Why Believe Jesus?

James Morey asked many questions in a previous conversation. They are all important questions, if someone is honestly seeking answers. We have seen in the past that many are not seeking answers, but seek an argument. There is a difference. While we all love to banter here I thought it would be fitting to answer these questions as a post.

First, James here is a kind man. He questions the morality of hell and Christianity. I believe at one time he claimed "I'm effectively a Buddhist/Taoist."

I am sure its safe to say that his driving force is compassion, moderation, and humility towards others. Unlike Atheists, Buddhists may have some assemblance of moral accountability. To who is another subject to discuss.

Dan,

So you would say, rather that without God there is no basis for morality, without God there would be no morality, period. So all secular or differently religious ethical systems that lead to goodness are ultimately God's doing.

...and is it fair to say that you believe it is simply impossible to be good without God, regardless of whether or not a person believes in the existence of a god?

Would it follow that the ultimate human good, in your mind, is acceptance of Jesus as god/savior, as that is what, all else excepted, "saves" you? You've written that religions that focus on works are "false," and that grace is the sole reason for salvation.

So it ultimately comes down to whether or not a person believes in Jesus as savior or not, other goodness (Godliness, to you) excepted.

...if I understand you correctly. I'm trying to figure out exactly what it is you believe so I don't ask questions of you that aren't germane to your beliefs.

Morey,

Yes, I am claiming that without God there is no good. Now, does it matter if you believe it or not? Not at all. Gravity still exists even if I don't believe in it. So, even if you have a professing atheist, they will still have morality because we have consciences that was given to us by God. Your religion may call it alaya-vijnana although I don't fully understand the term.

>>So it ultimately comes down to whether or not a person believes in Jesus as savior or not, other goodness (Godliness, to you) excepted.

Not at all!! I believed in Jesus for years as a false convert. (James 2:19) The difference is what God says that He will do to save us. Like a gift given to us we have to open it to receive it. First, we must first repent (turn away) from sinning, simply as an understanding how wretched and broken and corrupt that we really are compared to a perfect and loving God. Second, we have to trust Jesus that He did do what He did in sacrifice to save us and trust Him with our lives and our Salvation. If you do that, at that moment and for eternity, you are saved by Christ and you will spend eternity in Heaven. Fight it, deny it, and reject it then there is no other avenue but Hell.

>> I'm avoiding it because theism makes close to zero sense to me and because theistic religions in general strike me as profoundly unfair should they happen to be true.

Ray says that its a legal transaction. You have violated the law (God's Law) and Jesus has paid your fine in full.

Its not just a belief, its an understanding of ourselves and a release of ourselves to Him. Because we are separate from God in sin.

Someone else over at "To The Ends" put it nicely this way "This way back to God is not just a legal transaction, but results in an inner spiritual awakening described as a "new birth" or being "born from above" (John 3:3). This is a personal, spiritual transformation in which inner emptiness and death is replaced by new life, and "all things have become new" (2 Cor. 5:17) The key to accepting this new life is accepting Jesus himself, accepting his resurrection and his claims to be God, and then submitting yourself to his absolute authority as God over your life."

You cannot reason out of Christianity if Jesus Christ is Lord of your reasoning.

On Religions

Moshe over at carm.org said to me in the past, "That is, our religion is from the Creator. It is a result of our hope and trust in God. It is the natural fruit. False religions have stolen from God and not the other way around. False religions have a common denominator and that is there assault on the term "Justification." They are working toward their salvation. We are working as a result of our salvation...

A religion that is pure in the sight of God is a "discipline" which results and originates, from God. We do these things as a result of being justified. We do these things because God has declared us "not guilty" because of the passive/active obedience of the Messiah being given to us as a gift. His works are what save us. In contrast, the religions of the world who deny justification seek to bring their "religious" efforts to God to "save" them.

...We as believers have a beautiful religion because it is a fruit which comes from God. It starts with him and ends with him. Like I said; the religion we show is a result of what God did. It is an external response. For example, we love because he first loved us right? The false religions out there have a completely different gospel. As a result they bring their filthy rags and present then to Gtod thinking they are working their way to God. We have been made clean by [Jesus Christ]. The false religions make themselves clean."

In reference to Hell

>>because you clearly believe that this (Hell) is all not only fair, but just and merciful. Or unfair, but not to us. We're the recipients of your God's unfairness to himself...which I'm trying to make sense of.

Yes its fair. Is it fair to punish the violator of a law? Should the punishment fit the crime? If you see in the newspaper a man getting a small $20.00 fine for an infraction you would assume that the infraction was petty or small. When you find out the fine was for raping and murdering 10 woman in cold blood you would be outraged, as we all would be.

So what is the punishment for one little lie? Hell.

Why is that? Sin is always directly against God. GotQuestions.org puts it this way, "God is an eternal and infinite Being (Psalm 90:2). As a result, all sin requires an eternal punishment. God’s holy, perfect, and infinite character has been offended by our sin. Although to our finite minds our sin is limited in time, to God—who is outside of time—the sin He hates goes on and on. Our sin is eternally before Him and must be eternally punished in order to satisfy His holy justice."

I believe a sinner, without being forgiven of sins, cannot be in the presence of God because he/she would burst into flames (Genesis 32:30). God is perfect so we must be perfect to be in His presence. Without the mediator we would perish (1 Timothy 2:5). Look what happened to Saul (now Paul) he was blinded by God's holy presence of light.

The rich man is a good example of someone that understands the gravity of sinning against God and going to Hell. God loves us (John 3:16) and wants us to be saved from Hell (2 Peter 3:9).



bit.ly/whyJesus

Does God Exist?

Dr. Stephen Meyer did an interview recently that was quite interesting to me. He discusses some of the evidence for ID as we have been talking about here recently so I thought y'all would enjoy some of the points. I enjoyed how he scientifically broke things down to understand the data presented. Anyway, here it is in its entirety to listen to or download for future reference. It may not be up for long so you might want to download it.

I was able to get this from Diane Eble, the one that held the interview. To order the Seminar go to True U Tour. Enjoy.

Part 1

Part 2

Update: Thanks to Rufus we found out that Stephen Meyer was on Praise the Lord recently along with many others, including Ray. Told you there is a God.

Follow this link and check out the program from May 20.

Thursday May 20, 2010
Paul Crouch, Jr. hosts "Creation, Evolution and God In Science Night" with Dr. Stephen C. Meyer, Eric Hovind, Sean McDowell, Greg Koukl, Ray Comfort, Dr. Hugh Ross, Doug Phillips in Costa Mesa, CA. Archives

bit.ly/Godexists

Whining About Wine

I was in a conversation, or battle, with this professing Christan named Wilson over at Triablogue and I thought it would be a good post because of the subject and points that was made about alcohol. This guy that I was talking to is not the point here, even though his ego needed a check, the point was what was said about the consumption of Alcohol.

My points were these:

Is getting drunk a sin? Yes! (1 Corinthians 6:10)

Keep in mind that the blood of Christ is "new wine."

Because of all the parasites in the water back then it was safer to squeeze grapes for drinks but that is called 'new wine' and do you know what new wine is? Grape juice.

Jesus turned water into grape juice. Remember the verses about putting new wine into old skins...(Luke 5:33-39)

Personally, I try to do all things that glorify God and I cannot see drinking hard liquor as glorifying God.

Is tobacco a sin? Probably, if you put it before your kids health, it may be. If you place it before your own health, and lose a leg like my Father In-Law, it may be. Is hoarding, if it causes your kids to be unhealthy or unsafe? Sure. Not being considerate of others can be evil. If you will not give it up for anything or anyone, that you covet it more then God Himself, then sure, it is a sin.

When the Lord spoke about it as favorable in Isaiah 65:8 "Thus saith the LORD, As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one saith, Destroy it not; for a blessing is in it: so will I do for my servants' sakes, that I may not destroy them all." (my emphasis)

Also, a wine press does not create wine, AT ALL!!! A wine press (referenced throughout the Bible) makes grape juice.

Fermenting grapes makes the wine and is called many things because of it. Other terms fermented wine is referenced in the Bible as: Wine, Strong drink, Vinegar of wine, Vinegar of strong drink, Liquor of grapes, Dried grapes, The kernels, The husk.

This was not a conversation about Kashrut but look what it says in Numbers 6:3-5 "He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes, or dried.

All the days of his separation shall he eat nothing that is made of the vine tree, from the kernels even to the husk. "

To avoid Fermented grapes "until the days be fulfilled, in the which he separateth himself unto the LORD, he shall be holy,"

To be Holy is to separate yourself from fermented grapes!!

To be a drunkard is a sin and you are anything but a Christian if you are one. (1 Corinthians 6:10)

Does that mean that whoever drinks a glass of wine is going to hell? Of course not, but if you are an alcoholic and you are tempting yourself with wine that leads to other things then you may be sinning.

Look at Hosea 9:2 and Proverbs 3:10 Do you see that the Bible makes a distinction between wine and new wine to let us know the difference between fermented wine and grape juice? Jesus taught that new wine was not put into old bottles because they couldn’t expand with the pressure. (Matthew 9:17) Right?

Because the fermentation process, yeast acts on the sugar in the grapes to produce alcohol and carbon dioxide which builds pressure. According to the Bible, new wine is, therefore, not fermented. Also, the Lord's Supper was grape juice, evidenced because when Jesus spoke of the "fruit of the vine" (Matthew 26:29) He was speaking of new wine. He didn't even use the term wine, but fruit.

Logic also says that the fermentation of wine is the result of adding yeast, a leavening agent, to the grape juice to make alcohol. Correct?

At the supper of unleavened bread, do you think the Lord would offer a drink made with yeast?

There is no way He would logically do that. Grape Juice is new wine.

bit.ly/Whinewine

Free eBook: Signature of Controversy

I received, in an email, an invitation to review a new eBook called "Signature of Controversy". I was going to read it before posting it but I see Brian has posted it, so I might as well also.

Signature of Controversy is a free eBook with contributions by David Berlinski, David Klinghoffer, Casey Luskin, Paul Nelson, Jay Richards, Richard Sternberg and Stephen Meyer. It contains responses critics of Stephen Meyer's book Signature in the Cell.

Download the PDF ebook here. (expires soon)

Enjoy.

Check out more Stephen Meyer resources here. Including the full mp3 audio of the book, Signature in the Cell.

Hat tip to Apologetics315.

Also, if you care, you could join the online interview being offered.

Why Are We Even Here?

Wem quoted Strombringer's profile:"I define manhood simply: men should be tough, fair, and courageous, never petty, never looking for a fight, but never backing down from one, either." — John Wayne

I love that quote! You get, at the very least, 10 points for that one.

Like a good snowball fight, flinging poo can be entertaining, but it distracts from the issue we are discussing. In an academic debate, no one can do it better then Aykroyd and Curtin, they are extremely entertaining so don't even try to top them.



Ask yourself if the points made were valid and strong arguments. Do we even care what the points were after that hysterical banter?

Why are we here? I am here to Debunk Atheists, but I also believe we are here for something else. Do you know what that is? Do you know why we are here?

Evolution, Smoking Gun?

Reynold said: >>Oh yeah, Dan. I'm still waiting for your evidence that the "false claims" on that site I gave earlier are actually "false".

Well the Bible, my authority, claims something entirely different so I am going with that. I don't claim to know all things and I cannot explain half of the finding but you must admit, in intellectual honesty, that the data we have available to us can be interpreted into two different worldviews. That is why we are able to have thriving organizations like the Creation Museum, AIG, IRC, Bio-Complexity, ISCID, Origins.org, People of the likes of Pvblivs, Discovery Institute, Intelligent Design Network, Access Research Network and a plethora of others, flourishing and continuing to make headway in science, even if they have to go it alone without the governments backing them, like the secular scientists have.

IF, big IF, you all were doing your jobs correctly, evolution would have shut us all up years ago. We are still waiting.

Where is the smoking gun?

Really? After all these years you cannot even come close to really showing evidence for evolution that shuts us all down and closes our doors? Are you ALL really that inept?

For example, we all see a fossil of a leaf, or a fish eating another fish.

Evolutionists "interpret" it as sedimentary layers slowly laid down over a period of millions of years while simultaneously preventing the decay of rotting flesh or plants in some miraculous way to form a fossil.

Creationists see a rapid burial through some event that just so happens to be pointed out in a myriad of nations legends, archeological finds (Ahora Covenant Inscription), and books of antiquity (Ogygian deluge, Plato in his Laws, Book III), including the Bible. We only have to go into our back yard to see leaves that decay in a few short days.

Let me know and I will make you a fossil in my backyard with a little concrete.

We all see the bias displayed with headlines like "70 million-year-old fossil yields preserved blood vessels"

O'rly? Is that your smoking gun? I can go on and on but you get the point. There is zero evidence that knocks us on the ground to the point we cannot get up. Archeology and Science are both showing strong evidence for the Biblical claims daily. We are no going anywhere, but you are. We have patience.

I need to add the survey of failed evolutionary predictions.

The Bible, Bunch of Fairy Tales

Oh, how many time have I heard from Atheists that the Bible is just a bunch of Fairy Tales...

“Have you ever heard of anyone in history being imprisoned or executed for distributing copies of Grimm’s fairy tales? What would you say if you’d heard that copies of The Iliad and The Odyssey had been banned in Saudi Arabia and North Korea? Imagine people trying to smuggle copies of Hans Christian Andersen’s works into China? Such ideas are comical, but the Bible, which has been called a mere collection of myths and fairy tales, has suffered all of these fates. Throughout history and even today, copies of the Bible are banned and burned, and those possessing it are persecuted and imprisoned. There’s something about this ancient book that threatens and frightens those in power, especially those who use power to oppress people weaker than themselves. And they have every reason to be frightened.”

Eric Metaxas, Everything You Always Wanted to Know about God (Colorado Springs, 2005), page 155.

bit.ly/Biblefairytales

Worldview Quote-Presumptuousness

"To show that an argument is invalid or unsound is not to show that the conclusion of the argument is false.... All the proofs of God’s existence may fail, but it still may be the case that God exists." (Outspoken Atheist-Kai Nielsen)

"Atheist’s denial of God’s existence needs just as much substantiation as does the theist’s claim; the atheist must give plausible reasons for rejecting God’s existence." (Paul Copan)

bit.ly/presumptuousness

The Evolutionary Paradigm Breeds Atheists

They have no where else to go. There entire industry, careers, and grants are geared to the paradigm of evolution. If wrong, then there is a Creator. These points were discussed in the article named "What Do Scientists Really Think?" that reviews a new book called,

Science vs Religion: What Scientists Really Think.

We get some of the insight and opinions of secular scientists for example, that was quoting the book, "None of the religious scientists I talked with supported the theory of intelligent design. (94% of religious scientists think that evolution is the best explanation for the development of life on earth)." (pp. 29-30).

Why would they? As Expelled, the Movie points out they would be laughed out, or fired, for such blasphemy towards science. Little do they know science was encouraged in the original Christian universities that searches for the 'Fingerprints Of God'.

Harvard and Yale (originally Puritan) and Princeton (originally Presbyterian) once had rich Christian histories.

Harvard was named after a Christian minister. Yale was started by clergymen, and Princeton’s first year of class was taught by Reverend Jonathan Dickinson. Princeton’s crest still says “Dei sub numine viget,” which is Latin for “Under God she flourishes.”(AIG)

Yea, 'under God she flourishes' and not under God, they will fail. Evidenced by the current Evolutionary Paradigm. Evolution is the biggest lie ever perpetuated on mankind, besides man causing global warming that is.

Someone that reviewed the book said "Perhaps its most surprising finding is that nearly a quarter of the atheists and agnostics describe themselves as 'spiritual.'"

O'rly? Closet Christians? No such animal.

The author, Elaine Ecklund, attempts to show that "Only a small minority are actively hostile to religion. Ecklund reveals how scientists-believers and skeptics alike-are struggling to engage the increasing number of religious students in their classrooms and argues that many scientists are searching for "boundary pioneers" to cross the picket lines separating science and religion."

Our War-Abortion

YCRBYCHI

An Aids victim pleaded with Mother Theresa as she made her rounds in the hospice, to pray for a cure for Aids. Mother Theresa replied, "I have already prayed to God for healing for Aids, and God's answer to me was "the one I sent to you was aborted in his mother's womb"

Get Involved!!!

Update: As a follow up I was just told of a movie that will be coming out soon.



Show your support at bloodmoneyfilm.com

Individuals and family members are often hurt emotionally following an abortion. If you, or someone you know, needs help, please contact Abortion Recovery InterNational (1-866-4-My-Recovery)

bit.ly/ourwar

Ask And You Shall Receive...BIO-Complexity

Dr. Dembski at Uncommon Decent alerted us to a group that is undertaking a new endeavor.

I cannot tell you how many Atheists have asked for real peer reviewed scientific papers on Biblical Creation or the lesser, Intelligent Design. Many Atheists I know, religiously, rely on science as their ONLY source of life's questions.

Well my friends, this year introduces the new:

BIO-Complexity

From their Purpose link:

"BIO-Complexity is a peer-reviewed scientific journal with a unique goal. It aims to be the leading forum for testing the scientific merit of the claim that intelligent design (ID) is a credible explanation for life."

Young-earth creationists (YECs) and the Intelligent Design Movement (IDM) are natural allies in many ways, although we have major differences as well. There is a distinct difference between what I believe, as a Young Earth Creationist, and what proponents of Intelligent Design believe, mainly IDM avoids appealing to the Bible as authoritative "special revelation".

Things for us all to look for are, for example, in the condition of complexity, variety and adaptability in living organisms and ecological systems where the Creation Model espouses that inherent and complete in original populations as created; manifested (and subject to degradation) over time through genetic variation and natural selection. The Evolutionary Model espouses that it increased over time from zero via DNA copying errors (i.e., mutations), natural selection, and millions of years and both are empirically falsifiable.

In the Condition of Massive amounts of Coded Genetic Information, again the Creation Model espouses that inherent and complete in original populations as created; sum total has steadily declined over time via mutational degradation and the Evolutionary Model espouses that increased over time from zero, via DNA copying errors (i.e., mutations), natural selection, and millions of years. Again both of these are empirically falsifiable. (True Origins)

Will these conditions be addressed? Only time, and funding, will tell. This, for now, is the best hope for the Atheists to find, their much desired, extrabiblical truth.

Maybe it would be a good idea for the Atheists to support this effort financially.

Maybe, just maybe, future findings could help the Atheists change their viewpoint of our origins. I will not hold my breath, but I will always remain hopeful for all of you. Your lives, as you all claim, dogmatically depends on that information.

bit.ly/IDMBio