Year: 2012

Break Through the Barriers with Awesome Christian Home School Curriculum

The Home School Curriculum Source…. Your Christian home school curriculum should do more than simply provide an average education. It should adequately assist you in your endeavor to insure your children get the best education possible from a solid Christian perspective. This leads to a balanced Christian education.

Before my wife and I discovered the current curriculum we use, we bounced around from one to the other because we never seemed to find what we were looking for. We did not want a curriculum that merely satisfied our state’s home education guidelines. We wanted something better. We wanted a sound regimen that surpassed the others we had tried. We reviewed for a curriculum that had not only great academics and a separate supplemental Bible course; But we also wanted a Christian curriculum that surpassed the others by integrating a consciousness of God and His word throughout even the academic subjects.

It had to teach the basics in a simple, but thorough manner and not side track our students with lots of silly distractions.

In short, we wanted our children to have the best home school curriculum so that they could get the best education possible while at the same time insuring that their faith in Jesus Christ was strengthened, rather than torn apart.

Well, thanks be to God, we found it. We found it in the Christian home school curriculums of Alpha Omega Publications. Their curricula gave us the tools that made home schooling our children seem easier than ever before. We still watch as our children break through barrier after barrier of challenges presented by the workbooks we use. And the added benefit of this Christian home school curriculum is that the children absolutely love it! Sure, they still have their moments when school seems like such a drag, but overall, they are having the easiest time learning “hard stuff” they have ever had in our family’s 6 year home schooling experience.

Thank God for the Christian home school curriculum of Alpha Omega!

Thinking About Homeschooling? See AOP’s Educational Options

Home School Curriculum

Switched On Schoolhouse by Alpha Omega

Students excel using Alpha Omega’s award-winning CD-ROM curriculum. The stimulating multimedia and interactive format infuse the learning process with plenty of excitement. The five core subjects — Bible, Language Arts, Math, History and Geography, and Science — plus a variety of electives are available.

Testimonials

Home School Curriculum

From parents and teachers who have used these outstanding programs with their children:
LIFEPAC Testimonials
Home School Curriculum

“I love this curriculum! It is so easy to use and my children look forward to school each day. My oldest is able to work independently while I help the youngest. It makes both schoolwork and grading a breeze! Anyone could do it!”

Pamela McCuen Jones

“I have used your Lifepac curriculum with my son for the last four years of his homeschool education and must say that I’m impressed by your detailed, thorough, and concise curriculum that emphasizes ideas and concepts to the point where they are embedded in the memory of the student permanently — a rarity in today’s education system in which students tend to forget material within a few months of learning it, if not weeks. I was simply interested in examining the materials you have for grades eleven and twelve; as college approaches it has become essential that we insure for ourselves the most exceptional curriculum available. Thanks.”

Kristen Wilkins

Home School Curriculum

“As a private Christian school, Monarch Christian Academy is committed to academic excellence with college and university priority objectives. About four and a half years ago we began to look for a core curriculum which offered a higher academic content than that which we were using, while maintaining a strong Christian perspective. Our considerations led us to Alpha Omega Publications. It was our objective to raise our students’ national standardized test scores in every subject. Since switching to AOP we have seen a very positive progression. Scores are up and parents are happy. Both the LIFEPACs and SOS have given us the tools we were looking for to provide our students with the best possible academic results.”

Kris Kline
Teacher
Monarch Christian Academy Home School Curriculum

When I first began to homeschool, I asked a friend if she knew of a curriculum for language arts that incorporated grammar, spelling, and writing in one easy-to-follow format. Without hesitation, she recommended LIFEPAC by AOP. It was exactly what I was looking for! We loved it so much that now we use it for several subjects. Thanks for a great, user-friendly curriculum.

Debbie Wood
Alabama Home School Curriculum

Alpha Omega LIFEPACs are a top seller in our tri-state store, serving southwestern IN, southern IL, and western KY. Homeschool parents like the well-defined instructions and the affordable price. Students like their own pace setting workbooks. The varied programs to fit different needs are catching on… For us at Faith Music & Books in Evansville, IN, it is encouraging to receive prompt and caring service from Alpha Omega. Thanks!

Anne Grisham
Faith Music & Books, Inc. Home School Curriculum

Switched On Schoolhouse Testimonials

“I am a military wife recently relocated to Germany with my husband and two children. I worked full time in the States while my kids went to private school. Now that we are in Europe, I do not work, and after “trying” the dept. of defense school, realized that home schooling would be the better option. Not knowing where to start or how to provide a rich and well rounded education on my own, we have been thrilled with what SOS has to offer. My daughter is motivated and excited to “do school” every day. I have the option to change her assignments, review her tests ahead of time, add electives, and change the due dates if we have unexpected holiday’s or appointments! She enjoys the interactive teaching style and the extra nuggets of info provided in the lessons (ie: WWW, spelling bee’s, info clips). Most of all, she’s learning more than she was in the classroom and sings and whistles throughout the day. I am getting to know my daughter during the most crucial time in her life, and realize I could have done this years ago! With SOS as the educator and God as the center, I can do this! Thanks SOS!”

Jeanette Rhyne Home School Curriculum

“I just wanted to write and thank you for a GREAT curriculum. My daughter has just started the 9th grade SOS R2 homeschool curriculum and we both love it. It is so easy to use and I love the flexibility. It does so much of the work I used to do like scheduling, organizing lessons, and grading. My daughter loves the content she is learning and the variety of teaching techniques used. She also loves how easy it is for her to see what her lessons are and what her grades are. No more backpacks busting at the seams! Thank you so much – we plan to use SOS all the way through high school. WELL DONE! God Bless you all.”

Lisa Home School Curriculum

“What a blessing it has been for our school to switch to Alpha Omega’s Switched-On Schoolhouse! Each student has a chance to learn and master a concept before going on. Student learns at different levels and speeds and SOS accommodates each one. The automatic grading in SOS has helped the students stay current on their grades and allows us more time to spend with the students.”

Darlene Mishler
Teacher, Grades 8-10
IronwoodChristianSchool
South Bend, IN
Home School Curriculum

“We were in a bind when a key teacher left our small school last summer, but SOS has enabled us to successfully continue teaching the same number of classes with fewer teachers.”

Jeff Clark
Maranatha Christian School
Home School Curriculum

“Annually our magazine conducts a “staff picks” where one quality company’s products are selected over its peers. This year “Best Software” was awarded to Alpha Omega’s Switched-On Schoolhouse. We have heard time and again how effective SOS is, not just academically, but on the budget as well.”

Gena Suarez
The Old Schoolhouse Magazine
Home School Curriculum

“I sincerely enjoy doing my school work with the SOS curriculum. It has challenged me to learn. And I believe that I am learning more because I am given clear instructions on what to do. My grades have gone up since I started using SOS.”

Brooke Baughman
Student
Ironwood Christian School
South Bend, IN Home School Curriculum

“Alpha Omega Publications has breathed fresh air into Calvary Apostolic Academy! Since 1980, our school has served the families of Calvary Apostolic Church. In 2003, we made a huge leap by switching curriculum publishers for grades 3-12. It was a simple decision: a curriculum that automatically grades 90% of the students’ work, only requires a staff person for every 12-15 students, and offers cutting-edge, up-to-date, Bible-based studies—the logical solution was Switched-On Schoolhouse 2.0! Now, our students are receiving the best education available today!”

Rev. D.E. Haymon II
Calvary Apostolic Academy
Home School Curriculum

“Alpha Omega’s Switched-On Schoolhouse has allowed me to learn the same advanced material as my previous curriculum but through a much easier format. It allows me to review the lesson without a lot of extra homework. And with the at-your-own pace setup, my grades have improved.”

Andrew Gentry
Student
Ironwood Christian School
South Bend, IN
Home School Curriculum

“Victory Christian School, one of Oklahoma’s largest K-12th grade private schools, has been on the cutting edge of educational innovation, receiving accreditation from both the Oklahoma State Board of Education as well as the International Christian Accreditation Association. Victory is known as an outstanding Christian educational institution providing a quality education for all students.

“VCS has students of diverse abilities at all grade levels. In order to adequately meet the needs of students with learning difficulty, VCS has utilized various strategies with one of them being the purchase of Switched-On Schoolhouse. SOS has been highly effective in bringing about academic success with students located at all points on an educational continuum.

Dr. Maybelle Hollingshead
Curriculum Director
Victory Christian School
Home School Curriculum

“As a private Christian school, Monarch Christian Academy is committed to academic excellence with college and university priority objectives. About four and a half years ago we began to look for a core curriculum which offered a higher academic content than that which we were using, while maintaining a strong Christian perspective. Our considerations led us to Alpha Omega Publications. It was our objective to raise our students’ national standardized test scores in every subject. Since switching to AOP we have seen a very positive progression. Scores are up and parents are happy. Both the LIFEPACs and SOS have given us the tools we were looking for to provide our students with the best possible academic results.”

Kris Kline
Teacher
Monarch Christian Academy
Home School Curriculum

We also recommend A Beka Book.

Pros and Cons of Abortion: Truth or Dare
The Biggest No Brainer of Our Day?

Should a list of pros and cons of abortion really be necessary for Christians…or human beings for that matter? I mean, have we really reached a point where we cannot tell that abortion is murderous no matter how you color it or try to paint it as compassionate?

Apparently so.
Looking At The Pros And Cons Of Abortion

Thirty plus years after the infamous Supreme Court decision in Roe versus Wade and thirty one years after my own timely birth, I sit in awe at the ignorance of a great portion of society…their lack of understanding, their selfishness, and their brazen support of such a horrendous practice as abortion.

I guess I should not be surprised that the unregenerate world can support abortion, but what shocks me most is that professing Christians need to consider some sort of pros and cons of abortion list so that they can make an informed decision”. It is a crying shame that we have reached a day when the Bible is not sufficient enough of a guideline for Christians that they feel they must hear the “pros and cons of abortion”.

Well, since this seems to be the case, let’s look at some pros and cons of abortion.

Lets evaluate them in light of the scriptures and in light of our conclusions based on the whole of scripture and the impeccable character of our God and His expectations for us.

I recently viewed a site with one of these lists with the pros and cons of abortion”. I would like to review their statements with my evaluation of them below:
Pros of Abortion
Laws against abortion kill women.

Even though abortion may be illegal doesn’t mean that women won’t go through with the abortion. Look at the case of Becky Bell for example. She was an innocent girl that did not want her child and died because of an illegal abortion.”

My Assessment:
Yes, people will continue to sin, but we should never sit back and condone theirs sin by either verbal support or merely apathy.

We certainly should not use the dumb excuse of: “Well, they are just going to do it anyway and at least if abortion is legal, they won’t be doing them in dirty, back alleys.”

It is always tragic when a human being loses their life, but if abortion is once again outlawed (as it should be), these people would always be losing their lives in violation of a good, common sense, and compassionate law. If they die breaking the law, then they will die the death of a criminal. But, please keep this in mind: As abortion remains legal these days, many women still die as a result of complications of “clean, safe abortions” (every aborted child dies) and though they are guiltless according to “the laws of the land”, they are guilty according to the eternal laws of the God that will judge them.
Legal abortion protects women’s health.

For tens of thousands of women with heart disease, kidney disease, severe hypertension, sickle-cell anemia and severe diabetes, and other illnesses that can be life-threatening, the availability of legal abortion has helped avert serious medical complications that could have resulted from childbirth. Before legal abortion, such women’s choices were limited to dangerous illegal abortion or dangerous childbirth.”

My Assessment:
O.K., I think it is fitting at the moment to emphasize that in a “successful” abortion, it is always a fatal procedure for thechild. Also, much credible research indicates that the victims (children) do feel the excruciating pain of it all!

To justify abortion as a “medical” procedure that saves (or potentially saves) one life by destroying the other is reminiscent of the gas chambers and concentration camps scattered across Europe during WWII (after all they were just removing the callous of “non-humans” from our planet for us, right? Wrong again!).

I guess since we think we need a list of pros and cons of abortion, we should have been around to give Hitler and his cronies a list of pros and cons of genocide.

This argument is also rebutted by many scientific studies that the mainstream media and pro abortion forces do not want widely publicized because they smack of the reality that in most cases even one full nine month pregnancy and birth of a child significantly lowers a woman’s risk for developing breast cancer and many other life threatening diseases.

For additional resources click here. You see the real danger lies with abortion itself, not the ifs, ands, and buts, of circumstance. Pros and cons of abortion: The sad fact is that abortion snuffs out at least one human life in each and every tragic case.
A woman is more than a fetus.

Though a woman might be pregnant with a child, she still is her own person and has every right to decide what she wants to do with her baby.”

My Assessment:
A woman is not more valuable than a fetus, nor is a fetus more valuable than a woman. Both are preciousin God’s eyes and deserve to live (if it is God’s will).

We should not usurp the authority of Almighty God by taking a life that He gave.

Now I must sidebar here and say that some would interject here that we should not advocate capital punishment for criminals, fighting in war, or killing out of the necessity of self defense (in which a person is “consciously” attempting to take our life or the lives of our family).

What they do not seem to understand is that these precepts ad standards are also set in scripture and in light of this we must conclude that all killing is not necessarily murder, but all murder (killing of an innocent person) is killing and is dreadfully wrong.

On this point, we should also note that a fetus is more than just a fetus as well.

Though those who advocate abortion will probably never admit it, the fact that every fetus (which is simply the name of a growth stage of a human being “a.k.a. person”), that is allowed to grow and develop naturally always (unless God or man intervenes) grows into an infant…which grows into a toddler…which grows into a youngster…which grows into a teenager…which ultimately grows into an adult.

Can’t you see that just because we have named a person by a different name based on what stage of life it is at, does not take away that person’s right to live, nor does it take away the innate will to live that we each possess within us.

Furthermore, a woman, as soon as she becomes pregnant with a child (no matter how that child was conceived) has become party to the creation of a human being…and that human being, though inside her body, is also a separate entity which needs her protection. She is now responsible before God to protect that life as best as she can. She should not need a list of the pros and cons of abortion.

Does this supposed “right to choose” extend beyond the womb?

I mean, after all, it is “her Child” right? Of course she/he is the woman’s child, but we have murder laws. If she kills another human being after they are born, she should be tried and found guilty of murder. Why should this be any different for the mother/child relationship while the child is still in the womb.

Just because some of us are too ignorant or (in many cases) just plain stupid and selfish not to recognize a child as a child, should that child pay the ultimate pricefor our mistake? Not, unless you believe Hitler and the Nazis has the right idea…and that point should also be a no brainer…Wrong is wrong! Relativism does not apply! Pros and cons of abortion: People are people…no matter how big or how small, strong or defenseless, and regardless of their locality. We all started out in someone’s womb.
Outlawing abortion is discriminatory.

Anti abortion laws discriminate against low income women who are forced to back alley abortions, where they can become infected. Rich people can travel to anywhere they need to go to find the proper care that they need.”

My Assessment:
This society seems to be willing and able to yell “DISCRIMINATION!” about everything under the sun. Now, they wish to apply it to abortion. What an appalling moot point! What about the discrimination against the unborn child that is about to be tried without an impartial jury of his/her peers, convicted of interrupting the lives of others or maybe having a “birth defect” or being the product of rape or incest, therefore unwanted, then slaughtered execution style without so much as a last wish or a plea for help? Why don’t we ask the unborn children of the world their opinion on the “pros and cons of abortion”…or why don’t we ask the 40 million plus babies that have received an involuntary express ticket to heaven since 1973 due to abortion what they think about the way they had to die?

Oh, that’s right…They cannot speak for themselves.

Let’s move on with this point. I cannot believe the author of this point compares an abortion to proper medical care.

This “care” is in stark contrast to the Hippocratic Oath that every medical doctor takes which reads in part as follows: “…I will follow that system of regimen which, according to my ability and judgment, I consider for the benefit of my patients, and abstain from whatever is deleterious and mischievous.

I will give no deadly medicine to any one if asked, nor suggest any such counsel; and in like manner I will not give to a woman a pessary to produce abortion…”. Although Hippocrates worshipped ancient pagan gods and goddesses, he still had the good sense to oppose abortion and require that same opposition of his students. “Doctors” who perform the murderous practice of abortion are going against a medical oath that is centuries old, therefore abortion not only goes against the laws of God, but even the historic traditions of sinful mankind.

Even sinners long ago were afraid to sidestep such an innate right and wrong issue. Pros and cons of abortion: Both the rich and poor alike are equally wrong to seek abortions as it cannot be rightly construed as “proper and necessary medical care”.

I must take a break and simply state that this pros and cons of abortion business really makes my blood boil!

If abortion is outlawed then more “children” will be having children. Abortion should not be a form of birth control, but if something does happen there should be the option of abortion there so the wrong mother doesn’t have to raise a child at such a young age.”

My Assessment:
Are we really so blind that we cannot see that there is an alternative to “children” having children. As in good medical practice, we should attack the problem, not the symptom or the result. We should stop all “sex education” that does not aggressively promote abstinence

. I would be in favor of stopping all sex education in schools period if parents would be willing to step up to the plate and teach their own children these crucial lessons like they are supposed to, but I am not that naive that I think that would actually happen, especially in a society where I feel it imperative that I write this article addressing pros and cons of abortion.

Furthermore, if a “child” does get pregnant. They should then be taken under wing and taught in retro that it is wrong to have sexual relations outside of a monogamous marital relationship, but at the same time loved without condescension, and told that every life is precious. She should then be presented with the options of keeping the baby or giving the baby up for adoption once they are born. Pros and cons of abortion: Treat the problem not the symptom and stop making silly excuses for murder. Troublesome situations will not go away, but we cannot fix problems by killing the defenseless, innocent unborn children of this world!
Every child should be a wanted child.

If abortion is illegal then there would be a lot of children brought into this world that weren’t wanted. This could cause more damage to the child than anything.”

My Assessment:
If we look diligently enough, we will conclude that every child is a wanted child, because they are wanted by somebody. Some would be parent is out there longing to make these children their own. I have heard countless stories of the difficulties of adoption and finding a child to adopt.

I am also not so naive to believe that even if we could get abortion stopped completely that there would not be a dramatic increase in need for orphanages and multitudes of children in state care, but wouldn’t it be better than killing them? And what if both sides of the abortion issue could somehow miraculously come to the same conclusion that if all of their efforts and millions and billions of dollars were transferred to meeting this need of caring for the unborn and insuring they are somehow nurtured to adulthood, they could all perform and achieve the greater good of helping heal and foster a productive and healthier society, one life at a time?

What if all of the churches would wake up and realize that we are not properly loving our neighbor and are being complacent on far too many issues such as this…and we would rise up and do more than our fair share to care for the unborn children in question and the mothers and fathers of these children? Oh, only if… I know this is a rather utopian vision, but isn’t it really the way it should be? Listen to your conscience.

Pros and cons of abortion fact: Nothing causes more damage to the unborn than to be murdered and snuffed out before their time. That is certainly a definition of tragedy.

Abortion should be legal for those women who are raped. Women who are raped sometimes can not even bare the thought of bringing that child into their lives and sometimes the option of abortion is the best one to chose.”

My Assessment:
The compassion and love for people that God has placed within me certainly feels (at least to some extent) the pain that the raped woman who has become pregnant feels. I can’t begin to feel the exact pain as deeply as they, however. But, neither can they feel the pain that their unborn child would feel as the are brutally torn apart within their womb which is supposed to serve as a safe haven until birth.

A friend told me of a movie in which an arch enemy of a prince violently raped the prince’s wife and left her with child. At the end of the movie, after the rapist had met the justice of capital punishment, and the princess had told her husband of her tragic plight and asked him what they should do about the baby yet to be born…the prince simply replied, “It was not the child’s fault.” And though it was neither the child’s fault nor the mother’s fault she had been raped, the just prince was compelled to keep the baby based on simple human decency.
Pros and cons of abortion fact:

Murdering a child is never the best, or even a conceivable option for a “civilized” or “uncivilized” people.
Cons of Abortion

This is the section that the other webpage got right (not necessarily in some of the specifics, but the main thrust is right on the nose):

Abortion does not give the child that is in the womb a chance at life. It is wrong and looked down upon by a lot of religions.”

And Biblical Christianity is no exception.

Biblical pros and cons of abortion:
Job 31:15 Did not he that made me in the womb make him? and did not one fashion us in the womb?

Psalm 22:10 I was cast upon thee from the womb: thou [art] my God from my mother’s belly.

Biblical pros and cons of abortion:
Psalm 71:6 By thee have I been holden up from the womb: thou art he that took me out of my mother’s bowels: my praise [shall be] continually of thee.

Some women use abortion as a type of birth control. They sleep with men and do not use protection and think nothing of it to go to the clinic as many as five times in their life to have an abortion.”

Biblical pros and cons of abortion
Hebrews 13:4 Marriage [is] honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.

A con against abortion is the nagging thought that a woman went to a clinic, had an abortion, and thus the world was prevented from seeing the birth of the only person capable of attaining a leadership role and initiating a peace accord between warring factions in the Middle East, thus preventing decades of strife and murder.

A stable home life is not a guarantee of talent, and illegitimate children have shown themselves to be very bright on occasion, Lawrence of Arabia for one.”

Biblical pros and cons of abortion:
Psalm 139:13 For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb.

Another con, is that the child who never lived, may have invented a cure for cancer (had he lived). Think about that, if you’re for abortion, the next time you walk into a hospital to have a mysterious growth on your breast checked out.”

Arguments about abortion:
Arguments against removal of a baby are explained:
Ecclesiastes 11:5 As thou knowest not what [is] the way of the spirit, [nor] how the bones [do grow] in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all.

The Against abortion arguments

Having an abortion always lessens your chances for having children later in life. Even though it doesn’t happen to many women, you could be the one to miss out on your once in a life time chance to have your baby.”

ABORTION PROS AND CONS – What Are

Biblical pros and cons of abortion:
Psalm 127:3 Lo, children [are] an heritage of the LORD: [and] the fruit of the womb [is his] reward.

There are other options. You can give your baby up for adoption and give your child a chance at life.”

Biblical pros and cons of abortion:
Psalm 90:12 So teach [us] to number our days, that we may apply [our] hearts unto wisdom.

If looked at the religious aspect, God gave you the opportunity to have a baby for a reason, you should not throw that chance away.”

Biblical pros and cons of abortion:
Isaiah 44:2 Thus saith the LORD that made thee, and formed thee from the womb, [which] will help thee; Fear not, O Jacob, my servant; and thou, Jesurun, whom I have chosen.

If you laid down in the bed and weren’t responsible, you should take responsibility for your actions and take care of the child you created. Abortion is the lazy way out.”

Biblical pros and cons of abortion
Or at the very least you should be responsible (because you are responsible for the wellbeing of that child) and give him/her up for adoption if you are unwilling or unable to take care of him/her yourself and know nobody close you who would…Don’t be like these folks: ,
Isaiah 13:18 [Their] bows also shall dash the young men to pieces; and they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb; their eye shall not spare children.

If you have an abortion you will always wonder what if, and feel guilty for the rest of your life about the child you could have had.”

Biblical pros and cons of abortion:
Isaiah 44:24 Thus saith the LORD, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I [am] the LORD that maketh all [things]; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself;

Biblical pros and cons of abortion:
Isaiah 46:3 Hearken unto me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, which are borne [by me] from the belly, which are carried from the womb:

Biblical pros and cons of abortion:
Isaiah 66:9 Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth? saith the LORD: shall I cause to bring forth, and shut [the womb]? saith thy God.

Now I shall leave you with some very key scriptures as you consider the pros and cons of abortion…

Jeremiah 1:5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, [and] I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.

Isaiah 49:15 Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.

I hope this article has been a help and a blessing to you.

Real Christianity? Resources to inspire the passion of stable Christian Living!

Welcome to our extended Christian link directory. Please note: We cannot be held responsible for all content at each of the sites we link to since we do not maintain them, although we do try to ensure that our visitors will benefit in some way from at least some of the content on these sites. Again, ChristianBaptistLiving.com does not necessarily agree or endorse all of the contents or doctrines of linked websites in this directory. You should proceed with caution, an open Bible, and the Holy Spirit as your guide.

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Conservative Politics

The Definition of Conservative
Information about Conservative issues that Christians should be concerned about. This web site is the definition of the conservative movement.

Our Christian Heritage of America
Become informed about political candidates.

Conservative Congress
Find out which members and candidates for Congress are Conservative.

A Verbal Exchange Regarding Jesus and “Judge Not”

“Judge not” is one of the most common objections that people tend to raise when Christians witness to them. It seems that this is one of the few phrases some people have either read or heard about in the Bible. Or could it just be a phrase of convenience and blame shifting? Well, either way, it is almost always taken out of context and turned into a pre-text in an attempt to prove that Christians have no right to judge anyone in any way. In other words, many people think that the Bible commands everyone just to mind their own business with regard to everything and never witness to others about the truth of God’s Word concerning sin, righteousness, and judgement to come.

“Judge not!” they say when you point out their sin. “Judge not!” they say when you say abortionists are murderers. “Judge not!” they say when you say shacking up is wrong.

The following is an exchange (or at least an attempt at one) between myself and someone called T.W. It appears that this person entered an invalid email address, so my response bounced back to me. I thought it would be a good idea to include it here in case they happened by again so they sould read my response. It may also help you as well…

K.W. Writes:

On 5-2-05 K.W. wrote:

“Your website is very judgemental and in my opinion you don’t have the right to judge anyone if you really read the bible it says that only GOD! can judge you, we don’t know that you may be a liar, an adulterer ans one of the biggest sinners in this world don’t take this the wrong way it’s just my opinion on your website -K.W.”

My Response:

Hello K.W.,

Please accept my apologies for my delayed response to your comments. I experienced a technical glitch that prevented my accessing the messages from the contact form on my site.

Anyway, thank you very much for writing and expressing your opinions about ChristianBaptistLiving.com. If you will “lend me your ear” for a short time, I would like to address your comments.

Actually there is a very common misunderstanding of what the Bible says about God’s people and their ability and responsibility to judge. In 2 Chronicles 19:6 for example, King Jehoshaphat had repented after the prophet of God, Jehu, rebuked him. Then Jehoshaphat began reforming the country with God’s blessing. One of those reforms, listed in verses 5 and 6, was…”he set judges in the land throughout all the fenced cities of Judah, city by city, and said to the judges, Take heed what ye do: for ye judge not for man, but for the Lord, who is with you in the judgment.” That is right, the king set judges over the people with God’s blessing and told them that they were not working for him, but rather they were judging in God’s stead, with God’s blessing, so they should be very careful how they judged. God never commanded them to “judge not”.

This same principle is carried over into the New Testament as well. In fact, one of the very passages that many people partially quote in their justification of the whole “judge not” argument is found in Matthew chapter 7. Jesus, Himself, is teaching in the passage as He says, “Judge not, that ye be not judged.” Most people yank that little verse out of its proper context and “presto” they have the Bible justifying their position…or so they think. As we read the verse in context, we see that Jesus was teaching something entirely different than most think and it suashes the little “judge not” catch phrase. Let’s continue. Jesus said, “Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured unto you again.” Please allow me to explain by paraphrasing the best I can. Jesus is warning people to be careful how they judge others, not that they should “judge not” at all. He explains that as a person judges another, he will be judged by others by that same standard. Then He basically says that what goes around, comes around, so to speak. Jesus doesn’t command “judge not” at all.

But, Jesus stays on that same subject as He goes on to say, in verse 3, “And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.” Please allow me to explain. Jesus says that a person should judge themselves first and get forgiveness for the sin in their own life before they go trying to perform spiritual surgery on their neighbor to get them right with God. Not “judge not”, but judge right and self first.

This perfectly illustrates what I am attempting to do with this website. Let me be the first to admit that I am not perfect either, in fact, without Jesus Christ I am, just as you suppose, a worse sinner than any that has ever lived. Incidently the Apostle Paul also thought that he was the “chiefest of sinners”. Some time ago I came face to face with God’s Law and realized that because the Bible said, “Thou shalt not commit adultery”…and Jesus went further by saying, “That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath commited adultery with her already in his heart.” I also realized that the Bible says, “Thou shalt not kill” and the New Testament makes clear in 1 John 3:15 that “Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.” I realized that the Bible says, “Thou shalt not bear false witness…”, which simply means telling even one lie is a sin. I realized that the Word of God says, “Thou shalt not steal”. That means that if I have stolen even something small, even in childhood, from that point on I am a thief and standing in desperate need of forgiveness. And then I noticed that there were 6 more commandments in the Ten Commandments alone aimed at my soul, screaming out, “Guilty! You are guilty of breaking God’s Holy Law! You must be judged and punished for all eternity! See, the Bible teaches that “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Romans 6:23 tells us that, “the wages of sin is death”…That means that the wage that we have earned by even committing one sin is eternal death in hell. Why do I say eternal death in hell? Because in Revelation chapter 20 verses 12 thru 15, “And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”

Yes there is a real heaven and a real hell and we are all going to one or the other. Notice that each and every person judged in that scene is judged according to their works. All I am asking is for you to examine or “judge” yourself according to God’s standard…not mine. Have you ever looked with lust? If so you are an adulterer and cannot enter the kingdom of Heaven. Have you ever told one lie? If so, you became a liar the very day you told your first lie and the Bible teaches that liars cannot enter the kingdom of Heaven. Have you ever stolen anything? Even something small? If so, you are a thief and thieves cannot enter the kingdom of Heaven. Have you ever harbored hatred in your heart? Come on, be honest? If you have you are a murderer according to God’s Word and cannot enter the kingdom of Heaven…And as I said before, those are only four commandments from God’s Word.

This all sounds pretty bleak at this point doesn’t it? Well, there really is great news at the end of all of this bad…I don’t want to leave you hanging, so I must tell you that even though you and I are sinners were born in sin and have willfully broken God’s Law…and stand or (stood in my case) condemned before God and deserving of His full wrath on the Day of Judgment…2,000 years ago, God stepped in and paid the fine for us! Jesus Christ, the perfect Son of God, came to Earth as a virgin born baby, grew up, living a perfect, sinless life…Then He voluntarily was tortured and nailed to a Roman cross to pay for your sins and for mine! You see, Jesus paid the wage of sin I spoke about earlier: “The wages of sin is death…” Then Jesus rose from the grave 3 days after they buried Him and now sits at the right hand of the Father in Heaven, thereby He secured eternal life for you if you will have Him. Now you are ready to hear the last part of the verse, “…but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” The great news is that God paid the fine that you and I owe because of our sin for us so that all we have to do upon knowing that and believing it is confess and repent (or turn from) our sins to God and ask Jesus to save us from the hell that we deserve.

K.W., that is the ultimate purpose of my website. Not just to merely judge others, but to point out the fact that each and every person on the planet has sinned and is already under the condemnation of God…enemies of God through their works…and that all men and women will either choose to remain in their sins and burn forever at their Day of Judgment or they will repent of their sins and trust the Lord Jesus Christ, who loves them enough that He suffered, died, rose again (defeating death) securing eternal life for all who repent and believe! If you will do that, then read the Bible daily, and obey what you read. God will never let you down!

I hope I have helped you to better understand what ChristianBaptistLiving.com is really all about. If you have more questions, please don’t hesitate to ask. You may want to click on this link and take The Good Person Test all the way through for another run through what I’ve presented and at the end they offer a free Bible study if you are interested: The Good Person Test

In the Love of Christ Jesus,

Chris Long

Conclusion: Judge not at all? No! Judge not based on your own standards of right or wrong unless they are from the Word of God. Judge not unrighteously. Judge not before thinking things through and even then be careful how you judge others. Don’t just assume that you should judge not because someone claims the Bible says so. Now you know the truth about the “judge not” catch phrase. Judge not…unless you are willing not to say judge not to those who judge you by that same standard. Judge not accept by the Word of God. “Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured unto you again.”

Chris Rebuts a Visitor’s Argument Against the Ten Commandments, Christian Politics, & the Constitution

On 5-23-05 a website visitor gives me down the road about the Ten Commandments, Christian politics, and constitutionality…and I respond. Here are both sides of the conversation…

An email from a man named Doug:

Dear Mr. Long,

Recently I stumbled upon your web page and read carefully your article on Christian politics. Right off I will confess to you that I am a secular humanist like those whose views you insist upon lampooning. It would of course be fruitless for me to say much about the many errors of logic and common sense that your article contains. However, I still feel compelled to say a little something about your suggestion as to our true objection to the posting of the so-called Ten Commandments on government property. You say that our definition of the separation of church and state is “lying hogwash.” That is a very strong statement. And very untrue. It could not be more clear that the Constitution says that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion….” The lying hogwash is in fact served up by those who despite that clear language insist the United States is a Christian nation and our law is based on the Ten Commandments. That would clearly violate the First Amendment. You go on to state that the “the issue is really about their ability to remove from public view the best reminder of their sins God ever created.” I have no idea how you presume to know this, but I assure you that you are wrong. The issue is indeed the freedoms guaranteed in our Constitution. Your suggestion that God established government is equally wrong-headed. You insist that God is directly responsible for the many viciously cruel tyrants who have soaked the soil of this planet with the blood of humanity; I must insist that suggestion is inane. But I do know for a fact that our government was established by “We, the people of the United States….” I hope you will not interpret my bluntness as meanness. I respect the fact that you are a Navy veteran and served to defend the very freedoms of which we speak. It is just so very troubling that you would allow your religious views to muddle the important issue of separation of church and state.

Sincerely and respectfully yours,

Doug

My Response:

Hello Doug,

Thank you for your candid and respectful response to my article. I admit the language in my article is a bit strong due to the passionate nature of the issue, but I also maintain that it is 100% true. I am fully aware that you do not agree and while I respect your opinion, I would like to briefly answer your response.

It is very true that the U.S. Constitution states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion….”, but it goes on to say, “…nor prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” It is clear to most objective people that this “establishment clause” doesn’t mean that the state is to be free from any and especially not all religious influence or involvement. The clause simply meant that the government wasn’t to establish a particular sect of Christianity as a “state religion” like the corrupt Church of England which our forefathers fled from. That was tyranny just like a government totally free from religious influence would be. Our forefathers understood well that “good” government can never exist without the influence of God’s people and God’s Word, the Bible.

The Ten Commandments and our founding fathers:

Consider the following words of some of our country’s founding fathers:

On June 21, 1776, John Adams wrote: “Statesmen, my dear Sir, may plan and speculate for liberty, but it is Religion and Morality alone, which can establish the Principles upon which Freedom can securely stand. The only foundation of a free Constitution is pure Virtue, and if this cannot be inspired into our People in a greater Measure, than they have it now, they may change their Rulers and the forms of Government, but they will not obtain a lasting liberty.”
Our founding fathers believed the Bible and posted the Ten Commandments in public places.
The Ten Commandments of Bible

In his diary entry dated February 22, 1756, John Adams wrote: “Suppose a nation in some distant region should take the Bible for their only law book, and every member should regulate his conduct by the precepts there exhibited! Every member would be obliged in conscience, to temperance, frugality, and industry; to justice, kindness, and charity towards his fellow men; and to piety, love, and reverence toward Almighty God…What a utopia, what a Paradise would this region be.”

James Madison wrote about the relationship between religion and civil government: “Religion is the basis and foundation of Government.”

Mr. Madison also once stated, “We have staked the whole future of our new nation, not upon the power of government; far from it. We have staked the future of all our political constitutions upon the capacity of each of ourselves to govern ourselves according to the moral principles of the Ten Commandments.”

Our first president, George Washington articulated his understanding of what will keep America great: “The situation in which I now stand, for the last time, in the midst of the Representatives of the People of the United States, naturally recalls the period when the Administration of the present form of Government commenced; and I cannot omit the occasion, to congratulate you and my Country, on the success of the experiment; nor to repeat my fervent supplications to the Supreme Ruler of the Universe, and Sovereign Arbiter of Nations, that his Providential care may still be extended to the United States; that the virtue and happiness of the People, may be preserved; and that the Government, which they have instituted, for the protection of their liberties, may be perpetual. It shall still be my endeavor to manifest, by overt acts, the purity of my inclination for promoting the happiness of mankind, as well as the sincerity of my desires to contribute whatever may be in my power towards the preservation of the civil and religious liberties of the American People. It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible. It is impossible to account for the creation of the universe, without the agency of a Supreme Being. It is impossible to govern the universe without the aid of a Supreme Being. It is impossible to reason without arriving at a Supreme Being. Religion is as necessary to reason, as reason is to religion. The one cannot exist without the other. A reasoning being would lose his reason, in attempting to account for the great phenomena of nature, had he not a Supreme Being to refer to. That great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be. The sentiments we have mutually expressed of profound gratitude to the source of those numerous blessings-the author of all good obligations to unite our sincere and zealous endeavors, as the instruments of divine providence, to preserve and perpetuate them. Providence has therefore taken us up when all other means and hope seemed to be departing from us, in this I will confide. Let us unite, therefore, in imploring the Supreme Ruler of nations, to spread his holy protection over these United States; to turn the machinations of the wicked to the confirming of our constitutions; to enable us at all times to root out internal sedition, and put invasion to flight; to perpetuate to our country that posterity, which his goodness has already conferred, and to verify the anticipation of this government being a safeguard to human rights.”

Please pardon me for saying so, for I know it is not “politically correct” these days, but I certainly regard the opinion of those who lived in and nearest the days of the writing of the Constitution much more reliable in regard to their original intent of how this nation was to be properly governed. These are just a small sample of the historically accurate quotes that exist from these men and the great men that stood beside them in the foundational days and years of our great nation…and upon examination of an even greater sampling of their writings, the honest person, with or without their own agenda, must concede that their intention was clearly that “good” government cannot possibly exist without the solid principles of Christianity holding things together.

I believe John Madison’s statement alone thoroughly squashes your statements regarding the Ten Commandments as well. Here they are again, just so you don’t have to search for it: “We have staked the whole future of our new nation, not upon the power of government; far from it. We have staked the future of all our political constitutions upon the capacity of each of ourselves to govern ourselves according to the moral principles of the Ten Commandments.” The evidence is crystal clear, but those who agree with you will not accept it for precisely the reason I stated regarding the removal of the Ten Commandments, “…the issue is really about their ability to remove from public view the best reminder of their sins God ever created.”

Now I expect neither you nor them to admit such an accusation is true, not without God Himself working in your heart. Because I know that the real culprit is not you or they, but the enemy of all of our souls.

Please allow me to move on to your final point. You stated, “Your suggestion that God established government is equally wrong-headed. You insist that God is directly responsible for the many viciously cruel tyrants who have soaked the soil of this planet with the blood of humanity; I must insist that suggestion is inane. But I do know for a fact that our government was established by “We, the people of the United States….” Let me be clear about this: God did establish civil government as an entity long before this government was established. In fact capitol punishment was instituted by God in Genesis chapter 9. But you are right that this government was established by the then Godly people of the United States after they sought God’s direction and fought back the tyrants of England with God’s blessing.

Thank you for your kind words about my service to this nation. I do not wish to flaunt it as I have not paid in blood or loss of life as so many have and still are. I am proud of my service and wish that I could do more and tried after 911, but a medical condition prevented me.

I certainly did not interpret your bluntness as meanness in any sense. You seem very passionate in your response as am I. I trust therefore you will afford me the same courtesy of not misinterpreting my intentions, especially in what I am about to say. My desire for you and every “secular humanist” and every other brand and label that speaks out against the principles I stand for is not to shut you up. As a Christian American, I realize that my freedoms of speech and expression are held together by your ability to voice yours. My desire for your and everyone like you is the same desire that I believe you have for me with regard to your own opinions…My desire is that you would see the light. I mean that both figuratively and literally.

You see Doug; the Ten Commandments of God have their cannons aimed at you.
The Ten Commandments
of God Read more about God’s Law
The news of the 10 Commandments

I know. I know. Compared to me and plenty of other “Christians” you know, you are just as good as we / they, and you are probably right. But God will not hold you to that low standard, nor will He me or them for that matter. I challenge you to take The Good Test and see how you measure up to God’s standard. Seriously Doug, if I am wrong about all of these things and even about God and eternity, then I have lost nothing because in the end I will have lived a moral life that I have immensely enjoyed with my family and friends. If eternity is not real or the standards are not as high as I believe than I have absolutely nothing to worry about and neither do you…but if I am right and you are wrong, are you willing to take that kind of gamble with your eternal soul? The choice is up to you. What will it hurt for your to take The Good Test in the privacy of your own home and see how you measure up to God’s law?

Thanks again for writing and please do not hesitate to do so again should you so desire.

Faithfully and respectfully yours,

www.ChristianBaptistLiving.com

Note to the reader: Doug was kind enough to write back to me and point out that I failed to mention that our email exchange did continue, but neither of us conceded our positions. He also wanted me to note that the constitution is not a “Christian” document and never directly mentions the Ten Commandments of Moses and the Bible (and I must note that that matters not since one can go to the writings of our forefathers and not miss the fact that these men were Christian men of faith who fully intended for our government to be founded upon the principles and precepts of God’s Word and knew that it would both fail and fall if it became otherwise). Doug further wanted me to mention that he and many other liberal “historians” consider the Madison quote listed above as a false quote that Madison never said, but I submit that there are also many historians who do not doubt the authenticity of the quote and hold fast their position. I do not know either way, but I have read many other quotes by James Madison and the other founding fathers that are thoroughly documented and not in question, which still emphatically indicate that Madison and the others profoundly stood and built our national government upon the principles of God’s Word. My thanks to Doug for caring enough to hold my feet to the fire for the accuracy of this post.
Ten Commandments and the Decalogue

What People Are Saying To Us Is Important

We thought you might like to know what people are mailing in to us. Statistics are great, but one of the best measures of how we are doing on the net is what our visitors say. If you take the time to shoot us an email, even if it is very critical of what we are writing or doing, it is a great indication of whether we are hitting the mark or not. So regardless of what you are saying, we love that people are responding, because it tells us to keep on keepin’ on! Without further adieu…follow the links to find out how our audience responds.

Current Submissions

A Letter From Doug Re: Christian Politics
Judge Not or Judge Right?

Is Nakedness or Nudity Alright… Or is it sinful

Nakedness “I would like to know some of your views on homosexuality, nudity, pre marital and extra marital sex, and marriage?” A college student recently asked us this question. She is writing a college paper on the subject and here is our answer (which is by no means comprehensive, but just gives the gist of what we believe)…

Nudity, Homosexuality, Pre-marital and Extra-marital sex, and Marriage

Regarding Nudity:

Genesis Chapter 2:23-25 in the Bible gives us the account of the very first marriage ceremony and relationship. It reads as follows: “And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.” This first married couple was Adam and Eve.

Some time passes and Eve was tempted by Satan in the form of the serpent to take and eat fruit off of the only tree in the garden that God had commanded she and her husband, Adam, not to eat of. She did eat of the “forbidden fruit” and she also gave it to her husband. This sin brought upon them the curse of sin which is death, both spiritually (immediately) and (eventually) physically. God had warned them that this would happen if they disobeyed him and they did not listen.

But, in addition to death, one of the apparent consequences of sin is found in Genesis Chapter 3:7-11. (Keep in mind that the tree that they had eaten from was called the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.) Verse 7 reads as follows: “And the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden. And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?”

Notice that after Adam and Eve sinned against God, they went from being nude and unashamed to being nude and so ashamed that they immediately made themselves fig leaf bikinis as it were to cover themselves. Now some would take this as evidence that if a sinner gets right with God they can again live and walk openly nude and unashamed, but I beg to differ.

Notice now Genesis 3:21 as it points this out: “Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them.” It seems to me that the little fig leaf “bikinis” that Adam and Eve made were still not enough clothing for the min God’s eyes after they had sinned. He made them coats of animal skins. Why is this? I cannot honestly say why except that God expects people with the knowledge of good and evil to stay covered up in public. Maybe it is because at the same time sin entered into the picture, physical lust also flew in on the scene.

Then we move on to a scene just after the great flood. Noah, the single man that had found grace in the eyes of the Lord before God destroyed the Earth with water…the man that the Bible calls a just man and says he walked with God…this same Noah that built the ark and according to the book of Hebrews, was a preacher of righteousness, also fell into sin some time after getting off the ark. Genesis 9:20-27 tells us, “And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard; And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent. And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakednessof his father, and told his two brethren without. And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father’s nakedness. And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him. And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren. And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.”

Notice that it was obviously a very grievous sin for Ham to look upon his father while he was unclothed. The other two sons went backward and dropped the garment from their shoulders to cover up their nude father without looking at him in that state. Many other lessons can be learned from this portion of scripture, but it is certainly clear that to look upon the nudity of a father is shameful and sinful.

The next point concerning nudity is simply quoting Leviticus Chapter 18 from the Bible. It spells it out clearly and specifically as to uncovering nudity of others other than one’s own husband or wife (man with woman and woman with man only – not homosexual relationships). I will discuss more about husband and wife after this point.

Leviticus Chapter 18: “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, I am the LORD your God. After the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein ye dwelt, shall ye not do: and after the doings of the land of Canaan, whither I bring you, shall ye not do: neither shall ye walk in their ordinances. Ye shall do my judgments, and keep mine ordinances, to walk therein: I am the LORD your God. Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them: I am the LORD. None of you shall approach to any that is near of kin to him, to uncover their nakedness: I am the LORD. The nakedness of thy father, or the nakedness of thy mother, shalt thou not uncover: she is thy mother; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness. The nakedness of thy father’s wife shalt thou not uncover: it is thy father’s nakedness. The nakedness of thy sister, the daughter of thy father, or daughter of thy mother, whether she be born at home, or born abroad, even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover. The nakedness of thy son’s daughter, or of thy daughter’s daughter, even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover: for theirs is thine own nakedness. The nakedness of thy father’s wife’s daughter, begotten of thy father, she is thy sister, thou shalt not uncover her nakedness. Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father’s sister: she is thy father’s near kinswoman. Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy mother’s sister: for she is thy mother’s near kinswoman. Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father’s brother, thou shalt not approach to his wife: she is thine aunt. Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy daughter in law: she is thy son’s wife; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness. Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy brother’s wife: it is thy brother’s nakedness. Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of a woman and her daughter, neither shalt thou take her son’s daughter, or her daughter’s daughter, to uncover her nakedness; for they are her near kinswomen: it is wickedness. Neither shalt thou take a wife to her sister, to vex her, to uncover her nakedness, beside the other in her life time. Also thou shalt not approach unto a woman to uncover her nakedness, as long as she is put apart for her uncleanness. Moreover thou shalt not lie carnally with thy neighbor’s wife, to defile thyself with her. And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD. Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination. Neither shalt thou lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith: neither shall any woman stand before a beast to lie down thereto: it is confusion. Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you: And the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants. Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations; neither any of your own nation, nor any stranger that sojourneth among you: (For all these abominations have the men of the land done, which were before you, and the land is defiled;) That the land spue not you out also, when ye defile it, as it spued out the nations that were before you. For whosoever shall commit any of these abominations, even the souls that commit them shall be cut off from among their people. Therefore shall ye keep mine ordinance, that ye commit not any one of these abominable customs, which were committed before you, and that ye defile not yourselves therein: I am the LORD your God.”

It is pretty plain that any nudity other than that between a husband and wife in the bonds of matrimony is “wickedness”. This point is further supported by the New Testament in one simple verse from the book of Hebrews…

Regarding Marriage and Nudity Between a Husband and Wife, Pre-marital and Extra-marital sex:

Hebrews 13:4 says, “Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled; but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.” The meaning seems clear to me here: Simply that a marriage relationship between a husband and his wife, even the sexual portion of it, is honorable and good, but anything outside of that is not good.

Here is a link to another good article addressing these subjects: http://www.fbbc.com/messages/rwnaked.htm

Regarding Homosexuality:

I recommend that you read the following website against homosexuality.

Is Islam the True or a False Religion?

Islam, Mohammed, Muslims …. Islam is a religion that has been on the world scene for quite some time now. Mohammed and his followers started out to conquer the world and today they are still on the march to that end. Based on the evidence we have, can we honestly say that the religion of Muslims is simply a religion of conquest or is it even more sinister than that?

Below is an excellent sermon outline written and preached by a missionary friend of ours in the nation of Australia, Brother Mark Tossell. Please consider it carefully and check out some of the other resources listed on this page…

Islam, Mohammed, Muslims
Islam

Please Read : Matthew 26:50-52

Introduction:

This morning we shall study a false religion that has been much in the news recently, especially since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. It is the fastest-growing religion in the world: Islam.

There are now well over 1.2 billion Moslems in the world, dominating more than 40 countries on 3 continents.

900 churches in England have been converted into mosques; there are more Moslems in England than there are evangelical Christians.

Islam is the 3rd largest religion in the U.S. and Britain, and the 2nd largest in Europe.

In 1974 France had one mosque; in 1998 they had over 1,600.

What exactly is this religion that many thousands are willing to kill and die for?

I. Founder: Mohammed (570-632 A.D.)

1) Moslems believe that Allah has sent 124,000 (!) prophets into the world; 25 are mentioned in the Koran. Six of the most important prophets are Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed.

2) Mohammed, the apostle of Allah, is the considered by Moslems to be the greatest of the prophets.

3) Mohammed was born on 8 June 570 AD in Mecca to Abdullah and Aminah of the Quraysh tribe. Both his parents died when he was young, so he was sent at the age of six to live with his grandparents, then to a rich uncle, then to a poor uncle.

4) In his childhood he began to experience spirit visitations. His mother, Aminah, often claimed that she was visited by spirits or jinns. This occult association was inherited by her son.

5) Early Muslim tradition records that, when Mohammed was about to receive a revelation from Allah, he would often fall on the ground, his body would jerk uncontrollably, his eyes would roll backward, and he would perspire profusely. After the trance, he would rise and tell the message given to him.

6) Most of Mohammed’s early pagan religious upbringing was transferred into Islam.

7) Mohammed is regarded as the perfect example for all Muslims to follow. ‘He who obeys the apostle, obeys Allah’. (4:80).

i) If Mohammed murdered his enemies, so can Muslims.

ii) If Mohammed stole whatever he wanted, so can Muslims.

iii) If Mohammed took as many wives as he wanted, so can Muslims.

8) The traditional view is that Mohammed was a sinless prophet, yet he often asked Allah to forgive his sins.

II. History / Organisation:

1) Mohammed’s first converts were his family. When his message first became public, the people of Mecca angrily laid siege to his part of Mecca. To appease these pagans, he said it was right to pray to and worship Allah’s three daughters, Al-Lat, Al-Uzza and Manat.

2) When his disciples at Medina heard of his lapse into polytheism, they rebuked him strongly. Mohammed then reverted to monotheism and stated that Allah can abrogate (or cancel) a past revelation.

3) This led the pagan Meccans to ridicule Mohammed’s Allah as being unable to make up his mind.

4) Due to growing hostility and ridicule, Mohammed fled to Taif. Here he made no converts, so he returned to Mecca.

5) On his way back to Mecca, Mohammed claimed to preach and convert the jinns (genies). The Koran then claims that the jinns agreed to preach Islam to the people.

6) When Mohammed moved to Medina, he had been preaching for 13 years and had gained only about 100 followers, most of whom were poor. Farming was difficult in the desert. The only short-cut to wealth was looting caravans and raiding weaker tribes. They stole women and children, selling them back to their husbands and fathers.

7) As Mohammed won battles, his success gained him wealth and power, both political and religious.

8) After one Jewish town surrendered, 1000 Jewish men were beheaded in one day, their women and children were enslaved, and their possessions looted.

9) Having a larger army, he made a 10-year peace treaty with Mecca. Yet within one year, he broke the treaty and, with a large army, forced Mecca to surrender and accept him as political and religious leader.

10) As the leader of Mecca, Arab tribesmen began to flock to him from all sides.

11) Thus Islam began to grow and prosper.

III. Purpose:

The ultimate goal of Islam is to conquer the world and rule it by Islamic law. They allow conversion to Islam by persuasion, by force, or by murdering opponents.

IV.Source of Authority:

The revelations and teachings of Mohammed.

V. Claim:

The true God is the Moslem deity, Allah; all other views of God are false because the Koran teaches that “The true religion with God is Islam.”
VI. Key Literature:

1) The Koran.

i) The Koran is considered the inspired Word of Allah, dictated by the angel Gabriel to Mohammed.

ii) It is, therefore, considered to be perfect and without error.

iii) However, archaeology and linguistics since 1890 have shown overwhelming evidence that Mohammed produced his religion and the Koran from pre-existing Arabian material, and that, with all its mistakes, could not have come from heaven.

iv) There is no evidence for the inspiration of the Koran (eg. prophecy; archaeology).

v) The Koran is filled with mistakes and contradictions; the Arabic text has also been corrupted. [See Pastor Piper’s Answers Book for details and numerous examples]

vi) Moslems are told to accept both the Bible and the Koran – how can they do so when both are so contradictory toward each other? Therefore they reject the bible as being corrupted by Christians.

vii) The Koran is to be read in Arabic, even though only 20% of Moslems are Arabs! Many Moslems reject translations of the Koran into other languages.

viii) Many Moslems have not read the Koran, either because they do not read Arabic or because they are illiterate. Therefore, they depend upon Imams (teachers) to teach them about Islam.
2) The Hadith:

a collection of Mohammed’s own writings and teachings.

VII. Attitude Towards Christianity: Rejecting.

Those who reject Mohammed and the Koran are infidels and unbelievers, and as such are destined for Hell

VIII. Doctrinal Summary:

1) GOD:

i) Unknowable, impersonal and incomprehensible.

ii) Breaks His promises at will.

iii) Loves the righteous, but does not love the sinner.

iv) The author of all things, both good and evil.

v) Who really is Allah? Is He the God of the Old and New Testament?

(a) ‘Allah is a pre-Islamic name … corresponding to the Babylonian Bel’. (Encyclopaedia of Religion)

(b) Allah was the personal name of the moon god, a male deity worshipped in pre-Islamic Arabia, who was married to the female sun goddess. Together they produced three goddesses called ‘the daughters of Allah’.

(c) The Quraysh tribe of Mohammed was strongly devoted to Allah the moon god, and to Allah’s three daughters.

(d) Mohammed’s father’s name was ABD-ALLAH. His uncle’s name was OBIED-ALLAH, thus showing Mohammed’s family’s devotion to Allah the moon god.

(e) Archaeologists have dug up many statues and inscriptions where a crescent moon was placed on a deity’s head to symbolise worship of the moon god.

(f) Of the 360 deities worshipped in pre-Islamic Arabia, Mohammed chose Allah and rejected the other 359 “lesser” gods.

(g) When a Moslem shouts “Allah akbah” he is not saying “God is great” as we are told by the media. He is actually shouting “God is greatest” compared to the other 359 gods.

2) JESUS:

i) A prophet of Allah.

ii) He did not die, nor need to rise from the dead.

iii) Sinless.

iv) Not divine.

v) Not the son of Allah, for Allah has no children.

vi) Not the Messiah.

vii) Not the Saviour, for there is no Saviour.

viii) Inferior to Mohammed!

3) TRINITY:

Rejected as polytheism.

4) SALVATION:

No assurance of Heaven, as good works and bad works will be weighed at the Judgment Day. A Moslem thinks he has a good shot at Heaven if:

i) He accepts The Moslem god Allah and his prophet Mohammed.

ii) He does good works and all that Allah requires of him, including the Five Pillars of Religion.

iii) He is predestined to Heaven by Allah’s good favour.

The best way to be sure of Heaven is to die bravely in a jihad!

5) ATONEMENT:

There is no atonement for sin.

6) SECOND COMING:

None.

7) BIBLE:

To be respected, but corrupt and unreliable.

8) HEAVEN:

An earthly paradise of gluttony and sexual gratification.

IX. Distinctives:

1) The Five Pillars of Religion:

i) Reciting the creed of Islam: “There is no god but Allah and Mohammed is his prophet.”

ii) Prayer five times a day.

iii) Observing the fast month of Ramadan, where he cannot eat except at night time.

iv) Giving alms to the poor (2.5% of income)

v) Pilgrimage to Mecca, Mohammed’s place of birth.

2) The oppression of women:

i) Mohammed once said, “A cheap rug is more valuable in a man’s home than a woman.”

ii) The Koran encourages men to beat their wives if they disobey them.

iii) A woman is only worth half what a man is worth. They obtain half the inheritance, have half a vote, and their witness in court is only half as valuable as a man’s, according to Islamic Law.

iv) Mohammed’s youngest wife was only 6 years old, and the marriage was consummated when she was only 9. The great prophet of Islam was a paedophile!!!

3) The religion of the sword:

Politically correct media commentators both here and overseas have recently been publishing reports that Islam is a religion of peace and tolerance. Is this true? Does it agree with the facts of history, and with the teachings of the Koran? NO!

i) ‘Islam’ is an Arabic word which originally referred to manliness or heroism or bravery in battle. It meant ‘defiance of death, heroism, to die in battle.’ Sound peaceful?

ii) The Koran says explicitly that Moslems must kill all unbelievers who will not convert to Islam or serve Islam as its slave: “…fight and slay the pagans wherever you find them, and seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem of war…” (Surah 9:5). This is known as “the verse of the sword.”

iii) After peacefully trying to convert Jews and Christians in Mecca, with no success, Mohammed moved to Medina and launched his new strategy of violence – the period known as “the aggressive years” started. Islam has largely been a religion of bloodshed and intolerance ever since.

iv) There is no greater honour for a Moslem man than to die as a martyr in the jihad, or Moslem holy war. When he dies, he will be transported to Paradise, where 72 brown-eyed virgins await to gratify his every desire.

v) If Islam is a religion of peace, why did Mohammed engage in 47 different battles? I do not remember Jesus, the Prince of Peace, waging war at any time during His earthly ministry!

vi) In the Hadith, Mohammed said, ‘Hear O Muslims the meaning of life … The pillar is Rakatin prayer. The topmost part is Jihad – holy war’.

vii) Apostate Moslems must die: Allah says: ‘If they desert you, seize them and put them to death wherever you find them’ (Q 4:89);

viii) Those who oppose Islam must die: Allah says: ‘If, after coming to terms with you, they break their oaths, and revile your faith, make war on the leaders of unbelief – for no oaths are binding on them. Make war on them: God will chastise them at your hands and humble them’. (Q 9:12-14)

ix) ‘Whoever fights for the cause of Allah … we (Allah) shall richly reward him’. (4:74)

x) ‘Fight against those to whom the Scriptures were given (Christians and Jews)’ (9:29)

xi) ‘If you do not go to war, Allah will punish you sternly’ (9:39)

xii) ‘Prophet, make war on the unbelievers and hypocrites’. (9:73)

xiii) ‘When the sacred months are over, slay the idolaters wherever you find them Arrest them, besiege them, and lie in ambush everywhere for them’. (9:5)

xiv) ‘Believers, make war on the infidels who dwell around you. Deal firmly with them. Allah is with you’. (9:123)

xv) ‘Allah loves those who fight for his cause’. (61:4)

X. Talking with Members: There are 3 key topics of discussion when attempting to witness to a Moslem:

1) The nature of God.

The God of the Bible is a personal, loving and forgiving God who desires a relationship with the people whom He has created.

2) The identity and deity of Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ is more than a mere prophet – He is the divine Son of God who died for our sins and rose from the dead.

3) Salvation by grace through faith.

Here is where all false religions stray from the truth – they depend upon works for salvation, whereas we depend upon the unmerited favour and mercy of a loving God.

CONCLUSION:

Let us love all Moslems and seek to win them to Christ!

Romans 10:2, 3 “For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.”

Shooting Straight

Pro And Cons of Gun Control….Both Sides? Do pro and cons of gun control actually exist or is one a myth and the other directly linked to common sense? I think that common sense combined good background research should help each person determine the truth about gun control, thus helping weigh the pros and cons.

This page is full of information and links to aide you in your search for gun control information…Enjoy becoming informed:

The following information (except slight variations in format and slight wording changes for keyword density purposes) was adapted for use from Gun Owners of America :
Fact Sheet: Guns Save Lives

A. Guns save more lives than they take; prevent more injuries than they inflict

Pro and Cons of Gun Control Fact:
Guns used 2.5 million times a year in self-defense. Law-abiding citizens use guns to defend themselves against criminals as many as 2.5 million times every year — or about 6,850 times a day.1 This means that each year, firearms are used more than 80 times more often to protect the lives of honest citizens than to take lives.2

Pro and Cons of Gun Control Fact:
Of the 2.5 million times citizens use their guns to defend themselves every year, the overwhelming majority merely brandish their gun or fire a warning shot to scare off their attackers. Less than 8% of the time, a citizen will kill or wound his/her attacker.3

Pro and Cons of Gun Control Fact:
As many as 200,000 women use a gun every year to defend themselves against sexual abuse.4

Pro and Cons of Gun Control Fact:
Even anti-gun Clinton researchers concede that guns are used 1.5 million times annually for self-defense. According to the Clinton Justice Department, there are as many as 1.5 million cases of self-defense every year. The National Institute of Justice published this figure in 1997 as part of “Guns in America” — a study which was authored by noted anti-gun criminologists Philip Cook and Jens Ludwig.5

Pro and Cons of Gun Control Fact:
Armed citizens kill more crooks than do the police. Citizens shoot and kill at least twice as many criminals as police do every year (1,527 to 606).6 And readers of Newsweek learned that “only 2 percent of civilian shootings involved an innocent person mistakenly identified as a criminal. The ‘error rate’ for the police, however, was 11 percent, more than five times as high.”7

Pro and Cons of Gun Control Fact:
guns

Handguns are the weapon of choice for self-defense. Citizens use handguns to protect themselves over 1.9 million times a year.8 Many of these self-defense handguns could be labeled as “Saturday Night Specials.” B. Concealed carry laws help reduce crime

Pro and Cons of Gun Control Fact:
Nationwide: one-half million self-defense uses. Every year, as many as one-half million citizens defend themselves with a firearm away from home.9

Pro and Cons of Gun Control Fact:
Concealed carry laws are dropping crime rates across the country. A comprehensive national study determined in 1996 that violent crime fell after states made it legal to carry concealed firearms. The results of the study showed:

Pro and Cons of Gun Control Fact:
States which passed concealed carry laws reduced their murder rate by 8.5%, rapes by 5%, aggravated assaults by 7% and robbery by 3%;10 and

Pro and Cons of Gun Control Fact:
If those states not having concealed carry laws had adopted such laws in 1992, then approximately 1,570 murders, 4,177 rapes, 60,000 aggravated assaults and over 11,000 robberies would have been avoided yearly.11

Pro and Cons of Gun Control Fact:

Vermont: one of the safest five states in the country. In Vermont, citizens can carry a firearm without getting permission… without paying a fee… or without going through any kind of government-imposed waiting period. And yet for ten years in a row, Vermont has remained one of the top-five, safest states in the union — having three times received the “Safest State Award.”12

Pro and Cons of Gun Control Fact:
Florida: concealed carry helps slash the murder rates in the state. In the fifteen years following the passage of Florida’s concealed carry law in 1987, over 800,000 permits to carry firearms were issued to people in the state.13 FBI reports show that the homicide rate in Florida, which in 1987 was much higher than the national average, fell 52% during that 15-year period — thus putting the Florida rate below the national average. 14

Pro and Cons of Gun Control Fact:
Do firearms carry laws result in chaos? No. Consider the case of Florida. A citizen in the Sunshine State is far more likely to be attacked by an alligator than to be assaulted by a concealed carry holder. 1. During the first fifteen years that the Florida law was in effect, alligator attacks outpaced the number of crimes committed by carry holders by a 229 to 155 margin. 2. And even the 155 “crimes” committed by concealed carry permit holders are somewhat misleading as most of these infractions resulted from Floridians who accidentally carried their firearms into restricted areas, such as an airport.15 C. Criminals avoid armed citizens

Pro and Cons of Gun Control Fact:
Kennesaw, GA. In 1982, this suburb of Atlanta passed a law requiring heads of households to keep at least one firearm in the house. The residential burglary rate subsequently dropped 89% in Kennesaw, compared to the modest 10.4% drop in Georgia as a whole.16

Pro and Cons of Gun Control Fact:
Ten years later (1991), the residential burglary rate in Kennesaw was still 72% lower than it had been in 1981, before the law was passed.17

Pro and Cons of Gun Control Fact:

Nationwide. Statistical comparisons with other countries show that burglars in the United States are far less apt to enter an occupied home than their foreign counterparts who live in countries where fewer civilians own firearms. Consider the following rates showing how often a homeowner is present when a burglar strikes:

Pro and Cons of Gun Control Fact: Homeowner occupancy rate in the gun control countries of Great Britain, Canada and Netherlands: 45% (average of the three countries); and,

Pro and Cons of Gun Control Fact:
Homeowner occupancy rate in the United States: 12.7%.18 Rapes averted when women carry or use firearms for protection

Pro and Cons of Gun Control Fact:
Orlando, FL. In 1966-67, the media highly publicized a safety course which taught Orlando women how to use guns. The result: Orlando’s rape rate dropped 88% in 1967, whereas the rape rate remained constant in the rest of Florida and the nation.19

Pro and Cons of Gun Control Fact:
Nationwide. In 1979, the Carter Justice Department found that of more than 32,000 attempted rapes, 32% were actually committed. But when a woman was armed with a gun or knife, only 3% of the attempted rapes were actually successful.20 Justice Department study:

Pro and Cons of Gun Control Fact:
3/5 of felons polled agreed that “a criminal is not going to mess around with a victim he knows is armed with a gun.”21

bar

Pro and Cons of Gun Control Fact:
74% of felons polled agreed that “one reason burglars avoid houses when people are at home is that they fear being shot during the crime.”22

Pro and Cons of Gun Control Fact:
57% of felons polled agreed that “criminals are more worried about meeting an armed victim than they are about running into the police.”23

Gary Kleck and Marc Gertz,

“Armed Resistance to Crime: The Prevalence and Nature of Self-Defense With a Gun,” 86 The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, Northwestern University School of Law, 1 (Fall 1995):164.

Dr. Kleck is a professor in the school of criminology and criminal justice at Florida State University in Tallahassee. He has researched extensively and published several essays on the gun control issue. His book, Point Blank: Guns and Violence in America, has become a widely cited source in the gun control debate.

In fact, this book earned Dr. Kleck the prestigious American Society of Criminology Michael J. Hindelang award for 1993. This award is given for the book published in the past two to three years that makes the most outstanding contribution to criminology.

Even those who don’t like the conclusions Dr. Kleck reaches, cannot argue with his impeccable research and methodology. In “A Tribute to a View I Have Opposed,” Marvin E. Wolfgang writes that, “What troubles me is the article by Gary Kleck and Marc Gertz. The reason I am troubled is that they have provided an almost clear-cut case of methodologically sound research in support of something I have theoretically opposed for years, namely, the use of a gun in defense against a criminal perpetrator….
Freeze

I have to admit my admiration for the care and caution expressed in this article and this research. Can it be true that about two million instances occur each year in which a gun was used as a defensive measure against crime? It is hard to believe. Yet, it is hard to challenge the data collected. We do not have contrary evidence.” Wolfgang, “A Tribute to a View I Have Opposed,” The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, at 188. Wolfgang says there is no “contrary evidence.” Indeed, there are more than a dozen national polls — one of which was conducted by The Los Angeles Times — that have found figures comparable to the Kleck-Gertz study. Even the Clinton Justice Department (through the National Institute of Justice) found there were as many as 1.5 million defensive users of firearms every year. See National Institute of Justice, “Guns in America: National Survey on Private Ownership and Use of Firearms,” Research in Brief (May 1997).

As for Dr. Kleck, readers of his materials may be interested to know that he is a member of the ACLU, Amnesty International USA, and Common Cause. He is not and has never been a member of or contributor to any advocacy group on either side of the gun control debate.

According to the National Safety Council, the total number of gun deaths (by accidents, suicides and homicides) account for less than 30,000 deaths per year.

See Injury Facts, published yearly by the National Safety Council, Itasca, Illinois.

Kleck and Gertz, “Armed Resistance to Crime,” at 173, 185.

Kleck and Gertz, “Armed Resistance to Crime,” at 185.

Philip J. Cook and Jens Ludwig, “Guns in America: National Survey on Private Ownership and Use of Firearms,” NIJ Research in Brief (May 1997); available at http://www.ncjrs.org/txtfiles/165476.txt on the internet.

The finding of 1.5 million yearly self-defense cases did not sit well with the anti-gun bias of the study’s authors, who attempted to explain why there could not possibly be one and a half million cases of self-defense every year. Nevertheless, the 1.5 million figure is consistent with a mountain of independent surveys showing similar figures. The sponsors of these studies — nearly a dozen — are quite varied, and include anti-gun organizations, news media organizations, governments and commercial polling firms.

See also Kleck and Gertz, supra note 1, pp. 182-183. 6Kleck, Point Blank: Guns and Violence in America, (1991):111-116, 148.

George F. Will, “Are We ‘a Nation of Cowards’?,” Newsweek (15 November 1993):93.

8Id. at 164, 185. 9Dr. Gary Kleck, interview with J. Neil Schulman, “Q and A: Guns, crime and self-defense,” The Orange County Register (19 September 1993). In the interview with Schulman, Dr. Kleck reports on findings from a national survey which he and Dr. Marc Gertz conducted in Spring, 1993 — a survey which findings were reported in Kleck and Gertz, “Armed Resistance to Crime.”

One of the authors of the University of Chicago study reported on the study’s findings in John R. Lott, Jr., “More Guns, Less Violent Crime,” The Wall Street Journal (28 August 1996).

See also John R. Lott, Jr. and David B. Mustard, “Crime, Deterrence, and Right-to-Carry Concealed Handguns,” University of Chicago (15 August 1996); and Lott,

More Guns, Less Crime (1998, 2000). Lott and Mustard,

“Crime, Deterrence, and Right-to-Carry Concealed Handguns.” Kathleen O’Leary Morgan, Scott Morgan and Neal Quitno, “Rankings of States in Most Dangerous/Safest State Awards 1994 to 2003,” Morgan Quitno Press (2004) at http://www.statestats.com/dang9403.htm.

Morgan Quitno Press is an independent private research and publishing company which was founded in 1989. The company specializes in reference books and monthly reports that compare states and cities in several different subject areas. In the first 10 years in which they published their Safest State Award, Vermont has consistently remained one of the top five safest states.

Memo by Jim Smith, Secretary of State, Florida Department of State, Division of Licensing, Concealed Weapons/Firearms License Statistical Report (October 1, 2002).

Florida’s murder rate was 11.4 per 100,000 in 1987, but only 5.5 in 2002. Compare Federal Bureau of Investigation, “Crime in the United States,” Uniform Crime Reports, (1988): 7, 53; and FBI, (2003):19, 79.

John R. Lott, Jr., “Right to carry would disprove horror stories,” Kansas City Star, (July 12, 2003).

Gary Kleck, “Crime Control Through the Private Use of Armed Force,” Social Problems 35 (February 1988):15.

Compare Kleck, “Crime Control,” at 15, and Chief Dwaine L. Wilson, City of Kennesaw Police Department, “Month to Month Statistics: 1991.” (Residential burglary rates from 1981-1991 are based on statistics for the months of March – October.)

Kleck, Point Blank, at 140.

Kleck, “Crime Control,” at 13.

U.S. Department of Justice, Law Enforcement Assistance Administration, Rape Victimization in 26 American Cities (1979), p. 31. 21U.S., Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice, “The Armed Criminal in America: A Survey of Incarcerated Felons,” Research Report (July 1985): 27. 22Id. 23Id.

The Pro and Cons of Gun Control Facts Speak Loud And Clear

Pro and Cons of Gun Control Fact:
The courts have consistently ruled that the police do not have an obligation to protect individuals, only the public in general. For example, in Warren v. D.C. the court stated “courts have without exception concluded that when a municipality or other governmental entity undertakes to furnish police services, it assumes a duty only to the public at large and not to individual members of the community.”

Pro and Cons of Gun Control Fact:

Former Florida Attorney General Jim Smith told Florida legislators that police responded to only about 200,000 of 700,000 calls for help to Dade County authorities.
gun driveby

Smith was asked why so many citizens in Dade County were buying guns and he said, “They @%$* well better, they’ve got to protect themselves.”

Pro and Cons of Gun Control Fact:
The Department of Justice found that in 1989, there were 168,881 crimes of violence which were not responded to by police within 1 hour.

Pro and Cons of Gun Control Fact:
The numbers clearly show that the police cannot protect every individual. In 1996, there were about 150,000 police officers on duty at any one time to protect a population of more than 260 million Americans — or more than 1,700 citizens per officer.

Warren v. District of Columbia, D.C. App., 444 A. 2d 1 (1981). See also Richard W. Stevens, Dial 911 and Die (1999) which gives the laws and cases in all 50 states to support the statement that government (police) owes no duty to protect individual citizens from criminal attack.

Statement of Representative Ron Johnson in U.S. Senate, “Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1987,” Hearing before the Subcommittee on the Constitution of the Committee on the Judiciary (16 June 1987):33.

Bureau of Justice Statistics, Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics — 1990 (1991):257.

Interview with Brian A. Reaves, Ph.D., statistician for the Bureau of Justice Statistics in Washington, D.C. (January 11, 2001). In 1996, the total number (estimated) of all law enforcement combined (federal, state and local) that were on duty and assigned to respond to calls at any one time — on the average — was approximately 146,395 officers. There were 265,463,000 people living in the United States in 1996 for an actual ratio of 1,813 citizens for every officer. See also Kleck, Point Blank, at 132.

Find out more on the pro and cons of gun control from Gun Owners of America at www.GunOwners.org

Sixteen Simple Rules to Interpreting Scripture

Interpreting scripture doesn’t have to be hard. If you are a real believer then you have God’s Holy Spirit living inside you to teach you and to guide you, but be careful….there are also evil, demonic spirits that would love to feed you subtle lies in place of the truth in order to lead you and others astray.
“Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth”

Here are sixteen rules to help you “rightly divide the Word of Truth”…

1. Before you begin reading your Bible, pray that the Holy Spirit would teach you.
This is imperative, no Holy Spirit, no understanding.

2. Recognize what the Bible is.
It is the written record of God revealing Himself in history. It teaches us who He is, what He is like, who we are, what we are like and what He expects of us. It is written by God Himself through man. It is inerrant, infallible and perfect.

3. Recognize you bring presuppositions to the table.
It is unlikely you are going to lose your pre-understandings, just recognize you have them and resist the desire to impose them on Scripture.
(Pre-suppositions include: democracy, feminism,individualism, tolerance, entitlement, ethnicity, gender, economic status,education.)

4. Identify what type of genre (literature) you are reading:
Historical Narrative(historical events from God’s perspective), Poetry and Songs (expressions of emotion to God),
Legal Writings (teach God’s high moral standard and His view of justice, principles for government, safety, health and society), Wisdom Sayings(God’s view of wisdom, not man’s),
Prophecy (God’s message to a particular group or all humanity), Teachings of Jesus (truth from Jesus concerning the nature and character of God, heaven, what God expects of us and how Jesus fulfills OT prophecies),
Parables (stories with a punch line…please note, there is only ONE major message per parable and parables are not perfect analogies for other doctrinal issues),
Letters (written with a clear purpose to a well defined audience, intended to teach, rebuke, correct, praise or encourage), Apocalyptic (future end-times, Revelation and parts of Ezekiel and Daniel).

5. Understand Historical Context.
When, why and to whom was this book written.Keep in mind the middle-eastern context and do not make 20th century assumptions.

6. Understand Literary Context.
What verse comes before, after? What is the immediate context? What is the book about? What event led up to this passage?

7. It is all literal.
There are no allegories. Jesus quoted Scripture as if it was historical and factual, not allegorical…so should we.

8. Let Scripture interpret Scripture.
Compare your interpretations with other clear teaching. God does not contradict Himself.

9. Grammar, Words and Syntax.
Use Bible dictionaries and commentaries to help you understand the meanings of words, sentence structure, verb tenses and syntax (how the sentence is constructed). Now don’t you wish you had paid attention in grammar class?

10. Interpret unclear verses in light of clear verses.

11. Literal interpretation directs symbolism, parables and poetry. Do not create doctrine from symbolic or parabolic passages that contradict clear teachings. Yes,we can learn theology from these types of passages, but not if they are not supported by other clear verses.

12. Understand “progressive revelation.
” God’s message has been revealed in stages. Remember that many messages were given to a certain people at a certain time fora certain reason.
Be careful to not respond to the wrong message. For instance,God told David to go slay a neighboring country. We would not take that verse and attack Canada.
As a GENERAL rule, there are some general truths expressed in the OT, but if doctrinal teachings are not re-iterated in the NT, be careful not to formulate theology based on an OT writing.

13. Meanings.
We should understand a word by the way it is used in a sentence, a sentence by the way it is used in a paragraph, a paragraph by the way it is used in a chapter, a chapter by the way it is used in a book. Hold on, there’s more.

Understand a book by comparing it with the same author, books by comparing them with other books in the same Testament, and a Testament with the other Testament. That is how you interpret Scripture with Scripture.

14. Author’s intent.
What is the author’s meaning? Do not read into it but read out ofit. Don’t ask, “What does this verse say to me?”. Instead ask, “What does this verse say and how does it APPLY to me?”

15. Distinguish cultural customs from transcultural principles.
A. Is the teaching culture bound (eating meat offered to idols) or of a permanent nature?
B. Is there a trans-cultural principle easily observed? (Greet with a kiss vs. handshake)
C. Is the custom reported or taught in Scripture (parents arranging marriages).

16. Treat the Gospels as a bridge between the Testaments.
Some practices and teachings are transitional.

These 16 rules for interpreting scripture were used by permission from www.ttwministries.com.

You can also read another solidly Biblical perspective on how to approach reading scripture and interpreting scripture at this site built by a Christian friend in the Biblical city of Thessalonica.