PhobiaNovusPhobia

As a child, I knew that a phobia was an irrational fear. I knew of some common psychological disorders like Claustrophobia (confined spaces), and Arachnophobia (fear of spiders), as well as the irrational fear of heights, flying, and germs. With the release of the latest Time Magazine: “Is America Islamophobic?”, those who oppose the Ground Zero Mosque, Franklin Graham, myself and the majority of American citizens have been identified as fear mongers and closed minded bigots. The press has introduced us to a whole new category of phobias lately that vilify those with differing opinions.
This is nothing new to me. As a pastor I have been called a homophobe, because I believe that homosexual acts are a sin. I don’t have an irrational fear of people who are homosexual, and their behavior does not hinder my day to day activities at all, but the label is given, whether I am seeing a psychiatrist or not.

Is fear not a good thing to have? In fact, rational fear is a very good thing, because it can save your life! Don’t we want our kids to fear being run over by a car when crossing a busy street? Fear of the Nile Crocodile is a good thing to have if the Nile River is your primary source of water. Fear of the growing radicalization of Islam is not irrational at all. For those families who are mourning their loved ones in New York, or thousands of other places around the world, where terrorists have achieved their objective, fear is not only rational- it is the very objective of the violence! If you were a 14 year old Pakistani girl, who’s best friend lost her eyes, nose and ears from an acid attack because she said "no" to a marriage proposal, would your fear of saying no to a proposal be irrational? If you lived in Poland in 1938 and your neighbors were disappearing would your fear of Nazi’s be irrational?
New terms have been created that are intended to silence people with legitimate concerns, and in an ironic twist, used to label those who voice opposition as fear mongers. Are all our new security measures that we are hassled with at airports, ferries, and sports events due to irrational fears too? The fact that our national security administration has shrunk back from naming Radical Islam as the primary danger does not negate the rational response. Am I an abortionphobe because I oppose abortion or a broccoliphobe because I don’t like that vegetable?

Airport security has the approval of the press to calculate risk and thereby protect the public from terrorists. But they would become "islamophobic profilers" if they were to focus on certain characteristics that identify those terrorists, such as an Terrorist harboring country of origin or one who faithfully attends the Dar Al Hijrah Islamic Center in Falls Church, Virginia, because that would be totally irrational. Instead of the identifying the mosque as the learning center for two pilots of 9/11 and the Fort Hood Shooter, they print quotes like these: “We at Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center reiterate our condemnation of this brutal murder. We continue to send our condolences and prayers for the recovery of all the families and victims of this godless act.” and “Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center is one of the largest and diverse Islamic Centers in the nation. We are committed to serve the community as a place of worship, education and social services.”

The greatest irony of all is that when Radical Islam succeeds in their goal of instilling terror into their enemies, their allies, the American press, identifies the real threat to the American ideal: Islamophobes. I think I am developing PhobiaNovusPhobia. (Fear of New phobias)

Getting More out of the Bible

I was recently asked “how can I get more out of scripture when I read it.” Like a meteorologist gets more out of looking at the sky than the average person because of their training, we too, with some simple disciplines can get more out of scripture than first meets the eye. So I am going to do a few blogs on the subject.. First installment- Look for word repetition and patterns in scripture. Word repetition can occur in Books of the Bible, as well as a single teaching within a book. Word repetition in scripture is sort of like underlining something or using bold print when we take notes- it provides and emphasis to something that is important. Take for example John 15:1-8 (NIV)

The Vine and the Branches
15 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
a The Greek for prunes also means cleans.

I have made a word construction from three different words that are repeated in the teaching. In this text you can easily identify Branch, Vine and Fruit and repeated words. Identify how these words are used in conjunction with the rest and the passage comes alive. If therefore you understand the importance of these three words, you will understand the text more fully and it’s implications in your own life. You can apply this principle to almost every passage you study.