ALERIS

Love Letter

noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Alan Seymour) — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 20:29:00 +0000

Lately, I have been hearing more and more that Christians are not reading their Bible, or don’t see it as a priority in their life. They don’t see it as something important to do, which is sad because it is the way we get to know our Savior. It seems today that more and more Christians are becoming Biblically illiterate, and it is heart breaking because they are missing so much blessing from the love letter written to us. The book that tells us of the love of Christ and how we walk in that love, and how we understand our faith in a deep way, has to be read, as we will not learn all there is just from going to service on Sunday. It has to be a relationship and that is done through reading the Scriptures, because this is how you get to know The Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

Think about your closest relationship right now. In order to grow in that relationship you had to spend time with that person talking and getting to know them. If they wrote you a letter then I bet you read it and maybe even more than once because it came from someone that means something to you. My wife and I have been married for 13 years now and I still have letters she wrote to me while we were dating. Every once in a while I will pull those letters out and read them because they came from her and they are still important to me almost as much as the day when I first received them. I have read them many times and they don’t get old because they come from someone I deeply love.

If that is the case with my wife then how much more should I be drinking in the Word of God, because Jesus showed me more love and still does then my wife ever could. So, why wouldn’t I want to read the letters God has written to me. It is my way to get to know my Savior, the One who gave His life for me. If I read my wife’s letters without getting old then how much more should the living Bible be read over and over without getting old.

Christ is our Creator, our Redeemer, the living God who wants a relationship and has given a book for us to be nourished and to grow in our relationship with Him. Yes, prayer is a way to communicate with God, but He typically answers us through the Word. How much would my prayer life change if I knew Him deeper?

The Bible should be the most worn out book in our houses, but the truth is that it is the biggest dust collector in many of our homes. Sad to say, this is true in my home many times and my relationship tends to be hurt because of it. I start to feel distant, my thoughts begin to change and all of a sudden my relationship with God has changed. Once I start to read again I start to think more about my Savior and talking to Him more. I start to see things change in my daily walk because I feed on the Word of God. This is not some simple book, but a living book that changes our lives just from reading it. This book will not allow us to be the same; you will either be drawn closer to Christ or you will grow more distant. This book does not allow us to stay the same.

The Bible is the most important book in the Christian faith, because it comes from God Himself. It is our way to grow in our relationship with God that will change us forever. I am so thankful for the Bible, that God thought us special enough to write us and talk to us in such a special and meaningful way. What a Savior we have that loves us enough to give us a book so we can get to know Him so deeply. Open the Book and get to know the Savior.

Overtly Concieled

noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Alan Seymour) — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 21:12:00 +0000

I was listening to the news last week and a statement made caught my attention. They were reporting that Campus Crusade for Christ was taking Christ out of their name because they thought it was too offensive. Being skeptical I decided to look up the truth of this claim myself and found that they are changing their name to Cru and were in fact taking Christ as well as Crusade out of their name, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/20/campus-crusade-for-christ_n_905121.html.

If you read some of the comments you see that some think this is a way to conciel who the group is in order to talk to people that normally would not want to talk to them if they knew who they were. I think this may be a good argument, in particular because they already had Christ in their name. Should we hide who we are in order to reach more people, as this seems to be overtly concealing.

In business we don’t hide what our product is in order to sell more of them. We brag about the product and tell everyone how it will be to their advantage in purchasing it from us. Companies spend thousands if not millions to tell people what their product is. This seems to be the opposite, because they are taking the word “Christ” out so people will not know up front. They believe this will allow them to reach more people, but will it. And what will it do their image in the long term?

This seems a lot like the Porn outreach, but on a larger scale. At one point on the campus I live by there were all these signs that had “Porn” written on them, and then a place, date and time of the event. No other information was given. People showed up to this event, many thinking they were going to see Porn, or at least hear about it and found themselves at an outreach event against pornography. Businesses in the community were upset because they did not know what was going on, as their sidewalks were covered with the world “Porn” plus the location and time, but nothing stating anything else. Had they told the owners or put more info then the owners I talked with would have kept it out there instead of washing it off because it was offensive.

I think the same can be said when we hide Christ from what we are doing and not making it known why we do what we do. The Bible seems to have the exact opposite approach in letting people know they were Christians. They told everyone why they were doing what they were doing and did not try to hide it in order to talk to more people. They were bold with the name of Christ in a time that it was dangerous to be a Christian. It is not dangerous to be a Christian in America, and hiding the name because it might offend seems a little bit of a stretch.

Maybe I am wrong, and the name change is not any big deal, though my issue is not the name change, but the reason given for taking the name of Christ out of it.

IMPLAUSIBLE

noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Alan Seymour) — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 21:32:00 +0000

Imagine that I tell you a story about a young woman, 5’3” and weighing in at 115lbs, who just was released from a psychiatric ward, was able to lift a picnic table with connecting benches a few feet in the air and throw it off a porch. I explain that she believed her baby was in a house and that the belief was so strong that it gave her strength to lift this picnic table as she was trying to free her child. Would you believe this story? I am not sure that I would. But what if I said there were eye witnesses that you could go and ask about it; that the couple whose porch she threw the picnic table off of were at home at the time and had to call the police. Would you believe the story then? Most people would be more apt to believe this implausible story because there is corraborating evidence. You can go and ask the people whom it happened to.

Can you imagine how many times they had to tell that story? I bet they would be asked at parties, by neighbors and they would also just willingly tell the story time and again because they would not believe it happened. They would remember it for the rest of their days and most likely tell the story so many times that close friends may get tired of hearing it. But what if they made up the whole thing to gain attention or just to pull a prank? How long do you think it would last?

First, one could check the police records in the paper or the local police station to see if the incident actually happened. They could look at newspapers, because if this did happen it is probably going to catch the attention of some local newspaper and maybe a newstation. But, if it is made up, do you think they would enjoy telling the story like they would if it were true? Probably not, and they would probably start to get frustrated by people asking them all the time and regret ever telling the story, especially once it was found out as a fraud. I am betting that once they were interrogated and threatened with a fine, or prison for telling a false story to the police, that they would confess in a hurry. They would not go to prison, or pay a fine for such a story. At least most people would not.

What about a more implausible story, like the resurrection of Christ? Can you imagine someone telling you that this Jesus was on the cross, the most horrific way to die, and three days later was alive? The cross was so bad they made a new word to describe it, which is our English word excrutiating. We are to believe after this that Jesus came back to life and defeated death. Yes, we are, because of all the evidence and transformation of lives. One of the most important is who they referenced as proof. They used Mary, a woman. A woman was not considered a witness in Jesus’ time. They could not even be a witness in court, so to use them was to show they truly believed, because if it was a made up story they would have surely used a man as the first person testimony account.

Secondly, the transformation of people was extraordinary. All the disciples left in dismay when Jesus was buried in the tomb, because they believed he was dead and was not going to rise again. But after Mary reported and the disciples saw with their own eyes they were transformed. They went from being afraid to being out in public to speaking bodly to everyone because they believed the implausible. They believed based on testimony and eyewitness account. They checked the facts. It would have been easy to prove that Jesus did not rise from the dead. Just bring out the body, but instead they tried to fabricate a story that the disciples stole the body.

Why the stolen body theory does not work is because of how the apostles died. Some may try to convince people of a lie when there is no real threat of punishment, but when the punishment threatened is death most will not continue in a lie. The apostles were killed in horrific ways because they believed Jesus raised from the dead. They were crucified, stoned, skinned alive, cooked in an oven, head cut off, and speared. I don’t know about you, but there is no way I am going through anything like that for a lie, and I don’t think anyone who knew they were lying would.

This is one implausible story that checks out. Just look at the facts and testimonies of those involved and it is becomes very apparent that Jesus raised from the dead on the third day. If He did then it changes everything.

Buy Me

noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Alan Seymour) — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 20:57:00 +0000

There is a virus out there that will infect your computer and then try to get you to purchase your way out of it. You won’t be able to do anything else without purchasing from them. They do this by faking that you have a virus on your computer and they are there to save you from them, but in reality they are the virus. They figure fear will drive you to give them your financial information. Once you do that they will start charging your card on a regular basis. I have labeled this the “buy me” virus.

This is the same thing that many fakes within Christianity will have you believe. Take the recent ‘end of the world’ campaign that just happened a couple of weeks ago. They call themselves a Christian organization, but when you truly look at what they believe they are far from it. They are more like a virus, because they act like they are when in fact they are not.

They try to get you to buy what they are selling, and this particular movement they had some invest their life savings to publicize that the end of the world is near, and these people were from all walks of life (the very successful to the average joe). A virus has no prejudice of who it will attack, just as false religious movements will have no prejudice. They will latch on and suck you dry and make you physically and spiritually sick.

The goal is to not fall for it. Just as I can take my computer to a technician to get rid of a virus, I can go to the Bible and see if what they are teaching is correct. 2 Timothy 3:16-17, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” Learning to take precautions and to be skeptical will protect us from falling for false ideas.

Faith is not blind, but built upon the evidence of things unseen. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). Test everything and make sure what you are hearing, reading and following is true. 1 Thesselonians 5:21, “Test all things; hold fast what is good.” Don’t get caught by a virus in your faith walk, strive to be prepared through study of Scripture and learning how to discern the truth from error before it makes you sick.

2 Timothy 4:3-4, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.”

We All Fall Down

noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Alan Seymour) — Sun, 29 May 2011 22:34:00 +0000

As children it is easy to figure out what is right and wrong, because our parents tell us. Of course we did not listen, and end up suffering the consequences. You end up in time out or losing the toy you stole from your younger sibling. You see the consequence of your actions fairly quickly, and we hopefully learn what is right and wrong as we go through the consequence.

But all this changes as we get older, because we learn how to manipulate the system. As we became teenagers we started to lie better not to get caught, or we did not say anything at all. We also learn to just keep some of our thoughts to ourselves, especially ones that are not particularly productive. When we are finally caught, we will try to make it a much less sin then what it was. Or we will try the, “at least I did not kill anyone,” statement, to try to down play the sin.

Later as we get older there is no consequence for some sins we commit, because no one will know about them. You can commit them in private and not tell a soul. Plus, we are not punished by our parents for not following their rules. We have societal laws and rules for the work place, but for the most part there is no one watching like when we lived at home. Or is there?

We tend to forget that there is an almighty, omniscient God who sees and hears everything. Nothing is kept from His site. When we think we are hiding and no one is looking, we have to remember that there is more then just earthly accountability; there is an eternal accounatability as well.

This leads to another question. Do you think things happen to us here when we sin in private and no one else knows? Does discipline happen that we may not even realize? When we sin in private does it affect our public life? I think the answer to all those is yes much of the time, but we have to have the eyes to see it. It is a form of discipline for sinning. Just like when we had our favorite toy taken away for behaving badly, there could be the same type of discipline as adults for sinning in private. I say private, because we tend to see the effects of public sin and the consequences of that sin. But when we sin in private and think no one is watching or is hurt by it, we tend not to pay attention to see if there was a ripple effect.

The challenge is to pay attention and see if God is trying to get our attention when we sin in private and do nothing about it. I think there is an effect and not always in the way we think. Some times the discipline will be tough to see lining up with the private sin, but I bet it is there. There tends to be temporal actions for sin, even though through Christ we are eternally forgiven.

Then again maybe there is nothing and as long as you keep it quiet and private no harm done. The challenge is to pay attention and see if there is. The worst thing that can happen is you will pay more attention to potential sin in your life and look for God working in other areas of your life.

Not As Bad As. . .

noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Alan Seymour) — Sun, 22 May 2011 22:33:00 +0000

Have you ever done something wrong and then to make yourself feel better, you rationalize it by saying, “at least I am not as bad as. . . .(you fill in the blank).” It is easy to do for most in some instances, as I am not as bad as the serial killer sitting on death row, or I am not as bad as the guy who abuses his family.

The problem may come when someone uses your name to fill in the blank. At least I am not as bad as Alan. How would you feel if you heard that? But in reality it is feasbible isn’t it? We can all think of someone who is better then us, or at least seems outwardly to be nicer, more polite and has more friends. Whether you believe it or not it has probably happened, or will happen at some point in your life.

I have been performing marriage counseling now for over 10 years, and I have counseled long enough to see that play out in reality. Friends, spouses and relatives will use each others names to fill in the blank. At least I am not as bad as the Joneses, or I am not as bad as my sister/brother. Someone will use your name to fill in the blank, because not one of us is good enough all the time, and many times none of the time.

Psalm 14:2-4 says, “The LORD looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. All have turned away, all have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.” This is reiterated in Romans 3:11-13, as the Psalm is quoted again to demonstrate our true selves, that we are all bad at some level, which is being bad in general. How do I know, because as stated before, we can all think of someone who is just a little better then us, who is more “righteous.” How many have said, “I am no Mother Theresa,” or “I am no Ghandi?”

At one level this is a sad situation, or I guess it makes it some what a level playing field. If we are all bad then what hope do we have? Again, no matter what great work we think we do, there is again, another we can point to that seems better than ours. You helped give to the poor, and then find out your neighbor helped give to the poor and volunteered to feed the homeless at the local shelter. There is never the ultimate good work to make up for the bad because we can always think of one good work that is better. I fed 100 people, then feeding 101 would be better. It is humbling, because we cannot look at our good works as the “end all,” nor can we look at ourselves as the example of goodness.

This is why we need someone to set the standard and to be that ultimate, and the only way it can be ultimate is if it is God doing it, because if it is a human, we can always think of another thing to add onto it. God on the otherhand can be infinitely good and perform the infinite good work. Romans 3:25-26 tells us, “God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.”

If you want to find what true goodness is in this life and how to share in it, then you have to look at God and ultimately at Christ. Compare His deeds to anyone else alive or dead and the others will be found wanting.

It's a Good Thing!

noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Alan Seymour) — Sun, 15 May 2011 16:39:00 +0000

I was emailing with a friend I had not talked to in a long time. We were catching up on our families and what we are doing with our lives. During our emails I told him about my health issues that have been going on for a while now and his response was interesting. He wrote, “Good thing you don't believe in a God who rewards us for our actions on earth while we're still here or you'd be wondering WTF did I do?” He is absolutely correct, if I did believe that, then I would certainly be wondering what in the world did I do. It doesn’t mean that we don’t wonder, though, what we did to deserve what is happening to us.

I must admit, I have asked in prayer what have I done to deserve this pain. The self-pity comes through and you ask “Why me?” But as I thought about it more and more, I thought “why not me?” If I am to think of a God that rewards us on this earth, whether good or bad, then I probably do deserve it. As a Christian, I believe Christ died for my sins on the cross, which means I believe I have sinned. If I have sinned and I believe God is going to give us rewards (good or bad) for what we have done then I should not be surprised when bad things happen to me. Luckily, I believe my sins past, present and future were forgiven at the cross. I am not negating discipline or effects of sin on this earth, but God working on a merit program for what we do good or bad. If that was the case, we all deserve to be in pain, because not one of us has lived a perfect life without sinning.

During these times my mind wanders to Job. Talk about a time to wonder what someone did to deserve pain, it was him. God allowed Satan to take away everything; his family, money, and way of earning a living. He then allowed Satan to make him physically in pain and ill. It was so bad that his wife told him to curse God and die. His friends were telling him to confess his sin, because he must have done something to deserve what he was going through. Job actually did do something, and it was live a holy life before God. His friends were not privy to the conversations in Heaven that took place, that we as readers are privy to read. Job was picked for the exact opposite reason his friends thought. He was picked for how good he was.

It changes the perspective of pain at times. I am not saying that I am going through the pain I have because I am holy or good or anything, but it does give a different perspective. Maybe God allows His chosen people to go through certain physical or mental pains because He knows they will honor Him through it. We will never know this side of Heaven if we are being used by God to show Satan that there are those down here who will follow Him know matter what. Maybe it is just consequence of a fallen world, or the result of poor living and choices made, but what if it isn’t. Would that change the way you walk within the pain or suffering you now feel?

Though I know I fail miserably at times, I strive to honor Christ in my pain, because my goal is to store treasure in Heaven, and not on a temporal earth. I long to hear Him say, “well done good and faithful servant.” Maybe, just maybe I will find out that I was chosen like Job to go through what I am because He thought me special and worthy enough to suffer for His cause. If not, I still desire to walk in my pain to honor Christ in all things.

“. . . Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Phillipians 1:20-21).

Surrender Some & Sharing None

noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Alan Seymour) — Sun, 01 May 2011 23:36:00 +0000

We sang a song in church today that talks about surrendering all to God and sharing in His pain. We sing those words that are certainly based on Scripture (2 Timothy 1:7-9; Gal. 2:20; 2 Tim. 2:10-12), but how well do we follow it? Do we really surrender all and strive to share in His Pain?

How often have we not shared our faith or let people know our Christianinty because of fear, embarrasement or “not the right time or place?” Is that sharing in His pain or surrendering to Him? It is a good time to reflect on this since we just finished celebrating the ultimate pain done for us – the crucifixion, and then the greatest celebration – the resurrection. We celebrate these days with great fervor, but do we live it out in our lives, our whole life, and not just parts of our lives where it is comfortable. Do you think Jesus would not talk about spiritual matters with school students, even while at school? Do you think He would avoid the conversation at work, at play, or even over a cup of coffee?

Jesus exuded spirituality in all He did. He talked about spiritual matters in all He did, by living it out or purposely discussing it, because it was so much a part of Him and He saw it as the most important matter. Do we? I go back to the song of surrending and sharing, and do we do these? Because if we did then we would do the things that Christ did, because we are surrending to His will, which will lead to sharing in His pain, whether it is emotional, physical or psychological.

One will naturally follow the other because the world hates the things of God. When we are in His will, we naturally have a reaction by the world, and Christians that hold onto worldly things. Christ was always being ridiculed, thereatened and ultimately physically abused and murdered for walking the Christian walk. The same happened to the apostles and today many people around the world are being murdered, made fun of and abused for following Jesus.

I guess we have to ask ourselves that if our lives are so cushy and everyone in the world loves us, are we actually surrendering all and sharing in His pain. I am not saying we purposely try to have people ridicule, hate or abuse us, but are there things we should be doing that we don’t because we are afraid of those very things. Do we hold onto different items, beliefs or actions because we like them, want them to be okay or purposely rebel against God instead of surrendering to His will.

It is not easy and we all need to work in this area. How are you doing? I know I need to continue to work at it. John 15:18-19 says, “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”

Love Wins Review!

noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Alan Seymour) — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 22:43:00 +0000

I have not read the book, and probably will not as most of his books ended up causing me much frustration and concern. This is a good review in my opinion from a trusted writer. I have read enough of his book from the free pages you can attain and the many quotes from those that are both in support and against the book to get a good idea. Not much different from his other books. At least he is consistent in his universalistic thoughts, even if he will not say he is. I just don't know why he won't admit it, as I would respect him more as a writer and speaker if he did. I don't like it from any writer when they won't admit where they stand and hide in vagueness and tautology.

http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevindeyoung/files/2011/03/LoveWinsReview.pdf

END of DAYS

noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Alan Seymour) — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 21:34:00 +0000

Have you looked at many of the shows playing on the History channel, Discovery channel and many others? It seems that there are at least two or three shows each week on the world coming to an end. There are many reasons why according to these different groups, but in the end it is destruction. It could be an asteroid, nuclear war, oil spills, or aliens returning to claim their world.

If you are a Christian, how would you answer these questions today if you were asked? How would you explain to someone watching all these shows how the world will end? Today this is a very probable question for anyone claiming Christ as Savior and Lord. They may watch and see that the Mayan calendar is ending next year and we better be ready. Bunker homes are up nearly 1000% percent over the last year, so why not buy one of those? For $25,000 I can reserve my spot in a bunker in Nebraska to prepare for Armageddon.

There really is only one way to give someone an accurate description of how the world is going to come to an end, per a Christian perspective. And that is by reading, learning and teaching the book of Revelation. Sure, many of the other books give us some information about Jesus coming back, which is awesome, but it does not give us the detail that Revelation does.

I have heard Christians say that they do not read Revelation because it is too hard, too weird, or just too difficult to understand. I was one of them for a while. This is all the more reason to understand. Within the wonderful book we see the signs to watch for the second coming of Christ, what is going on in Heaven and what the New Earth and New Heaven will be like. If there was ever a book to learn and understand, it is this one.

This is the only book that comes with a warning, Revelation 22:18-20

says, “For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.” Because of this warning, we should learn it in order not to teach it inaccurately. Claiming ignorance will not work, because there are too many resources and available materials historically to help us understand.

When God uses us to lead someone to Christ and they are excited about their faith and Jesus, and they ask you about Heaven; how can you tell them without Revelation? How can you tell them about the Second Coming, true signs of the times, and what Heaven will be like without Revelation? Don’t miss the blessings of this great book because you don’t feel it is necessary to “understand,” or it is too “difficult.” Wrestle with it and you will be blessed!!

So Many Effects, But No Cause?

noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Alan Seymour) — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 23:37:00 +0000

It seems that many Christians are afraid to tackle the issue of how creation came into being. We tend to fall back on the just having faith that what the Bible says is true. Don’t get me wrong, I think we can absolutely rely on what it says. But science gives us even more credance to what the Bible says, as usual, that creation points to what is already taught in Scripture.

The Big Bang theory, which many Christians seem to think is bad or does not help the Christian cause, are very mistaken. It is only that many don’t understand it. Now it does not prove a Christian God, but it does prove there is a cause that is outside of time, space and material. Later, we can demonstrate the fact of a Christian God, but the Big Bang does demonstrate a creator.

The Big Bang is described very well by Dr. Meyer as an effect of a cause and not a cause itself. We make the mistake of thinking it is the cause and not many scientists think of it that way. Stephen Hawking realized and said there has to be a cause outside of this material universe. Einstien used a “fudge factor” to manipulate his experiments, because he found the universe being created by God repugnant. Hoyle even prior to his death admitted there had to be a creator outside of space, time and material.

If you test the Cosmology theories, the Big Bang comes out on top. We see this from the background radiation echo, the way the universe is expanding, and many other examples. We know now that this universe started at some point and that time itself started at a beginning point. What a lot of scientists will not admit is that it was started by a First Cause (God for general terms), because that idea is also “repugnant” to them in some form or another.

Don’t be afraid of the Big Bang because it is just an effect of the First Cause (God). Then the challenge is to help people see that the Christian God is the real God over all the others out there.

Ignorance is Bliss!

noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Alan Seymour) — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 20:58:00 +0000

“Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness” (Hebrews 5:13).

Have you ever sat through a sermon series, Sunday school series, or a class on the Bible and felt completely out of place, bored, or thought the material had no real use for you in your Christian walk? I know I have at times, and I know pastors who will say there are times they struggle with giving sermons from certain books in the Bible. Does this give us an excuse to disengage or ignore those parts of Scripture because we feel “stupid” or bored or not interested?

There seems to be a trend today within the church where ignorance seems to be bliss. What I mean is that some people would rather remain comfortable in just knowing the basics instead of growing deeper in their faith. We become comfortable in certain areas of our walk and where we are and don’t like it when we start to feel uncomfortable.

I am not talking about being uncomfortable over sin or conviction, because most say that is expected and part of the Christian faith. I am talking about being uncomfortable because you do not know something, or do not want to now something being taught about Scripture. I am thankful there are pastors out there that preach the entire Bible, even when they want to skip over a book because it may make the congregation feel dumb, sleepy, or ignorant, because they know it is not just about us, but about the entire Word of God being taught.

I am thankful for those times that I was stretched for my faith as it pertains to feeling inadequate at times, because it made me dig deeper into the truths of God and draw closer to Him. I was told by a professor/mentor of mine when this was brought up that you can always find a blessing at a church service, even if it is just a song, the verses read from the Bible, or being able to commune with brothers and sisters in Christ. Too many today don’t like the Series being taught so they quit coming, go to another church, or come sporadically so they don’t have to be part. Why? If you are going for God, then you will find a blessing, and if not then maybe it is to learn something, and maybe just that it is not all about you and me. Because when we start to think this way, it becomes about us and not about God.

The one I don’t get is those that get upset because they have to think or learn something deeper in church, and instead just want a nice little watered down message with some stories and comedy thrown in. Basically entertainment. Church is not meant for you and me being entertained. It is about coming together to worship our creator together as the body of Christ. We should expect to be stretched and to learn. If this is not happening, then maybe one should reconsider where they attend. We should be learning about all of Scripture, Old & New Testament, and not just hanging out in the books that are popular, or considered easier.

How else do we disciple and feed those new Believers who are brought into the fold and ask questions, if not through study and learning the deeper truths?

“But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil” (Hebrews 15:14)

A Little Flirting

noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Alan Seymour) — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 00:39:00 +0000

My wife and I have been receiving the LOST DVD’s from Netflix the past few months. We never watched it when it was on TV, but we have been enjoying it through Netflix. Plus we don’t have to wait all summer for the season opener, or watch commercials.

We are now on Season 6, and we do know the end, but we still enjoy the character development. We both have our favorites, and one we kept wishing would have been killed off a few seasons ago, but unfortunately they are still around. Is it Christian to wish the characters dead? Hhhmmmmmm! If you know me I am guessing you could potentially guess my favorites and the one’s I wish were gone. Then again, maybe not.

I was watching an episode last night and my wife made a comment about Sayid, who it looked like had gone completely bad, but after a conversation with another character, he appeared now to change back from evil to good. Sayid was promised if he did some evil acts that he would be able to spend eternity with his wife that had been murdered earlier. And Sayid believed him and did these acts. As he was about to complete another act, Desmond, the person he was to kill asked him a question, “What are you going to tell your wife?” “What are you going to tell your wife about what you have done to be with her?” At this moment you see Sayid’s eyes change and you know he is back to the Sayid who was protecting everyone earlier.

If you watch the characters you see them flirt time and again with evil. You see the internal battle they have when presented with an option that seems to be an easier or better way. How many times do we flirt with evil on a regular basis for the same rationalized reasons? We are enticed by someone or something that causes us to think and at times act in ways that are not considered very Biblical or moral for that matter. We flirt with evil because it is enticing us with something that we feel we need, want, or desire.

Of course, it might not be as bad as killing someone, as in the case of Sayid’s character, but what about cheating on taxes a little, saying something to demean someone else so you look better, or maybe even stealing something because you think you deserve it. We flirt and get in bed with evil when we give into all these things, and we need to be careful that one day we don’t wake up and find our conscience has become hard because of it.

Because one day we will all have to give account to someone more important than our loved ones. We will have to give an account for our lives to God, and what will we tell Him our reasons were for some of the actions we do.

POLITICALLY CORRECT

noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Alan Seymour) — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 18:45:00 +0000

Let me preface this blog by saying I do not think Jesus is Democrat, Republican, Independent or Tea Partier. I think if Jesus were here He would offend them all. For any group to claim that Jesus would join their party has not read the New Testament much. As you read take this preface for what it is worth.

I hear recently that people have left churches because the church was making political statements from the pulpit. I find this interesting because how can a church actually not make political statements. I think what those who leave for this excuse are saying is they don’t agree with the moral laws that a particular church stands for, and use it for a reason to leave. Maybe they are just using it as an excuse because they believe it sounds legitimate, but in reality it isn’t as a general statement.

Just about every sermon is political at some point, because the church deals with morality a lot of the time. Whether it be how we are to love, how we are to behave, or how we should live. We are taught weekly about ho

w Jesus lived and how He wants us to live out our lives as His children. These are moral imperatives as a Christian. Christians are to live their lives according to the truths of the Scripture, and in one respect many are moral. Love your neighbor, do not commit adultery, do not murder, and be generous. These are all moral based. I am not going to get into how everyone fails at these, just the fact the Bible is pretty clear on how it feels about certain issues.

Every law a politician makes can be traced to their moral beliefs. I don’t care what a politician says, there is no way you can completely separate your beliefs from how you vote and write laws. And quite frankly, you shouldn’t. It is hard to name a law that is not moral based, whether it is about stealing, murder, speeding, or health care. It is based on how one believes these are bad or good for society; morality. Laws at a deeper level are morally based, otherwise they would not use so many personal stories to help support their claims on why their law is so good.

In the end, I guarantee your church makes political statements, no matter what church you go to, because they teach in regards to morality. The question is not whether a church is political in the sense of morality, but what morality are they teaching. Does it line up with Scripture and is truth based or is it opinion and feeling based?

Don’t leave a church because it makes political statements; leave if they make the wrong ones!

VICTIM

noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Alan Seymour) — Sun, 05 Dec 2010 14:41:00 +0000

This blog is going to be more from my psychology background then my Seminary background today. As a Therapist, I have talked to many people and I have taken an interest in profiling over the years, in particular behavioral profiling. This basically means learning to read people based on how they react to questions and stimulus. I have read, researched and practiced this type of profiling over the years. I only state this to give some credence to what my topic is today.

It seems to me that there are many more predators out there today than in the past. Maybe we are just aware of it more, but it seems more realistic that the Internet and technology has brought with it more instances of predatorial behavior, because it makes one more “hidden” and brave because they do not think anyone can see what they are doing. I think we have become complacent and comfortable and that has made it easy for predators to take advantage.

To give one personal example, just the other day we had a person call on our phones using a TTY system and try to order product. He gave a credit card number, address, name and the 3 digit code on the back of the card. He then asked for a specific product and wanted it shipped to a location in a state different from where he was calling. Luckily, the person who answered the phone said he was going to talk to me first, as he was nervous making the order. Being the cynic I am, I had my employee call the credit card company, who called the owner of the card, and we found out that the owner in fact was not making the order. I wonder how many people processed his order that day because they were using a TTY system, which made them appear handicapped and because they had all the standard information?

Did you ever watch people when you are out to see who was the most vulnerable, or to see who was looking a little suspicious? Probably not, as most people are not too observant, but we sure should be more observant. I live in a small town, and within one mile each direction of my home there are 8 registered sex offenders. How many surround your home? Do you know, or want to know?

I have heard over the years, horror stories of women who put themselves in bad scenarios where they were trusting someone, because “they seemed honest enough.” Then later come to find they have had some very nasty things happen to them. It is not a certain type of women, as seen on drama shows, meaning looks. Any woman is vulnerable and all ages. Predators look for the weak one or the vulnerable one in the pack and then look to isolate and attack.

How do you decrease your chances in becoming a victim? The first is to become more observant of your surroundings when you go anywhere. Become a people watcher and learn how to at least observe some basic signs of negative behavior. Second, think critically and be discerning when anyone you do not know personally tells you something. Don’t believe it just because they seem trust worthy. We tend to trust certain people more because of their position, but this is at times the very reason they chose this position. How many times have we heard of teachers becoming involved with students, or doctors abusing their privilege? How about Nannies in the home, Priests, Pastors and Police? I am not saying to become paranoid, but discerning and side on caution.

When you are out, look people in the eye and walk with confidence, even if you are not. A predator is less likely to attack if you come off confident. Women, though many articles in certain magazines tell you not to fight back against a sexual predator, this has been shown false in real research. Fight back, especially verbally and then any other way, as most rapists are not brave and will run when someone fights back. Unfortunately, if they are going to be violent, no matter what you do they will be this way. Lastly, report it and don’t blame yourself. It will be hard, and no one except who has gone through it will understand, but it will help the next person or save the next victim.

Protect yourself on the Internet. Don’t save all your passwords on your computer, or use the automatic save on sites that you do not want others to have access to, because a simple key logger can steal your information. Identity theft is on a rapid rise, and as shown above with the credit card, if you save much of your information (i.e. credit card numbers and passwords) on your computer or cell phone then it is vulnerable. Watch what you keep on there, or attain some better protections for your computer. Lastly, monitor what you put on social websites, as predators follow these and phish for information on them and for victims.

This is a fallen world and we all need to be watchful and protective of ourselves and our families. Just making some simple adjustments can help us be a little safer in this more hostile world.

Just a Rambling Thought

noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Alan Seymour) — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 13:11:00 +0000

I have not had the opportunity to write as much as I would like lately. Recently, I have gone into the business arena and it has taken time away from one of my passions. . .writing. I have some time as my son is napping and the girls are away at a Halloween party. I have been reading quite a bit at night before I pass out from exhaustion and I started thinking about something. Let me preface, that I am going to be speaking of God in general, and not in particular the Christian God. The thought is just about God in general and not God in particular for this occasion.

Through some of the books I have been reading and debates I have been listening to, I have come to the conclusion that in many ways to be an atheist, you have to claim to be omniscient. In reality to say that there is no God, you are basically claiming to be God yourself, and thus proving there is a God. How? In order to claim there is no God, you claim to know everything about this vast universe, literally everything. You have to because in order to say there is no God you have to make the claim that you have it all figured out, again, literally everything.

You may be wondering if the opposite can be said then, and I would say no. To demonstrate God, you first have to admit that you do not know everything, which is humbling to say the least. We tend to admit we don’t know everything, except to say there is no God, and then we seem to know everything. It does not logically flow.

People will try to use the example that because unicorns are not observable like God then that will demonstrate that they exist, but this is a misnomer, because first of all the unicorn is a created being with physical attributes and if they were real then they would be observable by either a living unicorn or their remains. Just like the dinosaurs. We should also see evidence of them being on the earth, as in footprints, historical writings or as mentioned bones. We have none of them, though it still does not mean they don’t exist, as we may have yet to find the information. The problem still holds that they try to use a finite being with an infinite being, and it just does not work as an example.

God does not have physical attributes, as He is infinite and His influence would be through His design and created work and not by actual visual confirmation. Though, in Christianity you have this in Jesus Christ and in Hinduism you would have this in Avatars. Many have written about seeing Jesus historically and many have written and made drawings about Avatars. Much more evidence than unicorns, as they are only written about in fairy tales.

You don’t have to see something to believe it existed or exists. Go to any museum with dinosaurs. Many of us have not seen our ancestors past two generations, and we know they lived, though they are not observed. It is not possible to observe these things again either, but we see the evidence they left. That is the problem with unicorns. We have none of that. The example just logically does not fit at all. Thus far, we have none of this for unicorns.

The other problem is that we do see evidence of God. We see creation, the stars, the universe and everything in between. Physics has basically shown that there is a beginning to the universe we live within, and even atheist Stephen Hawking admits that to mess with the dials of the universe by a millionth movement would destroy the universe. If there is that much design, then it basically begs the question that there is a God.

We never say anything with design does not have a designer. From the simple belt to hold up our pants to the laptop computer I am writing this on, they are designed and anyone finding either one would say that someone made them. How much more intricate are all the life beings on the planet? If a human body can come by chance, then you have to admit that a computer can, as the body is much more complex. To try to add time just becomes a time/age fallacy, because even if you trace back 200 billion years there is still a starting point, and the question becomes, who made that point. Even if you believe the universe pulsates back and forth, someone/something had to start the pulsating. Just can’t get away from the logical transitions of who put it in motion? Maybe electricity caused it. Who made the electricity able to strike? It just happens with every way someone tries to create a beginning without a creator.

To say there is no possibility of God is a little arrogant to me, because it means that you know everything about everything and how it came into being. You are saying that you have heard all the evidence about everything and it is proven without a shadow of doubt. In saying yes to these statements, you just admitted to omniscience, which is an attribute of God. The atheist in the end just transfers the attributes from God to themselves and in reality just changing who God is. It is at least a little more humble to say you are not sure (agnostic) and then look, as it is the most important question, the summum bonum.

There is a proverb that sums it up pretty well. It basically says that those who do not believe in God are in reality fooling themselves. The question really is: why do they try so hard to prove there is no God, because you can never prove that without actually being God. There is just too much evidence demonstrating there is a God. The real question is which belief is correct, because they all give a differing view of who God is.

As I said, just a rambling thought.

A Little Confused

noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Alan Seymour) — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 14:57:00 +0000

I have been listening to some debates lately and many of them end up surrounding the evolution debate. One of the Christian debaters said that they held to evolution, which I find hard to believe. What I think they would say is that they believe God used evolution to bring about man and woman, but evolution seems to negate the whole ‘God made Adam and Eve’. I am not going to talk about evolution, but a certain aspect of Creation, as it seems to come up a lot lately in debates that I am listening to right now.

Many in Christian circles will debate the young earth and old earth, but both hold to creation, though many in the old earth camp will utilize this to incorporate evolution into their theology. My wonder comes from a different avenue. I realize I have written on this, but it just keeps driving me crazy. Of course, this blog is going to come from my a priori belief in a God, and in particular the Christian concept of God. If you are reading this, you will most likely not be turned from your belief of evolution, as this is aimed at those who already believe in creation.

Many in the old earth state that science reveals that the earth and the universe demonstrate that it is billions of years old. How many billions is a matter of debate amongst them, but when you get into billions, then a billion here or there is not that big of a deal in years (our government though would like us to think the same when it comes to our money). They will state like the young earth that even at billions of years it was still created by God. There are very good arguments from science, in particular astronomy (not to be confused with astrology) for a late date of the earth, and then there are good arguments for a young earth who use the same science to point to a younger universe.

I am not trying to convince anyone of a young earth at this point, and at times I give the same answer my professor, Dr. Geisler, would give on the subject. “On Monday, Wednesday and Friday I am a young earth creationist, and on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday I am an old earth creationist and on Sunday I rest.” What I am going to do is just try to give a little perspective on the young earth area, which I have a hard time overcoming, and give a good validation that the earth could easily be young and still look billions of years old.

Let’s say you were sitting around with some friends and they served you your favorite steak for dinner (if you are vegetarian, then your favorite dish). As you are eating, the person tells you that steak is only ten minutes old. You say, “Wow, that is crazy. That is a very fresh steak, did you just butcher it a little bit ago?” They tell you that you don’t understand; that the piece of steak you are eating is only ten minutes old. Impossible! The bull would have to be born, raised and fed for years and then taken to the slaughter house where it would be killed then cut up and shipped to the store. Your friend would have to then buy it at the store, bring it home, cook it and then serve it. No way it could be only ten minutes old. It would have to be at least 3 to 7 years old, depending on your favorite kind of steak. Really? Isn’t that exactly what Jesus did with fish?

We see all these people who were listening to Jesus and Jesus then telling His disciples to feed them. You know the story. Ultimately Jesus takes a few fish and feeds nearly 15, 000 people with them. Yes, 15,000, as only men were counted during this time, so if you take that many would be married and many with children, it would not be hard to reach this number. I wonder what they thought at the time as well. You are sitting in the back rows and you get fed last, but the fish keep appearing to feed you. You would think the fish had to be much older then what it really is. The fish would have to go to a breeding ground, the eggs then fertilized. Then they would have to hatch and grow big enough to be eaten for a meal. The bread as well. The grain would have to be planted, grow and then be harvested. Next, the grain would have to be ground down, then made into flour, cooked and served. Easily the fish would be at least 2 years old and the bread 1 year old for processes to be complete. But they weren’t for these people, as they were minutes old. Jesus performed a miracle and made enough fish and bread out of the little He had, meaning some new fish and bread had to appear from somewhere.

He did not change the nature of the fish and bread, but just used natural science and sped it up, just as He did with physical miracles. Take this very concept and expand it to the universe. Couldn’t God have created the earth in a literal six days, but it appears to be billions of years, because if left alone that is what it would take, but for God it was done in six days. Again, just like the fish, the natural processes were utilized but at a different rate of speed then normal for His purpose. He did not use different science, or logic, but just used them within His abilities.

To us the earth would look billions of years old, and we can see why science would say that. Just like if science dissected one of the fish from the feeding of the 5,000, it would look like it was years old, but in reality it was only minutes old. Could God use the science He created and make a planet that will hold human life in six days, but if done by itself would take billions of years? Absolutely! God can do anything within His nature, and the laws of nature are His to command and utilize as He wishes. To me, common sense and logic shows that God could do it without misusing any laws of nature or logic.

It leaves me a little confused why a prominent Christian debater would negate the young earth argument based on his belief that “science” says the earth is billions of years. I wonder if he would be the guy arguing that the fish in no way could be only a few minutes old because science would say it is at least a couple of years old.

Just Let It Go!

noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Alan Seymour) — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 19:26:00 +0000

I completely support preaching the Gospel to the world and following the Great Commission, as it is a command by God. I think using this command, though, to pursue one’s own agenda politically instead of trying to witness and be light to the world is very misguided and misrepresents Christ and His message.

Many of you reading this probably know about the Dearborn, Michigan incident. If you are not familiar and want to become familiar before reading this, then google ‘Christians arrested in Dearborn, Michigan’ and you will be able to read all kinds of articles on this situation. You can see videos, blogs, news articles, and letters from Christians and Muslim groups. I have been following it and the more I read about the main group the more I actually become frustrated. At first I was sympathizing with them, and now I am actually angrier with how the whole thing is being handled by the Christians. Maybe I am wrong and you can enlighten me, but here is my gist.

I wonder how much the witness of this particular group has been hurt by their responses to Dearborn, the mayor, the police, Muslims and Christians that disagree. The attitude is astounding, as there is no humility involved in their videos and from listening a few times, there seems to be an air of superiority over everyone. It is quite incredible. How do they believe what they are doing is going to witness to anyone? By talking bad about the Dearborn police, Muslims and anyone else that dares write against them, they have in effect ruined their witness. When we are persecuted for the faith, aren’t we supposed to praise God? I could not find one spot in the Bible where the believers were persecuted for being Christian, and then they complained about the ones who persecuted them. In fact they forgave them for it, which became a much stronger witness. How does getting on Youtube and blasting the people you should be forgiving, demonstrating any witness?

There is just so much that I see wrong with this scenario. I appreciate that they want to bring Muslims to faith, but attacking the very people you witness to does not seem to be the best path. How well do you think their witness is going to be to the police, Muslims and others now? How welcome will they now be anywhere, except with those that will agree with their views?

Lastly, they seem to tie politics to their faith way too closely. Where our faith should impact our politic, it does not mean there is an absolute correct government, does it? Where do we find that in the Bible? But this is a whole other blog. When watching the videos they seem to be more worried about being “right” then about people coming to know Christ. They do not want to look like a fool in the world’s eyes for the sake of Christ, but instead want the world to accept them. I can’t see any other reason for the continued videos trying to defame Dearborn police and the community. Listening to the videos from this particular, there does not even seem to be a concern with Christ, which I thought was their purpose. No mention of those coming to Christ, or how what they have done has impacted people for Christ, but instead it is just complaint after complaint of how they were treated. Hmmmm? Does not seem like being happy for sharing in the sufferings of Christ to me.

It just seems to me in this situation that the Christians picked up the stones and have started throwing them full force. Apologetics is defending the faith and not defending your position. This is one situation where Apologetics is not following 1 Peter 3:15. Where is the meekness and humility in this situation?

Think It Through

noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Alan Seymour) — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 13:25:00 +0000

Have you ever embellished a story when you told it? You add a little something here to make it sound better, or take out something so you don’t look so bad. I know I have. Doesn’t make it right, but we have all done it. Why? Mainly because we are worried about what others think when we are telling the story. We add to it to look braver, smarter, or better in some way. We take away so we don’t look as bad, or so we look humble. We do it with a purpose. Typically a selfish purpose.

Now admitting that everyone does this in one fashion or another, why do you think the writers of the Bible included what they did? Why would they not leave some of it out or add to it? Christianity is completely different from any other religion in this sense. By the time the other leaders died in other religions they were seen as great men in their faiths and were pretty successful. Muhammad died in the arms of his wife, and was brought a faith that solidified the Arabic community. He was in his 60’s when he died. Buddha was in his 80’s and was seen as a great man who brought enlightenment to many people. He died surrounded by his followers who loved him deeply. When their followers write about them, it is in reverence and their holy books reflect how they were holy and how others saw them in this fashion.

Compare that with Christianity. Jesus was considered by the Jewish leaders, and He was a Jew, as a blasphemer. They said his powers came from Satan, and they killed Him at the ripe age of 33. None of His followers stayed by His side and He was not surrounded by loved ones at His death, but instead people hurling insults at Him. By all worldly standards His earthly ministry at His death was a failure, as He was utterly alone on that cross. If you were to write about Jesus, and you were one of the apostles, would you write it this way? Would you want in there that you ran away naked, or that you denied Christ three times? No way. You would leave that out, right? What would it hurt to leave that out of the story? If it was up to you to write, wouldn’t you make yourself look a little better? You might say that you had no choice but to leave because the soldiers kept you away, instead of admitting you were hiding afraid for your life while Jesus faced the mob alone.

Do you see the difference? Jesus is so much different in every way, as in how they were presented in their core faith writings. It means that they were very careful to include all the truth, even at the embarrassment of themselves, because it was about Christ and not about them. They were not worried about what others thought, but instead of about what Christ thought.

When you start to think through the faiths, you will see some other differences, as how they present themselves in their faith books. There are many other ways that they are different as well. All faiths are not the same. Christianity is definitely different in just about every way then all the other faiths out there. They are not all basically the same and they certainly do not promise the same things and they do not give the same path to attain eternal life. Christianity is set apart.

More to come. . .

Culture is Changing!

noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Alan Seymour) — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 14:26:00 +0000

I was talking with a family member the other day and while we were discussing some business opportunities, she mentioned something that really hit me. She said that when it comes to doing business the culture is changing. People are not going to stores in person as much anymore and instead shopping online. It is hard to have a “Mom & Pop” shop today, because you compete with direct sellers from the internet, and the fact that people just do not really go out to shop anymore. It is just easier to sit in the comfort of your home without the worry of salesmen/women bothering you, not having to worry about packing the kids up or going out in bad weather, and you save the gas that it would take to drive there.

It all made sense to me, as my wife and I shop online much of the time, for the very reasons just mentioned. But then I started to think about the church culture and how that is being reflected in today’s Christian life. Now you can listen to sermons live via the internet from the comfort of your own home or you can just listen later. You can chat via text, IM and Facebook with your friends without ever seeing them in person. You can play video games on the internet with people all over the world from the comfort of your own home just as easily as you can attend an online church. The culture has certainly changed.

George Barna in his research has stated that if the current trends continue in the direction they are then the church is going to lose nearly half of its life within the next 15 years. This is astonishing. He will say a lot of it is because people have been and are being hurt by the church today in a variety of ways. I think, though, that we can certainly add that the culture is changing in this form as well. In this case it is not for the betterment of the church or the Christian life, because we are designed for community. Not just IM, text and email community, but face to face community. There is something much more intimate when you are together with the church family instead of hiding behind a computer screen, and I think we are losing this aspect of our church life.

There is a danger of too much individualization, and this leads to less and less community. The question becomes how do we manage the two, as there are certainly great aspects of the internet age and what it has allowed us to do, but we don’t want to make this gift a curse by losing the body of Christ, as we are called the body?

We need to find ways to build the body through discipleship and regular interaction within the body of Christ. How do we do this in today’s changing culture? This is also a challenge because we cannot just tell people to turn their computers off, because they won’t. There needs to be some new creativity in bringing the Church community together and not just on Sunday. We need each other, yet we are isolating ourselves from each other.

Ephesians 1:18, “He is also the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He might come to have first place in everything.”

1 Corinthians 12:13-14, “For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. So the body is not one part but many.”

Hope in Nothing?

noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Alan Seymour) — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 22:04:00 +0000

Job 27:8, “For what hope does the godless man have when he is cut off, when God takes away his life?”

Some of you reading will be able to do this easily as you have kids and others will not, but try to put yourself in this situation for a moment. You’re coming home with your spouse on a snowy afternoon and see that your driveway is fairly covered with snow. Enough that you know if you do not shovel it now it will be nearly impossible to get out of the driveway.

You tell your spouse that you will get out and shovel the drive, and they are to move the car in the road until it is clear. Your spouse tells you to watch the children, as they are already jumping out of the car, as it is hard to contain a six year old and an 18 month old when they see snow and they are home. You nod and turn to go and get the shovel, but that moment, that one moment you turn towards the door and take your eyes off your child the unthinkable happens. In that brief moment you hear a noise no parent ever wants to hear; a shrill scream that sends a shock up your spine that is indescribable.

Turning quickly toward the shriek, you find that your eighteen month old child is now underneath the tire of the car. She has stopped making any noise and is motionless. Your adrenaline kicks in now and you panic, yelling for your spouse to back-up and you jump down to your knees and try to revive your child while screaming for your spouse to call 911. Reaching the hospital you are told that there is nothing the doctors could have done, and that your beloved daughter is no longer alive. You just lost your youngest child by a freak accident, and you may never be able to forgive yourself or your spouse.

Before you think that this is a made-up story to elicit emotion to make my point shortly, you would be sadly mistaken. The story is very real and happened to a family not too long ago. This is a story that could cause anyone to question the very existence of God. Why would He allow such an innocent child to die so early? When in fact the question should be asked, is how could anyone make it through such a tragedy if there was not a God in Heaven that cared about His creation? What hope would there be? If there is no God then there is hope in nothing, but if there is a God then there is a hope that one day you will see your daughter again. Psalm 25:1 says, “LORD, I turn my hope to You.” At this time in a family’s life, this is all one can do, as 97% of families that have a child who dies by accident like this end up in divorce. Unless there is hope that there is someplace better then it is all worthless, “If we have placed our hope in Christ for this life only, we should be pitied more than anyone” (1 Cor. 15:19).

It is easy to see logically how the atheist can give no hope to such a family. Seriously, what do they say that can be comforting at all, except “I am sorry.” Absolutely nothing, because they don’t think there is anything after this life. The question then is what do the other religions give as hope for in such an occurrence? Not much. Hindus will give them the hope that they can be reincarnated so they can come back to this sinful planet and try it all over again. I guess they should be happy that they do not remember all the turmoil and heartache that they felt the first or tenth time around. They can only hope that they move to enlightenment, but again there are different views as to what it takes to attain that state. That does not sound very hopeful to a family that just had a great loss.

You can take this for every religion, except Christianity because we see that Jesus came and gave us this hope. He defeated death and resurrected for us, giving us a hope for something much better. If there is something better then there is hope for a tragedy in this temporal time. That parent can have hope if one day they know they will see their daughter again in Heaven. Before anyone asks about children in heaven, read my answer on a previous blog (http://aleris.blogspot.com/2008/09/all-babies-go-to-heaven.html). 1 Peter 1:3-4 tells us, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. According to His great mercy, He has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is imperishable, uncorrupted, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.”

How did God use this tragedy for good? Glad you asked. One of the parents went on to talk about how God used this very heavy tragedy to bring them closer to Jesus and used it to bring many of their neighbors to salvation through Jesus. Do they mourn for her? Yes, of course, but they also have hope that they will see her again and are so thankful that God can cause some good out of this horrible tragedy. In the end they say, “. . . Christ Jesus, our hope:” (1 Tim. 1:1).

The challenge is can we say the same as they did? “LORD, I turn my hope to You” (Psalm 25:1).

Psalm 147:11, “The LORD values those who fear Him, those who put their hope in His faithful love.”

Morality: Evolved or Created?

noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Alan Seymour) — Thu, 27 May 2010 17:21:00 +0000

“All sects are different, because they come from men; morality is everywhere the same, because it comes from God.” – Voltaire

“Morality is herd instinct in the individual.” – Friedrich Nietzshe

“What is morality in any given time or place? It is what the majority then and there happen to like, and immorality is what they dislike.” – Alfred North Whitehead

If you watch a debate with Christopher Hitchens involved, you will see an interesting argument that surrounds the issue of morality, and ethics in general. Mr. Hitchens, an Atheist, will say that he does not need God to know what is good and to do good. He states that he can just as easily send a check to a poverty stricken area, just as much as any religious person. He would say that he can feel empathy for those hurting, just like Christians. If he can figure this out on his own without religion, then why do we need a God for our moral standard?

In one respect Mr. Hitchens is right, that a committed Atheist can do good acts just as much as a religious person. An Atheist can also lead a “good” life just as any Christian could, and act just as nice as any Wiccan or Muslim. The goal of this post is not to prove the idea of a Christian God, but to demonstrate in some instances that to have any consistent morality within society it presupposes a God or Intelligent Designer.

One could spend an entire book on the subject of morality in general, and many have, but since this is a blog, it needs to remain more concise and just impose some thoughts as to why there has to be a God for morality to even exist. Can there be any sustaining morals that are standard for every society if there is no God? If there are, how do we go about figuring out what those are?

C.S. Lewis on his journey to become a Christian dealt with this from one direction. One of his biggest struggles was the issue of evil and how can an all Good God allow evil and suffering in the world. The more he pondered this, the more he started to wonder how he knew something was evil at all. If there was no ultimate ideal of good then how can one know there is evil? Don’t read this argument too fast, and take time to let it sit in, because it is very deep, though only a few sentences long.

Every culture does not like to have their stuff stolen, and feel that it is a “bad” thing to have happen. Yes, I know there are cultures out there that have a “share” mentality, in that if it is out in the open within the tribe then it is the tribes as a whole and anyone can take it. But. . .if someone outside the tribe were to do this then it would be seen as an unjust act by the clan. Again, they see stealing as an act of evil done against them. Even cannibalistic societies view the murder of their own tribes as an evil and will seek revenge against the other tribe. These are just two examples of “evils” that can be seen across cultures around our world. There are many more when taken to their core meanings.

Going back to C.S. Lewis, how do all these societies know that having something stolen from them is evil? How do we know it? You can try to say that we were taught it, but it started somewhere and again this crosses all cultures, so it is not just some random rule brought about by a majority vote somewhere and imposed on society. No, we naturally do not like things being stolen from us. Just look at a child and how fast they learn the phrase “mine!” They were not taught that, as most parents teach the opposite, to share their things. Where did the natural concept of “mine” come from? The child feels there is an evil committed, because someone took something from them without their permission, which is the basic definition of stealing. How does the immaterial emotion evolve? Was there a time in history where there were no emotions like this? History does not seem to think so, as there have been wars and turmoil over such things as far back as we can trace human history, no matter where you draw your sources.

These moral laws seem to be natural and ingrained in us from our beginning. If they are ingrained or natural, and we naturally make these moral standard arguments, then maybe there is within us a natural inclination toward the ultimate good. An infinite Good that we base these ideals on whether we want to admit it or not. Maybe think of it like this: You walk into someone’s house and you see this 52” flat screen TV hanging on the wall. You say, “That is the biggest TV I have ever seen.” Why did you make the statement? You based it on other TV’s that you have seen. You based it off an ideal of a TV that was in your mind. And saying “that you have seen” clarifies that there could be bigger out there, but you have not seen it yet. There could be some TV out there even bigger and not just based on what is seen before you.

Now take it a step further and while you were there someone else came in and started to unhook the TV and remove it off the wall. They tell you that they are going to take it because in their culture stealing is alright. What do you say? Okay, since that is your culture, then I cannot judge you and you can take the TV. No way, you call the police or take the matter into your own hands, because you know that stealing is wrong. I bet many of you even reading the part of the sentence, “because in their culture stealing is alright,” even had a hard time computing it. It just does not read right and immediately red flags go up in your head. Why, if morals are culture based? Again, you can’t say because it is ingrained in you, as I just go back to the two year old that knows intrinsically about stealing without being taught. I will even argue that a nine month old realizes this when you try to take their favorite toy. They will cry, making grunting noises and even shake, because somehow they are mad that something was taken from them that is theirs. How?

The only way any of the above makes sense is if it was engrained or designed into our programming. There is no evolution of this moral, as we see it from the beginning of recorded history, and those that purport evolution know that there is a lot of time needed for things to evolve. There has not been enough time within human history for this type of evolution. It also doesn’t answer why it evolved into everyone knowing some things are wrong, as stealing and murder. Other emotions are demonstrated in people, as what people enjoy as hobbies or the type of personality they attract to. There are differences, but we see within morality there appears to be some set principles that cross all cultures.

I leave you with this to ponder, and it made me think more on this as well. If morals are society based and not drawn from an infinite good, then why is slavery not still around? Every culture had slaves, from England to America, from Africa to South America. It was so common that there was basically no serious debate about it for many years and then we see people like Mr. Wilberforce start to raise questions about its moral implication on the slaves. Why? He would have been brought up in a society that accepts it, taught that it was okay and that it was even very economic for the country he grew up in at the time. What made him change? Wasn’t culture or the majority changing, as it took him over twenty years to finally get the amendment passed. There had to be some set standard to compare it to, and in this case it was the God of the Bible who says to love your neighbor as yourself, and that we were all created by God deserving of the same rights as everyone else.

What if one day the majority says that it is now okay for slavery again, and it doesn’t matter what race they choose? Would those that accept culture, majority or societal morals then complain? How can you if it is what they choose? What are you deriving your concept from? You have preconceived ideas of good, but you could not trust those if there is no Infinite on which to base it. You are stuck within your own rules of majority vote. Seems to be a true slippery slope belief system because in the end it allows for everything, because without a set standard there is nothing in the end that one can truly say is wrong or right, but only what man/woman decides. Now, that is a scary thought, because we have seen what man does when they attain too much power and set the standard.

“There are two sorts of hypocrites; ones that are deceived with their outward morality and external religion; and the other are those that are deceived with false discoveries and elevation; and men's own righteousness, and talk much of free grace; but at the same time make righteousness of their discoveries, and of their humiliation, and exalt themselves to heaven with them.” – Jonathan Edwards

The Red Herring

noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Alan Seymour) — Wed, 12 May 2010 18:23:00 +0000

“A red herring is a smelly fish that would distract even a bloodhound. It is also a digression that leads the reasoner off the track of considering only relevant information” (http://www.iep.utm.edu/fallacy/#Red%20Herring).

Have you ever thought that rationality and logic are things of the past? Just watching and listening to politicians will definitely give indication of this. It seems to me that today more people have given up on thinking critically through arguments. Instead they would rather just “believe” what they “feel” is right or take the word of a professor that they know little about besides in the classroom. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of great professors out there who would make great mentors as well, but you should still think through their reasoning behind what they are teaching.

Some time ago a college student approached me and we ended up getting into a conversation about creation/evolution. I am not going to debate either right now in light of right and wrong, because there is not enough space to give my argument. It would also be me moving into a red herring, as I would be redirecting the topic to something else, however it was the central topic of our discussion. Plus, you will get an idea of my view just from the conversation.

It ended up that he could not understand why I would believe in creation, and that evolution was obviously the answer and proven. I asked how he knew this and what evidence he had. He just stared at me, and instead asked another question, because he had no idea how to respond. Instead he tried to defend his side by just throwing out a name used by many who do not actually study because everyone uses it and almost all basic science classes use his name. He asked me about Charles Darwin. Now, he did not give any evidence that Darwin gave, just asked me about him. I said I did not agree with his premises and that many scholars, even in evolutionary thought, no longer hold to much of his arguments. I then asked him if he has ever read Charles Darwin at any time in his life. Again, he stared at me and said he has read some quotes. I am betting all my evolution and creation friends are now rolling their eyes.

I moved forward and asked if he knew of the theory regarding Darwin’s Black Box, because anyone that has done some study has heard of this in one form or another. He said no, so I explained to him that Darwin himself theorized that if the eye were more than just a gelatinous ball, his very own theory of evolution would crumble. I asked him if the eye was more then just a gelatin ball. Instead of answering rationally, he says “yes.” Are you serious? I actually asked him that. The eye is made up of cones, rods, and retina and many other parts and is not just a gelatin ball in our heads.

Here is the red herring. Instead of saying he did not know as much as he thought about evolution and would have to go and think about my questions and come back with an answer, and I did ask him about fossil records and transitions and he could not answer or give any credible evidence, he tried to redirect the conversation. His answer was that he thought religion was just an invention so people could figure out how the world began because they did not know prior. Did you catch it? I never brought up religion, but he knew I was a Christian so he used it. He tried to move to religion in general because he could not defend a position that he held so tightly. It was a self-protective mechanism that many use when they know they are caught in a debate.

The second statement was an even more overt red herring. He told me that as an educated man that he can’t understand how I would believe this, even though he could not defend the position for me. Again, instead of answering the topic he attacked my education background. I did not bite, though I wanted to respond to him. I would have said, “Actually it should tell you something that I have a Ph.D. and believe in creation, and you do not even have a Bachelors and you do not believe in it.” Now that would be me giving a red herring back, as it has nothing to do with my or his education, because it is either true or it is not. Has nothing to do with me or him. I never gave religious answers to the creation account, but scientific arguments against the evolution account. I used more of the Intelligent Design arguments (please check before you comment, because there are many non-Christians in this movement as well). I could have given the religious arguments, but wanted to stick to his theories that he did not understand.

I can’t tell you how many times I have seen Christians use this as well when debating others. I have done it myself when I got flustered, or just did not realize until I was taught about it. We are not teaching high school or college students how to critically think and how to debate with someone, and I won’t even get started on the lack of respect being shown to elders either in this regard. We need to teach that just spouting our professors’ beliefs is not enough, and we should work through these arguments ourselves. These are important matters. Either evolution is true or creation is. Either there is a God or there is not. Either all ways lead to God or they don’t. Either Jesus is Savior and Lord or He is not. These questions cannot be answered by simple little cliché statements that you have not studied or learned how to answer and then counter-answer arguments regarding the issue, regardless of where you stand on the spectrum.

Lastly, I do want to say that I have debated many on the other side who do debate very well and have their arguments very concise, both within the Christian circle and without. It seems though it is becoming a far less occurrence then a norm though. Time to get rid of some of the junk liberal classes that everyone has to take and replace them with logic, critical thinking and philosophy, at least at the basic level in order to teach our younger generation how to think critically and for themselves.

Proverbs 23:23, “Buy the truth, and do not sell it, Also wisdom and instruction and understanding.”

Keep the Sabbath? What's the Big Deal?

noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Alan Seymour) — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 22:32:00 +0000

“I’d like to be remembered as one who kept my priorities in the right order. We live in a changing world, but we need to be reminded that the important things have not changed, and the important things will not change if we keep our priorities in proper order.” – Truett Cathy

Warning: this is a reflection blog and is a glimpse of how my mind works when thinking upon these topics. I have my opinion, of course, but it is just for us to reflect and I think we have to let God speak to us on this topic and strive to live out that conviction.

Your son or daughter has trained for years, sacrificing a lot for this moment. They longed for this special day for years, and as a parent you are so proud and excited for them. In some ways this is just as important to you because of all the sacrifice you had to give as well through driving to practice, paying for equipment and being there for them through all the ups and downs. Then you find out that this culmination of time, talent and practice is now to be demonstrated on Sunday, the “normal” day of Sabbath for the West. What do you do? Do you sacrifice because of the special day and not go, or do you go and know God will understand?

This just happened with a group of girls who worked all year to make it to the championships and refused to play because of their faith. Now they are Mormons, but they are certainly an example of living out convictions. They walked away from a championship trophy because they believe Sabbath is a holy day. How many of us would do that?

How many of us have missed events because we had to work, go to class, or another function that we thought we had to be at? Now, how many have given up an event because it conflicted with church? My goal is not to get into semantics about which day is Sabbath, but about Sabbath itself and what we have made of it in Western culture. How often do we go to church in order to rush out to another event, especially a sporting event our children are in today?

Imagine you have a child if you don’t, and not so hard if you do. Now imagine you get a call from school and they tell you they did not show up for school. You start to worry and sweat because your child is not at school, where he should be. After school, he walks in the door and you immediately ask him where he was. He tells you instead of school he went to a video gaming arcade to practice his gaming skills, because tonight his team is going to go online live and play another group and he wanted to be ready. He says it is no big deal, because school is boring and that missing it once in a while is no big deal. How would you respond? Would you explain to him the importance of school and that skipping is going to hurt him in the long run? What would you say?

Now take that to our eternal perspective and what are we saying to our children when church becomes something we have to do on Sunday and then we take off for the “rest” of our day. Now I am just as guilty with this and probably why God brought it to mind. How do we treat our Sabbath day? Again, not about which day, but the day. Is it really about God, or about fitting God in? What does it say to our kids, new believers, unbelievers, and anyone else watching us? Does it say we truly care about what God deemed as important, or secondary?

There was a movie out years ago called Chariots of Fire and the main character refused to run the 100 meter because the race was on Sunday, and instead trained for the 400 dash and ended up winning gold. Now he took a lot of heat for following this conviction, and I believe because it made people feel guilty that he was doing what they knew they should be doing, and that is respecting the Sabbath.

How are we to treat the Sabbath today? Like the Eric Liddell from Chariots of Fire, and Truett Cathy of Chic-Fil-a, or more like the average Westerner who fits God in to at least one of their days for at least an hour for service? I will end with some verses for us to ponder and then act upon how God leads through His Word. It is by no means an exhaustive list, but to give a start. Remember it is not about doing good on Sabbath, but about the importance of the day itself.

Genesis 2:2, “And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.”

Leviticus 16:31, “It is a sabbath of solemn rest for you, and you shall afflict your souls. It is a statute forever.”

Leviticus 23:32, “It shall be to you a sabbath of solemn rest, and you shall afflict your souls; on the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening to evening, you shall celebrate your sabbath.”

Leviticus 25:2, “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When you come into the land which I give you, then the land shall keep a sabbath to the Lord”

Mark 2:27-28, “And He said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath. Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.”

Acts 13:44, “On the next Sabbath almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God.”

Acts 16:13, “And on the Sabbath day we went out of the city to the riverside, where prayer was customarily made; and we sat down and spoke to the women who met there”

Hebrews 4:9-11, “A Sabbath rest remains, therefore, for God’s people. For the person who has entered His rest has rested from his own works, just as God did from His. Let us then make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall into the same pattern of disobedience.”

UnChristian Love!

noreply@blogger.com (Dr. Alan Seymour) — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 13:21:00 +0000

Psalm 52:4, “You love any words that destroy, you treacherous tongue!”

I have talked about love before in some of my blogs, but typically it was on what love looks like in its entirety and not just the emotional level typically fixated on by the average Christian writer. I still think there is a lot to say about love from this perspective, but today I want to focus on another concept. How not to show Christian love!

You think that would be easy, right? Wrong. I am not going to get into self-debasing Christians, otherwise known as “eating our own,” because too many Christians do that today. It has become popular among certain Christians to continually criticize and point out all the flaws within Christianity. I can see it to a point, but we need to do it in a manner that also reminds them that Christianity is the answer. “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). I have looked at a lot of verses about love in the Bible and I do not see where we are to apologize in such a public forum, except to God. We are to apologize to those we sin against whether a group or a single person, but how that is to look, it appears to me, is much different at times then what comes across in a lot of “popular” writings and articles today.

With that said, I am going to apologize for the actions of someone that calls themselves a Christian and yet did exactly the opposite of what Christian love is. “And to love Him with all your heart, with all your understanding, and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself, is far more important than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices” (Mark 12:33). Of course I always ask if you treated someone the way you treat yourself, then how would it look? I want Christians, those looking at Christianity and those not considering Christianity yet to know that I apologize for the person that I am about to write about next and they do not represent true Christianity in my humble opinion, and actually represent the opposite of it.

One terrible example of this just presented itself to me. You can see the picture in the beginning of this blog of what was written. This note was left on someone’s car while they were in a store. They based their note from a bumper sticker on the car, which you can see right next to this paragraph. What kind of witness is this for the Christian faith? Instead of getting to know the driver of the car by waiting to talk, or leaving a note asking them to meet and discuss the bumper sticker; instead they leave a note with an apparent hate sentence included, “Burn in hell you demon.” Personally, I am not a fan at all of the note or the process they took as there is no real evangelism, outreach or true love in this type of note.

One question I thought of right away is, how do they know they did not just buy the car and the bumper sticker was on there and it was not taken off yet? How do you know that someone did not borrow the car for the day and you left the note for another to find (not that it makes it right)? What would that do to the person ever listening about Christianity? What if the person just lost a family member, or found out they had cancer, or was thinking about suicide and came to their car and find that note? Everything about the note reeks of hate and bile and it is uncalled for in the Christian circle. There is a big difference between holding someone accountable within the church and treating someone you do not know with such contempt. I must say that I would not treat someone in the church that way either.

Unfortunately there are those out there that will call themselves Christian and yet live a life without showing it in any real form. This is another reason why I am not a big fan of just using words, and instead we must follow it up with action. Words can be deceiving. I can say one thing to you and make it sound so encouraging and loving, but turn around and treat the same person with disdain with my actions. Which is more true, my words or actions? My actions because they demonstrate what is truly inside. We see this issue with many of the Sadducees and Pharisees in Jesus’ day, and we see it with this note writer today.

This blog is meaningless unless my actions line up with my words and I can guarantee you that I would never leave such a note on someone’s car. Since I know this person, I can tell you they would have talked about the differences in religion and done so respectfully and also in an engaged fashion. How do I know, because I have had those discussions with them over the past two years. Will we all make mistakes? Absolutely, and that is why we are to point people to Jesus and not ourselves. Let Christ deal with them in His time.

Words are important in one way for sure; they will demonstrate whether you truly line up with what you do. Like the old adage says, “actions speaker louder then words,” and seems to line up with James, which is talking about justification before the world. Instead of writing hateful notes, how about building a friendship and a dialogue about truth, another name for it – Evangelism.

James 2:19-20, “You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?”