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The Gospel in Our Times, Part II

(Part I presented on 10/31/24 and reviewed briefly here)

Bill Morehouse – Thursday Morning Men’s Bible Study December 5, 2024

Good News

Truth or Consequences?

Reality and Relationship or Opinion?

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Outline:

Part I Review of talk given on 10/31/24

    • My Testimony - Youth, Conversion, Journey
    • Gospel Message - Good and Bad News

Part II – Remainder of talk

  1. Enemies of Our Faith

World, Flesh, and Devil

      • Politics and Faith

Opinion vs. Discernment

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1. (a brief review)�Testimony of My Youth, Conversion, and Journey

Historical/Religious Context and Dynamics

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Billy 1943

Charming

War Baby

Bill 1962

Clean, Mainline

Ivy Prep at Brown

Dr. Bill 1971

Free Hippie

Medical Resident

The natural growth of William R. Morehouse

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Bill & Susan with her brother Tom, 1975

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Bill & Susan with Sarah

in front of His Branches 1978

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Faith-filled Mom/Dad

(Nana and Grampy)

with family in 2022

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2. (a brief review)�The Gospel Message,�The Bad and Good News

Biblical perspective of human life and death

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“You don't need to be a weatherman to know which way the wind is blowing.”

– Bob Dylan

Is God incomprehensible?

“The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

– John 3:8

Said the straight man to the late man

Where have you been? I've been here and I've been there and I've been in between.

I talk to the wind.

My words are all carried away.

I talk to the wind: the wind does not hear.

The wind cannot hear.

I'm on the outside looking inside.

What do I see?

Much confusion, disillusion all around me.

You don't possess me, don't impress me, just upset my mind. Can't instruct me or conduct me, just use up my time.

I talk to the wind.

My words are all carried away.

– King Crimson 1969

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Apostasy, Heresy, and Unbelief

Heresy

  • The rejection of one or more Christian doctrines, while still maintaining an overall adherence to Jesus Christ. Heresy is the act of introducing new doctrines that divide believers and form new groups. For example, someone might be heretical if they mix in a nonbiblical ideology.

Apostasy

  • The rejection of core Christian beliefs by someone who was once baptized and professed to be a Christian. Apostasy is the act of departing from major or primary doctrinal teachings. For example, someone might be apostate if they reject the doctrine of the Trinity.

Unbelief • Lack of belief or adherence to false religion.

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The Gospel of Salvation

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. Romans 1:16 ESV

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” John 3:16-17 ESV

Salvation is God’s work in individuals, both in this life and the next.

The Ekklesia or Church is responsible for making and equipping disciples.

The gospel and plan of salvation includes:

    • Hearing the gospel
    • Believing the gospel
    • Repenting of sins
    • Confessing faith in Jesus Christ
    • Being baptized
    • Being faithful until death

The seven doctrines of salvation:

forgiveness, justification, reconciliation, redemption, sanctification, newness of life,

and adoption.

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The Gospel of the Kingdom

And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. Matthew 24:14

God’s Kingdom reign is active, both now and after Christ’s return.

Evidence of the Kingdom of God is manifested in the midst of a community by bringing service and order to it in collaboration with others under the direction of the King of Kings.

The gospel of the kingdom is the good news of reconciliation between heaven and earth. It’s the amazing story God’s faithfulness, resolving the rebellion against his kingship. Grace and faith are indeed the keywords defining the two sides of that story:

  • Heaven takes the initiative to make peace. That’s grace.
  • Earth responds with allegiance to the king. That’s faith.

Salvation is God rescuing us from the kingdom of darkness,

into the Kingdom of his Son.

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This way or that?

Trust in the Lord (Yahweh) with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6

“I assume that we Episcopalians will go to heaven – we are very, very nice people and not the sort you can imagine God hurling into the lake of fire – but what little we know about heaven from Scripture, the praising and rejoicing, doesn’t sound like something I care to do endlessly. For years, okay, but after half a million years it’d be heavenly to have a day of complaint and lamentation. My Unitarian friends will refuse to go to heaven because it discriminates against atheists. And heaven is authoritarian and Unitarians would demand to have seats on the planning committee. I’ll miss them.”

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The Gospel: God in Creation

In the beginning, God (Elohim) created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. Genesis 1:1-2 ESV

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God (Theos). All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. John 1:1-5 ESV

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over… all the earth...” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them…. Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. Genesis 1:26-27; 2:23-24 ESV

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Fall of man in the Garden

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God (Yahweh Elohim) had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Genesis 3:1-7 ESV

SIN: Your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear. Isaiah 59:1-2 ESV

Gospel Basis: The Lord God, Creator of the universe, loves us and wants to reconcile the bond that was broken in the Garden and develop an ongoing relationship with a people who desire to collaborate with Him in building His Kingdom on Earth.

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Encounter, Repent, Commit

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him! Psalm 34:8 ESV

There is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all.

1 Timothy 2:5-6 ESV

Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God… I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture… I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 3:3; 10:9; 14:6 ESV

All I once held dear, built my life upon; all this world reveres and wants to own; all I once thought gain, I have counted loss, spent and worthless now, compared to this: knowing You, Jesus, knowing You, there is no greater thing. You’re my all; You’re the best; You’re my joy, my righteousness, and I love You Lord! Graham Kendrick

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Convert, Transform, Cleanse

Trust in the Lord (Yahweh) with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:1-2

As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth. John 17:18-19

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The Great Commandments

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” John 3:16-17 ESV

Trust in the Lord (Yahweh) with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6

And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; udo this, and you will live.”

Luke :25–28, also Matthew 22:34–40 and Mark 12:28–34

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The Great Commission/Fall

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18–20 ESV

“Every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits. Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven

Everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” Matthew 7:17, 19-21, 26-27

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Promise of Life now and Forever

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” John 3:16-17 ESV

And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. 1 John 5:11-12 ESV

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Colossians 3:1-4 ESV

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. John 14:3 ESV

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“The Day” or Second Coming

For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words... and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18; Hebrews 10:25 ESV

Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. 1 John 3:2 ESV

So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. 1 Corinthians 15:42-43 ESV

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. John 14:3 ESV

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8.2 billion in 2024

The Name of the God of the Bible and its Gospel is Yahweh.

Various other false “gods”

and false ideologies have different names.

,

?---

I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt,

out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me.

But you, Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book until the time

of the end. Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.

Daniel

Jesus

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Between now and the end

Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint, but blessed is he who keeps the law. Proverbs 29:18 ESV

Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment… Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God's servant for your good. Romans 13:2-4 ESV

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. Hebrews 10:19-25 ESV

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Babylon or God’s Kingdom?

Babylon

  • World/Flesh/Devil
  • Religions/Religiosity
  • Opinions
  • Politics
  • Individual notions
  • Oppressor/oppressed
  • Deadly Sins (Pride + 6)
  • Rebellion
  • Lawlessness

God’s Kingdom

  • Father/Son/Holy Spirit
  • Christ’s Body/Kingdom
  • Objective Truth
  • Discernment
  • Word of God
  • Release from sin/death
  • Humility
  • Yieldedness
  • Obedience

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Choose Man or the Son of Man?

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Background Resources

ESV Study Bible: The Gospel According to John, Romans 1, 1-2-3 John, Revelation Zechariah 14, Daniel 12, and Hebrews 10: The Coming Day of the Lord

Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2008

Foundational Truths for Christian Living by Derek Prince

Lake Mary, FL: Charisma House, 2006

Article “What It Means To Believe” by Richard E. Simmons III

https://tinyurl.com/yrd45ry9

Repentance: The Joy Filled Life by M. Basilea Schlink

Darmstadt, Germany: Evangelical Sisterhood, Republished 2016 PDF Chapters 2, 3, 8

The Gospel of the Kingdom by George E. Ladd

Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1959, Republished 2011 PDF of Original Book

Christianity and Liberalism, 100th Anniversary Edition by J. Gresham Machen

Glenside, PA: Westminster Seminary Press, 2023

The Unsaved Christian by Dean Inserra Eternity in Their Hearts by Don Richardson

Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2019 Ada, MI: Bethany House Publishers, 2006 PDF Chapter 4

His Kingdom and Us God’s Kingdom from α to Ω by Bill Morehouse www.hiskingdom.us

An introduction to the Modern Age in His Kingdom and Us

Celebrate Salvation! The Joy of Christian Discipleship by Bill Morehouse www.celebratesalvation.org

Cell: (585) 315-1144 Web: www.wmorehouse.com Email: wmorehouse@gmail.com

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3.�Enemies of Our Faith�A. Devil, B. Flesh, C. World

Resisting Encounter, Truth, Repentance, Faith, Hope, Love

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A. Names for the Devil

Abaddon – Hebrew for “destroyer"

Accuser

Adversary

Angel of Light

Angel of the bottomless pit

Antichrist

Apollyon – Greek for "destroyer"

King of the Bottomless Pit

Lawless One

Leviathan

Liar

Lucifer

Murderer

Power of Darkness

Prince of the Power of the Air

Beast

Beelzebub –

"Ruler of the demons"

Belial

Deceiver

Devil

Dragon

Enemy

Evil One

Father of Lies

Ruler of the Darkness

Ruler of this World

Satan

Serpent of Old

Son of Perdition

Fallen Star

Tempter

Thief

Wicked One

Satan’s underlying question is always, “Did God say?”

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The “light” borne by the Devil

False “light”

Spiritual things aren’t real

There is no “God” or “Devil” – all is energy, imagination, and matter

The universe had no beginning – life evolved from energy and matter

Jesus was a religious and well-intentioned but deeply flawed man

The Bible is bigoted and outdated

All religions are man-made distractions

Mankind will create its own future

Society will keep getting better and better

There is no life after death

Our only “heaven” will be here

True Light

The spiritual realm is real

The God of Israel is the true God who created an adversary, the Devil

God created our entire universe from nothing and made us in His Image

Jesus is God’s only begotten Son and our Messiah, King, and Savior

The Bible is the inspired Word of God

Relationship with God in Christ is key

God is sovereign over the future

Society will keep failing until Jesus returns

Believers in Christ will live forever

Heaven awaits those who believe

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Jesus begins His ministry

Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’” Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.

Now when he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee… From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, those having seizures, and paralytics, and he healed them. Matthew 4:10-19; 23-24 ESV

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Lord’s Prayer, Nicene Creed

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our sins, as we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For yours is the Kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen Matthew 6:9-13 NIV

We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen. We believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father; God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God; begotten not made, one in being with the Father. Nicene Creed

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B. The Flesh

7 Deadly Sins

  1. Pride or vainglory
  2. Greed or covetousness
  3. Lust for illicit sex, honor, money, or power
  4. Envy
  5. Gluttony, drunkenness
  6. Wrath or anger
  7. Sloth

7 Heavenly Virtues

  1. Humility
  2. Charity
  3. Chastity, meekness, modesty
  4. Gratitude
  5. Temperance
  6. Patience
  7. Diligence

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Fleshly vs. Spiritual

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:2 ESV

But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not being merely human?

1 Corinthians 3:1-4 ESV

I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth. John 17:14-19 ESV

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How does the “world” differ from place to place for its inhabitants?

How many “Christians” are actually in the regions marked as such?

The 10/40 Window is located from 10 to 40 degrees north of the equator

What world are you in?

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How many of those who are culturally part of “Christendom” or who associate

themselves with “Christianity” does Jesus recognize as committed disciples?

of which about 2,500M

live under communism

%

16

2

4

8

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Worldviews, Ideologies, Myths

Worldview: ‘A person's worldview is the way they see and understand the world, especially regarding issues such as politics, philosophy, and religion.’

Ideology: ‘An ideology is a set of beliefs, especially the political and social beliefs on which people, parties, or countries base their actions and behavior.’

Myth: A myth is ‘an ancient story or set of stories, especially explaining the early history of a group of people or about natural events and facts.’

from the Collins and Cambridge Dictionaries

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Campus Ideologies

On most secular campuses today, modernist Protestantism has given way to an ambient philosophy that mixes naturalism and anemic liberalism with vulgarized Marx, Freud, and Foucault.

Surveys show that the American public has frighteningly low confidence in higher education. The recent challenges to campus DEI policies and the left’s ­ongoing crisis over anti-Semitism in its ranks suggest that more and more people in academia are no longer content with unstated assumptions.

Source: https://www.firstthings.com/article/2024/10/common-sense-tragedy

from Molly Worden’s review of Machen's Hope: The Transformation of a Modernist in the New Princeton by Richard E. Burnett entitled “Common Sense Tragedy” in the October 2024 issue of First Things.

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C. S. Lewis on Progressivism

At the root of Enlightenment Progressivism, or what C. S. Lewis called “universal evolutionism”, is the view that science and human ingenuity and effort will “progressively” solve all our problems and things will inevitably keep getting better and better until we arrive at a utopia on earth. Lewis described it this way:

The very formula of universal progress is from imperfect to perfect, from small beginnings to great endings, from the rudimentary to the elaborate, the belief which makes people find it natural to think that morality springs from savage taboos, adult sentiment from infantile sexual maladjustments, thought from instinct, mind from matter, organic from inorganic, cosmos from chaos. This is perhaps the deepest habit of mind in the contemporary world.

But there’s a fatal flaw in this ideology: without a king or theocratic ruler greater than ourselves, and with a government that’s “of the people, by the people, for the people,” we have no authority or power greater than ourselves to trust when confronting challenges greater than ourselves. This fact can draw us closer to the One who alone can sustain, protect, and bless us, as it did for so many of our Founders. Or it can encourage an intensified but misguided faith in humanity.

Source: article by Jim Denison, PhD

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1642 Founding Statement

"Everyone shall consider as the main end of his life and studies, to know God and Jesus Christ, which is eternal life. John 17:3“

1650 Founding Motto

"In Christi Gloriam"

Brown was founded in 1764

by Rev. James Manning as a Baptist School or Seminary for “forming the rising Generation to Virtue, Knowledge & useful Literature.”

1778 Founding Statement

A public free school or academy for the purpose of instructing youth from every quarter about the Great End and Real Business of Living as an eminent means of advancing the Interest of the Great Redeemer.”

Mission drift in higher education

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A Starting Example

The motto of Phillips Academy “Non sibi” means “not for the subject's own benefit” or “not in the subject's own opinion/from their own point of view.”

Samuel Phillips described the approach of the new school (or “Seminary”) he was founding in Andover, Massachusetts in its 1778 Constitution as follows:

“Whereas many of the Students in this Seminary may be devoted to the sacred work of the gospel ministry; that the true and fundamental principles of the Christian Religion may be cultivated, established, and perpetuated in the Christian Church,

so far, as this Institution may have influence; it shall be the duty of the Master, as the age and capacities of the Scholars will admit, not only to instruct and establish them in the truth of Christianity; but also early and diligently to inculcate upon them the great and important scripture doctrines of the existence of One true GOD, the FATHER, SON, and HOLY GHOST; of the fall of man, the depravity of human nature; the necessity of an atonement, and of our being renewed in the spirit of our minds; the doctrines of repentance toward God and of faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ; of sanctification by the Holy Spirit, and of justification by the free grace of God, through the redemption, that is in Jesus Christ (in opposition to the erroneous and dangerous doctrine of justification by our own merit, or a dependence on self righteousness), together with the other important doctrines and duties of our HOLY CHRISTIAN RELIGION.”

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Mottos of Ivy League Schools

  1. 1636 - Harvard University, MA – founded to educate clergy for the new world

"Veritas Christo et Ecclesiae(Truth for Christ and the Church)

  1. 1701 - Yale University, CT – to prepare students for public church and civil service

"Lux et Veritas(Light and Truth)

  1. 1740 - University of Penn. – founded as a charity school and house of worship

Leges sine moribus vanae(Lacking moral sense, laws are in vain)

  1. 1746 - Princeton University, NJ – founded to educate ministers of the gospel

Dei sub numine viget(Under God's power she flourishes)

  1. 1754 - Columbia University, NY – founded by Anglican minister Samuel Johnson

"In Lumine Tuo Videbimus Lumen(In Thy light shall we see light – Psalm 36:9)

  1. 1764 - Brown University, RI – founded by Baptist minister Rev. Morgan Edwards

In Deo Speramus(In God We Hope)

  1. 1769 - Dartmouth College, NH – founded to train Native American missionaries

Vox clamantis in deserto(A voice crying in the wilderness– Isaiah 40:3)

  1. 1865 - Cornell University, NY founded by Ezra Cornell as an intentionally secular school

I would found an institution where any person can find instruction in any study.

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Recent Ivy League News

  1. Harvard University, Massachusetts (Truth for Christ and the Church)

Is it appropriate to describe Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel as “violent”? Internal emails show Harvard University administrators debating the question and removing the word.

  1. Yale University, Connecticut (Light and Truth)

After the Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade, the Dean of Yale’s Divinity School asserted that “there is no

biblical basis for the ban on abortion.”

  1. University of Pennsylvania (Lacking moral sense, laws are in vain)

A law professor at the University of Pennsylvania was publicly reprimanded and suspended for alleged

“racist, sexist, xenophobic, and homophobic” statements.

  1. Princeton University, New Jersey (Under God's power she flourishes)

“The current climate seems to have provided the perfect conditions for pure, unadulterated religious and

ethnic bigotry to show itself and flourish here at Princeton.”

  1. Columbia University, New York (In Thy light shall we see light - Psalm 36:9)

“Columbia University's President Nemat Shafik's abrupt departure could be a small step toward restoring a

modicum of academic freedom to the university.”

  1. Brown University, Rhode Island (In God We Hope)

After a campus police officer allegedly assaulted a visiting Latino student, students openly threatened to

oust President Paxson if she didn’t breach due process protocols.

  1. Dartmouth College, New Hampshire (A voice in the wilderness cries - Isaiah 40:3)

“Why not construct a new way to affirm Jewish self-determination, a path for supporting liberalism rather

than being forced to support an ideology that runs counter to our basic values?”

  1. Cornell University, New York (an intentionally secular institution)

At the rally, Cornell University History professor Rickford described the Hamas attacks as “exhilarating” and

an “act of resistance” against Israel, which he described as an “apartheid regime.”

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4.�Politics and Faith,�Opinion vs. Discernment

Human understanding vs. Divine insight and wisdom

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“I don’t find you to be someone who actually takes meaningful risks and says what you believe. You kind of take both positions all the time.” Candace Owens

Godly and Ungodly Advocacy

  1. Biblical: Seek to distinguish godly from ungodly positions.
  2. Worldly: Try to balance things by mixing godly positions with other alternatives.

Woe to those who call

evil good and good evil,

who put darkness for light

and light for darkness,

who put bitter for sweet

and sweet for bitter!

Woe to those who are wise

in their own eyes and

shrewd in their own sight!

Isaiah 5:20-21

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Halloween Celebrations Gay Pride

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“MAGA”?

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2024 pre-election

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On a more local scene…

FILL IN A CANDIDATE WHO

As a lifelong member of Christ Church Rochester, it was an honor to help welcome the Rt. Rev. Kara Wagner Sherer, 9th Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Rochester at her ordination on July 13 at Asbury First United Methodist Church in Rochester, New York. Bishop Kara was called from the Diocese Chicago as our first woman bishop. God Bless her on her spiritual journey and new leadership.

Isaiah 59:2 aside, Bishop

Kara’s confession is that

“My Christian life is rooted in my belief that nothing can separate anyone from the love of God.”

https://virtueonline.org/263-episcopal-clergy-including-20-bishops-endorse-pansexual-declaration

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Videos of Kamala at the “New Birth Missionary Baptist Church” on 10/20/24

Jamal Bryant Prosperity Gospel and Social Activism

Atlanta, Georgia

Progressive political ideology and policies

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2024 Presidential Majority Votes by Party

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Our Memorial Acclamation

Our Advent and Easter Message

Christ Has Come

Christ Has Died

Christ Is Risen

Christ Will Come Again!

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The Lion of Judah is coming on the clouds…

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Current References

Articles and Essays

Politics and the English Language a timely prophetic essay by George Orwell written in 1946

PDF: https://tinyurl.com/4xzhjnh5 As a thin book: https://tinyurl.com/mt3cmu8f

How a Culture Dies by Craig A. Carter – 8/2/24 https://tinyurl.com/2whnj9s6

This is not the end of America by Jim Denison – 11/7/24 https://tinyurl.com/2p9m3e56

Why Catholics Voted for Trump by Mary Eberstadt – 11/14/24 https://tinyurl.com/4xn87u73

Trump’s Victory Is Good News For Religious Believers by R. R. Reno – 11/7/24

https://tinyurl.com/mvswtd82

ICEJ International Christian Embassy Jerusalem ((ICEJ)

Replacement Theology: What It Is and Why It Matters for Christians

Progressive Supersessionism by Matthew Burdette – October 2024 https://tinyurl.com/yz3u8b8d

Periodicals

First Things “Advancing a religiously informed public philosophy for the ordering of society” www.firstthings.com

“Sound journalism, grounded in facts and Biblical truth” https://wng.org/

WRM Contact Info

Cell: (585) 315-1144 Web: www.wmorehouse.com Email: wmorehouse@gmail.com

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Men’s Bible Study

What is our mandate?

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

Hebrews 10:23-25

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Men’s Bible Study

What should be the focus of our studies?

  • Monotheism vs. Polytheism with other possibilities?

e.g. Atheistic, Agnostic, Gnostic, Arian, Unitarianism

  • Interfaith with various holy writings?

e.g. How about Baháʼí, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam,

Progressivism, Sikhism, Universalism, etc.

  • Ecumenical with various denominational doctrines?

or

What does our Bible actually say about Christ and Christian faith?