tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65044259301858985792024-03-12T21:32:37.781-05:00 Pastor's BlogAll the Word for all of LifeDoug Enickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07665632578844430135noreply@blogger.comBlogger508125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6504425930185898579.post-12783999209570666922024-01-13T09:05:00.015-06:002024-01-13T09:08:10.738-06:00Jurisprudence without the Prudence, 2<p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Some of the most widely neglected
sections of the Bible—sections often skipped over by those who begin the new year
with a good resolve to read the Bible through—are sections that contain case law (<i>e.g.,</i>
Ex. 21-23). These are sections designed for use by the judges of Israel to
guide them in rendering just judgments in the cases that come before them. The
laws seem irrelevant to many modern readers because they were given in the
ancient world to a people living an agrarian lifestyle and having customs very
different from our own. But a careful reading of these laws, with an
understanding of their historical and cultural contexts, will amply repay the
effort by revealing basic principles of justice and imparting wisdom for daily
life (Deut. 4:6; Ps. 119:98; Prov. 28:5).<br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">In a </span><a href="https://dougenick.blogspot.com/2014/09/jurisprudence-without-prudence.html"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">previous post</span></a><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> we examined the not so prudent
jurisprudence of Islamic law regarding theft in light of the prudent
jurisprudence of biblical case law. A recent </span><a href="https://www.newsweek.com/ramzan-kadyrov-putin-ally-chechnya-execute-criminals-family-1857300"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">story</span></a><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> in the news caught my eye today that
further highlights the stark contrast between the Bible and other sources
dealing with crime and punishment. According to Newsweek, Ramzan Kadyrov,
current head of the Chechen Republic and Putin ally, announced that government
forces would punish the relatives of criminals if the criminals themselves
cannot be found to be punished.</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiQvlToI0ybe_EpYP-ejnog0dLm_ug744QG9fnSKpQweVbPc_FbVrllrIA-7m8aBoLYSke6Ejmk1oHa7aMq1ERL_z8vvS63f1wEI5qo3-qeUhyokvBIvVTJvQ9Qm6ioO5qimQB1qGZ6gZ-IxvBXzV7FMXsruMZ9urGBmIaQurYSgHkEsW7I7oEANPTyiQA" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1960" data-original-width="3920" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiQvlToI0ybe_EpYP-ejnog0dLm_ug744QG9fnSKpQweVbPc_FbVrllrIA-7m8aBoLYSke6Ejmk1oHa7aMq1ERL_z8vvS63f1wEI5qo3-qeUhyokvBIvVTJvQ9Qm6ioO5qimQB1qGZ6gZ-IxvBXzV7FMXsruMZ9urGBmIaQurYSgHkEsW7I7oEANPTyiQA" width="320" /></a></div><p></p>
<div style="border-bottom: none; border-image: initial; border-left: 1pt solid windowtext; border-right: none; border-top: none; margin-left: 9pt; margin-right: 0in; padding: 0in 0in 0in 4pt; text-align: left;">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 4.0pt; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">“If someone infringes on public
safety, an officer or a tourist, and if we don't even find the offender, we
won't keep looking for them, but we will definitely find their relatives. As is
customary from time immemorial, if one of the relatives has done wrong and the
criminal cannot be found, their brother, their father would be killed.”</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></p></div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Kadyrov is correct. The practice has
been “customary from time immemorial.” It has also been forbidden in Scripture
for 3,500 years. “Fathers shall not be put to death because of their children,
nor shall children be put to death because of their fathers. Each one shall be
put to death for his own sin” (Deut. 24:16).</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">The commandment represents a
significant departure from the practice of many ancient Near Eastern law codes
which often imposed penalties on the guilty party and/or the members of his
family. But God’s law clearly and strictly prohibits this. It prohibits the
application of penalties to any but the parties actually responsible for the
offense. Anything beyond that is a gross injustice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">The Code of Hammurabi, one of the most
famous law codes of the ancient Near East, deals with a man who strikes a
pregnant woman and causes her to die. It says,</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></p>
<div style="border-bottom: none; border-image: initial; border-left: 1pt solid windowtext; border-right: none; border-top: none; margin-left: 9pt; margin-right: 0in; padding: 0in 0in 0in 4pt; text-align: left;">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 4.0pt; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">¶ 210 If that [pregnant] woman should
die, they shall kill his [the offender’s] daughter.</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></p></div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Not the man who actually caused her
death, but his daughter. This was obviously a severe punishment of the
offender, that he should be made to lose his daughter. He caused the death of
another man’s daughter, so his own daughter must die. Perhaps this looks like
justice, but only if one looks at it superficially. In reality, it’s a grave
injustice because an innocent person is made to suffer for a guilty one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Here’s another case:</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></p>
<div style="border-bottom: none; border-image: initial; border-left: 1pt solid windowtext; border-right: none; border-top: none; margin-left: 9pt; margin-right: 0in; padding: 0in 0in 0in 4pt; text-align: left;">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 4.0pt; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">¶ 229 If a builder constructs a house
for a man but does not make his work sound, and the house that he constructs
collapses and causes the death of the householder, that builder shall be
killed.</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></p></div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">This is a case of negligent homicide
and, depending on aggravating or mitigating circumstances, the penalty may be
warranted by justice. But the next law says, </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></p>
<div style="border-bottom: none; border-image: initial; border-left: 1pt solid windowtext; border-right: none; border-top: none; margin-left: 9pt; margin-right: 0in; padding: 0in 0in 0in 4pt; text-align: left;">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 4.0pt; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">¶ 230 If it should cause the death of
a son of the householder, they shall kill a son of that builder.</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></p></div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">In this case, the son of the builder
suffers for the criminal negligence of his father.</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">All these laws are grossly unjust. Standing
against them, and against all such laws, we have Deuteronomy 24:16, “Fathers
shall not be put to death because of their children, nor shall children be put
to death because of their fathers. Each one shall be put to death for his own
sin.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">This can be applied by way of
implication to other family relationships as well. “Brothers shall not be put
to death because of their sisters, nor shall sisters be put to death because of
their brothers,” “husbands for wives, nor wives for husbands,” and so on.</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">In the Middle Assyrian Laws, if a
married man raped a virgin, the rapist’s wife was to be given over to be raped
(¶55). But again, Biblical jurisprudence forbids it.</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">The last statement of Deuteronomy 24:16
makes it clear that legal liability only falls on the responsible party. “Each
one shall be put to death for his own sin [crime].” </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">The principle also applies by way of
implication to other crimes besides capital punishment. Scripture consistently
emphasizes individual responsibility and individual rather than corporate
guilt. </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></p>
<div style="border-bottom: none; border-image: initial; border-left: 1pt solid windowtext; border-right: none; border-top: none; margin-left: 9pt; margin-right: 0in; padding: 0in 0in 0in 4pt; text-align: left;">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 4.0pt; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">But everyone shall die for his own
iniquity (Jer. 31:30) (speaking of divine judgment)</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></p></div>
<div style="border-bottom: none; border-image: initial; border-left: 1pt solid windowtext; border-right: none; border-top: none; margin-left: 9pt; margin-right: 0in; padding: 0in 0in 0in 4pt; text-align: left;">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 4.0pt; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">The soul who sins shall die. The son
shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the
iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself,
and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself. (Ezek. 18:20)</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></p></div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">This principle, by the way, destroys
one of the cherished principles of wokism, that one is to be judged first and
foremost by his or her group identity (race, class, sex, etc.), and that that
identity marks one as either oppressor or oppressed, and is thereby deemed to
be either virtuous or vicious, innocent or guilty, regardless of one’s own
behavior. It also delegitimizes the call for reparations for slavery which requires
people who never owned slaves to compensate people who never were slaves. It
punishes the innocent for the sins of the guilty. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p style="height: 0px; text-align: left;">x</p>Doug Enickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15521382555614587285noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6504425930185898579.post-10450732263821367532022-09-25T14:25:00.009-05:002022-09-25T14:56:08.851-05:00The Will to Disbelieve - Feuerbach, Freud, and Friends - Atheism as Wish Fulfillment<p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6pt;"><span face=""Open Sans", sans-serif">Few things are as important to
understand about man as the two foundational truths that he is created in the
image of God, and he is fallen.</span><a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Apologetics/The%20Will%20to%20Disbelieve%20-%20Feuerbach,%20Freud,%20and%20Friends%20-%20Blog-formatted.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">[1]</span></span></span></a><span face=""Open Sans", sans-serif">
The first ensures that the existence of God is something man cannot </span><i style="font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif;">not</i><span face=""Open Sans", sans-serif"> know; the second that some men will
nevertheless deny that they know it.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6pt;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif">The image of God in man is the basis
for what Calvin refers to as a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">sensus
divinitatis.</i> “There is,” he says, “within the human mind, and indeed by
natural instinct, an <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">awareness of
divinity</i>.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Apologetics/The%20Will%20to%20Disbelieve%20-%20Feuerbach,%20Freud,%20and%20Friends%20-%20Blog-formatted.docx#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6pt;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif">He observes further, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 22.5pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 6pt 22.5pt;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif">To
prevent anyone from taking refuge in the pretense of ignorance, God himself has
implanted in all men a certain understanding of his divine majesty… Since,
therefore, men one and all perceive that there is a God and that he is their
Maker, they are condemned by their own testimony because they have failed to
honor him and to consecrate their lives to his will.<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Apologetics/The%20Will%20to%20Disbelieve%20-%20Feuerbach,%20Freud,%20and%20Friends%20-%20Blog-formatted.docx#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[3]</span></span></span></span></a></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSOTuX6F8D4uGPILTN57Hu1MVKag6X2kW8Tck4B8j1dFSPAKcdiJ64JPqtq5uitIfOjffFlQmYVn1F4F_j9rCADGYebtbhOcnJi6XvVcUu3OOnzRv7wrAw-XXp161On9T-ibZxuXWrlLBy_I62XE6yQiRBxX3s3jAztp2USqtzhfFDBl37pE5zuJRt/s1200/John%20Calvin.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSOTuX6F8D4uGPILTN57Hu1MVKag6X2kW8Tck4B8j1dFSPAKcdiJ64JPqtq5uitIfOjffFlQmYVn1F4F_j9rCADGYebtbhOcnJi6XvVcUu3OOnzRv7wrAw-XXp161On9T-ibZxuXWrlLBy_I62XE6yQiRBxX3s3jAztp2USqtzhfFDBl37pE5zuJRt/w320-h320/John%20Calvin.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6pt;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif">Furthermore, this “awareness of
divinity” is inescapable.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: .25in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 6pt 0.25in;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif">The
conviction…that there is some God, is naturally inborn in all, and is fixed
deep within, as it were in the very marrow… [I]t is not a doctrine that must
first be learned in school, but one of which each of us is master from his mother’s
womb and which nature itself permits no one to forget.<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Apologetics/The%20Will%20to%20Disbelieve%20-%20Feuerbach,%20Freud,%20and%20Friends%20-%20Blog-formatted.docx#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6pt;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif">If this is true (and it is, Calvin is simply summarizing the teaching of Scripture), how are we to account for the
fact that many people—some of them very intelligent and well-educated—deny his
existence? This is one of the effects of the fall. In his fallen state, man all
too eagerly <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">looks for reasons to
disbelieve</i>. As Calvin says, “Many strive with every nerve to this end.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Apologetics/The%20Will%20to%20Disbelieve%20-%20Feuerbach,%20Freud,%20and%20Friends%20-%20Blog-formatted.docx#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif">LUDWIG
FEUERBACH<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6pt;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif">One man who did this was the 19<sup>th</sup>
century German philosopher Ludwig Feuerbach (1804-1872). He wrote two
influential books critical of religion in general and Christianity in
particular.<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Apologetics/The%20Will%20to%20Disbelieve%20-%20Feuerbach,%20Freud,%20and%20Friends%20-%20Blog-formatted.docx#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Feuerbach attributed the “source of religion” to “the feeling of dependence in
man.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Apologetics/The%20Will%20to%20Disbelieve%20-%20Feuerbach,%20Freud,%20and%20Friends%20-%20Blog-formatted.docx#_ftn7" name="_ftnref7" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[7]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Man’s weakness and vulnerability in a dark and dangerous world leave him
wishing for the existence of a benevolent, superior power—a deity who can come
to his aid. The wish spawns the belief; but in the end “religion is [only] a
dream of the human mind.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Apologetics/The%20Will%20to%20Disbelieve%20-%20Feuerbach,%20Freud,%20and%20Friends%20-%20Blog-formatted.docx#_ftn8" name="_ftnref8" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn8;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[8]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> He
says, “To believe, means to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">imagine</i>
that something <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">exists</i> which does <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">not</i> exist… God himself is nothing but
the essence of man’s imagination.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Apologetics/The%20Will%20to%20Disbelieve%20-%20Feuerbach,%20Freud,%20and%20Friends%20-%20Blog-formatted.docx#_ftn9" name="_ftnref9" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn9;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[9]</span></span></span></span></a></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicOAvWztw2YZT0aQNR0YS5LKQjBDxQ1HRPOODW6qbm9k6PcVOQNHyXqiRVYFHfMojSjoaM5fel-11WJMwCVr36RKRohkC7zvXw7OnrE3AwDw3sqfIZ0c1yFVeSYdXHHoknqCGa0MZlYYzKhCu-mhwhjVu8hkNkHloHh_tu1cNPIXbv-yD6CGZz79JY/s297/feuerbach.gif" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="297" data-original-width="252" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicOAvWztw2YZT0aQNR0YS5LKQjBDxQ1HRPOODW6qbm9k6PcVOQNHyXqiRVYFHfMojSjoaM5fel-11WJMwCVr36RKRohkC7zvXw7OnrE3AwDw3sqfIZ0c1yFVeSYdXHHoknqCGa0MZlYYzKhCu-mhwhjVu8hkNkHloHh_tu1cNPIXbv-yD6CGZz79JY/w339-h400/feuerbach.gif" width="339" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 22.5pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 6pt 22.5pt;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif">The
essence of faith is the idea that that which man wishes
actually is: he wishes to be immortal, therefore he is immortal; he wishes for
the existence of a being who can do everything which is impossible to Nature
and reason, therefore such a being exists.<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Apologetics/The%20Will%20to%20Disbelieve%20-%20Feuerbach,%20Freud,%20and%20Friends%20-%20Blog-formatted.docx#_ftn10" name="_ftnref10" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn10;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[10]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 22.5pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 6pt 22.5pt;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif">He
says the idea of “God… satisfies our wishes, our emotional wants; he is himself
the realized wish of the heart, the wish exalted to the certainty of its
fulfillment, of its reality.<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Apologetics/The%20Will%20to%20Disbelieve%20-%20Feuerbach,%20Freud,%20and%20Friends%20-%20Blog-formatted.docx#_ftn11" name="_ftnref11" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn11;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[11]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6pt;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif">Because man can never “get beyond
his true nature,” man’s imagined deity looks a great deal like himself. “He in
truth only images and projects himself,” except larger, stronger, and wiser.<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Apologetics/The%20Will%20to%20Disbelieve%20-%20Feuerbach,%20Freud,%20and%20Friends%20-%20Blog-formatted.docx#_ftn12" name="_ftnref12" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn12;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[12]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
He explains further, “Man—this is the mystery of religion—projects his being
into objectivity [<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">i.e</i>., as an
objectively existing deity].”<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Apologetics/The%20Will%20to%20Disbelieve%20-%20Feuerbach,%20Freud,%20and%20Friends%20-%20Blog-formatted.docx#_ftn13" name="_ftnref13" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn13;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[13]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif">SIGMUND
FREUD<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6pt;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif">Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) picked up
these ideas and popularized them for a 20<sup>th</sup> century audience. To the
extent that people today are familiar with the ideas of projection and wish
fulfilment, they have likely heard of them in connection with psychoanalytic
theory which Freud first developed. </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_wItNBSWq8y5_Q9z3NstawE9C5XUroFZZqRRchgWxSpjn1cJlj8gTlSJOIage7NE_P-Kvq0qK78pkv0W5GpFx4KSxJiPjKe0oGSFmUGzdhZ7iPCs_YD50j3BQHlIyPfdlzyr0SYe55n2XICIHkbk04yfh3Mque4cbGrvHmVWdeTUPs-mTOocrSbRB/s706/Freud.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="706" data-original-width="620" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_wItNBSWq8y5_Q9z3NstawE9C5XUroFZZqRRchgWxSpjn1cJlj8gTlSJOIage7NE_P-Kvq0qK78pkv0W5GpFx4KSxJiPjKe0oGSFmUGzdhZ7iPCs_YD50j3BQHlIyPfdlzyr0SYe55n2XICIHkbk04yfh3Mque4cbGrvHmVWdeTUPs-mTOocrSbRB/w351-h400/Freud.jpg" width="351" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6pt;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif">Feuerbach was a formative influence
on Freud, who described him as “the man whom I revere and admire most among all
philosophers.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Apologetics/The%20Will%20to%20Disbelieve%20-%20Feuerbach,%20Freud,%20and%20Friends%20-%20Blog-formatted.docx#_ftn14" name="_ftnref14" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn14;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[14]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> He
famously argued that belief in God originates in a childlike longing for an
all-provident, protective father. Man does not believe in God because such a
being exists, but because he <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">wishes</i>
for such a being to exist. “Religious ideas,” he says, “are illusions,
fulfilments of the oldest, strongest and most insistent wishes of mankind.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Apologetics/The%20Will%20to%20Disbelieve%20-%20Feuerbach,%20Freud,%20and%20Friends%20-%20Blog-formatted.docx#_ftn15" name="_ftnref15" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn15;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[15]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
The strength of these religious ideas derives from the strength of the wishes that
spawn them—wishes that arise largely through fear of danger.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 22.5pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 6pt 22.5pt;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif">We
know already that the terrifying effect of infantile helplessness aroused the
need for protection—protection through love—which the father relieved, and that
the discovery that this helplessness would continue through the whole of life
made it necessary to cling to the existence of a father—but this time a more
powerful one.<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Apologetics/The%20Will%20to%20Disbelieve%20-%20Feuerbach,%20Freud,%20and%20Friends%20-%20Blog-formatted.docx#_ftn16" name="_ftnref16" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn16;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[16]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6pt;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif">This more powerful father is God.
When we were helpless children, we looked to our earthly fathers to protect us
and provide for us. When we grew up, we came to realize that there were other,
even greater dangers than ever we knew as children. As a result, we feel a
profound sense of vulnerability and helplessness. We find ourselves wishing for
the existence of a “benevolent rule of divine providence [to] allay our anxiety
in face of life’s dangers, the establishment of a moral world [to] ensure the
fulfilment of the demands of justice…and the prolongation of earthly existence
by a future life.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Apologetics/The%20Will%20to%20Disbelieve%20-%20Feuerbach,%20Freud,%20and%20Friends%20-%20Blog-formatted.docx#_ftn17" name="_ftnref17" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn17;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[17]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Belief that a being exists who guarantees these things arises from the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">wish</i> that such a being exists. Hence, he
calls the belief a “wish-fulfilment.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Apologetics/The%20Will%20to%20Disbelieve%20-%20Feuerbach,%20Freud,%20and%20Friends%20-%20Blog-formatted.docx#_ftn18" name="_ftnref18" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn18;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[18]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6pt;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif">A significant problem with this
view, however, is that whatever may be true of other deities, the God of the
Bible isn’t the sort one would expect people to invent. He is powerful, yes,
and loving. He’s capable of meeting our needs and defending us from danger, and
love leads him to do so. But he’s also a rather demanding deity. He insists we
obey him. He prohibits us from indiscriminately gratifying our desires. He
requires us to deny ourselves by curbing our biological urges, even in some
cases the urge to preserve our lives.<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Apologetics/The%20Will%20to%20Disbelieve%20-%20Feuerbach,%20Freud,%20and%20Friends%20-%20Blog-formatted.docx#_ftn19" name="_ftnref19" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn19;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[19]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
He commands us to make sacrifices for the good of others. What’s more, he
threatens those who violate his commandments with fearful punishments. He’s not
the kind of deity one might wish to exist. If he was wholly imaginary, why not
imagine him to be a bit more lenient; a god who is untroubled by how we choose
to live? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif">ATHEISM
AS WISH PROJECTION<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6pt;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif">It is difficult to resist the
notion that the truth is just the opposite of what Feuerbach, Freud, and
friends suggest. Might it not be the case that atheism is itself a kind of wish
fulfilment? Perhaps it is not believers but unbelievers who are guilty of
projecting their wishes onto reality, not to mention projecting their habit of projection onto believers. And why would they wish for such a thing, a godless universe? To feel justified
in doing whatever they want to do without fear of a divine, “No!” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif">FRIEDRICH
NIETZSCHE<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkCpv9ZRzafVSnGUNW_-sNKOTNsfs0R6aQ6jjZTK-7k9k37D9XaoR6y2flMHbAJNDfFeCZ4VxSPmsxMj5vBNQy1DQs7y1fEQo5pHuXBsARodWC72wMKUnZEyi-8HPVJJpElsPzcpG5EJ3t7NP4j4wvkVGyCglhkw4PxqX7ztecvapApWIcdToJcdOH/s715/Nietzsche.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="715" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkCpv9ZRzafVSnGUNW_-sNKOTNsfs0R6aQ6jjZTK-7k9k37D9XaoR6y2flMHbAJNDfFeCZ4VxSPmsxMj5vBNQy1DQs7y1fEQo5pHuXBsARodWC72wMKUnZEyi-8HPVJJpElsPzcpG5EJ3t7NP4j4wvkVGyCglhkw4PxqX7ztecvapApWIcdToJcdOH/w336-h400/Nietzsche.jpg" width="336" /></a></div><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif">Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) argued
that to properly understand a worldview it’s necessary to ask of its
proponents, “What morality do they aim at?” He understood that morality is
frequently not the <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">consequence</span>
of, but the underlying motive for, a philosopher adopting or developing a given
worldview. <br /></span><p></p> <o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 22.5pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 6pt 22.5pt;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif">The
moral (or immoral) purpose in every philosophy has constituted the true vital
germ out of which the entire plant has always grown. Indeed, to understand how
the abstrusest metaphysical assertions of a philosopher have been arrived at,
it is always well (and wise) to first ask oneself, “What morality do they (or
does he) aim at?”<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Apologetics/The%20Will%20to%20Disbelieve%20-%20Feuerbach,%20Freud,%20and%20Friends%20-%20Blog-formatted.docx#_ftn21" name="_ftnref21" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn21;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[21]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif">ALDOUS
HUXLEY<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6pt;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif">Frequently, the morality in question
is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">sexual</i> morality. In his book <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ends and Means,</i> Aldous Huxley
(1894-1963) explained the appeal of atheism (which he referred to as a
philosophy of meaninglessness) in just these terms. He is worth quoting at
length:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 22.5pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 6pt 22.5pt;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">I had motives for not
wanting the world to have a meaning; consequently assumed that it had none, and
was able without any difficulty to find satisfying reasons for this assumption…</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisdYnhno17ftKzvreibACy6MAkYcJGQCJ54LAkd0Eme2Ikn9RaEIT9Vuw0IQqEZZsUrgYlyIvpLFboqnRrQa0LrH6nPBcM6anY-80PwZZtEuKx5WnrIjgnMhfiDXQsruJX47kyqThJ6YBZnk2VkQdBNZqvXztOHEwz_Bk5Dgcr4Hgj8s6wiW1Mg9iC/s1987/Huxley.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1987" data-original-width="1595" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisdYnhno17ftKzvreibACy6MAkYcJGQCJ54LAkd0Eme2Ikn9RaEIT9Vuw0IQqEZZsUrgYlyIvpLFboqnRrQa0LrH6nPBcM6anY-80PwZZtEuKx5WnrIjgnMhfiDXQsruJX47kyqThJ6YBZnk2VkQdBNZqvXztOHEwz_Bk5Dgcr4Hgj8s6wiW1Mg9iC/w321-h400/Huxley.jpg" width="321" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 22.5pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 6pt 22.5pt;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">No philosophy is
completely disinterested. The pure love of truth is always mingled to some
extent with the need, consciously or unconsciously felt by even the noblest and
the most intelligent philosophers, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">to
justify a given form of personal or social behavior</i>… The philosopher who
finds no meaning in the world is not concerned exclusively with a problem in
pure metaphysics. He is also concerned to prove that there is no valid reason
why he personally should not do as he wants to do, or why his friends should
not seize political power and govern in the way that they find most
advantageous to themselves.<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Apologetics/The%20Will%20to%20Disbelieve%20-%20Feuerbach,%20Freud,%20and%20Friends%20-%20Blog-formatted.docx#_ftn22" name="_ftnref22" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn22;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[22]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
</span><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="background: white;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6pt;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">He goes on to explain that above all “the philosophy of
meaninglessness” was used to “justify a political and erotic revolt,” with
particular emphasis on the later.</span><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="background: white;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 22.5pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 6pt 22.5pt;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">For myself as, no doubt,
for most of my contemporaries, the philosophy of meaninglessness was
essentially an instrument of liberation. The liberation we desired was
simultaneously liberation from a certain political and economic system and
liberation from a certain system of morality. We objected to the morality
because it interfered with our sexual freedom; we objected to the political and
economic system because it was unjust. The supporters of these systems claimed
that in some way they embodied the meaning (a Christian meaning, they insisted)
of the world. There was one admirably simple method of confuting these people
and at the same time justifying ourselves in our political and erotic revolt:
we could deny that the world had any meaning whatsoever. Similar tactics had
been adopted during the eighteenth century and for the same reasons. From the
popular novelists of the period…we learn that the chief reason for being
‘philosophical’ was that one might be free from prejudices—above all prejudices
of a sexual nature… The desire to justify a certain sexual looseness played a
part in the popularization of meaninglessness…<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Apologetics/The%20Will%20to%20Disbelieve%20-%20Feuerbach,%20Freud,%20and%20Friends%20-%20Blog-formatted.docx#_ftn23" name="_ftnref23" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn23;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[23]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a></span><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="background: white;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6pt;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">What is this but atheism as wish fulfilment, licentiousness
seeking philosophical justification? </span><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="background: white;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi95rmcwunwpTEYBE7TCvSkoonc1sEn6WvOjl8PH2mY-RS_QNNYW__MDiig2NeZ84R8gLNyt9frnQLEuR4L193b7VhOLoeEFW2CK5OOZQ4zFSmAwJU0plUdPxKF3RQSq7WaHRwZGu1sUBaOBiLlqCTs4l-5WbntyCo-MYd87Hx3W_Q3ZFd7qfEjN5mA/s246/Nagel.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="246" data-original-width="205" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi95rmcwunwpTEYBE7TCvSkoonc1sEn6WvOjl8PH2mY-RS_QNNYW__MDiig2NeZ84R8gLNyt9frnQLEuR4L193b7VhOLoeEFW2CK5OOZQ4zFSmAwJU0plUdPxKF3RQSq7WaHRwZGu1sUBaOBiLlqCTs4l-5WbntyCo-MYd87Hx3W_Q3ZFd7qfEjN5mA/w334-h400/Nagel.jpg" width="334" /></a></div><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif">THOMAS
NAGEL<o:p></o:p></span></b><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6pt;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">A more recent philosopher, Thomas Nagel, in a chapter
entitled “Evolutionary Naturalism and the Fear of Religion,” described his
aversion to the thought of a cosmic authority figure. He said,</span><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="background: white;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 22.5pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 6pt 22.5pt;"></p><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">“I speak from experience,
being strongly subject to this fear myself: I want atheism to be true and am
made uneasy by the fact that some of the most intelligent and well-informed
people I know are religious believers. It isn’t just that I don’t believe in
God and, naturally, hope that I’m right in my belief. It’s that I hope there is
no God! I don’t want there to be a God; I don’t want the universe to be like
that. My guess is that this cosmic authority problem is not<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="textexposedshow">a rare
condition and it is responsible for much of the scientism and reductionism of
our time. One of the tendencies it supports is the ludicrous overuse of
evolutionary biology to explain everything about life, including everything
about the human mind. Darwin enabled modern secular culture to heave a great
collective sigh of relief, by apparently </span></span><span class="textexposedshow"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif">providing<span style="background: white; color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"> a way to
eliminate purpose, meaning and design as fundamental features of the world.</span></span></span><span style="background-color: white;">”</span><a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Apologetics/The%20Will%20to%20Disbelieve%20-%20Feuerbach,%20Freud,%20and%20Friends%20-%20Blog-formatted.docx#_ftn24" name="_ftnref24" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn24;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[24]<br /></span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6pt;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif">Here, I think, we get to the heart
of the issue. Nagel fears the existence of a “cosmic authority” figure. And he
suspects that many others share this fear. I suspect he’s right. We want what
we want when, where, and how we want it, and we don’t want anyone to tell us, “No,”
least of all someone whose authority is beyond appeal. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif">C.
S. LEWIS<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6pt;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif">In <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Surprised by Joy,</i> C. S. Lewis confessed that this was no small
obstacle that stood in his way to believing in God.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-DBzaLZXhx4fg4fdBZLV_I6VF4KDaptZCpjgmYXMwMMuT4WRxS5Fpw7wkE61LGXAd8NPptzcu67HJcPtqtyTrhMy3Zmc3zHeSJcswmUDavk9I5CJZDvftfGpiuzjCaeBtSBbd1MZ-1YAaxVpbVJwQByKg7kGvPVU7tUXEf5FYvIk2H-uipdXxRxBg/s245/C.%20S.%20Lewis.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="245" data-original-width="181" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-DBzaLZXhx4fg4fdBZLV_I6VF4KDaptZCpjgmYXMwMMuT4WRxS5Fpw7wkE61LGXAd8NPptzcu67HJcPtqtyTrhMy3Zmc3zHeSJcswmUDavk9I5CJZDvftfGpiuzjCaeBtSBbd1MZ-1YAaxVpbVJwQByKg7kGvPVU7tUXEf5FYvIk2H-uipdXxRxBg/w295-h400/C.%20S.%20Lewis.jpg" width="295" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 22.5pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 6pt 22.5pt;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif">What
mattered most of all was my deep-seated hatred of authority, my monstrous
individualism, my lawlessness. No word in my vocabulary expressed deeper hatred
than the word <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Interference.</i> But
Christianity placed at the center what then seemed to me a transcendental
Interferer. If its picture were true then no sort of “treaty with reality”
could ever be possible. There was no region even in the innermost depth of
one’s soul (nay, there lest of all) which one could surround with a barbed wire
fence and guard with a notice No Admittance. And that was what I wanted; some
area, however small, of which I could say to all other beings, “This is my
business and mine only.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6pt;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif">He goes on to say, “I may have been
guilty of wishful thinking. Almost certainly I was. The materialist conception
would not have seemed so immensely probable to me if it had not favored at
least one of my wishes.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Apologetics/The%20Will%20to%20Disbelieve%20-%20Feuerbach,%20Freud,%20and%20Friends%20-%20Blog-formatted.docx#_ftn25" name="_ftnref25" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn25;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[25]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif">WILLING
(or not) TO DO HIS WILL<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6pt;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif">Jesus provides insight into this
phenomenon with a saying recorded in the seventh chapter of John’s Gospel. “My
teaching,” he says, “is not my own, but his who sent me. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">If anyone is willing</i> to do his will, he will know whether the
teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Apologetics/The%20Will%20to%20Disbelieve%20-%20Feuerbach,%20Freud,%20and%20Friends%20-%20Blog-formatted.docx#_ftn26" name="_ftnref26" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn26;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[26]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Here our Lord indicates that willingness or unwillingness to obey God plays a
vital role in faith and unbelief. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6pt;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif">Atheists like to charge Christianity
with being intellectually untenable, absurd on the grounds of reason and logic;
only those who have deeply felt psychological needs believe in him, despite the
irrationality of it. But unbelief is less a matter of the intellect than of the
will and it has its own psychological motives. Resistance to divine authority
is a primal instinct of our fallen nature, despite the “awareness of divinity”
within us and “those insignia [without] whereby he shows his glory to us,
whenever and wherever we cast our gaze.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Apologetics/The%20Will%20to%20Disbelieve%20-%20Feuerbach,%20Freud,%20and%20Friends%20-%20Blog-formatted.docx#_ftn27" name="_ftnref27" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn27;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[27]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Paul speaks of people who know God but who nevertheless “suppress the truth”
about him. They fabricate deities more to their liking (Rom. 1:18-25). Some
prefer to acknowledge no deity whatsoever (Ps. 10:4). Both are foolish
enterprises (Isa. 44:9-20; Ps. 14:1).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6pt;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif">What a puzzle and contradiction man
is, created in the image of God, and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">for </i>God,
but fallen and rebellious and wishing he did not exist.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6pt;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif"><br /></span></p><div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Apologetics/The%20Will%20to%20Disbelieve%20-%20Feuerbach,%20Freud,%20and%20Friends%20-%20Blog-formatted.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;"> See
for example, Gen. 1:26-27; 5:1; 9:6; and Gen. 3; Eccles. 7:29; Romans 5:12<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Apologetics/The%20Will%20to%20Disbelieve%20-%20Feuerbach,%20Freud,%20and%20Friends%20-%20Blog-formatted.docx#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">
John Calvin, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Institutes of the Christian
Religion</i> 1.3.1<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Apologetics/The%20Will%20to%20Disbelieve%20-%20Feuerbach,%20Freud,%20and%20Friends%20-%20Blog-formatted.docx#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">
Ibid<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn4" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Apologetics/The%20Will%20to%20Disbelieve%20-%20Feuerbach,%20Freud,%20and%20Friends%20-%20Blog-formatted.docx#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">
Ibid 1.3.3; see also 1.4.4, “Yet that seed remains which can in no wise be
uprooted: that there is some sort of divinity…a sense of divinity is by nature
engraven on human hearts.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn5" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Apologetics/The%20Will%20to%20Disbelieve%20-%20Feuerbach,%20Freud,%20and%20Friends%20-%20Blog-formatted.docx#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">
Ibid<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn6" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Apologetics/The%20Will%20to%20Disbelieve%20-%20Feuerbach,%20Freud,%20and%20Friends%20-%20Blog-formatted.docx#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;"> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Essence of Christianity</i> (1841) and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Essence of Religion</i> (1846)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn7" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Apologetics/The%20Will%20to%20Disbelieve%20-%20Feuerbach,%20Freud,%20and%20Friends%20-%20Blog-formatted.docx#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[7]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;"> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Essence of Religion</i> (Amherst, NY:
Prometheus Books, 2004), p. 1<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn8" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Apologetics/The%20Will%20to%20Disbelieve%20-%20Feuerbach,%20Freud,%20and%20Friends%20-%20Blog-formatted.docx#_ftnref8" name="_ftn8" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn8;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[8]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;"> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Essence of Christianity, </i>Kindle
Location 114<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn9" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Apologetics/The%20Will%20to%20Disbelieve%20-%20Feuerbach,%20Freud,%20and%20Friends%20-%20Blog-formatted.docx#_ftnref9" name="_ftn9" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn9;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[9]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;"> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Essence of Religion</i>, p. 69 (emphasis
in the original)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn10" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Apologetics/The%20Will%20to%20Disbelieve%20-%20Feuerbach,%20Freud,%20and%20Friends%20-%20Blog-formatted.docx#_ftnref10" name="_ftn10" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn10;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[10]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;"> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Essence of Christianity, </i>Kindle
Location 2615<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn11" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Apologetics/The%20Will%20to%20Disbelieve%20-%20Feuerbach,%20Freud,%20and%20Friends%20-%20Blog-formatted.docx#_ftnref11" name="_ftn11" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn11;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[11]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">
Ibid, Kindle Location 2480<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn12" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Apologetics/The%20Will%20to%20Disbelieve%20-%20Feuerbach,%20Freud,%20and%20Friends%20-%20Blog-formatted.docx#_ftnref12" name="_ftn12" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn12;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[12]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;"> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Essence of Christianity, </i>Kindle
Location 476<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn13" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Apologetics/The%20Will%20to%20Disbelieve%20-%20Feuerbach,%20Freud,%20and%20Friends%20-%20Blog-formatted.docx#_ftnref13" name="_ftn13" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn13;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[13]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;"> The
Essence of Christianity, Kindle Location 806<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn14" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Apologetics/The%20Will%20to%20Disbelieve%20-%20Feuerbach,%20Freud,%20and%20Friends%20-%20Blog-formatted.docx#_ftnref14" name="_ftn14" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn14;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[14]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">
Cyril, Levitt, <u>Sigmund Freud's intensive reading of Ludwig Feuerbach</u>
(2012) <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Psyche</i> 66, pp. 433-455<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn15" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Apologetics/The%20Will%20to%20Disbelieve%20-%20Feuerbach,%20Freud,%20and%20Friends%20-%20Blog-formatted.docx#_ftnref15" name="_ftn15" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn15;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[15]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">
Sigmund Freud, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Future of an Illusion</i>
(1927), Kindle Locations 522-524<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn16" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Apologetics/The%20Will%20to%20Disbelieve%20-%20Feuerbach,%20Freud,%20and%20Friends%20-%20Blog-formatted.docx#_ftnref16" name="_ftn16" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn16;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[16]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">
Ibid, Kindle Locations 524-526<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn17" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Apologetics/The%20Will%20to%20Disbelieve%20-%20Feuerbach,%20Freud,%20and%20Friends%20-%20Blog-formatted.docx#_ftnref17" name="_ftn17" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn17;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[17]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">
Ibid, Kindle Locations 526-528<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn18" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Apologetics/The%20Will%20to%20Disbelieve%20-%20Feuerbach,%20Freud,%20and%20Friends%20-%20Blog-formatted.docx#_ftnref18" name="_ftn18" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn18;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[18]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">
Ibid, Kindle Location 529<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn19" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Apologetics/The%20Will%20to%20Disbelieve%20-%20Feuerbach,%20Freud,%20and%20Friends%20-%20Blog-formatted.docx#_ftnref19" name="_ftn19" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn19;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[19]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;"> For
example, “Whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life
for my sake will find it (Matt. 16:25)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn20" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Apologetics/The%20Will%20to%20Disbelieve%20-%20Feuerbach,%20Freud,%20and%20Friends%20-%20Blog-formatted.docx#_ftnref20" name="_ftn20" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn20;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[20]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;"> Not
to mention projecting their habit of projection onto believers!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn21" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Apologetics/The%20Will%20to%20Disbelieve%20-%20Feuerbach,%20Freud,%20and%20Friends%20-%20Blog-formatted.docx#_ftnref21" name="_ftn21" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn21;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[21]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;"> Friedrich
Nietzsche, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Beyond Good and Evil</i>
(Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 1997), p. 4<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn22" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 0.25in;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Apologetics/The%20Will%20to%20Disbelieve%20-%20Feuerbach,%20Freud,%20and%20Friends%20-%20Blog-formatted.docx#_ftnref22" name="_ftn22" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn22;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[22]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;"> Aldous
Huxley, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ends and Means: An Inquiry into
the Nature of Ideals</i> (New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers, 2012), pp.
312, 315<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn23" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Apologetics/The%20Will%20to%20Disbelieve%20-%20Feuerbach,%20Freud,%20and%20Friends%20-%20Blog-formatted.docx#_ftnref23" name="_ftn23" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn23;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[23]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;"> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ends and Means</i>, p. 316, 317<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn24" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Apologetics/The%20Will%20to%20Disbelieve%20-%20Feuerbach,%20Freud,%20and%20Friends%20-%20Blog-formatted.docx#_ftnref24" name="_ftn24" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn24;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[24]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">
Thomas Nagel, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Last Word</i> (Oxford
University Press, 1997), pp. 130-131<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn25" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Apologetics/The%20Will%20to%20Disbelieve%20-%20Feuerbach,%20Freud,%20and%20Friends%20-%20Blog-formatted.docx#_ftnref25" name="_ftn25" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn25;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[25]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;"> C.
S. Lewis, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Surprised by Joy: The Shape of
My Early Life</i> (New York, NY:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 2012), p. 172<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn26" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Apologetics/The%20Will%20to%20Disbelieve%20-%20Feuerbach,%20Freud,%20and%20Friends%20-%20Blog-formatted.docx#_ftnref26" name="_ftn26" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn26;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[26]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">
John 7:16b-17 (my translation)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn27" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Apologetics/The%20Will%20to%20Disbelieve%20-%20Feuerbach,%20Freud,%20and%20Friends%20-%20Blog-formatted.docx#_ftnref27" name="_ftn27" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn27;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[27]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">
Calvin, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Institutes of the Christian
Religion,</i> 1.5.1<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn28" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Apologetics/The%20Will%20to%20Disbelieve%20-%20Feuerbach,%20Freud,%20and%20Friends%20-%20Blog-formatted.docx#_ftnref28" name="_ftn28" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn28;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[28]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">
Thomas Nagel, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Last Word</i>, p. 131<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
</div><br /><p></p>Doug Enickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15521382555614587285noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6504425930185898579.post-18570783058612615192022-09-19T11:06:00.004-05:002022-09-19T13:51:22.901-05:00Encourage One Another<p style="text-align: left;"></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 150%;">Love bears
all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 150%;">1 Corinthians
13:7<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 150%;">I have long had a great appreciation
for a relatively obscure New Testament figure named Barnabas. His original name
was Joseph, but when he came to believe in Jesus, the apostles called him
Barnabas, meaning “son of encouragement” (Acts 4:36). Later passages suggest
why.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeqTiWmrv4UIyfmzxnV_8jZ_4v8LkHsxJArbY11W3SdvIUKPoes8fCNEJXFdEaNqKKC8Hu3maXhTWDXOznni6mCDCBlb8SRmqvMqmlSBWTLLlP7qqKaOFsWU_cJd-Xh_ESEVJ7j6A7LqIWRW8hu4gOk3UttYRpYCIchHFiP0c2tWX6XYXQnZYTsu3s/s509/Encouragement.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="339" data-original-width="509" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeqTiWmrv4UIyfmzxnV_8jZ_4v8LkHsxJArbY11W3SdvIUKPoes8fCNEJXFdEaNqKKC8Hu3maXhTWDXOznni6mCDCBlb8SRmqvMqmlSBWTLLlP7qqKaOFsWU_cJd-Xh_ESEVJ7j6A7LqIWRW8hu4gOk3UttYRpYCIchHFiP0c2tWX6XYXQnZYTsu3s/w320-h213/Encouragement.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 150%;">After Saul of Tarsus, a Pharisee and
notorious persecutor, was confronted by the Lord on the road to Damascus, he
attempted to join the disciples in Jerusalem, but they were afraid of him. They
didn’t believe he had become a disciple of Jesus. They thought he was
perpetrating a ruse intended to trap them. “<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles and declared to
them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who spoke to him, and how at
Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus” </span>(Acts 9:27). Barnabas
had either been approached by Saul or had been told that Saul was trying to
make contact with the church, and so sought him out. In either case, he was willing
to believe the best about him when everyone else was suspicious. However it
happened, it speaks well of him, and shows that he was aptly named the “son of
encouragement.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 150%;">Later, after the two men had labored
together in the gospel, they had a falling out over John Mark. Paul said, “Let
us return and visit the brothers in every city where we proclaimed the word of
the Lord and see how they are.” Barnabas was all for it, and also all for
taking Mark with them. But Paul objected because Mark had deserted them during their
previous missionary journey. They disagreed so strongly that they “separated
from each other” (Acts 15:39). Paul chose Silas to accompany him, and Barnabas ended
up taking Mark. Apparently, he saw something in Mark that Paul didn’t see, and he
encouraged him by giving him a second chance. Mark ended up proving himself worthy of
a second chance. So much so, that many years later, Paul wrote to Timothy, “Get
Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry” (2 Tim.
4:11). How much of that usefulness for ministry was nurtured because of the
encouragement of Barnabas in giving him a second chance, and the further
encouragement he gave all along the way? People tend to flourish through
encouragement and wither under criticism.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 150%;">He also proved to be instrumental in the incorporation of the Gentiles into the church, warmly welcoming and encouraging them, when it was not yet widely understood or appreciated that this had always been God's design (Acts 11:19-26). </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 150%;">We should make it a habit to look for
the best in people, to hope for the best, to believe the best...and to <i>verbalize</i> it. In a world of
critics, cynics, and naysayers, dare to be a Barnabas. Encourage your husband,
your wife, your children, your friends. Don’t be quick to judge or find fault. Don't be quick to say, </span><span style="font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 16.6667px;">“</span><span style="font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 12.5pt;">You can't do it,</span><span style="font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 16.6667px;">”</span><span style="font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 12.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 16.6667px;">“</span><span style="font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 12.5pt;">You're not good enough,</span><span style="font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 16.6667px;">” </span><span style="font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 16.6667px;">“</span><span style="font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 16.6667px;">It's too hard for you,</span><span style="font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 16.6667px;">”</span><span style="font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 16.6667px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 16.6667px;">“</span><span style="font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 12.5pt;">It'll never happen.</span><span style="font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 16.6667px;">”</span><span style="font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 12.5pt;"> Look instead to encourage, reassure, strengthen, and inspire. </span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 150%;">“Encourage
one another and build one another up.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 150%;">1
Thessalonians 5:11</span></p><p></p>Doug Enickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15521382555614587285noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6504425930185898579.post-5600267342320385172022-08-04T14:23:00.009-05:002022-08-04T14:42:06.623-05:00On Being a Slave of Christ<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 160%; margin-bottom: 12pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: large; line-height: 160%;">We
often overlook important truths when reading the opening and closing statements
of Paul’s letters thinking, perhaps, they contain only customary formalities
without much in the way of edifying content. But we would be mistaken to think this. The opening line of his letter to the Romans is a case in point. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 160%; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: large; line-height: 160%;"><b>“Paul,
a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of
God...”</b><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 160%; margin-bottom: 12pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: large; line-height: 160%;">Romans 1:1<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 160%; margin-bottom: 6pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: large; line-height: 160%;">Here
Paul asserts three things about himself: (1) that he is <i>a servant of
Christ Jesus,</i> (2) that he is <i>called to be an apostle,</i> and (3) that
he had been <i>set apart for the gospel of God. </i>Each of these tells us a
great deal about him that is vital for us to know.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU-HueJV78bS9igXha8Q2m41hWmS9aDUPwPMJkxFrHL1XXaJu3dbMd3j3pug1JPSSGC3dcMSJAN3DoDT8MumMs7y_cWaJPIrz42kkAmwkAjyGfIJxo6bmeyh95CiABiofmiMW0outqmv3jSgxIeRMMcn-FI8kzH7wCBRvyhpstNT8onxE9CQAj3LSO/s1500/Paul%20writing.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1500" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU-HueJV78bS9igXha8Q2m41hWmS9aDUPwPMJkxFrHL1XXaJu3dbMd3j3pug1JPSSGC3dcMSJAN3DoDT8MumMs7y_cWaJPIrz42kkAmwkAjyGfIJxo6bmeyh95CiABiofmiMW0outqmv3jSgxIeRMMcn-FI8kzH7wCBRvyhpstNT8onxE9CQAj3LSO/w400-h266/Paul%20writing.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 160%; margin-bottom: 6pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: large; line-height: 160%;">First,
he was “a servant of Christ Jesus.” The Greek word (<i>doulos</i>) is variously
translated in the ESV as “servant” (most often), “bondservant,” or “slave.” It
refers to someone who is under another person’s authority. It is used both
literally and figuratively in Scripture, of both voluntary and involuntary
service. It is used most often in its literal sense, of a slave who is owned by
a master and thus thoroughly at his disposal. <i>This was Paul’s
self-understanding</i>. He was a slave of Christ Jesus. This was not something
he viewed negatively, however. On the contrary, he saw it as a high and noble
calling. “This phrase,” Luther writes, “expresses both modesty and majesty.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Paul,%20a%20Slave%20of%20Christ%20Jesus.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> He was right. It expresses
modesty in that he did not claim more for himself than what he was, only a
slave; but it expresses majesty in that he was a slave of such a one as the
Lord Jesus Christ. As a slave, he was not his own; as a slave of Christ,
he possessed all things.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 160%; margin-bottom: 6pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: large; line-height: 160%;">We
can learn an important lesson here. Though we are not all apostles, as Paul
was, we are all slaves of Jesus Christ. “You are not your own, for you were
bought with a price” (1 Cor. 6:19b-20a). We are under the command of an
absolute Lord. Yet this is not at all troublesome. If we had a harsh master who
was difficult to please, it would be; but “Christ’s service is more noble than
any freedom.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Paul,%20a%20Slave%20of%20Christ%20Jesus.docx#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> Paul uses the title “slave of Christ Jesus”
as a title of dignity. It is a great honor to be the slave of a great master. Our
service, like Paul’s, is one of loving submission (<i>cf.</i> Ex. 21:5-7).<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 160%; margin-bottom: 6pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: large; line-height: 160%;">Second,
Paul says he was “called to be an apostle.” This was the specific nature of his
service as a slave of Christ Jesus. The term “apostle” refers to someone who
has been commissioned to act as a messenger, delegate, or envoy, and is
authorized to speak and act on behalf of the one who sent him. As the term
“slave” signifies Paul’s submission to Christ, the term “apostle” signifies his
authority in the church. “It was his office which gave him the right to address
the believers at Rome, and elsewhere, with that tone of authority which
pervades all his epistles.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Paul,%20a%20Slave%20of%20Christ%20Jesus.docx#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 160%; margin-bottom: 6pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: large; line-height: 160%;">Paul
makes clear that he was <i>called</i> to
this office. He was neither appointed to it by men (Gal. 1:1, 11-12), nor did
he presume to take the office to himself. Rather he was appointed to it by
Jesus Christ himself (Acts 26:16-18; cf. 1 Tim. 1:1; 2:7; 2 Tim. <st1:time hour="13" minute="11" w:st="on">1:11</st1:time>).<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 160%; margin-bottom: 6pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: large; line-height: 160%;">Paul’s
calling as an apostle assures us of the obligation we are under to pay heed to
his teaching. His words are not merely his own, but those of his master (1 Cor.
<st1:time hour="14" minute="37" w:st="on">14:37</st1:time>-38; 1 Thess. 2:13). When
we receive his words, we receive the words of Christ himself; if we reject his
words, we reject the word of Christ. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 160%; margin-bottom: 6pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: large;"><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="line-height: 160%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Third, Paul was “set apart for the gospel of God.” </span><span face=""Open Sans",sans-serif" style="line-height: 160%;">Different
slaves are assigned different tasks. Paul’s task was to be about the business
of preaching the gospel. Like Moses, who was “instructed in all the wisdom of
the Egyptians…and was mighty in words and deeds” (Acts <st1:time hour="19" minute="22" w:st="on">7:22</st1:time>), Paul was a learned man, well acquainted
with the traditions of the elders (Gal. <st1:time hour="13" minute="14" w:st="on">1:14</st1:time>),
as well as the wisdom and learning of the Greeks (Acts <st1:time hour="17" minute="28" w:st="on">17:28</st1:time>; Tit. <st1:time hour="13" minute="12" w:st="on">1:12</st1:time>). He could easily have spoken about many things. Still,
he determined to speak of nothing else than the “gospel of God” (cf. 1 Cor.
2:2). He was set apart for this very thing before he was even born (Gal. <st1:time hour="13" minute="15" w:st="on">1:15</st1:time>; <i>cf.</i> Jer. 1:5). In time, while he was still a “blasphemer and
persecutor and insolent opponent” of Christ (1 Tim. <st1:time hour="13" minute="13" w:st="on">1:13</st1:time>), he was called by him to carry his name
“before Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel” (Acts <st1:time hour="9" minute="15" w:st="on">9:15</st1:time>; see also 13:2). He laid all his
considerable learning in tribute at the feet of Jesus Christ.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 160%; margin-bottom: 6pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: large; line-height: 160%;">In
the same way, we must lay our all before him: our time, talents, energy,
resources, and even our very lives. We are not all apostles, as Paul was, but
we are all called to serve Christ as our gifts and circumstances enable us, and
to do so with all our strength. The mechanic, the banker, the farmer, the
doctor, the oil-field worker, the soft-ware designer, and the
stay-at-home-mother all serve him as honorably as an apostle, if they fulfill
their callings for the sake of his glory.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 160%; margin-bottom: 6pt; text-align: justify;">
</p><div><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: large;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><br clear="all" />
</span><hr size="1" style="text-align: left;" width="33%" />
<span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: large;"><!--[endif]-->
</span><div id="ftn1">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: 160%; margin-bottom: 3pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: large;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Paul,%20a%20Slave%20of%20Christ%20Jesus.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> Martin Luther, <i>Commentary on Romans</i>, translated by J. Theodore Mueller, (Grand
Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1954), p. 31<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn2">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: 160%; margin-bottom: 3pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: large;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Paul,%20a%20Slave%20of%20Christ%20Jesus.docx#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> Origen<i> , Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, New Testament</i>, edited
by Gerald Bray, general editor, Thomas C. Oden (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity
Press, 1998), p. 3<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn3">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: 160%; margin-bottom: 3pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans; font-size: large;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Paul,%20a%20Slave%20of%20Christ%20Jesus.docx#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> Charles Hodge, <i>Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans</i> (Grand Rapids, MI: William
B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, [1864] 1994), p. 14</span><span face="Open Sans, sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
</div><div><div id="ftn3">
</div>
</div><div><div id="ftn3">
</div>
</div><div style="mso-element: footnote-list;"><div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
</div>
</div>Doug Enickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15521382555614587285noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6504425930185898579.post-22177887331216286442022-05-19T18:25:00.001-05:002022-05-19T18:28:26.202-05:00Issues in Bible Prophecy (3): The Abomination of Desolation and the Great Tribulation<p><span face=""Trebuchet MS", sans-serif" style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Introduction</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;">This is the
third in a series of posts dealing with Bible prophecy from a preterist perspective.
This perspective understands most of Bible prophecy—including the two major
prophecies of the New Testament: the Olivet Discourse and the book of
Revelation—as already fulfilled. Most prophecy teachers regard these passages
as relating to events that lie in our future rather than to events in our past.
But there are many good reasons to regard these prophecies as foretelling certain
events that occurred in the first century, namely the fall of Jerusalem to the
Romans and the persecution of the church under Nero.</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;">The most
convincing reason for taking a preterist view of these prophecies is the fact
that they indicate that they would be fulfilled soon after they were given. Jesus
said, for instance, in the Olivet Discourse, “This generation will not pass
away until all these things take place” (Matt. 24:34). In Revelation, we read of
“things that must soon take place” (1:1). Soon, that is, from the perspective of
those who to whom it was first written. A blessing is pronounced on those who
keep what is written in the book, “for the time is near” (1:3). Again, this
means near from the perspective of those to whom it was first written.</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;">For my two
previous posts in this series, see <a href="https://dougenick.blogspot.com/2022/05/issues-in-bible-prophecy.html">here</a>
and <a href="https://dougenick.blogspot.com/2022/05/issues-in-bible-prophecy-2-gospel.html">here</a>.
In this post, we’ll look at two more elements of the Olivet Discourse: the
abomination of desolation and the great tribulation.</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face=""Trebuchet MS",sans-serif" style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;">The
Abomination of Desolation<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;">In Matthew
24:15, Jesus says, “When you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the
prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then
let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains...”</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;">What is the
meaning of this strange phrase? As Jesus indicated, the prophet Daniel had
previously used it (see Dan. <st1:time hour="9" minute="27" w:st="on">9:27</st1:time>;
<st1:time hour="11" minute="31" w:st="on">11:31</st1:time>; <st1:time hour="12" minute="11" w:st="on">12:11</st1:time>). If we are to understand what
Jesus meant by it, we must understand what Daniel meant. But let’s first
examine the terms themselves.</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;">What is an
Abomination?<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;">An
“abomination” is something loathsome, detestable or revolting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are many things that God declares to be
an abomination to him; for instance: various kinds of sexual perversion (Lev.
18:6-30; Deut. 22:5; 23:18); the use of unjust weights and measures (Deut.
25:13-16; Prov. 11:1); the crooked man (Prov. 3:32); the perverse in heart
(Prov. 11:20); one who sheds innocent blood, commits adultery, oppresses the
poor and needy, commits robbery, does not restore a pledge, lends money to the
poor on interest (Ezek. 18:10-13); etc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;">The most
common use of the word “abomination,” however, is in connection with the sin of
<i>idolatry</i>. The idol itself was frequently referred to as an
abomination:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Cursed be the man who
makes a carved or cast metal image, <i>an abomination</i> to the L<span style="font-variant: small-caps;">ord</span>, a thing made by the hands of a
craftsman” (Deut. 27:15).<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Bible%20Prophecy/Issues%20in%20Bible%20Prophecy%203%20-%20The%20Olivet%20Discourse.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><sup><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[1]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></span></sup></a>
“…Astoreth <i>the abomination</i> of the Sidonians, and…Chemosh <i>the
abomination</i> of Moab, and…Milcom<i> the abomination</i> of the sons of Ammon…”
(2 Kings 23:13).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;">Consequently,
when the Israelites took possession of the Promised Land, they were commanded
to destroy all the idols of Canaanite. Even the materials the idols were made
of, including the gold and silver, were put under the ban (Deut. 7:25). This
suggests that “abomination of desolation” must have something to do with idolatry.
But if so, what does the additional word “desolation” signify?</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;">What is Desolation?<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;">Desolation
simply means <i>devastation</i> or <i>destruction.</i> The “abomination of
desolation,” then, must refer to some destruction or devastation brought about
by, or in some way connected to, idolatry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;">That this is
the correct interpretation is made clear, I think, by the fact that this is
just how the Jews themselves interpreted the words of Daniel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In First and Second Maccabees, we are given
important information about a critical period in Jewish history. The books
record how Antiochus Epiphanes (who ruled Syria from 174 to 164 <span style="font-variant: small-caps;">bc</span>) plundered the temple and massacred
the people. He required all the people under his domain to “be one people, and
every one should leave his [own] laws.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The Jews, therefore, were forbidden to sacrifice, to keep their holy
days, and to circumcise their sons (1 Mac. <st1:time hour="13" minute="29" w:st="on">1:29</st1:time>-53).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
dedicated the temple of God to Jupiter Olympius and “the temple was filled with
riot and revelling by the Gentiles, who dallied with harlots, and had to do
with women within the circuit of the holy places” (2 Mac. 6:2-4). His
oppression and religious persecution of the Jews culminated when, “they set up
the <i>abomination of desolation</i> upon the altar...[and] on the five and
twentieth day of the month they did sacrifice upon the idol altar, which was
upon the altar of God” (1 Mac. 1:54, 59).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;">Those who
refused the idolatrous worship and continued in their practice of the Jewish
faith were killed, taken captive, or fled to the mountains for their lives.
Later, when the Jews, led by Judas Maccabee, defeated the armies of Antiochus
and repossessed the temple, it says, “they saw the sanctuary <i>desolate</i>,
and the altar profaned, and gates burned up, and shrubs growing in the courts
as in a forest, or in one of the mountains, yea, and the priests’ chambers
pulled down” (1 Mac. 4:38).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They then
cleansed the sanctuary and pulled down the “<i>abomination,</i>” i.e., the idol
(1 Mac. <st1:time hour="16" minute="41" w:st="on">4:41</st1:time>-59;
6:7).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;">These
passages help us understand the meaning of Daniel’s “abomination of
desolation.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They show that the Jews
clearly understood the phrase as indicating some great destruction associated
with the practice of idolatry.<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Bible%20Prophecy/Issues%20in%20Bible%20Prophecy%203%20-%20The%20Olivet%20Discourse.docx#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><sup><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[2]</span></sup></span></sup></a></span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;">Did anything
like this occur in connection with the events of <span style="font-variant: small-caps;">ad</span> 70? Yes. There was great desolation brought upon
Jerusalem by the Roman armies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The city
and temple were utterly destroyed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Josephus expresses the desolation of the city in these words:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;">Caesar<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Bible%20Prophecy/Issues%20in%20Bible%20Prophecy%203%20-%20The%20Olivet%20Discourse.docx#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><sup><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[3]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></span></sup></a>
gave orders that they should now demolish the entire city and temple, but
should leave as many of the towers standing as were of the greatest
eminency...and so much of the wall as enclosed the city on the west side.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This wall was spared in order to afford a
camp for such as were to lie in garrison; as were the towers also spared, in
order to demonstrate to posterity what kind of city it was, and how well
fortified, which the Roman valor had subdued; <i>but for all the rest of the
wall, it was so thoroughly laid even with the ground by those that dug it up to
the foundation, that there was left nothing to make those that came thither
believe it had ever been inhabited.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
was the end which Jerusalem came to...</i></span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;">Furthermore,
this desolation was brought about by the pagan Roman armies who “were notorious
for the idolatrous images affixed to their ensigns [military standards], which
were set in the ground at night and accorded worship.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Bible%20Prophecy/Issues%20in%20Bible%20Prophecy%203%20-%20The%20Olivet%20Discourse.docx#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><sup><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[4]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></span></sup></a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As Tertullian put it, “The camp religion of
the Romans is all through a worship of the standards, a setting the standards
above all gods.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Bible%20Prophecy/Issues%20in%20Bible%20Prophecy%203%20-%20The%20Olivet%20Discourse.docx#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><sup><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[5]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></span></sup></a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Each Roman legion had an eagle
standard...and each cohort had its own individualized standard....The latter
bore the name of the commander or emperor and images of the emperor, deities,
and/or zodiac symbols.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Bible%20Prophecy/Issues%20in%20Bible%20Prophecy%203%20-%20The%20Olivet%20Discourse.docx#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><sup><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[6]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></span></sup></a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These idolatrous standards were regarded as
an abomination by the Jews. Josephus records three incidents that demonstrate
their utter abhorrence of the presence of these idolatrous standards in the Holy
Land.<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Bible%20Prophecy/Issues%20in%20Bible%20Prophecy%203%20-%20The%20Olivet%20Discourse.docx#_ftn7" name="_ftnref7" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7;" title=""><sup><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[7]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></span></sup></a>
It is remarkable just how accommodating to the Jews the Romans were in this
matter. In fact, “because of the Roman military’s ‘cult of the standard,’ from
republican times Jews were exempted from military service.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Bible%20Prophecy/Issues%20in%20Bible%20Prophecy%203%20-%20The%20Olivet%20Discourse.docx#_ftn8" name="_ftnref8" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn8;" title=""><sup><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[8]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></span></sup></a> In
fact, the Jews were accorded many privileges that the Romans did not grant to
any other people under their rule. Because of this, if the Roman standards were
brought into Judea, and near to Jerusalem, it would be a sign that the Jews had
fallen out of favor with the Romans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
would indicate Roman hostility and serve as a sign that the desolation of
Jerusalem was near.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was the very
thing Jesus was warning the disciples about.</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;">That this is
the meaning of “the abomination of desolation” is clear when we compare Luke’s
account. Where Matthew has:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“When you
see <i>the abomination of desolation</i> spoken of by the prophet Daniel,
standing in the holy place...” (Matt. 24:15; cf. Mk. <st1:time hour="13" minute="14" w:st="on">13:14</st1:time>), Luke has, “When you see <i>Jerusalem
surrounded by armies</i>, then know that her desolation has come near” (Lk. <st1:time hour="21" minute="20" w:st="on">21:20</st1:time>). These passages are exactly
parallel as the context shows, and so refer to the same event. Luke appears to
have paraphrased Jesus’ statement for the Gentile reader unfamiliar with the
peculiarity of this Jewish expression.</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghq1egROxgyGYlS33dpqpyVFhF6YUIyWUUIFw9ocTWTFUV-nfhZyql0J3V3W-cfYMoWGgFBO5eUUofSv2VWi6OkrJSBGnrSrzVk6ChUR-dVrphXjHB6O-ZjECJvUylwjWhY3bvsJZ-W4yBarDiLkaIcdqdLyLYwpawL-ClzES6svCDdIawSBRiyEto/s736/Roman%20Standard.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="736" data-original-width="503" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghq1egROxgyGYlS33dpqpyVFhF6YUIyWUUIFw9ocTWTFUV-nfhZyql0J3V3W-cfYMoWGgFBO5eUUofSv2VWi6OkrJSBGnrSrzVk6ChUR-dVrphXjHB6O-ZjECJvUylwjWhY3bvsJZ-W4yBarDiLkaIcdqdLyLYwpawL-ClzES6svCDdIawSBRiyEto/w137-h200/Roman%20Standard.jpg" width="137" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;">The apostles
were to understand the abomination of desolation as the Roman armies making
their approach to Jerusalem with their idolatrous standards, contrary to
agreement. Josephus tells us what the Romans did when they completed their
conquest: “And now the Romans...brought their ensigns [standards] to the
temple, and set them over against its eastern gate; and there did they <i>offer
sacrifices to them</i>.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Bible%20Prophecy/Issues%20in%20Bible%20Prophecy%203%20-%20The%20Olivet%20Discourse.docx#_ftn9" name="_ftnref9" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn9;" title=""><sup><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[9]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></span></sup></a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;">So there you
have it: the worship of idols taking place on the very site of the temple,
idols worshiped by the soldiers who destroyed the city. This was the
“abomination of desolation.”</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face=""Trebuchet MS",sans-serif" style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;">Great
Tribulation<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;">One of the most
prominent features of popular futurist eschatology is “the great tribulation”
(Matt. 24:21).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is commonly thought
to be the final (usually seven) years before the Second Coming of Christ.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The world, it is said, will be ruled for at
least a part of that time by the Antichrist who will inaugurate a reign of
terror and ruthlessly persecute faithful Jews and Christians.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, Jesus clearly stated, “<i>this
generation</i> [i.e., <i>his</i> generation] will not pass away until all these
things take place” (Matt. 24:34; Mk. <st1:time hour="13" minute="30" w:st="on">13:30</st1:time>;
Lk. <st1:time hour="21" minute="32" w:st="on">21:32</st1:time>). Whatever Jesus
meant by a time of “great tribulation,” then, must have already happened. He
must have been referring to the fall of Jerusalem in <span style="font-variant: small-caps;">ad</span> 70, with all the attending miseries suffered by the Jews.</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;">The very
verse itself suggests that what Jesus had in mind was <i>not</i> an event or
series of events associated with the end of all things because Jesus said,
“there will be a great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of
the world until now, <i>nor ever shall</i>.” What use is there in comparing the
sufferings of the great tribulation with other sufferings to follow, if there
were to be, in fact, no other sufferings to follow?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course, there would be no greater
tribulation afterward if there was to be no more tribulation at all!</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;">The fact of
the matter is that this statement is a figure of speech known as <i>hyperbole,</i>
an overstatement for dramatic effect. There are a number of similar statements elsewhere
in Scripture. For example, in view of the coming destruction of Jerusalem and
the Babylonian captivity six-hundred years before Christ, the prophet Ezekiel
said,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“And because of all your
abominations I will do with you <i>what I have never yet done, and the like of
which I will never do again</i>” (Ezek. 5:9). This is strikingly similar to
Jesus’ words in the Olivet Discourse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And the fact that this verse refers to a <i>different</i> event than the
one spoken of by Jesus forces us to conclude either that the Bible contradicts
itself, or the language used here is not to be interpreted literally but is to
be understood as a rhetorical device. Jeremiah also prophesied of the
Babylonian invasion in similar terms (Jer. 30:7). The prophet Joel also
described a day of judgment in similar words (Joel 2:2). These are not the only
places in Scripture where such language is used.<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Bible%20Prophecy/Issues%20in%20Bible%20Prophecy%203%20-%20The%20Olivet%20Discourse.docx#_ftn10" name="_ftnref10" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn10;" title=""><sup><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[10]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></span></sup></a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a very common and well understood manner
of speaking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;">The
Greatness of the Tribulation<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;">In saying
that Jesus’ statement was a rhetorical device, or a figure of speech, does not
detract in the least from the magnitude and the horror of the event.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Josephus informs us that the number of those
who perished in the siege of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Jerusalem</st1:place></st1:city>
was 1,100,000.<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Bible%20Prophecy/Issues%20in%20Bible%20Prophecy%203%20-%20The%20Olivet%20Discourse.docx#_ftn11" name="_ftnref11" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn11;" title=""><sup><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[11]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></span></sup></a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And this doesn’t include all those who died
during the war prior to the siege. Putting all the figures together, Josephus
estimates the number to have been over 1.3 million dead.<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Bible%20Prophecy/Issues%20in%20Bible%20Prophecy%203%20-%20The%20Olivet%20Discourse.docx#_ftn12" name="_ftnref12" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn12;" title=""><sup><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><sup><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[12]</span></sup><!--[endif]--></span></sup></a>
Nearly 100,000 more were led away as captives. It was undoubtedly a time of
“great tribulation.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></p>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: 0.25in;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Bible%20Prophecy/Issues%20in%20Bible%20Prophecy%203%20-%20The%20Olivet%20Discourse.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;"> See also
Deut. 29:17; 32:16; 2 Ki. 16:3; 21:2; 21:2, 11; 23:24; 2 Ch. 28:3; 33:2; Isa.
41:24; 44:19; Jer. 2:7; 7:10; 16:18; 32:35; Ezek. 5:11; 6:9; 7:20; 8:6-17;
11:18, 21; 14:6; 18:12; Mal. 2:11 and cf. 1 Ki. 11:5, 7.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: 0.25in;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Bible%20Prophecy/Issues%20in%20Bible%20Prophecy%203%20-%20The%20Olivet%20Discourse.docx#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;"> Whether
they applied it to the right historical event is another question.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is sufficient for our purpose to show that
this is how the phrase was used and understood by the Jews.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It seems that the “abomination of desolation”
mentioned in Dan. <st1:time hour="11" minute="31" w:st="on">11:31</st1:time>
and <st1:time hour="12" minute="11" w:st="on">12:11</st1:time> refer to the
doings of Antiochus Epiphanes, and that of Dan. 9:27 refers to the destruction
of Jerusalem by the Romans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Josephus
seems to make a similar distinction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
wrote, “...there should arise a certain king that should overcome our nation
and their laws, and should take away our political government, and should spoil
the temple, and forbid the sacrifices to be offred for three years’ time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And indeed it so came to pass, that our
nation suffered these things under Antiochus Epiphanes, according to Daniel’s
vision, and what he wrote many years before they came to pass.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i>In the very same manner Daniel also wrote
concerning the Roman government, and that our country should be made desolate
by them</i>.” (Josephus, <i>Antiquities</i> 10:11:7)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: 0.25in;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Bible%20Prophecy/Issues%20in%20Bible%20Prophecy%203%20-%20The%20Olivet%20Discourse.docx#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;"> That is,
Titus, the Roman general in charge of suppressing the Jewish rebellion, here
proleptically called “Caesar.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Titus was
emperor from A.D. 79-81.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn4" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: 0.25in;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Bible%20Prophecy/Issues%20in%20Bible%20Prophecy%203%20-%20The%20Olivet%20Discourse.docx#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;"> G. R.
Beasley-Murray, <i>The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology</i>,
vol. 1, p. 75.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn5" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: 0.25in;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Bible%20Prophecy/Issues%20in%20Bible%20Prophecy%203%20-%20The%20Olivet%20Discourse.docx#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;"> <i>Apology</i>,
chap. 16, <i>Ante-Nicene Fathers</i>, vol. 3, p. 31.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn6" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: 0.25in;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Bible%20Prophecy/Issues%20in%20Bible%20Prophecy%203%20-%20The%20Olivet%20Discourse.docx#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;"> K. C.
Hanson, <i>The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia</i>, vol. 4, pp. 610,
611.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn7" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: 0.25in;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Bible%20Prophecy/Issues%20in%20Bible%20Prophecy%203%20-%20The%20Olivet%20Discourse.docx#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[7]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;"> <i>Antiquities,
</i>18:3:1; 18:5:3; <i>Wars</i>, 6:6:1<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn8" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: 0.25in;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Bible%20Prophecy/Issues%20in%20Bible%20Prophecy%203%20-%20The%20Olivet%20Discourse.docx#_ftnref8" name="_ftn8" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn8;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[8]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;"> K. C.
Hanson, <i>International Standard Bible Encyclopedia</i>, vol. 4, p. 611.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn9" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: 0.25in;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Bible%20Prophecy/Issues%20in%20Bible%20Prophecy%203%20-%20The%20Olivet%20Discourse.docx#_ftnref9" name="_ftn9" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn9;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[9]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;"> <i>Wars</i>,
6:6:1<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn10" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: 115%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Bible%20Prophecy/Issues%20in%20Bible%20Prophecy%203%20-%20The%20Olivet%20Discourse.docx#_ftnref10" name="_ftn10" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn10;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[10]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>See also Ex. <st1:time hour="10" minute="14" w:st="on">10:14</st1:time>; 11:6; Dan. <st1:time hour="9" minute="12" w:st="on">9:12</st1:time>;
and in the Apocrypha, 1 Mac. <st1:time hour="9" minute="27" w:st="on">9:27</st1:time>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn11" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: 0.25in;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Bible%20Prophecy/Issues%20in%20Bible%20Prophecy%203%20-%20The%20Olivet%20Discourse.docx#_ftnref11" name="_ftn11" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn11;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[11]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;"> <i>Wars</i>,
6:9:3<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn12" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: 0.25in;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Bible%20Prophecy/Issues%20in%20Bible%20Prophecy%203%20-%20The%20Olivet%20Discourse.docx#_ftnref12" name="_ftn12" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn12;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[12]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;"> <i>The
Works of Josephus:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>New Updated Edition,
Complete and Unabridged in One Volume</i>, p. 749.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
</div>Doug Enickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15521382555614587285noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6504425930185898579.post-61412627113936749502022-05-18T17:24:00.000-05:002022-05-18T17:24:01.735-05:00Issues in Bible Prophecy (2): The Gospel Proclaimed to All Nations, the End, and The Coming of the Son of Man <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;">Introduction<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;">In my last <a href="http://dougenick.blogspot.com/2022/05/issues-in-bible-prophecy.html">post</a>,
I introduced the subject of Bible prophecy by emphasizing two critically important
aspects of it: timing and historical
context.</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;">With regard
to timing, we said that if we want to understand the prophecies of the Bible
correctly, we must pay close attention to time indicators or time texts. Often,
the prophecies of the Bible contain information concerning <i>when</i> the
prophecy in question will be fulfilled. Some are very specific: within a year (Isa.
21:16), a little more than a year (Isa. 32:10), in three years (Isa. 16:14), in
40 years (Ezek. 29:11, 13), in 65 years (Isa. 7:8), in 70 years (Jer. 25:11).</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;">There are
also prophecies with time indicators that are less specific: “in just a little
while” (Hos. 1:4); “before your eyes and in your days” (Jer. 16:9), “the days
are near,” “In your days” (Ezek. 12:23, 25). These refer to prophesied events
that were to take place soon after the prophecies were given.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;">If we should
take any of these prophecies and say that we should look for them to be
fulfilled in our day, then we wouldn’t be handling the text very well. The same
is true with the prophecies of the New Testament that have clear
time-indicators. The prophecies we have in mind from the New Testament are the
Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24 and the book of Revelation. Many people simply
ignore the time indicators. In the Olivet Discourse, the time text is Matthew
24:34, “This generation will not pass away until all these things take place.”
A generation in Scripture is 40 years. So all of these things that Jesus just
mentioned must have already been fulfilled. They must have been fulfilled by <span style="font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">ad</span> 70. That was the year the Romans
destroyed the city and the holy temple. That that was the very thing Jesus
spoke about in Matthew 24:1-2. No doubt stunned by this statement, the
disciples asked, “When will these things be?”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;">This view of
the passage is called the <i>preterist</i> view. The word “preterist” has to do
with grammar, with the tense of a verb. It refers to an action that has already
happened in the past. The preterist view of prophecy is just the opposite to
the futurist view, which refers to an approach that looks for a fulfillment of
the prophecy in our future.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;">We are all
preterists with respect to certain prophecies and futurists with respect to
others. For example, we are all preterists with respect to Isaiah 7:14, “The
virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” This
has already been fulfilled. So has Isaiah 53, the prophecy of the Suffering
Servant, “Surely he has born our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we
esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted,” etc. And we are all
futurists with respect to the prophecies that foretell the resurrection and the
final judgment. Keeping in mind the time-texts (in those prophecies that have
them) and the historical context goes a long way to help us determine the
difference.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;">The time
text of the Olivet Discourse, “This generation will not pass away until all
things take place” (v. 34), together with a knowledge of the history of the
first century, provides us with convincing evidence that the prophecy has
already been fulfilled.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;">Even as I
say this, I’m sure that many elements of the prophecy have come to your mind
that lead you to think the prophecy must relate to the future, like what Jesus
says in Matthew 24:14, “This gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed
throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will
come.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;">The Gospel
Proclaimed throughout the Whole World<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;">It may come
as a surprise to learn that this portion of the text has already been fulfilled,
and an even greater surprise to learn that it was not fulfilled only recently,
but nearly twenty centuries ago. We have no less an authority for this than the
word of God itself. In his letter to the church at Colossae, Paul made this
remarkable statement, <span style="color: #3333ff;">“Of this you have heard
before in the word of the truth, the gospel, which has come to you, as indeed <u>in
the whole world</u> it is bearing fruit and increasing”</span> (Col. 1:5-6). A
little after, in the same chapter, he spoke of <span style="color: #3333ff;">“the
gospel that you have heard, which <u>was proclaimed in all creation under
heaven</u>”</span> (v. 23). </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;">We find the
same testimony in his greeting to the Christians of Rome. He wrote, <span style="color: #3333ff;">“I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because
your faith is being <u>proclaimed throughout the whole world</u>”</span> (Rom.
1:8; cf. <st1:time hour="10" minute="18" w:st="on">10:18</st1:time>; <st1:time hour="16" minute="26" w:st="on">16:26</st1:time>).</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;">We must be
careful to understand the words of Scripture as the Biblical characters
themselves used them. The question is not, “How do we understand such language
today but, “How was such language used and understood in the first
century?” </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;">An interesting
passage in this respect is Luke 2:1, <span style="color: #3333ff;">“In those days
a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that <u>all the world</u> should be
registered.”</span> Did Augustus take a census of the Chinese? The Native
Americans? The Aborigines of Australia? The obvious meaning is that he took a
census of those who lived <i>within the</i> <i>Roman Empire</i>. The fact is, the
Roman Empire <i>was</i> “the world” for those who lived within its borders. This
is not to say that they were unaware of the world beyond the borders of the
Empire. They surely were. But the empire was for all practical purposes the whole
world to them.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;">All that was
necessary, therefore, for the fulfillment of Christ’s prediction was that the
gospel be preached throughout the Roman Empire. Paul claimed that this was done
in his day.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;">The End<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;">Matthew
24:14 also speaks of “the end.” “And this gospel of the kingdom will be
proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then
the end shall come.” The end of <i>what?</i> The end of Jerusalem. There is a
biblical precedent for speaking this way, for speaking of the fall of Jerusalem
as “the end.” This is just the language used by Ezekiel to speak of the fall of
the holy city to the Babylonians 600 years earlier:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;">And
you, O son of man, thus says the Lord G<span style="font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">od</span>
to the land of Israel: An end! The end has come upon the four corners of the
land. Now the end is upon you, and I will send my anger upon you; I will judge
you according to your ways, and I will punish you for all your abominations...
An end has come; the end has come... (Ezek. 7:2-3, 6)</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;">The Collapse
of the Universe<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;">Another
element of the Olivet Discourse that causes some people to hesitate to accept a
preterist interpretation is the cosmic language used in Matt. 24:29.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;">Immediately
after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will
not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the
heavens will be shaken.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;">This sounds
like the collapse of the universe, a cosmic cataclysm. But the same language
was used in the Old Testament to describe other judgments of God in history. In
fact, a collapsing universe is one of the most frequently used biblical images
of judgment. Consider, for example, the words of the prophet Jeremiah.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;"><br /></span></p><div style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;">The
concerning Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw...<br /></span><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;">Wail,
for the day of the L<span style="font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">ord</span> is near;<br /></span><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;"> As destruction from the Almighty it will
come! ...<br /></span><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;">Behold,
the day of the L<span style="font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">ord</span> comes,<br /></span><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;"> Cruel, with wrath and fierce anger,<br /></span><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;">to
make the land a desolation<br /></span><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;"> and to destroy its sinners from it.<br /></span><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><u>For
the stars of the heavens and their constellations</u><br /></span><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;"> <u>Will not give their light;<br /><o:p></o:p></u></span><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><u>the
sun will be dark at its rising,</u><br /></span><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;"> <u>and the moon will not shed its light</u>...<br /></span><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;">Behold,
I am stirring up the Medes against them...<br /></span><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;">(Isaiah
13:1, 6, 9-10, 17)</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;">The prophecy
refers to the fall of Babylon to the Medes and the Persians in 539 <span style="font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">bc</span>. It’s a prophecy of judgment that
took place almost 2,600 years ago, yet it speaks of its fall in the same cosmic
language. For other examples, see Isaiah 34:4-5; Ezek. 32:7-8; Amos 8:9; Mic. 3:6;
etc.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;">The Coming
of the Son of Man<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;">Another
element of the Olivet Discourse that gives some people pause in accepting the
preterist interpretation (the view that it has already been fulfilled), is what
Jesus says in Matthew 24:30, <span style="color: #3333ff;">“they will see the Son
of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” </span>This is probably the primary reason
why the Olivet Discourse has been so widely interpreted as referring to the
Second Coming rather than to the destruction of Jerusalem <span style="font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">ad</span> 70. Before we jump to that
conclusion, however, we should consider what he says in Matthew 16:27-28,<span style="color: #3333ff;"> </span></span><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 18px;">“</span><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%;">The
Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and
then he will repay each person according to what he has done."</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk_-B8wXvNC8UgmrYh-G835ke1f20w48_DWWe0G_auwZ_pQZEILNhx3VGIiClEqUZitSSwsSCQAPwneRTgwRc4w9Opj4Vp5Nedfzi8LGhdVPFcUeUiyjEdZgsqBSTtxrY4260AKbSa7ZaXbp01-oM3t2d4fBkpPkvn-BeEu9kdX54iwh7uRtAYC2cK/s480/Coming%20of%20the%20Son%20of%20Man.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk_-B8wXvNC8UgmrYh-G835ke1f20w48_DWWe0G_auwZ_pQZEILNhx3VGIiClEqUZitSSwsSCQAPwneRTgwRc4w9Opj4Vp5Nedfzi8LGhdVPFcUeUiyjEdZgsqBSTtxrY4260AKbSa7ZaXbp01-oM3t2d4fBkpPkvn-BeEu9kdX54iwh7uRtAYC2cK/w320-h320/Coming%20of%20the%20Son%20of%20Man.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%;">Surely,
this must refer to the second coming, right? The Son of Man coming in the glory
of the Father with his holy angels dispensing judgment? But let’s read on. In
the very next verse he says, <span style="color: #3333ff;">“Truly, I say to you, <u>there
are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man
coming in his kingdom</u>.”</span></span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;">Here is a
reference to “the coming of the Son of Man” which clearly cannot be understood
of a still future event. There is an unmistakable time qualification attached
to it. The Son of Man would come before all the apostles would “taste
death.” Surely it is unnecessary to ask
whether any of the twelve are still living?
There must, then, have been some event within the lifetime of at least
some of the apostles to that Jesus was referring to. Some say it was the
transfiguration in the next chapter (Matt. 17:1-8). Others have suggested the
Day of Pentecost with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-4). But
neither of these two suggestions seems adequate. Neither was a judgment event. The
only event that fits the expression and falls within the parameters of time
indicated, is the destruction of Jerusalem in </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 18px; font-variant-caps: small-caps;">ad</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> 70.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;">In terms of
our present discussion, however, it matters very little whether one interprets
Jesus’ statement in this passage as referring to the Transfiguration, the
outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, or the destruction of Jerusalem. The
point is, Matthew 16:27-28 proves that the expression, “the coming of the Son
of Man,” does not necessarily refer to the coming of Christ at the close of
human history. In this passage, in fact, it <i>cannot</i> refer to it, for the
“coming” was to happen before all the apostles should “taste death.” Therefore, by analogy, the fact that Jesus
refers to the coming of the Son of Man in the Olivet Discourse cannot be
offered as proof that the prophecy <i>must</i> refer to the end of time. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;">Another
thing to consider is the fact that the “coming” of God in salvation/judgment,
like many of the other expressions in the Olivet Discourse, is common in the
Old Testament to speak of historical judgments. The prophet Isaiah announced
judgment upon Egypt in terms strikingly similar to what we find in Jesus’
prophecy.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;"> </span></p><div style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;">Behold,
the L<span style="font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">ord</span> is <u>riding on a swift
cloud<br /></u></span><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;"> <u>and
comes to Egypt</u>;<br /></span><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;"> and the idols of Egypt will tremble at his
<u>presence<br /></u></span><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;">(Isaiah
19:1)</span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;">Doesn’t this
sound like Jesus “coming on the clouds” in the Olivet Discourse? The fact is,
the Bible is full of references to the “coming” of God in salvation and/or
judgment (Isa. 31:4; 35:4; 40:9-10; 26:21; 59:19; Mic. 1:3; see also Ps. 18:4-9).</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;">Conclusion<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;">In my next
post, we’ll look at two more elements of the Olivet Discourse:
the abomination of desolation and the great tribulation.</span></p><div style="mso-element: footnote-list;"><div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
</div>
</div>Doug Enickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15521382555614587285noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6504425930185898579.post-53315253545014331762022-05-03T10:26:00.003-05:002022-05-18T14:36:50.990-05:00Issues in Bible Prophecy: Timing and Historical Context<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 135%; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans";"><b><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans";">Introduction</span></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 135%; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans";">This is the first in a series of posts on
Bible prophecy. In particular, prophecies that are widely thought to refer to the last days (or the end times). In this first post, we’ll consider two
issues that are closely related to each other. These are timing and historical
context.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 135%; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans";">Timing</span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM2xEWRtU7VjAZZbPNuXzdg146E5Nz_NHF9NCOzkBSBHTpj9ctPIisIqMO7DMPLcwFApUvquTk9xa3ST1V44gXlNS75axaHp0S5UYdSMb1X0ECJhCSRc3qjQNe4LXbpovr-1ly5jFtskfKoC0sDJT4fqzZoPgwwTjt9FHuFQG6abo9W2oPMbySajgQ/s400/Hour%20glass.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="300" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM2xEWRtU7VjAZZbPNuXzdg146E5Nz_NHF9NCOzkBSBHTpj9ctPIisIqMO7DMPLcwFApUvquTk9xa3ST1V44gXlNS75axaHp0S5UYdSMb1X0ECJhCSRc3qjQNe4LXbpovr-1ly5jFtskfKoC0sDJT4fqzZoPgwwTjt9FHuFQG6abo9W2oPMbySajgQ/w150-h200/Hour%20glass.jpg" width="150" /></span></a></b></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 135%; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans";">If we want to understand the prophecies of
the Bible correctly, we must pay close attention to the “time texts.” The
prophecies of the Bible often contain information indicating when the prophecy
in question will be fulfilled. They don’t always do this, of course. For
instance, the famous prophecy of Micah concerning the birth of Messiah:<o:p></o:p></span></p><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span face="Candara, sans-serif">But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, </span><br /><span face="Candara, sans-serif"> </span><span face="Candara, sans-serif">who
are too little to be among the clans of Judah,</span><br /><span face="Candara, sans-serif">from you shall come forth for me</span><br /><span face="Candara, sans-serif"> </span><span face="Candara, sans-serif">one
who is to be ruler in Israel,</span><br /><span face="Candara, sans-serif">whose coming forth is from of old,</span><br /><span face="Candara, sans-serif"> </span><span face="Candara, sans-serif">from
ancient days.</span><br /></span><div style="line-height: 135%; text-align: left;"><span face=""Candara",sans-serif" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans";"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span><span> (</span></span>Micah
5:2)</span></div></span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 135%; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span face="Candara, sans-serif">There is no indication in the verse itself,
or in the surrounding context as to when the prophecy was to be fulfilled.
Similarly, with that striking prophecy of Isaiah 53, concerning the suffering
servant who would bear the iniquity of us all. And there are many other
prophecies that give us no discernable indication as to when they would be
fulfilled. But there are many others that </span><i>do</i><span face="Candara, sans-serif"> give us an indication. Here
are some examples:</span></span></p><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span face="Candara, sans-serif">For the head of Syria is Damascus,</span><br /><span face="Candara, sans-serif"> </span><span face="Candara, sans-serif">and
head of Damascus is Rezin.</span><br /><span face="Candara, sans-serif">And within </span><u>sixty-five years</u><br /><span face="Candara, sans-serif"> </span><span face="Candara, sans-serif">Ephraim
will be shattered from being a people.</span><br /></span><div style="line-height: 135%; text-align: left;"><span face=""Candara",sans-serif" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans";"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span><span> </span>(</span>Isaiah
7:8)</span></span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 135%; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span face="Candara, sans-serif">But now the Lord has spoken, saying, “</span><u>In
three years</u><span face="Candara, sans-serif">, like the years of a hired worker, the glory of Moab will be
brought into contempt, in spite of all his great multitude, and those who
remain will be very few and feeble.” Isaiah 16:14</span><span face="Candara, sans-serif"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 135%; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span face=""Candara",sans-serif" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans";">For thus the Lord said to me, “<u>Within a
year</u>, according to the years of a hired worker, all the glory of Kedar will
come to an end.” (</span><span face="Candara, sans-serif">Isaiah
21:16)</span></span></p><div><span face="Candara, sans-serif"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><u>In little more than a year</u> </span></span></div><div><span face="Candara, sans-serif"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span> </span><span>You will shudder, you complacent women</span></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><span face="Candara, sans-serif">For the grape harvest fails,</span><br /><span face="Candara, sans-serif"> </span><span face="Candara, sans-serif">the
fruit harvest will not come.</span><br /><span face="Candara, sans-serif"> </span><span face="Candara, sans-serif"> (</span><span face="Candara, sans-serif">Isaiah
32:10)</span></span><br /><span face="Candara, sans-serif" style="color: #073763;"> </span><br /><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><span face="Candara, sans-serif">This whole land shall become a ruin and a
waste, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon <u>seventy years</u>.
Then after seventy years are completed, I will punish the king of Babylon and
that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity, declares the L<span style="font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">ord </span></span><span face="Candara, sans-serif">(Jeremiah
25:11)</span><br /><span face="Candara, sans-serif"> </span><br /></span></span><div style="line-height: 135%; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span face=""Candara",sans-serif" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans";"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">No foot of man shall pass through it, and no
foot of beast shall pass through it; it shall be uninhabited <u>for forty years</u>...
At the end of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the peoples among
whom they were scattered. (</span></span><span face=""Candara",sans-serif" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans";"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Ezekiel
29:11, 13)</span><a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Bible%20Prophecy/Issues%20in%20Bible%20Prophecy%201%20-%20Timing%20and%20Historical%20Context.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%;">[1]</span></span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a></span></span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 135%; text-align: left;"><span face=""Candara",sans-serif" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans";"><a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Bible%20Prophecy/Issues%20in%20Bible%20Prophecy%201%20-%20Timing%20and%20Historical%20Context.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><!--[endif]--></span></a></span></p></blockquote><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 135%; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">These all give very specific time frames:
within a year, in a little more than a year, in three years, 40 years, 65
years, 70 years. Other prophecies have time indicator statements, but not with
a specified number of years. For instance:</span></p><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><u><span face=""Candara",sans-serif" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans";">In just a little while</span></u><span face="Candara, sans-serif"> I
will punish the house of Jehu for the blood of Jezreel, and I will put an end
to the kingdom of Israel. (</span><span face="Candara, sans-serif">Hosea
1:4)</span></span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /><span face="Candara, sans-serif">For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of
Israel: Behold, I will silence in this place, </span><u>before your eyes and in your
days</u><span face="Candara, sans-serif">, the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the
bridegroom and the voice of the bride. (</span><span face="Candara, sans-serif">Jeremiah
16:9)</span><br /></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 135%; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><u><span face=""Candara",sans-serif" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans";">The days are near</span></u><span face="Candara, sans-serif">... I
will speak the word that I will speak, and it will be performed. It will no
longer be delayed, but <u>in your days</u>, O rebellious house, I will speak
the word and perform it, declares the Lord God.” (</span><span face="Candara, sans-serif">Ezekiel
12:23, 25)</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 135%; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">If we were to disregard the time element in
any of these prophecies, we would not be interpreting them properly. If we were
to look for a fulfillment in our day of this prophecy of Ezekiel 12 (given in
the 590s BC), then we would not be interpreting the passage correctly because
it says that it would be fulfilled in the days of those who first heard Ezekiel
deliver it.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 135%; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span face="Candara, sans-serif">It seems too obvious to mention that we should
pay close attention to the time-indicators in prophecy. So why </span><i>do</i><span face="Candara, sans-serif"> I
mention it? Because the time-indicators in many prophecies, especially those in
the major prophecies of the New Testament —the Olivet Discourse and the book of
Revelation—are often ignored.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 135%; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans";">The Olivet Discourse</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 135%; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans";">The Olivet Discourse is found in Matthew 24
(with parallels in Mark 16 and Luke 21). Jesus had been with his disciples in
the temple. The disciples were impressed by its architectural splendor. They
came “to point out to him the buildings of the temple” (v. 2). In Mark, it says
they came to him and said, “Look, Teacher, what wonderful stones and what
wonderful buildings!” (Mk. 13:1) But Jesus said, “You see all these things, do
you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon
another that will not be thrown down” (Matt. 24:2). This piqued their curiosity,
and so they asked him, “When will these things be, and what will be the sign of
your coming and of the end of the age?” (v. 3). <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 135%; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">This is when he goes on to talk about wars
and rumors of wars and kingdom rising against kingdom and famines and
earthquakes in various places, false Christs arising, persecution, the
abomination of desolation, the coming of the Son of Man, the sun going dark,
the moon not giving its light—all these fearful things. And then he says in
verse 34, “Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these
things take place.” This is a time-indicator, a time text. It’s the equivalent of
those time texts mentioned above from the Old Testament, saying “in your days”
these things will happen.</span></p><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span face="Candara, sans-serif">I will silence in this place, </span><u>before your
eyes and in your days</u><span face="Candara, sans-serif">, the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the
voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride (Jer. 16:9)</span><br /></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 135%; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span face="Candara, sans-serif">...</span><u>in your days</u><span face="Candara, sans-serif">, O rebellious house, I
will speak the word and perform it, declares the Lord GOD.” (Ezek. 12:25)</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 135%; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">“In your days.” This is essentially what
Jesus was telling the disciples when he said, “This generation will not pass
away until all these things take place.” A generation in the Bible is 40 years
(cf. Heb. 3:9-10). Everything Jesus spoke of in Matthew 24 must have happened
in that generation—in the 40 years from 30-70 AD.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 135%; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans";">Revelation</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 135%; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans";">We find similar time texts in the book of Revelation:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 135%; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span face="Candara, sans-serif">The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God
gave him to show to his servants the things that must </span><u>soon take place</u><span face="Candara, sans-serif">. (Rev. 1:1)</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 135%; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">How can we reconcile this statement with an
interpretive approach that says the events have still not taken place almost
2,000 years later? And there’s more. Consider what it says in verse 3.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 135%; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span face="Candara, sans-serif">Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words
of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written
in it, </span><u>for the time is near</u><span face="Candara, sans-serif">. (Revelation 1:3)</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 135%; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">What does “near” mean? Can it mean nearly
2,000 years or more? We get a clear idea of what it means when we compare
Scripture with Scripture. Recall the passage from Ezekiel cited above:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 135%; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><u><span face=""Candara",sans-serif" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans";">The days are near</span></u><span face="Candara, sans-serif">... I
will speak the word that I will speak, and it will be performed. It will no
longer be delayed, but <u>in your days</u>, O rebellious house, I will speak
the word and perform it, declares the Lord God.” (</span><span face="Candara, sans-serif">Ezekiel
12:23, 25)</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 135%; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">In verse 23, he says, “the days are near.” He
defines what he means by “near” in verse 25 when he says, “in your days.” A
little later, in verse 27, he specifically denies that “near” means “many days
from now” or “times far off.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 135%; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">The natural way to understand the saying “the
time is near” in Revelation 1:3, is to take it as referring to the generation
of those who living when Revelation was first written. If “near” in Ezekiel
means “in your days,” why wouldn’t it mean the same thing in Revelation?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 135%; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">There are several other passages in
Revelation that show the same urgency, the same “nearness” of the events
prophesied. Among the most prominent are these: 22:6, 7, 10, 12, 20.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 135%; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans";">Historical Context</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 135%; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium; mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans";">The second crucial element to grasp in interpreting
Bible prophecy is historical context. In this regard, we need to know that
there were two extraordinary events taking place almost simultaneously as the
generation that Jesus was talking about came to a close: Nero’s persecution and
the Jewish revolt that led to the destruction of Jerusalem.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 135%; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Nero began his brutal persecution of
Christians in late November of 64 AD and it continued until his suicide in
early June of 68 (forty-two months; three-and-a- half years; a time, times, and
half a time; 1260 days).</span></p><div style="line-height: 135%; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span face="Candara, sans-serif">The Jewish Revolt began in 66 AD and lasted
until the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the holy temple in 70.</span><span face="Candara, sans-serif"> Again, in round numbers three-and-a-half
years.</span></span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 135%; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span face="Candara, sans-serif">In future posts we’ll examine how all the
events prophesied in Matthew 24 and (almost) all of the events prophesied in
the book of Revelation have to do with events that unfolded in the first
century. This interpretation of these passages has a long and venerable history.
Unfortunately, it has been largely forgotten in the last 150 years. I am happy
to say, however, that it’s making a significant a comeback.</span><span face="Candara, sans-serif"> </span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;">
</p><p style="height: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br clear="all" /></span></p><hr size="1" style="text-align: left;" width="33%" /><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->
<!--[endif]-->
</span><div id="ftn1">
<div style="line-height: 135%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Bible%20Prophecy/Issues%20in%20Bible%20Prophecy%201%20-%20Timing%20and%20Historical%20Context.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Candara",sans-serif"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span face=""Candara",sans-serif"> </span><span face=""Candara",sans-serif" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Open Sans";">See also Isaiah 23:15, 17; 38:5; Jer.
28:15-16; Dan. 9:24<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
</div><div style="mso-element: footnote-list;"><div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
</div>
</div><br /></div>Doug Enickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15521382555614587285noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6504425930185898579.post-21193799025676653152022-03-08T09:23:00.002-06:002022-03-08T09:31:19.708-06:00Reflections on the Sin of Korah<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj0xmBz8XOHFjm1W9RIN8ketDdlMrQRdsbz6d2016wxBZWpHmFFWtQrRmhdd4vPG9rB4F-pCKf5I9LvRn8I4Q40tLY1mvzEpvDZhMR3SlzLSfDQSULdlx7487dOXokJoe5ulxjPkDBgPAP8P59fC13NfkzBrNjssRLnKnejUcC3FALAKlTH4plmQ58i=s1084" style="background-color: white; clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="770" data-original-width="1084" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj0xmBz8XOHFjm1W9RIN8ketDdlMrQRdsbz6d2016wxBZWpHmFFWtQrRmhdd4vPG9rB4F-pCKf5I9LvRn8I4Q40tLY1mvzEpvDZhMR3SlzLSfDQSULdlx7487dOXokJoe5ulxjPkDBgPAP8P59fC13NfkzBrNjssRLnKnejUcC3FALAKlTH4plmQ58i=w400-h284" width="400" /></span></a><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px;">In Numbers 16 we read about a man by the name of Korah, who along with some men from the tribe of Reuben, accused Moses of exalting himself in Israel. “They assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron and said to them, ‘You have gone too far! For all in the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the L</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 24px;">ord</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px;"> is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the L</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 24px;">ord</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px;">?” (16:3) It adds an interesting twist to the story when we realize that this Korah was Moses’ cousin. Their fathers were brothers. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjkry8dqQgxZ0RekPzWzzC4_dOBo1Xrz8Sk8MNo02CKld4AFy9J6H3K3g8QHt9M8Ur4cVhIwJGzBs45c9ygSpnEM992F3GfgJxc0XswEL8O5X9e15_Z4iXYid_YNuMoBePog7CqHcXWJQ-M5_et3RrZb2rFYGzP6W7EDW9Mb9KmjKKhFzArmJEN7V02=s762" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="498" data-original-width="762" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjkry8dqQgxZ0RekPzWzzC4_dOBo1Xrz8Sk8MNo02CKld4AFy9J6H3K3g8QHt9M8Ur4cVhIwJGzBs45c9ygSpnEM992F3GfgJxc0XswEL8O5X9e15_Z4iXYid_YNuMoBePog7CqHcXWJQ-M5_et3RrZb2rFYGzP6W7EDW9Mb9KmjKKhFzArmJEN7V02=s320" width="320" /></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: medium; line-height: 24px;">The charge that Korah brought against Moses and Aaron had to do with the greater access to God they enjoyed with respect to officiating in the tabernacle. Only they and Aaron’s sons were allowed to serve as priests. Because of this Korah accused them of “exalting themselves above the assembly of the L<span style="font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">ord</span>,” claiming that “all in the congregation are holy, every one of them.” Psalm 106 says, “Men in the camp were jealous of Moses and Aaron, the holy one of the L<span style="font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">ord</span>” (Psalm 106:16).<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: medium; line-height: 24px;">Two things might be said in response to this. First, Korah overlooked the fact that this prerogative was not something that Moses and Aaron claimed for themselves on their own initiative, but something that was given to them by God. As the writer of Hebrews says, “No one takes this honor [of the priesthood] for himself, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was” (Heb. 5:4). The priesthood was a divine arrangement. Therefore, in finding fault with Moses about this, Korah was finding fault with God.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: medium; line-height: 24px;">Second, Korah himself enjoyed a highly privileged position. Not only was he from the tribe of Levi, thus possessing the right to share in the privileges of that tribe’s unique calling (Num. 1:50-54; 18:1-7, 21-32), but he was also from the clan of Kohath, and as such had greater access to God than the two other clans of Levi (Gershon and Merari). The clan of Kohath had been given the great honor of caring for the holiest items of the tabernacle in Israel’s march through the wilderness (3:31-32; 4:4-20; cf. 7:9). Korah, in fact, had everything but the priesthood. But this was not enough for him. As long as there was <i>something</i> to be had that was off limits to him, he would not be satisfied, especially if someone else was given access to it. Korah challenged Moses on the point of fairness. “It’s not fair that you have something I don’t have!” He was true egalitarian.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: medium; line-height: 24px;">Dathan and Abriam, the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, joined Korah in his rebellion. They were from the tribe of Reuben (16:1). Reuben camped to the south of the sanctuary, the same side as Korah and the Kohathites (cf. 2:10-11; 3:29). Thus, Korah and his associates and the men of Reuben would have had “ample opportunity to commiserate” with each other in their grievances against Moses.<a href="file:///C:/Users/Doug/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%2012.01.14/Bible%20Studies,%20Books%20of%20the%20Bible/4%20Numbers/Book%20of%20Numbers%20-%20Chap.%2018.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 18.4px;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: medium; line-height: 24px;">The men of Reuben may have had an additional objection to the ordering of Israelite society. They may have objected to the fact that their tribe had not been given the traditional right of the firstborn (Gen. 49:3-4).<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: medium; line-height: 24px;">Moses, however, upheld God’s right to appoint whomever he pleased to the priestly office, and likewise to deny that honor to whomever he pleased.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 24px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: medium; line-height: 24px;">When Moses heard it, he fell on his face, and he said to Korah and all his company, “In the morning the L<span style="font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">ord</span> will show who is his, and who is holy, and will bring him near to him. The one whom he chooses he will bring near to him… You have gone too far, sons of Levi!” (16:4, 7)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: medium; line-height: 24px;">Moses turns the charge around. It was not <i>he</i> who had gone too far, but Korah.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 24px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 27pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: medium; line-height: 24px;">Hear now, you sons of Levi: is it too small a thing for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself, to do service in the tabernacle of the L<span style="font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">ord</span> and stand before the congregation to minister to them, and that he has brought you near him and all your brothers the sons of Levi with you? And would you seek the priesthood also? (vv. 8-10)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: medium; line-height: 24px;">Korah was ungrateful for the high honor the Lord had been pleased to confer upon him. He considered it “too small a thing” and grasped for more than what God was pleased to give.<a href="file:///C:/Users/Doug/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%2012.01.14/Bible%20Studies,%20Books%20of%20the%20Bible/4%20Numbers/Book%20of%20Numbers%20-%20Chap.%2018.docx#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 18.4px;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> This is very instructive. It could be said to be the essence of all sin. Consider Adam and Eve. They had been blessed beyond measure: created in the image of God, called into his fellowship, enjoying the delights of Paradise. One thing only was prohibited to them—eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They could eat from all the other trees in the garden except from it. <i>And this is where the devil focused his attention</i>. He aroused their discontent so that they overstepped their bounds and reached for a position which God had denied to them. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: medium; line-height: 24px;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: medium; line-height: 24px;">This was the great sin of the king of Babylon, too, who said, “I will ascend to heaven; I will sit on the mount of the assembly in the far reaches of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High” (Isa. 14:12-14).<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: medium; line-height: 24px;">Jealousy is an insidious evil which can manifest itself both personally and politically. (Think Socialism/Marxism/Progressivism). Envy of the success or privilege of others is base, although it has the advantage of appearing virtuous when indulged in in the name of fairness or equality.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: medium; line-height: 24px;">We should do our best, with God’s help, to cultivate a spirit of thankfulness and contentment for all the good we enjoy, even if it is not as abundant as we might wish (Phil. 4:12) or as abundant as what others enjoy. Rather than being jealous of their good fortune, we should rejoice with them in it (Rom. 12:15). Not everyone is called to be rich. Not everyone is called to positions of great influence. God distributes his gifts as he sees fit (1 Cor. 12:4-6). <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 24px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: medium; line-height: 24px;">For not from the east or from the west<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 24px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: medium; line-height: 24px;"> and not from the wilderness comes lifting up,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 24px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: medium; line-height: 24px;">but it is God who executes judgment,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 24px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: medium; line-height: 24px;"> putting down one and lifting up another (Ps. 75:6-7)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; line-height: 24px;">This is not an excuse for passivity but rather a call to beware of envy and to seek contentment in God’s providence.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px;"> </span></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><br clear="all" /></span><hr size="1" width="33%" /><span style="font-size: medium;"><!--[endif]--></span><div id="ftn1"><div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: 18.4px; text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Doug/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%2012.01.14/Bible%20Studies,%20Books%20of%20the%20Bible/4%20Numbers/Book%20of%20Numbers%20-%20Chap.%2018.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 15.3333px;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"> Timothy R. Ashley, <i>The Book of Numbers</i> in NICOT (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1993), p. 303<o:p></o:p></span></span></div></div><div id="ftn2"><div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: 18.4px; text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Doug/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%2012.01.14/Bible%20Studies,%20Books%20of%20the%20Bible/4%20Numbers/Book%20of%20Numbers%20-%20Chap.%2018.docx#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 15.3333px;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"> Later Uzziah would fall into the same transgression. Though he had the great honor of being king, he was discontent that he did not also possess the priesthood and suffered the terrible consequences of his envy (2 Chron. 26:16-21).</span></span></div></div></div>Doug Enickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15521382555614587285noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6504425930185898579.post-17944391586451569762021-12-17T11:46:00.003-06:002021-12-17T11:46:32.995-06:00The Lord will Give to Him the Throne of His Father David<div style="text-align: left;"><div style="line-height: 135%; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 135%;">The
Annunciation</span></div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 135%;"><span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 135%;">The holy angel who appeared
to Mary told her that the Son she was privileged to bear would be great and
would be called the Son of the Most High. And he added, “The Lord God will give
to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of
Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end” (Lk. 1:32-33). </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 135%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 135%;">Jesus,
Son of David</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 135%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 135%;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhnQqFREWfvAlXxWGOvgN58Nf0OxX7kz3ICCzXCiHgvkxKEQJ8MwEU2buDH7b5WnIdgd6ZwGBLmEbn3pKYsaJs4ChqFtXjIPshHx9Z3CU4YjosIgL8qoqsL7fx6cKqMYJrkex_YjmC0gXEz9EpNr013bKfQ8I7YAMc7P-cf8XqWOAioe_bHmGJqoCK2=s1500" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1204" data-original-width="1500" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhnQqFREWfvAlXxWGOvgN58Nf0OxX7kz3ICCzXCiHgvkxKEQJ8MwEU2buDH7b5WnIdgd6ZwGBLmEbn3pKYsaJs4ChqFtXjIPshHx9Z3CU4YjosIgL8qoqsL7fx6cKqMYJrkex_YjmC0gXEz9EpNr013bKfQ8I7YAMc7P-cf8XqWOAioe_bHmGJqoCK2=s320" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 135%;">That Jesus was descended
from David is a point that is frequently emphasized in Scripture and seems to
have been widely known, or at least widely suspected by his contemporaries.
Some in his day had no hesitation in hailing him as “the Son of David.” Matthew
tells us that on one occasion, “two blind men followed him, crying aloud, ‘Have
mercy on us, Son of David’” (Matt. 9:27). Even a Canaanite woman, a Gentile,
“came out and was crying, ‘Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David’” (Matt.
15:22). The crowd that accompanied him during his Triumphal Entry shouted,
“Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
(Matt. 21:9). Others, apparently not yet convinced, at least wondered as they
saw his miracles. “Can this be the Son of David?” they asked (Matt. 12:23).
Here they mean not just any son of David, but <i>the</i> Son of
David, the Messiah. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> <br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 135%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 135%;">God’s
Promises to David</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 135%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 135%;"><span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 135%;">It was believed, and
rightly so, that Messiah would come from the line of David. The genesis of this
belief is found in the promise the Lord made to David in 2 Samuel 7:1-17. David
wished to build the Lord a “house,” that is, a <i>temple.</i> It was
not right, he thought, that he should dwell in a royal palace while the ark of
God dwelled in a tent. However, the Lord told him through the prophet Nathan
that he was not the man to build him a house. And in a striking turn, the
prophet said, “Moreover, the L<span style="font-variant: small-caps;">ord</span> declares
to you that the L<span style="font-variant: small-caps;">ord</span> will
make you a house.” Did you catch it? David wished to make a <i>house</i> (a
temple) for the Lord, but the Lord said, “No, I will make <i>you</i> a
house.” Although it’s the same word in Hebrew, the context makes clear that in
this instance it means <i>dynasty</i>. We often speak of the members of a
royal family as belonging to a particular “house.” Queen Elizabeth
II, for instance, is a member of the House of Windsor. The Lord promised to
make David an enduring dynasty. “Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure
forever before me” (2 Sam. 7:16). This promise was celebrated by the Psalmist
Ethan. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></p>
</div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="line-height: 135%; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 135%;">You have said, “I have
made a covenant with my chosen one; <br /></span><span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"> I have
sworn to David my servant:<br /></span><span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">‘</span><span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">I will establish your
offspring forever, <br /></span><span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"> and
build your throne for all generations.’” </span></div></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="line-height: 135%; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"> - Psalm
89:3-4</span></div></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: left;">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 135%;"><span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 135%;"> Although many of the
kings descending from David proved to be unfaithful, and the Lord severely
disciplined them “with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men,” he
never allowed his steadfast love to depart from David’s house as he had taken
it away from Saul. Instead, he preserved the line of David through the
Babylonian captivity, through the time of the Persian Empire, through the
period of Greek domination, and through the time of the Roman conquest and
occupation of Judea. He preserved the line, even though no one from David’s
house ruled as king for 600 years, from the time Jerusalem fell to the
Babylonians to Jesus’ day. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 135%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 135%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 135%;">The House
of David in Prophecy</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 135%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 135%;"><span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 135%;">Nevertheless, God had
promised to restore the throne of David, and to do so in the person of Israel’s
Messiah. Isaiah, for example, envisioned a time when the line of David,
previously like a fruitful tree, would be reduced to nothing more than a stump.
“Even so,” he says, </span></p></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="line-height: 135%; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">There shall come forth a
shoot from the stump of Jesse, </span></div></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="line-height: 135%; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"> and a branch from his roots
shall bear fruit. </span></div></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="line-height: 135%; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">And the Spirit of the L</span><span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">ord</span><span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"> shall rest upon him, </span></div></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="line-height: 135%; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"> the Spirit of wisdom and
understanding, </span></div></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="line-height: 135%; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">the Spirit of counsel and
might, </span></div></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="line-height: 135%; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"> the Spirit of knowledge and
the fear of the L</span><span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">ord</span><span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">. </span></div></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="line-height: 135%; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"> - </span><span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">Isaiah 11:1-2</span></div></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="line-height: 135%; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 135%;"><br /></span></div><div style="line-height: 135%; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">Jeremiah also spoke of
this.</span></div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 135%; margin-left: .25in;"><span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 135%;">Behold, the days are coming, declares the L<span style="font-variant: small-caps;">ord</span>, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and
he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and
righteousness in the land. (Jeremiah 23:5)</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 135%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 135%;"><span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 135%;">These prophecies, and
others like them, including Daniel’s prophecy of the seventy weeks, indicating
the timeframe of Messiah’s appearance (Dan. 9:24-27), shaped the expectation of
the Jewish people in Jesus’ day. The anticipation of Messiah’s appearance was
so strong and so well-known that even the Roman historian Tacitus referred to
it (see his <i>Histories</i> 5.13). </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 135%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 135%;"><span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">Another prophecy in Daniel,
this one in chapter 2, was given to Nebuchadnezzar in a dream that Daniel
interpreted. The dream was of a great image of a man. “The head of this image
was [made] of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its middle and thighs of
bronze, its legs of iron, and its feet partly of iron and partly of clay” (Dan.
2:32-33). The dream came from God, and he inspired Daniel to understand its
meaning. It was a prophecy of four successive empires. The first was the one
that then existed, the Babylonian empire under Nebuchadnezzar himself. The
second was the Persian empire, the third the Greek empire of Alexander and his
successors, and the fourth was the Roman Empire. And in the dream,
Nebuchadnezzar saw that “a stone was cut out by no human hand, and it struck
the image” (Dan. 2:34) and it was broken in pieces and became like chaff that
the wind carried away so that not a trace of its elements could be found. “But
the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole
earth” (Dan. 2:35). Daniel explains this by saying, “In the days of those kings
[the kings of the fourth empire] the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that
shall never be destroyed... It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and
bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever” (Dan. 2:44).</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 135%;"><span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">Now, what kingdom did the
God of heaven set up in the days of the Roman Empire? It was the kingdom of our
Lord Jesus Christ. He came into the world as heir to the throne of David. He
was the one to whom the divine promises given to David ultimately referred. But
we must understand that the throne of David was only a type and shadow of the
universal throne of Jesus. Just like the temple and the sacrifices and the
priesthood and the divine services of the sanctuary were pictures of larger,
eternal realities to come, so the kingdom of David foreshadowed a larger,
eternal reality. David ruled a small kingdom at the eastern end of the
Mediterranean. Jesus rules the whole world. David himself said of him,</span></p>
</div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="line-height: 135%; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">The LORD says to my
Lord: </span></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="line-height: 135%; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 135%;"> “Sit at
my right hand,</span></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="line-height: 135%; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 135%;"> until
I make your enemies your footstool.”</span></div></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="line-height: 135%; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 135%;">- Psalm 110:1</span></div></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="line-height: 135%; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"><br /></span></div><div style="line-height: 135%; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">This is what happened when
Jesus ascended on high after his resurrection. He was seated at the right hand
of God the Father, enthroned as King of kings and Lord of lords, the ruler of
the kings of the earth (Rev. 19:16; 1:5). Paul tells us that Jesus will reign
from heaven until he has destroyed every rule and every authority and power
that opposes him. This sounds a lot like Daniel 2: the stone cut out without
human hands that crushed the image representing the kingdoms of the world and
which itself grew into a great mountain that filled the whole earth. </span></div><div style="line-height: 135%; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"><br /></span></div><div style="line-height: 135%; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">It also sounds like Psalm
2, where the Lord speaks to his anointed, God the Father speaking to God the
Son, Israel’s Messiah,</span></div><div style="line-height: 135%; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"><br /></span></div>
</div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="line-height: 135%; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">Ask of me, and I will make
the nations your heritage,</span></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="line-height: 135%; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 135%;"> and the ends of the earth
your possession.</span></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="line-height: 135%; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 135%;">You shall break them with a
rod of iron</span></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="line-height: 135%; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 135%;"> and dash them in pieces
like a potter’s vessel </span></div></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="line-height: 135%; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 135%;">- Psalm 2:8-9</span></div></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="line-height: 135%; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"><br /></span></div><div style="line-height: 135%; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">This is in fact a
description of the current state of affairs. It’s describing the outworking of
human history since the ascension. Those kingdoms and world rulers who are wise
and serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling, those who pay homage
to the Son, will </span><span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">be blessed and prosper.
Those who resist and reject him will perish. </span></div><div style="line-height: 135%; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"><br /></span></div><div style="line-height: 135%; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">Paul says that Jesus “must
reign until all his enemies are put under his feet.” The last enemy to be
destroyed being death itself. And then he will deliver the kingdom up to God
the Father, who appointed him for this very task (see 1 Cor. 15:24-26). </span></div><div style="line-height: 135%; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"><br /></span></div><div style="line-height: 135%; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">To reiterate, David was a
type of Christ, a foreshadowing of Christ. David’s reign was a type of Jesus’
reign, David’s kingdom a microcosm of our Lord’s.</span></div><div style="line-height: 135%; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 135%; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">Conclusion</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 135%; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Candara, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 135%;">It is fitting that our Lord
should have been born in the reign of the Emperor Augustus, whose own birthday
was proclaimed to be the birthday of a god which initiated a new epoch in human
history. An inscription dating from about 9 <span style="font-variant: small-caps;">b.c.</span> speaks of him as having been “sent to us and our
descendants as a Savior” to “put an end to war” and to “set all things in
order.” These claims are as blasphemous as they are pretentious. Jesus is the
one whose coming begins a new epoch of human history. The whole world recognizes
it and marks time by it whether they wish to honor him or not. We’re living in
the year 2021 <span style="font-variant: small-caps;">A.D.</span>, that is
Anno Domini “In the year of our Lord.” He is the One who has been sent to us
and to our descendants as a Savior.” He is the one who will put an end to war
and set all things in order. Augustus is dead and gone, never to return, and
few but historians know his name. Jesus? He <i>was</i> dead, slain
for our sins. But he has risen and has been taken up to heaven and seated at
the right hand of God the Father, where he rules in power. It was said that the
day of Augustus’ birth was the birthday of a god. No! But the day Jesus was
born (or more precisely, the day he was conceived) was the day the Almighty and
Eternal God, the Creator of heaven and earth, entered into his creation and
became a man, to save a creation fallen into sin and ruin. And the salvation he
brings will extend as far as the curse is found.</span></div></div>Doug Enickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15521382555614587285noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6504425930185898579.post-50705706442779921942021-07-14T16:25:00.003-05:002021-07-14T16:25:57.392-05:00Dear Christian<p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 135%;"><span style="background: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 135%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Dear
Christian,</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 135%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 135%;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Jzc1_fPV-FQ/YO9V4LaiF6I/AAAAAAAADW0/g0WEfJI9Qi09HrBjoXDPW35UwW2ioVFzwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1025/Fountain%2Bpen%2Band%2Bpaper.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="626" data-original-width="1025" height="122" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Jzc1_fPV-FQ/YO9V4LaiF6I/AAAAAAAADW0/g0WEfJI9Qi09HrBjoXDPW35UwW2ioVFzwCLcBGAsYHQ/w200-h122/Fountain%2Bpen%2Band%2Bpaper.png" width="200" /></a></div><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 135%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It's important for you to know (1) who you are, (2) where you
came from, (3) where you're going, and (4) why you're here.</span><span style="color: #050505; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> <br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 135%;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 135%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The short answer is, you were made </span><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 135%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">𝘣𝘺</span><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 135%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> God and </span><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 135%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">𝘧𝘰𝘳</span><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 135%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> God (Rom. 11:36; 1 Cor.
8:6; Col. 1:16). For a more complete answer, read on.</span><span style="color: #050505; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 135%;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 135%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Before the L<span style="font-variant: small-caps;">ord</span>
formed you in the womb, he knew you (Jer. 1:5a). He chose you in Christ before
the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him. In love, he
predestined you for adoption (Eph. 1:4-5). <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 135%;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 135%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He created you in his own image (Gen. 1:27). His hands fashioned
and made you (Job 10:8). He formed your inward parts and knitted you together
in your mother's womb so that you are fearfully and wonderfully made (Ps.
139:13).</span><span style="color: #050505; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 135%;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 135%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Like a lost sheep, you have gone astray, turning to your own way
(Isa. 53:6). You have sinned against him and have fallen short of his glory
(Rom. 3:23). Nevertheless, he has loved you with an everlasting love (Jer.
31:3) and sent his only Son into the world, so that you might live through him
(1 Jn. 4:9). He has delivered you from the domain of darkness and transferred
you to the kingdom of his beloved Son (Col. 1:13). In him you have redemption
through his blood, the forgiveness of your trespasses, according to the riches
of his grace (Eph. 1:7). You have been justified by faith and have peace with
God through Jesus Christ (Rom. 5:1).</span><span style="color: #050505; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 135%;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 135%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sin shall not have dominion over you (Rom. 6:14); the law of the
Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death
(Rom. 8:2). In Christ, you are a new creature; old things have passed away and
new things have come (2 Cor. 5:17). You are God’s workmanship, created in
Christ Jesus for good works, which he prepared beforehand, that you should walk
in them (Eph. 2:10). He leads you in paths of righteousness for his name’s
sake; his goodness and mercy will follow you all the days of your life (Ps.
23:3, 6).</span><span style="color: #050505; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 135%;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 135%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He guides you with his counsel, and afterward he will receive
you to glory (Ps. 73:24). Your flesh shall rest in hope, and he will raise you
up on the last day (Ps. 16:9; Jn. 6:44).</span><span style="color: #050505; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 135%;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 135%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sincerely,</span><span style="color: #050505; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 135%;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 135%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A fellow traveler</span></p><p></p>Doug Enickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15521382555614587285noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6504425930185898579.post-42029307359063323112021-04-30T17:32:00.007-05:002022-02-09T14:50:57.926-06:00Of What Is, and What Only Seems to Be<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 135%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"></p><div style="line-height: 135%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 135%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Calibri Light";">Sometimes things happen in life that make
it seem as if we are the helpless victims of a cold, dark, impersonal, and <i>merciless</i>
fate. The inevitable consequence of such a belief is despair, a point made very
poignantly in this medieval poem, <i>O Fortuna,</i> set to music in 1936 by
Carl Orff. The video below is a powerful performance. I’ve watched it a dozen times
at least in the last six months. If you’ve experienced tragedy and loss, you’ve
no doubt felt what it describes, a sense of utter helplessness in the face of
forces beyond your control.</span></div><div style="line-height: 135%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 135%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Calibri Light";"><br /> </span><i><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Calibri Light";">O Fortune,<br /></span></i><i><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Calibri Light";">like the moon<br /></span></i><i><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Calibri Light";">you are changeable,<br /></span></i><i><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Calibri Light";">ever waxing<br /></span></i><i><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Calibri Light";">ever waning;<br /></span></i><i><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Calibri Light";">hateful life<br /></span></i><i><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Calibri Light";">first oppresses<br /></span></i><i><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Calibri Light";">and then soothes<br /></span></i><i><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Calibri Light";">playing with mental clarity;<br /></span></i><i><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Calibri Light";">poverty<br /></span></i><i><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Calibri Light";">and power<br /></span></i><i><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Calibri Light";">it melts them like ice.<br /></span></i><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 135%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Calibri Light";"><br /></span></div><div style="line-height: 135%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 135%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Calibri Light";">Watch it. Listen to it. Ponder the words
carefully. (You can find the full lyrics <a href="https://i.pinimg.com/originals/5f/ff/0b/5fff0b1589b5c7d3fa0f08ad7f15e47f.png">here</a>).
And then remember that <i>it’s all wrong</i>. There is a vast difference
between what <i>is</i> and what only seems to be. In all the fluctuations of
life, especially when things turn dark, it only <i>seems</i> that we are the
victims of cold, impersonal forces.</span></div><div style="line-height: 135%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 135%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Calibri Light";"><br /> </span><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Calibri Light";"><i>Fate – monstrous<br /></i></span><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Calibri Light";"><i>and empty,<br /></i></span><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Calibri Light";"><i>you whirling wheel,<br /></i></span><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Calibri Light";"><i>you are malevolent,<br /></i></span><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Calibri Light";"><i>well-being is vain<br /></i></span><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Calibri Light";"><i>and always fades to nothing,<br /></i></span><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Calibri Light";"><i>shadowed<br /></i></span><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Calibri Light";"><i>and veiled<br /></i></span><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Calibri Light";"><i>you plague me too;<br /></i></span><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Calibri Light";"><i>now through the game<br /></i></span><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Calibri Light";"><i>I bring my bare back<br /></i></span><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Calibri Light";"><i>to your villainy.<br /></i></span><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 135%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Calibri Light";"><br /></span></div><div style="line-height: 135%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 135%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Calibri Light";">The truth is that we are the special objects
of God’s loving care, and he is working out his wise and holy purposes for us
in such a way that he makes all things—pleasant and unpleasant, joyful and sorrowful—work
together for our good (Rom. 8:28). At times it might not look like it, nor feel
like it; but then again, “we walk by faith, not by sight” or by feeling (2 Cor.
5:7). Be encouraged by these words from Moses, which give us a better picture of what <i>is.</i></span></div><div style="line-height: 135%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 135%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Calibri Light";"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Calibri Light";">The eternal God is your dwelling place,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Calibri Light";">and underneath are the everlasting arms<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Calibri Light";">– Deuteronomy 33:27<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 135%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Calibri Light";"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></div><div style="line-height: 135%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 135%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Calibri Light";"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4QPU1VpPn2s" width="320" youtube-src-id="4QPU1VpPn2s"></iframe></div></span></div><div style="line-height: 135%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div>
<p></p>Doug Enickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15521382555614587285noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6504425930185898579.post-39308271816372965842021-04-23T12:05:00.006-05:002021-04-24T10:23:46.381-05:00Three Months Gone<br /><div style="line-height: 115%; text-align: left;"><br /></div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%;">Tomorrow will be three months
without Melinda.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can’t even begin to say
how disorienting it has been without her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s the best word for it, I think. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i>Disorienting</i>. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At least, that’s the word that keeps popping into
in my head.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We did everything together,
went everywhere together, talked about everything and nothing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%;">I’ve heard some people say it’s
wise for couples to have a “life outside of marriage,” to have some independence
and personal space.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t subscribe to
that form of wisdom. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Someone much
wiser said that the two shall become one. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And so it was for us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Our lives were thoroughly intertwined, and neither of us would have had
it any other way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Melinda was a constant
presence, a true companion and confidant in every way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Life isn’t right without her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not for me, not for our children.</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oHwqVwO8_PI/YIL9-UtEsNI/AAAAAAAADGg/P_mrvGbGAvEbAbEU2X14_ei96P8RSAkdwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1465/Melinda%2Band%2BMe%2B%25282%2529.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1465" data-original-width="1334" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oHwqVwO8_PI/YIL9-UtEsNI/AAAAAAAADGg/P_mrvGbGAvEbAbEU2X14_ei96P8RSAkdwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Melinda%2Band%2BMe%2B%25282%2529.jpg" /></a></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%;">Tonight, our youngest (Olivia) is
attending her first formal event as a high school student.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It will be the first of many “big” events to
come in the life of our family without Melinda.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Our daughter Hannah very capably helped her little sister find a beautiful
dress and some accessories, and they had a good time shopping together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But still, a daughter should have her mother
around for a special night like this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%;">But it’s not just the big
things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I miss her in all the little
things, too, all the everyday things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This is where the pain is perhaps the sharpest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I head to the store, I find myself
instinctively reaching for my phone to see if I can pick something up for her,
only to be reminded that she’s no longer with us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The same when I leave the house to run an
errand or even just go outside to do some yard work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I think, “I should let Melinda know where I’m going and what I’m doing.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The same again when I come home after
work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will have learned something new,
met someone interesting, or experienced some good fortune and can’t wait to
tell her. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or I will have met with some
setback or felt some frustration or disappointment, but she is no longer there
to greet me with her words of encouragement and cheerful presence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I find myself telling people, “We…”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“We’ll pray for you,” “We’ll be there,” “We’re
going here or there.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The word just slips
out, and I think to myself, “I should have said ‘I’.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s not “we” anymore.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%;">We often talked about growing old
together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We liked to hear stories about
couples who were celebrating 50, 60, 70 years of marriage—some of them being married
longer than we’d been alive—and we talked about how wonderful it would be to
have so many years together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But now,
instead of marking the years we’ve been together, I find myself marking the
time I’ve been without her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Three
months, tomorrow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It seems so much longer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%;">I’m thankful the Lord allowed me
to have her for 34 years, 5 months, and 22 days.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I hope I was as good a husband to her as she
was a wife to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>Doug Enickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15521382555614587285noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6504425930185898579.post-59685330893137012082021-02-08T10:32:00.001-06:002021-02-08T10:32:41.278-06:00On My Wife's Victory<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: .25in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%;">You may
have heard it said that Melinda lost her battle with cancer. If so, you heard wrong. She won the battle, and she did so in
glorious fashion. </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: .25in;">
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: .25in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%;">When it
comes to the kingdom of heaven, truth is often paradoxical. What <i>seems</i>
true is often false, and what seems false is often true; what appears wise is
foolish, and what seems foolish is the very height of wisdom. Consider:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .25in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .25in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%;">The last will be first, and the first last
(Matt. 20:16)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .25in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .25in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%;">Whoever would save his life will lose it, but
whoever loses his life for my sake will find it (Matt. 16:25)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .25in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .25in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%;">Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and
whoever humbles himself will be exalted (Matt. 23:12)</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: .25in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%;">What
conventional wisdom deems to be true is often false because we are looking
at it from the wrong perspective. Conventional
wisdom says that Melinda lost<i> </i>her battle with cancer. After all, it took her life. But there is a larger frame of reference to
consider. </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: .25in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%;">In the
book of Revelation, Jesus gives both warnings and words of encouragement to the
seven churches of Asia Minor, and also in each case a promise to “the one who
overcomes.” And how is their triumph to
be measured? In terms of escaping
death? This is what we are tempted to
think—that victory comes through an escape from harm. But this was not what Jesus said. He defined victory, not in terms of avoiding death,
but in terms of being <i>faithful</i> in the
face of death. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .25in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .25in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%;">Do not fear what you are about to
suffer. Behold, the devil is about to
throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you
will have tribulation. <i>Be faithful
unto death,</i> and I will give you the crown of life. He who has an ear, let him hear what the
Spirit says to the churches. The one who
conquers will not be hurt by the second death (Rev. 2:10-11)</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%;">The one
who overcomes is not the one who escapes testing and tribulation, not the one
who escapes persecution and death, but the one who remains faithful even if it
should cost him his life. Although Jesus
speaks in this passage about faithfulness under the test of persecution, the
principle applies to tests of other kinds as well. The important thing is not that we escape
testing, or what kinds of tests may come our way, or what suffering we endure,
but that <i>we remain faithful.</i> </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%;">This is
why I say that Melinda won her battle with cancer. She suffered a severe trial, but she remained
faithful to the end. </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TAlXsRUGq6Q/YCFlbBggVYI/AAAAAAAADDk/pVdogZeS2z8HMQ9BS3AclB8KqO-k9txXwCLcBGAsYHQ/s716/Mom%252C%2BHannah%252C%2BMe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="716" data-original-width="599" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TAlXsRUGq6Q/YCFlbBggVYI/AAAAAAAADDk/pVdogZeS2z8HMQ9BS3AclB8KqO-k9txXwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Mom%252C%2BHannah%252C%2BMe.jpg" /></a></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%;">When
tests last August showed the cancer had returned, and we were given a none too
hopeful prognosis, we were crushed. You
can imagine our tears. Never had we
grieved so hard. When we finally regained
some composure, her first words, choked through her sobs, were, “Olivia is only
fourteen.” Then, “I don’t want Lizzy to
be sad at her wedding” (only two months away).
Then, “I want to see our grandbabies grow up.” </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: .25in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%;">In the
days and weeks that followed, many other reasons for grief surfaced…along with
fear, disappointment, and questions. Lots
of questions. But what never surfaced
was any hint of resentment. She never
blamed the Lord or ever found fault with him.
Soon after the diagnosis, she said that whatever happened, she hoped God
would be glorified in her. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: .25in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%;">I believe he
was. </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: .25in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%;">Melinda
bore her suffering with remarkable grace and patience, and a with a deep, deep
trust in the Lord, a faith she held throughout her life, and never more so than
at the end. Jesus said, “Out of the
abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matt. 12:34). In her last hours, when she could hardly
otherwise think or speak, she called out repeatedly, “Lord Jesus, help me.” “O Lord, my king, help me.” “O Father, help me.” She spoke out of the <i>abundance</i> of her
heart. Like David, she could say, “I
have set the L<span style="font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">ord</span> always before
me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken” (Ps. 16:8). This was how she lived, and this was how she
died, with the Lord <i>always</i> set before her. </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">This is
why it would be wrong to say she lost her battle with cancer.</span> </p>Doug Enickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15521382555614587285noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6504425930185898579.post-48686272207578013822020-12-14T19:04:00.005-06:002020-12-14T19:16:49.998-06:001620: A Critical Response to the 1619 Project<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%;">“If the 1619 Project were a term
paper, any knowledgeable, fair-minded teacher would give it an F and be done
with it. It demonstrates not only
incompetence in handling basic facts, but also a total disregard for the
importance of using reliable sources.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Books/Book%20Reviews/1620%20-%20A%20Critical%20Response%20to%20the%201619%20Project.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">[1]</span></span></span></a></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-okN_VEqmmMI/X9gDcHYz61I/AAAAAAAADAw/yDed65DtMGk0mzYlg49ITIDu_-BngKz-QCLcBGAsYHQ/s692/1620-by-Peter-Wood.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="692" data-original-width="460" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-okN_VEqmmMI/X9gDcHYz61I/AAAAAAAADAw/yDed65DtMGk0mzYlg49ITIDu_-BngKz-QCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/1620-by-Peter-Wood.jpg" /></a></div><!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%;">This is the conclusion of Peter
W. Wood, president of the National Association of Scholars, after an examination
of the central claims of <i>The New York Times’</i> widely celebrated
initiative to reframe American history around slavery. The initiative is the brainchild of Nikole
Hannah-Jones, a staff writer for the <i>Times</i>. The project was launched in the August 18,
2019 special issue of <i>The New York Times Magazine.</i><a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Books/Book%20Reviews/1620%20-%20A%20Critical%20Response%20to%20the%201619%20Project.docx#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> Its basic premise is that the true founding
of America was not 1776 with the ideals expressed in the Declaration of
Independence,<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Books/Book%20Reviews/1620%20-%20A%20Critical%20Response%20to%20the%201619%20Project.docx#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
but 1619 with the arrival of the first African slaves brought to Virginia. It was this event, Hannah-Jones argues, that expressed
the <i>real</i> founding ideals of America.
“America was not yet America, but this was the moment it began.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Books/Book%20Reviews/1620%20-%20A%20Critical%20Response%20to%20the%201619%20Project.docx#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%;">Wood examines these claims in his
recently released <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/s?k=1620+a+critical+response+to+the+1619+project&crid=K30EZ1FMM9A0&sprefix=1620%2Caps%2C353&ref=nb_sb_ss_ts-a-p_1_4" target="_blank">1620: A CriticalResponse to the 1619 Project</a></i> (New York, NY: Encounter Books, 2020). He begins by helpfully summarizing the
Project’s origin, contributors, content, and goals (pp. 1-14), while noting, <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(242, 242, 242); line-height: 140%; mso-background-themecolor: background1; mso-background-themeshade: 242; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%;">The 1619 Project offers the fullest and
most vigorous exposition of the view that America is a racist, oppressive
country. Fringe groups of black
nationalists take an even grimmer view, but the 1619 Project has taken ideas
that a few years ago were exclusively fringe a good way into the realm of mainstream
opinion. The idea, for example, that the
American Revolution was a pro-slavery event once circulated only among
conspiracy minded activists with comic-book-style theories of history. The 1619 Project has brought it from the playground
into the classroom, to the consternation of serious historians everywhere. (p.
5) </span><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%;">Consternation, because (among
other things) “the lead author, Nikole Hannah-Jones, who makes some of the most
audacious claims, cites no sources at all:
the project as presented in the magazine contains no footnotes,
bibliography, or other scholarly footholds.” (p. 6) In addition, historians have found the
project to be “marred by an astonishing number of errors, misstatements, and
omissions. And for a project that
purports to cover the world ‘in all its complexity,’ 1619 gives us a just-so
story of simplistic generalities – <i>slavery has shaped everything in America</i>.”
(p. 53) Further, “When the editors
responsible for the 1619 Project have been confronted with the errors and
contradictions of the <i>Times’</i> portrayal of history, they have retreated
into a postmodern claim that it is all a <i>matter of interpretation.”</i> (p.
39)<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Books/Book%20Reviews/1620%20-%20A%20Critical%20Response%20to%20the%201619%20Project.docx#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%;">The project has also caused consternation
among historians because Hannah-Jones, although claiming to want a “dialogue”
on the claims presented in the project, seems to only talk with those who agree
with her. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(242, 242, 242); line-height: 140%; mso-background-themecolor: background1; mso-background-themeshade: 242; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%;">Hannah-Jones had been challenged on what
might be called matters of journalistic integrity. The speaking invitations gave her an
open-ended opportunity to debate with her critics, or short of that, at least
to offer refutations of their points.
But this is not what happened.</span><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(242, 242, 242); line-height: 140%; mso-background-themecolor: background1; mso-background-themeshade: 242; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%;">Although faced with criticism from...eminent historians...Hannah-Jones has found no
reason to respond to them. Her agent...appears
to have been extraordinarily successful at booking her exclusively in venues
where audiences greet her as a hero, a prophet, or a “genius”...</span><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(242, 242, 242); line-height: 140%; mso-background-themecolor: background1; mso-background-themeshade: 242; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%;">This is, of course, freedom of speech in
action. The <i>Times</i> and
Hannah-Jones are well within their rights to ignore their critics and to create
a bubble in which everyone appears to agree with their views. But this approach nullifies any real claim to
intellectual seriousness. We seek the
truth through pointed examination of the evidence and careful review of the
arguments, not through grand pronouncements before worshipful audiences. (pp.
56, 57)</span><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%;">As Wood points out, she even
ignored an otherwise sympathetic scholar consulted by a <i>Times</i>
fact-checker to vet her most audacious claim, that the colonists sought
independence from Britain because they wanted to protect the institution of
slavery from British attempts to abolish it.
The scholar, Leslie M. Harris, is an African-American professor of
history at Northwestern University specializing in American urban history, the
African diaspora, and African-American history.
Her faculty page lists her principal research interests as “Pre-Civil
War African-American Labor and Social History; History and Historiography;
History of Women, Gender and Sexuality.” (pp. 74-76) Harris told the <i>Times</i> that the claim
was false. She tells her story in a <i>Politico
</i>essay, <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/03/06/1619-project-new-york-times-mistake-122248">“I
Helped Fact-Check the 1619 Project. The <i>Times
</i>Ignored me.”</a> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%;">Wood observes that “The 1619
Project isn’t all bad. It is just wrong
in crucial places.” (p. 69) Historians
have focused their attention on five of the Project’s most egregious claims: <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 26.6pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 6pt 26.6pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -22.3pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria;">1.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">The American Revolution was fought to protect
American slave owners from the threat of abolition by the British authorities<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 26.6pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 6pt 26.6pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -22.3pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria;">2.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">Lincoln was a racist whose primary intent was to
keep blacks and whites separate<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 26.6pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 6pt 26.6pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -22.3pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria;">3.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">Hannah-Jones’ claim that “for the most part, black
Americans fought back alone”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 26.6pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 6pt 26.6pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -22.3pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria;">4.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">Plantation slavery was the foundation of American
capitalism<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 26.6pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -22.3pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria;">5.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">The entire project of the nation’s history is best
understood as a struggle by American blacks against white supremacy<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Books/Book%20Reviews/1620%20-%20A%20Critical%20Response%20to%20the%201619%20Project.docx#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%;">Wood examines each of these
claims in his book except the third, that “for the most part, black Americans
fought back alone.” This, he says, <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(242, 242, 242); line-height: 140%; mso-background-themecolor: background1; mso-background-themeshade: 242; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%;">...simply ignores the abolition movement,
created and sustained for a century by white Americans. It likewise ignores the huge role of white
Americans in the post-Civil War constitutional amendments, and in the civil rights
movement. Contrary to what Hannah-Jones
contends, black Americans were never alone in their fight against racial
injustice. Her declaration on this is
the most transparently false of all of her many falsehoods. (p. 69)</span><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%;">He deals with the first claim,
that the American Revolution was fought to protect slave owners from the threat
of abolition by British authorities, in chapter 5. He deals with the second, that Lincoln was a
racist whose primary intent was to keep blacks and whites separate, in chapter
9. He deals with the fourth claim, that
plantation slavery was the foundation of American capitalism, in chapter 8.<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Books/Book%20Reviews/1620%20-%20A%20Critical%20Response%20to%20the%201619%20Project.docx#_ftn7" name="_ftnref7" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">[7]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> The fifth claim, that the entire project of
the nation’s history is best understood as a struggle by American blacks
against white supremacy, he rebuts throughout as reductionistic.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%;">Wood identifies a cast of
supporting characters of the project, including the National Education
Association, the Southern Poverty Law Center, the Zinn Education Project, the
D.C. Area Educators for Social Justice, Teaching for Change, Rethinking Schools,
Black Lives Matter at School, and the Pulitzer Center (not to be confused with
awarders of the Pulitzer Prizes), among others.
As Wood observes, “With these groups, we are in the cultural Marxist, radical
anti-American end of the pool, where the goal is to indoctrinate American
children with a hatred of their country” (p. 107). <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%;">The title of each chapter is
simply a date in our nation’s history<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Books/Book%20Reviews/1620%20-%20A%20Critical%20Response%20to%20the%201619%20Project.docx#_ftn8" name="_ftnref8" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">[8]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
or in the publication and promotion of the 1619 Project itself.<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Books/Book%20Reviews/1620%20-%20A%20Critical%20Response%20to%20the%201619%20Project.docx#_ftn9" name="_ftnref9" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">[9]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
The latter are interspersed with the
former, and most of the dates are out of chronological order. The final chapter is entitled “The Future.” </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%;">Wood organizes his material this way because of how
he chooses to examine the project’s claims, but I think it would have helped
the reader better navigate the material if he had dealt with events in historical
order and given each chapter a more descriptive title. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%;">Wood chose the title <i>1620</i>
for his own book, he says, “mainly as a riposte to the claim that the arrival
of slaves in Virginia was the real founding of America.” (p. 6) It was in 1620, of course, that the <i>Mayflower</i>
landed in what is now Massachusetts.
Before disembarking, the passengers signed the Mayflower Compact,
probably drawn up by William Brewster and William Bradford, two leaders of the
small band of Pilgrims (as they came to be called). The Compact formed “a civil body politic” for
the new community, composed of both Pilgrims and Strangers (i.e., non-Pilgrim
settlers). “By penning the Compact,”
Wood says, “they planted a seed. The
document sketched, for the first time in European settlement of the New World,
an ideal of self-government based on justice.
And it is very important that the leaders invited servants and underage
men to sign it as well.” (p. 26)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%;">If one had to choose an event
prior to the signing of the Declaration of Independence as the founding of
America, I would agree with Wood that the signing of the Mayflower Compact in
1620 has a better claim than the arrival of the first African slaves to
Virginia in 1619.<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Books/Book%20Reviews/1620%20-%20A%20Critical%20Response%20to%20the%201619%20Project.docx#_ftn10" name="_ftnref10" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">[10]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> This is not to say their arrival was not
significant. It surely was. But it was incidental to the founding, not essential
to it. The Mayflower Compact, however,
in its effort to establish the groundwork for a self-governing community, was
an important precursor to the Declaration.
As Wood writes, “The circumstances differ so greatly between 1620 and
1776 that it is easy to lose sight of these connections. But the connections are real, not
coincidental...” (pp. 31-32). He adds,
“The Compact was not the actual American founding, but a crucial pre-founding,
informing the beginning of the American republic.... [I]t has rightly been seen
as the moment when an idea of true self-government began to take root.” (p. 33)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%;">In chapter 12, Wood gives a brief
overview of how slavery has been treated in U.S. history textbooks. Prior the 1960s, the treatment ranged from virtual
neglect to minimizing its evils to outright bigotry and racism. In some instances, the way the subject was
covered was influenced by salability. “[P]ublishers,
ever alert to the danger of losing a market in the South, played down the nastiness
of slavery, emphasized the problems in Reconstruction, and ignored all but the most
banal aspects of African-American history since.” (p. 190) However,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(242, 242, 242); line-height: 140%; mso-background-themecolor: background1; mso-background-themeshade: 242; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%;">By the early 1960s, civil rights activists
both within and outside the black community were demanding changes in the
textbooks and gaining political clout. A
major correction was due, and textbook publishers attempted to comply with the
demands. But the need was also addressed
by writers...who published independent works that presented views of the
African American past that had little scholarly warrant. This vein of fanciful pseudo-history
complicates the picture to this day, and it is part of the 1619 Project. (p.
199)</span><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%;">“A major correction was needed,”
he says, but “the 1619 Project carries the reaction into the realm of radical
overreaction. It tells us, in effect,
that we live in the land of the unfree, and it replaces the effort to tell a
truthful history of America, with its failures as well as its achievements,
with a story of nothing but failure.” (p. 200)
<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 140%;">It is easy to agree with Wood
when he says, “The 1619 Project as a whole is myth-making<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Books/Book%20Reviews/1620%20-%20A%20Critical%20Response%20to%20the%201619%20Project.docx#_ftn11" name="_ftnref11" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">[11]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
aimed at intensifying identity politics and group grievance. It doesn’t aim, as it says, to tell ‘our
story truthfully.’ It aims to tell it
with falsehoods and deceptions for the purpose of instilling resentment.” (p.
217) <o:p></o:p></span></p><p>
</p><div><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="ftn1">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Books/Book%20Reviews/1620%20-%20A%20Critical%20Response%20to%20the%201619%20Project.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"> Peter W
Wood, <i>1620: A Critical Response to
the 1619 Project</i> (New York, NY:
Encounter Books, 2020), p. 208<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn2">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Books/Book%20Reviews/1620%20-%20A%20Critical%20Response%20to%20the%201619%20Project.docx#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"> The
original version can be found online here:
</span><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/14/magazine/1619-america-slavery.html"><i><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">The 1619
Project</span></i></a><i><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn3">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Books/Book%20Reviews/1620%20-%20A%20Critical%20Response%20to%20the%201619%20Project.docx#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"> “Our
founding ideals were false when they were written” (p. 14)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn4">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Books/Book%20Reviews/1620%20-%20A%20Critical%20Response%20to%20the%201619%20Project.docx#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"> From the
magazine’s cover<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn5">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Books/Book%20Reviews/1620%20-%20A%20Critical%20Response%20to%20the%201619%20Project.docx#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"> Emphasis in the original. Wood deals with the impact of postmodernism
on the project on pages 65-68<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn6">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Books/Book%20Reviews/1620%20-%20A%20Critical%20Response%20to%20the%201619%20Project.docx#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"> p. 68<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn7">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Books/Book%20Reviews/1620%20-%20A%20Critical%20Response%20to%20the%201619%20Project.docx#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;">[7]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 150%;"> Phillip
W. Magness gives a thorough critique of this claim in <i>The 1619 Project: A Critique</i> (The American Institute for
Economic Research, 2020)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn8">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Books/Book%20Reviews/1620%20-%20A%20Critical%20Response%20to%20the%201619%20Project.docx#_ftnref8" name="_ftn8" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">[8]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"> The
dates are October 1492; November 1620; August 1619; 1776; 1775; March 1621;
April 1861; January 1863; and October 1621<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn9">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Books/Book%20Reviews/1620%20-%20A%20Critical%20Response%20to%20the%201619%20Project.docx#_ftnref9" name="_ftn9" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">[9]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"> August
2019; March 2020; January 2020; and September 2020<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn10">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Books/Book%20Reviews/1620%20-%20A%20Critical%20Response%20to%20the%201619%20Project.docx#_ftnref10" name="_ftn10" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">[10]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"> As Wood
shows, there is reason to believe that the first Africans who arrived in
Virginia in 1619 were not actually treated as slaves, but as indentured
servants (pp. 35-38, 41-50). “The
Southern system of plantation slavery did not spring into existence all at once
or fully formed. It evolved over time in
different contexts according to a host of variable conditions.” (p. 44) <o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn11">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.25in;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Books/Book%20Reviews/1620%20-%20A%20Critical%20Response%20to%20the%201619%20Project.docx#_ftnref11" name="_ftn11" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">[11]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"> “Malicious
myth-making” as he says on p. 224.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 140%;"><br /></p><div style="mso-element: footnote-list;"><div id="ftn11" style="mso-element: footnote;">
</div>
</div>Doug Enickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15521382555614587285noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6504425930185898579.post-62705141708276753912020-11-26T06:58:00.002-06:002020-11-26T08:22:54.577-06:00The Gift of Friendship<p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-background-themecolor: background1; text-indent: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ljJvUOcenvo/X7-l4y-wQbI/AAAAAAAAC_g/KKcEmJdDiTMRP8VdhaR3PsriNKQTr7bPwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1024/Friendship.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="1024" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ljJvUOcenvo/X7-l4y-wQbI/AAAAAAAAC_g/KKcEmJdDiTMRP8VdhaR3PsriNKQTr7bPwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Friendship.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="color: black; font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">I have long been thankful for the many good—and I mean <i>really good</i>—friends
my wife and I have.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We regard each one as
a gift and blessing from God, “the giver of every good and perfect gift” (Jas.
1:17).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And surely, friendship is one of
his greatest gifts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Solomon says, “A friend
loves at all times” (Prov. 17:17). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even
in adversity. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some stick closer than a
brother (Prov. 18:24).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt; text-indent: 0in;"> </span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-background-themecolor: background1; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">The Lord has given us many friends like this. </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt; text-indent: 0in;"> <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-background-themecolor: background1; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">Since we first received the diagnosis (August 5) that Melinda’s
cancer had returned, and were given a none too hopeful prognosis, we have been
overwhelmed by an outpouring of love from our friends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt; text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-background-themecolor: background1; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">We have shed plenty of tears along the way, but not all of them
have been sorrowful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Early on, during a
trip home from the oncologist, I heard Melinda’s phone go off.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As she read the text, she began to cry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I asked her if everything was okay.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She handed me her phone, too choked up to
answer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a short message of
encouragement and a sympathetic offer of help.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I said, “The Lord has given us such good friends.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“And they’re all over the place,” she
said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And we began to recount how the
Lord in his kind providence has led us to meet and develop deep and lasting
friendships with people from seemingly everywhere.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt; text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-background-themecolor: background1; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">It has been humbling and encouraging and convicting all at
once.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Humbling that so many people hold us so
dear in their hearts; encouraging that so many have reached out to us and offered
their help in very real and practical ways and have raised many heartfelt prayers for her; and convicting because it forces me
to ask myself if I’m as good a friend to my friends as they are to me. </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt; text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-background-themecolor: background1; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">To all our friends I say, thank you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Your friendship multiplies the joy of life
and divides its sorrow.</span></p><p></p>Doug Enickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15521382555614587285noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6504425930185898579.post-81840786830893505982020-10-12T23:28:00.008-05:002022-11-02T09:06:57.549-05:00Think about These Things<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CHnCxKlD6FU/X4UrvfQCJoI/AAAAAAAAC8o/n1M4p_xZDT06opcrv8jCHzYzS02QKFgUgCLcBGAsYHQ/s576/Think%2Babout%2Bthese%2Bthings.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CHnCxKlD6FU/X4UrvfQCJoI/AAAAAAAAC8o/n1M4p_xZDT06opcrv8jCHzYzS02QKFgUgCLcBGAsYHQ/w267-h320/Think%2Babout%2Bthese%2Bthings.jpg" width="267" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; line-height: 150%;"><b style="font-size: xx-large;">I</b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>n</b></span></span><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"> Philippians
4:8, Paul begins to drawn his letter to a close with one final
exhortation, and it’s a very important one.<br /><o:p></o:p></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(242, 242, 242); line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">Finally,
brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever
is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence,
if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.</span><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">It is impossible to overstate the
importance of this to our spiritual growth because the battle for the mind is waged in the
soul. <i>What do you do with
your mind?</i> What do
you choose to think about? What kinds of
things do you allow your mind to feed on? The music you listen to, the movies you watch, the books you read? That’s all input into the mind, and it affects
the soul for good or ill. What do you
think about when you lay awake at night waiting to fall asleep? Again, <i>what do you choose to do with your mind?</i> This is where the
battle is fought in our striving to be holy.
Paul writes in Romans, <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(242, 242, 242); line-height: 150%; mso-background-themecolor: background1; mso-background-themeshade: 242; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">Those who live according to the flesh <i>set
their minds on the things of the flesh</i>, but those who live according to the
Spirit <i>set their minds on the things of the Spirit</i>. </span><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">Do you set your mind on
the things of the flesh or the things of the Spirit? His point here is not to say, “I can only
think of ‘spiritual’ things. God is a
spirit. Angels are spirits. The human soul is a spirit. These are the only things I can think about.” What he’s saying is that we must think in a
spiritual way about everything. He’s not
saying, “Don’t think about trees, don’t think about your work, your family,
because those things are ‘spiritual.’”
He’s saying think about <i>all of the things </i>in a spiritual way,
from a heavenly perspective, from a godly or Biblical perspective. Put all of it within a Biblical frame of
reference. That’s what it means to think
“spiritually” or to live “spiritually.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">Paul goes on to say,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(242, 242, 242); line-height: 150%; mso-background-themecolor: background1; mso-background-themeshade: 242; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">For to set the mind on the flesh is death,
but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. </span><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">Two very different outcomes,
stemming from two diametrically opposed choices in where to focus your
thinking. He goes on,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(242, 242, 242); line-height: 150%; mso-background-themecolor: background1; mso-background-themeshade: 242; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">For the mind that is set on the flesh is
hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God
(Rom. 8:5-8)</span><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">So the question is, “Do you allow
your mind to be the devil’s playground, permitting whatever evil or impure
thoughts he suggests to romp around in it without restraint?”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">Let me change the metaphor. The mind is like a plot of ground. Left to itself, it’ll grow weeds and produce
very little (if anything) that is useful to man. If you have a plot of ground and neglect it –
and maybe at one time it was well tended, a vegetable garden, a flower garden,
a well-manicured lawn, an agricultural field that has produced many crops – what
happens if you leave it to itself? It
will eventually be taken over by weeds.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">For the plot of ground to be
useful, it must be cultivated. You’ve
got to pull the weeds up by the roots; you’ve got to turn over the soil; you’ve
got to fertilize it; you’ve got to plant seeds in it, and water it. It requires a lot of time and energy to make
it useful and productive. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">Your mind is just like this. Left to itself, it grows weeds, thorns, and
thistles, that choke out whatever good things might happen to have been growing
there. You must do the same thing with
your mind that you have to do with a plot of ground. You have to cultivate it. You have to pull the weeds up by the roots (i.e.,
take active measures to force evil thoughts from your minds); you have to turn
over the soil and soften it up to prepare it to receive the seed of God’s
word. You’ve got to plant the word. We do this by taking it in, by reading or
hearing it read, hearing it expounded.
You have to water the seed of his word by meditating on it, pondering it,
thinking deeply about it. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">We have to take charge of our
minds. You can’t always prevent an evil
thought from coming, but you can prevent from staying. One old preacher said, “You can’t stop a bird
from flying overhead, but you prevent it from building a nest in your
hair.” Sometimes thoughts will come from...who
knows where? But if it’s an evil
thought, don’t entertain it, don’t nurture it – vengeful thoughts, impure
thoughts, selfish thoughts, arrogant thoughts, hateful or fearful
thoughts. These thoughts are like seeds
that produce noxious weeds.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">Instead, plant seeds of truth,
seeds of love, seeds of honor, seeds of justice, purity, goodness, courage,
faithfulness, and so on, and you will reap a harvest of the same. <i>You become like what you think about</i>. Think about <i>that.</i> “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he”
(Prov. 23:7m KJV). Your thoughts both <i>reflect</i>
who you are and <i>shape</i> who you are. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">Too many people are passive in
their thought life. In other words, they
allow themselves to think about whatever comes to mind; their minds flit from
one thing to another, rather than purposely taking charge of their thought life
and actively channeling their mental energy in a godly direction and toward
useful, productive, and virtuous ends.
But this is what the Lord calls us to do. Paul says in Romans, <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(242, 242, 242); line-height: 150%; mso-background-themecolor: background1; mso-background-themeshade: 242; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by
the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and
acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be
transformed by the <i>renewal of your mind</i>, that by testing you may discern
what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect (Rom. 12:1-2)</span><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">This is a consistent theme in
Paul’s letters. In Ephesians, he says
“put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is
corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be <i>renewed in the spirit of your
minds</i>…” (Eph. 4:23)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 125%;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">This is our great
challenge. May God give us the grace to do
it!</span></p><p></p>Doug Enickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15521382555614587285noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6504425930185898579.post-37302363749147970752020-04-22T11:12:00.000-05:002020-04-22T11:12:09.349-05:00Some thoughts on the Lawsuit against Governor Kelly<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 130%;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 130%;">Introduction<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 130%;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-h84rmoux5Ew/XqBpTsWzZfI/AAAAAAAAC1A/vdMRO7L8qM4SwmI5p2ZnQDvkNv9L5fMewCEwYBhgL/s1600/Scales%2Bof%2BJustice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="473" data-original-width="950" height="159" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-h84rmoux5Ew/XqBpTsWzZfI/AAAAAAAAC1A/vdMRO7L8qM4SwmI5p2ZnQDvkNv9L5fMewCEwYBhgL/s320/Scales%2Bof%2BJustice.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 130%;">I have seen a good deal of
pushback on social media concerning the lawsuit filed by two Kansas churches
late last week against Governor Kelly’s executive order limiting public and
private gatherings to no more than ten people.
The pushback has come from some dear Christian friends, good and godly
people whom I love and respect in the Lord.
They have raised several points I would like to address. But first some background.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 130%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 130%;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 130%;">Background <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 130%;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 130%;">In order to combat the spread of COVID-19,
Governor Laura Kelly issued </span><a href="https://governor.kansas.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/20-18-Executed.pdf"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 130%;">executive
order 20-18</span></a><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 130%;"> on April 7, prohibiting “all public or private
mass gatherings.” The order defines a
“mass gathering” as “more than ten people.”
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 130%;">With the help of the Alliance
Defending Freedom, two Kansas churches </span><a href="http://www.adfmedia.org/News/PRDetail/10970?fbclid=IwAR2wJLfMGhQ3yF-yOXbUbmLb2mNM0yK0CqjiOMrLfsjgMheWMyPfHe1Xx1E"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 130%;">filed</span></a><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 130%;"> suit
against the governor in the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas to
challenge the order as it applies to churches.
The plaintiffs are First Baptist Church in Dodge City (pastored by
Stephen Ormond) and Calvary Baptist Church in Junction City (pastored by Aaron
Harris).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 130%;">The churches brought the suit
because the executive order imposes greater restrictions on religious
gatherings in churches than on gatherings for secular purposes in places like libraries,
restaurants, bars, and shopping centers.
Gatherings of greater than ten people are permitted by the order in
these locations so long as “social distancing” measures are observed, but they
are not permitted in churches. The court
</span><a href="https://ecf.ksd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/show_public_doc?2020cv1102-14"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 130%;">granted</span></a><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 130%;"> the
churches’ motion to issue a temporary restraining order. The next step is a hearing scheduled for tomorrow
(Thursday, April 23) on the churches’ request for a preliminary injunction.</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 18.6667px;">Objections</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 130%;">As I said, there has been some
pushback against the lawsuit—and not just from people who are hostile to the
faith. Even some Christians have objected
to it. Here are several objections I’ve
encountered.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 130%;">Objection 1<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 130%;">It is contrary to the teaching of
Scripture for Christians to initiate lawsuits.</span></i><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 130%;"> Paul’s instruction in 1 Corinthians 6:1-8
forbids us from doing so. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 130%;">Answer:</span></i><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 130%;"> This is not an accurate understanding and
application of the text. This is not the
place to do a detailed exegesis of the passage, but a few comments are in
order. First, we must remember that the
Lord himself made provisions for a just society by establishing a legal system
in Israel, giving them an extensive body of case law, and requiring a high standard
of evidence for conviction.<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Blog%20Posts%20In%20Progress.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> All of this presupposes certain God-given
human rights,<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Blog%20Posts%20In%20Progress.docx#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
including the right to seek a redress of grievances by an appeal to the governing
authorities when we have been
wronged. He would not have made these provisions
had he not cared deeply about justice,<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Blog%20Posts%20In%20Progress.docx#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
nor can it be wrong to avail ourselves of this divine gift when our cause is
just.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 130%;">Second, Paul finds fault with the
Corinthians for (1) wronging and defrauding one another, (2) taking their
grievances with one another before courts comprised of unbelievers rather than
before the church, and (3) an unwillingness to overlook and forgive offenses. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 130%;">The reason he finds fault with
(1) is obvious. As to (2), remember that
he was writing long before western institutions, including the courts, were
reshaped by the influence of Christian teaching. There was less likelihood of a just outcome
in courts informed by a pagan worldview; and it would be shameful and
detrimental to the cause of Christ for Christians to air their grievances
before those whom they hoped to win to him by their godly lives. And as to (3), Paul teaches that it is a
virtue to patiently suffer wrong. “To
have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather suffer wrong?” (1 Cor. 6:7). He is following Jesus’ instruction to turn
the other cheek, to absorb an offense and forgive, without striking back. But the very analogy Jesus uses demonstrates
that he has relatively minor private offenses in mind. Is it legitimate in this case to reason from
the lesser to the greater? That is, does
the same “turn the other cheek principle” hold true if the offense is a major
one? To take an extreme example, if
someone should kidnap and kill my son, should I turn the other cheek and let
him do the same to my daughter?
Somewhere in the range between these offenses (a slap on the cheek and
murder) the victim may say, “The offense is too great to bear,” and so turn to
the authorities for help.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 130%;">Another thing to consider is that
in the case of serious offenses, it is not a private matter. A serious crime is a public offense. Refusing to pursue a legal remedy not only
prevents the victim from being made whole by restitution or compensation but
also imperils others in society by allowing the bad actor to continue to act
badly. And when the bad actor is a
public official who denies the rights of an entire class of citizens, well
then, the risk is even greater if the actions are not challenged.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 130%;">The governor’s executive order
unfairly imposed—intentionally or not is immaterial—greater restrictions on
religious gatherings for churches than on gatherings for secular purposes in
other venues. If that kind
discriminatory action is allowed to stand through Christian forbearance, it may
well set a precedent that doesn’t bode well for the future of religious
liberty.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 130%;">Objection 2<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 130%;">The second objection is similar
to the first but appeals to the example of Jesus. He could have asked the Father and the Father
would have sent more than twelve legions of angels to defend him (Matt.
26:52-53), <i>but</i> <i>he gave up his rights when he gave himself over to
death </i>(Phil. 2:5-8). He didn’t
insist on maintaining his rights, and we shouldn’t insist on maintaining ours. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 130%;">Answer:</span></i><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 130%;"> We must bear in mind that Jesus had a unique
redemptive mission. He temporarily gave
up the use of those rights and powers he possessed by virtue of his deity in
order to allow himself to be killed as a sacrifice for our sins. But the very uniqueness of his calling suggests
that we ought be cautious in how we apply his example. There clearly is not a one-to-one
correspondence between his situation and ours.
The lesson Paul draws from it, and urges upon the Philippians, has to do
with their interactions with each other, not with the state.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 130%;">The better example for us is Paul
because his circumstances were more like ours. When he was in Philippi, he rebuked the local
officials for having deprived him of his rights as a Roman citizen (Acts
16:35-39). This was a serious offense,
and the officials could have been punished severely, hence “they were afraid
when they heard that they [Paul and Barnabas] were Roman citizens.” For other examples of Paul pressing for his
rights to be recognized and maintained, see Acts 22:23-29; 25:6-12.</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 130%;">Objection 3 <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 130%;">Loving your neighbor as yourself
requires you to stay home</span></i><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 130%;">. This
is what it means to care about “the least of these…those who are prone to get
this virus from people who think they are the church by demanding their
rights.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 130%;">Answer:</span></i><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 130%;"> There are three things to say in answer to
this. First, there is a difference
between <i>defending</i> one’s rights and <i>exercising</i> them. Having successfully defended their rights in
court, churches may deem it wise or unwise to gather during the present crisis
depending on the size of the congregation, the size of the sanctuary (relative
to the size of the congregation—to allow for physical distancing), the
demographics of the congregation (whether or not it has a lot of members at
risk), the prevalence of the virus in the community, etc. I suspect that different churches will make
different decisions based on their own particular circumstances. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 130%;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 130%;">Second, loving our neighbor does
indeed require that we take measures to minimize the risk of passing the virus
on to those who are most vulnerable. There
is absolutely no question about that.
And since most of the vulnerable are elderly, other biblical commands
come into play, those requiring us to honor our elders (e.g., Ex. 20:12; Lev.
19:32). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 130%;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 130%;">Third, we have other neighbors to
love, too, those whose lives and livelihoods are at risk because of the
lockdown. It is easier to quantify
deaths <i>with</i> or <i>from</i> COVID-19 (not the same things, by the way),
than it is to count the number of deaths that result from the measures taken to
fight it: delayed medical check-ups that
might have revealed cancer, heart problems, or other serious issues that won’t
get detected early enough to be treated effectively; the rise of suicide rates
that historically correlate to unemployment; to say nothing of how the closing
of the U.S. economy affects third world nations where millions of people live at
a subsistence level, many of whom are likely to die as a result. But who will count them as victims of the
pandemic?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 130%;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 130%;">See: <a href="https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/health-coronavirus-usa-cost/?fbclid=IwAR3SF10LXH0X8tyIGojBuZU_QqoVIQyJe6Vzq-NwXaQi3xOUd_Ss7x6hcz0">COVID’s
Other Casualties</a>; and <a href="https://thefederalist.com/2020/04/20/when-will-politicians-pay-attention-to-the-people-quarantine-kills/?fbclid=IwAR1VUn30GfEabjzvV_o2BuEQ62MmAFHZn0cxOIZ_ltJdpIRwn6is329Ysn4">When
Will Politicians Pay Attention to the People Quarantine Kills?</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 130%;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 130%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Conclusion<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 130%;">I think it is entirely proper for
the government to require the quarantining of the sick (Lev. 13:47-59;
14:33-56), but not the healthy; to issue warnings, urge caution, teach proper
hygiene, give suggestions about safe distances and practices, and then let free
men and free women in a free society estimate their risk and make their own
decisions accordingly. But <i>if </i>a
government imposes a stay-at-home order, it should not single out religious gatherings
for greater restrictions than gatherings for secular purposes. The two churches that filed suit against the
governor were not acting contrary to the teaching of Scripture in doing
so. They acted well within their moral
and legal rights, and I applaud them.
Some have said the pastors only filed suit to make a name for
themselves. Perhaps. I don’t know them personally and I’m not in a
position to judge their motives. But I
see their actions as safeguarding religious freedom from a governor who has failed
to show proper regard for it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 130%;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 130%;">One thing is for sure, we need to
pray regularly for our leaders at both the state and federal level that they may be given the wisdom of Solomon. They bear the
weight of a tremendous responsibility. Their
actions affect the lives and livelihoods of millions of people. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</div>
<div>
<!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="ftn1">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .25in;">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Blog%20Posts%20In%20Progress.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12.5pt;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 150%;"> For the
appointment of judges, see e.g., Ex. 18:13-26; Num. 11:16-17, 24-25; Deut.
1:9-18; 16:18. For a fine example of
case law, see e.g., Ex. 21:1-23:9. For
rules of evidence, see e.g., Deut. 17:6; 19:15.
It should be noted that requiring a high standard of evidence for
conviction presupposes one of the most cherished principles of western jurisprudence,
that a defendant is innocent until proven guilty. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .25in;">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Blog%20Posts%20In%20Progress.docx#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12.5pt;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 150%;"> These
are inferred from the law itself. For
example, when the law says, “You shall not murder,” we infer a right to life;
when it says, “You shall not steal,” we infer a right to private property, etc.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .25in;">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Blog%20Posts%20In%20Progress.docx#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12.5pt;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 150%;"> One
senses the Lord’s passion for justice in Deut. 16:20, “Justice, and only
justice, you shall follow, that your may live and inherit the land that the L<span style="font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">ord</span> your God is giving you.” It should be noted, too, that God’s passion
for justice stems from his love for us.
He doesn’t want me to harm you, and if I do, he wants me to make it
right, and vice versa.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
</div>
Doug Enickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15521382555614587285noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6504425930185898579.post-6247961559796875412020-03-17T13:28:00.000-05:002020-03-17T13:28:39.389-05:00Some thoughts about the Covid-19 pandemic<br />
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</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hPVeHsJIahE/XnEUATN568I/AAAAAAAACyM/skIhq4T2g7IH4qjzbAhRBQ4BzNFwVkBhQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Coivid.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="background-color: white;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1250" data-original-width="1600" height="156" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hPVeHsJIahE/XnEUATN568I/AAAAAAAACyM/skIhq4T2g7IH4qjzbAhRBQ4BzNFwVkBhQCLcBGAsYHQ/s200/Coivid.jpg" width="200" /></span></a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">Here are a few observations from
Scripture to keep in mind as we seek to respond appropriately, that is, <i>faithfully</i>,
to the Coronavirus pandemic.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">First, biblical law empowers
governing authorities to impose quarantines to protect public health.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In ancient Israel, if someone developed a
suspicious spot on the skin, he was to be brought before the priest to be
examined.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If the spot met certain
criteria, he was pronounced “clean” and allowed to go his way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If it met certain other criteria—we need not
go into the details here—he was “shut up” (quarantined) for seven days and
examined again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Depending on his
condition, he might be quarantined for another seven days (if there were no
changes in the spot), pronounced clean (if the spot was improving), or pronounced
unclean (if the spot was growing).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the
last case, he was to make his dwelling “outside the camp” for a prolonged,
perhaps permanent, quarantine (see Lev. 13:1-46).<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Blog%20Posts%20In%20Progress.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">The point here is to demonstrate a
biblical precedent for a legally mandated quarantine or “social distancing.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps someone objects on the ground that officials
might abuse this power.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>True enough, just
as they might abuse any power entrusted to them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The question is not whether they might abuse
the power, but whether it is a legitimate power of government?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In light of Leviticus 13, it seems that it
is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are similar powers related to public
health implied in Leviticus 13:47-59 and 14:33-56.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">Second, recklessness in the face
of danger is foolish.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">The
prudent sees danger and hides himself,</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> but the simple go on and suffer for it</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">Proverbs 22:3</span><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">That is, when a wise man sees
danger, he takes measures to protect himself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The greater the danger, the greater the measures.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But as Billy Shakespeare might say, “Ay,
there’s the rub.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How great a danger
does the Coronavirus really pose?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s
still an open question.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’re still in
the early stages of the outbreak and there are plenty of unknowns.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Indications suggest an infection rate of 2.5
(how many people an infected person infects).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This rate might change as more data are collected.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If the current number is accurate, it means
that Covid-19 is more infectious than MERS (0.8), influenza (1.5), and Ebola (2.0),
but less infectious than SARS (3.5), mumps (4.5), Rubella (6.0), smallpox (6.0),
and measles (16.0).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">How deadly the virus is is also
unknown.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s tempting to simply divide
the number of deaths (7,511) by the number of confirmed cases (188,630),<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Blog%20Posts%20In%20Progress.docx#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
in which case we get a rather high 3.9 percent mortality rate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But this is misleading for at least two
reasons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>First, many of the confirmed
cases have only recently been diagnosed and undoubtedly some of them will die,
pushing the mortality rate higher.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Second, and more significantly, the number of confirmed cases is smaller
– probably <i>much</i> smaller – than the actual number of people infected, meaning the mortality rate is much lower.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">More than 80 percent of confirmed
cases suffer only mild symptoms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s
fair to assume that many who have the virus and experience only mild symptoms
never get tested, so that the total number of cases is <i>far</i> higher than confirmed
cases, which in turn pushes the mortality rate down significantly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The swine flu provides an example.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The CDC reported that through July of 2009
there were 43,677 <i>confirmed</i> cases in the U.S.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They multiplied this number by 41 and 131 to
give a range of the likely number of cases, including those never tested and
confirmed (1.7 to 5.7 million).<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Blog%20Posts%20In%20Progress.docx#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If the same multipliers are used with the current
number of <i>confirmed</i> Coronavirus cases, it pushes the mortality rate down,
closer to the range for the flu.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is
good news.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But of course, there are still
a lot of unknowns, hence what may seem like an excess of caution.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">Of course, the <i>nature</i> of
the measures taken to “hide” oneself from danger depends on the nature of the
danger itself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Hiding” oneself in the
present danger may mean nothing more than using the precautions recommended by
the CDC that we’ve all heard so much about recently (regular handwashing,
social distancing, etc.). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These things
do not betray a lack of faith, but rather demonstrate prudence. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">If the Coronavirus is not as
dangerous as we’ve been led to believe, then the measures the federal and state
governments have taken could actually do more harm than good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A great many people, I fear – most of them people
who can least afford it – will take a heavy financial hit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Those of us who are better off ought to help
bear their burden.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">Third, the commandment to love our
neighbors (Lev. 19:18; Matt. 22:39), impels us to take the necessary precautions
to avoid infecting others, especially those who are most at risk – the elderly
and those who have other underlying health problems.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">Fourth, let’s remember that God
has not given us “a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of
self-control” (2 Tim. 1:7).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let us be
faithful and faith <i>filled.</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There
is no need to panic, ever.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We belong to
the Lord. Let us, then, entrust ourselves to him.</span></div>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
<!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span style="background-color: white;"><br clear="all" />
</span><hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: 130%; margin-top: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Blog%20Posts%20In%20Progress.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 130%;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 130%;"> I understand
the separation of the person afflicted with leprosy as partly for holiness
reasons and partly for public health reasons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The two are not mutually exclusive.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: 130%; margin-top: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Blog%20Posts%20In%20Progress.docx#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 130%;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 130%;"> <a href="https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/">https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/</a>
(accessed March 17, 2020)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: 130%; margin-top: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Blog%20Posts%20In%20Progress.docx#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 130%;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 130%;"> See <a href="https://www.justfactsdaily.com/vital-facts-about-covid-19/?fbclid=IwAR1Fp_wMbRCmECpGlRTRKUE6SU0hj7EmH2T0faqO6pL7zXmhGoeaHWDaVEo">Vital
Facts about Covid-19</a> and <a href="https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/15/12/09-1413_article">Estimates of the
Prevalence of Pandemic (H1N1) 2009</a><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
</div>
<br /><br />
Doug Enickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15521382555614587285noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6504425930185898579.post-20812591548829909832020-01-16T16:47:00.002-06:002020-01-16T17:13:48.180-06:00Idols of our Time<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 130%;">
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MqAilaCYLI8/XiDngVZnY7I/AAAAAAAACwE/RnOUzb4uie8TghTb5kJ2uUZbqfK0Bq8uQCEwYBhgL/s1600/Moses%2Band%2Bthe%2BTen%2BCommandments.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1218" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MqAilaCYLI8/XiDngVZnY7I/AAAAAAAACwE/RnOUzb4uie8TghTb5kJ2uUZbqfK0Bq8uQCEwYBhgL/s320/Moses%2Band%2Bthe%2BTen%2BCommandments.jpg" width="243" /></a><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">Thirty years ago, Ted
Turner, founder of CNN and the Turner Broadcasting System, declared the Ten
Commandments to be outdated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As a
substitute he offered the “</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><a href="http://articles.latimes.com/1990-05-04/news/vw-404_1_ted-turner"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: major-fareast;">Ten Voluntary Initiatives</span></a></span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">” (voluntary initiatives, being less offensive to modern ears.) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">During an interview at the
time, he cited the second commandment as evidence of the Decalogue’s
obsolescence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“No one worships idols
anymore,” he said, apparently unaware of the more than a billion Hindus on the
planet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">Not being the keenest of
Bible students, he was equally unaware of the fact that idolatry comes in many
forms besides its most obvious varieties.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>One needn’t literally bow down before an image carved in wood or stone
to be guilty of this primeval sin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
essence of idolatry is to give the first place in our thoughts, affections, and
decision-making process to anyone (or anything) other than God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">Not many of us are tempted
to worship the gods once revered in ancient Canaanite temples or were thought
to inhabit Mt. Olympus, or Oden or Thor of Norse mythology.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But this doesn’t necessarily clear us of
idolatry because whatever is loved, feared, trusted in, or obeyed more than God
has, <i>in effect</i>, become an idol to us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>No matter that it’s not traditionally thought of as a deity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If we <i>love</i> it (whatever it is or
whoever it might be), if we <i>fear</i> it, <i>trust</i> it, or <i>obey</i> it
more than God, it has taken the place of God in our thoughts and affections.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Paul assumes this principle when he tells us
that <i>covetousness</i> makes an idol out of money.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">Put to death therefore what is earthly in you:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil
desire, and covetousness, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">which his
idolatry.</i></span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">— Colossians 3:5</span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">Jesus made the same point in
the Sermon on the Mount when he said, “You cannot serve both God and money”
(Matt. 6:24).<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Blog%20Post%20-%20Keep%20yourselves%20from%20idols.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is what the rich young ruler discovered
(Matt. 19:16-24).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although he boasted
that he had kept the commandments from his youth, Jesus showed him that he had
not even kept the very first commandment, “You shall have no other gods before
me” (Ex. 20:3).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When forced to decide
between his riches and following Jesus, he chose his riches.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">It doesn’t matter whether
the thing idolized is officially called a god or not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s the regard we have for it – and thus the
influence it has over us – that matters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Paul says that for some, “their god is their belly” (Phil. 3:19; cf.
Rom. 16:18).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He means they are ruled by
their bodily desires.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are governed
by their instincts and appetites.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They
do whatever makes them feel good in the moment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">It’s possible to sinfully
idolize one’s own family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How so?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By loving them more than we love the Lord, or
by fearing to alienate them more than we fear to alienate him, or by allowing
them more influence in our decision-making than the Lord himself has.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus said,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me,
and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.</span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">— Matthew 10:37</span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">We ought to love the members
of our family very dearly, but we must never love them more than we love God, nor
have any greater loyalty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Lord
commended the tribe of Levi for standing with<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> him</span> when their own families stood against him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the
mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him,
“Up, make us gods who shall go before us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>As for this Moses…we do not know what has become of him.”</span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="background: #F2F2F2; line-height: 150%; mso-background-themecolor: background1; mso-background-themeshade: 242; text-align: right;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">— Exodus 32:1</span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">And Aaron yielded to their
request.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He made them a golden calf and “they
offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And the people sat down to eat and drink and
rose up to play” (Ex. 32:6).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And when
Moses came down from the mountain, he was furious, and he said,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: #F2F2F2; line-height: 150%; mso-background-themecolor: background1; mso-background-themeshade: 242;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">“Who is on the L<span style="font-variant: small-caps;">ord</span>’s
side?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Come to me.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">all
the sons of Levi</i> gathered around him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And he said to them, “Thus says the L<span style="font-variant: small-caps;">ord</span>
God of Israel, ‘Put your sword on your side each of you, and go to and fro from
gate to gate throughout the camp, and each of you kill his brother and his
companion and his neighbor.’”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And the
sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And that day about three thousand men of the
people fell.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And Moses said, <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">“Today you have been ordained for the service
of the L<span style="font-variant: small-caps;">ord</span></span>, each one at
the cost of his son and of his brother, so that he might bestow a blessing upon
you this day.</span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="background: #F2F2F2; line-height: 150%; mso-background-themecolor: background1; mso-background-themeshade: 242; text-align: right;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">— Exodus 32:26-29</span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">When it came down to a
choice as to whether they would side with God or with the disobedient members
of their own family, they chose God, and they were rewarded with a special
access to God and a special divine service.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Moses would refer to this forty years later.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">Give to Levi your Thummim,</span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>and
your Urim to your godly one,</span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: #F2F2F2; line-height: 150%; mso-background-themecolor: background1; mso-background-themeshade: 242; tab-stops: 22.5pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">whom you tested at Massah,</span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>with
whom you quarreled at the waters of Meribah;</span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: #F2F2F2; line-height: 150%; mso-background-themecolor: background1; mso-background-themeshade: 242; tab-stops: 22.5pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">who said of his father and mother,</span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: #F2F2F2; line-height: 150%; mso-background-themecolor: background1; mso-background-themeshade: 242; tab-stops: 22.5pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“I
regard them not”;</span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: #F2F2F2; line-height: 150%; mso-background-themecolor: background1; mso-background-themeshade: 242; tab-stops: 22.5pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">he disowned his brothers</span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>and
ignored his children.</span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">For they observed your word</span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>and
kept your covenant.</span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="background: #F2F2F2; line-height: 150%; mso-background-themecolor: background1; mso-background-themeshade: 242; text-align: right;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">— Deut. 33:8-9</span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">They were obedient in what must
be regarded as the most difficult test of obedience possible – and they were
rewarded for it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They were given a
special divine calling. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">They shall teach Jacob your rules</span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: #F2F2F2; line-height: 150%; mso-background-themecolor: background1; mso-background-themeshade: 242; tab-stops: 22.5pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>and
Israel your law;</span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">they shall put incense before you</span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: #F2F2F2; line-height: 150%; mso-background-themecolor: background1; mso-background-themeshade: 242; tab-stops: 22.5pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>and
whole burnt offerings on your altar.</span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">— Deut.
33:10</span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">Those who love husband or
wife, father or mother, son or daughter, more than God are not worthy of
him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They make an idol out of their
family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That may not be their intention,
but that’s the effect.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">We must always side with God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Always</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Even if it means siding against the members of our own family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How much more so if it means siding against
our friends, our co-workers, our political party, or whatever we perceive to be
in our own self-interest?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">We must also side with God <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">even if it means siding against our own
lives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">Whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of
me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whoever finds his life will lose it,
and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">— Matthew 10:38-39</span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">We have a natural, God-given
impulse to love the members of our own family as well as a natural, God-given
impulse to preserve our lives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet we
must love neither <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">more</i> than we love
God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is put in a rather startling
way in Luke’s Gospel, where Jesus says,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother
and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he
cannot be my disciple.</span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">— Luke 14:26</span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">He doesn’t mean that we are
to have a positive hatred for them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
aren’t to feel any malice toward them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This is an idiom that expresses comparison.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In practical terms, when it comes down to a
choice between one or the other, the one chosen is the one loved, and the one <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">not</i> chosen is the one that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">by comparison</i> is hated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 6.0pt; mso-background-themecolor: background1; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "ms gothic"; font-size: 14.0pt;">※</span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">We get into trouble whenever
we elevate a relative good to the position of an absolute good, or a relative
allegiance to the level of an absolute allegiance, for then we have greater
regard for a creature than we do for the Creator (Rom. 1:25).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is the essence of idolatry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To absolutize something is to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">deify</i> it, to make an idol of it.<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Blog%20Post%20-%20Keep%20yourselves%20from%20idols.docx#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><b>Idolatry and the State</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">Many people idolize the
state.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the ancient world, this was
often done literally.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The ruler of
Egypt, for instance, was considered the embodiment of Ra (the sun god).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Obedience to Pharaoh was obedience to
Ra.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Romans deified their
emperors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They established an imperial
cult, with a priesthood and religious rituals including the offering of
sacrifice and incense to the image of Caesar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Until its defeat in WWII, the Japanese viewed their emperor as divine,
and one of the requirements under the terms of surrender to the United States
was that the emperor renounce all claims to divinity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">All modern statist political
philosophies also, in a sense, deify the state.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>A statist political philosophy is one that makes the state the central
and supreme organizing principle of society.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Perhaps no one summarized this philosophy better than Mussolini when he
described fascism: “Everything within the State, nothing outside the State, nothing
against the State.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But this is true of
other statist philosophies, as well, whether fascism, socialism, democratic
socialism, communism, and its softer sounding, but just as totalizing
progressivism.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The state is the be all
and end all of life; it’s the highest expression of human will and the arbiter
of truth and morality.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In addition to
Mussolini’s, “Everything within the State, nothing outside the State, and
nothing against the state,” we could add, “Nothing above the state and nothing
beside the state.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><b>Idolatry and Ethics</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">It should be noted that something
like idolatry is committed when we make anything other than God’s word the
standard for ethics.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As Rushdoony
demonstrated so convincingly in his massive tome <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Institutes of Biblical Law</i>, “In any culture <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">the source of law is the god of that society</i>.”</span><a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Blog%20Post%20-%20Keep%20yourselves%20from%20idols.docx#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But what is true of society is also true of
the individual.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The source of an
individual’s ethics is that person’s god. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">It sometimes happens that
people idolize abstract ethical principles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This is done when a principle is absolutized by not admitting of any
exceptions or qualifications.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><b>Freedom</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">There is no doubt that
freedom is a good thing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As Americans,
we make much of it, as we should.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But
freedom has its limits.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It must always
be balanced with public order and the protection of other people’s rights.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">Perhaps you have heard the
story of the man who was arrested for assault and battery for punching another
man in the nose?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He asked the judge if
he didn’t have the right to swing his arms in a free country.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The judge said, “Your right to swing your
arms ends just where the other man’s nose begins.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">Freedom has its limits.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’re not morally or legally free to commit
assault and battery, nor any one of a number of other things that harms our
neighbor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But people often speak of
freedom as if were an absolute right with no exceptions or qualifications.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is the issue when it comes to the
subject of abortion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What do those who
advocate for abortion call themselves?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Pro-choice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sounds very lovely,
doesn’t it?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It does, until you inquire
about what is being chosen—the killing of an innocent human being.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But this is what we come to when we idolize
freedom, idolize choice.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><b>Free Speech</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">We also make much of the
First Amendment’s guarantee of free speech, as we should.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s an essential element of our
liberty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But is free speech an <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">absolute</span> right—the right to speak
whatever we want without any qualifications or exceptions?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What about falsely yelling “fire” in a
crowded theater?<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Blog%20Post%20-%20Keep%20yourselves%20from%20idols.docx#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What about false advertising?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The product label says 32 oz of peanut
butter, but it contains only 30 oz.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Can
we commit fraud and justify it on the basis of our right to free speech?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How about slander or bearing false witness in
a court of law?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">Would those who do these
things be justified by saying, “I was just exercising my right to free
speech”?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We recognize that there are – and
there must be – certain limitations on speech.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>God <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">himself</span> imposes
limitations when he forbids lying (Lev. 19:11; Col. 3:9), slander (Lev. 19:16;
Col. 3:8), and false witness in a court of law (Ex. 20:16; Matt. 19:18; cf. Deut.
19:18-21).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">Free speech is not an <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">absolute</span> right.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But we should be quick to add that
acknowledging this doesn’t give any aid or comfort to leftists on campus or in
the media or in big tech who try to shut down conservative speech because,
contrary to their claims, the articulation of conservative ideas does no harm
to anyone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">not </i>the equivalent of yelling fire in a crowded theater.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It puts no one in danger of life or
limb.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It defrauds no one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It commits no injustice to anyone. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">The right of free speech is
a rightly cherished principle of liberty, and we must be firm in our defense of
it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But at the same time, we must not <i>absolutize</i>
it, lest we forget its proper, divinely imposed qualifications.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><b>Freedom of Religion</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">The same must be said of the
freedom of religion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The First Amendment
says, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or
prohibiting the free exercise thereof…”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">The first thing to say about
this is that it was written within a certain historical context.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In order to understand it properly, we must
understand it <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">in that context</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That context was a newly formed union of
Christian States, each of which had its own laws respecting religion and
certain religious tests for elected officials (belief in the Triune God;
acceptance of the Old and New Testaments as the word of God; adherence to the
Protestant religion; etc.).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Founders
wrote into the Constitution a guarantee that Congress (the law-making body at
the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">federal</i> level) wouldn’t make laws
that would interfere with state laws concerning religion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Founders, we must emphatically state,
were <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">not</i> seeking to establish a
secular federal government; they were seeking to leave to each state the right
to have its own religious requirements.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">It’s also important to
remember that when the Founders spoke of religion, they had Christianity in
mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The guarantee of the free exercise
of religion was specifically a guarantee to practice the Christian faith.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There were only 1,000-2,000 Jews in the U.S.
at the time and probably no more Muslims than you could count on your
fingers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Founders were thinking in
terms of the different varieties of Christianity (Episcopal, Congregational,
Presbyterian, Baptist, Lutheran, etc.).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">Do you think they would have
guaranteed the free exercise of religion if there had been a large number of
Aztecs who practiced human sacrifice and ritual cannibalism, or a large number
of Muslims who practiced jihad?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Should <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">we</i> guarantee the free exercise of
religion in these cases?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Should we allow
honor killings in the name of the freedom of religion?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Should we allow the administration of Sharia
law in a Muslim community that requires chopping off the hand of a thief?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">A legal right to the free
exercise of religion makes sense within a Judeo-Christian framework – but to
apply it outside that framework can lead to all kinds of trouble.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There must be limitations and qualifications
which must be determined by the teaching of Scripture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Someone will say, “But you’re giving Christianity
a place of legal privilege.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes, that’s
right, because Christianity is true, and the God of the Bible defines our
freedoms and limitations in these and in all other matters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><b>The Free Market</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">The free market is the greatest
engine for the creation of wealth and the betterment of society that exists.<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Blog%20Post%20-%20Keep%20yourselves%20from%20idols.docx#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But just because a market exists for
something doesn’t mean that that particular market should be allowed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The African slave trade existed for centuries
because there were plenty of people on both sides of the Atlantic willing to
buy and sell their fellow human beings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But
it was a sinful market through and through.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Today there is a market for fetal tissue harvested via abortion, as
sinful and wicked a thing as can be imagined.<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Blog%20Post%20-%20Keep%20yourselves%20from%20idols.docx#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><b>Life</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">Several years ago, I was
campaigning for a candidate who was running for state office, and went to
several towns in our district to speak to other pastors to recommend this
pro-life candidate to their congregations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I talked to one pastor who asked if our candidate was against the death
penalty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I said no.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He said, “Well then, he’s not pro-life, is
he?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">The term “pro-life” also has
its own context and meaning that this man ignored.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The moniker has to do specifically with the
matter of abortion, and by extension with the protection of all innocent human
life from conception to death by natural causes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But he was drawing a moral equivalence
between taking the life of the innocent in the womb and taking the life of the
guilty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is a false equivalence and
certainly contrary to the teaching of Scripture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">It is true that Scripture
teaches us to safeguard human life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
is evident in the sixth commandment, forbidding murder (Ex. 20:13) and other
passages requiring us to guard against causing death by careless or negligent
behavior (e.g. Deut. 22:8).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But
Scripture also warrants the taking of human life in cases of self-defense (Ex.
22:2), war<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Blog%20Post%20-%20Keep%20yourselves%20from%20idols.docx#_ftn7" name="_ftnref7" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">[7]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>,
and capital crimes (e.g., Ex. 21:12-14).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><b>Science & Technology</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">Some people make a god of
science by adopting it as an epistemological principle that whatever is not capable
of being studied by the scientific method is nonexistent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everything must be understood in terms of
what science can tell us about it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In
this case, science becomes absolute, and it implies a whole philosophy and worldview
(naturalism).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Related to this is the
assumption some people make that if something is technologically possible, then
its morally permissible (artificial insemination; surrogacy; cloning; genetic
manipulation; etc.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><b>Democracy</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">It’s been said that
democracy is like two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for lunch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">Commitment to democracy as
an absolute principle is ultimately self-defeating.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Must the will of the majority be accepted,
for example, if the demos votes to abolish democracy and establish some other
form of government?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some Muslims in the
West, for instance, have suggested that the democratic process should be used
for just such a purpose—to replace democracy with a Caliphate (sharia) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><b>Equality</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">Is equality a good
thing?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It depends on what you mean by it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you mean equal treatment under the law,
i.e., protection of basic human rights, a guarantee of due process, recognizing
the principle of “innocent until proven guilty”, etc., then yes, by all means,
let’s have it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But should we seek equality
of outcome?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Certainly not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because to ensure equality of outcome we must
treat people unequally under the law.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some
people are naturally more talented, work harder, take greater risks, invest
more time and money, or act with greater wisdom than others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They tend to enjoy a greater level of
prosperity as a result.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It would be
unjust to deprive them of the fruit of their labor by forcibly redistributing
it to others who didn’t take the same risks or make the same sacrifices or act
with the same degree of wisdom.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><b>Conclusion</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">Each of the things mentioned
above has its value, but none of them can be taken without qualifications or
exceptions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But who defines these
qualifications and exceptions?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Who sets
the limits?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Who establishes their proper
boundaries?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is, of course, God
himself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nothing can be considered
absolute except God himself and his Word.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He created all things, and he <i>defines</i> all things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Allegiance to him is the only permissible
absolute.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This we can say—and this we <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">must </i>say—without any exceptions or
qualifications.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There must be nothing
that limits our allegiance to him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No
person, property, party, or principle must be allowed take precedence over him
and what he has told us in his word.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">“Little children, keep
yourselves from idols.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">1 John 5:21</span></div>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
<!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<br />
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: 130%; text-indent: .25in;">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Blog%20Post%20-%20Keep%20yourselves%20from%20idols.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 130%;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 130%;"> The
Greek word translated here as “serve” (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">douleuō</i>)
frequently has God as its object (Matt. 6:24 and par. Lk. 16:13; Acts 20:19;
Rom. 7:6, 25; 12:1; 14:18; 16:18; Col. 3:24; 1 Th. 1:9).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: 130%; text-indent: .25in;">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Blog%20Post%20-%20Keep%20yourselves%20from%20idols.docx#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 130%;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 130%;">
“Every absolutization of what is relative points at the deification of what has
been created.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Herman Dooyeweerd, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Roots of Western Culture: Pagan,
Secular, and Christian Options</i> (Paideia Press, 2012), p. 13<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: 130%; text-indent: .25in;">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Blog%20Post%20-%20Keep%20yourselves%20from%20idols.docx#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 130%;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 130%;">
Rousas John Rushdoony, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Institutes of Biblical
Law</i> (Philipsburg, NJ:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company, 1973), p. 4<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn4" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: 130%; text-indent: .25in;">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Blog%20Post%20-%20Keep%20yourselves%20from%20idols.docx#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 130%;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 130%;"> </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shouting_fire_in_a_crowded_theater"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 130%;">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shouting_fire_in_a_crowded_theater</span></a><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 130%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn5" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<h1 style="background: #FEFEFE; line-height: 130%; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: none; text-indent: .25in;">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Blog%20Post%20-%20Keep%20yourselves%20from%20idols.docx#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 130%;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #365f91; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[5]</span></b></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 130%;"> </span><a href="https://www.austriancenter.com/inequality-poverty-the-free-market-and-capitalism-the-story-of-a-wonderful-success/"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 130%;">Inequality, Poverty, “The Free Market” and Capitalism: the
story of a wonderful success</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 130%;"><o:p></o:p></span></h1>
</div>
<div id="ftn6" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: 130%; text-indent: .25in;">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Blog%20Post%20-%20Keep%20yourselves%20from%20idols.docx#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 130%;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 130%;"> </span><a href="https://youtu.be/jjxwVuozMnU"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 130%;">Planned Parenthood Uses Partial-Birth
Abortions to Sell Baby Parts</span></a><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 130%;">, </span><a href="https://lozierinstitute.org/use-of-aborted-fetal-tissue-questions-answers/"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 130%;">Use
of Aborted Fetal Tissue:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Questions &
Answers</span></a><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 130%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn7" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: 130%; text-indent: .25in;">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Blog%20Post%20-%20Keep%20yourselves%20from%20idols.docx#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 130%;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[7]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 130%;"> Provided,
of course, that the motive for war and the means used in waging it are
just.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Biblical principles are not
easily proof-texted, but the fact that the Lord himself often commanded Israel
to go to war or promised his blessing and help when they were attacked (Ex.
23:27-33; Deut. 1:30; 20:4; etc.), demonstrates that waging war is not
inherently evil.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
</div>
<br /></div>
</div>
Doug Enickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15521382555614587285noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6504425930185898579.post-41921029972629690162019-12-11T15:47:00.000-06:002019-12-11T16:43:57.761-06:00The Joy of a Clear Conscience<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">If you do well, will not your countenance be
lifted up?</span></i><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">– Genesis 4:7 –<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">These
words, spoken by God to Cain, deal with what may well be the single most
profound aspect of human experience – the work of conscience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">Cain
and his brother each brought an offering to God, related to his life’s
work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cain was “a tiller of the ground,”
and Abel, “a keeper of flocks.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Lord
was pleased with Abel’s offering, but had “no regard” for Cain’s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because
Abel brought his offering <i>in faith</i> and Cain did not (Heb. 11:4).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-j1UbRwaxH-Q/XfA0TEHblGI/AAAAAAAACug/gjLJVHzPI6U3evoL5muaFBa5eSzNx3qTACPcBGAYYCw/s1600/Cain%2Band%2BAbel.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" data-original-height="664" data-original-width="1024" height="207" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-j1UbRwaxH-Q/XfA0TEHblGI/AAAAAAAACug/gjLJVHzPI6U3evoL5muaFBa5eSzNx3qTACPcBGAYYCw/s320/Cain%2Band%2BAbel.gif" width="320" /></span></a><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">This
difference is intimated in how their respective offerings are described. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is said of Cain, simply, that he “brought
an offering to the L<span style="font-variant: small-caps;">ord</span> of the
fruit of the ground.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But concerning
Abel, it says he brought the “<i>firstlings</i> of his flock and of their <i>fat</i>
portions.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This means, as Cassuto explains,
that “whilst Abel was concerned to choose the finest thing in his possession,
Cain was indifferent.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/Doug%20Enick/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Blog%20Posts%20In%20Progress.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">Cain
held back the best portions for himself and gave the leftovers to God.<a href="file:///C:/Users/Doug%20Enick/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Blog%20Posts%20In%20Progress.docx#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In so doing, he betrayed a lack of faith.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As a result, his offering was rejected, and seeing
this, “his countenance fell.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> That is, h</span>is mood
expressed itself physically.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His body
language (slumping shoulders, hanging head, and troubled look) betrayed his
inner state.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was sullen and depressed, both inevitable consequences of wrongdoing.<a href="file:///C:/Users/Doug%20Enick/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Blog%20Posts%20In%20Progress.docx#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Inevitable, because God has given us the
ability to pass judgment on ourselves, either approving or disapproving our
behavior (Rom. 2:15).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We do this <i>necessarily</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s something we cannot <i>not </i>do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We can no more escape it than we can escape
being human.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">When
we do what is right, we experience an inner moral harmony.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All is right between God and my soul.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But when we do wrong, we suffer internal dissonance,
a contradiction between what we know to be right and a consciousness of guilt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The result is shame, guilt, anxiety, depression,
and often – as in Cain’s case – anger toward God (for not accepting our
behavior) and toward the righteous (because their good behavior stands as a rebuke
of our sin).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">In 1973, Dr. Karl Menninger, one of America’s foremost psychiatric experts wrote an insightful book entitled, <i>Whatever
Became of Sin?</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In it, he lamented
the fact that the word “sin” had virtually disappeared from our
vocabulary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As a psychiatrist, mind you (not fundamentalist preacher!), he saw a
deep connection between mental health and moral health.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">“Has the reader dismissed the whole
sin-and-guilt business from his mind?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Can he?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And the anxiety and
depression, also?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just call it
existential, do you, and plod onward?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If
so, congratulations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some of us can’t do
that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is a burning sore, a deep
grief, a heartache for many of us.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/Doug%20Enick/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Blog%20Posts%20In%20Progress.docx#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">For all his insights, Menninger
was a secular man and therefore didn’t understand just how deeply embedded and
how pervasive a thing sin really is in human nature and experience, nor did he fully
understand the objective character and divine origin of the moral code; but he
was an astute enough observer of his patients to recognize that so much of the “depression,
gloom, discouragement, and apprehensiveness” people suffer is the result of
a guilty conscience. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">The
work of conscience lies at the heart of our self-esteem.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When we do what is right, we can think well
of ourselves and experience true joy; but when we do wrong, we can’t help but
to condemn ourselves and suffer a kind of self-loathing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No one can feel good about himself while his
own conscience condemns him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hence the
futility of basing one’s self-esteem on anything other than a clear conscience (e.g., wealth, beauty, educational or professional accomplishments, social standing, etc.).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">Paul
spoke often of importance of maintaining a clear conscience. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When tried before the Roman governor,
he said, “I always take pains to have a clear conscience toward both God and
man” (Acts 24:16). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In writing to the
church at Corinth he said, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: #F2F2F2; line-height: 150%; mso-background-themecolor: background1; mso-background-themeshade: 242; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">For our boast is this: the testimony of our
conscience that we behaved in the world with simplicity and godly sincerity,
not by earthly wisdom but by the grace of God, and supremely so toward you. (2
Cor. <st1:time hour="13" minute="12" w:st="on">1:12</st1:time>)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">There
were those who had accused him of wrongdoing, of being a false apostle, of
having false motives in preaching, of claiming too much authority for himself. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But he knew otherwise. His conscience was clear. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">He
wrote to Timothy, “The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart
and a good conscience and a sincere faith” (1 Tim. 1:5). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Elsewhere, he said,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: #F2F2F2; line-height: 150%; mso-background-themecolor: background1; mso-background-themeshade: 242; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my
child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by
them you may wage the good warfare, holding faith and a good conscience. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of
their faith. (1 Tim. <st1:time hour="13" minute="18" w:st="on">1:18</st1:time>-19)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">Cain’s
countenance fell when he sinned; he was grieved and crushed.<a href="file:///C:/Users/Doug%20Enick/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Blog%20Posts%20In%20Progress.docx#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the Lord said, “Why are you angry, and why
is your face fallen?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you do well,
will not your countenance be lifted up?” (Gen. 4:6-7a).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These are not words of rebuke, but an
expression of comfort and fatherly counsel.<a href="file:///C:/Users/Doug%20Enick/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Blog%20Posts%20In%20Progress.docx#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Lord was encouraging him to return to the
path of obedience as the only remedy to relieve his guilty conscience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is our only remedy, too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">All
too often, however, we seek alternative cures.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Sometimes this takes the form of euphemizing our sins.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are no longer sins – offenses against
God – but mistakes, errors, lapses in judgments.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometimes we justify ourselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“What I did may have been wrong, <i>but</i>…”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps we even deny we did the deed in
question; or worse, deny the sinful deed was sinful; or worse still, dare to
claim the deed was in fact good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All of
this proves the truth of Jeremiah 17:9,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: #F2F2F2; line-height: 130%; mso-background-themecolor: background1; mso-background-themeshade: 242;">
<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 130%;">The
heart is deceitful above all things,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: #F2F2F2; line-height: 130%; mso-background-themecolor: background1; mso-background-themeshade: 242;">
<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 130%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and desperately sick;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: #F2F2F2; line-height: 130%; mso-background-themecolor: background1; mso-background-themeshade: 242;">
<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 130%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>who
can understand it?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">With
every justification, denial, and evasion, conscience registers its
dissent and our inner turmoil grows.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We can no more escape this than
we can escape our humanity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: #F2F2F2; line-height: 135%; mso-background-themecolor: background1; mso-background-themeshade: 242;">
<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 135%;">I
know my transgressions,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: #F2F2F2; line-height: 135%; mso-background-themecolor: background1; mso-background-themeshade: 242;">
<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 135%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and my sin is ever before me<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: #F2F2F2; line-height: 135%; mso-background-themecolor: background1; mso-background-themeshade: 242;">
<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 135%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>— Psalm 51:3<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">The
burden of a troubled conscience, especially when strengthened by the convicting
power of the Holy Spirit, can be unbearable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The more we try to convince ourselves that we have done nothing to be
ashamed of, the further we alienate ourselves, not only from God but also from
ourselves.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: #F2F2F2; line-height: 135%; mso-background-themecolor: background1; mso-background-themeshade: 242;">
<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 135%;">When
I kept silent,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: #F2F2F2; line-height: 135%; mso-background-themecolor: background1; mso-background-themeshade: 242;">
<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 135%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>my bones wasted away<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: #F2F2F2; line-height: 135%; mso-background-themecolor: background1; mso-background-themeshade: 242;">
<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 135%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>through my groaning all day long.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: #F2F2F2; line-height: 135%; mso-background-themecolor: background1; mso-background-themeshade: 242;">
<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 135%;">For
day and night<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: #F2F2F2; line-height: 135%; mso-background-themecolor: background1; mso-background-themeshade: 242;">
<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 135%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>your hand was heavy upon me;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: #F2F2F2; line-height: 135%; mso-background-themecolor: background1; mso-background-themeshade: 242;">
<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 135%;">my
strength was dried up <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: #F2F2F2; line-height: 135%; mso-background-themecolor: background1; mso-background-themeshade: 242;">
<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 135%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>as by the heat of summer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: #F2F2F2; line-height: 135%; mso-background-themecolor: background1; mso-background-themeshade: 242;">
<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 135%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>— Psalm 32:3-4<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">The
only relief from this – the only path back to an inner moral harmony – is the
path of repentance, which is to say, a return to a life of obedience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i>“If you do well</i> [note the conditional
clause!] will not your countenance be lifted up?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The body language once again reflecting the
inner mood, which is itself the product of an approving conscience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">To
borrow the language of the Westminster Shorter Catechism, a return to obedience
– combined with a direct and earnest appeal to God for mercy through Jesus
Christ (cf. Heb. 9:14) – will result in “peace of conscience and joy in the
Holy Spirit.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/Doug%20Enick/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Blog%20Posts%20In%20Progress.docx#_ftn7" name="_ftnref7" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">[7]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is no better or more joyful way to
live.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
<!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<br />
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="color: black;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Doug%20Enick/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Blog%20Posts%20In%20Progress.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"> Umberto
Cassuto, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Commentary on the Book of
Genesis: From Adam to Noah</i> (Jerusalem: The Magnes Press, 1998), p.
205.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="color: black;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Doug%20Enick/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Blog%20Posts%20In%20Progress.docx#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"> At a
later period, the Lord would deliver a scathing rebuke to the priests for
despising his name by bringing him unworthy offerings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Is that not evil?” he said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Present that to your governor; will he accept
you or show you favor?” (Mal. 1:6-14).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="color: black;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Doug%20Enick/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Blog%20Posts%20In%20Progress.docx#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"> The
experience of Adam and Eve show that shame and fear of retribution are also
among the effects of a guilty conscience (see Gen. 2:25; 3:8-10).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn4" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="color: black;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Doug%20Enick/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Blog%20Posts%20In%20Progress.docx#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"> Karl
Menninger, M.D., <i>Whatever Became of Sin?</i> (New York, NY:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hawthorn Books, Inc., 1973), p. 17.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn5" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="color: black;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Doug%20Enick/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Blog%20Posts%20In%20Progress.docx#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"> Cassuto,
p. 207<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn6" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="color: black;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Doug%20Enick/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Blog%20Posts%20In%20Progress.docx#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"> Cassuto,
p. 208<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn7" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: 150%;">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/Doug%20Enick/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Blog%20Posts%20In%20Progress.docx#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span style="color: black;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> [7]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">
Westminster Shorter Catechism Q&A #36.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
</div>
Doug Enickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15521382555614587285noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6504425930185898579.post-77194480255966623182019-12-10T16:18:00.001-06:002019-12-10T16:58:13.563-06:00The New Left-Hander’s Study Bible<b><span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">Nashville </span></b><span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">(JNN) – Thomas Nelson, Inc. has announced the publication of
a new specialty Bible designed to appeal to left-handers.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">The <i>Left-Hander’s Study Bible</i> is set to come
out just in time for Christmas.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">“I am so happy to finally have a Bible that is sensitive to my
needs,” said Amanda Laevus. “We live in a right-hander’s world, and
everything is geared toward them, including the Bible.”</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Fh4WVC_Shgk/XfAYvY-b9TI/AAAAAAAACuQ/WX3-Tp9f3AEqViOA6CYV1LY6VqQQpT1LACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Left-handed%2BStudy%2BBible.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="336" data-original-width="576" height="185" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Fh4WVC_Shgk/XfAYvY-b9TI/AAAAAAAACuQ/WX3-Tp9f3AEqViOA6CYV1LY6VqQQpT1LACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Left-handed%2BStudy%2BBible.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">“Think about it,” said Thad Armstrong, the key figure behind the
development of the new Bible, and himself a leftie. “The Bible has favored
righties over lefties since the very beginning. It speaks, for
instance, of <i>right</i> and wrong. How is this supposed
to make a leftie feel? And this is just the tip of the
iceberg. In our new <i>Left-Hander’s Study Bible </i>we
have kept the text of the NIV, but have made some modifications so as to be
sensitive to lefties.”</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">Here’s a sampling of the kind of changes that have been made:</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 9.35pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -9.35pt;">
<span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">·</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">“Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is <i>left</i>”
(Eph. 6:1).</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 9.35pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -9.35pt;">
<span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">·</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">“After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at
the <i>left</i> hand of the Majesty in heaven” (Heb. 1:3).</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 9.35pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -9.35pt;">
<span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">·</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for <i>lefteousness</i>”
(Matt. 5:6).</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">“Next we’ll be developing a left-hander’s Bible for men, another
for women, one for teens, and one for children. They all face unique
challenges and deserve a Bible that speaks to them. After that we’ll
branch out and do the <i>Native American Left-Hander’s Bible</i> then
hit all the minority groups,” Armstrong said. “We’re even
considering doing an ambidextrous Bible.” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">– </span>Jester News Network</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Am0oeMyVO3Q/XfATbEE_7sI/AAAAAAAACuE/y7lfN7mpyJ40EnzTx1uYl4dGJvb0eTiKQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Jester%2Bhat.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="606" data-original-width="960" height="126" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Am0oeMyVO3Q/XfATbEE_7sI/AAAAAAAACuE/y7lfN7mpyJ40EnzTx1uYl4dGJvb0eTiKQCLcBGAsYHQ/s200/Jester%2Bhat.png" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;">
Any similarity to actual events is accidental. </div>
<br />
<br />Doug Enickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15521382555614587285noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6504425930185898579.post-42974197808968068332019-12-08T20:26:00.000-06:002019-12-09T11:29:08.262-06:00Faithful are the wounds of a friend<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">Recently, while preaching through the book of Zechariah, I was struck by a passage in the thirteenth chapter in which the prophet spoke of a
time when the Lord would so work in and among his people that they would no
longer tolerate the presence of idols or the prophets who served them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So adamant would they be in this that even
the family members of the false prophets would rebuke and discipline them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What’s more, the false prophets themselves
would come to be grateful for this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: #F2F2F2; line-height: 150%; mso-background-themecolor: background1; mso-background-themeshade: 242;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">Every
prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He will not put on a hairy cloak in order to
deceive, but he will say, “I am no prophet, I am a worker of the soil…” And if
one asks him, “What are these wounds on your back?” he will say, “The wounds I
received in the house of my friends” (Zech. 13:4-6).</span><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
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<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">The genuineness of their
repentance would be proven by the fact that they would regard as <i>friends</i>,
those who had reproved them and rescued them from their error.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">The same sentiment is expressed
in Proverbs, “Faithful are the wounds of a friend” (Prov. 27:6).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The meaning is that a faithful friend will
not allow his friend to persist in his error without seeking to correct him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This ought always to be done in a spirit of
gentleness, of course (Gal. 6:1; 2 Tim. 2:25), but in the world’s wisdom, no
matter how loving, kind, and well-intentioned the correction might be, this is
not an act of friendship, but of enmity; it is not love, but hate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the
world’s wisdom, it’s the one who applauds and encourages his neighbor in his sinful
ways who is thought to be a friend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
truth is that in such a case he is acting the part of an enemy, no matter how
friendly he thinks he’s being.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">Consider what David says:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Let
a righteous man strike me—it is a kindness;</span><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>let him rebuke me—it is oil for my head;</span><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>let
not my head refuse it (Ps. 141:5)</span><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">“Let a righteous man correct me – it is a <i>kindness.”</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This is a mark of wisdom, to regard righteousness as more important than
comfort, and to esteem as a friend one who risks being considered rude and
offensive by delivering reproof.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wQirlWdvK1M/Xe6ER5Tw_bI/AAAAAAAACtk/OfcypJHAJrsukHXVoT6EJbhg24XWdJt0wCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/David%2Band%2BNathan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="479" data-original-width="420" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wQirlWdvK1M/Xe6ER5Tw_bI/AAAAAAAACtk/OfcypJHAJrsukHXVoT6EJbhg24XWdJt0wCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/David%2Band%2BNathan.jpg" width="280" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">Perhaps David had the prophet
Nathan in mind when he wrote this. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nathan had given David a very sharp and
well-deserved rebuke on account of his sin with Bathsheba, a rebuke that brought
him to a heart-felt repentance and brokenness before God, resulting in his
restoration (see 2 Sam. 12).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">However difficult it is to
deliver such a stroke – and however painful it is to receive it – it is
nevertheless an act of kindness for which we should be grateful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The author of Hebrews puts it this way:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">For
the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it
yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it
(Heb. 12:11)</span><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">May the Lord give us hearts that
humbly receive the faithful wounds of a friend and the courage to be faithful friends ourselves. </span></div>
Doug Enickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15521382555614587285noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6504425930185898579.post-23789329759815825802019-11-27T11:35:00.001-06:002019-11-28T08:27:54.906-06:00The Pilgrims' Cautionary Tale<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZKEYl3TxQQM/Xd6tLQISYWI/AAAAAAAACsQ/Lsl29fhhpdcXHqGv6eGYZmblgXHlmIBPACPcBGAYYCw/s1600/Brooklyn_Museum_-_Embarkation_of_the_Pilgrims_-_Robert_Walter_Weir_-_overall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1020" data-original-width="1536" height="265" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZKEYl3TxQQM/Xd6tLQISYWI/AAAAAAAACsQ/Lsl29fhhpdcXHqGv6eGYZmblgXHlmIBPACPcBGAYYCw/s400/Brooklyn_Museum_-_Embarkation_of_the_Pilgrims_-_Robert_Walter_Weir_-_overall.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-X44w-rWl79Q/Xd6tTEC0VrI/AAAAAAAACsM/tfWhoxTTn7YSzv3hx8KrSbxfVEjbI8PMwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Pilgrims.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"></span></a><span style="background: white; font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Kate Zernike, writing
for the New York Times, </span><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/21/weekinreview/21zernike.html?_r=1&hpw=&pagewanted="><span style="background: white; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: blue;">finds fault</span></span></a></span><span style="background: white; font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"> with what she calls “one common telling” of the story of the
Pilgrims.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That telling – she also calls
it an “interpretation” of their experience – has it that they conducted a brief
experiment in socialism.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The problem for
Zernike is that it’s not simply an interpretation or one common telling; it’s
what no less an authority than William Bradford documents in <i>Of Plymouth
Plantation</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bradford, of course, was
governor of Plymouth Colony for 30 years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">It was not the Pilgrims
who wanted a communal plantation; it was required by the terms of their
agreement with the London Company that financed the colony. (He who pays the piper calls the tunes, as
they say.) It did not go well. Here is Bradford in his own words:</span><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[endif]--></span><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-61N2R-cmEG8/Xd6uCEPp47I/AAAAAAAACsY/bkXXIgknIZAjFV3e-QihddvjV7s5czSUACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/William%2BBradford.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="314" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-61N2R-cmEG8/Xd6uCEPp47I/AAAAAAAACsY/bkXXIgknIZAjFV3e-QihddvjV7s5czSUACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/William%2BBradford.jpg" width="200" /></span></a><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">“They began to
consider how to raise more corn, and obtain a better crop than they had done,
so that they might not continue to endure the misery of want. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At length after much debate, the Governor with
the advice of the chief among them, allowed each man to plant other corn for
his own household, and to trust to themselves for that; in all other things to
go on in the general way as before. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So
every family was assigned a parcel of land, according to the proportion of
their number with that in view… <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i>This
was very successful. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It made all hands
very industrious,</i> <i>so that much more corn was planted</i> than otherwise
would have been by any means the Governor or any other could devise, and saved
him a great deal of trouble, and gave far better satisfaction.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/Doug%20Enick/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Blog%20Posts%20In%20Progress.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">They were
reluctant to go against the terms of their charter, but they deemed it
necessary for their survival.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
stunning turnaround in production led Bradford to comment on the benefits of
private property and the dangers of common ownership, especially in terms of the
personal incentives and disincentives each system creates. </span><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">“The failure
of this experiment of communal service, which was tried for several years, and
by good and honest men proves the emptiness of the theory of Plato and other
ancients, applauded by some of later times, - that the taking away of private
property, and the possession of it in community, by a commonwealth, would make
a state happy and flourishing; as if they were wiser than God. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For in this instance, community of property
(so far as it went) was found to breed much confusion and discontent, and
retard much employment which would have been to the general benefit and
comfort. For the young men who were most able and fit for service objected to being
forced to spend their time and strength in working for other men’s wives and
children, without any recompense. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
strong man or the resourceful man had no more share of food, clothes, etc.,
than the weak man who was not able to do a quarter the other could. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was thought injustice. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The aged and graver men, who were ranked and
equalized in labour, food, clothes, etc., with the humbler and younger ones,
thought it some indignity and disrespect to them. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As for men’s wives who were obliged to do
service for other men, such as cooking, washing their clothes, etc., they
considered it a kind of slavery, and many husbands would not brook [<i>tolerate</i>]
it. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This feature of it would have been
worse still, if they had been men of an inferior class. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If (it was an thought) all were to share
alike, and all were to do alike, then all were on an equality throughout, and
one was as good as another, and so, if it did not actually abolish those very
relations which God himself has set among men, it did at least greatly diminish
the mutual respect that is so important should be preserved amongst them. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let none argue that this is due to human
failing, rather than to the communistic plan of life in itself. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I answer, seeing that all men have this
failing in them, that God in His wisdom saw that another plan of life was
fitter for them.<a href="file:///C:/Users/Doug%20Enick/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Blog%20Posts%20In%20Progress.docx#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a></span><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">The colony abandoned its
experiment in communism only by degrees. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When each family was given a plot of land to
farm and given the exclusive right to enjoy its fruits, the plots were not given as perpetual holdings, but distributed yearly by lot. Each year the plots changed hands. But this caused another problem with personal incentives. Why go to so much trouble to nurture the land I work this year when I'll be farming a different plot of ground next year? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">“</span><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">In order that they might raise their crops to
better advantage, they made suit to the Governor to have some land apportioned
for permanent holdings, and not by yearly lot, whereby the plots which the more
industrious had brought under good culture one year would change hands the
next, and others would reap the advantage; with the result that the manuring
and culture of the land were neglected. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
was well considered, and their request was granted. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Every person was given one acre of land, for
them and theirs, and they were to have no more till the seven years had
expired.<a href="file:///C:/Users/Doug%20Enick/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Blog%20Posts%20In%20Progress.docx#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br />
<span style="background: white;">The move
had the intended effect and the colony prospered all the more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="background: white;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="background: white;"></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;">We can learn many valuable lessons from the Pilgrims, not the least of which is the value of private property and the dangers of socialism. </span></div>
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<!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><br clear="all" />
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<!--[endif]-->
<br />
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="color: black;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Doug%20Enick/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Blog%20Posts%20In%20Progress.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> William
Bradford, <i>Of Plymouth Plantation</i> (Mineola, NY:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dover Publications, 2006), pp. 75-76.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Italics added for emphasis.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="color: black;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Doug%20Enick/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Blog%20Posts%20In%20Progress.docx#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> Ibid, p.
76<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="color: black;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Doug%20Enick/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Blog%20Posts%20In%20Progress.docx#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> Ibid, p.
94<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
</div>
<br />Doug Enickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15521382555614587285noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6504425930185898579.post-85750520300963935912019-11-26T17:39:00.003-06:002021-11-25T08:32:53.017-06:00Count Your Blessings<br />
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<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">As we celebrate Thanksgiving this week, we would do well to consider just how vital giving thanks is to the worship of God. We get a sense of its importance when we read this devastating indictment in Paul's letter to the Romans:</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">For the wrath of God is revealed from
heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their
unrighteousness suppress the truth. For
what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.
For his invisible attributes, namely,
his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since
the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, <i>they did not honor
him as God or give thanks to him</i>, but they became futile in their thinking,
and their foolish hearts were darkened (Rom. 1:18-21).</span><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Here
we find the root of all sin – a failure to honor God <i>as God</i> (i.e., as the
Lord of all) and, consequently, a failure to give him the thanks he is
due. The result of this double failure is
to become futile in thought and dark in heart.
“They became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were
darkened.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Is
this not the story of our first parents in a nutshell?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God had said, “You shall not eat of the tree
of the knowledge of good and evil, for in the day you eat of it you will surely
die.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The serpent countered, “You will
not surely die, but will instead gain wisdom and become like God, knowing good
and evil.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">If
they had honored the Lord as God, they would have taken him at his word.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead, Eve thought, “The word of the Almighty
and Eternal God – the Maker of heaven and earth – is not enough for me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I must verify his word by my own experience.”
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s when the battle was lost. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And of course, Adam watched the whole thing unfold
and did nothing to stop it, but rather joined her in her disregard of God’s
honor.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NdlI0R2LhzE/Xd20XR0XNYI/AAAAAAAACr8/je3JXVHyy4gq9o3jjIOVTu3aF_kKkMxRwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Cornucopia.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="610" data-original-width="960" height="406" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NdlI0R2LhzE/Xd20XR0XNYI/AAAAAAAACr8/je3JXVHyy4gq9o3jjIOVTu3aF_kKkMxRwCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/Cornucopia.jpg" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">A
vital aspect of that disregard was their failure to give him thanks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Think about their original condition.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They lived in a world of God’s own making, filled
with every delightful thing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He placed
them in paradise (Eden means <i>pleasure</i>).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He told them they might eat from every tree of the garden, except <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">one</span>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It’s important that we grasp this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><i>Only one tree was prohibited</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There were apple trees and banana trees and peach trees, coconut,
pomegranate, and pecan trees – every fruit and nut bearing tree you can name,
and probably several more that have long since become extinct.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And what do Adam and Eve do?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They <i>obsess</i> over the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">one tree</i> that was forbidden to
them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They didn’t thank God for all that
he had given them but instead grumbled and complained over the one and only
thing he withheld. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">And
we tend to do the same thing, do we not?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We focus on what we <i>wish</i> we had instead of what we <i>do</i> have;
and so we become restless and discontent, in a word, <i>ungrateful</i>. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">There
is wise counsel in the refrain of an old hymn. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Count your blessings, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">name them one by one. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Count your blessings, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">see what God hath done.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">This
is the antidote for what ails us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All
the more so when we consider that we have received these blessings quite apart
from our deserving them. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have
received them because the Lord is the “overflowing fountain of all good.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Blog%20Posts%20In%20Progress.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Let
us strive not only to be content with what we have (1 Tim. 6:6, 8) but genuinely
grateful, for as James puts it, <o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 18.6667px;">“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights” (Jas. 1:17).</span></div>
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<!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<br />
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Blog%20Posts%20In%20Progress.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> The Belgic Confession,
Article 1<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
</div>
<br />Doug Enickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15521382555614587285noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6504425930185898579.post-60585470632754119162019-09-18T19:59:00.002-05:002019-09-18T20:05:44.983-05:00The Spectral Evidence against Brett Kavanaugh<br />
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<i><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">Their
“gut reaction” was that her allegations “rang true”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">Imagine being charged with a
crime you didn’t commit, a crime punishable by death.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The only evidence against you is that offered
by your accuser, who testifies that he saw you commit the crime.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t mean he claims to have seen it in the usual sense, as in <i>with his eyes</i>, but in a preternatural sense, i.e., in
a vision.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You’re tempted to laugh the matter off.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Surely such evidence is
inadmissible in a court of law?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But to
your dismay, the court takes this “evidence” <i>very</i> seriously.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Making matters worse, every time you deny
your guilt, the accuser claims a recurrence of the vision right then and there
in the courtroom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thus, every denial
only multiplies the “evidence” against you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>When it’s all is said and done, the jury renders its verdict: guilty as
charged...and off to the gallows you go.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">Nineteen people were tried, convicted,
and hanged for witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts on this kind of evidence.<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Blog%20Posts%20In%20Progress.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The trials began in February 1692 when a
group of girls and young women (aged 9-20) began to exhibit strange behavior,
including fits of screaming and convulsions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They threw things around the room, contorted themselves into odd
positions, rolled on the floor, hid under furniture, made strange noises, and
claimed to fall into trances.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-X_Pmm9LoLYI/XYLUR_O5DYI/AAAAAAAACqk/-J-lMpz7-W4ylpYYm5j-vCjVmX_nUoeNwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/salem-witch-trial-mary-walcott-715.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="497" data-original-width="715" height="277" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-X_Pmm9LoLYI/XYLUR_O5DYI/AAAAAAAACqk/-J-lMpz7-W4ylpYYm5j-vCjVmX_nUoeNwCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/salem-witch-trial-mary-walcott-715.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">The first of these “afflicted
girls” were aged 9 and 11, a daughter and a niece of Reverend Samuel Parris.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A doctor was called for to examine them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He could find no physical cause
for their symptoms and concluded they must be under some devilry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After extensive questioning, the girls identified
a woman named Tituba, a Parris family slave from Barbados, as the one who had
bewitched them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">Soon the numbers of the
“afflicted” and the “accused” grew.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most
of the accused were women (as were most of the accusers); and most of the
convicted were convicted on evidence provided by <i>specters</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The accusers claimed the spirits (specters)
of the accused appeared to them in a vision to terrify and torment them, often pinching
and pricking them and driving them mad.<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Blog%20Posts%20In%20Progress.docx#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When the accused denied their guilt before
the judge and jury, the accusers often claimed new visions on the spot, and
went into convulsions or exhibited other signs of bewitchment, to the gasps and
horror of onlookers.<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Blog%20Posts%20In%20Progress.docx#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By fall, more than 200 people had been
arrested for suspicion of practicing witchcraft.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Governor Phips began to doubt the evidence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Too many good and decent people were being
accused.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><i>The
Devil did take upon him the shape of Innocent persons and some were accused of
whose innocency I was well assured and many considerable persons of unblamable
life and conversation were cried out upon as witches and wizards.</i><a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Blog%20Posts%20In%20Progress.docx#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: black; font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a></span><i><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">In October, he dissolved the court
and the remaining prisoners were released.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In the years following, several prominent participants in the trials
publicly lamented the roles they played, including several accusers and judges.<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Blog%20Posts%20In%20Progress.docx#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Eventually, the condemned were
exonerated.<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Blog%20Posts%20In%20Progress.docx#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">I was reminded of this bizarre episode in our nation’s history as I read Mollie Hemingway’s recent </span><a href="https://thefederalist.com/2019/09/15/new-book-christine-blasey-fords-friend-leland-keyser-doesnt-believe/?fbclid=IwAR1HKWiXqbnBjCJMqrGDaPHOY-cfIVHlQ4dn9rPITon03CcrJ_DURnIz9Oo"><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">column</span></a><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">
detailing Leland Keyser’s denial of Christine Blasey Ford’s allegations against
Justice Brett Kavanaugh.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Blasey Ford,
you’ll remember, accused Kavanaugh of attempting to rape her at a party they
attended while in high school.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
claimed there were three other people at the party.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All of them deny it, including Keyser, her
“life-long friend,” a point reiterated in a new book by two New York Times
reporters, Robin Pogebrin and Kate Kelly. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: black; font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">We
spoke multiple times to Keyser, who also said that she didn’t recall that
get-together or any others like it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In
fact, she challenged Ford’s accuracy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I
don’t have any confidence in the story.”</span></i><i><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">Nevertheless, these intrepid
reporters believe Blasey Ford’s allegations anyway.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Their “gut reaction” was that they “rang
true.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Got that?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Despite the lack of corroborating evidence;
despite the fact that the accuser's life-long friend and key witness has no
confidence in her story, Pogebrin and Kelly have confidence in it because
their “gut” tells them its true. Is this the new standard of evidence, an unverifiable subjective gut reaction?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is “gut
evidence” the new “spectral evidence”?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thankfully,
this is not yet the case in courts of law, but it seems to be so in the court of public opinion, and clearly it</span><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">’</span><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">s the case in the offices
of the New York Times.</span><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">......</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">For more on the Salem Witch Trials, see </span><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">History of Massachusetts
Blog: </span><a href="https://historyofmassachusetts.org/the-salem-witch-trials/"><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">History
of the Salem Witch Trials</span></a><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"> and </span><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Carol F. Karlsen, </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><i><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Devil-Shape-Woman-Witchcraft-Colonial-ebook/dp/B00BP3XNEQ/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2XIXDFO54355F&keywords=devil+in+the+shape+of+a+woman&qid=1568755963&s=books&sprefix=Devil+in+the+shape%2Cstripbooks%2C180&sr=1-1">The Devil in the Shape of
a Woman: Witchcraft in Colonial New
England</a>. </span></i></span><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">For an excellent account of the
Kavanaugh hearings, see </span><i style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Justice-Trial-Kavanaugh-Confirmation-Supreme/dp/B07SYC3RDC/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Justice+on+trial&qid=1568854386&sr=8-1">Justice on Trial: The Kavanaugh Confirmation and the Future of the Supreme Court</a></i><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> by
Mollie Hemingway and Carrie Severino.</span></div>
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<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Blog%20Posts%20In%20Progress.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"> Fourteen
women and five men.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Four more died in
prison, awaiting trial.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One man was
pressed to death for refusing to enter a plea.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Interestingly, ten escaped from prison, including Capt. John Alden, Jr.,
son of the Mayflower Pilgrim, John Alden, who had been accused <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .25in;">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Blog%20Posts%20In%20Progress.docx#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"> In a
letter written to the Earl of Nottingham, Governor Phips described some of the
proceedings, </span><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">“The Court still proceeding in the same method of trying
them, which was by the evidence of the afflicted persons who when they were
brought into the Court as soon as the suspected witches looked upon them
instantly fell to the ground in strange agonies and grevious torments, but when
touched by them upon the arm or some other part of their flesh were immediately
revived and came to themselves, upon [which] they made oath that the Prisioner
at the Bar did afflict them and that they saw their shape or spectre come from
their bodies which put them into such pains and torments.” (</span><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">History
of Massachusetts Blog, </span><a href="https://historyofmassachusetts.org/spectral-evidence/"><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">What is
Spectral Evidence</span></a><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">)</span><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Blog%20Posts%20In%20Progress.docx#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"> The
courts accepted three kinds of evidence: confession, testimony of two
eyewitnesses to acts of witchcraft, or spectral evidence.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Blog%20Posts%20In%20Progress.docx#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"> History
of Massachusetts Blog, </span><a href="https://historyofmassachusetts.org/spectral-evidence/"><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">What is
Spectral Evidence</span></a><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div id="ftn5" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .25in;">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Blog%20Posts%20In%20Progress.docx#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"> See for
example, </span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Diary-Samuel-Sewall-Cultural-Editions/dp/0312177712/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=diary+and+life+of+samuel+sewall&qid=1568759899&s=books&sr=1-1"><i><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">The Diary
and Life of Samuel Sewall</span></i></a><i><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<a href="file:///C:/Users/douge/Dropbox/1%20My%20Priority%20Files%202017.01.09/Blog/Blog%20Posts%20In%20Progress.docx#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"> In 1711,
the colony passed a bill clearing the names of many who were condemned and paid
restitution to their families.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In 1957,
the state of Massachusetts cleared the names of the remaining victims.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />Doug Enickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15521382555614587285noreply@blogger.com0