Culture Portal, Editorial Portal
Christians Unite!
Why do you think Atheists fight so hard to keep Christians from having a voice in the media? Why do you think Atheists fight so hard to keep Christians from having a voice in the government? Why do you think Atheists fight so hard to keep Christians from having a voice in the public schools? It’s because we’re a threat. We make them uncomfortable. We make them wonder, “Is there something more out there?”
“We’re [Christians] a threat to society.”
-Bill Jack
Christians are kept out of high profile places because we make people think. We make people question their entire belief system. We make them wonder if there is something more. Deep down inside, they know there is more to life - they know God is out there.
For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.
-Romans 1:20 NASB
That is why Christians are silenced in all areas of life. We have been blocked from the government, the media, the schools, and movies - just about everything. So what do we do about that? Almost nothing! The Body of Christ (1 Cor 12:27) instead bickers amongst itself about which Bible translation to use and if the body of Jesus should be on the Cross. We argue about insignificant issues and ignore all that happens in the culture and blow off the real issues.
“Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall.”
-Luke 11:17b NIV
If the Body of Christ does not unite, it will fall. We need to stand on the Bible and unite against culture. If we take an all out, united offensive against culture, the culture will not be able to stand. Nothing can stand against the truth - so why don’t we shout it out? Why are we so afraid to share the greatest truth of all?
Why are we so quick to be hushed by groups like the ACLU and FFRF? We have a Constitutional right to be free to speak our mind. We cannot be silenced. We can bring our Bible’s to school. We can share our faith when ever and where ever we want. We can pray in schools. We can speak out minds.
So let’s get out there and shout it from the mountaintops. Let’s declare to the world why we’re so different. Let’s not be ashamed of the Good News. Let’s live our lives for Christ and take culture head on.
//Bring it World
-Brian Purkiss
22 Jan 2007 Brian Purkiss
Good post. I’m so thankful for the people who produce movies like “Facing the Giants”, and for Worldview Academy for equipping Christians to take the culture head on, and for the teachers and students who have chosen to pray when its not allowed, and for all of the senators who fight to influence the government in a way that we can still have freedom of religion, and for all of us who have witnessed to total strangers and every Christian who walks the walk with the Lord and looks up to Him as a role model. God is so good!
Y’all, whoever you are, we’re not to young to take the culture head on! Think hard, think well!
Btw, nice layout.
Oh, Just to clarify my intentions…
I do not think that the entire Body of Christ is divided. I believe there is a great amount of division and un-needed bickering about small issues. I also believe that many people are too afraid to stand for what they believe in (1 Cor 16:13).
That post was to encourage Christians to unite and stand for what the Bible says - not to bash the church for any wrongs/divisions/etc in it.
(Thanks Allison! This one will probably stay for a while…)
And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.
We are one body, one spirit. I would disagree with Brian and say the church is far more divided even over larger issues. People care far too much about their doctrine, and far too less about their own relationship with God. When the whole point is our own perfecting of one another, our edifying of one another - until we come unto the Unity of the Faith.
I can see the glimpses of it now. Great relationships between Godly men and women, building each other up and helping each other overcome the obstacles set in our way, to do the work which Christ called us to. How much glorious will it be when the entire Kingdom is united in such a way? One global family, united in our equal love for God. My, my, my shall the world tremble in those days.
We’re divided over little issues such as our denomination. Baptist, Methodist, Catholic, a lot of people even when asked what they believe state their denomination instead of their belief in Christ.
Andrew is correct. The church is divided on everything that there is to be divided on. Mega-churches focus only on getting more people inside their doors. They sacrifice the truth of the gospel for the watered-down version. Of course not all churches are like this, but many are.
Still, the Deceiver trembles when Christians take steps towards unity. He trembles when denominations set aside their differences and unite for the glory of God. Fight the good fight, not against other Christians, but against the hardened souls of men.
Good point Freshman.
Christians need to unite against the culture and stand together.
Who can stand against the truth anyways?
Very good thoughts Brian. I wholeheartedly agree with your premise. Those in darkness like the darkness, so they will attempt to destroy anybody who tries to shine the light of truth on them.
Hey, thoughtful and thought-provoking comments y’all.
Are we just going to join the millions though? Are we going to sit here and bicker? I say we do what Brian suggested and get out there! Who’s up for a witnessing trip?
Until then, don’t wait for something to unite us, for somebody to get up and do something. Do it yourself in your daily life. How you act towards others is sharing God’s love. Bring peace to the relationships around you before you attempt to do the same for the world. I’m glad to know most of you, y’all have been encouraging to me in many ways!
In Him,
~Allison
Allison touched on a subject that’s very close to my heart and that’s affecting the people around you. Why on earth do you go on missions trips and witnessing at local coffee shops, if you curse at your parents beneath your breath and can’t stop fighting with your own blood siblings?
I’ve *been* lost. Trust me, lost people can see straight through any religious attempt to “get them saved”. You gotta have that love all up in you, before you can share it with other people. And without love, all our witnessing is empty religion, despised by God.
I think the main point in “not bickering” is choosing not to provoke subjects. Like I found a couple of things over the posts which I could point out, make it a focus, and debate on them. Keeping our eyes focused on the goal, instead of how other people get there. =)
Andrew, that makes alot of sense. A couple things that you would probably appreciate:
We can’t be perfect, and we shouldn’t keep the Word of God a secret just because of our faults. We’re not sharing the secret to perfection, but the gospel of forgiveness and grace. Its not what we’ve done, but who God is (as Casting Crowns puts it.)
Someone once told me: “I can tell the truth, but often I get too angry with the person who rejects it. I can be loving, but then I am too scared to share the whole truth. Only with the help of the Holy Spirit can I share the truth in love.”
I hope these thoughts are encouraging. :)
Boy, I am a little behind. Nice post Admin. That’s definetly a big part of who we should be. (Check out my screenname, for instance :-)) Hey Andrew, good thoughts. But remember witnessing is not arguing someone into the kingdom. No one ever came to Christ through logic, or getting hit over the head with a big black attack bible. (”Be saved Sinner!! *whack!*) But you cannot see the light until you have been told you are in darkness. Thats what witnessing (at least in the sense i see it) is doing. True, relationships are important in sharing Jesus. But in the end, what good is that gonna do? God can spread his joy any way he wants.
Amen, brotha! hehe
btw, someone I was talking to pointed out that when you get deep enough into a relationship to share the Gospel, most of the time you’re too scared to do it for fear of losing that relationship you worked so hard to get. hmm…Thats true most of the time in my case. What do y’all think?
I can see that. However, it would mean you might need to re-arrage your priorities. That person needs Christ. Getting a seed planted in that person is more important than keeping a relationship with him/her. If you plant the seed, and lose the relationship - so be it. It sounds harsh, but getting that person to choose Christ is more important than any relationship with him/her.
I have had that problem before. I knew a kid, Jimmy, and he was not a Christian. But I was too scared to talk to him about my faith for fear losing him as a friend. Then they moved out of state, and I have no idea where he is now. Now I’m more scared of what might become of him.
Trust in the Lord and He will give you the words to speak. He will tell you what to say and when to say it.
Good post, Brian. Very cool. That makes tons of sense.
I just thought of something, totally random, about what we were discussing earlier. When Andrew brought up the problem of our own failings getting in the way of sharing the gospel, I was thinking… its like being addicted to something. You’re on your way to getting rid of that, but the scars are still left over. However, wouldn’t that person who just got rid of that addiction want to be telling other addicts how amazing his new life is?? Why would he want to leave others in the dark?
Its because we are sinful people we can identify with those around us and show them that yes, we’ve failed, but we’re forgiven, and saved in spite of ourselves. That seems a lot better than being approached by a bunch of perfect people and not even wanting to attempt to live up to that.
Sorry, that was kind of long. I hope it made sense!
=)
It wasn’t long - and it made sense. It was a very good point Allison. Thank you for sharing it.
“Christians are kept out of high profile places because we make people think.”
Isn’t Bush a christian? Tony Blair is too, I think. Actually, I think every president has been baptised into the Christian chruch.
I’m not sure I understand the Christian position against a secular state. The guiding idea is that everyone is free to practice in accordance with their own beliefs. That is, after all, what the Christian faith emphasizes in its request that every man/woman/child is offered a CHOICE to accept God. The whole point of ‘liberty’ (the ‘L’ in ACLU) is to ensure the context in which such a choice could be made. Christian missionaries practicing in Moslem countries welcome the protection of the secular state.
-DD
What do you mean by “Christian?” Many people claim to be “Christians.” But few
I am not against allowing everyone to choose their own beliefs. I am strongly for allowing people to choose their own beliefs. However, many organizations (FFRF and ACLU) are forcing Athiesm on this nation - and this nation was founded on Christianity. The ACLU is trying to keep people from practicing Christianity and living their faith publicly.
I’m encouraging fellow believers in Christ to stand for what they believe in and not allow our rights to be taken away because of so called “seperation of church and state.”
“Christian missionaries practicing in Moslem countries welcome the protection of the secular state.”
I’m sorry, but I don’t follow that. Christian missionaries are persecuted for their faith in Moslem countries. Moslem’s who are converted to Christianity are slaughtered. (Example of a Moslem converted to Christianity) Just a few months ago an Islamic government almost executed a Moslem man who converted to Christianity.
I’m sorry, but I do not follow that.
Whoa!
Serves me right for leaving web pages open for 10hrs. A couple of quick comments:
If the ACLU is trying to keep people from practicing Christianity, it seems to be a hidden agenda. I went to their website and couldn’t find anything about such aims. On the contrary, they seem very much interested in extending as much freedom as possible to people.
As far as the U.S. being a Christian nation, I would take it that the first amendment specifies that anyone can choose either to worship (or not) as they see fit. If that amendment is contentious, I would note that the U.S. is also committed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) and several other similar documents and agreements that specify the secularization of state.
Just to clarify, most missionaries I know working in non-Christian countries (I do know a couple..) welcome the protection of the state. That is NOT to say they ENJOY the protection of the state. It is merely to note that when Christianity is not the dominant religion, Christians tend to support the secular state.
I gotta go; hope I didn’t offend too much…
- DD
The ACLU is extending freedom to Athiests by restricting Christians - in my personal opinion.
Anyone can worship (or not worship) as they see fit. I am totally for that. But preventing a certain religion from practicing and shunning it in the public arena is not right.
What do you mean by secular?
I do not know of a single “secular” state in the Middle East. Particularly Muslem countires. The government is set up on the Muslem faith. The law of the land is the Koran.
I might be wrong however.
I understand that people who study law use a qualified principle of liberty. That is; you are at liberty to do whatever you like until it starts to impinge upon the exercise of someone else’s right to liberty. You can play you music as loud as you want until it interfere’s with your neighbor’s right to sleep.
This means that you, Bush, Congress and whoever can all be Christians/buddhists/Hare Krishnas or whatever until you start making laws that inhibit my ability to be a unitarian/communist/moslem.
So that means no money for private schools that teach Bob’s belief system rather than Sallys. No closing down all the business on Wed/Sat/Sun just because Allah/Krishna said so. And it especially means you can’t say the Lords Prayer in school - because it means that Johhny who is 5 years old and painfully peer-dependant has to be ostracized as an outsider.
I’ll grant you that ’secular’ is a relative term. We tend to view countries with Moslem adherants as Moslem countries - just as they tend to view the U.S. as a ‘Christian’ country. Turkey and perhaps Egypt may be good examples of secular countries. But hey - we view Saudi Arabia as a neo-theocracy even though one of Bin Laden’s peeves is that its so secular.
Things are relative in more than one way though. Keep in mind, that when Christianity was as old as Islam is now (about 12-1300 years) - it behaved in much the same way. (Heresy, xenophobia, crusading)
-DD
One more question: why should I care about my neighbor’s sleep? I know that sounds harsh, but if you agree with the Darwinian idea of survival of the fittest, why would you care for those ‘underneath’ you? Where do we receive these ‘rights’?
Oh, one more thing: doesn’t your neighbors right to sleep infringe upon your right to play music? Who is supposed to give in?
Allison: I’m not sure I understand your question. I think you are implying that an atheist who allows Darwinistic processes does not have an ethical basis upon which to interact with others. If this is your suggestion, I would propose that such a suggestion is a based on a confusion of two distinct questions. The first question concerns the conditions under which one species manages to perpetuate itself. The second concerns my personal ethical behavior towards others. Clearly, the way I characterize my own behavior and the way in which the species manages to survive can be different.
If you propose that the two are the same, consider this example: Just about everybody, theist and atheist, can agree that procreation is the primary criteria of species perpetuation. A species will not survive if its members fail to have children. However, nobody thinks that our ethical attitude towards others should be conditional upon whether or not they have children. (Or if they do, I haven’t met them!) These are different questions and beget different answers.
I think I’ve mentioned before that most theists are forced to adopt a two-tiered system. That is, they grant that 98% of the world is in accord with certain principles but cannot maintain that coherence when ideological discussion hits a certain level. That is - most theists cannot wholeheartedly accept a foundational principle of physics such as the Law of Concervation of Energy because at some point they will need to specify that such principles do not apply to God. I suggest that the same two-tier system applies in the case of natural selection. Few people I know dispute the basis of natural selection. It’s just obvious that, all other things being equal, having eight children rather than two increases the chances of survival for your bloodline. At the same time, everyone wants to agree that, say, being born with a heart outside of your chest decreases your chances of survival.
At this level, theist and atheist tend to be on board the same boat. At this level, natural selection just looks like common sense. It’s only after the discussion hits the ideological level that theists must call such basic beliefs into question.
-DD
Forcing people to pray in public schools is wrong. However, not allowing people to pray and read their Bibles is wrong. By praying, we’re not forcing anyone to do anything. By reading our Bibles, we’re not forcing anyone to believe or do anything.
I must ask you a question: “How did you get those morals? What determines ‘right’ and ‘wrong?’”
What ‘higher power’ gave them to you? And if you got them yourself, who’s to say you have the ‘right’ morals?
God created the world. He put those laws into motion. If He (the supernatural) chooses to act outside of the laws that he put into motion, why can’t He? He existed before the laws did!
I’m sorry to cause confusion, but here’s the basis of my question. Where did you get the idea of equality?
Evolution focuses on ‘more evolved’ species, so why should anyone care about the species below them?
Oh, and the second question is: why do you have to give up your ‘rights’ (playing loud music) when they infringe on others ‘rights’ (going to sleep)?
I hope all of that made sense….:)
So what you’re asking is “Who’s rights take prescedent ofer who’s?”
Right?
I also have a question for you, DD. If you are basing your ideas of what’s right or wrong to do on whether or not it impinges on someone else’s “rights,” I would first ask what Brian just asked, “Who’s rights take prescedent over who’s?” And who decides? And I already see a problem with this system. What if someone decides to break a law because this is what they feel like doing, and if they do break that law, it will not impinge on anyone else’s “rights.” For example, if Bob doesn’t want to have to wear clothes any more, the law is impinging on his “rights” to be himself and be comfortable. If going around naked is what makes him happy, why shouldn’t he just break the law?
I really see no reason for there to be laws against praying in school. Praying does not infringe on anyones rights. NOT allowing kids to pray in school is impinging on freedom of speech and freedom of religion, if you ask me. Like Brian said, simply praying or reading the Bible is not forcing anyone to do anything they don’t want to do. NOT allowing people to pray or read their Bible is the wrong in this equation.
There are a few issues here, some old and some new.
School prayer: It seems alot of you want to support school prayer. Let’s change the example. Let’s suppose Bobby’s parents move to Kuwait to work in the
oil industry and Bobby is joining a public school there for the first time. Bobby doesn’t know anyone else in Kuwait, and desperately wants to fit in.
Every day Bobby goes to school between 9 and 3. At 9:30, all the other kids have a 2-hour prayer session. Bobby has to leave the room and wait outside.
From my point of view, there are two things wrong with this picture. The first is that when Bobby’s parents pay their school taxes, 33% of that amount goes
to remunerate teachers who are teaching Bobby a belief system Bobby & his parents don’t agree with. The second thing wrong is that when kids are young much of their
self-esteem is related to peer acceptance. When Bobby leaves the room (why leave? isn’t it a secular institution?) he must identify himself as an outsider.
Higher power: Nope. Not unless you mean a process or some similar thing. As I’ve said before, if you’ve always been told a story that
originates in a designing personality, you’ll evaluate new stories in these terms.
Evolution: As above. Two different questions. My behavior and species survival are different things. Note that Christianity appears to agree - your personal behavior may be exemplary although this will apparently not forestall the apocalypse.
Law: Who cares? Is this relevant? Look, the idea is that you can do whatever you want until it messes with someone else’s ability to do whatever they want. At points of contention, some things are more important that others. Sleep tends to outweigh enjoying music - especially since you could play the music quieter or wear headphones. The law has always had a difficult time with borderline issues that involve ‘community standards’, like cussing or running around naked. What the point, here? Is the suggestion that belief in God is the cornerstone of our legal system? That would seem odd, since both atheist states and classical civilizations that predate christianity have had legal systems. Look, if all the laws in our society were thrown out tomorrow, do you really think that everybody would be walking around naked the next day just because they could?
Morality: My morality is essentially based on empathy. That shouldn’t seem really odd. If you can look at something and have some degree of appreciation of
the way it feels than you have empathy. Why don’t I hurt? Because I don’t like to BE hurt. That seems pretty straightforward. Most of what I consider
right and wrong is vetted based on how I myself would feel in the relevant situation. Doesn’t everyone do this? If your friends ask you if you want to go
on the roller-coaster you imagine yourself as one of the people on the roller-coaster and answer yes/no. Doesn’t it seem stranger to say that God TELLS you
if you want to go on the roller-coaster?
Put it this way: You see a magician grab his tounge and appear to insert a needle into it. Either:
A) You immediately wince because you imagine the needle going through your own tounge and how it would hurt.
B) You have no feeling either way at all until you consult God, and he informs you of the proper way to react.
You still haven’t anwsered the question of who decides which “rights” are more important than other “rights”?
Let’s use the sleep/music example again. Sure everyone needs sleep, but what if your neighbor stayed up all night last night at a party. Now it’s the middle of the day and you want to listen to some music. You turn on your favorite song and start singing along when all of a sudden, your neighbor bangs on your door and tells you to turn off your music because it’s too loud and he can’t sleep. Who is more right here? But more importantly, WHO DECIDES? What is the source of your morality? How are you determining what is “right” and what is “wrong”?
Eph. 2:1 ¶ And you were dead in your trespasses and sins,
Eph. 2:2 in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.
Eph. 2:3 Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.
Eph. 2:4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,
Eph. 2:5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
Eph. 2:6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
Eph. 2:7 so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
Eph. 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
Eph. 2:9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Eph. 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.