lifeinthespirit222

Is There Really Only One Way to Heaven

Hello

Great to see you after Christmas. I was excited to hear about your trip to India. What a great adventure! You have this sense of adventure, and the world and your whole lives are before you. I love India and Indian food, perhaps because I have lived with Indians at different times in my life, and enjoy their friendship. I see India as a land of many languages, diverse cultures, and exotic cuisine, as well as tragedies in many people’s lives.

I appreciate your courage and willingness to try new things, to go places, and see things and meet new people. My experience in visiting other countries has been exciting, and I don’t believe a person can visit another country and come back the same. It helps me realize how things can be better here, as well as appreciate some aspects of our nation and culture that I took for granted.

I also appreciate your openness to learn about other religions and cultures, and to see the good in them. I would like to share some perspectives for you to consider on your spiritual journey. Each of us is on a grand spiritual/intellectual/life journey, a privilege no one else can or should try to undertake for us. I see each of us experiencing different phases or chapters of this journey; mine have included Marxism and classical Greek humanism).

You mentioned that there is truth in every religion. I agree with you, just like there is (some) truth in what everyone says. There was truth in what Hitler said, and Mao, and Stalin, and all the other bad guys that have lived in history. I think that’s why they were successful – they wove truth into their deceptions that enabled them to sway the masses to their world views, their agendas. But how do we discover what is true among the many statements of political and religious leaders?

I find it useful to think of different religions in the world as different world views/conceptual systems, all competing for the attention of, resources from, and ultimately the soul of all persons. A few observations:

Because they have competing claims, they all cannot be wholly true. Christianity and Islam, for example, both claim to be the only way to heaven or paradise. Both could be false; both cannot be true.
Ultimately, the question is what is true – really true, objectively, absolutely true – truth that does not depend on our awareness of it. The notion that you have your truth, I have my truth, etc. – the claim that all truth is subjective, falls apart. It claims to be absolutely, objectively true that all truth is subjective. Statements that are self-contradictory need no refutation – they refute themselves, like the person who claims he does not exist.
Related to notions of truth is the question of our nature. Are we by nature good? Bad? Neutral? The belief that man/woman is basically good, and that society can make real (social/moral) progress took a big hit when World War I came along, killing millions of people. Then WWII came along, with one of the most advanced, educated, and scientific nations on the earth directly responsible for the murder of millions of Jews and other persons considered undesirable by the Nazis. If we are basically good, how can we explain such pervasive in the world – due to ignorance? Socialization? Chance? They are ultimately not satisfying. The Christian presupposition that our nature gravitates toward sin is bolstered by the question – if all of your/my thoughts and feelings were projected up on a big screen for everyone to see, would we be comfortable with that?

Christianity is unique in other ways as well:

Fulfilled prophecy – Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection fulfilled dozens of prophecies, the odds of which happening by chance are truly astronomical.
The Bible itself, which was written over 2,000 years by over 40 authors on 3 continents from widely differing backgrounds. The consistent theme, interwoven stories, and prophecies made and fulfilled testify of a single author – the Holy Spirit. Even an individual or organization with unlimited resources would be unable to do such a feat over such a vast period of time.
Vast archaeological evidence that testifies to the historicity of the Old and New Testaments, rather than being merely an inspiring book authored by a charismatic religious or cult leader. There have even been expeditions that have found Noah’s Ark, and brought back physical evidence of the ark’s existence. Over one hundred cultures have stories in their histories about a world wide flood and a family that survived in a boat with animals. What is the likelihood of this happening by chance?
Christianity offers the opportunity for a personal relationship with the sovereign, living God, unlike other religions. For example, Allah is distant and even capricious, while Hinduism is ultimately pantheistic – god is all there is. And “everything” is not personal; it just is. The sovereign, living God of the universe created us in His image, with the capacity and yearning to know Him and walk in His ways. The Word of God reveals that He knows us and every hair on our heads, that He created each of us with unique gifts and talents, that we have a purpose in our lives, and that we will never experience true joy and peace (that transcends circumstances) unless we discover and live to carry out that purpose. It is a sad thing to see people who have never discovered their purpose or mission in their lives.
Furthermore, He states that this relationship – of knowing God, (not just knowing about God) as eternal ramifications: “Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in your name, and done many wonders in your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.” Matthew 7:22-23.
There is a wise old saying “money is not everything, but you have to have money to realize this.” Solomon, for whom there is no one comparable today, was the richest, wisest, most powerful person on earth when he lived. He had everything a person could possibly want, including hundreds of wives. And he said it was all vanity. He came to recognize that life devoted to worldly pursuits is not ultimately satisfying.

I am reading a wonderful book called “Simplicity” by Mindy Caliguire. She asks: “Are you living the life you were uniquely created for? Body and soul contain thousands of possibilities out of which you can build many identities. But only in one of these will you find your true self that has been hidden in Christ from all eternity. Identity is never simply a creation. It is always a discovery. True identify is always a gift of God.”

There is another perspective that is worth considering, which I would call “My Own Religion”, or MOR. It is really a synthesis of elements of other religions, a sort of designer religion. Take the nation of a loving God, add the universalistic notion that everyone is going to heaven, subtract the concept of sin and judgment, add New Age reincarnation, a dash of Buddhism, and the Mormon notion that we can all achieve godhood, and tad a, we can design our own religion. While this exercise of creating God in our own image may be very interesting, it fails to pass the basic question of whether it is true, and whether it reflects temporal and spiritual reality.

Is the “Collective Consciousness” Real?

“We need to open ourselves up the spirit of God’s word which lives inside us as a collective consciousness.”

Response:

I really appreciate your sharing your writings with me. They are obviously personal to you, and represent your thoughts and reflections over your life. Sounds like you had an extraordinary experience with your severe illness.

Your writings are very intriguing to me, and raise fresh questions. I see this communication with you more of a conversation of friends over coffee than a debate over issues.

“We need to open ourselves up the spirit of God’s word which lives inside us as a collective consciousness.”

Reponse:

You imply that there is a spirit of God’s word, and that every person has this spirit within them.

As Jesus Christ is also known as The Word, you may be referring to the Holy Spirit. But the Bible is clear that the Holy Spirit does not dwell in all people, but only Christians. The Biblical perspective is that the triune God (God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit) is separate from and distinct from all of creation, including mankind. Furthermore, when a person becomes a Christian, that person receives a new spirit which communes with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit of the sovereign, living God comes to dwell within Christians.

But for non-Christians to become open to another spirit is dangerous, as the spirit world is inhabited by demons as well as angels. People who have sought to tap into the spirit world have often discovered that something has come into them which is malicious.

I suspect that the only collective consciousness known to all would be:

the universal realization that we are all creatures who are at some point destined to die, and
a desire to connect with the infinite – a hunger to know God, and an underlying realization that we were created distinct from animals, with the capacity to know the sovereign, living God of the universe. (Blaise Pascal stated that each of us has “a God-shaped vacuum within us”.)

When we see we are caught up in an endless morass of conditioned patterns, one is presented with the opportunity for the avenue of intellect enlightened to show up in one’s life.

Response:

Yes, particularly when we are young, operating from our conditioning, how we were raised, is most common. And as we mature, our ability to use reason to learn about and discuss various world views and lifestyles availability to us. However, a critical question is whether we are a Christian or not. A non-Christian may be highly educated and informed, but do not have access to insights into the spiritual world available to Christians.

“But the natural man does not receive he things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” I Corinthians 2:14

Is Mormonism a Christian Denomination?

“Mormonism is a Christian denomination and I am a Christian.”

Response:

I want you to know that I have a high regard for my Mormon friends and the Mormon Church for the strong family values it espouses, its work with the poor, its incredible music, its emphasis on physical preparation, and its financial acumen. But I don’t believe that its theology is sound.

I realize this sounds terribly arrogant and presumptuous, but I am concerned about where you will spend eternity. I ran across a cardiologist named Maurice Rawlings, who has had many of his patients die. (He is either a great doctor who gets the worst cases, or a lousy doctor…) He is able to recusitate many of them, and has discovered that about half of them experienced light and joy in heaven and didn’t want to come back, while the other half experienced utter terror in hell, and didn’t want to die again. All of which compels me to realize that these matters are not merely academic discussions, but have to do with the REALITY of death and ask what is on the other side. You can see more here: http://www.freecdtracts.com/testimony/hellandback.htm.

The other reason I have become very interested in really knowing about the spiritual realm and life in that realm is that this country boy is getting older. The closer I get to the finish line, the more interested I am in what’s next.

I share this concern with you as a friend, and hope you will accept it in that light. I also hope that if you believed I was headed in the wrong direction (which you well may believe), that you would bring it to my attention. Our friendship does not depend on agreeing on everything, because it is based on respect for each other as persons. I have friends who are liberal Jews, agnostics, and Hindus; some of whom I can discuss these matters with, and some of whom I cannot. But I treasure their friendships. Our paths have crossed, and I am much richer for it.

You may know this, but I was raised as a Lutheran, then became a subjectivist, a humanist, a Marxist, and have attended various churches over time. I have enjoyed the journey, experienced great discussions about the meaning of life (usually with an adult beverage), and tried on these various world views. But as I get closer to the end of this life, I realize it is time for me to become serious about what happens next, and its implications for those who I care for. And I care for you. Although I am by no means an expert on Mormonism, I understand its basic tenets vary significantly from traditional biblical Christianity, and include:

God the Father had a father, and used to be a man on another planet.
God is married to his goddess wife (a mother god), and has spirit children.
Jesus and Satan are spirit brothers and were born as siblings in heaven.
A plan of salvation was needed for the people of earth so Jesus offered a plan to the Father and Satan offered a plan to the father but Jesus’ plan was accepted.
God had sexual relations with Mary to make the body of Jesus.
There are many gods, and after you become a good Mormon, you have the potential of becoming a god with your own planet, you and your wife giving birth to spirit babies that are then born on earth.
Jesus’ sacrifice was not able to cleanse us from all our sins.
If it had not been for Joseph Smith and the restoration, there would be no salvation (including exaltation to Godhood).
There is no salvation without accepting Joseph Smith as a prophet of God
The book of Mormon is more correct than the Bible.
One of the most fallacious doctrines originated by Satan is that man is saved alone by the grace of God; good works are necessary for salvation.

Source: “What Does Mormonism Teach?” by Matt Slick – http://carm.org/teachings-of-mormonism

These are not minor differences of theology, but another gospel, which is condemned in _________ (quote the passage).

“My original reason for becoming a Mormon had to do with being granted full custody of two high-school age sons when their mother and I divorced and she moved to Guatemala. They had been raised in that faith and I strongly believed that we needed a church family to survive. Being a good father and husband, as far as we believe, will be the first questions asked when we return to be with our Heavenly Father. If you can pass that test, and you two certainly can, then everything else should fall in place.

As you no doubt know, families are what we are all about to the extent that we believe that “families can be together forever!” And I am banking on that to be true which is the reason we make such an effort to afford those privileges to those who have died before having an opportunity to accept Christ as their Savior. But not for a second am I not grateful to be counted among your friends and those for whom you pray.”

Response:

The Bible is clear that entrance to heaven relies on a person repenting of their sins and accepting Christ as their savior. The qualities of “being a good father and husband” are insufficient for salvation. With regard to families in heaven, Jesus addressed this very issue in Mark 12:25, when He stated: “For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.”

“I don’t think I am any kind of exception, but I have always appreciated anyone who believed in an Almighty Beingwhile privately distrusting those who only believed in themselves. My best friend since the 10th grade, as you may recall, is a Society of Mary Catholic Priest. In fact, I probably have more Catholic friends than any others; stands to reason since there are a billion of them out there! And my favorite movie is “Shoes of the Fisherman.” We even sent our daughter to Catholic School in the eighth grade; great experience for her.

My sister, a Disciples of Christ member, is about to marry her Baptist dentist. My sister-in-law is a Methodist and we always enjoy the exceptional singing when we attend her church. Interestingly enough, it was in a Sunday school class in her church that we first met my wife’s present boss, Morehead State University’s president, who was teaching that class. I’ll never forget after that first lesson some 25 years ago, he looked over at me and without warning asked, “Ok, how giving us the Mormon point of view of this lesson!” You can bet that for years afterwards I was prepared for that question.”

Response:

I too appreciate those who believe in the Lord. Do you remember _______, who was the C.D. Specialist in Columbia? I will never forget the time I drove up from Arkansas to attend a conference in Columbia, and arrived the evening before the event. I went out to a Red Lobster, and ran into him, who was eating dinner by himself. He looked terrible – like death warmed over. Turns out, his wife had died a month earlier, and both he and she were atheists. As far as he was concerned, she ceased to exist, like a mosquito that was swatted. I haven’t heard, but he looked like he was about to follow her.

I, too, have had different religious experiences, which I have relished. In addition to attending a variety of churches, I have lived with (male) Moslems, Jews, Buddhists, Catholics, and Hindus. These have been wonderful folks, which I enjoyed getting to know. But the questions I am faced with (particularly now, as our daughter is returning from India), are:

Are they all true?
Is that even possible?
How do we know what is true?

I hope to interact with our daughter about these questions soon. As you probably know, Hinduism is called “the embrace that smothers” because it claims to embrace all other religions. Hence it is attractive to many.

Is Love Really All There Is

“Although I was raised as a Christian, I have explored other spiritualities and believe that the Universe, God, the All That Is, whatever name we attribute to a greater creative power, conspires to help us succeed, if we know how to tap into that power within ourselves.”

Response:

Very interesting. You have described a world view that is becoming increasingly popular in our nation. In contrast, the Biblical Christian perspective would see the sovereign, living God and creator of the universe as a spiritual being distinct from the universe, His creation. The God of the Bible is not only holy, just, and merciful; He is also personal – having a personality – as opposed to the universe, which is impersonal. Biblical Christianity would say that within ourselves, we only have human power. We have a body, heart, emotions, mind, and spirit, with the latter having the ability to connect with spiritual powers – good or evil. Christians can become filled with the Holy Spirit, and I know of many miracles that have taken place as the Lord has worked through His people, just as Jesus promised. Furthermore, individuals can become possessed by demons, sometimes attaining supernatural strength. But they are in service to their master, the great deceiver named Satan.

Unlike New Age beliefs about tapping into power within ourselves (the higher power), the Christian perspective is that Christians are sinners saved by Christ, and that the power of the Holy Spirit can flow through us. But it is His power, and not our own.

“My own beliefs and faith are rooted in the commonality and community between all spiritual beliefs – the core belief that Love is all there is.”

Response:

While this notion is appealing, it overlooks the fact that “Love” is interpreted defined through the lens of each religion. For example, I understand that devout Hindus believe that to help a poor person interferes with his/her karma, so it shouldn’t be done. The poor person is living out the consequences of his past life, so he has to go through this in order to be born into a better station in his next life.

Love for a Muslim would entail converting non-believers to Islam, which requires their repudiation of all other religions. While Christians also seek to win non-believers to Christ, we are also admonished to love all people, including our enemies.

How different religions see life after death is a clue that the “commonality of all spiritual beliefs” is more theory than real:

Devout Muslims believe that if they die in jihad, they go to Paradise, with access to 73 virgins (I don’t think Muslim women fare so well).
Devout Mormons believe if they call out their wife’s name when they die, they get their own planet, where they can procreate spirit babies that are then born on earth as persons.
Devout Hindus, if they are good enough, eventually escape the Wheel of Samsara (reincarnation) and become one with all that is, like a drop of water falling into the ocean.
Devout Christians believe they go to heaven, where they dwell in eternity in the presence of other saints and the Lord.

By the way, a cardiologist named Maurice Rawlings received a lot of patients in bad shape over the years. Many of them died under his care, and he was able to revive many of them with modern medical means. He discovered that about half of them did not want to come back to life, as they were having a very pleasant experience which some described as being in heaven. The other half came back screaming that they did not want to die again as they were experiencing hell. This would not be the case if there was a “commonality of all spiritual beliefs” and “Love is all there is”.

”As the Dalai Lama said “Loving kindness is my religion”, I too believe. But this also entails, for me, embracing the duality of our nature and understanding that you can’t have light without darkness, beauty without ugliness – all very subjective, human-based concepts anyway.”

Response:

Biblical Christianity would define duality of our nature from two perspectives. First would be the distinction between the physical world we inhabit vs. the spiritual world, which is just as real, but largely invisible to us. Christians are citizens of heaven and ambassadors for Christ into this world.

The second duality would be for life in the flesh vs. life in the Spirit. The fruit of life in the flesh is selfishness, deceit, violence, etc., while the fruit of life in the Spirit would be love, peace, joy, concern for others, etc. An example of this would be when the early Romans threw their unwanted babies on the trash heap, they were rescued by Christians, who knew they were created in the image of God.

We are all subjects/persons (as opposed to objects), so from one perspective, we encounter the world subjectively. On the other hand, historic Christianity is based on the premise that the world as we know it exists objectively, and is not an illusion. Its existence does not depend on our awareness of it. (If the bear craps in the woods, it is real, even if no one else knows about it).

There is substantive evidence supporting the Biblical world view. One example is the fact that the Bible was written by 40 authors from many stations in life, on 3 continents, in 3 languages, over 1,500 years, and yet has a single theme that runs through it, testifying to a supernatural author. The fulfillment of over 40 Old Testament prophecies is another.

“Transcending duality is really the objective of Buddhism – to reach the point of the great emptiness, which isn’t an easy concept to grasp, but once in awhile, in my meditations, I get a glimpse.”

Response:

It sounds like “transcending duality” is to deny/transcend one’s physical reality and to dwell in the spiritual realm. But rather than encountering the sovereign, living God of the universe as a Christian would, the Buddhist, in his/her highest state, seeks to find and experience nothing. Perhaps it is similar to a drop of rain falling into the ocean; it loses its identity as a drop and becomes part of the ocean.

The image of emptiness which comes to mind is that of the survivors of the Nazi death camps in WWII – poor souls who stagger out from behind barbed wire, their bones sticking out from starvation, with a gaunt look on their faces. Have these people achieved emptiness? Can emptiness be forced on us, or do we have to achieve it by ourselves?

Finally, the Biblical perspective is that the spirit realm is inhabited by angels and demons. Seeking to enter the spiritual realm without the protection of the Holy Spirit may even be dangerous, as it opens a person up to demonic influence and possession.

“If we accept that the world’s dramas are an illusion – a huge stage play – and we all have a starring role, it becomes easier for me to feel equanimous when things seem to be spinning out of control. That’s my spirituality in a nutshell.”

Response:

Yes, and if we accept that the moon was made of cheese, we would never starve if we could just bring a chunk of it back to earth. While it is an intriguing intellectual exercise, it poses some real questions:

Then food would also be an illusion; so how would you account for hunger if life is just an illusion?
What would your loved ones feel or think of you if they knew we perceived them as just an illusion?
If life is illusory, then moral constraints would also be illusory, would they not? So anything goes, including mayhem and murder.

We had dinner with some friends recently, and the husband stated that life was an illusion. His wife seemed a little startled, so she pinched him – hard, and asked if that was real. He stated that it was.

Finally, when things seem to be spinning out of control in our lives, we can call on the Lord, who promises to be with us through thick and thin.

George Washington’s Secret to Success

Your February 22 editorial spoke of George Washington: “What was the secret of his success? How did he found a nation, this self-made man, this self-taught general, this self-abnegating statesman? …he did it by his concern for ‘civility and reputation, which tamed and smoothed his natural endowments, and brought his ideals into daily life’. He did it through an unbroken series of successful gestures.”

Response: The editorial omits a crucial fact: that Washington was a strong Christian, known for his avid prayer life. Washington stated: “You do well to wish to learn our arts and ways of life, and above all, the religion of Jesus Christ. These will make you a greater and happier people than you are.

While we are zealously performing the duties of good citizens and soldiers, we certainly ought not to be inattentive to the higher duties of religion. To the distinguished character of Patriot, it should be our highest glory to add the more distinguished character of Christian.

I now make it my earnest prayer that God would… most graciously be pleased to dispose us all to do justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that charity, humility, and pacific temper of the mind which were the characteristics of the Divine Author of our blessed religion.”

That whirring sound you have been hearing is George Washington, turning over in his grave upon learning that his success was attributed to his own virtue without the hand of almighty providence, the real secret of his success. One of his successful gestures was to always tell the truth.

Everyone is Going to Heaven

“After all, everyone is going to heaven.”

Response:

Great to see you recently. When you were here, I mentioned my Egyptian roommate Said, who married a young lady who was a Catholic. Said was a wonderful friend, and we had a great time together. Here is a little more to that conversation. I mentioned that their wedding ceremony was conducted by a Catholic priest and Muslim Iman.

What they shared was religious liberalism – the notion that different people come out of different religious traditions, but that all worship the same God, and that we all go to heaven. Not only does religious liberalism (which is different from political liberalism) deny the fundamental beliefs of each of the religions it “embraces”, but it uses a Christian view of heaven, when other religions have widely differing perspectives on what happens when we die.

In contrast to this perspective (that Christianity is merely a tradition), Jesus stated “I am the way, the truth, and the light; no one comes to the Father except through Me,” John 14:6. This claim to exclusivity is a stumbling block to many people in this modern era, because it denies the validity of other religions and philosophies. It would be inappropriate to say Jesus was a great teacher but a little misguided. Either Jesus was a blatant liar and fraud, or he was telling the truth. If Jesus was fake, we should be all against him. If He is real, we should be all for Him.

In contrast to other religions, which are attempts to reach God (or create god in their own image), only Christianity offers a relationship with the sovereign, living God of the universe. It is only in this relationship can we truly be free; free of the constraints of religious (and secular) traditions, free of sin (when we repent), and free to be all that we were created to be. And our Lord wants to be with us: “I am with you always, even to the very ends of the earth.”

By the way, I don’t expect to you to agree with me. I don’t think a person can come to their own belief system until they critique how they were raised, and consider alternative belief systems. (Much to the consternation of my family, I was a Marxist for a time). I also don’t think a person is truly educated until they can discuss an issue from at least two different perspectives. Each of us is on a personal journey – a great adventure, and we can learn from each other, as we learn from other people along the way. I do ask that you listen to me, and consider what I share with you, as I listen and consider what you share with me.

Best regards,

Does God Reveal Himself Through All Religions

“God reveals Himself through all religions.”

Response:

* If God reveals Himself through all religions:

He would not have condemned the pagan religions in the Old Testament.
He would not have condemned the religion of the Pharisees and Sadducees (Talmudic Judaism) in the New Testament.
He would not have claimed exclusivity: “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’” John 14:6

The sovereign, living God of the universe reveals Himself through nature, the created world, through His Word, and through His Holy Spirit today as it works in the hearts of Christians. He reveals that He is a God of love, of holiness, of justice, and of mercy. He invites us to a close walk with Him on earth and for eternity, but we must accept His invitation, and not be drawn away to other pursuits and other gods.

* Christ distinguished between believers and non-believers:

^“Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, ‘First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’ Matthew 13:30
“He who is not with Me is against Me…” Matthew 12:30a
“Only those who enter the narrow gate shall be saved: And He went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem. Then one said to Him, “Lord, are there few who are saved?” And He said to them, ^‘Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able.

When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open for us,’ and He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know you, where you are from,’then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.’ But He will say, ‘I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.’” Luke 13:22-28

* All religions have different requirements, and their adherents do not end up in the same place:

Christians believe we must accept Christ as Lord and Savior, then we go to heaven.
Muslims believe they go to Paradise, with each man having 73 virgins; the only guaranteed way to reach heaven is by dying in Jihad.
Mormon men believe if they are good Mormons (good works), they get their own planet, where they and their wife/wives procreate endlessly, creating spirit-babies that are then born on earth.
Buddhists believe they enter Nirvana, or nothingness, by becoming empty of self.
Hindus believe that if they are good, after a few reincarnations, they will escape reincarnation and become one with the Atman (the all), like a drop of water that falls in to the ocean.
Secular humanists (declared to be a religion by the U.S. Supreme Court) believe when you die, it is all over – you cease to exist, like a bug that gets squashed (no requirements, but no hope).
Because several of these directly contradict each other, these do not appear to be different manifestations of the same God, but descriptions of different gods.

* What is the evidence for Christianity above other religions?

In the book “The Math of Christ”, author Stephen M. Bauer calculates the likelihood that 40 Old Testament prophecies that were fulfilled by Christ would have happened by chance. The odds that they happened by chance were one chance in 1 x 10 to the 136^th power. To gain some perspective on that number, if you covered the whole earth – land and sea, with silver dollars, one of which was red, and asked a blind guy name George to go out and pick out the red one, the chances of George being successful are one chance in 1 x 10 to the 17^th power.

* What difference does it make?

“I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.” Galatians 1:6-9

Did We Really Evolve From Nothing?

Hello

Just another note to let you know it was great to see you at the CDS conference in Cincinnati. I always appreciate our shared history and friends, your insights about what is happening in the world of community development, and your sense of humor. I also appreciate our spirited discussion about matters temporal and eternal.

I wanted to follow up our discussion about origins, specifically the evolution / creation issue. A few key points always seem to arise in these kinds of discussion:

The fossil record: Some religions, like Hinduism, are based on evolution. And yet there are 10,000 scientists in this country who see evolution as an unproven theory, with stronger evidence for creation than evolution, such as the fossil record, within which the missing links are still missing. The missing links are exactly what is predicted from the creation science perspective. Darwin even said that the validity of his theory depended on the fossil record, and yet the gaps are still missing.

Macro-evolution vs. micro-evolution: By the way, both creation scientists and evolutions embrace micro-evolution, such as changes in moths or birds. It is on macro-evolution – the notion that a whale can evolve to a bear – where they disagree. There is even an emerging Intelligent Design movement of evolutionary scientists who have abandoned evolution because the evidence of intelligence in design is too compelling to ignore. They just don’t take it to the next logical conclusion, which is that the designer is really the God of the Bible.

Speaking of the Bible, it was written by 40 authors with widely differing occupations from 3 continents over 1,500 years, telling an integrated story that is woven together in a progressive story of human life (starting with the creation), of God’s involvement over the centuries, and dozens of prophecies that are fulfilled. This unity is evidence of a common author (the Holy Spirit), who inspired and guided the writing of the books of the Bible, in contrast to other religions.

Stories within cultures: Over 130 cultures have stories / myths in their history that they are descendants of a family who was saved in a boat from a world-wide flood. Could this possibly come about by chance? This phenomena is best explained by the story of Noah – that he really did build an ark, the Bible story is true, and these stories/myths are exactly what we would expect. This is in contrast to evolution, which claims that a fish can turn into a bear if we just wait long enough.

Evolution lacks face validity: The theory of evolution claims:

* if we wait long enough, something can come from nothing,

* that the 100 billion galaxies in the observable universe were contained in a volume smaller than the size of a single atom prior to the “Big Bang” 13.7 billion years ago,

* that something can come to life,

* that great order can come from a big explosion (like a tornado blowing through a large junkyard and producing a Boeing 747),

* that people can evolve from primordial soup, and

* that all of this is scientific. (Science depends on observation, and yet no person was around at the origin of the universe except God, who revealed these truths for us in the Bible.)

Mount Rushmore – If we were hiking through the Black Hills of South Dakota and came upon Mount Rushmore, no one would say: “Wow – look what has evolved over centuries”. We would be more likely to remark that this is a sign of great skill and intelligence. And yet the human brain is thousands of times more complex than Mount Rushmore, and evolutionists claim it evolved from simpler forms.

Who gets the prize – Evolutionists claim that creation science is religion, a matter of blind faith. But the prize really belongs to the evolutionists – it takes a much greater leap of faith to believe in evolution than to believe that the incredible complexity and design of the universe reflects intelligence – that of the sovereign, living God – the creator of the universe. By the way, an excellent source on this issue is the Institute for Creation Science http://www.icr.org.

Finally, the relevance of all this is that severe times are coming to our nation; some refer to this as a perfect storm. I believe those who know the Lord will be best able to weather the storm.

Best regards,

Conspiracy Theorists vs. Coincidence Theorists

Letter to the Editor:

I am responding to your recent newspaper column ridiculing conspiracy theories and “tin-hat conspiracy theorists”. It is a common ploy of governments and the complicit mainstream media to label those who don’t buy the official story line as “conspiracy theorists”, i.e. as not telling the truth. After all, what do these folks know about what really took place? However, it is more difficult to dismiss a U.S. president, particularly one who died under suspicious circumstances:

“For we are opposed around the world by a monolithic and ruthless conspiracy that relies on covert means for expanding its sphere of influence on infiltration instead of invasion, on subversion instead of elections, on intimidation instead of free choice, on guerrillas by night instead of armies by day. It is a system that has conscripted vast human and material resources into the building of a tightly knit, highly efficient machine that combines military, diplomatic, intelligence, economic, scientific, and political operations.”

John F. Kennedy’s speech to the American Newspapers Publishing Association on April 27, 1961

If we define a conspiracy as two or more people planning/plotting in secret to do something (usually bad), then hundreds of prosecutors set out every day to prove conspiracies of people who have planned and executed crimes. History and the Bible are full of conspiracies. In the Old Testament, it was usually false prophets and rulers conspiring against God’s true prophets.

“Then Hoshea the son of Elah led a conspiracy against Pekah the son of Remaliah, and struck and killed him; so he reigned in his place in the twentieth year of Jotham the son of Uzziah.”

II Kings 15:30

In the New Testament, it was the Pharisees and the Sadducees plotting against Christ and His apostles. Given that Satan is lord over the world, and he is known as the great deceiver, we should be expect conspiracies and be surprised when there isn’t one.

There are many current examples of official story lines, supported by the mainstream media, that were later proven to be false. Examples include U.S. government representative Susan Rice claiming that the attack in Benghazi was caused by a video, denials about IRS targeting certain organizations, and Operation Fast and Furious arming Mexican warlords.

Those who dismiss conspiracy theories as being not valid are really “coincidence theorists”, who look at the myriad of events taking place, of multiple players with strong vested interests and no moral compunctions, and conclude that it is all a coincidence. Stuff just happens – key leaders get killed just like anyone else, wars arise spontaneously, and rebel groups like ISIS are self-supporting with arms, food, and supplies. Perhaps they have gardens, cottage gunsmiths, and bake sales to raise funds.

Best regards,

Columnist Leaves Out God

In a recent column “We Cannot Escape History”, Daniel Burnett described a time of war in the U.S. (1963), in which President Abraham Lincoln signed a proclamation of thanksgiving, urging Americans, to take a moment and reflect on the greatness of our nation.

Response:

What Burnett leaves out is that Lincoln attributes this greatness to God. Lincoln described the blessings accrued to our nation and stated: “No human counsel has devised nor has any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, has nevertheless remembered mercy.” Lincoln then proceeded to“set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwells in the heavens.”

Bemoaning the fact that our college students are ignorant of American history, Burnett betrays that history by omitting the most significant aspect of Lincoln’s Proclamation of Thanksgiving – that he was urging the nation to thank God for the many blessings of our nation.

Burnett encourages us to “be thankful for the wisdom of a president seven score and eight years ago who saw the importance of giving thanks as a unified nation,” but denies that Lincoln’s wisdom points us to the sovereign, living God of the universe.

Burnett asks:“Without a strong foundation, how can the leaders of tomorrow set the course for our future?” Good question. Perhaps he should ask Abraham Lincoln.