How did the evangelical movement develop? Had the United States not had freedom of religious expression, Christians might not have cared that their rights were being taken away. Had prayer in schools never been permitted, they might not have cared when they did not have that freedom. The American constitution did guarantee freedom of worship without government interference. Even though the American Constitution prohibited any establishment of religion, Christians had heavy influence on the government. On the same day that the no establishment clause was passed, a former minister was elected speaker of the house. The American government has been dominated by church goers. Although America did live by some Christian principles, many principles not Christian, that sound Christian, were advocated, such as temperance. In the 50s and 60s religious influence diminished. The courts put religion out of American schools and society. During the sixties, the left wing hippie movement put Christians on alert. They believed Satan was planning a takeover of the country and it had to be opposed. Many believed that God wanted this to be a Christian nation. It was their duty to keep America Christian. This was the beginning of the evangelical movement.
The evangelical movement was committed to restore "Christian values" in the United States. They mobilized under the Moral Majority in the 1980s and put Ronald Reagan in power. In 2000 the evangelicals put George W. Bush in to power. They vowed to put prayer back in school, overturn Roe v. Wade, and pass a traditional marriage amendment. There has been little to show for their efforts. Prayer in school did not pass in the 1980s and there is no chance it is ever coming back. Roe v. Wade is no closer to being overturned. Reagan and George W. Bush stopped oversees funding of abortion, but Clinton and Obama just reversed it. Although partial birth abortion has been banned, it is a hollow victory. The traditional marriage amendment is going no where.
The evangelic movement has compromised its values. They have signed on to support an unfettered free market, trickle down economics, opposition to environmentalism, support of the War on Terror, the War in Iraq and other issues not relating to faith. It has bitten them in the butt. In 2008, the faith voters either did not show up, or voted for Obama. The evangelical vote is in disarray.
I believe the evangelical movement was incorrect. I disagree with them that God wants us to be a Christian nation. Our job is to preach the gospel. I believe if a government allows voting, we should vote. We should not be spending our time trying to change policy. The evangelical movement is a bad idea. I am glad that the evangelical movement is dying. When it is fully dead I will say "Good riddance."
We Hold These Truths To Be In Error: A Christian Look at the Declaration of Independence
Many Christian commentators claim that America is great because we were a Christian nation. They try to prove it using our Declaration of Independence. They try to prove this because the Declaration mentions God and says that our freedom comes not from man but from God. Is this true? Let's look at key sections of the Declaration of Independence and examine it in light of God's word.
We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal,
Is this true? Yes, and no. Genesis 1:27 says that man is created in God's image. The Bible does not teach different races but deals with mankind as a whole. When Cornelius was saved in Acts 10:34, Peter remarked that, "God is no respecter of persons." (KJV) Ephesians 3:11 says that Christ breaks all racial boundaries. The Bible does not, however, declare that everyone is equal. Jesus frequently divided saved and unsaved into two separate groups. He compares saved and unsaved to sheep and goats, wheat and tares, and two roads. Psalms 1:6 says, "For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish." To God, unbelievers are separate.
that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
According to the framers, God gave rights to man. These rights are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Do we have the right to life? Those who murder, forfeit their right to life. (Genesis 9:6, Exodus 21:12-14) In God's economy, those who "findeth his life shall lose it, and he who loseth his life for my sake shall find it." (Matthew 10:39) Do we have a right to liberty? The Jews wanted a political kingdom that would rebel against Rome. Jesus told the Pharisees that his kingdom is not of this world. Jesus did not comment on political issues. Do we have the right to pursue happiness? Romans 12:1 commands us to present our bodies as a living sacrifice. Romans 12:2 tells us to not be conformed to this world. Micah 6:8 says "He hath shown me, oh man, what is good and what the Lord doth require of thee, but to do justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God." There is nothing about pursuing happiness in the Bible. We are to pursue righteousness.
That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.
According to this declaration, governments are set up to secure these rights. Romans 13:1-5 says that governments were set up to punish evil doers. It says nothing of protecting those unalienable rights. The next lines says that governments get their power from the people. Basically, they rule at the pleasure of the citizens. Romans 13:1 says that "The powers that be are ordained by God." No where in the Bible does it say that governments answer to the people and can be overthrown if they fail to serve the people.
That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive to those ends, it a Right of the People to alter or abolish it....
According to this, any form of government that does not allow people to have life, liberty, or pursuit of happiness should be overthrown. The people can alter or abolish any such governments. Romans 13:1 says to be subject to higher powers. 1 Peter 2:13 says "Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake whether it be to the king as supreme." We are to pray for kings. (1 Timothy 2:2) Jesus rebuked those that wanted to lead a revolt against Rome.
Although it uses "Christianeze", it is not a Christian document. It is a secular, humanistic document that uses Christian terminology because the vast majority of people were church-goers. Although the founders themselves wanted a more secular society, the church going populous would not have accepted it. The founding fathers threw them a bone by using Christian terms. As has been demonstrated, this is not Biblically accurate. This document must be rejected as a source of truth to Christians.
We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal,
Is this true? Yes, and no. Genesis 1:27 says that man is created in God's image. The Bible does not teach different races but deals with mankind as a whole. When Cornelius was saved in Acts 10:34, Peter remarked that, "God is no respecter of persons." (KJV) Ephesians 3:11 says that Christ breaks all racial boundaries. The Bible does not, however, declare that everyone is equal. Jesus frequently divided saved and unsaved into two separate groups. He compares saved and unsaved to sheep and goats, wheat and tares, and two roads. Psalms 1:6 says, "For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish." To God, unbelievers are separate.
that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
According to the framers, God gave rights to man. These rights are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Do we have the right to life? Those who murder, forfeit their right to life. (Genesis 9:6, Exodus 21:12-14) In God's economy, those who "findeth his life shall lose it, and he who loseth his life for my sake shall find it." (Matthew 10:39) Do we have a right to liberty? The Jews wanted a political kingdom that would rebel against Rome. Jesus told the Pharisees that his kingdom is not of this world. Jesus did not comment on political issues. Do we have the right to pursue happiness? Romans 12:1 commands us to present our bodies as a living sacrifice. Romans 12:2 tells us to not be conformed to this world. Micah 6:8 says "He hath shown me, oh man, what is good and what the Lord doth require of thee, but to do justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God." There is nothing about pursuing happiness in the Bible. We are to pursue righteousness.
That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.
According to this declaration, governments are set up to secure these rights. Romans 13:1-5 says that governments were set up to punish evil doers. It says nothing of protecting those unalienable rights. The next lines says that governments get their power from the people. Basically, they rule at the pleasure of the citizens. Romans 13:1 says that "The powers that be are ordained by God." No where in the Bible does it say that governments answer to the people and can be overthrown if they fail to serve the people.
That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive to those ends, it a Right of the People to alter or abolish it....
According to this, any form of government that does not allow people to have life, liberty, or pursuit of happiness should be overthrown. The people can alter or abolish any such governments. Romans 13:1 says to be subject to higher powers. 1 Peter 2:13 says "Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake whether it be to the king as supreme." We are to pray for kings. (1 Timothy 2:2) Jesus rebuked those that wanted to lead a revolt against Rome.
Although it uses "Christianeze", it is not a Christian document. It is a secular, humanistic document that uses Christian terminology because the vast majority of people were church-goers. Although the founders themselves wanted a more secular society, the church going populous would not have accepted it. The founding fathers threw them a bone by using Christian terms. As has been demonstrated, this is not Biblically accurate. This document must be rejected as a source of truth to Christians.
Should Christians Be Involved in Discernment Ministries? OR Andrew C. Bain, You Probably Think This Blog Is About You
The Internet has become a place where anyone can express their views. It does not matter if you have a coherent argument or have any qualifications to speak on this topic. As long as you have a web page, a blog, a YouTube page, Twitter or Facebook, you can express whatever views you want. Any guy in his basement can rant on anything. This includes Christians. One of the ways in which we see this is in the area of discernment. These discernment sites believe that God is calling them to name names of those in the Christian public eye, who in their estimation has failed. They feel called by God to point this out. This goes all the way back to the '90's.
Many of the discernment ministries seem to have a worldview similar to that of the fundamentalist of the Bob Jones University. There was once a site that believed that My Little Pony, Star Trek, even the spork (fork that is also a spoon) was part of the Satanic, left wing pro-gay agenda. A hobby-horse for many Christian fundamentalists is Christin rock. Terry Watkins of "Dial-the Truth" used his site to showcase the dangers of Christian rock and other versions of the Bible, not the King James. There are several websites that identify who they believe are apostates. Their apostates usually include Joel Osteen, emergent church, word of faith, Moody, Spurgeon, MacArthur, Piper, Driscoll, Paul Washer, Billy Graham and others. Another frequent target is lordship salvation and Calvinism.
On YouTube, Andrew C. Bain has made his reputation by attacking those who believe in Calvinism and lordship salvation. He tries to expose the leading believers of this philosophy as heretics. Bain has become the poster child of these discernment ministries. He is not the only one who does this. Those who believe in salvation by grace and keeping the law also use YouTube to further their agenda. They frequently attack who they believe is the biggest false prophet of all times: the apostle Paul.
Should Christians be involved in discernment? The Bible does warn of false prophets. Jude commands us to contend for the faith. The discernment ministries I've mentioned are more focused on their own pet peeves than true Biblical discernment. Some of these ministries don't like anyone. They view anyone in the public eye as an apostate. It is true that apostasy exists and it must be challenged. These people do not seem to be fueled by love for the brethren. These people turn people off. We are commanded to speak the truth in love. Everything we do needs to be fueled by love and the truth.
Many of the discernment ministries seem to have a worldview similar to that of the fundamentalist of the Bob Jones University. There was once a site that believed that My Little Pony, Star Trek, even the spork (fork that is also a spoon) was part of the Satanic, left wing pro-gay agenda. A hobby-horse for many Christian fundamentalists is Christin rock. Terry Watkins of "Dial-the Truth" used his site to showcase the dangers of Christian rock and other versions of the Bible, not the King James. There are several websites that identify who they believe are apostates. Their apostates usually include Joel Osteen, emergent church, word of faith, Moody, Spurgeon, MacArthur, Piper, Driscoll, Paul Washer, Billy Graham and others. Another frequent target is lordship salvation and Calvinism.
On YouTube, Andrew C. Bain has made his reputation by attacking those who believe in Calvinism and lordship salvation. He tries to expose the leading believers of this philosophy as heretics. Bain has become the poster child of these discernment ministries. He is not the only one who does this. Those who believe in salvation by grace and keeping the law also use YouTube to further their agenda. They frequently attack who they believe is the biggest false prophet of all times: the apostle Paul.
Should Christians be involved in discernment? The Bible does warn of false prophets. Jude commands us to contend for the faith. The discernment ministries I've mentioned are more focused on their own pet peeves than true Biblical discernment. Some of these ministries don't like anyone. They view anyone in the public eye as an apostate. It is true that apostasy exists and it must be challenged. These people do not seem to be fueled by love for the brethren. These people turn people off. We are commanded to speak the truth in love. Everything we do needs to be fueled by love and the truth.
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