6/11/15

From Mark Copeland... "EQUIPPING THE SAINTS FOR MINISTRY" Areas Of Service In The Body




                  "EQUIPPING THE SAINTS FOR MINISTRY"

                      Areas Of Service In The Body

INTRODUCTION

1. In our previous lesson we noticed the following truths about body of
   Christ...
   a. The body of Christ has many members - cf. 1Co 12:12,14
   b. Not all members have the same function - cf. Ro 12:4,6a
   c. Every function is crucial to the operation of the body 
      - cf. 1Co 12:21-22; Ep 4:15-16

2. Therefore the challenges we face are these...
   a. To be aware of the different ways that members can serve in the body
   b. To encourage members to develop those functions that best suit 
      their abilities and opportunities to serve
   c. To provide direction and opportunity for those willing and 
      prepared to serve in their different functions

3. In an effort to meet the first challenge, in this study we will...
   a. Summarize the four basic areas of service in the body of Christ
   b. Provide examples of roles that people can fulfill within each
      basic area of service

[Let's begin with an area of service in the body that is evident every
time we assemble...]

I. THE AREA OF "PUBLIC WORSHIP"

   A. PUBLIC WORSHIP AS AN AREA OF SERVICE IN THE BODY OF CHRIST...
      1. We are commanded not to forsake our assembling together, for
         therein we can exhort one another to love and good works 
         - He 10:24-25
      2. There are certain commands that we can keep only in the 
         context of our coming together
         a. The command to observe the Lord's Supper - 1Co 11:20-34
         b. The command to lay by in store - 1Co 16:1-2
      3. We have an example of the early Christians meeting on the 
         first day of the week to carry out such commands - cf. Ac 20:7
      4. Guidelines for our assemblies have been given...
         a. "Let all things be done for edification" - 1Co 14:26
         b. "Let all things be done decently and in order" - 1Co 14:40

   B. SAMPLE "ROLES" IN THE AREA OF PUBLIC WORSHIP...
      1. Those that direct the congregation in its worship...
         a. Making announcements
         b. Leading singing
         c. Leading prayer
         d. Reading Scriptures
         e. Assisting in the Lord's Supper (Communion), and the 
            Collection (Offering)
         f. Offering short exhortations or invitations
         g. Preaching sermons
      2. Other roles that expedite the public worship...
         a. Serving as ushers
         b. Taking attendance
         c. Preparing the communion
         d. Taping the service (either video or audio)

[Perhaps you can think of other roles that fall into the framework of
the public worship.  But these should suffice to illustrate that there
is room for service by people with varying abilities.

Let's now consider...]

II. THE AREA OF "EDIFICATION"

   A. EDIFICATION AS AN AREA OF SERVICE IN THE BODY OF CHRIST...
      1. Edification, or building up the body of Christ, is a major 
         function in the work of the church - cf. Ep 4:11-16
      2. Much of our edification takes place in the public worship, but
         there other avenues as well
         a. Congregational Bible study classes (Sunday morning and midweek classes)
         b. Home Bible studies
         c. Monthly or weekly bulletins

   B. SAMPLE "ROLES" IN THE AREA OF EDIFICATION...
      1. As part of the congregation's teaching curriculum
         a. Teach adult classes
         b. Teach children's classes (1-4 yrs, K-12th grade, college)
         c. Teach special classes (ladies, singles, young marrieds, seniors)
         d. Produce a church bulletin
      2. As part of the congregation's follow-up program
         a. Conduct home Bible studies with new converts or new members
         b. Provide child care for those involved in home Bible studies
      3. And let's not forget these two most important roles...
         a. Elders (also known as bishops, pastors) 
             - Ac 20:17,28; 1Pe 5:1-2; 1Ti 3:1-7
         b. Deacons (servants qualified and duly appointed to assist
            the elders-bishops-pastors) - Php 1:1; 1Ti 3:8-13

[Again, this is just a sampling to illustrate there are many and
diverse ways we can serve in the body of Christ.  Of course, there is
also..]

III. THE AREA OF "EVANGELISM"

   A. EVANGELISM AS AN AREA OF SERVICE IN THE BODY OF CHRIST...
      1. Sharing the good news of Jesus Christ goes back to the "Great 
         Commission" our Lord gave His disciples - cf. Mt 28:18-20; Mk 16:15-16
      2. It is certainly an important function of the body of Christ 
         - cf. 1Pe 2:9-10
      3. A work that can be done by individuals, it can also be 
         supported by local congregations - cf. Php 1:3-5; 4:15-16;2Co 11:7-9

   B. SAMPLE "ROLES" IN THE AREA OF EVANGELISM...
      1. Write letters to visitors
      2. Pay courtesy visit to visitors
      3. Mail or hand out tracts, cards, flyers
      4. Grade Bible correspondence courses
      5. Conduct home Bible studies with prospects
      6. Invite friends and neighbors to services, or to a home Bible
         study where someone else will do the teaching
      7. Assist with baptisms (very helpful when they occur at all 
         hours of the day)
      8. Provide child care for those involved with home Bible studies
      9. Travel to foreign countries, or support those who do

[There is a lot that can be done in the area of evangelism, no matter
what one's ability may be at the present.

But to public worship, edification, and evangelism, we can add yet 
another area of service...]

IV. THE AREA OF "BENEVOLENCE"

   A. BENEVOLENCE AS AN AREA OF SERVICE IN THE BODY OF CHRIST...
      1. The early church was noted for their love and support for one another
         a. In times of great need they were willing to go to great 
            extremes - Ac 2:44-45; 4:32-35
         b. When they heard of their brothers' need in other places,
            they were quick to respond - Ac 11:27-30; Ro 15:25-26; 2Co 8:1-5
      2. As a function of the local church, it is apparent that such
         benevolence was limited in scope
         a. Every example of congregational benevolent activity was 
            only to needy saints
         b. Even then there were limitations placed upon who the church
            was to support - 1Ti 5:3-16
      3. But as individuals, Christians are expected to be benevolent
         toward all, whether believers or non-believers - cf. Ga 6:10; Jm 1:27

   B. SAMPLE "ROLES" IN THE AREA OF BENEVOLENCE...
      PLEASE NOTE:  Several of the roles listed below properly fall 
      into the area of individual responsibility rather than the work 
      of the local church.  But since it is the work of the church to
      provide "for the equipping of the saints for the work of 
      ministry" (Ep 4:12), I think it proper for the elders "to stir
      up love and good works" (He 10:24) and even provide some 
      coordination of those activities we carry out as individual
      Christians (such as many churches do in providing for flowers on special occasions).
      1. Toward the sick and shut-ins
         a. Visit and care for the sick at the hospital
         b. Visit and care for the sick at their homes
         c. Visit and care for those confined to their homes
         d. Telephone those sick and confined on a daily basis
         e. Provide transportation to doctors, pharmacies, food stores
      2. Toward the needy
         a. Prepare clothes
         b. Prepare food
         c. Provide emergency shelter
         d. Provide emergency child care
         e. Provide emergency financial assistance
         f. Provide transportation to services, stores
      3. Miscellaneous
         a. Prepare meals for the sick, bereaved, new mothers
         b. Provide flowers for special occasions (e.g., sickness, 
            funerals)

CONCLUSION

1. The list could go on and on, especially when we seek to list things
   that go beyond the work of the local congregation and into the area
   of individual responsibility; for example...
   a. Arranging activities for young people
   b. Arranging social activities for members
   c. Minor repair work (painting, carpentry)
   d. Cleaning the building, landscaping, maintaining the baptistery

2. My purpose has been to illustrate...
   a. That there are many different ways to serve when you consider the
      different areas of service in the Lord's body:  public worship, 
      edification, evangelism, and benevolence
   b. That even on an individual basis (i.e., not really a work of the
      congregation per se) there are things to be done that can 
      contribute to the edifying of the body of Christ
   c. That no matter how large a congregation can become, there are 
      plenty of roles for the members to fulfill

3. Again, the challenges we face in "Equipping The Saints For Ministry"
   are these...
   a. To be aware of the different ways that members can serve in the body
   b. To encourage members to develop those functions that best suit 
      their abilities and opportunities to serve
   c. To provide direction and opportunity for those willing and 
      prepared to serve in their different functions

4. With this lesson I have sought to meet the first challenge, our 
   next lesson will seek to address the remaining two

In the meantime, I hope you will be giving prayerful consideration as 
to how you are functioning as a member of the body of Christ...

Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2011

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Fact—The New Testament is the Most Historically Accurate Book Ever Written by Kyle Butt, M.A.



http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=13&article=524

Fact—The New Testament is the Most Historically Accurate Book Ever Written

by Kyle Butt, M.A.

Dismissing the miracles documented in the New Testament is a favorite pastime of many skeptics, and even some liberal-thinking religious leaders. However, this “dismissal” game gets extremely complicated because the miracles are so closely blended with historical facts that separating the two soon becomes like trying to separate two different colors of Play-Doh.® Take, for instance, the plight of Sir William Ramsay. His extensive education had engrained within him the keenest sense of scholarship. Along with that sense of scholarship came a built-in prejudice about the supposed inaccuracy of the Bible (especially the book of Acts). Ramsay noted: “…[A]bout 1880 to 1890 the book of the Acts was regarded as the weakest part of the New Testament. No one that had any regard for his reputation as a scholar cared to say a word in its defence [sic]. The most conservative of theological scholars, as a rule, thought the wisest plan of defence [sic] for the New Testament as a whole was to say as little as possible about the Acts” (1915, p. 38).
As could be expect of a person trained by such “scholars,” Ramsay held the same view—for a while. He held the view only for a brief time, however, because he did what few people of his time dared to do. He decided to explore the actual Bible lands with an open Bible—with the intention of proving the inaccuracy of Luke’s history as found in the book of Acts. However, much to his surprise, the book of Acts passed every test that any historical narrative could be asked to pass. After his investigation of the Bible lands, he was forced to conclude:
The more I have studied the narrative of the Acts, and the more I have learned year after year about Graeco-Roman society and thoughts and fashions, and organization in those provinces, the more I admire and the better I understand. I set out to look for truth on the borderland where Greece and Asia meet, and found it here [in the Book of Acts—KB]. You may press the words of Luke in a degree beyond any other historian’s, and they stand the keenest scrutiny and the hardest treatment, provided always that the critic knows the subject and does not go beyond the limits of science and of justice (1915, p. 89).
The renowned archaeologist Nelson Glueck put it like this:
It may be stated categorically that no archaeological discovery has ever controverted a Biblical reference. Scores of archaeological findings have been made which conform in clear outline or exact detail historical statements in the Bible (1959, p. 31).
Considering the fact that the land of Palestine in the days of the New Testament writers tossed and turned on a sea of political, economical, and social unrest, I would say that its historical accuracy is pretty amazing. Travel to the Holy Lands and see for yourself if you doubt New Testament accuracy. Carry with you an honest, open mind and a New Testament, and I assure you that you will respect the New Testament writers as accurate historians by the end of your journey.

REFERENCES

Glueck, Nelson (1959), Rivers in the Desert: A History of the Negev (New York: Farrar, Strauss, and Cudahy).
Ramsay, William (1915), The Bearing of Recent Discovery on the Trustworthiness of the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1975 reprint).


Considering Our Cosmic Home: Reflections from the 2012 Venus Transit by Branyon May, Ph.D.



http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=12&article=688

Considering Our Cosmic Home: Reflections from the 2012 Venus Transit

by Branyon May, Ph.D.


Time lapse image of the
2012 Venus transit
Recently, humanity was treated to a rare event in the heavens; from our vantage point on Earth we were able to see the transit of the planet, Venus, across the visible disk of the Sun. A planetary transit is analogous to an eclipse, because it involves one object passing through the line of sight between two other objects. Similar to a solar eclipse, especially a partial solar eclipse, where the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun and blocks a portion of the Sun’s light, a transit of Venus occurs when Venus passes between Earth and the Sun blocking our view of a region of the Sun’s disk. Since this type of event requires a very precise alignment of the Sun, Venus, and Earth, it is quite rare. Although the previous alignment occurred only 8 years ago, in 2004, you have to look back historically to 1882 to find the next previous alignment, and looking to the future it will not be until the year 2117 before the alignment happens again (Espenak, 2012). Thus, in all likelihood, being 105 years in the future, there will be no one alive in 2117 who saw or was old enough to remember this year’s transit of Venus. (For those who may have missed seeing any of the event or press coverage, see the links at the end of the article for more images and videos.) At this point, let’s pause and contemplate some unique considerations this recent transit event offers.
Astronomically, the Sun and Venus are the brightest and third brightest celestial objects in Earth’s skies (the Moon being second), and historically are two of the most studied celestial objects. Ancient records dating back to the Babylonian civilization around 3000 B.C., reference this bright celestial object, and other civilizations such as the Chinese, Egyptian, and Greek civilizations include observations and cultural lore about Venus. Interestingly, historical references sometimes called Venus the “morning star” or “evening star,” and specifically the ancient Greeks called Venus by two names (Phosphorus and Hesperus) supposing it to be two different objects (Squyres, 2012). The two-object idea isn’t completely unreasonable, since for a portion of our year Venus precedes the Sun in the sky and for the other portion of the year it seems to follow the Sun across the sky. In fact, Venus is never more than about 48 degrees from the Sun in the sky (termed its greatest elongation, and is due to its orbit being inside Earth’s orbit). In fact, 2 Peter 1:19 makes reference to the “day star,” which is translated from the Greek word for phosphorus.
Commonly called “Earth’s Twin” or our “Sister Planet,” Venus is not only the planet that travels in its orbit closest to Earth’s orbit, but has such nicknames because it is nearly identical in size and mass. (Actually, the time of the transit of Venus represents the period of time for closest approach to Earth). When we consider this comparison it brings to mind the question, “What would an Earth transit event look like?” If we were to step outside of our own orbit and align ourselves looking back toward Earth, similar to the alignment we have seen with Venus and the Sun, then based on the similarity between Earth and Venus we actually have our answer. An Earth transit would basically provide the same stunning sight—a single distinguished planet, a fraction the size of the Sun, slowly crossing the wide, intensely bright solar landscape. Earth, too, is more than 100 times smaller in diameter than the Sun and approximately one million times smaller by volume. Therefore, this rare event of Venus’ transit affords us an interesting self-reflection to consider our own planet’s size, scale, design, and place in the Solar System.
Consider: as we watched Venus traverse the Sun’s disk, we were watching Earth’s closest planetary neighbor pass in front of Earth’s nearest stellar companion. Likely the most obvious observation from this event was the size comparison. Venus’s dark silhouette against the Sun’s surface portrayed such a small planet, but the truth is that the actual physical size comparison is even more extreme than what was observed. At the time of the 2012 transit, Venus’s angular diameter was approximately 58 arcseconds while the Sun’s was approximately 1,890 arcseconds, a factor of 32.6 times greater (Odenwald, 2012). However, since Venus was much closer to Earth than the Sun it appeared larger than if it had been at equal distance. This fact means the size of the Sun versus Venus is even more dramatic than the transit view appeared. In actuality the Sun is greater than 100 times the diameter of Venus and greater than one million times the volume, providing a perspective for the true scale of our Solar System. Sometimes the statement is made, “The Universe just has too much wasted space to be the result of an intelligent creator” (see Miller, 2003 for an article addressing that subject). However, this incredible scale of size and distance within our Solar System illustrates (1) the infinite nature of the Creator, and (2) an important aspect to God’s design for our life-sustaining planet. The following considerations should help illuminate some of the usefulness and purpose for the scales we see.
How does Earth compare to our nearest planetary companion? Although Venus and Earth are approximately equal in size and mass, Venus is an interesting case study in planetary characteristics, since in actuality, it is extremely different from Earth in most ways. From a distance we first notice that Venus is enshrouded in a thick atmosphere of clouds. This atmosphere is far thicker than Earth’s, mostly composed of carbon dioxide (CO2), and has an atmospheric surface pressure 90 times greater. To experience an equal amount of pressure on Earth you would have to travel nearly one kilometer below the surface of the ocean (“Venus,” 2012). Venus’s carbon dioxide dominated atmosphere, along with solar irradiance being double that of Earth’s (caused by its closer proximity to the Sun), results in Venus having the hottest average surface temperature in the entire solar system, over 860 degrees Fahrenheit (464 degrees Celsius). Such an incredible temperature means liquid water is not present on its surface, compared to more than 70% coverage on Earth’s surface, and incredibly, even metals such as lead and zinc would melt on its surface (Bentor, 2010). Another major contrast between the two planets is the presence of a strong magnetic field. Earth’s rather fast rotation is thought to drive a dynamo effect that maintains a steady and sufficiently strong field to provide a finely tuned cocoon of protection from the dangerous streams of charged particles flowing from the Sun through the inner Solar System. By contrast, Venus has an extremely slow rotation, which causes its day to be longer than its year, and lacks any magnetic field and associated protection from the solar wind. When we consider our “Sister Planet,” we find that it is not a “Twin” where we would want to or could live. These observations lead to the simple acknowledgement that Earth’s position in the Solar System is well-tuned and finely designed for life to thrive. The Earth shows itself to differ from all other planets in that it possesses all the necessary constituent elements to make it suitable for human life.
Observations of Venus have been linked to prominent times in history and have served to mark events and history, as many major celestial observations and events have. Examples of such help to illustrate just how important the view of our Universe is, and how the created purpose specified in Genesis has been demonstrated: “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years” (1:14). The consistent, unwavering behavior of the motion of the planets—behavior which allows scientists to predict precisely when Venus will transit in this way again decades in the future—is not a characteristic that would result from randomness, mindlessness, and accidental processes as evolutionary theories suppose. Rather, such behavior points to the existence of laws governing the Universe and its planets—laws which could not have written themselves, but rather, were written by the Great Lawmaker of the Universe (Job 38:33).
Venus Multimedia:
1)      NASA video:
4)      Sky and Telescope viewing from around the globe:http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/home/2012-Venus-Transit-ST-Reports-157500315.html

REFERENCES

Bentor, Yinon (2010), “Periodic Table: Melting Point,” Chemical Elements, http://www.chemicalelements.com/show/meltingpoint.html.
Espenak, Fred (2012), “Six Millennium Catalog of Venus Transits: 2000 BCE to 4000 CE,” NASA Eclipse Web Site, http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/transit/catalog/VenusCatalog.html.
Miller, Dave (2003), “The Universe—A ‘Waste of Space’?” Apologetics Press,http://www.apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=12&article=1207.
Odenwald, Sten (2012), “The Cultural Impact of the Transit of Venus,” 2012 Transit of Venus—Sun-Earth Day: Shadows of the Sun, http://venustransit.nasa.gov/2012/articles/ttt_76.php.
Squyres, Steven W. (2012), “Venus,” History.com, http://www.history.com/topics/planet-venus.
“Venus” (2012), Nine Planets, http://nineplanets.org/venus.html.

Another Case of Man Mimicking God’s Design by Dave Miller, Ph.D.



http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=9&article=2101

Another Case of Man Mimicking God’s Design

by Dave Miller, Ph.D.

The year was 1966. My classmates and I were herded aboard buses by our grade school teachers in Phoenix, Arizona for a “field trip” to see a newly released science fiction movie titled, Fantastic Voyage. The story line: Russian scientist, Jan Benes, who held the secret of how to shrink soldiers for an indefinite period, escaped from behind the Iron Curtain with the help of a CIA agent. While being transferred, their motorcade was attacked and Benes’ head was struck, causing a blood clot to form in his brain. A group of scientists then were miniaturized, along with a submarine, injected into his bloodstream, and had one hour to travel to his brain and remove the clot and get out before the immune system recognized them as a foreign body. As I remember, the teachers wanted us to see the internal marvels of the human body as the crew made their way from the arm, through the heart, and on to the brain. A similar concept was explored in the 1990s by the popular PBS children’s television program based on the Magic School Bus children’s books by Joanna Cole (“The Magic School...,” n.d.).
Discounting the idea of shrinking people, reality can be stranger than fiction. Australian scientists are developing a miniature robot that they hope will be able to propel itself through human arteries to perform delicate medical procedures. With a width of two human hairs, the 250-micron microrobot will transmit images and perform microscopic tasks in areas of the body where current surgical procedure is risky. Once inserted by means of a syringe, the microrobot will be guided by remote control to the target site to perform its assigned tasks, and then returned to the point of entry for extraction (Cole, 2007).
One of the obstacles researchers have faced for years is how to design the propulsion system (e.g., Philipkoski, 1999; Lurie, 2004). Since electromagnetic motors have been found to be impractical, this “microrobot’s design is based on the E. coli bacterium, complete with flagella that will propel it through the body,” with the flagella made from human hair (Cole, 2007).
Once again, men turn to God and His creation in order to solve their problems. The Creator built into His creation the principles necessary for the Universe to operate for His purposes. Within that divinely designed framework, intelligent men tap into the intelligent designs of the Master Designer to produce amazing technology that aids the human race. “Know that the Lord, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves” (Psalm 100:3).

REFERENCES

Cole, Emmet (2007), “Fantastic Voyage: Departure 2009,” Wired News, January 18, [On-line], URL:http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,72448-0.html.
“The Magic School Bus®: Inside the Human Body” (no date), [On-line], URL:http://www.scholastic.com/magicschoolbus/home.htm.
Lurie, Karen (2004), “Smallest Robot,” ScienCentral News, July 15, [On-line], URL:http://www.sciencentral.com/articles/view.php3?type=article&article_id =218392303.
Philipkoski, Kristen (1999), “Will Robots Sail Your Veins?” Wired News, January 16, [On-line], URL: http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,17376-1.html?tw=wn_story_page_next1.


Are Americans Becoming Uncivil? by Dave Miller, Ph.D.



http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=7&article=2316

Are Americans Becoming Uncivil?

by Dave Miller, Ph.D.

Depending on your age and generation, no doubt you have noticed a change that has come over much of the American population. Citizens are becoming more discourteous, impolite, and rude. A recent Associated Press poll on American public attitudes about rudeness found that 69% of those polled believe that Americans are more rude than 20 or 30 years ago (“American Manners...,” 2005). Perhaps you have approached the cash register of a store or fast food restaurant in hopes of checking out promptly. Instead, you are faced with employees chatting with each other, seemingly oblivious to your presence. When you eventually are noticed, the employees’ nonverbal signals make you feel as if you have interrupted them. What’s more, you cannot help noticing that their conversation is frivolous chit-chat, centered perhaps on social life, romantic relationships, or dissatisfaction with their employer or fellow employee. The very idea that their jobs actually depend on customer satisfaction seems to be of no concern. Where once American business literally survived and thrived on the notion that “the customer is always right,” now the widespread sentiment seems to be “I could care less about the customer—just pay me for doing as little as possible.” Attentiveness, generosity, and caring service have all but evaporated. How many times have you entered a restaurant and noticed unclean tables and unkempt floors? How often have you made a trip to the grocery store only to encounter shelves unstocked or in disarray—with the very item you came for sold out? In bygone days, the average grocery store manager would have considered such a situation with disgust—even alarm due to lost sales and customer dissatisfaction—and called the negligent employees to account for their inefficiency.
Another indication of the decline in virtue in American culture in the last 50 years is the behavior of motorists on America’s highways. Where once most truckers were renowned for their unassuming, courteous driving habits and their willingness to give way to automobiles and even extend assistance to the stranded motorist, an increasing number of truckers bully smaller vehicles by changing lanes unsafely, and radio airways are filled with foul language and truckers cursing other truckers. Exceeding the speed limit is now the norm on the Interstate. Cutting in line, tail-gaiting, and angry exclamations are commonplace on the highways of the nation.
Politics has become an even nastier business. Cutthroat tactics and bashing opponents characterize a majority. In fact, the polite, civil candidate is pummeled and left in a state of shock. Children speak disrespectfully to adults in public. Individuals cut in line in stores, post offices, and amusement parks. Telemarketers seem kind and genuinely concerned—until the customer refuses to buy the product. Then the telemarketer often turns nasty and shows obvious irritation with the consumer. Where once the average gas station provided eager service to customers—not only pumping the gasoline, but washing the windows, checking the oil, and adding air to the tires—it’s now “every man for himself.”
Granted, it could be much worse. Compare America with many other nations of the world. Take, for example, Islamic nations, where the people press against each other in the streets and in the marketplace, jostling each other and competing for services. Many seem to be completely focused on self—with little thought and concern for those around them. But historically, such societal circumstances have not been typical of America.
What has happened? How can such profound change come over an entire civilization? The Founders of the American Republic anticipated just this social scenario—and even described the circumstances under which it would occur. The Founders predicted that: if Americans do not retain an ardent commitment to the moral principles of Christianity, civil society will wane.
Consider the following prophetic voices. In the 1811 New York State Supreme Court case of The People v. Ruggles, the “Father of American Jurisprudence,” James Kent, explained the importance of punishing unchristian behavior, when he wrote that Americans are a “people whose manners are refined, and whose morals have been elevated and inspired with a more enlarged benevolence, by means of the Christian religion” (1811, emp. added). The gentility of the American spirit has historically been contrasted with those peoples “whose sense of shame would not be effected by what we should consider the most audacious outrages upon decorum” (1811, emp. added).
Such thinking was typical of the Founders. In his scathing repudiation of Thomas Paine’s The Age of Reason, Continental Congress president Elias Boudinot insisted: “[O]ur country should be preserved from the dreadful evil of becoming enemies to the religion of the Gospel, which I have no doubt, but would be introductive of the dissolution of government and the bonds of civil society” (1801, p. xxii, emp. added). Dr. Benjamin Rush added his blunt observation: “Without the restraints of religion and social worship, men become savages” (1951, 1:505, emp. added). Noah Webster stated: “[R]eligion has an excellent effect in repressing vices [and] in softening the manners of men” (1794, Vol. 2, Ch. 44, emp. added).
The Founders believed that should Christian principles be jettisoned by Americans, manners would be corrupted, and social anarchy and the fall of the Republic would naturally follow. Declaration signer and “The Father of the American Revolution,” Samuel Adams, issued a solemn warning in a letter to James Warren on February 12, 1779: “A general dissolution of the principles and manners will more surely overthrow the liberties of America than the whole force of the common enemy” (1908, 4:124). In his inaugural address as the Governor of Massachusetts in 1780, Founder John Hancock insisted that both our freedom and our very existence as a Republic will be determined by public attachment to Christian morality: “Manners, by which not only the freedom, but the very existence of the republics, are greatly affected, depend much upon the public institutions of religion and the good education of youth” (as quoted in Brown, 1898, p. 269, emp. added). The words of Declaration signer John Witherspoon are frightening: “Nothing is more certain than that a general profligacy and corruption of manners make a people ripe for destruction” (1802, 3:41, emp. added). In contrasting the general religion of Christianity with Islam, John Quincy Adams likewise explained:
The fundamental doctrine of the Christian religion, is the extirpation of hatred from the human heart. It forbids the exercise of it, even towards enemies. There is no denomination of Christians, which denies or misunderstands this doctrine. All understand it alike—all acknowledge its obligations; and however imperfectly, in the purposes of Divine Providence, its efficacy has been shown in the practice of Christians, it has not been wholly inoperative upon them. Its effect has been upon the manners of nations. It has mitigated the horrors of war—it has softened the features of slavery—it has humanized the intercourse of social life (1830, p. 300, emp. added).
There is no question that the influence of the Christian religion in America has been significantly curtailed during the last half-century. So what would we expect to occur? We would fully expect citizens to become uncivil, impolite, and discourteous. We would expect them to abandon the fundamental principle of human conduct articulated by Jesus Himself: “Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them” (Matthew 7:12). As people move further away from Christianity, they will inevitably become selfish, self-centered, and savage in their treatment of their fellowman. The only hope, the only solution, is to return to the principles of the religion of Jesus Christ.

REFERENCES

Adams, John Quincy (1830), The American Annual Register (New York: E. & G.W. Blunt).
Adams, Samuel (1904-1908), The Writings of Samuel Adams, ed. Harry Cushing (New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons).
“American Manners Poll” (2005), Associated Press, [On-line], URL:http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-10-14-rudeness-poll-method_x.htm.
Boudinot, Elias (1801), The Age of Revelation (Philadelphia, PA: Asbury Dickins), [On-line], URL:http://www.google.com/books?id=XpcPAAAAIAAJ.
Brown, Abram (1898), John Hancock, His Book (Boston, MA: Lee & Shepard Publishers), [On-line],URL: http://www.archive.org/details/johnhancock00browrich.
The People v. Ruggles (1811), 8 Johns 290 (Sup. Ct. NY.), N.Y. Lexis 124.
Rush, Benjamin (1951), Letters of Benjamin Rush, ed. L.H. Butterfield (Princeton, NJ: The American Philosophical Society).
Webster, Noah (1794), “The Revolution in France,” in Political Sermons of the American Founding Era: 1730-1805, ed. Ellis Sandoz (Indianapolis, IN: Liberty Fund), 1998 edition, [On-line], URL:http://oll.libertyfund.org/title/817/69415.
Witherspoon, John (1802), The Works of the Rev. John Witherspoon (Philadelphia, PA: William Woodard).

From Gary... Of genuine importance


Cute, quite cute!!! I must confess that I chuckled a bit when I first saw this!!! But, one could argue about things like this all the time, couldn't they?.  I mean, we could come up with all sorts of ridiculous questions- like "Could God make a rock so heavy that he could not lift it?" or "How many angels could you fit on the head of a pin?"  We could waste our time arguing about illogical or superfluous concepts that really do not matter, and when we are finished; what would be the outcome? Again, a waste of time. Life is too short, get down to the "nitty gritty" and discuss what is relevant. And so Paul writes to his young protege, Timothy.... 

1 Timothy, Chapter 1 (WEB)
 3  As I urged you when I was going into Macedonia, stay at Ephesus that you might command certain men not to teach a different doctrine,  4 neither to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which cause disputes, rather than God’s stewardship, which is in faith—  5 but the goal of this command is love, out of a pure heart and a good conscience and sincere faith;  6 from which things some, having missed the mark, have turned aside to vain talking;  7 desiring to be teachers of the law, though they understand neither what they say, nor about what they strongly affirm. 

Our stewardship is the Gospel, which is administered by faith. Now, I like a turn of a saying as much as the next person (probably more that most, to be painfully honest) but essentials are just that- ESSENTIAL!!!! 

Consider...

1 Corinthians, Chapter 15 (WEB)
  1 Now I declare to you, brothers, the Good News which I preached to you, which also you received, in which you also stand,  2 by which also you are saved, if you hold firmly the word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.  3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,  4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,  5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.  6 Then he appeared to over five hundred brothers at once, most of whom remain until now, but some have also fallen asleep.  7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles,  8 and last of all, as to the child born at the wrong time, he appeared to me also.  9 For I am the least of the apostles, who is not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the assembly of God.  10 But by the grace of God I am what I am. His grace which was bestowed on me was not futile, but I worked more than all of them; yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.  11 Whether then it is I or they, so we preach, and so you believed. 

Very important, worth intensive study and personal application.  Who knows, after doing this, you might actually NEED A NAP!!!!  OH, YES- DON'T RESIST, YOU WILL NEED IT AFTERWARDS!!!!