Monday, December 11, 2023

More Complicated Than A Demand For Change And Excitement

 


Columnist Dennis Prager wrote a piece last year examining why the left hates conservatism and not only hates it but prevails against it and while the reasons he lists may factor into why the left both hates and is prevailing against conservatism in the minds of the younger generations, the reason goes far deeper and is more complicated than the reasons he lists in his piece.  The first reason he lists has to do with the failures of conservatives to pass down conservative values, virtues, and teachings to future generations and not only that, but also to defend them so as to prevent the poisoning of the minds of their children and grandchildren against conservatism.
 
 
 
Since at least the World War II generation, most parents who held conservative values either did not think they had to teach their children those values or simply did not know how to do so. Most still don't. If asked to define conservative values, most conservatives will be tongue-tied. [1]
 
 
 
This also seems to have been the case with many professing Christians whose children abandon the faith in which they were supposed to have been raised either because their parents neglected to raise them up in the admonition of the Lord, His truth, and instruction, or did not know how to go about teaching their children His ways and explain to them what the accounts, instruction, doctrine, and authority of scripture has to do with them and with the day and generation in which they are growing up.
 
And sadly, when asked to define Christianity, most professing Christians will also be tongue-tied not knowing how to explain the Gospel, what it is that they believe in or why they believe in, and if any has ever visited the George Barna group website, the statistics are far from encouraging when it comes to how often professing Christians go to church, who and what they rely on for their doctrine, and what beliefs they hold to.
 
 
 
Conservativism attempts to conserve the best of the past – the best art, literature and music, the best standards, values and wisdom. Conservativism then passes the best of everything to every succeeding generation. [2]
 
 
 
But then begs the question, what constitutes the best? When it comes to art, literature, and music, that may all come down to a matter of opinion as it comes down to what is the most relevant and what inspires the most and that can be different for each person and to each generation and I would not think anyone would be opposed to preserving the things of the past so long as they think the things of the past retain some degree of relevance.  But then Prager begins to tap into something that most of us, even within the MAGA movement, have not even begun to and that is the preservation of the best standards, values, and wisdom.  Now granted that there be some that have managed to acquire and attain some understanding and some sense of what the best standards, values, and wisdom may be, and not necessarily due to their upbringing, education, the media, entertainment industry, or even within their respective place of worship, but rather by discovery (that is how it began for me) and a disillusionment with all that they have placed their trust in and the discrediting within their hearts and minds of all that they had been led by society to believe to be true, but I fear that an adequate and proper understanding of what the best standards, values, and wisdom are very much lacking within this present generation, even amongst the MAGA and conservative factions because we have left out and abandoned that which brings purpose and meaning to all that we do including the artwork we craft, the literature we write, and the music, films, shows, plays, and even the video games we produce which then leads to another thing that Prager touches on that makes the leftist ideology so appealing to many, especially the youth.
 
 
 
Change and newness are so vital to leftists that a progressive who cared first and foremost about excellence would cease to be a progressive.
 
Why are "new" and "change" intrinsic to leftism?
 
One reason, as noted, is excitement. Excitement is important to human beings because it provides an adrenalin rush and because it seems to be an antidote to boredom. When your child complains that he or she is bored, your child is really saying, "I want some excitement." It is difficult to overstate how important boredom is in shaping human conduct. As I have long argued, S+A=B: Secularism plus affluence equals boredom. And boredom, in the contemporary world, leads to leftism. Leftism is an endless search for exciting causes such as saving the world from alleged extinction; fighting "racism" and "white supremacy" in a largely nonracist America; combating "fascism" in what was – for more than 200 years, until the left changed it – the freest country in the world; trying to force society to accept a brand-new definition of human sexual identity – namely that, contrary to all of recorded history, it is nonbinary. All these exciting causes are led by the affluent and secular. In other words, the bored. [3]
 
 
 
Only it isn’t just excitement they are looking for.  They are also searching for something to given them a sense of purpose and meaning in this present life but sadly are putting their trust in the wrong people, the wrong causes, the wrong philosophies and ideologies, and the wrong spirit which is all too eager to present them with something to make them feel significant and special but all the while blinding them to their bondage and imminent destruction and damnation as he leads them into taking that which is good for evil and evil for good because parents and religious leaders alike who claim to hold to both godly and conservative values have neglected to take the time to persuade upcoming generations of their relevance and, when faced with questions and challenging arguments, are ill-prepared to make a case and defense for those values to which they hold and furthermore, many conservatives and professed followers of the faith fail to show love to the younger generations and to make it known to them how valued they are in the eyes of their Maker and so the youth will follow after those who will make them feel loved and valued, including those who will poison their minds with lies, lead them into spiritual darkness and moral depravity, and blind them to the coming dangers of destruction and the fiery torments of hell by lulling them into a false sense of peace and security, distracting them with worldly and sinful pleasures, and consuming them with seemingly noble causes.
 
But one thing does need to be clear in that there is nothing wrong with new and exciting things in and of themselves, but wherein lies the concern is when the new and exciting things poison men against that which is good and right and lures them into the things that are evil.
 
It needs to be made known to the younger generations and to those we seek to turn away from the evil things and from the lies by which they have been deceived that it is not our intent to take away their video games or their communication devices, condemn their use of social media, or disparage their preferred genre of music and cinema but only that they should not embrace evil but that which is good and to no longer walk after lies, but only in that which is truth, and to not place their full trust in men or in the things of men---all of which are subject to corruption---but in the God who made the heavens and the earth and all that is in them who is not made with men’s hand and whose presence is not confined to any building, but who is the source of all truth for He is truth (Jn. 14:6) and therefore the definer of what is good and right but it is the left that has long denied the existence of a Creator who is the source of truth and the definer of good and evil and right and wrong and has consistently attacked and has tried to discredit anything pertaining to God, even making the worship and reverence of an all-powerful Creator out to be oppressive thereby offering what appears to be a freedom but in reality leads to an unanticipated bondage and one far worse than what they deceived multitudes into thinking was oppressive, and going even further to mock, vilify, and even persecute they who have determined to remain steadfast in their devotion to their Maker and in their commitment to walk in His ways, abide in His truth, and even share His truth and doctrine with others because what it really comes down to is that the reason why the left and those who embrace and propagate leftist ideology is not simply because they despise preserving history or the best of the arts, literature, and entertainment, and not simply because they desire something new, relevant, and exciting, but because they are at enmity with their Creator which then leads them to discard and suppress anything whatsoever that might lead men to a knowledge and awareness of their Maker and open their eyes to His active involvement in the affairs of men whether it be history, art, music, cinema, and even scientific discoveries and when they conceal, censor, and suppress anything that might lead a man to be reconciled unto His Maker, it is then that they reveal themselves to be the oppressors instead of liberators, for the standards of men apart from God are subject to change and are never applied equally or consistently to all people as the law that comes from God is applied. (Num. 15:16)
 
And it is this rejection of God that leads men to believing, embracing, and accepting the most preposterous things, making excuses for the actions of the wicked, dismissing the corruption and injustices committed by the highest levels of power, creating different standards for different classes of people, disposing of life because it is deemed too inconvenient to preserve, and even denying the most basic truths and facts of life.
 
At least those in whom the love and fear of God resides know which restroom to use.
They know what defines a man and a woman.
They are not afraid of pandemics with a low mortality rate.
They do not fear a non-existent climate crisis.
They seek to preserve innocent life, even when it is not the most convenient thing to do.
They do not fear dissent so much that they have to silence it as they believe that the preaching, teaching, and propagation of truth will be enough to silence the lies and falsehoods.
They desire that one standard be applied to all people no matter their skin-color, gender, age, background, occupation, economic status, or social status.
They desire that businesses deal honestly with their customers and regard the welfare of their employees.
They want their children to be taught an honest education and strive to raise them up to be morally, law-abiding, God-fearing people.
They want accurate and truthful reporting from the media.
They desire the production of entertainment that celebrates all things wholesome, good, honorable, and respectable.
They want a government that is trustworthy, reliable, seeks the best interests of the public at heart, and respects and upholds God-given liberty and freedoms.
 
But they in whom the love and fear of God does not reside have no moral compass, reject absolute truth to the point of denying even the most basic facts of life thereby being subject to moral and spiritual confusion.
They fear when there is nothing to fear.
They discard the lives of those they deem to be too much of an inconvenience.
They attempt to suppress that which challenges their favored opinions and preferred narratives on any given subject.
They favor some classes of people over others and in doing so impose a standard that favors some over others.
They neglect the spiritual and moral upbringing of their children who then become twice the sons and daughters of hell that they are.
They blindly and unquestioningly believe every so-called expert, authoritative, and official report that they read or hear.
Their entertainment is depraved, perverse, and celebrates the things of darkness and evil while mocking, disparaging, misrepresenting, and even vilifying the things that are good.
And while they condemn and rage against corrupt religion and corporate greed, they don’t concern themselves with political corruption and civic greed.
 
To the credit of the vast majority of conservatives and the MAGA movement, they at least wish to preserve the knowledge of God in their ranks whereas the left would rather eliminate any knowledge of God from society altogether but when we seek to retain God in our knowledge, we will also seek to preserve the best standards, values, and wisdom and what makes the standards, values, and wisdom that comes from God is that He is the source of all wisdom (Ps. 111:10) and knowledge, (Prov. 1:7) the source of truth (Jn. 14:6) and therefore the only one who has the authority to determine what is right and wrong, good and evil and it is from Him that we receive the best moral standards and values and what makes the wisdom, knowledge, truth, laws, and moral standards that come from Him the best is that they are fixed and unchangeable just as He Himself is unchangeable (Mal. 3:6, Heb. 13:8) and are designed to bring an ordered governance to our lives to keep in check what would otherwise be unbridled passions and an inherently corrupt nature that dwells within each and every one of us for without the law and instruction of our Creator to guide and govern us, we would then be subject to either a chaotic lawlessness or with laws so many so as to subject us to a life of oppression and grievous drudgery but the divine doctrine of our Creator brings to us an ordered liberty that cannot come from mankind, for mankind is within himself too corrupt to establish a liberty with a non-tyrannical order and if we, as conservatives, hope to be able to preserve the best of everything, then we must first preserve the best standards, values, and wisdom which is only possible to do if we also retain within ourselves the knowledge of a Creator who is the very source of those standards, values, and wisdom we seek to preserve because it is only by way of the inspiration that comes from our Maker that anything we craft and produce will possess any meaning and purpose for apart from our Maker, as is written repeatedly in the book of Ecclesiastes, everything is “meaningless.”
 
And where does the embracing of leftist ideological causes lead to? Purposelessness and meaninglessness for if God is rejected from leftist ideology, then upon what is any fight against so-called white supremacy, supposed sexism, and alleged extinction threats founded upon? Nothing.  And when it comes to leftism, the cures and solutions they propose have always been, still are, and will always be worse than the problems they seek to remedy and their solutions will do nothing but lead to needless misery, despair, chaos, oppression, spiritual darkness, and ultimately, the eternal damnation of the soul for what it comes down to is that the appeal of such destructive ideologies does not merely arise from a need for excitement and to escape boredom.
                                                                                                                  
It, like most other ideologies, creeds, doctrines, and philosophies, promises to them something better than what they already have and to right perceived wrongs done to them by the current establishments.  It appeals to their demands for fairness that they are led to believe is lacking, equity that they are made to think is non-existent, and to their need for security they feel they do not have, a liberty promised to them to be greater than what they already possess, and they are even led to blame and condemn established authorities and institutions for the present evils and corruption within society while being blinded to the corruption that lies within themselves which is an inherent corruption that all men have in common and is the reason why there is racism, sexism, chauvinism, radical feminism, misogyny, political corruption, dishonesty in the media, depraved entertainment, perversion, various held prejudices, class warfare, generation gaps, gender divides, the destruction of innocent life, environmental destruction, wars and threats of war, broken households, lawlessness, false and deceptive teachings and indoctrinations, and needless divisions and discord amongst those who would otherwise be in harmony with one another. 
 
It is an inherent corruption into which all people are born and which has been in us ever since it entered into the first man and the first woman whom God had created and it entered into them by way of a transgression that they had committed against their Creator.
 
Before this corruption had entered into them, the Lord God had created the world to be one of life, peace, and perfect harmony between God, man, and nature.  There was no death, no decay, no violence, nor any of the evils, sufferings, miseries, adversities, griefs, pains, sorrows, and hardships that we know today for God did not create anything to be evil, but created everything to be good and pleasant but there was one thing that was kept from that first man Adam, and that first woman, his wife Eve, and that was the fruit from a tree called the tree of the knowledge of good and evil for they had been warned that in the day that they ate thereof, they would surely die. (Gen. 2:16-17, 3:3)
 
But then, in the form of a serpent, crept into the garden in which Adam and Eve were living and tending, an evil spirit who, by a lie led Adam and Eve into eating that forbidden fruit (Gen. 3:4-6) and it was a lie that promised to them a greater enhancement and liberty than what they already had (Gen. 3:4) but instead of attaining a status of greater power and superiority than in which they were created, they ended up being subjugated to an inferior status (Gen. 3:7) and instead of being spared the sentence of death, the sentence of death of which they were warned by God, along with other miseries and hardships, was brought upon them. (Gen. 3:14-19)
 
And in the same way, the ideology of the left promises a greater liberty and prosperity than what already exists that which it promises only leads to, instead of a greater liberty, bondage and instead of a greater prosperity, a more widespread poverty, just as the promises of the serpent made to Adam and Eve led them into a bondage to which they had never been brought under beforehand and into hardships, griefs, sorrows, pains, agonies, and miseries that they had never before experience in that once perfect paradise.
 
That same serpent who led Adam and Eve into the transgression that caused that corrupting condition of human nature to enter into them which then placed upon them the sentence of death is that very angel, the guardian of the cherub, more specifically, who stood at the throne of God, who, in his pride and arrogance, thought to make himself equal to God and was consequently cast out of his position (Is. 14:11-21, Ezek. 28:12-19) and has been at enmity with God and those who serve and worship Him ever since and therefore, it should be no surprise that leftist ideology should reject the authority of an incorruptible God and yet at the same time subjugates all it takes captive to the authority of corruptible men whose rule of law is far more burdensome, unreasonable, and inconvenient than the law of God and which always serves the interests of those in power rather than the good of the governed which then leads to the oppression of the governed whereas the law of God is never oppressive to any but only seeks to establish a reasonable order to our lives, but there is a bondage and an oppression that neither the law of God or even the ordinances of man can ever free us from and that is a bondage to which mankind has been subject ever since that corrupted condition had entered into Adam and Eve when they had eaten that fruit forbidden to them and that corrupted condition that entered into them and, as a consequence, resides within us; that inward condition being what the scripture calls sin.
The transgression of Adam and his wife Eve brought upon us and all of creation the curse and bondage of sin and death (Rom. 8:19-22) to which all of mankind has been made subject for it is from Adam and Eve that man has inherited his sinful condition for it is from Adam and Eve from whom all of mankind descend and because man, by way of descent, inherited his sinful condition from the first man Adam and his wife Eve, (Rom. 5:12) all people, because of their inwardly sinful condition sin and fall short of the glory of God which requires moral perfection (Rom. 3:23) but because we are unable to attain moral perfection, we all die, for as it is written, the wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23) and sin is not merely defined or confined by our outward performance such as our actions, conduct, behavior, or even the words that we speak, but it resides from within us which is why it is written that we are not defiled by that which is from without, but by that which is within us (Mt. 15:11, 18-20) 
 
For it is from within that the outward manifestations of sin are brought forth which is why when we stand before God in judgment, we will not only have to give an account for our outward performance, but we will also have to give an account for even our very thoughts, attitudes, and motives and since all sin is subject to punishment, so will all they who remain in their sins because sin not only has brought upon us the death of our bodies, it has also estranged all of us from our Creator who cannot allow sin to have any place in His Kingdom which is without sin or corruption because sin defiles, distorts, taints, corrupts, twists, perverts, and even destroys far more than we know and its effects are not confined to man, but has affected all of creation which is why it is written that the entire creation groans and travails in pain to this day (Rom. 8:19-22) and because of its negative effects, God cannot allow sin and evil to abide forever and must bring an eventual end to it once it has reached its full measure and for those who unrepentantly remain in their sins have nothing to look forward to but an exceedingly dreadful and astronomically frightful and terrifying judgment of incomprehensible and unimaginable, everlasting, ongoing, and unrelenting torment in the fires and unending darkness of Hell itself. 
 
But despite the fact that judgment must eventually come, the Almighty God is also a God of love and mercy and He is not willing that any should perish but that all would come to repentance (2 Pet. 3:9) and so He has provided redemption on our behalf through His one and only begotten Son who is called Jesus Christ who came into this world to take away the sins of the world which He did when He offered Himself up on our behalf, being without sin, (2 Cor. 5:21) that perfect sacrifice required (Heb. 7:26-27) to take away our sins which He did through His death and shedding of His blood upon the cross on which He was crucified and after having died for our sins, was raised again from the dead so that we, in Him, may be justified (Rom. 4:25) through a sincere repentant faith in Him when we call upon His name for the forgiveness of our sins. (Rom. 10:13)
 
And it is this repentance that transforms the soul by cleansing it of sin and it is through the cleansing of the soul from sin that it is transformed and made anew in Christ and in being made anew, (2 Cor. 5:17) a new nature enters into us when Christ, through the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in us and it is this transformation in Christ that reconciles us to God the Father (2 Cor. 5:18) and it is also this transformation that causes us to no longer desire to follow after selfish and worldly pursuits but after those things that pertain to the Kingdom of Heaven,
to no longer take pleasure in those things that are evil and displeasing in the sight of the Lord, but in that which is good, right, and pleasing in His sight,
to no longer desire to walk in the lies of this present world, but only in the truth that comes from Christ Almighty, no longer placing our hopes in the things of this present world, but looking forward to that new and better world to come, (Rev. 21-22)
to no longer rely on worldly resources, men, or even our own power, abilities, skills, and wisdom for our needs and provision but upon God who is able to meet all of our needs, recognizing that the resources of this world and even the people He brings into our lives are but instruments and vessels through which God meets our needs and that the skills, power, knowledge, and wisdom by which we might acquire our provision are provided and instilled in us by God,
to no longer fear what men can do to us, but rather fearing the God before whom we will have to one day give an account for how we lived our lives, (Mt. 10:28)
to no longer look to corruptible institutions within our society for direction and order in our lives but to God who, by His written Word has given us laws and precepts to be applied to our lives and which serve to produce and maintain an ordered life, and who, by His Holy Spirit which comes to dwell within us upon repentance, establishes in our lives a course and direction in our lives to pursue for His glory,
to no longer seek our own glory but the glory of God,
to no longer rally behind corruptible men, but instead behind the incorruptible God in Heaven bearing in mind that those men and women God raises up for our edification are but instruments and servants of His for that respective purpose to which He has called them,
to no longer seek to align ourselves with the things of darkness but only with the things of the light,
to no longer trust in the wisdom of the world but only on the wisdom and knowledge that comes from above, nor depend on corruptible earthly authorities to swiftly administer justice, but only in the power of God to deliver us from evil.
 
And just as we are changed from within and rescued in Christ and by Christ from eternal damnation through the forgiveness of sins, so one day, we will also be saved from bodily death (1 Cor. 15:51-55, 1 Thess. 4:13-18) when our inherently corrupted bodies are changed into incorruptible form in which dwells no sin and wherein dwells no sin dwells no death and then lastly, creation itself will be liberated from the curse of sin when it is made anew for in the new world that is promised there will be no sin, no decay, no death, no evil of any sort, nor any corruption, or any misery, hardship, pain, suffering, sorrow, or grief of any sort, but only life, light, happiness, peace, harmony, joy, and contentment before the Lord God Almighty. (Rev. 21-22)
 
 
If you have not done so already, wish to be an agent of change for the better in the world, and to be at peace about where you will be spending eternity, then I urge you reader today to call upon the name of the Lord Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins.  It is but a simple and sincere prayer of repentance away:
 
 
 
"Lord Jesus I need you.
 
 
I realize that I am a sinner
who has fallen short of the glory of God
and that my goodness falls short
of your standard of Moral perfection.
 
Please forgive me of all of my sins.
Come into my heart and into my life
to be the Savior and Lord of my life.
Make me into the servant and follower
that you want me to be.
In your name Lord Jesus, I pray.
 
 
Amen."
 
 
Know that God is not concerned with the words that you use to call upon Him forgiveness, but with the attitude of your heart and if you have, with all sincerity, have asked Christ to forgive you of your sins, placing your trust in Him only for your salvation and in nothing else, then your sins are forgiven and your place in Heaven is certain.
 
 
 
End notes:
 
 
 
1.  Dennis Prager, “Why The Left Hates Conservatism,” WND, October 18, 2022
https://www.wnd.com/2022/10/left-hates-conservatism/?utm_source=izooto&utm_medium=push_notification&utm_campaign=Why_the_left_hates_conservatism
 
2.  Ibid.
 
3.  Ibid.
 
 
 
Scripture references:
 
 
 
1.  John 14:6
 
2.  Numbers 15:16
 
3.  Psalms 111:10
 
4.  Proverbs  1:7
 
5.  Malachi 3:6
 
6.  Hebrews 13:8
 
7.  Genesis 2:16-17
 
8.  Genesis 3:3
 
9.  Genesis 3:4-6
 
10.  Genesis 3:7
 
11.  Genesis 3:14-16
 
12.  Isaiah 14:11-21
 
13.  Ezekiel 28:12-19
 
14.  Romans 8:19-22
 
15.  Romans 3:23
 
16.  Romans 5:12
 
17.  Romans 6:23
 
18.  Matthew 15:11, 18-20
 
19.  2 Peter 3:9
 
20.  2 Corinthians 5:21
 
21.  Hebrews 7:26-27
 
22.  Romans 4:25
 
23.  Romans 10:13
 
24.  2 Corinthians 5:17
 
25.  2 Corinthians 5:18
 
26.  Revelation 21-22
 
27.  Matthew 10:28
 
28.  1 Corinthians 15:51-55
 
29.  1 Thessalonians 4:13-18





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