Social Concerns Archives

May 23, 2019May 21, 2019

Control of Higher Education in America

We continue to read and hear of abuse heaped upon various conservative and Christian groups by radical clubs and groups on university campuses. In our May 4 post, we mentioned control over commencement speeches in which valedictorians were told that they could not mention God or Christianity or their own faith. As universities give in to the radicals, they are losing control of higher education in America.

The Week magazine (May 24, 2019, page 12) published a report of Harvard University having to knuckle under to a student mob on a different issue. Ronald Sullivan is an African-American lawyer who teaches at Harvard. Sullivan is well known for representing poor clients with his most famous case being the lawsuit of Michael Brown’s family against the city of Ferguson, Missouri.

Harvey Weinstein, the man accused of sexual misconduct by dozens of women, requested that Sullivan work on his defense team. Sullivan accepted saying that in our system of justice, even a defendant accused of heinous crimes is entitled to a robust defense. Harvard students claimed that they were “traumatized” by Sullivan’s decision, and they staged demonstrations attacking Sullivan and the university. Harvard decided that Sullivan’s leadership had become “toxic” and he and his wife, who is also a professor at Harvard, have been banished by the university.

Whatever your view of what Sullivan decided to do, one thing is obvious. The lesson higher education in America is sending to young college students is that if they are loud enough and threaten violence, they can get their way. It isn’t just Christian groups that are being attacked now. It is the leadership of the universities themselves. It is becoming apparent that radicals are in control of higher education in America.
— John N. Clayton © 2019

May 11, 2019May 9, 2019

Women and Motherhood

Tomorrow is “Mother’s Day,” and we have some thoughts on women and motherhood.

We are seeing a new aggressiveness on the part of atheists and feminists to vilify Christ and Christianity. Feminists take passages like 1 Timothy 2:9-15 to suggest that Christians make women second class citizens. Atheist speakers like Richard Dawkins attack the Bible saying it is one of the most misogynistic (hating women) books ever written. The truth is that Jesus and the teachings of the Apostles were centuries ahead of the secular world in treating and presenting women as equal to men in every way.

It is essential to look at the example that Jesus set in his interactions with women, such as the Samaritan woman in John 4. There was great animosity between the Jewish culture and the Samaritans. John 4:9 reminds us of this when Jesus speaks to the woman, and she responds, “How is it that you, being a Jew, ask me a Samaritan woman for a drink of water?” She is both a hated Samaritan and a woman who in that misogynistic culture was indeed a second class citizen. The passage even adds, “for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.” When the disciples of Jesus show up in verse 27 “they marveled that He talked with the woman.” Jesus not only talks with her, but He stays in the Samaritan city for two days.

Jesus treated women as equals, and they worked with Him in His ministry. (See Luke 8:1-4.) The Apostles taught that men and women were equals. Galatians 3:26-29 tells the Christians of their day and ours, “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ did put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there can be neither bond nor free, there can be neither male nor female for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

The passage in 1 Timothy 2:9-15 has to do with roles. We need to understand that equality does not mean sameness. As an example, is everyone on a baseball team equal? The answer to that question is undoubtedly “Yes, they are equal.” The catcher has a different role than the pitcher, and the first baseman is different from either of them. They are all essential and equal. They have different roles and even different equipment, but all of them are critical to the success of the team.

As we have said before, there are no second-class citizens in the Church. We are all one in Christ Jesus. I will have more to say about women and motherhood tomorrow on Mother’s Day.
— John N. Clayton © 2019

March 29, 2019March 29, 2019

Racial Hatred and the Bible

Recently we have seen news about racial hatred and white supremacy. Sometimes racist claims are attributed to the Bible. We must understand the true biblical teaching on the origins of racial groups. Acts 17:26 tells us that God “has made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on the face of the Earth.” Galatians 3:28 tells us that in Christ we are all one. Genesis 1:27 reveals that God created us in His image. That description is of all humans, not one race or group.

In Genesis 6:4 we see a passage that many have felt advocates strange interpretations of the Hebrew word “nephilim.” The Hebrew lexicon tells us that “nephilim,” means “fallen ones.” Numbers 13:33 uses the same word to give us the story of a time when Israel was about to invade and take the promised land. Twelve spies scouted the land and came back with a report of the land and the people. They described the people, and among them they included “the fallen ones who are the sons of Anak.”(Verse 33). Anak in the Hebrew language refers to a “large, long-necked people.” The Bible describes these pagan, war-like people, but the point is they are all descriptions of people. The nephilim were not aliens or astronauts or spirit creatures or yeti.

In the first chapter of Song of Solomon, we see a wife of Solomon writing a love letter. In verse 6 she indicates that her racial characteristic is that she is dark skinned. Dark sin was considered to be beautiful, and that is true of American teenagers just as it was in ancient Israel. Just a casual look at the relationship between latitude and skin color shows us that many racial features are a function of the geographic latitude where people live. People who are native to equatorial latitudes tend to have darker skin than people in northern latitudes. Almost every racial feature you can imagine has practical survival value as a function of climate. God created humans to live anywhere on the Earth, and we all have genomes that allow us to adapt to those latitudes.

Racial hatred has no place or connection to the Bible. It is totally a function of ignorance and a refusal to value humans and see them all as equal. God urges us to love one another and to live as He has called us to live.

March 23, 2019March 21, 2019

Christian Identity Group Promotes Racism and Hatred

Christian Identity Promotes Racism and Hatred

We live in a world of violence and senseless killing. When Jesus walked the Earth, not only did the Roman government control by violence, but even the Jews practiced stoning. One of the strengths of Christianity is that the teachings of Jesus Christ stood in total opposition to the violence of His day. When the Romans and Jews came to crucify Jesus, he told Peter, “Put your sword back in its place, for all who draw the sword shall die with the sword” (Matthew 26:52). You can’t read the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5 – 7 and get the picture of Jesus advocating or tolerating violence in His name. But today a group called Christian Identity promotes hatred.

Because we have some 4000 prisoners taking our Christian Evidences correspondence courses all over the country, we get letters indicating that a group calling themselves Christian Identity is very active in prisons. That group teaches that the Bible says salvation in Christ Jesus is only available to those in the white race. The consequences of such teaching should be obvious. Those teachings are not biblical and contradict everything that Jesus and the apostles said and did.

Just briefly let us point out some of the most egregious errors promoted by Christian Identity:

–They claim that “Adam” means “to show blood in the face” which is a characteristic of the white race only. Actually, the word “adam” in Hebrew means “out of the ground” indicating man’s origin. (See Genesis 3:19.)

–They say that white men governed all nations of the Earth. We have mummies, paintings, genetic studies and written testimonies that contradict that teaching. The Bible shows us that dark skin was a thing of beauty and is desirable. Read Song of Solomon 1:4-8 where one of Solomon’s wives begs him to love her for something other than her black skin. Biblically, humanity originated in the fertile crescent. (See Genesis 2:10-15.) People who are native to that area are dark skinned.

–Christian Identity invents words to fit their hate-filled message. They claim that the word “beast” used in Jonah 3:8 refers to inferior races of humans. The Hebrew word is “behemoth” which refers to a quadruped and never to a human of any kind.

Genetically we all have one common female ancestor proven by mitochondrial DNA research. Skin color is a function of latitude. If you move away from the equator, what happens to skin color? The basic principles of Christianity wipe out any claim of racial superiority. Galatians 3:27-29 is hard to misunderstand.

The Sermon on the Mount spells out the message of Jesus, and nowhere in it is there any justification for relegating secondary importance to any group. The woman at the well in John 4 was a Samaritan–a race despised by the Jews of Jesus’ day. (See John 4:9.) Jesus not only talked with her but stayed in her city for several days.

Christian Identity is a racist hate group hiding behind a corrupt presentation of Christ and the Bible. In our day of violence and hate, it is essential to know the enemy and his workers. Satan will have a field day with this group, especially in the prison population.

March 19, 2019March 18, 2019

Anti-Hate Groups Attack the Bible

Any Christian reading the newspaper or watching TV has to be disturbed by the volume of hate coming from politicians, entertainers and media people, as well as extreme special interest groups of all kinds. There are even groups formed to oppose hate that are spreading their own hatred. What should concern Christians is that some of these groups have turned out to be as extreme as the hate groups they are allegedly opposing. We are even seeing anti-hate groups attack the Bible.

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) and the Citizens for Transparency have both posted materials attacking the Bible and those who promote the teachings of the Bible. A primary target of these particular groups has been the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF). As we posted before, the ADF defends people like Jack Phillips the Colorado baker who refused to create a cake for a same-sex wedding. ADF also believes in the biblical concept of marriage between a man and a woman, which the SPLC and Citizens for Transparency label as being “a hate message.”

The SPLC and Citizens for Transparency are well funded and recently placed a huge billboard attacking the ADF on Times Square. Teaching Bible morals and the principles God has established for us to live by is not hate. Concerning their attitude toward those who promote biblical principles, the SPLC has stated that their goal is to “say plainly that they aim to destroy these groups.” If teaching God’s word is accepted as hate then every Church that preaches the moral teachings of the Bible is vulnerable.

Rational human beings cannot read the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5 – 7 and construe what Jesus said as hate. It is true that the way you say things is as important as what you say, but we need to be careful not to stand by as anti-hate groups attack the Bible. We cannot support them as they use the current battle over hate to condemn the Bible and promote atheism.

Data from Alliance Defending Freedom March 2019 report letter.

March 11, 2019March 5, 2019

Minor-Attracted Persons and LGBTQ

It was almost sure to happen. As our culture continues to embrace the idea that there are no absolute standards of morality, it attempts to justify every kind of perverse behavior. Pedophiles are adopting the label “minor-attracted persons.” They want to add MAP to the LGBTQ alphabet.

In an attempt to justify their practices these “minor-attracted persons” are claiming victimhood. There is now a program called “The Prevention Project” that says it exists to treat people who are attracted to minors. On their website, they refer to a MAP they call “John.” They claim he is a victim of misunderstanding. They say “he wants help to ensure he is safe in society.” The homosexual publication Gay Star News ran a story claiming that “pedophiles are attempting to be part of the LGBTI community.” Meanwhile, a German medical student defended pedophilia as an “unchangeable sexual orientation” in a TEDx speech at the University of Wurtzberg.

Since the LGBT community demands that children must be allowed to change their gender, how can they say that children should not be allowed to choose their sexual behavior? In a world where every behavior is “relative” and “caused by biological or environmental factors,” almost any behavior can be justified. Does that mean that we must tolerate the actions of “minor-attracted persons?”

Humans have not been programmed to act in ways that are beyond their control. There are absolute standards of morality and the Bible from Genesis to Revelation indicates that we are free to choose our behavior. Whatever my history or my DNA may be, I still am responsible for what I do.

March 7, 2019March 4, 2019

Fortnite: Battle Royale and Parents

Every generation has a technology challenge that causes parental anxiety and threatens their relationship with their kids. For boys today the challenge is the video game Fortnite: Battle Royale.

When I was a kid in the 1950s, the technology challenge was television. I remember seeing my first television. When the wealthy neighbors got a color TV, my parents complained that I was gone all the time to watch their color TV. When shows came on that seemed risqué to my parents, there was a crisis. I wanted to watch rock and roll which my parents felt was a “tool of the devil,” even though they were atheists. There was also the development of games. Every store had a pinball machine, and as kids, we found ways to win free games. I missed one whole afternoon of school because I hit the jackpot during my lunch hour that gave me 50 free games.

Todays’ new technology is computers, and the challenge they present is video games. The game getting the most attention now is Fortnite: Battle Royale which is produced by a North Carolina company called Epic and partially owned by Disney. It’s an attractive mix of game design with a persuasive technology designed to shape the behavior of its users. This is mass-market gaming, and it has been the most watched game on Amazon.com’s Twitch network for the past year. Last November people spent 108.9 million hours watching other people play Fortnite. The company makes money by selling costumes called skins and dances called emotes for their avatars to perform. Embellishments sell from $2 to $20. Players buy them with virtual currency called V-Bucks which are sold in packages priced from $9.99 to $99.99.

Since its launch in July of 2017 Fortnite has made more than $2 billion from the sales of virtual goods. Fortnite: Battle Royale is a killing game that is hair raising but earns a “T” rating (meaning okay for Teens) by not showing visible spilled blood or dismembered body parts. Psychologists have identified some 200 persuasive design tricks to make a game addictive. Fortnite: Battle Royale uses a high percentage of those elements in combinations. We old folks may remember how addictive the games were in the past. Games like Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, or Frogger did not compare with the far more addictive techniques in the toolbag of Fortnite: Battle Royale.

Scientists are researching whether involvement with video games is connected to substance abuse or compulsive behavior. Gunfights constitute a significant part of Fortnite, and the heavy use of violence concerns many scientists. Parents should be aware of the game and its potential risks. Restricting playing time, and having activities the child likes that pulls him or her away from the game are essential.

Challenges to parenting aren’t new. Parents have always had to be careful about how they react to the difficulties of raising a child. The Bible’s instructions for parents are more needed than ever before. You can’t “train up a child in the way he should go” if the actual chief trainer is a violent video game.

March 4, 2019March 2, 2019

Prison Ministries Neglected and Forgotten

In today’s world, prison ministries get very little attention. DOES GOD EXIST? has had prison work as a part of its program from the beginning. In 1968 we did our first program in a prison although I had previously worked in prisons in the South Bend area with a sister in Christ named Helen Richards. I worked in prisons and with teenagers because no one else wanted to do it. Even my background as an atheist didn’t seem to bother either one of those populations.

I have stayed involved with both youth and prison ministries for over 50 years now. The need for Christians to get involved with prison ministries continues to grow. Arrests for drug possession have increased to such an extent that the United States has the world’s largest population of people in prison. Why do most congregations have no active prison ministries and no interest in spending time and money to start one?

The answer to that question is quite complex. Many congregations lack interest because converting a prisoner doesn’t bring any numerical increase in attendance, finance, or solutions to problems. Frequently people who are in prison are not the easiest people to deal with. They are depressed, frustrated, suspicious, and in need. Many have experienced violence in one way or the other. In spite of that, the Bible is full of examples of how prisoners should be treated. You can’t read the New Testament without finding a reference to prison work. (See Hebrews 13:3, Philemon 10, Philippians 1: 12-14, Acts 16:22-40; 24:23, Matthew 25:39, 44-45).

You don’t find atheists, humanists, naturalists, or evolutionists doing much work in prisons. What I do find is that many of the 3800 students taking our apologetic course are prisoners. They are also people who had lost their faith in God and the Bible and were living a “survival of the fittest” belief system that didn’t work. Disillusioned with secular humanism, atheism, and naturalism there are many prisoners desperately wanting evidence to rekindle their faith in God. We have donated our DVD series to over 100 prisons throughout the country and have found huge acceptance to them among prisoners. We frequently do single session workshops in prisons and find that the prisoners are hungry to learn and anxious to build a working faith.

The big problem with many prisons is that gangs run the prison system. Prisoners are moved from prison to prison to break up the gangs, but in some prisons the gangs have control. Education is a primary tool for addressing this problem. It is vital that prisoners know where to find help, and our materials are available without cost. Kings Crossing Prison Ministries in Corpus Christi, Texas, has materials available to help anyone who wishes to make a difference in the lives of men and women who desperately want to return to living a life of faith.

You can contact us at Does God Exist? 1555 Echo Valley Drive, Niles MI 49120 or jnc@aol.com. Kings Crossing is located at 3833 South Staples, Suite S-101, Corpus Christi, TX 78411. Their email is kcprisonministries@gmail.com. Their website is www.kingscrossingprisonministries.org.

March 3, 2019February 28, 2019

Gender Identity Issues

Today most mainstream medical and psychiatric organizations are endorsing transgender ideology. It is now being taught in medical schools, schools for mental health care, and continuing education programs for physicians and nurses. We do not want to minimize the severity of gender identity issues, but failure to get good information about transgender medical options is causing a great deal of pain for everyone involved.

The American College of Pediatricians is a group of pediatricians and other professionals dedicated to the health and well-being of children. That organization has dedicated itself to providing sound scientific literature proving LGBT attractions are neither innate nor unchangeable. This group provides information about the risks of LGBT lifestyles. The group was actively involved in stopping a proposed counseling ban in California. That law would have made it illegal for professionals to provide counseling on gender identity issues consistent with the Bible’s teaching on human sexuality.

Dr. Michelle Cretella is a board-certified pediatrician and the executive director of the American College of Pediatricians. She presented these facts:

80% of children who are confused about their sexual identity grow out of their confusion.

We are seeing an astronomical increase in the number of kids who are requesting and who are being given puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones. Kids who go down that medical pathway are highly likely to be permanently sterilized.

The drugs and hormones used to enable transgender lives are toxic and must be taken for life to continue impersonating the opposite sex. That means the person will have an elevated risk of heart attacks, increased blood pressure, strokes, diabetes, and cancer.

From a biological standpoint, it is a complete impossibility to change from a male to a female or vice versa. Children are being given a toxic set of hormones that do not belong in their bodies at those levels. At best it is malpractice, and at the worst, it is institutionalized child abuse.

You can see Dr. Cretella presenting this information in a YouTube video by clicking HERE. You can visit the American College of Pediatricians website at www.acpeds.org.

There are many causes for young people’s confusion about their sexual identity, and it is difficult to comprehend all that kids today face. The breakdown of the families, drugs, abuse, peer pressure, and pollution are just a few of the things that contribute to confusion on gender identity issues in young people. Correcting the confusion by surgery or a cocktail of drugs to be taken for a lifetime should not be pushed on young children. Getting accurate scientific information would seem to be a goal of everyone.

February 24, 2019February 22, 2019

Persecution of Christians in 2018

An organization called Open Doors monitors the persecution of Christians in all denominations around the world. Their data for 2018 shows that in the top 50 countries on the watch list Christians experienced a 14% increase in high levels of persecution. Those of us living in the United States have no idea how much violence is brought against believers in Jesus on a worldwide scale. Open Doors reported this data of persecution of Christians in 2018:

4136 Christians were killed for faith-related reasons. That’s 11 Christians murdered every day.

2625 Christians were detained without trial, arrested, sentenced and imprisoned because of their faith.

1266 Churches or Christian buildings like orphanages or hospitals were attacked.

The #1 country in terms of persecution of Christians is North Korea where atheism is the state religion and worship of any kind is not tolerated.

The # 2 (Afghanistan), #3 (Somalia), #4 (Libya), #5 (Pakistan), and #6 (Sudan) countries on the list are Muslim controlled. In those countries, the government encourages violence against Christians.

We tend to trivialize the few media reports of severe persecution of Christians. However, the media seriously under-reports the violence, especially against Christian women. At the same time, our media over-reports abuse that takes place in American churches. Persecution of Christians in 2018 affected one in nine of our brothers and sisters worldwide.

Open Doors is a major source of information and help to those who are being oppressed. You can read more on their website OpenDoorsUSA.org.