A Little Flirting

My wife and I have been receiving the LOST DVD’s from Netflix the past few months. We never watched it when it was on TV, but we have been enjoying it through Netflix. Plus we don’t have to wait all summer for the season opener, or watch commercials.

We are now on Season 6, and we do know the end, but we still enjoy the character development. We both have our favorites, and one we kept wishing would have been killed off a few seasons ago, but unfortunately they are still around. Is it Christian to wish the characters dead? Hhhmmmmmm! If you know me I am guessing you could potentially guess my favorites and the one’s I wish were gone. Then again, maybe not.

I was watching an episode last night and my wife made a comment about Sayid, who it looked like had gone completely bad, but after a conversation with another character, he appeared now to change back from evil to good. Sayid was promised if he did some evil acts that he would be able to spend eternity with his wife that had been murdered earlier. And Sayid believed him and did these acts. As he was about to complete another act, Desmond, the person he was to kill asked him a question, “What are you going to tell your wife?” “What are you going to tell your wife about what you have done to be with her?” At this moment you see Sayid’s eyes change and you know he is back to the Sayid who was protecting everyone earlier.

If you watch the characters you see them flirt time and again with evil. You see the internal battle they have when presented with an option that seems to be an easier or better way. How many times do we flirt with evil on a regular basis for the same rationalized reasons? We are enticed by someone or something that causes us to think and at times act in ways that are not considered very Biblical or moral for that matter. We flirt with evil because it is enticing us with something that we feel we need, want, or desire.

Of course, it might not be as bad as killing someone, as in the case of Sayid’s character, but what about cheating on taxes a little, saying something to demean someone else so you look better, or maybe even stealing something because you think you deserve it. We flirt and get in bed with evil when we give into all these things, and we need to be careful that one day we don’t wake up and find our conscience has become hard because of it.

Because one day we will all have to give account to someone more important than our loved ones. We will have to give an account for our lives to God, and what will we tell Him our reasons were for some of the actions we do.

POLITICALLY CORRECT

Let me preface this blog by saying I do not think Jesus is Democrat, Republican, Independent or Tea Partier. I think if Jesus were here He would offend them all. For any group to claim that Jesus would join their party has not read the New Testament much. As you read take this preface for what it is worth.

I hear recently that people have left churches because the church was making political statements from the pulpit. I find this interesting because how can a church actually not make political statements. I think what those who leave for this excuse are saying is they don’t agree with the moral laws that a particular church stands for, and use it for a reason to leave. Maybe they are just using it as an excuse because they believe it sounds legitimate, but in reality it isn’t as a general statement.

Just about every sermon is political at some point, because the church deals with morality a lot of the time. Whether it be how we are to love, how we are to behave, or how we should live. We are taught weekly about ho

w Jesus lived and how He wants us to live out our lives as His children. These are moral imperatives as a Christian. Christians are to live their lives according to the truths of the Scripture, and in one respect many are moral. Love your neighbor, do not commit adultery, do not murder, and be generous. These are all moral based. I am not going to get into how everyone fails at these, just the fact the Bible is pretty clear on how it feels about certain issues.

Every law a politician makes can be traced to their moral beliefs. I don’t care what a politician says, there is no way you can completely separate your beliefs from how you vote and write laws. And quite frankly, you shouldn’t. It is hard to name a law that is not moral based, whether it is about stealing, murder, speeding, or health care. It is based on how one believes these are bad or good for society; morality. Laws at a deeper level are morally based, otherwise they would not use so many personal stories to help support their claims on why their law is so good.

In the end, I guarantee your church makes political statements, no matter what church you go to, because they teach in regards to morality. The question is not whether a church is political in the sense of morality, but what morality are they teaching. Does it line up with Scripture and is truth based or is it opinion and feeling based?

Don’t leave a church because it makes political statements; leave if they make the wrong ones!

VICTIM

This blog is going to be more from my psychology background then my Seminary background today. As a Therapist, I have talked to many people and I have taken an interest in profiling over the years, in particular behavioral profiling. This basically means learning to read people based on how they react to questions and stimulus. I have read, researched and practiced this type of profiling over the years. I only state this to give some credence to what my topic is today.

It seems to me that there are many more predators out there today than in the past. Maybe we are just aware of it more, but it seems more realistic that the Internet and technology has brought with it more instances of predatorial behavior, because it makes one more “hidden” and brave because they do not think anyone can see what they are doing. I think we have become complacent and comfortable and that has made it easy for predators to take advantage.

To give one personal example, just the other day we had a person call on our phones using a TTY system and try to order product. He gave a credit card number, address, name and the 3 digit code on the back of the card. He then asked for a specific product and wanted it shipped to a location in a state different from where he was calling. Luckily, the person who answered the phone said he was going to talk to me first, as he was nervous making the order. Being the cynic I am, I had my employee call the credit card company, who called the owner of the card, and we found out that the owner in fact was not making the order. I wonder how many people processed his order that day because they were using a TTY system, which made them appear handicapped and because they had all the standard information?

Did you ever watch people when you are out to see who was the most vulnerable, or to see who was looking a little suspicious? Probably not, as most people are not too observant, but we sure should be more observant. I live in a small town, and within one mile each direction of my home there are 8 registered sex offenders. How many surround your home? Do you know, or want to know?

I have heard over the years, horror stories of women who put themselves in bad scenarios where they were trusting someone, because “they seemed honest enough.” Then later come to find they have had some very nasty things happen to them. It is not a certain type of women, as seen on drama shows, meaning looks. Any woman is vulnerable and all ages. Predators look for the weak one or the vulnerable one in the pack and then look to isolate and attack.

How do you decrease your chances in becoming a victim? The first is to become more observant of your surroundings when you go anywhere. Become a people watcher and learn how to at least observe some basic signs of negative behavior. Second, think critically and be discerning when anyone you do not know personally tells you something. Don’t believe it just because they seem trust worthy. We tend to trust certain people more because of their position, but this is at times the very reason they chose this position. How many times have we heard of teachers becoming involved with students, or doctors abusing their privilege? How about Nannies in the home, Priests, Pastors and Police? I am not saying to become paranoid, but discerning and side on caution.

When you are out, look people in the eye and walk with confidence, even if you are not. A predator is less likely to attack if you come off confident. Women, though many articles in certain magazines tell you not to fight back against a sexual predator, this has been shown false in real research. Fight back, especially verbally and then any other way, as most rapists are not brave and will run when someone fights back. Unfortunately, if they are going to be violent, no matter what you do they will be this way. Lastly, report it and don’t blame yourself. It will be hard, and no one except who has gone through it will understand, but it will help the next person or save the next victim.

Protect yourself on the Internet. Don’t save all your passwords on your computer, or use the automatic save on sites that you do not want others to have access to, because a simple key logger can steal your information. Identity theft is on a rapid rise, and as shown above with the credit card, if you save much of your information (i.e. credit card numbers and passwords) on your computer or cell phone then it is vulnerable. Watch what you keep on there, or attain some better protections for your computer. Lastly, monitor what you put on social websites, as predators follow these and phish for information on them and for victims.

This is a fallen world and we all need to be watchful and protective of ourselves and our families. Just making some simple adjustments can help us be a little safer in this more hostile world.

Just a Rambling Thought

I have not had the opportunity to write as much as I would like lately. Recently, I have gone into the business arena and it has taken time away from one of my passions. . .writing. I have some time as my son is napping and the girls are away at a Halloween party. I have been reading quite a bit at night before I pass out from exhaustion and I started thinking about something. Let me preface, that I am going to be speaking of God in general, and not in particular the Christian God. The thought is just about God in general and not God in particular for this occasion.

Through some of the books I have been reading and debates I have been listening to, I have come to the conclusion that in many ways to be an atheist, you have to claim to be omniscient. In reality to say that there is no God, you are basically claiming to be God yourself, and thus proving there is a God. How? In order to claim there is no God, you claim to know everything about this vast universe, literally everything. You have to because in order to say there is no God you have to make the claim that you have it all figured out, again, literally everything.

You may be wondering if the opposite can be said then, and I would say no. To demonstrate God, you first have to admit that you do not know everything, which is humbling to say the least. We tend to admit we don’t know everything, except to say there is no God, and then we seem to know everything. It does not logically flow.

People will try to use the example that because unicorns are not observable like God then that will demonstrate that they exist, but this is a misnomer, because first of all the unicorn is a created being with physical attributes and if they were real then they would be observable by either a living unicorn or their remains. Just like the dinosaurs. We should also see evidence of them being on the earth, as in footprints, historical writings or as mentioned bones. We have none of them, though it still does not mean they don’t exist, as we may have yet to find the information. The problem still holds that they try to use a finite being with an infinite being, and it just does not work as an example.

God does not have physical attributes, as He is infinite and His influence would be through His design and created work and not by actual visual confirmation. Though, in Christianity you have this in Jesus Christ and in Hinduism you would have this in Avatars. Many have written about seeing Jesus historically and many have written and made drawings about Avatars. Much more evidence than unicorns, as they are only written about in fairy tales.

You don’t have to see something to believe it existed or exists. Go to any museum with dinosaurs. Many of us have not seen our ancestors past two generations, and we know they lived, though they are not observed. It is not possible to observe these things again either, but we see the evidence they left. That is the problem with unicorns. We have none of that. The example just logically does not fit at all. Thus far, we have none of this for unicorns.

The other problem is that we do see evidence of God. We see creation, the stars, the universe and everything in between. Physics has basically shown that there is a beginning to the universe we live within, and even atheist Stephen Hawking admits that to mess with the dials of the universe by a millionth movement would destroy the universe. If there is that much design, then it basically begs the question that there is a God.

We never say anything with design does not have a designer. From the simple belt to hold up our pants to the laptop computer I am writing this on, they are designed and anyone finding either one would say that someone made them. How much more intricate are all the life beings on the planet? If a human body can come by chance, then you have to admit that a computer can, as the body is much more complex. To try to add time just becomes a time/age fallacy, because even if you trace back 200 billion years there is still a starting point, and the question becomes, who made that point. Even if you believe the universe pulsates back and forth, someone/something had to start the pulsating. Just can’t get away from the logical transitions of who put it in motion? Maybe electricity caused it. Who made the electricity able to strike? It just happens with every way someone tries to create a beginning without a creator.

To say there is no possibility of God is a little arrogant to me, because it means that you know everything about everything and how it came into being. You are saying that you have heard all the evidence about everything and it is proven without a shadow of doubt. In saying yes to these statements, you just admitted to omniscience, which is an attribute of God. The atheist in the end just transfers the attributes from God to themselves and in reality just changing who God is. It is at least a little more humble to say you are not sure (agnostic) and then look, as it is the most important question, the summum bonum.

There is a proverb that sums it up pretty well. It basically says that those who do not believe in God are in reality fooling themselves. The question really is: why do they try so hard to prove there is no God, because you can never prove that without actually being God. There is just too much evidence demonstrating there is a God. The real question is which belief is correct, because they all give a differing view of who God is.

As I said, just a rambling thought.