Wednesday, April 22, 2009

What to do?

I just noticed on a forum I used to frequent, that this got posted a few days ago.

Message Board Mission Statement

There are the simple goals that the board wishes to achieve:

• Providing a forum for Christians to gather under one fellowship.
• Strengthening believers in evangelism, discipleship, and edification for personal growth.
• Promoting awareness within the Christian community of current world events; predicted in scripture; of Bible prophecy
• Providing news & websites voicing politics from a Christian perspective.
• Providing websites & discussions exposing deceptive cults, apostasy, heresy, false doctrine, and false teachings.
Nice, right? There is also an extensive post on "Dishonesty" by one of the "super" mods which goes into all the "bad" things people with emphasis on the poor, long suffering mods. Well, having been a "poor, long suffering mod" myself on another (and larger) group of forums, I can understand that part. I always considered it part of the job I had volunteered to do for the community. The last "bump" of this post had an interesting comment:
...we have enough work to do with trolls, but it really hurts my heart when fellow brothers and sisters in Christ sign up in order to cause division on the forum or make the board look unChristian or mean spirited. Very un-Christ like, I think your spirits need to be checked and look at the big picture, not just your personal vendettas. What you do in secret, shows your real character...sadly there are many trees showing rotten fruit, and for what? Think on that.
The problem comes when my "title" is "Shunned One", because despite my being open, I was allowed to be stalked, harassed and vilified by another user with the full and complete cooperation of certain members of the mod team. My "sin" that led me being shunned? I spoke against the use of lies in any "defense" of the Gospel, I showed several "good Christian" posters that they were holding heretical positions and (most important) I showed that several of the members of the mod team were also holding heretical positions. In fact, these mod team members with their statements, covering for violations of forum rules and altering of threads (justified by my "sin" of being a Freemason who happens to do Christian apologetics and able to prove their foolishness) are causing the divisions.

Oh, and I cannot be accused of joining to cause divisions, I was a member before some of these mods (long before) and the "problem" started when I simply corrected some factual errors in an accusation.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

"... according to the Light they have received."

And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. (John 3:19-21)

The concept that everyone can be saved as long as they follow the "light" they have received is both true and a heresy. Huh? How can that be? If this is used to justify salvation of nonChristians who have heard the Gospel, then it is a heresy. The only possible "out" in Scripture would be for a pagan (not a Jew before Christ) to follow Truth before he knew it.

(For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;) (Romans 2:13-15)

After they have heard the Gospel, then "doing the right thing" in ignorance won't cut it anymore. Note that this does NOT deny Christ as the only Way to the Father, let us look at the definitive passage on that:

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. (John 14:6)

Very clear cut there, right? I think so.

He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. (John 14:21)

Aha, this resolves it, because if there is some "man on an island" who has never heard the Gospel, but responds in accord with God's Will will be one that Christ loves and He "will manifest myself to him."

Everyone receives the Light of God (see Romans 1:20) in their life, but it isn't the basis for salvation. Only when we turn towards that light and follow it can we become His children. We won't be judged on how much light God gives us, but by how we turn towards His light we have and follow it. Remember that when someone tells you that all religion is simply different ways to worship God, all light in this sense will lead back to Jesus. If they are going somewhere else in their beliefs, then they are denying Christ and accepting universalism.

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Dealing with the VA

What is it with government employees in general and the VA in particular? Here I sit stressing in the middle of the night, because after years of work, gathering documentation, trudging up the line of appeals, seeing quacks who write junk and lies that have to be rebutted and finally getting it before a VA judge who makes a ruling raising my rating to the maximum amount allowable by law, the VA decides to send me a letter saying that they want to reduce my rating back to where it was.

The crux of this rant, since I'm not really that stressed yet. Why is it that I can get a letter from the VA that will at a minimum eat up two days of my life, potentially can stress my entire family out seriously and (knowing my wife) is already working on her nerves since she still isn't quite sure on this "be still" stuff and there is no penalty or recourse on the VA (or other government) employee?

However if I shake my finger in their face (let alone give them the arse kicking that their lack of ability to reason their way out of a paper bag truly deserves) then I am issuing a terroristic threat and can be banned from VA facilities?

Oh, because they are "doing their job" and need to be "free from fear"? "Doing my job" is the defense of all incompetents that are doing something wrong. Of course, if they simply did their jobs in accordance with regulations and with PROPER and FULL review of case records (in my case, this actually means some summaries of the issues in my records, so they don't have to dig that far back), then they could live "free from fear".

Amazing, isn't it?! If government employees would actually do their jobs then they could be free from fear! Of course, if they use the excuse to mess with peoples' lives, thereby triggering problems, then I guess they should be afraid. If I were them, I'd be afraid of low stress guys, especially when they make them useless for any valid function in their family.