Tag: morality

The Truth Sells like Broccoli Hotcakes!

On May 6, 2022

In Bible & Doctrine, Christian Productivity

As someone who has owned a business, made various television appearances, lived a life out “in the world”, and, of course, been a member of the Lord’s church, I can tell you one thing that I have learned along the way. It is that promoting the truth is not the way to fame, fortune, popularity, and worldly success.

In my fitness business I tried to tell people the “secret” to getting in shape – unfortunately it involved hard work and discipline. While this helped many of the people I came in contact with, it also pushed away countless folks who were looking for an easier way.

The same happened on my local television appearances (NBC, ABC, CBS). Though I put my phone number at the bottom of the screen for each of these appearances, I only ended up with one phone call (in around 40 appearances). What was my message to the masses? Well, that there is no “easy” way to get in shape, but it can indeed be done with some dedicated work and some caloric reduction. Needless to say, this message did not “sell like hotcakes”, well, maybe like “broccoli hotcakes”. However, the problem remains. The truth is the only thing that works, and in the case of the gospel it is the only thing that saves.

As a member of the Lord’s church I see the same trend in national “Christianity”. Only 1-2% of the population is a member of the Lord’s church (a sad number indeed). As cultural truth is pushed farther and farther from the “absolutes” set forth by the Bible this number has continued to decline. The number of church of Christ congregations in the United States is dwindling, dropping 9% in the last three decades according to a National Directory published by 21st Century Christian.

What did Jesus say about this? Did he say that truth should produce the most Christians? Did he say that the truth should have people coming to us in droves? No, in fact he predicted our very situation:

Mat 7:13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad isthe way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:

Mat 7:14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

So, does this mean we should give up? I do not believe it does. I believe it means we need to evangelize more than ever and work to engage the culture (and the young people growing up in said culture). I believe that the media is leading many astray and that we need to step up and “call out” those who are promoting false doctrine. Do I mean false gospels? Yes, but I also mean the doctrine of evolution, materialism, relativism, and the like.

Jesus wants us to spread the gospel to as many as possible, because indeed progress can be made. Some will accept the message and be saved, and our job is to maximize the number of saved individuals by telling them about Christ:

Mat 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

Mat 28:20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

When should we start? Well, as the old saying goes the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago, but the second best time is right now. Let us all strive to begin pushing back against the darkness that is enveloping our society, let us all strive to evangelize and spread the good news of Jesus Christ.

Can Ethics be Based in Human Nature?

By Jay

On September 15, 2021

In Apologetics

Rom 3:9 What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin,

Rom 3:10 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one;

Natural ethics is a form of Secular Ethics that is often put forth by evolutionists and even some “religious” leaders such as the current Dalai Lama. It asserts that we all are in inherently “good” and that is why we typically want to do good. Doing good has helped us to survive (evolutionarily) and in order to be “happy” we must follow basic principles based on our inherent “human” goodness (by the way, these “principles” are eerily similar to the principles that God puts forth in the Bible).

This, of course, is completely against the Bible. We are not good, only God is good. Our time should be spent striving to improve and do better, but even then only Jesus blood will allow us to make it to Heaven.

How can we dispute this ethical theory?

Well, first we should ask, who defines “good”? By what objective yardstick is “good” measured? It certainly cannot be measured by any man (except Jesus). That is what led the philosopher Plato towards his theory of “forms” (as ridiculous as it was), he needed to find some measuring stick for things like goodness and virtue, etc. This is because if we base our morality on man it is purely subjective – and “good” depends on which man you talk to.

Here’s a Minder Bender…

What if something is “good” to a specific culture, but not deemed good by a second culture – and that second culture prides itself on being accepting of all other culture’s beliefs? Now, it is faced with a dilemma. Let’s say that it seems to the second culture that the first culture is being bigoted by believing what they do (maybe they hold a belief about women’s rights or some other controversial topic).

Therefore, they refuse to accept the first culture’s beliefs (on the basis of their declaring it to be bigoted). Does that make the second culture the arbiter of what is “good”? If so, what makes the second culture’s beliefs better than the first culture’s (if they are both based on manmade opinions)? Have they not now determined that they accept every culture and belief except the first culture’s? Isn’t that being bigoted against the first culture’s beliefs? Aren’t we back at square one? With no objective truth there is only subjective truth (man’s opinion).

What does that mean? Well, it means that nothing is objectively right or wrong. That mean’s that the Nazi’s just had a different opinion than the other people of the world about what was “good”. We, as humans, know this is a ridiculous statement and that what the Nazi’s did in killing 5 million Jews was objectively WRONG!

Some say that our ethics are based in survival, and that being “good” is what has allowed our species to thrive and survive. This also falls short of the mark, as much of what we see as objectively good is often evolutionarily counterproductive.

For example, the Nazi’s also had what was called the “useless eaters” program. This program mercilessly killed those with mental disabilities and those who had hereditary blindness, deafness, etc. According to evolution this might be a good idea, there would be more food for the healthy “workers” and the gene pool would grow stronger by removing those with disabilities – however we know that this is also ridiculous and objectively WRONG!

You would be hard pressed to find a supporter of “natural ethics” who would agree to the validity of the “useless eaters” program. As humans we instinctively know that every person has inherent value despite disabilities. This is true regardless of whether a specific action would be evolutionarily beneficial for the human species. I won’t go deeper here, but basing morality in mankind or in evolution has many pitfalls and is, in the end, contradictory.

I think these excerpts about situation ethics by Wayne Jackson are applicable here:

“Situation ethics claims there are no rules save the rule to love, yet by their own rules the situationists would define love. Second, God is removed from the throne as the moral Sovereign of the Universe, and man is enthroned in His place. Man, then, with his own subjective sense of “love,” makes all final moral judgments. Situationism thus ignores the biblical view that man is lacking in sufficient wisdom to guide his earthly activities (Jeremiah 10:23)”. -Wayne Jackson

“…situationism assumes that “love” is some sort of ambiguous, no-rule essence that is a cure-all for moral problems. That is like suggesting that two football teams play a game in which there will be no rules except the rule of “fairness.” Fairness according to whose judgment? Team A? Team B? The referees? The spectators? That is utter nonsense! …even when one suggests that “love” be the criterion for ethical decisions, he presupposes some standard for determining what love is. Situationists contradict themselves at every turn.” -Wayne Jackson

It seems that when one sets down particular rules that are “good” for humanity they simply cannot avoid contradicting themselves. If objective moral rules are based on the opinion of a man or a culture then there is no way to know what man or what culture is right. It all becomes opinion at that point.

Fortunately, we know that God is the arbiter of all truth and is the objective standard of morality. According to biblical doctrine, we can all know that truth. In fact, that truth is so obvious that the apostle Paul tells us there is no excuse for us not to see it. I pray that we all will see that objective truth (the truth of God) and ward off the influence of a twisted and debased culture.

Rom 1:19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.

Rom 1:20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

Is the Bible’s Authority Being Wrenched Away?

By Jay

On June 30, 2021

In Apologetics

Young people today see many conflicts between what they are taught in school and what they are taught from their Bibles. At school (5 times a week, 7 hours day) they are taught that the universe is 13.77 billion years old and that the earth is 4.54 billion years old. At church (3 times a week, and for a much shorter time period) they are taught that God created the universe and everything in it in 6 days.

In addition, the vast majority of the people the world puts forth as being “academic” hold to this ancient universe theory (as well as the theory of evolution). In fact, if one does not hold to these mainstream “theories” they are ostracized in academia, often to the point of being made fun of.

I feel that the church has a responsibility to reveal the truth to these young people. What is the truth? The truth is there is a vast amount of scientific evidence that points to a young earth. You won’t hear about that evidence at school (or even at many churches), but the truth is that young earth creationism is backed up by solid evidence.

The purpose of today’s article was not so much to enlighten folks on the age of the earth as it was to enlighten them about what their children and grandchildren are being taught in school. It is no wonder that we see so many kids falling away from the church. If the secular theories of ‘The Big Bang’ and evolution continue to seep into the subconscious of our youth it will do vast amounts of damage.

What damage will it do? Well, it will undermine scripture and push forward the idea that we are highly evolved apes – animals. And, if we are just highly evolved animals then there is no reason not to have promiscuous sex, curse, steal, murder – you name it. If we are merely animals then there is no objective truth, just mankind’s subjective opinion of what is right and wrong.

As it says in the Dostoevsky novel The Brothers Karamazov, “If there’s no God and no life beyond the grave, doesn’t that mean that men will be allowed to do whatever they want?” I think any sensible person would say yes, that if there is no God then morality is subjective (up to each individual), and following that to it’s logical conclusion we find that someone such as Ted Bundy simply had a “different opinion” than the majority on killing for pleasure. He was just living out his dream, “you do you”, “be yourself”, “follow your heart” and all that.

This is ludicrous. We know inherently that some things are right and some are wrong – and the Bible puts forth mankind’s morality in the most divine and perfect way imaginable. Yet the world is wrenching away the Bible’s authority over their morality. It scares me to think what will happen over the next few decades if we continue to rebel against the authority and perfect morality of the Bible.

Let us all teach our children that the Bible is THE source of knowledge and that the wisdom of men is often folly. Not only that, let us instill the power of the Bible and God’s Word into our youth and into ourselves. We cannot let the false wisdom of the world influence the church of Christ without fighting back:

1Co 1:18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.

1Co 1:19 For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.

1Co 1:20 Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?

I will end this article by leaving you with a few resources. These resources provide evidence to the contrary of the “wisdom of this world”. Be sure to check these out if you have time:

Assumptions and the Age of the Earth

Creation and the Age of the Earth

Atheist Blogger Leah Libresco Converted to Theism by Morality