Jesus Christ claimed to be God

In an ongoing effort to discredit Christianity as being true, critics (especially atheists) have made the argument that Jesus Christ never said he was God.  According to the doubters, the claims that Jesus said he was God were added later by his disciples in an attempt to legitimize their religion and trick people into becoming Christians.  However, Jesus on several occasions made it clear that he was God in the flesh–

1.  Matthew 26:62-65: At Jesus’ trial before the hypocritical religious leaders, the high priest commanded Jesus, “I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God.”  Why did he make this demand?  He was hoping that Jesus would admit to this claim so they could prove he was a blasphemer.  The Jewish leaders understood perfectly, based on their understanding of the Old Testament prophets, that one’s admission of being Christ and the Son of God meant that the individual was calling himself God.

Jesus responded by saying ”Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.”  The phrase Thou hast said is equivalent to our modern phrase of agreement “You said it!” when someone says something we wholeheartedly support with enthusiasm.  It means that Jesus was confirming that the high priest spoke correctly when he demanded to know if Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God.  Then he went on to say that they would see him seated at the right hand of the Father and returning to earth in the clouds, both statements being an acknowledgement of prophetic scriptures about the Messiah being God.  Jesus’ answer was met with the high priest’s accusation that Christ’s statements were blasphemous.  Blasphemy, in the context of this situation, was the sin of claiming to be God.

2.  John 5:17-18: When the Jewish leaders mistakenly thought that Jesus was breaking the sabbath, they were ready to kill him.  Then Jesus told them, “My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.”  This statement from Jesus upset them even more; “therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.” [emphasis mine]  The Jews knew all too well that Jesus was saying he was God because no one is equal with God except God, according to the prophets and psalms in the Hebrew scriptures.

3.  John 8:56-59: This situation happened when Jesus was arguing back and forth with the Jews “which believed on him.”  They claimed to be followers of Abraham while Jesus told them they were of their father, the devil.  Then Jesus went on to say he, unlike them, knew Abraham personally and had met him face to face.  The Jews responded with, “Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?”  Then Jesus said, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.” [emphasis mine]  God is the only one who ever called himself “I am” which he first used with Moses when he spoke to him from the burning bush.  Moses asked God, “Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?  And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.” [Exodus 3:13-14]

I am means he is the ever-existent being who has no beginning and no end.  The crowd knew what Jesus was saying, and that’s the reason they wanted to stone him right then and there, because his claims of being God were blasphemous to them and in their deceived minds he was worthy of being stoned.

4.  John 10:27-33: In this, his “Good Shepherd” sermon, Jesus made the statement to the crowd, “I and my Father are one.”  He was saying that he and God the Father were equals and were the same.  Once again, the crowd wanted to stone him and Jesus asked them why, when he had done so many good works in their presence.  They replied, “For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.” [emphasis mine]  So it was understood by this Jewish crowd that Jesus was clearly, without question, claiming to be God.

The Jews of Jesus’ day were blind to the truth that Jesus was the Christ and is Lord, just like unbelievers today are blind to that truth.  If the Jews knew the scriptures as well as they claimed, they would have known that Jesus of Nazareth was indeed their long-awaited Messiah, the Lord in the flesh because he fulfilled hundreds of prophecies while he walked among them.  The occurrences in his life and his actions were proof enough to show that Jesus is indeed Lord, even if he had never admitted to being God.  In a previous post, I highlighted 20 of the prophecies Jesus of Nazareth fulfilled, but here is a link that has an exhaustive list of hundreds more prophecies that Jesus fulfilled.  There is no possible way anyone else in history or in the future will even come close to fulfilling these Messianic prophecies.

unmasking Baphomet

Baphomet, the character pictured here, is a popular figure tied to many pagan rituals and organizations.  He has also been referred to as “the talking goat’s head”, “the goat of Mendes,” and “the horned god.”  Because this idol has ties to so many pagan groups, no one is 100% certain who used it first.  Groups throughout history who have used depictions of Baphomet in their rituals include (but are not limited to) Islamic mystics, the Knights Templar, Kabbalah, Roman pagans, Greek pagans, Druids, witches (both Wiccans and black witches), satanists, and Freemasons.  If anything, it shows that false religions have spiritual ties to each other and since they have those ties, it is no wonder that there is a push among all false religions to have a one world religion that preaches about all roads leading to “God.”

The picture here of Baphomet was drawn by a man named Eliphas Levi, whose name appears in the lower part of the picture.  He was a 19th century Kabbalah mystic who established many teachings followed today by those involved in magick and the occult.  His real name was Alphonse Louis Constant and he at one time had the desire to be a Catholic priest but eventually left the seminary and the Catholic Church to embrace occultic teachings, beginning with Rosicrucianism.  After leaving seminary, he changed his name to Eliphas Levi, which he thought to be the Hebrew version of his birth name.

This idol drawn by Eliphas Levi is chock full of occultic symbols.  One of the first things you will notice is the pentagram on Baphomet’s forehead.  The pentagram, whether upside down or right side up, is a very prominent occultic symbol.  According to Levi in a book he wrote on transcendentalism, the pentagram symbolizes the power of the mind to dominate the spiritual realm in order to interact with “legions of angels and hosts of fiends”, or, as we Christians would say, it is symbolic of interacting with devils.

On Baphomet’s right arm is the word “solve” while on his left arm is the word “coagula.”  Together the words form the phrase “solve coagula” or “solve et coagula.”  This phrase means “solution and coagulation” and is a philosophy based on medieval alchemist practices.  Alchemy was the belief that base metals could be changed to gold, that panaceas existed to cure all ills and needed to be discovered, and that with enough experimentation, one could discover an elixir to give longevity to life.  It also included the use of magic in an attempt to bring these theories to reality.  The phrase “solve et coagula” was the mantra used referring to the process of breaking down elements and hardened positions (solving) so those elements could be changed, or transmuted, to be united in a different form (coagula).  Levi thought this phrase applied to the religious/spiritual realm where people’s unenlightened beliefs could be broken down and then changed to more enlightened paths that would unite everyone to a new perspective that would put everyone into agreement.  In other words, he wanted to break down the Christian belief that Jesus is the only way to God, or other “divisive” doctrines, so that all mankind could unite to follow his god in a one world religion.

If you look at Baphomet’s hands, the index finger and second finger on each hand are up.  These hand signals were borrowed by Eliphas Levi from symbolism used in the Catholic Church and applied to his occultic ideas.  Actually, these two philosophies, whether they are used in the Catholic Church or in occultic settings, are both false doctrines.  The Catholic portrayal of Jesus below shows a Catholic Jesus (a false Christ) using the hand signal.  The two-fingered signals used by Baphomet and the false Christ symbolize 1)Apostolic Succession, and 2)Temporal Power.

Apostolic succession in Catholicism is the doctrine that only the Pope is the true head of Christ’s church on Earth and that he sits in the seat of Christ.  Temporal power is the doctrine that the Pope has authority and sovereignty over all the rulers of every nation on Earth.  To the occultist bowing down to Baphomet, it means that he is the god in every religion and has the power to rule all nations.  It is only through the acceptance of his doctrines that peace, victory, and unity can take place on Earth, according to occultist teachings.

In Baphomet’s lap, you see two serpents criss-crossing up a pole with a hole in Baphomet’s abdomen.  Two serpents going up a pole is the ancient symbol of the staff of Hermes in Greek paganism, and the caduceus of Mercury in Roman paganism.  This occultic symbol means Baphomet opens the path to Kundalini energy (taught in Hinduism), also known as the “Serpent Power”, that when released causes the occultist to transcend to higher levels of enlightenment to unite the body, mind, and spirit in well-being.

Those who buy into all of these evil doctrines that Baphomet represents are terribly deceived.  Baphomet’s pentagram may promote contact with devils, but God’s word says, “…I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils. Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table, and of the table of devils,” [1 Corinthians 10:20-21].  Devils, although they transform themselves into angels of light, are nothing but deceivers who bring darkness and like thieves come only to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.  But Jesus Christ has come so we can have life more abundantly [John 10:10].

Baphomet may claim he wants to “solve coagula”, but this is nothing more than a plot to blaspheme God’s name as he opposes God in a feeble attempt to exalt himself above God.  Those who follow Baphomet may seek to destroy the true church of Christ, but upon the rock of Christ God has built his church, and the very gates of hell shall not prevail against it.  Greater is he that is in Christian believers, than he that is in the world [1 John 4:4].

Peace, victory, and unity may be promised by Baphomet by his claims to have all power on Earth, but true peace can only come through Jesus Christ, the true Prince of Peace.  Real victory over sin, death, hell and every work of the devil only comes through the Lord Jesus Christ, who alone has been given all power in heaven and earth [Matthew 28:18].  True unity can only be displayed when there is unity of the Holy Spirit and of godly faith in the believers of Jesus Christ.

Baphomet promises enlightenment through his serpent power, but in reality it is the entrance of God’s word into our hearts that gives us light and understanding [Psalm 119:130].  God’s word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path, providing us with more understanding than any ungodly teacher or ungodly elder [Psalm 119:99, 100, 105].

So who is this Baphomet?  None other than the great deceiver known as Satan, Lucifer, Beelzebub, Belial, and the devil.

Sources:

Furnivall, F. J., The Compact Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1979.

Valiente, Doreen, An ABC of  Witchcraft, Phoenix, Custer, WA, 1988.

Grant, Kenneth, The Magical Revival, Samuel Weiser, New York, 1973.

Hall, Manley P., The Secret Teachings of All Ages…, The Philosophical Research Society, Los Angeles, 1978.

–posted by Harry A. Gaylord–

Despise not the day of small things

In this recession most of us, whether saint or sinner, Christian or unbeliever, has suffered some type of loss or know someone who has.  It is easy in times like this to really get discouraged as a Christian and get caught up in thinking that God has withdrawn some of his blessings and possibly to wonder why God has not sheltered us from hardship.  We may look at our dwindling finances or economic status and wonder how it can be possible for God to use the little that we have now to support or contribute to ministry as generously as we did in the past.  But as the scripture says, “There is no new thing under the sun.”  Similar situations have happened several times before to God’s people as shown to us in the Bible.  One such situation is when the Hebrew captives returned to Jerusalem from captivity in Babylon to rebuild the city and the temple.

And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, they set the priests in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites the sons of Asaph with cymbals, to praise the LORD, after the ordinance of David king of Israel. …But many of the priests and Levites and chief of the fathers, who were ancient men, that had seen the first house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice; and many shouted aloud for joy: [Ezra 3:10, 12]

The older men were young when they saw Solomon’s temple, but the new temple that was being built paled in comparison to the grandeur of the previous temple, so they wept.  But in the midst of their sorrow, Jehovah gave them comfort through his prophets.

Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory? and how do ye see it now? is it not in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing? …The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the LORD of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the LORD of hosts. [Haggai 2:3, 9]

Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto you. For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel … [Zechariah 4:8-10a]

The small size of the foundation was such a let-down to the older generation that they felt God could not be glorified as fully as he had been in Solomon’s temple.  They eventually got so discouraged with its size and the victories of the enemies who tried to hinder the rebuilding of the temple that the work on the new temple was delayed for awhile until Nehemiah, Haggai, and Zechariah encouraged them to move forward on the project.  The Lord let them know that in spite of the dwarfed size of the temple, it was of the utmost importance to finish it because he was still going to use the temple to accomplish great works that would even surpass the greatness Solomon’s temple had.  The Hebrews doubted that God was still with them, but he told them through Haggai that this project, although small, would be a sign that God was still blessing them and that the temple would ultimately see the coming of his peace in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, to bring salvation to Israel and the whole world.  This was a much higher honor than the previous temple had ever experienced.

So just as the Lord provided the will and wisdom to the Hebrews to complete the ministry to which he had called them, even in the midst of their lack, he is still with us to continue contributing to ministry even though we are lacking.  Of course, we may have to cut back on the amount of funds we give, but God can use more than our finances.  We have been blessed with gifts, talents, skills, and time that are just as important as our finances, and in some cases they are more important.  The wisdom God gives us can show us where we can spend less and save more.  This calls for a paradigm shift from the years we may have been taught that big blessings can only come when we give the most money.  Scripture shows us this isn’t true.  God can do as many great works with $1.00 as he can with $1,000.  The important thing is that we serve God in sincerity with all our being and that our hearts are full of love for our fellow man.  It is in the midst of these lean times of losing our jobs, houses, pensions, retirement funds, and more that we must cling to the Lord more than ever.  He is still with us and if we are not weary in well doing, he will cause us to reap in the midst of our lack more than we ever thought was possible.

–posted by Harry A. Gaylord–

Prejean prevails!

Much to the chagrin of her detractors, Carrie Prejean has retained her Miss California USA crown in a decision made by Donald Trump today.  The Donald made the decision that Prejean did not violate her contract with the Miss USA pageant by her current actions of cancelling some appearances scheduled by pageant offials or by her past photos.  He also stated that Prejean’s answer to Perez Hilton’s question was very similar to the answer that President Obama has given regarding questions on same sex marriage.  A teary-eyed Prejean thanked Trump for his decision, stated that she forgave Hilton and others for their attacks against her, and went on to say she would go forward with her scheduled appearances made by Miss California USA pageant officials while staying true to her personal opinions even if she will not be campaigning against same sex marriage.

In a previous post where I wrote about Miss California, I stated that there would probably be some sort of plot to discredit her and sure enough the seminude photos were released by her haters to soil her reputation.  The release of the pictures just proves to those of us who are Christians that Satan always has his children standing at the ready to attack us when we take a stand for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ.  The devil is indeed the accuser of the brethren as the Bible states.  The photos taken several years ago clearly do not represent who Carrie Prejean is today.  I’m grateful to God that he is a God of forgiveness, mercy, and grace by casting our sins into the sea of forgetfulness when we repent.  A great number of us Christians have plenty to be ashamed of in our past and Satan is more than happy to dig up our dirt or pull our skeletons out of the closet through our enemies when it suits him.  And there are a great number of people who want to tear us down based on our past sins.  But thanks be to God that he no longer holds our past against us when we genuinely ask for his forgiveness!

In the midst of Prejean’s photos being released, pageant officials attacked her by claiming she did not represent the citizens of California with her views and media appearances.  But the truth is that the majority of Californians voted in favor in Proposition 8 in California which kept gay marriage illegal.  So Prejean, while representing the majority of Californians, did not represent the views of the Miss California USA pageant officials, and this is really what they were objecting to.  This whole incident should be a wake-up call to those of us who speak out against the evils of the gay lifestyle.  It clearly shows us that gay rights activists will try to violate the rights of others to get their way, even if it means they have to use underhanded tactics or try to ruin people’s reputations.

–posted by Harry A. Gaylord–

Israel’s Peres wants Vatican to have “Christian” sites

Shimon Peres, Israel’s president, has openly expressed his wishes that the so-called “Christian” holy sites in Israel be handed over to the Vatican, according to a report appearing in the May 4, 2009 Jerusalem Post.  Many officials in the upper eschalons of the Israeli government have expressed their concern and opposition to such an idea, including the Interior Minister, Eli Yishai.

Yishai, as quoted in the Jerusalem Post, believes “Every concession like this limits the Israeli government’s ability to function as a sovereign government in the area.”  Peres is attempting to use his influence within the government to give up six sites, for now.  Those sites include the Coenaculum on Mount Zion, the Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth, the Church of the Multiplication on the Kinneret, and the Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth.

Although many Israeli politicians oppose the idea, some officials are open to the idea and are attempting to weigh the benefits such a move would bring to the economy.  They believe that if the sites are given over to the Vatican, many more “Christian” pilgrims would come to visit the sites from all over the world, which would boost Israel’s treasury.

As students of history are aware, it wasn’t too long ago that the Vatican refused to acknowledge Israel as a nation.  That all changed in the late 1950s and early 1960s when it was discovered that the bones of Peter that the Vatican claimed to have found in Rome were really not Peter’s bones at all.  Peter’s grave was discovered in Jerusalem during that time and ever since the Vatican has been moving to warm their relations with Israel through Vatican sympathizers in the Israeli government.  Since their church is founded on Peter instead of the true rock, Jesus Christ, they feel that it is imperative that they set up headquarters wherever Peter’s bones are.  Persuading Israel to give up some land would be the first step in that direction.

The Vatican’s desire for Israeli land, in my opinion, will end up being part of the peace covenant that will ultimately be established by the Antichrist and Israel will, in the peace process, once again have a temple.

But as far as these sites are concerned, neither Jesus Christ nor his apostles ever gave us any commandments or a hint of a suggestion that Christians should commemorate any holy sites by having pilgrimages.  Jesus told the Samaritan woman in John 4 that true worship is to be done in spirit and in truth.  It has nothing at all to do with a physical place.  However, those caught up in a works-based salvation (which has nothing to do with the genuine gospel) consider pilgrimages important for the purpose of spending less time in purgatory (which doesn’t exist) or with the hope they will get on God’s good side for a greater reward in the afterlife.

–posted by Harry A. Gaylord–

Miss California–beauty, brains, and virtue too

I am very impressed with Carrie Prejean, Miss California, who believes she did not get the Miss USA crown because of her views on gay marriage.  I find it very inspiring when a Christian, thrust in the spotlight and attacked for their views, handles it all with as much grace, poise, and courage as she has done.   She was in Washington, D.C. today to star in an ad sponsored by the conservative group the National Organization for Marriage and to hold a press conference for the debut of the ad as part of a campaign to defend true marriage.

Pageant officials pooh-poohed her decision to travel the country holding interviews in defense of her views.  They released a statement quoted in the NY Daily News which said, “”We are deeply saddened Carrie Prejean has forgotten her platform of the Special Olympics, her commitment to all Californians, and solidified her legacy as one that goes beyond the right to voice her beliefs and instead reveals her opportunistic agenda.”  But, of course, her detractors, in their criticism of her, conveniently overlooked the fact that this subject was thrust upon her when she was asked at the pageant about her views on gay marriage.  If they wanted pageant participants to avoid involvement in such a polarizing topic, then they should not have allowed anyone to ask any pageant participants questions about gay rights.

I’m sure Miss Prejean had no intentions whatsoever of being placed in the position to openly express her views.  Her intentions, like any other participant, was to do her best in all categories of pageantry in order to win the crown.  However, as Christians, no matter what arena we try to do our best in, Satan and his evil angels are always lurking about somewhere in the vicinity to try to knock us off our game.  The question she was asked by Perez Hilton, I believe, was a devilish attempt to try to make Miss California look bad in an effort to show that Christians, because of their biblical views, are not worthy to receive any high accolades in the world over unbelievers.  So she was awarded the No. 2 spot.  But isn’t it great how God works things out?  In the midst of the devil trying to put her down, God exalted her because she gave him the glory by telling the truth regarding gay marriage.  Satan meant to do her harm, but God worked it out for her good and for his glory.

She went to the pageant for one purpose, but God used Satan to turn that purpose around into a totally different purpose that has ultimately served to embolden us Christians to stand up for what’s right so the name of the Lord will be exalted.  Hallelujah!  God has shown us who the true winner of the pageant is.  And because Miss Prejean decided to do the right thing for God with the whole world watching, she is more well-known than Miss USA herself.  Miss California’s situation is living proof that God is true to his word, for he tells us “…whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.” [Luke 14:11]

Since she has gained such prominence in the press, I know that the devil will try to attack her in some crafty way to try to bring her down, but I pray that Carrie will stay strong in the Lord, that she will be filled with his wisdom, knowledge, understanding and spiritual discernment, and that she will remain humble so that every fiery dart from the devil will be extinguished by the Lord’s protective hedge around her, in Jesus’ name.

–posted by Harry A. Gaylord–

Hate crimes bill passed by U.S. House

The Federal Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009 was passed in the U.S.  House of Representatives today.  Federal law currently states it is a crime to assault individuals based on race, color, religion or national origin.  The bill passed today expands those covered by it to include sexual orientation, sexual identity, or disability.  President Obama in a statement to Congress said, “I urge members on both sides of the aisle to act on this important civil rights issue by passing this legislation to protect all of our citizens from violent acts of intolerance,” according to Reuters.  If a similar law also passes the Senate, both House and Senate versions will be reconciled to be presented to the President who has promised to sign it into law.

If the bill makes it all the way into law, crimes against gays, transgenders, transsexuals, and others who embrace abnormal sexual practices will be investigated and prosecuted more vigorously with stiffer penalties than other crimes against persons.  Christian conservative groups and leaders have been speaking out against such a law out of concern that it will be used to violate the constitutional right to freedom of speech of Christians who preach against such practices.  Bishop Harry Jackson, senior pastor of  Maryland’s Hope Christian Church was quoted at ChristianPost.com as saying, “It is going to cause, in a critical moment in U.S. history, a chilling effect in the pulpit where we cannot preach about biblical morality and sexuality.”

The President claims he also wants the rights to freedom of speech of Christians to be protected even if the act becomes law.  House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer has also stated that the act is focused only on punishing violent acts and will not affect freedom of speech or thought.  However, in the same article quoting Hoyer, Andrea Lafferty of the Traditional Values Coalition criticized Hoyer for overlooking the case of the Philadelphia 11 who were sharing Bible scriptures at a gay pride rally when they were arrested and charged with hate crimes.  “We know what these supposed ‘hate crime’ laws are meant to do. In Philadelphia, Christians were arrested and jailed based on hate crime law.  So we know that what the other side is saying — that it will not affect pastors or youth pastors or Christians — we know that is not true,” stated Lafferty.  She contends that any pastor preaching from the pulpit against homosexuality or related behaviors has the potential of being arrested for hate speech.

Some lawmakers even tried to amend the bill to exclude pedophiles from being covered, but their amendment was voted down by the Democrats.  The truth is that no matter how many times politicians promise us that this law will not be used against Christians, history tells us something different.  When administrations change in Washington, the application of federal laws can change.  For example, when the RICO laws against racketeering were established, they were put into effect to prosecute mobsters.  But the Clinton administration came along in the 90s and decided that the law could and should be applied to peaceful pro-life demonstrators and several of them were put on trial under RICO for exercising their right to free speech in front of abortion clinics.  The current administration can make all the promises they want, but that is no guarantee for us in future administrations if someone even more liberal than Obama should ever take office.   [updated 5-1-09]

Could this be the end of religious freedoms as we know them in the U.S.?  Although gay rights activists have spoken out against censorship when censorship hinders their views, they embrace censorship when it is against people who express views that they don’t agree with.  I believe that this bill, if made into law, will hand them the tool to persecute Christians all across the U.S. and its territories.  People like Perez Hilton will not only be able to call our beloved Miss California a “dumb b…h”, but they will be able to press charges and have her, and those like her, put on trial and imprisoned.  Yes, it’s wrong for anyone to physically attack a person for being gay or whatever, but current law already states that assaulting or killing any person is against the law.  The freedom to express one’s views against something is not, and should not be, a crime.  And violating the established constitutional rights of a majority of people just to please a very slim minority, whose rights aren’t really being violated in the exaggerated numbers they claim, is unjustifiable.  If the act is signed into law, I hope and pray that a lawsuit will be filed and that it will be ruled as unconstitutional by the federal courts.

–posted by Harry A. Gaylord–

Update on S 909 (Senate version of the Hate Crimes Bill):  Thus far the Senate has not called the Hate Crimes Bill to a vote on the floor.  Although the bill has not been mentioned through most media outlets, word has spread about it over the Internet mainly through WorldNetDaily and through Focus on the Family by James Dobson.  Liberals in both houses of Congress were hoping the bill would be passed quietly without anyone noticing, then the law would be thrust on the American public.  But thanks to mainly Christian media outlets word has gotten out and WorldNetDaily has mounted a letter writing campaign to all members of the Senate expressing concerns about how the bill which passed the House gives protection to pedophiles and other sexual deviants.  The Senate presently has the bill in committee to determine if it’s worthy of being presented for a full Senate vote.  I believe the campaigns started by WorldNetDaily, Focus on the Family, and other Christian organizations has given the Senate some pause about the whole situation.

I find it somewhat hypocritical that the President on one hand speaks of making sure he chooses the right replacement on the Supreme Court for Justice Souter–someone he says that should understand the importance of the spirit of the Constitution while balancing thoughts on how their decisions will affect everyday Americans–but on the other hand pushes the passage of a bill such as the Hate Crimes Bill that will violate the constitutional rights of everyday Americans. [added 09/05/17]

The sin and shame of incest in society

The sin of incest has been in the headlines a lot recently because of several high profile cases and arrests.  Topping those headlines has been the Josef Fritzl case in Austria, a case which stunned the world because of the severity of the abuse suffered by Fritzl’s daughter.  There is also the case of the brutality of a 64-yr.-old man in Rome who sexually abused his daughter for 25 years and taught his son to sexually abuse his sister and his own four daughters.  Then there was the news report this week about Stacey Lannert in Missouri who was freed from prison after she served 18 years for killing her father because it is believed her father sexually assaulted her repeatedly.  And as if that isn’t enough, the government of Romania is considering the legalization of incest between consenting adult relatives.

Its definition and defilements

What exactly is incest?  According to God as he stated to Moses and the children of Israel, it is sexual relations with someone who is near kin to the individual (Leviticus 18:6).  God then proceeds to give specifics about the types of relationships he considers incestuous.  Incest, by God’s definition, is having sex with a parent or stepparent or parent-in-law (Leviticus 18:8, 20:11, 14; Deuteronomy 27:20, 23; 1 Corinthians 5:1), with one’s sibling or step sibling or sibling-in-law (Leviticus 18:9, 11, 16, 20:17, 21; Deuteronomy 27:22), with one’s child or stepchild or child-in-law (Leviticus 18:15, 17, 20:12), with a grandchild or step-grandchild  (Leviticus 18:10, 17), with a grandparent or step-grandparent (Leviticus 18:10, 17), with a blood uncle or aunt or uncle/aunt by marriage (Leviticus 18:13-14, 20:19-20), and therefore, by default, with a niece or nephew by blood or by marriage.

It is partially because of these sexual defilements that God punished the heathen nations who were against Israel, for he states, “Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you: And the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants.” [Leviticus 18:24]

I suspect that incidents of incest are higher than we imagine because of the shame that the victims of it feel and since there is such shame about it, especially since many are victimized during childhood, it rarely gets reported.  I feel sorry for the children involved but I feel no pity for consenting adults who willingly enter such ungodly relationships.

Because God knows and wants what’s best for us, he gave these commandments against incest with severe punishments for violation of the commandments.  Those who are child victims of incest have been shown to have severe psychological problems, according to Kathryn Brohl and Kathryn Hagans who authored the 1991 book “Pockets of Craziness: Examining Suspected Incest.”  Victims have been known to have addictive behaviors to drugs, alcohol, and sex; they often have anxiety attacks; they suffer from depression that can lead to suicidal tendencies because they blame themselves; they exhibit dissociation behavior because of denial that can lead to memory lapses or lengthy periods of zoning out; they can also suffer flashbacks, compulsive behavior (like eating disorders, constantly cleaning, or cutting), mood swings, hallucinations, and abnormal phobias.

God intended sex to fulfill two purposes–1) for procreation between a husband and wife, and 2) as a way for the husband and wife to become one physically, emotionally, and spiritually as they provide pleasure for each other.  Using a child in one’s family to fulfill one’s ungodly lust is against God’s will and is evil.  God structured the family so that the weaker individuals in the family could be protected by those who are stronger.  Incest against a child violates this trust and fosters confusion and defiles the family structure.  Since God is not the author of confusion and is the God of purity, we can conclude incest is of the devil and is the result of man’s sinful nature.  I’m thankful that we live in a country where those who are victims of this behavior can get help.  This link to the Office of Victims of Crime under the U.S. Dept. of Justice lists organizations that can help you if you have been victimized by a family member.

As for incestuous relationships between two consenting adults who are close relatives, Richard Conniff published an article in Discover magazine in 2003 noting that:

“The great hazard of inbreeding is that it can result in the unmasking of deleterious recessives, to use the clinical language of geneticists. Each of us carries an unknown number of genes—an individual typically has between five and seven—capable of killing our children or grandchildren. These so-called lethal recessives are associated with diseases like cystic fibrosis and sickle-cell anemia.
Most lethal genes never get expressed unless we inherit the recessive form of the gene from both our mother and father. But when both parents come from the same gene pool, their children are more likely to inherit two recessives.”

This truth is also verified by Debra Lieberman of the University of Hawaii in an article at MSNBC.  She states:

“‘Close genetic relatives run the risk of having offspring that have a reduced chance of surviving ..’

While Lieberman cautioned it’s never plain when it comes to genetics, she offered a simplified example to illustrate the risks associated with incest.

‘Let’s say you get a bad gene, which scientists call deleterious, from your mom. But your dad’s copy of the same gene functions normally. The good version acts like a backup, effectively preventing disease the bad gene might have caused. ‘

But having a kid with your sibling, she explained, drastically increases the chances of getting two copies of the deleterious gene as compared to reproducing with someone outside of your family.

‘Each of you would have a copy of that bad gene, so there’s a good chance your kid won’t have a normal copy to work with,’ she said. Multiply that by any other deleterious genes sprinkled among an estimated 50,000 active genes in humans, she explained, and there are bound to be some life-shortening problems.”

Although Lieberman is an evolutionary psychologist who attributes this repulsion against incest to natural selection, I attribute it to God’s making it clear to us through what he has written in the Bible and through his placing some of his likes and dislikes in us when he created us.  If we rely on natural selection as an explanation, this overlooks the fact that well-known and advanced societies of old like the Egyptians, Canaanites, Greeks, and Romans practiced incest as if it were normal because they seared their consciences against God.

Why did God flip-flop on incest?

Many critics of the Bible point out that in the beginning God was okay with incest but later outlawed it when Moses came along.  It seems like this is what God did, but a closer look at scripture with an understanding of genetics reveals something different.  The website God Said, Man Said highlights the genetic fact that if the parents have a healthy gene pool, their offspring will also have a healthy gene pool.  Adam and Eve had such a gene pool and that being the case, their offspring could easily intermarry for many generations before the gene pool would become compromised and degraded.  Since Adam and Eve had to populate the Earth through the intermarriage of their offspring, God did not have a problem with incest in the Earth’s early years because genes were much more pure then than they were by the time Moses’ generation arrived.  As the generations passed and mankind and their genes became more corrupted due to environmental and other influences, God had had enough of the evil that incest brought about and instituted laws to protect mankind from himself.

The article at God Said, Man Said goes on to quote Drs. Henry Morris and Martin Clark from their book “The Bible Has the Answer” (2001) as follows:

“In later generations, brother-sister marriages would come to be recognized as genetically dangerous and would be prohibited as incest.’ Not only the Bible but also most other legal codes refuse to sanction marriages of close relatives. The scientific reason for this restriction is that children of such marriages are more likely to be deformed or sickly or moronic than those of other marriages. The genetic basis for this probability is that inherited mutant genes, producing such unwholesome characteristics, are more likely to find expression in the children if they are carried by both parents.

However, there were no mutant genes in the genetic systems of Adam and Eve, as these had come directly from the creative hand of God Himself. Thus no genetic harm could have resulted had Cain or some other son of Adam married his sister. In fact, it would undoubtedly have taken many generations before enough genetic mutations (which are random, and therefore harmful, changes in the highly ordered structure of the germ cell, brought about by penetration of the cell by shortwave-length radiation or some other destructive agent) could have accumulated in the human race to make such marriages of close relatives genetically harmful.

The Bible is thus always consistent, not only with its own statements, but also with all known facts of science.”

Bible critics often attack God as being contradictory when he brings about such necessary changes.  As God says, “For I am the LORD, I do not change,” [Malachi 3:6].  God’s character and nature do not change, but as explained at www.answersingenesis.org God has emotions and reserves the right to respond as he deems necessary to man’s actions since he created mankind.  Since he is righteous and just and loves the truth but hates evil, he responds favorably to situations and people who are in his will and unfavorably to situations and people that go against his will.

When God created man, he intended for man to have continual fellowship with him and to be welcomed in the Garden of Eden.  Then man changed and embraced sin, so since man broke God’s righteous contract, God changed his end of the agreement and kicked Adam and Eve out of Eden as punishment for their sin.  Then mankind spread throughout the Earth to become more and more sinful, so since man chose evil, God had to change his response to mankind by destroying all but eight people with a worldwide flood.  Then Noah and his family re-populated the Earth and mankind was doing okay until a later generation established a one-world government that sought to exalt itself to god status by building a tower to heaven.  So God changed his policy of allowing mankind to speak in one language by causing various tribes to speak in languages other tribes couldn’t understand and scattering man to different continents, and so on and so on…  These changes that God, as the supreme Creator and Ruler of the universe, brings about show us that change is not contradictory as God-hating critics would have us believe.

Therefore, since God has established incest as being wrong and harmful, it is in the best interest of any society to be against it and fight against it when it arises.

–posted by Harry A. Gaylord–

Recession is bringing out the worst in some people

The U.S. still may be considered a Christian nation because the majority of the people in our country call ourselves Christians, but this recession has been a test of what we really consider important.  As Jesus told us in the scriptures, no man can serve two masters.  He will either hate one and love the other or cling to one and despise the other.  Therefore, we cannot serve God and mammon (material things).  Unfortunately, many among us are serving mammon and it’s being reflected in higher occurrences of sinful behavior.  Here are just a few examples recently mentioned in the news:

• Today’s evening news on ABC reported that many higher ups in the financial industry have been going to rehab because they have been drinking too much.  We can probably conclude that since these people have been known to do drugs recreationally, especially cocaine, they have probably been using more also.
• Bank robberies have spiked up starting last year.
• The Associated Press reported today that more pregnant women in dire financial straits are getting abortions.
• Domestic violence incidents have been increasing since last year.
• Incidents of child abuse and neglect are up.
• Suicides and attempted suicides have gone up.

These are the results when people haven’t heard the gospel or harden their hearts against the gospel.  Fortunately, there is some good news.  The number of people attending church or who value the importance of religious values (especially Christianity) in their daily lives has held steady.

In the midst of the darkness surrounding us, there is still hope that God will continue to carry out his will in the United States.  I believe we still have more than enough believers here who are living out God’s word, praying regularly, and who love the Lord so that a difference can be made even with the children of the devil working overtime.

–posted by Harry A. Gaylord–

Chaplains told to shut up about God

A new trend is sweeping across the United States in many places where chaplains are employed.  They’re being ordered by leaders in both the public and private sectors not to make mention of God.  As reported on Saturday, March 21, 2009 by Stefan J. Bos of  Worthy News, Virginia State Police chaplains who prayed in Jesus’ name in public settings were dismissed from their jobs.  Virginia lawmakers, with the urging of Virginia Governor Tim Kaine, supported an administrative decision to make it illegal to pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and to dismiss the chaplains based on that decision.

This move prompted a Florida hospice to order its chaplains not to use the word God in any talks they give to staff members, but they can still say “Almighty God” in private with hospice patients and their families.  The CEO of the hospice, Paula Alderson, is quoted as saying, “The hospice remains fully comfortable with ministers, priests and rabbis offering religious counsel to the dying and grieving. I was sensitive to the fact that we don’t impose religion on our staff, and that it is not appropriate in the context of a staff meeting to use certain phrases or ‘God’ or ‘Holy Father,’ because some of our staff don’t believe at all.”

Mirta Signorelli, a devout Christian chaplain in Florida who ministers to abused and neglected children, was told by her supervisor after she quoted the 23rd Psalm in the hospice chapel to “cease and desist from using God in prayers.”  Signorelli, who eventually resigned, insisted that she was only quoting the Psalm, which is in the Old Testament, “[a]nd I am well aware that there were people from the Jewish tradition in attendance. I didn’t say Jesus or Allah or Jehovah. I used ‘Lord’ and ‘God,’ which I think are politically correct. I think that’s as generic as you can get.”

The number of people in the U.S. who don’t claim a religion is increasing, according to recent religious surveys, and this makes humanists, like chaplain Greg Epstein of Harvard University, rather ecstatic.  Epstein, of Jewish heritage, is borrowing ideas from Jewish and Evangelical traditions to establish “a God-free model of community”, where humanists have local gathering centers all over the U.S. to share their views, reach out to their communities, and “helps humanists increase in numbers and influence.”

In other words, unbelievers like Epstein are hoping to make America a godless society by converting as many people as they can to their way of thinking.  It is striking to me that atheists, humanists, and agnostics always claim they innocently want to improve society when their tactics only make society worse.  The dictionary tells us that religion is “a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith,” and that faith is “something that is believed esp. with strong conviction.”  Essentially atheists, humanists, and agnostics are following a different faith or religion from Christianity.  Atheism is the belief that there is no God.  Humanism is the belief that man is the measure of the universe, that humans alone have the capacity to determine their worth, interests, and values to fulfill their highest goals.  Agnosticism is the belief that God’s existence cannot be proven or disproven.  They’re all religions!  Basically these anti-God religions, just like their counterparts in other religions like Islam, want to replace the Judeo-Christian values upon which our nation was founded with their own system of religious beliefs.

What Christian chaplains need to understand is that they have certain rights under the law, and one of those rights is freedom of speech.  For someone to threaten their lives or livelihoods by telling them they cannot mention God, the Lord, or Jesus, is a violation of their constitutional rights and they have the legal grounds to fight for their rights in court.  I know that sometimes as Christians we get caught up in thinking that God will fight our battles and all we have to do is back off, but sometimes in order for God to show us the victory we have to stand up and take action.  When the people in Nazareth wanted to throw Jesus over the cliff in Luke 4:28-30, he didn’t let them do it.  He maneuvered his way out of the midst of the murderous crowd.  When the Roman centurion wanted to inflict corporal punishment on the apostle Paul in Acts 22 without a fair trial, Paul stood up for himself and appealed to his rights as a citizen of Rome, and the centurion backed off.

There are times when we should avoid battles by resigning or not fighting unjust dismissals, but there are also times when we need to stand up for our rights.  This is especially true when grave consequences can come from being passive.  The ultimate danger of letting these people get away with violating constitutional rights is that the violation of human rights will soon follow and no one’s life will be seen as having worth.  Do we have any modern examples of how humanist or atheist or agnostic governmental policies work?  Sure we do.  Just look at North Korea, China, and the former Soviet Union.  Is this what we want for the U.S.?

The U.S. was founded on Judeo-Christian principles because it is the fairest system on which to base any government.  It acknowledges that mankind has the tendency to do evil and sometimes gets away with evil, but gives room for repentance (changing one’s evil policies) when people stand up against evil policies or actions.  It says there is only one way to God, but gives people the freedom to openly disagree with that view.  It also promotes the idea that in life, public or private, there must be some accountability for people’s actions in order to preserve people’s lives since we are all created in God’s image and that we matter from the womb to the tomb.  This is why democracy was the best fit for our government when it was established since democracy would allow for these principles to shape our decisions.

When humanist, atheist, or agnostic policies are allowed to shape our standards, eventually all of society will suffer wrongs in some way and these religions make it more difficult to bring about positive changes.  The humanist leaders would tell us that “Since I am the Master of my own destiny and the Captain of my own soul, I can do what feels good to me even if it means you lose your livelihood or life.  Only the strong survive and if you aren’t strong enough to survive my decisions, so be it.”  The atheist leaders would tell us “Since there is no God and you are not created in the image of God, the only importance you have is the importance that I decide you should have.  If you have no power above mine, then I have no need to fear you or the retribution of any God you say exists.”  The agnostic leaders would tell us “Neither you nor I can prove or disprove there is any God, so if my decisions cause you any needless suffering, it doesn’t mean my way is wrong.  I don’t have to worry about answering to God as long as I can exercise my will to make sure you don’t try to harm me out of your anger.”  Their government policies would not acknowledge the rights God wants all humans to have for their spiritual as well as physical benefit.

–posted by Harry A. Gaylord–