“The whole life of the Christian, from the beginning to the end,
is a conflict with the world and the powers of darkness, a conflict
within and without …” (Neander, “Memorials of a Christian Life,”
1852)
“The whole life of the Christian, from the beginning to the end, is a conflict with the world and the powers of darkness, a conflict within and without …” (Neander, “Memorials of a Christian Life,” 1852)
We are in the midst of a cultural civil war. It has been my privilege to write newspaper columns for several decades. I have tried to illustrate one of seven Biblical principles with each column. These principles are illustrated with the labels: Individuality, Self-Government, Quality Character, Private Property, Biblical- (which is also American) Form, Local Authority and Liberty.
America was established upon these principles and will endure only so long as they remain a part of her foundation. It is for that reason each of these tried and proven principles is under attack by those who would love to eliminate “the laws of nature and of nature’s God,” from our American culture.
Within every human there is a battle of wills: Submit yourself to these God-given laws, or rebel and seek to make nature and nature’s God submit to you. Simply put, it is a battle of submission to truth and wisdom, or selfishly seeking to ignore such things, becoming a law unto yourself. The Bible rightly states that anyone who denies having made such selfish choices is a liar.
American citizens have been given authority over themselves, their families, their churches, and their civil governments by the laws of nature and of nature’s God. Their authority over their civil governments has been enhanced by such documents as the Declaration of Independence (Our “Charter”) and the Constitution (our “Bylaws”).
What were once isolated efforts to undermine our nation and move her away from greatness, have, over decades, grown into significant movements. It has been so gradual that most citizens, accepting one little item at a time, are unaware that there is a mighty civil war raging around them.
Tides of this war sweep them this way and that. Some occasionally sense that something is amiss, but the pressure of day to day activities and their own ignorance of fundamentals make apathy the “easy way out”. “Let George do it!”
American education, once a standard of excellence, has become an embarrassment. Parents having been dumbed down by such “education”, fail to recognize that they will soon be looking to the next generation for their own support when they are aged. Home-schooling among families that recognize their responsibility to the children they chose to bring into this world, represents the hope of our nation for wise leadership.
How irresponsible is it to permit our innocent children to be trained in the “virtues” of alternative life-styles? How irresponsible is it to permit our children to believe they are receiving a proper education while presenting them re-written (false) history, relativistic ethics, mediocre math and science, and not teaching them to reason from cause to effect. How irresponsible is it to permit our children to be used as laboratory mice in social engineering experiments?
Once our churches were aflame with the liberty these basic principles produced. Who can point to more than a few churches whose congregations are equally versed in Biblical principles of self-, family-, church- and civil-government. Remember, the God of the Bible was the first to create each. Is it any wonder that civil-government, has become the greatest opponent of liberty in self-, family-, and church-government? The “good” people did not lose that ground in battle. Rather, they meekly chose to pretend it was not their concern.
Who among those reading this column make it a regular point to teach their families the significance of the birth of a world savior? Even those parents who do not accept the Christ child as “Savior” would do well to share with them the impact this young man’s life has had upon humanity.
What a waste to squander the precious heritage our forefathers passed into our hands. The ungodly are not our main enemy. They are easily defeated, once we overcome our ignorance and apathy. Ignorance is overcome with knowledge. Apathy is overcome with action. (Ignorant action is worse than ignorant apathy.) Thus, knowledge is the first step toward becoming useful in this civil war for the soul of America. Understanding fuels wise actions.
Gaining knowledge takes effort. The choice to invest that effort is the first step in taking your place in the battle. Caution! Our enemies will be overjoyed to help you study and learn of their activities. When you become an expert, they will create new things for you to study. That will produce a sense of awe at the size of the problem and hopelessness in overcoming it.
Rather, each of us must learn what is right and how to apply it to our current situations. That requires an understanding that absolutes do exist. Right and wrong as measured by valid principles do exist. Without principles we are left with opinions. That is the same thing our opponents have.
If you want to take your rightful place in this battle, I welcome you. Start by investing time each day, reading portions of the Bible. It is the best source of proven principles. I’ll be happy to make other suggestions if you are interested, 408-782-7555.
