All Religions are Not the Same

I'm currently reading "Reason to Believe," by Dr. Dr. R.C. Sproul.

I'd planned to review it anyways, but because of my last posts, I decided to move my schedule up by a week. I'm going to take license and post some quotes of Dr Sproul's because they're too profound to summarize. I hope you get a copy of this book. It's a unique book that deals with the common objections to the Christian Faith. The foward is by Lee Strobel, author of "A Case for Christ."

"Under the principle of religious tolerance, all religious systems are guaranteed freedom of expression and equal treatment under the law. No one religion has exclusive claim to legal rights and government establishment.

"With the principle of equal toleration has come the idea that no religion has exclusive claims to Truth...many have drawn the implication that equal toleration means equal validity.

When Christians...or any religions make claims of exclusivity, their claims are met with shock and anger at such narrow minded posture."

Dr. R.C.Sproul

According to Dr. Sproul, we struggle with this (narrow-mindedness) due to the impact of comparative religions that came into the colleges in the 19th century. Scholars began to study the similar characteristics of the major religions. Books began to be published in an attempt to get to the basic core of religious truth, that which founded is in a all religions.

It became that at the heart of their studies all were working, toward the God experience, their goals were the same. "Then came the famous mountain anthology." God is at the peak and man at the base. The story of religion was man's effort to get to the top.

The mountain has many roads, etc.

"There are only two possible ways to maintain the equal validity of all religions. One is by ignoring the clear contradictions between them by a flight into irrationality; the other is by assigning these contradictions to the level of insignificant nonessential. The latter approach involves us in a systematic process of reductionism. Reductionism strips each religion of elements considered vital by the adherents of religion themselves and reduces the religion to its lowest common denominator. The distinctives of each religion are obscured and waterd down to accommodate religious peace." Dr. R.C. Sproul, Reason to Believe.

In today's society people who know absolutely nothing about Islam, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, Hinduisum, etc., declare these religions as all leading to God, and they are the same the one caviate that their road is the golden road and everyone else is diluted. They have a highway to heaven...no the supper jumbo jet and everyone else is pushing a bullcart! When I came to Christ I had to get that bullchart out of my head!

Now, that is other religions perogative to believe what they believe, but for the sake of education all sides should be reviewed with a critical and objective eye.

It's important to understand that each person is responsible for knowing God, and whorshiping God. No religion, culture, person, or guru is responsible for the individual soul. But when people are told not to seek out other answers, that's a problem for weak minded people, of which I was one.

Now, when Christians make claims of exclusivity, their claims are often met with shock or anger at such a narrow mind...

It is pointed out in the New Testament that Christ is "the ONLY--begotten of the Father, and that there is no other name under heave which men must be saved." Dr. R.C. Sproul

A church shouldn't hijack Jesus Christ and claim the Bible is not authentic, but written by corrupted men when they have no bases for the claim. This phony Jesus is seen in other religions.

Hundreds of thousands of theologists have studied and still study every word in he Bible, compare it to historical fact of that time, and have never been able to make such claims that it's not true.

There is not one single piece of evidence that Jesus went to India to learn Kriya. He was a Jew! He practiced and preached Judaism of his time! Whether someone believes he was resurrected or not is one thing, but you can't dispute his Jewishness or the references he himself makes from the Old Testament! There are historians of Jesus' time that were not part of his movement who documented his being in Judah, just as the Bible claims.

Jesus preached from the Old Testament not from the Vedas.

New Testament: "But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living." (Matthew 22:31-32, cf.Mark 12:26, 27, Luke 20:37-38)

Old Testament: Moreover He said, "I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God." (Exodus 3:6)

New Testament: "It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught by God.' Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me." (John 6:45)

Old Testament: "All your children shall be taught by the LORD, and great shall be the peace of your children." (Isaiah 54:13)

How many people would take the time to refute the claims that Jesus is just a guru who taught Yoga when his biographies of the gosples there is no reference? The Bible is not written in hidden language. Because of better translations we know now what each word really meant. Jesus didn't say one thing, then, wink wink, give secrets to others. The claims are outrageous and absurd!

Jesus tells us in the Bible who he was, and I encourage you to read the Bible and books like "Reason to Believe." Get a good study Bible, such as the new English Standard Version.

Jesus did not become the Christ as an adult but rather was the one and only Christ from the very beginning. Christ did not say to people, "You too can have Christ within." *

*ESV Study Bible

Sin-sational!

Our world is so full of sin. Today I watched a woman sobbing on TV because her beautiful daughter was struck down by a car at her college, driven by someone who ran a red light and didn't stop. Now her life is destroyed by the senseless, selfish, horrible act of sin. Yesterday, a semi-truck driver was driving recklessly, lost control and careened into several cars, slid into three stores leaving several dead, including a father and daughter, and many injured, and today a hostage murder situation in New York.

Sin is everywhere, not just what's in our hearts. We open the newspaper, and read about robberies, homicides, affairs, drunken drivers, and criminals who seem to run the world. Not so. We must not be deceived by the publicity that sin receives. Sin, by its nature, is sensational.

We must remember that we ourselves are not sinless and cannot expect others to be. We might not sin in the horrific ways noted in the news, but sin comes in many shapes and forms, and the most dangerous is rebellious pride.

I generally gear my writings toward those who follow misleading spiritual teachings, because that's what I did for 30 years, or to those who do not believe in Jesus Christ. When I say, "don't believe," I mean that person who only believes Jesus Christ was a man, a saint, a guru, or a rabbi, but not the Son of God, our Savior.

So, coming from this direction, the number one question asked to try and "trick" a Christian in relationship to sin and suffering is: "If God is all-powerful and could stop sin, and so loving (as you claim) why does he allow sin to harm people in the first place?"

God is all-powerful and is all loving. God allows sin because free will is necessary for the true worship of God. God gives human beings the freedom to either worship him or reject him.

The idea of worship is problematic for many but, think about it, we "worship" many things in our human lives, such as food, relationships and money. These objects of worship are not questioned. Yet, worshiping a God who is the creator and sustainer of our lives is downright offensive to some.

People (in general) want to do what they want to do, period, with no accountability in their lives to anyone, and certainly not to a God. They would rather worship their own reflection. There is a large sector who believe in their own moral obligation, that they have the strength of mind to "do the right thing" in every situation and that a God to watch over them is not necessary and not believable, anyways. What we believe or don't believe matters to God. Just because a person does not believe in sin, does not mean it isn't accrued.

What happens when we sin? God will attach criminality to our accounts, which is a moral worth attached to the acts of our rebellion (sin). Whew. That doesn't sound good, does it? Criminality? I've never heard that word on Sunday! Sin is, simply put, death. That statement is so heavy!

"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord," (Rom 6:23).

Sin = action. Something is going to happen with the sin in our lives if we're not "washed" clean by the blood of Christ.

Conversely, dharmic religion does not believe in sin or that it can be pardoned by Christ, or that we'll live a sinless life in heaven with Him. They believe in karma (cause and effect) which is burned away (provided you no longer create karma). Through many lifetimes of work, hence, Yoga postures, diet restrictions and non-attachment, a person frees the soul from ego to fade back into God, losing all its original, unique self-awareness. Why would we want this? One reason, control. Or so we think.

So, if we buy into sin, what's the root cause of all this suffering? As Christians we know it's related to the fall of mankind through rebellion. But, this explanation has taken on a fairytale narration over the past 50 years, and more recently by unbelievers who "scoff with scientific impossibility!"

What most people believed for hundreds of years came under critical examination during the 1960's when drugs and eastern influences barraged our youthful culture. They began to rebel against everything their parents believed to be true, including Christianity, and sin was replaced by the idea that we could make up our mistakes by living many lives to get it right. This idea of expanded consciousness meant personal freedoms never before considered. Sin was taken from behind closed doors to the streets, and we began demanding the "right" to sin.

I, myself, gave up Jesus Christ for an Indian guru. Baptized by the Holy Spirit at 16 was thrown away for a false prophet. There is no sin greater than the one I committed. It was easy enough to do it because I wanted something "different" and "special," a "personal experience of God," having been told by this guru that I'd never had one. I was promised by him that I had control of my destiny, and that I was part of God, that I was God, a "bubble" in the sea of God. That everything living and inanimate thing was Gods vibration that linked all of us to God's consciousness. It sounded so, well, wonderful, so 1960's. Beatles! Om. Peace. Amen! I bought into this philosophy (blasphemy), hook, line and sinker without ever questioning it, without ever opening my Bible and carefully taking into careful, soul consideration what I was willing to throw away.

Satan offered Eve the "tree of knowledge of good and evil," and promised her that she could know all that God knew. Sound familiar to my own experience? Modern man tends to think "he (or she's) different" and that those old scriptures are not relevant to their lives, and yet, like me, turn their lives over to idol scriptures that are even older, such as Hinduisum.

As you can see, the desire to be God is very innate in our natures, and that's why promises of "God like status," is so desirable.

Though I wasn't raised in a Christian home, I knew about sin, and wanted nothing to do with it's condemning nature. My best friend from age 5-11 was what we called a "Bible-Banger" in those days and she told me on a regular basis that everything I did and said was a sin.

My guru promised me utopia. No sin, simply karma. No worries.

Though sin has always been prevalent in ages prior, it wasn't dismissed as something implausible until the culture rebelled, as I did, against the "establishment." This extraordinary change in our cultural beliefs continued to meld into many forms, from basic eastern religions, such as Hinduism, to "New Age" religions or "blended religions" that teach both Christian and Krishna in the same sentence (as did mine). Peace, love and Harmony. No sin. No worries.

But, let us remember this scripture: "And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” (Matt 1:21).

Jesus Christ was sent to this earth to save "his people" from their sins. If this is the cornerstone of Truth, how can sin be omitted, ignored and denied? How can anyone say, "I believe in Jesus Christ," but not sin?

Sin, then, was "sifted" out of popular religion, as distasteful, and has even become absent in some Christian churches. Talking about sin is not popular. We use more socially acceptable words like, "broken," "addicted," or "dysfunctional to describe living in sin. Without being aware of sin, we sin easily. If we don't learn what sin is, then how do we know when we're sinning?

The Lord spoke to Cain in this way: So the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.” (Genesis 4:6)

Now playing: Angels

I touched on angels (no pun) in my past article. It seemed right to give equal time to angels. Rather than repeat myself, you might read the previous post on what angels are not. This is what angels are, and how they interact in our lives.

When I practiced eastern religion (a form dharmic religion with Christianity), there was no mention of angels. We were taught about hobo souls who came to wreak havoc in our minds and bodies. These ethereal characters would fall more under demons than hobo souls.

Learning about God's true Kingdom was a steep climb for me and I'm still on the ladder. Religions that fish from east and west to create a blended theology are dangerous. My blog is full of information about the dangers of following false gods and gurus.

Angels seemed too fantastic an idea, but the more I've read about them in the Bible and study other Christian writings, I've come to appreciate their role in our world. Angels appear as humans who help us out. They're not floating winged beings who illuminate and create spectacular side-shows. Being human, of course, we want the spectacular side-show, and God knows that!

Angels can also help us while we travel, and they don't need GPS. In Exodus 23:30, God sent an angel ahead of the trip, promising Moses protection. But he warns him to "pay attention to him and obey him." Angels are not going to put up with our bad behavior.

This doesn't mean we'll always have help from angels. We still don't know how their work load is distributed, or why, but we can read the Bible and learn some things that will give us a sense of assurance that we're not alone, and they do, indeed exist.

In Genesis 28:12 Jacob has a dream about angels, and this reveals a lot. "He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending. " Therefore, it is evident that angels come and go freely from heaven to earth.

One of my favorite stories about angels is in Genesis 19:19 when Lot leaves Sodom. The set up is God had heard many complaints about Sodom and Gomorrah and decided to check things out personally. I love that God will come and investigate situations. He certainly doesn't leave everything to others. He's a True Ruler and King. In earlier times the leaders of nations led the charge. They didn't hide behind a bunch bureaucrats who did all the reporting (and decision making) for the King. If the King died in battle, how much greater was he to his people? I am digressing but it's important to know that our King does come down into the nitty gritty life we live and if he was willing to go to Sodom and Gomorrah, he'll show up anywhere we ask. Remember he was "hearing complaints," which must mean people were praying about this terrible situation!

God is willing to help, but suddenly we have Abraham (Lot's nephew) bargaining with God. He wants to know if God is going to get rid of everyone even if there's some good people there. Don't we always wonder about that? I do. I hear about terrible situations where someone evil caused the downfall (or death) of good people. So, Abraham has my attention in this story. Plus, can you image asking God something like that? It's almost a bit rebellious.

Our Lord didn't get exasperated by the question. He simply said, "Look, you find me 50 people who are good and I'll save them all." It gets rather hysterical here. Abraham then asks him, "Well, okay, but what if there are only 45 people who are good?" Well, this goes on and on until the bargaining gets down to 10 good people. I just love that conversation! What a wonderful reminder that God can be approached and spoken too. Though Abraham was very respectful while asking these questions. Isn't it like us to weasel the situation into our favor?

After the conversation with Abraham, God sends two angels. From here things get wild, and if you're not familiar with the story, I'll let read about it yourselves, but nevertheless, the angels prove they worry, they understand urgency, danger and the know how to "RUN" from trouble! The angels were in the thick of things in this story. They weren't floating around with wings observing and playing harps. They were doing "God's Work" and sometimes that work is dangerous! If you want to read the entire escapade: Genesis 19:1-29.

Who are these angels and what do they want with us in our modern society? Some might find it disconcerting that angel beings hang around at all, and would rather forget about them, or not believe in the possibility someone is watching. Most of us like our privacy. Be assured angels aren't peepers, and they're not going to spy on us. They have amazing ability to bow out, stage left, at just the right time. Nor are angels like the old TV show Touched By an Angel. Angels do not witness nor try to change the minds of unbelievers. Angels will send for a human to do this job.

The Bible says those who do not believe do not have angels watching over them, at least not righteous ones. There are evil angels, and they will bear you harm. That doesn't mean God won't send an angel to someone to help that unbeliever get on the right track! God NEVER gives up on us.

Angels have a job, just like everyone in God's kingdom. They work for God directly. He sends them to deliver messages, and they deliver them to him, as we saw with Abraham.

When angels make themselves known, they greet us. Remember Mary was greeted by the angel Gabriel. (Luke 1:28). He had a conversation with her, so it's evident that angels can talk to us and they have manners. If angels can talk to us, why don't we hear about these chatting angels? First off, they appear as humans, and they're not likely to say, "hey, bub, I'm an angel." They know we won't believe them and call a paddy wagon (do they still have those?). Then there is the issue that they don't want the Glory. They know, that us being human, we're going to tell everyone we know that an angel helped us. We're not likely to say God helped us, rather, angels. It's' cooler in today's culture, anyways. If we say, "God helped me," the response will be something like, "Uh, oh, which God do you follow?" Of course there is only one God.

"Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by doing so some have unwittingly entertained angels." Heb 13:2. They don't want attention drawn to them, lest the power and glory be taken from God. That answers a lot of questions.

Angels are wise, but they don't know everything. I was surprised to learn that. I thought they were Omnipotent, and could read our thoughts. They have limitations. Matt 24:36 tells us that angels do not know the time Jesus will return. Angels also learn from us. "The things angels desire to look into." (1 Peter 1:12). Angeles can't read our minds, only God knows all things at all times. Angels can protect us (Psalm 34:7). Angels are sent when God knows we're in trouble (Matthew 18:10). An angel is put in charge of every believer, providing we do not drive them out by sin.

Angels our guardians. God protects his people. Sometimes we ask why some one's angel didn't protect them, but maybe the situation was one of sin and the angels were not there. Angels can't stay where there is sin. They are by nature driven away from sin. In Exodus 23:21 NIV, God tells Moses, "Pay attention to him and listen to what he says. Do not rebel against him; he will not forgive your rebellion, since my Name is in him." If we stay in of sin, we lose our angel protection. This was news to me!

Angels were created during creation and their nature is set. The angels (1/3) that fell with Satan, are equally yoked with evil. They can not do good and they can't remain were Christ is welcome.

Angeles protect the physical aspect of our lives, whereas the Holy Spirit protects the spiritual aspect of our lives.

Unsaved people do not have angels: "All angels are spirits who serve God and are sent to help those who will receive salvation." (Heb 1:14 NIV). Angels can appear as any nationality. (Heb 13:2)

Angels do not have wings, but appear as regular humans, and they are men, not women. You will have to ask God why he chose this to be this way.

Angels minister for God. Angeles bless God. (Psalms 103:20)

We can rely on our guardian angel if we rely on the Word. How wonderful is our God to give us our own bodyguards! Wouldn't you love to just stick your thumb back and say, "talk to him," when things are going against us? Well, in a way, we can. We're not alone if we're in Christ.

Father of the Faithful

PBS produced a movie, titled, "The Bible's Buried Secrets," and it aired on November 18, 2008. It is now available online. It is considered an "an archaeological detective story tracing the origins of the Bible."

Every time I see a production like this advertised, I'm certain it will be "bent" towards devaluing Christian beliefs. First things first. Our God is a God of emotions and he gets angry about these kinds of productions. Let's take just a moment to read just how angry God can get, and what is the "typical human response to that anger."

Numbers 21

4. They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way; 5. they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!" 6. Then the LORD sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. 7. The people came to Moses and said, "We sinned when we spoke against the LORD and against you. Pray that the LORD will take the snakes away from us." So Moses prayed for the people.

God sent snakes to kill those who grumbled against him; and the people cried to Moses to pray for them. This is what happens. People strike out, rebel, curse the name of the Lord, but when troubles come--down on their knees they go looking for that miracle.

This PBS Documentary suggests the Exodus is not real and will upset anyone who claims a literal and inerrant interpretation of Scripture. "It challenges the Bible's stories if you want to read them literally, and that will disturb many people," says archaeologist William Dever, who specializes in Israel's history. The program claims the Bible was written by hundreds of authors in sixth century BC, at least five books of it during the Babylonian exile. It challenges Abraham, Sarah and their offspring as actual historical figures.

This is more than grumbling, isn't it? People have absolutely no fear of the Lord, none. They seek to disprove him entirely, or his Word--that alone can save us.

What do these kinds of programs mean to Christians? How does does it impact our beliefs? Should we turn a blind eye and just "keep the faith" when there's material evidence, or lack thereof? This is one Christian who doesn't ignore claims against the Bible, especially something so profound as a missing Abraham! If we're missing Abraham, we're missing Jesus!

A little genealogy:

1. A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham: 2. Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3. Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar, Perez the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, 4. Ram the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5. Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse, 6. and Jesse the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah's wife, 7. Solomon the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asa, 8. Asa the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram, Jehoram the father of Uzziah, 9. Uzziah the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, 10. Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, Amon the father of Josiah, 11. and Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon. 12. After the exile to Babylon: Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, 13. Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, Abiud the father of Eliakim, Eliakim the father of Azor, 14. Azor the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Akim, Akim the father of Eliud, 15. Eliud the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob, 16. and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.

If we don't have Abraham, we don't have Jesus Christ. But the producers of these kinds of programs are not going to tell you that--they assume that most people are Bible illiterate and it doesn't matter if someone is deleted from the Word of God. Even worse, they simply do not believe in the Christian God. Self included for a swath of my life. Not all faith is righteous faith. You can have "faith" in absolutely nothing.

I've been there before--blind by fake faith. I had such allegiance to a guru that I believed that anything discovered about him or the organization (church) was a lie. I went so far as to never question anything about this church. Looking back now, I can actually laugh at some of the absurd stories that we believed to be "truth."

I thought I was "right" and my pride nipped all other doubts. Pride is a downfall for many of us. We'd rather live a lie than have to admit we were wrong.

Not to bore my readers "again" with my rant against spiritual disciplines (even though that is what this blog addresses), but the point is--if someone is decrying our Christian God, and producing"evidence," we've got to saddle up alongside of them with our magnifying glass and have a look at what they've found. If our faith is "real," we'll discover they've found nothing at all to undermine our God. Who do they think they're dealing with but our most powerful sovereign God who created everything?

How much do we believe when evidence is presented in the "ah, la concrete realm of archaeology?" Now that we know what we know about DNA and carbon dating, do we bury our heads and think, "I won't believe anything that conflicts with my belief." We have to ask ourselves if Jesus would have done the same? What does he expect from us as believers? I believe he expects us to know our Bible. He expects us to dig deeply into it's message, and from there all the answers to everything will be revealed.

Is there a place for science and God?

If God created everything (and apparently this is one thing every religion can agree upon), that means he created science. Science can determine many things, and everyday they discover something new. But science cannot tell us how this universe began--exactly. They have theories. Unbelievers, archaeologists, atheists, agnostics, etc., are quicker to believe theories than the Word of God. They rebel, as they have done since the time of Moses. Man is evil, and nothing can save us but the blood of Christ. This truth is more than science can handle. It blows their mind. It can't be examined in a test-tube. It bothers them so much that they're setting out to prove he doesn't exist. They're looking at rubble for their Truth.

Think about that for a moment.

Since they can't find the leader of the Hebrew Nation, he doesn't exist--he was a fable. This is news to Abraham and to God.

Now, I know that many blog Christian readers will skip this post because they frankly don't care about a PBS documentary that makes this claim. Many just don't care what is "found" or not "found" in archaeological digs in the Holy Lands because they're "faith" is like a rock, and they'll just ignore these claims. By ignoring it, we allow it to spread, we give carta blanca to Satan. Maybe they have their head in their righteous sand, and that's enough for them. Or, those who don't believe in Jesus anyways, lean toward agnosticism, or who-knows-what, these kinds of docu-movies just affirm what they think they already know about God.

Giving erroneous fuel to disbelief in God's Word with statements such as "hundreds of authors in the 6th century BC," wrote the Bible, needs to be addressed by Christians. Especially when it broadcasts on a public radio station supported by the public and major corporations. Just because the producers of this program can't find evidence that Abraham lived, doesn't mean he didn't. There are billions of people who lived on this earth and all of them can't be found and categorized by sifting through sand. God's ways are not man's, and yet, man continues to belittle God by making such outrageous claims.

This is what God told Abraham, it it still rings true today: "Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield, your very great reward."

First we must remember that Abraham was the "Father of the Faithful." That means we must have the same "faith" that the claims made against him and our God are false. The second thing to remember is hundreds of authors, or story tellers, surely would have re-written his yarn if given the chance. One of the things that makes the Bible so real, is the human qualities. The "Word of God" was written by God and no doubt it was copied by men, but these particular writers (we can not compare to writers now) took particular care in not changing one coma. Paul says, "Now, we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might now...not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches," (1 Cor. 2:12-13).

Jesus believed in the authority and inspiration of Scripture. He said, "The scripture cannot be broken," (John 10:35). He said a person cannot treat a historical event in the Bible as though it never happened. Jesus Christ has declared nothing can or will be changed.

First patriarch, Abraham was the founder of the Hebrew nation. In Jewish, Christian and Muslim tradition, he emerges as a father-figure--dignified, firm in his faith, humane, respected.

Abraham can't go missing. It's just not possible to dismiss him because they can't find his DNA. But, this show came and went without much of a bleep on the Christian radar. And there you have it.

Stand up to the truth about our God.

Love is Blue

Why the title? If you're old enough to remember that song it will bring back memories of the late 1960s. It was made famous by Paul Mauriat and was a number-one hit in the USA for five weeks. Blue means many things, including going into the blue, or into the unknown, which many of us do when we accept Jesus as our savior. You might argue with someone until you're blue in the face, or someone might appear out of the blue. You might be in a blue mood, so I suppose love can be blue if you've been dumped.

All of this is fun stuff, but seriously, I thought loving Jesus was a given. Once you loved him, you loved him--and he loved you, but what does that love look like--or feel like on both sides?

How can we be sure we're on the "loving" track with JC? How do we know that we're pleasing Jesus with our love for him? Is it enough to say we love him? I don't think it is, which is weird because I used to think that's all it took to be a Christian--be saved and get a fish decal for the car. Instead Christianity has redefined many areas in my life, and love the most profoundly.

Love is a noun, but in the Bible it's a verb--an action word. It's not static. Love is something that is done, commanded by God.

Love is not attraction.

Love is not sex.

How many of us have heard the sayings, "you can't make someone love you," or, "I fell out of love," as if love is a danger zone, a pit you might stumble into by accident. Love is an act of will.

There are hundreds of references in my concordance for the word love. So, I'm going to start where most people are familiar: Matthew 10:27, "Love your neighbor as yourself." Jesus makes this command, but God also commands it many times in the Old Testament, "Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord." Leviticus 19:18 is one example, and so is, Deuteronomy 6:5-7 "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up."

God commands us to love, impress that love on others, and talk until we're blue in the face about love.

We've been brainwashed to believe that love is an uncontrollable "feeling." Just about every form of entertainment leads us to believe love really comes from out of the blue, that we're hit with love when we least expect it.

If we go back to Matthew 10:27, we note that not only does Jesus ask us to love others, but to love ourselves. We miss this command, don't we? How many of us are contemptuous of ourselves? How many of us compare and put ourselves down? Jesus knows that if we accept ourselves unconditionally it can transform our lives. I've always been critical of my reflection in the mirror. Now I say, "Wait! God loves me! He made me. He thinks I'm perfect! If God loves me I can love me. I'm perfect!"

We no longer need to wear a mask that says "I'm more than human," (as in eastern religion) or "I'm less than human," (as in self loathing). To be more than human is to never make a mistake. To be less than human is to believe that you are the mistake. Jesus puts a "new and beautiful frame" around us. By His forgiveness we can let go of the shame we've carried and silence the critical voice. We can see our past mistakes, and understand them to be part of what led us to Christ. I often say our testimonies are very powerful, and testimonies are an act of love.

We can learn to love our neighbors, even if they do not put an optimal price on a manicured lawn and their dogs bark all night long.

It is possible to love the unlovable because God shows us it's possible through his mercy. God's love is priceless and unfailing.

Let me make this one point clear. Love is not taking abuse. We can forgive and love someone from afar, and continue to pray that one day you'll be reunited in equal love.

The greatest love we can offer anyone is prayer.

Can't Buy Me Love...

Photo of Suzanne Tamin ...

_________________________________

I've taken into account the new Google Trends as part of my daily news and views to keep me connected. I've always been interested in issues bigger than myself, and that's why I began my search for God at the tender age of five. My quest for Him certainly led me to eastern religion where connectedness is understood and respected.

I don't believe we have to discount connectedness if we're Christians. I know I'm a bit hard-nosed about many subjects that relate to eastern thought and religion, but sometimes I have to stop before I throw out the baby with the bathwater. Sometimes we have to concede, especially when our world repeats itself, that at times it does feel like a wheel. Hardly a new thought comes around, certainly no new sins. The same drama plays out day and night, night and day, week after week, month after month, and year after year. If you think you're bored just reading that sentence, think of God! He knows we're going to step right into that pit and drown in that dirty sin before we even do it, and if he was like us, he'd be so sick of our stupidity that he'd delete us from his cell phone.

But he's not sick of us, or our mistakes, in fact, he loves us, and we certainly wonder about that, don't we? How can he love me, or her, or that dimwit down the street who keeps running his loud generator even when the lights are on? He can't love the neighbor with the barking dog? No way can he love Uncle Bill and his yellow teeth!

Yes he does! He loves us in ways that are too gianormous for us to begin to understand. We have nothing human to compare it to, not even the love of parents toward their children, because we've all read about someone whose murdered their entire family. Mother's murder their children. Children murder their parents. Fathers murder their sons. Lovers murder each other. Brothers murder each other, starting with Cain and Able. Human love can't sustain ultimate love; human love is always conditional and generally carries a price tag.

This really didn't start out to be about Love. I digressed a bit, so let me reign my thoughts and get back to Google Trends and how it proves the point of connectedness and human repetition.

If you read Google Trends you'll learn about things as soon as they happen, which can make you look pretty smart, or stuck up, depending on your friends. The next thing you might question, if you're a Christian is how does God manage to be involved and help all the Christians in the midst of skirmishes, wars and tsunamis? The work of the Lord is daunting. It's also frighteningly horrific what the devil manages to accomplish in one day. Every day someone somewhere is murdered, killed in a traffic accident, dies of cancer, killed in a war, taken hostage or raped. Everyday someone is selling sex and someone is buying it.

Often I'll hear of something dreadful that happened somewhere and think, oh, at that time I was at the store, or writing, or taking a shower, or making dinner or sleeping, and yet these desperate souls were in the midst of horror, pain, life or death. Here I am in my safe world, minding my own business, thinking, oh, how blessed I am not to have had (fill in the horror) happen to me. But doesn't everyone say, "Why is this happening to me?" when it's happening?

It's the mystery of life, isn't it, this wondering how this is all wound up and how it's going to end. Will we be living when Jesus rocks the skies? Or, will we waft up from our dusty bones to be born yet anew and join his flocks? Is there a roll call? Will I finally be my ideal weight? Will the grey be gone and will I need glasses? How will this Apocalypse be organized? Will there be computers to keep all the data straight? How will we get from here to there and how will I find my loved ones? What's to become of all those sinners who refused to believe, and are we going to watch in horror as they descend into the bowels of hell?

We just don't know exactly what we'll experience, and its likely very few people think of the end of time beyond the possibility of a stray atom bomb.

Sometimes I'm guilty of living solely in my little bubble world of Mission Viejo, not thinking about a thing beyond the four walls of my home office. Then there are days that I'm quite literally swept up into world affairs. Yesterday was one such day when I became obsessed with a beautiful Lebanese pop star who was murdered by her Egyptian tycoon lover. Her name was Suzanne Tamin, someone I'd never heard about, yet I was soon intrigued about a middle eastern media frenzy. I watched all of her videos on Utube, even her funeral procession which was quite dramatic with family, friends and fans jostling her coffin over their heads like a moss pit.

Here was without question one of the most beautiful women in the world, living on the 22nd floor of the Jumeirah Beach Resort in Dubai, a woman who could have anything by way of her lover, construction magnate Hisham Talaat Moustafa, and yet she apparently wanted out of the relationship--or she scorned him, or whatever happened, and that will become apparent in the weeks to follow. She was brutally murdered.

This is where I began wondering where God was when her throat was slit eight inches by a hired assassin.

The better question we should ask is, where was Satan? Holding the knife. The young woman was married, involved in an affair with a powerful man who apparently could have anything money could buy, but as the Beatles used to sing, "Can't Buy me Love," Hisham Moustafa could not buy whom he loved and adored.

Sounds a little like David and Bathsheba, doesn't it? For my unbelieving friends (I know I have a few!), here's a story all Christians would love to bury. This is an unspeakable truth about one of our greatest Bible heroes. David. The second King of Israel. How could this mess have come to light? I say this, that God in his glory reveals these things to us so we do not lose hope.

The great prophet Samuel brought David out of the fields where he tended sheep and anointed him with oil. From that moment on the Lord came upon him. He became a great leader and warrior.

Even with all his Glory he became tempted and sinned. In the words of Matthew Henry:

David had Bathsheba's husband murdered so that he could have her. He committed adultery with with the wife of Uriah. He endeavoured to father the spurious brood upon Uriah. When that project failed, he plotted the death of Uriah by the sword of the children of Ammon, and effected it. He married Bathsheba. Is this David? Is this the man after God’s own heart? How is his behaviour changed, worse than it was before Ahimelech! How has this gold become dim! Let him that readeth understand what the best of men are when God leaves them to themselves.

Sin is all over this story about the Lebanon singer. Adultry. Lust. Obsession. Murder. Sin is what keeps our world in horrific bondage, and it's up for viewing through Google Trends.

Atheism and The Cross

Our Christian God, our God of Moses, Abraham and Jesus Christ is being portrayed as an intolerant evil SOB who cracks a whip of hate, intolerance, violence, fanaticism and zealotry. His followers are automatically gay haters, contemptuous of the environment, anti-abortionists (which means we abhor woman’s-rights), reject same sex marriage, and if you say “out loud” you love Jesus, you’re automatically classified as a fundamentalist–or worse.

The day I was dunked into the Pacific Ocean and accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior, I stopped and at the shore and picked up my Cross.

Being a Christian is a hostel place, it was 2000 years ago and it is today.

I generally write about my experiences with a church in America that blended Christanity and Hinduisum, and I’m in the middle of a series, but I had to weigh in on atheism. One of the reasons I’m interested in this subject is I’ve had a few strange conversations with people who are parroting high profile atheists who are pumping out propaganda through publishing houses, media, colleges, and the internet. In particular best sellers, Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion, Christopher Hitchens, God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything and Sam Harris, Letter to a Christian Nation, have started a buzz, and it’s spreading.

Approximately 1/3rd of the population of the earth carries the Cross and believes Jesus Christ is their Savior. There’s roughly 7 billion people on the planet, and that makes about 2.3 believers, according to one current atheist speaker, as suffering from a “kind of mental illness.” 2.3 billion people, according to another ashiest, have “blind faith.” Even if you take out the people who are uneducated and illiterate (97% of Americans are literate), you still have billions of people sized by a few popular atheists as having a defect in their emotional state.

Though this list is a few years old, here’s some stats on where Christians call home:

1. USA 224,457,000 85%
2. Brazil 139,000,000 93%
3. Mexico 86,120,000 99%
4. Russia 80,000,000 60%
5. China 70,000,000 5.7%
6. Germany 67,000,000 83%
7. Philippines 63,470,000 93%
8. United Kingdom 51,060,000 88%
9. Italy 47,690,000 90%
10. France 44,150,000 98%
11. Nigeria 38,180,000 45%

Apparently all of these people, in all these countries, are out of their minds, especially those who live in the first country to reach and walk on the moon. Oh, I forgot, some people don’t believe that, either.

Since becoming a Christian, I’ve learned there’s way more to being a Christian than believing in Christ and being saved. I truly, really, thought that Christians were that shallow. My thinking was in line with the atheism, only I pushed eastern thought in its stead.

In David Marshall’s book, The Truth behind the New Atheism, quotes Blaise Pascal (French mathematician, scientist and philosopher) as saying, “...Faith must not be lightly given, for “reason is a thing of God...”

When I accepted Christ, I had no clue the responsibility, and perhaps had taken it too lightly. To be honest, I was looking around at the bikini clad women thinking I looked fat in my shorts and T-shirt. When I had accepted Jesus as my savior that summer afternoon, I was a little naive walking into the waves, but God has changed all that. In here lies the testimony of a Christian, and every Christian converted at an age old enough to remember. Our stories of how Jesus Christ changed our lives can’t be harnessed in a test tube. Atheists try to retaliate by throwing facts and figures that, amazingly can't out number the sheer testimony of the human voice.

“But by any secular standard, Jesus is also the dominant figure of Western culture...much of what we now think of as Western ideas, inventions and values finds its source or inspiration in the religion that worships God in his name. Art and science, the self and society, politics and economics, marriage and the family, right and wrong, body and soul - all have been touched and often radically transformed by Christian influence. Seldom all at once, of course - and not always for the better....the same gospel he proclaimed has underwritten both democracy... Often persecuted - even today--” Newsweek 1999. 2000 Years of Jesus

When Atheists offend Christians, they offend our Western culture, our arts and science, the self and society, politics and economics and democracy.

While researching atheism in America, I came across a powerful article by George F Will:

“Modern science is about the strangeness of things: solid objects are mostly space; the experience of time is a function of speed; gravity bends light. The human mind no longer seems to be a sovereign "ghost in the machine"; it seems tied in unexplained ways to our physical selves, and to nature. The philosopher's question ("I can do what I want, but can I want what I want?") has become a general anxiety. We are born without intending to be, we die without intending to, and perhaps our intentions don't matter much in between. If neither reason nor passion makes the world go round, what does?

“...Science and religion seem, to many, less competitive than complementary because science deepens, rather than diminishes, the sense of life's mysteriousness, and religion speaks to anxieties science stirs.

“...But Christianity is a religion of unadjusted people whose obligation is to adjust to something that transcends the culture of the day, any day. That is why, 70 (99) years ago, Charles Peguy said that this century's real revolutionaries would be the parents of Christian families." Newsweek, October 15, 1979; George F. Will

And here we are, some raised in Christian families, some not, but all grown up, the largest diverse society known to humankind, and yet a small group of vocal atheists are trying to silence our voices, and so far, doing a remarkable job at getting their word out.