One of the most basic principles of propaganda is called “The Big Lie.”  The origin of this principle has been variously attributed to such men as Adolf Hitler and his propaganda minister, Joseph Goebbels.  It appears in Hitler’s book, Mein Kampf, and is one of the features of the government of “Big Brother” in George Orwell’s book, 1984.  The principle has been stated in various ways, two of which are:  “If you tell a big enough lie and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.”  And, “If you repeat a lie long enough, it becomes truth.”

“The Big Lie” has found a place in virtually every aspect of modern society.  Politicians are masters of this principle, often repeating outrageous statements, either of the success of their policies, or deriding the character or policies of an opponent.  Environmentalists have also used this principle to convince an entire generation of people that man-made global warming (now called climate change) is destroying the planet.  So, also, have proponents of gay marriage and the homosexual agenda used this principle to advance their ideas.

It is important to understand that those who use “The Big Lie” in order to advance their agendas know they are telling a lie.  The fact that their statements or policies are lies is not the issue for them.  The issue is winning approval of their position and gaining power as a result of it.  Hitler and Goebbels understood this and used it to perfection in Nazi Germany, but they were rank amateurs in comparison to their modern counterparts.

The power of “The Big Lie” is such that it blinds us to the truth.  Jesus spoke of this principle as He dealt with the religious leaders of the first century.  They taught things that were patently false, but had done so for so long that they were believed to be true.  In Mt. 15:14 Jesus called them blind guides and warned that if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit.  Paul the apostle later warned that the time would come when people would be sent a “deluding influence” so they would believe a lie, because they did not love the truth so as to be saved (2 Th. 2:10-12).

The very idea that one would promote a lie for his own personal gain is abhorrent to any honest person.  Yet, from the time that Satan entered the Garden of Eden, God’s people have been subjected to one big lie after another.  Satan’s big lie to Eve was that eating the forbidden fruit would make her like God.  He knew this wasn’t true, but it advanced his purposes to tell the lie and to convince Eve to believe it.  The same thing continues today, with the potential for the same kind of consequences as Adam and Eve experienced.

This is why the scriptures exhort us to not allow the world to brainwash us into doing that which violates God’s word.  In Rom. 12:2 Paul said we are not to be conformed to the world, but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds.  In Jas. 1:27 James said that one aspect of pure religion is to keep oneself unstained by the world.  In Jas. 1:21, 22 James said we must receive the implanted word which is able to save our souls and to be doers of the word and not just hearers.

“The Big Lie” takes many forms today, urging us to discard the moral standards of scripture in favor of man’s standards.  The lie is being repeated in books, magazines, television, radio, the movies, the halls of Congress, and even from some pulpits in the land.  This influence is leading many to now believe a lie, instead of God’s truth.  Those who truly love God will rely on His word alone to mold their attitudes and actions in life.

The wickedness of today’s world is such that it ought to evoke comparisons to the ancient world that perished in the flood.  Of that time the scripture says, “Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” (Gen. 6:5).  If the world is not to this same point today, it has to be very close.

In that ancient time, God decided to cleanse the earth by means of a world-wide flood that swept away all those who were not in the Ark with Noah and his family.  During the time that Noah was preparing the Ark, the only answer to the judgment that was coming was to be in the Ark when the flood came.  Noah preached righteousness to those around him as he built the Ark in order to give them an opportunity to be saved from the flood.  Unfortunately, no one outside of his immediate family responded to his preaching.

Such a cleansing of the world is not going to happen again, for God promised Noah that He would never again send such a flood upon the earth (Gen. 9:11).  Instead, the earth is being reserved for fire that will utterly destroy it at the last day when the world will be judged (2 Pet. 3:7-10).  This judgment is just as certain as the flood was in Noah’s day, for our Lord compared His return for judgment to this historical event (Mt. 24:37-39).  He also warned, as Noah must have done concerning the flood, that no one knows when He will return again for this judgment (Mt. 24:36, 42).

Knowing that the world is such a wicked place, and that judgment is coming, where do we turn for an answer to this dilemma?  In Noah’s time, the Ark was the only answer to impending judgment.  Today, as it has been ever since the flood, the only answer to judgment is God’s word.  In Psa. 19:7-11 David said of God’s word, “The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.  The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.  The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the judgments of the Lord are true; they are righteous altogether.  They are more desirable than gold; sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honey comb.  Moreover, by them Your servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward.”

In David’s view, the only hope for mankind is to devote itself to God’s word.  Everything about God’s word is for our benefit, and if we avail ourselves of its power, we will live well here in life and we will live with God in eternity.  This is God’s intent for us.  This is why He has revealed His will in the scriptures.  As David said, we are warned by His commandments and if we keep them we will receive a great reward (Psa. 19:11).

In order to avail ourselves of this power, and to avoid the judgment that is coming upon the wicked, we must devote ourselves to God’s word.  In Rom. 12:2 Paul said, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”  In Jas. 1:21 James said, “Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted which is able to save your souls.”

Judgment is coming; of this we may be certain.  We may also be certain that when the Lord returns the wicked will not go unpunished, just as it was in the flood.  Therefore, the only answer to this impending judgment is to know God’s word and to obey it.

They are about three-eighths of an inch long.  They are about one-quarter of an inch wide at the narrowest point, and about seven-sixteenths of an inch wide at their widest point.  They would fit, with room to spare, on the average man’s thumb nail.  What are they?  They are the feet of an unborn child at ten weeks after conception.  There is no mistaking what they are, for they are clearly human feet, complete with ten tiny, yet perfectly formed, toes.

In 1970, Dr. Russell Sacco, who shared a lab with a pathologist who kept unborn babies in jars of formaldehyde on his shelf, was struck by the highly developed state of the tiniest of these unborn babies.  He took a picture with the feet of a 10-week old unborn baby held between his thumb and forefinger.  This picture, showing two tiny, but perfectly developed feet, each complete with toes and toe nails, powerfully demonstrated that unborn babies are indeed human, even at this very early state of gestation.

In 1974 Mrs. Virginia Evers used this picture in a March for Life on the first anniversary of the Roe V. Wade Supreme Court decision which legalized abortion on demand.  Using this photograph as a model, Mrs. Evers designed a lapel pin the exact size and shape of the a 10-week old unborn baby.  In 1979 a world-wide pro-life symposium in Dublin, Ireland designated these “Precious Feet” as the International Pro-Life Symbol.  Today, millions of these precious feet pins have been distributed world-wide.

These “precious feet” dramatize the fact that abortion destroys a human life, not an inhuman blob of protoplasm euphemistically called a “fetus.”  They also help dramatize the fact that human life is sacred, even in the womb, and should be protected.  It is important to note that the precious feet do not prove these truths.  They simply illustrate them.  With or without this symbol, however, God’s word declares the sanctity of human life.

We know that human life is precious to God because it is made in His image.  In Gen. 1:26 God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”  Later, in Gen. 9:6, God told Noah that whoever sheds man’s blood shall have his blood shed, because He had made man in His image.  This statement is one reason why capital punishment was authorized by God.  If someone murders another, he has destroyed a life made in God’s image and must therefore pay with his own life.

This provision of God’s will, which predates the Law of Moses, also applies to the unborn because God commanded in the Law of Moses that anyone who caused an unborn baby to die must pay with his own life (Ex. 21:22-25).  In addition to this, God inspired Solomon to write that He hates “hands that shed innocent blood” (Prov. 6:17).  Obviously “innocent blood” may refer to any person murdered by another, but it is also clear that there is no more innocent blood than the blood of unborn babies.  Therefore, we correctly understand that God hates those who murder the unborn by the barbaric practice of abortion.

Since 1973 more than 57 million “precious feet” have been murdered by abortionists in the United States alone.  The souls of these unborn have returned to the God who gave them, but God will not leave the guilty unpunished (Ex. 34:6-7).  All human life, even that of unborn babies, is made in God’s image.  Therefore, it is precious in His sight.  Let us pray that all “precious feet” will be allowed the opportunity to be born.

The Precious Feet pin above may be ordered from Heritage House, a supplier of pro-life materials, through their web site: http://www.hh76.org

Sanctity of Human Life Sunday is the third Sunday in January, which is the closest Sunday to the anniversary of the Roe V. Wade decision, that was handed down on January 22, 1973.  This year Sanctity of Human Life Sunday is January 19th.

A few weeks ago an article appeared in a popular magazine in which the patriarch of the “Duck Dynasty” family made some comments about the state of morality in our nation today.  Using a rather crude manner of expression this man stated his personal views on homosexual behavior.  As he did so, he loosely, but accurately, quoted a passage from 1 Corinthians that condemns homosexual activity.  The firestorm that erupted after his comments hit the airwaves was massive, and, predictably, negative.

As might be expected, the homosexual lobby immediately demanded that he be fired from the very popular reality program about his family and business in which he has appeared for several years.  News stories about his comments and attitude flooded the airwaves for days, and the Christian faith that he espouses was viciously attacked by the media and various other anti-Christian voices.  The network on which his program airs issued a statement distancing themselves from his views and announced that he had been indefinitely suspended from the program.  Amazingly, even some professed believers joined in the attacks on this man.  The backlash against the network from fans of the program and from conservative believers ultimately led the network to reinstate him to his program, which will continue to be seen in its normal time slot.

As this drama unfolded, it was clear that the outrage expressed against this man’s statement ignored one important element.  It ignored the truth.  Every argument was based upon the presumed unfairness that has been experienced by homosexuals, and upon the shock and disgust that anyone could not support the current efforts to bring equality to this segment of our society.  Every argument worked from the premise that it is only right and just to bring homosexuality into acceptance in our modern, enlightened world.  The fact that this man quoted scripture as the basis for his statements about this subject was conveniently ignored or cast aside.  In other words, the media “ducked” the truth.

For the record, I am not a fan of Duck Dynasty.  The point, however, is that it is scripture which determines what is right and just, not public opinion.  The verses quoted in this man’s statement are 1 Cor. 6:9, 10.  Here Paul says, “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?  Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.”

Whatever one may think about how the “Duck Commander” related these verses of scripture, the fact is that he accurately related them.  This is what God’s word says, and it isn’t simply about homosexuality.  Paul mentions many sins in these verses which will keep a person out of heaven at the end of time.  If we are going to remove homosexuals from this list, we must also remove adulterers, thieves, idolaters, drunkards and the rest.  This, of course, is not the only place in scripture where homosexual behavior is condemned by God’s word, but this truth is apparently too inconvenient for the world.

When Jesus prayed to His Father on the night of His betrayal, He asked on behalf of His apostles, “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.”  Paul said that all scripture is God-breathed (2 Tim. 3:16, 17).  This means that all scripture is truth.  This is not a matter of opinion or interpretation.  The statements in scripture against homosexual behavior are clear and simple.  We cannot “duck” the truth and be right with God.