Human Nature

Human Nature (apart from Christ) -Part 2

     See also Culture, Romans 1:22-32 and Human Nature

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July 2007

The Entitlement Epidemic: Who's Really to Blame? "...our entitlement problem has many roots: • Indulgent parenting. ... Why do we make their beds and pour their juice long after they could do it themselves?....

• Consumer culture. ...advertising fosters entitlement. Consider Burger King's slogan 'Have it your way.' Tim Curran of Omaha, Neb., believes it encouraged rudeness and selfishness, leading people to become 'unglued over minutiae,' such as burgers that arrive with unwanted pickles....

• The self-esteem movement. In 1986, California created a state task force on self-esteem. Schools nationwide later adopted 'everybody's a winner' philosophies. One teacher told me that her superiors advised her to tell students that she liked their smiles, or the way they sat up straight, rather than focusing on, say, their failed spelling tests."

Blame It on Mr. Rogers: Why Young Adults Feel So Entitled: "... a discussion thread about Mr. Rogers begins with this posting: 'Mr. Rogers spent years telling little creeps that he liked them just the way they were. He should have been telling them there was a lot of room for improvement.... Nice as he was, and as good as his intentions may have been, he did a disservice.'...

     "Signs of narcissism among college students have been rising for 25 years.... 'Because everything is child-centered today, we're depriving children of adults,' he says. 'If they never see us as adults being adults, how will they deal with important matters when it is their world?'" See Signs of the times

November 2006

'I am Guilty of Sexual Immorality ... a Deceiver and a Liar,' Haggard Confesses: "'The fact is I am guilty of sexual immorality,' he said. 'I am a deceiver and a liar. There is a part of my life that is so repulsive and dark that I have been warring about it for my entire life. ... The accusations that have been leveled against me are not all true but enough of them are true....'

      "Minnesota pastor Leith Anderson, credited with saving the National Association of Evangelicals from financial ruin during his 2001-2003 presidency, will lead the organization in the aftermath of the resignation of president Ted Haggard. Anderson is senior pastor of the Wooddale Church in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.... He is also the author of several books on leadership, including Leadership That Works and Dying for Change." See Re-Inventing the Church

September 2006

Doctor ‘Steals’ Dalit’s Kidney In India: "While undergoing surgery for pain in her uterus, a Dalit woman was robbed of her kidney by her doctor. So far, according to news reports, her efforts at justice have been met with resistance and scorn because of her 'untouchable' caste."

August 2006

This link simply shows the cruelty that has been part of pagan cultures around the world, including Norway where I grew up. The Vikings were no kinder than the Aztecs. Apart from Jesus Christ, idolatry, murder and fear would reign everywhere.

Aztecs butchered, ate Spanish invaders : Skeletons found at an unearthed site in Mexico show Aztecs captured, ritually sacrificed and partially ate several hundred people traveling with Spanish forces in 1520. Skulls and bones from the Tecuaque archeological site near Mexico City show about 550 victims had their hearts ripped out by Aztec priests in ritual offerings, and were dismembered or had their bones boiled or scraped clean, experts say. The findings support accounts of Aztecs capturing and killing a caravan of Spanish conquistadors and local men, women and children traveling with them in revenge for the murder of Cacamatzin, king of the Aztec empire's No. 2 city of Texcoco. ... Knife cuts and even teeth marks on the bones show which ones had meat stripped off to be eaten, Martinez said. Some pregnant women in the group had their unborn babies stabbed inside their bellies as part of the ritual." See Human Nature

June 2006

Is hate a bad thing? "In our ongoing struggle with the PC crowd we usually find ourselves behind the eight ball because we continually allow them to frame the agenda. They have redefined the English language, and as a result, most mainstream Americans no longer know what is acceptable to say. Hate speech, hate crimes, and hatemonger are terms that have been created to silence the Truth. The enemies of God are trying to making hate obsolete.... You see it is OK--even necessary--to hate THINGS… but not PEOPLE. I wish more people hated some things." See Human Nature

March 2006

Barry Bonds, Please Meet Andrew Fastow: "What's dying here may be a nation's common understanding of what's right and what's wrong.... There was a time when an internal yellow flag would slow down most people heading into an ethical hairpin curve. Now lots of people seem to roar through the yellow flags, and mass media being what it is, we all get to participate in every scurvy detail of these bouts of moral collapse....

      "Cheating is cheating, at the local playground or a packed ballpark. The problem, it is no revelation to say, is a generalized weakening of the codes used at least since Moses to keep societies intact, to suppress the virus of rampant lying, cheating and chiseling....

      "Morality? Entire presidential campaigns and Supreme Court nominations are fought now over someone's idea of morality. What's right and wrong has become as red and blue as our politics."

November 2005

What Is Truth? "It is a natural fault in the fallen human makeup that leads people into the wholehearted acceptance of delusion. They (we) become willingly blind, forcefully ignorant of anything that betrays our most sacred personal, religious, or ethical creeds. In general, the sad bottom line is: people believe what they want to believe." See Don't Be Deceived!

September 2005

Ray Nagin: School Buses Not Good Enough: "New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin garnered a ton of publicity... when he explained why he didn't use 250 city school buses to evacuate his city's flood victims. Turns out, Nagin turned his nose up at the yellow buses, demanding more comfortable Greyhound coaches instead. 'I need 500 buses, man,' he told WWL. 'Get every doggone Greyhound bus line in the country....' While Nagin was waiting for his Greyhound fleet, Katrina's floodwaters swamped his school buses, rendering them unusable." See Human Nature

May 2005

What happened to history? "Our society suffers from the tyranny of the present. Presentism is the strange affliction of assuming we ourselves created all our good things -- as if those without our technology who came before us lacked our superior knowledge and morality.... We naturally speak of our own offspring in reverential tones. Do this or that 'for the children' -- youth who are the most affluent and leisured in the history of civilization....

    "We rarely mention our forebears. These were the millions of less fortunate Americans who built the country, handed down to us our institutions, and died keeping them safe.... We argue endlessly over the academic freedom of a Ward Churchill -- plagiarist and faker -- as he becomes famous for calling the 3,000 murdered on September 11, 2001, 'little Eichmanns.' Few in the debate pause, if just for a moment, to think of the thousands of now anonymous Americans blown apart over Berlin or on Okinawa to ensure we can freely embarrass ourselves over this charlatan....

     "....if one believes human nature is malleable -- or with requisite money and counseling can be 'improved' -- history becomes just an obsolete science. It would be no different from 18th-century biology before the microscope or early genetics without knowledge of DNA. Once man before our time appears alien, the story of his past has very little prognostic value." Human Nature

February 2005

Slavery in Gambia: "Slavery existed in West Africa for many years before the Europeans arrived. Warring tribes had often raided each other’s villages and taken prisoners, who were then kept as slaves. But these slaves were treated as members of their new master’s family and many had a chance to eventually earn their freedom and were often able to cultivate their own land. Domestic slavery continued in the Gambia until early twentieth century.

      "The British eventually abolished the slave trade in 1807 but France, Brazil, Portugal and the United States of America pursued it with even greater vigour. The British tried to enforce an end to the trade... by placing their Royal Navy off the West African coast to chase down all slave ships headed for the New World and return the ‘Liberated Africans’ to the mainland. So after 1807 the British once again mounted troops at James Island in order to intercept the slavers.... Britain finally abolished all slavery in 1833 and France followed suit in 1848."

Ending slavery: "To me the most staggering thing about the long history of slavery -- which encompassed the entire world and every race in it -- is that nowhere before the 18th century was there any serious question raised about whether slavery was right or wrong. In the late 18th century, that question arose in Western civilization, but nowhere else....

     "The dozen men who formed the world's first anti-slavery movement saw their task as getting their fellow Englishmen to think about slavery -- about the brutal facts and about the moral implications of those facts.... The anti-slavery movement was spearheaded by people who would today be called 'the religious right.'...

     "The review of 'Bury the Chains in the New York Times tried to suggest that the ban against the international slave trade somehow served British self-interest. But John Stuart Mill, who lived in those times, said that the British 'for the last half-century have spent annual sums equal to the revenue of a small kingdom... for a cause... which was contrary to our pecuniary interest.'... But do not expect Hollywood to make a movie about anything so contrary to their vision of the world." See reparing for Victory

January 2005

Graner Found Guilty in Iraq Prisoner Abuse: "One witness, Syrian prisoner Amin al-Sheikh, had characterized Graner as the 'primary torturer,' who merrily whistled, sang and laughed while brutalizing him and forced him to eat pork and drink alcohol in violation of his Muslim faith." See Who can Resist the Pull of the Crowd?

Tsunami must be fault of the US? "INEVITABLY, confronted with a tragedy of unimaginable scale, the human mind looks for someone to blame. In the Dark Ages, disasters were ascribed to the wrath of God. Now, in an odd inversion that we like to think of as progress, they are adduced as evidence of no God. In the absence of a deity to decry or appease when the earth moves in such devastating fashion, humankind reaches for the next best thing - worldly authority. Authority should have known it was coming...." See Human Nature

August 2004

180 Congo Refugees Massacred in Burundi (Registration required): "Attackers armed with machetes and automatic weapons raided a U.N. refugee camp in western Burundi, shooting and hacking to death at least 180 men, women and children.... Burundian Hutu rebels claimed responsibility, insisting the camp for Congolese Tutsi refugees fleeing tribal fighting was a hide-out for Burundi army soldiers.... But most of the victims appeared to be women and children. Their charred remains lay among the cooking utensils and the smoldering remnants of their former homes on Saturday....

    "'People were sleeping when the attack happened,' Eliana Nabaa, spokeswoman of the U.N. mission in Congo said. 'People were killed as they tried to escape....'These guys were armed with grenades, machetes, and automatic weapons. While the attack was going on they were beating drums,' said Fernando del Mundo." (AP, 8-14-04) During the Rwanda slaughter, it was reported that the Hutu tended to be animist while many of the Tutsi were Christians. Please correct me if I'm wrong. Depravity

July 2004

Suspected killers just 'bored': "Three boys told police they beat to death a 55-year-old homeless man because they were 'bored.'... 'They were going to shoot some windows out of an old factory,' Brock told the Chronicle. 'Then they were going to shoot some cans. They came upon this homeless man, and they decided to harass him. They started hitting him, kicking him, and then he was shot with a BB gun.'...

      "'This was such a brutal and senseless crime,' Police Chief Richard Word told the paper. 'I cannot understand how three young boys could be so cold and callous... Something has gone terribly wrong when anyone, especially young people, can even conceive of such acts.'" Romans 1:22-32

March 2004

Youths forced boy to jump over cliff: "Visitors at a beauty spot near Glasgow [Scotland] watched helplessly as three boys forced a terrified schoolboy to fall 25ft over a cliff and then cheered as their victim plunged on to rocks below, a court heard yesterday.... The three teenagers... admitted surrounding the boy, striking him repeatedly on the head and body with golf clubs and a baton, and forcing him towards the edge of a cliff, which he fell over, all to his severe injury, danger of life and permanent impairment." Romans 1:22-32

January 2004

A Glimpse of the Future from a Ghost of the Past: "Freud maintained that sexual repression was the root cause of a society's ills. However, Unwin found the opposite to be true. His findings showed cultures that observed a strict sexual ethic – especially valuing pre-nuptial chastity and post-nuptial monogamy – thrived and flourished. However, those societies that rejected sexual restraint withered and died. ...'No exceptions to these rules.' Once a society utterly rejects a sexual ethic that values restraint and monogamy, its days are numbered." See Sex Ed and Global Values and Romans 1:18-22

December 2003

More middle school kids are depressed: "The number of middle school students who say they don't feel accepted at school and have felt depressed enough to stop doing regular activities is climbing, a new survey shows...."

       In a world that blurs or denies the only true hope of peace -- then stirs desires that can't be satisfied -- that's not surprising. See Jeremiah 2:13 and Psalm 27

July

As rapes rise in Baghdad, a scared silence: "In her loose black dress, gold hairband and purple flip-flops, Sanariya hops from seat to seat in her living room like any lively 9-year-old.... But at night, the memory of being raped by a stranger seven weeks ago pulls her into its undertow. She grows feverish and has nightmares....

      "Deeply traditional notions of honor foster a sense of shame so strong that many families offer no consolation or support for victims, only blame.... Sanariya's four brothers and parents beat her daily." Galatians 5:19-26

Kids Gambling - And Losing: "Much of the action is small-time - underage purchases of lottery tickets, playing cards or dice games for spare change. But experts say the long-term stakes are high because gamblers who start young are the most likely to develop addiction problems. 'This is the first generation of kids growing up when gambling is legal and available virtually nationwide." Not just legal -- Like promiscuity, it has become culturally acceptable. Jeremiah 2:13

Texas Case Spotlights 'Gay-on-Gay' Domestic Violence: "What is the greatest danger to gays: being the victim of a so-called hate crime or the victim of violence from a partner?

     "'The recent murder of a Texas woman by her lesbian lover has again raised the issue of gay-on-gay domestic violence. It's the secret homosexuals don't like to confront. It's not that homosexuals don't know that violence against one another is a major problem; they just don't want it to become common knowledge...'

     "'We believe as many as 650,000 gay men may be victims of domestic violence each year in the United States,' according to two homosexual activists who wrote a book several inches thick on the subject'.... Other data suggests lesbian domestic violence is at least equal in extent."

      We are seeing a pattern of cultural change that has brought personal and national devastation throughout history. That's why both the Old and New Testaments warn against homosexuality and promiscuity. But God offers a solution. See 1 Corinthians 6:9-11

June

Outrage as Oxford bans student for being Israeli: "An Oxford University professor has provoked outrage by rejecting an application from an Israeli PhD student purely because of his nationality. Andrew Wilkie... is under investigation after telling Amit Duvshani, a student at Tel Aviv university, that he and many other British academics were not prepared to take on Israelis because of the 'gross human rights abuses' he claims that they inflict on Palestinians....

      In today's ultra-liberal academia, even its vision of "diversity" and "equality" is threatened by the hateful biases of intolerant change agents. See A History Professor's Irrational Rage

One third live life stoned: "The Australia Institute survey reports men are more likely to seek refuge in alcohol, while women turn to tablets." Freedom in Christ

Influx of modern weapons fueling Congo massacres: "Batsi spotted a drunken, red-eyed band of soldiers stumbling toward the hut where he lay. He forced his 87-year-old mother awake. Run, he told her, grabbing her hand. Run with your spirit. ...

     "The new reality of ethnic conflict in this lawless corner of Congo is a grandmother shot in the back, a small playhouse bombed and a church choir missing half its members, many of them killed by rocket-propelled grenades and AK-47s....

      "U.N. peacekeepers have so far been unable to stop the killing." Small wonder - when unarmed UN "peacekeepers" have -- until last week -- had no authority or power to deal with the brutal bands of armed thugs. See the first item on this page: Global Management System

Aid workers under attack from militia in 'killing fields': "Militia controlling the Congolese town of Bunia have attacked humanitarian workers and raped members of their families in the last few days and continue to execute members of other tribes during the night....

     "Two of the victims were killed by ethnic Hema rebels, who seized control of the town three weeks ago, while the other two were murdered by rival Lendu militia.... 'They made us lie on the floor and then beat us with the butts of their guns,' said the hospital worker.... 'They demanded $1,000 [£630] not to harm us.'... On discovering that the group only had $50, the militiamen continued to beat up their victims, and... raped the hospital worker's 16-year-old niece." see The Fall and Rise of Human Violence

Girl raped on busy street: "A 14-year-old German girl was raped in broad daylight on a busy street by a drunken stranger despite her calls for help to several passers-by.... Although she immediately called out to a female passerby, who apparently understood her plea for help, the woman walked on. Soon after, a group of four people walked by and also ignored her screams.... [A]t least two men watched the attack from a nearby balcony and did not move to help...." It's happening in the US as well. See Chapter 8 in A Twist of Faith and The Fall and Rise of Human Violence

May

Don't Try This At Home: "Piercing the tongue is dangerous enough; splitting it is even more so and has the added disadvantage of being difficult to reverse. The major risks are infection — which can spread to the jaw and throat — and uncontrolled bleeding. You also have to learn to talk all over again." Proverbs 8-36

April

This link shows what happens when nations turn from God and mock His Word:

France is Not a Western Country Anymore: "Chirac is not the only politician of this stripe in France. These days, it is becoming hard to find a French politician ready to speak about human rights, freedom or democracy. All of them... are anti-American, anti-Israeli and 'pacifists.'...

      "Jews are not the only victims of France's new identification with radical Islam. In many French cities with a growing radical Islamist population, no teenage girl can go out in the evening, at least not without a full burqa. If she does, it will mean that 'she is for everybody': in short, a whore. In the same cities, every teenage girl - regardless of religion - has to wear the Muslim veil if she does not want to be harassed or killed. ...

      "Gang rape has become so frequent that a new word, used by the rapists themselves to define their hideous actions, is used by everybody: tournantes (revolving).... Policemen do nothing." Romans 1:22-32

At an empty Basra prison, memories of torture: "As the war slowly dismantles Saddam Hussein’s elaborate bureaucracy of terror, the citizens of Iraq’s second-largest city are beginning to glimpse the methods that gave him such effective control ...."

March

Iraqi refugee says world hasn't seen Saddam's cruelty: "Out of view of all the cameras, he said, are Saddam Hussein's henchmen, wandering through cities, forcing many to pick up arms and fight.... 'If they go home, they'll kill their families,' he said....

       "His father, Kadhim, who was forced to fight in the Iran-Iraq war, was killed in 1985 by Saddam's enforcers when he left the front lines to take care of his nine children.... Saddam killed thousands of Iraqis out of reprisal. The legend of Saddam's vengeance still keeps many Iraqi-Americans from speaking against his regime publicly." Galatians 5:19-26

World Bank chief issues opium alert: "Opium cultivation has reached record levels in Afghanistan, World Bank president James Wolfensohn warned yesterday. ... [D]rugs were now a bigger earner for the Afghan economy than overseas aid....

       "Opium was banned by the Taliban in 1999. A mere 1,685 hectares were cultivated the following year, according to the US State Department. However, last year a total of 30,750 hectares were harvested, helping restore Afghanistan to its role as the world's number one exporter of heroin precursors. Three quarters of all European heroin comes from Afghanistan...." John 2:24

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