In 2018, in the USA 144 police officers were killed in the line of duty.  Also, according to USA today, "four officers were fatally shot by their own weapons after being disarmed."www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/12/27/police-deaths-144-killed-line-duty-2018/2423797002/ 

For this sad reason, police officers around the world must have situational awareness, training, techniques, and the proper equipment to keep themselves and others safe.  However, none of these things would keep them safe if they just stood there and allowed criminals to steal their handguns without any resistance.  Police officers would never allow a criminal to steal their handcuffs and then bind them with their own handcuffs and so on.  However, we Christians (myself included) have allowed atheists to steal a lot of powerful "weapons" (spiritual, moral, and intellectual) and then use them attack and attempt to destroy the faith of ourselves and others.

The Bible, Police Officers, and Weapons
Rather than allowing our feelings, statistics, cultures or anything else to be the foundation and ultimate authority, we must submit all of these things to the Bible.  The Bible is the ultimate law-book.  Laws are merely suggestions unless there are police etc. to enforce them.  The Bible has authority because it is backed up by the true and living God who will enforce it.       The atheists that I have dealt with, as an Apologist, usually have some vague and false notion of God as some "man in the sky."  They reject this false "god."  I reject this false God too.  However, there is a true and living God that we can only comprehend as far as He has chosen to reveal Himself to humanity.  

For more on this read: https://www.internationalfishers.com/blog/why-i-do-not-believe-in-the-mischaracterized-version-of-god-which-most-atheists-rejectbut-i-do-believe-in-the-god-of-the-bible

The Bible says, "For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same; for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil." (Romans 13:3-4 NASB).

Notice that it says "sword".  It does not say pillow, feather duster, or even whip.  It says sword.  A sword is a weapon of death that can be carried on the belt.  The modern equivalent of a sword is a firearm, especially a handgun. which can be carried on the belt.  Sometimes people think that weapons (swords or guns etc.) themselves are inherently evil.  But, weapons themselves have no will or capacity to make decisions according to what is right or wrong. Therefore they are just a neutral as any other tool.  A hammer can be used to build a house or murder someone.  The evil is the heart of the murderer, not in metal of the hammer or the weapon.  

I am also reminded that weapons were not on the earth until after sin.  Genesis 3:24 says, "So He drove the man out; and at the east of the garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way to the tree of life."  Without sin, weapons like swords would have been completely unnecessary but humans may have eventually developed knives for cutting open fruit and vegetables for food.  This verse shows me that Adam and Eve may have learned about the very concept of a weapon, especially a sword by observing the flaming sword of the angel.  It is possible, that they passed this knowledge down to their descendants and eventually someone figured out how to make a sword and now we have Glocks etc. 

Christians Are Not Just Called To Be Spiritual Soldiers But Also Spiritual Police Officers
Christians usually think about "the whole armor of God" and the "sword of the spirit" Ephesians 6:10-17, and they think only of soldiers.  However, in the Roman Empire and even in the Old Testament, police duties carried out by soldiers.  In modern times we think of police and military as separate things. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Police#Ancient_policing

In order for someone to become a police officer, they must be commissioned by a higher authority.  Sadly some Christians are not even aware that the Great Commission is a command for all Christians to take part in obeying.
 www.internationalfishers.com/blog/equipped-for-the-great-commission

Here is part of the ,"Police Commission," of believers.  2 Corinthians 10: 4-6 says, " for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, and we are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete."

An atheist reading this article might say, "You are claiming that Christians are the "Morality Police!"  Who are you to impose your morality on others?"  I would answer, "If there is no God etc., why would imposing my morality on others be wrong?  Ultimately, as I will demonstrate later, your atheist "morality" is strictly based on your personal feelings, so if there is no God etc., why would your feelings be superior to mine?  Furthermore, why are you trying to impose your morality on me that it is wrong for me to impose my morality on others?"  

Obviously, as Christians, we must first police ourselves by "taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ in our own lives, so that we don't disqualify ourselves and bring shame to the Body of Christ giving a foothold who constantly seek and invent reasons to call Christians, "Hypocrites."  If atheists call us hypocrites because we have not yet understood the Bible fully enough to be in 100% compliance with the Bible, we should not deny or try to justify or defend our personal reputations, feelings, or pride.  If we do that, we are allowing them to steal morality, which belongs to God but that He has given to His followers and use it to attack God?  Instead, we should simply, humbly, and calmly ask and challenge them to justify their own authority to make such accusations in the first place.  We just need to ask, "If God etc. does not exist, why would hypocrisy be wrong?"  If we keep challenging their authority they will eventually be silenced.  

The main goal here is not to humiliate them as people that Jesus loves but to deflate their arrogance and confidence in the deceptions of their atheistic world view.  People will not call the fire fighters until they know that their house is on fire.  They will not take medicine until the know that they are sick.  By challenging their worldview, they may begin to notice that they on shaky ground and start looking for the Rock. The second goal is so that bystanders who see/read confrontation will respect Christianity more and atheism less instead of the reverse. 

You see, the authority of police officers does not come from some magical power of the badge, the uniform, or even the gun.  If an actor or security guard may put on all of the outward appearance of a police officer and people will treat them with respect on the street.  However, if they encounter genuine police officers and try to exercise the authority of police officers in front of them, they will quickly be unmasked and arrested for the crime of impersonating a police officer.  Likewise, we Christians, must stop allowing atheists to pretend to be "spiritual/moral" police officers.  

Police Officers Do Not Persuade Criminals,  They Exercise Authority Over Them
I wanted to be a lawyer so I studied political science.  I really enjoy and am blessed by studying evidence for the truth of Christianity.  For me, the evidence of design and irreducible complexity etc. lead me to worship God, first starting with my mind and spreading to my heart and soul.  This even overflows to encourage me to love my neighbor as myself and so on.  Because of this, I earned an MA in Christian Apologetics and became an apologist/missionary in Cambodia.  Here, when I share the evidence with Christians at the Bible schools and churches, they are blessed and encouraged in their faith.  When I share the evidence with open minded non-Christians, "seekers or something", they are also attracted to the Gospel and their doubts about God's existence and goodness are diminished.  However, when I attempted to use evidence to defend Christianity from the attacks and mockery of atheists on social media they would reject them without any consideration at all and then blaspheme God even more.  I realized that I was "casting" the precious "pearls" of truth, logic, morality, and evidence before "swine" and that they were not only attacking me but that because I was trying to feed pearls to pigs, that I was actually causing them to sin against God even more and pile up greater condemnation on themselves (Matthew 7:6).  

Recently, I have realized that the reason I was getting "trampled" was because by giving the atheists evidence, I was giving them an authority over me, and even to judge God, that they had no right to have.  By giving them evidence, I was putting the criminals in the place of the prosecutor, giving them the robes of the judge and place of the jury.  I was putting God in the place of the criminal. Meanwhile I was trying to be a good defense attorney.  However, you cannot get a fair trial in a corrupt court.  Now, I have realized that God is the judge and the jury and the prosecutor.  The criminals are in the place where criminals should be, and they have no defense attorney because who can defend anyone against the justice of an all knowing, all powerful, etc. etc. God?  

You see, the police officers do not provide evidence to the criminals because they already know whether they are guilty or not.  In the case of the atheists who mock God, they already know that they are guilty, that is why they are so angry at and hate God etc.  www.internationalfishers.com/blog/why-do-atheists-hate-god

Once the criminals are in custody, police officers may share some of the evidence with the criminals in order to persuade them to confess.  The government may release some of the evidence from the trial to the general public, not because the public's opinion of the evidence has any bearing on the outcome of the trial but so that the public will maintain good-will, trust, and respect toward the government.  The evidence and conviction of the criminal may also serve as a deterrent to others who may be tempted to commit the same crimes.  

Jesus provided evidence of miracles to the open-hearted those who had doubts, Mark 9:23-24 says, "And Jesus said to him, “‘If You can?’ All things are possible to him who believes.” Immediately the boy’s father cried out and said, “I do believe; help my unbelief.”  Jesus also gave concrete evidence to Thomas by allowing him to touch his wounds (John 20:24-29).

Jesus did not perform a miracle for Herod.  "Now Herod was very glad when he saw Jesus; for he had wanted to see Him for a long time, because he had been hearing about Him and was hoping to see some sign performed by Him. And he questioned Him at some length; but He answered him nothing (Luke 23:8-9)."

Police Officers Avoid Losing Their Authority By Asking Questions Of Criminals
In the USA, when police officers pull you over for speeding, they usually ask you, "Do you know how fast you were going?" If you answer yes, then you are admitting guilt for speeding.  If you answer no, then you have given up any foundation from which to argue against the number given by their radar gun and you are either lying or your speedometer is broken.    

This is why Jesus often asked questions of those who challenged him.  I could give multiple examples of this but this article is getting long.  

There is one final passage I want to share.  John 19:8-11 says, "Therefore when Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid; and he entered into the Praetorium again and said to Jesus, “Where are You from?” But Jesus gave him no answer. So Pilate said to Him, “You do not speak to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You, and I have authority to crucify You?” Jesus answered, “You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above; for this reason he who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.”

The reason why I completely reject any moral authority of atheists to make any moral judgments whatsoever about anything is that the source of all authority ultimately comes from ABOVE.  Atheists, by definition deny the very existence of ABOVE.  Therefore, they have no authority to judge or condemn others according to the authority and standards of their own worldview.  Therefore, I will not allow them to steal the authority and standards of other worldviews, especially Christianity, so that they can use the power of those authorities to destroy the worldviews which they reject in the first place.  

Real World Example: 
Here is a streamlined summary of a recent interaction on social media in which I took the role of the police officer toward an atheist who attempted to use morality to attack and publicly mock Christianity, instead of the role of a defense attorney. You can probably find the whole exchange at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJx0bvu9OdI&lc=z235sjj5hujwxv1e2acdp430dxi2gud0q4u5f1g0rghw03c010c.1568424863249318.  
You will need to look for the comment from International Fishers and see the replies. 

Darryl: Short statement supporting religious freedom of Jews to circumcise and Christians to pray. 

Atheist: Opposes religious freedom and mocks prayer as, "mumbling to yourself."

Darryl:  Religious freedom connects to freedom of speech.

Atheist: Religion harms people.

Darryl: If God etc., does not exist, why would harming people be wrong?

Atheist: Emotional appeals and harming the bodily integrity of defenseless people is wrong.

Darryl:  If humans are only stardust, why would one cluster of stardust harming the bodily integrity of defenseless people be wrong?

Atheist:  Because the Golden Rule* is found in many religions.

Darryl:  If there is no God etc. to enforce Golden Rule, why should I obey it?\

Atheist: Attempts to insult Darryl by calling him a "savage." 

Darryl: Long statement sharing truth.
​
Atheist: Silent

*Notice here that the atheist was trying to use the Sword of the Spirit the Bible against me.  The Golden Rule has power because it is Jesus' words.  However, the atheist has no authority to use this weapon against me because they deny the source of the authority and power of the Golden Rule. 

What Is The Biblical Basis For The Existence Of Morality In People Who Accept And Reject God's Authority?

I will explain more of my discoveries on this topic later. The short answer is that all humans have been pre-programed with morality from the Creator God.  Because of sin, their moral compasses have been corrupted so they can't be trusted as a reliable authority.  However, once people accept the authority of God and his Word, their consciences can be realigned.

Romans 2:14-16 says, "For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them, on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus.

I recently came to the realization that I have been consciously and instinctively navigating the political landscape (mainly in the USA but also in interactions with Cambodian, Chinese, Japanese, and Filipino etc. etc. Christians) based on some of the Biblical principles, that I will share below, for many years.  Finally, my thoughts on this subject have crystalized enough so that I can write them down for my own benefit and possible to encourage other Christians to allow the Bible to guide their own political activities more than emotions or following the crowd.  The purpose of this post is not to tell you what issues to support or oppose or which candidates to vote for but to give you an example my thinking on this topic so that you can allow the Bible to shape your political worldview on your own.  Don't take my word for it, be a Berean for yourself.  God is the God of every aspect of life-- including politics.  

Before we get started, here are a couple of verses to provide some foundation to our thinking.

• Psalm 24:1 says, "The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it;"
• Proverbs 3:5-6 says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him,and he will make your paths straight."

My top priorities are not in any particular order because political issues are often so complex that these priorities must be applied on a case by case basis.  Ideally, I try to vote for candidates who will actually govern to advance ALL of these priorities.  However, this is not always possible.  In those cases, I try to vote for candidates who will advance or at least be neutral to as many of these priorities as possible.  I avoid voting for candidates who govern against these principles, even if I may like their personalities or positions on other issues.

Here are my top priorities:

• Religious Freedom:  
  • ​​Freedom to Evangelize and Convert to Christianity:  This priority is based in part on Acts 5:27-29, "The apostles were brought in and made to appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest. “We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,” he said. “Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood.” Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than human beings!"  It is also based on the persecution of the Apostle Paul and others for preaching the Gospel.  Along these same lines, the freedoms to gather together for worship and Bible teaching, pray to God instead of idols (the book of Daniel) etc. are also important to me.
  • Freedom from Immoral Laws: This priority is based on God's approval of the midwives in Exodus 1: 15-21, "The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, “When you are helping the Hebrew women during childbirth on the delivery stool, if you see that the baby is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live.” The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live. Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, “Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?” The midwives answered Pharaoh, “Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive.” So God was kind to the midwives and the people increased and became even more numerous. And because the midwives feared God, he gave them familiesof their own."  The order of the king to kill the male infants was against God's higher law against murder.  I avoid candidates who support laws which could be used to pressure or force Christians (and others to violate God's higher laws). 
  • Freedom from Violating One's on Conscience or Convictions:  This priority is based partly on Daniel 1: 8, "But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way."  It is also based on Romans 14:22-23.  The conscience is a finely tuned yet fragile instrument from God.  Whenever people go against their consciences, their sense of right and wrong gets numbed and diminished.  I avoind candidates who will pass laws which could force people to violate their own personal convictions and conscience, even if I don't personally share those convictions.  For example as a Christian, I believe that Scripture gives me the freedom to eat a wide range of food but I would never want to see Jews, Hindus, or Muslims forced to violate their own dietary restrictions.  ​
• Respect For The Image of God: Genesis 1:26 says, 'Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” The image of God is the Biblical principle which serves as the foundation for laws against murder and many other crimes against humans.  Here are a few other aspects of this:
  • ​​The Value of Human Life:  Biblically, the value of human life extends from the moment of conception until natural death.  Human life is has special value regardless of age, strength, health, or disability.  All human lives are equally valuable and are more valuable than any other form of life.  I would encourage you to read Psalm 139 in its entirety.  Verse 16 and 17 say, "Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them!"  Therefore, I avoid candidates who are likely to promote  murder of anyone regardless of age or health because these practices violate the image of God and undermine the respect for the image of God by future generations.  
  • Discrimination:  Galatians 3:28 says, "There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus."  I avoid candidates who will pass laws which will treat one group of people better or worse than other groups of people because this ultimately this leads to conflicts, division, and even violence.  This is not to say that all choices and actions of individuals or groups are equal and must be promoted equally but all people should be equal before the law.  
  • Peace: 1 Timothey 2:1-3 says, "I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people-- for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior,"  It is good to support (and pray for) candidates who will help promote "peaceful and quiet lives."  
• Stewardship:  As mentioned above, Psalm 24:1 says, "The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it;"  Another passage that is relevant to this discussion is Matthew 22: 18-21, "But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, “You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? Show me the coin used for paying the tax.” They brought him a denarius, and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?” “Caesar’s,” they replied. Then he said to them, “So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”​​  ​Ultimately, everything, including the government, belongs to God.  Jesus Christ is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  Therefore everyone from private citizens to government officials will be held accountable to God for how they used the resources (this includes financial and natural resources) that God entrusted to the care and stewardship of humanity.   Government leaders should not take any more money from the citizens than is necessary.  The sons of Eli and Samuel (1 Samuel) were condemned for corruption."Even tax collectors came to be baptized. “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?” “Don’t collect any more than you are required to,” he told them.  Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?” He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely—be content with your pay.” (Luke 3: 12-14).  For this reason, I try to support candidates who will be good stewards.
  

​​What About the Candidate's Personal Life?
​In a perfect world, we would be able to choose between multiple candidates who fully support all of the Biblical priorities perfectly and many more.  If that were the case, we would then be able to see which one had the most Biblically admirable personal life.  If that were the case, we might be able to see which candidate's life most closely matched 1 Timothy 3 and vote accordingly.  However, the world is not perfect, and politicians are not pastors, elders, or deacons, so few or any of them live up to the standards of 1 Timothy 3.  

The question then becomes, how do we choose between candidates whose personal lives are less than admirable?  Personally, I prioritize the candidates' likelihood to govern according to the Biblical priorities that I have listed above, over the state of their personal lives.  I do take it into consideration and it is important to me, but if I must choose, then I will go with the Biblical priorities.  You are welcome to disagree with me, but first allow me explain why I have come to this conclusion.  It is based on my study of Scripture and not some arbitrary or convenient standard. 

1. In Scripture, God led many Biblical characters to cooperate with governmental leaders who cooperated with God's purposes but whose personal lives were probably unsavory.  For example, in Genesis, Joseph worked with Pharaoh, who was likely an idol worshipper and was probably quite sexually immoral by Biblical standards (harem etc.).  The same is true for Daniel's and Nehemiah's relationship and cooperation with various pagan kings.

2. King David was an adulterer, murderer, and more yet he was used powerfully by God despite his many sins, not to mention all of the brokenness in his family.  

I believe that politicians are the employees of the citizens. By voting, we help hire them to do a job--be good stewards of the powers and resources of the government.  In our lives we must hire many people to perform various functions in our lives: employees, grocers, drivers, doctors, teachers, pilots, auto mechanics and more.  For me, if the skill level is equal, I prefer to hire a strong  Christian auto mechanic with a good personal life to repair my car.  But, sometimes mechanics fitting that standard are not available.  I cannot just walk around for months or years while my car is broken, because I cannot find the perfect mechanic, who not only has the capacity to fix my car and also who has a perfect personal life.  So, in the end I have to have my car repaired by a mechanic who may or may not have a good personal life.  I wish we lived in a perfect world, but we as Christians cannot allow ourselves to be cornered, trapped, or paralyzed by perfectionism.  

The good thing is that God uses imperfect people, like you and me, to accomplish his perfect will.  We may not be perfect, our politicians and policies may not be perfect, but God and His Word are still the only perfect guide for any aspect of our lives. 

I started memorizing Bible verses when I was 3 years old.  I remember my family's passion while listening to the election results on the radio when I was 4 years old.  I became a Christian when I was 5 year old.  Growing up, when other kids were enthralled with thoughts of professional sports teams, my thoughts were frequently on Democrats and Republicans.  I went on to earn a B.A. in political science and an M.A. in Christian Apologetics.

Even though I have given up all my dreams and plans to be involved in politics professionally because I am a missionary/Christian apologist in Cambodia, I still pay attention to politics both as a hobby and from the perspective of an apologist because many of today's most divisive political issues such as religious freedom, abortion, euthanasia, climate change, LGBT+ issues, war, and much more, frequently overlap with Christian apologetics, whether we want them to or not.  In the past, "separation of church  and state" was an uneasy truce between Christians and politics but that wall has been broken down.  It wasn't the church that broke down the wall and tried to take over the state--it was the reverse. 

Christians have no choice but to engage in politics because EVERYTHING IS POLITICAL NOW!  This is probably going to get worse before it gets better.  So, how can we be faithful "ambassadors for Christ" in the world that we live in?   Politics is much more than political issues and proposals, it involves people.  How can we, as Christians (of any nation) relate to government leader Biblically?

1. Government Leaders Are Our Neighbors

Matthew 22:36-40 New Century Version (NCV)  “Teacher, which command in the law is the most important?” Jesus answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and most important command. And the second command is like the first: ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’ All the law and the writings of the prophets depend on these two commands.”

Think of any government leader.  Did you think them as your neighbor?  Do you love them as you love yourself?  Do you realize that Jesus Christ loves them just as much as He loves you?  

2. Government Leaders Are People Who Need Prayer, Just Like You

1 Timothy 2:2 New Century Version (NCV) "Pray for rulers and for all who have authority so that we can have quiet and peaceful lives full of worship and respect for God."
When government leaders are faced with important decisions, did you pray for them?  When you are happy with their words and actions, do you pray for them?  When you are angry about their words and actions do you pray for them?

3. Government Leaders Are Humans, With The Image of God, And Should Be Treated With Respect

The Bible is full of examples of God's people relating Biblically to Government leaders and other religious leaders with legal authority.  None of these leaders were perfect.  Some were better than others.  Some were easier to love/like than others.  I believe that after studying these Biblical "case-studies" you will be thankful for the government leaders we have today.  Here are some examples: 

Case Study #1:  Joseph and Pharaoh (Genesis 39)
Case Study #2: Joseph and Pharaoh (Genesis 41+)
Case Study #3: Midwives and Pharaoh (Exodus 1) (civil disobedience)
Case Study #4: Moses and Pharaoh (Exodus 3-15) (confrontation)
Case Study #5: Samuel and Saul (1 Samuel 9+) 
Case Study #6: David and Saul (1 Samuel 17+)
Case Study #7: Nathan and David (2 Samuel 12)
Case Study #8: Elijah and Ahab (1 Kings 17+)
Case Study #9: Nehemiah
Case Stud #10: Esther
Case Study #11: Daniel and Nebuchadnezzar and Darius
Case Study#12: Jesus and King Herod and Pilate
Case Study #13: Peter and Religious Leaders (Acts 5)
Case Study #14: Paul and Various Government Leaders

When I reflect on these case studies, there are some themes that emerge.

• Sometimes God's people were able to cooperate positively with government leaders with which they had little in common or even great differences.
• Sometimes God's people confronted government leaders when it was absolutely necessary.
• Sometimes God's people practiced civil disobedience when it was absolutely necessary.
• Sometimes God's people used political processes for positive purposes.
• In all cases, God's people showed love (not approval) to the government leaders regardless of their sins. 

I hope that these thoughts will help you to engage in politics (which you must because you can't avoid it) with more confidence, peace, joy, and most of all LOVE.  I encourage you to take a moment and pray for your government leaders and also pray that God will help you to love them not because they are perfect, but because Christ loves them and died on the cross for them. 

The above video about Pol Pot reminded me of three verses. 

1. James 4:2 "You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God."

Pol Pot, an atheist, convinced some Cambodians that they were victims of other Cambodians and that they should covet their wealth and social class. When the "victims" gained power, they felt justified in victimizing those that they believed were their oppressors. In the end, everyone in Cambodia became poor and fearful that others would attack them. Before the Khmer Rouge's rule from 1975-1979, Cambodia rivaled Singapore, it still has not recovered completely as of 2019. 

2. Acts 17:26-27, "From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us."
​
Many people mistakenly believe that this world is all that there is and so they will do anything (no matter how evil) to obtain wealth, luxuries, and a high social status. But, the truth is that this life is only a test to determine where we will spend our eternal life (either in heaven or hell). Even though we may not feel comfortable in our earthly circumstances, we need to understand that God placed us in those circumstances so that we, "would seek him..." It is good to do our best to improve our own (and other's) economic, social, and even political circumstances. But, these are only temporary gains when compared to eternity. 

3. Mark 8:36, "What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?"

We've all seen the organizational chart that is shaped like a pyramid. The leaders are at the top and the followers are at the bottom.  In those diagrams it seems like the followers (or employees, or church members) exist to serve the interests of the leader.  While this may be true for secular corporations, I am not so sure that it is a good model for Christian churches and organizations.  I know, that we often hear people say, "we should run the church like a business."  While this statement may be well-intentioned in terms of promoting efficiency and the wise use of resources, I am not sure that secular corporate culture should be allowed to overtake Christian culture, especially in light of Matthew 20:25-28.  In corporate-churches etc. there is a tendency for leaders to, "lord it over" the followers instead of acting as shepherds who, lay down their lives for the sheep (John 10:15)  

Instead, I like to think of Christian leadership, whether it be in a family, a local church, or an organization as a tree, instead of a pyramid.  Every healthy tree must have roots that grow as deeply as possible into the soil. In this case the soil represents God's will and God's Word.  For this reason, Christian leaders must prioritize spiritual and personal maturity so that they will be rooted deeply enough to keep their organizations well anchored when the storms come and the strong winds blow.  

In addition, this model also reminds me of the importance of leaders to not only grow deeply into the soil themselves but to pass on as much of the experience and wisdom which they have gained from God to their followers to help them to grow as well. There is a synergy of growth in trees between the nutrients which come from the soil via the roots (leaders) and from the sunlight in the leaves in a process called photosynthesis. Just as you cannot have a healthy tree without roots, you also cannot have a healthy tree without other parts like leaves and branches. In this model both the most mature Christian leaders and then newest believers are all valuable parts of the tree which must work together in order for the tree to grow deeper into the soil and higher.

In the pyramid model, the goal is to make that one single pyramid bigger and bigger.  However, in the tree model, the goal for Christian families, churches, and organizations is not just to make one tree bigger but for the tree to produce seeds, which in turn, can become more and more trees which will eventually lead to forests.  In a Christian family, one goal should be to evangelize your children and equip your children so that they will be prepared to evangelize and train your grandchildren and others around them for generations to come.  In a church, one goal should be to plant other churches in the neighborhood and to promote mission work around the world.  In this way, the forests will grow everywhere.  

The good is the enemy of the best, as the saying goes.  People often go to church for ,"good" reasons but in doing so they miss out on the best reasons.  Some examples of, "good" reasons to attend church are:  to learn more about the Bible, to grow in your faith, or to be encouraged to overcome sin etc.. However if these are the only reason why we go to church services then something very important is missing.  

Let's take a look at Ephesians 4:11-16 (Emphasis Mine) So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.  Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

One of the best reasons to have and attend church services is, "to equip his people for works of service."
Are you getting equipped for works of service at your church?  I hope so.  If not, it could be because the people in your church see the church leaders mentioned in Ephesians 4:11 as the players or performers and the church people as audience or fans.  Instead, this passage shows us that the pastor and other church leaders should be more like coaches, trainers, and even medics.  Obviously all of the coaching staff for any sports team should be good players in their own lives but their main responsibility as coaches is to equip the players to go out on the playing field and win the game.  

What is your playing field as a Christian?  Your family members who are unsaved need to hear the gospel in a clear and convincing manner.  They are more likely to listen to you than your pastor.  Other family members who are new Christians need to be encouraged and equipped as well.  They also are more likely to listen to you than your pastor.  The same is true for your classmates, coworkers, community members, nation, and beyond.  A well equipped Christian has a very broad field that extends well beyond the walls of the church building, if your church even has a building.  

Of course it is nice to have a beautiful and comfortable locker room, but it is not necessary for victory on the playing field.  What really matters is that the players in the locker room are well equipped, trained, and motivated so that they can play their best on the playing field.  Likewise, it is nice to have a stylish church building, but it is not essential for success.  What really matters is the relationships among the people of the church, both the leaders and the regular members, who encourage, equip, train, challenge, and encourage each other so that we all become effective ambassadors for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20) to a lost world around us.  

With this model, church growth becomes unlimited, because the pastors and church leaders no longer have to do all the work of ministry because the church members are already doing it.  As the church members, including the pastors and leaders, actively evangelize and disciple those around them in their daily lives in their families, schools, workplaces, and communities, then the church will grow as those new believers are brought into the church to also be equipped as ambassadors for Christ to their own families and communities, and so on.  

This model also switches churches from inward-focused to outward-focused and this will also help shift resources into areas where they are most needed.  For example, if the main priority, is equipping the saints for the work of ministry, then the funds will probably be spent toward that end instead of just for decorating the, "locker room."    

Obviously this is just one piece of many pieces of the puzzle, but if we keep this passage from Ephesians 4 in mind, it will help us to come away from church services better prepared to meet our week. 
​

The following is an conversation I had on Facebook with an atheist:

Opening Post:  To the left is religion. To the right is science. 

Atheist: Anthropocentrism among homosapiens is akin to egocentrism in individuals. They both result in unhappiness and poor psychological health.

Darryl: You have a unique perspective. I am interested in seeing how it applies to situational ethics. For example, imagine if two creatures were trapped on a railroad track and a train is coming so you can only rescue one from certain death. One is a wheelchair bound, mostly paralyzed human who can barely speak and can’t do sign language. The other one, in cage, is a the most intelligent and capable chimpanzee ever discovered. Scientists have invented $10million into training the Chimp to do sign language and other things. You are completely free from legal and social constraints. Which one would you rescue and why?

Atheist: Probably the chimp- I do not romanticize human life so much.

Darryl: The description of the human I gave was based on Stephen Hawking. I would always choose the human life over any non-human life because I believe that humans have the image of God. By rescuing Stephen Hawking, I would be acting in the best interest of science and religion at the same time. It doesn’t matter if it was Stephen Hawking or not, all humans have great value and potential. So I would be fine either way.  I actually don’t see a conflict between scientific data and religious data, only the interpretations are in conflict.

Atheists, people who deny the existence of god or any spiritual dimension at all, often claim to be experts at science, which is debatable.  However, it is clear that most atheists, even those who claim to have been Christian do not have an accurate understanding of theology, especially the attributes of the God of the Bible.  Therefore, I have noticed from observing atheists' arguments against the existence of any god on several Facebook groups, that even though they usually think that they arguing against the existence of the God of Bible that they are not in fact arguing against an accurate representation of the God of Bible.   It seems that they misrepresent the God of the Bible and then argue against the misrepresented view of God which they themselves created.  This is know as the straw man fallacy.  

On the other hand, I co-authored a book, entitled Christianity: Reasons for Faith  (the only general apologetics book ever written in the Cambodian language) with a medical doctor/missionary who also earned a Bachelor’s in Biblical Studies and Theology.  Currently, my friend is a professor at the University of Cincinnati Medical School.  I also helped found a Christian school with another medical doctor/missionary who also earned graduate degrees in theology and served as the director of a Bible school in Cambodia for many years.  Both of these men were both experts in science and theology and so they were committed believers and effective missionaries.  

The “god” which the atheists argue against is infinitely smaller, weaker, less intelligent, and is never given the benefit of the doubt on any question of goodness or character.  They spend a lot of time lambasting God’s “cruelty” in the Flood and the Canaanites.  They automatically deny the possibility of miracles because miracles, according to them, violate the laws of physics.  Of course when Christians point out, that if there are “laws” of physics that there  must be a “lawmaker.” they usually get angry.   We also need to point out that scientists only discovered the laws of physics, they did not establish them. 
Let’s take a look at the main attributes of God which Christian theologians have known about for more than a thousand years from intensive Biblical study.  Heres is an adaptation of a summary by the Christian Research Institute. 
​

1. Self-Existent: God has no cause; He does not depend on anything for his continued existence.  (Exodus 3:14, John 8:58, John 5:26, Isaiah 41:4, 44:6, and 48:12, Revelation 1:8, 1:17, 2:8, 3:14, 21:6, and 22:13)
2. Transcendent: God is entirely distinct from the universe as a carpenter is distinct from the house; pantheism (God is in all) is rejected and animism (everything is a god) is also rejected). (Isaiah 66:1-2, Acts 17:24, Psalms 102:25-27; 1 John 2:15-17, Genesis 1:1, and Isaiah 42:5).
3. Immanent: Though transcendent, God is present with and all the world; excluding deism (God is out there but not here). (Deuteronomy 4:7, Jeremiah 23:23, Acts 17:27, Psalms 139:7-10, Jeremiah 23:24, and Acts 17:28)
4. Immutable: God is perfect in that He never changes nor can he change with respect to His being, attributes, purpose, or promises.  This excludes process theology and the LDS doctrine of eternal progression. (Psalms 102:26-27, Isaiah 51:6, Malachi 3:6, Romans 1:23, Hebrews 1:11-12, James 1:17, and Hebrews 13:8, Exodus, 32:9-14, Psalms 18:25-27)
5. Eternal: God is perfect in that He transcends all time and temporal limitations and is thus infinite with respect to time.  (Psalms 90:2, 90:4, 93:2, 102:12, Ephesians 3:21, 2 Peter 3:8, Hebrews 1:2 and 11:3)
6. Omnipresent: God is perfect in that He transcends all space and spatial limitations, and is thus infinite with respect to space, with His whole Being filling every part of the universe and everything that exists both inside of the universe and beyond the universe.  God is present everywhere (not diffused through the universe, but present at each point in His fullness).  1 Kings 8:27, Isaiah 66:1, Acts 7:48-49, Psalms 139: 7-10, Acts 17:28, Matthew 18:20 and 28:20, Jeremiah 23:23-24, Ephesians 1:23 and 4:10, Colossians 3:11)
7. Omnipotent: God is perfect in that He can do all things consistent with the perfection of his being. God cannot do the self-contradictory (for example, make a rock He cannot lift) nor can He do that which is contrary to His perfect nature (for example, He cannot change, He cannot lie).  (Genesis 18:14, Jerusalem 32:17 and 27, Zechariah 8:6, Matthew 3:9, Job 42:2, Psalms 115:3, Matthew 19:26, Mark 10:27, Luke 1:37 and 18:27, Ephesians 1:11, 2 Timothy 2:13, Titus 1:2, Hebrews 6:18, James 1:13)
8. Omniscient: God is perfect in that He knows all things , including events before they happen.  (Job 37:16, 1 Samuel 16:7, 1 Chronicles 28:9 and 17, Psalms 139:1-4, Jeremiah 17:10, Isaiah 41:22-23, 42:9, 44:7)
9. Incorporeal: God has no body or parts, and is immaterial, being a simple and infinite being of spirit. This excludes the LDS doctrine that God is an exalted man. (John 4:24, Numbers 23:19, 1 Samuel 15:29)
10. One: God is a perfectly unique and simple being, existing as one infinite Being called God. There is therefore only one God, who is called Yahweh in the Old Testament, and who reveals Himself in the persons of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in the New Testament. This excludes polytheism, tritheism (belief in three gods), and subordinationism (belief that Christ is a lesser god subordinate to the Almighty God). (Deuteronomy 6:4, Isaiah 43:10, Isaiah 44:6-8, 45:5-7, 21-22 and Zechariah 14:9, 1 Corinthians 8:4-6, Galatians 3:20, Ephesians 4:5-6, 1 Timothy 2:5, James 2:19, 1 Corinthians 8:4-6, 2 Thessalonians 2:4, Exodus 4:16 and 7:1, Psalms 96:4-5, 1 Corinthians 10:20, 2 Corinthians 10:20, 2 Corinthians 4:4, Philippians 3:19, Psalms 82:1, 6, John 10:34-36, Genesis 2:4, Deuteronomy 4:35 and 39, Psalms 100:3)
11. Creator: God is the One through whom all things have come into existence, by His unbounded power and knowledge He created finite existence ex nihilo (from nothing) and formed the universe as it now is.  (Genesis 1:1, Psalms 33:6, 102:25, John 1:3, Romans 11:36, Hebrews 1:2 and 11:3, Isaiah 44:24)
12. Personal: God, as the author of personhood in the created universe, cannot be lass than personal Himself; thus He experiences relationships with other persons, or self-conscious beings. God may be more than personal, indeed, His infinite nature suggests that He must be.  (Genesis 1:3 and 26,  Hebrews 1:1-2, Exodus 3:14)
13. Incomprehensible: God is incomprehensible, not in the sense that the concept of God is unintelligible, but in the sense that God cannot be full and directly known by finite creatures, because of His uniqueness and His infinitude. (Exodus 8:10, 9:14, 15:11, 2 Samuel 7:22, 1 Chronicles 17:20, Psalms 86:8, 1 Kings 8:23, Isaiah 40:18, 25, 44:7, 56:5, 9,  Jeremiah 10:6-7, Micah 7:18, Ezekiel 1:26-28, Revelations 1:13-16, 1 Corinthians 8:2-3,  John 1:18, Matthew 11:25-27)
14. Morally Perfect: God’s moral nature is perfectly unified, with no tension between His wrath and His love.
    1. Good: God is morally excellent and does only good (Genesis 1:31, Deuteronomy 8:16, Psalms 107:8, 118:1, Nahum 1:7, Mark 10:18, Romans 8:28)
    2. Holy: God is morally transcendent, utterly separated from all evil, and perfectly pure. (Exodus 3:5, Leviticus 19:2, Psalms 5:4-6, 99:5, Isaiah 6:3, 8:13, Habakuk 1:12-13, 1 Peter 1:14-19)
    3. Righteous: God is perfectly moral in all that He does, doing everything right (Isaiah 45:21, Zephaniah 3:5, Romans 3:26)
    4. True: God is perfectly truthful, and cannot lie (John 17:17, Titus 1:2, Hebrews 6:18)
    5. Loving: God’s moral character is pure love, sacrificial giving for the true benefit of another (Deuteronomy 7:7-8, Jerusalem 31:3, John 3:16, Hebrews 12:6)
    6. Wrathful: God’s moral perfection requires Him to show displeasure against anything which seeks to act contrary to its moral purpose, to judge that which rebels against His authority as Creator and Lord (Psalms 103:8-9, Romans 2:5 and 11:22, Hebrews 10:31)

Once we have an accurate understanding of God’s attributes we can answer many of the objections against God, which atheists raise.

Objection #1: There is no direct scientific evidence that God exists.
Answer:  God is entirely distinct from the universe as carpenters are distinct from the houses which they build.  God has no body or parts, and is immaterial, being a simple and infinite being of spirit.  Therefore, there is no scientific instrument that could detect such a being.  For example, if you only have a radio with an AM receiver which has a range of 100 kilometers, could you deny the existence of AM radio stations on the other side of the planet?  Could you deny the existence of FM radio stations, television stations, or WIFI signals?

Objection #2: Miracles are not possible. 
If the God described in the Bible exists, (see Objection #1 above) then God is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent, eternal, the creator of all that exists, and more.  The biggest reason why secularists and atheists deny the possibility of miracles is because miracles supposedly “break” the laws of physics and nature.  However, we need to remember that scientists do not set the laws of physics and nature, they only discover them.  God, the creator, is the one who set or made the laws of physics and nature and He exists both, outside of, and superior to them.  Just as human governments set laws such as speed limits and traffic laws and then exempt their police officers from obeying those very same laws, God and anyone He designates can be exempted from the laws of physics and nature according to God’s will.  

Objection #3: God is a murderer.
To answer this objection, we need to first define the term, “murder.”  According to www.oxforddictionaries.com murder is, “The unlawful premeditated killing of one human being by another.”  1. God is not a human.  2 Jesus Christ, during his time on earth in human flesh never murdered anyone.  3. God, as the morally perfect creator, is the one who created all of the moral laws, which humans, His creations, live by.  There are many governments around the world, which have laws against murder and also have laws requiring that criminals who are convicted of crimes, such as murder, receive the death penalty. 

The moral gap between humans and God is much greater than the gap between humans and their government.  The gap is even greater than the gap between a baker and a loaf of bread.  In the case of God commanding the Israelites to kill the Canaanites and other groups in battles (Deuteronomy 20:17), let’s imagine the following scenario in a bakery:  A baker, bakes a baguette (Israelites) and a croissant (Canaanites etc.).  The baguette is good quality.  The croissant is bad quality.  The baker uses the baguette (Israelites) to sweep the croissant (Canaanites) into the trash can.  In this case the killing of the Canaanites was not “unlawful” because God, the creator, has the right to set all laws and to punish (or dispose of) those creatures who disobey His laws.   We may not like the fact that God is of unequalled power, but in the words of Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, “He isn’t a tame lion (Aslan=God). …But He is good.”  

Source:  
https://www.equip.org/article/the-attributes-of-god-what-are-the-attributes-of-god/ 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nxw3DC_faQA

​​"My recent Facebook dialogue with an atheist reveals that the callous situational-ethics and pragmatic-morality which led to the Killing Fields of the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia and other regimes that either practiced or continue to practice State Atheism still exists in the hearts and minds of some (not all) atheists in 2018."  Darryl Record November 6, 2018  

According to Wikipedia: "State atheism is the incorporation of positive atheism or non-theism into political regimes, particularly associated with Soviet systems.[1] In contrast, a secular state purports to be officially neutral in matters of religion, supporting neither religion nor irreligion.[2] State atheism may refer to a government's anti-clericalism, which opposes religious institutional power and influence in all aspects of public and political life, including the involvement of religion in the everyday life of the citizen.[3][4][1]" en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_atheism

I want to be absolutely clear that not all or even most atheists have a similar callous situational-ethics and pragmatic-morality to the Khmer Rouge.  For example, YouTube philosopher Stefan Molyneux is an atheist.  His ethics and morality are not extremely different from those held by many Christians. Even he, an atheist, opposes state atheism.  Here are a couple of his videos on this topic (may contain strong language, viewer discretion advised).  "Why I Was Wrong About Atheism"  youtu.be/vqQdc0mX1_c  "The Politics of Atheism"  youtu.be/mxWufzMAgxc
​
Atheists routinely highlight terrible actions committed by people directly or indirectly associated with Christianity, regardless of the fact that the perpetrators of these atrocities' beliefs and actions were contrary to the clear teachings of Scripture, such as "You shall not murder" (Exodus 20:13) and "love your neighbor as yourself" (Mark 12:31) and many other relevant passages.  

Here is a challenge which I received from one atheist of Facebook named Patrick (not the same atheist as the one referred to in the title of this article."  Patrick wrote, "Hitler and Stalin - two men - both born to Christian parents in a Christian village, in a Christian nation, who had Christian soldiers kill millions of people. You are here spreading the lie that it is Atheism that spreads evil and murder. Why do you spread this lie? Because you are too much of a coward to admit that it is religion - Christian religion - that produces the most murderous populations this planet has ever known?"  

I gave a "defense" of Christianity with "gentleness and respect" but Patrick made an excuse and refused to read it.  So, I will give a condensed response to his challenges here.  

1.  Was Hitler a Christian?  Some atheists claim that Hitler considered himself "a devout Catholic."  This may or may not be true.  1. As Hitler's actions have become known, the Catholic Church has completely disavowed him as a member and rejected his actions.  2. The Catholic Church has not made any statues etc. in his honor.  3. Hitler's possible association with the Catholic Church, even if confirmed it still would not prove Hitler was genuinely, a "devout Catholic".  Attending a Catholic Church but not living according to its doctrines, requirements, and practices would not make Adolf Hitler a "devout Catholic" anymore than walking through a forest would make him into a tree.  4. Even though Hitler's association with the Roman Catholic Church might reflect badly on the Roman Catholic Church as a single branch or christendom, it would not reflect on other branches of Christianity which have been independent, separated, and many times opposed to the doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church for hundreds of years. (See Diagram Below)

​Sometimes atheists attempt to use the Crusades and Inquisition to discredit Christianity as a whole, even when speaking to Protestants, Anglicans, or Anabaptists.  If they had studied the history of Christianity, they would have known that the Crusades were the sole responsibility of the Roman Catholic Church and the Anabaptists, Protestants, and Anglicans were the main targets of the Roman Catholic Church's Inquisitions. www.britannica.com/topic/inquisition   

Even the Roman Catholic Church has since recognized that the Inquisition is not consistent with the teachings of Scripture and they have rejected it.  I personally reject all attempts to convert people to Christianity through any means stronger than love and gentle persuasion.  I reject all forms of coercion, pressure, or intimidation based on Scripture.  Ephesians 2:8-9 says, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- not by works, so that no one can boast."  If salvation is a gift, it must not be forced upon anyone.  For more information I wrote this blog post a few years ago.  www.internationalfishers.com/blog/were-the-nazis-christian

2. Was Stalin a Christian?  Patrick also misunderstands the basic teachings of the Bible concerning salvation. I don't know if Stalin had Christian parents or not, but even if Stalin's parents were genuine Christians themselves, it would not make Stalin a Christian automatically.  Every child in Sunday School memorizes John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."  "Whoever believes," means that your parents cannot believe for you, you must believe on your own, in order to be saved and be counted as a genuine Christian.  

Matthew 7:15-20 says, "Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes  or figs from thistles?  Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them."   What was Joseph Stalin's fruit?  According to Dr. D. James Kennedy's book, What if Jesus Had Never Been Born? , "Stalin slaughtered more than Forty Million People" (page 234) www.amazon.com/What-Jesus-Never-Been-Born-ebook/dp/B000SFOUV2  Hitler also exterminated 6 million Jews and millions of others (page 230). Even Wikipedia confirms that Stalin was indeed an atheist. "Teachers complained that he declared himself an atheist, chatted in class and refused to doff his hat to monks.[40]"​ en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Stalin#Childhood_to_young_adulthood:_1878–1899

3. Does Christianity Produce the "Most Murderous Populations This World Has Ever Known?"  I wish Patrick would read D. James Kennedy's book, listed above, in which he shows how Christianity has been instrumental in making the world a better place in the following ways: 1. Hospitals, which essentially began during the Middle Ages. 2. Universities, which also began during the Middle Ages...most of the world's greatest universities were started by Christians for Christian purposes. 3. Literacy and education for the masses.. 4. Capitalism and free-enterprise. 5. Representative government, particularly...in the American experiment. 6. The separation of political powers. 7. Civil liberties. 8. The abolition of slavery.  9. Modern science. 10. The discovery of the New World by Columbus. 11. The elevation of women. 12. Benevolence and charity; the good Samaritan ethic. 12. Higher standards of justice. 13. The elevation of the common person. 14. The condemnation of sexual immorality. 15. High regard for human life. 16. The civilizing of many primitive cultures.  17. The codifying and setting to writing of many of the world's languages (for the purposes of Bible translation, missionary schools, and evangelism).  18. Greater development of art and music. 19. Countless lives transformed from liabilities into assets to society because of the Gospel. 20. The eternal salvation of countless souls. (What if Jesus Had Never Been Born? pages 3-4).  

Christians have done a lot to make the world a better place, especially compared to Atheists.  Just compare these two lists of Christian Charities en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Christian_charities and Atheist Charities  
www.quora.com/What-are-some-atheists-charity-organizations  According to Alex Denethorn, "There’s no such thing as an atheist charity organisation. It’s a ridiculous concept, if you think about it: what commonality do we have to build a charity around? I’ve said it dozens of times before but Atheism is nothing more than the absence of belief in god(s)."  

4. Where the Khmer Rouge Christian or Were They Atheist?  Patrick conveniently forgot to mention the Khmer Rouge.  It is pretty difficult to make the claim that they were Christians. They did not have Christian parents or go to church.  

It is clear that the Khmer Rouge were atheist.  1. They are listed in Wikipedia in the article on State Atheism.  
"The Khmer Rouge actively persecuted Buddhists during their reign from 1975 to 1979.[54] Buddhist institutions and temples were destroyed and Buddhist monks and teachers were killed in large numbers.[55] A third of the nation's monasteries were destroyed along with numerous holy texts and items of high artistic quality. 25,000 Buddhist monks were massacred by the regime,[56] which was officially an atheist state.[7] The persecution was undertaken because Pol Pot believed that Buddhism was "a decadent affectation". He sought to eliminate Buddhism's 1,500-year-old mark on Cambodia.[56]"  
Religion was also banned, and the repression of adherents of Islam, Christianity, and Buddhism was extensive. And according to Ben Kiernan, the "fiercest extermination campaign was directed against the ethnic Cham Muslim minority".[57] en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_atheism#Cambodia_under_the_Khmer_Rouge

2.  My long time friend, mentor, and former mission organization colleague, Pastor Sok, a Khmer Rouge survivor wrote the following. "(sic) The Khmer Rouge were atheists they destroy the temples, church building and they are not allow to practice any religion at all during they were in power. There were killing everywhere in the country. It was just some places more or less. So, the practice of communists and the atheists the same toward religions and what had happened in Cambodia from 1975-1979 was true. I was 1.8 million people died. Because they said that there is no God and no religion. They were the atheists."  

Pastor Sok, was beaten by the Khmer Rouge for many hours, but miraculously they did not execute him as they usually did to others.  Later, he escaped through the jungles with his pregnant wife to a refugee camp in Thailand.  At the camp, they accepted Jesus Christ as their personal savior.  One day, Pastor Sok met one of the former Khmer Rouge soldiers who had beaten him in Cambodia.  The man was afraid that Sok would seek revenge.  Pastor Sok told him, "I am a Christian now.  I forgive you because Jesus Christ has forgiven me."  The Khmer Rouge soldier replied, "I am a Christian now too."  

Pastor Sok went on to pastor Cambodian churches in Cambodia before returning to Cambodia as a missionary.  He (and his beloved late wife) have planted several churches and founded Tahas Bible Institute in Kampong Chhnang.  Tahas is unique in that the schedule is designed to make it possible for pastors and church leaders who serve churches, especially in rural areas, and who must support themselves with other jobs, especially rice farming, can come to study in modules while continuing their regular ministries and employment.  The schedule is actually designed so as not to interfere with the rice planting and harvesting seasons!  www.tahas.org

My Shocking Facebook Dialogue With An Atheist About Morality:​

The conversation began with an atheist posting an offensive meme (pictured below) which read:
"Meet Abraham...The father of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam...Because a person who is willing to murder their child because a voice told them to is someone the whole world should admire and follow." 

It was a quiet Saturday afternoon and I was scrolling through Facebook on my phone, when I came across the meme.  No one else had commented or rebutted it yet so I felt like I should say something.  When I was studying for my Master's in Christian Apologetics at Biola University, I remembered a lecture by Greg Koukl, a Christian Apologist  www.str.org/training/speakers/greg-koukl , in which he described what he called the "Colombo Method."  Basically you: 1. Play dumb. 2. Ask questions. 3. See what useful information you learn which can be used to help the person you are talking to come closer to the truth (and perhaps others). 

Here is my conversation with minimal edits.  I added some emphasis and shortened some irrelevant parts: 

Darryl: "Just curious...If there is no god or karma, why would murder be wrong? Let's assume that Abraham, if he existed, lived in a place without any government or laws. I'm not trying to pick a fight here. I'm just interested in hearing different perspectives on this question."  

Atheist: "What's wrong in throwing away all you've invested into raising your own child?  And if he were in an anarchy, his action would've weakened his family's ability to resist its neighbours' desire for his land. And he would be hard-pressed to find any allies, because would anyone care to ally with someone who disregarded human life like that?"

Darryl: "Your answer about not throwing away a child that you have invested in seems a bit too pragmatic for me. ...(In some countries) when parents get too deeply in debt, they sell their own young children as prostitutes and child laborers to pay off the debt. They also abandon their children and have been known to kill their children if they don't fear the consequences. I know that people in developed countries always assume that people are naturally good at heart, but this does not match my real life observation. At least some of the evil acts are restrained by a fear of bad luck, evil spirits, bad karma etc."

Atheist:  "Unfortunately, pragmatism is one way to cope. Selling a child will at least recover some of the investment, since there's no sense to sacrifice it for the whims of a deity.

Abandoning children is a shame, but where's the point in keeping them and watching them starve? :-|

As for killing them, that's why most countries have laws against murder. But if the community is really that poor that there's nothing that could be done about it, i won't add to the parents' regrets and guilt...

Naturally good at heart?! Not really, kids tend to be quite selfish, and they need to be taught the value of sharing. Actually, that's arguably a better answer against evil acts: education, not fear of some juju, even if that juju is a god.

Darryl: "But Abraham did not murder his son. An angel stopped him. It was a one time test. Since then human sacrifice has been uniformly rejected in the Judaism and Christian traditions. Murder has also been rejected. Capital punishment required two or three witnesses. Another aspect of the Bible that people also misunderstand is that just because a Bible character does something does not necessarily mean that God commanded or approved of it. David committed adultery and murder but those were sins. As far as selling your children to pay a debt I cannot accept that as moral. A loving parent will not put their children at risk but will take the risk and punishment for not repaying the debt themselves. Even if they could not feed the child, the child should eat before they do. They also should find some good family to adopt the child. Child prostitutes can become infected with HIV. It is just a slow murder." 

God Gives Value to Life
When we look at nature; the stars, the moon, the sun, the earth, the ocean, plants, animals, we often think, “Where did all of this come from?”  Is everything just the result of an accidental combination of atoms?  Or, is there a designer and creator who made the universe?   These are some of the most important questions of life.  They are important to our future as humans and they are also important to Christians.

If everything happened by chance, then humans and animals would have the same value.  When people believe that everything happened by chance and that humans have no greater value than animals, the result is that human life loses its value.  One famous philosopher who holds this view argues that killing of animals for meat is wrong but that killing one-month-old babies for the parents’ convenience is not wrong.  When people follow this idea
to its logical conclusion, the results are frightening.  Animals are treated like humans and humans end up acting like animals.  People end up spending thousands of dollars to take their pets to the veterinarian but do not care about children who are starving around the world.

Atheism, the belief that there is no God, has no standards of right and wrong that apply to all people at all times.  Humans and animals would have the same value and could be killed at the convenience of those who have power.  Without God, there would be no one to give humans rights that cannot be taken away.  When governments believe in Atheism, they tend to think of themselves as gods with unlimited power over their citizens.

When governments take this philosophy and turn it into law, the result is mass killings of their own citizens.   If one studies the history of the 20th century, one will find a pattern of genocide in many nations.   If we add all of the killings of innocent citizens by their own governments together we get a number around 127 million people.  These are not deaths from wars with outside nations but these are systematic killings of private citizens by their own government.  

Governments are supposed to protect their citizens and the governments that have a basic belief in God, religion, and morality above themselves, generally try to protect their own citizens.  However, the governments that do not believe in God, see themselves as the predators and their citizens as their prey.
An example of one of these governments that applied the philosophy of Atheism is the Khmer Rouge under Pol Pot.  Saloth Sar learned this philosophy as a young man.  Later, as the prime minister of Cambodia from 1976-1979 he was free to act on it.  Without God to give human life value, millions of Cambodians were killed for the political convenience of the Khmer Rouge.  The Angka, Pol Pot’s organization took the place of God in that it controlled all of people’s lives and could kill at will.  S-21 (Toul Sleng) and The Killing Fields (Choeung Ek) are visible reminders of what happens when atheism becomes the law of the land.

In his book entitled Tortured For Christ, Richard Wurmbrand who wrote this:
The cruelty of atheism is hard to believe when man has no faith in the reward of good or the punishment of evil.  There is no reason to be human. There is no restraint from the depths of evil which is in man.  The….torturers often said, “There is not God, no Hereafter, no punishment for evil. We can do what we wish.’ I have heard one torturer even say, ‘I thank God, in whom I don’t believe, that I have lived to this hour when I can express all the evil in my heart.’ He expressed it in unbelievable brutality and torture inflicted on prisoners.

On the other hand, if God created the universe, especially if it is the God of the Christian Bible, things are completely different.  We have just talked about how that without a God who created the universe, there is no objective morality, humans have no special value, and the governments can give and deny human rights such as life and freedom at their convenience.  However, if God created the universe, then God alone has the right to determine right and wrong for all people in all nations in all centuries.

Genesis 1:26-28
And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.  So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. 

In this passage, we read that God made humans in the “likeness and image of God.”  This means that human life has some special value over the animals.  God also placed humans in a place of authority to use and manage the earth and all of the living things in it.  As humans, it is our responsibility to be good managers of the earth.
In Genesis 1:28-29 God gave humans the right to eat plants such as fruits and vegetables.  Later, after sin came into the world and the great flood, God gave humans permission to eat meat in Genesis 8:3-7.  From the beginning, God prohibited the murder of humans.
If God exists, humans have value and rights that God gave them even before any governments existed.  Therefore, humans have rights and value that no government can take away.  The Bible encourages people to obey their governments but governments must also obey God and respect the rights that he has given to all humans.

Now, let’s think about how important it is for God to exist and to have created the universe to the Christian religion.  John 3:16 is the most famous verse in the Bible.  It says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in himshould not perish, but have everlasting life. ”  If God does not exist and did not create the earth including humans, Christianity could not be true.  In this verse God loved the world and gave Jesus.  If there is no God, there is no one to give Jesus.  Therefore, there is no one to save people who believe.  People may believe in Jesus, but if there is no God, they have no one to believe in that will save them.  Without God’s creation of the universe, Christianity is like a building without a foundation.  It will not stand.  The good news is that there is strong evidence that supports the belief that God created the universe.
​

There are 206 pieces in the LEGO set in the video above.  An intelligent person can follow the directions to correctly build the set in a few minutes. Even though there are only 206 pieces, it is impossible for the recycling truck to be assembled by chance.  For example by shaking the box.  

The human body contains 37,200,000,000,000 cells.  Psalms 139:13 says, "You made all the delicate inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb."  God is the intelligent designer of all living things including humans.  Just as it would be impossible for the simplest LEGO toy by chance it is also impossible for the simplest living thing to form by chance as well.  

Did Jesus really rise from the dead? Let’s take a look at the facts that most Biblical Scholars agree about.

1. Jesus Christ was really crucified.
2. Jesus’ tomb was empty.
3. Jesus appeared to many people after his death.
4. Skeptics such as James the brother of Jesus and Saul became followers of Jesus after these appearances.

The bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ explains these four facts better than any alternative theory.  Let’s take a look at some of the other theories. 
Theory #1: The disciples stole Jesus’ body while the guards were asleep. This is the original conspiracy theory of the Jewish leaders in the Bible.  The theory accepts the fact of the crucifixion and the empty tomb but there are some problems with it. First of all, it is unlikely that the disciples could have stolen Jesus body even if they wanted to.  Jesus tomb was guarded by up to 16 Roman soldiers. If they fell asleep, the penalty was death.  Second of all, it this theory does not explain the appearances of Jesus after his death.  There is no way that the disciples could convince anyone that Jesus was alive with a dead corpse.  This theory also does not explain the fact that skeptics such as James, the brother of Jesus or Saul a persecutor of Christians could be converted.
Theory #2: Someone else died on the cross instead of Jesus.  Many Muslims believe that it was Judas and not Jesus who died on the cross.  There are many problems with this theory because it does not account for any of the established facts.  First of all, Jesus performed the miracle of healing the priest’s servant’s ear after Peter cut it off. Judas could not have performed a miracle under the circumstances. Jesus was well known and his arrest, trial, and crucifixion all took place in front of people who knew him well and knew what he looked like including the disciples, priests, soldiers, and even his own mother Mary.  Jesus spoke to his mother from the cross just before he died. So, there is no way that Judas could have died in Jesus’ place.  This theory also fails to account for the empty tomb, the appearances of Jesus to his followers which included allowing Thomas to touch his wounds.  This theory also fails to explain the transformation of skeptics such as James and Saul.
Theory #3: Jesus body was buried in a shallow grave and his body was eaten by wild dogs.  This recent theory also has some serious problems with it. It has been popularized by the media so it must be answered.  This theory does not account for the empty tomb and the guards it also does not account for the appearances or the transformation of skeptics. 
Theory #4: Jesus’ appearances were hallucinations.  This theory does not account for the empty tomb. 1 Corinthians 15 says that Jesus appeared to 500 people at one time.  It is impossible for 500 people to have the same hallucination.  The hallucination theory also fails to account for the empty tomb.
Theory #5 Jesus did not really die on the cross.  This theory claims that Jesus somehow survived the cross but this is impossible.  Medical doctors have examined what happened to Jesus and have concluded that no one could survive the severe beating that Jesus endured, and being hung on the cross, being speared through the lung and heart. Even if Jesus survived all this, how could he survive being trapped in the tomb for three days with no food, water, or medical care?  How could he have escaped from the tomb and the guards?  Even if Jesus survived, he would not be in good enough condition to appear to his followers and convince them that he rose from the dead miraculously. 
When we look at the strength of the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the weakness of the alternative theories, it becomes clear that Jesus Christ really rose from the dead, just as the New Testament of the Bible.  He is risen! He is risen indeed! 

 
One way we can confirm that the Bible is reliable is through archaeology.  Archaeology, “the study of human history through the excavation of sites and the analysis of artifacts and other physical remains.” Psalms 85:11 says, “truth springs up from the earth.”  When we study the archaeological evidences for the Bible we can see that the discoveries of archaeology confirm the Bible’s truth. Let’s take a look at just a few of many archaeological discoveries that confirm the Bible.

In the last 200 years, archaeologists have confirmed many of the small historical details in the Bible such as the names of rulers, cities, place, etc. Many times, the Bible’s accuracy has been challenged by critics but later, archaeological discoveries have confirmed the Bible’s accuracy and the challenges were overcome. Here are a few examples.

Since 1964, when excavation began in Syria of an ancient kingdom that was destroyed in 2250 B.C. 17,000 Ebla Tablets have been discovered. These clay tablets have disproven many of the arguments against the Old Testament. Critics claimed that writing did not exist at the time of Moses and so the early Old Testament books were nothing more than oral traditions passed down over generations and could not be trustworthy. The Ebla tablets show that a thousand years before Moses, laws, customs, and events were recorded in writing in the same area of the world where the Old Testament was written.

Critics also assumed that the cities of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Zoar mentioned in Genesis 14 never really existed. The Ebla tablets confirm that they were real cities.
The Old Testament also has lots of text about the Kingdom of Assyria that conquered Israel around 722 B.C. For years, many critics claimed that there was no such kingdom. However, in 1843, Paul Emile Botta discovered an artifact with details of Sargon the Second, who was the king of Assyria mentioned in Isaiah 20:1.
Critics also mistakenly assumed that the Hittites, mentioned many times in the Bible, including Joshua 1:4 never existed. Recently, hundreds of artifacts overlapping 1,200 years of Hittite civilization have been discovered. The critics were wrong again.

In Joshua 6:20, the Bible reports that the walls of Jericho fell, the Israelites charged straight in.  When archaeologists excavated the city, they discovered that the walls of Jericho really fell down.  They fell outwardly and flat, forming a ramp that an army could have used to invade the city. 

In Joshua 24:32, Joseph was buried in Shechem, Palestine. According to the Bible, Joseph was an Israelite who was sold as a slave to Egypt.  He became an important ruler in Egypt.  When the Israelites left Egypt they took the body of Joseph with them and buried the body in Shechem.  According to John Elder, “For centuries there was a tomb at Shechem reverenced as the tomb of Joseph.  A few years ago, the tomb was opened. It was found to contain a body mummified according to the Egyptian custom, and in the tomb among other things was a sword of the kind worn by Egyptian officials.”

Critics once doubted they accuracy of the Book of Daniel in part because there was no evidence confirming the Bible’s report that “Belshazzar” was king of Babylon. Later research showed, however that the reigning king, Nabonidus, appointed Belshazzar as co-regent while he was away.

Sir William Ramsay, a skeptical archaeologist in the 1800s, believed the Book of Acts in the New Testament was written at a much later date by someone other than Luke. However as the result of his archaeological research, he changed his mind and became convinced that Luke really wrote the book of Acts at the earlier time.  He came to regard Luke as the, “greatest of historians.” If Luke was so accurate about his historical accounts, his accounts of miracles and Christ’s resurrection are likely to be historically accurate as well.

The same scientific and archaeological research that confirms the Bible, discredits the accuracy of the sacred books of other religions such as the Book of Mormon of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The founder, Joseph Smith, claimed that the Book of Mormon was the true history of the Americas. However, the artifacts, cities, people, places, or events mentioned in the book of Mormon have never been found. DNA research has disproven the Book of Mormon’s claim that the native peoples of the Americas came from Israel. “Nothing which demonstrates the Book of Mormon is anything other than a myth or invention has ever been found.”

On the other hand, the great archaeologist William F. Albright, stated, “archaeology has confirmed the substantial historicity of Old Testament tradition.”  Dr. Scott McRay, author of Archaeology and the New Testament, was asked, “Does archaeology affirm or undermine the New Testament when it checks out the details in those accounts?”  Dr. McRay answered, “There’s no question that the credibility of the New Testament is enhanced, just as the credibility of any document is enhanced when you excavate and find that the author was accurate in talking about a particular place or event. 

​These are just a few of many examples of discoveries that confirm the historical accuracy of the Bible. Unlike the sacred books of other religions which either cannot be tested with archaeology or are discredited by archaeological discoveries, the more we research this topic, the stronger our faith becomes.  If the Bible is accurate about the people, places, and events of ancient history we can trust that it is accurate about its teachings and miracles as well.