THE SECRET ORIGIN OF DECEMBER 25TH #merrychristmas #christmas #MARIAHCAREY

Christmas: Myths, Themes & Hope | Esau Mccaulley, PhD

Horus Ruins Christmas - YouTube

Horus Ruins Christmas - YouTube

Jesus - The Ultimate Christmas Gift - Director's Cut

The following  post is a kind of "director's cut" of a sermon I had the privilege of preaching earlier today.  It's not a verbatim transcript of what I said, but it is a kind of a write up, followed by the power point I used.

Good afternoon, Evangelist Temple.  Merry Christmas! We say that  “Jesus is the Reason for the Season”. The truth is that Jesus is the reason for everything. What we want to do today is to scratch the surface of what that means. Everything points to Jesus including mathematics, science,  and history.  

On December 14 we just saw that a man walked into an elementary school and shot killed over 20 children and 6 adults! We have people shocked and amazed. The question on people’s minds: “How could God allow such an evil thing to take place? Why were some people spared and some people were not?” Some conclude that there couldn’t be a God because there is no good reason for such a thing to happen and blame God. The reason why the subject we are talking about today is so important is that you’ve got to wonder over the course of history how many such inexplicable things have happened. Such things in your own lives have happen that left you scratching your head – with differing levels of despair. Just like God has guided everything for Jesus to come at just the right time to save us, God directs everything even when we don’t understand where things are going and why. This is the good news that Christmas rests on. God is in control and He loves you  - and you can hold on that even when the unthinkable happens.

Given that Christmas is just in a couple of days, let’s take a closer look at Jesus.  Starting at Colossians 1:15-20

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. ¹⁸ And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. ¹⁹ For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, ²⁰ and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

Jesus is the Son. He created all things and put all things in their place. Everything that makes God what God is is in Him. It is through Jesus, that we are redeemed from sin and death.
I’d like to spend some time looking at how History and science come together in Christ. And they come together in prophecy. The Old Testament points us to Jesus. The Old Testament scriptures are full of prophecies that points to Jesus Christ. There are over 300 of them.

Here are 8 of  them

Old Testament Prophecy	New Testament Fulfillment	Probability
Christ to be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2)	And Herod asked where Christ had been born ... they answered Bethlehem (Matt 2:4-6)	2.8 x 105 or 1 in 280,000
Forerunner of Christ (Malachi 3:1)	John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ (Mark 1:2-8)	1 x 103 or 1 in 1,000
Christ to enter Jerusalem riding on a donkey (Zech 9:9)	Christ enters Jerusalem riding on a donkey (Matt 21:4-11)	1 x 102 or 1 in 100
Christ to be betrayed by a friend (Psalm 41:9)	Judas betrayed Jesus (Luke 22:21)	1 x 103 or 1 in 1,000
Christ to be betrayed for 30 pieces of silver (Zech 11:12)	Judas sold out Jesus for 30 pieces of silver (Matt 26:15)	1 x 103 or 1 in 1,000
30 pieces of silver casted down and used to buy a potter's field (Zech 11:13)	30 pieces of silver used to buy a potter's field (Matt 27:3-10)	1 x 105 or 1 in 100,000
Although innocent, Christ kept silent when on trial (Isaiah 53:7)	Jesus kept silent when questioned (Mark 14:60-61)	1 x 103 or 1 in 1,000
Christ crucified (Psalm 22:16)	Jesus was crucified (John 19:17, 18)	1 x 104 or 1 in 10,000

http://www.bibleprobe.com/365messianicprophecies.htm
http://www.goodnewsdispatch.org/math.html

Think of how probable for one human being to just fulfill one of them let a lone all of them in a single life time.  Any one person that would fit that many prophecies must be the messiah. It’s like a fingerprint. No one before Jesus or after Jesus would be able to say this.

No one else could have done this and nor would anyone ever be able to fulfill these.

Paul wrote:

6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. - Romans 5:6-8

So let’s look at just how probable it is for a single person to fulfill just eight of these prophecies. The chances of a single person fulfilling eight of these prophecies are 1 in 1 x 10 to the 28^th power. Here is a little bit of math and science. 1 times 10 to the 28^th means the number 1 with 28 zeroes after it. That is huge. That is more people who have ever lived on earth. Our best estimates are that there are just under 8 Billion people on earth right now and that there are more people alive now than who have ever lived. Put it into perspective: The more digits that number has, the bigger the number is. 1 Billion means 1 with 9 zeroes. 9 is a lot smaller than 28. If you think just fulfilling 8 of these is such a low probability, what about 16 of them? 32?  300? This is real quantifiable evidence that Jesus is who Jesus said He is.

When you are asking about the odds of something, a visual aid could help.  What we are saying is that one person fulfilling those eight prophecies is like the following:
Filling the state of Texas:

With Quarters

1 x 10²⁸ quarters would fill Texas to  height of 2 ft, marking one of these quarters, using bull dozers to mix them all up, and then blind folded picking the marked quarter at random. We are talking about one quarter out of 1 times 10 to 28^th quarters.

We could use all kinds of examples of how God has acted throughout history but I don’t have enough time, so instead we are going to focus on one particular example. Let’s put this in a larger historical context with cultural relevance.

Remember the movie “300”?

 It was the story of King Xerxes of Persia  (the same King in the story of Esther I the Bible) invasion of Greece. The movie is fictionalized and stylized, but it is based on true events.  It even contained some direct language taken from the historical account.  The story of King Leonidas  - when few stood against  many  - is dated to 486 BC. Although the Greeks lost that battle (sorry for the spoiler)  they set the stage for a larger Greek victory not long after that. If you want to see a good documentary on what happened and why and how history is really different than the movie I’d recommend watching the History Channel’s Battle of Thermopylae - Last stand of Leonidas & the 300 Spartans

It is available on YouTube. Anyone who wants to know more please let me know I’ll make sure you get the link.

 Thermopylae sets the stage for Greece to become unified world power. They finally defeated the Persians under Alexander the Great. By this time, you may be wondering what does all this has to do with Jesus? Everything!  Alexander standardized Greek as a  language and a culture and spread it out all around the known world. Greek became the language of commerce, politics, literature, and diplomacy. If it was important and from the Greek or Roman Empire chances are it was in Greek.  When the Romans conquered the Greeks, they kept much of their technology and culture and just incorporated them with their own – including the use of Greek. Because Greek was the dominant language in use even before Jesus, the Old Testament had been translated into Greek centuries before Jesus. All of the New Testament was written in Greek and because the Romans wanted to be able to be able to deploy their professional army anywhere in their empire and beyond, they built roads.  Roads that were also great for commerce – and God had them in place for the Gospel to be spread throughout the Roman Empire quickly. 

What I’m saying is that Jesus birth, death, and resurrection was not a coincidence.  It wasn’t an accident.  Goad wasn’t just crossing His fingers hoping that all of this would work out. God sovereignly put everything and everyone in their place according to what HE wants to do.  Fortunately, He wanted to save us.  Jesus came to do exactly that. He died for us in our place to atone for the sins of His people. If you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart, you are one of God’s people and your sins are not counted against you. This is the point of Christmas.  Jesus is the ultimate Gift – at the right place and at the right time.

At this point, I really should give some attention to potential objections and why they offer nothing against the point that God worked through History and we can see that in the fact that Jesus fulfilled prophecies that were given centuries before his birth.

Objection 1: The messianic prophecies are so vague they could describe anyone. Anyone telling you this does not know enough about what the prophecies are. For example, the prophecy that the messiah would be betrayed by someone close to him, the place the messiah would be born, and many other details make it impossible to claim that the prophecies are vague.

Objection 2: The prophecies were not really written by the men tradition says they were. Some claim that Isaiah's prophecies were not really written by the prophet Isaiah or during the time the Bible says that Isaiah lived. They claim that the majority of scholarship backs up their conclusion. Don't buy it. Not in the slightest. Most people who come to this conclusion think that  because they are looking for a reason not to believe that. Even if you grant that them the point ( and I would not) the entire Hebrew Bible predates Jesus by almost 400 years. So the point is moot.  The prophecies and their fulfillment still evidence that God is behind History.

Objection 3: Jesus purposely fulfilled the messianic prophecies so that he could take credit for being the messiah. Not much of an objection. Think about it.  It's assuming that Jesus prearranged not only his being baptized by John the Baptist but also that he pre-arranged  his birth in Bethlehem. Why stop there?  That means if he could do that then he could also arrange a virgin birth. If Jesus did that is that a problem if you are Christian? Nope. That is exactly what we are saying - Jesus did arrange it - all. But of course, wouldn't he have to be God in order to do all of that? Duh! Exactly what we are saying. Making this objection actually concedes the argument. Thanks.

There are two last things I’d like to cover today. 

How do we talk to people about who Jesus is? Dr Ravi Zacharias had the opportunity to speak to one of the leaders of Hamas. When Dr Zacharias had the opportunity to talk to one of the founders of Hamas during a Middle East peace negotiations, he made the most of it. And centered the brief time he had on Christ.

Here is what he said

Jesus is that gift. God’s Word, love, and forgiveness personified.  I want to end with a video that Pastor Stewart showed us 4 years ago. We need to remember and celebrate Christ – all year round.  He just wasn’t a baby in a manger. Jesus is far more.  Let’s end with Dr S.M. Lockridge asking the fundamental question: “Do you know Him?” And then he answers the question by telling you who Jesus is: “That’s My King”.



Here is a video of the slides

Jesus – Ultimate Christmas Gift - online version

More PowerPoint presentations from Marcus McElhaney

Here are slides served from slideshare

Jesus – ultimate christmas gift online version from Marcus McElhaney

NT Pod: NT Pod 58: An Alternative Version of the Christmas Story

Here is a recent podcast regarding the Protevangelium of James. Follow the link at the end of the article and you can read the Protevangelium of James for yourself at http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/infancyjames.html


NT Pod: NT Pod 58: An Alternative Version of the Christmas Story

Related articles

• The Books of the Apocrypha (americanatheism.wordpress.com)

A Very Arkham City Christmas [Video]

He knows when you have been naughty or nice! But I'm not talking about Saint Nick!




A Very Arkham City Christmas [Video]

Related articles

• A Very Arkham Christmas (geeksyndicate.wordpress.com)
• OnStar and NORAD warming up the Santa Tracker (geardiary.com)
• Exclusive photos of Father Christmas in the Caribbean! (harlequinhotelsandresorts.com)
• Hair-Swapping Santa Skits - The College Humor 'Twelve Beards of Christmas' Short is Holiday Hilarity (TrendHunter.com) (trendhunter.com)

How Central is Shirk in Understanding the Islamic Rejection of the Bible's Teachings?

James White posted the following video and text on his blog. Everyone should see this!

To our Muslim readers: We worship one God, who has manifested Himself in Three Persons. One Yahweh, one God, Three Persons. No association of anything created or non-eternal. No married gods, no wives or consorts (contra Q. 6:101). Three co-equal and co-eternal Persons sharing fully the one, indivisible being of God. While the Qur'an attempts to identify this as shirk, the author of the Qur'an clearly did not understand the doctrine he was seeking to deny. 

How Central is Shirk in Understanding the Islamic Rejection of the Bible's Teachings?

Related articles

• Why shirk is regarded as a major sin in Islam (wiki.answers.com)
• The U.S. and Islam: Trading Safety for Tolerance (thecollegeconservative.com)
• The Islamic Invasion (danielayad.wordpress.com)
• Shirk (polytheism) (mudasirali.wordpress.com)

Answering Muslims: Islam's Secret Santa

David Wood has done it again. Watch his argument showing a fundamental inconsistency in Islam that I was not aware of.



Answering Muslims: Islam's Secret Santa

The Dunamis Word: "I Decree & Declare" A Much Needed Prayer Of Blessing

Out of the mouth of babes, God has indeed ordained praise ala Psalm 8!




The Dunamis Word: "I Decree & Declare" A Much Needed Prayer Of Blessing

BBC News - Unholy row over New Zealand Mary and Joseph billboard

I came across this news story and I am shocked. St Matthew-in-the-City Church in Auckland, New Zealand recently put up a bill board shown on the left. I don't know what kind of response this springs up in you, but I find it offensive for two reasons. It makes me wonder what was the message the church was trying to send? I did some research and I found the following quote:

Church vicar Archdeacon Glynn Cardy said the billboard was intended to challenge stereotypes about the way Jesus was conceived and get people talking about the Christmas story.
"This billboard is trying to lampoon and ridicule the very literal idea that God is a male and somehow this male God impregnated Mary," said Cardy, who described his church as having very liberal ideas about Christianity.
"We would question the Virgin Birth in any literal sense. We would question the maleness of God in any literal sense," he said.

In other words, the point was to take a swipe at fundamental Christian doctrine and theology. It's admitted that they were making fun of the doctrine of Jesus' virgin birth  by implying that God had sex with Mary. The Bible never implies that Jesus' conception was sexual. On top of that the man said that they are coming against the maleness of God. However, God is never described as male or female...God is beyond all of that. Historic Orthodox Christianity has never embraced these ideas.

Once I found out what kind of church this is, I was not surprised. It's a liberal Anglican church. Anglican church is certainly no longer orthodox. They used to be but they really seemed to have "jumped the shark" so to speak. I went to St Matthew-in-the-City Church in Auckland, New Zealand main website and found that like many American Anglican churches are performing same-sex marriages and like more than a few churches today have turned its back on the Bible as being the final authority for faith and practice.

You can imagine that the billboard has offended a lot of people.

Lyndsay Freer, spokeswoman for the Catholic Diocese of Auckland, said the poster was offensive to Christians.
"Our Christian tradition of 2,000 years is that Mary remains a virgin and that Jesus is the son of God, not Joseph," she told the New Zealand Herald. "Such a poster is inappropriate and disrespectful."



As a Roman Catholic she holds to the perpetual virginity of Mary, for which there is only Roman Catholic dogma and tradition that we have support so of course she is not happy. I want to be clear that not all Christians dislike the billboard for the same reasons or would agree with her 2000 year assertion or Mary always being a virgin. I've already written on why I disagree with her. However, I do agree that the billboard is wrong but for denying Jesus' virgin birth or trying to cast God as having human gender is wrong.

Sources:
BBC News - Unholy row over New Zealand Mary and Joseph billboard
Religious billboard provokes wrath, mirth
Billboard Depicting Joseph, Mary In Bed Sparks Row
Vicar wants to keep billboard

Response to Top 10: Problems with Baby Jesus « Rationalists's Blog Part 2

Here is part two of my response to a tweet from TheGodless of a article that laughably tries to poke holes in the Christmas story as told in the Gospels. Again I have provided the title of the blog for laughs. His comments are quoted as he published them with mine following.

6. Despite extensive accounts of Caesar Augustus’ reign there are absolutely zero mentions anywhere that an empire wide census for which all citizens had to return to their ancestral home to register. NONE! And furthermore – how could such a thing ever logistically take place, for example –  the Bible says that Joseph must return to Bethlehem because his ancestor David was born there, but David lived 1000 years before Joseph. Do you seriously believe that every citizen living under the Roman empire was required to return to the homes of their ancestors from 1000 years prior??

This has been used too often to count. Let's try again and look at  Quirinius and the Census
and take a look at the following link also to see evidence for why we know the Census really did take place: Was Luke Wrong about the census under Quiriniua? and When Did the Luke 2 Census Occur?

7. Matthew writes than Joseph was pissed off  upon discovering that Mary was pregnant. He retires to bed that night, presumably with intentions to kill her the next morning as per Mosaic law, but an angel appears to him in a dream to comfort him that she is carrying the Holy Spirit’s child. Whereas Luke writes that Mary is unaware that she is pregnant but an angel appears to her to advise she is carrying God’s baby.

First the way the point is worded is highly misleading. It makes it seems like Jesus' conception was sexual and it wasn't. Secondly, although Joseph by right of Jewish law could have had Mary stoned, the text clearly states that he had no intention of shaming her or publicly punishing her. Thirdly,  the point that Mary did not know she was pregnant until an angel told her is false. When Gabriel appeared Mary was not pregnant yet! If the point here is that Luke and Matthew disagree then there is no point because there is no disagreement...both are true. Joseph got the information about how Jesus was conceived from an angel in a dream and Mary got it months earlier from an angel before she was even pregnant. There is no problem.

8. Matthew writes that three wise men are guided by a star from the east that leads them to Jerusalem. The star takes a breather. Starts up again and leads them to the very house that baby Jesus was born in. A star!!! Amazing shit isn’t it? Think about it, a star a million times bigger than earth parked above a small building? We can forgive the author of Matthew for this mistake as they believed stars to be basketball size fire balls 2000 years ago, but we can’t forgive those that believe this fable true today.

 As pointed out in the comments section on the article that this post is based, Matthew does not tell us how many wise men there were. Tradition assumes three because there were three gifts named that they brought the baby Jesus...I also would surmise the tradition of three wise men was also influenced by the Trinity Doctrine. However, the point is we don't know how many wise men visited the Baby. As for the star, I think the writer of the article is being too literal. Yes many stars are millions of times larger than the earth, however if the star was say millions of miles away, wouldn't it appear to be able to mark out a small building? Get real.  Of course the Bible is not describing a ball of fire "basketball size". Many debate about what the star really was. The Christian Research Journal published a great article on this. Read it here: http://www.equip.org/articles/the-star-of-bethlehem

9. Luke writes that shepherds are lead to the new born baby Jesus by an angel that visited them in a nearby field. Matthew wrote something completely contradictory (see point 8 )

The wise men (the Magi) were coming from much farther away and arrived maybe as much as two years after Jesus' birth. The shepherds' experiences of seeing the mulitude of angels heralding our Lord and Savior's birth was the same night as the birth. How is that contradictory? It is not!

10. Many other irreconcilable discrepancies of the gospels illustrated in the New Testament chapters of ‘God Hates You. Hate Him Back’ (Making Sense of the Bible) available now on Amazon or Barnes & Noble

I've written several posts responding to such contradictions. I have seen many people try to show contradiction but they just don't work. No way does it make sense. It's been 2000 years, does anyone think they can come up with a fresh contradiction that has not been refuted yet? I don't think so either. This list sure doesn't add anything new.

Top 10: Problems with Baby Jesus « Rationalists's Blog