A Moment Of Charity

Charity Baptist 20th Anniversary Sunday: May 17, 2009

2009-05-18T09:31:00.009-04:00

Dr. Tony Slutz and his wife, Ellen.
Dr. Slutz is past president of the IFBF and our speaker for the day.

Rev. Roger Bixler and his wife, Mary Jane.
Rev. Bixler has preached for me when I have been away.

Dr. Slutz, Pastor Morris, & Greg Vogel [deacon].
The plaque, from the IFBF, commemorates our 20th Anniversary.

Alcohol and Sunday

2009-05-06T11:11:00.001-04:00

Note: The following is the original, unedited version of the article which appeared in last Sunday's Ft. Wayne Journal-Gazette.

When I was in seminary in South Carolina, I worked full-time for a large retail store and went to school part-time. When I began working for this store (1981), the store was not open on Sunday due to the “Blue Laws” which prohibited most retail sales on Sunday. They were called “Blue Laws” because the original legislation was printed on blue paper. Although some stores were allowed to open for business, most stores remained closed. But within about 3 years, the laws were changed, and stores began to open on Sunday afternoon, then eventually all day. At first, Sunday sales did not have much impact on total sales since sales on Sunday seemed to diminish sales on Monday. However, eventually Sunday became a major day for retail sales on its own merit.

The history of restricting business activity on Sunday in America goes back to 17^th century England and the influence of the Puritans. British settlers in America brought these beliefs and practices with them. What is interesting is that, even after Puritan influence in England had ceased, the English people still chose to treat Sunday differently from other days for another 200 years.

Restricting business and other activities on Sunday is directly due to the influence of Christianity on society and society's respect for Christianity. The almost total freedom today which businesses have for Sunday sales and work is in direct proportion to the decline of Christianity's influence on American society and, to some degree, society's lessening respect for Christianity. Since I have a political science degree, I have to admit that, Constitutionally, it is difficult to maintain restrictions on Sunday sales. Restricting any sales of any product on any day cannot be based on any preference for any religion, no matter how much I might personally wish sales of certain products to be restricted or even eliminated. Any restrictions which remain in place are due to the lingering influence of Christianity on our society. As this influence is waning, we see these restrictions eliminated as people become more comfortable in changing them.

America began with strong influence from Christian churches and the Bible. Some may not like this fact, but it is nevertheless true. America's beginnings were not influenced by Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, or any other religion except Christianity. As our country becomes more religiously diverse and, in some cases, antagonistic to Christianity, those remaining laws in the legal code which give subtle preference to Christianity will probably disappear. For example, most businesses are still officially closed on Sunday. Why is this? The traditional reason is so that people may go to church. As more people abandon Sunday church, keeping businesses closed on Sunday have more to do with personal rest and recreation than worship of the Lord God.

For the record, I support restricting alcohol sales on Sunday. Actually, I wish we could eliminate the scourge of alcohol completely. Alcoholic beverages are a dangerous product which ruins families and is responsible for many deaths and accidents. In our community, I see the trucks filled with alcoholic poison drive by our church taking their deadly product to its weak victims. I find it interesting that when a dog attacks and kills someone, that dog is almost always destroyed. Although alcohol kills many people, it continues to be promoted and accepted. The most our society does is to prohibit alcohol's sale to certain ages (which practically doesn't work that well), to tax the product for revenue, to limit its advertising, and to prohibit drinking and driving a motorized vehicle.

Contrary to what some believe, the alcohol Jesus drank was not anything like today's alcoholic beverages. The wine of NT times had far less alcoholic content and was always mixed with water to dilute the wine and purify the water. To use Christ's example to support the consumption of modern alcoholic beverages is historically inaccurate. If someone insists on using the Bible to support the consumption of modern alcoholic beverages, then he should also follow their practice and use the same kind of wine diluted with water. Those who resist doing so reveal more about their heart attitude than they realize.

However I accept that restricting alcohol sales on Sunday is probably a lost cause and legally questionable in today's cultural and legal environment. The movement to legalize alcohol sales on Sunday is another indication of the post-Christian atmosphere in our country. The solution is to give people the gospel, one person at a time, and for those pastors who still believe the Bible to preach God's moral law to an increasingly deaf society.

Video & Pictures From Sunday, March 29, 2009

2009-03-31T09:22:00.009-04:00

Jim Wright: Missionary to Cameroon March 29, 2009

2009-03-30T08:33:00.002-04:00

America Is Becoming Socialist

2009-03-20T09:45:00.003-04:00

The following letter was sent to the Ft. Wayne Journal-Gazette in response to an opinion article by the editorial page editor. The Journal-Gazette did not publish my letter in either their print edition or web editions, even though I received an email suggesting that they might.

As a pastor, I like words. I study words because I use words. The right word is essential to effective and accurate communication. Over time, words change meaning. This change is inevitable and unstoppable. One word which many people are using today is the word “socialism”.

My undergrad major was political science, and I intended to go to law school. However, as an undergrad, I decided to pursue another type of Law which more effectively solves people's problems (but that is another story). For my undergrad degree, I took two classes in communism and also political theory classes. Two of the classes I took were taught by Dr. Gary Bertsch, an expert on Eastern Europe. To be accurate, socialism is an economic theory, not a political theory. Yet socialism has fingers which reach into politics as well as economics.

I read Tracy Warner's article, “Obama's Policies Are Not Socialist”, and noticed that most of his argument seemed to highlight that others before Obama enacted similar policies, yet few called those policies “socialist”. That is like a child stealing candy, then pointing out that others steal candy too.

To be honest, Mr. Warner is right about one point: President Obama is continuing and enlarging what President Bush started last Fall. However, as much as I like President Bush, the policies he proposed were socialistic. When President Bush's father was President, he too engaged in socialist policies with the government bailout of some savings and loan institutions. As Mr. Warner points out, farm subsidies are indeed a form of socialism, which tends to reveal that once a socialistic program becomes entrenched in a society, that program is there to stay. Government funded prescriptions and health care are two more socialistic programs which, once begun, will never end. Why do politicians, whom you assume would reject socialist programs, enact socialist programs? Because they are politicians who want to get re-elected. And a politician cannot get re-elected if he makes too many people mad.

Are President Obama's policies socialistic? To answer that question, consider the Fabian Society. Started in 1884 in Britain by George Bernard Shaw, the Fabians taught that government should achieve socialism gradually through minimum wage laws, government subsidized agriculture, restrictions on private property (even to the point of eliminating private property), government control of education, and other policies.

Based upon the definition of socialism which Mr. Warner's article used, it seems obvious to me that, yes, the policies of the federal government are a form of socialism. He admits near the end of his article that our government is assuming ownership of “a handful of companies”. Yet these companies are some of the largest and influential companies in America. If these “staunchest Republican capitalists” which he refers to aren't complaining too loudly about socialism, that does not prove that it isn't socialism. Their silence only proves that they are silent.

President Obama is simply continuing what many other Presidents have started. To say that other Presidents have enacted similar policies and therefore his policies cannot be socialism begs the question and does not prove anything except that others have done it too.

The move toward socialism in America began many decades ago. What we are seeing today is the result of patient waiting by those who wish America to be more socialistic.

"Invest In Your Marriage" Banquet: Febraury 6, 2009

2009-02-07T10:50:00.011-05:00

Our Special Speaker: Dr. Gary Vaughn & his wife, Debra

Alice--Special Thanks To Her

Annual Thanksgiving Meal: Nov. 23, 2008

2008-11-28T09:23:00.012-05:00

Studdard Family: Missionaries to Cameroon [Nov. 23, 2008]

2008-11-24T10:42:00.004-05:00

First Snow: Sunday, November 16, 2008

2008-11-17T08:52:00.003-05:00

Pastors & Wives Retreat

2008-11-07T08:34:00.014-05:00

Below are pictures & video from Camp Joy, November 3-6, 2008

Prophecy, Fear, & Freedom

2008-10-21T10:34:00.006-04:00

When I was a student at the University of Georgia, I was involved in student government. Just exactly what is it that student government does? Basically one thing: distribute money collected from student activity fees to various student groups. Very quickly, I learned the real reason some get involved in government: Power. Control of money is power. The one who controls the money is the one who has the power. Multiply this by billions of dollars and you have incredible power.

Revelation 13:16-17 describe this kind of power. These verses describe a person who has the power to control all aspects of buying and selling (i.e. the entire economy). Many have read these verses and, for 2,000 years, have wondered how someone would obtain this kind of power. Answer: FEAR. Just look at the fear today. People angry and scared about their money, jobs, and homes. Over the last few weeks, this fear has motivated people to give government extensive power over the economy. One thing I learned in history is that government often uses a crisis to obtain more power and gives this power back only when it is forced to do so. Pre-WW2 Germany would be a good example.

Just in the last few days, European leaders haved asked for more “global coordination” of the world's financial system. Until our own time, the technology did not exist for this kind of control. Now that debit cards, electronic transfers, and online banking are common, it is now easier than ever for a few people to control the world's financial system. And with more people depending on government programs for much of their life, the government can “persuade” people to accept its policies or risk losing benefits. For example, if Americans depend on government for health care and prescriptions, then you accept the government's policies or lose your medication. I suspect most people will choose to stay alive. As the American population ages, more people than ever before will depend on social security checks. Accept the government's policies or starve. I suspect most people would rather live with growling government than growling stomachs.

Although the book of Revelation is notoriously difficult to interpret due to the symbolic language, these verses in Revelation 13 seem straightforward. In a world governed by a few, power and money are a dangerous combination. Socialism is the tool that will be used to bring America, the last bastion of freedom, into the political and economic structure for the fulfillment of prophecy. My wife and I will be out of town on Election Day, so we are voting early. I hope we all choose wisely.

Lake By Our Church

2008-10-20T09:20:00.004-04:00

Harvest Cookout: October 18, 2008

2008-10-19T17:53:00.008-04:00

Mini-Vacation: South Haven, Michigan

2008-10-18T13:22:00.004-04:00

BJU Drama Team---Thursday, Sept. 25, 2008

2008-09-26T10:38:00.020-04:00

Old-Fashioned Sunday--Sept. 14, 2008

2008-09-15T08:27:00.026-04:00

5th Sunday Testimonies & Snacks

2008-09-01T10:18:00.007-04:00

Church Family Picnic: Saturday, August 23, 2008 [Part 3]

2008-09-01T09:31:00.006-04:00

Church Family Picnic: Saturday, August 23, 2008 [Part 2]

2008-08-26T17:51:00.005-04:00

Church Family Picnic: Saturday, August 23, 2008

2008-08-24T17:45:00.004-04:00

Ministry To College Campuses--Sun., Aug. 3, 2008

2008-08-04T13:08:00.004-04:00

Men's Work Day--Sat., Aug. 2, 2008

2008-08-04T12:25:00.007-04:00

Birthday Party: July 13, 2008

2008-07-13T20:12:00.004-04:00

Youth Horseback Riding: July 11, 2008

2008-07-12T11:35:00.007-04:00

American Independence Day Recognition

2008-06-29T23:21:00.005-04:00