Bluestar 2.0 — Thursday night.
Victor and Javier sang a duet “How great thou art” and it was pretty great.
Lee Wellard
Lee Wellard has an interest in astronomy and shared several pictures of the cosmos that he took with his telescope. Fantastic pictures of the universe! Again, he took most of them himself.
Our universe is unspeakably beautiful, and immeasurably big.
Lee has a vision of a Christian-based observatory in Arizona near the Grand Canyon. I hope it happens. He quoted the last page of GC at the close of his presentation. Fitting.
“From the minutest atom to the greatest world, all things, animate and inanimate, in their unshadowed beauty and perfect joy, declare that God is love.”
Panel Discussion with David Englehardt
Panelists were David Englehardt, Ron Kelly, Conrad Vine, Ivan Raj, Brian Beavers, and Isaac Olatunji.
David Englehardt is a pastor, attorney, and author. He introduced Charlie Kirk to the sabbath and is on the board of Turning Point USA. He started Kings church in NYC, years ago. David met Charlie Kirk in NYC 2020 during the BLM riots. They were trying to push back against the Marxist movements of BLM. At first, Charlie didn’t want him on his program, but Erika did. He traveled with Charlie for two years. Then he was asked to become a board member of Turning Point.
David Engelhardt lived in Walla Walla for a while. Was jealous of their (Sabbath) rest. He was challenged to keep Sabbath in law school. He started doing it. He became the top of his class in law school. He felt that keeping the Sabbath helped him be a better student. He said the Sabbath is a secret weapon (most people don’t know about it).
He encouraged Charlie to try it—Charlie was getting burnt out. Charlie started keeping the Sabbath and it turned his life around.
David said human beings became machines. Switched always on. They needed rest.
Ron Kelly: Sabbath brings joy into our lives. Especially when we share it with someone else.
Conrad Vine: We are moral beings in a created universe. Reformation turned the universe warm instead of cold.
Brian Beavers: Not doing my own pleasure on the Sabbath is important to me.
Isaac O: It’s important to call the Sabbath a delight. Not a burden. “Ride upon the high places of the earth.”
Ron Kelly: Started keeping the Sabbath as a teenager. Caused him some grief at first. He had to let go of worldly things, and that was difficult. Eventually it became a joy to him.
Conrad: Can we keep just any day? No, God is specific in the Bible. Sabbath is both a noun and a verb.
Beaver: Just as there is one God, there is one day (that He has set aside).
David brought up Colossians 2, to stimulate some discussion. Conrad had a good answer. I wish I remembered what it was . . The ceremonial laws were a shadow, the Sabbath is not. A lively discussion ensued.
David said Charlie started in the Old Testament and began applying Sabbath principles from there to his own life, like turning his phone off during Sabbath as analogous to not kindling a fire. David said we (Adventists) have understood Sabbath nuances better than most evangelicals.
Conrad Vine: Sabbath is peace in the midst of a storm.
Blue Laws?
At the March Wisdom Pearl meeting in Phoenix, Charlie said—backstage to Ivan—that he was writing a book on the Sabbath. However, when Charlie said he supported some blue laws, during the interview, Ivan said he (personally) died on stage. He was being humorous, but serious about the need to understand liberty of conscience in this law of God. Ivan asked the panel tonight to discuss blue laws, pro or con.
David: Charlie had a lot of ideas. Laughed. He cited blue laws in New Jersey. A shopping mall is being sued to close on Sunday. He believes in the establishment clause. Said laws can do nothing about conscience or what you believe. Good laws limit action from one party to another, like keeping people from murdering. The more immoral a nation got, the more laws were needed. In general, Charlie believed that.
Ron Kelly: A nation can compel compel last six Commandments. Not the first four.
David: This is an interesting discussion. The Mark of the Beast is accept God’s way or Satan’s way. COVID was a sample of this, a warning to us.
Isaac: Is it fair to pass laws that force people to worship? (For me, no.)
David: We are a pluralistic society. Caste decision. Every law is moral. Speed limits are moral. The Ten Commandments challenge people to examine their morality / heart.
Conrad: You cannot have a legal system without law. Free exercise. Framers were Christians. They believed in self regulation. Colonies self regulated. Today, this assumption no longer holds true. We are an increasingly evil society. Rome had laws regarding marriage. That’s ok. But Christians could not burn incense to Caesar, because the state should not regulate the first four commandments. That leads to coercion.
David: I get it. You folks are opposed to blue laws.
Dr. O: History tells us that enforcing commandments 1-4 leads to persecution. True.
David: Communities generally vote what is good for communities. This is called federalism. Some colonies had laws for Sunday. Said he appreciated the vigorous discussion.
Ron Kelly: The church is complicit in our evil culture. Church is impotent — allowing culture to go too far off the cliff. We must recover that lost ground, without resorting to politics.
Conrad: Charlie met Jesus Christ. That was his turning point. He encouraged young men on college campuses to “Know Jesus for yourself.” Christ transforms you. That is the kind of change we all need. In prison, we learn that the more we regulate men, the more immoral they will be. Laws cannot fix evil in the heart, it can restrain it but it cannot change people from bad to good.
Ivan asked if David had seen the Sabbath book that Charlie was writing. David said Charlie was going to send David the manuscript, but he died first. Rats.
Ron: America is a unique nation, conceived in liberty and growing in Christianity until about 1965. A big part of the problem is colleges warring against the moral (biblical) ethic. Charlie was speaking gospel truth to people without condemnation. Very commendable. Liberty of conscience was important. It reaches into many cultures. The issue in the end time is loyalty, God will use a day to test every person.
David: There are many issues on the horizon. Sharia is looming in some states. We will have to confront it, sooner or later. He’s right. Dearborn, and possibly New York City. NYC is becoming the next London.
Conrad: Islam is a theocratic system. It is fundamentally incompatible with America and freedom of conscience.
Beavers: There is a crisis between those who keep the Commandments of God and those who reject it in the end.
Conrad: The path to social influence is the Holy Spirit, not man made laws. David agreed with this.
David: Candace Owens is way off. He’s right.
David: A good existential question is what I am dying for? Would I give up life for . . . what ? We should engage the public for Christ. When is the last time you did this? Have the courage to engage people.
He is correct. Those of us who wish to win the world for Christ, had better be prepared to come into conflict with it in the process.
This was a great cordial discussion between believers. They listened to each other and affirmed points they agree on, and discussed further points that they didn’t see alike.
They huddled for a group prayer after the discussion.
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