The Pulpit
Pulpit from which John Hus preached, Prague, CZ
For those who believe that separation
of church and state is not enough, that the world would be better off with no church
at all, ask yourself this question:
How many hospitals, universities, orphanages, homeless and abuse
shelters have been founded by the ACLU or American Atheist Society? It is the inclusion of the word
Christian, Baptist, etc. in the name of so many of these institutions that
proves by actions, not just words, who really cares for the suffering of
mankind and desires to make the world better.
--Joyce
Minor, University of Alabama School of Law
Henry
Halley said it right: Hinduism has
made India what it is; Confucianism and Buddhism have made China what it is;
Mohammedanism has made southwest Asia and north Africa what they are; Roman
Catholicism has made Italy, Spain and Latin America what they are;
Protestantism has made Britain, the United States, and Canada what they
are. And BTW, don't forget what God
told Abram (Abraham, father of the promised son, Isaac, and patriarch of the
Nation of Israel) in Gen. 12:3--"I will bless them that bless you, and
curse them that curse you." What nation has stood by Israel's side
for the last 50 years? I believe that nation is the sole remaining super
power.
We've been telling God to get out of
our schools, government, and lives for years. I believe He has complied. Isn't it strange that, whenever there
seems to be inconsistency between history and the Bible, or science and the
Bible, the Bible ALWAYS loses?
Notice how all Bible critics ultimately go away, but the Bible stays?
For
those who believe the Bible has lost its relevance in this nation, remember
this: Since its beginnings, the Bible as been the object of never-ending
persecution. Edicts have been issued to ensure every copy was
destroyed. Commands have been given that all found with a copy should be
put to death. The Word of God has passed through the furnace of
persecution, philosophical disputation, scientific reasoning, and literary
criticism, without losing one ounce of its purity. Every possible effort
has been made to undermine faith in its inspiration and authority. Yet it
is the Best-Selling book of all time--six billion copies sold and given away.
God did say, "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not
pass away" (Matt. 24:35). That's right--all critics of the Bible
will fade from existence, but God's word will remain forever (and yes, the
empirical evidence is on my side).
Usually you will hear
about the “big three” when someone wants to talk about how
Christianity has negatively affected civilization: The Crusades, The Inquisition, and The
Salem Witch Trials (incidentally, the pope, acknowledging the deviation from
Christian principles, apologized for the crusades and the inquisition in March
of 2000). But you won’t hear
about how Christianity has positively influenced and transformed civilization: bringing
sanctity to human life by opposing the Greco-Roman practices of abortion,
infanticide, child abandonment, and suicide; raising the level of sexual
morality and giving dignity to family life; giving freedom and dignity to
women; first founding hospitals in the 4th century; originating universities
and higher education; bringing dignity and honor to labor; spawning and
developing modern science; first condemning slavery and inspiring its abolition;
producing major contributions to art, architecture, music, and literature
(Schmidt, Under the Influence).
Note: While I make every effort to produce an error-free document, errors occasionally creep in. I would appreciate you bringing any to my attention so that I may make the necessary corrections.
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