When science becomes faith

Isn’t it ironic that modern science, which excludes the supernatural from its worldview, has now become a faith system? Faith in untested and unobserved evolution started the shift toward religion. Global warming hysteria firmly established scientific faith. Now federal policy demonstrates the practical application of science as religion.

The July 2008 issue of Townhall magazine reports that the following:

U.S. government has named the thriving polar bear population a “threatened species”… This decision comes as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates polar bear populations are at their highest rates ever. There are currently 20,000 to 25,000 polar bears, up from a record-low population of 5,000 to 10,000 in the 1950s and 1960s.

Did you catch that? Polar bears are considered “threatened” though they’re flourishing. The reason is because “computer models predict sea ice is likely to recede in the future” which will deprive polar bears of much of their habitat.

Federal policy is now being dictated by what would classically be deemed faith. Compare the definition of faith from the Bible to our society’s full frontal embrace of the all things science. Hebrews 11:1 says “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Scientific computer models are accepted as doctrine. Clearly the god of this age is science; researchers the bishops; university professors the preachers; inventors and medical personnel the cloistered communities. Maybe it’s unfair to enlist politicians as this faith’s Inquisition. Perhaps useful idiots is a better designation.

I sincerely hope someone is writing all these prognostications down. Perhaps future generations will learn not to bow this incomplete worldview after God has made it a footstool under the feet of our all-sufficient Christ.

God is not silent

Last week was a frustrating one. I mean abnormally frustrating because I’m generally in a state of at least mild angst. I felt myself slipping into a bit of despair because things weren’t falling into place at church as I had hoped. My sermons seemed to belly-flop. Attendance remains stagnant. And the real kicker – the deacons didn’t immediately enthusiastically, go gaga over my ideas and jump on board. I channeled the feelings of despair into apathy to cope, but that never works for very long.

In the midst of it all I started asking God the same old questions. Where are You? Why do You have me here? Why aren’t you speaking to me? How am I supposed to lead this church? Is there another line of work I should be in? (If you’re a pastor, you know the drill.) The answer: silence. The heavens appeared as brass over my head.

But God in His love for me never remains silent. He spoke, but He did it though other people and in various contexts. My heavenly Father always finds a way and always makes His voice clear.

First, it was through Laura. She listened intently as I shared my plan to initiate some evangelistic training efforts at the church. After my spiel she as-a-matter-of-factly said, “I don’t think they’re ready for that yet. They need to have a deeper relationship with God first.” Then she went on to tell me how the evangelism training she’d taken several years ago yielded little fruit because she didn’t have a great passion for Christ at the time. Through Laura, God was telling me to deepen before widening. They won’t invite people to Christ (effectively) if they have nothing more than a past experience to invite them to.

Second, was Irene. She’s a transplant from up north and serves as our church pianist. As I spoke with her after our Bible study Wednesday night about how she and her husband had successfully assimilated into Southern culture, she said, “They accepted us because we didn’t try to change them.” Boom! God speaking! Our conversation was unrelated to my efforts at the church, but spoke perfectly to the situation. I and my leadership will not be accepted if it is perceived that my goal is to change the church. Yes, I am there to make changes, but I shouldn’t make that my pastoral banner. (Now I’ve got to throw away all those tee-shirts that read: “Change we can believe in.”) I’ve already experienced that truth in small ways. My first priority, as a pastor, is to love the people I lead.

Third, came Alan on Sunday. He pointed me to an online sermon he thought I might enjoy. It was about seeking God’s face and not His hand (a subject which I’ve spoken on, but generally fail to implement personally). I downloaded the sermon, was blown away by the preacher, and found a ministry website dedicated to genuine church renewal (as opposed to mere church growth). The content is much deeper than the tips and techniques typically promoted by church marketing gurus.

God is not silent. He has spoken. I don’t need to push or pull my church. Right now my Father is calling me to love them, lead them to a closer walk with Him, and set the example I want to see repeated. Sometimes I can’t fathom how good God is to whiney, arrogant me.

The genius of the Iranian military

Look out Israel! They're coming for you. They're going to drive you into the sea ... unless they fall off a cliff or an anvil hits them on the head or something like that.

Let it rise! - Part 2

Nearly a year ago I wrote that high gas prices will eventually have positive results for our economy. If the government will keep its arrogant, meddling hands out of the economy, I predicted, some entrepreneur will solve the fuel price problem. There are signs that it's happening, as you'll see in the article below.

It works like this: leave the economy alone and entrepreneurs will meet the need. Why? Because they want to make money. A free market economy spurs innovation. Government neither stimulates the economy nor invents quality goods (except those used for killing people which is actually what government IS supposed to do).

I found the following article encouraging, especially the concluding comment. It reaffirms the idea that private citizens will find a way to solve problems with the right incentive. I hope you enjoy it!

Mechanic Claims Car Gets 110 Miles Per Gallon

To find the future of the auto industry, Doug Pelmear looked to the past. He says he's perfected an engine developed by his grandfather 60 years ago. An engine that gives his 1987 mustang 110 miles to the gallon.

Doug Pelmear says "my grandfather had the idea back in the 40's that he can make a difference then. There was quite a need at that time also with the war going on and everything, there was quite the need then."

And quite the need now. So, Pelmear, a mechanic in Napoleon, has been tweaking this engine for the past 10 years, squeezing out the maximum amount of power for a minimum amount of gas.

Doug says "this'll bring back the automotive industry when they can sell trucks and suv's and the models that are almost dead at this time."

The designer says, this car is no slacker either. It goes well over 100-miles per hour.

Doug says "it's 400 horse and has 500 foot pounds of torque off the line, zero to 60 in three seconds."

Developer Mark Schnitkey says "even those of us who grew up in the muscle car age, this will pretty much blow your muscle car away."

Pelmear won't show us under the hood. Some of his gizmos are still awaiting patents. But the secret lies in making engines more efficient. And with a little more work, developers believe they'll be getting 500 miles to the gallon and revolutionizing the auto industry.

Mark says "I think it's time. I think it's time that we start telling the world what we're going to pay for a gallon of gas instead of the world telling us what we're going to pay for a gallon of gas."

The Gay Agenda: Tolerance to Affirmation to Law

I knew it was only a matter of time before the fines, arrests and lawsuits started. A New Mexico couple was fined recently for their refusal to photograph a same-sex marriage ceremony. They believed participation in such a morally repugnant event violated their deeply held convictions. In a sane world, the "couple" would have just moved on to any of a number of photographers who have no such standards, but there's an agenda here. Gay rights advocates will not stop with a society that merely tolerates their perversion. They really desire affirmation of their degeneracy. If such is not forthcoming, it must be enforced by law.

Expect to see more of this. You will see the intolerance of the tolerance crowd. At this moment you will be vilified as a homophobe if you dare to speak out against the lifestyle of sodomites. You're a narrow-minded bigot if you point out rates of disease and premature death among homosexuals. Don't bother them with the truth. Keep your morality to yourself or you'll be a target. Next comes the lawsuits. I fully expect, as a pastor, to eventually be taken to court for refusing to officiate a gay union. If the photographers in the news story can be fined for denying their services, why not pastors? It will happen. Just wait and see. The final stage will be suppression of speech. Reading Romans 1 will eventually get you fined or jailed for hate crimes.

The reason homosexuals will not be satisfied with tolerance is that their conscience won't allow it. To merely tolerate means that they're allowed to engage in a twisted lifestyle free from punishment by the population or the law. Their sexual choice must also be affirmed, legally if necessary, to push the condemnation of sin as far away as possible. If they can entice others to join their ranks, the guilty feelings that should lead to repentance will be all but obliterated. The end result is a culture with a seared conscience and millions of homosexuals who have gained the world but forfeited their souls.

Christian brothers and sisters, speak out in love. Call this behavior what it is, abomination, perversion, degeneracy - you pick. Yes, gays and lesbians will probably feel bad, but they may also repent and find new life through Christ. We will inevitably be slandered, persecuted, and possibly jailed, but God's honor and the souls of lost people are at stake.

The Myth of Overpopulation

I love Walter Williams. I don't know if he's a Christian, but he is an economist with integrity. His research indirectly affirms God's dominion mandate in Genesis 2:28. His basic point is that there's plenty of room on planet earth and that corrupt governments, not too many people, cause poverty. Enjoy!

We need more people on Earth, not less
by Walter Williams
Posted: July 02, 2008
1:00 am Eastern
© 2008

Why is it that mankind enjoys cell phones, computers and airplanes today but not when King Louis XIV was alive? The necessary physical resources to make cell phones, computers and airplanes have always been around, even when caveman walked the Earth. There is only one answer to why we enjoy these goodies today and not yesteryear. It's the growth in human knowledge, ingenuity along with specialization and trade that led to the industrialization, coupled with personal liberty and private property rights.

For most of mankind's existence, he has been self-sufficient and spent most of his time simply eking out a living. In pre-industrial societies, and in some places today, the most optimistic scenario for the ordinary person was to be able to eke out enough to meet his physical needs for another day. With the rise of industrialization and development of markets, and the concomitant rise in human productivity that yielded seemingly ceaseless economic progress, it was no longer necessary for mankind to spend his entire day to meet his physical needs. People became able to satisfy these needs with less and less time. This made it possible for more people to have the time to read, become educated in the sciences and liberal arts, gain more knowledge and become more productive. The resulting wealth also enabled them the opportunity to develop spiritually and culturally through attending the arts and participate in other life activities that were formerly within the purview of the rich.

Contrary to the myths we hear about how overpopulation causes poverty, poor health, unemployment, malnutrition and overcrowding, human beings are the most valuable resource and the more of them the better. There is absolutely no relationship between high populations and economic despair. For example, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, formerly Zaire, has a meager population density of 22 people per square kilometer, while Hong Kong has a massive population density of 6,571 people per square kilometer. Hong Kong is 300 times more crowded than the Congo. If there were any merit to the population control crowd's hysteria, Hong Kong would be in abject poverty while the Congo flourishes. Yet Hong Kong's annual per capita income is $28,000 while the Congo's is $309, making it the world's poorest country.

What are the chances for the United States to become overpopulated? The population census has us at 304 million. How many more people could we handle? I don't have an answer, but here are a couple of facts that suggest we have a ways to go before we have to worry about overpopulation. All urban areas, any community of at least 2,500 people, cover less than 3 percent of the U.S.'s 2.3 billion acre land mass. The world's population is 6.7 billion. That means if the entire world's population were put into the U.S., each person would have about a third of an acre. Nobody is talking about putting the world's population in the U.S. It is merely to suggest that neither the U.S. nor the world is running out of space.

Population controllers have a Malthusian vision of the world that sees population growth as outpacing the means for people to care for themselves. Mankind's ingenuity has proven the Malthusians dead wrong. As a result of mankind's ingenuity, we can grow increasingly larger quantities of food on less and less land. The energy used, per dollar of GDP, has been in steep decline, again getting more with less, and that applies to most other inputs we use for goods and services.

The greatest threat to mankind's prosperity is government. A recent example is Zimbabwe's increasing misery. Like our country, Zimbabwe had a flourishing agriculture sector, so much so it was called the breadbasket of southern Africa. Today, its people are on the brink of starvation as a result of its government. It's the same story in many countries – government interference with mankind's natural tendency to engage in wealth-producing activities. Blaming poverty on overpopulation not only lets governments off the hook; it encourages the enactment of harmful policies.

20 Suggestions for Church Growth and Health

I'm breaking with tradition today. Rather than rant and rave, moan and complain, I've decided to be helpful. How magnanimous of me!

The church that I'm now leading is in serious decline. The people are loving and godly, but the fellowship has dwindled over the past several years. I don't have the know-how to initiate recovery, so in an effort to turn the tide I read George Barna's book Turn-Around Churches for advice.

I've noticed a pattern in Barna's books. He begins with lots of statistics and details to convince the reader of his position and then, typically in a single chapter, he distills some incredibly useful application. Rather than have you read the whole book I have compiled Barna's suggestions into a list. Some of the following 20 pointers are directly from the book, while others have received my interpretation. (After all, a blogger knows much more about writing and editing than a best-selling author.)

I hope you find these helpful. May God be glorified in your church's health.

The Pastor

1. Hire, follow, and protect (from burnout) a true leader as pastor.

2. The pastor must determine, own, articulate, and unfailingly pursue God’s vision for the church’s ministry.

3. The pastor must model genuine Christianity.

4. The pastor must create and champion a strategic plan for the church’s growth. (Must map out spiritual, numerical, and community outreach growth)

5. The people must feel loved and be loved by the pastor.

The Congregation’s Attitude

6. The congregation must be open to change.

7. The congregation must want to grow.

8. A few quality ministries must be maintained rather than many mediocre ministries.

9. The church’s ministries must provoke a spiritual passion in its people.

The Congregation’s Lifestyle

10. The congregation must seek new relationships with those outside the faith.

11. The church must anticipate the future rather than react to the present.

12. The laity must be meaningfully motivated and equipped for ministry.

13. When people perform true ministry, they should be applauded.

14. The church must emphasize outreach.

The Church’s Faith and Resources

15. Prayer must permeate the ministry.

16. The church staff must be superb.

17. The church must learn from objective (outside) sources.

18. The church must develop a way to evaluate the effectiveness of its ministries.

19. The church must enter into building campaigns with extreme caution. (Interestingly, a church can expect to lose its pastor within 5 years after the campaign.)

20. The church must maintain a standard of strong, practical Bible teaching.