Study Suggests Analytical Thinking Hazardous to Your Faith in God

(Article first published as Study Suggests Analytical Thinking Hazardous to Your Faith in God on Technorati)

The results of a study published a few days ago in the journal Science suggest that people who think analytically tend to have less religious faith than those who don’t think that way.  Based on the study, faith in God is more of an intellectual process than we first thought. So are we to regard analytical thinking as a liability to our efforts to have strong faith in God?

As part of the study, students were subjected to several exercises during which one group engaged its analytical skills more than the other group did. Those who went with more of a gut feeling tended to score higher on the religious belief scale, according to the study results.

I am not sure how to reconcile the study with the reality of how we get faith in God. First of all, faith in God is not as simple as these tests suggest. The Bible says that “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). To get a better understanding of what this verse means, one must know that this verse belongs to a discourse that addresses the preaching of the gospel. In that tenth chapter of his letter to the Romans, Paul the apostle explains that an objective of preaching is to proclaim the Word of God so others can hear about Jesus, and in turn believe on Him. Accordingly, active faith in God and in Christ comes about by hearing the witness of Scriptures proclaimed through preaching and by studying the Bible.

Moreover, faith in God is not a unilateral action, but it involves the work of the Holy Spirit in our heart: “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him,” Jesus says (John 6:44).

I hereby admit that I know churchgoers whose minds are like mental strongholds. They can give you a thousand and one reasons why they feel justified being skeptics. But the Bible has one term for all who fail to exercise genuine faith in God. It is called unbelief, and it is with no regard to whether or not the person is an analytical thinker.

Speaking from my own experience, being an engineer, from day one I have critically read the Bible. Being analytical is a way of life for me. My being an analytical reader, however, did not make it a struggle for me to become a person with strong religious convictions concerning God. This speaks to the mystery of the process of acquiring true faith.

So is analytical thinking hazardous to your faith in God? I say absolutely not. And I strongly reject the idea that to have strong faith in God, one must be mindless or not use his or her brain.

Copyright © 2012 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

How to Fight and Win Our Battles in Life

Just because you are a Christian does not mean you won’t have challenges in life. Nowhere in the Bible does God promise us that when we serve Him we won’t be challenged and have opposition. In fact, the Bible declares that even for the righteous, many will be their afflictions (see Psalm 34:19).

It follows then that as Christians, we must learn how to effectively fight our battles in life. This  is not a moot statement. For the Bible says, “Though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does” (2 Corinthians 10:4). This means that Christians do not fight their battles the way the world does. 

So how should Christians fight their battles? We must do so by way of divine resources (verse 5). In other words, our weapons are not human but divine. Or should I say, our weapons should not be human but divine. Unfortunately, many Christians still fight their battles and deal with problems as the world does, and whenever they use human resources, as opposed to divine provisions, success will be below par. This is one reason why many Christians do not live victorious lives as God has equipped them to.

Our weapons should include prayer, faith, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit. These come from God, and through these we can win overcome any challenge we face in life.

Because the results may be faster, we are often tempted to resort to the arm of flesh to fight our battles. For instance, if you have a colleague who repeatedly ill-treats you, it’s not unusual for you to be tempted to respond by showing ill-treatment toward that person. You know you shouldn’t respond that way because the Bible commands you to love those who make themselves your enemy for no cause. But you just feel like taking matters in your own hands and letting the person have it.

In a situation like that, if you give into your flesh, as opposed to responding the way the Bible instructs you to—praying, walking in the Spirit, and trusting God to order your steps—you may get some instant satisfaction, but your results will be inferior. Sad but true, that’s where too many Christians are operating in their life.

As Christians, we are primarily engaged in spiritual warfare. We can’t fight the spiritual with natural means. That will never work. We must learn how to fight our battles in life by learning how to effectively use  the divine weapons that God has given us. This is how Christians must fight if they want to win in the game of life.

Copyright ©2012 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

What Matters Most in Election 2012 for Voters Belonging to Faith Communities

(Article first published as What Matters Most in Election 2012 for Voters Belonging to Faith Communities on Technorati)

In American politics, it’s hard if not impossible to separate politics from religion. That’s because a person’s religious convictions help to shape his worldview, and this in turn impacts the issues he or she cares about the most. That’s one of the messages I get from the results of a nationwide survey among likely voters belonging to five religious segments.  The survey was  conducted by the Barna Group, and the results were released last Wednesday.

Among all likely voters from the various religious groups, the main issues they say will influence which presidential candidate they vote for are health care (74% of likely voters), tax policy (62%), employment policies and strategies (54%), and plans to address the nation’s  dependence upon foreign oil (52%), according to survey results.

Contrary to what many may think, based on how much time was devoted to the following areas of interest during the Republican debates, the issues least likely to impact the vote of likely voters among the religious groups polled are the presidential candidate’s position on gay marriage (31%), environmental policies (30%), and abortion (29%), according to an analysis of the responses.

However, the various belief-based communities are far from being a monolithic group, in terms of what they care about the most.

For instance, among all likely voters from the groups polled, abortion ranked last on the list of what they care about the most. But among evangelicals, this was the third most influential issue, following taxes and health care. And while gay marriage was tenth among all likely voters, it was the fifth most influential issue for likely voters among the evangelical community, according to the study.

Also, the Barna Group’s recent study confirmed the findings of past research, which is that those who are more actively engaged in their faith are often more active in political and social matters as well. I believe that’s the way it should be, at least within Christendom. The Bible is not simply a book. It is the Word of God. It is God speaking to us. One of its objectives is to teach us how to become faithful followers of Christ.

Specific to the subject at hand, when Christians faithfully study the Bible and strive to live by its teachings, it will give us a biblical perspective on life and, hence, on social issues, and these in turn should influence what we do in the voting booth during election 2012.

Copyright ©2012 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

God is a Forgiving God

One of the main attributes we should love about God is that God forgives sin. Why? Because every one of us sins at one time or another.  When we sin, it means that we have missed the mark of God’s standard. It does not matter how hard we try to please Him, we will fall short at times, sometimes terribly short. When we do, it is important for us to know that God is a forgiving God. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness,” the Bible says (1 John 1:9).

Perhaps someone reading this post is saying, “But you don’t know what terrible things I have done.” To you I would respond, “You are right.” But note that the verse above says He will cleanse us from all unrighteousness. That includes everything under the sun. He is not shocked by our past. He sees every deed we do in real time. And it’s not His will for His children to live under the terrible weight of sin. That’s why He invites us to confess our sins so we can experience His forgiveness and cleansing.

Some people today may argue that this subject is not relevant to our present day. That’s because, to many, sin is relative. Things have changed, they argue. What used to be sin is now acceptable in our society. Well, on that last point, they certainly would get no argument from me.

But hear me, friend. The fact that we live in an increasingly tolerant society does not change God’s perspective. Sin is not relative. It is not a thing of the past. According to the Bible, “sin is the transgression of the law” (1 John 3:4). Hence, whenever we disobey God’s commandments and Jesus’ teachings we sin against God. Furthermore, God’s moral laws have not changed just because our society has.

Last but not least, the verse I quoted at the beginning of this post says that when we confess our sins, God is “faithful and just to forgive us.” So when we confess our sins to God we don’t have to wonder if He will forgive us or if He has forgiven us. The purpose of this verse is to assure us that we have God’s forgiveness, whenever we confess our sins. So if this post applies to you, receive the Word of the Lord today so you can be free from the burden of sin.

Copyright ©2012 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

Catholic Church Still Paying for Sex Abuse Scandal

(Article first published as Catholic Church Still Paying for Sex Abuse Scandal on Technorati.)

The costs of sin tend to hang around much longer than you want them to. Accordingly, based on a report released Tuesday by American bishops, the Catholic Church continues to pay for past clergy sex abuse allegations. According to the report, 594 credible claims of clergy sex abuse were received last year, and all but a few of the allegations dated back decades ago.

According to the report, last year alone, the Catholic Church paid more than $144 million in settlements and related costs. But the portion of the news piece that grabbed my attention the most is that according to the national report, auditors warn of “growing complacency” about child protection.

Say what! After all of the reproach, after the hundreds of millions of dollars that have been spent, and after all the innocent children who have been permanently scarred.

I believe all local churches who offer ministry services to children need to seriously heed the painful lessons the Catholic Church has learned and continues to learn. Church leaders need to be more critical of those they hire as youth leaders. They must be just as diligent in screening volunteer workers for the church nursery and for teaching Sunday school classes for children.

I know; this idea goes against the grain for most churches. The thinking is that the church is the house of God, and we should be loving and trusting and think no ill of our brother. In fact, some volunteer church workers interested in children’s ministry will balk at the idea of being subjected to increased scrutiny and even background checks when they are freely giving their time and labor.

But if we are serious about making the church a safe place for our children, we will regard a more aggressive screening process as a small price to pay to achieve our end goal.

If priests have crossed that sacred line, why should we be so naïve to think that others will not? And if Catholic Church officials protected priests who had violated a most sacred trust, why should we think that similar cover ups don’t exist among the Protestant body of believers as well? I say they do. The question is, will we learn from the Catholic Church or not? This is a call to gird up our loins and fight the spirit of complacency. The increased safety of our most vulnerable church family members depends upon it.

Copyright © 2012 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

Judge Not That You Be Not Judged?

We have coined the phrase, judge not that you be not judged. But we all have some tendency to unfairly judge others. We subjectively make assessments about them, arrive at our verdict, and then “sentence” them accordingly. Consider a business manager who doesn’t like a particular person who has come to be interviewed for a job just because the candidate is overweight. The applicant may lose out on the job, even though he may be more than qualified. Some people seem to spend their entire life judging others. That must be a terrible life.

First of all, these kinds of people are never well-liked. Who wants to be around those who are preoccupied with judging others? Judgmental people tend to attract others who have the same type of critical spirit. They feed off each other, hoping to ease the guilt of their actions. Secondly, people who sit in judgment this way are terrible judges, because their assessments are not based on objectivity but subjectivity. Thirdly, “In the same way you judge others, you will be judged,” Jesus says (Matthew 7:2, NIV). That means we will reap the exact kind of judgment we sow in judging others. So Jesus’ advice is that you, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged” (Matthew 7:1).

But let’s expand on this thought. Is it a sin to judge others? Not necessarily. Think about it; one of the purposes of Scripture is to equip us to make sounder judgments in life so we can minimize pitfalls in our life.  For instance, the Bible instructs us on how to determine if a person is a false prophet or not. It also tells us how we can determine if we know God (see 1 John 2:3-4). I think everyone would agree that these examples refer to judging others and ourselves in a positive way.

In light of what I just said, let us revisit the two verses I quoted above. The important point to remember from these verses is that “In the same way you judge others, you will be judged.” You see, as long as we live in this life there will be times during which we have to make judgments about others. For instance, if you are a Christian looking for the right person to date or to ultimately marry, it will be necessary for you to make judgments about potential mates. When you do, you should make such judgments based on the teachings of the Scriptures, righteousness, and a reverential fear of God.

To some extent, our judging others is a necessity of life. But we must always bear in mind that one day we must meet the real Judge. And we will receive the kind of judgment that we give.

Copyright ©2012 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

The Key to Success in Life

I know the answer already, but let me ask the question anyway: Do you want to realize success in life? Who in his or her right mind is going to say he wants to be a failure, right. On the other hand, some people who answer yes in words say no by their actions. “Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth,” the Bible says (Proverbs 10:4).

Talk is cheap. Realizing success in life requires that we conscientiously do the things that enable us to avoid failure. And according to the verse above, lazy hands make one poor. Note that the verse is not job-specific.  Lazy hands make one poor, no matter what the person’s goal in life is. Similarly, “Diligent hands bring wealth,” no matter what you aspire to do.

Some people are amazingly naïve about life. They seem to think that success in life is happenstance. But this is an extremely competitive world in which we live. Even finding your so-called dream job these days is much harder than it used to be. Regardless of your aspirations, however, you can become a success in life. It’s called being diligent: doing what’s required to gain the competitive edge; never giving up; refusing to accept defeat; living a life of integrity.

There is no substitute for diligence. You can attend multitudes of conferences and listen to all the subject matter experts you want to, but if you persist to be lazy, you don’t have what it takes to become a success in life (sorry about being so brutally honest). You may be a person of faith and you can pray to God for success all night long, but if you have lazy hands, you are destined for failure.

Be it far from me to suggest that prayer does not work. But remember, the verse I quoted is from the Word of God. He is the one who says that lazy hands make a man or woman poor. All the praying in the world won’t compensate for laziness.

Finally, please understand that when I talk about success in life, I am not necessarily talking about monetary gain or climbing the corporate ladder. The point is that regardless of the area in which you want to realize success in life—parenting, running a business, college life, etc.—the key to success is diligence. Unfortunately, my observation is that many people, including Christians, who talk about realizing success in life are not willing to pay the price.

Copyright © 2012 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

A Christian Perspective on Gambling

Last Friday, three winners of the recent  Mega Millions jackpot were chosen. The $656 million lottery jackpot was the largest in history. Reportedly, approximately 1.5 billion tickets were sold nationwide. Wow, that’s a lot of tickets! I am sure that people from all walks of life took part in the ticket-buying, hoping to be a winner.

Sometimes in Christian circles we debate the subject of legalized gambling: Is it OK for Christians to gamble? Or is gambling a sin? Or what does the Bible say about gambling? In fact, I was asked about this subject just a day before the winners of the historic prize were announced.

First of all, there is no Scripture in the Bible that directly says thou shall not gamble. Of course, that's true about many actions that constitute sin or unacceptable Christian behavior. For those who seek a Christian perspective on the subject of legalized gambling, consider the following:

·         “Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished: but he that gathereth by labor shall increase” (Proverbs 13:11). This verse declares that there are negative consequences associated with  efforts to obtain wealth through vanity.  I believe get-rich schemes such as legalized gambling falls into this category. On the other hand, based on the above verse, God’s will is for us to make a living by laboring with our own hands. He in turn will cause the fruit of our labor to bring increase.

·         Gambling defies logic. I don’t know how they determine this, but they said the odds of  winning the lottery were about 1 in 176 million! This made the chances of winning so remote that by the time there were any winners, the state(s) and the IRS had gotten away like bandits. For instance, in the recent Mega Millions lottery jackpot, reportedly, about half of the money brought in went to ticket holders in the way of winnings.  The remainder went to the state(s), retailers, IRS, and expenses. The only reason this scheme works is because millions of citizens finance this deceptive plan by buying tickets, thereby making them partakers of this cruel exploitation.

·         Gambling causes some participants to become problem or compulsive gamblers. The National Council on Problem Gambling estimates that in a given year approximately 2 million U. S. adults meet the criteria for pathological gamblers. Another 4-6 million would be considered problem gamblers. If you have ever been to Vegas, you know how real the problem is. Signs in the lobbies of hotels and on billboards advertise help lines for problem gamblers. Hence, gambling can be a stumblingblock to our fellow man.

For the above reasons and more, I am convinced that it is not consistent with the will of God for His people to look to gambling as a way of satisfying their financial needs or desires. Nor do I believe the benefits to the state outweigh the social costs. Just for the record, God is not against His people prospering. He has a plan of prosperity for us. He says that when we delight in Him and in His Word, whatsoever we do shall prosper (Psalm 1:2-3). Unlike the lottery, the biblical plan for prosperity is not a gamble; it’s a promise from God.

Copyright © 2012 by Frank King. All rights reserved.