Ponderings from the Horizon Men's Retreat

First weekend in February, I attended a Men's Retreat for my Church, in Murrietta. During the course of the weekend, I was meditating on a video that was shown to me and came up with the below commentary.

Some of the questions that I pondered about while writing this post:

• Secularly, can western civilization assimilate massive numbers of Muslim immigrants into society, and still maintain the values of a culture rooted and founded in Christianity?
• What will happen to Christian values as Western societies are taken over by increasing numbers of Muslims?

Western civilization is about to die a slow death, according to a video shown at the Horizon Men's Retreat. Canada and Europe both have declining birth rates for their native citizenry, but are being augmented by the immigration of Muslims. In Europe the difference in birth rates is 1.38 for native Europeans and 8.1 for the Muslim immigrant population. It is similar for Canada.

If these immigrants are not assimilated, and valued from a secular sense, their rejection can lead to segregation and potentially into militancy. So what is to be done? Will the EU become a sort of Islamic republic? Can western culture assimilate these people or evolve into something which hybridizes the values of these cultures? If majority rules in a democratic country, then is it difficult to believe that a majority might make or influence laws? Ask the homosexual community in California how voters have affected their perceived "rights"? Could militant Islamists have burqas for every woman, genital mutilation, harems? Or are the ideals of Western Society compelling enough to keep freedom ringing?

People with good intentions want to allow for gay marriage, because that seems fair today, or for evolution to dominate education over creationism or intelligent design, or maybe some of the Muslim traditions need to be rolled into our culture, so to make sure everyone is treated equally. Or maybe we just get rid of religion altogether, as some might advocate, but then are we where the Russians were, the Chinese were, and the Cubans are...look how that worked out for them.

In the end, we need to have a basis for our society, and that comes from foundational principles of what is right and what is wrong. For the US, that comes from Christianity. It may not be best for all people, like homosxuals who want to be married, but as we slip away from core values, then everything becomes relative, and who ends up deciding on what is moral or legal, may not be in step with your core values. A lot of people in Afghanistan welcomed the Taliban at first...

Does evil exist in the world? Is there really a Satan? Could it be that evil infects otherwise moral, nice, ethical people through concessions, good intentions, or appeasement? Then before they know what has happened, the evil has become a terminal disease that descends society/culture into chaos and hell on earth? Maybe ask Neville Chamberlain? German citizenry or the Jews in Europe in the late 1930’s early 1940’s? Many in churches today see our society gradually eroding as we give up traditional conservative values and make concessions in the name of political correctness, tolerance, or even “Change we can believe in!”

An Abundant Harvest Coming

• What are Christians doing today to effectively share their faith, even with those they know, love, and work with on a daily basis?

According to Paul Saber, who showed the video, this means that Christians need to be working especially hard at saving the lost souls, and especially the massive numbers in Europe and the Middle East. The influx of new culture does not mean that we as Christians need to give up on our neighbors, but rather that we have the opportunity to help these people understand that they are loved by God and can find salvation through his grace.

Western society cannot, in the secular sense, overcome the advance of the Islamic Republic, especially as we move away from the spiritual foundation of western values. As we compromise our spiritual values, in the name of tolerance, political correctness, or what we "feel" is right, “new” may be created, but is that new thing filled in a spiritual sense with spiritual values acceptable to us as Christians or even as Americans? At what point does the new become a false idol? For instance, does our love of celebrity and acceptance of what was once considered perversion help us to save humanity and accept other cultures as major influences, in this case the Muslim world, or is it offensive and drives them to isolation, marginalization, and to be more open to radical militancy? While the left claims that they are tolerant and it is the religious right who are the source of society's problems, the degradation of culture and thought to accept things that our against our foundational principles as a Christian nation may be more of a threat to western society than the perception of intolerance by the religious right. What will have to be compromised to assimilate Muslims, or will it be that they just make Western societies into what they want based on democratic process and their sheer numbers alone? What are you prepared to give up as a Christian should conservative/radical/militant/orthodox/sunni/shia Islam begins to define your society?

Saber's main point in showing this video was to express that as a Christian our purpose is the "harvesting of lost souls", and there are lots of them coming. I believe that we need to begin within our personal spheres of influence, so that we can bring the underlying principle values of society back to the foundation, which is the rock of the Bible, not the sand of multi-culturalism, tolerance, or political correctness. We need to get over the fear of insulting someone or from shame for the beliefs of Christians are not cool. Actions speak louder than words it is true, but the Word is what needs to be heard. For the good of mankind and the people that we know, they need to learn from us the path to salvation, and the consequences of sin.

From a secular sense, obviously our freedom as Americans allows us to practice any religion, and as Christians we have the right to free speech to allow us to spread the Word. I do not believe that I can save a single person, every person must save themselves. However, they have to understand how to save themselves and the consequences for choosing to forsake God. In the end we can only spread the word and hope that people will use their free will to male a decision for God's love.

Although there are many, and some who follow this blog, who believe that Christians are acting out of small mindedness and restricting freedom, when they are preaching the "good news" but most Christians feel that they are acting out of love for mankind. Again, so long as you hear what Jesus has to offer, it is up to you individually to decide what to do about it. Modifications to and changes to the Word based on culture can be a dangerous slide, if in fact the Bible is correct. Maybe it has been happening for centuries...You can read the DaVinci Code, the Last Templar, or other books by people who are anti-Church and want Christianity to be something different than what is based in the Bible. Maybe Christmas Trees or the time of the year that Christmas is celebrated comes from some pagan winter solstice ceremony, maybe there are missing parts of the Bible, but maybe not. Maybe the end times are near, and maybe the way to Salvation is spelled out in the Bible, and maybe we should be doing more to make sure everyone knows how to get there.