Since my briefly-expressed "Stonehill Speaks out" view on capital punishment has received criticism in these pages, I would like to more fully present my perspective, which is informed largely by my understanding of Scripture. I am firmly convinced that for the most egregious crimes, such as premeditated murder, multiple murders, and torture, the death penalty is an appropriate response by civil government.

Let’s first demolish the secular arguments against capital punishment. Sentimentalists believe capital punishment is unloving. However, they neglect the bereavement of the victim and his loved ones. The only thing cruel and unusual about the death penalty is the crimes committed by those sentenced to die.

Behaviorists say it is cruel to punish someone who is a victim of his environment. This view ignores that we are morally free agents whose free will determines our conduct and who have the power to overcome the unfortunate circumstances of our environment. While most murderers had a bad childhood, most people who experienced a rotten childhood do not become murderers.

Others prattle that "taking a murderer’s life makes us guilty of the same offense." Nonsense. The state does not callously, selfishly and indiscriminately kill out of utter disregard for the life of its victims. Rather, it does so in the name of justice, and only after lengthy (usually too lengthy), careful evaluation. If execution is government murder, then prison is government kidnapping and fines are government robbery.

Another argument against the death penalty addresses the possibility of executing the wrong person. The possibility of a mistake, however unfortunate, exists in any field of human undertaking. If actions were halted for the sake of inherent risks, we’d still be living in caves and cooking by fires. Many human practices, such as traffic and construction, unintentionally take the lives of innocent victims. However, we do not renounce them because the benefits, including lives saved, outweigh the costs. So too with the death penalty. Nonetheless, nobody should be executed without insurmountably overwhelming evidence. Although miscarriages of justice do occur, there is no evidence that anyone executed since the death penalty’s reinstatement in 1976 was arguably innocent.

Next, let’s see what the Bible has to say. The Scriptures demand capital punishment. The God of the Bible says evildoers are personally responsible and must pay a price for their sins. Genesis 9:6 declares: "Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood shall be shed; for in the image of God He made man." This decree is based on the fact that human beings, though sinful and fallen, bear God’s image. Some people reply that if we abide by this principle we must also reinstate the Mosaic law’s death penalties, such as for children cursing parents (cited by Father Chichetto in these pages), for witchcraft, and for idolatry. However, the regulations of the Mosaic system had a serious restriction: they were meant only for the Israelite nation of Old Testament times.

The temporary nature of the civil, ceremonial and moral laws of the Mosaic system are evidenced by two passages in the New Testament. First, Matthew 27:51 describes how the veil in the temple was torn in two upon Christ’s death. This veil symbolized that sinful people only had access to God only through sacrifice. The tearing of the curtain signified the curtailment of this Mosaic system. Christ’s death, the perfect sacrifice, makes all other sacrifices unnecessary (Hebrews 9:1-16).

Second, Ephesians 2: 14, 15 says that God "has broken down the middle wall of division (the Mosaic law) between us, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace." Thus, the command of Genesis 9:6 applies to all peoples throughout the ages because we still bear God’s image and human life is still sacred.

Neither Jesus nor any of the New Testament writers rescinded the death penalty. In fact, in Romans 13:4 Paul affirmed the authority of civil government to inflict capital punishment: "He is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil." God’s just nature demands the punishment of those who do evil. The purpose of human government is to function as God’s representative in enacting fair laws and in punishing justly those who break them (Romans 13).

Some say that capital punishment has been overruled by the sixth commandment, "You shall not murder" (Exodus 20:13). However the Hebrew word for murder here refers to premeditated, unauthorized, unjustified slaying. Others object that capital punishment is inconsistent with Jesus’ teaching that "whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also" (Matthew 5:39). Fact is, Jesus was addressing individuals taking personal vengeance, not government authorities.

The death penalty is not cruel or barbaric; it is perfectly fair; the only way a killer can pay for his crime is to give up his own life. Murder violates the sacredness of human life, and therefore the one who commits murder should forfeit his life in return. Retribution is the oldest form of punishment. The state’s action of eliminating the murderer from society demonstrates respect for the rights of citizens to be free from fear of brutal lethal attacks and that we rightly value innocent citizens over those who hold the lives of others in utter contempt. Life in prison is insufficient, for it usually means that the killer will be out prowling the streets within a few years..

It is noteworthy that many men sentenced to die have acknowledged the procedure’s fairness. This includes Gary Gilmore, the first since 1967 to be sentenced in 1977 after the Supreme Court ruled in 1976 on the constitutionality of capital punishment. Gilmore admitted that he "deserved to die" and fought all attempts to delay his execution, demonstrating a more informed sense of justice than your typical ACLU lawyer.

Too, capital punishment is an effective deterrent. What makes it appear not to be is the fact that we hardly ever use it any more and that the appeals process drags on for years and years. We execute about one out of 1000 murderers, so criminals know they have little to fear. If it is not a deterrent, why do most who are facing sentencing for murder appeal for life in prison rather than the death penalty?

The alternative, life imprisonment without parole is insufficient. Although it is unlikely albeit possible, criminals think they will escape or be pardoned by a future governor. While incarcerated, murderers can (and do) kill guards and fellow prisoners without remorse. The threat of death is the best deterrent because death is the only final thing in this life.

A final argument for capital punishment is that it protects the innocent. A killer who himself has been killed can snuff out no more lives. The U.S. long ago discarded any notion that all criminals can be rehabilitated.

Together with increased prison space, tougher sentencing, and speedier trials, the death penalty can help promote justice and the further spread of crime.

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Let's Put Christ back into Christmas

What is this nation coming to? The sentiments many in our post-Christian society seem to send at this time of year are: "Secular season's greetings!", "Happy heathen holidays!", and "Peace on pagan earth!" It's "<)2>X-<)1>mas," not <)2>Christ<)1>mas.

Where did the Lord go?

He hasn't gone anywhere. We are the ones who have strayed.

We live in a culture which seems to be doing all it can to expunge the Almighty. We have, for instance, expelled God from the public schools while admitting just about everything else from mystical New Age divinings to condoms for kids and a celebration of diverse, perverse lifestyles.

Since the 1960s there has been a concern, almost an obsession, to eliminate God from the public square.

Under a dubious interpretation of the First Amendment (that government and society needs to be protected from religion rather than vice versa) some of our "public servants" and "public interest groups" feel that the freedom of the Republic will fail with the construction of a creche on public property or the offering of a prayer by the Hometown high school coach before the big game. These people seem to believe that with such recognition of religion in Americans' lives, the establishment of a national church and a theocracy, pogroms, and a holy war will ensue.

Rather than embracing the philosophy of our Founding Fathers regarding the separation of church and state, these folks bring to mind the communists' mission in the former Soviet Union and its satellite nations to eradicate God from the lives of their citizens.

Nonetheless, many people today give lip service to Christianity, while denying God by their actions. With some cities having more abortions than live births, with more and more of those births being illegitimate, with child abuse and abandonment ascending, with violent crime careening out of control, and with a continual concern not for divine things but rather for material things (<)2>Peanuts' <)1>Lucy Van Pelt echoed this perspective when she proclaimed, "Christmas is the season of getting!"), there is a strong sense that we've turned our backs on God.

One bit of evidence of this is that for most Americans, Christmas has become just the merriest of all holidays (the public schools call it "winter vacation"), a modern carnal feast, a time to "eat, drink, and be merry."

The holiday spirit is no longer inspired by the Holy Spirit. We've replaced sacred songs like "Silent Night" and "Away In A Manger" with insipid tunes like "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" and "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus."

Yet, despite all of this, there is a spiritual yearning in our nation, evidenced by interest in angels, reincarnation, near-death experiences, and the New Age movement) There is a feeling that all is not right, a desire to set ourselves and our society back on the right road.

Christmas is a great time to remind ourselves of God's rightful place in American life and in our hearts.

While Christmas is a season of celebration and family reunion, a time of demonstrating our love and appreciation for relatives and friends by sending gifts, of exchanging greetings and correspondence with those we otherwise would be out of touch with, a time to make merry and be of good cheer, there is something more important.

However, no longer do we celebrate that Jesus came into the world, but rather that Santa Claus is coming to town.

Indeed, the comparison is curious: Like God, Santa is omniscient; he knows all about you, whether you've been naughty or nice. According to secular religion, there is a Judgement Day: when Santa comes to town. Presents are parceled out to those who have earned them; soot and coal are bestowed upon those whose behavior has been less than admirable.

God is no Santa Claus. On His Judgement Day a loving yet just Christ, not jolly Saint Nick, will come to town (the visible return of Christ to earth). Eternal rewards in heaven will be bestowed on those who have deserved them. Salvation is not won by trying to be good, but rather by admitting to God that we are sinners, repenting of our sins, trusting in Christ as having died for our sins so that we can be forgiven, and then living our lives in fellowship with and for the service of God.

Instead of soot and coal in their stockings, fire and outer darkness are reserved for those who don't do what God requires, according to biblical teachings.

Showing up in church on Sunday, helping and giving to others, and trying to live an honest life, while admirable in and of themselves, are not sufficient for God.

He sent His only begotten Son into the world not just to teach us more about Himself, but also to suffer, die, and rise again on behalf of each one of us. Our responsibility, in turn, is simply to trust and personally ask Christ to forgive us our trespasses and to invite Him to come into our hearts and take charge of our lives.

I know I can't run my life properly on my own, but trying to learn about and follow God's will, I know I'll be blessed.

Perhaps Tiny Tim's sentiment is the best one to close with: "God bless us every one!"

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To the Editor:

When I was first interviewed in "Stonehill Speaks Out" on my view on capital punishment, I never dreamed that my response, which cited two biblical passages, would generate so much discussion in these pages. This is wonderful, for an academic environment should promote reasoned debate. Apparently many students have been following the controversy and have been discussing the issues too.

Unfortunately, The Summit has labeled me as a "fundamentalist," an misleading term since it carries so much negative baggage (viz. of a wild-eyed, mindless fanatic). I prefer to think of myself as a Bible-believing Christian, i.e., someone who believes that the Bible is the inspired and inerrant (without error) Word of God and that it is "profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness" (2 Timothy 3:16). One can be either Catholic or Protestant and hold this world-view. This is a reasoned position, as I shall discuss shortly.

The two letters to the Editor in the January 29 issue cry out for a response. I wholeheartedly endorse Professor Chet Raymo’s suggestion that students keep an open mind and consult the works of many great authors who have written on the Judeo-Christian tradition. However, in reading through the authors one will find that they are often in disagreement with each other on critical issues such as the nature of God, the person of Christ, the means to salvation, the inerrancy of the Scriptures, etc. We can’t have conflicting truths. Some must be right, and some must be wrong. Like today’s intellectual skeptics, Pontius Pilate sarcastically asked Christ, "What is truth?" (John 18:38). You can learn a lot of knowledge from these skeptics, but the problem is they can lead you down the wrong road, away from God. And that can have eternal consequences for your soul. We all should have religious convictions, and therefore we should each ask God to show us the truth. If we are earnestly seeking it, He will help us find it (Matthew 7:7-8; John 8:31-32; John 14:6).

The stereotype is that being a Bible believer means one has narrow-mindedly closed down their intellectual capacities and blindly believes the Bible, shutting out all other searches for truth. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, God calls us to love him with all our heart, soul, and mind (Matthew 22:37). We intellectuals are naturally skeptical. I, for one, had to be convinced of the truth of the Bible. After examining the evidence (e.g., 100 per cent fulfilled prophecy, accurate transmission, historical accuracy, scientific accuracy [guaranteed: this will provoke at least one professorial response], unified message, transformed lives, etc.) I became convinced of the truth of the Scriptures. Personal experience in seeing God at work in my life since turning it over to Him has clinched it for me. I invite those readers who haven’t yet made a search for spiritual truth and a philosophy of life to embark on that journey today.

Just last week in my Consumer behavior course we explored philosophies of life which motivate people (including their roles as consumers). We looked at what some of the great thinkers have said about the meaning of life: to live for pleasure; acquire power; gain fame, fortune, or even knowledge; etc. I challenged students to use their college years to consider what is really important in life and to decide whether a college education is a ticket to personal success or whether it is a training ground for something perhaps more meaningful, such as service to God and to others.

I concluded the discussion with the advice given to the Israelite King Solomon (perhaps the wisest man who ever lived) by his father, King David, as David lay dying: "As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve him with a loyal heart, and with a willing mind; for the Lord searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, he will cast you off forever" (I Chronicles 28:9).

I pointed out that David advised Solomon to "know" God, not just to "Know about God." David wanted Solomon to have a personal relationship with the Lord. Whatever our "fundamental differences," what is most important is that we become personally acquainted with God and seek his will for our lives. If we do that, we will find Him, He will lead us, and He will bless us.

Back to the letters to the Editor. It seems that perhaps spiritually Father James Chichetto and I agree more than we disagree. I am pleased that he too believes in the miraculous and am sorry if my letter in any way suggested that he does not. My comments about denial of miracles were really concerned with the Doubting Thomases who encourage students to question what they have been taught by their parents and priests to believe (e.g., the virgin birth of Christ, His resurrection, His second coming, etc.). These are the essentials of the Christian faith, and to deny them is to deny Christianity. I believe our Lord speaks to such teachers when he said, "Whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before my Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 10:33), "They are blind leaders of the blind, and if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch" (Matthew 15:14), and "Whoever causes one of these little ones (e.g., students) to sin (e.g., deny the Christian faith), it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea" (Matthew 18:6).

Regarding the morality of Leviticus 20:9 ("For everyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death"), this is part of the legal system God gave to Israel. This system came to an end when Christ died on the cross (Matthew 27:51). I have been told that this was a moral law because there was so much occultic Canaanite religion, one of the practices of which was to curse parents with hexes. It would seem that such children were beyond the age of accountability, meaning they were able to discern the difference between good and evil.

Concerning the Bible and allegory, I again affirm my belief that the Good Book is to be interpreted literally where this makes sense (where it doesn’t, we face allegory). The problem with allegorizing where a literal rendering is plausible is that we can end up denying important truths (e.g., the devil is not just a symbol of evil; time and again he is portrayed as a real creation who actively works in the world to blind the eyes of people to the truth (John 8:45; Acts 26:17-18; 2 Corinthians 4:4).

Apropos reading the Bible alone (preferably in a quiet place), this is perhaps the best way to hear God speak to you personally. But we certainly need not figure it out by ourselves. I, for one, do not have the insight to do this. I supplement my personal time in the Word of God with Bible studies (call me at ext. 1205 if you want to join the Monday evening student-led Bible study on this campus), getting together with Christian friends to discuss our Bible questions, attending adult Sunday School classes, and checking Bible commentaries and concordances.

Finally, there is still that issue of capital punishment. Because of the length of this article, I will defer discussing that to the next issue of The Summit. In the meantime, I invite others to join the dialogue.

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I just finished reading through my fall semester student evaluations (yes, students, they do get read, and usually by more people than you imagine). One set was for a new course I taught in the Master of Science in Accountancy program: Ethics and the Accounting Profession.

A professor is always anxious when reading reviews for a new course, for there are almost always wrinkles which need ironing. However, in this case I was doubly apprehensive, for not only was I teaching a new course, I was instructing it in a way that is foreign in our post-Christian culture. Moreover, students’ in-class reactions made it clear that the medicine didn’t go down easy. I had the audacity to suggest that the only rock-solid foundation for ethics is the Bible.

Although I welcomed all opinions and told students that they need not agree with me, the student evaluation comments revealed a marked aversion toward a religious ethical base: "Too focused on religion"; "A weakness was bringing religion into the classroom" (a curious comment for a course taught in a Catholic school); "I would not deliver such a religious explanation of things. I don’t know if it’s realistic in today’s business world" (there’s a sad but honest comment about a nation which, although founded on Judeo-Christian principles, has lost its moral moorings).

Other observations were "Teach this as an ethics course, not a religious course" and "Although I respect [his religious] views, they were not a vital necessary part of a good ethics course." However, absent God, how do we decide what’s right and wrong? If your father wants to marry your sister or have sex with the family dog, who are you to stop him?

In Dostoyovsky’s novel, The Brothers Karamazov, three brothers debate the source of evil in the world. At one point, a brother cries out, "Ah, if there is no God, then everything is permissible." (Note: This doesn't mean that if you don't believe in God you can have a helluva good time!)

The late legal scholar Arthur Leff said that without the ultimate warrant of divine revelation, all claims to moral authority are vulnerable to "The Grand ‘Sez Who?" Without God, sin becomes whatever makes us feel uncomfortable. Being good is replaced by feeling good. We become a law unto ourselves and a people living for ourselves. Who is to say for sure that it’s wrong to lie, cheat, or steal? Yet, in this postmodern era, truth has died and has been replaced by personal preferences or cultural values – morality is in the eye of the beholder.

I don’t blame this confusion on students – value and religious agnosticism is the message society (notably the educational establishment!) has been transmitting to them. Talk about brainwashing – our brains have been purged of any sense of moral certainty.

Postmodern ethics education prescribes: 1. do not moralize by telling students what is right or wrong, 2. do not expect to make students more moral; rather, get them to understand and use their current values in making decisions, and 3. don't make any value judgments. This would be to "indoctrinate" students. However, the word "indoctrinate" simply means to impart doctrines. Isn't that what teaching is all about?

The degeneracy of modern society demonstrates the pitiful failure of this approach. After the Clinton scandals came to light USA Today editorialized that "the country has hit ‘rock bottom’ with polls showing that a majority of Americans no longer really care whether a president violates the law, so long as it does not affect them."

Never before has there been such a rapid rate of moral decay in the world as today - we are on one fast bobsled ride downhill morally. Former Education Secretary William Bennett called all of this the "death of outrage"; others have labeled it "defining deviancy downward." Bennett concluded that it is a spiritual problem.

By 1999 a public opinion poll revealed that almost 60% of adults said declining moral values is the most serious problem facing the U.S. Cited causes were: families not teaching children good values (88%), rise in drug abuse (83%), society too tolerant of bad behavior (80%), adult language/sexually explicit TV (73%), pornography on the Internet (62%), and reduced influence of religion (62%).

Hmm – reduced influence of religion. Another student evaluation comment was "Preaches too much – almost trying to convert us." Guilty as charged. For, unless there is a religious revival in this nation soon, we’re going to keep sinking into the moral abyss. We need spiritual regeneration more than education.

Simply, the philosophical approach to teaching ethics doesn’t work. Most ethics education focuses on developing moral reasoning skills. However, to be ethical we must not only know the good (moral reasoning),-- we must also love the good and want to do the good. In other words, we need to motivate people to want to be moral. But how?

One approach (which I also use) is to give them pragmatic reasons – "Honesty pays"’ "Crime doesn’t pay," etc. However, to act morally for selfish reasons doesn’t constitute virtuous behavior.

Knowledge of good alone does not lead to commitment to doing good. For instance, people know the possible dire consequences from drinking and smoking too much and overindulging in junk food, yet they persist in these activities. Moral education needs to focus on training the will ("Willpower is won't power!"). Although it is very unpopular to say people are not good, according to Judeo-Christian teaching, human nature is corrupt ("sinful"). Paul said, "I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. (Romans 7:18). Though created in God’s image, mankind has developed a sin nature which makes him prone to evil and thus improper decisions come more easily and "naturally" to us.

The answer to Dostoevsky’s famous question, "Can man be good without God?" is an emphatic "No!" This is because the human will is rebellious – naturally prone to sin, and not strong enough to maintain a life of decency and morality apart from the transforming of that will by the power of Christ. We can’t create a good and just society on our own, without reference to a transcendent moral authority, and sustain it on our own strength, that is, apart from Jesus Christ.

Thus, the best possibility to ensure that a person becomes ethical is for that person to have a religious regeneration, i.e., a conversion experience which puts Jesus in one’s heart.

A Christian is a person who recognizes that he has sin in his heart and needs to deal with it. You become a Christian by turning your life over to Christ, i.e., by making a wholehearted commitment. This happens if you ask Him to forgive you by repenting of your sins. Then, God will change your will and give you a new moral disposition when you are "born again" and become a "new creation in Christ" (2 Corinthians 5:17) and walk "in newness of life" with strength to overcome temptation. The Bible is not meant to merely inform but also to transform.

To do the right thing takes self-control, which comes from the indwelling Holy Spirit. It is difficult, if not impossible, to overcome your strongest temptations on your own. To do what is right, people need not only the intellect but also the will - which can be totally transformed only by Jesus Christ. Paul said. "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

Speaking from experience, I have discovered that Christ coming into your life changes your will. It gives you the will to do what you know is right. I still have struggles, weak areas, and give in to temptation more often than I’d like, but, if I allow Him, God will continue to transform me until the day I die!

So, with all due respect to my ethics students, whom I greatly enjoyed teaching and learned some interesting things from, unless the powers that be expel me from teaching that course, I will continue to augment the philosophical ethical perspective with the Judaic-Christian moral worldview.

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In a recent guest column in The Stonehill Summit Professor Chet Raymo suggested it is "the religious fundamentalists who have abandoned reason." Father Bartley MacPhaidin rightly noted that "there is also a wide variety of fundamentalisms: the literal biblicism of some Baptist churches, the fundamentalism of those who espouse teaching creationism," and others, such as Catholic and Islamic fundamentalists. I will focus on the reasonableness of the common faith of those classified by society as Christian "fundamentalists," be they Baptist, Catholic, or whatever persuasion.

Their shared perspective on the Christian faith is that God did not just create the universe and then disappear to let it evolve on its own (deism) but rather made each one of us for a loving personal relationship with Him. To help us develop this connection to Him, He gave us two tools for communion: prayer and the Bible. Bible-believing Christians accept that the Scriptures are divinely inspired just as they claim to be (2 Peter 1:20), i.e., God directed the thoughts of the men who wrote the Scriptures. Second Timothy 3:16 claims that all Scripture is literally God-breathed.

Since God inspired the Bible, we also believe it is true and inerrant (free from error), since logically it is unthinkable that inaccuracy and mistakes can coexist with inspiration by a God Who is sovereign (in control of the universe) and omnipotent (all powerful), and since God,who is holy and truthful, would not speak that which is untrue. If we can’t believe this we must be skeptical of the entire Bible and should use it for firewood or toilet paper rather than instruction.

The word "fundamentalist" is an unfortunate word choice, for it has become a derogatory term, suggesting an emotional, unthinking, blind faith leap into a dark chasm by an unabashed fanatic. Nothing could be further from the truth.

In fact, contrary to popular stereotypes, orthodox, biblical Christianity is not something for the credulous and ignorant. Being a Christian "fundamentalist" simply means adhering to the fundamental truths and doctrines of the Christian faith as taught in the Bible, rather than being skeptical of or selective in beliefs on biblical teachings.

In the Old Testament God tells us ""Come now, let us reason together,’ says the Lord. ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be

like wool.’" (Isaiah 1:18). In the New Testament He says, "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have." (1 Peter 3:15). This is the heart of Christian apologetics: reasonably explaining or defending our faith.

The Bible provides other examples showing that Christians don’t disconnect their brains from their hearts. We are commanded to "grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." (2 Peter 3:17). First Thessalonians 5:21 exhorts us to "examine everything, hold fast to that which is good." Matthew 22:37 commands us to love God "with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind." This doesn’t sound unreasoned, irrational, or purely emotional to me.

Moreover, it is dangerous to base one’s faith on feelings or emotions alone. Feelings fade, "but the Word of our Lord endures forever." The promises and commands in God’s Word, the Bible – not our feelings – is the Christian’s authority. Believers live by faith (trust) in God Himself and His Word. This is not a blind trust, but rather a faith based on facts found in Scripture.

Professor Raymo suggests that the Catholic Church has long been estranged from a significant element of reason, science. Guilty as charged. Once upon a time many of the most educated and best-informed scientists were humble believers in the Scriptures (e.g., Francis Bacon, Sir Isaac Newton, Copernicus, Pascal, Voltaire, Pasteur, and others). For these great thinkers the search for the laws of nature and understanding a rational order was an act of devotion that would reveal the glory and grandeur of God’s work. Today it seems that most (not all) scientists have a worldview that is incompatible with Christianity: modernism.

Modernists (secular humanists) place their faith in rationality (the ability of people to understand their world) and empiricism (the notion that knowledge can only be obtained through the senses). To the modernist we live in a purely physical world, and nothing exists beyond what our senses can perceive. Christians, however, also believe in an unseen spiritual world. Second Corinthians 4:18 tells us to "fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." However, modernists conclude that people should be rational by relying solely on the data of their senses and reason, whereas Christians believe that reason is necessary but insufficient for understanding reality; faith and divine revelation (found in God’s Word) are also required. Small wonder that, as Raymo notes, the Pope "tilts against the bugbears of ‘modernism’." Modernism can’t help "the people of the church [who] are crying out for pragmatic guidance on how to reconcile science and faith" as Raymo seems to believe it can.

Modernists prefer to limit Christians to the subjective world of faith and feelings. Only science is permitted to describe nature. They set up a false dichotomy, believing that science explores the natural while faith explores the supernatural. It is true that modern science can never prove God’s existence since He is spirit. Neither can we prove other immaterial phenomena such as love and moral laws.

However, only the Christian worldview really makes rational sense. The alternative is an impersonal universe, which can’t explain intangibles such as personality, persons, and minds. An amoral universe can’t account for morality. God’s knowledge includes both rationality and morality, which He has inscribed on the tablets of human hearts. It is the Christian view of a personal Creator that alone satisfies the precondition for intelligibility and rationality, i.e., the ability to make sense of anything.

Thus, it is not progress when John Paul says he now believes evolution is more than a theory. He is traveling down a slippery slope, for Darwinian evolutionists say that naturalistic evolution, not God, is the Creator. Naturalism is the doctrine that nature is all there is and that nature does its own creating.

If you dare criticize Darwinian evolution, you’ll be cast in the role of a religious fanatic and a scientific illiterate. Yet, which is the more credible theory: that personal, moral, loving beings are the product of impersonal, amoral, unloving forces or the creation of a personal, holy, and loving God? It seems reasonable to suppose that if a supernatural Creator really exists, He just might have chosen to do some creating. It’s silly to suppose Almighty God is forbidden to affect nature. We can’t have design without a designer. Evidence for a Creator is plainly seen in nature (Romans 1:20).

The reason the creationism vs. evolution debate is so important is that what you accept as scientific truth shapes your view on a host of moral issues. If nature is all there is, then ethical standards are based not on God’s law but on manmade law. Human life becomes devalued, with dire implications for the morality of practices such as abortion and euthenasia.

Does life have a purpose? Is there meaning to existence? These are among the most important questions we can ask – questions that can drive us to God for answers. However, many modern scientists urge us instead to turn to science. However, naturalistic science is the basis for a naturalistic worldview that tells us there is no ultimate transcendent purpose or meaning to life. Our lives are merely shaped by a roll of the cosmic dice.

If God created life, all of life has meaning and purpose. Although sin and evil have distorted God’s original creation, yet He still works out his purposes in the world today. If God created us for a reason, then the most rational thing a person can do is to find out what that purpose is. A person who ignores the Creator is ignoring the most important part of reality – clearly an irrational thing to do.

Nothing is more vital to do than to "believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him" (Hebrews 11:6). Hebrews 11:1 defines faith as "being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." The hope is that, through our communion with Him, Christ is at work in our life. If we have repented of our sins and laid them at the foot of the cross, we also have the hope (certainty!) of eternal life. Truly nothing can be more significant than that.

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To the Editor:

It was ironic that in the very same issue of The Summit (April 15, 1999) featuring a lead story on Take Back The Night Week, designed to raise consciousness about the degradation of women in the form of rape, you chose to feature the article "Cash Compensation entices Students to Donate Sperm, Eggs." The article's focus was on the trend for fertility clinics to advertise in college newspapers for healthy young college women to allow the clinic to harvest their eggs in return for "egg money" to pay their tuition bills.

The article rightly points out health risks which can afflict the donors. However, it neglects the serious ethical and legal issues involved. in the sale of human eggs.

For one, federal law prohibits the sale of human eggs; thus the young women are turned into lawbreakers. But clinics get around the law by telling women they are paying for their "time and inconvenience," not for their eggs.

Another issue is: what happens if two people spawned from the same donor should meet and marry? It could be a genetic disaster if they had children.

Perhaps worst of all is what egg harvesting teaches women about their own worth. What we're seeing here is one of the logical consequences of a completely mechanistic view of human life (others including euthanasia and abortion0.

The human body is regarded not as a gift from God but as a purely physical object to be taken apart, sold, and used--just like any other physical object. Human eggs are viewed merely as a commodityto those holding a naturalistic worldview, which says that nature is all that there is and that nature, through the process of evolution, nature creates us. But can't you see how this worldview dehumanizes us?

In her book, "Without Moral Limits", Debra Evans writes: "Women are not machines of reproduction, but each are unique, individual persons in body, mind and spirit." And, that is exactly what the Bible teaches. Genesis says we are made in the image of God. Thus, we find our ultimate identity and worth in reflecting our Creator. It follows that the human body is worthy of respect and should not be violated.

This is the full information that college women should be given before they decide to sell a part of themselves for crass commercial purposes.

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Geoffrey P. Lantos

Guest Columnist

Some readers might be shocked, but spirituality is not necessarily a virtue. My dictionary explains "spiritual" as relating to the spirit, which is "the vital principle or animating force traditionally believed to be within human beings."

Most people are attracted to some aspect of the spiritual world since the unknown naturally fascinates us. However, not all elements in this hidden realm are healthy for us to get involved with. Getting advice from a psychic hotline is spiritual but not commendable.

Unfortunately, some aspects of the negative side of spirituality are found at Stonehill. Some students dabble in the occult (e.g., fortunetelling, tarot cards) which involves dangerous contact with the "dark side" of the spiritual. Others are into the New Age Movement, which says we have the potential to be like God. Also popular are nature worship, which reveres the creation rather than the creator.

Other world religions are sometimes promoted as noble and true. Yet, Jesus was very dogmatic, saying "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6). Pluralists proclaim that what is important is that you firmly believe in something, anything. This denies the existence of truth.

I am anguished when I hear from both current students and alumni that Stonehill students are taught in certain classes that the Old Testament is folklore, the Bible is full of contradictions and is therefore untrustworthy, and Creationists are ignorant fools while evolution is "scientific. The miraculous is also denied by Doubting Thomases who encourage students to question what they have been taught by their parents and priests (e.g., the virgin birth of Christ, His physical resurrection, His second coming, etc.). These are the essentials of the Christian faith, and to deny them is to reject Christianity.

Playing church and rote ritualism don’t cut it either. The prophet Isaiah said, "These people draw near to me with their mouths and honor me with their lips, but have removed their hearts far from me." As Bible commentator Joseph Parker observed in Adams Bible Commentary, as in ancient Israel, we are subject to a "deadlier heresy – namely keeping God as a sign but paying no tribute to Him as King, worshipping Him possibly in outward form but knowing nothing about the subduing and directing power of godlinerss."

So what is the good spirituality which we need more of at Stonehill? It means knowing God personally. Consider the advice given to Solomon by King David as David lay dying: "As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve him with a loyal heart, and with a willing mind; for the Lord searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, he will cast you off forever" (I Chronicles 28:9).

David advised Solomon to "know" God, not just to "know about" God. David wanted Solomon to have a personal relationship with the Lord. What is most important is that we become personally acquainted with God and seek His will for our lives. If we do that, we will find Him, He will lead us, and He will bless us.

This is the spirituality preached time and again in the Old and New Testaments, by prophets and apostles. It begins when we repent of our sins, i.e., genuinely feel sorry that we transgress God’s moral standards, which are also apparently often denied in classrooms where there is a marked antipathy to absolutes and relativism reigns supreme. We then commit to Him to change our ways. Then we are "born again" (John 3:3,7) and the Holy Spirit indwells us, empowering us for right living and worship of Him.

It is the enabling of the Holy Spirit which allows us to live a spirit-filled (vs. a carnal, self-centered) life which pleases God. To the extent that Jesus abides in our hearts and we let Him reign in our lives (vs. keeping our own stubborn wills on the throne) we have true spirituality.

The evidence of our spirituality is our "spiritual fruit," Christian character typified by love, kindness, self control, etc. (Galatians 5:22, 23). For instance, regarding self control, we are not to "be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation, but be filled with the Holy Spirit" (Ephesians 5:17). When I read in this newspaper about Stonehill’s drinking statistics being higher than regional and national averages, I wonder about the spiritual temperature on this campus. (Lest I be labeled a hypocrite, I will be the first to admit that as a college student I did on occasion drink to excess with my fraternity brothers. But then, I attended a college that was only nominally Christian, and I had not yet invited Jesus into my life.)

Casual conversations lead me to believe the prevalence of "casual sex" (read: fornication) at Stonehill is another indicator of our spiritual weakness. Thus, another important aspect of right spirituality is acknowledging the struggle between good and evil within us and around us, and to willingly (with God’s strength) choose the good.

To become more spiritual, we need a more God-focused education and lifestyles. I understand that at one time theology (the study of the nature of God and religious truth) was taught at Stonehill. Today it has been reduced to "religious studies," in which the focus is away from orthodox Christian teachings and toward man-centered religion and teachings. The word "university" literally means "unity in diversity," and historically at Christian institutions this was based on a study of God rooted in the Bible and the traditions of Christianity..

The authority of the scriptures, the reality of human sin, God’s ability to answer specific prayer, the hope of eternal life for those who have actively given their lives to Christ, the need for sexual morality, all of which are too often dismissed or ignored, need to be the focus of our spiritality. Yes, I do believe Stonehill needs to increase its spirituality, but not in the destructive direction we are heading in.

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This coming Sunday Christians across the world celebrate Easter. But what exactly is it we are celebrating? Supposedly Easter Sunday commemorates Jesus Christ's triumphal rising from the dead. But in this day and age, do people really believe this sort of fairy-tale nonsense?

Recall the story: Jesus was arrested, judged a political criminal, and crucified. Three days following his death and burial, some women went to His tomb only to find his body had vanished. His disciples claimed that God had raised Him from the dead and that He had appeared to them and over 500 people at various times before ascending into heaven.

If this event didn't occur, Christ was either a liar, lunatic, or legend. But if He lied he was inconsistent: how could an imposter maintain the purest and noblest character known in history? Furthermore, his teachings emphasized the importance of truth.

Could Jesus have been a deluded fool? His manner certainly was not that of a lunatic -- he exhibited poise and composure, and He gave practical teachings on mental and spiritual health and happiness. If Christ was either a liar or lunatic He couldn't have been the great moral teacher that so many claim He was.

Maybe Jesus' resurrection was a legend: He never made any claims of a coming resurrection. Rather, His disciples, who wrote the New Testament after Christ's death, exaggerated His claims. But why would they proclaim, suffer, and die for what they knew to be a lie?

If we fail to believe what Jesus' disciples wrote, we must either judge them gullible fools or deliberate liars.

Gullible fools? Read the entire New Testament and decide for yourself.

Deliberate liars? Hardly. A conspiracy to deceive people falls apart when the people involved begin getting in trouble. And, if the disciples were liars, this would contradict their teachings on honesty in the New Testament.

That the whole thing was faked by the disciples is hardly likely. There were too many precautions taken at the tomb to prevent the body from being stolen while the guards slept. First, it was placed in a solid rock tomb with a two-ton rock rolled to the entrance by means of levers.

Second, the Roman guard who watched the tomb consisted of strictly disciplined men whose fear of punishment led to flawless attention to duty.

Third, anyone trying to remove the rock from the tomb's entrance would have risked incurring the wrath of the Roman law, i.e., they would have been dead meat! And the cowardice exhibited by the disciples during Christ's arrest and after His death suggests that they wouldn't be so brave and daring as to do this.

Another explanation is that either the Jewish or Roman authorities moved Christ's body. But if this is so, why didn't they later reveal where it was when the disciples were preaching the resurrection of Christ?

Why is it so fantastic to believe that God as Christ could accomplish the resurrection? If God is omnipotent, it's certainly not too hard for Him.

The evidence is in. The resurrection really occurred. But so what? What is the significance of this event?

First, it validates Christ's claims about His coming death and resurrection. It shows that Jesus has authority over life and death. He is alive!

Second, it offers us spiritual life and power for living right now. The power of the resurrected Christ is experienced in the believer (Ephesians 6:10).

Third, it gives us hope for the future. Christ told His disciples before his arrest, "Because I live, you shall live also." (John 14:19). There is life beyond the grave for believers in Christ: "And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile...and you are still in your sins." (1 Corinthians 15:14). Christ's resurrection guarantees believers' resurrection (read 1 Thessalonians 1:14).

The bottom line is that Jesus Christ is alive and well on planet earth. If this isn't so, then at death we either become extinct, reincarnated, or move on to some other dimension (not the heaven of the Bible). Meanwhile, Bible-believing Christians have lived a life of hope in our ultimate resurrection while unbelievers have lived a life of uncertainty and hopelessness about their ultimate fate.

But if there is no second chance either after death or in future lifetimes (Hebrews 9:27), then Christians are saved while unbelievers are damned to eternal punishment (Revelation 20:11-15). Which is more prudent to believe?

You can truly enjoy this coming Easter Sunday by admitting to God in prayer that you are a sinner (Romans 3:10-11, 23;), that you believe Christ died in your place to pay the penalty for your sins (Romans 5:8), that He rose from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:3-6), and that you would like to receive Jesus as Savior and Lord of your life (Romans 10:9). You can thereby also have the guarantee of your own ultimate resurrection and eternal life in heaven.

In short, I invite you to personally claim the promise of the power of Christ's resurrection in your life and the hope it offers for eternal life. Happy Easter!

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While I was visiting David Letterman (close, personal friend) over Spring Break, he handed me some material on a top 10 list he was going to use on his show not to. It features the top ten bad, stinkeroo teaching behaviors by college professors. David said that, since I am a college professor, it might interest me and the students at Stonehill. I told him that all of the instructors at Stonehill are outstanding, so it doesn't really apply to us. But just in case you wonder what your pals at other colleges and universities are up against, here it is:

# 10 - Assign too much work. Pile it high and deep. Throw in a required textbook or readings book and then never use it or refer to it. This will help teach students the work ethic. Assume they still remember everything from previous prerequisite courses and work off this knowledge base. After all, you paid your dues - now it's time for them to pay theirs. Students have too much free time anyway: look at all the empty beer bottles on campus come Monday morning.

#9 - Deliver your lecture in a boring, monotone fashion. Stare out the window a lot, talk to the walls, and keep checking your watch to see if it's time to get the heck out of the classroom yet. Do the same old lecture routine each class. Be bored with your subject matter and lack interest in your students - another year or two and you'll never see them again anyway. Show up late to class. Be generous and let them out early a lot too. Conserve your energy for more important things - like arguments in faculty meetings on the lack of parking spaces and the need for greater faculty represention on the Committee to Ensure Greater Faculty Representation.

# 8 - Lecture real fast. Race with the wind. Don't bother to slow down if students request it, especially if you get behind and need to cram your lecture into the remaining time. Whisk those overhead transparancies away before students get a chance to copy all of the information. Pretend you don't see their waving hands when they have questions. Ignore their puzzled expressions. Damn the torpedoes and full speed ahead. Be concerned about your own progress, not theirs. What the hay, your students cram all the time anyway; it's how they best learn. Why not give them more (quantitywise) for their tuition dollars? They'll thank you later.

# 7 - Procrastinate in returning tests and papers. This will make up for lecturing real fast, no? What's the rush? Students will be there all semester and so will you. And don't waste a lot of time providing a lot of detailed commentary and correcting their grammar: if they can't write by now they never will, and all they're interested in is the bottom line grade anyway. You've got better things to do with your time, like finishing writing that article on "The Use of Implicit Chaotic Theory in Explaining The Correlation Between Marketing Matrices and Customer Complaining Behavior in Third World Markets" for The Journal of Quantitative Techniques in Marketing Abstractions and Obfuscations.

#6 - Blow off your office hours. Heck, it's always the same few students anyway! They've consumed enough of your time for this semester. And other than them, chances are only one or two others, at most, will be beating a path to your door. Just paste a note on your office door: "Office hours canceled today. Back tomorrow (weather permitting)." The golf course beckons.

# 5 - Speak negatively about your colleagues. These can be other professors, administrators, even your secretary. Why not? Letting off steam is healthy. And, people love to dish dirt. It'll spice up your classroom presentations and office conversations with students. Dirty sells: look at the popularity of checkout pulp magazines with scandalous headlines ("I traded my baby for a lite beer," "Sex-mad mom, 55, elopes with daughter's high school prom date"). And bad teachers, administrators, and worker bees should be exposed. Plus, putting down others will help you look better!

# 4 - Favor certain students. Some of them deserve it: they're smarter, or harder working, or friendlier, or better looking, or whatever. Just mostly call on them in class. Cut them the slack on turning in papers late, not following required procedures, missing an exam, etc. Give them better grades, where possible (e.g., class participation grades are totally subjective anyway). Teachers always have "pets," right? It helps make up for your pests. You need all the friends you can get!

# 3 - If you don't know something, fake it. You're supposed to be the expert, so if a student asks you something you don't know the answer to, either brush it off or pretend that you know. They'll never know the difference. Protect your image as The Great Omniscient One at all costs!

# 2 Give impossibly difficult exams. Administer tests that don't correspond to what was emphasized in class - that'll throw them off track. Create "trick" questions; we've got grade inflation to fight, after all. Give them two hours to do a one-hour exam; they've got to learn to work efficiently under pressure. Don't give them so much as a clue in advance about what your test will cover - you've got to maintain your high academic standards and reputation for toughness. Keep 'em guessing: let 'em learn early in life that they've got to struggle.

And, the number one really bad teaching behavior that some professors (none at Stonehill, of course) are guilty of (Drumroll and fanfare, please):

Belittle your students in class. Make them feel inferior when they ask a question, particularly a "stupid" one. Shoot them down when they give a wrong answer. Tell them to go back and read their book more closely, or take the prereqisite corse over again, or consider switching their major to mountaineering or maybe shrimping (hey, it was good enough for Forrest Gump). You've got to be seen as the tough professor, the one who strikes fear in the hearts of your students."

Well, there you have it. Aren't you glad you attend Stonehill, where the teaching is always second to none and you need not endure these things? You betcha!

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Prayer: Your Hot Line To God

Here's a radical idea for modern man: you can personally talk to God! No appointments required. You can fire up a message on His toll-free hotline anytime you like. It's called PRAYER. How can we confidently pray God's way? What good does it do to pray?

Prayer simply means communicating with God. For anyone who calls themself a Christian, prayer should be a way of life. Yet, most of us don't really think about calling on God until it's almost too late, such as when we face a crisis situation or reach rock bottom ("foxhole prayers"). But even then, it's not too late.

Most important to effective prayer is developing an open and honest relationship between ourselves and God. After all, He is our Father, and we should speak to Him personally as we would to our own parent. Jesus Christ came to earth to open the way for us to come directly into the Father's presence, and the Holy Spirit, who lives within all who are committed to pleasing God, assists us in praying. So, we pray to God the Father through or in the name of Jesus His son in the power of the Holy Spirit who moves us to pray and guides us in what to say.

You don't need any special time or place to pray, for God is on duty 24 hours a day and is everywhere-present. But it does help to get in the habit of setting aside a bit of time each day to pray. If you don't have time to quietly sit down and pray you can pray "on the run": in the shower, even while driving your car (not a good idea to close your eyes, however).

An acronym to help you remember what to pray is <)3>ACTS: <)1>Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication. Begin with Adoration or worship by praising God for who He is: all-loving, all-knowing, merciful and forgiving. Just as parents appreciate being praised by their children, so does our Father by His children. For excellent examples of worship in prayer check out the Psalms.

Follow this with Confession of known sins, telling the Lord you are sorry for things you've messed up and asking for His strength to change your ways. Confession results in God's forgiving us, entirely wiping the slate clean.

Don't forget to offer Him Thanksgiving for the things too often taken for granted: good health, good friends, the necessities and luxuries He provides, our country with its freedoms, and other such blessings.

Then you're ready to send up your Supplications, i.e., to ask God for things. Notice how the Lord's Prayer begins with praise to "Our Father, who art in heaven" and waits until near the end to emphasize us and our needs "Give us this day our daily bread..."). But don't just be selfish. Be sure to toss in some requests (intercession) for other people first: your family, friends, neighbors, those in government (they need all the help they can get!), those less fortunate than you, etc.

Then ask God for your own needs and desires. But be careful what you pray for, because you just might get it. Then again, maybe you won't. God answers prayers according to His will in His own perfect timing, so the answer could be "Yes," "No," or "Wait."

There are several hints to make your prayers effective. First, pray in faith without doubting. After all, God can do anything, even what you think is impossible. Second, pray that God's will be done, not just to get what you want ("Thy will be done"). Why? Because God is much smarter than you or me, and He knows what is in our best interest (that's why He often answers "No" or "Wait").

Third, pray with a pure heart. Sin can disconnect our prayer line to God and make us feel uncomfortable in His presence. That's why confession should precede petitions. Fourth, pray with a forgiving spirit ("Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us").

Fifth, pray honestly, saying what's really on your heart. God knows all of your thoughts, so there's no buffaloing Him about the real motives for your prayers (e.g., selfishness or vengefulness) or how you're feeling. Be honest, pouring out your anger (even at God), frustrations, hurts, doubts, and resentents (yet with reverence and respect), as well as your victories, joy, and celebrations. Like a child confides in his parents, God wants us to confide in Him. We are free to respectfully disagree, question, and even argue with Him in prayer. Confrontation strengthens and deepens all relationships, including our relationship with God.

Finally, pray persistently. As the old saw says, "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again." Sometimes God wants us to persist in prayer since it is for our own spiritual benefit to stay in prayer.

Roadblocks to prayer include lack of time. Plan to find a few quiet moments during the day when you can be alone with God, such as getting dressed in the morning, doing mundane chores around the house, or even falling asleep at night (God won't be offended if you fall asleep on Him). Prayer time can be planned as well as spontaneous. And it can be short (a two-second "arrow prayer" shot up to heaven) or long (several hours or more -- as long as you can endure).

Another obstacle is inability to concentrate. Try making a prayer list according to the ACTS formula to give yourself something to focus on. Update it periodically as events unfold in your life. Praying out loud can help you to keep your thoughts focused on prayer.

You might ask, "If God is all-knowing, why bother to pray?" It is primarily for our benefit, and the ACTS formula helps us remember how this is so. Through speaking with the Lord (Adoration) we come into communion with him; we become more aware of His presence, love, protection, and guidance. Don't just talk, but take time to listen. Although you won't hear an audible voice, God speaks to us through the way he answers our prayers and via the circumstances He arranges in our lives.

Also, prayer helps us to be more conscious of our shortcomings and gives us the desire and strength to want to overcome temptation (Confession). It helps you to be grateful to God for the good things He is doing in your life (Thanksgiving) and to think about and love others more (Supplication). And, prayer is a great antidote to fear.

You might also wonder, "If God is all-knowing, why should we bother to pray?" The Lord would not have placed so much emphasis upon praying unless prayers can change things.

What a privilege it is to communicate and commune with the God who created and controls the universe! To get serious about your prayer life, you can plan on spending time praying this coming Thursday, May 2, which is the National day of Prayer. In many communities, people meet at the town wquare tp pray from 12:20 -12:40 p.m.

Geoffrey P. Lantos is a Professor of Business Administration at Stonehill College. He is a resident of Norton and a member of Foirst Baptist Church of Foxboro.

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Thanksgiving: Whom Do We Thank For What?

It's that season of the year again - time to pack a few changes of clothes, a toothbrush (and, perhaps [sigh] a bit of schoolwork to catch up on) and head over the river and through the woods (or, more likely, down the turnpike and through the congestion), home for the Thanksgiving holiday.

But what is this time of celebration, respite, and (supposedly) repose all about? To be sure, it's time to gobble turkey and stuff on stuffing, to hook up with old (all of 20 years) chums at the Hometown High football game, and to scarf down Grandma's pumpkin pie (extra CoolWhip please!)

However, in this humanistic age we often neglect the One who makes all of our good times and good

friends and kinfolk possible.

The spirit of our times, which is hardly Spirit-filled, was well reflected when that pugnacious little stinker, Bart (the Brat) Simpson opined while saying "grace": "Thanks, God, for nothing, 'cause we earned all this stuff ourselves!" Well, you got that wrong, Bartman!

Yet, this is precisely the attitude our society has adopted in this Post-Christian era: "We can do it all ourselves, we know what's best for us and are good enough, we'll solve our problems through our vast wisdom and technological know-how, so thank you God, anyway (if, indeed, you do exist),just the same."

Yes, it's true that we are entitled to and do enjoy the fruits of our hard labors. But, fact is, it's from our Maker that we ultimately derive all that we have. After all, he is the Giver of all our gifts, abilities, and talents, which make us what we are and enable us to accomplish what we do. To deny this is to be egotistic (the big "I"), arrogant, and conceited, full of pride and rebellion. And woe to the person who rebels against the Almighty!

Today, too many of us busily go about our business - studying, working, heartily partying - without pausing to consider the One from whom all blessings flow.

Problem is, we have become a godless nation. We have forgotten God. And, it appears that God has forgotten us. It seems that he is beginning to judge the United States.

No nation has deteriorated as we have over the past three decades, during which we have seen: a 560% increase in violent crime; a 419% rise in illegitimate births; a quadrupling in divorce rates; a 200% plus increase in the teenage suicide rate; and other plummeting measures in William Bennett's "Index of Leading Cultural Indicators" which suggest moral malaise. In this day of the welfare state we put our trust in government (health care, anyone?) before we place our trust in God (although, as a relic from a better bygone time our coinage still says, "In God we trust").

Rome, with her program of bread and circuses for the masses, which ultimately led to decay and moral bankruptcy, should serve as a tocsin, warning us of rough seas ahead for a nation which is abandoning her God and degenerating into a spiritual wasteland

Today, when people call on God's name, it is most likely used as a curse word in a fit of anger. And, if people do genuinely pray, it is usually in the spirit of a child making out a Christmas wish list: "gimmee, gimmee, gimmee. We can begin spiritual renewal with an attitude of humble repentance for our transgressions (what used to be called "sin," now the verboten "s"-word), including our self-sufficient, self-focused mindsets and not putting Him front and center in our lives. We can then "praise the Lord" (no, it's not just some expression that the wild-eyed televangelists use) for who He is: our loving Creator who sustains us through good times and bad, who provides us our "daily bread," i.e., all that we have, physical and spiritual (for "Man cannot live by bread alone"), including an opportunity to have a personal relationship with the King of the universe (He is the One who said, "I am the bread of life"). He is the Person who offers us eternal life if only we will bow in submission to Him, letting Him be Lord of our lives. This leads to an attitude of thanksgiving:

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His

courts with praise: be thankful unto Him, and bless

His name [Psalms 100:4].

Bow before Him in humility and acknowledge Him as the good God

Who is worthy of our thanksgiving and praise.

For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting;

and His truth endureth to all generations [Psalms 100:5}.

As you look at the loaf of bread on your Thanksgiving table, give thanks to the One from whose hand it has ultimately come. Bon appetit.

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Understanding the Bible

To the Editor:

Father James Chichetto’s letter, "Misunderstanding the Bible," was aptly titled by The Summit, for it displayed a common misunderstanding of the Scriptures. In this letter I’d like to clarify what I believe a proper comprehension of the Bible entails.

I was portrayed as a "biblical literalist," which was suggested to be an unreasonable position to take. Of course, not everything in the Word of God can be taken literally. For instance, the Bible speaks of the "hand of God." But, God is Spirit, not flesh and blood, so of course he doesn’t have hands. This is figurative language, used to make the abstract concept of God’s care more concrete. Another example would be "the keys to heaven." Heaven isn’t a physical building to be entered by unlocking a lock; rather, the key is used as a symbol of authority. If these figures and symbols aren’t immediately obvious from a given verse, they can be deduced from other biblical passages that use the same term. For instance, I do not use Mark 16:18 as license to play with cobras and chug-a-lug poison. These are figures used to illustrate God’s protection of believers, not an injunction to live life dangerously.

In citing two verses to support the notion of capital punishment, I have by no means torn the verses out of their historical and cultural context. I wholeheartedly agree with Father Chichetto that one must interpret a scriptural passage in light of its context and, I would add, the surrounding verses as well. For instance, many of the promises to the Israelites in the Old Testament (which is not just the "Hebrew Bible" but is part of the Christian Bible today), especially in Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers, were meant just for them and not for us today.

So, what in the Old Testament is still relevant? Not the civil and ceremonial laws, but rather God’s moral law. Physical laws, such as the law of gravity, are unchanging, and so are God’s universal moral laws which apply to all cultures at all times (despite what moral relativists say about how it depends on the society, century, person, or circumstance). What is right and wrong morally remains constant (notably, the Ten Commandments and Sermon on the Mount). Incidentally, nowhere in Leviticus 9 does it suggest that disobedient children be put to death (it describes Aaron offering sacrifices); there are no Old Testament commands that would be obviously wrong then as well as today.

Old Testament teachings, such as that of putting to death the evildoer, must also be interpreted in light of New Testament teachings on the same subject. In Matthew 5:17 Jesus said He came not to do away with the Old Testament law, but to fulfill it. Romans 13:3-4 clearly teaches that the government (not the individual) has the right, obligation, and authority to protect society from evildoers: "But if you do evil, be afraid; for he (the governing authority) does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil." The death penalty is not vigilante justice or revenge, but rather a means to protect society from those who would seriously harm others. Too, the Bible does not contradict itself on this (or any other) issue, despite Fr. Chichetto’s suggestion that there are passages against the death penalty ("Thou shalt not murder" applies to individual morality, not government functions).

Another issue is that Father Chichetto seems to believe that most stories in the Bible are simply allegorical. While the Bible does contain allegory, it is not just a book of fables used to make points. Rather, the Bible is an historical document which describes real events as they occurred to teach us something relevant to our lives.

For instance, yes I believe the snake, indwelled by Satan, spoke to Eve in the Garden of Eden. Exactly how it did or what language it used are irrelevant to the point that Satan works in cunning and deceptive ways. In fact, one of his greatest deceptions today is that the Bible is just a bunch of fairy tales. This seems plausible to modern man because it denies the miraculous. However, if you can’t believe in miracles, then you’d better throw out the New Testament as well, for it is full of miracles performed by Jesus, the apostles, and disciples.

And therein lies the problem with modern "higher critics" of the Bible. They question everything. If you can’t believe the Bible, fine, but you might as well use it for toilet paper, because it’s not good for much else.

Bottom line: so, how does one reasonably interpret the inerrant (free from error), inspired revelation (revealed by God) of the Word of God? Several suggestions:

1. Begin with prayer, and humbly ask God to reveal truth to you. Don’t try to read into it whatever you wish.
2. Interpret one passage of scripture in light of other passages, and interpret the Old Testament in light of the New Testament (not vice versa).
3. Consider the historical and cultural context, to whom it was addressed, and the surrounding context (verses).
4. Interpret the Bible literally where this makes sense. Every passage should be taken to mean exactly what it says, unless the context, common sense, or the expression itself indicates otherwise. As some wise sage once said, "If the literal sense makes good sense, seek no other sense lest it result in nonsense." Use common sense; if something doesn’t make literal sense (e.g., horns, trumpets, and bowls of judgment in Revelation), a figure or symbol is being used.
5. Use good study guides such as concordances, Bible dictionaries, and commentaries to assist you. These should be written by Bible-believing Christians (not intellectual skeptics) and can be purchased from Christian bookstores.

I think all of us within the Stonehill community need to take the Bible more seriously. 2 Timothy 3;16-17 says, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." It will draw you closer to God if you read it as His personal message to you, will give you hope, and will give you the power for moral living.

BACK TO TOP

"What the hell?" "Go to hell!" "That’s a hell of a good thing!" How frivolously we toss around the word "hell." But, do we ever pause to contemplate this term? An intelligent person will look into and take seriously the claims of orthodox Christianity concerning hell.

The doctrine of hell is not just some dusty theological holdover from the Middle Ages. It is a place which the Bible continually warns us of—over 160 times in the New Testament. Yet, in today’s kinder and gentler culture, if ever there were a politically incorrect topic, this is it.

The Bible contains ghastly graphic reports of the horrors of hell, including the abyss (Rev. 9:1-11), flames (Luke 16:24), continual burning (Isaiah 33:14), a furnace of fire (Math. 13:42), the everlasting fire (Math 25:41), the lake of fire (Rev. 20:14-15), outer darkness (Math. 8:12; 22:13; 25:30), the blackest darkness (Jude 13), weeping and gnashing of teeth (Math. 8:12; 13:42; 25:30), a place where the worm dies not (Mark 9: 44, 46, 48), and a locale of torment in fire and brimstone (Rev. 14:10, 11).

In the historical narrative told by Jesus about the rich man and Lazarus, Jesus repeatedly described hell as a place of torment (Luke 16: 24, 25, 28). Revelation 14:11 says, "And the smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever."

Note that hell is not a place of torture—it is a place of torment where there is eternal judgment (Math. 23:33; John 5:29), eternal punishment (Math 25:46), and separation from God (Psalms 28:1, 30:9; 143:7; Isaiah 38:18). Contrary to popular beliefs and stereotypes, people are not burning in agony. The flames are a figure of speech. If you try to take the idea of flames literally, it becomes nonsense. For example, hell is described as a place of utter darkness and yet there are flames too. Fire, flames, and the lake of fire all represent God’s judgment.

There are also other tortuous metaphors about hell that can’t be taken literally. For instance, the "gnashing of teeth" doesn’t refer to people reacting to the pain of torture, but rather the expression enraged people in hell thinking about the huge mistake they made (Luke 13:28).

However, hell is not a place where people will whoop it up with their buddies and the devil. It is a place of eternal punishment—hell is forever! As Dante said in The Inferno, "Abandon hope, all ye that enter here."

Why should we believe in such a gruesome thing as hell? First, Jesus Christ clearly communicated hell’s irrevocable reality. It appeared in some of His best-known sermons, such as the Sermon on the Mount (Math. 5:29,30) and the Olivet Discourse (Math. 25:31-46). In fact, Jesus spoke more on hell than on any other subject, including heaven! If hell isn’t real, then Jesus is the most deceived man that ever lived!

Second, freedom of our will demands hell. God sends nobody to hell! – people send themselves by choosing rebellion against God instead of repentance for their sins. Hell isn’t a place where people are consigned because they were pretty good blokes but just didn’t believe the right theology. They’re sent there because they defy their Maker and want to run their own lives without His guidance. The ultimate sin is to mock, dishonor, refuse to love, and reject God—the Person one owes everything to. And the only punishment worthy of that is the ultimate punishment—eternal separation from God. Hell is quarantine where God says, "I respect peoples’ freedom of choice enough so that I won’t coerce people to accept me."

In fact, unbelievers are actually better off in hell separated from God’s presence than in heaven where they’d be forced to be with God, from whom they ran all their earthly lives. These people would be unhappy in heaven where people worship God (Rev. 11:1; 15:3-4). God is not a cosmic rapist who forces people to worship Him against their will. God preserves human dignity by allowing freedom to choose His eternal presence or eternal separation from Him.

A third reason to believe in hell is that justice demands it. Without hell there would be no justice for the unrepentant – the basically "good guy" would have the same ultimate destiny and experience the same eternal consequences as Hitler, Stalin, or Pol Pot. However, there are different degrees of punishment in hell (Matthew 11:20-24; Romans 2:6).

God’s just nature demands that those who reject Him go to hell. Because He is loving and kind, God does give everyone an opportunity to repent. But when people fail to do so, His holiness and justice demand that they spend eternity in hell.

A final reason to believe in hell is that without hell there would be no need for a Savior—what would Jesus be saving us from? Jesus suffered fatal torment to save us from eternal torment —the eternal consequences of our sins.

It is unpopular to say that we are born in sin (Romans 3:9-10; 3:23; John 1:29; 8:24; Acts 2:38). But, sin is a moral condition that offends the holy God and removes us from His approval.

God’s holy and just nature demands payment for sin in hell. But, God is also love. In fact, God hates hell and He hates for people to go there (Ezekiel 33:11). "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9). Therefore, He sent Christ as Savior to be our way of escape: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life" (John 3:16).

Sin against God is so severe that only the death of the sinless Son of God could pardon it. Christ’s sinless perfection is impossible for us to attain, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23). Because Jesus perfectly obeyed God’s moral law in our place, He is uniquely qualified to be our Savior.

God has done all that is necessary for us to be forgiven, redeemed, cleansed, and be made fit for heaven. All we need do is receive His free offer of forgiveness and eternal life if we repent—make a U-turn in the road of life—and believe Jesus died for us. Ultimately, we choose whether our final destination will be heaven or hell by either accepting God’s offer of forgiveness or by rebelling against Him.

There are just two classes of people—those who are saved and those who are unsaved; those who will be resurrected to eternal life (Rev. 20:4-6) and those who will be resurrected to eternal damnation (Rev. 20:11-15; John 5:29).

Do you have assurance of salvation? If your time to depart this earth came suddenly with no opportunity to reflect, repent, and make your peace with God, would you be all right? Would you be ushered into God’s presence? Or into eternity without Him and without hope? Are you willing to bet eternity that what the Bible clearly teaches about hell is a lie? Don’t wait until you die to find out the truth about hell. Tomorrow might be too late! Proverbs 27:1 warns, "Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth." I challenge you to seriously investigate the claims of Christianity, considering all there is to gain and lose.

It’s simple to be saved and gain. You must merely:

• Realize you are a sinner (Romans 3:10, 23).
• Understand you can’t save yourself (Isaiah 64:6; Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5).
• Recognize that Jesus Christ died on the cross to pay the price for your sins (1 Peter 2:24; Rev. 1:5).
• Through prayer invite Jesus into your life as your personal Savior and Lord (Ruler), through Whom you can have a personal relationship with God (John 1:12; Acts 16:30, 31). You can say a simple prayer, such as: "Lord Jesus, I know that I’m a sinner—I’ve done things that don’t please You. I understand that I can’t save myself, because I am a sinner. But, I believe Your perfect sacrifice is sufficient to pay the debt I owe You for my sins. Thank You for dying for me at Calvary. I now accept Your death in my place. I ask You to come into my life as both Savior and Lord. I want to live the rest of my life personally related to You through reading Your Word, the Bible, to learn more about how You want me to live for You. Through daily prayer I want to talk to You, asking for Your guidance in my life. Thank You Jesus. Amen."

Will you meet God someday clothed in the pure robes of the righteousness of Christ or in the filthy robes of your own self-righteousness? I am ready to meet my maker. Are you? I hope to see you in heaven someday!

Geoffrey Lantos is Professor of Business Administration and specializes in teaching consumer marketing. Students with questions or comments may contact him at 508-565-1205 (on campus) or at glantos@stonehill.edu.

Geoffrey Lantos

In last week’s Guest Viewpoint Column I suggested that one reason to believe in hell is that it is fair because "without hell… the basically ‘good guy’ would… experience the same eternal consequences as Hitler…However, there are different degrees of punishment in hell (Matthew 11:20-24; Romans 2:6). God’s just nature demands that those who reject Him go to hell. Because He is loving and kind, God does give everyone an opportunity to repent. But when people fail to do so, His holiness and justice demand that they spend eternity in hell."

Thus, hell is fair because people will experience different degrees of pain and regret. God will not add unnecessary pain to the fate of those who die rejecting Him. We don’t know how the Lord will give "many stripes" (lashes) to some and "few stripes" to others (Luke 12:47-48), except that the punishment of some will be as severe as the punishment of others is light. Those who receive the severest judgment will be the devil, the Antichrist, and the False Prophet (Revelation 20:10). In a similar way, Jesus reserved his strongest warnings for the religious teachers who used their influence to turn people away from Him (Matthew 18:6-7).

Let’s look at some other aspects of hell that seem to violate our sense of justice and deal with them. I will anticipate questions or objections you might have and will try to answer each one briefly.

"How can God send children to hell?" The fact is, children below the age of accountability go to heaven instead of hell. The best evidence of this is found in the Old Testament, where the child that King David conceived in an adulterous relationship with Bathsheba died, and David said, "I will go to him, but he will not return to me" (2 Samuel 12:23). Jesus said, "Your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost" (Matthew 18:14).

"Couldn’t God force everyone to go to heaven? This would be immoral, because this would deny people the free will and dignity to make their own decision. Remember, by rejecting God, people choose hell, where they won’t have to abide with Him forever as they would in heaven.

"Why doesn’t God just snuff people out after they die?" This is the doctrine of annihilationism. However, extinguishing people would rob them of their free choice. God values people—who are made in His image—so much that He will not annihilate them. Also, justice wouldn’t be served—Lenin would suffer the same as the "good" unbeliever.

"Wouldn’t those in heaven, a place where there are supposedly no more tears (Rev. 21:4), mourn for those who are suffering forever in hell?" No. We now see through a glass darkly (i.e., lack full understanding), but in heaven we’ll see clearly from God’s perspective (1 Corinthians 13:12). We’ll realize that God was being just. There is no better person to trust with the souls of our lost loved ones than God. He alone is their judge. Only He understands all of the factors that make faith and good moral character more difficult for some than others. And, the human soul is big enough to have a sense of joy, well being, love, and happiness at the same time that it experiences a sense of grief and sadness for others.

"Why didn’t God create only those who would follow him?" One possibility is that one of the reasons God made us was to influence other people, including whether or not to accept Christ. For example, in chains of ancestors, it might be that some individuals who reject Christ allows for others to be born who accept Christ. We see this in the lineage of Israelite kings, most of who were evil, but a few of who sparked revivals (such as Hezekiah and Josiah).

"Why does God predestine some people to hell?" The Bible says nowhere that people are predestined to damnation, only to salvation. The declaration, "He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world" (1 John 2:2) assures us that no one has been predestined for eternal condemnation. John 3:16-17 promises us, "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."

"Why doesn’t God give people a second chance?" God gives people all the time they need to choose or reject Him. Fact is, if all a person needed was a little bit more time to come to Christ, God would grant it since the Bible says in 2 Peter 3:9, "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." Also, Deuteronomy 4:29 promises us, "Seek the Lord your God and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul." Also, if people had a second chance to "choose," they’d be making a selfish prudent "choice" to avoid judgment—they wouldn’t really be choosing God, His kingdom, or His ways—nor would they be suited for life in His kingdom.

We need not claim that our present world is the best of all possible worlds, but it is the best way TO the best possible world. If God is to both preserve freedom and defeat evil, then this is the best way to do it. Freedom is preserved in that each person makes his own free choice to determine his destiny. Evil is overcome in that, once those who reject God are separated from the others, the decisions of all are made permanent. Those who choose God will be confirmed in it, and sin will cease. Those who reject God are in eternal quarantine and cannot upset the perfect world that has come about. The ultimate goal of a perfect world with free creatures will have been achieved, but the way to get there requires that those who abuse their freedom be cast out.

Geoffrey Lantos is Professor of Business Administration. You may contact him at extension 1205 or at glantos@stonehill.edu. To read past Summit articles he’s written, go to www.faculty.staff.stonehill.edu/glanos/index.htm, click on here, then click on Summit Articles.