The Merry Month of May

The first day of May has been for centuries a day of celebration in England and for some communities in America.  It has no religious significance and its origin was a Celtic celebration of the beginning of Spring.  It is a day celebrated with maypoles, dancing and other activities.            

On a site on the internet called “Important Dates in History” you may discover what happened in any month of any year.  Checking the year 1935, I discovered that in May of that year the Hoover Dam, the greatest engineering feat in the world up to that time, was completed.  Also that month the Canadian government began circulation of the last Canadian silver dollar.                                                                                         

One very important event to me is not there, the birth of a baby boy in a duplex apartment in Ensley, Alabama.  As you may guess, that baby boy was me.  If you look at June, 1944, you will see that the allies stormed the bearch at Normandy during the Second World War.  But another date important to me is missing.  It was then that a nine year old boy gave his life to Christ during Vacation Bible School at Ensley Baptist Church and was born again.  I could list other dates significant to me, such as graduations, marriage, and births, for example.  But the most important event of all is yet to come.  That is the day I will be born from this world into the presence of Jesus Christ.  I don’t know that date and hope it isn’t near.  But it will be great and it is a time I can anticipate with joy, because I know that it will be a promotion and a heavenly celebration. How about you?                        

Grace and peace. 

AM I A MONKEY?

            I recently read a recently published little book of that name written by Dr. Francisco Ayala, biology professor at the University of California, Irvine.  He points out that the theory of evolution is accepted universally by scientists but that it does not conflict with the bible.

            For a number of weeks I’ve been teaching the first eleven chapters of Genesis on Wednesday evenings.  I have presented all the problems inherent in accepting this portion of the Bible literally.  I proposed that these chapters be received as a parable.  Doing so does not negate the claim that the Bible is “truth without any mixture of error.”  The truths taught concerning God being the creator and the author of life are not challenged, only the literalness of the account, i.e. six twenty four hour days; a “firmament” (heaven) with water above it and water below it.; etc.

            Of course, for those who insist on a literal interpretation of every word in the bible, this makes me, in their eyes, one who “does not believe the bible.”  I become that dreaded enemy called a “liberal.”  This in spite of the fact that I believe the bible is “truth without any mixture of error” from cover to cover.

            When it comes to the evolution of species, so ably defended, or presented, by Dr Ayala, I am still not fully convinced.  It isn’t that I have a problem with the concept and its theological implications.  God could have used it in His creation process.  Our origin would still be God’s doing.  It is just that there have been too many frauds and shaky assumptions by zealous promoters of the theory.  That there has been evolution, of that I have no doubt.  What I am not yet convinced is that all the various species are the result of evolution rather than specific creation.

            Am I a monkey?  Certainly not!  Although the DNA of our closest ape cousins are quite similar, and apes have been taught sign language, the gap between us is still huge.   And I admit, some of my human brothers and sisters do exhibit animal behavior.  But they should know and do know the difference.

            By the way, I do like, bananas, which were featured on the book's jacket.

Grace and peace.

Tax Time

            If it is April, it must be income tax season again.  In fact, Monday is the deadline for filing income tax returns. There is a lot of anti-tax sentiment around at present.  The platform of “No New Taxes” helped a lot of people, particular in the "Tea Party," get elected to public office this past year.  In the face of declining revenues during a period of economic recession, government bodies are electing to reduce services rather than find new sources of income.  These politicians will face the voter backlash which is sure to result from all all the cutbacks.

            Alabama is one of the lowest tax states in the nation, and the taxes are some of the most regressive, i.e. poor people pay a disproportionate amount of taxes compared to middle or upper income families.  But in the realm of politics, things usually are not fair.  I would support a redistribution of taxes, to cause wealthy individuals, landowners, businesses, and others to pick up their fair share.  And I am not opposed to new taxes, except as they impose more of the public burden on the poor.

            To me, paying taxes is a privilege.  When I consider all for which we depend upon the government, I think we have a bargain.  Think about it.  We have safety provided by the military, police, firefighters, paramedics, etc..  Also, we have increased safety provided by controls on food and medicine.  To these add entitlement programs such as Social Security, Medicaid, and education.  And someone must provide roads, airports, train terminals,sea  ports, i.e. the entire transportation infrastructure.  I could list a host of other things government bodies do for us.  All these benefits make our taxes look good.

To some who resented paying taxes to foreign rulers Jesus said, “Give to Caesar that which is Caesar’s and to God that which is God’s.”   There will always be death and taxes.  Death is overcome in Christ and taxes are necessary to any society in this world.

Grace and peace. 

April Fool

            This week some will observe April Fools Day, which is the first day of April.  No one has tried to make me an April fool in many years, but some still try to fool others.  One year, my late brother, Bill, on the phone with his oldest grandchild, then in grade school, had her believing that an airplane had landed in his back yard.  Well, you can’t blame a young girl for believing what her grandfather told her, even on April 1^st.  All of this is, of course, in fun.  And I suppose all of us have been tricked into being an April fool at some time or another. 

            But there are some people who are fools all the time.  In the Bible we are told of Nabal, whose name is sometimes translated as “fool.” (1 Samuel 25:25)   What a way to go through life.  Also in Psalm 14:1 we read, “The fool has said in his heart, there is no God.”  According to that, the number of fools in the United States is growing rapidly.  According to polls, more and more US citizens are reporting themselves as atheists or agnostics.  After this life they will regrettably discover their foolishness.

            But the biggest fool of all is the person who believes in God, but acts like there is no God.  They ignore His offer of Salvation through Jesus Christ.  Or they claim a relationship with Jesus Christ and then act like the devil.  Their surprise in eternity may be the biggest of all, when they cry out, “Lord, Lord” and Jesus says, “I never knew you.”  They will realize how big a fool they have been.

            On the other hand, Paul labels himself and his coworkers as fools, “We are fools for Christ’s sake…”  (1 Corinthians 4:10)  To the world, anyone who exhibits zealousness for the gospel looks like a fool.  Amen!  May their tribe increase!

Grace and peace.

In answer to some questions, I hope to post something new at least once a week.

Civility in Politics?

             Mark DeMoss, a prominent evangelical Christian who runs a public relations firm in Atlanta, is dropping his effort to get elected officials to sign a rudimentary “Civility Pledge.”  He and a friend, alarmed at the escalating incivility among politicians developed a simple pledge which says, “I will be civil in my public discourse and behavior.  I will be respectful of others whether or not I agree with them.  I will stand against incivility when I see it.”

            They sent out 585 letters asking every sitting governor and member of Congress to sign the pledge.  Mr. DeMoss said in an interview that he is now folding the project after spending two years and about $30,000 in expenses on the endeavor. Only three legislators had signed the pledge.  You read right, ONLY THREE members of congress and no governors would sign the pledge.  In fact, he reports receiving some very hostile emails using unbelievable language and some words he will not repeat publically.

            Most, if not all, of these elected officials are people of faith, a majority of which are Christian by profession.  You would think they would readily sign such a pledge.  Jesus said, “love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.” (Matthew 5:44)  With some politicians the rule seems to be, “hate your enemies, curse those who disagree with you and spitefully assassinate their character.”  It can be debated as to whether current incivility in politics is greater than it was in the past, but whether it is or not, it is too great now. Some political pundits ranting in the media today will one day face the Lord to give an account of their incivility.  I’m glad I won’t be among them.

Grace and peace.

Christian Integrity and the Internet

I received a forwarded e-mail from an acquaintance not long ago which questioned the religious integrity of President Obama as well as making other negative points about him.  I knew the e-mail was false, but checked it out on Snopes.com anyway.  I replied to him and all his mailing list in a forward, bringing to their attention that the forwarded e-mail was false.  I was surprised when some on his list sent me e-mails questioning my integrity or my knowledge of the facts.

            For years I have tried to help people understand they should not forward a damaging e-mail or a political e-mail without checking it out.  One needs  to see if the facts contained therein are true or false.  If someone forwards an e-mail containing false information it is tantamount to lying.  It makes you a liar for you are spreading falsehoods.  Internet e-mail has made liars of more Christians than anything the world has ever seen before.  There has always been gossip which often did the same thing, but not to the extent of this internet gossip.

            There are some who will not take the word of fact checking sites like Snopes, or the result of investigative reporting by the media.  They become convinced that their false opinion is the truth and turn on anyone who challenges it.  Such was the case of those who disliked my pointing out the falsehoods in the e-mail mentioned.  This is particularly true in the realm of political debate.  I am severely disappointed by the number of Christians, otherwise good people, who pass on political falsehoods. Christian integrity demands that we be careful to know the facts and stick to them.

            Even better, the Christian imperative of love would lead us to heed what many of us were taught by our parents and Sunday School teachers, “If you can’t say anything good about someone, don’t say anything at all.”