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November 21

Thursday, November 21st, 2024

In the previous post (November 20) I referenced Erwin Lutzer’s book, The Eclipse of God, where he stated there were 3 gravediggers who built a coffin for God. A quick recap:

Gravedigger #1- Karl Marx: An Attack on God as Ruler.

Gravedigger #2- Charles Darwin: An Attack on God as Creator.

And today’s- Gravedigger #3-Sigmund Freud:An Attack Against God as Lawgiver. Freud saw a belief in God as a fantasy. Freud made his own rules. His real fantasy was sex, sex, and more sex. No holds-barred sex. Sex of all kinds. One of his disciples was Alfred Kinsey, a bisexual who interviewed sex offenders, child molesters, and sexual assaulters for his “Kinsey Report.” I remember hearing about that as a young pastor but was clueless as to its meaning or impact. This man is S.I.C.K. He even believed child rape poses no problem for children! SICK and WRONG! So very wrong.

The satanic spawn of the gravediggers attempts to destroy God can be found in 3 philosophies. I’m sure you have heard of: Communism, Nazism, and Fascism. We have certainly seen the children of those beliefs.

What does this all mean for we who are Christ-followers? We need to stop play-acting. We need to stop posing as Christians. We need to become real Christ-followers. For the record: I see a distinct difference between calling oneself a Christian and one being a Christ-follower. More than anything else, this world needs to see genuine followers of Jesus.

 

November 20

Wednesday, November 20th, 2024

I wrote this and after finishing realized it was way too long for a one-off post. So this will actually be Part 1 and tomorrow I will post Part 2.

During my rehab (which is still ongoing), I finished reading The Eclipse of God by Erwin Lutzer. Mr. Lutzer is a retired pastor and at the age of  83 I am not sure if I know anyone who has his finger on the pulse of our culture more than him. I have NEVER been disappointed in any of his books (I have about 5-6 of them). They are insightful, thought-provoking, and IMHO spot on. This one is no exception.

However, this is not a book review. The basic premise of this book is “our nation’s disastrous search for a more inclusive deity (and what we must do about it)”. {Note: front cover subtitle}

What I found especially beneficial-and it sets the foundation for his analysis-is that he lists 3 gravediggers who prepared a coffin for God and we are paying that price today. Those 3 gravediggers are Karl Marx, Charles Darwin, and Sigmund Freud. With the limited space I have, I’m just going to give Pastor Lutzer’s main points and add a few thoughts of my own.

Gravedigger #1: The Theology of Karl Marx-At Attack on God as Ruler.  To Marx, religion was worthless. He believed religion arose because men needed a purpose, and so he created the idea of God. There is much more to his philosophy, but let’s just ask this question: How is his system working out? Let me give you common thoughts and words that illustrate his philosophy: “Defund the police.” DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion). CRT. Abolishing the importance of family (including taking decisions out of the hands of parents). At the core is a hatred for religion. A disciple of Marx’s philosophy is Nietzche (“God is dead”).

Gravedigger #2: The Theology of Charles Darwin-An Attack on God as Creator. Darwin said, “Science has nothing to do with Christ.” One bitter fruit from his philosophy is the more one applies Darwinism, the more racist one becomes. His theory led to eugenics (you decide characteristics, appearance, get rid of the “undesirables,” etc) which leads to his beliefs that there are “doubtful species.” Talk about racism! Darwinism spawned Mein Kampf, written by the ultimate racist, Adolph Hitler.

You can see the outcome of these first two gravediggers. Just look at the disciples. Look at the resulting, more common thoughts we have been dealing with over the past few years. Gravedigger #3 will post tomorrow.

October 3

Tuesday, October 3rd, 2023

I was watching a video yesterday at the request of someone and the man the video was about was asked by a reporter (as they were riding in his horse-drawn carriage. And no, he is not Amish), how he hears the voice of God.  That was an interesting question, one I’m sure the non-believing reporter was sincerely curious about.

I’ve given some thought to that same question. Here are some common, and I’m sure, not all the answers:

“I follow my heart.” That is a very familiar one today. I could give you the name of a very well known movie and entertainment company whom I think has sort of adopted that moniker as their modus operandi. I’m going to be very open and honest here: I am really, really tired of hearing this same old drivel time after time.  But it also is not new. I can remember a song back in the ’70s with the lyrics: “It can’t be so wrong; it feels so right.”

“I hear His voice.” Now…hearing His voice has a connotation that I’m uneasy with. If speaking about hearing His voice audibly, I have a real problem with since I don’t believe God speaks through a burning bush type of approach today.  Many are waiting to “hear from on high” and for God to speak out loud before they make a decision or move ahead.  Why do I have problems with this?

“He speaks through His Word.”  God’s Word, the Bible, is His voice today. The psalmist says, “Your Word is a lamp to my feet and light for my path.” 

Granted there are other answers to this question people give. We have to be careful what voice we listen to. Our culture will tell us that what used to be wrong is no longer wrong but acceptable. The Bible is out-dated and old school. Or possibly even worse, people will make outright attempts to reinterpret Scripture to make it mean what they want it to mean.  They deny what is clearly defined as wrong and will either hedge on it or completely misfire because it doesn’t fit their narrative.  That is why “follow your heart” is so troublesome. The Bible says, “The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9 NASB2020)  Long story short: our heart cannot be counted on to make or decide the right thing to do. Emotions enter the picture and convince us of what is not the truth or changes our view.

Don’t follow your heart; follow the Bible. Don’t allow our culture to convince you that the Bible is old and dusty and out of tune with today’s world. The Bible is the truth and it still stands. Jesus once said, “Heaven and earth shall pass away but my words will never pass away.”  I’ll stake my claim on His words and His Word.