by Emmett Smith

A British newspaper article dated last June 16 discussed the upsurge in paganism and witchcraft in the U.K. over the past decade. The article credited television, the internet, environmentalism and feminism as partially responsible for the increase. It stated that the number of visitors to Stonehenge had roughly quadrupled since the mid-nineties. I believe Britain is at least a generation ahead of the U.S in achieving a truly secular society. But the U.S. is certainly headed in that direction.

Multiculturalism insists that all of these different belief systems are equally valid, so those who believe that the Bible is absolute truth and that Jesus is the only way of salvation are not readily tolerated. We’ve all heard the statement that there are no such things as ghosts. But if you look to scripture you won’t find that idea at all. Instead, both Old and New Testament scripture simply forbid the Godly person’s involvement. And that includes learning about these things.

Christians must resist absorbing popular culture. In fact, our real challenge is to influence our culture for the better.

Thus says the LORD: "Learn not the way of the nations, nor be dismayed at the signs of the heavens because the nations are dismayed at them, for the customs of the peoples are vanity” (Jeremiah 10:2,3).

by Michael E. Brooks

I arrived back in the United States this week after three months in South Asia. I have endured the normal two days of travel, jet lag, culture shock, and all the by now familiar experiences of my particular version of “mission work”. They have once again reminded me of a number of old truths that have often been well expressed by many more qualified persons than myself, yet remain worthy of frequent repetition.

“Security cannot be achieved by X-rays or body searches.” I for one am willing for airport authorities to do whatever is necessary to guard against terrorism. Yet true security is not a physical matter. “If God is for us who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31).

“Cultures differ; people remain the same, worldwide.” It is so easy to mistake surface differences for real distinctions between people. So often I hear certain behavior excused because “I’m Bengali” or “That’s the Nepali way,” when in truth, it is just plain sin, common to all people of all places. Dress, language, customs vary, but human nature and needs remain the same. “For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek” (Romans 1:16).

“Nothing worthwhile comes without effort.” I feel ashamed to complain about or even notice the “hardships” of modern air travel, knowing the weeks or months of much more difficult travel that was commonplace just a few decades ago among those committed to preaching the gospel. Yet the fact remains that it is an exhausting process to travel long distances. Yet whatever one does that is worth doing requires work. "For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it” (Luke 14:28).

“Different doesn’t equal new.” There are those infatuated with anything new. Others cling to the traditional. Things new to us may be practiced frequently by people in other places. Things traditional to us would be new to others who have never seen or known them. Difference and newness are neither good or bad in themselves. Practices and beliefs must be proven by another standard, that of truth. “That which has been is what will be, that which is done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9).

by Greg Tidwell

A bitter dispute has engulfed Cosmology, the scientific study of the universe. The universe, baffling the scientists, gives every indication of having been planned. In particular, looking at life on earth, it appears that the world in which we live was made for us.

To make sense of these apparent facts, some scientists have embraced the "anthropic principle." This theory holds that life in general, and human beings in particular, are more than accidental byproducts of time and chance. The anthropic principle puts forward that the universe is designed with us in mind.

Keeping God Out

This line of thinking is not welcome by all researchers. Dr. David Gross, recently addressing "The Future of Cosmology" conference at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, warned his compatriots not to embrace an approach that opens the door to religion. Such a path, he claimed, is "dangerous."

Most nonbelievers treat religion with a passive tolerance. They view the faith of others as quaint superstition –- eccentric, perhaps, but not dangerous. Reflective atheists, however, those who have seriously considered their position, are a different story.

A Faith that Matters

Atheistic scholars, men of the caliber of Karl Marx, Sigmund Freud, or Bertrand Russell, are often quite militant in attacking faith. Perhaps these misguided intellectuals can help Christians refocus our attention to a central truth: belief in God matters in every area of life.

Dr. Gross rails against the athropic principle because it opens the door to belief in God, a belief Gross holds to be dangerous. Gross, in actively opposing belief, highlights the truth that belief does matter in scientific study.

Those of us accepting the existence of God as the foundation of all truth should be equally passionate in our position. Belief in God matters in academic work, just as it matters in all of life.

Editor's note: More information on this conference can be found here.

by Tim Hall

"Trick or Treat" is a phrase I once used with gusto. In my younger years, my cousins and I would dress in outlandish garb and roam from one house to the next. After knocking loudly at the door, we would yell "Trick or Treat!" when the resident appeared. And we meant it. If a satisfactory treat was not forthcoming, we had bars of soap in our pockets with which to write messages on their windows. (We weren't like the wild ones who would overturn outhouses!)

Some view God as a Being who is full of surprises. Sometimes He might bless you; on other occasions a curse might be flung your way. The Greek pantheon was filled with such capricious gods. They regularly used humans as their playthings, seldom acting from selfless motives. Knocking on the door of these gods was a risk, for you never knew whether a treat or a trick would be given. Thankfully, that's not the God described in the Bible.

Deuteronomy is a collection of Moses' final exhortations to Israel. He knew the time of his departure was near, and he wanted to impress on the people the will and the nature of God. His statement in Deuteronomy 6:24 is worth highlighting: "And the Lord commanded us to observe all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that He might preserve us alive as it is this day" (New King James Version). "For our good always" -- Moses said a mouthful with those four words. It means that God's motives are always good toward us. We don't have to worry about the kind of mood He is in. If our lives are found in a bad spot, it's because we refused the good that the Lord wanted to give.

Jesus affirmed this image of God in Matthew 7:9-11: "Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him?"

Or consider Jesus' words in Luke 12:32: "Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom". Unlike the gods of human imaginations, the true God derives pleasure from giving good things to His children. If God is our Father, we can be assured that He will do only good for us -- even if we at the time question His goodness.

Paul summed up the idea in Romans 12:2: "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." God's will sometimes requires great adjustments on our part. But those adjustments are worth the effort because of the resulting goodness that will come.

In many communities across our land, hospitals will invite concerned parents to bring their children's bags of treats to be scanned for hidden needles or razor blades. It's a sick mind that plays such tricks on the unsuspecting innocents. You needn't fear such handouts from God. Everything you'll receive from Him will have one common trait: It will be good for you!

by Mike Benson

Ellis Cowart was an American soldier fighting in World War II. On one occasion, he and his comrades were in the middle of a fierce gun battle against the German army.

"Bullets were flying everywhere; we were in the middle of a crossfire," he said. Suddenly, one bullet hit Ellis in the arm, one grazed his forehead, one hit the edge of his helmet, and one hit him squarely in the chest. As it turned out, Ellis had been keeping a small pocket New Testament in the front bib of his jacket. This little Bible prevented that last projectile from actually penetrating his chest. "The Word" quite literally saved his life. (The bullet stopped in Revelation 17).

Mr. Cowart's experience reminds me of a passage from the Bible. James says:

"Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls" (Jas. 1:21 NKJV).