Bio

Dr. Mike Halsey is the chancellor of Grace Biblical Seminary, a Bible teacher at the Hangar Bible Fellowship, the author of Truthspeak and his new book, The Gospel of Grace and Truth: A Theology of Grace from the Gospel of John," both available on Amazon.com. A copy of his book, Microbes in the Bloodstream of the Church, is also available as an E-book on Amazon.com. If you would like to a receive a copy of his weekly Bible studies and other articles of biblical teaching and application, you can do so by writing to Dr. Halsey at michaeldhalsey@bellsouth.net and requesting, "The Hangar Bible Fellowship Journal."

Comments may be addressed to michaeldhalsey@bellsouth.net.

If you would like to contribute to his ministry according to the principle of II Corinthians 9:7, you may do so by making your check out to Hangar Bible Fellowship and mailing it to 65 Teal Ct., Locust Grove, GA 30248. All donations are tax deductible.

Come visit the Hangar some Sunday at 10 AM at the above address. You'll be glad you did.

Other recommended grace-oriented websites are:

notbyworks.org
literaltruth.org
gracebiblicalseminary.org
duluthbible.org
clarityministries.org

Also:

Biblical Ministries, Inc.
C/O Dr. Richard Grubbs
P. O. Box 64582
Lubbock, TX 79464-4582

Friday, January 30, 2015

WHEN FINGERS FUMBLE

Because of all the typing I do during the week, my speed can hit as high as 20 wpm. But sometimes, because of such blinding speed, I hit the wrong key, and that's what happened the other day.

I was typing the address to my blog when I punched the wrong key and up popped a website about the Bible and Bible prophecy, complete with instructions about salvation. Strangely enough, this website contained information about how to be saved that completely ignored, never mentioned, and contradicted John 3:16.

I mention the omission of John 3:16 because that text, that most famous verse in the Bible, doesn't contain any "steps" on how to secure salvation, unless you count "believe" as a step. If that's the case, then John 3:16 contains one step. But this website tells the reader that there are steps, that is, things (plural) to do to be saved.

STEP LIVELY

The writer tells the reader that in to be saved he must "be willing to change, forsake all sin, humble yourself and live for Jesus--Repent."

There are terrible things about this statement. First of all, it's impossible. Nobody can forsake ALL sin. Nobody. Nobody is willing to forsake ALL sin because we willingly sin everyday. The statement is false on the face of it. The writer himself hasn't forsaken ALL sin as John points out in I John 1:9, a sentence written, as all epistles are, to the saved: "If we [believers] say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us." We note that the Apostle John includes himself when he writes, "If we say . . ."

The discerning reader, wanting to know how to be saved, if he takes the words of the writer seriously, should give up immediately; neither he, nor I, nor the writer of that website can give up ALL sin.

Secondly, as we read through the Gospel of John, where do we find, "be willing to change, forsake all sin, humble yourself and live for Jesus" as a condition of salvation? As we read through the evangelistic sermons of the Apostles in Acts, where do you read such a demand made to the unbeliever? 

Yet, this false gospel that demands we "give up all sin," or "be willing to give up all sin," is rife. One author tells us, "If there is a reserve in your obedience, you are on your way to hell." (Arthur Pink) Wait. What? If we're reluctant to obey, we're going to hell? What biblical text teaches us that nonsense?

But the writer would say, "You won't find those demands in John or in the sermons of Acts per se, but they're in the word, "repent." But that's begging the question; are they in the word, "repent?" 

Michael Cocoris calls repentance the most misunderstood word in the Bible. Reflecting this misunderstanding, Dr. Richard Seymour writes, "For much of my young life my misunderstanding of repentance kept me blinded and confused concerning the gospel of God's grace. I perceived, as many do, that to repent meant I had to make some major changes in my life before God would even consider being kind or merciful toward me. . . My idea was that I had to do something about my sins. I had to quit committing certain sins like cursing, drinking, and lying. I had to feel deep sorrow and weep over my wickedness. I had to turn my back totally on every questionable habit that might offend God or that would create a barrier between us."
  
Dr. Seymour goes on to say that he was taught that his salvation depended on the degree of his sorrow and on his efforts to clean up his life. What was happening? He was using his English dictionary to define, "repentance," and not going to the meaning of the Greek word as the New Testament uses it. In the New Testament Greek, "repent" means "to rethink," to change one's mind." It does not mean "feel sorry for," "forsake," or "turn around."

LOOK AT ISLAM

On an Islamic website, Ahmad Farid writes about "Seeking Allah's Forgiveness." He tells the reader to come to Allah in repentance and defines the word as "turning away from wrong action with both heart and body." What's the difference between the repentance of Islam and the repentance Dr. Seymour was taught? Nothing.

Where in I Cor. 15:1ff, which Paul says is "the gospel I delivered to you," do we find, "be willing to change, forsake all sin, humble yourself and live for Jesus"?

In Acts 2, as Peter brings the message to the huge crowd on the Day of Pentecost, he brings them to accountability for their sin--they nailed God's Son, the Messiah, to the cross. They'd thought Him to be a blaspheming criminal, one who deserved the torture of a cross-death, but in reality, He was the One promised in the Old Testament, going way back to Genesis 3:15! We can almost hear their collective gasp of, "Oh, no! We did do that!"

Cut to the heart, the people ask, "What shall we do?" 

Peter tells them, "Repent!" The word he uses isn't the Greek word for "feel sorry." Feeling sorry would do no good because the deed was done some weeks ago just outside Jerusalem. By telling them to repent, he's telling them to change their attitude, to rethink who Jesus is, to change their minds about Him. He wasn't a criminal; change your mind--He's the Messiah, the Son of God, the Savior who died for your sins and rose from the dead.

HERE'S ANOTHER THING TO DO WHILE YOU'RE AT IT

But, according to the website writer, there's something else you have to do: beg. He tells the reader to "Ask for forgiveness. Ask for God's mercy." Again, we might ask, "Where to we find that anywhere in the Bible after the death of Christ? The sermons of the Apostles never mention our need of begging God to save us. God has been satisfied by the death of Christ as the full, final, and finished payment for our sins (I John 2:2).

By injecting asking for forgiveness, the writer is giving the impression that salvation depends on my persuasive abilities and is painting a false picture of God as One who is reluctant, One who needs softening up by asking or begging for forgiveness. I once heard a lady, in church, say, "God doesn't forgive you until you say, 'I'm sorry.'" That sounds puerile.

Some carry this begging for salvation into the Christian's life. John Piper, popular author and speaker, writes, "I probably pray the prayer, 'Keep me and preserve me,' as often as I pray any prayer. I think God uses means to cause us to persevere."

Does this begging sound like Islam? On the Islamic website mentioned above, Farid writes that one must seek forgiveness by asking Allah for it: "Seeking forgiveness is similar to supplication in that Allah, if He so wishes, responds to it and forgives the person who seeks His forgiveness. This is especially true if the du’a (supplication) came directly from a heart troubled by wrong actions, or if it was made during the times most favorable for His response, such as in the early hours of the morning or immediately following the prayer."

If we omit the encouragement to come in the morning asking Allah for forgiveness, is there any difference between the Islamic view of gaining forgiveness and the statements of the writer telling his readers to ask God to forgive them?

BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE!

The webmaster/writer, in telling the reader the things to do to be saved, piles it on like a defense gang tackling grace. When asking God for forgiveness, he tells us: "Right now, kneel and pray this prayer out loud, and mean it." (He emphasizes these instructions because he puts them in capital letters.) 

We've got to ask the question again--where in the New Testament do the Apostles tell people that to be saved, kneeling and praying out loud are involved? Kneeling is only mentioned twice in Acts, both times regarding those already saved who kneel in prayer--Stephen in Acts 7 and Paul, the Ephesians elders and their families in Acts 21-- but they're not kneeling to beg God to save them. 

IS THERE A "SINNER'S PRAYER"?

 Where in the New Testament do we find that to be saved a person must pray silently or aloud? The so-called "Sinner's Prayer" isn't anywhere in the Bible. The Sinner's Prayer was born in the 20th century and was popularized by evangelist Billy Graham and Bill Bright of Campus Crusade for Christ (the name of the organization at the time). 

Under the leadership of Bright, The Sinner's Prayer has been distributed by the billions, coming at the conclusion of "The Four Spiritual Laws," a booklet published by Campus Crusade for Christ. The Sinner's Prayer, which began somewhere in the 1940's is now so embedded in Christian culture and evangelistic method that people believe a person cannot be saved unless he repeats the prayer. All tracts published by the American Tract Society contain the prayer. One individual whom I was training in evangelism asked, "But isn't the person supposed to pray a prayer?" These additions to the gospel show us just how many barnacles have attached themselves to the gospel.

And what prayer does the writer tell people to pray:

"Dear Jesus, I am sinner. I believe you are the Son of God and died for my sins on the cross. Forgive me all of my sins Jesus, I repent and give you my life. Have mercy on me, a sinner Help me to follow and obey your commandments and to live for you. I ask it in the name of My Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen." 

WWI

During WWI, because of the Espionage Act of 1917, it was against the law to speak or write in any way so as to interfere with military operations or recruitment. Then in the Sedition act of 1918, President Wilson signed a bill which criminalized any speech or writing that was "disloyal, profane, scurrilous, or abusive about the U. S. government or any language that caused people to feel this way about the government." A person could be heavily fined, go to jail for a long time, or even be executed for violating these laws. 

HOLD ON, SPARKY
  
But wait! What about the First Amendment? "Congress shall make no law . . .  abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press . . ." Going by the First Amendment, those laws were clearly unconstitutional. Any judge who upheld such a law had no authority to do so. But some did and many went to prison and some paid heavy fines.

But Justice Hugo Black cut the Gordian Knot by writing, "The famous 'no law' language of the First Amendment simply means 'no law.'" That was that; case closed.

In the same manner, we could say that three words show the fallacy of the false gospel the writer declares:  "Apart from works" means "apart from works." (Romans 4:6; see also Romans 3:21, 28) We could say that even one word shows the fallacy of the false gospel the writer declares: "grace." Grace means "giftwise." Since Paul declares salvation to be a gift, by grace, that is, unmerited favor, a gift upon faith alone in Christ alone, there are no works such as "be willing to change, forsake all sin, humble yourself and live for Jesus." 

The writer puts the emphasis on the wrong person as the giver. He tells us to pray a prayer of promising to give one's life to Jesus, whereas the gospel declares that God is the Giver of salvation; He does the giving, we don't give Him anything, and if we do, it cancels the gift because it ceases to be a gift once we give anything in payment for it.

SO, WHAT CAN WE SAY TO THESE THINGS?

We can say, as Dr. Paul Chitwood wrote in 2001: "Paul’s ethic of evangelism ensures that the gospel, not the method of presenting the gospel, is the stumbling block for those who refuse to believe." 

We can say, based on Galatians 1:6-9: the "gospel" proposed on the website has never and can never save anyone. 
_______________________________________________________________________________


Dr. Mike Halsey is the chancellor of Grace Biblical Seminary, a Bible teacher at the Hangar Bible Fellowship, and the author of Truthspeak, available on Amazon.com. A copy of his book, Microbes in the Bloodstream of the Church, is also available as an E-book on Amazon.com. If you would like to a receive a copy of his weekly Bible studies and other articles of biblical teaching and application, you can do so by writing sue.bove@gmail.com and requesting, "The Hangar Bible Fellowship Journal."

Comments may be addressed to michaeldhalsey@bellsouth.net.

If you would like to contribute to his ministry according to the principle of II Corinthians 9:7, you may do so by making your check out to Hangar Bible Fellowship and mailing it to 65 Teal Ct., Locust Grove, GA 30248. All donations are tax deductible.

Come visit the Hangar some Sunday at 10 AM at the above address. You'll be glad you did.

Other recommended grace-oriented websites are:

notbyworks.org
literaltruth.org
gracebiblicalseminary.org
duluthbible.org
clarityministries.org

Also:

Biblical Ministries, Inc.
C/O Dr. Richard Grubbs
P. O. Box 64582
Lubbock, TX 79464-4582

 











Thursday, January 22, 2015

ZERO DARK THIRTY

"Zero dark thirty" is military slang for any unspecified time between midnight and dawn. Whatever time it is, at zero dark thirty, it's dark. And spiritually in America, it's zero dark thirty, more zero dark thirty than it's ever been. Just as Gordon College in Wenham, Massachusetts, learned in September 2014.

NO SMALL ACADEMIC POTATOES

You're probably thinking, "I never heard of Gordon College or Wenham, Massachusetts," and you'd be in the majority. A little back story is therefore necessary. Since it's zero dark thirty in America, little Gordon College, with an undergraduate enrollment of 1,736, is engaged in a twelve-month fight for its life. To help us understand why, we need to know is that Gordon is a private Christian school. We've never heard of it because if it has a football team, it hardly ranks with Alabama, Ohio State, or Texas Tech. As far as I know, its basketball team has never been invited by the NCAA to the Big Dance in March.

Even if you and I haven't heard of Gordon College, there are those who have, Forbes Magazine, for one. In its August 2014 issue, Forbes ranked Gordon in the top nine percent of all U.S. colleges and universities (out of 6,650 total accredited colleges and universities). That's no small potatoes; if there were an Ivy League for Christian schools, Gordon would rank second only to Wheaton College, located in Wheaton, Illinois. So, we're not talking about a degree mill or a "get your ordination by mail" whose campus is a P. O. Box.

 A DISCOVERY OF THE IMPERMISSIBLE 

What's happened is that it has come to light that Gordon College has committed the unforgivable sin in a zero dark thirty society--it has a policy, in writing, that requires every student and every employee "to limit sexual activity to marriage, which is defined as the union of one man and one woman." This is the policy of almost every orthodox Christian school and church in America. But such a statement and such a policy is not to be permitted without a serious challenge with serious consequences.

But, really, what can a zero dark thirty America do to Gordon? Look at what happened to the Big Chicken, Chick-fil-A--the wrath descended on them; they took the blows and emerged victorious. No problem; they raked in more serious cash than ever before. They did more than just survive. Same for the giant Hobby Lobby. They met the challenge, took the blows, and came out a winner.

But we're not talking giants here, we're talking about little Gordon College all nestled in liberal New England, only 25 miles from Boston, hardly red state (and redneck) territory.

THE WRATH IS DESCENDING

 And so, in a zero dark thirty America, the wrath is descending on Gordon. The first blow was a glancing one--the city of Salem decided to retract the contract which had allowed the college to use the Old Town Hall. This was spiteful and did no harm to the school. So far, so good.

But then came the blows to the head. The Lynn School District refused to continue their 11-year contract with Gordon to let Gordon's student teachers teach in their classrooms. This was odd and one would think illegal because they're denying the students their right to associate freely and speak freely. In addition, the school system, in doing what they did, was punishing the students who may or may not agree with the Gordon's stance. The action of the board of the Lynn School District was, in effect, killing the school's education department.

THE KNOCK-OUT PUNCH?

But more than that, the blow that could prove to be the knock-out punch was the one thrown by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. The NEASC is the accrediting agency for Gordon. In September 2014, the NEASC told the school that they have one year to get their house in order and not "discriminate." Which, being interpreted means, "Toe the mark or we'll destroy you." The NEASC, at their discretion, may revoke Gordon's accreditation. And that's bad because students won't attend an unaccredited school. Without accreditation, none of their courses nor their degrees would be recognized by other schools, so out goes graduate school elsewhere for Gordon grads and no students could transfer courses already completed to another school. That's just one of the problems for an unaccredited school.

THE BIG CHICKEN

Chick-fil-A and Hobby Lobby have their millions of fans to support them, but Gordon College has no power players nor the collective mass of those who live in the Red States to rally to their cause. The stakes are high, as high as the future of Christian education in America. This is a battle for "the ability and the freedom to transmit knowledge and values from one generation to the next." (David French)

HOW TO WIN EVERY FOOTBALL GAME

A football team can win every game if it decides to run all over the stadium out of bounds to score "touchdowns," and demand six points for each time they crossed the goal line. Such a team would be unstoppable if there were no boundaries. The action of the NEASC steps way out of bounds and by doing so, ensures winning.

The function of an accrediting agency is restricted to the academic standards and financial stability of a school, it's out of bounds for them to examine and then dictate the school's religious beliefs and policies, but this is what is happening at zero dark thirty. If they had that power, they could withdraw a school's credentials for holding any doctrine with they disagreed.

By playing the game out of bounds, could they not just as easily decide that faith alone in Christ alone for salvation is "discriminatory?" Could they not examine the doctrinal statement of a Christian school and find that John 14:6 repulses them? Couldn't they examine a school's teaching on hell and find it offended their sensibilities?

Michael Brown summarized the matter with much-needed biblical wisdom when he wrote an article for the "Christian Post" in which he addressed some encouraging words to the President of the school, Michael Lindsay:

"Do you want to send the message across America (and beyond) that when culture changes, we capitulate to culture? That a practice expressly forbidden by the Bible and all major forms of Christianity through the centuries becomes acceptable if enough people sign a petition? That sufficient pressure exerted from some alumni or students or faculty can overturn God's Word? That accreditation is more important than morality?

"I pray your message will be that the potential loss of accreditation is a small price to pay for obedience to God.

"Jesus said that whoever loved father or mother or son or daughter more than Him was not worthy of Him (Matthew 10:37). Surely those of us who love secular accreditation and its many benefits more than the Lord are not worthy of Him either.

"But why must the state (or accrediting agency) set the standards? What if that school has a unique purpose and function? What if it needs to major on things the state considers minor and minor on things the state considers major? Why must it conform? To offer degrees, of course! This too is idolatry.

"I'm sure there are many excellent standards set by accreditation organizations and many excellent benefits that accrue with accreditation.

"But when those organizations demand that we revise biblical morality in order to keep our accreditation, we respectfully decline without hesitation or flinching. Really now, if believers worldwide are losing their lives rather than compromise, surely we can lose secular benefits as the result of holding to our faith."

To ascertain just how dark zero dark thirty is, we await September 2015, the deadline imposed on Gordon College to toe the mark. 
____________________________________________________________________________
Dr. Mike Halsey is the chancellor of Grace Biblical Seminary, a Bible teacher at the Hangar Bible Fellowship, and the author of Truthspeak, available on Amazon.com. A copy of his book, Microbes in the Bloodstream of the Church, is also available as an E-book on Amazon.com. If you would like to a receive a copy of his weekly Bible studies and other articles of biblical teaching and application, you can do so by writing sue.bove@gmail.com and requesting, "The Hangar Bible Fellowship Journal."




Comments may be addressed to michaeldhalsey@bellsouth.net.


If you would like to contribute to his ministry according to the principle of II Corinthians 9:7, you may do so by making your check out to Hangar Bible Fellowship and mailing it to 65 Teal Ct., Locust Grove, GA 30248. All donations are tax deductible.

Come visit the Hangar some Sunday at 10 AM at the above address. You'll be glad you did.

Other recommended grace-oriented websites are:

notbyworks.org
literaltruth.org
gracebiblicalseminary.org
duluthbible.org
clarityministries.org

Also:

Biblical Ministries, Inc.
C/O Dr. Richard Grubbs
P. O. Box 64582
Lubbock, TX 79464-4582

 










Thursday, January 15, 2015

GRANNY'S GOTTA GO PART 2

North Korea is "1984" writ large. It's a grim and backward country of secrecy, propaganda and government control. If you have a television set, the government has soldered it so that it can receive no channel from the outside world. You may watch only the approved one. There's no getting around it; inspectors come periodically to make certain you haven't tampered with the set. A few brave souls do, then re-soldering it for the inspectors' visits, but the vast majority are too scared to try. The Internet? Google? Cell phones? No way. 

The state is atheist. Following the lead of Nebuchadnezzar, there are statues of the "Dear Leaders" of the state which loom 75 feet tall in the capital. At the feet of those statues worshipers with bowed heads place flowers and say the names of the two 
Dear Leaders in reverential and hushed tones. The government brings all visiting foreign dignitaries to these graven images for photos to show the people the reverence foreign nations have for their "Dear (dead) Leaders."

By law, each North Korean home must hang portraits of the Dear Leaders on its walls and they must keep those pictures spotless, dust-free. There are reports that, so pervasive is the state brainwashing, that Koreans have died protecting the portraits from fire.

THE BIG DAY

The big day in North Korea is Chuseok, an ancient festival of ancestor worship. On that day there are special feasts and mass travel by crammed buses, trains, and bicycles to visit the graves of family fore bearers. It is a massive movement of people traveling to worship. It is a genuine and spontaneous picnic all across North Korea, unplanned and uncontrolled by the state. 

WAIT!

How's that again? Worship? Unplanned? Uncontrolled? Thousands and thousands of people worshiping someone other than the Dear Leaders? How can that be? 

The reason: such an annual worship observance by multiplied thousands is of no threat to the state. 

THREE GRANDMOTHERS

But, as is the case in such atheistic states, when the government learns that three grandmothers are meeting to observing the Lord's Supper, officials will break down the doors, beat, arrest, try, and sentence them to prison, mental wards, concentration camps, or execution.

And the $64,000 question is, why? Multiplied thousands of worshipers aren't dangerous to the totalitarian government, but three grandmothers are?

AUSTRALIA

There is a television program in Australia called Q and A in which four people engage in a moderated discussion in response to questions from the audience. One question had to do with dangerous ideas.


Q&A in which four figures engage in a moderated discussion responding to audience questions - See more at: http://www.reformation21.org/blog/2013/11/dangerous-ideas.php#sthash.Anu5iHfK.dpuf

Q&A in which four figures engage in a moderated discussion responding to audience questions - See more at: http://www.reformation21.org/blog/2013/11/dangerous-ideas.php#sthash.Anu5iHfK.dpuf
Q&A in which four figures engage in a moderated discussion responding to audience questions - See more at: http://www.reformation21.org/blog/2013/11/dangerous-ideas.php#sthash.Anu5iHfK.dpuf
Q&A in which four figures engage in a moderated discussion responding to audience questions - See more at: http://www.reformation21.org/blog/2013/11/dangerous-ideas.php#sthash.Anu5iHfK.dpuf
On Monday November 4, 2013, in front of the largest studio audience in the history of the show, Lisa Malouf asked the assembled panel: "Which so-called dangerous idea do you each think would have the greatest potential to change the world for the better if it was implemented?"

THE STUNNING ANSWER

On the panel were Germaine Greer, Hanna Rosin, Dan Savage, and Peter Hitchens. Greer answered, "Freedom," another answered, "Abortion should be mandatory," and the third answered, "Population control." 

Then it was Peter Hitchens' turn: “The most dangerous idea in human history and philosophy remains the belief that Jesus Christ was the Son of God and rose from the dead and that is the most dangerous idea you will ever encounter.” 

This took everyone aback and the moderator asked, "Why dangerous, you can't just leave it [your answer] there."

Hitchens continues, "Because it alters the whole of human behavior and all our responsibilities. It turns the universe from a meaningless chaos into a designed place in which there is justice and there is hope and, therefore, we all have a duty to discover the nature of that justice and work towards that hope. It alters us all. If we reject it, it alters us all as well. It is incredibly dangerous. It's why so many people turn against it.”  

THE THREE WITH A BOOK IN THEIR HANDS

And so we come back to "Granny's Gotta Go." A state based on atheism and the worship of the idols of men will not tolerate three grandmothers reading their Bibles and observing the Lord's Supper. By their observance of the Lord's Supper, those three grandmothers are not giving their ultimate loyalty to the government and to the deification of its leaders. They are like the three Hebrews standing with spines ramrod straight before the image of Nebuchadnezzar. The Babylonian government had commanded, "Knee!" They said, "No!"

The three grandmothers are judging the state by the Bible and this makes them dangerous to the government which will not permit any higher authority to lord over it. It and it alone will decide what is right and what is wrong and whatever it decides will change tomorrow and as often as the ruler changes his socks. As in all such dictatorships, the path to their Utopia is a sea of blood, Christian blood.

The ultimate loyalty of the grandmothers is to the kingdom of God, which is not of this world. They judge that the government's promises of a Utopia with the elimination of poverty and want are made in vain because the Book tells them, "The poor you will always have with you." They know that there can be no Utopia in a fallen world.

Therefor, the officials must break down doors, arrest, beat, incarcerate, and execute the grandmothers. If the grandmothers continue to exist, they know that someone is out there, judging the state, and the state finds that intolerable because it is dangerous to their created Leviathan. 

AND YOU?

Did you ever think of the gospel that way--that it's a dangerous idea? Did you ever think that when believers meet and declare, explain, or discuss the gospel, they're talking about the most dangerous idea in the world?

What shall we say to these things? 

Handle with care. Then turn it loose. The gospel is dangerous.
___________________________________________________

Dr. Mike Halsey is the chancellor of Grace Biblical Seminary, a Bible teacher at the Hangar Bible Fellowship, and the author of Truthspeak, available on Amazon.com. A copy of his book, Microbes in the Bloodstream of the Church, is also available as an E-book on Amazon.com. If you would like to a receive a copy of his weekly Bible studies and other articles of biblical teaching and application, you can do so by writing sue.bove@gmail.com and requesting, "The Hangar Bible Fellowship Journal."




Comments may be addressed to michaeldhalsey@bellsouth.net.


If you would like to contribute to his ministry according to the principle of II Corinthians 9:7, you may do so by making your check out to Hangar Bible Fellowship and mailing it to 65 Teal Ct., Locust Grove, GA 30248. All donations are tax deductible.

Come visit the Hangar some Sunday at 10 AM at the above address. You'll be glad you did.

Other recommended grace-oriented websites are:

notbyworks.org
literaltruth.org
gracebiblicalseminary.org
duluthbible.org
clarityministries.org

Also:

Biblical Ministries, Inc.
C/O Dr. Richard Grubbs
P. O. Box 64582
Lubbock, TX 79464-4582

 



 










 

Friday, January 9, 2015

GRANNY'S GOTTA GO

The more ruthless a tyrant is, the smarter he is, or at least it seems that way.

Historians have on occasion remarked on the oddity that the most ruthless of dictators have an affection for children. (I've read that Santa Anna was one.) But this so-called "affection" may have a sinister purpose behind it. 

THE UNHOLY TRINITY

Lenin and Stalin knew it and so did Hitler. And what was that? They knew that if their revolution was to succeed, one thing had to happen--children must be, absolutely must be, separated from their parents and grandparents. The reason for this separation is simple--that unholy trinity knew that the two older generations were set in their ways. They knew that they couldn't teach the old dogs new dogmas. 

Therefore, granny had to go. When I say, "Granny had to go," I'm not speaking metaphorically, I mean, literally, she had to go. But of course, those three madmen knew they couldn't get away with lining all the grandmothers up before a firing squad, but granny  had to go.

But wait? Why pick on the babushkas? It was because the regime had already taken the Russian mothers out of their homes and put them to work, thus leaving the children in the care of the grandmothers of the Motherland. It was simple: the fathers were gone to the military or to work and the mothers were in the factories, so the only obstacle left was the old, wrinkled-faced grandmother.

The way they did this was to begin a systematic campaign to vilify grandmothers in the eyes of their grandchildren. They did this through their compulsory education system. They indoctrinated the children with fables and pictures of grandmothers as old crones, scary old hags who did scary things to children.
 

Why the war on grandmother? Because it was the grandmothers of Stalinist Russia who kept the old ways of religion alive. These grandmothers would, against the parents' wishes, sneak their grandchildren to secret baptisms and give them clandestine religious instruction at home. 

(This is not to say that their theology was grace oriented; I'm only using this as an historical illustration of the fact that all dictators, to stay in power, must somehow break the connections between the children and the two older generations.)

JUMPING TO GERMANY

Hitler, in order to separate the children from their parents and the old ways, not only outlawed homeschooling, he invented an organization called, "The Hitler Youth." 

When boys entered The Hitler Youth at age 10, they took an oath:
"In the presence of this blood-banner which represents our Fuehrer I swear to devote all my energies, and my strength to the Savior of our Country, Adolf Hitler. I am willing and ready to give up my life for him, so help me God. One People, one Reich, one Fuehrer."
There was a "Hitler Youth" for both boys and girls; that was it, because Hitler outlawed all other auxiliary groups for children, so that by 1932, 90% of the German youth were enrolled in The Hitler Youth which was his counterpart to the Boy Scouts in England.  The purpose was clear: to produce Nazis so as to ensure the Third Reich would endure for its predicted 1,000 years. 

By 1933, Hitler had formulated his education program as to its ultimate product:
My program for educating youth is hard … weakness must be hammered away. In my castles of the Teutonic Order, a new youth will grow up, before which the world will tremble. I want a brutal, domineering, fearless and cruel youth. Youth must be all that. It must bear pain. There must be nothing weak and gentle about it. The free, splendid beast of prey must once again flash from its eyes…That is how I will eradicate thousands of years of human domestication…That is how I will create the New Order. - See more at: http://alphahistory.com/nazigermany/children-in-nazi-germany/#sthash.iEik065P.dpuf

"My program for educating youth is hard. Weakness must be hammered away. In my castles of the Teutonic Order a youth will grow up before which the world will tremble. I want a brutal, domineering, fearless, cruel youth. Youth must be all that. It must bear pain. There must be nothing weak and gentle about it. The free, splendid beast of prey must once again flash from its eyes…..That is how I will eradicate thousands of years of human domestication...That is how I will create the New Order."

Hitler sought to achieve the disconnect between children and their parents/grandparents by encouraging boys to be arrogant and violent towards adults in general, activities for which they would suffer no consequences.  

Hitler set up a Youth Office whose responsibility it was to remove children from homes which were critical of the government, friendly to Jews, refused to enroll their boys and girls in The Hitler Youth. They removed any children who refused to give the Nazi salute.

BREATHING POISONED AIR

Hitler poisoned the atmosphere of the family by encouraging children not only to question their parents, but also to spy on and report them to the government for any remark or action critical of the government. This effectively shut down parental guidance, wisdom, and advice not sanctioned by the government. This spying carried over into the school system as the government encouraged students to spy on and report their classmates for any behavior not deemed "good" by the Nazis.

HOW BAD DID IT GET?

At the beginning of the war, the Air Force told a German mother that her son was missing in action and presumed dead. But later, friends told her that they'd heard on a British radio broadcast that her son was alive and was a POW. The mother reported her friends to the authorities for listening to a foreign broadcast, which was against the law.

One mother, upon learning that her 16-year old daughter who was away at a Nazi youth camp was now expecting a baby, rushed to be with her. Her daughter told her to leave or she would report her to the Gestapo. 

The spying of family members upon each other and the spying of students on their classmates produced a poisoned atmosphere of 24-hour a day terror, relieved only when asleep. Goebbels, a high-ranking Nazi, joked, "The only individual with a private life in Germany is the person who is asleep." Dark humor--it was no joke. Spies at school, spies at home, spies in the neighborhood, spies among friends, all contributed to an unrelieved vague sense of terror.

ASK YOURSELF 

What do we see in our society that's taking children away from their parents? What are we experiencing in our churches and schools and culture that separates children from their parents? That's a separate study in and of itself.

 THE RUSSIAN GRANDMOTHERS
My program for educating youth is hard … weakness must be hammered away. In my castles of the Teutonic Order, a new youth will grow up, before which the world will tremble. I want a brutal, domineering, fearless and cruel youth. Youth must be all that. It must bear pain. There must be nothing weak and gentle about it. The free, splendid beast of prey must once again flash from its eyes…That is how I will eradicate thousands of years of human domestication…That is how I will create the New Order. - See more at: http://alphahistory.com/nazigermany/children-in-nazi-germany/#sthash.iEik065P.dpuf 
THOSE RUSSIANS AGAIN

Lenin and Stalin had a formidable enemy in the babushkas, and they knew it. For example, when Lenin and Stalin made the celebration of Christmas illegal, wanting to wipe it from the face of the earth (as Castor did in Cuba, decades later), there they were, the old Russian grandmothers standing as sentinels, telling the old, old Story of the Incarnation. 

Godly grandmothers, the Babushka Brigade--may their tribe increase!


 By 1939, 90 percent of children in Germany were members of the Hitler Youth. Hitler believed that this aspect of his regime was extremely important because it introduced the Nazi ideology at a young, impressionable, age. The Hitler Youth created a generation that only embodied characteristics that were compatible with Nazism and emphasized the passing on of these characteristics to future generations. This played a major role in ensuring Hitler of the success of the “Thousand Year Reich,” as all future generations would be subjected to this same indoctrination.By 1939, 90 percent of children in Germany were members of the Hitler Youth. Hitler believed that this aspect of his regime was extremely important because it introduced the Nazi ideology at a young, impressionable, age. The Hitler Youth created a generation that only embodied characteristics that were compatible with Nazism and emphasized the passing on of these characteristics to future generations. This played a major role in ensuring Hitler of the success of the “Thousand Year Reich,” as all future generations would be subjected to this same indoctrination.
By 1939, 90 percent of children in Germany were members of the Hitler Youth. Hitler believed that this aspect of his regime was extremely important because it introduced the Nazi ideology at a young, impressionable, age. The Hitler Youth created a generation that only embodied characteristics that were compatible with Nazism and emphasized the passing on of these characteristics to future generations. This played a major role in ensuring Hitler of the success of the “Thousand Year Reich,” as all future generations would be subjected to this same indoctrination.

By 1939, 90 percent of children in Germany were members of the Hitler Youth. Hitler believed that this aspect of his regime was extremely important because it introduced the Nazi ideology at a young, impressionable, age. The Hitler Youth created a generation that only embodied characteristics that were compatible with Nazism and emphasized the passing on of these characteristics to future generations. This played a major role in ensuring Hitler of the success of the “Thousand Year Reich,” as all future generations would be subjected to this same indoctrination.By 1939, 90 percent of children in Germany were members of the Hitler Youth. Hitler believed that this aspect of his regime was extremely important because it introduced the Nazi ideology at a young, impressionable, age. The Hitler Youth created a generation that only embodied characteristics that were compatible with Nazism and emphasized the passing on of these characteristics to future generations. This played a major role in ensuring Hitler of the success of the “Thousand Year Reich,” as all future generations would be subjected to this same indoctrination.

By 1939, 90 percent of children in Germany were members of the Hitler Youth. Hitler believed that this aspect of his regime was extremely important because it introduced the Nazi ideology at a young, impressionable, age. The Hitler Youth created a generation that only embodied characteristics that were compatible with Nazism and emphasized the passing on of these characteristics to future generations. This played a major role in ensuring Hitler of the success of the “Thousand Year Reich,” as all future generations would be subjected to this same indoctrination.

By 1939, 90 percent of children in Germany were members of the Hitler Youth. Hitler believed that this aspect of his regime was extremely important because it introduced the Nazi ideology at a young, impressionable, age. The Hitler Youth created a generation that only embodied characteristics that were compatible with Nazism and emphasized the passing on of these characteristics to future generations. This played a major role in ensuring Hitler of the success of the “Thousand Year Reich,” as all future generations would be subjected to this same indoctrination. 





Friday, January 2, 2015

THE SERPENT'S SQUEEZE

Our Founding Fathers learned from history that governments have a habit of wanting to control people, to make them toe the mark, and abide by the party line, whatever that might be. Governments have all kinds of weapons to do enforce such control; the one that comes to mind immediately is the firing squad or the sudden disappearance of the dissident warehoused in an asylum for the state-declared insane or in a forced labor camp.

But governments have another way of controlling the masses to ensure their compliance with the regime and it's a brilliant one, one without bayonet or bullet, asylum or camp. It's brilliance lies in its simplicity and it's guaranteed 99% effective. 

Although the French philosopher Voltaire (1694-1778) isn't a person with whom we'd agree most of the time, we agree on this--"If you want to know who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize." 

HERE COME THE GRADUATES
 
We've raised three generations who firmly believe that there is no absolute truth and that we're not to offend, that is, we're not to say that any belief held by any group is immoral or wrong or say that any act is a sin because to do so would be intolerant and discriminatory. We have three generations who think no one has the moral authority to judge (which is a moral judgment itself) any belief or belief system. They paid big bucks in college tuition to be indoctrinated with this.

THE SQUEEZE

And what is the weapon of choice "they" use to control you? I've alluded to it: We can say it in two words--public shaming. Dare to criticize what "they" consider uncriticizable, and you'll feel the wrath of public shaming as witness Christina Quinn's open letter to the President of NYU in 2012, condemning a chain of diners wanting to locate in NYC: "The President of Chick-fil-A continues to make statements and support causes that are clear messages of extreme intolerance . . . . [holding that] some Americans are less than others. I do not want establishments in my city that hold such discriminatory views.” They ran the letter in a leading newspaper for one and all to see. Mrs. Quinn's work of public shaming was done.

IS THE SQUEEZE INADVERTENT? 

"They" know what they're doing.  Hillary Clinton, speaking in Turkey, promised to make criticism of Islam in America evaporate, intoned, "For 235 years [of American history], freedom of expression has been a universal right at the core of our democracy.” Yet, “[We promise to] use some old-fashioned techniques of peer pressure and shaming, so that people don’t feel that they have the support to do what we abhor.”

There it is, plain and simple, Mrs. Clinton, then Secretary of State, said it so that even we simple folk can understand--public shaming is the squeeze that a government can use to bring those who disagree into sycophancy. 

There is no statute of limitations for public shaming--they'll dig into your past to find anything to publicly humiliate you if you dare to criticize the uncriticizable. Whatever you said 20 years ago will thrust you into the spotlight of shame, humiliate you, and marginalize you for the rest of your life. 

IT'S OLD

It's a tactic as old as the Pharisees who sought to publicly shame the Lord Jesus by dissecting His every word, His every deed, and who culminated their quest on Calvary. The author of Hebrews wrote, "Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. The hymnwriter captured it: "bearing shame and scoffing rude, in my place, condemned, He stood."

A SOFT TYRANNY

The squeeze is what Alex de Tocqueville called a soft tyranny. It's not that they're throwing Christians to the lions; it's not that they're getting out the whips, and oiling the guillotines. It's a different kind of persecution that's like a python's squeeze. Tocqueville wrote about the tactic of public shaming:

"The will of man is not shattered, but softened, bent, and guided; men are seldom forced by it to act, but they are constantly restrained from acting. Such a power does not destroy, but it prevents existence; it does not tyrannize, but it compresses, enervates, extinguishes, and stupefies a people, till each nation is reduced to nothing better than a flock of timid and industrious animals, of which the government is the shepherd."

The serpent's squeeze takes your breath away so that you can't talk about forbidden subjects in a critical, rational way. To do so is to experience an ever-growing tighter compression which reaches into the home. Those who come from totalitarian countries tell us about the squeeze:

"[Eventually people] will not voice their opinion in public spaces, they restrain themselves from voicing it at home to their families and close friends, and perhaps even to themselves. Schools and other religious institutions may not be able to forthrightly define their criteria for employee behavior, so they must hint at it and hire people through private instead of public channels. People withdraw, and become isolated, both internally and externally."

Have you ever thought twice about the biblical opinion you were writing in an e-mail and then hit the delete button? Have you lowered your voice to a whisper in public to express your ideas to a friend? Have you wondered if your remarks on the telephone were being recorded? Have you devised code words to express yourself to a friend or spouse? Then you've experienced the squeeze. 

IT IS HERE. IT IS NOW

We stand under the authority of Scripture. Based on the Book, if a belief system is fallacious, we say so. Sin is sin, and we say that too. If a person is espousing false teaching, we're to be as specific as Jesus (cf. Matt. 23) and as definitive as Paul (cf. Galatians). Elders have a specific command to expose the false and proclaim the true (Titus 1). 

We live in a society where more and more, everyday and in every way, the squeeze is on to shame Christians into submission, then into isolation, for "they" know that those who rule are those you're afraid to criticize." 

For once, well-said, Volaire!