I Fear For The Future Of America
Absolutely No Absolutes in the New America
Tuesday, May 24, 2016
Dear Gayla,
The secular liberals (or progressives, as they call themselves) are pushing their agenda at full tilt across the country. Now they are pushing the idea that males who “self-identify” as females should be able to use the restroom, locker room, or fitting room of their choice. If you have a problem with that, then you are bigot according to the progressive movement.
These people, led politically by President Barack Obama and his administration, are basically at war with 1) traditional Americans, 2) the Judeo-Christian value system, 3) common sense, and 4) millennia of history. Progressivism is a worldview fundamentally based on the philosophy of humanism. Humanism is based on atheism or agnosticism. That is to say, there is no God to govern the individual or the community on planet Earth. Or, if there is a God, He has no concern for human affairs. Therefore, it is up to humans to make our own rules for life. And we make those rules up as we go along.
There are some variations of the definition I’ve just laid out, but basically, this is an accurate description. President Obama, for example, says he is a Christian, but then says: “I believe that there are many paths to the same place, and that there is a higher power, that we are connected as a people.” So he is not, technically, an atheist. However, judging by his words and his presidential decrees, he is a universalist. And universalism is fundamentally incompatible with Christian doctrine. So Obama would describe himself as a Christian who does not believe in the exclusivity of Jesus Christ as the only way to know God or to reach heaven in the afterlife. This is like saying one plus one is two, but if someone wants to believe one and one equals three, that may also be true.
Of course, the president is not alone. There are millions of Americans who would describe themselves this way. These folks believe mutually exclusive claims of truth can both be true at the same time. “What’s true for you may not be true for me,” they would argue. This is not the same as respecting another person’s beliefs that might be different from yours, which is a commendable American tradition that promotes public civility and discourse. Their words propose the theory that Christianity, Humanism, Buddhism, Islam, Voodoo, and Hinduism can all be true at the same time. That is completely and obviously illogical, but you will hear some otherwise really smart people insisting that all teachings of all faiths can be true. Well, every faith except Christianity – because Christianity is exclusive, so it must be relegated to the trash heap of contemporary religions.
The central teaching of Christianity is that Jesus Christ suffered and died on the cross as the sacrifice for the sins of the world. God, the Bible says, requires that we believe in that sacrifice and submit our lives to following Christ. First Timothy 2:5-6 says: “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all. …” What Jesus came to save people from was sin, death, and hell.
Now, either what I have just laid out is a true statement from God or it is not. It can’t be both.
Certainly, we have had our national problems, as human institutions always have had and always will have. But America, for most of her history, has held to the Judeo-Christian value system to guide our path of understanding and govern our social morals. We used to teach our children love of country, respect for authority, and the Ten Commandments in school, at home, and in church. Not too long ago, we had reverence for the things of God. Today open sacrilege is the norm, especially in popular culture. We think we can make up our own truth instead of submitting to the truth of Scripture.
Such fantasy is ultimately a path to destruction, which will most certainly be visited on us should we not turn back to God in humility and repentance. If we are to survive as a nation, we must rebuild a society whose values reflect the truths of the one true God.
Tim Wildmon, President
American Family Association
Tuesday, May 24, 2016
Dear Gayla,
The secular liberals (or progressives, as they call themselves) are pushing their agenda at full tilt across the country. Now they are pushing the idea that males who “self-identify” as females should be able to use the restroom, locker room, or fitting room of their choice. If you have a problem with that, then you are bigot according to the progressive movement.
These people, led politically by President Barack Obama and his administration, are basically at war with 1) traditional Americans, 2) the Judeo-Christian value system, 3) common sense, and 4) millennia of history. Progressivism is a worldview fundamentally based on the philosophy of humanism. Humanism is based on atheism or agnosticism. That is to say, there is no God to govern the individual or the community on planet Earth. Or, if there is a God, He has no concern for human affairs. Therefore, it is up to humans to make our own rules for life. And we make those rules up as we go along.
There are some variations of the definition I’ve just laid out, but basically, this is an accurate description. President Obama, for example, says he is a Christian, but then says: “I believe that there are many paths to the same place, and that there is a higher power, that we are connected as a people.” So he is not, technically, an atheist. However, judging by his words and his presidential decrees, he is a universalist. And universalism is fundamentally incompatible with Christian doctrine. So Obama would describe himself as a Christian who does not believe in the exclusivity of Jesus Christ as the only way to know God or to reach heaven in the afterlife. This is like saying one plus one is two, but if someone wants to believe one and one equals three, that may also be true.
Of course, the president is not alone. There are millions of Americans who would describe themselves this way. These folks believe mutually exclusive claims of truth can both be true at the same time. “What’s true for you may not be true for me,” they would argue. This is not the same as respecting another person’s beliefs that might be different from yours, which is a commendable American tradition that promotes public civility and discourse. Their words propose the theory that Christianity, Humanism, Buddhism, Islam, Voodoo, and Hinduism can all be true at the same time. That is completely and obviously illogical, but you will hear some otherwise really smart people insisting that all teachings of all faiths can be true. Well, every faith except Christianity – because Christianity is exclusive, so it must be relegated to the trash heap of contemporary religions.
The central teaching of Christianity is that Jesus Christ suffered and died on the cross as the sacrifice for the sins of the world. God, the Bible says, requires that we believe in that sacrifice and submit our lives to following Christ. First Timothy 2:5-6 says: “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all. …” What Jesus came to save people from was sin, death, and hell.
Now, either what I have just laid out is a true statement from God or it is not. It can’t be both.
Certainly, we have had our national problems, as human institutions always have had and always will have. But America, for most of her history, has held to the Judeo-Christian value system to guide our path of understanding and govern our social morals. We used to teach our children love of country, respect for authority, and the Ten Commandments in school, at home, and in church. Not too long ago, we had reverence for the things of God. Today open sacrilege is the norm, especially in popular culture. We think we can make up our own truth instead of submitting to the truth of Scripture.
Such fantasy is ultimately a path to destruction, which will most certainly be visited on us should we not turn back to God in humility and repentance. If we are to survive as a nation, we must rebuild a society whose values reflect the truths of the one true God.
Tim Wildmon, President
American Family Association
61-69, F
