Foundations are so critical in the longevity of any establishment or structure. You might get some argument on this principle from a fringe element or two but it pretty much amounts to an axiom and most people will agree. Jesus made this point very clear in Matthew 7:24-27 when he spoke about building our house on the rock. His purposeful metaphor has stood the test of time and we ignore it to our spiritual and practical peril. Today’s decision by the United States Senate to continue to chip away at the foundation of our Judeo-Christian heritage will certainly yield calamitous consequences. In the 1860s our nation suffered the cost of treating our brother and neighbor with contempt to the point of bringing shame on the name of Christ and finding ourselves in a civil conflict that resulted in over 600,000 deaths, exceeding the nation’s loss in all other wars from the Revolution through Viet Nam. Sure, other nations throughout history were guilty of the same offence without reaping such a bitter crop, but they had not the advantage of being birthed with these words: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights.” This acknowledgement of the Creator’s special grace brought with it a higher responsibility to continue that acknowledgement in order to continue the grace. We turned our back on that obligation early in our nation’s existence and paid a dear price then got another chance.
Many argue today that eliminating civil laws that restrict sexual preference is in keeping with the spirit and intent of the equality language in our founding documents. Homosexuality is touted as a civil right. But, we are warned in Isaiah 5:20 “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.” We can always find justification and rationalization for our behavior and our convictions. In fact, that’s precisely what we’ve done by superseding God’s moral law with our nation’s civil laws in the past 200+ years. We have nearly completed our segue from “freedom of religion” to “freedom from religion” to the point that our civil code, along with our personal preferences, allows us to worship what we please, misuse the name of God, disrespect our parents, abort our babies, relish in adultery and fornication, cheat on our taxes, lie when it’s convenient, and lust after everything on television. “Well,” says the cynic, would you have us imitate the Taliban?” That’s indeed the tone of comment I would expect from someone who doesn’t know the difference. Yet, we should know the difference. We ought to be able to notice those chips and chunks missing from the foundation. But since we don’t, we probably don’t notice us leaning like the Tower of Pisa either
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Friday, December 3, 2010
ET, Phone Earth
Logic: Origin – Gk logikos of speech or reason. Definition: The science that investigates the principles governing correct or reliable inference.
The recent discovery in California’s Mono Lake of bacteria that can live off arsenic has given rise to the hopeful prospect that perhaps, maybe, perchance, conceivably there may exist extraterrestrial life out in the universe somewhere. The logic goes like this. “If a life form can survive and even flourish in such a toxic environment within our own previously known boundaries of life parameters, the broadening of said boundaries present a prospect of less strenuous demand for the existence of life elsewhere in the cosmos.” When applying the principles of logic this hopeful prospect could make sense. It’s like saying “if I find a penny on a gravestone in the local cemetery, the likelihood of discovering other coins in the same cemetery, or even other cemeteries, increases.” However, the community that promotes this type of research isn’t contented with logic on this trivial scale. In fact, their reason flexing often stretches to this colossal measure. “It is presumptuous and even preposterous to assume that little old earth harbors the only life in the vast universe.” Armed with absolutely zero evidence for such a proclamation beyond the argument that it is a mathematical probability the hopes and imaginings of the ET dreamers persist. Theories abound, including the notion that life emerged independently at various locations throughout the universe; the concept that speculates life spread from location to location (exogenesis) is another popular idea; and the theory that UFOs are of extraterrestrial origin is another popular belief. No less than the well respected and much praised personalities of Carl Sagan and Stephen Hawking have lent their substantial talents and impressive credentials to those views supporting the acceptance of the existence of extraterrestrial life. All of this mind-power is present without the slimmest scintilla of evidence that could find the slightest connection to the principle of logic. Nevertheless, the amount of psychological, emotional and financial resources devoted to the hope of discovery of extraterrestrial life is phenomenal and illustrates the mindset of a great number of people who maintain a “don’t confuse me with the facts” attitude. The discovery of a real live ET has taken on an importance transcending science or philosophy. I once heard an evangelist mention his wonderings about extraterrestrial life. He said he asked God, “Lord, is there any life in outer space?” He said God’s reply was, “I’m here.” It’s been argued that Christians aren’t really open to the prospect of the existence of extraterrestrial life. Frankly, I believe the reverse is more to the point. What would be the possibility of emotional and psychological capitulation if ET/UFO proponents were to learn for certain that the only intelligent life in the universe (other than God) resides on the plant we call earth?
The recent discovery in California’s Mono Lake of bacteria that can live off arsenic has given rise to the hopeful prospect that perhaps, maybe, perchance, conceivably there may exist extraterrestrial life out in the universe somewhere. The logic goes like this. “If a life form can survive and even flourish in such a toxic environment within our own previously known boundaries of life parameters, the broadening of said boundaries present a prospect of less strenuous demand for the existence of life elsewhere in the cosmos.” When applying the principles of logic this hopeful prospect could make sense. It’s like saying “if I find a penny on a gravestone in the local cemetery, the likelihood of discovering other coins in the same cemetery, or even other cemeteries, increases.” However, the community that promotes this type of research isn’t contented with logic on this trivial scale. In fact, their reason flexing often stretches to this colossal measure. “It is presumptuous and even preposterous to assume that little old earth harbors the only life in the vast universe.” Armed with absolutely zero evidence for such a proclamation beyond the argument that it is a mathematical probability the hopes and imaginings of the ET dreamers persist. Theories abound, including the notion that life emerged independently at various locations throughout the universe; the concept that speculates life spread from location to location (exogenesis) is another popular idea; and the theory that UFOs are of extraterrestrial origin is another popular belief. No less than the well respected and much praised personalities of Carl Sagan and Stephen Hawking have lent their substantial talents and impressive credentials to those views supporting the acceptance of the existence of extraterrestrial life. All of this mind-power is present without the slimmest scintilla of evidence that could find the slightest connection to the principle of logic. Nevertheless, the amount of psychological, emotional and financial resources devoted to the hope of discovery of extraterrestrial life is phenomenal and illustrates the mindset of a great number of people who maintain a “don’t confuse me with the facts” attitude. The discovery of a real live ET has taken on an importance transcending science or philosophy. I once heard an evangelist mention his wonderings about extraterrestrial life. He said he asked God, “Lord, is there any life in outer space?” He said God’s reply was, “I’m here.” It’s been argued that Christians aren’t really open to the prospect of the existence of extraterrestrial life. Frankly, I believe the reverse is more to the point. What would be the possibility of emotional and psychological capitulation if ET/UFO proponents were to learn for certain that the only intelligent life in the universe (other than God) resides on the plant we call earth?
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