"Atheism turns out to be too simple. If the whole universe has no meaning, we should never have found out that it has no meaning."
C.S. Lewis
"The fingers of your thoughts are molding your face ceaselessly."
Charles Reznikoff
"Art, like morality, consists in drawing the line somewhere."
G.K. Chesterton
"Humility enforces where neither virtue nor strength can prevail, nor reason."
Francis Quarles
"Education without values, as useful as it is, seems rather to make man a more clever devil."
C.S. Lewis
Resistance Thinking Society
'Society' is a term used to describe a grouping of individuals and outlines the structures employed to ensure that the individuals within a society relate to each other in an appropriate fashion. Different societies may have distinctive cultural behaviours and different institutions. In this society section you will find news, articles and reviews that relate to Australian society, or more specifically, individuals who live in Australia.
Topics in this section will cover: science and technology - stem cell research, IVF, cloning, intelligent design, evolution etc.; politics - ideologies (communism, anarchism, totalitarianism, capitalism etc.), state and federal politics, the free market, the United Nations etc.; sociology - globalisation, prisons, welfare, government; environment - global warming, alternative energy etc.; and moral issues - poverty, homosexuality, euthanasia, abortion etc.
The role of the Christian within society is to stand for truth, for justice and most importantly, to represent God's agenda on the earth. As the Resistance Thinking journey continues, our aim is to stimulate engaging dialogue exploring the complexities of how followers of Jesus should engage with society in our day and age.
At the moment there is a major controversy occurring in the United States that most people in Australia would be unaware of. It is worth drawing it to your attention because of the ramifications of some of the pretensions as “truth”.
The story revolves around Michele Bachmann, who is now a presidential candidate (hence the enormousness of the story), and her husband, who runs a clinic of which an therapist has been recently caught on spy-cam using reparative therapy (that is, trying to cure homosexuality). The organisation that instigated this undercover reporting was the notorious Truth Wins Out (a pro-homosexual group). With this background in mind, here is the video that shows you what went on and the thinking behind this presumptuous recording:
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Reparative therapy works well for a number of unfortunate behaviours. Like smoking, gambling, porn addiction, drug abuse etc. These are all detrimental behaviours for an individual (some may disagree with me but I don’t have the space to argue ethics in this article). If, indeed, somebody wishes to defeat a gambling addiction or to be rid of their smoking habit then it is quite permissible for them to go and receive treatment for those potentially-damaging activities. If, however, somebody seeks treatment so they no longer have to live in a homosexual lifestyle, this is a truly appalling act of counselling and against the American Psychiatric Association’s guidelines (as if the APA had any credibility).
We are supposed to believe that reparative therapy is a “completely scientifically discredited” form of treatment. However, this is merely a piece of fluff. People need to be credited with the ability to change. Telling someone that they are “born this way” is one of the most unloving things one person can advise another person.
Below is a video which demonstrates the truth that people who are homosexual do not have to remain that orientation:
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Here is what Albert Mohler has to say on reparative treatment:
"Christians cannot avoid the debate over reparative therapy, nor can we enter the debate on secular terms. We must bring to this conversation everything we know from God’s Word about our sin and God’s provision for sinners in Christ. We will hold no hope for any sinner’s ability to change his or her own heart, and we will hold little hope for any secular therapy to offer more than marginal improvement in a sinner’s life.
At the same time, we gladly point all sinners to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, knowing that all who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved. [Romans 10:13] We hold full confidence in the power of the Gospel and of the reign of Christ within the life of the believer. We know that something as deeply entrenched as a pattern of sexual attraction is not easily changed, but we know that with Christ all things are possible.
And, even as Christians know that believers among us struggle to bring their sexual desires into obedience to Christ, this is not something true only of those whose desires have been homosexual. It is true of all Christians. We will know that those believers who are struggling to overcome homosexual desires have a special struggle — one that requires the full conviction and support of the body of Christ. We will see the glory of God in the growing obedience of Christ’s redeemed people. And, along with the Apostle Paul and all the redeemed, we will await the glory that is yet to be revealed to us."
On the ABC program Compass this week same-sex marriage was the discussion point. However, the panellists do not display an even spectrum of the two positions on this debate.
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As I didn't have enough time to discuss Prof. Dennis Altman's point on fidelity in the video I thought I'd add a part of Bill Muehlenberg's article on this issue.
"Australia’s leading homosexual activist made it perfectly clear what he thought of those old wasted bourgeois concepts such as faithfulness and fidelity. This is what he had to say:
“I am enormously proud of the fact that I am in a relationship that has been all the things you all want from relationships, with the exception of sexual fidelity which I think is crap for most people and doesn’t exist by and large.”
In case you missed that let me repeat it for you: he regards the idea of sexual fidelity as “crap”. Of course he has been saying this for years, so nothing new here. Way back in 1986 he was saying the same thing: “[W]e don’t find one partner sufficiently fulfilling. People who argue that there would be no problem if all gay men would just be monogamous are ignoring both medical and emotional realities; with an unknown number of people already exposed to ‘the virus’ and an unknown incubation period, such advice is just too restrictive.”
He was quite candid about all this. He went on to say, “it does seem clear that among gay men a long-lasting monogamous relationship is almost unknown. Indeed both gay women and gay men tend to be involved in what might be called multiple relationships, though of somewhat different kinds.”
Altman is not alone in thinking along these lines. Plenty of other Australian homosexuals have said much the same. Another activist is quite clear about rejecting what he considers the straitjacket of heterosexual marriage: “[F]ull recognition for same-sex marriages will encourage all those shallow promiscuous gay men to settle down in Box hill with Mr Right and breed shitzus. Speaking as a shallow promiscuous gay man, I remain sceptical about this.”....
It is always nice to get a bit of honesty like this from these leading homosexual activists. And as I said, I could produce plenty more such quotations. It is quite clear that when most homosexuals talk about marriage, they sure don’t have in mind what most people think of when discussing marriage.
Even though there are plenty of problems in heterosexual marriages, most begin with the assumption that it should be an exclusive, live-long union which involves commitment, faithfulness and fidelity. Very few couples enter into a marriage subscribing to the idea of an “open marriage” where anything goes.
And the statistical data confirms all this. Oppenheimer cites a study from the University of Chicago undertaken last year which showed that 86 per cent of women and 80 per cent of men remained faithful in their marriages. A major 1994 study also conducted by the same university found the same sorts of figures. So these patterns have been fairly consistent over the years.
The truth is, homosexuals want all the symbolism and benefits of traditional marriage, yet they want to retain their swinging, promiscuous, multi-partner lifestyle. There are plenty of other reasons why we must say no to the oxymoron of homosexual marriage, but clearly this is a sufficient reason in and of itself to withstand this push."
Boy our Australian dollar has been doing well recently, hasn't it? It's even beating the greenback, which makes me feel a little proud inside to be one up on America in the way we value everything. Because that's what money is, the most implemented value system in the world. Scientists may apply their technical values but they receive their funding from grants. It's what keeps Universities, businesses and a huge amount of the western world going. In fact, the way we realise others are in trouble is because they don't have any money.
Twenty-eight years ago Roger Waters ironically sang about everyday opinions concerning money. Watch the clip here:
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This idea that money is an integral part of life has worked its way into the Church. There are now churches which regularly preach a belief called the prosperity doctrine. That is, formulated justification that God provides His faithful servants with material blessings, usually in the form of money. To see examples of this type of preaching watch:
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It is not unexpected that prosperity theology was established in America. What is staggering is the amount of churches this has infiltrated. It is, after all, both biblically indefensible and counter-intuitive to God's covenant to His people. It also fails at a more practical level. For instance, how does one determine if they are prospering? Is it by comparison to others or is it my reaching a self-realised amount of money? By comparison I am both rich and poor, although, if we were to line all the humans on earth in order of their wealth, myself, you reading and any proponent of the prosperity gospel would fall at the top spectrum of the line.
Jesus spoke out many times against hoarding wealth. His advice to the rich young ruler is "sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." (Luke 18:22). With this one commandment Jesus undermined the young man's faith and exposed his real love.
In the early Church everything was seen as combined wealth. Property and possessions were regularly sold and given away to help those in need within the Church (Acts 2:44-45). Paul praises the Macedonian churches for their "rich generosity" despite their extreme poverty (2 Corinthians 8:1-2). There are further overwhelming depictions and proverbs of wealth leading to idolatry and sin, but for the time being, you get the picture.
We claim to know all the dangers that wealth presents yet we don't always live this way. For most of us money is a priority and how we act, what we see and how we dress are all determined by our money status. We are driven to working long hours for money and, more recently, we have developed a tendency for hoarding after the effects of the global financial crisis. Our planning, in particular, is heavily influenced by money. We look ahead and estimate when we can buy a house, upgrade our car, afford a child.
Sometimes we forget what Jesus us warned us that "if the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you." We are told in Ephesians and 1 Timothy that our suffering is for our glory.
The idea of suffering is unfathomable to the prosperity doctrine. Suffering would require that the person is out-of-step with God's plans for them. This may well be the opposite of the truth. The members of U2 may be some of the wealthiest in the world but even Bono realises the dangers of chasing a money-shaped hole:
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So, we now have a carbon tax despite Julia Gillard promising that no such tax would exist under her regime. It is worth noting the many responses to this announcement.
Firstly Andrew Bolt replies with scathing condescension:
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It's worth noting the responses from the different states.
Victoria:
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New South Wales:
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Western Australia:
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Queensland:
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South Australia:
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So basically we have four State Government's who are expressly opposed to the carbon tax and South Australia who remains ambivalent because the Premier believes the tax will not have an impact.
Here are some other opinions on this tax:
"[T]he biggest problem with the scheme seems to be the extraordinary amount of money that flows in and out of the Government.
We have a Government planning to rip billions out of the economy, run it through Canberra's woefully inefficient bureaucracy, and then deliver some of it back to households.
If you think the stimulus package was wasteful, we'll have that type of waste year in and year out....."
"[I]n the end, the policy is transparently a political solution with most of the pain removed and as the Opposition says, much of the abatement even to be purchased overseas.
In that sense, the policy is pure Gillard in the tradition of her mainstreamist stances on the republic, the flag, gay marriage, and the Bible.
It is another example of her non-ideological nature...."
"The Prime Minister leads a government that comprehensively buggered up the home insulation scheme. She leads a government that has managed to see $1.1 billion of the $16.2 billion schools stimulus spending under the Building the Education Revolution program wasted. Ms Gillard promises refugee deals that fail to materialise and big plans with big price tags and equally large potential for disaster like set top boxes for pensioners.
Laying pink batts and building school halls are everyday exercises. If a government can't manage them, can it really remake an economy?...."
Well the day finally came and passed and Prince William was married to Kate Middleton, or as they are called now, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. For several hours we stayed glued to visions of grandeur and general awesomeness.
Such an outlook on marriage is, unfortunately, not actually what is in store for William and Kate (or indeed anyone who marries). I am getting married at the start of next year and there is so much planning and preparation that goes into the big day. In western society we make a big to-do about the wedding day. I recall the commentators saying several times last night “everything has gone to plan” (even if it was merely the guests arriving).
It would be in our interests, however, to temper our hopes and expectations. Not because they cannot be realised but because, as the Minister always says “marriage is about the hard times”. I would imagine that even our royal couple will experience marriage difficulties.
A disturbing example of marriage difficulties is the marriage of Horatio Spafford to Anna Larson. They married 1861 and I can assure you that they were not the centrepiece of Friday-night entertainment. Once married they were faced with terrible circumstances. In 1871 Horatio lost nearly all of his worldly possessions to a fire. Then, only two years later, they lost their four daughters in a freak shipping accident.
Now assuredly William and Kate will not face torment this extreme. This does not mean, however, that the lessons learned by Horatio in his troubles and not transferrable to ourselves. Horatio Spafford is not remembered for the troubles that befell him but for his attitude of surrender to God’s will. It was this attitude that brought him to write the well-known hymn “It Is Well with My Soul”.
While weddings are joyous things, marriages are hard work. Yet God, in His infinite wisdom, recognised a great need for man not to be alone. He also wrote, directed and played out the greatest love story in the history of human kind. It is through His sacrifice and by his example we can say that through whatever we face, married or not, “it is well with my soul”!
