, even when physical effort becomes necessary. A man pulls a gun and threatens to shoot one of our daughters. Providing an opportunity presents itself, would we not risk our own lives to intervene and seek to halt that man, even if we must take the criminal’s own life? Would this not be the appropriate action? We bet our lives, it is, do we not?

Yes, exceptional occasions demand strong, unrelenting action, sometimes even including  violence, when circumstances leave us no other choice and demand our commitment. Furthermore, sometimes we are called upon to serve our country in the just cause of protecting ourselves and our nation from threat of destruction.

On the other hand, whatever else may be said, righteous indignation should never become an occasion to preserve our own rights and to preserve ourselves by outrageous anger leading to improper display of hostilities. We are not to supplant God’s role nor do we have the omniscience to bring claims for justice. That role must always be God’s.

Separation of Church and State

A minister approached his congregation with a message which made sense to him and many who heard his comments. He insisted that the principle of separation of church and state, especially as applied to the classroom, could be logically a blessing. If any expression of religious beliefs were permitted in the school, then we may in the process open a Pandora’s box. The pastor proceeded to explain that such radical expressions as devil worship could not be disallowed on the grounds that selective discrimination would violate the rights of that particular group.

Observations: Certainly, the pastor hit upon a sore spot, but let’s not stop there. Society at large lives with a multiplicity of evils. We can never, with all our devices, completely insolate ourselves from that sordid reality. Neither should we seek to withdraw into our own little sanctuary and have no dealings with any group with a radically different philosophy or outlook.

Yet, Christ Himself associated with sinners, even those who held the tittle of being the outcast of society; even so, He not once condoned their sins, but loved them and sought to transform them.  Many of those undesirables became His disciples.  Could it be that rather than isolate ourselves from the sinners, we insulate ourselves from their sin?  May we not do this by keeping our focus on the Light?  The power of the Light can dissipate the darkness!

Perhaps what this well-intending pastor did not realize regards the promotion of a dichotomy. The religious world reserves a niche separate from the niche for the secular. Never do the sacred and the secular intermingle, for each reserves its own entity to itself. Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s (Matthew 22:21) has been a favorite quote for those who support this dichotomy. However, it takes great ignorance to claim that God has His own territory and that the government has its own separate territory. The Bible does not support that claim. What Jesus indicated from the fact of the inscription on the coin, that of Caesar himself, provided the stamp of his authority to collect what was rightfully his, but his only under the sovereignty of God, never as a separate power in and of himself alone. Furthermore, God ordains all governments for the specific purpose to establish order and peace (Romans 13:1-7). While it is quite evident that all governments do not completely fulfill God’s ordained purpose, those throughout history that have failed eventually find themselves on the garbage heap of history. God rejects those governments that refuse to measure up to His ordination.

Paul himself declares that all things be done to the honor and glory of God (I Corinthians 10:31). All life flourishes under the Lordship of Christ. There can, in reality, be no true dichotomy.

Analysis: May we exercise our God-given ability to reason (Let My people think) and examine the untenable premises the dear pastor inadvertently stumbled into.

First, our children should be protected from any and all ungodly influences. What is this actually saying about our children in an age of darkness? In the case of the pastor’s concerns do we not feel that the cart has been placed before the horse? Is not the home environment the ideal location to train and teach our children, providing them a firm foundation to withstand the storms of life? After all, in a significant number of public schools children are being taught evolution as fact rather than theory?

With respect to such teaching, I personally heard a student raise very meaningful and serious questions, which action reflected that he had been well prepared at home. Children who have the light have the best protection against the darkness!

We would not hesitate to recommend a personal devotion, geared more toward the mature family member, but can provide a sound, vital and dynamic foundation for helping children cope. Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, An Updated Edition in Today’s Language, has a way of cutting to the heart of matters.

Cure: Just how do we counter this dangerous, all-pervasive spread of this dichotomy, Separation of Church and State? Definitely, we can not enter the arena with the delusion that we have the answers to this ugly intrusion. We can easily fall flat on our faces single-handedly to take on this giant. David took on the giant (I Samuel 17:1-58) but allowed God to deliver Goliath, the giant, into his hand. While we can not bring down the giant ourselves, God can through us!

Furthermore, Christ declared, You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free (See John 8:31-32). Truth is our weapon, and when truth is exercised through love, care and concern, God can bring miracles to pass. Darkness, sin, evil and all the forces of hell cannot withstand genuine truth!

Legalism

Little Mary ran into the house to confer urgently with her mother. Her mother listened attentively and then questioned, "Do you suppose that this movie you want to see builds character and provides decent viewing? I have seen the reviews and am not impressed with it?"

"Oh, mom, you don’t understand," Mary pleaded. "Sure, there are a few words and a little off color suggestions, I am told, but the movie as a whole is a hilarious comedy, well worth watching. A little bad isn’t going to rub off on me. Anyway several of our church members are going."

"And you feel that because some church members are going, that makes it all right for you to go?" the mother reasoned.

"I don’t know," Mary countered, "but I’m mature enough not to let a little bad rub off on me. Please, don’t be legalistic."

"Tell you what," said the mother. "If you’ll help me in baking the cake I’ve started, I’ll give it some serious thought."

"Sure," Mary agreed with glee.

"Well," the mother continued, "I have just run out of butter and I really need butter for the cake."

"Shall I go to the grocery store?" Mary suggested.

"No," the mother pondered, "I remember yesterday I dropped a stick of butter on the dirty cutting board on the kitchen counter where I had been cutting up some fish. I didn’t see any need to try to trim off the butter for fear of leaving some raw fish drippings on it and I tossed the stick into the dirty kitchen garbage can. Would you be a dear and see if you can take a big serving spoon and scoop all you can out!  That butter should be all right for cooking.  The heat should kill the germs."

"Mom!" Mary exclaimed in shock. "You’re kidding, right? You just can’t be serious!"

"Oh," the mother contemplated slowly, "you must remember, dear, that very little of the slimy stuff can get into this big cake—not really enough to influence it all that much."

Observations: What would we suppose the mother sought to communicate to her daughter with her demonstration regarding the cake preparation? Should Christians, genuine Christians, support those things which bring even a hint of garbage, so to speak, to contaminate decency and communicate the wrong message to the world at large? What, then, should establish the criteria for decisions?

Perhaps that question raises the most crucial pivotal point in dealing with the problem, but allow us to focus on that aspect a bit later. First of all, allow us to zero in on the plight of the daughter. Is it not evident that the daughter did not intend to rebel against what she perceived to be right? Could her problem have arisen from her own frame of reference? Is it not true that if we start where we are, in our own circumference of interests and concerns, we do not readily make ourselves receptive to any external light?

Did not that very disposition, a lack of sensitivity to light beyond their letter-of-the-law mania, pervade the scribes and Pharisees during the New Testament days (Matthew 15:1-14)? They forged ahead on the merits of keeping the letter of the law; however, many of these religious elite who confronted Christ held the spirit of the law in contempt. These arrogant hypocrites sought to flirt with sin, just as close as the letter of the law would allow, just so they did not actually cross over that invisible line. They could entertain adultery or murder or envy or jealously to the fullest of their imaginations and never soil their religious credentials (Matthew 5:27-28). The overt act carried paramount consequences, but finding loopholes to circumvent the intent of the law carried no penalty whatsoever within the evil imaginations of their own hearts. Their god could do no other than to fulfill his obligations to them, for by their perceived righteousness they controlled their god such that he could do no other than meet their demands (Luke 18:9-14).

In addressing this legalistic mode, Paul saw the law, not so much as the letter, but as intent, as communication, having a purpose beyond the words. The words themselves posed an opportunity and linkage through the Spirit to bring the communication to life within the believer, the spirit of the law, if we will. Incarnation must take place through the Spirit, that He may make alive that communication, for within the communication comes the Presence of God Almighty. God’s Presence through the Spirit ushers in the transformed life, such that the recipient fulfills the purpose of the law in his life (II Corinthians 3:2-6).

On one occasion, Christ and His disciples traveled during the Sabbath. During the journey they all grew hungry, but as they passed through the grain field, probably a wheat or field of corn (from the British term meaning any kind of grain bearing plant), His disciples began to pluck the grain to eat (Mark 2:23-28). Of course, the Pharisees, who observed the very act, could not tolerate such violation of the Sabbath law. To them human life and welfare had to become secondary to the letter of the law. However, Christ assured that "…the Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath." In that statement, we see that God gave the law as a means to benefit, not a bent to burden or destroy. Moreover, all laws, including the Sabbath purpose, originates from a caring and loving Lord (Mark 2:28).

The hypothetical scenario involving Mary represents a kind of legalism different from the scribes and Pharisees in that Mary found herself not so much bound by tradition and strict laws, but sought to find how far she could go before crossing the line. By their traditionalism many of the religious elite of Christ’s day sought to do the same thing. They prided themselves in discovering loopholes to circumvent the law such that they could fulfill their greed and exploitations without violating the letter of the law, which we mentioned earlier. Mary did not show concern for the letter of the law, but rather how she could keep herself legitimate and engage in questionable activity perhaps to belong to the group and/or to find justification for gratification that failed to measure up to the highest standards.

Yet, there can be found those within our society who have no qualms about crucifying others upon the strict letter of the law.

If I may provide an illustration from my own personal experience, I almost lost my precious, sweet little two-year-old granddaughter, Chloe. She had struggled with bouts of ear infections, sore throat and fever for more than a year when the pediatrician referred her for a possible tonsillectomy. Ordinarily, children under age three will only be scheduled to undergo the risky surgery for children her age if critically necessary. Unfortunately, Chloe’s condition met that criterion. Everyone had hoped that surgery could have been postponed until her third birthday or later, but we all conceded that the surgery had to be scheduled and sought to leave the whole matter in the Lord’s hand.

To make a long story short, Chloe came through the surgery seemingly all right. She was taken to a recovery room.

Her father and mother waited in the room with Chloe to be present when she would awaken from the anesthesia. A nurse in the room with them advised that Chloe could be expected to spit up or drool blood for about thirty minutes before bleeding would completely cease.

However, Chloe continued gagging and spitting up blood close to an hour when the nurse expressed concern. The nurse gently lifted Chloe at which time Chloe exploded with blood all over the nurse, the bed and the floor!

Instantly, the nurse turned to Robin, the mother, and excitedly urged, "We need to get this child immediately to the surgery prep room!"

The nurse held Chloe firmly and she and the parents rushed down the hall. They quickly passed by the elevator, which was not available at that moment, and ran down the steps in quick, long strides.

As the nurse crashed through the door to the prep room, the anesthesiologist all but shouted at the nurse indignantly, "Nurse, you know the protocol. I’m going to write you up for this outrage."

Robin, the mother, responded in a manner not unlike a wet hen protecting her brood. "My daughter’s life is worth more than all the protocol in the world!" she snapped viciously back.

The Lord did not forsake the occasion, for a surgeon happened to be passing and witnessed the whole thing. He quickly glanced at Chloe and with an unwavering demand in his voice, ordered, "Prep this child immediately for surgery before we lose her!"

During the second surgical procedure the surgeon cauterize five blood vessels that had been bleeding. Of course, the loss of blood left Chloe very pale and fragile, weak and lethargic, but being as resilient as young children tend to be and by God’s grace and help, she fully recovered.

It would seem to most of us, I suspect, that the anesthesiologist would have forgone the writing of the breach of protocol against the nurse, since he observed the serious threat to Chloe’s survival and the surgeon’s quick response to the situation. But let us think again. The report went against the nurse’s record anyway.

How could this be? Certainly, decent, honest and loving people find it hard to believe that there could be such heartless scoundrels in the medical profession. Indeed, there can be found those legalistic fanatics who place the system far above the concern for human welfare to the degree to crucify those who do not conform to the letter, but rely on the intent and spirit of the system.

If that shocks some of us, we need only look at so-called abortion clinics where pseudo-doctors willingly torture and murder unborn children solely for the lucrative profit, and quite unlike genuine doctors, make a mockery of the Hippocratic oath to save human life. Most assuredly, do they not reduce the Hippocratic oath to the hypocritical oath? Oh, well, we do deal with the aspect of abortion elsewhere within the pages of our website. While abortion itself does not fit well under legalism, the subject did offer an opportunity to show a kindred spirit to the legalistic anesthesiologist who could have easily caused the death of dear little Chloe had he been allowed to impose his policy.

Consequently, legalism can be detrimental to a society and has no place within the scope of Christianity.

Analysis: Legalism may well provide the avenue to sustain personal pride, to secure a means to earn our way toward salvation and/or assure us of certain control over our god toward our own ends. The well spring of legalism reflects self-centered and self-serving goals. The whole frame of reference revolves around our own world, our property, our needs, our wants, etc. We become wrapped up in our own self-worth and self-righteousness.

Because we keep the very letter of the law, everyone becomes indebted to us—especially our god.

Hence, within the scope of our legalism, interpretation arises from ourselves, from the circumference of our own experiences and frame of references. We have the law. We own the very narrow meaning grafted into the substance of our own purposes. We feel empowered to use the law as the very end in and of itself alone, with no communication from beyond the very statement of the law. It’s like magic to us, a kind of formula, somewhat like the laws of mathematics which guarantee success, or even good luck. We tend to become irate at those who fail to observe the exact letter, the precise meaning without involving intent or purpose, for that would add dimensions beyond ourselves. We could not then own the law nor retain control over our god. We can throw it into his face that he is our god to repay us for the pain of keeping his law, for our purchasing our own salvation through observing the letter of the law by strict rendering of words, never allowing words to point to revelation or anything beyond the exact literal meaning of the law.

Of course, those who espouse legalism would scarcely articulate in such terminology, but the end results measure practically the same disposition in either case.

But in reality can we truly know and understand the law apart from the LawGiver? Is it possible for a loving and gracious God to make the law an end in and of itself, never reflecting His Own character (Mark 2:23-28)?

Just as words symbolize the reality to which they point (i.e., the word door is not genuinely a door, but, through the symbol of the spoken or written word, points to the reality of an existing door), the law likewise points beyond itself toward the higher reality which serves to meet the real needs of humanity. When we reduce the law to legalism, we destroy its very reason for existing.

Neither can we conclude that libertarianism provides the battleground to counter legalism. Libertarianism seeks to remove all boundaries or restrictions. Legalism sees boundaries or restrictions as the sole end and goal, the reason for living. Either avenue leads toward eradication of purpose, direction and reason, a censure of divine revelation (or light from beyond).

Cure: Remember the question we raised earlier? What, then, should establish the criteria for decisions? And we noted that Perhaps that question raises the most crucial pivotal point in dealing with the problem… Legalism resides within boundaries, within well-defined perimeters which shut out all outside light or considerations. This quagmire institutes the key to the demise of the legalist. He finds no purpose beyond the status quo, and like vegetation deprived of sufficient sunlight, may thrive momentarily but carries the inevitable deficiencies leading toward decay.

The cure for the vegetation becomes obvious to the observer. Remove the obstructions to allow the sunlight to flow such that the plants can soak up the life engineering light to produce the growth process. But with the legalistic-minded person, there must be a willingness to allow the light from beyond to enter his mind, to reverse the stagnating status quo into revitalization toward life. The focus must be shifted from the creation toward the Creator, from self toward others, from things toward personal relationships, form self-serving goals toward glorifying God and worshipping Him alone.

The legalists tend to see the world within the negative and forbidden scope.

A story may well illustrate the point. A man who moved to town could not dismiss the wide-open fields and inviting forests he left behind to accept a more lucrative employment. But alas, he could stand it no longer and persuaded his wife and children that he must return to his farming. His son thought well of it and envisioned that Fido, his old hound dog, would be able to roam freely rather than having to be confined in the boundaries of a very small fenced-in back yard.

However, the farm purchased by the father also had a fence all around the spacious back yard. The father suggested that his son keep Fido in the fence, at least until he became used to the place and then he would remove the fence. The son, however, kept complaining to his father, who continued to promise that he would indeed remove the fence when he could find the time. In the meantime, the old hound, kept inside the fence  day after day, would run to the edge of the fence and howl longingly.

However, as soon as the father removed the fence, the hound took off like a streak of lightning across the field and into the wooded area. He wandered for a period of time, but following the initial exploring, the old dog was constantly found lying on the front porch contented as he could be. Very rarely did he wander off any more.

What happened? The fence represented restriction. It caused the dog to focus on the outside world with much longing. However, after his exploration when he found his freedom, he eventually became satisfied with what he had waiting for him at the farm house all along. He had a new appreciation for his home area.

The legalists view the fence as their legal boundaries and must console themselves that they keep the laws (represented by the fence). Unlike the dog, though, the yearning of the legalists to go beyond the fence will never be admitted, much less attempted. However, they get as close to the fence as they possibly can. They entertain thoughts, feed the yearning in the fantasy of their own minds. They can never be at home within the confines of the law, for they have never discovered that the laws were made to support and help humanity, not to restrict anyone.

On the other hand, the old hound did not seek to hide his desire, but when he found his freedom, he came to understand that the vast open areas could never provide the security and support of being around those who care. He came back home with a new appreciation.

The legalists cannot realize their need for home, for they have never come to terms with their own evil desires, the nature that makes them want to sin, that tug which pulls them up to the fence. They take their pride in the strict-letter observance of all laws, such that they have an empty, unfulfilling arrogance based on what they don’t do so they can boast of their sacrifices. Such people must be pitied more than anything, for they seal themselves inside their own darkness.

The legalists have not learned the lesson of the old hound. He developed a heart for home after pursuing the wind. The hound had to become what he really was before he could move beyond to become that which fulfilled his nature, enjoying a relationship with those who loved him.

The greatest commandment of all times provides a link to all other commandments (or laws) and in so doing provides the only true key to understanding them. That understanding fulfills the purpose of all other commandments (or laws). That greatest commandment has been declared and reiterated by Christ Jesus (Mark 12:28-31) in words to the effect we are to love God with all we are and the second commandment linked to the first, love our neighbors as ourselves. In essence, we cannot keep either of these commandments without keeping the other. The first represents our vertical relationship to God and the second represents our horizontal relationship to every other human being we come in contact with. Thus, life must be understood in terms of vital, living and dynamic relationships, not an artificial adherence to rules, or laws, or commandments. To keep those laws or rules as an end within themselves reduces them to a disconnected and burdensome load grudgingly carried throughout life. Only that genuine love interjects spirit (life) into the otherwise dead structures of the laws. Love causes us to see the reason and intent of all God’s laws; that is, all laws are meant to serve humanity, not to become fences to captivate humanity.

Consequently, the antidote for legalism must necessarily be love, never duty nor self-righteous embellishment, nor pride, nor any other thing. And by love we speak not of a fleeting infatuation nor emotional high, but an everlasting passion, the heart filled with desire to fulfill God’s purpose and God’s perspective and God’s claims. This kind of love can never be conjured up from the human well of experience, but forever remains kindled from above, from the God of the universe. He crashed into our experience by becoming one of us, by identification with us, by bearing our guilt on the cross. The New Testament coined a word to bring into focus the authenticity and the clarity and the power of such love. That word, agape, set a definition that can only be sensed within the realm of the Spirit. He, the Holy Spirit, must bring the full fruition of that kind of awareness into consciousness. Apart from God’s Spirit, we can never come into that kind of interaction and interfacing with God Himself. We must understand that through love growing out of encounter with God through the Spirit alone can we feel at home with the law, not at odds with it. Let us always remember, the letter kills, but the spirit makes alive (II Corinthians 3:6)! Only the spirit of the law undercuts and supplants legalism.

Self-Esteem

Designed to provide motivational drive, most self-help books and workshops base their methods on positive thinking and positive thinking grows out of a healthy self-concept. In other words, self-esteem must be central and given foremost consideration in the healthy responses to bring about successful endeavors in life.

And what can be wrong with that? we may ask. It seems quite the center of the road with respect to national values, does it not? After all, do we not wish that everyone could truly feel great about himself? Even educational training never fails to call attention to the need for students to feel good about themselves, to develop a wholesome appreciation for who they are.

If I may use a personal experience from years ago while attending seminary, I had the privilege of a mission project in a depressed area of the city of Louisville, Kentucky. A small, struggling Afro-American church received me with open arms, and though I happen to be a Caucasian, extended to me complete cooperation in the mission endeavor.

One morning a leader of the church and a seemingly enthusiastic lady sought to give an inspiring pep talk. No doubt in my mind that her intentions were impeccable and noble. However, in the course of her encouraging speech she made a statement that reflected a common misconception among many people.

"You should be proud of your race!" she emphatically urged.

This brings to our minds certain questions worth pursuing. What should be the foundation for our pride (or self-esteem)? Should we be proud to be an American, for instance? Should we be proud to be a Methodist, or a Baptist, or a Catholic, or a Muslim, or even a Christian?  Should we even be proud of our race?  Furthermore, should we be proud of ourselves, of who we are (self-esteem)?

Questions in this vein could go on and on, but what should be our response? Where does the right kind of pride lie?

Perhaps we would be well served to explore some of the distortions typifying the kind of pride giving birth to evil expressions, as well as exploring the possibility of the right kind of pride (or self-esteem), if there can be such.

Observations: God created humanity for a purpose. Was such a purpose to plunge humanity into the abyss of suffering, loneliness, frustration and ultimately, death? Were all of us created for the object of God’s wrath and judgement?

If we search the Scriptures, we may well discover the answers to many perplexing questions.

Let us consider, for example, God created, then pronounced His creation good (Genesis, chapters 1-2). All God’s creation pronounced good carried with it a denunciation of the counterpart, evil! To accept goodness cannot imply a genuine tolerance of evil. Thus, all creation must be understood as having original goodness, because the good Creator originated His creation.

Creation, then, by the nature of its origin in God was good. But creation itself is not God, though under His sustaining control. Since all creatures, including humanity, through the process of creation become separate entities from the Creator, these separate entities can be neither mechanical nor puppets under the micro management of God.

For that very reason Adam and Eve, the first man and the first woman, had a choice. The choice made them creatures who could freely respond to God from their own volition. Yet, they chose to become their own gods by eating of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil when the serpent (Satan) presented them with such intriguing possibilities of becoming their own gods.

Quite the contrary, however, this newly established freedom and independence form God ushered in a sense of vulnerability! A frightening awareness of nakedness and shame (guilt) overwhelmed them. For the very first time, they truly knew they were indeed naked! They were uncovered before themselves and God. Hence, they made a feeble attempt to hide themselves, to cover their raw exposure to themselves and to God. Yet, the fig leaves could never suffice in the least to ease their consciousness of who they had become, rebellious aliens separated from their Creator (Genesis 3:1-19).

To have conceived of themselves as being all right following their sin and fall, Adam and Eve would have been in denial of reality. Because of their arrogant, self-centered egotism vested in them by Satan and leading to the fall, self-esteem evaporated, and rightly so. No one had to disclose to them that they had become estranged from God.

Yet, quite the contrary takes place among us in our modern setting. We find ourselves indoctrinated, soothing our conscience that we really are all right in spite of all the evidence to the contrary.

Perhaps the ego has been conditioned under the fall resulting from the original temptation to see all the world through the eyes of self alone, self-limitations, self-concerns and self-consciousness to the degree that we tend to sever any sight beyond the experiences, beyond the niche of comfort or self-assertion. Truly, we have become our own gods, independent of any light from beyond.

Furthermore, we have come to rely upon the human tools, science, reason, creation of our own order and a multitude of other devices to shelter us from the True Sunlight of Truth, THAT OF DIVINE REVELATION!

This declaration should not be construed to dismiss science (or any of the other tools of human intelligence). Rather, everything should be placed into proper perspective. The mind functions in keeping with the Creator’s design, but the mind must develop openness to all light. Authentic science does not truly arouse us toward antagonistic encounter with revelation. Quite the contrary, true science remains open to all light, to all evidence, no matter where that evidence leads. True science never claims to be omniscient, as some scientists imply by admitting nothing that would dispel their preconceived theories with respect to the universe, expressed through their naturalistic, materialistic humanism.

Some biased reports contend that Christians indeed remain adamantly aloof from reality by their insistence upon divine revelation. Nothing within the scope of all scientific research, collections, observations, theories and conclusions that are strictly within true scientific openness and guidelines to all investigations can support anything definitive to counter the Christian claims.

Therefore, some scientists have displaced true science by scientism, thereby creating a kind of religion. This does not suggest that science, properly understood, is wrong, only limited in its scope. On the other hand, neither can we conclude that revelation has no credibility simply because scientific methods cannot confirm its validity.

Yet, to understand problems related to self-esteem, we must necessarily look to revelation.            

Analysis:  Question: How can we begin to deal with our rebellion and self-centered nature adequately until and unless we become keenly aware that we are truly alienated from our God? And how can we even then deal with the serious and dangerous plight unless we acknowledge and confess our evil estate before our God?

Within and of ourselves alone, can we lay claim to our rights? Through our rebellion against our Creator, have we not relinquished our rights even to exist? By who we are apart from our Creator, should we embrace esteem for ourselves (self-esteem)?

If we affirm the serious implications of these questions, then what should be the ground for any self-esteem? Should it not be grounded in our Creator/Redeemer? Surely, God loves every individual person on the face of the earth, but He shows Himself to be no respecter of any person over any other person—everyone is equally precious and worthy before God Who gave His Son to die for the whole world (Acts 10:34; John 3:16). Therefore, we can only value ourselves (but never above other people) solely because God Himself values us. Moreover, always in addition to self-esteem from a Christian perspective, we esteem everyone else, for Christ died for the whole world. Self-centeredness has no place within the Christian body; Paul even teaches us to value others more than we value ourselves (Philippians 2:3).

Quite obviously, these principles herein stressed run diametrically opposed to world values. Individualism, competition, self-serving goals and a host of other egotistical ploys pepper the landscape, especially within the scope of democracies.

Do we declare all such resorts (such as competition) to serve no value within governments and their societies?

Perhaps we need to determine certain distinctions within the very nature of the fall itself. Governments indeed serve an ordained purpose, but governments cannot be the agencies to transform society, only to maintain order and protect against overt and intrusive disruptions in human affairs and protect life, physical welfare and property. If in paradise we find the tree of the knowledge of good and evil by which Adam and Eve could continuously serve God out of choice, is it not especially true that after the fall, the very same choice be granted all humanity. Have we all not become our own gods and defied the Living God, as did Adam and Eve by eating of the tree to make themselves gods, to determine for themselves what is good and what is evil, independently of God? Governments do not find themselves in a position to withdraw choices with respect to relationships to each other or to God. That moment awaits the transformed society when God shall reign, affirming our choices for or against God once and for all.

Through God’s ultimate and complete reign, laws and choices will become irrelevant and superfluous, for that society will have been transformed such that obedience and righteous living will be an expression of liberty revealing the transformed nature of each person.

Yet, current societies of the world wage an imperfect and soiled effort to establish themselves and maintain some sort of order. Hence, while within the Christian nature, there can be no room for individualism, competition, self-serving goals and the like, governments most often encourage such strategies to cause societies to function. Else, evil within human nature would resort often to laziness, dependencies, ineptness, etc. True, these are impure spurs, but better than allowing total degeneration. Of course, if everyone were dedicated, conscientious and loving Christians in a society, there could be no need for individualism, competition, self-serving goals and the like. These are the elements based on self-centered dispositions.

This problem tends to be universal. William Temple, the noted English theologian, declares that from birth a child is cast into the world with one center of consciousness, and as his awareness expands, he determines actions and responses from the hub of his own existence, where he actually is. All events and situations revolve about himself.

On a physical level the horizon changes, forever related to his own movements and from where he stands he gathers perspective moment by moment. Every instinct prompts him to consider that he in life even from a psychological and sociological perspective expects to remain center of all. While consciously he may learn that this center of all illusion remains only an illusion, there persists the inner instinct to manipulate, to reorder the world and in reality to vie to insure that he secures that central position. Such a disposition grows out of self-consciousness.

Yet, knowing the problem, though a necessary step, does not in and of itself alone produce the cure. Since this fallen nature universally afflicts humanity in varying degrees from the original temptation to be as gods, how can humanity deal with that awesome power?

Cure: Indeed, how can humanity deal with that awesome power?

First, perhaps we should confess that we really do not have the innate resources nor the wisdom to tame the monster within, to bring it into captivity that we may reflect Christ’s character. This acknowledgement will indeed bring us to look beyond ourselves, to focus on divine revelation.

Second, revelation finds its greatest focus in the life and redeeming death and resurrection of Jesus Himself. As we examine the life, ministry and crucifixion/resurrection of Christ, we see an awesome standard, a standard which looms overwhelming and impossible to attain. Nevertheless, we do have a genuine dynamic link to that life through the Holy Spirit and the written testimony, the Holy Bible itself.

As we observe Christ in His most defining moments in life, we observe His total focus (John 17:14-26; Luke 22:42). Jesus lived a life devoid of self-serving goals. He came into the world for one purpose, for He remained forever in union with the Father, thus eternally conscious of God’s purpose and mission throughout every moment of His humanity. To wit, although He was humanity in purity, His self-consciousness had been supplanted completely by God-consciousness! As God, He held both the authority and the power to choose His own destiny, whatever He would choose that destiny to be. Yet, because of His love for the world, He chose Calvary. As man, He revealed perfect, full and glorious humanity, humanity as God created humanity to be. The first man, Adam, had a choice and rebelled against God; the second Adam, Christ Jesus, chose to keep His focus and dynamically revealed His God-consciousness to the exclusion of self-consciousness.

But how does that understanding help us reach God-consciousness and eliminate self-consciousness within us.

Unlike Christ, Who never allowed Himself to pitch Himself, His own human interests and needs against God’s purpose, every human being born into the human family has been soiled by this self-centered disposition. Yet, our human process toward God-consciousness can NEVER be instantaneous. While we can become stricken with instant awareness of our estate and of the surrender to God, God-consciousness will throughout this earthly existence remain a growth process. We must constantly cultivate and nourish that commitment.

But how do we constantly cultivate and nourish that commitment?

We develop a yearning to learn about and spend time with God as we meditate and focus upon Him. This means we search the Scriptures in a focused and determined study to uncover God’s power and presence within the historical setting. But we do not stop at this point. We must allow the Holy Spirit to sow the seeds and to bring to life within us the revelation as God speaks through His Holy Spirit to us. This means that words on a page do not remain words on a page of the Bible but are transformed into dynamic interfacing and interacting with God Himself via that revelation.

We gain by insights through the tools of biblical helps (concordances, dictionaries, commentaries, special books from theologians, ministers, churches, etc.). The Holy Spirit can arouse our level of dynamic interaction through all we bring to the forefront in our efforts to learn more of God’s presence in real life situations. Even biographies, autobiographies and Christian historical volumes can become indispensable in our search to shed light into the darkness of our human frailties.

Prayer and devotional moments alone with God allows a dynamic interaction; we can pour out our heart concerns and thanksgiving to God and allow God to speak to our hearts and lives. Time with God in this perspective must not be taken lightly. We definitely need regular and purposeful times set aside to regenerate ourselves and come more and more to diminish self-consciousness with God-consciousness.

Sharing our experiences and efforts with others within the Body of Christ and partners for Christ strengthens our resolve and multiplies the joys through the accountability and opportunities inherent in relationships. We are never called to isolate ourselves, but to become a member of the Body of Christ. We find our true natures in interaction with others in the Church and in fulfilling God’s purpose in life situations.

Ministries and missions afford fulfillment and joy as opportunities to realize the true nature of God-consciousness. We Share Christ’s love in meeting needs of those who suffer, those who are lonely, those who are hungry or in any other kind of need. Also, sharing Christ with the community, the world and even casual contacts brings a sense of fulfillment as the Holy Spirit opens doors.

All these avenues afford means to bring us out of self and out of self-centeredness (self-consciousness) and help us grow more into God-consciousness.

If I may indulge for a moment in a personal reflection that to some degree illustrates our struggles to overcome this inward resistance grounded in egocentric tenacity, I have found strength and opportunity in shifting my focus from myself to God’s purpose in my life. This has not always been easy, but to God’s credit alone His power has given me growth toward selflessness.

Within myself I have neither great infatuation nor urge to do house cleaning, such as dishwashing, vacuuming and the like. Yet, God’s love has radiated within my heart such that I have been able to fall in love with these tasks. Those chores become opportunities for me to express my love and care for my wife, who otherwise would find herself overloaded with responsibilities, especially since she finds herself somewhat handicapped physically. Even if she could easily rush in and do that added work, I find joy in doing those things. I have this wonderful sense of pushing this old, worn body to its limit (for I have long ago left my youth behind) so that she need not worry about it. Yes, her comfort comes at my expense, but that expense cannot be compared to the joy I receive in caring for my wife!

My dear wife (bless her heart) does often resist my willingness, but I as her husband and as fulfilling my responsibility to care for her, physically assert my role. I strongly resist her efforts to take responsibility for cleaning from me, AND I insist that she relax. Yes, each time she eventually and reluctantly does appease an old man and surrenders to his wishes! Even so, there remain quite a number of tasks she does not allow me to perform.  She still has expertise AND demands to have a share in the work!

In conclusion, the promotion of self-esteem may well suggest to the person who has personal problems that he must elevate the notion of self-worth above others that he appeases his sense of inadequacy. He must seek to think positively about self. The problem generated within the context of that procedure resides in the appeal to comparisons. We must find solace in the fact that we are better than others (or, at least, certain others).

That notion fostered by the church leader who obviously did not think through her remarks about pride in one’s race left the feeling that somehow attached to belonging to a certain race entitled meritorious recognition. She failed to take into account that any person’s merit can never be determined by who one is, what one is, to whom one belongs, what one has done or can do, or any number of other factors. Racism itself represents pride in one's race; therefore, it is logically untenable to counter racism with racism.  That would effectively make one race competitive against all other races. Such historically has been the case with Nazism and White Supremacy. From a biblical perspective race itself is irrelevant with respect to value (Genesis 12:1-3; John 4:1-30; Acts 10:1-48).  Note especially Acts 10:34-36.

Human worth can only be discovered in the revelation For God so loved the world [the whole world] that He gave… The only way any person can find true worth and the right kind of self-esteem comes through that revelation.  See What is Salvation? page.

To bring the focus into our everyday experiences under the Lordship of Christ, we may sum up this issue with this scriptural observation: We can never love ourselves as we should apart from God’s radiant love that changes us into His image, and it is only then that we have a capacity to love others as we love ourselves. That alone is true love. That alone is genuinely valid self-esteem!

Allow us to make a critical application at this point. From this right self-esteem, how do we deal with people who do not know God or who have not reached an age to understand? John 3:16 tells us that God loved the world. The meaning of this pronouncement suggests that everyone who has ever lived becomes the recipient of God’s love. That is, God loves sinners and came to save them. Christ willingly expressed His divine love through the crucifixion. Jesus reflects perfect love and becomes a genuine role model for us.

People do not need to be good or right to be redeemed. God values them more than they can ever value themselves apart from Him.

Hence, we need to be a role model to our children, our families and our friends—even to our enemies. We accept them as worthy, not because of their selfishness, not because of their rebellion, not because of their evil deeds, but because God loves them and understands the potential in every one of them. We want to help these people come to a right self-esteem, to accept themselves in the love of God. Therefore, we should never resort to putting them down or making them feel badly about themselves. When we do, we usurp the role of the Holy Spirit. However, when the Holy Spirit convicts, He reveals the power of Christ at Calvary to forgive and cleanse. Nevertheless, we can focus on the deeds or attitudes, etc., and in love seek to correct them, but never cast our children, friends or loved ones into the shadows of self-hatred, sense of worthlessness, feelings of futility or hopelessness, etc..

If they develop a guilt complex or lack of self-confidence, they will have more problems in relating and understanding what true love really is. Therefore, we should set our course to reach out in love to help people change in God’s love by being a role model of God’s love at work within us.  See the topic on Love.

Tolerance

One of the greatest emphasis and a politically correct approach, the issue of tolerance has flourished within our modern pluralistic culture. Why not? Our society in large measure embraces the idea wholeheartedly. The outcropping of the emphasis on this positive tolerance originated with relativism, a child of pluralistic influences which have stressed each person’s right to embrace whatever religion, culture, cult, even atheism or sometimes including terrorism, etc.

While we have given attention to the issue of tolerance elsewhere on this website, we need to place this subject in proper perspective within the scope of evil.

Observations:  Sometimes throughout history the official representatives of Christendom pursued questionable, if not outright egregious, policies that inflicted great losses upon certain areas of our world. Specifically, the Crusades brought death and destruction not only to the intended targets, but also to many of those who marched in those Crusades.

Corruption, violence, pettiness, distortions, hypocrisy and the like scar the face of the Christian movements from time to time throughout history. Many of those who were targeted for persecution by the ranks of the so-called Christian movement turned out to be devoted followers of Christ who refused to endorse or embrace the official teachings and policies of the Church. Hence, the so-called Protestant Reformation swept Europe in the sixteenth century.

No matter how we may blush at the thought of church abuse, not all movements, groups or professionals who use the name of Christ can be, by any stretch of the imagination, genuine followers of Christ (Matthew 15:8-9; 7:21).

Notwithstanding, throughout history God has never been without a genuine witness. True and faithful followers of Christ testify to the power of God. Significantly, these followers have reflected genuine tolerance toward all groups and peoples, irrespective of religious orientation, ethnic or cultural background or philosophical disposition. These followers do not mete out love in qualified fashion, but show compassion, even to the greatest sinners and offenders. The whole world becomes their stage of operation, even into prisons, ghettos, hospitals, nursing homes and the like.

Yet, they do not compromise their principles and moral convictions. To love as they do means that they must despise those ailments, circumstances and beliefs which tend to destroy those who adhere to them. Much in the same manner that a medical doctor loves his patient but despises the cancer which ravages the patient’s body, Christians love those who find themselves polluted by the cancer of sin and evil. How can they tolerate that which destroys those they care about? 

Analysis: The effort to minimize possibilities of confrontations at any and every incident in society reflects the comfortable and less risky way of living. This neutrality can be established only in theory, but bears a heavy toll in the effort to practice it. If everyone’s belief and religion can be valid and equal to all others, then nothing can be of genuine significance (see relativism and pluralism).

Truth forever transcends all avenues of expression, including every fact and all facts attesting to its authenticity and authority. Truth’s very existence can never be dependent upon how any person, group or society defines it or administers it. Truth remains independent of beliefs and perspectives and never changes to conform to any society’s culture or religious affirmations. Truth often affects changes in lives, but remains independent of life changes. What we believe can never make it become true because of our belief, but when we believe the truth for no other reason than that it is the truth, our whole perspective reflects genuine linkage; notwithstanding, this reflection assumes that what we perceive to be the truth is indeed the genuine truth.

Sometimes, however, our perspective can be distorted such that what we think to be the truth does not in reality correspond to the truth. Yet, those who possess a real passion for the truth are drawn toward that truth and sooner or later stand a greater chance to discover its radiant reality.

Cure: Many modern ideologies insist that truth must be relative to one’s belief such that what is true for one person or group may not be true for another person or group. Such perspective is referred to as positive tolerance. This agenda declares that belief determines what is true for each one; hence, truth remains always relative to one’s belief and never absolute. Each person is at liberty to pick and choose what he desires to believe. The notion promotes individualism and absolute rights for every person or group to exercise freely his private beliefs. Beyond that, each religion, philosophy or cult must allow that every other religion, philosophy or cult remains essentially right since belief does determine what is true for each religion, philosophy or cult.

However, the one exception, at least in practice, to the demand for tolerance for all beliefs is none other than conservative Christianity. This Christian group has been branded as exercising exclusivity and therefore bigoted. Strangely, no issue has been raised to the fact that many religions, philosophies, cults, etc. also claim adamantly to be exclusively the genuine representatives of truth. But then why should we be surprised (John 15:18-20)?

These advocates of positive tolerance have compromised the one true anchor which ties all things together in an overriding meaning and purpose, that of absolute truth. They find themselves thinking and acting within the restricted framework of humanism. In other words, they fail to think outside the box.

To reiterate what we have touched on several times throughout this website, truth in reality, not merely a word used to mean just any belief we may attribute to it, has absolute exclusivity, nor can any statement be both true and false at the same time. If a statement is true, such as "The sun is shinning brightly here at noon day," that statement cannot at the same time and the same place be correctly stated "This midnight darkness makes it all but impossible to see."

I am reminded of a humorous little poem that echoed through the halls of my high school years ago:

It was raining cats and dogs,
And the sun was shinning bright,
And the snow was covering the ground.
It was twelve o’clock at night.

What do the humanistic, materialistic and naturalist philosophers propose to resolve this dilemma illustrated with the above observations? They tend to see the universe through relativism and contend that surface meaning and order reside like islands floating on the sea of nothingness and meaninglessness.

We have already addressed this issue heretofore, but need to refocus with a perspective to relate to the problem of positive tolerance.

From the scope of those who advocate positive tolerance, every person has a right to pick and choose what he believes. But the notion that beyond the invention and structure chosen for the foundation of belief, ultimately there can be no such existence as absolute truth, though the world of physics, mathematics and other science disciplines afford some external limits and an illusion of a sort of order.

What such an argumentative disposition reveals in unrestricted scrutiny must be declared boldly. That which remains at hand from the perspective of such advocates of relativism (i.e., the tangible, observable and easily accessible world), creates an illusion that meaning and purpose lie beyond. Yet, herein presents the rub. By arbitration alone, a line is drawn which, in reality, denies that anything can lie beyond, that a fog of meaninglessness awaits the final destination of everything. That is to say, total annihilation and oblivion underlie the universe and will claim everything as the illusion of existence runs its course.

The cure must not lie within ourselves, then, for we find ourselves restricted to the box and can only think within the box apart from light beyond. That light from beyond has broken through the darkness and dissipated the deep blackness and liberated us from the box. In Christ we find our reason for everything and find Him to be our lifeline. Revelation alone is the key, the only real cure!

But do we not concede that revelation can be anyone’s claim for just about anything which one may wish to promote? Indeed, such claims that one acts upon special messages from God often giving rise to radical and ominous cults may not be as rare as many of us would like to believe.

Yet, genuine revelation from God comes through His Word. That is, the written testimony, the Holy Bible, attests to encounters with God through His Holy Spirit (II Timothy 3:16-17). The Holy Spirit must become the interpreter of Scripture to the reader (I Corinthians 2:9-16). But even those who speak with claims that the Spirit leads them must be tested (I John 4:1-21). The Scriptures themselves focus on Christ, God’s greatest revelation (John 5:39).

Christ came to seek and to save those who were lost (Matthew 9:10-13; 18:11-14). This can in no wise mean that He approved of their sin and blindness. He would often say, "Go and sin no more…" following His forgiving them and restoring them (John 8:3-11). Jesus even came for the purpose of giving His life for all our sins, to set us free (John 3:16-17). In that manner Christ absolutely tolerated the sinner without tolerating his sin. He knew that sin destroys and must be dealt with. The sinner needed deliverance from his captivity, from his bondage under sin.

At the risk of belaboring this issue, allow us to intensify the emphasis upon our impoverished disposition within fallen human nature’s egocentricity.

Every one of us has gleaned and interpreted events, things, issues and interests with respect to our meaning, our purposes, our perspectives, our emotions, our reasoning, etc. In drawing conclusions and developing procedures within our box we impose our order and meaning upon the world around us. But we are not the center of the universe and do not possess omniscience. The daring claim of atheists, for example, becomes his undoing, for the declaration that there can be no God presumes infinite knowledge or omniscience! He interprets from his own restricted little world. This same principle demonstrates the futility of those who join this folly with a declaration that there can be no absolute truth.

Parenthetically, all the accumulative knowledge of all history up through this current age scarcely makes a scratch on the infinite expanses and infinite mysteries of the total universe itself. Does it not seem that ignorance makes fools of us all, especially as we reject the only real source of knowledge?

Hence, we must be blasted from our boxes by a good dose of reality. To think outside the box implies revelation from beyond. Those of us whose lives have been transformed have met that external reality through the Light from above (Isaiah 60:1-5)!

"But," some of us may quip, "you have failed to show us the so-called God. Can you prove that He does exist?"

Consider this: Can anyone prove that He does not exist? There can be identified many compelling pointers, evidence of meaning from beyond. Among those, perhaps the most significant regards absolute, undeniable changed, transformed lives (See the Letter to ABC). It will forever on earth remain true that unless we become willing to see, we cannot see; unless we exercise faith we can never know.

The only real reason to believe that absolute truth exist comes when we are introduced to the One in Whom absolute truth exist and Who has revealed that Truth to us in Christ Himself.

Therefore, tolerance must forever be expressed toward all people, but intolerance must be pronounced against deception, relativism and all that binds and destroys people. Those people who propose to dismiss absolute truth as an illusion hopefully will awaken before it is too late. 

In conclusion, perhaps a little excursion into relationships between Bogus and his brother, Façade, and an African native might provide a bit of levity with a point on this issue of positive tolerance.

Bogus: "Dear brother, do you know what I heard out in the bushes over there?"

Façade: "No telling. Here in Africa I guess it could be almost anything."

Bogus: "It was distinctly a murmur of sorts, not unlike some native eyeing us."

Façade: "Nonsense. You probably heard the chatter of monkeys."

Native (darting out of the bush with a long spear): "You dare call me a monkey?"

Façade with a chuckle: "Heavens, no. I can’t say you’re a monkey."

Native: "Well, I am glad you show good sense. Can’t say the same about those missionaries up the country. Can you imagine? They tried to tell me that my beliefs are wrong. Really, they make me feel badly about them."

Façade: "My dear fellow, your beliefs are just as good as theirs. They’re just being intolerant of you, you know."

Native: "You already make me feel better. You do mean that my beliefs are just as good as anybody else’s?"

Façade: "Absolutely!"

Bogus: "Indeed!"

Native: "That’s great. Since I’m a cannibal and that’s good, my family and I won’t feel badly about eating you two."

The Evil Scourge of the Credibility Gap

A widely known insurance company often refuses to pay claims until threatened with litigation. Painters who have a written guarantee promise over and over to correct errors in their work, but never show up. Politicians rattle off promise after promise to get elected and afterwards develop convenient amnesia. Courts swear to uphold the constitution only to throw it out the window to press their own agenda. What’s wrong?

Observations:  Colleges and universities have compromised principle and truth to embrace universalism, relativism, materialism and/or other expressions of humanism. Morality and belief have become subjective and personal. Hence, there can be no concern for truth. Truth must be a matter of personal concepts.

Consequently, there can be only one small step from what has become the mainstream of educational prerogative to evaporation of moral and spiritual restraints, contempt for responsibilities, accountability and loss of esteem for many other people and a host of other maladies. Truth is the source of credibility, and the chaos resulting from the denial of absolute truth creates the huge credibility Gap!

Analysis: Personal relationships suffer when isolation resulting from deception, masking, aloofness and other elements shut the door to honest interactions. Trust and caring must be the avenues for personal bonding to each other. When truth falls beyond the scope of relevance, everyone suffers. Credibility vaporizes. When credibility can not find a foothold, trust has no ground for growth.

Truth and credibility are inseparable. When one dies, the other dims into irrelevance. Without the bonding of families, friends and communities, disintegration, anarchy and demise of society cannot be avoided. The problem echoes with shouts through every fiber of our society! We could never be more daring and derelict than to ignore, avoid or resort to denial with respect to this infestation and manifestation of gross evil tearing our nation apart!

By comparison, we may be reminded of floods which have swept away much of the foundation of a home, as often happens in California. The house may continue to stand, but its structure has been compromised. The integrity of societies also becomes excessively compromised through disconnection from reality. If truth connotes no more than a word that can mean anything only on a private level, there remains no substantive glue that forms a union, no external measuring device to critique the validity of anything whatsoever. Society thereby becomes totally disjointed and dysfunctional. This alone can be sufficient to create anarchy and chaos. Lawlessness and disruptions pervade such a society. We need but reflect on what continues to plague the Iraqi landscape, where the absence of the truth becomes a strong ally of those enemies seeking to destroy the nation. Yet, we see definite signs that our nation has begun to slide down the same slippery slope.

Just consider, if we may, the blueprint for construction of a tall building. Should there be no uniform code of measurements and procedures, what kind of building could there be? It isn’t difficult to imagine a disheveled pile of waste with no way to bring the pieces together in any sensible fashion.

The interdependence of members of any society cannot remain intact in any discernable pattern or meaning apart from the binding force which provides purpose and direction. Reality demands coherence and unity or else reality extracts its terrible toll. Reality reflects the domain of truth and the shifting of truth into irrelevance is comparable to throwing away every instrument of measurement and allowing each construction worker to employ his own estimates independently of any other point of reference. We would certainly be forced to struggle with the greatest of efforts to find the least justification for survival apart from the overshadowing influence of truth within our society.

The instruments of an orchestra performed under the expertise of an accomplished musician sweep us into dynamic and indescribable dimensions. It only happens when every part fits together with every other part in perfect balance and harmony. One need not strain to imagine the cacophonous echo resulting from the absence of coordination and skill that provide the masterful musical presentation.

Indeed, all parts lose themselves into the fullness of the whole, realizing purpose and meaning only as the whole finds expression through the parts. In like manner, only the truth binds all things together, and Christ is the Truth (John 14:6). He is the glue of the universe (Colossians 1:16-17).

What disposition can possibly lead to the perilous conclusion that absolute truth cannot exist, thereby creating the credibility Gap? Perhaps much of this decentralization started with great overemphasis upon individualism and associated liberties. The concept of throwing off the shackles of the past and declaring one’s own control, own domain and own self-centered pursuits with impunity reflects original sin. As Adam and Eve were tempted to declare their independence from God and control their own destinies themselves (Genesis, Chapter 3), modern humanists disconnect from all restraints or responsibilities and accountability to forge a world after their own images. No wonder that this ideology takes pride in the proclamation that truth depends upon what each one determines it to be for himself.

Notwithstanding, as we have already seen, this kind of detachment from the Creator/Redeemer brings anything but liberty and fulfillment. To cut ourselves loose from God severs the umbilical cord that nourishes and liberates us to fulfill our responsibilities with joy. Rather than gaining, we degenerate and find ourselves in bondage.

Cure: The Bible declares that when the light within us is in reality darkness, great is that darkness (Matthew 6:22-23)! The Bible often equates light with revelation. When Christ came into the world to bring light, many of the religious elite closed their eyes deliberately to shut out the light (John 9:40-41).

Someone noted that God provides us eyes that we might see through them, not merely with them. Simply to see with the eyes presupposes the outcome. To see through the eyes keeps us in touch with the reality beyond.

Therefore, when we willfully shut out light, there can remain no hope for change, for coming to the light, for encounter with the God of the universe. Hence, redemption can come only through the willingness to get beyond the box of our little world by responding to the light which comes from beyond.

Resignation

Jim’s sixth grade class had been preparing for a field trip, but Jim explained to his mother that he had rather not go.

"But that could be quite an experience for you," the mother encouraged. "I would have thought you’d be very excited about the opportunity."

"I’m just tired, I guess," Jim mumbled slowly. "I’d rather stay here."

"Come here," the mother said with a motion. "Let me feel your forehead."

"No, I’m not sick," Jim protested. "Really, I’m all right."

"You’re not all right," Jim’s mother insisted. "Something’s bothering you. I can tell."

"I’ll be OK," Jim sighed, turning toward the stairs as though to retire to his room.

"Just a minute," the mother called. "Come over here and have a seat. I see we need to talk."

That’s the way the matter came to the surface. The mother discovered that Jim struggled with serious abuse from a strong, dominating bully at school and knew that he would have to be with the bully constantly throughout the long trip. Since the bully’s size and strength intimidated everyone else as well, no one dared come to Jim’s defense. And because the bully, Steve, a son of a prominent and very wealthy entrepreneur, wielded considerable clout within the school among everyone, the teachers and staff tended to make allowances or simply would make it a point to look the other way.

Little wonder that Jim’s mother found herself a bit frustrated, angry and disgusted at the circumstances. How would she (or could she) initiate some resolution that could relieve Jim’s anxiety and bring the bully, Steve, into check?

Observations: Indeed, what real options did Jim’s mother have? Through avoidance tactics could there somehow be a way she could resign to the seemingly impossible nature of this particular dilemma? By looking into possibilities of having Jim change to another school or home school Jim herself or some other maneuver, could she really solve the underlying problem? After all, evasions of problems do not eradicate them. Neither does appeasement.

As for example, nations, as well as individual people, frequently throughout history seek to quell threats from belligerent, aggressive tyrants by appeasement. Historically, such measures are destined to end in disaster through total surrender to the tyrants or eventually lead to open hostilities, often with the appeasing country ill prepared for battle.

Do we not observe that in recent history this has been the case with certain countries in Europe? Their appeasement policies led to conquest by first the Kaiser and then by Adolph Hitler? Yet, some of these same countries today continue to adhere to the very same policies of appeasement! How hard it seems to be for many to learn from history! Such resignation provides fertile ground for the thriving of hostile regimes.

Truly, even on a personal level resignation only encourages those who would exploit us. If we succumb, we surrender our values and better judgment.

With respect to Jim and his mother this story not only illustrate the problem, it focuses on measures that center in resignation as a possible solution.

Analysis: Let us look beneath the surface and assess something of the nature resignation plays in the scheme of problem solving.

First, Steve would suffer little if Jim could be removed from his presence. With his own personal problems and inability to relate to others constructively, the likelihood that Steve would simply replace Jim with another student he could abuse should play significantly into the formula. Therefore, even in the absence of Jim in that school, the problem would certainly remain for others.

Second, what about Jim himself? Would the removal of the abuse strengthen Jim to deal successfully with the problem should it recur? Since Jim did not forthrightly reveal what was happening to him at school, and did so only reluctantly to his mother, but said nothing to any of the teachers or the staff, would he in the future have the fortitude to do things differently?

Turning over a new leaf could not eliminate the source of the problem. Evidently, Jim did not have the understanding and the skills to cope effectively with the abuse.

Cure: Do not give that which is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.
                                                                                         –Matthew 7:6 (NKJV)

Resignation must never be confused with humility. Humility grows from strength, never weakness. The strength should never be considered inherent within us, for humility becomes God’s strength reflected through our unqualified obedience to His presence and revelation.

Contrarily, resignation reflects surrender to that which intimidates us. While humility grows out of an outgoing love and respect toward God and toward our fellow human sojourners, resignation grows out of fear and distrust. We tend to fear those who can injure us or hold us hostage or threaten us in any number of ominous ways. By reinforcing the evil intentions of those who would bully us, we promote that behavior and do them and ourselves a great disservice.

Consider the Scripture above. To give in to such circumstances would be to give that which is holy to dogs or cast our pearls before swine. In other words, we stoop to the nature of dogs or swine. In the Bible the dogs and swine represent evil, sinful nature. We find the real meaning in such as …the dog has returned to his own vomit…(II Peter 2:22). This declaration in no wise means that dogs or pigs are inherently evil, but that they have characteristics which can symbolize evil in humanity.

Hence, when Jim allowed Steve to violate his well being and interrupt his goals and intentions, he not only dealt himself a blow, but also missed an opportunity to take the initiative to help change Steve. Bullying is rarely, if ever, the end within and of itself. Most frequently, bullying can be symptomatic of deeper and more sinister attitudes. It can reflect inability to relate well to others or evidence of sadistic tactics to control or express hostilities to release anger, hurt, indirectly hitting back at someone else (as a father, a mother or other persons) and a host of other possibilities.

At any length, Steve needed to be confronted and dealt with as much as Jim needed the deserved sanctity of security from such problems.

Therefore, in essence Jim did cast that which is holy to dogs. He allowed his own values to be mocked and trampled under foot. While the dog and the pig cannot change their natures, human nature can be changed, not through human efforts, but through the supernatural presence of the Holy Spirit, Who is the life-flow of God within human hearts! Thus, Steve could be brought to the Lord in prayer and dealt with through genuine love and understanding. Such would not guarantee authentic change in Steve, but through the Holy Spirit he could come to know and either accept the light or rebel against God’s revelation! In either case, Steve would have an opportunity to respond, and Jim’s part at that level would have been fulfilled.

This, however, does not suggest that failure to reach Steve should be a signal to resign. Efforts to resolve the problems and reach Steve can eventually be rewarding.

While we certainly can reach the end of our own abilities to resolve the problem for both Jim and Steve, resources beyond ourselves are almost endless. We need to keep in mind that doors constantly open to the resourceful person who is driven with a keen desire to persist in dealing successfully with the problem. The following represent but a fraction of many opportunities to forge ahead:

• Prayer—We need never underrate the primary significance of prayer, both as initiated and continued unceasingly in every step.
• Biblical Counsel—Searching the Scriptures to provide us spiritual insights fills our minds with relevance and opportunity to exercise love and concern toward the enemy that we may reach him with the truth.
• Christian Counsel—In the strength of the fellowship do we receive the necessary support, insights and courage to act with resolve in establishing a wholesome relationship with the enemy toward the end of reaching him for Christ.
• Partnership—the Bible reveals the practice of the early Christians to move out two or three together that each might be a sustaining presence to the other(s). Interdependence can be a powerful thrust toward the meeting of goals. We need those very special close friends to walk with us.
• Expertise—Often we must rely upon those who have spent much time and effort to specialize in areas that we cannot or have not the time or resources to master. The pastor may be able to share his insights and assistance to expedite our efforts. Even schoolteachers or staff or the principal could be of great service toward helping us resolve problems, as with Jim and Steve. Even where such efforts may fall short of success, every avenue may well be worth an effort.
• Relationships—There can be nothing more important than the cultivation of right relationships. Of course, such goes without saying with respect to some of the resources that we have already noted. However, we need to expand the notion of cultivating a healthy relationship with the enemy, in this case, Steve. This does not suggest an appeasement, an effort to condone abusive behavior or to be less than candid with Steve. It does mean that we should seek to help Steve understand that, in spite of his bad behavior, we care enough that we desire to help him change. We care enough to work through his problems and attitudes with him, if he will be open and receptive. At the same time, we need to confront Steve with our concern that he has really hurt Jim and others and needs to make amends as much as possible. Furthermore, if practical, the parents of Steve need to be included in the circle of concern. The conferences somewhere along the way should be open to their input and interaction. Granted, there can be a risk that the parents resort to a defensive posture and may live in denial. Nevertheless, seeds may be sown that in time would help the parents themselves come into touch with reality.
• Truth—Everything should be bathed in the light of truth. All ambiguity and obscurity should be quickly clarified. Honesty transcends personal concerns. As for example, we should never seek to justify ourselves when we find we have been weak in the way we have handle situations and relationships. Absolute honesty and transparency cultivates credibility. Credibility cannot be sacrificed without heavy injury to the desired outcome. People can forgive us for being wrong, but find an almost impossible and irreconcilable chasm when we lose our credibility.
• Patience—Sometimes problems take great effort and extended time to see any progress. Patience must be present to carry us through the valley of defeat. Success often comes on the back of several failures. The one who runs a race and loses patience will fizzle and fall out before the finish line. Often a race extracts much pain and tries the resolve of the runner in the final stretch. More often than not, however, the winner is one who continued in spite of pain, and even setbacks, until he crossed the finish line.

These are but a few of the resources to enable us to move toward success. While there are many more, these are some of the most important ones.
                 Click to continue THE RAMIFICATIONS OF EVIL

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Very disturbing news coming out of Washington with respect to Congress’ indecision on the Marriage Amendment carries detrimental potential against the survivability of our nation, of our society, as we know it! A report that adverse influences bear more heavily upon the congressmen than pro-family efforts must spur the ones of us who believe in decency and truth to rush to register our support. If we have not, please let us act immediately to halt the forces of evil. (Let us check the Links Page to contact ACLJ, LC or others who can help us contact our congressmen!)

Read Open Letter to ABC

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Thank you for visiting our website. 

Our aim is to serve the needs of those who search together with us to explore with a desire to uncover a greater expanse of truth than we can ordinarily be aware of.  Of course, we make no claims with respect to cornering the truth, for no person can embrace total truth any more than the lowly ant can reach the sun and thoroughly explore the entire burning, exploding surface.  Truth will forever remain greater than the sum total of all populations of earth, past, present and future!

Notwithstanding, we move in a direction, ever growing, ever enamored and learning, ever expanding our horizons and encountering the reality enlightening the human soul.  Such a journey attests to much more than mere observations, more than meditations, more than speculations, more than just an adventure.  Certainly, these elements may well be a reflection of the journey in part, but ultimately, we shall discover that Reality can be no less than God Himself!  We believe that all of us can come to the dynamic conclusion that in Him all things consist (are held together with His meaning and purpose). --Colossians 1:16-17  

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Again, thank you, and we trust that you will both explore with us and contribute to the journey through your comments.