Tuesday, September 16, 2014

A Most Dangerous Theory


There is a most dangerous theory making its way through the ether infecting both believers and non-believers alike. It would seem at the height of political correctness, it decided to couple with utter idiocy, and this theory is their lovechild. It pains me to hear anyone spout such nonsense, but it pains me doubly so when I hear believers defend this nonsense in their never ending quest to be relevant, edgy, cool, non-offensive, and all inclusive.

The theory I speak of is that of moral equivalency. In the eyes of the proponents of this theory, there is absolutely no difference between the little old lady dressed in her best outfit making her way up the church steps on a Sunday morning clinging to her Bible, and the bloodthirsty brute who in the name of his god slaughters innocent men, women, and children with no more a dilemma regarding the matter than one would have between ordering the chicken or the pasta on a transatlantic flight.

Even to one who could never be accused of brilliance or genius, the stark difference is evident between the two. One of these things is not like the other, yet many, some even within Christendom insist on the notion of moral equivalency, as though that is some excuse for murder and mayhem.

We are reticent to call things by their proper name in this country due to political correctness, and I fear the day will come when our insistence upon this foolishness will be our own undoing.

I’m sorry to be blunt, but if you believe the dad trying to keep a roof over his family’s head and food on the table while teaching his kids a sense of morals in an world absent morals by taking them to church on Sunday morning is on par, and on equal moral footing with guys who go around crucifying people and beheading them, then you’re an idiot and there is nothing I can do to help you.

Yes, I know, the overly sensitive will be all aflutter because I called a certain and by my estimation quite large segment of the population idiots, but it’s a little late in the day to sugarcoat things for the sake of sparing the crazies their feelings.

My next article will be called ‘The Sad State of Affairs’ and it will tackle how we got here, and yes, a large, overwhelming part of it has to do with promoting, elevating, and honoring the crazies and the perverts of our society rather than seek to show them the error of their ways.

But back to today’s rant….

To the proponents of moral equivalency, and those who continue to trumpet the lunacy that there is no difference whatsoever between Christianity and Islam, perhaps it will take some goat herder or failed rapper standing behind your kneeling form, cupping your chin, and gleefully sawing away at arteries and viscera to make you realize that the danger lay elsewhere, and not in the group of individuals whose only form of condoned killing, is to kill folks with kindness.

To those believers who continue to insist upon this theory and support it, I say stop embarrassing yourselves and making yourselves look the fool. If you believe these two opposing religions to be on equal moral footing, then you don’t know Jesus, you don’t know the message of the cross, nor do I believe were you truly saved and renewed in mind and heart. Take a long hard look in the mirror, contemplate the things you have been saying, and for the sake of all sane, rational folks who are trying their utmost to continue pointing the way to Jesus, and highlighting the fact that He is unique, one of a kind, Lord, King, and Master, shut up.
 
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.

30 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dear Michael, after seven years of following your blog, this is the first time I take issue, not with the content of your powerful post but with the use of the word "idiot." This is merely my humble opinion, but the word reminds me of the rabble rousers who post inflammatory comments on YouTube just to get a reaction. That's not to say Christians should't publish strong statements or name names, but my concern is that we not give nonbelievers more reasons to revile us than they already have. However, as said, this is only my opinion. It's just semantics. You may have very good reasons for writing the post the way you did.

Respectfully,

Melanie

ozzie said...

Sometimes the truth hurts. Many are to ashamed to stick up for our lord and saviour Jesus but happy to appease their peers.
well written. You've hit the nail on the head.

Anonymous said...

Horrible. Reminds me of the phosphorus bombs the Jews dropped on the Palestinian women and children and what the Russian Jews did in the Ukraine called Holodomor.

wolf_r said...

I agree. And I agree in your "outrage" (so to speak). But I think when you talk about morals, you have make a distinction between people who believe in God, and people who don´t. The concept of God entails that he is an absolute moral anchor point; a morally perfect being. So when we look at Allah and JHWH, what is the (big) difference?

The Koran tells us that Allah
-does NOT love the unbeliever
-does NOT love the jew
-does NOT love the christian
-does NOT love the *etc*

So this "love" is conditional. Then secondly, Allah calls for a holy war against all people without the Muslim label. This is a discriminatory act, surely not possible for a "morally perfect being", right?

In contrast, like Jesus said in John 8:7: "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone [...]." Or Romans 5:8 "But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." People who talk about acts in Levicitus should understand that these laws were "human" laws, and this is proven by the fact that these laws were changed over time.

Back to Islam, the difference is that in order to be a Muslim, you have to submit yourself to a "morally imperfect being" who calls himself Allah. That is why ALL of Islam is at fault here, because the basic principles of Islam are that Allah is God, most high etcetc, and Mohammed is his prophet. ALL OF ISLAM.
ALL MUSLIMS are submitted to a morally imperfect being, and therefor not the Most High.

Unknown said...

I didn't realize there were so many incredibly dumb people taking that position - I knew that the majority of those claiming to be Christians - have no clue what being a Christian is - so it's not surprising they would think as they do.

Anonymous said...

I agree. I think Christians should point out more that Jesus didn't come to condemn people but to set them free. The accusers, who came to Jesus to find fault in him or the zealots who demanded to stone others who sinned- he sent them on their way; this was not his message. Christ is all about love, people should realize that more. The westboro baptist church is one of the huge reasons why people are hating christians. It is so easy for others to put the real christians in the same bag as those accusers. Remember brothers in Christ, hate the sin not the sinner. Of course its not to say that "we should still sin that grace may abound" but we shouldn't go about our ways judging people. To convert people to Christ in peace is the way not by hate and vulgarity.

Anonymous said...

Political correctness has no place in our world. If it Quacks like a duck...etc...etc...

Anonymous said...

To Micheal, very good, the fall in morality is so important to bring to the surface. The muslim faith is satanism at its best, a religion where women are property and anyone that does not believe can be kidnapped into slavery or murdered without problem.

I have only one problem with your words, I am a goat farmer, and a devout Christian, but not all goat herders are evil.

Thanks
John

Roberta said...

Amen, and Amen, Michael.

One is the religion of the Dark Prince.

The Other is the Kingdom of Yehovah, and His Messiah is its King.

There is absolutely NO commonality between the two.

Anonymous said...

Well said!

Maria Tatham said...

Michael,

This viewpoint of moral equivalency isn't mine, but I admit to being afraid to express my views about both Islam and Catholicism.
Telling others to shut up isn't the best way to make them "see the light." However, I DO understand your frustration with lies. It reminds me of the words spoken about Lot in Sodom:

2 Peter 2:7 And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked:
2:8 (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;)
2:9 The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:

The Lord will deliver us out of the temptations to compromise or to be overly concerned about what the ungodly have to say.

God bless you!
Maria

Unknown said...

Someone had to say it and I applaud you for doing so. Amen!

Anonymous said...

the real problem is that both groups of "believers" use this crutch to justify their own bad behavior

Anonymous said...

Thank You mike for these Strong words which needs to be said.

Anonymous said...

My only caveat to your thoughts are if you have obeyed the message of salvation. Throughout every dispensation of God the message has always been clear what a man must do to be saved or escape destruction. The apostle Peter spoke distinctly on the day of Pentecost of what you and I must do....Acts 2:28.. to enter into the church. If you have not entered in that way, the letters from Romans to Revelations were not written to you. To obey is better than sacrifice.

Denton said...

War-monger much? Urging people down the warpath just sends them right into the arms of the antichrist. But I suspect you know that.

Anonymous said...

Michael,my name is Arizona,I live in colorado,I was visited recently,BY THE LORD,and HIS TWO WITNESSES,and what they had to say wasn't good,AMERICA IS ENDING,and as your grandfather said,IT WON'T BE PRETTY,I'am pretty good friends with OUR FATHER,YAHUWEH,and HE comes and gets me to show me things,AND as he said, Sell your motorcycle,I'am going to destroy this country,and there'll be no roads to ride it on,I have stood next to our FATHER and watched CLOSE UP,whats going to happen,I spend most of my time warning everyone,AMERICA isn't ready for whats coming,HE SAID only 51,000 will survive,when the shows over,and everyone of those will be chosen ones,KEEP warning,and put on your seatbelt,WERE about to go down.....

A concerned sister said...

Dear Michael - I was discussing the escalating violence in Islam with my father, a Godly man and quite knowledgeable about the Bible. He said that what the muslims are doing isn't all that different from what the OT teaches about stoning women for adultery, killing the heathen nations as commanded by God (with Moses, Joshua, David, etc.) and that the radical muslims are quite sincere in believing this is God's will. My father wasn't condoning what they were doing, he was just being matter of fact about it, and I didn't know what to say in reply. It's wrong, I know it, but why was it OK in the OT? Simply because it was the Jews doing it, on direct orders from God? The muslims think they are getting direct orders from God as well and cleansing the land of the infidel -- as the Jews were told to slaughter all the Gentiles in the Promised Land. It's just, this time, we're the infidel. As a Christian I can not ignore the obvious violence of the OT and just sweep it under the rug. It's there. It has to be dealt with. It's part of my Christian heritage. I just don't know what to do with it. Can you help?

Unknown said...

I am so with you Michael and it was such a relief to read your post. Just this last weekend I was subjected to being called a bigot, un-educated, illiterate, etc. for posting a video, which was made by a Muslim (The Clarion Project), warning of the coming trouble for America poised by these groups. I didn't mention Christianity in my post but the ONLY poster to respond wanted to tell me how Christianity was just as bad as Islam, in fact worse, and even compared the actions of the Westboro Church with ISIS. Needless to say, I did my best to bring up some rather large distinctions as I know Islam quite well and 1/2 my family is Muslim. But no, I'm biased, uninformed and hateful to warn others of the dangers posing our shores. I thought that maybe someone else may chime in and leave their 2 cents, hopefully, pointing out as well that to compare the two is ridiculous, but not one other person, Christian or otherwise felt compelled to stand up for the truth. I was astounded. So glad to see your post today so I know there is at least one other person out there that still has some common sense and God given discernment. Thank you.

Anonymous said...

I never was fooled.

Any fool can see that Islam is for the DESTRUCTION of Christianity.

Just because they claim to be from the same Jesus does not make them believe in him.

They only make you THINK they believe in him but a little reading of the Koran OUTS THEM as LIARS.

Anonymous said...

2 Thessalonians 2 New King James Version (NKJV)

The Great Apostasy
2 Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, 2 not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ[a] had come. 3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin[b] is revealed, the son of perdition, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God[c] in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.

5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? 6 And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He[d] who now restrains will do so until He[e] is taken out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, 10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, 12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Anonymous said...

Powerful article, but one clarification from Toby. The question to people should not be "do you know Jesus?", but rather "does Jesus know you?". Big difference, with eternity at stake.

Unknown said...

Jesus said I am the way, the truth, and the life, no man cometh to the Father, but through me. There is no other but the Lord Jesus Christ. All other religions are false and Islam is just another False religion. And if I hear it is a peaceful religion one more time, I want to barf. It was founded in violence and continues to be so to this day!
Christine Job

Anonymous said...

To those who seek to soften the blow of Michael's words, which speak the truth, remember that Jesus himself often had harsh words for the Pharisees, etc.

Time is too short for nice, soft, politically correct words. People are going to hell in droves because no one cares enough to speak the unvarnished truth. Those people who would support such a stupid theory as moral equivalency ARE idiots. They could very well find themselves at the mercy of bloodthirsty terrorists intent to rid the world of all "infidels" because they didn't want to be politically incorrect. They better wake up before it's too late.

As for nonbelievers, they are going to revile us regardless of what we do or don't say. Only God can fix that problem. He knows whether they are going to give their lives to him or continue down the path of destruction. He's more than capable of turning that person around regardless of what they've heard come from the mouth of Christians.

Keep speaking the truth, Michael. It needs to be said.

meema said...

Michael, I am so glad you posted the comments. They are revealing. I can only imagine the ones you didn’t publish.

We are in the final seconds now and so many folks, especially Americans, are still clinging to being raptured out of tribulation. I see yet another movie is coming out to keep the faithful in line. Are they idiots? Depends on one’s interpretation. The blind who will not see leading the blind who trust them, that’s my definition. Politically correct? Not even. Do I care anymore, given what is at stake? Hardly.

Jeremiah wanted to quit many times because no one liked what he had to say. But still he carried on. Unlike Jeremiah, you have many who stand with you.

Bless you,
Meema

Anonymous said...

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

I feel compelled to respond to some of your comments regarding the use of the word “idiot” to designate our detractors.

Dear ones, we can be strong and steadfast in our position without resorting to railing accusations. If even the archangel Michael hesitated to rail against the devil, should a mere human then rail against another soul who has the potential to become a child of God? If you will investigate, you’ll find that a surprising number of Muslims are being reached for Jesus, apparently by His very Spirit, and He’s doing it through love and gentleness. So, are we justified in hurling at ignorant Christians epithets such as “idiots” and “crazies”? Does it change them for the better, or are we simply delighting Satan as he and his minions succeed in further polarizing Christians and hindering our outreach?

You see, I was once one of these “idiots,” a young adult who called myself “Christian,” yet knowing nothing about sin and repentance. My church was not getting these concepts across to me, though I believed myself to be “saved” while actually living as a heathen. Church was mainly a social function. If, during that time, I had been lambasted by authentic Christians as being
an “idiot,” most assuredly I would NOT have been won over to their side. Quite the contrary! Honestly, would anyone in the world respond positively to being called an “idiot”? What DID win me over, many years later, was studying a literal Textus Receptus Bible translation (with no missing chunks of scripture), taking that Word seriously, and committing myself to LIVE by it.

But how many of us are chasing souls even farther away from the living God by allowing a spirit of meanness to overtake us, which manifests through the words we speak? Mea culpa! I’ve been as guilty as anyone, and have grieved much at the thought that I have scattered many sheep rather than gathering them in. HOW we point out an error is surely as important as WHAT we are pointing out.

Now, I know I’ll get some Bible-based flak against the preceding paragraphs. Yes, the prophets of old had some chastening, even harsh, words for God’s wayward people. Does that mean we can adopt their way of speaking? If any of you believe yourself to be a true prophet, and have demonstrated this by the character of your life, and can confidently precede your prophetic utterances with “thus saith the LORD,” then, by all means, blast away with whatever words the LORD gives you; you would surely have the right to do so, just as we would have the right to be Bereans and check out your veracity. But as an ordinary lay Christian, I am constrained to monitor my own spoken words, lest they condemn me.

What about the righteous anger of Jesus Christ? Remember, Jesus said, “I am meek and lowly in heart.” A broken reed He did not bruise and smoking flax He did not quench. He came to “heal the brokenhearted” and “preach deliverance to the captives.” Yes, He referred to those who rejected Him as a “generation of vipers,” but how did He do it? Doesn’t “meek and lowly” imply self-control? Did the “meek and lowly” one act like a raving maniac when He came against the money changers? When walking with the two disciples toward Emmaus, Jesus chided them for their unbelief, but can you picture the “meek and lowly” one doing so in a brusque and railing manner? I can’t. I believe He was consistently self-restrained, even when angry.

When James and John wanted to call down fire from heaven to destroy a village that refused to receive Jesus, He said to them, “Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.” Sisters and brothers, shouldn’t we also be careful not to let the wrong “manner of spirit” act or speak through us?

In love and meekness,

Melanie

meema said...

There is a time for everything. There is a time for being meek and mild and there is a time for daring to call the Pharisees fools and hypocrites. Another way to say that is ‘idiot’ .

There is a time for standing down and being silent and there is a time for declaring Christ came not to bring peace but a sword to divide even families (Matthew 10:34). There is a time to stand up and turn over the tables of the money-changers. (Matthew 21:12).

If there ever was a time to speak out and stand up for Christ against the rising tide of sentimentality and wishy-washy touchy-feely meek and mild Christianity that is lulling the Body to sleep, it is now. Sometimes those who have a voice must speak up or risk being forever silenced. No one likes the hard truth anymore, not in this age where anything goes is preferred over God’s more demanding unchangeable standards.

God knows full well how to call His people. Some respond to soft words, others respond better to tough words. What matters is that the one giving the words is delivering them on direct authority from Christ.

A.W. Tozer put it like this:

Love is of God, little children, so love everybody and all will be well. Thus speaks the devil, using Holy Scripture falsely for his evil purpose; and it is nothing short of tragic how many of God’s people are taken in by his sweet talk. The shepherd becomes afraid to use his club and the wolf gets the sheep. The watchman is charmed into believing that there is no danger, and the city falls to the enemy without a shot. So Satan
destroys us by appealing to our virtues.

For Him,
Meema

A concerned sister said...

Wow, Meema, thank you. You said it very beautifully. I was just talking with a friend who has chosen to stay in my old church which I left because the pastors were growing increasingly over-bearing, domineering and controlling. The power moves were becoming oppressive. The staff is your poster child for neopotism in the church now (senior pastor's wife, son, daughter, nephew, & niece all on the payroll) and it sounds like a previous children's pastor was "encouraged" to move on before he wanted to make room for the senior pastor's son, who was let go from his previous church and so was going to be out of a job. My friend said quite calmly that she knew the "senior pastor didn't like her", but she had no plans to leave. Too many people liked her at the church and so the senior pastor was just going to have to put up with her. She then told me about other pathetic power moves the pastoral staff was doing to the congregation and how the congregation was just meekly submitting. After all, we are all called to "love" everyone, right? I wanted to ask her why in the world would you stay in a church where you know you can't invite people to come because you know the senior pastor doesn't like you? It's crazy, but she's not even unique. I have seen Christian after Christian after Christian tolerate wolves in the church because they are sleeping and are told that there is "no perfect church" and so we should just all love and submit. This church is slowly driving away all the older people (or waiting for them to die), while actively pursuing young people. Young people are easier to manipulate, control, and deceive. These young Christians will grow up believing that pleasing and placating and even worshiping pastors is "normal" Christianity and will have no idea that they are committing idolatry and being taught to stay perpetual children. The pastors will have got rid of the watchmen long ago. I know, because in my limited capacity, I was one of them. But I couldn't get anyone to listen to me, so all I could do was save myself.

Helen said...

We don't want to hear the HARD truths even though the BIble is FULL of them. So when someone has a backbone to speak honestly, we are "shocked". We have been lulled into apathy by feel-good psycho-babble. Everything is sooo sugar-coated that we see speaking frankly as being "hateful". Jesus spoke hard truths and did not worry about offending. Being sweet and timid has brought much contempt for Christ. LOOK at His example. His tough words were for the hypocritical religious leaders of His day. He called them hypocrites, white-washed tombs, and more. This was TOUGH in-your-face no-nonsense TRUTH which is why we now applaud MIchael and pray more will find their spines.

Tim Shey said...

This was an excellent post. Sometimes when speaking the truth you need to call an idiot an idiot. It is called righteous anger or holy anger.

When Jesus took a whip of cords and drove out the moneychangers from the Temple, I am sure He didn't say "gosh darn it". Jesus probably yelled at them and called them idiots, jackasses and fools for making His house of prayer a den of thieves.

Elijah mocked the prophets of Baal before the Lord showed up and burned up Elijah's sacrifice.

"Open rebuke is better than hidden love."