Categories
Church Leadership Journal News Commentary Wisdom

Comments on the Mega-Millions Jackpot

It is a commentary on our society when the jackpot or the winners for government sponsored gambling becomes the banner headline news.  Is there nothing more important, more transformational, more threatening, or more informative going on today that should be the banner headlines?  I consider it an insult that news media seem to think I find who won to be the most newsworthy information today.

It’s what sells, not what’s important that we see

First, it is a commentary on what runs the news media.   We are not fed what is important or what is significant, but rather what people will click or buy –that is, what will sell ads.   So news executives are not promoted primarily because they serve society well but because they pander to the whims of the slice of society who click on (buy) news.   I contend that when we decide to make mega-million jackpots the banner headline, we should consider the detrimental effect of promoting the economic parasite of gambling.  

Categories
Church Leadership Journal News Commentary Wisdom

Why going to church is important to you and your children

Often people ask me if they can be a Christian and not go to church.   I think it would be like trying to be a gourmet cook without frequenting the produce department of the grocery store; or trying to be a good basketball player without going to practices.  The excuses people use for staying away are sometimes funny, sometimes sad, and often revealing.     Since Easter, the high point of the Christian year, is little more than a week away,  this is a great time to remind ourselves of just how important it is to express our faith and grow in it by gathering together.  Here is a good article summarizing why attending church is important.
http://www.christianpost.com/news/why-going-to-church-is-important-part-1-72392/

 

Categories
News Commentary

New evidence of a need for new legislation about immigration

http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/02/10561563-north-miami-high-school-students-fight-valedictorians-deportation-order

This is a perfect example of the ridiculous situations arising from present immmigration legislation.   To deport this girl would be completely unjust, inhumane and just plain stupid, not to mention sinful.    When are we going to agree that punishing children who have been here since childhood for the sins of their parents is not right.   Such action also flies in the face of the spirit of our country that the Statue of Liberty represents.

 

Categories
Journal News Commentary Wisdom

A great article against increasing legal gambling

I am very opposed to the government making money from its citizens by promoting gambling of any kind. It is immmoral as it is a way for the powerful to shirk responsibility and to rob the vulnerable instead. In the following article Albert Mohler Jr. argues convincingly that besides being immoral, increasing casino gambling is also counter-productive financially for communities.

http://www.albertmohler.com/2012/02/21/casino-culture-and-the-collapse-of-character/

Categories
News Commentary

Colson’s essay on gay by choice is excellent

http://www.christianpost.com/news/gay-by-choice-69168/

Charles Colson, a clear thinker and writer for the Christian church, has nailed it with this essay.   Gay activists are often unwilling to admit that choice plays any part despite testimonials from people like the actress Colson cites and from homosexuals who have chosen to go straight.   As I have written before, the evidence as I see it shows that while in the short term, our hormones may seem to dominate us;  in the long run, our brain has far more shaping influence through the choices we make than our hormones do.

 

Categories
News Commentary

Cuomo’s plan for expansion of gambling is bad for New Yorkers

There are so many reasons to oppose gambling as a means of public fund raising. Here is an article that explains from the standpoint of professional economists why it is a bad idea.

http://www.midhudsonnews.com/News/2012/January/03/Casinos_survey-03Jan12.htm

From a Biblical point of view, it is poor stewardship of resources for those who gamble. From the standpoint of fairness, it represents the rich failing to take fair share responsibility and instead passing off their responsibility to raise funds onto the poor who tend to be the gamblers.

This is one more way Cuomo is becoming the poster boy for promoting immorality in New York.

Categories
News Commentary

2011 NIV revision clarifies language regarding homosexuality

Added clarity in the new NIV revision regarding the language used to refer to sexual sins is a big plus.    This article explains the scholarship behind the changes.

http://www.christianpost.com/news/latest-niv-bible-translation-clearer-on-homosexual-sins-says-theologian-66393/

Categories
News Commentary

How President Obama can answer Republicans on a tax increase for the super rich

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44571565/ns/politics-the_new_york_times/

Here’s how I would answer the Republicans if I were President Obama.

“The Republicans have labeled my proposal for new taxes on the super rich as class warfare.   That’s a Marxist term and here in America we don’t think  that way.   We believe in sharing the load according to our gifting–that’s a Biblical concept.   In this case the super rich have volunteered to help shoulder the burden of re-balancing our country’s economy and I am simply proposing that we accept their offer.”

A suggestion for Republicans

I also think that if Romney or Perry would endorse the President on this they would strengthen their own candidacy.  It would show willingness to compromise which the electorate is desperate to see.  It would also show a Republican not completely protecting big money–a welcome change.  And it would hint that the candidate was able to buck the libertarian economic far right–a group which scares the independent center.

Categories
News Commentary

Teacher’s persecution is so wrong

http://mystateline.com/fulltext-news/?nxd_id=272457

Teacher unjustly persecuted

What is happening to this teacher is so wrong.  First of all it is a gross violation of his right to free speech.  More fundamentally, he is being persecuted for speaking up for that which is biblically and traditionally the right just because it happens to be politically incorrect in our society.  This shows how much our culture is drifting towards defending that which is wrong.   It also shows how militant the gay lobby is in forcing everyone else to agree with them.   And the key battlefield is the school.  This kind of pro-homosexual thinking is going to make the public schools unfit for traditional Christian, Jewish or Muslim children.   Do educators really want to create enemies out of that many people?

 

Categories
News Commentary

Challenging the gay rights crusade again

 http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2011/07/california_gov_jerry_brown_sig.html

http://www.christianpost.com/news/michele-bachmanns-christian-counseling-center-targeted-by-pro-gay-group-52261/

These two news articles present two good reasons why gay marriage is not right for America.   This is not about them being able to secure additional rights; this is really about gay persons seeking society’s  approval for their immoral lifestyle.  Gov. Andrew Cuomo unconsciously acknowledged this when he spoke about giving gays legitimacy when he signed the bill approving gay marriage in New York State.   That is exactly the issue.   These activists are not happy unless they can force the rest of us to say their actions are okay.  As the attack on Bachman shows, it is not okay for others to believe or practice differently than they desire.    They are definitely not happy for the rest of us to simply “let them live” so to speak.  They insist that we also approve. 

But they cannot coerce our beliefs or our consciences. They cannot change the convicting words of Holy Scripture, either Old Testament or New Testament.   So they seek legitimacy through laws and education.    

As the California initiative indicates, now traditional family-values people of all faiths are the ones needing protection from their crusade to brainwash our children.   Teaching morality is the job of parents and churches first.  It is also the job of schools, but only as delegated servants of the parents.   Education divorced from morality is not education.   But when schools are forced by governmental authorities to teach something with which the majority of parents morally disagree, it is a grave injustice and it undermines the authority and legitimacy of the educational system.   No wonder the number of homeschoolers increases yearly.