____________________________________________________ THE GOSPEL OBSERVER "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations...teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:19,20). ____________________________________________________ December 1, 1996 ____________________________________________________ "I'm a Victim!" (Mantras #9) by Warren E. Berkley One expression of current moral chaos is, everybody wants to be a victim. Smokers are the victims of tobacco companies; troubled teenagers are the victims of society, working parents or public education; alcoholics are the victims of their genes; women are victims of male abuse and dominance; and most crooks are victims of dysfunctional families. I am not a defender of tobacco companies or abusive men, but I think there is a problem here: nearly everyone feels victimized by some ill-defined abomination. So often, when folks are confronted with their failures, their defense is... ``I'm A Victim!'' Yes, there are true victims. There are outrageous, inhumane and greedy people who use and abuse others without remorse. There are bigots, racists, thieves and child abusers. There are those in the human race who renounce the Lord, are full of cursing, deceit and oppression, and they seek opportunity to murder the innocent. Their eyes ``are secretly fixed on the helpless,'' (see Psalm 10:1-11). Yet, after you have examined your own case and have recognized that you were harmed or mistreated by another, you must find some way to get beyond any anger toward the perpetrator, and do what you must do to get on with your life. In popular parlance this is called ``recovery.'' In the Bible, this is called forgiveness and personal responsibility. The intense preoccupation with victimhood involves two issues which can easily rob us of personal accountability and repentance. 1. False victimization is the manifestation or portrayal of yourself as a victim, when you are really not a victim. Do you remember Tawana Brawley? She made public allegations of racially motivated rape a few years ago. She said she was raped by members of the Ku Klux Klan. It turned out to be concocted and discredited. There was even evidence of political motivations on the part of her advisers. Her motive was, to explain her absence from home, and appease an abusive stepfather. There are stories in the news from time to time of children accusing their parents of abuse when none has occurred. Thus there is the challenge of distinguishing real victims from liars or deceived accusers. Why would someone do this? Some (especially small children who can be easily manipulated and deceived by unethical adults) may simply be deceived; deceived into thinking they were abused when they were not. Others may seek the status of victimhood for fame, sympathy or to hurt someone. 2. Exaggerated victimization is the portrayal of yourself as a victim, along with subtle invitations for sympathy and support rather than dealing with problems you have the capacity to solve. In this second form of victimization, you may really be a victim; someone has mistreated you in some way. But you so overstate your victim status, you minimize your own accountability and responsibility. It seems to me, most cases of exaggerated victimization originate in the desire to avoid personal accountability and entitle the ``victim'' to sympathy, support and reparations. One fear we ought to have about this trend is, our children! Are we breeding a whole generation of excuse-makers and guilt-mongers? Am I A Victim? What Do I Do? A Bible Study (1) Do an objective and serious inquiry into the cause of your trouble. Use the Word of God to enlighten your eyes, discern good and evil and understand your error (Jas. 1:21-25; Heb. 5:14; Psa. 19:7-13). Instead of impulsively jumping on the bandwagon of victimhood, ``look to yourselves,'' as John said (2 Jno. 8,9). (2) If there is a perpetrator, deal with that person. I know, it is easy for me to write this but very hard to carry out. But upon serious reflection you may decide, it is easier to do this than to live with the internal bitterness. Jesus said, ''...Go and tell him his fault between you and him alone...,'' (Matt. 18:15). (3) If you have done something wrong, repent of that and seek the Lord's forgiveness. In your inquiry, if you realize you have sinned, you must confess that, seek forgiveness and activate repentance (See: Acts 8:22; 1 Jno. 1:7-2:2). ``Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up,'' (Jas. 4:10). (4) Seek to know God, and rely upon Him as your comforter. Solomon saw what we see: ''...I returned and considered all the oppression that is done under the sun: And look! The tears of the oppressed, but they have no comforter -on the side of their oppressors there was power, but they have no comforter,'' (Eccl. 4:1). They have no comforter ``under the sun!'' But God ``is in heaven'' and He has the capacity to redeem the oppressed and give them strength (See: Ex. 3:7; Acts 7:34; Psa. 119:134; Psa. 72:14). He is there to be the God of your strength through His beloved Son (Job 36:15; Psa. 12:5; Psa. 43:2; Phil. 4:13 & Romans 8). If you are a victim, deal with your oppression through reliance on the Creator. Don't get lost in the status and sympathy of victimhood. Let Him redeem you, then keep His precepts. -- Via Gary's List ___________________________________________ Do you know someone nearby whom you would like us to discuss the Bible with? Please let us know; we would be happy to help out. ___________________________________________ Is There Room For Both Views? by Dick Blackford Theistic evolution is the so-called ``Christian evolution'' that attempts to hold both a belief in the Bible and a belief in the theory of evolution. It says God used (and is using) evolution to bring everything to its present (and future) state. Actually, this view is more erroneous than organic evolution for it contradicts both the Bible and evolution (which claims to be scientific). It creates gigantic difficulties that are ``ungetoverable.'' It Contradicts The Bible 1. The Bible says every living thing was to reproduce ``after its kind,'' Gen. 1:11,12,21,24,25. Evolution says man went through the changes of the other ``kinds'' (water animals, creeping things, beast, man) before becoming man. How can there be any harmony here? 2. Evolution says life began as a one-celled, non-sexed protoplasm. Jesus said they were male and female from the beginning, Matt. 19:4. Thus, there was never a time when they were non-sexed. The Bible says they were complete when created, but evolution says they were incomplete. 3. The Bible says God spoke the creation into existence. Notice the phrase, ``And God said, let there be....'' And there was! Gen. 1:3,6,9,11,14,20,24,26; Heb. 11:3; Psa. 33:9. Evolution says it is not over yet and that it has already taken billions of years. 4. Seven times ``God saw that it was good'' appears in Genesis 1. These occur at the end of each creative day after there had been an evening and a morning. Then after the whole creation we are told that ``God saw that it was very good,'' Gen. 1:31. How could something that was incomplete and imperfect be ``very good'' in the eyes of God? Was he satisfied with a job undone? Theistic evolution indicts the intelligence and power of God. 5. The Bible says God ``ended the work which he had made (not started), Gen. 2:2. Evolutionists believe evolution is still occurring--that one kind is still changing into another (water animals, fowls, cattle, creeping things, beast, man). 6. Jesus believed and taught the creation account as fact, not myth. He based his teaching of marriage upon the creation, Matt. 19:4-9. There is no overwhelming, compelling reason to turn the creation account into myth. If so, what is it? Of course, we admit that some may do so to undermine the foundation on which Jesus based his teaching on marriage. The humanists who don't want any moral absolutes might feel ``compelled'' to get rid of Genesis but they will be motivated by desire, not evidence. 7. Paul taught the Genesis account as fact. He relied on it as a matter of historical record, Rom. 5:12,14; 1 Cor. 15:22. Secular historians admit that Moses and Jesus were actual historical characters. Yet Paul taught that Adam was just as real as they were. Jesus argued that a rejection of what Moses said is the same as rejecting him (Jesus), Jn. 5:47. What will the theistic evolutionist (who wants to accept both the Bible and evolution) do with that? There are several other points on which evolution contradicts the Bible, making it impossible for the theistic evolution view, but these are some of the most obvious. It Contradicts True Science 1. Both the organic and theistic evolutionists overlook the fact that each specific kind of organism has its own DNA molecular structure, different from every other kind. No higher degree of order or complexity can appear. Thus, evolution from one ``kind'' to another is actually prevented! Variation occurs, but it is horizontal (within ``kinds,'' which harmonizes with creation), not vertical (needed for evolution). 2. Both theories contradict the First Law Of Thermodynamics--the law of energy deterioration (entropy). Everything tends to become less organized, disordered, decay and die. The universe is running down. Evolution sees things progressing, continually building up, increasing organization and development--a slow form of creation from the simplest to more complex forms. These are only a few of the many contradictions between evolution and the Bible and evolution and science. They make it impossible to hold the theistic evolution view. Any ground occupied between truth and error is just another form of error. Theistic evolution is an attempt to mix oil and water! It can't be done. -- Via The Lamplighter ___________________________________________ "But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity" (Micah 5:2). ___________________________________________ NEWS & NOTES Greetings to each of our visitors during this wintry time of year. We are truly glad to have you in our midst this day. Please come again! Do you live in our vicinity and in need of a ride to our services? Just call! If you would like to receive a free home-Bible course, write or call today. ___________________________________________ Sentence Sermons God measures our gifts not by the greatness of them, but by the self-denial they express in giving them. To get the true measure of a man's capacity, note how much more he does than is required of him. It is not success that God rewards but always the faithfulness of doing His will. The greater danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it. God's part we cannot do; our part HE will not do. Too many people are clamoring for freedom to do what ought not to be done. Happy is the man who knows error and lets it alone. -- Selected ________________________________________ Tri-State CHURCH OF CHRIST 713 13th Street, Ashland, Kentucky 41101 Sunday: 10:00 A.M. Bible class 10:50 A.M. Worship 6:30 P.M. Worship Wednesday: 7:30 P.M. Bible study evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (606) 325-9742 e-mail: tedwards@wwd.net ________________________________________