Yes, I know how the original adage goes...but I have never liked it!  I suppose I could slightly be misrepresenting what it means , but really it has always bugged me.  "If you don't stand for something" seems to imply that it doesn't matter what it is for which you stand.  Just pick something and stand by it...  "Just believe!" (another saying that drives me crazy).  If you don't include WHAT I am supposed to believe, and WHAT I am supposed to stand for, and try to show me WHY I should believe it and WHY I should stand for it, I'm naturally going to be skeptical.  In fact, wouldn't standing for something just because someone told me to stand for it actually mean that I am "falling for anything?"  

Ok, enough with that.  Again, that is probably not the thought the original saying was truly meant to communicate, but it is the way I have always taken it.  I have recently been thinking about some of the beliefs on which I stand,  and how it is so difficult sometimes to continue standing for them when the contrary winds of the philosophies of this world are constantly blowing in my face.  It seems like wherever I take a stand (based on faith, but not necessarily "blind faith"), there are always people there waiting to challenge me in that area.

Then, this morning, I find a question presented on Facebook, "How are we supposed to know what to believe?"  I think it is impossible to answer that to anyone's liking.  If you say "the Bible!" someone will no doubt counter with "that is what you believe, but why should anyone else believe it?".  You could say "that is why we have parents and teachers," but we all understand that basing our beliefs solely on what our parents and teachers taught us would mean we are believing things just because others have told us they are true.  You could say "just trust your gut," but then that would mean we are probably just believing something because we feel like it benefits us to believe it--and that surely doesn't make something the "right thing to believe."

You see, everyone believes all sorts of things primarily because someone they trust (a parent, a teacher, etc.) told them it was true, or because they just want to believe it because it is appealing to them...  The question is which of those beliefs are we willing to let go  and which ones will we stand by no matter what?  As we grow older, we want to know which beliefs we are simply holding on to just because we were taught that they are true and which beliefs we are holding on to just because we think it benefits us most, and we want to know if we have been misguided.  After all, our parents taught us there was a Santa Clause and a Tooth Fairy.  What if we find out other beliefs we possess are wrong?

I believe in the Bible because 1) I was taught when I was young that it was the Word of God and it was true, and because 2) It satisfies me.  Over time, I have learned to rely on the Bible more and more because I have put it to the test in many ways and have found that it works for me.  Not only that, I have watched others who believe it and follow what it says, and I find that it works for them, too.  I didn't necessarily just "choose to believe it," and my belief in the Bible has certainly been challenged many times, but it has become the standard for all my faith and practice and the source I rely on to answer any of life's questions that are thrown at me.

When I see people flip flop on the beliefs they once held so strongly, I must conclude that either they never completely believed what they claimed to have believed or that they are guilty of "falling for anything."  It would be foolish to "stand" for something just for the sake of standing, but it would be even more foolish to leave our strongest convictions just because others disagree with them and present a good case against them.  I have found that a strong case can be made for just about any belief out there if the person making the case is convincing enough, and there are some people out there that will believe anything (did you know there are people who still believe the Earth is flat?). 

Unless you are the type that will "fall for anything," you are going to form some beliefs that you are not willing to leave.  That is not necessarily bad.  Some will vehemently disagree with your beliefs, but you are going to stand on them even if you can't completely explain why.  You will probably spend a lot of time trying to defend those beliefs and get others to believe them, too.  After all, you really believe them!  But on those other things, the things you are not willing to devote your time and effort and perhaps even stake your life, be flexible!  Let others fight over those things.  You need to spend your efforts on the things in which you believe the strongest.

I'll give you a list of some of my strongest beliefs:

1.  I believe we all exist (more specifically, we exist for a reason.  I believe that reason is God)
2.  I believe God wants to be recognized by us and appreciated for Who He is--The Supreme Creator of all things!
3.  I believe in order for Him to be recognized by us, He chose to reveal Himself to us "generally" (through His creation itself), and "specifically" (angels, visions, etc. to the prophets of the Old Testament; Jesus Christ, the Apostles, and special miracles in the New Testament, and through the completed Bible we have today)
4.  I believe God created everyone equal in value (we don't have the right to take a life, steal from another person, cause them unnecessary harm, etc)
5.  I believe we will stand before God some day and give an account of what we have done with the revelation He has given to us (Jesus Christ and the Bible).
6.  I believe those who reject God and His revelation to us (Jesus Christ and the Bible) will be eternally punished
7.  I believe those who recognize God by accepting His revelation to us (Jesus Christ and the Bible) will be blessed for all eternity with Him in indescribable joy and bliss.

Where do you stand?

Actually, attendance was quite low during this last Atomic Friday, but I don't think it was because of the game (in fact, it was announced at the last minute that the theme was pie in the face...and nobody knew what that meant, really).  It appeared to just be one of those summer days where everyone was either busy, out of town, or sick... but those of us that went got to play one of the most... interesting games we have played.

Here is how the game went:
1. We made a little wall to stand behind (this was a piece of plywood with a hole cut out that we had used for football toss at Kid's Day).  We covered the front with colored paper  (see images above).
2.  For this game, we didn't have teams.  Everyone just lined up and took turns.
3.  One person was selected to be the first to roll the large dice (you can use a spinner or whatever) and the first person stood behind the wall with their face through the hole.
4.  The person who rolled the dice was handed a damp sponge with whipped cream on it, and if they rolled a 1 or a 6, they got to give the person behind the wall a "pie in the face."  The person who was pied was eliminated ("go wash your face and then take a seat!")
5.  The person who rolled the dice then takes their place behind the wall, and the next person in line rolls the dice.
6.  Every time a 1 or a 6 is rolled, the player behind the wall gets the pie and is eliminated.  Everyone else moves forward.  If the roller does not roll a 1 or a 6, no one is eliminated and everyone moves forward (person behind the wall goes to end of line).

Maybe you will have a better turn out than we did, but either way, I strongly recommend this hilarious game.  Let us know what you think!

The basic idea for this cartoon was given by Steve Rafalsky on a Facebook group page, King James Bible Debate, hosted by Will Kinney (http://brandplucked.webs.com) .  I decided to take up the challenge, but I wanted to keep it simple and to the point.  Althought the cartoon clearly favors the "King James only" positon (represented by a guy holding up the King James Bible), it wasn't my goal to necessarily attack modern versions (or even modern textual criticsm), but rather to depict the two views concerning Bible preservation.

The most common view of biblical preservation today, among "Evangelical" Bible critics, is that of "reasoned eclecticism" (simply stated, God inspired the "originals" and today we can only have God's Word through a reasonable consideration of thousands of manuscript evidence and historical texts).  I personally believe textual criticism itself is not bad.  In fact, it is my understanding that such a discipline was used to bring us the King James Bible.  Whereas I still respect the "science" of textual criticism, I have learned to place my trust in the King James Bible and believe God has had His hand on it and has blessed it in a special way for all English speaking people.  I trust it to be an accurate, reliable translation of God's Word without need of modern "updating" and "re-translating."

Anyone interested is welcome to use the cartoon (I prefer it is used without modification).