The Golden Rule: Getting a little dull from lack of use

January 4, 2015January 4, 2015Allen Frederick Leave a comment

Treat others the way you want to be treated.

This is the golden rule. The core message of nearly every significant spiritual text. The foundation upon which political ideologies and laws are built.

It’s very simple in theory. If everyone followed it, laws would be unnecessary. Quality of life would skyrocket for everyone. We can all objectively agree that the more people who follow this philosophy, the better our civil society becomes.

Although almost universally held as the standard in interpersonal relationships why is it so few actually practice what they preach?

It is almost becoming commonplace to hear yet another story where one group expects others to accommodate them and their personal specific beliefs while at the same time these same folks do not show any tolerance for the beliefs of others or even attempt to accommodate others’ views.

Members of a Jewish sect is expecting others to meet their weird requirements to avoid the scandal of alleged religious discrimination. The Plain Truth about the Ultra-Orthodox Jews: Washington Post Commentary

We see the world is pretty much going insane over attempts to define and prevent “religious discrimination.” On the one hand, Christians are being forced to publicly renounce the Bible for the sake of homosexual “marriages” or else be driven into bankruptcy for the crime of “discrimination.” On the other hand, Muslims expect the Navy to change their dress code to accommodate their belief they must grow out their beards.

Now we have another instance of people invoking “discrimination” to get their way. The U.K.’s The Independent reports, “Groups of ultra-Orthodox Jewish men keep delaying flights by refusing to sit next to women.”

A flight from New York to Tel Aviv was delayed by half an hour last week after a group of male ultra-Orthodox Jewish passengers refused to sit next to women, the third such incident in recent months.

The cabin crew on the Delta flight out of John F. Kennedy Airport tried to find seats for the men, but were met with refusal by other passengers, some of whom took a dim view of the reasoning behind the request.

The incident took place on Delta flight 468 on 20 December, the Israeli publication The Times of Israel reports. An American passenger ultimately switched seats with the men.

This is the third widely reported incident in the last few months in which ultra-Orthodox Jewish men have delayed a flight by asking to be segregated from women.

On the eve of the Jewish festival Rosh Hashana in October, a flight, also between New York and Tel Aviv, was delayed by an hour after a group of Haredim refused to sit next to women.

In this case, passengers ultimately left the plane before take-off.

A month earlier in September an El Al flight descended into an “11-hour long nightmare” after a group of Haredi Jewish passengers refused to sit next to women.

Okay correct me if I am wrong here but it would seem that these Jewish men knew that there was a good chance that they would meet members of the opposite sex while traveling on a commercial airline. In fact they bought their tickets in advance. I do not know if they made any effort when booking their flight to make the airline aware of their special needs. I contend that it is up to these men to make advance arrangements to accommodate their specific unique needs and not force the entire traveling public to have to adjust their lives to accommodate these men.

The airline is not responsible for special accommodations if they are not made aware of them in advance.

“Although everyone had tickets with seat numbers that they purchased in advance, they asked us to trade seats with them, and even offered to pay money, since they cannot sit next to a woman. It was obvious that the plane won’t take off as long as they’re standing in the aisles.”

These men could have bought seats next to each other or at the very least requested that they not be seated next to a female passenger when they purchased their tickets. Now I am all for following your beliefs and standing up for what you believe but I have a hard time understanding how riding in a plane with female passengers is okay as long as you do not sit next to one. Or what about being waited on by female flight attendants, doesn’t that violate your strongly held religious beliefs?

Are their beliefs a bit extreme, perhaps, but again I want to repeat it is not the responsibility of the public to accommodate the specific beliefs of these men when they are utilizing public transportation. If they did not wish to encounter any female passengers they could have chartered a private flight.

Whether it is the homosexual groups demanding that businesses accommodate their specific beliefs or the Ultra-Orthodox Jewish sect demanding the public accommodate them, or the Muslim groups who demand special privileges in public places or special consideration in the military, these groups are not walking in love toward their neighbor because they insist on having their way without any consideration for the needs or accommodations of others.

4Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. http://biblehub.com/nlt/1_corinthians/13.htm

We live in a culture of entitlements and of people more interested in protecting their own interests than in working out solutions to difficult situations. This kind of attitude paralyzes governments, polarize relationships and destroys families, and the civil society. If my part of a conversation or a relationship is focused on what I get out of it or on protecting my rights, it is not a relationship that I can call agape (love). This is not loving our neighbors as ourselves. This is certainly not the intent of the golden rule to treat others as you would have them treat you. The motto today seems to be to browbeat others into treating you like you want to be treated. All this is disguised in the robe of tolerance, and equality. This behavior is neither tolerate nor equal and at its core it is not very civil.

The civil society is under assault in America and it all hinges on whether we believe the golden rule or not. America is one of the most tolerate and civil societies on the planet and yet there are those malcontents who insist on tearing at the very fabric of our civil society, the respect of human life. This respect for all life was codified in our society by both the Declaration of Independence and our Constitution. These manuscripts reflect the founders belief in a divine authority and that the ‘rule of law’ should be the guiding principles of our society. And that law was based on the Mosaic Decalogue which includes the ‘Golden Rule.’

That’s the way I see it. What say you?

Apocalyptic Carols reblog from THE CHRISTIAN PUNDIT

December 30, 2014December 29, 2014Allen Frederick Leave a comment

I had just finished an article on why we should be celebrating the return of Jesus during our Christmas celebrations and then I ran across this post at another blog and thought it fit quite nicely with my dissertation.

There was a time in the not so distant past where Saints of old would remember that the coming of Jesus during the first Advent was proof that he would return a second time to usher in the Millennial reign of the Lord and King. In fact some of the old familiar carols alluded to this truism and it was the author’s intent to remind the church of Jesus’ true purpose in the fulfillment of scriptures.

Many of these verses have long been discarded since they are not as popular as some of the other verses of these hymns but none-the-less they were included in the original scores.

Apocalyptic Carols « THE CHRISTIAN PUNDIT.

What do Christmas carols make you think of? Luke 2? Manger scenes? Candle-lit Christmas Eve services? Turkey dinners with family? That’s what they do for most people. Few of us think, “Oh, Christmas carols = the sky being peeled back and saints being caught up in the clouds.”

It is true that the nativity is the main theme of carols. Several carols also point to Calvary: “Then let us all with one accord/ Sing praises to our heavenly Lord/ That hath made heaven and earth of nought,/ And with his blood mankind hath bought” (“The First Nowell”).

But some of the best-known carols refer to the second coming. They tell us that Jesus was “born to raise the sons of earth,” so that Christians “need not fear the grave: Peace! Peace!/ Jesus Christ was born to save!/ Calls you one and calls you all, to gain His everlasting hall.” Because of Jesus’ incarnation and crucifixion, “He rules the world/ With truth and grace,” and comes to “open wide our heav’nly home;/ Make safe the way that leads on high,/ And close the path to misery.” One day, “Saints before the altar bending/Watching long in hope and fear/ Suddenly, the Lord descending, in His temple shall appear.”

The first coming—Christmas—was tangible, crucial proof that God was keeping His promises to His people. The first coming—the incarnation—was evidence that God was executing His plan of salvation. But it was the first: we have been promised a second. Christmas should not only remind us of what did happen, incredible as it is. It should also remind us that because of what did happen, we can look forward to what will happen. The second coming will finish the work that the first coming established. A good Christmas carol will remind us that looking back is only spiritually useful if it spurs us on and points us forward to the day when Jesus will again come to earth incarnate. Then the plan of salvation will be complete. The glory that Christ’s birth began will be consummated when He comes again, with glory:

“Not in that poor lowly stable,
With the oxen standing by,
We shall see Him; but in heaven,
Set at God’s right hand on high;
Where like stars His children crowned
All in white shall wait around.”

What if instead of Santa Claus you got a visit from Jesus Christ?

December 28, 2014December 29, 2014Allen Frederick 1 Comment

Source: victorpicarra.files.wordpress.com

Here is is a thought to ponder as you end 2014 and make plans and preparations for 2015. Now that Christmas is behind us now maybe a good time to ask this very important question.

We say December 25th is the day we celebrate Jesus’ birth, okay what day do we set aside to celebrate his SOON RETURN?

What instead of spending so much time and energy making preparations for the jolly fat man, who is never going to come because newsflash he is not real, we put the same amount of energy and preparation into a imminent return of the Lord Jesus Christ?

Nary a thought is given to a returning King but we sure do spend a great deal of time preparing for the arrival of Santa Claus.

Isn’t something out of kilter here? Shouldn’t the Christian church be focusing people’s attention on the upcoming arrival of King Jesus? Isn’t that what Advent is supposed to be preparing hearts and minds for? Isn’t the coming of a Messiah the reason for Christmas?

He has already been born, he has been crucified, he was buried, he arose from the dead and ascended into heaven, his next big move will be to return to gather together all his believers. Since no one knows the date or time of his upcoming arrival it really would behoove us to be ready and waiting by the door when he comes to call don’t you think?

Many call this generation the Millennials and perhaps they are for this may be the generation that ushers in the millennial reign of Jesus Christ. What are we doing to prepare the Millennial generation for the millennial reign of Christ? Was there any talk around the Christmas tree of Jesus’ second coming? Or were we too busy opening presents and talking about all the stuff we got? You do know that you will not be able to take any of it with you.

The greatest gift ever given to man was when God gave us his own son to die in our place. There is not a gift under heaven that can compare to that great gift of God. Nor is there anything under heave that is able to keep you from the wrath of God that is going to come to this earth. Therefore the gift God gave us is the only thing that we can take with us and will protect us from the coming wrath, everything else is worthless by comparison.

Since we do not know when Christ will return we only know that his return is guaranteed shouldn’t we be working hard to make preparations for his return? Just saying.

That is the way I see it, what say you?

See on Scoop.it – Eagle Views

Apocalyptic Carols: Singing About the Lord’s Return in popular Christmas Carols

Do Not Deceive Yourself

November 17, 2014Allen Frederick Leave a comment

This was worth reposting from The Berean

	(14) Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity. (15) But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience. Luke 8:14-15

Growth requires an honest and noble heart. We deceive ourselves through rationalizations and justifications, allowing our appetites to overwhelm what we know is true. Sin engulfs the mind with a cloud of alibis and cover-ups to hide from ourselves the wrongness of what we do. Sin promotes twisting and distorting of truth. We reason, “This isn’t so bad”; “I’ll do it just one more time”; “I’m too weak. God will just have to take me as I am”; “God will just have to do it for me.” We have all reasoned ourselves into transgressing.

Have we been deceived into thinking of sin only in the sense of breaking one of the Ten Commandments? While sin is the transgression of the law (I John 3:4), its biblical usage is much broader. When we fail to think of sin in its broader sense, we stumble into a trap. It is far better to think of sin as falling short of the glory of God. The central concept of sin is failure—failure to live up to a standard, God Himself. The glory of God includes His attitudes, intents, and His very thinking processes, all of which produce the way He lives. For us to fall short in any of these areas is missing the mark—sin.

We are deceived, lured into actually transgressing, through neglect, carelessness, laziness, irresponsibility, ignorance, bull-headedness, fear, shortsightedness, and ingratitude for forgiveness and the awesome potential that God has freely and graciously handed to us on a golden platter of grace. We are detoured from progress to holiness and are enticed into sin by failing to see God and by not considering seriously the subtle influences on the fringes of actual transgression of the law. At the foundation of both spiritual and physical health is how we think and what we think about.

James 1:13-16 confirms this:

Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.

The way to stop sin, as well as to improve health, is to change our thinking. Between what God does and what we should do, we can do it. This is real conversion!

— John W. Ritenbaugh

If You Love God, the World is Going to Hate You

November 10, 2014November 10, 2014Allen Frederick Leave a comment

“… Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God” (James 4:4, ESV).

This week in Pakistan, a pregnant Christian mother of four and her husband, falsely accused of burning pages of the Koran, were beaten by a Muslim mob and thrown into a kiln, a fiery oven at a brick factory, where they were roasted alive.

Over 200 Christian girls in Nigeria were captured by Boko Haram. “I abducted your girls, said its leader, Abubakar Shekau in May; “By Allah I will sell them in the marketplace” as slaves.

Pastor Saeed Abedini, an American, is still being held in prison in Iran for apostasy and practicing his Christian faith. Source

The current trend in society today is for everyone to get along. The tag-line is tolerance. Except when it comes to morality and societal norms than tolerance becomes lost in the rhetoric and vitriol.

No one likes to be told what to do, and yet that is exactly what is happening in our society. A few people are telling everyone else how they are to behave and act. They are pushing their views of morality upon the masses, and refuse to show any tolerance to those who might not hold to their moral standards. These preachers of hate stand in the city square and pontificate loudly and forcibly their viewpoints and even threaten dissenters with legal action. They are all for freedom of speech and assembly as long as those who are speaking are using the approved talking points and are gathered in support of the ‘cause’. There is no room for opposing viewpoints.

If anyone does happen to offer an opposing viewpoint or even question the legitimacy of the issue they are shouted down, or worse yet browbeaten into submission.

Who are these militant purveyors of hate? If you said right-wing conservative Christians you would be 180 degrees out of step with the real world. The true haters are all those who hate God. They call themselves progressive, liberal, or free-thinkers. They portray themselves are ‘enlightened’ and educated, while portraying their adversaries as ignorant, unenlightened, and regressive. They only wish to hear one side of an argument, and that has to agree with their viewpoint.

Real enlightened individuals espouse multiple viewpoints, and ponder all differences of opinions, and weigh all options before forming a defining position on any issue. The ones who militantly vocalize only one viewpoint are not open-minded at all but are rather close-minded and dogmatic. They show no tolerance or mercy. They are hateful, vindictive, and vile ideologues.

They do however have one thing in common, they have a uniform dislike for anything that resembles God or godliness. They hate the sound of Jesus’ name, and run with their ears stopped when scripture is read out loud. They bash Christianity and decency at every opportunity. They are lawless, abusive, selfish, slanderous, ungrateful, unthankful, disrespectful, loud, obnoxious, unforgiving, proud, abusive, greedy, brutal, lack any self-control, are conceited, and boastful. They rejoice in wrongdoing, and actually encourage others to take part in their destructive behavior as if to be promoting a worthwhile cause.

Those who espouse Christian principles and a Godly worldview, attempt to live at peace with all men. They are loving and kind, generous, forgiving, merciful, law-abiding, honest, truthful, and humble. And because they love Jesus Christ and have faith in the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, they are hated by the world, just like Jesus was.

2 Timothy 3:2-4 (NIV)
² People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, ³ without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, ⁴ treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God–

We have been warned that this day would come. There will be those who will pretend to be godly and even use scripture to support their perversions, and the bible tells us to have nothing to do with them. Do not imitate their ways, do not even engage them in their folly, simply have nothing to do with them. Let them go and do what they are going to do, because in the end they will receive the rewards their folly deserve, for they have rejected the wisdom of their elders, and have forsaken the sure paths to walk in crooked paths. They have built their lives on the shifting sand of moral relativism and as a result what they are building will crumble and fall. It is inevitable and their destruction is sure.

As for your my brothers and sisters in Christ:

Matthew 5:11-12 (BBE)
¹¹ Happy are you when men give you a bad name, and are cruel to you, and say all evil things against you falsely, because of me. ¹² Be glad and full of joy; for great is your reward in heaven: for so were the prophets attacked who were before you.

And that is the way I see it. What say you?