Uncategorized

Trump And Iran

-The Trump administration is not giving any rational, consistent basis for their attacking Iran.


-Therefore, this is an unjust war.


-The US is shooting million dollar missiles at $50,000 Iranian drones and missiles in an attempt to take them out. I’ve heard that they’ve shot up to 11 of these and still failed to take out the Iranian weapon.


-Even if Iran never hit another target, it would be a great tradeoff for each $50,000 Iranian investment to cost the US millions of dollars. That is foolish and unsustainable. We’re already massively in debt.


-There were multiple articles from reputable newspapers reporting that 100 or so Iranian school girls were killed by a US strike. I haven’t heard any further reporting on that, so I don’t know if that is being swept under the rug, or if there’s some reason to doubt that is true. But if it’s true, whatever Americans participated in that need to be executed for murder.


-If that is being swept under the rug, we’re not doing the perpetrators any favors by shielding them from prosecution. They will stand before God as murderers either way. Will they be informed by men of that fact or will men assuage their consciences? Which scenario would make these murderers more likely to seek the forgiveness in Christ and spend eternity in heaven?


-The likelihood of the Iranian regime change here is unlikely. What is victory here? Do they put in ground troops, which is almost certainly required for regime change? That would be completely stupid.


-If America is fighting an unjust war and killing innocent Iranians, how are we not extremely worried about God’s wrath? We already deserve God’s wrath. At what point do we run out of God’s mercy?


-What percentage of pastors are asking that question? If it’s not some large majority, American evangelicalism is in big trouble.


-Are pastors just going to keep preaching the same milk as always? At what point do we start applying Scripture to the real world and stop navel-gazing?

Uncategorized

If You Don’t Know Your Rights, You Don’t Have Any Rights

I’ve stated the title to this post on this blog several times and posted videos proving it each time. Here it is again:

If a cop comes up to you, and demands your ID, do you know whether you are within your rights to not show it? If you don’t know, you could assume that you have to, because the cop is telling you what to do, and you just assume the cop is telling the truth. They’re willing to bluff you (lie), and you have to be willing to call their bluff. You know a cop is lying because his lips are moving. Bluffing in a game of poker is acceptable, because that’s part of the game you agree to play. Cops should be fired for bluffing.

Cop worshipers will say the purpose of police is to protect your rights. Obviously, they’re completely wrong. If they were there to protect your rights, they’d inform you of your rights and verify that you actually want to give up your rights before you did so.

Of course, the obvious question is what would any of these guys’ IDs tell the cops? The cops just want to run their IDs to see of they have a warrant out for their arrest. They want to bluff and intimidate them into leaving.

At one point when I was doing evangelism in Canon, people were calling the cops on us every time we went. One moronic bunch of cops came within a hair of arresting us for disorderly conduct. After getting a lawyer to write a letter to the city council, attorney, chief of police, the police chief issued a notice to the 911 dispatchers not to send police unless the caller alleged an actual crime. They wouldn’t send police if the callers were only saying that there’s guys on the sidewalk talking to people and handing out tracts. That’s the only way to protect people’s rights–is for cops not to show up if there’s no report of an actual crime.

Uncategorized

Romans 13 Hypocrites

The ROMANS 13!!!! crowd likes to say that illegal immigrants are breaking the law and it’s a sin to break the law.

Judgment begins in the house of God. Christians are supposed to judge, as long as they hold themselves to at least as high a standard as they hold others. Is the ROMANS 13!!!! crowd holding themselves to the same standard they hold immigrants to? Do they ever break the speed limit or fail to come to a complete stop? Have they ever texted while driving? Do they get a permit when they replace a water heater or do home improvement projects that require a permit? Do they carry a gun in places they shouldn’t and have all the proper permits? Do they report any profit they make when they sell something privately?

That crowd might say illegal immigration is a serious crime while speeding isn’t. I don’t see why that matters. Romans 13 makes no distinction. But even if it did, sneaking across the border is a misdemeanor but overstaying a visa is a civil infraction like a speeding ticket.

Even if someone keeps the laws perfectly themselves, the people committing the greater sin in this area is the government acting contrary to the Constitution, abusing immigrants and taking away our freedoms. The ROMANS 13!!!! crowd needs to be at least as passionate about holding government to the standard of Romans 13:3-4.

So ROMANS 13!!!! people need to seriously consider whether they’re hypocrites who are sinfully judging.

Uncategorized

Brain Dead Reading of Romans 13

I’m always amazed at how people cannot see that Romans 13:3-4 place huge constraints on government. They constantly make the mistake of thinking that good and evil are defined by men. If you believe that, you’re not a Christian. Christians take their definition of good and evil from God alone. I want to post those two verses, though you should always read verses in context, so feel free to do that. And then, I will post a random guy’s comments about those verses where he misrepresents what it’s saying.

Romans 13:3-4: For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4 for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. 

Here’s what this guy said about these verses:
“Paul reinforces this point by asking, “Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval” (Romans 13:3). This does not mean law enforcement never errs, but it does establish its God-ordained function. Authority is meant to benefit those who obey the law and restrain those who do not” [emphasis mine].

Those verses say if you do good, you have nothing to worry about. It doesn’t say if you obey the law you have nothing to worry about. Verse 4 makes it even clearer. Wrongdoers are people who commit crimes according to God’s definition, and His wrath is on them. Government is His servant to carry out His wrath. Not the wrath of the state.

I thought it was interesting to see someone who seems to have almost subconsciously pervert God’s word. I think he was genuinely trying to interpret it correctly, but people just approach it with their own presuppositions and miss the point.

Uncategorized

Racist Immigration Restrictions

It’s obvious that many conservatives want to limit immigration because they prefer white people. ICE doesn’t go around asking white people for their papers because they might be here illegally from Norway. But white people are the problem. Here are some excellent points from Charles Binham:

“It isn’t Immigrant Takeover. It’s White Suicide. White leaders caused housing to be unaffordable, supported abortion, celebrated homosexuality, emphasized women working, and didn’t let boys play unsupervised.”

Uncategorized

What is Anarchy?

Many words have more than one definition. When people decry anarchy, they are usually talking about a loss of control and chaos. Specifically, when there is a lack of justice for criminals–where people can do whatever they want without consequence. Christians will cite Judges 21:25 as an example of this. It says, “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” A lack of criminal justice would be a big problem in Scripture.

There is a wide array of anarchists ranging from anarcho-communists to anarcho-capitalists. I only care to defend anarcho-capitalism. Before King Saul became Israel’s first king, Israel was ruled by the Lord. Human judges were in place to carry out criminal justice. Neighbors might hold trials and the witnesses in a death penalty trial were to be the first to throw the stones in a stoning. There were no prisons, no paid police, no king, no president. Only everyday people who were supposed to know God’s law. They didn’t even have an army. Formal judges even led Israel into battles, without authority to force people to join the army. If the people believed the war was unjust, they didn’t show up to fight. If they thought it was just, they knew God was fighting on their behalf.



That is anarchy–where there is no human authority to force anyone to do anything. No one to force you to pay taxes or force you to seek their permission to do something that isn’t sinful or get permission to do something that is sinful. The only control anyone has over someone is when they’ve criminally harmed someone else. Your neighbors and townspeople will make sure you are fairly tried and that your just sentence is executed. Israel at the time of the judges had no human rulers. It was an anarchy.

But if those who decry anarchy are worried that criminals aren’t receiving justice, that is exactly what we have in the United States right now. Sixty million babies have been murdered by abortion, and it’s perfectly legal. There is a mass slaughter going on; it’s just that it’s not happening where we can see it but in abortion clinics.

Uncategorized

Is Your Church Really a Battleship?

We attended a prospective members class at a local church. They said the church isn’t a cruise ship but a battle ship. I have used that analogy myself and I like the analogy. When I say it, I mean that we are engaged in a battle to expand God’s kingdom by the spread of the gospel and teaching the nations to obey all that Christ commands (Matt. 28:18-20). How the church used the analogy has been bugging me and it took me a couple weeks to figure out why.

The guy used the analogy to say that we are expected to contribute to the church by volunteering in various roles. We’re not supposed to come here to be served. I appreciate it as far as that goes. A battleship has janitors and cooks that never fire a gun or steer the ship, and I understand that some people serve in ways that may not be directly engaging in battle. But in the church’s analogy, they don’t actually mean anything by being a battle ship. They just mean it’s not a cruise ship where people come to be served. Their battleship never leaves port to fight any battles. Their battleship is always parked at the dock and the sailors show up on Sunday morning and then go home.

They do a fair job of telling people that they are to go out and spread the gospel, but there is no organization to that. It’s all about Sunday morning. I don’t think Sunday morning is about battling at all. Everyone comes and gets coffee and listens to the sermon and maybe they chit chat a little.

If there is any analogy you want to use only for Sunday morning assembly, it that it is supposed to be a hospital for the wounded to come and receive comfort. But that would be because we are out battling all week and these battles lead to wounds. Jesus offers healing through fellowship with other Christians, eating together and the Lord’s supper in the midst of that meal.

In order to use the battleship analogy, you need to get the ship out of port and into battle. There is no shortage of battles to be fought that lend themselves to being fought by a team. The main one is abortion. We also need to get as many kids out of public school as possible. We need to preach the gospel. I’m sure there are plenty of other good ideas. Wouldn’t it have been nice if there were churches in any real battles. They like to talk about discipleship, but the best kind of discipleship would be on-the-job training.

Uncategorized

A Sobering Passage

If you want to be sobered up real quick, read Matthew 25:31-46 where Jesus talks about Judgment Day. There is a pastor on Facebook who I respect in many ways, but it was shocking the way he responded to my questions about this passage.

He posted about how supposedly the cops tricked protesters into protesting in the wrong place while ICE deported people without oversight from the protesters. I asked him what the definition of strangers was in Matthew 25:35 & 43, which say:

35: “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me…”

43: “ I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.”

Here’s what I said, “Hi Steve. I was wondering who you think Jesus was referring to when he said we are to welcome “strangers” in Matthew 25:35, 43. Strangers in some Old Testament translations is referring to immigrants to Israel. If Jesus was referring to immigrants, would advocating for government to deport immigrants be a violation of the principle Jesus was getting at?
—————————————–
Here’s his first response, “there is a wall around the heavenly Jerusalem. Not everybody gets in unless they qualify.

While the illegal immigrant is here we must treat them with respect and deport them respectfully
——————————————
My response:
I guess, from your response, you believe that Jesus is referring to immigrants in Matthew 25. Is advocating that they be respectfully deported obedient to Jesus commanding us to welcome strangers?

I’m not sure how to apply the architecture of heavenly Jerusalem to immigration policies.

—————————————–
His response:
There is a law. If they are here illegally, then they are lawbreakers. They must be deported respectfully, courteously and quickly. And I’d be happy to give them a cup of cold water in Jesus name if they ask.
—————————————–

Good laws have to be enforced and criminals must be punished according to God’s wrath (Romans 13:4). However, Jesus’ didn’t say welcome a stranger even though God’s wrath abides on them. He wouldn’t say welcome someone you know to be a murderer, kidnapper or thief who is a fugitive. Jesus was speaking to an audience who knew that foreigners and downtrodden people were welcome in Israel, even though it was a country surrounded by hostile neighbors.

Men don’t get to make up whatever laws they want, but carry out justice according to God’s Word. Moving isn’t a sin or a crime. What is a crime is government forcing citizens to pay for immigrants to be on welfare. Don’t blame immigrants for what is actually caused by government.

Here’s the standard. Deuteronomy 23:15-16: You shall not give up to his master a slave who has escaped from his master to you. 16 He shall dwell with you, in your midst, in the place that he shall choose within one of your towns, wherever it suits him. You shall not wrong him.

That is what Jesus was talking about when he said to welcome stangers. If you’re advocating that people be deported, you’re in violation of what He was saying and you might think you’re a sheep, but if you are doing the things goats do, you’re going to end up in hell.

I can’t believe a pastor was so flippant about that passage when it’s so sobering to me.

Uncategorized

Scoffers

I’ve been thinking about what the best way to spread the gospel and how to teach the nations to obey all that Christ has commanded. I recently left a comment about what God’s law teaches about immigration, and 39 people left likes or laughs–mostly laughs. I could go somewhere and pass out tracts, and I think that’s a good thing to do. I posted that comment and I consider it to be equivalent of passing out 39 tracts. Probably more, because all the people who read it didn’t necessarily react.

The comments under it have started to fizzle out as the post ages, but this morning there was one more comment.

Imagine someone being given a paraphrase of Scripture about what people going to heaven ought to be doing (with the verse reference) and then laughing at it. If you read this passage, this seems to be exactly what the goats would do. I guess all we can do is pray for her. Our job is to tell people what the Bible says, and leave the results to God.

Uncategorized

Dumb Open Borders Objection

Objection:

Heaven has borders. Not everyone gets in.

Response:

All people are commanded to repent and trust Jesus so that they will end up in heaven. The gates of heaven/New Jerusalem will remain open forever (Revelation 21:25). It’s hell that prevents people from leaving.

The whole analogy is false, but even if it were true, it’s not applicable. We know that government isn’t to harass people who aren’t committing a crime as defined by God (Romans 13:3-4).