Archive for August, 2008|Monthly archive page
Difficulties in Leaving the Cult of Islam
Filed under: Christian | Tags: christianity, courts, cult, international, islam, politics, religion
Leave a Comment This story doesn’t deal directly with men in ministry, but it does deal with an interesting part of religious culture I have recently learned about. Apparently some countries put your religion on your identity card and other papers. if you live in one of these predominantly Muslim countries and you are blessed enough to learn about Christ and convert to Christianity, you have to go to court to petition to get your religious identity changed. I have seen several stories of this nature in the last several months, the current one about a woman from Malaysia.
Now here in the US people petition the courts for things like name changes all the time without any problem. But in these cases of Muslim countries, they do not want to see their citizens converting to Christianity. So in most cases the converts are given the run around or simply flat out denied their request. Some of these countries have both civil courts and Muslim Sharia courts. The civil courts will say the decision is out of their jurisdiction, while the Sharia courts will claim the conversion illegal or impossible. If this is not the case, Even worse, some countries only have Sharia courts.
At first I found these stories surprising, one because I never even considered the need to have my religious preference on my ID, and then because if there is a need to have this information on there, it should be a matter of filling out paperwork. But after some consideration I realized how much these hassles makes sense. Christians are the avowed enemies of Islam. Their religion teaches (despite what you hear in the mainstream media) that they are to convert the world or destroy it. So having someone convert in their home country is like having someone choose to defect, or commit treason. Allowing the light of Christ into their hearts is like living in darkness, thinking it’s the only way to live, and have someone come through with a bright beacon of light, and rejecting it as something strange and frightening.
I think we need to pray for these converts, that God will show them favor in the eyes of the Jurists in their community. That they will recognize their citizen’s right to choose their religion, and that Christ will continue to work in the hearts of these people, slowly working His way into every part of the world.
Amen.
The Right of Conscience
Filed under: Christian, religion | Tags: abortion, conscience, constitution, religion
Comments (1) The Right of Conscience is a right given by God, who commands us to follow His law, and is acknowledged by the US Constitution in our First Amendment Right to practice our religion. If you were to ask people to list rights that they were concerned about protecting, this would probably be at the bottom of the list, as it is usually considered a given.
But now that right is being threatened in a rather frightening way. The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is considering regulations that would require an Obstetric Gynecologist (ObGyn) to perform an abortion even if he is morally opposed to this procedure. Just imagine, you are a born-again Christian, who goes through all those years of training, intending to help women with their reproductive health, only to be forced to commit an act that your Holy God says is murder. That, or face your other choice of losing your job or going to jail or facing steep fines for not performing the procedure. This is a decision I would never want to be faced with. Not because I would have difficulty making the right choice. I simply would not want to deal with those kinds of consequences.
Well we now have a chance to have our voices heard, and to stand in the gap for our beliefs. Michael Levitt, Secretary of HHS, has posted an entry on this very issue on his blog, and has invited people to comment on it. I would implore all Christians the world over to please politely ask the Secretary to make sure the right of a doctor to say “performing an abortion is against my religion” is protected. Thank you.
Dark Times in CA III-Some Good, Some Bad
Filed under: bible, men | Tags: california, election, marriage, politics, religion
Leave a Comment As promised, I have a third installment on the unChristian (Firefox doesn’t think that’s a word) moral state in California. In this third installment, I have been intending to write about some good news in California, and I will. But there is also another story of bad news and great concern. More on that later.
Homeschooling in CA wins judicial approval-for now
For many Christians, homeschooling is a very important part of their faith. It allows them to have control over the moral lessons kids learn in school, avoiding the Homosexual agenda. It also allows them to teach kids at their own pace, and to show them how religion has played such an important role in history. Back in March, homeschooling suffered one of it’s worst attacks in decades when a three judge panel ruled that only parents who had teaching credentials from the state of California could teach their children at home. This means that ninety percent of homeschooling parents would have to send their children to public or private school, or go back to school for a teaching degree.
After a number of legal groups such as the Home School Legal Defense Fund, Alliance Defense Fund, and Liberty Counsel got involved, the court agreed to vacate its original verdict and reconsider it’s position. Yesterday, the court ruled that parents have a constitutional right to teach their own children, and that requiring a credential or adding any other restriction would be judged unconstitutional. If you would like to read the full story, you may click here.
This is a great victory for Christian families and therefore Christian men, as it affirms our right to teach our children in the way we see fit, and in the way our founding fathers intended. The Bible was meant to be used to teach moral lessons, not be kept out and feared. For more information on this issue, check out the resources available at Wall Builders.
Now the Bad News: California Marriage Amendment under Attack
This issue merits a brief history lesson. Four years ago, on the same ballot as the last Presidential Election, California voters were given the opportunity to vote on a law defining marriage in California being between one man and one woman. This was partially in response to San Francisco’s Mayor, Gavin Newsome, attempting to illegally marry same sex couples. The law passed by an overwhelming margin. You would expect that this would decide the issue, as the people of California had clearly spoken.
Not so fast, says the Supreme Court of California. Earlier this year the court ruled the law the citizens overwhelmingly approved unconstitutional. Thirty days after this decision, in mid-June, city and county governments began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
I was very disappointed when I heard this decision. Not only did the court negate the will of their own people, they symbolically thumbed their noses at God, as if they truly believed that marriage was an invention of man, and not God as it clearly states in Genesis 2:24.
Now we have a new opportunity to put things right. Pro-Family and Christian organizations acquired enough signatures to put a measure on this year’s ballot for a California Constitutional amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman. This is a great opportunity not only for Christian and Pro-Family Californians to finally have their wishes respected, but to protect one of the great gifts of God.
So what’s the problem, you ask? The California Attorney General has changed the wording of the amendment from a simple unbiased statement (only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California) to one that is very biased, stating that the measure would eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry.
Pro-family organizations took this issue to court, where the judge ruled that the AG had the right to change the wording, and that since the courts struck down the previous law, same-sex couples did indeed have the right to marry. (Story)
Now, it would be silly for me to say that the opposition is trying to politicize the issue, as it clearly is a political issue. But when it comes to the ballot itself, the language should be unbiased. Save the rhetoric for the commercials that I’m sure will be running in California.
Men of California, this is your opportunity to stand up as the High Priest of your household. To lead your family in the fight for God’s Word and his plan for our lives. It is time to take a stand for the fundamentals of our faith. I will be praying for you and your wives to vote in favor of this critical amendment to your constitution. And I will pray that all California voters to see the light on this issue.
