thefourthbrother: the average one

10 Big Lies told by the World January 22, 2013

Today we live in an age of unprecedented communication. Smart phones and tablets have made it possible for people all over the world to see and be seen and to find nearly everything a  person wants to know no matter how trivial. At the same time, it is possible for people to deceive you, using these same wonderful inventions.

With information so readily available at the touch of your finger, humanity is increasing it’s knowledge while, ironically, at the very same time it is decreasing it’s wisdom. After all, it is entirely possible to have much knowledge but be a total fool. Just watch the news any given night and you will see what I mean.

So it seems to me, the very advancements in technology that prove to be so beneficial to us today are at the same time destroying us morally, preparing our minds to receive any and all manner of deception. I see this in my own kids. They have virtually no writing and spelling abilities because it is so easy to text abbreviations and symbols and word programs instantly flag and fix misspelled words and grammatical errors.  And with information found so easily, they are rather naive in that they quickly believe what they see and hear. The ability of our children’s generation to think for themselves, to research, to weigh evidence and come to a logical conclusion, is disappearing.

As a father, I go out of my way to make them study and use analytical thinking to determine if the information they are receiving is correct. They rebel at this, but now they use a dictionary, and are learning to examine several sources of information instead of excepting the first that appeals to them.

It’s a hard battle. After all, this world absolutely loves to have people accept what they are force fed daily through the internet, the news, the popular TV shows, the movies and the public schools. Kids are taught to take textbooks at face value and believe everything printed inside. Politicians bank on the population accepting their speeches and compelling rhetoric without questioning if the  information is even true.

People today struggle to even know what is true. Many believe there is no such thing as absolute truth. They argue that their truth can be different from yours. Of course, a simple trip to the math shed  can quickly show you there really are absolute truths. This life and this universe are highly ordered and complex. To say there are no absolute truths is simply a lie that weak minded people believe because they have lost the will and ability to determine for themselves what is true.

So with that in mind I am offering a list of what I believe to be the 10 biggest lies told by the world, and by world I don’t mean the planet we live on, but the world as in: society, people, organizations and groups with an agenda to advance.

But I warn you – I believe that absolute truth comes from the Word of God, the Holy Bible. I believe in a Creator God who shed His own blood for the sins of the world. It is through this prism I examine what the world is telling us, because I know the world has rejected God and His message. I know from my own research and analytical thinking that science not only proves the validity of the Bible as true and historical information, but that science also supports scripture. Science does not support the alternative beliefs offered by secular society.

Lie #1: There is no god.

Richard Dawkins, a very famous critic of religion and a vociferous attacker of Christianity in particular, said, “The question of whether there exists a supernatural creator, a God, is one of the most important that we have to answer. I think that it is a scientific question. My answer is NO.” (in a debate with Francis Collins)

Since he is believes that the question of whether God exists is scientific, lets look at a few science points that I believe show there is a supernatural creator.

1. The exact rate of universal expansion: It has been shown that this rate is critical and any slower or faster – there would be no universe. Forget the big bang as the catalyst for this expansion, nothing did not explode, making everything. This is simple foolishness. Yes the universe is expanding, at a specific rate, and observed explosions  tell us without fail, that explosions are destructive and not constructive.

2. Entropy and the second law of thermodynamics: This law basically says that everything decays and falls apart over time. Evolution teaches that everything improves over time – molecules to humans – but this simply has never been observed. Thermodynamics show that accidental evolution is really impossible. The Bible clearly states the “all of creation is groaning” (Romans 8:22) due to the introduction of sin. Entropy supports this verse more than it supports the theory of evolution.

3. Proteins could not have formed by accident:   it has been estimated that proteins, which are critical to life and have so many functions, could not have formed by accident (evolution). The probability for this is 1 in 10 to the 40,000 power. A number so huge it leaves no question that the chance is impossible. Proteins were designed and created.

4. The law of bio-genesis: Basically it means life from life. Life has never been observed occurring from non-living matter. The big bang and evolution try to show that it happened, but empirical science shows that life only comes from life.

People who say there is no God are simply ignoring the evidence (and there is a lot of evidence) and as a result must concoct the craziest theories  possible.

Romans 1:19-21: “since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.”

Conclusion: Not only is there a God, but His fingerprint is on every part of life and the universe.

*on a side note – I have chosen to ignore New Age mysticism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and all other religions. The reason is they neither can support absolute truth since they are all very contradictory and none of them have any plausible ideas that can be supported by science.

Lie #2. the Bible is just a bunch of stories.

For centuries the Bible has been attacked relentlessly by all manner of men; scientists, philosophers, dictators, politicians, physicians and even ministers and priests. For example, a well known Episcopal Bishop named John Shelby Spong has this to say about the Bible: “I could not believe that anyone who has read this book would be so foolish as to proclaim that the Bible in every literal word was the divinely inspired, inerrant word of God.” He is lauded as being progressive and liberal in his views of Christianity and the Word of God – I just think he is progressively ignorant about scripture.

The Bible was written over a period of 1500 years by over 40 different authors, yet in it’s entirety there are no contradictions to it’s teachings. It was written by all manner of men from kings to shepherds to fishermen, all divinely inspired to pen language so beautiful it has never been equaled but universally copied.

Historically the Bible has been validated by archaeology as the only record of now known people and cities. It is meticulous in it’s listing of genealogies and locations; these have never been disputed.

There are more supporting manuscripts for the Bible and especially the New Testament (over 20,000) than for any other historical writing with original copies dating to less than a hundred years of the original document, something no other writing can boast. Also, don’t forget the Dead Sea Scrolls.

In spite of savage and vitriolic denouncements the Bible to this day remains over 99% accurate in everyone of it’s translations, even including those recent attempts to print the Bible minus specific references to hot button words and topics such as homosexual behavior and clear gender references.

Here is a more in-depth study into the validity of the Bible.

Luke 1: 1-4: “Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. With this in mind, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.”

Conclusion: The Bible is the most accurate historical eyewitness account of mankind’s struggle on this planet. No other document comes close to it’s validity.

Lie #3: Evolution has been proven true.

The list of people who believe in evolution is quite impressive. It even includes our President Obama. but many of these people also claim to believe in God. They hope, I imagine, that evolution can be true as well as God so that everyone can be happy and no ones feelings get hurt. This does nothing but jeopardize  the very eternal soul of each person caught up in this confusion. I don’t care if your feelings are hurt. Get over it. Belief in both evolution and God is in the upper ranks of foolishness. Creation and Evolution are mutually exclusive. They are in no way, shape or form compatible and anyone who thinks they are simply isn’t paying attention nor is bothering to read the tenet of either one.

Here are a few points of why evolution cannot be true.

1. The fossil record to this day contains not one single transitional species. Each specimen found is complete and unique and shows nothing resembling a transitional mutation.

2. Mutations, the very engine that evolution fuels to promote it’s molecules to humans gradual assent, is out of gas. In fact it never had any gas. Observable science has shown that mutations not only don’t add any new information (something critical to create new species from another one) but every mutation ever documented by science shows that they are never good. There is no such thing as a beneficial mutation.

3. Single cell complexity. Old Darwin never knew that the “simple” cell was anything but. Not only is the cell not simple, it is far more complex than the largest city on planet earth. Evolution cannot hope to account for something so complicated.

4. Matter and energy cannot come from nothing. The big bang is a big plop.

5. Macro-evolution has never been observed. Sure there are tiny changes that certain species go through due to climate and available food. No one is arguing that. That’s Micro-evolution. But Macro-evolution claims dino’s became birds, apes became humans, sea creatures dumped their gills for a pair of lungs. This has never been seen by anyone. It is simply a fairy tale – and not even a good one at that.

5. DNA: the very blueprint for life. DNA contains a language of over 3 billion letters. Not only is evolution wholly inadequate for explaining DNA but usually the evolutionists don’t want you to think about the other problem that DNA poses for gradual ascent: Information. Is information, the stuff that tells our proteins where to go and what to do, really an accident? Only a fool would believe it so. The information contained in DNA is so complex that the mathematical probabilities of it occurring randomly and by accident are literally out of this world. These numbers are too big to record. Basically information cannot come from nothing. It came from somewhere.

Psalm 139: 13-15: “For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
    when I was made in the secret place,
    when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.”

Conclusion: Evolution fails on every level to explain life on this earth. And don’t let anyone fool you, there are thousands of scientists who are now willing to admit this and are distancing themselves from the dogma of madmen. Just look it up.

Lie #4: There are many ways to get to heaven.

This lie permeates TV like a virus. Nearly all channels have hosted programs and people who claim this lie. It is evil and needs to be dealt with. Usually it is claimed by those who are wanting to get their particular religion in the spotlight so they can attract acolytes with money in their pockets. There are so many religions, how is a person to know what to believe? It can be very confusing.

But a logical analysis tells you, first off, that all religions cannot be right. Some are so ridiculous they are laughable, some so grotesque only a true deviant would be attracted. Usually all you have to do is a quick study into the origins of these religions and you will find the truth. That is when the true nature of these religions reveals itself. Today’s big religions are growing huge because people simply will not take the time to check them out. They instead are only interested in getting their feelings validated. So many religions appeal because people don’t want to be excluded and they want to feel good about themselves and want to belong to something; these are all very dangerous and destructive reasons to join a religion. It is a sure ticket to hell.

There is only one way to heaven. It is found in the Bible, God’s Holy Word.

John 14: 6: “I am the way, the truth, and the life!” Jesus answered. “Without me, no one can go to the Father.” (CEV)

There is no way, other than complete dishonesty, that a person can twist the words of Christ to mean anything but that. He is the only way to God. It is through His blood that we receive forgiveness; it is through His grace that we are saved; it is only through His mercy that we are called to believe. and since God dwells in heaven, that means if you want to go there you must believe on the Lord Jesus and His work at Calvary.

Yes, I know this hurts feelings and excludes people and beliefs. but guess what – when you are standing before a Holy God on judgement day, your feelings won’t mean diddly. You won’t be standing before Muhammad, you won’t be standing before Buddha or any other religious figure. They will be standing there right alongside all of humanity before the throne of Christ.

Conclusion: There is only one way to heaven. It’s is Jesus Christ alone.

Lie # 5: Jesus was just a good teacher, a good man.

It is open season on everything Jesus. He is mocked, joked about, depicted in every conceivable despicable fashion. He is spit upon today just as He was 2000 years ago. TV shows constantly use Him for their sick humor; the internet is choked with images that really are nothing but blasphemous;  movies, books and TV shows routinely use His name in vain, as profanity and apparently there is no shortage of people willing to stand in front of a camera and do it .

All this does is show the difference between Him and all other notable figures in the world. He is the most divisive. He is the most galvanizing. He is the most compelling.

It is no secret that it is easy to mock Jesus because His followers won’t blow you up or cut off your head. There is no instant punishment for mocking Jesus.

but there most certainly is an eternal punishment – which really, when you think about it, doesn’t say a whole lot for the brainiacs who do it. They are willing to risk eternal punishment for some instant gratification but will not risk instant punishment for the same reason. Dumb.

Jesus Himself, made it clear who He was and is and will be. Anyone who says different is lying and hasn’t bothered to study.

Here is a good list, in Jesus’ own words, who He is.

JOHN 8:58: Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”(NKJV)

Conclusion: Jesus is the God who shed His own blood for the sins of the world.

Lie #6: It’s okay to get a divorce.

The statistics of divorce for this country, the USA, alone are too big for the scope of this post. Almost no one today claims that marriage is doing okay. There is virtually no difference between Christians and the secular populace when it comes to divorce. The family unit is under attack as never before and children are the ones who suffer the most, destined to repeat the lie, generation after generation.

Unwed mother’s are an epidemic and the consequences to our country are devastating. Fathers who refuse to take responsibility are a plague. It is no wonder crime is paralyzing entire cities; if there is no order and responsibility in a family unit, there will be none in society.

Hollywood is the greatest criminal when it comes to divorce. Marriage is routinely portrayed as unimportant and a trap to individuality and achievement. Long term marriage is mocked and joked about. Hooking up is the thing to do now. I won’t even get into the tragedy of abortion due to this satanic mindset. I can’t. Abortion drives me insane; the wholesale murder of the innocent is a sin that staggers the rational mind.

The examples of failed marriages are everywhere. It is in politics, Hollywood, religious institutions, sports; it’s everywhere. People rack up divorces like pinball scores and the more famous the failed marriage the better the tabloids like it. Whole websites are devoted to tracking failed marriages and who the next chump will be. Careers have been launched upon divorce. Ungodly amounts of money have been shelled out in the name of divorce – last one I heard was a well known basketball player who paid $168 million in his divorce.

Lives are completely destroyed by failed marriages and it breaks the heart to see long term marriages end because someone is going through a mid-life crisis and want’s someone new and exciting. It is all a very real travesty.

Malachi 2: 16: “For the Lord God of Israel says
That He hates divorce,
For it covers one’s garment with violence,”
Says the Lord of hosts.
“Therefore take heed to your spirit,
That you do not deal treacherously.”

Conclusion: God created the family to govern society and to populate the planet. In His own words He says that divorce is not good, therefore divorce is never okay.

Lie #7: You don’t need to be married to live together.

This lie works hand in hand with lie #6. If you just live together you can avoid all the discomforts of long term commitment and messy and expensive divorce. People are having babies out of wedlock.

Hollywood, again, is at the forefront of this lie. Actors Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell have lived together for over 27 years without getting married. Apparently it is glamorous and hip.

In 1994, Tyler Cowen wrote in the American Economic Review, “We estimate the long-run and life-cycle effects of unplanned children on unwed mothers by comparing unmarried women who first gave birth to twins and unmarried mothers who bore singletons.  We find large short-term effects of unplanned births on labor-force participation, poverty, and welfare recipiency among unwed mothers, but not among married mothers.  Although most of the adverse economic effects of unplanned motherhood dissipate over time for whites, there are larger and more persistent negative effects on black unwed mothers.”

Living together and procreating is not only a bad idea for our economy and the lives of our children, it is a bad idea morally.

There is no possible way (my thinking anyway)  a man and a woman can live together outside of marriage and remain abstinent. They are going to mess around and this is called SIN.

Sex is only honored by God within the frame of marriage. In marriage it is blessed. Outside of marriage is becomes a curse and a plague on society. Unwed mothers cannot raise their children properly. Unwed dads cannot raise their children properly. Only a married man and woman should take on the responsibility of raising a family. All others beware.

Hebrews 13: 4: “Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge.”

Conclusion: living together outside of marriage is a recipe for disaster, here on earth and also into eternity.

Lie #8: Being Gay is Okay.

Is there anyone in Hollywood who has not come out of the closet now? Probably not.

The lie of homosexuality is probably the most destructive to people. But today you can’t say anything against it without being labeled a hater and you can even get arrested for hate-speech. I’m probably in trouble just for writing this.

but guess what. Being gay is not okay. It is a sin.

Not only does it have horrible consequences physically to those who practice it but it is impacting society in negative ways never before seen. Regardless of the arguments spouted by the proponents of this lifestyle, it is well known that aids is primarily a homosexual sin. Sure it affects others, but it plagues the gay camp more than any other, as well as all those other nasty diseases so prevalent in wholesale sexual escapades.

The problem with denouncing this destructive lifestyle is that so many really do hate the gay person. But that is not the message of Christianity. We are told over and over again in scripture to hate the sin but love the sinner. Jesus Himself modeled this throughout His ministry.

I myself have a long history of working with people who I knew were gay. I had absolutely no problem working with them. They are wonderful people. Wonderful people trapped in the lie of homosexuality.

It is not my intention here to offer any argument that it is a choice or people are born/not born with homosexual tendencies. My intention is to shine scripture on this sin. The Bible is unequivocal in it’s judgement on the sin of homosexuality. Whether that sin occurred as a choice or the person feels they were born this way is irrelevant. We were ALL born into sin. Homosexuality is no different than lying, cheating, stealing, committing murder, adultery or slander; they can all, each one, keep you from entering heaven.

Genesis 19: 4-9: “Now before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both old and young, all the people from every quarter, surrounded the house. And they called to Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may know them carnally.”

Leviticus 18: 22: “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination.”

Leviticus 20: 13: “If a man lies with a male as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them.”

Romans 1: 24-27: “Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.  For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.”

1 Corinthians 6:9-10: “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 homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.”

Conclusion: Being gay is a sin. It is not okay.

Lie #9: Witchcraft is just for fun.

Remember the Harry Potter books and movies? They made one author a lot of money. I understand the movies alone made over $7.7 billion worldwide. I watched the movies but I never did read the books. The movies were kind of fun.

Hollywood and publishing houses are singing all the way to the bank over the supernatural, witchcraft, vampires and werewolves; It’s hot stuff.

But is it okay to like these things?

I can’t say that I have ever known anyone who actually practiced witchcraft so I don’t know how many people there are who claim to actually be witches. I also don’t know how much they affect society if any at all except on nights like Halloween. But the world is trying really hard to keep it in the mainstream and within reach. Heck, go to any book store and look in the young adult section (teens) and guess what you find – that’s right, volume after volume after volume of supernatural tales. The occult is big in publishing for our young children. It’s everywhere.

But what does the Bible say about it?

Deuteronomy 18: 10: “There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer,”

Galatians 5: 19-21: “Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

Now I know that some of you may not be concerned about inheriting the Kingdom of God, but I guarantee you won’t like the alternative.

Conclusion: God’s hates witchcraft and sorcery. Not a good idea to mess with it, even if it’s just watching a movie.

Lie #10: You don’t need to go to church.

This is one very deceptive lie. I’ve heard many Christians say they can serve God and pray and have fellowship with Him without going to church. That may be. But you are simply setting yourself up for a fall. Without a body of believers to strengthen you and your faith you will be vulnerable to the wiles of the world. Basically you run the danger of falling for all the previous 9 lies I have listed.

People use all kinds of excuses for not going to church: I don’t believe, I don’t need it, it’s boring, I have better things to do, I can’t because I’m too famous, I don’t like the music, I don’t like the preacher, etc.

The world doesn’t want you going to church because it has it’s very own church waiting for you; just turn on the TV or the internet. If you are attending the church of the world and neglecting the church of God then you will be lost. Not a cool place to be.

Church is necessary for several reasons:

1. You will be encouraged by other believers.

2. You will receive God’s Word to strengthen your walk.

3. You will enjoy corporate worship where God’s spirit is welcome.

4. You will have an opportunity to serve.

5. You will learn where you belong in the body of Christ.

These are not trivial things. As a believer in Christ you are a target for the world’s hostility and you need fellowship to withstand these many trials. Church is not the building; church is the people who congregate to worship and serve our creator God. You belong in one.

Also, church hopping is not cool. You will receive none of the benefits of fellowship because you need to be planted and starting to serve God in what ever capacity He has purposed for you. Find a church home and become a member. Find your place of service. Get plugged in.

This is a very wicked world with traps lying along every path of life. You would be wise to equip yourself to spot those traps and disable them.

Hebrews 10: 24-25: “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”

Conclusion: You most definitely need to find a church and make it your home. Otherwise you will be like the lost sheep, vulnerable to the wolves of the world and the evil one. God expects you to have fellowship with other believers; this is not a solo journey.

Well, there you have it, the 10 biggest lies according to the fourth brother. I am sure you can disagree with the order or even some of the points, but I hope you will see that each one can be devastating to a persons eternal soul. This life is not all there is , it is, as someone else put it, “dress rehearsal” for eternity. I hope and pray you recognize the lies that await you and will have prepared in advance to combat them. After all, you are not your own, you belong to God.