Comments on the Trinity

“…it is a remarkable fact, that no single passage or verse of the Old or New Testament is received as an assured proof-text of the trinity by the unanimous consent of all Trinitarian writers: some ground their faith on one passage, some on another.”

Taken from: A Religious Encyclopædia: or Dictionary of Biblical, Historical, Doctrinal, and Practical Theology, Based on the Real-Encyklopädie of Herzog, Plitt, and Hauck. Herzog, Johann Jakob (b.1805-d.1882); Schaff, Philip (b.1819-d.1893), D.D., LL.D., Professor in the Union Theological Seminary, New York, Editors.  Jackson, Samuel Macauley (b.1851-d.1912); Schaff, David Schley (b.1852-?), Joint Editors.  3 vols.  (New York, New York: Funk & Wagnalls, Publishers, 1882-1884), vol. iii, “Unitarianism,” p. 2420.  BR95 .S4 / 01-11171.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

“One or other among them [the Trinitarians] rejects the Trinitarian meaning from each single passage brought in support of it. But this diversity, while it weakens the force of that particular argument, is itself even more fatal to the doctrine. It cannot be so stated that the mass of its supporters will accept the statement. Some dangerous heresy has always been detected, lurking under the disguise of every possible interpretation; and those have uniformly succeeded best who have simply stated the bald dogma, in the most paradoxical form possible, and have left the explanation as a `mystery,’ to shift for itself.”

Taken from: Allen, Joseph Henry (b.1820-d.1888.)  Ten Discourses on Orthodoxy. (Boston, Massachusetts: William Crosby and H. P. Nichols, 1849), pp. 58, 59.  BX9843.A4 T4 1849 / unk83-015691.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Precisely what the [Trinity] doctrine is, or precisely how it is to be explained, Trinitarians are not agreed among themselves.”

Taken from: A Dictionary of Religious Knowledge for Popular and Professional use Comprising Full Information on Biblical Theological, and Ecclesiastical Subjects. With Several Hundred Maps and Illustrations. Edited by the Rev. Lyman Abbott, Assisted by the Rev. T[homas] J[efferson] Conant, D.D. Abbot, Lyman (b.1835-d.1922); Conant, Thomas Jefferson (b.1802-d.1891), Editors.  ([n. p.]1875), p. 944.  BR95 .A3 1875 / tmp82-001468.  See also the following printing/edition: (New York, New York: Harper & Brothers, c1902).  BR95 .A3 1902 / 02-028398.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

“…[Trinitarian] theologians have discussed [the Trinity] in such a manner, that instead of rendering it intelligible to the mass of mind, looking to them for instruction, every feature of the doctrine has been shrouded in an impenetrable garb of mystery, in some cases involving direct contradiction of natural principles….Similarity of theological belief [among Trinitarian theologians], is not to be expected, yet the wide dissimilarity now prevalent, is due, in great measure, to the lack of a uniform standard of interpretation,…”

Taken from: Robinson, Francis Smith (b.?-d.?).  First Principles of the Triune Theology, In Which St. Paul’s Great Bible Analysis: “For of Him – and Through Him – and to Him, are All Things; to Whom be Glory for Ever.  Amen.” is Made the Standard by Which to Test Every Definition, Rule, Thought, Explanation, Illustration, and Picture.  (Afton, Iowa: Tribune-News Publishing Company, 1877), “Conclusion,” p. 26.  BT113 .R6 / 40-022657.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Our survey of the history of the [Trinity] doctrine in the text has indicated that there are several doctrines of the trinity: Eastern, Western, social analogy, modal, so forth. There is one doctrine in the sense of the threefold name of God of the rule of faith as found, for example, in the Apostle’s Creed. This, however, is not yet a doctrine. It is ambiguous and can be interpreted in a number of ways. There is one doctrine in the sense of the Western formula of `three persons in one substance.’ However, this formula is also ambiguous if not misleading and can be interpreted in a number of ways. A doctrine of the trinity would presumably be an interpretation of this formula…let us assume that the phrase `doctrine of the trinity’ in question refers to any of a number of widely accepted interpretations of the threefold name of God in the role of faith.”

Taken from: Thomas, Owen (b.1922-d.?).  Theological Questions: Analysis and Argument. (Wilton, Connecticut; Peabody, Massachusetts: Morehouse-Barlow, 1983), p. 34.  BT77 .T458 1983 / 83-060658.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Whatever else might be said about the doctrine of the Trinity, it is safe to say that in the history of Christian doctrine here has been no single, universally accepted articulation of the specific way in which it is to be understood. Every attempt to articulate the doctrine has had its detractors and has been viewed as erring in one direction or the other. Articulations stressing the unity of God to the relative de-emphasis of divine threeness have most often been labeled modalist or Sabellian: whereas, those stressing the threefold existence of deity to the relative neglect of divine unity have been castigated as tri-theistic or polytheistic. It has seemed next to impossible to achieve a balanced presentation of the triune nature of God that is both relatively detailed and also acceptable to most sincere Christians with theological sensitivity.”

Taken from: Morris, Thomas V. (b.?-d.?).  The Logic of God Incarnate. (Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 1986), pp. 207, 208.  BT220 .M815 1986 / 85-021252.

Parenting 2007

Parenting is Harder 70% of the public says it is more difficult to be a mother today than it was 20 or 30 years ago. 60% say the same about being a father. A Pew survey finds 56% of Americans say mothers are doing a worse job today than they did 20 or 30 years ago. 47% echo this about dads. According to parents and non-parents, the biggest challenge in raising children today is dealing with the outside influences of society. 38% of Americans list societal factors when asked to name the biggest parental challenge. The top concerns are drugs and alcohol, peer pressure, and the impact of TV and other media. Other challenges include teaching morals and values, maintaining discipline, handling the financial aspects of childrearing, and dealing with the educational system. Protestants are among the most critical of today’s mothers with 68% of white evangelicals saying moms are doing a worse job today. This compares with 54% of white non-evangelical Protestants, 50% of white Catholics and 47% of seculars.
Pew Research Center 5/2/07

Trinity Hinduism & the Nicene Council

The Christian Holy Trinity… and the Hindu Trimurti:
It impressed me to know that the 3 manifestations of Brahman, have some similarities with the Christian “Holy Trinity”, in Hinduism called the “Trimurti”.
- Brahma is like the Father, the creator, the cosmic mind. As God the Father has few temples dedicated to him, in fact only one in all India.
- Vishnu, like the Son, Jesus Christ, the preserver, the cosmic lord… with 9 reincarnations, ten avatar manifestations… and the one to come, Kalkin… however, Jesus is the only one incarnation of God. Vishnu had already 9 incarnations (”avatars”) and he is shown as one them, as fish, tortoise, a boar… the last 3 were Rama, Krishna, and Buddha, who are very popular
- Shiva like the Holy Spirit, destroyer of the bad things to renew the universe, the transcendent Godhead
… so, Hinduism in some way it is a “monotheistic” religion… however the Bible condemns any kind of polytheism, the adoration of anything or anybody besides the only God, because the gods that are not God, are idols or devils (Psalm 96:5).

The Vedas pantheon mythology, includ the Cosmic Trinity of Agni (god of fire), Vayu, (god of air), and Surya (god of energy or life).The Trinity is late-fourth century, having been passed into law during the Nicene Council in C.E. 381. But the idea predates this and even predates Christianity, though in various forms. In other words, the Christians didn’t invent it, they glommed it. And some say they butchered it, as well.

The concept of a Trinitarian godhead harkens from Egypt, and is also part of the Hindu godhead. Both cultures had heavily influenced Roman thought by the time the Trinitarian disputes came about, but by then, Egypt was an important center of Christian power. To try to develop a Trinitarian concept of deity from Hebrew Scripture is a stretch, at best, and even to develop it from Christian scripture is sketchy. When Erasmus published his New Testament, people objected that it did not have any passages which teach the Trinity, so he introduced, on very flimsy evidence, I John 5:7:

For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.

Only the King James versions retain this passage without comment: the rest relegate it to footnotes.

Another passage that is used to bolster the Scriptural basis for the doctrine of the Trinity is Matthew 28:20:

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost

This really says nothing about a Trinity, but merely mentions three names. Like the other New Testament writers, Matthew was not very precise in this or any other concept. This precision came later. Other baptismal formulae instruct Christians to baptize in the name of Jesus, and some sects use this parallel to teach that Jesus is the Father and the Holy Ghost, that there is no Trinity.

Consult any Christian primer on the doctrine of the Trinity (like you’d get when you first become saved and take classes to find out what you believe) and you will see just how tough it is to justify deriving this idea from Christian Scripture, which was written by people who were not as sophisticated in self-consistency or as obsessively detailed in their dogma as later scholars became. Before the Nicene Councils consolidated The Dogma Of The One True Faith, Christian ideas along these lines were extremely varied. Many Christian sects, most notably the Jehovah’s Witnesses, reject the Trinity. In fact, their materials are as good as any when trying to balance the pro-Trinity arguments of the so-called orthodox Christians. But contrary to what they say (and the Trinitarians, as well), there was no real consensus and nothing resembling precision on this or any other matter during the first few centuries of the Church.

Nevertheless, the doctrine of the Trinity is very much a litmus test in modern Christian circles. In the Introduction to Robert M. Price’s book Deconstructing Jesus, Price warns:

when an evangelist or an apologist invites you to have faith “in Christ,” he is in fact smuggling in a great number of other issues. For example, Chalcedonian Christology, the doctrine of the Trinity, the Protestant idea of faith and grace, a particular nineteenth-century theory of biblical inspiration and literalism, habits of church attendance, and so on, are all distinct and open questions, or should be. And yet no evangelist ever invites people to accept Christ by faith and then to start examining all these other associated issues for themselves. Not one! The Trinity, biblical inerrantism, for some even anti-Darwinism, are nonnegotiable. They say you cannot be genuinely “saved” if you do not toe the party line on these points. Thus for them, to “accept Christ” means to accept Trinitarianism, biblicism, inerrantism, creationism, and so on. All this, in turn, means that “Christ” has become a shorthand designation for this whole raft of doctrines and opinions, all of which one is to accept “by faith,” on someone else’s say-so. Christ has become an umbrella for an unquestioning acceptance of what some preacher or institution tells you to believe. Once the believer begins to “deconstruct” what “Jesus Christ” has come to denote in his particular religious community, he may discover that his primary religious allegiance has been utilized to manipulate him into transferring the same diehard loyalty to other secondary or tertiary issues, political and cultural. – pp. 11-12

Early Evangelical Christian “cults” books, particularly those modeled after Walter Martin’s classic Evangelical work Kingdom of the Cults, use the doctrine of the Trinity as the primary test of orthodoxy (as well as various degrees of biblical inerrancy and other key issues which distinguish a “true” Christian from a “false” Christian). Many, for example, accept Missouri-based Mormons as Brethren because they are Trinitarian, even though they accept the Book of Mormon as Scripture. Utah-based Mormons, though, are out because they are not Trinitarian.

As I have said in some of my writings, often the key test of loyalty is that you believe a tenet that is both unique to the group and patently absurd. I suggest that the absurdity of the teaching is crucial to the test of loyalty. Believing, for example, that the sun is round, would be no test at all. But to believe the Trinity is quite an exertion, as Thomas Jefferson suggests:

It is too late in the day for men of sincerity to pretend they believe in the Platonic mysticism that three are one and one is three, and yet, that the one is not three, and the three not one… – Jefferson s Works, Vol. IV, p. 205, Randolph’s ed., quoted from John E. Remsberg, The Christ

But Voltaire summarizes this point most succinctly, and with much-deserved sarcasm:

The son of God is the same as the son of man; the son of man is the same as the son of God. God, the father, is the same as Christ, the son; Christ, the son, is the same as God, the father. This language may appear confused to unbelievers, but Christians will readily understand it – quoted from John E. Remsberg, The Christ

There is a short write-up in John Draper’s History of the Conflict Between Religion and Science, in Chapter 2. You can find what Draper says about the further Trinitarian disputes by typing the words “trinity draper” into the Google search engine at the bottom of our front page. This search is set to default to our website, so you can type these words in and return all the chapters in Draper’s book which mention the Trinity. You’ll also get, for example, Ingersoll quoting Draper, but check out Draper first, as he’s the easiest read on our web site to deal with this matter.

Another study would be W. E. H. Lecky’s History of the Rise and Influence of the Spirit of Rationalism in Europe, but this would be rather scarce. To get what he says (mostly later disputes and oblique mentions, but Lecky’s footnotes are as informative as his text), simply type “trinity lecky” into the search engine.

The most available (that is, readable) studies of the Christian history is in The Dark Side of Christian History by Helen Ellerby. The author covers the Trinitarian disputes from a slightly different perspective. We have a few other excerpts of this book posted, but here’s part of what she says about the Trinity, which is (until now) unposted.

	Once Christianity gained prominence, the orthodox allowed the Roman emperor to directly influence Christian doctrine. To settle ideological disputes in the Church, Constantine introduced and presided over the first ecumenical council at Nicea in 325. In his book The Heretics, Walter Nigg describes the means of reaching a consensus:
		Constantine, who treated religious questions solely from a political point of view, assured unanimity by banishing all the bishops who would not sign the new profession of faith. In this way unity was achieved. ‘It was altogether unheard-of that a universal creed should be instituted solely on the authority of the emperor, who as a catechumen was not even admitted to the mystery of the Eucharist and was totally unempowered to rule on the highest mysteries of the faith. Not a single bishop said a single word against this monstrous thing.
	One of the political decisions reached at the Council of Nicea established the Nicene creed, a means of keeping the belief in singular supremacy intact while simultaneously incorporating Jesus into the image of God. Jesus was not to be considered mortal; he was an aspect of God which could be understood as the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. This new Holy Trinity mimicked a much older portrait of divinity that embodied the value of difference. For instance, the vision of God in the Gnostic Secret Book of John, “I am the Father, I am the Mother, I am the Child,” illustrates the concept of synergy where the whole created is greater than the sum of the parts. Another text called The Sophia of Jesus Christ tells how masculine and feminine energies together created a
		… first-begotten, androgynous son. His male name is called ‘First-Begettress Sophia, Mother of the Universe.’ Some call her ‘Love.’ Now the first-begotten is called ‘Christ.’
	Even the later Islamic Koran mistook the Christian Trinity for this archetypal one, referring to it as the trinity of God, Mary and Jesus. The Nicene Creed, however, established a trinity that extolled sameness and singularity. All reference to a synergy, an energy, a magic, that could result from two different people coming together was lost. The council eliminated the image of father, mother and child, replacing the Hebrew feminine term for spirit, ruah, with the Greek neuter term, pneuma. The trinity was now comprised of the father, the son, and a neuter, sexless spirit. Christians depicted it as three young men of identical shape and appearance. Later medieval sermons would compare the trinity “to identical reflections in the several fragments of a broken mirror or to the identical composition of water, snow and ice.” Two popes would ban the seventeenth century Spanish nun Maria d’Agreda’s book, The Mystica l City of God, for implying a trinity between God, Mary and Jesus. All allusions to the value of difference were lost; divinity was to be perceived as a singular image, either male or neuter but never female. Yet, it was their belief in the many faces of God that helped Romans accommodate Christianity, not the uniqueness of Christian theology. Christianity resembled certain elements of Roman belief, particularly the worship of Mithra, or Mithraism. As “Protector of the Empire,” Mithra was closely tied to the sun gods, Helios and Apollo. Mithra’s birthday on December 25, close to the winter solstice, became Jesus’s birthday. Shepherds were to have witnessed Mithra’s birth and were to have partaken in a last supper with Mithra before he returned to heaven. Mithra’s ascension, correlating to the sun’s return to prominence around the spring equinox, became the Christian holiday of Easter. Christians took over a cave-temple dedicated to Mithra in Rome on the Vatican Hill, making it the seat of the Catholic Church. The Mithraic high priest’s title, Pater Patrum, soon became the title for the bishop of Rome, Papa or Pope. The fathers of Christianity explained the remarkable similarities of Mithraism as the work of the devil, declaring the much older legends of Mithraism to be an insidious imitation of the one true faith. – pp. 18-24

Biblical Illiteracy

Biblical Illiteracy

Just a few years back, 1/3 of Wheaton College’s entering freshmen didn’t know that Paul’s travels are recorded in Acts or that the Christmas story is found in Matthew reports Gary Burge, Professor of New Testament. These students are mostly from strongly evangelical churches and their ignorance of Bible basics is disturbing. Biblical illiteracy is “a universal and growing problem” among students and churches. As churches turn to spiritainment to draw the masses, what often falls through the cracks is the transfer of basic doctrinal truths. Burge says, “There’s not an educational dimension [to church] any longer. We’re all about the experience, not the facts.” As a result, the younger generation is not learning the important stories, people and background of the Bible.
One News Now 4/12/07

Fast Facts

Fewer than 20% of teens have parents who pray or study the Bible as a family. Wheaton College ranks 11th in the nation in the total number of graduates who go on to earn doctorates. 55% of online teens have online social site profiles, and most of them restrict access to their profile in some way. Nearly 20% of 9th through 12th graders have carried a gun, knife or club in the past month. 1/3 of all U.S. school children are at least one grade behind. More than 513,000 American children are in foster care. 53% of Buster moms are absolutely committed to Christianity vs. 67% of Boomer moms. 33% of U.S. teens report having been in a physical fight at least once in the last year. 32% of twentysomething families have no health insurance. 58% of the US adult population never reads another book after high school. More than 233 million people in the U.S. subscribe to a cellphone service.

Why They Left

59% of formerly churched adults left their church because of “changes in their situation.” The two top specific situation changes were too busy to attend (19%) and family/home responsibilities (17%). Next were, moved (17%), work (15%) and got divorce/separated (12%).
Faith & Trends 3-4/07

Encouragement

According to Hallmark, 90% of consumers want more choices in encouragement cards that will allow them to share support in unique ways for real life situations. Do you have an encouragement strategy for your communities (board, team, clients, customers or donors)? It won’t happen if you don’t plan it.
e-Newsletter 4/2/07

Tough Customers

“As products and services have become commoditized, the ability to keep customers engaged is based on drivers other than product and price,” says brand loyalty researcher Robert Pasikoff. More and more, customer service is taking on a larger role in purchasing decisions.
Brand Week 3/19/07

Two-Day Sell Out

That’s what the U.S. Immigration Services experienced recently when it began accepting applications for H-1B work visas. 133,000 envelopes (many with multiple applications) poured in seeking the 65,000 openings. The application period was promptly closed.
Information Week

Did Jesus Sweat blood?

Before the impalement as jesus prayed in the Garden of Gesthemane, the disciple and physician Luke noted that:

“And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.”
—Luke 22:44 (NKJV)

This was written by the physician Luke, a well-educated man and a careful observer by profession.

Luke is also the only gospel writer to mention the bloody sweat, possibly because of his interest as a physician in this rare physiological phenomenon, which spoke elequently of the intense spiritual agony Jesus was suffering… (Dr. Henry M. Morris, The Defenders Bible, arginal notes for Luke 22:44)

Although this medical condition is relatively rare, according to Dr. Frederick Zugibe (Chief Medical Examiner of Rockland County, New York) it is well-known, and there have been many cases of it. The clinical term is “hematohidrosis.” “Around the sweat glands, there are multiple blood vessels in a net-like form.” Under the pressure of great stress the vessels constrict. Then as the anxiety passes “the blood vessels dilate to the point of rupture. The blood goes into the sweat glands.” As the sweat glands are producing a lot of sweat, it pushes the blood to the surface - coming out as droplets of blood mixed with sweat.

What was the source of Jesus great stress and anguish? Clearly he was in intense spiritual agony. Being the Son of God, he would have in detail everything that was about to happen to him. He knew that he was physically facing one of the most horrible forms of capital punishment there has ever been. His body was human, and he would feel everything at least as intensely as we would. Was this the source of his severe stress? It is doubtful.

The really great weight upon Jesus was the knowledge that he would soon bear the terrible trauma of taking the guilt for all of our sins upon him—my sins and yours. He knew that under this weight of sin, the Father would forsake him and thus he would endure a form of hell itself for lost sinners.

As powerful as Jesus is, he could easily have avoided all of this and simply disappeared. He could have brought down a legion of angels to protect him. He could have made his skin impenetrable. He could have anesthetized his pain so that he felt nothing. But he chose to do none of these things. Rather, he willingly chose to genuinely be “wounded for our transgressions” and “bruised for our iniquities” so that he could truly pay for our sins and suffer human death.

“…He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth.” (Isaiah 53:5,7, NKJV)

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Apologetics Press :: Scripturally Speaking

Did Jesus Sweat Blood? by Dave Miller, Ph.D.

The observant viewer of Mel Gibson’s movie, The Passion of the Christ, will note that in the garden scene, one manifestation of the agony of Jesus was the tiny blotches of blood that surfaced on His facial skin. This feature of Christ’s suffering is alluded to by Luke, the author of the New Testament books of Luke and Acts, who himself, by profession, was a physician. His writings manifest an intimate acquaintance with the technical language of the Greek medical schools of Asia Minor.

Of the four gospel writers, only Dr. Luke referred to Jesus’ ordeal as “agony” (agonia). It is because of this agony over things to come that we learn during His prayer “his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground” (Luke 22:44). Only Luke referred to Jesus’ sweat (idros)—a much-used term in medical language. And only Luke referred to Jesus’ sweat as consisting of great drops of blood (thromboi haimatos)—a medical condition alluded to by both Aristotle and Theophrastus (Hobart, 1882, pp. 80-84). The Greek term thromboi (from which we get thrombus, thrombin, et al.) refers to clots of blood (Nicoll, n.d., 1:631; Vincent, 1887, 1:425). Bible scholar Richard Lenski commented on the use of this term: “ ‘As clots,’ thromboi, means that the blood mingled with the sweat and thickened the globules so that they fell to the ground in little clots and did not merely stain the skin” (1961, p. 1077).

The Greek word hosei (“as it were”) refers to condition, not comparison, as Greek scholar Henry Alford observed:

The intention of the Evangelist seems clearly to be, to convey the idea that the sweat was (not fell like, but was) like drops of blood;—i.e., coloured with blood,—for so I understand the hosei, as just distinguishing the drops highly coloured with blood, from pure blood…. To suppose that it only fell like drops of blood (why not drops of any thing else? And drops of blood from what, and where?) is to nullify the force of the sentence, and make the insertion of haimatos not only superfluous but absurd (1874, 1:648, italics and parenthetical items in orig.; cf. Robertson, 1934, p. 1140).

We can conclude quite justifiably that the terminology used by the gospel writer to refer to the severe mental distress experienced by Jesus was intended to taken literally—i.e., that the sweat of Jesus became bloody (cf. Robertson, 1930, 2:272).

A thorough search of the medical literature demonstrates that such a condition, while admittedly rare, does occur in humans. Commonly referred to as hematidrosis or hemohidrosis (Allen, 1967, pp. 745-747), this condition results in the excretion of blood or blood pigment in the sweat. Under conditions of great emotional stress, tiny capillaries in the sweat glands can rupture (Lumpkin, 1978), thus mixing blood with perspiration. This condition has been reported in extreme instances of stress (see Sutton, 1956, pp. 1393-1394). During the waning years of the twentieth century, 76 cases of hematidrosis were studied and classified into categories according to causative factors: “Acute fear and intense mental contemplation were found to be the most frequent inciting causes” (Holoubek and Holoubek, 1996). While the extent of blood loss generally is minimal, hematidrosis also results in the skin becoming extremely tender and fragile (Barbet, 1953, pp. 74-75; Lumpkin, 1978), which would have made Christ’s pending physical insults even more painful.

From these factors, it is evident that even before Jesus endured the torture of the cross, He suffered far beyond what most of us will ever suffer. His penetrating awareness of the heinous nature of sin, its destructive and deadly effects, the sorrow and heartache that it inflicts, and the extreme measure necessary to deal with it, make the passion of Christ beyond all comprehension.

REFERENCES

Alford, Henry (1874), Alford’s Greek Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1980 reprint).

Allen, A.C. (1967), The Skin: A Clinicopathological Treatise (New York: Grune and Stratton), second edition.

Barbet, P. (1953), A Doctor at Calvary: The Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ as Described by a Surgeon (Garden City, NY: Doubleday Image Books).

Hobart, William K. (1882), The Medical Language of St. Luke (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1954 reprint).

Holoubek, J.E. and A.B. Holoubek (1996), “Blood, Sweat, and Fear. ‘A Classification of Hematidrosis,’ ” Journal of Medicine, 27[3-4]:115-33.

Lenski, R.C.H. (1961), The Interpretation of St. Luke’s Gospel (Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg).

Lumpkin, R. (1978), “The Physical Suffering of Christ,” Journal of Medical Association of Alabama, 47:8-10.

Nicoll, W. Robertson, ed. (no date), The Expositor’s Greek Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans).

Robertson, A.T. (1930), Word Pictures in the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker).

Robertson, A.T. (1934), A Grammar of the Greek New Testament in the Light of Historical Research (Nashville, TN: Broadman).

Sutton, R.L. Jr. (1956), Diseases of the Skin (St. Louis, MO: Mosby College Publishing), eleventh edition.

Vincent, M.R. (1887), Word Studies in the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1946 reprint).

---

Copyright © 2004 Apologetics Press, Inc. All rights reserved. Printed with permission

A passing thought.

Click on picture to enlarge

So, I took a snap of headlines daily for one week. This is todays. Scandal, death, torture, immorality, Pain and sadness.

Do we as humans encourage the news or does the news reflect what we need to know?

We need Gods kingdom so very bad..

Not Looking out for the Flock

A Brief Comment.

One of my concerns regarding Congregations, Churches and Outreaches, is the prevalence of a mindset that sometimes settles in. That is: Belief in Divine Direction and resulting Autonomy from governmental law. Once convinced that the “truth” is bestowed upon the individual, the organization or the religion exclusively, accountability is directed within rather than to existing authority.

Any Religion that become increasingly inward looking in terms of self determination and organizational direction, runs the risk of ignoring basic human rights and the resultant legal back lash by not conforming to the law of the country they reside in. I am not talking about individual conscience here, that is a different issue, I am referring to hiding or ignoring issues such as rape, murder, child abuse, etc. The Catholic Church has the sanctity of the confession, so the priest does not have to give information to legal authorities if requested. (Yes he does in reality or face jail)

Any Religion that arrogates unto themselves, a position of authority where none exists, runs the risk of polluting their own standards and violating Civil Law. (©gw….hey! I thought it sounded good!)

Sadly as this article printed below, taken from Robert Kings Site points out, this has happened to the Jehovahs Witnesses also.

Jehovahs Witnesses are well known for their particular beliefs. It is not my intent to discuss them here. I have found Scripturally that as Bible researchers they have been most diligent and have uncovered a lot of valid material. However, as an organisation, they are suffering the same fate as many others. The “confering” of Gods directives on an organization from the Administering Body to Congregational leadership, ultimately leads to a self ruling, self determining, self administering mini government that does not allow for resolution of crimes against humanity or legal repercussions outside of the religion. I am saddened on a number of levels.

Firstly, The victims. Oh my dear Lord above, how they must have prayed to you in deep anguish and confusion. How their minds were twisted by the lack of help.

Secondly, the appointed church officials who made the decisions that affected and wrecked the lives of the children and did nothing. Some of them against their own consciences but in line with church directives. Some of them to this day excuse themselves and believe they have the God appointed authority to do what they did.

And finally thirdly, the members of the organization who are unaware of, and if they have knowledge, continue on believing that all men are imperfect and it will be OK, God is in charge.

Well, he is.

Now the judgment has come to pass.

Read on.

As of May the 10th the mainstream media is beginning to cover the Silentlambs’ press release publicizing the Watchtower’s recent million-dollar payout to 16 victims of child sexual abuse. (Articles in the Forbes.com, International Herald Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Seattle Intelligencer, Houston Chronicle and London’s Guardian)

Evidently the legal department felt that they did not have a very strong case going into court, and so as shrewd lawyers often do they advised their client – in this case, the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society – to cut their losses and settle the cases out of court and thus avoid the public spectacle of numerous protracted trials and the potential of massive damages being awarded by outraged juries.

The exact amount of the payoff is undisclosed, however. That is because Bethel exploited the legal technique often used in out-of-court settlements by big corporations of legally silencing the plaintiffs with what is called a gag order (In this case politely called “a confidential agreement”). A gag order not only prevents the plaintiffs from disclosing the exact sum they received but, most noteworthy, it disallows them from further discussing the crimes committed against them or the negligence on the part of their adversary at law. This legal silencing of the victims serves as a striking, even sobering, reminder of the insidious dichotomy between what the Watchtower says (in publications) and what it does (in reality). By way of example, note the following published statements made in the Watchtower’s admitted full recognition of a victim’s need to be able to speak about what they suffer through:

It is often helpful for victims to talk about their experiences. “Some 20 years ago,” says a presentation sheet from the IRCT, “torture victims were often victims in a double sense. First by being exposed to the physical/psychological act of torture, and then second by not being able to talk about it.” (Awake, January 8, 2000, page 24)

Recovery doesn’t usually begin until you talk to others. A trusted friend can help you to see that what happened to you was indeed rape and was not your fault. An old proverb states: “A true companion is loving all the time, and is a brother that is born for when there is distress.” (Proverbs 17:17) Also, spiritual shepherds can “prove to be like a hiding place from the wind and a place of concealment from the rainstorm.” (Isaiah 32:2; 1 Thessalonians 5:14) For some victims, contacting a rape-crisis center or a professional counselor may be needed to help them sort out their feelings. (Awake, March 8, 1993, pp 8-9)

What a startling contrast to the reality evidenced by the legal wranglings of the Watchtower to securely muzzle victims through the legalistic maneuvering and installation of gag orders as a condition for settlement, a settlement that consequently allows the Watchtower to avoid actually accepting responsibility. Basically, the Watchtower has taken the approach: ‘Okay, here’s a few million dollars, but mind you, we have never done anything wrong.’ What unabashed boldness to not only evade any responsibility and accountability, but also pass along even the monetary burden to Jehovah’s Witnesses who regularly give monies for use as part of the Kingdom funds, by then redirecting those funds to the unconscionable handiwork of silencing victims under the pretense of justice–a point that will be readdressed later in this commentary!

After years of legal wrangling and filing motions to have the cases dismissed, no doubt one of the determining factors that caused the Watchtower’s legal team to suddenly get “righteous” was the recent Napa Valley court ruling that raised the possibility that the Society’s secret database of thousands of pedophiles, as well as confidential congregation records, could be brought to light during trial. Naturally the Governing Body would prefer to keep Jehovah’s Witnesses and the general public in the dark as regards the true extent of the prevalence of pedophiles in the organization. Purportedly the Watchtower has the names of over 23,000 pedophilic Jehovah’s Witnesses on file.

Bethel frequently says that they “abhor child abuse.” Predictably a Watchtower spokesman issued a brief statement to the press saying: “Our loving heavenly Father makes it clear in his Word, the Bible, that he abhors child abuse.”

Actually, the Bible does not specifically mention child abuse – except in the case of the horrific practice of child sacrifice. However, our loving heavenly Father does make it abundantly clear that he hates injustice – especially on the part of those who are in positions of authority. As the leadership of the Watchtower Society knows, Jehovah specifically charges all Christians, but especially those who serve as elders and shepherds of his people, “to look after orphans and widows in their tribulation.” And not only that, but God also requires that his shepherds go so far as to plead the legal case of the afflicted and downtrodden.

Now, the question thinking Jehovah’s Witnesses ought to ask is why – after the Watchtower dismissed these cases for years – yes, why it took the threat of massive payouts and the fear-inspiring prospect of further public exposure in court for the Watchtower to finally decide to do recognize the legitimacy of the plaintiffs’ legal cases.

Is it really a cause for boasting in view of the fact that Bethel had to be forced to make a boardroom decision to cut their losses and save themselves from public exposure by preventing the victims from having their day in court? Where is the righteousness in that?

If the Watchtower Society abhors child abuse as they claim, why do they silence the victims with confidential attorney’s agreements; thereby preventing others from knowing the details of the victim’s ordeal and thereby possibly raising awareness of the nature of sexual crimes against children? Are truth and righteousness served by concealing the fact that a crime has been committed against a child? Are potential victims best served by the Watchtower’s ongoing conspiracy of silence?

It is common knowledge that those who prey upon children cunningly use the child’s own sense of shame and guilt against them, and possibly even threats, in order to trick them into keeping the abuse secret. The Society’s so-called child abuse policy merely perpetuates the pedophiles’ agenda.

If the Watchtower Society were really intent on doing what is righteous in the eyes of Jehovah why didn’t they simply compensate the victims on their own, years ago? Why did they force the downtrodden and abused to seek legal redress from the courts? No doubt the victims would have settled for far less had representatives of the Society genuinely ministered to them years ago and offered some monetary compensation for their injury.

As Paul said to the Corinthian Christians who were dragging each other before non-Christian judges: “Really, then, it means altogether a defeat for you that you are having lawsuits with one another. Why do you not rather let yourselves be wronged? Why do you not rather let yourselves be defrauded? To the contrary, you wrong and defraud, and your brothers at that.”

It is altogether a defeat for the Watchtower that they had to be forced by the plaintiff’s lawyers to do what is right – not that the use of a gag order is the right thing.

The Society’s spokesman went on to hypocritically and lyingly state: “As an organization, we will continually strive to educate families and congregations with sound Scriptural teachings that they can use to protect their children from child molesters. And we will continue to do our utmost to protect children from this horrible crime and sin.”

In saying “we will continue to do our utmost to protect children” is to deny any fault in the many cases of abuse that have occurred in the past. But if the leadership of the Watchtower Society has always done their “utmost to protect children,” then why the million-dollar payout?

The sleazy confidentiality agreements aside, the fact that the Watchtower has paid damages is in itself an admission of guilt. If the Watchtower is not at fault then why are they letting themselves be shaken down by a bunch of ‘worldly lawyers’? Why are they allowing kingdom funds to be extorted in such a way? Why not go to court and fight for righteousness and let Jehovah defend them from the false accusations?

Furthermore, is the Society’s spokesman being truthful when he states that the organization has educated “families and congregations” so that they can best protect their children from child molesters? It is true, the Watchtower has published a number of articles on the topic of child abuse, but in all of their writing on the subject they have never once cautioned parents not to entrust their children to any man, even if he is an elder or ministerial servant or whatever. After all, many of the abusers have been Watchtower appointed elders and ministerial servants.

As reported by Silentlambs, some of the 16 recently-compensated victims were abused by a slime-ball by the name of Fredrick “Rick” McLean, who is still at large and presently listed on America’s Most Wanted fugitives. Now the question: If the Watchtower were really concerned about justice why have they never alerted Jehovah’s Witnesses to the activities of this former ministerial servant? Bethel publishes the most widely-read religious journal in the world, why haven’t they plastered a picture of “Ricky” McLean in the Awake Magazine and offered a reward to anyone who can help the police nap this pervert? Why does the Watchtower do nothing while public funds are being used by law enforcement agencies to track this guy down? The Society has done absolutely nothing, yet all the while Bethel bellows on about how they “abhor child abuse.”

Perhaps the most disgusting aspect of the Society’s latest legal maneuverings, as was mentioned earlier in this commentary, is the fact that their multi-million dollar settlement was paid out of funds donated to the Society for the advancement of the “World Wide Work” without notifying the donors of how their funds are being used. The Society even boasts of the fact that oftentimes children from around the world donate small amounts of money to the Watchtower from their allowances and elderly widows living on limited means donate from their meager funds or even leave the Watchtower Society large sums in their wills. If Jehovah’s Witnesses only knew that their gifts were used to gag persons who were sexually abused from speaking out they might think twice before dropping their money into the contribution box at the kingdom hall.

Of course, the Watchtower Society will never disclose their backroom double dealings to Jehovah’s Witnesses. As a result of this supreme arrogance, the publishers, whose donations also support the entire Bethel headquarters staff, are not entitled to know what the Governing Body does with their money. In all of their literature we may be sure no mention will ever be made of the fact that kingdom funds were used to buy the silence of abuse victims.

Jehovah’s Witnesses are pathetically ignorant of the Watchtower’s treacherous doings. Up to this very moment the rank-and-file Jehovah’s Witness has been deluded into thinking that the Watchtower is being unfairly accused of covering up child abuse by disgruntled ex-Jehovah’s Witnesses and “opposers.”

Of course, Jehovah knows the truth. He sees all. He sees through Bethel’s phony pretense of righteousness.

In October of 2006, e-watchman sponsored the distribution of an open letter to the Watchtower Society entitled: A Conspiracy of Silence Soon to End. It was distributed to several thousand congregations of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the United States, Canada and Great Britain, for the purpose of informing the elders of the oncoming judgments of God contained in the prophetic Scriptures.

As in the days of Jeremiah, Jehovah gave the leadership of the Jewish nation many opportunities to make their dealings good so as to retain Jehovah’s blessing and continue residing in their land. However, Jehovah specifically warned the Jews not to presume to have his blessing merely because Jerusalem was home to God’s magnificent temple. Through Jeremiah, Jehovah said: “Do not put your trust in fallacious words, saying, ‘The temple of Jehovah, the temple of Jehovah, the temple of Jehovah they are!’”

God went on to say that the way his people could retain his blessing was by carrying out justice and by doing what is right and not defrauding the alien resident, fatherless boy or widow. The Jews failed miserably to meet God’s standards of righteousness and so God caused the ruthless Babylonian army to sack Jerusalem and completely destroy Solomon’s temple.

God’s standards do not change. Just because Jehovah’s Witnesses may have enjoyed God’s good favor in the past does not mean that they always will. The Society has made it abundantly clear that they have no intention of doing what is right in behalf of the downtrodden. Their most recent settlement was obviously motivated by mere expediency. If the Society really cared about the lives of those that have been crushed by the cruel crimes of pedophilic Jehovah’s Witnesses wouldn’t we expect to see some formal apology to the victims? Would that be too much to ask of those who claim to be the lowly and humble footstep followers of the Lord Jesus Christ?

The Watchtower Society claims to be the “temple class.” That is to say, the Governing Body present themselves as the earthly leadership of the spiritual temple of God. For that reason all of Jehovah’s Witnesses assume that Bethel will always bask in the light of divine favor.

But in light of the general assumptions of Jehovah’s Witnesses buttressed by Bethel’s latest official utterance, it is clear that the leadership is essentially promoting our trusting in the very same self-dooming, fallacious words of Jeremiah’s prophecy; namely: ‘The temple of Jehovah, the temple of Jehovah, the temple of Jehovah they are!’

Just as Jehovah once used the Assyrians and Chaldeans as his forge hammer for smashing Israel and then Judea and “all the earth,” so too, Jehovah also has a modern-day avenger, soon to emerge as the foretold last king. (See A King of Fierce Countenance, The Watchtower: A Unique Calamity)

In the opening verses of the 10th chapter of Isaiah Jehovah pronounces “Woe to those who are enacting harmful regulations and those who, constantly writing, have written out sheer trouble, in order to push away the lowly ones from a legal case and to wrest away justice from the afflicted ones of my people, for the widows to become their spoil, and that they may plunder even the fatherless boys!”

The Watchtower Society has indeed “enacted harmful regulations” in the form of their “child abuse policy” that protects the abuser and which has “pushed away the lowly ones from a legal case” and wrested “away justice from the afflicted ones” of Jehovah’s people – all to the greater glory of Jehovah’s untarnished visible organization.

However, Bethel’s billion-dollar nest egg is due to be pillaged by Jehovah himself, even as Jehovah’s decree at Isaiah 10:12-14 sates: “With the power of my hand I shall certainly act, and with my wisdom, for I do have understanding; and I shall remove the boundaries of peoples, and their things stored up I shall certainly pillage, and I shall bring down the inhabitants just like a powerful one. And just as if a nest, my hand will reach the resources of the peoples; and just as when one gathers eggs that have been left, I myself will gather up even all the earth, and there will certainly be no one fluttering his wings or opening his mouth or chirping.”

No wonder the letter of James pronounces woe upon Christians who have fattened their hearts for the day of slaughter. Those who live like kings and princes in the ivory towers of Patterson and Brooklyn should give heed. Yes, indeed, let those who imagine that Jesus judged Jehovah’s house back in 1918, and that Christ supposedly appointed the Watchtower over all the master’s belongings already, wake up to the judgment to come. Let those who live off the nickels and dimes cajoled from the orphans and widows, but who deny the afflicted the wage of true justice, pay attention to the most relevant and timely message of the letter of James:

“Come, now, you rich men, weep, howling over your miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted, and your outer garments have become moth-eaten. Your gold and silver are rusted away, and their rust will be as a witness against you and will eat your fleshy parts. Something like fire is what you have stored up in the last days. Look! The wages due the workers who harvested your fields but which are held up by you, keep crying out, and the calls for help on the part of the reapers have entered into the ears of Jehovah of armies. You have lived in luxury upon the earth and have gone in for sensual pleasure. You have fattened your hearts on the day of slaughter. You have condemned, you have murdered the righteous one. Is he not opposing you?” (James 5:1-6)

A Thought….Religious Stuff

The True Grace of God

If not for God’s infinite, inscrutable grace, where would we be? We would be nowhere. We would be nothing. Period.

Christian life begins with an admission, an admission of undoneness. This undoneness is called sin. “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God…” (Romans 3:23) This frank admission is the beginning of real wisdom and progress.

Humanist theories may propose that man—by just one more peace conference, one more breakthrough in science—can pull himself up. Evolutionists may—very unscientifically—hypothesize that man is getting “better” now than at any time in the past. “New Agers” may dream—with old Eastern thought—that man is on the dawn of a better day—if only we can do just a little better ourselves.

But the Christian is free to admit that we are at the mercy of God’s plan of grace. “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Being justified freely by his [God’s] grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 3:23, 24)

How then could anyone think of adding anything to God’s grace? Would there be anything a Christian can—or must—do beyond being justified simply by faith because of the grace of God? The Apostle Paul says, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God. Not by works lest any man should boast.” On the other hand, in another place Paul does say, “Work out your salvation with fear and trembling.” And, of course, the Apostle James says, “Faith without works is dead.” (James 2:20) Are these scriptures contradictory to clear teaching that we are saved by God’s grace by faith in Jesus Christ? Not at all.

Faith, Works and Salvation

Most of the Apostles’ apparent arguments against “works” are taken from the context of keeping legalisms of the Law of Moses, the Law Covenant. The Apostles dealt extensively in this area, showing how once justified by faith, we cannot please God by works of the Law. Needless to say, one could not be justified before God in the first place by works of the Law—instead of faith in Jesus.

What does it mean to be “saved by faith”? Furthermore, how are we to understand “salvation”?

First, one is saved from the condemnation which rests heavily and squarely on all Adam’s posterity, “As in Adam all die.” (1 Corinthians 15:22) There is nothing anyone can do to save himself from this predicament of sin and its consequence of death. “Our righteousness is as filthy rags” Only God’s merciful grace alone can provide a recovery from this no-way-out situation.

Paul adds a further dimension to “salvation” when talking to the Church at Rome, “For now is our salvation nearer than when we first believed (Romans 13:11). If a Christian had salvation when he first believed, how could salvation be said to be “nearer” at any point after that time? Also, Jesus himself taught, “He that endureth to the end shall be saved” (Matthew 10:22). Paul too warns, “Ye are saved if ye keep in memory what I have preached to you, unless ye have believed in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:2).

It is evident that after a Christian receives justification by faith, he or she must “show his faith by his works” (James 2:18). Justification is not eternal life. Salvation from condemnation is one thing. And salvation to life is another. The Christian must grow in Christ-like character and serve God with his whole heart, mind, soul and strength. Once we become “branches” in the true vine of Christ, we must bear fruit. If a branch does not bear fruits of spiritual development, it is “cut off.” John 15:1-8

The Justified Must Bear Fruit

Where then is God’s grace? God’s grace—through Jesus—enables the Christian to grow and mature. “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing” (John 15:5). A Christian must do his part after he is freely justified by God. To expect grace to continue without growth is to “receive the grace of God in vain” (2 Corinthians 6:1). One must not presume on the grace of God. Grace received without responsible living is grace received in vain.

What kind of fruitage must a Christian bear? Peter says we are to add to our faith, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness and finally love. How necessary is fruitbearing? “If ye do these things, ye shall never fall: for so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:3-11).

God’s grace does not stop with justification. Grace is the great enabler that nurtures Christian growth. This growth process is called sanctification. “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work” (2 Corinthians 9:8). The Apostle Paul’s personal testimony acknowledges the role of grace as an enabler, “By the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.” 1 Corinthians 15:10

“By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:8-10 Does the Scripture contradict itself? No. We are saved by grace through faith. Amen! But the text also reveals that we must daily walk in the foreordained will (good works) of God.

As we try to do His will we shall realize more and more, as did the Apostle Paul, how very imperfect we are, how we can of ourselves do no work that is acceptable to God and how deeply we need the grace of God in Christ Jesus. As our Lord Jesus said, “So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.” Luke 17:10

Some of the same Christians who believe expecting “works” on a Christian’s part is demeaning God’s grace—also believe countless billions will be lost forever because they do not accept God’s grace now. Consider this question: Which of these two views is demeaning to God’s grace—we can do nothing now or God can do nothing later?

The Gospel of the Grace of God

What did Paul mean when he so eloquently referred to the “Gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24)? Paul himself identified the “gospel” as given to Abraham, “In thee shall all nations be blessed” (Galatians 3:8). He goes on to explain, “Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds as of many; but as of one. And to thy seed, which is Christ” (Vs. 16). Is the “seed” from Abraham only Jesus Christ? Paul does not leave us to wonder. “Ye are all one in Christ. And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Vss. 28, 29). Which promise?

“By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore…and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed” (Genesis 22:17, 18).

Does the “gospel of the grace of God” teach that the Christian church, the seed of Abraham, would alone be blessed? No! The gospel is this: In Abraham’s seed all nations would be blessed. Truly, the “seed” would be blessed by being a blesser to the nations. “So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham” (Galatians 3:9). Abraham will be blessed because he will be a blesser! If we are to be blessed “with Abraham,” not specifically by him, we are to share the same type of blessing he does. The Christian Church will be the bride of the “king” and Abraham will be among the “princes of all the earth” (Psa. 45:14,16). Abraham and his “seed” together will be blessers—of the nations.

The gospel of God’s love and grace has been “preached [virtually] in all the world for a witness unto all nations.” (Matthew 24:14) Are we to believe that if the nations have had the gospel “preached” to them, the promise to Abraham is fulfilled? A “witness” does not mean a conversion of the world. The gospel was sent out to “take out of them [the Gentile nations] a people for his name” (Acts 15:14). Is this preaching alone all there is to the blessing of the nations? Certainly it could not be so. Although the gospel has been printed in every language of the earth, precious few of earth’s billions have really been able to hear or believe.

God’s Grace to the Nations

Might the promise to Abraham so long ago, then, have been an overstatement? Or is the promised blessing this—the future “healing of the nations” (Revelation 22:2)? For the Christian who has been blessed by believing the gospel, the promise may seem to be fulfilled—but not so for the vast majority of people blinded by Satan. “The god of this world [Satan] hath blinded the minds of them which believe not lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” (2 Corinthians 4:4)

Thus the gospel has not been understood—if even heard at all— by the many but it will be in “due time” (1 Timothy 2:4-6).

The great opportunity for the masses of humanity to receive the gospel will come when Jesus binds Satan a thousand years “that he should deceive the nations no more” (Revelation 20:2,3). Christ’s thousand-year Kingdom is when God’s grace will bless the nations.

“And in this mountain [Kingdom on earth] shall the Lord of hosts destroy the vail that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces. And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God we have waited for him, and he will save us we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation” (Isaiah 25:6-9).

To say God’s grace will only save a few now while Satan is the “god of this world”—is not grace at all. To say God’s grace does not require that a Christian must grow and show his faith by his works—is not grace at all. But God’s grace does enable the faith justified Christian to grow. And God’s grace has planned blessings for all others as well—blessings that “eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9).

This grace is grace.

Roundup

Ultimate Sacrifice John Muir, the famous 19th century explorer and naturalist, traveled to Alaska in 1879. In his book, Travels in Alaska, Muir tells an amazing story of the Thlinkit Indians. Two Thlinkit tribes, the Stickeen and the Sitka, had been at war all summer. It was getting late in the year, and if they didn’t stop battling so they could store up food for the winter, they would all starve to death. So the Stickeen chief went out alone to a clearing and called out the leaders of the Sitka tribe. “We have fought long enough; let us make peace. You brave Sitka warriors go home, and we will go home, and we will all set out to dry salmon and berries before it is too late.” The Sitka chief replied, “You may well say let us stop fighting, when you have had the best of it. You have killed ten more of my tribe than we have killed of yours. Give us ten Stickeen men to balance our blood account; then, and not till then, will we make peace and go home.” “Very well,” replied the Stickeen chief, “you know my rank. You know that I am worth ten common men and more. Take me and make peace.” This noble offer was promptly accepted; the Stickeen chief stepped forward and was shot down in sight of the fighting bands. Peace was thus established, and all made haste to their homes and ordinary work. The chief literally gave himself as a sacrifice for his people. He died that they might live. Thirty years later, John’s account of Jesus was shared with the Thlinkit tribes. The chiefs immediately understood the message. “Yes, your words are good,” they said. “The Son of God, the Chief of chiefs, the Maker of all the world, must be worth more than all mankind put together; therefore, when His blood was shed, the salvation of the world was made sure.” Randall Niles, Think Blast! Vol. 5:31

Political liberals are more than twice (47%) as likely not to be churched as are political conservatives (19%). A police officer under extreme stress is 5 times more likely to take his own life than to be shot in the line of duty.According to The Wall Street Journal, approximately 800 retail stores closed nationwide in ’06. More than 70% of moms search the Net for product-specific information before making certain purchases. 40 million Americans have an anxiety disorder. 80% of employers run a background check during the interview process. Nearly 15% of teens admit to “Huffing” chemical vapors from household items such as paint and deodorant.

Kids and Books

Kids are buying books in quantities we’ve never seen before reports Booklist magazine. Credit a bulging teen population (30 million plus), a surge of global talent and perhaps a bit of Harry Potter afterglow. Teen book sales rose 25% between ’99 and ’05. Fantasy and graphic novels are especially hot, and adventure, romance, humor and gritty coming-of-age tales remain perennial favorites. Yet the National Assessment of Educational Progress reports 12th-graders’ reading scores are virtually unchanged since ‘02. The teens who are reading welcome the growing sophistication of young adult literature. Teens have a lot of dispos able income, and they’re willing to spend it on books.
Seattlepi.com 3/8/07

Bible Buyers

Bible buyers don’t buy on impulse, but 88% know before shopping they want to buy a Bible. They spend an average of 21 minutes making a Bible purchase, and 61% buy them as gifts. The two top Bible gifting occasions are ceremonial events (32%) such as graduation, birthday, wedding, etc., and life passage events (17%) or life stage transition (e.g. youth to adult). The average buyer spends $33 per Bible or $44 each if buying multiple copies.
Aspiring Retail 3/07

Unleashing the Leaders Around You

The need to control may be one of the most destructive traits in church leaders. The attempt to dictate the outcome of every decision, to weigh in on every proposal, is like acid rain, which poisons the environment of leadership. The most damage is often done by the leader who manipulates subtly, who outwardly talks about team leadership, but rules like an iron-fisted dictator. Management Guru Peter Drucker said, “Beware of the person who talks loudly about participatory leadership; that person is likely a dictator.” Gordon MacKenzie, former Creative Director at Hallmark, observes in his book Orbiting the Giant Hairball, “My last boss at Hallmark, a fellow by the name of Bob Kipp, sat at the wheel of one of the corporate speedboats. I was at the end of a towline on water skis. We spent our time together skimming across the great Lake Hallmark. Kipp was so sure of who he was, and why he was where he was and where the power was, that he was not threatened at all when I would ski around in a wide arc until I was even with the boat and sometimes even past it. He knew I was not going to start pulling the boat with him in it. It just doesn’t work that way. The power remains in the boat. But, in allowing me to ski past him — in a sense, allowing me to lead — he would unleash in me an excitement about our enterprise that served our shared goals. If you are in a position of power and want to lead well, remember: Allow those you lead … to lead … when they feel the need. All will benefit.”
Adapted from Unleashing the Leaders Around You, by Dave Goetz, Leadership Journal 10/6/99

Cohabitation

About a third of first births among white women come before marriage, compared with three-quarters among black women. As for children, 55% of blacks, 40% of Hispanics and 30% of whites spend some of their childhood with cohabiting parents.
Washington Post 3/4/07

Faith Facts

The latest Newsweek poll found 91% of American adults say they believe in God and nearly half reject the scientific theory of evolution. Despite rising secularism, Christians still far outnumber any other faith group. 82% of American adults identify themselves as Christian. Only 5% are religious non-Christians. Time magazine recently reported 85% of Americans follow a Christian faith, 66% have no doubts God exists and 11% believe in God but have some doubts. According to Newsweek, only 6% do not believe in a God at all; 10% identify themselves as having “no religion”; and 3% are atheist. The poll further found that 47% feel the country is more accepting of atheists today than before and 49% personally know an atheist.
Newsweek 4/2/07
Affluent Americans

Americans with annual household income over $100,000 spend a median of 17 hours a week online, vs. 14 for everyone else. Affluent Americans spend more time on the Internet searching instead of surfing according to a JupiterResearch study. They also are more aware of advertising and are more active online. 20% of affluent people visit Web sites dedicated to business compared with 11% of others, and 37% of affluents do research for work online vs. 27% of non-affluents. So, if you’re marketing to affluents, it should be about search advertising and giving people resources so they can find information online rather than banner and pop-up ads. It is best to target affluents via paid search, product reviews posted on company Web sites and content on social media sites. 43% of affluents use instant messaging, vs. 36% of people with lesser incomes. 26% read blogs and 11% are blog-authors. Among non-affluents, those figures are 22% and 6%, respectively.
Marketing Daily 3/8/07

Giving

Charitable contributions to colleges and universities in the U.S. grew by 9.4% during ‘06, reaching $28 billion.
NonProfit Times 3/21/07

Religious Book Sales

Religious book sales were up 28.2% in January, ($34.6 million), according to the Association of American Publishers (AAP). That compares to an 8.3% drop in December and 10.2% for ’06. Sales for all book categories were up 6.4% for the month.
Christian e-Tailing 3/20/07