At Home in Africa
unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, 2 Timothy 3:3 NASB
Brutal – The way of life in the wild is kill or be killed. If you want to witness this fact, take a trip to Botswana. From the bottom of the food chain to the top, life depends on death. We think of this fact of nature as brutal and savage, but we are wrong. Brutality and savagery are not animal acts. They are instincts. Only human beings can turn what is a necessity in the animal kingdom into moral depravity. Only human beings can be brutal or savage without divine purpose.
Paul uses the Greek anemeros. It is the negative of hemeros, meaning “tame.” However, a wild animal (not tamed) is not anemeros in Paul’s sense of the word because the animal’s actions are not moral choices. Human beings created in God’s image are intended to make moral decisions based on the character of the Creator. To be anemeros is not to be an animal. It is to act like an animal by choice, not instinct.
It doesn’t take much reflection to conclude that the world is filled with anemeroi. Since they are not animals by design, we can only conclude that they are acting like animals by choice and are therefore fully culpable for their actions. Since they are not animals by design, men and women who choose such behaviors remove themselves from the human world but they do not thereby become part of the animal kingdom. No animal lives by moral choice. Therefore, these people are neither animal nor human. They are aliens on the earth, without purpose and without place. They are “other” than God intended. It seems that today there are more aliens inhabiting the planet than humans or animals. As a result, the world is breaking. I would much rather live among “wild” lions than be subject to the brutality of these aliens. Unfortunately, this population is growing at a much faster rate than either human or animal. In fact, they seem bent on eliminating both of God’s designed kingdoms and replacing the world’s creatures with aliens of another god.
Perhaps we really are in the last days. We are witnessing the extermination of God’s animal kingdom at the hand of anemeros. We know the history of the anemeros among humans. Death is pleasure to them. We see the coming empire of those who cherish non-life. Abortion, genocide and extinction are all forms of the same moral cancer. It won’t be long I’m afraid before there is no cure except annihilation.
Topical Index: anemeros, wild, savage, brutal, tame, 2 Timothy 3:3
Aliens among us. An intriguing thought. Sometimes science fiction is closer to the truth than we realize! Thank you, Skip, for this enlightenment. I’ve always resented it when evil people are called “animals,” since I’ve not known animals to behave like evil people.
Thomas I had never thought much about animals killing each other, but I realized that domestic animals (esp. dogs and cats) are the generally the ones that kill for pleasure only. Blood lust is found in the animal kingdom though. A wolf will kill a flock of sheep or a racoon will kill a flock of chickens in a night for no purpose.
Skip,
This is a very good article today and thought-provoking, indeed. One does not have to take a trip to Botswana to see how the animals live by the instinct given to them by God. National Geographic and Animal Planet are two channels that show how living in the “animal kingdom” is a “kill or be killed” environment.
Your explanation about how humans have become downright animalistic (kill or be killed) in their approach to life is easily understood and most correct, which brings me to my thoughts on this animalistic behavior by humans in two distinct areas.
One — that of “abortion”: Life has become cheap and meaningless when mothers see no wrong in killing their babies in the womb. But, “abortion” is the wrong term for this procedure. When a mother has a miscarriage, that is an abortion. When a baby is deliberately killed, it is called infanticide. We need to start calling it what it is instead of using a euphemism to describe a most hideous procedure.
Two — that of homosexuality: the euphemism used for this gruesome lifestyle is “gay.” It is not a gay lifestyle. It is a disease-ridden, death-dealing way of life. Due to technology and finding better ways to keep ourselves fit, we are living much longer today than in the first century and even the beginning of the 20th century. There are varying statistics about the average life span in the first century, but it seems to be averaged around the age of forty-nine. Even Josephus indicated that some individuals lived beyond 100 in the first century, but I am talking about the average life span. Infant mortality was very high which brings the average down and the people’s way of life back then did so, as well. At the beginning of the 20th century, the average life span was forty-nine. The reason for these statistics is to show that, at least from the first century on the life span of humans was in the late 40s until the 20th century when technology helped improve our living experience. Now, even the CDC admits that the life span of those engaging in homosexuality is 42 years of age. Any lifestyle that brings one’s life span down below what has been the average human experience for millennia has to be drastically detrimental to those engaging in it.
These two areas of life today have and are killing millions of individuals and bring much grief to their families and friends and it saddens my heart to see that these “lifestyles” have become so much a part of human behavior.
Over the years, I have written to several Christian writers and have asked them to help take our words back to their correct meaning, these two words, “gay,” and “abortion,” in particular. We have to start somewhere. We cannot allow words to be co-opted to be given a meaning the exact opposite of what they indicate.
You, Skip, are one never to mince words so maybe you will think about how you phrase these two words in the future. You say it like it is and I appreciate that about you because the truth does hurt and it is supposed to do so, as it can change one’s behavior if taken to heart. Hebrews 12:4 comes to mind — “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” If one’s conscious has not been seared, it should hurt if one is doing wrong and it is brought to one’s attention. And, then, one’s thoughts and attitudes can be changed for the better.
I am sorry for this lengthy comment to your article today, Skip, but these are two areas of life today about which I am most passionate because they really are “killing machines” and it grieves my heart that they continue.
Hi Amadeus –
For about 5 years I was employed as an RN in full-time pro-life ministry. I see where you are going with the abortion terminology, but I think it is important to recognize that rhetoric, by it’s nature, is designed to persuade, but it doesn’t necessarily adhere to the unmitigated truth. The truth is enough — it doesn’t need “spin” to make it worse than it is.
“To abort” is to prematurely stop a process – as in the military use “to abort a mission”. In the case of unborn human life, an abortion is when the unborn is prematurely removed from the uterus, before the life is viable outside of the womb. A miscarriage is a spontaneous abortion that occurs without intent for loss of life. An intentional (chosen) abortion is an induced abortion, with an intention to prematurely end the development of the unborn child. Too often, it is also described as a therapeutic abortion – which implies a medical necessity, though that terminology is frequently applied dishonestly to cases that are, in fact, induced/artificial abortions.
Infanticide, however, is the killing of born infants who are less than a year old; specifically, these are babies who have been born and have proved to have the capacity for living outside of the womb, even if only for a single breath. Late term induced abortion may indeed end in infanticide, when the child is breathing before being killed — George Tiller’s late term abortions come to mind. His partial birth and chemically induced abortions after 35 weeks gestation, often resulted in live birth, rather than a dead fetus — so when the newborn infant was then killed, it was infanticide. But the vast majority of induced abortions in this country are done before viability is possible. That does NOT make the act any less atrocious, nor does it mean that life was not taken, just because the abortion is performed before viability, BUT we cannot legitimately call these induced abortions “infanticide”. That simply is not the meaning of the word.
I appreciate and agree with your sentiment “to take words back to their correct meaning” — but let’s take care that we not fall into the same pattern of persuasion used by those who intend to deceive. We lose the moral high ground when we fail to adhere scrupulously to the truth. The truth is enough. It is always enough. We don’t need to spin, embellish, or enlarge upon it. We just need to stand in it.
Suzanne,
I appreciate your response to my comments. I would have answered this earlier but I didn’t see this until around 2:30 a.m.
I find your analogy of the military aborting a mission somewhat lacking for comparison. Let me explain. I gather you were never in the military. I was and on combat missions. At times, a mission may have been aborted for whatever reason but, I can assure you, that military “abortion” did not result in the loss of innocent blood. Let me repeat that — a military “abortion” does not result in the loss of innocent blood. Can the same be said for a human “abortion”? No. Every time a human “abortion” is performed, innocent blood is shed.
By calling it “abortion,” we have already given in to the opposition’s terminology. Look up the terms “miscarriage” and “abortion” in any dictionary. A miscarriage is an abortion. Through this process, what is done to infants in the womb is infanticide. If the term infanticide had been used instead of abortion, Roe vs Wade would, most likely, never have made it to the court room.
Look up Luke 2:12 and Luke 1:41. The same Greek word “brephos” is used for infants already born as for those in the womb without indicating the precise moment they became such. What option do we have but to accept that they became such at conception? So, intentionally killing a brephos at any point is “brephocide” or, more accurately, infanticide.
Suzanne, how do you know when a baby’s life begins? This is not a biology question. Biology has nothing to do with it. Even ten-year-olds can understand it and they don’t know the first thing about biology. But, pick a time when you know the baby is alive. Just pick any time. The day the baby was born? Okay, what about the day before that? How about a week before that? How about a month before that? How about eight months before that? How about nine months before that? How about at conception — sperm meeting egg? How about before conception?
We, as Christians need to stop using the watered-down, PC terms such as “abortion” or “gay.” It is infanticide and sodomy.
Suzanne, I don’t know if you are still in the nursing profession, but let me tell you this. I was wounded while on a mission and sent back to the states for recuperation and rehabilitation. The military spent eight months training me for combat and then I spent eight months in hospitals recuperating. And, I must say, the nurses at every hospital to which I was sent were the most caring, compassionate and kind I have ever encountered, especially those looking out for my welfare before I was able to leave the combat zone. And I would like to think that you have those qualities. Don’t ever lose them as they are a tremendous asset.
I have seen this first hand where a raccoon will kill a bunch of chickens in one shot and eat little to nothing. They seem to enjoy tearing off heads and they do it at night when the birds are roosted and sleeping-very easy targets. Makes a horrifying mess and seems senseless.
I have also seem my cats kill something but only play with it and not eat it. Could be because I feed them and they are not truly hungry but the instinct to hunt and kill is great.
I do not have any explanation for this behavior.
People get all twisted up though like Skip talks about and they are mean to others and worse largely for power over them. I have been seeing first hand recently how a mob mentality forms to destroy its victim. Our judicial system has failed overall because it no longer honors the words of its Creator. It is all about political correctness and honoring the (non)humans in power.
People choose-animals obey the instinct the Creator put into them.
As I am so very fond of saying–everything is a choice!
Amein, Dawn McL
The same thought came to me-cats chase, jump on birds, play with them, thus killing them.
WHY?
Why do some humans do inhumane acts?
“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil
walks about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may
devour.” 1 Pet 5:8
“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill,
and to destroy.” Jn 10:10
When our Lord has not been received into a life,
that life can be a target for the adversary. Sadly,
the evidence is all around us.
Great article Skip. But there is sadly a step beyond this; when an “alien” is in-dwelt by demons. You then get aliens capable of the Holocaust and ISIS etc. This seems to be what is happening in front of our eyes; former human beings so in-dwelt by the demonic, that they become one with their owners and go beyond what even animals or aliens would do. I believe the last days may indeed be upon us.
Marty-
or, they could be drug induced.
Shalom.
So sad, but so true!
“Only human beings can be brutal or savage without divine purpose. It is to act like an animal by choice, not instinct. It seems that today there are more aliens inhabiting the planet than humans or animals.I would much rather live among “wild” lions than be subject to the brutality of these aliens.”
I agree to all the above, that animals kill for food for survival. ‘Humans’ are shocking these days, in their thought-life/vain imaginations, resulting in lack of self control over their speech and actions.
As in the case of the cats chasing birds and harming, and killing them-could it be due to the pollution and environment they are subjected to, messed up their gentle natures? Food for thought!
Enjoy this Hug of the Century! Is this the restoration we are anitcipating?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLB_u695wTg
“Perhaps we really are in the last days.”
Shalom Skip. I think you are right there.
Anarchy is, in my opinion, on the increase and the spirit of lawlessness abounds.
I know that some will say that there have times in history when violence and lawlessness has been very evident but that YHWH has intervened and there have been reformations and revivals and things have changed for the better.
In these days of global communication it is very easy for news and trends to travel very quickly from country to country and nation to nation. Unfortunately a lot of that communication encourages people to take on board things that are not in line with the commandments of YHWH. Our conscience become dulled and we accept things as the norm which not have been considered as good or acceptable in past generations. We all need to be ever alert and keep our eyes fixed on YHWH and His Word.