Month: August 2005

How would you characterize your relationship with God? Do you have the deist’s view of God?

de · ism: a movement or system of thought advocating natural religion based on human reason rather than revelation, emphasizing morality, and in the 18th century denying the interference of the Creator with the laws of the universe. (my emphasis, SC)

(Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary)

Many people today advocate a deistic attitude toward God. In their way of thinking, God exists, and perhaps is responsible for our existence, but has no direct interaction with man. This allows us to believe what we want, do what we want, all without fearing any consequence from a deity which is, after all, far removed from and uninterested in the existence of His creation.

Continue reading “Developing Intimacy With God” →

A human fetus is unlikely to feel pain until the final months of pregnancy, according to a new medical report that is bound to stir up the public debate over abortion.

“Pain perception requires conscious recognition or awareness of a noxious stimulus,” write the researchers at the University of California, San Francisco.

This consciousness is created by nerve connections between the thalamus and the cerebral cortex of the brain — and these connections do not begin to develop before the 23rd week and possibly not until the 30th week after gestation, say the researchers. That means “functional pain perception . . . does not exist before 29 or 30 weeks.”

The report, in this week’s Journal of the American Medical Association, is being published just as anti-abortion groups are pushing for fetal pain laws. The U.S. Congress and several states are considering legislation that would require doctors to tell women seeking abortions 20 or more weeks after conception that a fetus feels pain and to offer anesthesia for the fetus.

via Globeandmail.com

Analysis:

I have often stated that there is an extreme amount of illogical thought being expressed by supposedly educated people on the issue of abortion, as our society debates the ethicality of the practice.

For example, the primary issue regarding the ethicality of abortion is the question, “Is the fetus human?” An ability to feel pain has absolutely nothing to do with the humanity of the fetus. To illustrate, we could use the example of a quadriplegic. Whether by injury or deformity, some individuals do not have the ability to feel pain. For some, such an inability covers the entirety of their body. In their case, it is because of a disconnect between their brain and nerves. If the scientists who produced the aforementioned study are to be believed, in the fetus it is because the brain has not sufficiently developed to process the “noxious stimulus” as painful. Regardless, the same state exists. So, do we proclaim the quadriplegic non-human, and reserve the right to extinguish their life? The absurdity is obvious.

What is more absurd is the logic of the proposed law concerning giving fetus’s beyond 20 weeks in development an anesthetic before abortion. It says, in effect, “We are going to kill the child, but don’t want the child to suffer unnecessarily during the killing.”

The fetus is alive. Further, it’s not an animal (though treated as such in this law, as it calls for the “putting down” of a fetus in the same “humane” way that is done with pets). A question to pro-abortion advocates… “What is it?” The only answer… It is a human being!

Terrell Owens may not be the only NFL star wide receiver dealing with summer problems.

In an interview scheduled to air Tuesday on HBO’s “Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel,” Randy Moss, the former Vikings and now Raiders wideout, strongly implies he still smokes marijuana, a drug prohibited by the NFL.

After Moss says he has used marijuana since entering the NFL, but has not let it “take control over me,”Gumbel asks him if he smoked pot during the offseason.

“I might. I might have fun,” Moss says with a sheepish grin on his face. “And, you know – and hopefully that I won’t get into any trouble by the NFL by saying that, you know, I have had fun throughout my years and, you know, predominantly in the offseason.

“But, you know, I don’t want any kids, you know, watching this taking a lesson from me as far as, ‘Well, Randy Moss used it. So, I’m going to use it.’ . . . Like I say, that – that I have used – and in the past. And every blue moon or every once in a while I might.”

(AP)

Analysis:

For many years it has been that “role models” such as athletes and entertainers have used drugs. Though performance enhancing drugs such as steroids are presently the focus of testing and sanctions, the use of recreational drugs is also very prevalent, and perhaps are more damaging to society as we consider the broader impact of such influences upon our young people.

While Moss wishes that young people would not look to him as an example, the fact is that they do. It is a shame that there are so few good and righteous public figures for young people to admire and emulate.

The lesson for Christians is to note that our shortcomings not only impact our spiritual welfare, but also can have a negative impact on those we wish to influence. As Christians we are to, “Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain” (Philippians 2:14-16).

Young people, don’t look to the world for your example, look to the elders, and mature and righteous Christians, both men and women, who serve as examples to you of holiness before our God.

In the August 13th issue of the Fort Worth Star Telegram, R. Scott Colglazier, compared the practice of religion to the individualized playlists on an iPod. The iPod is a stylized MP3 music player, and presently a cultural phenomenon. Note the following from Colglazier’s pen:

If we can learn and understand that faith is individualized because of our personal perspective, it inspires us to become more accepting of other people, especially those people who ultimately download different ideas about God into their spiritual iPods. This, of course, is problematic for those who think there is only one divine truth that should be accepted by all people.

Another implication is that the religious truth we finally discover says as much about us as it does about God. Just look at the variety of music on a person’s iPod and you’ll begin to see the unique essence of that individual. To acknowledge that our beliefs say as much, or more, about us as they do about God requires a healthy dose of humility- but in the end, humility is a good thing when comes to our religion.

Finally, if religion is about exploring our depth as human beings, then faiht will always be an individualized experience. Depth is our uniqueness, and living into our unique selves goes to the heart of the spiritual journey. This is true regardless of the difficulty it creates within religious organizations trying to spawn universal language and beliefs among its members.

Analysis:

In the preceding article, Colglazier expresses a common sentiment among religious people today. You will notice that he believes faith to be subjective rather than objective. In effect, he values the subjective perceptions of the individual above what is objectively taught in the Word of God. He is welcome to his view, but it must be recognized that his view directly contradicts what the Bible plainly says:

“And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:19-21).

“And consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation – as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.” (2 Peter 3:15-16).

The iPod may be a great thing, but an iPod religion is vain before God! (cf. Matthew 7:20-21).