All Out Assault
Have you ever been attacked for saying that Christianity is under attack? Here’s the strange part; the person attacking has no idea of the irony of the situation. To them, you’re deluded, or insensitive, or at least misinformed. When you try to bring up moral issues, or issues of grand concepts concerning judgement then you’re attacked as being oppressive, judgmental, or spiritually jingoistic. The question as to whether or not there actually is an ongoing attack against Christianity becomes mute, because they aren’t the one attacking you, you’re the one attacking them.
Financially successful televangelists as well as radio broadcasters of the “seed money” principle fill the air waves with messages directed toward a concept that wealth and piety are synonymous or at least go hand in hand. Prosperity is held up as a sign or proof that the pious Christian will also be prosperous. There are no poor Christians or, to put it another way, the poor person who claims to be a Christian must not be a spiritual person. Wealth is being held up as a measure of piety. The poor widow of Sarepta (Zarephath) was not a godly person it would seem (Luke 4:6; See also I Kings 17:8-15; Proverbs 30:7-91).
The Greek word commonly used in scripture that is translated into the English as “the world” is cosmos. It is not “earth” as is used in the common vernacular; but, it is used to describe the political and sociological organizations (esp. governing bodies) of the peoples that inhabit the planet.
The individual causes of permission, in its variety and in that of the permitted acts, and of sins, are, at the same time, various and manifold, and not generally explicable, which can, perhaps, in some way, be demonstrated by those, who have their senses exercised in divine things, and are accustomed to consider them with earnest study. Two general or universal reasons can be presented for the fact that God permits events in general, and why He permits any particular event. One is the freedom of the will, which God bestowed on rational creatures, and which He designed as the mistress and the free source of their actions. The other is the declaration of the divine glory, which is of such a character as not only to effect and prevent that which can be effected and prevented, for his own glory, but also so to reduce to order the acts of rational creatures which are permitted, and which frequently deviate from the order, prescribed to them, that from it the praise of the divine goodness, mercy, patience, wisdom, justice and power may shine forth and be revealed. To which pertains that, which is beautifully said by Augustine, “God has judged that it belongs to His own omnipotent goodness to bring good out of evil rather than not to permit evil to exist.” [(Since God Himself acted on behalf of sinners proactively to initiate redemption He is without fault and fully exonerated from any untoward act) See John 3:16; Romans 8:32; 2 Corinthians 5:21].
My father told me a parable he once heard. A little boy who was starving was standing in front of a bread store. He had a little money in his pocket and the bread looked and smelled so good. He stood in front of the door, sure that he didn’t have enough money for a loaf to eat, but he never went in to ask. Because of his own shame, he just stood there, starving.
There comes a time, in every person’s life, when they begin to live inside their own head. Most of us understand the world through our own eyes. All of the things that happen to us are seen through our own perceptions. The “aware” person tries to see things through other’s eyes, but in reality we see those things filtered through our own thoughts. This is the difficulty.
It is common practice among churches large and small to cheat publishers of Christian material. For instance publishers provide “free” copies of books, music and other items to advertise their merchandise as well as encourage more variety in worship. At times purchases are given with free material as a bonus and if the material is returned the church may keep the free material.
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