Article: Obama skips church, heads to gym

E-Harmony is being forced by the courts to offer services for same-sex couples.  As a nation, we are so inundated with lawsuits that no one is safe from being sued by people who want to force their intentions on other people.  It is sad truth that in our nation we are unable to build a business according to our own conscience.  What is next?  The church?  This is an example of the steady rejection of free speech within our nation.

The fact that the California Court has agreed to hear arguments against the California Voter Approved Definition of Marriage is very troubling.  It is the few trying to force their views on the many through the court system.  Opponents of California's Proposition 8 say the law is discriminatory.  I don't get that argument.


No person is singled out and denied any right that is given to another person.  How is that unfair discrimination?

From http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/discrimination

2. treatment or consideration of, or making a distinction in favor of or against, a person or thing based on the group, class, or category to which that person or thing belongs rather than on individual merit: racial and religious intolerance and discrimination.
3. the power of making fine distinctions; discriminating judgment: She chose the colors with great discrimination.

From the 1828 Websters dictionary:
Discrimination-

1. The act of distinguishing; the act of making or observing a difference; distinction; as the discrimination between right and wrong.
2. The state of being distinguished.
3. Mark of distinction.

I received this story recently and thought it was a humorous way to understand our tax system.

Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.

So, that's what they decided to do. The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve.

"Since you are all such good customers", he said, "I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20". Drinks for the ten now cost just $80. The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men - the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his "fair share?"

They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.

And so:

Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.

"I only got a dollar out of the $20," declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man, "but he got $10!"

"Yeah, that's right," exclaimed the fifth man. "I only saved a dollar, too. It's unfair that he got ten times more than I!"

"That's true!!" shouted the seventh man. "Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!"

"Wait a minute," yelled the first four men in unison. "We didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!"

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.

The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill! And that, boys and girls, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.

This article portrays Obama's faith commitments in a fair way. Clearly he calls himself a Christian (and certainly not a Muslim), though his beliefs are in conflict with confessional Christianity in a number of different points.

For example, he says that sin is "Being out of alignment with my values". This statement bothers me the most. Christians define sin as "Any lack of conformity to or transgression of the law of God." By Obama's definition Hitler was not a "sinner" since he acted in line with his values.

He doesn't mention the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He doesn't believe Jesus is the only way to heaven. These are central messages in the Christian faith.

Obviously, he is a lawyer and a politician, not a theologian. I am not asking him to be. But, as a pastor and a Christian I think it is important to know where he does stand. It helps us know a bit of how he views ultimate issues in our universe.

I am preaching on the Sheep and the Goats from Matthew 25:31-46 tomorrow  .  Working on it reminded me of Keith Green's rendition of the verse.  Gotta love the 70's afro.

Disappointed about the election?  Wondering what evangelicals think about it? In this article, Albert Mohler offers some absolutely essential perspective to those of us who are concerned about that serious moral issues that seem to have taken a major setback.

How should we now respond to Barack Obama? Should we give up on our quest for the protection of the weakest among us? Mohler answers those questions and a few more. It is an excellent evangelical response to the election results.

Charles Spurgeon -

I hear some people speak against self-righteousness, to whom I would say, “You need not say much about that matter, for it does not concern you, since you have no righteousness to be proud of.” I hear persons speak against salvation by good works who are in no danger of falling into that error, since good works and their lives have long parted company.

What I do admire is to see a man like Paul, who lived for Jesus, and was ready to die for him, yet saying at the close of his life, “But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.  Yea, doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of time knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.”

Go on, brothers, and think not of resting till your day’s work is done. Serve God with all your might. Do more than the Pharisees, who hope to be saved by their zeal. Do more than your brethren expect of you, and then, when you have done all, lay it at your Redeemer’s feet with this confession, “I am an unprofitable servant.” It is to those who blend faithfulness with humility and ardor with self-abasement that Jesus will say, “Well done, good and faithful servant: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.”

The Free-Lance Star (the regional paper of the Fredericksburg area) published an article I wrote on faith and voting.  The article is in the November 1 Region section.

It is available on line.

The French National Archives released a video of John McCain in a hospital as a POW back in Vietnam in 1968.  An interesting bit of history for us.