Ducks Fly Together (Quack, Quack, Quack)

These past few days have been a frenzy of what Phil Robertson, of Duck Commander and the show Duck Dynasty, has stated in an article with GQ magazine. Seems to be a popular topic to talk about as you’re going to have 2 basic sides. One for Phil. One against Phil. The two debated quotes have been about sexuality and sin, and the other being about black/African American.

Let’s tackle the Jim Crow debate first because its easier.

Now apparently, Phil Robertson said that as a nation we should go back to using Jim Crow laws, or so I’ve read through every article on Google. Here’s your exact quote from GQ

I never, with my eyes, saw the mistreatment of any black person. Not once. Where we lived was all farmers. The blacks worked for the farmers. I hoed cotton with them. I’m with the blacks, because we’re white trash. We’re going across the field…. They’re singing and happy. I never heard one of them, one black person, say, ‘I tell you what: These doggone white people’—not a word!… Pre-entitlement, pre-welfare, you say: Were they happy? They were godly; they were happy; no one was singing the blues.

Now Phil could have very easily lived in an area back in those days where slavery wasn’t violent. We know from history that yes there were blacks that were slaves and worked and were treated well by their owners and we ALSO know from history that yes there were blacks that were slaves and worked and were treated poorly, killed, harassed by their masters and every one else in that area. I didn’t live there so I really don’t know. I and we can only take this quote at face value.

Now for the heavy stuff. The homosexuality comments.

Phil: It seems like, to me, a vagina—as a man—would be more desirable than a man’s anus. That’s just me. I’m just thinking: There’s more there! She’s got more to offer. I mean, come on, dudes! You know what I’m saying? But hey, sin: It’s not logical, my man. It’s just not logical.
…
“We’re Bible-thumpers who just happened to end up on television,” he tells me. “You put in your article that the Robertson family really believes strongly that if the human race loved each other and they loved God, we would just be better off. We ought to just be repentant, turn to God, and let’s get on with it, and everything will turn around.”

…

“Everything is blurred on what’s right and what’s wrong,” he says. “Sin becomes fine.”

GQ: What, in your mind, is sinful?

Phil: “Start with homosexual behavior and just morph out from there. Bestiality, sleeping around with this woman and that woman and that woman and those men,” he says. Then he paraphrases Corinthians: “Don’t be deceived. Neither the adulterers, the idolaters, the male prostitutes, the homosexual offenders, the greedy, the drunkards, the slanderers, the swindlers—they won’t inherit the kingdom of God. Don’t deceive yourself. It’s not right

It sucks that A&E has suspended Phil from the show. My wife and I love the show, we watch it when we can. A lot of people watch the show. A lot of people also comment that this was an invasion of the first amendment of Free Speech. It’s not (good try though). Phil wasn’t arrested for what he said. Phil said something that A&E didn’t agree with and he faced consequences. That would happen to anyone at their job that said something that their employer didn’t agree with. Words have power and that power can bring consequences. For that I’m with A&E. Phew! That’s out of the way. Now I’m going to keep this short and sweet.

First: If you don’t believe in the bible or don’t take it as factual my post is finished. Nothing else that you read after this you’ll agree with. If you want to continue reading, that is fine, but you’ll be reading biblical stand points for why I’m supporting Phil Robertson. Phil says that homosexuality is not logical. Sin isn’t logical. Why would someone want to lie instead of telling the truth? That’s not logical. A judge asks for the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. If the person is then lying, their testimony is thrown out. If a child lied to a parent, would the parent praise the child for lying? No, that parent would punish and correct the child so that it doesn’t lie. It would not be logical for a parent to say that it’s ok for their child to lie. James 2 tells us that for the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God’s laws. I, a liar, am no better than a murderer, who is no better than someone that abuses alcohol, who is no better than a man that sleeps around, who is no better than a woman that lies, who is no better… get it?

WE’RE ALL GUILTY.

• Romans 1:18-32
• 1 Corinthians 6:9-11
• 1 Timothy 1:8-10
• Jude 7

These verses mention a lot of sins such as: those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people (1 Cor. 6:9-11). All of this is wrong. All of this goes against what God states in the bible and when you change the bible you’re creating a God and doing the impossible.

“I am the Alpha and the Omega—the beginning and the end,” says the Lord God. “I am the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come—the Almighty One.” (Rev 1:8)

This is what God says. This is biblical. If even one thing is not true about the bible then the WHOLE bible is not true. That’s why I support Phil Robertson, because he is a fellow brother in Christ and stands firm in his beliefs.

BUT…

Am I to judge? No. That’s God’s job. I am here to show love. The same love that Christ shows me because I am a sinner too. A lot of things don’t make sense or don’t seem clear. That’s ok. Pray. God knows it all.

You can read the interview with Phil Robertson and GQ here

*warning: interview contains strong language.*

Even the Demons Believe.

I remember this one occasion sitting at a bible study debating faith and believers. One side quoted James 2:17 “Faith without works is dead.” The other side going with Romans 10:9 “Confessing with your mouth and believing in your heart.” I was somewhere in the middle. I wasn’t really sure what to think, or even be able to pick a side. Both sides had strong arguments.

But, when you debate faith, you debate God.

When you debate God you create religion. You create rules. You create regulations. You create a church where the people are worshipped. When we’re worshipped we then create christianity into an emotion, event, or feeling. If our emotions aren’t fulfilled we move on. That’s what is happening in our instant gratification of a society, where every thing is a Google search away.

This debate though is ironic. Neither side of the argument can exist without the other. Not in the sense that their opposing views, but in the sense that they’re actually one in the same.

Let’s start with Romans 10. Remember “if then” statements from middle school or high school math? That’s basically what Romans 10:9 is. IF you CONFESS WITH YOUR MOUTH that Jesus is Lord and BELIEVE IN YOUR HEART that God raised him from the dead, [THEN] you will be saved. It’s that simple. Let’s break it down.

Step 1, CONFESS. Definition to admit, state, disclose, declare, profess, acknowledge, tell the truth, tell all, come clean, spill the beans, let the cat out of the bag. AND WHAT YOU ARE CONFESSING IS THAT Jesus is Lord. 

*Fun fact* “LORD” vs “Lord” vs “lord.” Same word, 3 different ways, and yes there is a difference. If it is written as “LORD,” they are referring to the translated name of God aka Yahweh or YHWH. This is typically found in the old testament. If it is written as “Lord,” it is because it is either at the front of the sentence or they are talking about one of the 3 persons of the Godhead (father, spirit, son), or to the entire Godhead. Finally if it is written as “lord,” then they are talking about a human ruler. Like lord Tyrion Lannister from Game of Thrones.

Step 2, BELIEVE. Definition to accept something as true, be convinced by, have confidence in, consider honest, swallow, buy, go for, take it, understand. AND WHAT YOU ARE BELIEVING IS THAT God raised him (Jesus) from the dead. 

“What does that have to do with anything?”
I”m glad you asked. Back in old testament times in order for the people to be “right” with God they had to follow rules known as The Ten Commandments and if they broke one of the rules then they had to make a sacrifice. Since man a.k.a. us a.k.a. you and me will always screw up, God sent his Son, that was absolutely perfect, to die as our sacrifice. But not only did he die, he rose again to prove that death could not hold him

That’s it.

On to the next point, James 2. Some think that the author is referring to “showing off their good deeds” will make them right with God, and that’s not the what the author means. In verse 14 the author asks “what good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions.” While reading this chapter it helps me to understand it better by replacing the word faith with the word love. Christ had shown love to everyone he met. That was his faith of God. That’s what Christ called us to do. In Matthew 22:38 Jesus said to love God, and to love others. No other requirements.

If I told my wife I loved her but never showed her, she wouldn’t believe…well maybe a couple of times…but after that she’d be asking me to show her that I love her. This is what the author meant in James 2. When we truly believe, when we’re chasing after what Christ wants for us, we help our fellow brothers and sisters.

Anyone can say that they believe in God. Even the demons believe.

2031

This is probably the coolest thing ever and I feel it needs told. I keep telling my wife to post about it but she refuses, so whatever…I’ll do it.

So we both have full time jobs and we make decent money but still money is tight. Every time we seem to get a clear look at our budget a new bill pops out of thin air. To help with all these bills I decided to look for a part time job doing something I like/enjoy/love/have a passion for. I now work for a church in Garland where I lead worship on Sunday evenings for their youth/young adult contemporary service. My wife decided she would also find a job to help contribute.

A couple of months ago she met with her mentor who happened to also be a Mary Kay consultant. Christen was very excited at this opportunity but being a godly woman and an awesome wonderful submissive wife she wanted to let me know. Don’t get it twisted about submission that’s for another post. Both of us prayed about the situation as with Mary Kay there will be some finances that we have to put in to it plus the energy that she will need to be a productive employee. Both of us got a peace about it so we decided to go forward with the new adventure.

Here’s where the cool story comes in. She gets a website where our friends family and other clients can order the products and the username for the site is cjacobs2031. I asked her, “why 2031.” She replied that she didn’t know that it was something random picked for her. I mentioned that it would be kind of cool if that dealt with something biblical. So turns out the 20th book in the bible is the book of Proverbs and the 31st chapter is all about the virtuous woman that takes care of her family and supports her husband and fears The Lord above everything.

If that’s not a sign from God that he’s got our back on this then I don’t know what is.