Is the Bible Racist?

Many leftists have claimed that many of the Bible’s most faithful adherents are racists. As the word “racist” has been diluted, it has become increasingly easy to make this claim. Nonetheless, this contradicts the truths of the Bible.

John 16:29 describes a moment when “Jesus’ disciples said, ‘Now You are speaking clearly and without figures of speech.  Now we can see that You know all things and that You do not even need to have anyone ask you questions.  This makes us believe that You came from God.’”

Jesus knew that there was a proper time to reveal the truth and He knew that once His crucifixion had passed, the time had come for the truth to be made plain. 

As Christians, we derive our morals and ethics from the Bible.  We seek to preserve the truth. Although our traditions have changed over the centuries, the essential truths of God are passed down from generation to generation.

One of those truths is that God taught Christians to love one another indiscriminately, regardless of their outward characteristics.  It is for this reason that Christians were the most vocal and profound advocates of abolition.

Deuteronomy 10:17-19 provides one such example of God’s love for all people: “For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes.  He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing.  And you are to love those who are foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt.”

Not only is this theme of universal “unracialized” love found throughout the Bible, but there is also a general consensus among scholars that the categories of “White,” “Black,” “Brown,” etc. are products of the modern world and have no place in an analysis of what the Bible’s human scribes would have been thinking about.

Simply put: despite what some leftists may say, the Biblical worldview provides no room for racism.

That is not to say that the Bible supports the view that feeling any form of discomfort, such as having one’s name mispronounced, is the same “racism.”  Although there have been efforts in recent years to redefine what constitutes racism, the classic understanding of its meaning is connected to the idea of eugenics, or, rather, the “belief that race is a fundamental determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race.”

The dilution of the word “racism” has now weakened our ability to identify its evils.  Now, instead of rooting out the truly evil beliefs of genuine racists, the word is being used to describe discrimination and prejudice, lumping otherwise well-meaning people in with a group that is known for murdering people over their skin color.

Although both discrimination and prejudice are wrong, they are nowhere near as dangerous as a racial supremacist’s views.  While many are lulled into believing that such views are a thing of the past, this kind of racism is hardly extinct.

No, Christianity is not racist, in fact, it calls us to push back on the evils of this racism. Furthermore, we must not allow definitional arguments to confuse us or lead us to believe that the vicious evil of this form of racism is dead, we must speak the Biblical truth that racism is evil while fulfilling the command to love one another.

We ought to uphold what Ephesians 4:15 teaches us: “speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of Him who is the head, that is, Christ.”

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

To Give Honor

Have you ever found yourself asking "Why should I honor this person?”  It is so simple to stand in judgment and wallow in self-pity.  We hold the position of “I can do that better.” It is so difficult to give honor to those we don’t consider worthy of honor.

At work, are there supervisors or administrators, to whom we must give honor to keep our job?  Every leader values being honored and respected.  Honor is a really big thing...part of a team.  The Bible is clear with its instruction: “…servants, be submissive to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and gentle, but also to those who are unreasonable” (1 Peter 2:18).  Honor belongs in your workplace.

In the global picture, do we honor those in governmental power?  We may disagree with their policy, their party, and their beliefs.  But, again, the Bible is clear: "Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, or to governors...doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men” (1 Peter 2:13-15).  Jesus honored that governmental authority.  In His example, we are to do likewise.

Where honor gets personal is closer to home.  Broken relationships and broken marriages cause numerous hurtful emotions.  Remember “Honor your father and mother (which is the first commandment with a promise), so that it may be well with you” (Ephesians 6:2-3).  It hardly seems possible that the promise of honor to those who have hurt deeply and personally will be “so that it may be well with you.”  Though not comfortable, giving honor to those who do not deserve it appears to be for our own good.

How then do we decide to choose to honor those in our business, government, and personal relationships?  In an article by Brad Lomenick there are eight steps suggested in learning to honor:

Not surprisingly, we begin with step one as prayer.  When we pray for someone, it is difficult to be angry at the same time.  Next is encourage.  How many times has encouragement changed your position?  Sometimes confrontation is needed to reach a level of honor.  Honor is found in the ability to exchange input and feedback with others. Serving and trusting are also avenues for honor.  When we work together and lean on each other, we both rise or fall together. Understanding and protecting another person’s viewpoint is to honor them. Lastly and most difficult for some is to simply release.  Release your hold on disagreement, hurt, and your point of view.  To honor does not mean to blindly obey, it means to value and respect.

The truth is that honor is more about you and your heart than it is about the person you are honoring.  With the heart of a servant, you are able to honor every person with whom you cross paths, and it shapes everything you say and do.

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Who Are You?

One of the most quoted lines from the book Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is spoken by a strange caterpillar.  The caterpillar on noticing a young girl who had dropped into Wonderland via a rabbit hole asks, “Who are you”?  Alice replied, rather shyly, “I-I hardly know, Sir, just at present-at least I know who I was when I got up this morning, but I think I must have been changed several times since then.”  Indeed, Alice had “transitioned” several times during the story.  She had been small and large and confused and frightened and happy and sad, but she had never been a boy.

Unfortunately for our children, the “who are you” question is as confusing and terrifying as dropping into the mad world of Wonderland.  

A decade ago, a child put to that question would simply answer their name or that they are a son or daughter or boy or girl, sister, or brother.  They may mention an athletic title such as “soccer player” or “rollerblader.”  Never would the answer be transgender, gender neutral, non-binary, agender, pangender, genderqueer, two-spirit, or third gender. The gender list continues to grow.

Today’s “Alice” is around 14 years of age.  She is experiencing gender dysphoria. Gender dysphoria is defined as “psychological distress that results from an incongruence between one’s sex assigned at birth and one’s gender identity.”  Survey results collected for four years by Suzanna Diaz and J. Michael Bailey of Northwestern University’s Department of Psychology reported 75% of children who developed rapid onset gender dysphoria were females around the age of 14  Alice thinks she knew who she was when she got up this morning but “I think I must have been changed.”

The gender debacle is as confusing as Wonderland’s Duchess’ ministrations to Alice when she says, “and the moral of that is…be what you would seem to be, or if you’d like it put more simply-never imagine yourself not to be otherwise than what it might appear to others that what you were or might have been was not otherwise than what you had been would have appeared to them to be otherwise.”  Humpty Dumpty would emulate the voice of LGBTQIA members in this conversation with Alice.

“When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, “it means just what I choose it to mean-neither more or less.”

“The question is,” said Alice, “whether you can make words mean so many different things.”

“The question is,” said Humpty Dumpty, “which is to be master— that’s all.”

Recently, members attending the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting passed a 700-word resolution labeling gender transition a “direct assault on God’s created order” urging states to ban gender procedures involving children.  The resolution, referencing the Bible reads, “The differences between men and women are complementary, determined at conception, immutable, rooted in God’s design, and most clearly revealed in bodily differences” (Genesis 1:28; Psalm 100:3).

Answering “Who are you” is readily revealed through the looking glass of the Bible.  Who is your master?

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

There is No Such Thing As “Okay” Racism

It seems many individuals and corporations have become obsessed with signaling their virtue, especially when it comes to issues of race.  These individuals would be wise to remember the teachings of Matthew 6:5, which quotes Jesus as saying, “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others.  Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.”

In the name of their personal sense of “justice,” many activists have sought to defend the implementation of racist policies without any regard for their negative impact.  Instead, they have sought to vilify some groups of people in order to demonstrate their own righteousness— showcasing their pretended virtuousness in the streets so that they may be praised for their moral goodness.

One of the greatest flaws of contemporary American jurisprudence is the insistence of contemporary lower court activists that anti-discrimination legislation and policies should only protect “historically disadvantaged” groups.  These activists point to cases like Sheet Metal Workers’ International Association v. EEOC, 478 U.S. 421 (1986), in which the Supreme Court ruled that courts could implement race-conscious relief that created distinct advantages for non-White employees.

Like many countries over the centuries, the ethnic makeup of the United States is in flux. According to some projections, by 2050, the United States will no longer be a White majority nation.  However, one major problem with these projections is that they assume ethnic/racial lines are strictly bounded.  This narrative is pushed by people who advocate for reparations and the erasure of anything perceived as “colonialist.”

The result of this attitude is a shift in incentives, including incentives affecting businesses. Nowadays, to be perceived as not-Woke can result in cancellation and negative publicity for one’s business.  Racial tensions fomented by the death of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter riots have led to businesses being fearful of any perception that they have supported or failed to ferret out even perceived “racism.”

Those exact circumstances created an incident in a Philadelphia Starbucks where a White employee was found by a court to have been fired by her employers on the basis of her race.

The 2019 complaint by a White woman who alleged she had been discriminated against said that her termination happened following the arrest of two Black men in Philadelphia who had been asked to leave Starbucks.  The plaintiff alleges the company “took steps to punish White employees who had not been involved in the arrests, but who worked in and around the city of Philadelphia, in an effort to convince the community that it had properly responded to the incident.”

Many people use the erroneous term “reverse racism” to describe incidents like this; such sloppy language provides fodder for those who like to play language games by claiming that “If reverse racism were an issue, it would mean that we live in a world where all racial groups have equal, institutional, social, and systemic power.  We don’t …Yes, BIPOC [Black Indigenous People of Color] can be racially discriminatory, but not racist — we do not hold the power of White superiority in any respect.”

Incidents like the one in Philadelphia are not about “reverse racism;” they are about plain and simple racism.  What happens when Whites are no longer a majority?

Is it really justice to say that majority non-White groups should have a right to abuse and mistreat an entire people group based on the color of their skin?

No?

Okay, then.  We’ve just agreed that racism is bad.  And we should not allow its seeds to be re-sowed in American culture under the auspices of pretended justice.

As Proverbs 15:1 teaches, “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”  It is high time our society sought to generate a gentle answer to the problem of racism, instead of condemnation, judgment, and a return of violence.

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Transgender Isn’t Transsexual

“Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ” (Colossians 2:8, NLT).

The current philosophy surrounding transgenderism is part of the “high-sounding nonsense” the Bible warned against.  It has so infused the culture today that the US Supreme Court decided the 1964 Civil Rights Act prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex (“male” and “female”) now means whatever an individual defines one’s “sex” to be. (Currently, there are over 100 officially recognized genders in America, and Facebook even gives you the choice of more than 70 genders you can choose on your personal profile.)

The support for choosing one’s gender has now reached the point where hormone blockers are being prescribed for pre-pubescent children who might be “suffering” from “gender dysphoria.”

This is genuinely disturbing because, as endocrinologist Dr. Michael Laidlaw explained, “It has been shown that puberty blockers interfere with the expected increase in bone density in adolescence such that the bones are not as strong as they would be had normal pubertal development been allowed.”

This is due to the effect of dropping sex hormone levels to subnormal levels.  These lost years of bone development cannot be regained.

Several individuals who experienced various gender reassignment procedures have revealed that they have suffered irreparable harm because their gender confusion was affirmed through surgeries and medical procedures that left them permanently damaged.

While gender dysphoria is a diagnosable condition, treating it is not the same as redefining biological reality to perpetuate a myth.  Gender reassignment surgery leaves scars that are irreversible.  But most importantly, we should never compromise the integrity of scientific research for the sake of political correctness.

Philippians 4:8 urges: “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable— if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things.”

As Christians, we must pursue truth and fight for it.  The distinction between X and Y chromosomes is an indisputable biological and scientific truth that must not be ceded in our society— lest finders-of-fact become finders-of-opinion and we therefore subjugate our legal process to the ever-changing whims of social politics.

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Should Artificial Intelligence Concern Us?

Many Christians have strong concerns about AI (Artificial Intelligence).  It is a bit creepy to have “entities” around us that are always listening and even pre-thinking about our needs.  Systems like Alexa and Cortana are being used in many homes, including those of Christians.  Should we be leery of these?  Should we absolutely ban them from our homes?  Are they introducing an evil presence in our midst?  How do we approach and answer these questions for ourselves, our families, and our churches?

Consider the wonderful advances in accuracy and time savings that computers in general have made in our lives.  Finding new locations on GPS in our cars is a huge benefit.  Getting answers and information on almost any subject in split seconds is phenomenal when researching and writing papers or looking up the meaning and spelling of a new word.  But can they eventually run our lives and steer us in directions we never intended?  Only if the programmers have programmed them to do so.  If those developing the programs and “thinking” apparatus for a given machine do not necessarily share the wisdom and absolute truth of the Bible, then wrong, even evil advice and information can be given out.

Consider what can happen when a person looks up information about sex.  That person, young or old alike, will learn about transgender, homosexuality, beastiality, and gender-changing medications and surgeries.  It is very unlikely that morality and God’s truth will be given much, if any attention.  The fault, of course, is not the AI per-se.  It is the fault of the artificial moral and ethical base of the writers (1 Corinthians 3:16-20, Proverbs 12:23 and 13:19).

We might watch movies like Star Wars and experience robots that seemingly think, act, and feel just as a human would.  However, that is not possible without the God-given aspects of life, soul, and spirit.  As humans, we may be able to program these aspects into robots for specific incidents, but the reality is that they are artificial.  We do not have the ability to replicate God’s creative power and wisdom.  Genesis 1:27 states that “God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” Even redeemed mankind cannot replicate that.  We are not able to create offspring in God’s image.  Every person is born spiritually dead and only God can solve that through Jesus Christ.

Fallen man is not capable of creating anything that approaches God’s image and yet the attempts are continually being made.  “Not surprisingly, there is already a religion, called Way of the Future, started by a former Google engineer, that plans to worship AI and look to it as mankind’s caretaker and guide.  Such futile imaginings are nothing new; humanity has often been guilty of worshiping the work of their own hands.  The Way of the Future is just a modern version of carving an idol.

Moral of the story: Only use AI when you can be certain that its information is based on God’s truth rather than man’s artificial wisdom and artificial truth.

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Dealing With Children

In today’s world, some people think it is appropriate to convince children that they can change genders— even at very young ages.  Others, like Planned Parenthood, are offering abortions to children as young as 13 and sponsoring a sex-ed Summer Camp in Mankato, MN.  In this camp, they teach that comprehensive sex education teaches that children “can have any kind of sex anywhere, anytime, with anybody, at any age, and it’s perfectly normal.”

Another way that our fallen world deals with children is by “dealing children” in child sex trafficking.  The recently released movie “Sound of Freedom” takes a hard-hitting look at this terrible evil.  It’s based on the true story of Tim Ballard, the former Department of Homeland Security special agent who has devoted himself to fighting child sex trafficking, and who took his crusade private when he founded Operation Underground Railroad.”

In great contrast to these examples, we are instructed in God’s Holy Word how God intended for us to treat, raise, and love the children entrusted to us.  “People were bringing little children to Jesus to have Him touch them … He said to them, ‘Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.  I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.’  And He took the children in His arms, put His hands on them and blessed them” (Mark 10:13-16).  The Bible has a lot to say about treating, raising, and loving children.

The world uses children, abuses children, and puts its hands on them, not to bless, but to ruin, use and destroy them.  As a child of God, yourself, as a godly parent, teacher, or church leader, these reports are sickening and devastating.  This is why we must act— all of us getting involved in the way that God calls us.  This starts with training our own children to be aware and to avoid falling into traps that have been set; supporting groups and ministries like Operation Underground Railroad, and others; encouraging your church to establish training of its own to make parents and children aware of the world’s ways of destroying them and their families.  In “Sound of Freedom” we’ve glimpsed the heart of darkness.  We’ve seen something about our world that makes the desire to ‘take action’ seem more than an action-movie gesture.

We must choose between the curses of the world and the blessings of God and which we will serve.  “This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses.  Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord God, listen to His voice, and hold fast to Him.  For the Lord is your life, and He will give you many years in the land He swore to you” (Deuteronomy 30: 19-20).

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Why Those Who Conspire Against Israel Do So Against God Himself

The Bible pointedly instructs:

“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: ‘May they prosper who love you.  May peace be within your walls and prosperity within your palaces…’  For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek your good” (Psalm 122:6-7, 9 NASB).

Since our founding, America has sought the good of Jerusalem and recognized Israel’s numerous contributions to our own faith and freedom.  For example, John Adams declared:

“I will insist that the Hebrews have done more to civilize men than any other nation .... If I were an atheist of the other sect who believe (or pretend to believe) that all is ordered by chance, I should believe that chance had ordered the Jews to preserve and propagate to all mankind the doctrine of a supreme, intelligent, wise, almighty Sovereign of the Universe, which I believe to be the great essential principle of all morality and consequently of all civilization.”

Throughout our history, America has never wavered in support of the Jews and Israel. Yet today, certain members of Congress are vocalizing anti-Semitic slurs and even actions.  One of the most prominent examples is Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, who introduced a measure calling for America to punish Israel (through the Palestinian-led “Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions” movement) just as we punished Nazi Germany in WWII:

“Whereas Americans of conscience have a proud history of participating in boycotts to advocate for human rights abroad, including … boycotting Nazi Germany from March 1933 to October 1941 in response to the dehumanization of the Jewish people in the lead-up to the Holocaust.”

Thankfully, the House voted down her measure.

As Christians, we support Israel because of God’s promise that He will bless those who bless the nation formed from Abraham and Isaac, and also because the Bible makes clear that Christians are grafted by God into Jewish roots (Romans 11:11-24), with salvation being promised “to the Jew first and [then] also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16 NASB).

As Americans, we owe our founding principles to the Judeo-Christian Biblical values that shaped the constitutional rights and freedoms we enjoy to this day.

We can therefore echo the words of Israel’s longest-serving Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu:

“Israel has no better friend than America.  And America has no better friend than Israel.  We stand together to defend democracy.  We stand together to advance peace.”

Under God’s providence and as a result of His direct intervention, Israel and the Jews have survived millennia of persecution from many civilizations.  Because the Bible promises that such efforts will continue to the end of time, we should join with the Biblical psalmist and pray:

“God, do not remain quiet;

Do not be silent and, O God, do not be still.

For behold, Your enemies make an uproar,

And those who hate You have exalted themselves.

They make shrewd plans against Your people,

And conspire together against Your treasured ones.

They have said, ‘Come, and let us wipe them out as a nation,

That the name of Israel be remembered no more.’

For they have conspired together with one mind;

Against You they make a covenant” (Psalm 83:1-5 NASB).

America must never become part of any movement to punish Israel.  May God Bless Israel—and thereby may God also Bless America!  As God promised Abraham about Israel and the Jewish people:

“And I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse” (Genesis 12:3 NASB).

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Titan, Titanic, and Human Hubris

There is a thin line between confidence and hubris and between recklessness and calculated risks.  The Bible teaches that Christians are given the wisdom of the Holy Spirit so that we may discern the distinction.  It was this request for wisdom that blessed the kingship of Solomon when the young Solomon asked of God in 1 Kings 3:9: “Give Your servant a discerning heart to govern Your people and to distinguish between right and wrong.”  The tragic human frailties one can see in daily life remind us why we must seek the wisdom of Solomon, especially on matters of humility.

Luke 14:11 teaches that “all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”  As recent events have proven, sometimes being “humbled” has fatal consequences.

The tragic deaths of 5 people aboard the Titan submarine, which was bound for a tour of the Titanic shipwreck, is a poetic tale of human failure and hubris.  The irony of the submarine’s name and intended trajectory are not lost on the world, which watched with bated breath as the initial search and rescue efforts gradually turned into a search for missing bodies.

The luxury experience financed by OceanGate was being offered despite the safety concerns raised by submarine expert Karl Stanley in 2019.  At the time, Stanley contacted Stockton Rush, one of the men who ultimately perished aboard the submarine, to raise concerns about loud noises he heard while aboard the submerged vehicle.  The contents of the email are damning:

“What we heard, in my opinion … sounded like a flaw/defect in one area being acted on by the tremendous pressures and being crushed/damaged,” Stanley wrote in the email.

Stanley continued:

“A useful thought exercise here would be to imagine the removal of the variables of the investors, the eager mission scientists, your team hungry for success, the press releases already announcing this summer’s dive schedule … Imagine this project was self-funded and on your own schedule.  Would you consider taking dozens of other people to the Titanic before you truly knew the source of those sounds ??”

People magazine recorded the death of Stockton Rush by saying: “OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush Added to Wikipedia List of Inventors Killed By Their Own Inventions.”

Unsurprisingly, People’s headline reminds us of the fatality of our own human presumptions of greatness and the fact that this flaw is all too common.

Wikipedia’s list includes stories like that of Luis Jiménez, a sculptor who was crushed and killed by the demonic Blue Mustang statue that greets visitors to Denver International Airport in Colorado.  It also references ancient apocryphal tales—like Wan Hu, who allegedly blew himself up while trying to launch himself into space with a rocket chair—demonstrating that human arrogance is as old as time itself.

These fatal stories remind us why James 4:6 integrates the teachings of the Old Testament, reminding us that the Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.”

Let us all pray that we may become humble servants of God, understanding that we do not possess His wisdom, lest we, like Stockton Rush and Luis Jiménez, fall prey to our own ignorance.

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Responding to the Homeless

You may call them unsightly, disgusting, sad, dirty, or intolerable, and yet, they are full of people whom God loves and Jesus came to save.  Homeless camps are common in America.  America appears to the world to be affluent and has unending resources to prevent the tragedy of homelessness.  How does the Christian respond to the ever-growing trend?  Do the unsheltered prefer to stay that way?

There have always been those who are lacking in resources.  “For there will never cease to be poor in the land.  Therefore, I command you, ‘You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land’” (Deuteronomy 15:11 ESV).

Recently, new titles have been given to the sector of our population who are without a permanent address.  Two of those are unsheltered and unhoused.  To those titles add “unfamilied” … as a huge percentage of the homeless are without family support.  There are almost 600,000 unsheltered people in America.  Where does a Christian begin to help?

The situation is critical and complex.  It is not a matter of activating more and more programs and handing out more and more money.  The real issue is that many of the homeless prefer to be homeless to continue addictions … which is a huge component of homelessness.  Some of the cities expressly plagued by thousands of homeless are Los Angeles, New York, Seattle, Sacramento, and Phoenix.  Millions of tax dollars have been spent on trial-and-error programs to rehome people who prefer staying homeless. Sacramento recently provided 15 travel trailers that had been used for quarantine housing during the pandemic to a homeless encampment.  This “drop in a bucket” is lost in the ocean-sized problem.  Says Mayor Steinberg “The people experiencing homelessness in Sacramento aren’t really accepting mental-health assessments and referrals and instead are allowed to continue loitering … breaking into homes and urinating in public.”

With the relaxing of legal action towards the use and distribution of hard drugs, there is little the cities can do to control the growing “addicted homeless” encampments.  Oregon passed measure 110 treating drug addiction as a health problem and not a crime.  The measure eliminated criminal penalties for possessing illegal drugs.  Those people coming out of incarceration are also at risk for homelessness.

It is important to seek guidance from the Lord and those with experience when attempting to minister to the homeless population.  Many a well-meaning Christian has stumbled blindly attempting to help and, instead, caused further dependency.

Donating food, money, and time to organizations like your local rescue mission is a good way to start helping within your community.  

Jesus said, “When you’ve done it for one of the least of these, you have done it unto Me” (Matthew 25:40).

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Can Religious Freedom Diminish God’s Glory?

The first chapter of the Bible makes evident that God rejects transgenderism— that there are only two very clear and distinct genders: “God created man in His own image— in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them” (Genesis 1:27 NASB).

Despite the clarity of this verse, Pete Buttigeg rebuked Christians who do not accept and endorse the LGBTQ agenda, explaining that holding a traditional Biblical view of sexual morality “makes God smaller” and is “an insult to faith.”  Former Texas Congressman Beto O’Rourke went further, stating that any Christian church, college, or charitable organization holding Biblical views on sexuality and gender should lose its tax-exempt status.

Some Christians unwisely want to stay out of politics, but politicians like these won’t let them. They are weaponizing to punish those who adhere to basic Bible teachings.  It will be the shame of Christians for generations to come— if they allow such policies to be enacted without unified civic opposition from the Christian community.

Regardless, the Bible is clear that no matter what those in power might say, believers must stand on God’s side rather than culture’s: “Everything in the world— the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life— comes not from the Father but from the world.  The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever” (1 John 2:15-17).

The current worldly phenomenon of transgender ideology clearly “comes not from the Father.” On this issue, the Church must therefore boldly “speak the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15), fully understanding that some people will reject that truth.  After all, the Scripture forewarns, “don’t be surprised, brethren, if the world hates you” (1 John 3:13), and Christ Himself reminded His disciples: “If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you” (John 15:19).

And a special note to Pete Buttigeg: Regardless of how big or small people’s words and actions may be, no one can “make God smaller.”  As C.S. Lewis pointed out: “A man can no more diminish God’s glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word ‘darkness’ on the walls of his cell.”

In no way does obeying God’s commandments on sexuality and gender somehow “make God smaller.”  To the contrary, ignoring those commandments and persecuting His church only makes you smaller.

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Be Careful Little Ears

“And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.  You shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise” (Deuteronomy 6:6-7 ESV).  This is a clear command to the believer to not only hold the Word of God in their heart but to share it continually with their children.  Not for only an hour at church on Sunday, but while in the house, walking and lying down and rising up.  The words of the scripture are to be spoken to children throughout the day.  But in today’s culture, the ears of our children are rarely hearing the Word of God.  Their ears are being stolen by the media, schools, and public libraries with words that are a perversion of these young minds.

Earlier this year the heels of the C.M.A. Award’s shocking Drag Queen entertainment and drag queen displays in public libraries, the Drag agenda is spreading to our children at a rapid pace.  Kirk Cameron is fighting the battle to secure the souls of the children against all manner of secular teaching.  This well-respected actor is the founder of Brave Books which is a publishing company that describes itself as “an alternative to the current progressive agenda dominating Children’s literature.”  At the end of April, Kirk hosted his 10th-story hour event at the Cherry Hill Library in New Jersey.  He rented a space for a private gathering.  Over 700 people attended the event in which Cameron read his new children’s book, As You Grow.  The book is a Christian-themed book about the Fruit of the Spirit.  Kirk was emotionally overcome with “tears of gratitude and hope” when the crowd spontaneously broke out singing worship songs.

Kirk’s library event is a clear antithesis of other story hours that are dominating the children’s attention.  The Drag culture has infiltrated our public and school libraries bringing its insidious message to the most tender readers— ages 3-8 years.  The official website description of Drag Queen Story Hour is intended to capture children’s imagination and children explore their gender fluidity through “glamorous, positive, and unabashedly queer role models.” Books that are read during the story hour clearly represent the agenda of gender fluidity.  Innocent children are drawn into the “fun” of the glitter and glam of the makeup and costumes of these queer adult readers.

Soccer Moms who bring their children are either uneducated about the profile of the Story Hour or are in favor of the indoctrination of little ones.  There are 45 independently operated chapters across the country and internationally and the American Library Association has backed the movement.

Focus on the Family’s article in the Daily Citizen quotes Christopher F. Rufo, a senior fellow at Manhattan Institute in a recent issue of City Journal.  Rufo explains “The drag queen might appear as a comic figure, but he carries an utterly serious message: the deconstruction of sex, the construction of child sexuality, and the subversion of middle-class family life.”

Be careful little ears what you hear for the father up above is looking down in love, so be careful little ears what you hear.

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Independence Day

Romans 8:5 teaches: “Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires, but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.”  One of the most important reminders this verse provides is of the importance of turning to God for guidance— both as children of God and as American citizens.

As our nation celebrates Independence Day, it is a time of national pride and a time for us to reflect on how best to move forward with a shared vision for our country.  As Christians, this sometimes presents challenges as we wrestle with integrating our lives as citizens and as believers in Jesus Christ.  Although we all aspire to live according to the Spirit, there is sometimes a temptation in the American church to sanctify and canonize the Founding Fathers in the manner of Catholic Saints— thus, giving in to a morality based on worldly concerns.  While this is not necessarily a bad thing, it sometimes allows us to forget that the Founding Fathers were just as human as the rest of us.  They struggled with the same everyday problems that have plagued human beings ever since Adam ate the forbidden fruit.

To think of Founders like Thomas Jefferson as saintly not only lends to a potentially foolish veneration of fallible human beings, it discourages us from emulating their virtues because it makes them inaccessible.  For instance, it is not detracting but is, instead, endearing to recognize that Thomas Jefferson’s lack of interpersonal confidence led to struggles in his love life.  As one author records, “His rambling, stammering, tongue-tied expression of affection for a young woman who caught his eye during his student days at the College of William and Mary failed to capture her interest.”

Failing to recognize the humanity of our heroes not only leads one to the possibility of emulating potentially negative moral behavior but also cheapens the momentousness of their accomplishments in spite of their human frailties.  This bears many lessons for modern politics, especially in the wake of the messy disputes that seem to characterize mainstream political engagement.

As part of our idealization of the Founders, we often think of the 1700s as a time of political purity when people were above petty disputes.  This leads us to respond with derision to incidents like a squabble that has erupted in Tarrant County, TX, over a private fireworks business in a primarily rural neighborhood.  In an effort to thwart the fireworks business, a local homeowner had their property legally declared the “Church of Peace and Quiet” since local regulations prevent a fireworks business from operating within a certain parameter near a “church.”  Stories like this can lead one to lose faith in the modern political process. However, appreciating the human failings of the Founding Generation teaches us that such shenanigans are nothing new.

Take the second president of the United States, John Adams, who is described by one blogger as responding in the following manner to unflattering news reports: “Jefferson’s supporters had the nasty habit of ridiculing Adams in their newspapers and amongst themselves … As retaliation, [Adams] passed the Alien and Sedition Acts, making it illegal to criticize the government in print.”  While the author’s description oversimplifies the issue, it succinctly calls attention to the fact that Adams was unwilling to support the Freedom of the Press when the press’s freedoms no longer supported him.  Such immaturity seems more appropriate for 2023 than 1798.  Even so, as Christians, stories like this should not be surprising.

We know that we live in a fallen world, but our hope in Christ sets us apart.  As 1 Corinthians 15:22 teaches: “For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.”  Christians should not derive their morality or sense of national vision solely from an idealization of the Founders because to do so would not only (a) use the standards of the world to define the goodness that only God can decree but (b) would also cheapen the humble faith of the men themselves.

As we remember our country on Independence Day, we should be proud of our nation. Not because our Founders were perfect saints, but because they accomplished such a monumental feat in spite of their imperfections and did so with their eyes turned reverently toward heaven.

The fact that they were not perfect means that there is hope for our polarized country. God bless the USA.

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel