Sinaiticus Goes Cyber

Thanks to the collaborative efforts of scholars around the world, one of the oldest and complete bible manuscripts is being offered to everyone in cyberspace. Referred to as Codex Sinaiticus, it is one of the most important hand-written ancient copies of the Greek Bible dating back to the fourth century.

You can find it online by clicking here.

(Please note: this website will be going through a major upgrade sometime this month. So if the link does not work, just google “Codex Sinaiticus”.)

David Barton coming to Columbus

CCV.org reports that American historian, author and founder of Wall-Builders, David Barton, will be speaking at Genoa Baptist Church on the evening of September 30th. Barton’s main topic will be the Christian’s role in the civic arena, including a clarification, from an historical perspective, of the controversial separation of church and state issue.

Repeating History: Dancing with the Devil

Some Christians say that theology doesn't apply to real life. Here's a case in point that refutes such naïveté.

All on the left of the American political spectrum – and, unfortunately, far too many on the right – think man is basically good. We’re all “sinners,” most agree, but “deep down inside, we are all basically good people.” This view of humanity is aptly called Pelagianism (or Semi-Pelagianism). Interestingly enough, it was the most condemned heresy in Church history. (Not anymore; sadly, we openly embrace it in our churches across America today.) What follows from such empty thinking (Colossians 2:8) in our foreign affairs is the idea that if we just reason with these people (Osama, Hitler) then we will all come to an understanding with each other and can broker peace. Incidently, this is the same approach taken by liberal bureaucrats towards hardened criminals in our prisons. ("They can change" they say with their Oprah worldview. “Impossible!” I say, that is, unless God chooses to do a miraculous work in them.)

Oh, how foolish this approach to evil is! Chamberlain took such an appeasement approach with Hitler. "Peace for our time" the British Prime Minister glibly proclaimed back in 1938. Hitler just smiled and kept on trucking across Europe. Instead of less men dying to stop the German machine by taking proactive steps against the threat, our Allied hesitations, later on led to many more soldiers dying in WWII. (FYI: Almost 10,000 American soldiers died on the beaches of Normandy in one day. Around 3,500 American soldiers have died at this point in the 4 1/2 years of fighting in Iraq.)

I'm afraid we are repeating history. It looks like we are now living in the fall of 1938, as our leaders and media elite continue to ask for one more dance with the devil.

Counting the Cost for the Preservation of Freedom

With Memorial Day just behind us, and the 63rd anniversary of D-Day just days away, I thought it apropos to reflect briefly on what took place in western Europe in the summer of 1944. What began on the beaches of France on the morning of June 6th, and stretched to the River Seine, the Battle of Normandy, as it became known, was the largest offensive waged by Allied forces against Nazism in Europe.

While victory in Europe was insured by this assault, it did not come without a tremendous cost. When the Battle of Normandy ended on August 25, 1944, a total of 29,000 American G.I.s were dead, along with 11,000 British and 5,000 Canadian soldiers. In order to put this into perspective, by comparison, the fighting in Iraq over the last four years has resulted in deaths of 3,487 American soldiers, along with 276 of those from other coalition forces. (source)

We will never forget! (video)

The legacy that inspired the movie, Amazing Grace, lives on!

The new major motion picture Amazing Grace is making quite a stir among moviegoers-churchgoers since its release on February 23rd. This inspirational movie does a masterful job depicting British statesman William Wilberforce’s two-decade-long crusade to end the slave trade in England during the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

Now before you think slavery is a thing of the past, think again. Sadly, it is still a problem of worldwide epidemic proportions. But the good news is we have a new generation of stalwart crusaders of righteousness dedicated to turning this and other similar tides of evil. As author and speaker Kristin Wright describes in her recent Prison Fellowship article, the legacy of William Wilberforce lives on. In fact, as this writer has noticed, Wright herself could be regarded as one of those who possess the same sort of vigor and ideals that Wilberforce embodied, as she strives as an advocate for the persecuted Church around the world. You can learn more about Wright’s organization at www.standtoday.org.

To go to the official Amazing Grace movie website, click here.