segunda-feira, 30 de abril de 2012

THE ANTICHRIST FASCINATION


By Kenneth L. Gentry Jr
Perhaps more than any other evil figure in Scripture, Christians most fear the Antichrist. After all, “in premillennial eschatology the final world ruler who opposes God and his Christ (particularly in relation to his deity), oppresses God’s elect (especially the Jewish people), and seeks to usurp the place of divine worship through desecration of the holy (especially Jerusalem and its temple) is known as the Antichrist.”[1]
Many dispensationalists believe he is alive today. In an interview in Eternity magazine in 1977 Hal Lindsey responds to a question regarding the Antichrist: “In my personal opinion, he’s alive somewhere now.”
This reminds us of Tertullian’s statement 1700 years ago that Antichrist “is now close at hand.” One poorly timed 1988 book was Gorbachev: Has the Real Antichrist Come? Best-selling author Dave Hunt writes that there “is strong evidence indeed that the Antichrist could appear very soon  — which means that the rapture may be imminent.”[2] He is convinced that “somewhere, at this very moment, on planet Earth, the Antichrist is almost certainly alive.”[3] Mark Hitchcock’s 2002 book asks: Is the Antichrist Alive Today? He titles chapter 8: “Antichrist is Alive and Well.”
The dispensational Popular Encyclopedia of Bible Prophecy even includes a heading: “Is the Antichrist Alive Today?” In so doing it struggles to correct fellow dispensationalists who “tragically” are “guessing dates and selecting possibilities for the Antichrist.”
Of course, this sort of belief has for generations been the tendency among dispensationalists, who constantly point out numerous possible Antichrist candidates.

Amillennialists are not so excitable, but they generally concur with Cornelis Venema that: “the Bible does teach that the Antichrist will appear prior to Christ’s return at the close of this present age. This Antichrist will likely be a person in whom the growing opposition to the gospel and truth of God’s Word will be concentrated.”

Ironically, the least helpful verses for developing the dispensational, premillennial, and amillennial views of the Antichrist are the only ones that expressly mention him. “Antichrist” appears only four times in all of Scripture: in 1 John 2:18, 22; 4:3; and 2 John 7. (John Walvoord in his comprehensive Prophecy Knowledge Handbook does not even mention these verses in his treatment of “Prophecy in 1, 2, and 3 Jn and the Epistle of Jude” — or anywhere else in his 800-page work.

Postmillennialism has a wholly different conception of Antichrist. The difference is: in our view we use the Bible verses that actually use the word “Antichrist.” In my next blog posting I will develop the biblical conception of Antichrist. I hope that this might be a refreshing change from one what you normally hear.





Footnotes

1. Dictionary of Premillennial Theology, p. 3
2. Dave Hunt, Global Peace, p. 5.
3. Dave Hunt, Global Peace, p. 5.

Muslim Persecution of Christians Whitewashed by Media



The Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, one of the Islamic world's highest religious authorities, declared that it is "necessary to destroy all the churches of the region."

The war on Christianity and its adherents in the Muslim world rages on. In March alone, Saudi Arabia's highest Islamic legal authority decreed that churches in the region must be destroyed; jihadis [holy warriors] in Nigeria said they "are going to put into action new efforts to strike fear into the Christians of the power of Islam by kidnapping their women"; American teachers in the Middle East were murdered for being Christian or talking about Christianity; churches were banned or bombed, and nuns terrorized by knife-wielding Muslim mobs. Christians continue to be attacked, arrested, imprisoned, and killed for allegedly "blaspheming" Islam's prophet Muhammad; former Muslims continue to be attacked, arrested, imprisoned, and killed for converting to Christianity.
The extent of this persecution is virtually unknown in the West, due to the mainstream media's well-documented biases: the mainstream media knows that if they do not ignore or at best whitewash the nonstop persecution of Christians under Islam, their narrative of Islam as the "religion of peace" would be quickly undermined. Last month alone, the New York Times ran an anti-Catholic ad, but refused to publish a nearly identical ad directed at Islam; the BBC admitted it mocks Jesus but will never mock Muhammad; and U.S. sitcoms have been exposed as bashing Christianity, but never Islam.
Categorized by theme, March's batch of Muslim persecution of Christians around the world includes, but is not limited to, the following accounts, listed in alphabetical order by country, not severity:
Apostasy, Blasphemy, and Proselytism: Death and Prison
Egypt: A Christian man accused of insulting Islam's prophet Muhammad was sentenced to six years in prison. Although under Egyptian law "defamation of religion" is a misdemeanor, punishable by a prison sentence of one month to three years, the judge doubled the sentence to appease Muslims, including an angry 2,500-strong mob that terrorized the courtroom, and demanding death for the Christian. Similarly, an "anti-Christianization course" was initiated by an organization "specializing in the resistance to Christianity," so that Muslims will not be "throw[n] under the feet of the Cross." According to an instructor, "Recurring attempts at the university in Aswan to convert Muslims to Christianity or provoke them with misleading information was the impetus behind the course."
India: A young woman was attacked and thrown out of her home "for daring to give thanks for healing in Christ's name" in a predominantly Muslim village; "her parents helped Islamic extremists to beat her nearly unconscious": In a village where "hard-line Muslims have threatened to kill the 25 families who initially showed interest in Christ, leaving only five frightened Christian families," the woman was attacked when returning from church, and called "pagan, among other verbal abuses." The mob also harassed and threatened the Christian woman who had allegedly "lured" her to convert to Christianity.
Iran: In a rare crackdown on a concentrated area, in what is seen as a tactic to discourage Muslims from attending official churches, authorities have arrested 12 more converts to Christianity living in the country's third largest city of Isfahan, Among the latest known Christian converts detained in the Isfahan area is a man who was reportedly taken into custody on March 2 while returning home from his work: "Security authorities raided his home and seized him without explanation."
Iraq: An American teacher was shot to death by an 18-year-old student at a private Christian academy. He "was a devout Christian who frequently praised Christianity and prayed in the classroom, and his friends in Washington said his evangelism is what motivated him to teach in Iraq." According to students, "Mr. Jeremiah's hands were still folded in prayer when he fell;" others say a day before the shooting [there was] "a heated discussion…during which the pupil threatened to kill the teacher because of conflicting religious views." In an interview, the father of the pupilcondemned Christian evangelists, portraying them as "more dangerous than al-Qaeda."
Malaysia: After religious police raided an event at a Methodist church over "fears that Muslims were being converted," Muslim officials created a seminar called "Strengthening the faith, the dangers of liberalism and pluralism and the threat of Christianity towards Muslims." After the title of the conference was criticized, a lawmaker said the reference to Christianity would be removed, but the seminar's content would remain unchanged: "The seminar is part of the right of Muslims to defend the faith of its practitioners from any action which may lead to apostasy. It is our responsibility," he said.
Pakistan: A Muslim mob attacked a 60-year-old Christian woman who converted to Islam, only to reconvert back to Christianity six months later: she "was tortured—her head shaved—and paraded through the streets, garlanded with shoes." Soon after, she received more threats of "dire consequences" from Islamic clerics, fleeing region with her family. Likewise, a 26-year-old Christian woman, mother to a five-month-old girl, was falsely accused of "blaspheming" Muhammad and arrested. A few days prior, some of her relatives who had converted to Islam pressed her to do the same: "She refused, telling them that she was 'satisfied with Christianity and did not want to convert,' and was arrested of blasphemy soon thereafter."
Yemen: Al-Qaeda gunmen fatally shot an American teacher. The terror network's affiliate in Yemen issued a message saying, "This operation comes as a response to the campaign of Christian proselytizing that the West has launched against Muslims," calling the teacher "one of the biggest American proselytizers." He was shot eight times on a Sunday.
Church Attacks
Bethlehem: One week after the prime minister of the Palestinian Authority [PA] told an audience of Evangelical Protestants that his government respected the rights of its Christian minorities, the PA declared a Baptist Church illegal, adding that birth, wedding, and death certificates from the church were no longer valid. A pastor noted that "animosity towards the Christian minority in areas controlled by the PA continues to get increasingly worse. People are always telling [Christians], 'Convert to Islam. Convert to Islam. It's the true and right religion.'"
Egypt: Some 1,500 Muslims—several armed with swords and knives and shouting Islamic slogans—terrorized the Notre Dame Language School in Upper Egypt, in response to false claims from local mosques that the private school was building a church: "Two nuns were besieged in the school's guesthouse for some eight hours by a murderous mob threatening to burn them alive;" one nun suffered a "major nervous breakdown requiring hospitalization… The entire property was ransacked and looted. The next day the Muslims returned and terrorized the children. Consequently, school attendance has dropped by at least one third."
Iran: The Armenian Evangelical Church in Tehran is the latest church to be ordered to cease holding Persian services on Fridays. The officers serving the notice threatened church officials, saying that "if the order is ignored, the church building will be bombed 'as happens in Iraq every day.'" As another report summarizes, "Christians and Churches in the Islamic Republic of Iran are now banned from preaching the Gospel to non-Christians, holding Persian language services, teaching and distributing the Bible, or holding Christian classes."
Iraq: Even though Kirkuk's church was recently restored after an earlier bomb attack that killed a 13-year-old Christian boy, the "reopening celebration was but a brief respite in the ongoing suffering of Iraq's Christian community, signaled by two further attacks": Another church in Baghdad was bombed, killing two guards and wounding five, and the body of a Christian was "found riddled with bullets in Mosul. He had been shot nine times at close range. The freelance photographer had been kidnapped four days earlier. Iraqi Christians are often targeted by kidnappers for ransom."
Kenya: A band of Muslims launched a grenade attack on a crowd of 150 Christians attending an outdoor church meeting, killing two and wounding more than 30. "Human-rights groups say that the Muslim attackers were hyped into action by a militant Muslim preacher holding an alternate rally only 900 feet from the Christian gathering. Further reports say that the Muslim preachers were slandering Christianity and that members of the Christian group could hear the Muslim speakers."
Nigeria: A Boko Haram suicide car bomber from the Islamist group Boko Haram [Arabic translation: "Western Education is a Sin"] attacked a Catholic church, killing at least 10 people. The bomb detonated as worshippers attended Mass at St. Finbar's Catholic Church in Jos, a city in which thousands of Christians have died in the last decade as a result of Boko Haram's jihad, and
where, less than two weeks before, another church was attacked, killing three.
Saudi Arabia: The Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, one of the Islamic world's highest religious authorities, declared that it is "necessary to destroy all the churches of the region." He made his assertion in response to a question posed by a delegation from Kuwait, where a parliament member recently called for the "removal" of churches: the delegation wanted to confirm Sharia's position on churches with the Grand Mufti, who "stressed that Kuwait was a part of the Arabian Peninsula, and therefore it is necessary to destroy all churches in it," basing his verdict on a saying (or hadith), of Muhammad.
Sudan: Sudanese aerial strikes were aimed at church buildings in some regions. Churches in the Nuba Mountains are holding worship services very early in the morning and late in the evening to avoid aerial bombardments intentionally targeting their churches. The Khartoum regime is "doing everything possible to make sure they get rid of Christianity from the Nuba Mountains—churches and church schools are the targets of both the Sudanese Armed Forces and its militias," said an aid worker.
Dhimmitude
[General Abuse, Debasement, and Suppression of non-Muslims as "Tolerated" Citizens]
Denmark: In a Muslim ghetto in Copenhagen, a refugee from Africa had his door kicked in several times and was threatened by a group of "youths" who accused him of being "both black and Christian," and who then tried to extort money from him. Police said they could not guarantee his safety; he was eventually found in tears living in the streets.
Egypt: Christian families in the Minya province are "living in terror:" Salafis threatened to kidnap any Christian girl not wearing the hijab. Parents are keeping their daughters indoors, and missing school. Similarly, a Christian boy was abducted; his kidnappers were demanding a large ransom from his family. Further, a court in Edfu sentenced the pastor of a church that was torched by Muslims to six months in prison for violating the height of the church -- which had received a license and was still under construction when it was torched by a Muslim mob in September – and he was ordered to remove the allegedly excess height.
Iran: After complaints about the display of Christmas trees and Santa Clauses in the streets of Tehran during the Christmas season, an official warned that the municipality will begin to seize such symbols: "Building facades in Tehran should be controlled by the municipality and the display of such symbols should not be allowed."
IraqChristians are running out of havens as rising security concerns and economic hardship cause them to leave the places of refuge they had found in the country's Kurdish north. The sort of attacks that initiated a mass exodus of Christians from Baghdad and Mosul are increasingly occurring in the autonomous region of Kurdistan, "which welcomed Christians and was relatively safe." A Christian who fled there from Mosul seven years ago after retrieving his son from kidnappers said it is like history "repeating itself."
Nigeria: The Islamist organization Boko Haram declared "war" on Christians, saying it aims to "annihilate the entire Christian community living in the northern parts of the country." According to a spokesman, "We will create so much effort to end the Christian presence in our push to have a proper Islamic state that the Christians won't be able to stay." Along with constant church bombings—most recently on Easter, killing nearly 50—one of the groups new strategies is "to strike fear into the Christians of the power of Islam by kidnapping their women."
Pakistan: Two Christian hospital employees were abducted by "Islamic extremists": "Such cases are on the rise, as banned Islamist groups and other criminal gangs are turning to kidnapping for ransom in order to survive and procure weapons and ammunition," said a senior investigator, adding that most Islamist groups believe that Christian NGOs are involved in evangelizing "under the guise of charity," a belief that provides Muslims with an even greater incentive to be abusive.
Sudan: Over half a million people, mostly Christian and originally from South Sudan, have been stripped of citizenship in response to the South's secession, and forced to relocate: "Sudanese Christians, who have barely a month to leave the north or risk being treated as foreigners. are starting to move, but Christian leaders are concerned that the 8 April deadline set by the Islamic-majority Sudan is unrealistic. 'We are very concerned. Moving is not easy ... people have children in school. They have homes ... It is almost impossible,' said a Catholic bishop."
Syria: The nation to which many Iraqi Christians fled as a haven is slowly becoming like Iraq, as thousands of Syrian Christians continue to flee to nearby Lebanon. "Al-Faruq Battalion, which is affiliated with the opposition Free Syrian Army (FSA), is imposing jizya (an extra tax imposed on non-Muslims living under Muslim rule) on Christians in the Homs Governorate" and "armed men … threaten to kidnap or kill them or members of their families if they refuse to "pay Islamic taxes"—precisely the same form of extortion that has been taking place in next door Iraq.
Turkey: Formerly hailed for its freedoms, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom named Turkey as "one of the world's worst violators of religious freedom," based on Turkey's treatment of Christians and other minority groups. The report stated that restrictions on non-Muslim communities, such as limiting their right to train clergy and own places of worship, "have led to their decline, and in some cases, their virtual disappearance," further noting "an increased number of attacks, ranging from harassment and vandalism to death threats, against Protestant churches and individuals in 2011 compared to 2010."
About this Series
Because the persecution of Christians in the Islamic world is on its way to reaching epidemic proportions, "Muslim Persecution of Christians" was developed to collate some—by no means all—of the instances of persecution that surface each month. It serves two purposes:
  1. To document that which the mainstream media does not: the habitual, if not chronic, Muslim persecution of Christians.
  2. To show that such persecution is not "random," but systematic and interrelated—that it is rooted in a worldview inspired by Sharia.
Accordingly, whatever the anecdote of persecution, it typically fits under a specific theme, including hatred for churches and other Christian symbols; sexual abuse of Christian women; forced conversions to Islam; apostasy and blasphemy laws that criminalize and punish with death to those who "offend" Islam; theft and plunder in lieu ofjizya (financial tribute expected from non-Muslims); overall expectations for Christians to behave like coweddhimmis, or second-class, "tolerated" citizens; and simple violence and murder. Sometimes it is a combination.
Because these accounts of persecution span different ethnicities, languages, and locales—from Morocco in the West, to India in the East, and throughout the West wherever there are Muslims—it should be clear that one thing alone binds them: Islam—whether the strict application of Islamic Sharia law, or the supremacist culture born of it.
Raymond Ibrahim is a Shillman Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center and an Associate Fellow at the Middle East Forum.


quinta-feira, 26 de abril de 2012

DESLIGANDO-SE DA SOCIEDADE CONSUMISTA

O pessoal de marketing e propaganda no mundo inteiro, está trabalhando avidamente neste exato momento para produzir campanhas irrestíveis para "vender seu peixe". É preciso que estejamos bem conscientes disso. A sociedade de consumo, a globalização, tem um único objetivo: transformar o mundo num grande mercado persa, onde todos comprem de tudo, levem para casa e voltem imediatamente para buscar mais.

Dez dicas para uma vida mais simples e feliz: 

1- O primeiro passo é sermos mais críticos frente à máquina da propaganda moderna. Precisamos aprender a rir da grande maioria dos anúncios de tv que teimam em nos fazer desejar e ver como imprescindíveis seus produtos. Precisamos ensinar nossas crianças a ter esse espírito de discernimento também. O mundo capitalista, simplesmente não pode continuar a consumir tanto, a produzir tanto lixo, a consumir despudoradamente, enquanto uma grande massa da população mundial passa fome e não tem as mínimas necessidades atendidas.

Quem precisa de um carro novo a cada ano? Somente aqueles pobres ridículos que desejam se pavonear e mostrar aos menos ricos o quanto eles "podem". É um narcisismo mesclado com exibicionismo e poder. Quem precisa mudar a decoração da casa a cada ano, comprar roupas novas a cada modismo dos confeccionistas? Somente aqueles que não encontraram dentro de si mesmos a beleza, a riqueza interior e precisam exibir algo que acreditam ser o melhor neles.

2- Segundo, aprenda a confiar mais na Providência. Se você é uma pessoa de fé em Deus, peça e confie. Claro que o Pai não dará uma serpente ao filho que lhe pede pão.E Jesus nos disse para pedir ao Pai o pão nosso de cada dia. Não pedir todo o pão que vamos consumir durante o mês adiantadamente!... Precisamos aprender a confiar e a nos libertar do "poder do dinheiro". Apresente seu pedido a Deus em oração talvez por uma semana. Se vier, bendiga a Deus, se não conseguir, reavalie o quanto você realmente precisa daquilo. Se realmente precisar e puder, então, vá e compre-o. Isso ajuda muito a reduzir nossas compras por impulso. Nos dá tempo para discernir se isso que tanto desejamos é realmente necessário. O Sistema Canção Nova de Rádio e Televisão, vive da providência divina. A cada mês eles precisam de aproximadamente três milhões de reais para pagamento de suas despesas. E o dinheiro vem pingadinho, em conta-gotas, doação das pessoas mais simples e pobres do nosso País. Todo mês. Eles poderiam colocar anúncios, mas para serem mais livres para apresentar sua programação, eventos especiais, e não ficar comprometidos com os patrocinadores, preferem confiar na Providência e não ter anunciantes. Uma lição para nós. E Deus nunca lhes falta!

3- Terceiro, enfatize a qualidade de vida acima da quantidade de vida. Recuse-se a definir a vida em termos de TER e não de SER. Cultive a solidão, o silêncio. Descubra maneiras novas de se relacionar consigo mesmo, com os seus, com seus amigos, vizinhos. Valorize mais suas amizades, seus filhos, sua esposa. Aprenda a gastar mais tempo em conversar com seus filhos, seu cônjuge. Muitas vezes quando percebemos, estamos convivendo com estranhos dentro de casa, por falta de tempo de uma boa conversa "jogada fora". Valorize a arte, a boa música, os livros, as viagens significativas, ao invés de ficar diante de uma tv por horas a fio, jogando literalmente a vida fora. Idem quanto aos jogos eletrônicos, onde se fica horas e horas, sempre tentando ganhar de uma máquina, perdendo as vezes dinheiro, sono, paciência. Diga não a toda competição, mesmo que seja num joguinho, video game, etc... Aumentar a qualidade de vida signfiica diminuir o desejo material, portanto, feche seus ouvidos ao "canto da sereia" que diz, "compre, compre, compre!"

4- Quarto - Pratique uma recreação saudável, feliz e livre de aparelhos. Você não precisa de uma roupa cara de corrida para correr em volta do quarteirão. Caminhar, correr e nadar estão entre as melhores formas de exercício humano e requerem um mínimo de equipamento. Achegue-se à terra caminhando pelo campo, acampando e fazendo excursões a pé.

A bicicleta é uma forma maravilhosa de transporte que usa energia renovável. Para isso não é necessário ter uma bicleta último tipo. Compre um modelo mais simples, assim você poderá comprar para seus filhos, esposo (a), e juntos poderão sair para pedalar, estreitando o amor, a amizade, curtindo a natureza.

Se você gosta de futebol, ou de esportes que são praticados em grandes conglomerados esportivos, pense bem antes de ir a um estádio, ou ginásio. Ultimamente, com tanta violência nos esportes, corre-se um grande risco, mas o pior é a escravidão que isso gera nas pessoas. Os torcedores se sentem na obrigação de ir, a qualquer preço e a qualquer custo. Muitas vezes brigam com o namorado (a), cônjuge, filhos, para ir a um jogo que nem sempre é tão prazeroso. Talvez nesse caso, seja preferível ver pela televisão, se você realmente não pode resistir. Uma grande massa de energia violenta e negativa é gerada nesses locais. Inclusive às vezes, até muita pancadaria e violência! Sei que isso nunca vai acabar, mas é bom que se reflita sobre essa questão.

Estimule nos seus filhos, família, os jogos e brincadeiras de cooperação. Por que temos necessidade de ganhar SEMPRE? É possível divertir-se sem que haja ganhadores ou perdedores. Com o racionamento de energia no Brasil, talvez tenhamos mais tempo para brincar com nossas crianças, de nos sentarmos de novo nas calçadas para bater-papo com os vizinhos, como nossos pais e avós sempre fizeram. O mundo era menos violento e mais feliz, sim. Mas, será que não se pode tentar novamente?

5- Quinto - Aprenda a comer sensata e sensivelmente. Rejeite produtos cheios de químicos venenosas, cores artificiais, e outros meios questionáveis usados para prduzir alimentos comercializados. Elimine alimentos pré-empacotados. Torne-se sensível a toda a cadeia de bioalimentção e coma os alimento que não violentem este equilíbrio, tais como frutas e cereais. Animais alimentados com ração são um luxo que a cadeia de bioalimentação não pode sustentar para as massas da humanidade.


Aprenda a alegria de plantar uma horta, mesmo que ela consista de vasos no beiral da janela. Com árvores anãs no quintal você pode ter frutas dignas de um rei.

Tanto quanto possível, compre mais alimentos produzidos localmente para economizar a energia requerida para o transporte. Aproveite as cooperativas de produtores e consumidores. Transforme em adubo composto todo o lixo que puder. Recicle todos os itens que puder. Plante todo o alimento fresco que puder.

Coma fora menos. Quando comer, faça disto uma celebração. Uma maçã, um pedaço de pão,um copo e leite é mais rápido do que os restaurantes de comida rápida e também muito mais nutritivo e saudável. Isto para um dia em que não tiver tempo de almoçar, ou até sem dinheiro, quem sabe. Todos temos os nossos dias de "durango-kid", ou não? Quem sabe se você não pode se privar um dia por mês, ou por semana, do seu almoço, e oferecê-lo a um pobrezinho? Em vez de comprar pílulas para emagrecer, compre menos alimentos, coma menos. Você emagrece sem gastar tanto!

6- Sexto - Conheça a diferença entre viagens significativas e viagens desnecessárias. Para começar, recuse-se a acreditar na mentira de que você perdeu a metade da vida se não viu todos os locais glamurosos desse mundo. Muitas das pessoas mais sábias e mais realizadas no mundo nunca viajaram a parte alguma. Se você viajar, vá com propósito. Vá além dos folhetos espalhafatosos de viagem com seus cenários de afluência dourada, e dirija-se aos lugares de angústia e dor e necessidade humana. Hospede-se em lugares que identifiquem as pessoas comuns do país. Quando Albert Schweitzer visitou os Estados Unidos, os jornalistas lhe perguntaram porque viajava de terceira classe no trem. Respondeu ele: "Por que não há uma quarta classe!"

Familiarize-se com as pessoas tanto quanto você faz com lugares. Faça um esforço genuíno de comunicar-se; você será enriquecido pela experiência. Por que sempre precisamos ver as pessoas de outras culturas como excêntricas que devem ser examinadas, fotografadas, tornando-se suas fotos muitas vezes motivo até de chacota? Questione também essa sua necessidade de estar viajando a cada feriadão. Tudo é bom, desde que não se torne escravidão, ou fazer porque todos fazem assim. Seja mais consciente de suas motivações.Mais senhor, senhora de seus atos!

7- Sétimo - Compre coisas por sua utilidade, em vez de status. Ao construir ou comprar casas, deve-se pensar em sua habitabilidade em vez de quanto impressionará os outros. Não tenha mais casa do que é razoável. Afinal, quem precisa de sete cômodos para duas pessoas? Você vive sozinho após criar uma família grande? Em vez de deixar sua casa espaçosa, cheia de lembranças maravilhosas, porque não se mudar para um lugar menor, mais fácil de cuidar? Ou então, quem sabe convidar algum parente, amigo, que também more sozinho para morar com você e assim não ficam tão sozinhos? Encham a casa de risadas e conversas normais que ajudam a abrandar a solidão.

8- Oitavo - Mobiliário, decoração da casa, pode ser de bom gosto e utilidade, sem custar um exagero. Sua mobília deve refletir você e não alguma vitrine fria e artificial, que nada tem a ver com você. Remodele, construa, dê um novo acabamento a boas peças usadas e verá como sua casa fica bonita e aconchegante, sem que você se transforme em um escravo (a) da decoração.

9- Nono - Aprenda a comprar barganhas. Procure em lojas de objetos usados e você encontrará muita coisa boa que dará aquele toque especial naquele cômodo de sua casa. Lembre-se também que adquirir um item de que não precisamos, mesmo que a um preço ridiculamente baixo não é vantagem alguma. Pense bem em todas as liquidações sensacionais a que você já foi. O que realmente foi de proveito? Muitas vezes se chega em casa carregado de sacolas de compras, sem que na verdade tenhamos necessidade daquilo. É a nossa compulsão de comprar! Cuidado, é melhor até evitar essas "ofertas irresistíveis", se você não "resiste"! ;-)

10- Décimo - Uma última palavra precisa ser dita. Simplicidade não significa necessariamente ter só coisas baratas, recicladas. Ela ressoa mais facilmente com preocupações com durabilidade, utilidade e beleza. Muitos itens devem ser escolhidos para durar e não como deseja a sociedade de consumo, para serem substituídos daí a pouco tempo.

"Saborear a vida, eis o que precisamos aprender!"

Como dizia Mark Twain: "A civilização é uma multiplicação ilimitada de necessidades desnecessárias."

A Simplicidade é uma nova necessidade da era moderna. Nosso pequeno planeta simplesmente não pode sustentar o consumo glutão do rico Ocidente. Mahtma Gandhi disse certa vez que o mundo tem o suficiente para as necessidades de todos, mas não para a ganância de todos. Não é simplesmente uma questão de elevar de alguma forma o padrão de vida dos pobres do mundo ao nível encontrado no Ocidente afluente. Os Estados Unidos tem 6 por cento da população do mundo e consomem 33 por cento dos recursos mundiais. Se o resto do mundo fosse tentar viver nesse nível de consumo, calcula-se que todos os recursos conhecidos de petróleo, estanho, zinco, gás natural, chumbo, cobre, tungstênio, ouro e mercúrio do mundo estariam esgotados em dez anos. Mesmo que fizéssemos generosas concessões às descobertas científicas, ainda teríamos de confessar que nosso planeta simplesmente não poderia suportar a sobrecarga, se as massas famintas fossem elevadas ao nosso nível de consumo. Simplesmente falando, a terra não tem condiçoes de sustentar nosso estilo de vida. não, a resposta é clara: precisamor cortar nosso padrão de vida se é para algum dia haver qualquer coisa que chegue perto de uma distribuição justa dos recursos do mundo.

"Ter o que desejamos é riqueza, mas poder viver sem isto é poder" (George MacDonald)

O imperativo da Simplicidade é intensificado ainda mais quando ligamos o chamado por justiça a uma preocupação compassiva com o humanismo cristão. Vidas preciosas por toda a face da terra estão vivendo sem esperança. Há pessoas famintas de pão e dignidade em todos os cantos do planeta.

Todos nós ficamos chocados com a pobreza de milhões e perturbados com as injustiças que a causam. Aqueles de nós que vivemos em circunstâncias abastadas aceitamos nosso dever de desenvolver um estilo de vida simples a fim de contribuir mais generosamente tanto para o alívio da penúria quanto para devolver a esperança a tantos.

Os ecologistas e os economistas bradam-nos que a simplicidade é uma nova necessidade. A grande hoste de povos sem nome bradam-nos que a simplicidade é uma nova necessidade. Será que estamos ouvindo?

Ponto de Apoio ao nosso alcance

- Desenvolva o hábito de falar com toda honestidade. Risque de seu vocabulário "estou morrendo de fome", por exemplo. Isto normalmente não é verdade e obscurece o fato de muitos estão de fato, morrendo de fome. Quando estiver com fome diga que está com fome e reserve a expressão "morrendo de fome" para a coisa verdadeira. Faça da honestidade e da integridade as características distintivas do seu modo de falar.

Em relação ao dinheiro -

- Considere a sua relação com o dinheiro. Considere a mudança em suas atitudes para com o dinheiro ao longo do anos. Você é escravo do dinheiro? Considere seus próprios sentimentos. Você tem medo do futuro? O dinheiro é uma segurança para você? Você se sente culpado com relação ao dinheiro que gasta? Lembre-se, o dinheiro é importante, mas não é TUDO na vida. Lembre-se da parábola do jovem rico, nos evangelhos. "Ele foi embora muito triste, porque possuia muitos bens."

- Preste atenção ao conselho de John Woolman: "Silencie todo movimento resultante do amor ao dinheiro." O amor ao dinheiro é uma coisa complicada - em geral aqueles que têm menos são os que mais o amam.

"A Economia é boa se a Liberalidade a acompanhar. A primeira é abandonar as despesas supérfluas; a segunda é doá-las para o Benefício de outros que precisam." (Vanderbroeck, "Less is more" (Menos é mais) p.70)

(Trechos do livro, "Celebração da Simplicidade", Richard Foster, ed. United Press)

DIGA NÃO AO DESPERDÍCIO! Ensine seus empregados a não desperdiçarem. Não lave as calçadas de sua casa, seu prédio, com mangueira. Use a vassoura primeiro e depois molhe para tirar um pouco da poeira, se for preciso. A água é preciosíssima e não podemos desperdiçar, achando que "tem muita". O Brasil é um dos países que mais desperdiçam no mundo, mesmo tendo milhares de famintos! Não desperdice alimentos. Se você ver que não vai dar para consumir tudo o que tem na geladeira, ou que seus mantimentos estão ficando próximos de vencer a data de validade, dê antes para uma pessoa necessitada. Informe-se, pois próximo a você tem muita gente precisando! Se você começar a enxergar os que lhe estão próximos, logo descobrirá um tantão de necessitados!

Fonte: http://www.simplicidadevoluntaria.com/socied.htm

CHRIST’S PRESENT KINGSHIP

By Kenneth L. Gentry Jr

According to amillennial objectors, postmillennialism allegedly overlooks Christ’s present kingship. Prof. Robert Strimple quotes my definition of postmillennialism which observes that “increasing gospel success will gradually produce a time in history prior to Christ’s return in which faith, righteousness, peace, and prosperity will prevail in the affairs of people and of nations.” He responds by asserting: “Christ is King now! He is not waiting to begin exercising his dominion at some future day” (in Bock, Three Views on the Millennium and Beyond [Zondervan: 1998], p. 60).

How shall the postmillennialist respond? Is this a damaging observation?

(1) Where do I even vaguely imply otherwise? I clearly assert Christ’s present kingship. For instance, note the following statement from my lead essay:

• “Since the resurrection/ascension Christ has been installed as the King (Rom. 1:4), ruling from God’s right hand . . . . The Great Commission speaks of Christ’s being ‘given’ all authority — apparently at his resurrection” (Strimple, pp. 34–35).

• “He is formally enthroned as king following his resurrection/ascension (Acts 2:30ff). From then on we hear of his being in a royal position at ‘the right hand of God.’ Because of this, first century Christians proclaim him king (Acts 5:31; 17:7; Rev. 1:5) with regal dignity, authority, and power (Eph. 1:22; Phil. 2:9). Since that time Christ translates us into his kingdom at our conversion (Col. 1:12,13; 4:11; 1 Thess. 2:12), organizes us as a kingdom (Rev. 1:6; 9; 1 Pet. 2:9), and mystically seats us with Him in rulership (Eph. 1:3; 2:6; Col. 3:1; 1 Cor. 3:21-22)” (Strimple, p. 38).

• “The resurrection, then, followed shortly by the ascension, establishes Christ as the King possessing ‘all authority.’ Acts 2:30-31 agrees that the resurrection of Christ is to kingly authority” (Strimple, p. 45).

• “Christ is now actively ‘the ruler over the kings of the earth’ and ‘has made us to be a kingdom of priests to serve his God and Father — to him be glory and power for ever and ever’ (Rev. 1:5-6). Here in 1 Corinthians 15:25 we learn that he must continue to reign, he must continue to put his enemies under his feet” (Strimple, p. 50).

(2) In fact, postmillennialism absolutely requires Christ’s present kingship beginning with his resurrection/ascension. After all, his kingdom is destined to enjoy growth over time because of his kingly rule. And that is why I myself cite Ephesians 1:20ff on two occasions in my essay (Strimple, pp. 25, 46).



(3) Strimple’s form of argument can be turned against him by employing a reductio ad absurdum. Consider the following: Strimple reflects on my definition of postmillennialism which calls for the growth of gospel influence in the world. Then he responds to that definition by claiming “Christ is king now”—as if my mention of growing gospel conquest suggested otherwise.

Now what if I were to employ Strimple’s interpretive method on Scripture itself? Note the following reductio: On page 60 Strimple points out the teaching of Paul in Ephesians 1:22. That text, which he cites, reads as follows: God “put [past tense] all things in subjection under His feet, and gave [past tense] Him as head over all things” (Eph 1:22). Thus, Strimple argues, “He is not waiting to begin exercising his dominion at some future day” (p. 60). Sounds great. But now the reductio. Scripture also teaches just as clearly that Christ is waiting for his enemies to be subjected:

• “For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet” (1 Cor. 15:25).

• “Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in subjecting all things to him, He left nothing that is not subject to him. But now we do not yet see all things subjected to him” (Heb. 2:8).

• He is “waiting from that time onward until His enemies be made a footstool for His feet” (Heb. 10:13).

Now which is it? Have Christ’s enemies already been subjected so that Christ is now ruling as king over them? Or is Christ waiting until all of his enemies are made his footstool? Using Strimple’s argument based on a partial reading of Scripture, we would be left with a contradiction in Scripture itself. The answer to “Which is it?” must be: “Both.” Legally Christ has already subdued his enemies (as per Strimple—and postmillennialism); historically, Christ is now putting his enemies under his feet (as per postmillennialism). This involves no contradiction, just differing perspectives—perspectives well exhibited in the postmillennial scheme. Consequently, I write with both perspectives in mind: “Christ is presently ruling until his rule subdues all of his enemies—in time and on earth” (p. 50).

quarta-feira, 25 de abril de 2012

POSTMILLENNIALISM AND THE TWO AGES

By Kenneth L. Gentry Jr

Biblical eschatology is an important realm of theology. It differs from systematic theology in looking at theological issues historically as they unfold in Scripture. Amillennialists dismiss postmillennialism as overlooking biblical theological categories. In Zondervan’s debate book Three Views on the Millennium and Beyond (1998), Professor of Systematic Theology, Dr. Robert Strimple criticizes my postmillennialism for a failure in this area. Let me explain.

According to Strimple, postmillennialism allegedly distorts the two age structure of biblical revelation. Strimple argues against postmillennialism that “our Lord knows of only two ages, the present age and the age to come” (p. 63). In his footnote he explains how this contradicts postmillennialism: “Postmillennialism seems to posit three ages: the present evil age, a future ‘golden’ age (see Gentry’s definition reference to ‘a time in history prior to Christ’s return in which . . .’), and the ‘age to come,’ of which the New Testament speaks” (p. 63, n 8).

My response?

1. Postmillennialism Accepts the Two Age Structure

Actually, I wholeheartedly concur with the two age structure of biblical eschatology, as carefully outlined in Geerhardus Vos’ construction of redemptive history along these lines. In fact, I vigorously urge this in my Response to Blaising’s premillennial essay where I outline some problems with the premillennial scheme, one of which is their expectation of a “future appearance of the fulness of Christ’s kingdom in an age (dispensation) separate and distinct from the present era, despite this present era being the ‘last days’ (Acts 2:16-17, 24), the ‘fulness of times’ (Gal 4:4). If these are the ‘last days,’ how can more days follow in a whole new era?” (p. 255).

And Strimple should know this for I point it out in my opening essay in my exegesis of 1 Corinthians 15: “As Paul is then in the first century, so are we now in our day awaiting the eschatological coming of Christ and our resurrection. . . . At his second coming history is over in that the resurrection occurs at ‘the end’; there will be no millennial age on the present earth to follow” (p. 48). I do this on more than one occasion: “Isaiah indicates the ‘last days’ will be the era witnessing these things — not some era after the last days: ‘in the last days’ (v. 2) means ‘during.’ According to the New Testament the ‘last days’ begin with the coming of Christ in the first century. They cover the remaining days of temporal history until the Second Coming of Christ, which will be ‘the end’ (1 Cor 15:24; cp. Matt 13:39-40, 49). Hence, they are the last days — with none to follow.” (p. 36). Thus, I vigorously argue that we are now in an age that continues until Christ returns; there is no separate age wherein the millennial conditions await us.

2. Amillennialism’s Problems with the Two Age Structure

Oddly enough, I could turn Strimple’s argument upon him, were I to employ his argumentative methodology (which prefers seeking theological-implications from my presentation rather responding to my express-affirmations). Let me explain. Strimple strongly urges a two age structure of history. And only two ages. But he sees in the postmillennial expectation of cultural victory an implied third age. Remember, he argues that “Postmillennialism seems to posit three ages: the present evil age, a future ‘golden’ age . . , and the ‘age to come’” (p. 63, n 8). I have already shown the charge that postmillennialism suggests a separate age is mistaken. But what if we turn the tables on Strimple and employ his methodology against him? I believe I can as easily demonstrate that he holds a three age view from his own express-affirmations, as he can by implication from my eschatology. How so? Recalling what I state in the preceding paragraph, let us note what Strimple himself believes. Strimple vigorously asserts: “our Lord knows of only two ages, the present age and the age to come” (p. 63). He continues in that same paragraph to note that “this age” is “the present age, this evil age.”

Thus, all of history is “the present age,” whereas Christ’s second coming establishes the second age, “the age to come” (as Strimple agrees, p. 63). But now questions arise regarding this simple, two age structure. And when we raise them they can as easily imply more than two ages as does postmillennialism (allegedly) on Strimple’s theological critique. Consider the following theoretical charges against Strimple.

(a) Strimple’s system theoretically implies that Christ’s first coming establishes another “age” distinct from that which prevails in the Old Testament and from that which will be established at his second coming. After all, does Christ’s coming to establish the eschatological kingdom effect any difference in the outworking of the historical order, as compared to the time (age?) before the coming of the kingdom? Surely it does. It establishes a remarkably different redemptive-historical reality: Now the gospel is no longer confined to one nation but goes into all the world; now Satan is cast down and Christ enthroned in triumphant victory. Remember that Strimple argues that postmillennialism’s hope of a remarkable betterment of the world because of the progress of the gospel implies a third age. Why does not Strimple recognize the same implication in his own system, with the vast redemptive-historical differences between the old covenant era and the new covenant era?

(b) Strimple’s system theoretically implies that Christ’s first coming initiates a distinct “age” known as “the last days.” Does he not believe that since New Testament days we are in a separate time period/age that he designates “the last days”? Does he not believe that these “last days” are distinguished from the former days in the Old Testament? He writes: “the last days began with the advent of Christ” (p. 64); and: “There is every reason to think that the Bible views ‘this age’ as having begun with the very beginning of history, while from the New Testament perspective the ‘last days’ began with the advent of Christ” (p. 64). If he can then argue (rightly, I believe) that “the last days are the last lap of this present age” (p. 64), why cannot I as a postmillennialist argue that the full cultural victory and dominion of the gospel in history prior to the second advent is the “last lap of this present age,” and not a wholly separate age?

(c) Strimple’s system theoretically implies that Christ’s first coming establishes a unique “age” blending “the present age” and “the age to come.” Does not Strimple himself argue that at Christ’s first coming “the powers of the age to come have broken in now for those who are united to the risen Christ by faith” (p. 63). Thus, the “age to come” is already present in some sense now since the first advent. Consequently, this creates an “age” unlike that in the Old Testament. Consider that: in the Old Testament we have “the present age”; in eternity we have “the age to come”; but since Christ’s coming we are now living in a mixed age. This is an age that Strimple, Vos, and others (including me) deem a “now but not yet” experience.

Why cannot I charge that this by implication suggests another age in distinction from the pure “this age” experience in the Old Testament and the pure “age to come” experience in eternity? Notice that the two ages overlap in the present since Christ’s coming. In fact, Richard Gaffin writes of “the outlook basic not only to Paul but the entire New Testament that the Messiah’s coming is one (eschatological) coming which unfolds in two episodes, one already and one still to come, that the ‘age-to-come’ is not only future but present.”

(3) In the final analysis, the contemporary postmillennialist does not urge a separate and distinct “age” which comes with the cultural victory of the gospel. Rather we see the present eschatological kingdom as surely and firmly established in the first century. But according to Christ’s own description this kingdom is to grow to maturity as a “mystery” (Mark 4:11; Matt 13:11), imperceptibly by degrees. It grows like a seed of grain cast into the ground which eventually produces a mature grain (Mark 4:26–29), like a mustard seed in a garden that later becomes the tallest plant in the garden (Mark 4:30–32; Matt 13:31–32), like leaven in three measures of meal that permeates the whole three bushels of meal (Matt 13:33). By divine design it providentially blossoms in history gradually over time—it does not establish a new redemptive-historical age, but matures the present kingdom over time.

Religious freedom for Christians in Egypt

Religious freedom for Christians in Egypt (Copts) and other religious minorities hangs in the balance as Egyptian voters prepare to select a new president starting May 23. This is the first open presidential election in a generation. If voters favor a hardline Islamist as president, existing religious freedoms are at greater risk. At least one moderate candidate favors less state involvement in religion.

Right now, the two major contenders for the presidency are Amr Moussa, belonging to the old guard around former president Hosni Mubarak, and Abdel-Moneim Abol Fotoh, an Islamist with roots in the Muslim Brotherhood. Until mid-2011, Moussa was Secretary-General of the Arab League and is widely recognized as an establishment figure. His hardline criticism of Israel has proven to be popular in Egypt.

Abol Fotoh, a political moderate, quit the Muslim Brotherhood in 2011 after decades of involvement in order to run for president. In the late 1990s, he spent five years in prison for his political activism.

In the past week, popular resentment in Egypt exploded when the Election Commission disqualified 10 candidates, including three well-known and controversial figures: Khairat al-Shater (Freedom Justice Party, Muslim Brotherhood); Omar Suleiman (former vice president and spy chief under Mubarak); and Hazem Abu-Ismail (an ultra-conservative Salafist). This week, Shater alleged that the commission's move was an attempt the rig the election.

During the Egyptian parliamentary elections, 75 percent of voters voted for an Islamist party, indicating enormous popular support for religiously conservative candidates. Since Moussa may have the backing of Egypt's military but is certainly no Islamist, it is quite possible that Egypt's next president will have an Islamist background.

Among the Islamist candidates, Abol Fotoh is more openly seeking support of moderates—both Muslims and Christians. He agreed to an interview with Christianity Today to explain his point of view on Muslim-Christian relations, the primary place of Islam in governing Egypt, the role of the new president, and relations with the United States and Israel.

"The president of Egypt needs to be religious," Abol Fotoh told CT. "Egyptians, Christians and Muslims, are a religious people. They love religion. We do not have extremist secularism in Egypt as there is in Tunisia or Turkey, which is why people cannot imagine a secular president would rule Egypt.

"The president needs to protect citizenship with honesty and righteousness," he said. "[Egypt needs] justice with the presence of a real independent judiciary." (During the days of Mubarak, many criticized the justice system as politicized and corrupt.)

As do other candidates, Abol Fotoh supports the controversial Article 2 of Egypt's constitution. This article establishes Islam as the state religion, Arabic as the national language, and Shari'ah (the Islamic legal code) as the principal source for legislation. "Article 2 does not contradict with freedom of belief," he said. "Legislation is done under the observance of the Constitutional Court. The role of clerics—Christian and Muslim—is only to advise and give opinions and not to dominate, legislate, or monitor the legislation."

Many of the tensions between Muslims and Christians, Abol Fotoh believes, are over conversions from one religion to the other and construction of new church buildings. He said that changing religion is "a personal right" and that religious groups and state should refrain from seeking to supervise religious conversion.

Fonte: http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2012/aprilweb-only/egypt-president-christians.html

What Hollywood Gets Right & Wrong about Our Relationship to Nature: An Examination of the Worldview of ‘The Lorax’

By Nathaniel Darnell

“Thus God created the man in his image: in the image of God created he him: he created them male and female. And God blessed them, and said to them, Bring forth fruit, and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it, and rule over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the heaven, and over the beasts, and over all the earth, and over everything that creepeth and moveth on the earth. Thus God created he him: he created them male and female. And God blessed them, and God said to them, Bring forth fruit, and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it, and rule over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the heaven, and over every beat that moveth upon the earth. And God said, Behold, I have given unto you every herb bearing seed, which is upon all the earth, and every tree, wherein is the fruit of a tree being seed: that shall be to you for meat.“ Genesis 1:27-29 (Geneva) (emphasis added)

In the above portion of Scripture, God made clear His design and purpose for man’s relationship and responsibilities toward the nature He had made. Today our culture is engaged in a sometime fierce debate over the balance of man’s responsibilities to nature. In some cases of history we see examples where men or businesses have raped the land without regard to the impact it would have on future generations or the surrounding ecosystem. On the other hand, there are some who have taken the crusade to defend nature to such an extreme that huge oil deposits in North America remain forbidden due to fear of things like “interrupting elk migration habits.”

A big debate last year and this year between Congress and the President has been over the Keystone Pipeline which would bring a tremendous amount of fuel and business into the United States from Canada, if implemented. President Obama has appeared reluctant to offend segments of his base who see the pipeline as having a negative environmental impact.


The Once-ler is rebuked for cutting down even one tree—for a constructive purpose to benefit others in the movie 'Dr. Seuss' The Lorax.'Image copyright of Universal Studios.

While adults argue and campaign on these issues at a political level, children are often subtly indoctrinated in the views of the Hollywood leftist environmentalists through innocent-looking, family-friendly, and entertaining books, films, and television shows. The latest example of this is the 3D animated movie Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax.

Based on a children’s book, this movie may be the a “family-friendly film” in the theaters right now, but many evangelical leaders hope Christian parents aren’t taking their children to see this movie thinking that its “PG” rating means it’s completely free from objectionable content. A few weeks ago, I was invited to write an article for Examiner.com in which I interviewed three evangelical Christians who are each leaders in different fields. One a Christian filmmaker (Stephen Kendrick, producer of Courageous and Fireproof), one a creation scientist (Ken Ham, president of Answers in Genesis), and one a Southern Baptist Pastor, author, and popular speaker (Dr. Voddie Baucham).

American Vision has been pleased to have Dr. Baucham speak at a number of our events, we’ve appreciated the literal-view of Genesis Dr. Ham has helped to champion, and we have commended the Kendrick brothers for taking a positive, pro-active role in exercising dominion and discipleship in the film industry, an often neglected area of culture in the modern Christian community. Unless Christian are actively applying the Bible to science and entertainment, these arenas will belong to the humanist by default.

For its first two weeks in a row, Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax kept at the top of the U.S. Box Office, and now the film has brought in over $290.5 million worldwide. While the movie presents a colorful, fun, and humorous romp, the environmentalist message of the film is anything but subtle.

“It’s obvious. It’s trite. It’s cliche. It’s disappointing,” said Dr. Voddie Baucham, pastor of Grace Family Baptist Church in Houston, Texas, speaking about Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax. Dr. Ken Ham added in my interview that he’s concerned the movie teaches an unbiblical view on man’s responsibility to nature. “Nature doesn’t have dominion over man. Man has dominion over nature,” said Dr. Ham.

In the movie, the character Once-ler eventually goes too far in using the colorful truffula trees of the Dr. Seuss world to make useful “Thneeds” and selling them to others. He cuts down all the trees until there are no more left, leaving the forest a barren wasteland. But long before this happens in the story, he is confronted by the short, orange character of the Lorax, who seems to believe it is morally wrong for Once-ler to chop down even one tree—for any reason.

“I wonder if the people who wrote The Lorax wrote it on paper,” says Christian filmmaker Stephen Kendrick from Albany, Georgia. “Were their screenplays written on paper? Are their checks signed on paper?”

Kendrick is not the first person to suggest the filmmakers who made The Lorax are hypocritical in their environmentalist message. Says Dr. Ken Ham: “Actually, I see an incredible inconsistency with the secularist. From an evolutionary perspective, when they’re talking about ‘Save the Whales’ and ‘Protect these Trees’ and all the rest of it, well, what about a ‘Save the Tape Worm Society’? What about a ‘Save the Polio Virus Society’? You don’t see that, do you? And they’re inconsistent because from their perspective that’s all a part of the life continuum, right? So we should be protecting all of it, right? From an evolutionary perspective, why not let man rape the land? I mean, after all, isn’t he just another [natural] selection pressure? So whatever man does, let him go. Maybe by stopping him doing that, you’re stopping something evolving that needs to evolve. It’s just a totally inconsistent position.”

These Christian leaders, however, do not advocate raping the land as the Once-ler eventually does in the movie. “Do I believe in cutting down trees? Yeah, replant them! What’s the big deal?” says Stephen Kendrick. “If you don’t, they’re going to rot and die anyway. So sometimes it’s going to actually be better for a forest to clear out disorder, and plant some good trees.”

“I believe that nature is to be exploited,” Pastor Baucham says. “I believe that it is to be exploited for our purposes. I believe when you look in creation, and you look at man being told to go and to exercise dominion [in Genesis 1], you know, Adam is being told here’s the Garden, and what God has done in the Garden, go and make the rest of the world like this. Because the rest of the world is not going to be like that.”

“We’re not to go out there and destroy it,” adds Dr. Ham. “God wanted man to subdue it, to look after it, to learn about it. But now we’ve got this idea that if there’s a swamp in an area and we do something to it, we’re destroying it. Actually, man has the ability and the intelligence he can go in and improve it. So, again, there’s this false idea anything natural is good. Let fires just burn out of control because that’s natural, therefore that’s good. Now there is a place for having fires in forests, but there’s also a place for recognizing that in a cursed world they can get out of control and destroy, so you can’t just let them go either.”

Another fault cited about the film is the way it depicts nature as being orderly and beautiful on its own without man to care and cultivate it. Until the Once-ler shows up, the forest is inhabited by cute bears and fish who never try to hurt each other but only playfully enjoy the wonders of the naturally perfect forest.

“The most beautiful thing you see in a garden tended by human beings,” says Pastor Baucham, “that is put in a orderly way, so that there is rhyme and reason to the colors and sizes and shapes and things of that nature. Animals left unto themselves, they ravage one another and kill one another. But when men is exercising that dominion, now all of a sudden they’re tame, and they’re being useful, and they’re being partners with us in our pursuits.”

“You can only understand what you should do when you take the true history of Genesis concerning a perfect world marred by sin,” concludes Dr. Ham. “If you don’t understand that, and the God-given role man has, you’re going to get it wrong with regard to environmental issues.”

The movie appears to attempt to evoke biblical imagery at least a few times to perhaps appeal to Christians. At one point, the Once-ler demands that the Lorax show some of his miraculous powers, but he refuses as Jesus on trial before the cross. Then later the Lorax ascends into heaven promising to return, again evoking imagery of Jesus Christ. But despite all this superficial imagery, the worldview of the film is what these evangelical leaders say is most important and contrary to Christian teaching.

“One of the underlying assumptions that I like to challenge, too,” Dr. Baucham adds, “is the idea that there’s nature and then there’s humans. As though we’re not a part of nature! Nothing could be further from the truth. We’re not only a part of nature, we’re the stewards of nature. We’re the crown and glory of God’s creation. So nature is not better off without us. Nature’s nothing without us. It’s destructive, and it’s evil, and it’s cruel without us. It’s only with us, that the reflection of the image of God is seen and this pursuit of improvement in natural resources is achieved.”

Stephen Kendrick agreed with these assessments. But should Christians consider making movies that address environmental issues? “Yes,” he says, but “Our theology and our a biblical worldview affects every area of our filmmaking, and so regardless of the topic, we have to come back and say not, ‘What does pop culture say?’ and not ‘What do I feel?’ but ‘What does God say?’ and ‘What does He want?’ and ‘What’s on His heart?’ His values are eternal and unchanging. We have to view the earth through the lens of God’s ownership and we are stewards of it.”

terça-feira, 24 de abril de 2012

DOES POSTMILLENNIALISM MISCONSTRUE BIBLICAL ESCHATOLOGY?

By Kenneth L. Gentry Jr

Reformed amillennialists complain of an alleged failure of postmillennialists to understand various foundational features of biblical eschatology. This failure resulting from ignorance of biblical eschatology is supposedly inherent in the postmillennial system, the system held by such competent theologians as Jonathan Edwards, Archibald Alexander, Charles Hodge, Albert Barnes, David Brown, Patrick Fairbairn, J. A. Alexander, J. H. Thornwell, Robert L. Dabney, William G. T. Shedd, A. A. Hodge, Augustus H. Strong, B. B. Warfield, O. T. Allis, and John Murray. The errors charged are serious, for they directly and deeply impact the very nature of the New Testament’s eschatological focus.

In Bock’s Three Views on the Millennium and Beyond (1998) Prof. Robert Strimple (and many amillennialists) charges that I (and postmillennialists): (1) do not take account of the eschatological nature of the New Testament revelation, (2) distort the two age structure of biblical revelation, (3) overlook Christ’s present kingship, and (4) discount his present victory in effect since the resurrection/ascension. These are effectively different facets of the one over-arching matter, i.e., that the New Testament brings in the victorious eschaton. If these charges are true, postmillennialism is false. If.

Although these four items are really various ways of looking at the same problem, I will deal with them in a seriatim fashion, introducing each charge and immediately responding to it. By the nature of the case, however, they really form one problem. As I interact with Strimple on this problem, I will be correcting his misperceptions of postmillennialism.

According to Strimple, postmillennialism allegedly does not take account of the eschatological nature of the New Testament. In his Rebuttal, Strimple expresses his concern that if postmillennialism speaks of victory in terms of gradually developing, wide-ranging cultural conquest, then “we may fail to appreciate the eschatological nature of the kingdom as already and fully inaugurated by Christ’s resurrection and exaltation” (p. 61).

My response: I believe Strimple errs in raising this issue in the present context of our debate book:

(1) I specifically and vigorously argue for the fundamental point of the present reality of the eschatological kingdom and the arrival of the eschaton. Regarding 1 Corinthians 15, I state on page 48: “Here Paul speaks forthrightly of Christ’s present enthronement and insists he is confidently ruling.” Of 1 Corinthians 15:25 I assert: “Here the present infinitive for ‘reign’ (Gk.: basileuein) indicates he is presently reigning. Christ is now actively ‘the ruler over the kings of the earth’ and ‘has made us to be a kingdom of priests to serve his God and Father — to him be glory and power for ever and ever’ (Rev 1:5-6).”

(2) In fact, postmillennialism requires the presence of the eschatological kingdom, for with it comes the Spirit and the gifts which guarantee the historical success of the unfolding victory—as I argue on pages 23–25 under the heading “God’s Blessed Provision.” The whole point of the New Testament is to show Christ has come in fulfillment of Old Testament expectation, that he has effected redemption, and that he has established the kingdom—all of these being eschatological realities. And just because this is true, postmillennialism sees a brighter day developing in history. Indeed, the new creation has come in principle in Christ (2 Cor 5:17; Gal 6:15), actually beginning the process of ethically transforming the old creation, as I argue from Isaiah 65:17-20 in my Responses to Strimple (p. 131) and Blaising (pp. 233–36).