By Spencer Gear [1]

Desley & Spencer Gear         Australian Koalas     

You have surfed to the home page of Spencer Gear, an Aussie (from Hervey Bay, Queensland, Australia), with convictions about truth and challenges to truth.  Be warned!  These are not pages for the faint hearted.  If you are afraid of controversy, then move on.  I am a committed Christian and make no apologies for defending a Bible-based, evangelical Christian faith in the market place.  It not only makes sense, but also matches reality.

 Human beings are special beings (not higher primates) made in the image of God.  God's truth comes with the authority of the Almighty God Himself who designed and made the world and everything in it.  This truth also comes with an eternal guarantee, thanks to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God.

Truth itself is under threat

If truth doesn't matter, why not inject 2-year-olds with heroin when their behaviour is outrageous or they are an inconvenience to family and society?  Surely pedophilia is OK when we make up our own values!  Why all the fuss about domestic violence?  After all, if you decide your own values and I decide mine, anything goes!  Leave me alone!  If I want to be a New Age guy devoted to my postmodern values, chill out!  Quit cramping my style.

This is what is happening to truth.  But especially in a postmodern society, we need to ask and answer the question that has big ramifications: What is truth?  When truth decays and loses its absolutes, startling things happen in many areas of life. Take a read of Douglas Groothuis's answer to the question, "What is truth?"  Norman Geisler examines the nature of truth and also concludes that truth is that which corresponds to reality.  Check out what these apologists have to say in their defence of the nature of truth as applied to Christianity.

What is the truth about the Gospel of Jesus Christ?  How may a person have joy in the midst of suffering, purpose in this life, and a guarantee of eternal life that is on a level superior to anything we know on earth?   There is content to the Gospel.  What is it?
 

Apologetics

"Christianity, devoid of its own core, is really not worth defending.  Thus the only version of Christianity we are interested in mounting an apologetics for is what I consider to be biblical (conservative, evangelical) Christianity" (Winfried Corduan).  Enter the
truth challenges of apologetics: 

 Answering Bright Atheists provides my response to an atheist known as a "Bright."  He asked some perceptive questions about God and the Christian faith: (1) If God is all-knowing, all-powerful, all-merciful and all-good, why would He allow people to live and die without the opportunity of salvation? (2) Why isn't God's word available universally? (3). There are many people who live and die without hearing your Gospel.  

Some Australian Anglican clergy no longer accept the Christmas story.  Instead, they regard it as mythical.  What is causing the Bible to be under so much attack?

You'll find a 3-part series: Can you trust the Bible?   

  The "grotesque" God, evil & suffering,
  "How can you possibly believe in the goodness of God when you consider that he allowed the slaughter of seven innocent people at Strathfield (Sydney, NSW)?" a concerned individual asked me shortly after that tragic event. I responded:  There's more than Strathfield.  What about the Sudanese refugees in Ethiopia, who are moving back to the Sudan, but have been bombed by aircraft? We also can't forget about the hundreds of thousands who died in the Bangladesh cyclone." As it was put to me once, "I used to believe in God until my child was killed in an accident."

 Famous atheist, Antony  Flew, has moved from atheism to theism.  Read this interview between Dr. Gary Habermas, professor of philosophy and theology, and Dr. Antony Flew, professor of philosophy, that confirms Dr. Flew's change of mind regarding theism.  The interview took place in early 2004.  In Flew's words, he "had to go where the evidence leads."  While he doesn't believe in the God of any revelatory system, he says, "I am open to that."  

The Church

 

Many churches say that they preach from the Bible and only practise what the Bible declares, but when I look at the structure and ministry model of these churches, my heartache gets deeper. I can identify with this radical assessment: "In our age, we come to a [church] meeting to get our empty bucket refuelled. In their day [first century Christians], they came to a meeting to report out of the overflow of their lives. There's a world of difference."

 Crime and violence skyrocket; sexual promiscuity and sexually transmitted diseases are rampant; the poor and homeless are marginal.  Who protects the unborn, the handicapped and the elderly? Daily I deal with rebellious youth and disillusioned parents. Sometimes they are care-less parents and fed-up youth. Where is the church? Singer and songwriter, the late Keith Green, nailed the problem when he sang that we are "asleep in the light."

A redeemed former homosexual brother told me of how he revealed his past to one person in a church he attended. He would never do it again. He was treated with contempt, was avoided by people, regarded as a spiritual leper; parents would not let him near their children, when this information got to other church people. Why are certain sinners not welcome in some churches? 

C. H. Spurgeon preaching

Redeeming the sermon is an urgent need in many churches today.  Teaching the word of God is of primary importance for knowledge and growth.  However, a better model would be to get back to that of  I Corinthians 12-14 and the opportunity for the participation of all gifted believers when the church gathers.

The biblical teaching for public meetings is every-member ministry. 

Fluoride:

1.    Here we deal with a variety of community issues that need an informed response.  One of those critical matters for health is: Should fluoride be added to a city's water supply?  One of the world's leading centres for the manufacture of medical, chemical, and drug supplies (a centre of pharmacology) stopped fluoridation of its water supply in 2003 after 41 years of fluoride.  Why?  The Canton of Basel-Stadt, Switzerland, could not establish the case for the benefits of fluoridation.

2.    For "More Fluoride Spin" by a leader in the Australian Dental Association, take a read of the claim that fluoridated water does not lead to the diseases that anti-flouridationists are claiming.

3.    In "Stop the Rotten Spin," we examine a local newspaper's imbalanced treatment of the fluoride issue.  

Computer Viruses:

1.    A continuing problem in the information technology (IT) industry is the warnings of computer viruses that so many of us receive via email.  How do we deal with these?  Do we send them immediately to all in our address book or is there a better alternative?

Koala Safety

 The Australian koala, which is not a bear but a marsupial mammal, is under threat through the urban sprawl and failure to plant native Australian trees.  Take a read of the Australian Koala Foundation website for more information.  This Foundation states: "Koalas in the wild face a series of threats to their continued survival. A major threat is the continuing urbanisation of their habitat and associated threats like cars and dogs. Over 4,000 koalas are killed each year by dogs and cars alone. In addition, stress caused by the loss of their habitat causes symptoms of diseases like chlamydia. Approximately 80% of original koala habitat has already been destroyed. This has forced koalas to live alongside people in urban areas, and means that property owners have a special responsibility to take the particular needs of koalas into consideration in their lifestyle."

Read some more koala facts.

Counselling

When dealing with sin, "the church will continue to promote superficial adjustment while psychotherapists, with or without biblical foundations, will do a better job than the church of restoring troubled people to more effective functioning," says Lawrence Crabb. I was "conned" by this kind of thinking for the first 15 years of my 28 years of counselling.

Is self-esteem the big bogey-man/woman of bad behaviour?  You may be surprised at what research is showing and what the Scriptures teach.

Divorce and remarriage can provide some curly situations.  What's a biblical response to this destruction in our families?

A friend of mine left the Seventh-Day Adventist Church (SDA) a number of years ago and is now fellowshiping with and engaged in ministry in an evangelical church.   Here he has kindly agreed to summarise why he left the SDA Church.  He has reasons to believe the SDA church is a cult.

In this link to "Cults & Other Religions," also check out the links to refuting Mormonism and the Jehovah's Witnesses.

Drugs

How should you respond to the escalating drug problems in Australia?  What should you share with your children & friends?  What is the message that we should take to a culture that is enmeshed in drugs -- legal and illicit?  What reasons can we give for our approaches to drug abuse? Is there a distinctly Christian approach to drug use?

One in three people aged 14 and over has tried marijuana;
One survey found that 15% of all Australians used illicit drugs at least one in the previous 12 months;
26% of all teenagers (aged 14-19) used illicit drugs at least once in the previous 12 months;
98% of street kids (under age 19) used illicit drugs at least once in the previous 12 months;
From 1985-1993, the proportion of South Australian 14-19 year-olds who said they had ever used marijuana increased 50%.  This was after decriminalisation (on-the-spot fines) in SA in 1987.  This compared with increases of 4% (Qld.), 31% (WA), 39% (Vic.), and a decrease of 7% (NSW).

  Marijuana is not a soft drug

Summary of the effects of marijuana
Twenty-four hours after one joint of marijuana, experienced pilots performed severely impaired simulator landings (Dr. J. Yesavage, et. al., Stanford University).  A 15-year research project revealed a 600% increase in the incidence of schizophrenia in conscripts who had used 50 joints or more of marijuana in their lifetime (Longitudinal study, Karolinska Institute, Sweden, using 45,570 army conscripts).

  The Christian & alcohol
"Drug misuse [is] estimated to cost Australia more than $14 billion a year in road trauma, health care, lost productivity, and law enforcement."  Yet, it appears that God wants us to enjoy food and alcohol. Ecclesiastes 9:7 says, "Go then, eat your bread in happiness, and drink your wine with a cheerful heart; for God has already approved your works."  How do we put these two ideas together?

   The Christian and drug use
A well-known Christian drug-abuse centre in Brooklyn, New York. Several men from the FBI [went] in and started asking questions. In conversation, one of them said that the government could not officially send anyone to a religious organization even for drug rehabilitation. However, so many drug users had been cured at this Christian establishment that they had come to see the secret of the success. After the Gospel was explained to them, they replied that the government could not use any religion for rehabilitation, but they were going to send people to them unofficially. Certain individuals with whom the government had worked and failed had come to the centre. There they had been converted and seemed permanently cured of drug abuse. Obviously the power of the Gospel had been displayed to the government officials.

   How to talk to your children about drug use
Alcohol or drug use, particularly when it may involve a member of your family, is a very emotionally loaded issue. Thus, it is quite natural that many parents are at a loss to know how to begin to handle this problem within the family. The following guidelines were prepared by counsellors trained in working with young people to provide parents with some basic ideas for use in dealing with this issue.  Check out this Teen Challenge site for some other common signs that your child may be using drugs. 

   One drug addict's story of how he was set free.
When I used pot everyone was affected." Colin was adamant. School teachers said he was a pain in the butt. He couldn't give a damn about his parents. Friends warned him about his changed personality.  His peers, in his language, were "hit men." Success in rugby league was shattered. The boss sacked him because of his tardiness. He warns: "As a young teenager, pot slowed my maturity. My memory was shot, and still is to some degree. I find it hard to use my mind at its full capacity. It is still difficult to relate to people."  Increased marijuana use made him feel miserable. Crazy as it seems, the more he got into dope, the more marijuana he used to try to relieve his cannabis-induced misery.

A. W. Tozer (picture to the left) wrote that "what comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us... For this reason the gravest question before the Church is always God Himself"  (1961, Knowledge of the Holy, Harper & Row, San Francisco, p.1).

A.  The Fear of God

"Blessed is the [person] who fears the Lord."  The truly godly person is one who fears the Lord with utter reverence.  This is a radically different relationship than being your daddy or mate.  If you are ever going to be blessed, you must be one who fears the Lord.  Proverbs 1:7 declares that "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge" (1:7); "the fear of the Lord prolongs life" (10:27); "the fear of the Lord is instruction in wisdom" (15:33), and the Psalmist taught that "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" (Ps. 111:16).

Hot Topics

There are some subjects that are "hot potatoes" among ordinary folks.  Others are especially "hot" (controversial) among some Christians.  This "Hot Topics" link should get both groups heated up -- for a good cause!  Healthy, honest, open discussion!  Are you up to that kind of challenge?

 Adoption -- How Sweet the Sound!

"Adoption" – to me, one of the sweetest words in the English language.  It is a reminder of two of the best things that ever happened in my life.  The first, and of greatest importance, is of course being adopted into the family of God.  Because of His marvellous grace, He adopted me into His family and I have found Him to be the same wonderful Heavenly Father that millions of others have, throughout the world, from the beginning of time.
            The second happened in time some years earlier.  At the age of three weeks, I went home to join a family of a mother, father, and two older brothers.  My parents had been called in to the hospital within a couple of days of my birth.  They would have taken me home immediately, but the matron advised that they should go on their planned 2-week holiday without me, since it was quite a cold winter, and I was fairly small.  They could hardly wait for that holiday to end!

   Voluntary Active Euthanasia - A Compassionate Solution to Those in Pain?

This is a copy of Spencer Gear's presentation in a public debate between Michael Moore MLA for the Australian Capital Territory and Rev. Spencer Gear.  Mr Gear presents six reasons why voluntary, active euthanasia is NOT a compassionate solution to those in pain.  One reason he states is that there is no guarantee it will be limited to terminal illness for those in pain.  The recent history of the euthanasia movement demonstrates this.

  Submission to Australian Senate on Euthanasia: 2008

Euthanasia advocate, Dr. Philip Nitschke, who was an ardent promoter of the Northern Territory legislation (1995), according to a newspaper report, confirmed that his patient for euthanasia, Mrs Nancy Crick, who died in 2002 at the age of 69 after drinking poison, was not terminally ill when she committed suicide in front of family and friends.  She did not have bowel cancer.  The same newspaper report quoted the then Queensland Premier, Peter Beattie, "If you're going to have a debate about euthanasia let's do it honestly." The then Queensland Premier Peter Beattie added, according to Time magazine, that there was a "straightforward" reason why his Queensland government would not legalise euthanasia: "It's to protect people from being murdered."

Abortion & Life: A Christian Perspective

Wouldn't you want to be warned?  Hell, No!

Something amazing will happen to ALL atheists after they die. There will be no atheists in hell because they will be in the presence of the living God. All who denied that Christ was God, will have to acknowledge that "Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." [8] But it will be too late for these former atheists. They will be condemned forever and experiencing the wrath of God eternally -- in hell -- in the presence of God.

Dangers of meditation

The front page of a mental health newsletter was lauding the benefits of meditation.  It advocated transcendental meditation, progressive muscle relaxation, concentration, walking and standing, visualisation and affirmation, and mantras and chants. However, the writer wanted to deny any association with Eastern religion, claiming that "stereotyped images" associated meditation with "dark-skinned people of Asian or Oriental descent."

Visualization and Affirmation

Contact (May 1997), Bundaberg, Qld., Australia, recommended visualization [which is also known as guided imagery] and affirmation for "harnessing the power of the mind toward achievement and goals."  That is not what those involved in occultism say.  David Conway, in Magic: An Occult Primer, exposes some of the agenda of visualization.  Is visualization a neutral technique?  Read further.

Does agnosticism work?  Can the worst of people be changed - without God?

Can a leopard change its spots? Definitely not! But there is Someone who can change paedophiles into people with true love. Prostitutes are being remade. The dishonest can become people of integrity. Rebels can be turned into law-abiding citizens and cons into upright, Christian citizens. But self-effort won't do it.

  Why I am not an atheist

A.W. Tozer wrote that "what we believe about God is the most important thing about us." Philosopher, Mortimer Adler, agreed: "More consequences for thought and action follow the affirmation or denial of God than from answering any other basic question."  I am not an atheist or an agnostic for at least two reasons.      
    Take the link, "Why I am not an atheist," to discover my reasons for rejecting atheism in favour of biblical Christianity.

  Are the dead raised today?  Nigerian Pastor Eku lives again to tell the story

The reports of the resurrection of Pastor Daniel Ekechukwu in Nigeria in December 2001 (death certificate issued on 30 Nov. 2001) have caused both positive and negative responses.  Here, I raise questions that go beyond those of the authenticity of this alleged resurrection amid some conflicting reports.  See examples of the conflicting information in the testimony.

    Nudist beaches not smart idea for Smart State

Why would anybody object to giving people the freedom they seek in beach nudity?  One nudist told ABC radio,  "The 'facts' as put by the opponents of nude beaches are nearly always erroneous or based on religious teachings and leanings." 
    Let's check the facts to find if there are good reasons why nudist beaches do not serve the best interests of most Australians and why they are not a smart idea for the Smart State of Queensland.

Here we tackle some of the most controversial matters about Jesus Christ:

Recently I was talking with a fellow Christian who was devastated by a TV program that he had seen. This show featured some scholars who claimed that the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) were myth and could not be trusted as historical documents. My friend was deeply troubled and in a trembling voice said, "I am shocked. My faith has been shaken to the core. I am numb in disbelief. These were scholars speaking and I knew nothing about this. As a Christian, have I been living a fantasy all this time? Is this Christian stuff all a game? Should I eat, drink and be merry? Drugs, sex and rock 'n roll here I come."

  Problems with Jesus

Funerals are generally not our favourite occasions, but they have a startling way of bringing us face to face with the facts. I attended one recently following the sudden death of a youngish friend. Around 50 years is "youngish" when one is in that region.
    I was shocked by my friend's unexpected departure from this life. At that time I was reading Philip Yancey's penetrating book, The Jesus I Never Knew. Yancey reminded me of therapist, Rollo May's, observation: "I was seized then by a moment of spiritual reality: what would it mean for our world if He (Jesus) had truly risen?"

Was Jesus' resurrection a bodily resurrection?  This is a critical matter.  

  The content of the Gospel.

One of your greatest threats may be that you will be CONNED BY THE CONDOM message (it's called "safe sex"). This is one of my major concerns for youth -- the Sex Challenge. You are in danger of submitting to the propaganda that condom use will make "safe sex" possible. The contents of the condom challenge might surprise you.  Check out these other subjects of the "sex challenge":

 Pornography fuels the fire!

Sex at its best

A Christian view of sexuality

Former homosexual, Andrew Comiskey, wrote:  "God never intended for man or woman to seek completion in the same sex. Thus, homosexual pursuit of erotic and emotional bonding violates something basic to our humanity. The Creator, in His inspired Scriptures, has shown that homosexual feelings and behaviors must be identified as resulting from the fall. Homosexuality is one of the many sexual disorders that have become woven into the fabric of sinful humanity."

Liberal Theology

Other Theological Issues

 Pentecostal & Charismatic Issues

  Salvation, Heaven & Hell

  Women in ministry

In the Youth Challenge, we investigate: