Evolution and school shootings, no room for moral outrage!

Why all the school shootings?

I don't have all the answers, but I think a worldview that believes everything that exists simply came to be as a result of random chance and evolution over billions of years could be a main contributor. This of course is a worldview with no objective morality, except possibly the obligation for the strong to conquer the weak as the evolutionary means for the advancement of life.

Of course there are those of us who believe God created us (exactly as taught in the Bible) and that He also has given us the moral absolutes which mankind was designed to live by. I have heard evolutionists try to justify some kind of morality with their worldview, but in the end the only law of evolution is survival of the fittest.

The evolutionist may feel that the whole of humanity survives and evolves best when certain rules are followed by all people, but for the individual, there simply is no obligation to buy into that, only the obligation to survive and thrive by whatever means they personally deem best!

Consider the things that might go through the mind of a teen living in a world where it seems  popularity is needed for a good life, where the culture tells you the world is all about your dreams and happiness, and where fame is the highest goal!

Some youth will achieve the goal and be popular and others will not. Some will hold to the dream of  being famous for their brains, talent, looks or athletic ability, of course most will never be, but the dream keeps them moving forward and gives them purpose. However, others will likely come to think that they are always to be outsiders and their fame, if they are to have any, must come by some other means.

So in a world with no moral absolutes, where personal happiness is the highest goal, where popularity and fame are a right, and where everyone else is responsible for your unhappiness if they get between you and these goals, it makes perfect sense to get revenge on those who kept you from these precious goals and also in a way achieve them at the same time, by doing some fame acheiving act of violence against them!

Evolution, "survival of the fittest", really can't say anything moral against such behavior, it can simply try to keep people who might do this from getting access to weapons and further isolating their potential victims by better security measures.

When I was young....

We were taught that not everyone was going to be popular, and that is OK.

We were told we were probably not going to be famous, but simply to work hard and let the rest take care of itself.

The emphasis was not on eliminating bullying, but learning how to respond to bullies. If we have to get rid of all bullies for people to feel safe and be happy, well good luck with that!

The idea that life was all about us and our personal  happiness, was not a value to be taught but a lie to be rejected!

Because...

Happiness is not found by making it your goal, it is found by seeking the one who created us and living by His law for our good, His glory, and so mankind can be all it was created to be!

Matt. 5:6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.

Everyone wants to feel blessed/happy, and everyone is hungering for things they think will help them achieve that goal, but only God can promise to fulfill our true needs, and He does not need anything within the power of others (fame, popularity, being liked, etc.) to cooperate for us to be fulfilled, only that we seek to know and follow Him!

Jesus died so we could be reconciled to God and have the fulfilling life we were created for now and forever. Evolution would by nature tell us it is OK to kill others to achieve our happiness and we must admit there is no room for moral outrage in the evolutionary worldview.

I think science best supports creation as taught in the Bible, if you reject that OK, but at least admit evolution lacks any objective morality to call a school shooting evil, and that the evidence we see all around screams that an evolutionary worldview is very bad for mankind as a whole!

Obstacle or Opportunity

A dude is driving really slow and it’s a no passing zone, so you might be late for an important meeting.

You've been trying to do a good job at work, but your boss blames you for his mistake in front of his boss, so you may not get the promotion or raise you wanted.

You have worked hard all day and want to relax, but your child has waited until the last moment to start a project that requires your help, so you won't be able to relax any time soon.

We all have plans for the near and distant future. We all have things we want to achieve, places we want to go and schedules we want to keep, and we can get very frustrated when other people's actions get in the way of our plans!

But should we see these troublesome people as obstacles to our plans or as opportunities to practice and/or share our faith?

What opportunity is there if I am driving behind a slow driver? Well there is certainly an opportunity to trust God's management of the universe! If you left home late, that's on you, but when things prevent us from reaching our goals, even when we are doing all we can, there is much comfort in knowing a loving, wise and all-powerful God has allowed this delay for His purposes!

What opportunity is there if your boss blames you for his mistake in front of his boss, so you may not get the promotion or raise you wanted? Well you could call him out on it then, get even later, or just stew over it. However, if your main priority is seeking an opportunity to witness for Jesus, your attitude and actions will likely be quite different. When those around Jesus were mistreating Him, it led some observers to conclude that He was the Son of God (Matt. 27:54! His miracles were impressive, but there is something special in not lashing out when justice suggests we have every right to do so.

What opportunity is there when you have worked hard all day and want to relax, but your child has waited until the last moment to start a project that requires your help, so you won't be able to relax any time soon. Well, there is the opportunity to show them who and what is most important! Oh, if I could turn back the clock and have a do-over on this one! Sure it might be appropriate to teach the importance of not waiting until the last moment (stewardship), but most of all it is a chance to show love and mercy to a child with whom your time to witness in this way will pass very quickly.


God is all-powerful!

God is all-wise!

God loves you, for Jesus' sake!

So believe that he is in control of all that comes your way, stop worrying about getting where you need to be, and be a witness where He already has you!

And please pray I would practice what I preach!

"What do you have that you did not receive...."

Pride is so destructive!

Think about what our pride costs us -

Relationships with others.

Lost love, joy, peace, etc.  (the fruit of the Spirit).

The inability to receive and enjoy God's grace.

Countless other relational and emotional issues that start with thinking too much of ourselves!

Consider the following passage,  particularly vs. 7!

1 Cor. 4:5 Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one’s praise will come from God.

⁶ Now these things, brethren, I have figuratively transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes, that you may learn in us not to think beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up on behalf of one against the other. ⁷ For who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it? (NKJV)

Now I may have some gift and abilities that others don't, and surely many are far more gifted than I, but if I have any gifts, abilities or success in my life, where did it come from, and what about all my shortcomings, how quickly do I forget those as I look down on others?

If I am not in hell for my sin now, I need to thank God! So am I really in a place to think I am better than anyone? Now we all are morally responsible for the choices we make, but I confess that anything good in my life (a sinner by birth and choice) in this world (fallen and cursed as it is), must be accredited to God and His mercy, not to any inherent goodness in me!

So all glory to Him, and I need to stop thinking I am better than anyone!

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

It All Comes Down to Trusting God!

It has been almost a year since I resigned from the church I was pastoring and even longer since I wrote anything on this blog.

It has been a strange and difficult year, but I definitely agree with the Apostle Paul's words in Phil. 4:11 "... I have learned in whatever state I am in to be content." Now I can't say that I am always content, there are plenty who could testify that I am not at times. However, I am more and more convinced of my own tendency to look for contentment in circumstances and things, and the futility of doing so. God continues to teach me through the challenges of this life that He is in control of my circumstances and if that is so then contentment is as close as me acknowledging His Power, wisdom and love for me.

If God truly is all powerful, perfectly wise, and loves me (as He has proven in Christ's sacrifice), then it all comes down to trusting Him and being content or not trusting Him and finding contentment fleeting at best.

I am trusting Him as I write this, but I may relapse into temporary idolatry at any moment. Thankfully part of the contentment Paul spoke of in Phil. 4:11, is knowing God will be faithful to use His power, wisdom and love on behalf of His children, even when we aren't trusting Him as we should at a particular moment.

 I am beginning to look for a place to serve in full time ministry, in the meantime I am working part time for a Christian ministry that serves the homeless. If anyone hears of a ministry opening that might be a fit please send me the contact information, and of course prayer is always appreciated.

Bill Nye, is he being dishonest, or is he not at all bright?

It is hard to believe this was meant to be a serious discussion of abortion issues?

 

OK, so Bill Nye says the reasons women should be able to get abortions include:  

1. Because many eggs never get attached to the uterine wall and pass from the woman’s body on their own?

Really? Does that have anything to do with a child being ripped from the womb who has already developed to the point of being recognizable as a human?

2. Because the woman may not like the man who got her pregnant?

OK, now what if she does not discover he is a jerk until the baby is 6 months old? Should she kill the baby then? What does the life of the baby have to do with how much the mother likes the father?

3. Because we would not even know about how eggs are fertilized or many other things without science.

Again, how does what we know about reproduction from science translate into making killing unborn babies ok?

      4. Laws restricting abortion are in nobody’s best interest.

I think the baby would disagree!

Please see picture below, and send my cat some money!

 

I took this picture of my cat "Flop". If you wanted to use it for any reason, I would let you do so for no charge, but now PETA is attempting to gain animals the right to own the copyright on their art.

Link - PETA sues to get animals copyrights!

However, as the bank will not let my cat open an account, how unfair, please make any checks for Flop out to me, and I will use the money on her behalf!