The Rapture? 11 December 2002
Life Is Short 15 November 2002
Twenty-first Century Tracts 14 November 2002
Pebbles From the Brink 24 October 2002
Theocracy, Humanism, & Christianity 21 October 2002
Tales From the Dark Side, 14 October 2002
China & Genesis, 26 September 2002
Why Islam Cannot Save, 18 September 2002
The Boy, the Fly, the Flame, and the Worm, 1 August 2002
Boot Camp, 401Ks, and Judgment Day, 22 July 2002
Speakers From The Dead: Mercy, Catherine, and the Angel, 9 June 2002
Leadership, Evil, and King Saul,
2 June 2002
Toll Booth Ministry,
4 May 2002
Old & New Testaments - Part 2,
29 April 2002
Old & New Testaments - Part 1, 29 April 2002
Speaker From The Dead, 19 April 2002 (Written 7 November 2001)
The Message,
15 April 2002
Liberating Palestine,
5 April 2002
What's Wrong With Islam, 17 March 2002
Designer Babies, 5 March 2002
Post-Modern Christianity, 28 February 2002
Enemies, 20 February 2002
Social Security Gets Enron-ed, 14 February 2002
Art & Architecture, 13 February 2002
Enron, Fiat Money & Prophets, 12 February 2002
WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO THE RAPTURE?
Fritz Berggren, Ph.D.
11 December 2002
A reader wrote and asked me to write about the Rapture.
Growing up she was led to believe that she would never
grow old enough to finish college or raise a family,
let alone die of old age. A quarter of a century
later, she's a bit disillusioned about the whole thing
and I can't blame her.
She wants some insight on how to handle this. If
Christianity is tied to closely to the Rapture, then
the growing realization that someday one will die of
old age tends to discredit Christianity, as they know
it.
I, too, was fed a steady diet of the Anti-Christ, the
Rapture, and "He's coming real soon now" as a boy. Yet
here I am on the far side of 40 and I plan do die and
be buried like my father before me was. My dreams are
for my son, and my son's sons - not the Second Coming.
This letter is my response to the Rapture. It is
essentially about ideas and their consequences. Ideas
about Christianity and the Rapture have consequences.
When ideas do not have consequences then they are not
ideas that you take seriously. The same is true of the
idea of God.
SERIOUS ABOUT GOD
One becomes serious about faith in God when 1) the
choices and life decisions they make are based foremost
upon their perception of God's will and 2) those
decisions are markedly different than if God and his
intentions were not factored into their life.
It's one thing to say "I believe in God." It's another
thing to work out that belief by ordering one's life
accordingly - if one believes in God, will they go to
Church? If one believes in God, will they read the
Bible? If one believes in God, does their life change
in any significant way?
God is the Big Boss. He is the Creator, the Life
Giver, the Life Sustainer, and the Judge on the
Judgment Day. If one's belief in God doesn't include
these ideas, then it is doubtful that one's life will
be affected by such a belief. If your conception of
God is made to suit your convenience, then he's not the
Big Boss, and is hardly due the title of God. The same
can be said if you don't feel you will give an account
to Him on the Judgment Day.
As a child I "believed" in God and Jesus Christ, but it
didn't change how I lived my life. As a young man I
was forced by my own internal struggles and doubts to
deal seriously with the God issue. I concluded that if
God is real, then I better serve Him. If I was not
going to serve Him, then why believe He's real? It
didn't make sense to believe in a God I refused to
serve.
RAPTURE THEOLOGY
But back to the readers question: If one ties their
belief in God to an imminent Rapture and the appearance
of the Anti-Christ, and then fails to see any of those
predictions coming to pass, it can make one a bit shy
about committing to the things of God. Burned once,
twice wary.
If all the "really serious" Christians you know are all
running around like Chicken Little waiting for the sky
to fall in, who wants to be "really serious"? After a
quarter century of "real soon now," credulity wanes.
If one takes contemporary Rapture/Anti-Christ theology
seriously (as millions have) then the following
conclusions are inescapable.
1) Don't worry about having Children - the rapture
is coming and the anti-Christ might get your kids.
2) Don't worry about an education, by the time you
finish college Jesus will be coming back and you won't
have any time to work for God (as if you would have).
3) Don't worry about getting involved in politics
or education or business or anything else, because He's
coming back too soon to make a difference.
4) And finally, if the Anti-Christ is taking over
and you are trying to make society better you're
working against God's will in history.
This is asinine.
I can think of no better recipe for social disaster and
the eventual de-Christianization of a culture than to
propagate the idea that it's God's will for things to
get worse, but not to worry, you'll be whisked away to
safety.
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Imagine if we told our soldiers "don't worry, you're
certainly going to lose so don't bother trying, but at
the last minute you'll be rescued from annihilation."
This is a recipe for failure and defeat. It tells the
soldier to prepare for defeat because they cannot win.
That is the theory propagated by Rapturists in the 20th
Century.
People sing "Onward Christian Soldiers" when they have
a vision of victory and triumph even in the midst of
suffering and trials. People sing "Jesus Loves Me This
I Know" when they are feeling sorry for themselves.
Men with a vision of defeat want only temporary
pleasures and an escape plan.
Sun Tzu, the ancient Chinese war theoretician, may be a
better theologian than Hal Lindsay. His comment below
works for the Christian church as well as for troops in
combat.
"Throw the troops into a position from which there is
no escape and even when faced with danger they will not
flee. For if prepared to die, what can they not
achieve? Then officers and men together put forth
their utmost efforts. In a desperate situation they
fear nothing; when there is no way out they stand
firm."
-- Sun Tzu, The Art of War, c. 500 BC
In simpler words consider American General Douglas
MacArthur:
It is fatal to enter into any war without the
will to win it."
-- Douglas MacArthur, General of the Army, 7
July 1952.
All of history is a war of ideas - and to win you must
believe you will win and that your struggle is
worthwhile and will continue over the generations.
The Communists had an eschatology of victory.
Classical Marxism posits five stages of historical
evolution (it's almost a Dispensational theology) with
"Communism" as the final stage. Up until the 19th
Century Christianity also had a vision of triumph.
That vision of triumph fills men with the faith to
endure the struggles and preach the Gospel in the hope
that eventually the whole earth will be filled with the
glory of God.
The idea of an imminent Rapture and the Anti-Christ
has contributed, in part, to a decline in Christian
culture in this country. It's not the only reason, but
critical because it can be changed immediately by the
Preachers.
EDUCATION AND EVANGELISM
If Jesus is coming back "tomorrow," then why waste time
on getting a college education? It's not like you can
ever use it. And it's certainly a waste to go to
graduate school if His return is so close.
But what has that produced? It's produced generations
of attorneys and Judges who either don't believe in the
Gospel, or made to feel they've abandoned their faith
by choosing a "secular" profession. Throughout their
Graduate education they were indoctrinated into every
anti-Christian idea since the Enlightenment. Why?
Because there aren't any Christian ideas at the
graduate level. Those who are personally Christian
don't have the faintest foggiest idea what a
"Christian" law is, or a "Christian" idea of law.
That's a concept they can't even imagine.
Things weren't always this bad. One of America's
greatest revivalists, Charles G. Finney, converted to
Christianity as he studied Law in the early 1800s. As
he read Blackstone's Commentaries (on Law) the author
kept referring to the Laws of Moses as the basis for
civil and criminal law in England. Seeking out the
source, Finney began to read the Bible for himself. In
the process Finney believed in Jesus. In the study of
the Law he learned that the Ten Commandments are the
foundation of Christian Law and that Jesus was the
savior of his soul.
Imagine if Finney's Pastor told him not to waste time
studying Law since the Rapture was coming so soon.
Finney went on to be the greatest soul winner of
America's Second Great Awakening in the early 1800s.
THE HIGH PRIESTS
The net effect of a Rapture mentality is to abandon any
meaningful input into this present age. "Meaningful
input" includes influence on graduate education and
scholarly books. It means Christian ideas in the
handful of institutions that really truly matter -
namely the very top echelon of Graduate institutions
around the world. It takes half a lifetime, sometimes
more, to become a tenured faculty member at a Graduate
institution. And those tenured faculty at Harvard,
Yale, Berkeley, Oxford, Stanford, and a couple dozen
other institutions are the High Priests of Human Life
in the 21st Century. It is those handfuls of people
who will then produce new Ph.D.s to teach at your State
universities. These universities produce Ph.D.s who
teach at lesser colleges. And so on. And then all
those colleges teach the teachers for K-12 - and they
teach EVERYONE ELSE!
The ideas they teach are not Christian, they are
anti-Christian - or - Anti-Christ. So if you are
looking for a bogeyman with horns and 666 stamped on
his forehead take a moment to consider the effect of
your own educational background. Did the professors
at your college reinforce the claims of the Gospel and
the Scriptures as they did with Finney? Or did they
tell you that "religion" was simply man's invention all
along?
The greatest preachers, teachers, and influencers of
the minds of men are college professors. They teach
the teachers. They teach the writers and movie
producers. They teach the lawyers and judges. The
assumption under girding contemporary education - with
a few exceptions in private or home school settings -
is that God is relevant only as a historical curiosity.
How things change: in public schools the gays are
streaming out of the closet and the Christians are told
to get in.
But what Christian, consumed with a belief in the
imminence of the Rapture, would be willing to invest
half a life-time or more into the quest for Tenure at
at major university. Why not just drop out of college
and "preach the Gospel?"
The net result of the Rapture theory has been the
wholesale abandonment of the few institutions that
really do make a difference in society. And make no
mistake about it - those professors DO influence the
ability to preach the Gospel. By the time a naïve
Christian teenager is graduated from college - if they
are still a Christian - they are convinced that
Christianity is heavenly minded and no earthly good.
And the cycle continues. And people don't accept the
Gospel and don't believe the Bible because the High
Priests (the University professors) have taught them
that the Gospel story is just another fairy tale, a
fine myth, a wonderful story at best, yet ultimately an
invention of man to explain the unexplainable.
Speaking generally, it becomes difficult to get college
educated people to abandon everything they've learned
from their professors and believe in a simple Gospel.
It is to abandon one religion for another.
BAD FRUIT
Even if Christ returns tomorrow people still need to go
to be educated. We will still need attorney's and
judges and courts, and we still need writers and
thinkers and businessmen and teachers. The Second
Coming doesn't mean we all turn into naked babies
floating through the clouds with harps. The Second
Coming does not mean we are all to devolve into
ignoramuses. History continues after the Second
Coming. Men will still choose between Good and Evil at
Christ's second appearance as they did at His first (as
Judas did). God still wants men to teach, preach and
judge; and these professions require college and
graduate educations.
Rapture/Anti-Christ theology as it has been taught is
counter-productive to the Gospel. It results, over
time, in a net decrease in the rate of Christian
conversions. It ultimate hinders, not enhances, the
preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
CONCLUSION
One day historians will look back on the 20th Century
and conclude that the rise of Rapture Theology was a
direct response to the loss of Christian influence on
society and that it's embrace by the evangelical
population only hastened its demise. Rapture theology
justifies the failure of Christianity to evangelize
society and overcome the influences of evil in this
world. It is a dogma of failure and it's fruit is more
failure.
If Christ were to return tomorrow he would tell young
people to invest for the long run. Jesus isn't in a
hurry - He isn't looking for a quick fix. One boy and
two women were the only ones left when He died at
Calvary. Three days later he rose from the dead and
saw the twelve. Fifty days later He saw the seventy at
Pentecost. Later he appeared to the five hundred.
Today's billions have believed in Him.
Live for the long run. Invest your life like there is
a tomorrow. Invest in the next generation and the one
after that. And your return will be great on the
Judgment Day.
Fritz Berggren, Ph.D.
11 December 2002
Miami, FL, USA
fberggren@pomox.com
www.berggren.us
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Fritz W. Berggren, Ph.D. 13 November 2002 LIFE IS SHORT Life is Short. Eternity is so very long. Only your children and what you do for Jesus Christ lives beyond the grave. I remember when I buried my son, who was "still born." I remember what it felt like to be so close to a child who lived only in his mother's womb. My wife and I touched him as he lay silent on the table. The nurses came by and cried because they had never seen a still born baby loved and held by their parents. We held him and loved him and told him how beautiful he was. We knew he was not going to survive when she was three months pregnant. But we hoped and believed for a miracle that did not come. I remember the evening he passed away. My wife and I and our son Lars sat on the balcony on a rocking bench and cried, and talked to our baby and told him how much we loved him. Little Lars hugged Momma's belly and said "I love you brother." Three days later we went to have a regular check up and they couldn't find a heart beat. He was only seven months into life. I remember a TV interview with an Army Ranger who fought in Somalia and watched many of his buddies die. While looking upon the body bags, he said he "had never felt so alive in all my life." I knew what he meant because I felt the same with my son. Only when death is so close and so real and so tangible can men touch eternity and see that life as so precious. DEATH, BURIAL, and RESURRECTION I buried my son next to my father-in-law. Death is bittersweet. It is sweet because it makes being alive so real and so meaningful. It is sweet because there is such a great hope and joy in the assurance of eternal life. Eternal life is so very real as you watch your loved one pass into the next world. I had peace in my heart because he would never know the agonies life brings: the rejections, the disappointments, the risk of not believing in Jesus Christ, the risk of not serving Him. But with the peace there was a bitterness. Death tears the soul. It rips from the heart one who is part of you, precious and loved. Lars would never be able to play with that little brother. He knows he has a brother in heaven and talks about it from time to time. Death is a reminder that this world will never be perfect or healed or whole until the King of Life brings his beloved into a new world after the Great Resurrection. Life is a privilege. It is the highest honor given to any created being. It is only in this life that we can live by faith and believe in Him who is Unseen. On the other side, we will see Him as the angels do. It is a privilege to be alive because we can suffer in this life. And in that suffering we can love and hope and follow Him who is Unseen. On the other side, you won't have that honor. And so at my son's graveside service I reminded the living of the Eternal Life waiting for those with faith in Jesus. Jesus said, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies." John 11:25 Death will have no victory over me. Death had no victory over my son. It has no sting because it is swallowed up in the joy and peace and assurance of Eternal Life. God loved the world so much that he sacrificed his son, Jesus Christ, so that whoever would believe in Him would not perish, but have ETERNAL LIFE Trust in Jesus. And live for Him. That is the only thing that lives beyond the grave. Life is so short. And Eternity is so very very long. And only what's done for Christ will last. PS: After the last Ocassional Letter (Twenty-first Century Tracts) one of my readers responded as follows: >>>> Your message is so appropriate for me today. At a recent soccer game for my 10-year-old son, I chanced to speak with another father, who happened to be a fireman, for about one hour. He opened his heart and struggles to me: single-fatherhood, four children, rebellious teenage daughter, providing meals with busy schedules. In spite of circumstances, I thought he was doing OK..... A couple weeks passed without contact. Found out Saturday that he had just taken his life. Funeral is in two hours. We never know when our words will make the difference between life, or death. Coincidentally, I had just resumed Tuesday night prayer meetings with/for single fathers, in my home. (Signed) >>>> -------------- Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, "Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?" 1 Corinthians 15:50 ----------------------- Fritz Berggren, Ph.D. 14 November 2002 Miami, FL, USA fberggren@pomox.com www.berggren.us
Fritz Berggren, Ph.D.
13 November 2002
Miami, FL, USA
TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY TRACTS
In the process of sending out my letters I have ruffled
some feathers. A few have opined that I'm committing a
moral obscenity, if not a crime, by sending them
unsolicited e-mail.
(If that's you, you can immediately unsubscribe from
this list by clicking on the link at the bottom of
every message.)
But I can't stop sending out E-mail because "someone,
somewhere, might be offended." Twenty years ago I was
a "campus evangelist" and approached people every day
with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The message remains the same:
Jesus offers EternalLife.
The medium has changed:
I send out E-mail instead of tracts.
In both cases, people can refuse to receive the
message. That's fine.
This E-mail messages offers you something vastly
more important than:
--Herbs or chemicals to make anatomical appendages grow
--Writhing, sweaty, disrobed physiques
--Opportunities to acquire vast sums of filthy lucre
with no work.
This E-mail proclaims Eternal Life through Jesus Christ.
Preachers don't stop preaching the Gospel because
someone somewhere might be offended. Neither do
Christians. Twenty years ago on college campuses
people didn't like the message or the medium either.
I'm moving this list to a new domain (as you may have
noticed). Seems the old domain name has been
blacklisted by some. And I wouldn't mind except that I
need that domain for my other (less important)
business.
But people still need to hear about Jesus.
To Christians, I will be bold enough to say this:
Spend the little time you have in this life telling
others about Jesus. Start with your own children.
Then your neighbors.
And here's a brilliant idea: E-mail them something
more important that last week's sports page. Put John
3:16 in your signature file. Too religious? Consider
the following signature file, gleaned from one of my
past letters:
"What I was, as an artist, seemed to me to be of some
importance, while I lived; but what I really was as a
believer in Christ Jesus, is the only thing of
importance to me now."
-- tombstone of Bacon (The Sculptor) AD 1799
If you just don't know what to send out, go to
www.berggren.us. Then click on "Archive of Letters."
Take them, use them, and send them on if they are
appropriate. The Gospel doesn't have a copyright on
it. Or, make up your own Gospel tracts. Or, if you
want something on a specific subject and need help,
then ask me. Maybe I'll get a bright idea for you.
Life is too short not to tell people about Jesus.
For the non-Christians, let me be so bold to declare:
Believe in Jesus. He offers eternal life and the
forgiveness of sins.
I love you. Come and visit me sometime at the church I
attend in Miami, Florida. I'm real. I'm not a spam
machine. I hand out Gospel tracts on the Internet.
--------------------------------
Jesus Fellowship Church
9775 SW 87 Avenue
Miami, FL 33176
www.jf.org
English Services:
Friday 8:00 PM
Sunday 9:30 AM
Sunday 11:30 AM
Spanish Services
Wednesday 7:30 PM
Sunday 6:00 PM
--------------------------------
Arise, shine; for your light has come, And the glory of
the Lord has risen upon you.
For behold, darkness will cover the earth And deep
darkness the peoples; But the Lord will rise upon you
And His glory will appear upon you. Nations will come
to your light, And kings to the brightness of your
rising. - Isaiah 60:1-3
Fritz Berggren, Ph.D.
fberggren@pomox.com
www.berggren.us
14 November 2002
PEBBLES FROM THE BRINK Fritz Berggren, Ph.D. 24 October 2002 www.berggren.us Following are excerpts from a book containing priceless accounts of the last and dying words from the lips of famous and common, rich and poor. Most are joyous, some are tragic. Those who die in in Christ know joy and peace. It leaves one overwhelmed by the transitory nature of life and imminence of eternity. God's love and forgiveness are open to all who call upon the Name of Jesus and believe in Him. Please take some time to read this and pass them on to others when you are done. These are true accounts recorded as MC Pritchard was best able to relay them in his book: Pebbles From the Brink: Last Expressions of the Dying. Ottawa: Holiness Movement, 1913. ---------------------------------------------- John Payson AD 1806 His dying chamber was an extraordinary, a sublime scene; he cried out: "It is enough; Christ died for me; I am mounting up to the throne of God!" Then breaking forth in rapturous strains of praise, and clasping his hands, he said: "I know I am dying, but my deathbed is a bed of roses; I have no thorns planted on my dying pillow. Heaven already is begun; everlasting life is won; is won; is won. I die a safe, easy, happy death. Thou, my God, art present, I know, I feel Thou art. Precious Jesus! Glory! Glory be to God!" Soon after he died exclaiming: "My God! My God! My God!" ---------------------------------------------- Charles Churchill AD 1764 Davies relates that his last words were: "What a fool I have been!" ---------------------------------------------- John Valton AD 1794 A convert from Romanism, ascended to his rest with triumphant joy. Agonizing sufferings could not baffle his spiritual victory. Whoever entered his chamber, found that he was still a preacher. An aged preacher, Richard Rodda, called to see him on his death-bed; the dying evangelist stretched out his hand to receive him, exclaiming; "Welcome, welcome, blessed servant of the Lord! I am happy; I am happy!" "Oh my brother," he said to a later visitor, "for the last four days my soul has been in a state of inward glory." On being asked if he suffered much pain, his answer was, "Pain in no affliction, but a blessing." "Prayer!" he exclaimed: "I have done with prayer now; I can love; I can praise, but I cannot pray." Uttering the words so often on the lips of dying saints, "Now, Lord, lettest Thou thy servant depart in peace; for my eyes have seen Thy salvation,' he fell asleep in Jesus. ---------------------------------------------- Philip J. Jenks A friend saying to him, just before he expired, "How hard it is to die! "Oh, no, no, no!" he replied, "easy dying! Blessed dying! Glorious dying! I have experienced more happiness two hours today, while dying, than in my whole life. I have long desired that I might glorify God in my death; but, oh, I never thought that such a poor worm as I could come to such a glorious death!" ---------------------------------------------- Mr. ----- "It does not appear what shall be; but I shall surely be ruined and destroyed with an everlasting destruction." ---------------------------------------------- James Needham "Glory, honor, might, majesty, and dominion be ascribed to God and the Lamb, forever and ever." ---------------------------------------------- Gibbon AD 1794 "All is dark and doubtful." ---------------------------------------------- Richard Moss "I'm going now; goodbye. The Lord bless you. I am so happy." ---------------------------------------------- Queen Elizabeth AD 1602 "All my possessions for a moment of time." ---------------------------------------------- Duke of Hamilton, AD 1649 Douglas, in a little time you shall be a duke, and I shall be a king." ---------------------------------------------- Robert Burns, AD 1835 "The expiring poet whispered to a friend by his bedside: "I may have but a moment to speak to you, my dear ---; be a good man; be virtuous; be religious; nothing else will give you any comfort, when you come to be here." ---------------------------------------------- Oliver Goldsmith, AD 1774 When asked, "is your mind at ease?" the dying man replied: "No, it is not!" ---------------------------------------------- Earl of Buchan, AD 1829 "Happy! Happy!" ---------------------------------------------- Edward III AD 1377 What with the weakness of the king's body, the contrition of his heart, and sobbing for his sins, his voice and speech failed him, and scarce half pronouncing the word "Jesus," he with his last word, made an end of his speech, and expired. ---------------------------------------------- General Havelock AD 1857 "Come, my son, and see how a Christian can die" ---------------------------------------------- Golding His brother said to him, "You seem to enjoy a foretaste of heave." He replied, "Oh this is not a foretaste; this is heaven! I not only feel the climate; but I breathe the fine ambrosial air of heaven, and soon shall enjoy the company." The last words, "Glory! Glory! Glory!" "All is clear," he said, to one of his colleague; "I have had some success in my labors, but my happiness does not result from that, but from this: I have now hold of God. I am a very great sinner, and am saved by the wonderful love of God in Christ Jesus. I throw my person and my labors at his feet." ---------------------------------------------- A Little Girl "Jesus Christ said to me, "Come," and so I came to Him; and now I say to Jesus, 'Come,' and He will come very soon; and He will send His angels, and will carry me away." ---------------------------------------------- Cato BC 148 Have my friends yet embarked? Does anything yet remain that could be done to save them?" He had exhorted his friends to save themselves, and after enquiring as above, dismissed his servant, stabbed himself, and expired. ---------------------------------------------- Queen Caroline, AD 1821 "Open the window! - Pray." The Princess Emily began to read a prayer; but before she had read ten words, the Queen had passed away. ---------------------------------------------- Bishop Gardiner, AD 1555 Gardiner delayed dinner on the day of the martyrdom of Ridley and Latimer until he should have received the account of their burning. At this meal the first severe symptoms of fatal disease manifested themselves, a disorder which rapidly increased, and was of so disgusting a character, that it was scarcely possible to get anyone to come near him. His last words were, "I have sinned, like Peter; but have not wept like him." The wretched man died in inexpressible torments with curses and blasphemy in his mouth." ---------------------------------------------- Lord Harant Approaching the block, kneeled down, and exclaimed: "Into They hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit! In Thee have I always trusted. Receive me, therefore, my blessed Redeemer!" ---------------------------------------------- Joseph Chapman AD 1833 Glory, glory! Victory, victory! ---------------------------------------------- Lord Byron AD 1824 "Shall I sue for mercy? Come, come; no weakness; let's be a man to the last." ---------------------------------------------- Selden AD 1654 At the close of his life, he declared that, "He had possessed himself of a treasure of Books and manuscripts, yet he could rest his soul upon none, save the Scriptures." ---------------------------------------------- Dr. Lincare AD 1524 A little before his death, worn out with fatigue and weakness, he began to read the New Testament, and on perusing the fifth, sixth, and seventh chapters of St. Matthew's Gospel, he threw the book from him with such violence, exclaiming: "Either this is not the Gospel, or we are not Christians." ---------------------------------------------- Reverend Peard Dickenson An ordained clergyman, labored faithfully and died triumphantly. His last words were: "Hark! Do you not hear? They are come for me. I am ready, quite ready! Stop! Say nothing but glory! Glory!" ---------------------------------------------- Elizabeth Barrett Browning AD 1861 "It is beautiful!" ---------------------------------------------- Michelangelo AD 1564 "I commit my soul to God, my body to the earth, my possessions to my nearest relatives. I die in the faith of Jesus Christ, and in the firm hope of a better life." ---------------------------------------------- Thos. Kyte "Rather reserved," of deep piety, and who after seventeen years labor in God's vineyard, died shouting, "Praise Him! Praise Him! Praise Him!" ---------------------------------------------- Dr. Judson AD 1850 "I go with the gladness of a boy, bounding away from school." ---------------------------------------------- Ebenezer Lawrence - A Sunday School Scholar "I am coming; Jesus is waiting for me, and I am waiting for Him! There is the white robe! There is the crown! I am going to put it on. Farewell, mother!" ---------------------------------------------- Isaac Myers "Victory! Victory! Shout Victory! Nearly gone - nearly gone - almost home - I am ready!" He is come; He is come! ---------------------------------------------- Hon. Francis Newport "Oh, the insufferable pangs of hell and damnation!" ---------------------------------------------- Hannah Moore AD 1834 "Patty -- Joy." ---------------------------------------------- Mrs. Stevens "Open the gates of glory! Open the gates of glory!" ---------------------------------------------- Tom Paine AD 1809 "I would give worlds if I had them, that the Age of Reason had never been published." In answer toe Dr. Manley's question, "Do you then believe in the divinity of Jesus Christ?" Paine's reply and last utterance was, "I have no wish to believe on that subject." ---------------------------------------------- Mr. --- Asking his wife for a glass of water, he said: "I will not be able to get any where I am going." He drank it greedily; then looking his wife in the face, exclaimed: "Oh! Martha, Martha; you have sealed my everlasting damnation!" and died. ---------------------------------------------- George Russel AD 1895 The following words were spoken to his daughter: "I'm - sweeping - through - the gates - Rosa!" ---------------------------------------------- Vara (A Chief of the Island of Aimeo) "I have been very wicked," said he on his deathbed; "but the great King from the other side of the skies sent His ambassadors with terms of peace. We could not tell for many years what these ambassadors wanted. At last Pomare invited all his subjects to come and take refuge under the wings of Jesus; and I was one of the first to do so. The blood of Jesus is my foundation. And I grieve that all my children do not know Him." Asked if he was afraid to die, "No, no," was his reply. "the canoe is on the sea, the sails are spead; she is ready for the gale. I have a good pilot to guide me, and a good haven to receive me. My outside man and my inside man differ; let the one rot till the trumpet shall sound; but let my soul wing her way to the throne of Jesus." ---------------------------------------------- Ralph Smith "Jesus Christ, and a convoy? Triumphant! Glorious!" ---------------------------------------------- Mrs. Thos. Blanchard AD 1905 "Oh, it is glorious; Jesus is here, right here!" ---------------------------------------------- Eva Greening AD 1887 (A Child of Nine Years.) While lying perfectly still and calm, she said, "I see stars!" When asked what they looked like, she said, "Bright lights, the stars of God. I see an angel." One asked what he was like. She said, "He has on white robes." She again said, "I see angels clapping their hands around the great white throne." ---------------------------------------------- Samuel Ibbs "Oh, what a fine throne! With some one standing with extended arms to receive me! 'Tis Jesus standing! I am coming presently. All is well; Jesus does all things well. Amen, amen." ---------------------------------------------- Edward Adams "Good-by, Mary; goodbye, forever." ---------------------------------------------- A Young Man "O, drive these devils away with their chains; they will drag my soul down to hell, before I die! Don't come to this hell. This is hell enough! The devils are dragging me down.!" ---------------------------------------------- Charles IX, King of France AD 1507 It was he that gave the order for the massacre of St. Bartholomew. He died a young man. During his last hours he said, "oh, my nurse, my nurse! What blood, what murders, what evil councils have I followed! Oh, my God! Pardon me and have mercy on me if Thou canst. I know not what I am! What shall I do? I am lost; I see it well." ---------------------------------------------- Thomas Hobbs (The Skeptic) AD 1679 When drawing near the grave, notwithstanding his learning and philosophy, Hobbs asserted that he was "about to take a leap in the dark." His last words were, "I shall be glad then, to find a hole at which to creep out of the world!" ---------------------------------------------- David Stoner "Lord, save sinners! Save them by thousands, Lord! Subdue them, Lord! Conquer them, Lord!" ---------------------------------------------- Mrs. Abbott "I am ready to go! All that are ready to meet me in heaven, were they to die to-night, come and shake my hand. Hallelujah to God! I am going home to glory, and be with my Jesus!" ---------------------------------------------- Mrs. Richard McMullen "I have a vision. O glory! I see Jesus!" ---------------------------------------------- Bacon (The Scuptor) AD 1799 Left the following to be put on his tombstone: "What I was, as an artist, seemed to me to be of some importance, while I lived; but what I really was as a believer in Christ Jesus, is the only thing of importance to me now." ---------------------------------------------- Thos. Laidman Hodson. AD 1841 (A Missionary in South Africa) "I see the pearly gates; they are open for me, unworthy me, and I shall enter in." A few hours later he exclaimed; "Victory! Victory! Victory! Victory through the blood of the Lamb!" As breath was failing he began to repeat the names of some of his sainted relations. His last words were, "Hosts! Hosts! Hosts!" ---------------------------------------------- Mary Cooper Her eyes were resting on a particular part of the room, and her countenance beaming, her sister said, "Do you see something?" She answered, "Yes! Yes! Angels! Angels!" Her last words were, "Don't fret; all is well." ---------------------------------------------- A Dying Infidel "Too late! Too Late! Too Late! ---------------------------------------------- Benjamin Abbot "Glory to God, I see the heavens open before me" ---------------------------------------------- And Old Christian Lady Whose daughter Maggie had died some time before, and said when dying, to her mother; "Mother, when you come to heaven, I shall be a the gate waiting for you." The mother lay dying, her eldest daughter was waiting for her. "Mother,' said the daughter, "shall I sing your favorite hymn?" "Yes," said the dying saint. "Waiting and watching for me." And she sang the first stanza of that popular hymn. Just as the singer was repeating the words, "Will anyone then, at the beautiful gate ---" her mother sprang up, as if she saw her beloved daughter close at hand, and exclaimed, "There's Maggie at the gate!" A moment more and she breathed her last. ---------------------------------------------- Francis Spira "My sin is greater than the mercy of God. I have denied Christ, voluntarily. I feel that He holds to me no hope." ---------------------------------------------- Minnie Gardner AD 1906 Shortly before she died she said, "Over me preaching, when I'm cold in death, say nothing good of me, for I'm not worthy; tell sinners about Jesus, and hasten them to God." ---------------------------------------------- W. Whitby "Who's there? What's that? Angels are coming for me." ---------------------------------------------- Rev. W. Romaine AD 1795 "Holy! Holy! Holy! Blessed Jesus! To Thee be endless praise!" ---------------------------------------------- Mrs. Lewis AD 1906 Her last hours on earth proved a fitting close to such a devoted and Christ-like life, and furnished a complete refutation to the Oslerin theory, that the dying do not see visions of a better world. While relatives stood around, her face became lighted up with a radiance not of this world, as she said, "I cannot tell you how beautiful it is over there." Her last words were, "I am redeemed." ---------------------------------------------- Lord Teignmouth AD 1834 "I have no hope but in Christ Jesus; in His sacrifice, in His blood." ---------------------------------------------- John Swail "Oh, what glory! The room is full of glory!" ---------------------------------------------- Dr. Alexander "All my belief is this: Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners." ---------------------------------------------- Mr. W-- AD 1883 On the evening of his death, Mr. N-- came at ten o'clock. A friend of his was there also. As he entered the room he felt that if it were near the regions of the damned. The dying man cried out: "O God, deliver me from the awful pit!" About fifteen minutes before his death, he exclaimed: "I am in the flames! Pull me out! Pull me out!" He kept repeating this until the breath left his body. Mr. N-- put his ear down to catch his departing whispers, and the last words he could hear were, "Pull me out!" ---------------------------------------------- T. Potter A few hours before death he was asked if he would have some one come to pray with him; he answered: "No, I have served the devil all my life and I have done it will, and now I will die and go to hell like a man!" ---------------------------------------------- An Aged Infidel Just before he died he seemed to summon all his strength, rose up in bed, shouted: "Hell and damnation! Hell and damnation!" fell back, choked, strangled, and died. ---------------------------------------------- And that's it for now. I leave you with the words of a famous Christ hymn: Oh, The Blood Of Jesus Oh, the blood of Jesus! Oh, the blood of Jesus! Oh, the blood of Jesus! It washes white as snow. What can wash away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Oh, the blood of Jesus! Oh, the blood of Jesus! Oh, the blood of Jesus! It washes white as snow. What can wash away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. ---------------------------------------------- John 3: 16 For God so loved the world the he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. Follow this link know know Jesus personally . . . http://www.campuscrusade.com/fourlawsflash.htm Fritz Berggren, Ph.D. 24 October 2002 Miami, FL, USA www.berggren.us fberggren@text.net
THEOCRACY, HUMANISM, and CHRISTIANITY
Fritz Berggren, Ph.D.
21 October 2002
"If you will not have God (and He is a jealous God),
you should pay your respects to Hitler and Stalin."
- TS Eliot
As American pundits explore links between Islam and
terrorism it was only inevitable that someone would
raise questions about Christianity and "extremism."
Hard Ball host Chris Matthews jumped all over this by
grilling former president of the Christian Coalition
Ralph Reed in a television interview late last summer.
The "hard ball" he pitched was this: Do you or do you
not support the imposition of a Christian society upon
America like the Taliban did to Afghanistan? In the
context of Al Qaeda, do you or do you not support a
Theocracy?"
That's a tough pitch. In the context of 911 and UBL to
answer in the affirmative is to commit political
suicide on national public television and Reed wasn't
about to do that.
Chris Matthews forced Mr. Reed (at the point of a
rhetorical gun) to renounce the idea of imposing
Christian ideas upon American government.
Reed, a committed evangelical, and Matthews, a
conservative Catholic, both renounce the idea that the
Bible should be used as a rule book for society. It
was as if the greatest evil in the world was a
government founded on religious ideas.
Without being an apologist for UBL, I'll state
categorically that UBL and the Taliban are amateurs in
the history of tyranny - they are not close to the
horrors of secular governments in the last century
alone.
Why man fears a link between God and Government is
beyond me. The fact is, the most brutal regimes in
history have been those very governments who have
institutionally purged Christian ideas from their laws.
Consider the following in the twentieth century alone:
· 62 million murdered in the Soviet Union
· 35 million murdered in Communist China
· 21 million murdered by the Nazi's (National Socialist)
· 6 million murdered by Japan (WW2)
· 2 million murdered in Cambodia (Khmer Rouge)
These statistics were compiled by Professor Emeritus RJ
Rummel of the University of Hawaii and are about twice
as high as the numbers I've been familiar with. Either
way it is unbelievable to most people -one rarely hears
these figures because they are so damning to a theory
of man the assumes God is irrelevant and man is good.
With the exception of Japan, these deaths have been
done in the name of "Socialist Man."
Oh. I forgot one very important example. And from a
formerly Christian nation at that:
· 25 million in the United States since 1973 via Abortion
In the history of the world the most brutal governments
are those who have removed all religious influences
from their laws and institutions. (As a matter of
recent history, the trend for removing Christian ideas
from government began with the Enlightenment and was
first manifested in the violence of the French
Revolution.)
SOME OLD WITCH
It is ironic that people think religious ideas and
politics shouldn't go together, as if this were a
deadly combination.
We were all taught that the Puritans were bad because
they hung some old witch. Yet in the United States
today we incarcerate and execute more innocent people
every year than the Puritans did in two centuries. Why
is that one old witch singled out? Because that is the
only crime "secularists" can hang on two centuries of
Puritan culture in North America. This infamous story
is used by secular evangelists (textbook editors,
professors, etc.) to malign the profoundly Christian
nature of early American civilization.
In the history of the world, the only "religious"
violence that comes remotely close to "non-religious"
violence is that of the ancient Aztec's who regularly
captured and murdered tens of thousands of men, women
and children for the "religious" festivals - but even
this is a far cry from the tens of millions done by the
"religion of Man." The Aztecs weren't conquering new
territory or engaged in a mass migration with the
inevitable displacements - it was for their festivals.
GOD AND GOVERNMENT
There are still some Christians (like me) who disavow a
separation between Christian ideas and the principles
of law and government.
We proclaim this:
"The Holy Scriptures are the guide to every aspect of
human life including government, legal, educational,
economic, and family institutions. And it is the job
of the Church to teach and preach these guiding
principles to every nation so that they voluntarily
changes their laws and institutions to reflect the
guiding principles laid down in Holy Scripture."
Now some will get all worked up and whine, "Oh, you
want to impose a theocracy." So let's talk about this.
"Theocracy" means "theo" (God) cracy (rule of) the Rule
of God. If you don't want the Rule of God (theocracy)
you are too late.
God already rules over the earth.
Even pagan kings know this. Nebuchadnezzar cried out:
"all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as
nothing, but He does according to His will in the host
of heaven and among the inhabitants of earth; and no
one can ward off His hand or say to Him 'what have You
done?'
Daniel declared "it is He [God] who changes the times
and epochs; He removes kings and establishes kings,"
(Daniel 2:21
ECCLESIOCRACY
So we are not talking about theocracy. Nor are we
talking about ecclesiocracy. Ecclesiocracy is the
direct rule church officers over civil affairs or, more
specifically, the assumption of the duties of civil
government by ecclesiastical government. I am not
aware of any Christian thinker that supports
ecclesiocracy, neither today nor in the past. Except,
perhaps, for the Pope.
Protestants are instinctively wary of monolithic
government. When Protestants disagree, the "Protest,"
divide, and form a new church. That's a very
democratic idea. Some call it "divisive." Yet this
Protestant principle that "each man is a priest before
God" is fundamental to the idea of democracy. This is
why the Protestants read their Bible. We don't even
trust the preacher - we demand to see it for ourselves
in Scripture. Everyman has access to the Truth via the
Scriptures. That is a profoundly Christian and
Protestant idea, one that has engendered the democratic
nature of American civilization.
There is to be a separation of powers between the
institutions of Church and State. Yet this is not a
separation of (Christian) ideas and philosophy from
Government, it is a separation of governing
institutions.
This is the critical difference: preachers proclaim the
proper roles and duties of civil government as revealed
in the Holy Scriptures. The Church is the propagator
of ideas which, in the long run, have vastly more
influence than armies. Yet this influence is to be
wielded without combining the institutions of Church
and State. And while I'm no expert on Islam, it seems
to me this is a critical difference between
Christianity and the religion of Mohammed.
The rejection of King Saul as ruler over Israel
illustrates the principle. King Saul (the head of
State) illegally took upon himself the office of
priests (the Church). This illegal union of the
institution of Church and State was rejected by God and
Saul was replaced by King David. Please note, this is
NOT disavowal of religious ideas by the state; in fact
it is the establishment of this Biblical principle that
upholds the division of institutions (not ideas).
[At the risk of introducing too many ideas at once I
would like to add that today's union of Church and
State is accomplished most effectively by the State
controlled public educational system. Education is to
be a function of the family first, then the Church -
not the state. Yet, community control of public
education has given way to control by teachers unions,
university accreditation programs, Federal Laws, and
anti-Christian court decisions. Public Education has
become the de facto Church of the State promoting its
anti-Christian "philosophy/religion."]
IMPOSING ONE'S BELIEFS . . .
Do Christians believe in "imposing their beliefs on
others?"
Of course we do! That's what preacher does with his
congregation every Sunday morning. That what
evangelism is all about.
And indeed so do the State Institutions of Religion
(public schools) as the government employed "priests
and teachers" admonish the children to obey certain
fundamental moral codes. This state-sponsored
evangelism has become more important over the
generations as an anti-Christian morality has replaced
the implicit Christian values of an earlier culture.
What moral lessons are these?
· That Puritans were evil.
· That tolerance is the highest moral value.
· That homosexuality is "OK."
· That anyone who says homosexuality is wrong is
a bigot and is as bad as Adolph Hitler.
· That God is a myth invented by people to
explain our existence.
· That religion is a tool of mind control and
limits intellectual freedom
· That humans are the byproduct of Time and
Chance, mere cosmic blunders, accidents.
· And, implicitly, that intolerant people (as
defined above) are not to be tolerated.
To presume that the state does not promote a religion
is a cardinal belief of the State's religious system.
It is dogma. The lie is so big that no one sees it.
Why is the ACLU considered "tolerant" when they sue to
remove the Ten Commandments from public places while
Christians are portrayed as anachronisms of a bygone
era if they raise their voice to keep them there? In
this case "tolerance" is a rhetorical weapon wielded in
the battle to replace Christian ideas. Certainly the
ACLU displays scant "tolerance" for anything but the
strictest removal of Christian ideas form the public
sphere.
Everyone imposes their values on others. That's what
your newspaper editorials do when they endorse or
condemn politicians. That's what Chris Matthews did
when he bludgeoned Ralph Reed into disavowing the
Scriptures as the proper guidebook to every area of
American society.
THE KING and HIGH PRIEST
In Jesus Christ alone is Church and State combined. He
is both King of Kings and our High Priest. When Jesus
physically returns we won't need a popular mandate to
rule. And he already has a set of Laws in mind. They
are called the Ten Commandments.
Harry Truman put it this way:
"The fundamental basis of this nation's law was given
to Moses on the Mount. The fundamental basis of our
Bill of Rights comes form the teaching we get from
Exodus and St. Matthew, from Isaiah and St. Paul. I
don't think we emphasize that enough these days. If we
don't have the proper fundamental moral background, we
will finally end up with a totalitarian government
which does not believe in the right for anybody except
the state."
Amen, Harry. Amen.
Fritz Berggren, Ph.D.
26 September 2002
Miami, FL, USA
www.berggren.us
fwb@text.net
Dr. Fritz Berggren Miami, FL, USA 9 October 2002 TALES FROM THE DARK SIDE Most of us have heard exotic tales of "near death" experiences where the semi-deceased rush down a tunnel to a piercing light and are embraced by an ecstatic sense of awe, peace and tranquility. This "Omega Moment," as Near-Death-Experience expert Kubler-Ross has dubbed it, is purported to be the destiny of all the dead by a coterie of NDE experts. Yet hidden and ignored in the testimonies of the near dead are countless examples of men and women sensing the horrors of hell awaiting their impending demise. Why are they ignored? Because testimonies of hell undermine the story of acceptance and forgiveness that unbelievers demand. And because those who've had such terrifying encounters either bury it in their psyche or convert to Christianity. Those are the conclusions of former skeptic Maurice Rawlings, MD, in To Hell and Back, a report of near death data that contradict the "feel good" death stories popularized by National Enquirer type newspapers and TV shows. Consider the following accounts: In a first hand testimony of a twenty-three year old male suffering from a genetically transmitted heart condition he tells his doctor: You were watching the television monitor to guide the pacemaker wire inside my heart. That's when it stopped. I was blacking out and then you hit me on the chest, saying 'excuse me.' Then you fist came down like a hammer. I saw that scared look in your eyes. Someone was yelling. Something crashed over to my left and everybody went crazy. You started shoving me with both hands and then I was out of it. I was floating, pitch black, moving fast. The wind whistled by and I rushed toward this beautiful blazing light. As I moved past, the walls of the tunnel nearest the light caught fire. Beyond the blazing tunnel a huge lake of fire was burning like and oil spill. A hill on the far side was covered with slabs of rock. Elongated shadows showed that people were moving aimlessly about, like animals in a zoo enclosure. And old stone building was on the right, mostly rubble, with different levels and openings crammed with people trying to move about. Down the hall I saw and old friend who had died. The last I recall, they were dragging the river for him; he had been involved with gambling. I yelled to him, "Hi there, Jim!" He just looked at me. Didn't even smile. They were taking him around the corner when he started screaming. I ran, but there was no way out. I kept saying "Jesus is God." Over and over I would say, "Jesus is God." Someway, somehow, I got back as you were putting in the stitches. I loved every one of those stitches.. Only God could have gotten me out of a mess like that. I'll never forget it. This young man was revived. (Talk about a close call). Is his case supportable by the scriptures? Yes, Revelation 20:15 says that "if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire." Or consider the case of George Godkin, of Alberta (Canada), who in 1948 related this despairing account of his near death experience in the midst of a prolonged illness: (p. 75). I was guided to the place in the spirit world called Hell. This is a place of punishment for all those who reject Jesus Christ. I not only say Hell, but felt the torment that all who go there will experience. The darkness of Hell is so intense that it seems to have a pressure per square inch. It is an extremely black, dismal, desolate, heavy, pressurized type of darkness. It gives the individual a crushing, despondent feeling of loneliness. The heat is a dry, dehydrating type. Your eyeballs are so dry they feel like red hot coals in their sockets. Your tongue and lips are parched and cracked with intense heat. The breath from your nostrils as well as the air you breathe feels like a blast from the furnace. The exterior of your body feels as though it were encased within a white hot stove. The interior of your body has a sensation of scorching hot air being forced through it. The agony and loneliness of Hell cannot be expressed clearly enough for proper understanding to the human soul; it has to be experienced. Is his account correct? Yes, according to Jesus who described hell as "the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." (Matthew 22:13) Mr. Godkin's description of the searing heat duplicates the story told by Jesus of the rich man in the fires of hell pleading for a drop of water to be dripped on his parched tongue by Lazarus (Luke 16:23, 24). AB Shaw and MB Pritchard both record numerous accounts of men's encounters with eternity. Consider the account of English noble Sir Francis Newport as he lay dying : Sir Francis Newport was trained in early life to understand the great truths of the gospel, and while in early manhood it was hoped that he would become an ornament and a blessing to his family and the nation, the result was far otherwise. He fell into company that corrupted his principles and morals. He became an avowed infidel, and a life of dissipation brought on a disease that was incurable. When he felt he must die.... He exclaimed as follows: 'Whence this war in my heart? What argument is there to assist me against matters of fact? Do I assert that there is no Hell, when I felt one in my bosom? ...Wretch that I am, wither shall I flee from this breast? An infidel companion tried to dispel his thoughts, to whom he replied, "That there is a God I know, because I continually fell the affects of his wrath; that there is a Hell I am equally certain, having received an earnest of my inheritance there already in my breast; that there is a natural conscience I now feel with horror and amazement, being continually upbraided by it with my impieties, and all my iniquities and all my sins brought to my remembrance ....O that I was to lie upon the fires that never is quenched a thousand years, to purchase the favor of God, and be reunited to him again! But it is a fruitless wish. Millions of millions of years will bring me no nearer to the end of my torments than one poor hour. O eternity, eternity! Who can discover the abyss of eternity? Who can paraphrase upon these words--- forever and ever?" As his mental distress and bodily disease were hurrying him into eternity he was asked if he would have prayers offered in his behalf. He turned his face and exclaimed, "Tigers and Monsters! Are ye also become devils to torment me? Would you give me prospect of Heaven to make my Hell more intolerable?" Soon after his voice was failing, and uttering a groan of inexpressible horror, he cried out, "Oh, the insufferable pangs of Hell!" and died at once, dropping into the very woe of which God gave him such an earnest, to be a constant warning to multitudes of careless sinners. Or this recollection by a Pastor visiting the dying Mrs. JB in 1886: I called to see her during her last sickness and found her in a most distressing state of mind. She recognized me when I came in, and was loath to let me leave long enough to bring my wife, who was only three-quarters of a mile away; saying "Devils are in my room, ready to drag my soul down to hell." . . . She would say, "See them laugh!" this would throw her into paroxysms of fear and dread, causing her to start from her bed; but when I tried to get her to look to Jesus for help she said, "It is no use; it is too late." Its not the ignorant and obscure alone who testify of the wrath to come. Napoleon Bonaparte confessed to Count de Montholon in 1821: "I die before my time, and m body will be given back to the earth to become food for worms. Such is the fate of him who has been called the great Napoleon! What an abyss between my deep misery and the eternal kingdom of Christ." It's bad enough to be sent to hell for yourself. How would you like to be responsible for deluding others into rejecting Jesus Christ - the only source of eternal salvation? Consider Voltaire's final words to some friends as he lay dying: He cursed them to their faces; and, as his distress was increased by their presence, he repeatedly and loudly exclaimed: "Begone! It is you that have brought me to my present condition. Leave me, I say; begone! What a wretched glory is this which you have produced to me!" Hoping to allay his anguish by a written recantation, he had it prepared, signed it, and saw it witnessed. But it was all unavailing. For two months he was tortured with such an agony as led him at times to gnash his teeth in impotent rage against God and man . . . Then, turning his face, he would cry out, "I must die - abandoned of God and of men!" . . . Even his nurse repeatedly said, "For all the wealth of Europe I would never see another infidel die." In fairness to Voltaire's fans it must be reported that his account is in dispute. His disciples claim he died in perfect peace. Yet either way he shall be judged and I do not envy him. For he must account not only for his own sins, but the lies he spread which have hindered millions from believing in the Name of Jesus Christ - the only name by which a man can be saved from hell. Of Thomas Paine, the following account is rendered: Paine is widely known by his connection with the American and French revolutions and by his infidel writings. During a session of the French convention, Paine composed his infidel work, "Age of Reason" by which his name has gained an unenviable notoriety, and after the alteration of political circumstances in France he returned to America and there dragged out a miserable existence, indebted in last illness for his acts of charity to disciples of the very religion that he had opposed. Bishop Fenwick says: "A short time before Paine died I was sent for by him. A decent elderly looking woman showed us in the parlor. 'Gentlemen,' said the lady, 'I really wish you may succeed with Mr. Paine, for he is laboring under great distress of mind, ever since he was told by his physician that he could not possibly live and must die shortly. He is truly to be pitied. His cries, when left alone, are heart-rending. "O Lord help me!" he will exclaim during his paroxysms of distress; "God help me! Jesus Christ help me!"----Repeating these same expressions in a tone of voice that would alarm the house. Sometimes he would say, "O God! What have I done to suffer so much?" Then shortly after, "but there is no God"; and then again, "Yet if there be, what will become of me in the hereafter?" Thus he would continue for some time, when on a sudden he will scream as if in terror and agony, and call for me by my name. On one accession I inquired what he wanted. "Stay with me," he replied, " for God sake! for I cannot bear to be left alone." Then said he, when I told him I could not always be in the room, "Send even a child to stay with me, for it is Hell to be left alone." I never saw a more unhappy, a more forsaken man.'" Among the last utterances that fell upon the ears of the attendants of the dying infidel, and which have been recorded in history, were the words, "My God, my God, why has thou forsaken me?" Hell need not be a man's destination. Those who believe in Jesus Christ for forgiveness of sins find peace and eternity. Consider the account of Mrs. Williams, as recorded by her physician: Late on rounds one morning I barged into the room to fund the minister hovering over the bed, quietly reading from the Bible. Mrs. Williams, whose eyes were tightly closed, asked the minister to stop reading and turn down the bright lights. "But the lights are not on," the minister said. "Then the sun is too bright. Turn down the blinds." The she finally opened her eyes and pointed: "I see Him! He's here! See his hands! See the heavenly hosts! There all here - Majesty unutterable! The most glorious morning of my life," she said, welcoming them. Slowly she eased back, the heartbeat fading, and the breathing stopped. I wish that you would know Him, the Savior Jesus Christ, as Mrs. Williams does, and rest with her in eternal peace. References: AB Shaw , The Dying Testimonies, Noblesville: Newby Book Room, 1969 MC Pritchard, Pebbles from the Brink, Ottawa: Holiness Movement, 1913. Maurice Spaulding, MD., To Hell and Back, Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1993 ----------- Dr. Fritz Berggren Miami, FL, USA 9 October 2002 fberggren@text.net www.berggren.us
CHINA AND GENESIS Fritz Berggren, Ph.D. 24 September 2002 Miami, FL, USA CULTURAL EVIDENCE FOR GENESIS Dr. Ethel Nelson, a physician and former missionary to Southeast Asia coauthored a book with CH. Chang that describes evidence for the Genesis story embedded in the Chinese language. The written Chinese language has survived for 4500 years - since about the time of the great Flood. Ancient China was monotheistic. It was only in the 6th Century BC that Confucianism and Taoism were developed, and only in 67 BC was Buddhism introduced. In earlier times Chinese worshipped Shang Ti - the Emperor of Heaven. And Chinese emperors honored Him with animal sacrifices. This tradition lasted until the early 1900s when the last dynasty was overturned. In the service to Shang Ti (the Emperor of Heaven) the Emperor (of China) himself recited the following: "Of old in the beginning, there was great chaos, without form and dark. The five elements [planets] had not begun to revolve, nor the sun and the moon to shine. In the midst thereof there existed neither forms nor sound. Thou, O Spiritual Sovereign, camest forth in They presidency, and first did divide the grosser parts from the purer. You made heaven; You made earth; You made man. All things with their reproducing power got their being." Compare that to Genesis 1:1,2. There is substantial historical, cultural, and physical evidence to support the Genesis account of Creation and the Flood. Chinese history and language are one piece of evidence. But Kang and Nelson's book makes the following argument: Embedded in the written Chinese language itself is the story of Genesis. Words in Chinese are formed with combinations of characters (not letters). These character represent ideas (not sounds). Combinations of symbols create other symbols. For example, the symbol for Garden looks like a rectangle with a cross in the middle so that the rectangle is divided into four areas. Is this a picture of a rice paddy divided by irrigation ditches? Or is it a picture of the garden God planted, out of which a Spring arose and then was divide into four rivers, this dividing the garden into four sections? Before I read this book I had looked upon Chinese characters as an absolutely indecipherable mishmash of crooked lines, curves and pen blotches. But the more intricate (complicated) representations are a combination of simpler pictographs and ideograms. For example, the complicated group of little lines dashes and blotches that make up the idea of Happiness or Blessing and be broken down into the following components: · God · One · Man · Garden Happiness/Blessing: God + one + man + garden (God and man in unity in garden) A simple interpretation of this is God and man in unity in the Garden makes for happiness and blessing. And as I've mentioned in the earlier example, the pictogram for garden looks liked and enclosed area divided by four rivers coming from a single spring (as described in Genesis). Following is a list of some of the words Kang and Nelson deconstructed. If you are familiar with the Genesis account of creation and the Flood you will know how to interpret them. My comments are in parenthesis () below the arithmetic conventions. WRITTEN CHINESE LANGUAGE TO CREATE dust + breath of mouth + alive = to talk + walking = to Create FIRST live + dust + man = first (the first man was taken from the dust and made alive) COVET 2 trees (life, knowledge) + woman FOBIDDEN 2 trees + God (Trees of Life and Knowledge) FIRE man clothed in flames (man clothed in glory before the fall) DEVIL motion + garden + man + privately = devil ( the devil was in the garden with man and was subtle, or uncovered secrets) TEMPTER devil + trees + cover = tempter SOUL devil + says = soul NAKED fruit + body + clothing = naked (man clothed his body with leaves of a fig, a fruit, because he was naked) HIDE body + is + tree = to hide (man hiding in trees) SORROW/DISTRESS/PAIN a piece of two trees (eating the fruit of one of the two trees life/knowledge) SPIRIT heaven + cover + water + rain + three persons + worker of magic (the Holy Spirit brooding over the water, the Trinity and the creative power) RIGHTEOUSNESS hand + lance = me + sheep = righteousness (Righteousness comes as my hand slays the sheep) ANIMAL SACRIFICES ox + sheep + beautiful (unblemished) + spearhead = righteousness (sacrifices to God are unblemished, perfect sheep and oxen with are slain) BOAT vessel + eight + mouths = boat (There were eight people, or mouths, on Noah's vessel) DROWN united + hands joined = cover + water = drown FLOOD eight + united + earth= total + water = flood (Eight people on Noah's boat, the whole earth plus the water = flood) SACRIFICE flesh + again + God = to sacrifice TOWER mankind + one + mouth/speech = united + grass = undertake + clay = tower MIGRATION great + division + west + walking = migration (great division from west walking) REBELLION/CONFUSION Tongue + right leg = rebellion/confusion Now again, if this was just a matter of one or two words one couldn't establish anything concrete. But when we understand that recorded Chinese history emerges at virtually the exact time of a Genesis Flood, and that 4500 Years ago Chinas was monotheistic, held to a seven day week, and make sacrifices to the Emperor of Heaven, maybe we are on to something. Note again, these historical facts were present long before any Christian contact with China, by thousands of years. The earliest recorded Christian contact with China was six centuries after the birth of Christ. In fact, the story embedded in these Chinese characters was developed 1500 years BEFORE Moses wrote the account of Genesis. FLOOD LEGENDS China is hardly the only culture with legends that parallel the accounts of Genesis. Virtually every culture in the world has a story that is similar to the story of Noah and the Flood in Genesis. Here are a few: YAKIMA In early times, many people had gone to war with other tribes, but there were still some good people. One of the good men heard from the Land Above that a big water was coming. He told the other good people and decided they would make a dugout boat from the largest cedar they could find. Soon after the canoe was finished, the flood came, filling the valleys and covering the mountains. The bad people were drowned; the good people were saved in the boat. We don't know how long the flood stayed. The canoe can still be seen where it came down on Toppenish Ridge. AZTEC In the Valley of Mexico there lived a pious man named Tapi. Creator told him to build a boat to live in, to take his wife and a pair of every animal that existed. Neighbors thought he was crazy. As soon as he finished, it began to rain. The valley flooded; men and animals went to mountains, but they were submerged. The rain ended, waters receded, etc. Tapi realized that the flood waters had receded after having sent a dove that did not return. Tapi rejoiced. HAWAII A Hawaiian legend tells of a flood (Kaiakahinalii) in which all beings were killed except for Nuu and his family who repopulated the earth when the ark landed on top of Mauna Kea. SKAGIT The Creator made the earth and gave four names for it -- for the sun, waters, soil and forests. He said only a few people, with special preparation for the knowledge, should know all four names, or the world would change too suddenly. After a while, everyone learned the four names. When people started talking to the trees the change came in the form of a flood. When the people saw the flood coming, they made a giant canoe and filled it with five people and a male and female of all plants and animals. Water covered everything but the summit of Kobah and Takobah (Mts. Baker and Ranier). The canoe landed on the prairie. Doquebuth, the new Creator, was born of a couple from the canoe. He delayed getting his spirit powers, but finally did so after his family deserted him. At the direction of the Old Creator, he made people again from the soil and from the bones of the people who lived before the flood. If the earth is young and there was a universal flood, then there should be historical evidence for it. And there is. The above stories are just a few of the historical and cultural evidences supporting the Genesis story. Each story alone may not mean much, but if you look at the accumulated, widespread, and independent evidence for the Genesis story it gets a little more interesting. This will not "prove" anything to those who believe a different legend (that man evolved by chance over billions of years) which is taught by their religious leaders (professors at major universities). But this is worth passing on to those who trust the Author of Genesis for their salvation. You'll hear more about this in future letters. Fritz Berggren, Ph.D. Miami, FL 26 September 2002 References: CH Kang and Ethel R Nelson. The Discovery of Genesis: How the Truths of Genesis Were Found in the Chinese Language. Saint Louis, MO: Concordia House, 1979.
WHY ISLAM CANNOT SAVE: “Islam forbids human sacrifice. The greatest Islamic festival is the Eid al-Adha which marks the day God refused Abraham’s offer to sacrifice his firstborn and, instead, substituted a lamb. A god who refused human sacrifice for his cause can hardly sanction the same to promote the strategies of Mr. Abushanab, or Yasser Arafat. Islam also rejects the crucifixion of Christ because it cannot accept that God would claim human sacrifice in atonement for man’s sins.” Amir Taheri, Wall Street Journal, page A18 Op/Ed Wednesday, May 8, 2002 SCRIPTURE SAYS: the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. 1 John 1:7 Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures. 1 Corinthians 15:3 For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; 1 Pet 3:18 And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. Heb 9:22 Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood— Rev 1:5 Fritz Berggren, Ph.D. www.berggren.us fritz@berggren.us
Fritz Berggren, Ph.D. Miami 29 July 2002 THE BOY, THE FLY, THE FLAME, AND THE WORM I grew up in rural Washington State and my friend Matt had a collection of farm animals on his folk's property. It wasn't a farm, really, but they had some cows, chickens, and pigs and they ate them. This isn't unusual in rural areas and like any boys we were always poking around, exploring, and finding new things so this was kind of fun. Now these animals did as animals usually do: they defecated profusely - and since they were penned up the manure was distinctly concentrated. The pigs really made a mess. Their semi-solid biological effluent flowed into a broad shallow depression creating a wide pond of hog feces. And, hog feces being the special delicacy that they are to the horse fly clan, they attracted a mighty host of flying vermin from a dozen buzzing subspecies. Visited as it was by hideous swarms of fecund winged beasts, the odiferous pond bloomed into a sea of wriggling, writhing, snowy white maggots. Now this was really something. A writhing white sea of maggots spread out across a pond of pig dung is truly a sight to behold. It was a miniature ocean of porcine crap whipped into a frothy, moving, white-capped frenzy as if disturbed by a preternatural hurricane. Being the practical boys that we were, the solution to the maggot infestation was manifestly simple to our youthful minds: one poured kerosene (or some other slow burning petroleum byproduct) over the hideous living spectacle, stood back, and put a match to it. Undaunted by concerns for our welfare (this was in the days before bicycle helmets, that glorious time when one could ride unfettered in the bed of a pickup truck, or low, even whisk down the country road legally without wearing a seat belt), we proceeded to rid the world of this unspeakable horror. And if you think a white raft of writhing maggots floating on a sea of pig excrement is a sight to behold, you ought to see a FLAMING white raft of writhing maggots floating on a sea of pig excrement. Needless to say, that incident made quite an impression on me and I don't know which was more lasting - the disgust for the worms, or, the satisfaction of a job well done as the living evil was purged by fire. CORRUPTION Sin is a corruption of God's nature and intent - it is a perversion of His absolute holiness - it is the revolting and nauseating desecration of his perfect creation by men doing things they should not be doing - things they were not created to. Sin is not cute. It is not overlooked. It is not winked at. God does not understand sin in the way we would like Him to. He commands men to repent of it, to turn away from it, and beg His forgiveness. WHAT IS TO BE DONE? The man who sins is the source of sin. He is the buzzing black fly laying the maggot worms; those worms are his own vile offspring. Together they live and breed in piles of refuse. Those worms are the fruit of his life - the sum total of what he offers up to God. Hell is that cleansing agent of eternity into which all the workers of iniquity shall be cast. Hell is the eternal receptacle for sinners. Like the flies and maggots, sinners shall be consumed by fire. Purged. Utterly annihilated. A PURE CHILD There is no cleansing agent powerful enough to deal with sin other than the blood of Jesus. Sin is worse that AIDS; it is permanent, and irrevocably scars the sinner - there is no self-cleansing of sin - there are not enough good deeds in the world to make up for the bad things a man has done. Any good thing a man does is only what he should have done in the first place. The root of sin can only be plucked out of man if he becomes a new creature. When a man is "born again" he is spiritually re-born in Christ Jesus and when he is baptized that body of sin is done away with. Outside of Jesus there is no forgiveness of sin. There is only One who can cleanse a man from sin. God demonstrates His patience and mercy by sacrificing His own son Jesus so that mankind might be saved from the fire. Jesus died to take the punishment for man's sin upon himself. He offers eternal life to all those who repent and call upon Him for salvation. HELL, GOD, AND LOVE Would a loving God send men to hell forever? Would a loving father allows a disease infested rat to run around his house, bite His children and infect them with a hideous disease? Would you light a fire, as I did, to that hideous living swarms of maggots and pig excrement? The source of sin is man. Men make choices to violate God's holiness. At the Judgment they shall be held accountable for those choices. Those outside of Jesus on the Judgment Day will see their true sinful nature and be convinced that their proper abode is in the Lake of Fire that burns forever. Sin isn't some "thing" that happens without participation by a willing individual. Men choose to sin and men are accountable for their decisions. God offered His own life through Jesus Christ to pay for man's sin and cleanse us from iniquity, but if this is rejected, what is left but to purge the sin in the Lake of Fire? Sin exists because men choose corruption over God's holiness. NIGHTMARES In your worst nightmares, have you ever seen a half corroded face with worms and blotchy broken skin? In a moment alone, in the dark of night, has an apparition of such hideous form emerged in your mind that made you want to scream? Have you ever seen something that so revolted you that you wanted to turn your face and vomit as your stomach convulsed? You've seen a vision of sin. That is what your sin will look like on the Judgment Day. You have already been warned. WHAT IS HELL? Hell is the promise from God that He is Just, a rewarder of good deeds, and a punisher of evildoers. Hell is the assurance to the mother whose little girl was raped and murdered that justice is served in the long run. Hell is a deterrent to man's evil impulses as he contemplates his own eternal fate and the Judgment to come. Hell is the reward for Adolph Hitler and thousands of Germans who murdered 6 million Jews in the Holocaust. Hell is the fire that sternly warns every boy considering a new Columbine saying "I am waiting for you after you commit your heinous act." Hell is the promise that the universe is just. Hell warns the living to turn away from sin. Hell is the destiny of the man that sins. Hell says to all men: "Consider your ways, for there is no hidden thing, there is no overlooked evil, there is no escape from the wrath to come." Hell says "there is a Judge of the souls of men and to Him you shall give account - think of Him as you weigh your actions - for you shall surely pay for them all." There shall be no injustice on the Judgment Day - every crime and evil deed shall be meted a just penalty. Hell is awful - it is the cleansing of horror and refuse. Hell testifies of God's holiness and justice. It is a witness of His mercy to those who have been forgiven. Only the Blood of Jesus can cleanse a man from sin. Outside of Jesus there is no salvation. POINTS TO PONDER And He ordered us to preach to the people, and solemnly to testify that this is the One (Jesus) who has been appointed by God as Judge of the living and the dead. v.43 Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins. (Acts 10:42, 43) For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but make alive in the spirit. (1 Peter 3:18) And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged every one of them according to their deeds. (v14) Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:14,15) For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. (John 3:16) Sheol from beneath is excited over you to meet you when you come; It arouses for you the spirits of the dead, all the leaders of the earth; It raises all the kings of the nations from their thrones. They will all respond and say to you: 'Even you have been made weak as we, You have become like us. Your pomp and the music of your harps Have been brought down to Sheol; Maggots are spread out as your bed beneath you And worms are your covering.' (Isaiah 14:9-11) But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. (Revelation 21:8) [Jesus] canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He [Jesus] has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. (Colossians 2:14) Fritz Berggren, Ph.D. 29 July 2002 www.berggren.us www.jf.org
BOOT CAMP, 401Ks, and JUDGEMENT DAY
Fritz Berggren, Ph.D.
22 July 2002
www.text.net/berggren/
" . . .the resurrection of the dead and
eternal judgment." --Hebrews 6:2
Eternal life isn't naked babies floating around in the
clouds strumming little harps.
I used to think it was pretty close to that - when I
got to heaven I'd have to wear the same white robe
every day (at least I wasn't naked) and just sit around
and sing in the clouds. What a horrible existence.
Don't get me wrong, I love to worship God. I worship
him at church and I sing and worship Him when I can
escape and be alone in my own private time.
But there's a whole lot more to do in eternity.
But before we can talk about Eternal Life (or the
eternal afterlife) - we need to talk about the
Judgment. Since it's appointed for all men to die
once, and then the judgment, that's something you and I
have in common.
CHOSEN FOR ETERNITY
God created man to be eternal beings - our physical
bodies will perish, but our souls will live forever,
consciously. That's our mind, will, emotions,
memories, even feelings. Men do not cease to exist the
moment they die. Their body ceases to function and
eventually rots and disintegrates - but the body is not
the real you - you're body is just an "earth suit" you
are privileged to wear during our brief stay on this
earth. At physical death your soul (you) departs and
will descend into hell or rise into heaven.
Where will you go?
God chooses whom He wishes to save. Since all men are
sinners and rightly deserve eternal punishment, God's
eternal and endless mercy is demonstrated by choosing
some people to receive the gift of eternal life offered
through Jesus Christ.
So if you get "tapped" to serve him, it's the greatest
honor anyone can have. Not everyone has the privilege
of being "chosen." Certainly the Pharaoh and Esau are
two men who God rejected out of hand.
Some men God chooses fail to serve him. He chose King
Saul, but Saul rebelled and chose to rule without
obeying God's laws. So God rejected Him. Jesus chose
Judas. But in time Judas rejected the Savior and sold
him into the hands of his enemies for the paltry sum of
30 pieces of silver.
Other men are warned about turning away from serving
him during the course of their lives. The Apostle Paul
instructed the church to say to Archippus, "Take heed
to the ministry which you have received in the Lord,
that you may fulfill it." (Colossians 4:17). And his
prayer for Timothy was that "that our God will count
you worthy of your calling." 2 Thess 1:11
So there are a couple of elements to consider:
First, not everyone has the honor of being called to
serve the Lord Jesus. Those whom God rejects will be
damned. And there is nothing they can do about it.
This idea is revolting to people because they presume
that man is free to choose. W. E. Henly wrote "I am
the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul."
This poem is so popular because it resonates well
within the soul of modern Western man - post-God
Enlightenment man - but it isn't so.
That some men are predestined to hell is insulting
because it is a rejection of the independent status
man claims for himself.
And that is exactly the point. Man is not independent.
He is a creature whose existence and final disposition
is solely in the hands of God - beyond Him there is no
appeal.
And those who are called of God have a choice to make -
"do I believe what He just told me?" You believe in
your heart, but your mind will tell you "has God really
said that?"
The rich young ruler was called - he was inquiring -
and Jesus told him what to do - and he turned away. No
doubt he told himself "what that man is saying can't be
true." But it was. It's not that the rich can't be
saved - from Abraham to Joseph of Arimathea we know
they are.
But whom will you serve?
Once a person believes that Jesus rose from the dead
and confesses with their mouth that "Jesus is Lord,"
they are saved. (But they don't' get to that point
unless God chooses them first.)
What about Archippus? What happened to him?
Archippus needed a warning: "take heed Archippus, that
you fulfill the calling that God called you to."
He was warned because he was doubting or neglecting his
specific calling in life.
JUDGMENT DAY
There is no one who will stand at the Judgment Day and
conclude that God is unjust - especially those going to
Hell. When they stand before the Almighty to be judged
for their lives, they will know that they knew the
right things to do and yet didn't do it. No one - not
the hypothetical lost tribesman in the middle of Africa
who never heard about Jesus - or the Pastor's children
- will ever say on the Judgment Day "I did not know
what I was supposed to do."
God is too big for that and in a million little ways
all through our lives he tells us what to do and what
not to do. But sometimes we just don't listen.
LIFE ON EARTH
Life on earth is short if one takes the perspective
that we will all live forever (somewhere).
Life is a little like boot camp. And it's a little
like investing in your 401K.
It's like boot camp because it can be horribly
difficult (at least according to the Discovery
Channel!) but it doesn't last forever. The funny thing
is that life is difficult regardless of whether you
serve the Lord - so you might as well serve him
faithfully and reap the rewards later.
It's like a 401K because you are investing your short
lifetime and will reap the rewards or punishments for
your choices throughout eternity. Your life is an
investment - you were given your life by God and he
expects you to handle it faithfully. Your life is not
your own to lead any way you so choose - you are just
the steward of the life God has entrusted to you.
While you may owe no other man an account for your life
you surely owe your Maker an account - and the books
will be opened and the dead judged on that final Great
Day.
You will give an account for it on your Judgment Day.
And you do know what you are supposed to do with it.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT I'M SUPPOSED TO DO!!!
Oh stop that. Who are you kidding? Do the first
things first. The man who says "I don't know what to
do" is the man who probably isn't doing the first
things he was supposed to do.
When a man or woman is "tapped" by God and called to
serve Him - what does God do? Does God say "Here is a
245 prospectus on your life, ministry and calling"?
No. He says "repent, believe in the Lord Jesus, get
baptized, go to church and stop sinning."
If you're faithful with that, you'll move on to the
next step. "Start serving in your church - clean out
the bathrooms, pick up the garbage, volunteer for
Evangelism Explosion, and tell your friends about me."
You did that? Good. Now the hard stuff: "Forgive
your wife. Forgive your husband. Stop resenting God
for what you think he owes you." Ouch. This separates
the men from the boys.
It gets interesting here. The most bitter and
disillusioned people are those God has called to serve
him in a special capacity and they resent him because
it isn't working out the way they expected. They have
all the excuses. Paul had only one response: "Take
heed to the ministry which you have received in the
Lord, that you may fulfill it." That's not just to
Archippus 2000 years ago, that's for us today.
People get lost in their direction in life not because
God has abandoned them, but because they've turned away
from doing the things they were supposed to do in the
first place. Why would God tell you what job you're
supposed to get or what business or ministry you should
have if you haven't first been faithful with the basic
things?
THE VALUE OF FOREVER
What lasts forever? His Kingdom does - not yours.
Every man is a kingdom builder - it is born inside of
us.
We build our home, our business, our career, our
family, our hobbies, our knowledge, our perspective on
life.
We create things out of what life presents to us
depending upon what we value most and this gives us
enormous satisfaction - we were created to build a
kingdom.
But are you building a kingdom that will last beyond
this life time?
SO WE ARE JUDGED, WHAT THEN?
I have two children, Lars and Aurora. They are a
little young now but someday I'll say to myself "Gee,
Lars is really dependable and faithful and obedient - I
think I'll let him borrow my car." Or at least I hope
I'll be able to say that. And I will enjoy watching
him grow up and become a man. Is that hard to imagine?
God is like that. And contrary to what the world has
to say, God made us like Him, not vice versa. So after
the Judgment Day, He'll say:
"Gee, little Joey was faithful - he didn't turn to the
right or the left and he accomplished exactly what I
told him to accomplish and he didn't whine and moan
about it. I'm going to send him over to such and such a
place to rule it for me. But Stan, well, he didn't do
anything I told him to do, but he is my child so I'll
send him to work for Joey."
Both will be be perfectly happy and content for
eternity, but some will have greater rewards and glory
and some lesser rewards.
[Huh? You want to know what happened to Bert?
Oh. OK. Bert went to Hell.
Not everyone goes to heaven.]
In eternal life we'll work.
In eternal we'll judge men and angels.
In eternal life we'll think and create new things and
explore and experience risk and the unknown and
adventure and excitement.
In Eternal Life there will be infinite variety and
change and exploration.
God will create a new heaven and earth just for that -
so we can explore all of Him through His creation.
(It's not something you want to miss just because you
didn't follow Jesus.)
God doesn't believe in boredom or a risk-free existence
- He created you didn't he?
The thing I like most about life is that it's real - we
don't get six chances at it - it's live or die right
now. Life is short, tough and risky (or as the English
historian Thomas Hobbes wrote: "Life is nasty, brutish,
and short") - my eye is on the prize ahead and I'm going
to do what I need to do.
We are all on a one way countdown to death - tick tick
tick tick. But on the other side of that those God
has chosen will live forever!
Fritz Berggren, Ph.D.
Miami, FL
fwb@text.net
www.text.net/berggren/
(PS: If you are a college student in the Atlanta area
and want to spent the weekend at an all expenses paid
seminar, please go to www.acts120.com and register.
The Atlanta Christian Training Seminar is looking for
120 college students who want to reach their campus
with the Gospel of Jesus.)
SPEAKERS FROM THE DEAD: MERCY, CATHERINE, and the ANGEL Fritz Berggren, Ph.D. June 9, 2002 It's not often the dead speak. The dead - those who have died, then stood before the Judgment Seat, then passed on to the Other Side. Most of us can judge the past in terms of the present, but who can judge the present in terms of the future? The Dead can. They have been there. The following events occurred a certain Sunday morning at a church in Miami, Florida. During the preaching of the sermon, there was a sudden visitation of two persons from the spirit world. One claimed to be Catherine Brooks, and when she finished speaking another appeared calling himself and angel. Since I have no reason to doubt the authenticity of their claims I shall present what they said verbatim. CATHERINE BROOKS: Catherine Brooks is my name. I died when I was 23. I grew up poor and black in the worst section of Tacoma, Washington. I was raised by my grandmother because my mother died when I was only five. I hated my mother because she was never there for me. I hated my father. He didn't raise me or even give my mother money for support. My grandmother used to tell me to behave and not go out with the guys and to stay off the street at night and the more she told me not to do something the more I did it. Who was she to tell me how to live my life? She didn't lose her Mom or Dad. She wasn't young and pretty with a life to live - she was just an old religious lady always talking Jesus this and Jesus that. I went to church with her once or twice a year - you know, Christmas and Easter - until I was fifteen and then just told her to forget it. They were all living some kind of kooky religious fantasy - I had a real life and I had my friends. My friends could understand me because they didn't have those wholesome families either, not like those families television always had - you know, "All in the Family," and "Brady Bunch" - that nonsense. What planet were they from anyhow? My friends loved me and that's all I cared about. So on my Judgment Day I didn't really care. I really didn't care. What was the God going to say to me? But as I stood before Jesus on my Judgment Day, I saw a vision of my grandmother praying for me and crying out for me every single night. I saw her tears and love and the prayers of her friends in church for me. For me. There were even white people praying for me. Huh? And I saw my friends, who sold me drugs and then shared them with me. My friends laughed at me behind my back and said "'what I trip' I was" and that I was going to get in trouble some day. I thought they respected me. And then I saw my daughter, four years old when I died. Four years into a life that would be lived like mine - short, burned out, selfish and resenting everyone for the hell I lived in. And then I saw all the invitations and opportunities to leave that life. I saw the love my grandmother had for me and I saw in her another way of living. But I held on to the bitterness and resentment - it gave me strength and pride. I held on to my pain and lashed out at all the world - by holding it close I grew strong and no one could hurt me. And then I saw what could have been: I saw a vision of the future I rejected. I saw me growing old and loving and praying like my grandmother did. Not rich. Not with a house in the suburb, just poor and working in a beat up old neighbor hood - but with love and peace in my heart. And with love for my child, and caring for her, and watching her grow up. But no, I was too selfish. And I was judged, and I passed through to the other side. [At this point, Catherine Brooks vanished and a tall powerful man clothed in flowing robes appeared. He claimed to be an angel and called himself Kamar.] KAMAR, THE ANGEL: Everyone has an angel. My name is Kamar, and this is my story. I am an angel and was sent to earth to guard Mercy Brooks. Mercy in Catherine's Grandmother. Let me tell you her story: Mercy was an old old woman when she passed away -- Ninety four years. She left 6 children and 18 grandchildren, and even more great grandchildren. She lived through the depression and segregation in the south, the ghetto's of the north and the filth of the inner city. Her husband served in the Navy in World War Two while she swept the floors in a factory. Two of her children died before she did, and she buried Catherine, her granddaughter. Mercy worked hard all her life, raised her children, and some of her grandchildren. At fifty years old she got arthritis and could barely walk so her husband told her to quit work stay at home and she did for two years until her husband died. The she went back to work until she was old enough to collect social security. Though she prayed and believed in faith, God never healed her of that disease. Though she tithed on every penny she made, she was always poor. And then she raised her grandchildren, because her own children had to work, or they had problems, like little Catherine's mother who had passed away. Mercy loved the children. She prayed for them and read them the Bible and took them to church when she could. And when Mercy died the Pastor called her a fine Christian saint (which is what the preacher is supposed to say at a funeral.) Her children and grandchildren shed some tears, and she was buried. And that was it. I saw a woman who suffered, but never complained. I saw a woman who loved in a city filled with hate. I saw a woman who gave but never received, who comforted but had so much pain. I saw a woman who believed when surrounded by doubt. I saw a woman who prayed but had so many unanswered prayers. I envy her. I'm an angel and I never suffer and have never felt the sting of rejection or hatred or ridicule. I've never known doubt because I see God's face when He calls me. I don't know pain because my body lives forever and I have beauty beyond the fairest of earth. Mercy Brooks served our Lord yet she never saw Him. Though a child of Almighty, Mercy suffered. Though the world was against her in every way and though her children thought little of her faith, she believed and spoke of her Lord. I have never had the honor or great privilege of suffering or doubting or knowing disease, poverty, pain or unanswered prayers. Mercy knew all those and yet still believed in Him. Mercy is great because Mercy believed in spite of the horrors of life. Angels don't have the honor of believing in a God we cannot see because we see Him all the time. Angels don't have the honor of fighting the battles that humans fight and so they cannot claim the prize of victory. In the end those who fought the good fight, those who finished the race, they shall be our judges. Now I know why my Lord lets the humans hunger and thirst and suffer and wander in darkness. It is so that they may have the chance to believe and follow in spite of every obstacle and cost. Mercy is a daughter of Job. His words shook the very foundations of heaven: "Yea though he slay me, yet will I trust him." Job fought battles that angels will never know. Only Man has the privilege of living by faith. And so now I serve Mercy and follow her every where she goes. Yes she is in heaven and I know why she is great. Mercy was a superhero who thought she was an ordinary woman. [And then the Angel vanished and suddenly a light shown around the cross and we heard these words from a strong and firm voice:] "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die." And that is what happened. Fritz Berggren, Ph.D. June 9, 2002 www.text.net/berggren
www.text.net/pomox/pomox.pdfLEADERSHIP, EVIL, and KING SAUL 2 June 2002 "Like a trampled spring and a polluted well is a righteous man who gives way before the wicked." -- Proverbs 25:26 I don't like confrontation. I don't like debates. I don't like disagreeing with people or getting into arguments. Most people are like me - we like to be liked, and that means being non-controversial. Some have the luxury of just getting along and others, by the nature of their responsibilities, are required to be controversial. THE CHURCH The Church is not a silent witness - it is called to testify in the public Trial of Mankind throughout History. The Great Judge compels the Church to speak; and should the Church shrink back in fear it is shall be held in contempt of Court. Lives destroyed because the Church was silent shall testify against her. Abraham was one of the nicest guys in the Bible - he didn't like controversy. When settled in Gerar he feared the pagan men and told his wife to call herself his sister. But God told Abimelech in a dream that he was a "dead man" because he took Abraham's wife. Then Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, "What have you done to us? And how have I sinned against you, that you have brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? You have done to me things that ought not to be done." (Genesis 20:9) The pagan king testified against Abraham because he failed to speak up. Abraham, far from repenting, tried to justify himself by arguing that he was (technically) correct in calling his wife his sister (since she was the daughter of his father, but not his mother). Truly Abraham is our father in ways we would rather not consider. On the other hand, Jeremiah was thrown into a mud filled pit and denounced by his peers. He had a big mouth. And the uncompromising Ezra commanded the Hebrews to divorce their non-Hebrew wives - now was he a popular guy, or what? Adam was the original man-pleaser. He didn't want to offend his wife, so he just joined in. The proper response was a rebuke (not a "silent witness"), refusal to partake, and then intercession on her behalf. From Adam we learn that "Evil prevails when good men do nothing." What if Adam did the right thing? Could Eve have run to God and begged forgiveness? Nineveh repented, and Jonah certainly didn't expect that. Through his silence Adam betrayed Eve. But Eve was his 'sweet little thang' and Adam sure didn't want to rock that boat. THE PROPHETS SPOKE UP The Church is the corporate prophet to the world - it is called to make hard decisions and speak Truth. The duty to speak applies to Pastors and congregations alike. When the issue of foreign wives arose in the time of Ezra, the people worked with him to clean up the problem at great personal cost. Some opposed Ezra, naturally, but the congregation by and large supported a bold leader making impossible decisions. When Moses came down from the mountain the entire nation was in rebellion. A soothing response to the "situation" would have been reasonable. A compromise would have been "balanced, fair, and justified" considering their recent exodus and the difficult conditions in the Sinai. But Moses didn't work out a compromise. Moses ordered the Hebrews to take a stand for or against his leadership and his God. Those who joined him were ordered to slay their brothers. That was gutsy, bold, and messy. It wasn't conciliatory, unifying, considerate, or "respectful of others." Since when in Gods name was "respect for the differences of others" an overriding mandate in the Kingdom of God? That is heresy - it's a bold face lie. Today, brazen cowardice is elevated to a virtue by Christian leaders seeking to "unify the community." King Saul feared man and rationalized his disobedience to God out of "genuine concern." Saul copped out. God rejected him - the very king He had chosen. Leadership is a tough business. By today's standards Jesus would certainly qualify as an "extremist" or "fanatic." I can hear it all the way to now: "What? Eat your flesh and drink you blood? Hate my mother and father? Leave everything? You're telling us that our religious leaders are going to hell? Dude, you're a complete nut case." Mr. Rogers Jesus was not. Nor was John the Baptist, Peter or Paul. These men were not out to build nice, quiet, non-controversial communities. Neither were Abolitionist preachers in the 1850s. Neither was Martin Luther King, Jr. They had a mission. They had a calling. They had orders from Above. And it was divisive. Many of their peers hated them. FANATICS. EXTREME. YOU BET. The terms "fanatic" and "extremist" are rhetorical weapons wielded against the cowardly and feeble of mind. They are powerful tools brandished in public to manipulate the weak, the ignorant and the fearful. They become all the more powerful because they cannot be refuted - the mere accusation scores a mortal blow. Attempts to prove oneself "reasonable" or "balanced" yield only jests and mockery. Character assassins exercise scant restraint when attacking leaders as bold as Jesus, Jeremiah, or (heaven forbid) of Ezra. But they will welcome and support a Saul as a "reasonable" man. So the pulpits and government offices are full of Sauls. Saul's are quick to destroy the bold: the "Lollards," Martin Luther, the Pilgrims, the Wesley Brothers, Martin Luther King, Jr., men who caused widespread social indigestion in their day. FEAR I can't imagine a more unpopular stance than to publicly declare that homosexuality is morally wrong and should be legally proscribed. I can hear it now: "What kind of intolerant bigot are you?" In public schools and corporate America a public statement that homosexuality is evil is grounds for expulsion or termination. Perhaps the same is true in some churches. I used to work at a Fortune 500 company and was required to take eight hours of sensitivity training. They told us that anyone contributing to an environment wherein someone felt "uncomfortable" due to their sexual orientation would be fired immediately - zero tolerance. The following statement is a terminal offense: "Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God." (1 Corinthians 6:9-10) If I printed it on a T-Shirt and wore it to work (or school) I would be labeled an ignorant hatemonger. (Remember the bumper sticker: "Hate is not a Family Value"?) In Canada I could go to jail; this is hate speech. SALT MUST BE SALTY From ancient times salt water has been recognized as a powerful healing agent. Yet salt water stings when poured into a puss filled, bacteria infected, disgusting wound on an otherwise healthy body. The whole body howls in protest, but the salt kills the bacteria, cleanses the wound, and aids the healing process. If the Church doesn't do its job then eventually the whole body politic becomes infected and suffers. The Church is the Prophetic voice in the community and must stand against the spread of disease. By opposing laws, ordinances, and school programs that imply that homosexuality is good, normal, and healthy the Church faithfully testifies. We must speak up and shout aloud "You are going the wrong way!" This isn't one of those acceptable issues like feeding the poor or supporting a hospital in Haiti. WHY DO WE DO THIS? First, the Church must speak because God commanded us to preach the Truth. Jeremiah didn't take opinion polls. Saul did. Second, it is because homosexuality destroys the lives of children. If it was only a matter of two men humping madly in the closet I wouldn't mind. Maybe I should, but I really don't care. If it was about a couple of lovely lesbians, I wouldn't mind. I've worked with such and it's never been an issue. As people go they may be wonderful, better than most, and have more integrity than some Christians I've known. This isn't personal. It is not about whether homosexuals are Americans or citizens or people or nice; or, whether, as citizens, they should be accorded the same level of respect as others. That is not the issue. ROAD SIGNS The issue is government standards of morality. It is about the endorsement of sin by our government. It is about opposing publicly mandated codes of morality that imply that "Homosexuality is OK, right, normal and good for you, too" My compassion is for school children directed down paths of destruction by false signs erected on the roadways of life. Laws are signs - they give direction and set standards of right and wrong. This is true whether they are "anti-discrimination" programs at school, zoning laws, or constitutional amendments. God's moral code protects man from harm, but sin destroys the inner person and carries the soul to hell. And for the sake of the ignorant, the children, and the lost, the Church must resist legal changes that support, protect, and institutionalize evil. A silent Church is a complicit church, and in this respect the AIDS activists are correct: "SILENCE = DEATH." This battle is ugly and the only way to avoid it is to refuse to speak up. And then you are a coward. The fight is for the honor of God first, and for the salvation of man second. If the Church remains silent then we've renounced our duty and betrayed the lost. HIGHWAYS TO HELL In a list of hell-bound sinners, the Bible lists cowards first - not gays. (Revelation 21:8). So it is better to be a sodomite than silenced by the fear of man. Fritz Berggren, Ph.D. www.text.net/berggren 2 June 2002
TOLL BOOTH MINISTRY Fritz Berggren, Ph.D. 4 May 2002 I was talking to a friend last night and he was explaining to me about how he has ministry to the toll booth attendants. "I know them all," he said, "and they are very lonely people. We need to tell them about Jesus." I laughed and told him "I don't even like people, and I certainly can't hold a conversation at the toll booth when I'm whizzing down the Sun Pass lane at 55 miles an hour." "Oh, no", he explained. He stops and gives them the toll money and talks to them, but he was worried that he couldn't lead them in a salvation prayer because of time constraints but wanted to start a "Toll Booth Ministries" and wondered if I'd help him write a tract. You've got to laugh with God. He makes people so different and I so enjoyed seeing how different we were last night. Yes, I'm going to help him with the tract. But what a problem to have! His problem isn't preaching the Gospel, it's preaching it fast enough to get them saved at a toll booth! Each one of us was created differently and each one of us has a niche to fill in spreading the Gospel of Jesus to our neighbors and friends. My friend loves to talk and makes people feel at ease right away. I don't. But I can write. So I write and send out my letters by e-mail. The Gospel of Jesus is like a biological weapon infecting the Legion of the Damned - it spreads Life and Eternal Salvation to the dead. Jesus said the Word bears fruit. And whether or not the fruit is lasting depends upon the soil. You and I can't control the soil, but we sure to control whether or not the seed gets sown. Sow the seed. Spread the word. I'm going to set up my friend with tracts. I am going to keep on sending out E-mails with the Gospel message to people I know. At church, we are going to giving out "Jesus" videos to whomever is willing to take them. Invite your neighbors to Church. Expect them to be polite and say "Yes, that's nice" and then be on their way. Maybe they'll come and maybe them won't. Maybe it will take a year or two before the come. Maybe they'll move away and someone else will invite them to church. Maybe, like it happened to me, they'll finally come knocking on your door past midnight crying out for help. I kid you not. One night at 1:00 AM my neighbor starts pounding on my door. I ignored it. I didn't know who it was. But he kept pounding. So I went to the window and said "my children are asleep and I'm in bed - go away!" No, he had to talk right now. "Come back tomorrow - the whole family is in bed asleep -- go away," I repeated. And so we went back and forth a few times and finally I relented - he just wouldn't go away. Now, my Toll Booth friend would have invited him in, made him coffee and a sandwich and yacked all night but I'm not like that. But he didn't leave me any choice - I was either going to call the police or let him in. So he came in and I was still half asleep and he started sobbing and blubbering about his drug problem, yadda, yadda, yadda and so I preached Lordship and total commitment to him. Hard. I was still mad that he woke me up a one o'clock in the morning and I wasn't about let him off easy. Make a long story short, he repented and we prayed and I sent him home and I finally got to go back to bed. So you never know - if you just sow the seed out there you might see lives changed whether you really want to our not. That's the power of the Gospel. It's up to Him to change lives. It's up to us to sow the seed. PRACTICAL TIPS 1) Give people a video about Jesus. 2) Give them a tract. 3) Invite them to church. 4) Go to church yourself - they'll know what youare doing Sunday morning when the whole family leaves in nice clothes. 5) Put their E-mail address in this form and I'll send them something http://www.text.net/berggren/ 6) Tell them about when you accepted Jesus. 7) If they are sick,pray for them. You don't have to be Billy Graham to sow seed. You don't even have to want to talk to people about Jesus. To tell the truth I don't wake up just dying to tell people about Jesus. Most of the day, I don't want to talk to anybody about anything. But you're not like me. And you're not like my Toll Booth friend. But someone somewhere near you is the perfect match for your personality and style. So throw a few seeds out there. And then a few more. And don't worry about the results. Just sow the seed. And if you don't see a change in them, that's OK. It is certainly changing you. Fritz Berggren, Ph.D. 4 May 2002 www.text.net/berggren PS: If you know someone who would enjoy one of my past letters, you can go to the web site listed above, click on the archived letters, and there is a place at the bottom of the letter where you can put their e-mail address in to send it to them.
OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS - PART TWO Fritz Berggren, Ph.D. 29 April 2002 THE TEN COMMANDMENTS I wrote a bible study called "Covenant for the Nations" in 1996 and posted it to the Internet at http://www.text.net/cftn/. Look it up and study it if you want to learn more about God's Law and it's relationship with both the New and the Old Covenants. Covenant for the Nations is a work book designed to teach people about a very simple "agreement" between God and the nations of the earth. The agreement, or Covenant, is based on the Ten Commandments - if a nation obeys the Ten Commandments it will be blessed. If it disobeys them, they will be cursed. The simplicity of this formula has escaped many Biblical commentators, yet it is so embedded in the Bible that it is impossible to understand scripture without understanding it. All the prophets (Jeremiah, Isaiah, Daniel, Joel, etc) spoke to Israel strictly in terms of the agreement the Hebrews made with God at Sinai. The horrible things the prophets warned about (war, famine, disease) were not soothsaying or fortune telling - they were very specific terms of the covenant as laid out in Deuteronomy 28. This is worth repeating: the Prophets were not soothsayers or fortune tellers. The foundation for their prophesying was not the future, but the past. They reminded the Hebrews of their covenant with God and pointed out to them how they violated it. Then the reminded the Hebrews of the curses that are part of that covenant - disobedience brings disaster. So when Jeremiah or any of the other prophets seem so dismal and foreboding, they are simply recalling to the Hebrews the terms of their covenant with God. Did the prophets "fortell" the future? Yes, but it was grounded what God had already done and said in the past - the prophecies were in the context of what God had spoken before. The power of the New Testament is to take this Law and internalize it through the New Birth - the Law is never done away with. It was never a means to personal salvation - no one kept the law. It remains today the one moral and legal guide that all nations should seek. When God led the Hebrews out of the land of Egypt, they had grown from a few meandering shepherds to a nation of three million men. They were more than an extended family - they were a nation of millions governed by one chief (Moses) who in turn federated the government into smaller units. So when the Lord took the Hebrews to Mount Sinai and gave Moses the Ten Commandments, God was not offering the Ten Commandments as an option for "personal living." He presented an agreement between Himself and all of the people. The Ten Commandments were delivered to an entire nation. This is important. If you understand this you can understand why, in part, the Ten Commandments do not provide "personal" salvation. They were never designed to be strictly "personal." They were designed as a system of morality and law under which an entire people, or nation, was to govern themselves. SALVATION BY FAITH UNDER THE LAW Moses was not saved by the Law - he was saved by faith. None of the Hebrews living under the Law were saved by the law - they were all saved by faith (or damned for a lack thereof). Joshua and Caleb believed and were therefore saved into the promised land. When an individual Hebrew came before the Almighty at the tabernacle to offer sacrifices, he knew without any doubt that he had broken the Law. And that was why the ceremonies made such great provision for sacrifices as an atonement for sin (the breaking of the Law). And it is faith in those sacrifices by which a man was to be saved, or made right with God. Each man, upon presenting his offering, had to understand that a pure innocent creature was sacrificed to take his place of suffering for sin. The Law embodied in the Ten Commandments was a social code given to the corporate body by which they might all enjoy and generalized prosperity - it did not negate faith. The Law reinforced faith on a personal level and made it very real as men went through the process of sacrifice and atonement. PREPARING THE SOIL Living in a culture formed and guided by the Law of God "prepares the soil" for the message of salvation by faith in Jesus Christ. As millions of Hebrews lived under the moral guidance of the Ten Commandments and experienced the ceremonies and sacrifices they where preparing in their hearts and minds for the One Great Sacrifice - Jesus Christ. -- The Law taught them to live morally before God and each other. -- The Law taught them that there was a price to pay for sin. -- The Law taught them that God allowed a substitute to take their own place to pay for sin. -- The Law taught them that they each had to personally accept responsibility for their own sin. -- They Law taught them to confess to God that they were sinners. -- The Law taught them to have faith that God forgave them of their sin not because they deserved it, but because an innocent sacrifice atoned for their sins. -- The Law and the Prophets taught the Hebrews that salvation was by faith, not by works. The Ten Commandments are God's unchanging moral guide for all people, in all times. Indeed, the Hebrews were to be a "city set on a hill," and living under this law, God promised that all the nations would admire them for their great blessings and the wisdom of their laws and that they would come to the Hebrews and ask them to teach them about the Laws of God. The Law was to be a blessing for all the nations and it was to prepare all of the nations for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. NEW BIRTH Christians understand that the Ten Commandments alone will not "save a soul," nor will they remove the evil in a man's heart. But Christians have not understood that it was His intention all along to take the Ten Commandments and write them on the heart of man: this was called the New Birth: "But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days," declares the Lord, "I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. Jer 31:33 And again in Ezekiel: "Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. Ezek 36:26 This is what Christians call getting "born again." It was not supposed to be a great secret or mystery to the Hebrews. Jesus was amazed they the Pharisees - masters of the scripture - did not understand what he was talking about. Jesus answered and said to him, "Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things? John 3:10 It was all there, in the Law and the Prophets, if only the had "eyes to see and ears to hear." Some, like Nicodemus, heard. Others did not. So what we find is that the Ten Commandments become a part of the New Birth because they are written on the hearts of men when individuals accept Jesus Christ. Instead of faith in dead animals, men place their faith in the one perfect sacrifice offered up through the crucifixion of Jesus Christ - and that is when God super-naturally changes a man's heart to be inclined to obey the Ten Commandments. Christ was crucified, died, was buried and rose again on the third day in newness of life - eternal life. Resurrection from the dead, the forgiveness of sins, and eternal life is offered to men if they confess to God their evil nature and accept his sacrifice for sin - Jesus Christ. This is the good news. The Law (based on the Ten Commandments) is a tutor that leads us to this simple message of salvation. A culture or a nation educated in the Ten Commandments is well prepared ground for the Gospel message: -- They know the moral law ( the Ten Commandments). -- They understand that they have not obeyed them. -- They know that disobedience brings a curse. -- They know a sacrifice is required to pay for sin. -- Sin requires punishment - sin has consequences. And from there it is much easier to understand and accept a message about the sacrifice of Jesus which pays for sins. This is much more difficult in a culture that denies any moral law, or the judgment of God and his curse against evil doers. The greatest threat to evangelism is not Christians who don't hand out tracts - it is a Church who refused to prepare the ground for the seed. Building a nation's political, social, educational, and economic foundation on the Ten Commandments prepares the soil for the message of the Gospel. The Law prepares a culture for the Gospel message. It is no small wonder that after a century or more of refusing to prepare the ground the harvest that it is so small and so poor. The Church as convinced itself (with the help of the World) that religion belongs in a box on Sunday morning. No, no, no. God owns every nation. He is the King over every government. He is the headmaster over every school. He is the Chief Judge over every court. God's people must declare this message and bring every area of life under His Lordship. This doesn't detract from evangelism (as some think) - it prepares and opens a culture for evangelism. I've appended one chapter from "Covenant For the Nations" (www.text.net/cftn) below. I encourage you to study it - and go to the web site if you want to read more about how the role the Ten Commandments plays in God's historical economy. On parting word: If I could offer one suggestion for the reformation of society - it would be to post the Ten Commandments back on the walls of every classroom in the world. Fritz Berggren, Ph.D. fritz@text.net >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Old and New Covenants (Chapter 11, Covenant for the Nations) www.text.net/cftn This section will illustrate the continuity between the "old" covenant and the "new" covenant. The difference between the two is certain and important; but also often misunderstood. Human nature tells us that the 'new' is always better than the 'old,' and so it is. Thus, the New Covenant is better than the Old Covenant. However, Christian tradition has assigned names to the scriptures we read, calling one section 'old' and another 'new.' This usually leads to the conclusion that the Old Testament books really are not all that important compared to the books referred to as the New Testament. This is an unfortunate misundertanding. Nowhere in the Bible are the books preceding the Gospels referred to as 'old.' On the contrary, the books called the New Testament presuppose a knowledge of and the authority of all the scriptures that have come before. The entire Christian church up until at least the 300s A.D. relied on all the 'old' testament books. There was no 'new' testament books at that time. Jesus, Paul, and all of the Apostles preached from, and only from, the books we call 'old.' The continuity between the Old Testament and the New Testament are profound. This chapter explores the differences between the old and the new covenants, and lays out some of the similarities as well. 1) The center of the evangelical Christian experience is usually characterized as being "born again." This comes from John 3:3. Read John 3:1-12 carefully. Jesus is speaking to a Pharisee, a ruler of the Jews, who knew the Law very well. He had probably memorized all of the Holy Scriptures. Jesus was explaining to him the need to be born again. What did Jesus tell him? John 3:7 ____________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ 2) What was the response from Nicodemus? John 3:9 ____________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ 3) Obviously, Nicodemus didn't understand what Jesus was talking about. But, what did Jesus tell him in reply? John 3:10 ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ NOTE: This is very important. Jesus fully expected this man to know what he was talking about. Becoming "born again" should not have been foreign to any expert in the Law and the Prophets. Yet, what was Jesus talking about? 4) Read Jeremiah 31:31, 33. What kind of covenant is God going to make? Jer 31:31 ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ 5) What is this "new covenant"? What is God going to do with his law? Jer 31:33 ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ NOTE: A crucial difference between the New Covenant and the Old Covenant is that the Old Covenant (Testament) was written of tablets of stone while the New Covenant is written on thetablets of our heart. 6) What does God write on both the stone tablets and on the human heart in both covenants? Jer 31:33 and Deut 10:4 ________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ 7) Now turn to Ezekiel 36:26-27. Read this carefully. What will God give to his people? Ezek 36:26 __________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ 8) What will God put inside of his people? Ezek 36:27 __________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ 9) What will God cause his people to do? What will they be careful to do? Ezek 36:27 __________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ NOTE: From these two scriptures it should be clear that God spoke to the prophets of a time when he would transform the heart of an individual through what Jesus referred to as being 'born again.' God writes his law on our hearts. He causes us to walk in his statutes and ordinances. He gives us a heart of flesh instead of hearts of stone. In the Old Testament, the Law was engraved on tablets of stone (Deut 9:9). In the New Testament, the Law is engraved on hearts of flesh (Jer 31:31-33 and Ezek 36:26-27). Re-read John 3:1-12, Jeremiah 31:31-33, Ezekiel 36:26-27 and Deuteronomy 9:9, and Deuteronomy 4:13. Let this sink into your heart. God spoke of being born again in the Old Testament. This new covenant is where God takes the Ten Commandments and writes them on our hearts. God does not do away with the Law. He gives the ability to live by the Law by changing our hearts through faith in Jesus. 10) Re-read Deuteronomy 4:6. Now turn to Matthew 5:14-16 and read it. Hopefully the parallels will be apparent. What do these have in common? Who is the light of the world in both respects? Who will look upon them? Deut 4:6 and Matt 5:14 _________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ 11) Read Matthew 5:17-19. What was Jesus' attitude toward the Law? Matt 5:17 ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ 12) Did Jesus come to abolish the Law? Matt 5:17 ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ 13) How long shall the Law last? Was it to be done away with shortly? Matt 5:18 ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ 14) What did Jesus say of those who would annul even the least of the commandments? What does he say of those who teach that the Law is unimportant? Matt 5:19 ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ 15) Who shall be called great in the Kingdom of heaven? Matt 5:19 ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ NOTE: In the passages that follow, Jesus goes on to teach about the law, quoting extensively from the (old testament) scriptures. In no case does he annul any of the laws he mentions. Rather, he teaches the people how to obey them. Jesus was careful to make sure they abided by the spirit, or intent, of the law, as well as its outward forms. This reflects the New Covenant emphasis on the emplacement of the Law within a person, on their heart. 16) What does the Law do? Gal 3:24. ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ Fritz Berggren, Ph.D. 29 April 2002 Miami, FL www.text.net/berggren www.pomox.com
OLD v. NEW TESTAMENTS 29 April 2002 Someone emailed me a three page rant on why tithing (giving 10% of your income) is not Biblical. His main point was that it was "Old Testament" and therefore not valid as a rule for today. I've heard this argument for twenty years, not just about tithing, but about biblical law, the Ten Commandments, the death penalty, government, and anything else Christians are uncomfortable with. Many evangelical Christians have dumped 78% of Bible before they even begin trying to figure out what the remaining 22% means. This is a problem. It's a problem because I'd bet over 90% of Christians (of any stripe) simply don't trust what 78% of the Bible says because they were told it was "Old Testament." So, I'm going to the heart of the matter: What is "Old Testament"? And when the scripture says the "Old" is replaced by the "New," what is it talking about? First and foremost, it is not referring to a collection of Scriptures. Nowhere in the Bible will you find any scriptural reference calling one collection of books "Old Testament" and another collection of books "New Testament." It just doesn't exist. When you open your Bible to the Table of Contents, and it divides the books into "Old Testmanent" and "New Testament," is that table of contents actually a part of scripture? Of course not. When you get to page 913 (in my Bible) and there is a page that only says "NEW TESTAMENT" in big bold letters, is that page actually a part of scripture? Of course not. Yet people are convinced out of ignorance and tradition that "Old Testament" refers to the books from Genesis through Malachi and "New Testament" refers to the books from Matthew through Revelation. But is just isn't so - the scriptures do not divide themselves into portions called "new" and "old." When Heb 8:13 says "He said, "A new covenant," He has made the first obsolete" it has nothing to do with Scriptures at all. In fact, if you read Hebrews Chapter 8, you'll find that most of the chapter is a direct quotation of Jeremiah 31:31-34. It's ironic that people would take the very same chapter to undermine the authority of Jeremiah when that same chapter quotes Jeremiah. The Books from Genesis through Malachi should not be called "the Old Testament" because it confuses people into believing that these books were replaced by the books from Matthew through Revelation. Nothing could be further from the truth. There isn't a single apostle who preached our taught out of the books from Matthew through Revelation. On the contrary, one cannot understand Matthew through Revelation unless you are already firmly grounded in the Law and the Prophets. All the writers of the Gospels and Epistles assumed the truth and scriptural authority of the Law and the Prophets and thus quoted them extensively. They justified the truths of Christianity to the Jews by the Law and the Prophets - never by attempting to sideline them. When Timothy said "All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness: (2 Tim 3:16) he was referring to "all" the "scriptures" from Genesis through Malachi - not Matthew through Revelation because none of those Gospels or Letters had been officially recognized as the Inspired Word of God at that time. I might also add that Jesus did not refer to the scriptures as "Old Testament, he called them the "law" and "prophets" In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said: "Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. "For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. "Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:17-19 Most Christians think the Law is obsolete unless re-established in the Gospels or Epistles). They seem to think that God's laws don't apply to them unless the "New Testament" says it does. Perhaps it is a better idea to assume that all of God's laws are valid today unless specifically fulfilled in under the New Covenant (thus, we don't sacrifice sheep and goats because that was fulfilled by Jesus in His death on the cross). Paul, when standing before the Roman governor, Felix, said " this I admit to you, that according to the Way which they call a sect I do serve the God of our fathers, believing everything that is in accordance with the Law and that is written in the Prophets" (Acts 24:14). So if Paul believes everything that is in accordance with the Law and that is written in the Prophets, who are we so say they are obsolete and done away with? OLD TESTAMENT DONE AWAY WITH So if the "Old Testament" clearly is not a section of your Bible, then what is it? If the Bible says the "Old Testament" (Covenant and Testament can be used interchangeably in this context) was replaced by something better (which it was) what was "old" and what was "new?" OLD TESTAMENT Under the Old Testament, men where saved by Faith in the shed blood of bulls and goats sacrificed in ceremonies that had to be repeated over and over and over. Those ceremonies never changed the heart of man. In the Old Testament, the Law was written on tablets of stone. NEW TESTAMENT Under the New Testament, men are saved by faith in the shed blood of Jesus Christ, a sacrifice performed once for all time. This new covenant has the power to change the heart of man so that he becomes inclined to obey God's Law. In the New Testament, the Law is not abolished - it is so important that it is written onto the heart of man. The goal of both the Old and New Covenants was the keeping of the Law: "For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their mind and I will write them on their hearts." (Jeremiah 31:33 and Hebrews 8:10) The New Covenant provides for a change in the heart of man so that the Law is written on the heart, not on tablets of stone. The New Testament does not abolish the Law. Man has never been saved by the keeping of the Law, if he was, there would have been no reason to replace it. Man has always been saved by faith. Adam was saved by faith because he rejected his own works (a loin covering of fig leaves) and accepted God's sacrifice for his own sin; God slew animals and made coverings for Adam and Eve with those skins. Noah was saved by faith when he believed God's word and spent 100 years building an Ark to save mankind. Abraham was accounted as righteous because he believed - not because he kept that Law. For Adam, Noah, and Abraham, there was no law. The law came centuries later. Tomorrow I'll send out Part 2 of this letter and talk in depth about the role of the Ten Commandments. Fritz Berggren, Ph.D. 29 April 2002 www.text.net/berggren www.pomox.com
SPEAKER FOR THE DEAD 7 November 2001 The Angel posted a small white sheet of paper on a pillar next to the doors leading into the Great Hall. It was a daily ritual - each day a new list of men and women, those whose turn had come to stand for their lives and be judged. It had gone on for thousands of years and attracted little interest from his fellow angels and today was no exception. Having been done with his task he returned to his office on the second story of the building, just outside the inner doors of the Great Hall. JOHN BAKER No one really knew what happened behind those great doors. No one came back to report. It was said that once you passed through the gates you never returned. I had little fear or anxiety of being judged - those feelings just didn't exist here in "Paradise," as they called it. Time slipped by in peaceful gentle way. But it was temporary until we passed through the Great Hall - so we looked forward to our day without worry. I guess there is something inside each of us that needs to know where we stand. I walked up to review this list - to see if my name would be there. And it was. THE GREAT HALL "John Baker, of Tacoma, Washington, the United States. Born December 30, 1934. Died June 12, 2001." That's me. I walked forward and stepped up to the doors and was escorted through by and Angel. They look like us, but speak among themselves in other languages and go places we couldn't. They had jobs and were busy -- the Dead waited for Judgment. This angel looked familiar, but he couldn't be - he was an angel. I must have just seen him around up here. I 'm sure I saw him once or twice in my old life on earth - how did I know him? My angel brought me in front of the desk clerk just outside the great doors. " John Baker, please go in," the door guard said, and then spoke a few words to my guide. My angel responded with a nod and we passed through the doors as they opened before us. Suddenly I was alone. I stood before a giant raised dais of pure white ivory. I could see a throne, and a Man wrapped in light. I felt no fear. From the side I heard a voice of my angel: "John Baker. Today is your Judgment Day. Today you will answer for your life." And then it happened - I saw my life unfolding - a seamless vision of images, thoughts, voices and deeds. But what I saw was so very different from what I remembered. What surprised me wasn't the things I did - it was seeing them from a perspective I didn't expect. That shook me up. So I was judged and sent to my reward. From here I cannot return. I won't tell you where I am. But the Angel gave me permission to tell you what happened that day in the Great Room. This is a story of the Judgment Day. Listen carefully, for it is not often that the dead speak. THE BOY Suddenly I was a boy again, and my mother came out of the house and called me, telling me to stop playing on the sidewalk and to come in for dinner. I grew up in an urban neighborhood with quiet streets, old homes and friendly people. My father was a plumber and worked long hours so I didn't see him much. I was about nine years old that day and playing with my friend Nicholas. "Nicholas," I said, "I have to go, my mother is calling me." I was anxious to go because my mother's food was always so good, and I was always so hungry. Nicholas said goodbye and kept on playing. "Nicholas, why don't you go home and eat," I said. "No one is making dinner at my house," said Nicholas. I thought for a moment. Just for a moment. Just for a very tiny moment. Then I said "I'll ask my Mom if you can eat with us." Nicholas ate with us that day, and we became friends and Nicholas became a part of our family in many ways. At his home, Nicholas's Mother and Father fought all the time. His mother would leave home for days at a time. Nicholas was so lonely. In the Great Hall, I saw that my decision to befriend Nicholas - made without a thought - changed the course of his life. Nicholas feasted on the love and peace that my family provide. He saw that love and a family could be real for him. When Nicholas grew up and married he made a home full of love and peace that he learned from my parents. I had no idea that little deed, that small deed so simply acted out carried such weight. "You saved this man's life," said the angel from the side. "Your act of kindness created a peaceful husband and father. On that day, you were the only one who could have helped a lonely little boy and that friendship changed his life forever." THE TEENAGER But then we got to my teenage years, those awful years of trying to figure out who I was and who I was going to be. One day I was with my friends, three of us about 16 years old, and a new kid at school sat down next to me at the lunch table and said hello. He started hanging around with my friends, but I decided that I didn't like him. I don't know why, but I just didn't like him. Maybe I didn't want to share my friends with anyone else. So I told my buddies to leave him be and made a point of walking away whenever he approached us. Now why did I do that, I ask myself? He was just a kid at school, maybe a little fat, a little ugly, shy, too, but just a kid at school. Turns out, no one would be his friend at school and, though he was a smart boy, he dropped out to work at the factory in town. I didn't know this then, but the angel showed me that with a little encouragement he would have finished high school, went to college, and become a teacher. He would have inspired the children. Inspiring them and encouraging them and befriending them - providing them with just enough love and inspiration, setting just enough of an example to get them to the next step. He would have given those children the kind of acceptance my family showed to Nicholas when I was so young. He could have given those children the kind of acceptance I refused to give to him. That would have made a difference not just in his own life, but in the lives of so many children, especially those so ill graced with pleasant features. But he wasn't a friend or mentor to anyone because no one cared for him. Because I didn't care for him. MIRRORS I got married and had four children. I became the chief baker in the bread factory downtown and made a decent living for our family. It wasn't a great job - the hours were long and the pay was low and after 25 years the factory burned down and I became a truck driver. But I was always home at night and never out drinking, always faithful to my wife. Sometimes my wife did things that just really bugged me. I liked her hair long and she always cut it short. We'd been married 23 years and she knew I liked it long. What was wrong with her? And she never did the things she always said she would do. She said she wanted to sew a pretty dress for our daughter. So I bought her the best sewing machine and threads and all the material and watched the kids at night all summer so she could take her sewing lessons. And she never made that dress. I resented that. It wasn't the money or the time - it was just that she couldn't follow through and do what she should have done. And I used to tell he that she had no motivation, no self discipline and she would cry. The Angel said he was glad I understood what it was like to be disappointed in someone I loved so dearly. That would make the next part so much more understandable to me. I always felt I wanted to start the bakery and used to talk about it to my wife, but I never quite got around to it. I wanted to say "hey, I was happy working for the company - it was never my goal to become a millionaire" but that clearly that wasn't the point. I said "what's the big deal?" The Angel said "You resented your wife for not doing what you asked her to do. You lashed out at her for failing to follow through on her own dreams and desires. You never forgave he for that. But you have done the very same thing. You were called to own a factory and you refused to follow that dream. And the very same judgment you held against your wife is now held against you - by your own heart and tongue you judge yourself guilty." I tried to tell him that my own desires and dreams didn't matter and he said "your dreams are not for you - they are for all those around you - people who would have been touched by your dreams." And I remembered how I felt for my daughter who would never wear the dress my wife never made for her - and I saw the faces of all those people who would have lived from the jobs in the factory that I never started. And I said to the angel "I didn't know," and he said "yes, you did know" and again I knew he was right. My own wife was a mirror of my own life. If only other men knew that. When the factory burned, I could have bought it and put all my co-workers back to work. I was about to tell the angel that I had no money or experience to start it when he said "you criticized your wife when she made excuses, too." And I knew he was right and it hurt so much and as I was thinking of this he said "I didn't let your wife make that dress because I was trying to get your attention. But you held it against her instead of learning the lesson. You had the dream and the desire and the opportunity but you wouldn't follow through, and as you hesitated I gave you a message through your wife, but you still wouldn't hear." "No man comes to the Judgment Seat in ignorance, John. Every man knows exactly what he will be judged. When a man is judged for the wrong he has done, he will know he was wrong because he already passed that judgment on others in his own life. God is always sending teachers and prophets to people - if they would just open up and recognize them." DISTANT SON Then I saw another vision - my second son, Daniel, was yelling at me. He spoke cruel words to me. "Why did he say those things to me?" I wondered. That was no way to treat his father. Didn't he know I took care of him and loved him and provided a home and food for him? He resented me for no reason. He couldn't explain to me why he hated me, but he did. And this poison shot from his heart, launched at me on the arrows of his words, always reminding me how I failed without quite saying why, accusing me, resenting me, always keeping me at a distance and loading me with guilt. And yet I longed to hold him and tell him I loved him and ask him why he felt so this way toward me. Didn't he know I was his father? "So your Creator feels for you," said the angel. "All your life you've kept Him at a distance, secretly hating Him for the wounds of life. You cherished your pain, proud and strong and distant, alone, resenting his love and intrusion, nursing the raw scars of your disappointments, accusing Him of crimes done by others. And you never would accept the Creator who loved you and protected you and provided for you all your days." With that I fell down - pierced to the heart, my soul shocked, bared to truth so bright I could not stand, knowing the pain of rejection by a son and yet rejecting my own Heavenly Father. The pain, the treasured pain, the protected wounds of in my life. "If only I knew," I thought, but the angel reminded me that I did know through my own son. He was the very mirror of my own life. It was thrust before me so I could see my own bareness, my resentment toward Him who loved me so. THE GIFT OF GENERATIONS My Angel touched me and restored my strength. I stood for a moment and he comforted me and gave me a glass of cool water. We kept going. He took me back to the decades of working at the factory. The years of watching others slack off while I kept chugging away. The times they cheated the company of their labor and mocking me for being a "company man." And I never knew why I was a "company man." I didn't try to be, I just wanted to work and to do well at what I was doing. I knew the bosses would never know of these things and it hardly seemed worth the extra effort, but a man gets into habits and it would have been a new effort just to break the good habits I'd formed. It wasn't that they were so good to us. But I just worked hard and honestly and I thought of my own father who worked so hard all his life. Maybe I picked that up from him. "Indeed you did," said the Angel, "and your father was rewarded for your faithfulness at work. The inheritance he left for you was a steady hand and an honest heart. You work like he worked and so it is hard for you to not be faithful. You've watched other men come and go, shiftless and lazy, or resentful toward their employers - that was their inheritance from their fathers and so they are very poor. But your father left a very good inheritance -honesty and hard work. It is those things that make you rare and valued and never without work. You inherited from your father. But since you were faithful to imitate him in this, your own children will take up this inheritance and pass it on throughout their generations. With your four children you have four times the reward because this is what you left for them. And if they are faithful and pass those values on to their own children, you'll share a portion of that reward as well." How odd, I thought. Men called me foolish for being such a hard worker but now I find out that this was the inheritance my father left me and it is the legacy I will leave to my children. I was always proud of working hard and resented those who boasted of cheating their employer but never got caught. Their own children will be much less fortunate than mine, I though. Who would have imagined this? WIVES And then I saw my wife. And I heard her prayers. And I saw her with my children admonishing them to live good lives, not to make friends with bad people, to work hard like their father and to go to church. I heard my son Timothy praying to the Lord at night, thanking God for good parents, and Daniel walking to church even in college and Joshua turning away from his friends when they drew him toward the enticing flames of sin. And the angel said to me "your wife's prayers, and her love for her children, and her words of wisdom to them saved your sons from wasted lives - lives their companions in school sought out. Yet it was the comfort and security of a home which gave your wife the strength to teach them and to pray for them. It was your decision to take them to church every Sunday even when it seemed such a burdensome thing to you. It was the faithfulness to your wife that kept her lit and happy and willing to give to you and your children. It was your covering as a husband and provider that made provision for the blessings she bestowed on your children." And I was amazed. Judgment Day was so different than I imagined. It was not the day I helped the old man fix his car, or the day I told the truth to my parents or the day I refused to lie at work or the smiles and hellos I gave to others or the years or the virtue I lived, the murders I didn't commit, r the goods I never stole, nor the other women I never sought out. Those thing didn't come up. It was the little things I had never thought of, the resounding echoes of a thousand daily tasks that molded the shape of my children's lives. It was the plodding ritual of dedication - to be there and protect and provide - that created a world and a home for my family and others and world of life and light for others to see and esteem. I always thought I was so boring and dull until that day in the Great Hall. And the Angel showed me the friends of my children who where drawn to the warmth of our home - of parents who loved each other and the peace of a family dinner which to them was so foreign, so unknown. Of a gentle man who didn't strike his wife or children. I never saw that. I didn't know. I just didn't know. Even a dimly lit candle is still warm and glowing to those in darkness. And so there I stood. At the Judgment Seat I saw my life from a distance, seeing as He would see. I saw not just the things that happened at a point in time, not only the motives of the heart, but, more importantly, the effect my life had on generations of people - the transcendence of lives passed down through the children and to those sheltered under the umbrella of one's love and faithfulness. It wasn't major incidents of my life as much as it was the consequences of the little decisions I made, altering ever so slightly the course of many lives and generations. THE HELL OF A DOMESTICATED LIFE And this passed, too. In a moment I was day-dreaming of the endless days and plodding years of work and the monotony of life. The order of sleep, work, feeding, a few hours at home with the children, and then sleeping and work again. I recalled wondering what it would be like to be free like the young men at work - no responsibilities, care free, quitting the job and leaving on a long journey. One of my friends from school never married. He broke his engagement to his high school sweetheart - one of the nicest girls I ever knew - and roamed the world and loved many women saw things and went places I only dreamed of while I watched my belly grow bigger and my shoulders sag while my children grew up and left home and my wife grew frail from age. My friend was lucky. He never knew the horror of a domesticated life. In the dream the cycle of my days went on and on and on, and I was very sad - lonely for adventure, parched for life, desolate from the ravages of boredom. But then the angel said to me: "It was in your sacrifice that you preserved your wife and children. It was your steady, unwaverable fortitude through the decades of your life that gave them the stability of love and the security of peace. Your monotony was their foundation - a foundation that made them strong enough to stand and care for others when their turn came. Your life John, has given them life. And they will be good fathers for their children and husbands for their wives. Stability and patience and longsuffering create the backbone of families, and families are the broad shouldered legions of civilization. You are a centurion, John, one of the leaders who bear the weight of armies, who give their lives for their charges. You are the headmaster of the first school of love and sacrifice and government throughout all the ages of mankind." And I fell on my face overwhelmed, utterly silence, awakened for the first time to the reality of my life as a soldier and a hero in the eyes of my Creator when I say in the mirror a boring deadened men. I was ashamed that I was ashamed of my life. THINGS UNDONE "For this, John Baker, you are rewarded," said the Angel. "The sins you have committed have been atoned for by the Blood of the Lamb. For the duties you have forsaken are ignored here - you will not be rewarded for what might have been." And I said "What things - you mean the factory? What other things?" And the angel said "John, knowing what could have been is a greater burden than you can bear. But because you are stubborn on this matter I will show you to instruct you." And the angel continued: "John, your wife wanted more children. But you talked her out of it, reminding her how much work it was for her, the pains of labor and the irritation and unrest of so many children. You reminded her of the sleepless nights, and the endless crying and the spills and messes and the daily bouts of insanity she fought and the lonely tears and crying that came when she felt she just couldn't go on. But John, God had another son for you, one who was to be a teacher to his children, one who would have raised his children to be teachers and pastors and men who would give their life times to take the Good News of Jesus to others. But you loved your life more and would not give that extra amount for the next child. In three generations time you would have been the ancestor to many great teachers of mercy and truth and shared in their rewards for leading so many into the paths of truth, and of their children as well." I was stricken with this loss, this loss of destiny and purpose, the horrible melancholy of what might have been, the joys un-tasted because of a path not taken. Then he erased it from my mind and said "this you shall not remember this. You will not bear the eternal suffering of regretting your life - that is for the Damned." And so I will forget what could have been, the eternal blessing of no regrets. The Damned gnash their teeth because they cannot forget. Finally, he said "It is over. You are judged." And I passed through to the other side. ____________________________ Fritz Berggren, Ph.D. Miami, FL 7 November 2001 Copyright © 2001
THE MESSAGE 15 April 2002 I used to work on university campuses telling students about God's love and the forgiveness of sins He offers through Jesus Christ. Very few of them received the Gospel. And of those who did, fewer still "stuck" - the cares of the world or the persecution of their peers drove them away from living for the Truth. And so it would appear that there was a failure of the Christian Gospel to convince men to serve the Almighty. Many Christians ask "why is God so invisible to this generation?" while many unbelievers ask "if God is, then why is He so hard to find?" Both Christian and unbeliever are mistaken in assuming that God should do more to "demonstrate" his Godhood. God has never deemed it necessary to prove his existence any more than what is demonstrated in creation. In fact, God purposely keeps himself hidden from fallen man so that man may have the opportunity to repent and receive Jesus Christ by faith. Faith is believing the message of God without the messenger "proving" that it is true. This is the surrender of your demands upon God to meet your standards of proof and reasonableness. Man has no rights to claim anything from God and man renounces those false claims by repenting of unbelief. This happens when he believes in a God he doesn't see and accepts Jesus as the Son of God who rose from the dead. He must believe this message from the word of another man - God does not meet man halfway - man's only choice is unconditional surrender. Unless he has already believed in Jesus Christ, a dead man has no hope for eternal salvation. The ability to repent from unbelief will disappear with his last breathe. It is only in this life that God seems to be hidden and it is a privilege to believe in what we cannot see. At the Judgment Day, every man will know without any doubt that Jesus is Lord, but it will be too late to surrender and repent of unbelief. EVE'S TEMPTATION In Eden, Eve's fall was preceded by the temptation to judge for her self whether or not the message about God was true. Before Eve was created, God told Adam not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And Adam faithfully "preached the Message" to his mate, Eve. But the Devil (the serpent) told Eve that what Adam told her was not true. Eve longed to eat the fruit, and to justify her disobedience she decided that she would "not believe" in Adam's message. She presumed that she had the right to judge for herself whether or not Adam was telling the truth. This was Eve's first mistake. No man is capable of "knowing what is true" without faith. Eve had only two choices - to believe Adam, or to believe the devil. She was not able to independently determine whether either one of them was telling the truth. No one does. Adam couldn't do that either - he had to trust that what God told him was true. Only God can make an "independent" determination of what is true or untrue - man's only choice is to believe Him or to doubt Him. Why is this? Because man is not omniscient - we don't have all knowledge. The ability to reject God's message wasn't unique to Eve, who heard the message from Adam. Adam heard the message directly from God and yet he chose to believe Eve instead of obeying God. So whether you are an unbeliever doubting the Evangelist or a Believer doubting the Holy Spirit, you are both guilty. UNBELIEF AND DISOBEDIENCE Disobedience is founded in unbelief. I'm not sure I've ever known a Christian or unbeliever who said to themselves "I am going to disobey God." It doesn't work that way. It didn't work that way with Adam and Eve and it doesn't work that way today. People don't say "I am going to disobey God" because that is too overwhelming. It requires them to believe in God and it requires them to believe that they are accountable to God. If you believe in God and if you believe that you are accountable to Him, you will obey him. This is what men say: "I don't believe in God," or "I don't believe he said what you are saying He said." This is true for the believer and unbeliever alike. The Believer and Unbeliever alike will never say "I'm disobeying God," but they will both say "has God said . . .?" THE BELIEVER With our petty daily sins, we say to ourselves "surely I will not die" if I eat this forbidden fruit - and we indulge. With our life's calling or with major decisions we convince ourselves that God really didn't say what he said. What born again spirit filled believer can say "God told me to do such and such and I'm willfully disobeying him."? None. What they say is "God didn't really tell me to do that . . . I thought maybe He did at one time, but I was mistaken." THE UNBELIEVER The Unbeliever says "I don't believe in God." Or he says "OK, I believe in God, but I don't believe I'm accountable to Him for my actions." Like Eve, the Believer and Unbeliever alike are forced to accept God's message by way of an intermediary. The Christian must believe what the Holy Spirit is speaking to Him. The Unbeliever must believe what the Christian evangelist is telling him. Neither one has the option to demand that God show himself. He must believe in faith that the message is true; and he will be accountable for it. SALVATION IS BY BELIEVING Eve did not believe -- it wasn't that she just disobeyed. She said to herself "I don't believe what Adam told me about God." The serpent introduced doubt, and she clung to the doubt because she lusted for the fruit. She justified her lust for the fruit by deciding she had the right to determine for herself what is right and wrong. She decided that she could decide for herself whether or not to believe Adam. She rejected the foundation of her safety - believing what Adam told her about God. The Unbeliever does the same thing today. He says "I don't believe what this man is telling me about Jesus Christ." The Christian says "I used to believe that God called me to preach the Gospel, or become a missionary, or do some great thing." The Believer and Unbeliever alike change what they believe to fit what they want. This isn't good -- this is what Eve did. THE GOOD NEWS OF JESUS To the Unbeliever the Evangelist says: "God loves you and commands you to serve Him. You must repent of your sin and unbelief by believing in Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Jesus paid for your sin when he was crucified on the cross and three days later he arose from the dead. One day you will die, and at the resurrection of the dead you will stand before the Judge - Jesus Christ - the one I'm telling you about now. Those who reject Jesus will be sent to hell forever. But the righteous - those who believe in Jesus Christ - will live forever in heaven." The Unbeliever then must "believe." He must accept by faith that Jesus is the Son of God and that he died on the cross to pay for his sins and that He rose from the dead and one day he will judge the living and the dead. Either the Unbeliever repents and believes or, like Eve, says "I don't believe what this messenger is telling me." And the devil will tell your mind that the message of Jesus Christ isn't true. You don't want to believe because if you believe then you will have to obey God. But you must doubt your doubts and believe in Jesus Christ This is the only way a man can be saved If you are an Unbeliever, I have one question for you: "What is there in your life that is worth going to hell for?" Your eternal salvation depends upon believing in Jesus. If you are a Believer, I have one question for you: "What is there in your life that is worth missing the call of God?" What great thing has God told you to do that you no longer believe in? The Believer didn't get saved by doubting the messenger. The Believer got saved because he believed the Gospel of Jesus Christ when preached by a man. How much more must the Believer cling to the message delivered by the Holy Spirit. What must a man do to be saved? Repent, and believe. Fritz Berggren, Ph.D. Tax Day, 2002 http://www.text.net/berggren
LIBERATING PALESTINE 5 April 2002 I'm concerned for the Palestinian people. I really am. I think they've gotten a raw deal with their neighbors and it's time someone did something about it. Let's review the facts, determine the problems, and come up with a solution, OK? PROBLEM #1: PALESTINIAN LEADERSHIP The Palestinian people have a crisis of political leadership. Arafat is a ruthless murderous thug. I'm not talking about the suicide bombings (as bad as they are) -- I mean of his own people. Since his arrival in Gaza in 1982 his organization has systematically murdered any Palestinian who was willing to truly work for a long term peaceful coexistence with the state of Israel. The Palestinians do not have a democratic government. Yasser Arafat was recognized by Israel, the United States, and the Arab countries as the "legitimate" leader of the Palestinian people. There was one election (years ago) for a interim government and Arafat made sure he was elected. His election then was about as legitimate as the "elections" held every few years in Cuba. Arafat has no more claim to the legitimate leadership of the Palestinians than Fidel Castro has over Cuba or Kim Il Jong has over North Korea. With the exception of Israel, the Middle East has no history of democratic government and "General" Arafat has no desire to blaze new ground in this respect. By claiming a military title - he makes it clear that he is the head of the Palestinians whether anyone likes it or not - including the Palestinians. Yasser Arafat turned down the very best peace plan anyone could have offered him 18 months ago by then Prime Minister Ehud Barak. Israel offered the Palestinians 95% of what they were claiming and Arafat walked away and immediately began the rebellion in the west bank and Gaza. He didn't negotiate over the plan. He didn't make a counter offer. When the chips were down for peace he walked away. Many observers made the not so remarkable observation that he wasn't really interested in co-existence with Israel. Yasser Arafat has systematically promoted hatred of Israel and the Jews among the general Palestinian population. This happens in the schools system, newspapers, radio and TV - all of which he controls. This is further evidence that the Palestinians need help - they need freedom - not from the Jews - but from Arafat. Arafat calls for suicide attacks and martyrdom in Arabic on his TV stations and then on the very same day will speak in English to the western press calling for peace. The Palestinian people deserve better than this. Arafat offers no hope for the long term peace and prosperity for the Palestinian people. PROBLEM #2: PALESTINE'S NEIGHBORS The Palestinians neighbors - Saudia Arabia, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, and the entire Moslem world - have failed in their duty to provide a viable solution to the Palestinian issue. They sit on billions of barrels of oil and hundred of thousands of square miles of empty land and none of them will give the Palestinians a place to live outside of Palestine or a refugee camp. Unlike the United States (who opens it's borders to millions of every year) the Arab countries won't take the Palestinians in. The Palestinian people have been offered a place to live by Israel - the West Bank and Gaza. No other Arab country in the World will accept them. Today there are tens of thousands of Palestinian refuges in Lebanese refugee camps. Kuwait forcibly evicted it's Palestinian population and other Arab regimes have systematically slaughtered Palestinians in refugee camps. The Palestinians need deliverance and freedom from their Arabic and Muslim "brothers" because they are using the women and children of Palestine as "human shields" behind which they can rally international support for the "Palestinian" cause and behind which they can launch suicide attacks upon Jewish women and children. PROBLEM #3: THOSE WHO BELIVE ARAFAT Arafat would have the West believe the suicide bombers are a "spontaneous" uprising of a people seeking freedom and therefore he does not have control over the suicide bombers. And the Western press has largely bought this lie. When was the last time you heard of an 18 year old girl with 20 pounds of plastic explosives just lying around her bedroom? Not even Timothy McVeigh could get C4 or plastic explosives - he had to rely on fertilizer and diesel fuel. Arafat's government buys the explosives and builds the bombs and recruits the bombers and then pays off the families of the bombers as a reward and incentive for more bombers. --Item of Fact: The recent raids into the West bank and Gaza have found "bomb" factories for the suicide bombers. In one case, 30 body bombs were found ready and assembled for attacks on Israel. --Item of Fact: Arafat, Iran and Iraq offer huge (for Palestinians) financial incentives to suicide bombers. Iraq now offers the family of a suicide bomber the equivalent of US$25,000.00 to strap on a bomb and kill some Jews. Arafat offers around $6000.00. --Item of Fact: The suicide bombers are praised and honored by Yasser Arafat. Arafat makes poster boys out of suicide bombers as a recruiting tool for more suicide bombers. --Item of Fact: The recent raids on Arafat's compound revealed an invoice for "about $4,200, to pay for electrical and chemical components for the production of a month's supply of about 30 bombs." (This is an actual quote from the invoice.) --Item of Fact: It takes highly trained people to build those body bombs - it's not something one does by reading Soldier of Fortune magazine. THE TRUTH OF THE MATTER Israel may be a problem for the Palestinians -- but it is the least of their problems. Neither Arafat nor the rest of the Arab or Muslim world desires peace with Israel on any terms and that is not good news for the Palestinian people. The Palestinians are held hostage by Arab and Muslim governments and used as a weapon by which they may strike at and destroy Israel. I don't think that's very fair to the Palestinian people. The last best hope of the Palestinians is that Israel would liberate them from the grip of Yasser Arafat and his Muslims and Arabic backers. Israel is not the #1 source of trouble for the Palestinian people - Israel could be their solution if the Palestinian people would reject Arafat and his allies. Only time will tell, but perhaps this is true for the rest of the Middle East as well. Fritz Berggren, Ph.D. 5 April 2002 www.text.net/berggren
WHAT IS WRONG WITH ISLAM? Fritz Berggren, Ph.D. Saint Patrick Day, 2002 Someone wrote to me the other day because I implied that Islam was violent, and therefore bad. And I got to thinking about Islam -- is it violent? And if so, does that make it bad? Is Islam inherently violent or is it a "religion of peace"? Yasser Arafat calls for jihad against the Infidels, and asks the Palestinian women to become martyrs in the heart of Israel. Al Qaida is a mobile army of warriors inspired by the belief that their cause is just and sanctioned by Allah. Today in the Sudan and Nigeria Christians are murdered, mutilated, and enslaved by Muslims simply because the victims are Christians. Pat Robertson says the Koran supports violence. What if Islam is violent? What if the Koran teaches "death to the Infidels"? What if their scriptures and clerics support killing people who convert from Islam to Christianity? What if Islam really does support jihad against the United States and Israel and condones the bombing of the Twin Towers in NYC? Let’s assume, for a moment, that true Islam supports violence to expand the influence and power of Islam. Does that make Islam evil? On the other hand, many Muslim clerics say, "No -- those people are misusing Islam "Islam is a religion of peace." Islamic leaders in the United States have repeatedly condemned the attacks on the Twin Towers and say those men were not representatives of Islam at all. Many Muslim governments are assisting the United States in tracking down the "terrorists." Even President Bush says Islam is a religion of peace. So what if Islam really is a "religion of peace"? What if all of the terrorists and all those calling for jihad and all those doing violent things in the name of Islam are really wrong about Islam. What if Islam stands firmly against violence in all forms -- what if it is a peaceful as a dove? Does that make Islam good? I’m not going to give you the answer to that -- yet. The letter I received goes to the heart of the matter, and for that I’m very thankful to the Reverend for corresponding with me. I’ll quote part of his letter below: " . . . and I just started reading and could'nt help but respond. why was it important for you to separate Islam out of the genesis from which we all come as Children of the Book? Rev. __________ " Hopefully I can be fair his point of view: The Reverend is referring to the Arabs who claim descent from Abraham through Ishmael. Thus Mohammed (an Arab) could trace his physical descent back to Abraham. This is why Islam holds Abraham in high esteem. Islam respects Moses, the Prophets and even allows that Jesus was a good man. Islam claims to incorporate and transcend Judaism and Christianity as the culmination of the two earlier religious traditions. Islam believes that Judaism and then Christianity were on the right track, but that the prophet Mohammed delivered the culmination of truth to the world: The first of the Five Pillars of Islam is as follows: "There is One God and Mohammed is His Prophet." And thus it is implied by some that Christians, Jews, and Muslims are more similar than different because they sharing a common heritage and all believe in one God. As such, there should be no insurmountable differences that would somehow prevent us from all just getting along. Unless, of course, unreasonable people step in stir up trouble. So let’s talk about this. THE JEWS The best way to look at this problem is to start with the Jews. And for that, let’s look at a community of Christians and Jews that had a lot in common: they all lived in the same city, they were all ethnically Jewish, and all lived under the same government. Sounds like they should get along, right? But they were divided religiously. Some of the ethnic Jews were Christians and the rest of them were religious Jews. (One must distinguish between ethnic and religious Jews -- you can be one without being the other.) Both Christians and Jews believed in Abraham, Moses and the Prophets. Both believed in One God. Both accepted the same body of scriptures as their Bible. But if you’ve read the Book of Acts you already know they didn’t get along. There was one thing that separated the Christians from the Jews. And despite all they had in common this division was insurmountable. What was the division? It was Jesus. It was not the healings. It was not the teaching and preaching in general. It was not that the Christians had a different Bible. It was not differences in morality. Shouldn’t they have "gotten along"? They were certainly both "Children of the Book." The Christians were ethnically Jewish for sure, and they even considered themselves religious Jews who had simply found the Messiah. So the Christian Jews were preaching the Gospel in Jerusalem to the non-Christian Jews. The priests and the Sadducees became "greatly disturbed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead." And when the apostles explained how a man got healed. They said: "let it be known to you and to all the people of Israel (the Jews) that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene whom you crucified whom God raised from the dead -- by this name this man stands before you in good health." (Acts 4:10) The apostles were very pointed in identifying Jesus as the key to their faith -- they went right to the heart of the matter: "He is the stone which was rejected by you, the Builders, but which became the chief cornerstone . . . . . . and there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved. (Acts 4:12) Now surely if there were ever an opportunity to be religiously "sensitive" this was it. If ever there was an opportunity to "smooth things over" and get along, it was right there in Jerusalem. Didn’t the Apostles know that they had more in common than what separated them? Didn’t they know they all believe in God? But what did the Apostles do? The Apostles said "Jesus" healed the guy -- not "Our Heavenly Father." The Apostles said "Jesus is the cornerstone" and "you priests rejected him." The Apostles said "there is no other Name" except for Jesus by which men are saved. They did NOT say "we are all God’s children." They said (I'm paraphrasing) "you Jewish priests rejected Jesus the Messiah, and Jesus is the only one who can save men from Hell. It is the Name of Jesus that healed this man, and it is through Jesus men shall rise from the dead, and it is Jesus that saves men." So what did the Jewish leaders do? Did they tell them to stop healing? No. Did they tell them to stop teaching the scriptures? No. Did they tell them to stop doing good or even to stop meeting together? No. They told them to "speak no longer to any man in this name." It was the name of Jesus that they forbade. But the Apostles kept preaching Jesus. And the High Priests got mad again and threw them in jail. So Peter was sitting around in prison saying to himself "gee, I must be doing something wrong. God called me to preach to the Jews and here I am sitting in prison. Maybe I should find a way to keep the priests off my case. I’ll reach a lot more people if I can stay out of prison -- I can’t preach the Gospel locked up here." So Peter was trying to figure out how to "get along" with the Jews and the Angel shows up and says: "Go and preach the whole message of this Life." In other words the angel said "don’t you dare leave anything out so as to not ‘offend’ someone. You preach Jesus and don’t water it down." And the Apostles preached again in the temple. And they were arrested again in the temple and hauled before the court. And the priest told the Apostles: "We gave you strict orders not to continue teaching in this name." And Peter said "we will obey God and not you.” And Peter went on and preached Jesus to them: "The God of our Fathers raised up Jesus whom you put to death on the cross. He is the one God has exalted to His right hand as a Prince and Savior to grant repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins." (Acts 5:30-31) (Peter wasn’t very sensitive, was he?) And the priests were so mad they almost killed them right there, but a Jewish leader named Gamaliel intervened and saved their lives. So instead they beat them with whips and ordered them "not to speak in the name of Jesus." It was the Name of Jesus that offended them, it wasn’t anything else, it wasn’t the healings or teachings or anything but the Name of Jesus. And Stephen was preaching Jesus when they hauled him before the court and he preached Jesus to Jewish leaders and told them that they killed Jesus, "the Righteous One that all the prophets and spoken of." And upon hearing this they killed him. So make no mistake about it -- it is Jesus that offends people and it is Jesus that saves people and it is Jesus that defines Christianity. A man who rejects Jesus cannot be saved -- that message really makes people mad. THE ANSWER TO THE JEWS (and to the MUSLIMS) So what is the Christian response to Judaism and Islam? It is Jesus. It is one million Christian missionaries preaching Jesus and converting every Muslim to a belief in the only One who can save their souls from hell. Leaving Muslims alone is not the answer. Peaceful coexistence is not the answer. Just getting along is not the answer. Preaching Jesus IS the answer even when it "offends" them and even if it costs us our lives. Ask Stephen about "offending" the Jews. Ask any of the Apostles about "offending the Jews." The Jews had only one demand, only one request, only one stipulation -- that the Christians stop preaching Jesus! That was it. Wasn’t that reasonable? But once you stop preaching Jesus you deny men the opportunity to accept Jesus -- and only Jesus can save them from Hell. To cave into Jewish demands to "tone it down about this Jesus thing" was not just to compromise the faith -- worse than that -- it would be to withhold from the Jews the only source of salvation. It wasn’t whether Peter or Stephen or the others denied their own faith that is important. Refusing to preach Jesus to the Jews or to the Muslims is to deny to them the only possible source of eternal salvation. And woe to the preacher or Christian who refuses to preach Jesus out of "respect” for another’s religion. They damn them to hell. SO WHAT IS WRONG WITH ISLAM? Islam forbids the preaching of Jesus. Islam rejects Jesus Christ. Islam denies the only hope of eternal life and forgiveness of sins. Violence is not the problem with Islam. Al-Qaeda is not the problem with Islam. Whether Islam is the most peaceful religion in the world or not is not even an issue -- that just doesn’t even matter in comparison to Eternal Life. The problem with Islam (and Judaism for that matter) is the denial of the only way any man can be saved from their sins -- Jesus Christ. Without Jesus, death becomes the doorway to Hell. Let’s just get to the root of the problem -- Islam is not bad because a few Muslims took down the Twin Towers in NYC. Islam is bad because it condemns men and women to hell for all eternity by denying Jesus Christ. How does Islam deny Jesus? It forbids the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Islam forbids conversion to Christianity. Islam denies that Jesus is the Son of God and the One who died on the cross for the sins of mankind. You simply cannot go into a Muslim nation preach Jesus. You can’t build a church in Saudia Arabia and then preach the Gospel to Muslims. If you are a Muslim and you convert to Christianity, you may be sentenced to death. And that’s not bad for the new Christian, but it certainly is chilling to others who might consider accepting Jesus. And it’s tough on the preachers, too, since they come under the same sentence of death for trying to convert Muslims to Jesus. You don’t belive me? Go ask Dana Curry. Islam is anti-Christ, and to the extent that it rejects Jesus it condemns men to hell. And that alone is why Islam is evil. "There is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved except for the name of Jesus Christ." (Acts 4:12) This is the heart of the matter. And once a Muslim believes in Jesus as the Savior and the Son of God and as the One who died for their sins upon the cross, they cease being a Muslim and become a Christian. Once Saul (St. Paul) -- a religious and ethnic Jew -- believed in Jesus he ceased being of the Jewish religion -- he became a Christian. Only Jesus provides for the forgiveness for our sin. It’s not that Jews and Muslims are worse people than Christians -- far from it -- they are as honest and upright as anyone else, perhaps more so. But being honest and upright does not for eternal life make. All men -- even the honest and upright -- are sinners before God. God is gracious and merciful to all men because he offered His Son Jesus as a sacrifice for the sins for all "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. (John 3:16) Jesus is the only sacrifice for our sins. If you want God’s forgiveness, you must accept Jesus. He is the only way to the father. He is the only atonement. He is the only way to God. He is the only salvation from sin and hell. God has made a provision for sin through Jesus and through Jesus alone. Rejecting Jesus is rejecting God. Rejecting Jesus is rejecting eternal salvation. Rejecting Jesus means hell. And woe to the preacher who sends men to hell by refusing to preach Jesus. Islam and Judaism are evil because it denies men the only hope for salvation -- Jesus Christ. Salvation from sins is open to all men everywhere including to Jews and Muslims and atheists and Hindus and Buddhists and every other worldview/philosophy/religion out there. But they must accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior because He alone is the sacrifice for their sins. DANA CURRY Would to God we had ten thousand men with half the guts of Dana Curry. Risking death, she moved to Afghanistan to preach Jesus to Muslims. We know about her because the Taliban imprisoned here for preaching Jesus to Muslims. She was facing the death penalty if convicted and surely would have been convicted by the Taliban if the US Army had not rescued her. I want to know why there were no men imprisoned in Afghanistan for preaching the Gospel. I’m sure there were plenty of Christian men somewhere in Afghanistan. Probably preachers, too. Some of them maybe even went to jail for a period of time. Did they have Peters’s thoughts? When they were let out of prison did they decide it was better to "be a little more sensitive" so as to carry on the good work? While Dana Curry was in prison in Afghanistan for the preaching of Jesus to Muslims, my wife and I dedicated our 6-month old daughter to God for missionary work. I prayed to God "that she would be a missionary to the nations of the world even as Dana Curry is willing to lay down her life in Afghanistan for the preaching of the Gospel" and I mean that now as much as ever. We didn’t know at that time whether Dana Curry would be executed by the Taliban for preaching Jesus. But should it matter? Was young Stephen’s life so valuable that he should have saved it by appeasing the Jews? He was such a young man, only thirty years old -- he had a lifetime of ministry and service ahead of him. By being a little more subtle and accommodating he would have had a great career as a preacher and reached a lot of people for Jesus. Yet Stephen’s life was expendable for the preaching of Jesus. And if it cost the life of one woman or ten thousand to preach Jesus to the Muslims then it is worth it because Jesus is the only hope for their eternal salvation. Yet I can still hear someone say: "we need to be sensitive to their beliefs. They will know we are Christians by our love. If they come asking, we’ll tell them." Oh you brave soul, you. You’ll never have to worry about martyrdom. Or a crown. Stephen means "crown" and in his death he was crowned with glory. His life was not so valued as to be saved from death. Neither is my daughter’s if it is lost for preaching the Gospel of Jesus. It is only through Jesus that a man is saved. And that is the only message that matters. Fritz Berggren, Ph.D. Saint Patrick Day, 2002 www.text.net/berggren
DESIGNER BABIES Fritz Berggren, Ph.D. 5 March 2002 TODAY . . . After fretting about it for years, now, we ARE producing designer babies. A 30 year old woman carrying the Alzheimer’s gene gave birth to a baby girl freed from this gene. They took a bunch of her eggs, and a bunch of his sperm, and produced fertilized embryos. We don’t know how many, but they chose an Alzeihemer-free baby and disposed of the rest. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? Designer babies are here to stay. Perhaps pro-creative sex will be only for the poor in a few years. Those wealthy enough will simply supply the Doc with a tube of sperm and a tube of eggs and a check list of characteristics (leave out the high cholesterol gene, add some brains and blue eyes, and easy on the obesity). The Doc will mix up a batch, test the little guys and girls (but of course they wanted a girl, so he’ll dispose of the boys), choose one or two or three with the right characteristics and flush the rest. He’ll let a few of them grown until he can identify the most viable, implant it into the mother’s (or her surrogate) womb, and dispose of the others. That’s essentially what they did with the Alzheimer’s baby. Of course the doctor and the parents will argue that their real mission will be to save the baby from the possibility of having high cholesterol or being overweight – those are horrible conditions. By then, the AMA will have prohibited genetic selection for all but debilitating diseases. Debilitating disease will include being “”too short.” You don’t believe me? Mrs and Mrs. Shorty will sue to force doctors to allow them to screen out the short gene. They’ll argue that being short was the cause of great emotional distress in their lives, and also caused a huge loss of income to them. Expert witnesses will step forth with supporting evidence and studies which prove that tall people make more money, get promoted faster, and are more popular. And the court will say being short is a disability that can be screened for. And of course much of the precedent will already have been laid with Roe v. Wade (1973) which mandated that a fetus was part of the woman’s body. Well if the baby she is carrying can be flushed, why not a few embryos? But even if the courts rule against aesthetic screening, the doctor will take the prospectve parents aside and explain that since he is picking and choosing anyway, he’ll screen for whatever they want. As long as they are also screening for some horrible disease, they can screen for freckles, red hair and shortness. So there you have it. This is a certainty in 30 years. Your children will do this. And they won’t think any more of it than we do of getting a pace maker, a facelift, or braces for our kids. 30 YEARS FROM NOW . . . We’ll grow body parts in genetically altered swine. They (the swine) will be modified just enough to prevent their bodies from rejecting human tissue. (This is already being tested, and it has happened in monkeys) Older folks (with money) will consult with their doctors and order body parts 6 months in advance. They will clone a new “old guy,” raise the embryo until it is large enough to remove an organ, and plant the body part in the pig. At about 6 months, they’ll harvest the pig and move the new liver or heart or whatever into the old guy. Since a new fetus produces a beating heart in less than ten days after conception, the fetuses (they’ll have to produce a bunch of them to make sure they get a good heart) will be disposed of once they get a few good livers or hearts. Eventually people will notice how cruel it is to subject little piglets to invasive surgery and will demand a halt to using pigs as surrogate organ incubators. So, the doctors will pinch the brain of the fetus, allowing only the lowest brain functions to continue so as to provide for the growth of the body. This is really a kindness, since it will shut down any conscious pain as well. Shutting down most of the brain will free up vast amounts 0f energy and nutrients to hasten the growth of the organ. Then they will remove any other superfluous appendages to speed the process a little more. (They’ll cut off the arms and legs). In less than six months, they’ll harvest the organs and use one of them for the “old guy” who can afford this procedure. (Or perhaps by then the Grey Generation will make this procedure a standard part of Medicare. Thirty years from now, I will be of that Grey Generation). The leftovers will be recycled. Isn’t medical science wonderful? You don’t believe me? Today we have a multi-billion dollar industry today that grows and harvests infant human body parts for sale. Not old dead people who “donate their bodies to science.” I’m talking about fresh live new babies. The price list for their organs is below: Fee for Services Schedule > greater than < same or less than Unprocessed Specimen (> 8 weeks) $ 70 Unprocessed Specimen (< 8 weeks) $ 50 Livers (< 8 weeks)30% discount if significantly fragmented $150 Livers (> 8 weeks)30% discount if significantly fragmented $125 Spleens (< 8 weeks) $ 75 Spleens (> 8 weeks) $ 50 Pancreas (< 8 weeks) $100 Pancreas (> 8 weeks) $ 75 Thymus (< 8 weeks) $100 Thymus (> 8 weeks) $ 75 Intestines & Mesentery $ 50 Mesentery (< 8 weeks) $125 Mesentery (> 8 weeks) $100 Kidney-with/without adrenal (< 8 weeks) $125 Kidney-with/without adrenal (> 8 weeks) $100 Limbs (at least 2) $150 Brain (< 8 weeks)30% discount if significantly fragmented $999 Brain (> 8 weeks)30% discount if significantly fragmented $150 Pituitary Gland (> 8 weeks) $300 Bone Marrow (< 8 weeks) $350 Bone Marrow (> 8 weeks) $250 Ears (< 8 weeks) $ 75 Ears (> 8 weeks) $ 50 Eyes (< 8 weeks) 40% discount for single eye $ 75 Eyes (> 8 weeks) 40% discount for single eye $ 50 Skin (> 12 weeks) $100 Lungs & Heart Block $150 Intact Embryonic Cadaver (< 8 weeks) $400 Intact Embryonic Cadaver (> 8 weeks) $600 Intact Calvarium $125 Intact Trunk (with/without limbs) $500 Gonads $550 Cord Blood (Snap Frozen LN2) $125 Spinal Column $150 Spinal Cord $325 Prices in effect through December 31, 1999 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> This is an old price list from a division of Consultants & Diagnostic Pathology, Inc. called Opening Lines who once worked out of Frankfurt Illinois. When the local newspaper published a headline story about their business, they disconnected the phone lines and moved out of town. Suffice to say they are not the only business doing this. 60 YEARS AGO . . . Let me leave this story for a minute and flash back sixty years . . . In 1942 the Nazi’s began ramping up their “solution” to the Jewish problem. You know what that was . . . they gassed them, shot them, or burned them by the millions – 6 million Jews and 3 million others (crippled, insane, criminals, traitors, Gypsies, etc.) Not a school child today can make it to 12th Grade without being inundated by movies, documentaries, and special events that warn of the evils of the Nazi’s and anti-Semitism. You remember the piles of naked bodies stacked like cord wood in those old black and white films of the Allies liberating the Nazi Death Camps. The actual German’s aren’t given much publicity – except for Adolph Hitler and a handful of evil Nazi’s. And that is the problem. The Nazi’s are portrayed as non-human. People think of them as monsters so divorced from the human community that you’d think they were the offspring of Alien (Sigourney Weaver’s nemesis) or Predator (one of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s foes). But not so. Nazi’s were highly educated, prosperous, secular Germans who joined a political party (the National Socialists) to help their country. They were solid German citizens – not monsters. And what about the Germans who weren’t a part of the National Socialist party? Did that make them “good Germans?” Did they stand up and “Just Say No?” No. They didn’t. Except for a few like Dietrich Bonhoffer (a very average 30-something who plotted to overturn his government), the average German couldn’t be bothered. And that included the vast majority of born again Christians in Germany during World War II. BACK TO THE PRESENT . . . Brenda B. of the Anatomic Gift Foundation (AGF) says she teaches her children that abortion is wrong. But her own company (Anatomic Gift Foundation – isn’t that a nice name?) traffics in the body parts of aborted children. She home schools her children with a Christian curriculum and regularly attends services at a local Southern Baptist church. I mean if she’s a monster, then … (we’ll get to that). And from here I’ll quote my source: "I've been painted as this monster, but here I am trying to give my kids a Christian education," she says, referring to other media coverage of AGF's fetal-parts enterprise. Mrs. B says she's prayed over whether her business is acceptable in God's sight, and has "gotten the feeling" that it is. She also, she says, reads the Bible "all the time." And though she can't cite a chapter and verse that says it's OK to cut and ferry baby parts, she points out that God commands us to love one another. For Mrs. B, aiding medical research by supplying fetal parts qualifies. 200 YEARS FROM NOW . . . . . . Historians will argue that we aren’t any different than the Germans of 1942. When a Bible-belt born-again mother of three (and a home schooler!) traffics in body parts "we" have become "them." Is she guilty? Of course she is. And so is her Pastor and so is a Church willing to allow this to flourish. We are good educated, secular (despite our weekly church attendance) civilized American citizens concerned about the well being of our country. And we know what is going on. Most of us are opposed to abortion. Or at least we are “personally” opposed to it but are sensitive of a woman’s “right to choose” Some day historians will argue that this isn't any different from the well-meaning citizen in 1850 who was personally opposed to slavery but wasn't willing to stop it. Like they used to say: “if you don’t like slavery, don’t own a slave. But we can't outlaw it -- one shouldn't impose one's morality on others." Fritz Berggren 5 March 2002 www.text.net/berggren/ SOURCES: (Mrs. Brenda B. : World Magazine, October 23, 1999, Volume 14, Number 41. http://www.worldmag.com/world/issue/10-23-99/cover_1.asp Abortion Price List: http://www.trosch.org/for/body-parts.html Alzheimer Free Baby: Wall Street Journal, March 4, 2002 )
Post-Modernism, the Enlightenment, and Christianity Fritz Berggren, Ph.D. 28 February 2002 Most of you probably wish you’d never heard the word post-Modernism. Your eyes glaze over at a term associated with the break down of Western Civilization (according to some). But I’m going to take a stab at telling you what post-Modernism means and why I’m a big fan of post-Modernism. First we need to simplify things a bit. Post-Modern means “after the Modern.” The Modern, for our purposes, can be associated with the Enlightenment. The Enlightenment was that intellectual movement (most commonly associated with the French Revolution) which renounced all truth that did not proceed directly from man’s own ability to reason without recourse to “myth.” In the 18th Century, that meant (and still means) that man could only pursue truth without referring in any way to Christianity. Although this is a simplification, it’s not doing post-Modernism an injustice. Essentially, man came to believe that he was able to discover truth without recourse to faith. This new understanding (only a religious person like me would call it a “faith”) was called the Enlightenment and its beliefs are at the core of all that is “Modern.” When a person begins to realize that he is unable to escape faith – that there is no intellectual point at which he can shed all vestiges of assumptions or a priori structures – that man enters a post-Modern intellectual framework. Now, many people, including Christians, university professors, and moral conservatives decry post-Modernism because they believe it destroys any legitimacy of truth or absolutes, including truth about God and morality and even knowledge. The argument goes like this: “if man is unable to determine what is true, then nothing is true at all.” Academics don’t like this because it invalidates their “pursuit of knowledge.” Christians don’t like it because it erodes belief in moral or spiritual absolutes or truths. Cultural conservatives don’t like it because it exposes tradition to ridicule – it says that 2000 years of history are meaningless. But they are all wrong because they are evaluating post-Modernism in Modern terms. In other words, they are evaluating post-Modernism in terms of the Enlightenment. In particular, they are evaluating post-Modernism by comparing it to the core faith of the Enlightenment – that Truth exists and can be discovered rationally by man. That core faith (the Enlightenment) is anti-Christian. The Enlightenment was anti-Christ. The post-Modern is post-Enlightenment, and it resents an opportunity for Christians to present a framework of knowledge that was denied them in the Enlightenment because the post-Modern places us all on the same footing again: there is no longer a secular and religious dichotomy – all truth comes to use from a greater literary/linguistic framework. Folks, this is downright subversive, and I love it! Truth does not exist as a thing that man is able to know, measure and discern. It exists only something that man can “believe” in as a matter of faith. Man is not able to analyze anything to determine whether or not it is “true” without depending (perhaps unconsciously) upon assumptions and biases. Thus all truth is relative to his “framework.” And no one can find THE framework that opens and avenue to Truth. What does this mean? It does NOT mean that truth does not exist. It does mean that whatever truth does exist is accessed, created, acquired, or understood fundamentally as an act of faith. Of course the post-Modernists, being a rather secular bunch (myself excluded), eschew the use of the word “faith.” It is so, well, so pre-Modern. But there isn’t any difference, philosophically speaking, between faith, belief, assumptions, and frameworks. So if you want to engage in this conversation it is helpful to be flexible in your terminology. Essentially, the post-Modern movement remands the quest for knowledge back into the realm of a priori assumptions, into the land of faith and belief. It is so exciting for me to watch the entire Enlightenment implode, not from the onslaught of Christian intellectuals, but rather from the onslaught of Enlightenment scholars who dug deep enough into their intellectual heritage to understand, and proclaim, that the Enlightenment was dead. “Which scholars?” you ask. How about the French homosexual who died of AIDS, Michel Foucault. (OK, like Jerry Springer, I’m pandering to your baser instincts by titillating you with these irrelevant facts but, after all, I am trying to get you to read this!) How about the Italian Marxist, Antonio Gramscii, who wrote most of his work in a Fascist prison during Word War II. How about Joan Scott, a contemporary feminist scholar of repute who works at Princeton. And there are many more. This is big news. It’s bigger than big. It is so big that very few people can get their intellectual hands around the issue. I won’t give you the entire treatise on how to deal with post-Modernism in this letter. But if you are all interested, you need to go to this article, print it out and read it several times:
If you have questions about it, please Email me and I’ll answer you. If you don’t want to read a 16 page academic article, go towww.text.net/pomox/
It is a PDF file, so you will need the Adobe Acrobat reader. If you can’t do that, let me know and I’ll convert it to HTML. The post-Modern argues that man is utterly and permanently lost – without foundations. The post-Modern argues that man can only find Truth as an act of faith. Providentially speaking, the post-Modern was sent to destroy the false foundations of the Enlightenment. So what is left? The opportunity to self consciously and explicitly define an internally consistent framework of Truth and Knowledge as referenced by a body of texts. Christian scholars must lead the way on this. And if you are too "pre-post-Modern" to tackle this subject, please forward this e-mail to a college student you know. I'm sure they will understand. Have a wonderful day. Fritz Berggren www.text.net/berggren/ 28 February 2002 Miami, FL
ENEMIES Fritz Berggren, Ph.D. 20 February 2002 Some of the worst advice I’ve ever heard came from a drug crazed derelict (Rodney King) who said “why can’t we all just get along?” The American media pounced on this phrase and turned it into a cultural battle cry. From kindergarten to the Congress it is now assumed that the natural and proper state is one “getting along.” This is the height of stupidity. It is illogical, misguided, and wrong. And yet it is the prevailing wisdom in the political centers of America. And I don’t mean in Washington, D.C. I mean at CBS, NBC, CNN, on university campuses, in the New York Times, and in most newspapers in America. From the way they see it, they are shocked to hear someone challenge the dogma of endless negotiations. The only people with no enemies are the dead, the defeated, and the silent. And American cultural elites (especially our college professors) have done their best to silence and defeat the moral and spiritual voices of American and Christian civilization. Because they don’t believe in anything and they can’t stand those who do. The truth is that we cannot “all just get along.” BOVINE BY-PRODUCT So how does this pure unadulterated bovine by-product become the cultural mainstream? It all starts on university campuses. Today’s professors were brain washed by their professors (when they were graduate students) and have been teaching for at least the last half-century that America’s influence is mostly evil and oppressive, and that all things Christian are racist, evil, misogynist, and oppressive. Professorial influence is so great that even Christian ministers believe them. After all, most ministers are college graduates, read the newspapers, and are fearful of what others say about them. And so they ordain homosexuals, endorse abortion, and refuse to support foreign or domestic missionary efforts. No culturally sensitive minister would ever seek to convert a Jew or a Muslim. God forbid that they send missionaries to a non-Western, non-Christian country to convert them to Christianity – that would be the height of “cultural imperialism.” You’re damn right it is. And I’m the cultural imperialist of their worst nightmare. My life's ambition is the complete and utter liberation of the entire world into the freedom and salvation of Jesus Christ. For this I pledge my voice, my wealth, and my life. CLOSED-MINDED CAMPUSES Don’t make the mistake of believing that university campuses are for “open-minded” people. Secular universities are the most closed minded, bigoted places on earth today because they call anyone who disagrees academically acceptable four letter words for which there is no defense: Ignorant Racist Closed-minded Misogynist Bigoted Propagators of hate-speech Can you defend yourself if you are called these things? Even the slightest inference paints you into an evil corner. And that is why they are powerful weapons waged against those who disagree with them. You are guilty IF charged. And the more you try to prove yourself innocent the more they’ll snicker. So while they claim to be against bigotry in any form, they practice it by tagging their opponents with epithets of evil. And they aren’t about to stop this because of some moral ambiguity on their part. They won’t surrender until everyone agrees with them, and for the most part they are winning. That’s why most preachers won’t call abortion “murder” and talk so much about “getting along” with almost everyone, and of “loving the homosexual.” But a man’s enemy are as indicative of his character as his friends. So let’s not pretend to get along, OK? NEGOTIATE AND DIE We cannot negotiate a middle ground on every thing. Some would have us believe that the United States just needs to “negotiate” with North Korea, and the Israelis just need to “negotiate” with Arafat, and Christians need to “negotiate” with anti-Christians. It is implied that if we aren’t getting along, it is because we just aren’t trying hard enough. Arafat is a murderer who purposely targets non-combatants, children and teenagers in Israel. He is not a “freedom fighter.” The French underground resistance in World War Two were freedom fighters. They fought against the Nazi’s with violence, but never purposely targeted non-combatants. Arafat endorses it, supports it, and finances it. There IS a difference between a freedom fighters and terrorists. Arafat is a terrorist and needs to be dealt as such. The regime in North Korea has systematically starved its own population and diverted every economic resource at their disposal to build an army to invade South Korea. They are blackmailing South Korea, Japan, and the United States into providing him of millions of tons of free rice and free fuel oil every year. And what do we get in return? North Korea still exports missiles to our enemies in the Middle-East. The still threaten war on South Korea and Japan, and they still hold the card of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons development for use against South Korea, Japan, and the United States. If you believe in something, you won’t negotiate it away under any circumstances. In fact, you’d be willing to fight and kill or die for it. I’m willing to fight and kill for my country. I’m willing to preach and die for my faith. And while neither is perfect, I’m not about to apologize to my enemies who would kill me just as quickly anyway. It is time to stop this madness. If the United States has a world full of enemies, it is no sign that we are wrong. Martin Luther wasn’t wrong and he was a minority. So was Rosa Parks. So was Jesus. A man or a country without enemies is dead, defeated, or silent. So count your enemies and be proud of them. And if you don’t have any, maybe it’s time you made some. Fritz Berggren 20 February 2002 www.text.net/berggren/
Social Security Gets Enron-ned Fritz Berggren, Ph.D. St. Valentine's Day, 2002 It seems that “Enron, Fiat Money & Prophecy” was a little too subversive for some of you. Well let me follow that up with something the WSJ ran this morning – either they read my letter (NOT!), or a lot of smart people believe the government’s book-keeping isn’t any better that Enron’s: “The little-know but scary truth is that the federal government also disguises some of its liabilities, or simply leaves them off balance sheets altogether.” “Eventually the government will find itself in an Enron-like situation, with retirees thinking they have government-held assets – after all, that’s what the balance sheets say – that turn out to be only political promises.” -- Wall Street Journal, OpEd page, 14 February 2002 And it gives examples: The Railroad Retirement fund was kept off the books because Congress felt it would lead to increased federal borrowing. Fannie Mae, the Federal Home Loan bank and other Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs) are guaranteed by the US government to the tune of $3.1 Trillion, but do not appear on the government books. In testimony before Congress, Congressional Budget Office director, Dan Crippen, said: “The federal subsidies to GSEs is unusual in that it is not explicitly appropriated by the Congress, nor does it appear in the budget as outlays. Nevertheless, it is real. It represents costs to the American public.” Other items mentioned include Social Security and Medicare. The government treats FICA taxes as revenue, but it omits any future obligations for payments as a liability. Now I hope the whole thing doesn’t collapse. I’ve paid in for twenty-five years and in another twenty-five years I want a social security retirement check. I want it when I’m sixty-five years old. And I want a decent monthly allowance. And any politician that tries to cut my money because of budget problems won’t get my vote. And there are 100 million other taxpayers out there who feel the same way. But the bottom line is that in twenty five years, there won’t be enough tax money to support the Social Security obligations incurred by the American tax payers. An aging American population simply won’t have enough young tax payers to support old retirees. Americans, like Europeans and Japanese, stopped growing their own tax base. People had less children, people live longer, and the benefits rose. So what is going to happen? Immigration by the tens of millions. It’s already happening. And despite anyone’s objections, the huge influx of “illegal” immigrants will continue and grow. The US government won’t deport them because they are a huge source of revenue for both private business and as a tax base. Despite criticisms from people who don’t know any better, illegal Mexican immigrants contribute far more to the economy, to private business, and to the tax base than they cost in social services. Perhaps once a decade we will grant them amnesty. They’ll come in, get a social security number, and we’ll count them so the IRS makes sure they are getting enough money from employers and businesses. The IRS doesn’t want any “off –the-books” revenue sources (tax payers) even if the federal government likes to hide expenses and liabilities (like Enron). They want to know who and where people are so they get all the money they can. And all the old retirees will agree with them – and AARP and anyone on a pension will vote for national identity cards and five hundred other things that will help the government count and tax people to pay for their own retirement. “Besides,” they’ll say, “it will help fight terrorism and illegal immigration.” Funny how people think. The social security problem will change America as we know it. For sure. But we’ll leave that for another letter. Happy Valentine’s Day, 2002 Fritz Berggren www.text.net/berggren/
ART & ARCHITECTURE
Fritz Berggren, Ph.D.
13 February 2002
I try to read a hodgepodge of magazines just to keep my
mind fresh. I'm not a science guy, but I love to read
about black holes, quantum physics and relativity. I
dabble in business, so I'll read the Wall Street
Journal once or twice a week. I'm up on technology
from reading web sites but they rarely broaden the mind
- they are more like technical manuals for repairing a
car's transmission. Of course I read history (I've got
a Ph.D. in history) and economics, but I also enjoy
science fiction, and architecture, and art.
I picked up "Art in America," and "Architectural
Digest" the other day at the public library - they were
both in the "A" section of current periodicals. I like
Architectural Digest because it has beautiful homes. I
read it for the same reason some men read Car and
Driver magazine, or some women read Cosmopolitan or
People. Everyone likes to escape into someone else's
life for a while. That's also why we see movies.
But it isn't very often that I pick up an art magazine.
Most "modern" art disappoints me for some reason. When
I sat down and looked at "Art in America" and
"Architectural Digest" side by side, I finally realized
why.
Architectural Digest has beauty that people live with.
Art in America has creations that no one wants in their
home, and probably wouldn't be willing to pay to own
them.
An article in Art in America was about a woman whose
art career blossomed when she drew crude black and
white pornographic pictures (it could have been drawn
by an artistically deficient 8th Grader). As her
career developed, she began painting colorful patterns
of interwoven objects and blobs. One or her recent
painting had a happy, upbeat motif with reds, whites,
blues and other bright colors. I saw no discernible
patterns or objects (like a person or a tree or a
house), but according to the author of the article,
people saw sexual intercourse in these intertwined
blotches and swirls.
Now, this "artist" was famous. I mean she was a
featured artist in one of the largest art magazines in
the world and she had her own art shows (some featuring
only her crude sexual line drawings). She was
successful - her colleagues took her seriously.
But Architectural Digest was something else entirely.
It was full of elegant homes, tapestries, gorgeous
fabrics, fine oil paintings, sculptures, furniture and
tiles all ordered and presented to set an elegant mood
and inspire a person with good thoughts. The columns
and arches spoke of strength and beauty. The colors
were warm and soft - not jarring. One oil canvas
inspired grace and courage - a Lion's pride dark reds
and heavy golds centered over the family fireplace.
The design and decorations evoked life and intelligence
and strength and peace.
And I realized that Architectural Digest was an art
magazine. And Art in America was a psychology
magazine.
From now on, when I look at what art, I'm going to ask
the following questions:
1. Would I hang it in my home?
2. Does it evoke emotions of peace, strength, comfort,
or security?
3. Does it reflect meaning and intelligence?
4. Does it reflect the concept of Truth? Or, would the
artist justify it's lack of cohesiveness, its
asymmetry, imbalance, and lack of grace by denying any
universal ordering of Truth?
5. Art sets a mood - does it set the mood I want for me
and my family?
6. Art reflects the artist's soul. I'll ask myself
"what is in that artist's soul? Do I want to share in
it?"
Everything we see, smell, hear, touch, taste and sense
molds our thoughts and emotions. I want things to
inspire me to goodness and peace and meaning and
strength and beauty and protection. Not violation.
Not hopelessness. Not darkness. Not an absence of
order or meaning.
If these things questions are too complex, just
yourself the following:
-- Would I pay the artist with my own money
to create something for me?
-- Would I place that piece of art in my home?
Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and Raphael were
commercial painters and sculptors. Rich families or the
Church paid them to create things that they wanted to
see. Today, the public financing of art is just the
opposite - there is no "individual" who has to live
with the art. The same is largely true to corporate
art, or university campus art.
The art of the Renaissance was commercial art - people
were willing to pay for it. Much of today's art is
sponsored by government committees who never even see
it. That is the difference between the treasures of
the Renaissance and someone violating an innocent piece
of canvas with their philosophical anguish.
That's why "Architectural Digest" is about art, and
"Art in America" is about the philosophy of the modern
art community. Art is emotional and intellectual -
it should inspire you and set a pleasant tone, not fill
you with darkness and dread.
Fritz Berggren
13 February 2002
www.text.net/berggren/
ENRON, FIAT MONEY, and PROPHETS
Fritz Berggren, Ph.D.
12 February 2002
(From time to time, I'll be sending you some of my thoughts on contemporary
culture, politics, philosophy, and religion. I added your name because we've
had some contact in the past. If you wish to "unsubscribe," please see the
bottom for instructions.)
12 February 2002
"Bankers and other investors should paste memos in their hats to remind
themselves that, today, all moneys are created by fiat. They have no
intrinsic value and are only as good as the central bankers and finance
ministers who manage them."
-- G. Melloan, Wall Street Journal, February 12, 2002
I've been reading the WSJ since I was an undergraduate twenty years ago, but
I've never seen this establishment newspaper speak so radically about the
true nature of money in America. It's almost as if the Emperor's own court
said "he has no clothes!" When the Wall Street Journal says that a twenty
dollar bill has "no instrinsic value" and that it is only as good as it's
managers, we are breaking new ground. That's like saying "stock in any
company has no intrinsic value - it is only as good as the finance managers
who manipulate it." This may be true - as in the case of Enron - but it is
still surprising to hear the Wall Street Journal talk this way. This is
worth exploring.
The green twenties in your wallet have absolutely no intrinsic value.
Dollar bills are not backed by gold or silver or real estate or the stock
market or even the F-16 fighters. A twenty dollar bill is only worth
something because someone else will trade you for it - gas, groceries, SUVs,
or whatever. Once upon a time (before 1933) you could actually trade in a
twenty dollar bill for a certain amount of gold - a little less than an
ounce. But once everyone began to ask for gold, the U.S. government
outlawed convertibility. The price of a dollar remained tied to a weight of
gold - but you just couldn't get that gold. Then in 1973, the U.S.
government totally disassociated US currency from gold at all.
Since 1973, the US dollar is worth only whatever someone is willing to
exchange for it. Kind of like the price of your favorite share of stock.
Even Enron stock. As long as everyone believes it is worth something they
will trade you for it. Mind you, Enron was a fraud long before this past
autumn - it was a fraud for years. But as long as everyone kept "believing"
in it, the fantasy could continue.
The leap from Enron stock to a twenty dollar bill isn't that great. The
"faith" in the value of a dollar could be justified if the government was
honest about the money. But they aren't. Governments are greedy just like
the rest of us - just like the finance managers at Enron. And if they can
create money out of nothing, they will. And they do. Just like Enron did.
The story of Enron is not only about bankrupting someone's pension plan -
the story is about creating something from nothing - funny money - with the
full support and complicity of everyone (employee's included) involved. And
once the house of cards collapses, it is about blame shifting and
scapegoating. Enron is hardly unique - shifting costs and debt "off the
books" is standard corporate practice and has been for years. It is also
standard practice in the United States government.
Your "government insured" pension (Social Security) is an "off the books"
debt that is not financed or backed by anything other than the United States
government. Enron's stock in an employee's 401k wasn't backed by anything
other that Enron. If Enron collapses (as it did) then the 401k collapses.
The same is true with your social security account. It exists only at the
mercy and good favor of government currency manipulators who are not any
more capable of ensuring the worth of your retirement fund that Enron's
executives were. Why is this such a surprise?
As long as Enron appeared to be successful they were everyone's best friend.
Same with the US dollar. Same with any corporate stock or national currency
for that matter. And when the Argentine peso or the Mexican peso or the
Enron stock or Global Crossing stock collapses everyone is "soooo
surprised!" "Shocked!" "Outraged." Blame shifting. The evidence for
fraud and bankruptcy had been around for years - but no one wants to rock
the boat. After all, everyone is doing it, so no one wants to point
fingers. Really.
And as long as the US government doesn't collapse under a load of debt, a
loss of investor confidence (as long as foreign nations keep buying US
bonds), and other economic variables, the house of cards remains intact. And
anyone who says that the US currency system is a "Ponzi scheme" (the way
Enron is now described) is considered "extreme" and out of touch.
That's the way it was with Enron. All the bond rating funds gave it an
excellent rating. Stock brokers told clients to buy it. A "Big Five"
accounting firm, one of the very best in the world," assured investors and
creditors that their books were just fine. The government thought is was a
good example of the "new economy." And they have a point - "if it ain't
broke, don't fix it."
I'm the same way most of the time. Change brings risk. Re-thinking the
fundamental rules threatens everyone and everything. Why rock the boat?
Keep your mouth shut and go with the flow - it's working for you, isn't it?
If I were to suggest that social security is bankrupt, and that the US
dollar has no intrinsic value, and that the government monopoly on legal
tender is organized crime, you'd think I was nuts. So I'm not going to say
those things.
So the house of cards is considered a respectable, stable, ongoing entity
right up until the very point of collapse. And then everyone is pointing
fingers.
Prophets are all around us if we are willing to see them - Enron is just a
parable of bigger problems. If the US dollar and the national pension
system collapse, please, let's not all act so surprised and outraged. We
rode it for as long as we possibly could. And it won't be the end of
everything - just a time of painful changes. Just ask the employees of
Enron.
Fritz Berggren, Ph.D.
12 February 2002
www.text.net/berggren