Have you considered the
possibility that it may have been easier for a family to survive on one income
in previous decades because people in general were satisfied with less and did
not require as many things and luxuries to be happy, and it was easier to find
a woman that wants to marry to love and be loved and be a homemaker and is not
in love with money and possessions?
The letter J was
originally the consonantal I and used for both the Y sound and the more popular
J sound, which is why the letter J has a Y sound in some English words, such as
Hallelujah, Jaeger, and Jehovah. The letter V was used for both the U and V sounds
and the distinction was not made until the Middle Ages, and the English letter
W is a descendant of the letter V, and V is used for the W sound in some
Medieval English words, such as Jehovah.
It is argued the
J-E-H-O-V-A-H is a more accurate translation of the Tetragrammaton than L-O-R-D
or G-O-D in all upper-case letters as it is usually rendered in the KJV. The
problem with that argument is there is no completely accurate way to translate
the Hebrew Tetragrammaton into another language.
The phrase “politically
correct” first appeared in America in the 1930s to describe dogmatic adherence
to a totalitarian ideology (e.g., communism & fascism). Being correct means
free from error, in accordance with facts or truth, making it obvious that “political
correctness” is an obvious form of tyranny.
I am old enough to
remember when the only restriction on speech in the workplace and other places
was foul language and dirty jokes in mixed company or around people who prefer
not to hear that. That's courtesy and should not require a rule.
Over the years I've noted
that the people quickest to register a complaint about an opinion routinely
verbalize opinions that I find offensive or disagree with, but I'm not a
crybaby. Think about it: if you really are traumatized because someone expresses
an opinion that differs from your own, then you either need therapy or just
need to grow up.
Too many HR Departments either don't know or don't care that for years leftist/liberal groups have been instructing their people to look for opportunities to make such complaints against conservatives and otherwise try to get conservatives fired. This is a convenient weapon, as everyone in a typical workplace comes from different backgrounds, experiences, cultures, preferences, traditions, and belief systems, which makes it impossible to say anything that cannot be misinterpreted or otherwise considered offensive by someone. Those who report that they were offended by words should be asked: "How did so-and-so respond when you told him this bothers or offends you?"
The Historical Origin of ‘Political Correctness’
Has the media persuaded you to accept unscriptural and wrong
teachings, theories, and ideas? You might be surprised. Try applying these
questions to specific beliefs and issues, including beliefs and issues you
consider settled:
·
Have you personally studied or researched
this belief or issue? (Acts 17:11; 1 Thessalonians 5:21; 2 Timothy 2:15; note
that occasionally science will appear to contradict Scripture UNTIL you ask or
look for hard evidence.)
·
What would be your response if an
unbeliever asked you why you believe this? (2 Timothy 2:14-15; 3:16-17)
·
How important is this in relation to other
matters and what Bible truths and principles or standards apply? (Matthew
23:24; Romans 14; 2 Thessalonians 5:21; 1 Timothy 1:5-7)
·
Is this what the Bible says, or is this
what someone thinks the Bible ought to say? (Proverbs 30:5-6; Isaiah 29:13;
Matthew 15:9)
·
Was this true in the distant past and will
this still be true in the distant future? (Psalm 33:11; 119:89; Proverbs 19:21;
Ecclesiastes 1:9-10)
·
What is the origin of this teaching or
belief? Can you verify this with Scripture or is it necessary to use the
arguments of the world? (Psalm 33:10; Romans 12:2; 1 Corinthians 1:20; 2:5;
Colossians 1:9; 2:8)
Now consider your response to:
• What standards or factors should determine whether
two unmarried Christians of the opposite sex should date or marry? (Not saying
there aren’t any or that your opinions don’t matter.) Food for thought: Pursue Complementarity, Not Compatibility
• Is it immoral or dangerous for first cousins to
marry? (Incidentally, the USA is the only country with restrictions against
first cousin marriage, and those States that restricted it did so based on
claims and data that were later disproved.)
• How long should youths be required to attend school, and how old should they be before allowed to marry? Food for thought: Does the Bible say what is the proper age for marriage? Abolish Adolescence! Childish labor laws
• Is incompatibility grounds for divorce? (Ironically,
several extensive secular studies concluded that the differences usually blamed
for incompatibility are not problems for married couples that share the same
religious and moral values.) Food for thought: What are biblical grounds for divorce?
• Should a Christian date or marry someone hoping to lead them to the Lord or change them? (If dating evangelism or marriage evangelism were effective methods of evangelism the Bible would not warn against becoming unequally yoked.) Food for thought: Is missionary dating a good idea? Can God use it? Is it right for a Christian to date or marry a non-Christian? Why is finding true love so difficult?
• Is adultery ever justified or acceptable? Food for
thought: What does the Bible say about adultery?
• Is it immoral for a couple to live together before
marriage? (What about the argument that the sexual union turns illicit
cohabitation into marriage? The Bible does not say or imply that a mere sexual
relationship constitutes a marriage, and it does not justify cohabitation
without marriage. 1 Corinthians 6:16 is merely pointing out that sexual
intercourse is always significant and there is no such thing as casual sex.
Though the Samaritan woman Christ met at the well had been married five times,
Christ made it clear that she was not married to the man she currently lived
with. {John 4:16-18} While the Bible does not give an explicit description of a
marriage ceremony, marriages and divorces have always required a formal and
legal commitment. In Bible times marriages, divorces, and births were publicly
made known and recorded in the official records of the community, which is why
we have an accurate genealogy of Jesus Christ. Romans 13:1 does not say to be
subject unto the higher powers except when it comes to registering marriages
and divorces, and both Testaments teach that a couple is to already be married
before cohabitation.) Food for thought: Why is living together before marriage considered living in sin?
• Is a person ‘born gay,’ or is homosexuality learned
behaviour? (What is the hard evidence that homosexuality is an inherited trait
and not distorted love needs? What is the hard evidence that there is such a
thing as homosexual orientation? What is the hard evidence that homosexuality
is an immutable characteristic?) Food for thought: Can a person be born gay?
• Is gender a social construct or biological? (What is the hard evidence that some biological males are females, and some biological females are males?) Food for thought: Can a person be born with the wrong gender? Is there a difference between sex and gender, biblically speaking?
• How should Christians handle disputes and settle differences? Food for thought: What does the Bible say about conflict resolution? How should Christians handle disputes (Matthew 18:15-17)?
The questions could continue, but you should see the point.
Remember, the Bible
encourages you to use your mind. (Proverbs 2:3-11; consider Romans 12:2;
Colossians 2:8; I Thessalonians 5:21; Hebrews 5:14) Propaganda is merely information
in favour or support of a cause or viewpoint and can be good or evil, honest or
dishonest, and informative or misleading; the danger is that propaganda serves
the function of self-delusion in the absence of critical thinking.
“And the children of
Israel took all the women of Midian captives, and their little ones, and took
the spoil of all their cattle, and all their flocks, and all their goods.”
(Numbers 31:9) “But all the women children, that have not known a man by lying
with him, keep alive for yourselves.” (Numbers 31:18)
(I read a comment on
Facebook in which a woman claimed that the Bible is perverted and in Numbers 31
God allowed Israelite men to marry prepubescent girls, so I decided to write
this.)
There was a time when I
thought Numbers 31 was a case of Israelite men letting their lust cloud their
judgement, and I have come across commentaries that claim these men were
perverted. Over time I came to realise that those women were considered good potential
wives because those women were virtuous. Allow me to explain.
Consider the events
leading up to the battle of Numbers 31:
• The Israelites were close to the end of their
Wilderness Journey and close to entering Canaan. (Numbers 22)
• The king of the Moabites, Balak, conspired with the
Midianites to launch a hostile campaign against the Israelites. Numbers 22)
• Balak hired the prophet Balaam to curse the
Israelites. When the curses failed Balaam advised Moabite and Midianite leaders
to infiltrate the Israelite camp and corrupt them from within through sexual
deception. (Numbers 22-25)
• God judged the Israelites for their idolatry and
immorality and 24,000 Israelites died in the plaque. (Numbers 25:9)
• God told Moses to kill the Midianites. (Numbers
25:17-18)
When considering why the Israelites were told to
preserve these Midianite virgins, here are a few points to keep in mind:
• Total annihilation was normally reserved for the Canaanites. Midian was not in Canaan, but their idolatry, their hiring Balaam to curse Israel, their luring the Israelites into sin, and their alliance with Amorites brought the Midianites under the curse of Canaan, and killing all the males had the effect of wiping out the people of Midian. (Joshua 13:21; Food for thought: Why did God command the genocide of the Canaanites? Why were the virgins spared from being killed? )
• Before the battle they did not have the option of
leaving home and assimilating into the camp of Israel.
• The word rendered “children” (Hebrew: Taph) in
Numbers 31:18 can refer to prepubescent children, but not necessarily. Taph
basically signifies the members of a nomadic tribe that cannot march or can
only march to a limited extent, the weaker ones.
• In Bible times girls were normally married in their early teens. The girls considered marriageable would have been taken as wives
and the younger ones were taken into families until they were of age to marry. Does the Bible say what is the proper age for marriage?
• The Canaanite Baalism practiced by Midianites
required “women children” to lose their virginity through temple prostitution
as an act of worship to pagan deities. (Why were they still virgins? Read between the lines.)
The main appeal of young
women is the assumption that there is less likelihood of emotional baggage and
a high body count. Also, a working man inevitably comes across A LOT of
"grown" women (even middle-aged and older) that are big babies who never
grew up, and this can make anyone wonder why a young woman's age is an issue to
anyone.
Have you considered the possibility that it may have been easier for a family to survive on one income in previous decades because people in...
