Comments for Barry W. Stone's Blog

Comment on Ronnie’s Obituary by Kelsea

Kelsea — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 07:40:14 +0000

He will be missed greatly.

Comment on President Obama Bridging the Gap? by Jenny

Jenny — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 03:13:09 +0000

Dave, I believe we are to stand by Israel unconditionally. God will bless the people who bless them and curse those who curse them.

I thought you were genuinely wanting answers here. It appears I was mistaken.

Comment on President Obama Bridging the Gap? by Dave

Dave — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 12:18:49 +0000

Jenny, thanks for your thoughts. I guess when it comes down to it I am against ripping headlines from the front pages of the newspaper and saying look that is happening right now and that is what the Bible says…it is usually fabricated. And the reference you made to Jesus telling us about the end of days which is in Mark 13 is actually primarily about Israel of his day facing the destruction of the temple in 70 AD. In those days Jesus was actually against fighting the Romans – he said things like: love your enemies and bless those who curse you, turn the other cheek, go the extra mile.
Christians can be excited about “prophecy” being fulfilled with all the wars and carnage of our world going on, and I have observed that they have no concern for the plight of our world because they are getting out with their “exit strategy” the rapture – Theology that often brings about an escapist mentality instead cocern for God’s world.
And although I am all for looking to the Bible to understand my faith and the world, I don’t see it as a source book on how to make decisions in modern-day politics. You can’t just say, “Well, God chose Israel to be his people, so we have to support them wholeheartedly in whatever endeavor they take on.” I am all for support for Israel, but I am also for listening to both sides of the conflict, and for critically looking at the actions of both sides (Some staunch Israel supporters aren’t willing to admit that Israel has done anything wrong – ever. Sure one side tends to be the bully far more often, but there are humans – like you and me – on both sides of the conflict. And we need a workable solution.

Comment on President Obama Bridging the Gap? by Jenny

Jenny — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 03:45:37 +0000

Barry, I hope you won’t mind if I respond to Dave’s comment.

Dave, I’m pretty certain that Barry isn’t opposed to working toward peace in the right situations and that Christians, in whole, aren’t opposed to peace in Israel. In fact, we are to pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalms 122:6).

Look at it like this: If a stranger was mugging you, it’s most likely that you wouldn’t ask him nicely to stop. You wouldn’t tell him that you’d just give him the money so he would leave you alone. After all, it’s not his money; he has no right to it, and you have the right to defend yourself. Peace-making, in this case, would not be in any way appropriate. You would most likely do everything within your power to disable him and cause him a great deal of non-peace (not a word, I know, but had to tie in “peace” somewhere!).

The Jews and people of Israel have a right to their land, their Temple Mount, their beliefs. It is theirs by inheritance as the chosen people of God. They are an innocent nation being attacked by a “thug” who is trying to take what is rightfully theirs. Peace-making, also in this case, is not appropriate.

As to the question about Christians being excited, you may have interpreted them as being excited about wars and deaths. I feel certain that what they actually mean is that they are excited to see the end time prophecies being fulfilled. Our Savior told us before He ascended to heaven what things would happen at the end of days, and it is, in fact, exciting (if not a little scary) to see His prophecies coming to pass. We are only excited because it means we are all the closer to seeing our faith become sight, to seeing the One Who died for us face to face.

I was looking for a verse to quote in reference to the question of peace in modern-day Israel but can’t seem to find one. I’ll keep looking and hopefully get back to you. Looking at history, however, you can see that Israel has rarely lived in peace.

Comment on President Obama Bridging the Gap? by Dave

Dave — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 14:34:38 +0000

Barry, thanks for your thoughts. I’ve been kind of confused by something that I see in certain Christian circles. Why are Christians so against peace in Israel? Other than being a bit fuzzy on why you come to some of your eschatoligical conclusions – I don’t understand how someone who follows the prince of peace could be so against working for peace.
And being a “peacemaker” seems to me about… making peace…sure, peace from God that creates peace with men is the best, but shouldn’t Christians be working for peace wherever there is conflict and brokenness? (And what a witness that would be…we would be called sons of God) Normally when fighting escahalates in the middle east I hear some Christian somewhere say, “Isn’t this exciting!!!” That is sick. Any theology that causes someone to be excited about innocent people being killed on both sides of the conflict is harmful to humanity and to Christian faith.
And finally, why can’t there be peace in the middle east? Why can’t things get better? What if the two-state solution works and there is some semblence of peace for a season – what is wrong with that? Where in the Scriptures does it say there will not be peace in the modern state of Israel?

Comment on Friends by Stephanie

Stephanie — Thu, 21 May 2009 16:34:10 +0000

I liked this a lot Barry!

Comment on Friends by Elizabeth

Elizabeth — Thu, 21 May 2009 04:17:07 +0000

Thanks Barry! That was a blessing!

Comment on President Obama at Notre Dame by Erika

Erika — Tue, 19 May 2009 13:00:04 +0000

I totally agree, Barry. What good is it to tell people to be nice to each other while ignoring the real issue at hand? The point is, it doesn’t matter what we call it–”murder” or “pro-choice”, the facts remain the same–a baby is dead, and that is wrong no matter how you look at it.

Comment on Dr. Jerry Falwell – A Deeply Committed Man of God by None Ya

None Ya — Tue, 19 May 2009 05:30:03 +0000

Barry,
I understand the respect you have for some of Falwell’s ideas, but to describe the man in this sort of heroic light is disturbing. Falwell mercilessly attacked anyone that did not fit into his image of what a good person or christian should be. He even went so far as to blame September 11th on the LGBT community, ACLU and even labor unions. How can a you claim that he was a deeply committed man of God, when he was clearly full of hatred, bigotry and fear of the unknown? I thought Christians were taught to love thy neighbor and to refrain from judgement? I’m not sure Dr. Falwell did any of these things.

Comment on The Job Report by cschande

cschande — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 06:17:47 +0000

Great post! I really enjoy reading your blog. Keep up the good work.

I’ve just started a new blog that will be highlighting the dangerous advances of the secular progressive movement (pro-gay “rights”, pro-abortion, anti-religious freedoms, etc). Unfortunately, most Christians still don’t know what’s going on out there and the mainstream media certainly isn’t covering it.

We’re looking to build a solid group of social conservatives (especially Mike Huckabee supporters) who’ll frequent our site regularly and contribute to some good discussions. I hope you’ll check us out!

If you’ll add us to your blogroll we’ll gladly add you to ours. Just drop us a comment over at our blog so that we’ll know to add you. Our blog is called Religion and Morality.

Thanks!