Atheism is Dead: Buddha and Jesus

My brother-in-Christ, Mariano, has done me the honor of helping him to write a post about the relationship that is often attempted to be drawn between the Buddha and Jesus. You can read the resulting article on his blog, Atheism Is Dead. It was a pleasure tag-teaming with him.

Atheism is Dead: Buddha and Jesus

Who Did It? You Or God? - Part 1

In talking to a few atheists online, I was amazed that some people argue that it doesn't make sense that God should hold us accountable for standards that we could not possibly keep. They argue if such a God exists then He is unfair because He could make everyone believe but doesn't so He is purposely condemning unbelievers to hell. They use this argument to deny God's existence because according to them, there is no way an all-good, all-loving God would allow evil or suffering.

Another argument is against the common Christian defense that explains the existence of evil and the reality of hell being due to human free will. These points are important and need to be answered. People need to understand what the Bible truly says about God's sovereignty and human responsibility. On what basis are you saved or condemned by God? How much of it is depended upon you and on your will?

The first thing I would point out is that the idea of "free will" is not even applicable. If people really had free will then we would be able choose not sin ever. No one who is honest can say that they keep all 613 laws in the Torah. Given that breaking one commandment is the same as breaking all of them, we all know that we fall under the condemnation of God.

What shall we conclude then? Are we any better? Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. As it is written:
"There is no one righteous, not even one;
there is no one who understands,
no one who seeks God.
All have turned away,
they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
not even one."
"Their throats are open graves;
their tongues practice deceit."
"The poison of vipers is on their lips."
"Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness."
"Their feet are swift to shed blood;
ruin and misery mark their ways,
and the way of peace they do not know."
"There is no fear of God before their eyes."

Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.

But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of observing the law? No, but on that of faith. For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law. Is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law. - Romans 3: 9-31

The Bible clearly teaches that all human beings are trapped and imprisoned by sin. What does God say in the Bible about how we get free of sin? As it says above and in several verses: faith in Jesus Christ.

The next point that comes up is how do we find out this information? How do you get the opportunity to find Jesus. Some atheists offer that Christianity has no objectivity when it comes to truth. They say that people become Christians because that is what they are born into - indoctrinated with. They further contend that your religious worldview is solely depended upon your upbringing unless you break free as an atheist. I find myself in total disagreement. If they are right then all Christians would have been born in Christian households and there would never be religious conversions from one religion to another. From a human point of view, people choose what religion they will follow sand live with the consequences of that choice. God however takes the idea much further. He spoke through the Apostle Paul to say:

"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. 'For in him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.'

"Therefore since we are God's offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by man's design and skill. In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead."- Acts 17:24-31

In other words, God puts each and everyone of us in the best place and at the best time of history and in the best circumstances that we can best find Him. Think of the implication. For some of us being born and raised as a Muslim is the best possible chance for that person to find Jesus! And some people do!

If you are reading this and you are not a believer than I ask you to consider the fact that you are not reading this by coincidence and consider that God is talking to you right now. Don't reject the call. Don't ignore it. Your part in your salvation is your response. God's already take the step of drawing you to Himself. You are reading this. Embrace the Gospel and you will be saved - Just believe that Jesus paid for your sins on the cross and the rose again three days later. Through Him you will be justified and fully become all you were meant to be. (Read part 2 of this post tomorrow).