GOD AND GOVERNMENT

October 23, 2012, University of Nebraska,

     Sister Pat started the meeting as Sister Cindy stayed at the hospitality home to work on the newsletter. Pat gathered a group of 12-15. This group stayed with us all afternoon. Others also joined us but we never had more than 35.   We had a lively audience.   They soon picked up on Sister Pat's tactics to get attention. When new students arrived, some of the other students would ask, "Are you a Christian? Are you a virgin?" This is the first time I have seen the students pick up on Sister Pat's maneuvers.

     The conversation had turned political by the time Pat turned the meeting over to me. I opened by boldly stating, "God is a capitalist." Students were shocked because they have been taught that socialism is a moral system. The 8th and 10th commandments demonstrate that God considers private property good and stealing and coveting bad. Socialists rob from the earners to redistribute the wealth among the takers. The most difficult point in discussing economic issues is to teach the students the difference between the welfare state and charity. The welfare state is forced redistribution and charity is voluntarily giving to the less fortunate.

     There was a boisterous boy carrying a large Bible who was taking a course in early Christian history. He wanted to argue 

that according to Romans 13 God had placed Obama in power and that Christians are obligated to obey his authority. I explained that in America the people are in authority. The people agreed to be under a Constitution. The people vote a president into power. Christians are only obligated to submit to presidential authority as long as he governs within the powers granted to the executive by the Constitution.

     Jorden, who had initially been frivolous as Pat was preaching, became serious as I spoke and challenged me to debate. Another student, Wade, volunteered to keep time.   I enjoyed debating Jason because he paused to collect his thoughts before asking a question or speaking and he actually seemed interested in my response. I explained that separation of church and state means that we are not to have a state church like still exists in England and some European countries. Our founders were more concerned about the state encroaching upon the authority of the church than the church controlling the state. The state has its realms of authority and the church has its sphere of influence. The church has as much right to influence the civil authority as any other interest groups such as business or labor. I also taught on the difference between a democracy (rule of the majority) and a republic (rule of Law). I contrasted civil rights (rights bestowed by civil authority) and inalienable rights (natural or God-given rights). The danger in believing that rights are granted by civil authority is that the same civil government that bestows rights can later take away these rights. Inalienable rights cannot be bestowed or taken away lawfully since these rights (life, liberty and property) are natural (birth) rights bestowed by the Creator.

"Are you a Christian?"--Sister Pat.  Once Sis. Pat drew the crowd with her usual technique, Bro. Jed had a great teaching session on charity verses the welfare state.

     I also had lengthy philosophical questions on such questions as God's absolute foreknowledge as opposed to open theism. Also, a Lutheran boy questioned me on original sin and predestination. He wrote down the title of my book on predestination, The Mystery of Christ Revealed. We also discussed whether communion ought to be offered to unrepentant sinners, which led into a good discussion on the Lord's Supper and its significance. I warned to drink of the cup and eat of the flesh of the Lord unworthily (without true repentance of sin) contributed to one's damnation and is a demonstration of the sinner's contempt for the Lord, who shed his blood to cleanse us sin.   The religious sinner becomes guilty of crucifying to himself the Lord afresh and putting him to open shame.

     We preached until after 5; the students never became rowdy and after the first hour they were generally serious. Sister Pat said that UN is one of her favorite campuses.

THEIR SOUL KNOWS RIGHT WELL

October 24, 2012, University of Nebraska

Crowd gathered and the word went forth with power in spite of the chilly temperatures.

     The weather prediction was temperature to be in the mid-70's and partly sunny. We only reached the fifties; we never saw the sun and it was damp and windy.   Nevertheless, we had a steady audience of 40-50 people for much of the afternoon. After all we put out so much heat with our fiery preaching that students will even stand out when the wind chill factor must have been significantly lower than the fifties.  

     I had a long discussion with Jordon, the slow to speak guy from yesterday, on the fact that design in the universe pointed to a designer. He refused to accept that the observable universe reveals design and a designer.   He agreed that man-made objects such as furniture, buildings, sculptures, etc. reveal design but he refused to make the connection that everything in the universe that is not man made

Ward, an unbeliever, was out all three days.  He functioned as a great PR man telling newcomers that they had missed a lot already and encouraging them to play the Bro. Jed bingo game.

demonstrates design. I argued that eyes are designed for sight; ears are designed for hearing, teeth for mastication, legs for locomotion, etc. No wonder the Psalmist declared, "I will praise God; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are your works; and that my soul knows right well."-139:14.

     Men intuitively know these things; one can only conclude that men are willfully ignorant of the Creator. Thus they have lost contact with their soul; that is they are spiritually dead.

Sister Cindy tells the "Herpes Henry" story to warn students of STDs and reinforce the Biblical principal that you reap what you sow.  See YouTube video below.

Herpes Henry

 

     I had a confrontation with a boisterous and lewd female, who did not want to become "sugar and spice and everything nice." She had no interest in being a lady, but she was determined to let me and everyone else know that she was a woman by using foul language and grabbing her breasts and crotch. It was 22 years ago that Roseanne Barr grabbed her crotch and spit on national television after attempting to sing the National Anthem during the World Series.

     One sweeter girl asked Cindy, "Isn't there a happy medium between being a whore and a virgin? Cindy answered, "You can be a wife." The spicy girl replied, "I am married but I am not sorry for having pre-marital intercourse with my husband.

The gloves add to the drama!

     Alas, she remains a whore. Our campuses are not civilizing influences but are turning people into savages, who are much less refined than the wild Indians who once roamed the prairies of Nebraska.  

     There was a veiled Moslem woman, who was recruiting for her diabolical religion, with whom I contrasted the Allah of the Koran with the Jehovah of the Bible. Once again socialism vs. capitalism was a point of disagreement with many.   It is an indictment of our educational system that I rarely meet students who can give a moral defense of free markets. They do not seem to even understand the differences between the two systems.   Nor do they understand the basic differences of the religions of the world; they usually believe everyone worships the same God and has a common ethic.

     One heckler, Dane, who professed to be a Christian but seemed to be under demonic influence if not possession, I first encounter almost a quarter of century ago on this campus. He proudly remembered that his picture was on the front page of the student daily confronting me. As 53 he has returned to school and regrettably has not matured much over the years. He was constantly interrupting and causing a commotion.

Bro. Jed does know how to make them laugh.  The University of Nebraska students respond to "Sex Ed With Bro. Jed."

     I gave a lengthy teaching on the blood sacrifices of the OT which pointed to the sacrifice of Christ. I explained that the OT sacrifices were object lessons to show the Jews how sin resulted in suffering and death.  

     Late in the afternoon I turned the meeting over to Dennis Nutter, Lincoln businessman, a long-time friend and who has been our host in town.   Saturday morning he has invited me to teach at his men's fellowship called, Men at the Gates.

Bro. Jed at University of Nebraska 1