Senator Jon Kyl (left) with Senator John Cornyn (right). Picture by and (c) Talk Radio News Service 2/2/2012

The following was received via email from Senator Kyl on February 17, 2012.

Thank you for contacting me about the legislation before Congress intended to combat foreign Internet trafficking in counterfeit and pirated goods.

As you know, there has been intense debate over this legislation. Many are worried about the government intruding on the freedom of the Internet, and I understand and appreciate that concern. I am a natural skeptic of government intervention, believing that it should only intervene when there is a demonstrated, compelling reason to do so. In this case, I believe defending American property – especially intellectual property – against the threat of foreign online theft more than meets this threshold and merits congressional action. I appreciate the opportunity to explain why.

There is a reason why the United States has led the world in technology, medicine, software, electronics, and so many other innovation-heavy industries for so long; we have one of the freest economies in the world, we have some of the smartest, most hard-working people, and we have always strongly protected intellectual property rights. This imperative was recognized by our Founding Fathers, which is why Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution tells Congress to “promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.”

American laws are violated every time a copyrighted movie, song, book, or other material is stolen, reproduced, and sold or distributed to buyers without permission. Thus, I believe legislation should be enacted to prevent foreign websites whose primary business is trafficking in infringed goods from doing business with Americans. These websites not only harm the American companies that own the trademarks and copyrights that are infringed; they also harm the American purchasers of counterfeit goods (which are usually of markedly inferior quality, and are sometimes dangerous to the consumer).

It’s clear that we can no longer ignore this growing problem. To do so would reward foreign pirates at the expense of American innovators, and it would risk ceding our pre-eminent position in the world economy to places like China and Russia. Laws have already been in place for many years to fight domestic intellectual piracy; it only makes sense, then, to extend that same protection to the fight against foreign online counterfeiters.

To be sure, some of the bills that have been introduced to address this issue (such as S. 968 and H.R. 3261) are not perfect. I have some concerns myself. For instance, companies doing business on the Internet might incur new costs to comply with some of the requirements. But that does not mean we simply should abandon our efforts to combat foreign Internet piracy. While Senator Reid has pulled S. 968 from Senate consideration for now, I am working with the chairman of the Judiciary Committee and senators from both parties to negotiate a compromise bill that can appropriately balance the need to address this issue with the importance of keeping the Internet as free and open as possible (and, in many ways, combating foreign piracy helps to do just that). I am hopeful that we can be successful.

I appreciate your taking the time to write on this important issue.

Many seminary students, staff, and faculty benefit from Logo’s academic pricing. Many pastors got their first package when they were in seminary at these discount rates. As you build up a large electronic library, you may start to wonder if you can pass it on like generations before us have passed on their paper libraries. When you invest hundreds or more likely thousands of dollars in a library, it seems it should not disappear at your death. Unfortunately, Logos has a policy which prevents the transfer of titles obtained via the academic program. You are not allowed to give them as a gift, you cannot sell them, nor can you leave them to your kids.

There is one exception to this policy. Specifically put your Logos library in your will and what should happen to it when you go on to be with the Lord. Logos will honor this transfer request for a $20 fee, even if you took advantage of academic pricing.

Concerning this issue, the Bible is absolutely clear. Homosexuals do not go to heaven. There is hope for homosexuals, however. Christ can convert homosexuals and lesbians and make them true children of His. Let me go into more detail to help you. First let’s start with the fact that some people who have become believers were homosexuals prior to being converted. This passage of Scripture tells us that some former homosexuals were actually members of the church in Corinth. Read what Paul said:

“Or do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6: 6-9)

So, you see, there is hope for anyone, homosexual, adulterer, drunkard, etc., to become one of God’s family. But when a person does become a believer, the homosexuality ends. “Such were some of you,” Paul says. Paul understands that there may be some person who is a true Christian who has come out of homosexuality but fails temporarily out of weakness, but a true believer in Christ is radically different that what he used to be. He is substantially changed, but not perfect yet. Christ in the person makes a huge difference.

What the Bible is saying is this: A person does not become a Christian by cleaning up his or her life and making it perfect. Rather, he becomes part of God’s family by putting his trust in Christ. You may read some of the articles on this site to study this issue. When a person does enter God’s family, the Spirit of Christ comes into the life of the person, making him different than he was before. His motives, attitudes, and actions are substantially different. He is not perfect, however, until heaven. In the mean time, the fruit of a changed life is evident. And if he fails temporarily, he does so not out of the old rebellion or apathy, but simply because he is overcome through weakness. One should be able to see the difference in a true Christian’s life. A persistent lifestyle of sin would indicate that God had not yet given salvation to the person for all Christians are changed and made new in a decisive way.

The Bible states that homosexuality is a deadly sin, harming your soul and body because it is against nature. Read Romans 1 to find out the details of this. He ends by saying this:

“For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their own error.” (Romans 1: 26-27)

The truth is that people who are homosexual are that way, not because of genes, but because of sin. The potential to be homosexual is in every person. We are born as sinners, and have potential to do any kind of sin, including homosexuality. According to the Romans passage, a person may move from stage to stage, permitting themselves to do more and more sins, until he finally comes to a much worse place than he realized. This particular sin has the effect of harming your body. Homosexuals not only die of AIDS fairly often, but most die of other diseases that are sexually transmitted. Most homosexuals do not tend to live to be old people. Homosexuals are used to attending funerals. I believe this is just a fulfillment of the word spoken in this Romans passage.

Finally, let me say that everyone who thinks he is homosexual is not necessarily that way. It is true that sometimes people take advantage of boys when they are young and tend to turn them a certain direction. Also, some men or boys have a few thoughts about the same sex at a point in their lives and then believe that something must be permanently wrong. They become preoccupied about this problem, which has the effect of producing an increased secret desire to mentally envision what they should not think about. It is strange how humans tend to think in the very direction they are telling themselves they should not think. They then believe they are destined to live a homosexual life because of the way the concept of homosexuality is portrayed in our society. It is not true that such a person is destined to such a lifestyle. If this is your case, please don’t think that you are bound to be anything outside the normal, just as some thoughts about girls bodies or stealing does not necessarily mean you are an rapist or a thief. These are sinful thoughts, but do not tell you that you are doomed to a certain lifestyle. Remember, homosexuality is not in the genes, even though the homosexuals try to convince people of this, but is rather a series of wrong choices and twisted thinking about one’s identity. All of this may tell you that you need Christ, however. Christ can sort all of this out and make any person whole.

Some people have gotten a great deal of help from an organization called Exodus International, I understand. The main thing, however, is to put your trust in Christ and turn from the desire to live a life separate from Him. Again, read carefully through the material on this site to help you in this search. Don’t ever doubt the power of God to make you entirely new, and to forgive you totally.

Please note that this answer, given in its context, was not meant to be a fully documented explanation of the problem, but an encouragement to individuals who sincerely wish to be freed from their sin.

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This article was written by Jim Elliff, was initially printed on Way To God, and is Copyright © Jim Elliff 2003. For more answers see their website at www.WayToGod.org.

Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. (Hebrews 13:4)

We are back to the series from the book of Hebrews which we are calling “Life in the Covenant Community.” Today we are going to look at what the Word of God says about sexual purity. Being part of the covenant community requires sexual purity.

The Bible talks a great deal about this subject. Thou shall not commit adultery is the seventh commandment. Then Jesus made the seventh commandment even clearer when he said:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell. (Mt 5:27–30)

Even though we all know that Christians are expected to be sexually moral lives, this topic is often considered private and not the business of the church. Of course, what happens in the marriage bed is of nobody else’s business. But when those who profess to be Christians are letting the marriage bed become defiled or are leading sexually immoral and adulterous lives, the invasion of privacy is required. Notice the scriptures say “Let marriage be held in honor among all.” This is a command that we are to obey together, all of us are to obey it and we are to make sure we are all obeying it.

As Christians, when we act out the Christian life, including having a strong marriage, the world takes notice. Living the Christian life will give you opportunities to share the Gospel with non-believers. They will see what you have and they will want it. In this world, homes are broken, marriages are disposable, and the people hurt from the wounds this causes. Many of us have experienced this. But now, we are Christians and we are committed to living the life that God commands. Our marriages should be growing in strength. Our families should be solid. The would in turn should take notice and want what we have. This will open the door for you to share your faith and lead people off the road headed for hell.

Let’s look at today’s scripture more closely:

Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.

We are going to examine the three parts of this verse:
First: Let marriage be held in honor among all
Second: Let the marriage bed be undefiled
Third: God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.

Let marriage be held in honor among all

How do we hold the marriage bed in honor? Let’s again go to God’s Word for an answer. 1 Corinthians 7 gives us principles for marriage that will help us hold marriage in honor.

7 Now concerning the matters about which you wrote: “It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.” ² But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband. ³ The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband. ⁴ For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. ⁵ Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.

⁶ Now as a concession, not a command, I say this. ⁷ I wish that all were as I myself am. But each has his own gift from God, one of one kind and one of another.

⁸ To the unmarried and the widows I say that it is good for them to remain single as I am. ⁹ But if they cannot exercise self-control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion.

¹⁰ To the married I give this charge (not I, but the Lord): the wife should not separate from her husband ¹¹ (but if she does, she should remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband), and the husband should not divorce his wife.

¹² To the rest I say (I, not the Lord) that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he should not divorce her. ¹³ If any woman has a husband who is an unbeliever, and he consents to live with her, she should not divorce him. ¹⁴ For the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy. ¹⁵ But if the unbelieving partner separates, let it be so. In such cases the brother or sister is not enslaved. God has called you to peace. ¹⁶ For how do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife? (1 Corinthians 7:1-16)

Marriage is a covenant. It is a lifelong promise between one man and one woman. God has a long history of dealing with His people through covenant. There was first the covenant of life that was made with Adam, it required perfect obedience from Adam and in exchange Adam was given many benefits. Then there is the new covenant, the covenant of grace where we are saved by grace through faith. Aside from these covenants about salvation, there are many Biblical examples of covenants between God and His people. Let’s look at just a few examples:

1. God’s Covenant With Noah. God made a covenant with Noah, assuring Noah that He would never again destroy the world by flood (Gen. 9).
2. The Mosaic Covenant. The Israelites moved to Egypt during the time of Joseph. A new Pharaoh came upon the scene and turned the Israelites into common slaves. The people cried out to the God of their forefathers. “So God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob” (Exo. 2:24). After a series of ten plagues upon the land of Egypt, God brought the Israelites out “of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand” (Exo. 32:11).Three months after leaving the land of Egypt, the children of Israel camped at the base of Mount Sinai (Exo. 19:1). God promised to make a covenant with the Israelites (Exo. 19:3-6). Before they even knew the conditions of the contract, the people agreed to abide by whatever God said (Exo. 19:8).
3. God’s Covenant With David. Another covenant was between God and King David, in which David and his descendants were established as the royal heirs to the throne of the nation of Israel (2 Sam. 7:12-13).

God interacts with His people through covenants. It is no accident that God ordained marriage as a covenant relationship between a man and a woman. You see, the relationship between a husband and a wife is God’s picture for mankind of how Christians are to relate to Jesus.

God interacts with the Church through covenants, then giving us a picture of how the church will interact with Jesus, he gives us marriage, a covenant between a man and a woman.

How a man treats his wife is a picture of how you think Jesus should treat the church.

How a woman treats her husband is a picture of how you think the Church should treat Jesus.

This picture is set up for us in the scriptures. The church is called the Bride of Christ. We are promised to Him and just like marriages in that time, Jesus has left this Earth to prepare a place for us and will one day return for His church, or His bride.

Let the marriage bed be undefiled

To defile marriage is to defile the picture of how Jesus and His church are to interact.

We are told to “let the marriage bed be undefiled” and that is done by investing in your marriage and focusing on God’s will for your marriage. If husbands love their wives as Christ loved the church and women submit to their husbands, as the scriptures say, the marriage bed would be undefiled. We live in a society today where these Biblical values are not held in esteem. Our culture is filled with suggestions that blur or even erase the lines of what defiles the marriage bed.

Let’s look at four of the ways that the marriage bed is defiled, so that we can turn from these things and let the marriage bed be undefiled in our own lives. This is by no means a complete list, but gives us an idea of what we must avoid to follow this command.

1. Fornication. That is to enjoy the benefits of marriage without being actually married. Biblical marriage is a covenant, a solemn lifelong promise in front of witnesses. The excuse “we are going to get married” does not work, Jesus was well aware of engagements when he spoke to us about fornication and he did not make an exception for it. Any union outside of a one man, one woman marriage is fornication and it is sinful. God instituted marriage in Genesis 2:24 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” God’s definition of marriage is a lifelong covenant between one man and one woman. Let us not participate in, endorse or encourage anything other than what God instituted, otherwise we will be guilty of defiling the marriage bed.
2. For a Christian to enter into a marriage with a non-Christian is to defile the marriage bed. We have the command from God that Christians are to marry Christians. To do otherwise is a sin. Think what you have done to God’s picture of his union with the church. Marriage is a picture of the relationship between Jesus and the church. For a believer to marry an unbeliever is to defile that picture because there is no relationship of saving love between Jesus and the unbeliever. Please don’t misunderstand me here. Perhaps some people here have married an unbeliever. I am NOT telling you that you are living in sin. Just as our lives are filled with sin, that first act of marriage to an unbeliever was sinful, and likely was done when you were just not a mature believer and probably didn’t know better. The sin doesn’t continue. You must not consider divorce because your spouse is an unbeliever. This brings me to the next way you can defile the marriage bed.
3. Divorce defiles the marriage bed. Divorce is adultery. People make up all sorts of reasons to justify divorce. Sometimes you even hear people use God’s character to justify it; they say things like “God wouldn’t want me to be unhappy.” The scriptures will rebuke you if you feel this way. The Scriptures say your heart is wicked and deceitful. Put your feelings aside because the truth is that God wants you to keep your promise in marriage. Again, this is not an ongoing sin. If you have been divorced, do not feel that you are living in sin every day. For some people, they have no choice because their spouse is the one who filed for divorce and their spouse left them. In this case, you have not sinned in the divorce. Likely, sins on both sides led to the divorce, but the sin of divorce is to initiate the divorce.
4. Adultery. The entirety of this command can be summed up in the seventh commandment, “thou shall not commit adultery.” We know the physical act is wrong and sinful. But we also know Jesus’ standard. Lusting is adultery. Pornography is adultery, because what is it for if not to lust? You need to guard against emotional adultery as well. Men and woman are built to bond. Be sure that you are not forming that special bond with anyone other than your husband or your wife. Never share marital problems with a person of the opposite sex. Doing so will lead only to creating an emotional affair. Instead turn to same sex council or turn to your spouse. Protect not only your physical intimacy with your spouse, but your emotional intimacy as well.

God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.

 This verse ends by saying “God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.”

Consider the Scriptures 1 Corinthians 6:9-11:

⁹ Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, ¹⁰ nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. ¹¹ And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Co 6:9–11)

Let’s look at this list in 1 Corinthians 6: the sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, homosexuals, thieves, the greedy, drunkards, revilers, and swindlers.

The scriptures say God will judge these people. Note that this is not a list of sins, but rather a list of people that are identified with a sin. The scriptures do not say “those who struggle with lust,” rather they list homosexuals and adulterers. Likewise, in Hebrews 13:4, the Word of God says “God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.”  When God judges the sexually immoral and the adulterous, they will obviously be found guilty. At that point in time, it is too late. For those who go to the grave without repenting of their sin. For those who are known by their sins. For the sexually immoral and adulterous, they will be cast into a devil’s hell for eternity.

But look at the good news, right there in 1 Co 6:9–11:

⁹ Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, ¹⁰ nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. ¹¹ And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Co 6:9–11, emphasis added)

These are Christians that the apostle Paul is writing to. He says “such were some of you.” Some of you were sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, homosexuals, thieves, the greedy, drunkards, revilers, and swindlers.

God delivers people from these sins. The Lord Jesus died for these sins. People who are identified by these sins can have hope in the Lord Jesus. They must repent, they must turn from their sins. We must encourage them to repent and turn from their sins.

Consider this parable from Ezekiel 33:

33 The word of the Lord came to me: ² “Son of man, speak to your people and say to them, If I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from among them, and make him their watchman, ³ and if he sees the sword coming upon the land and blows the trumpet and warns the people, ⁴ then if anyone who hears the sound of the trumpet does not take warning, and the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. ⁵ He heard the sound of the trumpet and did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But if he had taken warning, he would have saved his life. ⁶ But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, so that the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any one of them, that person is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand. ( Eze 33:1–6)

We are like watchmen. We see the sword coming. We must blow the trumpet. God has told us in His own Word that “[He] will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.” The sword is coming. Now blow the trumpet! Tell the world the message that you have been given. “God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.”

But tell them the good news too. The good news is that And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Co 6:11)

Some of Gods people were the same. If it is you that is struggling with lust, adultery, or sinful desires, take this to heart. If you know others who are in this situation, be a faithful watchman, lest their blood be on your hands.

The great news is that if you have faith in Christ, you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

Jeff Miner, Pastor of LifeJourney Church in Indianapolis claims that “there are a whole lot of Christians who are afraid of those who are different” in his October 16, 2011 sermon. Then Miner deduces that “there are a lot of Christians in the world today who are genuinely anxious that gay people are going to take something away from them… family, culture…”

I’m not convinced that Christians are afraid that homosexuals will take something away from them. However, it does seem that there is some merit to Miner’s prior comment about a more general fear.

The scriptures are clear that homosexual behavior is sinful; I’m not going to make that point here. Rather, I will operate under the presupposition that homosexual behavior is sinful as the totality of Scripture testifies. There is no recorded encounter between Jesus and a homosexual, no matter how hard Miner attempts to read that into the Bible. However, if there were, it stands to reason that his encounter would have been similar to that of other sinners. Consider the Samaritan woman at the well. Jesus pointed out the sin of the Samaritan woman, but he still gave her salvation. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Jesus died for sinners and when he encountered them he pointed out their sins and preached repentance. From Jesus’ actions around sinners, it is very likely that if he had encountered a homosexual, he would have pointed out that sin to them and preached repentance.

Christians are commanded to love their neighbor as themselves, this includes sinners of all sorts, including homosexuals. We are commanded to love homosexuals. Furthermore, when we are given the great commission, to make disciples of all nations, the command includes homosexuals. We are to make disciples out of all people, including homosexuals.

“Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Co 6:9–11)

The Apostle Paul tells us about several types of people that will go to hell. Homosexuals are in this list of people going to hell. However, the good news is wrapped up here as well. He says “such were some of you.” Some of the people he is writing were homosexual, but now they are not. Now the apostle addresses letters to them as ”those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints.” They were homosexuals and by the power of the Gospel, they were washed, sanctified and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

It is clear what the Apostle Paul did when he encountered homosexuals. He preached Christ crucified for the forgiveness of sins. He preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He preached repentance. It is also clear that some homosexuals were transformed by the Gospel and they were no longer homosexual. They left homosexuality for Christianity.

Look around the pews on Sunday morning. How many people in our pews on Sunday morning were once homosexual and now Christian? Can we say to our congregations ”such were some of you.” Miner wants Evangelical Christians to prove they are not homophobic by pretending homosexual behavior is not a sin. However, the real measure is how many among you have been transformed from being homosexual to being Christian? Are you guilty of homophobia? Perhaps you are afraid of people because they are different from you. Maybe this sin makes you more uncomfortable than other sins. What Christians are called to do is minister to the homosexual communities. We are called to make disciples of the nations, including homosexuals. We must turn to them in love and share the good news of Christ crucified for the forgiveness of homosexuality.

Miner picked up on a nugget of truth and ran with it. There is a problem of homophobia among Christians. The answer to the problem is where Miner gets way off track. It is not loving to watch someone drive down the road to hell. Instead, we must love homosexuals and share the transforming Gospel of Jesus Christ with them. We must lead them to faith in Christ alone.

Al Mohler explains this problem well in response to a question at the 2011 Southern Baptist Convention. I encourage you to watch him explain:

The US Air Force wants to make sure soldiers have no ethical concerns when it comes time to launch a nuclear warhead. One Electronic Warfare Officer tells us “each of us in the strategic nuclear deterrent force must establish a moral foundation for our service.”

The Vandenberg Base Ethics Briefing on Nuclear War focuses on Christians. People of Jewish faith are reminded that there is “no pacifistic sentiment in mainstream Jewish history” and that Maccabees recorded an account of “Jewish revolt against their Syrian oppressors.” It appears the US Air Force didn’t see the need to convince Muslims that their faith is compatible with war, but they did provide a referral to the Islamic Center of Lompoc.

The main focus of their presentation is for Christians. To be sure that their nuclear officers are ready to launch, they are taught Augustine’s Just War Theory. They build a case by presenting examples of war from both Old and New Testament, pointing out “John the Baptist doesn’t tell the Roman soldiers to leave the army before being baptized.”

Following the Biblical examples of war, a case is made for nuclear war as a way to save lives. Finally, the nuclear officer is left with a bonus question. “Are we morally safer in other career fields, leaving the key turning to someone else?” In other words, someone is going to do it, might as well be you!

Vandenberg Base Ethics Briefing on Nuclear War
Documents obtained by Michael Morisy via the Freedom of Information Act using MuckRock.com.

Jeff Miner is the Senior Pastor of Life Journey Church. His church has launched a billboard and Internet campaign titled “Who Stole Jesus.” According to the Christian Post 32 billboards will be put up in the Indianapolis area, all directing traffic to a website. Miner reacted to the Christian Post article about his church’s campaign by saying “We want to have a thoughtful Biblical discussion.” This Sunday, October 16, 2011, Miner preached a sermon to his congregation titled “When Jesus Encountered A Gay Couple,” defending one of the points his website makes:

The real Jesus celebrated diversity in God’s creation, including gay and transgender people (Matthew 8:5-13; Matthew 19:1-12). Many churches today call diversity an abomination.

Although publicly Miner claims he wants “a thoughtful Biblical discussion,” his sermon did not start with a Biblical argument. Rather, Miner begins with a story about people being afraid of things they do not understand. Then he moves into a long joke about the “gay agenda.” Miner insinuates such an accusation is absurd while he outlines a “gay agenda” having things like hair appointments and taking over the government. Jeff Miner, a gay man, certainly has an agenda that is no laughing matter.  If miner had no agenda, he would have no billboards, no websites, and wouldn’t be preaching about homosexuality. Miner would be lying if he were to say he didn’t have an agenda. His agenda obviously includes homosexual behavior being accepted as acceptable by Christians. I don’t think he would argue with that; if this isn’t one of his objectives, then his campaign would make no sense.

An agenda obviously exists, but there are communication gaps and straw men arguments flying about concerning that agenda. Miner says Christians are afraid that the gay agenda includes items such as recruiting children, destroying marriages, and bulldozing churches. True Evangelical Christian concerns however are different and were not addressed. Evangelical Christians are concerned that people like Miner will be teaching false messages such as this sermon undermining the Biblical teaching that homosexual behavior is sinful. It is true that Evangelical Christians are concerned for their children, however, the concern is not exactly as Miner explains it. Evangelicals are concerned that their children will become numbed to sin. They are concerned that the government, schools, and other authority figures will be contradicting their faith by telling their children the homosexuality is not a sin. They are concerned that laws will be created preventing them from teaching that homosexuality is a sin.

Miner builds up a straw man that is easy for him to tear down. If he really wants to have an honest discussion, he should discuss his true agenda and the true concerns of Evangelical Christians. Neither of which are just a joke.

An Indianapolis, Indiana church, Life Journey Church, is running a campaign titled “Who Stole Jesus?” The billboards point to a website which has 10 points the dispute, one of which is:

The real Jesus celebrated diversity in God’s creation, including gay and transgender people (Matthew 8:5-13; Matthew 19:1-12). Many churches today call diversity an abomination.

Before examining the claims being made, it is helpful to understand the church’s doctrinal positions. Their website posts the following as their creed:

We are a Christian Church that embraces the basic doctrines of Christianity. We confess Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. We are part of a denomination called Metropolitan Community Churches. Our denominational Statement of Faith is tied to the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds, which have served as the basic creeds of Christianity since the early days of the Church.
Beyond these basics, however, we leave it to each individual to work out the details of his or her faith in accordance with the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the Holy Scriptures. We do not feel it is healthy or wise to try to compel each individual to believe exactly alike. We respect our congregants and treat them like adults who have both the responsibility and capacity to discern God’s will. John 16:12-15.

The Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds are solid orthodox statements of faith that unite Christians. However, they are not meant to be a complete statement of faith. They are however some of the basics, as acknowledged by Life Journey. While it is true that the Scriptures are the ultimate rule of faith, this statement appears to be an attempt to veil the church’s theology. The church does teach specific interpretations of the scriptures, but they are not willing to post a complete statement of their faith. The Scriptures have only one meaning, where there are non-essentials where disagreement is acceptable, there can still only be one correct interpretation. The leadership of the church knows what they believe and what they teach, but they refuse to post it. Furthermore, the scriptures are clear that the Holy Spirit is within only those who are Christians, only those who have been saved by grace through faith. Only those who have faith in Christ alone to save them. Therefore, not all adults have the capacity to discern God’s will, only those indwelt with the Holy Spirit.

The following is the statement of faith as posted by their denomination, Metropolitan Community Churches.

We believe:

• In one triune God, omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient, of one substance and of three persons: God – our Parent-Creator; Jesus Christ the only begotten son of God, God in flesh, human; and the Holy Spirit – God as our Sustainer.
• That the Bible is the divinely inspired Word of God, showing forth God to every person through the law and the prophets, and finally, completely and ultimately on earth in the being of Jesus Christ.
• That Jesus…the Christ…historically recorded as living some 2,000 years before this writing, is God incarnate, of human birth, fully God and fully human, and that by being one with God, Jesus has demonstrated once and forever that all people are likewise Children of God, being spiritually made in God’s image.
• That the Holy Spirit is God making known God’s love and interest to all people. The Holy Spirit is God, available to and working through all who are willing to place their welfare in God’s keeping.
• Every person is justified by grace to God through faith in Jesus Christ.

Life Journey Church claims their “denominational Statement of Faith is tied to the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds.” However, the above statement appears to be a universalist statement which the writers of the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds would have condemned as heretical. In the second statement “showing forth God to every person” clearly is incorrect as not every person has seen or been influenced by the scriptures. Again in the third statement, another universalist statement is made: “all people are likewise Children of God.” The title Children of God is reserved in the scriptures for the people of God, those who believe in Him, and is not for all people. The forth statement again assumes that the Holy Spirit is for all people, when the scriptures are clear that it is only Christians who have the Holy Spirit within them. And finally, the clear statement of universalism is in their fifth and last statement. Not every person is justified, rather, only those who have faith in Christ alone are justified.

Claiming that their statement of faith is tied to the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds is nothing less than dishonest. The authors of those creeds would have said to Life Journey Church “Let you be accursed.”

With this better understanding of Life Journey Church’s theological convictions, we can be discerning when examining their specific claims.

Logos is surely the market leader in Bible software for Windows. But, it has a reputation for being slow. For this reason, WORDsearch is a good alternative when speed is a concern. If you are running Logos and need a speed bump, let me suggest moving your Logos library to a solid state hard drive. You can install a second hard drive in many computers and if you get one large enough for Logos, you will surely notice an enormous speed boost. Unless you buy a huge solid state drive, you will probably want to limit what you store on it. Throw your pictures and videos on the old school drive. Put your operating system and the apps you want to speed up on the solid state drive.

Speed Test

Logos 4 Launch Time

Standard Hard Drive: 65 Seconds

Solid State Hard Drive: 12 Seconds

Loading Passage and Exegetical Guides

Standard Hard Drive: 2 Minutes 48 Seconds

Solid State Hard Drive: 11 Seconds

Note: this comparison is not on identical hardware, but the hard drive seems to be primarily responsible for the speed increase in these tests.

Going to Seminary is expensive. On top of that, finding a scholarship can be really difficult. That’s why I was so excited to find this Seminary Scholarship website today. Not only are they giving away a $1,000.00 scholarship and a digital theological library, all I had to do to apply was watch a short video and answer a few questions! It took less than 15 minutes. What is best of all is that if you’re in seminary and apply for the Seminary Scholarship, and put my name as the person who referred you, if you win the scholarship, so do I! We could both get a $1,000.00 scholarship and digital theological library. So, do us both a favor and go apply for the Seminary Scholarship today.

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