Anti-Christian bias from the BBC (quelle surprise!)

News has come through, today, that Cliff Richard has been awarded substantial damages against the BBC because of the appalling way they handled unjust allegations against him back in 2014.

It appears that, when Cliff was facing an investigation for alleged crimes (which have since been proved baseless), the BBC filmed a Police raid on his home in Berkshire.  (How did they know the raid was taking place? Were they tipped off by an anti-Christian copper?).

No-one is disputing that broadcasters have a duty to report news but it is clear that, in this case, the "reporting" was well over the top and constituted a form of harassment.

Why do I say that this shows a bias against the Christian faith? Simply because Cliff was accused of a sex-crime that was supposed to have taken place at a Billy Graham rally in the 1980s.

I've felt for a long time that the BBC have a bias, bordering on hatred, against Evangelical Christianity, but this case proves that beyond all reasonable doubt.  Indeed, any rational, fair-minded person looking at the record of this supposedly, impartial, broadcaster would have to conclude that when it comes to being neutral and unbiased, the BBC are woefully short of their remit.

This latest scandal is one of a long line of outrages perpetrated by the media against the followers of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ; but should we really be surprised?  After all, didn't Jesus say, in John 15 v 18-20, that the world would hate us because we are His?

What should be our response to today's news?

Firstly, we should be pleased that, at long last, a judge has seen fit to make a judgement that, for once, has not been anti-Christian;

Secondly, we should continue to live for the Lord and spread His Gospel, knowing that,as we do so, souls are being saved, and Christ's kingdom extended;

Thirdly, we should pray for our detractors - remember the hatred that Saul had for the believers, but God was merciful to him in saving his soul (Acts 9).  May He be pleased to convert opponents of the Gospel.

Finally, in September, if the Lord wills, Franklin Graham will be coming to England to preach the Gospel.  Be prepared for a huge amount of bias when the BBC report this event unless, of course, they've learnt their lesson from, today's judgement (stranger things have happened!).

The New Testament is to be a criminal offence.

In 1st Cor. 6 v 9-10 Paul states that people who engage in certain practises "will not inherit the kingdom of God".  He then follows this up with verse 11 that states "such were some of you.....".

In these 3 verses we see the power of God to transform people, including those involved in the most vile and unnatural perversions.  Indeed, the glorious history of the Christian church includes many who can testify to the saving power of God in changing their lives and renewing their minds (Romans 12 v 1-3).

However, the Government have announced that what they call "gay conversion therapy" is to be outlawed.  I'm not sure I agree with therapy, but I do believe in the Holy Spirit's power to change people's inclinations, habits and lifestyles, thus enabling them to live their lives in accordance with God's infallible word.

Once this new law goes through it will be illegal to quote the New Testament passage above and we, as Christians, will have a choice to make - do we obey God's word or the law of the land?

Romans chapter 13 and 1st Peter 2 v 13 make it clear that we are to be law-abiding people and not seek to break the law of the land (sadly, though, many professing Christians flagrantly break the speed limits - shame on them!).

However, when there is a clash between the law of the land and the Word of God, then our first allegiance is to the latter, even if we fall foul of the former, and face persecution for so doing.

Given that many professing Christians are seeking the "best of both worlds" and seem comfortable to make this world their home (are they true Christians, I wonder?) I suspect that many will seek, once again, an accommodation with this wicked culture in which we live rather than be willing to make a stand for truth.

As I conclude this article 2 verses of scripture come to mind - Acts 5 v 29 has Peter stating that we should obey God, rather than man, and  the Saviour's words in Matthew 10 v 33 where He warns that people who do not stand for Him, and thus deny Him, will be denied before His Father who is in Heaven - what side are we on, God's word , or the word of man?

The importance of personal integrity.

I recently read a secular book about prisoners on death row in the State of Texas, and was encouraged by the comments made about the chaplain, one Jim Brazzil.   He was a Southern Baptist minister who had been in pastoral ministry for some 25 years before becoming a prison chaplain. In particular I was impressed with 3 facets of his ministry, and wanted to share these with you.

Firstly, he had such a sincere concern for these condemned men that, not only did he give them much time in the months leading up to their deaths, but he also spent 3 hours with them before they were executed, even going into the death chamber, and being with them to the end.

Secondly, the spiritual care  he gave to each man was the same as that offered to a six-year old girl he prayed with, in hospital, as she was dying of cancer.  Given the fact that these prisoners were murderers who, in some cases, had wiped out entire families, that level of dedication to his calling is truly remarkable.  It reminded me of  Matthew 9 v 36 where we read that Jesus had compassion because they (the crowd who followed him) "were like sheep without a shepherd".  Perhaps this is why so many of these hardened men were willing to sign his Bible.

However, impressive though these matters are, what really struck me was the high level of personal integrity displayed in the following fact - when Warner Bros. offered Mr Brazzil 2.5 million dollars for the serial rights to his story so they could do TV programmes about him, he refused them; the reason he gave being that he didn't want to cheapen the work he was doing for God.

Given the constant scandals of televangelists who frequently make outlandish appeals for money, to fund their lavish projects, I consider Chaplain Brazzil's example to be highly commendable.  

It was this, perhaps, more than anything else that convinced even non-Christians among the prison staff, that this man was worthy of the utmost respect.

Is it not the case that the biggest complaint levelled against professing Christians by the world is that so many who claim to be followers of Christ are simply nothing more than money-grabbing hypocrites, in it for what they can get out of it?  When confronted by the integrity of  men like Jim Brazzil, opponents of the Gospel have no case.

If we are people known for a high level of  personal integrity then, even if many do not like our message, they will have to acknowledge that we are sincerely seeking to live up to the faith we profess to have.

May the conduct of Chaplain Brazzil be an example to all of us in our daily lives, lived before a watching world -   2nd Cor. 5 v 20

Ireland votes for a holocaust.

News is coming through that the people of the Irish Republic have voted to "liberalise" the abortion laws in the country, thus paving the way for a holocaust of 1,000s of babies who will be butchered as a result of this.

In the referendum campaign the promoters of this wickedness shamefully used the death of a pregnant Indian women, Savita  Halappanavar, as a pretext to forward their murderous intents.

This unfortunate lady fell ill while in Ireland, and the doctors refused to carry out an abortion because they deemed that her life was not at risk.  Her subsequent death was NOT the result of Ireland's strict pro-life laws, but due to the incompetence of the doctors, they didn't have the medical nous to recognise that her symptoms suggested her life was at risk.

However, the pro-killing lobby don't deal in facts, they deal in lies and duplicity for one very simple reason - they are agents of Satan whom he is using to pursue his vile agenda.

I truly pray that God, in His mercy, doesn't punish Ireland for trampling underfoot the teaching of His word in Psalm 139 verses 13-16, which clearly states that human life begins in the womb.  History has shown that when a state ushers in laws such as this, then dreadful calamities result; an example being that, when British parliament voted for such in the 1967 this was followed by an outbreak of "foot and mouth" disease and the onset of the troubles in Northern Ireland which led to 1,000s of deaths.

It is my sincere wish that God will be merciful to Ireland but, given that His word and His honour have been violated, I fear for the people in that land as they suffer the consequences of what they have done.

In the meantime our response should be two-fold.  We should pray for those women and their supporters, who have killed their children, that they would come to repentance and faith in Christ.  God is merciful to those who are truly repentant and accept Christ.  Also, secondly, we should be even more zealous to spread the truths of the Gospel, wherever we are, because it is only in the Gospel that people living sinful lives can be radically transformed, and know the joy of sins forgiven.

Manasseh - a trophy of Grace.

It has been my privilege to have been involved in open air outreach for some 40 years, and I've had the joy of pointing hundreds of people to Christ over that time. 

Given the hardness of peoples' hearts and, in some cases, their open and flagrant perversions, it is tempting to wonder if the Gospel really is effective in changing people. The answer to such unwelcome meanderings of the mind is to look at examples of God's power, not only in every day life, but also in God's inerrant word - the Bible.

One such example is Manasseh.

In 2nd Chronicles  33 we read of him becoming king of Judah at the young age of 12 and not dying until 55 years later - quite a long life for that time.  It was not long before the wickedness of his heart become apparent in the rampant idolatry he practised, which was so depraved he even sacrificed children to pagan gods.  Indeed, his vileness was such that he even surpassed the heathen nations around Israel and Judah.

It is not spiritually healthy to spend too long dwelling upon the awful things he did but it is necessary to acquaint ourselves with these facts for one very important reason - God's grace is magnified in his life as the Lord turns his heart to Himself in true repentance, a repentance which shows itself in the changed life.    This is recorded for us in verses 12 - 16.

What an encouragement for us in our own work of spreading the seed of the Gospel.  We may often wonder if someone has steeped themselves in wickedness so much that they simply cannot be saved; and yet we remind ourselves - if God can save one as depraved as Manasseh He can save anybody.

In the light of that glorious and wonderful truth - let us continue to spread the Word, believing that the Gospel has lost none of its power; as the Bible says "For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation, to everyone that believes..." Romans 1 v 16.  

It's not the waiter's fault if the diner complains.

I recently read an interesting illustration that I would like to share with readers and it runs as follows:

A chef prepares a meal, in a restaurant, and the waiter serves it to the customer.  There is nothing wrong with the meal; indeed, it is perfect, but the diner is one of those "glass half-empty" people who will find fault with anything.  He duly calls the waiter over to him and berates him for the alleged poor quality of the food, it's not to his satisfaction etc etc.  The waiter gets a bit fed up with this and asks the diner if he would like to take up the matter with the chef. After all, the waiter simply served up the meal, it was the chef who prepared it.

As one reflects upon this it becomes apparent that there is a parallel with the Christian telling people what the Bible teaches.  There is nothing wrong with the Bible, it is, in fact, infallible, but it teaches a number of unpalatable truths that make for uncomfortable reading.  It teaches us that God is Holy and we are sinful; it teaches that we deserve judgement for our sin and no amount of good deeds will put that right.  It teaches that there is only one way to get right with God and that is through faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as our Lord and Saviour.

It also teaches that there are certain practises which, though they are regarded as fine by the majority of people, are deemed to be sinful in the sight of this Holy God.

When Christians are faithful to declare the truth of the Bible they will often be met with hostility, harassment and persecution. Indeed, we may even find ourselves falling foul of the "thought Police" who seem to regulate what one may or may not believe, with the same level of zeal as the old East German Stasi.

What should be our response when facing  such abuse? 

Coming back to our illustration I would suggest the following answer; just as the waiter simply challenged the diner to take up the matter with the chef, so we can simply point out that God has written His word, it has been carefully prepared (and preserved) and all we need to do is to "serve it up".  If people don't like its teachings the answer should be straightforward viz. take up the matter with God, it is His word, not mine.

There is no need for us to be cowed into silence by the "liberal fascists" who insist on telling us that we are bigots because we believe things they don't like.  Our responsibility is to boldly lay out before people what God's word says, and then trust Him to work on people as it pleases Him to do so.

The Bible clearly teaches (in Romans 10 v 17) that faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God; therefore let us re-double our efforts to spread its teachings and leave the consequences to Him.

Alleged contradictions in the Bible #4 - the period between the death and resurrection of Christ.

Continuing on with our series of alleged contradictions in God's infallible word, we come, now, to one which has often been pointed to as an obvious error. 

It runs as follows: In Matthew 12 v 40 Jesus made it clear that the Son of Man would be 3 days and 3 nights in the heart of the earth; this is a reference to the time between His death and resurrection.  However, in Luke 24 Jesus was speaking with the 2 disciples on the Emmaus road on the first day of the week (which was Sunday) and they made mention of the fact that it was the 3rd day after His death had occurred (verse 21).  Therefore, His death occurred on Friday, and the resurrection on Sunday.  How can this be 3 days and 3 nights?

On the face of it the matter does look awkward for proponents of Biblical inerrancy - however, as with all such questions the answer is simple, absurdly so.

It was a principle in Bible times for people to refer to a part day/night as a whole day/night.  Two examples of this are as follows:

In 1st Samuel 30 we read of David and his men arriving at Ziklag, their city of residence, and finding it ransacked.  The Amalekites had raided the city and carried off the women and children.  When the men gave chase they came across an Egyptian who had been a servant of the Amalekites.  Verse 12 says  that he had not eaten "for 3 days and 3 nights".  In verse 13 he said that his master had dumped him aside "3 days ago".  A clear reference to the principle of counting a part day/night as a whole day/night.

The 2nd example is in Esther.  In chapter 4 v 16 she says that she will fast for 3 days, night and day, before going to make a petition to the king.  In chapter 5 v 1 we read that it was "on the 3rd day" that she went before the king.  Another reference to a part day/night being counted as a whole day/night.

When opponents of the Bible come up with these alleged errors the issue is not an academic one but a moral one.  They know that if the Bible is true then they will have to change their way of living and stop pursuing their sinful lifestyles.  Therefore, they scour the Bible in a vain and pathetic attempt to find justification  for refusing to come to repentance, but such a search is futile and doomed to fail.

The best course for these poor creatures is the stop fighting and surrender to Jesus; they will then find a peace "that passes all understanding" (Phil. 4 v 7) and have assurance of eternal life.