The World Bigots
“A wise man will hear, and will increase learning…” Prov 1:5
THE WORLD BIGOTS
“The transgression of the wicked saith within my heart, that there is NO FEAR OF GOD before his eyes. For he flattereth himself IN HIS OWN EYES, until his iniquity be found to be HATEFUL. The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit: he hath left off to be wise, and to do good” (Psalm 36:1-3).
“Seeing thou HATEST instruction, and castest my words behind thee” (Psalm 50:17).
“But _______ would not hearken to my voice; and _______would none of me. So I gave them up unto THEIR OWN hearts’ lust: and they walked in THEIR OWN counsels. Oh that______had hearkened unto me, and ______had walked in my ways!…The HATERS of the LORD should have submitted themselves unto him…”(Psalm 81:11-15).
“For that they HATED knowledge, and did not choose the FEAR of the LORD. They would none of my counsel: they DESPISED all my reproof. Therefore shall they eat of THEIR OWN way, and be filled with THEIR OWN devices” (Proverbs 1:29-31).
“And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men LOVED DARKNESS rather than light, because their deeds were EVIL. For every one that doeth evil HATETH the light, neither cometh to the light, LEST HIS DEEDS SHOULD BE REPROVED. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God” (John 3:19-21).
“And even as THEY DID NOT LIKE to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a rebrobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient…Who knowing the JUDGMENT of God, that they wich commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but HAVE PLEASURE IN them that do them” (Romans 1:28,32).
The following article by Brother Busch appeared in abbreviated form in the “Letters to the Editor” section of the New Paltz Times (Ulster Publishing.VOL 4.NO 51.Thursday, December 16, 2004). Here is the full text of the article including the portions that were omitted from what appeared in the paper.
THOSE INTOLERANT BIGOTS
Here is a list of names my friend has been called by a number of people who write to the New Paltz Times Letters to the Editor section:fascist, right-wing hater, narrow-minded, bigot, intolerant, unpatriotic, homophobe, Nazi, etc. My question to these folks is: What do they mean by tolerant? Does Tony have to measure up to the standard which they set in order to be tolerant? My, my, how intolerant of them. Let the truth be known: It all boils down to the question as to whether or not these name-calling, intolerant, bigots believe in “moral absolutes.” They can only answer NO since through their letter writing they have revealed that they are basing their judgments on their own “god-like” standards. If indeed their answer is there are NO MORAL ABSOLUTES, it would be interesting to know if they are ABSOLUTELY sure about that; and of course that would leave us with at least one MORAL ABSOLUTE.
It seems you are only tolerant if you base your standards on THEIR opinions. And if it is intolerant to take issue with someone setting themselves up as “god” and making the standard, then what, pray tell, is so intolerant about Tony setting up his own standard. Surely you intolerant bigots wouldn’t push your belief system and faith on him. Who are you to tell him what is right and what is wrong? You are incredibly moralistic and seek only to exalt relativism so you can push out the opposition and enforce your own bigoted agenda. As far as I know, Tony hasn’t tried to keep you from being able to disagree with him or debate accordingly. He has merely committed the unpardonable sin of daring to disagree with YOU. How dare him! Well, two can play that game. If you don’t have the right to tell someone what they can and can’t do, et cetera, then shut up already. You have no more right than anyone else. It’s all relative; get with the times.
Of course, we haven’t begun to delve into where these “rights” you talk of come from. You surely don’t expect me to recognize them simply because you blindly accept them by faith. I, with the founding fathers, recognize that without God, any talk of “rights” is absolutely ridiculous; but these are things that are quite beyond the grasp of the amateur philosophers of today. “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Proverbs 1:7). You don’t think “intolerance” is a SIN, do you? If so, why? You certainly wouldn’t be so moralistic as to declare intolerance WRONG, would you? Why, you narrow-minded, self-righteous preacher you. You don’t seem to be very tolerant of people who disagree with YOU.
What if I don’t accept your ideas of intolerance as fitting with MY lifestyle. You religious nuts aren’t going to impose your blind faith and religion of “diversity” on me, are you? It would seem that absolutes are only okay when YOU are the final authority. Either there is a final authority or their isn’t. If not, then why would I waste any time listening to anything you have to say? To tell me it is WRONG to think and say something is “wrong,” and not realize that you yourself are doing the very same thing and being “moralistic,” is, quite frankly, very humorous and described in the Bible as being the “vanity” of man’s thinking. When it comes to this intolerance thing, you people seem to be very “judgmental” -a word which in your enlightened and permissive circles seems to be considered “wrong,” which I am not exactly sure why, as I understand you people are tolerant and not moralistic. My “lifestyle choices", et cetera, include me making judgments about a whole host of things, and I really wish you would respect my “diversity of opinion,” et cetera. I mean, I certainly am not WRONG in my opinions, am I? Tolerance please!
I have read my friend’s letters and he has stated he based his criticisms about abortion, homosexuality and ONE means of salvation upon the Word of God and believes our authority concerning moral absolutes comes from that source. His critics base their judgments upon what they individually perceive to be tolerant and true, thus making themselves “little gods.” Being a logical thinking person I would rather trust in Tony Bonagura’s judgments since they are not bigoted nor intolerant but rather based upon the moral absolutes put forth by our great God and Savior in the Bible. The “little gods” opinions and judgments can only be bigoted and intolerant since they are exactly that: individual opinions based on nothing. Now you tell me which person’s judgments put us on the road back to Fascism and Nazism. Just look at history. After all, Stalin was just pursuing what was right for him.
It is all about final authority. I believe God, the Creator, is the final authority. You believe you are the final authority. But if you are, then so am I. Shall we dance?
1.) You first question God and His Word as the final authority.
“…Yea, hath God said…” (Genesis 3:3).
2.) You then contradict what He has said and reject Him as the final authority because you want to do what He has forbidden.
“…Ye shall NOT surely die” (Genesis 3:4).
3.) You then set yourself up as the final authority so you can do what you want to do and fully exonerate yourself.
“…Ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5).
You then seek out any means possible to remove the shame and silence your conscience as it testifies against you because you know you have disobeyed.
“And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked” (Gen3:7).
Just one problem. You will eventually have to give account to the judge-the real FINAL authority.
“And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgement” (Hebrews 9:27).
“..but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment…Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh…” (Ecclesiastes 11:9-12:1)
This is why YOU are HATE-filled and despise preachers. They tell you what you don’t want to hear-the TRUTH.
“How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge…Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof…For that they HATED knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD” (Proverbs 1:22-29).
“Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope…Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe unto them that are wise IN THEIR OWN eyes and prudent IN THEIR OWN sight! (Isaiah 5:18-21).
“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgement, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:13,14).
Rather than running from God, which is futile, you need to come clean. He is calling you.
“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ…For when we were yet WITHOUT strength, in due time Christ died FOR THE UNGODLY. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. BUT GOD commendeth his love toward us, in that, WHILE WE WERE YET SINNERS, Christ died FOR US” (Romans 5:1-8).
“For the wages of sin is death; but the GIFT of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23).
“For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God…For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save THEM THAT BELIEVE” (1Corinthians 1:18,21).
This offer is still open. Receive that FREE GIFT of salvation today and celebrate CHRISTmas early. Stop your irrational fear of absolute truth. Death is sure. And judgement is surer still. Someone is trying to keep you in the dark. I wonder who? Ssssssss
“But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake” (2Corinthians 4:3-5).
“And moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people KNOWLEDGE; yea, he gave good heed, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs. The preacher sought to find out acceptable words: and that which was written was upright, even WORDS OF TRUTH” (Ecclesiastes 12:9,10).
“Yea, hath God said…” (Genesis 3:1). It is either His Word or yours. Choose wisely, your eternal future is at stake.
“And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire…But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone; which is the second death” (Revelation 20:15; 21:8).
David W. Busch-Author of APPOINTED: The Biblical Fall Feasts and the Return of the Lord Jesus Christ, King of Yisrael, King of All the Earth.
