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

Worn Bibles and Black Belts

While I was unpacking my gear recently, I looked at the condition of my belt.  I have always had a concern over it's use.  This may sound silly, but is it "broken in"?
The ranks of White through about green belt usually go so fast that the belt never gets worn, just creased enough for it to be tied properly.
My mind wandered to a story that was shared with me while I was the member of an aggressively evangelistic church.  The pastor was preaching one morning and talked about how much people read their Bible.  One could tell because the pages were dog-eared or the shiny gold painted gilding was worn from the sides fo the pages.  My friend told me that a new visitor, who behaved in an overtly-religious manner (This is the kind that uses religious and Bible terms with the intent of impressing a person of how spiritual they are) was licking his finger and trying to rub the gold gilding off of the pages.

Silly, isn't it?

But this got me thinking about the three things that are common to both  Karate and Church:

• Wear
• Humility
• Confidence

Wear

When I say wear, I speak of the marks of the, if you will, trade.  For the Christian it is his or her Bible.  It is declared to be the Sword of the Spirit and sharper than any two-edged sword.  For the Martial artist, it is the body, but allow me to give a symbol instead: the Belt.  Both should show some signs of use and wear as they are 'essential'  to the trade.  An unused Bible shows a christian not reading and studying.  An un worn belt shows a martial artist that is probably not practicing and training.  Both are symbols that should indicate wear through "Training". and if not, then is that person ready for the trials and tribulations and may and will come?

Humility

The bible tells us that before honor is humility, but high and haughty spirits will lead to a fall.  To be confident in the word of God and his plan for your life is intellectually easy to do, but quite another thing when you are in the heat of circumstances.  This requires faith and trust.  sometimes we must wade through bad times and bad decisions that make us stronger, because we lack the perspective of humility.  A martial artist may be faced with events that can lead to an altercation, but is it always wise to "test a technique"?  I talked to a friend who is a part-time bouncer and he made the innuendo "I would rather fight a karate guy than a street fighter".  This was meant to say that a lot of martial arts scuffles in a bar, grill or club are due to pride.  We can also say that the martial artists who lose give the martial arts a bad name, and give the fight loser a needed lesson in humility!  True humility in ones abilities come from within, and not an outward achievement in a fight.  The Chinese general Sun Tsu said best:  "To win without fighting is the Zenith of Power"

Confidence

So where does confidence come in?  I like my belt, and oh yes, it does show some sign of wear, with creases worn in as well.  new belts are a bit stiff and don't stay tied at first.  Similar to a new bible, with the pages stuck together, and maybe not book marked with our study passages in place yet.  If they are used both often and correctly, we should have confidence in what we know, and also what we don't know.
Be confident in the fact that if we train and study properly, there will be fruits for our labors

The Biblical Church Part 8

We were discussing Doctrines' affect on the church last time.  What is Outreach ?

This is the point that took me a long time to understand.  Why do we have so many churches that seem to be all over the map with activities, services and outreach?  A friend put it best to me:  “Some churches have a specific ministry they are called to do”

That was the best piece of knowledge I received that year!  A church like the Salvation Army was an offshoot of the Methodist church in England.  Their primary goal was to help the poor and destitute with both the gospel and material needs.  Another way of putting it is “Put your money where your mouth is”         Faith without works isdead

 I personally have struggled with ministries that help the poor.  And the reason is because of my upbringing.  My parents were raised in the depression.  Their parents were proud independent people.  My mother didn’t believe in government assistance and once told me a story that my grandfather was so proud that they almost starved because he did not want a hand out.  In many ways this is good, because St Paul said that if any will not work, neither shall he eat.   Unfortunately, I have carried these teachings into adult life.  I have seen since my teenage years groups of people in Los Angeles that would milk the system and strangers for money and food simply because they “would not work”.  Please note that I stated would not work and not cannot.  They chose to find food by other than honorable means!  This philosophy left me jaded before I turned 25!  But, one day I realized when meditating on Jesus Miracles in John that some people sought him only for the

“. . . loaves and fishes” and others followed him for less than genuine reasons (Read all of John ch 6 in context and compare with Matthew 8:18-22)

So, I have come to terms with the idea that if you have a helping ministry, you must be prepared to deal with the ungrateful, freeloaders, leeches and a segment of poor but covetous people as well! You will also need deep pockets; this is an important lesson! 

Where does this leave ministries?  

There has been a cry from some independent thinkers that we should have a first-century church model of house churches sharing the gospel.  This is fine, provided you have the same miracles of feeding the multitudes, sicknesses healed and the dead brought back to life.  If this is so, I’m all for it!  

When looking at the Biblical model we see three important things:

• Proclaim the Gospel (Matthew 28:19-20)
• Make disciples (Matthew 28:19-20 Titus 2,  2 Timothy 2)
• Support those who are actively involved in the Gospel (Philippians 4:14-18,                            2 Thessalonians 3:7-10,  2 Corinthians8:8-14

Our society is diverse and has different needs even within the same city.  A church in the inner city may conduct their service and behave differently from a Hispanic church in the same neighborhood.  The same goes for a church in the upper class suburbs.  It is just as important to reach the down and out as it is to reach the young upper class professionals.  How is it done?  Different ministries are employed, but the same gospel must be preached!  A Pastor once said that the sign of a healthy church was to have a strong Childrens program, Teens present, adult families and seniors.  A church that did not have youth, adults and seniors was a weak church. He considered it a barometer of church health.   Even in building, finance and manufacturing the lesson of having something structurally unsound or top-heavy is sure to fail.  The same goes with the church.  Now there are exceptions to this rule, because God is in charge,  and he sees and knows infinitely more than we do. 
Aside from this, does he not expect us to use come common sense?

There are a plethora of churches and ministries, but they don’t seem to fit into a Biblical model, where the Gospel is De-emphasized, or the name of Jesus isn’t preached at all!  This is dangerous, because Jesus is the gospel!  If new and old converts are not trained and taught, false doctrine can come in, and once again, anything can go on even to the extent of blasphemy and apostasy!  If we do not support the active propagation of the gospel, what will happen to churches and missionaries? 

Sincerely 

Your Brother in Christ

And  Senpai in Karate 

先輩

 

Memorial Day

One of the things I strive for on my blog is to give heed to traditions and where they come from.  I believe that in both Religious and secular life, traditions are similar to a binding force or better stated a beehive.  I prefer the  beehive analogy because it gives us a structure, contributes to nature and is sweet to the taste.  It even enlightens the eyes (of the mind and spirit as well as the physical eyes).  However; the down side is, that if you step out of line with traditions or try to disrupt and destroy them, just like a beehive you will get swarmed with angry defenders of the colony!

We find the roots of our American Memorial day starting after the Civil war.  Incidentally, the American Civil war still ranks as the war with the most American casualties of any conflict.  Originally called remembrance day, it was a day to decorate the graves of the dead from that war.  Later, it has been used to remember all that were once with us.

Tragic Prelude by John Steuart Curry: Original in the Capital in Topeka, Kansas

I understand that in Asian culture (Specifically as I know Japanese and Korean culture)  the aged are respected and the dead are venerated.  Some cultures will even pray to dead ancestors.  As odd as this seems, there is a similar Catholic tradition; that being the communion of the Saints.  When we recognize the contribution and influence that our ancestors had on shaping our present world, it doesn't seem that the East and West are too far apart in some philosophical perspectives!  the American Civil War shaped this country in many ways.  Some were good (Abolition and equal rights for all) and others bad (Jim Crow laws and ambivalence to our fellow brothers and sisters politically and ideologically).

In the final result, as far as today is concerned, we shouldn't judge the people of the past too harshly, and definitely not to 21st century standards.

We cannot change the past, we can only learn from it and be the best we can be today.

Honor our heroes of war and our loved ones who have died.  Remember the legacy that they have left us as one people: Americans!

The Biblical Church Part 6: Doctrines

This week I would like to look at the tangible things that make up the Biblical Church.

                                          Doctrine   -   Outreach   -   Education

Doctrine

When the word doctrine is used, it almost sounds odd, but in this post I would like to discuss three things:

• What is doctrine
• Why is it important
• How does it affect the church

The Theologian D.C Hodge once stated:  “Let no man think error in doctrine a slight practical evil”   Doctrine is a word that many have heard, but can be often misinterpreted.  A definition I was given in Bible College, by an older minister with a heavy South Dakota accent told us “Brothers… if you remember nothing else, remember that Doctrine, simply put, means teaching”.

These are not just any teachings, because post-modern America is rife with cults and movements that take one Bible verse and use it out of context for reasons other than true faith.  The teachings we speak of are those revealed in the divinely inspired word of God (The Bible).  Now it is easy to say that anything that men put together is a doctrine, and that may be true to some extent;  But interpretation and doctrine are not the same thing.

And now we enter into the mind field of semantics!

Doctrines, as I stated are divinely inspired truths in the Bible.  These are the things that there is an abundant amount of evidence in the Bible to support. 

These doctrines can be:

1. Spelled out literally IE thou shalt not....
2. An Example  "... I rise early to meditate on thy precepts"
3. By inference  ". . .  “Nadab and Abihu offered strange fire”

Why is it important

 

An illustration I read compares doctrines in a church to the course and direction that a ship is sailing in.  A ship with a clear objective and course will result in a crew that is active and disciplined to reach a destination, compared to a ship that is drifting with no course or objective.  If we consider that I stated in my first article that love keeps a church bound together, then let us think of that glue as the caulking and joints on the ship that keep it together, and doctrines as the course. These teachings define who we are, what we believe among us, and what we intend to teach and pass on to the future generations to continue the work of God.   

There are certain fundamental teachings (doctrines) that all Christian churches should believe in.  I do not claim that this is an exhaustive list, but here we go:

•  The Bible is the absolute Word of God
•  God is sovereign
•  Jesus is the Only-begotten Son of God
•  The Trinity
•  Salvation in Jesus alone
•  We should become more Christ like as we progress through life

 Tomorrow, I would like to finish this article and discuss how it affects the church

Sincerely 

Your Brother in Christ

And  Senpai in Karate 

先輩