Why should we, as Christians, continue to believe in the genesis accounts of creation? We grow up in a society that teaches us about evolution and that the world began from one big cosmic bang and that our ultimate origins are from cosmic dust that fell from space to the earth and formed a primordial soup which eventually, over millions of years, formed all life here on earth.
Some Christians believe that the evolutionary process may have been used by God in His creative process. Some have started to blend both ideas, but God did not proclaim in His word, that He used such processes to create anything. Human beings are born with the innate sense of discovery, we want to know how the entire universe and the earth came to be, how it all began?, why we are here? and who made us? Why is that? The book of Acts answers that question very clearly:
“ For He made from one [common origin, one source, one blood] all nations of men to settle on the face of the earth, having definitely determined [their] allotted periods of time and the fixed boundaries of their habitation [settlements, lands, and abode], So that they should seek God, in hope that they might feel after him and find Him, although He is not far from each one of us.”
Acts 17:26-27 (Amplified Bible)
So, at its core, some of our scientific researches are actually a search for answers to some of these questions. As humans, our hearts yearn for God, whether we know it or not, but there is always a contradictory force at work in the mind of man. Man, in our sinful nature, does not want to have an Omnipotent, Omnipresent, Omniscient God in charge of everything! Man wants to be in control, man wants to be God!
Why Believe in Genesis by loswl
Here is what one evolutionist cult had to say:
Evolution is our Creator: “Evolution is our creator. It is a process that allows us to improve ourselves so that we evolve into a better specie in the future. It is a way that we as a human race can advance ourselves. Humanity has advanced to the point where we can control our own evolution and the evolution of other forms of life on this planet. We have changed the evolution of species of life that we use for food so that they produce more food for us. This evolutionary change has allowed us to evolve so that we no longer have to hunt and gather wild food growing around our physical location. We now go to the grocery store and buy our food. This frees us up so that we can invent new tools and surf the web looking for explanations as to how life got here and why we exist.” ~ The Church of Reality : : It’s all about Evolution ~ and taking control of where we are going
Will we have faith enough to believe in the Genesis account layed out for us by God through Moses?, or will we put our trust in the claims of man? Jeremiah proclaims:
“The heart (of man) is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” Jeremiah 17:9
We may ask the question, If God created the heavens and the earth, then who created God, and which God? The Bible is the only book that reveals the one true God, the “I AM“. He is an Infinite God, He is Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. He was not created, because He always existed; which logically makes sense, because there had to be something or someone infinite to create our finite world!
So since the Bible is the only book that tells us of the origins of the heavens and the earth and about the one true God, lets take a logical look at our world and see if the Bible is trustworthy.
1. Moon Sun and Stars Created For Light, Signs, Seasons, Days and Years
What we see in the natural world is that the sun, the moon and the stars provides light for us and we still measure time by the stars and use them to gauge seasons determined by their movements and for receiving signs from God. Our watches and clocks are all set by the relative positions of the sun, moon, constellations and some major planets.
“And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. Genesis 1:14-16
“And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;” Luke 21:25
“There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory.” 1 Corinthians 15:41
2. Life Was Created From Dirt and Degrades Back to Dirt
Basically speaking, when we see something die, it rots away and degrades back into the earth.
“All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.” Ecclesiastes 3:20
“And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” Genesis 2:7
“In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.” Genesis 3:19
“The first man is of the earth, earthy; the second man is the Lord from heaven.” 1 Corinthians 15:47
3. God Created Different Species To Multiply After Their Kind
This is exactly what we see in the natural world; animal and plants, producing offspring’s of their own species (kind). They do not produce other kinds (species) of animals. A cat does not produce a dog and visa versa. Dogs can be breed to produce other kinds of dogs, this breeding process does not take millions of years, and when completed, it is still a dog, not a cat or another kind of animal.
“And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.” Genesis 1:21
“And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.” Genesis 1:25
4. God Made Man To Have Power And Authority Over The Earth
and this is what we see in the natural world. Man has the power and authority over everything on earth. Some animals can fly or they are stronger, some are larger in size with sharper teeth that could tear us apart in seconds, but you do not see animals trying to take dominion over the earth, they do not do this because the responsibility and ability was not given to them, it was given to us.
“And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.” Genesis 1:26
“And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.” Genesis 1:28
5. God Created The Heavens And The Earth And Then Life On It
God created life to fly in the sky among the clouds, life in the ocean and life on land, and again, that is what we see in the natural world around us. Scientist are now spending vast amount of money searching for life on other planets to continue their efforts to prove that life evolves, but the Bible did not tell us that God made life on other planets, we see life exactly where the Bible said we would find life. We don’t need to search, there are so many life forms here on earth that we are still discovering more each day, especially in the depths of the ocean. If there was life in space it would not be so hard to find, there would be a host of life forms for us to study!
So, why should we believe in the Genesis account of creation? Because the Words of the Bible and God is true and are clearly seen, we don’t have to look too far to see the wondrous works of God, His creative power spans the entire universe. The more we discover about our world, the more we see the hand of God!
“For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Romans 1:20
Reading Sources: First moon walk disproved evolutionary theory | Where’s the proof for evolution? | Darwin himself said there was no proof! | Can Evolution Produce an Eye? | There are NO Fossils to Show Even One Animal Turning into Another! | Is Evolution a Theory, Fact or Law? Or None of the Above? | There’s a Law Against Evolution–It’s Called the Second Law of Thermodynamics! | Evolutionists Say Mutations are Good–are They? | What About the Human “Tail�
33 thoughts on “Why Believe in Genesis – Part 1”
I was born and raised in a Christian home, so I do have an intrinsic value and respect for religion, especially Christianity. However, recently I’ve encountered some college course work that has cast some serious doubts in my mind. You address some in this article:
1)The bible says god created the stars…but what explains the continuous star formation observed today? If the bible is true, the answer would be that god is continually making stars? Is this mentioned in the bible?
2) The earth comes before the sun in the bible. However…planets are products of natural star formation. We see that around the countless other stars in our galaxy. How is this possible?
3)Why wouldn’t God mention other key features of astronomy such as Black holes, galaxies, and planets in addition to the moon, sun, & stars. Currently the only things mentioned in the bible are features of space that are visible from or directly impact earth…other planets are not even mentioned from what I know, they are grouped in as stars, which are how they appear from earth. The lack of mention of features of space that were not observable to people on earth at the time the bible was written causes me to consider that it has earthly and not divine origins. If the features of creation that are not clearly visible from earth without modern technology were mentioned…the bible would have a much stronger case and the divinity of it could not be argued since back then no one would know about galaxies and such except for a divine creator.
It’s just confusing…all of the genesis explanations are explanations for phenomena that men can observe (ie: men in power over earth, the sun, the moon, the stars $ men from dust and to dust return). Furthermore, the descriptions (ie: men formed form dust) seem base in comparison to the complexity of creation and biology at large. It seems like a description provided by a people group who does not fully understand the composition of the body, but saw people die and rot and turn into dust…and therefore, men was made from dust. It seems odd to me that God, being all knowing, wouldn’t inspire men to insert something in the creation narrative that would prove it inevitably true… I don’t know it just seems like a person observing natural surroundings could have wrote the genesis account without any divine influence…
Hi Kim, thanks for your response to the post and for the interesting questions you ask. First let me caution you that colleges are geared towards breaking down any belief in a God or a Creator, especially the God of the Bible. My first class in college was Physc101, the teacher on first day started breaking us down, even before going into the main topic of physiology. The teacher started telling us that the Bible is wrong and started telling us the reason why, he gave the example of how the Bible said the earth is flat and we all know the earth is not flat. I went home searching the Bible for the scripture that said the “earth is flat” and I could not for the love of God find that scripture anywhere in the Bible, but what I did find is a scripture that suggested that the earth was a circle or correctly translated a sphere. Sometimes we try to interpret the Bible with our modern knowledge, but we must read the Bible in context and find out what God is relating to the reader, there are many factors that goes into interpreting any book, especially books written ages ago. Let me try to answer your questions with the little knowledge that I have.
Answer to Question 1:
Yes, the Bible says God created the stars, …Note to self, Star formation and stellar evolution have never been observed because they are supposed to occur over many millions of years. Evolutionists suggest that the stars form as gases (hydrogen and helium in the early universe) collapse due to gravity. As the nebula collapses, the gases heat up and the nebula spins itself into a flattened disk. One major problem with this scenario is that as the gases are heated, the pressure increases. This pressure would tend to cause the nebula to expand and counteract the gravitational collapse.
To counter this problem, it is suggested that some type of “shock†overcomes the gas pressure at just the right time. This shock may come from the explosion of a nearby supernova or some other source. The problem has now become a circular argument. In order for the first stars to form, there would have had to have been other stars reaching the supernova stage to cause the first stars to form. So the argument may work for later generations of stars but it cannot explain how the first generation formed. If the first generation couldn’t form, then they could not have produced the materials and force for later generations to form.
The ideas presented in the textbooks are based on uniformitarian assumptions and have many problems that are not discussed, despite the presence of phrases like “we know†and “scientists have shown.â€
Source: http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/ee2/origin-solar-system
The Bible does not mention the birth of stars because scientifically speaking, it is not happening, all the stars we see in the sky today have always been there.
God knows all the stars, even by their names: (just like how he knows you and all the hairs on your head)
Psalm 147:4 He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names.
God made all the stars for a purpose, he made then first for us to marvel at them and for signs, seasons, dys and years, its basically a huge clock and that has been know by ancient man and modern man.
Genesis 1:14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years,
Answer to Question 2:
My first answer partially answers this question, because the idea that stars are still forming is not supported by science, we have never and will never observe the birth of a star, unless we live over millions of years. ” Star formation and stellar evolution have never been observed because they are supposed to occur over many millions of years.”
The fact that the earth was created before the sun is not really a problem, because God is sovereign over everything, He does not work within that laws of the universe, He is the one that made those laws and He can create outside of those laws.
Answer to Question 3:
The Bible is not a scientific manual, although it does not contradict real science. There are many things not mentioned in the Bible, example the DNA Structure is not mentioned, Cells of the body are not mentioned etc, etc. God gave man curiosity and a mind that can search after the things he created. If you look at the early scientist, they were not doing science to disprove that their is a God, they basically wanted to know more about the human body, how things worked, the universe etc. My point is their are a host of scientific and non-scientific things not mentioned in the Bible, that does not automatically mean that the Book is not inspired by God.
I do not have the answers for everything, but I would encourage you to read these post:
Scientific accuracy of the Bible Revealed: https://www.inspiks.com/scientific-accuracy-in-the-bible-revealed/
Historical Accuracy of the Bible revealed: https://www.inspiks.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=2410&action=edit
Too true, dude. What u describe is what IS true about evolution. There’s no proof evolution created all species (unless u count the proof that makes u think these so-called “scientists” r gonna say humans, bears, and rats r the same creature based on their similar skeletons).
There’s a video going around on YouTube (can’t remember what it’s called) by this guy trying to basically disprove the entire Genesis creation story by disproving that animals are descended from the same animals (in other words, taking Genesis 1:24 to the extreme). He uses the example of salamanders on the north end of an island migrating south and ultimately separating. By the time they meet again at the south end, they r completely different colours and sizes, and can’t reproduce easily. I watched the entire vid, and basically heard this the entire time: “blah, blah, blah, salamanders, blah, blah, had become, blah, blah, blah, salamanders”. It’s the truth. The salamanders were still salamanders throughout the entire evolution. If any atheist wants me to believe we all came from evolution, then he can show me salamanders becoming crocodiles, snakes, or even as some evolutionists claim can happen, chickens.
Love the article. Very informative. God bless you. 😀
Hey Lucas, happy you enjoyed the article, that salamander thing made me laugh, as you said the salamanders are still salamanders at the end of the process, plus the process does not take millions of years. Small changes can happen within species, that is what occurs in dog breeding, you can breed different dogs to get Dash Hounds, Poodles, etc. but they are still dogs, Evolution is a very, very, very, very……Loooooooong process that does not occur. The Bible says that God created different kinds (species) and these kinds reproduce, one specie do not and cannot evolve into another specie. Evolution goes against every law of science. I just started posting a series of articles that shows how evolution is a lie here is the links to the first two:
Evolutionary Tales Exposed: Part 1 – The Origin of Life
Evolutionary Tales Exposed: Part 2 – Fossil Evidence
WHO CREATED GOD?
Earlier it was impossible for us to give any satisfactory answer to this question. But modern science, rather we should say that Einstein, has made it an easy task for us. And Stephen Hawking has provided us with the clue necessary for solving this riddle. Actually scientists in their infinite wisdom have already kept the ground well-prepared for us believers so that one day we can give a most plausible and logically sound answer to this age-old question. Let us first see how Hawking has helped us by providing the necessary clue. In his book “A Brief History of Time†(Chapter: The origin and fate of the universe) he informs us that there are 1080 particles in the region of the observable universe. Then he raised the question regarding the origin of these particles, and gave the answer himself. According to quantum theory particles can be created out of energy in the form of particle/antiparticle pairs. But there the question does not stop. Another question props up regarding the origin of that energy. But when it is said that total energy of the universe is exactly zero, then all is said and done. So this is the clue: if we can somehow arrive at zero, then no further question will be raised, and there will be no infinite regression. What I intend to do here is something similar to that. I want to show that our God is a bunch of several zeroes, and that therefore no further question need be raised about His origin. And here comes Einstein with his special theory of relativity for giving us the necessary empirical support to our project.
God is a Being. Therefore God will have existence as well as essence. So I will have to show that both from the point of view of existence as well as from the point of view of essence God is zero. It is almost a common saying that God is spaceless, timeless, changeless, immortal, and all-pervading. Here we are getting three zeroes; space is zero, time is zero, change is zero. But how to prove that if there is a God, then that God will be spaceless, timeless, and changeless? From special theory of relativity we come to know that for light both distance and time become unreal. For light even an infinite distance is infinitely contracted to zero. The volume of an infinite universe full of light only will be simply zero due to this property of light. A universe with zero volume is a spaceless universe. Again at the speed of light time totally stops. So a universe full of light only is a spaceless, timeless universe. But these are the properties of light only! How do we come to know that God is also having the same properties of light so that God can also be spaceless, timeless? Scientists have shown that if there is a God, then that God can only be light, and nothing else, and that therefore He will have all the properties of light. Here is the proof.
Scientists have shown that total energy of the universe is always zero. If total energy is zero, then total mass will also be zero due to energy-mass equivalence. Now if there is a God, then scientists have calculated the total energy and mass of the universe by taking that God into consideration. In other words, if there is a God, then this total energy-mass calculation by the scientists is God-inclusive, not God-exclusive. This is due to two reasons. First of all, even if there is a God, they are not aware of the fact that there is a God. Secondly, they do not believe that there is a God. So, if there is a God, then they have not been able to keep that God aside before making this calculation, because they do not know that there is a God. They cannot say that they have kept Him aside and then made this calculation, because by saying so they will admit that there is a God. They cannot say that the behind-the-picture God has always remained behind the picture, and that He has in no way come into the picture when they have made this calculation, because by saying so they will again admit that there is a God. At most they can say that there is no God. But we are not going to accept that statement as the final verdict on God-issue, because we are disputing that statement. So the matter of the fact is this: if God is really there, then total mass and total energy of the universe including that God are both zero. Therefore mass and energy of God will also be zero. God is without any mass, without any energy. And Einstein has already shown that anything having zero rest-mass will have the speed of light. In other words, it will be some sort of light. So, if God is there, then God will also be light, and therefore He will be spaceless, timeless. So from the point of view of existence God is zero, because he is spaceless, timeless, without any mass, without any energy.
Now we will have to show that from the point of view of essence also God is zero. If there is only one being in the universe, and if there is no second being other than that being, then that being cannot have any such property as love, hate, cruelty, compassion, benevolence, etc. Let us say that God is cruel. Now to whom can He be cruel if there is no other being other than God Himself? So, if God is cruel, then is He cruel to Himself? Therefore if we say that God is all-loving, merciful, benevolent, etc., then we are also admitting that God is not alone, that there is another being co-eternal with God to whom He can show His love, benevolence, goodness, mercy, compassion, etc. If we say that God is all-loving, then we are also saying that this “all†is co-eternal with God. Thus we are admitting that God has not created the universe at all, and that therefore we need not have to revere Him, for the simple reason that He is not our creator!
It is usually said that God is good. But Bertrand Russell has shown that God cannot be good for the simple reason that if God is good, then there is a standard of goodness which is independent of God’s will. (Book: A History of Western Philosophy, Ch: Plato’s Utopia). Therefore, if God is the ultimate Being, then that God cannot be good. But neither can He be evil. God is beyond good and evil. Like Hindu’s Brahma, a real God can only be nirguna, nirupadhik; without any name, without any quality. From the point of view of essence also, a real God is a zero. Mystics usually say that their God is a no-thing. This is the real God, not the God of the scriptures.
So, why should there be any need of creation here, if God is existentially, as well as essentially, zero?
But if there is someone who is intelligent and clever enough, then he will not stop raising question here. He will point out to another infinite regression. If God is light, then He will no doubt be spaceless, timeless, etc. Therefore one infinite regression is thus stopped. But what about the second regression? How, and from whom, does light get its own peculiar properties by means of which we have successfully stopped the first regression? So, here is another infinite regression. But we need not have to worry much about this regression, because this problem has already been solved. A whole thing, by virtue of its being the whole thing, will have all the properties of spacelessness, timelessness, changelessness, deathlessness. It need not have to depend on any other external source for getting these properties. Thus no further infinite regression will be there.
God was not created, He is Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. Genesis tells of the beginning of everything except God. He was there before Creation and He is in no way dependent on it. God has no need to have been created, since He exists outside of time (where cause and effect do not operate) or within multiple dimensions of time (such that there is no beginning of God’s plane of time). Hence God is eternal, having never been created (Alpha). Man and everything we know exist within the constraint of time, we are mortal…God is immortal (Omega).
No one has mentioned a site that I always refer to for questions pertaining to the creation account. It’s ran by Ken Ham, a renowned creation scientist as well as several other guys with PHD’s and what not. Many of them used to be scientists of geology, or whatever and have now taken that knowledge and can see how what they could not explain, can be explained through the Bible. Any of you with questions about what has been said here, there is probably an answer for it on this site and if not, they accept criticism and feedback and will answer your questions with honesty and show you how scripture backs the claims. Check it out and let me know what you think of it. Peace.
http://www.answersingenesis.org
Hey Jared, thanks for checking out the post, answersingenesis.com is a website I use all the time for research, they really do a great job of breaking out the truth contained in the Bible and how it relates to Creation, the truth of God seems like foolishness to the unbeliever but we must continue to share the Gospel 🙂
By the way, excellent post and excellent responses. And @David, you’re totally right. We have to remember that God is the one that gives the convictions, we just share the word. We are only messengers and as long as we stand on the truth we know, we have nothing to worry about when the times comes for us to meet the Lord.
For the people that reject what has been said on here and in the Bible in general, don’t shoot the messenger. We’re only sharing what we believe to be truth and we pray that you will all follow the convictions God has given you. God will not ask us how many people we lead to Him, he will just ask how many we shared His love with. So it’s not for our benefit by any means, it’s a command to share with everyone we meet. God bless and I hope you all find the answers you are looking for.
The fact is, you have a choice when it comes to choosing evolution or God. Either God created our world, or the big bang did. Something created everything we see and it is either:
In the beginning God…
In the beginning Dirt…
I’m no rocket scientist, but due to the evidence, it takes more faith to believe in dirt than it does in God.
The real problem isn’t that God is harder to believe than dirt. It’s the fact that, since there is a God, he makes the rules. And we don’t like his rules because we love our sin.
David, glad you mention dirt – since man was made from dirt, I always look at the fact that almost all the elements and minerals found in dirt, can be found in the body.
The major ones are Oxygen (65%), Carbon (18.6%), Hydrogen (9.7%), Nitrogen (3.2%), Calcium (1.8%), Phosphorus (1.0%), Potassium (0.4%), Sodium (0.2%), Chlorine (0.2%), Magnesium (0.06%), Sulfur (0.04%), Iron (0.007%), Iodine (0.0002%).
There are many more elements in our bodies at various percentages, but these play the major roles. Look at Calcium, at 1.8%, if we have a deficiency of Calcium, our body are in real trouble, not to mention our little friend Oxygen 🙂 God is great in all His ways. Since dirt was made by God, we can be assured that by using it to make man, it was a very, very wise decision. In the beginning God…, then dirt…, then man.
“Its a book written my MAN to control MANâ€
Actually, it was written by man. The council of Nicaea compiled the books of the Bible via committee, removed the more glaringly contradictory books (I.E. one of the gnostic gospels basically contends that Jesus came from the east, and taught lessons basically from the Buddhist philosophy, which may have been probable, because the Buddhists had been sending, for lack of a better word, missionaries to the west during that time of history), and it’s widely known among biblical scholars that the first recorded book of the bible wasn’t written until fifty years after Jesus died. By the way, the morality of the bible isn’t all its cracked up to be. Even Jesus condoned slavery, hatred (trust me, its in there) and stagnant moral growth. Even the ten commandments aren’t all that great (the first four are a jealous god’s demands on how to worship him, then a couple of good ones, then commandments against thought crimes, which are kind of silly), and versions of them had been around for a thousand years before them. And why no word about the evils of slavery, rape, child abuse, or drug abuse? These are more important than coveting your neighbor’s ass. And yes, man would create sin. Picture the scene in the bronze age where one tribal leader is being challenged by another, and the sage of the tribe says that whoever wins the fight is blessed by the one who makes rain or brings food, or whatever. Religion started out as an explanation for the natural world. We’ve found a better one in science.
“You believe in Zeus and Poseidon? NO?â€
The question here boils down to evidence. There is no quantifiable, testable, scientific evidence for Zeus, Poseidon, or God. And I’m anticipating two responses:
1. Yes there is!
No, actually there isn’t. Modern day miracles are explained through modern day science. Not one modern miracle has been unexplainable. And since miracles that occurred two thousand years ago have since been long gone, there is no way to test them. The first fundamental philosophy of science is “if it can’t be proved wrong, then its not science, it’s hearsay.”
Nope. If God affects the natural world, then he is an agent of the natural world. If he doesn’t exist in the natural world, then he can’t be affecting it. Therefore God must be natural if he affects our universe. If he were natural, we would be able to test for God, or his trace evidence. There is none.
“Its ok because thousands of years from now no one will believe in this omnipotent presence you call God.â€
Wow. Ok, here we go.
First, Hitler was catholic. CATHOLIC! Stop saying he was a satanist, or atheist, or German tribal god worshiper! What he did was actually put forth by people like Martin Luther and other 9-13 century Christians, who not only blamed the death of christ on jews, but said that they should be wiped out completely. Christians started that. Second, there is no evidence that Christians were fed to lions. They were tortured, sure, and killed, (as were Celts, ancient Germanic tribes, etc) but the whole lion thing is a myth. Next, people of ALL religions are being killed. Shiites, Sieks, Muslims, Buddhists, Jews, Catholics, Protestants, and even ATHEISTS are being killed because of the religious opinions of another group. And given the birthrate of some 300 people born a day, coupled with Christians having more money than any other religion to start mission work and spread their “good news” all over the world, sometimes with the delivery of food to starving places, and you have a recipe for inculcation. By the way, the Buddhists and Muslims WAY outnumber Christians. They’re population is growing faster, too.
“YOU ARE GIVING SIGNIFICANCE to these verses only to make it fit into something meaningfulâ€
If your definition of the bible is god’s word, and god is infallable, then please explain the following contradictions:
Exodus 20:13 VS Psalm 137:9 and Hosea 13:16
Proverbs 12:22 VS II Thessalonians 2:11
Leviticus 19:13 VS Luke 19:29-34
Exodus 20:8 VS Colossians 2:16
Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 3:20, 28; VS James 2:24; Matthew 19:16-21 (one of my personal faves)
Matthew 5:16 VS Matthew 6:14
Luke 12:47-48; Colossians 3:22 VS Isaiah 58:6; Matthew 23:10
etc, etc, etc.
And please look them up. I could give you more, but I don’t have the time to do this and get to work (on the sabbath, mind you!)
â€religion is merely modern mythologyâ€
One, the Greeks were just about out of power during the beginnings of Christianity. They were subjugated by the Romans. Isaiah 40:22 says the earth is a flat circle. Revelations 7:1 says the earth has four corners. Ecclesiastes 1:5 says the sun moves around the earth. Can you name a single bronze age belief other than Christianity that we still believe is true? I can’t. Also, if one doesn’t believe in god, how can one hate it? Do you hate Zeus, the Loch Ness Monster, Chupacabra, vampires or the Flying Spaghetti Monster? I don’t hate god at all, and I’m sure neither does Religionisalie.
Also, your main article has problems. I’ll go over a few of them. Nowhere does the theory of evolution describe how life got here. That’s abiogenisis. Evolution describes what happens after life gets here. And its been proven. A dog will never give birth to a cat, and any proponent of evolution that says that has NO IDEA what they’re talking about! A dog will give birth to a slightly different dog than the individual parents. Given enough time and environmental pressures, certain traits will be passed down, like if the environment is getting colder, the dogs with more fur will survive longer and have more children. A few hundred generations, and there may be a completely new species! We’ve seen this happen. With lizards, bacteria, fruit flies to name a few. And the fossil record coincides with evolution perfectly. That’s no mistake. That’s science. Also, the statement that life was created by dirt is NOT evolution. If you read genesis, that’s Christianity.
By the way, using circular reasoning (the Bible is true because the bible says its true because the bible is true…), strawmen arguments (evolution is lightning striking a mud puddle, crocoduck, dogs birthing cats), and ignoring evidence (even though its in so much quantity and quality) don’t lend any credence to your argument. If you want to overturn evolution (and good luck, because almost all the evidence is in evolution’s corner) you will have to find not just one, but several things that can’t be explained by science. Science knows it doesn’t know everything, otherwise it would stop. But religious people claim to have absolute knowledge. If you ever hear a scientist say professionally that something is unfalsifiable then he/she is lying. There are always error bars. But not for the religious, there are no error bars allowed.
I got to go. It’s been fun! And by the way, please feel free to ignore trolls like “Religion is a lie”. Not all of us atheists are mean spirited. The only reason I made this response is because I want everyone’s beliefs to be true, not just feel good. The science has evidence, the religion (all religion, not just Christianity) has stories. I came from a religious household and lost faith when I tried to prove how infallible God’s word was. I can honestly say that I am happier and more fulfilled finding out the real answers than relying on faith to make me secure. Look at the galaxy! So much to find out and discover, it seems kind of solipsistic to want to spend our days worshiping instead of discovering what’s out there.
Peace!
Hey R.E.Ality, you used the word solipsistic in the wrong context. Those who worship God or some other god, must be excluded from being the subject of that adjective. The only instance where I see it can be used with someone that worship, is the one that worships himself or humanity. Why is this? The word solipsistic means – the view or theory that the self is all that can be known to exist. Even if the god is a fakery or myth – they must be excluded for obvious reasons.
Also, if you use the second meaning of the word – (extreme preoccupation with and indulgence of one’s feelings, desires, etc.; egoistic self-absorption) – it still doesn’t hold water in the context you used.
@R.E.Ality Hi, thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment on our blog, in response to your comments, Jbarry is on point and it don’t seem that you have much of an apologetic argument for what you believe. On the surface it may seem that you are speaking truth, but at a closer look, your statements are mixed with lies, I will just point out a few…
“it’s widely known among Biblical scholars that the first recorded book of the bible wasn’t written until fifty years after Jesus died.”
The New Testament was written about 50 years after the death of Jesus (not the entire Bible), this is what gives the New Testament it’s great credibility, because most or all of the people who were around when Jesus walked the earth were still alive and they could have refuted the claims of the disciples, their claims were never refuted! but embraced. The gnostic gospels in turn were written hundreds of years after the death of Jesus by heretics. The gnostic gospels can be looked at as urban myths, they have no basis in truth or history.
“the morality of the bible isn’t all its cracked up to be. Even Jesus condoned slavery, hatred (trust me, its in there) and stagnant moral growth. Even the ten commandments aren’t all that great”
You speak like a true hypocrite, you say the Morality of the Bible is not all that, and the commandments of God are not all that, but if someone had sex with your wife or killed your family member or stole your car or money or slander your name with a lie, you would not like it. You still live by a 7 day week, even if you do not observe the sabbath, you still like a day of rest. As far as God being the only one we should worship, that is non-negotiable, after all He created us, why should we worship the gods we created for ourselves?
“If your definition of the bible is god’s word, and god is infallible, then please explain the following contradictions:…”
You should stop picking verses to try to prove that the Bible contradict itself, none of the verses contradict each other, because 1) they were written in different context and 2) by different people 3) at different period of times, sometimes under different covenants. Studying the Bible goes far beyond picking out verses and that goes for Atheist and Christians.
“Isaiah 40:22 says the earth is a flat circle. Revelations 7:1 says the earth has four corners. Ecclesiastes 1:5 says the sun moves around the earth.”
In your Atheistic search for errors in the Bible, you have thrown away all the basic English Literature you learned in school and at the same time you are adding words to the Bible to help prove your point.
Isaiah 40:22 does not say the earth is a flat circle, it says “God sits above the circle of the earth” I do not see the word flat anywhere!
Revelations 7:1 says the earth has four corners. Why do you think it is the four corners of a flat earth? The only four corners of the earth that, we all know (and not only modern man knows this) is EAST, WEST, NORTH and SOUTH.
Ecclesiastes 1:5 does not say the sun moves around the earth. look at the scripture again, it is talking about the movement of the sun from man’s perspective. “The Sun rises and the sun goes down” modern man still say the same thing, but the saying does not imply that the earth is flat. Christianity in all of it’s history have never thought that the earth is flat, just atheist, that say we do?.
“if one doesn’t believe in god, how can one hate it? Do you hate Zeus, the Loch Ness Monster, Chupacabra, vampires or the Flying Spaghetti Monster? I don’t hate god at all, and I’m sure neither does Religionisalie.”
I did not say he hates god, I said “God”, you cannot equate the reality of your Creator with the gods that man have created for himself, these gods did not even stand the test of time because they were not true.
“Evolution describes what happens after life gets here. And its been proven. A dog will never give birth to a cat, and any proponent of evolution that says that has NO IDEA what they’re talking about! A dog will give birth to a slightly different dog than the individual parents. Given enough time and environmental pressures, certain traits will be passed down, like if the environment is getting colder, the dogs with more fur will survive longer and have more children. A few hundred generations, and there may be a completely new species! We’ve seen this happen. With lizards, bacteria, fruit flies to name a few. And the fossil record coincides with evolution perfectly.”
I think you have some problems with your evolutionary theory. Evolution says “Though changes produced in any one generation are normally small, differences accumulate with each generation and can, over time, cause substantial changes in the population, a process that can culminate in the emergence of new species.
That last part is where I have a problem “New Species” are you kidding me! monkey to man, lizard to bird! Changes can take place within the species and that is what we see in nature and it does not take millions of years for those changes to take place..just ask any dog breeder, in that case ask any animal breeder. This process is describe in Genesis
Genesis 1:11-12 Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds.
Genesis 1: 25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds.
We see dogs giving rise to different kinds of dogs, birds giving rise to different kinds of birds (micro-evolution) etc. but let me know the last time you have seen a new species made from an existing one, you would have to wait a million years to see that happen.
Man did not come from monkeys dude, man came from the hands of God, whether you believe it or not.
Acts 17:26-27 For He made from one [common origin, one source, one blood] all nations of men to settle on the face of the earth, having definitely determined [their] allotted periods of time and the fixed boundaries of their habitation [settlements, lands, and abode], So that they should seek God, in hope that they might feel after him and find Him, although He is not far from each one of us.
Christians do not have all the answers to this life question and neither do scientist and you cannot take everything a scientist writes in a textbook at face value ( At one time in history scientist believed that if you drained the blood out of a sick person, this would make him better, The Bible says (Genesis 9:4) “For the life of the flesh is in the blood… Some scientist are going to interpret what they find to fit their world view. Only God has all the answers and that is where we need to place our faith and trust…not in man.
Hope you don’t mind me jumping in here. Just wanted to pose a miracle in the Bible to R.E.Ality that cannot be and has not been contested.
You said..
I say, they were not done to be contested or set up as a scientific experiment. All miracles are supernatural in nature and affect the natural world. I’ve seen the ghost buster guys on tv trying to pick up the trails of evil spirits (Familiar spirits) and they are not only playing with fire, but not coming to any rational conclusions. God’s ways cannot be tested with man’s yard stick. Give Him some respect.
The following miracle is taken from 1 Kings 18:25-38, it’s not a modern miracle, but I don’t put them in classes. If they are done by God through man or was done by Jesus, I call it a miracle.
25 Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one of the bulls and prepare it first, since there are so many of you. Call on the name of your god, but do not light the fire.” 26 So they took the bull given them and prepared it. Then they called on the name of Baal from morning till noon. “O Baal, answer us!” they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made.
27 At noon Elijah began to taunt them. “Shout louder!” he said. “Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.” 28 So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed. 29 Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention.
30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come here to me.” They came to him, and he repaired the altar of the LORD, which was in ruins. 31 Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD had come, saying, “Your name shall be Israel.” 32 With the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs [a] of seed. 33 He arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he said to them, “Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood.”
34 “Do it again,” he said, and they did it again.
“Do it a third time,” he ordered, and they did it the third time. 35 The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.
36 At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command.
37 Answer me, O LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.”
38 Then the fire of the LORD fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.
Remember, Baal was a fire god, but his prophets were not able to get a reply from him to light their alter. Elijah called upon the God of of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, after dousing the alter with four buckets of water – this was more than likely to be salt water, because there was a terrible drought during this period. Elijah even told the people to come closer to him, so that they would see that there was not trickery (magician trick). Usually during a huge magic trick people are several feet away or to the front of the magician so that they will not see his secrets. People where all around the alter during this miracle. Remember the prophets of Baal called upon Baal from morning till noon without a reply.
Elijah prayed one prayer – not a long drawn out prayer – no chanting or singing – just one simple, but powerful prayer, that lifted up the name of God, proclaimed obedience to God and asked God to do a work to show people (Baal worshipers) that He, God was turning their hearts back to Him.
I know that this miracle is not replicable today by any magician or great mind – if you see it replicated, video tape it, post it on Youtube and post a link here. Remember the alter must be doused with 4 buckets of water (fresh or salty, but preferable salty) and whatever chant or “prayer”, the leader of the test group says, must be short. No morning till Noon deal.
Thank you StFarginson for sharing one of my favorite stories in the Bible, that is such a great reminder of the power of the God we serve. Modern man seems to think that science is the “be all and end all” of everything and don’t realize that there is a spiritual aspect to our lives. We may say “seeing is believing”, but some of the people back in Jesus time period, did not believe the miracles the Jesus did, sometimes they accused him of working with the devil even though they saw it with their own two eyes. I don’t think that people would believe, even if the miracle was repeated and posted on Youtube. Man has a heart problem, we want to do our own thing, so even when the evidence of the existence of God stares us straight in the eyes, we find reasons to deny Him His Glory.
John 10:38
But if I do it, even though you do not believe me, believe the miracles, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.”
Sometimes people don’t even believe in answered prayers. I remember when I was in primary school in Jamaica, my brother and I was walking from school and our bags were so old and torn up that we had to throw them away on the way home, we started to carry the heavy books but our little arms were so tired. We decided to stop and hold hands and pray, we just asked God, humbly and in our childish innocence to give us some bags, we went home that day not really thinking about what we had done.
The next day our Mom payed us a surprise visit from Miami and the first thing she gave us was two brand new school bags. The thing is….She had no idea we needed bags and this was the first and last time she had ever surprised us when she was coming to visit. I always remember this when people try to convince me that there is no God and no answered prayers. Was it a coincidence..maybe, maybe not, all I know is that our prayer was answered and not only then but many more time in my life, too many to count.
For the unbeliever it will look like foolishness but I am sure the Baal worshipers were quite shocked when wet wood caught a fire! I have heard people say that The miraculous things that happen in the Bible really did happen, but they were natural phenomenons, written down to look like miracles and to have the masses believe in God, give me a break, if they were so natural, why can’t we repeat them and study them in our labs?
@ REAlity
you said..
“Interestingly, not one single Gnostic text, with the possible exception of the Gospel of Thomas (essentially sayings of Jesus) features in the centuries old controversies about books that were being used in public worship in the churches. To say then a book was left out of the canon when such a book never even came up for consideration is begging the question far too much.
Dan Brown’s fictional historian Leigh Teabing is out of his depths when he alleges that Constantine somehow tampered with the New Testament. Those who argue that King James did likewise are in the same unenviable position as Teabing. To change anything in a New Testament book or the Bible one would have to do the impossible.
To illustrate with the New Testament, that one would have to gather up from across the then known world, not just most of but every single one of, the tens of papyri, the hundreds of uncials (script in caps only), the thousands of miniscules (script in cursive) and lectionaries (selected passages for reading in worship services) as well as the thousands of quotations in the writings of the early Church Fathers in Greek, Latin and other languages, uniformly correct or destroy all of these and produce the doctored version for copying and distribution.
Sensible people in the modern world have to cultivate the discipline of not being fooled by nice sounding nonsense. Substance must be much more important than style.
The main concern of the Council of Nicaea in AD 325 was not the canon but the relationship of the Son to the Father in Eternity (following the controversy between Alexander bishop of Alexandria and one of his presbyters, Arius, in 318 or 319 over Alexander’s sermon “The Great Mystery of the Trinity in Unityâ€).” ~ Clinton Chisholm, The Da Vinci Code Tidbits<
Wonderful thought. Our God is so great that we can never doubt on His credibility.
I believe everything in our universe points to the fact of it being created, both those things which are easily understood and those that we are just getting a glimpse at now in our study of them. God’s Word is trust worthy, so if we believe part of it why do we not trust the Genesis account? Seeing is not always believing. That art is amazing also Wow! Lots to look at.
Thanks for the compliments on the artwork. Amen! to your statement, that “everything points to the fact of it being created” I think this is the reason the Bible says “The fool says in his heart, there is no God” Psalm 14:1, because He placed everything around us that we may search after Him. Our continual study is revealing more detailed evidence .eg the discovery of the language of the DNA structure.
“Religion Is A Lie”, is a religious movement. They even have a website (I will not give them link love from your site but you can do a Google search with their name).
This is the reason I call them a religion,
they say on their website, “This is our desire: To live a simple life, follow a simple truth and embrace a simple faith.”
Well, you can’t have faith in those things without believing in a higher being (God/Jesus) and you can’t have faith without works, because faith without works is dead.
Do they have works/, yes – the post on your blog is by one of their trolls that go around and give negative comments on anything Christian/Religious. They also have a community of members that go on the street and speak to people about negating their Christian/Religious beliefs. Their work is not of the Father. Their work is deceptive.
This is their belief as quoted from their website:
This is their belief:
“There are really 4 basic things we want in this life: to be loved unconditionally, to have significance and meaning, to be forgiven for what we’ve done and to know that something better than this tragic world is waiting for us after we die. With all our backgrounds and religious upbringings, we’ve only found those specific things in the person of Jesus Christ and we want a relationship with him. You can deny his deity, you can deny his life, but you cannot deny his significance on history, world religions, and even how we record time (B.C./A.D.). No other name is at once more divisive than that of Jesus Christ (Islam, Judaism and Christianity all have very strong feelings towards or against him, but they all believe he lived).”
So, I think they are a bit confused about “religion”, why there are so many denominations in Christianity and why so many different gods being worshiped in the world. Their belief sounds a bit like Christianity, but it’s forgery. They are those who were amongst us but have now shown their true light. They have been unfortunately deceived by the deceiver himself. Keep them in your prayers.
Thanks for that bit of information, it is very interesting that you point this out, seem like they are posing as Christians, but are truly a cult! Seems like a lot of confusion for real!! The deceiver is still at work 🙁 I don’t believe that the guy who made the comment above is part of this group, he seems more like an agnostic or atheist, they may have the same name but totally different mission.
Its a book written my MAN to control MAN. You believe in Zeus and Poseidon? NO? Its ok because thousands of years from now no one will believe in this omnipotent presence you call God. There is NO evidence a God exist only 1 book that was translated into hundreds of languages and interpreted into its own individual meaning. YOU ARE GIVING SIGNIFICANCE to these verses only to make it fit into something meaningful to make you feel warm and fuzzy inside and to give you a sense of “purpose”. In short, religion is merely modern mythology. Think about it and don’t be afraid to question. Once you do this you will free yourself from your own prison.
Religion Is A Lie, Wow, you are taking advice from George Carlin? Be careful he might be in heaven looking down and saying, “Please don’t tell anyone you listened to me, I am standing before the savior” Why is Zues and Posiedon even relevant? Everyone knows they are fake, or do they? hmmm. If we have figured out that those two gods are fake within the last 2 thousand years, why is God still who He said He is, “the I AM”. You are not a prophet so don’t try to be prophetic in your teachings – here is a prophesy that will be fulfilled, you will see Jesus face to face , you will bow down before Him and call Him Lord. Here is another from the old book called the Bible, Luke 21:33 Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words(Jesus’) shall not pass away.
By your own lips you speak the evidence of a prophesy from the Bible, Luke 21:33, Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.
That’s why the bible had to be translated and is still being translated into different languages. Christians are already freed from slavery, the slavery of sin – this is the slavery that leads only to death.
The evidence that God exist is all around you. Even when you look into the mirror, God’s creation is looking straight back at yah.
BTW becoming a christian does not make you one feel warm and fuzzy inside, that’s a misnomer.
Did you know that Jesus did not promise us a rose garden for following him – he actually warned that we would be persecuted for His name sake. Yes, we will go to heaven and that gives us hope. But are we walking around with warm, fuzzy feeling or with an everlasting high, no. We as regular and flesh and blood as you are, tempted in all things and facing the same struggles each day. But, my friend we are saved from sin and therefore have hope in this life and the only other life to come. The same hope is waiting for you if you believe in Jesus and follow Him accordingly. Do you think we did not study the other side of the coin before we turned to Christ. Do you think we were born christians – we weren’t. We, like you were born in sin and shaped in it, we even became accustom to it and yes even loved it. Thank God he rescued us. Now, I know you are not stupid, you know what was written above makes sense, but guess what, no one is shoving it at you like a cold plate of food. Look at it and think it through, but don’t stop there, pray to God to open you mind and heart to the truth because everything about God can only be revealed to you from God himself. Happy Hunting.
“Its a book written my MAN to control MAN”
Would man write a book that condemns him for sin? man does not even believe in sin! How do we measure morality and sin without the perfection of God?
“You believe in Zeus and Poseidon? NO?”
Zeus is a known part of Greek Mythology so is Poseidon. Our modern day counterparts would be Superheroes in comic books like…Superman or Spiderman. We read about them and enjoy the fanciful stories, but do you see anyone in society worshiping Superman!! Seriously dude, come on!!
“Its ok because thousands of years from now no one will believe in this omnipotent presence you call God.”
If you took some time to read you would know that it has already been two thousand years since the “New Testament” have been written and that is only one half of the Bible, so your point is mute! why? because people have been trying to get rid of Christianity and the Bible for thousands of years. The Pharisees said that if what Jesus was teaching was a lie Christianity would disappear in a short period of time. Christians were burnt and fed to Lions in Rome for sport, because of their hatred the God of the Bible. Hitler tried to kill the Jews (Gods Chosen People) and burn all the Bibles to erase all traces of Christianity. Christians are still being killed all over the world today, because of the name Jesus! But at the same time our numbers are increasing rapidly, why is that?
“YOU ARE GIVING SIGNIFICANCE to these verses only to make it fit into something meaningful”
I don’t have to try to give the verses any significance! They are what they are, the word of God! If you have anything that proves these verses wrong please feel free to share, don’t just make open ended statements and run away, please do share some of your knowledge, so we can learn from you!
â€religion is merely modern mythologyâ€
Give us your reason for saying this! The Greeks knew about Christianity, but never categorized it as part of their Mythos, why is that? Don’t just listen to what people tell you. My professor in school told me that the Bible said that “The earth is flatâ€, I searched the Bible for it, but guess what! The Bible did not say that. It actually said it is round. You should not make your hatred for God cause you to be eternally bitter! He loves you and only want the best for you, you were made in His image and His love for you never ends.
@ Religion is a lie… You could at least start your conversation with something straight forward and meaningful, backed up by some facts or some sort of proof for your anti religious views but, instead you come with a nonsensical, presumptuous, and banal remark that most atheist or God hater starts with. You state that…
“There is NO evidence a God exist only 1 book that was translated into hundreds of languages and interpreted into its own individual meaning.â€
This alone, lets me know that you are woefully ignorant on the subject and that you need to do a lot of catching up on your facts. The bible isn’t just 1 book, but 66. It is not “interpreted into its only individual meanings”, unless the person “interpreting “takes a subject, verse est. way out of context, or doesn’t understand fully what the text means. If there is no evidence of God, why are you even concerned? Why do you even care about right and wrong? What is the point? We should just go about our merry insignificant lives, and continue to evolve until our sun burns out, right? There is plenty of evidence of an all seeing, all knowing, omnipotent God. The truth is the truth; whether you believe it or not. Throughout the existence of life on this planet, man has always seen the evidence and spectacle of His (God) glorious wonder. From the stars above, to the atom, and beyond, chance can’t explain that. Man searches for God, creates its own god/gods, or just plain and simple wants to be god. Then you have the loud minority that dismisses God, like he’s not going to show his majesty one day and reveal that they were wrong all along. It’ll be too late then though. You will look like a fool, and Satan will be like, “Gotcha!â€
I would also like to point out that the bible is still the most copied book of all time. It has been translated into over 2000 languages, not “hundreds” as you so proudly claim in your error.
You say that believing in the Bible; which was inspired by the Almighty, the real author, who used man to write it, in 66 books, by 40 different authors, spanning 3 continents, in 13 different countries, over 1600 years, is considered the most masterful pieces of literature ever written, it connects from beginning to end, and has prophecies that are still coming to pass till this day, “has been devised to control man� When in all, it has overwhelmingly bettered mankind. You can’t tell me one of the commandments that are bad for you. You can’t tell me one thing that Jesus said, that wasn’t for your benefit, spiritual or otherwise. Your statement clearly wasn’t thought out. Please, don’t bring up the crusades or any other incident used by people who were posing as Christians. We are not the ones in a prison, you are, the prison of disbelief, and quite frankly the prison of utter despair and spiritual bondage. Speaking of control, the teachings of evolution has gone from finding its way into our text books as fact, to the unrelenting suppression of the Genesis account. Make no mistake, evolution is a religion.
Here’s a challenge for you, if you believe wholeheartedly that there is no God, and that life is all here by chance. Would you die for that belief? I would give my life for mines. I have felt his presence, I have been redeemed, and I can’t wait to be in his glory.
I pray that you will wake up from your so called freedom and see that there is a God that loves you and will open up your mind to his presence once you truly open up your heart to him. I really hope that you don’t die in your sins like so many before you that rejected Him and His Word.
Oh wow!! I didn’t expect this type of response, well at least so quickly.
Now, I know you are not stupid, you know what was written above makes sense, but guess what, no one is shoving it at you like a cold plate of food.
Religion is shoved in my face everyday of my life. When it comes to hearing about the religious fanatics in the middle east to the friendly old lady convincing me to go to her church to be washed of my sins. Its all around us and its so disheartening to see people convinced that they are better people simply because they practice a Religion.
Our modern day counterparts would be Superheroes in comic books like…Superman or Spiderman.
Your serious about this analogy?? Zeus and Poseidon were GODS in the Greeks eyes, it was considered real, not science fiction like superman even though today we know it was all folktales. To be frank I don’t have a problem with GOD as so much as I have a problem with religion in general. Who is to say what religion is correct? If I was born into a catholic family but the ‘correct’ religion is for example Scientology or Mormonism then how is that fair to Catholics, Muslims, Buddhist, etc?? The issues that arise with Christianity and the bible is that it gives no tolerance for questioning and therefore has no loopholes, its in a sense the perfect mechanism to control the mindless sheep. You can’t question anything?! WHY? Because your not supposed to. But WHY? Because God said you can’t. As you see there is no loophole. Religion is a socially transmitted disease, everyone thinks they are right because its what the masses think. Everybody can’t be wrong, right? Comfort in numbers, thats how sheep work.
If there is no evidence of God, why are you even concerned? Why do you even care about right and wrong? What is the point? We should just go about our merry insignificant lives, and continue to evolve until our sun burns out, right?
We should be freed from our mental and physical slavery. I won’t say its my duty to practice the word of atheism/agnosticism but I have the right to my own opinion and perhaps influence even 1 person into thinking for themselves and analyze religion from another point of view. I just don’t know how God can be so perfect and our world be so messed up. The bible teaches you that you are born in SIN which builds up a sense of guilt from birth. How in the world can an innocent baby be a sinner? OH right, because the bible tells you. Sorry I don’t buy it. I can’t be won over with fear alone. As the bible teaches you through fear, such as “if you don’t listen to me your going to hell” and you won’t be in heaven for all of eternity.
oh yeah, forgive me for not knowing EVERYTHING about the bible, I suppose that does make me ignorant in a sense, but I rather be more knowledgeable on something significant, something that’s real.
Toodles, Your friendly internet atheist.
@ Religion is a lie.
I agree with you that religion is sometimes forced on some people, but the people that force it on others are wrong! Dead wrong! We are not here defending “Religion†Religion is what people do to please “God†Christianity is what God has done to save man! We have nothing within ourselves that is good enough and can be called righteous. Christians who feel that they are better than everyone, just because they are “Christians†are totally self righteous and have no concept of who God really is.
1 John 1:10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
I know I minimized my response on Zeus and Poseidon, but my point was that, Christianity existed at the same time period that these false “gods†were being worshiped and Christians refused to have any part of these idols and false “godsâ€. just like we don’t take part in the thousand of false gods around today.
You say you do not have a problem with GOD as much as you have a problem with religion, well…God is not in the business of religion, as I say before, religion is what people do to please God or to save themselves. No religion is correct! God is truth and in Him there is life. He has revealed Himself to us through Creation, Prophecy and His Son Jesus Christ, and the words he inspired us to write in the Bible, but we continue to push Him aside. You say Christians are following like sheep. But the real sheep are those who have gone their own way and following after the temporary things of the world.
Isaiah 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Yes, you have the right and the privilege to believe whatever you want to believe or practice, you even have the right to hold your own opinions, but that right and privilege ultimately comes from your maker, who you refuse to trust. You don’t understand the concept of sin! and you are making assumptions and excuses for not trusting in your maker. God is not trying to win you over by fear, He is trying to win you over by love. He loves you more than you can imagine!
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
You ask “who knows what “religion is correct†if you are born a Buddhist, Mormon, Muslim, Catholic etc. But we are not born religious, maybe in some countries, you are automatically called whatever the government has instated and that is wrong! Being born in a “Christian†family does not automatically make you into a Christian! You have accept the finished work of Christ on the cross to be saved. I was not born a Christian, I just choose to follow what God said in His Word, it is a choice! I know Muslims, Rastafarian’s etc. that have come to know the truth and have given their lives to Christ.
You wonder why God is so perfect, yet the world is so messed up! The world is so messed up because we want to free our minds from God our maker. We have turned our backs on Him and we want to live our own lives, thinking that we are free, but we can only find freedom in the one who gives it. Look, we live in a messed up world with messed up people and messed up thinking, But God is not far away from us, he laid down His plan of Salvation on the Cross two thousand years ago and it is a free gift!
Do not believe the lies of the devil. All he wants for you is death and destruction!
John 8:44 … He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
God will not stop coming after you, as I said He loves you with an everlasting love and he has a plan for your life, study the Bible and ask Him the hard questions, He is not afraid to answer them.
Hi @ Religion is a lie,
Just responding to the first part of your response, since it dealt with what I said earlier.
Religion is shoved in my face everyday of my life. When it comes to hearing about the religious fanatics in the middle east to the friendly old lady convincing me to go to her church to be washed of my sins. Its all around us and its so disheartening to see people convinced that they are better people simply because they practice a Religion.
I will only speak about Christianity. You must realize that there are different facets of Christianity and some churches and people do try the shove method, however, its not biblical. Another reality is that there are religious groups that have in their nature, a deceptive face and can be easily mistaken for true Christianity and way of witnessing, living and loving our neighbor.
The fact that you are bombarded in the news with middle east conflict is not really a shoving – you d have the choice to switch to another channel and besides that, you are not being called to join them – however, I do see you’re point in this sense – it leaves a bad taste in your mouth for anything religious. Please don’t blame that on Christianity though.
For the example you gave with the friendly old lady, give her a break 🙂 I guess it all depends on her approach. If she came to you with an holier than thou attitude and as if she herself as never sin – then thats the wrong approach.
Let me touch on another subject you brought up – you said, How in the world can an innocent baby be a sinner? OH right, because the bible tells you. That’s totally wrong dude. The bible does not teach that babies go to hell when they die and those who know that, do not teach it.
The fact that we are born into sin (a sinful world) does not make babies sinners. “…maintain that original sin is merely a proclivity towards doing sinful things, not necessarily being in sin.” http://www.comereason.org
Ezekiel 18:20
The soul who sins is the one who will die. The son will not share the guilt of the father, nor will the father share the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous man will be credited to him, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against him.
If a baby dies without sinning or as a child, doesn’t know sin… then that will not be held against him/her, But we can’t make the mistake and think that the child, will not be sinning in a couple years. There are denominations that teaches that but, that is why we must read the bible and come to a full understanding of the truth of God. We must not only be listening to the pastor/s, but be reading and studying, by ourselves and in groups. In groups because we can edify each other and by ourselves so that the Spirit of God can also edify us as we learn.
2 Timothy 2:15
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
The bible would not say, “rightly dividing”, if there were not those who were wrongly dividing.
We must also have in mind that the old serpent, the devil is the ruler of the air and is spewing out wrong teachings through radio, TV and from our friends so don’t be anxious when you hear something that don’t set right, go and search it out for yourself in the bible.
Who created God? God’s god? who created that god? GOD’s GOD’s GOD? nothing created God you say? then nothing created the universe.
If you choose to believe in talking snake and incest is the birth of the human race as we know it today okay.
Also, you’re not an Israelite. How come your God only made himself known and communicated with these people, but not anyone else. Whether it be Asians to the east, Native Americans, or Austrailians who existed way before Israelite.
Hi Jerry Bruce, your first question and answer is a bit misconstrued, but here is the way the Bible, God’s inspired Word, proclaims it. God was not created, He just is. He was before everything that was made. He is the beginning. He created everything with His Word. Now, it’s only logical to say, without giving you a bunch of Bible verses, that if God was before all things, even the angels, then He (God) created everything. What I see wrong in your statement and lacking in logic, is that you said – nothing created God…therefore nothing created the universe. God is not nothing, basic logic and math says, nothing cannot create something, therefore God must be something and He created everything.
The Bible clearly says that:
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word (Jesus) was God.
2 He was with God in the beginning.
3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.
4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men. John 1:1-4
As we see from the first part of this letter from John, God is that someone that made everything and He, the author of life, is also described as the beginning and the end. He was not born or created and He cannot be gotten rid of.
Let’s move on to the snake in the garden – Yes, we do believe a snake spoke to Adam and Eve. But, also we believe the snake is a direct reflection of the nature of the fallen angel, Lucifer, the evil spirit.
Here are three reasons why I believe Lucifer spoke through a snake to Adam and Eve and deceived them:
1. The Bible (God’s Word) said it.
2. I believe demons and the devil can possess animals and speak through them. The book of Mark shows one of these possessions.
Mark 5:12-13 (NIV)
12 The demons (inside the man with many spirits) begged Jesus, “Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them.” 13 He (Jesus) gave them permission, and the evil spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned.
(Notice, Jesus did not cast them into the pigs, they went in by themselves after Jesus chased them out)
3. The Native Indian shamanist, Northern Asian shamanist and african shamanist have reported that the demons (evil spirits) speak to them through the animals, in their dreams, trances and manifested in front of their very eyes. If the demons (other fallen angels) can speak through animals, then the devil himself can do that also. I think all that happened with Lucifer, is that he chose to speak through an animal that will forever represent his true fallen nature.
You said, “…you’re not an Israelite”,
Back story, will make this short. Abraham was Hebrew – through Jacob, the last of Abraham’s son we get the Israelites because, God changed Jacob’s name to Israel – through his lineage we get Jesus. Now Abraham was promised many offsprings, as many as the grains of sand in the sea. Through Jesus, we (christians) are adopted into that lineage. So, yes, Christians are Israelites by adoption, wether you are black, white, Asian etc., once you believe on Jesus and accepted his gift of salvation, you are a son and daughter of Abraham, the father of the Israelites.
Last you said
“God only made himself known and communicated with these people (Israelites), but not anyone else. Whether it be Asians to the east, Native Americans, or Austrailians who existed way before Israelite.”
Let me deal with the last part of your statement first. Asian, Native Americans and Australians, did not exist before the Israelites, why do I say this? – we believe they existed, all at the same time. Why do I say that… we must go back to the Old Testament book of Genesis 11:1-9
1 Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. 2 As men moved eastward, [a] they found a plain in Shinar [b] and settled there.
3 They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. 4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”
5 But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the men were building. 6 The LORD said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.”
8 So the LORD scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. 9 That is why it was called Babel [c] —because there the LORD confused the language of the whole world. From there the LORD scattered them over the face of the whole earth.
Now let’s deal with the first section of your statement:
From the scripture above we can see that all people knew God, but there hearts were torn and hardened against him due their sin and disobedience. They wanted to make a name (become Godlike) for themselves. This mirrors our behavior today in the 21st century. I have another instance that shows that God does not speak to the Israelites alone.
King Nebuchadnezzar was spoken to by God and he was a babylonian king. If you read the book of Kings, there were Kings there that knew and did right in the eyes of God. They knew God and God knew them because, He has them recorded in His Word.
Nebuchadnezzar’s son, Belshazzar, who turned his back on the things of God, was also spoken to by God and in a very peculiar way – while he was having fun and worshipping his false gods, a hand appeared and wrote a message on the wall, telling him of his kingdom’s demise. Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians. This is an historical fact, whether or not you believe in the hand writing on the wall, that the kingdom of Babylon was split and given to the Medes and Persians. This is why we now have, Iran and Iraq.
Here is another nugget for you from the Word of God:
For He made from one [common origin, one source, one blood] all nations of men to settle on the face of the earth, having definitely determined [their] allotted periods of time and the fixed boundaries of their habitation [settlements, lands, and abode], So that they should seek God, in hope that they might feel after him and find Him, although He is not far from each one of us. Acts 17:26-27
In response to your last paragraph.
For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities, his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made so that men are without excuse.
So as you can see based on Romans 1:20 God has revealed Himself to all mankind through His creation, so we are all without excuse. And God didn’t just reveal Himself to the Israelites, just look at the Egyptians in the days of Moses, are you telling me that God didn’t reveal Himself to them? God is eternal. He has no beginning and no end. So He was not created but has always been. That is why He told Moses that His name is “I am that I am”.