Mother, Child and Womb?

I first saw this story in the Waterloo Courier a couple days ago. I cut it out in hopes of writing something about it, but now I can't find it (big suprise). However, after a simple Google search, I was able to find it again.

Apparently the PCUSA, in an attempt to use "sex-inclusive language," has opened up discussions concerning the renaming of the Trinity. If accepted, the members of the Trinity will no longer be the, "Father, Son and Holy Spirit," but will instead be called, "Mother, Child and Womb." Other possible names are, "Lover, Beloved, Love" and "King of Glory, Prince of Peace, Spirit of Love."

Give me a break. This may be one of the most pathetic attempts at political correctness that I have ever seen. According to that Courier article, the "change" was being spearheaded by feminists. Figures.

Normally, I don't like to engage in name calling, but I think Rush Limbaugh is right - these people deserve the title of "feminazis." It's not that I think that all these other names don't apply - they do. Some of them are actual analogies found in the Bible. My only problem with this is that this name change stems from a desire to be politically correct and "sex-inclusive." Give me a break.

Let's stick with the names Jesus used.

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."
(Mat 28:19-20 ESV)

You can see the complete article here. Be sure to check out the comments below the article - some of them are quite funny!

A Person at Conception

Mat 22:37-40 (ESV) And 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. (38) This is the great and first commandment. (39) And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. (40) On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets."

With hundreds of thousands of abortions performed in the United States alone every year, there has never been a time when humanity needed the Gospel of Christ more than it does now. Hitler killed nine million people in about twelve years. Stalin killed twenty million people in about twenty-five years. The United States killed thirty-four million, three-hundred and nine thousand, five-hundred and sixty-six babies between 1973 and 2002.

Jer 17:9 (ESV) The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?

Our massacre of babies is a testament to the depravity of man. We are "desperately sick," rivaling the pagans of old who sacrificed their children on altars to their idols. Today we do the same thing. We sacrifice our children to our own idols - convenience, money, relationships and most of all, ourselves.

The only hope for the human race is Jesus Christ. He alone can change the heart, filling us with Himself and covering our sins with his blood.

2Co 5:14-15 (ESV) For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; (15) and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.

Click here to read a paper I wrote about this atrocity that we commit everyday; this sacrafice to the worste idol ever devised by sinful man - Self.

Christmas Tree or Holiday Tree?

This issue came up recently at Sharper Iron and has been prevalent in our country for a while - Christmas and it's place in American society. Because of Christmas' obvious associations with Christianity (for all those who didn't know, it was started as a celebration of Jesus Christ's birth. See here.) many liberals (think ACLU) are fighting to get it out of the public sector. Many believe (or is it only some?) that any mention of Christmas is in violation of the sacred "separation of Church and State" doctrine (found no where in the Constitution I might add). If a town hall puts up a tree with lights on it and calls it a Christmas tree, they are "pushing" religion on the masses. Because of this growing political correctness, many business' have begun to ask their employees to stop saying "Merry Christmas" and start saying "Happy Holidays", as to not offend any Jew or Muslim or Hindu or whoever. Many business' have replaced "Merry Christmas" with "Happy Holidays" in their ads and flyers for the same reasons. Stores such as Target (see article here) have also denied groups like the Salvation Army for example, from ringing their bells in front of their stores because they say "Merry Christmas" and are a Christian organization.
Many Christians are decrying the "Happy Holidays" ads and signs, and the banning of the Salvation Army and the likes. While I agree that these actions by companies are stupid and sad, I do not feel that yelling at the companies is going to do much. Business has one goal: Make money. They will do whatever they can do to get as many people to come into their stores as possible. If this means that they stop saying "Merry Christmas" so they don't offend anyone, thinking this will draw more people into their stores, than that is what they will do. I am not convinced that these businesses hate Christianity - they just love money.
I think that the deeper problem is the growing political correctness that has gotten way out of control. This political correctness takes on the facade of trying to protect everyone's rights, but really it is a pointed and specific attack against religion and Christianity specifically. Groups such as the ACLU are to blame for the increasing appearance (not fact) that many people are offended by "Christmas break" as opposed to "Winter break" for example. I work at a retail store and try hard to say Merry Christmas to every customer when they leave the store. Not once have I ever seen anyone take offense at my comment and on several occasions people have stopped, turned around, and thanked me for saying "Merry Christmas" and not "Happy Holidays". I think that the "fact" pushed by the liberals that many people are offended by "Christmas" is not a fact but is just myth. They are making it up.
Of course there are some who will get offended when I say "Merry Christmas". However, people get offended by all sorts of things - I would say everything could offend someone. But you can't please everybody all the time, and for us Christians we are not called to. We are called only to please one Person, all the time. And that Person is our God. He is our sole audience and if we are doing what is right in His sight, it doesn't matter what the world thinks of us. In fact God says that the world will hate us if we follow Him. And be sure: the world does hate us. We stand for absolute truth, something that they cannot stand. They stand for "tolerance" (which just means acceptance of all people's beliefs - they are all equal) and relativity. However the Bible clearly denounces these viewpoints, giving us absolute truth that is not subjective. The Truth of the Gospel is light that exposes their sin; it judges them. Therefore they "hate the Light" and hate all those who proclaim the Truth.
So this whole issue is much deeper than just "Christmas vs Holiday trees". At the heart of this is an attack on Truth, or the very notion of absolute Truth.
So this season proudly proclaim "Merry Christmas!"....and then share the Truth of the Gospel because you are glorifying your God when you do so!