Tomorrow is Memorial Day, the day on which Americans stop to commemorate those who lost their lives in defense of our country while in military service. Last year, if I remember correctly, I honored the members of my family who had served in the armed forces during World War II and Korea. They both lived through their combat experiences, however, so I wanted to take a moment to express thanks for the many men and women throughout the past 234 years who have died in order to preserve the political, social, economic, and religious freedom that I enjoy today in 2010. Without the sacrifice of all of these people, we as a nation would not be able to enjoy the prosperity with which God has blessed us. Instead, we would be under the rule of a king or a dictator, possibly speaking German (or Japanese, depending), and unable to assemble peacefully to petition our government for redress of grievances. In so many ways, life as we know it would not be possible. We would not be free.
Yet, sadly, in America, we have misunderstood what true freedom is. Freedom is not the right to do whatever we want. Rather, it is the power to do what we ought. In other words, freedom is not just a state of being, it is a responsibility. In this country, we have lived far too long neglecting the responsibilities inherent in our freedom. And that neglect is, in part, an insult to the sacrifice of those who died to preserve our freedom.
So, on this Memorial Day, you may not be able to go out to a cemetery and decorate the graves of veterans now deceased. You may not attend a parade. But you can still honor these brave soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice by becoming responsible with your freedom -- for example, engage in the the political process by being cognizant of the issues and by voting intelligently. Our freedom only will last as long as we the people allow it to last. Let's not waste that freedom, and in so doing dishonor those who have died for their country.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
The Basic Gospel
In my post last week, I referenced the concept of the Gospel, which is the foundation of a Christian worldview. In brief, I would like to give an outline of the Gospel, with supporting Bible verses in parentheses.
1. We are all sinners. (Romans 3:23)
2. Our sins bring us under God's righteous judgment and separate us from God. (Romans 2:12)
3. The penalty for our sins is eternal death. (Romans 6:23)
4. Jesus Christ died on the cross to be a perfect sacrifice for our sins. (Romans 8:3,4)
5. Through faith in His work on the cross, we can be forgiven our sins and have our relationship with God restored. (Romans 6:23)
1. We are all sinners. (Romans 3:23)
2. Our sins bring us under God's righteous judgment and separate us from God. (Romans 2:12)
3. The penalty for our sins is eternal death. (Romans 6:23)
4. Jesus Christ died on the cross to be a perfect sacrifice for our sins. (Romans 8:3,4)
5. Through faith in His work on the cross, we can be forgiven our sins and have our relationship with God restored. (Romans 6:23)
Rambling: Gulf Oil Spill & Worldview
During my blogging hiatus, a horrendous disaster struck in the Gulf of Mexico. An offshore oil rig exploded and sank, causing an oil well to leak huge amounts of oil into the water. Safety measures on the rig and safety measures on the pipeline leading to the rig both failed to prevent the oil from spewing out.
The owners of the well, BP, have tried for nearly a month, now, to close off the well, with no success. Various techniques that traditionally work in these situations have failed, and now BP is getting set to try a radical approach that, if successful will plug the well. This attempt has about a 60% chance of succeeding, according to their estimates.
The mainstream media, of course, immediately spend hours and hours lambasting the executives of BP and generally making all sorts of noise about the "horrendous damage" caused to the environment by the oil spill. What's sad is that in the midst of all of this "green" reporting, the ultimate tragedy of the lost lives of the workers on the rig is being ignored or minimized. Who cares if several people lost their lives? There are herons, cranes, and storks who are covered in oil!
Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that it's a good thing to have those birds covered in oil. It's not. But the underlying worldview of the media is a secular, humanist, evolutionist midst that all life on this world is equally valuable and should be treated exactly the same way. In other words, this worldview says, "Animals are people, too."
The only problem with this, though, is that animals are not that. They are not people. From a Biblical point of view, they are something less than humans. They are creations of God, yes, and we should be doing what we can to treat them well, given that we humans are supposed to be stewards of the Earth. But they are not the same as people, created in the image of God. There is something unique about us humans. We think. We create. We build. Even a secular humanist has to admit that there is something special about this "animal" called "man." That something unique is what the Bible clearly identifies as the imago Dei in us. Too often, though, we dismiss it or ignore it, at our own peril.
For if God made us in His image, doubtless He also expects us to give account for how we treat that image. Given how nasty, rude, disrespectful, and terrible we are to ourselves and each other, I'd say that none of us can claim that we have rightly seen His image as we ought. We all justly deserve God's judgment. And that's where the Gospel begins. The bad news is that we deserve to be judged for not mistreating what God has made. The good news is that through trusting in Jesus Christ's work on the cross, we can be forgiven of such mistreatment (sin) and be restored to a right relationship with God. But now I wander too far from my point. I'll save that for another post.
The owners of the well, BP, have tried for nearly a month, now, to close off the well, with no success. Various techniques that traditionally work in these situations have failed, and now BP is getting set to try a radical approach that, if successful will plug the well. This attempt has about a 60% chance of succeeding, according to their estimates.
The mainstream media, of course, immediately spend hours and hours lambasting the executives of BP and generally making all sorts of noise about the "horrendous damage" caused to the environment by the oil spill. What's sad is that in the midst of all of this "green" reporting, the ultimate tragedy of the lost lives of the workers on the rig is being ignored or minimized. Who cares if several people lost their lives? There are herons, cranes, and storks who are covered in oil!
Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that it's a good thing to have those birds covered in oil. It's not. But the underlying worldview of the media is a secular, humanist, evolutionist midst that all life on this world is equally valuable and should be treated exactly the same way. In other words, this worldview says, "Animals are people, too."
The only problem with this, though, is that animals are not that. They are not people. From a Biblical point of view, they are something less than humans. They are creations of God, yes, and we should be doing what we can to treat them well, given that we humans are supposed to be stewards of the Earth. But they are not the same as people, created in the image of God. There is something unique about us humans. We think. We create. We build. Even a secular humanist has to admit that there is something special about this "animal" called "man." That something unique is what the Bible clearly identifies as the imago Dei in us. Too often, though, we dismiss it or ignore it, at our own peril.
For if God made us in His image, doubtless He also expects us to give account for how we treat that image. Given how nasty, rude, disrespectful, and terrible we are to ourselves and each other, I'd say that none of us can claim that we have rightly seen His image as we ought. We all justly deserve God's judgment. And that's where the Gospel begins. The bad news is that we deserve to be judged for not mistreating what God has made. The good news is that through trusting in Jesus Christ's work on the cross, we can be forgiven of such mistreatment (sin) and be restored to a right relationship with God. But now I wander too far from my point. I'll save that for another post.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Hiatus Over; Summer Weather
The school year is officially over, with graduation occurring yesterday. Just in time, summer-like weather has descended upon the Topeka area with a vengeance. It is hot and humid outside, with strong, south winds. Ah, yes, summer is here. And with it comes the return of blogging for me. The Sunday/Wednesday schedule will be back, with only a couple of interruptions, throughout the summer.
For now, I'll content myself to end on that note and save any other comments for the next post.
For now, I'll content myself to end on that note and save any other comments for the next post.
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