Terrorism: Only Effective Weapon

A secular philosophy can never prevail in warfare against a religion. The religious warrior is inspired by the passion of his faith and the hope of rewards in heaven. The secularist has only this brief earthly life, and he must protect and try to prolong it. The blood of the martyr inspires a hundred more. The blood of the atheist rots in the soil. The true believer in a god can never capitulate to any philosophy of man; he would sacrifice his soul—infinitely more valuable than his life.  Even the secular passion for “freedom” will not stem the tide of a religion that enslaves.  Only a religion that glorifies freedom as a gift from God can do so.

This is precisely why the only effective weapon against the Koran is the Bible. And the smartest thing for the opponents of the terrorism spawned by the Koran could do is to spread the Bible throughout the earth—even if they are not religious! Those who are propagating the Christian faith—those evangelists and missionaries in nations that persecute, kill or imprison them—they are the true frontline warriors  against terrorism. Every soul won to Christ becomes safe for the human family—even the atheist, homosexual, or most liberal secularist.  The propagation of even the most moderate forms of Islam keeps the Koran in the hands of readers who will interpret it as a command to subjugate by force those who do not believe in its god.  And the "moderates" will not have a voice, as they don’t today, because it is their “holy book” that espouses what the terrorists are enacting; and they are plagued with doubt that perhaps the terrorists are more obedient to their god than themselves.

I want to emphasize my belief that the only effective weapon against a religion is a religion. We will never be able to suppress religion. We must refine it and understand it as a gift from the God Who loves us and cherishes freedom—even the freedom to disobey Him. The God Whose primary characteristic is Love—not dominion or subjugation. The God Who wins by loving His people; not by terrorizing them.
Mark Graham

Gov't Shutdown: Message to my Representative

Steve, Thank you for being a calm and reasonable voice for the common good. I am a conservative, Southern Baptist Republican. I voted for you. I did not vote for Obama. But I don't like the way the Tea Partiers are doing business. It seems to me it's gotten too personal, and they are becoming what they accuse Obama of being: power mongers trying to shove something down the throat of government and the American people. It's alarming. Moreover, though leary at first, I am beginning to see the feasibility of Affordable Care. My son, who has been without insurance and unable to afford it, will now have at least catastrophic coverage. I say lets work with it [Obama Care], and tweak it to make it work for the American people rather than throwing the whole thing out and starting back at ground zero, which was not a good place, as you know. I think there are probably millions who are discovering that Affordable Care isn't the monster it was first thought to be. My message to those who are holding up government to defund Obama Care: "You don't prevent a "train wreck" by causing a worse one." Please do all you can to get our gov't back on track, and into a more collaborative mindset. Respectfully, Mark Graham, Ed.D. LPC

Surrender or Die

And he said, Who are you, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads. Acts 9:5 [Saul's encounter with the ascended Lord on the road to Damascus]

 

The Greek word translated “goad” is Kentron:  an iron goad, for urging on oxen, horses and other beasts of burden, hence the proverb, "to kick against the goad", i.e. to offer vain and perilous or ruinous resistance.

 

I said, 'Now the Philistines will come down upon me at Gilgal, and I have not entreated the favor of the LORD'; so I forced myself, and offered the burnt offering."  

And Samuel said to Saul, "You have done foolishly; you have not kept the commandment of the LORD your God, which he commanded you; for now the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever.   1Sa 13:12-13 

 

Both Saul, the son of Kish, the first earthly king of Israel, and his namesake Saul of Tarsus had inner conflict. Since the Fall, that has been the human condition. King Saul “forced” himself to make an untimely offering—a very costly mistake. What did he force himself against? Some better inner urging. [The Holy Spirit?] And as the Lord pointed out to Saul of Tarsus, he was kicking “against the goads.” He too, in his work of persecuting the Church, was acting against a better inner urging.  We have a common saying in Christianity: “fighting in the flesh.” It means trying, straining to do something, even something “good”, outside the peaceful, rested power of the Holy Spirit. It is activity based on wrong desire, need, or simply not in God’s timing.  And as Jesus related to Saul, who was about to become the converted Paul, it is a very hard way to live.  King Saul never stopped kicking against the goads, and he lost his battles, his kingship, and eventually took his own life to avoid being captured and killed by his enemies.  Saul of Tarsus did stop kicking against the goads; and God used him to give us a large portion of the New Testament, through which billions of people throughout history have been inspired into eternal life. Saul of Tarsus [now the reborn Paul] surrendered into an amazing victory. He surrendered to the lordship of Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah. He then became the persecuted one. But in the sufferings of that persecution, he clearly found the only true Life that exists for the human soul. He rejoiced in his sufferings for Christ. His life now had eternal significance.

This surrender is supremely exemplified by Christ Himself Who had previously prayed, in Gethsemane, for deliverance from the “cup” of the Cross; but then, in an earthshaking, history-changing, heaven-celebrated victory, proclaimed “Nevertheless, Thy will be done!”  Praise God forevermore and thank You Jesus, for this unspeakably awesome victory over all that is opposed to goodness and truth and love! Praise God for this victorious, courageous surrender.  

We all must make this victorious surrender. Over and over again, let us say “Thy will be done.”  Jesus has commanded us to Love God and man—even our enemies.  Along this pathway there will be tribulation, as He said, and as He experienced. We must not resist this tribulation. We must not “kick against the goads” of the Holy Spirit. To do so is only to create unnecessary suffering for ourselves. We need not strain in the Holy Spirit: we need only rest in Him. Then, as the saint has said, “all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.”  Even if we are stoned to death as Stephen, we will see Jesus standing at the right hand of God and our face will be as the face of an angel. We will peacefully pray for the forgiveness of those who cast the stones and commit our soul into His eternal, loving arms. [Acts 6-7].

 

“I surrender all.  I surrender all.  All to thee my blessed Savior, I surrender all.” Judson W. Van DeVenter