Bucket Drops 7/29/10

Since the arrival of our first child a little over three months ago, my frequency of writing here has noticeably decreased.  Additionally, I’ve been working on writing a Bible study and, Lord willing, a related book, so simply put, I have not had the time to post as frequently as I would like here.  As I continue to adjust to our new addition and prayfully ask for better time management skills, I’d like to begin providing frequent updates to world news.  Last year when I started this blog one of the goals was to keep the Christian community apprised of current world events that were impacting Christians globally.  So I’d like to take the heart behind that thought and make it a regular posting here, in addition to weekly (at minimum) Bible teachings.  With that said, today is the first of hopefully many installments of “Bucket Drops,” taken from Isaiah 40:15, “Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are accounted as dust on the scales; behold he takes up coastlands like fine dust.”

 

Grad student faces expulsion over beliefs

Stories like this one concerning Julea Ward, an Eastern Michigan grad student who was expelled for refusing to counsel homosexuals are going to become more and more prevalent.  Especially with recent language inserted into legislative bills it will soon even be against the law to preach against homosexuality from the pulpit.  All it takes is one court case, such as this one, to set precedence for future cases and suddenly there will be a snowball of scenarios where people are expelled, fired, or even imprisoned for speaking out against immorality.  Certainly we are seeing the impacts of Romans 1:18-32 firsthand.

Video: University makes diploma contingent on supporting gay rights?

And so it begins.  As if the previous story wasn’t bad enough, here a second student faces expulsion due to her beliefs on homosexuality.  This video from CNN shows how Augusta State University offered to repeal any expulsion steps if student Jennifer Keaton would attend homosexual sensitivity training as part of a “remediation plan” in order to change her religious beliefs.  It certainly sounds like she must “embrace homosexuality” in order to pursue her degree in counseling.

2 Christians play dead to survive attack in India

2 Christians were attacked by Hindu extremists in India last week and survived by playing dead.  The Christian Post has this story detailing the events following a prayer meeting where Mahindra Kharoley and Munshi Prasaad Bahey were traveling home when they were attacked and accused of attempting to force people into converting to Christianity.  In this country (for now) we truly have no idea what persecution is all about.  Too often we think it consists of embarrassment or ridicule, while those in other countries are risking their lives for the sake of the Gospel.

What is your highest priority?

I’m not really a fan of the Barna polls/work, but this latest result shows the decreasing trend of religion, namely Christianity, as a top priority within American homes.  I would take issue with the statement from the article that 75% of the U.S. population is Christian.  Maybe more accurately 75% of the country CLAIM to be Christians, when in actuality the number of true Christians is much, much less.  The results of the poll show that 12% say that faith is the highest priority in their life.  I would think that number is much closer to the actual percentage of Christians in America, but just my humble opinion.  Jesus’ words are crystal clear, “No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.  You cannot serve God and money.” Luke 16:13 ESV  If Christ isn’t the top priority, what is?

About the author

Christian saved by grace through faith.

Comments

  1. John,
    This is so interesting….I was initially not accepted into the undergraduate counseling program at Marshall because in my entrance interview I was asked what I would do with a homosexual client and I said I would refer them to someone else. I was told I was intolerant. They said I could reapply after the summer. So I went on a summer project to Slovakia with CCC and after I got back they said that my eyes had been opened due to traveling abroad and I could now be accepted. The interesting thing is that, my views about homosexuality obviously had not changed. The funny thing is that in the program they teach you to refer a client if you have personal issues, but when I provided that answer, it wasn’t the right one.

  2. Wow, I guess I never really thought about how this impacted the entire counseling profession. I’m amazed daily at how far we as a society are sliding downhill morally. The moment we declassified homosexuality from being a sin, it signaled imminent judgment. Thanks for the comment Karole, I’m glad everything has worked out for you perhaps in spite of that initial denial into the program.

    John

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