DEPRAVITY: Fruit Direct from Eden's Garden

THERE’S A FUNGUS AMONG US! [1 Thessalonians 5:21,22]

Recently, one of the network news magazines presented a special report on a problem some people were having with potent form of fungus. The focus of the show was a Texas family who’d been run out of their home because of this particular mold. In fact, over a few years, several family members had become mysteriously and gravely ill from this creeping, crawling crud.

A video tape of the residence revealed the presence of the fungi in every dark place, in every location, anywhere microscopic amounts of moisture might be, on wood, on plastic, on drywall, behind painted surfaces, in concrete floors, in every room in the house, this killer lurked. The only known cure for the infection was removal and disposal; burning evidently being the only permanent treatment for the affected materials.

Any mature minded thinking person has to see the parallel of this natural occurring disease with our nation’s unnatural preoccupation with pornography. Reports give us a picture of a domestic industry (i.e., sans international revenues) with revenues in the billions of dollars; other reports have provided estimates of the domestic “hit” rate on pornographic Internet sites … the traffic is staggering.

If any are dim-witted enough to believe the problem is unique to the Catholic priesthood, they are monumental fools. The Southern Baptist Convention numbers its living ministers in the tens of thousands; statistically, it is impossible, let alone improbable, that the Convention is untouched by this menace.

Just this week a Southern Baptist church in Kansas had to remove its youth pastor due to a problem with male pornography. The church devastated. And, in this spiritual war, his wife and two children are considered collateral damage.

All over America, families and churches are being destroyed by our cultural depravity. In every corner of our society, in every household, in every dark place where evil lurks, residents of this once great nation are falling victim to this slippery, slimy spiritual sewage.

What hope do we have? Is there anything we can do to stop it? Paraphrasing the hymnist, “Our hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.” Yet every untainted child of God must cry out with a voice united against this evil and purge it from our lives and land.

Source: Toxic Mold

TRUST: In God We Should!

BRIDGES OVER TROUBLED WATERS! [James 3:1; other topics - Ethics, fidelity, fiduciary honor]

May 26, 2002, was a beautiful Oklahoma morning, the sun rising in the East as his 18-wheeler ascended the rise to the bridge spanning the Arkansas River. At 60 mph, there just was not enough time to react as he realized the bridge was gone.

In the words of an eyewitness, “It was just like watching one of those movies where the truck is just hanging there in the air.” That was before it plunged into the maw of the bridge collapse.

What happened? For some reason a barge captain lost control of his fully loaded barges, allowing them to drift into the dual concrete supports under the Western end of the bridge. Without warning, the bridge groaned and fell to the water some forty feet below. The 18-wheeler and its driver disappeared into the depth.

An obvious parallel exists with Adam’s failure in the Garden of Eden, but I see a more contemporary analogy.

Everyday, all day, the citizens of this “third rock from the sun,” cross bridges spanning the common dangers of life. At any moment, a vessel traveling beneath one of those bridges could veer out of control and destroy the supports they take for granted.

For example: a disease might smash a column out from under one of life’s travelers; an accident might swerve into a support pillar on another of life’s voyagers, perhaps causing the loss of a loved one; or unemployment might yank the entire support structure out from under a whole family of life-trekkers.

However, these are random, unintentional events. If, as some suggest, the barge captain failed in his fiduciary responsibilities, that’s a horse of another color.

Unfortunately, we have amongst us, in the spiritual community, those whose intentional behaviors and philosophies are not only dangerous but are abject violations of community or public trust.

We have godless theologies (Unitarians), materialistic spiritual communities (Binny Hinn, "name-it, claim-it"), murdering pro-lifers, insurgent supporting organizations (NCC), subversive doctrine (Liberation Theology), pedophilic youth pastors, predatory priests, shepherd abusing sheep, adulterous pastors, and Enron-like denominational leaders (Arizona Baptist Foundation).

These perpetrators of wrong are not only wrecking havoc on the bridges of life but are destroying the foundations of the ages, bringing down the Bridge of Life, which leads to eternal life. God help us!