GENERALIZATION ABSOLUTES

From My Perspective - - -

For Biblical Christians, the day set aside for remembrance and recognition of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is Easter Sunday (more appropriately – Resurrection Day). It should be a time for reflection upon the heinousness of sin in the sight of Almighty God and the blood sacrifice that was required to satisfy the wrath of God. On this day of observance, the ABC program, This Week, raised a panel discussion question and premise: “Are Evangelicals Out of Touch With Mainstream Views?”

The primary generalization was offered by long-time ABC panelist, Cokie Roberts, who said: “A lot of gay people feel that they are sinners, but not because they're gay. In the last decade, public opinion has swung dramatically on key issues pertaining to gay rights, including gay marriage and adoption. An ABC News/Washington Post poll from March found approval for same-sex marriage at an all-time high: 59 percent of total respondents said they approve, including 75 percent of respondents under 30 years old. While evangelical Christians overall are more likely to disapprove of same-sex marriage, younger evangelicals are nearly split on this issue: 43 percent of evangelicals under 30 years old said they approve of the idea. The same poll also found that a majority of Americans, 61 percent, also now approve of gay adoption. The reason the numbers have changed so fast and so dramatically on this question of gay marriage is because everybody in America now has experience with someone who is gay.” Her generalizations are: (1) based on an ABC Poll, and (2) her conclusion: “…everybody in America now has experience with someone who is gay.” A broader statement was made by both Franklin Graham and Ralph Reed who were representing the current evangelical approach. Graham stated: “gays could go to heaven if they repent. Maybe gays that are watching want to know, 'Can God forgive me? Or can I go to heaven as a gay person? Absolutely. But the same for any of us. We have to repent of our sins in turn. A person cannot stay in adultery and be accepted by God. You'll have to repent…"  

What the ABC Panel chose to omit and failed to recognize in their discussion was the Biblical meaning and intent of Maundy Thursday through Easter Sunday. Three references in the Holy Bible that state God’s Absolute Purpose and Requirement: (1) Hebrews 7:25-27, “…He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them…we…have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners…He has no need, like…high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself.” (2) Hebrews 9:22-28 (referring to God’s Standard and requirement), “…under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins…Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf…He (Jesus Christ) has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.” And (3) Isaiah 53:10-11, “it was the will of the LORD to crush him (Jesus Christ); he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt…Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities (Isaiah 53:6, ‘…the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all...’)” 

In a completely different poll question posed by NBC asked: “Do you believe that the Word God should stay in American culture?” They had the highest Number of responses that they have ever had for one of their polls. The data indicated: 86% to keep the words, IN God We Trust and God in the Pledge of Allegiance, 14% against. Someone and something is illogical in terms of the above statements and polls of both ABC and NBC. Here’s another absolute generalization: Many, perhaps most, church-attending people know what it means to be a Biblical Christian. Take time to measure your belief system with: II Corinthians 5:14-21, Romans 12:1-2, and Colossians 3:1-5. Does your life measure up to God’s standards and requirements? If not, why not? Consider these things with me.