FourFifteen

 Lie #24 - "The Current Popular Opinion..." People often talk about change  as if it were a virtue in and of itself. Many times, the "fresh new ideas" are pitted against the "tired old ways" in a way that assumes newer is always better.  But whenever you hear politicians, activists, teachers and other leaders bragging about how they want to change things up, please remember this point: Change is neither inherently good or inherently bad. Change is like money - it's the details  that make it good or evil. The argument that new ideas are better than the old ones they were replacing is an intellectual fallacy known as " argumentum ad novitatem " - the appeal to novelty . It's commonly referred to as "chronological snobbery". It's an opinion that is especially popular during ages of advancing technology and scientific discovery. After all, when each version of smart phone, television and vehicle is more advanced than the last, i...

 Lie #23 - "Their opinion is just as valid as anyone else's." Do you remember, all the way back to the beginning of this series, when we debunked the claim that all religions  are equally valid ? Back then I said everyone has the right  to have faith in anything...but that isn't the same thing as saying their faith is equally  right. Indeed, we all have the personal right to believe something that is completely wrong. This isn't just true about faith and religion though, it's also true about everything. You can have any opinion you want about any subject you want, and I would never deny your right to do so. However...not all opinions are equally valid! Did you know that wrong ideas are still wrong , even if you believe  them? Abortion is still the killing of an innocent human being - even if that's not your  opinion. A man is still a man - even if he is of the opinion that he's a woman. Jesus absolutely rose from the dead - even if you believe it was j...

 Lie #22 - What's Right Or Wrong Depends On Your Situation This is a particularly dangerous lie circulating in our country right now. We're being told that some things are usually  wrong, but can sometimes be right if the situation calls for it.  - Usually lying is wrong...unless the truth would hurt someone's feelings.  - Usually racism is wrong...unless it may benefit "underprivileged" ethnic groups.  - Usually theft is wrong...unless we're talking about stealing from someone who has too much and giving to someone who doesn't have enough.  - Usually violence against innocent people is wrong...unless it's the only way to "make your voice be heard." And so, now we find ourselves in a culture where a person's  actions  mean less than than their situation  or their motivation . Everyone is now left to define right and wrong for themselves. This is exactly what we see in Judges 17:6 (NLT) - " In those days Israel had no king; all the pe...

 Lie # 21 - "You can't say that they're wrong; that's hateful!" Proverbs 25:26 - " A righteous man who falters before the wicked is like a murky spring and a polluted well. "  - "How dare you say that Islam is a false religion! What are you,  Islamophobic ? You need to respect what they believe!"  - "How could you say that America isn't racist? How insensitive can you be! Don't you know that black Americans are still oppressed in our society? You must be  racist  too!"  - "How can you deny that two men should have the right to get married? Shouldn't they be treated equally? What are you, homophobic ?"  - "You can't call that male person a "he" when they identify as a woman - that's misgendering! You're being hateful and transphobic   if you don't agree with who they say they are!" In today's culture, we've gone off the deep end when we speak of "love" and ...