It is called the Word of God and people take it as gospel. They cannot allow for a single word or phrase to be incorrect or they fear the consequences. The facts are, however, that a great percentage of it is man’s work that has nothing to do with the Supreme Creator. The first chapter in the Old Testament contradicts facts because of the claim the earth was created in six days.

Following my reincarnation and with a strong link to the Spirit it commissioned me to tear down the barrier of confusion and bring in the young in spirit who are seeking the truth. To do that it first made me study the bible from cover to cover, an exercise that took some two years.

The book barely left my hands day or night as its secrets flowed out and the excitement that followed was too good to let go. Told to mark passages in different coloured highlighters it soon became apparent what it was showing me. The lies stood out in blue and how they became part of the overall picture was yet to be revealed.

Over the months following incredible things happened. They included such things as a book falling off a shelf in the library several feet in front of me and opening on the floor exactly at the page that showed crosses drawn over it. This was in response to a request by the Spirit to search the origin of the cross. After some time pouring over them nothing could be found in the listings to help me.

On another occasion, while researching to discover who compiled the original bible a book unexpectedly came to me in the National Library that answered all the questions. It was not something I had requested and it took me by surprise.

Before my research ended everything I needed to paint the picture of how the bible came to be was there. The New Testament is definitely nothing to do with the Spirit while the Old Testament contains stories from around the Assyrian Empire. Over the years since many have adjusted it while adding things considered pertinent. Even Shakespeare and Chaucer seem to have been recruited to write parts of it.

The bottom line is that only parts of the bible are true and they are the prophecies in the Old Testament and Revelation. Some prophecies were stolen to include in the New Testament to make it appear authentic. Jerome, the doctor of the Catholic Church, included in his diaries entries to describe his handiwork in altering even the prophecies to make them fit with his handiwork. The first bible was his Vulgate published at the end of the 4th CAD.

The Credit Secrets Bible Course is a massive e-book that will help you raise your credit score. The course itself covers many diverse credit repair areas, such as dealing with mortgages, financing your automobile, refinancing if you already own property, how to deal with credit cards companies and credit repair companies, how to handle credit disputes, and much, much more. There is an entire section dedicated to understanding the right time of the year to dispute false claims against your credit score.

The sales page comes across as a bit much, but there is a wonderful section that bullet points the best features of the system. Some of these are items such as: a 3 step system used by attorneys and credit repair specialists that charge you up to $1500 or more to use, two very special letters you can use to pay off your bills for as little as 35 cents on the dollar, why not to pay of your credit card in full each month, how to legally get up to 20 years of excellent credit history added to your credit report in less than 45 days, how to borrow up to $15,000 in only 15 minutes and pay zero interest.

The Credit Score Bible contains a 140 page e-book and it includes a 70 minute audio course as well. The entire course appears very professionally written and I really enjoyed the overall tone of the entire system.

Should you consider buying the Credit Score Bible course? If your credit is in bad shape and is in need of a tune-up, this course is for you. I would also consider this course before you make any major purchases such as a house, because the tips it contains can save you lots of money in the long run. They are also planning to add a forum to their site so that users can share their tips and experiences towards repairing their credit. At only $67.00 it really is an incredible value and helped me on the path to repairing my credit.

Introduction

When it comes to your Bible study, your own beliefs are killing your understanding!

It doesn’t matter whether you are a Bible novice or expert, whether you are an Inductive Bible Study guru or whether you own the greatest study Bible.

The preconceptions you bring INTO your Bible study have more power than any method of observation you might possess.

In this article, I want to make you aware of those blind spots.

Belief #1 – Your Experience

Your experiences, good or bad, have a huge impact on how you interpret various truths of the Bible.

Does God care? listen? answer prayer? Is he good? may be questions jostling in your mind after a tragic experience. I remember more than one friend asking this in their mid-30s when they were still not married.

CAUTION: Your experience is not the best judge for whether something in the Bible is true.

This is not to say that you cannot trust any experience. Rather, it means that you cannot make it the final judge.

Belief #2 – Your Religious Tradition

We have all been deeply influenced by our church, pastor or spiritual tradition.

These influences have given us well-formed opinions on just about any topic: the trinity, women in ministry, abortion, homosexuality, parenting or relationships to name a few.

In some cases, your views may have been discouraged or frowned upon. This short-circuited your learning and may have caused doubt in your study of the Bible.

CAUTION: Beware of strongly held views on any topic. No church or pastor is correct 100% of the time.

More importantly, do not let these strong influences cloud your vision as you approach the Bible on those topics.

Belief #3 – Your Language and Culture

We are deeply cultural creatures. We interpret everything through the lens of our own culture, even things in the Bible that happened 1000s of years ago.

For example, if we read the word church in the Bible, we might imagine pews, a pulpit, a single pastor up front, choirs, Sunday school classes, etc.

But most of these concepts are FAR REMOVED from how the New Testament understands that word.

The same goes for the Bible’s view of marriage, work, charity, women, etc.

CAUTION: You cannot import your cultural and linguistic understanding into your reading of the Bible.

The Bible must be read in its own cultural and linguistic background to make any sense.

Conclusion

Your experience, religious tradition and language / culture may be letting you down in your study of the Bible. Try to minimize their impact and you will have a much better understanding as you study.

God bless the reading and study of his word.

Modern criminal punishment in the Western world does not follow biblical principles regarding the type of punishment to administer. In fact, the adoption of incarceration as the primary means of criminal punishment runs contrary to both the Old and New Testaments. Biblical references to punishment shed considerable light on any debate between the merits of incarceration versus the value of corporal punishment. Between the two, the punishment recommended and mandated by the Old Testament and essentially endorsed by the New Testament is corporal punishment (both judicial and parental). The Old and New Testaments indicate God sets prisoners free.

The biblical goals of corporal punishment (“CP”) are to rehabilitate, educate, impart wisdom, cleanse evil, deliver from hell, drive out foolishness, purge the innermost being, avoid ruining the lives of those who are punished, and correct fools. God’s love and the love of parents for their children are expressed motives for corporal punishment.

The recipients of CP are those who lack understanding, harbor evil, fools, children in need of discipline and children with naturally occurring foolishness. Based on the number of biblical references, most of those who need correcting are young men, the same demographic cohort that commits an inordinate number of crimes today or in any other age. The window of opportunity appears before the child grows too old or set in his ways.

Judicial corporal punishment according to the Bible should be administered in public, before the sentencing judge, and should not exceed 40 lashes. The recipients of physical punishment should, under biblical principles, accept their punishment, as from a loving God or as proper discipline. God chastises those God loves, and that’s how parents should approach corporal punishment to avoid abusive use.

According to the Bible, CP rehabilitates wrongdoers. Flogging is in truth a rehabilitative method. But the Bible also states that CP does not always work. Stubborn, rebellious, gluttonous and drunken sons who could not be corrected with a whip were to be stoned.

A common argument against corporal punishment is an observation that the New Testament was less punitive and more forgiving than the Old Testament. By no means did the New Testament abolish the laws and commandments established in the Old Testament. In the case of corporal punishment, the New Testament states that God scourges the sons who God loves and those who God receives as sons. Jesus made a whip out of cords and used it to drive money-changers, cattle and sheep from the temple area.

The Spirit of the Lord was sent, as Jesus was, to proclaim freedom for the prisoners. Murderers and most dangerous criminals would have been executed under the laws in the Bible. It cannot be those prisoners to whom freedom should be proclaimed. Freedom is to be proclaimed to other, less dangerous offenders, such as those who would have been flogged in biblical times.

The Bible does not credit incarceration with restorative effects. Instead, prison is generally associated with darkness and despair. The Western world incarcerates millions of its citizens and almost never imposes judicial cp. The economic and social costs of mass incarceration in the United States spiral out of control. Prisons fail to rehabilitate and do not deter enough crime. Incarceration is an expensive way to make bad people worse. What seems right to modern man can be entirely misguided. Once again, it’s time to recognize the wisdom of the Bible.

A previous article reviewed several Bible games that can be purchased online. However, tight budgets and a lack of funding might pose a problem. For that reason, this article shows you how to create games using your imagination which cost little to nothing – other than your time. In each instance you will need your Bible and a concordance. At length, you will inherit seven simple yet effective strategies that are guaranteed to increase the participants understanding of scriptures, principles, events, vocabulary, and more.

7 Tips

1. Scripture Bee

Do you remember participating in the school spelling bee as a youth? Well this game borrows from that concept. Here, the objective is increasing recall and understanding of scriptures. You present the first portion of the scripture either verbally or visually, and then ask a participant to complete it. For example, you might say, The Lord is my Shepherd. In turn, the participant would complete it by saying, “I shall not want.” Then, ask the group to locate and share their reactions to the scripture.

To make things more interesting, divide the class into two groups. Alternate presenting the scriptures to the teams. If one does not know how the answer, defer to the other. Whichever team gets the most scriptures correct wins.

Begin by compiling a list of no less than 100 scriptures. If you have no idea where to begin, select scriptures from the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John), the book of Psalm, or Proverbs. Target scriptures concerning a topic, like love or anger. Also, arrange some of your favorites as well as those covered in class.

You can either type your list of scriptures or create a PowerPoint. In regards to the latter, place one scripture on a slide. Appoint a volunteer to read the information from your list or from the screen. By the way, you will need a laptop and projector.

2. Bible Spelling Bee

Create a list of Bible vocabulary along with the names of people, places, events, and things. Divide the group into two teams. One person from each team must correctly spell whatever you pick from the list. After the person spells it, he or she must say where it is mentioned in the Bible.

Each time the person answers correctly, the group gains one point. If the group does not know the answer, move on to the next group. The team with the most points wins.

3. Bible Facts

Generate a list of Bible facts. For example, Noah built the arc. However, twist some of the statements to make them false. Like, King Saul was from the tribe of Judah. Type the statements or write them by hand.

Then, purchase several packs of index cards. Get a variety of colors to correspond to different categories (I.e blue for people, yellow for vocabulary, white for events, and so on). Next, cut the strips of paper and tape them to one side of the index card; the other side will name the category.

Divide the class into two groups. Explain that each group can select a statement from one of the categories. Present the statement and ask if it is true or false. Whenever the statement is not true, and explanation has to be given.

4. Bible Books Card Deck

This game helps participants learn the books of the Bible, where they’re located, and major themes. Write or type the name of a book on one side of an index card and a prompt (question or statement) related to the theme, places, people, or events. You will end up with 66 cards.

Ask a participant to select a card from the deck and respond to the prompt. Continue this process until each person has had the opportunity to pull a card from the deck.

5. Pick Your Fruit

Write the name of each fruit of the spirit on a separate index card. Since there are nine fruits, you will have 9 cards. Each week a volunteer will pull a card, and it becomes the topic of the day.

Next, break the class into two groups. Direct them to develop a list of 100 ways to demonstrate that particular fruit. For example, if the kindness card is selected, each group will brainstorm 100 ways to demonstrate kindness. The team that reaches the designated amount first wins.

6. Who Said It

Using your Bible, compose a list of scriptures that are direct quotes from people like Jesus, Solomon, David, Daniel, Nehemiah, the disciples, Paul, and the prophets. Read the scripture and ask the participants to identify who said it.

7. Bible Hand Ball

Take several prompts – thought-provoking statements or questions about the Bible – and tape them to a ball. Toss the ball and instruct participants to respond to the prompt under their hand.

The story of David and Goliath found in the Bible is probably one of the most well-known and often-told stories from the Old Testament. It carries with it a wonderful lesson – that no problem is too big in the eyes of God. If we see everything in the same perspective as God, huge problems and situations that seem impossible can be seen more clearly. We can deal with them more effectively, especially with God on our side.

According to the Bible, Goliath was a member of the Philistine army that was waging war against the Israelites. He was over 9 feet tall and was clad in armor from head to foot. The Israelites were terrified of Goliath and none would fight him. Meanwhile he continued to mock Saul, the King of Israel, and his men, daring them to fight him.

A teenage boy name David put his fear aside and, armed only with a bag of stones and a sling, challenged Goliath by saying “I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty.” As Goliath began to attack, David used his sling and a well-aimed stone to puncture a small opening in the forehead of Goliath’s armor and immediately kill him.

Certain scientists have taken a keen interest in the events leading up to Goliath’s death. Neurologists theorize that Goliath may have suffered from a disease that causes the pituitary gland to produce excessive amounts of growth hormones. The disorder is called acromegaly and is more commonly known as gigantism. This condition can cause people to grow to abnormal heights. So, according to this theory, Goliath was suffering a disease that would have, at some point, caused his premature death either way.

But why was David so easily able to sneak up on the giant in order to kill him? Scientists explain this by saying that a side effect of gigantism is partial blindness or tunnel vision. The secretion of excess growth hormones by the pituitary gland is normally caused by the formation of a tumor. This tumor could have compressed the giant’s optic chiasm, the part of the brain where the optic nerves cross. With impaired sight and no peripheral vision, David could easily have gotten close enough to Goliath to get off the fatal shot.

Finally, many ask how did one small stone in the head drop such a fierce giant? This is also explained by the existence of the tumor. If the rock hit directly on that tumor, this may have caused the tumor to burst and bleed and in turn caused the death of the giant, Goliath.

If Goliath did indeed suffer from gigantism, this by no means detracts from the faith of the young David. No soldier at the time could have known the cause behind Goliath’s size, let alone a teenage shepherd. The lesson speaks down through the ages that what appears to be impossible can be made possible with God at our side.

The NIV Life Application Study Bible is a great way to study the bible in terms of the current modern world. This is a great book that can help you study the Word of God and help you answer what God's word means for today's world.

Having this by your side means that it will be much easier to understand your Bible since it contains plenty of features that can assist you. This type of study bible will have application notes, character studies, detailed book guides and even maps and charts.

It's not limited to that there are still so many more features that you can take advantage of. This life application study Bible is a great way to apply everything that you've learned from your studies and apply it in real life.

To be more specific on the features that it includes, you can expect about 300 new application notes as well as 16 new personality profiles of various characters that are in the Bible. There are also about 200 thumbnail maps and charts that can help you clear up any of the meaning and importance of the subjects in the Bible.

Using your application study bible will be a great boost in helping you understand your special book. You can learn so many more new things plus gain more insights. It's one of the best books that you can have by your side as you gain deeper knowledge about the Holy Book.

The NIV Life Application Study Bible is a great book to have by your side if you want to understand this Holy Book much easier. However, there are some people that question the reliability of the New International Version.

The NIV is a new translation of the Bible that was done by over a hundred scholars. All of the translation work was done through countless hours of research basing the translation on some of the best Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek manuscripts.

Once the majority of the translation was finished, it was sent to a committee to examine it. This special committee served as a gatekeeper for upholding the faithfulness of the version to the original language. It also made sure that the style was consistent.

It was important to make sure that each of the text was precise and that it would still be clear for the reader. They wanted the NIV version to be as accurate as possible and at the same time become easier to read for the general public that uses the Bible.

However, some of the detractors for the NIV do acknowledge that it is a great Bible to use when it comes to studying phrase by phrase or verse per verse, buy not exactly the best option if you want to study the word for word meaning of the text.

Some also say that there are approximately 695 verses that were changed coming from the original manuscript. Nevertheless, having an NIV life application study bible is still a great way to understand the Word of God. You just have to be thorough in searching for a deeper understanding if you want it.

Sir Isaac Newton is quoted saying that “There are more sure marks of authenticity in the Bible than in any other profound history.” The Bible is indeed a living document, the very word of God. Let us explore three types of evidence to verify this fact. Consider 1) the “manuscript evidence”, 2) knowledge written thousands of years ago that science has proven to be accurate, and 3) the fulfillment prophecies contained in the Bible.

1. Manuscript Evidence

The Bible as we know it initially existed as handwritten manuscripts. Historians analyze manuscripts to determine the authenticity of ancient documents. Today, there are more than 24,000 copies that contain all or portions of the New Testament, dating as far back as 50 AD. This is remarkable! Homer’s Iliad, which is Ancient Greece’s most famous and history’s next best-documented book, has only 643 surviving copies. (In fact, there are more disputed lines in 643 Iliad manuscripts than in all the New Testament manuscripts.) Compare this with the fact that we don’t have ANY manuscripts of any of William Shakespeare’s 37 plays, which were written less than 400 years ago.

2. Ancient Discoveries

Science proves again and again that the Bible is the inspired word of God. Consider three examples.:

Two thousand -five hundred years ago, the prophet Isaiah speaks of the earth as being “round” at a time when everyone believed that it was flat (Isaiah 40:22). History dates the “discovery” of the spherical nature of the world around the 16th century.

During the time of Job, it was believed a god named Atlas held the earth on his shoulders! Nobody believed the earth “hangeth upon nothing” (Job 26:7) Job is the oldest book in the Bible; it was written over 3500 years ago

Ecclesiastes 1:7 says “All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again.” The writer of Ecclesiastes knew about condensation and evaporation. We call it the water cycle. Galileo is credited for making this discovery in 1630! Ecclesiastes was composed in 1000 B.C.

3. Prophecy

There are a great many prophecies made in the Bible that history records as having come to pass. Here we note just one with several aspects fulfilled in literal detail. To this day the fulfillment of this prophecy is beyond any argument.

Ezekiel 26:1-6,12 says, “. . . the word of the LORD came unto me, saying. . . Behold, I am against thee, O Tyrus, and will cause many nations to come up against thee. . . And they shall destroy the walls of Tyrus, and break down her towers: I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her like the top of a rock. It shall be a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD. . . they shall break down thy walls, and destroy thy pleasant houses: and they shall lay thy stones and thy timber and thy dust in the midst of the water.”

Tyre was the powerful city in the ancient kingdom of Phoenicia. This prophecy was given around 586 B.C. Babylon, under the rule of Nebuchadnezzar, laid siege to the city for 13 years, literally breaking down the walls and towers, as predicted in Ezekiel’s words. During that time, the citizens of Tyre escaped to an island just offshore, and began rebuilding the city. Babylon had no navy, so Tyre survived the drawn out battle. But in 333 B.C. (250 years later), army of Greece, led by Alexander the Great, laid the “stones, timber and dust” of the city on the mainland “in the midst of the water”, to build a bridge to the island. Tyre was completely destroyed, never to recover. To this day, fishermen can be found “spreading their nets” there to dry, just as the prophecy said.

4. Conclusion

Woodrow Wilson once stated that “When you have read the Bible, you will know it is the Word of God, because you will have found it the key to your own heart, your own happiness, and your own duty.” The more one studies scripture, the clearer one sees the truth, that the Bible is God’s word, revealed to man.

Sources include:

Josh McDowell, Evidence that Demands a Verdict, vol. 1, 50-51

Norman L. Geisler and William E. Nix, A General Introduction to the Bible, Moody, Chicago, Revised and Expanded 1986, 366-67.

Let’s say you are a normally educated person in any one of the nominally Christian nations, but who was totally ignorant of the Christian religion and the Bible. This is just a thought experiment. Now say without having any prior knowledge or bias you now read the Bible cover-to-cover as you would any other book. What would you think of it? Would you think it was a work of historical fiction or historical fact? Based on your average knowledge of the workings of the world, might you conclude that many of the events therein were so absurd as to be hysterical fiction? I think that’s what I’d conclude.

The Bible, as evidence for God, is just historical fiction and utter nonsense for the following reasons:

# The major players and major events have no independent historical documentation or archaeological verification.

# The Bible is full of logical contradictions or contradictory statements.

# All Biblical ‘someone said’ quotations are highly suspect since there is no record of who was actually writing these sayings or conversations down in real (on the spot) time.

# If you eliminated all of the duplications in the Old and New Testaments, you’d reduce the Bible’s bulk by hundreds of pages. Can you imagine any published novel or non-fiction tome that has duplicated passages like the Bible has? I bet you can’t.

# The Bible is full of not nearly improbable events, but scientifically impossible events (i.e. all of those alleged Biblical ‘miracles’) like: A talking snake; fruit with magical properties; human lifespans that are multi-hundreds of years in duration; Eve created from a human rib; Jesus walking on water; turning water into wine; the multiplication of loaves and fishes out of less than thin air; unicorns; using pure hocus-pocus to have the Sun and Moon standing still in the sky; pure noise blowing down the walls of Jericho; Jonah’s adventures inside the ‘whale’ – a real whale of a tale; a virgin birth; and a resurrection to top things off. But then again we don’t want facts or the truth to get in the way of a good Biblical tall tale now, do we?

# There is no rhyme or reason why some parts were excluded then included, or included than excluded.

# The Old Testament absolutely fails as a morality document.

Biblical Truths:

# When it comes to the Bible, the left hand most certainly did not know what the right hand was doing. You get multi-variations on multi-theological themes. So when it come to the Bible you can just about ‘prove’ or theologically back up or even ‘disprove’ any claim you wish to make or refute. But since theists are pontificating over an overall work of fiction I’m not always such what the overriding point is in doing so.

# So just like we know what Rhett and Scarlett said and too those other conversational couples like Romeo & Juliet; Hansel & Gretel; Siegfried & Brunnhilde; Siegmunde & Sieglinde; Tristan & Isolde; [Shakespeare’s] Antony & Cleopatra; Calaf & Turandot; we of course can transplant those fictional chin-wags and compare them to those Biblical conversations between couples like Adam & Eve; Joseph & Mary; Abraham & Sarah, etc. That’s all because human authors were writing pure fiction or historical fiction and put those words and those conversations into their characters’ mouths.

# I find it amazing that true believers spend hours and hours debating Biblical historical events that more likely as not have no actual historical reality. Theists keep going on and on and on about these Biblical events as if they were carved in stone. They’re not. As an accurate historical text, as literal evidence for God, the Bible has just as much credibility as “Gone with the Wind”, “The Caine Mutiny”, “Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn” or “The Last of the Mohicans”. True believers are presenting all of this Biblical stuff as though it was all verified historical fact, and that’s not the case, so they are being more than just slightly dishonest with their reading audience!

# Were any true believers or theists there to verify any of those Biblical tall tales? Has any historian verified any of those Biblical tall tales? Is there any archaeological evidence for these events? There’s nothing wrong with debating theoretical philosophical points as presented in a work of historical fiction (i.e. – the Bible) as long as theists realize or acknowledge the likelihood that the Bible is a work of historical fiction and they then present their points of view as such. I’m sure average readers could present and debate the author’s philosophy in such works as “Gone with the Wind”, “The Caine Mutiny”, “Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn” or “The Last of the Mohicans”, so why not theists debate philosophical points raised in the Bible instead of insisting that the Bible is a historically accurate document which it clearly can’t be.

In conclusion here, that’s why belief in God, belief in Jesus, belief in the Bible and Biblical texts are all a matter of pure “faith”, not a matter of “evidence” because there is no actual “evidence” far less actual proof.

The Bible has much to say about child care. God meant for children to be cared for physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually in a loving, caring family environment. He meant for the parents to leave an inheritance to their children. He meant for the children to grow up into responsible citizens that would bless their present generation and generations to come. Here are some highlights that would do us good to take heed to in this day of the deterioration of our families.

There is such a thing as family honor. The father was to be the spiritual leader in the home. The mother was to be the caregiver. The children were to be the students. The children were to learn by precept and example. The family was to be linked with the church and the community. God was to be number one in everything they did in word and deed.

If family honor is not enforced with a spirit of love and good will, here are some natural outcomes:

1. The children could get in the wrong crowd and become rebels toward their God and their society.

2. The parents could be a bad example to their children and cause great confusion in the home.

3. The children could develop an irresponsible lifestyle that is destructive to themselves and others.

4. The family could be defiant to the authority of God and their spiritual and political leaders.

5. The children that are not taught moral values will probably degenerate into immoral adults.

6. If we give children everything they want, they may become self-seeking adults.

7. When children are expected to be perfect in everything, they most likely will rebel.

8. If children’s bad behaviors are not corrected through proper discipline, they will self-destruct.

9. When children are not given proper discipline, they may want to blame others for their shortcomings.

10. If children are not brought up in the “nurture and admonition of the Lord,” they will fall into many destructive things-like drug abuse, spiritual darkness, ungodly lifestyles, etc.

In a word, if we do not guide our family according to Christian principles, our nation will continue to self-destruct.

We have done our children and our society a great disservice when we allowed our Christian values to be sown to the winds of change by those who hate God. You see, we are not an “island” to ourselves. What happens in your family is going to affect mine. It is going to influence your neighbor, your country and your world. Because of this, our society has a right and duty to demand every person (citizen or alien) who is on our grounds to live according to the “Golden Rule” and The Ten Commandments as stated in Exodus 20:1-17 and Deuteronomy 5:6-21. This includes honoring the triune Lord God of Glory as our Creator and Redeemer. It means loving “God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength.” It demands that we “love our neighbor as ourselves” and that we respect our God-honoring spiritual leaders as men and women of God. This will bring us back to our Bible and its absolute values of right and wrong.

We in the United States of America are greatly blessed. Our Founding Fathers gave us a Christian heritage and a Republican form of government based on The Ten Commandments.

Deuteronomy 6:6-9 says, “And these words, which I command you this day, shall be in our heart: And you shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise up. And you shall bind them for a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets before your eyes. And you shall write them upon the posts of your house, and on your gates.” See also Deuteronomy 11:18-21. This not a suggestion to a select few. This is the glue that holds societies together.

Proverbs 22:6a tells us to “Train up a child in the way he should go.” Children were not allowed to choose a path that was destructive to themselves, their family or their society. If they rebelled, they were disciplined. If they continued to rebel, they were judged.

Fathers were commanded to not “provoke” their children “to wrath” but rather they were to “bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.” (See Ephesians 6:4.)

1 Timothy 5:8 tells us if we do not provide for our families, we have “denied the faith” and are worse than a barbarian. Fathers are to provide for their families. The state and our community does not have this obligation. If people are “down and out,” the Christian thing to do is provide for them until they get back on their feet. This responsibility falls to the church, not to the government.

Jesus said in Matthew 18:6 that it would be better for a person to have a millstone tied on their neck and thrown into the sea than to “offend” a child that “believes” in Him. This would indicate we should help our children to come to God’s redeeming grace at a young age. This will keep them from a host of problems in their older years.

Psalm 106:36-38 says, “And they served their idols: which were a snare to them. Yes, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters to devils, and shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan: and the land was polluted with blood.” Compare Micah 6:7. This would strike at the very roots of our abortion practices. See Ezekiel, chapters 20 and 23.

This is only a summary of God’s care for children and their families. Anyone who attempts to change God’s laws to cater to men and women of corrupt minds is not only an enemy of God, but is also an enemy of our children. They are not only abusing our children, they are also abusing us.

What do I say? It is rather obvious that abused children grow up into adults that become tyrants and social misfits. The Bible puts it this way. “When the righteous rule, the people rejoice. When the wicked rule, the people mourn.” The only way we can have stable families in a stable society is to have well-cared for children. The greatest abuse of children is to corrupt their hearts and minds through ungodly rule and school.