The End of Crime (Part 6)

Global Photography, Digital Video Storage, Broadband Internet

Let’s take the concept of video surveillance a step further. Although now incredibly expensive, it won’t be long before satellite photography gives us the ability to watch virtually every square mile on the planet on video. These cameras will be able to zoom in to watch and analyze whatever a computer decides is suspicious movement. Currently, satellite images are able to detect details down to several square feet. It won’t be long until this gives us the ability to see a few square inches. Infrared technology and low spectrum light analysis will enable us to see through cloud cover, forested areas and even through some man-made structures. Moreover, these won’t simply be photographs, but video digitally recorded on the earth and rendered using 3-D digital animation combined with up-to-date maps and GPS information.

I remember the day in 2006 when I bought a 500 Gigabyte hard drive for under $200. This small box can store over 40 hours of high quality digital video. Compare that to my first computer, a Macintosh Plus with one megabyte of memory and a 40 Megabyte hard drive at a cost of well over $1000. Today’s computers are literally ten thousand times more powerful than what was available 15 years ago. The way that we think about video is changing fast. It will soon be possible to store vast amounts of video information and analyze it instantly with cutting edge software.

The Global Satellite Video Surveillance system will rely on a hybrid of real time video, GPS information and interactive maps. Take Google Earth. It’s a free downloadable interactive program that shows a 3-D interactive map of every square foot of the earth and gives all the information that other mapping services, such as roads, place names, 3-D buildings and terrain, and the locations of a variety of businesses and services.

If we were to add GPS into the mix with some advances in digital animation, it will be possible one day to render a real time image of any individual or moving vehicle on the planet. That way you will be able to watch a movie of any person as they travel from place to place in their daily lives.

Eventually “reality” entertainment will rely on individuals who will digitally animate themselves in a 3-D virtual reality program as they travel the world in real life adventures.

Even before the system advances that far, global imagery and GPS combined with powerful digital mapping applications will eliminate virtually all robbery and violent crimes. It will soon be possible to track to location of any individual on the Internet from any portable computer.

The End of Crime (Part 5)

Big Brother is watching you in Chicago:
“Smart” surveillance cameras are already in use

What would people do if terrorists bombed ten major cities in one day? What if the threat of nuclear bombs carried in suitcases capable of killing millions of people became a technological possibility?

We would put cameras everywhere and GPS bracelets, for those who wanted to avoid the hassle of being a suspect, would not be a long step from there. If the people volunteer to cooperate together to eliminate terrorism, then we are not really compromising our civil liberties. Only if it became mandatory for U.S. citizens would I say that constitutional rights are being violated.

In one major U.S. city, an effort to put video surveillance into practice is already taking place. The city of Chicago is the largest city vulnerable to foreign attack coming from Canada. While it is unlikely that weapons of mass destruction could be carried through airport security, the Canadian border could more easily be used.

This was the theme of the 1994 movie, The Jackal, in which a would-be presidential assassin hired a Canadian weapons expert to manufacture a computer-controlled automatic gun. The weapon was smuggled into the United States via the Great Lakes into Chicago and brought to Washington D.C. via van. It’s not unlikely that terrorists are currently trying to get a WMD into America from Canada or Mexico in an attempt to commit an act of terror.

But this can be prevented before the technology develops to the place where manufacturing nuclear weapons becomes easier for terrorists. A New York Times article described Chicago’s attempt to fend off such an attack and to take bite out of crime in the process. According to the article:

A highly advanced system of video surveillance is being installed throughout the city. Mayor Richard M. Daley says, “Cameras are the equivalent of hundreds of sets of eyes. They're the next best things to having police officers stationed at every potential trouble spot.”

Police specialists already monitor live footage from about 2,000 surveillance cameras around the city, so the addition of 250 cameras under the mayor's new plan is not a great jump. The way these cameras will be used, however, is an extraordinary technological leap.

Sophisticated new computer programs will immediately alert the police whenever anyone viewed by any of the cameras placed at buildings and other structures considered terrorist targets wanders aimlessly in circles, lingers outside a public building, pulls a car onto the shoulder of a highway, or leaves a package and walks away from it. Images of those people will be highlighted in color at the city's central monitoring station, allowing dispatchers to send police officers to the scene immediately.

Officials here designed the system after studying the video surveillance network in London, which became a world leader in this technology during the period when Irish terrorists were active. The Chicago officials also studied systems used in Las Vegas casinos, as well as those used by Army combat units. The system they have devised, they say, will be the most sophisticated in the United States and perhaps the world.

Many cities have installed large numbers of surveillance cameras along streets and near important buildings, but as the number of these cameras has grown, it has become impossible to monitor all of them. The software that will be central to Chicago’s surveillance system is designed to direct specialists to screens that show anything unusual happening.

When the system is in place video images will be instantly available to dispatchers at the city’s 911 emergency center, which receives about 18,000 calls each day. Dispatchers will be able to tilt or zoom the cameras, some of which magnify images up to 400 times, in order to watch suspicious people and follow them from one camera's range to another’s.

The surveillance network will embrace cameras placed not only by the police department, but also by a variety of city agencies including the transit, housing and aviation authorities. Private companies that maintain their own surveillance of areas around their buildings will also be able to send their video feeds to the central control room that is being built at a fortified city building.

The 250 new cameras, along with the new system dispatchers will use to monitor them, are to be in place by the spring of 2006. A $5.1 million federal grant will be used to pay for the cameras, and the city will add $3.5 million to pay for the computer network that will connect them.

“The value we gain in public safety far outweighs any perception by the community that this is Big Brother who’s watching,” Mr. Huberman said. “The feedback we're getting is that people welcome this. It makes them feel safer.”

City officials counter that the cameras will monitor only public spaces. Rather than curb the system's future expansion, they have raised the possibility of placing cameras in commuter and rapid transit cars and on the city's street-sweeping vehicles.

The End of Crime (Part 4)

GPS will eliminate domestic terrorism and drug trafficking

What if terrorists planned an orchestrated attack on ten major cities in America in a horrible event that would dwarf the significance of 9/11? If the technology were available, I think most people would favor putting cameras and GPS devices everywhere.

Think about it. What if immigrants and international visitors were required to buy a cheap GPS device that would be worn at all times while they were in the country? What if we had, for several weeks prior to the event, a map of the whereabouts of all the hijackers in the 9/11 terrorist attacks? We may not have been able to prevent the first bombing, but it would have been possible to isolate the three other planes that crashed killing thousands of people. It would also have been possible to trace their steps backward to find other terrorists who may have cooperated with them.

There are in fact, cell phone recordings of people who died on Flight 93. Howver, GPS would have brought this to a higher level.

In the same way, GPS devices planted on known terrorists could map out vast networks of terrorist training cells worldwide. Using satellite technology these terrorists in training could be pinpointed and eliminated by Special Forces.

GPS can also eliminate drug trafficking. Think about this scenario. An FBI agent is able to implant a small device about the size of a computer chip on known several drug dealers or their vehicles without their knowledge. After a few months, a vast network of drug trafficking is mapped out on a computer. The FBI sees the dealers of larger volumes and where drugs are entering the country.

The End of Crime (Part 3)

Paranoids and Conspiracy Theorists Beware

Before going any further with this thesis, I realize from the outset that there are plenty of people who will see the ability to record virtually every square foot of the earth and to track individuals with GPS as a threat to freedom. There are Christians who will think that this is the “Mark of the Beast” and a sign that a worldwide dictatorship is imminent. Others will be reminded of George Orwell’s 1984 and other anti-utopian tales.

But there were churchmen who decried the invention of the printing press as demonic. Did you ever read Doctor Faustus? This was a popular tale of the Renaissance based on the true story of the man who financed Gutenberg's first press run of Bibles to the people of Strasburg. The experts who saw the first Bible manuscripts were so amazed at what they saw, that they accused him of dealing with the devil. Or so one version of the legend goes.

I remember in 1994 talking to a pastor about the world-wide-web and what the church could do with it. We were very involved in social activism and world missions and I thought that a web presence was a great idea. I said that I would be willing to help the church set up a website. His reaction was, “Yes, but what are the risks?” Another man I talked to didn't want a website for his organization because he thought others would be able to tap into his computer and see what he was doing. People most often fear what they don’t understand.

GPS, global mapping and digital video are technologies that are going to radically change our way of life much like electricity did at the turn of the century. I don't think that the light bulb and the telephone are my salvation, but electricity is indispensable to my way of life.

Technology is not going to be our salvation. But what I see on the horizon is remarkable. I think that it is going to be increasingly difficult for violent people to hide the way they do now.

Just last night (10/23/2006) one of the most violent incidents the history of Orlando took place. Gang members took shotguns and carried out six armed robberies in one neighborhood. All the police have is a description of the car and that they were three men. Another man who was shot last night is in such bad condition he can't speak to police. It would be ridiculous to think that if we had the satellite technology to find out immediately where these people are that we wouldn't want to use it.

Would that stop the evil that lurks in men's hearts? No, only the Holy Spirit can do that. But compassion dictates that we must use whatever technology that is available to save judicially innocent lives.

I am not only interested in this from a crime perspective although I think that that is the application that is going to have the greatest impact. This is going to literally change the way that people see the world and gain knowledge. These technologies are going to bring things to an unimaginable level.

Have you downloaded Google Earth yet? Check out this free application and play around with it. Then try to think about what people will be doing with it in ten years. If you think that what I am saying so far is crazy, please post a comment. One of the reasons I am posting this to my Blog first is to get feedback.

The End of Crime (comments)

A few friends have given me some interesting feedback on the complete “End of Crime” article, which I’ll be posting in segments. One wanted to know if my recent robbery experience was the inspiration for this series.

Yes, it got me thinking about how easily it could have been prevented. A few hundred dollars of camera equipment in the parking lot would have helped to catch the robber. Instead we have to rely on the bank to belatedly cooperate with the police in releasing any video they might have. We have to rely on composite sketches. And so on.

I’ll post more of “The End of Crime” later. I recently found out that Florida currently has the highest per capita violent crime rate behind only Washington D.C. and Maryland. Yet while crime in Florida is going up, in more civilized areas of the country the crime rate is dropping dramatically. Violent crime and robbery is being replaced quickly by cyber crime. In the future, the only criminals will be highly intelligent and violent crime perpetrated by thugs with weapons will be a thing of the past.

Another responded by writing:

Have you lost your mind? What kind of humanistic technology worship is this? Christ alone sanctifies not GPS, or even the fear of getting caught. You had better take this down before someone reads it and copies it to use as evidence against you in the future. This is total lunacy!

I didn’t quite understand the part about people using this piece as “evidence against you in the future.” But that is no matter. I don’t think the first amendment is in immediate peril just yet.

The assumption here is that God cannot use technology to make people more law-abiding. Christ alone sanctifies, but one of the uses of the Law is to curb disobedience among the unconverted. We need technology to help us with law enforcement. To me it is not an either-or proposition.

A future installment of the article is going to deal with how we can use technology do away with jail for non-violent offenders. I agree totally with biblical law on this one in that people should be working to pay restitution. There should be no jail time for non-violent offenders. GPS is a cheap way of keeping track of people while they work to pay for their crime.

The flip side of this is that the same technology can be used by an oppressive government to invade the privacy of innocent people. Christians need to be aware of the advances and take steps to make forensic technology more of a volunteer phenomenon rather than an instrument of coercion.

The End of Crime (Part 2)

Global Positioning Systems

In the near future, nearly all cars and vehicles will have, in addition to GPS mapping, a system that will enable law enforcement to track the location of each vehicle in case of an emergency or a serious crime. This will prevent known criminals from fleeing in vehicles and will eliminate the danger of high-speed police chases. Suspects can be easily tracked and arrested once they reach a destination where it is safe for police apprehend them.

Now before the conspiracy buffs start crying about an invasion of personal rights and privacy by federal authorities, consider the fact that a GPS system in 2006 costs from less than $100 to over $2000 -- about the same price as a television. But only a few people have GPS in their car. It is strange that it is not more popular. There is no cost for the GPS service, which is provided free by the U.S. Government. The receiver itself is all you need. In the near future, it will become as standard as having a car radio and CD player.

GPS systems do not provide two-way communication at the moment. It’s not possible to track every GPS receiver currently, but such devices are being used by law enforcement in increasing quantities. Some judicial systems are using the technology with convicted sex offenders, juvenile offenders, and criminals under house arrest or parole. Current technology consists of a device the size of a pager, which must be worn by a convicted offender, an ankle bracelet and digital mapping software on the law enforcement side. The bracelet sends a signal to a nearby transmitter that will give the police the exact location of the individual at all times. Currently such units cost over $1000 a piece. However, as with all new technology, we can expect the price to plummet within a few years.

Soon it will become more convenient to slap a bracelet on a non-violent offender, let him work off his court costs and his victim’s restitution, while keeping him under house arrest. When this happens, just about all convicted non-violent criminals are going to be given the option of wearing a bracelet of some type – one that cannot be removed easily.

A lot of parents will begin to use this with their children. In fact, this is already being done with inexpensive GPS cell phones that work in lightly obstructed areas. GPS bracelets bring peace of mind to the parent of an autistic child who might wander off and not know where he is or be able to tell a stranger his home address. Many tragedies and kidnappings of young children will be avoided in the near future.

Likewise, people who own expensive and well-loved pets are buying GPS chips that are implanted under the animal’s skin. If the animal goes missing, the owner can know immediately where to find it. Implanted devices will soon be an option for people for safety reasons since bracelets and rings ought to be taken off near machinery and in certain athletic activities.

Numerous types of GPS devices will soon spread into the general population when people discover the safety that it will bring them. The elimination of crime will hopefully be a volunteer endeavor, but I can foresee a move to make it mandatory that every individual wear a GPS device of some type. We need to take the steps now to avoid that.

The End of Crime (Part 1)

The Brave New World of Forensic Technology

Within the next ten to twenty years, crime will be virtually non-existent in America. Advances in forensic technologies, including Global Positioning Systems (GPS), infrared photography, digital video systems, gene mapping, DNA analysis and nanotechnology will eliminate over 90 percent of murders, rapes, thefts, drug trafficking and other felonies.

The ability to create video recordings of every inch of public space will soon be available at a minimal cost. Private businesses and individuals will be the first to use this technology to protect themselves, their families and their property. Law enforcement will make use of records made by the public to solve almost every crime. There is a day coming when would be criminals may commit crimes but simply won’t be able to keep from getting caught. The message to criminals will simply be you can run but you can’t hide.

Forensic technology will even be useful in stopping crimes against the family realm of society. Marital infidelity, child abuse, juvenile delinquency, truancy, abortion and unwanted pregnancies will become rare.

This is good news for the majority of Americans. New technology now being developed by criminologists and forensic scientists is already being used in cases, especially among convicted sex offenders. Forensic technology can be used for evil as well as good. If technology is used by the government to spy on citizens, some will decry an impending violation of civil freedom. However, once the technology becomes affordable to the people, it will be used on a volunteer basis to prevent crime. Far from creating an Orwellian nightmare, this technology will be used by the general population to elevate the quality of life of the human race.

There is no denying the inevitable. It is not a question of if but when. Forensic technology is being developed and is arriving on the scene at an incredible pace. In fact, the technology to create crime free communities now exists. It is just a matter of the cost of implementing the first crime free zones. Once people understand the power of forensic technology and the amount of money and grief it will save them, they will gladly pay for the security of living in a crime free neighborhood. What was once a slogan, will become a reality.

Christianity Today article on same-sex marriage has wrong premises

In a recent entry, I wrote how I rarely read popular evangelical magazines because most of the articles on social issues come from the very pietistic-dispensational doctrine that led to the downfall of American Christian culture in the first place. A good example of this is David Aikman’s article on same-sex marriage in Christianity Today, “Train Wreck Coming” (October 2006).

Aikman writes, “American Christians need to take a careful look at what is already happening. Looming ahead through a blurry fog of impending lawsuits and court decisions on gay (sic) marriage is a train wreck of epic proportions.”

It’s an oxymoron for any pietist to argue for a Reformation of culture. All he can do is cover his head and rue the inevitable collapse of Christian culture -- or as Francis Schaeffer termed it: our post-Christian culture.

Ironically, Schaeffer is popular among evangelicals. He is given significant space in Christianity Today’s 50th anniversary issue. They like his conclusions about the demise of culture, but they almost ignore his Kuyperian covenantal theology.

Aikman is correct in describing the problem. In framing the same-sex marriage debate in terms of civil rights the goal is to establish it as a no different than the battle to repeal discriminatory laws against Black Americans prior to the civil rights movement.

Aikman counters this stance by writing that “the issue is now the freedom of religious people and organizations to criticize that lifestyle.”

And he is correct. Once homosexual behavior gains the status of a basic human right, then the right to discriminate against those who practice the lifestyle in the public sphere becomes illegal. Churches are forced to perform same-sex marriages. Catholic hospitals must hire openly homosexual chaplains. Christian businesses must provide benefits to homosexual “married” couples.

The sad thing is that most 21st century Christians are already in partial agreement with this policy. Even Aikman acquiesces to the legitimacy of “sexual freedom” as long as it is kept in the proverbial “privacy of one’s own home.”

He concludes his op-ed piece with these anemic words, “Sexual freedom? Why not, as long as it doesn’t bother me. But when it affects religious freedom, it bothers us all.”

Freedom, equality, rights, liberty. These are all powerful words that ring in the history of American culture. We find them in the preamble to the Declaration of Independence as promises given by the One “Creator” God of Scripture. However, homosexual behavior is not wrong because Christians have the “right” to criticize and find fault. That is just an opinion, not an immutable truth.

Francis Schaeffer’s mentor, Cornelius Van Til, wrote extensively about the “myth of neutrality.” Van Till explained that one cannot maintain a neutral stance on any issue without acquiescing to one side of the issue or another. To be “pro-choice” is to be in favor of legalized abortion, whether or not you are personally in favor of killing unborn children. Remaining neutral on “private” homosexual behavior ironically pushes us into the corner of those who would paint such civil unions as a “God given right.”

We Christians simply have to ask ourselves: Is homosexual behavior wrong? If the answer is yes, then why is it wrong? Only the moral absolutes of Scripture can comment on why homosexual behavior is wrong. This is why some of our conservative brothers such as David Aikman, although correct in 90 percent of what he says, have cornered themselves on the same-sex marriage issue.

If you do not adhere to the Law of God as being the only legitimate source of right and wrong that is unchanging, absolute, transcendent, given to us by God, then ultimately, you cave in on the homosexual issue, because “these are two consenting adults who say that they love each other. It's a free country.” And so on.

This is why so many Christian leaders have been silent on the advance of the homosexual agenda: recruiting our children, propagandizing our schools, homosexual rights, and now homosexual marriage. If the Christian community does not return to its roots of loving the Law of God, we are going to be steam rolled not just by the homosexual movement, but also by groups that want to lower the age of consent and legalize pedophilia and even polygamy (already legal in parts of Europe).

And God only knows what is right on the heels of that. The answer is not a “rights” based argument. The answer is legislating the Law of God in the public sphere. That is the only moral code that tells us what is right and wrong: the Law of God stated clearly in scripture.

How Not To Be Robbed

I was leaving an ATM machine at 7:54 pm in a well-lit bank parking lot when I looked to my left and saw a young guy with a gun pointed at me. To make a long story short, he wasn’t satisfied with the $20 I had in my wallet. (I never carry lots of cash if I can help it.) “I’ll %!&# shoot you, I swear, if you don’t withdraw all the money in your account,” he said calmly and deliberately. Not wanting to make my wife a widow, I didn’t argue except to tell him that there were cameras everywhere and that he was going to get caught. I told him that he wouldn’t shoot me for only $200. When I handed him the cash, I showed him my ATM receipt. “See? That’s all I have.” I lied, but he didn’t look carefully. He told me. “Stand there for five minutes and don’t move.” As soon as he disappeared, I called 911 on my cell phone, which I had left in my car.

I then had to spend an hour with the police in the parking lot. They brought in a helicopter with infrared sensors and a police dog. They were able to trace the fresh scent to a dumpster and the helicopter was able to tell them that there was a “hot spot” where a vehicle had just been. Fascinating. I also had to drive half way across to town to spend another hour with a composite artist and we produced the following.

I realize the danger in posting this, but hopefully this guy won’t spend a lot of time reading Blogs before he gets caught. And he will get caught eventually. There is a $5000 reward being offered in such cases. And he’s not that smart. He was in plain sight of cameras and his face was exposed. If it were me, I would have also asked for my victim’s wallet, cell phone and car keys, I would have been wearing gloves and I would have thrown them in the dumpster. That would have given him a few more minutes. I learned a lot from this. I thank God I was not shot and it only cost me $220 to take steps to avoid this happening in the future.

How not to be robbed

1. Avoid ATMs whenever possible. I was shocked at how easily I caved in upon the threat of being shot dead, but somehow $200 wasn’t worth it. Unless it is a crowded area with armed security in sight, or it is an emergency, make all your deposits during bank hours. I only went to make deposit a check, but from now on, I am not using ATMs to do this. Nowadays, you can use your debit card in convenient stores and supermarkets to withdraw cash when making a purchase. It’s no guarantee, but it is less likely that you’ll be robbed in a store than in a parking lot.

2. If you are alone, have a cell phone with you. Keeping this in the car was probably a good idea in my case, because if the thief wanted to steal it, I still had to unlock the car to get the cell phone. The police later asked me why I didn’t use my cell-phone camera to take a photo. I was amazed that they actually asked this. The guy had a gun, and he would have taken the camera and possibly shot me in the process.

3. Remain calm and cooperate. I’ll admit upon seeing a gun, my first thoughts were, “Is it a toy?” but upon being threatened I decided that no amount of money I could withdraw from an ATM is worth my life.

4. If you are being robbed at gunpoint take your time. Don’t move too fast or too slow. If the thief’s face is in view, make a good mental picture of what he looks like. Pay attention to the eyes, eyebrows, cheekbones, mouth, chin and facial hair. Try to remember it. I was surprised when the composite artist showed me mug shots of people who had been arrested next to drawings she had made. Some were almost perfect representations. These were all drawn just from composite books and the victim’s memory. It’s likely that the thief will think he’s clever and won’t be caught. If he keeps robbing people, eventually he will be caught. That composite photo is going to be invaluable to other people besides you.

How should we then live?

We live like we are never going to die. We don’t think about how violent our culture has become. We see it, but don’t think it could happen to us. It’s important to think out these scenarios. How can we be act to be safe? What is the right thing to do in every imaginable emergency?

Last week, there was a death in my wife’s family, I had to break up a fistfight between two sixteen-year-old students in my school, and today someone pointed a gun at me. Each in their own way, these emergencies were new experiences to me. It has made me think about things differently. I am asking the same question the disciples posed, “How should we then live?” (Luke 3:10; Ezekiel 33:10).

How to Vote?

The following Blog entry is not copyrighted and may be reproduced in any form and forwarded to anyone.

How should I vote? I got my absentee ballot in the mail the other day. I recommend doing this to everyone because you can take your time, research and vote in the privacy of your own home. Just call the number on your voter I.D. card and request an absentee ballot. You can even order one on the internet in many places.

Okay, I have my ballot. Now how should I vote? I used to rely a lot on voter guides such as those put out by the Christian Coalition. The problem with these guides is that they are often incomplete and many Republican candidates know how to answer the questions to court Christian conservatives even though their voting record doesn’t match the voter guide. I want to know how politicians will vote on the issues. I already know how skillful they are at lying.

I never know how to vote on judges. I knew that the Florida Supreme Court is pro-euthanasia and pro-abortion because it is filled with Lawton Chiles appointees. The problem is that I can never remember their names when I get to the voting booth. Florida has periodic retention elections for Supreme Court and Appellate Court Justices. But judges won’t fill out voter guides or answer questions on potential cases because it is a violation of the principle of unbiased jurisprudence to announce their stance to the public. So it’s often difficult to know how to vote on a judge.

The answer is simple. Use the world-wide-web to research candidates you are unsure of. With each election cycle the abilities of search engines are getting more specific in finding quick information on candidates. Just type in the name of a candidate, their office and the name of an issue that is important to you.

For instance, I wanted to know how to vote on whether Justices R. Fred Lewis and Peggy A. Quince should be retained.

So I typed “R. Fred Lewis Florida Supreme Court pro-life” in Altavista.com and immediately found a good article on these justices. These are pro-abortion, pro-euthanasia justices that should not retained. Peggy A. Quince and Harry Lee Anstead are also anti-life. I found out that the only pro-life justice is Charles Wells.

These judges have been retained for many years mainly because the conservative voting base of Florida just doesn’t see the importance of getting rid of judicial activists who strike down laws that are the will of the people. I plead guilty to being part of the problem in not even knowing the names of all these judges and how they stand on pro-life issues. Today I remedied that.

I also found out information on Appellate Court Justices and even the district school board candidates. Most people don’t know anything about local candidates because these campaigns have less money and the media doesn’t give a lot of coverage. A lot of people leave these choices blank. That is a huge problem because as someone once said, “All politics is local.” If you have your absentee ballot and a few minutes to search the Internet, you can become part of the solution.

The Beast of Revelation: Identified (No, it's NOT Kim Jong-il!)

In early 2000, I released a video called The Beast of Revelation: Identified. This was produced with Eric Holmberg and Reel to Real Ministries.

The presentation is two and half hours long and is based on Dr. Kenneth L. Gentry's teaching on Revelation 13 at the 1999 Ligonier conference. Gentry takes the partial -preterist view which states that most of Revelation is history. The textual and historical context of Revelation is the first century, not the far distant future. At the Beast of Revelation: Identified website, there are several articles that explain this viewpoint in more detail.

I also published a brief commentary on Daniel from a partial preterist perspective, which is important in helping to interpret Matthew 25,25 and the book of Revelation.

In 2000, millennial madness was rampant and the sales were brisk. The DVD is anything but a bestseller, but I've been able to sell a few copies a month consistently on my own without much advertising except through the website. Over six years, it's made the production time and expense worth it. I believe that it is a needed teaching in this age of chiliastic error.

A strange phenomenon that I've noticed is that whenver a "Left Behind" type book is published or a new "end-times" movie is released, I get a flurry of orders. Recently, this occurred again with the testing of a nuclear bomb by North Korea. I suspect that people then go searching the web for The Beast of Revelation and come to my site, which is well indexed by Google. Check the surrounding links and you'll see The Beast of Revelation: Identified ranked at number 2.

Are people thinking that Kim Jong-Il is the Beast? If so they are about 2000 years too late! Check out the DVD and related articles to see what I mean.

Seven Steps to Reforming a Dysfunctional Ministry or Church

I like to focus on my successes, not my failures. Rarely have I written about negative experiences. In my last entry, I defined the “martyr syndrome” as a breakdown in dysfunctional ministry relationships that end with volunteer Christian workers feeling victimized. Wherever there is conflict, there are always two sides that share some of the fault. I’ve always tried to leave relationships on good terms even though there was a fundamental disagreement. A few times I’ve successfully returned to work with the same people I thought were impossible to work with. Don’t burn bridges, that’s my first piece of advice.

I’ve obviously written this for my own benefit as a guide to reform. But maybe this has happened to you or someone you know? I’ve tried to briefly spell out what people can do to avoid the “martyr syndrome” -- that feeling of “victimization” when ministry relationships do not work out.

1. Beware that all people are selfish in some way. Is there a person on the planet that is not selfish? We all share in original sin. No one is exempt from selfish behavior. Most people who are “unselfishly” serving in ministries are actually fulfilling a need for spiritual and emotional fulfillment. Some enjoy the reputation of self-sacrifice. But we should avoid the “martyr complex.” If we blame others every time we willingly sacrifice and yet are taken advantage of or underappreciated, then we have already received our reward. In claiming that all others around us are selfish, we hypocritically exhibit a more extreme form of selfishness. The remedy is to be careful that we not look for our reward from men, but should look to God.

2. Avoid obsessive compulsive behavior. A lot of times the self-proclaimed “experts” are merely those who exhibit obsessive compulsive behavior in one area of expertise. Lots of energy is expended and much gets done in a short time. However, this personality trait almost never stays on track consistently for more than a period of time. The principle of the Kingdom of God is that we must build “little by little” (Exodus 23:30).We must be covenantally faithful with what God entrusted to us over a long period of time (Proverbs 13:11). Then we cannot lose anything if we invest our lives consistently in serving God’s purposes.

3. Avoid unrealistic expectations. A lot of times a ministry project can seem exciting and new to a young volunteer. But be aware that the ones who found and maintain ministries often have to suffer through long periods of what seems to be unfruitful labor before they see any results. Ministries should also be careful not to frustrate and under-appreciate volunteers. Sometimes the encouragement of having some new blood in an organization can lead to a demand for too much from people who aren’t equipped to handle the pressure.

4. Write up a contract of some type. Define the terms of service before any “ministry” work gets done. What is the purpose of the project really? Is it solely to advance the cause of missions? Is it to raise money for a general fund or salaries pertaining to ministry work? Who is in charge of the project? What is the agreement? What happens if the agreement is not followed? Even if there is a written contract, the person in charge will often change the terms when it suits him. In this case, can the worker leave the contract without either side suffering damage? Is there a third party that may arbitrate as a witness if genuine damages occur? These are the main issues to be considered in such a contract.

5. Let God repay you. If we willingly harm other people in our thoughts, acts or words, then God will punish us if we do not repent. I have seen this happen continually in my life. I thank God I am not by nature a vindictive person and God made me somewhat thick-skinned. In every case that I have been wronged, God will always repay me. In any case, we should always seek to reconcile relationships with people we have wronged in any way. At the same time, we need to understand that some people don’t want healing and reconciliation. It’s hard to let that go if you have a heart for God, but sometimes sifting is biblical and necessary.

6. Honor your elders. The people who lead your ministry or church, whether they are ordained or not, likely have more years of experience and wisdom than you do. They are fallible human beings to boot. Yet even when you disagree with them because they are flat out wrong, they still may have something to teach you. Sometimes we even learn by a negative example. Nevertheless, if we persevere in ministry work, God may eventually place us in a position of authority. When that happens God will see to it that people will treat us in the same manner as we treated others.

7. Check your motivation. What are you doing serving a ministry in the first place? Do you want only to please God? Is it for a sense of spiritual fulfillment? Is it to get recognition? Are you there for training purposes so you can benefit in another endeavor later on. If you are looking for a reward, what type of reward do you expect? There is nothing inherently sinful about doing things that will benefit us, but in the end we will get a reward beyond measure if we will only accept what God gives us and be satisfied to do His will.

Is it just me that is dysfunctional or is it my church/ministry?

Let me spell out an all-too-common scenario. A bright young Christian arrives on the scene as a volunteer worker for a small struggling, yet anointed ministry organization. He (or she) gives a few months or a few years of his young life as a “full time worker” and selflessly dedicates his precious time. He sees the ministry make some headway due to his unique set of skills. The founder of the ministry is pleased and gives the young worker a few hundred or even a few thousand dollars to help complete a project. Due to the messy organizational skills of the leader and the lack of a well-defined plan, the project either falls by the wayside or stalls once it is more than half finished. The level of frustration rises on both sides. The young worker realizes that his own financial situation has grown dire due to a growing amount of time spent sacrificially without an adequate salary. He feels he has wasted his precious time and will never see the fruit of his labor. He leaves the ministry he previously admired with a bad taste in his mouth and then slanders the ministry founder to numerous friends and acquaintances.

I’ve seen this scenario -- or something similar to it -- play out a few dozen times in my Christian experience. It is not a syndrome peculiar to a certain type ministry or church denomination. The “martyr syndrome” seems to be everywhere. I would define this as ministry burnout when unrealistic expectations are not met and a “victim” mentality ensues. Here’s a good set of articles from the Emmanuel Research Review that describe this syndrome as being pervasive and makes some good suggestions for reform: “Is it just me that is dysfunctional or is it my church?”

Where does this happen most? Youth ministries that recruit full-time Christian workers that are required to raise their own support are more prone to this than others. The conundrum comes when a worker is responsible for his or her own support, but is nevertheless placed in a situation that demands a high level of commitment. Young Christians have the greatest amount of zeal, but they are also the most naïve. They are therefore prone to spiritual abuse and often place unrealistic expectations on themselves. When things don’t work out exactly as imagined, this is either an opportunity to learn and mature or it can be a pitfall for bitterness as well.

As a high school teacher in a lower income area, I deal young people who come from dysfunctional families all day long. It is not surprising that given the high level of dysfunctionality in our culture that we find this syndrome among young adults who are placed in ministry situations.

Harvard faculty recomends required "Reason and Faith" courses

The full report is available in PDF format at:

http://www.fas.harvard.edu/%7Esecfas/Gen_Ed_Prelim_Report.htm

Here is an excerpt:

4. Reason and Faith

Religion is a fact of twenty-first-century life—around the world and right at home. Ninety-four percent of Harvard’s incoming students report that they discuss religion “frequently” or “occasionally,” and seventy-one percent say that they attend religious services. When they get to college, students often struggle—sometimes for the first time in their lives—to sort out the relationship between their own beliefs and practices, the different beliefs and practices of fellow students, and the profoundly secular and intellectual world of the academy itself.

Beyond these private struggles, religion is realpolitik, both nationally and internationally. Wars are fought around the world in the name of religion. Increasingly, policy makers understand that success in international affairs depends on appreciating the role that religion plays in many societies. Here at home, the United States is experiencing a cultural and political tension over religious issues that erupts in debates about the constitutionality of the Pledge of Allegiance, the display of the Ten Commandments on government property, school prayer, and same-sex marriage. Religious beliefs are also shaping vigorous debates concerning issues in science and medicine, such as evolutionary theory, stem-cell research, and abortion. These debates are not simply debates about morality or public policy. They also purport to be debates about the facts. A recent Science article reports that one third of American adults firmly reject the idea of human evolution (a number significantly higher than in European countries and Japan), and the rejection appears to b tied to religious conservatism. The boundary between the secular and non-secular today is confusing and highly fraught.

Harvard is no longer an institution with a religious mission, but religion is a fact that Harvard’s graduates will confront in their lives both in and after college. We therefore require students to take one course in a category entitled Reason and Faith. Let us be clear.

Courses in Reason and Faith are not religious apologetics. They are courses that examine the interplay between religion and various aspects of national and/or international culture and society. Moreover, these courses do not center on ethics per se. At the conclusion of taking a course in The Ethical Life area, students will appreciate the nature of moral dilemmas and understand principled ways to grapple with them. In contrast, at the conclusion of taking a course in the Reason and Faith area, students will appreciate the role of religion in contemporary, historical, or future events – personal, cultural, national, or international.

Courses in Reason and Faith can vary widely. They may take up the relationships between politics and religion, science and religion, culture and religion, epistemology and religious faith, and more. They engage with a wide range of topics, from evolutionary theory and intelligent design to comparative religious cultures.

These courses are not prescriptive: their aim is to help students understand the interplay between religious and secular institutions, practices, and ideas. They also encourage students to become more selfconscious about their own beliefs and values. By providing them with a fuller understanding of both local and global issues involving religious faith, the courses are intended to help students become more informed and reflective citizens. Newly developed courses might include:

Religion in Closed Societies. In what ways do religious movements inform personal, ethnic, and political identities in closed and secular political societies? How does that contrast to religious movements that form the basis of closed political societies? Examples include: the Falun Gong movement in Communist China, Judaism in the former Soviet Union, Catholic liberation theology in El Salvador, and the Islamic Revolution in Iran. Religion and Democracy. How does religion function in open and democratic societies? What role does religion play in the contemporary American political landscape, and how does it compare to the role religion plays in other Western industrial democracies. The history of immigration, assimilation, secularization, and religious freedom are examined in the context of the United States post-September 11, the “Muslim” riots in Paris in 2005, the changing role of the Catholic Church, and the increasing influence of religious political parties in Middle Eastern democracies.

Religion and Science. Since the late nineteenth-century, science and religion in the West have been viewed as unlikely bedfellows and incommensurable epistemologies. At the same time, much natural knowledge has been developed in the service of religious beliefs or institutions, and many scientists profess a belief in God in one form or another. Using contemporary and historical examples (“intelligent design” vs. evolution by natural selection, the origins of life on earth, the Scopes Monkey trial, Einstein’s critique of quantum physics, Galileo’s condemnation, etc.), this course will examine the intellectual and philosophical conflicts between science and religion as a form of a shifting culture war between the spiritual and the secular.

The Wars of Religion. From the Hundred-Years War to the contemporary conflicts between militant forms of Islam and the industrialized West, warfare waged on religious grounds has formed the basis of much of world history. This course will examine the modern history of religious warfare, from the end of World War II to the present. Examples include conflicts between Muslims and Jews in the Middle East, Hindu-Muslim tensions in India and Pakistan, the Chinese annexation of Tibet, and the violence in Northern Ireland between Protestants and Catholics.

Medicine, Spirituality, and Religion in Modern America. This course examines the intersections and clashes between medicine and spirituality in the contemporary United States. As Western scientific medicine has become more effective, more expensive, and more reductionist, the rise of “alternative” healing practices has grown dramatically. From Christian Science healing, to the scientific study of the efficacy of prayer, to mind-body practices such as yoga and tai chi, spiritual, non-western, and religious healing modalities have flourished in the last two decades. The course examines the philosophical, social, and cultural bases of beliefs about the body, health, and illness in contemporary America in order to understand the apparent contradiction between the parallel growth of scientific medicine and spiritual healing practices.

Reason and Faith is a category unlike any that Harvard has included in its general education curriculum, but even a casual review of the current course catalogue shows that courses in this area already proliferate. To give just a small sample of courses currently on offer that could be, or be modified to become, a general education course in Reason and Faith: History 1491: Religion and Popular Culture in 19th-Century Europe; Religion 1560: Religion and Society in 20th-Century America; Religion 1550: Religion and American Public Life; Government 90jm: Comparative Constitutionalism: Religion and State; African and Afro-American Studies 192x: Religion and Society in Nigeria; Social Studies 98ic: Why Americans Love God and Europeans Don’t; Human Evolutionary Biology 1355: Darwin Seminar: Evolution and Religion; Ancient Near East 138: The Bible and Politics; Religion 1820: Islam in South Asia: Religion, Culture, and Identity in South Asian Muslim Societies; Historical Studies A-27: Reason and Faith in the West. Other topics for courses in this area might include: church and state; history of religion in the United States; the politics of religion in medieval Christendom; religion and the academy; philosophical attempt to reconcile faith and reason; gender and religious practices; global Christianity; the Vatican as a religious and secular institution.

Harvard to reinstate religion in required courses

Seen on FOX NEWS ticker tape Oct. 4, 2006 – "Harvard committee recommends returning religion to the curriculum. The committee said the university founded 370 years ago to train Puritans ministers should require all undergraduates to study religion along side ethics and U.S. History."

For over a year, a group of community students, community people and ministers have been meeting twice a week at Harvard. The group has also been “seeding” the campus with flyers and tracts. A proposed magazine is ready to be printed: The Boston Awakening.

Consider this scripture: Luke 10:1,2: “After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of Him to every town and place where He Himself would go. He told them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest field.’”

Pray about what you can do to help. Contact me for more details: jrogers@forerunner.com

The following flyer was distributed by Christian students at Harvard prior to the announcement. Is it possible that the committee saw the flyer?

September 26, 1642

On this date, 364 years ago, the board of Harvard College declared the purpose of the college was "To train a literate clergy." Prior to the American Revolution, 10 of the 12 presidents of Harvard were ministers, and according to reliable calculations, over 50% of the 17th Century Harvard graduates became ministers. The Rules and Precepts that were observed at Harvard, declared 8 statements. Among these:

“Let every Student be plainly instructed, and earnestly pressed to consider well, the maine end of his life and studies is, to know God and Jesus Christ which is eternal life (John 17:3) and therefore to lay Christ in the bottome, as the only foundation of all sound knowledge and learning. And seeing the Lord only giveth wisedome, Let every one seriously set himself by prayer in secret to seeke it of Him (Prov. 2:3).

“Every one shall so exercise himselfe in reading the Scriptures twice a day, that he shall be ready to give such an account of his proficiency therein, both in Theoreticall observations of Language and Logick, and in practical and spiritual truths, as his Tutor shall require, according to his ability; seeing the entrance of the Word giveth light, it giveth understanding to the simple (Psalm 119:130).

“That they eschewing all profanation of God's name, Attributes, Word, Ordinances, and times of Worship, do study with good conscience carefully to retain God, and the love of His truth in their minds, else let them know, that God may give them up to strong delusions, and in the end to a reprobate mind, 2 Thes. 2:11, Romans 1:28."

Source: Pierce, Benjamin (1833), A History of Harvard University, from its foundation, in the year 1636, to the period of the American Revolution (Cambridge, MA: Brown, Shattuck, & Co.), 5. <http://education.byu.edu/edlf/archives/prophets/founding_fathers.html>

The most dangerous place for a child to be

This will go across the grain of some people, but read to the end to get my real point.

Less than one in a million children are murdered in school. School is by far the safest place to be.

And it is nothing new. USA Today reported: "The worst school attack in U.S. history occurred in 1927, when a farmer angry about school taxes blew up a school in Bath, Mich., killing 45. In 1959, a man trying to enroll his son into a Houston elementary school detonated a suitcase filled with dynamite, killing six. In 1979, a 16-year-old girl who had been given a rifle for Christmas, instead of the radio she asked for, shot from her home into an elementary school across the street in San Diego, killing two adults. Her motive: 'I don't like Mondays.' Those incidents are mostly forgotten now ..."

It seems higher than before because it was previously unheard of in white communities. Since 1997, there has been an upsurge of school violence in rural and suburban communities. Not much media coverage was previously given to murders in urban areas because people expected that.

However, of one hundred homicides of school-aged children, less than one is killed in school. School is by far the safest place to be -- even public schools. Think about it. I am a public school teacher in an urban population district. At the school I teach at, we have over one hundred adults watching the kids at all times. Kids get into trouble when they are by themselves.

With one exception. And this is the most dangerous place to be.

The mother's womb. One in three children are killed by their parents.

Why are we not as outraged by that?

Columbine victim's father responds to Amish shootings

LifeNews.com featured the following item:

*****************

A father of a victim of the Columbine shootings responded to the recent shooting at an Amish school, said abortion has cheapened people's view of life.

CBS News featured Denver resident Brian Rohrbough, whose 15-year-old son Daniel was killed in the Columbine massacre. In his interview, aired nationally on the program, Rohrbough said abortion has caused a dimmer view of the sanctity of human life. "This country is in a moral free fall.

For over two generations, the public school system has taught in a moral vacuum," he explained. "We teach there are no absolutes, no right or wrong. And I assure you, the murder of innocent children is always wrong, including by abortion." "Abortion has diminished the value of children," Rohrbough, who is a member of the board of directors of Colorado Right to Life, said

How do Great Awakenings get started?

The following article is what was cut from my introduction to the Boston Awakening magazine.

How do Great Awakenings get started?

The traditional view is that Great Awakenings are sovereign moves of the Holy Spirit in specific regions at set times. First Great Awakening leaders such as Jonathan Edwards called these phenomena “surprising” and “supernatural.” They often quoted the words of Jesus regarding personal regeneration, “The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” (John 3:8).

Although leaders of the First Great Awakening, such as Edwards, John Wesley, George Whitefield and Gilbert Tennant, did not claim to have originated the move of God known as the First Great Awakening, their names are so associated with the event that historians often imply that they were the cause of it.

In the 19th century, Christian leaders leaned away from a Calvinistic perspective and took a stronger “free will” approach claiming that under the right circumstances mass conversions could be produced by revival preaching and “new measures.” Revivalist Charles G. Finney once preached that “Revival is no more a miracle than a crop of wheat.” In his opinion, revival was simply the “natural” and expected outcome when the right “measures” were used. Non-religious historians and sociologists explain that Great Awakenings are the product of various convergent conditions that produce a mass religious phenomenon. Religious movements appear to occur in waves, not because of “surprising” or “supernatural” causes, but because of the cyclical flux of historical trends. If this were the case, then we ought to be able to predict when revival and spiritual awakening will occur by simply observing the trends.

Another problem is that the definition of “revival” has changed over the years. We tend to apply “revival” to individuals rather than to the Church. Individuals are not revived; they are regenerated. Being born-again is a sovereign act of God given by grace to people who were spiritually dead in their sins. A Christian who has lapsed into serious sin needs repentance.

Sometimes this is called “personal revival.” However, from a sovereign grace perspective, “regeneration” is for unconverted sinners, “repentance” is for Christians, but “revival” is for the Church. Revival is needed in the Church whenever there is a large number of unconverted church members and Christians who have fallen into habitual sin. In the 1700s, “revival” was associated with mass conversions that led to a complete transformation of society.

Toward the end of the 1800s, “revival” began to become associated with the evangelistic meetings held by men such as D.L. Moody and Billy Sunday. Some critics have pointed out that although these “revivals” have met the criteria of mass conversions and remarkable church growth, these could be considered normal activities of any generation of Christianity. Further, none of the so-called “revivals” of the late 19th and 20th centuries have affected the cultural landscape to the same degree as did the 18th century Great Awakening.

One thing is certain: if a Spiritual Awakening can be produced by human beings, no one has been able to produce one for at least 100 years. In light of this, why would a movement call itself: “The Boston Awakening”?

There are several possibilities from a biblical perspective:

1. There is nothing unusual going on in Boston.

2. The growing number of committed Christians is explainable by comparing it to the religious demographic of the rest of the country. As more students and immigrants move to Boston, they bring with them their normal spiritual experience. Boston is simply “catching up” with what is happening elsewhere.

3. The growing interest in spirituality is actually the beginning stages of an Awakening. Only time will tell if this movement will grow to the impact of the 18th century Great Awakening

4. A type of an Awakening is already here. It is the responsibility of existing Church ministers and leaders to transform the current pietistic “revival” into a Great Awakening – a cultural reformation that will impact the entire region and the world.

I believe that the fourth possibility is the current situation. There is never any shortage of opportunity. How do Great Awakenings get started? As the Apostle Paul preached, “From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us" (Acts 17:26,27). If God chose the places and times we should live, then each one of us is responsible for recovering His testimony in our own life, church, city and generation.