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.  

​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. This is the original conspiracy theory found.  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 besides Jesus.  Many Muslims believe that it was Judas 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! 

We have all experienced seasons of suffering and trials.  During those times God may seem far away. Even Jesus Christ cried out, "My God why have you forsaken me," from the cross. (Mark 15:34).  Hebrews 4:15 says,

"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin."

​I hope you will find this interview with Joni Erikson Tada to be an encouragement to embrace God's grace in the midst of your own suffering and trials.  Jesus is the best only answer to our pain whether it be physical or emotional or both.   

​Vaccinating BRI Techs Against Logical Viruses

Sometimes our cultures can program our brains and thought patterns to the point that we can be deceived into misinterpreting the BRI results.  The worst thing about deception is that usually we do not know that we have been deceived. These viruses, if left untreated can be dangerous for BRI techs.  Matthew 24:8-11.  

Here is one logical virus that infects many of our thought patterns.  

"Unless you approve of my actions you do not love me (or you hate me)."

This is called a False dilemma (False Dichotomy Black or White Fallacy)  The above statement gives only 2 choices. 
Either  1. approve my actions OR 2. hate me. This assumes that there are no other alternatives.  One option is very bad (hate) and so the only other choice is to approve of my actions even if they violate your conscience or religious beliefs.  Given these two choices most people will feel pressured to approve of actions that they normally would find objectionable.  

Here are Other Alternatives:

1.  If the actions are beneficial, one can approve of those actions because they want their loved ones to benefit.  (I approve of my wife taking vitamins because they are good for her).  
2. If the actions are harmful, one can approve of those actions because they want their enemies (those they hate) to be harmed.  (I’m sure that Hitler’s enemies approved of his suicide, they probably wished he had done it thirty years earlier).  
3. If the actions are beneficial, one can disapprove of them because they do not want their enemies to benefit from them in a way that will make them more stronger and more dangerous. (I do not want ISIS to get rich by selling oil).
4. If the actions are harmful, one can disapprove of them because they do not want their loved ones to be harmed. (When my son runs out into the street without looking both ways, I disapprove of this action because I love my son and do not want him to be harmed).    

Examples of Alternative #4.

Smoking cigarettes is probably harmful physically and there may be some spiritual harm (from addiction).  "All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything."  1 Corinthians 6:12.

Since smoking is harmful I disapprove of the action of smoking by my loved ones because I do not want them to be harmed.  

Heterosexual promiscuity/adultery may be harmful physically (STDs)  and it is very harmful spiritually. 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 

Since promiscuity/adultery is harmful, I disapprove of promiscuous/adulterous actions by my loved ones because I do not want them to be harmed.  

Homosexual activity may be physically harmful and is definitely spiritually harmful.  1 Corinthians 6:9-11

Since homosexual acts are harmful, I disapprove of those actions  because I do not want my loved ones to be harmed. 

If you smoke cigarettes, or commit promiscuous, adulterous, or homosexual acts, I disapprove of your actions because I love you, I sincerely believe that these actions are harmful to you, I do not want you to be harmed.

I will approve of and support any efforts you make to quit but whether you choose to quit or not my love for you will not change.  

If you are unwilling to change and you still want my approval of your actions, here are some possible actions you may choose to take.  
A.  You can try to persuade me that your actions are beneficial.   If you are successful you can get my sincere approval but it is highly unlikely given that my reasons are based on Scripture.  But, maybe I am misapplying these Scriptures so it's worth a shot.  I won't be offended if you give it a try.  
 
B.  You can try to persuade me to hate you so that I can sincerely approve of your actions based on #2 above.
 
C. You can try to bully, threaten, sue, and even torture me to the point that I will say that I approve of your actions but this will not be sincere approval.  

But, if you truly love me, could you resort to options B or C? Wouldn’t it be better to accept sincere love from someone who disapproves of your actions than approval from someone who hates you?   

Proverbs 27:5-6 "Better is open rebuke Than love that is concealed.
Faithful are the wounds of a friend, But deceitful are the kisses of an enemy." 

Proverbs 9:8  "Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you,
Reprove a wise man and he will love you."

Proverbs 3:11-12 "My son, do not reject the discipline of the Lord
Or loathe His reproof, For whom the Lord loves He reproves, Even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights."

Romans 1:28-32 "And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them."

This logical virus can also infect our thinking about other important issues.

Unless you believe in evolution you are anti-science. 
Unless you support abortion you are anti-woman.

This virus can cause divisions among Christians:  

Unless you agree with me about this (non-essential doctrine, practice, personal conviction, political issue, or denominational distinctive) you are (not a Christian or you are not a good Christian).  

Romans 14:4 "Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand."

One way to detect this virus is ask yourself.  Does this opinion bully or pressure people into agreeing with it and/or insult those who don’t?  I try to remind myself that, "satan is the father of lies" (John 8:44) and "satan is the accuser of the brothers." (Revelation 12:10) So, it is important to be very careful that we are not spreading lies and false accusations against our brothers and sisters in Christ.  

Is Sola-Scriptura a False Dichotomy?
Sola Scriptura should not be presented like this:  "Unless you believe in Sola Scriptura you are a (insert insult)."

Instead I try to present it like this. 

1.  If there is a Creator God.
2. If the Bible is God’s Word.
3. Then, according to the following verses (see article) the Bible claims to be the only completely reliable way of knowing God’s will. 
4. If we accept this claim, then here’s how we can live by it.  

I try to leave space for people who are not totally sold on sola-scriptura to try it out without feeling bullied or insulted if they are not totally convinced.  If the Bible truly is God’s Word, then I believe that eventually many people will be persuaded of that without any bullying, insults, or pressure from me. 

Is the Gospel a False Dichotomy?
If we present the Gospel as “Turn or Burn”, most people will see this as a false dichotomy and this can harden their hearts against the Gospel. The choice between heaven or hell is not a false dichotomy because Hebrews 9:27 says, "Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment,..."

To avoid this misunderstanding, I try to present the Gospel in this way.  

1.  If there is a Creator God.  Here is the evidence for why I believe this is true (take it or leave it).
2. If the Bible is God’s Word. Here is the evidence for why I believe this is true (take it or leave it)
3. If Jesus Christ really lived, died, and rose again as the Bible says.  Here is the evidence for why I believe it is true (take it or leave it).
4. Then, according to the following verses (insert verses) the Bible says the following about sin and salvation (take it or leave it).  

Those who reject the Gospel will have to suffer the consequences of their choice, there is no need to add insults do anything which would make it more difficult for them to resume communication with me and complete the journey later.  Salvation is too important for people to be pressured into it.  We cannot persuade anyone very effectively after we have insulted them. 

Part 1 Part 2
Sola Scriptura (Only Scripture) is the anti-virus software of Biblical Christianity.  We can find examples of its use in the Scripture.   
"The brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.​" Acts 17:10-11 

Paul was an Apostle who was inspired to write much of the New Testament, yet he applauded the Bereans for checking Scriptures to confirm or reject his teaching.  If it is okay to Scripturally Fact Check and apostle, then it must be okay to do the same thing with the teachings and theories of a pastor, pope, politician, pop star, or scientist etc. "But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed!" Galatians 1:8 By this standard, even the Apostle's opinions should be rejected if they contradict the inspired teachings found in Scripture.  Beyond this, if an angel preaches a different Gospel, then we should reject that.  It is on this basis that we reject Mormonism and Islam.  Furthermore, even if an alien appears and claims to be the creator, we should also test their claims under the authority of Scripture.   

Galileo was forced to recant his theory that the sun is the center of the solar system, by the Catholic Church.  Because of this, many people mistakenly think that the Bible is anti-science.  But, it important to remember that the Catholic Church rejects sola scriptura.  So, Galileo's argument was against the current pope's interpretations of scripture instead of scripture itself.  In 1992, a later pope agreed that Galileo was right.   It isn't fair to judge sola scriptura  based Protestant Christianity for this, because the same Catholic Church that bullied Galileo into recanting his sun theory was also persecuting and executing Protestants for believing in sola scriptura.

How Would Sola Scriptura Have Treated Galileo and Other Scientists?  
Galileo
Let's try it out.  Sola Scriptura (Sola) will have a conversation with Galileo.

Galileo:  I have a cool new theory.  I think that, the earth orbits the sun instead of the sun orbiting the earth.  

Sola:  Let's search the scriptures.  
Genesis 1:14-19 says that God made the sun and moon, you don't deny that do you? 

Galileo: No, “…no truth discovered in Nature could contradict the deep truth of the Holy Writ.”
​
Sola: Ecclesiastes 1:5 says, "Also, the sun rises and the sun sets;
And hastening to its place it rises there again."  Does your theory have a problem with this scripture?

Galileo: No, it is just a matter of perspective.  Let me show you.  Here focus your eyes on this apple that I am holding in my hand. It represents the sun.  You represent the earth.  Okay, now, sit down and then stand back up.  From your point of view, did the apple/sun rise when you sat down and seem to go down when you stood up?

Sola: Yes, it did.

Galileo:  Check out this passage. "“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts". Isaiah 55:8-9

​Sola:  That is true.  So the way something seems to be from our perspective as fallen, sinful, humans may not be the way things really are from God's perspective.  

Galileo:  "It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, But the glory of kings is to search out a matter."  Proverbs 25:2

Sola:  Cool, well my friend, I don't have a problem with your theory, go ahead and see how it turns out.
Darwin
Charles Darwin:  "I found some birds with different beak shapes that are adapted to different environmental conditions.  I think that if this can happen, then eventually birds can keep changing and become other kinds of animals and that birds evolved from dinosaurs."

Sola: Genesis 1:21, 1:25, 6:20, and 7:14 all say that God created the different kinds of animal to reproduce "after its kind" so there is no way that they could have evolved from one kind into another kind within the framework of Scripture.  So, either your theory of evolution is wrong or scripture is wrong.  

Darwin: Scripture is wrong.

Sola:  Sorry, I can't accept your theory because I can't call God a liar. 

Sola Scriptura as a filter for Modern Sea Level Theories
   
If you do an Internet search, "sea levels rise", you will find a lot of theories.  One of the biggest problem is that so many theories out there try to bully us into accepting them because of how many scientists, politicians, religious leaders, and movie stars believe them.  But popularity of an idea by powerful people should never influence a Christian who truly lives by Sola Scriptura.   "What then? If some did not believe, their unbelief will not nullify the faithfulness of God, will it? May it never be! Rather, let God be found true, though every man be found a liar, as it is written, “That You may be justified in Your words, And prevail when You are judged.” Romans 3:3-4

So, let's search the Scripture for what it says about the topic.  "I will remember My covenant, which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and never again shall the water become a flood to destroy all flesh." Genesis 9:7-17 

Sola: I will reject any theory that claims that sea levels will rise so far that they will threaten humans and all land animals with extinction, because they make God a liar. 
​
Proverbs 8:26-29 "When He set for the sea its boundary So that the water would not transgress His command,"

Job 38:8-11 “Or who enclosed the sea with doors When, bursting forth, it went out from the womb; When I made a cloud its garment
And thick darkness its swaddling band,  And I placed boundaries on it And set a bolt and doors, And I said, ‘Thus far you shall come, but no farther; And here shall your proud waves stop’?

Psalms 104:5-9 "You covered it with the deep as with a garment; The waters were standing above the mountains. At Your rebuke they fled,. . . To the place which You established for them. You set a boundary that they may not pass over, So that they will not return to cover the earth."

Jeremiah 5:21-25 "‘Do you not fear Me?’ declares the Lord. ‘Do you not tremble in My presence? For I have placed the sand as a boundary for the sea, An eternal decree, so it cannot cross over it. Though the waves toss, yet they cannot prevail; Though they roar, yet they cannot cross over it."  

Sola: I will reject any theory that claims that human actions can raise or lower the sea level on their own without acknowledging God as the Creator who has the final authority to set the boundaries of the sea because this would be calling God a liar. 

Along these lines, here is a very interesting Scripture. 

Ecclesiastes 1:7 "All the rivers flow into the sea,Yet the sea is not full. To the place where the rivers flow, There they flow again."  
This is an amazing verse because the water cycle is mentioned in the Bible many years before it was "discovered" by human scientists. 

Here is my personal thought:  Check to see if any theories take into account the complete functioning of the water cycle. For example, if earth's temperature were to rise, the polar ice caps and glaciers would melt and flow down the rivers into the sea.  But it also seems reasonable that the same increased temperatures that raised would also lead to increased evaporation of sea water, which would result in more clouds and more rain, snow, and other precipitation on land.  God's fine-tuning, design of the earth and its atmosphere have functioned just fine for thousands of years despite volcanoes and other events.   On the other hand, humans' best efforts to manage our own small scale climate failed in the early 1990s.  (see Biosphere 2).  So I will continue to trust God and His Word more than the theories of humans no matter how popular they may be. 

Reformation Reloaded: Part 1 Christians and New Media 

We all love new computers because they are so fast.  Over time updates, patches, bloatware, malware, viruses, and even our own files pile up and make them slow, incompatible, and unstable.  I have an Acer Netbook that I purchased several years ago, it was getting so slow and unstable that I thought I would have to replace it, but when I took it in to the computer shop and had all of the software uninstalled and then only reinstalled the programs that I actually need, the computer has became faster, more stable, and this has extended its life as a computer I use when teaching Christian Apologetics classes.  

New Christians are like new computers, but over time they get slower, incompatible with other Christians, unstable, and less and less useful.   It reminds me of the verse,  "but the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful." (Mark 4:19).  When I think about Scripture and history I see this same pattern of Creation, Complication, Confusion, Corruption, and Crash afterwards our theology needs to be reinstalled from the ground up.

For example, God gave Adam and Eve simple instructions and very quickly Satan and them managed to complicate, confuse, corrupt, and crash it.  God installed the sacrifice software and Cain did the same pattern, and killed Abel.  Things got so bad that God had to completely destroy the earth and its inhabitants and re-install the software of Truth with Noah.  Later, God had to quarantine the spiritual viruses at the Tower of Babel and re-install the truth into Abraham.  The Mosaic law was another reboot.  The Pharisees managed to complicate it, corrupt, and crash that until Jesus installed the Great Commandment "Jesus answered, “The foremost is, ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is one Lord; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:29-31).  

I see the Apostles's Creed and the Nicene Creed as further attempts to re-install the basic Biblical software of Christianity in a way which was comprehensible and would unify Christians around the essentials of Christianity.  This is why 21st Century Protestants still use these creeds.  If the Catholic Church hadn't added so many doctrines on top of these creeds, we would all probably be Catholics today. After these Creeds, more and more updates, patches, viruses, and bloatware entered into Christian theology that the only way to clear the decks was to go back to the Bible.  

Sola Scriptura was the key idea of the Reformation because it made it possible for every Christian to uninstall all the bloatware of tradition and get back to simple truths of the Bible.  I understand that  my Catholic friends may be offended by Sola Scriptura because they want to hold on to the software that the Reformation uninstalled.  My purpose is not to get into an argument over whether Sola Scriptura is good or not.  If you don't like Sola Scriptura feel free to argue with these guys (Defense of Sola Scriptura) .  Sola Scriptura made it possible for Christianity to spread around the world in places where the Catholic Church could never have gone due to political barriers.  In times of persecution it is easy to destroy church buildings and identify and imprison or kill clergy, but it is much more difficult to crush Christianity, when anyone who was literate can read and share the Scriptures with those who can't read.  If our understanding of the Scriptures and our salvation depended on formal religious institutions, then the House Church Movement of China would have been impossible.  

My concern is that since the reformation, especially in North America and Europe, even Protestants have managed to add a whole bunch of updates, patches, bloatware, and in some cases even viruses.  Martin Luther's 95 Theses was mainly concerned with the selling of Indulgences by the Catholic Church in order to pay for building programs.  ​In other words, the Catholic Church was saying there are sins but you can get a pass on the penalty of the sins if you pay us money.  But now, so many Christians will compromise the clear teachings of Scripture free of charge!  

They are basically saying, "God is wrong, Jesus is wrong, and the Bible is wrong, it is okay you can ____________ (insert popular sin etc. here) as much as you want, we won't judge you for your sins and we will even attack other Christians who mention what the Bible says about it.  We will celebrate your sin. Just please! please! please don't call us names! (bigot, anti-women, anti-science, homophobic, or islamophobic. etc.)"    

So, we really can't throw stones at the Catholic Church of Luther's day, because if Luther lived now he might, tape a flyer on our church doors or at least post a meme on our Facebook wall. We can't throw stones, because we are not without sin. There are many more parallels that I can draw between the state of many modern protestant churches and the Roman Catholic Church of Luther's era, and perhaps I will do so in later posts.  For now, I believe that we need to get back to the clear never changing principles of Scripture.  We, as Protestants, cannot criticize the Catholic Church for believing in Scripture+Tradition five hundred years ago, if we ourselves believe in Scripture+Pop Culture right now.    In many ways Gallup Polls, seems to be the most important commentary that many Protestant leaders consult.  First they see what is popular and then they interpret the Scriptures accordingly.  The Mormons, changed their views on polygamy in order for Utah to gain US statehood and they changed their views on dark skinned people to reflect cultural trends.  The Mormons can do this, because they believe that they have a living prophet, who can give them updated interpretations whenever it is politically or economically profitable to do so. 

But, I believe that, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever."  (Hebrews 13:8) and "Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear." (Matthew 24:35).  I also believe this:  
"Now you followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perseverance, persecutions, and sufferings, such as happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium and at Lystra; what persecutions I endured, and out of them all the Lord rescued me! Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:10-17)

The first generations of Christians did not change the teachings of God's Word just to please the popular culture and avoid persecution.  Many of them were martyred and tortured because they would not make small compromises such as acknowledging Caesar as a god.  It would have been understandable if they had tried to be more "open minded and tolerant" to avoid the horrible tortures and deaths of Foxe's Book of Martyrs.  But, when we as modern Christians compromise our faith to avoid being called names on social media, we are dishonoring their sacrifices and courage.  

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is an high tech scanner that is used to detect tumors, cancers, and other potentially fatal disorders without having to cut into the body.  The Bible is like a spiritual MRI.

"For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do." Hebrews 4:12-13

"All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;" 2 Timothy 3:16

“The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it? “I, the Lord, search the heart,
I test the mind,Even to give to each man according to his ways,
According to the results of his deeds." Jeremiah 17:9-10