by Caleb Moore | May 19, 2016
Philosopher J.P Moreland once attended a gay pride lecture where a Lesbian woman was discussing the moral issues facing the LGBT community. During her lecture, she happened to look out into the audience and notice Moreland in the crowd. Apparently she recognized him, which is not uncommon, since he had been very vocal in defending the Christian views of morality to this community. She stopped her talk and began to tell a story aimed directly at this Christian apologist.
She told him, “I returned home after weeks of travel the other day. My girlfriend greeted me at the airport, and with great excitement, we ran towards each other and hugged in a loving embrace. On the ride home, I got to tell her of all the great stories of love and hope that I had experienced while on the road. When I got home, she surprised me by having my favorite meal ready to eat. After we finished, we sat around the table discussing with much hope and joy our plans for the future. Our love is so strong, it seems as though our hearts and minds are connected.” After recounting this experience, she turned and looked at Mr. Moreland and asked, “Who are you to deny me this love?”
The crowd erupted into applause and cheering. Although her argument presented nothing more than her own experience, to that crowd what she presented was just as good as some scientific validation of their worldview. J.P Moreland politely asked if he could tell a story as well. She welcomed what she thought would be some moronic response that would only strengthen the validity of her previous statement.
Mr. Moreland began by saying he would like to tell a similar story. “Jack was 65 and had been traveling for weeks. When he got home, he was greeted by his boyfriend Teddy who was 13. Teddy had taken the bus all the way to the airport so that he could greet Jack. The two ran to each other and hugged with excitement. When they got home Teddy had prepared Jack’s favorite meal. They watched their favorite movie together and talked about the future with hope and excitement.” As he was finishing J.P. Turned towards the woman who just moments ago had captivated the crowd with her story and asked, “Would you deny them their love?”
Visibly upset, she grabbed the microphone and scowled at him. “That is disgusting. Are you trying to compare us to that old pedophile and that young boy?”
“My goal,” stated J.P, “was to show that you too have boundaries you think should not be crossed. Although you say people should be free to love whomever they want, you do not really believe that yourself. If you were to suggest that a 13-year-old is too young to know better I could simply claim that you are guilty of age discrimination.”
Everyone has lines they think should not be crossed. A person who approves of every behavior cares about nobody. In talking with a humanist friend the other day, they mentioned that there are certain people whose sexual attractions are mental disorders. On what basis could they make this determination? Was this person not born with these desires? Was this person not free to love in whatever way they wanted to? Liberalism cannot answer such challenges and self-destructs under the weight of its enormous contractions.
As Mr. Moreland demonstrated, this is not hard to do. Simply use the same arguments and sound bites propagated by the LGBQT community and replace the characters with something they might find offensive. And since being offended seems to be a national past time for some, you should not have to wait long. When they approach you with their disgust and ask, “How dare you?” simply show them, that they do not believe their own argument. And if their same argument can be used to support something they find disgusting, then the flaw is not in my morality but their justification.
Culturally-based morality is an ever moving goal post. It has no foundation in any real reality that can be measured objectively. My hope in pointing this out is not to enflame hatred or bigotry, but to help them understand that the reason I’m not in their boat is because it is full of holes.
by Caleb Moore | Apr 12, 2016
I recently returned from a trip to Salt Lake City where I had the pleasure of speaking at a local Christian church that is comprised of many former Mormons. I also spent some time with one of my Mormon friends. After grabbing a quick bite, he suggested we attend the priesthood conference. In Mormonism they have an annual gathering that is comprised of several different events. The main event is the general conference where the LDS Prophet speaks. There are events just for women and events just for the men. The men only meeting is called the Priesthood session, and we were able to score some tickets that had fantastic seats.
Some of you might know people who are a part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, also called Mormons. In casual conversation, their faith can sound exactly like ours on many levels. However, the more you get to the foundations of their beliefs you begin to see their Jesus is not the same Jesus of Scripture, and their God is nothing more than a glorified man who had a god before him. They are some of the nicest people you will meet, but that does not negate the fact that they are polytheists who have a work based salvation.
The first speaker at the conference was Russell M. Nelson. He is one of the 12 apostles in Mormonism and a former heart surgeon. Early in his career he lost two young girls during surgery who had heart conditions. He was always saddened by their loss and later learned that the family had some resentment towards him. As he began to speak, he told the story of how these two young girls, many years later, visited him in a vision one night. He said he heard their voices “spiritually,” and they cried out to him “Brother Nelson, we are not sealed to anyone! Can you help us?”
In Mormonism, children need to be sealed to their parents in order to live with them in one of their three levels of heaven. Since this can seem confusing to non-Mormons, here is what they say on their website:
“While on earth, we can make sacred covenants (promises) with God in the holy temple through priesthood authority. Among these covenants is the opportunity for husbands and wives to be sealed (married for eternity) and their children to be sealed to them. This means that if we keep our covenants with the Lord and each other, death cannot permanently separate us. This sealing ordinance is an essential part of our Heavenly Father’s plan for us to live with Him eternally.”
Russell Nelson was moved by the pleas of these little girls, so he went to the father who was now 88 years old. He said, “I spoke of his daughters’ pleadings and told him I would be honored to perform sealing ordinances for his family. I also explained that it would take time and much effort on his and Shawn’s part to be ready and worthy to enter the temple, as neither of them had ever been endowed.”
As I heard these words sadness filled my heart that soon turned to anger. Could I have heard that right? Did he just say that this 88-year-old man would have to work hard just so that a ceremony could be performed that would allow his innocent little girls to be with him in heaven? I began to take as many notes as possible because I could not believe what he was saying.
He continued, “They worked diligently with their stake president, bishop, home teachers, and ward mission leader, as well as with young missionaries and a senior missionary couple… They were willing to submit to guidance from their priesthood leaders so that the Atonement of Jesus Christ could purify and magnify them.”
All of this work so that he would be worthy to enter into a temple where a ceremony could be performed just so that these two little girls could find peace in the afterlife. He even went so far to say that the atonement of Jesus could not purify them until these steps had been taken.
In closing he encouraged the men in a room that sat 21,000 people to work hard as well, so that they can stay worthy. I was in shock. I thought to myself, what kind of monster is this god? What kind of being would forbid two innocent little girls from entering into his presence simply because their father didn’t pass the test and perform a ceremony. Tithing is required in order to be temple worthy so it is fair to say that this man had to pay a price in order to allow his daughters into heaven. In Mormonism, salvation literally costs money. With that kind of theology hanging over your head, it’s easy to see how the Mormon Church can afford the $3 billion mall they built in downtown Salt Lake City. Such things are bought with blood money much like the early catholic cathedrals.
Can you imagine worshiping a god where salvation must be earned and bought? Can you imagine losing two infant girls and knowing their peace rested upon you? Even though these girls would have made it to one of the lower levels of the Mormon Heaven (they have three levels), they would not have been with God and likely not have been with their families. Can you imagine being told that the atonement does not purify you unless you keep all the commandments?
I have studied their faith for years. I know it well. But it never fails to shock me and break my heart when I watch all these men, all wearing the same white shirts, agreeing with their apostle and prophet that the work of Jesus is simply not enough.
Their conference center is a wonder of architecture. It is 1.4 million square feet and cost over $240 million to build. Music is sent throughout the building through a giant organ with 7,667 pipes. My friends, the entrance to hell is not a cemetery, it is a cathedral. All these men, all dressed the same, following their false prophet straight to the grave. If you have friends who are Mormon, now is the time to lovingly engage them in the Gospel. They need to hear of the free grace of Jesus Christ.
by Caleb Moore | Mar 7, 2016
A few days ago a few pictures of President Obama surfaced that put a spotlight on his interaction with kids. One of these pictures was especially powerful. The first African-American president reaching out with compassion and touching the face of a young African-American boy.
Now I’m not so politically driven that I think these are fake or that he doesn’t really care about kids. My Bible tells me to respect my leaders and to pray for those in positions of authority. Despite all the areas where I differ with our president, I do not think he is a person full of hate whatsoever.
He is the President but also a husband and a father, and it is safe to say that he loves his kids and those kids in the pictures. These pictures were so powerful that the hash tag #obamaandkids went viral. The day the photos circulated, I found myself lying awake in bed, and the weight of my thoughts was physically evident to my wife. She asked me what was wrong, and the only way I knew how to respond was to simply say, “The world breaks my heart.”
How could photos of our president being nice to kids break my heart you might ask? It’s rather simple and difficult at the same time. I always try hard to see things through the eyes of others, especially when I might disagree with them. I’m not so closed off as to believe that I am always right on any given position. But when it comes to how “liberals” (for lack of a better term) view children, I just cannot make the dots connect.
There is no doubt that many liberals truly love children. However, I cannot understand how the president can have such compassion and sympathy for kids at one moment and yet defend abortion-on-demand in the next. I cannot see how those two ideologies can co-exist.
Those with liberal views typically want better healthcare for kids, better schools for kids, better opportunities for kids, but somehow within all that compassion, the support for the physical murder of children inside the mother’s womb is even more passionately defended.
It is no longer a question of science regarding when human life begins. Those issues have been settled. We can hear the heartbeat now inside of the womb, we can see the eyelids and fingers as an 8-week-old baby sucks its thumb. The idea that this baby is just a clump of cells is inconceivable (are we not all just clumps of cells?). Why go to such efforts to dehumanize a child? Most women find out they are pregnant 4-8 weeks into the child’s development when the heart beat can be clearly heard and the spine is formed, transferring signals of pain to that child’s brain.
What I have been struggling to understand is the level of cognitive dissonance required to love life and equality so vocally on one issue yet in the same breath defend a woman’s right to kill her child if she so chooses. (And I don’t use words like “kill” or “murder” to manipulate or frame the argument in my favor; it’s just a reality that when we willingly stop the development of another human being, whether that human is 6 years old or 6 weeks old, we are taking an innocent life.)
I think the best way for me to understand their position is to take a closer look at postmodernism. The 1960s and 70s produced a generation railed against authority, rejecting what was perceived as oppressive rules of morality regarding love, gender, religion, sex, and just about everything else. It was never replaced with anything, nor was a standard for morality ever agreed upon. This left a void at a very foundational level that has never been replaced.
Postmodernism is a term used to describe the mindset made famous by the singer Sheryl Crow that says, “If it makes you happy, it can’t be that bad.” Postmodernism determines truth not by sound debate or evidence but by feelings. Postmodernism is like a tyrant king who can’t defend his actions, so he has to implement them by force. We see this on many fronts.
If you want to have a conversation about something as serious as abortion, you might be accused of hating women’s rights. If you want to talk about the importance of marriage, you run the risk of being called “homophobic.” Since these people to which I refer have thrown away the absolute moral law of God, we must now accept every ideology as equal, less they be labeled as a hypocrite themselves. This is why we see, at the extreme ends, “a white women demanding to be treated as a black woman because they ‘identify as black.’”
Even recently I saw a woman in England who identified as a cat and demanded to be treated as a cat. Postmodernism has to support these extremes because they have thrown out any tool that might be used to counter such idiocy. Now, this can be comical to think about when it comes to people wanting to marry their cousins, but when it comes to people wanting to kill children, then for me, the laughing stops real quick.
I know all too well that Margret Sanger started Planned Parenthood because she believed in social genocide and believed that black people were a weaker race that needed to be exterminated. We can try to sweep those things under the rug because facts don’t matter when it comes to postmodernism, only feelings. And if people feel like they should be allowed to kill kids then who are we to say otherwise? You can never take liberal thinking to its core ideological roots in a consistent way, because it has not roots or moral foundation. It cannot be defended in the public square so it must be defended by vilifying the opposition with name-calling and hate speech.
This insanity is so wide spread that universities are teaching that truth and morality are relative, and then suddenly display outrage when someone disagrees with their truth and morality. You can’t have it both ways.
When I see the picture of Obama and the little black boy, I don’t see compassion; I see a little boy who survived, despite the efforts of the man touching his face to make sure that if his mother had so chosen, she could have killed him before he even had a chance at life. That little boy is a survivor of a broken system.
Reports suggest that some 15 million African-American kids have been aborted since 1973. That means around 1,800 children are aborted every day. So that little boy, he is most definitely a survivor, as is President Obama. Despite ever effort of the world to keep them from having a full life, they have made it. The opposition wants you to think it is because of their efforts, but the truth is, they made it because Christian values still have a foundation for morality despite every effort to weaken and destroy it by postmodern thinking. Where Christianity has spread throughout history life has been valued, freedom has increased, schools have been started, women have been elevated, and slaves have been set free. Of course there are instances of great failure by those who claim to be Christian, but because our foundation is beyond man’s ability to legislate away the self-correcting nature of Christianity always pulls us forward.
The hand of our president, which so compassionately reached out and touched that young boy’s face, is tainted because of the loss of innocent unborn life. We all share in that shame. Those who support it, and those who are silent – we all share in that great guilt.
Of course “black lives matter,” even in the womb. Children matter, even in the womb. Women have equal rights, even in the womb. If it is wrong to do it to a child outside the womb then it is wrong to do it to a child inside the womb. As I roll over to sleep and look at my bride, nine months pregnant with our second child, I fear I will not be able to protect my son from such a violent world. I fear that he might elevate feelings over truth. I fear that he will be exposed to so much violence at a young age that he will grow numb to it all.
I sometimes dream of buying some land to raise my kids in isolation. I want to protect them from a world gone mad, foaming at the mouth as it seeks to devour all the innocence that is left. I see the photos from the ultrasound of my son taped to the mirror in our bedroom, showing his development. And my heart breaks knowing that it would have been totally within the law to have killed that small little boy. That clump of cells? That is my son, your son, your daughter, even you.
Arise, O LORD, do not let man prevail; Let the nations be judged before You (Psalm 9:19).
by Caleb Moore | Feb 12, 2016
As a youth pastor and preacher I have seen lots and lots of people make a decision to follow Christ. It is always an exciting moment to witness. They are full of joy and hope as they confess Jesus as the new Lord over their life. I do my best to explain that their old self is gone, and they now have a new heart and mind, thanks to what Jesus did on the cross.
For a while, they are on fire, and their resolve seems like it will never fade. However, the ghost of the “old self” comes creeping back into their lives, and before long they find themselves in the same situation that caused them to cry out to God in the first place.
I’m guilty of this as well. We often turn to God when we feel like we have reached rock bottom, but as soon as He pulls us up and we are on solid ground, we dust ourselves off and say, “Thanks Jesus! I’ll take it from here.”
So I want to give some advice to the new believer that is even useful for those of us who have been following Christ for a long time.
1. The struggle to stay committed
The emotions someone experiences when they first become a Christian are overwhelming. It’s such a relief when the burden of sin is lifted. Some, however, have a hard time when that initial feeling fades.
That’s because their expectation is to retain that feeling forever. I experience the same thing when I do marriage counseling. A couple that used to base their relationship entirely on the warm fuzzy emotions they had when they were dating tend to struggle when that feeling fades.
This is why commitment is so much more important than excitement. Enjoy the great feeling of relief that Christ brings, but do not confuse that with Christ himself. Being a follower of Jesus is a commitment, not just a temporary emotion. This is why it is so important to surround yourself with mature believers who have a solid understanding of theology.
2. The struggle to learn good theology so you can avoid bad theology
Don’t let the word “theology” scare you. I know it sounds like something that is the job of a pastor, but everyone is a theologian. Theology just means the study of God.
Everyone has an opinion on what they think the Bible says or what they think God should do for you, but opinions have no authority. Let God teach you what it looks like to follow Him through His word.
If a preacher is constantly telling you that God wants to make you happy and rich and take away all your troubles, then you should run. That person is not telling you the full truth and is only selling a selfish gospel where God is more of a genie in a lamp then your Lord and Master. Our world is full of bad preachers who prey upon good people. Some of the most famous and most popular preachers around today do not teach solid biblical teachings.
So how do you learn to tell the difference? It’s really simple. Check to see if the verses they use are being used in context. Does that verse really say what they say it means? Are they trying to make the Bible all about you or all about God? We are not the heroes in the Bible. God is.
3. The struggle to pray without fear
When you are a new believer there are not many things that can scare you as being called on to pray in public, especially if you’re a teenager. Or if you are an adult, praying with your spouse or family for the first time can be a scary thing to attempt. Your mind rushes about fearing you might say the wrong words, or look awkward as you talk to God.
I have never met a Christian who has actually judged someone for trying to pray. For the most part, that insecurity has no base in reality. And the beautiful thing is, there is no such thing as the “right words” to say.
Just start talking to God. Call him Jesus, Father, Dad, whatever you want, whatever is natural, just let it flow. But even more important, pray all the time. Make it a habit to wake up and pray about your day. Ask God to use you and mold you, ask Him for direction and grace.
Pray when you’re driving, just talk to Him as though He is sitting right next to you. Pray before you go to bed. Thank Him, bug Him with petty request that you think might be too small for God to care about, because the truth is, He cares about it all. There is no prayer too small or too silly. God loves to hear from His children, and prayer is essential milk for a newly born believer.
4. The struggle of letting go of your old self
Do not try to bring your old self into your new relationship with God. The way of the world that you have been living in for most of your life has its own set of rules and morals. Ideas about sex, sexuality, money, success and self-worth are not based upon a Godly worldview but are often in conflict with what God teaches.
It’s healthy to wrestle and try to understand why God commands what He does in these areas. It’s not about blindly following these new set of guidelines but trying to understand why God approves of some things and warns against others. Some of the teachings of scripture seem so out of place and outdated in today’s society, but perhaps society has not improved on these issues as much as it claims to have done.
I encourage you to seek good advice and read good books before making a stand in areas that go against what God teaches.
by Caleb Moore | Jan 13, 2016
I recently heard Bible scholar Dr. Michael Heisner say that when Paul went into a town he searched two places, the synagogue and the jail. He did this because he knew he would start at one and end up in the other. Paul knew just how confrontational the message of the cross would be.
There is a popular phrase that circulates around churches that says you may be the only Bible someone ever reads. Meaning, your life should reflect the Gospel to others. However, people are not going to come to faith by osmosis, simply because you were kind to them or gave the homeless guy by your office your jacket. Without a doubt, these are Godly actions, but they are not the full Gospel.
I see in scripture that Jesus commanded his disciples to go out, two by two and call people to repentance. He then told them that if the people do not want to hear it, shake the dirt off of your sandals at their doorstep and go somewhere else. I personally cannot think of anything more confrontational then calling someone to repentance. It can feel like a dagger of betrayal or hate speech to the person on the receiving end. But the call to repentance is the message that Jesus sends his disciples out to teach.
We see very little of this from the pulpit or personal interactions with Christians today. I have had many neighbors that I had hoped would come to Jesus simply because they knew I was a Christian and that I was a nice guy. I regret the fact that I have moved, never knowing whether or not they were saved simply because I didn’t have the courage to ask. Often times we confuse our morality with the Gospel. We assume that by living a good life others are going to be attracted to that, and we hope they will ask us first so we can gladly proclaim the Gospel. It’s wonderful when this happens, but we must never forget that morality is not the Gospel. Repentant faith in Jesus as Lord and God is the Gospel. That is why confrontation is so important.
Confrontation brings clarity to ambiguous spiritual talk. Relational ministry is important, but we should never sacrifice the Gospel for the sake of ministry. If you have read this far, you might be squirming a bit in your seat because we have been engrained with the idea that we should avoid confrontations at all cost. The term brings up visions of mean Bible thumpers or nuns with a ruler ready to slap our hands. But confrontation is necessary anytime truth is being discussed.
Truth by very definition separates itself from lies. That is why when Jesus sends out the disciples he instructs them to call people to repentance. He does not tell them to go and make friends for a few years and hope someone asks them about the bumper sticker on the back of their camel. He tells them to go and confront sinful people with their sinfulness. Confrontation can be done in such a way that it doesn’t come across as hateful. Think of the story of Jesus meeting the woman at the well. He is kind but also very confrontational. He mentions that she has had many husbands and is currently with a man she isn’t married to. We know from the context that she came to the well at that time most likely to avoid the very type of conversation Jesus intended to have. We can imagine that she had been confronted before by family and friends about her lifestyle.
Just from my own experience there were times before I was saved that simply waking up and looking in the mirror I was confronted with the reality of my sinfulness. But Jesus did not just confront her illness; he treated her spiritual sickness. A doctor always has to diagnose the problem before he can prescribe a cure.
If we are going to make any attempt at following the example of Jesus and the disciples then confrontation must be a part of that. It is a necessary act of love that is uncomfortable for many. And it should be uncomfortable, to a degree, because we are laying out the sinfulness that a person already knows they have deep down in their heart. But we are not laying it bare, so that we can mock them, we expose the wounds so that we may treat them.
So, have you ever actually asked your neighbors, “Do you know Jesus and have you repented of sins and made him Lord?” Without godly boldness and loving confrontation, we do not give the Gospel the clarity it deserves.