5 Reasons why Atheism is Wrong

I was reading a story recently about yet another a group that mercilessly attacked a high school because the foot ball team for prayed over an injured teammate.  I want to talk about 5 reasons no one should be an atheist. 

1.  No Paid Holidays

This is actually an old Henny Youngman joke, but it's true. Our calendar has at least 7 holidays that are Christian or reflect Christian beliefs and about 11 holidays that are Jewish and penned in some calendars as well.  There's even two that could be counted as pagan: Halloween and the Vernal Equinox; even though Halloween is the eve of all Saints Day on November 1st.

2. No Moral Compass

I once took a class in introductory business law, and one of the first things the textbook outlined was the purpose and history of law.  One of the purposes of law was to establish limits on what was acceptable in society.  With the decline of the church in recent years and the rise of crimes and moral ills; a new field has come along called ethics.  Ethics tries to incorporate a standardized belief system of rights and wrongs without a true internal belief system.  In other words a morality that is not of God.  Ethics will spend much time talking about internal and external belief systems but doesn't seem to scratch the surface.  Morality and the true underpinnings of our actions come from within.  We all contain a moral compass that will always guide us, provided we let it. The danger of atheism is that an external system with no "True North" will eventually fail because of the lack of a true landmark based in the knowledge of God.  We can argue about all the dos and don'ts but there are landmarks in morality that will never change!

3.  A Blank Check

A third problem with atheism, may sound like the debate fallacy of the "Slippery slope".  In short the slippery slope is an illegal debate tactic that suggests that one action will lead to another until we have drastic consequences from one small action.  For example: an ad on television undermines tooth brush sales.  Suddenly there is a decline in the tooth brush market, which eventually leads to bad breath, rotting teeth and a rise in denture plate sales!
OK thats a bit extreme but that is the slippery slope.  Although it is not always true, the slippery slope can hold water!  A person without a God-consciousness has written a blank check to himself or herself.  If nothing is wrong, and all things are allowable human nature suggests a downward turn towards anything. Where does this new freedom end?
In the bank of humanity, this blank check will eventually become overdrawn and all of humanity will eventually become the victim . . . all for the want of what we desire!  Just look at ancient history.

4.  Bad Manners

This one may sound odd, but what is the societal norm?  All around the globe the human race (with few exceptions) is a religious people.  Despite the fact that religions differ, two things don't seem to change:  There is a God, and he is offended by sin in  humanity.  Another point is that there is a sacrifice that is required.  The correct response to this is the Blood of Jesus!
Back to bad manners. 
If the majority believe in God, is it not bad manners that a select few want to eradicate God from our society?
If everyone is driving in one direction on the freeway, why do you want to be so different?   Do you not see the danger?  Even if you take God out of the picture, do you think you help the cause of atheism by being rude?

Honestly, consider this for a minute.

5.  Denial of Basic Humanity

Without stating what I wrote above, our human society screams from history, literature, architecture, science and even technology that we acknowledge God.  We are markedly different from the lower animals and are so much more than instinct and chemical reactions.  We are creatures of reason that understand there is something beyond our nature that makes this all possible.  How can we deny what makes us what we really are: more than an animal.  We have a body, soul and spirit! We are not just one element or nature.  To deny God is to deny our humanity and make us just animals incapable of reason and true greatness!


So,, the next time someone says that they are an atheist, remind them:  YOU ARE MUCH BETTER THAN THAT! YOU ARE BETTER THAN THAT!

Oh, and there are no paid holidays either!

Sincerely 

Your Brother in Christ

And  Senpai in Karate 

先輩

 

Verbal Judo: The book

I don't know what penchant it is that makes me fond of old books.  It could be that King Solomon said in Ecclesiastes that "There is no new thing under the sun"  and he also said that of making books "There is no end, and much study weareth the body"
Having said that, where does this leave my desire to read old books?  Well, probably that any information or story has probably already been told and a book is just a re-telling of previously known information yet unbeknownst to us!
Sometimes an older book on a particular subject, as long as it is not technology, will give us a richer view of the matter at hand.  Despite the internet, I still own a set of encyclopedias and use them from time to time.  I heard about a particular subject a while back called Verbal Judo.  Although the system was originally directed at law enforcement, the book by the late Dr George Thompson is the psychological adaptation of speaking that he compares with physical Judo.  Using an opponents words to create a win-win situation in communication.

One of the main reasons I purchased the book was because I have communication problems at home.  When I taught at a technical college, I found that I had communication problems with some of the students as well.  So, since I am on a journey to be the best I can, I wanted to work on this area a bit more.

Lo and behold, I found a wealth of information in this book.  Some may say that books can give information, but life will give us a true education.

This is where wisdom comes in.  A book is good if we know how to read in interpret the information contained therein.  Not every book is worthy of our time and effort.  I was once given a book to read by a national talk show host.  It was so negative within the first 25 pages, that I made the pinnacle decision to give it back to my friend.  that is when I realized to choose what you read carefully and don't be afraid to give it back.

Sir Francis Bacon said "Some books are to be tasted, others tasted and chewed, and others tasted, chewed and thoroughly digested"

Secondly, another old book gave some advice on reading.  That was to train your mind to be like that of a miner digging for diamonds.  Throw away the useless information and only keep the jewels!

So is Verbal Judo!  I found that Dr Thompson was a former police officer that compared psychological principles, Asian philosophical adages, and street common sense to form a system that is fairly effective in dealing with talking to people. 

Some of this information is just common sense as I've said.  We need to watch our voice when we talk to people.  the tone, inflection and the realization that we are viewed differently that how we see our selves, and that may make a big difference.
A big subject that stood out to me was the fact that empathy is a huge part in understanding people.  I should have heard this in bible college, but only remember some remote teachings when we studied the book of Job!
the other factors that stuck out in the book were techniques and styles to use when dealing with people, and some really good information that he says can apply to dealing with teenagers.  My oldest is only 10, so I have a few years to perfect this before the deluge of attitude comes!

I recommend this book, it's a really good read and is a tool in the arsenal of anyone who would rather do as the great general Sun Tsu said" 
"To win without fighting is the zenith of excellence"

Self confidence

I found myself in class recently working with a younger man who was a brown belt.  And although I'm about 17 years his senior in age, a creeping feeling came into my mind:

Is he having a problem with the kick because he watched me?

Am I doing it wrong and he is following me?

Most of this came from my last black belt test for 2nd dan.  I was succinctly warned by one of the masters that I had to be extra careful, because people will pay attention to me as a senior belt.

What followed was something that plagued me since I was promoted to black belt.

I don't feel like I have arrived

Years ago, when I studied Tae Kwon Do, I would meet black belts and comment how much they must know, and how impressed I was.  I did this in a manner of humility and not "sucking up".  To be honest I don't remember the exact words but they would always come back with the statement:

 A black belt means you are just beginning to learn

I always thought to my self the following  "What kind of mystic Eastern crap is that!?"  years later I finally understood it, because I was now walking in their shoes!  I gave it about 3 years of thought and then decided to go to my Sensei (Kyoshi Wilcox).  I explained this concern with him. He looked at me and said, "You know what you call that!?"  He then leaned towards with wild eyes (quite the norm for him) and said "You call it NORMAL"

We all go through stages in life where, perhaps we feel less than adequate or wonder what others are thinking.  To a degree this is normal.  He later shared with me that to feel like you have arrived or, you are owed something is abnormal and bad.  Heres a few Biblical examples:


We read that Moses fled Egypt for killing a man and lived for 40 years in exile.  Keep in mind that he was trained as a Prince; the heir apparent of Pharaoh.  Moses was a statesman, General and scholar!  but he didn't have humility  "Pride goeth before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall"  The prophet Amos was a shepherd and tree trimmer, not well suited and trained by the standards of those days, but he spoke of what he knew and was effective enough to be called and recorded in scripture.  True, they had the call of God on them and obeyed, but notice what God did!  never discount your learning and abilities to be used some day!



 The martial arts is about growth and development, much like Christianity and life in general; it is a journey not a destination! It only stands to reason that we should be careful how we step because there are always people above and below you and some will undoubtedly look at how you step.

So, where does my title come in?

The best way to explain it is by telling you a story back from 1991 when I was in the Army.  I went to the U.S. Army Air Assault school where I learned about sling loading equipment from the bottom of a helicopter and how to rapel.  The instructors would tell us horror stories about not having the rapel seat tight and even a soldier who was severely injured when the rope was caught in between his leg and one of his . . .  uh never mind, but you get the point.  As a bunch of young men we were now scared silly about losing part of our manliness.  This is when I received a bit of sage wisdom I have not forgotten since.  the instructor said:

At some point, you have to have faith in your equipment

And so it is with our training.  if you attend a reputable school that has a good mix of tradition and common sense training, you may not get everything 100% correct all of the time, but you will understand the concepts to make things work and still be a good example to all. In martial arts, we wear belts as a sign of rank.  In the Army, schools are represented by badges worn, but in the church our hard fought tests are shown by our character and spirit and only sometimes by a position or calling in the church.

Incidentally, we were doing inside and outside crescent kicks, and the rhythm was a bit odd.

Overall, you .must have faith in your equipment (training). and let your good actions speak louder than words

Sincerely 

Your Brother in Christ

And  Senpai in Karate 

先輩

The Biblical Church Part 5: Order and Music

POTENTIAL RED HERRING POST:

An increasing trend that I see in modern churches is a rapid shift from traditional music to more contemporary music.  Some of this can be blamed on the culture was that was fought in the 1960’s.  I really do believe that the Good guys lost.  It seems that in modern music we have went from songs with played by talented musicians who had real talent to gimmicks in the 1980’s, when the music became synthesized and electronic.  From this we went to rap, which is only rhythm and rhyme. Ii cannot see how a person is gifted or talented if they can make rhymes with vulgar words which attack society and demoralize women.  Even the Rock stars of the 60’s were considered controversial at their time, starting with Elvis Presley.  But what at first, may seem like a slow progression towards change has become a rapid down-hill slide.  Maybe I’m getting older and don’t see some of the new music properly, but any time that music takes a sudden turn and the entire culture secular and sacred sounds alike, there must be a problem.  Twenty five years ago, I really liked the band U2 and had a few of their albums.  But a funny thing happened.  I walked into a church service and couldn’t’ tell the difference! 

Compare these:

 The liberty of choruses in church music is a fine idea, but if we become too heavily weighted towards one type of music, is it really edifying to the Holy Spirit?  Most music I hear in churches today sounds too close to secular songs in rhythm and lyrics save a few mentions to Jesus and God.   Take for instance the post where I mentioned a stogy church service, is it too traditional?  Well, is a rock stage, theater seats and concert smoke and lights edifying to the Holy Spirit?

There should be a difference and there should be a balance! 

I’m asking everyone to really look and judge what’s right before your conscience and God!  This (personally) is one of my major problems with the modern church:  The worship is becoming something unrecognizable from the secular!  And I see older people leaving churches because of spiritual alienation!

But I digress

A biblical church, no matter what culture, outreach or country it is in should have that “heart” that’s felt in service.  Some would call it “soul”.  But what I really mean is that the sincerity of the people should reach God, and those in attendance, whether they be old-timers, the young, or the hypocrite can feel the very presence of God in the service and acknowledge God is there. I received a great blessing a few months back when I attended a service that was bi-lingual.  The song service was in English and Spanish, and to be honest, the choruses were a lot more moving in Spanish!

Gentle reader; please consider what I have written while attending church this Sunday.

Then compare it to this:  (Because I want to be fair)

 

Sincerely 

Your Brother in Christ

And  Senpai in Karate 

先輩

The Biblical Church part 4: Reverence in Worship

I truly believe in order, but I also believe in freedom and creativity even within the disciplines of order .  The last time we discussed the intangibles of a Biblical church, which were:

• Love

• Order

• Reverence in Worship

When we speak of order in the church, the stereotype is often of an antiquated, quiet and even stogy church service that is so insipid it could put you to sleep.  This is one common stereotype.  With the reawakening of the church to the Pentecostal movement Joel 2:28  and Acts 2:4, 39  

we were introduced to another stereotype.  This was with people running and rolling in the aisles,   praying ecstatically and loudly with the Spirit and with understanding   (see Romans 8:26  and Jude 20-22).
Some church movements had no respect for an order of service or a preaching minister. The outsiders view was a cacophony of noises, emotion and pandemonium.
But, somewhere in between these two extremes we see a proper balance in the church.   Many opponents of Eastern philosophy speak of the duality of the Yin – Yang symbol as being bad and evil.  An interesting counter point is that they believe in a proper balance in all things.  This was the founding tenant behind Buddhism.  I do not believe in the Hindu and Eastern religions, but we must concede the point that a proper balance is needed in all things (Ecclesiastes 7: 16-17 Ecclesiastes 3.  I noted on several occasions that Pentecostal Bishops would remark that even the old time Pentecostals would become offended if the order of service varied from what was expected.  They would state “… if we forget this… then some think  ‘God didn’t move’..”   One minister compared our order of service to the Catholic and Orthodox church:  IE do not tamper with it!!

Its amazing how the more things change, the more they stay the same!

A church service and all activities need order, but within the order is freedom of creativity. At this point I need to mention the most important person in the service, he being the Holy Spirit.  God’s Spirit should be in charge and direct every facet of the service.  No doubt, all of the Christian readers have heard this from time “in memoriam”.  This cannot be overstated!  Some of us were taught good principles for services and conduct, mixed with Old-Time Pentecostalism and a few of us were given 5 min lessons in psychology and even a bit of mass hypnosis.  Others of us have accepted the idea that we must move at the speed of light and fashion to keep up. 
Crowd manipulation and spiritually “keeping up with the Joneses” are both dangerous misconceptions.  Is God ordering the service?

How important is it to keep up with the Joneses... and at what cost?

 It is not a cardinal sin to break with a service routine and reverse or omit certain things, but should there be a norm or disorder??  Please keep in mind that every service should be directed by the Holy Spirit and we should follow his guiding Proverbs 3:5-6 , but God is orderly and a perfect gentleman. He is also a personal God and intimate with our every need. With this thought in mind, even in freedom and proficiency there should still be structure and order.

Lets look at the Thomas Jefferson quote again, and revise it: .  

 Order in Worship can consist only in the power of doing what we ought to will, and in not being constrained to do what we ought not to will.

Until next time:

Your Brother in Christ

And  Senpai in Karate 

先輩

The Biblical Church Part 3: Order

Order:  You be the Judge!

The second perceptible trait is order.  Words inspire pictures, and the picture that always comes to mind with me is a military troop formation.  In my mind’s eye, I can see soldiers standing in duty uniform doing the drills to ensure uniform width and distance, then standing at attention.  But this is not every ones vision. This term is a lot like liberty. We understand what we can do with liberty or what we cannot do with order, but we never stop to consider the antithesis!
In liberty, we understand we have the ability to live according to the dictates of our conscience and beliefs, but somehow, stopping to think about what we should do with liberty is never considered.  Thomas Jefferson best stated:  

   . . .  liberty can consist only in the power ofdoing what we ought to will, and in not being constrained to do what we oughtnot to will. 



Liberty shouldn't mean libertine.  The thing we should do and be with liberty is model an example.  Modeling example behavior means to inspire others to be the best that they can be in their particular choice of life.  That behavior serves as a role model for the less spiritually or financially fortunate. Whether we want to admit it or not, people look at us and expect to see something different, not the same as everyone else.  And any extreme examples on either side will not attract people, but detract them and repel people.  Think about this:  
 When was the last time you saw an Amish missionary?

Let us look at order:

The antithesis of order is proficiency which is then followed by creativity.  Allow me to paint a mental picture of Order. Imagine a television commercial for office equipment where a group of people in old-fashioned office attire, in a grey dusty room are all moving in unison, with dull, dry insipid faces.  Perhaps like the old movie Brazil or a stereotypical image of the governmental offices in the old Soviet Union. But order is so much more than this.  In the time of the Japanese samurai, they would study flower arranging and calligraphy, which took time, effort and order to create.  Consider the musician that has spent hours learning music theory, technique and chord structure.  All of this takes discipline and order.  It takes hours of practice to play another composers score with ease.  But what happens when this is accomplished?  Out of this order and discipline comes the ability to mix, meld, blend and improvise to make more harmony. It is not destruction but construction!
 I have an acquaintance that plays guitar. He doesn’t like structured music. He just likes to "Jam". I respect that, but believe that there is more to music and for that matter the church!

  Have you ever tried to build something? Whether it is a bird house, install a faucet or fix a fence.  There is a certain amount of order and structure in how things are put together to make them function. This is also true with standard practices in construction and repair work.  Even from menial tasks there is organization that ultimately results in creativity and proficiency.  Ever stop to consider that not just music, but many trades and even degrees are called “arts”?

When we speak of order in the church, the stereotype is often of an antiquated, quiet and even stogy church service that is so insipid it could put you to sleep.  This is one common stereotype.  With the reawakening of the church to the Pentecostal movement Joel 2:28  and Acts 2:4, 39  

we were introduced to another stereotype.  This was with people running and rolling in the aisles,   praying ecstatically and loudly with the Spirit and with understanding   (see Romans 8:26  and Jude 20-22).
Some church movements had no respect for an order of service or a preaching minister. The outsiders view was a cacophony of noises, emotion and pandemonium.
But, somewhere in between these two extremes we see a proper balance in the church.   Many opponents of Eastern philosophy speak of the duality of the Yin – Yang symbol as being bad and evil.  An interesting counter point is that they believe in a proper balance in all things.  This was the founding tenant behind Buddhism.  I do not believe in the Hindu and Eastern religions, but we must concede the point that a proper balance is needed in all things Ecclesiastes 7: 16-17 Ecclesiastes 3. 

Interestingly, Asian culture used this idea in medicine as well as philosophy!

I noted on several occasions that Pentecostal Bishops would remark that even the old time Pentecostals would become offended if the order of service varied from what was expected.  They would state “… if we forget this… then some think  ‘God didn’t move’..”   One minister compared our order of service to the Catholic and Orthodox church:  IE do not tamper with it!!

Its amazing how the more things change, the more they stay the same!

Until next time:

Your Brother in Christ

And  Senpai in Karate 

先輩