A Pastor once said, "Never trust a Christian who hasn’t been broken by life."
Same songs,
Same words,
Same prayers,
Same behaviours,
Same claims of victory.
For one person, it’s theory.
For the person who's been broken by life, it’s reality.
For one person, it’s the right thing to do.
For the person who's been broken by life, it’s the only thing to do.
One person has time for things religious
The one who’s been broken by life has time for you.
Happy Holy Days - and may the comfort of His presence allow for you to experience a Merry and Joyous Christmas
Showing posts with label Christianity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christianity. Show all posts
Monday, December 21, 2009
Thursday, September 24, 2009
That’s Really Weird!
I’m Canadian so the American Constitution is not something that I’ve ever studied. However, after reading endless atheist blogs one thing that I’ve heard over and over again is Thomas Jefferson’s statement that “all men are created equal.” In the Declaration of Independence he said that this is a “self-evident truth.”
That is really weird! I can think of few things that are less self-evident. In point of fact, most people and most cultures do not agree with this statement and reject it outright. Inequality is the natural order. Survival of the strongest is how most of us would live if we had the power to do so. It’s the weak, the hard-done-by, those who can’t compete that make the plea for equality.
Oh, and Christianity. I suppose that's why John Adams wrote, "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any others."
Those who are the least powerful and the least “equal” we kill by the 10's of millions. As in the past, so today, human life is cheap, cheap, cheap. Only where Christianity has forged inroads have barbarous and inhuman acts of violence been banned. Only because of centuries of Christian morality do we now feel repulsed by cultures whose violence against one another compels us to feel shock and horror at what we now label atrocities.
Christianity, the one world-view that says we are to be judged by our character, our morals, our motives, and NOT by our wealth and power, beauty and status, intellect and education, this Christianity is all that stands between us and barbarism.
That is really weird! I can think of few things that are less self-evident. In point of fact, most people and most cultures do not agree with this statement and reject it outright. Inequality is the natural order. Survival of the strongest is how most of us would live if we had the power to do so. It’s the weak, the hard-done-by, those who can’t compete that make the plea for equality.
Oh, and Christianity. I suppose that's why John Adams wrote, "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any others."
Those who are the least powerful and the least “equal” we kill by the 10's of millions. As in the past, so today, human life is cheap, cheap, cheap. Only where Christianity has forged inroads have barbarous and inhuman acts of violence been banned. Only because of centuries of Christian morality do we now feel repulsed by cultures whose violence against one another compels us to feel shock and horror at what we now label atrocities.
Christianity, the one world-view that says we are to be judged by our character, our morals, our motives, and NOT by our wealth and power, beauty and status, intellect and education, this Christianity is all that stands between us and barbarism.
Christianty Rocks!
"Christianity and nothing else is the ultimate foundation of liberty, conscience, human rights and democracy, the benchmarks of Western civilization. We continue to nourish ourselves from this source.
Jurgen Habermas, "A Time of Transition"
Jurgen Habermas, "A Time of Transition"
Friday, July 3, 2009
Humility vs. Arrogance
One of the reasons that Christianity appeals to me is that it is a message of humility in an age of arrogance and self-righteous judgmentalism. What I mean by that, is that every other religion’s strategy for the hereafter is based on our good-enough-ness. Even the self justification of atheism is based primarily on being good enough. In fact, if you pay attention, you’ll see that down through history, every renewed effort on the part of atheists was made with specific reference to how moral atheists are without Creator God in their lives. So how do I get from A to B in the above statement?
. Ask people if they think that they’re going to heaven and most would answer “Yes.” Atheists would say, “Well, if I thought god or heaven or hell existed, then, ya, sure. I think god would let me in.”
. Ask “why” and most would reply something like, “I’m a pretty good person. I haven’t killed anyone. I try to be kind. I’m more honest than most people,” etc. At least one atheist would say, “I haven’t even thought of calling anyone a “camel jockey.” ;-)
. Ask people if they believe that some people deserve to go to hell and you’d get an answer like, “Ya, Hitler, Terrorists, Child rapists - people like that.”
What these people are really saying, is that they think they’re better than those who they believe DESERVE to go to hell. And that is where we run into the problem. If there is going to be some kind of standard determining who is good enough and who isn’t good enough, just whose standard should we use? Yours? Mine? Hitler’s?
I did work in a couple Federal prisons for ten years. Not once, not one single time did I ever meet a criminal who thought that he was a bad person. Not the drug dealers. Not the murderers. Not the rapists. No one saw himself as evil. In fact, each prisoner could point to someone who in his mind was a worse person. So who do we go to, to establish a salvation based upon some degree of goodness?
Here is where the beauty and the humility of Christianity comes in. Jesus pointed out with perfect clarity, something that we all know if we’re honest with ourselves. When held up to the light of God’s absolute Holiness, none of us are good enough to be in His presence. The Bible says as much. “All have sinned and all fall short of the glory of God.” When it comes to reality, I’m just as lost as any terrorist or murderer.
If Heaven and Hell are real, and I believe they are, then logic demands that there must be some other qualifying factor for entrance to Heaven; something other than our personal standards of good-enough-ness. The Bible says that the qualifying factor is an admission of one's sinful nature and faith in Jesus and what He did for us on the cross. Only an attitude of SELF-HONESTY and HUMILITY will lead anyone to repent of their sins and throw themselves on the mercy of God through faith in Jesus Christ.
Self-honesty, insight and humility are almost antonyms of atheism. One cannot possess these characteristics and remain an atheist. As one atheist said to me over at Fiery’s blog:
“You have no idea who you have tangled with. I am not the least bit humble; humility is the vice of those who believe they are either absolute losers, or who arrogantly pretend to be just another loser to sucker believers in altruism.”
Don’t atheists make you feel all warm and fuzzy?
. Ask people if they think that they’re going to heaven and most would answer “Yes.” Atheists would say, “Well, if I thought god or heaven or hell existed, then, ya, sure. I think god would let me in.”
. Ask “why” and most would reply something like, “I’m a pretty good person. I haven’t killed anyone. I try to be kind. I’m more honest than most people,” etc. At least one atheist would say, “I haven’t even thought of calling anyone a “camel jockey.” ;-)
. Ask people if they believe that some people deserve to go to hell and you’d get an answer like, “Ya, Hitler, Terrorists, Child rapists - people like that.”
What these people are really saying, is that they think they’re better than those who they believe DESERVE to go to hell. And that is where we run into the problem. If there is going to be some kind of standard determining who is good enough and who isn’t good enough, just whose standard should we use? Yours? Mine? Hitler’s?
I did work in a couple Federal prisons for ten years. Not once, not one single time did I ever meet a criminal who thought that he was a bad person. Not the drug dealers. Not the murderers. Not the rapists. No one saw himself as evil. In fact, each prisoner could point to someone who in his mind was a worse person. So who do we go to, to establish a salvation based upon some degree of goodness?
Here is where the beauty and the humility of Christianity comes in. Jesus pointed out with perfect clarity, something that we all know if we’re honest with ourselves. When held up to the light of God’s absolute Holiness, none of us are good enough to be in His presence. The Bible says as much. “All have sinned and all fall short of the glory of God.” When it comes to reality, I’m just as lost as any terrorist or murderer.
If Heaven and Hell are real, and I believe they are, then logic demands that there must be some other qualifying factor for entrance to Heaven; something other than our personal standards of good-enough-ness. The Bible says that the qualifying factor is an admission of one's sinful nature and faith in Jesus and what He did for us on the cross. Only an attitude of SELF-HONESTY and HUMILITY will lead anyone to repent of their sins and throw themselves on the mercy of God through faith in Jesus Christ.
Self-honesty, insight and humility are almost antonyms of atheism. One cannot possess these characteristics and remain an atheist. As one atheist said to me over at Fiery’s blog:
“You have no idea who you have tangled with. I am not the least bit humble; humility is the vice of those who believe they are either absolute losers, or who arrogantly pretend to be just another loser to sucker believers in altruism.”
Don’t atheists make you feel all warm and fuzzy?
Friday, May 15, 2009
Christianity = Reverse Billing
John 3:18, 36 - “Whoever believes in Jesus is not condemned but whoever does not believe stands condemned ALREADY because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath REMAINS on him.”
So, there you have it. If you don’t want hell, you need to call in and say you don’t want hell. Otherwise, it will be assumed that hell is what you want.
Some conditions apply
p.s. Isn’t that a lot better than the other way around? What, for instance if you were an atheist and you HAD to spend eternity with God if you didn’t call in to cancel that arrangement? And what if you didn’t know that you could cancel, and one day you’re walking down the street and an elephant steps on you and bing bang there you are, surrounded by Christians - forever and ever. No - hell being the default is the best idea.
============
So, there you have it. If you don’t want hell, you need to call in and say you don’t want hell. Otherwise, it will be assumed that hell is what you want.
Some conditions apply
p.s. Isn’t that a lot better than the other way around? What, for instance if you were an atheist and you HAD to spend eternity with God if you didn’t call in to cancel that arrangement? And what if you didn’t know that you could cancel, and one day you’re walking down the street and an elephant steps on you and bing bang there you are, surrounded by Christians - forever and ever. No - hell being the default is the best idea.
============
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
You Do Any Work Today?
I wrote a post a couple days ago about the difference between atheists who love this life and Christians who also love this life. The main difference, as empirical evidence shows is that the former work to make their own lives more comfortable while the latter work to make the lives of others more comfortable.
Of course this is generally speaking. Exceptions can be found in both camps, yet the exceptions remain rare. So the question remains, Why? What happens to a person when s/he becomes a Christian that causes the focus to be taken off of ourselves and placed upon those around us? It certainly isn’t by effort or willpower. For those who try to “act” Christian through the use of effort, well, that rarely lasts for more than a decade. So, what is it that Jesus does to a person to make us stop worshiping ourselves and begin worshiping our Creator? The New Testament explains it this way. It is no longer we who live but Jesus lives in us. We become inhabited by the Spirit of our Creator, and our Creator said, “I did not come to be served, but to serve and to lay down my life for many.” This Spirit that now changes our very nature changes our interests from corrupted self-love to other-love, and that change truly is supernatural; it is not something that comes naturally to humans. There is no room for bragging here. The change is not FROM us. Rather, it happens TO us.
There was a wonderful post yesterday at http://bridge.whchurch.org/
It was written by a guy who’d spent a year in Afghanistan working with orphans. It’s called “Reflections from Afghanistan.” It’s worth a read regardless of your stand re: religion. For what it’s worth, he tells a story that makes an atheist look pretty insightful. Anyhow this story fits right in with something that Jesus once said.
“Whoever serves Me must follow Me, and where I am there My servant will be also.”
Hmm, so where do we find Jesus? That’s right. The same places He was found while He was on earth. We find Him with the hungry, the rejected, the outcasts, the prostitutes and those struggling with alcoholism and other drug addictions. We find Jesus with the sick, with widows and orphans and with those on the fringes of society. We find Jesus with those from whom the rest of us would rather turn our gaze. We find Jesus in those very areas most typically founded and run by Christians; homeless shelters, food distribution programs, hostels for battered women, shelters for kids who have nowhere else to go. Did you know there was no such thing as a hospital until the early Christianity came along? Helping strangers in an organised manner was just not something that people did until Jesus entered our sphere. In fact, it was precisely the way that early Christians spent their time helping others that drew most people to Christianity. People could tell that there was something different about those who followed Jesus and the difference was good - real good. Until Christianity took hold, if you were sick or somehow disabled, you had one of three options. You could beg, you could depend on the largess of your family or you could pay for what passed as a doctor in those days.
I know. I know. Many of us who call ourselves Christians are a long, long way from drawing people to Jesus by the goodness of our behaviours. Our hypocrisy is an overwhelming stench to much of the world. Nevertheless, it has not reached the point whereby those in need have nowhere to turn for help. Jesus the Christ is still in the business of changing people’s characters for the better, and the character change that is most obvious to those who knew us in our pre Christian days is that we now care about others more than we care about ourselves. I remember meeting someone from my high school days. When she found out what I was doing for a living she replied, "YOU! You were the worst one!!" It was an involuntary comment that just came flying out and she immediately apologised but it demonstrates my point. Jesus changes us for the better.
There’s another interesting thing that Jesus said. “As you have done it to the least of these (those who are in need), you have done it to Me.” As the man who wrote about his time in Afghanistan, said, “I thought that it was just Jesus caring for the orphans through me. Instead, I was caring for Jesus through my caring for the orphans.”
So the question we can ask ourselves today is, did I do any work for Jesus today? Or did I look the other way?
Of course this is generally speaking. Exceptions can be found in both camps, yet the exceptions remain rare. So the question remains, Why? What happens to a person when s/he becomes a Christian that causes the focus to be taken off of ourselves and placed upon those around us? It certainly isn’t by effort or willpower. For those who try to “act” Christian through the use of effort, well, that rarely lasts for more than a decade. So, what is it that Jesus does to a person to make us stop worshiping ourselves and begin worshiping our Creator? The New Testament explains it this way. It is no longer we who live but Jesus lives in us. We become inhabited by the Spirit of our Creator, and our Creator said, “I did not come to be served, but to serve and to lay down my life for many.” This Spirit that now changes our very nature changes our interests from corrupted self-love to other-love, and that change truly is supernatural; it is not something that comes naturally to humans. There is no room for bragging here. The change is not FROM us. Rather, it happens TO us.
There was a wonderful post yesterday at http://bridge.whchurch.org/
It was written by a guy who’d spent a year in Afghanistan working with orphans. It’s called “Reflections from Afghanistan.” It’s worth a read regardless of your stand re: religion. For what it’s worth, he tells a story that makes an atheist look pretty insightful. Anyhow this story fits right in with something that Jesus once said.
“Whoever serves Me must follow Me, and where I am there My servant will be also.”
Hmm, so where do we find Jesus? That’s right. The same places He was found while He was on earth. We find Him with the hungry, the rejected, the outcasts, the prostitutes and those struggling with alcoholism and other drug addictions. We find Jesus with the sick, with widows and orphans and with those on the fringes of society. We find Jesus with those from whom the rest of us would rather turn our gaze. We find Jesus in those very areas most typically founded and run by Christians; homeless shelters, food distribution programs, hostels for battered women, shelters for kids who have nowhere else to go. Did you know there was no such thing as a hospital until the early Christianity came along? Helping strangers in an organised manner was just not something that people did until Jesus entered our sphere. In fact, it was precisely the way that early Christians spent their time helping others that drew most people to Christianity. People could tell that there was something different about those who followed Jesus and the difference was good - real good. Until Christianity took hold, if you were sick or somehow disabled, you had one of three options. You could beg, you could depend on the largess of your family or you could pay for what passed as a doctor in those days.
I know. I know. Many of us who call ourselves Christians are a long, long way from drawing people to Jesus by the goodness of our behaviours. Our hypocrisy is an overwhelming stench to much of the world. Nevertheless, it has not reached the point whereby those in need have nowhere to turn for help. Jesus the Christ is still in the business of changing people’s characters for the better, and the character change that is most obvious to those who knew us in our pre Christian days is that we now care about others more than we care about ourselves. I remember meeting someone from my high school days. When she found out what I was doing for a living she replied, "YOU! You were the worst one!!" It was an involuntary comment that just came flying out and she immediately apologised but it demonstrates my point. Jesus changes us for the better.
There’s another interesting thing that Jesus said. “As you have done it to the least of these (those who are in need), you have done it to Me.” As the man who wrote about his time in Afghanistan, said, “I thought that it was just Jesus caring for the orphans through me. Instead, I was caring for Jesus through my caring for the orphans.”
So the question we can ask ourselves today is, did I do any work for Jesus today? Or did I look the other way?
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Atheist denominations:
Because I generalise so terribly much, “atheists do this and atheists do that,” I’ve been told that I couldn’t find any two atheists who agree on anything, or something like that. Now that the atheist faith system is starting to splinter off into more and more denominations, I’m starting to think that maybe those who told me this just may be correct.
It seems that those who find the old atheist faith to be a little stuffy, and those who find the new atheist faith too fundamentalist are reacting just like Christians have acted for centuries. They’re spreading out like a web so as to cater to specific aspects of the belief system that appeals to various believers. For example, we now have:
Atheist 1- I don’t like the term atheist so much. It’s become too negative. That’s why I belong to the Humanist society.
A2 - Oh, to me, humanist is too old. The word smells like a basement in an old building. I prefer to call myself a Scientific Materialist.
A3 - I don’t find anything wrong with humanist, except that I think even spiritual people could be humanists. That’s why I make it clear that I’m a Secular Humanist.
A4 - Bah humbug! Call me a good old Sceptic. That’s what I am.
A5 - Well, I think the third atheist is the most correct. But it’s a little too general to just say that I’m a spiritual person. The fact is, while I am an atheist, I’m specifically a Buddhist. Last fall I even had Buddha rays come out my nose on three consecutive days.
A6 - All of you clowns are a bunch of cowards. We’re all atheists and our biggest enemy is religion. If we don’t show the world a unified front of Anti-Theists like me, then how are we ever supposed to nail down definitions for important things like whether we’re people who deny that god exists, or people who are non believers in god? This is crucial to our cause folks. Somebody get me a drink.
A7 - Yes, there’s truth in what all of you are saying. Well, I’m not saying that truth actually exists. It’s just that none of those other atheist denominations really express what’s most important to me and that’s that I and people like me are Free Thinkers. If that’s not the part of us that we define clearly for seekers, then people will just think that we are atheists because our parents were atheists. And even though my parents were atheists, denying god’s existence is my own idea. No really! It is! That’s why it’s important to me to show exactly who I am, a free thinker.
A8 - You see, that’s what I can’t stand about those of us who are atheists. I don’t believe in Creator God, as the Christians do. But I can’t rule out the mysterious either. That’s why I’m a Pantheist. And don’t even start with me about how pantheism goes against all that we know scientifically, at least regarding origins. So does all the rest of our atheist dogma. I like to take a little bit from the free thinkers and that means that I’m free to believe what I want about the universe and damn the scientific evidence. As long as I deny that God exists I can come up with anything else that I want to believe in. Give me back my teddy-bear.
A9 - I’d like to know from the second atheist what’s wrong with old. We Marxists had it right way back when. And I say that if something was true then, it’s still true now. That doesn’t count for religious truth, of course, but it sure is correct for Marxist truth.
A10 - I’m sure all you people mean well, but most of you have taken what seems to me to be positions that are too confrontational. The group that I belong to simply identifies ourselves as Non Theists. We aren’t anything regarding religion or God. We’re just, you know, not theists.
It seems that those who find the old atheist faith to be a little stuffy, and those who find the new atheist faith too fundamentalist are reacting just like Christians have acted for centuries. They’re spreading out like a web so as to cater to specific aspects of the belief system that appeals to various believers. For example, we now have:
Atheist 1- I don’t like the term atheist so much. It’s become too negative. That’s why I belong to the Humanist society.
A2 - Oh, to me, humanist is too old. The word smells like a basement in an old building. I prefer to call myself a Scientific Materialist.
A3 - I don’t find anything wrong with humanist, except that I think even spiritual people could be humanists. That’s why I make it clear that I’m a Secular Humanist.
A4 - Bah humbug! Call me a good old Sceptic. That’s what I am.
A5 - Well, I think the third atheist is the most correct. But it’s a little too general to just say that I’m a spiritual person. The fact is, while I am an atheist, I’m specifically a Buddhist. Last fall I even had Buddha rays come out my nose on three consecutive days.
A6 - All of you clowns are a bunch of cowards. We’re all atheists and our biggest enemy is religion. If we don’t show the world a unified front of Anti-Theists like me, then how are we ever supposed to nail down definitions for important things like whether we’re people who deny that god exists, or people who are non believers in god? This is crucial to our cause folks. Somebody get me a drink.
A7 - Yes, there’s truth in what all of you are saying. Well, I’m not saying that truth actually exists. It’s just that none of those other atheist denominations really express what’s most important to me and that’s that I and people like me are Free Thinkers. If that’s not the part of us that we define clearly for seekers, then people will just think that we are atheists because our parents were atheists. And even though my parents were atheists, denying god’s existence is my own idea. No really! It is! That’s why it’s important to me to show exactly who I am, a free thinker.
A8 - You see, that’s what I can’t stand about those of us who are atheists. I don’t believe in Creator God, as the Christians do. But I can’t rule out the mysterious either. That’s why I’m a Pantheist. And don’t even start with me about how pantheism goes against all that we know scientifically, at least regarding origins. So does all the rest of our atheist dogma. I like to take a little bit from the free thinkers and that means that I’m free to believe what I want about the universe and damn the scientific evidence. As long as I deny that God exists I can come up with anything else that I want to believe in. Give me back my teddy-bear.
A9 - I’d like to know from the second atheist what’s wrong with old. We Marxists had it right way back when. And I say that if something was true then, it’s still true now. That doesn’t count for religious truth, of course, but it sure is correct for Marxist truth.
A10 - I’m sure all you people mean well, but most of you have taken what seems to me to be positions that are too confrontational. The group that I belong to simply identifies ourselves as Non Theists. We aren’t anything regarding religion or God. We’re just, you know, not theists.
Friday, April 17, 2009
One religion is the same as the next?
The most respectful atheist I’ve ever encountered, anywhere on the net, left a couple comments in response to yesterday’s post. Because I’m so long winded, I told him that I’d address his comments in the following post.
This gentleman said, “An accident of your birth--being born in a country whose predominant faith is Christianity--is the principle reason you have found Christianity the answer to life's complex questions.”
Well, I think being born in Canada is one reason that I was able to understand Christianity. But even that is not quite right as any atheist who is born in Canada still finds Christianity incomprehensible.
However Christianity being the principle answer to life’s complex questions, if that's true, remains true regardless of where I am born and regardless of what I believe. The same could be said, regarding knowledge of any kind, of someone born in a developed country versus someone born in a third-world country. For example, one could say, “An accident of your birth, being born in a country with advanced biology departments, is the principle reason you understand truths about biology.” That’s true but it doesn’t render the knowledge any less true. I know that’s not exactly what you meant so let me explain further in response to your next comment.
“The same sorts of religious sentiment are felt by Muslims, Hindus, Animists, Pagans ad infinitum. Christianity is far from being in a unique position.”
Well, I’m not sure how I could disagree more strongly. I’m not trying to be rude, but it’s been my experience that people who say that all religions are the same, simply have not looked at all religions. It’s true that all OTHER religions offer an escape from the shackles of individuality and physical embodiment into some kind of transcendent spiritual existence. However, as Vinoth Ramachandra has said,
“Biblical salvation lies not in an escape from this world but in transformation of this world . . . You will not find hope for the world in any of the religious systems or philosophes of humankind, not even in atheism. The Biblical vision is unique. That is why when some say there is salvation in other faiths too, I ask them, “What salvation are you talking about?” No faith holds out a promise of eternal salvation for the world - the ordinary world - that the cross and resurrection of Jesus do.”
In my search for a way out of the abysmal hole of naturalism, some of the things that struck me as unique to Christianity and its “fit” for what I was looking for are as follows:
In the Bible the word love is used almost 400 times and about 75% of those times it’s talking about God’s love for us. In the Quran, the word love in not used even once, NOT ONE SINGLE TIME to describe Allah?
. God in the Bible is described as a personal, knowable God who is intensely interested in the joy and the well-being of you the individual. The Quran describes Allah as distant and unknowable.
. The Bible teaches that God loves everyone equally, even enemies and sinners. In fact the whole purpose of Jesus coming to earth was to make peace with his enemies and to invite them to an eternal home in the presence of God’s Love. The Quran teaches that Allah loves only faithful Muslims. The Quran teaches that Allah hates sinners and infidels. In fact the Quran teaches that Allah hates them so much that faithful Muslims are encouraged to kill infidels “where ever they may be found.”
. The Bible teaches that through Jesus and because of His love we can have assurance of salvation. The Quran teaches that while only Muslims will have salvation, no individual Muslim can know if s/he will be saved. The faithful Muslim can only hope that Allah will find h/her worthy of paradise. In fact the only way for a Muslim to be guaranteed paradise is to die while killing non Muslims.
. Unlike Christianity, there is no Saviour in Islam and no promise of salvation.
. Unlike Christianity, Islam has no means of or basis for forgiveness.
. Perhaps most relevant to our time is the difference between Islam and Christianity regarding the term martyr. In Christianity a martyr is someone who is killed by others for what s/he believes. In Islam a martyr is someone who dies while killing others because they don’t believe what s/he, the Muslim, believes.
. Christianity and Islam, God and Allah are not anything alike.
The biggest difference between Christianity and other religions, and you know this, is Grace. The chasm that Grace creates between Christianity and other religions is literally impossible to cross.
Unlike any other teacher before or after Him, Jesus not only taught about life and relationships and spirituality, He lived what He taught. Buddha, for example is practically the polar opposite to Jesus. Unlike you and I, no charge of hypocrisy could be brought against Jesus. In fact, the only charge that was brought against Jesus, the only charge that got Jesus killed, was His claim that He was and is Creator God. Down through the centuries, the only charge that has gotten Jesus’ followers killed, is their belief that Jesus is Creator God.
Unlike any other teacher before or after Him, Jesus taught, “There is nothing that you can do to earn your salvation. There is no behaviour, no ritual, no string of things to say, no number of prayers or hand washing or good deeds that will qualify you for Heaven. Your salvation is by My Grace and by My Grace alone.”
There is no another religion or religious teacher anywhere in the world that has or ever will copy this teaching of Jesus. The concept of salvation by Grace alone is a teaching or concept that is totally foreign to the human mind. There is not a human being on earth that would or even could invent this single most important aspect of Jesus’ teaching. All other faiths and all other religious and philosophical teachers including Richard Dawkins or Oprah Winfrey have been, are today and will remain in the future openly hostile to this singular teaching of Jesus the Christ and the religion that bears His name.
Unlike any other teacher Jesus is rooted in hisory. The facts of His life can be researched and a judgment based on historical facts can be made.
Unlike any other teacher before or after Him, Jesus taught, “I am God.”
Unlike any other teacher before or after Him, Jesus taught, “I am the Creator of the Universe.”
Unlike any other teacher before or after Him, Jesus taught that He has been alive forever; that He is an eternal being.
Unlike any other teacher before or after Him, Jesus taught, “I came to earth to let you reject Me, mock Me, ridicule Me, torture Me and ultimately kill Me.”
Unlike any other teacher before or after Him, Jesus taught, “I came to earth with the sole purpose of dying for you. My death is sacrificial in nature. If you place your faith in Me, if you trust Me to forgive your sins, My death will defeat the power that sin has over you, including the consequence of sin which is death.”
Unlike any other teacher before or after Him, Jesus taught, “No one comes to Heaven except through Me.”
Unlike any other teacher before or after Him, Jesus taught, “Not only will I rise from the dead, when I return to earth I will also raise from the dead everyone who has ever been born. Some I will bring into eternal paradise. The rest I will send to everlasting punishment.”
Unlike any other teacher before or after Him, Jesus taught, “I have the power and the authority to forgive your sins, free you from guilt and change your character. I can change you from someone who worships yourself to someone who worships Me. It’s not by obeying My words and not by emulating My behaviour that you will be changed. That kind of teaching comes only from earthly teachers. True inner change comes through Me. I’m the One who will inhabit your being and change you from the inside out.”
Unlike any other teacher before or after Him, Jesus taught, “Whoever gives up everything that this world considers important in order to follow Me, that person will find real life and real living. But whoever remains dependent upon the things that this world considers important and does not follow Me, that person will lose h/his life.”
Unlike any other teacher before or after Him, Jesus taught “You are going to stand before Me and Me alone on Judgement day and I will declare to the universe who is to spend eternity in Heaven with Me.”
Unlike any other teacher before or after Him, Jesus taught that eternal life in Heaven, or salvation is not found by searching and learning and practising. It is not found in austerity or asceticism. Eternal life is found via the gift of faith from Him to us.
Unlike any other teacher before or after Him, Jesus taught that He would be killed and He prophesied exactly how and by whom He would be killed. Jesus taught that He would rise from the dead, return to Heaven and that one day He would return to earth to judge the living and the dead.
Unlike any other teacher before or after Him, Jesus taught that He and He alone was worthy to not just be followed but to be worshipped.
Unlike any other teacher before or after Him, Jesus taught, and then lived - “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, pray for those who persecute you, forgive those who sin against you.” Again, Jesus not only taught this, He lived it!
Unlike any other teacher before or after Him, Jesus taught, “I didn’t set out to find enlightenment. I came to earth to give you enlightenment.”
Unlike any other teacher before or after Him, Jesus taught, “The greatest and the most important thing to do in life is to worship Creator God with all your heart and soul and mind and strength.”
Unlike any other teacher before or after Him, Jesus taught, “Even a little child can understand My teaching well enough to be granted salvation. Neither intelligence nor desire nor education nor graduating from level to level to level in your spiritual journey have nothing at all to do with gaining the forgiveness of your sins.”
Unlike any other teacher before or after Him, Jesus taught, “I, your teacher, don’t expect you to serve Me. I came so that I could serve you.”
Unlike any other teacher before or after Him, Jesus taught, “To receive enlightenment:
. Don’t withdraw from the world, take hold of my hand and with your eyes wide open enter fully into the world of pain and suffering;
. Don’t empty your mind, instead fill your mind to the brim with the thoughts that My Spirit brings to you.
. Don’t empty yourself of desire, trust Me and then watch Me fulfill your deepest desires and longings;
. Don’t aim for nothingness, trust Me and then watch Me bring you into the most abundant, full and complete life possible;
. You will never find peace and joy and love from within yourself, you will only find those things within a healed and forgiven relationship with Me.
I’m sure there are more singular teachings of Jesus, but the fact is this. Any claim that Jesus’ teachings weren’t original or unique in nature is a claim that has no basis in truth. It’s a claim that should be discarded as less than useless, worse than unreliable.
The Christian teaching regarding “the fall” of human kind, our separation from our Creator because of the fall, our inability to reestablish this relationship and to heal our brokenness on our own, the offer of forgiveness and a healed and forgiven relationship with our Creator made sense to me. It fits. It feels more true than any other philosophy or belief system, including atheism.
This gentleman said, “An accident of your birth--being born in a country whose predominant faith is Christianity--is the principle reason you have found Christianity the answer to life's complex questions.”
Well, I think being born in Canada is one reason that I was able to understand Christianity. But even that is not quite right as any atheist who is born in Canada still finds Christianity incomprehensible.
However Christianity being the principle answer to life’s complex questions, if that's true, remains true regardless of where I am born and regardless of what I believe. The same could be said, regarding knowledge of any kind, of someone born in a developed country versus someone born in a third-world country. For example, one could say, “An accident of your birth, being born in a country with advanced biology departments, is the principle reason you understand truths about biology.” That’s true but it doesn’t render the knowledge any less true. I know that’s not exactly what you meant so let me explain further in response to your next comment.
“The same sorts of religious sentiment are felt by Muslims, Hindus, Animists, Pagans ad infinitum. Christianity is far from being in a unique position.”
Well, I’m not sure how I could disagree more strongly. I’m not trying to be rude, but it’s been my experience that people who say that all religions are the same, simply have not looked at all religions. It’s true that all OTHER religions offer an escape from the shackles of individuality and physical embodiment into some kind of transcendent spiritual existence. However, as Vinoth Ramachandra has said,
“Biblical salvation lies not in an escape from this world but in transformation of this world . . . You will not find hope for the world in any of the religious systems or philosophes of humankind, not even in atheism. The Biblical vision is unique. That is why when some say there is salvation in other faiths too, I ask them, “What salvation are you talking about?” No faith holds out a promise of eternal salvation for the world - the ordinary world - that the cross and resurrection of Jesus do.”
In my search for a way out of the abysmal hole of naturalism, some of the things that struck me as unique to Christianity and its “fit” for what I was looking for are as follows:
In the Bible the word love is used almost 400 times and about 75% of those times it’s talking about God’s love for us. In the Quran, the word love in not used even once, NOT ONE SINGLE TIME to describe Allah?
. God in the Bible is described as a personal, knowable God who is intensely interested in the joy and the well-being of you the individual. The Quran describes Allah as distant and unknowable.
. The Bible teaches that God loves everyone equally, even enemies and sinners. In fact the whole purpose of Jesus coming to earth was to make peace with his enemies and to invite them to an eternal home in the presence of God’s Love. The Quran teaches that Allah loves only faithful Muslims. The Quran teaches that Allah hates sinners and infidels. In fact the Quran teaches that Allah hates them so much that faithful Muslims are encouraged to kill infidels “where ever they may be found.”
. The Bible teaches that through Jesus and because of His love we can have assurance of salvation. The Quran teaches that while only Muslims will have salvation, no individual Muslim can know if s/he will be saved. The faithful Muslim can only hope that Allah will find h/her worthy of paradise. In fact the only way for a Muslim to be guaranteed paradise is to die while killing non Muslims.
. Unlike Christianity, there is no Saviour in Islam and no promise of salvation.
. Unlike Christianity, Islam has no means of or basis for forgiveness.
. Perhaps most relevant to our time is the difference between Islam and Christianity regarding the term martyr. In Christianity a martyr is someone who is killed by others for what s/he believes. In Islam a martyr is someone who dies while killing others because they don’t believe what s/he, the Muslim, believes.
. Christianity and Islam, God and Allah are not anything alike.
The biggest difference between Christianity and other religions, and you know this, is Grace. The chasm that Grace creates between Christianity and other religions is literally impossible to cross.
Unlike any other teacher before or after Him, Jesus not only taught about life and relationships and spirituality, He lived what He taught. Buddha, for example is practically the polar opposite to Jesus. Unlike you and I, no charge of hypocrisy could be brought against Jesus. In fact, the only charge that was brought against Jesus, the only charge that got Jesus killed, was His claim that He was and is Creator God. Down through the centuries, the only charge that has gotten Jesus’ followers killed, is their belief that Jesus is Creator God.
Unlike any other teacher before or after Him, Jesus taught, “There is nothing that you can do to earn your salvation. There is no behaviour, no ritual, no string of things to say, no number of prayers or hand washing or good deeds that will qualify you for Heaven. Your salvation is by My Grace and by My Grace alone.”
There is no another religion or religious teacher anywhere in the world that has or ever will copy this teaching of Jesus. The concept of salvation by Grace alone is a teaching or concept that is totally foreign to the human mind. There is not a human being on earth that would or even could invent this single most important aspect of Jesus’ teaching. All other faiths and all other religious and philosophical teachers including Richard Dawkins or Oprah Winfrey have been, are today and will remain in the future openly hostile to this singular teaching of Jesus the Christ and the religion that bears His name.
Unlike any other teacher Jesus is rooted in hisory. The facts of His life can be researched and a judgment based on historical facts can be made.
Unlike any other teacher before or after Him, Jesus taught, “I am God.”
Unlike any other teacher before or after Him, Jesus taught, “I am the Creator of the Universe.”
Unlike any other teacher before or after Him, Jesus taught that He has been alive forever; that He is an eternal being.
Unlike any other teacher before or after Him, Jesus taught, “I came to earth to let you reject Me, mock Me, ridicule Me, torture Me and ultimately kill Me.”
Unlike any other teacher before or after Him, Jesus taught, “I came to earth with the sole purpose of dying for you. My death is sacrificial in nature. If you place your faith in Me, if you trust Me to forgive your sins, My death will defeat the power that sin has over you, including the consequence of sin which is death.”
Unlike any other teacher before or after Him, Jesus taught, “No one comes to Heaven except through Me.”
Unlike any other teacher before or after Him, Jesus taught, “Not only will I rise from the dead, when I return to earth I will also raise from the dead everyone who has ever been born. Some I will bring into eternal paradise. The rest I will send to everlasting punishment.”
Unlike any other teacher before or after Him, Jesus taught, “I have the power and the authority to forgive your sins, free you from guilt and change your character. I can change you from someone who worships yourself to someone who worships Me. It’s not by obeying My words and not by emulating My behaviour that you will be changed. That kind of teaching comes only from earthly teachers. True inner change comes through Me. I’m the One who will inhabit your being and change you from the inside out.”
Unlike any other teacher before or after Him, Jesus taught, “Whoever gives up everything that this world considers important in order to follow Me, that person will find real life and real living. But whoever remains dependent upon the things that this world considers important and does not follow Me, that person will lose h/his life.”
Unlike any other teacher before or after Him, Jesus taught “You are going to stand before Me and Me alone on Judgement day and I will declare to the universe who is to spend eternity in Heaven with Me.”
Unlike any other teacher before or after Him, Jesus taught that eternal life in Heaven, or salvation is not found by searching and learning and practising. It is not found in austerity or asceticism. Eternal life is found via the gift of faith from Him to us.
Unlike any other teacher before or after Him, Jesus taught that He would be killed and He prophesied exactly how and by whom He would be killed. Jesus taught that He would rise from the dead, return to Heaven and that one day He would return to earth to judge the living and the dead.
Unlike any other teacher before or after Him, Jesus taught that He and He alone was worthy to not just be followed but to be worshipped.
Unlike any other teacher before or after Him, Jesus taught, and then lived - “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, pray for those who persecute you, forgive those who sin against you.” Again, Jesus not only taught this, He lived it!
Unlike any other teacher before or after Him, Jesus taught, “I didn’t set out to find enlightenment. I came to earth to give you enlightenment.”
Unlike any other teacher before or after Him, Jesus taught, “The greatest and the most important thing to do in life is to worship Creator God with all your heart and soul and mind and strength.”
Unlike any other teacher before or after Him, Jesus taught, “Even a little child can understand My teaching well enough to be granted salvation. Neither intelligence nor desire nor education nor graduating from level to level to level in your spiritual journey have nothing at all to do with gaining the forgiveness of your sins.”
Unlike any other teacher before or after Him, Jesus taught, “I, your teacher, don’t expect you to serve Me. I came so that I could serve you.”
Unlike any other teacher before or after Him, Jesus taught, “To receive enlightenment:
. Don’t withdraw from the world, take hold of my hand and with your eyes wide open enter fully into the world of pain and suffering;
. Don’t empty your mind, instead fill your mind to the brim with the thoughts that My Spirit brings to you.
. Don’t empty yourself of desire, trust Me and then watch Me fulfill your deepest desires and longings;
. Don’t aim for nothingness, trust Me and then watch Me bring you into the most abundant, full and complete life possible;
. You will never find peace and joy and love from within yourself, you will only find those things within a healed and forgiven relationship with Me.
I’m sure there are more singular teachings of Jesus, but the fact is this. Any claim that Jesus’ teachings weren’t original or unique in nature is a claim that has no basis in truth. It’s a claim that should be discarded as less than useless, worse than unreliable.
The Christian teaching regarding “the fall” of human kind, our separation from our Creator because of the fall, our inability to reestablish this relationship and to heal our brokenness on our own, the offer of forgiveness and a healed and forgiven relationship with our Creator made sense to me. It fits. It feels more true than any other philosophy or belief system, including atheism.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Isn't It Weird?
Isn't it weird how before we become a Christian, we think we're pretty good people. We believe that we've arrived. After we become a Christian, or rather just before that decision is made, God opens our eyes to the wretched state of affairs that is our lives. From that point onward the closer we get to becoming like Jesus, the more clearly we see how much further we need to go. We see that we aren't anywhere close to arriving. In fact we've just barely begun. And here's the real kicker. The more clearly we see our true nature, the better we feel because with each click of reality, Jesus infuses Himself into our inner being. Isn't that weird?
Monday, October 20, 2008
3 degrees of Christianity
I’m always amazed by the stories of people who are either angry at God, or are disappointed in God or have given up on God altogether because of a perceived failure on His part to “deliver the goods” as they imagined would happen if they became followers of Jesus.
In a very general way, the path these people follow is something like this:
A child gets sick, or
The layoff notice is handed out, or
Ones love-life is non existent, or
Depression or other chronic illness strips one of hope.
So a person prays that:
. The child would be healed
. New work is found soon
. Some one to love you comes along
. Freedom from the illness is provided
Nothing happens
The relationship with God is damaged, neglected or tossed aside. When someone has turned away from God, the above seems to be the Path the most people have travelled.
This doesn’t need to be the way life goes.
While the above may be the general Course that is travelled, the falling away from God comes for two main reasons:
. First, as I’ve just described is the erroneous perception that Jesus is not trust worthy, His promises are false, and the “good” life that Jesus promises is far, far different than the one imagined.
. The second reason for a damaged relationship with Jesus is a failure on the part of the individual to take into consideration ALL of God’s provisions. The person seems focused on and even obsessed with what s/he thinks are the negatives in life and ignores all the good that Jesus has brought into one’s life up to that point in time.
If this is the way a person does life, the result is practically guaranteed - the end of that person’s life as a Christian. This actually should not surprise. When Jesus was telling the parable of the seed and the sower, He indicated that roughly 75% of those who begin to follow Him will at some point fall away. Jesus said that the spiritual life of most would-be Christians will be strangled by life’s worries or enticed by life’s temporary attractions or simply crushed under the weight of trouble.
There is so very much more to the Christian life that these early quitters completely miss. They simply never pushed beyond their initial encounter with the harsh reality of life. Because they failed to be trained by Jesus, because they never exercised or practised with the tools that Jesus promised to give to them, they were unable to persevere, to endure and claim the victory that is ours if we don’t give up.
To move beyond this pitfall, to move on to the next stage of one’s Christian walk involves interpreting life in light of Jesus’ promises. Rather than looking at life and concluding, “God is not good,” we need to start with the truth that “God IS love” and interpret the events of life through that lens.
Jesus truthfully said, “I will never leave you or give up on you.” What does that mean when a child dies?
Jesus truthfully said, “I will meet all your needs.” What does that mean when your vehicle or even your house is repossessed?
The person who makes it to the second level of Christian growth is someone who has not made the error in logic that says - “If bad things happen to me, or if my prayers are not answered with a “yes” that means that God must not exist.”
The person who reaches this stage of h/her walk with Jesus is usually the person who stands in awe of all the good that Jesus has brought into that person’s life. In fact, that is why the tragedies that Christians experience can be somewhat confusing. How is it that God loves me, but allows / causes the loss of love or never experiencing love. How is it that a God who loves me also allows poor health to persist? What does it mean when God says, “I love you. Now deal with the death of your child”? My wife and I have walked through all this and much much more and I can say beyond a shadow of doubt, Jesus really is all one needs in circumstances like these. That is why people like Richard Dawkins find it so confounding when tragedy actually increases a Christian’s faith, when experiencing life’s horrors actually draws someone closer to God. Sadly, people like Dawkins can’t possibly know the richness and depth of the life that is lived with Jesus as Lord and Saviour. These people are left to stand on the sidewalk looking in and criticising something they know nothing about.
Having said that, the second stage is crucial to the development of faith, of trust, of acceptance, of patience. This step is mandatory if one is to develop the Fruit of the Spirit as per Galatians 5:22ff. For those who suck it up and work this stage of Christianity, one of the major things that is noticed is the presence of God’s love, mercy, grace, gentleness, kindness and protection not just in the midst of pain and suffering, but ESPECIALLY in the midst of the sorrows that life is sure to bring. While bewildering in the beginning and while causing the furrowing of the brow and meditation in the quiet moments, the realisation slowly dawns on us that Jesus really doesn’t leave us or give up on us. The realisation awakens in us that we are slowly but surely becoming emotionally indestructible. We begin to see that suffering, and lots of it is not something to be avoided at all costs. Rather, the presence of suffering in our lives takes on meaning. We come to realise that in a weird way, suffering has become essential to our greatest personal growth. And suddenly we understand why God’s suffering in the person of Jesus of Nazareth was so important to God’s plan of salvation. Suffering in our world is not an accident or mistake. It has purpose; deep and meaningful purpose.
This takes us to the third and final level of Christian living. As with Paul, we can now understand what once were incomprehensible verses.
. “When I am weak, then I am strong,”
. “I rejoice in my infirmities, in insults, in hardships, in difficulties.”
. “I have learned the secret of contentment in all circumstances.”
. “I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.”
. “We also rejoice in our suffering, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance produces character and character produces hope.”
. “So then those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.”
. “Therefore humble yourselves under God’s mighty hand. Cast all your anxieties on Him because He cares about you and at just the right time He will lift you up.”
. “Be thankful in all circumstances.”
This is a wonderful, wonderful stage of life. Rather than worrying, and planning and watching for all the possible eventualities that may befall a person, I can simply follow Jesus wherever and through whatever He leads me. I can do this because through experience I’ve discovered that even if I or my wife or my children should die, regardless of what life may bring, I know that all is well with my soul. I have been tested and tried again, and again and again over decades of sometimes brutal pounding and I know beyond any doubt that the presence of God delivers far beyond my hopes and dreams. I’m alive and well and living in the Lord.
In a very general way, the path these people follow is something like this:
A child gets sick, or
The layoff notice is handed out, or
Ones love-life is non existent, or
Depression or other chronic illness strips one of hope.
So a person prays that:
. The child would be healed
. New work is found soon
. Some one to love you comes along
. Freedom from the illness is provided
Nothing happens
The relationship with God is damaged, neglected or tossed aside. When someone has turned away from God, the above seems to be the Path the most people have travelled.
This doesn’t need to be the way life goes.
While the above may be the general Course that is travelled, the falling away from God comes for two main reasons:
. First, as I’ve just described is the erroneous perception that Jesus is not trust worthy, His promises are false, and the “good” life that Jesus promises is far, far different than the one imagined.
. The second reason for a damaged relationship with Jesus is a failure on the part of the individual to take into consideration ALL of God’s provisions. The person seems focused on and even obsessed with what s/he thinks are the negatives in life and ignores all the good that Jesus has brought into one’s life up to that point in time.
If this is the way a person does life, the result is practically guaranteed - the end of that person’s life as a Christian. This actually should not surprise. When Jesus was telling the parable of the seed and the sower, He indicated that roughly 75% of those who begin to follow Him will at some point fall away. Jesus said that the spiritual life of most would-be Christians will be strangled by life’s worries or enticed by life’s temporary attractions or simply crushed under the weight of trouble.
There is so very much more to the Christian life that these early quitters completely miss. They simply never pushed beyond their initial encounter with the harsh reality of life. Because they failed to be trained by Jesus, because they never exercised or practised with the tools that Jesus promised to give to them, they were unable to persevere, to endure and claim the victory that is ours if we don’t give up.
To move beyond this pitfall, to move on to the next stage of one’s Christian walk involves interpreting life in light of Jesus’ promises. Rather than looking at life and concluding, “God is not good,” we need to start with the truth that “God IS love” and interpret the events of life through that lens.
Jesus truthfully said, “I will never leave you or give up on you.” What does that mean when a child dies?
Jesus truthfully said, “I will meet all your needs.” What does that mean when your vehicle or even your house is repossessed?
The person who makes it to the second level of Christian growth is someone who has not made the error in logic that says - “If bad things happen to me, or if my prayers are not answered with a “yes” that means that God must not exist.”
The person who reaches this stage of h/her walk with Jesus is usually the person who stands in awe of all the good that Jesus has brought into that person’s life. In fact, that is why the tragedies that Christians experience can be somewhat confusing. How is it that God loves me, but allows / causes the loss of love or never experiencing love. How is it that a God who loves me also allows poor health to persist? What does it mean when God says, “I love you. Now deal with the death of your child”? My wife and I have walked through all this and much much more and I can say beyond a shadow of doubt, Jesus really is all one needs in circumstances like these. That is why people like Richard Dawkins find it so confounding when tragedy actually increases a Christian’s faith, when experiencing life’s horrors actually draws someone closer to God. Sadly, people like Dawkins can’t possibly know the richness and depth of the life that is lived with Jesus as Lord and Saviour. These people are left to stand on the sidewalk looking in and criticising something they know nothing about.
Having said that, the second stage is crucial to the development of faith, of trust, of acceptance, of patience. This step is mandatory if one is to develop the Fruit of the Spirit as per Galatians 5:22ff. For those who suck it up and work this stage of Christianity, one of the major things that is noticed is the presence of God’s love, mercy, grace, gentleness, kindness and protection not just in the midst of pain and suffering, but ESPECIALLY in the midst of the sorrows that life is sure to bring. While bewildering in the beginning and while causing the furrowing of the brow and meditation in the quiet moments, the realisation slowly dawns on us that Jesus really doesn’t leave us or give up on us. The realisation awakens in us that we are slowly but surely becoming emotionally indestructible. We begin to see that suffering, and lots of it is not something to be avoided at all costs. Rather, the presence of suffering in our lives takes on meaning. We come to realise that in a weird way, suffering has become essential to our greatest personal growth. And suddenly we understand why God’s suffering in the person of Jesus of Nazareth was so important to God’s plan of salvation. Suffering in our world is not an accident or mistake. It has purpose; deep and meaningful purpose.
This takes us to the third and final level of Christian living. As with Paul, we can now understand what once were incomprehensible verses.
. “When I am weak, then I am strong,”
. “I rejoice in my infirmities, in insults, in hardships, in difficulties.”
. “I have learned the secret of contentment in all circumstances.”
. “I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.”
. “We also rejoice in our suffering, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance produces character and character produces hope.”
. “So then those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.”
. “Therefore humble yourselves under God’s mighty hand. Cast all your anxieties on Him because He cares about you and at just the right time He will lift you up.”
. “Be thankful in all circumstances.”
This is a wonderful, wonderful stage of life. Rather than worrying, and planning and watching for all the possible eventualities that may befall a person, I can simply follow Jesus wherever and through whatever He leads me. I can do this because through experience I’ve discovered that even if I or my wife or my children should die, regardless of what life may bring, I know that all is well with my soul. I have been tested and tried again, and again and again over decades of sometimes brutal pounding and I know beyond any doubt that the presence of God delivers far beyond my hopes and dreams. I’m alive and well and living in the Lord.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Intolerant Christianity
Christianity is accused of being exclusivist and intolerant.
It’s so exclusive and so intolerant that it’s ONLY in countries that have been historically Christian where you can believe what you want and change what you believe from one belief system to another and another and another without putting your lives in jeopardy.
It’s so exclusive and so intolerant that it’s ONLY in countries that have been historically Christian where you can believe what you want and change what you believe from one belief system to another and another and another without putting your lives in jeopardy.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
God’s Love Crowds Out Evil Desires
Christianity isn't based on "doing" the right kinds of things. Christianity isn't based on "acting" like the right kind of person. Living the Christian life is an inside job. That’s where the Pharisees got it so wrong. It drove Jesus around the bend that they couldn’t get it through their heads (hearts actually) that keeping rules and adhering to do’s and don’t’s do not a Godly person make. Over and over and over Jesus said, “You have heard it said (names a rule) but I say (gives and example of a God driven nature or attitude).”
The Old and New Testaments are perfect examples of what counsellors do all the time. First, like the Old Testament, the counsellor highlights what isn’t working, hasn’t worked and never will work. If the client disagrees, the counsellor gets them to keep doing the current behaviours longer and harder until the truth begins to sink in.
God gave to people exactly what they wanted and thought they needed - lots and lots of rules or guidelines. Oh sure, many people say they hate rules. That's not true. What they mean is, they hate other people’s rules, but they go right out and make up a list of their own regarding how they should behave. And in reality, God’s Older Testament rules were unique for the time when compared to the societies that surrounded the Israelites. He said, “You want to please Me by keeping rules like all your pagan neighbours? Well here’s the set that I want you to keep. Knock yourselves out." As we know, they didn’t and couldn’t keep the rules and God wasn’t pleased.
The only thing that rules, or God’s law can do is show us how we can’t keep God’s law. The Law can only show us how far we are from where we need to be.
Once our failure to get what we want by doing what we’re doing is firmly entrenched, the counsellor or in this case, the New Testament God provides a better way; a way that will work.
It’s the same with changing our character. We can’t do it through hard work or discipline or coming up with our own set of rules. Of course these things will take us part way but they can never do the job the way it needs to be done. That’s why Jesus seems to be so irritated throughout the Old Testament. He can hardly believe that we don’t get it. Keeping rules, does not produce faith. Only faith in Creator God produces the ability to do what’s right. A changed heart produces a new character. Filling our souls with a love of God forces out our pride, arrogance, and corrupted self-love. These are the things that are forever making us stumble in our efforts to become better people. Love, God’s love crowds out evil.
The Old and New Testaments are perfect examples of what counsellors do all the time. First, like the Old Testament, the counsellor highlights what isn’t working, hasn’t worked and never will work. If the client disagrees, the counsellor gets them to keep doing the current behaviours longer and harder until the truth begins to sink in.
God gave to people exactly what they wanted and thought they needed - lots and lots of rules or guidelines. Oh sure, many people say they hate rules. That's not true. What they mean is, they hate other people’s rules, but they go right out and make up a list of their own regarding how they should behave. And in reality, God’s Older Testament rules were unique for the time when compared to the societies that surrounded the Israelites. He said, “You want to please Me by keeping rules like all your pagan neighbours? Well here’s the set that I want you to keep. Knock yourselves out." As we know, they didn’t and couldn’t keep the rules and God wasn’t pleased.
The only thing that rules, or God’s law can do is show us how we can’t keep God’s law. The Law can only show us how far we are from where we need to be.
Once our failure to get what we want by doing what we’re doing is firmly entrenched, the counsellor or in this case, the New Testament God provides a better way; a way that will work.
It’s the same with changing our character. We can’t do it through hard work or discipline or coming up with our own set of rules. Of course these things will take us part way but they can never do the job the way it needs to be done. That’s why Jesus seems to be so irritated throughout the Old Testament. He can hardly believe that we don’t get it. Keeping rules, does not produce faith. Only faith in Creator God produces the ability to do what’s right. A changed heart produces a new character. Filling our souls with a love of God forces out our pride, arrogance, and corrupted self-love. These are the things that are forever making us stumble in our efforts to become better people. Love, God’s love crowds out evil.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
God Help Us!
There is something kind of interesting happening with the new generation of Christians that I see for counselling. The good news is, they know that we aren’t saved by being obedient to God. The bad, sad and down right weird news is that they can’t think of any other reason why they should be obedient to God. So how does this play out in real life? That too is very strange.
Using the example of a marriage that’s going south, the behaviours of the couple, a couple that self identifies as “Christian” remember, will be to: Hurt and be hurt, be Unkind, Impatient, Not forgiving, Easily angered, Self-seeking, Not trusting, Keeping a record of wrongs, Mocking and Sarcasm and then (Here’s the strange part) they’ll express anger toward God for not giving them a peaceful and happy marriage.
If this is how Christians act and react then God help us all.
Using the example of a marriage that’s going south, the behaviours of the couple, a couple that self identifies as “Christian” remember, will be to: Hurt and be hurt, be Unkind, Impatient, Not forgiving, Easily angered, Self-seeking, Not trusting, Keeping a record of wrongs, Mocking and Sarcasm and then (Here’s the strange part) they’ll express anger toward God for not giving them a peaceful and happy marriage.
If this is how Christians act and react then God help us all.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Sacking Christianity in under 5 minutes
For awhile I believed that those 17 teenagers who all thought that getting pregnant at the same time would be a really great idea were the stupidest people on the planet. I guess not. I saw a YouTube post a couple days ago. It proves that there are at least two people who are even dumber. First, the atheist who showed off his "brilliance" on YouTube and second the person who tried to promote this nonsense on her blog. My impression of what the kid on YouTube had to say?
Spoken like a true intellectual infant. The thing about atheists who make these kinds of arguments, the thing that is so striking is their naivety, puerility and dulled thinking. Sure they're proud and arrogant. Show me an atheist who isn't. ("I'll do away with the idea of a Creator God in five minutes?" Paleez!!)
Regardless, it's their pride and arrogance in the face of overly simplistic thinking that makes the irony of all this so sweet. People like this kid are so confident in their intelligence that they fail to ask the most important question of all. It's a question that is sitting right under their noses and they can't even conceive of its existence.
Like teenagers who think they alone have discovered the joys of sex, these narcissistic personality disordered individuals seem to think that they are the only ones who have grappled with these issues. Atheists trot out their thoughts on omnipotence and omniscience, justice and free-will choice as though no one else has sat up at night sorting these things out. And what these self-absorbed people really can't conceive of happening is that billions of people, considered by the atheist as h/her inferior have come upon an explanation to this pseudo dilemma. In sweet justice, it's those who are destined to die as God's enemies who will never understand this simple explanation; an explanation that makes perfect sense once you hear it.
For what it's worth, I'm certainly not going to push that particular pearl onto the individuals represented in that blog.
Beyond that, the beauty of being in an intimate, healed and forgiven relationship with Creator God is that He explains to anyone with the ability to hear:
- I will rescue those who are not looking for Me,
- I will love those who hate Me, and
- I will make peace with those who are My enemies while showing to them the enormity of My Grace and Mercy as contrasted by the destruction of those who deserve destruction. Romans 10:22,23.
- The rebellious cannot complain because they are in fact guilty of rebellion.
- The saved cannot boast because they have done nothing to deserve salvation.
Narrow minded atheists ask: "Why did God create billions of people who are destined to be eternally separated from Him?"
Open minded people ask: "Why did God, in the form of His Son Jesus forgive evil by taking His own punishment and suffering His own wrath for the horrible act of continued rebellion against a Creator God who is perfectly pure, holy, righteous, just, merciful, slow to anger, filled with great patience, filled with grace and abounding in Love? Why did God provide a path to forgiveness for every human being on earth since we are all guilty of participating in the murder of His Son Jesus? More than that: Why is God saving for eternity in paradise, Billions of people who should have been eternally separated from Him?
That is love!!!
Spoken like a true intellectual infant. The thing about atheists who make these kinds of arguments, the thing that is so striking is their naivety, puerility and dulled thinking. Sure they're proud and arrogant. Show me an atheist who isn't. ("I'll do away with the idea of a Creator God in five minutes?" Paleez!!)
Regardless, it's their pride and arrogance in the face of overly simplistic thinking that makes the irony of all this so sweet. People like this kid are so confident in their intelligence that they fail to ask the most important question of all. It's a question that is sitting right under their noses and they can't even conceive of its existence.
Like teenagers who think they alone have discovered the joys of sex, these narcissistic personality disordered individuals seem to think that they are the only ones who have grappled with these issues. Atheists trot out their thoughts on omnipotence and omniscience, justice and free-will choice as though no one else has sat up at night sorting these things out. And what these self-absorbed people really can't conceive of happening is that billions of people, considered by the atheist as h/her inferior have come upon an explanation to this pseudo dilemma. In sweet justice, it's those who are destined to die as God's enemies who will never understand this simple explanation; an explanation that makes perfect sense once you hear it.
For what it's worth, I'm certainly not going to push that particular pearl onto the individuals represented in that blog.
Beyond that, the beauty of being in an intimate, healed and forgiven relationship with Creator God is that He explains to anyone with the ability to hear:
- I will rescue those who are not looking for Me,
- I will love those who hate Me, and
- I will make peace with those who are My enemies while showing to them the enormity of My Grace and Mercy as contrasted by the destruction of those who deserve destruction. Romans 10:22,23.
- The rebellious cannot complain because they are in fact guilty of rebellion.
- The saved cannot boast because they have done nothing to deserve salvation.
Narrow minded atheists ask: "Why did God create billions of people who are destined to be eternally separated from Him?"
Open minded people ask: "Why did God, in the form of His Son Jesus forgive evil by taking His own punishment and suffering His own wrath for the horrible act of continued rebellion against a Creator God who is perfectly pure, holy, righteous, just, merciful, slow to anger, filled with great patience, filled with grace and abounding in Love? Why did God provide a path to forgiveness for every human being on earth since we are all guilty of participating in the murder of His Son Jesus? More than that: Why is God saving for eternity in paradise, Billions of people who should have been eternally separated from Him?
That is love!!!
Monday, June 16, 2008
Who Needs Christianity?
From CNN online - "Police killed a 27-year-old man as he kicked, punched and stomped a toddler to death despite other people's attempts to stop him on a dark, country road, authorities said.
"It's been a long night of wondering, 'Why?' - not only for the officers and the passers-by who stopped and tried to help out, but for anyone. Why would somebody do this?" Singh said."
There are idiots out there who will say, “Incidents like this prove there isn’t any God.”
Incidents like this prove nothing of the kind. What they do prove is that God is willing to give us what we want and when we don’t want God involved in our lives, in our marriages, in our schools, in our communities and in our world THIS is what we get. Idiots would like to blame incidents like this on poverty or lack of education or on God Himself.
Because people don’t care about history, especially as it relates to the influence of Jesus, they cannot help but fail to note that even 50 years ago, our nation didn’t have kids going into schools with guns and killing their classmates. We didn’t have the majority of children living in homes where their parents either refused to or were incapable of getting along. We didn’t have millions of abortions because we didn’t have millions of people screwing around. We didn’t have road rage and we didn’t have child porn and we didn’t have high, high, high rates of depression and anxiety and we didn’t have high, high, rates of suicide. And what we mostly didn’t have 50 years ago was high percentage of the population who either didn’t believe in God or if they did believe in God they didn’t struggle with finding reasons to obey Him or make Him relevant in their lives.
Atheism is achieving it's goal and our children are reaping the consequences.
What we didn’t have 50 years ago was a high percentage of the population rejecting Christianity and thereby placing their allegiance with satan. When a large percentage of the population does that, what you see is what you get.
[The] couple saw the man beating the toddler behind his truck and throwing the child on the ground. He was punching, slapping, kicking, stomping, shaking," Singh said. "They tried to intervene and get involved, but their efforts really didn't have an effect. The suspect was engaged in what he was doing. He just pushed them off and went back to it."
"It's been a long night of wondering, 'Why?' - not only for the officers and the passers-by who stopped and tried to help out, but for anyone. Why would somebody do this?" Singh said."
There are idiots out there who will say, “Incidents like this prove there isn’t any God.”
Incidents like this prove nothing of the kind. What they do prove is that God is willing to give us what we want and when we don’t want God involved in our lives, in our marriages, in our schools, in our communities and in our world THIS is what we get. Idiots would like to blame incidents like this on poverty or lack of education or on God Himself.
Because people don’t care about history, especially as it relates to the influence of Jesus, they cannot help but fail to note that even 50 years ago, our nation didn’t have kids going into schools with guns and killing their classmates. We didn’t have the majority of children living in homes where their parents either refused to or were incapable of getting along. We didn’t have millions of abortions because we didn’t have millions of people screwing around. We didn’t have road rage and we didn’t have child porn and we didn’t have high, high, high rates of depression and anxiety and we didn’t have high, high, rates of suicide. And what we mostly didn’t have 50 years ago was high percentage of the population who either didn’t believe in God or if they did believe in God they didn’t struggle with finding reasons to obey Him or make Him relevant in their lives.
Atheism is achieving it's goal and our children are reaping the consequences.
What we didn’t have 50 years ago was a high percentage of the population rejecting Christianity and thereby placing their allegiance with satan. When a large percentage of the population does that, what you see is what you get.
[The] couple saw the man beating the toddler behind his truck and throwing the child on the ground. He was punching, slapping, kicking, stomping, shaking," Singh said. "They tried to intervene and get involved, but their efforts really didn't have an effect. The suspect was engaged in what he was doing. He just pushed them off and went back to it."
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Christianity gives to others.
The following is a quote from CNN online a couple weeks ago. It is describing the terrible penalties exacted by Hindus upon those of a lower cast.
"Dalits are seen to pollute higher caste people if they come in touch with them, hence the 'untouchables,'" the group says on its Web site. "If a higher caste Hindu is touched by, or even had a Dalit's shadow fall across them, they consider themselves to be polluted and have to go through a rigorous series of rituals to be cleansed."
What a difference between Hindu dogma and Christianity!
. Those who love Jesus go to India to meet the desperate needs of Dalits.
. Those who love Jesus give to those whom Hinduism rejects.
. Those who love Jesus give to those whom Islam rejects.
. Those who love Jesus give to those whom Buddhists reject because in Buddhism, If it isn’t my problem, then, well, it isn’t my problem.
. Those who love Jesus give to those who hate Christians.
. Those who love Jesus give of themselves.
"Dalits are seen to pollute higher caste people if they come in touch with them, hence the 'untouchables,'" the group says on its Web site. "If a higher caste Hindu is touched by, or even had a Dalit's shadow fall across them, they consider themselves to be polluted and have to go through a rigorous series of rituals to be cleansed."
What a difference between Hindu dogma and Christianity!
. Those who love Jesus go to India to meet the desperate needs of Dalits.
. Those who love Jesus give to those whom Hinduism rejects.
. Those who love Jesus give to those whom Islam rejects.
. Those who love Jesus give to those whom Buddhists reject because in Buddhism, If it isn’t my problem, then, well, it isn’t my problem.
. Those who love Jesus give to those who hate Christians.
. Those who love Jesus give of themselves.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Immortality + Spirituality
Some author was quoted in a magazine recently as saying, “I want to achieve immortality, not through my writing, but in actuality.”
What this woman apparently doesn’t realise, at least according to Jesus, is that she IS immortal. Her essence, her character, her soul will live on into eternity. According to the Bible, we are spirit beings inhabiting physical bodies. These physical bodies are essential to our training for the next stage of our lives. Why physical bodies? Why perishable bodies? Why bodies that are destined for decay when our souls are to live on into forever? I can’t presume to know the whole answer but it seems that death, tragedy, sickness, suffering and loss are inherent to the development of our soul’s character. This development of the soul’s nature or character is dependant upon the world being exactly the way it is, with all the seemingly unfair events that take place. Suffering is indispensable to our Creator’s plan. In fact He saw it as so important that even He, no, especially He when He was on earth in the form of Jesus lived and died in a manner that was grossly unfair. That was His plan. While we can’t possibly understand all the details now, it is obvious that this life and our response to this life is in preparation for the roles that we will play in the next stage of life.
Not least of the ways in which pain and loss develop us is in our decision to either follow God, or reject Him. Many a person has completely missed the designed role of suffering in this stage of life and has become enraged at h/his Creator. Those people become so incensed at perceived injustice that they demand the removal of God from any and all thought. Many a person who claims to not believe in God says to Him when disaster strikes, “See! This is why I refuse to believe in you.” Many a person who claims to not believe in God has said, “If He existed, I would refuse to worship or even acknowledge Him on the grounds that suffering in the world exposes such a God as evil.”
Once our allegiance to God has been established, our minds are able to "see" that the Bible is rife with explanations of how and why difficulties, tragedies and loss are a necessary part of our spiritual growth. Again, our Creator’s own birth into poverty, torture, and death is central to these explanations. Even more so is His resurrection in power and glory essential to show to all that there is indeed a next stage to life. The power of the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead will also raise us from the dead. Some will ascend to everlasting glory with Jesus. Some will be cast into everlasting separation from Jesus. Both destinations are simply the end result of the choices made during this life.
Upon acceptance of God’s plan for our lives, upon an agreement to join forces with our Creator, our spirit or soul is infused with the supporting, strengthening, guiding, correcting and counselling Spirit of our Creator. Our perspective on life is radically changed. Verses like, “Those who wait upon the Lord are like Mount Zion, secure and stable through any circumstance” and “Those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength. They will rise up on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint” and “In all life’s tragedies we are more than conquerors” describe this transformation. When this born again experience takes place, the soul within the human being embarks upon an adventure and training program of eternal proportions. Exciting, exhilarating, thrilling, and bracing don’t begin to describe the ride that envelopes the person who has had h/her eyes opened to the spiritual reality that is the Christian faith.
In fact, Christianity is the culmination of all that is spiritual, for it originates in the reality of a Spiritual Creator from Whom all other realities have their origin.
What this woman apparently doesn’t realise, at least according to Jesus, is that she IS immortal. Her essence, her character, her soul will live on into eternity. According to the Bible, we are spirit beings inhabiting physical bodies. These physical bodies are essential to our training for the next stage of our lives. Why physical bodies? Why perishable bodies? Why bodies that are destined for decay when our souls are to live on into forever? I can’t presume to know the whole answer but it seems that death, tragedy, sickness, suffering and loss are inherent to the development of our soul’s character. This development of the soul’s nature or character is dependant upon the world being exactly the way it is, with all the seemingly unfair events that take place. Suffering is indispensable to our Creator’s plan. In fact He saw it as so important that even He, no, especially He when He was on earth in the form of Jesus lived and died in a manner that was grossly unfair. That was His plan. While we can’t possibly understand all the details now, it is obvious that this life and our response to this life is in preparation for the roles that we will play in the next stage of life.
Not least of the ways in which pain and loss develop us is in our decision to either follow God, or reject Him. Many a person has completely missed the designed role of suffering in this stage of life and has become enraged at h/his Creator. Those people become so incensed at perceived injustice that they demand the removal of God from any and all thought. Many a person who claims to not believe in God says to Him when disaster strikes, “See! This is why I refuse to believe in you.” Many a person who claims to not believe in God has said, “If He existed, I would refuse to worship or even acknowledge Him on the grounds that suffering in the world exposes such a God as evil.”
Once our allegiance to God has been established, our minds are able to "see" that the Bible is rife with explanations of how and why difficulties, tragedies and loss are a necessary part of our spiritual growth. Again, our Creator’s own birth into poverty, torture, and death is central to these explanations. Even more so is His resurrection in power and glory essential to show to all that there is indeed a next stage to life. The power of the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead will also raise us from the dead. Some will ascend to everlasting glory with Jesus. Some will be cast into everlasting separation from Jesus. Both destinations are simply the end result of the choices made during this life.
Upon acceptance of God’s plan for our lives, upon an agreement to join forces with our Creator, our spirit or soul is infused with the supporting, strengthening, guiding, correcting and counselling Spirit of our Creator. Our perspective on life is radically changed. Verses like, “Those who wait upon the Lord are like Mount Zion, secure and stable through any circumstance” and “Those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength. They will rise up on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint” and “In all life’s tragedies we are more than conquerors” describe this transformation. When this born again experience takes place, the soul within the human being embarks upon an adventure and training program of eternal proportions. Exciting, exhilarating, thrilling, and bracing don’t begin to describe the ride that envelopes the person who has had h/her eyes opened to the spiritual reality that is the Christian faith.
In fact, Christianity is the culmination of all that is spiritual, for it originates in the reality of a Spiritual Creator from Whom all other realities have their origin.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Making Christianity Irrelevant for the Masses
It seems as though being a conscientious Disciple, Follower and Student of Jesus has become irrelevant to the majority of those who call themselves Christians. It’s not that Christians haven’t read Jesus’ statement, “Whoever hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a person who builds h/his house [life] upon a rock.” Christians hear those words, perhaps dozens of times throughout their lives. Part of the problem is, we also hear and obviously give consideration to voices that are pushing many differing thoughts. For some reason we’ve come to believe that pagan philosophies are just as relevant to our daily lives as are the saving words of Jesus.
Sadly, most Christians today simply do not give more than lip service to the thought:
‘Jesus’ teaching presents the best way to live one’s life’.
Christians tell themselves that being a diligent follower of Jesus is not as important as having faith in Jesus for salvation. As I’ve said in a couple other posts, we claim to trust Jesus with our eternity but not our today. There seems to be little comprehension that today is our training ground for tomorrow, and our eternal tomorrow is nothing but an extension of the direction in which we are travelling today.
If the teachings of Jesus are anything less than crucial and vital to how we live, work, and relate to those around us, what’s the point? Why would any pagan pay attention to our lives when our ways and means of coping with life are virtually identical to the behaviour of those who are on their way to hell? A casual look at the state of Christianity in Europe and North America would suggest that we’ve made Christianity irrelevant for the masses. Which leads me to wonder. If my witness has become irrelevant and ineffective, perhaps God will see my life in the same light when it comes to considering me for eternity in heaven. Perhaps He will be justified in saying, “Get away from Me. I never knew you.” (Matthew 7:23)
Sadly, most Christians today simply do not give more than lip service to the thought:
‘Jesus’ teaching presents the best way to live one’s life’.
Christians tell themselves that being a diligent follower of Jesus is not as important as having faith in Jesus for salvation. As I’ve said in a couple other posts, we claim to trust Jesus with our eternity but not our today. There seems to be little comprehension that today is our training ground for tomorrow, and our eternal tomorrow is nothing but an extension of the direction in which we are travelling today.
If the teachings of Jesus are anything less than crucial and vital to how we live, work, and relate to those around us, what’s the point? Why would any pagan pay attention to our lives when our ways and means of coping with life are virtually identical to the behaviour of those who are on their way to hell? A casual look at the state of Christianity in Europe and North America would suggest that we’ve made Christianity irrelevant for the masses. Which leads me to wonder. If my witness has become irrelevant and ineffective, perhaps God will see my life in the same light when it comes to considering me for eternity in heaven. Perhaps He will be justified in saying, “Get away from Me. I never knew you.” (Matthew 7:23)
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Christianity Heats Up.
Conservative estimates put world-wide conversions to Christianity at 200,000 per day. 60% of those are in countries where becoming a Christian could cost you your job, your family, your possession or your life. I hope western atheists keep pushing to rid the world of Christianity. It would be good to see a true revival of Christianity in Europe and North America.
Monday, March 24, 2008
From Love to suffering to Love
What an awesome Christian Easter service! The music was great. The message was great. The lead-up to communion was terrific. It always brings tears to my eyes to contemplate what Jesus did of His own volition.
What an incredible Love!
Not only is suffering part of God’s redeeming plan, HIS suffering is part of His plan.
What an incredible Love!
Jesus experienced the full penalty of all humanity's accumulated sin, past, present and future.
What an incredible Love!
Jesus is Love personified. There is no love without self-giving. There is no self-giving without the experience of pain. Therefore there is no love without suffering.
Suffering is a prerequisite for the development of agape love. Love comes with a cost, even for God. Love that does not voluntarily accept suffering is no love at all for real love is the moving of one’s focus from self to others.
There is no moving of focus from self without the voluntary acceptance of suffering.
There is no character development without suffering.
There is no such thing as a loving saint who has not suffered.
Before we suffer we have the pity (mercy) of God. After we’ve suffered we have the compassion of God.
What an incredible Love!
What an incredible Love!
Not only is suffering part of God’s redeeming plan, HIS suffering is part of His plan.
What an incredible Love!
Jesus experienced the full penalty of all humanity's accumulated sin, past, present and future.
What an incredible Love!
Jesus is Love personified. There is no love without self-giving. There is no self-giving without the experience of pain. Therefore there is no love without suffering.
Suffering is a prerequisite for the development of agape love. Love comes with a cost, even for God. Love that does not voluntarily accept suffering is no love at all for real love is the moving of one’s focus from self to others.
There is no moving of focus from self without the voluntary acceptance of suffering.
There is no character development without suffering.
There is no such thing as a loving saint who has not suffered.
Before we suffer we have the pity (mercy) of God. After we’ve suffered we have the compassion of God.
What an incredible Love!
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