Bible Basics - Trinity - Part 2b Bible Foundations

Let us continue to look at more scriptures concerning Jesus' claim to be God by looking at the fact that other folks in the beginning of the Church knew Jesus was God.
Both the Old Testament and New Testament both teach that no one is worthy of worship but God. For example Jesus quoted Deuteronomy 6:13 in Luke 4:8

Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.'"

Showing that Jesus clearly did not teach that anyone could be worshipped but God. Why did he not correct Thomas in John 20:28? John 20:28 says:

Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!"

Jesus did not correct him. I've heard some people say that in English the verse is mispunctuated. The it should be like "Oh My God, My Lord!" There are two problems with this. One, no way can you get that out of the Greek grammar and two as a Jew Thomas would not have been taking God's name as an explicative now matter how surprised he was.

Look at Hebrews 1:6 as another example:

And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says,
"Let all God's angels worship him."

See the point? If Jesus is not God then why do we see him being worshipped? Answer: The Bible teaches that Jesus is God.
I would like to look at a few more scriptures dealing with who Jesus is. I love Philippians 2:5-11 because it encapsulates the early church's understanding of Jesus so simply.

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

I prefer the NIV and more modern translations than the King James rendering. The KJV says "Let this mind be in you..." which hides what the Greek is definitely saying for modern readers. Paul is admonishing us to be of a humble attitude like Jesus was. Then we are told the kind of humility Jesus exhibited for us. He was God and voluntarily entered into a human body to serve those whom he created. Considering the heights from which Christ condescended to serve humanity shouldn't be willing to lay aside ego and pride and serve each other in love.

I would be remiss not to mention John 14:8-21. I want to look at what Jesus said:

Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us."
Jesus answered: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.
"If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him."

Jesus emphatically tells us that seeing Him is as good as seeing the Father. He does not assert that He is the Father. No the Father and The Son are distinct but both are still God. John 12:12-14 is a great text that shows a glimpse of the Son's Relationship with the Father.

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
The Pharisees challenged him, "Here you are, appearing as your own witness; your testimony is not valid."
Jesus answered, "Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going. But you have no idea where I come from or where I am going. You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one. But if I do judge, my decisions are right, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me. In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two men is valid. I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who sent me."

Jesus and the Father are 2 distinct witnesses to who Jesus is and why He came. Each a distinct person. Not one.

Here are some other scriptures that should be considered when discussing this about Jesus' deity. John 1:1-5 says:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.
Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.

"The Word" is the Greek word LOGOS. It means the "eternal expression of the divine intelligence" (Goodrick-Kohlenberger number 3364). Some people have tried to take this idea as meaning that it's not talking about a person. The problem is John emphatically writes that the Word is God and is called a Him.

John 1:14 says:

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John says the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. He says that God dwelt among men in the person of Christ.

John 1:18 says:

No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made him known.

How can John write about no one seeing "God but God the One and Only" made him known? We must accept John's language whether we understand it or not. He is saying that no one has seen God, but God (the Word) has made him known. Unless you want to argue that the Word is not Jesus Christ what other conclusion can you draw other than Jesus is God.

Colossians 1:15-20 says:

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 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. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 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.

How can all things be made by him and for him and all things be held together by him unless he is eternal and is God? Most people agree that this passage is about Jesus. Jesus held the fullness of all that God is in him. This makes Jesus as more than just an exalted human being. It says that Jesus is God.

John 12:39-41 says

For this reason they could not believe, because, as Isaiah says elsewhere:
"He has blinded their eyes
and deadened their hearts,
so they can neither see with their eyes,
nor understand with their hearts,
nor turn—and I would heal them." Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus' glory and spoke about him.

John 12:39-41 refers to Isaiah 6:1-4:

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another:
"Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory." At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.

John is saying that when Isaiah says He "saw" God, he was referring to Christ!

Let us turn to what the Bible says about the Holy Spirit. We can see that it says that Holy Spirit is God. The Holy Spirit is not an impersonal force or energy field without consciousness or thought. Look at Acts 5:3,4 which says:

Then Peter said, "Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? Didn't it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn't the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God."

Examine what Peter said. First he said Ananias lied to the Holy Spirit. You can't lie to a force, you can only lie to a person. Second, Ananias lied to God not just to men. The Holy Spirit is equated to God. Let's get another example: Acts 13:1-3 says

In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.

I'm sure you can see that it says that the Holy Spirit spoke. He said He had a plan for Barnabas and Paul. A force cannot have plans or have desires.

Let me sum up what I am saying so far. The Bible says the Father is God. The Bible says the Son is God. The Bible Says the Holy Spirit is God. Here is the next part. The Bible Says there is one God. Here are 2 Scriptures that say that there is only one God. Isaiah 43:10 says:

"You are my witnesses," declares the LORD,
"and my servant whom I have chosen,
so that you may know and believe me
and understand that I am he.
Before me no god was formed,
nor will there be one after me.

Isaiah 45:22 says:

"Turn to me and be saved,
all you ends of the earth;
for I am God, and there is no other.

Are there any scriptures in the Bible that talk about the Father, the son, and the Holy Spirit? Yes. Look at Matthew 28:19 which says:

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

Matt 3:16,17 says

As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."

Therefore if the Father is God; the Son is God; the Holy Spirit is God; and there is only One God then the Bible teaches the doctrine of the Trinity.

Bible Basics - Trinity - Part 2a Bible Foundations

So how do we go about showing that the Trinity doctrine comes from Scripture? Well, I wish I could say that this method was revealed to me from high, but I heard this line of reasoning from Dr. Walter Martin when he was addressing how to witness to Jehovah Witnesses when they deny the Trinity. I find that his presentation should work for any discussion of the subject.

Dr. Martin started with premise that if you can prove that the Bible teaches all of the following:
There are 3 persons identified in scripture -
Father is called "GOD";
the Son is called "GOD";
the Holy Spirit is called "GOD";
and there is only one God;

Then you have to accept the doctrine of the Trinity in order to be consistent with the Bible.
Then each person of the Trinity must Equal and are God. Logically, things equal to the same thing are equal to each other.
Therefore if the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all God, then they must be equal to one another.

Let us take on further discussion step by step. All Christians agree that God is personal and the Father is God. 2 Peter 1:17 clearly states that the Father is called God.

For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."

I'll leave this point because I think that very few people will argue with it. To show the concept that the Bible teaches that Jesus is God and the Holy Spirit is God will require much more Biblical Proof.

Jesus applied the Divine name to himself. I realize that there are people who deny this. If you do not accept that Jesus is God, please consider the implications of if He really did teach that he is God. If any man makes such a claim, there are only 4 possible conclusions that you draw. Either He was:
a. deceived;
b. insane;
c. wrong;
or d. telling the truth.

Let's look at the scriptures to talk about what Jesus said about himself and what the scriptures say about Him. A favorite texts where Jesus emphatically claims the divine name is found in John 8:58,59 which says:

"I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I am!" At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.

Without looking at the cultural context of the people who heard Jesus say this it is impossible to understand why they reacted so violently. They wanted to kill Him! Why? They understood what He was saying and it's lost on us in English. However Greek helps a lot. We have to go back to what God said to Moses back in Exodus 3:13,14:

Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?"God said to Moses, "I am who I am . This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.' "

The Greek Translation of the Old Testaments, the Septuagint - completed over a century before Jesus' birth through Mary, translated the Hebrew word for "I AM", YWH (Yaweh or Jehovah) with the same word Jesus used in John 8:58: Eimi. The Jews who wanted to kill Jesus understood that Jesus was asserting his eternality and calling himself the same name as the God who brought them up out of Egypt under Moses. His meaning was not lost upon them. Why should we set it aside today?

Let's go to John 10: 24-39. The Passage is as follows:

The Jews gathered around him, saying, "How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly."

Jesus answered, "I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father's name speak for me, but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all^] no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and the Father are one."

Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them, "I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?"

"We are not stoning you for any of these," replied the Jews, "but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God."

Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your Law, 'I have said you are gods'? If he called them 'gods,' to whom the word of God came—and the Scripture cannot be broken— what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, 'I am God's Son'? Do not believe me unless I do what my Father does. But if I do it, even though you do not believe me, believe the miracles, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father." Again they tried to seize him, but he escaped their grasp.

Here we again have an example of Jesus saying something that no other human being can say. And again the Jews undrerstood the weight of the words. They understood Jesus claimed to ber God because He claimed to be one with Father. I've heard some folks try to use verses 34, 35, and 36 to say that Jesus denied being equal with God but instead only claimed to be God's Son. This explanation pre-supposes that God's Son has a fundamentally different essence than God himself and I think that we can't say that. The scripture won't hold.

Let's examine some more scriptures. Revelations 1:8 says:

"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty."

We can definitely say that God is exactly what verse 8 says. It is God the Father talking. Most People will agree that Revelation 1:17 18 is Jesus talking. Red letter Bible have his words in Red.

When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: "Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.

We have Jesus calling himself "First and Last". Sounds like God to me. Look at Revelations 22: 12, 13 which says:

"Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End."

Jesus refers to himself in the same way God does in Revelation 1. So either we have a contradiction or Jesus is God. and the Holy Spirit is God.

Let's throw in some Old Testament texts from Isaiah. Isaiah 44:6 says

This is what the LORD says—

"Israel's King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty:
I am the first and I am the last;
apart from me there is no God."

Whis is echoed in Revelation. This shows that God the Father and God the Son are sharing the same name.

Recall that in Isaiah 9: 6-7, Jesus is prophesied to being called "Everlasting Father".and "Mighty God".

For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of his government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on David's throne
and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the LORD Almighty
will accomplish this.

If all these names apply to Jesus, then no other conclusion can be drawn other than Jesus is just as much God as the Father.

Wow....I just get on a roll and keep typing. I need to break this post up too. So that it won't be too long. In Part 2b I will continue going over scripture.

Biblical Basics - Trinity: A Positive Presentation Part 1 Introduction

Well here is the post I have been promising concerning the Trinity. This post is intended to be a positive presentation concerning the doctrine of the Trinity. I will do a separate post responding to the comments of Adam Pastor who graciously commented on my posts concerning Jesus' humanity and deity and the "Redux". In a forthcoming post I will respond to the movie that he suggests the people watch, called the Human Jesus. I want to be very clear that while I believe that what a person believes about the "Trinity" is important, it is not a "make it" or "break it" issue. There are some people who believe the doctrine but are not going to make it to heaven. There are some people who do not believe the doctrine will be going to heaven and vice versa. The difference as to whether you go to heaven or hell is not dependent on if you believe the Trinity or not. Your eternal destiny only depends on your belief that Jesus paid for your sins through his death on the cross and justified you before God through his resurrection.

So why discuss the Trinity? What you believe about the nature of God is important. Loving God means wanting to know Him as He has revealed himself. It's kind of like riding a bike and never taking it out of the first gear. I'd like to know as much about God as I can. I know that I don't have it all down at all, so this post is just a way systematize what I have learned so far.

I would state the "Trinity Doctrine" as follows: There is only one GOD - one supreme, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, eternal, sovereign, merciful, loving, and just being; who exists and relates to humanity in three distinct, co-equal, and eternal persons; sharing the same essence and being. Those three persons are The Father, The Son - Jesus Christ, and The Holy Spirit. How does this work? How do they relate to one another? How can 3 distinct persons share the same being? Let me be upfront and honest: I don't know. I have no clue, but this is what the Biblical evidence points to. I can find no other conclusion.

I do know that what confused me most of my life concerning the Trinity is confusing the concepts of "being" and "person". Western culture, by and large, treats these concepts as equal. I know I never saw a difference for most of my life but there is a difference. "Being" speaks to ontological essence and "person" refers to relationship. Considering "being" means asking "what" something is. Considering "personhood" means asking "who" someone is. "Being" and "person" cannot be the same thing. They are not synonyms. If I walked up to you and asked "What are you?" And then another person walked up to you and asked "Who are you?" Would you give the same answer to both questions? I doubt it. What I am is a human being - a man. If you are reading this you are obviously (barring the existence of extra-terresterial life) also human being. Don't you think that explaining who you are is a bit more complicated? Why would we think that who God is would require a simple explanation that our finite human minds can fully grasp when it is difficult for us to understand who and what we are let alone a fellow human being.

This misconception is the reason why Trinitarians are accused to be polytheistic (belief in multiple gods) not monotheistic (belief in one God). It does not help that some early "Christian" art depicts 3 men on 3 thrones or a man with three faces when trying to depict God. It adds to the confusion. I see why God told us not make any images of him because we cannot visualize what God is.

This is going to be a long post so I am going to break it up . The next part I will use Dr Walter Martin's logic to explain how the Trinity is scriptural. I want to take the method taken by the late Dr. Walter Martin on how to show that the Bible teaches the Trinity. Then I want to finish the posts by expounding on a few texts that I had not discussed up to that point. At the end of this article I want to also provide a bibliography.

Generation Gap

It seems kind of weird sometimes to realize that at 33 years old I can
remember much of the last 31 years. In all that time I have seen things
cycle through American culture. Somethings I never thought would come
back have in about 10 years. When I was 9 years old in 1984 I loved to
play with Transformers. Like most of my generation I played with the
toys, read the books, and watched the television show. But back then,
I could not imagine me past 30 or that children today would still be
playing with them. I did not even conceive that there could be a
live-action movie combined with CGI as there was last year. I mean when
I was 11 there was an animated film in theaters but nothing like the
2007 film. Truth is that the Transformers have been seen in many
permutations and versions. I always considered myself a purist, so when
I heard that the film-makers changed the looks of Optimus Prime and all
the Transformers in the film I didn't know what to think. I was
pleasantly surprised. I found an animated gif on the Internet that
shows the difference in the intervening years in how Optimus Prime was
shown in 1984 (on the left) versus how he was shown in 2007 (on the right).

My Second Animated GIF

Here is my second attempt at making an animated GIF. It's the same except I made the background transparent. I plan to make more of them in the future. Especially when I get my Black Panther mugen character working.

If you gonna smear someone...

I sure hope that people learn real soon not to use Youtube to spread false and misleading statements about people. There is about an eleven second clip about Obama referring to his "Muslim faith" during an interview. See it below

Fortunately, someone posted a rebuttal video showing those 11 seconds in context of 2 minutes. See it below:

If you are going to use someone's words to hang them, don't take them out of context!!!!!

My First Animated GIF

I have been practicing making animated gifs. The hard part is most definitely getting the images. I found a great little program for generating these called GIF Construction Set. This particular gif was generated using sprites I downloaded from the internet for making a mugen character. The sprite set I found is not a complete set, but the introduction sprites worked great. My one worry is that I'm not much of an artist, but I would like to get better at using the computer to make great 3D and 2D images

Take a lesson from Iron Man

I edited together clips from Iron Man to illustrate the Biblical truths found in Ephesians 6:10-18. Make no mistake we are in a war and if you are not prepared you will be a casualty. Before we look at the clips here are the relevant scriptures I think need to be brought to mind.

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
Ephesians 6:10-18

Sci-Fi / Journalist: Battlestar Galactica Republican Look-a-likes

Sci-Fi / Journalist: Battlestar Galactica Republican Look-a-likes

Obama's View on Bible

Ok, I just posted an anti-McCain YouTube video, so here is one where the editor takes a speech Barak Obama gave where he said that the Bible could not be used to set policy. In the speech Obama is trying to make the point that a separation of church and state must be maintained. Unfortunately, he tried to bolster his points by using Bible verses out of context, managing to offend a lot of people (like me) who have high view of scripture.



Here is the original unedited video. The speech is "Call to Renewal" from June 28, 2006.

An Opinion on John McCain

I found this video on YouTube. This is the testimony of a man who has a lot in common with John McCain. He too graduated from the Naval Academy (except he was in the top 25 % of his graduating class and McCain was 5th from the bottom), highly decorated Naval aviator, served in Vietnam, also was shot down, and also spent several years as a prisoner of war also enduring its horrors. Look at what he has to say about John McCain.



The one thing that bothers me the most is that this man said that when he knew McCain during the war, McCain was agnostic and now McCain says he is deeply religious. I'd like to know more about McCain's faith journey. It's possible that his wartime experiences drove him to Christ but it does not explain how he came to leave his first wife. Oh well.

Biblical Basics - The Deity of Christ - Redux

This post is a follow up to my posts on Jesus' Humanity and Deity and a response to the comments made by Adam Pastor. Brother Pastor agrees with me and all Christians that Jesus is the only way to salvation and that He is the one through whom we are saved when we put our faith in Him. He disagreed with me on my statements on Jesus' deity. So I will restrict my post to only consider his comments against the deity of Jesus Christ.

Brother Pastor wrote:

Jesus Christ isn't just any man;
he is GOD's only-begotten Son, who died for our sins, who was raised by Almighty GOD;
the man whom Almighty GOD made both Lord & Christ, and set him at His own right hand;
making Jesus of Nazareth,
the most exalted human being,
second only to GOD Himself!
[Acts 2.32-36]

Let's look at what Acts 2:32-36 says. Keep in mind that this is part of Peter's first sermon on the day of Pentecost.

"God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact. Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said, " 'The Lord said to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet." ' "Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ."

I agree that Peter is not denying Jesus' humanity and he is saying that Jesus is glorified and that he is better than David. It's interesting to me that Peter quoted Psalm 110:1 and said that David was a prophet (verse 30). Why is this important? Jesus used this very same scripture to establish his identity. In Luke 20:41-44 Jesus says:

Then Jesus said to them, "How is it that they say the Christ is the Son of David? David himself declares in the Book of Psalms: " 'The Lord said to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet." ' David calls him 'Lord.' How then can he be his son?"

Jesus used this to show the people who he is. If you deny that Jesus claim to be God, then you have to explain How the messiah can be David's son and David's Lord at the same time. Think of it this way if you look at two "Lords" in Psalm 110:1 they are not the same words. In Hebrew it reads "Yahweh said to my 'adown". "Yahweh" also known as "Jehovah" is the proper name of God. It is the name that God identified himself to Moses. "'Adown" means "lord" or "master". The New Testament quotations of these verse use the Septuagint translations. In that translation the same word is used for "Lord". The word is "Kurios". It was considered a title given to God and to the Messiah.

Brother Pastor also said:

And nowhere does Jesus ever claim to be Almighty GOD!
No rather, Jesus claimed to be the Messiah, the Son of the Living GOD

Yet Brother Pastor never gave any response to the verse I raised that show that Jesus did claim to be God such as John 8:48-59.

Brother Pastor further wrote:

Hence, yet another proof that Jesus cannot possibly be Almighty GOD;
because GOD ALMIGHTY CANNOT DIE!!

This struck me because it is the same line of argument that Muslims use against Christians. The best way to argue is to use the same argument you would use against a Muslim making the same assertion. One of the best scholars that I have ever heard deal with this issue is James White of Alpha and Omega Ministries. Please view the following clips of him responding to Ahmed Deedat.
Part 1

Part 2

Part 3


I agree with Brother Pastor on his point that Paul taught that there is only one God. So did the apostle John. I would have liked him to respond to my raising of Colossians 1:15,16. It says:

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Paul taught that was pre-existed everything. That He created everything. I'll cover how the Bible could say the Father is God and Jesus is God and yet there be only one God when I cover the Trinity in a separate post. At this point, I just want to establish that the Bible declares Jesus' deity.

Another assertion that Brother Pastor made was when he wrote:

John, a monotheistic Jew does not present Jesus as "God" in his Gospel at all.
Not only does he call Jesus "a man" more than the other Gospel writers; John must be allowed to state exactly why he wrote his Gospel, which he indeed does:
(John 20:31) But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

No argument that John is being correctly presented, but He does also talk about Jesus' deity. How would Brother Pastor explain John 1:1-5:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.

We know John was talking about Jesus and calls him the Word - the LOGOS. And the LOGOS was God and through him all things were made. Paul said the same thing. And what about Philippians 2:6:

Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,

Paul said that Jesus was in nature God and that He was equal with God. What else can we do with this scripture along with all the other scriptures that teach about his humanity but conclude that Jesus is both God and man.

As for the Film Brother Pastor suggested I watch I could not get it to play. I think that there is something wrong with the file but I will try again later. One last scripture I want to discuss in this post was also brought up by Brother Pastor 1st Corinthians 8:4 and 6. Verses 4-6 state:

So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that an idol is nothing at all in the world and that there is no God but one. For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many "gods" and many "lords"), yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.

Nowhere in this text does it say that Jesus is not God. It's a parallel construction describing God as the Father and Jesus. As I understand Greek grammar I am convinced that the verse s are making a comparison to our God verses the idols and false gods of the world. There is one God. The Father "from whom all things came and for whom we live", Jesus "through whom all things came and through whom we live", and the Holy Spirit by whom all things came and by whom we live. The Holy Spirit keeps us.

Saddleback Showdown - John McCain

A couple of weeks ago, Barak Obama and John McCain went on national television and allowed themselves to be individually examined by Pastor Rick Warren. He asked them questions about their world view, what its means to be a "born again" Christian, abortion, taxes, gay marriage, and several other great questions. I'm going to do 2 posts - one for Obama and the other for McCain. This will not comprehensively cover every important thing they talked about. I will choose just four. This post is about McCain's responses.

What about Jesus?

McCain claimed that he is a follower of Christ. He said that he is "saved and forgiven". What? I wish he had elaborated. Saved from what? Forgiven for what? How? Who? I realized that he may have assumed that everyone understood his "Christianeeze" - the jargon of Christianity. However, it doesn't take much to realize that some people mean entirely different things in using these words than what Christians have historically and Biblically meant. Mormons use those terms too, but if you study what they believe it doesn't line up the same. Instead of fully examining the question, McCain gave an emotional and heart-wrenching story of how his Christian faith connected him with a North Vietnamese prison camp guard. Grant it he was also trying to get people to connect with him not Jesus. He really wants to be elected. I think that is a problem.

Abortion?

I was amazed how direct he was about what he thinks about abortion. I agree with him, all people are entitled to human rights at the moment of conception.

Taxes?

It sounds good doesn't it. He said he wants everyone to be rich. I agree with his definition of "rich" - having what you need to be happy. I think that he's naive in thinking that there is no need for re-distribution of wealth and that there is no class warfare. The gap between people who have wealth and those who don't is growing. The middle class is disappearing. I think that he and Obama agree in trying to better the lives of people. They just disagree on how to do it. I think he's right the government has been overspending. I would have liked to hear the year and administration that allowed the money to be spent on the study of Bear DNA, but it was an effective joke. I disagree with the thought that the government should be scaled down because people cannot be trusted to love their neighbor as themselves when money is involved.

Gay Marriage?

I really liked his response to the question on the definition of what marriage is. Changing the definition of marriage is a bad idea. I did notice that he was very carefully politically. He did not openly challenge the morality of same-sex marriage so he would not alienate people, but he said that the issue should be decided by states themselves and not the federal government. It fits with his ideas of smaller, less-controlling government. The problem is that unless this country makes a decision as to whether or not we will follow God or not on the issues of abortion and same-sex marriage we are going to continue to see division and failure, if not a civil war, as a nation just like slavery divided the nation 140 years ago.

Is there Evil?

I thought the question was vague. I'm not sure what Rick Warren meant by the question...."evil" in what sense? Did he mean the evil in each one of us that can only be destroyed by the power of God? To McCain, evil equates to the Radical Islamic Fundamentalism. He blames it for producing Osama Bin Laden and the horror of September 11, 2001 and the wars on terrorism taking place today. I agree that Bin Laden must be found and brought to justice and I believe that Islamic Fundamentalism is antithetical to Christianity. It cannot be reasoned with. It cannot be ignored. It can't be reconciled. They really want to kill us. They must be stopped. The problem is that as near as I can tell our government made the terrorism possible when we supported and trained Bin Laden against the Russian in Afghanistan and then pulled out and did not fulfill promises made to the rebels. It's blow back from bad foreign policy that we are paying for now. Of course what the terrorists are doing are evil and must be stopped, but are we really any better? Ask the South American and Caribbean countries we have invaded. Ask the people in Africa and other parts of the world who were exterminated and we did nothing because they did not have oil. Ask the black folks that were lynched, oppressed, disenfranchised. Ask the Native Americans, those that survived the genocide. As a nation we are called by God to do better by people. If we don't do better how can expect the rest of the nations to do good to us?

Saddleback Showdown - Barak Obama

A couple of weeks ago, Barak Obama and John McCain went on national television and allowed themselves to be individually examined by Pastor Rick Warren. He asked them questions about their world view, what its means to be a "born again" Christian, abortion, taxes, gay marriage, and several other great questions. I'm not going to rehash the entire discussion, just pick out 5 major themes. I'm going to do 2 posts - one for Obama and the other for McCain. This post is about Obama's responses.

What about Jesus?

Obama did better in explaining what Jesus means to him as a Christian than McCain. He actually used the word "sin" as that thing Jesus saved him from. The only thing that bothered me about his response is that he said "hopefully" his sins would be forgiven. If you are a "born again" Christian and have put your faith and trust in Jesus, your sins, by definition, are promised from God to be expatiated. You will not be punished, although you and I should be, because Jesus took our punishment for us. He may have been trying to sound humble as to not alienate non-christians. It is one of the gripes of non-christians that Christians are so sure, so confident, and are even sometime called "arrogant". It's not arrogance we just know that God will do what he promised he would do. What other religion can give you that kind of blessed assurance of reconcilliation with the one who made everything?

Abortion?

Obama's response on Abortion really bugs me. I realize he is trying to sound humble. He does not want to alienate any would-be voters. The problem is that if you are Christian it does not matter what you or anyone thinks. All that matters is what God thinks. We know what God thinks about Abortion because the Bible tells us. If God tells us all lives belong to him, do we really think that He is pleased about surgically sacrifices children because they are inconvenient to the lifestyle we want to live? Men are just as guilty because some men father children and abandon the women to raise them. I see no difference between that and the ancient Canaanites sacrifices their babies to idols as burnt offerings. God destroyed them. Rick Warren had also asked Obama when does an unborn baby becomes entitled to human right. I thought Obama, under the guise of humility, tried to weasel out of answering by asserting that the authority to answer was "above his pay grade. " Agreed. But God did answer it. All he had to do was say what God said. It's a question that falls in line with what all Christians struggle with. Are we going to obey the one to whom we belong? Are we going to go with God's judgement or are going to try to figure it out on our own. Unfortunately, in this area, Obama has decided to figure it out on his own as most of America....this is why keep coming up short.

Taxes?

I think Obama did a great job when he talked about taxes and about who he would tax and how it would affect people. I think that Obama's economic plan is a little more realistic than McCain's. McCain is saying that he wants to cut taxes for everyone, but I don't see how we are going to balance any budget without people paying more in taxes and wealth being re-distributed by the Government to close the gap between the "haves" and the "have-nots". Like it or not the gap between rich and poor is getting wider (and only the rich is benefiting). When I was a kid in the 80's a salary of $50K - 60K a year as great for a four-person family. However with banks failing, people loosing their homes, not being able to have health insurance, and generally working harder but not living as well, I don't see why we would not want the government to do something. I'm not placing the blame solely on Republican economics but "trickle-down economics" never helped me nor anyone else I know. McCain's ideas about less government and everyone taking care of their own insurance has not really worked out that well the past 8 years. Are you living better today than you were in 1999? Me Neither. I've got to add that at least on this point I think Obama won.

Gay Marriage?

I liked Obama's definition of Marriage. I just not sure I like the idea that he is unwilling to define it in the constitution. Here is an opportunity to "draw a line in concrete" and establish an ideal that we and our children will live by. The reason why marriage is not defined in the constitution because the framers, never in their wildest imaginings, ever thought it would be a question. Western Civilization is in trouble. Countries in Europe have already recognized homosexual unions as viable marriages. They are also on the brink of falling away from Christianity and towards Islam. Obama said he did not believe same-sex unions threaten his marriage or our society. If we do not categorically define marriage and leave it up to people anything will go. Society will slide further into disarray. It's a slippery slope to more debauchery. When I was a kid, if someone said "I love ____" someone else would say, "If you love ____ so much why don't you marry it." This will literally happen. People would start marrying their pets and there will be no logical reason to say that its wrong. Pedophilia will have to be recognized as legal. Why would polygamy be illegal? Eventually none of it will be illegal.

Is there evil?

I thought that Obama answered this question much more circumspectly than did McCain. He more broadly defined it than McCain did. It's more than just the Islamic terrorist that hate us. He points out that we need to be humble and remember that although we must confront evil leave room for God to define who and what is evil. The problem I have is that not everything that I consider evil is what Obama considers evil. I think abortion is evil. He doesn't. This is why God's laws and viewpoint must be the standard for what evil is, not us. We are so tainted by own sins, and so blinded by the thought "I'm not as bad as so and so" that we cannot be trusted to know what is wrong and what evil truly is. Evil is what God isn't. It's the absence of his purpose and direction, contrary to his will.

Democratic National Convention 2008 part 1 - Into Post

The last week of August 2008, the Democratic National Convention was held in Denver, Colorado. I viewed all the major speeches and will probably post about each speech that I thought was noteworthy. In this introductory post, I want to just make general comments. I've go to admit that the goal was to make Obama and Biden look as electable as possible. I heard more saber-rattling than substance. By this I mean that I heard more about Bush and the Republicans have messed up our economy and our Foreign Standing among the nations of the world rather than how we are going to fix it. I also found out that for the first time at the DNC, a church service was held the Sunday of that week to officially kick off the convention. I posted a video earlier that shows the whole hour service. I call it a church service but in order to make sure not to alienate or offend anyone it was called an "Interfaith Gathering". They had clergy from all the major religions to speak and honor their view of God. Selections from the Torah, Bible, Koran, and other holy texts were read before each speaker. Each speaker was able to say what ever they wanted to say.

Each speaker spoke about our "Sacred Responsibility" in a different context. For example Bishop Blake, the Presiding Prelate of the Church of God in Christ, spoke of "Our Sacred Responsibility to our Children". He spoke about prioritizing Children all over the world and protecting them. In addition he brought up the contradiction of loving and caring children but supporting abortion. He said that children are a gift of God. He said he disagreed with the Democratic Party's Pro-Choice stance, but agreed with Obama's plan to cut down on abortion by giving women more choices.

Another example was Sister Helen Prejean. She is a Roman Catholic Nun and Anti-Death Penalty Activist. She spoke of "Our Sacred Responsibility to Our Nation". She focused on her pet-issue. Her contention was that abolishing the death penalty is part of our responsibility to the nation. I thought that she appealed to emotion and the guilt of misapplying the death penalty. She pointed out how only poor people who murder white people actually end up on death row. I think she's right about that, but then she went to a very troubling place theologically. She said that our opinion on the death penalty brings up our view of God. I agree. Unfortunately she said that the Bible conflicts itself on God's character. Either He is forgiving and merciful or He is vengeful and harsh, is what she put forth and that we must pick which view we want to base our lives on. She then said that some Christians believe that God sacrificed his son to pay for our sins and that in the death penalty criminals pay for their sins to go to heaven. This is not what the Gospel is, but it is something you can get out of Roman Catholicism. To hear the Gospel mangled like that really offended me. She rejected that view and seemed to me to suggest Jesus' death on the cross had no redeeming value for anyone - all to disparage the death penalty which has nothing to do with saving anyone from hell.

There was a lot of good and bad said during the meeting. The CEO of the convention is a Pastor out of Washington DC named Leah Daughtry. The goal of this meeting was to show the world that you can be religious and still be a Democrat. Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer, on August 19, 2008, says the there is a "God Gap" between the Republicans and the Democrats. The Republicans are often depicted as being "people of faith" more so than Democrats. The problem I have is with trying to be all things to all People. Orthodox Judaism Islam, and all the other religions represented contradicts Christianity. They say Jesus is not the only way to God that their way is just as valid. Christians say Jesus is the only Way. We can't all be right. Holding hands and singing "Kum Bah Ya" is not going to erase this division and all depends on what you think about Jesus. Is it what Jesus said about himself or not? Everyone who spoke was very careful in all they said not to offend anyone. Pastor Daughtry even referred to God as he/she - what ever you believe God to be. In effect this is allowing people to make up their own God instead of how God truly revealed himself in the Scriptures. Not good.

The last point that I would raise is how many Muslim women spoke on behalf of Islam while in a Muslim country this would have been the case at all. Islam was depicted as a religion of peace and enlightenment on par and equal to Christianity while it does not take any time to show that there are very many discrepancies between the Koran and the Bible and in faith and practices.

Ever Feel Like this?

The thing that is missing is the sounds to truly capture the experience!!!

The Terrible C's Part 3a - Calvinism

Here I am on the 3rd part of my post responding to the series of GodTube videos titled The Terrible C's and it was about Calvinism. They spent the most time on this particular subject so I will need to split my post into two posts so that this will not be too long. In this part I will focus on the facts that are wrong and my next post will focus on how scripture was used to show their points. Before I significantly make comments, here is the video



I have some serious concerns about some of the points raised in this discussion. There are some ideas brought up as facts that I know have been demonstrated as not true.
1. Edom is related to Ismael and thereby responsible for Islam.
2. In the Old Covenant you must be a Jew to be saved.
3. Ismael went to hell
4. John Calvin ran a police state.

It is a stretch to equate Esau (Edom) with Ismael. We know from Genesis that "Edom" was a kind of nickname for Isaac's son Esau and his descendants were known as the Edomites (Genesis 36). However Ismael would have been Esau's uncle because his father was Abraham. Although Ismael was not the son of Abraham through whom God had chosen to bring the Messiah it had nothing to do with Ismael himself anymore than Jacob had to do with himself being chosen over Esau. Recall that Abraham had sons after Isaac and there is reason to conclude that they or Ismael were condemned to Hell. Ismael became the father of great nations. That was something God did. Today's Arabs are descended from him, but one of his descendant about 3 millennia later founded Islam. He can't be held responsible. Recall in Genesis 21:17 God miraculously saved Ismael and Hagar from dying in the desert and verse 20 emphatically says that God was with him. Why would God be with Ismael? Abraham loved Ismael and Isaac. There is no evidence that he loved Ismael less or that he did not teach Ismael the ways of God. The last time we see Ismael mentioned in Genesis is where He and Isaac buried their father together (Genesis 25:9). How significant! This must mean Ismael must have not harbored any ill-will to his father or brother. They seemed to have "buried the hatchet" a long time prior to Abraham's death. How could anyone conclude that Ismael went to hell when God pulled that kind of reconciliation?

Jews have always played a special part in God's plan to save humanity, but we have many scriptures that show that just being a Jew is not enough. Two people that come to mind that we can point to who were not Jews and lived before Christ but were saved along with the patriarchs and prophets and all the other believing Jews are Rahab and Ruth. Not only are we told that they were not Jews, but we know that by faith they pleased God and ended up being in Jesus' genealogy. Of course one might want to suggest that you could be listed by name in Hebrews 11 and as one of Jesus' ancestors and yet end up in hell, but I don't know anyone who would want to do that. Remember also the lengths God went to to save the people of Nineveh in the Book of Jonah. If he did not care about non-Jewish people before Jesus then why did He send a prophet to do his will?

Unfortunately, not everyone in our society today know that much about Jean Calvin. He was just a man like any of us - flawed and a sinner. However God did use him to do many great things during the time God allotted to him about 500 years ago. Many of the points raised against Jean Calvin as a man and the things he did are raised to dispel and disparage Calvinism. There is a radio program that is also web casted out of the New York area that has dealt with Jean Calvin form a historical basis. In this light, Jean Calvin does not fit the caricature painted in this video. Calvin did not run a police state in Geneva. The radio show is called Iron Sharpens Iron and is broadcasted at 3 pm Eastern every weekday. Fortunately for us who don't live in that market, the show is recorded and archived everyday so you can listen on the Internet. Here is the show broadcasted October 4 and November 11, 2007 talking about the historical persons of Jean Calvin and Arminius both of whom are mentioned in this video. It's called THE EXPOSITORY GENIUS OF JOHN CALVIN.

If there is enough information out there directly contradicting what they have stated in this video, it would be wise to investigate further, weighing every single word and thought expressed.

The Terrible C's Part 2 - Roman Catholicism

Here is part 2 of my response to Ex-Catholics for Christ's series of videos on what they called the Three Terrible C's. The second video is about Roman Catholicism. The videos are again found on Godtube and here is the second video.



As you can see in this video, instead of talking about the ways Catholicism falls short on being in line with Bible, more time is spent on talking about the Catholic Catechism. I agree with no book outside the Bible should be used to dictate faith and practice for a Christian, but there are many other important issues to talk about other than what was chosen to be discussed in the video. I do think that mitigating the centrality of Jesus in being right with God and basically embracing Hinduism, Islam, and other religions that deny key Biblical truths because of their sincerity of faith is wrong. I can sincerely believe 3 plus 3 equals 5 but that won't change the fact that I would be wrong. Unfortunately despite the fact that the Catholic Church teaches that Jesus is the way to get God, they seem willing to accept that other faiths are just as valid. I also do not want to paint all Roman Catholics as this way. I'm referring only to those Catholics who follow the Pope, the Vatican, and the traditions of the Roman Catholic Church that contradict what the Bible says. There are many Protestant denominations that are also off and do not follow the Bible as they should. This video seems to me imply that all of Roman Catholics are off center and deceived. To argue that idea means thinking that for over 1000 years God was not powerful enough to protect his Church from error. Jesus said that the Gates of hell will never prevail against his Church.

COGIC at the DNC 2008

The Presiding Bishop of the Church of God In Christ, Bishop Blake, spoke at the 2008 Democratic National Convention. View the video below. On the main page of COGIC website it is clearly stated that as a denomination COGIC is not endorsing any political party.

The Terrible C's Part 1 - Charismatic Movement

I was in my Google RSS Reader today and came across three interesting videos on GodTube from a ministry called Ex-Catholics for Christ. The three videos are part of a series called The Terrible C's. Part 1 is about the Charismatic Movement. Part 2 is about Roman Catholicism. Part 3 is about Calvinism. I found the videos very interesting and worth discussing in detail. I will write three posts - one for each video. Here is the first video:



I found several things I disagreed with in this video. By and large there is very little scripture foundation offered for their idea. The men in the video believe several things that I nearly feel out of my seat when I heard them. I will enumerate three of them one by one.
1. The spiritual gifts discussed in the Bible are not in practice today. Spiritual gifts such as prophecy, speaking in tongues, healing, and other supernatural gifts that the Bible speaks about ended when the last book of the New Testament was completed.
2. Women did not ever speak in tongues
3. No one has spoken in tongues since the Apostles of the first century died and before the 19th century


Here are my responses to each one.
1. They did not offer any scripture to base on their teaching on the cessation of tongues. The only scripture I can even think of may be twisted to say that tongues and signs ended with the closing of scripture is 1 Corinthians 13: 8-12 which says

Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

Many people who use this scripture to prove that tongues and prophecies are over stop at verse 10 and say that the perfect thing that came is the completion of the New Testament. I don't hold to that because although the scripture is completed we still do not know or understand everything. In context, Paul is talking about Jesus' second coming. Then we will understand fully because we will finally be like him and see him as he is.

Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. 1 John 3:2

2. Where does the Bible say women never spoke in tongues? In the video, the man attempts to summarize the rules Paul passed on from God concerning how to incorporate tongue speaking and prophesying into the order of church services in 1 Corinthians 14. I want to focus on verses 26-40.
What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church. If anyone speaks in a tongue, two—or at the most three—should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret. If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and God.

Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said. And if a revelation comes to someone who is sitting down, the first speaker should stop. For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged. The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets. For God is not a God of disorder but of peace.
As in all the congregations of the saints, women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the Law says. If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church.

Did the word of God originate with you? Or are you the only people it has reached? If anybody thinks he is a prophet or spiritually gifted, let him acknowledge that what I am writing to you is the Lord's command. If he ignores this, he himself will be ignored.

Therefore, my brothers, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way.

In the video, the King James version was appealed to. It says "If any man" but newer translations say "anyone". I looked up the Greek and found that the word being translated in verse 27 as "anyone" is "tis" and it makes no designation according to gender. The Strong number is 1500 and it means "a certain, a certain one". You cannot use this scripture to say women never spoke in tongues in the early church. I realize that I could say something about the verses admonishing women to keep quiet but I will save this for another future post. Additionally, the Bible says in Acts 10:47 that the people at Cornelius' house spoke in tongues. This would have had to include the women in his household.

To be fair, the video is not all wrong.They did point out that according to scripture if there are to be tongues spoken in the environment of a church meeting, there must be an interpretation and if there is not, people need to to keep their tongues to themselves. Unfortunately, not all churches follow this prescription. In addition, it was pointed out that speaking in tongues is the easiest spiritual gift to fake.

3. No proof is offered for the idea that no one has spoken in tongues between the end of the New Testament and the beginning of the Charismatic Movement. I would not say that I am part of the Charismatic Movement, but I am part of a Pentecostal Denomination that does believe in the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. In our history, we have taught in the past that speaking in an unknown tongue (human or heavenly languages) is the proof of being filled with the Holy Spirit, but now many of us believe that speaking in tongues is one of the signs. No where is scripture does it say that Tongues is the best sign of belief. Scripture says that we "...will know them by their fruits" (Matthew 7:20). We believe this because of the experience of realizing that people were speaking in tongues but not coming to Christ. There must be a change in behavior and a desire to live holy if a person is truly born again and filled with the Holy Spirit.

As for the challenge of proving that baptism of the Holy Spirit and spiritual gifts still goes on today the one question I have is if you want proof I have to ask what church are you going to where the gifts of the spirit is not being manifested? The same God who empowered the apostles empowers us today. Why are you not seeing miraculous healing? Why is cancer not being healed? Or the lame walk? Or amputated or withered limbs restored? Why are you not seeing true prophesy where God says something and validates it in a miraculous way? There are many recorded examples of these. Some of which I have personally experienced. I know what it's like to be sick with arthritis and medical science not being able to do anything to help me. I was on crutches and constant pain for 5 years and God healed me. No where does the Bible say that He will stop being our everything...the one upon which we must trust and depend on everything. One final scripture about laying hands is found in James 5:14,15. Remember no where does it say that there will come a day when we will no longer need to do this until Jesus returns for his perfect church.

Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.

Unless you want to argue that telekinesis is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit then you must concede that the elders were laying hands on the sick people they anointed with oil and prayed for.

Biblical Basis - Jesus' Humanity

One of the most important doctrines of Christianity is the fact that Jesus has duel natures. He is 100% man and 100% God. Again, like in the post about Jesus' deity, I will not discuss the Trinity in this post but next week. I'm also skipping the question of Jesus' race. The truth is the color of his skin, while an interesting discussion, has no bearing on a person's identity in a first century context, which is the time Jesus was on earth. It has no bearing on his identity as the Savior of this, his creation.

Instead, I'd like to discuss what the Bible says about Jesus' humanity. One of the gripes some people express about the Gospels is that they do not emphasize the same things. They do not tell all the same stories and when the stories parallel they contain varying degrees of detail and aimed at different audiences. Some folks even try to use these differences to say that the Gospels conflict with one another. I disagree. I can find no contradiction and no conflict. It's important to recognize that each of the four Gospels emphasizes different aspects of Jesus. Matthew was written to Jews and emphasis his kingship and messiah status, focusing on how He fulfills Old Testament prophecies. You can see much about Jewish culture. Mark was written to the Romans and more action oriented. It moves at a more rapid pace and covers nothing of his background before his public ministry and talks more about His deeds. Mark emphasizes Jesus' identity as a Servant. Luke was written to the Greeks. It reads more like what we think of today when we talk about biographies. We see Jesus as a baby, at age 12, and during his public ministry. Luke emphasizes Jesus' humanity. He really was born and had many of the same experiences that we all have to face. In John's Gospel we see Jesus as God. No other Gospel is more blatant on that point. You will notice the John's Gospel contains some of the strongest languages on that point.

Turning attention to Jesus' claim to be fully human, it's important to recognize that his humanity is fundamentally different than ours. Jesus had no taint of sin that permeates the rest of us. He is what God had intended us to be. It is through Jesus and only through Jesus that our humanity can be purely and truly expressed. He always did the right thing and never ever sin. None of the rest of us can say the same thing. Jesus is the second Adam. Paul wrote in Romans 5: 12-19

Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned— for before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law. Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to come.

But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! Again, the gift of God is not like the result of the one man's sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.

Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. For just as through the disobediencee of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.

It was only as a man that we could be redeemed from sin and death because it was by a man that we all feel into slavery. In Philippians 2:5-11, Paul also wrote:

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

We see that Paul taught that Jesus is God and voluntarily became a man and then died for us in humble obedience to save us all. It is important to embrace all things that the Bible teaches about Jesus. A whole book could be written about the Humanity of Christ but I will make one last point based on Hebrews 10:1-10 which says:

The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. If it could, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins, because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said:
"Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,
but a body you prepared for me;
with burnt offerings and sin offerings
you were not pleased.
Then I said, 'Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll—
I have come to do your will, O God.' " First he said, "Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them" (although the law required them to be made). Then he said, "Here I am, I have come to do your will." He sets aside the first to establish the second. And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

The entire book of Hebrews is apologetic in nature - it brilliantly defends the faith in light of Judaism. By Chapter 10 the author explains why Jesus' sacrifice was necessary and uses a couple of scriptures from the Old Testament to show the Jesus really did have a human body - a life to be laid down only to be picked back up again. The scriptures quoted were Psalm 40: 6-8 in verse 7. The author makes the point that Christ's incarnation is nothing strange to Judaism. Jesus fulfilled this and many other scriptures from the Old Testament and those that are yet to be fulfilled He will fulfill in His second advent.