Which God Saves? — Page 2 of 11 — Which God Saves? We all hope ours will

Chinese citizens have the freedom of religious belief

Citizens have freedom of religious belief?

Freedom of religion in China - coming to the U.S. as well?

Citizens have freedom of religious belief. That’s the English translation of something from China’s Religious Affairs Regulations. But is it really true?

Remember, China is a Communist country. And an officially atheist one as well. We must be forgiven if we doubt those fine-sounding words. Especially after reading part 1 of this series.

Remember, Article 1 of these regulations included the text, “increase the level of legalification in work on religion” as one of the stated goals for putting them into law. How does that even make sense?

Christians – are you afraid of politicians?

God in U. S. Politics

Christians – are you afraid of politicians? Donald Trump seems to think you are. Or at least hope you are. But really, the question is deeper than that.

But first, let’s get into why the question even comes up. It’s because of an article from Politico, titled‘Dangerous levels of contempt’: Trump deploys a convention to attack Dems on religion. A short excerpt will shed light on what’s happening.

Christians – how do you treat women?

God in U. S. Politics

Christians – how do you treat women? I don’t address this just to men, but to women as well. We often say the “right things”. But when it comes right down to it, do we do what we say? Or do we live by the old adage, “Do as I say, not as I do”? There are so many reasons to ask this question. But the thing that has me asking today is two things I read in the news.

Both have to do with our President. It seems when Trump open a hand to offer an olive branch, he just can’t help using that hand to slap someone. In this case, Susan B. Anthony was the olive branch. The slap was to Michelle Obama and, oddly enough, Susan B. Anthony.

And so, the question has to do with whether or not we live up to what we claim to believe. Do we find that kind of behavior acceptable? Is it even normal? And if we agree it’s not, why does it still seem to be acceptable for this president? What kind of precedent does he set and what kind of message do we send when we silently support it?

Which god will win the election?

God in U. S. Politics

Which god will win the election in the U.S.? The god of power? Maybe the god of greed? How about the god of white power? Or the god of me first? What about the chance for the god of caring about other people? Have you noticed, there’s really only two choices there? I’m not even going to say it’s between Republicans and Democrats. It’s between Trump and Biden. Or is that between Trump and not Trump?

Notice that I didn’t capitalize god either. Because it’s not directly about God. Both sides want us to believe they have God on their side. But then, it’s really more about wanting us to believe that, rather than either party being particularly Godly. However, one does appear to more more god-like, in the same way Roman emperors were gods.

Because of these things, and more, the question of which god will win the election is very real.

Is COVID making us more loving? Or more hating?

Is this Christianity?, Just a quick thought

Is COVID making us more loving? Or more hating? That question came to mind yesterday. I had a half hour inside an MRI tube with nothing to do, and this is where my mind went. At first, I was thinking about the folks working so I can get my MRI to see how my cancer is doing. They risk getting sick, and even maybe dying, to take care of us. And most people would say they appreciate that.

So COVID makes us more loving, right? But does it really? If we truly loved and cared about our medical workers, first responders, and even the admin people in hospitals and care centers, then we’d act differently. We’d wear a mask in public. We’d avoid large gatherings. Why? Because those things lead to fewer people being sick. And that, in turn, leads to fewer people requiring medical care. Obviously, or at least it should be obvious, all of those things lead to fewer medical people being exposed to COVID, getting sick, and possibly dying.

Religious freedom in China

Freedom of religion in China - coming to the U.S. as well?

To some, the idea of religious freedom in China sounds like an oxymoron. You know – a figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction. Given that China is an officially atheist country, “religion” in China certainly isn’t what people in the so-called west expect. Further, the concept of freedom of religion in an atheist country like China is, if it’s possible, even more of an oxymoron.

And yet …

Will we ever love people like we do money?

Other gods, The god of money

Will we ever love people like we do money? Lots of people like to talk about loving, or at least caring about people. Few like to talk about how much they love money. But the old saying is true – actions speak louder than words. And our actions say we love money a whole lot more than we love people. And so it seems, we love the god of money way more than we love the God of the Bible.

The impetus for writing this is a recent article on msn.com. It’s titled, Tyson Foods is ramping up development of robots that can cut meat in response to coronavirus outbreaks in meatpacking plants. Do you see the problem? It starts just with the title.

Not to worry though. There’s plenty more.

Is this a bit of Hell on earth?

government & religion, Just a quick thought

But somehow, like the serpent convincing Adam and Eve they wouldn’t die, Trump continues to convince too many Christians that he’s good for us. However, I can’t help but wonder, is he telling us that if we follow him, we won’t surely die? And as I show in The Problem of Free Will, the Hebrew says “die die”. As in die physically, and die spiritually. Depart from this earth. Go to Hell.

Reopening Schools – How Little Is A Life Worth?

is this Christian?

How little is a life worth? Donald Trump, U.S. President, is trying to force schools to open in the fall. This is in spite of the increasing number of people being infected with the Coronavirus. And while one can maybe argue that the number of positive cases is due to testing, it’s impossible to say testing is responsible for the corresponding increases in hospitalizations and ICU beds with COVID-19 afflicted people. And I dare say, with the increasing number of people that will be dying in the next week or so because of all those other increases.

Is the Hong Kong Security Law the end of Christianity in Hong Kong?

Attempting to destroy Christianity, Christianity in Hong Kong - what's happening?

Are we at the beginning of the end of Christianity in Hong Kong? A while back, I started to write about new religious regulations in China. Mainland China, with the atheist Communist government. But it got side-tracked by everything else going on in the world and here in the U.S. However, I think it’s time to not only bring it back, but to emphasize it even more. The new Hong Kong Security Law makes it imperative.

When I began to write about the Chinese religious regulations, I pointed out that they are essentially a blueprint for other countries to follow. Well, China may very well be following them, although in a somewhat hidden fashion, with the Hong Kong Security Law. Given the “one world religion” foretold in the Bible, I expect this kind of thing to spread literally world-wide. That’s why it’s so important for us – Christians – to understand.