Legal Arguments

 In this Sunday's reading from Matthew 22:34-46, Jesus takes on a lawyer,

When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. ‘Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?He said to him, ‘ “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.’

  Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them this question: ‘What do you think of the Messiah? Whose son is he?’ They said to him, ‘The son of David.’ He said to them, ‘How is it then that David by the Spirit calls him Lord, saying,

 “The Lord said to my Lord,

‘Sit at my right hand,

  until I put your enemies under your feet’ ”?

If David thus calls him Lord, how can he be his son?’ No one was able to give him an answer, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.

Lawyers are masters at trying to trap people with a question. 

I love it when one gets his comeuppance. 

 

Coed Prison?

The current "transgender" rage continues, and it is affecting our prison system in the U.S. We have already seen pregnancies occurring in women's prisons in California as the result of mixing biological male and female inmates. The state of Wisconsin has also apparently forgotten its lessons on the birf=ds and the bees. 

This from the Daily Signal, 

"The Wisconsin Department of Corrections is housing a man who raped his own daughter in a women’s prison because he said he identifies as a woman himself—and the DOC is refusing to offer any kind of insight or explanation on the matter.

Mark Campbell is currently incarcerated in Taycheedah Correctional Institution, a women’s prison in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, inmate records show. He is a registered sex offender convicted of first-degree sexual assault of a child.

That child was his own 10-year-old daughter, court documents allege.

Born in 1971, Campbell is currently 52 years old, weighs 225 pounds, and stands at 5 feet 9 inches, according to the DOC inmate locator..."

"...Court documents allege that Campbell would sexually assault his daughter while her little brother was home and that 'her little brother would sometimes come into the room while the sexual assault was occurring.'

Campbell first requested transgender surgery to attempt to become a woman in 2013, according to a Wisconsin outlet, but the DOC denied his request at the time. In 2016 he filed a lawsuit accusing Department of Corrections officials of being indifferent to his medical needs by not allowing him to get so-called sex change surgery, the publication reported.

The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in 2019 that the DOC officials couldn’t have anticipated that denying such a surgery to Campbell would violate his rights.

However, in December 2020, a federal judge ruled that Wisconsin must offer Campbell taxpayer-funded transition surgery and move him to a women’s prison while awaiting that surgery.

'The rights of transgender persons and sex reassignment surgery remain politically controversial, even outside the prison context,” U.S. District Judge James Peterson said in his ruling at the time. “And some members of the public are outraged at any effort to improve the health and well being of inmates. But the true public interest lies in alleviating needless suffering by those who are dependent on the government for their care.

'I decline to impose any further prerequisites on Campbell’s sex reassignment surgery,” Peterson added, using female pronouns for the inmate: “She has waited long enough.'”

In case you think this case is a one off,  

"...Of the 161 biological men who are housed in Wisconsin Department of Corrections facilities who self-reported as transgender, 81 (50.3%) have been convicted of at least one count of sexual assault or sexual abuse as of late July. The prisoners may have been convicted of additional offenses for their current incarceration periods that are not sex offenses, the Wisconsin Department of Corrections noted."

What could possibly go wrong?  

 

Things that are God's

 Matthew 22:15-22

"Then the Pharisees went and plotted to entrap him in what he said. So they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, ‘Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality. Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?’ But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, ‘Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin used for the tax.’ And they brought him a denarius. Then he said to them, ‘Whose head is this, and whose title?’ They answered, ‘The emperor’s.’ Then he said to them, ‘Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.’ When they heard this, they were amazed; and they left him and went away."

Okay, I pay my taxes, but what are God's things that I am supposed to give to Him? 

• myself, 
• my soul, 
• and my body (sound familiar?), 
• my time, 
• my talents, 
• and my treasure (sounds like a stewardship sermon?)
• my gratitude
• my love

I am sure that is not a complete list, but I think it is a good start.

P.B. Curry's "Summer of Love": How did that work out for us in the 60's?

 This came to me in an e-mail.

Scary huh?

I grew up during the original "Summer of Love" in the 1960's. As near as I can tell, that was an utter failure, and we have been suffering the consequences (sexually transmitted diseases, drug addictions, easy divorce, fatherless children, etc...) of the sixties for the past sixty years. 

Therefore, I think Presiding Bishop was asking for trouble with his summer of love if anyone took him seriously, and after looking at the picture above, I doubt that anybody could take him seriously. At least I hope so.

Maybe the expression on his face is because he just read the latest statistics about his failing denomination, and he is trying to put a positive spin on things. 

Jeff Walton has an update on the numbers at Juicy Ecumenism,

"Episcopalians reported 19,716 children and 3,866 adults baptized in 2019, the last full year before COVID restrictions. By 2021, the church reported 14,714 children and 2,136 adults baptized, rebounding slightly to 15,272 children and 2,147 adults in 2022, a 23 percent decline for children and a staggering 45 percent decline in adult baptisms in only three years."

But note,

"...in 2019 there were 26,667 burials, dropping to 23,741 in 2021 and again ticking upward to 25,905 in 2022."

And, 

"In 2019, 6,876 new Episcopalians were received, dropping to 3,649 in 2021 and, again, partly rebounding to 4,106 in 2022, a decline of more than 40 percent."

A dying denomination is one that has more burials than new members coming in. 

Where are all the LGBT+ folks that were supposed to respond to the call of the new gospel (a false one) that the Episcopal organization is preaching?

What about marriage? 

"Marriage rates tanked, despite new rites available to same-sex couples. In 2019 6,484 marriages were solemnized, dropping to 4,592 in 2021 and partly rebounding to 5,562 in 2022, a decline of 15 percent across the three year period. For context, there were 10,394 marriages solemnized in 2013, a drop of 47 percent in less than 10 years."

Society as a whole has weakened the institution of marriage, so we cannot blame the Episcopalians for all of the decline in their marriage numbers.

The fruitless pursuit of a false gospel by the Episcopal organization has produced nothing but thorns and thistles. P.B. Curry will have a lot of "splainin" to do some day.

 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?  Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.  A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.  Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.  Therefore by their fruits you will know them." - Matthew 7:15-20

Better wear the right robe

In this Sunday's reading from Matthew 22:1-14, Jesus tells the parable of the wedding banquet,

Once more Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying: ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not come. Again he sent other slaves, saying, “Tell those who have been invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready; come to the wedding banquet.” But they made light of it and went away, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his slaves, maltreated them, and killed them. The king was enraged. He sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. Then he said to his slaves, “The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.” Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both good and bad; so the wedding hall was filled with guests.

 ‘But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding robe, and he said to him, “Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?” And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, “Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” For many are called, but few are chosen.’

The man in the parable of the wedding feast was not clothed in Christ. It means that those who are not clothed with Christ are not in Christ, and will be judged unworthy just as the man was in the parable of the wedding feast, and will be cast out into eternal punishment.

Gal. 3:27,

" For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ." (KJV)

Fortress Israel

 As this week began, we were horrified, but not shocked, by the assault on Israel from Gaza. Not shocked because Israel has been invaded, beaten, been taken captive, and murdered numerous times in recorded history. They found out once again that any wall can be breached, and any fortress can be conquered given a determined enough enemy. 

When we were in Israel last year, we visited once such battle site at Masada, Hebrew H̱orvot Meẕada (“Ruins of Masada”), the ancient mountaintop fortress in southeastern Israel, site of the Jews’ last stand against the Romans after the fall of Jerusalem in 70 CE. Our guide was a major in the reserves of the Israeli Defense Force and understood well the enemies that surround Israel. He sent us an e-mail telling us that he is safe and preparing for the the next battle. 

Here he is pointing out some strategic details from the top of Masada last year.

Israel will defend itself. The walls will be fortified. A no man's land will be created, and you know that despite all of that, Israel will be attacked again. There may not be any more music festivals for a while, but when they resume, the party goers will be well armed. I suggest they be prepared for a chemical weapon attack as well.

Above all, they must pray for the mightiest fortress is our God.

This past Sunday in church we prayed Psalm 80 which was very appropriate,

1. Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,

    you who lead Joseph like a flock.

You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth.

2     Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh,

stir up your might

    and come to save us!

3 Restore us,[a] O God;

    let your face shine, that we may be saved!

4 O Lord God of hosts,

    how long will you be angry with your people's prayers?

5 You have fed them with the bread of tears

    and given them tears to drink in full measure.

6 You make us an object of contention for our neighbors,

    and our enemies laugh among themselves.

7 Restore us, O God of hosts;

    let your face shine, that we may be saved!

8 You brought a vine out of Egypt;

    you drove out the nations and planted it.

9 You cleared the ground for it;

    it took deep root and filled the land.

10 The mountains were covered with its shade,

    the mighty cedars with its branches.

11 It sent out its branches to the sea

    and its shoots to the River.[a]

12 Why then have you broken down its walls,

    so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit?

13 The boar from the forest ravages it,

    and all that move in the field feed on it.

14 Turn again, O God of hosts!

    Look down from heaven, and see;

have regard for this vine,

15     the stock that your right hand planted,

    and for the son whom you made strong for yourself.

16 They have burned it with fire; they have cut it down;

    may they perish at the rebuke of your face!

17 But let your hand be on the man of your right hand,

    the son of man whom you have made strong for yourself!

18 Then we shall not turn back from you;

    give us life, and we will call upon your name!

19 Restore us, O Lord God of hosts!

Paul Presses On

In this Sunday's reading from Philippians 3:3-14, Paul is writing from prison near the end of his life. He seems to know that the final goal, not the end, is near when he writes about becoming like Christ in his death.

For it is we who are the circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and boast in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh— even though I, too, have reason for confidence in the flesh.

If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.

 Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on towards the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.

What an amazing faith Paul had. 

 

Church and Marriage Go Together

 The Christian Post posted an article about a survey that found the following, 

Overall, the survey found that 80% of church attendees grew up in a home where their mother and father stayed married, a trend that remained true regardless of age. In addition, 87% of all 25- to 29-year-old never-married men in church had parents who remained married...

The Christian leader asserted that a “married dad” is the “missing ingredient now,” citing an Oxford University Press longitudinal study referenced in the Faith and Relationships study. The longitudinal study followed 3,000 adults and 350 families within a 40-year time frame...

One of the study’s most notable findings, according to De Gance, is that adults who reported a close relationship with their fathers were more likely to report having the same faith as their parents by 25 percentage points. 

On the other hand, the study found that a closer relationship with their mother did not appear to have a statistical effect on whether an adult had the same faith as their parents... 

“So, renewal, fundamentally, for those in the church interested in seeing a renewal of faith, need to see a renewal of marriage,” De Gance added. “Christian marriage is central to that...” 

...The survey also addressed cohabitation, finding that the lifestyle is rare among regular church attendees

...According to the Faith and Relationships survey, 85% of all churches in the United States report spending $0 annually on marriage and relationship ministry.

We might conclude that Churches that have abandoned traditional marriage rites, support easy divorce, and bless same sex couplings are doomed because they will have none of the ingredients (children raised in a traditional family and church) for survival. 

Frank Sinatra where are you?

Church and Marriage, Church and Marriage

Go together like a horse and carriage.

This I tell ya, brother, you can't have one without the other.

Church and marriage, Church and marriage,

They're institutes you can't disparage.

Ask an ACNA clergy, and they will say it's elementary.

Try, try, try to separate them, it's an illusion.

Try, try, try and you only come to this conclusion:

Church and marriage, Church and marriage,

Go together like a horse and carriage.

This I tell ya, brother, you can't have one without the other.

 

 

There is still time to change your mind

In this Sunday's reading from Matthew 21:23-32, Jesus informs those who do not believe that there is still time to change their minds.

When he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching, and said, ‘By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?’ Jesus said to them, ‘I will also ask you one question; if you tell me the answer, then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?’ And they argued with one another, ‘If we say, “From heaven”, he will say to us, “Why then did you not believe him?” But if we say, “Of human origin”, we are afraid of the crowd; for all regard John as a prophet.’ So they answered Jesus, ‘We do not know.’ And he said to them, ‘Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.

 ‘What do you think? A man had two sons; he went to the first and said, “Son, go and work in the vineyard today.” He answered, “I will not”; but later he changed his mind and went. The father went to the second and said the same; and he answered, “I go, sir”; but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?’ They said, ‘The first.’ Jesus said to them, ‘Truly I tell you, the tax-collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him, but the tax-collectors and the prostitutes believed him; and even after you saw it, you did not change your minds and believe him.

In this day and age, when everything is recorded and posted to the internet, our sins and offenses in the form of  "wrong" opinions are dragged out and re-posted and we are never given the opportunity to say, "I changed my mind" if we are of a conservative bent. Progressives are always given a pass when they give the change of mind excuse. I think Jesus is okay when we repent of whatever bad decision we have made. Would that people did likewise.