Author: Micheal Spencer
Source: alternet.org

Oneida, Ky. - We are on the verge -- within 10 years -- of a major collapse of evangelical Christianity. This breakdown will follow the deterioration of the mainline Protestant world and it will fundamentally alter the religious and cultural environment in the West.

Within two generations, evangelicalism will be a house deserted of half its occupants. (Between 25 and 35 percent of Americans today are Evangelicals.) In the "Protestant" 20th century, Evangelicals flourished. But they will soon be living in a very secular and religiously antagonistic 21st century.

This collapse will herald the arrival of an anti-Christian chapter of the post-Christian West. Intolerance of Christianity will rise to levels many of us have not believed possible in our lifetimes, and public policy will become hostile toward evangelical Christianity, seeing it as the opponent of the common good.

Millions of Evangelicals will quit. Thousands of ministries will end. Christian media will be reduced, if not eliminated. Many Christian schools will go into rapid decline. I'm convinced the grace and mission of God will reach to the ends of the earth. But the end of evangelicalism as we know it is close.

Why is this going to happen?

1. Evangelicals have identified their movement with the culture war and with political conservatism. This will prove to be a very costly mistake. Evangelicals will increasingly be seen as a threat to cultural progress. Public leaders will consider us bad for America, bad for education, bad for children, and bad for society.

The evangelical investment in moral, social, and political issues has depleted our resources and exposed our weaknesses. Being against gay marriage and being rhetorically pro-life will not make up for the fact that massive majorities of Evangelicals can't articulate the Gospel with any coherence. We fell for the trap of believing in a cause more than a faith .

2. We Evangelicals have failed to pass on to our young people an orthodox form of faith that can take root and survive the secular onslaught. Ironically, the billions of dollars we've spent on youth ministers, Christian music, publishing, and media has produced a culture of young Christians who know next to nothing about their own faith except how they feel about it. Our young people have deep beliefs about the culture war, but do not know why they should obey scripture, the essentials of theology, or the experience of spiritual discipline and community. Coming generations of Christians are going to be monumentally ignorant and unprepared for culture-wide pressures.

3. There are three kinds of evangelical churches today: consumer-driven mega-churches, dying churches, and new churches whose future is fragile. Denominations will shrink, even vanish, while fewer and fewer evangelical churches will survive and thrive.

4. Despite some very successful developments in the past 25 years, Christian education has not produced a product that can withstand the rising tide of secularism. Evangelicalism has used its educational system primarily to staff its own needs and talk to itself.

5. The confrontation between cultural secularism and the faith at the core of evangelical efforts to "do good" is rapidly approaching. We will soon see that the good Evangelicals want to do will be viewed as bad by so many, and much of that work will not be done. Look for ministries to take on a less and less distinctively Christian face in order to survive.

6. Even in areas where Evangelicals imagine themselves strong (like the Bible Belt), we will find a great inability to pass on to our children a vital evangelical confidence in the Bible and the importance of the faith.

7. The money will dry up.

What will be left?

• Expect evangelicalism to look more like the pragmatic, therapeutic, church-growth oriented megachurches that have defined success. Emphasis will shift from doctrine to relevance, motivation, and personal success -- resulting in churches further compromised and weakened in their ability to pass on the faith.

• Two of the beneficiaries will be the Roman Catholic and Orthodox communions. Evangelicals have been entering these churches in recent decades and that trend will continue, with more efforts aimed at the "conversion" of Evangelicals to the Catholic and Orthodox traditions.

• A small band will work hard to rescue the movement from its demise through theological renewal. This is an attractive, innovative, and tireless community with outstanding media, publishing, and leadership development. Nonetheless, I believe the coming evangelical collapse will not result in a second reformation, though it may result in benefits for many churches and the beginnings of new churches.

• The emerging church will largely vanish from the evangelical landscape, becoming part of the small segment of progressive mainline Protestants that remain true to the liberal vision.

• Aggressively evangelistic fundamentalist churches will begin to disappear.

• Charismatic-Pentecostal Christianity will become the majority report in evangelicalism. Can this community withstand heresy, relativism, and confusion? To do so, it must make a priority of biblical authority, responsible leadership, and a reemergence of orthodoxy.

• Evangelicalism needs a "rescue mission" from the world Christian community. It is time for missionaries to come to America from Asia and Africa. Will they come? Will they be able to bring to our culture a more vital form of Christianity?

• Expect a fragmented response to the culture war. Some Evangelicals will work to create their own countercultures, rather than try to change the culture at large. Some will continue to see conservatism and Christianity through one lens and will engage the culture war much as before -- a status quo the media will be all too happy to perpetuate. A significant number, however, may give up political engagement for a discipleship of deeper impact.

Is all of this a bad thing?

Evangelicalism doesn't need a bailout. Much of it needs a funeral. But what about what remains?

Is it a good thing that denominations are going to become largely irrelevant? Only if the networks that replace them are able to marshal resources, training, and vision to the mission field and into the planting and equipping of churches.

Is it a good thing that many marginal believers will depart? Possibly, if churches begin and continue the work of renewing serious church membership. We must change the conversation from the maintenance of traditional churches to developing new and culturally appropriate ones.

The ascendency of Charismatic-Pentecostal-influ enced worship around the world can be a major positive for the evangelical movement if reformation can reach those churches and if it is joined with the calling, training, and mentoring of leaders. If American churches come under more of the influence of the movement of the Holy Spirit in Africa and Asia, this will be a good thing.

Will the evangelicalizing of Catholic and Orthodox communions be a good development? One can hope for greater unity and appreciation, but the history of these developments seems to be much more about a renewed vigor to "evangelize" Protestantism in the name of unity.

Will the coming collapse get Evangelicals past the pragmatism and shallowness that has brought about the loss of substance and power? Probably not. The purveyors of the evangelical circus will be in fine form, selling their wares as the promised solution to every church's problems. I expect the landscape of mega-church vacuity to be around for a very long time.

Will it shake lose the prosperity Gospel from its parasitical place on the evangelical body of Christ? Evidence from similar periods is not encouraging. American Christians seldom seem to be able to separate their theology from an overall idea of personal affluence and success.

The loss of their political clout may impel many Evangelicals to reconsider the wisdom of trying to create a "godly society." That doesn't mean they'll focus solely on saving souls, but the increasing concern will be how to keep secularism out of church, not stop it altogether. The integrity of the church as a counter-cultural movement with a message of "empire subversion" will increasingly replace a message of cultural and political entitlement.

Despite all of these challenges, it is impossible not to be hopeful. As one commenter has already said, "Christianity loves a crumbling empire."

We can rejoice that in the ruins, new forms of Christian vitality and ministry will be born. I expect to see a vital and growing house church movement. This cannot help but be good for an evangelicalism that has made buildings, numbers, and paid staff its drugs for half a century.

We need new evangelicalism that learns from the past and listens more carefully to what God says about being His people in the midst of a powerful, idolatrous culture.

I'm not a prophet. My view of evangelicalism is not authoritative or infallible. I am certainly wrong in some of these predictions. But is there anyone who is observing evangelicalism in these times who does not sense that the future of our movement holds many dangers and much potential?

Michael Spencer is a writer and communicator living and working in a Christian community in Kentucky. He describes himself as "a postevangelical reformation Christian in search of a Jesus-shaped spirituality." This essay is adapted from a series on his blog, InternetMonk.com.

Is Islam Truly Standing 'Shoulder to Shoulder' With Other Religions?

Author: Janet Levy - June 23, 2013
Source: American Thinker

Recently, Christian Bible translators considered changes that would make Christian scriptures more palatable to Muslim audiences. Instead of "in the name of the Father," they put forth the phrase "in the name of Allah." "Baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit" was reformulated as "Cleanse them in the name of Allah, his Messiah, and his Holy Spirit." In addition, Isa a prophet of Allah in the Koran who is superseded by Mohammed, has been equated with Jesus in the Christian Bible. Of course, many Christians view this as blasphemy.
[Related Article: What Is Islam?]

The push for biblical changes came in large part from Christian leaders of the "Insider Movement" who endeavor to reach Muslim communities by encouraging Muslims to embrace Christianity by "worshipping Jesus or Isa in the mosque." This is an accommodation to enable Muslims to follow Jesus, yet not explicitly express Christian faith. The "Insider Movement" has been gaining steam for the past decade and advances the idea of the blending of faith rather than complete conversion to Christianity.

It remains to be seen if these modifications or conscious accommodations to Islam, created by proselytizing Christians, threaten the integrity of Christian beliefs. However, a more significant threat to Christianity has existed for years in the form of ongoing, aggressive interfaith activities spearheaded by Muslims who use this religious context to shield their ulterior motive: spreading the supremacy of Islam.

This deceptive undertaking is part of the phased plan for "civilizational jihad" put forth by the Muslim Brotherhood in "An Explanatory Memorandum on the General Strategic Goal for the Group in North America." Muslims have been encouraged to form coalitions under the guise of cooperation in order to "absorb" Western culture. They have been encouraged to "take from people the best they have" and "understand the benefit of agreement, cooperation, and alliance." This effort has translated into establishing so-called "interfaith" groups and ostensibly fostering "interfaith" activities. The problem has been that all cooperation and accommodations are one-way, favoring Muslims and Islam.
[Related Article: Inside the Muslim Brotherhood]

One recent example is the interfaith coalition, "Shoulder-to-Shoulder," based in Washington, D.C. Coalition members include the Islamic Society of North American (ISNA), the Arab American Institute (AAI), the Universal Muslim Association of America (UMAA), and 25 national Christian and Jewish religious groups.

Yet, the Islamic groups have long been engaged in anti-Western activities. ISNA, an umbrella organization for Muslim Brotherhood fronts in America, was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation Hamas funding trial. The Arab American Institute, an organization dedicated to increasing the influence of Arab-American Muslims, has endeavored to limit the surveillance activity of law enforcement. UMMA's stated mission is to advance the social, economic, and political affairs of the Muslim community in America and to dispel misinformation about Islam and Muslims. The organization has lobbied the U.S. government and provided guidelines for the removal of obstacles to zakat or "charitable giving," contributions to the funding of jihad required of all Muslims and Muslim businesses and mandated by shariah. UMMA has diligently worked to curtail U.S. law enforcement and intelligence procedures that obstruct zakat.
[Related Article: Fraud, Racketeering, and CAIR]

The Shoulder-to-Shoulder interfaith coalition, whose motto is "Standing with American Muslims, upholding American values," was founded to address alleged bias against Muslims. This is particularly ironic given ISNA's history of anti-Semitism and promotion of and financial support for terrorism. Christian, Jewish, and Muslim religious leaders who are members of the coalition venture into the community to speak out on "anti-Muslim bigotry," work with Congress to fight "anti-Muslim" sentiment, and seek media coverage for their work against alleged "Islamophobia." With the rampant persecution and murder of Christians and Jews in predominately Muslim countries, it is telling that no attempt is made by the coalition members to combat hatred of Jews and anti-Christian attitudes expressed by Muslim clerics and government officials in Muslim countries. Comments from Muslim officials in Islamic countries that "Islam is at war with the West" draw no criticism or even attention from Islamic members of these supposed "interfaith" coalitions.

Thus, paradoxically, while Muslims continue to burn churches and attack Christians in the Middle East and North Africa, Shoulder-to-Shoulder offers strategies to fight controversies such as building a mosque at Ground Zero. The group rails against threats to burn the Koran and fights legislation that seeks to preserve the Constitution and prevent the implementation of shariah in America. Despite the group's routine portrayals of Islam and Muslims as universal victims, most of the religious violence in the world is actually carried out by Muslims who are doctrinally obligated to attack nonbelievers.
[Related Article: The 'Peace' of Islam]

Shoulder-to-Shoulder has developed a multitude of self-serving programs, including the Christian-Muslim Consultative Group to promote "interfaith" and "social justice" issues; the New Evangelical Partnership Film Festival to "fight" Islamophobia; and Prepare New York, which was first developed to "promote healing and reconciliation" in anticipation of the 10th anniversary of 9/11 and is now devoted to "shifting the discussion" from "fear and mistrust" engendered by the Ground Zero Mosque project to "one that celebrates New York's extraordinary diversity of religious freedom and expression." The group has also targeted specific populations with its programs, such as Daughters of Abraham, to bring Christian, Jewish, and Muslim women "together;" Odyssey Networks for youth to explore their personal experience with "anti-Muslim bias;" and The Safe National Collaborative to "bridge the gap" between law enforcement and American Muslim communities.

In December 2011, the Shoulder-to-Shoulder coalition, as part of the "Homegrown Terrorism: The Threat to Military Communities in the United States" hearings, addressed Congress, stating that their mutual goals were to "promote tolerance" and "put an end to anti-Muslim sentiment." The group publicly objected to the links between the American Muslim community and radicalization and the "wrongful" connection of the "faithful observance of Islam with suspect behavior." They ignored Islamic doctrines that actually support such links and kept silent about attacks by Muslims against soldiers in the U.S. military that prove the connection.

This past April, Shoulder-to-Shoulder coalition members wrote a letter to New York City's Mayor Bloomberg calling for an end to the NYPD's surveillance of Muslim communities, an operation that has kept New York safe and thwarted more than 50 attacks since 9/11. The letter was signed by the coalition's Christian, Jewish, and Muslim clergy and began with the subterfuge of "This is not a Muslim issue; This is an American issue," implying that targeting Muslims was "un-American" and not based on reasonable suspicions.

In February 2012, Shoulder-to-Shoulder joined with CAIR, ISNA, and other Muslim Brotherhood organizations to demand changes to counterterrorism training materials used by the FBI that they deemed critical of Islam and Muslims. As a result, 700 documents and 300 presentations were expunged from the Bureau's training programs and training personnel were reassigned, fired, or re-educated.
[Related Article: So Now I'm A Terrorist?]

While Islam is portrayed as a peaceful and tolerant religion, this is hardly the case. The Muslim Brotherhood has stated its mission in America as a "kind of grand Jihad in eliminating and destroying Western civilization from within and 'sabotaging' its miserable house by their hands so that Allah's religion (Islam) is made victorious over all other religions."

Furthermore, all devout Muslims are scripturally mandated to submit to Allah's will and fight non-believers until they are subdued. So, our misplaced efforts to engage or accommodate Islam, appease Muslims through biblical and religious modifications, or join in apocryphal interfaith efforts, do not result in peace or harmony with them. In fact, it serves Islamic purposes, tightening the noose around our necks and hastening the demise of Western civilization.

Related Articles:

• Is Islam Truly Standing 'Shoulder to Shoulder' With Other Religions? (iamnotashamedofthegospelofchrist.com)
• Texas Mega-Church Leader Partners with Muslim Brotherhood Front (juicyecumenism.com)
• Texas Mega-Church Leader Partners with Muslim Brotherhood Front (frontpagemag.com)
• Obama Lied About Islam (bokertov.typepad.com)
• California: Muslims convert another residential home to mosque, whine about opposition (endswithbeginnings.wordpress.com)
• A Radical Imam's Infiltration of Philadelphia (frontpagemag.com)
• Texas Mega-Church Leader Partners with Muslim Brotherhood Front (endtimeheadlines.wordpress.com)

WND EXCLUSIVE
More evidence of slain U.S. ambassador's secret activities
Information may help explain deadly Benghazi attack

Author: Aaron Klein - 2 days ago
Source: World Net Daily - 6.20.2013

JERUSALEM – A Libyan weapons dealer from a group hired to provide security to the U.S. mission in Benghazi told Reuters he has helped ship weapons from Benghazi to the rebels fighting in Syria.

The detailed account may provide more circumstantial evidence the U.S. Benghazi mission was secretly involved in procuring and shipping weapons to the Syrian opposition before the deadly attack last September that killed the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans.

According to informed Middle Eastern security officials speaking to WND on multiple occasions, the Benghazi mission was a planning headquarters for coordinating aid, including weapons distribution, to the jihadist-led rebels.

After the fall of Libyan dictator Muammar Gadhafi, the arming efforts shifted focus to aiding the insurgency targeting President Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria.

Two weeks after the Sept. 11, 2012, Benghazi attack, WND broke the story that murdered U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens himself played a central role in arming rebels and recruiting jihadists to fight Assad, according to Egyptian security officials.

In November 2012, Middle Eastern security sources further described both the U.S. mission and nearby CIA annex in Benghazi as the main intelligence and planning center for U.S. aid to the rebels, which was being coordinated with Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

Many rebel fighters are openly members of terrorist organizations, including al-Qaida.

The information may help determine what motivated the deadly attacks in Benghazi.

In an interview with Reuters published Tuesday, Libyan warlord Abdul Basit Haroun declared he is behind some of the biggest shipments of weapons from Libya to Syria. Most of the weapons were sent to Turkey, where they were then smuggled into neighboring Syria, he said.

Haroun explained he sent a massive weapons shipment from the port in Benghazi in August 2012, days before the attack on the U.S. compound. The weapons were smuggled into Syria aboard a Libyan ship that landed in Turkey purportedly to deliver humanitarian aid.

Ismail Salabi, a commander of the February 17 Brigade, told Reuters that Haroun was a member of the Brigade until he quit to form his own brigade.

The February 17 Brigade provided external security to the attacked Benghazi U.S. compound, including the villa where Stevens lived when he was in Benghazi. Stevens held his last meeting with a Turkish diplomat in the compound and ultimately died there in the attack.
[Related Article: Barack Obama's Bloody Hands]

The February 17 Brigade is part of the al-Qaida-linked Ansar Al-Sharia, a militia that advocates the strict implementation of Islamic law in Libya and elsewhere.

Ansar al-Sharia initially used Internet forums and social media to claim responsibility for the Benghazi attack. Later, a spokesman for the group denied it was behind the attack.

Witnesses told reporters they saw vehicles with the group’s logo at the scene of the Sept. 11 attack and that gunmen fighting at the compound had stated they were part of Ansar al-Sharia.

Some witnesses said they saw Ahmed Abu Khattala, a commander of Ansar al-Sharia, leading the attack. Contacted by news media, Khattala denied that he was at the scene.

Meanwhile, a Libyan official speaking to Reuters said he had allowed weapons to leave the port of Benghazi for Syria.

MANPADS

Haroun told Reuters he runs the weapons smuggling operation with an associate, who helps him coordinate about a dozen people in Libyan cities collecting weapons for Syria.

Last month, WND reported the U.S. Benghazi compound was involved in weapons collection efforts.

In a largely unnoticed speech to a think tank seven months before the Benghazi attack, a top State Department official described an unprecedented multi-million-dollar U.S. effort to secure anti-aircraft weapons in Libya after the fall of Gadhafi’s regime.

The official, Andrew J. Shapiro, assistant secretary of state for the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, said U.S. experts were fully coordinating the collection efforts with the Libyan opposition.

He said the efforts were taking place in Benghazi, where a leading U.S. expert was deployed.

In January, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton confirmed the efforts when she told Congress the CIA was leading a “concerted effort to try to track down and find and recover … MANPADS” looted from Gadhafi’s stockpiles.

Haroun did not mention any U.S. involvement in his weapons dealings.

However, last March the New York Times reported the CIA had worked with rebel commanders to coordinate the shipment of arms to the Syrian rebels since early 2012.

Last year, Business Insider alleged a connection between Stevens and a reported September shipment of SA-7 MANPADS and rocket-propelled grenades from Benghazi to Syria through Turkey.

Syrian rebels then reportedly began shooting down Syrian military helicopters with SA-7s.

 

Stevens’ last meeting on the night of the Benghazi attack was with Turkish Consul General Ali Sait Akin.

One source told Fox News that Stevens was in Benghazi “to negotiate a weapons transfer in an effort to get SA-7 missiles out of the hands of Libya-based extremists.”

‘Largest weapons shipment’

Fox News may find another one of its exclusive reports vindicated.

In October 2012, Fox News reported the Libyan-flagged vessel Al Entisar, which means “The Victory,” was received in the Turkish port of Iskenderun, 35 miles from the Syrian border, just five days before Stevens was killed.

The shipment, disguised as humanitarian aid, was described as the largest consignment of weapons headed for Syria’s rebels.

Fox News reported the shipment “may have some link to the Sept. 11 terror attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi.”

That shipment seems to be the one described by Haroun in his Reuters article.

Both Haroun and his associate described an August 2012 shipment with weapons hidden among about 460 metric tons of aid destined for Syrian refugees.

A recent U.N. report appears to confirm that weapons were hidden in the Al Entisar.

A U.N. Panel found that the loading port for the shipment was Benghazi, that the exporter was “a relief organization based in Benghazi” and the consignee was the same Islamic foundation based in Turkey that Haroun told Reuters had helped with documentation.

Clinton misled?

Meanwhile, earlier this month Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., told CNN: “I’ve actually always suspected that, although I have no evidence, that maybe we were facilitating arms leaving Libya going through Turkey into Syria. … Were they trying to obscure that there was an arms operation going on at the CIA annex? I’m not sure exactly what was going on, but I think questions ought to be asked and answered.”

 

In January, in the Benghazi hearings, Paul asked Clinton about weapons shipments to Turkey, as WND reported.

Paul asked Clinton: “Is the U. S. involved with any procuring of weapons, transfer of weapons, buying, selling, anyhow transferring weapons to Turkey out of Libya?

“To Turkey?” Clinton asked. “I will have to take that question for the record. Nobody has ever raised that with me.”

Continued Paul: “It’s been in news reports that ships have been leaving from Libya and that may have weapons, and what I’d like to know is the annex that was close by, were they involved with procuring, buying, selling, obtaining weapons, and were any of these weapons being transferred to other countries, any countries, Turkey included?”

Clinton replied, “Well, senator, you’ll have to direct that question to the agency that ran the annex. I will see what information is available.”

“You’re saying you don’t know?” asked Paul.

“I do not know,” Clinton said. “I don’t have any information on that.”
[Related Article: Where Are His Biggest Fans?]

With additional research by Joshua Klein.

AARON KLEIN
Aaron Klein is WND's senior staff reporter and Jerusalem bureau chief. He also hosts "Aaron Klein Investigative Radio" on New York's WABC Radio. Follow Aaron on Twitter and Facebook.

Excerpt from I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist
by Norman L. Geisler and Frank Turek.
Source: InPlainSite.org
[Also See Section I - Christianity Defined and Section II - Reasons To Believe]

Please note: additional article "What Are the Odds" follows after Anthropic Principle: The Design Is In The Details.

Scientists are now finding that the universe in which we live is like a diamond studded Rolex, except the universe is even more precisely designed than the watch. In fact, the universe is specifically tweaked to enable life on planet earth. A planet with scores of improbable, inter-dependent, life-supporting conditions that make it a tiny oasis in a vast and hostile universe. The extent of the universe’s fine-tuning makes the Anthropic Principle perhaps the most powerful argument for the existence of God.

These highly precise and interdependent environmental conditions (which are called “Anthropic Constants”) make up what is known as the “Anthropic Principle.” “Anthropic” comes from the Greek word that means “human” or “man”. The “Anthropic Principle” is just a fancy title for the mounting evidence that has many scientists believing that the universe is extremely fine-tuned (designed) to support human life here on earth.

It’s not that there are just a few broadly defined constants that may have resulted by chance. No, there are more than 100 very narrowly defined constants that strongly point to an intelligent Designer.

Astrophysicist Hugh Ross has calculated the probability that these and other constants (122 in all) would exist today for any planet in the universe by chance (I.e., without Divine design). Assuming there are 1022 planets in the universe (a very large number: 1 with 22 zeros following it), his answer is shocking; one chance in 10138, that’s one chance in one with 138 zeros after it. There are only about 1070 atoms in the entire universe.

In effect, there is a zero chance that any planet in the universe would have the life-supporting conditions we have, unless there is an intelligent Designer behind it all.

Here are fifteen of them:

Anthropic Constant 1: Oxygen Level
On earth, oxygen comprises 21 percent of the atmosphere. That precise figure is an Anthropic Constant that makes life on earth possible. If oxygen were 25% fires would erupt spontaneously, if it were 15%, human beings would suffocate.

Anthropic Constant 2: Atmospheric Transparency
If the atmosphere were less transparent, not enough solar radiation would reach the earth’s surface. If it were more transparent we would be bombarded with far roo much solar radiation down here. (In addition to atmospheric transparency, the atmospheric composition of precise levels of nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide and ozone are in themselves Anthropic constants).

Anthropic Constant 3: Moon-Earth Gravitational Interaction
If the interaction were greater than it currently is, tidal effects on the oceans, atmosphere, and rotational period would be too severe. If it were less, orbital changes would cause climatic instabilities. In either event, life on earth would be impossible.

Anthropic Constant 4: Carbon Dioxide Level
If the CO2 level were higher than it is now, a runaway greenhouse effect would develop (we’d all burn up). If the level were lower than it is now, plants would not be able to maintain efficient photosynthesis (we’d all suffocate).

Anthropic Constant 5: Gravity
If the gravitational force were altered by 0.000000000000000000000000000 00000000001 percent, our sun would not exist, and, therefore neither would we. Talk about precision.

Anthropic Constant 6: Centrifugal Force
If the centrifugal force of planetary movements did not precisely balance the gravitational forces, nothing could be held in orbit around the sun.

Anthropic Constant 7: Rate Of Expansion
If the universe had expanded at a rate one millionth more slowly than it did, expansion would have stopped and the universe would have collapsed on itself before any stars had formed. If it had expanded faster, then no galaxies would have formed.

Anthropic Constant 8: Speed Of Light
Any of the laws of physics can be described as a function of the velocity of light (now defined to be 299,792,458 meters per second). Even a slight variation in the speed of light would alter the other constants and preclude the possibility of life on earth.

Anthropic Constant 9: Water Vapor Levels
If water vapor levels in the atmosphere were greater than they are now, a runaway greenhouse effect would cause temperatures to rise too high for human life. If they were less, an insufficient greenhouse effect would make the earth to cold to support human life.

Anthropic Constant 10: Jupiter
If Jupiter were not in it’s current orbit, the earth would be bombarded with space material. Jupiter’s gravitational field acts as a cosmic vacuum cleaner, attracting asteroids and comets that might otherwise strike earth.

Anthropic Constant 11: The Earth’s Crust
If the thickness of the earth’s crust were greater, too much oxygen would be transferred to the crust to support life. If it were thinner, volcanic and tectonic activity would make life impossible.

Anthropic Constant 12: The Earth’s Rotation
If the rotation of the earth took longer than 24 hours, temperature differences would be too great between night and day. If the rotation period were shorter, atmospheric wind velocities would be to great.

Anthropic Constant 13: Axis Tilt
The 23-degree axis tilt of the earth is just right. If the tilt were altered slightly, surface temperatures would be too extreme on earth.

Anthropic Constant 14: Atmospheric Discharge
If the atmospheric discharge (lightning) rate were greater, there would be too much fire destruction; if it were less there would be little nitrogen fixings in the soil.

Anthropic Constant 15: Seismic Activity
If there were more seismic activity, much more life would be lost; if there were less, nutrients on the ocean floors and in river runoff would not be cycled back to the continents through tectonic uplift. (yes, even earthquakes are necessary to sustain life as we know it).

[By www.y-origins.com - Science and the Origins of Life]

In his movie Signs, M. Night Shyamalan presents us with a priest (played by Mel Gibson) who has lost his faith. Through the death of his wife, the priest has come to the conclusion that life is random. He has decided that he will no longer pretend to see God in the picture.

As Shyamalan zooms in his lens, he shows us that life is without focus: there is no recognizable pattern. But typical of Shyamalan, he turns the lens one more screw to the right, and at this magnification a pattern emerges. Gibson’s character is able to see the hand of a great Designer lurking behind all that had seemed random. His wife’s dying words, his daughter’s obsession with water, his son’s asthma—everything served a larger purpose.

At the end Mel Gibson returns to the priesthood and makes a blockbuster called The Passion of the Christ. Well, not exactly, but his character comes full circle—from faith to skepticism and back to faith. Meanwhile, Shyamalan takes his audience on the same circuitous journey, exploring issues of design and higher purpose in the world.

In many ways the evidence for intelligent design of the universe has come full circle. When early humans looked at the heavens, they could not escape the concept of a Creator. In fact, until the 1500s, most people believed in the ancient astronomer Ptolemy’s teaching, that Earth was the center of the universe.

But, in the 16th century, Copernicus showed that Earth revolved around the Sun. Suddenly our planet seemed less special. Some astronomers looked out at the universe through telescopes and deduced a Creator was unnecessary. Their argument for a materialist worldview was energized by the belief in an ordinary Earth. Although the founders of modern astronomy strongly believed that the universe was the work of a cosmic genius, these later followers saw the cosmos as totally autonomous and independent of a Designer. Copernicus, a strong believer in God, couldn’t have disagreed more with such an assumption, and would have taken exception to it. In the 19th century, this belief in an ordinary Earth became popularized as the “Copernican Principle.” This principle has become the bedrock for a materialistic view of the world. However, new scientific discoveries are challenging its premise. In the latter part of the 20th century evidence began pouring in about the remarkable fitness of Earth for life, compelling many scientists to reconsider the obvious implication that an intelligent Designer is behind it all.

Scientists have learned that only an exceptionally fine-tuned planet like Earth has the necessary ingredients to harbor life. Additionally, our solar system and galaxy, as well as our entire universe, appear designed to support intelligent life.

The odds that such fine-tuning could have occurred by chance is not just unlikely–scientists say it is virtually impossible.

THEY DON'T CALL THESE NUMBERS ASTRONOMICAL FOR NOTHING
An article in U.S. News & World Report remarks, “So far no theory is even close to explaining why physical laws exist, much less why they take the form they do. Standard big bang theory, for example, essentially explains the propitious universe in this way: ‘Well, we got lucky.’ ” [1]

On Christmas Day in 2002, Jack Whitaker, of Scott Depot, West Virginia, got lucky, becoming the largest single-ticket lottery jackpot winner ever in North America. His prize? A Powerball jackpot of $314.9 million. Over a hundred million other tickets didn’t match. What are the odds of that? (And what are the odds that every time I go to the Quikie-Mart I’m stuck in line behind someone purchasing several dozen tickets?)

If someone won even two such lotteries consecutively, we would all assume the results were rigged. And yet, when it comes to life existing in our universe, the odds are far more remote than winning a hundred Powerball lotteries consecutively.

Physicist Paul Davies comments, “The conclusion must be that we live in a world of astronomical unlikelihood.” [2]

Donald Page of Princeton’s Institute for Advanced Study has calculated that the odds against our universe randomly taking a form suitable for life is one out of 10124, a number beyond imagination. [3]

To try and visualize the difficulty, imagine all the grains of sand on all the beaches on Earth. Then encrypt one grain with a special code known only to you, and randomly bury that grain on a beach somewhere on Earth. (Maybe enjoy a vacation in Maui while you’re at it).

The chance a blindfolded person would ever discover that one grain of sand on their first pick is one out of 1020 (one chance in 100 billion billion.) Yet, scientists tell us that the likelihood of a big bang explosion resulting in a universe able to support life like ours is many times more improbable.

Now offer a reward to anyone who can find it on one pick, even though they don’t know which beach to scour, or how deep it is buried. But what if they did? Would anyone believe they discovered it by accident? Yet, scientists tell us that the likelihood of a big bang explosion resulting in a universe able to support life like ours is many times more improbable.

As we consider the odds for the fine-tuning of our universe, galaxy, solar system, and planet, let’s keep in mind just how extreme these odds really are. Not just one, but all of them require unbelievably precise fine-tuning. Can such precision be a result of anything other than design? Let’s take a look at why scientists are baffled.

A FINELY TUNED UNIVERSE
Dr. Robin Collins states in The Case for a Creator, “Over the past thirty years or so, scientists have discovered that just about everything about the basic structure of the universe is balanced on a razor’s edge.” [4] Over 35 different characteristics of the universe and its physical laws must be precisely fine-tuned for physical life to be possible. [5] Following are six of those characteristics:

A large enough expansion rate. The birth of the universe had to begin with enough force, or life couldn’t exist. Stephen Hawking states, “If the rate of expansion one second after the big bang had been smaller by even one part in a hundred thousand million million, the universe would have recollapsed before it ever reached its present size.” [6]

A controlled expansion rate. Although the expansion rate had to be great enough for the universe to avoid a big crunch, if its outward force had been even a fraction greater, that would have been too much for gravity to form stars and planets. Life could never have been possible. [7]

Force of gravity. If the gravitational force were altered by 0.000000000000000000000000000 00000000001 percent, neither Earth nor our Sun would exist—and you would not be here reading this. [8]

The balance of matter and antimatter. In the formation of the universe, the balance between matter and antimatter, and the excess of matter over antimatter, needed to be accurate to one part in ten billion for the universe to arise.

The mass density of the universe. For physical life to exist, the mass density of the universe must be fine-tuned to better than one part in a trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion (1060). [9] Thus, the mass contained in all dark and visible matter, including stars, is essential for the existence of our universe.

Space-energy density. The space-energy density of the universe requires much greater precision than the mass density. For physical life to be possible, it must be fine-tuned to one part in 10120. [10]

According to the big bang theory, all of this minute fine-tuning was programmed into the initial conditions of the first microsecond of the explosion that began our universe. At that instant the rate and ratios of expansion, mass, density, antimatter, matter, etc., were set in place, eventually leading to a habitable planet called Earth.

In addition to the 35 different characteristics of our universe that must be just right for life to exist, over 100 characteristics of our galaxy, solar system, and planet needed to be fine-tuned or we would not be here. [11]

A FINELY TUNED GALAXY
Galaxies are clusters of stars containing from millions to trillions of stars. Our own galaxy is called the Milky Way. It’s unknown how many galaxies the universe contains, but it may be around a trillion. Surprisingly, given the great number of these star groups, most galaxies are incompatible with life.

In order for life to exist in a galaxy, it needs to meet several criteria. [12] The following are just three of the fine-tuned characteristics a galaxy needs to support life:

Shape of the galaxy. The Milky Way is spiral-shaped. Of the three types of galaxies—elliptical, irregular, and spiral— the spiral type is most capable of hosting human life.

Not too large a galaxy. Our Milky Way is enormous, measuring 100,000 light-years from end to end. However, if it were just a bit larger, too much radiation and too many gravitational disturbances would prohibit life like ours.

Not too small a galaxy. On the other hand, a stable Earth orbit that is necessary for life could not exist if our galaxy were slightly smaller. And a smaller galaxy would result in inadequate heavy elements, such as iron and carbon, essential to life.

Our Milky Way galaxy meets these and many other conditions essential for life. Most of the others do not. When we focus in even closer, on our own star and its planets, the odds for life being possible become even more extreme.

A FINELY TUNED SOLAR SYSTEM
Copernicus’s theory that Earth revolved around the Sun, seemed to relegate our planet to an ordinary status in the universe. However, if Earth was the center of our solar system, as Ptolemy and 16th century Catholic Church leaders had taught, we wouldn’t be here. None of them, including Copernicus, knew that in order for human life to be possible, Earth needs to revolve around a Sun that has just the right size, location, and conditions as ours does.

But that is not all. We need other planets such as Jupiter and Mars to act as defense shields, protecting us from a potential catastrophic bombardment of comets and meteors. We also need a moon of just the right size and position to impact our tides and seasons. Let’s take a look at just a few of the many conditions in our solar system that are just right for life.

The Sun’s distance from the center of the galaxy. Our Sun is positioned thousands of light-years from the center of the Milky Way, near one of its spiral arms. [13] This is the safest part of the galaxy, away from its highly radioactive center.

The Sun’s mass not too large. If the mass of the Sun were a small percentage greater, it would burn too quickly and erratically to support life.

The Sun’s mass not too small. On the other hand, if it were smaller, its greater flaring would disrupt Earth’s rotation rate.

The Sun’s metal content. Only two percent of all stars have enough metal content to form planets. Too much metal in a star will allow too many planets to form, creating chaos. Our Sun has just the right amount of metal for planets to form safely.

Effect of the Moon. The Moon stabilizes the Earth’s tilt and is responsible for our seasons. If it weren’t there, our tilt could swing widely over a large range, making our winters a hundred degrees colder and our summers a hundred degrees warmer.

When astronomers consider our remarkable solar system, they acknowledge that if it was slightly different, advanced biological life would be impossible. But it is not enough to have the right universe, galaxy, and solar system for human life to be possible. The conditions of our home planet must also be fine-tuned to a razor’s edge.

A FINELY TUNED PLANET
You may believe that aliens have sent life to Earth from a far distant galaxy (the premise of that memorable drama from 2004, AVP: Alien vs. Predator). You may believe that the government is hiding something outer spatial in Nevada’s mysterious Area 51. Or you may simply believe that there is undoubtedly intelligent life on other planets. In any case, we have all been raised on the assumption that, given enough time, intelligent life will spring up anywhere in the cosmos (with perhaps a few more eyeballs or reptilian features). Yet new evidence from cosmology is really saying the opposite.

The reality is that we live on an extremely rare planet perfectly positioned in an extremely rare solar system, ideally located in an extremely rare galaxy, within a highly improbable universe. Let’s look at our rare Earth.

Water. Earth has an abundance of water, which is essential for life. Mars once had water and therefore might have harbored life. But water is only one of many requirements for life.

Oxygen. Earth is the only planet in our solar system in which we can breathe. Attempting to breathe on other planets, such as Mars or Venus, would be instantly fatal, Mars having virtually no atmosphere and Venus having mostly carbon dioxide and almost no oxygen.

Earth’s distance from the Sun. If the Earth were merely one percent closer to the Sun, the oceans would vaporize, preventing the existence of life. On the other hand, if our planet were just two percent farther from the Sun, the oceans would freeze and the rain that enables life would be nonexistent.

Plate tectonic activity on Earth. Scientists have determined that if the plate tectonic activity were greater, human life could not be sustained and greenhouse-gas reduction would overcompensate for increasing solar luminosity. Yet, if the activity was smaller, life-essential nutrients would not be recycled adequately and greenhouse-gas reduction would not compensate for increasing solar luminosity.

Ozone level in the atmosphere. Life on Earth survives because the ozone level is within the safe range for habitation. However, if the ozone level were much greater, there would be too little UV radiation for adequate plant growth. Yet, if the ozone level were much smaller, there would be too much UV radiation for adequate plant growth, and life would be impossible.

For life to exist, these, as well as many other conditions need to be just right. [15]

ONE BLOOMING ROCK
University of Washington professors Peter Ward and Donald Brownlee conclude in their book, Rare Earth, that the conditions favorable for life must be so rare in the universe that “not only intelligent life, but even the simplest of animal life is exceedingly rare in our galaxy and in the universe.” [16] This has led their readers to the conclusion expressed by the reviewer from the New York Times: “Maybe we are alone in the universe, after all.” [17]

If Ward and Brownlee are right, what does that mean to us?

Michael Denton, senior research fellow in human molecular genetics at the University of Otago in New Zealand, tells us why this remarkable fine-tuning has reopened the discussion on the importance of man in our lonely universe. [18]

No other theory or concept imagined by man can equal in boldness and audacity this great claim … that all the starry heavens, and every species of life, that every characteristic of reality exists for mankind. … And today, four centuries after the scientific revolution, the doctrine is again reemerging. In the last decades of the twentieth century, its credibility is being enhanced by discoveries in several branches of fundamental science.

It seems ludicrous to claim that life exists on only one tiny speck in a universe of ten billion trillion stars. Yet, incredibly, Earth appears to sit alone in a hostile universe devoid of life, a reality portrayed recently in National Geographic:

If life sprang up through natural processes on the Earth, then the same thing could presumably happen on other worlds. And yet when we look at outer space, we do not see an environment teeming with life.

We see planets and moons where no life as we know it could possibly survive. In fact we see all sorts of wildly different planets and moons—hot places, murky places, ice worlds, gas worlds—and it seems that there are far more ways to be a dead world than a live one. [19]

The incredibly precise numerical values required for life confront scientists with obvious implications. Stephen Hawking observes, “The remarkable fact is that the values of these numbers seem to have been very finely adjusted to make possible the development of life.” [20]

Notes

1. Gregg Easterbrook, “Before the Big Bang,” U.S. News & World Report, special edition, 2003, 16.

2. Paul Davies, Other Worlds (London: Penguin, 1990), 169.

3. Dietrick E. Thompsen, “The Quantum Universe: A Zero-Point Fluctuation?” Science News, August 3, 1985, 73.

4. Quoted in Lee Strobel, The Case for a Creator (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2004), 131.

5. Hugh Ross, The Creator and the Cosmos, 3rd ed. (Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 2001), 224.

6. Stephen Hawking, A Brief History of Time (New York: Bantam, 1990), 121–122.

7. John D. Barrow and George Silk, The Left Hand of Creation: The Origin and Evolution of the Expanding Universe (New York: Basic, 1983), 206.

8. Lawrence M. Krauss, “The End of the Age Problem and the Case for a Cosmological Constant Revisited,” Astrophysical Journal 501 (1998): 461–466.

9. Ross, 53.

10. Ibid., 187.

11. Ibid., 187–193.

12. Guillermo Gonzalez and Jay W. Richards, The Privileged Planet (Washington, DC: Regnery, 2004), 132–138.

13. Ibid., 132–138.

14. Eugene Wigner, “The Unreasonable Effectiveness of Mathematics in the Physical Sciences,” Communications on Pure and Applied Mathematics 13 (1960), 1-14.

15. Ross. 175-199.

16. Peter D. Ward and Donald Brownlee, Rare Earth (New York: Copernicus, 2000).

17. William J. Broad, “Maybe We Are Alone in the Universe After All,” New York Times, (February 8, 2000), 1-4.

18. Michael J. Denton, Nature’s Destiny: How the Laws of Biology Reveal Purpose in the Universe (New York: The Free Press, 1998), 3-4.

19. Joel Achenbach, “Life Beyond Earth,” National Geographic (January, 2000, Special Millennium Issue), 45.

20. Hawking, 124.

 

Author: Rogr Pepin
Source: Christian-Home-Business-Help

What the Bible says in Ephesians 5:21 - 6:4 is not very popular today but this is what God expects a family to be.

The man is the key to making the family work the way God intended. God puts the responsibility of having a Biblical family on the man. The feminist movement (with the help of TV) portray fathers as fools. They also try and say there is no difference between a man and a woman. If you can’t see the difference, I am sorry, I can’t help you. Just observe their behavior.
[Related Article: Ten Lies of Feminism]

On top of that, men are under a lot of job pressure because of the failing economy which makes it harder to provide for the family. Many men never had a role model in their home. We need Godly men helping other men become whom they ought to be for the glory of God.

First men, love your family. Verse 25 says, Husbands love your wives. Verse 28 says, “So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies.” Verse 33 says, “Nevertheless, let every one of you in particular so love his wife, even as himself.” Then in verse 25 he says, “Husbands love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church.”
[Related Article: Male Leadership]

Men, love your family like Jesus loved the church. So how did Jesus love the church? It is selfless and sacrificial love. He gave his life on the cross of Calvary. That's how much a man is supposed to love his family. The end of verse 28 says man is to love the members of his family as he loves his own body. He is to nourish it. He is to cherish it. He is to take care of it. That's the way God wants a man to love his family.

Men, lead your family. You are the spiritual leader of your family if you are saved. You have to understand the Bible principle to be under the lordship of Jesus Christ, not only for your sake, but also for the sake of your family. That's why every man needs to be totally dedicated to Jesus Christ as Lord of his life. You can't lead your family to the lordship of Jesus Christ unless you are under His Lordship.
[Related Article: Divorce and Remarriage - The Difficult Truths of Scripture]

You must have a partnership. Eph. 5:21 says, Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God. Family is a partnership between husband and wife. Some men can lead major corporations yet can't run their own family. When you fathered a child, it did not end your role. God wants children to have a mother and also a father who is committed to the partnership of making that marriage work.

Are you head of the house? Eph. 5:23 says, “For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church and the Savior of the body.” Notice that it didn't say the head over the wife; it said the head of the wife. It is not dictatorship. A man is not the dictator in the family. But the man is to protect and provide for his family. “But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel,” 1Tim. 5:8.

Being a good provider is not enough. You have a spiritual responsibility. Get your family in church each Sunday. Take every opportunity to help them learn about Jesus Christ and to grow in their relationship with Him.
[Related Article: Women and the Ministry]

Some of you are going to reap a bitter harvest one day because you are teaching your children that homework is more important than church. Or excelling in sports is more important than excelling in the things of God. You are missing the boat with those children. Some day they will show you how well they have learned the lessons you taught them. Get a backbone and make Godly decisions for your sons and daughters in your family.

In verses 25-27, it says, "for husbands to love your own wife as Christ loved the church and gave himself for it that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of the water by the word. That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish."

As Christ lifts the church, men lift your family. Find out how God has gifted your family members and encourage them to develop those gifts to the glory of God. Don’t choose a career for them. It is much better to let them become what God wants them to be. It is a good thing to help your children get an education. To help them become financially secure. But if all you give them is knowledge and wealth, you failed. Give them Jesus. Give them Godliness and teach them that the things of God are most important.

Don’t think for a moment that you will always do it right. That is impossible. You are human. But if you are the man, the father, the kind of husband God wants you to be, and if you lift your family to be everything God wants them to be, one of these days you will reap a good harvest in your children.

Make sure you obey the Word of the Lord. Ask the Lord to help you be the man you should be. Some of you have failed to lead your family like you should. Fix it today. Some of you wives need to pray for your man and support him, not hinder him.

Children, pray for parents and ask God to forgive you for your rebellious attitude. Thank God that He has given you a good, Godly family. Some of you families need to pray, and get on God’s path and walk in His will for His glory.

Roger Pepin
Niagara Falls, Canada

Author: Rita Peck
Source: Rapture Ready

As each day passes, I sadly watch as this once great nation slides down that awful path to God’s judgment and ultimate destruction, and my soul weeps for her. A nation that was once the light to the world:

“Bring me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore, send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me. I lift my lamp beside ther golden doo!"
- Engraved on the Statue of Liberty

A nation where you are free to worship God without persecution, without fear, in a nation blessed by God Himself!

That is now a thing of the past.

Every day brings more and more unbelievable revelations of a nation turning its back on God, giving us our own version of “shock and awe” (and not in a good way). Homosexuality is now the preferred lifestyle condoned and promoted by our very own government; the level of greed amongst individuals and corporations is staggering; people are meaner to each other than ever before; and the words coming out of people’s mouths is more vile and disgusting than I ever remember.
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Gone are wonderful, entertaining shows like “The Andy Griffith Show” and “The Walton’s,” being replaced by disgusting and repulsive shows like: “2 Broke Girls” and “Two and a Half Men.”

Our country is the number one producer and distributor of pornography in the world but there is no outcry. There is no outrage. And the list just keeps on going.

But then I woke up this morning to a new revelation that gave me goose bumps and made me sick to my stomach. The headlines read: “Pentagon May Court Martial Soldiers Who Share Christian Faith” (breitbart.com article 1 May 2013).

Are you kidding me?

According to this report, the Pentagon has released a statement confirming this.

Not only could soldiers be prosecuted for sharing their faith, they could also be prosecuted for merely expressing their faith. This would also apply to military chaplains if they dare to share their faith with others. Isn’t that their job? What if someone sneezes? Would they get ten to twenty years hard labor in Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas if they say “God bless you?” Forgive me, I’m not trying to trivialize this, but this is about as absurd as I have ever heard.
[Related Article: Why Are God's People Hated?]

I served in the United States Air Force for 24 years and I was honored to have served my country for that time. I sacrificed a lot for God and country, for our way of life, to do my part to help ensure freedom would always ring on these shores in a country created and blessed by none other than the Creator of the universe!

But I don’t recognize our country or our military any longer. Things are changing and they are changing fast. A friend of mine has a daughter serving in the United States Army. They are indoctrinating them, if you will, to believe that Israel is the root cause of all the problems in the Middle East and that the Palestinians are a persecuted people due to the terrorist tactics perpetrated on them by the Israeli’s. It truly boggles the mind.

It saddens me to see what is happening in this country, but then I also know one great thing. God is in control! It is called the “sovereignty” of God and there is nothing He does not have absolute control over. He does what He pleases when He pleases, all for His glory!

“… Surely, just as I have intended, so it has happened, and just as I have planned, so it will stand” (Isaiah 14:24).

“Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things which have not been done, saying, ‘My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all my good pleasure’” (Isaiah 46:10).

“It is He who changes the times and the epochs; He removes kings and establishes kings …” (Daniel 2:21).

I find great comfort in knowing God is in control and as immoral and sinful as this country is and knowing how immoral and sinful this country will become, it will all be done exactly as God planned for His glory! If this is the day that Jesus calls us all home, I say even so, come quickly!

I give warning to our government and to our citizens: beware!

God will not be mocked. We are without a doubt headed for destruction.
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“Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness” (Isaiah 5:20).

“The Lord is slow to anger and great in power, and the Lord will by no means leave the guilty unpunished” (Nahum 1:3).

But also…

“…And if My people who are called by My name shall humble themselves and pray, and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin, and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14).

It may be too late for that but one thing is sure. God loves you and He died for your sins. Don’t miss the greatest event to happen in human history since Christ’s death and resurrection: it’s called The Rapture.

You think things are bad now, just wait.

This is nothing.

Author: Rita Peck
Source: Rapture Ready

Jesus is right!

I shouldn’t be: surprised by that statement. However, the more I learn about Him the more I realize just how right He is about everything. Take, for instance the negative influence non-believers can have on the life of a believer.

Have you ever noticed how quickly you pick-up on a sinful habit or how quickly you compromise your beliefs when you regularly associate with people who are not true Christians? When everyone around you uses curse words continually, those same words begin to slowly creep into your own vocabulary.

If you hang out with someone who drinks excessively, chances are very good that your consumption of alcohol will begin to increase also. Their immoral viewpoints and way of thinking, may, over time, become your viewpoints and way of thinking. [Related Article: Prayer for Wendy McCreary]

“Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?
Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols?
For we are the temple of the Living God; just as God said, ‘I will dwell in them and walk among them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
Therefore, come out of their midst and be separate,’ says the Lord. ‘And do not touch what is unclean; and I will welcome you. And I will be a Father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to Me,’ says the Lord Almighty”.
(2 Corinthians 6:14-18)

“The righteous should choose his friends carefully, for the way of the wicked leads them astray” (Proverbs 12:26).

We must be very careful with whom we associate. Even the strongest of Christians can waiver in their faith and suddenly find them selves sliding down that slippery slope to compromise and immorality. I am not saying you could lose your salvation because you are friends with unbelievers. However we, as Christians, struggle daily against the wiles of the devil. Why would we want to compound that struggle by associating with those whose god is this world, whose god is the devil?

“Our enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8).

God has called on us to be the conscience of the nation by godly living and setting the example of how we should act. Godly living is our calling as Christians. We should hate evil in EVERY form just as God hates evil. A godly man HATES evil and loves holiness.
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“Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you” (Philippians 4:8-9).

So now what do we do?

We could sell everything we own and move to a monastery in the hope that those bad influences and temptations in our lives would be eliminated. That could work for possibly a day or two, although I don’t think that is what God has in mind for us. We are to be a light onto this darkened world. We are to show the world the love of God without loving the world.

How do we do that?

First and foremost, NEVER take your eyes off of Jesus. Make it a habit to always have Him in the back of your mind throughout the day. Talk to Him all day long. Everything that happens to you, thank Him with a genuine heart, no matter what. Everything you do, do for His glory!

"Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18).

Second, think: “What would Jesus do?” If everyone in the world thought that before they opened their mouths or set in motion a business transaction or before doing anything, there would be so much more peace and contentment in life. Sin would still be here, but perhaps this world would be a little less vicious and cruel.

“Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1).

“For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps” (1 Peter 2:21).

“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Romans 12: 2).

Be aware of how you react to situations. Be aware of what words you speak and how you speak them. Christians are known by their fruits and believe it when I tell you that the world is watching everything you do. If the world gets wind that you are a Christian then the game is on. One false word or one insensitive act and you are toast. We are judged as a whole by the actions of one or a few. The world loves to find fault and it wallows in evil and takes pleasure in the misfortunes of others, especially Christians.

When the Lord calls me home, whether I die or am taken in the Rapture, I want to hear those wonderful words:

“Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord” (Matthew 25:21).