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| Volume 17 Number 11 November 2015 | Page 15 |
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| Volume 17 Number 11 November 2015 | Page 15 |
Raymond Elliott
People who are acquainted with the Bible, God’s inspired Word, have read how He created the heavens and the earth and formed man from the “dust of the earth” (Genesis 1-2). We also have learned from the same text how God took a part of man (Adam) and made woman. When Adam saw her, he said: “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man.” Please read very carefully the following: “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh” (Genesis 2:23-24). It is reasonable, is it not, that the part of man that God removed from the side of Adam, He made woman and she became his wife. So, the man (male) and the woman (female) were joined together by God. Later “Adam called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living” (Genesis 3:20). You see, God had given them the command, “Be fruitful and multiply…” (Genesis 1:28).
It is not difficult to understand that in order to “Be fruitful and multiply,” that is, to bear children, you have to have a male and a female to propagate the human family. This is God’s design. This is a very strong argument against a man marrying a man or a woman marrying a woman. Such a so-called marriage is in opposition to and against God’s design for an acceptable marriage.
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, gave credence to the record of creation and the beginning of the human race as found in the first two chapters of Genesis. In Matthew 19:4-6, He was answering a question raised by the Pharisees, and here was his answer: “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ “and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh?’ So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.” If we believe in Jesus Christ, we must also accept as literal the record of creation recorded in Genesis. It is obvious that the wife (Eve) of the male (Adam) was a female.
The Real Problem: The
Growing
Secularization of the USA
Donald R. Fox
Yes, there is an increase in gun violence. The mass killing of innocent people is now called the new normal. The mentally deranged to Islamic terrorists are causing havoc here and abroad. During September 2013, thirteen innocent people were killed in the Naval Shipyard, Washington, D.C. Consider also that Chicago is the murder hub in our nation. Godless rage is in step with utter bloodthirsty evil. Evil is common to those who have rejected God Almighty. The news media via television presses the need for gun control and with the imperative view of taking all guns away from our citizenship. I am certain I have not heard or read all comments concerning gun violence. With that said, I am personally confident I have never heard an explanation like, “Know what the real problem is? We as a nation have removed God from our society. America is becoming a secular, non-religious nation, and that is the real problem.”
Of course, there have always been evil, violent, monsters within any society. At this timeframe, we older folks can honestly attest that we have never observed such immoral times. Even during World War II with its horrible brutality, there was a sense of peace and awe, knowing we were doing right. Currently, the masses seem to wink at violence and chaos as normal.
Too many fail to recognize or see the real problems within our society. We have forgotten and removed our national heritage as part of the American way. We will not accept the real problems. It does not take too much observation to ascertain the fact that we have rejected Judaic-Christian principles. The more we dismiss God Almighty, the further we as a nation will decay. This fact makes this old man lament in bitter sadness.
From the very top height of our governmental structure, we do not observe lofty attitudes personified by Christian ethics. Haughtiness and self-serving dispositions are the attitude of too many leaders. We are embracing and approving as a nation ethical or moral standards that not long ago were considered unnatural and sinful. From the very summit to the lowest citizen here in the USA, we all need to fall to our knees in humble contrition. Only then will our nation truly remember, “In God We Trust.”
The source of our past moral greatness was the Word of God, the Bible. We understood that God-given morality was the standard for the law of the land. If you think me wrong on this point, you need to study our founder’s resolve for our nation.
The founders, such as James Madison, recognized “the finger of the Almighty hand.” This supports George Washington’s declaration: “No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the invisible hand which conducts the affairs of men more than those in the United States.”…George Washington, for example, pronounced that “religion and morality” are indispensable foundations for “political prosperity.” (Burger 74)
The rejection of God Almighty and His Word must be reversed! “I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness. And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day” (John 12:46-48 KJV).
Works Cited
Burger, Warren E., Chairman. Department of the Army’s Bicentennial of the Constitution: A Resource Guide. Washington, D.C., September 1985.