Category Archives: Current Events

June 30, 2013 · 22:40

Sad Old Flag

Sad Old Flag

Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.  (Psalm 33:12)

As we prepare to celebrate the 237th anniversary of our nation’s birth, I wanted to write a celebratory message to beat the drum and sound the trumpet for America’s greatness, but as I thought about it, I could find little to celebrate. Yes, I could talk about America’s great history. I could write about the wisdom of our founding fathers that framed a government from and of the people – a government that recognized that liberty was derived from God and not from a ruling class. I could write about the Christian heritage that guided the founders, and how the majority of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were pastors or graduates of seminaries. Of the 56 signers, only two were Deists – Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin – and there were no atheists. (How could an atheist conceive that liberty comes from God!) I could write about the wisdom contained in the few words of our national law – the Constitution of the United States of America. I could write about how God has blessed and protected this nation above any other for more than 200 years making  us the richest nation in the world and the strongest militarily power in the world – all gifts from God to whom all credit is due.

There is so much I could say, most of which has been repeated countless times albeit to a mostly deaf audience. It seems to me – perhaps I am just getting old and curmudgeony – that the majority of our populous has little appreciation for the greatness of our nation, much less any love for her. My youngest son, who claims to be  politically Conservative (a Libertarian, actually), and is very interested and involved in politics, remarks that America is not all that great. America is no better than any other nation in the world. The world hates us because we are big bullies imposing our will on people that don’t want it. Our politics are corrupt; we cannot trust the people running our government. He has no idea how deeply that wounds me as a Vietnam Era Veteran that served four years active duty and eight years in the Naval Reserves. I take great pride in my country and my flag. When I entered military service, I took an oath, under God, to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. When I left the service, I do not recall that oath having been rescinded. In my view, that oath is still in effect.

I still love my country, and I love my flag. I love what they stand for, or perhaps more accurately, what they used to stand for. I am not sure anymore if this is the country and flag I swore to defend and protect. The Constitution is still valid, in a manner of speaking, but it has been so trampled by power-hungry oligarchs that its only remaining value is to be touted in self-serving rhetoric by unscrupulous politicians. Many rules and regulations have been enacted by unelected bureaucrats which, if each is measured by that founding document, would be found unlawful. Yet there they are, put in place to circumvent and supersede the Law of the Land.

Although the current administration, along with the other two branches of government, are indisputably the worst violators in the history of this nation, they are not the first or the only ones to place political gains above the welfare of the nation. This is nothing new. It has been happening for at least 100 years, but like so many others, I had faith and trust that our elected officials genuinely held the interest of the nation as a sacred trust. How naïve and gullible I was!

But our ignorance is not solely to blame; neither can the entire fault be assigned to our less-than-honorable elected leaders. No, these United States of America is a government “of the people.” It is the collective body of all Americans that must shoulder the blame for the disrepair into which our nation has degenerated. It is the collective body of all Americans that has jettisoned God from the public arena. It is the collective body of all Americans that has sanctioned the murder of millions of unborn babies. It is the collective body of all Americans that has bowed to political correctness in allowing sodomy to have equal standing with what God has designed for the home and family. It is the collective body of all Americans that has allowed the subjugation of half of the citizenry by making them dependent on government subsidies. And while Christians may be saying, “Not us,” allow me to remove that air of self-righteousness by reminding us of the words of Edmund Burke: “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” We, Christians, have kept silent too long and have allowed this to happen. Yes, I hear the outcry now, but it may already be too late.

America is not the country that I remember. It is not the country that I desire for my children and my grandchildren – not in this current state. But there is hope. While there is life, there is hope. There are two solutions to our current estate. First (and my preference), is the return of our Lord to redeem His creation. Nothing that man can achieve, politically or economically, can compare to the rule of law and peace that only He can bring. The second is a call to God’s people, for God said, “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14). More than pray, in this nation of “We the people,” we must get actively involved in the doings of our government and take back the control granted to us by our Constitution and the liberty that is granted to us by our Creator.

I vow to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against ALL enemies, foreign and domestic, and I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same, so help me God.

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June 23, 2013 · 20:09

Confronting Historical Adam

creating_adam

And the LORD God formed [ʼâdâm] of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and [ʼâdâm] became a living soul.  (Genesis 2:7)

The question of whether Adam was a true historical person is not a new one. Liberal theologians have debated the question since at least the middle of the nineteenth century. They eventually concluded that Adam was a mythical figure recorded in Scripture for the purpose of attributing to God a superintending role in the process of creation, which was mostly guided by evolution. This rejection of the literal reading of the text quickly degenerated into relegating the rest of Scripture to the stuff of myths, and ultimately to the rejection of the deity of Christ. The Bible thus became a good book to live by, but not necessarily to be taken seriously.

This is nothing new. However, the negation of the historical Adam, and the rest of the Genesis creation account, is now cropping up in Evangelical circles. Evangelicals who have traditionally stood for the inerrancy and infallibility of Scripture are now beginning to question the historicity of a real Adam and Eve as the very first, uniquely created, human pair from which the rest of humanity sprang. Granted, this is NOT a salvation issue. Our salvation is by Grace alone, through Faith in Christ alone, and by no other means. However, what one believes about the historical Adam has huge theological implications for several reasons.

First of all, the Bible is the “God-breathed” Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16), therefore it cannot be found in error because God does not lie (Numbers 23:19). Nor can God’s Word fail (Psalm 119:89; Isaiah 40:8; Matthew 5:18; Luke 21:33; 1 Peter 1:25). Some may try to discredit the Bible by claiming that it was written by men and therefore is full of errors. That is to charge that God is incapable of preserving His Word. Scripture makes clear that God’s Word is not to be tampered with (Deuteronomy 4:2), and that it is not the product of the will of man but of God Who inspired and guided men to pen the text (2 Peter 1:20-21). Since the writing of the original autographs, textual criticism had confirmed the integrity of the text that we now have over and over again. So, to question the historicity of Adam is to question the integrity of God and His Word. Personally, I would rather steer clear of that.

Secondly, Jesus confirmed the authenticity of the historical Adam (Matthew 19:4; Mark 10:6), as well as other “questionable” miracles contained in Scripture: Noah and the Flood (Matthew 24:37-38; Luke 17:26-27), the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Matthew 10:15; 11:23-24; Mark 6:11; Luke 10:12; 17:29), and Jonah swallowed by the “great fish” (Matthew 12:39-40; 16:4; Luke 11:29). Since Jesus is the Creator (John 1:1-3; Colossians 1:16) and the ultimate Author of Scripture, one would surmise that He had first-hand knowledge of the events. So, to deny the historicity of Adam is to find fault with Jesus’ testimony. Ultimately it is to deny His deity, for how can God commit such errors! To deny the historical Adam is to charge that either Jesus purposefully lied, which God cannot do, or that He was uninformed, which God, through omniscience, is incapable of doing.

Thirdly, other New Testament writers affirm the historical Adam. Luke, the physician (Colossians 4:14), who had “taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us” (Luke 1:1), set down in his Gospel the genealogy of Jesus tracing it back all the way to “Adam, which was the son of God” (Luke 3:38). The significance of this is in that Luke, being a physician and scientist, was meticulous about the details he recorded as can be seen throughout his Gospel. Paul also, highly educated under the tutelage of Gamaliel (Acts 22:3), refers back to Adam especially with regard to original sin (Romans 5:14; 1 Corinthians 15:22, 45; 1 Timothy 2:13-14). Jude, the half-brother of Jesus, counts the generations of Enoch beginning with Adam (Jude 14).

With all the internal evidence for the historical Adam, especially that which comes from the lips of our Lord Himself, one has only two options: accept the historicity of Adam recorded in the foundational book of Genesis, or reject the Bible altogether as unreliable. That brings us full circle to the issue of salvation. If the Bible is unreliable with regard to historical Adam, how can it be trusted in regard to salvation? One cannot ride the fence on this issue, and it is time for Evangelicals to nail this down once and for all. Adam and Eve were real, historical figures and the progenitors of the human race.

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June 16, 2013 · 17:01

Aliens?

Aliens

And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. (Revelation 5:13)

I received an email this week from someone who thought we were limiting God’s creative power by suggesting that there is no other life anywhere in the universe outside of what is found here on earth. I assume she was referring to other human-like life.

It is understandable how someone could arrive at the conclusion that other “races” (to differentiate between human and human-like life) could exist elsewhere in the universe. After all, the universe is immense, and we are told that at it is arrogant for us to presume that we are the only ones. Then we have evolutionary/atheistic scientists that incessantly probe the night skies “listening” for “intelligent” communications from other worlds in the tax-funded Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI). If that is not enough, our “science” channels are filled with programs about UFOs or Ancient Aliens. That these programs are featured in the “science” channels lends an air of credibility to them, so that many – even the “elect” – are swayed by them. But all of these have a common thread – evolution. For decades now, the propaganda of evolution has been forced down the throats of otherwise intelligent people – starting in kindergarten – so that our society has been thoroughly indoctrinated in this unsubstantiated “theory.” As the saying goes, “Tell a lie long enough, and people will believe it.” Evolution teaches that life sprang from non-life on earth 3.5 to 4 billion years ago – by mere accident – and if it can happen here, surely it could happen elsewhere in the universe. That might be true, if evolution is true, but evolution has consistently failed the test of scientific scrutiny; even avid evolutionists will admit to this. (I could offer quotes, but that would make this article too long.)

So, back to the question of other “races” of “people” elsewhere in the universe. We are in agreement that God is certainly capable of having created life elsewhere in His universe, if He chose to do so. We cannot say with certainty that He did not. However, if He did create life elsewhere, that would raise some serious theological issues for us here on planet Earth.

God created us in His image (Genesis 1:26-27). Man sinned (Genesis 3), and brought the curse upon ALL of creation (Romans 8:21-22). God came and put on the “image” of man (Philippians 2:5-7) in order to pay the penalty (Romans 6:23) for our sin thereby redeeming us (Galatians 4:5; Titus 2:14) and all of His creation (Revelation 5:13).

Now, if there are other human-like creatures (Vulcans, Klingons, Romulans, etc.), somewhere else in the universe, it is very likely that they all sinned as well – remember, Adam was only given one rule to obey, and he chose to disobey. So what is to say those other races fared any better? That being the case, it would mean that Jesus would have to die separately for each one of those races of “people,” but that is in conflict with Scripture. The Bible tells us that Jesus died once for all (Romans 5:17-19; 1 Corinthians 15:22; Hebrews 10:10). So, according to Scripture, Jesus came to die for and redeem man-kind, not aliens.

Yes, God is certainly capable of creating other races of people, but we cannot substantiate that from Scripture. To insist that other races “might” exist “out there” is speculative and arbitrary. We need to stay with what Scripture clearly reveals to us, and it says nothing about aliens from “a galaxy far, far away.” Even though God could have created them (His omnipotence is unlimited), we need not worry about E.T.

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May 23, 2013 · 13:21

Texas Senator John Cornyn on Obama Care

Repeal-ObamaCare2

 

This is not the usual content that I post on this weblog, but I thought it was of significant importance that I should share with all who will read it. By posting this, I hope to encourage you to contact your legislators and urge them along these lines.

I wrote to Texas U S Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz as well as my Congressional Representative and the Speaker of the House concerning reports that some members of Congress were, and perhaps still may be, attempting to exempt themselves and their staff from this oppressive law. Senator Cornyn responded to my concerns with this very well-thought out letter.  Below is his full response to me:

Dear Mr. Carrasco:

Thank you for contacting me regarding the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and its application to Members of Congress and congressional staffers. I appreciate having the benefit of your comments. 

I believe that all Americans should be exempt from the onerous and costly provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, not just a select few. I believe the best way to remedy this is to repeal the bill in its entirety.

The existing American health care system faces a myriad of complex challenges. The 2010 passage of sweeping health care reform holds dramatic implications for our health care system. I often hear the frustration of many Texans struggling to meet their health care needs in the existing system, and I understand the importance of implementing common-sense reforms that achieve results. According to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO), spending on the major mandatory health care programs will grow from 5.4 percent of Gross Domestic Product in 2012 to about 9.6 percent in 2037 and will continue to increase under current law. Additionally, the Medicare trustees report that the Medicare program’s unfunded liabilities, benefits Washington has promised but lacks a plan or ability to provide, is more than $36 trillion and growing. There is no question that meaningful health care reform is needed. 

As you know, during the 111th Congress, President Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA; P.L. 111—148) into law. While I understand the need for health care reform, I voted against this legislation because I believe it does nothing to lower the actual cost of health care. I was also deeply disappointed with the process of health care reform. Rather than an open and transparent process to allow careful evaluation of complex legislation affecting all 300 million Americans, this law was developed behind closed doors and passed with special interest deals and political payoffs. Appropriate reform must lower health care costs for American families, taxpayers, and businesses. Unfortunately, this law simply expands a broken system exacerbating our current health care problems. 

The PPACA spends $2.6 trillion over a ten year period. Additionally, it raises taxes by more than a trillion dollars over the next decade—negatively impacting job growth and the economy. These taxes include a substantially higher Medicare payroll tax, which could harm small businesses, and new taxes on medical treatments, which will ultimately mean higher costs for patients. Furthermore, the PPACA will cut more than half a trillion dollars from the nearly-bankrupt Medicare program to create unsustainable new entitlement programs. 

The PPACA also does nothing to effectively address rising health care costs. According to the CBO, small businesses will continue to face premium increases and premiums for families purchasing insurance on their own will also increase. In fact, the average family premiums for employer-provided insurance have already risen by $3,065 over the last four years. Medicare’s Chief Actuary issued a report showing that national health expenditures will increase, not decrease, under the new law.

As you know, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the majority of the PPACA. I am disappointed by the Supreme Court’s ruling and remain committed to repealing the PPACA. To this end, I am proud to cosponsor Senate Bill 177 (S. 177), which would repeal the health care reform law. Additionally, I cosponsored an amendment to the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2013 (P.L. 113-6) that would have defunded the PPACA, as well as an amendment to the Fiscal Year 2014 Senate Budget Resolution (S.Con.Res. 8) that would have repealed the PPACA. I am disappointed that these amendments were not agreed to, however, you may be certain that I will continue to work towards a full repeal of the PPACA. 

Congress must repeal this fundamentally flawed law and replace it with realistic reforms that lower health care costs, address entitlement spending, and increase access to affordable health coverage. The right kind of reform will emphasize individual choice and allow patients, their families, and their doctors—not government bureaucrats—to make their own health care decisions.

I appreciate having the opportunity to represent Texas in the United States Senate. Thank you for taking the time to contact me.

Sincerely,

JOHN CORNYN
United States Senator
 

I hope this will encourage you to contact your legislators. The really good ones, like Senator Cornyn, really do listen.

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May 19, 2013 · 22:22

Tares Among the Wheat

Green Wheat Fields With Cyprus – Vincent Van Gogh (1890)

But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. (Matthew 13:25)

Before I cranked up the lawnmower Saturday morning, I noticed that some bad grass had come up in my backyard, and it was going to seed. As much as I dreaded that task, I knew I would have to pull it all up by hand otherwise I would risk scattering bad seed all over my yard and making matters worse. Through the pain of my aching back, I recalled Jesus’ “Kingdom Parable” about the tares among wheat found in Matthew 13:24-30; 36-43.

In this parable, Jesus likens Himself to the landowner who sowed good seed into His field – i.e., the world (vv. 24, 37-38). The “good seed” which He sowed are the children of the Kingdom – i.e., true believers in Christ (vv. 24, 38). “But while men slept” … Jesus defined all the players in the parable except for these. Who are these men who fell asleep on the job? Since there is no special definition for these men, it seems that these “men” are the “good seed” that was planted in the field. These did what good seed is supposed to do: receive nourishment, grow and produce fruit. But in doing what good seed is supposed to do, it took no notice of the enemy (Satan) that came in and sowed tare seeds into the field (vv. 25, 39). These too grew up together with the wheat and were indistinguishable from the wheat. As the time of harvest approached, the distinction became obvious, and the harvesters (the angels) wanted to rip up the tares (v. 28), but the landowner, not wanting to upset the good wheat, instructed that both be allowed to grow together until the harvest (vv. 29-30).

There are tares among us. They dress Christian. They speak Christian. They, by almost any means, look Christian, but they “are the children of the wicked one” (v. 38). Perhaps “outsiders” can spot them easier than those on the “inside.” Perhaps that is why many want nothing to do with the church because, they say, “The church is full of hypocrites!” No, the church is full of tares! Jesus says, “Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn” (v. 30).

So, what are we to do about all of this? A good self-examination would be a good place to begin. “He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked” (1 John 2:6). Don’t act like tares. Peter reminds us that this present world is going up in smoke, and he exhorts us: “Seeing then thatall these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness” (2 Peter 3:11-13, emphasis added). Yes, there are tares among the wheat. Don’t be a tare!

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