Silly Talk

To Whom Does The City of Christchurch Belong?

We are all aware that our present education systems manage to produce surprisingly little knowledge in the hearts and minds of students.  This has been going on for decades.  It can now be said to be multi-generational. 

When it comes to religions, their doctrine and history, the picture darkens even further because our society is profoundly secular, denying all religions (except secularism). 

Here is an example.  Kiwiblog author, David Farrar identifies as a Jew.  He recently heaped sarcasm upon a Christian because he deemed him to be, for want of a better word, ignorant.  The particular target was a minister, who was written up in a newspaper thus:

Members of Destiny Church affiliated groups have met opposite the Al Noor Masjid to proclaim Christchurch a Christian city.   Destiny Church Christchurch senior pastor Derek Marina Tait said the affiliated groups, Man Up and Legacy, opposed the national broadcast of the first Muslim call to prayer by the mosque following the March 15 terror attack.  “The purpose was to stand out in the open and to declare that Christchurch and New Zealand belongs to Jesus Christ who is the one true god.” [Stuff]

Mr Farrar sarcastically commented thus:

Oh eff off. Christchurch doesn’t belong to Brian Tamaki or any God.

Clearly Christchurch does not belong to any man--at least we are not aware of any totalitarian laying claim to ownership of Christchurch.  Brian Tamaki included.  But when it comes to God, not so fast.

There is an ancient religion which in its tanakh declares the following:

The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof,
    the world and those who dwell therein,
for he has founded it upon the seas
    and established it upon the rivers. (Psalm 24:1). 

So we say to Mr Farrar on this matter: au contraire.  The holy book of your own religion declares that Christchurch, along with the whole world and all who dwell in it, belongs to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. 

Religion and Violence

Cheap Propaganda

One never ceases to chuckle at the nonsense spouted about "religion" by the allegedly irreligious, or by those who should know better.  Here is a classic of the genre:

It is somewhat trite, but nevertheless sadly true, to say that more wars have been waged, more people killed, and these days more evil perpetrated in the name of religion than by any other institutional force in human history.  [Charles Kimball, When Religion Becomes Evil (San Francisco: HarperOne, 2002),  p.1.]

Ah, yes.  Trite indeed.  Why not make the following claim--equally true, and meaningless: "more wars have been waged under the influence of breathing than any other force in history"?  As Christians, we should never fall into the trap of such lazy, foolish generalisations.  Coincidence does not mean causality, as any student of Logic 101 would insist.  Kimball, being a professing Christian, should know better.

The Scriptures declare that all men are religious, and act with religious motivation of one kind or another.  It is the fool who says in his heart that there is no God  [Psalm 14:1; Psalm 53:1].  Moreover, every single human being knows the true God, according to Romans 1:21:

For although they knew God, they did not honour him as God or give thanks to him, but they [mankind] became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

The key issue is not whether a man is religiously motivated, or not--since all are to one extent or another--but what the particular doctrines and precepts are which that man's religion teaches.   Stalin, for example, was an intensely religious man.

A Typical Profession of Faith of Our Age

An Apple Not Fallen Far From The Tree

In one of our local blogs, a contributor has taken it upon himself to profess his faith: he is an atheist and he wants all people to share his faith.  

Normally, we would pass this sort of thing by, but his contribution is worth thinking about if for no other reason than he represents the mindset, or we may say "blindset" that characterises so much Unbelief.  Here is a chap who confidently asserts what he believes, but without a skerrick self-awareness.

Here is his profession:

I’m a little worried about God.

Not only does God not exist, the reasons for needing him to exist are fast fading. The human race is approaching the end of its adolescent years and is heading for maturity. We have the ability to control our world. Only a couple of centuries ago, control was local, regional and for some European nations, pan continental. But now we all think in global terms.

Climate change is evidence of our race’s planet wide ability to get things wrong. But most of us believe we have the capacity to end global warming, though the willpower is still lacking. We aren’t waiting for God to step in, as once would have been the case.  [Your NZ]

The lack of self-awareness shows up in not realising that he has just made some statements that are thoroughly and profoundly religious.  This is not at all untypical. It is also getting close to the first signs of sociopathy.

All Religions Are the Same--Or Not

Do Jews, Christians, and Muslims Believe in the Same God?


Dennis Prager
National Review Online

Most Americans say they believe in God. And around the world, religious Jews, Christians, and Muslims all say they believe in God, as do many people who do not identify with any formal religion.

But this statement is actually meaningless. To cite but one example, the God in whose name Muslims cut innocent people’s throats and rape women cannot be the same God as the God of those who believe that God hates such actions.

Who, then, argues that all those who say they believe in God believe in the same God?

Two groups make this argument. The first consists of people who have an anti-religious agenda; in order to discredit God and religion, they say that all believers believe in the same God. The second group consists of people who have an “inclusion” agenda and wish to depict Muslims as believing in the same God that Jews and Christians do. (And some Muslims do indeed believe in the same God as Jews and Christians — see below.)

So, then, how are we to know whether any two people who say they believe in God in fact do?