Showing posts with label Christ. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christ. Show all posts
Thursday, December 28, 2017
Jesus vs Osiris
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
High Five of the Day - Calvinistic "Quotes": Man's idolatrous estimation of his self as
Nothing quite reveals man's idolatrous estimation of his self as being preeminent then his acceptance of Christ dying for sins of others while he refuses to accept that men should die for their own sins!
~ Julius Mickel
This point is what separates born-again Christians from all other people - it is the recognition that salvation is not because we deserve it - we deserve death (physical death and eternal separation from God) because of our sins. Jesus saved us from the consequences of what we did, do, and will do.
Calvinistic "Quotes": Man's idolatrous estimation of his self as
Friday, January 25, 2013
Confident Christianity: Is The Story of Christ a Copy of the Pagan Myths?
Confident Christianity: Is The Story of Christ a Copy of the Pagan Myths?
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Answering Muslims: Sami Zaatari vs. James White: Was Jesus Crucified?
A short while ago while James White was in the UK he debated Sami Zaatari on the question: "Was Jesus Crucified?". I'm amazed that this question even needs to be discussed but there are upwards of a billion Muslims on Earth and one of the foundations of popular Islam is that Jesus was not crucified but someone took his place.Everyone should watch this and see how James White ably defends the historical fact that Jesus was crucified.Answering Muslims: Sami Zaatari vs. James White: Was Jesus Crucified?
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Continued Response to Sam Gipp's Many Errors on KJV Onlyism
Continued Response to Sam Gipp's Many Errors on KJV Onlyism
Friday, February 3, 2012
Fistbump of the Day: dangerous idea: Is Reasonable Faith an Oxymoron?
Faith does seem to involve believing in spite of something. Atheists jump on this and say that what believers are talking about is believing in spite of having no good reason to believe it, and good reason to not believe it.
However, we can, for example, trust that a spouse is going to be faithful even though the spouse is out of our sight. In fact, the Apostle Paul contrasts faith with sight, not reason. Unless seeing is the only way we can have a good reason to believe something, it does seem to me that we cannot say that reasonable faith is an oxymoron by definition.
I agree with him and I find that many Atheist make that mistake because they don't know what "Biblical faith" is. They even make the mistake of missing the obvious that there is no reason to reject anything of great importance if the best you can do is point to the improbability of it. And then to get mad at other who are unconvinced of the lack of evidence? Makes no sense.
dangerous idea: Is Reasonable Faith an Oxymoron?
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Why Loving Jesus Is More Than A Religion
As for A Roman Catholic version, watch this one:
I see a fundamental difference between this video and Betheke's. This particular YouTuber is arguing that the only way you can have a relationship with Jesus is through guidance from the Roman Catholic Church. This was one of the main points of contention that started the Protestance reformation and after almost 500 years it is still relevant. Did Jesus really give us all we need to get to God or do we need more? The Reformer's answer to that is question was "Yes", so is Betheke's and so is mine. And like Bethke, the Reformers were not saying Church is not necessary or important, but that we don't need the traditions of men or to be self-righteous. We don't need a chorelist of do's and don'ts because God can and will help us to obey his commands but obeying his commands is not what saves us because none of can be sinless and perfect. Jesus is the only way - not Jesus plus your keeping church sacrements and following the Pope. Betheke is simply learned that what Jesus said is true and unfortunately many church-going people, let-alone non-Christians, miss this point.
23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” - John 4:23-24
As for an Atheistic comment, you can watch the following video. Be forewarned it contains profane language and is most definitely not safe for work (NSFW).
Like every atheist that I've ever encountered, this man is unable to see a difference between having a relationship with Christ and with Religion. I think Jefferson Bethke gets the difference. Bethke is advocating not ritually attending church or working for others as a to-do-list to please other people or to earn your way into God. He's talking about surrendering your life to Jesus and putting yourself at His disposal because you love Him. I totally agree with Bethke. The closer you get to Jesus, the more you see what you are - and it's not pretty. When TheAmazingAtheist hears Christians talk of a relationship with Christ he reveals that he thinks that means Jesus is like some Pal, or Buddy, you can sit down with and "play XBox" or have brewskies with. I think a lot of people make that mistake. What the Bible teaches is that "relationship" means "Lord" and "servant". We obey and worship Him. I don't know the last time you worshiped the dude you play XBox with, but I doubt you would. What does the Bible says that relationship should look like and on which it is based? I'd argue that all 66 books of the canonical Bible answers this question but I will offer two of those passages.
.18 “Come now, let us settle the matter,”
says the LORD.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson,
they shall be like wool. Isaiah 1:18
1 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. - Ephesians 2:1-10
The Bible very clearly tells us that Jesus is our only way to turn away the wrath of a holy God. Who deserves eternal damnation and punishment for their sins? ALL OF US.
21 But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26 he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. - Romans 3:212-25
That is why we need a savior. Someone to take the punishment we deserve,. No one in your Church can do that. It's either going to be you atoning for your sins or it's gonna be Jesus. You wouldn't survive paying such a debt. It takes the grace and mercy of God to see this, understand this, let alone accept it. It goes against every fiber of human ego and self-centeredness. Was there something special about you or good in you that caused Jesus to die for you in your place? Nope (Back to Ephesians 2). God chose to do it for us even when we didn't know we need it and didn't ask Him to do it. Should you love Jesus more than anyone or anything else? Yup. But what else did Jesus say? He tells us to love our parents and families and treat them well. I wonder if TheAmazingAtheist has read all of the Gospels? I ask because if he had, wouldn't he know that he misunderstood Matthew 10:32-29. Jesus was not saying that you should ignore or mistreat your family because you love him. How do I know?
3 Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’ 5 But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is ‘devoted to God,’ 6 they are not to ‘honor their father or mother’ with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. 7 You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:
8 “‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
9 They worship me in vain;
their teachings are merely human rules.’” - Matthew 15:3-9
How could Jesus, a scant 5 Chapters later chastise the religious leaders of his day for teaching people ditching their obligations to their families to perform religious ritual if that is what he had taught in Matthew 10? Let me help you: He didn't. Even the most skeptical person wouldn't really be crazy enough to try to argue that Matthew 10 and Matthew15 are contradictory and mutually exclusive and no one noticed for 2000 years - given that it was is written by the same author - regardless if you reject that it was the Apostle Matthew. Please, let's try to stay consistent.
Friday, January 20, 2012
FacePalm of the Day - Debunking Christianity: Why Do Christians Disagree?
Why is it Christians cannot agree to the point where they have condemned each other to hell and/or slaughtered each other because of doctrinal differences that other Christians don't think are essential for salvation? My answer is that Christianity is man made, and as such, doctrinal differences are due to different human ways of understanding the Bible. There is no divine mind behind the Bible, otherwise God should have communicated his will much better than he supposedly did. That's the major reason why there is no doctrinal Christian unity. These different doctrinal understandings continue to be used by denominational leaders to differentiate between Christianities for financial gain and power. Christian, what's your answer?
A truly facepalm inducing paragraph causing groans to match. I'm amazed at this. Apparently to John Loftus, anyone who claims to be a "Christian" is just as "Christian" as anyone else, no matter what they believes. In order to even begin such a silly argument, this presupposition must be in it's centerpiece. Along with the the thought that all denominations of Christianity are so different that we can't even begin to live peaceably. Another false canard. I'm not saying that there haven't been wars fought and mistakes made - but these were human mistakes not God's. Also I am not saying that there aren't important differences, but none are important enough to kill another over. The reason why we have so many problems because we have refused to obey the word of God. On nonessential issues this what the Bible says:
1 Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters. 2 One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. 3 The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them. 4 Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.
5 One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. 6 Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. 7 For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone. 8 If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. 9 For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.
10 You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. 11 It is written:
“‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord,
‘every knee will bow before me;
every tongue will acknowledge God.’”
12 So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.
13 Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister. 14 I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean. 15 If your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy someone for whom Christ died. 16 Therefore do not let what you know is good be spoken of as evil. 17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, 18 because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval.
19 Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. 20 Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a person to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. 21 It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother or sister to fall.
22 So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves. 23 But whoever has doubts is condemned if they eat, because their eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin. - Romans 14
Debunking Christianity: Why Do Christians Disagree?
Monday, January 16, 2012
Calvinistic "Quotes": Of Your Own Free Will, Might You Avoid Sin?
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| Image via Wikipedia |
For if out of your own free will you might avoid sin and do that which pleases God, what need would you have of Christ?
Calvinistic "Quotes": Of Your Own Free Will, Might You Avoid Sin?
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
FacePlant of the Day: Response to Quote of the Day: Desposyni: Stephen Colbert on Pain
This is only "much wisdom" because it's universal to the human experience and because any mention of God or Christ could be removed from what Stephen Colbert said without affecting the meaning in anyway.
Is this statement true? Let's find out. You can read the original quote below:
What had happen' was.....: Quote of the Day: Desposyni: Stephen Colbert on Pain
Here is the same same quote if you take out the part about God and Christ:
In 1974, when Colbert was 10, his father, a doctor, and his brothers Peter and Paul, the two closest to him in age, died in a plane crash while flying to a prep school in New England. “There’s a common explanation that profound sadness leads to someone’s becoming a comedian, but I’m not sure that’s a proven equation in my case,” he told me. “I’m not bitter about what happened to me as a child, and my mother was instrumental in keeping me from being so.” He added, in a tone so humble and sincere that his character would never have used it: “She taught me to be grateful for my life regardless of what that entailed.Does the quote still make sense without what was said about God and Christ? Yes, but it doesn't ground the quote in anything. It doesn't answer why we should be grateful for life. And It misses the profound observation Colbert makes about what pain is and why should thank God for it. Without the part about God the point is lost - just like everything without God. How do you be grateful whatever happens? And to whom should you be grateful for? This is a good theodicy. The thing I recognize is that if you are truly grateful for whatever happens to you and around you then the so-called "problem of evil" is moot. So is suffering because you now see everything in its proper context. I invite everyone to examine their lives and ask "Am I grateful for what ever happens and to whom deserves my gratitude? How do you answer these without God? You cannot.
Monday, January 9, 2012
Quote of the Day: Desposyni: Stephen Colbert on Pain
There's some wisdom here. From a big NYT profile of the TV host:In 1974, when Colbert was 10, his father, a doctor, and his brothers Peter and Paul, the two closest to him in age, died in a plane crash while flying to a prep school in New England. “There’s a common explanation that profound sadness leads to someone’s becoming a comedian, but I’m not sure that’s a proven equation in my case,” he told me. “I’m not bitter about what happened to me as a child, and my mother was instrumental in keeping me from being so.” He added, in a tone so humble and sincere that his character would never have used it: “She taught me to be grateful for my life regardless of what that entailed, and that’s directly related to the image of Christ on the cross and the example of sacrifice that he gave us. What she taught me is that the deliverance God offers you from pain is not no pain — it’s that the pain is actually a gift. What’s the option? God doesn’t really give you another choice.”
Yup, much Wisdom
Desposyni: Stephen Colbert on Pain
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
FacePalm of the Day: The Accommodation Theory of the Bible | Debunking Christianity
I was called an “idiot” and a “moron” for arguing that God should’ve told human beings a few things he didn’t do, especially when it comes to the ancient superstitious problem for modern Christians about the evil eye. He said, “If you were this ignorant in the pulpit then I really feel sorry for your former congregation.” Am I an idiot? Let me respond.
Idiot? No. A fool yes. A fool in the Biblical sense is not ignorant or stupid or even an idiot. It's someone who has enough information and revelation to choose to obey God and live right, but refuses to do so.
I had asked, “Why must God accommodate to his creatures?” His one line answer was this: “So that we can understand what he’s saying, you idiot.”
I think Loftus' mistake is thinking that if God doesn't stoop to our level we can even begin to understand Him, let alone recognize Him.
I have read up on the “accommodation theory” in the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, The Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, and a few entries dealing sporadically with it in the Harper’s Bible Dictionary, The New Bible Dictionary, and the Anchor Bible Dictionary. But let’s use what Norman Geisler said, since I think he dealt with the topic the best in his Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics. In dealing with Jesus here’s an excerpted part of what he said:
In apologetics, accommodation theory can refer to either of two views, one acceptable and one objectionable to evangelical Christians. It can refer to God’s accommodation of his revelation to our finite circumstances to communicate with us, as in Scripture or the incarnation of Christ.Now that I can at least claim not to be a moron, let me explain the problem, again, this time more forcefully, okay? I understand that if God exists he must adapt if he is to communicate with human beings, okay? I have no problem seeing this. I merely claim that what we see in the Bible goes far beyond mere adaptation. He has allowed us to believe in errors, both scientific and moral, and that’s what I object to in the Bible if I’m supposed to believe it’s God’s word.
Negative critics of the Bible believe that Jesus accommodated himself to the erroneous views of the Jews of his day in their view of Scripture as inspired and infallible.
Legitimate accommodation can be more accurately called “adaptation.” God, because of infinitude, adapts himself to our finite understanding in order to reveal himself. However, the God who is truth never accommodates himself to human error. The vital differences are easily seen when these concepts are compared (click on the image for a better view):
The Bible teaches the transcendence of God. His ways and thoughts are far beyond ours (Isa. 55:9; Rom. 11:33). Human beings are infinitesimal in view of God’s infinity. God must “stoop down” in order to speak to us. However, this divine act of adaptation to our finitude never involves accommodation to our error. For God cannot err (Heb. 6:18). God uses anthropomorphisms (a true expression of who God is that is couched in human terms) to speak to us, but he does not use myths. He sometimes gives us only part of the truth but that partial truth is never error (1 Cor. 13:12). He reveals himself progressively, but never erroneously. He does not always tells us all, but all that he tells us is true.
Accommodation is contrary to Jesus’ life. Everything that is known about Jesus’ life and teaching reveals that he never accommodated to the false teaching of the day. On the contrary, Jesus rebuked those who accepted Jewish teaching that contradicted the Bible, declaring: “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? . . . Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition” (Matt. 15:3, 6b).
Accommodation is contrary to Jesus’ character. From a purely human standpoint, Jesus was known as a man of high moral character. His closest friends found him impeccable (1 John 3:3; 4:17; 1 Peter 1:19). The crowds were amazed at his teaching “because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law” (Matt. 7:29).
Whoah there, buddy. I think you have to shoe that God has allowed us to believe in moral and scientific errors. Some scriptures would help in that regard. Just because Isaiah most likely did not know what the mass of an electron is, does not mean that God didn't reveal anything to him, or any of the the Bible writers. I see no moral or scientific errors in the Bible beyond what people like Loftus read into it. God did not see fit to give a map of the solar system in the Bible. So what? He revealed it later through science - which would fall under "Accomodation theory".
What Geisler says about Jesus must apply to God for obvious reasons, and I edited out a large chunk of text that went on and on about how Jesus’ actions and teaching would never allow him to accommodate for error. Point taken…or point to be consistently applied?
Again you have to prove that God accommodated for human error. One of Loftus' and atheists many objections to the Old Testament is the severity to which God punished sin. Don't forget that sin is human error. One cannot have it both ways.
Apologists claim God accommodated to human beings in describing how he created the universe using timeless “phenomenal language.” See the Hebrew Universe diagram . And yet it is crystal clear God could have described the universe differently in order to teach human beings about the vastness and age of the universe.
Who says God had to do things that way. There is no error recorded in the Bible that one can prove. Just because God didn't give us the whole story does not mean that he allowed us to believe lies, anymore than we don't explain everything to a two year-old. They will learn more when they are ready. This is how God deals with all of us.
Apologists will claim that such an ancient cosmological description of our universe was not important for God to correct; since all he wanted to do was to let humans to know that it was HE who created it (others will try fruitlessly to defend it literally).
I'd like to see Loftus prove that the Bible actually teaches the demonstrable errors that he hopes it does. The article he linked to admits that the conclusions are not really found in the Bible itself but instead projects the errors on Istael's neighbors. on Israel. There is book called Cracking the Bible Code by Dr Jefferey Satinover. He points out that ancient Israel was astronomically ahead of their neighbors in respects to how to calculate a lunar month. 29.53059 days - closer to the value we use today through science, better than the number used by all of their ancient neighbors ( pg 82,83)
But when we reflect on the Galileo affair and the irreparable harm it did to the Christian faith once astronomers understood the vastness and age of the universe, one can only shake her head in utter amazement God didn’t foresee that because he didn’t do this it would make many of us doubt the Bible.
The Bible does not say that Galileo was wrong. The Church said that Galileo was wrong because of tradition not exegesis. I wish people would get it straight.
I am an atheist because this very problem started me down the road of doubt. And I wrote a book and I now blog daily against Christianity. Does God really not care about the fact that he didn’t tell human beings the truth about the universe?
So if don't tells a 5 year-old, who is learning to count, about negative numbers the child is being lied to? Really? I don't think so. Loftus must think of himself that God owes him to tell him everything he wants to know when he wants to know it. God does not reveal Himself that way and there is no reason to assume God does not exist because God did not do this the way think we think He should have! Such arrogance.
You see the problem now? What best explains this? If God exists what was so wrong to tell these ancient people about the true age and vastness of the universe, or in giving them the knowledge of penicillin right from the start, or by unambiguously condemning slavery?
By not doing so God has produced many unbelievers who don’t see any true divine revelation in the Bible! I suppose God was also accommodating when he never condemned witch, heretic and honor killings either, eh? Can God justify all of this accommodating? Why must God accommodate to his creatures? Why can’t he simply tell us the truth, especially since we who want to assess the Bible’s accuracy in today’s world doubt that it’s from God because he supposedly did. This God is not too smart for an omniscient being.
In fact, there is nothing in the Bible that could not have been written by a person without divine revelation in that era at all. Everything reflects the age in which it was written. Why is that?”
Bold assertion. Offered without proof. However, let's humor Loftus and answer his question for why God has chosen to move and reveal Himself the ways that He has: HE WANTED TO DO IT THIS WAY.
22 Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.
24 “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 human hands. 25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. 26 From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. 27 God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. 28 ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’
29 “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 human design and skill. 30 In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. 31 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 everyone by raising him from the dead.”- Acts 17:22-31
The Accommodation Theory of the Bible | Debunking Christianity
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Bring it: So Christians, the "Born again" kind, can commit murder?
For this post let us deal with something fundamental: So Christians, the "Born again" kind, can commit murder?
Feel free to defend or attack the theology in the comments. Use science. Use the Bible. Use philosophy. Use History. Use whatever evidence you think is relevant to proving your point.
This question was posted by Ryan Anderson on a different post so he would not have to answer Why Hitler was wrong?
If one wants to know what Born-Again Christians do and don't do, you read the Bible to find out. What does it say? The entire epistle of 1st John deals with this but given Ryan Anderson wrote (here):
Yeah, you are going to have to be more specific (the verse in question) because I'm not reading the whole epistle and then trying to guess what you mean. It would be better indeed if you could show the capability of rational thought and state why in your own word.
By his own admission, he's not going to read the very thing that will answer his question - one of the shortest books in the Bible. But we'll help him out because we know that exegesis is not one of his strengths.
So how did John know who was a born-again Christian and who is not?
9 No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God. 10 This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister. 11 For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another -1st John 3:9-11
14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death. 15 Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.
16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. -1st John 3:14-16
There are so many scriptures that deal with this but we are going to focus on the above verses. First. we know that a born-again Christian will not purposely continue to sin on and on. This is evidence that he/she is not born-again. A born-again Christian does all he/she can to live according to the commands of God which are summed up by loving one another. Further because a murderer does not gain eternal life and hating your brother or sister is equated with murder, I think it's pretty safe to conclude that born-again Christians don't make a practice of murdering or hating others. We should follow Christ's example of love.
This does not mean that if you have ever hated anyone or even killed someone that you are lost forever. God can still redeem you. You can still repent and receive forgiveness. Don't forget that the Greek in these text carries with it the idea of habitually sinning not making a mistake - but outright will-full rebellion. So here's the next question. John is writing to a church - a body of people who claim to believe as he does: Does "brothers and sisters" refer to every human being or just to other Christians? Well given that no where in the Bible is it condoned to hate anyone or to murder anyone - I'd say that this isn't a license to hate or kill non-Christians.
8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us. 1st John 1:8-10
So a born-again Christian would embrace this and accept this and some one who isn't would reject this. If you, Ryan, or anyone else wanna know what a born-again Christian is, you need to read 1st John and the rest of the Bible, then won't need to ask questions like this one.
So, Ryan Anderson, what about now? Are you ready to answer my question: Why was Hitler wrong? Feel free to answer here
Bring it.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Apologist Interview: John Warwick Montgomery - Apologetics 315
Apologist Interview: John Warwick Montgomery - Apologetics 315
Bring it: Did Paul make up Christian Theology with nothing pointing to it in the New Testament?
For this first post let us deal with something fundamental: Did Paul make up Christian Theology with nothing pointing to it in the New Testament?
Feel free to defend or attack the theology in the comments. Use science. Use the Bible. Use philosophy. Use History. Use whatever evidence you think is relevant to proving your point.
Bring it.
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Faithful Thinkers: Video: Purpose For The World
I think the best answer is the Biblical one:
15 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. - Colossians 1:15-17
I don't totally agree with Norman Geisler. Everyone of us understand and feels that this world in it's present state is far from perfect. We have tons of suffering of every kind on an unimaginable scale and pervasiveness. Some of what we experience is self-inflicted. some is inflicted on us by others, and some of it seems to have no discernible cause or intent. Why?
1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
5 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. 7 The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.
9 You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. 10 But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. 11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.
12 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.
14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. 15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.[f] And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19 For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. 22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. - Romans 8:1-30
Faithful Thinkers: Video: Purpose For The World
The Dunamis Word: Islam, Submission With No Peace Pt. 7
When asked to repent of his "apostasy" of becoming a Christian, this was the Pastor's response:
"Repent means to return. What should I return to? To the blasphemy that I had before my faith in Christ?" ~ Pastor Youcef
Now that is the attitude and commitment of a born-again Christian. I disagree with the laws in Iran. He should not be put to death. Everyone should be allowed to see and view all the evidences and then come to a decision as to what they believe is true. Everyone should have that right. At the same time everyone should have the right to disagree, say they disagree, and tell why they disagree...no matter if I agree or not. We can't go and force Iran not to execute him. Our government may not even be able to convince Iran's officials not to execute him. They should keep trying. But what I think the United States should do is offer to give Nadarkhani, his family, and congregation asylum if they want it.
Thanks, Elder Harvey Burnett for posting this!
The Dunamis Word: Islam, Submission With No Peace Pt. 7
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Beggars All: Reformation And Apologetics: Preterism?
Here's another mp3 lecture attempting to pull preterism apart.
Kim Riddlebarger: A Problem for Preterists
Go to his blog to get the link.
Beggars All: Reformation And Apologetics: Preterism?
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Online Academy of Apologetics 2011-12 - Apologetics 315
Online Academy of Apologetics 2011-12 - Apologetics 315
Apologist Interview: Anthony Horvath
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Fistbump of the Day: Was Jesus baptized to have his sins forgiven? | True Freethinker
Was Jesus baptized to have his sins forgiven? | True Freethinker
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