Rss

  • youtube

Does God lie?

Posted by :Larry G. Johnson On : May 16, 2014
0

Category: Archives, Christianity, Homosexuality, Marriage

[Portions of this article were printed in the Tulsa World on May 11, 2014: Marriage equality is not a matter of faith.]

Recently, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit heard arguments regarding the constitutionality of Oklahoma’s ban on same-sex marriage. However, in a guest editorial in the Tulsa World, the Reverends Justin Alan Lindstrom and Robin R. Meyers said that regardless of the outcome of the deliberations of the 10th Circuit, the case has already been settled by a different judge—meaning the God of the Bible.[1] The Reverends said that, “…marriage equality is a fundamental right for all Oklahomans…The freedom to marry for all couples fits squarely into the tenets of our faith, the teachings of our church and reflects values of love and compassion that sustains our communities and congregations.” In other words, same-sex couples have the right to marry and that right does not conflict with the tenets of the Christian faith as revealed in the Bible. However, the Apostle Paul’s words are indisputable with regard to God’s condemnation of homosexuality.

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness […] Continue Reading…


Conservatism explained

Posted by :Larry G. Johnson On : May 9, 2014
0

Category: Archives, Christianity, Government

In “Liberalism explained,”[1] we said that liberalism is a philosophy that attempts to explain and direct the affairs of men based on the belief that “…critical and autonomous human reason held the power to discover the truth about life and the world, and to progressively liberate humanity from the ignorance and injustices of the past.[2] Liberals attempt to define the tenets of conservatism as opposites of the concepts and ideologies upon which liberalism rests. But unlike liberalism, conservatism is not an ideology encompassing a sociopolitical program of continuously changing claims, theories, and aims—a thing invented by the mind of man. Rather, conservatism declares the existence of a transcendent moral order in which man attempts to order his soul and society. Therefore, the concepts and tenets of conservatism are not a product of man’s design but recognition of transcendent, unchanging, and everlasting truth.[3]

Without question, the source of that truth was biblical Christianity in Western civilization and especially in the American experience since the arrival of the first colonists. It is in this central concept we see the ultimate distinction between conservatism’s reverence for divine truth and that of liberalism’s changing truth and its inherent […] Continue Reading…


Liberalism explained

Posted by :Larry G. Johnson On : May 2, 2014
0

Category: Archives, Government, Progressivism, Socialism

To understand the origins of the pervasive humanism and secularization that blankets modern America, particularly as it affects government, we must examine the rise of liberalism. Liberalism is the political legacy of the Enlightenment, a skeptical and revolutionary cultural tradition that emanated from eighteenth century Western Europe and “…promoted the belief that critical and autonomous human reason held the power to discover the truth about life and the world, and to progressively liberate humanity from the ignorance and injustices of the past.” [1]

This new understanding of what freedom meant and how it was to be achieved was more practical than idealistic and resulted in a major paradigm shift. The new freedom proposed that man should be happy on this earth, a new concept invented in the eighteenth century. However, the emphasis on this new freedom unhooked from tradition became an attack on the Church and then religion itself. [2] The fundamental difference between liberalism spawned by the Enlightenment and the Judeo-Christian ethic revolves around a disagreement on the end purpose of man. The Enlightenment’s humanism says, “The end of all being is the happiness of man.” But Christianity says, ‘The end of […] Continue Reading…


Is God Out of Touch with Mainstream Views?

Posted by :Larry G. Johnson On : April 25, 2014
0

Category: Archives, Christianity, God's Law v. Man's Law, Homosexuality, Truth

For many in the media establishment, Easter is a great time to talk about religion, but for ABC News Easter was an opportunity to showcase the perceived decline of evangelical influence in America. One of the reasons given was Christianity’s supposed intolerance with regard to homosexuality and same-sex marriage in America. Reverend Franklin Graham, president of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and son of its founder, and Cokie Roberts of ABC News were among guests on ABC’s “This Week” panel whose topic was “Are Evangelicals Out of Touch with Mainstream Views?”[1]

In response to a question from panel moderator Martha Raddatz of ABC News, Graham reiterated his strong opposition to same-sex marriage. Graham assured the audience that any gay person can go to heaven if they will repent. However, he stated that gays, like others in adultery or some other type of sin, cannot stay in their sin and be accepted by God. He said, “Franklin Graham is a sinner, and I’m no better than a gay person. I’m a sinner, but I’ve been forgiven, and I’ve turned from my sins. For any person that’s willing to repent in turn, God will forgive.”

Ms. […] Continue Reading…


Capitalism, Socialism, and Income Equality – Part III

Posted by :Larry G. Johnson On : April 18, 2014
1

Category: Archives, Capitalism, Christianity, Equality, Socialism

In Parts I and II we have examined capitalism and socialism’s definitions and the battle of words and worldviews surrounding the adversaries. In Part III we shall look at the heart of the conflict that ultimately revolves around the status of private property and personal income.

The imposition of income equality inevitably leads to loss of property rights and loss of freedom. Therefore, to understand the demands for income equality in light of these losses, we first must contrast the status of private property in socialistic and capitalistic societies. In Part I we learned that communists consider private property as theft. Specifically, Marx and Engels’ Communist Manifesto written in 1848 states: “The theory of Communists may be summed up in the single sentence: The abolition of private property.” [Schmidt, p. 203.] The opposing views of property and private income are well illustrated by the words of several Founders.

The moment the idea is admitted into society that property is not as scared as the laws of God, and there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence. Property must be secured or liberty cannot […] Continue Reading…