A couple years ago a 23-year-old woman in our town was killed. She’d been walking along the train tracks, going home from technical college. As the train came barrelling down on her from behind, the whistle blew repeatedly. She refused to move.
It was only later that the news released the information that she was deaf. She didn’t hear a thing.
Did she expect that the only train to come would be from in front?
If someone had jumped in front of her to warn of the train, would she have heeded the warning?
Did she know exactly what she was doing?
We’ll never know.
To me, this is somewhat like atheists. Eternity is bearing down on them like a freight train and they are as oblivious to that fact as this deaf woman.
They’ve got plans.
They’ve got thoughts.
They’ve got lives to live, families to raise, products to purchase.
Atheists are concerned with everything except the one thing that counts the most.
And when you warn them, what happens? Nothing.
Deaf as a post.
Doomed by their negligence.
Stuck with their noses deep in the box looking for the last kernel of buttered pop-corn while an eternity that will be forever spent separated from their Creator is just moments away.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Atheist Comhradh - For Your Eyes Only!
"There is not one piece of corroborating evidence to suggest that Jesus lived or died as he is described in the Bible."
While this is a statement made by Comhradh, it is typical, typical, typical. Just another atheist justifying his denial of God by adopting a blind faith state of belief without first checking the facts.
Extra Biblical, Non Christian documentation from the time of Jesus and / or his disciples:
Regarding Jesus died due to Crucifixion -
“The Christians, you know, worship a man, the distinguished personage who introduced their novel rites and was crucified on that account.” Lucian of Samosata - (The Death of Peregrine), 11 - 13
“Nero fastened the guilt of the burning of Rome and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, Called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus.” Tacitus - Annals 15.44
“When Pilate, upon hearing him accused by men of the highest standing amongst us, had condemned him to be crucified.” Josephus - (Fides et Historia) 13
“Or what advantage came to the Jews by the murder of their Wise King, seeing that from that very time their kingdom was driven away from them?” Mara Bar Serapion, in a letter to his son from prison. - Fragment currently at the British Museum, Syriac Manuscript
“On the eve of the Passover, Yeshua was hanged on a cross.” The Babylonia Talmud - Sanhedrin 43a - I. Epstein Editor and translator, London
=================
Extra Biblical documentation from the time of Jesus and / or his disciples:
Regarding the dramatic changes in the character in the disciples and claims of witnessing the resurrected Jesus.
“Therefore, having received orders and complete certainty caused by the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ and believing in the Word of God, they went with the Holy Spirit’s certainty, preaching the good news that the kingdom of God is about to come. Jesus’ apostles were fully assured by Jesus’ resurrection. Polycarp also was not only instructed by apostles, and conversed with many who had seen Christ, but was also, by apostles in Asia, appointed bishop of the Church in Smyrna, whom I also saw in my early youth, for he tarried on earth a very long time, and when a very old man, gloriously and most nobly suffering martyrdom, departed this life, having always taught the things which he had learned from the apostles.” Clement of Rome - (1 Clement ) 47
“Bishop Clement has conversed with the apostles to the extent that it might be said he had their preaching still echoing and their traditions before his eyes. Nor was he alone, for there are many still remaining alive who had received instructions from the apostles. When I was still a boy I saw you in Lower Asia with Polycarp, when you had high status at the imperial court and wanted to gain his favour. I remember where Polycarp sat and conversed, his comings and goings, his character, his personal appearance, his discourses to the crowds and how he reported his discussions with John the apostle and others who had seen the Lord. He taught what they reported about the Lord and his miracles and his teaching, things that Polycarp had heard directly from eyewitness of the word of life and reported in full harmony with Scripture.” Irenaeus - (To Florinus) 5.20
“For this is the manner in which the apostolic Churches transmit their registers: as the church of Smyrna, which records that Polycarp was placed therein, by John the apostle; as also the church of Rome, which makes Clement to have been ordained in like manner by Peter.” Tertulian - (The Prescription Against Heretics) 32.
“Paul himself and the other apostles, for they did not love the present age, but Him who dies for our benefit and for our sake was raised by God.” Polycarp - (To the Philippians)
The above sources point to multiple, very early and eyewitness testimonies to the disciple’s claims of witnessing the risen Jesus. The late New Testament critic at the University of Chicago, Norman Perrin, who rejected Jesus’ resurrection wrote, “The more we study the tradition with regard to the appearances, the firmer the rock begins to appear upon which they are based.” What we have are three categories of evidence that the disciples claim to have seen the risen Lord. 1) Paul 2) Oral tradition 3) Written Tradition.
Paul had firsthand fellowship with the disciples. We have an oral tradition originating from the time of Jesus resurrection. We have written tradition that attests to the disciples claims.
Extra Biblical documentation from the time of Jesus and / or his disciples:
Regarding the suffering and martyrdom of the disciples:
“The greatest and most righteous pillars have been persecuted and contended unto death. Peter, endured, not one or two, but many afflictions, and having borne witness went to the due glorious place. Paul pointed to the prize. Seven times chained, exiled, stoned, having become a preacher both in the East and in the West, he received honour fitting of his faith. Thus he was freed form the world and went to the holy place. He became a great example of steadfastness.” Clement of Rome - (1 Clement ) 5:2-7
“. . . the unlimited endurance of Ignatius, Zosimus and Rufus as well as the apostle Paul and the rest of the apostles among others. In association with Jesus they also suffered together. For they did not love the present age. Polycarp - (To the Philippians)
“And when Jesus came to those with Peter, he said to them: “Take, handle me and see that I am not a bodiless demon.” And immediately they handled him and believed, having known his flesh and blood. Because of this they also despise death.”
Ignatius - To the Smyrnaeans 3:2
“That Paul is beheaded has been written about. And if a heretic wishes his confidence to rest upon a public record, the archives of the empire will speak. We read the Lives of the Caesars: At Rome Nero was the first who stained with blood the rising faith. There is Peter girt by another, when he is made fast to the cross. Then does Paul obtain a birth suited to Roman citizenship, when in Rome he is ennobled by martyrdom.” Tertulian - Scorpiace, 15
According to Tertullian, if one did not want to believe the Christian records concerning the martyrdoms of some of the apostles. He could find the information in the public records, namely “The lives of the Caesars.”
“The disciples’ devotion to the teachings of Jesus was attended with danger to human life and that they themselves were the first to manifest their disregard for death’s terrors. Jesus who has both once risen Himself, and led His disciples to believe in His resurrection, and so thoroughly persuaded them of its truth, that they show to all men by their sufferings how they are able to laugh at all the troubles of life, beholding the life-eternal and the resurrection clearly demonstrated to them both in word and deed by this one, Jesus.” Origin - Contra Celsum - 2.56
. Papias cites both Paul and the apostle John and records their sufferings and deaths. (Fragments: Traditions of the Elders) 2,5 (Fragment 5)
. Eusebius in Ecclesiastical History 2.23 cites Dionysius of Corinth - Tertullian, Origen, Josephus, Hegesippus, Clement of Alexandria, all who wrote of the “martyrdom of James the brother of Jesus.”
All these non-Biblical sources affirm the disciples’ willingness to suffer and die for their claims that Jesus rose from the dead. The disciples’ willingness to suffer and die for these claims indicates that they certainly regarded those claims as true. The case is strong that they did not willfully lie about the appearances of the risen Jesus, for liars make very poor martyrs.
. On his way to be martyred in Rome Ignatius of Antioch penned several letters to various churches. All of which attest to the reality of Jesus and the suffering of His disciples.
In his letter to the church in Smyrna, Ignatius writes that the disciples were so encouraged by seeing and touching the risen Jesus that “they too despised death” and that after his resurrection, Jesus ate and drank with them like one who is composed of flesh. 3:2-3 “So pay attention, however, to the prophets and especially to the Gospel, in which the Passion has been made clear to us and the resurrection has been accomplished.” 7:4
In his letter to Philadeophians, Ignatius writes concerning the gospel, which of course was at the centre of Christian preaching. “But the Gospel possesses something distinctive, namely, the coming of the Saviour, our Lord Jesus Christ, his suffering, and the resurrection.”
In his letter to the Magnesians, he writes, “I want to forewarn you not to get snagged on the hooks of worthless opinions but instead to be fully convinced about the birth and the suffering and the resurrection, which took place assuredly by Jesus Christ.” 11:2-4
“And the wonderful thing is, that, though he did not accept Jesus as Christ, he yet gave testimony that the righteousness of James was so great; and he says that the people thought that they had suffered these things because of James. Origen on Josephus - (Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol 10) (Antiquities of the Jews) (Contra Celsum) 1.47
“Jesus appeared to them alive again the third day, as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning Him.” Agapius - (Historia) 1.7.13
“Peter preached the Gospel in Pontus, and Galatia, and Cappadocia, and Betania and Italy, and Asia, and was afterwards crucified by Nero in Rome with the head downward, as he had himself desired to suffer in that manner. Andrew preached to the Sythians and Thracians, and was crucified, suspended on an olive tree at Patrae, and town of Achaia; and there too he was buried. John, again, in Asia was banished by Domitian the king to the isle of Patmos, in which also he fell asleep at Ephesus, where his remains were sought for, but could not be found. James, Jesus brother, when preaching in Judea, was cut off with the sword by Herod the tetrarch, and was buried there. Philip preached in Phygia, and was crucified in Hierapolis with his head downward in the time of Domitian, and was buried there. Bartholomew again, preached to the Indians, to whom he also gave the Gospel according to Matthew, and was crucified with his head downward. And was buried in Allanum, a town of the great Armeia. And Matthew wrote the Gospel in the Hebrew tongue, and published it at Jerusalem, and fell asleep at Hierees, a town of Pathia. And Thomas preached to the Pathians, Medes, Persians, Hyrcanians, Bactrians and Margians and was thrust through in the four members of his body with a pine spear at Clamene, the city of India, and was buried there. And James the son of Alphaeus, when preaching in Jerusalem, was stoned to death by the Jews, and was buried there beside the temple. Jude who is also called Lebbaeus, preached to the people of Edessa, and to all Mesopotamia and fell asleep at Berytus, and was buried there. Simon the Zealot, the son of Clopas, who is also called Jude, became bishop of Jerusalem after James the Just, and fell asleep and was buried there. And Matthias who was one of the seventy, was numbered along with the eleven apostles, and preached in Jerusalem, and fell asleep and was buried there. And Paul entered into the apostleship a year after the assumption of Christ; and beginning at Jerusalem, he advanced as far as Illyricum, and Italy and Spain preaching the Gospel for thirty five years. And in the time of Nero he was beheaded at Rome, and was buried there.” Hippolytus - Cyprian, Novatian, Appendix [ECF 1.5.0.2.3.0]
. Celsus - a critic of Christianity wrote strongly against the resurrection but admitted that the tomb was empty and that no body was found anywhere. He was forced to propose magic or deception i.e., lies. This type of claim shows that critics like Celsus had to respond to the reality of the empty tomb and the bodily resurrection of Jesus.
. Pliny the Younger, . Suetonius, Tactus, and Celsus were all enemies of Christianity yet attested to the historicity of Jesus.
“Nero fastened the guilt of the burning of Rome and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus. Tacitus - Annals 15.44
. Shepherd of Hermas (Parable 9, section 28); (Vision 3, section 1) . Melito of Sardis
. Hegesipius . Polycrates - (To Victor of Rome) are early Christian authors attesting to the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.
Modern:
. “That he was crucified is as sure as anything historical can ever be.” John Dominic Crossan - Founder of the Jesus Seminar - In (“Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography”) San Francisco, Harper Collins, 1991 - 145,154, 196, 201
. Rudolf Bultmann - (“What Really Happened to Jesus - A Historical Approach to the Resurrection.”) John Bowden Trans. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1995 - 80
. Paula Frederickson - Historian - In an interview with Peter Jennings for “The Search for Jesus,” American Broadcasting Company, 2000.
The amount of evidence that we have concerning Jesus is actually very impressive. We can start with approximately nine traditional authors of the New Testament. Another twenty early Christian authors, and four heretical writings mention Jesus within 150 years of His death on the cross. Moreover, nine secular, non-Christian sources mention Jesus within the 150 years of His death: Josephus, the Jewish historian; Tacitus, the Roman historian; Pliny the Younger, a politician of Rome; Phlegon, a freed slave who wrote histories; Lucian, the Greek satirist; Celsus, a Roman philosopher; and the historians Suetonius and Thallus, as well as the prisoner Mara Bar-Serapion. In all, at least forty-two authors, nine of them secular mention Jesus within 150 years of his death. Why am I telling you this? Let me make a comparison.
Julius Caesar, was one of Rome’s most prominent figures. Caesar is well known for his military conquests. After his Gallic Wars, he made the famous statement, “I came, I saw, I conquered.” Only five sources report his military conquests: writings by Caesar himself, Cicero, Livy, the Salona Decree and Appian. If he made such a great impact on Roman society why didn’t more writers of antiquity mention his great accomplishments? Yet no one questions whether Julius made a tremendous impact on the Roman Empire. Yet within 150 years of his death, more non-Christian authors alone comment on Jesus than all of the sources who mentions Julius Caesar’s great military conquests within 150 years after his death.
One more example. Tiberius Caesar was the Roman emperor at the time of Jesus’ ministry and execution. Tiberius is mentioned by ten sources within 150 years of his death: Tacitus, Suetonius, Velleius Paterculus, Plutarch, Pliny the Elder, Strabo, Seneca, Valerius Maximus, Josephus and Luke. Compare that to Jesus’ forty-two sources in the same length of time. That’s more than four times the number of total sources who mention the Roman emperor during roughly the same period. If we only considered the number of secular non-Christian sources who mention Jesus and Tiberius within 150 years of their lives, we arrive at a tie of nine each.
I’ve mentioned that the vast majority of historical scholars, be they merely secular, atheist or Christian attest to the life, death and resurrection “sightings” of Jesus. These scholars attest to the empty tomb, the conversion of the sceptics Paul and James, the dramatic change in the disciples and of course the rise of the Christian church based solely on the belief that Jesus rose from the dead. As there are not very many historical scholars who specialise in this area I will list them here. Glank, Blinzler, Bode, von Campenhausen, Delorme, Dhanis, Grundmann, Hengel, Lehmann, Leon-Dufour, Kremer, Lichtenstein, Manek, Martini, Mussner, Nauck, Rengstorff, Strobel, Stuhlmacher, Trilling, Vogtle and Wilckens. There are sixteen additional prominent scholars who are not evangelical who attest to the historicity of the above: Benoit, Brown, Clark, Dunn, Ellis, Gundry, Hooke, Jeremias, Klappert, Ladd, Lane, Marshall, Moule, Perry, Robinson, and Schnackenburg.
These forty-five prominent scholars believe that there was an empty tomb, that the disciple truly believed they saw the resurrected Jesus, that that belief caused such a dramatic change in Jesus’ followers that they endured hardship, persecution and many suffered execution for that belief, that the sceptics Paul and James were changed by an encounter with what they believed to be the resurrected Jesus. In the world today, more than one hundred historical scholars who specialise in this areas believe these premises versus thirty-five who do not.
While this is a statement made by Comhradh, it is typical, typical, typical. Just another atheist justifying his denial of God by adopting a blind faith state of belief without first checking the facts.
Extra Biblical, Non Christian documentation from the time of Jesus and / or his disciples:
Regarding Jesus died due to Crucifixion -
“The Christians, you know, worship a man, the distinguished personage who introduced their novel rites and was crucified on that account.” Lucian of Samosata - (The Death of Peregrine), 11 - 13
“Nero fastened the guilt of the burning of Rome and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, Called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus.” Tacitus - Annals 15.44
“When Pilate, upon hearing him accused by men of the highest standing amongst us, had condemned him to be crucified.” Josephus - (Fides et Historia) 13
“Or what advantage came to the Jews by the murder of their Wise King, seeing that from that very time their kingdom was driven away from them?” Mara Bar Serapion, in a letter to his son from prison. - Fragment currently at the British Museum, Syriac Manuscript
“On the eve of the Passover, Yeshua was hanged on a cross.” The Babylonia Talmud - Sanhedrin 43a - I. Epstein Editor and translator, London
=================
Extra Biblical documentation from the time of Jesus and / or his disciples:
Regarding the dramatic changes in the character in the disciples and claims of witnessing the resurrected Jesus.
“Therefore, having received orders and complete certainty caused by the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ and believing in the Word of God, they went with the Holy Spirit’s certainty, preaching the good news that the kingdom of God is about to come. Jesus’ apostles were fully assured by Jesus’ resurrection. Polycarp also was not only instructed by apostles, and conversed with many who had seen Christ, but was also, by apostles in Asia, appointed bishop of the Church in Smyrna, whom I also saw in my early youth, for he tarried on earth a very long time, and when a very old man, gloriously and most nobly suffering martyrdom, departed this life, having always taught the things which he had learned from the apostles.” Clement of Rome - (1 Clement ) 47
“Bishop Clement has conversed with the apostles to the extent that it might be said he had their preaching still echoing and their traditions before his eyes. Nor was he alone, for there are many still remaining alive who had received instructions from the apostles. When I was still a boy I saw you in Lower Asia with Polycarp, when you had high status at the imperial court and wanted to gain his favour. I remember where Polycarp sat and conversed, his comings and goings, his character, his personal appearance, his discourses to the crowds and how he reported his discussions with John the apostle and others who had seen the Lord. He taught what they reported about the Lord and his miracles and his teaching, things that Polycarp had heard directly from eyewitness of the word of life and reported in full harmony with Scripture.” Irenaeus - (To Florinus) 5.20
“For this is the manner in which the apostolic Churches transmit their registers: as the church of Smyrna, which records that Polycarp was placed therein, by John the apostle; as also the church of Rome, which makes Clement to have been ordained in like manner by Peter.” Tertulian - (The Prescription Against Heretics) 32.
“Paul himself and the other apostles, for they did not love the present age, but Him who dies for our benefit and for our sake was raised by God.” Polycarp - (To the Philippians)
The above sources point to multiple, very early and eyewitness testimonies to the disciple’s claims of witnessing the risen Jesus. The late New Testament critic at the University of Chicago, Norman Perrin, who rejected Jesus’ resurrection wrote, “The more we study the tradition with regard to the appearances, the firmer the rock begins to appear upon which they are based.” What we have are three categories of evidence that the disciples claim to have seen the risen Lord. 1) Paul 2) Oral tradition 3) Written Tradition.
Paul had firsthand fellowship with the disciples. We have an oral tradition originating from the time of Jesus resurrection. We have written tradition that attests to the disciples claims.
Extra Biblical documentation from the time of Jesus and / or his disciples:
Regarding the suffering and martyrdom of the disciples:
“The greatest and most righteous pillars have been persecuted and contended unto death. Peter, endured, not one or two, but many afflictions, and having borne witness went to the due glorious place. Paul pointed to the prize. Seven times chained, exiled, stoned, having become a preacher both in the East and in the West, he received honour fitting of his faith. Thus he was freed form the world and went to the holy place. He became a great example of steadfastness.” Clement of Rome - (1 Clement ) 5:2-7
“. . . the unlimited endurance of Ignatius, Zosimus and Rufus as well as the apostle Paul and the rest of the apostles among others. In association with Jesus they also suffered together. For they did not love the present age. Polycarp - (To the Philippians)
“And when Jesus came to those with Peter, he said to them: “Take, handle me and see that I am not a bodiless demon.” And immediately they handled him and believed, having known his flesh and blood. Because of this they also despise death.”
Ignatius - To the Smyrnaeans 3:2
“That Paul is beheaded has been written about. And if a heretic wishes his confidence to rest upon a public record, the archives of the empire will speak. We read the Lives of the Caesars: At Rome Nero was the first who stained with blood the rising faith. There is Peter girt by another, when he is made fast to the cross. Then does Paul obtain a birth suited to Roman citizenship, when in Rome he is ennobled by martyrdom.” Tertulian - Scorpiace, 15
According to Tertullian, if one did not want to believe the Christian records concerning the martyrdoms of some of the apostles. He could find the information in the public records, namely “The lives of the Caesars.”
“The disciples’ devotion to the teachings of Jesus was attended with danger to human life and that they themselves were the first to manifest their disregard for death’s terrors. Jesus who has both once risen Himself, and led His disciples to believe in His resurrection, and so thoroughly persuaded them of its truth, that they show to all men by their sufferings how they are able to laugh at all the troubles of life, beholding the life-eternal and the resurrection clearly demonstrated to them both in word and deed by this one, Jesus.” Origin - Contra Celsum - 2.56
. Papias cites both Paul and the apostle John and records their sufferings and deaths. (Fragments: Traditions of the Elders) 2,5 (Fragment 5)
. Eusebius in Ecclesiastical History 2.23 cites Dionysius of Corinth - Tertullian, Origen, Josephus, Hegesippus, Clement of Alexandria, all who wrote of the “martyrdom of James the brother of Jesus.”
All these non-Biblical sources affirm the disciples’ willingness to suffer and die for their claims that Jesus rose from the dead. The disciples’ willingness to suffer and die for these claims indicates that they certainly regarded those claims as true. The case is strong that they did not willfully lie about the appearances of the risen Jesus, for liars make very poor martyrs.
. On his way to be martyred in Rome Ignatius of Antioch penned several letters to various churches. All of which attest to the reality of Jesus and the suffering of His disciples.
In his letter to the church in Smyrna, Ignatius writes that the disciples were so encouraged by seeing and touching the risen Jesus that “they too despised death” and that after his resurrection, Jesus ate and drank with them like one who is composed of flesh. 3:2-3 “So pay attention, however, to the prophets and especially to the Gospel, in which the Passion has been made clear to us and the resurrection has been accomplished.” 7:4
In his letter to Philadeophians, Ignatius writes concerning the gospel, which of course was at the centre of Christian preaching. “But the Gospel possesses something distinctive, namely, the coming of the Saviour, our Lord Jesus Christ, his suffering, and the resurrection.”
In his letter to the Magnesians, he writes, “I want to forewarn you not to get snagged on the hooks of worthless opinions but instead to be fully convinced about the birth and the suffering and the resurrection, which took place assuredly by Jesus Christ.” 11:2-4
“And the wonderful thing is, that, though he did not accept Jesus as Christ, he yet gave testimony that the righteousness of James was so great; and he says that the people thought that they had suffered these things because of James. Origen on Josephus - (Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol 10) (Antiquities of the Jews) (Contra Celsum) 1.47
“Jesus appeared to them alive again the third day, as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning Him.” Agapius - (Historia) 1.7.13
“Peter preached the Gospel in Pontus, and Galatia, and Cappadocia, and Betania and Italy, and Asia, and was afterwards crucified by Nero in Rome with the head downward, as he had himself desired to suffer in that manner. Andrew preached to the Sythians and Thracians, and was crucified, suspended on an olive tree at Patrae, and town of Achaia; and there too he was buried. John, again, in Asia was banished by Domitian the king to the isle of Patmos, in which also he fell asleep at Ephesus, where his remains were sought for, but could not be found. James, Jesus brother, when preaching in Judea, was cut off with the sword by Herod the tetrarch, and was buried there. Philip preached in Phygia, and was crucified in Hierapolis with his head downward in the time of Domitian, and was buried there. Bartholomew again, preached to the Indians, to whom he also gave the Gospel according to Matthew, and was crucified with his head downward. And was buried in Allanum, a town of the great Armeia. And Matthew wrote the Gospel in the Hebrew tongue, and published it at Jerusalem, and fell asleep at Hierees, a town of Pathia. And Thomas preached to the Pathians, Medes, Persians, Hyrcanians, Bactrians and Margians and was thrust through in the four members of his body with a pine spear at Clamene, the city of India, and was buried there. And James the son of Alphaeus, when preaching in Jerusalem, was stoned to death by the Jews, and was buried there beside the temple. Jude who is also called Lebbaeus, preached to the people of Edessa, and to all Mesopotamia and fell asleep at Berytus, and was buried there. Simon the Zealot, the son of Clopas, who is also called Jude, became bishop of Jerusalem after James the Just, and fell asleep and was buried there. And Matthias who was one of the seventy, was numbered along with the eleven apostles, and preached in Jerusalem, and fell asleep and was buried there. And Paul entered into the apostleship a year after the assumption of Christ; and beginning at Jerusalem, he advanced as far as Illyricum, and Italy and Spain preaching the Gospel for thirty five years. And in the time of Nero he was beheaded at Rome, and was buried there.” Hippolytus - Cyprian, Novatian, Appendix [ECF 1.5.0.2.3.0]
. Celsus - a critic of Christianity wrote strongly against the resurrection but admitted that the tomb was empty and that no body was found anywhere. He was forced to propose magic or deception i.e., lies. This type of claim shows that critics like Celsus had to respond to the reality of the empty tomb and the bodily resurrection of Jesus.
. Pliny the Younger, . Suetonius, Tactus, and Celsus were all enemies of Christianity yet attested to the historicity of Jesus.
“Nero fastened the guilt of the burning of Rome and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus. Tacitus - Annals 15.44
. Shepherd of Hermas (Parable 9, section 28); (Vision 3, section 1) . Melito of Sardis
. Hegesipius . Polycrates - (To Victor of Rome) are early Christian authors attesting to the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.
Modern:
. “That he was crucified is as sure as anything historical can ever be.” John Dominic Crossan - Founder of the Jesus Seminar - In (“Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography”) San Francisco, Harper Collins, 1991 - 145,154, 196, 201
. Rudolf Bultmann - (“What Really Happened to Jesus - A Historical Approach to the Resurrection.”) John Bowden Trans. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1995 - 80
. Paula Frederickson - Historian - In an interview with Peter Jennings for “The Search for Jesus,” American Broadcasting Company, 2000.
The amount of evidence that we have concerning Jesus is actually very impressive. We can start with approximately nine traditional authors of the New Testament. Another twenty early Christian authors, and four heretical writings mention Jesus within 150 years of His death on the cross. Moreover, nine secular, non-Christian sources mention Jesus within the 150 years of His death: Josephus, the Jewish historian; Tacitus, the Roman historian; Pliny the Younger, a politician of Rome; Phlegon, a freed slave who wrote histories; Lucian, the Greek satirist; Celsus, a Roman philosopher; and the historians Suetonius and Thallus, as well as the prisoner Mara Bar-Serapion. In all, at least forty-two authors, nine of them secular mention Jesus within 150 years of his death. Why am I telling you this? Let me make a comparison.
Julius Caesar, was one of Rome’s most prominent figures. Caesar is well known for his military conquests. After his Gallic Wars, he made the famous statement, “I came, I saw, I conquered.” Only five sources report his military conquests: writings by Caesar himself, Cicero, Livy, the Salona Decree and Appian. If he made such a great impact on Roman society why didn’t more writers of antiquity mention his great accomplishments? Yet no one questions whether Julius made a tremendous impact on the Roman Empire. Yet within 150 years of his death, more non-Christian authors alone comment on Jesus than all of the sources who mentions Julius Caesar’s great military conquests within 150 years after his death.
One more example. Tiberius Caesar was the Roman emperor at the time of Jesus’ ministry and execution. Tiberius is mentioned by ten sources within 150 years of his death: Tacitus, Suetonius, Velleius Paterculus, Plutarch, Pliny the Elder, Strabo, Seneca, Valerius Maximus, Josephus and Luke. Compare that to Jesus’ forty-two sources in the same length of time. That’s more than four times the number of total sources who mention the Roman emperor during roughly the same period. If we only considered the number of secular non-Christian sources who mention Jesus and Tiberius within 150 years of their lives, we arrive at a tie of nine each.
I’ve mentioned that the vast majority of historical scholars, be they merely secular, atheist or Christian attest to the life, death and resurrection “sightings” of Jesus. These scholars attest to the empty tomb, the conversion of the sceptics Paul and James, the dramatic change in the disciples and of course the rise of the Christian church based solely on the belief that Jesus rose from the dead. As there are not very many historical scholars who specialise in this area I will list them here. Glank, Blinzler, Bode, von Campenhausen, Delorme, Dhanis, Grundmann, Hengel, Lehmann, Leon-Dufour, Kremer, Lichtenstein, Manek, Martini, Mussner, Nauck, Rengstorff, Strobel, Stuhlmacher, Trilling, Vogtle and Wilckens. There are sixteen additional prominent scholars who are not evangelical who attest to the historicity of the above: Benoit, Brown, Clark, Dunn, Ellis, Gundry, Hooke, Jeremias, Klappert, Ladd, Lane, Marshall, Moule, Perry, Robinson, and Schnackenburg.
These forty-five prominent scholars believe that there was an empty tomb, that the disciple truly believed they saw the resurrected Jesus, that that belief caused such a dramatic change in Jesus’ followers that they endured hardship, persecution and many suffered execution for that belief, that the sceptics Paul and James were changed by an encounter with what they believed to be the resurrected Jesus. In the world today, more than one hundred historical scholars who specialise in this areas believe these premises versus thirty-five who do not.
When Jesus sees you coming
The Setting: Jesus and His disciples had been working night and day. The people just kept coming and coming with no end in sight. The sick, the blind, the demon possessed. They were desperate for help and Jesus was the only one in their entire lives who could deliver the goods. “They didn’t even have time to eat,” was one comment that described the situation. Exhausted from the relentless push of needy people, they pressed on with the work at hand. And then they hit the wall. News reached them that their friend and Jesus’ first cousin, John the Baptiser had been beheaded. It was just as gruesome and horrific then as it is today.
Perhaps this was the first time that the disciples realised that they were in deep. Challenging the status quo is serious business. Countering your culture can bring you deadly attention regardless of which side of the fence you’re on. Jesus went to each of His followers and let them know that first thing in the morning, just before sunrise, they were getting out of there.
And so we read about Jesus and His closest friends rowing across the lake to get some r & r. It’s springtime. The fields are full of new grass and fresh flowers. And best of all - no people. They finally had time to sleep, collect their thoughts and grieve the loss of a dear friend and fellow worker. We don’t know how much time they’d had alone but the inevitable happened. Someone, somehow found out where they were. First dozens, then hundreds and then by the thousands they came. In all 12 to 15 thousand men, women and children all seeking the same thing - Jesus. We don’t know how the disciples felt, but we do know Jesus’ reaction.
“He had compassion on them for they were like sheep without a shepherd.”
That is what happens when we come to Jesus. We are no less lost and helpless than the people on that day. We are no less in need of a Saviour than they. We need Jesus to heal us, to comfort us, to set us on the right path just as much as anyone, anywhere at any time. And Jesus has compassion. He cares about us. He loves us. Rather than being irritated by our neediness, Jesus loves us BECAUSE of our neediness. That is why
“With boldness and confidence we can come to the throne of grace to receive mercy and find grace in our time of need.”
Now some people seem to think that Creator God would be overwhelmed or that He couldn’t possibly pay attention to, much let WELCOME billions of prayers. The fact is, God doesn’t need to pay attention to billions of prayers. Not even millions or even thousands. The only life that God is interested in is yours. The only conversation that God listens to is mine. The only person that Jesus is showering with compassion is the person next door. God is fully present with every person everywhere. You don’t need to compete for God’s full attention. If you’re someone like an atheist who is expending enormous effort in a futile attempt to deny God, it’s hopeless. If you are Christopher Hithchens, or someone like him, you find that God’s presence and God’s attention is suffocating. If you are a Christian however the presence of God’s Spirit is the most wonderful thing in the world. So let Him love you. Let Him guide you. Let Him counsel you and correct you. Most importantly of all, let Him forgive you and free you from real guilt.
If He could attend to the needs of thousands of people back then when He was in human form, He can certainly do it now for you.
Perhaps this was the first time that the disciples realised that they were in deep. Challenging the status quo is serious business. Countering your culture can bring you deadly attention regardless of which side of the fence you’re on. Jesus went to each of His followers and let them know that first thing in the morning, just before sunrise, they were getting out of there.
And so we read about Jesus and His closest friends rowing across the lake to get some r & r. It’s springtime. The fields are full of new grass and fresh flowers. And best of all - no people. They finally had time to sleep, collect their thoughts and grieve the loss of a dear friend and fellow worker. We don’t know how much time they’d had alone but the inevitable happened. Someone, somehow found out where they were. First dozens, then hundreds and then by the thousands they came. In all 12 to 15 thousand men, women and children all seeking the same thing - Jesus. We don’t know how the disciples felt, but we do know Jesus’ reaction.
“He had compassion on them for they were like sheep without a shepherd.”
That is what happens when we come to Jesus. We are no less lost and helpless than the people on that day. We are no less in need of a Saviour than they. We need Jesus to heal us, to comfort us, to set us on the right path just as much as anyone, anywhere at any time. And Jesus has compassion. He cares about us. He loves us. Rather than being irritated by our neediness, Jesus loves us BECAUSE of our neediness. That is why
“With boldness and confidence we can come to the throne of grace to receive mercy and find grace in our time of need.”
Now some people seem to think that Creator God would be overwhelmed or that He couldn’t possibly pay attention to, much let WELCOME billions of prayers. The fact is, God doesn’t need to pay attention to billions of prayers. Not even millions or even thousands. The only life that God is interested in is yours. The only conversation that God listens to is mine. The only person that Jesus is showering with compassion is the person next door. God is fully present with every person everywhere. You don’t need to compete for God’s full attention. If you’re someone like an atheist who is expending enormous effort in a futile attempt to deny God, it’s hopeless. If you are Christopher Hithchens, or someone like him, you find that God’s presence and God’s attention is suffocating. If you are a Christian however the presence of God’s Spirit is the most wonderful thing in the world. So let Him love you. Let Him guide you. Let Him counsel you and correct you. Most importantly of all, let Him forgive you and free you from real guilt.
If He could attend to the needs of thousands of people back then when He was in human form, He can certainly do it now for you.
Monday, June 15, 2009
A Conspiracy of Lies
That’s what atheists say about the New Testament and particularly about Jesus’ followers - they lied about seeing the resurrected Jesus. Sure they did. And then they endured years of hardship and beatings and torture and ultimately death, all for a lie that they invented. Listen to someone who actually knows about being caught in a conspiracy.
“Watergate involved a conspiracy to cover up, perpetuated by the closest aides to the President of the United States - the most powerful men in America, who were intensely loyal to their president. But one of them, John Dean, turned state’s evidence, that is, testified against Nixon, as he put it, “to save his own skin” - and he did so only TWO WEEKS after informing the president about what was really going on - TWO WEEKS! The real cover-up, the lie, could only be held together for two weeks, and then everybody else jumped ship in order to save themselves. Now, the fact is that all that those around the president were facing was embarrassment, maybe prison. Nobody’s life was at stake. But what about the disciples? Twelve powerless men, peasants really, were facing not just embarrassment or political disgrace, but beatings, stoning, execution. Every single one of the disciples insisted, to their dying breaths, that they had physically seen Jesus bodily raised from the dead. Don’t you think that one of those apostles would have cracked before being beheaded or stoned? That one of them would have made a deal with the authorities? None did.” Chuck Colson.
“Watergate involved a conspiracy to cover up, perpetuated by the closest aides to the President of the United States - the most powerful men in America, who were intensely loyal to their president. But one of them, John Dean, turned state’s evidence, that is, testified against Nixon, as he put it, “to save his own skin” - and he did so only TWO WEEKS after informing the president about what was really going on - TWO WEEKS! The real cover-up, the lie, could only be held together for two weeks, and then everybody else jumped ship in order to save themselves. Now, the fact is that all that those around the president were facing was embarrassment, maybe prison. Nobody’s life was at stake. But what about the disciples? Twelve powerless men, peasants really, were facing not just embarrassment or political disgrace, but beatings, stoning, execution. Every single one of the disciples insisted, to their dying breaths, that they had physically seen Jesus bodily raised from the dead. Don’t you think that one of those apostles would have cracked before being beheaded or stoned? That one of them would have made a deal with the authorities? None did.” Chuck Colson.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Chuck does it!
I’ve heard this story before but was reminded of it again this morning.
Most parents know the heartache of seeing their child be rejected by friends or see the pain in the child’s eyes as they’ve been left out of something or not be invited along. Well, one little boy like this was Chuck. Chuck was in grade one and every day his parents had to watch him walk to school all by himself as the other kids consistently went on ahead or physically kept him out of their circle.
Teachers have become pretty good at avoiding this situation now, but Chuck lived back in the day when you could actually get only one or two valentines while the popular kid could get one from everyone in class. As the story goes, a week or two before Valentine’s day, Chuck told his mother that he wanted to make 20 valentines for every kid in his class. His mother sighed and put a hand to her breast as she could imagine little Chuck not getting even one valentine. Nevertheless she helped her son work his little heart out to get the valentines ready. On the morning of the big day, Chuck carefully packed all his valentines into his school bag and off he went. At the end of the day, Chuck’s mom waited anxiously at the door for her little boy to come home from school. As he can running up the driveway she could hear him saying to himself, “Not one. Not a single one.”
“Oh no,” she thought. “My worst fears have come true.”
However when she asked Chuck about his day, he grinned at her and said, “I didn’t miss a single one. Every single kid in my class got a valentine from me.”
This is how Jesus sees us. God's plan, from before the creation of the world was that Jesus would not miss a single person on earth with His love. Even while we were still His enemies. Even while we were deliberately rejecting Him, Jesus provided a means of bringing us safely home. God's love is a love that is only interested in giving. Every single person on earth, including you, has been given Jesus offer of salvation. Every single person on earth, including you, has been given God’s love in the form or Jesus.
It's pretty silly to refuse the offer of the single best thing in the universe, the love of your Creator.
Most parents know the heartache of seeing their child be rejected by friends or see the pain in the child’s eyes as they’ve been left out of something or not be invited along. Well, one little boy like this was Chuck. Chuck was in grade one and every day his parents had to watch him walk to school all by himself as the other kids consistently went on ahead or physically kept him out of their circle.
Teachers have become pretty good at avoiding this situation now, but Chuck lived back in the day when you could actually get only one or two valentines while the popular kid could get one from everyone in class. As the story goes, a week or two before Valentine’s day, Chuck told his mother that he wanted to make 20 valentines for every kid in his class. His mother sighed and put a hand to her breast as she could imagine little Chuck not getting even one valentine. Nevertheless she helped her son work his little heart out to get the valentines ready. On the morning of the big day, Chuck carefully packed all his valentines into his school bag and off he went. At the end of the day, Chuck’s mom waited anxiously at the door for her little boy to come home from school. As he can running up the driveway she could hear him saying to himself, “Not one. Not a single one.”
“Oh no,” she thought. “My worst fears have come true.”
However when she asked Chuck about his day, he grinned at her and said, “I didn’t miss a single one. Every single kid in my class got a valentine from me.”
This is how Jesus sees us. God's plan, from before the creation of the world was that Jesus would not miss a single person on earth with His love. Even while we were still His enemies. Even while we were deliberately rejecting Him, Jesus provided a means of bringing us safely home. God's love is a love that is only interested in giving. Every single person on earth, including you, has been given Jesus offer of salvation. Every single person on earth, including you, has been given God’s love in the form or Jesus.
It's pretty silly to refuse the offer of the single best thing in the universe, the love of your Creator.
Ya gotta have faith, faith, faith
Atheists hate the word faith, yet they live their lives immersed in it. In fact, enormous amounts of faith is a requirement for being an atheist. If you do not have enough faith to believe that nothing can create everything, and I mean REALLY believe that, then you do not possess enough faith to be an atheist.
Without any evidence to back them up and many times with evidence contradicting what they do believe, by faith alone atheists believe that:
Everything came from nothing by nothing.
by faith alone atheists believe that:
Even in the face of evidence to the contrary, the precise fine tuning of the 100 or so constants and qualities were “put in” to the Singularity prior to Planck time because of a really, really, really amazing coincidence.
by faith alone atheists believe that:
Even in the face of evidence to the contrary, nothing that begins to exists needs an explanation for it’s existence
by faith alone atheists believe that:
Even in the face of evidence to the contrary, while it takes intelligence to write a sentence, it does NOT require intelligence to write a code with a comparable volume of 1,000 sets of encyclopedias capable of directing the functioning of every organ and every cell in a living body from conception to death.
by faith alone atheists believe that:
Even in the face of evidence to the contrary, time plus chance can turn the impossible into the possible.
by faith alone atheists believe that:
Even in the face of evidence to the contrary, a mindless process can do what brilliant scientists in several hundred years of trying cannot i.e., create life from non life.
by faith alone atheists believe that:
Even in the face of evidence to the contrary, the Cambrian explosion has no significant meaning whatsoever.
by faith alone atheists believe that:
Even in the face of evidence to the contrary, the results of micro evolution can be extrapolated onto macro evolution.
by faith alone atheists believe that:
Even in the face of evidence to the contrary, the New Testament writers, to a person, were liars, delusional and power hungry.
by faith alone atheists believe that:
Even in the face of evidence to the contrary, Jesus didn’t die on the cross
by faith alone atheists believe that:
Even in the face of evidence to the contrary, Jesus wasn’t buried in a rich man’s tomb
by faith alone atheists believe that:
Even in the face of evidence to the contrary, The tomb was empty, but not because Jesus rose from the dead
by faith alone atheists believe that:
Even in the face of evidence to the contrary, the disciples went from cowards who denied and ran away from Jesus to fearless witnesses who proclaimed the resurrected Jesus, but not because Jesus rose from the dead.
By faith alone atheists believe that:
Even in the face of evidence to the contrary, sceptic Paul went from killing Christians to becoming one of Christianity’s most powerful witness, but not because he was met by the risen Jesus.
By faith alone atheists believe that:
Even in the face of evidence to the contrary, the sceptic James, Jesus’ brother went from thinking His brother was insane to worshipping Him as Creator God, but not because Jesus rose from the dead.
Without any evidence to back them up and many times with evidence contradicting what they do believe, by faith alone atheists believe that:
Everything came from nothing by nothing.
by faith alone atheists believe that:
Even in the face of evidence to the contrary, the precise fine tuning of the 100 or so constants and qualities were “put in” to the Singularity prior to Planck time because of a really, really, really amazing coincidence.
by faith alone atheists believe that:
Even in the face of evidence to the contrary, nothing that begins to exists needs an explanation for it’s existence
by faith alone atheists believe that:
Even in the face of evidence to the contrary, while it takes intelligence to write a sentence, it does NOT require intelligence to write a code with a comparable volume of 1,000 sets of encyclopedias capable of directing the functioning of every organ and every cell in a living body from conception to death.
by faith alone atheists believe that:
Even in the face of evidence to the contrary, time plus chance can turn the impossible into the possible.
by faith alone atheists believe that:
Even in the face of evidence to the contrary, a mindless process can do what brilliant scientists in several hundred years of trying cannot i.e., create life from non life.
by faith alone atheists believe that:
Even in the face of evidence to the contrary, the Cambrian explosion has no significant meaning whatsoever.
by faith alone atheists believe that:
Even in the face of evidence to the contrary, the results of micro evolution can be extrapolated onto macro evolution.
by faith alone atheists believe that:
Even in the face of evidence to the contrary, the New Testament writers, to a person, were liars, delusional and power hungry.
by faith alone atheists believe that:
Even in the face of evidence to the contrary, Jesus didn’t die on the cross
by faith alone atheists believe that:
Even in the face of evidence to the contrary, Jesus wasn’t buried in a rich man’s tomb
by faith alone atheists believe that:
Even in the face of evidence to the contrary, The tomb was empty, but not because Jesus rose from the dead
by faith alone atheists believe that:
Even in the face of evidence to the contrary, the disciples went from cowards who denied and ran away from Jesus to fearless witnesses who proclaimed the resurrected Jesus, but not because Jesus rose from the dead.
By faith alone atheists believe that:
Even in the face of evidence to the contrary, sceptic Paul went from killing Christians to becoming one of Christianity’s most powerful witness, but not because he was met by the risen Jesus.
By faith alone atheists believe that:
Even in the face of evidence to the contrary, the sceptic James, Jesus’ brother went from thinking His brother was insane to worshipping Him as Creator God, but not because Jesus rose from the dead.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
The Triune God Of Atheism
“I value and admire intelligence, and even the smartest person turns into a complete fucking idiot when he starts talking about his religion.”
Yet another atheist shows us his basis for living. They say that atheism isn’t a belief system, that they don’t live by faith and that their’s is not a world-view. They even say there is not dogma to the atheist faith. All wrong.
So what is the object of an Atheist’s belief? Upon what object do they place their deep and abiding faith? IT is the triune god of Science, Pride and Intelligence.
This in itself is somewhat amazing since each aspect of their god is so incredibly fallible.
- Atheists place their faith in Science to provide for them answers and direction.
- Atheists place their faith in their Pride to keep them emotionally afloat.
- And atheists especially place their faith in and worship their Intelligence to provide them with a sense of security, belonging and value.
The Atheist belief system and the god of Science:
Sadly, the so called “Science” that atheists hold so dear in their belief system doesn’t even resemble the science they claim it to be. In fact, regarding origins of life and origins of the universe, atheistic science does exactly the opposite of how science is supposed to operate. Instead of observing evidence and then coming to a conclusion or interpretation through repeated testing and verification, atheistic science begins with a conclusion (God does not exist) and then goes in search of evidence that will support their presupposition. In fact, regarding origins, the atheist scientist’s search for acceptable answers has descended into multiple origins of the universe mythologies to explain how we are here today.
Atheists place their faith in a presupposition that is absolutely baseless, ie. There is no God, therefore life came from non life. Atheists then back that up with a self contradicting statement that matter created itself. No less absurd, atheists posit that DNA / RNA was simply “found” in the first living cell. In this, atheists place their faith. On this chunk of sand atheists build their philosophy of life.
According to atheists, all intelligent life originated from totally inanimate and inorganic chemicals. Because of this, the importance of positive, life enhancing mutations can hardly be overemphasized. Yet those are so rare as to be non existent. Julian Huxley wrote “. . . not only is it [mutations] an effective agency of evolution, it is the only effective agency of evolution.” Theodosius Dobzhansky, an evolutionary biologist stated, “The deleterious character of most mutations seems to be a very serious difficulty [with this theory].” If evolution, as it is currently promoted is correct, then positive mutations had to have occurred trillions of times in many different species! This is the theory that makes Richard Dawkins feel intellectually fulfilled. In this, atheists place their faith. On this chunk of sand atheists build their philosophy of life.
The Atheist belief system and the god of Pride:
The pride that atheists hold so dear in their belief system is derived from many things, any one of which can be ripped away in the blink of an eye. This includes, attractiveness, wealth, possessions, power, relationships and of course intelligence and education. Atheists state that God does not exist but that we can simply attribute worth to ourselves. That is a nice thought but it doesn’t work. For if you say that you have one unit of worth and your neighbour says that you have no worth, in a secular world your neighbour is just as correct as you are. In a secular world, worth is nothing more than an arbitrary attribute. In a secular world, people feel forced to follow the ebb and flow of human standards of worth within a whimsical and convoluted environment. This is where atheists are forced to place their faith because outside of their selves, there is nothing that can attribute worth to them. In this, atheists place their faith. On this chunk of sand atheists build their philosophy of life.
The Atheist belief system and the god of Intelligence:
Atheists trust in intelligence. They glorify it and sing its praises. Atheists derive their sense of worth from their intelligence and judge the worth of others by the degree of intelligence they deem the other person to have. Read any of their blogs and you’ll see that the atheist’s sense of belonging arises from grouping together and talking about the lack of intelligence in Christians. Here’s just a few description of me, according to atheists.
"Sux big time to be you. Moron."
"Fool."
"Get an education. You are pathetic."
"Predictably you won't educate yourself as you are an obvious willfully ignorant yo yo,"
"I won't even engage your pathetic lack of understanding. You are just sad."
"If the secular explanation for morals is incoherent to you, you just aren't very bright."
Any casual observer of human behaviour can plainly see that intelligence fails dismally in protecting anyone from the perils of faulty decisions, especially as they arise in relationships. For example:
. The intelligence in which atheists place their faith is the same intelligence that allows men and women to rationalise abandoning their children and spouses in order to pursue affairs with other individuals.
. This is the same intelligence that produces more divorces the higher one’s education.
. This is the same intelligence that produces more alcohol consumption the higher one’s education.
. This is the same intelligence that leads a person to say, The living organism within my womb that I’m aborting is not a human being. In fact, even when the child’s head has exited my vagina and its brain is being sucked out of its head, this is still not a human being. My right to freedom is more important than another person’s right to life.
. This is the same intelligence that leads a person to say, divorce is actually good for the kids.
. This is the same intelligence that leads a person to say, It’s ok to steal millions of dollars from other people’s pension plans.
. This is the same intelligence that thinks pornography doesn’t hurt anyone; that in fact pornography should be a protected form of expression.
. This is the same intelligence that believes that what we watch, read, listen to or think about might influence others, but it won’t influence me.
. This is the same intelligence that says we can have an effect (the universe) with no cause.
. This is the same intelligence that says that matter and energy can create itself.
. This is the same intelligence that sees this logical contradiction as acceptable, as long as it keeps a Creator God out of the picture.
In this, atheists place their faith. On this chunk of sand atheists build their philosophy of life.
. This is the same intelligence that says that a cosmos that reveals purpose, order and design points to an accidental origin with no external cause.
. This is the same intelligence that points to moral, intelligent, living beings and thinks it rational to say they are the product of an accident with no evidence of design.
. This is the same intelligence that says all humans have an idea of a most perfect being because there is no such thing.
. Atheist intelligence is the kind that rejects any book that challenges their faith by claiming “It’s only written by humans.” Then, this same intelligence turns around and vehemently supports its beliefs by quoting from books written by, yes of course, humans.
. This is an intelligence that supports ethical and moral codes established by community and social norms. This, even though those same community and social norms have been in the past, and are today responsible for the most horrendous abuse we could ever imagine of humans, animals and the world itself.
. This is the intelligence that will spend years and years and years debating which is an easier definition to defend, “Atheists don’t believe in God,” or “Atheists are non believers in God.”
. This is the same intelligence that refuses to acknowledge that atheists are in fact suppressing an innate knowledge of God.
. This is the same intelligence that says, I don’t have to have a reason for what I believe. It’s you (the Christian) who has to give reasons for what you believe. And then, and THEN they believe that comment gets them off the hook! One Atheist even went so far as to say to me, “I’m right because I say so.”
This then is the triune god of Science, Pride and Intelligence in which atheists place their faith. This is the chunk of sand upon which they build their philosophy of life.
“The basic reality of God is plain enough. Open your eyes and there it is! So nobody has a good excuse for denying the existence of God. People know God perfectly well, but when they don’t treat Him like God, refusing to worship Him, they trivialize themselves into silliness and confusion so that there is neither sense nor direction left in their lives. They pretend to know it all, but are illiterate regarding life and how to live it.” (Romans 1:18-23 - The Msg.).
Yet another atheist shows us his basis for living. They say that atheism isn’t a belief system, that they don’t live by faith and that their’s is not a world-view. They even say there is not dogma to the atheist faith. All wrong.
So what is the object of an Atheist’s belief? Upon what object do they place their deep and abiding faith? IT is the triune god of Science, Pride and Intelligence.
This in itself is somewhat amazing since each aspect of their god is so incredibly fallible.
- Atheists place their faith in Science to provide for them answers and direction.
- Atheists place their faith in their Pride to keep them emotionally afloat.
- And atheists especially place their faith in and worship their Intelligence to provide them with a sense of security, belonging and value.
The Atheist belief system and the god of Science:
Sadly, the so called “Science” that atheists hold so dear in their belief system doesn’t even resemble the science they claim it to be. In fact, regarding origins of life and origins of the universe, atheistic science does exactly the opposite of how science is supposed to operate. Instead of observing evidence and then coming to a conclusion or interpretation through repeated testing and verification, atheistic science begins with a conclusion (God does not exist) and then goes in search of evidence that will support their presupposition. In fact, regarding origins, the atheist scientist’s search for acceptable answers has descended into multiple origins of the universe mythologies to explain how we are here today.
Atheists place their faith in a presupposition that is absolutely baseless, ie. There is no God, therefore life came from non life. Atheists then back that up with a self contradicting statement that matter created itself. No less absurd, atheists posit that DNA / RNA was simply “found” in the first living cell. In this, atheists place their faith. On this chunk of sand atheists build their philosophy of life.
According to atheists, all intelligent life originated from totally inanimate and inorganic chemicals. Because of this, the importance of positive, life enhancing mutations can hardly be overemphasized. Yet those are so rare as to be non existent. Julian Huxley wrote “. . . not only is it [mutations] an effective agency of evolution, it is the only effective agency of evolution.” Theodosius Dobzhansky, an evolutionary biologist stated, “The deleterious character of most mutations seems to be a very serious difficulty [with this theory].” If evolution, as it is currently promoted is correct, then positive mutations had to have occurred trillions of times in many different species! This is the theory that makes Richard Dawkins feel intellectually fulfilled. In this, atheists place their faith. On this chunk of sand atheists build their philosophy of life.
The Atheist belief system and the god of Pride:
The pride that atheists hold so dear in their belief system is derived from many things, any one of which can be ripped away in the blink of an eye. This includes, attractiveness, wealth, possessions, power, relationships and of course intelligence and education. Atheists state that God does not exist but that we can simply attribute worth to ourselves. That is a nice thought but it doesn’t work. For if you say that you have one unit of worth and your neighbour says that you have no worth, in a secular world your neighbour is just as correct as you are. In a secular world, worth is nothing more than an arbitrary attribute. In a secular world, people feel forced to follow the ebb and flow of human standards of worth within a whimsical and convoluted environment. This is where atheists are forced to place their faith because outside of their selves, there is nothing that can attribute worth to them. In this, atheists place their faith. On this chunk of sand atheists build their philosophy of life.
The Atheist belief system and the god of Intelligence:
Atheists trust in intelligence. They glorify it and sing its praises. Atheists derive their sense of worth from their intelligence and judge the worth of others by the degree of intelligence they deem the other person to have. Read any of their blogs and you’ll see that the atheist’s sense of belonging arises from grouping together and talking about the lack of intelligence in Christians. Here’s just a few description of me, according to atheists.
"Sux big time to be you. Moron."
"Fool."
"Get an education. You are pathetic."
"Predictably you won't educate yourself as you are an obvious willfully ignorant yo yo,"
"I won't even engage your pathetic lack of understanding. You are just sad."
"If the secular explanation for morals is incoherent to you, you just aren't very bright."
Any casual observer of human behaviour can plainly see that intelligence fails dismally in protecting anyone from the perils of faulty decisions, especially as they arise in relationships. For example:
. The intelligence in which atheists place their faith is the same intelligence that allows men and women to rationalise abandoning their children and spouses in order to pursue affairs with other individuals.
. This is the same intelligence that produces more divorces the higher one’s education.
. This is the same intelligence that produces more alcohol consumption the higher one’s education.
. This is the same intelligence that leads a person to say, The living organism within my womb that I’m aborting is not a human being. In fact, even when the child’s head has exited my vagina and its brain is being sucked out of its head, this is still not a human being. My right to freedom is more important than another person’s right to life.
. This is the same intelligence that leads a person to say, divorce is actually good for the kids.
. This is the same intelligence that leads a person to say, It’s ok to steal millions of dollars from other people’s pension plans.
. This is the same intelligence that thinks pornography doesn’t hurt anyone; that in fact pornography should be a protected form of expression.
. This is the same intelligence that believes that what we watch, read, listen to or think about might influence others, but it won’t influence me.
. This is the same intelligence that says we can have an effect (the universe) with no cause.
. This is the same intelligence that says that matter and energy can create itself.
. This is the same intelligence that sees this logical contradiction as acceptable, as long as it keeps a Creator God out of the picture.
In this, atheists place their faith. On this chunk of sand atheists build their philosophy of life.
. This is the same intelligence that says that a cosmos that reveals purpose, order and design points to an accidental origin with no external cause.
. This is the same intelligence that points to moral, intelligent, living beings and thinks it rational to say they are the product of an accident with no evidence of design.
. This is the same intelligence that says all humans have an idea of a most perfect being because there is no such thing.
. Atheist intelligence is the kind that rejects any book that challenges their faith by claiming “It’s only written by humans.” Then, this same intelligence turns around and vehemently supports its beliefs by quoting from books written by, yes of course, humans.
. This is an intelligence that supports ethical and moral codes established by community and social norms. This, even though those same community and social norms have been in the past, and are today responsible for the most horrendous abuse we could ever imagine of humans, animals and the world itself.
. This is the intelligence that will spend years and years and years debating which is an easier definition to defend, “Atheists don’t believe in God,” or “Atheists are non believers in God.”
. This is the same intelligence that refuses to acknowledge that atheists are in fact suppressing an innate knowledge of God.
. This is the same intelligence that says, I don’t have to have a reason for what I believe. It’s you (the Christian) who has to give reasons for what you believe. And then, and THEN they believe that comment gets them off the hook! One Atheist even went so far as to say to me, “I’m right because I say so.”
This then is the triune god of Science, Pride and Intelligence in which atheists place their faith. This is the chunk of sand upon which they build their philosophy of life.
“The basic reality of God is plain enough. Open your eyes and there it is! So nobody has a good excuse for denying the existence of God. People know God perfectly well, but when they don’t treat Him like God, refusing to worship Him, they trivialize themselves into silliness and confusion so that there is neither sense nor direction left in their lives. They pretend to know it all, but are illiterate regarding life and how to live it.” (Romans 1:18-23 - The Msg.).
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