It’s winter here, and the first thing you turn to is the weather in the morning. We expect wind, rain and snow in the next few days — and people in the town often cannot get home (and staff who live in the rural parts of the city often cannot get home either). It’s going to be an unusually difficult storm: enough to probably close Dunedin down, and it could start this afternoon.
We are heading into a storm, however: there are those out there who consider saying “Death to the Infidel” is not hate speech, while saying that Muhammed was a loon who liked little girls and will send you to hell IS hate speech. Slight difference. We are trying to persuade people out of error. The Islamists want us silent or killed.
The opposition has degenerated. At least the Sadducees were smart.
27Some Sadducees, those who say there is no resurrection, came to him 28and asked him a question, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, leaving a wife but no children, the man shall marry the widow and raise up children for his brother. 29Now there were seven brothers; the first married, and died childless; 30then the second 31and the third married her, and so in the same way all seven died childless. 32Finally the woman also died. 33In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had married her.”
34Jesus said to them, “Those who belong to this age marry and are given in marriage; 35but those who are considered worthy of a place in that age and in the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. 36Indeed they cannot die anymore, because they are like angels and are children of God, being children of the resurrection. 37And the fact that the dead are raised Moses himself showed, in the story about the bush, where he speaks of the Lord as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. 38Now he is God not of the dead, but of the living; for to him all of them are alive.” 39Then some of the scribes answered, “Teacher, you have spoken well.” 40For they no longer dared to ask him another question.
One of the correct answers to feminism and their insistence that there are no differences between men and women is to remind them that it is in the life of the resurrection that we are all like angels, and we will be complete. We will not need comfort and companionship in this fallen age.
But at present we are what we are. We are not perfect: we will be made perfect. We have a duty, while we are not silenced, while we are still alive, to do good and to proclaim the gospel. And part of that is confronting those who are in error. Telling the progressives and the Islamists that they will go to Hell, if they are not in it already. unless they change and repent.
And remind them that Atheism, though comforting (that we will not be held accountable for our actions, but instead cease to exist), is a lie, or Christ himself is a lie. We need to remind everyone that after this life comes the judgment. And we want to be able to claim the Blood of Christ and his mercy, or else whe are forever damned.
So, I for one will not be silenced, while I breathe. I will be smart — I am fortunate enough to live in a small country that is blessed by a lack of hate speech laws and a general contempt for the race relations bureaux — but it is my duty to proclaim the gospel, here at least, and (I pray) by by actions and words in that thing we call real life.
As long as you draw breath. Shall you work righteousness.