RUnderground

Effective witnessing

2008-01-30T17:52:00.000-05:00

Many of you readers know me. My name is Amy and I am Blake's mom. I ran across the following article and thought I would share it with you. I know Blake was deeply touched by the Holy Spirit and I know from his actions he was an effective witness for Christ as is mentioned in this passage. We never know when our time is going to be up on this earth as evident in Blake's tragically early passing and we need to make sure we glorify the Lord in everything we do. As you know Blake wasn't shy in sharing his love for the Lord. He touched so many lives and I am proud of him. God bless you all.
Amy, Blake's mom

Effective Witness

You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.

You are the light of the world. ...let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven (Matt. 5:13-16).

Susan came to me with multiple complaints. Although her physical aliments were real, it seemed clear that there was an underlying spiritual problem. After addressing the specific complaints over a couple of visits, Susan began to reveal the real bane of her existence. Her marriage was failing. Despite the happy façade she created at work and church, she felt isolated and of no value.

When I suggested that God could help restore her marriage, she confessed that she had never felt that she really knew God. She knew about him, but she did not know him. She did not have the assurance that she was “part of the family.”

After counseling with her pastor and me, Susan made a knowledgeable and intentional decision to accept Christ as her Savior and Lord. The change in her life was real. The subsequent joy she reflected so affected her husband that he too accepted Christ. As they matured, they became counselors to other struggling couples.

A marriage ministry was born in their church that was conceived in an exam room.

- Dr. Gene Rudd

We who are Christians are witnesses, whether we choose to be or not. As his followers, our choice, therefore, is either to be good witnesses or bad witnesses. Jesus chose salt and light as metaphors for who we are in relation to the world around us. It is not a question of “if,” it is a question of “what kind” of salt or light we will be. Good salt adds taste and preserves. Salt that has lost its saltiness is worthless – to be thrown out. Light that is hidden serves no purpose, either. But good salt accentuates the taste of godly things and makes people thirst for righteousness. And bright light illuminates his presence and work in our world.

The apostle Paul wrote: “Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone” (Col. 4:5, 6). Paul is suggesting that our words and deeds be tasty and winsome to those around us. To be tasty, they must be full of grace, pleasant, and “seasoned with salt.” Have you ever had fries or mashed potatoes without salt? Blah! Too much salt also spoils the flavor (as well as one’s health), making both fries and our witness unappealing. But, salt in the right proportion makes potatoes irresistible–you eat some and want some more.

Our witness should be like that: tasty to a world that is hungry for flavor – a world in great need of the Bread of Life. Just as we seek proper salt balance in our patients, God calls us to be salt and light in just the right dosage.

Dear Father,
Help me to know the longing you feel for your lost children to come home. Give me the will and the words to share your truth with those I encounter. Help me to be both kind and bold such that these people are drawn toward your love.

Amen

*Adapted from Practice by the Book

2007-07-30T16:53:00.001-04:00

There is, in my opinion, a growing problem in America today. This problem is the misrepresentation of God, and it extends from the most opinionated ‘fundamentalist’ to the most charismatic, ‘seeker-friendly’ pastor or preacher. Before I really start this, let me make a few clarifying statements. By definition, I am a fundamentalist. A Christian fundamentalist is one who holds true the following:

1st - The Inspiration and Authority of the Scripture
2nd - The Deity of Jesus Christ
3rd – His Virgin Birth and Miracles
4th – Christ’s Blood Atonement For Sin
5th – Christ’s Bodily Resurrection
6th – Christ’s Personal Return

These views are completely Biblical and orthodox. However, today’s society has hijacked the terms fundamentalism and fundamentalist to describe a person or persons holding to radical religious beliefs, be it “right-wing Christian fundamentalists” or “Islamic fundamentalists”. In other words, the term is now applicable across various religions. An Islamic fundamentalist is the guy blowing himself up in a car traveling through a crowd. A Christian fundamentalist is the guy on stage with a comb-over who likes to shout and spit and tell you that you’re going to Hell for watching TV or having internet access. That’s not who I am, and that’s not what I’m about. So when you hear me say complimentary things about fundamentalism from here on, please refer to the above definition of such.

At this point you might be wondering why I’m so adamantly defending the term while denouncing its bearer in my opening statement. Well, it’s simple. We’re not perfect, and I believe that although Christian fundamentalism may have the best of intentions, there are proponents within the movement that could use improvement. These are the guys that are nothing but “fire and brimstone”. Most every sermon out of their mouth is about Hell, sin, and the wrath of God (which are all Biblical, do not get me wrong). The rest of their sermons are spent explaining why the King James Version is “God’s Bible” and every other English translation is “the Devil’s Bible”, why women shouldn’t wear pants, and why contemporary Christian music is straight out of the pits of Hell.

Again, I need to clarify my own position in light of this. I am a KJV guy. I believe that the majority and masoretic texts contain an accurate replication of the original autographs of the Scriptures. I also believe that the KJV is the best translation of these texts based on their translation method, scholarship, and available resources. However, I won’t hesitate to use a NKJV, 21CKJV, MKJV, or the HCSB, which are all also based on the same texts and use the same literal equivalency translation procedure. There are some cases where it’s simply more efficient to use a verse that is more easily understood in another translation than it would be to explain why the KJV is using a word that is out of date with today’s terminology. So while I have issues with guys that proclaim the KJV to be the “only” Bible, I do myself unequivocally use the KJV.

The pants and woman issue is one that I can summarize quickly. God’s Word is crystal clear on the dress standards of females. Paul tells us in 1 Timothy 2:9 that women “are to dress themselves in modest clothing, with decency and good sense” (HCSB). I personally believe that modesty can be achieved in pants, shorts, skirts, and dresses. Likewise, immodesty can also be achieved in any type of apparel. The deciding factors would be style, fit, and length. Would it be simpler for a Godly woman to wear a dress and avoid the whole issue? Of course, but I can’t scripturally tell my sister or mom that their conservative pant-suit is sinful. Likewise, I don’t believe that the blanket statement “women shouldn’t wear pants” is Biblical. I’ve heard some very well supported arguments against pants, and I respect anyone’s opinion about apparel. I just don’t feel that the Bible specifically condemns pant-wear and, as such, the issue falls back into that “gray area” I last wrote about.

Likewise, the Bible does not specifically condemn Contemporary Christian Music (CCM). Introducing CCM into a traditional Church opens up a can of worms that can offend people, divide friends, and even split churches. On this principle alone I do feel that CCM should be avoided, if it causes that. In a non-traditional church where everyone enjoys new music though, I believe that as long as the song is performed to God’s glory and not ours, and as long as the lyrics are indicative of a doctrinally sound, heart-felt spirit, than there is no harm in using a guitar or to sing something with a beat to it. Again, this lies in the gray area land of opinion. Here are some lyrics from Lecrae, one of the best Christian rappers on the market:

Hey yo, I don’t catch the spirit, I’m all filled upI can’t lose it either, I’m all sealed upAnd you can bet your life that I’ma rep for Christ, one taste he’ll get you rightFolks is thinking they Christian but when they sinning they don’t feel the conviction that the spirit is giving and theyKeep living life like, that’s cool with meY’all people ain’t fooling me

This song is about a Spirit-filled, eternally secure, representative of Christ that is speaking out against ‘christian’ posers who have no convictions from the Spirit while they’re living like the world and are fine with it. There is more doctrine and Biblicity in this one verse than there are in many traditional hymns. Again guys, it’s about opinion vs. Scripture. One you share, the other you preach. Too many of my fundamentalist brothers in Christ spend too much time preaching nothing but opinion and anger from the pulpit. Not all, mind you…but many. And if anyone reading this disagrees with me, I welcome all conversation, provided it is done with an open Bible and an open mind.

On the other end of the spectrum, we have in Christendom a smattering of pastors who have no theological backbone in their body. Their catchphrase is “Doctrine divides!” and they hesitate to tell you what the Bible truly says about a given issue that the Bible clearly addresses. A perfect example would be Joel Osteen’s unwillingness to use John 14:6 to refute the idea that atheists and Muslims are going to Heaven. Rather than quote Christ and declare Jesus to be “the way, the truth, and the life; no man comes to the Father but by me”, he instead say that he couldn’t see a man’s heart, and that it was up to God to determine ‘who gets in and who doesn’t’.

This lack of “Bible-thumping” is seen within the walls of what is termed ‘neo-evangelicism’, which popped up in response to the fundamentalist movement. While I have already noted the extremes within that movement, it’s also important to note that there are also extremists within this one, too. There are preachers and pastors in this movement that give no true authority to the Bible (in any translation), a rejection of Biblical truths such as creation (vs. evolution), and the acceptance of un-Biblical subjective psychological experiences, such as using charismatic ‘gifts’ like tongue-speaking, healing, etc.

Campus Crusade for Christ is a well-known college organization that espouses the positions and ideologies of the neo-evangelical movement. I’d like to say, though, that some of the most Godly people I’ve met were on staff with CCC. I do not wish to say that everyone in the movement is wrong, because a lot of what they do is in opposition to the opinions (not doctrine) coming from the fundamentalist’s corner. However, there are many speakers who preach on only the ‘good parts’ of the Bible. They talk of God’s love, His grace, His free gift of salvation. They will tell you that as long as you “believe in Jesus”, than your lifestyle doesn’t matter. Deathly afraid of being legalists (like us fundamentalists, in their opinion), they wouldn’t dream of questioning a person’s salvation despite their hellish lifestyle. I guess the words of Christ (“Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them”, Matthew 7:20) are falling on deaf ears here. Moreover, they seem to lack the courage to stand fast on many important doctrines.

I realize that I’m already getting long-winded without making much of a point here, but I’m trying to paint a picture of the range of theological/philosophical/methodological perspectives prevalent within all corners of American Christianity. At one end of the spectrum is your guy saying that owning a TV will send you to Hell because God hates TV and respects only the KJV, and on the other end is the guy saying that God loves you regardless of who you are; your lifestyle is unimportant and so is doctrine.

So who is right? Which side most accurately portrays the God of the universe?

Neither and both.

I want to share with you a couple passages that seem to conflict with each other. Each verse represents the mindset of God, yet each pose so different a picture that it’s hard to reconcile the two. The first is found in Psalm 5:4-6, where David says concerning God:

“For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee. The foolish shall not stand in thy sight, thou hatest all workers of iniquity. Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing (tell lies): the Lord will abhor the bloody and deceitful man.”

To re-word verse 5… “The foolish will not stand in your sight. You hate all workers of iniquity”.

In fact, not only does God hate them, but we see in verse 6 that God will destroy liars and abhor (or loathe, detest) particular men. The Hebrew word for hate in this verse is sane’, and my PC Study Bible defines it as “to hate (personally)”. This is not just some instance of God saying, “Ok, I don’t like you a whole lot”. This is God saying to men, “I absolutely cannot stand you. I despise you. I hate you with every inch of my being”.

I have a news flash for some of you. God hates. You say, well God can’t hate, because God is love! Well, yes. He is. But because of that, God must hate. I think I’ve said it before, but it’s worth repeating. You cannot love light without hating darkness. You cannot love children without hating abortion. You cannot fully love something without hating its counterpart. Likewise, God cannot be love without also hating evil. And that means you and me. I believe that before God saved me, He hated me as He did those in the passage in Psalms. Absolutely nothing I did pleased Him, there was nothing I could do to change the way He esteemed me. Isaiah 64:6 describes our attempts at righteousness as “filthy rags”, and that our sins, evils, perversities have “taken us away”. If God viewed pathetic attempts of righteousness like this, with how much more distain does He view the man that blatantly shakes his fist at God? As harsh as it sounds to the conscience, I believe that God feels no pity or sadness over the soul that rejects Him and suffers an eternity in Hell. God hates sin, and He will not cry as He justly punishes it.

On the other side of the coin we have 1 John 4:19, which says “We love Him (God), because He first loved us”. Or we can go back to 1 John 4:8 and read that “God is love”. The same phrase is repeated in verse 16: “And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love…”.

And here lies the problem. After talking about the hate that God must have towards sin and those that practice it, we find that not only is God partially defined as love, but He also loved us before we loved Him! How is that possible if He hated us and thought our works to be comparable with ‘filthy rags’? (By the way, ‘filthy rags’ is historically thought to be in reference to one of two things: bandages used by lepers to cover their sores, or bandages used in conjunction with a woman’s menstrual cycle.)

Well, there are various ways of reconciling the two truths. Both can be affirmed exactly as they are, one or both can be denied/watered down, or both can be accepted without reconciliation.
The Calvinist would tell you that yes, God hates all those who He has not predestined to salvation. Psalms would then be applicable to the unregenerate man, and 1st John applies to the saved.
The Arminian would say that the word ‘hate’ actually means ‘to love less’, whereby God would then not actually hate anyone.
The Legalist would tell you that God hates anyone who sins, therefore perfection absolutely must be maintained for fear of damnation.
The Antinomian would tell you that God loves all Christians and as such we can go do whatever we want without fear of repercussion.

I like to think I’m a Biblicist, so here what I’ll do. I will tell you that yes, God hates sinners, or the unsaved. I’ll also tell you that God loves the unsaved and provided for them a redeemer, His son Jesus Christ.

Can I reconcile the two truths? No, not really. But I’m ok with that, for a couple reasons. The primary reason is this: God is God. For me to understand Him perfectly would put me on His level. I will never be there, so I will have to content myself with falling short in my understanding of Him and how He has chosen to work. I will gladly accept both truths without compromising either. God hates. God is love. To understand this is no easier then understanding the Trinity or how the Bible was penned 100% by God and 100% by man. There are simply some truths out there that cannot be comprehended by the human mind.

The verse that got my mind on this subject months ago was Colossians 1:21. As Paul writes specifically to the church at Colosse, his writings are in general applicable to all believers, particularly as he says “And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he (Christ) reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight”.
Or, as one translation loosely paraphrases,

“This includes you who were once so far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions, yet now he has brought you back as his friends. He has done this through his death on the cross in his own human body. As a result, he has brought you into the very presence of God, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault. “

Now, I gotta tell ya, I had a serious problem with this passage. Surely Paul isn’t suggesting that God views me as holy and faultless. He can’t be, as sinful as I am. I mean, sure I’m a Christian…but that certainly doesn’t make me perfect. How is it that God can see me as something that I’m not? Is this passage a reference to how God views me after death when I enter into His presence? Or does it apply to me today, or what?

Well, to answer this question required me to dive a little deeper into the doctrines taught by Christ, as well as doctrines found within the writings of Paul and the other New Testament authors. Bear with me as I work down a doctrinal ladder with logical progression.

1. I believe that the Bible clearly teaches that once salvation is given a man, it is irrevocable and un-losable. This is commonly referred to as the doctrine of eternal security. Here are just two of the many passages that give evidence to this doctrine. Jesus addresses the Jews at the temple in Solomon’s porch in John 10:27-29 and says: “My sheep hear my voice and I know them, and they follow me: and I give unto them eternal life and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them [to] me, is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.”

Ok, so it’s clear that mankind cannot make me lose my salvation, nor will God force us to stop being His ‘sheep’. Therefore, I can assuredly say that once God saved me, He saved me forever. While not wanting to get into the nuances of a punctiliar (or instantaneous) salvation, I’ll go ahead and affirm the idea that a person’s soul is saved at the moment of our belief that Christ bore our sins. Paul says as much in 1 Corinthians 15:2.

2. If “once saved, always saved” is true, than logic would determine that the requirements necessary for salvation were met prior to the conversion experience and will thus still be met indefinitely. In a nutshell, when God forgave your sins, He forgave them past, present, and future. To deny this would mean you believe that a person loses their salvation for each sin that is committed after their salvation, at least until they repetitiously ask for God’s forgiveness. I know of no place in Scripture that gives evidence of this, as it would almost suggest a works-based salvation.

3. If salvation is irrevocable, and your past, present, and future sins are forgiven, than God has already forgotten about them. In fact, we see in Psalm 103:12 that our forgiven sins are as far from us as the east is from the west. You can travel east or west until infinity without your heading changing direction. If you travel south long enough, you will eventually assume a northerly heading. No so with east or west.

4. If I am and will always be saved…and every sin I’ll ever commit has already been paid for by Christ…than God can only see me right now as a forgiven son of His. John 1:12 says that “as many as received him (Christ), to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name”.

5. Colossians 1:21 summarizes all of this. I was once lost, now I am reconciled to the Father, sinless in His sight.

Now, let me throw a disclaimer out there. I am not saying that Christians are now sinless, because we will never be. Truth of this is found all throughout Scripture. What this verse means though, is that because our sins are forgiven, God sees His Son when He looks at us.

I believe the above process is a good one for discerning doctrinal error. If you take a statement or idea and run it to its logical conclusion, it will prove to be Biblical or not. I could open up a couple cans of worms here with some examples, but I’ll save it for later, haha. The bottom line is this: you can pick apart a verse and use it to support absolutely anything. By interpreting Scripture with Scripture, we can (through the aid of the Holy Spirit), properly acquire the intended interpretation of the Scriptures.

Anyways, guys. The main point of this ‘thought’ is simple. God is complex, and His Word is also complex. Rather than sit and let our pastors, preachers, priests, friends, etc tell us what God says, I suggest you read for yourselves. Acts 17:11 tells of a group of Bereans who searched the scriptures daily, checking to see the words of Paul were true. We can do the same when we’re confronted with legalists or antinomians, radical fundamentalists or neo-evangelicals, Calvinists or Arminians. Yes, God can hate. And yes, God is love. There is a balance there that must be found through faithfully studying the Bible. God’s word is for His children, as we can all have a proper understanding of it, provided we put a little effort into it. Let me leave you with 2nd Timothy 3:16 and 2:15.

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine (teachings), for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness…study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing (handling) the word of truth.”

Random Thoughts From a College Christian XI

2007-06-01T22:36:00.000-04:00

One of the most damnable heresies you’ll ever hear is that if you ask God to come into your heart and save you, He definitely will. Let me repeat myself: that God will save you just because you say the sinner’s prayer is a lie.

Do I have your attention now? Good. Now please, bear with me as I explain myself.

The teaching of heresy is a problem that is becoming more and more prevalent in Christianity (or what calls itself Christianity) today, both here in America and also throughout the rest of the world. A heretical teaching is basically anything proclaimed that directly contradicts what God’s word teaches. This is not to be confused with opinion. An example of opinion would be whether or not to use pews or chairs, or whether or not to wear a suit to church. To preach these things is to preach one’s opinion, as the Bible does not directly address these issues. Conversely, teaching that Jesus didn’t die on the cross is heresy, as the Bible very clearly states that He did indeed die there.

Biblical doctrine can be classified into two categories: essentials and non-essentials. By essential, it’s generally understood to be essential to the doctrine of salvation. Essential-attacking heresies include the teaching of multiple gods (Mormonism), that baptism is a requirement for salvation (Church of Christ), that salvation is not through faith alone (Roman Catholicism), or that salvation is available apart from Jesus Christ (Islam).

Heresy of non-essential Biblical doctrines would include whether or not to allow women to hold positions as pastors or deacons, infant baptism, the use of charismatic gifts, etc. These doctrines have no bearing on a person’s salvation; they are more a matter of poor or faulty interpretation. Therefore, while certainly questionable, I don’t think that to teach these things are heretical in the sense that it affects one’s salvation.

Please bear in mind that I’m not defining “heresy” to be set in stone. Protestantism views Catholicism as heretical, and vice-verse. Heresy in and of itself is “going contrary to teaching”. Thus, every denomination is “heretical” in the eyes of another. I’m merely trying to give heresy a working definition in light of what the Bible teaches regarding this issue. For the purpose of this article, we’ll define heresy as being any teaching that goes against the doctrine of salvation as taught in the Bible. I’ve already given several examples of various groups that hold beliefs that directly contradict what is clearly taught in God’s Word concerning salvation.

I want to talk today about one of the biggest heresies that has ever been taught, one that is found common in evangelical Christianity, sadly enough. That heresy is this:

“If you pray a prayer and ask God to come into your heart, He will definitely save you.”

You may be asking yourself why I keep calling this teaching heresy. Well, simple….it’s not true.

I was writing my last blog and finally got around to the part where you “pray the sinner’s prayer” and seal the deal. The funny thing was…I just couldn’t find it in my Bible. This shocked me. I mean, after all…isn’t that what we all hear in church? “Repeat these simple words. Dear God, I realize that I’m a sinner, etc. etc.”

Well, naturally I wanted to include it in my blog, that way if someone was convicted of their need for salvation they would know what to do. As I said, though…you’ll not find any of the apostles, other Christians, or Christ Himself telling anyone to pray a prayer and accept Him into their heart. Right now I imagine some of you might be itching to look up Romans 10:13 and smack me over the head with it. “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

To that, I ask that you read also the next sentence: “how then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed?” In other words, if you were saved when you said the sinner’s prayer (and there’s a good chance you were not), it was because you believed the Gospel, not because you said the magic words. Think about it this way…if you were talking to your friends about their salvation, and one of them said “I know I’m going to Heaven because I got baptized”, you’d look at them oddly. Your look would further intensify as another friend said “I know I’m going to Heaven because I joined a church”, or “I’m going because I pay my tithe!”, or “I keep the sacraments”.

See, you know how mistaken they are in their beliefs that getting wet, tossing money in the plate, or joining a church will save their soul…yet when they ask us how we know we’re saved, too many of us evangelical believers reply with: “Oh, I’m going to Heaven because I prayed a prayer!”

See the silliness? Your utterance of a sentence or two has no more saving power than hopping in the baptistry or chucking quarters in the plate. Your profession of faith is meaningless without an underlying faith to give it any credence with the Father. It’s not in what you say; it’s about why you said it in the first place. Let me illustrate: let’s say that you know of a prominent atheist in the area, and you con him into repeating the sinner’s prayer. For the sake of the argument, let’s say that you offer to pay him $1000 to repeat your every word. After he agrees to do so, you have him say “dear God, I know I’m a sinner. Please forgive me of my sins and come into my heart. In Jesus’ name, amen.” You should know as well as I do that the mere repetition of this prayer will in no way alter the condition of this man’s soul if he has no belief behind it. Do you understand what I’m saying? Prayer doesn’t save: faith in God saves.

We see in Acts 10:44 that the Holy Spirit indwelt those that believed, right smack in the middle of Peter’s sermon. There was no sinner’s prayer, there was no baptism (of any type), and there was nothing but the simple hearing and believing of the Gospel.

Some Calvinist friends of mine have said that the cognitive act of believing and accepting also requires work on behalf of the sinner and therefore you’re not truly saved. Not so. Think of it this way: if you walk outside and its 10 degrees below zero, your body will shiver, your teeth will chatter, you’ll no doubt be miserable. Does this happen only because you believe it’s cold? Does this require action on your part? No! The truth is, it’s cold and it takes no effort or decision to respond to it. Likewise, the truth is, we’re all sinners and we’re all deserving of Hell. The truth is that Jesus died in our place, that He suffered the wrath of God so that we wouldn’t have to. It requires no cognitive action on our part to make this true; it’s true regardless of what we think. In fact, it’s the active denial of this truth that condemns a person to Hell. So no…no action is involved with salvation. Salvation comes from faith, and faith requires no action.

I was talking to a friend who shared her salvation experience with me. She was at church, convicted by the Holy Spirit through the preaching of the Gospel, and went to the front of the church during the invitation. However, she knows that she was saved right there in her seat before she ever walked to talk with the pastor in the front. Likewise, all salvation is granted at the moment of belief. The sinner’s prayer in and of itself is harmless if said with a convicted heart, but it’s essential to know that the prayer is meaningless without that conviction. I would go as far as to state it like this: You’re not saved because you say the sinner’s prayer…if anything, you say the sinner’s prayer because you’re saved.

I realize that I’m repetitiously beating a dead horse, and for that I apologize. However, there’s a pandemic of weak theology floating around this country that has probably millions of people wrongly believing that they’re saved because they said the magic prayer. For proof of this, one has but to turn to www.barna.org. I gave some stats a few months ago; let me recap.

Barna, through self-reports and questionnaires, defines a born-again Christian as a person answering ‘yes’ to the following two questions: “have you ever made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still important in your life today?” and “when I die, I will go to Heaven because I have confessed my sins and have accepted Jesus Christ as my savior.”

On the surface, these questions and answers certainly seem to be valid criterion on which to base the authenticity of a person’s confession of faith. However, of the 101 million Americans that are identified as being born-again Christians, there are 33% that believe that if a person is good enough, they can earn a place in Heaven. Surveys show that 28% of born-again Christians believe that while Jesus lived on this earth, He committed sins just like everyone else.

I believe that a belief in either of these two statements is indicative of a false-conversion. The Bible clearly teaches that salvation is through faith and faith only. To put trust in works is to say that Jesus’ death was not enough to satisfy God. To put faith in our works is to believe that if we do enough, God will be indebted to us and must therefore allow us into Heaven.

Likewise, to believe that Jesus was a sinner is to show a lack of understanding (or a lack of acceptance) of the true gospel. Our sin separated us from God, and therefore God demanded the sacrifice of a sinless human. The only way in which this was possible was for God Himself to satisfy this requirement and therefore sent His own Son to live that sinless life, to be that perfect sacrifice. This was the only way in which our sins could be forgiven. The perfection of Jesus Christ was essential to the plan of God. To believe that Jesus was a sinner reveals, in my opinion, that the person holding this belief doesn’t

truly understand their need for salvation or how Christ’s death would have made it possible.

These 33-odd millions of Americans professing to be saved are anything but. I believe them to be representative of the ‘believers’ described by Jesus in Matthew 7: 21-23: “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”

Yes, that’s right. There will be people on the Day of Judgment arguing with God, professing to be saved. And they will be told “No…you’re not. I never knew you.” Do you not realize the significance of this? And these are people that cast out demons and worked miracles! If they’re not saved, who is?? “Not everyone that says ‘Lord, Lord’…” Or perhaps, “Not everyone that said ‘Dear God, I know I’m a sinner’…” I wonder how many of you might fall into this group of people believing yourselves saved because of a prayer you said once in your life. Do you know that you’re truly saved? How do you know you’re not one of those Matthew 7 people that are damned, even though you believe that you believe? How do you know???

“Well Rick, I know in my heart of hearts that”- stop right there. Jeremiah 17:9 teaches us that the heart is deceitful and desperately wicked. You ought not trust your heart for the basis of your salvation. “Well Rick, I asked God into my heart”…my friend, we have already covered this one. “I know I’m saved because the pastor told me!” And since when does a person have the authority to declare you saved? The question remains…How do you know that you’re really saved? How do you know that you got saved when you think you did? Can we know?

Yes…we can. And that is the point of this blog. I’m going to tell you how the Bible says we can know we’re saved, and it has absolutely nothing to do with whether or not we said a prayer sometime. I apologize for the length of this article, as well as for the circles I’m running. I felt it necessary though, to lay out the fact that praying a prayer, knowing in your heart, or being told that you’re saved really has no credibility as far as assurance of salvation goes. You can’t know that you’re truly a child of God merely because you prayed a prayer. Everyone prays a prayer. You can’t know that you’re saved because you wrote a date down in the back of your Bible. How do you know if you were really saved that day? You can’t know you’re saved because you know that you know that you know in your heart that you’re saved. The heart is wicked, remember? So how do you know you really believe? Everyone believes. Remember Barna?

Let me draw you to a comment that Paul makes in his second recorded epistle to the church at Corinth. In 2 Corinthians 13:5, he makes a seemingly offhanded suggestion: “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?” Or, as the HCSB translates it, “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith. Examine yourselves. Or do you not recognize for yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you? –unless you fail the test.”

To get a better understanding of the tests that we can take to see if we truly know Him, let me direct you to the book of I John. This book of the Bible wasn’t directed to a particular person or church; it was intended to be read and followed by all believers. Within its five short chapters are multiple indicators by which a believer can determine whether or not they are truly saved. Each one is in itself a sermon, but I’ll do what I can for the sake of brevity to present each test in a clear and concise manner.

Before I start, I want to point out something. So many times throughout this letter we see the words “if we say”. Think about it. This is John’s way of saying, “Alright, for all of you that claim to be Christians”…John really doesn’t care that the reader thinks they’re saved. He puts no stock in their profession of faith. As I said, the entire point of these tests is to reveal to the reader whether or not they’re truly saved, irregardless of “if we say”. Bear that in mind as we continue. I would also like to add that I may change the capitalization and punctuation of the KJV in order to facilitate easier comprehension.

Test #1 (I John 1:6-7): “If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not the truth. But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.”

Do you, as a way of life, walk around in darkness, or are you walking in the light? Does your lifestyle consistently contradict what the Bible teaches about God’s desire for our lives? When peoples see you, to they see a constant reflection of Christ, or do they see a reflection of the un-saved? Is your life any different from your un-saved friends.

Test #2 (I John 1:8-10): “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.”

True Christians will be aware of and convicted of their sin. How’s your sensitivity to sin? Is your heart responsive to it? Has it ever been? Let me ask you a scary question…when is the last time you cried over your sin? Have you ever in your life been acutely aware of the sinfulness of your life and been broken over it?

Test #3 (I John 2:3-4): “And hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He that saith ‘I know Him’, and keepeth not His commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him.”

Let me ask you, how much do you care about the commandments of God? As a style of life, do you keep them? I’m not talking about going out of your way trying to figure out the right thing to do. What I mean is, do you naturally follow the instructions of God, or is your life consumed by doing what you want, rather than what He wants? Who do your actions reflect? God…or yourself?

Test #4 (I John 2:6): “He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also to walk, even as He walked.”

Again, how much does your life reflect Christ? Do you look like Him, or do you act, walk, and talk like the un-saved world around you? I realize that none of us are perfect, and there are certainly times in each of our lives where we reflect not God. But as a way of life, do you resemble Him or Satan?

Test #5 (I John 2:9-11): “He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now. He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him. But he that hateth his brother is in darkness and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goes because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.”

The word “brother” here is taken to mean a fellow Christian. How much do you love the brethren? How much do you enjoy fellowshipping with other Believers, being in a group of Christians? Granted, there will always be people we might not necessarily get along with well, but do you overall enjoy being with Christians? Or do you find them to be annoying, over-bearing, goody-goodys that need to lighten up and get off your back? Do you love the brethren?

Test #6 (I John 2:15): “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”

Do you love and embrace the things of the world, more so than the things of God? Do you consistently feed your worldly desires, or is your focus on that which God would have of you? Yes, we all at times will struggle with yielding to our fleshly temptations, but are you constantly bogged down and controlled by them? Is your heart here on Earth, or do you live for the Kingdom?

Test #7 (I John 2:19): “They went out from us, but they were not of us. For if they had been of us, they would have no doubt continued with us. But they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.”

Do you seek the body of Christ? Do you find enjoyment in going to church, to gathering together with other Christians? Or is there no desire on your part to find a church to be in? Is church something you look forward to, or is it something you dread, an obligatory bi-yearly event? Is your church your family, or is it your Sunday morning party-pooper?

Test #8 (I John 2:22): “Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.”

This one speaks for itself. Do you believe that Jesus is indeed the Messiah, the Son of God, God himself? Or do you think that Jesus was just a good man, a prophet, or a healer? True salvation is impossible apart from recognizing that Jesus Christ was the Son of God.

Test #9 (I John 2:29): “If you know that He is righteous, ye know that everyone that doeth righteousness is born of Him.”

Again, this is not reflective of a legalistic “what can I do to appear righteous” mentality. This means that you, as a style of life, will reflect righteous behavior. It goes back to the idea of a vine that bears good fruit. A true Christian will produce good works. An absence of these is indicative of a non-believer’s vain attempt at Christianity. How much do your actions glorify God? Does your lifestyle overall meet His approval, or does it merit His disappointment? Does your life reflect righteousness or unrighteousness?

Test #10 (I John 5:11-12): “And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.”

This one is simple, guys. Salvation is impossible without Jesus. If you’re trusting in any other person, object, or ideology to save your soul, you are wrong. Confucius cannot save you, Buddha cannot save you, and Muhammad cannot save you. The only way by which we can be reconciled to the Father is by placing our trust in Jesus Christ. We cannot work our way to Heaven, we cannot sneak in through the back, and we cannot expect God to cut us slack because we thought there was another way. Jesus said in John 14:6 that no one comes to the Father but through Him. Are you trusting in Christ for your salvation? If not, you are wrong, my friend.

* * *

I hope that through these tests you have come to understand that the only assurance a person can have of their salvation is in their lifestyle. Jesus said in Matthew 7:20 that people will be known by their fruits, by their actions. Is your lifestyle indicative of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit? Has it ever been? Did your life ever change once you thought yourself to be a Christian? If not, be very afraid. God’s word very, very clearly teaches that a Christian’s life will change. Consider 2 Corinthians 5:17- “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

I ask you again, when you believed that you got saved, did your life change? There are only three answers to this question. “Yes, it changed and it is still changed”, “Yes, it changed, but since then I have backslidden in a sinful lifestyle”, and “No…it never changed”. If it is still changed, praise God. If it’s not like it was, why not? Repent, and turn back to God. He’ll always be there, and He wants nothing more than for you to turn back to Him.

But if there’s never been a change in your life...do you really know Him? I cannot tell you that you’re saved or not saved; I can only tell you how to be saved, and God’s word reveals through your life whether or not you are saved. If you’re wondering how to get saved, that part is simple: believe that Gospel. Know that Jesus died to satisfy His Father’s requirement for a sinless sacrifice. Know that he was buried and rose again. Incredibly simple, I know. But God loves us too much to make us jump through hoops to be saved. If you have questions about this, I encourage you to read my previous blog, or talk to a pastor or a Christian.

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

- John 3:16

What are you going to do?

The Christian Life: How much do we read the Bible & Pray to God?

2007-04-29T13:39:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone, I'm Brian Seay and I am new to the
RUnderground writing staff and I'm really excited
to be a part of it. I remember my friend
Blake Fought would tell me repeatedly to write for RUnderground and I always told him I will but I never got a chance to. And before he passed, he told me he would like for me to write an article about my walk with God and how I became a Christian. Well in this article I have not wrote my testimony but someday, God willing, I will so I hope you all look forward to that.

This is the start of a new series of Christian articles that I felt that I should do, just giving brief messages [well they are not really that brief!] on how our Christian life should be, by pairing it up to what the Bible says. The picture that you see in the right-hand corner pertains a lot to the Christian life and which you will see throughout these series of articles. Unsurprisingly these series of articles will be titled "The Christian Life". Faith comes by hearing and it comes by the Word of God which means reading the Bible.

The first message should convict every Christian (and even myself for that matter). First of all, honestly how often do we read our Bibles? The answer should be daily but most of the time we don't. We wonder why problems come up in our lives and the question to ask should be "Am I reading my Bible daily"? Every single day, we as Christians should read our Bibles. Of course there are days in which we are busy but just spending 5-10 minutes reading a few verses of Scripture won't hurt. Just by reading those verses, it will change your day. The Word of God is so powerful, ONLY if you put His Words into effect. Just reading the Word but not putting His Word into action is useless. Many Christian friends told me that it's a process and not an overnight thing. Putting the Word into action will not take overnight but it will be a process. Spend time memorizing Scripture. Apply them to your day and throughout your life. There shouldn't be any excuse for why we aren't reading the Bible daily. This is how we grow. Hebrews 6:1-3 says, "Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying against the foundation of repentence from dead works and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. And this we will do if God permits." It's time to leave the baby stage and grow into adolescence then into the adult stage and go on from there.

How much do we pray? My prayer life can be much better though. We don't have to schedule an appointment to meet God because He is always with us. Jesus Christ died on the cross and the veil was torn so we have full access to Him. We can talk to Him throughout the day. The Bible talks about "pray without ceasing".

Augustine talks about praying without ceasing which brings light of how we should do this:

"There is a different kind of prayer without ceasing; it is longing. Whatever you may be doing, if you long for the day of everlasting rest, do not cease praying. If you do not wish to cease praying, then do not cease your longing. Your persistent longing is your persistent voice. When love grows cold, the heart grows silent. Burning love is the outcry of the heart! If you are filled with longing all the time, you will keep crying out, and if your love perseveres, your cry will be heard without fail."

Here is another quote about prayer from German Lutheran Theologian Johann Arndt [author of True Christianity]:

"Prayer is a conversation with God, a piece of the inner, spiritual life, the characteristic and mark of a faithful Christian's heart, a continual movement of the Holy Spirit, a work of divine healing... the Holy Spirit moves through prayer, tears, holy meditation, heartfelt sorrow for human misery, pleas that sins or the punishment of sins be set aside, intercessions for all men and for those in authority, prayers for knowledge and understanding, consolation, relief in tribulation, protection, strengthening of faith, patience, and all needs; and through prayer and thanksgiving for the goodness of God, by which God may be praised, given homage and honored in words and blessings. Prayer occurs in secret, in a little chamber, in the heart, in all places, in all occupations, or openly in the congregation in the confession of faith to the honor of the name of God and in thanksgiving for all blessings ... All must be done in spirit and on truth, in the depth of the heart, without hypocrisy ... Prayer is an indicator of a true faithful Christian, a powerful living witness of the Holy Spirit... Prayer is a precious work and the highest honor, to be offered to God alone. It must be done in the love of God and the joy of faith with total resignation to God's will and certain expectation of divine help. Prayer strengthens, unites people with God, and brings them into the community of angels."

So are you reading the Word daily? Are you praying to God daily? The conviction should be kicking in. But conviction is good because it's from the Holy Spirit. John 3:17 says, "For God did not send His son into the world to condemn the world but that the world through Him might be saved." God sent His son Jesus to save the world from darkness [from sin] so we can have eternal life with the Father, have life with abundance on this Earth, to free us from the shackles of sin which was a slave to us, and to have hope in our lives.

Random Thoughts From a College Christian X

2007-04-19T22:04:00.000-04:00

In Mark 16:15-16, Jesus says to his apostles "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned." *

Allow me to begin by clearly defining, from the Greek, a couple of phrases within this verse. Our word 'believeth' is taken from the Greek word 'pisteuo', which means "to have faith in, upon, or with respect to a person or thing, to entrust."

'Shall be saved' is used in place of the Greek 'sozo' and means 'to save, deliver, protect (literally or figuratively). 'Shall be damned' is used for 'katakrino' and means "To judge against, to sentence". **

So in other words, Jesus has told his apostles that everyone that places their complete faith and trust in the gospel will be delivered and protected. Those that do not will be judged and sentenced. This raises a couple questions, such as: "what does it mean to be damned, judged, sentenced...what will the saved people be saved from? What’s going on?"

The answer to this can be found in Revelation 20:15, where the apostle John writes "And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." This, my friends, is that "eternity in hell" that is heard from believers like myself. This leaves us with the most important question: What is the gospel? Well, the word Jesus used in the Greek is from 'euaggelion' and means "a good message, or good news."

Ok, so apparently there is a bit of good news that, if trusted and believed in, will lead either to an eternity in Heaven or an eternity in Hell. So what's the good news? Well, the answer to that question begins in Genesis 1:1 and encompasses the entire Bible.

Most stories begin with the words "once upon a time." God's story begins with the words "In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth." Unlike fairytales, this story is true. We see the literal account of creation taking place in the book of Genesis. We also see the fall of man. Within the Garden of Eden there was one particular tree that Adam and Eve, the first two humans to ever live, were forbidden to eat from. This tree was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God’s instructions were simple: "but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die" (Gen. 2:17).

Fairly simple, right? Adam and Eve had it made. They communed with God, they had the serenity of a more beautiful garden than the world has known, and life was good. Shouldn't be too hard to obey one simple instruction, right? Wrong. At this point in the story we have three characters- God, Adam, and Eve. Here is the forth: the serpent. Identified as Satan in the book of Revelation, the serpent goes to Eve and tells her that, contrary to what God has said, she should go ahead and eat some fruit. He says in Genesis 3:5 "for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil."

In other words, Satan led Eve to believe that God didn’t want her and Adam to eat that particular fruit merely because God didn't want them to become God-like, as He was. Well, Eve fell for it and ate the fruit. We see in the same verse (6) that Adam, who was with her, also ate it. The rest of Genesis chapter 3 details God’s confrontation with Adam and Eve, their weak attempts to excuse their sin, the curses that God placed on both of them (as well as Satan), and then their exile from the Garden of Eden. Now sin has entered into the world, and with it death- both spiritually and physically.

I'd like to stop here and try my best to answer a question that has entertained scholars and theologians for quite possibly thousands of years, and it's a question that I believe most of us have asked within ourselves. The question is: "Why?"

Why would God create mankind, knowing we would fail? Why did God create Satan? If God is perfect, how could He create a less-than-perfect being? Why did God create people, knowing they would go to Hell? Why, why, why?

I’ll tell you why. It's because He loved us. Now let me explain, because I know that on the surface this explanation sounds bizarre. My reasoning is simple, though. We must first realize that God truly does love us all. John 3:16 tells us that God loves the entire world. Indeed, 1 John 4:8 tells us that God IS love. What does this have to do with our inevitable sin? Everything.

See, God absolutely will not force anyone to love Him. He will not force anyone to obey Him. He will not make us do things we refuse to do. Will He chastise and correct us? Of course. But does He force us to love Him? No, He doesn't. God created the angels, and He created man, but He also created them with free will, or the ability to choose whether or not to serve and accept Him. Satan chose to rebel against God. We can read this in Isaiah 14. Because of his sin, God cast him and his followers out from Heaven. Revelation 12:4 tells us that 1/3 of the angels in Heaven also exercised their will and chose to side with Satan. Likewise, Adam and Eve chose to sin. God could have made the angels incapable of sin. He could have made Adam and Eve incapable of sin...but had He done this, He would have removed their freedom of choice from the equation. He would have had nothing more than robots designed and built exclusively to serve Him without thought or question, and there is no love in that. True love demands a choice, without it you have a dictatorship.

So now we have sin, and with it separation from a righteous, holy God. How do we fix this chasm that has occurred between us and our creator? How do we as sinners convince a God of pure Holiness to let us back into His presence? Well...we can’t. Not without a sacrifice, anyways. See, God demands sheer perfection. And because He knew we were unable to live perfect lives, He devised a way for His followers to have their sins forgiven. This method is found in Exodus 29:36 as God tells Moses that "thou shalt offer every day a bullock for a sin offering for atonement." In other words, a bull free of blemish was to be sacrificed daily as atonement for the sins of God’s followers. The price of their sins was death, and they appeased this punishment by way of a sacrifice.

This is a process seen throughout the Old Testament as the Israelite tribe of Levi carried out the duties of the priests and interceded for the people. Then, various prophets began to speak of a Messiah, one who would once and for all become a sacrifice for the people, one that would pay for their sins and reconcile them to God. Isaiah 53 speaks in great detail of this. Earlier in that book, Isaiah prophecies about a sign concerning the coming Messiah. He says in chapter 7, verse 14 "therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel."

A little more than 400 years pass by with silence from Heaven, as far as the Bible goes. We have no inspired books of the Bible written during these four centuries. We find now in Matthew chapter one that a young woman named Mary, a virgin, finds herself pregnant. Her soon to be husband Joseph, while in the very thought of what to do about his now-pregnant fiancé (bear in mind he knows that the child is not his. He and Mary had not been intimate yet), is visited by an angel.

Matthew 1:20-23 says: "But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a dream, saying, 'Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.' Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us."

The Messiah had arrived.

Jesus of Nazareth was an amazing man. 100% man, yet 100% God, he lived about 30 years before beginning his ministry. His first recorded words in the book of Mark are "the time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent ye, and believe the gospel."

There's that word again, 'gospel.' Even then, Jesus was preparing people for it. There are so many roads I could hop on with this, so many ways to summarize the next three years of Jesus' life. Please bear in mind as you read this that I am presenting a bare-bones summarization of the Bible. I'm condensing into a few pages what my Bible says in 2500 pages.

Jesus lived a flawless, sinless, perfect life. He spent the last three years of it teaching and loving those around him. He taught about Hell and eternal life. He taught how we're to behave towards each other. He taught repentance, and to be born again spiritually. A huge part of his ministry was working miracles to demonstrate his love and power. The first four books of the New Testament record over 35 miracles that Jesus performed. This was just a small fraction of the works that He did. In fact, the last verse in the book of John says "And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen."

These miracles included healing the deaf and blind, feeding thousands of people from a small amount of food, healing lepers and paralyzed people, and even raising the dead. There was no doubt that He was indeed the son of God. Jesus told us in John 3:16-17 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved."

Jesus told us that He came to earth so that we could be saved from God's punishment of our sins. There was only one way this could be accomplished; through the shedding of His blood. Hebrews 9:22 teaches us that without the shedding of blood, there is no remission, or forgiveness, of our sins. The validity of His words and teachings would be proven through His death, burial, and resurrection.

Matthew 27, Mark 15, Luke 23, and John 19 detail the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Betrayed by Judas, one of his disciples, found 'guilty' in a bogus, illegal trail, Jesus was sentenced to die by crucifixion, deemed to be one of the most excruciatingly painful ways to die. But He did it. He hung on that cross for hours, bearing the punishment for every sin that has ever been or ever will be committed. He suffers the separation from God, His own father. He cries out in Matthew 27:46 "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" He finally died after uttering the words "It is finished." It doesn't end there, though. Those same books continue to show that on the morning of the third day after His death, Jesus was resurrected. Before His ascension back to Heaven, He was seen by over 500 people, thus proving His deity and ability to defeat death.

This, my friends, is the Gospel. The apostle Paul, under the inspiration of God, defines the Gospel in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4. "Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures."

Does this mean that everyone is saved? No, it doesn't. Salvation is indeed offered to all, but not all will accept it. Jesus himself told us this in Matthew 7:14. In fact, the majority of people that has ever lived or ever will live will reject this gift of salvation. They do this because they refuse to acknowledge several Biblical truths. These truths have to be believed in order to truly accept what Christ did. These truths are these:

1. You are a sinner. Romans 3:23 tells us "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." You, me, everyone alive past or present has missed the mark. We have all sinned.

2. Punishment for this sin is death, both physical and spiritual. There's simply no getting around this on our own. Romans 5:12 says "for as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all had sinned." Romans 6:23a says "for the wages of sin is death...."

3. You do not have to go to hell. Romans 6:23b continues on "...but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Christ died so that you wouldn't have to.

4. You must choose whether or not to place your trust in Christ to save you from hell. There isn't a thing you can do for yourself; it is already done by Christ. Ephesians 2:8-9 declares "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."

That's the gospel, guys. Christ shed His own blood and died so that we could have eternal life if we truly believe on Him. The choice is yours. Salvation or damnation is entirely up to you. What's it going to be? If you're reading this article and you've never accepted Christ as your Savior, there’s a good chance that the even now the Holy Spirit is telling you in your heart that what you've read is true. God is knocking on the door of your heart. Will you let Him in, or will choose to reject the Truth? Will you by faith accept this gift and spend an eternity in Heaven, or throw it away and suffer an eternity burning in Hell?

If any of you at all have further questions about salvation or would like clarity on any of the aforementioned issues, I encourage you to confer with your pastor, myself, or another Christian. Those of you reading this that have already accepted the gift of salvation, I ask that you might pray for the un-saved readers that are reading this.

*The words "and is baptized" were relatively ignored in this blog because true Christianity is based on faith, not works. It is easy to take the entire verse and think that baptism is a necessary ingredient to salvation, but an overview of the Gospel shows that baptism is a sign of obedience to Jesus Christ and of identification of the new Believer. As explained, faith and faith alone is what saves us. For more information on this, see http://www.carm.org/questions/baptnec.htm

** I would like to acknowledge that the Greek words that I've presented are in their root forms and may not appear in the actual Greek New Testament. My software defines the word by its root and not by the root + tense. Irregardless, to my knowledge the definition remains the same.

www.richard-boyce.blogspot.com

Photo credit: Blake Fought

Hope Springs Eternal

2007-04-09T13:48:00.000-04:00

"Hope springs eternal."

Most of us have heard that catchy phrase sometime in our lives. It is actually a truncated version from Lawrence Thayer's classic American sports poem, "Casey at the Bat." The full sentence from Thayer's prose that contains those three words reads as follows:

With that hope that springs eternal from within the human breast.

In the poem, the central character, referred to simply by his last or first name (we are left to guess which), Casey, comes to the plate to hit for the beloved Mudville team in the bottom of the ninth inning, trailing 4-2. Prior to Casey's immortal at-bat, the first two batters in the ninth for Mudville, named Cooney and Burrows, respectively, were both quickly retired. Thayer implies that Cooney may have been trying to stretch a single into a double, as Mudville's first batter in the ninth makes the first out of the half inning at second - not first - base. (Hey, at least he made it past first base!) Perhaps a throw from the infield to first base on a "routine grounder" was too high or wide and Cooney tried to take advantage of the throwing error by advancing to second base but was thrown out there. According to Thayer, Burrows likewise "did the same" as Cooney, but in expert writing style the author doesn't tell us exactly how each batter was put out at second base and leaves it to our imagination to ponder what happened.

With Cooney's and Burrows' outs, Mudville finds itself down to its final out, still staring at that two-run deficit. The Mudville fan base is understandably distraught as their heroes appear to be destined to lose the game with their star hitter, Casey, likely to remain stranded in the Mudville dugout, never to come to the plate. Some Mudville fans even leave the ball park, assuming the inevitability of defeat and looking to get ahead of the departing crowd at game's end.

The two batters that ended up preceding Casey in the Mudville ninth inning were named Blake (how ironic, as will be made clear below) and Flynn. Thayer describes Blake as "a fake" and Flynn as "a pudding." (We can only assume what flavor of pudding Thayer had in mind for Flynn, but being "soft" and "mushy" seems to be Thayer's intent in describing Flynn's ability, as in lack thereof, to hit a baseball with any degree of consistency.) However, much to the surprise and delight of the Mudville faithful, Blake manages a single and Flynn (described as "much despised", either by the Mudville fans for his hitting ineptitude or by the opposition for whatever reason - again, Thayer leaves it to us to figure that out) "tore the cover off the ball." Blake ends up on third base and Flynn on second base with a double and, suddenly, Mudville's crowd comes alive as "Casey, mighty Casey" comes to the plate with a chance to drive in the tying runs or win the game with a home run.

Thayer uses eloquent verbiage to describe the setting for the first two pitches of Casey's at-bat, both of them called strikes. Thayer continues to paint a vivid mental picture of Casey's steely determination to make contact on what ends up being the third and final pitch of his at-bat, which is summarized as follows: "There is no joy in Mudville. Mighty Casey has struck out."

Major league baseball's 2007 season began last week. Every year at this time, the return of America's pastime (historically baseball is America's pastime, although it's hard to deny that football has become the top spectator sport in America today) gives hope to many. It is this time of year that fans of such moribund teams as the Kansas City Royals and the Pittsburgh Pirates actually believe they have a chance to win the pennant. (Trust me, they don't. Really, they don't.) That feeling doesn't usually last very long - maybe a week or two, no longer than a month, to be sure, for Royals and Pirates fans - but for a brief time span they cling to the hope that this could be "the year" for their favorite team.

The Chicago Cubs haven't won the World Series since 1908 - the longest such string of futility of any franchise in American professional sports - yet they have as passionate and fervent a fan base as any team in major league baseball. Every year at this time, Cubs fans start another baseball season with Thayer's "hope that springs eternal."

My son, Blake Fought, was a Cubs fan. A very BIG Cubs fan. Every chance he got, Blake would watch his beloved Cubs on WGN - the Chicago superstation that televises several Cubs game every year, on ESPN or on whatever TV station he could find them playing. Summers in the Fought household meant Cubs games - lots and lots of Cubs games. Even though I wasn't a Cubs fan (although I am now, in his honor), watching Cubs games with my son was a joy we both shared. Sharing that simple pleasure is now gone from my life.

"Hope springs eternal." Eternal. Now, that's a word I've been thinking about a lot lately.

Eternity is a concept many of us fail to grasp, and for understandable reasons, since none of us have ever experienced it and returned to tell others about it. (Some make the claim they've done just that, but I remain skeptical.) We all have a limited perspective when it comes to the concept of eternity. Everything in our lives has a beginning and an end to it; therefore, our thought processes always incorporate a finite time component to all of our experiences. This makes the concept of an "eternal life" hard for some to comprehend. I'll admit that I didn't put enough thought into the concept of eternity until March 2, 2007, when my son left us to join the one and only true God that Blake so humbly yet passionately served in Heaven for all of eternity. Sure, I was a Christian before Blake's death and will continue to serve the Lord, although Blake showed me and others just how to provide that service in such a powerful and meaningful way, but I'd never really thought about eternal life in a profound sense. Now, I do.

I have moments where the pain and agony of missing Blake are practically unbearable. At times I simply break down into periods of uncontrollable sobbing and wonder how I can possibly survive without him in my life. These periods are like tidal waves of despair washing over me and I feel powerless against them. They come at various points in the day - sometimes seemingly without warning. I'm learning not to fight them, but to allow them to temporarily immobilize me, to get through them and then past them. After the wave passes, I re-inform myself of Blake's eternal home, his eternal life earned by serving the Lord. I remind myself that Blake now suffers no pain - physical, mental or emotional. He now enjoys an existence we can only imagine and strive to one day experience ourselves.

Matthew 5:4 says, "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted." I am thoroughly convinced that it is only through the grace of God, the prayers being spoken on my, my wife, my daughter and Cathe Minnehan's behalf and an unwavering faith in the Lord, that are getting me, my family and Cathe through this very difficult period in our lives.

Blake Fought lived the Christian life. He lived it powerfully and admirably. He - the son - taught me - the father, and countless others - how a Christian life should be lived by putting Jesus Christ first and foremost in everything he did. As I said at his memorial service, if I can grow to become half the man my son became, I'll consider my life to have been well lived.

The sixth verse of the 23rd Psalm reads, "I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." According to my belief system - my Christian faith - Blake now dwells in the house of the Lord for all of eternity. Forever. Without end. That knowledge gives me and, I trust others, comfort. Comfort that an enduring faith and a lifetime of serving the Lord can give each of us the most precious gift of all gifts - eternal life in Heaven with God.

In his epic sports poem, Thayer wrote that, "Hope...springs eternal." Personally, I think it's the other way around.

"Eternity springs hope."

Enjoy eternity Blake. I'll be joining you there someday.

This article was written by Mark W. Fought, father of Blake E. Fought, recently deceased Radford University student and one of the founders of RUnderground. Mark will be an occasional contributor to RUnderground in the future.

RUnderground Update

2007-04-09T13:28:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone. First things first...RUnderground will still go on! Blake is still listed as the administrator of the site, so it's been hard getting articles up. However I will be contacting the "Blogger" webmaster, explain the situation, and they should be able to make me the administrator of the site. In a couple of weeks we'll be promoting a "rebirth" of the RUnderground in a big way, complete with facebook announcements and campus flyers. At least three people (myself, Richard Boyce, and Mark Fought) are still interested in writing, and we plan on recruiting a lot more, so the beat goes on!

And on that note, Blake's dad Mark Fought is interested in writing for RUnderground! He's sent me a fantastic article, so I'm going to post it today under my profile. Once I'm the administrator of the site I'll be able to make him an official writer. I hope this article touches you the way it's touched me. God bless you all!

Blake Fought, May 22, 1987 - March 2, 2007

2007-03-02T11:20:00.000-05:00

Dear RUnderground readers, it's with deepest sympathy that I am informing you of the passing of Blake Fought. He died this morning around 3:00 AM at the Montgomery Regional Hospital. There's no way I can adequately express what an awesome person Blake was. Obviously he was an influential, well-known voice here at Radford University, and he touched many people in a positive way. I'm not going to attempt to write an online obituary at this point; frankly I don't think I could remember all the great accomplishments and activities he was part of. I will say, that man lived life to his very fullest. There's no doubt in my mind that God completed the perfect work he started in Blake, to the very end. If you need proof of this, take a look at the way his Facebook profile was left when he departed this earth.

http://radford.facebook.com/profile.php?id=31208321

I know many of you are very saddened by this news. I don't blame you. Honestly though, there's a whole lot to celebrate. He's hanging out with Jesus right now, his precious Lord and Savior, and he's happier now than he's ever been in his life. He can say he had no regrets about the way he left this world; he glorified Jesus in everything he did and was passionate about furthering His kingdom. You can't do better than that! Not to mentioned that he was loved by so many people and had many, many good friends and an awesome family. Blake will be missed, but those of us who know Jesus like he did will soon join him!

As RUnderground readers, I encourage you to take a few minutes and browse through the articles he's written (click the "Archives" link to the right). He was the guy started this site, and boy has it seen many, many good articles! I want to leave you with this article he wrote a while back that touched me deeply when I first read it, and has touched me even more now.

http://runderground.blogspot.com/2006/10/my-faith-in-humanity-make-difference.html

We ask that everyone be sensitive during this time, and PLEASE be praying for Blake's family and friends, and everyone touched by Him.

Making Power of Weakness

2007-02-28T11:48:00.000-05:00

People are an interesting bunch. Some always find things in the worst way while others always find themselves looking up no matter what crosses their path. We call these two polar opposites pessimists and optimists and they are always interesting to study because of how dramatic the difference is between the two.

The seventh season of FOX's King of the Hill animated series contains an episode entitled "The Son Also Roses" in which the main character, Hank Hill, finds himself dealing with a son who is more obsessed with gardening than football. Being a caring father, Hank works with his son in a rose-growing competition and is introduced to the Japanese world view known as "wabi-sabi" by his son, who argues with his father over the beauty of an imperfections of a rose making it more beautiful. While the concept's roots are religious in origin, they have become more of a casual concept that takes an optimistic view on things. Bobby explains the concept to his father by saying, "Wabi-Sabi is an Eastern tradition, Dad. It's celebrating the beauty in what's flawed. Like the crack in the Liberty Bell or the mole on Cindy Crawford's face." After Hank rebuffs the idea, Bobby prods again, "But sometimes it's the imperfections that make you love something even more. So what if this rose is a little short, a little wide? It's got more personality than those other ones."

For those who know me well, I have been in the hospital essentially since the eighth of February, batting a condition known as ulcerative colitis. Prior to entering the hospital, I was in a very serious state of pain, mental and physical fatigue and danger of having to have a major surgery if I hadn't been hospitalized. For weeks, I had been attempting to stay strong against a condition that can be so stressful on the mind and body. On a handful of times, I found myself on the verge of just breaking down in tears over how horrible things had been and gave up on doing much besides going to classes, work and resting at home. Some days I would go to hang out with friends but less and less. I pretty much gave up on posting anything here at RUnderground as well because I was simply too tired and, to be honest, didn't care.

Needless to say, things weren't going too well.

Hospitals can be very stressful themselves, especially given what goes on in them. For me, my condition and how much of a toll it took on my body required me to receive two units of blood; an iron infusion; potassium infusions and a complete stop to my diet besides popsicles, Jell-O and soups that forced the doctors to put me on a Total Body Nutrition IV through a large vein in my neck. I also have had to go through physical therapy as my muscles have been weakened to the point where a walk down the hallway of the hospital can be a bit taxing on the calves and legs in general. As a result, I have been granted temporary handicap status for the next few months once I get out of the hospital, which could be sometime this weekend or early next week, depending on how things go over the next few days.

Here's where the pop culture reference and the idea behind this article come into place. Perception and where our strength comes from.

Many of you know I am a Christian. This is most likely due to being so open about my faith and beliefs in the spring of 2006 during the whole media coverage of the "Christ on Campus" debate. I write this article to establish two points--the first being that this whole incident has further proven my belief in the Lord and His love for society and the second addressing a view that was put forth in a recent "Christ on Campus" edition that bothered me a great deal because of how it relates to me, not necessarily in a religious way (I have already since backed away from pointing out all the flaws in that series with Biblical evidence) but a physical way.

Much to my surprise and the surprise of my family and friends, I have been in such high spirits during my time here in the hospital. Skeptics will argue that I am feeling this way because while hospitals are places that no one wants to go to and can be high-stress zones, the mental high I am currently on is generated from the hospital itself--that the comfort and control I am feeling is because of the "you're in a hospital, nothing major can go wrong (of course, this is not a certainty but true in more cases than the opposite) while you are there" concept. I refuse to buy into such a belief.

Personally, I believe that the comfort I have has been given to me by the Lord. After all, the Bible is filled with numerous passages regarding God comforting and healing the sick. Jeremiah 30:17 says, "For I will restore health unto thee... saith the Lord." Psalms 103:2-3 states, "I will bless the Lord and not forget the glorious things He does for me. He forgives all my sins. He heals me." More specifically to my condition and my belief behind it, there's 2 Corinthians 7-10:

"Therefore, that I might not become too elated, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, an angel of Satan, to beat me, to keep me from being too elated. Three times I begged the Lord about this, that it might leave me, but He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.' I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses, in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me. Therefore, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and constraints, for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak, then I am strong."

In this passage, Paul describes being struck with "a thorn in the flesh." People who study the Bible debate over what exactly this refers to, but a common belief that I subscribe to is that the thorn is a physical ailment that Paul had to deal with for quite a while.

Like me, Paul was in a difficult situation. He was sick, and painfully so--after all, he is described as begging the Lord to have the condition taken away. But it is here that the Lord takes an interesting turn. Instead of a snap-of-the-finger removal of the illness, Paul is given the grace of the Lord. Paul becomes an example of wabi-sabi, an example of the power of God. Instead of being a pessimist about his condition, Paul uses it the disease against the wishes of Satan by glorifying God.

I find myself in a similar situation. I will not go into detail about why I was given this condition, besides that I believe that it was given to me by Satan in an attempt to strike me down, because that will be the subject of much debate and would take away from the focus of this article. I use this moment to further my belief that God is real, that He is always present with us even when we fail to realize Him or His actions. I have been in such incredible spirits during my time here and not because I'm in the "safe zone" of the hospital--I hate being in the hospital. No offense to those who works in hospitals but that's simply the truth. Nobody wants to be here (with the exception of those who collect paychecks by working there).

I credit the Lord for everything. I will always credit Him for everything that He does for me.

Now, my second point (although part of it is based on the first). This past week's edition of Whim Internet Magazine contains a new edition of the "Christ on Campus" series that has been considered discontinued by many given its lack of editions since last semester and the presence of a new series by toonist Christian Keesee entitled "Food," which I personally have found to be comical and witty most of the time.

The toon, which can be seen at the following link, contains three panels. The first shows Jesus walking peacefully towards a traffic sign. The second shows the Lord being hit by a car (with the license plate "IMCRYPL" which I did find witty given that its possible to fit that on a plate name) being driven by a handicapped person who says "Thanks for the quality of life ***hole!!" The final panel shows bloodied Christ talking to God, saying "I just don't understand why a handicapped man would want to run over me." God responds with: "I mean other than the fact that I crippled him for life instead of killing him, I don't know either! I thought people liked spending time in a wheelchair. At least he won't have to worry about walking around places... he gets to ride everywhere!"

One could argue with the premise behind God saying what He did but I can easily see both sides of the potential debate. Personally, I think that part of what the Lord says in the toon is true, but the cartoon makes Him seem a thoughtless, heartless being. That is not the case. Like myself, just because a person goes through a condition or becomes does not mean that it is a bad thing. I know some of you, the dear readers, will scoff at such conjecture, but let me remind you all of the "God tests us and puts trials in our lives to help strengthen us and helps us realize how much He loves us" concept. Some find this position confusing, as they tend to not understand how a loving being would create obstacles in our lives or not snap-of-the-finger fix our problems.

Consider instead the wabi-sabi concept and what Paul went through. Sometimes, disabilities and conditions can help us better understand things and recognize what is good in life. For me, I further realized the tremendous love of God and the caring and compassion of my fellow man, as I have been informed of the numerous prayer lists I have been placed on; have been visited by a slew of people around the community, some of them people I have not known long or at all and the general amount of support I have from people I know, barely know and do not know at all. This whole experience has also taught me a great deal of patience--after all, I was on the annoying "clear liquid diet" for nearly a week and so much desired the taste of noodles, pizza, hamburgers, hot dogs, lettuce and many other kinds of foods but was unable and am still unable to eat most of those.

Sometimes, we (Christians included, because sometimes we fail to do this) need to take the time to find the wabi-sabi in our lives. The beauty of imperfection, the power in weakness. Not all negatives have to be viewed as such. Sure, a rainstorm can seem depressing to some, but it gives new life to the earth below.

You just need to look.

Photo Credit: Blake Fought

Random Thoughts From a College Christian, IX

2007-02-17T02:47:00.000-05:00

Jude 1:3 reads: "Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints."

I'm going to do something that I rarely do and go back to the Greek occasionally in this 'random thought'. It's not because I feel that the Bible translators missed anything; it's so that I have a little more authority as I tell you the true meaning behind this verse and a few others. With that being said, carefully re-read the above verse and think about it for a bit, try to grasp the author's meaning.

The word diligence here is from the Greek word 'spoude', which literally means eagerness, earnestness, forwardness, haste. The phrase it was needful is a compound word of 'anagke' and 'echo'. It means distress, of necessity, needed. Exhort (parakaleo) means to ask, desire, intreat. Should honestly contend for is from 'epagonizomai' and it literally means to struggle for, to fight for. The faith is from the Greek 'pistis' and means persuasion, moral conviction, religious truth, the truthfulness of God, reliance upon Christ for salvation, the system of religious truth (the Gospel) itself. Delivered (paradidomi) means intrusted with, transmitted to. Lastly, we have saints, from the word 'hagios', and it means pure, morally blameless. Ok, enough with the Greek.

I wrote the preceding paragraph for a couple reasons. One, I wanted to give you an idea of how Bible translation works. In order to most accurately translate God's word as it was written in the Greek, the King James translators translated the textus receptus word-by-word; not thought-for-thought as other translators did, such as the NIV version of the Bible. As you can see, some of the Greek words have extensive definitions. As such, some of the meaning may not be as readily obvious to us as we read the same word in the English. Occasionally we might not truly grasp everything. I believe this is why 2 Timothy 2:15 was written: "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."

Secondly, as I put this verse into my own words, I want to provide a factual basis for my take on the verse. This way you can see that I'm not twisting Scripture to suit my own context. I realize that I may have done this before, unintentionally. For that, I apologize.

Lastly, I want y'all to know that all the Greek words and definitions were taken from the PC Study Bible v.4. Contrary to what many would have you believe, you do not have to be a Greek scholar to know what God said in His Word. All it takes is a Bible and some study aids. I again say that having an English Bible is sufficient unto itself; think of the study aids as the black velvet behind a diamond. It changes nothing, but it does enhance what was already there.

That being said, here is my take on what Jude said in verse 3: "Hey guys, I was wanting to write to y'all about our awesome salvation. I wanted to write about the good stuff, to uplift you. However, I feel it again necessary to beg you to fight for the Truth. There's only one unchangeable Gospel, one truth, and it's under attack. Fight for it, and don’t stop." (Ok, so I reiterated some points, lol.)

I tell you what, these days, I feel a lot like Jude did. I don't think y'all know how much I'd like to write a piece that does nothing but encourage everyone. One that leaves you feeling good, feeling like you've been strengthened in your walk with God. One that doesn’t leave me feeling like I'm beating a dead horse, lol. Unfortunately, like Jude, I cannot do that just yet. I instead feel that it's necessary to continue exposing more of the heresy and false doctrine that is rampant in our American culture today.

I want to stop for a moment and throw something out there. I am well aware that not all believers are in agreement on every issue. This saddens me, because we see all throughout the book of Acts that all of the believers were in one accord, unanimously in agreement with each other (Acts 4:24, 5:12, 15:25). In Philippians 2:2, Paul asks the believers at Philippi (as well as all believers everywhere, at all times) to "fulfil ye my joy, that ye be like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind."

Unfortunately, this is something we don't see much of anymore. However, a lot of disagreements today are on matters that have been deemed to be 'non-essential' to the faith. In other words, the matters in dispute have no effect on the doctrine of salvation. Some of these include contemporary Christian music v. traditional conservative music, infant baptism, women pastors, predestination, speaking in tongues, and many more. These are some areas in which Christians commonly disagree with each other, both sides using (or twisting) Scripture to support their side of the argument. I say that to say this: I may occasionally talk about an issue that you disagree with. That’s fine and dandy. If we allow the Holy Spirit to lead and instruct us, I'm sure at some point we'll both see the Truth. Because of this, I typically don't go into the aforementioned issues.

Today though, I want to talk about an issue that I think is a genuine threat to the believer. Interestingly enough, it’s on the exact issue that Jude continues to speak of in verse 4: "For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ." Or in other words, "there are wicked, ungodly guys (written about a long time ago) that have snuck into the church unnoticed, corrupting the word of God, denying clearly taught Biblical principles, perverting Christian freedom into license to sin, and refusing to say that Jesus is Lord."

This was happening 2000 years ago, my friends. And it's happening today. More to the point, it's happening right under our noses, especially in the college arena. I know this from personal experience. I got involved with an interdenominational campus ministry last year called Intervarsity Christian Fellowship (IVCF). Much like Campus Crusade for Christ (CRU), this organization was designed to further one’s relationship with God while not preaching on the parts in the Bible that tend to step on toes and cause division. Think of them both as 'we only teach the good parts' organizations. While there’s nothing wrong (so to speak) with this type of ministry, it does tend to remain shallow while failing to produce Christ-like, God-honoring lifestyles among its students. There are exceptions to this rule, of course. Some of the guys I look up to spiritually are in CRU.

In any case, I gradually began to think that something wasn't quite right with one of the key leaders of IVCF. For starters, he cussed out loud frequently during our Bible studies, he had no qualms against drinking or smoking weed, and his personal lifestyle was hardly that of an ideal Bible-study leader. Now don't get me wrong. I know that no one is perfect, and I am well aware that Christians can frequently stray from the will of God and become backslidden. But then began the social activism, preached mainly out of The Message, a new-age paraphrase of the Bible. I began to get the idea that 'Christianity' was about helping the poor and fighting injustice, more so than it was about preaching the Gospel. Now listen to me carefully; I know that the second greatest commandment given to the New Testament church is to love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:39). We should help each other, feed the poor, etc... but not at the expense of forsaking the Gospel. I believe that we can feed and house a million people, but if we don't tie it into the Gospel message in any way, we're wasting our time. Wanna really help someone? Tell them the Truth.

Further conversations with this guy brought forth even more questions. He said that not everyone can have a relationship with God like I do; some people find it easier to just model the life of Christ. He had a big problem with my objections to his lifestyle. I told him that I thought that a leader should be held to a higher standard, and I showed him clearly in the Bible where some of his opinions on abortion and homosexuality were misguided. I knew that something was really wrong when he recommended that I read a book entitled The Irresistible Revolution.

The writer of the book said that he had to travel all the way to Calcutta to meet a 'real' Christian... Mother Teresa. I hate to break it to the writer, but if Mother Teresa followed her own life philosophy, than she's probably in Hell. She is remembered by other nuns with her as believing that as long as a person is sincere in their faith (Hindu, in this case), then they'll still go to Heaven. I'm sorry, but this is a direct contradiction to the words of Christ in John 14:6 when He said "I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."

Anyways, since then the leader of this group has denied the authority of the Bible, the truthfulness of it. He's sworn at me, and he has made no attempts whatsoever to bring his life into alignment with God's word. Alright, whatever floats his boat. See, I thought he was a misguided individual. I thought maybe he was maybe a new Christian that didn't have a strong foundation in the Word of God. I thought with time that things might change. I didn't realize at the time that this guy's actions mirrors the actions of thousands of supposed Christians that are part of a quickly growing movement in America: that of the Emerging Church.

No doubt by this point I've raised some eyebrows, maybe made one or two people mad. "Why the personal attack?", some of you might be asking. Well let me just say, this isn't personal. If it were, I would be giving names and tagging them to draw attention to it. I'm not trying to do this. What I am trying to do is follow Paul's instructions to the believer in Romans 16:17-18: "Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which you have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple."

Jesus talked also of these people in Matthew 7:15 with "beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves." 2 Peter 2:1 reads "but there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that brought them, and bring up themselves swift destruction." 1 Timothy 4:1 says "Now the spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils."

We see more warnings from Paul in Acts 20:29-30: "For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn everyone night and day with tears."

The New Testament is saturated with the warnings about false prophets, and Paul did not hesitate to label them and even call them by name. And that is the point of this post. It's not to bad-mouth anyone for the sake of bad-mouthing them. It's not to point fingers at a movement because I don't personally like it. No, it's about to provide ample warning about the group here at school and the larger movement that this group seems to draw its ideals from.

The Emerging Church is hard to define, as it has multiple facets, each with different doctrinal positions. It would be nearly impossible to accurately paint them all with the same brush. Books have been written about the movement, and much smarter men than I have spent much more time doing the research into this movement. For that reason, all I plan to do is outline some key philosophies to this overall movement that are radically heretical and doctrinally unsound. If you care to learn more, links to outside sources will be provided.

I want to focus on the words and philosophies of two particular men in this movement: Brian Mclaren and Rob Bell. Mclaren is the most prominent figurehead in this movement and a prolific writer. Bell pastors the country's fastest growing church in the movement, Mars Hill Bible Church.

Mclaren would have you believe that we can know no truths at all, that the Word of God isn't true. In his words: "When we talk about the word 'faith' and the word 'certainty,' we've got a whole lot of problems there. What do we mean by 'certainty? ... Certainty can be dangerous. What we need is a proper confidence that's always seeking the truth and that's seeking to live in the way God wants us to live, but that also has the proper degree of self-critical and self-questioning passion." He is also quoted as saying "The problem with the critics [conservative Evangelicals] here is that they think they have a superior, timeless gospel that floats above any culture...". Well, yes. We do believe that, mainly because we believe the Bible. Psalm 119:160 says "Thy word is true from the beginning, and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth forever." In John 17:17, Jesus asks God to: "Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth."

Then again, using the Bible to refute Mclaren doesn't work, being as how he doesn't think we have the ability to accurately derive its meaning. According to him: "As in so many issues these days, the problem isn’t the Bible; it's the assumptions we bring to the Bible about how it is supposed to be interpreted. We make demands of the Biblical writers that we don't make of any other writers, and I'm not sure our demands are sensible or fair at all. As an analogy, I often refer to the Wizard of Oz in my teaching. Does this mean that I believe Dorothy was a historical figure? No. It means that I accept the story of Oz as being part of our culture, and that I can use it to illustrate truth or provide analogies to truth."

In other words, he casts doubt on 2 Timothy 3:16, which says: "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness." Seems to me that Paul is saying that not only can we understand and interpret scripture, but God Himself inspired the very words penned by the various writers of the Bible.

Mclaren's lack of faith makes itself evident with the following statement: "Our faith has too often become for us just another rigid belief system instead of a unique, joyful way of living loving and serving." Well, if you consider believing that Jesus Christ is the only way to Heaven a rigid belief system, would that not make it a correct belief system? Oh wait... according to Mclaren: "For too many people the name Jesus has become a symbol of exclusion, as if Jesus' statement 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through me' actually means, 'I am in the way of people seeking truth and life. I won't let anyone get to God unless he comes through me.'"

Evidently those of us that believe John 14:6 are wrong. I'm curious to know what other methods of reaching Heaven are available. According to the Bible, Jesus is the only way to God, and that was exactly what He meant in that verse. Mclaren also says: "We must be continually aware that the 'old, old story' may not be the 'true, true story'".

What kind of nonsense is this? The past 2000 years of orthodox Christianity have been wrong? I think not. What is his basis for this? Then again, I expect no less from a man that even denies the existence of Hell. He said: "We should consider the possibility that many, and perhaps even all of Jesus' hell-fire or end-of-the-universe statements refer not to postmortem judgment but to the very historic consequences of rejecting his kingdom message of reconciliation and peacemaking. The destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 67-70 seems to many people to fulfill much of what we have traditionally understood as hell ... I hope people can understand that some of us show our love for God by seeking better answers when our current answers seem unworthy of God."

Mr. Mclaren, does the destruction of the temple sound like a place of eternal torment? (Revelation 20:10) Does it sound like a like a fire? Does the temple destruction sound like eternal darkness, as is taught in Jude 1:13? How about a place of eternal restlessness like that described in Revelation 14:11? How to you compare the destruction of the temple with "a lake of fire burning with brimstone"? And let's not forget Revelation 20:15, "And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire."

In my opinion, it is near impossible to make a connection between Christ's teachings on Hell and the destruction of the temple. To deny the existence of a literal Hell is nothing short of heresy.

Brian Mclaren even goes as far to say that you don't have to be a Christian to go to Heaven. In his words: "It may be advisable in many (not all!) circumstances to help people become followers of Jesus and remain within their Buddhist, Hindu or Jewish contexts." Well, buddy, 2 John 1:9 says otherwise: "Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son."

I think an adequate response to Mclaren's philosophy may be found in Galatians 1:6-9, "I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed."

Others in the emergent movement have denounced the Trinity, or the concept of God being three parts: Father, Son, and Spirit. 1 John 5:7 says "For there are three that bear record in Heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one." This verse is conveniently left out of most modern translations, but it's there.

The virgin birth is attacked by the emergents, as is the idea of a blood atonement. Those of us that believe that Christ's blood was necessary for salvation are referred to as "vampire Christians who want Jesus for his blood and little else". Hate to break it to you, my emergent friends, but without the shedding of Christ's blood, forgiveness of our sins would have been impossible. Hebrews 9:22b teaches us that "without shedding of blood is no remission." Remission there is forgiveness. The entire point of Christ's dwelling here on Earth was to become the perfect, unblemished sacrifice for our sins. Verse 28 of the same chapter tells us that "Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many." This is the Gospel. Christ died in our place. Without the blood, there is nothing!

I can overlook the disbelief of the Bible’s inerrancy and infallibility. I can get over the emergent's disbelief of the virgin birth, of the existence of Hell. I cannot, however, think that true salvation is possible for someone that denies the need for the blood atonement. Without believing that Christ had to die to appease our Holy God, how can one accept the free gift of salvation? I say without apology: Brian Mclaren is at best a heretic and at worst, a disciple of Satan. His message is one that takes you away from the Truth; it does absolutely nothing to bring you closer to it.

Rob Bell is hardly better. On the virgin birth he says: "What if tomorrow someone digs up definitive proof that Jesus had a real, earthly, biological father named Larry, and archeologists find Larry's tomb and do DNA samples and prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the virgin birth was really just a bit of mythologizing the Gospel writers threw in to appeal to the followers of the Mithra and Dionysian religious cults that were hugely popular at the time of Jesus, whose gods had virgin births?"

On the authority of the Scriptures as a teaching tool, he says: "When you hear people say they are just going to tell you what the Bible means, it is not true. They are telling you what they think it means." Bell joins the movement in the idea that there can be no absolute known truths. Furthermore he says: "This is part of the problem with continually insisting that one of the absolutes of the Christian faith must be a belief that 'Scripture alone' is our guide. It sounds nice but it is not true... When people say that all we need is the Bible, it is simply not true." So what else is there? And what is his scriptural basis for delving outside of the word of God for guidance?

I could continue, but I think y'all get the idea. The emerging church is being led by heretics who have no faith, and the movement is growing. Bell's church already boasts some 10,000 members, sad to say. There are so many people today that gobble up the idea of never being wrong, having no moral absolutes, and viewing their salvation as a 'journey'. They want to be known as 'beautiful children of God' while remaining clueless as to the need for Christ's death or their own need for repentance. They want to save the whales and hug the trees without giving one thought to what a godly lifestyle is. They want to push for social reform and feed the poor without ever having to share the Gospel message. It is a dangerous movement.

The best way to address this movement? Some would say debate, some would say assimilate, some would say tolerate... but I say evacuate. I have talked with several members of this movement, and there seems to be no reasoning with them. When you start Biblically showing them the error of their thinking, they shift gears and talk about something else, or they question the accuracy of the Bible. It's kind of like pinning jello on the wall.

The apostle Paul gave us advice for dealing with heretics. It's simple: rebuke them and leave them. Ephesians 5:11 says "and have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them." Titus 3:10 says: "A man that is a heretic after the first and second admonition reject." 2 Thessalonians 3:6 says: "now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us." 1 Timothy 6:3-5 says: "if any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness; He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself."

I don't think there's any reasoning with the emerging church. I know from past experience that there is no reasoning with the movement's faction here at Radford University. I encourage all of you to take stock of the movement's philosophy, learn it, and avoid the teachings of its proponents. This means IVCF here at school, guys. The teaching there is dangerous; be wary.

I do apologize for the length of this 'thought'. For those of you making it to the end, I applaud you, lol. Seriously though, I appreciate your time, and I hope you learned something from it. Further resources on the emerging church can be found at the websites below. Hope y'all have a good one.

Sources to check out:
http://www.apprising.org/archives/rob_bell/index.html
http://www.gender-news.com/article.php?id=37
http://www.reformedfellowship.net/articles/freswick_casey_jan06_v56_n01.htm
http://www.apologeticsindex.org/290-emerging-church
http://www.wayoflife.org/fbns/beware-newkind-christian.html

Previous editions of this series:
* - Edition 8--Jan. 28
* - Edition 7--Jan. 19
* - Edition 6--Dec. 8
* - Edition 5--Nov. 15
* - Edition 4--Nov. 2
* - Edition 3--Oct. 24
* - Edition 2--Oct. 13
* - Edition 1--Oct. 4

Photo Credit: Blake Fought

Random Thoughts From a College Christian, VIII

2007-01-28T19:36:00.000-05:00

Hey guys. I had planned on waiting a little while before sending out another random thought, but this particular issue keeps coming back to mind, so I thought I would go ahead and write it down. This is yet another topic that I won't be able to do justice to, but I do think it'll be informative and eye-opening for at least a few of you.

So there I was last week driving back from Georgia, when I saw the one thing that every driver hates seeing: a cop pulling onto the interstate. Even worse, it was one of those cops that won't even drive the customary five miles over the speed limit. Come on, now. Everybody does five over.

Well, me being me, I decided to leave my cruise control set at five over. Sure enough, I slowly began edging up to the cop, pulling even, and then gradually passing him. No lights came on (thankfully) so I continued on my merry way.

About five minutes later I saw the cop again in my rearview. He'd evidently decided that it was time to drive a little and was making up for being so slow earlier down the road. What I saw about 50 yards behind him cracked me up: four lanes of traffic all patiently following the cop, none daring to drive past him. Within a minute the cop had passed me. I'd say he was doing about 10 over the speed limit. About 30 seconds after that, I had cars passing me on both sides as they kept up with the cop.

See, their philosophy went something like this: "As long as the cop has a heavy foot, and we follow the cop's example, we're all ok and not breaking the law"...and it hit me like a ton of bricks... How many of us view our pastors and spiritual leaders like that? How many Christians today are on the wrong path because their leaders are on the wrong path? How many Christians today are oblivious to the reality around them, to the downward spiral that today's churches are taking?

There are many, many Christians out there today that think that Christianity in America is booming, that more and more people are getting saved, that we're reaching the lost. Well, this is possible. Who am I to say or imply otherwise? What I am going to do though, is show you how some of Christianity's most popular figureheads have little to no right to speak on behalf of Christians everywhere. I'm really not out to sling mud or bash people. All I want to do is get you thinking.

Let's start with Ted Haggard. Everyone knows the story. Megachurch pastor, popular, and a closet homosexual. Sadly enough, he wasn't the first and I doubt he'll be the last. Let me share just a few of the headlines found around the world today. "Jesus supports gay rights, say S.African Anglicans", "Homosexual ad campaign: 'Would Jesus discriminate?'", "Gay Eucharist attracts 1,000+", "Bishop: Bible supports homosexual partnerships", "Transgendered Clergy Encouraged to Come Out"...and the list goes on.

I'm not going to make this blog a platform for an anti-gay rally. Let me just say, though, that God views homosexuality as an abomination (Leviticus 18:22).

Furthermore, 1 Corinthians 6:9 indicates that a true Christian is incapable of living a homosexual lifestyle. I know this sounds rough, but I'm only relaying what God has said. This concept is gone today, though. Now we have gay men and women ministers and bishops. In fact, www.gaychurch.org is a website calling all gay Christians together in unity. And this is Christianity flourishing? This is the growing Church?

Or how about Joel Osteen? Young, good looking, pastors one of largest churches in America. In an interview on Larry King Live, he adamantly refused to preach faith in Jesus as the only means of salvation. In his words: "You know, I'm very careful about saying who would and wouldn't go to heaven. I don't know...". He does this on more than one occasion. We've got a pastor on live TV that refuses to quote John 14:6, where Christ Himself says "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." Don't believe me? Read for yourself at http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0506/20/lkl.01.html.

Or Rick Warren, megapastor and best-selling author of many books (which are under heavy criticism from Christians everywhere). Mr. Warren had no problem letting a pro-choice politician speak from his pulpit. When asked about this, Warren replied that he doesn't have to agree whole-heartedly with someone in order to work with him. Ok, so I can understand this. However, Warren's biggest agenda is in helping the AIDS and poverty pandemic in the world. If you ask me, this is a great cause. I truly believe that as Christians we have a responsibility to help the poor and sick. However, Warren does this from behind a "let's love them to Christ" method. I'm sorry, but my idea of Christian loving is to share the gospel with the un-saved, rather than 'agree to disagree for the purpose of helping people'. Rick Warren doesn't want to offend his co-workers that don't believe in the deity of Christ. My question is this: why in the world would you want to work hand in hand with people on their way to hell without trying even once to preach the gospel? Then again, this is from a man that sees fit to twist and decontextualize the Bible in order to sell books. Harsh of me? Yes. True? See for yourself: http://www.biblebb.com/files/purpose.htm.

How about Billy Graham? Hes one of the godliest men out there, right? Wrong. Here are a few quotes by him. "I think everybody that loves Christ, or knows Christ, whether they're conscious of it or not, they're members of the Body of Christ....", "I've found that my beliefs are essentially the same as those of orthodox Roman Catholics, for instance....", "I fully adhere to the fundamental tenets of Christian faith for myself and my ministry. But, as an American, I respect other paths to God–and, as a Christian, I am called on to love them." All this from one of our biggest 'leaders'. You can find more at http://www.scionofzion.com/bgsf.htm.

Have we wandered that far from our Bible? Do our leaders really refuse to speak from the word of God? What has happened to living our lives in obedience to the Bible? Let me share with you some statistics taken from www.barna.org. If these don't rattle your cage, nothing will.

--> 86 percent of professing Christians believe that "the Bible is totally accurate in all of its teachings".
--> 46 percent of professing Christians agree that Satan is "not a living being but is a symbol of evil".
--> 33 percent of professing Christians believe that if a person is good enough they can earn a place in Heaven.
--> 28 percent of professing Christians believe that "while he lived on Earth, Jesus committed sins, like other people".
--> 33 percent of the (American) adult population is born again.

What kind of mess is this? We have in this country church goers and pastors alike that believe that there is no Satan or hell, works can earn salvation, and Jesus was a sinner anyways. Yet somehow, they still meet the Biblical criteria for the definition of a Christian? I think not. Ephesians 2:8 makes it clear that our salvation is a result of faith, not works. Isaiah 14:12-15 gives evidence to the existence of Satan (as does many, many other books in the Bible). And if Jesus had sinned, His death would have been worthless and we would all be damned to Hell.

It is beyond me how someone can hold these beliefs and yet still believe themselves to be saved. I think it's a clear example of Matthew 7:21a: "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of Heaven." Yet somehow, this is the shape this country is in. Statistics show that there are no differences in the abortion, fornication, and divorce rates between the 'Church' and the un-saved world. This is not Biblically possible. God's children are different from the world. Whether or not we fight it or embrace it, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit creates a change in our lives. If your life has never changed, I suggest that you study the book of 1 John and determine if you truly know Him. And as I said before, I'm not accusing the aforementioned men of being unsaved. All I'm doing is bringing to light some of their wrong philosophies and bad theology.

How many of y'all out there are following the wrong example? How many of you are actually studying the Book to determine whether or not your pastor is leading you in the right direction? I don't know how many times I’ve told y'all this, but if you read something I write that is not Biblically accurate, tell me. My goal is to properly discern God's word and seek unity among all true believers. If I'm wrong, correct me. I don't expect everyone to agree with my opinions, but when it comes to Biblical applications, there are right and wrongs ways to handle God’s word. If you can Biblically prove that I’m made an error in what I presume to be the meaning behind a passage of scripture, please do.

Read the Bible, guys. John 3:16 is a wonderful verse, but the rest of God's Word is there for a reason, too. Don't blindly accept the things you hear, regardless of who it is you hear them from. Look it up for yourselves, study it, and apply it. Don't just blindly follow a 'respected authority' who knows nothing. Remember that when the blind lead the blind, they'll both fall in the ditch. Open your eyes, my friends. Not everything that glitters is gold. Y'all have a good one.

Previous editions of this series:
* - Edition 7--Jan. 19
* - Edition 6--Dec. 8
* - Edition 5--Nov. 15
* - Edition 4--Nov. 2
* - Edition 3--Oct. 24
* - Edition 2--Oct. 13
* - Edition 1--Oct. 4

Photo Credit: Blake Fought

Random Thoughts From a College Christian, VII

2007-01-19T00:11:00.000-05:00

I have noticed a pattern when it comes to writing these things. There will first be a desire to write, followed by a lengthy period of wondering what it is that I should write about. Along with this comes a few days (give or take) of praying about it, trying to determine exactly what would be beneficial to y'all readers. And while I don't make claims to have heard God 'speak', or to have had a 'vision', or to be verbally inspired by God, I do have the general sense that praying about what I write more often than not leads to a decent, concise message. That's not to say that everything I write is correct, nor am I implying in any way that my word is the same as God's. No one is perfect, and the majority of you are well aware that this applies to me. In any case, I do apologize for the lengthy delay between postings. Between Christmas, New Years, going out of town, starting school again, as well as putting up with a lot of stuff going on in my personal life, things have been fairly hectic.

I think that I have finally figured out why I often struggle over what to write, and it is this: my audience is too diverse. I have been trying my best to write something that is beneficial to all. I mean, look at it like this--within the various places that I post my blogs, I have readers that are Christians, non-Christians, non-Christians that think they're Christians, Pagans and the list goes on. Rather than select a target audience and go from there, I've been trying to present a smorgasbord of ramblings and Biblical teachings, so that all might be able to get something out of reading it. I have no idea how effective I've been in this endeavor; feedback is few and far between.

But what I think I might do, or try to do, from here on out is to write to a particular audience. I have in my mind fellow Christians and the difficulties that we face in this age of apostasy, false doctrine, and lacksidaisical Christianity. At the same time though, I cannot remove the burden I have for those of you that are on your way to Hell. So all I can tell you is to bear with me. Sometimes I might be writing about something that you can relate to or learn from; other times you might lose interest because my topic doesn't apply to you. And who knows? Random as I can be at times, I may end up not changing much at all. We'll see.

I want to talk briefly today about a passage of scripture that is seemingly ignored by a lot of Christians today. I say briefly because I feel as though I'm barely scratching the surface of this issue. I would love to go deeper in depth, but I've not yet had the time to do adequate research. The passage in question is 1 Peter 1:13-16, which says "Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: but as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy."

I think that one of the major problems that the church (that is, the body of genuine believers) is currently facing is that one of the misconstrued idea of Christian liberty. While perhaps not as prevalent an issue as the charismatic movement or the Bible-version debate, the idea of Christian liberty as a license to sin is one that seems to run rampant among today's youth.

To my knowledge (and I again submit that I am neither a scholar nor a theologian), Christian liberty can be taken to mean at least two things. One, it can mean an individualized opinion/decision/action by a Christian when it comes to non-essential or non-Biblical matters. For example, whether or not to wear a tie to church. Or to bring it back to God's Word, whether or not it was alright to eat meat that had been sacrificed to idols. Paul gives the answer to this issue in 1 Corinthians 8. In a nutshell, it went like this: it was perfectly fine to eat this meat, provided that it didn't cause another Christian to stumble in the faith due to their lack of understanding.

Anyhow, the idea here behind Christian liberty (or Christian freedom, as it's also called) is that to a certain extent, all Christians have permission to vary from others in various issues, provided that sin is not involved, nor the causing of another Christian to sin.

But what I've seen touted as Christian liberty here at Radford is something else entirely. On the surface, this alternate proposed definition of Christian liberty makes a good deal of sense. To an extent, it can be defined as this: "As Christians, we don't have to worry about our sins condemning us to hell as they did before we became believers." And this is true. God has declared that we're no longer under the law; we're under grace.

However, and this is a big however, there are many, many people that take this to mean "I cannot go to Hell, so now I can do what I want without fear of condemnation." And this is something that I see all the time. Some of the people that I run into claim "Christian liberty!" when any mention of holiness comes up. Generally speaking, words like legalism and fundamentalism also come into play here. We'll talk about that at a later time.

Anyways, I say all that to say this: God. Commands. Holiness. How many times in the Bible do we see things like "Be not conformed to this world", "be separated", "come out from them", etc? This is not a new concept. This is Christianity, people. Salvation is merely the beginning of our walk with God. It should only be getting better from there. Granted, tough times happen to us all, but generally speaking we should all be closer to God now than we were when we accepted Christ as our Lord and Savior. Are you? I've touched on this once before, and I'll say it again: you are as close to God as you choose to be.

Here's a couple verses to chew on. Psalm 66:18 says "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me." Nelson's Bible Dictionary defines iniquity as a word describing unrighteousness, lawlessness, evil, wickedness, transgressions of spiritual law, and crimes against God. I don't think it would be wrong for me to say that if I live the way I want to without regard to the commands on Godly living that He has given me, God will not hear me.

Now there's something to think about. God turning a deaf ear to those of us that refuse to live like we ought. Might explain why our devotions are so dry. Might explain why we might sometimes feel as though God has abandoned us. Might explain why your life is falling apart.

Guys, you know what does and does not please God. You know what music He approves of. You know the television shows that He approves of. And on the same token you KNOW which ones are garbage. I want--no, I dare you to try something. Next time you plop in front of your TV or listen to your radio, evaluate the things that you’re hearing or seeing. Take that and weigh it against God's standards, against God's holiness. Can you picture Him watching it with you? Using those words, doing those things? Let me give you a hint. I can promise you that God wouldn't have a seat on your couch and enjoy watching shows like Sex in the City, or Grey's Anatomy. Why would He? It does nothing but make light of adultery, lying, cursing, etc. Shows like that mock sin, and yet we have the audacity as Christians to soak it up, to thrive on it. I've been guilty of it, too.

Look guys. I'm not against the idea of TV or radio. But what I try to be against are the things that God is against. Be careful where you get your entertainment from. All it can do is desensitize you to sin. Keep in mind 1 Corinthians 10:31, where we are commanded to glorify God in all of our actions. Honestly ask yourself this: Is God pleased or appalled by my choice in entertainment? Does it bring me closer to or further away from Him? Would He say/do this? Should I?

Lastly, consider 1 Corinthians 15:34. "Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame." Does this verse really need expounding upon? So many of us are so busy pleasing ourselves that we've totally given up the idea of witnessing to others. When is the last time you shared the Gospel with someone? When is the last time you paved the way for someone to receive Christ as their Savior? If you were to witness, does your lifestyle verify your words? We all know how loud our actions are; what do yours say?

Alright, I reckon I've beat this dead horse enough for now. Here's a final thought coined by Dr. Tom Farrell, "There are just two choices on the shelf; serving God...or serving self." Who are you serving? Y'all have a good one.

Previous editions of this series:
* - Edition 6--Dec. 8
* - Edition 5--Nov. 15
* - Edition 4--Nov. 2
* - Edition 3--Oct. 24
* - Edition 2--Oct. 13
* - Edition 1--Oct. 4

Photo Credit: Blake Fought

The Most Poorly Written Article in History?

2007-01-03T12:42:00.000-05:00

For those who haven't figured it out yet--not only am I a fan of Radford University athletics but I am also a fan of West Virginia University athletics as I was raised a Mountaineer fan over the course of my grade school years. I also happen to be a person who can be critical of times where the media simply stinks at doing their job properly.

Typically, this means red-marking newspapers when I see errors in them and occasionally sending an email to online sources when I find a major error on their site or a critical misspelling of a player's name on their home page--the Chicago Cubs' home page had the name of one of their players misspelled on their top two plays of the year section.

New Year's Day was an exciting, yet somewhat stressful, day for me when it came to watching the Toyota Gator Bowl. The Mountaineers were taking on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets from the Atlantic Coast Conference in a 1 p.m. kickoff. WVU played a horrendous first half, allowing the Yellow Jackets to pass all over its 3-3-5 stack defense and hit receivers in double, even triple, at times, coverage.

The Mountaineers, playing without star sophomore running back Steve Slaton (who only touched the ball three times in the running game, before removing himself from the game because of an injury that he thought he would be able to play through but could not), rallied from down 18 points behind fellow sophomore quarterback Patrick White to defeat Georgia Tech, 38-35, in regulation.

It was recently brought to my attention the recap that the Associated Press had posted following the game's finish. The party that sent the link to me was furious at how the recap was written and being a member of the media myself, I figured the article may have been slightly biased and my source was just overreacting. However, upon reading the article, I was appalled at how poorly-written a recap the article actually was.

To be honest, I'm not even sure it could actually be called a "recap" because it never recapped what happened in the game besides the stat sheet of one Georgia Tech wideout and the final score. Nothing. I decided to post the article below with commentary along with it in red. You decide if it's actually a game recap. If it is, it should have more than just the final score and a mix of pre- and post-game quotes. It should have a handful of statistics from both teams and basically tell a story of what happened during the contest so those who didn't watch it would know what happened without having to take the time to skim through the long play-by-play.

Slaton not effective, but West Virginia rebounds for Gator Bowl victory [I suppose one could go with this title but it's very misleading, I believe. Slaton was injured heading into the game. If anything, why didn't they highlight White's passing performance, where he went 9-of-15 for 131 yards and two touchdowns, or even his rushing performance, where he picked up 145 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries? No, instead we are given a title highlighting the wrong player.]

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) -- Sometimes even triple coverage isn't enough to stop Calvin Johnson. [Ain't that the truth--CJ was darn near unstoppable during the game. The opening's fine with me even though it would generally be better to go with something about the winning team. Perhaps how it was WVU's second straight bowl win with the final score being 38-35. (The Mountaineers topped Georgia in the Sugar Bowl last season, 38-35)]

Johnson leapt between two West Virginia defenders and in front of a third for a 32-yard reception in the third quarter of the Gator Bowl on Monday, one of his nine catches for 186 yards and two touchdowns in Georgia Tech's 38-35 loss. [A good follow-up paragraph. It gives the reader the stats on what was teased in the lead and also gives the final. More than likely, there should be about one or two more paragraphs on Johnson, perhaps even a quote, before the article moves onto game recap.]

The All-American junior made the Mountaineers' secondary look helpless all day in what may have been his collegiate finale. [And it should be--the guy's NFL-ready, in my opinion.] Johnson is considering forgoing his senior year for the NFL, and the 6-foot-5 wideout looked ready to make the transition.

"I'll have to sit down and decide it pretty soon," Johnson said. [Alright, let's get to what actually happened in the game, now, shall we? That is what the word "recap" refers to, right?]

Johnson wouldn't give any hints after the game about his intentions but said he and his family would make the decision together. [We get the idea. We know Calvin Johnson's a great player. But there was at least 43 other players who took the field during the game, correct?]

"After this, it's going to be a hard decision, I know that," said quarterback Tyler Bennett, thankful for having Johnson to throw to in his second career start. "Whatever he decides, it will be the right decision for him. Everyone wants him to stay but all the NFL guys want him to go."

[Recap, please?] Johnson's yardage total on Monday put him fifth in the Gator Bowl record book -- and in pretty good company. He finished behind Andre Rison, Javon Walker and Fred Biletnikoff and in front of Marvin Harrison. [Oh, I guess not. Maybe the next paragraph, perhaps?]

[Nope, here's another quote about Johnson.] "His play today was typical. That's what we've come to expect from Calvin," Tech coach Chan Gailey said.

[Fine, we've given Johnson his due. Now, let's recap what occurred during the game. Here's what could have been used from here:

Even with Johnson's career performance, the Yellow Jackets were unable to overcome the high-octane offense of West Virginia, which rallied back from a 28-10 second-quarter deficit to cap the program's best comeback in a bowl game.

6-3 250 lbs. fullback Owen Schmidt scored with 1:06 left to go before the half to help pull the Mountaineers back within 11 with a successful Pat McAfee extra point attempt. The bruising back had rumbled for 52 yards on WVU's first play of the game in the first quarter and carried the ball past the goal line after a 27-yard scamper by White that brought the Mountaineers to the Georgia Tech 1-yard line and an unsuccessful attempt by Schmidt to cross into the end zone for WVU's first score of the game.

"A good quote from Schmidt would be nice to go here. If a quality one wasn't collected, that's fine--we'll just move onto more game recap."

GT running back Tashard Choice bumped the Yellow Jacket lead back to 18 after halftime on a 5-yard run that capped off a 46-yard drive that began on a surprise onside kick that opened the third quarter.

It would end up being the final time that Georgia Tech would put points on the scoredboard, as the Mountaineers would score the game's final 21 points.

...you see, dear readers, that is a well-written game recap. It tells you what happened during the game. But let's see where the article went way after it should have broken into the summary.]

Johnson won the Biletnikoff Award this year as the nation's top receiver and was named the Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year. Before Monday's game, he had 1,016 yards receiving and 13 touchdowns, fourth-best in the country.

For his size, Johnson is also extremely athletic. He runs a 4.4 40-yard dash and has a 45-inch vertical leap. The combination makes him difficult to defend, even with a scheme keyed to stop him. [It's at the point where I start to wonder if this was supposed to be a pre-draft report about Johnson instead of an actual game summary. Perhaps the folks at the Associated Press got confused. Yeah, that must be it.]

"What can you say about Calvin Johnson? We knew coming in he was going to be dangerous, but he just ran over top of us," West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez said.

[Here's the link for those interested in checking it out: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=270010277]

You know what is perhaps the most comical thing about the recap besides the fact that it is not a recap? Let's take a moment to re-examine the title, "Slaton not effective, but West Virginia rebounds for Gator Bowl victory" and consider what the title teases to. It informs the reader that WVU won the Gator Bowl in comeback fashion and although that wasn't covered in the article, the funniest part is that the article never explains the first part of the title--"Slaton not effective".

Well, let's give the article writer the benefit of the doubt, shall we? I'll take the entire article and copy it into Microsoft Word and search for the word "Slaton". Maybe I just missed his name in the actual article somewhere. (Cue a long pause in which I am actually putting the article into Word and searching for the word.)

Nope. Like I thought, it was not there. Heck, beyond the quote by West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez at the end of the article, there isn't even a mention of the Mountaineers besides the second and third paragraphs, which detail that Johnson caught passes in heavy coverage.

I believe I would be very safe in labeling this the "Most Poorly-Written Article in History". The fact that it's being called a "recap" is laughable. Somebody please remind the AP that when a sports game recap is written, it should actually recap what happened. It's not a complicated concept, in my opinion.

Photo Credit: Associated Press

Looking Back: Radford University 2006

2007-01-01T19:10:00.000-05:00

Before treading off too far into the new year, I felt like taking a quick walk down memory lane recently in regards to major events around Radford University. I picked out what I thought were the top four stories of the year and named a few honorable mentions as well. I hope you all enjoy this one as I had fun deciding what goes where and writing it.

4. The unofficial Quadfest: The cancellation of Radford University's annual drink-and-get-arrested festival did not stop students from creating their own Quadfest this past spring and continuing the tradition. A total of 349 charges were issued and 36 arrests were made, according to an April 19 issue of The Tartan.

The event had been sponsored in the past by RU's Campus Activities Board and Black Awareness Program before the groups withdrew support for the drinkfest this time around.

The police response was due to a higher presence by the Radford City Police Department. While the events took place, officers patrolled the city in police cars and bikes as well as on foot. Although some of those caught by the RCPD were RU students, most of those who were brought downtown or issued charges were from out of the area, RCPD Chief Gary Harmon told The Tartan in the same issue.

Despite the best attempts to keep the tradition going, the general consensus was that the quality of Quadfest was lower than it had been in previous years, and that there were fewer people participating--certainly a good sign to those looking to combat Radford's image of being a party school and student drinking in general.

3. Penelope Kyle's inauguration: Although she had been with the university in the President's office since the summer of 2005, Penelope W. Kyle was formally inaugurated in mid-October in front of a crowd that waited in front of McConnell Library. Virginia Governor Tim Kaine was present at the event as a guest, as was Virginia Tech's Charles Steger.

Both delivered keynote speeches at the event.

But the highlight was not the big faces brought in by the university or even the event itself. It was the story behind the event. Kyle was RU's first female president and the university helped celebrate the significance of it by holding a symposium entitled "Women's Leadership in a Global Society." The highlighted speakers of that event were Ann Holton, Dr. Jehan Sadat and Dr. Maya Angelou. Angelou is perhaps most remembered for having a part in former President Clinton's 1993 inauguration as a featured poet. Holton is the First Lady of Virginia while Sadat has been influential in women's movements around the world, primarily in Egypt.

Although the selection of faces for the event was criticized by some as being somewhat poor because none of the three women were in specific leadership roles, the general idea behind the symposium and behind the importance of Kyle's inauguration was that society had continued to once against recognize the importance of women in leadership positions by allowing Kyle to serve as Radford University's president.

2. The graduation of Whit Holcomb-Faye: Not since the 1993 season (when Doug Day, the then-Division I career leader in three-point shots and RU's all-time scoring champion, graduated) had Radford University had a player on its men's basketball team as talented as guard Whit Holcomb-Faye. The Winston-Salem, N.C.-native had found himself in the midst of trouble during his junior season and played only 19 games as a result, but put his career back on track the following year, playing 29 games his senior season and averaging 23.1 points, four assists and 2.9 rebounds per game.

Holcomb-Faye was the unquestioned leader of the Highlander basketball team and the go-to option on Head Coach Byron Samuels' offense and left the program in second on its all-time scoring list behind Day. He had six games of 30 points or more, and in two of them scored 37, his career high.

After leaving the program, Holcomb-Faye traveled overseas to play basketball in Europe and has been seeing a reasonable amount of success playing for a team out of Germany.

1. Jesus Christ, campus and all points in between: Although the controversy over Whim Internet Magazine's cartoon series "Christ on Campus" had been raging on for more than a semester since the toon debuted in fall 2005, it never reached the level it did this spring. Sparked by email and phone contacts between various local figures, the eyes and ears of the local news media fell upon Radford University and its debate on First Amendment rights, good taste and the proper portrayal of Jesus Christ.

CBS's local affiliate was the first to pick up the story and ran a segment the evening of Feb 23. The Roanoke Times followed suit two days later, and ran it on the top of its Feb. 25 front page. The story was picked up by the Associated Press and was published in numerous newspapers the same day across the state of Virginia, including the Charlottesville Daily Progress and the Danville Register-Bee. The Richmond Times-Dispatch and the Washington Times published the AP reprint a day later. The story reached as far as newsstands in India and lasted until Spring Break (Mar. 11-19), when the opposition's primary spokesman, freshman Blake Fought, went down with a major illness that forced him to the sidelines for the rest of the semester and far into the summer. As a result, any further actions that could have been taken were ended.

Other highlights of the controversy were a segment by ABC's local affiliate that many charged was biased towards the side of those in opposition to the cartoon and a forum sponsored by RU's Philosophy and Religious Studies Club that was highlighted by speeches by Fought and toon creator and artist Christian Keesee.

Keesee, a sophomore at the time, argued that there was nothing wrong with the series, citing FOX's Family Guy as an example of the mainstream using Christ as a figure from which laughs could be drawn. In a speech that lasted a few seconds over the allotted time, Fought argued that while free speech is an important issue, the media should take good taste into consideration before publishing content. He also selected a handful of moments in the series that portrayed Christ in an incorrect sense according to the Bible.

Despite the best efforts of the opposition, "Christ on Campus" continued to run throughout the rest of the spring semester and into the fall, but not at the frequency that it had before. Keesee remains an active contributor to Toon section of Whim while Fought runs the Sports section of RU's published newspaper, The Tartan, and occasionally submits photography to the internet magazine to be used in the headers for its various sections. (The photography can be seen at the following links: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12.)

Honorable mentions: Former Insights Editor of The Tartan Brian Erskine sparks controversy by labeling homosexuality as a sinful act in a Tartan editorial; the debut of RUnderground; Blake Fought named Sports Editor of The Tartan; Men's rugby captures the state title; Noelle Selb and Michael Conner serve as Editor-in-Chiefs of The Tartan; Byron Samuels resigns as Head Coach of men's basketball; Martin Mash voted president of Student Government Association; Volleyball posts nine-win season after totaling 10 wins in the past three seasons; Escaped convict William Morva causes chaos, panic around Virginia Tech and the rest of the New River Valley.

Photo Credit: Roanoke Times (Student--lead photo, Keesee--Keesee/Fought), Roanoke Times care of Whim Internet Magazine (Christ on Campus--lead photo), Radford University (Kyle--lead photo), Blake Fought (Holcomb-Faye--lead photo, Fought--Keesee/Fought, Holcomb-Faye--team shot)

A Few Points to Make

2006-12-26T22:20:00.000-05:00

Ah, dear readers, how far we've come. It was nine months and a few days ago that we began this journey that is RUnderground and it continues to amaze. But, we continue to strive for improvement and I personally would like to take the time to make a few short points and will bid you all adieu for the evening.

First, I have received a few comments regarding being able to open the site at a reasonable speed. As a result, the old design of having 30 appear on the main site has been trimmed to 15 for you convenience. As always, for those that no longer appear on the main page, the Archives can be accessed on the right column below the Staff profiles list and at this link. I would also like to remind you all about the subscription feature that is provided at the bottom of the left column. If you'd like to receive email updates every time an article is posted here, subscribe to the service we have provided for you.

Second, I would like to wish you all the best of this Christmas season (the day may have passed but the season is still present) and hope that you all had the best Christmas. And finally, I would like to wish you all a Happy New Year. No, this does not mean that I am done posting for the rest of the year (in fact, I intend to have reviews for two movies up here tomorrow if my schedule permits), I just wanted to wish you all a great start to 2007 (the year that the Chicago Cubs hopefully can finally reach the World Series and win it before the drought reaches the 100-year mark in 2008--the Cubs last won the Series in 1908.).

And so, with that, I bid you all adieu.

Photo Credit: Blake Fought

I Would Like to Thank...

2006-12-22T13:07:00.000-05:00

To my surprise, it was recently announced that I, Blake Fought, was selected by TIME Magazine to be their Person of the Year. Needless to say, I was honored beyond comprehension. After all, I was influential in a handful of local issues during the spring and have done a tremendous job with the Sports section of The Tartan. But to be named TIME's Person of the Year? Wow, what an honor.

Yes, I know that everyone else on the planet with a breath in their body was technically named Person of the Year as well but through emails to my Radford University account, TIME has informed me that the "everyone else" part was merely an addition to make everyone else feel special. I was their primary selection.

What exactly I will do with this tremendous honor, I am still on the fence on. Certainly, I won't be going out on a major drinking binge and engaging in any promiscuous activity with TIME for Kids' Person of the Year like some other people in today's headlines. Something like that would generally be considered grounds for losing my title and I certainly do not want that. Without this title, how could I get my .25 discount at McDonald's? This award means so darn much.

What I intend to do is use this honor for the good of mankind. Perhaps, if I'm lucky, I can get you all free coupons at Piper's Grill to help take the "outrageous" prices down a step to the "arm-and-a-leg" level. I know a great number of people around RU who would enjoy that and I intend to serve my fellow man. You, the little people, are what I stand for.

To be totally honest (and I can be now that I already have my title in tow), what sense would it make for TIME to make everyone the Person of the Year? What a simply cheesy concept. Everyone!? Apparently TIME forgot that by making everyone the Person of the Year, it just made Saddam Hussein, Osama bin Laden and Ryan Seacrest 2006's Person of the Year. What nonsense.

Sarcasm aside, the decision to make everyone Person of the Year is just downright nutty. Sure, their basis for handing the award out to everyone was because "[they] control the Information Age", but what major development occurred since 2005 to lead TIME to think that it needed to hand out such an award to everyone? Sure, YouTube became a major player in the world of information, entertainment and new releases of the Numa Numa but was that seriously enough to constitute making everyone the Person of the Year? I certainly think not.

And so, to remove all of the confusion and what-not, I believe it would make a whole lot more sense to go with TIME's original plan to have Blake Fought the Person of the Year. As a result, I would like to give out my thanks for being able to receive this award. I'd like to thank God, my girlfriend, my family, TIME Magazine and well, the rest of the people on the list just aren't that important ... so I'll skip them. Sorry folks!

And with that, my sarcasm streak for the day (or for this hour at the very least) is over. It was fun, dear readers. If you honestly want to read about TIME's odd awarding of Person of the Year to everyone, here's a link.

Photo Credit: 2006 Cover (TIME Magazine), Blake Cover (Blake Fought)

Fourth and 99, II

2006-12-19T20:55:00.000-05:00

A growing trend among NFL running backs and records
This past Sunday was just another day for San Diego Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson, who carried the ball 25 times for 199 yards and two touchdowns (he also had one reception for five yards) in the Chargers' 20-9 win over the Kansas City Chiefs. Not only did the game mark Tomlinson's eighth straight multi-touchdown game, but it also extended the former TCU star's NFL record for rushing touchdowns in a single season to 28. Most likely, Tomlinson will surpass 30 rushing TD's, a mark that has never been seriously within reach in the past. Consider some of the great running backs in the history of the NFL--Barry Sanders, O.J. Simpson, Jim Brown, Franco Harris, Walter Payton, Priest Holmes, Marshall Faulk and Emmitt Smith. Prior to the turn of the century, 30 touchdowns were virtually unreachable. Brown's highest single-season totals were 17 in 1958 and '65. Simpson's high mark was 16 in 1975, and Harris and Payton had highs of 14 in '76 and '77, respectively. Sanders went as far as 17 rushing scores in 1991. When Smith topped the list in '95, over 10 years since Washington's John Riggins moved into first place in 1983 with 24 TD's, it seemed that no one could possibly reach that plateau. But within the following decade, Smith's record would be crossed three times--in 2000 by Faulk with 26, in 2003 by Holmes with 27 and last season by MVP Shaun Alexander, who crossed the goal line 27 times. Considering how many times the record has been reset in the past decade, it is highly possible that whatever total Tomlinson finishes with this season could easily be passed by 2015, possibly multiple times.

So long, "new ball"!
Back in 1985, Coca-Coca figured that it might be a good idea to introduce a new formula to replace the older, proven one. History knows how well that grand idea turned out. (Wonder why you don't see New Coke or Coke II and the bottles you get at the stores are called Coke Classic?) Prior to the 2006-07 NBA season, National Basketball Association Commissioner David Stern decided to change the basketball to a microfiber one from the previous leather versions. Not only did the type of ball change, but the patterns on it did as well, as shown in the picture to the left of Miami's Shaquille O'Neal. (To examine the two, here's two pictures from Wikipedia of the old ball and the new ball.) The change brought forth a large amount of criticism about the design, how it played on the court and other various aspects. Many criticized Stern's decision to change the ball because it was felt that using a ball whose skin was made from animals was cruel. Dallas' Dirk Nowitzki, Phoenix's Steve Nash and New Jersey's Jason Kidd all reported cuts on their fingers as a result of using the ball. But all of the complaints and grumbled were silenced recently when Stern decided to go back to the new ball starting Jan. 1. Although the move ticked off PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals--who went so far as to call NBA players "siss[ies]"), it has received numerous praise from basketball players and purists everywhere.

Ohio State-Michi...what!?
I recently took the time to write a game summary and analysis for the Nov. 29 Ohio State-Michigan game that sold me as a believer in pitting the two teams against each other in college football's title game, the BCS Championship. The week following the game, it seemed as if the rest of the country felt so as well ... and what a fleeting time that was. Shortly thereafter, the Southern California Trojans were thrust into the no. 2 spot ahead of the Wolverines, only to be knocked off of the title scramble by UCLA, 13-9, Dec. 2 at the Rose Bowl of all places. It appeared at that point that Michigan would have been vaulted back to the no. 2 position, setting up a rematch for the ages between the two rival schools Jan. 8 in the title game. But instead, the pollsters moved the Florida Gators up to the second spot, putting head coach Urban Meyer's squad in the title game instead of the more proven Wolverines. Don't get me wrong, in no way do I think that the Wolves better than OSU. (In fact, I think that the Buckeyes would once again defeat UM if the two played again.) But putting Florida, a team that has posted so many less-than-stellar performances this season against some of the weakest teams in the country, into the title picture was insane. The only reason that it was done was because the pollsters did not want to see a rematch so soon after the two rivals had just played. As a result, expect a major blowout in this year's title game as the Buckeyes are in a whole different league than the Gators.

What, Radford University has fans?
I tried my best to hype up the already anticipated Dec. 6 game between last season's Final Four participant George Mason and the Radford University men's basketball team in the last issue of The Tartan for the fall semester in hopes that it would help get the fans into the stands for a change. After all, student and faculty attendance is generally subpar at best at RU sporting events. Apparently, it's too darn hard to walk across the bridge to get to Cupp Stadium or the Dedmon Center to cheer on your Highlanders and Lady Highlanders. That's the only conclusion I can give. But from what I've learned so far from my time here at RU is that students and faculty will show up ... if you shove the game in their face enough and hype it enough. It works every season for Homecoming and most games against the Virginia Tech Hokies. I knew that the student body would show up for the game in larger-than-usual numbers but to see a packed Dedmon Center surprised me a bit. Perhaps it was because people were further encouraged to go if it meant that they could get a free Terrible Towel-like towel to wave around during the game. (Free stuff always seems to entice people.) Or perhaps people really, for once, cared. Whatever the reason, the players noticed. In fact, they always notice. Being a reporter/Sports Editor for three semesters now, I get to converse with players and coaches about attendance and how it helps their performance when the stands are filled. Almost every time I talk to an RU athlete or coach, I am told how influential cheering can be at times. For me, a person who has been to numerous sporting events at various levels, the Mason game was refreshing to attend because it was exciting. And not because the game itself was exciting, but the atmosphere was simply bouncing (as were the people). I applaud RU students for showing up. You folks helped make a great game even greater and hopefully will make it out to more events in the future.

The players and coaches noticed, by the way. In case you're wondering, here's a few post-game quotes:
George Mason Head Coach Jim Larranaga: "[It was] pretty enthusiastic."
Radford sophomore guard Martell McDuffy: "[The fan turnout] lifted the team up great. We saw the student body and fed off the crowd noise."
Radford senior guard Reggie McIntyre: "The fans did a great job coming out and showing their support. It seemed like all of Radford was here."

Previous editions of this series:
* - Edition 1--Nov. 28

Photo Credit: Sports Illustrated (Tomlinson, O'Neal), Associated Press (Meyer), Blake Fought (Oliver)

Whew!

2006-12-19T12:24:00.000-05:00

Hey folks, I would like to take this time to dispell a few rumors floating around regarding RUnderground. We are not shutting down. We have no intentions of shutting down and plan to continue to run for the forseeable future.

Although I didn't tell my writers to do so because they're free to post whenever they'd like, RUnderground basically took a break over the past few weeks in respect of exam studying for both our writers and our readers. Now that that obstacle is out of the way, we should be back to publishing as often as we were before. I personally intend to finish an article that was supposed to go up not too long ago but for some reason was not published.

I hope you all did well on exams this past week and are enjoying your Christmas Break so far and the best wishes from us here at RUnderground!

Photo Credit: http://www.schwimmerlegal.com/smiley.jpg

Random Thoughts From a College Christian, VI

2006-12-08T19:53:00.000-05:00

(All referenced Scripture is found at the bottom of this document)

I have been wanting to write something for well over a week now, but I just didn't know what it was that I was supposed to write. To be honest, even as I sit here writing, I still don't know exactly what I'm going to say. 'Bout time I made these thoughts as random as I claim them to be, lol.

It's been a little over three months now since I quit fighting with God. Three months since I relinquished control of my life...three months in which I have continually pursued God. I cannot begin to tell you the harsh realities that these past few months have shown me. On the other side of the coin though, I've learned things that would have otherwise gone unnoticed by me, valuable lessons that will probably never fade. Some of these lessons, I may have already touched on. Others, I have not.

When I was faced with my repeated failures to produce happiness within my life, and I told God that only His way would work, I abstained from doing something that I tended to do every time I 'got right' with God...I did not get rid of all the sinful things in my life all at one time. I didn't recall every sermon I'd ever heard and then act upon them accordingly. No...this time around I decided to learn for myself what God's word says about various issues.

Because of my decision to do this, I have had no choice but to systematically dive into my Bible, talk to people, and do internet research on various issues that Christians (and non-believers) are faced with. As a result, not only has my life been progressively changing, but I've been able to know and defend all of my beliefs. I know that smoking is wrong, because as a child of God, our body is the temple of the Holy Ghost (1 Corinthians 6:19). I know that getting plastered is wrong (Ephesians 5:18), that pre-marital sex is wrong (1 Corinthians 6:18)...I know that there are certain movies, music, books, video games, and TV shows that glorify sin, and as a result are not appropriate for Christians to view/read/listen, etc (1 Corinthians 10:31). I know that there are things that are not sinful that Christians shouldn't do simply because of the way the world looks at us (1 Thessalonians 5:22).

More importantly, I have learned that every person that has ever reached the age of accountability has sinned and deserves nothing more than to spend an eternity in Hell suffering the wrath of a Just, Holy, Almighty God. (Romans 3:23, Romans 6:23)

I know now that salvation from God's condemnation is a matter of faith in what Christ did on the cross...there are no works involved, there is nothing apart from simply believing in the work of Christ that will save us from God's judgment (Ephesians 2:8-9).

I know that once we're saved and become children of God, our entire life is a process of sanctification (holiness), and that we'll progressively become more and more Christ-like in our lifestyle (1 Peter 1:16, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Philippians 1:6)

I know that as a Christian, I (all believers) have been commanded by God to preach the Gospel...to tell everyone I can about why Christ came (Mark 16:15).

It is so incredibly simple, guys. We're born separated from God, and once we receive salvation by faith, we're to live in obedience to God's word, becoming more Christ-like in the process. Yes, God's word goes much, much deeper than that...but the Christian life is simple. Perhaps that is what Christ meant when He said that His yoke is easy, that His burden is light (Matthew 11:30).

Then came the scoffers, the ones who wanted to know why I believed that what my Bible said was Truth. I have talked to people who believe that many of the stories in the Bible are metaphors, and not true occurrences. To an extent, I agree. A parable certainly never happened; it was used by Christ to teach a principle. Speaking of Christ, it was He Himself that reaffirmed the fact that Jonah was in the belly of a whale for three days (Matthew 12:40). If the book of Jonah was metaphorical and there never was a fish, Jesus would have had no reason to agree that there was indeed a fish/whale.

I have had to explain to people that I know the Bible is God's word because God promised to preserve His word forever (Psalm 12:6-7). And yes, I have read the opposing and supporting commentaries on this passage of scripture. I have read the opposing and supporting views on every issue from abortion, homosexuality, pre-destination, textual preservation, modern v. old manuscripts, speaking in tongues, etc. I would be very surprised if someone can approach me with a current 'hot-topic' that I have not read about.

Let me interrupt myself here, lol. I do not claim to know everything, and I am not making myself out to be a super-scholar. I am merely explaining that I have spent numerous hours doing research on everything I've mentioned.

So after establishing that yes, God's word is still alive and well...I was asked why I preferred to read the KJV and not any of the more modern versions. My answer to that is simple: Out of all of the 200-odd English versions of the Bible, there can only be one that is the absolute closest to the original Greek and Hebrew. In my opinion, the only Bible that can fit that bill would have to be based off of the majority text, also known as the textus receptus.

Quick history lesson--there are approximately 5,200 existing Greek manuscripts that have been found containing God's word (this is the New Testament I'm referring to, and not the Old Testament, which was written in Hebrew). About 99% of these agree with each other. This 99% is what Erasmus used while compiling his Greek New Testament. The other 1% either had copyist errors in them, or they disagreed with the other 99%. Some of this other 1% also came from Alexandria, as opposed to Syria. Godly scholars hundreds of years ago were able to weed out the 'counterfeit' manuscripts. The approved scrolls are the basis of the King James Version, as the KJV drew most of its work from Erasmus's New Testament. (I could go on for hours about the immaculate job the KJV translators put into their mission. And yes...I have read the contradictory accounts of King James and his translators.)

Long story short, I trust a Bible based on the 99% of the scrolls that agree with each other. I do not use a Catholic Bible, which is based on Jerome's fourth Century compilation of God's Word that still included the other 1%. I don't like using modern versions, because the vast majority of them are based on the manuscripts that Westcott and Hort compiled and translated. A quick Google search will reveal surprising information about these two 'men of God' who deemed it necessary to provide a more contemporized version of God's word.

Quick statastic--the New International Version has about 64,000 less words than the KJV, and the NIV is based on the Westcott-Hort texts. So no...I don't care much for the modern versions. That's not to say that the KJV is the only English Bible that anyone should ever read...I just believe that due to its history and the work that went into its translating, I can reasonably say that it is indeed currently the closest English Bible we have to the original Greek and Hebrew manuscripts.

I realize that I've officially gone into the world of rabbit trails and rambling...my bad. I'm just trying to iterate the time and effort I have gone into in my search for the 'right way'. I do not believe what I believe simply because I heard it growing up. I believe what I believe because of the guidance and instruction of the Holy Spirit in my life (John 14:26). Incidentally, history confirms everything that I have been led to believe, lol. Godly pastors are extremely valuable, and I'm thankful that I have been under the pastor-ship of true men of God who preach nothing but the Truth. I’m telling you, though--science and history have done nothing but verify everything that's in your Bible. Christian scientific research and historical literature is often buried beneath the garbage that the world piles on top of it, but it's out there.

The most important lesson that I've learned throughout the past couple months is this: I cannot make anyone believe anything. It does not matter how logical I am, it does not matter how scripturally sound my words and ideas are. I can show a person where the Bible says "flee youthful lusts" (2 Timothy 2:22), and they still cannot understand why it's wrong for a Christian to go to a "anything but clothes" party, or to a toga party. They simply cannot or will not understand why I choose not to go.

Sadly enough, this goes for Christians, too. Or at least, people that call themselves Christians. I know 'believers' that will go to their grave arguing that we should legalize abortion and same-sex marriages. That's not to say that a Christian cannot hold these views...I'm just saying that abortion is murder and homosexuality is abomination to God. As Christians, I don't think we have any right in trying to legalize actions that God Himself has deemed to be sinful.

Which brings me into another tough lesson that I've learned. One that I'm currently still learning, to be honest with ya. I have learned that there is a difference between personal conviction and God-declared sin. And because of this, I'm finding that in the "grey" areas of sin (if such an animal exists)...I make more progress when I use scripture and reason to explain my actions, or lack thereof. A perfect example is smoking. I've yet to find in the Bible where God says "thou shalt not smoke"...but I have found passages dealing with how we're to treat our body. Because of this, we know that smoking is sinful. (There are many other verses/approaches that would also attest to the sinfulness of smoking, but I'll not get into a lesson on it).

However, if I were to go to a Christian and say "Smoking's a sin! Quit!"...I don't think I would have anywhere near the effectiveness that I would if I were to tell that person the Bible verses that support my claim. Likewise, I can share with someone how I don't drink because of how it makes the world view me as a Christian. I can explain how we're told to not conform to this world (Roman 12:2), how we're to abstain from all appearance of evil (1 Thessalonians 5:22). It's not about proving them wrong...it's about providing support for my own actions and allowing God to do the convicting.

See, it's not about me. It's not about what I can say, it's not about the logic I can generate...it's about the power that comes from God's word through the Holy Spirit. Only God can change hearts. All I can do is live in obedience to God's word and be able to scripturally verify any opinion I might have on my own personal convictions. And I think that this might be the key to preaching...we know that only God can convict a person, and it's by the presentation of the gospel that people are made aware of their depravity (1 Corinthians 1:18), or any sin that is currently residing in their lives.

On that same token though, I am also aware that there are things that I don't do because to me, they're not good. This doesn't necessarily mean that it's a sin for me, or a sin for anyone, for that matter. If watching a particular channel on TV is going to do nothing but provide temptations for me, than I won't watch it. That doesn't mean that watching the channel itself is sinful. Just because it may cause me to sin doesn't mean it will cause everyone to. There is a difference between a stumbling block and a sin. I'm not a legalist, and I don't really go about pointing fingers. Granted, I think that at times, all of us have at some point put ourselves on a pedestal. I don't peruse Scriptures, looking for another set of rules I can adhere to and gloat over when others fail. I am well aware that as a Christian, I am no longer under condemnation for breaking God's Law. I just try to obey His word the best I can, as we're told repeatedly to.

Finally, I've had to learn and adjust to the hardest lesson of all...the world hates God. They hate me. And if you're a true believer, they hate you, too (John 15:18). Not only is the Truth rejected, but we will be mocked for proclaiming it. Read carefully Luke 6:22-23. This is Jesus Christ talking: "Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake. Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in Heaven; for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets."

Christ continues in verse 26: "Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! For so did their fathers to the false prophets."

Do you understand, guys? We are never gonna be liked, popularized, or respected by the world. No matter how hard we try, we simply are not going to win them all for Christ. Jesus told us that the gate was narrow, and that only few people find it (Matthew 7:14). God loved us so much that He gave us a choice to accept Him...and it's a choice that few people make. Because of this, we all always come under opposition. There will always be people trying to corrupt the Gospel. There will be people telling you that you're wrong, trying to shake your faith. Don't let them do it, guys. Don't quit speaking the Truth because your classmates, co-workers, friends, and even family shun you for it. I don't care how hard you think your life gets. God wants the best for your life, and He'll give it to you, too...but only if you're in His will, living the way He wants you to (Romans 8:28).

I am not advocating turning your back on the world and living under a rock. Some of my close friends are lost. Without interaction with them, I can have no positive influence on their life, which may subsequently lead them to Christ. I'm saying that overall, the un-saved world is opposed to Christianity.

I just want to leave you with two thoughts:

1. Do you know what you believe? I mean, truly believe. Do you know why? I'm not saying that anyone has to be a scholar to be able to believe anything. We're told in God's word to have the faith of a child. But I also think that it's important to know why you believe whatever it is you believe. Explore these things. In the process, your own beliefs will be strengthened, or even changed though God's influence. Because of this, we can be a more effective Christian when someone asks us critical questions about our faith that require valid answers.

2. If you're a child of God, purchased through the blood of Jesus Christ...do you make any attempts to live the Godly life that we're told to? Are you letting the Holy Spirit guide your thoughts and decisions, or have you become callous to His prompting? Do you still grab every opportunity you can to share your faith with others? Is your number one goal in life to please God...or it is to please yourself?

For those of y'all in school, good luck with finals this upcoming week. I love y'all, guys.

Verses referenced:

1 Corinthians 6:19-20--"What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's."

Ephesians 5:18--"And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;"

1 Corinthians 6:18--"Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body."

1 Corinthians 10:31--"Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God."

1 Thessalonians 5:22--"Abstain from all appearance of evil."

Romans 3:23--"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;"

Romans 6:23--"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

Ephesians 2:8-9--"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."

1 Peter 1:16--"Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy."

2 Corinthians 5:17--"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."

Philippians 1:6--"Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:"

Matthew 11:30--"For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

Matthew 12:40--"For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."

Psalm 12:6-7--"The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever."

John 14:26--"But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you."

2 Timothy 2:22--"Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart."

Romans 12:2--"And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."

1 Thessalonians 5:22--"Abstain from all appearance of evil."

1 Corinthians 1:18--"For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God."

John 15:18--"If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you."

Matthew 7:14--"Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it."

Romans 8:28--"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."

Previous editions of this series:
* - Edition 5--Nov. 15
* - Edition 4--Nov. 2
* - Edition 3--Oct. 24
* - Edition 2--Oct. 13
* - Edition 1--Oct. 4

Photo Credit: Blake Fought

Fourth and 99, I

2006-11-28T18:02:00.000-05:00

(The following is the beginning of a new series I intend to post at times about some of my random ramblings on current sports issues.)

Appeasing Randy Moss
The Oakland Tribune reported yesterday that the Oakland Raiders may consider keeping wide receiver Randy Moss instead of trading the nine-year veteran, opting to search for a capable replacement at quarterback for Aaron Brooks and Andrew Walter, both of who have struggled mightily behind center this season. Personally, I think it is sad to see a player with as much talent as Moss, who began his career with so much promise, begin to crumble during the point in his career when he should be fully in his prime. Do not forget that this was once a player who hauled in at least 1000 receiving yards in his first six seasons in the National Football League and had 10 or more touchdowns in five of those six. Moss has made headlines this season by claiming that his lack of production in 2006-07--481 yards and three TD's through 11 games--is because he is bored and frustrated with his team's success and why shouldn't he be? The Raiders (2-9), only four seasons removed from an appearance in Super Bowl XXXVII (in which they lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 48-21), have been arguably the worst team in the NFL this season and have gone from the NFL's top offense in '02-'03 to the league's worst this season. The Tribune noted that Oakland may opt to pick up Jacksonville's Byron Leftwich if the four-year QB is made available by the Jaguars at the end of the season. A good thought, but fixing Oakland's offensive woes and reinvigorating Moss is going to take a lot more than adding a highly immobile quarterback like Leftwich, who hasn't been all impressive since being the 7th overall pick in the 2003 NFL Draft, especially when there are more pressing problems the Raiders could look at to correct (such as their shaky offensive line).

Notre Dame's Long Held Secret
The Fighting Irish of Notre Dame came into the '06-'07 college football season with plenty of expectations riding on their bandwagon, which nearly buckled throughout '05-'06 when a large percent of the nation hopped on and never got off. The Irish had faced numerous struggles before 2005 with Head Coach Ty Willingham and replaced him with former New England Patriots Offensive Coordinator Charlie Weis, who helped the Irish go 9-3 the following season and earn a bid to a BCS bowl (in which they fell to Ohio State, 34-20). The loss to OSU did not sway those who argued that Notre Dame was on its way back to being a powerhouse, allowing the bandwagon to continue to roll on and once again, the Irish (10-2) are expected to earn a BCS bowl appearance. However, there is reason to reconsider how good the Irish actually are after this season and why they should once again earn a spot in the BCS bowl picture. Consider who Weis' team has played this season. Sure, Notre Dame has played top ranked teams such as Michigan and Southern California, but the Irish lost both of those teams by sizable margins--47-21 to Michigan and 44-24 to USC. Now, take a look at the rest of Weis' schedule. The combined record of the 10 teams that Notre Dame defeated is sub-.500 (54-59). Now, throw out the teams that the Irish were victorious over that had losing records this season and Notre Dame's margin of victory is only 11.8 points (and 8.75 if you toss out a 24-point win over Penn State that seems to be somewhat of an anomaly in the list). That's not an impressive number. Perhaps the blowout losses the Irish faced against Ohio State, Michigan and USC are better reflective of how good Notre Dame really is, not its record. I personally wouldn't invite them to a BCS bowl if I were on the selection committees but they will most likely earn a bid to one of the bowls just because of the program's history and false hype.

Heads up, Ben Wallace!
Chicago Bulls center Ben Wallace is already drawing ire from Bulls Head Coach Scott Skiles after violating a team rule that prohibited players from wearing headbands in Chicago's 106-95 win over the New York Knicks this past Saturday. Wallace has also bumped heads with Skiles over other rules the team has, most prominently one that prohibits music from being played in the locker room. The most recent clash is not something that Wallace intends to apologize for, telling the Chicago Tribune that "I'm not sorry" and that he "just felt like wearing it [the headband]." The defending NBA Defensive Player of the Year did yield that he expects to be punished and "[am] man enough to take [it]." Personally, I feel that the no headband rule is complete foolishness. I would be interested in having someone make a clear argument for why a headband is so detrimental to a team's success, because I do not think that one can be made. There is nothing wrong with headbands. Sure, some players use them for style but others use them to keep sweat from dripping down into their eyes. The thing does have a purpose, you know. It's not something where you would lean over and point out to a fellow fan, "Hey, look, Ben Wallace is wearing a headband! Ooh, scary! How thuggish!" At the very least, here's something Chicago should have thought about before they gave Wallace a four-year, $60 million deal this past off-season--Ben Wallace likes headbands. If you sign him, he's likely going to want to wear one. Either inform him from the start that it won't be acceptable to wear one by putting something in his contract about it or get rid of the ridiculous rule.

Flat-out dominant
Wow. Wow. Wow. I was unable to attend the Radford University women's basketball game last night at the Dedmon Center and like many RU students--I'm guessing because student attendance at RU sporting events is almost always low so why would everyone suddenly go against the norm--I missed out on an incredible outing by the Lady Highlanders, who flattened Virginia Intermont, 101-36. No, you did not read that final score incorrectly nor did I make a typo, RU won by 65 points. It was the third largest margin of victory by the RU women's basketball in the program's history. Every player on the RU roster grabbed at least one rebound, scored at least one point and nine of the team's 13 players had five or more points. Kelli Darden and Corrie Fertitta posted double-doubles with 10-point outings and had 10 and 11 rebounds, respectively. Vandy Pullen had the second-highest point total in the game for RU with 11. Sarah Stephens led all scorers with 18 on an 8-for-11 shooting performance. RU shot nearly 50 percent from the field on the evening (49.3). But the win over VIC was not the Lady Highs' impressive win this season—they also record a 67-60 win over the Virginia Tech Hokies in Blacksburg Nov. 10. One thing's for sure: if the Lady Highs play at the level they did against VT and VIC, they will be a force to contend with in the Big South Conference this season.

Photo Credit: Sports Illustrated (Moss), Athlon Sports (Weis), Associated Press (Wallace), RUHighlanders (Walker)

Your Dose of Randomness, II

2006-11-24T18:46:00.000-05:00

I was in somewhat of a writing mood tonight and wanted to work on something about the growing reason for concern about the Russia-Iran partnership, but it just wasn't forming. If you want to take a read on this storyline, here are two links for you all. But before dropping by those links, please take the time to take a look at some recent less-focused-on bizarre and random stories I found that have popped up around the news wires and Internet.

* - It's just the kind of scene that one can really marvel at. A young woman in Germany stood on the rooftop of a building some 230 feet from the ground and was planning to end her life by leaping off. Down on the ground were two groups of people--a bunch of teenagers who were encouraging the woman to jump and a slew of homeless people telling them to stop. Both groups began brawling after the homeless ones began yelling at the teens, telling them to stop encouraging the woman and to help her step away from her potential suicide. Some 40 people were involved in the fight. It was an interesting story to me--that homeless people, who have so little and live such a pitiful life, were trying to stop this poor woman from killing herself and forfeiting something of value that she had taken for granted.

* - Beware of the little green men? That's what former British Ministry of Defense Nick Pope, who warns that "aliens could attack at any time" and that "highly credible" UFO sightings have been dismissed as false. You know what? Forget this guy, it's time to contact the real experts--Mulder and Scully.

* - (This story is hard to understand unless you click the link itself, so please do so.) In a case of mistaken identity, a 17-year-old girl was held in jail for seven days after being mistaken for a woman who was wanted for robbery and looked a lot like her (strikingly so). The girl was released immediately after the real culprit was found after a tip was called into Crimstoppers.

* - Global warming = bad. Pollution = good? Some scientists have charged that air pollution may help curb the potential for global warming. The concept behind this bizarre theory charges that pollution, "deliberately spewed into the atmosphere" may help create a blanket that would "shade" the world from the sun's rays. So go out, dear readers--and pollute, pollute!

* - You really must feel sorry for President Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin, when the two and various other world leaders had to wear the au dai, a Vietnamese unisex form of clothing that looks more like a cheap Halloween wizard suit than the elegant item it was overseas before the southeastern Asian country turned communist. (A picture of Bush and Putin in the au dai can be seen at the link.)

Previous editions of this series:
* - Edition 1--Oct. 15

Photo Credit: http://www.anjindesign.com/images/abstract/cool%20blue.JPG

Well Wishes

2006-11-23T14:45:00.000-05:00

That time has come, dear readers, the time of turkey, ham, gravy, potatoes (mashed and otherwise), stuffing, rolls, pie, cake, ice cream, corn and plenty of other items I cannot think of at the moment. A time of remembrance and humility. A time to stop and consider how blessed we truly are.

I write this both wishing you all the greatest of Thanksgivings but also to remind you that joy/thanksgiving should not only be made on a random date in November that your calendar has highlighted. Too often do I speak to people who frequently forget their blessings in favor of recalling all the bad times throughout the course of their lives or all of the misfortunes they have been given recently.

People--stop for a moment. Take a long, deep breath. Do it again if you must. Listen to Blake Fought, here. Ready? Ok, think of 10 blessings you have in your life. C'mon, I know this may be hard for some of you but just take a moment to think about the blessings the Lord has provided for you recently. For some of you, they may be small. Others, they may be huge. It could be a mixture of the two for some. Whatever the blessings are, remember that we all receive them in different shapes, sizes and at different times.

... (I'll give you a moment to think.) ...

So many of us find the need to point out the negative that sometimes we ignore the positives. We need to do the opposite-- to see the rays of light piercing through the storm clouds, instead of the storm itself.

For me, I don't think a day has gone by recently where haven't thanked to the Lord for being alive when I could have been dead a handful of times earlier in my life. I have such an amazing girlfriend, family and collection of friends who are there for me when I need them (and visa versa). I work for a respectable newspaper with The Tartan, am involved with an incredible Christian fellowship here at Radford University in Chi Alpha Campus Ministries (where I have met so many friends and continue to meet new ones frequently) and am doing well in my classes. (Unfortunately, I am a commuter student, but) I get to go to one of the most beautiful campuses in the state of Virginia. (Virginia Tech folks, please don't pull the limestone argument with me--I find it to be such a disgusting-looking stone.)

I know that some of you may have read this and passed it off as commonplace for you. Think about it, though--how many times have you taken the extra minute to think about what is good in your life? Think of yourself as a geode--beyond the dull, gray exterior is a spectacular cornucopia of color. But if you take that extra effort to look beyond the dullness, there is a splendid scene inside to marvel at.

I just ask that you make the effort to actually look.

I wish you all the happiest of Thanksgivings and a safe return back to RU this weekend.

Photo Credit: Blake Fought

Who Didn't See This Coming?

2006-11-21T17:22:00.000-05:00

Guess what, America? - the Democrats want to start troop withdrawl in Iraq. Surprise, surprise. For those who want a cite, here's a direct quote from the New York Times:

The Democrats - the incoming majority leader, Senator Harry Reid of Nevada; the incoming Armed Services Committee chairman, Senator Carl Levin of Michigan; and the incoming Foreign Relations Committee chairman, Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware - said a phased redeployment of troops would be their top priority when the new Congress convenes in January, even before an investigation of the conduct of the war.

I simply cannot understand the mind of the Democrats. They claim to pride themselves in being Americans, love the French and wrap themselves in the Constitution but fail to recall how this country was formed. It was not a one-man job. It was not United States v. Great Britian. We had help from the French as well as a handful of other countries as well.

We are playing the role of the French in Iraq right now. We came in and removed them from the clutches of dictatorship (as the French did) and are helping them rebuild their nation (also as the French did). But apparently, the Left is content with the double standard. We can get help but when it's our job as hegemon to give help, oh no! The horror!

They also so easily blind themselves to the past that they forget how Vietnam was lost. It was not lost on the field of battle but the field of public opinion, where the un/misinformed hippies and the rest of the absent minded liberals in America painted a picture of failure in lieu of success that ultimately led to the U.S. backing out of the communist nation.

And once again, here we are at a key position in the War in Iraq with the (former) hippies and the (at times) seemingly brainless Left arguing that Iraq is a total failure and the only way to cut our losses is to surrender to the enemy and run away as quick as we can. In truth, so many advancements have been made since the U.S. invasion and all of those successes stand upon the brink of destruction because the Left wants to be the Disney World party and give in to the demands of the masses that they have brainwashed so well. Iraq can and most certainly will be a success, folks. The problem is that it has become the primary battleground for the War on Terror and radical Islam. To back out of the battlefield, we will only be showing weakness to our enemy and that is not something that we should be doing.

For those doubting this, go research what Osama bin Laden said when the Clinton administration backed out of Somalia. Go see what our enemies thought when the U.S. picked everything up and ran back home to mommy with tears in its eyes. (Here's a hint: it's wasn't good for our side.)

With this country locked in an epic struggle with an enemy that has looked to gain on every step backward and every mistake this country has made, why would it make sense to back out of Iraq now? (I'm talking to you, Harry Reid. I'm talking to you, Joe Biden. I'm talking to you, Carl Levin. I'm talking to you, Joe Murtha, you grave insult to our troops. I'm talking to you, Barack Osama ... oops, typo.)

Here's the answer: it doesn't. Troop withdrawl or anything along the lines of cut-and-run politics is a miserable failure of a policy. It shows nothing but weakness and an inability to handle the tough times that come during wartime. I'm really glad FDR didn't withdrawl the troops from Europe during the times when it seemed like the Axis were going to win the war. I'm really glad the French didn't withdrawl in the Revolution.

Those folks were not the cowardly lions the Democratic party is loaded with today. Thank God. Because we might be raising the flag of England or even the Nazi swastika.

Photo Credit: http://www.cartoonstock.com/newscartoons/cartoonists/twi/lowres/twin241l.jpg

Living Up to the Hype

2006-11-19T01:24:00.002-05:00

Rarely does a well-hyped game like yesterday afternoon's battle between the Buckeyes of Ohio State University and the University of Michigan Wolverines live up to its reputation. Both teams entered the game with perfect 11-0 records and knowing that the winner would have a guaranteed berth to the BCS national title game, as they were rated no.1 and no.2 in the Bowl Championship Standings (BCS). Add to that the weight of one of the nation's biggest college football rivalries and the possibility of an OSU player cementing his position as the frontrunner for the Heisman Trophy and the anticipation for yesterday's Clash in Columbus honestly could not have been higher. And luckily for college football fans, diehard and casual alike, this one did not disappoint.

It seemed, at one point, that all of the hype and excitement would have been lost in the death of legendary Michigan football Head Coach Bo Schembechler, whose tremendous wealth of knowledge attracted numerous talented athletes to his program. The 20-year Wolverines coach was so respected that even some future OSU players visited Michigan during the recruiting season just to pick his brain, despite having no intention of attending the school. The ball coach didn't mind.

But the death of a legend seemed to only add to the game, reminding OSU and Michigan fans of the older good 'ole days of Woody Hayes-Schembechler and cluing in the rest of the nation even further into the rivalry that began before the turn of the 20th century. A few UM signs seen at the Horseshoe, or as it's officially known, Ohio Stadium, displayed messages along the lines of "Win it for Bo!"

The atmosphere was somber but still ecstatic.

Most fans tend to ignore the beginning of athletic events because it is the ending, and not the beginning, that really matters. This explains why the stands at any baseball, football, basketball or hockey game almost always seem more packed in the second quarter or inning and midway through the third period. Heck, remember back to 2004 when the Pittsburgh Steelers played the New England Patriots in a Halloween NFL game? Steelers Head Coach Bill Cowher had to ask the fans prior to the game to show up in the stands early to help Pittsburgh get some early momentum over the then-undefeated Patriots. (The Steelers jumped out to a 21-3 lead by the end of the first quarter and a 24-3 advantage midway through the second.)

Michigan fans that showed up late to their seats ended up missing out not only on the first score of the game but the only time that the Wolverines had the lead. And the rest of the fans across the nation, OSU included, that did not tune in to the first quarter missed out on a classic punch, counter-punch, punch, counter-punch battle.

Wolverine quarterback Chad Henne threw for three first downs, two of them to talented wide receiver Mario Manningham, to push Michigan to the OSU 1-yard line. A simple handoff to running back Mike Hart and an extra point by kicker Garrett Rivas put UM up, 7-0, only 2:28 into the game.

Punch.

Ohio State responded by opening up the passing game, testing the touted Michigan defense, which had allowed only 231.5 yards per game (passing and rushing combined) and 12.1 points per game. OSU quarterback Troy Smith went 11-for-13 on the drive for 69 yards, was sacked once and only handed the ball off to running back Antonio Pittman twice (and for good reason, initially--the Wolverines had allowed a mere 29.9 rushing yards per game, which was on pace to be the lowest in major college football since 1959). The drive was finished when Smith completed a 2-yard pass to receiver Roy Hall, who had only 10 catches on the season going into the Clash in Columbus, for the score. Kicker Aaron Pettrey booted the ball through the goalposts to tie the game, 7-7.

Counter-punch.

The defenses took over on both team's next possessions. Michigan's was a six-play drive that went for 15 yards before Wolverine punter Zoltan Mesko (what a cool name, by the way) gave the ball back to the Buckeyes, who saw nearly the same amount of success on their ensuing seven-play, 22-yard series before punting the ball off back to Michigan.

Punch, counter-punch.

The second quarter was a slightly different story, however. It was the point in the game where the Buckeyes gained the lead and extended it to a point that Michigan would not be able to overcome as the game proceeded.

After the Wolverines punted the ball after going four-and-out, OSU went on a two-play drive that featured a 52-yard touchdown scamper (nearly double the amount of rushing yards the Wolverines allowed in a single game) by running back Chris Wells. A little over six minutes later, the Buckeyes scored again, as Smith hooked up with speedy receiver Ted Ginn Jr. for a 39-yard touchdown pass two plays after connecting with sophomore receiver Brian Robiskie for a 40-yard completion.

At that point, with Ohio State leading 21-7, it appeared that the game would slide into a blowout, potentially opening the door for other high-rated BCS teams to leapfrog the Wolverines if the pollsters and computers had punished them for losing in such a disgraceful fashion. But that would have meant that this game would not have lived up to the hype. The Wolverines clawed back.

A 30-yard run by Hart, a key pass interference call on the Buckeyes helped lead Michigan down the field, where, on 2nd and 20 on the OSU 37, Henne found receiver Adrian Arrington for the score to pull UM within a touchdown of tying the game.

The punch, counter-punch relay of the first quarter had extended into the second. But there would be one more meeting of the fisticuffs before the half would come to a close and it would be a yet another statement drive by the Buckeyes and the Heisman Trophy hopeful Smith.

Never once handing the ball off to his running backs, the senior went 8-for-9 through the air, connecting with Robiskie twice and receiver Anthony Gonzalez four times, the last being an 8-yard score that put the Buckeyes up 28-14 at the half, as Michigan had no time left on the clock to work with the ball after the OSU kickoff.

Despite the 14-point lead the Buckeyes had over their hated rival at the half, it still seemed that the game could swing in either team's favor in the second. Both teams had seen a reasonable amount of success on offense and a shootout seemed like a certainty. And a shootout is exactly what America and the OSU/UM faithful got.

Smith, after being nearly pin-point accurate in the first half, opened the second by going 0-for-3 on the Buckeyes' first possession, forcing OSU to punt. It was then that Michigan turned to its ground game and a stroke of luck to once again climb back into the game.

After Manningham failed to advance the ball on a reverse on 1st down, Michigan Head Coach Lloyd Carr turned to Hart, who carried the ball on each of the next five plays for a total of 60 yards, capped off by a 2-yard score. The ensuing OSU drive was abruptly ended when a pass by Smith on 3rd down was tipped and fell into the hands of Michigan's Alan Branch.

It was only Smith's fourth interception of the year but the senior treated it as if it was a game-loser, hanging his head on the sidelines and refusing to listen to the consoling of his teammates as the Wolverines capitalized on the OSU turnover by converting a 39-yard field goal by Rivas to trim the Buckeye lead to 28-24.

The Michigan field goal was only the first time this season that an opposing team had turned an OSU turnover into points.

Smith didn't need to worry much longer, after Ohio State again pushed its lead to 35-24 off a 56-yard run by Pittman and a Pettrey extra point.

Once again, the Ohio State offense had made the plays it needed to. And again, the OSU running game torched the highly-touted Wolverines rush defense.

The Wolverines would gamble on their next possession, going for it on 4th and 11 on the OSU 34 after moving the ball from their own 20 yard line. Henne completed a pass to receiver Steve Breaston, but the senior came up five yards short of the first down line, turning the ball over to the Buckeyes.

The teams traded four-and-outs before OSU re-gained the ball, only to hand it back over to the Wolverines when Smith fumbled deep in OSU territory and Branch was there to fall on the ball. It was another costly turnover that led to another Michigan score, as Hart crossed the goal line for the third and final time to again cut the OSU lead to four.

The running back finished the game with 142 yards on 23 carries.

Nearly 10 minutes elapsed between the Michigan TD and the next score, highlighted by yet another Smith fumble, this time inside Wolverine territory that was not converted into points as UM punted after going four-and-out.

The next two drives for both teams seemingly took an eternity to complete, perhaps because of the hype behind the game or because they started at the OSU 17 and the Michigan 19, respectively. The OSU drive turned into another touchdown, as Smith found a falling Robiskie near the left forward pylon of the Michigan end zone to tack on the final score of the evening for the Buckeyes and push their lead to 42-31.

The Wolverines would need a touchdown, two-point conversion, a successful onside kick and a field goal just to tie the game. Problem with that was that Michigan only had 4:56 left to go in the game and the odds of getting all four to go their way was extremely slim.

Carr's squad managed to pick up the first two items on the list, scoring on a 16-yard pass by Henne (who was 21-of-35 for 267 yards and two TD's) to tight end Tyler Ecker and succeeding on a Henne pass to Breaston for the two-point conversion, but was unable to recover the onside kick, which flew threw the air right into the hands of Ginn Jr., who was OSU's top reciever, catching eight balls for 104 yards and a score.

Pittman, who finished the day with 139 yards and a touchdown off of 18 carries, ran out the rest of the gameclock to secure the OSU victory and clear the benches for the handshakes, hugs and handshakes (as odd as that may seem for this rivalry) and interviews that followed thereafter. The stands also began to empty, as the victorious Ohio State faithful leapt onto the field to celebrate.

The goalposts were under the protection of game security and police, forcing OSU fans to find a different method of celebration--tearing up pieces of the Ohio Stadium turf as souvenirs and headgear.

With the win, OSU will most likely advance into the title game and Smith, who finished the day 29-of-41 for 316 yards and four touchdowns, will be awarded the Heisman. That sentiment was shared by Buckeye Head Coach Jim Tressel.

"I would think he clinched the Heisman Trophy, I don't think there'd be any question about that," Tressel said.

The only question left to be answered is who the Buckeyes will play in the BCS Championship game in January. Discussion on that issue had been going on for weeks prior to the game. Some around the nation argued that Michigan, even with a loss, should stay as the no.2 spot ahead of teams like Southern California and Florida, Notre Dame, Arksanas and West Virginia. Others, mostly traditionalists, claimed that would not be fair (or proper) to rematch two teams who had just played each other.

Admittedly, I was a part of the latter camp, but after yesterday, I became a believer in a rematch. Ohio State is clearly the best team in the nation and proved it today but the second-best team, in my mind, emerged today in the form of the Michigan Wolverines.

One of the other reasons is that the other highly-rated teams, in my mind, are simply not good enough.

Southern Cal has been way overrated this season, living off of their legacy over the past few seasons instead of their body of work this one. The pollsters seem to have forgotten that gone are the days of Carson Palmer, Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart and LenDale White. Those folks moved onto the National Football League where they have already begun to implant their names into NFL history. (Bush is in the top 10 in the NFL in receptions, Palmer is regarded by most as one of the top five QB's in the league and Leinart has taken over the reins as the quarterback of the Arizona Cardinals from former starter Kurt Warner. White has found himself stuck behind in the depth charts behind Tennessee Titans running backs Chris Brown and Travis Henry.) So, please scratch USC from the list--they don't deserve it. Next season, the Trojans will be one of the better teams in the nation but this year, they are hidden behind a large smokescreen made by guys from the past that is still yet to dissipate in the minds of the pollsters.

The Florida Gators are right behind the Trojans in the BCS rankings and I would not mind seeing Head Coach Urban Meyer’s team play in the title game if it ended up happening. The Gators have (finally) emerged as the team many thought they would be last season--the cream of the crop in the Southeastern Conference. Quarterback Chris Leak has still underachieved a tad but I guess that's just a part of his M.O.

The only reason I'm putting the Wolverines ahead of Florida is just a matter of taste. I think Michigan made a statement yesterday with their near-upset of the Buckeyes and should deserve a spot in the title game, even if it means playing a team that just beat them. Who knows what could happen on a neutral field?

I could go on about how each team is less deserving of the bid to the title game but the answer would still boil down to the same common response: Michigan is just better. Now, it would be interesting to see how the Buckeyes would deal with the most explosive offense in the nation--West Virginia's two-headed monster of quarterback Pat White and running back Steve Slaton, both who should get a good amount of Heisman recognition behind Smith come award time--but two costly Slaton fumbles that came as a result of an injury to the star running back's hand during WVU's 44-34 Nov. 2 loss to the Louisville Cardinals put the Mountaineers out of the title picture.

One last thing to consider for the traditionalist who would argue that a rematch would be such a horrible thing: if OSU had defeated Michigan the first game instead of the last game of its regular season, would people still be clamoring that a rematch would be wrong? I doubt it.

And as a result, we should be seeing the Buckeyes and Wolverines once again play another instant classic come January.

Photo Credits: Getty Images

Random Thoughts From a College Christian, V

2006-11-15T00:07:00.000-05:00

Matthew 14:22-3 says:

And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away. And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone.

But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary. And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.
But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.

And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.
But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.

And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?
And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased. Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.

My goodness. When I thought about this passage in reference to what I wanted to talk about today, I had no idea what I was in for. Every time I re-read this passage, I see a new application to our lives. There are so many sermons that can be preached from this. I encourage y'all to not only listen to what I have to say from it, but also study it for yourself and see how the Holy Spirit guides you to apply it your life.

So there I was last week, having the time of my life. I'd had a fairly decent weekend drill with my reserve unit. I tied for the highest score on the rifle range, also breaking my own high score with the Army. I was able to witness to a couple buddies...just over all really had a decent time. Then, I found out on Monday that I had passed the promotion board and got my E-6. Also in the beginning part of last week I reconciled a couple very important friendships, and I got to visit my family for the first time in a while. It was, for the most part, one of the high weeks in my life.

Then out of nowhere I hit a banana peel in my spiritual life. I went down, and I went down hard. The old creature seriously beat the stuffing out of the new one (II Corinthians 5:17). Let me tell you, I felt worthless, ashamed, and I was not gonna go crawling back to God and ask Him to forgive me and make things right. It then dawned on me that it was attitudes like that one that lead us to spiritual coldness. I had to remind myself that God knows that we're not perfect, that He knows we're going to mess up. I recalled 1 John 1:9, which says "if we confess our sins, he (God) is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness".

Well, I decided to take God at His word. I told Him what I'd done, acknowledged that it was wrong, asked His forgiveness for my turning away, and to strengthen me against it happening again. Shortly afterwards, my fellowship with Him was restored. Around the same time, I began to wonder...what happened? How did I allow this to happen?

Well, I thought back over the preceding few days, and I realized that I had slacked off in my prayer life and Bible reading. I had justified it due to all the traveling I had been doing over the course of those five days. I had not on any day neglected to do either of the two...but I had definitely slacked off. I did the bare minimum, I reckon you could say. Enough to not feel guilty or wrong. Let me just say right now that for anyone reading this that recognizes this pattern of "doing just enough to make God happy", be very careful. You're doing it for the wrong reasons.

But yep, I had allowed myself to drift away from studying God's word and talking to Him through prayer. In other words, I had taken my eyes off Him. When I realized this, two verses occurred to me. One of them was Psalm 119:11 "Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against thee (God)". The other verse was James 4:7 "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you."

Isn't it amazing to realize that with God's help, we have the power to overcome Satan's temptations? What we need to realize though, is that apart from God this is all but impossible. Don't get we wrong- we never were and never will be perfectly sinless. Not in this body, anyhow. What I'm saying, what God's word is saying, is that we have the power to defeat Satan when it comes to "That One Sin". You know the one I'm talking about. It's the one thing above anything else that you're currently struggling with, the one Satan so easily defeats you with. Could be pride, cussing, music, TV, partying, lust, etc. It could be a 'big' sin, it could be a 'little' one. Sorry to say, sin of any kind is a big sin.

I want to remind you of another couple of verses. In Matthew 21:22, Jesus tells us "And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive." Now, before you start praying for a million bucks, bear in mind that Christ is referring in this verse to the things we pray for that are in alignment with the perfect will of our Almighty God. There are numerous times in the Bible where we're told of the power of prayer.

Secondly, Philippians 4:13 teaches that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.

I'm telling you guys, we can have victory if we truly believe what God tells us through His word. We can resist Satan, we can make him flee. Nine weeks ago today, I decided to take God at His word in Philippians 4:13. I needed to quit smoking, a habit I had picked up close to twelve years ago. I was approaching a two-pack a day habit. I knew that without the power of God's help, I would never be able to quit. I'd tried repeatedly in the past on my own, to no avail. Well praise God, today makes nine weeks of not only being smoke free, but I've also not had to fight the first craving. I quit cold turkey, and I've had no cravings. Y'all smokers and former smokers can attest to how amazing that is.

Thing is, though...Satan never really had a chance to attack me in that area. I was holding too tightly to God's promise. I was continually praising and thanking God for the victory that He'd given me the power to have in that area of my life. I just can't stress this enough- You. Can. Beat. Satan. Don’t take my word for it...take God's.

So back to Peter on the water...I see so many similarities between his problem and mine. If you recall, he was actually out of the boat walking on water. By his faith and trust in Christ, he was able to also walk on water. That had to have been one of the crowning moments in his life up to that point. Here he was, experiencing the full power of God. Life could get no better, right? Wrong, lol. What did he do? He took his eyes off Jesus, and he began to sink. How many times do we do this? Way too many, in my opinion.

But look, God's word says that when Peter cried out for help, immediately Jesus reached out and grabbed him. Oh man. Is that awesome, or what? To see that Jesus didn't let him thrash around or drown due to his disbelief. No, Jesus caught him a.s.a.p., and He'll do the same for us.

Have you taken your eyes off God? Are you sinking? You don't have to. One simple conversation with God can turn your entire life around. He's there, and He wants to help you, but you gotta ask first. Don't let yourself sink anymore. Keep in my the childhood Sunday School song: read your Bible, pray every day, and you'll grow, grow grow. Y'all have a good one.

Previous editions of this series:
* - Edition 4--Nov. 2
* - Edition 3--Oct. 24
* - Edition 2--Oct. 13
* - Edition 1--Oct. 4

Photo Credit: Blake Fought

The Christian First, American Second Doctrine

2006-11-09T17:27:00.000-05:00

As many who know me or have barely heard of me probably expected, I voted "yes" on Tuesday's Virginia marriage amendment. Those of a liberal frame of mind or those who are non-Christians may have just choked on their dinner in shock of how somebody could possibly have supported this measure. If this did indeed happen, I certainly hope that you folks are now ok and that I can resume with this article.

I was asked late Tuesday evening why I voted for marriage and we entered into a short debate over how someone could support something that clearly restricts freedom in a country that prides itself of handing out freedom on a sliver platter to all of its citizens (and in some cases, those who live in America who are not its citizens).

Too often do I find myself debating people on this topic about various issues such as gay marriage, abortion, stem cell research, the "separation of church and state," the Pledge of Allegiance and various other issues where I end up falling back on my Christian faith as an explanation for my position. Generally, the response is, "well, America allows freedom and if homosexuals want to get married, they should be allowed to because our country allows it."

And you know what? They're right. This country does allow for those various issues (although one could debate the merits of abortion against the "life, liberty and pursuit of happiness" line in the Declaration of Independence).

The United States is a land that technically allow the existence of gay marriage, abortion, stem cell research, the "separation of church and state," and taking God out of the Pledge because not all Americans are Christians or Jews.

But (you knew there had to be a "but" in here, right?), we as Christians have a moral responsibility to oppose that which opposes God. It's something that is/should be in our nature. We know pornography is wrong-it promotes sexual immorality, adultery and murder (if you go down the road that the unnatural removal of the sperm and egg constitutes as such) and as a result, is against God. By association with He who is Most High, pornography is against us and visa versa.

Which brings us to the "Christian First, American Second Doctrine." I'm sorry, America - but I am a Christian first and an American second. I believe in working to defend what God wants before defending what America wants and if the two disagree, the yield will to the Lord because what He says is more important than what some elitists (from the birth of America to the present) say or have said. God always comes first before everything else and that includes any government here on earth.

This means that it is our moral responsibility to oppose gay marriage, abortion, etc. in the government. Times change but God does not.

Now, I am also quite aware that this position is not a popular one here in the 'States because it flies against what this country prides itself on. I could care less. Here's a news flash for you folks: the Founding Fathers got it wrong. Yes, those glorious figures that we sometimes seem to put on a pedestal as if they were gods themselves got this country wrong.

If they were truly Christians (some of them claimed to be), they should have used the opportunity to form a truly Christian nation instead of the half-baked one they ended up forming. They formed a nation whose interest was not to glorify God but to glorify man by allowing him to do however he pleased instead. (They also left the door open for radicals to misinterpret the Constitution, thinking that there was some "separation of church and state" in there.)

But they didn't.

Therefore, it is our job as the majority of America (and yes, we have the majority, folks - the past three elections have shown this - the Christian vote helped elect Bush in 2000, was huge in his '04 re-election and caused the changeover from the Republicans to the Democrats Tuesday) to try to correct the problem by working in the government to pass pro-Christian measures and opposing any anti-Christian ones. This means working to save the lives of the unborn in the abortion and stem cell research debate. This means working to slow the further downslide of society in the media and entertainment industry (including the porno district). This means working towards protecting the institution of marriage.

This is our cause to fight for, my fellow Christians. We were brought into this world to serve God first and governments second. I recently formed a Facebook.com group for those who support this position at the following link: http://radford.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2218762042. Feel free to join if you agree.

(...as a side note - a reader spoke to me about this and I'll have to agree with him - this probably best states why I took the stand against Whim Internet Magazine's "Christ on Campus" cartoon last fall and this past spring.)

Photo Credit: Blake Fought

Random Thoughts From a College Christian, IV

2006-11-02T22:33:00.000-05:00

I was doing some work last week and I had the opportunity to talk to a friend of mine about why she had a problem with Christianity. Any religion, for that matter. What she told me ended up boiling down to this: she was sick and tired of watching today's Christians. There were people in her life that professed to know Christ, yet would do things like drinking, smoking, fornicating, etc. These people would party on Saturday, yet openly praise and worship God on Sunday. It disgusted her, and in turn helped to influence her opinion of true Christianity.

I had to tell her that I could not blame her. I mean, think about it. How seriously would you take a Ford salesman that drove a Chevy to and from work? Would you really take the word of someone advertising Burger King who only ate food from McDonalds? Of course not. Yet somehow, we as Christians often live as though our actions don't matter. I lived away from God for so long...and the entire time I knew that I was hurting myself. It never dawned on me that I was potentially sending people to hell. And yeah, that's what it boils down to. If a Christian's actions turn someone away from the saving grace of Christ and that person dies and goes to Hell...how could it not be our fault?

Romans chapter 10 stresses the importance of sharing the gospel. See, people cannot come to the saving knowledge of God without hearing about it. As Christians, we all share the responsibility of getting the Word out. I'm not saying that every one of us is called to preach, teach, or pastor a church. What I'm saying is that our actions should also be our testimony, in conjunction with our words. We are told in 1 Corinthians 10:31 that "whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God". To do anything else is sin, guys.

Now let me tell you about another person that I got to talk to this past week, one that is like many people that I talk to. This one told me that she was simply tired of falling spiritually, seeking forgiveness, living right, and then falling again. She was tired of the cycle, tired of failing God. Tired of letting Him down, only to run right back to Him for His loving forgiveness. So because of this, she was just going to stay away from Him for a while.

I don't know about you guys, but I have been there. More than one I have been disgusted with myself for doing something stupid and then having to talk to God about it. It especially got under my skin when it was the same problem, over and over again. But you know what? He still loved me. And this is something that I have a hard time wrapping my mind around. I can sin against my Almighty God...yet with a true, heartfelt repentance I can have my walk with Him restored. In fact, not only will God forgive me of my sin, but He says in His Word that He will forget my sin.

Psalm 103:12 says "As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us". There is a reason that God said east and west instead of north and south. See, you can travel north for quite a while, but you will eventually find yourself actually heading south. However, you can travel eastward or westward indefinitely. When we know that we've sinned, sincerely desire to regain our communion with God, and repent...than everything is behind us. Yes, we may have consequences to our sins, but God will not allow forgiven sin to come between us and Him.

A great example of this is found in Luke chapter 15, verses 11-32...the story of the prodigal son. In this parable there is a young man who demands that his father give him his inheritance. His father does so, and the man goes out and wastes every bit on what the Bible refers to as "riotous" living. Once broke, the young man finds himself feeding pigs and even eating from the same slop that they were. He had truly found himself at rock bottom, a place where many of us today find ourselves.

It dawns on the young man that even his father's servants have plenty of food to eat, so he decides to go apologize for his actions and beg his father for a job. Now here's the amazing part. Verse 20 says "And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him".

The man's father was watching for him. Not only that, but the father didn't hold the young man's actions against him. In fact, he threw a feast to celebrate his son's return.

God is the same way. He cannot make us return to Him, but He will wait. And when we're tired of doing our thing, tired of running from Him, He will be there waiting to envelop us with open arms.

Now connect the dots here...so often we think that God is tired of us, or frustrated, or angry, so we hide. In the process we create a gulf between us and God. We become unhappy and will eventually find ourselves in the proverbial pigpen. At the same time, our unsaved friends look at our godless actions and lifestyle, and they toss the idea of Christianity out of the door.

All this...for what? God still loves you, and He is still waiting for you to come back home. What's stopping you? What is making you ignore the gentle voice of the Holy Spirit? Is it worth it? God wants to hug you and welcome you back. Will you go? Don't wait until your life hits absolute rock bottom. Cause I can assure you, it will. Get things right today.

Previous editions of this series:
* - Edition 3--Oct. 24
* - Edition 2--Oct. 13
* - Edition 1--Oct. 4

Photo Credit: Blake Fought

Why Liberals Love Disease

2006-10-26T21:33:00.000-04:00

Those damn Republicans ... they are the only thing standing in the way of curing disease. If only George Bush would let us kill more babies than we already do, things would be easier for everyone. Ending human life, to the Liberal is no more consequential than stepping on a bug in passing during an afternoon jog. So then, before you feed me some sort of nonsense about abhorring the practice and protecting the 'right,' save it for someone you can lie to.

In accord with the sacrament of the Democrat party, abortion, life becomes secondary to convenience. We starve people on life support until they whither into slow and painful death. We shoot overdoses of morphine into those we call terminally ill or terminally old (we'll all be there someday) in order to arrest their heart and collapse their respiratory system. Right out of the gate, we stick vacuum hoses into the mother’s uterus and suck out the growing child because she would rather not be bloated when she goes to the beach this weekend. Life is no more than a petty convenience, or inconvenience as it were to Liberals. This is not politically loaded or even meant to cause much of a stir mostly because it is the unadulterated and unbridled truth.

This week, the Democrooks in Missoura' brought out Michael J. Fox. This wildly popular actor turned political activist made a cute commercial. In it, he chooses to voluntarily show the effects of the medicines most often prescribed for Parkinson's Disease. Having personal insight into the subject, I have witnessed these effects and I can say not only was he not acting, but he could not have been any more honest. The flatly-drawn mouth and sporadic movements of the face muscles and body were accompanied only by the typical attempts to mask the movements as hand gestures and facial expressions. The ravages of this disease are incredibly debilitating and sadly, the medicine offers only temporary reduction of symptoms while causing long-term complications such as dementia and tolerance to the drugs.

Now, let me tell you why Michael J. Fox and others like him spit in the eyes of other sufferers. There is currently, absolutely no medical evidence or medical treatment or medical innovation or medical findings or ANY REASON TO BELIEVE that Embryonic Stem Cell research will yield any useful cure to diseases like Parkinson's. Rather, it is has been found that Adult Stem Cell research is and shows promise of yielding treatments and even eventual cures for Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, Cancer, and diabetes just to name a few. This is not one isolated report or a party talking-point. This is the current consensus of the scientific and medical community writ large. Liberals, in an effort to write Cloning in the laws of Missouri have decided to play the sympathy card in order to write themselves a carte blanche order to proceed with further dehumanizing humanity. Fox lies, in bold face to the people when he says that Senator Talent is trying to stop stem cell research. Not only is this research already legal in Missouri, but it is taking place at universities on a daily basis. The bill in Missouri is not even about stem cell research, it is about cloning. Michael J. Fox did indeed star in Spin City didn't he?

Liberals make no bones about taking advantage of the ill. In order to create their politically driven cause celebre, John Edwards tells people Chris Reeves could walk again if John Kerry were elected. Michel J. Fox lies to our faces when he says he could be cured if only Republicans were not running the show. How is it that a political party can sleep at night while knowing they are purposely misleading the American people through the vehicle of a disabled person? Why not let Republicans put pictures up of an aborted baby or an Iraqi mutilated by Liberal sponsored Islamo-Fascists in order to win the election? Wouldn't that be fine?

After all, the angel of death is a Democrat right? It swoops down and delivers the coup de grace to people left abandoned like Terry Shaivo and unborn children like the one you could have been. The 'Party of Death' is not a tawdry name used to pick on my political adversaries. It is the cornerstone of their party. They can kill and they can maim and they can torture, but letting the military torture and letting the country defend life and liberty is murder ... they pretend to decry death and then they kill people.

Republican politicians are not perfect. They stray away from their electors when worried about ruffling feathers. However, given the choice between the party that wants me to die, assuming I was lucky enough to live through their pre-natal slaughter in the first place, and the party which stands for life, I am sure of the one I'll choose. There are some things we ought never play politics with, but if you want to play ball and if you want to lie, be prepared to be slapped down and embarrassed each and every time you do it. Your ego is less important to me than mine and my loved-ones' lives.

I fight for life and you commit the ultimate sin against freedom and the Lord, murder.

Photo Credit: www.defamer.com

And You Want THIS Man in Office?

2006-10-26T20:32:00.000-04:00

If Virginia Senate challenger Jim Webb had any hope of knocking off incumbent George Allen (R-Va.), those hopes are fading fast. To most Virginian voters, the controversy over Allen misspeaking the word "macaca" is becoming an afterthought in the wake of Webb's personal history. Day after day, Virginians are coming to know who the real Jim Webb is.

The first of two looks into Webb's history shows a sexist bigot who holds little respect for women. This became evident when a handful of female Naval Academy graduates brought the spotlight to a 1979 article that Webb had written for the Washingtonian magazine titled "Women Can't Fight." In the hate-filled message, Webb charged that he had never come in contact with a woman at the Academy, which at the time was the focus of much debate since the Academy began allowing females to sign up in 1976, "whom I would trust to provide those men with combat leadership."

He also went on to say that the Academy was "a horny woman's dream," citing one instance where a residence hall housed 300 female midshipmen compared to 4,000 male midshipmen.

The backlash for the article that occurred recently is well-founded. Webb clearly displayed himself as a disgusting bigot who could not handle change. One former graduate said that it had hurt her deeply to see such vile hatred.

"I was devastated to be told by a war hero that the academy should be shut down rather than accept me and that my very presence was responsible for the degradation of the military," 1982 graduate Jennifer Brooks said in a recent NewsMax.com article. Brooks, who is now retired, had served in the Navy for 20 years.

"It was unbelievably demoralizing to be painted as a pampered slut who was just taking up classroom space and predestined to endanger the lives of the brave young men around me," she added.

To add insult to injury, Webb's campaign released a statement saying that the Democrat did not expect such an outcry when he initially wrote the article and that it was written "during a time of great emotional debate over a wide array of social issues in this country."

Let's now shift from Webb the sexist to Webb the writer (although the two co-exist). (CONTENT WARNING: the following contains some graphic depictions that are unsuitable for younger readers. Reader discretion is advised.)

The DRUDGE REPORT reported earlier tonight on a press release from the Allen campaign that has further highlighted the sickness in the mind of Webb. It starts by making a few notes before jumping into a handful of examples in Webb's books.

"Webb's novels disturbingly and consistently - indeed, almost uniformly - portray women as servile, subordinate, inept, incompetent, promiscuous, perverted, or some combination of these," the release notes. "In novel after novel, Webb assigns his female characters base, negative characteristics. In thousands of pages of fiction penned by Webb, there are few if any strong, admirable women or positive female role models."

The release continues: "Why does Jim Webb refuse to portray women in a respectful, positive light, whether in his non-fiction concerning their role in the military, or in his provocative novels? How can women trust him to represent their views in the Senate when chauvinistic attitudes and sexually exploitive references run throughout his fiction and non-fiction writings?"

Shortly before showing some examples, the release takes a moment of pause, suggesting that "[m]ost Virginians and Americans would find passages such as those below shocking, especially coming from the pen of someone who seeks the privilege of serving in the United States Senate, one of the highest offices in the land."

The first instance mentioned is the novel Lost Soliders, published in 2001 by Bantham Books. On page 333 of the hardcover version, Webb writes, "A shirtless man walked toward them along a mud pathway. His muscles were young and hard, but his face was devastated with wrinkles. His eyes were so red that they appeared to be burned by fire. A naked boy ran happily toward him from a little plot of dirt. The man grabbed his young son in his arms, turned him upside down, and put the boy’s penis in his mouth."

Webb in 1991 wrote in Something to Die For, "Fogarty [...] watch[ed] a naked young stripper do the splits over a banana. She stood back up, her face smiling proudly and her round breasts glistening from a spotlight in the dim bar, and left the banana on the bar, cut in four equal sections by the muscles of her vagina."

In 1983's A Country Such As This: "[He] could see Jawbone and Ashley Asthmatic [two guards at a Vietnamese prison camp] napping together in the grass. They faced inward, their arms entwined. It looked like they were masturbating each other. It didn't surprise him. [...] It was common to see men holding hands, embracing, playing with each other. Some of them [the guards] had wanted him. He could tell in those evanescent moments between his bao cao bow, the obligatory deference when a guard entered his cell, and the first word or blow that followed it [...] Quick, grinding voices, turgid with repressed passion. An exploratory reaching of the hand near his groin [...]"

Webb continues his hatred of women in 1982's A Sense of Honor: "Nurse Goodbody, dark and voluptuous (Lenahan had forgotten her actual name, it was something long and Italian), was a bedtime friend to many of the doctors in Bethesda. She had hinted to Lenahan that she simply could not contain herself. Doctors tending to patients, she explained, aroused her. Morphine Mary (again Lenahan could not remember her exact name) was a thin, nervous drill sergeant type, a disciplinarian who did not allow her patients even to complain. Lenahan was convinced that Morphine Mary did not even sleep with her husband. She wasn’t bad looking, he mused again, staring at her thin frame. If she’d just get laid every now and then she’d mellow out and stop being such a damn witch."

Snake, one of Webb's main characters in 1978's Fields of Fire, catches a glimpse of his mother naked: "She looked as if she were carefully attempting to re-create a picture from some long-forgotten men's magazine [...] She was naked underneath the robe [...] and the robe fell loosely away, revealing her. Snake shrugged resignedly."

From a later part of Fields of Fire: "He saw the invitation with every bouncing breast and curved hip [...] He was thirteen [...] She was fifteen [...] In a few moments she drew him to her and he murmured in his quiet voice, 'I am still small.' 'You are large enough,' she answered. And he found he was."

From a later part of A Sense of Honor: "[...] that is, if you knew who your sister was, Brustein, and if she’d been born with anything between her legs except an asshole, I’d be happy to bring some class to your low-rent name by knocking the bitch up."

Apparently Jim Webb missed his calling. The porn industry and any radical women-hating group would have loved to add this guy to their staff. As for the average American family, especially one that still believes in moral values, this is the kind of filth that would drive most people away. The mind of Jim Webb is a sick and twisted one, one that has still found itself unable to evolve out of the 1950's when women were little more than the humble housewife whose only good uses were watching the kids, cooking food and pleasuring her man.

Heads up, Jim Webb: the 50's ended a long time ago.

Simply put - Jim Webb, we don't want you or you perverted mind in office representing us. Take your business, whatever and however disgusting it may be, somewhere else. Virginia does not want you.

Photo Credit: http://media.hamptonroads.com/images/news/2006/06jun/newwebb440x264.jpg, Edit: Blake Fought

Random Thoughts From a College Christian, III

2006-10-24T23:25:00.000-04:00

Guys...I just want to share some Bible verses with y'all. I have such a burden for every one of you, and I wish I could say something profound for everyone. I know there are people reading this that are on their way to Hell. Some of you reading this think you're Christians, and you might not be. Others of you are Christians in need of encouragement. Still others reading this have a walk with God that is admirable, and I'm thankful for y'all.

I've come to the conclusion that I can't sit here in front of my computer and create a masterpiece 'Thought' that will change everyone's life. I wish I could, but I know that anything resulting from your reading this is an act of God's power, and not mine. What I will try to do is provide some verses that may be beneficial for each part of y'all that I mentioned earlier.

So yeah, today I want to share/remind y'all of some simple Truths that are easily forgotten. I only hope that one of y'all gets something out of them.

Genesis 1:1: "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth."

Now I know this isn't a life-shattering verse, but think about it for a second. One of the common mind-boggling characteristics of God is that He has always existed. Always. So here's the million dollar question asked by many: Why did God create us in the first place? Here's the answer...so He could love us.

We cannot even begin to comprehend the definition of God's love. I won't even try. 1 John 4:8 tells us that God is love. He loves me, He loves you, He always has, and He always will.

With God's love came something known as free will. This is the ability for us to choose whether to love God back, or to love the things that He hates. God didn't want a bunch of robots in Heaven with Him. He loves us too much for that. He created the angels and also gave them free will. As most of you know, Satan, God's head angel, chose to turn his back on the things of God and was cast out of Heaven and into Hell because of it, along with the other angels in his rebellion.

See, this is how it works. Just as you cannot love children without hating abortion, or love food without hating hunger, God cannot love His creation without hating sin. What is sin? Anything short of perfection. Know what the bad part is? We've all done it. Every one of us.

Romans 3:23 says "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." And because of this, because we've all sinned against God, we cannot be in His presence. Not only that, but God tells us in Romans 6:23 that "The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

Right now some of y'all may be thinking, 'what the heck is this dude talking about?' Well, let me explain. See, another mind-boggling aspect of God is a concept that we've labeled as the Trinity. There are three parts to God. There is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Think of it like this: you know how water can be solid, liquid, and gas? Three facets of the same element: God operates the same way.

See, there was a huge problem. God loved us and desperately wanted us to be with Him, but it was impossible. Our sin had us marked for death, and the only thing awaiting us was hell if we failed to live righteous lives and make holy sacrifices to God.

God wanted a permanent solution, though. He needed to find a way to forgive mankind for committing the very sins that He abhors...and this solution was His son, Jesus Christ. Jesus lived a flawless, perfect life on earth. He was the only man in existence to ever do so. If you want to read a full account of His life, I encourage you to find a Bible and start with the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

Jesus did many things while He was here. He healed the sick, raised the dead, performed countless miracles...but that wasn't why He came. Jesus Himself said in Luke 19:10 that "The Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which is lost."

In order for God to allow us in His presence, our sin had to be paid for. When Jesus Christ was in His early thirties, He allowed Roman soldiers to nail His hands and feet to a cross, they hung Him there with a mocking crown of thorns embedded on His head. The people spit on Him, they laughed at Him, they mocked Him. And you know what? He took it. By choice, God's Son hung there, feeling every last bit of pain. Not only that, but He felt the pain of being separated from God as He took every last one of our sins upon Himself. That is how much Jesus loves us. And that is how much God loves us, to be able to do that to His own Son.

John 3:16 says "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

Everything Jesus did on this earth was to lead up to His death. And even in His death, He was nothing but love. This was evident as He hung there from that cross and said "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." (Luke 23:34). After several agonizing hours, Jesus finally died.

In fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies and in an incredible demonstration of God's awesome power, Christ rose from the dead three days later. After a short time on Earth, He returned to Heaven to be with His Father. The price for our sins had been paid.

That doesn't give us a free ride into Heaven, though. Remember, the wages of our sin is death. But here's where the gift of eternal life comes into play. I want you to think about the last time you were offered a gift. Did you have to do anything to earn it? Did you have to pay for it? Of course not. That kinda defeats the idea of a gift. No, the only thing we can do to get a gift is simply accept it. God's gift of salvation works the same way.

So many people get hung up on the idea of trying to earn their salvation. They find it so hard to believe that something so wonderful, so precious, could be free. However, the Bible very clearly teaches that all we have to have is faith.

Ephesians 2:8-9 "For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God. Not of works, lest any man should boast." Ephesians 3:17 talks about Christ dwelling in our hearts "by faith".

God's gift of salvation is a supernatural, life-changing act of love. All we have to do is believe and accept it.

Romans 10:9 says "if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved."

The key steps to salvation are so incredibly simple. All you have to do is acknowledge that as a sinner, you're doomed to hell. You then have to believe that God sent His son to die in our place, only to rise from the dead three days later. Trust in Him, guys...it's that easy. If you're reading this and you know that you're not saved, I beg you to take of it now. Stop fighting with God and just trust Him. Let Him change your life. If you want to, but you’re still not quite sure what to do, call a pastor, google 'plan of salvation', do something. Don't shrug this off, or try to put it behind you. God loves you, and He wants to save you. Just believe.

I would like shift gears right now and talk to those of you reading this that think you're a Christian. I want you to know saying a simple little prayer in Sunday School does not make anyone a Christian. You will find nowhere in the Bible where it says, 'repeat these words after me...', and then poof!- you're a Christian. This is a concept that bloomed in America about 50 years ago. You won't find it in the Bible.
In Matthew 7:21-23, Jesus says "Many will say unto me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."

This verse is a very scary realization that there are people out there that profess to be saved, people that believe that they're Christians, and they're not. Imagine their shock upon dying and going to Hell. I believe this is how we know that words in and of themselves do not save anyone. It is the person's heart that matters the most. As I said before, salvation is a supernatural, life-changing event. Read these verses very carefully:

2 Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore if any man be in Christ he is a new creature. Old things are passed away, behold all things are become new."

Matthew 7:15-17 "Beware of false prophets which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, of figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit."

1 John 1:6 "If we say we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth".

Did your life change after receiving Christ? Did you become a new person; one's whose sole desire was to please God? Or did you mutter empty words, forget about it, and experience no change whatsoever? Are you baring the fruits that we as Christians are told that we will? Are you walking in light, or do you live like the world?
Listen to me: I am not saying that a Christian cannot resort back to a life of sin. We have free will, we can still give in to any temptation. But when we get off track we know it. God tells us about it, chastises us, and puts us back in line, even though we may fight it. One way or another, He puts us in line. What I am saying though, what I believe God's Word is saying, is that if you became a Christian and never once lived like it, never once felt the life-changing presence of the Holy Spirit...than be fearful. There's a good chance you never knew Him in the first place.

Guys...I love every one of you. I don't care that I've never met most of you. To know that some of you reading this might be walking straight to Hell breaks my heart. I can think of nothing else I can possibly to say to you to open your eyes. I pray that you surrender to God before it's eternally too late.

And for y'all Christians out there trying to live life your own way...stop. You know as well as I do that until you give control of your life back to God, you'll never find that happiness that’s eluding you, you'll never have that peace you're looking for. Quit fighting God and let Him use you again.

I mean it-I love y'all.

Previous editions of this series:
* - Edition 2--Oct. 13
* - Edition 1--Oct. 4

Photo Credit: Blake Fought

A Commuter's Nightmare

2006-10-20T14:13:00.000-04:00

For the most part, I had heard all of the compliants by Radford University students about how horrible parking was at RU and chuckled. After all, I was a commuter student and was pretty much guaranteed a spot in any of the yellow-tag zones scattered around campus. This past Monday changed that sentiment for me.

Before getting into my story, I will yield that being an off-campus student, the compliants by on-campus students about their parking woes tend to make me laugh. After all, they have massive-sized parking lots on the other side of the bridge one would figure would be able to house all of their vehicles but I have not seen the evidence for either side and as a result, am going on my own potentially-incorrect conclusions. The only problem that I do have with on-campus parking is that RU needs a new lot somewhere to avoid the ever-common problems that arise in the "flood lot."

And so, back to Monday.

I left my house with plenty of time to make my 10 o'clock course and drove down I-81 that was flowing at a reasonable rate. Took exit 109 and arrived in Radford with still a good deal of time left to be able to park, get out of my car and to class. Smiles around, as all I had to do was drive through one or two lots and find one of my nearly-guaranteed spots and take it.

Oh, if only things ended up that easy.

The first parking lot I dropped by was the giant one in front of Muse, the primary parking lot for most commuter students. Much to my surprise, every spot was taken and on top of that, there were four-to-five cars sitting in the lot waiting for whatever spot opened up first.

"Forget this," I thought. "I'll try some other lot. They can't all be full..."

A quick drive down Main past the WVRU sign and the bridge that leads off to the Dedmon Center and on-campus parking put me at the intersection of Main and Jefferson, where I took a glance at the parking lot near the cleaners to the left, which was packed to the brim. Even the lot shortly after the light was filled. That surprised me because that lot, which can fit what I would guess to be about 10 vehicles was loaded and, normally has a couple of spots open because very few people park at it.

"It's ok," I sighed heavily, waiting for the light to turn green. "Surely there is a spot or two in Lot M if all of these are taken."

Unfortunately for me, every current and former commuter student to ever attend RU was given the memo to be out on campus today and even Lot M was full. And like the Muse lot, there were about two-to-three cars in there waiting for someone to leave so that they could claim their spot.

At that point, I started to run out of options. I could try the lot down at the end of downtown which almost always has spaces for the poor saps like me that could not find a spot in the lots close to the university. But I wanted to find a place close to campus and thus avoiding a long walk that would almost certainly put me in class at the 10:10 to 10:15 mark.

Just then, the Good Lord reminded me of the lot at the top of Tyler next to the converted Philosophy and Religious Studies building and luckily, there were two spots there. I had a spot, thankfully, but one minute to get to my 10 o'clock course.

Parking conditions at RU need to change not only for on-campus students who have their own problems but also for us commuter students, who should not have to do what I did this past Monday, they should be able to pull up to campus and have to search through one or two lots to find a place for their vehicle.

Photo Credit: http://k41.pbase.com/u13/czsz/upload/42923386.P1030264.JPG

Your Dose of Randomness, I

2006-10-15T02:37:00.000-04:00

Yes, dear readers. I forgot about this series last month but fear not! For it is here in all its glory, so please allow me to put the riot gear away and take the pitchforks back home with you. Much thanks! And now, some recent less-focused-on bizzare and random stories that have popped up around the news wires and Internet.

* - Today's lesson: if for some bizarre reason you lose your male reproductive organ, it may not be a good idea to have it replaced via transplant. A man in China went through the operation last month in hopes that he would be functional once again but it ended up causing serious psychological damage to him and his wife. The transplanted organ was removed two weeks later.

* - Early last month, folks at Google announced that the ever-expanding search engine would offer a news archive that goes back 300 years. The plan is to have the service offered to the public for free. Yeah, we'll see how long that pipe dream lasts.

* - Point of advice to media people out there: if you are going to write about Barry Bonds' alleged steroid use, make sure you are willing to reveal your sources. Two San Francisco Chronicle writers were shipped off to prison late last month after refusing to reveal the BALCO grand jury sources they had used in their research.

* - Actress Elizabeth Hurley went on auction eBay late last month for a starting bid of 1,500 English pounds... er, scratch that. A replica, the fembot replica of the actress used in the Austin Powers series, was actually the item up for bid. It's probably the best any person could get to having their actress/actor of their dreams under their roof.

* - We all knew former President Bill Clinton had a thing for interns but 40-year-old has-been actresses? Apparently the former Democratic occupant of the White House was so busy eyeing Demi Moore at an event early this month that he never acknowledged her husband, Ashton Kutcher, who was sitting right next to her. "I was like the guy that wasn't there," Kutcher said.

* - ESPN's Jeff Brantley from the show "Baseball Tonight" is quite the prophet. According to Brantley, "The only way to beat the Yankees is to outscore them." Yeah. I think FireJoeMorgan stated it best when it said: "Other options: 1. Kidnap their players, causing forfeit; 2. Tell them game is happening in Baltimore when it's really happening in Seattle, causing forfeit [and] 3. Ask them politely to forfeit, causing forfeit."

* - Here's a thought. The next time you play a friend in NCAA Football or Madden and lose, go grab a knife and stab the guy. Well, that's the advice you would get from a Tennessee man who took a 10 to 12 inch long knife and plunged it deep into the back of his opponent's back after losing to the stabee in a Playstation-based college football game. Needless to say, the man was charged with attempted murder and being a sore loser.

* - Today's matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Kansas City Chiefs will not have Steelers guard Kendall Simmons on the field. The five-year veteran is out with frostbite after getting too much treatment for an injury to his left foot. As a result, Simmons received an ice burn and will miss at least one game for the defending Super Bowl champions.

Photo Credit: http://www.anjindesign.com/images/abstract/cool%20blue.JPG

Random Thoughts From a College Christian, II

2006-10-13T01:45:00.000-04:00

We had a guest speaker come to my home church the Sunday before last, and he said something that has been on my mind ever since. What he said was this: We are as close to God as we want to be.

Amazing how something so important can be stated so simply, but it's the truth. We as Christians choose what kind of relationship we have with God. For years I chose to keep God kinda out of the way. I mean, sure I believed in Him. I went to church and paid my tithe because it was the right thing to do...but I really had no desire to get close with Him.

All that changed a few weeks ago when I made the conscience decision to get as close to God as I possibly could. I found myself wondering why in the world I hadn't done it sooner. This same question was raised to me last week. A friend of mine asked me something to the effect of "Rick, why do we turn our backs on God when we know how much better life is with Him?". That's a great question, but I can only offer my opinion, based on my own experiences.

See, when I was trying to live my life the way I knew I should, I kept finding myself expecting things to be easier, or better for me. I believe I touched on this two blogs ago. Anyways, I could never understand why crap still happened to me. So every time I'd had enough of it, I would say "screw it" and turn my back on God. The way I saw it, He'd turned His back on me first. In fact, I wrote a couple poems about it while growing up. Maybe one of y'all can identify with one of them:

"My Prayer"

Our Father who art in Heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.
I imagine when you look down on me, Lord,
You shake your head in shame.

How did I get here?
How did I fall?
Why is it when I pray,
I always run into a wall?

We were tight at one time, Father;
I was happy when I gave you my life.
But my life is down the drain now, Lord,
Full of bitterness, hatred, anger, and strife.

Why did you do this to me?
Why do I go through Hell all day?
I know down inside that it's all my fault,
With one prayer it could be ok.

I'm too scared to give you my life back,
I tried it once and I failed.
When I needed you in my hardest times,
It seemed to me like you bailed.

I've decided to walk my own road, Father;
But I get lost day after day.
But being lost is better than being left,
So it's best that it's this way.

Maybe one day it'll all be different,
Maybe I'll trust you again.
But until then just watch over and care for me,
It's in your Son's name I pray this...Amen.

"Changes"

Father, I've come to open my heart up again.
I have so much to say to you, and I don't know where to begin.
I remember with shame the last time that we talked,
And I'm speaking here now from this path I chose to walk.

Funny thing is, Father- I hate being here.
I hate feeling alone, hate feeling full of fear.
I thought doing things my way would make my life smooth.
But my life only got worse the further away that I moved.

I have a big problem now, because my heart is full of anger.
To make matters even worse, it now feels like you're a stranger.
I'm angry at you Lord, for always sending rain my way.
I'm angry at a girl I love, who won't give me the time of day.

I'm angry at my church, for passing judgment on what they see,
And I'm angry at my parents, thought I know they can't always stick up for me.
This anger is destroying me; it's eating at my heart,
My life has got to change, Father...but I don't know where to start.

I'm ready to trust you again, but now it seems like you're not there.
I need to know you love me still, I need to know you care.
I'll keep on trying to find you, God, and I'll be glad when at last I do.
Because then I can stop trying to control my life, I can give it back to you.

Amazing how reading these poems for probably the second time in probably five years...I can see the person that I was last month. Even then, I struggled with the unfairness that I saw in life. I just couldn't shake the "I'm a Christian, life should be sweet" mentality.

When I allowed God to put me back on track several weeks ago, I knew that this very issue was going to come up at some point. Well, with this in mind I decided to get the jump on things. One of the prayers on my list was for God to give me strength against discouragement, and for Him to help me accept the fact that sometimes...crap happens. That's life, pure and simple. This isn't a perfect world, and Christians don't have a free ride through it.

What I wanted to do in this article was show just a couple Bible verses that have really helped me out in this area. And I realize that I'm a little off track with what I initially started out talking about...you'll be ok, I promise, haha.

Almost all of us are familiar with the Biblical character David. You know, the guy that killed Goliath, was king of Israel, the apple in God's eye. I mean, if God ever cared about anyone, it was David. David had God at the top of his "phone a friend" list, so to speak. However, Psalm 13:1 says: "How long wilt thou forget me, O Lord? Forever? How long wilt thou hide thy face from me?" In Psalm 30:7, David writes: "Lord, by thy favour thou hast made my mountain to stand strong: thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled." David writes again in Psalm 69:3, "I am weary of my crying: my throat is dried: mine eyes fail while I wait for my God."

I mean, holy cow this guy had it rough. How in the world could a man like David experience something like this? How could someone whom God loved so much have to deal with feeling abandoned by God? Well, I'm afraid we may never know. The bottom line though, is that yeah- bad things happen. We lose jobs, loved ones, get crappy grades, get cheated on. Life for us will suck at some point or another. What we have to remember though, is that even when life gets its hardest, God. Is. Still. There.

See, there was a major difference between me and David. While I would get bitter and leave God, David would sing praises to God. For every verse in the book of Psalms where David is feeling alone and empty, there's probably fifty verses where he tells of God's greatness, of His love. Psalms is a heart wrenching book in the Bible. We can feel David's pain, because we often experience the same emotions. The question is, do we have the faith to trust God to see us through the hard times? Can we really say "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me?"

Lastly, I want to share a passage from the New Testament. Most of us that grew up in a church are familiar with the song that talks about the wise man building his house on the rock, and the foolish man who built his house on sand. This was taken from Matthew 7:24-27, and this is Jesus Christ talking. "Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house: and it fell not, for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it."

This passage has two (at least) powerful statements that I want you to think about. One, it rained on both people. Both the one following God/Jesus, and the one that wasn't. Likewise in our own lives, we've just got to realize that rain falls on everyone. Secondly, and more importantly, by living the life we're supposed to and maintaining close communication with God through His Son, we're able to withstand any storm that comes our way. It's gonna rain...let God be your umbrella.

I'm going to leave you with two questions. One...are you as close to God as you wanna be? And if not...what are you allowing to come between you and Him?

Y'all have a good one.

Previous editions of this series:
* - Edition 1--Oct. 4

Photo Credit: Blake Fought

Yankees Pitcher Killed in NYC Plane Crash

2006-10-12T03:04:00.000-04:00

The year 2006 was full of ups and downs for New York Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle. Lidle, who had just entered his ninth major league season was suiting up for the Philadelphia Phillies in hopes of helping the National League East team contend for the division title, a mighty feat to ask of a player on a team that included the Atlanta Braves, who had won the title pretty much since the beginning of time, and the New York Mets.

In a sudden change of events, Lidle was dealt along with outfielder Bobby Abreu to the New York Yankees at the trade deadline, a move that nearly propelled the Phillies in the playoffs from what had been the bleaker parts of the National League standings and allowed Lidle to pitch in the playoffs with New York, who won the American League East title. Unfortunately for the newly-acquired Yankees pitcher, New York was booted from the playoffs by the Detroit Tigers in what has been called one of the biggest shocks baseball has seen since the last major Yankees collapse back when the Boston Red Sox came back from an 0-3 deficit in the 2004 American League Championship Series to advance to the World Series.

Lidle's Yankees had been eliminated and the pitcher said that he planned to fly home to southern California in the Cirrus SR20 single-engine plane he purchased and had recently learned to fly.

The plane never got out of the New York City airspace as Lidle was killed yesterday as his plane flew into a 50-story apartment building by accident. The news of the crash spread quickly through the news and radio stations, prompting the Pentagon to scramble jets into the airspaces of some of America's more prominent cities. Only hours later did the news leak out that Lidle had been the in the plane when it crashed, also killing Tyler Stanger, Lidle's flying instructor.

It is currently unclear as to how the crash ended up taking place. Witnesses noted that the plane was flying erratically before it blew into the building and was taking a scenic route through New York to view the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building and the Brooklyn Bridge.

Lidle was an avid fan of flying planes and had been quoted in the past of being very confident in his piloting abilities. He was also known for being a good clubhouse player and his recent call to defend manager Joe Torre after the Yankees' collapse. His career finished with a record of 82-72 with an ERA of 4.57, 838 strikeouts, 277 appearances, 199 starts, 11 complete games and five shutouts in 1322.2 innings pitched.

Lidle joined the Phillies in 2004 after being traded by the Cincinnati Reds to Philadelphia. Prior to that, Lidle had been with the Toronto Blue Jays, the Oakland Athletics, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and the Mets. His best season arguably came in 2001 with Oakland when he went 13-6 with an ERA of 3.59, 118 strikeouts and one complete game in 29 starts (188.0 innings).

Immediate sympathy came from the Yankees organization, namely Torre, general manager Brian Cashman and owner George Steinbrenner. Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig also echoed the comments of shock and sympathy.

MLB.com has created a page devoted to remembering Lidle which can be accessed at the following link.

On behalf of the staff here at RUnderground, we would like to extend our sympathy to the Lidle and Stanger families and all others involved in the horrible event. (From us here who are Christians, may the comfort of Jesus Christ fall upon the those just named.)

Lidle Banner Photo Credit: http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/mlb/images/news/tributes/head_lidle_tribute.jpg, Lidle Pitching Photo Credit: http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/images/2006/10/11/jVKbs8Xx.jpg

Da Ding Dong Missiles

2006-10-11T16:58:00.000-04:00

Snap, crackle, and pop. This is what North Korea accomplished when they set off their 'nuclear' weapon. Reports indicate the seismic activity was not great enough to have been caused by an atomic explosion. After coming down from the mountain covered by a rainbow, Kim Jong Il rose to great power. Being given nuclear technology by Clinton didn't hurt either.

Here is the scene. 1993-1994: In an effort to help bring energy to North Korea, Bubba, or Clinton, gave the North Koreans a light water reactor. (This is before he gave our nuclear technology to China, mind you.) For those of you that have only recently emerged from your rock, that is where the fuel rods come from for a nuclear bomb. After promising to pass these spent fuel rods to another country, they didn't. After agreeing only to use the nuclear technology for energy, they didn't. After promising to spend millions of dollars of foreign aid, aka your paycheck, on their starving population, they didn't. They used the money and food to feed the army and acquire more means to build nuclear weapons. A little later, after Bubba's Secretary of State, Madeline Albright went over and made proverbial love with Il in 2000 and convinced him to stop his pursuit of and destroy the means necessary to acquire nuclear weapons, he didn't. I see a pattern.

Now, after firing off his fire-crackers on the Fourth of July, the ones that didn't go backwards or fire off upside-down served as tests for newer and more accurate weapons. After the world figured out that North Korea's 'nuclear' test failed, Il issued a threat to tip his fire-crackers with the 'nuclear' bomb that doesn't work. Run and hide.

As if history somehow started on the day of President Bush's first day in office in 2001, the critics are in a feeding frenzy. We have approached North Korea with several opportunities to come to peace talks, both multilaterally and bilaterally, but they walk away when pouting doesn't get them what they want. When Il stomps his feet like a five-year-old in the check-out lane at Wal-Mart and threatens to kidnap more South Korean and Japanese actors as sex toys, people just don't seem to listen.

The President has decided to exhaust every available diplomatic opportunity in order to diffuse the situation. Democrats are pissed ... He is being criticized for not approaching the situation unilaterally, like they scolded him for doing (which he really didn't) with Iraq. If you can say hypocrisy, please do that at this time. Insert foot in mouth.

Strong sanctions including inspection of incoming and outgoing sea vessels to and from North Korea, freezing of financial assets in the World Bank, cessation of shipments of luxury goods as well as any good that could aid in acquiring these weapons, and further isolation are parts of the proposed sanctions. Liberals, THIS IS FOR YOU. The President has made a commitment, so too have China, South Korea, and Japan to a nuclear-free Korean peninsula. He is seeking peace through tough, but bloodless means. It hasn't worked yet, but maybe this President, using the backbone his predecessor left in Hilary's purse, will be able to bring diplomacy to fruition. War, at this time, is good for no one in the region. It is unnecessary and at this time is not the best solution to the problem.

However, as the President has said, the United States retains unwavering commitments to protect its allies and itself by any means necessary. So, if as he has threatened to do, Il responds militarily to the sanctions or crosses the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between North and South Korea, bullets may fly. I for one, hope to see diplomacy work here better than it did with Iraq. Then again, the definition of doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results is the definition of insanity.

Photo Credit: North Korean Television care of CNN

The Campaign Ad You Won't See on TV

2006-10-10T22:27:00.000-04:00

The Drudge Report recently put up a report on a stunning political ad made by "Scary Movie 4" producer David Zucker with the intent to have the Republican Party use it in the late hours of the election season. The ad, which was turned down by GOP officials, can be seen at the following link at YouTube.com.

According to Drudge, "One GOP strategist said 'jaws dropped' when the ad was first viewed. 'Nobody could believe Zucker thought any political organization could use this ad. It makes a point, but it's way over the top.'"

The ad features former Secretary of State Madeline Albright as the represenative of the 1990's Democratic Party in a handful of different scenes mocking the Clinton Administration's handling of the issue of foreign terrorism. In one scene, Albright hands a Michael Jordan-autographed basketball to North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il in hopes of stopping the North Korean nuclear program, painting the wall of a cave by a terrorist (most likely Osama bin Laden) and changing the tire of a terrorist.

Towards the end of the ad, Il fails to dunk the Jordan-signed ball and crashes into a trashcan, pulls out an automatic machine gun and fires into a crowd of fans standing in the basketball stands.

Zucker's political ties changed from Democrat to Republican within the past few years because of growing concerns that the Democrats are unable to handle America's security issues. The ad shows how passionate the "Scary Movie" producer feels about national security issues and the recent debate that arose after a FOX NEWS interview of former President Bill Clinton. The common focus of the rising debate has been over who was responsible for the failure to capture bin Laden and eliminate the Korean nuke threat.

Photo Credit: YouTube

My Faith in Humanity / Make A Difference

2006-10-10T16:41:00.000-04:00

This past weekend was certainly an interesting experience for me as a person and as a Christian. I had signed up to attend the Chi Alpha Campus Ministries Fall Retreat that was held in Beckley, West Virginia Oct. 6-8 and woke up Friday morning like every other morning-wanting to go back to sleep (Hey, I like my sleep, dear readers!), avoid my Stats quiz and Media Performance exam and sleep on until I needed to get ready to visit the Chi Alpha house at 1107 Fairfax before we left on our trip.

But I did not go back to sleep. Instead, I got ready quickly to have plenty of time to arrive at my 10 o'clock Stats class for the quiz. I hopped in my car with suitcase and computer bag in tow (completely forgetting my cell phone charger and a jacket), pulled out of my driveway and down my street.

I did not get further than one mile out of my street onto the main road before my car began acting up. It jerked and shuddered. The lights turned on and off. Shortly thereafter, the brakes went out and I was stuck on the main road without brakes. I tried turning the car around to get back to my street and get a ride to campus but the car stopped in the middle of the other lane perpendicular to the flow of traffic. Yeah, scary.

To save time and space, I got a tow car to come by and pick the vehicle up. But while I was sitting there waiting and yelling frantically on the phone, a few things happened that helped renew some of my faith in humanity and strengthened my faith in God.

While I was sitting there trying to get the car out the position it was it, two women in their thirties or so (I'm not that good at guessing but I assumed late twenties was a just a tad bit too old) stopped and tried to help jump-start the car for me and to help slow the other vehicles down while the process was taking place. They likely had somewhere important to go to but decided to stop and help because it was the right thing to do.

The car woke up after the jump start but immediately died. That thing was not going anywhere. I thanked the nice women and said that they had done all they could, that I would get a tow and they could go on their way. I wished that there was something I could do for them in return for their help but there was not.

Between that time and the time the tow came, every car that drove by asked if they could help. They were of all races, ages, sexes, political parties (judging by the Bush/Allen/Kerry/Webb stickers on their bumpers) and whatever else major division one could think of. It was really reassuring that while our world is quickly losing its morals, deep down there is a heart that beats for what is right.

One of them told me that the spot my car had stopped on was the exact location that an accident had been an hour before. It was then I knew that there was a force that was trying to stop me from going to the Retreat and I knew exactly who it was. (I later found out that there were many others who had some form of force at work trying to bring them down and get them not the come to the Retreat.)

I got a ride from my neighbor who arrived shortly after the women had left. He called the police who came by a few minutes later, drove me to the auto repair shop we had the car taken to and even drove me all the way to campus.

The Retreat itself was incredible. Not only could you feel the Lord in every service we had but I think it touched everyone in a special way. This is my story.

Those who know me well or somewhat loosely know that I nearly died this past spring/summer because of a serious medical condition that we ended up finding just in time to be able to start reversing it with the proper blend of medication, diet and other stuff. It was physically and mentally racking beyond description. Numerous times I sat alone crying, praying that it would be taken from me as quick as possible. Those prayers were answered and I mostly recovered within a few months and was able to return to Radford University this semester. I had also had a severe case of dehydration in Fall of 2005 that nearly took my life. At one point, my sight was taken from me, I felt cold and all I could see was white. It was both exciting and terrifying. Thankfully we were close to the hospital so I was able to get there in time to help me from crossing over.

Friday evening the pastor who came to the Retreat to speak spoke of recent occurrence in his life where he nearly died. In short, he had ran out into a busy highway to grab a child who had ran out unknowing of its danger, saved the child but was hit by an oncoming truck. He flew through the air into a nearby ditch and was unconscious. Needless to say, when a person gets hit that way, you expect him (or her) to be dead. It's a simple matter of physics. Person, meet fast-moving truck.

But he survived the event and was conscious but in pain before the paramedics came. Pretty much every doctor he met in the following days/weeks/months would end up telling him that it was a miracle that he made it through alive and it was. The driver, who had told him that he never believed in God because he had never seen a miracle ended up turning to the Lord as a result of the event. It was a miraculous story.

I sat there thinking, "Lord, You know I believe in You and that I do not need to see anything to believe in You, but sometime I'd like to see a miracle like that."

And, what was perhaps the most unexpected response came: "You're alive aren't you? You were that close to death twice and I brought you back."

For a moment, I just sat there in shock. I cannot remember what Pastor Ron was saying because for the moment, I was not sitting in that room. It was like those moments in the movies where the camera spins around the room and everything except the person it is focused on is a blur, completely apart from the recognition.

"Wha...?"

It took the rest of the evening the Saturday morning service for it all to seep in and when it did, I broke down. It was the Saturday evening service and Ron was emotional in giving his message. To be honest, I don't remember what it was about because I was stuck there in a daze, absorbing his emotion and adding it to my own as I sat thinking about what the Lord had told me the night before.

Earlier in the week, I had been listening to the radio--99.1 to be exact--when Tim McGraw's "Live Like You Were Dying" came on. I normally never listen to country music unless it's the patriotic songs like the ones Toby Keith likes to sing but I sat through the whole song and the Lord told me to use it somehow.

I think I figured it out sometime during the weekend. Life is so fragile, dear readers. We live on this earth for a blink of an eye and after that, we are gone. There are plenty of people out there who are non-Christians who have never heard of Christ, have heard of Him but do not know Him for who He is or have decided to deny Him despite knowing who He is.

I've spoken with plenty of Christians who have told me that they are not strong enough to talk to non-Christians about Jesus because they are afraid of the response. They fear rejection, being mocked, being yelled at or ridiculed, being persecuted for their beliefs and losing friendships as a result. We cannot be weak in the face of the enemy, dear readers. We cannot allow Satan to put doubt in our hearts when it comes to evangelizing about Jesus to our fellow man.

Because those people could be dead tomorrow. In the blink of an eye, your roommate could be dead. One of your fellow workers at your job could die of a disease. One of your family members who fell away from the Lord could be involved in a head-to-head traffic accident. Reach out to those people before it is too late, dear readers. Do not waste an opportunity to try to save those out there who need saving.

Blink your eye right now. More than likely, somewhere in the world, someone just died. Now ask yourself: was that person saved?

Photo Credit: http://www.shutterfreaks.com/albums/album98/pray.jpg

Random Thoughts from a College Christian, I

2006-10-04T14:45:00.000-04:00

Alright, guys. Before I actually start posting these 'random thoughts', I wanted to share the story of how I got to where I am, kinda provide a backdrop. This was initially written Sept. 6, 2006. Enjoy.

Well guys, I'm sitting here in my room wanting to write this, and I'm not even sure where to begin. I think the best thing for me to do is just write whatever pops into my head. I think that's how these blogs work, anyway. I'll probably get off track more than once, but it's ok, 'cause it's possible that the vast majority of y'all may end up losing interest. I can tell you right now that some of you will think I'm smoking crack, that I'm not being serious, and that this is definitely not the Richard Boyce that you all know. That's fine, though. I'm not writing this seeking approval, or kudos, or anything. I'm writing this because I feel I need to, and also because I want to share what's happened in my life this week.

Let me start out with a little background information. I got saved when I was four years old. I don't remember the date, but I remember praying the prayer of salvation with the Pastor's wife. Of course, I was extremely young, so there was no profound life change for me. As I grew up, I stayed in church because my parents went. I got into my share of trouble, but nothing too serious.

When I was old enough to join the youth group, things started changing in my life. I hit the typical rebellious teenager stage, and I got into the wrong group of friends. Well, my church started going to a youth camp called The Wilds, in either North or South Carolina. At the camp we had a blast. There was lots of events going on, and lots of preaching. We had a service in the morning, afternoon, and evening. There were several different speakers, with different preaching styles. Some were formal, some were informal. What was different about this camp was the isolation from anything that was not Godly. There were no TV's, CD players, tobacco, or anything like that allowed. There was no co-ed swimming and no "away time" with members of the opposite sex. I know what many of you are thinking- borrring. And at first I agreed.

What this did, though, was create an environment that was conducive to focusing on God, and where we were in our Christian walk with Him. Well, the first year I went I had a life changing experience, as did the vast majority of teenagers there, as well as many of the adult sponsers and youth pastors. When I came home, I straightened my life out. I quit cussing, listening to the music I was listening to, changed my friends, got more involved in the Bible, spent time in prayer with God, etc. I did everything that I felt a Christian should do.

Sadly though, it only lasted a few months. I gradually decreased the amount of time I spent reading the Bible and praying, and as I did it became easier to fall right back into the sinful lifestyle that I had once left behind. Well, this same pattern occurred year after year. I would get right with God, then gradually leave him. Some years it took longer than others, but it still happened nonetheless. Eventually it got to the point where I kinda dreaded going to camp. I knew I would have to change my life yet again, only to have it go away months down the road.

During what I believe was my final year of camp, I found myself unsure of whether or not I was actually saved. I wondered if I had actually become a Christian like I thought I had. I couldn't really explain my behavior over the past few years, and I wasn't entirely sure of my memory of getting saved when I was four. I decided right then and there to settle things. I knew that if I wasn't saved, I was a road headed straight for hell (John 3:3: Except a man [or woman] be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God). I acknowledged to God that I was a sinner, as is everyone (Romans 3:23 - For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God). I then told Him that I believed that He sent His son Jesus to the world for the sole purpose of dying for our sins (John 3:16 - For God so loved the world, that He sent His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life).

Now of course, the Bible isn't saying that Christians will never die. It merely means that when we do die, we'll have eternal life in heaven, as opposed to hell. Lastly, I had the faith that God was true to his word. And that's all it takes to gain salvation (Ephesians 2:8-9 - For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God; not of works, lest any man should boast).

Incredibly simple, I know. That's the great thing about God, though. He doesn't want us to jump through flaming hoops to go to Heaven. He merely wants us to put our faith in Him. And all it takes is one time. The Bible teaches us that once we're a Christian, we're always a Christian (John 10:28b - ...No man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand). Ok, enough with the preaching. Just wanted to give out a Biblical reference for the things I'm stating/believing. Time to get back to the story.

So there I was, and at that point of my life I knew without a doubt that I was a Christian. Whether it happened when I was four or seventeen is irrelevant. Things were bound to be better this time around, right? Wrong. Details of the timing are sketchy, but sure enough I eventually decided that doing what I wanted to do was more fun than doing what God wanted me to do. I went back to the smoking, drinking, everything that was wrong for me. I knew it was wrong, too. I just didn't feel like fighting the temptation. I also struggled with why life can be crappy for Christians. I didn't think it was fair. I mean, if a person is going to live a godly life and resist temptations, you would think that God would make that person's life easier, make them happier. Well, that's just not how it works. This is an imperfect world, and crappy things happen to everyone. Christians have the ability to rely on God during the hard times, we just have to trust Him. Well, I didn't.

I wrote a poem once, and while I can't remember the exact wording I used, it went to the effect of saying that I would rather be unhappy living my own life than continually feeling let down by God.

Then everything blew up on me. I got kicked out of the youth group of my church because I had finished school. This in itself wasn't why I was asked to leave. My problem was the example I was setting for the younger kids. I've been a leader my entire life, and people were forever looking up to me. Being as how I had no qualms with the way my life was going, the powers that be deemed it necessary to keep me a little further away from my friends. Although I could never really blame the church for doing what it did, I would have to admit that it stung. A lot.

Then, I got in trouble again with the church. I had supplied one of the teens with alcohol, and word got out. Not good. Around the same time, I was going through a hard time with my then-girlfriend. Evidently she had gotten fed up with my crap and was refusing to take me back. Can't blame her for that one either, but again it hurt.

I had always hated school when I was growing up. Especially once my parents started home-schooling me. I swore up and down that I would never go to college. So from the time I got my GED at sixteen to the time I was eighteen, I had been working full-time. I drove a piece of crap vehicle, couldn't afford to move out, and then everything with the church and girlfriend sprung up. So I did what a lot of people in situations similar to mine do: I joined the Army.

Boy, talk about a wake-up call. Life during the onset of basic-training was so miserable that I ran to God as fast as I could. I found it incredible easy, too. I set my heart right, asked God's forgiveness for turning away from Him, and then asked Him to help me grow closer to Him. Now I've already said that God is very forgiving, and He is. He doesn't hold grudges against us. So I almost immediately got back on track. I read my Bible daily, prayed, and set a positive example for the guys in my platoon. I had nicknames floating around like Preacher, Reverend, etc. Life was good. I was living like I should be and seeing God work though my life.

Then came Advanced Individual Training, or AIT. This was in Alabama, and it was a world of difference from basic training in Missouri. For one, we had access to TV, music, free-time, and a lot less attention from the Drill Sergeants. I tell you, trying to keep on trucking was hard. It was a constant bombardment from every direction. I fought it and fought it, but finally broke. I just couldn't figure out why God would make serving Him so hard. So I said "screw it, I'm doing my own thing." More fun that way, you know?

Life from eighteen to twenty consisted of working in the construction industry, partying on the weekends that I had reserve drill, dating around, and taking a class here and there at the nearest community college. I wasn't going to school to be learning; I was going because it gave me something to do, in addition to putting money from the Army in my pocket. I hung out with friends here and there, introduced myself to a few mild drugs, generally living for the weekend. During these two years I also dabbled with depression. Nothing clinically diagnosable...I just wasn't happy. I had very few real friends that knew me well enough to try to change things. And of course, there was the issue of doing my thing, instead of God's.

Life has a way of repeating itself. There I was at twenty. I was living with mom and dad, driving a slightly nicer hunk of junk, and still nowhere near financially able to change a thing. I couldn't even afford to go to school full time and make money off the army. My parents made too much for me to get any financial aid, but they didn't have enough to put me through school. In a nutshell, I was in a rut. Life absolutely sucked.

Then pulling into the parking lot of the Lynchburg YMCA to go to work one morning, I got a phone call from a buddy of mine in my reserve unit. "Boyce, we've been activated. We're going to war, bro."

I was initially excited. The next two days were a blur. I had to withdraw from school, cancel insurance policies, my cell phone, pack, etc. The next thing I know I'm at Fort Lee, where I stayed for six weeks. Then March 23rd rolled around and I was loading my machine gun, getting ready to move from one location in Kuwait to another one closer to the border. We crossed the border shortly afterwards, and I found myself living in a combat zone for some eleven months.

Now I was optimistic about the deployment before I even left the states. I was thinking to myself, "Good. Now I can get right with God. I pretty much have to in a combat zone". Well, that was a no-go. Instead of getting back into prayer and the Bible, I got into the partying and whatnot at Ft. Lee. And instead of turning to God when I hit the desert, I turned to my friends.

Iraq screwed me up. There's just no other way of describing it. I learned the first day in Kuwait with the countless scud missile alerts that there was no room for fear. I think we had six or seven drills that first day. We'd hear the PA system say "lighting, lighting, lighting", and we knew there was a scud in the air somewhere, possibly carrying nuclear, biological, or chemical agents. So we'd suit up in our chemical gear, put on the gas mask, and pack into railroad containers like a bunch of sardines. Yep, that was our bomb shelter. Simple rail containers scattered here and there on the ground. We packed in there too tightly to even close the doors, gasping for air, pouring sweat, and wondering if we were about to die. And this was day one.

Something changed in me then. I came to the harsh reality that out there, my life was a simple coin toss. Either I lived, or I died. And instead of putting it in God's hands, I put my fear behind a wall. I buried it so that I wouldn't have to deal with it. And when the homesickness hit me like a ton of bricks, I buried that, too. I spent a solid year learning how to lock up every conceivable emotion, how to bury them so they couldn't bother me. I learned how to quit feeling. That was my safety mechanism.

When I was in the desert, I decided to pursue school on a full-time basis if I came home, and that's what I did. I as soon I came home that I had some mental issues. I don't know if it was post-traumatic stress disorder or what, but I had issues. I missed the desert. I felt as if the large part of me was still over there. I felt as though I belonged there, that it was my home.

I had emotional issues as well as mental ones. There was a movie I watched over there, and it's like I somehow pulled feelings out from behind my wall and put them into this movie. Yeah, I know. Sounds real gay. That's how it was, though. And once I came home, I bought the movie, but to this day haven't been able to watch it. I saw part of it on TV once, and it messed me up. It put me back in the desert. It hurt me, but at the same time it made me feel good. It was like I had tapped back into those emotions. I could feel again. I spent years trying to pick out the movie soundtrack on my keyboard, because the composer never published the sheet music. I was like a junkie looking for a fix. Anyways, enough about that. Point is, I had some serious issues.

Midway through the deployment I decided that I wanted my best friend to be my girlfriend, so we made things official several months before I came home. When I did come home, I bought a new car, moved out, and went to CVCC full time. The rest of my time was spent with my friends, family, or girlfriend. At this point I was twenty-one.

Much to my surprise, I found that I excelled in school. I busted my butt, picked up an associates degree, and transferred to Radford University. This was in August of 2005, getting close to turning twenty-three. It had been five years since things were right between me and God.

Radford University, the party school of Virginia. Now, I had several reasons for picking Radford that concerned the army, location, programs offered, size, and cost. Needless to say though, it was the partying that latched on to me once I got here. I didn't really party hard, cause by that time I was dedicated to school. I loved learning and I had no intention of letting the party scene change that. And I didn't, either. I had great grades my junior year. What the partying did, though, was take me even further away from God, and deeper into a world of shallow associates and fewer friends. It helped change me into a stranger that most people, including myself, wouldn't recognize or care to know. I really had no clue who I was, but I didn't know it at the time. I cared less and less about anyone but myself. It drove a wedge between me and the girlfriend, although things had been crappy between us for a while. It put distance between me and my family, although I had been doing that since I came back from the desert. I had no foundation whatsoever. I was one guy with one group, another entirely with another. I had no "core" self. I merely let my environment shape my behavior. Life was easier like that. In case you haven't picked up on it yet, I'm all about taking the easy way out. To not do so would require caring, and by this point I had either forgotten how, or was doing anything to avoid having to.

Junior year ended and by this point I had broken up with one girl and got into a relationship with someone else that had the qualities I was looking for. I went back home to live with my parents for the summer, which didn't go as badly as I had planned on it going. It sucked though, because I didn't know my siblings anymore, and I didn't want them to know me.

Senior year rolls around. I have a wonderful girlfriend, a nice car that I own, I'm living off-campus, I have a 4.0 GPA, I'm a sergeant in the Army, and my bank account is loaded. I have the world by its tail. Life is perfect, right? Ha. You couldn't be further from the truth if you tried.

A couple months ago I finally realized that I didn't really know who I was, and it began to bother me. I mean sure- everyone acts a little differently around different groups of people. Sometimes we're more open, more closed. We act differently among our friends and family than we do with strangers. I believe this is normal. Still though, there is, or should be, an underlying core that is always present regardless of who we're with. Think of it as a gem with many facets. Different people see different sides of it, yet they all see the same stone.

I didn't feel this way, though. I had no clue what my 'stone' was, who Richard Boyce really was. And this started to bother me. I had an increasing urge to have a moment of self-discovery. I thought that maybe coming back to Radford would help me with that. I wanted to spend time figuring out what made me who I was, why I did the things I do. And yeah, I know this all sounds stupid. Deal with it.

So I came back to Radford where things proceeded to go even further downhill. The confusion of everything started to build. The stress piled up, I pulled even further away from God, and then I did something really stupid; I broke up with my girlfriend, one of the very few people that could see how messed up I was, yet still cared about me.

Things got even worse after that. I'll not go into detail, but for about a week I just let myself go. Did whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. I basically told God and the rest of the world to buzz off. I became so self-absorbed in my own little world that I did things I'd just never counted on doing. Then on a Saturday night, I became so miserable, so messed up, that for some reason or another God decided that it was time for me to be able to see who I really was.

I have to tell you, I hated what I saw. I saw someone who for the last five years had done everything in his power to make only himself happy. I saw someone who shied away from almost anything that involved caring for anyone but himself. Someone who used people, presented a fake image in order to further his agenda. It made me sick to realize how much I've hurt anyone that's ever known me. I hated myself. More importantly, I saw someone who had been fighting with God for so long, that anything else that mattered in life was in shambles.

I doubt you'll ever be able to comprehend the shame I felt that night. The shame of my actions, as both a 'friend' and a Christian. I missed out on so many wonderful things in life. I'd alienated myself from having a great relationship with my family, friends, girlfriend, and God. It made me sick.

I wanted to find myself, and that's exactly what I did. It was then time to change what I was. I decided it was finally time to stop doing things my way, and get back on track spiritually. I cried there, facedown on my bed, begging God's forgiveness for the mess I'd made of my life. For the first time in years, I was truly repentant. I asked God to help me try to undo the mess I'd made, I asked Him for the strength and courage to do the right thing, rather than once again taking the easy way out. And then...it was like He left.

I've been through some crap before in my lifetime. I've dabbled here and there in depression, I experienced the emotions that come with a combat zone and thinking you're about to die. I've felt the hurt that comes with having a friend or relative die. Nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing, can compare to the misery I had for about three days after getting my heart right with God. I can't even adequately describe the range of emotions I lived with. As I've tried explaining to a couple people, it was a combination of feeling like someone died, like I was the only person left on earth, and like I had been abandoned- both physically and spiritually. I felt as though God had turned His back on me, like there was no one in the world that cared about me. It was the loneliest, most heart-wrenching ordeal I've ever had. I quit eating right, I quit studying, I couldn't even focus my eyes on a book or at the bowling alley. Periodically throughout the day I would get hit with an anxiety attack that just blew me away. I didn't even shower for those three days. I was in a living hell. I tried praying, and that didn't work. I looked through a couple of the Christian-written books that I had in my collection. Nothing seemed to work. Nothing told me why God wasn't there when I needed Him the most. It was so bad that a couple of my teachers told me that they knew something was going on. I had friends here at the school come by or randomly IM me to cheer me up (thanks, guys).

Night times were the worst. I would feel so bad sitting here in my room that finally I would have to call someone, usually my sister. I tried getting in touch with my mom, but she was hard to get in touch with those three days. I could have left a message, but I just didn't know what to say. Then, I called someone who cared, yet it was someone whom I'd hurt pretty badly. So bad that I didn't even feel like I deserved to be seeking comfort from her. The advice I was given? Read the Bible. I hadn't really tried to do this, because I just didn't know where to look, where to find solace from God. She told me to randomly pick a passage and let God direct me to what He wanted me to read.

I was slightly skeptical of this, but I gave it a shot. I asked her to recommend a book of the Bible to start in, and she suggested Ephesians. That night I prayed and asked God to show me what I needed, to speak to me through His word. I found the book pf Ephesians, closed my eyes, put my finger on one of the pages, and then looked. I found Ephesians 6:16, which says Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

I wish I could explain the epiphany I had that night. That verse had so much packed into it. In a condensed version, the verse told me that #1, Satan or his demons were actively trying to trip Christians up. #2, by having faith, we can repel these attacks. Well, maybe not so much ourselves, but with God's help we can. I felt instantly better and spent the rest of the night praying, crying, and sleeping more peacefully than I had in a long, long time (thank you so much for caring, b).

The next day went a lot better, although there were still moments where I felt alone. All I had to do though, was remind myself that regardless of whether or not I could feel Him, He was still there. And He is, too. God is everywhere, seeing everything. And every day since then has been better than the day before. In hindsight, I think I know why I went through those three days of hell. I'll try to explain it to you.

For so long, I'd had my back turned to God and was embracing everything else. Then, I knew it was time to turn back around. Well, somewhere between facing a life filled with nothing but sin and facing God is a void where I was facing neither. It was during that point in my turn that God was waiting there with outstretched arms, and Satan was doing everything in his power to keep me where he wanted me, where I was being one of the most ineffectual Christians you could find. I think those threes days of feeling alone, like God didn't love me, didn't care about me, was a last ditch attack from Hell.

I'm a firm believer in spiritual warfare. Always have been, really. The Bible clearly says that Christians are in a constant struggle with Satan (Ephesians 6:12 - For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."). I think this is the first time in my life I've actually felt the full brunt of this constant battle. I completed the turn, though. It's been almost a week since I was hit with the depression or anxiety.

I've learned so much in this past week. I've learned the importance of spending time in prayer, as well as getting feedback through the Bible. I mean, a relationship with God is like a relationship with anyone: constant communication is a must. It's hard to develop a closeness without talking to Him or reading what He has to say back. I'll tell you something else, too. I believe that the Bible has every answer for any issue you can possibly think of. Alright, enough preaching.

Look guys, here's the reason that I've written this. I've opened up, stripped myself down to the very bottom, so that you can believe me when I say how sorry I am for the things I've done, the things I've said. I'm sorry for being a lousy friend, boyfriend, son, brother, and Christian. I feel that merely saying that I'm sorry is too inadequate, but it's all I can do.

I'm not the same guy y'all knew a couple weeks ago, and I hope I never will be again. Right now my life is on track where it should be. Or it's getting closer everyday, rather. I'm not a saint, and I'll never be perfect. At some point or another you'll all see or hear something that conflicts with everything I just told you. It's gonna happen, people. I'm not perfect. The wonderful thing though, is that God knows we'll never be perfect, nor does He expect us to. All He wants is for us to get right back up when we fall, instead of staying down like I've done for so long.

So don't hold it against me. Rather than giving me grief for the times in my life when I let a word fly that I shouldn't, or I make a small mistake, I want you to look at the overall person I am. This is who I am now. If I sound like a killjoy because I'm not going out on the weekends and getting wasted, or because I'm spending my Friday night at church, that's too bad. I don't apologize for it. But if you're wanting to know the real me, here it is.

It's not going to be easy for me to do the right thing. It's not easy for any Christian to. That's why it's so easy to just say screw it. Any kind of encouragement that you feel like offering is more than welcome. I've already put up with so much crap from some of my roommates for not drinking with them, or for going to church as much as I have this last week. It gets old, quick. But you know something? As long as they're picking at me, it tells me that they can see the change in me. I only hope and pray that I can set a positive example for them. There are so many Christians at this school that blend in with everyone else. I won't be that person anymore.

Anyways, for those of you that have read this far, I just want to say I appreciate your time. I know I've ruined things with some of you. That's just part of the price I have to pay. Part of reaping what you sow, ya know? Hopefully as time progresses things can change, but until then I want to leave you with two questions. One, are you saved? Do you know without any doubt that you're a child of God, that you're going to Heaven when you die? If you don't, I strongly encourage you to call a pastor, your campus religious center, if you have one, or even going online somewhere. You can even follow the steps I outlined earlier.

Question number two: For those of you reading this that know you're a Christian...are you living it? Is there a difference between you and everyone else? There should be. You know as well as I do that we can't love both the world and God. We've got to pick one or the other. For any of you that may be in the same boat I'd spent the last five years in, I hope that reading about my experiences will give you the courage to do what you know is right.

Thanks again for y'alls' time. Have a good one.

(Photo Credit, Edit: Blake Fought)

The Top 10 (Animated) Disney Movies of All-Time

2006-10-03T19:08:00.000-04:00

I confess that I'm a huge fan of Disney movies. So today's DVD release of The Little Mermaid got me thinking about which Disney movies are the "all-time greatest." This list includes the ten best feature-length Disney animated films (not including the Pixar films).

10. Cinderella (1950)

Cinderella is one of the most cherished Disney classics, albeit the most flawed film on this list. The characters and plot aren't fleshed out particularly well, nor is the animation spectacular by any standard. Still, most of us have fond memories of the Royal Ball and the glass slipper and "Bippity-boppity-boo," so this film deserves it's spot on this list.

9. Aladdin (1992)

Aladdin is a great film with great music, great characters, and a great story. The humor is also great, but therein lies the reason that Aladdin isn't higher up on the list. Unlike other Disney movies where the humor has more of a timeless appeal, many of the jokes in Aladdin reference the pop-culture of the day (1992), delivered from the brilliantly-voiced Genie (Robin Williams). Even though our kids won't get many of the jokes, they'll probably laugh anyway because of the enthusiasm Robin Williams and Gilbert Gottfried bring to their parts. This was my favorite movie when I was a kid, and still is one of my favorites today.

8. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)

This was the first-ever feature length animated film, and it's just as fun to watch today. For being the first, the animation was simply fantastic. Colors were vivid, the animation was fluid, and it included some advanced special effects such as smoke and reflections in the water. Walt Disney struck gold with this film; without question it's an important staple in film history.

7. Sleeping Beauty (1959)

Another extremely solid outing from Disney, Sleeping Beauty has the all-time scariest Disney villain, the dark and creepy Maleficent. That was one scary lady. Otherwise, Sleeping Beauty had a great storyline and awesome animation. It was a little darker than most Disney films at that time, which made it even better.

6. Pinocchio (1940)

Walt's second big film, Pinocchio, has one of the most timeless stories of any Disney movie. We can all relate to the young wooden boy's adventurous spirit and hard lessons he had to learn along the way. The Blue Fairy, Jiminy Cricket, the giant whale, and that nose that grows all bring back fond memories of Pinocchio's tale. Always remember, as Jiminy Cricket said, to "let your conscience be your guide!"

5. Lady and the Tramp (1955)

This movie is adorable beyond all reason. If you're a dog lover, it's impossible to not gush when Jim first unwraps Lady, or feel bad for those poor dogs that live in the pound. Trusty, the dog who'd lost his ability to smell, is one of the coolest Disney characters ever. But most of all, Lady and the Tramp works extremely well as a love story. Eating spaghetti has never seemed so romantic.

4. The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)

This is the most under-appreciated Disney movie of all time, and without a doubt 99% of you wonder why I even have this on the list. I'd suggest you go rent this movie and watch it again; you may actually find yourself agreeing with me. The Hunchback of Notre Dame is much darker and more serious than any other Disney movie (perhaps the darkest G-rated film ever), which is why few parents took their kids to see it (hence its lack of popularity). But the truth is that The Hunchback of Notre Dame is one of the best stories ever put to film, has some of the best music of any Disney film, and has THE best animation of any Disney film. Trust me, go see it again.

3. The Little Mermaid (1989)

The Little Mermaid kicked off what I call the "golden age of Disney animation," the stretch of Disney movies from The Little Mermaid to the Lion King (and arguable all the way through 1998's Mulan). This was the first movie to feature Disney’s "modern" animation style (a style which I much prefer over computer animation), and the story, music, and characters also set a new standard for the House of Mouse. "Sha la la la the time is right! You’ve got to…kiss the girl." Purchasing today’s DVD release is a no-brainer.

2. The Lion King (1994)

What a great movie. Taking pages from Old Testament Bible stories as well as Shakespeare's Hamlet, and placing them in Africa turned out to be brilliant move on Disney's part. The story is powerful and the characters are believable and fun to watch. Not to mention that Scar may well be the baddest Disney villain of them all. Mufassa's death scene sets The Lion King apart from most other Disney movies (many of you still cry every time you watch it). The soundtrack is also one of Disney's best.

1. Beauty and the Beast (1991)

What can really be said about this movie to describe its greatness? Its story is transcendent, the music is fantastic, and the characters are brilliant. If you're going to put a fairy tale to film, this is the way to do it. Plus, the ballroom scene is one of the most memorable scenes in Disney movie history. It's difficult to explain what makes Beauty and the Beast so good, it speaks so well on its own. Ladies and gentlemen, Beauty and the Beast is the greatest animated film ever.

Photo Credit: http://disney.satarma.com/zimages/clipart/ariel02.gif

America's Double Standard

2006-10-02T14:42:00.000-04:00

America has the most outrageous double standard I have ever seen. It is seen in day to day life by the words we are "allowed" to use. It is shown in the justification of reverse discrimination. It is shown through what is considered "art." It's bullshit and about time everyone started seeing their flaws because I truly believe many of you who engage in these behaviors see no problem with them.

The easiest to point out is the words we are "allowed" to use. First, who the hell has the right to dictate to me what words I am not allowed to say? Last time I checked, the first amendment protected free speech. So if I am walking down the street and think something is lame enough to call it gay, then don't I have that right? Oh, no! That might offend people who are gay. Well, guess what? I don't like the idea of placing your penis in the rectum of another man, so therefore the word gay has a negative connotation to me. Also, countless polls and statewide referendums have proven the majority of Americans don't really like the gay lifestyle either. So, in the interest of the majority, (we still have a democracy here don't we?) I should be free to call things "gay," "homo," and, my personally favorite "gay as AIDS."

But this is just the tip of the iceberg. But I bet you, the readers, that that above paragraph will over go some major scrutiny and censorship before it is allowed to see the light of day on a predominantly liberal publication. Sorry, but that is just the truth.

We should now talk about racial slurs. Why is it fair (a word that liberals idolize almost more than Sheehan, Moore, or Clinton) that blacks can go around calling each other "nigga," but when some homie with his pants around his knees, three shirts - all white tee's and off the shoulder - shoots a cop and someone refers to him as a "nigger," people are in an uproar. As a side note, notice I did not call the person in question African American? What if they were British? It would be pretty arrogant to assume all black people are from America. Anyways, to get back on track: you can't limit speech to one group or the other. This whole "it's our word" is completely ludicrous. We all know good and well if the white community claimed a word and said it was theirs, the NAACP, Jesse Jackson, and Reverend Al Sharpton (where is his church anyways?) would be throwing a hissy fit.

I could go on for ages about the words we are banned from using in a social setting because we might offend someone. But guess what, you don't have that right to protection against being offended.

So let's talk about social groups. There are tons of all female colleges. Whenever a guy tries to apply, they view it as the males trying to infiltrate their world. Hey, if I could get into a school with a bunch of lesbians and girls who haven't seen a guy in months, don't you think I would try to apply? But are there any all male colleges left? Hampden-Sydney? But if a female tries to attend a school like The Citadel, the ACLU and every femi-nazi in the country is protesting and holding rallies. So why the double standard? How about all/predominantly black colleges?

We don't even have to get that political over this issue. Simply look at BET. Black Entertainment Television? When will we ever see a White Entertainment station? I bet you never. Maybe E! would fall in that category, but they could never be so bold to come out and say this is a segregated channel unlike some others on the air.

I will be humble for a second though. I have no solution to this. That was not my intention, but instead just to call some people out and make them realize that in their quest for "fairness" they are becoming the exact people they are trying to protect from. Any ideas on how to solve this problem would be greatly appreciated. However, there are a few guidelines. I reserve the right to use my freedom of speech. It is a right not a privilege. Second, all groups must be accounted for. Simply saying it is ok for white people to use "nigga/er/however you want to spell it" is not sufficient. All people must be allowed the same rights as everyone else. And finally, if you are a racist/homophobic/chauvinistic dick who is ruining this for everyone else, knock it off. I want the right to call people gay, towel-heads, or whatever suits my fancy at the moment.

Photo Credit: http://www.cagle.com/news/CynthiaMcKinney/images/cagle00.gif

The Garden Variety, Typically Incorrect Liberal and Iraq

2006-10-01T03:20:00.000-04:00

I'll be completely blunt with you, America, I am fed up with the stance that today's garden variety, typically incorrect liberals are taking regarding the war in Iraq. Too often they fail to show an understanding of the importance of claiming a win in Saddam Hussein's former terrorist paradise, claim that every single aspect of the war is a failure or is in the process of failing and that the only solution to the crisis is to cut and run. It is a stance so annoyingly wrong one sometimes expects to hear a musical jingle accompanied by the "If I Only Had a Brain" lyrics from the Wizard of Oz playing along in the background.

The common opener for the garden variety, typically incorrect liberal regarding Iraq deals with the rationale for entering the Middle Eastern country in the first place. To act like they truly understand the issue, they recite the most recent Bush-bashing sermon delivered by Rev. Howard Dean or the patron saint of liberalism, Michael Moore. More than likely this intelligent statement concocted by those two airheads goes something like, "Bush lied, thousands died." The rhyme is supposed to make the liberal appear intelligent because (heavy sarcasm) Lord knows that it is so hard to rhyme words together (end heavy sarcasm). From the very beginning, the liberal appears to have the upper hand when, back in the world of reality, they do not.

Nevertheless, this little rhyme shows a complete misunderstanding of how the war began. The garden variety, typically incorrect liberal fails to recall that not only did the United States believe that Saddam Hussein was in possession of weapons of mass destruction, but so did the international community. France, Germany, Russia and the rest of the U.N.(ecessary) believed that the former Iraqi dictator had WMD and was capable of using them on his own citizens, US interests and allies and whoever the former leader felt like using them on. Weapons inspector Hans Blix went so far as to say that Iraq had "not genuinely accepted U.N. resolutions demanding that it disarm." Simply put, everyone thought that Iraq had WMD and could use it whenever it liked. If anything, the bumper stickers out there should read "Bush and everyone else in the internationally community lied, thousands died." Ah, but that would not be catchy to the garden variety, typically incorrect liberal so scratch the idea. My mistake.

The garden variety, typically incorrect liberal also fails to recognize the 500+ WMD that were found after the war and brought up by Senator Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) in late June. They refuse to accept that Saddam had WMD because their entire argument about the war would crumble as quickly as the Clinton's anger management recently.

Typically, the "Bush lied, thousands died" argument, as wrong as it is, is tied into cut and run politics. It is used as rationale for surrendering to the terrorists in Iraq because, for some bizarre reason, if we enter any war under (supposed) false pretenses, the logical solution is to get out as quick as you can no matter the consequences.

Those consequences seem to be above the garden variety, typically incorrect liberal's head when it comes to considering what would occur if the troops pulled out of Iraq right now. Most garden variety, typically incorrect liberals seem to think that if we backed out right now, the Iraqi's would pop the champagne and dance in the streets. Terrorists would lay down their arms in thanks and would use their suicide bombs as fireworks instead of weapons. Osama bin Laden would fly to the US and drink the finest wine available with President Bush at the White House while they discuss the upcoming action in the National Football League. (Being a former criminal himself, bin Laden would constantly speak up for the Baltimore Ravens whenever the AFC North would be brought up.) Afterwards, Bush and bin Laden would travel to the closest elementary school and give the best student there a pony with 24K gold-plated horseshoes.

Right. And the next day, Ted Kennedy will quit drinking and admit to killing Mary Jo Kopechne. Sorry folks, but this is a pipe dream.

We as a nation have to stay the course in Iraq and, if anything, send more troops in to get the job done faster. We are turning a ravaged country into the beginnings of what could be a modern nation in Iraq complete with a Constitution and democratic government. Remember how long it took the United States to get this sort of thing going? Now take a look at how long we've been at work in Iraq trying to get a similar thing to happen.

This process is not supposed to be as easy as the McDonald's drivethru. You don't simply pull in, give orders and they are carried out. The terrorists out there know what our goal is in the Middle East and it has become their goal to stop us by any means possible. Their morale improves every time a big-name liberal steps up to a podium and pours out the "Bush lied, thousands died" garbage like a waterfall. Their morale improves every time a big-name liberal comes out and bashes the President and the war without giving any plans on how to fix things. (It's amazing, really. Instead of present a clear plan on what to do in Iraq, the majority of the garden variety, typically incorrect liberal world just complains about the state of things in Iraq.) These folks feed off of American weakness.

Yes, our troops are dying, the terrorists are being meanies and France is laughing at us (like we care about the latter).

Here's a news flash to the garden variety, typically incorrect liberals out there: people die in war. Sure, it is a horrible thing but you have to accept causalities in war. That is a simple fact. The goal in war is to win it with the least amount of causalities as possible.

Here's where the problem occurs in the mind of the garden variety, typically incorrect liberal: they seem to fail to understand that while war stinks and you try to win it with the least amount of deaths as possible, if a single life is lost in the cause, the war is not worth fighting and it is time to pack things up and go. This position couldn't be any more incorrect if it tried.

The "Cut and Run" strategy makes absolutely no sense. Never in the history of warfare has surrender equaled victory in the long run. If we were to back out of Iraq right now, the terrorists would claim a major victory in the war on Terrorism/Islamofascism and they would only strengthen. They would see weakness in the great US of A and would try to continue to push and push, hoping to help the broken window to shatter.

Remember when bin Laden cited the US backout of Somalia in 1993 by the Clinton administration (geniuses they were) as a sign of American weakness? It strengthened his hopes of staging attacks against America and those hopes became true on a large scale nearly a decade later. Do we want to see what type of evil is unleashed on this country as a result of surrendering to an enemy we will defeat if we are patient enough? I highly doubt it.

Photo Credit: http://www.corporatedump.com/images/stressred.gif

RUnderground hits the 10K!

2006-09-29T21:04:00.000-04:00

I'd like to take this opportunity to congratulate RUnderground for hitting the 10,000 readership mark! This is a phenominal achievement for us; we had often dreamed and wondered if this day would ever come, and sure enough it's here, cementing RUnderground as a bona fide success with the Radford University community! Sure, we celebrated when the hit counter reached 2500, 5000, and 7500, but even then we were looking ahead to this special milestone; and lo and behold, here we are merely five months after the site first launched.

The reason I believe RUnderground has been such a success is because of its writers' fresh perspectives on local and world issues and their boldness to speak their minds no matter what others may think or say. RUnderground stands out because the writers truly have convictions. That's rare today. The passion for the things they write about simply oozes with every word they write and every article that's posted. The discussions that follow in the "Comments" section of each article are lively and spirited. That's what keeps drawing our readers back for more.

I especially want to congratulate Blake. RUnderground is his brainchild, and Blake has stayed true to his vision for this site from Day One, all while keeping things fun and interesting. I personally want to thank Blake for giving us all the opportunity to be part of this ride, and for believing in us the whole way through. It's refreshing to have a place like this where anyone who wants to can be a writer and post whenever he/she feels like it. Generally Blake writes the "landmark readership" articles, but I wanted to beat him to the punch this time so that he could get the praise that he well deserves. Hope he isn't too mad at me for it :) It's been a blast, man.

I also want to take this time to re-dedicate myself to posting regularly on this site. It's been a while since I posted my last article (I've been quite busy), but I'm ready to get back into the swing of things again and post some of the exciting articles I had promised to a long time ago.

Photo Credit: Justin Hawks

Is Anything Untouchable these Days?

2006-09-29T19:33:00.000-04:00

"Fans" of Whim Internet Magazine's "Christ on Campus" series - get ready for the latest in tasteless cartoons at Whim. From the the magazine that brought you Jesus in the middle of a sexual encounter and God telling a troubled young kid to shut up comes a new toon that shows no respect for the victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks.

The toon is broken into three parts/panels. The first depicts two towers in the likeness of the World Trade Center in New York City prior to the terrorist attacks. The next panel shows two guys in an office, both wearing glasses and standing inside the building. The guy on the left is drinking coffee and says to the one on the right, "Hey Jim! How are you on this beautiful September morning?"

The fellow on the right responds with "Not so good, Steve! I was sick all night, the car broken down this morning, I spilled coffee on myself, then I left my wallet on the damn subway! I just don't see how this day could get any worse!" The third panel depicts an airplace flying straight toward one of the two towers as shown in the first panel in a similar manner to the one that crashed into the World Trade Center.

Admittedly, the toon is entitled "Poor Taste," so the reader should have seen something like this coming. Nevertheless, it really makes one wonder what is untouchable these days to these folks. Clearly Jesus Christ and 9/11 victims are on the short list of groups/people who are perfect for cheap laughs (if one could laugh at those cartoons). Some last semester, when people railed against "Christ on Campus," wondered what group was next on the list of the ones that would be attacked/mocked. Some asked what would have happened if Martin Luther King Jr. or the Jews from the Holocaust were the focus of the series.

I guess we all missed the ball on that one. It wasn't King Jr. or the Jews - it was the innocent civilians whose lives were lost back on one of this nations darkest days.

(Photo Credit: http://incolor.inebraska.com/dannyk/photos/91101/hero11.jpg)

Internationally Disrespectful

2006-09-27T20:45:00.000-04:00

At first I thought this was a joke, but I was wrong. The press release reads, "Radford University celebrates Diversity Week September 25-29. This year's theme is "An 'I' Opening Experience" and will be emphasized through the numerous events scheduled. It is a week dedicated to creating awareness of different cultures and building community." What rock did Radford University suddenly crawl out form underneath?

The Office of Multicultural and International Student Services, which is a bit comical to me on its own, is sponsoring "Diversity" week here at RU. I am of the personal opinion, as are most self-respecting individuals that we ought to have an Office of American Student Services. Please save yourself the trouble of trying to make the case that everything here is already for Americans because it does not float. One of our campus' multicultural gurus recently made a comment to the effect of; I don't feel comfortable putting money into this, referring to a relatively normal American activity. Well my dear, this is going to be a news flash. The American people don't feel like putting money into multicultural efforts aimed at elevating international causes and marginalizing our own.

Here is the crux of this entire issue in a nutshell. America does not have, celebrate, or participate in multiculturalism. America is ONE culture. It is an amalgamation of different cultures that have come together to form a new singular, collective culture known to us as American. In the sense of a social fabric, Irish culture, African culture, and Mexican culture are simply patches in the quilt. All are vital because they add to the whole, but on their own they are still beautiful. You can enjoy each piece for its own reasons and still love the quilt.

This is not a new concept. When you prop up less-familiar cultures in the name of multiculturalism, or as it ought to be called, institutionalized hate, you demote others. You make other people, namely the majority feel like they ought to be ashamed of being themselves. You may not mean to do this, or maybe you do. We'll fly international flags in Heth circle and celebrate other cultures, but God forbid we have WAP or an American flag in that circle. The politics of hypocrisy and deep-seeded discrimination are fertile here at RU.

(Photo Credit: http://www.ardcotemplates.com)

Lay It Down

2006-09-25T15:01:00.000-04:00

Have you ever wondered to yourself why so much violence is concentrated in and around Islam? Have you thought, to yourself, that maybe that religion has something to do with the problem? I have. So, I did a bit of homework and brushed up on the history of Islam.

Our buddy Muhammad, after being kicked out of Mecca, goes to the next city, Medina and gathers and army. He takes that army and goes back to the first city, Mecca and takes it back by force. Then, after gathering divine morality fighting a war, Muhammad becomes what is now considered to be the Prophet Muhammad. He feels that he is there to shed light on what the Jews and Christians, infidels mind you, have done to God's word. So an angel comes to Muhammad in a cave, and delivers messages from god (note of course (g)od in this sense as not Jehova God, God Almighty).

Religion which preaches the violent overthrow of anyone, on the basis of religion or anything else, has not the right and protection of freedom. Free people have a freedom, as much as I am saddened by it, from religion. They can choose to shun God. In Islam, those who do not believe Abraham chose Ishmael and that this son of a whore, literally, is the rightful heir of that holy lineage does not have the right to exist. Is this the exclusive view of radical Islam? No, it is not. The Quran preaches the defeat of non-believers, not coexistence. So, are there Über-Liberal people who do want coexistence? Yes, there are. However, a true Muslim, dedicated to their faith, does not.

I wish the group of contemporary Muslims was ruling the roost of Islam. However, as we see today, Russian Chechnya, the Middle East, and countless other places in the world are being tormented by the plague that is Islamo-Fascism. Folks, this world is hurting in a major way. Never before has man needed God and needed His love. At this point in the state of humanity, that is the only thing that is going to be worth anything to anyone.

Fear is useless and strength is our calling. "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid (Psalms 27:1)?"

(Photo Credit: http://islam.about.com)

In Response To..., I

2006-09-22T19:23:00.000-04:00

An open letter to the Misinformed Liberals of the World:

You're killing any hope that there are liberals out there these days that are capable of understanding, or simply unwilling to even consider, what we (Christian) conservatives value. Contrary to the belief of some (er, make that most) of the liberal establishment, conservatives tolerate all forms of variance within our society such as (but not limited to) minorities, women, children, the disabled, intellectuals, homosexuals, transgender persons, anyone on welfare, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, atheists, artists, the cities of New Orleans, San Francisco, Boston and New York, and yes, you - the common, garden variety liberals lurking in our midst. We just refuse to accept some of those groups as practicing something - anything - positive. This may be a shocker, but what this country was founded upon, in part, is the ability to not like something and yet having the freedom to try to do something about it. To make an analogy to the sports world, Red Sox fans tolerate Yankees fans and visa versa. They do not, however, have to accept that the Yankees are better than the Red Sox (and again, visa versa).

You also seem to show a complete misunderstanding of why radical Islamic terrorists despise this country. They despise this country because (1) the majority of its citizens are followers of Christianity or Judaism, (2) we pride ourselves on having the freedom of religion (not to be confused with the so-called "separation of church and state" you folks seem to love so well despite its complete absence from the Constitution and the overwhelming tendency to restrict - not promote - religious freedom) that allows its citizens the right to practice the faith of their choosing, (3) we treat women with respect instead of the "do as I say, lesser one, for I AM MAN" mindset most radical Islamic terrorists subscribe to (to be honest, if they had it their way, any woman reading this sentence would likely be shot for being too educated for her own good), (4) we back Israel and, of course, (5) we have better tasting apple pie than they do.

As stated before, a person can tolerate anything - an opposing political group, for example - but does not have to accept them as being right. In this country, a person is capable of pointing out what he or she thinks is wrong and saying so if he or she feels so inclined. This is performed on a daily basis by (shocker!) both conservatives and liberals.

Granted, there are liberals to whom this thinking does not apply. They understand the issues and make for good conversations about what to do about this country's future. Joe Lieberman is a good example of this group and it is quite a shame that his own party turned on him because he did not turn into a zombie-like Bush-bashing robot like most of the leaders in his party did. (His supporters, coupled with conservatives in Connecticut, should have him back in office after November, though, so it is all good.) Those folks don't buy into the spoon-fed garbage that CNN, the New York Times, the Washington Post and MoveOn.org feed them. They actually research the issues and take positions based on their own research and rational thought processes instead of following what they are told to follow because Michael Moore, Sean Penn or the great Alec Baldwin says it is true.

We also enjoy reading Ann Coulter books instead of her alternative-universe counterpart, Anne Coulter.

In summary, we hope that this brief discourse has shed a light on some of the misconceptions that you seem to have about we who call ourselves conservatives. Have a nice weekend from all of us.

(Photo Credit: http://www.britishcouncil.org/hu/hungary-english-learn-english-in-hungary-330x220-snapshots-ents-110-young-man-writing-a-letter.jpg)

Losing the War on Terror

2006-09-19T22:15:00.000-04:00

Many people today fail to realize what the War on Terror is actually about, plain and simple. That sentence, written over and over, alone could be an article in itself, albeit boring. The truth is that people see this conflict with radical Islam as an operation (including our pansy of a Commander-in-Chief) instead of an all-out war like the enemy does. Until the world, or at the very least, America realizes this, the body counts will continue to rise and the war will continue longer than it should.

Before getting into how this nation is actually losing in the War on Terror, it would make sense to first establish what exactly it is.

Simply put, it is the Tenth Crusade (there were more major crusades in the past but they were not numbered by historians), a battle between a portion of the Muslim world and those who do not fall under the previous category. The enemy sees this nation, as well as others overseas, as a conglomerate of savages who must be destroyed by whatever means. They fail to recognize fairness in combat and any documents that establish the rules of engagement or treatment of prisoners. They remove heads from the bodies of the innocent (or, in their minds, the already guilty) and film the gruesome act in hopes that it will make the news in a matter of hours and their apparent power can be shown. They hate this nation for its freedoms. They hate how we allow women to go to school and treat them as the princesses they are instead of acting like they are nothing more than veiled walking vaginas under the command of their male masters (and the Left likes to call the Right in America closed-minded?). They hate how we worship Jesus Christ or the alternatives like Buddha, Vishnu and Baha'u'llah (just to name a few). They plot to destroy, to kill every one with a breath in their bodies no matter what age, sex, race, religion, sexual preference, etc. they are.

Many in this country feel the need to call attention to various human emergencies overseas such as Darfur or Tibet, letting the supposedly-uneducated masses that bad stuff is happening beyond our borders. To those people, wake up and see beyond what CNN, the New York Times and MoveOn.org is spouting from their closed-minded mouths. There is a global Crusade afoot and it is claiming lives and governments.

In Israel, radical Islam is at war with the Jews. In various portions of the Middle East, radical Islam is at war with Christians and the Jews. In various portions of the former Soviet satellites, radical Islam is at war with the Russians. And recently, radical Islam claimed its first major victory in the global War on Terrorism by overthrowing the Buddhist government in Thailand.

This is no joke, folks. These terrorists are slowly taking over the world and doing it with relative ease. And whenever they are met with a major roadblock in completing their objective, it is removed by some group within the ranks of their enemy such as the ACLU, the U.S. Supreme Court, Hollywood or the elected members of the Democratic Party of America in Congress.

Here's a question for the misinformed (which, for those who may be confused as to who they are on this - the misinformed are anyone who watches CNN, reads the L.A. Times, Washington Post or America's favorite terrorist-supporter, the New York Times. It also applies to anyone who has bought into the lie that there is no liberal media in the world, let alone the United States and loves that good 'ole MoveOn.Org): who is in a better position right now - the prisoners we have captured and detained at Guantanamo Bay or the average American homeless person?

The shocking answer? The terrorist.

Oh, before you start screaming and feel that heart start to rip open so the blood can come rushing out, consider this: most homeless in this country are poorly fed, at times live on the streets in the rain, rarely ever find themselves comfortable and have little connections to the privileges most Americans take for granted. Unlike those poor folks, the life of a captured terrorist is pretty darn good. They have access to pharmacies, dentists, an operating room (some 20+ terrorists have been given prosthetic limbs and almost 300 inmates have had an operation of some form), high-quality meals, special time to pray to Mecca where they cannot be interrupted for any reason and La-Z-Boys in their interrogation rooms (no, it is for the interrogated, not the interrogator before you ask). Heck, it wouldn't be surprising to find a McDonald's or a room service system complete with a Mr. Coffee down in that Cuban prison.

This nation has decided to baby its prisoners with flowers instead of locking them away with three mediocre meals a day, a toilet and a sink. No, that wouldn't be politically correct. Instead of equipping the interrogation and prison system designed to keep these murderers out from the world and to extract intel from them, this nation has decided to equip those systems with flowers, a smile and La-Z-Boys.

What type of hippie-esque garbage is this? Since when did America lose its backbone and spare me the comparisons to the Nazi regime like brainless senator Dick Durbin feels the need to use - removing the La-Z-Boys, free healthcare (Imagine that! The Left's plan of giving free healthcare to everyone includes those who want to slit their throats at first chance!) and Barney the Dinosaur treatment does not make us comparable to the Nazis. That vile regime misfed their prisoners and stuffed them into oversized ovens. Correct me if I'm wrong but this does not occur in any U.S. prison.

But the failure in War on Terrorism extends beyond this country's treatment of captured terrorists. Take the recent "cemetery" debacle, where some 20-30 terrorists where all grouped together in a cemetery to pay respects to a fallen comrade. These guys were about to be incinerated under a warhead from a U.S. bomber until the attack was called off because the rules of engagement restrict our troops from attacking people in a cemetery. As a result, those 20-30 terrorists were allowed to walk away to suicide bomb another day. If you feel the need to let these guys pay respects to the dead, fine - but why not hover over them until they decided to leave the cemetery and trust me - they will - and take them out thereafter? It makes no sense.

The President has given into these hippie-esque causes. He has proven to be weak on foreign policy beyond his speeches to the U.N.(ecessary) and the American people when he talks about how it's time to take out the enemy. With what, Mr. Bush? With what? Are you honestly going to let the military get equipped with spitballs because the ACLU and Supreme Court (what a disgrace they are to this country over the course of their existence) wants to make sure that the Geneva Convention, which was designed to make rules for two warring groups that are attacking each other fight a fair war instead of an all-out war like the Islamo fascists are waging against the entire world, to a group that does not abide by those rules? I'm sorry, but if a pitcher hits three consecutive batters in a baseball game, the umpire is going to eject him from the game for failing to abide by the rules.

Enough is enough with the restrictions on the ability to win the War on Terrorism. Heck, I won't even get into how the liberal media continues to compromise America's ability to win the war while at the same time spouting the lies that the Left is so loving of regarding the Bush Administration's war in Iraq. That's for another day.

Enough is enough. You cannot win a war with spitballs and flowers firing out of your guns. If you are going to wage a war, you do it for real. Sure, you follow basic rules like not attacking the unarmed, the innocent, children and the lot but the extra garbage rules our military has been slapped by from the oh-so-wonderful Democrats in Congress, the ACLU and MoveOn.org are insane. But then again, we've already figured out that those respective groups are already insane in almost everything they do, no?

(Photo Credit: http://www.suck.uk.com/photos/3Guns01.jpg)