Sunday, March 26, 2017

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SENSITIVITY: TRAINING OR INDOCTRINATION?

          According to Wikipedia, the definition of sensitivity training is “a form of training with the goal of making people more aware of their own prejudices and more sensitive to others.  Interrelated with the subject of sensitivity training are the concepts of social justice which is also defined as: “social justice is based on the concepts of human rights and equality, and can be defined as ‘the way in which human rights are manifested in the everyday lives of people at every level of society’”; “justice in terms of distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society.”  One of the greatest problems incorporated within these concepts is that few have been tested to determine if they are compliant with the eternal truth of the word of God, or are they simply created to push the agenda of mankind, as if there is no eternity but only life in this temporary realm to be considered?  If, in your opinion, there is no God or eternal life, but only this present world, then perhaps reading past this point may be a futile effort on your part.  As for me, as a believer, God has directed me as His servant to tell others about Him to the best of my ability.  Not to do so would be disobedience on my part.  How others choose to respond, is upon them. 
   
          Have you ever pondered in your heart about the ethical or spiritual value and content of truth contained within either of these concepts?  What is its real purpose, and intended or unintended consequences within society?  On the surface, they both appear to be founded upon good and worthwhile foundations which are meant to help us to be kinder, more compassionate, thoughtful, and considerate of the feelings of others.  However, if we delve into their applications in the daily lives of a society, we may find that there are much deeper and more sinister motives just below the surface.  This is my question; considered all together, do these concepts really intend to promote more consideration of one another’s feelings, or is the ultimate goal to desensitize us to the existence and destruction of sin in our lives?  Is it meant to make us conform to man’s opinions over and above what God proclaims to be right and wrong?  The bottom line, as I see it, is that this is a ploy of Satan to get mankind to equate himself as his own god, responsible and accountable only unto himself.

          Many of the concepts asserted under the guise of teaching us to be more sensitive to others are only half truths.  We must keep in mind that a half truth is a lie that contains just enough truth to deceive the hearer and hide the lie within.  Often these concepts are intended to take away from the freedom and rights of the individual, to make them subservient to the control and oppression of the group.  By their very secular humanistic nature of being collective, group centered, and man centered, the concepts are destructive to the very foundations of the Christian faith.  At its core, Christianity is not a “group think” philosophy, but rather a personal relationship between Jesus Christ and the individual who chooses to believe on Him and receive Him as his “personal” Lord and Savior.  Jesus looks upon the heart and saves each person individually.  There is no such thing as collective or universal salvation.  Any time man exerts his own opinions, instead of the truth of God, the result is not going to be order, but chaos, confusion, lawlessness, and worse.

          I repeat, there is one big factor which is most often left out of both sensitivity training and the concepts of social justice.  That basic factor is God, and His nature of being both a loving and just God.  If we want the loving part of His nature, we must also accept His right to have authority over us and our responsibility to hold ourselves accountable unto His judgment.  What does that mean?  In short, if we truly love Him with all our heart, mind, and strength, we will choose to obey Him, understanding that our disobedience will have consequences.  That is not to infer that if we do something wrong that God is going to bring down His hammer as demonstrated by the attitude of “God’s gonna getcha for that!” God loves us enough to see to it that, for our own good, we don’t continue to do wrong without a penalty with the purpose of getting us to turn away from that which can only bring harm. 

          When a child disobeys his parents, don’t they have a responsibility to exercise both authority and judgment in order to administer discipline, that the child may learn how to live his life in safety and not harm?   Hasn’t God provided His word that we may be guided by the most effective principles known to exist in this world?  If a child is taught not to play with fire, but disobeys, will he not then learn “the hard way” when he suffers the injury(penalty) of touching that fire?  If our earthly parents love us enough to teach us, one way or another, that obedience helps prevent harm and disobedience will bring harm, how much more will our Heavenly Father discipline us out of his love for us? God is a just God as well as a loving God.  Without His justice or judgment, as His children, we would turn out to be unruly, spoiled, self centered, brats just as occurs in the earthly realm.  God, always being consistent and true to His nature, does not withhold either His love or His justice.  We take ourselves out from under the covering of His protection when we decide to think or act in a way that is in opposition to what He has said is for our good, and not for our harm.   

          If the secular world is successful, and it is certainly advancing in that direction, the absolute biblical truths which we are to apply with the aid of the Holy Spirit, to live a godly and moral life, will become more and more marginalized; until we remove His effectiveness in our lives.  Of course, anyone who believes in the truth of the Bible, has more than just a minimal understanding that this is exactly what will occur in the last days, which I believe are already upon us.  In the post Christian era, in which we are now living, we are witnessing our society as it heads towards the point where the last standing symbol of “morality,” or ethics value, as it is more commonly called, is the one value of “tolerance.”  Since it is no longer popular to even refer to any individual as being a “godly man,” or a “man of God,” even the standard of tolerance has been twisted and corrupted.  It is more often used as an instrument of control to intimidate and manipulate society into believing that only humanistic secular group think is acceptable.  In other words, the world would have us believe that the Bible, which is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, is no longer relative or valid in the “enlightened” secular world of today.  Oh, it may still be okay as long it is confined within the walls of a church.  Even there, some are trying to make it a criminal act to teach parts of the Bible.  Increasingly in the public venue, the Bible is unacceptable, irrelevant, and not to be “tolerated”, outside of the confines of centers of worship.

          Isn’t it ironic that the very God who teaches us tolerance, and gives to man the gift of free will which provides man with the freedom to choose for him self what he will or will not believe, is now being steadily removed from the realm of acceptable discourse for the reason that some may be offended?  Oh yes, the “gospel of social justice” is now exalted to the highest pinnacle and celebrated to the utmost degree, but the Gospel of Jesus Christ is being marginalized and demeaned as being  mean spirited, bigoted thinking, and the source of hate speech, from which the world at large must be shielded.   The value of “tolerance” has become inclusive of everything and anything except the very God who is the author of it.  Just like the rest of politically correct “group think,” even the voice of God and those who agree with Him, is to be silenced first and foremost.  It is the goal of the secular world to remove the freedom and liberty that is found only in the one true and living God of the Bible.  “Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Lord is, there is liberty.” (II Cor. 3: 17) 

          Once again, we must remind ourselves that God has instructed us concerning the dire necessity of studying His word.  We can not expect His word to abide within us as a “lamp unto your feet and a light unto your path” (Psalm 119: 105), if we do not study to become rooted and grounded in His word.  His word is powerful and it one of the greatest weapons to guard us against evil.  Remember that Satan is the father of all lies, and the secular man, choosing to trust in his own intellect and abilities to reason, is greatly deceived by his own heart, by the world, and by the lies of the devil.  Those who profess to be Christians should recognize the Bible as the inerrant word of God that is to be applied in the living out of our daily lives, that we might glorify the Lord our God in thought, word, and deed.  It is a vital part of the “armor of God” as detailed for us in Eph. 6: 11-18.  We are informed to arm our selves with “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”  Without God the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit and His word, we are made naked and vulnerable to every deception and evil work that is presented to us by Satan through the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life.  It is His word through the power of the Holy Spirit that leads and guides us into all truth, and helps us to discern between good and evil.

          “Sensitivity training” in my opinion, is just another of Satan’s weapons, meant to corrupt and destroy that which God has loved most, which is man, who He created in His own image.  Remember that we fight not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities and powers of the darkness of this world.  Satan has come to rob, kill, and destroy all whom he can devour.  Sensitivity training is being used to make heterosexual immorality, homosexuality, same sex marriage, transgender identity, and all manner of sin as being the acceptable norm which all must now, not only accept, but also condone and agree with.  Sin has existed since the fall of Adam and Eve.  There is nothing new about it.  However, as individuals and as a nation, we are now celebrating sin, making it lawful, and even declaring it to be good and right.  The Supreme Court removed the protection of marriage as being between a man and a woman.  It then validated that same sex marriage was now on equal footing with traditional and biblical marriage covenants.  And what did the Obama administration do to celebrate this infamous and ungodly act?  They lit up the White House with the colors of the rainbow which was a doubling down insult to God, who gave the rainbow as a sign and promise to mankind.  What other evidence do we need to demonstrate that, as a nation, the fear of the Lord is all but non-existent?    We are making laws that are in direct opposition of what the Lord has declared to be sin and harmful to us.  We have, for all intents and purposes, removed God from His throne, and placed all authority in the hands of man to decide for himself what is right and wrong.   As we turn our backs more and more away from God, the basic unit of society, the family, as created by God, is being unraveled and destroyed.  If we Christians buy into this ideology, we will become that church of the latter days which “has the appearance of godliness, but lacking in the power (God) thereof.”      

          If we, through our own choices, strip away the protections that God and His word offer, we aid Satan in his efforts to rob us of the gift of eternal life in the presence of God the Father, and condemn ourselves to live eternally in Hell, forever separated from the love of God.  It is not God who “sends” man to Hell, for Hell was never created for man.  It is not God’s desire that any of us would die in our sins, but that all would receive forgiveness and the saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave His own life to give us victory over sin and death.

          Sensitivity training often has just enough truth in it to make it appear to be good.  The wisdom of man does not always lead to truth.  The wisdom of God is always truth, and nothing but the truth.  “God is not a man that He should lie.”(EPH. 23: 19)  God can not lie, for He will never go against His word.  Man can lie, and often does.  The more an individual lies, the easier and easier it becomes.  Eventually even one’s own conscience can become so corrupt that it can no longer discern between good and evil, even at the most basic level.  Our sin is never hidden from the Lord.  If we ask for God to forgive our sin, He is always merciful and quick to forgive us.  However, repentance and forgiveness does not remove us from suffering the penalty, or consequences, of tolerating sin in our lives, especially when we knowingly and willfully choose to practice and accept it in our lives. 

          “A man’s ways are right in his own eyes.” (Proverbs 21: 2)  Secular group think is always geared to exalt man, not God.  Man, apart from God, thinks he is wiser than God, and believes that the authority is his to set his own standards of right and wrong, which means he can then change them at any time to suit his own desires.  For example, man often thinks that it’s okay to lie IF the ends justify the means.  Examples: Senator Reid was confronted with the fact that he lied when he said that Mitt Romney had not paid his taxes.  When he was confronted with the fact that he lied, did he acknowledge that it was wrong and at least apologize? No, on the contrary, his response was, “I don’t regret that at all,” he told CNN’s Dana Bash.  “Romney didn’t win did he?”  He accomplished what he set out to do, so in his own mind, the lie was justified, good, and right.   Obama said “If you want to keep your doctor, you can keep your doctor.”  When this was proven not to be true, did he apologize and seek to do anything to change it? No, on the contrary, those in his administration even bragged that through their lies they had deceived the “stupid voters” of America and got the bill passed.

          When our leaders set such an example of telling lies to get what they want, is it any wonder that students think nothing of cheating on a test to get a grade they desired, but didn’t deserve?  Is it any wonder that a child would think nothing of lying to his parents so he could go to a party? Is it any wonder that the populous would lie and commit fraud in order to receive monies or food stamps that was neither permitted nor deserved?  Is it any wonder that able bodied individuals would choose not to work to earn their own money, but expect others, who do work, to give part of their hard earned money to them?  The idea of helping the needy is a godly principle.  However, the distorted form that it now takes in our society would count the godly principle of “If you don’t work, you don’t eat.”(II Thess. 3: 10) as being mean spirited and even greedy.  In reality, this kind of “sensitivity” only serves to create a society that is dependent upon, and more easily controlled by the government.  Thus, the Master (the government) reduces the people to the position of the slave, creating the same relationship which existed on the plantations of old. 

          This scenario is but one of the consequences of the sensitivity training programs that are forever bent on undermining God, and corrupting  the life of every person that would seek to love and obey God first.  The goal is to indoctrinate every human with the secular world view, and thus destroy the biblical world view that under girds freedom of thought and speech for the individual, and the freedom of the people to live as “one nation under God,” under a constitution that is of the people, by the people, and for the people.  “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.” (Psalm 33: 12)  The nation or individual which replaces God’s will and right of authority over them, is the individual or nation that is soon destroyed.  They will allow deception through ungodly indoctrination to make themselves slaves unto the state; thereby, replacing God with the governing authorities of fallible man.  They will loose true freedom that only God can give.

          Sensitivity training is all too often equated with the idea that true tolerance must necessarily include, not only allowing others to believe, think and act differently than yourself, but now it demands that we must also agree with, and condone those differences, as if they are right and good, regardless of their conflict with God’s absolute and unchangeable standards of right and wrong.  God has not given up His authority, no matter what man may think. 

          Unfortunately, through the use of the false and corrupted idea of tolerance, which is characteristic of both sensitivity training, and much of the gospel of social justice, many are taking the bait which necessarily undermines both God and His word, and are being persuaded that, in order to not appear to be bigoted, and haters, they must be willing to let go of their previously held biblical convictions.  The following is part of an ungodly speech meant to persuade others to join the realm of secular thought. One of our previous nominees for president, Hillary Clinton, publicly stated this concept: “Laws have to be backed up with resources and political will,” she explained.  “And deep-seated cultural codes, religious beliefs and structural biases have to be changed.”  (4/23/2015, Hillary Clinton keynote address at the annual Women in the World Summit, New York City).  This statement was intended to undermine God’s instruction to choose life and not the death of a baby in the womb.  Such ideology would have us believe that the most vulnerable form of life, a baby in the womb, is no more than just a blob of tissue and therefore easily killed and thrown away like a piece of garbage.  I could go on and on as to the numerous ways that so called sensitivity training is being used to undermine, distort, and silence the word and will of God in our lives.

          If we profess to be Christians, we must study the word of God that we may not be deceived by lies which are widely disseminated through the indoctrinations of the secular world.  Let us stand strong in our convictions based upon the truth of the infallible word of God.  Hold fast to your convictions based upon the truth of the word of God, and let the Holy Spirit be your teacher and guide.  God has given us the gift of free will to choose to follow Him, or go our own way, disconnected from Him.  However, we must understand that our choices do have consequences.  I implore each of you to choose to trust and obey Him, that He may renew your mind through the washing of the water of the word, and give you a new heart, that is made of flesh (not one of stone that is rebellious and refuses the gift of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.).

          I believe the following scriptures state clearly and plainly the consequences of choosing to go our own way in life, disconnected from God and His wisdom. To fear the Lord means to hate evil.  Ask the Lord to lead you and guide you into the truths of the Lord by the power of the Holy Spirit.  As you draw near to Him, He will draw near to you.  As you choose to spend time in His word, you will come to understand more of His great love for you.  “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish (die in their sins without forgiveness through faith in Christ), but that all should come to repentance.(II Peter 3: 9)

Romans 1:21- 32
Because that, when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.  Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and to fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleaness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonor their own bodies between themselves: Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen
For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another, men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence (penalty) of their error which was meet.
And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.”

          Whether you profess to be a Christian or not, if you have read this, but you still deny that these results are self evident within our present society and throughout the world,  I can only surmise that the eyes with which you see are unable to observe that which is readily available for all to see. 

          If you are a professing Christian, I would encourage you to do some further study concerning both sensitivity training and social justice.  They both use some truth, but be not deceived; they both have lies incorporated within them.  I suggest that it would be wise to delve more deeply into the truth of the word of God.  Be not conformed to this world, but be transformed into the image of the one, true and living God of the Bible.  We are to be compassionate towards one another, for none of us is free from our struggle against sin in our lives.  However, we are never to allow ourselves, either through sentimentality, or through our emotions and feelings, to stray from God’s standards of what He declares to be good or evil.  His word is established that you and I may be protected from the harm that comes to us through disobedience and the practice of sin.  God has not, and will not, give up His authority and right to set the standards for what sin is, or is not.    For Him to do so would be the same as declaring Himself to be a liar.  His word is true to all generations, for He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Furthermore, for us to declare that, in our own opinion, we have the right to disagree with any part of the word of God, is the same as saying that we are wiser than He, that He is a liar, and His word is not established and true to all generations. 

          As true Christians, we must trust in the Lord, and obey Him because we are His servants who love Him with all our mind, heart and strength, and trust in the truth of His word.  We must understand and accept that we are accountable unto the Lord above all else.  If there is a choice, to follow and agree with mankind, or to follow and agree with God and His word, the latter must always take precedence over everything else.  There is but one God, the God of the Bible, and we are to serve no other gods.  There is no forgiveness of sin except through faith in the shed blood of Jesus Christ, who took all our sins upon Himself on the Cross and paid our sin debt in full.  He died, was placed in the tomb, and was resurrected from the dead, finally and forever proving that He is who he said He is, the Son of God, Lord and Savior of all who receive Him through faith.  Christianity is not a religion.  It is a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. 

          If we have doubts, then we must humble ourselves before the Lord, and accept the fact that doubts are due to our condition of having a fallible mind which is always in need of further enlightenment from the Lord our God.  We must also understand that there are some things that we will not know or understand because we can not expect to know and understand everything that God knows and understands.  If there is error, it is error from our own lack of understanding.  Let us all humble ourselves before the Lord and declare, “I do believe; help thou my unbelief.”(Mark 9: 24)  Let the Lord train us up in His ways, and do not be deceived by the ways and teachings of this world.

           The secular world believes that through the brotherhood of mankind, we can create our own utopia, where man is god and therefore, has no need of forgiveness or a Savior.  Man will then be able to live in peace in a world unfettered from limits or constraints, and finally able to live out his life to do whatever pleases him self.  “If it feels good, do it!”  Too bad, so sad!  Those who are without faith in Jesus, are unable to see past the limits of this world to understand that, without God there is no safety or peace, but only an endless spiral into the depths of depravity, chaos, total lawlessness, and separation from the protective love of God.  Sensitivity training seeks to put man first.  The gospel of social justice seeks to exalt the works of man, and remove the work of God – specifically the work of Jesus Christ on the Cross.  No man can be good enough to earn his way to Heaven.  

          What is the most devastating lie that under girds most every part of sensitivity training and the gospel of social justice?  It is the concept that man should divest himself of any accountability unto God, and replace it with faith in the brotherhood of mankind.  This concept, carried to its highest degree, seeks to exalt the idea of being “sensitive” to the “feelings” of mankind, but disconnected from God and His truth.  Is being accepted in the eyes of mankind really worth being separated from God and His love?  I did not go into specifics with any real in-depth teaching concerning all the aspects that are taught through sensitivity training or the deceptions contained within the concepts of social justice.  I do hope that you will choose to do further research on your own in order to gain further understanding.  These tools are meant to marginalize man’s faith in God, and to replace it with faith in the brotherhood of mankind, separate and devoid of God.  Either we will choose to follow man, or follow God; there is no in-between. 

          Man, disconnected from God, thinks he is capable of creating a utopia far superior to anything is which God is included. I thought a song “Imagine,” with lyrics written John Lennon, and released on an album in 1971.  As I read the lyrics, I was amazed at how aptly it described the  imagined utopia that global elitists believe will exist once the world is “free” of all constraints given by the Lord God.  How sad it is that many have joined the ranks of Lennon, who chose to reject both God and the truth of His word.  It’s plain to see that he believed that this present world is all he saw and lived for.  He even depicts what the Nne World Order agenda is: to have a world without borders, living as a people without nations, governed by one authority.  This does all to set the stage for the antichrist to arrive on the scene just in time to save (ha!) the world and restore safety and peace, or so they think.  He has depicted a world where there is no faith in God, no understanding of eternal life, and all that matters is this temporary life.  It seems he views life as a train that you board at birth and disembark at death.  With that in mind, I reflect upon the title of another song: “Is That All There Is?”  Read the foolish words of a man lost and drowning in the delusions of unbelief, thinking himself to be wiser than God. 

“IMAGINE” By John Lennon
Imagine there’s no heaven
It’s easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today… Aha-ah…

Imagine there’s no countries
It isn’t hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion, too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace…You…

You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will live as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world… You…

You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope some day you’ll join us
And the world will live as one

          There is no such thing as a man-made utopia.  The state of mankind without God was already aptly described in the scriptures you previously read from Romans.  I can not imagine living in a world that thinks this is all there is to life.  Even as I say that, I thank the Lord for His mercy and grace towards me, for I know I am a flawed and imperfect person, who has been saved by the redeeming grace of my Lord and Savior.  Unfortunately, many have refused to believe the truth of God.  In so doing, they have believed the lies of Satan and accepted a state of being that is devoid of the one true and only God.  By their own choice, they have condemned themselves to Hell, forever separated from the love of God that has been offered to all. 


          Oh Lord our God, I pray that if any unbelievers should have read this that they may repent, ask for forgiveness, and receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior before it’s too late.  What He’s done for me, He will do for you.  In Jesus name I pray. Amen.  

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