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China believes that Christianity is responsible for much of the historic success of Western Europe and the United States, said Dr. William Jeynes, senior fellow of The Witherspoon Institute in Princeton, N.J., during a presentation at the Family Research Council on Tuesday.
But while the Chinese government is open to Christianity, it also “wants to control Christianity.” Those in authority are very much aware of the Church’s role in bringing down the Berlin Wall and advancing democracy in the Soviet bloc.
“So they want Christianity for the benefits but they want to control it, and that is the balance they are trying to achieve.”
As a recent article in the Christian Post indicates China sees the benefits Christianity brought to the Western world. And since they wish to overtake America as the number one economic powerhouse they want to attempt to harness the benefits of Christianity while at the same time control its influence on the population. On the flip side policy makers and anti-Christian special interests groups in America are doing everything they can to end any Christian influence from our society. I guess you really do not know what you have until you loose it. Since China’s population has been oppressed for so long the light of the Gospel of Christ shines very brightly through the dim light of communism. However in America which once was a shining city on a hill, the light of God’s blessing is quickly being extinguished by those who liken themselves as progressives.
The contrast between a regressive society realizing the blessings we as a nation seem to take for granted is striking and should make us pause long enough to once again gain the courage to stand up for what made America great. American exceptionalism is based solidly on the foundation of the Christian faith.
China sees it do you?
And that is this week’s tail feather. Think about it!
(BBE) Along for the journey
Oh I know today is not really Saint Patrick’s day but indulge me for a wee bit and you will see why I say today really is Saint Patrick’s day.
Patrick was one of Christianity’s first outspoken opponents of slavery. 1
Patrick lived after Christianity became mainstream in the Roman Empire. He was born sometime around AD 386 in Britain and died around 460 in Ireland.2 His grandfather was a priest, and his father was a Roman official who was also a deacon in the Roman church. Patrick left two documents: his Confession and Letter to Coroticus.
Patrick’s Letter to Coroticus described converts taken into slavery, with the sign of the cross still fresh on their foreheads. Patrick pleaded for their safe return. He begged Britain’s Christian leadership for help, but his pleas fell on deaf ears. Patrick’s decision to identify himself with the Irish, a culture outside of Roman Christianity, diminished his ability to influence the church in Britain.3
Patrick was especially concerned about how Christian women suffered in slavery. Cahill quotes Patrick as saying:
“But it is the women kept in slavery who suffer the most — and who keep their spirits up despite the menacing and terrorizing they must endure. The Lord gives grace to his handmaids; and though they are forbidden to do so, they follow him with backbone.” 4
His outcries against slavery were eventually successful. During Patrick’s lifetime (or shortly after), the slave trade in Ireland stopped.
Human trafficking is today’s equivalent to slavery. Women and children are held against their will and forced to work for their masters. Some sources suggest that 100,000 minors suffer as sex-slaves within the U.S. borders alone, and even more shocking, 100 million people in India are sex-slaves. Of India’s prostitute population, 40% are children. 5
St. Patrick’s Letter pleaded for such as these:
“Hence the Church mourns and laments her sons and daughters whom the sword has not yet slain, but who were removed and carried off to faraway lands, where sin abounds openly, grossly, impudently. There people who were freeborn have, been sold, Christians made slaves, and that, too, in the service of the abominable, wicked, and apostate [unbelievers].” 6
WHERE IS ST. PATRICK TODAY?
Today’s Saint Patrick are people who (a) love God deeply and are able to discern His calling, (b) are able to teach deep truths by illustrations from common experience, (c) prove their faith through a genuine love for people, advocating the cause of those who cannot defend themselves; often this advocacy is motivated by personal experience, and (d) have a deep and personal prayer life.
Patrick’s life was full of obstacles for those who would want to become leaders in a local church much like today: he lacked education and experienced a terrifying adolescence. Those experiences prepared him to be able to reach out to those who are also outcast by the established church. Patrick’s lack of formal education made him a practical theologian, but a theologian none-the-less. Imagine if God only used the seminary trained to reach the lost? Perhaps that is why the populations of the lost continues to grow rapidly while the population of the church continues to decline?
Today is Saint Patrick’s day, a day for all those who have dedicated their lives to God, who may be overlooked by the church, and perhaps considered by some to be uneducated, to arise and go forth like Saint Patrick of Ireland. There is still much work to be done in the world. Make today and everyday Saint Patrick’s day.
Just a view from the nest
(BBE)Along for the journey
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1) Prayer is not a "spare wheel" that you pull out when in trouble. It is a "steering wheel" that directs us in the right path throughout life.
2) Do you know why a car’s windshield is so large and the rear view mirror is so small? Because our past is not as important as our future. So, look ahead and move on.
3) Friendship is like a book. It takes few seconds to burn, but it takes years to write.
4) All things in life are temporary. If going well, enjoy it; it may not last forever. If going wrong, don’t worry; it may not last long either.
5) Old friends are like gold! New friends are diamonds! If you get a diamond, don’t forget the gold! Because to hold a diamond, you always need a base of gold!
6) Often when we lose hope and think this is the end, God smiles and says, "Relax, it’s just a bend, not the end!"
7) When God solves your problems, you have faith in His abilities; when God doesn’t solve your problems, He has faith in your abilities.
8) A blind person asked St. Anthony : "Can there be anything worse than losing eye sight ?" He replied: "Yes, losing your vision."
9) When you pray for others, God listens to you and blesses them; and sometimes, when you are safe and happy, remember that someone has prayed for you.
10) Worrying does not take away tomorrow’s troubles. It takes away today’s peace.
–author unknown
"...that where I am you may be also." Jn.14:3
Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. (Matthew 6:33)
Daily Bible verse plus a picture of God's creation following Wayne Cordeiro's "The Divine Mentor" format.
"Come and hear, all you who fear God. Let me tell you what he has done for me." - Psalm 66:16
Daily Thoughts and Meditations as we journey together with our Lord.
Sermons and Devotions
Random Ramblings from the Resident Raptor
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