The Second Opinion

Indonesia jails Christians for trying to covert Muslim children

(hat tip: Ith)

From the Church of England Newspaper:

Three women in Indonesia face jail sentences of up to five years if found guilty on charges of trying to convert children to Christianity. The case against Rebekka Zakaria, Ratna Mala Bangun and Ety Pangesti, stems from the trio’s involvement in a children’s holiday initiative -- Happy Week -- in West Java. The camp was organised for local Christian children, but allowed Muslim children to attend with parental consent and supervision.

The charges against the women was brought by the local chapter of the Indonesian Council of Muslim Clerics who alleged that the women enticed Muslim children to participate and also that they tried to convert the youngsters to Christianity. The women were arrested despite the fact that all children had full parental consent. None of the children changed religion and reportedly no complaints have been lodged by the children’s families.

Gotta love the 'religion of peace', eh?

The judgment of Solomon

In church today, we had this reading from the Old Testament.  While I don't think the pastor had Judge Roberts in his mind when he selected it, it is apropos:

From the First Book of Kings, chapter 3:

⁵In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee.

⁶And Solomon said, Thou hast shewed unto thy servant David my father great mercy, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day.

⁷And now, O LORD my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in.

⁸And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude.

⁹Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?

¹⁰And the speech pleased the LORD, that Solomon had asked this thing.

¹¹And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment;

¹²Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee.

¹³And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honour: so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days.

¹⁴And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days.

Victim ordered to marry her rapist

Oddly enough, this ISN'T a US Supreme Court decision, but rather from the Religion of Peace.  According to the Washington Times' Shaikh Azizur Rahman:

Hard-line Islamic clerics in a northern Indian village have declared that a woman's 10-year-old marriage was nullified when her father-in-law raped her -- and ordered the mother of five to marry the rapist.

The fatwa, or religious edict, was issued by Darool Uloom Deoband, South Asia's most powerful Islamic theological school known for promoting a radical brand of Islam that is said to have inspired the Taliban in Afghanistan.

The decision has outraged both Muslim and Hindu leaders and prompted a fierce debate that has dominated the front pages of national newspapers across India.

The fatwa ordered Imrana Ilahi, 28, to separate from her husband and treat him as her son because she had sex with his father.

Many people including me often speak of the Islamic religion as stuck in the 12th century.  I'm no expert, but I don't think Christians or Jews EVER had such a goofy law!

George Washington's Prayer for the United States of America

"Almighty God, we make our earnest prayer that Thou wilt keep the United States in Thy holy protection:  That Thou wilt incline the hearts of our citizens to cultivate a spirit of subordination and obedience to government; and entertain a brotherly affection and love for each other and their fellow citizens of the United States at large; and finally, that Thou wilt most graciously be pleased to dispose us all to do justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with charity, humility and pacific temper of mind which were the characteristics of the Divine Author of our blessed religion, and without a humble imitation of whose example in these things we can never hope to be a happy nation.  Grant our supplication, we beseech Thee ......  Amen."

President George Washington, April 30, 1789

Christianity and homosexuality

Via Q and O, I read an article from the Chicago Sun-Times' Lynn Sweet where Howard Dean attempted - again - to cite the Bible:

Republicans want to demonize Dean, and his "white, Christian'' remark seems to only highlight the success the GOP has had within the evangelical community.

To counter this, Sunday afternoon, Dean talked about the Bible, Jesus, respecting people who disagree with you and the persuasive power of deep convictions.

It came out right.

"Let me remind those Republicans,'' he said, that the Bible mentions helping the poor "3,000 times. I have not yet seen gay marriage mentioned in the Bible. That is a Republican issue.''

It's not my purpose in this post to discuss Dr. Dean and his big mouth.  Rather, I'd like to offer a few thoughts on Christianity and homosexuality.

This is unquestionably one of the 'hot button' issues of our times, and how to deal with it is a question that many Christians grapple with.  As I wrote a week or so ago, some Christians believe that homosexuals are under God's curse and are doomed to burn in hell.  I regret to say that some Christians seem to even take a certain malignant delight in this idea.

I have a different view.

Let me start with the stipulation that ALL people are sinners and deserve the just wrath of God.  He made us in His image and offered us His divine love and all good things, but through the original sin of Adam and Eve we have rejected Him.  We have the hope of salvation and eternal life through His sacrifice of His only Son, Jesus Christ.  This redemption is for ALL people, and will be instantly and gladly given to us by God the moment we repent our sins and ask His forgiveness.  I rejoice in the Good News of the Gospel, and indeed, of the whole Bible: that God loves us.

However, God's love and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ does not mean that we may behave licentiously, like a glutton who makes a pig of himself at dinner because somebody else is picking up the check.  Because we both love and fear God, we must keep His commandments.  There is no question that homosexuality is forbidden by God.  In Leviticus 18:22, God says to Moses:

Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable.

This is only one of many commandments given by God regarding sexual relations.  They build on the Sixth Commandment, which forbids adultery.  At the root of this commandment is God's desire that a man and a woman should be united in marriage and know no other man or woman outside that state.  This forbids adultery, incest, pre-marital sex, pornography and the solitary vice, and, yes, homosexuality.  Saint Paul writes in Romans 1:26ff:

Because of this, God gave them [godless and wicked men] over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones.  In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.

He writes further in 1 Corinthians 6:9ff:

Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

Note that homosexuals are not the only ones who stand condemned.  I believe that this is a key point that is overlooked by many Christians.  Are we not all guilty of some of the sins listed by Saint Paul?  Of course we are.  As Christ said when he stopped the men from stoning the adulteress (John 8:7):

If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.

As we know, the men all dropped their stones and walked away because they knew in their hearts that they were also sinners.  Christ said to the woman:

'Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?'

'No one, sir,' she said.

'Then neither do I condemn you,' Jesus declared. 'Go now and leave your life of sin.'

Note that Christ does not condemn the woman, but nor does He tell her that what she's been doing is OK.  Rather, He forgives her BUT tells her to stop sinning.  I believe that He would say this to all of us, including homosexuals. 

I also believe that this is the model for our behavior that He would have us follow.  We cannot say to the homosexual that his behavior is OK, just as we cannot say this to the thief or the drunkard or the murderer.  What we can and should do with any sinner is gently rebuke them and ask them to seek the help of the Holy Spirit in repenting and casting off their sinful ways, in the same way that we should do for ourselves.  We ought to pray for them just as we pray for ourselves.  In doing so, we should always be mindful of Christ's warning in Matthew 7:3ff:

Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?  How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?  You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

Homosexuals are sinners.  They do not deserve the condemnation of us, their fellow sinners.  They need our encouragement, forgiveness, and prayers.  They need God's help to turn away from their sin.

Just like me.

XXX Church

(hat tip: SwineBass)

I read about this site a few weeks ago, but thought it was some kind of joke.  It isn't.  They're real, and they're serious:

I guess deep down inside all we want is to know that everything is going to be all right. We ask ourselves the question...is there something wrong with me because I am struggling with pornography? With this issue comes a lot of shame and guilt. It's a dirty little secret that you can't let out and in the mean time you feel like pond scum.

At XXXchurch we want to let you know that you are loved by God and by the people involved in this ministry. You are not alone. You do not have to carry this burden any longer. The entire reason for having this website is to give people hope and to let them know that there is help.

Right now it comes down to a conscious decision to do something about it. We know it's easy to simply click away and view porn sites. It's free...it's accessible...and everybody is doing it!! You can decide today to get honest about your life and where all this is heading. Do it today! Here are some options for you to consider.

I'm no expert, but I believe I can say that the concept of 'porn addiction' is starting to gain acceptance as a genuine psychological problem.  Let's face it: the porn industry is a BIG business.  There are literally thousands (if not millions) of porn sites on the internet.  Many hotels offer pay-per-view 'adult' programming.  It's no longer the stuff of red light districts and furtive visits to adult bookstores or peepshows.  Obviously, this would not occur if quite a large number of people weren't paying for porn, and paying often.

I've never been convinced that SOCIALLY, porn is a bad thing.  I'm sure that there are those men who become so obsessed with it that they are led to commit crimes such as rape, but I think that the majority of people who view porn do not fall into this category.

Morally, of course, it's another matter.  I've heard radio interviews with people whose marriages have been destroyed by porn ('he likes looking at those other women so much that he won't pay attention to ME'), and I guess we've all heard about people who were stupid enough - or addicted enough - to surf for porn on their work computers.

There can also be no doubt that viewing porn - and what C.S. Lewis delicately refers to as 'the solitary vice' that almost always accompanies it - is a sin.  God made men attracted to women, and vice versa, but NOT for the purposes of base pleasure.  As the XXXChurch website notes:

He did not create women for us to be able to click onto a poorly designed and cheesy website and look at them naked. He did not craft the woman's body so we could pay $3.95 a month to look at naughty pictures. There is so much more to God's plan.

You need to understand that attraction is from God's heart, but lust is from ours.

God intends for a man and a woman to live their lives together as man and wife.  I can do no better than to cite part of the marriage ceremony from the old Book of Common Prayer:

[Marriage] is an honourable estate, instituted of God in the time of man's innocency, signifying unto us the mystical union that is betwixt Christ and his Church; which holy estate Christ adorned and beautified with his presence, and first miracle that he wrought, in Cana of Galilee; and is commended of Saint Paul to be honourable among all men: and therefore is not by any to be enterprised, nor taken in hand, unadvisedly, lightly, or wantonly, to satisfy men's carnal lusts and appetites, like brute beasts that have no understanding; but reverently, discreetly, advisedly, soberly, and in the fear of God; duly considering the causes for which Matrimony was ordained.     

First, It was ordained for the procreation of children, to be brought up in the fear and nurture of the Lord, and to the praise of his holy Name.

Secondly, It was ordained for a remedy against sin, and to avoid fornication; that such persons as have not the gift of continency might marry, and keep themselves undefiled members of Christ's body.

Thirdly, It was ordained for the mutual society, help, and comfort, that the one ought to have of the other, both in prosperity and adversity.

Please don't think for an instant that I'm 'holier than thou' on this subject!  As the website notes, most men have viewed porn in their lives.  I'm certainly one of that number.  Thus, I wish the folks at XXXChurch well in their mission.  They've got a tough row to hoe.

Speaking of bad Christians

I don't consider myself a particularly good Christian.  However, I like to think that even I wouldn't stoop to this kind of thing:

(from Drink This)

It seems that Reverend Fred Phelps hates fags.  And he's taken it upon himself to declare that God hates fags.  (He also reminds us that God hates America, but we already knew this...)

The Christian poser and his followers at the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan., are protesting funerals of soldiers because the army lets gays in:

WBC to picket funeral of Army Spc. Carrie L. French, 19... in religios protest at warning: "God is not mocked!" America bombed our church with an IED.  God in retalitation is killing U.S. soldiers like Carrie with IEDs in Iraq.

Silly Reverend, pricks are for Islam.

Christians denounce the whacked out nut jobs out there making us all look like white supremacist nazi homophobes giving Christianity a bad name.  So let me ask you this, Reverend Phelps, have these pages in your bible fallen loose from this...?

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God [NIV, Romas 3:23]

Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. Why do you see the speck in your neighbor's eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your neighbor, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' while the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor's eye. [NRSV, Matthew 7:1-5]

Therefore you have no excuse, whoever you are, when you judge others; for in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, are doing the very same things. You say, "We know that God's judgment on those who do such things is in accordance with truth." Do you imagine, whoever you are, that when you judge those who do such things and yet do them yourself, you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you despise the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience? Do you not realize that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? [Romans 2:1-4]

I've not seen evidence that God hates gays more than any other sinner--ok, maybe that AIDS thing is something, but some conspire that's a man-made punishment.  (Of course, I also see no evidence that God intended for gays to marry, but I digress and I've already posted--and been taken to task--for this...)

Aaron, who has declared that God hates the the Westboro Baptist Church, emailed me this morning to let me know of the protest at the funeral of Army Spc. Brian M. Romines, 20.  An exceprt from today's flyer:

"God is not mocked!" America bombed WBC with an IED. God in retaliation is killing U.S. soldiers like Brian with IEDs in Iraq.   

...America is doomed, for persecuting Westboro Baptist Church because WBC for 14 years now has warned against the filthy, sinful fag agenda. God is retaliating against this evil nation for bombing WBC with an IED. God is saying to America: "You set off an IED attempting to terrorize my people; now I will kill thousands of your soldiers with IEDs." America's terrorist is God Himself. America is now a fag nation. America is now at war with God.

I sent Aaron the links the other day when I was first alerted to them by my sister and GI Joe when they called to tell me of a post they saw on The Stupid Shall Be Punished. 

Don't anybody give me any crap for linking to these fools either.  Are you kidding?  I need everyone to keep me posted on this... If they find their way to a funeral in Iowa, GI Joe would like to welcome the Reverend with this...

Beth also has a declaration on this...

"I am a Kansan and this subhuman's behavior is just horrid and embarrassing. I declare him no longer a Kansan. He and his family and flock are not Christians, even though they claim that title. The best thing that could happen to them is to be shunned by the rest of society."

Chris D turned up this...

In the 1980s, the Phelps family were strong political allies with then-senator Al Gore. The home of Fred Jr., Phelps' eldest son, located in the Westboro compound, acted as Gore's campaign quarters for one of his senate races, and the Westboro compound was host to a fundraiser. Numerous photos exist on the internet of Fred Phelps Jr. and his second wife, Betty Phelps-Schurle, posing with Al and Tipper Gore in Phelps Jr.'s home. Phelps also served as a Gore delegate on the floor of the Democratic National Convention in Atlanta in 1988. {LCR Ga.)

Rev. Phelps has run in numerous Democratic primary elections for governor of the state of Kansas in 1992, 1994, and the last time in 1998, when he garnered over 15,000 votes, almost 15% of the total votes cast. (CNN)

Hmmmpf.

God hates assholes.

------

I don't think that God hates anybody, though I know He hates the sins we (all) commit.  However, I feel pretty sure that God doesn't want us going around telling folks that He hates them.  Seems to me that this is a MAJOR violation of the third commandment (Exodus 20:7):

You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.

I actually went to Phelps' website.  I now feel dirty.  Some of the little gems he has on there are these counters:

Matthew Sheppard has been in hell for 2444 days.

Diane Whipple has been in hell for 1607 days.

Sheppard was a homosexual beaten to death in Colorado some years ago.  Whipple was a lesbian mauled to death by dogs in California.

How can any person who calls himself a Christian take apparent joy in the deaths of other people?  In my less sane moments, I think I would relish the death of bin Laden (among others).  Shoot, I'd relish killing him with my bare hands. 

But when I pause to think, I believe that Christ does not want this.  He does not want the death of a man, but rather that we would all hear and understand the Good News of His gospel; that we would all repent our sins and give God the praise and worship He deserves; and that we would love our fellow man.

Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

I can only pray for Phelps and his church.  I think that by preaching such an ugly message, he is doing the work of the devil.

Some thoughts on the Christian religion

The more I learn about the Bible and the Christian religion, the more I am convinced of two things:

1.  Being a Christian is about the easiest thing in the world.

2.  Being a good Christian is impossible.

When Christ came down from heaven and was made man to suffer and die for our sins, He gave us a virtually free gift.  All we have to do to gain forgiveness for our sins is to ask.  It doesn't get much easier than that.

The problem lies in what He expects of us: that we be perfect.  In the Gospel according to Saint Matthew, Christ tells us to be perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect (Matthew 5:48).  What does He mean by this?  After all, man is manifestly and explicitly NOT perfect; we are all marked by the sin of Adam.  Saint Paul cites the Psalms and Ecclesiastes (Romans 3:10ff):

There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God.  All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.

Yet, we're supposed to be perfect.  And not only perfect in action, but also in thought.  Christ also says that we are subject to judgment even by our thoughts.  For example (Matthew 5:28):

But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Christ also tells us that we must totally devote our lives to serving God.  For example, he tells the rich man (Matthew 19:21) to sell all his possessions, give the money to the poor, and follow Him.  In verse 29, He tells the disciples:

And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.

He is even more explicit in verse 37:

Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.

Does this not represent an paradox?  After all, the fourth commandment requires us to honor our parents.  Christ Himself tell us to love our neighbor as ourselves.

The answer, I think, lies in WHY Christians must love their fellow man: because it is pleasing in the sight of God.  I think that this is also what Saint James is getting at when he writes (James 2:17) that faith without works is dead.  If we TRULY praise and worship God, and TRULY follow in the footsteps of Christ as He would have us do, we would do good works as a matter of course and without expectation of reward.  Indeed, our reward has already been bought for us.  Our task is to seek it and make ourselves worthy of it.

This is what I mean when I say that it is impossible to be a 'good' Christian.  At least, it is for me.  Avoid thinking lustful thoughts?  Love people who insult me or harm me?  Sell all I have and give it to the poor?  It's a hard life that Christ wants us to live.  As God is just, we can never deserve anything but eternal punishment for constantly breaking His laws and failing to meet His expectations. 

Fortunately, God is also a most loving father, and will forgive even our most egregious sins.  According to the book of Job (33:14ff), God constantly warns us to avoid sin but will draw us back from the brink of the pit time after time after time.  As Job writes:

He prays to God and finds favor with him, he sees God's face and shouts for joy; he is restored by God to his righteous state. Then he comes to men and says, 'I sinned, and perverted what was right, but I did not get what I deserved.'

Christ makes it clear in three parables (Luke 15) that God desires most that we return humbly and penitent to Him, and rejoices when we do.  As He says in the parable of the lost coin:

[T]here is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.

Like the prodigal son, I can never be worthy to be called a son of God.  Fortunately, this decision is not up to me, but up to God.  I cannot be a 'good' Christian, but I owe it to God to do the best I can and can only throw myself on His mercy through Jesus Christ when I fall short.