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From Vandalism to Love: Thanksgiving Story from Ferguson, Missouri

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Natalie Dubose of Ferguson, Missouri is a business owner with a cake shop and a bakery dream.

“My shop, which had it’s grand opening this summer was vandalized in the [November 24] riots. My main windows were smashed and bakery damaged. I’m beside myself, but with the holidays, can’t stop working. I’m very busy cleaning and trying to repair my business. I’m also trying to catch up on baking cakes for Thanksgiving!”

When we heard of this, my wife and I discussed sending a gift to Natalie. Well, that won’t be necessary. Thanks to generous people in this good nation, $227,000 has been contributed for Natalie’s business by over 7,000 people.

We now have another outlet for a Thanksgiving donation. But we thank God for generous people and for Natalie’s determination!

A Thanksgiving Prayer

Lord, we thank you for the goodness of our people

and for the spirit of justice 
that fills this nation.
We thank you for the beauty and fullness of the 
land
and the challenge of the cities.
We thank you for our work and our rest, 
for one another and for our homes.
We pray and give thanks through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
— From: Catholic Household Blessings and Prayers

November 2014 Newsletter

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“A Piece of My Mind”

November 2014 Newsletter from Donald Shoemaker

Advancing Christian Faith and Values, Defending Religious Liberty for All, Supporting Civility and the Common Good through Preaching, Teaching, Writing, Activism and Reasoned Conversations

www.donaldshoemakerministries.com

 

When you vote in November,
what should you seek in a leader?

In this newsletter I will suggest some good qualities to expect and demand of an office seeker, whether the politician is conservative or moderate or liberal.

With these qualities in place, we can now examine candidates’ positions on the issues. Without these qualities, those positions don’t matter much.

 

Good Government Starts Here
—What to Look For in a Candidate on Election Day

Thomas Jefferson spoke in his first inaugural address (1801) of our need for a “wise and frugal Government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned.”

In this spirit, I’ve thought about certain non-partisan values that should characterize good government and the officials who are elected and appointed to its many positions. Here are eight qualities I wish to see as I evaluate those seeking office this election season:

  • Frugality – viewing public funds as a limited resource to be prudently handled with great care and not as a constant spring where there is always more to be tapped. It must always be remembered that every tax dollar, regardless of its source and our political good intentions, takes money from people and not from impersonal things.
  • Accountability – recognizing that managing public funds and exercising power are solemn trusts. Those who do these things must see themselves as stewards answerable to thex people. Most of us believe accountability is due “in the sight of both God and man.” But even if a politician doesn’t think God exists, he knows the citizen does. Accountability also measures actions by their impact on the future long after a term of office has ended.
  • Integrity – being people of truthfulness and fairness and good character in light of reasoned principles acknowledged by almost everybody.
  • Collegiality – being an effective office-holder through knowing how to work with others, especially those of opposing viewpoints. The collegiate leader earns respect “across the aisle” and knows how to work the political process for reasonable advantage without yielding core values. In short, he knows “half a loaf is better than none.”
  • Efficiency – getting the most “bang for the buck” by avoiding wasted time, squandered resources, incompetence and bloated bureaucracy. Jefferson’s call for “suppression of unnecessary offices, of useless establishments and expenses” needs to be heeded as never before.
  • Productivity – ensuring that resources of funding, time and talent are used for intended and effective purposes and not, as examples, for self-aggrandizement or for programs likely or proven to fail. A good leader regards no program as sacrosanct and regularly evaluates them for both effectiveness and efficiency.
  • Accessibility – demonstrating openness to the people they are selected to serve, whether these people are supporters, detractors or indifferent.
  • Sagacity * – realizing that the state’s power to compel behavior is a great and potentially dangerous power and therefore exercising great reserve and wisdom in its use in our free society.

With these qualities in place, we may then move beyond them to the issues we cherish and the inevitable partisanship of any election. But without these qualities even our most favored office seekers will be compromised in their missions, to everyone’s damage and cynicism.

* Yes, that was a new word for me, too. Meaning: mental discernment, sound judgment

 

Good News from Grace

http://www.gracesealbeach.org/

 

“Saved by Good Works” or “Saved by Grace without Works”?

Does the Bible seem to teach both, or not? Can the ideas fit together?
On October 5, I gave a message at Grace Community Church of Seal Beach on James 2:14-26, “Faith that’s Worthless and Faith that Works.”

I invite you to listen to this message. It can be found on the link below as the message for 10/5/14:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/grace-community-church-seal/id370162801?mt=2&i=319791040

Religious Liberty Vigilance –
“Houston, We Have a Problem!”

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
– 1st Amendment

“No provision in our constitution ought to be dearer to man, than that which protects the rights of conscience against the enterprises of the civil authority.”
– Thomas Jefferson

 

Quenching Religious Expression in the Name of Equality

Whichever side one is on as to the “transgender” issue, what happened in October in Houston, Texas should concern all who support religious liberty.

Long story short, a petition was submitted to the city to call for a voter referendum that would repeal a recent amendment to the city’s equal rights ordinance. The amendment allowed “transgendered” people access to the rest room of their “gender identity”. When the referendum petition was rejected, several groups filed a lawsuit against Houston.

In response to this, attorneys for the city subpoenaed a large number of documents from five pastors—”all speeches, presentations, or sermons related to [the equal rights ordinance], the Petition, Mayor Annise Parker, homosexuality, or gender identity prepared by, delivered by, revised by, or approved by you or in your possession.”

The results of this great overreach of government power would be at least two: (1) an intimidating, chilling effect on the messages and legal activism of churches, and (2) much difficulty for churches to fulfill the subpoenas—churches are generally unequipped or staffed for this kind of demand.

Americans United for Separation of Church and State said that, while a subpoena would be in order when there is a reasonable suspicion of wrong, such wrongdoing is not an issue in this case. “The targeted pastors are not even parties to the lawsuit, and the scope of the subpoenas is striking broad. This has the look of a fishing expedition.” The ACLU of Texas agreed: “The government should never engage in fishing expeditions into the inner workings of a church, and any request for information must be carefully tailored to seek only what is relevant to the dispute.” The Interfaith Alliance said, “As long as a sermon is not inciting violence, the government has no business getting involved in the content of ministers’ sermons.”

That’s three left-wing voices supporting religious liberty in this case!

For now, the city has backed down (rather unrepentantly) from its power display—first by narrowing the request and then by dropping it altogether. Nonetheless, keep alert because “Vigilance is always the Price of Liberty.”

[Sources: “Friendly Atheist” blog; Websites of Americans United and the ACLU;
“The Volokh Conspiracy”, October 16 and 29, 2014; Houston Chronicle, October 29]

Message of the Month—
What Makes for “Immoral” Leadership?

Mark Driscoll, pastor of the influential mega-church Mars Hill in Seattle, Washington, resigned from leading his church in October. The overseeing board of Mars Hill Church concluded Driscoll had “been guilty of arrogance, responding to conflict with a quick temper and harsh speech, and leading the staff and elders in a domineering manner.” But they were careful to say he had “never been charged with any immorality, illegality or heresy.”

The board’s statement caught my eye. Think about it for a moment. Without a doubt, “immorality” here is a code word for sexual wrongdoing. The sometimes-prudish New American Standard Bible would at times translate the Greek word porneia (fornication) by the word “immorality” (see 1 Corinthians 6:16-18 and 7:2 in the NASB).

But this will not wash! This pastor, it was said, had arrogance, a quick temper, harsh speech and a domineering manner. These all are forms of “immorality.”

Arrogance, temper, domination? “The overseer [pastor, church leader] must be…not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome” and not conceited or overbearing (1 Timothy 3:2-6; Titus 1:7). On the contrary, if you want to lead Jesus’ way (HWJL – “How Would Jesus Lead?”), read Matthew 20:20-28. “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them… Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant.”

A mega-church pastor once wrote a book on leadership. One of his staff members told me the book should have been titled Leading By Intimidation!

Harsh speech? The tongue, scripture says, is “a fire, a world of evil among all the parts of the body.” “No man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.” With our tongues we bless God and curse people, all made in God’s likeness. “My brothers, this should not be” (read James 3:3-12).

Today “the tongue” includes what we post on (un)social media. Many teens, especially girls, use this form of communication sinfully when they speak with malice and slander and with little regard for truth. One of three teens (32%) has been “cyberbullied”—via mean texts, photoshopped pictures, fake profiles, fight videos, rumors and gossip, embarrassing pictures, threats, and harassment. ** All these are communication (speech) sins, aka immorality.

Instead of all this, “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up” (read Ephesians 4:29-32).

The Evangelical world often seem fixated on “immorality” in one specific sense, but not on the range of matters the Bible considers immoral. Every Christian leader needs to confess his or her immorality in the light of a wide range of issues and then strive for improvement. Only then are we following the realism and personal redemption of 1 John 1:5-10 (“If we claim to be without sin [for example, through narrow definitions], we deceive ourselves… If we confess our sins, [God] is faithful and just to forgive our sins…”)

Let’s stop giving a pass for sins of the tongue and temper, arrogance and domination and conceit, especially when these are manifest by leaders.

** “Social Media” session by Detective Chad Morris, Regional Training Seminar,
International Conference of Police Chaplains, October 15, 2014, Sacramento, CA

Responsible Government Fiscal Policies—
A Resolution

Note: As Chairman of the Social Concerns Committee in my denomination, The Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches, I’m responsible each year for developing resolutions on current issues and presenting the same to the delegates at our annual Conference. Below is our adopted resolution (2014) on Responsible Government Fiscal Policies.

The borrower is servant to the lender.” (Proverbs 22:7)

We express our concern over the federal government’s high deficit spending over the past several years and call on government at all levels to practice prudent fiscal policies.

It is vital that governments, including our own, avoid a careless attitude toward government debt and inflation if they are to act in harmony with the biblical responsibility to rule with integrity and in harmony with the biblical importance of savings.

We call on our nation’s leaders to lead with responsible integrity and to protect the heritage of our children and the assets of its citizens by acting responsibly with respect to the federal deficit, the federal debt and federal money creation.

A Joyous Thanksgiving Season to All!
God’s Abundant Gifts to us!

From your lofty abode you water the mountains;
the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.
You cause the grass to grow for the cattle,
and plants for people to use, to bring forth food from the earth,
and wine to gladden the human heart,
oil to make the face shine,
and bread to strengthen the human heart.
– Psalm 104:13-15 (New Revised Standard Version)

 

© 2014 Donald P. Shoemaker

Religious Liberty Challenge: “Houston, We Have a Problem!”

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“No provision in our constitution ought to be dearer to man, than that which protects the rights of conscience against the enterprises of the civil authority.” – Thomas Jefferson

Quenching Religious Expression in the Name of Equality

Whichever side one is on as to the “transgender” issue, what happened in October in Houston, Texas should concern all who support religious liberty.

Long story short, a petition was submitted to the city to call for a voter referendum that would repeal a recent amendment to the city’s equal rights ordinance. The amendment allowed “transgendered” people access to the rest room of their “gender identity”. When the referendum petition was rejected, several groups filed a lawsuit against Houston.

In response to this, attorneys for the city subpoenaed a large number of documents from five pastors—“all speeches, presentations, or sermons related to [the equal rights ordinance], the Petition, Mayor Annise Parker, homosexuality, or gender identity prepared by, delivered by, revised by, or approved by you or in your possession.”

The results of this great overreach of government power would be at least two: (1) an intimidating, chilling effect on the messages and legal activism of churches, and (2) much difficulty for churches to fulfill the subpoenas—churches are generally unequipped or staffed for this kind of demand.

Americans United for Separation of Church and State said that, while a subpoena would be in order when there is a reasonable suspicion of wrong, such wrongdoing is not an issue in this case. “The targeted pastors are not even parties to the lawsuit, and the scope of the subpoenas is striking broad. This has the look of a fishing expedition.” The ACLU of Texas agreed: “The government should never engage in fishing expeditions into the inner workings of a church, and any request for information must be carefully tailored to seek only what is relevant to the dispute.” The Interfaith Alliance said, “As long as a sermon is not inciting violence, the government has no business getting involved in the content of ministers’ sermons.”

That’s three left-wing voices supporting religious liberty in this case!

For now, the city has backed down (rather unrepentantly) from its power display—first by narrowing the request and then by dropping it altogether. Nonetheless, keep alert because “Vigilance is always the Price of Liberty.”

[Sources: “Friendly Atheist” blog; Websites of Americans United and the ACLU;
“The Volokh Conspiracy”, October 16 and 29, 2014; Houston Chronicle, October 29]

Election Ahead! What to Look For in a Candidate

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By Donald P. Shoemaker

Thomas Jefferson spoke in his first inaugural address (1801) of our need for a “wise and frugal Government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned.”

In this spirit, I’ve thought about certain non-partisan values that should characterize good government and the officials who are elected and appointed to its many positions. Here are seven qualities I wish to see as I evaluate those seeking office this election season:

· Frugality – viewing public funds as a limited resource to be prudently handled with great care and not as a constant spring where there is always more to be tapped. It must always be remembered that every tax dollar, regardless of its source and our political good intentions, takes money from people and not from impersonal things.

· Accountability – recognizing that managing public funds and exercising power are solemn trusts. Those who do these things must see themselves as stewards answerable to the people. We believe accountability is due “in the sight of both God and man.” But even if a politician doesn’t think God exists, he knows the citizen does. Accountability also measures actions by their impact on the future long after a term of office has ended.

· Integrity – being people of truthfulness and fairness and good character in light of reasoned principles acknowledged by almost everybody.

· Collegiality – being an effective office-holder through knowing how to work with others, especially those of opposing viewpoints. The collegiate leader earns respect “across the aisle” and knows how to work the political process for reasonable advantage without yielding core values. In short, he knows “half a loaf is better than none.”

· Efficiency – getting the most “bang for the buck” by avoiding wasted time, squandered resources, incompetence and bloated bureaucracy. Jefferson’s call for “suppression of unnecessary offices, of useless establishments and expenses” needs to be heeded as never before.

· Productivity – ensuring that resources of funding, time and talent are used for intended and effective purposes and not, as examples, for self-aggrandizement or for programs likely or proven to fail. A good leader regards no program as sacrosanct and regularly evaluates them for both effectiveness and efficiency.

· Accessibility – demonstrating openness to the people they are selected to serve, whether these people are supporters, detractors or indifferent.

With these qualities in place, we may then move beyond them to the issues we cherish and the inevitable partisanship of any election. But without these qualities even our most favored office seekers will be compromised in their missions, to everyone’s damage and cynicism.

What Makes for “Immoral” Leadership?

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Mark Driscoll, pastor of mega-church Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Washington, resigned from leading his church in October. The overseeing board of Mars Hill Church concluded Driscoll had “been guilty of arrogance, responding to conflict with a quick temper and harsh speech, and leading the staff and elders in a domineering manner.” But they were careful to say he had “never been charged with any immorality, illegality or heresy.”

The board’s statement really caught my eye. Think about it for a moment. Without a doubt, “immorality” here is a code word for sexual wrongdoing. The sometimes-prudish New American Standard Bible would at times translate the Greek word porneia (fornication) by the word “immorality” (see 1 Corinthians 6:16-18 and 7:2 in the NASB).

But this will not wash! Pastor Driscoll, it was said, had arrogance, a quick temper, harsh speech and a domineering manner. These all are forms of “immorality.”

Arrogance, temper, domination? “The overseer [pastor, church leader] must be…not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome” and not conceited or overbearing (1 Timothy 3:2-6; Titus 1:7). If, on the contrary, you want to lead Jesus’ way (HWJL – “How Would Jesus Lead?”), read Matthew 20:20-28. “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them… Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant.”

A mega-church pastor once wrote a book on leadership. One of his staff members told me the book should have been titled, Leading By Intimidation!

Harsh speech? The tongue, scripture says, is “a fire, a world of evil among all the parts of the body.” “No man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.” With our tongues we bless God and curse people, all made in God’s likeness. “My brothers, this should not be” (read James 3:3-12).

Today “the tongue” includes what we post on (un)social media. Many teens, especially girls, use this form of communication sinfully when they speak with malice and slander and with little regard for truth. One of three teens (32%) have been “cyberbullied”—via mean texts, photoshopped pictures, fake profiles, fight videos, rumors and gossip, embarrassing pictures, threats, and harassment.* All these are forms of sinning by tongue, aka immorality.

No wonder we are told in scripture, “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up” (read Ephesians 4:29-32).

The Evangelical world often seem to be fixated on “immorality” in one specific sense, but not on the range of matters the Bible considers immoral. Every Christian leader needs to confess immorality in the light of a wide range of issues and strive for improvement. Only then are we following the realism and personal redemption of 1 John 1:5-10 (“If we claim to be without sin [for example, through narrow definitions], we deceive ourselves… If we confess our sins, [God] is faithful and just to forgive our sins…”)

Let’s stop giving a pass for sins of the tongue and temper, arrogance and domination and conceit, especially when these are manifest by leaders.

* ”Social Media” by Detective Chad Morris, Regional Training Seminar, International Conference of Police Chaplains, October 15, 2014

October 2014 Newsletter

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“A Piece of My Mind”

October 2014 Newsletter from Donald Shoemaker

Advancing Christian Faith and Values, Defending Religious Liberty for All, Supporting Civility and the Common Good through Preaching, Teaching, Writing, Activism and Reasoned Conversations

www.donaldshoemakerministries.com

 

“Beatitudes for Educators”

What we call “The Beatitudes” (the statements of blessedness found in Matthew 5:1-12) are among the most cherished words of the Bible.

Jesus spoke these words at the beginning of what we call “The Sermon on the Mount” (chapters 5-7 of the Gospel of Matthew). Jesus said, “Blessed (favored) are the poor in spirit…those who mourn…the meek…those who hunger and thirst for righteousness…the merciful…the pure in heart…the peacemakers…the persecuted.”

I have the deepest respect for quality educators and others who work with dedication in educational systems. Here I’ve taken The Beatitudes and made application to these honorable people.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit.”

So, blessed are you…when your frustration level is so high and your human resources so low that you realize you must turn to God for renewed strength.

“Blessed are those who mourn.”

So, blessed are you…when your heart is broken over how cruel people can be to other people and over how little children can become innocent victims of violence, even to the shedding of blood. Blessed are you when you grieve over the children who come to school with the deck already stacked against them because their house is not a home and they have no real role models or incentives for being good.

“Blessed are the gentle.”

So, blessed are you…when you turn the other cheek, walk the second mile and continue to work with patience in a situation, even when it seems just about impossible.

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.”

So, blessed are you…when your frustration over the lack of learned values, moral standards and discipline make you want to chuck it all, but you stay committed to your education task as a calling from God and you don’t forget the importance of your own moral nourishment.

“Blessed are the merciful.”

So, blessed are you…when you reach out your hand to a child desperately needing love and care and concern and assistance, who may not find it from anyone other than you.

“Blessed are the pure in heart.”

So, blessed are you…when you maintain your moral standards in the face of temptations to cut ethical corners and when others see you take your stand on principle, no matter the cost to you.

“Blessed are the peacemakers.”

So, blessed are you…when you intervene in the cause of peace, even at personal risk, and help children who don’t like each other to learn at least how to live civilly with each other and to practice the “Golden Rule.”

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness.”

So, blessed are you…if you are ever belittled or have to put your reputation or career on the line and pay a price for following the best values.

In all this God is well pleased with all you do and, in the end, that’s what really counts.

© 2007 Donald P. Shoemaker

 

Note: These “Beatitudes for Educators” were published as a Guest Column in the Long Beach Press-Telegram, October 2, 2007). After this column appeared I received this:

Dear Rev. Shoemaker:

Today I read your blessing… It was a beautiful way to start my day. I taught school for 30 years before changing careers, and I would have kept this in my desk and made a copy for the refrigerator to look at every time I felt stressed.

I imagine that any educator who read this before going to school took it with him or her to start the day. The column undoubtedly graces many a teacher’s lounge bulletin board…

Don’s Upcoming Ministries

October 5 – Speak at Sunday Morning Worship Services at Grace Community Church of Seal Beach (8:00, 9:30 & 11:00).
Message: “Faith That’s Worthless & Faith That Works” (James 2:14-26)

October 13-15 – Attend advanced chaplain training in Sacramento at the regional meeting of the International Conference of Police Chaplains

 

What Do We Want?
A Free Society? Or a “Correct” Society?

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
– 1st Amendment

 

The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution—
What a pesky nuisance it can be!

Whenever the Secular Left or the Religious Right want to come along and impose a secular or religious agenda in America that abridges the rights of others, the First Amendment rises and nips them. When Political Correctness tries to limit freedom of expression and academic freedom, the First Amendment speaks up and says, “No, you can’t!” When the government tries to impede political speech or force its social agenda on religious people who in good conscience disagree, the First Amendment steps forth and blocks it.

At least that’s how it should happen. But since “Eternal Vigilance is the Price of Freedom”, we can never be passive about defending the ideals of freedom expressed in this liberty statement. It is a concept truly foreign to history, foreign to most societies today, and foreign to the desires of many people and pressure groups here in America.

Here are three examples imposing “correctness” over freedom:

  • California State University—Long Beach

This campus denied official recognition to InterVarsity Christian Fellowship because the group required its leaders to confess basic Christian principles. It is a classic example of elevating correctness over freedom.

An editorial in the Long Beach Press-Telegram gave a well-stated defense of CSULB: “While there is room for exploration and debate about religion at public universities, there is no place for state-funded discrimination based on beliefs.” This editorial continued by saying that a willingness to accept people of all faiths would make the group acceptable. Meaning: particularism in religion is forbidden; universalism is supportable.

I fully appreciate what the institution wishes to accomplish. But why wouldn’t a religious exemption further what CSULB is trying to do?

In 2012 the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously rendered a major decision recognizing that religious groups have the right to demand religion-based standards for their ministers (leaders—understood more broadly than “clergy”). Chief Justice John Roberts wrote, “The Establishment Clause [of the First Amendment] prevents the government from appointing ministers, and the Free Exercise Clause prevents it from interfering with the freedom of religious groups to select their own.”

The court has seen for many years that the right of religious groups to choose leaders by their own standards enhances religious liberty rather than hindering it. The practice is fully in accord with the First Amendment.

Again, while understanding what CSULB wishes to achieve, we must also understand that it holds “correctness” over “liberty.” And to think, this is the same campus that once posted (I read it) an opening for a faculty position in the women’s studies program, requiring that applicants have a record of service in feminist activities! So much for academic freedom of viewpoint! *

  • Harvard University

An editorial in Crimson, the daily student newspaper at Harvard, advocates “justice” over “academic freedom”:

If our university community opposes racism, sexism, and heterosexism, why should we put up with research that counters our goals simply in the name of “academic freedom”?

Instead, I [Crimson editorial writer Sandra Y. L. Korn] would like to propose a more rigorous standard: one of “academic justice.” When an academic community observes research promoting or justifying oppression, it should ensure that this research does not continue.

Now, “justice” is not a clearly objective thing, like the date of the next full moon. People bring their biases into definitions of “justice.” Sometimes there is societal consensus on justice, often not. Once again, this argumentation prefers “correctness” over “freedom”. Instead of following the evidence wherever it leads, the “justice” criterion requires outcome-based research, which has the effect of putting “research” inside quotation marks.

[Note: The First Amendment applies to the actions of government entities, not private entities like Harvard or individuals. Nonetheless, it plays a key tutorial role in society and its enumerated freedoms certainly permeate educational institutions.]

  • Morgan Hill (CA) Unified School District

In February of this year a three-judge panel of the 9th District Court of Appeals ruled the school was within its rights to ban students from wearing shirts that displayed the American flag on Cinco de Mayo. On September 17 the court declined to rehear the case before all the justices. Some words from the three dissenting judges:

The freedom of speech guaranteed by our Constitution is in greatest peril when the government may suppress speech simply because it is unpopular. For that reason, it is a foundational tenet of First Amendment law that the government cannot silence a speaker because of how an audience might react to the speech. It is this bedrock principle — known as the heckler’s veto doctrine — that the panel overlooks, condoning the suppression of free speech by some students because other students might have reacted violently…

In this case, the disfavored speech was the display of an American flag. But let no one be fooled…the panel opens the door to the suppression of any viewpoint opposed by a vocal and violent band of students… [example given: a shirt announcing “Christ is risen!”] It might be any viewpoint imaginable, but whatever it is, it will be vulnerable to the rule of the mob.

* If anyone can clarify the convoluted, agenda-driven description of academic freedom in the current Mission statement of the Department of Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies at California State University Long Beach, I’d sure like to hear it.

Bible Insight: Let the Bible Say What It Says!
(Don’t impose your own meaning on it.)

How you have fallen from heaven,
morning star [Lucifer] , son of the dawn!
You have been cast down to the earth,
you who once laid low the nations!

You said in your heart, “I will ascend to the heavens;
I will raise my throne
above the stars of God;
I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly,
on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon [of the north].

I will ascend above the tops of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High.”

– Isaiah 14:12-14 (New International Version)

From early childhood I was taught that these verses referred to Satan, the Devil—how he was once a majestic angel named Lucifer. But he fell from his high estate due to pride and rebellion. If you were preparing a lesson on the Devil, point #1 would be “Satan—Origin and Fall (Isaiah 14:12-14).”

Many years later, while reading the Bible through in a year (a discipline I highly recommend!) I read through the Book of Isaiah, the prophet of Israel. I came to Isaiah 12:1 through 14:23, which explicitly introduced itself as “an oracle concerning Babylon.” I read chapter 14:3-23, which explicitly begins with “take up this taunt against the king of Babylon“. In these contexts I read Isaiah 14:12-14.

Did I find any reference at all to Satan (the Devil) as, for example, you would find if you read the Book of Job 1:6-12? No, not at all. Not in the slightest.

But wait! Isn’t the Bible to be taken “literally”? If so, how can any earthly king “fall from heaven”? So, the argument goes, these verses look beyond the earthly king to the Devil, the sinister spirit that inspired this evil king. In other words, the Bible may have a “Meaning” within the “meaning”!

But, like an archangel clipped of his wings, that won’t “fly”!

First of all, the context literally says it speaks about Babylon and her king. To make verses in this context say otherwise would be an example of importing and imposing a foreign meaning onto the text.

Second, “literal” doesn’t mean ruthless literalism. The “literal” meaning of any particular scripture is the meaning intended by the writer, including the meaning drawn from the type of literature it is. And the Bible has many kinds of literature: poetry, narrative, taunts, diatribe, epistle, parable, apocalyptic imagery and more. All these must be understood in light of their own nature.

Remember the word “taunt” (Isaiah 14:4)? What is a taunt? Go to a baseball game and listen! Taunts are forms of mockery. “Blind batter” comes to mind (many sports taunts are unprintable). In the Bible, taunts go far beyond literalistic meaning to score their points. This taunt is a song directly addressed against an aspiring world conqueror—now a fallen and disgraced tyrant. It serves as a negative example to discourage other rulers from following the same power-hungry path. *

To bring my lesson home, let me give these thoughts to guide us…

  • Yes, the Bible is “inspired by God.” To my understanding, this means that God superintended the process of composition so that what was written was what God wanted written. We rightly call the Bible “The Word of God.”
  • Point #1 must be balanced with also seeing the Bible as “the word of man.” It rose from human contexts and all that entails (language, culture, location, issues, and more). The writers were “authors” in the true sense of the word, not just “stenographers” taking down heavenly speech (as if the Bible was dictated). As authors, their own personalities, knowledge, talents and perspectives shown through (all superintended by God). Christians who strongly believe the Bible is “God’s Word” may tend to overlook or minimize the humanity of Scripture **, thus skewing its meaning.
  • Verses of the Bible must always be understood in context.
  • “Context” includes many things, not just literary location – type of literature (see examples above) being one main contextual factor.
  • Don’t “proof-text” the Bible. Reading it through, or at least reading large sections of scripture, will help keep you from “proof-texting.” This means you will need to be cautious with favorite practices like “verse for the day” or “promise to claim” or “what this verse is saying to me.” Remember: a verse of scripture doesn’t mean what it never meant.
  • The Bible’s meaning is not to be sought through private interpretation by isolated Christians. Its meaning should be sought within the community of believers.
  • Draw applications from verses and chapters in the Bible once you see their meanings in their contexts. The oracle against Babylon and the taunt against her king warn all people about God’s judgment against ruthless power and pride. Judgment will come against such nations and against rulers who think themselves important enough to pull up a chair and sit down beside the Most High God.

There are many excellent books on interpreting the Bible. I recommend: Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stuart, How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth: Fourth Edition (Zondervan).

* For an understanding of “taunt” as a literary device: James D. W. Watts, Isaiah 1-33: Word Biblical Commentary, vol. 24, pages 207-12, and “Masal”, Dictionary of Old Testament Theology & Exegesis, vol. 2, pages 1134-36.

** Christians who exalt the divinity of Scripture at the expense of its humanity also often exalt the divinity of Jesus to the detriment of his humanity. Thus, they have an impervious Jesus who walked an inch off the ground and is rather untouched by our weaknesses, since (as God) he didn’t truly-truly experience them himself.

When I commented once that the beatings imposed on Jesus in the excellent movie “The Passion of the Christ” would have so weakened him that he would be unable to carry the cross, someone replied, “But don’t forget who this man was!” That’s what I mean.

© 2014 Donald P. Shoemaker

What Do We Mean By “The Will of God”?

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What Do We Mean by
“The Will of God”?

“I’m just waiting now to find God’s will in this matter.”
“Our church is trying to discern what God wants us to do.”

Versions of those phrases are around us all the time in Christian circles. We’ve likely used them ourselves. I have.

But maybe it’s time for rethinking this whole matter of “knowing God’s will.” Here are some verses that will prod us (James 4:13-15 New Int’l. Version):

“Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.’ Why you do not even know what will happen tomorrow… Instead, you ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.'”

I find it helpful to distinguish two “wills” of God:

1. God’s DESIRED or PRESCRIBED will (his moral revelations to us)
2. God’s DETERMINED or PROVIDENTIAL will (what God has set to transpire in the world and in our lives)

An example of the first is in 1 Thessalonians 4:3 – “It is God’s will that you should be sanctified, that you should avoid sexual immorality…”

We acknowledge God’s will in this sense every time we pray the words of The Lord’s Prayer (“Your will be done”) or when we recall the words of Jesus to his Heavenly Father, “Not my will, but yours be done.” We find this “will of God” in Scripture. As free moral agents, we can choose whether we want to be “in God’s will” in this moral sense and we are accountable to God for our choices.

James 4:13-15 (above) is an example of God’s determined, providential will. Its specific details are hardly ever available to us in advance and we are not responsible for knowing them. We will be “in God’s will” in this sense whether we know it or not, or whether we want to be or not.

There is a wide range of issues that are neither forbidden nor commanded by God—that is, not addressed in Scripture. With these issues, there is no absolute “will of God”, that is, no prescribed right or wrong. We are responsible for weighing these issues and making good-sense choices. Issues such as “Should I go to this school or that school, or have this or that career?” or “Should our church have this or that program or building?” are examples.

In this realm of “indifferent things” we must be willing to let others make different choices from our own without regarding them to be “out of God’s will.” And no one should judge us for our choices or try to play the “spiritual trump card”—“I believe this is God’s will for us (and your idea isn’t!).”

So, bottom line, I for one do not try to “discern God’s will” in the realm of his providence. I will live in this realm with prudence and wear my seat belt. I will seek wise counsel, gather information and apply my reason and common sense. I may choose not to travel to certain places—others may choose otherwise. But ultimately, “whatever will be will be.” I will be “in God’s will” and I need to thank him for that, make my plans to the best of my ability, and know that ultimately God is in charge of my life and I am not.

And it would be wonderful if Christians would spend time thinking through how The Ten Commandments (for example) apply to their daily lives rather than trying to discern the will of God that is hidden till it happens.

September 2014 Newsletter

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“A Piece of My Mind”

September 2014 Newsletter from Donald Shoemaker

Advancing Christian Faith and Values, Defending Religious Liberty for All, Supporting Civility and the Common Good through Preaching, Teaching, Writing, Activism and Reasoned Conversations

www.donaldshoemakerministries.com

Labor Day 2014 – A Worker’s Prayer

Lord, this is the day you have made. I will rejoice and be glad in it, no matter what. You are Lord of this day. May you be pleased and honored by all I say and think and do in my job.You are my creator, a God of thoughtfulness, planning and beauty. Help me to take those qualities into my workplace, that I might do my very best with the talents and skills you’ve given me.

You have given me values to live by.

Lead me not into temptation, but deliver me from evil.

Let the pressures of my job build me and not break me.

In the words of the Psalmist, “Redeem me from the oppression of men, that I may obey your precepts.”

Thank you for my work, O God. I accept it as my calling.

Thank you for the privilege of being productive, of earning an income, of being able to earn so that I might give to your work and enjoy a better life.

Give me a sensitive and supportive heart to those who work over me, beside me, and below me.

May I be loyal and loving, concerned and caring, an instrument of your peace.

Let my light shine at work, Lord. May your virtues be seen in me.

May I have opportunities to give a reason for the hope that is within me, and may I have the appropriate words to share.

May my workday receive your smile, Lord, both now and at your judgment. For I long to hear your words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

– By Donald P. Shoemaker (1998 message: “The Bible’s Work Ethic—God’s Way to Job Satisfaction”)

“Prophets are Good for Business”
(Applying Biblical Principles to Work Situations)

In Observance of Labor Day, We Remember Peter Dey

Who? Peter A. Day (1825-1911), one of the best, if not the best, railroad engineers in the country, had a dream job—chief engineer for construction of the Union Pacific Railroad, which built the Transcontinental Railroad west from Omaha to its connection with the Central Pacific Railroad in Utah Territory.

Prior to this job, he had directed surveys of the road to Promontory Point, helped secure land for right of way, ordered equipment, arranged tie contracts, and raised funds for construction.

Enter Thomas “Doc” Durant, who above all was in railroad construction to make as much money as he possibly could. To do this, he would establish the “Credit Mobilier”, America’s worst financial scandal of the 19th century. But that’s another story.

Dey was ordered to abandon a route he had surveyed (already under construction) for another “bowed” one that would add nine miles and “bring in an extra $144,000 in government and company bonds, plus 115,200 acres of federal grants, and more profits for the Credit Mobilier.” Durant also ordered Dey to submit a proposal to build the railroad for $60,000 a mile, twice what Dey had estimated.

Dey pondered the order and reluctantly chose to resign, saying, “I do not approve of the contract…and I do not care to have my name so connected with the railroad that I shall appear to endorse this contract.” Forty years later he would be vindicated when the railroad right-of-way was relocated to his original straight path.

He noted that he had “resigned the best position in my profession this country has ever offered to any man.”

This Labor Day I hold Peter Dey in high esteem as a professional worker who put his own honor and conscience ahead of financial advantage. People like him are honored in scripture—they keep their word even when it hurts; they lend money without usury and never accept a bribe (Psalm 15).

“A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.”

(Proverbs 22:1)

(Note: most of the information is gleaned from Stephen Ambrose’s book on the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad, Nothing Like It in the World [Simon and Shuster, 2000]. Other sources include “The Union Pacific—Significant Individuals” and the PBS Program Transcript “The American Experience—The Transcontinental Railroad.”)

Bible Insight:
What Do We Mean by
“The Will of God”?

“I’m just waiting now to find God’s will in this matter.”
“Our church is trying to discern what God wants us to do.”

Versions of those phrases are around us all the time in Christian circles. We’ve likely used them ourselves. I have.

But maybe it’s time for rethinking this whole matter of “knowing God’s will.” Here are some verses that will prod us (James 4:13-15 New Int’l. Version):

Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why you do not even know what will happen tomorrow… Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”

I find it helpful to distinguish two “wills” of God:

  1. God’s DESIRED or PRESCRIBED will (his moral revelations to us)
  2. God DETERMINED or PROVIDENTIAL will (what God has set to transpire in the world and in our lives)

An example of the first is in 1 Thessalonians 4:3 – “It is God’s will that you should be sanctified, that you should avoid sexual immorality…”

We acknowledge God’s will in this sense every time we pray the words of The Lord’s Prayer (“Your will be done”) or when we recall the words of Jesus to his Heavenly Father, “Not my will, but yours be done.” We find this “will of God” in Scripture. As free moral agents, we can choose whether we want to be “in God’s will” in this moral sense and we are accountable to God for our choices.

James 4:13-15 (above) is an example of God’s determined, providential will.

Its specific details are hardly ever available to us in advance and we are not responsible for knowing them. We will be “in God’s will” in this sense whether we know it or not, or whether we want to be or not.

There is a wide range of issues that are neither forbidden nor commanded by God—that is, not addressed in Scripture. With these issues, there is no absolute “will of God”, that is, no prescribed right or wrong. We are responsible for weighing these issues and making good-sense choices. Issues such as “Should I go to this school or that school, or have this or that career?” or “Should our church have this or that program or building?” are examples.

In this realm of “indifferent things” we must be willing to let others make different choices from our own without regarding them to be “out of God’s will.” And no one should judge us for our choices or try to play the “spiritual trump card”—”I believe this is God’s will for us (and your idea isn’t!).”

So, bottom line, I for one do not try to “discern God’s will” in the realm of his providence. I will live in this realm with prudence and wear my seat belt. I will seek wise counsel, gather information and apply my reason and common sense. I may choose not to travel to certain places—others may choose otherwise. But ultimately, “whatever will be will be.” I will be “in God’s will” and I need to thank him for that, make my plans to the best of my ability, and know that ultimately God is in charge of my life and I am not.

And it would be wonderful if Christians would spend time thinking through how The Ten Commandments (for example) apply to their daily lives rather than trying to discern the will of God that is hidden till it happens.

Just the Answer for the Truly Lazy* Preacher…

* Or perhaps this minister lays aside his primary responsibility to study and teach the Word of God so he can do “vision-casting” and other modern distractions.

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Don’s Upcoming Ministries

September 9 – Lead a meeting for ministers (the district ministers of the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches) at the Seal Beach Police Department.

Topic: “Pastors and Churches in the Hour of Crisis: How God Worked through Both When a Mass Murder Happened in Seal Beach.”

Contact me for information on attending this event.

October 5 – Speak at Sunday Morning Worship Services at Grace Community Church of Seal Beach (8:00, 9:30 & 11:00).

Message: “Faith That’s Worthless & Faith That Works”
(The Epistle of James 2:14-26)

October 13-15 – Attend advanced chaplain training in Sacramento at the regional meeting of the International Conference of Police Chaplains

Three Tragic Human Losses in August –

  • The Rev. Kent Hinkson, friend, prayer partner and California pastor who became a volunteer Anglican minister in Durham, NC – murdered.
  • Pam Morris, recently retired, who served as Executive Assistant to the Chief of Police in Seal Beach, CA – died as a result of a traffic accident near El Paso, TX as she drove to her new home in Florida.
  • Dave Daggett, long-time local Postmaster and church leader at Grace Community Church of Seal Beach, CA, mentor and friend, died suddenly at his retirement home in Grants Pass, OR.

“If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” (James 4:15)

August 2014 Newsletter

Posted on by

“A Piece of My Mind”

August 2014 Newsletter from Donald Shoemaker

Advancing Christian Faith and Values, Defending Religious Liberty for All, Supporting Civility and the Common Good through Preaching, Teaching, Writing, Activism and Reasoned Conversations

www.donaldshoemakerministries.com

Should Donald Trump The Law?

Message of the Month—Donald’s Flag Pole

In the Bible, the ancient man Job had his critics who were often very wrong. But his critic Elihu surely didn’t err when he described God as a just ruler. God “shows no partiality to princes and does not favor the rich over the poor, for they are all the works of his hands.” (Job 34:16-19)

Our more down-to-earth rulers are expected to do no less: “Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly.” (Leviticus 19:15)

Those reminders are needed, because the real word often isn’t a fair place:
“The poor are shunned by their neighbors, but the rich have many friends.” (Proverbs 14:20)

My church is a block from the ocean in Seal Beach, California. For many years we had steady growth and were bursting our seams on our wonderful but tiny property with just 12 parking spots. We needed and had room for a 400-seat sanctuary. Ample parking could be rented a block away. Enter the California Coastal Commission and its rules. Finally, we reluctantly quenched the plan.

Now enter Donald Trump, who does what he wants regardless of the Coastal Commission. Eight years ago he erected a 70-foot flagpole at his exclusive seaside golf club in Rancho Palos Verdes. The Coastal Commission wanted it moved 30 feet and reduced to 26 feet.

The Rancho Palos Verde city council supported Trump and a host of patriotic arguments were paraded. The Coastal Commission now says the flag can stay if the city’s height rules are modified.

So “The Donald” wins with a fait accompli while flaunting the law. A coastal commission member said with resignation, “I’m disappointed at the Trump Organization for putting up that flag without adhering to the rule of law. However, I think this flag now has become a symbol and to the people in this community this flag symbolizes patriotism.”

Real love for country leads to deep regard for and submission to its just laws. The same is true in the spiritual realm, as Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commands.” (John 14:15 New International Version)

Religious Liberty Vigilance –

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…”
– 1st Amendment (Our “First Freedom” in the Bill of Rights)

“…to compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves is sinful and tyrannical – Thomas Jefferson (Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, 1786)

1st Issue: The “Hobby Lobby” Supreme Court Decision

On June 30 the U.S. Supreme Court upheld Hobby Lobby’s argument that it should not be required to provide for certain contraceptive coverages in its health benefits—covering what it believed to be possible abortifacients, coverages that it argued wrongly burdened its religious liberty.

The main counter-argument I’ve heard and read is that a company like Hobby Lobby by its very nature cannot have religious convictions. The other more aggressive argument is the “culture war” claim that this denies rights to others and imposes religion on others (see copy of full-page ad at end of this newsletter). Remember, contraception is a “secular sacrament” today.

Now imagine that you and your family (this scenario isn’t intended to parallel Hobby Lobby) prayed seriously and thought deeply about starting a business through which you would serve and honor God in every way. Your business dealings are honorable; you pay your workers well and give good benefits. In honor of “the Lord’s Day” you refuse to be open on Sundays. You strive to “act Christianly” from A-Z. You don’t bifurcate personal religion from all of life.
Along comes an expansive government mandate that you and your family, the owners of your business (corporation), believe forces you to violate your faith-founded and faith-operated convictions. But opponents claim that such religious convictions can only be held by individuals, not by corporations. Let’s look at that.

Many investors opt for “socially responsible” investment instruments. While what’s “socially responsible” and what isn’t is in the eye of the beholder, all such investors look for high-level corporate responsibility and societal concerns (whatever they are) in their investment decisions. Just do an on-line search of “socially responsible investments” to see all that’s there.

Remember Apartheid? Many businesses, some under pressure from stockholders, divested themselves of their business transactions with South Africa. Without a doubt, many of these stockholders made demands based on their religion-formed consciences.

Today some pharmaceutical companies have, as a matter of ethical conviction, stopped manufacturing drugs used in lethal-injection executions. In other words, they don’t want their drugs used to end human lives.

Hobby Lobby and others don’t want to be forced to have anything to do with paying for pharmaceuticals that, according their ethical convictions, might result in the destruction of human lives.

If corporations can make business decisions based on deeply held ethical values (which they do), why can’t they do so if these values have religious roots? Take to heart this statement:

For many religious people, their faith is not just a purely private hobby. It is rather a set of moral principles that infuses every aspect of their lives, including their activities in the commercial world. If atheists like me can use publicly traded corporations to pursue secular moral principles, it is not difficult to see how religious people can do the exact same thing with their own beliefs.

(Ilya Somin, “Can people ‘exercise religion’ through publicly-traded corporations?”, The Volokh Conspiracy [a daily legal blog of libertarian leaning], July 12, 2014)

2nd Issue: The World War II Memorial, Washington, D.C.

My wife and I toured the memorials on the Washington Mall in July, lingering at each and taking in their deep meaning. We were impacted by the World War II memorial while lamenting that it wasn’t built for 60 years—when veterans of that war were passing away a thousand a day.

Gen. Eisenhower’s words on D-Day were memorable. So were President Roosevelt’s words in the prayer he delivered over national radio on that fateful day (see my June newsletter). “Almighty God: Our sons, pride of our Nation, this day have set upon a mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve our Republic, our religion, and our civilization, and to set free a suffering humanity…”

A move is on in Congress to place that prayer at the memorial. An “interfaith committee” (which includes at least one non-religious organization) objects: “Our religious diversity is one of our nation’s great strengths… [This bill] endorses the false notion that all veterans will be honored by a war memorial that includes a prayer that proponents characterize as reflecting our country’s ‘Judeo-Christian heritage and values.’”

Americans United for Separation of Church and State calls this “a Christian prayer” (which specifically it isn’t). More: “From the beginning, this push for the prayer has been nothing but an unholy alliance between the Religious Right and politicians looking to score cheap points with their constituents. After all, the addition of the prayer to the memorial was backed by fundamentalist groups, including the Ohio Christian Alliance and the Christian Coalition of America.” (June 24 statement)

Let’s all see this for the evasive ad hominem and “guilt by association” argumentation that it is and move on.
If Roosevelt’s historic prayer referencing “Almighty God” is Christian or sectarian or whatever and therefore shouldn’t appear at a memorial, what else needs review for possible removal?

What about Lincoln’s inscribed Second Inaugural Address?

Both [North and South] read the same Bible and pray to the same God, and each invokes His aid against the other. It may seem strange that any men should dare to ask a just God’s assistance in wringing their bread from the sweat of other men’s faces, but let us judge not, that we be not judged. The prayers of both could not be answered. That of neither has been answered fully. The Almighty has His own purposes.

Read further in his address and the religious message gets stronger!

What about Thomas Jefferson’s words on the monument in his honor?

God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, that his justice cannot sleep forever. Commerce between master and slave is despotism.

Almighty God hath created the mind free. All attempts to influence it by temporal punishments or burthens…are a departure from the plan of the Holy Author of our religion.

If you want to see what “religious sanitizing” can do, visit the Martin Luther King Memorial. Powerful as it is with its symbolism and elegant quotations, one looks in vain for the biblical basis and religious motivation behind his words and actions. His statue depicts a Secular King, not the King I remember, whose autobiography I’ve read, and whose sermon I once personally heard at a Baptist church in my hometown.

Certainly today’s America is more religiously pluralistic than that of World War II. But it is anachronistic and sheer agenda-driven revisionism to demand that the country that is (or imagined to be) be imposed on the country that was. Worse, it is a disservice to the significance of D-Day.

Bible Insight: The Alien Among Us (Part 2)

Last month we saw three reasons why the Egyptian king turned to suppress the immigrant people we call “Israelites” (Exodus 1:8-10).

First, Pharaoh didn’t know about Joseph. Whatever benefit he had been to Egypt, whatever high position he once held—this was gone from history. Only the present “immigrant problem” mattered, not their value in the past.

Second, there simply were now too many of them! “Behold, the people of the sons of Israel are more and mightier than we.”

Third, these Israelites, well, they just aren’t “us”; they are “them!” “In the event of war, they will turn against us, join the enemy, and leave.”

So Pharaoh subjected the Israelites to the menial jobs his own people wouldn’t want to do anyway—work in the fields and build the king’s cities.

Pharaoh had another means of suppression to use against the undesirables—mandated birth control! One method might today be called “partial-birth sex-selective abortion.” The baby is killed after being partially delivered. In other cases, the baby is born and subjected to a sort of postpartum abortion.

“The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives…, ‘When you are helping the Hebrew women during childbirth on the delivery stool, if you see that the baby is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live.’” (Exodus 1:15)

Then the story gets spicy! “The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live.”

When the king called them to account, they concocted a hilarious answer. “Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive.” In other words, “The birth is over with before we can even get there!”

They fibbed! And because they refused what they refused and said what they said, God was kind to them (read Exodus 1:15-21).
The question, “When is a lie not a lie?” must await answer on some other day! A frustrated Pharaoh then demanded “the final solution”. The unwanted Jewish boy babies were to be thrown into the Nile River (verse 22).

But our God, who works sometimes through the sinful acts of people, had a different outcome in mind for a very special child. The son of a Levite man and woman, after being hidden for three months, was placed by his mother into a papyrus basket and set afloat in the Nile River under the watchful eye of his sister (see Exodus 2:1-10 for the whole story).

In God’s providential will, the daughter of Pharaoh saw and rescued the baby, taking him as her own. Not only that, she hired the baby’s mother as a nurse, who now would be paid to care for her own son!

Pharaoh’s daughter named the rescued baby “Moshe”, which means, “drawn from the water.” We know him as Moses.

Pharaoh’s harsh and calloused treatment of this immigrant nation goes down a one of the Bible’s great cruelty stories. But God does a rescue through the water to save a son of destiny, who would grow and mature and emerge as leader of the nation—who would one day confront a later Pharaoh with the famous demand of God, “Let my people go!”

Don’s Upcoming Ministries

September 9 – Lead a meeting for ministers (the district ministers of the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches) at the Seal Beach Police Department. Topic: How ministers and churches responded to the “salon massacre” of October 12, 2011 and the lessons to be learned. Contact me for information on attending.

October13-15 – Attend chaplain training in Sacramento

www.donaldshoemakerministries.com

July 2014 Newsletter

Posted on by

“A Piece of My Mind”

July 2014 Newsletter from Donald Shoemaker

Advancing Christian Faith and Values, Defending Religious Liberty for All, Supporting Civility and the Common Good through Preaching, Teaching, Writing, Activism and Reasoned Conversations

www.donaldshoemakerministries.com

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed…”
– The Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776

“The same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe—the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state but from the hand of God.”
– Inaugural Address by John F. Kennedy,
January 20, 1961

Message of the Month—

1814 – 2014
Two Hundred Years of
“The Star Spangled Banner”

Oh! Thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war’s desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav’n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: “In God is our trust.”
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Francis Scott Key was on a British ship negotiating the release of prisoners on the night of September 13-14, 1814. He was stuck for the night—not allowed to leave because he knew details of the British position and plans.

British ships bombarded Fort McHenry in advance of a planned invasion of Baltimore (never happened). It was quite a one-sided engagement because the ships were beyond range of the fort’s guns. For 25 hours the bombardment raged. At night, since the city was darkened, the only light came from British shells.

From his excellent vantage point on the British ship Key was able to see the American flag still flying over the fort at dawn. When he left the ship to return to Baltimore he was inspired to write a poem about the experience, “Defence of Fort M’Henry.”

The poem was later published, then set to the tune of the British drinking song “To Anacreaon in Heaven” written c. 1775 by John Stafford Smith. A resolution of Congress signed by President Hoover in 1931 made it our National Anthem.

(U.S. House of Representatives.
Verses 1-3 of the Anthem are at the end of this Newsletter.)

Take it from one who sang it twice this year before charity races, it’s a hard song to sing! It goes too low; it goes too high. But “The Star Spangled Banner” remains deeply imbedded in America’s heritage and patriotic life.

The fourth and last verse, reproduced above, reveals a clear understanding of America’s religious heritage. It reflects the Providence of God over America and an optimistic outlook, perhaps too much so, promising success in our just wars. America’s challenge, in turn, is to ensure that our conflicts are indeed in pursuit of a just cause and by just means.

Our motto, “In God We Trust” is ubiquitous in America—on every bill and coin we hold and over many a governmental activity. Does it live in our hearts and practice?

Valuing Persons as Persons—a quote from Michael Gerson

“The worst problem with utilitarianism – measuring the value of a life by its social usefulness – is its cruelty. It tells vulnerable people they are useless. A compassionate, welcoming society affirms exactly the opposite: Vulnerable people deserve our special attention and care. And most of us will need that care, at some point or another.”

Michael J. Gerson, presidential speechwriter and news writer, is a Visiting Fellow with the Center for Public Justice and a nationally syndicated columnist for The Washington Post. This quote is from a transcript in Capital Commentary, “Society and Dependence,” January 3, 2014

Religious Liberty Vigilance – Needed Around the World

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…”
– 1st Amendment (Our “First Freedom” in the Bill of Rights)

“Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must…undergo the fatigue of supporting it.”
– Thomas Paine

Freedom to believe or not believe, freedom to speak out to convince others, freedom to convert from one faith to another—all these are fundamental to the American Way.

And not just the American Way! Article #18 of “The Universal Declaration of Human Rights” (adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948) expressed these freedoms this way:

Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.

See this contrast:

KABUL, Afghanistan — In a dank basement on the outskirts of Kabul, Josef read his worn blue Bible by the light of a propane lantern, as he had done for weeks since he fled from his family in Pakistan…

On paper, Afghan law protects freedom of religion, but the reality here and in some other Muslim countries is that renouncing Islam is a capital offense.

Josef’s brother-in-law Ibrahim arrived in Kabul recently, leaving behind his family and business in Pakistan, to hunt down the apostate and kill him…

“If I find him, once we are done with him, I will kill his son as well, because his son is a bastard,” Ibrahim said, referring to Josef’s 3-year-old child. “He is not from a Muslim father.”

…For Josef, who has recently changed hiding places, the time passes slowly now, with little company other than his Bible. He can hear the muezzin calling Muslims to prayer, a reminder of danger’s proximity and the paradox he lives now…

“My body is in prison, but my soul is free.”
– Excerpts from “A Christian Convert, on the Run in Afghanistan,”
New York Times, June 22, 2014

Note: as of this writing Meriam Ibrahim, daughter of a Muslim father and a Christian mother (who raised her) and under sentence of death in Sudan for refusing to convert from Christianity to Islam, had her sentence overturned on appeal. But she was arrested again at the Khartoum airport as she planned to leave the country after being reunited with her Christian husband. Released from custody, she has taken refuge at the U.S. Embassy.

Don’s Upcoming Ministries

July 17-21 – Attend the annual meeting of the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches in Washington, D.C. Present resolutions prepared by the Social Concerns Committee to the delegates at the business session.

September 9 – Lead a meeting for ministers (the district ministers of the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches) at the Seal Beach Police Department. Topic: How ministers and churches responded to the “salon massacre” of October 12, 2011 and the lessons to be learned. Contact me for more information on attending this event.

Bible Insight: The Immigrant Among Us (Part 1)

Now a new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. He said to his people, “Behold, the people of the sons of Israel are more and mightier than we. Come, let us deal wisely with them, or else they will multiply and in the event of war, they will also join themselves to those who hate us, and fight against us and depart from the land.”
– Exodus 1:8-10 English Standard Version

We are all immigrants. My ancestors immigrated to the U.S. from Germany in the 1840’s to seek a better life. On the ship was little 2-year-old Dorothea Bohning. She would marry Ernst Fredrich Walker in 1860 and they would be my great-grandparents.

The families settled in Ohio where there were many German immigrants like them who pretty much stayed to themselves rather than assimilating much. They farmed, and of course were loyal to the faith they brought with them which was otherwise uncommon in the area—Lutheran Christianity.

They spoke German—exclusively at first. German was also the primary language of the 2nd and 3rd generations. My mother’s first tongue was German. Was it the primary language for my generation, the 4th generation? Nein!

The Bible is very much a book about immigrants, going back to the very first book—Genesis. From earliest Bible times, immigration was a common response to hunger and danger and bondage. The human heart has yearned for religious liberty, safety, food, opportunity, and the meeting of basic needs.

Abram migrated from Haran to Canaan by God’s directive. Jacob fled his angry brother (ostensibly to get a wife) and went to his relative Laban back in “the old country.” Later he fled Laban and his abuse, taking his wives, children and possessions with him. When severe famine fell on the land, Jacob sent his sons to Egypt for food. Eventually his whole extended family migrated there (see the story below).

In one of the Bible’s most beautiful stories, an Israelite named Elimelech took his wife, Naomi, and their two sons to Moab because there was a famine in Israel. The story of Ruth unfolds when Naomi, bereft of her husband and sons, returned to Israel and Ruth the Moabite immigrated with her.

Joseph, son of Jacob, was God’s instrument to provide food for Egypt during a 7-year famine. He rose in power to be second only to Pharaoh. At Pharaoh’s invitation Joseph brought his father, brothers and their families to live in Egypt. Read the interesting story in Genesis 41-47.

Joseph and all his generation died. More generations came and went until the day came that a new Pharaoh looked on these immigrant people with alarm.

Clearly, the Israelites, once received with open arms because Joseph had been such an asset to the nation, were no longer welcome. It was somewhat like our nation’s attitude toward Asians in years past. Once the Transcontinental Railroad was completed, Chinese workers were no longer valued. Once we were at war with Japan, something must be done about American Japanese. Immigrants of German descent likewise were suspect and experienced discrimination during the two World Wars, some even being sent to internment camps.

According to Exodus One, there were three reasons why the Israelites went from being welcomed to being despised.

First, Pharaoh didn’t know about Joseph. Whatever benefit he had been to Egypt, whatever high position he once held—this was gone from memory. Only the present “immigrant problem” mattered, not the value in the past.

Second, there were now simply too many of them! “Behold, the people of the sons of Israel are more and mightier than we.”
Third, these Israelites, well, they just aren’t “us”; they are “them!” “In the event of war, they will turn against us, join the enemy, and leave.”

So Pharaoh subjected the Israelites to the menial jobs his own people wouldn’t want to do anyway—work in the fields and build the king’s cities.

Next month we’ll see another of his solutions and how it was thwarted by people who knew and feared God. Meanwhile, do you have a family immigration story to ponder?

www.donaldshoemakerministries.com

“The Star Spangled Banner” (verses 1-3)

Oh, say can you see by the dawn’s early light

What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming?

Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight,

O’er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?

And the rocket’s red glare, the bombs bursting in air,

Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.

Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave

O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,

Where the foe’s haughty host in dread silence reposes,

What is that which the breeze, o’er the towering steep,

As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?

Now it catches the gleam of the morning’s first beam,

In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:

‘Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh long may it wave

O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore

That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion,

A home and a country should leave us no more!

Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps’ pollution.

No refuge could save the hireling and slave

From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:

And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave

O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!