Josiah Concept Ministries

The Bible teaches that as we approach the end times, apostasy will become increasingly widespread.  Each day I check out the apologetics blogs, I see more and more examples of it.

Paul told Timothy

If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain. [1 Tim 6:3-5]

Paul charged Titus, and by extension us, to “teach what accords with sound doctrine” (Titus 2:1).  Additionally, Paul wants us to

Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ.  [1 Tim 6:11-14]

This article certainly doesn’t take the Apostle’s urgings seriously.  It appears that the Mother Teresa awards were created in 2005 to, in the words of the website, “recognize the achievements of those who beautify the world, especially in the fields of religion, social justice and the arts.”  Past award recipients have included Pope John Paul II, President Jimmy Carter, Nelson Mandela, and the Dalai Lama.  Mother Teresa’s former order, the Missionaries of Charity, select the laureates from nominations made by the general public.

Last month, Sister Jeannine Gramick was honored “[f]or her role as American Human Rights Activist, especially in the field of Spirituality.”  Sr. Gramick is the founder of New Ways Ministry, which works to promote gay rights.  That is, full acceptance of homosexuality as an alternate sexual orientation and of gay marriages.

Now, past readers of this blog know that I have no problem with working to reconcile gays with the church.  This is something that is sorely lacking in the present state of Christianity.  But, folks, please!  We still have to call a duck a duck: homosexuality is sin!  All I’m saying is that we shouldn’t make these sinners any less welcome because of their sin.  Let’s not forget, dear children, that we (I say we because I sin each and every day of my life, too!)  are all sinners.  Those who are sinners should not be so quick to condemn others (Jn 8:7; cf. Mat 7:1-5).

My problem with Sr. Gramick receiving this award is that what she promotes is contrary to the teaching of the Bible.  The organization that gives these awards out is a Catholic organization, thus it should be founded on the firm teachings of Jesus Christ, the Bible, and the rich tapestry of Catholic Tradition.  How, therefore, can Sr. Gramick’s work be justified in light of those princibles–all of which teach that homosexuality is sin?

This is just more evidence of the growing apostasy and makes ministries like this all the more urgent.

Well, this will probably be my last post for several days anyway.  I will be very busy with family obligations this Christmas!  I’ve been taking most of the last week off of blogging, but I’ve been planning articles and working some administrative magic.  The results being the new domain name and the Converstations with an Agnostic post.  I posted one entry of interest in my personal blog regarding forgiveness.  It was the culmination of a week or two of study that God wanted me to undertake, and that I had no plan or formal method to check into.  He kind of just wanted me to learn it, I guess.

Most of the rest of my activities this year will likely be an informal debate at Jimmy Akin’s blog over this post, and writing some of the promised articles in my “Upcoming Articles” post from a few weeks back.

I’ll check in daily or every other day to see how the stats are progressing and if I receive any comments.  Meanwhile, Merry Christmas to all.  I will leave you with another post from Stu Hasic, this time one far less inflammatory from my perspective than his infamous “How Hubble Killed God” post.  This time, he humorously chronicles “How Google Earth Killed Santa.”

I work with an agnostic, though one with a surprisingly open mind. Though I have no idea if I can win his heart for God, I know that I must continue to try. The problem is that he is very learned, and a very smart agnostic. One of his hobbies is to read Scripture–not just the Bible, but also the Qur’an. He always has fascinating insights on both texts.

One interesting question that he asked me was if I believed in the gods of the ancient Egyptians. Of course I don’t. So then he asked me who allowed the sorcerers of ancient Egypt to duplicate the staff changing into a serpent or turning the waters of the Nile into blood. His contention is that God would never have allowed that, since His purpose was to free the Israelites.

His real intention with that question was to back me into a corner where I had to admit that the deities of Egypt were real, and thus were the supernatural agents behind the counterfeit miracles.

The beauty of the God I serve is that He does not share His power or glory with any other deities, and in His word, the Bible, He offers the answers to almost every objection that cannot be answered with simple common sense. Is it possible that God was, indeed, the supernatural agent behind both the sorcerers and Moses?

I propose that that is very possible. God said “. . . I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, Pharaoh will not listen to you” (Ex 7:3-4). The hardening of a person’s heart by God does not occur against that person’s free will decision. Consider:

The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. [2 The 2:9-12, emphasis added]

Could this be an example of the powerful delusion that God will send those who do not believe the truth? In that case, it is perfectly acceptable to reason that God was the supernatural agent behind both the sorcerers and Moses.

Or, one could just as easily reason that Satan was the supernatural cause of the sorcerers’ “false signs and wonders,” since the Thessalonians passage clearly states that Satan is the driving force behind the deception it speaks of. Perhaps it was Satan who converted the staffs to serpents in the first place, but it was God who created in Pharaoh the delusion that Moses and Aaron were two-bit magicians, thus beginning the process of hardening Pharaoh’s heart (as promised).

There are, indeed, a multitude of ways to look at this without once considering that the deities of ancient Egypt ever played a role. The way I see it, however, is that there was nothing supernatural about what Pharaoh’s magicians did. Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown discuss in their commentary on Exodus here that snake charmers of ancient Egypt had a way of pressing on the nape of a snake’s neck that would cause the reptile a type of catalepsy. The staffs that they were carrying, then, were snakes all along. All they had to do was cast them to the ground and release the snakes from their imposed rigidity and let the snakes do the rest.

To the untrained observer, it would appear as though the staffs had miraculously become snakes.

However, remember that Aaron’s serpent ate the magicians’ serpents (Ex 7:12). This was a clear sign of the superiority of God over whatever was the source of power for the counterfeit sign: be it Satan or illusory sleight-of-hand.

DISCLAIMER: At the time of writing, I am unable to confirm the claim made in Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown’s commentary as the source is not cited. Independent assertions of the same nature cite that commentary. Nothing in any snake charming article I have consulted has provided evidence of the nape-of-the-neck trick.

Assuming that the aforementioned trick is not a trick at all, and illusory sleight-of-hand is not the true cause of the counterfeit sign, I could accept Satan as the cause. However, the text gives no indication of Satan as the cause. The text specifies that the magicians used their own tricks to duplicate the sign. That is why I reasoned that illusory sleight-of-hand was the cause.

I will continue to research this to see if I can find independent evidence of the nape-of-the-neck trick.

I am really happy beyond expression!  God has provided in a most unexpected way–he has given me the needed funds to purchase domain name registration for this site!!

Officially, we are now located at http://www.josiahconcept.org.  Please update your bookmarks!

As I was driving to work the other day, I had a realization. I hate every last single thing about my job. There is not one redeeming quality about being a fast food manager. I absolutely loathe what I do for a living.

This really isn’t a revelation. I’ve known this for several months. I am just throughly trapped in this miserable existence because I need the salary and the insurance benefits carried with it. What came as a bit of a shock to me is that today I realized that I have to force myself to write.

Why is that so bad? The one way that I have seen to get out of the fast food trap is to open my own freelance writing business. That idea was the only thing in months that has given me a glimmer of hope in an otherwise worthless existence. It feels as if right now, all I do is simply exist.

With Jody’s blessing, I have spent some money to advertise said business. I have joined FaithWriters and I have joined Sologig–two websites that exist to connect freelancers with potential clients. Unfortunately, I have not created portfolios yet with these companies–neither of these companies will do anything for me until I do that simple action. Yet I find myself without motivation to do that. I barely find any purpose for getting out of bed anymore.

This is the same place I was in two years ago right before I quit Wendy’s. On some level, I knew that I would end up back here; I just never figured that it would be so soon.

I’m leveling with everyone who reads this for a few reasons. First, I promise all kinds of articles that never materialize. This is the main reason why. Second, I want everyone to understand the depression and the cycle that it creates. Finally, I wanted to lay the groundwork for this announcement:

Effective immediately, for an as yet undetermined time period, the apologetics on this site will focus on orthodox or abberrant theologies. I will stay away from giving answers for atheists because I do not feel spiritually strong enough to resist the siren’s call of no accountability to God that atheism presents. The arguments presented on God is Imaginary were not without some merit. This is a very dangerous line of thought that I have no desire to follow to its inevitable conclusion.

The articles for God is Imaginary will stay up, but I will not add to them except in a “I have nothing for the stinkin’ website and I’m desperate!” situation.  Perhaps after I get over this rough patch in my life, I will start adding some additional articles.

For now, I will focus on heresy and orthodoxy. In both of those, a theistic worldview is presented and there is no argument against the existence of God.

The new list of potential topics to cover looks a bit like this:

• Examination of open theism - there may be some truths contained herein, but the God of open theism cannot be trusted
• Examination/refutation of probabilistic prophecy - thank you, John Sanders
• Study of Romans 9 and Calvinism/Reformed Theology - J.P. Holding at Tekton has presented a very good case against the one James White has presented
• Examination of the Word-Faith Movement (headed by Ken Copeland, Joel Osteen, and Benny Hinn)
• Examination of Prosperity Theology - a variation on Word-Faith that a friend at work had experienced, and turned her away from the faith for a while

Pretty much looks like the old list with the God is Imaginary material removed.

I still plan to have a domain name by the first of the year.  It’ll be something I buy with Christmas money that I will undoubtedly receive from my family.

I will also continue my lively debate with Geocreationism.   I’m also going to take a closer look at his (?) site.  I know I’ve personally been seeking a model of creation that agrees with the science rather than a model that opposes the science.  It would be nice if science and religion could actually get along someday!

Apologists should be able to pick a side and defend it.  But here, I’m just not sure.  On one hand, it sounds like a fun concept.  The Left Behind world, though theologically misguided, is a rockin’ good world to immerse yourself in.  A video game is long overdue.  On the other hand, is this really the impression we want to give an outsider?  That if you don’t convert to Christianity, we’re going to kill you in the aftermath of the eventual war that ends all wars?  People already consider Christianity intolerant because of our belief that only calling on Jesus will save you.  I don’t think that it is a good idea to create a video game with the ultimate goal of building a Christian theocracy; this is going to give unbelievers the wrong impression.

That makes them harder to evangelize.

Finally, Paul Barnes will be in my prayers.  He resigned his ministry, the one he founded in his own basement and God built to huge megachurch, over his homosexual behavior.  It was brave of him to come out of the closet and get the thorn in his flesh exposed.  I pray for his family, and his congregation, that they will be able to put this shock behind them and begin the healing process.

Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo is at it, once again. Sunday, he installed two more married men as Roman Catholic priests. Since he is excommunicated, these ordinations will not change the canonical state of the persons in question.

Since incurring excommunication status from the Vatican, Milingo has formed a group called Married Priests NOW! and sent a letter in the name of the organization to Pope Benedict XVI. Recently, Milingo cited that Sun Myung Moon is one of the benefactors of his organization.

Recently, I admitted that I may have been wrong about Milingo being the catalyst behind a schism in the Roman Catholic Church. The main reason being that Christians all over the world should be able to see that Abp. Milingo is a loose cannon at best, a potentially dangerous cult leader at worst. Milingo’s association with Sun Myung Moon should make this fact perfectly clear. There can be no unification between Moon’s church and orthodox Christianity; for Christ’s sacrifice combined with God’s grace is sufficient for the salvation of humanity. Moon’s contention is that Jesus failed since He didn’t marry and He was executed.

This is utter crap. First, there is no evidence one way or the other for Jesus’ marriage or lack thereof. Traditionally, Jesus is thought not to have married; which happens to be my personal belief. Jesus knew, on some level, what He was actually here to do for His entire life. It is unlikely that someone sent here to die would marry and start a family that He wouldn’t be able to care for, especially a person affirming a Law requiring the honoring of one’s family! This is still very much an open question, but one not essential to any specific doctrine of faith, so to specifiy this as a reason Jesus failed is completely missing the point of Scripture, especially the book of Hebrews!

Second, Jesus’ purpose on this earth was to bridge the gap mankind itself created when bringing sin into the world. God had set the scrificial system in place, not as a permanent fixture, but as a prelude to the grace that Jesus brought with Him. In many ways, I doubt God ever intended us to follow the Law. He had always intended a Redeemer, one who would remove sin from this world.

Look at this passage. This is the passage that Paul refers to when he speaks of the faith of Abraham. Abraham went there with the intention of offering a sacrifice to God, his own son Isaac; instead, God provided a sacrifice. Prophetic? Of course! This is exactly what happened in the course of human history. Jesus was the perfect sacrifice for God for the forgiveness of all sin, and like the ram, God Himself provided that sacrifice.

I am only a layman, I hold no doctorate degrees (honorary or otherwise), and I can discern this from reading the Gospel of John and the book of Hebrews. Moon, apparently, cannot discern this fact. In fact, he calls himself the Second Coming, here to redeem humanity where Christ “failied.”

This is the church that supports Abp. Milingo. This is the church he wants to bring closer to the Vatican.

Therefore, I had originally figured that he would not be a good leader for a schism over the celibacy issue within the Roman Catholic Church. But now, I think I may have too hasty in that pronouncement.

With his continued ordination activity, his letter to the Pope, and the reaching out to other congregations, I think that he may be building enough infrastructure to start a schism. Despite his theology being seriously skewed, he may actually do it!

That is terribly sad to me. That he has a chance to start a schism even though he has forged ties to a known cult is indefensible. This is proof positive that people who call themselves Christians need to spend a little bit more time reading God’s Word–the Bible. It does not appear that some people (Milingo himself) are recognizing Moon for what he is: an apostate whose followers need our prayers and support.

If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain. [1Tim 6:3-5]

According to a recent news item, it appears as though the remains of the apostle Paul may have been unearthed following an excavation at the site long rumored to be his final resting place.

The Vatican will make further announcements on Monday.  I will be following this one with great interest, since the apostle Paul is a personal hero of mine.

For some work at Got Questions Ministries, I had to research the Catholic position on Mary as Co-Redemptrix next to Christ. I was a little nervous.

Fortunately, I am relieved to report that Mary as Co-Redemptrix, Mediatrix of all Graces, and Advocate (the so-called “fifth dogma”) is not official Catholic teaching. I will, however, add the articles on the theological grounds for making such a claim to my reading list and post commentary on them here. There is an organization 7 million petitions, 550 bishops, and 43 cardinals strong called Vox Populi Mariae Mediatrici (the Popular Voice for Mary Mediatrix), who boasts the late Mother Teresa as a member, that is gaining ground in defining Mary those new titles.

There is also an organization that is trying to go even further than that and have Mary named as a fourth member of the Godhead, but I’ll bet everyone can see the heresy in that without requiring comments from me.

I am developing a sister site to God is Imaginary, called God is NOT Imaginary, which will have the same layout/look/feel as the former, but be based on my series of articles here that answer the claims it puts forth. What I’m praying for is a few more writers who can help me get the material together in time for a late-January 2007 launch. Of course, I want to produce material for it, but I also want to do management functions–editing the articles, tweaking the site design, finding an appropriate hosting service, and advertise.

My prayers: two or three more writers, funding for advertisement and domain registration, and the wisdom to select the correct hosting option. I humbly request everyone’s prayers in those regards, please.

The good news is that, with the launch of that site, this blog will get its own domain name too! God has provided a growing audience for this blog, and He has provided me with an inexpensive registration service (we can’t afford it right now because of Christmas), and I am confident that He will provide enough funds to take this ministry through its next few steps.

This is the updated list of upcoming articles. This new list supercedes all previous lists. I feel the need to post this to reiterate to myself what I want to write on so that I can focus my creative energies appropriately and glorify God through this ministry. God is leading me in some new directions, so I thought it prudent to clarify my path for myself.

I pray only that He be glorified in the construction of these articles, that He continue to grow my meager Internet ministry to what He wants, and that readers learn what He desires they learn from reading my material.

Here is the list:

• Answering the God is Imaginary website - Some material here
• Refutation of open theism - there may be some truths contained herein, but the God of open theism cannot be trusted
• Examination/refutation of probabilistic prophecy - thank you, John Sanders
• Study of Romans 9 and Calvinism/Reformed Theology - I’m really close to calling myself a five-point Calvinist; I’m at four points now
• Examination of the Word-Faith Movement (headed by Ken Copeland, Joel Osteen, and Benny Hinn)
• Examination of Prosperity Theology - a variation turned a friend at work away from the faith for a while

**UPDATED**

I am reviewing a website entitled God is Imaginary. It has been a great learning experience that has aided me in solidifying my own soteriology. However, I can’t help but balk at some of the so-called “proofs” these guys are advancing as evidence against God. In particular, their appeal to science is weak and does nothing to further their cause.

They quote an article discussing the discovery of penicillin. The bold claim, made twice in their short text, is:

Only by assuming that God is imaginary and prayer is meaningless can science proceed.

My question: where, from the cited article, do they come to that conclusion? Nowhere in the article is religion even a remote issue.

Why does religion, more specifically Christianity, have to be the enemy of science? In fact, many people believe that science and religion can coexist:

• Wikipedia List of Christian thinkers in science
• Home page of Christians in Science, an organization concerned with the relationship of science to the Christian faith.

Christianity is not the enemy of science. The two entities haven’t experienced the best relationship over the years, admittedly. Modern times is just a reversal of history. Now, science has the upper hand over Christianity and they are persecuting us instead of the other way around.

But it’s a delusion.

The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness. [2 The 2:9-12, emphasis added]

This doesn’t have to be.  Scientists, come out of your delusion and work with us.  Be the bigger person.  Working together with theologians, there is surely a model of the universe that will satisfy all of the available evidence from both science and the Bible.