Applying Caulking and Raising Children

“When someone does work for you, you also know the difference between the two [superior versus average, rlv]. You know the difference between a good caulking job, average, and poor. Probably many of you wouldn’t even accept average, let alone poor, and you know the distinctions.”

The above comment by Kent Brandenburg on his blog spurred some further thoughts in a slightly different direction from his main point. Brandenburg explained that when someone does work for you, you know “the difference between a good caulking job, average, and poor.”

A person does not have to be capable of doing a good caulking job to know a good caulking job when he sees it. If the homeowner complains, the caulker might retort, “Have you ever applied caulk?” The homeowner might be forced to answer, “No.” This, nevertheless is not an effective retort. One who cannot do a good caulking job can nevertheless have eyes to see and recognize a job that is not good!

Sometimes a person is trying to do something, or live in a certain way, and things are not going well. Someone else recognizes they are not doing a good job. Let’s say a parent is having difficulty raising a child. A childless unmarried Christian might advise the parent that he must not “spare the rod.” The parent might retort, “Have you ever raised a child?” The childless Christian is forced to answer, “No.” This, however, does not prove the advice itself is bad. (Yes, it is easy for a person with no children to hand out advice to folks who are in the midst of raising children, and sometimes even be arrogant about it.) Nevertheless, biblical counsel is true regardless who gives it, if they give it out correctly as God gave it. God knows all things. He knows how to raise children. He wrote the book on it! Knowing the Bible, you can know what a “good job” (regarding anything) is.

Pro-Life Reply: When Does Life Begin

The Pro-Life Reply to: “No One Knows When Life Begins”

In this video, Dr. Tara Sander Lee, a molecular geneticist and Director of Life Sciences for the Charlotte Lozier Institute, delivers a scientific response to this common argument and dives into the developmental stages of the preborn child.

Have a listen. This lesson is under 5 minutes. In it, the speaker makes these points:

• Not knowing when life begins should be an argument AGAINST abortion
• The developing baby grows at an extremely rapid pace, especially in the first trimester
• At 22 weeks, it is possible for babies to be born and survive outside the womb
• In the womb, babies exhibit behaviors we do as adults
• Zygote, blastocyst, embryo, and fetus are all terms that merely refer to age
• Preborn babies are not parasites; if they were, the mother’s immune system would attack it
• It is a scientific certainty that human life begins at the moment of fertilization

Pro-Life Reply: My Body, My Choice

The Pro-Life Reply to: “My Body, My Choice”

In this video, Kirsten Watson, mother of 7, including twins, explains how to respond to “My Body, My Choice” and reinforce the pro-life argument for the most vulnerable members of society. Be informed and better prepared in less than 5 minutes. Some of the points she makes are:

• When a woman is pregnant, there is more than one body involved
• A right isn’t a right if I only apply it to me
• A woman’s right over her own body does not give her the right to end the life of any other human being
• Mothers and fathers have a natural and legal obligation to support their children after birth, so it should follow that they have this obligation before birth
• “My body, my choice” encourages men to use women, not respect them

These little ones

Oh, the heartbreak to view these little faces.

Matthew 19:14 But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.

Random remarks re the suckling and the service

Or, what about nurseries?

I grew up in a church that thought parents and children should be in the service together. There was no nursery. Spanking was also still in vogue! Children learned to behave in church at a young age. It scarred me for life. I became a Baptist preacher.

Modern societies often remove children from public life because doing otherwise is inconvenient and inexpedient. Some civilized societies (so-called) even remove children from life itself. In contrast, children ought to be cherished, nurtured, nourished, and seen in the Lord’s churches. The biblical worldview holds a radically different and counter-cultural approach from the world system. Young people, young families, small children, and babies have been basic to the progress of the Lord’s churches throughout this age – have been, continue, and will continue to be so. This should include integrating children into the church’s gathered services.

Recognizing that children of believers are lost – not just little believers in training – we also submit to the Word, which gives neither command nor example to follow the consumer-based models of creating separate services to satisfy the cravings of the children and convenience of the adults. When small children are brought to services, as they should be, parents of these children can (as much as possible) avoid deliberately distracting everyone. Those who do not have small children should welcome them and their parents – and be forbearing at times when such is necessary.  Parents should remove children when it is appropriate to the situation – but must also be very careful so that the children do not learn to use disruption to get their wants and way! Children learn how to behave at the church meeting by being in the church meeting. If church services are absent of children, soon both adults and children are warmed to the idea that they shouldn’t be there (even though they will vociferously deny it).

Don’t view babies at church as a problem. If you do, maybe you have a problem! If a baby starts crying, thank God that he is still blessing the world with babies. Thank him that your church has benefitted from that blessing. Thank him that your church can be a witness to the next generations. Thank him that your church hasn’t become so old and dead that no new life (even physical) can enter. Thank him that the baby is healthy and has a good set of lungs! I see nothing wrong with having a room where a parent can take a child to nurse them, feed them, change them, or rock them, as needed, but the concept of having a place so the babies will not “distract” the adults arises more from a negative view of the presence of children than any supposed benefits the baby (or small children) derive from it. Someone observed that if most of the young families have babies hanging on their shoulders, fewer will worry about a couple of babies screaming. May God bless us all with that problem!

Why Christians Are Abandoning the Orphanage

Worth thinking about:

Why Christians Are Abandoning the Orphanage -- “A new focus on the family is changing how Christians care for abandoned and neglected children.”

“What was designed as a temporary solution to address a crisis became a permanent problem,” Ruslan Maliuta, international facilitator of World Without Orphans said. The temporary solution is the orphanage, while the goal should be to get the children out of orphanages and into families.

In the last century, Christian organizations proliferated orphanages as a quick solution to swelling numbers of abandoned children in poor countries where corrupt or inefficient governments weren’t providing adequate social services. That has left Christians today as the dominant provider of orphan care in much of the world.

Even in early 20th-century America, “the church had a leading role in building orphanages to take care of children,” said Jerry Haag, president of the 112-year-old Florida Baptist Children’s Homes (FBCH). “They didn’t have parents who could take care of them through the Depression era.”According to WWO, orphans were historically defined by the loss of both parents, usually through death. UNICEF eventually broadened the definition to include children who have lost only one parent—a definition that would seem to have support in the Bible, which uses the words “orphan” and “fatherless” interchangeably.

Good News began efforts to strengthen biological families, accepting children only as a last resort. It also worked to remove any parental rights over abandoned children, enabling them to be moved into foster care or adopted. With the church’s encouragement, families from churches in and around their city have adopted more than 100 children. (Dudnik and his wife, Tamara, adopted Sergey.)

On the Day My Baby Died

Please take the time to read this post:

On the Day My Baby Died -- "While I only knew my child in the womb for a few weeks, the Lord had already firmly planted him or her in my heart. I prayed for that child. I loved that child."

Buds And Babies

Buds And Babies by Christina Georgina Rossetti 

A million buds are born that never blow, 
That sweet with promise lift a pretty head 
To blush and wither on a barren bed 
And leave no fruit to show. 

Sweet, unfulfilled. Yet have I understood 
One joy, by their fragility made plain: 
Nothing was ever beautiful in vain, 
Or all in vain was good.

Children and Church

In general children come into churches much earlier in progressive churches as opposed to primitivistic churches -- and probably earlier in "Arminian" churches as opposed to "Calvinistic" churches. I realize these are very broad generalizations. Whether or not this observation is correct, what do you think about the relationship of children and church, and especially the following specific questions? 

1. What biblical basis is there for children coming into churches at very young ages? (e.g. 4 or 5 years old)
2. If you use believers' church and believers' baptism as a basis, why do you think the apostolic churches did not seem to have any significant outreach to young children? (Or do you think they did?)
3. If children are church members on a equal footing with all other members, how do feel about their equal status in church decision making to mature adult members? 
4. How much actual difference is there between baptizing 3 and 4 year old children who can give the right answers as prompted by parents (or pastors), and baptizing infants whose parents have faith for them? 
5. Why has there been a trend among Baptist churches in America to baptize children at younger and younger ages than our forefathers did? Were they wrong? Are we right?

A theology of marriage and childbearing

Is there a theology of marriage and childbearing? What do the Scriptures say? Do the Scriptures present marriage as a covenant between a man and a woman in which children are intended and expected? Or do the Scriptures present marriage as a covenant between a man and a woman in which a choice to have or not have children is part of the covenant they make between themselves? Does it matter one way or the other? The following are some Bible verses that relate to the issue.

1. When we look at the original, we see a lifelong union between one man and one woman with the blessings and responsibilities of bringing forth children. Quote: Gen 2:18,21-24 - And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him...And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. (cf. 1:27,28)

2. Fruitfulness is a blessing and a command to Adam and Eve. Quote: Gen 1:27-28 - So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

3. There is a similar blessing/command motif for Noah and Jacob. Quote: Gen 9:1 - And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth. Gen 35:11 - And God said unto him, I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins.

4. God's creative plan is that the woman should bear children. That she would bear them "in sorrow" is a result of the fall. Quote: Gen 3:16 - Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.

5. The Lord has power over the womb, both opening and shutting. Quote: Gen 29:31 - And when the LORD saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb: but Rachel was barren. I Sam 1:5 - But unto Hannah he gave a worthy portion; for he loved Hannah: but the LORD had shut up her womb.

6. Children (and even grandchildren) are an heritage (inheritance) and a reward from God. Quote: Psalm 127:3-5 - Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate. Psalm 128:1-3 - Blessed is every one that feareth the LORD; that walketh in his ways. For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee. Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table. Prov 17:6 - Children's children are the crown of old men; and the glory of children are their fathers.

7. Paul exhorts younger women to marry and bear children. Quote: I Tim 5:14 - I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully.

8. Marrying and bearing children seem to be the normal and expected course for the Christian (so much so that Paul assumes the elders will be married with children). Quote: I Tim 5:10 - Well reported of for good works; if she have brought up children, if she have lodged strangers, if she have washed the saints' feet, if she have relieved the afflicted, if she have diligently followed every good work. Titus 2:4,5 - That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children. To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed. I Tim 3:2-4,12 - A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife...One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity...Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well.

9. There are exceptions to this "normal course". For persons to devote themselves to remain unmarried in order to give themselves over to the Lord's service seems above average, but certainly a good thing and that is acceptable to God. Quote: Matthew 19:12 - For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother's womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it. Compare I Corinthians 7:8, et al.

10. Examples of Jesus' feelings toward children: Quote: Matt 19:14 - But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven. Matt 18:2-6 And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. 

I would like to keep any discussion impersonal and Scripture-oriented. Regardless of one's personal status in this matter, I hope that we agree that it is Scripture and not our practice that decides the truth. The general tenor of Scripture combined with specific teachings gives strong evidence that children are an intended and expected consequence of marriage. 

Thoughts?

Anniversary of death

On Friday December 14, 2012, a shocked and saddened America watched as media continuously reported on the cold-blooded murder of 20 children in Newtown,  Connecticut. A nation mourned together and President Barack Obama stated in a Sunday prayer vigil, "This is our first task, caring for our children. It's our first job. If we don't get that right, we don't get anything right. That's how, as a society, we will be judged...Can we honestly say that we are doing enough to keep our children, all of them, safe from harm...Can we say that we are truly doing enough to give all the children of this country the chance that they deserve to live out their lives in happiness and with purpose?"

Flash forward to January 22, 2013. A nation united on the horror of the murder of 20 small school children is a nation divided on the murder of millions of children in the womb. Yesterday was the 40th anniversary of two landmark and highly flawed decisions of the Supreme Court. The decisions issued in Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton effectively meant that the unborn in the United States are not protected from death by an abortion at any stage of pregnancy. Based on numbers reported by the Guttmacher Institute 1973-2008 (and estimates thereafter), that judicial travesty has resulted in nearly 56 million abortions by its fortieth anniversary. 56 million!! Oh, that our President, our Congress, our judges, our people would rise up with resolve to give all the children of this country the chance that they deserve to live.

Readings related to abortion, Roe v. Wade, etc.
“3801 Lancaster”: Don’t turn away from this horror
9 Things You Should Know About Roe v. Wade
A mother’s instinct collapses under the culture of death
Crushed with regret after an abortion
Feminist says baby is “a life worth sacrificing”
Fortieth anniversary of Roe v. Wade
Forty Years after Roe, Human Dignity Hangs in the Balance
Is feminism more important than the deaths of 55 million children?
NBC reports Roe v. Wade decision (January 22, 1973)
Pew Research Center survey report on Roe v. Wade
President Obama’s Pro-life Message
Religious Groups' Official Positions on Abortion
The Supreme Court, Roe v. Wade, and Abortion Law

Readings on Abortion

The posting of links does not constitute an endorsement of the blogs linked, and not necessarily even agreement with the posts linked.

“Abortion is as American as Apple Pie” — The Culture of Death Finds a Voice
A Non-Religious Argument Against Abortion
Map: Record Number of State Abortion Laws in 2011
Marking Four Decades of Abortion Politics
The Case Against Abortion: Abortion Techniques
True Story of a Baby Saved from Abortion

Readings about infants and children

The posting of links does not constitute an endorsement of the blogs linked, and not necessarily even agreement with the posts linked.

These readings offer a wide variety of subjects and opinions on the subjects of infant salvation, infant baptism, child baptism and so forth. Read them with thoughtfulness and reflection, an open mind and a Berean spirit.

How Are Our Children Saved?
How do you discern the conversion of a child?
Infant salvation
John The Baptist: Saved in the Womb?
Letter to a friend about Matt 19.14 and infant salvation
On Calvinism and Infant Salvation: A Brief Proposal
On Calvinism and Infant Salvation: A Brief Proposal, II
Romanian Forum: On the Baptism of Small Children
Should We Baptize Small Children?
The Age of Accountability
The Age (or State) of Accountability
The Baptism of Children
What happens to Infants and Children Who Die?

Prayer for children

Prayer for children.

Gracious Lord, our children see,
By thy mercy we are free;
But shall these, alas! remain
Subjects still of Satan's reign?
Israel's young ones, when of old
Pharaoh threatened to withhold;
Ex 10:9
Then thy messenger said, "No;
Let the children also go."

When the angel of the Lord
Drawing forth his dreadful sword,
Slew, with an avenging hand,
All the first-born of the land:
Ex 12:13
Then thy peoples' doors he passed,
Where the bloody sign was placed;
Hear us, now, upon our knees,
Plead the blood of CHRIST for these!

LORD we tremble, for we know
How the fierce malicious foe;
Wheeling round his watchful flight,
Keeps them ever in his sight:
Spread thy pinions, King of kings!
Hide them safe beneath thy wings;
Lest the rav'nous bird of prey
Stoop, and bear the brood away.

William Cowper (1731-1800)
Olney Hymns, 1779

Truth about birth control pills

A sermon and statements by Thomas White, Vice President of Student Affairs at Southwestern Seminary in Fort Worth, TX, has made a media "splash". The area's Channel 8 biasedly reports it this way: Baptist preacher says birth control is 'murder'. WFAA's headline doesn't contribute to reasoned discussion of the matter. Thomas White did not say that birth-control is murder. He specifically referenced a particular effect of the birth-control pill, which prevents a fertilized egg (a human life if life begins at conception) from attaching to the uterine wall, and says that is murder. This is a little mentioned effect of the pill. Since it is not known how often the pill works in this manner, "most health centers will not cite the thinning of the endometrial lining as a function of the pill."

Dr. J. C. Willke writes, "So the widely used contraceptive pills have three functions, any one of which is said to 'prevent' pregnancy. Only two of the functions, however, actually do prevent pregnancy: (1) the barrier mechanism of the mucous plug at the cervix, (2) the suppression of ovulation. The third function, however, does not really prevent pregnancy, but rather produces a micro-abortion at one week of life...In 97 or 98% of the time, the effect is one of preventing pregnancy. But, in perhaps two or more percent of the time, the effect is abortifacient. There is no way in the normal clinical practice of obstetrics of knowing which is happening, or when." -- From Life Issue Institute

Socrates got it right

Socrates, who died around 399 BC, was a Greek philosopher and not a Christian. But he certainly got it right when he said: "Could I climb to the highest place in Athens, I would lift my voice and proclaim, 'Fellow citizens, why do you turn and scrape every stone to gather wealth, and take so little care of your children to whom one day you must relinquish it all?'" -- Socrates, about 420 B.C., according to Plato.

Another "lesson from history" may be found at the link.

Maybe we should...

...think this way more often?

“Wherever God has a child, I have a brother or a sister.” -- W. Carl Ketcherside