What is the “Eden State”? It is a nation that believes the self-evident rights of its citizens are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. These rights — privileges — were precisely the ones bestowed on the first humans. And we all know how that turned out. Perhaps we are on the precipice of a similar catastrophe.
How quaint. How provincial. How parochial the words sound. So what other words could we use to describe the unspeakable wickedness and evil we have witnessed in Paris this day? Words fail if we cannot use these.
I have been thinking about being true to ourselves. It seems like personal fulfillment is our most cherished value. Contemporary culture stands up and cheers when somebody declares their “authentic self.” It is so American. It speaks of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I wonder if we shouldn’t consider whether to replace the national motto. (In case you forgot, it is “In God We Trust,” a pretty new addition to our national identity—only approved by congress in the 1950s.) Perhaps we should get our new motto from Hamlet: “To thine own self be true.” Unlikely? I’m not so sure. Regardless of Polonius’ true intent in the play, the words have a golden sound to them. Continue reading The Enemy of the Authentic Self→
Their eyes had failed them. Or they had failed their eyes… ~The Glass Menagerie
What have we done? That was the question that overwhelmed me as I was praying this morning—brought me to tears. What have we done? What kind of people have we evolved to be?
Perhaps you have heard it on the news. A nationally recognized health services organization has been recorded while talking openly about the harvesting and distribution of fetal tissue. When I heard about it from one of our household members I thought it was another right wing conspiracy theory, an urban legend that would soon appear at Snopes dot com.
The dispute over the acceptability of the covenant offering of heterosexual marriage as distinguished from a committed partnership is similar to the dispute between Cain and Abel. One offering was acceptable to God, the other was not. Even though Cain was undoubtedly sincere and his offering carefully prepared, his offering was rejected. This aroused resentment in Cain. When he learned that his contribution was not suitable to his Creator, “Cain was very angry, and his face fell” (Genesis 4:5-8).
You Make Me Mad
The same dynamic appears to be playing out today. When we declare that a same-sex partnership cannot be a marriage, an offering pleasing to God, there is a Cain-like reaction. Knowing the final outcome of Cain’s response does little to reassure me as we reject same-sex marriage. Nevertheless, we have to continue to regard marriage as an offering clearly planned by God Himself. Anything else, no matter how sincerely and lovingly presented, simply will not do.
So, does that make us hateful? Of course not. To differ with somebody does not mean we hate them. To say it does is semantic manipulation. You can read my thoughts about that here.
TEOTWAWKI
The Cain principle is going to have far-reaching effects on the church.We should be ready. We are may be nearing TEOTWAWKI (the end of the world as we know it. At least the church world). If you want to see what may lie ahead, click here.
Like it or not, we followers of “The Way” must weigh in on same sex issues, including same sex marriage.
Admittedly, I would just as soon ignore the whole business, but cultural progressives are not inclined to rest until everyone acquiesces to the agenda, or are at least is identified as miscreants. We cannot yield, of course, but that doesn’t mean we’ll be left to it.
What is the “Eden State”? It is a nation that believes the self-evident rights of its citizens are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. These rights — privileges — were precisely the ones bestowed on the first humans. And we all know how that turned out. Perhaps we are on the precipice of a similar catastrophe.
