CA Court Trashes Traditional Marriage – Dr. Paul J. Dean
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=64357

The California Supreme Court today trashed society's traditional institution of marriage, opening it up for same-sex duos because retaining the historic definition "cannot properly be viewed as a compelling state interest." In a 4-3 decision replete with concurring and dissenting opinions filed by individual members of the court, the majority opinion determined state laws specifying marriage as being between a man and a woman were unconstitutional. "First, the exclusion of same-sex couples from the designation of marriage clearly is not necessary in order to afford full protection to all of the rights and benefits that currently are enjoyed by married opposite-sex couples," the court opined. "Permitting same-sex couples access to the designation of marriage will not deprive opposite-sex couples of any rights."

Commentary

Three issues stand out here. First, one of the things evangelicals must wrestle with is whether or not it is the role of the government to define marriage. God is the One who has defined marriage. It is His institution and must be regulated by Him, not the state. For the government to define and regulate marriage is to encroach upon God’s territory and set itself up in God’s place.

Second, because this is a church issue and not a state issue, the church ever needs to be the church in these discussions. Only when a culture is permeated with the gospel will that culture adopt a biblical worldview concerning the issue of marriage. Until Christians learn this simple truth, we will not win the battle through the courts. Until we learn what the battle is and where and how to fight it, we will continue to fail.

Third, along those lines, observation of public debate between evangelicals and homosexual activists concerning this issue is instructive. We will never win the debate by attempting to be philosophically neutral or by debating on the homosexuals’ territory, or from their worldview. In other words, arguments advanced by evangelicals connected to scientific studies of how children do better when raised by heterosexual couples, or arguments linked to the redefinition of marriage by society, or its demise in esteem by that society, will not work. While those things are true, homosexual activists will remain unconvinced due to the fact that they look at the data through a different worldview lens and the fact that they are convinced they are right. Further, they have studies and statistics to offer as well.

Whenever we give up our presupposition that God has spoken, we give up the only real argument that has power. The simple fact is that homosexuality and homosexual marriage is sin. This fact must be pointed out and persons must be called to repentance. We must argue at a worldview level. If there is a God, then He has a standard. What that standard is ever remains the issue. We are not trying to convince men that our opinion is right. Neither will we ever be able to do so. We are trying to convince men that they have sinned against a Holy God and need to repent. When we attempt that, the Holy Spirit speaks along side of our voice to do what He alone can do: change hearts, and thereby change spiritual opinions.

Evangelical Writers Challenged to Avoid Alienating the Unchurched – Dr. Paul J. Dean
http://www.churchexecutive.com/news.asp?N_ID=1265

Evangelical writers nearly always alienate non-evangelicals in their works, noted long-time Christian writer and editor Tim McLaughlin. McLaughlin contends that evangelicals include personal information in a biography to establish credibility based on religious standards rather than professional. After careful consideration, he decided to delete the line on family life in a biography and leave just the subject’s professional qualification in his efforts to edit out the “passwords” used in evangelical writing. “Let’s not call marriage ‘biblical,’ as we like to, but healthy,” posed McLaughlin. ... “Adam and Eve had no civil ceremony, Abraham slept with other women including Hagar, Isaac’s wife was selected by his father’s servant and was his cousin, David ‘collected wives like military victories, and his most memorable son came from an affair with a married woman,’ and Prophet Hosea married a whore,” McLaughlin noted, speaking from a non-evangelical point of view. “So what do we have as a biblical model for marriage?” he asked while chuckling.

Commentary

There is no doubt that evangelicals need to learn how to talk in such a way so as not to unnecessarily offend non-evangelicals and thereby lose an opportunity for gospel advance. The Scriptures are clear that our speech should be seasoned with salt and that we are to walk in wisdom toward those who are outside of the faith. Applications of these principles abound and discussion should be evoked thereby.

However, the suggestions called for in this article are misguided. To substitute the word “healthy” for “biblical” is to say nothing in terms of one’s character or the standard to which one holds. It is that different standard, that change of life, that commitment to a different worldview that is ultimately attractive to the uninitiated, not a lowering of such standards. If Christians are no different from the world, why would the world even bother to consider Christianity? It is true that pagans do not like Christians or their standard. At the same time, it is that standard that becomes attractive when God is at work. In the same way, pagans hate the gospel. But, it is that same gospel that is the power of God unto salvation.

Further, McLaughlin is guilty of twisting the Scripture in his brief diatribe against biblical marriage. Neither Abraham nor David is held out as a model for us in terms of what it means to be faithful in marriage. Hosea was commanded to marry a prostitute as a picture of God’s redeeming love. To say the one-man-for-one-woman-for-one-lifetime is not the biblical model, as McLaughlin implies, is to twist the Scriptures. The bible is replete with teaching on marriage and Christ Himself is the standard.

In the end, as one reads what McLaughlin actually says, it is not his concern for the lost that is driving his comments. At their root is a liberal theology that rejects the authority of Scripture.

Aim at 'Spiritually Interested' Sparks 'The Shack' Sales – Dr. Paul J. Dean
http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/news/2008-04-30-shack_N.htm

A little novel written by an Oregon salesman and self-published by two former pastors with a $300 marketing budget is lighting up USA TODAY's Best-Selling Books list with a wrenching parable about God's grace. First-time author William P. Young's book The Shack, in which the father of a murdered child encounters God the Father as a sarcastic black woman, Jesus as a Middle Eastern laborer and the Holy Spirit as an Asian girl, is No. 8 on the list. Lynn Garrett, senior religion editor for Publishers Weekly, calls the book's success "most unusual. It's every self-published author's dream to start out this way and sell at this level. People are not necessarily concerned with how orthodox the theology is. People are into the story and how the book strikes them emotionally," Garrett says.

Commentary

That this novel is popular is not surprising considering the spiritual but relativistic society we have become. What should be surprising, however, is the popularity the book has gained among Christians. Of course, that popularity highlights major problems in the church today.

When a novel freely alters biblical teaching on doctrines connected to salvation and the nature of God Himself and is not rejected outright, it is no wonder that we find ourselves in an “evangelicalism divided.” To say that “people are not necessarily concerned with how orthodox the theology is...and [that] people are into the story and how the book strikes them emotionally,” is to unwittingly put a finger on the problem. Large segments of the church have bought into a therapeutic, moralistic, deism to borrow a phrase. Such a position flows from a willingness to say that my experience trumps God’s revelation. Or, truth is not important if I feel good spiritually. As postmodernism slowly infects the church, more Christians are willing to allow story to trump propositional truth. Biblical discernment is the great need of the church in this desperate hour.

From a practical standpoint, too many works under the heading of Christian fiction have led too many astray. Because the bible is not that exciting to the typical church member, Christian fiction has gained a foothold in the hearts of the so-called faithful. The problem lies in the fact that for the vast majority of those individuals, rather than allowing a biblical theology to provide discernment in connection to their reading, it is the novel itself that shapes their theology. A committed believer shared with me that he believed Christ went to Hell and had a physical boxing match with Satan because he read it in a novel. When challenged, his response was, “How do you know that didn’t happen?” The problem with his question is obvious: truth is not determined by what may or may not have happened, not by what we would like it to be, not by what we read in a novel, but by the revelation of God. In the final analysis, when people are not satisfied with the truth, the truth is, they are not satisfied with God.

“Grand Theft Auto IV” Has Lots of Critics –Dr. Paul J. Dean
http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=27962

If the name "Grand Theft Auto IV" doesn't give away the violent and explicit content of the latest teenage video game craze, then the multiple warnings on the packaging do. "GTA IV," as it is called," carries a "Mature" rating for "blood," "intense violence," "partial nudity," "strong language," "strong sexual content" and the "use of drugs and alcohol."…The latest release, in fact, could become the top-selling video game of all time. It went on sale April 29 and already is the top-selling video game on Amazon.com. The game revolves around "Niko Bellic," an immigrant from Eastern Europe who lives in "Liberty City" –- essentially a faux name for New York City. The video gamer, playing the role of Niko, steals cars, kills cops and gang members, runs over pedestrians on the sidewalk, gets drunk, visits strip clubs and has sex with prostitutes. The game has multiple critics, including Mothers Against Drunk Driving, which is upset that players can get drunk and then drive.

Commentary

Parents and teenagers who claim to be Christians: be warned. Satan’s attacks are subtle. What some consider to be benign entertainment is no such thing. Every thing we see or hear comes from one of two worldviews: a Christian worldview or a non-Christian worldview. Too often Christians miss this reality. Equally problematic is the fact that those who understand such a dynamic often feel that filling one’s mind with such things has no effect upon them or that they can counteract the effect with a heavy dose of God somehow.

These notions are both ignorant and arrogant. The battlefield on which we as Christians wage war is the mind/heart. We are constantly told to “renew our minds” as Satan, the world, and our own flesh war against our souls. If we do not see our lives as a battle nor understand where the battlefield is, we have lost already. Our minds are corrupted daily with the constant onslaught of ideas contrary to God. Without a constant renewal of our minds we are unable to put-off the sin that so easily entangles us and put on righteousness.

Of course, the real question is simple: what does it say about one’s heart that loves the things portrayed in “Grand Theft Auto IV?” Examine yourselves. The true believer increasingly hates the things God hates and loves the things God loves.

Too often we reject the truth for fear of being equated with some form of legalism. There is no doubt that legalism kills and we must reject it as much as we must reject libertinism. But, it is not legalistic to say that filling one’s mind with images contrary to God is not only sin but destructive. Because of our flesh, we do not have the ability to fight off the resulting influence of such a steady barrage of the mind. In fact, our flesh loves such. And even if we could regularly take such a barrage unscathed, who among us is willing to say that God is ambivalent about the issue? These are the very things God hates. These are the very things that put Christ on the cross. These are the very things for which Hell exists. Argue with God if you will, but, Grand Theft Auto IV is grand theft of the soul.

Manners are getting worse? – Dr. Paul J. Dean
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080428/od_nm/rude_dc

LONDON (Reuters) - Britons are ruder than they were a decade ago, according to a survey on Monday that showed almost three-quarters of people think manners should be taught at school. A third believe bad manners are the catalyst for much of the anti-social behavior in Britain, the ITV poll found. Experts interviewed by the network blamed a lack of respect for authority… [The head of the Campaign for Courtesy] commented, “But I think things should go back, not to the old deference, not to groveling, not to any of that but just to feeling respect, because I think that would make everyone's life more pleasant.”

Commentary

Manners are getting worse. This trend is no doubt due to a number of factors cited in the article including the fact that parents are not teaching manners to their children, there is a lack of discipline in the home, and there has been a breakdown of society related to a prolific lack of respect for authority.

Of course, the real problem is much deeper. In one sense, these dynamics could be considered symptoms even as a lack of manners is such. It is the erosion of the Christian Worldview within contemporary culture that lies at the root of these symptoms. Authority is something that God has established and His authority is ultimate. If there is a rejection or a marginalization of God in the larger society, and there is, then there will be a rejection of authority. There is a necessary connection from the one to the other. Once authority is rejected, then parental authority is jettisoned. The compulsion to teach children the need to respect authority is thrown overboard. The new norm is expressed in an oft seen T-shirt slogan, “Reject Authority!” When God is marginalized, other worldviews take hold. Regardless of which one holds sway at any given time, truth becomes relative and absolute authority is abandoned.

Put another way, a lack of manners is the result of sin and its pervasive influence. There is a trickle-down effect as it were. By way of contrast, good manners flow from a Christian Worldview. There is a trickle-down effect on that side of the equation as well. The loss of all things decent and good stems from the loss of a Christian Worldview in a culture. Even when pagans call for manners, they do so as a result of one of two things: either the influence of a Christian Worldview upon themselves some how some time, or, the influence of the knowledge of God within them that they continue to suppress but have by virtue of common grace.

The solution of course is ever the same. We must be salt and light in the context in which God has placed us. And, we have a great hope. If sinners are saved, authority and indeed manners will come to be respected rather than rejected. Hence, the answer is not education but evangelization. Only then it will be more pleasant for all of us.

“Now We Have the Technology That Can Make a Cloned Child” – Dr. Paul J. Dean
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/now-we-have-the-technology-that-can-make-a-cloned-child-808625.html

A new form of cloning has been developed that is easier to carry out than the technique used to create Dolly the sheep, raising fears that it may one day be used on human embryos to produce "designer" babies. Scientists who used the procedure to create baby mice from the skin cells of adult animals have found it to be far more efficient than the Dolly technique, with fewer side effects, which makes it more acceptable for human use. The mice were made by inserting skin cells of an adult animal into early embryos produced by in-vitro fertilisation (IVF). Some of the resulting offspring were partial clones but some were full clones – just like Dolly.

Commentary

On the heels of the recent report that we are now creating cybrids, or human-animal embryos, we now have the technology to clone humans. Again, similar issues are raised.

First, there are genuine and legitimate fears that such technology could be seized by in vitro fertilization doctors. That kind of action is spurred on by greed on the one hand and a ready market fueled by desperate would-be parents. Certainly Christian couples must discern the ramifications of what they pursue before the face of God. Few couples understand the ethical issues raised in the IVF process. There is a need to be educated in addition to a need to come to grips with the reality that God’s sovereign providence is always best and is something in which we can most assuredly rest. Of course, cloning presents a new wrinkle into the mix when one considers what lengths parents might go to in order to hold onto children who have been diagnosed with terminal illness or the like. It is not too cliché to say that we are skating on thin ice.

Second, a greater fear is the almost certain push for “designer babies.” In the culture of choices and individual expression, many will no doubt be faced with too great a temptation. You want blond hair and blue eyes? No problem. You want a little DNA from Albert Einstein? You’re covered. You want your son to be the next Michael Jordan? Just purchase some of his DNA. It could make for big business – and who knows what else.

Third, where do we as a culture want to allow scientists to go? Again, simply because we have the ability to do something does not mean that we should.

Fourth, this is an issue that goes beyond our culture and should be of concern to what can now be called the global community. That dynamic in itself creates certain problems as disparate worldviews are no doubt clashing. Who will determine the limits? Who will hold renegade scientists responsible? Obviously there is a need for the propagation of the Christian worldview on a massive scale if egregious errors against God and humanity are to be thwarted.

School’s Cross-Dressing Day Angers Christian Network – Dr. Paul J. Dean
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-04-06-wis-cross-dressing_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip

An elementary-school event in which kids were encouraged to dress as members of the opposite gender drew the ire of a Christian radio group, whose angry broadcast prompted outraged calls to the district office. Students at Pineview Elementary in Reedsburg had been dressing in costume all last week as part of an annual school tradition called Wacky Week. On Friday, students were encouraged to dress either as senior citizens or as members of the opposite sex. A local resident informed the Voice of Christian Youth America on Friday. The Milwaukee-based radio network responded by interrupting its morning programming for a special broadcast that aired on nine radio stations throughout Wisconsin. The broadcast criticized the dress-up day and accused the district of promoting alternative lifestyles.

Commentary

This incident is instructive on a number of fronts. First, Christians must be careful not to jump to conclusions particularly when it leads to a potential false accusation. The referenced radio broadcast accused the school district of promoting alternative lifestyles. The participating teachers claim they were simply seeking to have a little fun in the education process. The district indicated they would not have such a day again. We must be careful to get the facts before we speak and we must speak appropriately. That means saying nothing some times. When we must speak, we are to season our speech with salt.

Second, while the teachers and students in this case made no claim to be Christians, this story raises an issue for believers. Many have applauded cross-dressing in certain contexts. Certain comedians who simply wanted to get a laugh come to mind. At the same time, believers and indeed Christian workers often do the same for one reason or another. We would do well to remember that the Scriptures do in fact tell us that men should dress like men and women should dress like women. When a believer cross-dresses for any reason, he denies the distinction that God has made between the sexes and the purpose for which that distinction was created; he confuses gender roles in an already confused culture; he denies biblical complementarianism and affirms egalitarianism; he promotes the worship of self; and among any number of other things, he unwittingly denies the sins that are committed by homosexuals, transvestites, and those who have had sex change operations, etc. This is something that simply should not be done for any reason.

Christians must recognize that we are far more influenced by our culture than we realize. No doubt some will reject the warnings herein and write some of these things off as harmless fun. The question then becomes, “Why do I see “cross-dressing” as something that can be done for fun or for laughs?” Examining our own hearts is not an easy thing. Yet, for the cause of God and truth, for our own spiritual well-being, and for our influence in a lost culture, that is exactly what we must do.

We Have Created Human-Animal Embryos Says British Team – Dr. Paul J. Dean
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article3663033.ece

Embryos containing human and animal material have been created in Britain for the first time, a month before the House of Commons votes on new laws to regulate the research. A team at Newcastle University announced yesterday that it had successfully generated “admixed embryos” by adding human DNA to empty cow eggs in the first experiment of its kind in Britain.

Commentary

The brave new world in which we find ourselves medically and ethically keeps getting newer and braver. In the midst of debate concerning embryonic stem cell research and other advances like cloning, along with the attendant moral implications, emerges the drive to create admixed embryos, or cytoplasmic hybrids, or cybrids. The genetic material in the resulting embryos is 99.9 per cent human. No doubt questions will be raised as the push continues as to just what to do with cybrids. Are we talking about the use of stem cells only? Will scientists lobby for more? What will be potential sources for the extraction of human DNA? Do we have a being that is 99.9 per cent created in the image of God?

Christians must involve themselves in research and dialogue with the scientific community as ethical boundaries continue to be crossed. Evangelical leaders are woefully ignorant in regard to boundaries that are now routinely crossed even by their own congregants. How can we expect the rank and file to understand certain issue in this arena when their leaders don’t? How many Christians question the biblical propriety of surrogate motherhood for example? Not only is a third party introduced into the marriage relationship that is supposed to be one flesh, but an entire new industry has been spawned with wombs for rent. Surrogacy is now Wall Street big business. How many Christians unknowingly or uncaringly add to the problem with the process of in vitro fertilization? Multiple human embryos (human beings) are discarded or destroyed.

Just because we can do something does not mean that we should do something. To borrow a saying from a friend, “we’re going to have to get our heads around this.”

Living Together Before Marriage a Statistical Risk – Dr. Paul J. Dean
http://www.baptistpress.com/BPnews.asp?ID=27699

“Does living together before marriage increase the chances for a successful marriage? The answer may surprise some. Between 50 and 60 percent of all marriages begin with the two partners cohabitating, and many of those couples no doubt believe they are making a wise move up front. But living together before marriage actually increases the chances of divorce in a first marriage -- 67 percent of cohabitating couples who marry eventually divorce, compared to 45 percent of all first marriages.”

Commentary

While we do not need statistics to affirm the truth of Scripture as we accept it on faith, such statistics do point out that the world does not have the answers. Everything is an issue of worldview. All worldviews that seek answers to life’s issues apart from God will always get it wrong as all such thinking is an act of rebellious independence from God and futile (Rom. 1:18f). God must be brought into the equation to provide a reasonable explanation for our experience and to supply answers for the problems we experience.

Couples do have problems. The world focuses on compatibility, living together to see if things are going to work out, prenuptial agreements, and “I’ll scratch your back if you scratch my back” scenarios for marriage improvement (which is actually nothing more than a focus on self). The bible focuses on a covenant grounded in God’s covenant; compatibility derived from complementary dynamics brought to the marriage combined with the putting off of selfish sin; sacrificial, service-oriented, and other-focused love; and a life-long commitment adherent in such things with an acknowledgement throughout that we self-centered individuals need a power outside of ourselves to accomplish this in our lives.

In the process, the gospel of redeeming and reconciling grace is put on display. It is the power and grace of God alone that can prevent us from finding ourselves on the wrong side of the statistical chart.

Materialistic Society is 'Damaging' Children: Poll Says - Dr. Paul J. Dean
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=080226103117.duhctnsx&show_article=1

Children feel under pressure to own the latest designer clothes and computer games and most adults believe the "commercialisation of childhood" is damaging young people's well-being, a poll said Tuesday. A survey by GfK NOP for the Children's Society showed that out of the 1,225 adults questioned, 89 percent felt that children are more materialistic now than in previous generations. Evidence submitted to the inquiry from children themselves suggests that they do feel under pressure to keep up with the latest trends, the society added. The poll is part of a larger inquiry into childhood and includes evidence by professionals and members of the public on issues such as lifestyle, learning, friends and family.

Commentary

Certainly children feel under pressure to own the latest designer clothes and computer games for at least two reasons: the materialistic philosophy they are being taught by their parents and the larger culture and the target market they have become. The culture of the individualized self is manifest at earlier ages with each passing generation. That dynamic in combination with the almost universal American notion that “I deserve it all” is a recipe for disaster. Add to that the concept of “my own money,” give it to children and the dish is done. Children are easy pickings for the advertising industry.

What should be more alarming is the actuality that biblical prohibitions against selfism, materialism, greed, pride, and vanity are all but rejected even by most Christians. That things will make us happy, that we must like what the world likes, that we must have what the world has, and that we must be well thought of by the world, are attitudes associated with those who don’t truly know God. The fact that these attitudes should be found in children, and indeed among evangelicals, merely reveals the spiritual poverty in which the church finds herself today. One may attempt to alter the biblical revelation that the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil with some kind of misguided rationale that enables him to adopt a lifestyle in pursuit of “building wealth,” but one may not alter its reality or its consequences. By the way, it is not society that’s damaging children, its sin.