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What great confidence the redeemed have found in the cross of Christ. One thing is certain about this life, and that is uncertainty. But Jesus Christ never changes and all of God's pronouncements and promises are fully accessible and fully dependable through Jesus Christ and His shed blood. Hebrews 13:8:
Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
Consider II Corinthians 1:20:
For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.
Have you found this sure foundation? Have you been born-again, born a second time, this time of the Spirit? Would you like to be the power to live a glorious and holy life? Would you like to be set free from all your bondages and addictions? Would you like to be forgiven of all sin and have today as the beginning of your brand new life? It is real and it is now. Click onto "Further With Jesus" for childlike instructions and immediate entry into the Kingdom of God. Now for today's subject.
GOD SAID, Romans 10:10:
For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
GOD SAID, Hebrews 11:6:
But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
GOD SAID, I Corinthians 1:18-28:
18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
19 For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.
20 Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.
22 For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:
23 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;
24 But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.
25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:
27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
MAN SAID: Low-intelligence adults tend to gravitate toward socially conservative ideologies. Christians are dumb.
Now THE RECORD. A definition of the term conservative is needed. Conservative positions are rooted in the Bible, such as a strong stand against the following:
● Evolution
● Abortion
● Alcohol and drugs
● Fornication
● Co-habitation
● Homosexuality
● Lewd conduct and conversation
● Adultery
● Pornography
● Bigotry
● Hatred and bitterness
● etc.
On the business end of conservatism, the Bible is still the standard and a few of the positions are as follows:
II Thessalonians 3:10:
For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.
James 1:27:
Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.
The more "Christian" one is, the more conservative he or she becomes.
The Yahoo! News headline in the January 26, 2012 story reads, "Low IQ and Conservative Beliefs Links to Prejudice." Several excerpts follow:
There's no gentle way to put it: People who give in to racism and prejudice may simply be dumb, according to a new study that is bound to stir public controversy.
The research finds that children with low intelligence are more likely to hold prejudiced attitudes as adults. These findings point to a vicious cycle, according to lead researcher Gordon Hodson, a psychologist at Brock University in Ontario. Low-intelligence adults tend to gravitate toward socially conservative ideologies, the study found. Those ideologies, in turn, stress hierarchy and resistance to change, attitudes that can contribute to prejudice, Hodson wrote in an email...
Polling data and social and political science research do show that prejudice is more common in those who hold right-wing ideals that those of other political persuasions, Nosek told LiveScience.
Earlier studies have found links between low levels of education and higher levels of prejudice, Hodson said, so studying intelligence seemed a logical next step. The researchers turned to two studies of citizens in the United Kingdom, one that has followed babies since their births in March 1958, and another that did the same for babies born in April 1970. The children in the studies had their intelligence assessed at age 10 or 11; as adults ages 30 or 33, their levels of social conservatism and racism were measured.
Social conservatives were defined as people who agreed with a laundry list of statements such as "Family life suffers if mum is working full-time," and "Schools should teach children to obey authority."
Nonetheless, there is reason to believe that strict right-wing ideology might appeal to those who have trouble grasping the complexity of the world.
"Socially conservative ideologies tend to offer structure and order," Hodson said, explaining why these beliefs might draw those with low intelligence. "Unfortunately, many of these features can also contribute to prejudice."
In another study, this one in the United States, Hodson and Busseri compared 254 people with the same amount of education but different levels of ability in abstract reasoning. They found that what applies to racism may also apply to homophobia. People who were poorer at abstract reasoning were more likely to exhibit prejudice against gays. As in the U.K. citizens, a lack of contact with gays and more acceptance of right-wing authoritarianism explained the link. [End of quote]
As a side note, one should keep in mind that a very large percentage of the world's greatest scientists were devout Christians.
Arguably, the world's most educated people populate the field of medicine, and supporters of evolution they are not. An article published by Business Wire, December 20, 2004 was a review of a national survey of 1,100 physicians.
● 74% of doctors believe that miracles have occurred.
● 73% believe they can occur today.
● 72% of American physicians believe religion provides a reliable and necessary guide to life.
● 58% attend worship services at least one time per month.
● 67% believe the Bible was inspired by God.
● 55% of doctors said they have seen treatment results in their patients that they would consider miraculous.
● 51% pray for their patients as a group.
● 59% pray for individual patients.
● 67% of America's physicians encourage their patients to pray.
● This survey was conducted by HCD Research and the Louis Finkelstein Institute of New York City. [End of quote]
Another point to keep in mind is that much of this research was conducted in The United Kingdom, and a report just published pegs Europe's mental illness rate at nearly 40%.
The idea that conservatives are dumb is not a new one. Ted Turner said that Christians are uneducated and easily led, and he certainly was not the first to say so. One academic said, "When a Christian goes to church, he has to check his brain at the door." The Word of God addresses the wisdom that man worships in I Corinthians 2:4-5:
4 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:
5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
The wisdom and power of God is Jesus Christ, by whom God created the universe, and He cannot be reached through carnal intellect. Access to the Kingdom of God and the salvation of His Christ can only be attained through childlike faith and repentance. Consider again I Corinthians 1:24:
But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.
I Corinthians 1:30:
But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:
It's shocking to man, but God has not chosen I.Q. as the standard by which man can be saved. God has not chosen strength. God has not chosen beauty or power or wealth as the common denominator. God has chosen faith. Of John the Baptist, who prepared the way for Christ, Luke 3:3-6 reads:
3 And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins;
4 As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
5 Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth;
6 And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.
John's ministry was the baptism of repentance. Believing upon the Messiah and repentance were chosen by God. Of John, it declares every valley shall be filled. Those in the deepest sin and bondage are lifted up to the common ground of faith and repentance. Every mountain and hill shall be brought low. Those lifted up in power and wealth must come down to the common ground of faith and repentance. Crooked ways are made straight. The perverted and deceived are made straight at this common place and the rough ways are made smooth. Here, the clear understanding of God's plan of salvation is revealed. The ministry of John was to bring mankind to the common ground of faith and repentance. God did not choose I.Q. (Intelligence Quotient) as the common denominator, but he chose G.Q. (God Quotient).
The Word of God is the inerrant and perfect truth, and it does not need academia and its I.Q. to develop it. In order for it to supply its benefits, it simply needs to be believed upon and followed. Consider this verse, Psalm 111:10:
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.
Wisdom is not a product of carnal education, but begins with the fear of God. Not I.Q., but G.Q.
If one is truly intelligent, his wise decisions in life should reap considerable benefits but, with the carnally wise, it is to the contrary. There is an amazing series on GodSaidManSaid titled "The Literal Difference is Staggering." The demonstration of the benefits of God's wisdom versus man's is ridiculously obvious. Consider the following from the GodSaidManSaid feature, "The Literal Difference is Staggering - Part VI:"
In this series we highlight a commandment of God, then man's rejection of it, and the consequences. Statistics, mostly for the United States, have been gathered from sources of the FBI, the U.S. Department of Justice, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, etc. We have used these statistics to show the dire results of disobeying God's life commandments in the U.S., and now we will take these statistics global. The population of the U.S. is about 1/23 of that of the world. So far in the GodSaidManSaid series we have listed 36 carnal infractions. In this feature we will review a handful of them, but multiply the U.S. number by 23 to reach a rough estimate of the global problem. Consider the following situations and take note of the staggering differences between the obedient and the disobedient:
(1.) The situation: In the Old Testament, God commands for male children to be circumcised. Now, doctors in Africa have discovered that this procedure is their most effective weapon against AIDS because it reduces the infection risk by half. It will save millions of lives. "Breaking News -- Honey, Breast-Feeding, Circumcision, Pork" (3/13/2008), "The Amazing Word of God -- Updates -- Circumcision, Pigs, Church, Breast-Feeding" (4/16/2009), and "Update -- Vestigial Organs and Circumcision" (8/27/2009).
In the camp of the disobedient, those negatively affected: millions, globally, have died.
In the camp of the obedient, those negatively affected: zero.
(2.) The situation: God commands against the consumption of alcoholic beverages. "Alcohol and Christians" (10/3/2002).
In the camp of the disobedient, those negatively affected: 13,000,000 Americans, and 299,000,000 globally, are alcoholics. One hundred thousand alcohol-related deaths are expected in the U.S., and 2,300,000 globally, are expected this year.
In the camp of the obedient, those negatively affected: zero.(3.) The situation: God strictly commands against fornication of any kind, including bestiality, premarital sex, adultery, homosexuality, etc. "Bestiality" (7/27/2006), "Fornication" (10/4/2007), and "Homosexuality Updated" (2/5/2009).
Those negatively affected in the camp of the disobedient: globally, 1,610,000,000 cases of genital herpes and HPV; 115,000,000 Cases of Chlamydia; 25,300,000 cases of gonorrhea; 23,000,000 cases of HIV; 1,035,000 cases of AIDS each year; 6,900,000 cases of Hepatitis B; and 2,760,000 cases of syphilis.
Those negatively affected in the camp of the obedient: zero, zero, zero, zero, zero, zero.(4.) The situation: God strictly commands against homosexuality, a crime punishable in the scriptures by death. Those shackled by this bondage must turn to Christ for forgiveness and deliverance. The ill effects of this disobedience are very long - very long. For example, the homosexual community is 5,000 times more likely to contract AIDS than their heterosexual brethren, and the male homosexual's life span is 8 to 20 years shorter, with one body of research pegging life expectancy at 41 years.
In the camp of the disobedient, using a global yardstick of 3% of the population being homosexual, those negatively affected: 200,000,000.
In the camp of the obedient, those negatively affected: zero.
Homosexuality Updated -- 2/5/2009
Homosexuality Part II -- 1/11/2007
QandA, Homosexuality -- 11/22/2007
G.P. -- Incest and Homosexuality -- 7/3/2008
Gay Marriage -- 8/28/2008
Homosexuality and a Way of Escape -- 9/4/2008(5.) The situation: God commands His people to go to church, and now this paragraph from the GodSaidManSaid feature, "The Power of Going To Church:"
Hundreds of studies have been, and are presently being, conducted to ascertain whether there is any connection between religious faith and health. Some of the latest results are shocking to the unbelieving world. In 1999, the results of a study conducted by the University of Texas were published. Twenty-two thousand people were followed over a nine-year period. Those who attended church or synagogue more than once a week lived an average of eight years longer than those who didn't. Let me say it another way: those who attended church more than once a week lived 2,920 days or 11% longer than those who didn't.
A Yale study reported that churchgoers were less likely to become physically disabled. In a syndicated article released by Knight Ridder Newspapers it was recorded:Several studies concluded that people who attended religious services regularly are hospitalized less often and have stronger immune systems than people who rarely or never attend. [End of quote]
Let's take these numbers in reverse. Those who go to church more than once a week live 11% or eight years longer. For discussion's sake let us assume that 20% of the U.S. population falls into this category. Here's the math:
300,000,000 U.S. population
times 0.8 (unchurched) equals
240,000,000 peopletimes 8 years lost equals
1,920,000,000 total years lost in AmericaIn the camp of the "unchurched," the aggregate loss of years: 1,920,000,000, and globally: 44,160,000,000 lost years.
In the camp of the "churched," the aggregate loss of years: zero.
If Bible-believing Christians are dumb, what are unbelievers? God's Word is true and righteous altogether. Embrace it with your might. That is G.Q.
GOD SAID, Romans 10:10:
For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
GOD SAID, Hebrews 11:6:
But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
GOD SAID, I Corinthians 1:18-28:
18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
19 For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.
20 Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.
22 For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:
23 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;
24 But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.
25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:
27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
MAN SAID: Low-intelligence adults tend to gravitate toward socially conservative ideologies. Christians are dumb.
Now you have THE RECORD.
References
Authorized King James Version
Pappas, S., "Low IQ & Conservative Beliefs Linked to Prejudice," Yahoo! News, 1/26/2012
