Since I have a religious belief, my values are different from most of you God deniers.
Are you a Fundie?
What's a "God denier"?
1. As to births out of wedlock: The most successful institution in human history is the nuclear family. The nuclear family has existed longer than any other human institution and things don’t last unless they work.
Wrong. The so-called "nuclear family" is a modern construct. The definition of "family" has changed throughout history depending on the culture and times. In some cultures family is a man with multiple wives and their children; or a man, wife, their children and all his relatives in a large extended family. These are structures that have been in existence for a milliniums and still are today. "Family" - is probably the most successful human institution, but that is not the same as "nuclear family".
The explosion of births out of wedlock is responsible for many woman and children living in poverty and violence and the breakup of the nuclear family.
Again, you are divorced from reality here. Out of wedlock births among teens is nothing new exactly - though it is definately a big social problem. However - women and children living in poverty and violence is most definately not new nor necessarily related to out of wedlock births.
Acceptance of this as normal and not shameful is unspoken approval and guarantees this practice will continue at it's current high rates. Shame used to be used as a motivator. But shame is no longer PC.
Sure go back to shame (and while your at it stoning) regardless of the circumstances. How civilized. I wonder why the onus was always on the woman and not the man who made her pregnant out of wedlock?
2. As to public pronouncements of profanity and vulgarity: This reflects the way certain people think, their lack of vocabulary and their lack of care for strangers. Is it a coincidence that profanity and vulgar language are glorified in movies and music? The language we now hear is partly the result of pop culture glorification and decent speaking people not reprimanding publicly.
I actually agree with you here though I don't know what the solution is.
3. Rap and other music lyrics: Again, this is a pop culture phenomenon and represents a lowering of standards, reducing everything to the dollar bill. If it sells, do it. Human values take a back seat to CD sales.
Yup.
4. On TV as a toilet: This has changed slowly over the years and changed for the worse. At least most TV shows used to be safe for young kids. Now we need parental controls and V chips. I agree that turning off the tube is somewhat effective at lessening the influence of TV, but you can't control what your kids see at their friends. The "family hour" is inane game shows and then the excrement programming begins.
I rarely watch TV except for PBS.
5. On quality writing: Some examples of carefully crafted shows with engaging plots and entertaining characters were Seinfeld, The Twilight Zone, Saint Elsewhere, MASH. Today jiggle and innuendo are the selling points instead of originality and talent.
Wow. I agree with you here also.
So how does all this relate to End Times? What does the Bible say?:
1. Men will be lovers of self, rebellious to parents, boastful, lovers of money. Any argument that all these conditions exist today?
They exist today but - they've existed many times before in history.
2. That Israel will exist as a sovereign nation. Happened in 1948. First time the Jews have ruled themselves for 2,500 years.
3. That a one world government will eventually govern most of the world with an iron hand. The wheels are already turning this way. (The UN, the EU, the NAU and SPP).
One-world governments have existed before. The definition of world was not always the whole earth. At one time it was Mesopatania, another Europe and Asia before Columbus...other cultures have achieved governance (like Rome) of what they thought was the "world". The world will change again when we discover other planets and star systems.
4. There will be wars and rumors (threats) of wars.
Again - this has existed for ages. There is actually a lot less war then there was in other eras.
5. Volcanic and seismic activity will increase. Seismic activity has been on the increase since about 1900. "http://www.michaelmandeville.com/polarmotion/spinaxis/vortex_correlations2.htm." The first 2 charts tell this story. This ihas been a long term trend, with no end in site.
Has seismic activity been on the increase or is it our ability to detect it and record it?
6. There will be famines and draughts. Ditto - increasing. "http://www.tomorrowsworld.org/cgi-bin/tw/tw-mag.cgi?category=Magazine49"
They've been increasing and decreasing for ages - but our population is going up, global warming is having an effect - it may increase more.
Any one of these prophecies, by themselves are hardly evidence of anything. But when you take all these together, the hadwriting on the wall says "End Times they is a comin".
More prophesies compared to current world conditions to follow.
The handwriting says these things have been going on for a long time - sometimes increasing, sometimes decreasing.
