Church, love those who are older!

Last week Tom, one of frequent commentator on our blog wrote a reply to my question of how was church that got me thinking about the church loving those who are older.  Here’s portion of that comment:

Our church definitely aims at the younger (20-40) crowd, which creates some problems and tensions for us being 60 years old. The preaching is doctrinally sound and we enjoy/appreciate the sermons but the music portion is a Christian rock concert replete with lightshow, etc. The congregation’s singing cannot be heard above the din. That grates on us at times. There’s also lot’s of technology with many video messages on the big screen but I’ve noticed over the past year that not one “older” member has ever been featured, every speaker is under 40. In their goal to appeal to the young, older people are somewhat, no, make that pretty much ignored. As we get even older it’s going to feel less and less comfortable.

My heart was heavy reading this.  I’m relatively young and am part of the Millennial generation. I am aware that my generation can be quite self-centered (generally speaking, I’m not saying everybody).  And I want to share this to encourage those going to church who are younger than 40 to not forget those who are older.

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November 8th 2016 San Bernardino County Christian Conservative Voter’s Guide

The election is right around the corner!

We have quite a stream of readers of our blog from Southern California and I thought it would be helpful to post this.

This is courtesy of Craig Huey of Election Forum (HT).

Christians must definitely be informed in how they vote where they vote not against their principles but as much as for it.  You might not think there’s much reason to vote concerning presidential candidates but there’s still other candidates for other offices where your vote counts even more.

Here’s the voter’s guide for San Diego County:

Ratings:

We have changed our ratings system from the Thumbs Up to a Five State system.

Every candidate is considered after thorough research; we also have a questionnaire for candidates to complete.

Here is our new rating system:

•  : The best candidate. Our strongest endorsement.
• : Very good.
• : Acceptable.
• Vote only to prevent worse candidate(s) from winning.
• : Terrible. Do Not Vote. All your other votes will count.

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Urgent since rights of Christian are at stake: Say No to SB1146

Note: This is an urgent guest post by one of our readers we are sharing this immediately given that this is threatening tolerance of Christian beliefs of the Bible.

http://www.opposesb1146.com/images/sb1146-square.png

By B Dub

Freedom of religion is a central feature of our liberties as Americans.  It is a right affirmed in the First Amendment.  Once a society starts stripping its citizens of their essential freedoms, including religious liberty, it cannot long survive as a free society.  There is a bill in the California assembly numbered SB1146.  It could potentially be very bad for California Christian Colleges and Universities.

As of the Time of this writing it has passed the California Senate and is making its way through the California Assembly and is being review in committees.  As it is written now, it could cause real problems for religious institutions in California.  Once it makes it to Jerry Brown’s desk, he is likely to sign it.

The advocates of the bill claim it as a non-discrimination policy, but it disallows religious institutions to uphold their beliefs.   In this way it is in fact discriminatory. It says that religious requirements must be approved by the state. It could be a problem for a college enforcing their moral beliefs stemming from the religion.  For example they wouldn’t be able to talk against homosexual marriage or abortion.   This section in particular is biggest issue:

Nothing in this section shall be construed to permit discrimination on the basis of disability, gender, gender identity, gender expression, nationality, race or ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other characteristic that is contained in the definition of hate crimes set forth in Section 422.55 of the Penal Code, including the perception that the person has any of those characteristics or that the person is associated with a person who has, or is perceived to have, any of those characteristics.

As you can see, by the wording it claims to not be discriminatory.  That couldn’t be further from the truth.   By not allowing religious institutions’ freedom of conscious, it discriminates against their ability to enforce principles in accordance with their beliefs.

The whole text and history of the bill can be found here for reference and context.
http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160SB1146#content_anchor

Here is what several religious institutions in California are saying and how it affects them:

Concordia University Irvine: http://www.cui.edu/aboutcui/sb1146

Biola: http://now.biola.edu/news/article/2016/jun/08/preserve-faith-based-higher-education/

Western Baptist University: http://www.opposesb1146.com/

As well as another blogger talking about it.

 

What can be done?

Those of you in California contact your representatives.  Even if you are not you can still contact them.  Urge them to vote no.

If you don’t know who your representative is, you can find out here.
http://findyourrep.legislature.ca.gov/

Tell your friends about this.  Let the word get out about this and why this bill is bad news.

Also, prayer is always encouraged.

Here is a site with more suggestions on what to do.

https://wcbc.edu/oppose-sb-1146

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You Might Reconsider Your Hipster Pastor if…

Three quick thoughts that came to my mind yesterday.

1,) You might reconsider your hipster pastor if he has put more thought to shopping for his skinny jeans than his study on Christ as the solution to our sinful genes.

2.) You might reconsider your hipster pastor if he can tell you more things he has put into his hair than he can tell you what riches we have as Fellow Heirs with Christ.

3.) You might reconsider your hipster pastor if he’s more worried about what bow tie to wear on Sunday than his message tied to Scripture.

 

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Were Early Christians Communists? Our 3 Part Series

I didn’t plan to write this three part series on the question “Were Early Christians Communists?”  It was originally in response to someone online and it just kind of happened as I thought about it more I ended up writing more.

I think it would be good to have one posts that links the series.  Here are the links to the three posts:

Were Early Christians Communists? Part 1: Acts 5

Were Early Christians Communists? Part 2: The Semantic of Communism

Were Early Christians Communists? Part 3: Matthew 19:21 and Luke 14:33 in Context

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June 5th 2012 California Christian Voters Guide

From Election Forum.  The following below is a voter’s guide for Los Angeles County, the rest of the state can be accessed from their website.

Ratings:

Every candidate is considered after thorough research; we also have a questionnaire for candidates to complete.

• : Strongest endorsement for values voters
• : Above average
• : Better than opponent, vote represents “lesser of two evils”
• No Endorsement: We either oppose the candidates or have found no reason to support a candidate. If you don’t vote for a candidate or issue, all your other votes still count.

Note: Historically third party candidates and write—in candidates do not win statewide elections in California. Click here to see article on Voting Your Christian Values.

Statewide Offices, Governor, Senator, CA Supreme Court, etc.

President

President of the United States; Democractic Party

• Barack Obama, Democratic

President of the United States; Republican Party Party

• Charles Roemer, III, Republican
• Ron Paul, Republican
• Newt Gingrich, Republican
• Rick Santorum, Republican
• Mitt Romney, Republican
• Fred Krager, Republican

President of the United States; American Independent Party

• Edward Noonan, American Independent
• Laurie Roth, American Independent
• Mad Max Riekse, American Independent

President of the United States; Green Party

• Jill Stein, Green
• Kent Mesplay, Green
• Roseanne Barr, Green

President of the United States; Libertarian Party

• Gary Johnson, Libertarian
• James Ogle, Libertarian
• Bill Still, Libertarian
• R. J. Harris, Libertarian
• Roger Gray, Libertarian
• Lee Wrights, Libertarian
• Barbara Waymire, Libertarian
• Scott Keller, Libertarian
• Carl Person, Libertarian

President of the United States; Peace and Freedom Party

• Ross Anderson, Peace and Freedom
• Stephen Durham, Peace and Freedom
• Stewart Alexander, Peace and Freedom

United States Senator

• Kabiruddin, Ali, Peace and Freedom
• Dianne Feinstein, Democratic
• Elizabeth Emken, Republican
• Oscar Braun, Republican
• Colleen Fernald, Democratic
• Daniel Hughes, Republican
• Dirk Konopik, Republican
• John Boruff, Republican
• Robert Lauten, Republican
• Al Ramirez, Republican
• Michael Strimling, Democratic
• Orly Taitz, Republican
• Rick Williams, Republican
• Phillip Conlon, Republican
• Nachum Shifren, Republican
• Rogelio Gloria, Republican
• Marsha Feinland, Peace and Freedom
• Nak Shah, Democratic
• Don Krampe, Republican
• Dennis Jackson, Republican
• Don Grundmann, American Independent
• Gail Lightfoot, Libertarian
• David Levitt, Democratic
• Diane Stewart, Democratic

US Congress by District

United States Representative; District 23

• Terry Phillips
• Eric Parker, Republican
• Kevin McCarthy, Republican

United States Representative; District 25

• Lee Rogers, Democratic
• Howard McKeon, Republican
• Dante Acosta, Republican
• Catherine Wright, Republican

United States Representative; District 26

• Linda Parks
• Jess Herrera, Democratic
• Albert Goldberg, Democratic
• Julia Brownley, Democratic
• David Thayne, Democratic
• Tony Strickland, Republican

United States Representative; District 27

• Robert Duran, Republican
• Judy Chu, Democratic
• Jack Orswell, Republican

United States Representative; District 28

• Jenny Worman, Republican
• Massie Munroe, Democratic
• Garen Mailyan, Republican
• Sal Genovese, Democratic
• Jonathan Kalbfeld, Democratic
• Adam Schiff, Democratic
• Phil Jennerjahn, Republican

United States Representative; District 29

• David Hernandez
• Tony Cardenas, Democratic
• Richard Valdez, Democratic

United States Representative; District 30

• Susan Shelley, Republican
• Navraj Singh, Republican
• Vince Gilmore, Democratic
• Brad Sherman, Democratic
• Howard Berman, Democratic
• Mark Reed, Republican
• Michael Powelson, Green

United States Representative; District 32

• G. Gonzalez, Democratic
• David Miller, Republican
• Grace Napolitano, Democratic

United States Representative; District 33

• David Steinman, Green
• William Bloomfield, Jr.
• Timothy Pape, Democratic
• Christopher David, Republican
• Steve Collett, Libertarian
• Bruce Margolin, Democratic
• Henry Waxman, Democratic
• Zein Obagi, Democratic

United States Representative; District 34

• Stephen Smith, Republican
• Howard Johnson, Peace and Freedom
• Xavier Becerra, Democratic

United States Representative; District 35

• Gloria McLeod, Democratic
• Joe Baca, Democratic
• Anthony Vieyra, Green

United States Representative; District 37

• Karen Bass, Democratic

United States Representative; District 38

• Benjamin Campos, Republican
• Jorge Robles, Republican
• Linda Sánchez, Democratic

United States Representative; District 39

• Ed Royce, Republican
• Jay Chen, Democratic
• D’Marie Mulattieri

United States Representative; District 40

• David Sanchez, Democratic
• Lucille Roybal-Allard, Democratic

United States Representative; District 42

• Ken S. Calvert, Republican
• Eva S. Johnson, Republican
• Clayton Thibodeau, Republican

United States Representative; District 43

• Maxine Waters, Democratic
• Bob Flores, Democratic

United States Representative; District 44

• Janice Hahn, Democratic
• Laura Richardson, Democratic

Unites States Representative; District 45

• John Webb, Republican
• John Campbell, Republican
• Sukhee Kang, Democrat

United States Representative; District 47

• Steve Foley, Republican
• Alan Lowenthal, Democratic
• Jay Shah, Democratic
• Gary DeLong, Republican
• Sanford Kahn, Republican
• Steven Kuykendall, Republican
• Peter Mathews, Democratic
• Usha Shah, Democratic

State Assembly

Assembly; District 35

• Gerald “Gerry” Manata, Democrat
• K.H. “Katcho” Achadjian, Republican

Member of the State Assembly; District 36

• Thomas Lackey, Republican
• Steve Fox, Democratic
• Ron Smith, Republican

Member of the State Assembly; District 38

• Edward Headington, Democratic
• Patricia McKeon, Republican
• Paul Strickland, Republican
• Scott Wilk, Republican

Member of the State Assembly; District 39

• Omar Cuevas, Republican
• Raul Bocanegra, Democratic
• John Paul Lindblad, Green
• Richard Alarcon, Democratic
• Ricardo Benitez, Republican
• Margie Carranza, Republican

Member of the State Assembly; District 41

• Ed Colton, Republican
• Michael Cacciotti, Democratic
• Donna Lowe, Republican
• Victoria Rusnak, Democratic
• Chris Holden, Democratic

Member of the State Assembly; District 43

• Mike Gatto, Democratic
• Greg Krikorian, Republican

Member of the State Assembly; District 44

• Eileen MacEnery, Democratic
• Jeffrey Gorell, Republican
• Thomas Mullens, Democratic

Member of the State Assembly; District 45

• Bob Blumenfield, Democratic
• Chris Kolski, Republican

Member of the State Assembly; District 46

• Jay Stern, Republican
• Adrin Nazarian, Democratic
• Andrew Lachman, Democratic
• Adriano Lecaros, Democratic
• Laurette Healey, Democratic
• Brian Johnson, Democratic

Member of the State Assembly; District 48

• Michael Meza
• Roger Hernandez, Democratic
• Joe Gardner, Republican

Member of the State Assembly; District 49

• Matthew Lin, Republican
• Edwin Chau, Democratic
• Mitchell Ing, Democratic

Member of the State Assembly; District 50

• Richard Bloom, Democratic
• Torie Osborn, Democratic
• Betsy Butler, Democratic
• Bradly Torgan, Republican

Member of the State Assembly; District 51

• Oscar Gutierrez, Democratic
• Arturo Chavez, Democratic
• Luis Lopez, Democratic
• Jimmy Gomez, Democratic
• Richard Friedberg, Democratic

Member of the State Assembly; District 52

• Norma Torres, Democratic
• Ray Moors, Democratic
• Paul Avila, Democratic
• Kenny Coble, Republican

Member of the State Assembly; District 53

• Michael Aldapa, Democratic
• John Pérez, Democratic
• Roger Young, Democratic
• Jose Aguilar, Republican

Member of the State Assembly; District 54

• Keith McCowen, Republican
• Holly Mitchell, Democratic
• Ed Nicoletti, Democratic

Member of the State Assembly; District 55

• Gregg Fritchle, Democratic
• Curt Hagman, Republican

Member of the State Assembly; District 56

• Corky Reynaga-Emett, Republican
• V. Manuel Perez, Democratic

Member of the State Assembly; District 57

• Rudy Bermudez, Democratic
• Ian Calderon, Democratic
• Noel Jaimes, Republican

Member of the State Assembly; District 58

• Sultan Ahmad, Democratic
• Cristina Garcia, Democratic
• Daniel Crespo, Democratic
• Patricia Kotze-Ramos, Republican
• Luis Marquez, Democratic
• Tom Calderon, Democratic

Member of the State Assembly; District 59

• Reginald Jones-Sawyer, Democratic
• Greg Akili, Democratic
• Rodney Robinson, Democratic
• Armenak Nouridjanian, Democratic
• Gertrude Holmes-Magee, Democratic

Member of the State Assembly; District 60

• Jeff Miller, Republican (Incumbent)
• Stan Skipworth, Republican
• JosÉ Luis Pérez, Democratic
• Eric Linder, Republican
• Greg Kraft, Republican

Member of the State Assembly; District 61

• Joe Ludwig, Republican
• Fredy R. De Leon
• Bill Batey, Republican
• Jose Medina, Democratic

Member of the State Assembly; District 62

• Steven Bradford, Democratic
• Mervin Evans, Democratic

Member of the State Assembly; District 63

• Jack Guerrero, Republican
• Diane Martinez, Democratic
• Cathrin Sargent, Democratic
• Anthony Rendon, Democratic

Member of the State Assembly; District 64

• Isadore Hall, III, Democratic

Member of the State Assembly; District 66

Since I am a candidate in this particular race, Election Forum will abstain from posting ratings or recommendations.—Craig Huey

• Craig Huey, Republican
• Nathan Mintz, Republican
• Al Muratsuchi, Democratic

Member of the State Assembly; District 70

• Bonnie Lowenthal, Democratic
• Martha Flores Gibson, Republican

State Senate

State Senator; District 21

• Star Moffatt, Democratic
• Steve Knight, Republican

State Senator; District 23

• Melissa O’Donnell, Democratic
• Bill Emmerson, Republican

State Senator; District 25

• Ameenah Fuller, Democratic
• Gilbert Gonzales, Republican
• Carol Liu, Democratic

State Senator; District 27

• Fran Pavley, Democratic
• Todd Zink, Republican

State Senator; District 29

• Greg Diamond, Democratic
• Robert Huff, Republican

State Senator; District 33

• Ricardo Lara, Democratic

State Senator; District 35

• Charlotte Svolos, Republican
• Paul Butterfield, Democratic
• Roderick Wright, Democratic

Judicial

Electionforum.org ranks every aspect of a judicial candidate’s record on a scale of 1 (most activist) to 10 (most constructionist).

Nothing is overlooked, from a judge’s rulings to on-the-record statements to American Bar Association ratings. We also look at their stated positions and contributions as well as who’s endorsing them.

Finally, each judge’s career is considered from a bird’s-eye view. Experience. Integrity. Commitment to community. We even personally talk to the candidates.

Ratings:

Judicial Index Average

Judicial Activist	Strict Constructionist

• Positions
• Contributions
• Rulings
• Statements

Qualifications

Unqualified	Very Qualified

• Experience
• Reputation
• Integrity
• American Bar
  Association
  ratings

Judge of the Superior Court; County of Los Angeles; Office 3

• Craig Gold – 4
• Laurence N. Kaldor – 4
• Sean D. Coen – 5
• Joe Escalante – 4

Judge of the Superior Court; County of Los Angeles; Office 10

• Kim Smith – 6
• Sanjay T. Kumar – 7

Judge of the Superior Court; County of Los Angeles; Office 38

• Lynn Diane Olson – 3
• Douglas W. Weitzman – 4

Judge of the Superior Court; County of Los Angeles; Office 65

• Matt Schonbrun – 4
• Shannon Knight – 5
• Andrea C. Thompson – 8

Judge of the Superior Court; County of Los Angeles; Office 78

• Kenneth R. Hughey – 9
• James D. Otto – 5

Judge of the Superior Court; County of Los Angeles; Office 114

• Eric Harmon – 5
• Berj Parseghian – 7
• Ben M. Brees – 1

County

District Attorney; County of Los Angeles

• John L. Breault, III
• Jackie Lacey
• Alan Jackson
• Danette E. Meyers
• Carmen Trutanich
• Bobby Grace

Supervisor; County of Los Angeles; Supervisorial District 2

• Mark Ridley-Thomas

Supervisor; County of Los Angeles; Supervisorial District 5

• Michael D. Antonovich
• M. A. C. “Maestro” Enriquez-Marquez
• Raj Pal Kahlon

Special District

Member, Board of Directors; Central Basin Municipal Water District; Division 1

• Ed Vasquez
• James B. Roybal
• Yvette Lizette Silva

Member, Board of Directors; Central Basin Municipal Water District; Division 4

• Rudy C. Montalvo
• Leticia Vasquez

Member, Board of Directors; Central Basin Municipal Water District; Division 5

• Tony Mendoza
• Jay W. Gray
• Phillip D. Hawkins

Party Committee—most districts not researched

Member, Republican Party County Central Committee; County of Los Angeles; Assembly District 43 (7 Elected)

• Judith Durning
• Ryan Ford
• Lenore Solis
• Mary “Mell” Flynn
• Mark Vafiades
• Dale Samson
• Chance Glasco
• Nicholas Paul Renzi
• Victor Phillip Alkana
• D. “Doffie” Lewis
• Linda P. Sheffield
• William E. Saracino
• Ben Jones
• Elliott Graham

Member, Republican Party County Central Committee; County of Los Angeles; Assembly District 48 (7 Elected)

• Robert B. Ewing
• David Miller
• Starret J. Meyer
• Marlene F. Osborn
• Judy Marie Nelson
• Valerie R. Evans
• Peggy A. Mew
• Sheena Lynn Ewing
• Kathy Howard
• Jorge Huaman
• Kevin Stapleton
• Mike Spence

Member, Republican Party County Central Committee; County of Los Angeles; Assembly District 58 (7 Elected)

• Grace Hu
• Allen G. Wood
• Haridas Terhanian
• Jo Marie Johnson
• Sergio Estevez
• Dan N. Cristea
• Paul Kim
• Rick Royse
• Matt S. Kauble

Member, Republican Party County Central Committee; County of Los Angeles; Assembly District 62 (7 Elected)

• Marco Antonio “Tony” Leal
• Julius D. Wilson
• Carl Frederick Davis, Jr.
• Douglas G. Ehlers
• Maureen Johnson
• Dale A. Wallace
• Jennifer Tyler
• David J. Picard
• Mary Miller
• Carol L. Cole
• Gabriel Dibble

Member, Republican Party County Central Committee; County of Los Angeles; Assembly District 66 (7 Elected)

• David Frederick Hadley
• Bryan Wayne Matthews
• Patricia O. Lagrelius
• Kenneth Martin Adler
• William L. Schmidt
• Kenneth A. Hartley
• Paul A. Contreras
• Steve Redlich
• Kim Mac Mullan
• Ketnapa Siri
• John H. Nunn
• Paul M. Nowatka
• Larry E. Jones
• Laine Truelove McNally
• John J. Parsons
• G. Rick Marshall
• Kyle D. Ebersole

Member, Republican Party County Central Committee; County of Los Angeles; Assembly District 70 (7 Elected)

• Lydia Gutierrez
• Nancy Jean Sciortino
• Davina M. Keiser
• Dave Najar
• Charles R. Eldred, Jr.
• Mark A. Voelker
• John Fer
• Tina M. Thompson

Local Measures

City of Compton

NO Measure B City Council District Formation — City of Compton (Charter Amendment – Majority Approval Required)

County of Los Angeles

NO Measure H L.A. County Hotel Occupancy Tax Continuation Measure — County of Los Angeles (Ordinance – Majority Approval Required)

City of Los Angeles

NO Measure L L.A. County Landfill Tax Continuation Measure — City of Los Angeles (Ordinance – Majority Approval Required)

City of Pasadena

YES Measure A Formation of Geographic Sub-Districts Within Pasadena Unified School District — City of Pasadena (Charter Amendment – Majority Approval Required)

NO Measure CK School Improvement Funding — Sulphur Springs Union Elementary School District (School Bonds – 55% Approval Required)

NO Measure CO School Improvement Funding — Charter Oak Unified School District (School Bonds – 55% Approval Required)

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Book Review: The Forgotten Spurgeon by Iain Murray

Purchase: Westminster | Amazon

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this biography, though the author insists throughout the work that this is really not a biography of Spurgeon per se, and was written to fill in the gaps that is often left out concerning the real Spurgeon that is contrary to the popularized image of Spurgeon according to the perception of mainstream Evangelical  and some biographies out there.  In commenting about the deficiency of some of the biographies about Spurgeon, this work notes how some of the popular biographers have not grasp or understood the significance of the theology that have driven Spurgeon.  Spurgeon in his life was a man of God that was not only a gospel preacher to the masses but also a man of God who would take a stand for the truth of God’s Word.  Throughout his lifetime, the “forgotten” Spurgeon was involved with three major controversies which the book discusses about, concerning baptismal regeneration, hyper-calvinism and the Down Grade Controversy.  A fascinating fact that I was not aware of before reading this book was the author’s observation that in the baptismal regeneration debate, Spurgeon did not expected much support from certain religious quarters which ironically did affirm and supported Spurgeon’s concern, while in the Down Grade Controversy Spurgeon expected support from certain quarters (Evangelicals) that in the end not only materialized but turned out to be against him.  Even his own brother who was a minister disagreed with him and readers might be shocked to learn of this contrary to the image of Spurgeon as always being popular.  It is the down grade controversy which most people remember of the three, but knowing what the others were about also allow readers to better situate Spurgeon in his context, and perhaps a more balance understanding of Spurgeon when it comes to controversy.  Perhaps the part of the book that I found most fascinating what the closing chapter that talked about the fate of Spurgeon’s church after his death.  It was a painful thing to hear of how those who took up the ministry after him including his son, moved away from the theology that Spurgeon has embraced.  It is probably the most sobering part of the book for me, as I think back to campus ministries that I have been involved with in the past that has been so strong biblically and numerically only to have it handed off to others that eventually would not agree with your distinctives or emphasizes (and even hostile against it, or disregard what precious truths that has motivated the first “generation”!).  It was saddening to read this last portion of the book.  I cannot help but to think of the historical lesson here as it relates to our day and age.  This is the second work that I read by Iain Murray, the first being his most recent work on John MacArthur.  I think Murray is a great biographer, and I can’t help but to think about Grace Community Church after John MacArthur, or any other famous pastor for that matter (John Piper, C.J. Mahaney, etc).  The ending of the book allow me to have some soul searching of whether or not as a young pastor, my goal should be to become a famous great preacher.  It made me think about how some people follow preachers just for the sake of the man’s fame rather than really seeing the man’s theology coming from the Scripture itself.  The real tests at times, seems to come about after a man’s death and his ministry/church carries on without him; where will the direction go?  Will the saints still be faithful to what is biblical?  Who will take over and will they be able to fill the mighty shoes left behind, while being faithful to the Word of God and have the ability to lead the body?  It makes me think much about the issue of a Christianity that is driven more by personality and charisma though those that lead are orthodox; as in the case of the Hebrews escaping Egypt in the Exodus, people have an uncanny way of making their own idols even in the midst of God’s great works.

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