Worldviews | Underground Paradigm

The Glory Thieves

Christians tend to think of “wicked” people as those who commit murder and violent acts against others or engage in robbery of things that belong to others. But God, who sees into the heart, discerns the pockets of wickedness, even when ordinary people do not.

David gives us some insight about hidden sins as he writes about the sins of the fathers in Psalm 106:6-8. We have sinned, even as our ancestors did; we have done wrong and acted wickedly. When our fathers were in Egypt, they gave no thought to your miracles; they did not remember your many kindnesses, and they rebelled by the sea, the Red Sea.

This Psalm expresses the seriousness of forgetting what God has done for us. When the Israelites found themselves trapped between Pharaoh’s army and the Red Sea, they had forgotten the mighty acts He performed on their behalf in Egypt. As a result, they did not have enough faith to trust God to save them from this desperate situation. Nevertheless, Moses and Aaron trusted God and did exactly as He commanded, and the waters of the Red Sea miraculously parted. The Israelites witnessed another mighty miracle when they walked through the Sea on dry ground to the other side. David wrote that incredibly the Israelites soon forgot what the Lord had done and did not wait for His Counsel. Rather than trusting God’s counsel and the laws He gave them, they trusted their own reasoning. Eventually, as they continued to elevate their human reasoning abilities above God’s Word, a number of the people did the unthinkable and sacrificed their infant sons and daughters to demons. So, the Lord handed His people over to the nations and their foes ruled over them for many years.

The antidote for keeping this wicked sin from getting a stronghold in our hearts is found in numerous Psalms, which tell us to Praise the Lord, Give thanks to the Lord, Sing before the Lord, and Forget not His benefits.

Ignoring and being unthankful for God’s miracles and kindnesses is certainly robbing God of the glory He is due, but attributing His works to an evil cause is even worse. There is an account in Matthew of a demon-oppressed man, blind and mute since birth, who was brought to Jesus. The man was instantly healed and he spoke and saw. Some of the religious leaders who witnessed this amazing miracle accused Jesus of performing miracles by the power of Beelzebub. Jesus replied with a stern, strong warning of the danger of attributing the glory due to God for a miraculous work to Satan himself. The religious leaders who were quick to accuse Jesus of partnering with an evil being were coming close to committing an unpardonable sin themselves. (Matt. 12:22-32)

When Jesus taught his disciples how to pray, his first request was that God’s name would be glorified and honored on earth. Before we claim innocence in this area, Americans need to examine the ways in which we fail to give honor to God for His incredible Creation.

The truth is that many Americans are guilty of robbing God of His glory by giving credit and glory for the origin of every living thing to unguided natural processes, an idea known as Darwin’s theory of evolution. Most children hear this theory from the time they are very young from cartoons and children’s books, featuring fantasized stories about cave men and dinosaurs. School textbooks teach it as a fact.

Writing Romans 1:18-20, the apostle Paul speaks directly to people who do not acknowledge God as the Creator of everything. Paul says The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—His eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. From Genesis to Revelation, God’s people are reminded over and over that He is our Maker, and for this, He deserves our praise.

The multitude of Scriptures telling us to praise God is not because God has a human-like, prideful ego. Giving praise to God, who is our Creator, focuses our attention on God’s divine power and wisdom and beauty and helps us to know Him better and to have more faith in Him as we pray. God is the most perfect and beautiful thing in the universe, well above any other thing we might admire. Finding reasons to praise the Perfect One enables us to judge the imperfect by comparison. We are the beneficiaries when we offer Him our praises.

How should parents respond when children are being taught about origins in a way that robs God of His glory? The best way is to simply tell them the truth.

Charles Darwin is given credit for this theory. After observing a variety of traits in finch birds on the Galapagos Islands, he concluded that they were all descendants of a few original finch birds. Over a long time, the birds who were best able to survive in their environments were able to produce offspring with the same favorable traits as their parents. Birds unable to adapt to their environments probably didn’t live long or produce many offspring. He called this concept natural selection and taught that new varieties, or even species, would gradually be produced in this way. Evidence from other genetic studies indicate that brown bears, black bears, polar bears, and other bears all descended from the same original pair of bears, with some bears adapting to a variety of different environments. Canines are clearly related by common ancestors, as dogs and wolves and dogs and coyotes are able to mate and produce offspring, even if they do not ordinarily mate in the wild. Members of the cat family also seem to have evolved from the same feline ancestors. There are examples of lions and tigers in captivity who mated and produced liger and tigon kittens.

Darwin’s original observations and conclusions are no different than those of any scientist who identifies as a creationist or an intelligent design proponent. Up to a point, Darwin’s observations and hypotheses about common ancestors and the influence of natural selection are actually not controversial.

Controversies ensued only when he went beyond where there is adequate evidence for his proposal that all animals, plants, microbes, and humans evolved from a single common ancestor. No wonder this idea is controversial. Darwinian evolution proposes that humans evolved from ape-like animals by random, unguided natural processes. Supposedly, the first human cavemen gradually learned to make tools, develop a language, and acquire other human characteristics over long periods of time. The entire evolutionary process would require millions of years in which natural selection and other natural processes are the creators of all living things. If Darwinian evolution is true, then God the Creator is either false or irrelevant.

A key ingredient of all worldviews is how one answers the question, “Where did I come from?” Unless God planned, designed, and created humans in His image, the answer would have to be, “I am the product of random, unguided natural processes.” Multitudes of philosophies and beliefs, true and false, build on the foundation of what one accepts about origins.

Darwin was likely correct in saying that all finch birds evolved from the same finch bird ancestors.The small evolutionary changes Darwin observed in finch birds, iguanas, tortoises, and other living things are known as microevolution, which is actually observable and based on evidence. It also agrees with the Bible that all living things have their beginning with their God-created original ancestors, which began life during the Creation Week. But he took a giant leap of faith when he claimed that every living and once-living thing on earth evolved from a one-celled organism that spontaneously formed in a warm pond with just the right chemicals and conditions. He made major tenuous assumptions as he extrapolated his evidence and observations. Instead of proposing that there were many original kinds of plants and animals, as the Bible teaches, he proposed the macroevolutionary idea that ALL plants and animals were descendants of one Common Ancestor.

Parents, along with Bible teachers, should help their children understand that microevolution is observable science, influenced by natural selection and genetic traits as Darwin proposed. But the macroevolutionary theory he proposed is not observable. Nor is it supported by strong evidence. It certainly doesn’t agree with the account of creation in Genesis. Christian parents should help their children believe that everything written in the Bible–history, wisdom, praises to God, the Good News of salvation, and science—is accurate and true.

Although much about microevolution is legitimate science, Darwin’s macroevolutionary proposal is a glory thief that fails to give God the glory for planning, designing, and creating the ancestors of all the amazing living creatures on earth, including humans.

Natural selection and other natural processes do not have the power to create living things on earth. Nor do they have the power to turn an ape-like animal into a human. Only God can make humans, whom He created in His image. All of the glory for His incredible Creation rightly belongs to God the Creator.

It’s Beginning to Rain

Throughout the history of America, there have been several great spiritual awakenings and revivals in response to the earnest prayers of God’s people. Except for pockets of revivals in recent years, it’s been over a hundred years since a great awakening or revival swept over this country.

Yet, because of the hardships and tragedies of 2020, with the corona virus pandemic and the fears of the national election, God’s people are crying out for the help and deliverance that only He can provide.

Small groups of Christians have spontaneously formed to pray and fast for almost every city in America. In September, Franklin Graham and Rabbi Jonathan Cahn urged people to come to Washington, DC, to pray for the nation and the elections. Hundreds of thousands came and millions prayed and fasted as they watch the event on TV.

OneCry, Intercessors For America, and many other Christian groups and churches have called for additional days of prayer and fasting, fervently praying for God to heal our nation and to send a great revival.

God may not answer all of our prayers in the ways we are expecting, but He is definitely answering and He is sending the rain we desperately need. Listen to the words of this beautiful prophetic song.

It’s beginning to rai-ai-ain-hear the voice of my father-

He’s saying who so ever will, come and drink of my water-

He’s promised to pour his spirit out, on your sons and your daughters-

If you’re thirsty and dry, look up to the sky, it’s beginning to rain!

The turtle doves are singing sweet songs of the morning-

The leaves on the trees turn their silver cups to the sky-

The silent clouds above are beginning to gather-

The barren land is so thirsty, and so am I!

It’s beginning to rain- hear the voice of my Father –

He’s saying who so ever will, come drink of my water-

He’s promised to pour his spirit out, on your sons and your daughters-

If your thirsty and dry, look up to the sky, it’s beginning to rain!

At that first drop of rain that you start to hear, throw open the windows-

Call all your children together, and throw wide the door!

When the rains of the spirit are starting to fall, fill every vessel-

He who drinks his fill, will thirst no more!

It’s beginning to rain- hear the voice of my Father-

He’s saying who so ever will come and drink of my water!

He’s promised! To pour his spirit out, on your sons and your daughters!

Listen to me now! If your thirsty and dry look up to the sky!

If your thirsty and dry look up to the sky!

If your thirsty and dry, look up to the sky!

It’s beginning to rain!

Songwriter(s): Gloria Gaither, Aaron Wilburn, Bill Gaither

Does Common Core Fuel Hostility Toward Family , America, and Christianity?

Christian parents in America are baffled by the rude, and even violent behavior of some young people on college campuses as they protest conservative speakers, capitalism, the military and police. There is an increasing approval of socialism and communism by young voters, in spite of the obvious failures of communist countries. Veterans who sacrificed much to ensure that America remains a free nation look in utter amazement at the lack of respect for America’s heroes. Did these ideas originate on college campuses or did they begin much earlier in our elementary and high schools? Continue reading Does Common Core Fuel Hostility Toward Family , America, and Christianity?

Censor of the Year for 2017

Nobel Prize awards for outstanding scientific research were given out in December, and Pulitzer Prize awards for outstanding journalistic work will be given out in April. However, there are two other annual awards for science and journalism that will be announced soon. Many Americans are not familiar with these awards, but will be interested in hearing the results.

One is the Fake News Story of 2017, chosen by a national email poll. The other is for the Censor of the Year for 2017, a national poll sponsored by the Center for Science and Culture with the Discovery Institute. Continue reading Censor of the Year for 2017

What Do News Writers Report When a Miracle Occurs?

In the world of science, the philosophy of naturalism is firmly embedded so that every hypothesis of how living things operate in the present or how every past event in nature occurred must only be explained by using natural processes. Even when it is obvious that God designed and created the universe, the world, living things, and humans, there is still an insistence on an explanation based on natural processes for how all these things came to be. It seems that naturalism has also invaded many news reports, because there is little room for supernatural miracles in them.

Most of us heard the news report of a busload of prisoners who were being transferred from one prison to another prison when two of the convicts somehow overpowered and killed the guards and then escaped. This was a top news story for three days as the convicts stole cars, invaded homes, and evaded police. They were finally captured in a small community in Rutherford County, Tennessee.

A variety of dramatic headlines and news accounts told of how the convicts were captured. The stories were strung together by local members of the community and even by local law officials. Some accounts told of how they tried to steal a car from Patrick Hale, a Tennessee homeowner. It was said that they were met by Mr. Hale who held a loaded gun on them and forced them to surrender. Another account told of a neighbor with a loaded gun who helped Hale keep the convicts in line until law enforcement officials arrived. One report said the convicts were confronted in the woods by Hale and his neighbor and came out with their hands up about 15 minutes later.

But, it turns out, none of these stories were true. The accurate story is that Patrick prayed to God for help and experienced a miracle. So, how do professional law enforcers and newspaper writers relay this to the many people who have been following this dramatic story for the past three days. A miracle that doesn’t make sense to our natural minds? An outcome that a grateful and humble Patrick attributed to Jesus Christ?

Here’s the real story:

Patrick was home alone with his three-year old daughter when he got a phone call. His friend had a terse message: The two escaped criminals have been in an shootout with law enforce and are in your area. Patrick immediately loaded the guns in his house and looked outside to see two white men crossing a fence 300 yards from his back door. He made an urgent fervent prayer to his Lord. He then made the decision to drive away rather than get trapped in his house.

Grabbing his daughter and a loaded gun, which he was fully prepared to use if necessary, he got into his car and began backing our of his driveway. But the unthinkable had happened. The two men had already reached his driveway and were waving their shirts frantically at him trying to get him to stop. They came closer, and Patrick began to slowly back up.

Patrick was aware that they had just been in a shootout with police and possibly still had their weapons. They had nothing to lose at this point, because they were already facing murder charges for the death of two law enforcement officials.

Hale then called 911 as he prayed earnestly for his daughter and for the situation. Even though Hale had a loaded weapon, he had not shown it; nor had he given a commend to the men to give up.

What happened next, he could only attribute to an answered prayer. Without a word from Patrick and without showing his weapon, both Dubose and Rowe silently lay down on their stomachs in Patrick’s driveway in an act of surrender. After about 20 seconds, both men slowly got up and walked to a water faucet where they got a drink of water. Then they returned to the same place on his driveway and lay down on their stomachs.

Patrick watched this surreal scene unfolding in front of him for three minutes before an army of law enforcement officials reached his property and arrested the men who still maintained their surrender position. During those three minutes, Patrick just watched from his car and prayed.

Patrick had no problem recounting these events to media and giving Jesus Christ proper credit for what happened, saying “If that doesn’t make you believe in Jesus Christ, I don’t know what will.”

Predictably, many of the mainstream media walked around a supernatural miracle and published a variety of inaccurate stories. Some of the media accounts focused only on how the story related to gun control. The quotes about prayer and Jesus Christ were only mentioned in a few media stories. Many reporters had difficulty writing about how the men simply laid down in a surrender position in front of Patrick’s car for no apparent reason.

But Patrick Hale will forever know that God answered his fervent prayer when he call upon Him on June 15, 2017.

Is This Really Compassion?

Numerous media stories have been written about an adorable eight-year-old girl in New Jersey, who is being allowed to change her name to Joey, dress like a boy, and join a Boy Scout troop. She wanted to join the Boy Scouts, because her best friends are the boys in the scout troop, and according to Joey, they all like to camp, do science stuff, and hang out. The official Scout policy limited membership to children whose birth certificates showed they were males, but a few months later, they changed their policy to accept children on the basis of the gender listed on the enrollment form. Girl Scouts have also accepted transgender members for the past several years.

The decision by the Boy Scouts to allow transgender girls to join their troops is being celebrated by many people as courageous and compassionate. But, is it really?

If Joey never grew up, this policy would be much less complicated. But, in about four or five years, Joey is going to stop looking like a typical boy. She will begin to develop breasts, her hips will widen, her voice will sound more like a girl than a boy, she will begin to menstruate, and her body will be flooded with female hormones. Boys, who want to take on a female identity, face similar problems, as the onset of puberty produces dramatic changes in their bodies as well.

Then what?

The parents of Joey and her Scout leaders certainly think they are being compassionate and have her best interest in mind. But, allowing an eight-year-old girl to decide she will live the rest of her life as a male may have more serious consequences than they anticipated. Will she be allowed to begin hormone therapy to stop the processes that occur during puberty? Will she start taking male hormones while her female hormones are blocked? Will there be surgical operations to make her look like a boy? Hormone therapy must be continued throughout many years, and it comes with serious health risks and the inability to have children. Surgical procedures are usually permanent.

The advice of Dr. Paul McHugh to the parents of both young girls and young boys who want to change their gender is “Don’t do it!” Dr. McHugh actually performed gender reassignment surgeries at Johns Hopkins Hospital for several years. There were no problems with the surgeries, but he discontinued doing them for one simple reason. A battery of psychological tests were administered to the people on which he preformed surgery, and the same tests were given several years after their surgery. He was surprised to find that most of his transgender patients were just as unhappy and dissatisfied with life after the surgery as they were before. He realized that life-altering surgery had produced no improvement in their well-being and for many of his patients, their depression had deepened.

Furthermore, there was a significantly greater number of suicides among those who had undergone hormone therapy and surgery to achieve gender reassignment. One study found that these individuals were about 5 times more likely than a control group to attempt suicide and about 19 times more likely to die by suicide. Cancer and other medical problems were also more common in this group.

Professionals who advocate for the right for children with gender dysporia to be allowed to transition to the opposite sex use high suicide rates and severe depression as the basis for their arguments. Although children like Joey may temporarily experience less distress and depression, there are no long term scientific studies about the level of depression they may face as they become older. In fact, current studies indicate they will continue to battle depression in the future.

When a young girl says, “I feel like a boy, and I like to do the things they do,” is that based on some kind of gender-based reality? As a public school teacher for thirty years, I observed many girls who were called tomboys. If they had been encouraged by some well-meaning counselor to live the rest of their lives as males, they would have missed out on the satisfaction of being part of a vibrant family, which most of them now enjoy. Most of the boys I observed in school who exhibited an interest in things typically assigned to girls grew into adulthood as creative individuals who were satisfied with their gender.

By the time most gender-confused children reach adulthood, undergoing gender reassignment is no longer something they want to do. However, if they are encouraged to dress like the opposite sex and change their name to an appropriate opposite-sex name and go to the bathroom with the opposite sex for several years during their childhood, they will become acclimated to this gender. Puberty will then force them to make a no-win decision. (1) They will have to continue to dress and act like the opposite sex even though their appearance is obviously affected by what their biological sex dictates. (2) They will undergo dangerous gender reassignment hormone therapies, and possibly surgeries, with the likelihood of serious health issues and bouts of depression. (3) They will have to revert back to their original biological sex after living several years as another gender.

What eight-year-old child has the maturity to look realistically at what changing ones gender will mean for the rest of his or her life? Reality for young children comes from their circle of family and friends and being a part of what they do that is fun and inclusive. Is having a gender that is opposite to ones biological sex backed by any kind of scientific research?

The New Atlantis published a special report on scientific findings from research regarding sexuality and gender (Number 50, Fall 2016, www.TheNewAtlantis.com). It is one of the most valuable, unbiased science-based resources to be found anywhere. The research was compiled by Lawrence S. Mayer, M.B., M.S, Ph.D. and Paul R. McHugh, MD. The authors were careful not to discuss matters of morality. Their focus was on what the scientific evidence shows and what it does not show. Yet, for the most part, it has largely been ignored. One wonders if the “feelings” of young children are more reliable than a large body of science research.

Perhaps it’s time to listen to the advice of professional scientists and doctors. Here are a few of the findings reported by Dr. McHugh and Dr. Mayer in The New Atlantic, (Executive summary, p. 8-9)

“The hypothesis that gender identity is an innate, fixed property of human beings that is independent of biological sex . . . is not supported by scientific evidence.”

“Compared to the general population, adults who have undergone sex-reassignment surgery continue to have a higher risk of experiencing poor mental health outcomes.”

“Only a minority of children who experience cross-gender identification will continue to do so into adolescence or adulthood.”

For Christians, it’s important to understand that the creation of male and female were part of what God designed and created in the beginning. Genesis 1: 27 says, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” God also created family units in the beginning, so that one man and one woman would make a covent to live together throughout their lives and take care of the children born to them.

Favoured Races

The following article was co-authored by Carolyn Reeves and Marni Kendricks.

What are the two things that should not be discussed over dinner in polite company according to rules of etiquette? Politics and Religion. They can be controversial and emotional, cause anxiety, and ruin a good meal. Well, I suggest this time we DO couple them together for a serious conversation that needs to take place in our society.

Hardly a day goes by without a racial issue being raised in our news reports, social media, and daily conversations. We are well aware of uncomfortable symbols all around that remind us of an obvious racial divide—songs, flags, monuments paintings, graveyards—and even more so we have tough issues of racial profiling, neighborhood and church segregations, social media frenzy, and protests that often turn violent. I don’t think anyone can deny that racial tensions exist today, but have you ever wondered WHY? Where did this begin? What is this powerful force we face that still lingers decades after the start of the Civil Rights movement led by brilliant, ethical, strong leaders of our time?

Race struggles have existed for centuries throughout history. There have been and still are many horrible periods in world history where religion, ethnicity, and race were the catalyst for awful events. Still, there is no doubt that increasing racial discord is one of America’s big problems, and it is occurring on our watch. Continue reading Favoured Races

An Atheistic Religious Viewpoint vs a Theistic Religious Viewpoint

COPE (Citizens for Objective Public Education) was incorporated in 2012with a specific mission to promote objectivity in public school curricula regarding religious content, so the teaching is religiously neutral. Religion, defined as beliefs about ultimate causes and the meaning of life, includes both theistic and atheistic beliefs. According to U.S courts, religious content must either be omitted or presented in a religiously neutral manner. COPE is particularly concerned when public schools present ideas that clearly favor an atheistic religious viewpoint while excluding a theistic religious view.

In 2013 the Kanas State Board of Education adopted the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). COPE then examined the proposed learning objectives and found they did not present Darwinian evolution in a religiously neutral manner. Continue reading An Atheistic Religious Viewpoint vs a Theistic Religious Viewpoint

Selecting Leaders with Christian Worldviews

The following article is an expanded version of an article in the November issue of the AFA Journal.

Selecting Leaders with Christian Worldviews

American citizens represent a number of worldviews, but the two major views are Judeo-Christian and Secular Humanism. Strangely in recent years, the dominant culture-shaping forces have been from the minority views of Secular Humanism held by the leadership in fields such as entertainment, education, and often in politics. Humanistic tend to have atheistic or agnostic religious beliefs and considers human reasoning and human solutions superior to Biblical teachings and traditional laws of God. This has resulted in a number of secular laws and regulations legalizing such things as abortion, homosexual marriage, transgender “rights,” and required teaching in public schools that all life arose naturalistically.

When Christians failed to vote

Christians are often surprised when their traditional beliefs are supplanted by ideas with which they strongly disagree. Continue reading Selecting Leaders with Christian Worldviews

Worth the Risks? Depression, Increased Suicides, Strokes, Cancer

Worth the Risks? Depression, Increased Suicides, Strokes, Cancer

Leaders in businesses , entertainments, and sports are showing great compassion for transgender citizens and treating their fight for bathroom and locker room access as a civil rights issue. Numerous opinion articles in newspapers urge readers to show love for everyone and stop discriminating against people who identify as transgender. However, we urge you to look deeper at what is being promoted and reconsider the unintended consequences, especially regarding children. If we truly love others who struggle with gender identity, we should look at what medical authorities are advising.

Why sex reassignment surgeries were discontinued at Johns Hopkins University medical center

Johns Hopkins University was the first medical center in the U.S. to perform gender reassignment surgeries. This was begun during the 1960s. Patients reported that Continue reading Worth the Risks? Depression, Increased Suicides, Strokes, Cancer