Author: Texas Gospel

U.S. strengthens hate crimes laws to protect churches and religious institutions

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church damage

U.S. President Donald Trump this month signed a bill into law increasing punishments for criminals who target churches or religiously affiliated organizations. The bill was introduced in response to a growing number of vandalism, bomb threats and other attacks on religious freedom in the U.S.

Existing U.S. law protects abortion clinics and other facilities frequently target by vandals.  The new law expands similar protections for churches. According to a news release from the White House, The Protecting Religiously Affiliated Institutions Act of 2018 criminalizes the intentional obstruction of any person’s free exercise of religious beliefs by threat of force against religious real property. It increases the penalty to three years in prison and up to a $5,000 fine for threats that lead to damage. Those offenses were misdemeanors with a maximum one year in jail before the bill was signed.

 

God – or personal preference?

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morality

Is it true that Christians would be immoral without the Bible?

One atheist put it this way, “I’m terrified by theists who would be murders and rapists if they didn’t believe in their sky-daddy’s eternal torture dungeon.”

If you look past his obvious loaded language, his retort demonstrates either confusion over what it means to have a moral standard, or at best, a deflection of the idea that non-believers’ morality is nothing more than a matter of preference.

The Bible gives Christians a standard by which one may justify calling something good or bad.  If the Bible is of God, then its pages give us justification to call something moral or immoral.  But, playing devil’s advocate, if the Bible is not from God, then Christians and Atheists alike have only personal preference as morality, and that’s the point.  There is no true morality without God, only preference.

When a non-believer asks why Christians need the Bible to know that murder is wrong, they presuppose that we wouldn’t know without having a belief in God.  I don’t know any Christian who believes that. Romans tells us God’s law is written on our heart. This gives Christians reason to believe that everyone, atheist and Christians, know it is wrong even without having read a single sentence of any book of the Bible.  But by what standard does one use to justify it?  God – or personal preference?  Are these not the only two options?

 

 

 

A walk in the moonlight

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moon

Have you ever heard someone claim that the Bible says something specific, when in reality, they were projecting something they wanted to prove onto the scripture? To be clear, I’m talking about those who want to prove a point, and to that end they ascribe an  erroneous meaning to the scripture that backs their claim.

I was told of a non-believer who cited Genesis 1:16 as “proof” that the Bible is anti-science.  The author that was cited claimed the Bible tells us the moon creates light rather than reflecting it.  The scripture he referenced says, “God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night.”

I don’t know how anyone could interpret Genesis 1:16 the same way as this non-believer. This scripture doesn’t speak at all to what is generating the light, it simply refers to the moon as a light, something we often do today.  If someone told you they took a walk in the moonlight, would you assume this proves the person taking the stroll has no idea the moon is reflecting the sun?

There must be a reason some are so eager to find a problem with the scripture that they result to non-sense arguments like this.  While some are intentionally misquoting the scripture to win an argument, I believe others are fulfilling  2 Corinthians 4:4 which tells us, “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”

What are your thoughts?

Congregation forgives, mentors teens who vandalized church – Other items of interest

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Tennessee pastor mentors to teens who vandalized church

Instead of getting angry, Walnut Grove Missionary Baptist Church is choosing forgiveness and inviting the boys into the very doors that they vandalized. More from WSMV.

 

Wilton church damaged when banner set ablaze

A state fire investigator said Tuesday that someone set fire to a 200th anniversary banner strung across the front of the First Congregational Church on Main Street on Monday night.  More from the Sun Journal.

 

Atheist group sues Arkansas lawmaker over social media blocks

American Atheists have sued Republican Sen. Jason Rapert in federal court for his practice of blocking critics from his Facebook and Twitter accounts.

Students bring Bibles to school

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Liberty Counsel news release:

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO — More than half a million students from across the United States will participate in the fifth annual Bring Your Bible to School movement on Thursday, October 4, 2018.

Though the First Amendment guarantees students the right to discuss their beliefs and read the Bible at school, Bring Your Bible to School day provides a unified opportunity for young people to share their faith at school without fear.

Throughout the day, students can share their experiences on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using the hashtag #BringYourBible.

The Constitution allows students the religious freedom to bring their Bibles or other religious books to school and read them during free time. Students can even use the Bible in a class assignment if they do so in a way that is relevant to the subject matter and meets the requirements of the assignment. Students can voluntarily express their personal and religious beliefs to their classmates through verbal or written expressions if they follow school policy and do not engage in these activities during classroom or instruction time. The First Amendment also guarantees students the right to pray individually or in groups on school grounds during any non-instructional time. All students may express their opinions verbally or in writing before or after school, in between classes, during the lunch hour or on the playing field, according to the federal guidelines on prayer in public schools found on Liberty Counsel’s website.

“Liberty Counsel supports all students who exercise their constitutional right to bring their Bibles to school on Bring Your Bible to School day and throughout the academic year,” said Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel. “Schools must remain neutral towards any expression of a religious viewpoint and provide equal access to students exercising their right to freedom of speech by praying or reading the Bible during non-instructional time,” said Staver.