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Rev Terry Fox
Reverend Terry G. Fox is Senior Pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church. He is Chairman of the North American Mission Board, member of its Executive Committee and the FamilyNet Broadcast Communications Committee, as well as numerous other subcommittees. He's listed on the Who's Who Among Outstanding Corporate Executives. He is a sought after speaker and has traveled and ministered in many places in the United States, Latin America and Southeast Asia. Rev. Fox and his wife Barbara have three children. You may contact him at Immanuel Baptist Church, 1415 South Topeka, Wichita, Kansas, 67211; phone (316) 262-1452; or Fax (316) 262-4704.
Religion
2003-12-01 08:41:00
Is this like Sodom and Gomorrah, or what?
: It seems as though there has never been a time when the world was further removed from God than at present, unless it was prior to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, but we're almost at that point now it seems.  What universal message needs to be given to mankind, and what can each of us do to get us back on track?
ANSWER: There have been many times in history when things looked hopeless. Consider these: (1) During the collapse of the Roman empire when the Huns destroyed cities and killed the populous. (2) After the plague killed 1/3 of all Europeans in a two-year period. (3) 1942, with the USA still in the Depression and Hitler and the Japanese military were conquering the world. (4) 1960's, when two great powers were poised to nuke the earth to a cinder.  So hope can exist in such times.  But, many Biblical warnings tell that things will get worse as the end approaches.  See II Tim.3:1-5, Matt.24:3-31, Luke 21:8-10 and 24-28.   The peace and prosperity that America enjoyed in the 20th century was almost unique in history.  Much of it was due to the underlying Christian beliefs in God and His moral standards. Our legal system grew from the 10  Commandments.  Marriage and family were influenced by Biblical teachings which gave women equal standing with men in God's sight. Believing that everyone is "endowed by their Creator with the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" led us into a Civil War to abolishing slavery.  None of these were threatened by The Great Depression.  Families remained stable among all groups; church influence was high; crime rate did not increase; moral standards were strong.   But all of these are under attack now. Your reference to Sodom and Gomorrah suggests that you are thinking of the blatant promotion of homosexuality as normal and the disastrous sexual drenching of our culture during the past 40 years.  Prime time TV has programs which would have resulted in the closing of a theater if shown in 1975.  The TV networks compete to "expand the envelope" of sexually specific content. Children are exposed to sexual information that they are not capable of handling.  Marriage is under attack. The media preaches a lifestyle for men that is lifelong adolescence: "dating" from one relationship to another without commitment. And they picture women as having "the right" to live this same disastrous way, including the aborting of a  baby if it is inconvenient.  Our founding fathers warned that liberty requires that "the passions" of  men must be under self-control for liberty to be workable.  If we do not put the limits on ourselves, then government will have to do so.  Young men especially require a father's guidance and modeling if we are to avoid lawless and irresponsible gangs.  But 25% of our babies now are born to unmarried women and half grow up in households without a father present.   In all this I agree with your comment: America's future appears bleak. We are similar to England in 1700.  The State Church was lifeless; gangs of orphans stalked the cities; public drunkenness was pervasive; a poverty-stricken minority was expanding, and rigid "class distinctions" left the poor without hope.  The historian Leckey said that England would have had a bloody revolution similar to the French Revolution if it had not been for the revival led by the Wesleys. It transformed British society.   The Wesleyan revival spread to America just before the formation of the United States.  We were the beneficiaries of this Christian influence.... but in this past generation we have lost most of it.  Anti-Christian forces have passed laws permitting obscenity and sexual license, but restricting Christian influence in public schools, court rooms and the entertainment media. Pray for revival!  Who will be our Wesley, our Whitefield, Moody or Wilberforce?   So you ask, "What universal message needs to be given to mankind?" The same message that has been required for 2,000 years.  God isloving and merciful, but our sin separates us from Him as well as from other people.  Jesus Christ suffered death to pay for our sins and rose from death to give us hope.  He lives to offer forgiveness and new life to all who will trust Him to invade their life and change their thoughts, wants and actions. The alternative is a self-centered, joyless life and condemnation after death.  Only under God's control can we live peacefully and happily.  That's the life-giving message for individuals and for our culture.
 
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