Thursday, February 17, 2011

When Culture Defines Truth

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Jennifer Wright Knust, religion professor at Boston College, ordained American Baptist pastor and author has written a new book, "Unprotected Texts: The Bible's Surprising Contradictions About Sex And Desire."

And the media sees her as a champion because she is "religious," yet believes what they believe.


In her book she argues that there are many cases in the Bible where pre-marital sex, homosexuality and prostitution is permissible.

Knust told Huffington Post that the story of Ruth is an example of how pre-marital sex is "a source of God's blessing" in the Bible.

She admitted to CNN that same-sex intimacy is condemned in a "few" biblical passages but claimed that, "These passages, which I can count on one hand, are addressed to specific persons, not to all humanity forever, and they can be explained in any number of ways."

President Obama gave a similar response last year as he declared his support for homosexuals, referencing the verses in Romans and Leviticus as "obscure" passages while claiming that the "Sermon on the Mount" affirmed same-sex relationships.

??

Newsweek Magazine has championed Rev. Ms. Knust and her message with a feature article. I have linked the Newsweek article and an article published in the Christian Post which gives more detail about her claims of Ruth and others in the Bible and a reasoned and frank response from biblical scholars.

Here is my point.

Josh McDowell says 75% of kids coming from a church or Christian background walk away from their faith while attending college and university.

Barna Research has found that 70% of youth believe, "There is no such thing as absolute truth." Seventy percent say two people could define "truth" in conflicting ways and both be correct.

McDowell, in his book, "
The New Tolerance," written a number of years ago, said that 53% of people in churches believe there is no absolute truth and among youth in churches, 57% did not believe an objective standard of truth exists.

A recent survey by the Southern Baptists found that kids in Christian homes often believe that Jesus is not the only way to God.

Is truth absolute or relative? Don't have time for philosophical debates? Think again.

For more than 2000 years the Christian church has been the guardian of Truth as revealed in the Bible.

Is the church now allowing its very foundation to be dismantled by relativism?

Is truth absolute or relative?

Is there such a thing as universal and objective Truth?

The popular postmodern view today, the champion of entertainment and public education, is that truth is relative.

Christianity, on the other hand, is built on the premise that truth is absolute and that the teachings of the Bible are universal.

Does it matter that many Christian voices have been silenced through intimidation, fear of retribution and revised mission statements to reflect an "emerging" church that is more "compatible" with the culture?

The truly big issue of today is not homosexual marriage, abortion, the elevation of immorality, etc.---it is the apathy of the Christian church. These other issues are symptoms---deadly symptoms.

To speak out on these issues in our present culture is to experience the wrath of the activists and the raised brow of the public, both of whom would prefer silence on our part. And some among us, prefer it as well.

Your financial support allows us to continue to do our best to carry a candle, speak to the issues and stand for what we believe is biblical truth. And to do it publicly.

Your
financial support is critical at this time. Thank you.

Be Informed. Be Discerning. Be Prayerful.

______________
Gary Randall
President
Faith and Freedom

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