Saturday, January 23, 2010

Big Lies … Poison For An Open Mind

Mark 12:29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:

Jeremiah 23:16-17 Thus says the LORD of hosts, “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are prophesying to you. They are leading you into futility; They speak a vision of their own imagination, Not from the mouth of the LORD. “They keep saying to those who despise Me, ‘The LORD has said, “You will have peace”’; And as for everyone who walks in the stubbornness of his own heart, They say, ‘Calamity will not come upon you.’

Big Lie: freedom of religion means all religions lead to god,
all religions are good, all religions are equally relevant, all religions teach truth, all religions are equal, and anyone who does not agree with these ideas is a religious bigot.

A number of years ago,
I was talking to a business associate and I said, “We have to be careful we don’t fall for the big lies that the world would have us believe.” “What do you mean by big lies?” he asked. “Everything is okay in moderation” I replied. “Well, I believe that everything is okay in moderation” he said. An intense discussion followed and it soon became clear that he could not win. Knowing that carrying his logic to it’s end would stop him quickly … I said, “ okay, how about a little bit of cocaine” To my surprise he replied, “I know people who use cocaine in moderation and it doesn’t seem to hurt them” this led to more serious debate and I soon tired of his foolishness, I asked, “How about a little bit of child molestation?” Clearly defeated ... he finally said, “I see what you mean.”

I’m sorry to say that this same friend recently emailed me and asked me not to send him any posts with spiritual content. This saddens me, because he is one of the people that I was hoping would see the truth in my posts. But, I can assure you that the reason he doesn’t want my posts is not because he doesn’t think that they are true … but rather because he doesn’t want truthful input that contradicts what he wants to be true. He's basically saying don't confuse me with the truth. This may be hard to understand, but I respect my agnostic friend for being honest with me, more than some others who say what they think I want to hear.

Now twenty five years later, this same friend told me that he likes Mitt Romney for the next president
and asked me, “Would you vote for Romney?” I said, “I can’t say for sure, but I think he might make a good candidate.” “But, what about the fact that he is a Mormon, wouldn’t that stop you?” Are Mormons, Christians? Some of the best people I know are Mormons, he said.” I explained to him that a person’s religion was not the deciding factor in who I would vote for in an election. I pointed out Carter and Obama as examples of Christians that I did not vote for. Knowing this was a safe discussion for him, my friend pressed on. But Bob, You didn’t answer my question, “Are Mormons Christians? Knowing my friend, I asked, “Do you want the long or the short answer?” The short one.” he said. First, I explained that it is not for me to decide who is or is not a Christian … only God knows that for sure. Next, I pointed out that Mormonism is a polytheistic religion (many gods) and Christianity is monotheistic (one and only one God). Christianity teaches that all gods other than the God of the Bible are false gods. From a Biblical Christian’s viewpoint, some Mormon positions are false beliefs. Many religions falsely claim to be Christian, or lead followers to live Christian principles, but on key Biblical teachings, they are not Christian. The Bible identifies their teachings as heresy. These religions often lead people that are sincerely trying to have a relationship with god in the wrong direction. A person could have been led astray by one of these religions, but still have trusted their life to Christ and rejected these false teachings. While at the same time remained tied to the church by family or for other reasons. For these religions to call themselves Christian is miss-leading and fraudulent. Mormons are Mormons and many are great people but the religion is not Christian any more than Muslims are Christians. Unfortunately, being “some of the best people I know” does not mean we are Christians.

On fox News Sunday,Chris Wallace interviewed Joel Osteen, Pastor of Lakewood Church on the same subject. Here is how the conversation went:
Chris Wallace: “ And what about Mitt Romney? And I've got to ask you the question, because it is a question whether it should be or not in this campaign, is a Mormon a true Christian?”
Joel Osteen: “Well, in my mind they are. Mitt Romney has said that he believes in Christ as his savior, and that's what I believe, so, you know, I'm not the one to judge the little details of it. So I believe they are. And so, you know, Mitt Romney seems like a man of character and integrity to me, and I don't think he would -- anything would stop me from voting for him if that's what I felt like”


Do you see the difference between our answers? Osteen may be politically correct. He also makes it clear in the interview that his calling is to encourage people, but isn’t the primary role of a pastor to help Christians understand the truth, and also the difference between the truth and words that just make us feel good about ourselves? A better answer for Osteen would have been, “I am not an expert on Mormonism, so I will let Mormons speak for themselves”. Instead he confused the Mormon religion with the individual followers and Christianity as well. His final words about voting explain his views on choosing a candidate (character and integrity) are fine.

The Big Lie is that freedom of religion means all religions lead to god, all religions are equally relevant, all religions are good, all religions teach truth, all religions are equal, and anyone who does not agree with these ideas is a religious bigot. We can disagree about the validity of various religious views and still have tolerances for each others right to freedom of religion. I am not a bigot for pointing out evil teachings of radical Islam. That doesn't mean: I hate all Muslims. The religion and the individual follower are not one and the same. Christians like Joel Osteen may be great motivational teachers who inspire and encourage millions, but when they take on the title of Christian Pastor, they have a responsibility to teach the truth and to hold their teachings accountable to the Bible. If not, Osteen should just become a motivational speaker. Otherwise, his witness becomes contrary to the role the church has given him. People are likely to follow him rather than Christ.

This type of debate seems to be everywhere in our politically correct world. A pastor of a church of thousands once said to me. I have eight thousands following me Bob, who are you to question my teachings” My response, “here is what the bible says, you are miss-guiding those eight thousand. Fortunately, a few years later, he stepped down.

On a Fox News panel discussing Tiger Woods, Brit Hume said: "The extent to which he can recover, it seems to me, depends on his faith. He is said to be a Buddhist. I don't think that faith offers the kind of forgiveness and redemption that is offered by the Christian faith. So, my message to Tiger would be, 'Tiger, turn to the Christian faith and you can make a total recovery and be a great example to the world."
The politically correct media went into a feeding frenzy. Hume had "dissed about half a billion Buddhists on the planet." Said one critic. Another invoked the non-existent "separation of church and television" clause, bitterly complaining that Hume had brought up Christianity "out-of-the-blue" on "a political talk show." Like Christianity was somehow taboo unless the media makes jokes about it. The list goes on and on. I’m surprised they weren’t calling for Hume’s resignation. more on this one
It appears to me that everything Hume said was correct. According to Buddhist journalist Barbara Hoetsu O'Brien, Hume is correct about Buddhism. That faith does not offer forgiveness and redemption the way Christianity does. That's because Buddhism has no concept of sin. Also, Buddhists don't believe in God, but try to become their own gods.

Three cheers for Britt Hume! He reached out to Tiger Woods with hope and truth which is what we are called to do as Christians. He told the truth and pointed out the false teachings of a major religion. It’s too bad we can’t get more people of influence exposing these teachings that lead millions away from God every day.

God bless you … Bob

14 comments:

  1. Right on, Bob! The most freeing aspect of absolute truth is that there are no shades of gray, no subtle nuances to try to understand. It just is what God says it is.

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  2. Ah, man, you can't paste comments into here?? No way!

    I just typed a long comment in NotePad, using HTML tags, and pasting quotes from your article, and now it won't let me Copy my comments from NotePad and Paste them into Comments here! I really don't want to manually type all of that into Comments! Wow...

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  3. Oh, OK, after I signed in, now it's working. That's weird. It would not let me Paste into Comments before I signed it. Very odd. Anyway, here goes:

    I pointed out Carter and Obama as examples of Christians that I did not vote for.

    Obama is an extremely strong supporter of abortion, has criticized the Bible, and has called the Qur'an "holy." He is also not a supporter of Israel, and he did not support the National Day of Prayer, yet he supported Ramadan. For this and other reasons, I don't believe Obama is a Christian, despite his claims that he is.

    From a Biblical Christian’s viewpoint, some Mormon positions are false beliefs.

    Yes, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints believes that God is made of flesh and bones like us, and was once a man.

    Many religions falsely claim to be Christian, or lead followers to live Christian principles, but on key Biblical teachings, they are not Christian. The Bible identifies their teachings as heresy.

    Amen!

    Chris Wallace: “ And what about Mitt Romney? And I've got to ask you the question, because it is a question whether it should be or not in this campaign, is a Mormon a true Christian?”
    Joel Osteen: “Well, in my mind they are. Mitt Romney has said that he believes in Christ as his savior, and that's what I believe, so, you know, I'm not the one to judge the little details of it. So I believe they are.


    And tragically, Joel Osteen has the largest church in the United States. Here's an interesting video about Joel Osteen:

    Joel Osteen on the gospel cannot make up his mind

    [Joel Osteen]: And so, you know, Mitt Romney seems like a man of character and integrity to me, and I don't think he would -- anything would stop me from voting for him if that's what I felt like”

    Mitt Romney may be a conservative, and he may have good morals, but I suspect that God would not bless a nation whose leader is a member of a false cult.

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  4. The Big Lie is that freedom of religion means all religions lead to god, all religions are equally relevant, all religions are good, all religions teach truth, all religions are equal, and anyone who does not agree with these ideas is a religious bigot.

    Yes, Oprah Winfrey buys into this:

    Oprah Denies Christ

    I am not a bigot for pointing out evil teachings of radical Islam. That doesn't mean: I hate all Muslims. The religion and the individual follower are not one and the same.

    Exactly. If a family member is a cocaine or heroin addict, and you are against their using such drugs, and you try to get them to stop, that does not mean you hate them.

    If I am against the teachings and beliefs of the KKK, and I know someone who is a member of the KKK, that does not mean I have to hate that person. They can still be my friend, but I cannot support what they believe, teach and practice.

    Christians like Joel Osteen may be great motivational teachers who inspire and encourage millions, but when they take on the title of Christian Pastor, they have a responsibility to teach the truth and to hold their teachings accountable to the Bible. If not, Osteen should just become a motivational speaker. Otherwise, his witness becomes contrary to the role the church has given him. People are likely to follow him rather than Christ.

    That is precisely what I have said for quite a while now. Joel Osteen is a motivational speaker; he is not a true preacher of the biblical gospel.

    On a Fox News panel discussing Tiger Woods, Brit Hume said: "The extent to which he can recover, it seems to me, depends on his faith. He is said to be a Buddhist. I don't think that faith offers the kind of forgiveness and redemption that is offered by the Christian faith.

    Yes, when I saw that video, I suddenly had HUGE respect for Brit Hume!

    The politically correct media went into a feeding frenzy.

    Yes, and on the Internet (blog comments, online forums, etc.), some people were condemning Hume left and right.

    According to Buddhist journalist Barbara Hoetsu O'Brien, Hume is correct about Buddhism. That faith does not offer forgiveness and redemption the way Christianity does.

    In fact, there is no religion or cult outside of Christianity that teaches that you can get to Heaven by faith alone.

    Three cheers for Britt Hume! He reached out to Tiger Woods with hope and truth which is what we are called to do as Christians. He told the truth and pointed out the false teachings of a major religion. It’s too bad we can’t get more people of influence exposing these teachings that lead millions away from God every day.

    Amen and Amen!

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  5. Jeff ... What can i say, thanks for your confirmation on many of my points. I am having fun with this blog. It is challenging for me, but people like you are encouraging

    God Bless ... Bob

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  6. Jeff said … “Obama is an extremely strong supporter of abortion, has criticized the Bible, and has called the Qur'an "holy." He is also not a supporter of Israel, and he did not support the National Day of Prayer, yet he supported Ramadan. For this and other reasons, I don't believe Obama is a Christian, despite his claims that he is.”

    I agree with you here Jeff. If I had to bet on it, I have seen nothing that would lead me to believe that Obama is a Christian. And as you pointed out, Obama has a lot of evidence that raise s questions about where the commitments of his heart lie. But I am reluctant to judge anyone else on their profession of faith in Christ.

    A key focus this month has been the 91% of professing Christians who do not identify themselves as Biblical Christians. Hopefully, we will each search our hearts and make the changes in our lives so there will be no doubt in anyone’s mind where you or I stand.

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  7. This post reminds me of ch. 4 of "Kingdom Triangle" by JP Moreland...

    Classic tolerance = respecting the person, while disagreeing with their viewpoints

    Contemporary tolerance = accepting the person and their viewpoints as equal to your own

    Our culture, universities, media, entertainment industry and past two presidents have erred in frequently resorting to this latter form of tolerance.

    Contemporary tolerance, left unchecked, will be the fatal blow that destroys Western Civilization. Mark Steyn makes this point masterfully at http://article.nationalreview.com/420247/but-were-still-gonna-kill-you/mark-steyn

    We must call a spade a spade. There is good and evil. There are truths, and there are lies. And the Christian faith provides the best answers to these critical questions of life.

    Bob, keep calling spades... spades.

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  8. Good points Neil ... I will use JP Moreland's excellent book for reference in a future post. Also the Steyn post is an excellent look into the corrupted mind of Islamic extremist evil, at the level of an Islamic spiritual leader!

    I would suggest everyone read this one: http://article.nationalreview.com/420247/but-were-still-gonna-kill-you/mark-steyn (simply highlight and drag to address bar above)

    This site will continue to stand on the truth, and challenge falsehood, hypocrisy, and evil ... post after post. If that bothers you ... your options are follow God's word or look elsewhere.

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  9. found your site from the link on "Old Geezer's" site. This is all just too much good information -- in your posts as well as the comments you receive.
    Lee

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  10. Jeff a quick note about God's blessing of our nation and our leader's faith.

    I do not believe God would forego blessing our nation if a Mormon was, in fact, placed at the head of it.

    In the last few years I can point to numerous men that have led our nation and have claimed to be Christian. God, and many of us, are able to discern that these men simply pay Christianity lip service. God has not abandoned our nation in those times.

    Far from it, if history shows us anything its that God NEVER abandons His people, Jew or Gentile, its His people that abandon Him. As we push Him away He strives and yearns to hold us closer and we fight all the more. The calamity that ensues when he gives us the desires of our wicked hearts is often misinterpreted as Him withdrawing His blessing. The day will come when we, as a country, abandon our Lord. In that day our Lord's blessing will not have left us but will have been rejected by us.

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  11. Good point, Scott. I agree God would not abandon our nation simply because we elected a leader of a different religion. But on the other hand, when our laws and policies are contrary to what God would condemn, our nation will ultimately suffer the consequences. Whoever the leader, if his religion brought about changes that result in cultic anti-christian values God will judge that nation. I wonder how long it will be before America pays for embracing abortion, evolution, and an amoral belief system?

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  12. I appreciate your consistency in refusing to judge anothers claim of Christianity, I will leave that up to God. There were many times I made that point in discussing the actions and policies of the Bush administrations, when someone would be attacking this or that action or policy aand make a comment like "and he is a Christian!". I would most often be in agreement with the complaints against their actions and policies, but would remind the person that God will decide who is a Christian and not to condemn a faith because of the actions of one person, no matter what their position in the world. And I would remind the person if they are concerned about the Bush's faith, then they should be praying for them...I did.

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  13. I wonder if the term Christian has lost its meaning as many fall away from Word, leaving the true church in preference to the idols of inclusion and correctness?

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