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Rockford Register Star
Scott Reeder
August 27, 2022·5 min read

A new term is seeping into the American lexicon called “Christian nationalism.” It’s a misguided belief that the United States was founded as a Christian nation.

I’ve read the original writings of many of our founding fathers, and this notion is just nonsense.

Thomas Jefferson used his razor to redact portions of the Bible that he disagreed with. Thomas Payne was an atheist. Skirt-chasing Benjamin Franklin’s autobiography would make Bill Clinton blush.

Our second president John Adams said, “The Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion.”

And yet, we keep hearing many of our contemporary leaders claim just the opposite.

While some of our nations’ founders, such as George Washington and Alexander Hamilton, subscribed to orthodox Christian beliefs, many if not most would best be described as “deists” who believed in God but did not nurture a personal relationship with the Almighty.

During the American Revolution, British troops in New York, New Jersey and North Carolina regularly burned churches or turned them into stables or military hospitals. It was an expression of the crown’s contempt for faiths other than Anglicanism, the state religion of England.

It was in that post-revolutionary environment that our Constitution was drafted with a clause prohibiting the establishment of a state religion but also protecting the people’s right to worship freely. Benjamin Franklin spoke of his desire for Muslims and Jews to worship as freely as Christians in the new nation.

For those of you who are wondering about my own religious beliefs, I’ll tell you I’m an evangelical married to a Catholic. We send out kids to faith-based schools and are active in our churches. Our faith is important to us.

But I don’t believe -- and never have believed -- our government should promote a particular religion.

For example, if government were to mandate prayer in school, who would write the prayer? It wouldn’t be possible to write an invocation that reflected the diverse religious views of those in any classroom.

And my cynical libertarian view is government doesn’t do anything particularly well. Why let it make a mess of religion, too?

Unfortunately, we live in a society where Christian nationalism is entering into the mainstream of political discourse.

So, just what is Christian nationalism?

Here is how Georgetown University political science professor Paul D. Miller, described it in Christianity Today:

"Christian nationalism is the belief that the American nation is defined by Christianity, and that the government should take active steps to keep it that way. Popularly, Christian nationalists assert that America is and must remain a 'Christian nation' — not merely as an observation about American history, but as a
prescriptive program for what America must continue to be in the future."

When I was covering a Donald Trump rally in June, I saw plenty of t-shirts that said, “Jesus Christ is my Savior and Donald Trump is my president.” That’s an example of Christian Nationalism.

Adolf Hitler, hated Christianity, but he was able to coopt many of Germany’s church leaders into supporting his regime. Swastikas had prominent display in sanctuaries and Hebrew words such as “hallelujah” were excised from church hymns as part of the Nazi antisemitic efforts.

Hitler would often reference God in his speeches and writings.

Such examples are not an indictment of Christianity but of how its powerful images can be misused by tyrants.

When a government endorses a particular religion, it inevitably results in persecution. Jews, Jehovah Witnesses, outspoken Catholic priests and others were killed by the Nazis.

Hitler’s verbal support of this coopted Christianity was a device designed to win popular support from Christian Germans. He viewed Christian concerns such as compassion and charity as a significant weakness.

Some prominent Christians who resisted Hitler and his coopted church were Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Sophie Scholl and Claus von Stauffenberg. Each was murdered by the Nazis.

Today, I see politicians wear cross lapel pins painted red, white and blue and see the same misuse of religious imagery. That cross represents something a whole lot bigger than a government or political movement.

“I found January 6 reprehensible, people charging the Capitol carrying crosses,” said Dr. Shaun Lewis, who for 12 years served informally as the chaplain of the Illinois Legislature.

Lewis’ evangelical credentials are strong. He worshiped at Southern View Chapel, a fundamentalist church in the Springfield area. And he holds a doctorate from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville.

But he doesn’t subscribe to this Christian nationalist nonsense.

He wrote his thesis on the relationship between Christianity and civil government.

“Nowhere in scripture does it talk of creating a Christian nation. This simply isn’t why Jesus died and rose from the grave,” he said. “Nowhere does God endorse an economic system or even our form of government.”

It would be easy to assume that Illinois is far removed from this notion of Christian nationalism. After all, we are a moderate to liberal state with a Jewish governor. Sadly, this malignancy has infected the Land of Lincoln.

Just look at the words U.S. Rep. Mary Miller tweeted after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a public high school football coach could kneel and pray on the field after a game:

“A huge win for religious liberty in the Supreme Court thanks to President Trump. Coach (Joseph) Kennedy set a wonderful example for young men by praying after each game. We need God back in our schools to save our culture from the sick agenda of the radical left!”

I can’t help but wonder if Coach Kennedy was a Muslim who spread out a prayer rug after each game if she would be so supportive. I kind of doubt it.

Scott Reeder a staff writer for Illinois Times

Why Christian nationalism is a threat to democracy (yahoo.com)

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9:00AM EDT 8/22/2022 JOSEPH MATTERA

On April 19, 2018, the California State Assembly approved Bill AB 2943. According to this bill, the church can no longer preach or teach that homosexuality is wrong and cannot try to correct that behavior.

Many are concerned about the ramifications of this. Even psychotherapy for gender dysphoria is against this law. One astute Facebook user commented, "editing the Bible would be the next logical step." The California Assembly, by a vote of 50-18, approved this bill, telling churches and other institutions that uphold traditional beliefs that if they advocated their views about gender and sexual orientation, they could get sued. AB 2943 declares, "advertising, offering to engage in or engaging in sexual orientation change efforts with an individual" is illegal under the state's consumer fraud law. Assembly Floor Vote: 50-18" (California Family Council). This bill has since died in the process.

This article is not about homosexuality, but concerns that churches or individuals could be sanctioned for preaching from the Bible. I would have had the same concern if a law was passed that said a person could be sued for preaching on the biblical practice of "tithing" or that "Jesus is the only way to heaven."

The fact that this assembly voted against free speech, which abridged the first amendment, shows how far the radical left will go to enact the tyrannical rule. These are the same people who speak against the church or Christians being involved in the public square. They further accuse concerned citizens of trying to institute a "theocracy" or assert dominance over them.

The truth is, they try to frame the narrative this way to hide the fact that they are the ones who desire dominion and autocratic ideological rule over society. (I don't know one Christian leader who believes the institutional church should have political rule over the nation. Church history has demonstrated that to be a disaster!) Contrariwise, the original framers of the United States Constitution made sure it included the principles of freedom of religion and free speech.

The framers wrote such principles because they had a biblical (Judeo/Christian) worldview, which informed their political theory (the fact that Christianity should not be spread or enforced by the sword led to the freedom of speech, religion and the first amendment). They also shared the biblical belief of original sin and moral depravity, which led them to institute the three branches of government that counterbalanced each other and prevent an oligarchy (by the judiciary) or a maniacal leader from exerting tyrannical rule (the executive branch).

These various branches of government arise from the decentralized form of government found in Scripture. (Ex. 18:19-23 showed the executive and congressional branches in principle; Deut. 17:9-20 showed the executive and judiciary working together in principle). Consequently, the Jewish tribes were not held together by a despotic king as the other nations were, but by a shared vision and values based on their covenant with God. Hence, their family and tribal leaders diligently taught their children the Torah (Deut. 6:6-9). This was distilled down to the populace, so their nation was held together by virtue (the fear of God) more than mere rule of law.

The attempt to abridge free speech by the California Assembly is ominous, and are the seeds of our destruction (as it was with ancient Israel). Biblical values are already built into our national constitution (values of freedom of speech and religion). It grants the same religious and free speech rights to Christian and non-Christians alike (including those antithetical to Christianity). Thus, the constitutional system is built upon a meritocracy so that those with the most compelling ideas will lead.

When the church abandons culture and the general culture espouses an unbiblical (immoral) national ethos (the former leads to the latter), the constitution and the nation can collapse. This is because it is held together by the common values of decency, love for neighbor, and respect for all human beings. These inevitably lead to the common value of fighting for life, liberty, and justice as the American way.

This lack of national virtue (due to Christians dividing the gospel and abandoning culture to focus on personal blessing) can eventually make the book responsible for the ideological framing of our constitution (the Bible) illegal. This is not far-fetched because if this law is passed in California, it can eventually spread to other progressive "copy states" and permeate the national conversation, leading it to be the law of the land. This will essentially mean making the unedited Bible and the preaching of the Bible illegal!

In conclusion, one radical segment of society is getting bolder and more influential in its attempt to eradicate both the Bible and biblical Christianity from both the United States and western civilization. If the overall church doesn't wake up, serve humanity and influence culture (the way the generation of the original Framers did), we may find the Bible outlawed, the way it was in Russia, China and all tyrannical, atheistic nations that neither fear God nor respect the fundamental rights of humankind.

Dr. Joseph Mattera is an internationally-known author, consultant and theologian whose mission is to influence leaders who influence culture.

Will Preaching the Word Soon Be Illegal in America? — Charisma News

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CP VOICES | THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2022
By Keith Getty

Martin Luther believed that next to theology, music was the highest form of worship, “a gift of God to be nurtured and used by man for his delight and edification, as a means for giving praise to the Creator, and as a vehicle for the proclamation of God’s Word.” And for centuries, congregational singing has been a prominent part of church services.

However, many churches are sadly no longer prioritizing singing together as part of services today. In a conflicted world with organized religion on the decline, it is imperative that churches restore one of Martin Luther’s favorite tenets: congregational singing.

Our responsibility as believers of God is to sing together. Throughout Scripture, the command to sing is given to God’s people more than 400 times. Ephesians 5:19 instructs believers to address one another in “psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.” We are spiritually renewed, realigned, and sanctified by singing to the Lord and singing to each other as the body of Christ.

Yet, the numbers today are telling. In 1998, 54% of American churches had a choir, according to the National Congregations Study. Just 20 years later, the percentage of choirs had decreased to only 42% of congregations — a 12% drop. Large Evangelical churches, especially, have led the trend: going from two-thirds (69%) with choirs in 1998 to just over one third (36%) in 2018. In place of choirs, which usually serve as a catalyst for music education and the promotion of singing among all ages, many churches have instead opted to have trained musicians perform on a stage while congregants listen rather than sing along.

Another big reason that a congregation may not be engaged with singing is a senior pastor who simply doesn’t enjoy it. C.S. Lewis believed that singing not only completes our faith, but it is also an act that is to be enjoyed. In his book, Reflections on the Psalms, he wrote: “I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation.” I believe this concept is also why many of our spiritual heroes such as Martin Luther, Charles Spurgeon, J.C. Ryle, and Philip Schaff produced hymn books in addition to preaching and teaching. Others including Richard Baxter and John Calvin wrote hymns themselves. Pastors today have a responsibility to model and demonstrate the importance of singing; they should delight in their congregation’s singing, and joyfully and authentically participate themselves.

Other reasons that singing together is on the decline include churches’ use of multimedia presentations that replace singing, fewer people attending church in person (congregational singing virtually is just not the same), as well as the selection of songs that are themselves uninspiring. The fact is that great songs have stood the test of time. They have been passed down for generations and we should pass them along to our children. Assemble any group of Christians, and practically everyone can sing “Amazing Grace” confidently and passionately. We’re drawn to sing great music, much like we’re drawn to stand in awe of a beautiful painting. Pastors should choose music that will inspire those who sing it.

As we gather in churches again, amidst division and after a devastating pandemic, churches around the globe have an unparalleled opportunity to reset congregational singing, restore our hope, and reunite the Church in Christ-centered worship. And for the sake of our own witness, now is the perfect time to reunite as God’s people to sing and proclaim to all nations that our hope is found in Christ alone.

Keith Getty is a modern hymn writer who received the Officer of the Order of the British Empire by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II,

Why are churches doing away with singing together in church? | Voice (christianpost.com)

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CP VOICES | WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 24, 2022
By Mark Creech, Op-ed Contributor

Christian Cynosure said, “Some folks take up religion as a kind of insurance against hell – and then are not willing to pay the premiums.”

Salvation is not something God requires us to pay for because Christ has already paid our debt of sin in full. However, following the Lord in a righteous walk of life is costly.

In his letter to the church in Pergamos, the Lord Jesus commended the believers for their loyalty. They lived in a city where Satan himself had his headquarters. Yet they held fast to the faith, even amid oppression, maltreatment, and discrimination.

One in their midst named Antipas was martyred for his faithfulness. No one knows much about Antipas, but Christ singled him out for special recognition as the personification of the church’s steadfast resistance to the pressures of persecution.

Christ, whose words are as “sharp as a two-edged sword,” said to them: “I know your works, and where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is.

And you hold fast to my name, and did not deny my faith even in the days in which Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.”

The devil’s efforts to eradicate Christianity by persecution had failed miserably. Not to be outdone, the Evil One decided to employ a sly undetected, and creeping kind of strategy. He would incrementally destroy God’s people and their faithful witness by corrupting them from within.

“Pergamos” means “married.” This church was to become “married” to worldly values and undone by the insidious effects of heresy. It also means “elevated” and speaks of a time in Church history when church and state were united under the Roman Emperor Constantine and his successors.

Pergamos represents the imperial church after Constantine (313-606) — a period when official persecution ceased because the church was “elevated” to a place of political power.

Many reputable scholars have argued it was during this time the institution of the papacy had its inception. However, the church of this era was unfortunately seduced into idol worship and sexual immorality through the rise of the papal system. This compelling argument seems to set the stage for the next letter to the church in Thyatira.

Jesus said to the church in Pergamos that he had a few things against them:

“[Y]ou have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit sexual immorality.”

When the evil king of Moab, Balak, discovered God’s chosen people could not be defeated in open warfare, the false prophet Balaam counseled the king that the way to destroy them was to undermine their commitment to God. Balam taught Balak to seduce the people away from God by urging them to engage in acts of idolatry and sexual sin. He knew this would weaken them, and God would withdraw his favor.

What a message this provides for the church of today! Two sinful characteristics of the church in the West, more specifically, in America, are most obvious. They are covetousness (a form of idolatry) and sexual immorality. The apostle Paul admonished:

“So put to death and deprive of power the evil longings of your earthly body [with its sensual, self-centered instincts] immorality, impurity, sinful passion, evil desire, and greed, which is [a kind of] idolatry [because it replaces your devotion to God]” (Colossians 3:5, The Amplified Bible).
Preachers of the Prosperity Gospel abound nowadays, telling adherents that financial success and physical well-being are always the will of

God. If one believes sufficiently, if one makes a “Positive Confession” or has a “Word of Faith,” if one “visualizes,” or donates “seed faith money,” then riches, healing, and power over material objects is theirs in the atonement.

Roberts, Hinn, Kenyon, Allen, Tilton, Osborn, Osteen, Dollar, Copeland, Reverend Ike, Hagin, and others who have directed this movement among evangelicals, claim to know Christ and preach the Bible. Instead, they are more like Balaam. They have corrupted Christianity’s message of self-denial, sacrifice, and Cross-bearing into an idolatrous religion of greed. It’s scandalous!

Sexual immorality is also pervasive in churches. There is hardly a mainline denomination that hasn’t been deluded into supporting and celebrating LGBTQ+. Many churches perform same-sex marriages, essentially abandoning God’s charter for marriage and the family.

Marriage is supposed to be a picture of Christ and his bride, the Church. Same-sex marriage is an insult to that sacred picture.

Priests are caught committing pedophilia with little boys. Pastors are addicted to pornography, engaged in inappropriate sexual relationships with their staff, adultery with someone’s spouse in the church, and even rape. This is appalling and a reproach to Christ’s church.

Perhaps the worst form of unfaithfulness to Christ is spiritual whoredom. That is when churches and denominations apostatize, leaving or compromising the teachings of orthodox Christianity.

Another dimension of spiritual adultery is when the churches start to embrace unbiblical teachings such as postmodernism, social justice, critical race theory, wokism, and socialism.

These “doctrines of devils” (I Timothy 4:1), these counsels of Balaam, are poisonous and make the church sick and impotent.

Jesus also had harsh words for those in Pergamos holding to the teachings of the Nicolaitans.

In Days of Vengence, David Chilton asks, “What exactly was the Nicolaitan doctrine?” He explains:

“[T]he false Nicolaitan apostles advocated antinomianism — the teaching that, perhaps through the sacrifice of Christ, Christians were “freed from the law,” in a sense completely opposed to the Biblical teaching of sanctification. It was no longer a sin, in their account, to commit idolatry and fornication; the believer was not under obligation to obey the law, but can live as he pleases (although they probably claimed, as antinomians do today, the ‘leading of the Spirit’ as justification for their abominable practices).”

An authentic salvation experience with Jesus Christ as one’s Savior is transformational. Salvation is not just to take a soul to Heaven; it’s meant to empower people to leave and overcome the influence and power of sin. God calls on his people to live holy lives, not “holier than thou” lives but lives separated from the ways of this world.

The church at Pergamos was illegitimately united with the world and needed to repent (v. 16), said Jesus.

It’s right for the Church to be in the world, but another matter altogether for the world to be in the Church. A boat is supposed to be in the water, but never water in the boat.

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (v. 17).

Rev. Mark H. Creech is Executive Director of the Christian Action League of North Carolina, Inc.

Revelation 2: The Church that was devastated from within | Voice (christianpost.com)

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CP U.S. | WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 31, 2022
By Ryan Foley, Christian Post Reporter

A federal appellate court has ruled that a California high school must allow a club for Christian athletes requiring participants to sign a "sexual purity" statement opposing homosexuality to meet on campus as an official student group.

On Monday, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes over a dispute surrounding its efforts to regain official recognition at Pioneer High School in San Jose.

A 2-1 opinion authored by Judge Kenneth Lee contends that the San Jose Unified School District violated the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution by revoking FCA's status as an official student club at its high schools in 2019.

While the school district cited concerns that the club's "sexual purity" statement and "statement of faith" constituted violations of the district's non-discrimination policy, Lee wrote that the school district approved other student clubs whose constitutions limited membership based on gender identity and ethnicity.

The judge, appointed to the bench by former President Donald Trump, identified the district's approval of the Senior Women of Leland High School — open only to girls — as an example of this phenomenon.

"Under the First Amendment, our government must be scrupulously neutral when it comes to religion: It cannot treat religious groups worse than comparable secular ones," Lee wrote in the majority opinion. "But the School District did just that."

The FCA's "sexual purity" statement declares, "God desires His children to lead pure lives of holiness." The statement also highlights the Bible's teachings that "the appropriate place for sexual expression is in the context of the marriage relationship" and that "the biblical definition of marriage is one man and one woman in a lifelong commitment."

"While upholding God's standard of holiness, FCA strongly affirms God's love and redemptive power in the individual who chooses to follow Him. FCA's desire is to encourage individuals to trust in Jesus and turn away from any impure lifestyle," the statement concluded.

In dissent, Obama-appointed Judge Morgan Christen contends that the FCA lacks standing to "seek prospective preliminary relief, and our court lacks jurisdiction over this preliminary injunction appeal."

"It is uncontested that student groups like FCA must reapply each fall for official ASB recognition. It is also uncontested that only student club leaders may apply," Christen wrote. "Because the District’s nondiscrimination policy cannot cause a real or immediately impending injury to FCA if no students apply for ASB recognition, FCA cannot establish standing without evidence that a Pioneer FCA student has applied, or intends to apply, for ASB recognition for the upcoming school year. FCA failed to make that showing."

FCA's statement of faith contains similar language, asking members to affirm the beliefs that "God's design for sexual intimacy is to be expressed only within the context of marriage," that "God instituted marriage between one man and one woman as the foundation of the family and the basic structure of human society" and that "marriage is exclusively the union of one man and one woman."

FCA was an official student club at three San Jose Unified School District high schools for over a decade before Pioneer High School social studies teacher Peter Glasser became aware of the FCA's statement of faith and sexual purity statement.

Glasser took issue with the club's proclamation that "[t]he Bible is clear in teaching on sexual sin including sex outside of marriage and homosexual acts."

Glasser also opposed the statements' insistence that "neither heterosexual sex outside of marriage nor any homosexual act constitute an alternative lifestyle acceptable to God."

The FCA also required its officers to affirm that if they are "found being involved in a lifestyle that does not conform to FCA's Sexual Purity Statement," they will need to step down from their FCA leadership position.

Glasser posted the FCA statements on the whiteboard in his classroom, writing that he is "deeply saddened that a club on Pioneer's campus asks its members to affirm these statements."

In an email to the school's principal, Glasser shared additional concerns about FCA's beliefs stating that "God approves only of relationships between one man and one woman" and that "God assigns our gender identities at birth based on the physical parts He gives us."

Glasser's email led to a discussion among the school's Climate Committee, a group of school leaders including principals and department heads, which culminated with the revocation of the FCA as an official school club.

Glasser thought that the organization's "views on LGBTQ+ identity infringe on the rights of others in my community to feel safe and enfranchised on their own campus, even infringing on their very rights to exist."

The Climate Committee determined that the FCA statements violated school district policy requiring that "[a]ll district programs and activities within a school under the jurisdiction of the superintendent of the school district shall be free from discrimination, including harassment, with respect to the actual or perceived ethnic group, religion, gender, gender identity, gender expression, color, race, ancestry, national origin, and physical or mental disability, age or sexual orientation."

While FCA continued to operate on campus despite lacking recognition as an official club, the organization experienced hostility from school officials, members of the school newspaper and the student community as a whole.

Students from the school newspaper took "rapid-fire" photos of participants at FCA meetings and every meeting attracted protests from the student body. Teachers at the school, including Glasser, sought to "ban FCA completely from campus."

This prompted a lawsuit seeking an injunction "requiring Defendants to restore recognition to student chapters affiliated with" the FCA and alleging violations of FCA students' rights to free speech, expressive association and free exercise of religion under the First Amendment and the Equal Protection

Clause of the 14th Amendment. After a lower court sided with the school district, the 9th Circuit granted the plaintiffs' request for a preliminary injunction and directed the lower court to "enter an order reinstating FCA as an official student club."

Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post.

California school must recognize Christian club: 9th Circuit | U.S. News (christianpost.com)

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BY TIAR’A LITERARY & ILLUSTRATIONS AUGUST 24, 2022

"Stick and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me". You may have heard the cliché. Unfortunately, a considerable number have taken it to heart. "The pen is mightier than the sword". According to these clichés, words are not hurtful, yet the written word is mightier than the sword. Well, which is it?

Sadly, "double-speak" has become common place in society. Some say one thing but mean another. Others waver in their opinions more frequently than the ocean tides, yet the resounding effect is that the majority abuse, or misuse the true meaning of words and what they represent.

In The Holy Bible there are no gray areas, despite what modern culture, and some "forward-thinking" churches are perpetuating *(Matthew 6:24: "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one and love the other; or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon"), this is plain as black and white.

As children, we are taught right from wrong - hopefully. Some adults choose to forget their earlier teachings and like to imagine that certain Biblical requests made by God can be broken to suit and justify their adult needs, or those of their social status quo. Let me state; none of us are perfect, not me, not you, "not one", but this should not be used as a crutch to continue defying God's requests, or to outright convolute His emphatic and Divine Word.

In fact, Words, contrary to the opening cliché, can most assuredly be hurtful and far more damaging than sticks and stones could ever be. If you are hit by a stone or a stick, eventually the lash or bruise will fade. However, if a certain negative word is spoken over you, over and over, it can have a lifelong damaging effect to your psyche. Alternatively, words can build us up.

The Holy Bible states in Hebrews 4:12: "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart". Baring this in mind, let us analyze two words that are significantly meaningful to God that are presently used by society to honor and glorify the opposite of how God defined them.

THE RAINBOW

In *Genesis 9:13-16 God painted a spectacular rainbow across the sky and signified to Noah that the rain had ended, and that He would never again destroy the earth by flood. It was a positive visual, and a positive statement; "I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. And it shall come to pass when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: And I will remember my covenant which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. And the bow shall be in the cloud, and I will look upon it that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth".

The rainbow was an illustration for mankind to observe and hold to heart - God's everlasting visual in the heavens showing his eternal compassion and covenant towards us. Today, we are painfully aware that what we know to be God's rainbow, has been distorted, and is now being used to glorify sin.

In June of 2022, rainbow flags were raised high outside country Embassy's around the globe - but were not raised in honor of God, and his covenant to man. They were raised in honor of man and his sin.

PRIDE

"Pride comes before the fall", yet our world currently thrives on everything prideful. We hear it frequently; "I am so proud of my accomplishment". "I am so proud that I have a degree". "I am so proud that my son scored the winning touchdown". Let us not forget that God ordains all things that glorify His Kingdom. Anything else is just human accomplishment, and none are that special. For God views us equally, not favoring one over the other (Romans 2:11: "For there is no respect of persons with God"). If you repeat an action enough you will eventually remember how to perform it. Some may call you an expert, but you have simply done what any actor can do - memorize. Remain humble as per Jesus' instruction. "I am so happy I passed the test". "I am so elated I finished the yard work". Take the word proud and "pride" out of your conversation. Proverbs 27:1: "Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth".

Psalms 10:4: "In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him; all his thoughts are, "There is no God".

Satan was arrogant and overflowing with pride. Clearly, The Holy Bible attributes pride to a negative emotion, and certainly not anything to be celebrated.

In conclusion, and in stark contrast to worldly beliefs, words are the most powerful weapon in the universe. After all, the universe was created by The Word (John I: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God"). The Word penned the greatest how-to-live-life study guide - The Holy Bible. Words create business, they create educational curriculums, they create laws, entertainment, and sell product.

Be careful of the words you listen to, condone, and those that escape your mouth. And pay exceptional attention that you know a word's true meaning and that you do not "alter" that word's meaning to suit your own human, or social status quos. The result could be eternally damaging.

Written by Tiar’a Literary & Illustrations

Over The Rainbow - Why Words Still Matter (prophecynewswatch.com)

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CP VOICES | WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 31, 2022
By Dan Delzell, Christian Post Contributor

Why do you suppose the Bible is the best-selling book of all time? With over 5 billion copies sold and distributed, no other book has changed so many lives and brought so much peace, comfort, joy and hope to people all around the world.

This includes former skeptics who came to learn the truth about God’s love, as well as 100 notable converts from atheism to Christianity who also discovered what they had previously failed to see. Divine revelation brings people into the light.

The Bible explains that our heart has been hardened by our sin and a new heart is necessary in order to love God (Ezekiel 36:26, Romans 2:29, Hebrews 8:10). Can you even imagine what a new heart would do for you?

Perhaps you think: “I don’t want a new heart. I am fine without God. I don’t need Jesus. I don’t need to be saved. I am fine just the way I am ... thank you very much!”

In your current condition, you may want nothing to do with Christ or Christianity. This aversion to Jesus, after all, is man’s default position. Man’s sinful nature resists the Lord and disregards Holy Scripture. This resistance and spiritual blindness within man’s soul is the biggest reason many skeptics never even become curious about God, let alone come to faith in Christ (2 Corinthians 4:4).

Man's natural response to Jesus is revealed in God’s Word. “There is no one who understands, no one who seeks God” (Romans 3:11). This explains why many people do not want Christianity to be true.

When someone becomes curious about God, there is a tried-and-true way to advance beyond natural curiosity to divine revelation. Some skeptics have actively, humbly and sincerely engaged with the Word of God, and you can too if you have an open mind.

The Bible contains 66 books written by 40 authors over a period of 1,500 years, and “all Scripture is God-breathed” (2 Timothy 3:16). You see, the breath of God produced the divine revelation that we have in Scripture.

The Apostle Peter wrote, “Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:20,21).

If you have not yet placed your faith in Christ and in the words of Scripture, I encourage you to engage with this God-breathed book. After all, God’s Word claims to be “living and active” (Hebrews 4:12). Those who come under its powerful influence are in the best position to be changed into “a new creation” (2 Corinthians 5:17) and welcomed into God’s family of believers.

What religion has given rise to so many hospitals, orphanages, homeless shelters and global humanitarian efforts? Why does so much love and compassion flow in the hearts of those who accept the free gift of eternal life from the Messiah?

With this in mind, I invite you to begin to immerse yourself in Scripture, even if you are not yet convinced that it is a true revelation from God. Adopt the rational and logical perspective that if it is truly alive, then the best way to be influenced by this living book is to saturate your heart and mind with its message. I suggest you begin with the Gospel of John.

Millions of believers who embrace the promises in Scripture experience tremendous peace. The Bible claims to have the ability to change hearts and give people a love for God. It also informs us that man has an immortal soul and that only two destinations exist after death (Daniel 12:2, Matthew 7:13,14).

It is impossible to argue rationally against 1 out of 100 quadrillion (That’s 17 zeros!) Those are the odds of getting just 8 prophecies fulfilled in one man, let alone the 300 or so biblical prophecies fulfilled by a Jewish carpenter from Nazareth named Jesus Christ (See my 2013 CP op-ed titled, “The Mathematical Proof for Christianity Is Irrefutable.”)

But intellectual and rational evidence alone can only take you so far. In order to have a living faith in the living Lord, it will be necessary for your heart to be changed by the Holy Spirit. He continues to bring unbelievers to repentance and faith in Christ every day (John 3:6-8, 1 Cor. 12:3). The Holy Spirit works through the Gospel message (John 3:16) and through the only book that is “living and active” (Heb. 4:12). Scripture is able to make you “wise for salvation” (2 Timothy 3:16). No other book in the world can produce this supernatural result!

Do you have a fervent desire to receive divine revelation, or do worldly appetites and attractions have too strong of a grip upon your heart and mind? Scripture reveals that “the godlessness and wickedness of men suppress the truth by their wickedness” (Romans 1:18).

C.S. Lewis wrote: “It would seem that our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”

Do you strongly desire to know the truth about God and eternity before it is too late for you to do anything about it, or are you simply oblivious to the whole thing and awash with spiritual apathy? God will not force you to take him at His Word, but He has reserved everlasting benefits for those who do. The choice is yours.

C.S. Lewis summed it up beautifully: “There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind.”

Dan Delzell is the pastor of Redeemer Lutheran Church in Papillion, Nebraska.

Skeptics, Scripture and divine revelation | Voice (christianpost.com)

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CP VOICES | THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2022
By Michael Brown, CP Op-Ed Contributor

Are we living in the last moments of human history? Is the whole world about to explode? Has America ever been in a worse condition than it is now?

Certainly, we are living in chaotic times, times of trouble and upheaval. But how bad are things, really? How dire is the condition of the world?

There is a mindset that C. S. Lewis called “chronological snobbery” which he defined as “the uncritical acceptance of the intellectual climate of our own age and the assumption that whatever has gone out of date is on that count discredited.” In other words, if it’s newer, it must be better.

The exact opposite of this concept is the idea that if it’s newer, it must be worse. Society is not what it used to be. Families are not what they used to be. Morality is not what it used to be.

Education is not what it used to be. Everything is on the decline!

But are things really that simple? Can we make such blanket statements?

Andrew Klavan, who was born in 1954, was describing his early days with the Daily Wire team, which included much younger men like Ben Shapiro and Michael Knowles.

Klavan wrote, “sometimes the younger guys would say things like, ‘This is the most divided era in American history,’ and I’d say, you know, between the ages of 10 and 14, I saw the president of the United States murdered by a Communist, his senator brother murdered by a Palestinian and the greatest civil rights leader of the age gunned down by a racist pornographer. To me, things look pretty chill. I think that was useful to keep the rhetoric in check and align our feelings with reality.”

Of course, it’s easy to think that America is the worst it’s ever been. Doesn’t it often feel like that?

After all, when is the last time we’ve been this politically polarized? When have we had to deal with LGBTQ+ extremism? When have we faced such uncertainty about the future? What about the horrific school massacres? What about the dangers of cancel culture and wokeness? What about the racial divisions? What about the plague of porn? And the epidemic of fentanyl overdoses? The list goes on and on.

The fact is that some things are the worst they’ve ever been in our nation’s history, such as the ubiquity of porn or the rise of radical transgender activism.

On the other hand, other things are better than they’ve been in decades, such as the strength of the pro-life movement, from the overturning of Roe v. Wade to the passing of pro-life legislation in state after state. And despite the racial tension we’re living with, things are certainly far better today for black Americans than they were prior to 1964, let alone prior to 1865.

It’s true that we’re having serious economic struggles. But Americans today, on average, live in far more luxurious conditions than did previous generations, and we’re nowhere near the times of the Great Depression.

And despite the deadly uptick in certain drug overdoses and the legalizing of pot, illicit drug use is lower today than in past decades, as is violent crime. (The murder rate in big cities is back to where it was 25 years ago, but again, that just means things have been really bad before.)

As for being a divided nation, which we are, we are nowhere nearly as divided as we were immediately before and after the Civil War.

Even our colleges and universities, many of which had strong Christian foundations and most of which have swung far to the left, have had bad days before. As revival historian James Edwin Orr noted in one of his lectures, after the Revolutionary War, America experienced a period of spiritual decline.

Things got so bad on some of our campuses that not a single professing Christian could be found at Harvard, which was founded for the glory of God. At Princeton, only two believers were found and only 5 students who did not belong to the filthy speech movement.

Students rioted on some campuses and, on one occasion, took a Bible from a church and burned it. Orr even states that Christian students were so few on some campuses that they met in secret, and recorded their meeting notes in code lest they should be discovered. This really happened in our country! (I strongly encourage you to take 25 minutes to watch this old lecture by Dr. Orr. He also mentions how Thomas Paine joyfully repeated Voltaire’s words that Christianity would be forgotten in 30 years.)

As for the state of the world today, we are actually living in one of the more peaceful times in history, despite Russia’s ongoing war with Ukraine. Just compare things today with the worldwide upheaval and massive loss of life during World Wars I and II. Or consider the tens of millions of lives snuffed out due to the policies of Stalin and Mao.

Even in the Middle East, Israel has friendlier relations with more of its neighbors than at any time since its reestablishment in 1948.

To be sure, the whole world is like a tinder box ready to explode. And there is more potential for some kind of global government than ever, not to mention a potentially catastrophic “Great Reset.”

On the other hand, the Gospel is spreading through the nations at an unprecedented rate, and the church is experiencing its greatest growth in history. To borrow the words of Dickens, these are the best of times and the worst of times. These are times for great concern and great hope. These are times of great shaking, of powerful spiritual outpouring, and of intense demonic activity. These are critical times in which the scales could tip either way, quite dramatically and suddenly, in the days ahead.

Let us be vigilant. Let us be active. Let us seize the moment.

As one of my missionary colleagues has said, “This may not be the last generation, but it’s our last generation.”

Let us use these times for the glory of God. These are the only times we have.

Dr. Michael Brown(www.askdrbrown.org) is the host of the nationally syndicated Line of Fire radio program.

A sober assessment of the state of America and the world | Voice (christianpost.com)