I Know You Are...But What Am I?...

A Commentary by Keith Kiper

"A group of nine Hawaii senators held hands, bowed their heads and sought God's blessing Wednesday, signaling that they'll still pray despite a vote last week to abandon official invocations.
Fears of court challenges compelled the state Senate to end prayers, making it the first legislative body in the nation to do so."

We hear much about so called tolerance on a daily basis from the pop- psychiatrists to the talking heads on the nightly news. After reading the above story about the Hawaii senators, I had to pause and say a few things. As most Christians realize, society at large is "tolerant" of almost everyone except the true Christ confessing Born Again Christian. When someone is allowed on one of the so called news programs, the liberal-progressives try to shout them down sounding like Pee Wee Hermon and his, "I know you are, but what am I routine!"

I am reminded some of the facets Wesleyan Quadrilateral when considering the Christian history and background of our great nation. The Bible clearly outlines the consequences of nations and kingdoms that ignored God and continued in their pagan practices. History also paints a clear picture of nations who rejected God. Sadly our nation persists in continuing down this path that leads to nowhere at warp speed. Abortion on demand, same sex "marriage", spending like drunken sailors. As far as Reason, the world at large can't see the folly of their ways. Its up to us to show them!I am thankful this group of senators had the backbone to stand up for what they believe. I hope and pray the rest of us will join them.

Why is Islam Confusing?

Hal Lindsey

www.hallindsey.com

Americans are greatly confused as to what to think about the Muslim religion. Our political leaders constantly tell us that Islam is a “religion of peace.” Presidents Bush one and two, President Clinton, and especially President Barak Obama all repeat this like a ‘mantra’ of indisputable truth. Yet Islam’s own foundational books and its history show conclusively that is not true. The problem is based in a contradiction within the very foundation Islam itself.

There are Muslims who believe that Islam is a peaceful religion and they prove it from verses in Islam’s two most holy and foundational books – the Koran and Hadith.

Yet in the history of Islam’s origins, the first four successors of Mohammad known as the “Divinely Guided Ones,” who personally knew and studied under Mohammad, were anything but peaceful. Inspired by verses from the Koran and the sayings of Mohammad later gathered into the Hadith, they exploded off the Arabian Peninsula and started a conquest that inside of 100 years conquered peoples and lands from the Atlantic into the Pacific. So what did the ‘Divinely Guided Ones’ see in the Koran and Hadith that the “peaceful” Muslims today do not? Listen carefully, because the answer will help you to understand the paradox of trying to deal with Muslims. In the early days of Mohammad in Mecca, he was only accepted by a few as Allah’s Prophet. So he had few followers and no army to protect him and enforce his teachings. He finally fled to Medina where he flourished and won many converts in just a few years. From these converts of Medina, he built a powerful army. Now we have to integrate these conditions with the “revelations” that Mohammad received in each situation. During the early days in Mecca, his “revelations” were primarily about peace, kindness and justice. These have come to be known as the early Meccan verses of the Koran. During Mohammad’s days in Medina, his “revelations” became increasingly aggressive, violent and conquest oriented as his followers grew into an army. After he broke a covenant with Mecca, invaded and conquered them, his “revelations” called for spreading Islam and converting people by the sword. At least 109 of those “later Meccan verses” are now known as the war verses. Since every verse of the Koran is held to be absolutely infallible and binding upon the faithful, it presents a real problem. The “war verses” not only over-ride the peaceful verses of the early Meccan “revelations”, they contradict them. I am going to quote from some of those verses and let you see for yourself what they clearly say. But I strongly recommend that you go to the Religion of Peace Website.

• Koran (4:76) “Let those fight in the way of Allah who sell the life of this world for the other. Whoso fighteth in the way of Allah, be he slain or be he victorious, on him We shall bestow a vast reward.” “The martyrs of Islam are unlike the early Christians who were led meekly to the slaughter. These Muslims are killed in battle, as they attempt to inflict death and destruction for the cause of Allah. Here is the theological basis for today’s suicide bombers.”
• Koran (4:89) “They who believe fight in the cause of Allah …” This is an absolute, easy to understand statement from Allah. If you believe, you will fight in the cause of Allah. If you do not fight, you really don’t believe in Islam. Fight is “Jihad” and means physical conquest.
• Koran (8:12) “I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve. Therefore strike off their heads and strike off every fingertip of them.” Here Jihad is not just to bring the conquered into submission, but to strike terror into the hearts of those who would resist by the use of savagery. Thus acts of Terror for the spread of Islam to the Infidel are commanded in the Koran. So we should not be surprised with the savage, senseless killing of women, children and the helpless by Muslim suicide-martyrs in the cause of Allah Ahbar.
• Koran (9:5) “So when the sacred months have passed away, then slay the idolaters wherever you find them, and take them captives and besiege them and lie in wait for them in every ambush, then if they repent and keep up prayer and pay the poor-rate, leave their way free to them.” The literal truth of this is that converts are to be won by war and the sword. All idolaters, such as Jews and Christians, are to be slain. However, if they repent, which means to forsake their religion and convert to Islam, they are to be spared. They are to be commanded to continue in daily prayers and pay the poor tax (zakat), which are two of the Pillars of being a Muslim.

What a contrast, Christians are to proclaim and plead with people to receive the gift of pardon the Lord Jesus Christ died in their place to purchase for them. Muslims are commanded to bring the world into submission to Allah at the point of a sword. As the Bible says, “Herein in love. Not that we loved God, but that He first loved us and gave His Son as the payment for our sins.” (1 John 3:10)

• Koran (9:29) “Fight those who believe NOT in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, (even if they are) of the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued.” The Koran refers to the Jews and Christians as “people of the Book” or Bible. They believe we have rewritten it and filled it with lies. We are to therefore to be brought into submission by force until we feel the domination of Islam over us.
• Koran (61:4) “Surely Allah loves those who fight in His way.” Well, so much for the Religion of Peace. The Koran and Hadith teach in other verses that those who fight in the cause of spreading submission to Allah will have the greatest rewards in heaven. And the Martyrs will have the highest place of all with 72 virgins to fulfill his wildest sexual fantasies.

Now the main point is this. Not all Muslims have become devout enough to believe and act upon these war verses. But when a Muslim like Major Hasan becomes devout and truly believes these war verses from Mohammad’s latter Meccan “revelations”, he ceases being a peaceful Muslim and becomes a martyr in the cause of bringing “infidels” into submission to Allah by an act of terror.

Young frustrated Muslim men can potentially be latent time bombs. So to treat this clear and apparent danger with misguided “political correctness” is suicidal as a nation.

We have added a link to "The Guide to Understanding Islam" in our Helpful Bible Study Section. Hal Lindsey is a popular prophecy and Bible teacher. Check out his website at:www.hallindsey.com

A Perspective on Halloween

A Perspective on Halloween

by Randy Alcorn
www.randyalcorn.blogspot.com

The following letter, written from the perspective of the demon Ishbane, is from my novel The Ishbane Conspiracy, which I wrote with my daughters, Karina and Angela. In the book's context, one of the characters, Ian, is dabbling in the occult.

Yes, I am well aware this is a controversial issue. In my opinion, it is often either overstated or understated. And yes, on Halloween we do give out candy generously, and we enjoy the kids' costumes. For some Halloween is harmless. But there is another side to be aware of, which sucks in others. If you participate, I suggest choosing costumes carefully, and having appropriate conversations with your kids when they see the "dark side" depicted. I hope the following will be thought provoking, especially for parents of young children.

Dear Foulgrin,

I’m pleased our favorite holiday’s coming up in a few weeks. Halloween! It’s official, Foulgrin—these vermin now spend more money on this holiday than any other except Christmas. For Ian and Daniel it served as a doorway to the occult. Dressing up as little devils. Bloodsucking vampires. The walking dead. Looking and acting as evil as possible. It may be cute to their parents, but in some cases, it’s just the foothold we need. Whether we’re celebrated or mythologized makes no difference...either way furthers our purposes. And since Halloween’s all about children and their impressionable minds, it couldn’t be more strategic.

I was a key figure in the early celebration of Samhain, from which their modern Halloween developed. Pagans believed the spirits couldn’t rest peacefully until given food and drink. This was a payment to the god who ruled the spirit world. Spirits were thought to roam the vicinities of their earthly lives seeking such treasures. On Samhain, the veil between the living and the dead was drawn back. On that night these wandering souls, in search of needed treasures, could visit and harass the living. Spirits would go to houses seeking the goods (“treats”) needed to find final rest. If a spirit wasn’t given a treat, it would “trick” or haunt the residents who refused to appease it. Pagans believed these harassing spirits could be deterred by carving fearful faces into pumpkins or squashes.

Of course, most of the vermin don’t understand this occult origin. And just enough innocence and fun have been infused to make it seem harmless. (And unfortunately to many it doesn't do the harm we wish it did.) But for many Halloween either glo­rifies death or makes light of it. The Enemy neither glorifies death nor makes light of it. Halloween eclipses His portrayal of death and the afterlife.

We’ve mutated this holiday into an effective introduction to the dark side. Razor blades hidden in apples or poison hidden in candy pale in comparison to what we’ve hidden, for many, inside the holiday itself.

Happy Halloween,

Prince Ishbane

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Remembering September 11, 2001

It was one of those crisp, sunny, nearly perfect September mornings. I was working at Sears in Evansville that day. Sometimes I would listen to the morning news as I prepared myself for work, both mentally and physically. Those of you you have worked in sales know what I'm talking about. Then those images flashed across the television screen. I still remember them as the planes hit the twin towers and then the Pentagon.

They say you always remember what you were doing when events like these happen. Believe it or not, I remember what I was doing when John Kennedy was assassinated. I was at recess in third grade at Oakdale Elementary. The teacher called us inside and gave us the news. I remember the live black and white images on our television. I remember watching the funeral procession with my parents as most people were not working the day of the President's funeral.

Flashing back to September 11, 2001, I remember some other things also in the weeks after that day.. I remember that the late night comedians weren't hurling the usual crude humor at us. I remember American flags everywhere as people showed their support for our country. Words like God and prayer were even mentioned by the nightly newscasters. Party politics were set aside for a while as senators and congressmen and women came together as one voice. The new President that so many of the comedians had been making fun of amazed many with his leadership. It didn't matter whether or not his grammer was as polished as some. The nation listened to the message he gave the world as terrorists around the world realized there was a new sheriff in town. Those in the military were heroes once again.

Then a few weeks passed...The comedians gradually started telling their jokes again. We didn't hear so much about God, prayer, and love of country from those in mainstream media. The American flags started coming down one by one in our towns and across America. Shades of Viet Nam come to mind when the media discussed those returning from war and offered their "expert" advice. Experts came out of the woodwork as it seemed that anyone who had ever been a miltary commander was now on the payroll of big media. ...How soon we forget. We forget that God still loves us and is still in control, even when the world is falling apart all around .We as a nation forget about the One who made the ultimate sacrifice that we might live...forever...God bless-keith 1 Cor 13

Alcohol: Is It the Devil's Brew? What do you think?

By Hannah Goodwyn
CBN.com Producer

CBN.com – College presidents are calling on lawmakers to lower the drinking age from 21 to 18 in an effort to reduce alcohol abuse on campuses this year. They argue that the current law encourages students to take private underage drinking to the extreme. Teach the kids responsibility is the mantra of these campus leaders.

As this debate is revisited, Christian parents and young adults are also faced with the age-old controversial question – Is it OK for Christians to drink?

Some argue it’s unbiblical to “down a brewski”; while others claim that partaking of a little alcohol isn’t a sin.

Well, let me clarify what God's Word states about drinking.

To Drink, Or Not to Drink?

Drinking alcohol isn't necessarily a sin. Now before you to try and disprove this statement, let me show you what I found when studying God’s Word.

Jesus lived a blameless life.

According to the Bible, Jesus never sinned. In fact, Hebrews 4 states that even though he faced every kind of temptation we do, he didn’t give in to sin.

So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered Heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for He faced all of the same testings we do, yet He did not sin. Hebrews 4:14-15 (NLT)

Again in the explanation of the power of the Cross, we read that Jesus was without blame.

Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit. 1 Peter 3:18 (NLT)

But, didn’t Jesus drink?

Jesus drank.

A lot of negative connotations can be attached to the phrase… “So-and-so drinks.” Most of us immediately envision a drunk, but that’s not what I’m referring to in this article. I’m simply addressing the action of drinking a self-controlled amount of wine or other fermented beverages.

Not only does the Bible say that Jesus drank wine at the Last Supper, but in Jewish tradition he would have done so at Passover each year as well. In understanding the culture and reading the accounts of Christ, readers can’t presume that Christ views alcohol as taboo. In fact, the first miracle he performed was to turn water into wine (John 2).

The master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside and said, "Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now." John 2:9-10 (NIV)

This was the first time people would see Jesus' power in action. Why would He pick to create something that is innately sinful?

God cannot abide with sin.

The Bible reveals to us that God cannot stand to be in the presence of sin (Isaiah 59:2). There will be no sin in Heaven. But, Jesus said at the Last Supper that we’ll be drinking with Him in Heaven. After passing the bread and the cup, Jesus says:

"I'll not be drinking wine from this cup again until that new day when I'll drink with you in the Kingdom of my Father." Matthew 26:25-27 (The Message)

This same account is recorded two other times in the New Testament (Mark 14:25 and Luke 22:17). Therefore, if there is no sin in Heaven, yet we will be drinking wine with Christ in celebration then drinking is not a sin.

Walking the Straight Line

The argument is fairly cut and dry to this point. The danger is when we, in our humanity, become overzealous. Understanding our limit is the key. Although God allows for the drinking of wine, he does not approve of drunkenness or any kind dependence on alcohol.

Wine makes you mean, beer makes you quarrelsome— a staggering drunk is not much fun. Proverbs 20:1 (The Message)

Simply because it isn’t a sin to drink “wine” does not give us license to abuse it. God doesn’t forbid us from eating. However, he abhors gluttons, those who eat excessively for pleasure. Also, if alcoholism runs in your family or it has been a problem of your past, by all means avoid it at all costs. Why set yourself up?

In I Timothy 3, church leaders and servants in the Body of Christ are told to avoid becoming “overfond of wine.”

He must not be a heavy drinker or be violent. He must be gentle, not quarrelsome, and not love money. (I Timothy 3:3, NLT)

This is a good rule of thumb for us all since we are called to be God’s representatives to the world. If you don't drink, don't condemn those who do. When in doubt, default to focus your attention and energy on Christ. Follow Paul’s advice from Ephesians 5:18.

Don't drink too much wine. That cheapens your life. Drink the Spirit of God, huge draughts of him. (The Message)

What are you thoughts? Do you think it is OK for Christians to drink?

---

Hannah Goodwyn serves as a producer for LivingTheLife.com and CBN.com. She also writes for these sites. For more articles and info, visit Hannah's bio page.

E-mail me!

Episcopal presiding bishop terms individualistic salvation 'heresy'

By Bob Allen

Thursday, July 09, 2009

ANAHEIM, Calif. (ABP) -- The presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church called the evangelical notion that individuals can be right with God a "great Western heresy" that is behind many problems facing the church and the wider society. Describing a United States church in crisis, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori told delegates to the group's triennial meeting July 8 in Anaheim, Calif., that the overarching connection to problems facing Episcopalians has to do with "the great Western heresy -- that we can be saved as individuals, that any of us alone can be in right relationship with God." "It's caricatured in some quarters by insisting that salvation depends on reciting a specific verbal formula about Jesus," Jefferts Schori, the first woman to be elected as a primate in the worldwide Anglican Communion three years ago, said. "That individualist focus is a form of idolatry, for it puts me and my words in the place that only God can occupy, at the center of existence, as the ground of being." Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori blames individualistic views of salvation for ills plaguing the church in the United States. Jefferts Schori said countering individualistic faith was one reason the theme chosen for the meeting was "Ubuntu," an African word that describes humaneness, caring, sharing and being in harmony with all of creation. "Ubuntu doesn't have any 'I's in it," she said. "The 'I' only emerges as we connect -- and that is really what the word means: I am because we are, and I can only become a whole person in relationship with others. There is no 'I' without 'you,' and in our context, you and I are known only as we reflect the image of the One who created us." Jefferts Schori said "heretical and individualistic understanding" contributes to problems like neglect for the environment and the current worldwide economic recession. "The sins of a few have wreaked havoc with the lives of many, as greed and dishonesty have destroyed livelihoods, educational possibilities, care for the aged, and multiple forms of creativity," she said. "And that's just the aftermath of Ponzi schemes for which a handful will go to jail." She said in order to be faithful, "we need to be continually rediscovering that my needs are not the only significant ones." "Ubuntu implies that selfishness and self-centeredness cannot long survive," she said. "We are our siblings' knowers and their keepers, and we cannot be known without them." "We have no meaning, no true existence in isolation," she said. "We shall indeed die as we forget or ignore that reality." About 200 Episcopal bishops and 850 clergy and lay deputies were expected to convene for the 10-day meeting. Business items are set to include debates over human sexuality, politics and poverty. One resolution being considered calls for "generous discretion" to be extended to clergy in exercising pastoral ministry in six states -- Connecticut, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont -- where the civil marriage of same-gender couples has been legalized as well as other states that may follow suit in the next three years. The 2.1-million-member denomination has argued vociferously about homosexuality since 2003, when the group approved the election of its first openly gay bishop, Gene Robinson of New Hampshire. Many more conservative Episcopalians and a handful of congregations have begun breaking away from the church in the years since. Southern Baptist mega-church pastor Rick Warren, author of The Purpose Driven Life, took sides in his sister denomination's debate recently by showing up in Texas to encourage about 800 Episcopalians attending the first annual meeting of a conservative breakaway group calling itself the Anglican Church in North America. Warren, who spoke out last fall against legal gay marriage in California, said in January that any nearby Anglican congregation that loses its property after breaking with the U.S. Episcopal Church was welcome to meet on the campus of his Saddleback Church.

TBN to Promote Genesis Compromise and Undermine Biblical Authority

www.answersingenesis.org

ShareThis Published July 8th, 2009 in Around AiG, Current Issues in the World, Thoughts and Things

Many of you will be familiar with the organization Reasons to Believe, headed up by Dr. Hugh Ross. Hugh Ross is known in Christian circles for compromising secular ideas, such as the big bang, billions of years, etc., with the Bible and reinterpreting the clear language of Genesis. He is one of the leading compromisers in the church today—sadly popularizing beliefs that undermine the authority of Scripture.

In the past, the largest Christian television network in the world, TBN (Trinity Broadcasting Network), has featured Dr. Ross giving several presentations. Later this month, TBN will air a docu-drama called Dual Revelation. Hugh Ross speaks of dual revelation meaning that one needs to take secular interpretations such as billions of years and the Big Bang and add them to the written revelation, Scripture.

From the trailer, this docu-drama seems to involve (at one stage) a child asking her father a question about dinosaurs. Knowing what Hugh Ross believes about dinosaurs (basically the same as what the secular world teaches, that they died out 65 million years ago and well before the first humans), it is distressing to see how a worldwide television network that purports to be Christian and Bible-upholding will be airing this documentary that appears to be telling people if they don’t tell their children to believe what secular scientists are teaching, the children will walk away from the Christian faith.

However, the opposite is true. Such compromise that comes from Hugh Ross and his organization is what leads young people to walk away from the church. Our research reported on in the book Already Gone makes this very clear indeed.

Others featured in this Dual Revelation docu-drama include Dr. Walt Kaiser—the theologian who debated Dr. Jason Lisle and me on the John Ankerberg television program. If you have never seen this debate and would like to know what compromisers like Hugh Ross and Walt Kaiser teach, then I encourage you to obtain the entire set (which has extra audio sections from Dr. Terry Mortenson answering some of the attacks on Scripture by these two men that we had no time to answer on the program). You can obtain this set entitled The Great Debate from AiG’s online bookstore.

You can find out more about the Dual Revelation video at this link.

You can find out about TBN showing this movie here.

Red Skelton on the Pledge of Allegiance

Red Skelton In The Pledge Of Allegiance @ Yahoo! Video

Facebook-A Witnessing Tool?

"On February 4th, 2004 Mark Zuckerberg launched The Facebook, a social network that was at the time exclusively for Harvard students. It was a huge hit: in 2 weeks, half of the schools in the Boston area began demanding a Facebook network. Zuckerberg immediately recruited his friends Dustin Moskowitz and Chris Hughes to help build Facebook, and within four months, Facebook added 30 more college networks.

The original idea for the term Facebook came from Zuckerberg’s high school (Phillips Exeter Academy). The Exeter Face Book was passed around to every student as a way for students to get to know their classmates for the following year. It was a physical paper book until Zuckerberg brought it to the internet.

Over 1 million new users signed up every week, 200,000 daily, totaling over 50 million active users. Facebook received 40 billion page views a month. Long gone were the days of Facebook as a social network for college students. 11% of users are over the age of 35, and the fastest growing demographic is users over 30. Facebook has also seen huge growth internationally; 15% of the user base is in Canada. Facebook users’ passion, or addiction, to the site is unparalleled: more than half use the product every single day and users spend an average of 19 minutes a day on Facebook. Facebook is 6th most trafficked site in the US and top photo sharing site with 4.1 billion photos uploaded. "

This Brings me back to the question at the beginning. Have you thought of Facebook as a witnessing tool? Many people have. Its easy to set up an account. Its free. People can only have access to your page and info if you approve them. You control what information is available to others. We hear many horror stories about this or that. Truth is, if someone wanted to "stalk" you, they can usually find you in the phone book.

I've been able to connect with old friends I haven't seen in years and meet new ones with similar church and networking interests. Some of my friends are Christians and/or pastors. Some are not. What a great way for unchurched friends to be exposed to those who are, as many churches are in an individuals profile or favorites page.Most people I know with a Facebook page also post church events and Bible verses from time to time. Jesus told us to be the salt and light in this world. I believe that he would want us to use any and all means at our disposal while we have the opportunity. With all the recent attacks on free speech, we don't know how long these opportunities will be available. That's something to think about.(To check out my page, just click on my name above my Facebook badge in the left-hand column of this page.) ...God bless, keith 1 Cor 13

Supreme Court Gets it Right for Once!

AP/ACLU

Savanna Redding talks to the media in Safford, Ariz., in this March 2009 photo provided by the ACLU.

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a school's strip search of an Arizona teenage girl accused of having prescription-strength ibuprofen was illegal.

The court ruled on Thursday that school officials violated the law with their search of Savana Redding, who lives in Safford, in rural eastern Arizona.

Redding, who now attends college, was 13 when officials at Safford Middle School ordered her to remove her clothes and shake out her underwear because they were looking for pills. The district bans prescription and over-the-counter drugs and the school was acting on a tip from another student.

Ibuprofen is an over-the-counter pain reliever sold commonly as such brands like Advil and Motrin.

The high court, however, said the officials cannot be held liable in a lawsuit for the search. The justices also said the lower courts would have to determine whether the school district could be held liable.

A schoolmate had accused Redding, then an eighth-grade student, of giving her pills.

The school's vice principal, Kerry Wilson, took Redding to his office to search her backpack. When nothing was found, Redding was taken to a nurse's office where she says she was ordered to take off her shirt and pants. Redding said they then told her to move her bra to the side and to stretch her underwear waistband, exposing her breasts and pelvic area. No pills were found.

A federal magistrate dismissed a suit by Redding and her mother, April. An appeals panel agreed that the search didn't violate her rights. But last July, a full panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found the search was "an invasion of constitutional rights" and that Wilson could be found personally liable.

The case is Safford Unified School District v. April Redding, 08-479.

The Truth is Still the Truth...

Nice thought by Everett Piper, President of Oklahoma Wesleyan University. I would say that his thinking and mine are a little like Paul and James sometimes: we agree but are emphasizing different pieces of the puzzle. For example, he says, "I have maintained for years that those who say that an objective defense of truth is obsolete are dead wrong. To abandon apologetics and, thereby, embrace the relational at the expense of the rational is simply a false dichotomy." I agree. This is a false dichotomy. The relational is not anti-rational and any abandonment of there being better and worse answers to questions is foolhearty. There is such a thing as right and wrong, just and unjust, and as Christians who love our neighbors it is our responsibility to work for them in effective and fully Christian ways. Again, "They don’t need nor will they accept some watered down 'generous orthodoxy' that really is nothing but a lie born of Man’s oxymoronic canonization of the relative." I agree. Any watered down sense of generous orthodoxy that leaves us with nothing in our hands because it has all washed away is worthless. The phrase I use is "identity within diversity." We know who we are and what we believe with full awareness and love toward the myriad of other identities and beliefs, at the same time humble at the realization of the limitations of our own knowledge.

This post is from Rev'd Dr Ken Schenck's (pictured above)blog Quadrilateral Thoughts.You can also find a rss feed in my blogs's section in the left-hand column. Ken is a professor of New Testament & Philosophy at Indiana Wesleyan University. I met him and heard him preach in the 80's at his sister's pastorate, First Wesleyan Church of Fort Lauderdale while he was still in Seminary.