Tag: Holy Spirit

Religion vs. Science


“The Bible is about religion, but science is a separate category.” (Quote from an editorial)

Response: Rather than viewing Christianity and science as two separate realms that have nothing to do with each other, or even compete, it is more useful to see how Christianity and science are different, but complement one another.  Christianity claims that the sovereign, living God of the universe created the heavens and earth, and many of the earliest scientists saw science as a way to learn more about God’s creation.  The following questions help us see how Christianity and science intersect, and how godless evolution is in conflict with both:

Occam’s Razor, a problem-solving principle devised by William of Ockham (c. 1287–1347) states that among competing hypotheses, the one with the fewest assumptions (i.e. the most direct and simplest) should be selected. Other, more complicated solutions may ultimately prove correct, but—in the absence of certainty—the fewer assumptions that are made, the better.

Using Occam’s Razor as a guideline (check all that apply)

1) If a frog turns into a prince, is it:

___a) Magic

___b) Science (you just have to wait a long time – evolution in action)

___c) Other:____________________________________

2) The Bible, written by 40 authors with widely differing occupations from 3 continents over 1,500 years, tells an integrated story that is woven together in a progressive story of human life, with God’s involvement over the centuries, including dozens of prophecies that are fulfilled.  This unity is:

___a) by chance – the books just happen to have a common theme and story, and the prophecies just happened to have been fulfilled,

___b) the Roman Catholic Church commissioned all of this work to be done, and pulled it together, 

___c) there was a common author (the Holy Spirit), who inspired and guided the writing of the books of the Bible,

 ___d) other:___________________________________

3) 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.  This is best explained by:

___a) chance – it just happened that way.  Their cultures also probably have stories about dogs as well.

___b) as evolution is based on the premise that every change must be advantageous to the organism for it to be adopted, there is a survival advantage to all cultures that developed the flood story versus those that didn’t.

___c) Noah really did build an ark, the Bible story is true, and these stories/myths are exactly what we would expect.

___d) other:_____________________________________

4) If we were hiking through the Black Hills and came upon Mount Rushmore, we would logically conclude that:

___a) it happened by chance – just a fluke of nature and erosion over time,

___b) it is a sign of design and intelligence; that one or more persons created it,

___c) some creature from outer space created it,

___d) other:_____________________________________

5) The human brain is more complex than the largest supercomputer ever developed.  It came from:

___a) A long time ago, there was this thing that exploded, and some of the stuff that exploded joined together (all by itself) into order – tremendous order.  Then it came alive (also all by itself), and eventually became a human being with a brain.  Of course this took a long time.  This is called “science”, and just goes to show what can happen if you wait long enough.

___b) Intelligence; design reflects intelligence, and tremendous design reflects tremendous intelligence.  We were created by the sovereign, living God who was there, and tells us about it in the Bible, which He inspired. (Which would explain why an Intelligent Design movement is emerging, led by former evolutionary scientists.)

___c) We came from outer space (which raises another question – when we were in outer space, where did we come from?)

___d) Other:_____________________________________

6) The assumption that the origin of the universe and life as we know it is from material causes:

___a) is scientific – we can prove that natural causes were the forces that led to the universe, and that there was no super-natural cause involved.

___b) is a philosophical presupposition that cannot be proven scientifically because the origins of the universe and life were not observed by human beings and cannot be replicated.

___c) is false.  The origin of the universe and life can only be truly known by observation, and only God was there to observe it.  He then revealed this in the Bible.

___d) is fundamental to Marx’s theory of scientific materialism (which has led to the deaths of hundreds of millions of people)

___e) other:______________________________________

7) Jesus was:

___a) a great teacher, and perhaps even a prophet, but not the Son of God.

___b) either who He said He was – the Son of God and part of the eternal triune God, or a false teacher and imposter, who claimed to be someone who He was not,

___c) who He said He was – the son of the sovereign, living God (which is why Simon Greenleaf, the nation’s greatest legal scholar on rules of evidence, ultimately converted from Judaism to Christianity, compelled by the evidence before him.)

___d) other:_____________________________________

8) Life or existence beyond the grave is:

___a) clearly beyond the reach of science,

___b) not beyond the reach of science if we could just figure out how someone could observe it and come back and tell about it,

___c) beginning to give us clues.  Dr. Maurice Rawlings was a non-Christian cardiologist who lost many patients.  As his medical skills improved, he was able to bring many of them back from the dead.  About half of them did not want to come back, as they were experiencing great bliss.  The other half were absolutely terrified that they were die again and once experience what they described as hell.

___c) other:_____________________________________

Best regards,

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 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.

Pat Robertson’s Horse

In his book “The Plan”, Pat Robertson describes how many years ago he purchased a beautiful Arabian stallion.  It stood 16 hands tall, and was a very powerful animal.  To make sure he could handle it, Pat hired a professional horse trainer to train it.

After a couple of months, the trainer brought the horse to Pat, and was showing him how to ride it.  With the trainer on the horse, it would move forward, backwards, and turn to the right or left.  But Pat could not see the trainer pulling on the reins.  So he asked the trainer how he did it.  The trainer replied that the horse was so well trained that just the slightest nudge would move the horse away from the nudge.

Pat was impressed, then concluded that that is how we are to be with the Lord.  We are to be so in tune with the Holy Spirit that the slightest nudge will move us to act.  Jesus said that He is the good shepherd and His sheep hear His voice.  So we should be so in the Spirit, and know the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit, that we don’t debate, or pray about it, but take action because we know it is from the Lord.

Others May – You Cannot

If God has called you to be really like Jesus, He will draw you into a life of crucifixion and humility, and put upon you such demands of obedience, that you will not be able to measure yourself by other Christians; and in many ways, He will seem to let other good people do things which He will never let you do.

Other Christians and ministers, who seem very religious and useful, can push themselves, pull wires, and work schemes to carry out their Christian goals, but these things you simply cannot do.  Others may boast of their work or their writings or their success, but the Holy Spirit will not allow you to do any such thing, and if you ever try it, He will lead you into some deep mortification that will make you despise yourself and all your good works.

Others may be allowed to succeed in making money, but most likely God will keep you poor, because He wants you to have something far better than gold, namely, a helpless dependence on Him and the joy of seeing Him supply your needs day by day out of an unseen Treasury.

The Lord may let others be honored and keep you hidden and unappreciated because He wants to produce some choice, fragrant fruit for His coming glory, which can only be produced in the shade.  He may let others do a work for Him and get the credit for it, but He will make you work on and on without others knowing how much you are doing; and then, to make your work still more precious, He may let others get the credit for the work which you have done, and thus make your reward ten times greater when Jesus comes.

The Holy Spirit will rebuke you for little words or deeds or even feelings, or for wasting your time, which other Christians never seem to be concerned about, but you must make up your mind that God is an infinite Sovereign and He has a right to do whatever He pleases with His own.  He may not explain to you a thousand things which puzzle your reason in the way He deals with you, but if you will just submit yourself to Him in all things, He will wrap you up in a jealous love and bestow upon you many blessings which come only to those who are very near to His heart.

Settle it then, that He is to have the privilege of tying your tongue, or chaining your hand, or closing your eyes, in ways that He does not seem to use with others.  Now, when you are so possessed with the living God that your secret heart becomes pleased and delighted with this peculiar, personal, private, jealous guardianship and management of the Holy Spirit over your life, then you will have entered the very vestibule of heaven itself.

G.D. Watson, 1845-1924

My Deer in the Headlights Story

Usually when someone talks about a deer in the headlights, it is with some humor, such as when some hapless guy’s girl friend or wife asks him about his feelings.  He then has this “deer in the headlights” look as if he doesn’t know what she is talking about.  But sometimes a deer in the headlights can be a very serious matter.

On March 12, 2016, I drove to Rison for a night meeting, then returned home.  Rison is about an hour and half south of Little Rock, and is an area that is almost all pine forest.  It was a rainy day and coming home at night the rain just absorbed the light from my headlights.  I was on a two lane highway, driving through the forest.

In the meeting I had just attended, someone mentioned that Rison and Cleveland County were known across the state for deer hunting and the number of deer that are killed each year.  As I was driving along in the dark night, the thought occurred to me that if a deer jumped out in front of me, I would not be able to see it until it was too late.  So I slowed down a little, from 65 to 55 miles an hour.

Less than a minute later, the largest doe I have ever seen crossed right in front of my car from left to right.  It happened in just a second, and I didn’t see it until it was on the highway, passing in front of my car.  It was so close, I was really surprised that I did not hit it.

I slowed way down and pondered my near accident.   A car traveling 65 miles an hour would traverse a football field in about 3 seconds.  Do you think a 300 pound deer hitting my windshield would break the windshield?  Yes, I think it would.

We have a body, soul, and spirit, and it is our spirit that has the capacity to connect with and hear from the Holy Spirit.  I understand that often the Holy Spirit will plant ideas into our minds, which we can even recognize as coming from the Lord.  I believe the Holy Spirit nudged me to slow down on that dark highway, even a little bit, and enough for me to miss hitting a large doe. 

So seeking to know the Lord and hear His voice is not only a great adventure, it can also save our lives.

Mark Peterson

Hearing God

Augusto Perez

http://www.theappearance.com/

Revelation 2:7: “He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says unto the churches; to him that overcomes will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.”

Mankind has for ages wanted to be able to hear and communicate with the Creator. When Adam and Eve were created, they were able to hear and see God in the Garden of Eden with perfect clarity. Their spirits were connected to the Spirit of the Creator, the One who created all things by the Spoken Word, and thus were able to hear him and see Him.

After they sinned they died spiritually, as their spiritual DNA was messed up (their physical DNA was corrupted as well, however we will not address that topic on this series of lessons). They lost their ability to hear the voice of God and see Him because of their fallen state. When the Church was born at Pentecost, they received the ability to hear the voice of the Father.

When the Holy Spirit indwells a human spirit through the born again experience, not only is the born again believer able to hear the voice of God once again, but he is endued with certain spiritual abilities that the Bible refers to as gifts of the Spirit (John 3:6-7; 1 Corinthians 12). 

God made man with three parts to his being. Man has a spirit, a soul and a body. As a human being you have a part of you that came from God and which has the same nature as God. That part is your spirit and it has access to the realm of the Spirit.  Your spirit has the capability to make contact with heaven, but yet it is living in a physical body that dwells on the earth.  That is basically what Jesus Christ referred to when He said:

John 1:18: “No man has seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has declared him.”

Yahushua was physically on the earth but His spirit was in perfect union with the Father at the same time. Whenever you are born again of the spirit, you are already walking in the heavenly realm without realizing it. The moment that you accepted Jesus as your LORD and Savior and were born again, you gained access into the spiritual realm where He dwells.

This means that your spirit is in touch with His Spirit at all times:

Colossians 1:27: “To whom God would make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory”.

Whenever you are born again, the Spirit of the Lord comes to dwell within you spirit. Your spirit is in touch with the Holy Spirit and is in touch with the heavenly realm twenty-four hours per day. God is communing and communicating with your spirit twenty-four hours a day through the Holy Spirit.

What a great honor.  We have to lay this important foundation so that we may be able to go on to the things that we want to cover in the next few lessons where we will get into how to actually hear His voice.