Fry-ing my brain

I have nothing against Stephen Fry. I don't enjoy any of his TV programmes but I have no beef with those who do. It's opinion, subjective to each person to his and hers own personality.

However I take great issue with his recent comments about God. 

This argument is often trotted out and it's falls very quickly and easily and here is how - You cannot make a moralistic judgement on anything without a undisputed set of absolute right and wrongs to stand on.

If you ask most unbelievers the rather difficult question of where morality has come from you'll, in my experience, get one of these answers:

'Morality evolved' - this is scary because it means that nothing is absolutely wrong, only wrong at that stage of it's evolution. Rape and murder could have been okay in the past and could be okay in the future.

'We make our own morals' - This is subjectivity of the highest order and not the good kind such as whether we prefer to watch QI or Have I Got News For You on the Dave channel. If we make our own morals we cannot be angry at anyone else because they have a different set of morals. If someone punched me in the face I couldn't be upset because it might not be wrong to them even if it is to me.

'Morality is defined by society' - this has the same issues as both of the above two.

Morality is such an evidence for God because it definitely exists yet there is no reasonable explanation for it's existence outside of a Higher Power. Without God we are simply like animals, it's dog eat dog and the fittest will win. Cats don't feel guilty after killing a mouse and if there is no God why should we feel guilty about anything we do?

Without a Higher Power, morality is subjective as no one persons opinion is bigger than another. However a Higher Power's, who is described as Holy, Perfect and All Loving,  moral judgements are bigger and there is none that can compete.

In fact, the much envied British justice and legal system is actually built upon the Bible, most of our law stems from the Ten Commandments or Biblical principles which are usually always based upon fairness to all.

God is Good and Has all knowledge and wisdom whilst loving all He has made. He made everything, including a perfect morality which we can never keep up with but can only live up to with the grace of God Himself, shown so amazingly through Jesus Christ on the cross dying for our sins so we could be reconciled to Him.

If you have no grounds for moral belief, you cannot even define the words 'evil' and 'monstrous' let alone accuse someone of it. Often people will use the wipeouts of entire groups of people in the Old Testament as an excuse to say God is evil. These groups were far worse than IS, some of them sacrificed children, and there isn't many people who think IS shouldn't be wiped out.
Some say that God was cruel letting Christ die for our sins, I'll let you in on a secret. God was Christ and He chose to do it. Because He loved us that much.

God is only one with the character to justify the creation of morality. Morality is unchanging, immaterial and universal, just like God and nothing else could account for those aspects.

The other thing that irks me is this idea that everything on earth should be perfect. Fry mentions insects that burrow through eyes etc. Anyone with an ounce of knowledge of Christian belief would know the Bible pretty much begins with the corruption of the whole world and ends with the promise of a perfect new heaven and new earth for (the Bible describes it as a place with no more tears) those who have simply acknowledged their own sin and accepted the grace of God offered through Christ. God never said that our world as it is now is perfect and Christians would never claim that.

It's amusing how often people such as Fry and Richard Dawkins criticise God whilst showing a complete lack of understanding of Him. It's sad how many people think that what they are saying is great.

I pray that Stephen Fry, Richard Dawkins and everyone else can join me in the world with 'no tears' on the great and glorious day.

Blessings,

Michael

The Question of Morality

This is a follow up to my recent blog post on the issue of morality. It is an interview between a Christian journalist and the prominent atheist Richard Dawkins.


“What defines your morality?” I asked with genuine curiosity. 

There was an extended pause as Dawkins considered the question carefully. “Moral philosophic reasoning and a shifting zeitgeist.” He looked off and then continued. 

“We live in a society in which, nowadays, slavery is abominated, women are respected, children can’t be abused—all of which is different from previous centuries.” 

He leaned forward as he warmed to his subject. 

“I’m actually rather interested in the shifting zeitgeist. If you travel anywhere in the Western world, you find a consensus of opinion which is recognizably different from what it was only a matter of a decade or two ago. You and I are both a part of that same zeitgeist, and [as to where] we get our moral outlook, one can almost use phrases like ‘it’s in the air.’” 

At this point, perhaps a word of explanation is necessary. Zeitgeist is a German word meaning “spirit of the age.” Dawkins here refers to the prevailing moral climate or mood of a given place or time. We may observe that what constitutes moral or ethical behavior differs from one culture to another; indeed, it may even differ within a given culture. This is not in dispute. The question, rather, is this: should moral standards be based on the societal zeitgeist or should they look beyond it to something else? 

I asked an obvious question: “As we speak of this shifting zeitgeist, how are we to determine who’s right? If we do not acknowledge some sort of external [standard], what is to prevent us from saying that the Muslim [extremists] aren’t right?” 

“Yes, absolutely fascinating.” His response was immediate. “What’s to prevent us from saying Hitler wasn’t right? I mean, that is a genuinely difficult question. But whatever [defines morality], it’s not the Bible. If it was, we’d be stoning people for breaking the Sabbath.” 

I was stupefied. He had readily conceded that his own philosophical position did not offer a rational basis for moral judgments. His intellectual honesty was refreshing, if somewhat disturbing on this point. 

Dawkins proceeded to cite the abolition of slavery and the civil rights movement as examples of Western moral advancements, but would not credit Christianity in the slightest. 

“Now you have to remember where I am from,” I objected. “Birmingham, Alabama—the home of the civil rights movement. Many there would argue that the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., was motivated by his Christian convictions. And what of William Wilberforce?” 

But Dawkins would have none of it.


The really interesting bit I have put in italics. It proves that if you do not believe in God, literally anything can go. There is no morality except what someone decides personally. But then that means things such as genocide, murder and rape are not wrong because it's all down to personal preference. But we know these things are wrong and the one true level of morality for all mankind, from God, declares them wrong. No matter what Joe Bloggs thinks.


This interview also shows Dawkins irrational opinions on Christianity, which makes a mockery of his credibility on this issue.

Britain's 'Broken Society'

Being away in Llanelli for PCY Camp last week (will blog on the incredible things that God did later this week!) meant that I wasn't privy to the News and it was with great shock that I saw a newspaper during the week with pictures and comments about rioting in the country.

This is something I have never seen before and I naively thought that it was a thing of the past.

Despite all the different theories flying around, I agree with David Cameron when he attributed it to a 'broken society' and 'moral collapse'.

Blaming the riots on the economy is foolishness. Everyday necessities were not being stolen, luxury items were. This was down to sheer hate from the groups seeking to cause trouble and sheer greed.

I have seen signs of this for a while now indeed, the breakdown of communities, the highest prisoner numbers ever and the increased signs of depraved behaviour in the country. It is as if evil behaviour has become 'cool' and the normal way to behave in Great Britain.

It is no co-incidence to me that this happens to parallel to decreased influence of the Christian Church in society and the recent attacks on it from militant Athiest groups.

You see, this is the problem...if God doesn't exists then neither can morality.

Without God, it is simply a matter of personal opinion. 'I believe this is wrong' or 'We believe this is wrong'. This doesn't work because not everyone has the same ideals. Does a pedophile believing molesting children is right make it right? Does a society believing that adultery is acceptable make it acceptable? NO IT DOESN'T.

God is perfect and has no evil in Him. He created the world and set down laws for the people to abide by. Not because of a power trip, but because He Loves us and wants us to enjoy our lives. The truth is that sin doesn't help us enjoy our lives, it actually destroys lives.

Because God is so much higher than us, and has authority, it means His Law is the only form of morality we can realistically rely upon.

So when Great Britain decides that it doesn't need God anymore and it's own opinions are more important, it spells TROUBLE.

The only hope for 'Broken Britain' is that the hearts of the people turn to Christ and follow Him. Otherwise, we will just continue in a vicious circle of selfishness, hate and greed.

Deuteronomy 5:29

Oh, that their hearts would be inclined to fear me and keep all my commands always, so that it might go well with them and their children for ever!

Misconceptions - 4. God is Evil

When I am debating Atheists I find that, when you dispelled all of their 'scientific' reasons why God doesn't exist (one such  reason being Evolution) they turn to the character of God & why suffering happens. Whilst I covered suffering a few weeks ago twice. I haven't covered the strange Atheist argument that God is Evil.

This opinion is most famously expressed by Richard Dawkins in his widely seeling book 'The God Delusion':-


'the God of the Old Testament is...petty, unjust, vindictive, bloodthirsty, misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal...'


My first thought on reading it this is that Dawkins has clearly not read the Bible! I think this quote pleases Atheists and riles Christians not because it is true, but because it is a blatant lie being propagated as truth.

Rabbi Moshe Averick (a Jewish rabbi would know the Old Testament very well) in his new book 'Nonsense of High Order' responds to this as such:-

'Can an intellectually honest and open minded person ignore the fact that this same deity commands the Israelites not to take revenge or bear a grudge, to view the use of inaccurate weights in business as an abomination, to view all human beings as created in the image of God, to open our hands wide to those in poverty, not to oppress the stranger who lives among us, to leave a portion of every field unharvested for the poor, never go to war against an enemy without first offering peace, that "justice, justice shall your pursue", to "love your neighbor as yourself"?


Atheists will bring up passages where God has commanded that certain acts will be condemned by death with some of them being seen as particularly harsh in today's world. But the problem for them is this:-

1. Context - what may be harsh today may have been perfectly reasonable when commanded. Also, Old Testament commandments were fulfilled in Jesus so that Grace comes by following Him not these laws. God knows the context of today too!
2. Morality - How can argue with God about His morality? HE invented morality!?! He invented Justice! You could say that instead you are arguing with Christians about God's morality, but the problem there is how you do account for the existence of morality without the existence of a higher power? No answer I have ever seen has been anywhere near satisfactory and often have Atheists declaring that rape etc. is okay if someone decides it is.
3. Attitude - the Israelites never just decided to kill off a group. The groups that were killed off were groups practicing child sacrifice and other detestable things which God hated and wanted gone.

Ephesians 2:4-5

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.

1 John 4:10
This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

God is not evil, He all-powerful, all-knowing, all-loving and all-amazing! 

Watch what you say

I was on twitter today and I saw the following tweet by what I assume is a celebrity on the main page of the site:-

'Don't say sorry for anything that made you smile' or something alone those lines!

I really dislike saying like this. I think it is completely out of touch with reality. Some may think I am being silly for blogging about what is, to some people, a throwaway comment but I believe that people truly take encouragement from such comments and go and do whatever you want and it doesn't matter who you hurt in the process.

Sayings like this have helped turn Britain into a temple of selfishness and despair.

Does it mean that Hitler shouldn't have said sorry for his crimes if it made him smile?
Is pedophilia right if it makes them smile?

Of course it isn't.

In today's world it is hard to define morality as there is so many different versions flying about, one opinion against another. My way of looking at it is that, as fellow humans, we cannot impose our opinions on each other because we are equal and does anyone know best?

So the way to define what is right goes back to the start, it goes to a higher power who does know better. It goes down to what God has said.

Jesus (who is God) summed up God's law in this:-

Luke 10:27
He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’ ; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ”