5.15.2014 COMMENTARY ON GALATIANS by Martin Luther

Luther's declaration (incomplete here..)

after he had publicly expounded this epistle, he took in hand to interpret the same again, in form as is here set forth;
the cause he declareth in the following words:
'i have taken in hand, in the name of the Lord, yet once again to expound this epistle of st. paul to the galatians;
not because i desire to teach new things or such as ye have not known before,
since that, by the grace of Christ, paul is now thoroughly known unto you,
but for that we have to fear lest satan take from us this doctrine of faith
and bring into the church again the doctrine of works and men's traditions.
wherefore it is very necessary that this doctrine be kept in continual practice and public exercise,
both of hearing and reading.

and although it be never so well known, yet the devil,
who rageth continually, seeki9ng to devour us, is not dead.
likewise our flesh and old man is yet alive.
besides this, all kinds of temptations do vex and oppress us on every side;
so that this doctrine can never be taught, urged and repeated enough.
if this doctrine be lost, then is also the doctrine of truth, life and salvation, also lost and gone.
if this doctrine flourish, then all good things flourish;
religion, the true service of God,l the glory of God,
the right knowledge of all things which are necessary for a christian man to know.
because, therefore, we would be occupied and not idle we will begin now where we made an end,
according to the saying of the song of sirach:
'when a man hath done what he can, he must begin again'.

the argument of the epistle of st. paul to the galatians.

it behoveth us first of all to see what matter st. paul here treateth of.
the argument is this: he goeth about to establish the doctrine of faith, grace, forgiveness of sins
or christian righteousness and all other kinds of righteousness.
for there are divers sorts of righteousness.
there is a civil or political righteousness,
which Kings, princes of this world, magistrates and lawyers deal withal.
there is also a ceremonial righteousness, which the traditions of men do teach.
this righteousness parents and schoolmasters may teach without danger,
because they do not attribute to it any power to satisfy for sin, to please god or to deserve grace,
but they teach such ceremonies as are only necessary for the correction of manners
and certain customs concerning this life.
besides these, there is another righteousness called the righteousness of the law
or the ten commandments which moses teacheth.
this we do also teach but after the doctrine of faith.

above all these there is yet another righteousness, to wit the righteousness of faith
or christian righteousness, the which we must diligently discern from the others aforesaid,
for they are quite contrary to this righteousness,
both because they flow out of the laws of Kings and rulers,
the traditions of the pope and the commandments of god
and also because they consist in our works
and may be wrought by us either by our natural strength, (as the papi8sts term it)
or else by the gift of God.
for these kinds of righteousness are also the gift of God, like all other good things are,
which we do enjoy.

but the most excellent righteousness of faith,
which God through Christ without any works imputeth to us,
is neither political nor ceremonial nor the righteousness of God's law, nor consisteth of works,
but is clean contrary to these.
that is to say it is a mere passive righteousness, as the others are active.
for in the righteousness of faith we work nothing
we render nothing unto God,.
but we only receive and suffer another to word in us,
that is to say God.
therefore it seemeth good unto us to call this righteousness of faith, the passive righteousness.
this is a righteousness hidden in a mystery which the world doth not know, yea,
christians themselves do not thoroughly understand i
and can hardly take hold of it in their temptations.
therefore it must be diligently taught and continually practiced.
and whoso doth not understand or apprehend this righteousnes
in afflictions and terrors of conscience,
must needs be overthrown.
for there is no comfort of conscience so firm and sure as this passive righteousness is.

for the troubled conscience, in view of god's judgment, hath no remedy against
desperation and eternal death,
unless it take hold of the forgiveness of sins by grace freely offered in Christ Jesus,
which is this passive faith or christian righteousness,
which if it can apprehend, then it may be at rest and can boldly say:
i seek not active or working righteousness, for if i had it i could not trust in it
neither dare i set it against the judgment of God.
then i abandon myself from all active righteousness, both of my own and of God's law
and embrace only that passive righteousness
which is the righteousness of grace, mercy and forgiveness of sins.
briefly i rest only upon that righteousness which is the righteousness of Christ and of the Holy Ghost.
the greatest knowledge and the highest wisdom of christians is
not to know the law,
to be ignorant of works and of the whole active righteousness,
especially when the conscience wrestleth with God.
like as on the contrary amongst those who are not of god's people,
the greatest wisdom is to know and to urge the law and the active righteousness.
but it is a strange thing and unknown to the world 
to teach christians to be ignorant of the law
and to live before God as if there were no law.
notwithstanding except thou be ignorant of the law and be assuredly persuaded in thine heart,
that there is now no law nor wrath of God
but only grace and mercy for Christ's sake thou canst not be saved,
for by the law cometh the knowledge of sin.
contrariwise works and the keeping of the law is so strictly required in the world
as if there were no promise or grace.

here then is required a wise and faithful disposer of the word of God
who can so moderate the law that it may be kept within its bounds.
he that teacheth that men are justified before God by the observation of the law
passeth the bounds of the law
and confoundeth these two kinds of righteousness, active and passive,
and is an ill logician, for he doth not rightly divide.
contrariwise he that setteth forth the law and works to the old man
and the promise and forgiveness of sins and God's mercy to the new man,
divideth the word well.
for the flesh, or the old man, must be coupled with the law and works;
the spirit or the new man must be joined with the promise of god and His mercy.
wherefore when i see a man oppressed with the law
terrified with sin
and thirsting for comfort,
it is time that i removed out of his sight the law and active righteousness
and that i should set before him, by the gospel, the christian or passive righteousness,
which, excluding moses and his law, offereth the promise made in Christ,
Who came for the afflicted and sinners.
here the man is raised up again and conceiveth the good hope,
neither is he any more under the law, but under grace.
how not under the law?
according to the new man to whom the law doth not appertain.
for the law hath its bounds unto Christ, as paul saith,
'for Christ is the end of the law' rom. 10.4,
who being come, moses ceaseth with his law, circumcision, the sacrifices, the sabbaths,
yea and all the prophets.

this is our divinity whereby we teach how to put a difference between these two kinds of righteousness, active and passive,
to the end that manners and faith, works and grace, policy and religion,
should not be confounded or take the one for the other.
both are necessary, but must be kept within their bounds.
christian righteousness appertaineth to the new man
and the righteousness of the law appertaineth to the old man, which is born of flesh and blood.
upon this old man, as upon an ass,  there must be laid a burden that may press him down
and he must not enjoy the freedom of the spirit of grace,
except he first put upon him the new man, by faith in Christ
(which notwithstanding is not fully done in this life),
then may he enjoy the kingdom and inestimable gift of grace.

this i say, to the end that no man should think we reject or forbid good works,
as the papists do slander us,
neither understanding what themselves say
or what we teach.
they know nothing but the righteousness of the law
and yet they will judge of that doctrine which is far above the law,
of which it is impossible that the carnal man should be the judge.
therefore they must needs be offended for they can see no higher than the law.
whatsoever, then, is above the law is to them a great offence.
but we imagine as it were, two worlds, the on heavenly, the other earthly.
in these we place these two kinds of righteousness, being separate the one far from the other.
the righteousness of the law is earthly
and hath to do with earthly things.
but as the earth bringeth not forth fruit except it be watered first from above,
even so by the righteousness of the law,
in doing many things we do nothing
and in fulfilling the law we fulfil it not,
except first we are made righteous by the christian righteousness
which appertaineth nothing to the righteousness of the law
of to the earthly and active righteousness. 
but this righteousness is heavenly which we have not of ourselves but receive it from heaven.
we work not for it, but by grace it is wrought in us and is apprehended by faith.
whereby we mount up above all laws and all works.
so that like as we have borne the image of the earthly adam,
so we shall bear the image of the heavenly adam,
which is the new man in a new world,
where is no law, no sin, no remorse or sting of conscience, no death,
but perfect joy, righteousness, grace, peace, salvation and glory.

why, do we then nothing/
do we work nothing for the obtaining of this righteousness?
i answer, nothing at all.
for this is perfect righteousness,
to do nothing,
to hear nothing,
to know nothing of the law or or works,
but to know and believe this only,
that Christ is gone to the Father and is not now seen,
that He sitteth in heaven at the right hand of His Father,
not as judge, but made unto us of God,
wisdom, righteousness, holiness and redemption.
briefly, that He is our high priest intreating for us and reigning over us and in us by grace.
in this heavenly righteousness sin can have no place, for there is no law
and where no law is there can be no transgression (rom. 4.15).
seeing then that sin hath here no place there can be no anguish of conscience, no fear, no heaviness.
therefore st. john saith (I john 5.18):
he that is born of God cannot sin.

but if there is any fear or grief of conscience,
it is a token that this righteousness is withdrawn, that grace is hidden
and that Christ is darkened and out of sight.
but where Christ is truly seen, there must be full and perfect joy in the Lord,
with peace of conscience which thus thinketh:
although i am a sinner by the law and under condemnation of the law,
yet i despair not, yet i die not,
because Christ liveth, who is both my righteousness and my everlasting life.
in that righteousness and life i have no sin, no fear, no sting of death....

6.9.2014 CALLED TO BE UNCOOL by n.d. wilson

found in christianity today, may 2014, p32

cows like to turn their backs to the wind.
at least, all the cows i know do.
slowly, awkwardly, eventually,
all that beef will run parallel to the breeze.

people aren't too different.
we align ourselves safely into herds,
comforted by the hot breath of others breaking on the backs of our necks and ears.
then we huff and we puff and blow at the fools
turned turned in the wrong direction.

is there anything more compelling to us than the heavy synchronized breathing of a mob, especially when combined with cocked eyebrows of disdain and curled lips of disgust?
this is the zeitgeist (the spirit of the time; the general characteristics of the age)

(note: love not the world neither the things that are in the world.
if any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. I john 2.15
how can ye believe, which receive hour one of another
and seek not the honor that cometh from God only? john 5.44)

inside the church and out
and it will judge you until you conform and commune.
this is cool shaming
and it will make you squirm and itch to
turn your back to the win,
to stand with all the other cows.

the trendsetters and vision casters in a herd start the movement,
motivated by profit or power or personal gain,
as well as genuine striving for holiness and righteousness.
they target their breath, their words, their media, (means of communication; note: dress, talk, interests, facebook, etc.)
and their coolness accordingly.

but for the rest of us, the single greatest factor in our decision making is
simple COMPLIANCE. (acquiecing, conforming, yielding)
we turn with the crowd because we want the awkwardness to stop.
we want them all to stop looking at us like that.
we want to feel the wind of opinion at our backs.

how did otherwise intelligent people go along with
the third reich, the invasion of poland, the extermination of jews?(note: to to speak of openly slaughtered babies)
we may assume they were evil, brainwashed or a bit of both
and in part we're right.
but when was the last time you hedged on an opinion
because of the hot breathing of those around you?
when did you last choose your words based more on the politics

(politic-1. shrewd or prudent in practical matters; tactful; diplomatic
2.contrived in a shrewd and practical way; expedient-1. tending to promote some proposed or desired object; fit or suitable for the purpose; proper under the circumstances. 2. conducive to advantage or interest
as opposed to right.)
of a situation than on truth?

the power of the zeitgeist helped propel the agonies of race based slavery
and the zeitgeist threw it away in a bloodbath.
the zeitgeist gave us institutional racism and when enough shame had been applied,
the zeitgeist (at least officially)
struck it down.
the zeitgeist set the medes and the persians praying to darius
and threw daniel in the lions den. (daniel 6)
the zeitgeist can kick up the fervor of ungodly war
and it can hang its head in cowardice when a true challenge comes.

the zeitgeist is a fickle master, because the zeitgeist is us.

it's no wonder that one of the first tasks of any prophet was to make himself shameful.
john the baptist wore camel hair and ate insects.
isaiah had to walk around naked for years.
ezekiel had to cook his food over dung.
elijah ate only food carried by ravens-nasty carrion birds.
the first thing God told hosea to do was to marry a whore.

prophets must be fearless,
immune to the pressures of kings and crowds,
aligned only with the breath of God.

we are in need of prophets now.
christians are scattered,
but the world's wind is (note: and the 'church's wind...
both saying, 'conform outwardly and you are 'O.K. ie. 'nice'))
is heavy and unified.

truth and ultimate glory may be in the hands of our Maker,
but the keys of earthly shame are in the hands of the mod.
prop0hets must be immune to (note: better yet drop out of) floggings on facebook and twitter.
they must be fearless before friends and tenure committees and stadiums filled with the priests of Baal.
the cool shaming can have no sting.
the world is busy applying pressure on 'social issues'
and christians are busy caving left and right,
trying to accept fresh cultural dogma simply so that they might be accepted.

many of us would rather be in compliance with the crowd of NOW
than successfully image the loves and hates of our Father.
but his breath rolls the north sea and props up mountains. 
His words ripen fields of grain and infants still hidden in wombs' warmth.
may we run parallel to His breeze alone.

all of our positions-especially in controversy
-should flow from honest exegesis, not from the local coffee shop.
and WE ALL COULD BENEFIT FROM some SHAME.
when hot pressure comes we need to be immune.
if God wants it, we should be ready to
wear camel hair while cooking locusts and raven scraps
over a dung fire in the lion's den
after our marriage to a whore.

shame is easy to find.
all we have to do is STOP HIDING.
we already have seriously uncool friends.
moses. paul. Christ Himself.
enjoy them.
(note: BE)like them.
in public.
offend the zeitgeist.
become immune.

when we turn we must turn for Truth, never for the mob
-not when it's running to the revival tents
and not when it's running to the guillotines.

note: whosoever therefor shall confess me before men,
him will I confess also before My Father which is in heaven.
but whosoever shall deny Me  before men,
him will i deny before My Father which is in heaven. matthew 10.32-3

6.8.2014 WHY I GAVE UP ALCOHOL-d.l.mayfield

found in christianity tody may, 2015,  p35f

i am thirty, i am an evangelical christian and i don't drink.
not because i have a problem with alcohol abuse,
although i enjoy a good sobriety story as much as the next person.
my narrative is a bit more jarring, coming across to fellow liberated evangelicals
as a throwback to our not-too-distant conservative past.
in a culture that encourages us to celebrate the good things of life
-instagramming an artfully arranged salad,
tweeting about pinot noir,
posting facebook albums full of vacations
-choosing not to drink carries a stigma of pietism,
a whiff of refusing to party with Jesus.
a faith built on meaningless acts of righteousness,
of disdaining the world and its evil values.

in the pastor's home i grew up in, alcohol was a non issue:
not a drop in our house, only grape juice in the communion cups.
save for my mother's relatives-who served as a warning,
since most of them abused substances at some point
-nobody i knew drank alcohol.
i believed we were teetotalers, just like all other christians.
then, when i was 17, i discovered a stash of wine coolers in a broken dryer in our garage.
as it turns out, my parents liked to indulge now and then,
but had kept it a secret from my siblings and me.
i suddenly had to mentally rearrange everything i believed about alcohol.
wasn't it inherently evil?
didn't it lead to only bad things
-sour breath, ruined relationships, cars full of teenagers careening out of control on the way to prom?

after i found them out, my parents began keeping a bottle of wine in the cupboard
and some coconut rum on top of the fridge.
and i began to see that having an occasional drink was a grown up way of enjoying yourself.
it became a signpost of the wider cultural appreciation our family
was developing as we eschewed our fundamentalist past.
when i was of age, my older sister bought me my first drink:
a white russian, a la the big lebowski.
'welcome to the club, she told me and we clinked glasses.
it was the perfect amount of naughty, the perfect amount of sweet.

since then, i have weaved in and out of various christian circles,
from conservative pentecostal churches (no drinking)
to baptist seminaries (wine and craft beer okay)
to ecumenical mission organizations (endlessly varied.)
all along i have been an occasional drinker, a social imbiber,
free to live my life in a way that glorifies god.
i have enjoyed the camaraderie that bars can create the solidarity
of good christian kids enjoying a beer together
and the way it finally felt like we were starting to fit in, loosen up.

in the past few years, though, my beliefs have changed-or been changed
my husband and i joined a christian order among the poor, inspired by the likes of shane claiborne,
who seek the face of Christ among the most marginalized of society.
our first shock when we moved into our low income apartment in a midwestern inner city
was the amount of substance abuse that surrounded us.
i hear the sounds every day:
patsy cline blaring next door, the off key singing,
the shouting matches, the cackling, the doors banging,
the bodies crashing to the floor in a stupor.
i would go to get my mail and find a man blocking the stairs,
passed out and unresponsive at 11 in the morning.

we have neighbors who eat raw chicken when they are drunk and get terribly sick;
others who suffer from alcohol-related psychosis and bang symphonies
on the trees outside our window at all hours of the night.
people knock on our door with candy for my daughter,
waving and talking to her even though she is asleep in the other room.
people break windows or almost fall out of them.
empty vodka growlers line the living room of one;
another almost sets our building on fire
when he forgets about the chicken fried steak smoked to smithereens on his stove. 
there are people in our building who die because of alcohol
-cirrhosis of the liver, asphyxiation from their vomit,
slow sinking suicides every where we turn.

and suddenly, alcohol is no longer fun.
instead it is a substance that changes my friends and neighbors,
making them unpredictable and unsafe;
it leaves me feeling helpless and afraid and vulnerable.
it makes me question my faith in god, struggling to find hope for those who are addicted.
there are other neighbors here too,
people who are in various stages of recovery and they help me.
they drink their coffee black and smoke in the parking lots.
they shake their heads and tell me they don't touch the stuff anymore.
they find that every sober day is a gift.

after a year of living among them, i gradually just...stopped.
i dreaded going to the liquor store,
imagining the faces i would see there.
i saw my neighbors get off the bus with a 12-pack in each hand and i was less likely to get a beer the next time i was out.
eventually, i realized i could abstain from alcohol entirely,
that it could even be a spiritual discipline for me
-a way to pray and identify with my literal neighbors, who could not stop.

the apostle paul writes in romans 1.17 that
'the kingdom of god is not a matter of eating and drinking,
but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit',
meaning that refusing any created good doesn't secure a right standing before God
-and enjoying a created good doesn't hinder it either.
and yet i was starting to take very seriously what paul wrote a few short verses later:
'it is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble' v21 ESV
in my neighborhood, it was becoming clear: righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit
were tied to breaking the chains of my neighbors' addictions.
since so many were caught in the cycle of stumbling and picking themselves up again,
it became good for me to not drink, as a way to stand with the brothers and sisters i was learning to love.

as surprising as my gradual new found abstention was,
it began to seem like a concrete way to identify with the victims of alcohol
i was seeing every day.
as it turns out, i was walking a path well worn by christians of previous centuries
(particularly the past two)
who
also wanted to stand against alcohol's deleterious and systemic effects.
temperance movements, often founded and organized by women,
were a direct reaction to the perceived social evils of alcohol  in the 1800s and 1900s.
as historian ruth bordin writes in her biography of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union,
the 19th century saw the heaviest period of drinking in american history
(partially because both water and milk were relatively unsafe for consumption).
bordin notes that in the year 1900, americans spent five times as much on alcoholic drinks
than they did on public education...

women especially discerned the connections between alcohol abuse and the people who most suffered from it:
namely, other women and children.
as bordin writes in woman and temperance,
'the nineteenth century drunkard's reputation as a wife beater, child abuser,
and sodden, irresponsible nonprovider was not undeserved'.
one prominent temperance advocate was carry nation,
a spitfire who believed she had divine orders to smash up bars with an axe (literally).
nation, whose first husband died of alcoholism the year after their daughter was born,
called herself 'a bulldog running along at the feet of Jesus, barking at what he doesn't like'.
between 1900 and 1920, she was arrested 30 times for vandalizing saloons.

at this point in american history, women had little to no rights in regards o property and possession.
the men of the families could legally drink their own wages and those of their wives as well.
women, especially christian women, started to organize and lobby against alcohol,
starting from within heir homes and gradually moving into the political sphere.
temperance became associated with a host of other women's rights,
most notably suffrage- women's right to vote and run for office.
so too did the temperance movement stem from the belief that alcohol
disproportionately affected the poor and marginalized,
usually in concentrated, urban areas.
many times the women involved in the temperance movement
would gather inside saloons, singling hymns, prostrating themselves on the floor
and praying, begging the owners to close their doors.

the larger church culture, too, fueled by the spiritual revivals of he 18th and 19th centuries,
bean to denounce alcohol altogether.
protestant preachers such as lyman beecher and later billy sunday
emphasized personal salvation and moral piety in preparation for the Second Coming.
nearly all of the largest protestant denominations began to denounce alcohol
hand in hand with what they saw as the other evils of the age: slavery, prostitution and gambling.
as early as 1820, denominations such as the methodists, baptists and congregationalists
began to require abstention for membership, causing a shift in mainstream teetotalism.

while the effects of the temperance movement were not all positive (eg Prohibition),
christians' willingness to advocate for social and civic change
on behalf of suffering friends and neighbors is a powerful model for us today.
just as we currently have no problem denouncing slavery, prostitution
and to a lesser extent, gambling
-all for the ways they harm persons and communities
-we'd be wise to reconsider the valid and pressing reasons why so many christians before us
gave up alcohol completely.

if temperance has a historical context based in social justice,
why do i find myself feeling so alone in drinking my sparking water with cranberry juice?
it seems as though the church -and our wider culture-has swung back on the pendulum
in regards to alcohol.
young people and women in particular seem to be embracing alcohol as a sign of liberation
(as well as a way to cope with increasing pressures at work and home).
as journalist gabrielle glaser writes in
'her best kept secret: why women drink-and how they can regain control',
recent studies on drinking in America point to a broader cultural shift
where all people are encouraged to celebrate rather than hide their drinking,
to view it as a meaningful rite of passage.
for many christians, that rite of passage
includes eschewing the perceived fundamentalism of  our past.

i see this evidenced in my own life.
my peers, most of them traveling along upwardly mobile career paths,
constantly reference alcohol, especially on social media.
posting pictures of a frothy, dark Guinness.
tweeting about needing a glass of wine after a long day with a toddler.
hosting a birthday party in a hipster whiskey bar.
churches are hosting small groups like 'Think and Drinks',
talking theology over craft beer.
and with every picture, tweet and event that centers on alcohol, i wonder:
ISN'T ANYONE FRIENDS WITH ALCOHOLICS?

perhaps my peers are unaware of any neighbors, friends or brothers and sisters
who struggle in this way.
but the reality is they likely do know someone who struggles with alcoholism.
the new york times reports that about 1 in 6 americans has a drinking problem
(defined as excessive drinking or alcoholism).
about 80 percent of college age people drink and half of them binge drink on a regular basis.

there are other, less visible, problems.
health risks stemming from alcohol use
-cirrhosis and other live diseases, for example
-dispro0portionately affect minorities in the united states.
alcohol is a driving factor in assault and sexual assault cases reported by people ages 18 to 24.
one in ten children in america grows up with a parent who abuses alcohol.
and 70% of children in the foster care system are affected by some type of prenatal alcohol exposure.

i absorb these statistics and i also see them played out in front of me.
alcohol stars to become an integral part of the brokenness i witness every day:
violence, mental health issues, sickness and premature death.
i see how it becomes a form of oppression in marginalized communities.
i see how easy it is for someone like me to proclaim christian liberty
and freely drink in moderation, in celebration.
and i see how that reality is not the reality of many of my brothers and sister, friends and neighbors.
'do not get drunk with wine, the scriptures say.
for many, the disease with which they are afflicted makes them unable to drink
WITHOUT getting drunk.
so what is a christian supposed to do?

the church down through the centuries has engaged in drinking alcohol
-the early church assumes wine for communion, wedding and medicinal purposes.
but it also cautioned against drunkenness and understood that some christians would need to
abstain from wine (and meat) as a matter of conscience.

today romans 14 is often held up as an example of engaging in cautious christian liberty.
all things are sanctioned by God.
but if your choices actively cause someone to sin,
it's your duty to think first of them.
neighborly love, we call it.
paul is quick to caution believers not to judge one another
-either those who seem too 'permissive' or those who don't want to
or simply can't engage in the good gifts of the Lord.

christians also tend to apply I corinthinans 8, wher paul writes concerning eating meat offered to idols,
to the alcohol question.
ever the pragmatist, paul writes,
'food will not commend us to God.
we are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off it we do' v8, ESV

he then acknowledges that some believers won't eat meat offered to idols
and that for others it may even prove to be a roadblock
in experiencing the transforming work of Christ.
in these cases, paul makes it clear that there is no wiggle room:
'therefore, if food makes my brother stumble,
i will never eat meat,
lest i make my brother stumble' v13 ESV

perhaps no substance fits the definition of 'causing some to stumble but not others'
quite like alcohol does.
as our contemporary understanding of alcohol abuse grows,
so too should our understanding of christian liberty.
we know that some just can't drink in a responsible way
that doesn't end up harming themselves and others.
this, at the least, should give pause to those of us who do not struggle in the same way
and lead us to pray for empathy.
if we are in relationship with people for whom alcohol
is a gateway to addictive and destructive behaviors,
the christian obligation to love compels us to think before we drink
-or to not drink at all.

but perhaps there is another way for the modern reader to interpret this passage.
in the first letter to the corinthians,
paul is assuming that his recipients are doing life with people from an array of backgrounds:
those who are fine with eating meat offered to idols
and those who are extremely uncomfortable with it.
he is addressing a first century world in which believers and pagan meat sellers
interact in a civic society,
a world where christian beliefs directly inform how followers of Christ eat, dress and drink.
paul is telling the early churches how to conduct themselves in a world
where people are coming from very different places.
and, as always, paul asks then to land in the place of love,
to think of their neighbor's needs before their own.

the problem arises when our neighbors and peers are people who are just like us.
churches in a consumerist, western landscape can easily cater to
specific demographics, ethnicities and theologies.
social media allow us to curate our friends and acquaintances and influencers based on how similar they are to us.
we gravitate toward people who look like us, think like us and drink like us.
and when we think about enjoying alcohol as christians, this might be the real sin.

if you wear a 'i heart bacon' t shirt,
i will have to assume you don't have many muslim or jewish friends.
likewise, if you are posting about how 'mommy needs her wine',
i will assume you don't know anyone struggling with alcoholism.
at best, the progressive christian social media world
appears tone-deaf to many realities at the margins of society.
at its worst, it speaks to a relational divide that is much more problematic
than the question of whether or not christians should drink alcohol.

i didn't give up alcohol because i wanted to flee the evils of the world.
i gave up alcohol as a way of engaging the evils of the world.
substance abuse and addictions affect every corner of our society.
hey keep people from relationships with God and one another.
have we swung so far on the swing of christian liberty
that we have lost sight of the greater purposes of looking out for the least of these,
which includes many who struggle with alcohol abuse?
christian liberty is an important theological concept-
it helps us remember and celebrate the grace and love of a very good God.
but only in a context of diverse relationships do liberty and license make sense.
casting wide our nets to include people
of different ethnicities, socioeconomic backgrounds and cultures
will naturally cause us to consider how our actions affect those not like us.

i have been changed by my neighborhood.
i think carefully about ow i portray my life and my liberties on social media,
conscious that my reality is not the reality of everyone.
when we throw parties, they are now delightfully awkward,
people staring into sober cups.
when we take communion with our friends and neighbors,
we use grape flavored kool aid as a symbol of Christ's blood, shed for us.
my clothes, food, language and -yes-drink
have been altered as i try to align my liberty in Christ
with the realities of my admittedly unique context.

i am not calling on everyone to become teetotalers.
but i am asking us to consider temperance as a valid and thoughtful option
-as it has been for many christians throughout the centuries.
as my mentor, a 20 year veteran of working and living among the poor,
often says, 'we are free not to drink'
because o our relatinships with those who struggle.

we are free indeed-when love naturally tempers our actions.

4.14.2014 JOHN BUNYAN PERSECUTED

this is taken from 'memoir of john BUNYAN' by george offor in 'the works of john bunyan' vol 1

on november 12th, 1660, as the winter was setting in,
having been invited to preach at samsell, in bedfordshire,
he prepared a sermon upon these words-'dost thou believe in the Son of God?
john 9.35
from which he intended 'to show the absolute need of faith in Jesus Christ
and that it was also a thing of the highest concern for men to inquire into
and to ask their own hearts whether they had it or no'.
he had then been a preacher ..for five or six years without any interruption,
for although indicted he had continued his useful career...

francis wingate, a neighbouring justice of the peace, having heard of the intended meeting,
issued his warrant to bring the preacher before him.
the intention of the magistrate was whispered about
and came to B's ears before the meeting was held, probably to give him an opportunity of escape.
his friends, becoming alarmed for his safety,
advised him to forego the opportunity.
it was a trying moment for him.
he had a beloved wife to whom he had not been long married
and four dear children by his first wife, one of them blind,
all depending upon his daily labour for food.
if he escaped, he might continue his stolen opportunities of doing good to the souls of men.
he hesitated but for a few minutes for private prayer.
he had hitherto shown himself hearty and courageous in preaching
and it was his business to encourage the timid flock.
'therefore, thought i, if i should run, now there was a warrant out for me,
i might by so doing make them afraid to stand when great words only should be spoken to them.

he retired into a close, privately, to seek divine direction
and came back resolved to abide the will of God.
it was the first attempt, near bedford, to apprehend a preacher of the gospel
and the thus argued with himself
-'if God of His mercy, should choose me to go upon the forlorn hope'
that is, to be the first that should be opposed for the gospel,
if i should fly it might be a discouragement to the whole body that should follow after.
and further, i thought that the world thereby would take occasion at my cowardliness
to have blasphemed the gospel.

...when B was advised to escape by dismissing the meeting, which consisted of about 40 persons,
he replied, 'No, by no means.
i will not stir, neither will i have the meeting dismissed.
come, be of good cheer, let us not be daunted. (to be overcome with fear, intimidated).
our cause is good, we need not be ashamed of it.
to preach God's word is so good a work, that we shall be well rewarded if we suffer for that.
all this took place about an hour before the officers arrived.
the service was commenced with prayer at the time appointed.
the preacher and hearers had their bibles in their hands to read the text,
when the constable and his attendants came in
and exhibiting the warrant, ordered him to leave the pulpit and come down,
but he mildly told him that he was about his Master's business
and must rather obey his Lord's voice than that of man.
then a constable was ordered to fetch him down,
who, coming up and taking hold of his coat,
was about to remove him when mr. Bunyan fixed his eyes steadfastly upon him,
having his bible open in his hand.
the man let go, looked pale and retired.
upon which he said to the congregation,
'see how this man trembles at the Word of God'.
truly did one of his friends say,  'he had a sharp, quick eye.
his countenance was grave and did strike something of awe into them
that had nothing of the fear of God....

60..B's sufferings in prison were aggravated by his affectionate feeling for his blind daughter
and with tender apprehension he speaks of her in language of impassioned solicitude.
'poor child,thought i, what sorrow art thou like to have for thy portion in this world!
thou must be beaten, must be, suffer hunger, cold, nakedness and a thousand calamities,
though i cannot now endure the wind shall blow upon thee!'
then he cast himself upon the boundless power of his God,
repents his doubts
and is filled with consolation.

62 after having lain in prison about seven weeks, the session  was held at bedford for the county
and Bunyan was placed at the bar and told that a bill had been found against him
of which he had previously not the slightest intimation.
the indictment preferred against him was,
'that john B, of the town of bedford, labourer,
hath devilishly and perniciously abstained from coming to church to hear divine service
and is a common upholder of several unlawful meetings and conventicles,
to the great disturbance and distraction of the good subjects of this kingdom,
contrary to the laws of our sovereign lord the king'.
he was asked whether he confessed the indictment to which he replied,
'we have had many meetings together, both to pray to God and to exhort one another
and that we had the sweet comforting presence of the Lord among us for our encouragement...
i confess myself guilty no otherwise'.
no witness were examined, but a plea of guilty was recorded
and his sentence was,
'you must be had back again to prison and lied there for three months following
and at the three months end, if you do not submit and go to church to hear divine service
and leave your preaching,
you must be banished the realm
and if after such a day as shall be appointed you to be gone, you shall be found in this realm,
without special license from the king,
you must stretch by the neck for it,
i tell you plainly
and so he (the justice) bid the jailer have him away.
the hero answered, 'i am at a point with you:
if i were out of prison today, i would preach the gospel again tomorrow by the help of God.'

...many justices were upon the bench presided over by justice keeling.
if this was serfeant kelynge who, the following year, was made lord chief justice,
he was a most arbitrary tyrant...
it was before him that some persons were indicted for attending a conventicle
but it being only proved that they had assembled on the Lord's day
with bibles in their hands without prayer books
and there being no proof that their meeting was only under color or pretence of religion,
the jury acquitted them. 
upon this he fined each of the jurymen one hundred marks and imprisoned them
till the fines were paid.
again on a trial for murder, the prisoner being under suspicion of dissent,
was one whom the judge had a great desire to hand,
he fined and imprisoned all the jury because contrary to his direction,
they brought in a verdict of manslaughter...
he entered a long argument with the poor tinker about using the liturgy,
first warning him of his danger if he spake lightly of it.
B argued that prayer was purely spiritual,
the offering of the heart and not the reading of a form.
the justice declared, 'we know the Common Prayer book hath been ever since the apostles' time
and is lawful to be used in the church>>'
B replied, 'Sir, the scripture saith that it is the Spirit as helpeth our infirmities
-mark, it doth not say the Common Prayer book teacheth us how to pray, but the Spirit'.
one of the justices said, 'he will do harm, let him speak no farther'.
'i said, blessed be the Lord, we are encouraged to pray and exhort one another,
for we have had the comfortable presence of God among us,
forever blessed be His holy name....

B was, if not the first, one of the first dissenters
who were proceeded against after the restoration of charles II
and his trial, if such it may be called, was followed by a wholesale persecution.
the king, as head of the church of england,
wreaked his vengeance upon all classes of dissenters, excepting roman catholics and jews...

...at the imminent risk of transportation and even of death,
the pious and highly talented mechanic, john B, persevered in instructing
the peasantry who came withi9n the reach of his voice.
he was for this and for not attending his parish church,
seized and sent to jail..
where he was mysteriously screened until the violence of the storm of persecution had passed by.
here, by the overruling power of his God, the means that were thus used top prevent his voice
from being heard by a few poor labourers,
was the means that were thus used to prevent his voice from being heard by a few poor labourers,
was the means by which he has preached to millions
and which opened to this persecuted disciple of Christ
the path to honour as well as to lasting and most extensive usefulness.

at the end of three months he became anxious to know
what the enemies of the cross intended to do with him.
his sentence was transportation and death unless he conformed.
to give up or shrink from his profession of Christ,
by embracing the national forms and submitting his conscience to human laws, he dared not.
he resolved to persevere even at the sacrifice of his life.
to add to his distress, doubts and fears clouded his prospects of futurity..
'satan, said he laid hard at me to beat me out of heart'.
at length he came to the determination to venture his eternal state with Christ,
whether he had present comfort or not.

...by a person sent from the justices...
'B was asked whether he would submit to the judgment of the church;
he replied, yes, sir, to the church of God and that judgment can only be found in the scriptures.
the home thrust which overpowered the clerk of the peace,
when he pressed upon the prisoner not to preach,
was a quotation from fox's Martyrs with which B must have been familiar before he was imprisoned
and which his retentive memory enabled him to quote.
'wickliffe saith, that he which leaveth off preaching and hearing of the word of God
for fear of excommunication of men,
he is already excommunicated of God
and shall in the day of judgment be countered a traitor of Christ'.
it was a pleasing interview, which while it did  not for a moment shake his determination,
led him to thank mr. cobb for his civil and meek discourse,
and to ejaculate (to utter suddenly and briefly; to exclaim) a heartfelt prayer-
'O that we might meet in heaven'....

when the time arrived for the execution of the bitterest part of his sentence, God, in His providence, interposed to save the life of his \servant.
he had familiarized his mind with all the circumstances of a premature and appalling death;
the gibbet, the ladder, the halter, had lost much of their terrors.
he had even studied the sermon he would then have preached to the concourse of spectators.
his feelings are best exhibited in his own words.
'i was once above all the rest in a very sad and low condition for many weeks.
this lay much upon my spirit,
that my imprisonment might end at the gallows for aught that i could tell.
now therefore satan laid hard at me to beat me out of heart  by suggesting thus unto me,
but how if when you come indeed to die you should be in this condition,
that is, as not to savour the things of God
nor to have any evidence upon your soul for a better state hereafter?
for indeed at that time all the things of God were hid from my soul.
wherefore, when i at first began to think of this, it was a great trouble to me,
for i thought with myself, that in the condition i now was in, i was not fit to die,
neither indeed did think i could if i should be called to it.
besides i thought with myself, if i should make a scrabbling shift to clamber up the ladder,
yet i should either with quaking or other symptoms of faintings,
give occasion to the enemy to reproach the way of God and His people for their timorousness.
this therefore lay with great trouble upon me for methought
i was ashamed to die with a pale face and tottering knees, for such a cause as this.
wherefore i prayed to God that He would comfort me and give me strength to do and suffer
what He should call me to.
yet no comfort appeared but all continued hid.
i was also at this time so really possessed with the thought of death,
that oft i was as if i was on the ladder with a rope about my neck.
only this was some encouragement to me.
i thought i might now have an opportunity to speak my last words to a multitude,
which i thought would come to see me die
and thought i, if it must be so, if God will but convert one soul by my very last words,
i shall not count my life thrown away nor lost.
but yet all the things of god were kept out of my sight
and still the tempter followed me with,
but whither must you go when you die?
what will become of your?
where will you be found in another world?
what evidence have you for heaven and glory and an inheritance among them that are sanctified?
thus was i tossed for many weeks and knew not what to do.
at last this consideration fell with weight upon me,
that it was for the word and way of God that i was in this condition,
wherefore I WAS ENGAGED NOT TO FLINCH A HAIR'S BREADTH FROM IT.

i thought also that god might choose whether he would give me comfort now or at the hour of death,
but i might not therefore choose whether i would hold my profession or no.
i was bound, but He was fee.
yea, IT WAS MY DUTY TO STAND TO HIS WORD,
whether He would ever look upon me or no,
or save me at the last.
wherefore, thought i , the point being thus,
I AM FOR GOING ON AND VENTURING MY ETERNAL STATE WITH CHRIST,
WHETHER I HAVE COMFORT HERE OR NO.
IF GOD DOTH NOT COME IN, thought i,
I WILL LEAP OF THE LADDER EVEN BLINDFOLD INTO ETERNITY,
SINK OR SWIM,
COME HEAVEN, COME HELL, Lord Jesus, if Thou wilt catch me, do;
IF NOT, I WILL VENTURE FOR THY NAME.
NOW I WAS F-U-L-L  O-F  C-O-M-F-O-R-T, for i hoped it was sincere.
i would not have been without this trial for much.
i am comforted every time i think of it
and i hope i shall bless God for ever for the teaching i have had by it.

66...at this critical time the king's coronation took place on april 23, 1661.
to garnish this grand ceremony the king had ordered the release of numerous prisoners of certain classes
and within that description of offences was that for which B was confined.
the proclamation allowed twelve months' time to sue out the pardon under the great seal,
but without this expensive process thousands of vagabonds and thieves were set at liberty,
while alas. an offence against the church was not to be pardoned upon such easy terms.
B and his friends were too simple, honest and virtuous to understand
why such a distinction should be made.
the assizes being held in august, he determined to seek his liberty by a petition to the judges.

...when they came the circuit and the assizes were held at bedford.
B in vain besought the local authorities
that he might have liberty to appear in person and plead for his release.
this reasonable request was denied and, as a last resource,
he committed his cause to an affectionate wife. 
several times she appeared before the judges.
love to her husband, a stern sense of duty,
a conviction of the gross injustice practised upon one to whom she was most tenderly attached,
overcame her delicate, modest, retiring habits and forced her upon this strange duty.
well did she support the character of an advocate,
pleading for a beloved husband and his children in impassioned language
-only tolerated by her peculiar position and under protection of a pious chief justice.
this delicate, courageous, high minded woman appeared before judge hale,
who was much affected with her earnest pleading for one so dear to her
and whose life was so valuable to his children.
it was the triumph of love, duty and piety over bashful timidity.
B thus narrates the interview which was held in the swan chamber near his prison.
'she came before the judges with abashed face and trembling heart'
an appealed to judge hale, that as her husband had not been lawfully convicted, he ought to be discharged.
some of the justices rudely asserted that he was lawfully convicted and that it was recorded.
she pleaded for him and his four children, one of whom was blind,
until judge hale, 'looking very soberly on the matter'
was much affected and said ,
'alas, poor woman'.
one of his persecutors taunted her husband with being a tinker.
yes, said she, and because he is a tinker and a poor man,
therefore he is despised and cannot have justice.
he will preach, said justice chester, the doctine of the devil.
no, m lord, she replied-it is the word of God and when the righteous Judge shall appear,
it willo be known that god hath done much good by him.
judge hale said, I am sorry that I can do thee no good.
some of the judges scratched their heads for anger.
hale, much affected and like an angel of mercy, shelteredt the prisoner form their rage.
mrs. B burst into tears, not so much, she said, because they were so hard hearted to her husband,
but to think what a sad account such poor creatures will have to give at the coming of the Lord.

...his wife returned to the prison with a heavy heart, believing that death would be his only release.
how surprised must she have been to find her husband tranquil in holy communion and even rejoicing.
'now was my heart full of comfort.
i would not have been without this trial for much-
THESE ARE THE SPOILS WON IN BATTLE. i CHRONICLES 26.27

70...from fox's book of martyrs...
(which with the bible and a concordance formed B's precious prison possessions)...
the letter of pomponius algerius, a learned italian suffering in prisonfor refusing to deny his saviour,
must have imparted great consolation to his spirit.
in it he learned how to improve by samson's experience
and find honey in the carcass of the lion.
'here the Lord heapeth me up with gladness.
the argument with which satan tempted him to play the hypocrite and regain his leberty,
was the same that was urged by mr. cobb with B
and by southey in condemning his obstinacy-
'Fool art thou, that for speaking one word might regain thy liberty and refusest it'.
what was that word?
'to sell Christ', deny your savior and bring misery and ruin upon your soul.
'the prison, said algerius, is, to the guiltless, mellifluous.
here droppeth the delectable dew-here floweth the pleasnt nectar.
let us be glad and sing unto the Lord.
what man will ever think in the deep dark dungeon to find a paradise of pleasure'.
such truths must have refreshed the soul of B, as the water gushing out of the rock in the wilderness
cheered and comforted the parched israelites...
when the english Established Church considered herself unsafe,
unless B and manyh hundred kindred minds were shut up in prison,
it proved itself to be a disgrace to the gospel and an injury to a free people.
milton fearlessly said, 'though all the winds of doctrine were let loose to play upon the earth,
so truth unfettered be in the field,
we do injuriously to misdoubt by licesnsing and prohibiting.
let her and falsehood grapple;
whoever knew truth put to the worse in a free and open encounter?
no one ever: where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is LIBERTY'.
all national hierarchies have estimated the minds of others by their own standard,
but no real minister of the gospel can be like the vicar of bray,
who was determined to retain his vicarage, whatever doctrine he might be ordered to preach.

...every solemn event, in divine providence,
is not to be considered a judgment upon those who have offended God.
thus, when charles II said to milton, 'your loss of sight is a judgment of God upon you
for your sins  committed against my father'
the intrepid poet dared to answer,
'does your majesty judge so?
then how much greater must have been the sins of your royal father,
seeing that i have only lost my sight,
while he lost his eyes and head and all!'

...parting with his wife and children, he described as
'the pulling the flesh from the bones.
i saw i was as a man who was pulling down his house upon the head of his wife and children;
yet thought i, i must do it'.
his feelings wee peculiarly excited to his poor blind mary.




would break my heart to pieces'.
it is one of the governing principles of human nature,
that the most delicate or afflicted child excites our tendedrest feelings.
'i have seen men, says B, takemost care of and best provide for those of their children
that have been most infirm and helpless
and our Advocate 'shall gather His lambs with His arms and carry them in His bosom.
while in this state of distress the pomise came to his relief,
'leave thy fatherless children, i will preserve them alive
and let thy widows trust in Me.'
he had heard of the miseries of those transported christians who had been sold into slavery
and perished with cold and calamities, lying in ditches like poor, forlorn desolate sheep.

..nor did he, while he was in prison, spend his time in a supine (inactive, passive or inert)

...a personal friend reports...'and careless manner, nor eat the bread of idleness;
for there have i been witness that his own hands have ministered to hisw and his family's necessities,
making many hundred gross of long tagged laces, to fill up the vacancies of his time,
which he had learned to do for that purpose since he had been in prison.
there, also, i surveyed his library, the least, but yet the best that e'er i saw...
and during his imprisonment (since i have spoken of his library), he writ several excellent and useful treatises,
particularyl the Holy City, Christian Behaviour, the Resurrection of the Dead
and Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners'.
besides these valuable treatises..in prison B wrote the Pilgrims Progess, the first part,
and that he had this from his own  mouth.
george whitefield, in recommending these works, says they 'smell of the prison'.
'ministers never write or preach so well as when under the cross.
the spirit of Christ and of glory then rests upon them.
that the first part of this important book was written in prison,
is fully demonstrated in the introduction to the Pilgrim's Progress.
B's statement in introducing his second part shows the alteration in his circumstances-
'now, having taken up my lodgtings in a wood about a mile off the place',
no longer in a 'den', but sheltered, in a wood, in a state of comparative, but not of perfect liberty,
about a mile distant from the den in which he wrote his first part...

...in addition to the workd above enumerated, he there published some extremely valuable tracts,
A Map of Salvation and Damnation; the Four Last Things, a poen;
Mount Ebal and Gerizim or Redemption from the Curse, a poem;
Prison Meditations, a poem; and a small..pamphlet, very recently discovered in a volume of tracts...entitled, 'Profitable Meditations fitted to Man's Different Condition, in a conference between Christ and a Sinner
...the five last works are small pamphlets, probably sold by his children or friends
to assist him in obtaining his livelihood;
also Justification by Faith in Jesus Christ;
Confession of his Faith and Reason of His Practice.
the most remarkable treatise which he published while in confinement is on Prayer,
from the words of the apostle, 'i will pray with the spirit and with the understanding also.
his attention had been fixed on this subject
when his free born spirit was roused by the threat of justice keeling,
,take heed of speaking irreverently of the Book of Common Prayer,
for if you do you will bring great damage upon yourself'.

B had formed his ideas of prayer from heartfelt experience;
it is the cry of the burdened, sinking sinner, 'Lord, save us, we perishp
or adoration rising from the heart to the throne of grace, filled with hopes of pardon and immortality.
in his estimation any form of human invention was an interference with the very nature of prayer
and with the work of the Holy Spirit, who alone can inspire our souls with acceptable prayer.
he thus exclaims: 'look into the jails in england and into the alehouses
and i trow (trust, believe) you will find those that plead for the spirit of prayer in the jail
and those that look after the form of man's inventions in the alehouse.
it is evident by the silencing of god's dear ministers (the several thousand thrown in prison, 1662),
though never so powerfully enabled by the spirit of prayer,
if they in conscience cannot admit of that form of Common Prayer.
if this be not exalting the Common Prayer Book above praying by the Spirit,
i have taken my mark amiss.
it is not pleasant for me to dwell on this.
the Lord in mercy turn the hearts of the people to seek more after the spirit of prayer
and in its strength to pouyr out their souls before the Lord'.

in expressing his views upon this all important subject, B was simply guided by a sense of duty.
fear of the consequences or of offending his enemies, never entered his mind.
he flet that they were in the hands of his heavenly Father
and that all their malice must be overruled for good.
not withstanding the solemn warning of the justices not to speak irreverently of the Book of Common Prayer
his refusal to use which had subjected him to severe privations and the fear of a halter,
(a rope with a noose for hanging criminals)
this christian hero was not daunted, but gives his opinion of it with all that freedom and liberty
which he considered essential to excite in his fellow men inquiries as to its imposition
and this he did in 1663, the year in which the act was passed.
so that with the first edition of the act of uniformity came out B's commentary on it.

it is not my province to enter into the controversy whether in public worship a form of prayer ought to be used.
let every one be persuaded in his own mind.
B felt the deep solemnity of this subject.
the Rev. robert philip, who had carefully read B's works says:
'i know of nothing he has said against forms severer than what he as said against
parade and heartlessness without them'
...Common Prayer might please the persecutor, but the church suffering under persecution
must needs have uncommon prayer suited to their state,
which peculiarly led them to seek from God patience, fortitude, hope, forgiveness to their enemies
and every grace to enable them to do good to those who persecuted them.
all private prayer must be the outpouring of the heart
and those who daily and hourly commune with God will need no form to guide them in public.
many have studied their public prayers with great advantage
-others in extemporary public prayer have preached to the people while professedly speaking to God.
these are what B calls mock prayers and the breathings of an abominable spirit.
'these be they that pray to be heard of men. matt. 6.5
he who prays in an improper spirit, 'is like a painted man
and their prayers like a false voice'.
it is a most important subject upon which we must bear and forbear with each other.
the Book of Common Prayer was compiled in the reign of edward the sixth, when the church was emerging from popish darkness.
it has been altered many times and has many devout admirers.
it has also been injured in public estimation by being violently enforced.

but to interfere with private judgment by proscribing the use of the Common Prayer book
under pain of imprisonment as was done by the Commonwealth,
or to denounce those who refuse conformity in its use, as worthy of punishment
even to the extreme penalty of transportation (banishment, as of a criminal to a penal colony; deportation)
or death..were equally violations of the vital principles of christianity.
the foundation of the christian church differs from that of all false systems of religion.
it rests upon the voluntary submission of the soul to god,
while false religions are founded on coercion to outward observances by human laws.
the christian is restrained by that solemn admonition
-'who art thou that judgest another man's servant?
a christian is God's servant: 'why dost thou judge thy brother?
we shall ALL stand before the judgment seat of Christ'.
to punish those  who spoke irreverently of the book of Common Prayer was almost
an acknowledgment that it would not bear investigation.

79...in prison he received the visits of saints, of angels and the Spirit of God.
'i have been able to laugh at destruction and to fear neither the horse nor his rider.
i have had sweet sights of the forgiveness of my sins in this place
and of my being with Jesus in another world.

the bible, that heavenly storehouse, was more abundantly opened to him while a prisoner.
'i had never had, in all my life, so great an inlet into the word of God as now.
i have had sweet sights of forgiveness and of the heavenly jerusalem.
i have seen here that which, while in this world, i shall never be able to express.
it was here that his spirit became so imbued with the style of our authorized version (note: king james)
perhaps rendered more unctious by comparing it with the genevan translation
that it pervades all his works. ..

..to use his own words, 'if God do not help me,
i am sure it will not be long before my heart deceive me
and so God be dishonoured by me'.

82...(his books, his close fellowship with true followers of Christ from many church traditions0
..'produced a very remarkable decision with respect to his views of church fellowship.
which differed with all denominations of christians who celebrated the Lord's Supper.
hitherto, water baptism had been considered a pre requisite to the Lord's table by all parties.
the episcopalians, presbyterians and independents had denounce the baptists as
guilty of a most serious heresy or blasphemy, in denying the right of infants to baptism.
not only did they exclude the baptists from communion with their churches,
but they persecuted them with extreme rigour.
when the independents mad laws for the government of their colony in america, in 1644,
one of the enactments was, 'that if any person shall either openly condemn or oppose the baptizing of infants
or seduce others or leave the congregation during the administration of the rite,
they shall be sentenced to banishment'.
the same year a poor man was tied up and whipped for refusing to have his child baptized.
the rev. j. clarke and mr. o. holmes of rhode island,
for visiting a sick baptist brother in massachusetts,
instead of being admitted to the Lord's table, they were arrested, fined, imprisoned and whipped.
at this very time the baptists formed their colony at rhode island and the charter concludes with these words:
'all men may walk as their consciences persuade them, every one in the name of his God.
this is probably the only spot in the world where persecution was never known.
some of the baptists considered with danvers
that immersion in water was the marriage rite between the believer and savior;
that to sit at the Lord's table without it was spiritual adultery, to be abhorred and avoided
and therefore refused to admit any person to the Lord's table who had not been baptized in water
upon profession of faith in the saviour.
this was the state of parties when B, at the commencement of his pastorate, entered into the controversy.
his book upon this subject was the last which he published while a prisoner.
it was entitled, 'A Confession of my Faith and a Reason of my Practice;
or with who and who not i can hold church fellowship of the communion of saints:
shewing by diverse arguments that though i dare not communicate with the openly profane,
yet i can with those visible saints that differ about water baptism'.
on the part of the baptists, this controversy with B was peculiarly bitter.
the independents published their exclusive appeal in
'th sin and danger of admitting anabapists to continue in the congregational churches'.
john B and henry jessey (a learned man) introduced a new era into the church.
they were the pioneers of those noble minded men who have, by their scriptural battering rams,
nearly demolished this middle wall of partition among christians.
spiritual baptism or the new birth was, in their opinion, the only fence allowed around the table of the Lord.
the mode or ceremony of applying water being left to the decision  of the new born christian
-some preferring sprinkling in infancy, others immersion on a profession of faith
and a few refusing the application of water altogether.

it was naturally to be expected that so novel a doctrine would excite extraordinary attention
and running counter to an old current of opinion cherished by papist and protestant,
it would be violently opposed...
the most learned men in the baptist denomination entered with great zeal into the controversy against B.
he had been promised a commendation to his book by the great, the grave, the 'sober dr. owen, but he withdrew his sanction.
'and perhaps it was more for the glory of God that truth should go naked into the world', said B,
than as seconded by so weighty an armour bearer as he.
although every iota of revealed religion is of the most solemn importance,
yet nothing can justify personal abuse in debating points of doctrine or modes of worship.
B meekly appealed to the testimony of holy writ-while his opponents showered down upon him
a storm of bitter and most undeserved contumely. (insulting display of contempt in words and or actions)
...B had imbibed one of the plainest lessons of the new testament
-that baptism is not indispensably connected with 'water' nor with a 'cloud' nor with 'afflictions'
but that its most important associate is with a new spiritual life-a walking with God.
he refused to admit to the Lord's table the visibly ungodly or those who had not brought forth fruit meet for repentance
-calling such promiscuous intercourse spiritual adultery.
no one ever felt a deeper solemnity not more ecstatic feelings at the Lord's table than B.
'at his administration of the Lord's supper it was observable that tears came from his eyes in abundance,
form the sense of the sufferings of Chris, that are in that ordinance shadowed forth.
water baptism was considered by many of his learned opponents as the putting on our Lord's livery.
(a distinctive uniform, badge or device formerly provide by someone of rank or title for his retainers,
or servants)
and a refusal of it, the renouncing of His service.
it was also considered as a symbol of marriage with the church
and to live in union without that ceremony most disgraceful.
B's reply was, 'comparing baptism to a livery is fantastical.
go where you are unknown and see how many christians will know you by this goodly livery.
'away, fond man, do you forget the text,
'by this shall all men know that ye are My disciples,
if ye have LOVE FOR ONE ANOTHER'.

if water baptism is the marriage of the saint to Christ, without which communion with him is spiritual adultery
how sad a reflection is it upon the saviour who holds communion with His saints
before they are baptized in water
and which communion alone entitles them to be baptized. 

...during his tedious imprisonment, he had examined and minutely re examined his principles
and he arrives at this conclusion as to the right of all christians to the Lord's table
and comes to this determination-
'if nothing will do unless i make of my conscience a continual butcher and slaughter shop
(foot. luther calls popery the slaughter house of conscience, gal. 3.5.
the pope with all his bishops have been very tyrants and butchers of men's consciences, gal. 6.1)
unless putting out my own eyes i commit me to the blind to lead me, as i doubt is desired by some,
i have determined, the Almighty God being my help and shield, yet to suffer,
if frail life might continue so long,
even till the moss shall grow on my eyebrows, rather than thus to violate my faith and principles.

84...

3.9.2014 GOD CALLS JEREMIAH and every professor TO SPEAK HIS WORD TO THE WORLD

AND THE LIGHT SHINES IN THE DARKNESS
AND THE DARKNESS DID NOT COMPREHEND (overpower) IT.    john 1.5

jeremiah 1.17f...'now gird up your loins and arise and speak to them all which i command you.
do not be dismayed before them,
lest I dismay you before them.
now behold, I HAVE MADE YOU TODAY
as a fortified city and as a pillar of iron and as walls of bronze AGAINST THE WHOLE LAND,
to the kings of judah, to its princes, to its priests and to the people of the land.
and they will fight against you,
but they will not overcome you,
for I AM WITH YOU TO DELIVER YOU, declares the Lord. 

11.13fa few encounters below..
'for your gods are as many as your cities, Judah..
therefore do not pray for this people
nor lift up a cry or prayer for them,
for I will not listen when they call to Me because of their disaster..
and the Lord of hosts who planted you
has pronounced evil against you because of the evil of the house of israel and of the house of judah,
which they have done to provoke me...
moreover the Lord made it known to me and i knew it.
then Thou didst show me their deeds.
but i was like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter
and i did not know that they had devised plots against me, saying,
'let us destroy the tree with its fruit
and let us cut him off from the land of the living,
that his name be remembered no more.
but O Lord of hosts who judges righteously,
who tries the feelings of the hear.
let me see Thy vengeance on them,
for to Thee have i committed my cause.
therefore thus says the lord concerning the men of anathoth (jeremiah's home town)
who seek your life saying,
'do not prophesy in the name of the Lord,
that you might not die at our hand.
therefore thus says the Lord of hosts,
'behold i am about to punish them...

18.18f...then they said, 'come and let us devise plans against Jeremiah.
surely the law is not going to be lost to the priest, nor counsel to the sage
not the divine word to the prophet!
come on and let us strike at him with our tongue
and let us give no heed to any of his words'.
do give heed to me, O Lord
and listen to what my opponents are saying!should good be repaid with evil?
for they have dug a pit for me.
remember how i stood before Thee to speak good on their behalf,
so as to turn away Thy wrath from them.

20.1fwhen pashhur the priest the son of immer
who was chief officer in the house of the Lord heard jeremiah PROPHESYING
(publicly saying God's words)
these things,
 pashur had jeremiah  the prophet beaten and put him in the stocks that were at the upper Benjamin Gate,
which was by the house of the Lord.
then it came about on the next day, when pashur released Jeremiah from the stocks,
that Jeremiah sad to him,
'pashhur is not the name the Lord has called you,
but rather Magor-missabib ('terror on every side')
for thus says the Lord,
behold I am going to make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends
and while your eyes look on,
they will fall by the sword of their enemies.
so I shall give over all judah to the hand of the king of babylon
and he will carry them away as exiles to babylon and will slay them with the sword.....20.1f
....O Lord, Thou hast deceived me and i was deceived.
Thou hast overcome me and prevailed.
I have become a laughingstock all day long
everyone mocks me.
for each time i speak, i cry aloud
i proclaim violence and destruction,
because for me the word of the Lord has resulted
in reproach and derision all day long.
but if i say, 'i will not remember Him
or speak any more in His name,
then in my heart it becomes like a burning fire
shut up in my bones
and i am weary of holding it in
and i cannot endure it.
for i have heard the whispering of many,
'terror on every side!
denounce him. yet, let us denounce him!
all my trusted friends,
watching for my fall, say,
'perhaps he will be deceived, so that we may prevail against him
and take our revenge on him.
but the Lord is with me like a dread champion,
therefore my persecutors will stumble and not prevail.
they will be utterly ashamed, because they have failed
with an everlasting disgrace that will not be forgotten.
yet, O Lord of hosts Thou who dost test the righteous,
Who seest the mind and the heart.
let me see Thy vengeance on them,
for to Thee i have set forth my cause.
sing to the Lord, praise the Lord!
for He has delivered the soul of the needy one from the hand of evildoers.
cursed be the day when i was born...
why did i ever come forth from the womb
to look on trouble and sorrow,
so that my days have been spent in shame?

26.1f.....in the beginning of the reign of jehoiakim
the son of josiah, king of judah, this word came from the Lord, saying,
..stand in the court of the Lord's house and speak to all the cities of judah
who have come to worship in the Lord's house
all the words I have commanded you to speak to them.
DO NOT OMIT A WORD!
perhaps they will listen and everyone will turn from his evil way ,
that i may repent of the calamity which I am planning to do to them
because of the evil of their deeds.
and you will say to them...'if you will not listen to Me,
to walk in My law which I have set before you,
to listen to the words of My servants the prophets,
whom i have been sending to you again and again,
then I will make this house like shiloh (destroyed)
and this city I will make a curse to all the nations of the earth.
and the PRIESTS and the PROPHETS (note: leaders of the Church in the old testament)
and all the people (note: exact counterparts to those who currently go to the Big Box every sunday)
heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the Lord.
and when Jeremiah finished speaking all that the Lord had commanded him to speak
to all the people, the priests and the prophets
and all the people seized saying, 'YOU MUST DIE!
why have you prophesied in the name of the Lord saying,
'this house will be like shiloh and this city will be desolate without inhabitant?
and all the people gathered about Jeremiah in the house of the Lord.
and when the princes of judah heard these things,
they came up from the king's house to the house of the Lord and sat in the entrance of the New Gate
of the Lord's house.
then the priest and the prophets spoke to the officials and to all the people saying,
'A DEATH SENTENCE TO THIS MAN!
for he has prophesied against this city as you have heard in your hearing.
then Jeremiah spoke to all the officials and to all the people, saying,
'the Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words that you have heard.
now therefore AMEND YOUR WAYS AND YOUR DEEDS and
OBEY THE VOICE OF THE LORD YOUR GOD
and the Lord will change His mind about the misfortune which He has pronounced against you.
but as for me, behold, i am in your hands;
do with me as is good and right in your sight.
only know for certain that if you put me to death,
you will bring INNOCENT blood on yourselves and on this city and on its inhabitants,
for truly the Lord has sent me to you to speak all these words in your hearing.
then the officials and all the people said to the priest and to the prophets,
NO DEATH SENTENCE FOR THIS MAN!
for he has spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God.

32.1f...the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the 10th year of Zedekiah king of judah,
which was the eighteenth year of nebuchadnezzar.
now at that time the army of the king of babylon was besieging Jerusalem
and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the guard
which was in the house of the king of judah,
because Z king of judah had shut him up, saying,
'why do you prophesy, saying,
'thus says the Lord, 'Behold, I am about to give this city into the hand of the king of babylon
and he will take it
and Z king of judah shall not escape out of the hand of the chaldeans,
but he shall surely be given into the hand of the king of babylon
and he shall speak with him face to face and see him eye to eye
and he shall take Z to babylon and he shall be there until i visit him,
declares the Lord.
'if you fight against the chaldeans you shall not succeed.
and Jeremiah said, 'the word of the Lord came to me, saying
'behold hanamel the son of shallum your uncle is coming to you, saying,
'buy for yourself my field which is at anathoth,
for you have the right of redemption to buy it.
then hanamel my uncle's son came to me in the court of the guard according to the word of the Lord
and said to me, 'buy my field, please, that is at anathoth...for you have the right of possession
and the redemption is yours.
buy it for yourself.
then in knew that this was the word of the Lord.
and i bought the field which was at anathoth from hanamel my uncle's son
and i weighed out the silver for him, seventeen shekels of silver.
and i signed and sealed the deed and called in witnesses...
and i gave the deed of purchase to baruch the son of neriah..in the sight of hanamel my uncle's son
and in the sight of the witnesses who signed the deed of purchase before all the jews who were sitting in the court of the guard.
and i commanded baruch in their presence, saying,
thus says the Lord of host, the God of israel,
'take these deeds, this sealed deed of purchase and this open deed and put them in an earthenware jar,
that they may last a long time.
for thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of israel,
'houses and fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land.
(note: this, within a year or so of when the city of jerusalem was destroyed and leveled
and all the remaining people in israel were either exiled to babylon
or, those remaining under the authority of babylon, fled to egypt leaving the land empty for 70 years)
after i had given the deed of purchase to baruch the son of neriah, then i prayed to the Lord, saying,
Ah Lord God!
behold Thou hast made the heavens and the earth by Thy great power and by Thine outstretched arm!
NOTHING IS TOO DIFFICULT FOR THEE
WHO SHOWEST LOVINGKINDNESS TO THOUSANDS
but repayest the iniquity of fathers into the bosom of their children after them.
O great and mighty God, the Lord of hosts is His name.
great in counsel and mighty in deed,
whose eyes are open to all the ways of the sons of men,
giving to everyone according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds..

36.1f...and it came about in the fourth year of jehoiakim the son of josiah,inkg of judah,
that this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying,
take a scroll and write on it all the words which I have spoken to you
concerning israel and concerning judah  and concerning all the nations,
from the day I first spoke to you, from the days of Josiah, even to this day.
perhpas the house of judah will hear all the clamity which I plan to bring on them,
in order that every man will turn from his evil way.
then I will forgive their iniquity and their sin.
then Jeremiah commanded baruch, saying,
'i am restricted;
i cannot go into the house of the lord.
so you go and read from the scroll which you have written at my dictation
the words of the Lord to the people in the Lord's house on a fast day.
and also you shall read them to all the people of judah who come from their cities.
perhaps their supplication will come before the lord
and everyone will turn from his evil way,
for great is the anger and the wrath that the Lord has pronounced against this people.
and baruch the son of neriah did according to all that Jeremiah the prophet commanded him,
reading the words of the lord in the Lord's house...
v11 now when micaiah the son of gemariah, the son of shaphan 
had heard all the words of the Lord from the book,
he went down to the king's house into the scribe's chamber.
and, behold all the officials were sitting there
-elishama the scribe and delaiah the son of shemaiah,
and elnathan the son of achbor  and gemariah the son of shaphan
and Zediekiah the son of hananiah and all the other officials.
and micaiah declared to them all the words that he had heard when baruch read from the book...
and they said to him, 'sit down please and read it to us'.
so baruch read it to them.
now it came about when they had heard all the words,
they turned in fear one to another and said to baruch,
'we will surely report all these words to the king....
v20 so they went to the king in the court,
but they had deposited the scroll in the chamber of elishama the scribe
and they reported all the words to the king.
then the king sent jehudi to get the scroll and he took it out of the chamber of elishama the scribe.
and jehudi had read three or four columns,
the king cut it with a scribe's knife
and threw it into the fire that was in the brazier,
until all the scroll was consumed in the fire that was in the brazier.
yet the king and all his servants who heard all these words
were not afraid
nor did they rend their garments.
even though elnathan and delaiah and gemariah entreated the king not to burn the scroll,
he would not listen to them.
and the king commanded jerahmeel the king's son,
seriah the son of azriel and shelemiah the son of abdeel
to seize baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet,
but the Lord hid them.
then the word of the lord came to Jeremiah after the king had burned the scroll
and the words which baruch had written at the dictation of Jeremiah, saying,
'TAKE AGAIN ANOTHER SCROLL AND
WRITE ON IT ALL THE FORMER WORDS that were on the first scroll
which jehoiakim the king of judah burned.
and concderning jehoiakim king of judah you shall say,
'thus says the Lord,
'you have burned this scroll, saying,
'why have you written on it that the king of babylon shall

3.31.2014 CHILDREN OF THE NIGHT (COTN) - FLEEING PROSTITUTION

this ministry to young women began by dr. lois lee may be a model to follow for others with a God-given
fire in their belly to help free slaves...worldmag, 4.5.14, p51

...Children of the Night is not a christian organization,
but christians can learn from it...
lee...has rescued more than 10,000 children from prostitution
and sent 100 of them to college.
she's developed a nationwide law enforcement network that helps prostitutes
who call COTN'S 24 hour hotline.
..she knows what it takes to run a 24 bed shelter that provides psychological help, education and security
-all without government support.

lee's work with child prostitutes began in the 1970s
as she did research for her doctoral dissertation.
by going through arrest records she discovered that
police officers typically arrested prostitutes but not their customers,
so she decided to sue the department for discrimination.
as she interviewed and befriended prostitutes,
they started turning to her with their problems.

one night in 1977, lee received a call from a prostitute who said her friend
had gone to meet with a client and had not returned.
lee tried but couldn't get the police to care about the missing hooker.
the next day the girl's body was found, murdered by the hillside strangler,
who killed 10 women in a four month period.
outraged, lee went on national tv and asked sex workers to call her if they had information
and she included her phone number.
here phone started ringing with tips that led to the capture of the two men behind the stranglings.

after the strangler case, lee continued receiving phone calls
-many about child prostitutes.
when lee looked into government services, she found the children were falling through the cracks:
social services wouldn't take them in because prostitution is a crime
and the juvenile court wouldn't detain them with common criminals
because they didn't commit a crime against property.

with nowhere to turn, lee from 1979 through 1981 opened up her home to 250 child prostitutes.
some ended up back on the streets,
but others left their pimps and old lifestyles behind.
businessmen who heard about the work lee was doing
gave her the money to open a drop in center in hollywood.
that allowed more kids to come for showers, food and clothes.
in 1984 president ronald reagan took notice,
honoring her at the white hose with the presidents volunteer action award.

COTN now sits in a spanish style building in van nuys,
a majority hispanic suburb in the san fernando valley section of los angeles.
the building's signage is discrete.
security cameras and a buzzer system at the front door
protect against pimps trying to reclaim their livelihood.
a young woman at the front desk answers the center's 24/7 hotline,
receiving calls from prostitutes all across the country.
the scripted emergency response aims to get the child away from the pimp
and the help of nearby police to come and PRETEND TO ARREST the child. (note: SAVE the child)
some COTN residents..come via court advocates and law enforcement.
others find the hotline number through ads on an online classified section
where prostitutes sell their services.
as lee walks down halls lined with the names of children who have finished high school or received GEDs,
she compares the shelter to a middle class boarding school.
the residents share a bedroom with one other person,
attend class during the day, eat in the dining hall
and meet with case managers who arrange for medical and counseling appointments.

another difference between COTN and most government funded groups:
COTN doesn't try to take formal custody of children from their parents.
'a lot of parents are not bad,
they just have so many heavy issues that they need to figure out themselves', lee said.
each week the case manager sets up phone calls home
and as relationships improve the children are allowed home visits.

on the day of my visit , the girls took a break from class
and flopped down on couches surrounding a tv.
a bright mural hangs over the couches, next to a row of computers
and a cabinet piled high with board games.
only a p0rinted list of forbidden tv show and movies
-sunset strip, MSNBC sex slaves, COPS, any talk show
-gives clues to what its inhabitants are trying to forget.


lee says that after 35 years, people now talk more openly about prostitution but
law enforcement still drags its feet.
FBI stings and pimp tracking on the internet are rarely successful.
pimps are difficult to prosecute and often end up back on the street.
mistrust between prostitutes and police is high
and many women return to their pimps after being 'rescued'.

at first lee found it hard to interest people in funding her work.
she shied away from government money because of its stifling rules and regulations.
she said she knows better than government bureaucrats how best to spend
the money that comes in.
even if she was inclined to accept federal money,
it wouldn't work well with her clients:
the government typically gives money per head per month,
but child prostitutes often run away, making it difficult to keep money flowing in.

yet surviving off private donations means lee is always throwing fundraisers,
speaking to groups, networking and writing grant applications.
every time she walks into a hair or dentist appointment,
she walks out with more volunteers to help the shelter's children.
money often comes in through wills and trusts and the aids epidemic prompted a lot of donations.

COTN has also had a strange bedfellow: Playboy founder hugh hefner, who normalized
the commodification of women by popularizing pornography.

what to make of that?
it's true that at a time conservative funders had never heard of lee,
hefner funded and ran ads for COTN and got a documentary made about her.
the playboy foundation grants to COTN have been a great investment for him,
leading to oodles of positive press and a 'hero of the heart award' from COTN.
hefner introduced lee to wealthy celebrities like johnny carson,
who ended up giving millions over the years
and lee has reciprocated with over the top laud:
'you have been a saint to countless american children who had nowhere else to turn to for help'.

sitting in her office with framed certificates lining the wall,
lee ticks off her responsibilities as executive director:
picking bugs out of a girl's hair, paying for the girs' complete medical and psychological care,
creating a shelter security system, paying for around the clock staffing
and ensuring each girl gets individualized education.
lee remains 'on call any time of the night or day
through a remote video system installed on her computer.
none of that is possible without funding, so lee also has to solicit donations
and make it possible for donors to visit the shelter and see exactly where their money is going.

people walk in, they see my office and go,
'i want to be you,' lee said with a laugh.
but those who know her see a different story.
'my lawyer said to me, 'who would want your life?'
there's no elevator, you have to take the stairs'.

lee says many people talk about creating similar shelters in other cities.
she's met people who have passion but lack the qualifications or understanding
to make a shelter work.
sometimes they lack the qualifications or understanding to make a shelter work.
sometimes they lack the funding go build an adequate shelter
or to earn the needed certifications.
she's seen government funded shelters with fancy brochures and nicely designed websites,l
but they won't let her visit their facilities:
'why would i send a 12 year old to a place i can't see?'

she's also seen firsthand how quickly something can go wrong.
once while on vacation, she received a call from a frazzled staffer.
a girl had gotten upset, picked up a computer and swung it by the cord
-destroying everything in the room.
by remote video intercom, lee told staff members
how to deal with the girl and instructed them to call the police.
but in their panic, the staff forgot lee's emergency script that gets police to the shelter in three minutes.
instead, it took 45 minutes before the cops showed up.
by then the girl had inflicted $20,000 worth of damage.

'i have written 300 pages of training manual (material) of what to do
and how to deal with the population, lee said.
'if you follow everything to a tee, it all works.
if you drop a piece, it doesn't work.
...so you're always on the brink of major disaster'.

lee thought about the technology and personnel needed to expand her work.
she's created an online GED program, called With Out Walls (WOW),
that helps anyone on the streets prepare for the test and everything that entails
-including helping them find a shelter or library with internet access to take the course
and pointing them to programs that can help them get clean.
she's also helping to start COTN-like programs in italy, england and the philippines,
using existing catholic charities and structures run by nuns and priests willing
to make a lifelong commitment to helping child prostitutes.

lee knows that child prostitutes often came from abusive and broken homes,
so they'll do anything to please pimps who not only feed and house them but claim to love them.
that's why, despite rampant abuse, prostitutes will often return to their pimps.
lee said she first realized she was making an impact in the 1980s
when she heard one boy asking another if he was a 'cotton kid'.
when the boy explained to lee, 'a cotton kid is a Children of the Night kid',
she asked why he used the word cotton.
he replied, 'C-O-T-N and cotton because it's soft'.