Does God Work Outside The Box Of Scripture?

¹⁵ So he came to the king. And the king said unto him, Micaiah, shall we go against Ramothgilead to battle, or shall we forbear? And he answered him, Go, and prosper: for the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the king.
¹⁶ And the king said unto him, How many times shall I adjure thee that thou tell me nothing but that which is true in the name of the Lord?
¹⁷ And he said, I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills, as sheep that have not a shepherd: and the Lord said, These have no master: let them return every man to his house in peace.
¹⁸ And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell thee that he would prophesy no good concerning me, but evil?
¹⁹ And he said, Hear thou therefore the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left.
²⁰ And the Lord said, Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramothgilead? And one said on this manner, and another said on that manner.
²¹ And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the Lord, and said, I will persuade him.
²² And the Lord said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also: go forth, and do so.
²³ Now therefore, behold, the Lord hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the Lord hath spoken evil concerning thee.  - 1 Kings 22:15-23

The story here in 1Kings 22 is one of my favorite in the Bible, if not my most favorite. Why? Because it shows that God is not the type of God that Americans make him out to be. He goes against the grain, even against what American Christianity thinks of him as. Stories like this, and that of Jehu, who deceived Israel, pretending to be a huge follower of Baal, only to have it later revealed that it was a set up the whole time; he really was just out to slaughter all of those who turned against the LORD to follow a false god.


The point being, Jehu used deception to glorify God and he is commended for it in scripture. American Christianity would shudder at and/or scorn this type of behavior if they were to see if from a Christian today. "That is certainly not like Christ!" they would shout. But is not Christ the same God who consulted and agreed/approved his own ministering spirits to become lying spirits in the mouth of his prophets, so that he could slay someone whom he hated? And is he not the same God who said unto Jehu,

"And the Lord said unto Jehu, Because thou hast done well in executing that which is right in mine eyes, and hast done unto the house of Ahab according to all that was in mine heart, thy children of the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel." -- 2Kings 10:30


So we can see that God doesn't work within the so-called box of scripture in these instances. We assume since God is holy, just, righteous, and cannot lie, that such deceptive acts could never be condoned by him. But the scripture's teaching is so completely obvious in the two mentioned passages. Dispensationlists might attempt to squirm out of these passages by their patented line, "But this is the NEW Testament." But us Reformed know better than that. Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8).

Is God Actually Sovereign?

We have known and believed in the sovereignty of God over all events and peoples, for several years. But the more we get to know Christ, the more we see it true in the practical areas of life; and we are establishing our faith in his total control in our hearts, rather than just as an intellectual head knowledge. It is amazing the peace you can obtain by believing that no single detail of life is outside of God's choosing and control.

But in that sovereignty, over the years, we have seen some wild stuff. Do you believe God can take a sinful situation and turn it into something for his glory? We experienced that in my conversion to Christ, where I ran away from home in rebellion, moved in with a woman, who was herself straying from Christ; but who presented the gospel to me in her sin; in which I was saved and turned into a disciple of Christ. This caused her to turn her life back to Christ, and here we are, married for 14 years, with 8 children being raised for the glory of God. So God used a Christian who was rebelling against him, to convert a sinner to himself. Talk about outside the box!

Do you believe that it can be God's will for a Christian to be openly sinning against him, and still use that Christian for his holy purpose? I do. You don't have to condone the sin itself in order to acknowledge that sometimes God desires and chooses to do things that way. I wouldn't call the two Bible stories I mentioned, an example of this exact thing; because Jehu and the lying spirits were not sinning (although American Christians of today would accuse a Christian who did that very thing today, of sinning).

It is certainly against scripture for a woman to speak in the assembly (1 Corinthians 14:34), but do you believe that God could use this ignorant sin for his glory, to edify his body, and to glorify his name? As much as I hate it, I have to admit, I believe God chooses to do this sometimes. Here the key choice of words "God chooses to do this", come to play.

You might here accuse me of hyper-Calvinism or fatalism, or whatever (I don't believe I am, but even if I could be, I would rather stick with scripture that man-made theology). But I will explain the understanding I am coming around to have; and my view of how God operates in the world:

We like to think that God is not really sovereign. We are presented with a God who is simply real sharp, and quick on his feet, so that any action we take, he can react in order to make it work for his glory. But this kind of view makes man sovereign, not God. God is the one planning, ordering, and carrying out his will:

"[A]ccording to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will."  (Ephesians 1:11)


We are recently witnessing a huge, outside the box, working of God. We see something happening in certain Christians' lives, and God's working through it with someone, whom it appears, he is drawing to Christ. It really is quite amazing to watch. It is confusing, but exciting. We've never seen it on such an extreme level. And if we were to tell the story to just about any Christian listening, the entire situation would be universally condemned as being against the scripture, against the character of Christ, against principle, so on and so forth. They would say these Christians are deceiving themselves.

I wouldn't ever condone what these Christians I see, are doing....

But hearing people share their hearts, learning all the facts behind the situation, and seeing how God is working with people's weaknesses, it is almost undeniable that this is the way God is choosing to work things. Maybe we could say, "Well God is just using what he has to work with".. fine, if you think that I guess. I suppose that part of it isn't really that important anyway. The main thing I take away from all this, is that God loves his elect with a love that is incomprehensible, and that he will continue to love them despite their failures and flaws, and even continue to use them for his glory, without condemnation (even though he does not condone the behaviors).

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." --Romans 8:28

I guess I should really say I am undecided about all this. Maybe I am totally deceived. But the facts before me seem so undeniable. I am aware of the forms of deception that can be used by Satan to keep believers trapped in sin. But in the end, if the believers, through the situation, escape the sin, come out stronger than ever, while God using them to convert others, what can I really say against it? There is one thing I do know, however:

"Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:" -- Philippians 1:6

Swiss Kinist

They That Will Be Rich and Is Josh Duggar a Hypocrite?

" But godliness with contentment is great gain.
 
For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.
 
And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.
 
But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.
 
For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
 
But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.
 
Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses."  -- 1Timothy 6:6-12
 
 
So here we go again. Another "scandal" regarding a Patriarchal Christian family. I admit, this post is going to be initial thoughts-- kind of just my immediate reaction to all of this. And of course, it's my opinion based on my experience. But I am pretty worn of all these attacks on the Godly Family and its principles and order.
 

The True Hypocrites

I guess that is to be expected in a nation that hates God, though. But if anyone is a hypocrite, it is not Duggar, but rather it is all the venom-spewing Christ-haters on the discussion forums (we all know the people shouting the loudest have much more heinous secret sins than Duggar does). Jesus told us to be careful because "with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again" (Matthew 7:2). I would be very afraid if I were one of the people making such horrific comments about Josh Duggar. These people's attacks are so bad, they are angry his wife is not casting him off, and saying that her children should be taken from her. People like this, I confess, I pray to God they will be swiftly judged according to the same measure they cast upon the Duggar family. Break their teeth, O God!
 
Certainly as Christians, we should take the example of what happened and learn from it, for our good. But we should not be calling Josh Duggar a hypocrite and all kinds of horrible things; he is not a phony. He is simply in a battle between the Spirit and flesh. I know this battle all too well; and if you are an honest Christian, you do too! The Apostle Paul knew this. Read Romans chapter 7 for a refresher. Shame on you if you think his sins are so much more horrific than yours! Seriously. The thing God hates the most is pride. So yes, perhaps you have not done what Mr. Duggar has done; congratulations, but if you have been walking in pride, you are in a far worse position and God is literally resisting you and all that you do.

Romans 7 Christians vs. Lukewarm Christians

 
What kind of Christian is the most hopeless (if there is such a thing)? A guy like Duggar? No, actually it is the lukewarm Christian that Jesus has the biggest problem with. And this type of Christian, maybe he does not do what Duggar did, but he is much worse in Jesus' eyes. And the lukewarm Christian is exactly what 95 % of American Christians are, many of whom are condemning Josh Duggar:
 
 
"And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;
 
I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
 
So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
 
Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
 
I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
 
As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
 
Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
 
To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.
 
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches." -- Revelation 3:14-22
 

Duggar Will Rise Again

I will get to my critical analysis of the situation shortly. But I do want to say this first. Josh Duggar has been humbled more than he has ever been. And because he loves God, he will come back stronger than ever. Because of his humility, God will lift him up and give him his grace (power). He might not do great works in the spotlight, but God knows he will be used mightily of him in days to come. You and I probably won't see or know about it, but that is okay. The first will be last, and the last will be first.
 
Transitioning from the phrase about last/first, learned from Jesus' parables in the gospels, we need to take heed from the example of the Duggars. They indeed had a very godly family, and in many respects they still do. But Jim Bob made a huge mistake when he put his family into the spotlight of national television. It was a huge error.

The Mistake of Jim Bob Duggar

 
Going back to the introductory scripture for this blog post, we see that "they that will be rich" fall into temptation, a snare, and many foolish and hurtful lusts. But I am not referring to the lusts which Josh fell into. The Duggars fell into a compromising form of Christianity because of being in the spotlight. They had to turn down the heat of their fire in their Christian lives in order to even exist on a television show. And what is the reward they received? Perhaps they have not become "rich" monetarily, but they have benefitted quite a bit from the show. And whatever Christian witness they sought to establish, because they had to compromise in so many areas; whatever good they thought would come of it all... well.. it is all but gone.
 
Many a godly Christian or Christian family has fallen into a ditch similar to Josh's. But you don't hear about it because they are not targeted by Marxists, like the Duggars were and are. They could have remained a solid Christian testimony without going on national television. But a godly man, "though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand" (Psalm 37:24).
 
The world cannot understand this, and will just yell "hypocrite". Whatever, let them.  They only say this to justify their own sinful lifestyles. Every action they take is in defiance to God;  Duggar is simply struggling with a certain area of life and fighting his natural sinful tendency. Don't fall into the trap of taking up a reproach against Duggar (Psalm 15:3), lest you cease to walk with God yourself. And don't pretend you are any better than Josh; we are all utterly and hopelessly wicked and deceitful, without the grace of Jesus Christ.
 
You all know I have been very critical of the Duggars and their decisions. But I can relate to the struggling man of God and what he goes through. Not only my own struggles from the past, but also in my experience in relating with other godly men. May we love and pray for our brethren as Christ would have us to.

Beside all this, this whole hacker thing, like everything else, makes me suspicious. In one form or another, this had to have been planned by the Marxists and Jacobins behind the scenes. You can be certain that no so-called hacker (it was probably a government and/or Jewish oligarch agent anyway) would ever expose someone, so that it would not benefit the Marxist cause (which is why you also never see Jewish pedophiles exposed.. only the Roman Catholic Priests). LORD, save our people and turn this evil upon our enemies' head.
 
 
Swiss Kinist 

The Importance of Godly Music

Random Thought of Conviction: The Importance of Godly Music

"He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed." -- Proverbs 13:20

Music has an effect on you on the subconscious level; it is similar to wind. You can feel it, and see the effects of it, but you cannot see it. It moves your emotions, feelings, etc.  --(taken from a sermon by Yuriy Kravets Jr. called Overview of Discernment in Music, Ephrata Ministries)

One cannot overstate the importance of music in the life of the American Christian. At least, not in my life. I am not a talented musician or anything (although I can play the more simple type of chords on a guitar and do some songs pretty well--- none of the finger plucking stuff or bar chords), but music plays a huge role in my life. I suspect it does for just about everyone, perhaps with some exceptions.

It is pretty much a fact that music moves you. It changes your disposition, your attitude, your feelings. It is a deeply spiritual matter. Scientific studies pretty much prove this, but the Bible, long ago, bore out this truth in 1Samuel, with the story of David and Saul. You know the story, so I will not repeat it here, but here is the "proof text", if you will:

"And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took an harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him." -- 1Samuel 16:23

I have a hard time believing this was some sort of rare occasion. I have been learning through experience recently, that the spirit world plays a much higher role in our lives than we like to give it credit for.

"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." -- Ephesians 6:12

This is a fact that I pray our friends over at Trad Youth would grasp and understand. Much of our struggle, both against personal sin, and against sin on a broad, national scale, has to do with the spirit world. So to fight with human strength, use human wisdom, and human tactics, is utterly futile. I suppose it would be like trying to fight off computer hacking, viruses, and such, with guns and swords. It aint gonna work!

Music can be used as a spiritual weapon against the enemy. I have consistently observed in my own life, that I am usually doing my best when I have been listening to Christ honoring music, that lifts my spirit up to God; particularly the music of Keith Green. I have literally found no better way to overcome struggles in my life than to just listen to his (and other godly) music.

Let's take the first part of Proverbs 13:20: "He that walketh with wise men shall be wise..." I will speak about the 2nd part of that verse, in relation to music, perhaps at another time. When you walk with "wise men" (the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom-- Proverbs 9:10, Psalm 111:10), you will begin to walk in the commandments of God and of Christ, and to do his will in everything, including having the right type of attitude and motives.

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever." -- Psalm 111:10

You can see how the type of people you associate with, (or in this case the type of music you listen to) is linked together with fearing the LORD, and connected with doing his commandments; and also you see the link back again to "praise" (connected with music). Maybe I am stretching this a bit? Ehh... I'd like to think not.

The times in my life when I am resisting the spirit of God in one area or another, I tend to avoid godly music. In my stubborn pride, I don't want to change. And because I KNOW that godly music will change my attitude and my heart, I avoid it. Very subtle and deceitful our hearts are!

I am not going to speak against other types of music today or speak about discerning between right and wrong music, but very likely I will at another time. I want you to examine your life today and ask yourself if the friends you are surrounding yourself with, and more particularly, the music you are surrounding yourself with on a daily basis, is lifting you up to worship Christ, and giving you a humble, meek, and godly spirit.

Music has been transformational for me and my family. Some families even get to the point where the house is filled with singing all the day long, without the aid of recorded audio music. What a huge blessing! We learned from the Moore Family upon staying at their home a few times, the importance music plays in their home. Before each and every meal, there are songs of praise to the Lord Jesus (a practice we have adopted, although not consistent enough yet). It sets the stage for the entire mood of the family to always be just what it needs to be. The father of the home has great discernment and knows just how to use music to the advantage of raising godly children. And boy, does it show in each and every one of his children, from the oldest to the youngest of their 11.

Please take time to meditate on these things, my brethren, and may the Lord give you understanding in all things.

Hans

Recovering from Injuries and McDurmon/Demar's American Vision

It has been a while since I posted, but I have a valid excuse. I have been injured. I guess that is not the only reason. It is difficult to keep up a blog while only doing it from work. I first broke my pinky toe on my right foot and couldn't walk much. Right, I agree, that has nothing to do with typing. But shortly after, because I was sitting at work instead of standing (because of the toe) I developed what I discovered to be Cubital Tunnel Syndrome, or some kind of problem with the Ulnar nerve  (due to the positioning of my keyboard while sitting). So what had happened is that my pinky went numb, along with half of the ring finger. It was pretty bad, and it is still not fully recovered yet.

It has not been too fun to deal with, but I guess at least it happened on my left hand instead of my right. It was so bad, that at one point, I considered doing the unthinkable; going to one of the most hated on Hans Gygax's list of people groups; a doctor. I even considered asking them to give me a steroid shot for the inflammation. But their ridiculous practices and prices annoyed me enough before I even set up an appointment. I thought perhaps the chiropractor might be able to help, but he was going on vacation the very day that we called. Over the past couple of weeks the inflammation and numbness has subsided quite a bit. I suppose I can be thankful to the Lord Jesus that I did not have to spend a bunch of money going to the doctor. But I will not feel rested until I am completely recovered and back to normal.

On current happenings, two good articles have recently been written on the subject of the Confederate Flag/Negro shooting episode in Charleston. I personally believe the event was staged in some way, as other recent false flags have been, such as the Sandy Hook Hoax and 911.

In response to Joel McDurmon, Mickey Henry on Tribal Theocrat wrote a most excellent piece.

David Carlton at Faith and Heritage wrote a good one also.

It is obvious to me now, more than ever, that American Vision is completely sold out to the enemy, all so that Demar and McDurmon can make a living off the donations of gullible, PC Marxist Christians. What a shame that this is the modern fruit of R.J. Rushdoony. But my thought is, as much as Rushdoony was very courageous for his time and is often criticized as being an evil racist, his slight compromise in that area has borne much fruit of the same, only multiplied. It is a good reminder that any of our "small" compromises, will always end up destroying us in a very big way. Do not compromise any truth, even just a little bit.

On another note, I see that some of our Kinist friends out west have started a Kinist-friendly assembly. This I mainly view as positive. Praise God that they are not just trying to fit in at the typical Reformed churches. But it is, I will say, unfortunate that they have chosen to follow the failed Reformed model of Church leadership, instead of the vastly supervisor Anabaptist method, where leaders are raised up from the congregation, not from Seminary; where there are multiple leaders/teachers/elders, and every man is capable of leading. Where practical Christianity is taught instead of a bunch of head knowledge. I will have to write on that subject more later. I don't want to get carried away with that in this post.

My hand is started to bother me already from this short post. Stay strong in Christ, my brethren, and have no others gods than the LORD Jesus Christ.


Swiss Kinist

 

The Religious Culture of American Popular Sports

 

 

I grew up worshiping at the altar of American sports. It was my life growing up, both playing sports and watching sports. I dreamed and aspired and worked at the goal of becoming a professional athlete. By the grace of the Lord Jesus I did not become one, and he altered my mind, direction, and goals; all of my ambitions, hopes, and plans.

I want to define terms real quick here because I think it is important. Most of the time people will criticize what is known as "professional sports" and some will even say (or at least used to say) that they only watch college sports because professional sports is so corrupt. But today, there is no denying that whether it be college, professional, the Olympics, or whatever, it is all the same. It is all one big political/religious, invisible kingdom/empire. It is just as real as the Kingdom of God, which "cometh not by observation". But let us not be deceived as most Christians are; just because the kingdom is not literally visible does not make it something that is not ON this earth. The kingdom of Jesus is not OF this world (not DERIVED FROM), but is definitely in this world. The same is true of the devil's various kingdoms.

Christians do themselves good to recognize the fact of the invisible, very real (on earth) kingdom of darkness, and how it is visibly manifest in the world we live in, in the present age. There is not much of a greater example and/or more powerful deception that is going on, that traps Christians and unbelievers alike, as the world of "American Popular Sports", which we will call "APS" in this (hopefully) short blog post. I call it APS because it is so much broader than just professional, or even college sports. The religion of humanism has so engulfed and swallowed up sports in America, that you cannot really escape it on any level.

After I became a disciple of Jesus Christ, I soon after renounced the APS religion, but mainly because it was a god to me in my previous life. But every now and then I will check in on the websites and/or radio to see what is going on, to keep up with the direction they are heading with things.

Though APS has been a tool of Marxists and the religion of Humanism for probably its entire existence, it has really taken on a new nature over the past, probably 20 years or so. It is no longer just the trap of being a "sports fanatic" (fan).  It is religious to the core, now. No better example can be given than the morning talk show, "Mike and Mike" which began as the 20th century was closing out. Unlike most sports radio in the past, this particular show goes on for, I believe 3 hours each weekday morning, and the topics discussed go well beyond base commentary on what takes place in the games.

Led by Jew, Mike  Greenberg, Mike and Mike's central point of topics are based on the politics and the morality of the sports world.  I used to listen to this show, and have tuned in from time to time to hear the topics being discussed. I estimate that the VAST majority of the topics discussed, if not close to ALL, have a moral element to them. And what happens to be the standard to judge morality (right and wrong) and what is looked to when discussing the politics behind each sport? Why, Karl Marx, of course!

The APS religious cult is so clever, and so deceptive, however, that the mindless mass of Americans, including the Christians, simply cannot see the poison mixed in with their "treat" or indulgence of "innocent" sports. Sit back and think about the commentary you have heard from so-called "sports" talk shows. The Marxists have successfully used APS to shape the entire American public's opinions on race, sexual conduct, and just about every social topic you can think of.

The pastors, teachers, and other leaders, in the APS media, have a continuous flow of sermons via radio, tv, and print (both electronic and paper) to teach you the ways of their god, on whatever the subject happens to be. Search a sports site on any given day. What are the topics today, for example? Look it up yourself and see.

Consider ESPN, based in Connecticut, a hotbed for Jewish Marxists. They have programs like "Outside the Lines", which openly is not about the playing of sports itself. Sports is just the medium for the religion they urge you to embrace. They are teaching you morality.. a morality based on Humanism. And even the casual sports fan eventually gets sucked into the religious terminology and dogmas that are subtly passed along in every article, every sound bite, every television clip, etc.

It is not about sports, folks. Just as the Ouija board is a tool to the evil spirit world, so APS is the tool for the same, only in a different way. So the Michael Vick dogfighting incident, the Adrian Peterson child-abuse case, the Donald Sterling racism situation (Sterling is a Jew, but had to be identified as a white racist for "the cause"), Magic Johnson's HIV, Jackie Robinson "breaking the color barrier" (which we have to be reminded with every year), etc.. whatever it is, even the stories that are not so big.. they all are the same; they are all designed to shape and mold your mind.

What the regular TV programming, radio, and political venues cannot do, the APS religion will accomplish because APS is supposedly "neutral" and "just a game". But the only game being played is the game that the devil is using to lure Christians and other Americans into embracing Marxism and Humanism. What is the strategy? Get Americans sucked into the excitement of the game, and then poison them with Marxism every step of the way. Just as you cannot watch television and movie programming without being influenced in your mind, the same goes with sports. To deny this is to simply lie to yourself.

I am just skimming the surface here folks. There is so much more to this than I have said here. There is a lot more detail, and a lot more angles than I have stated. I have not even gotten into the link between sports and pornography, the hero-worship of mega-stars, the ungodly amount of money that is made, the countless wasted hours people spend on APS, how that the sports leagues (their policies and their disciplinary actions against their members) are a precursor for American Law and Society, and many other issues. APS is a rival god, brethren. I hope this blog post serves as catalyst for minds that are better than mine, to really delve into the details of this all. But if you take one thing away from this post, let it be this: If you are currently enjoying the APS system, get out now. Renounce this wicked beast in the name of Jesus Christ, and learn to hate what God hates, by the grace of God and through prayer to him.

Please add your own comments and ideas in the comment section here. What questions do you have about this topic?

Swiss Kinist

Defend Marriage-- Marriage Pledge: Rooted in Marxism and Bound for Failure

A friend of mine asked me my opinion on the Marriage Pledge over at defendmarriage.org.

In short summary, due to the Supreme Court Decision (coming this summer) regarding Sodomite marriage on the Federal level, a group of Christian activists, which appears to be headed by James Dobson, are coming out to oppose Sodomite marriage, calling for a pledge "to stand together to defend  marriage for what it is, a bond between one man and one woman, intended for life, and open to the gift of children."

I had not heard of this before; at least, I had not read or heard much about it. I have not studied this issue in depth, and have no desire to. I do not have time for that. But I really do not think I need to spend a lot of time. We have seen this before, just in other forms and variations. Phony (with maybe a few well-meaning) Christians attempting to "make a stand" for a righteous cause. Usually these attempts are to defend the very last beam that has yet to collapse, on a building that has no hope of survival. These folks have no intention of truly saving the building and even defend the previous beams being hacked out years ago.

I hope that someone over at Faith and Heritage; or another of our viewpoint writes something a bit more detailed and thought out than what I will have for you here. Here, you will get opinions from the top of my head; but opinions that are rooted in experience and the truth of God's word, nevertheless. But then again, this is a blog, not a professional website. And if I am wrong about any of this, let me know. I am not unable to be persuaded.

My mind is spinning a thousand miles an hour on this thing. There is so much to say about it. There are so many different angles to cover regarding just what these supposed freedom fighters are doing. Do I start with the fact that James Dobson is a corrupt gatekeeper and cannot be trusted? No, I will not get into that here. There a dozens of similar items you could point out of why this whole thing is wrong and why it will fail. It may even be designed to fail.

I try to give people the benefit of the doubt as much as I can. I want to believe that these promoters of "defending marriage" are doing what they believe is right and good; that they have good intentions. But I am more apt to believe that they are simply conspiring to gain more attention for their organizations and increase their donation amounts. I will not go into detail about that either.

The folks you see standing up to "defend marriage" now will be the same guys (perhaps their children and organization successors) 30 years from now, speaking against a law to normalize pedophilia. And the ironic thing, in that day, will be that they will argue from the starting point of the obvious wrong of our previous generation, who opposed Sodomy. As Nathanael Strickland at Faith and Heritage pointed out:

"[T]he conservative church thinks that it can embrace miscegenation, but not homosexuality, “civil rights” for non-whites, but not feminism, and racial Marxism, but not gender Marxism. . . . If [Galatians 3:28] is saying that Christ erases all physical racial differences, then the verse must also mean that Christ erases all physical gender differences too.  If “skin color” is accidental and meaningless, then why should “genitalia” be any different?  There is no logically or morally consistent way to oppose homosexuality or feminism while supporting miscegenation or racial egalitarianism. . . . After all, there is no male and female – only Christians and non-Christians – so why would you want to set up artificial distinctions like “gender”?


Let us examine what these folks are not willing to promote and embrace:

1) They are not willing to make Sodomy illegal. And they definitely are not willing to defend the law of God that Sodomites should be put to death.

2) They are not willing to defend a Christian's right to refuse service to Sodomites in regular business. This corresponds with the fact that they would consider it absurd to defend the rights of a Christian who refuses service based on any reason. They agree it is okay, good, and righteous to rob a man of his right of free association.

Dobson and Co. want to stand with Marxists and God haters in embracing "non-discrimination", but want this issue to be an exception. This is a losing position to take. You cannot claim to be against a Marxist principle regarding marriage, while at the same time defending those same Marxist principles consistently in all other areas of life.

These are the type of people who fight to "get God back into the public schools", when in fact, they should be rather fighting to eliminate public schools. But there is no telling that to Dobson and Co. They presuppose that public schools are a necessary good. In like manner, they assume that Marxist principles of equality are good, and that the law of God being enforced in society is bad. These are not Christians in practice, folks.

You can see that these men up there claiming to be standing for the truth, even particularly the truth of Jesus Christ (as a few of them have stated), have more in common with the Marxists they claim to be opposing on this issue, than they have in common with our Christian forefathers who actually stood for the law of God in society.

3) They are unequally yoked with unbelievers (2Corinthians 6:14):

"We stand together in defense of marriage and the family and society founded upon them. While we come from a variety of communities and hold differing faith perspectives, we are united in our common affirmation of marriage."

On a side note, is it not interesting that this pretty much the exact philosophy of Christian White Advocacy groups? Join yourselves in fellowship with God-haters to defend "the cause"; when the real cause ought to be Christ's exaltation in all things (Colossians 1:18).

Back to topic. The people who spoke at the meeting (which was on C-Span, and which you can view here, appear to have been very carefully selected. You had to make sure to get a couple of people of color so that you could appeal to "anti-racism" doctrine. The one black man made sure to strongly emphasis that what Sodomites were asking for was in no way comparable to the [Marxist] "Civil Rights" cause of the past.

Of course, the left knows that this is BS nonsense and that the issues go hand-in-hand. The issue is the Jacobin principle of equality. The only way to be consistent is to oppose both forced integration, and gender Marxism. The left rightly calls out the inconsistent Christians as hypocrites in this area.

You also had a speaker named Janet Boynes (a female Negro), apparently a former Lesbian who now holds a ministry of helping Sodomites escape their chains. And I speak no-ill of what she is trying to do, from what I heard her say. But what a shame that she was probably the best and most wholehearted of all the speakers there.

There is so, so much more to say. So much more. But unfortunately I will have to leave that up to someone else. Perhaps someone can springboard off of this blog post and write something more thoughtful and planned out. Here is what I wrote on the contact form of the Defend Marriage website:

Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ. I want to make this short, because I know you likely receive a lot of emails. I want to say first of all, thank you for doing what you are doing, in this manner; at least you are doing something. I praise you for that. I praise your courage and your willingness to speak out. Too many Christians are failing to speak for the truth. I admire your call for civil disobedience to that which violates the law of God.

But I am disappointed because it is not the law of God you are seeking to uphold, but rather "natural law" which you stated in your conference is rooted in "reason" rather than the word of God. If we are to win this battle it must be without compromise. You are fighting a defensive battle rather than offensive one. Because of this, this cause is sure to lose, and in a sense, I hope it does; because maybe it will drive home the message to you to change.

We must take a stance on the entire law of God. You are arguing with the presupposition that "equality" and "non-discrimination" (which are Marxist doctrines) is a moral good. This is folly to the uttermost. The law of God demands that Sodomites are put to death by the Civil Magistrate, and American law reflected this in its founding. But you are too compromised to take a stand for the entire truth of God's word. You embrace the world's ideology in whole, yet reject the natural outcome of this ideology, which is the widespread force of participation in Sodomy.

No, you will not win this battle until you stand for the entire truth, as the word of God teaches. Jesus Christ must be Lord over all of society in all ways, not just in the "definition of marriage".

There are many other things I could say, but I will refrain for now. The Lord Jesus give you wisdom and courage.

Hans

No, I did not mention a few of the things I mentioned on this blog post because such people are so immersed in Marxism and I did not want them to dismiss my entire writing based on them hearing the entire truth. At the very least, I hope to bring them a step closer to being consistent with the truth and to actually defending the Lord Jesus Christ and God's law. I wish I could say the same, that I believe that is what they are doing on this issue. But the historical evidence is so overwhelmingly against that idea. Save us, Lord Jesus, and raise up some true, courageous leaders among us. Amen.

Swiss Kinist

I love the hospitality of the Anabaptist

Okay, finally, here we go; a positive post. I cannot say that there will be no negative comments in this post, because even when mentioning a righteous deed, it is necessary to contrast the righteous acts with the opposite. This post is going to highlight a key strength that many Anabaptist churches possess that is mostly lacking in the Reformed and also other Christian groups.

You might be wondering why I am so critical of the Reformed and seemingly high on the Anabaptists, when I claim to be Reformed. Well, the people I am around the most are Reformed people, so I see our own flaws more than I see the flaws of the Anabaptist. I suppose that if I attended an Anabaptist church it might be the opposite. But secondly, I think it is a good habit to criticize or be harder on your own, than on those outside of your circle.

We can criticize the faults and sins of the Negro all day long, but that is not going to help us much, even though his problems appear to be greater than ours. We need to look at ourselves; us Europeans have a lot to repent of and America would not be in the state it is today if not for the departure from the word of God of our own people. It is not the Negro's fault or the Jew's fault; they are simply God's instruments of judgment against us for our sins.

We must take the same attitude in area of Christian sects. Let us examine ourselves and see where we can improve. We cannot blame the problems in the church (and by inference, the problems in America) on other sects of Christianity. If we hold the true form of doctrine, we must lead out by example in the practical areas of life.


The Days of Old.. Sort Of


I recall the days of old; well, about 10-12 years ago or so. We had just come out of the Independent, Fundament Baptist Church. And if you know about these type of Christians, they are church-goers who are excited about church and even sometimes about "soul winning", but their idea of Christianity is just going to church and passing along the chain-message, and the cycle repeating again and again. Not much true discipleship happens, if any. The best distinction they maintain between themselves and the world is that perhaps they do not drink alcohol or watch Rated R movies (which is a very low standard). They did not practice very earnestly the virtue of hospitality.

Our small church (sort of a combination between an Independent Baptist and Anabaptist, with a slight atmosphere of home-church) decided to attend a weekend of religious meetings in Ephrata, PA, which was about 5-6 hours away. We only had 1 or 2 children at that time, I believe. In most of these type of situations, whatever kind of meetings, you would have to stay at a hotel. You can see with a lot of events, it will be announced, a list of "places to stay" while in the area. This is what I had always been accustomed to and thought nothing of it. But instead, there were multiple families more than willing to take us into their home and treat us like royalty. The provisions they gave were more than gracious while we were there. And these people did not know us at all, and did not even really know most of the people of our small congregation.


The Way This Type of Anabaptist Operates


In the type of circles I described above, it is common, it is expected, it is preached, and it is ingrained into the very being of these sort of Christians: Hospitality is the chief characteristic of the Christian. This is charity (1Corthians 13) in practice. There is no way that the church (the called out ones) out there in Ephrata, PA would have ever allowed any Christian, whether they knew him or not, to have to pay for a hotel for a night. And in addition to that, there is no way that such Christians they take in would not be treated with the highest honor.

"I was a stranger, and ye took me in:" -- Matthew 25:35

The Sheep and The Goats

This was not by accident. However, it was never organized officially (in a "have to do" sort of way, as a congregation). The church there had built into their very character, a love for hospitality (Titus 1:8), which is a requirement for a Bishop. It is no wonder that most of the men in the church were leaders in every sense of the word, and almost any one of them could have stepped into the position of an elder at any time.

This church had a culture of hospitality. And I am not saying that no other Christian groups have ever nor am I saying that no sect of Christianity has a resemblance of this type of charity. But I have never seen it so embraced zealously, as I have with this particular group of Anabaptist churches. They are the same, whatever part of the country you dwell in. For example, in the particular church nearby that we attend occasionally, any visitor is asked by several families to join them for supper at their home after the service, to the point where you have to turn down many offers before the day is done. In my experience thus far, I have yet to see anything like it. They do it because they desire to do it, not because it is a duty or obligation. They will do anything for anyone, and drop everything just to serve others. And this sets them apart from the rest, in my opinion.

This does not just play out in the area of taking in strangers. It applies to all areas of life and is an example of the main theme: laying down our lives for others. Dying to our own desires and will. It is living out these verses:


"We are fools for Christ's sake, but ye are wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye are strong; ye are honourable, but we are despised.

Even unto this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwellingplace;

And labour, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it:

Being defamed, we intreat: we are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day....

Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me."  -- 1Corinthians 4:10-13,16



Real Life Genuine Hospitality



I certainly do not intend to say that the only examples of self-sacrifice and hospitality are found in Anabaptist circles. A couple of years ago, we were blessed to run into good old-fashioned Southern Christian Hospitality.

My wife met a few godly Christian families online through her blog. One of the families in Tennessee invited us down to visit for a few days. So we drove down, but on the way there, there was a huge pothole on the highway, while going through a one lane construction zone. There was a huge "thump" driving over it. I wonder how many tires that thing blew out and the damage it finally did. There was literally no way of avoiding it and no warning about it. Well, we did not notice any damage until later in the trip.

When we were about to leave the host family's house, the father of the home offered to change my tire to a spare tire, because he could see that there had been damage due to that pothole. So he changed the tire and we were on our way. But after reaching about an hour away, north, we heard a rattling noise coming from the tire. I slowed down a lot and put on my flashers in the right lane, trying to reach the next exit. But about a half mile before the exit, the tire came off entirely and we could see it rolling down the highway ahead of us in the traffic (it is actually really funny looking back at it, ha ha!). By the grace of God, I pulled onto the side of the highway and everything was okay.. other than that we were stranded, one hour from our friends (we had just crossed over into Virginia) and 5-6 hours from home.

What happened afterward was impressive on every part, to say the least. We not only witnessed the extreme hospitality of the families of a small fellowship on the TN/VA border, but also witnessed the radical culture difference between this territory and where we live, in NE Ohio.

We called the family (our friends) and the father drove down to where we were on the highway, and took my family to a local town where there was a Wendy's restaurant. We got some food there and while I won't go into all the details here, the people treated my family like royalty while I left with our friend to try to get the van repaired (even though they kind of over-stayed their welcome, with no where else to wait).

Our friend and I drove to try to find a place to get the van repaired; and being that it was Sunday, that was difficult. What had happened, is the bolts that held on the rim had completely broken off (in case you are wondering if our friend did not install the spare tire correctly-- no, he did not). He took us all back to his house for the night. And that night and the next day (before we went to repair the van) was one of the most Holy Spirit filled times we ever experienced, as we enjoyed a much better fellowship than we previously had during the visit, and his family (a wonderfully gifted musical family) played beautiful hymns for us on the piano, violin, and Cello.

Our friend found a place that repaired commercial semi-trucks, and he paid to have it towed there; when he called the place the next morning, the owner (an old hillbilly type of guy), although he told us he could not fix it, cheerfully offered for us to use any of his tools and equipment to make the repair ourselves (that is hospitality, seemingly contagious in that part of the country).

After a few hours of finding the right parts and doing the difficult work, we had it finished. To top it off, the fellowship centered around that area all contributed to give us $100.00 to buy another tire when we got home. They certainly went over the top on hospitality. But this is just the normal Christian life for these type of people. And these people, not Anabaptist by any means, have that very same spirit that dominates many of the Anabaptist circles I am familiar with. These people barely knew us and were willing to bear all kinds of inconvenience and suffer loss for our sakes.


Conclusion


We need to learn from these blessed examples. As I have maintained for a while now, there are huge strengths in many different Christian sects. If you want duty, realize that it is our duty to search and seek and discover the areas of weaknesses in our own camps, and to repent and apply the word of God faithfully, as we see the fruit of other groups demonstrated before our eyes.


Swiss Kinist