Wednesday, August 12, 2015
Thursday, April 9, 2015
It's only relative...
These days people say things like, "that may be true for you, but it's not true for me." They'll argue that everything is relative. Everything is subjective. Everything is a matter of perspective. Everything can be revised. "There is no absolute truth."
"You can't handle the truth!"
Is the statement "there is no absolute truth" true? If not, then no need to worry, right? On the other hand if the statement is true, then it follows that it is not true, since there is no absolute truth. So if the statement is false, it’s false; and if it's true, it’s false. So either way the statement is false.
Therefore there IS absolute truth. This means that there is only one truth and since the different religions teach vastly different things, then really only one can be true.
Why is Jesus the only
way to God?
1.
Why do we need Jesus anyway?
a.
The Fall (Genesis 3)
i.
Relationship between God and man is broken (v.8)
ii.
Relationship between man and his fellow man is
severed (v.12,13)
iii.
Bond between man and nature is broken (v.17-18)
iv.
Man’s separation from himself (emptiness,
loneliness)
b.
God’s promise to make it right again (Genesis
3:15) by sending a Savior.
c.
Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short
of the glory of God”, thus everyone needs a savior.
d.
The prophesied characteristics of the Savior
make it statistically impossible for any one person to fulfill them, yet Christ
did.
e.
Christ died in our place so we could again have
a right relationship and be reconciled with God. NO OTHER religion provides
such provision!
2.
Testimonies to Christ’s Lordship
a.
Jesus Himself said so.
i.
“Jesus answered, “I am the
way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
(John 14:6)
ii.
“If you do not believe that
I am he, you will indeed die in your sins.” (John 8:24)
b.
Peter
i.
“Salvation is found
in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by
which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)
c.
Paul
i.
“For there is one God
and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all
people.” (1 Timothy 2:5-6)
3.
If there are other ways
to God, then Christ’s death was in vain and His resurrection is meaningless.
4.
The precepts of other religions and the
characteristics of their deities:
1.
Exclude Christ as God
a.
Christ’s Identity
i.
Christianity: Fully God and Fully man.
ii.
Islam: Man. A good teacher and Prophet. Allah is
the only one god.
iii.
Hinduism: Varies. Mostly a wise Man, or perhaps an
incarnation. There is no consistency in Hinduism.
iv.
Buddhism: A wise and enlightened Man.
2.
Contradict the Bible and Christ’s teachings and
are mutually exclusive.
a.
Salvation. In ALL other religions, salvation is
dependent on the works of the person.
i.
Christianity: By Grace through Faith, not by
works. Dependent upon God (free gift). A person simply must accept the gift of
God. It is not dependent upon self or how ‘good’ you have been. In ALL other
religions, salvation is dependent on the works of the person. “But God
demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ
died for us.” Romans 5:8. No other religion provides an atonement and
reconciliation to God.
ii.
Islam (from Quran and other Islamic teachings)
Dependent on SELF, not GOD to be “good enough” (or other conditions such as
martyr) to be saved:
1.
Those who believe and do good deeds (with
contradictions “The good deeds of
any person will not make him enter Paradise.”)
2.
Allah purifies who he pleases
3.
“Repentance with Allah is only for those who do evil in ignorance,
then turn (to Allah) soon, so these it is to whom Allah turns
(mercifully), and Allah is ever Knowing, Wise. And repentance is not for those who go on doing evil deeds, until when death
comes to one of them, he says: Surely now I repent; nor (for) those
who die while they are unbelievers. These are they for whom we have prepared a
painful chastisement. S. 4:17-18 Shakir” According to this, Allah does not and
will not accept the repentance of a person at death. (Conflicts with what
Christ told the criminal on the other cross)
4.
Abu Musa' reported that Allah's Messenger
(Muhammad) said: “When it will be the Day of Resurrection Allah would deliver
to every Muslim a Jew or a Christian and say: That is your RESCUE from
Hell-Fire”. (Sahih Muslim, Book 037, Number 6665)
5.
Male Muslims will receive virgins in heaven for
the purpose of sexual pleasure whenever they want it. The virgins are also
referred to as wives or spouses in various Islamic teachings. This contradicts
Christ’s words in Matthew 22:29-32.
iii.
Hinduism (again, dependent on SELF, not GOD to
be “good enough” to be saved):
1.
Salvation for a Hindu is called Moksha. Moksha
is when an enlightened human being is freed from the cycle of life-and-death
(the endless cycle of death and reincarnation) and comes into a state of
completeness. He then becomes one with God. There are four ways to Moksha:
a.
The Way of Action: This involves carrying out
certain religious ceremonies, duties and rites. The objective is to perform
works without regard for personal gain.
b.
The Way of Knowledge: This requires using your
mind and philosophy to come to a complete comprehension of the universe.
c.
The Way of Devotion: Salvation is reached
through acts of worship, based upon the love for a god (there are millions of
gods in Hinduism).
d.
The Royal Road: The use of meditation and yoga
techniques. This method of reaching salvation is typically only used by
wandering monks.
2.
Each of these ways to salvation in Hinduism
requires that a person do certain things. Salvation is through what a Hindu
does. It is through human works. This completely contradicts Biblical salvation
(Ephesians 2:8-9)
iv.
Buddhism (again, dependent on SELF, not GOD to be
“good enough” to be saved):
1.
For a Buddhist salvation is reaching Nirvana.
Nirvana is a transcendental, blissful, spiritual state of nothingness--you
become a Buddha. To reach Nirvana you must follow the Noble Eightfold Path. The
Noble Eightfold Path is:
a.
Right Understanding: accepting the Four Noble
Truths. (The existence of suffering; the cause of suffering; the end of
suffering; and the end of pain.)
b.
Right Resolve: renounce the pleasures of the
body. Change your lifestyle so that you harm no living creatures and have kind
thoughts for everyone.
c.
Right Speech: do not gossip, lie or slander anyone.
d.
Right Action: do not kill, steal or engage in an
unlawful sexual act.
e.
Right Occupation: avoid working at any job that
could harm someone.
f.
Right Effort: heroically work to eliminate evil
from your life. Through your own effort develop good conduct and a clean mind.
g.
Right Contemplation: make yourself aware of your
deeds, words and thoughts so that you can be free of desire and sorrow.
h.
Right Meditation: train your mind to focus on a
single object without wavering so as to develop a calm mind capable of concentration.
2.
Following the Noble Eightfold Path requires that
a person do the above eight things. Salvation is through what a Buddhist does.
It is through human works. Again completely contradicts Biblical salvation
(Ephesians 2:8-9)
Regarding the topic of
“What if some tribe in the deep dark jungle has never heard of Christ? What
about them?” For that I refer you to Romans 1:17-20 and Hebrews 11. My thought
on this is: God knows whether or not someone will accept the Gospel and will
provide a way for them to hear the Gospel. Why didn’t God send the Israelites
priests into Jericho to convert the town? Because He knew they would not turn
to Him. In Joshua 2:9-11, Rahab says that they all knew that “the Lord your God
is God in heaven above and on the earth below”, yet they did not turn to Him
and repent. The same goes for the other places that God told the Israelites to
destroy “with the sword every living thing in it—men and women, young
and old, cattle, sheep and donkeys.” (6:21) There was no point
in
trying to convert the town. God knew they would not turn. I think the
same goes
for today. God WILL get the Word to those who will accept it. It is also
important to note that God had Israel forewarn the people that he told
them to destroy, so they had ample time to flee or surrender. This shows
God's mercy, despite knowing the people would not accept Him.
_____________________________________________________________
Compared the 4 major religions of the world for the above
notes.
Sources for information and quotes include:
1.
The Holy Bible (NIV)
2.
The Qu’ran
Monday, March 23, 2015
Original Intent....
Well, the original intent of this blog was to share what I learned in my Apologetics course that I took a year and a half ago, but that didn't really pan out. The course did not cover the things I had hoped it would, so I didn't put much here, and it kind of fell by the wayside.
Lately several topics that would fall into the category of this blog have been raised multiple times, and I've found myself researching them and, as I have the time and brain power to do so, I will post things here.
We are instructed in 1 Peter 3:15 "But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect". I am the first to admit I have a hard time with the gentleness part (my wife will back me up on that). I don't mean to be harsh, but sometimes it comes out that way due to frustration or whatever. My church highlighted the importance of Grace as well as Truth during some recent sermons on Hot Topics.
These have been really great sermons, and they highlight the importance of both GRACE and TRUTH when dealing with such topics.
So, I'm going to explore various topics on this blog, and I'm going to try to do it with grace, truth, gentleness and respect. All topics may not be directly related to apologetics, but many will be.You are welcome to comment and discuss, but I ask that it is kept civil and there is no unnecessary profanity (it's pretty rare that profanity is necessary!). You can also send me a request to discuss a specific topic.
Lately several topics that would fall into the category of this blog have been raised multiple times, and I've found myself researching them and, as I have the time and brain power to do so, I will post things here.
We are instructed in 1 Peter 3:15 "But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect". I am the first to admit I have a hard time with the gentleness part (my wife will back me up on that). I don't mean to be harsh, but sometimes it comes out that way due to frustration or whatever. My church highlighted the importance of Grace as well as Truth during some recent sermons on Hot Topics.
These have been really great sermons, and they highlight the importance of both GRACE and TRUTH when dealing with such topics.
So, I'm going to explore various topics on this blog, and I'm going to try to do it with grace, truth, gentleness and respect. All topics may not be directly related to apologetics, but many will be.You are welcome to comment and discuss, but I ask that it is kept civil and there is no unnecessary profanity (it's pretty rare that profanity is necessary!). You can also send me a request to discuss a specific topic.
Friday, February 6, 2015
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
Atheists Really DO Believe in (G)od...
An old post I wrote on my other blog is relevant to this one.
Atheists Really DO Believe in (G)od. 11/12/2009
Atheists Really DO Believe in (G)od. 11/12/2009
That title may sound strange, but this morning I came to the realization that atheists really do believe in God, they just don't realize it or admit it. And they don't want to.
If you happen to get into a debate with an atheist, they will inevitably ask you who created God. This is, of course ridiculous and will lead into a recursive argument (OK, then, who created them? And who created them? etc...)
Turn the question back on them. Who created them? They'll eventually go back through the arguments of evolution until they get to the Big Bang. What caused the Big Bang? Per Wikipedia, "the term Big Bang generally refers to the idea that the Universe has expanded from a primordial hot and dense initial condition at some finite time in the past (currently estimated to have been approximately 13.7 billion years ago), and continues to expand to this day." In layman's terms, there was this big ball of energy that expanded and made everything.
OK. Fine. But where did that big ball of energy come from? What/who created it? And who created that? And who created that? And so on and so on. Back to the recursive argument.
The problem here is that atheists limit their argument to the existence of the created. They can not fathom an eternal God who always was, and is and evermore shall be. They choose to believe in a non-conscious, impersonal blob of energy as their god, rather than a conscious, personal, loving God.
I think the reason they do so is that there is no moral obligation when a blob of energy is your god. If they were to choose to believe in God, or any other diety for that matter, then they would be bound to a moral code. This of course, is the issue. They want to be accountable to no one and live their lives how they want to, regardless of the consequences. It's much more convenient (and requires a heck of a lot of faith) to believe in a blob of energy that won't hold you accountable for your actions. You don't have to be responsible. You can do what you want and not worry about the consequences, and when you die, you just return to being a blob of energy.
If you happen to get into a debate with an atheist, they will inevitably ask you who created God. This is, of course ridiculous and will lead into a recursive argument (OK, then, who created them? And who created them? etc...)
Turn the question back on them. Who created them? They'll eventually go back through the arguments of evolution until they get to the Big Bang. What caused the Big Bang? Per Wikipedia, "the term Big Bang generally refers to the idea that the Universe has expanded from a primordial hot and dense initial condition at some finite time in the past (currently estimated to have been approximately 13.7 billion years ago), and continues to expand to this day." In layman's terms, there was this big ball of energy that expanded and made everything.
OK. Fine. But where did that big ball of energy come from? What/who created it? And who created that? And who created that? And so on and so on. Back to the recursive argument.
The problem here is that atheists limit their argument to the existence of the created. They can not fathom an eternal God who always was, and is and evermore shall be. They choose to believe in a non-conscious, impersonal blob of energy as their god, rather than a conscious, personal, loving God.
I think the reason they do so is that there is no moral obligation when a blob of energy is your god. If they were to choose to believe in God, or any other diety for that matter, then they would be bound to a moral code. This of course, is the issue. They want to be accountable to no one and live their lives how they want to, regardless of the consequences. It's much more convenient (and requires a heck of a lot of faith) to believe in a blob of energy that won't hold you accountable for your actions. You don't have to be responsible. You can do what you want and not worry about the consequences, and when you die, you just return to being a blob of energy.
In essence, atheists are their own god.
Choosing to believe in God means that there are moral absolutes. You are responsible for what you do and you will be held accountable. The cool thing, however, is you are forgiven. You have a personal God that communicates with you and LOVES you. And you get to party forever.
To me it's really sad that these people have no hope. This life is all there is to them. There's a saying I heard once that I like:
Choosing to believe in God means that there are moral absolutes. You are responsible for what you do and you will be held accountable. The cool thing, however, is you are forgiven. You have a personal God that communicates with you and LOVES you. And you get to party forever.
To me it's really sad that these people have no hope. This life is all there is to them. There's a saying I heard once that I like:
I'd rather live my life as if there was a God and be wrong, than live my life as if there wasn't a God and die to find out that there is.
Monday, September 16, 2013
In The Beginning....
II Corinthians 5:7 - "For we walk by faith, not by sight." It's not about seeing to believe, it's about believing to see ~ @michaelhsweet
Reminds me of a couple of things in The Santa Clause movie with Tim Allen.
The little elf girl Judy is conversing with Scott Calvin (AKA Santa Clause, AKA Tim Allen), and she says something quite profound. Scott just can't wrap his head around the fact that he's at the North Pole. He says that he sees it but just can't believe it. She replies, "Seeing isn't believing. Believing is seeing."
Also, when Neil is trying to convince Charlie that Santa doesn't exist, Charlie asks him, "Have you ever seen a million dollars?" Neil has to answer "No." (That would be my answer too!) Charlie replies, "Just because you can't see something, doesn't mean is doesn't exist."
How can you possibly believe in something if you haven't seen it?
As D-Boy put it in his song Last Days,
"Man, I don't see Him, how could He be there?"
"You don't see the wind but you like to breathe air, right?"
Which is of course based on Billy Graham's famous, "Can you see God? You haven't seen him? I've never seen the wind. I see the effects of the wind, but I've never seen the wind. There's a mystery to it."
How do we know that wind exists? We can't see it, so we have to rely on evidence of the wind.
You know the wind exists because of your experience with it. You can prove the wind exists only by the evidence it produces, like those described above.
God is much the same as the wind. We can't 'see' God with our eyes. But we can see God in many other ways. There is overwhelming evidence for God, and you can experience God.
Reminds me of a couple of things in The Santa Clause movie with Tim Allen.
The little elf girl Judy is conversing with Scott Calvin (AKA Santa Clause, AKA Tim Allen), and she says something quite profound. Scott just can't wrap his head around the fact that he's at the North Pole. He says that he sees it but just can't believe it. She replies, "Seeing isn't believing. Believing is seeing."
Also, when Neil is trying to convince Charlie that Santa doesn't exist, Charlie asks him, "Have you ever seen a million dollars?" Neil has to answer "No." (That would be my answer too!) Charlie replies, "Just because you can't see something, doesn't mean is doesn't exist."
How can you possibly believe in something if you haven't seen it?
As D-Boy put it in his song Last Days,
"Man, I don't see Him, how could He be there?"
"You don't see the wind but you like to breathe air, right?"
Which is of course based on Billy Graham's famous, "Can you see God? You haven't seen him? I've never seen the wind. I see the effects of the wind, but I've never seen the wind. There's a mystery to it."
How do we know that wind exists? We can't see it, so we have to rely on evidence of the wind.
- You've seen the trees sway by an unseen force.
- You've seen the dust blowing across the street.
- You've had to chase a piece of paper that was blown out of your hand.
- You've felt that gentle breeze on your cheek that, for some reason, makes you smile.
You know the wind exists because of your experience with it. You can prove the wind exists only by the evidence it produces, like those described above.
God is much the same as the wind. We can't 'see' God with our eyes. But we can see God in many other ways. There is overwhelming evidence for God, and you can experience God.
Once you begin to believe, you will also begin to see.
This blog is going to explore the evidence for God. I welcome discussion on this blog as long as it is kept civil and there is no unnecessary profanity. Let's experience God together.
This blog is going to explore the evidence for God. I welcome discussion on this blog as long as it is kept civil and there is no unnecessary profanity. Let's experience God together.
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