To Die For!

How can a frog be boiled alive? The answer is startlingly easy. You cannot simply toss the frog into a pot of boiling water, because at the first shock of entering the hot water, the frog will endeavor to hop out of the pot. However, if you place the frog in a pot containing lukewarm water, the frog will not be alarmed and will find the situation more to his comfort. Afterwards, the pot and its contents can be gradually heated to the boiling point. The frog will grow accustomed to slight increases in temperature and, because the warmer water causes him to become lethargic, the frog will not attempt to escape. When the water becomes too hot, it is too late for the frog, since his lethargy has increased to the point where he is now unable to jump out of the pot. The danger he was in did not become apparent until it was too late for him to escape and it cost him his life.

This very situation is happening within our Society and, like the frog, most of us are not seeing the signs. For example, a popular saying among young people is "To die for." They may remark that a particular piece of cake is to die for. Girls might say that some clothing or a certain boy is to die for, and vice versa. To most of us, "To die for" is a mere figure of speech. You might ask, "What's the big deal? It's just something the kids say." But it is far more than that. In three simple words, it expresses the extreme mind set of today's youth: driving with reckless abandon, rampant drug abuse, abundant use of guns in committing crimes, and widespread self-mutilation through body piercing and tattoos are more serious ways that young people reveal their lack of respect for human life. What can explain this extreme mind set that pervades so many of our youth? One explanation is that it is a byproduct of a large shock that happened to our culture three decades ago.

In 1973, our Society devalued life by placing a woman's decisions above the life of her child. Every person born in this country since 1973 has grown up in the shadow of legalized abortion; they are alive simply because their mothers did not choose to have them aborted. This cheapens their own lives in their own eyes, and therefore, it is so easy for them to say "that cake is to die for." Culturally speaking, the abortion decision was a major cataclysmic event. Conversely, the phrase "to die for" is an example of a gradual cultural change. However, both are symptoms of a much greater threat to America today.

"To die for" is an example of logocide: the murder of a word by depriving it of its meaning. "To die for" murders the words die and life by equating the worth of a human life with a piece of cake or some relationship, and thus, denying the true value of life. That is, a human life must not be worth much, if it may be exchanged for something that is essentially of little value. This effectively demotes the value of life and robs the words life and die of their real meanings.

Logocide can occur unintentionally, working subtly through gradual substitution, or it may be employed deliberately and systemically. In fact, the killing of words is being used very effectively by propagandists, social revolutionaries, and cultists. Moreover, logocide is a key weapon in the fight to radically alter the fundamental nature of our society. Words are being redefined by killing their true meanings in order to substitute definitions that will help achieve the goal of the radicals: the remaking of our Society in gradual steps aided by the interspersing of major cultural shocks, such as, abortion.

Our popular culture is riddled with examples of logocide: TV shows, movies, and music preach acceptance for sexual sin, including fornication and homosexuality, lawlessness, brutality, intoxication, deceit, et cetera, while good people, traditional institutions, and Judeo-Christian values are mocked and derided.

To grasp the immensity of the attack on our culture, consider the following list of words that are targeted for logocide: Life, Marriage, Family, Father, Mother, Love. Each of these has a traditional meaning that is woven into the very fabric of our Society. The nuclear Family as it has been understood for many generations is essential for sustaining our Culture: strong families make for a strong country and strong marriages make for strong families. Conversely, destroy the Family as an institution and our Country collapses from within. The Family is destroyed when 1) familial roles, such as Father and Mother, are redefined and 2) Marriage as an institution is destroyed. So, within popular culture, the very concept of Fatherhood is derided, ridiculed, and scorned; those who pursue the traditional role of Mother are looked down upon as second class citizens; and Marriage is being torn down through the increasing acceptance of infidelity, promiscuity, and divorce.

In sum, to the social revolutionaries, what has been accepted as good in the past must be replaced with what has been considered bad in the past. Isaiah 5:20-24 says, "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! Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink: Which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him! Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of the LORD of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel." Note the phrase, "and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!" Ultimately, the target of these attacks is the Individual and Individualism.

Individualism is the polar opposite of the collectivist world view of the revolutionaries. To them, the groups a person can be identified with are more important than the individual. This is the underlying message of Affirmative Action and the "Group Think" that is being taught in the schools. The employment of culture-wide logocide as a major weapon in the assault on the Individual, is intended to rob each person of their God-given worth and potential.

The battle is for the mind and the soul is the prize.

Up to this point, our discussion has focused on the gradual, though accelerating, social decay taking place in our culture as a whole. However, the Church is not immune nor is it excluded, as more and more of this is taking root and even flourishing within the Body of Christ. This should not be surprising: Scriptures written long ago warned us this would happen. The Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy about this subject in two different letters.

"Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron." (1 Timothy 4:1-2)

"This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith." (2 Timothy 3:1-8)

The verses cited above would represent a stunning indictment of people, in general, but note that these passages are describing people in the Church! Even though they "depart from the faith" some will stay within the Church "having a form of godliness." They will engage in sexual sins and will use education to resist the Truth and fight against those in the Church who stand for the Truth. Paul even goes so far as to say that they will have "their conscience seared with a hot iron."

How is a conscience seared? Does it happen all at once or gradually? The answer is gradually. In fact, it's the same method used to boil a frog alive. This same technique is being used to gradually poison and eventually destroy our culture. It will work with each of us. People gradually become accustomed to behavior and thoughts until what was once regarded as evil is "not so bad." Then, it becomes "an alternative lifestyle." Then, it becomes the standard and what once was good is now evil.

"Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil." "From such turn away." Those who are using logocide to target the individuals and institutions of our Country are guilty of calling evil good, and calling good evil. God's Word pronounces Judgment upon them for their wicked deeds. Our responsibility regarding these people is to turn away from them.

What does it mean to "turn away?" It should be quite apparent that this includes turning away from their deeds and their words. We turn away from their deeds and words when we stop accepting them into our hearts and minds through our eyes and ears and purge the same kinds of behavior and thoughts from our own souls. Notice that these kinds of people are "ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." Furthermore, they "resist the truth." For us to turn away, we must stop resisting the truth so that we come to the knowledge of the truth. But, how are we to come to the truth? And what is Truth, anyway?

Jesus said: "And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you." John 14:16-17

"When he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth." (John 16:13) This is the answer to the question, how are we to come to the truth? The Spirit of God is sent to lead us into all truth, and it is our responsibility to choose to follow Him. This is the reason we are instructed in 1 Thessalonians to "Quench not the Spirit." Furthermore, according to the following, God not only sends the Spirit of Truth, but He sends the love of truth in order to help us follow the Spirit of Truth. Moreover, according to the following passages from Second Thessalonians and Hosea, we would do well to receive the love of the truth.

"And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. " (2 Thessalonians 2:10-12)

In Hosea 4:6, God says, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge." God's people are destroyed when they do not receive the love of the truth. Thus, the love of the truth is not an option. We must have this precious gift from our Father in heaven. It is essential for us as Christians to be able to enjoy the abundant life that Jesus promised to each of us. Furthermore, no one can love the truth in our behalf. This we must do for ourselves. God sends the love of the truth to us as a gift and each of us must accept it personally and walk in it.

The love of the truth is a lifestyle.

So, what is Truth? The answer to this question will be in our next teaching letter, "To Die For Part II."


	To Die For! How can a frog be boiled alive? The answer is startlingly easy. You cannot simply toss the frog into a pot of boiling water, because at the first shock of entering the hot water, the frog will endeavor to hop out of the pot. However, if you place the frog in a pot containing lukewarm water, the frog will not be alarmed and will find the situation more to his comfort. Afterwards, the pot and its contents can be gradually heated to the boiling point. The frog will grow accustomed to slight increases in temperature and, because the warmer water causes him to become lethargic, the frog will not attempt to escape. When the water becomes too hot, it is too late for the frog, since his lethargy has increased to the point where he is now unable to jump out of the pot. The danger he was in did not become apparent until it was too late for him to escape and it cost him his life. This very situation is happening within our Society and, like the frog, most of us are not seeing the signs. For example, a popular saying among young people is "To die for." They may remark that a particular piece of cake is to die for. Girls might say that some clothing or a certain boy is to die for, and vice versa. To most of us, "To die for" is a mere figure of speech. You might ask, "What's the big deal? It's just something the kids say." But it is far more than that. In three simple words, it expresses the extreme mind set of today's youth: driving with reckless abandon, rampant drug abuse, abundant use of guns in committing crimes, and widespread self-mutilation through body piercing and tattoos are more serious ways that young people reveal their lack of respect for human life. What can explain this extreme mind set that pervades so many of our youth? One explanation is that it is a byproduct of a large shock that happened to our culture three decades ago. In 1973, our Society devalued life by placing a woman's decisions above the life of her child. Every person born in this country since 1973 has grown up in the shadow of legalized abortion; they are alive simply because their mothers did not choose to have them aborted. This cheapens their own lives in their own eyes, and therefore, it is so easy for them to say "that cake is to die for." Culturally speaking, the abortion decision was a major cataclysmic event. Conversely, the phrase "to die for" is an example of a gradual cultural change. However, both are symptoms of a much greater threat to America today. "To die for" is an example of logocide: the murder of a word by depriving it of its meaning. "To die for" murders the words die and life by equating the worth of a human life with a piece of cake or some relationship, and thus, denying the true value of life. That is, a human life must not be worth much, if it may be exchanged for something that is essentially of little value. This effectively demotes the value of life and robs the words life and die of their real meanings. Logocide can occur unintentionally, working subtly through gradual substitution, or it may be employed deliberately and systemically. In fact, the killing of words is being used very effectively by propagandists, social revolutionaries, and cultists. Moreover, logocide is a key weapon in the fight to radically alter the fundamental nature of our society. Words are being redefined by killing their true meanings in order to substitute definitions that will help achieve the goal of the radicals: the remaking of our Society in gradual steps aided by the interspersing of major cultural shocks, such as, abortion. Our popular culture is riddled with examples of logocide: TV shows, movies, and music preach acceptance for sexual sin, including fornication and homosexuality, lawlessness, brutality, intoxication, deceit, et cetera, while good people, traditional institutions, and Judeo-Christian values are mocked and derided. To grasp the immensity of the attack on our culture, consider the following list of words that are targeted for logocide: Life, Marriage, Family, Father, Mother, Love. Each of these has a traditional meaning that is woven into the very fabric of our Society. The nuclear Family as it has been understood for many generations is essential for sustaining our Culture: strong families make for a strong country and strong marriages make for strong families. Conversely, destroy the Family as an institution and our Country collapses from within. The Family is destroyed when 1) familial roles, such as Father and Mother, are redefined and 2) Marriage as an institution is destroyed. So, within popular culture, the very concept of Fatherhood is derided, ridiculed, and scorned; those who pursue the traditional role of Mother are looked down upon as second class citizens; and Marriage is being torn down through the increasing acceptance of infidelity, promiscuity, and divorce. In sum, to the social revolutionaries, what has been accepted as good in the past must be replaced with what has been considered bad in the past. Isaiah 5:20-24 says, "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! Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink: Which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him! Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of the LORD of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel." Note the phrase, "and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!" Ultimately, the target of these attacks is the Individual and Individualism. Individualism is the polar opposite of the collectivist world view of the revolutionaries. To them, the groups a person can be identified with are more important than the individual. This is the underlying message of Affirmative Action and the "Group Think" that is being taught in the schools. The employment of culture-wide logocide as a major weapon in the assault on the Individual, is intended to rob each person of their God-given worth and potential. The battle is for the mind and the soul is the prize. Up to this point, our discussion has focused on the gradual, though accelerating, social decay taking place in our culture as a whole. However, the Church is not immune nor is it excluded, as more and more of this is taking root and even flourishing within the Body of Christ. This should not be surprising: Scriptures written long ago warned us this would happen. The Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy about this subject in two different letters. "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron." (1 Timothy 4:1-2) "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith." (2 Timothy 3:1-8) The verses cited above would represent a stunning indictment of people, in general, but note that these passages are describing people in the Church! Even though they "depart from the faith" some will stay within the Church "having a form of godliness." They will engage in sexual sins and will use education to resist the Truth and fight against those in the Church who stand for the Truth. Paul even goes so far as to say that they will have "their conscience seared with a hot iron." How is a conscience seared? Does it happen all at once or gradually? The answer is gradually. In fact, it's the same method used to boil a frog alive. This same technique is being used to gradually poison and eventually destroy our culture. It will work with each of us. People gradually become accustomed to behavior and thoughts until what was once regarded as evil is "not so bad." Then, it becomes "an alternative lifestyle." Then, it becomes the standard and what once was good is now evil. "Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil." "From such turn away." Those who are using logocide to target the individuals and institutions of our Country are guilty of calling evil good, and calling good evil. God's Word pronounces Judgment upon them for their wicked deeds. Our responsibility regarding these people is to turn away from them. What does it mean to "turn away?" It should be quite apparent that this includes turning away from their deeds and their words. We turn away from their deeds and words when we stop accepting them into our hearts and minds through our eyes and ears and purge the same kinds of behavior and thoughts from our own souls. Notice that these kinds of people are "ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." Furthermore, they "resist the truth." For us to turn away, we must stop resisting the truth so that we come to the knowledge of the truth. But, how are we to come to the truth? And what is Truth, anyway? Jesus said: "And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you." John 14:16-17 "When he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth." (John 16:13) This is the answer to the question, how are we to come to the truth? The Spirit of God is sent to lead us into all truth, and it is our responsibility to choose to follow Him. This is the reason we are instructed in 1 Thessalonians to "Quench not the Spirit." Furthermore, according to the following, God not only sends the Spirit of Truth, but He sends the love of truth in order to help us follow the Spirit of Truth. Moreover, according to the following passages from Second Thessalonians and Hosea, we would do well to receive the love of the truth. "And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. " (2 Thessalonians 2:10-12) In Hosea 4:6, God says, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge." God's people are destroyed when they do not receive the love of the truth. Thus, the love of the truth is not an option. We must have this precious gift from our Father in heaven. It is essential for us as Christians to be able to enjoy the abundant life that Jesus promised to each of us. Furthermore, no one can love the truth in our behalf. This we must do for ourselves. God sends the love of the truth to us as a gift and each of us must accept it personally and walk in it. The love of the truth is a lifestyle. So, what is Truth? The answer to this question will be in our next teaching letter, "To Die For Part II."
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