Christian Data Resources

A few months ago, Dr. Walter Williams wrote a column saying that Obama cannot be defeated in 2012, regardless of who the Republican challenger is.  Unfortunately, I have to agree.  Williams noted the economy won’t matter because Obama will simply spend $1B in campaign money to convince us that it’s not his fault, since things were much worse than we understood when he took office.  The majority of liberals, Democrats, Independents, union members, minorities, women, and special interest groups will vote for him simply based either upon his race, charm, inspiration, and convincing speeches, or upon the fact that they won’t vote for a Republican.  Not only that, but his coattails will reach far enough to retain the Senate, and perhaps to regain the House. 

Well, due to the events of the past few months, a few other factors can be added to this argument: 

- Obama brought the troops home from Iraq (even though he had little choice), fulfilling a campaign promise. 

- Obama got Osama Bin Laden, something they’ll say that Bush couldn’t do in eight years. 

However, I believe that there are even more compelling (and ironic) arguments why Obama will be reelected.  We now have 46 million people on Food Stamps, 50 million collecting Social Security benefits, 13 million collecting unemployment, and millions more receiving Medicare, Medicaid, Welfare, Disability, government pensions, and farm subsidies; and, nearly half of us pay no federal income tax.  The vast majority of these people support for Obama, just so he’ll keep those monthly checks coming in.  That’s well over half of the people in the country–over 150 million people, and it takes only 50 million to win.  In other words, the people collecting money from the government now outnumber the ones paying for all of this with their taxes. 

Obama has us so dependent upon the government that we don’t want to rock the boat.  We assume that our national debt doesn’t matter, and that the government will always find a way to write us that monthly check.  We’ve decided that unemployment is a good thing, since the government pays us when we’re unemployed.  So, who cares how high unemployment is?  We pay no taxes, but we get money from the government, so who wouldn’t want this system to continue? 

I believe that we have reached the point of no return.  Our debt is out of control because there are too many of us collecting money from the government, and too few of us paying taxes.  I now truly believe that we will reelect Obama, and then decline into being a bankrupt third-rate nation in just a few short years. 

How can Obama be defeated?  I see only two ways, but I don’t think they will happen:  1) We could have a low voter turnout because His supporters will be complacent enough not to vote (while Tea Party folks do vote).  2) The money that he spends on ads will backfire, causing people to get tired of him.

On January 11th, 2012, a federal judge ordered the immediate removal of a prayer mural displayed in the auditorium of a Rhode Island public high school.  A teenage atheist had sued the city of Cranston, RI and Cranston High School West officials, demanding that they remove the banner because it promotes a religion. She called it offensive to non-Christians.  Her attorneys argued that the banner is a violation of the Constitution and the Supreme Court’s 1962 decision banning state-mandated prayer in school. 

People just don’t get it.  The separation of church and state in the constitution means that the government cannot mandate a state religion, not that one’s faith cannot be expressed, or that morality cannot be honored.  The 1962 decision banned mandated prayer, not the display of moral encouragement that would have made our founders proud.  Here’s the prayer: 

OUR HEAVENLY FATHER,GRANT US EACH DAY THE DESIRE TO DO OUR BEST,TO GROW MENTALLY AND MORALLY AS WELL AS PHYSICALLY, TO BE KIND AND HELPFUL TO OUR CLASSMATES AND TEACHERS,  TO BE HONEST WITH OURSELVES AS WELL AS WITH OTHERS, HELP US TO BE GOOD SPORTS AND SMILE WHEN WE LOSE AS WELL AS WHEN WE WIN, TEACH US THE VALUE OF TRUE FRIENDSHIP,  HELP US ALWAYS TO CONDUCT OURSELVES SO AS TO BRING CREDIT TO CRANSTON HIGH SCHOOL WEST. AMEN 

Is it offensive to do our best; to grow mentally and morally; to be kind and helpful; to be honest; and, to be good sports?  This is a great prayer, and the judge’s decision is just sad. At least I’m still allowed to post it here.

Below are some typical questions from those trying to reconcile science to the Bible.  

Does the Bible Imply That the Earth is Flat?  

Ezekiel 7:2 and Revelation 7:1 reference “the four corners of the earth.”  Similarly, Isaiah 11:12 references “the four quarters of the earth.”  The Oxford English Dictionary defines “corner” to mean “An extremity or end of the earth; a region, quarter; a direction or quarter from which the wind blows.”  The word “corner” comes from a Latin root “cornu,” meaning “horn,” as seen in words such as “cornet,” “corn,” and “cornucopia.”  So, the four corners of the earth can be interpreted as referring to the four cardinal directions–north, south, east and west.  In addition, the “four corners of the earth” can also be interpreted as four “horns” of the earth.  One obvious example of such a “horn” is Cape Horn, the southernmost tip of South America.  So the usage of the phrase “four corners of the earth” does not necessarily signify a flat, rectangular earth.  

Go to the full article)

 I’m 56 years old.  I might have 20 or 30 years left, but I believe it’s more like 10 or 15.  Regardless, since any of us could die at any time, I believe that it’s time for me to consider how I want to die.  This is simply a practical matter for me, not a gruesome one.  We should each have a living will, and we should be willing (and even eager) to discuss it.  It is my choice to die a natural death, with dignity, but I have placed particular constraints on what I believe a natural death looks like.  I believe that there are things we can do to promote dying in a healthy and sound way, and this kind of death looks much different to me than what many people choose.  There are three aspects to my end-of-life strategy:  spiritual, physical, and financial. 

Go to the full article)

(Skip the background and just tell me how you want to die.)

Many people ask whether or not the names “Jesus” and “Joshua” are really the same.  This is a bit confusing, and it gets somewhat technical.  “Yeshua” is the contracted form of the Hebrew name “Yehoshua.”  Both are used in the Old Testament, and the English spelling for both is “Joshua.”  The specific use for this name in the Old Testament was for the man who succeeded Moses–not specifically for the Messiah, because the Old Testament does not refer to the Messiah by this name. 

Now, in about 200 B.C., the Old Testament was translated from Hebrew to Greek in a work known as the Septuagint, for the benefit of those Jews who spoke Greek.  So, we can learn a lot from the way the Hebrew words were translated into Greek at that time.  

In the Septuagint, in Numbers 13;16, the Hebrew name “Yehoshua” was transliterated into the Greek name “Iesou;” i.e., another form of “Iesous,” with a different case ending because of the way it’s used in the Greek grammar.  (Note that “transliteration” just means changing each letter in the Hebrew name Yeshua into Greek, letter by letter, since names often cannot be specifically “translated.”)  In Nehemiah 8:17, the Hebrew name “Yeshua” was also transliterated into the Greek name “Iesou.”  

Since “Iesous” is the exact English transliteration of the Greek name “Iesou,” we can conclude that the Greek name “Iesous” equates to the Hebrew name “Yeshua,” and its English spelling is “Jesus.”  Furthermore, the name “Joshua” is the English form of the Hebrew word “Yeshua,” and the name “Jesus” is the English form of the Greek word “Iesous.” So, the names “Joshua” and “Jesus” are essentially the same.  It could be said that each one is an English pronunciations for the name of the Lord; one from the Hebrew and one from the Greek.

I’ve received several questions lately about what heaven will be like.  Readers often ask whether or not we will know each other in heaven, and specifically whether or not we will still be married to our earthly spouses. 

The Bible is not definitive about what our relationships with others will be like in heaven.  The best passage that we have on this is probably Matthew 22:23-33 where Christ is answering a question from the Pharisees concerning the afterlife for a woman who had multiple husbands on earth.  In verse 30, Jesus says, “For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.”  This implies that people in heaven will know each other, but they won’t have the same relationships, such as marriage. 

I believe that our existence in heaven will be overpowered by God’s glory Revelation 4:9-11).  We will be so awe-struck by being in the very presence of God, that we will somehow not even be too concerned with others.

When I was a small child, I memorized John 3:16, “God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him will be saved, and have eternal life.”  This verse remains precious to me, and I believe that it’s the most important verse in the Bible for unbelievers.  It plainly explains God’s plan of salvation by grace through faith, and it deserves further study.  Click here full the full text of the article. 

I’m a God-fearing Christian, an avid Bible reader, and a believer in the saving grace of Jesus Christ.  I’ve been a Christian for nearly 50 years, and I’ve spent thousands of hours in Bible study, prayer, and church service.  I believe that Jesus Christ established His church for the unity and edification of believers; yet, I don’t currently attend church on a regular basis–probably less than once a month.  How can this be?  

I’m not proud of the fact that I don’t attend church regularly.  I lose the potential for enrichment every time I don’t go, and I offer no excuses.  This writing is as much of an indictment against myself as against the church.  I even harbor a certain amount of shame, guilt, and embarrassment about it.  We have met all of our best friends in church, and it breaks my heart to think of the blessings that I’m missing by not going now.  If you have found a church that truly teaches the Bible, and edifies and encourages you, then God bless you–I could learn much from you.  However, I’ve decided to be completely honest here, and devote this writing to my sad predicament, in hope of encouraging others who might be in the same situation.

Click here for the full article

In the 1980s, Aileen Wuornos became an infamous serial killer. She was born in 1956; her parents were violent, and they had a tumultuous marriage. Her dad was arrested, then he joined the army, and she never met him. He was later convicted of rape, and hanged himself.  

Aileen’s mom abandoned her. Her grandfather raised her, and abused her. This horrific treatment made her an extremely angry person, and she probably suffered from a personality disorder. She had sex with her own brother, and with other boys (at age 11), for spare change. She used the money to buy drugs. She was raped, and she became pregnant at age 14. The baby was adopted out before she ever even saw it; and, of course, she received no counseling. 

She ran away, and later she was kicked out of the house. She became a prostitute, and she abused alcohol and drugs, and attempted suicide many times. She became a lesbian, and she and her partner lived like Nomads. She was guilty of robbery, grand larceny, and twelve counts of murder. She went to prison at age 34, and she eventually asked for the death sentence. She was executed in 2002 at the age of 46. She never figured out why her life didn’t work. 

When she was in prison, she constantly read the Bible. She believed in God, and in hell. In trying to make things right with God, she listed her many transgressions in a journal, and wrote about how she was always heading further into evil. She admitted to many sexual sins, hate, violence, and an uncontrolled temper. 

She wrote, “Dear Lord Jesus, I know I’ve done some wicked things in my life, and I know I deserve the rot of hell… I need to bring myself to your throne, begging, if you’d forgive me for all the overwhelming evil I’ve done in this world… “God, forgive me and bring me home eternal ever more.” 

I’ll make two observations: 

1) I am blessed because I’ve never been subjected to the abuse that Aileen suffered as a child. In an environment like that, an with our fleshly sin nature, any of us could lash out with behavior like Aileen’s, or worse. 

2) Yet, through all of life’s woes, I believe that Aileen felt the presence of the Holy Spirit. Although we don’t know what’s in another person’s heart, I believe that her contrition was sincere, and that she was a true believer. Who among us couldn’t say, “Dear Lord Jesus, I know I’ve done some wicked things in my life, and I know I deserve the rot of hell?” That’s why Christ died on the cross–for all the wicked things that all of us have done. We deserve to rot in hell for our sins, but Christ’s perfect sacrifice atoned for our sins. I believe that I’ll see Aileen in heaven some day.

When we think about the money barrier in America, we usually think of those who are tragically poor, uneducated, and unemployed.  However, I want to address the money barrier that is caused when we violate God’s commandments by becoming lovers of money (1 Timothy 3:3, 2 Timothy 3:2). 

1 Timothy 6:10 explains, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”  The accumulation of money changes us, and usually for the worse.  Although it enables us to share more with others, it’s almost impossible to overcome the powerful hold of the greed of the flesh.  Unless we’re extremely careful, bad things will happen when we accumulate money. 

We become eager for money and wander from the truth.  Hebrews 13:5 says, “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’”  In Acts 8:20, Peter told Simon the Sorcerer, “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money!” 

A recent Reader’s Digest article exposed the cheating epidemic on college campuses.  One of the biggest categories of students who cheat are “lazy rich kids.”  Colleges are a perfect launching ground for them, because our educational institutions are built to reward the rich and to forgive them their laziness.  The successful among us are not always the best, the brightest, or the most ethical.  The lazy rich kid is “poised for a life of paying others and telling them what to do.  Indeed, he is acquiring all the skills he needs to stay on top.” 

It’s both ironic and tragic how the money barrier inhibits the personal growth of those with too little wealth, as well as those with too much.