Can Rich People Go to Heaven?

"It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." ~Matthew 19:24

This line from the Bible suggests that it is very difficult for a rich person to get into heaven but it is not impossible. Why would this be? One reason may be that a rich man (or woman) may believe he is self-reliant and therefore does not need God. Another may be related to how the man became rich in the first place, whether it is through theft, corruption, deceit, etc. It is possible to earn great wealth honestly but it doesn't take a genius to know that much wealth is acquired dishonestly.

I personally find that handling or thinking about money is very stressful and can consume you. Money brings about a lot of different emotions, from greed to lust to covetousness and even to anxiety and worry.

My experiences with a Jehovas Witness

There is a Jehovas Witness woman named Kristie who keeps visiting me, oftentimes with her children. She came over yesterday with her daughter. I am happy to discuss religion with her, but the reality is that I had my whole family, including my wife, all in the house with me, and all of them I know are against Jehovas Witnesses, so I didn’t want to be seen as associating with the enemy by talking with a Jehovas Witness. 

I tried to tell the Jehovas Witness this, saying that my family is against the religion and therefore I am not too comfortable exploring the faith. I said this mainly because I wanted them to go away. Kristie then sort of accused me of being passive and subservient, that I did not consider all the facts before making a decision on what faith to follow, instead just following whatever religion I was told to follow. I could have escalated this and told her that my family don’t actually coerce me, that I just want to fit in or assimilate into the culture that I am in. But I decided against it. Instead I nodded my head and stayed silent. The silence became a little awkward, so Kristie changed the subject. 

My wife then confronted me, telling me that Jehovas Witnesses were crazy people. I made the mistake of engaging in an argument with her about whether religion was good or bad for a society. That went on forever. I should have followed the principle I followed when I spoke with the Jehovas Witnesses and stopped arguing before the argument escalated into a war.

Why Do Atheists Marry?

It is the Easter long weekend and I am in a spiritual mood, so I will post something related to religion. The question I want to ask readers out there is the following: why in the world do atheists marry?

The idea of romantic love, that is, being in a monogomous intimate relationship with someone, and then marrying him or her and being committed to that person for eternity--it is a very spiritual concept based on supernatural ideas such as the belief in a one and only true love and the belief that each party to the partnership is meant to be together.

Atheists are not supposed to believe this. Atheists are non-religious and non-spiritual. They do not believe in anything that cannot be verified by scientific experiments. The view of science is that humans are mere animals. As animals we procreate to keep the species alive because evolution and natural selection select for traits in humans that allow us to perpetuate our genes. Hence we follow our natural instincts, which for a man is to find a woman, rape her, get tired of her, move on to another woman, and then rape her, and so on and so forth. As atheists believe in science and science cannot prove morality then it follows logically that atheists cannot believe in a woman's right to not be raped. Atheists have no morality, that is, they have no concept of what is right or wrong. True atheists will rape, pillage, and plunder.

But most atheists don't do this. Most atheists don't rape. Most atheists are not true atheists because even atheists want to believe in those concepts not proven by scientific experiment. They want to believe in human rights and justice. They want to believe in the sanctity of marriage and they want to believe that women deserve respect.

To be a proper atheists, to actually start from the premise that you cannot believe in anything that cannot be proven by science and then extend that to all areas of your life--you will live a very sad and lonely life. There will be no meaning, no purpose, and no hope. You may as well hide in the corner and cry, if not just quietly kill yourself. Some atheists may be at this final stage of despair (and if you are one of them I encourage you to seek out help from a therapist, preferably a theist) but most atheists are young and immature atheists, still simply rebelling against some easily-identifiable organised religion because they need to channel their anger at something. But at the end of the day these young atheists still hold onto many other spiritual concepts like justice, purpose, romantic love, and marriage.

Health, Wealth, and Wisdom

How can a person be happy? Different people have different answers to this question, but for this post I would like to talk about myself and my journey in life to find happiness. I believe that for me to be happy I should focus on attaining adequate health, wealth, and wisdom.

Health refers to eating right, exercise adequately, and getting good sleep. It also involves seeing your doctor regularly to get checked, as well as avoiding risky activities like binge drinking or unsafe sex. Wealth refers to making money. Wisdom is knowledge about everything, from knowledge of health to knowledge of a spirtual nature.

Often people go overboard trying to get as much health, wealth, and wisdom as possible, and my casual observation leads me to believe that being obsessive about health, wealth, or wisdom can actually make you unhappy rather than happy. For example, some hypochondriacs read every health scare on the internet and go to the doctor thirty times a week; people obsessed with money earn $100,000 per year but believe it is insufficient because their friends are earning double that, so they work 80 hours per week to try to catch up. This is why I stress the word "adequate." I believe that, when it comes to health and wealth, you if you're doing enough, then you are doing enough.

Another way I find happiness is not to worry too much. Being content with your health and wealth is one way you can stop worrying. Instead of worrying about getting heart disease in the future, go out there and do your thirty-minutes-per-day exercise or start eating healthy food. In other words, get busy doing what you need to do and don't sit around and worry.

Mosque Near Ground Zero

There are plans to build a mosque near the site where the World Trade Center collapsed during the Septermber 11 terrorist attacks.

According to the article Obama Denies Backing Ground Zero Mosque in The Age, President Obama one moment supported the idea but then toned down his support of the proposal.

I would have thought that the American Constitution supports freedom of religion and therefore building a mosque would not be a problem. However, the article claims that some Republicans have "described the plan as an affront to the families of victims of the September 2001 terror attacks." The article also says the following: "New York Republican Congressman Peter King accused Mr Obama of caving in to political correctness."

This comments about political correctness makes no sense. Political correctness refers to altering language or behavior in order to not offend others. In other words, it refers to politicians not being frank and honest but rather pandering to the norms and values of the public or the masses. Since about 70 per cent of Americans are against building this mosque, being for it is therefore politically incorrect, which I suspect is the reason why Obama toned down his support.

The terrorist attacks during September 11 were an attack on American values such as freedom of religion. To then ban the building of a mosque and therefore to deny freedom of religion is to go against American values. By banning the mosque you are effectively spitting on the American Constitution, behavior which would be very insensitive in light of the terrorist attacks.

Of course, this line of reasoning is what I would expect from a normal and reasonable person. But I am not naive and understand the political reality, which is that many people have prejudices and believe that the religion of Islam as a whole is responsible for the September 11 terrorist attacks. It is in my opinion unreasonable to hold this opinion. Within all large religions there are factions that are extreme and violent and there are factions that are moderate and humble. Among Jews there are the militant Jews (e.g. Jewish Defense League) and there are the moderate reform Jews. Among Christians there are the extremist Westboro Baptist Church (godhatesfags.org) versus the moderate Catholic church. The same applies with Islam. There is the extreme and violent terrorist organization that is Al-Queda and then there is mainstream Islam. Some argue that a quick reading of the Islamic sacred scripture (the Koran) reveals text that incite violence, mysoginy, and so forth. This may be true, but the sacred scriptures were written during different times when different values applied, so women were seen as subordinate. We see extreme elements in not only the Koran but also the Bible and even the Jewish sacred scriptures of the Torah and the Talmud. The Bible is homophobic, mysoginistic, and even calls for disobedient children to be stoned to death. But how many Christians actually do this?

Lying to Children about Santa Claus

At work the other day a co-worker told me that she told her son the truth about Santa Claus and the boy, who was almost a teenager, was devastated. The son cried for a long time and accused his parents of cruelty. When the son asked why the mother did this to him, the mother said, "When you have kids, you'd do the same."

I asked this mother why she lied to her child like this and she said, "We're Christians, so it's part of our tradition to celebrate Christmas."

This doesn't make any sense to me. Look at what the Bible says:

Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord.
-Proverbs 12:22

If the Bible claims that lies are an abomination to the Lord, then why would a Christian knowingly lie to his or her child about Santa Claus? And what does Santa Claus have to do with Christianity? There is no mention of Santa Claus, flying reindeer, or Christmas trees in the Bible.

Coveting Mitt Romney

I have been looking at Mitt Romney's photo gallery. I know he and his wife have a combined net worth of over $200 million. That is so much compared to what I have. However, I am only 24 while Mitt is in his 60s now. When he was 24 he had just graduated from university. In fact, when he graduated from Brigham Young University in Utah he went to Harvard to study a combined JD/MBA postgraduate degree.

I must admit I feel envious of Mitt when I look through his family album. I notice he has big mansions, a very nice wife, and lots of cute grandchildren. I'm guessing you need heaps of money to be able to buy all that.

According to Wikipedia, Mitt Romney is "an American businessman and former Governor of Massachusetts. Romney is also a former candidate for the Republican nomination in the 2008 United States presidential election."

Tom Cruise Release His Own Website

Whenever I do a search for Tom Cruise on the search engine I only ever read sites that criticize the star.

I read on the news today that Tom now has his own site. The Official Tom Cruise Website contains lots of moving images. Unfortunately, the sound on my computer is not working at the moment, so all the videos that played downloaded for nothing. Another issue I have with the website is that it seems to freeze up often. I have to wait usually for a minute or two before the site unfreezes. I suspect it does this because of all the videos it is loading up.

The website also contains far too many close-up poses of the star, especially ones taken when he has too much facial hair. This is especially evident in the gallery section where I was hoping to see pictures of his wife Katie Holmes and child Suri.

Tom Cruise has received plenty of criticism for trying to spread Scientology, his religion, to others.

I have read about Scientology and in spite of what Scientology the organization is alleged to have done, Scientology the religion itself seems very helpful. For example, Scientology's Study Technology, a way of learning, seems to have the potential to help many students struggling at school.

The next big movie Tom is making, one I am looking forward to seeing, is Valkyrie, a World War II movie.

Am I a Tom Cruise fan? I don't consider myself a celebrity worshipper. However, Tom cruise is an interesting character because as a child he was labeled dyslectic and was told he could not learn or even memorize, which is an essential skills for actors. With everyone holding him back he still managed to become one of the highest paid actors today.

The Most Hated Family in America

I have just watched The Most Hated Family in America on TV. It was a very interesting documentary about the Westboro Baptist Church, a group of Christians who believe that God hates homosexuals and that God hates America and wants to kill American soldiers in Iraq because America supports homosexuals. These people by far the strangest people I have ever seen, and their message is very provocative, much more so than religions like Scientology. The ADL describes Westboro Baptist Church as a racist and anti-Semite cult.

What was striking is just how nice and friendly many of the girls and children seem. At the end when the teenage girl tells us how she tries to spread the Word of God but only received hatred and abuse from others, she seemed to be sad. The guy doing the documentary, Louis Theroux, was trying to suggest to her that spreading hateful messages to others makes others hateful back to them and that it is her fault for being hateful to others. But in a way I admire these people because they truly are being true to themselves rather than just conforming to what other people expect. When Louis keeps asking the women whether they want to get married, have boyfriends, date, and so on, he is trying to persuade them to conform to the culture of mainstream society.

Steve Pavlina and Self-Delusion

On the train today I listened to podcasts from Steve Pavlina, a self-development expert. Steve worked as a computer game programmer for 10 years before realizing that his calling was in self-development, so he quit and devoted himself to maintaining a self-developmet website full time. Apparently he makes $9000 per month on advertising revenue, which is pretty good. I make nowhere near that amount. In fact, I make nothing from this blog. I've tried putting ads up but I think it makes the site look very poor. Plus I wasn't earning anything, so I didn't think it was worth it.

What strikes me about Pavlina's advice is that he seems to advocate self-delusion. He believes that it is important to an individual to modify his own model of reality to suit himself. The most unusual example of this behavior is found in his polytheism. In Podcast 13: Beyond Religion, Steve claims that he was raised Catholic and then became an atheist in his late teens and then he became an agnostic. Now he embraces multiple religions, including Buddhism, which he talks about a lot. What is odd is that he switches from one religion to another. For example, he claims that in his business life he is an atheist and when he is in relationships he is Buddhist. This I believe is just crazy. Religion is not a tool. Religion is a system of how you perceive reality. If you change your religion then you change your understanding of truth and reality. If your reality changes from one minute to the next then your thoughts will run the risk of being inconsistent or illogical, which can lead to serious error.

Another problem is that Pavlina assumes that different worlds exist separately and independently. For example, the "business world" is separate from the "relationship world." However, this is not the case. Business is defined as trade between two people. Person A has something of value like an apple and sells it to Person B who gives money in return for the apple. There is an exchange of goods of value, and exchange of apples for currency. A relationship is the same thing. When you buy an apple from the grocery store, you are engaging in a relationship with the seller. When you network to increase business opportunities, you are engaging in relationships. A relationship that a man may have with a woman may also have a trade or business aspect to it. There may be a bilateral exchange of multiple goods and services over a period of time, e.g. sexual services, flowers, cash, and housework. Economist Gary Becker's book A Treatise on the Family explains how relationships in families can be explained using economic theory.

The theme of self-delusion is pervasive in Pavlina's podcasts. In Podcast 8: Overcoming Fear he claims that is something makes you fearful or anxious, simply modify your model of reality so that it does not make you fearful or anxious. He says similar things in Podcast 11: Raising Awareness Through Multiple Perspectives.

With all the self-delusion he prescribes, it is amazing then that in Podcast 16: The True Nature of Reality, Pavlina tells us to simply accept reality no matter how bad it makes you feel.

Anti-Gay Church to Protest Ledger Funeral

I have just read a news article on ABC that homophobe Reverend Fred Phelps plans to protest at Heath Ledger's funeral.

I can imagine how horrible this would be for those related to Ledger, but perhaps this homophobia is fully consistent with Christian teaching. The Bible does condemn homosexuality.

However, the Bible, and Jesus, also taught people to love their neighbor, and everyone is your neighbor. Therefore, Christians don't have a right to hate people as Fred Phelps certainly does. His hate crimes certainly go against Christian teaching. Fred Phelps certainly hates just about everyone, including gay people, Black people, the Irish, the Swedes, the Jews, and the list goes on. This racism and hatred certainly would go against Jesus's love-thy-neighbor principle.

Many Christians remind the public that they "hate the sin and love the sinner."

Additional Links:
Sydney Radio Interview with Anti-Gay Church Member
Brokeback Mountain: Propaganda For Perversion!

Santa Claus is Un-Christian

I have heard many Christian say that Santa Claus is part of their religion, and they must teach their children about Santa. This is not true.

Before we start, we must agree on some fundamental things. Firstly, we agree that Santa Claus is a lie. No reasonable adult will believe that there exists a fat man who speeds around the world in a sleigh powered by flying reindeers. Once we can agree on the obvious fact that Santa is a lie, then we can get to the biblical stuff.

Colossians 3:9-10 says, "Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator."

These verses alone state that Santa is sinful. Santa is a lie. Lies are sinful because they go against the Word of God, and hence Santa is sinful and un-Christian.

Some atheist parents agree but like to lie to their children about Santa. They believe then that Christian children should not be taught to give away this secret to other children and spoil Christmas for the atheist children. But the bible says otherwise.

Matthew 18:15 says, "If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over."

James 5:19-20 says, "My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins."

Some Christians agree that lying is sin but they reason that we are all sinners and that we are not perfect. They also say that Jesus is forgiving and that Christians will be forgiven of our sins. This is not true. Consider Hebrews 10:26-27, which says, "If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God."

Sure, sin is tempting, but we must try not to sin. Imagine if you're a woman and your husband saw a sexy girl and thought to himself, "I know I shouldn't sleep with her, but we all sin so never mind, I'll just sleep with her."

Some say that Christianity promotes love, faith, and generosity, which are values Santa teaches, so it's okay to preach about Santa. But Scientology teaches all those things, and I don't think your priest or pastor is going to recommend you tell your kids about that religion.

Matthew's Gospel on Porn Consumption

Is it un-Christian to look at porn? Based on the following, probably not:

Matthew 15:11 says, "It is not what enters into the mouth that defiles the man, but what proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man."

This suggests that watching porn is okay so long as you don't actually mimic what you see.

However, that would be contradicted by another verse from the same book.

Matthew 5:28 says, "But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart."

Is Christianity Anti-Inquiry?

Many have asked: Is it sinful to doubt or criticize Christianity?

Is it sinful to criticize Christianity?

Is it sinful to doubt Christianity and try to explore other truths?

Is it sinful to attempt to try solidify your faith by opening it up to interrogation, even if by doing so there is a risk you may lose your faith?

Many may say it's okay for a Christian to, e.g. read some atheist books for curiosity, books like Richard Dawkin's The God Delusion.

But I think I have found a pastor who believes that this is not the case. Listen to this guy: Should Christians Watch Movies?

This guy argues that Hollywood movies are filled evil worldly and sinful things (e.g. violence, sex, materialism, etc), so much so that we should not even watch them because they will fill our mind with sinful thoughts, and sinful thoughts can cause us to become sinful ourselves. This idea seems to be backed up by the bible. Philippians 4:8 says, "Finally, brothers, 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."

So if it is forbidden for a Christian to watch movies then why wouldn't it be forbidden for Christians to read atheist books?

How Wealth Actually Destroys People

"And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." --Matthew 19:24

Based on the graph above, there seems to be a strong negative correlation between wealth and total fertility rate. Correlation does not suggest causation, but we can imagine how wealth can lead to lower fertility. Basically, if you are poor and only earn, say, $5 an hour at work, then taking care of a child for an hour will mean that you don't get to work for an hour, hence you lose $5. For a rich person who can ear $1000 per hour, taking care of children is expensive because that hour you take care of the child could have been spent working.

There are many other explanations as well, such as welfare and child labor, but it seems clear that as you get more wealthy you breed less. Attempts to bribe parents to produce babies in France and Australia has increases fertility rate, but the increase is usually small. Australia's fertility rate increased from 1.7 babies per woman to 1.9 babies per woman after the Government started to pay $2000 to couples to have babies.

This trend seems to apply even within countries. For example, those who are wealthy within a country tend to breed less than those who are poor. Many people claim that AIDS was natural justice by God designed to punish those who engaged in pre-marital sex as well as homosexual sex. This fertility outcome could be interpreted similarly. Wealthy populations who we will assume are sinful because they tend to engage in the sins of pride and gluttony, are being destroyed by God and replaced with the poor people.

Chess: The Subtle Sin!

Never mind the well-addressed question Should a Christian play dungeons and dragons? A better question would be:

Should Christians play chess?

It has an obvious theme, in the traditional White against Black sides, good versus evil. The symbology of the good guys is obvious:

King - Secular Leader, but with the Church close on his side (King's Bishop)

Queen - All the King's secular forces combined into a powerful tool of his administration. Starts at his side, to show His dominance. Straight and Diagonal movement shows the ability to apply to all problems and situations.

Bishop - liaison between Man and God, the administration of the House of the Lord on Earth. Keeps to one color, to show that the church has limitations in its applicability, BUT there are TWO Bishops, one for the Church, one for the Congregation, and between the two of them, they can get anywhere. Shows the transparent MYTH of Separation of Church and State.

Knight - The Special Forces, able to attack from unseen angles, and retreat across obstacles. The 90-degree component seen by many to symbolize the duality of God's Might and Man's Will.

Rook - Portrayed in most modern sets as a castle, examination of early structures leads many to conclude it is actually a church, historically. Either way usually exemplifies a building made of Stone, and "On this stone I shall build a church."

Pawn - All the multitudes of Man, serving God best by stepping blindly forward.

Of course, the Black side, the Evil, has the same components. Considering that the Dark One has his followers and his Bishops, we know what God has stated about False Religions: "As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed."

This makes it seem that someone playing chess, especially on the White Side, is acting out a morality play, attacking the forces of Darkness and crushing them under his heel. There lies the trick that ensnares millions of innocent souls every year.

Evil has, mathematically, as much of a chance to win as Good. The only restriction between the colors is that White moves first. In reality, The Good side should have more power than the evil, for the Lord has said, regarding HIS believers: "Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you." Unfortunately, the 'powers' given to the individual units of a chess set are evenly matched by their direct opponents.

Anther problem is the power of the Queen. She is clearly portrayed as the King's wife, but granted greater power and maneuverability. She travels and works independently of the King, if nominally at his 'bidding.' This directly conflicts with MANY biblical verses, to wit:

"...and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee."
"But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God."
"Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience as also saith the law. And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church."
"Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing."
"Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord."
"Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing."
"Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands."
A further heresy implicit in the play of Chess, is that of returning lost souls to play. If a simple pawn makes it unmolested to the final rank of the enemy's side, he can be transmuted to any other piece of the game. In this manner, lost pieces can be regained. The bible clearly shows that there is only one event of importance following an individual's death, and that is the judgement. After that, the soul is sent Heavenwards or dropped into the Lake of Fire. Reincarnation is the devil's idea.

In addition to problems with the rules, certain conventions of game play are offensive to any True Christian that has seen the Truth. It is possible, if care is not taken, to move the Knight in such a manner that the outline of a Pentagram is described on the board, an incontrovertible sign of Satan.

Most frighteningly, throughout most of the game, the mechanism of capturing a piece results in removal of the lost piece. In the final move, of EVERY chess game, the King is not captured. Instead, the losing player lays his King down on the board, mimicking a ritualistic HUMAN SACRIFICE!

Does it still sound like a simple 'Game?'

Continued at http://elephanticity.250x.com/xianches.html

Christians Should Embrace the Terrorists

Link: Should we Kill Muslims?

Christians should embrace the terrorists. This is what Reverend David Murray says.

In his sermon, he teaches that the passages in the bible about the slaughter of Canaanite men, women, and children was an act justified by God because of the sins of the Canaanites. The pastor argues that given the wickedness in today's Western society (divorce, pornography, abortion, pre-marital sex, etc) then we ourselves deserve to be slaughtered and instead of hating the terrorists we should thank them.

"And when the LORD thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them." --Deuteronomy 7:2

Are Borders Established by God?

Christianity is very confusing. What does God say about national borders? Are they made by man or are they made by God?

Acts 17:26 says, "And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation."

All people are made of one blood and they are divided into nations. God has determined where they will be. He has set the "bounds of their habitation." This is the reason why illegal immigrantion is immoral because a migrant is moving into someone else's boundary. According to GotQuestions.org, "Illegal immigration is the breaking of a governmental law... Therefore, it is a sin, rebellion against God, to illegally immigrate into another country." The article goes on to say the following: "What should the United States government do with all the illegal immigrants that are currently in the country? For the most part, this is not a Biblical question. The Bible does not command how governments should respond to every type of illegal action." But what about this line from Leviticus 19:33? "When a stranger resides with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong."

Of course, you would think that if God has established borders and nations then nations like those of Saddam Hussein are established by God and we must observe them and not interfere with Saddam's government. Romans 13:1-7 states, "Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong." Therefore, if you dare say mean things against Saddam Hussein, you are rebelling against God. Since God established Iraq and put Saddam in power, that must mean that the War on Iraq was immoral. In the same way that illegal immigrants from Mexico going into the United States are not respecting national borders, so too the American Military's invasion of Saddam's Iraq is disrepect toward's Saddam's Iraqi government. Yet Conservative Christians are the biggest backers of the Iraq War!

Of the major religious groups in the United States, evangelical Christians are the biggest backers of Israel and Washington's planned war against Iraq, says a new survey released here Wednesday by a politically potent group of fundamentalist Christians and Jews.

Some 69 percent of conservative Christians favor military action against Baghdad; 10 percentage points more than the U.S. adult population as a whole.

And almost two-thirds of evangelical Christians say they support Israeli actions towards ''Palestinian terrorism'', compared with 54 percent of the general population, according to the survey, which was released by Stand For Israel, a six-month-old spin-off of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ).

Another puzzle is if borders are established by God and not men then why are borders always changing and why is there differences in opinion over whether a border exists or not. For example, during the Korean War the border between South Korea and North Korea changed back and forth. Does Taiwan belong to China or not? It depends who you ask. If God established the national borders, we have to ask ourselves, how do we perceive national borders? We perceive national borders from maps. Who drew these maps? Men drew these maps. Were they inspired by God? Borders change all the time after war. Just as the winner writes history, the winner draws the borders. Border then seem to be the product of men. Which man has more power writes the border. Virtually all warring sides believe God is on their side.

To sum up, the bible says many things. Many, many people are Christians. Rulers want people to support them in war. With enough time, these rulers should be able to cherry-pick lines from the bible to convine any unquestioning Christian about the morality of a particular policy. The lesson here is to always ask questions and to always be skeptical of authority.

Will Christianity Help China?

I've stumbled across Bibles for China. If you're wondering why there are so many Chinese Christians around, remember that China has a huge population and that Christian missionaries are trying to tap into emerging markets. According to Bibles for China, the cost of the paper used in one bible is $1, which means that if you donate $20 to the American Bible Society you will provide bibles for 20 Chinese people. The website claims that the Chinese are "hungry" for bibles.

Of course, will spreading Christianity in China help them? Many agree that the Chinese people are oppressed by the Communist leaders, but the bible's teaching that everyone must submit themselves to the authorities means that Chinese people should not even fight Communism. One of my friends believes that giving bibles to China will help their economy grow more. Why would the Chinese want that? The Chinese Central Bank is trying to slow down growth because of fears the economy is overheating. Furthermore, how do Christian values promote economic growth? Wouldn't libertarian values do a better job? Christian values teaches that you should give money to others and Matthew's gospel says you should not worry about worldly possessions but instead focus on spiritual wealth. On the other hand, philosophies like Objectivism teach that greed and selfishness are good. Of course, does greed help the economy?

Either way, 60 per cent of China is atheist while probably 80 per cent of Americans are Christians, and these two countries will be the two major superpowers of the 21st Century, so rising Christianity in China might help create compatibility in moral values between the two superpowers. But what if atheism is rising in America faster than Christianity is rising in China? That will only speed up compatibility in moral values between the two superpowers. China is highly regulated. Sinful things like pornography is banned on the Internet by Chinese officials. On the other hand, pornography is rife in America. American evangelist Ted Haggard who spent his whole life going on about the evils of homosexuality was caught having sex with a gay prostitute. News from China is not easily obtained, so citing stories here and there is not wise because of availability bias.

Female Subordination and Biblical Communism

I was told in a sermon that in a Christian household the man is to rule. It is the man who makes the decisions. When I asked the pastor why this was so he pointed to the bible, which says that the woman should not speak against the man. Just as the church submits to Christ so too the woman submits to the man. The pastor then told me that the reason why the man must rule is because if the female has equal power then there would be chaos. If any group of humans wish to behave well then someone must be in charge. Wouldn't this then mean that Communism is a superior political system to democracy? Democracy in the household means everyone has a say in how the house is run, including the woman. Communism implies centralized control by the man. Therefore, is communism supported by biblical teaching?