Occupational Dysfunction

"Kat said... 'I do think that Jesus was a real man, but not the Son of a God. Jesus had all the classic symptoms of schizophrenia. He often wandered off for days at a time, when he came back, he would go on and on about these very detailed and elaborate stories of being spoken to, he heard voices in his head......'"
"Paul had some of the same attributes. He hijacked Christianity from Jesus. Paul never even met Jesus, yet he writes almost half of the New Testament." Dale

It seems that Kat doesn’t know who Jesus of Nazareth is or what He said. Perhaps she has sat through dry religious services, and has a mere perception of what He said. Schizophrenia is a psychiatric diagnosis that describes a mental illness characterized by " . . . disorganized speech and thinking in the context of significant social or occupational dysfunction." Jesus is without question the most eloquent Man who ever lived. Those who heard Him said, "Never a man spoke like this Man." The most eloquent of philosophers sits at His feet and marvels and both His words and His life. To those who disagree, I would simply challenge to read the Gospel of John, and see for yourself. Never did any man speak like this Man.

Dale also doesn’t know the Scriptures. The Apostle Paul did meet Jesus, and it was the meeting on the Road to Damascus that turned him around from the road to damnation. Before that encounter, Paul was so anti-Christian he makes the ACLU look like choir boys. He breathed out hated towards, persecuted, tortured and murdered any believer in Jesus Christ into whom he could get his teeth.

You may claim that he merely saw a vision of Jesus. No so. He met the Lord and came to "know Him, and the power of His resurrection."

He met Jesus and from that moment he was never the same. Meeting a celebrity can be a buzz. Meeting a President can be an honor. Meeting a king can be an amazing experience. But he or she who meets Jesus Christ and finds peace with God through His shed blood, finds everlasting life.

Prime-evil Tribe

I dreamed I was a doctor. I was stationed in the darkest of places, fighting a deadly disease among a very primitive tribe. This tribal group were particularly vicious by nature, and what’s more, they, for the most part, didn’t like me at all.

Their primitive beliefs were certainly strange. They were utterly convinced that they were related to gorillas, and that they originally came from a puddle of water.

In the dream, I wanted to run from their delusions, but I couldn’t because I knew that they needed to be inoculated, or they would all die. My job was to convince them that they were in serious danger and that they needed to hold still while I plunged a needle into their tender flesh . . . a difficult task indeed.

It was hard because these tribal people were particularly proud, and thought that they needed nothing and knew everything.

They were so primitive in their thinking that they only believed in what they could see. So they were particularly resistant to the belief that there were unseen microorganisms, and that the deadly disease that was killing them was being promoted by their filthy lifestyle.

Then I awoke to the fact that it wasn’t a dream at all, and that I have a difficult task ahead of me, but one from which I will not run.

The Banana isn't Proof

"Referring to your video where you said that the existence of ridges on a banana that matches your hands, is proof that God exists. Since Apples don't have ridges, is it proof that God does not exist? Or that God did not create the Apple?"

Thanks to Youtube I realize that I will have to say this over and over. Many times I have compared a banana to a coke can (with its tab at the top, etc.) using something called "parody." This is arguably a humorous way of making a point. Atheists removed the coke can and said that I believe that the banana is proof that God exists. In doing so they did a good job and making a monkey out of me.

The banana isn’t proof that God exists--the whole of creation proves that there’s a Creator. This includes apples, oranges, pears, peaches, apricots, grapes and other succulent fruits that God has placed into our hands. They didn’t come from a big bang. That is mindless. They came from the creative genius of a benevolent and holy God, who also gave you life itself, and eyes to look at that which He has so kindly lavished upon you.

For Atheists Only

I would like to ask a big favor. Forget (for a moment) about whether or not God exists, and give me your serious thoughts on the few verses below. Please read them carefully:

“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation” (John 5:24-29).

Here's the build-up to my question: Some say Jesus of Nazareth was a great teacher. Others say that He was crazy, while others (a few) think that He didn’t exist at all.

I think that "great" teachers don’t say the sort of weird things He said (believe His words and you have everlasting life, that His voice would raise the billions of the dead human race, etc.), and if He didn’t exist, who said these amazing words? So, I think that there are only two reasonable options. He was either a crazy liar, or He was the Son of God. Am I wrong?

Sir Isaac Newton, His Faith in God, and "Quote-mining"

The quote in context: "Atheism is so senseless. When I look at the solar system, I see the earth at the right distance from the sun to receive the proper amounts of heat and light. This did not happen by chance. The motions of the planets require a Divine arm to impress them." Sir Isaac Newton, Inventor, Scientist and teacher Isaac Newton, John Hudson Tiner, page 21 Mott Media, 1975

Stephen Hawking, God and Quote-mining

I am continually being called a liar and a deceiver by atheists because I quoted Stephen Hawking "out of context" (in the blog-header). So here is the entire quote in context:

"In the hot big bang model described above, there was not enough time in the early universe for heat to have flowed from one region to another. This means that the initial state of the universe would have to have had exactly the same temperature everywhere in order to account for the fact that the microwave back-ground has the same temperature in every direction we look. The initial rate of expansion also would have had to be chosen very precisely for the rate of expansion still to be so close to the critical rate needed to avoid recollapse. This means that the initial state of the universe must have been very carefully chosen indeed if the hot big bang model was correct right back to the beginning of time. It would be very difficult to explain why the universe should have begun in just this way, except as the act of a God who intended to create beings like us." Stephen Hawking, A Brief History of Time, p. 127.

So, in context, Stephen Hawking is saying that it would be very difficult to explain why the universe should have begun in just this way, except as the act of a God who intended to create beings like us. That makes sense.

Einstein's Faith in God and "Quote-mining"

"Ray wrote: 'I have never said that Einstein was a Christian, that he believed in Jesus or in a personal God. He wasn't dumb. He knew there was a Creator...' No, when he denied that there was a personal God, he was denying that there was a creator. His concept of a non-personal God was of physical laws bringing about the universe, not of a pre-existing creator who willed it to happen. You still don't get it, Ray . . . Quote mining is ignoring the real meaning of what a person is saying and instead repeating snippets that, on their own, convey a false impression of the author's intent." Applejack

Please read Einstein’s own words (below) slowly and thoughtfully, so that this never-ending issue can be put to rest. Take note of Einstein’s use of the words "Spirit"(caps), "him," "Power" (caps), and "God":

"My religion consists of a humble admiration of the illimitable superior Spirit who reveals himself in the slight details we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble minds. The deeply emotional conviction of the presence of a superior reasoning Power, which is revealed in the incomprehensible universe, forms my idea of God." Albert Einstein. Cited by Lincoln Barnett, The Universe and Einstein, New York, 1948, Mentor soft cover edition, 1963, p. 109.

Notice in the next quote how Einstein uses the word "someone" (not "something") and then relates the "someone" to God. When he was asked the question "Do you believe in the God of Spinoza?" Einstein replied as follows:

"I can't answer with a simple yes or no. I'm not an atheist and I don't think I can call myself a pantheist. We are in the position of a little child entering a huge library filled with books in many different languages. The child knows someone must have written those books. It does not know how. The child dimly suspects a mysterious order in the arrangement of the books but doesn't know what it is. That, it seems to me, is the attitude of even the most intelligent human being toward God. We see a universe marvellously arranged and obeying certain laws, but only dimly understand these laws. Our limited minds cannot grasp the mysterious force that moves the constellations. I am fascinated by Spinoza's pantheism, but admire even more his contributions to modern thought because he is the first philosopher to deal with the soul and the body as one, not two separate things." Albert Einstein, Brian, op. cit. p. 186.

Anyone Else Interested?

Dale said..."Ray, When are the Crocoduck hats coming out? I would buy one of them. That would be a great conversation starter. Dale, if that's a joke, then I'm going to be very sad. I would be INCREDIBLY tempted to spend money on a Crocoduck hat." Robb. "I want a Crocoduck hat . . . " AllFiredUp

Quote-mining From an Atheist Site

"Why give that idiot a platform?"
"Someone please find out how we pose questions to this charlatan and post the solution here. Then we can inundate him. Let's make Noah's flood seem like a mere tear drop in the ocean."
"What a little ray of comfort. NOT!"
"Did you see those Einstein and Hawking quotes in the heading of RC's blog? Is that fabricated or what."
"You MUST capitalize god and jesus."
"I'm ashamed he was born in a country neighboring my own."
"Comfort is a complete idiot, and should be ignored."
"Seriously? Deleted for not capitalizing 'God'?"
"Ugh. Ray Comfort bores me to tears."
"That moron Comfort is a natural disaster and is not caused by his imaginary god."
"He actually lets most comments through which is more than can be said of other blogs of his ilk."
"He's also the master of the drive by comment/post."
"Ok, Mr. Comfort. Put down the mouse, it's time to take your meds."
"I still read Ray Comfort's blog, mostly for laughs."
"I remember once flicking onto the Christian Channel on pay TV and there Ray Comfort was (though I didn't know it at the time) telling everyone how the earth is a prison and we are all prisoners."
"On behalf of the people of NZ [New Zealand] I would like to thank the people of the US for taking . . . comfort off our hands. Perhaps you could find a better use for him."
"Why anyone pays attention to this guy is beyond me." [You are not alone Mr. Atheist. I have asked the same question].

Nothing Has Changed

I just came across this old cutting. It's a cartoon from a New Zealand newspaper, dated September 21, 1988. Note the T-shirt wording. I wore it each day because there were so many atheists in my crowd. They just kept coming back each day . . . must have been the moustache.

Top Ten Predicted Atheist Objections to the Below Statement:

"Water is wet." -- Ray Comfort

1. "You know nothing about water or science!"
2. "This is hateful and judgmental and is an example of circular reasoning."
3. "I suppose you believe that your imaginary friend made it wet."
4. "You know very well water molecules are dry. You liar!"
5. "Darwin knew that it was wet years before you did."
6. "Jesus would be ashamed of this statement! You are quote-mining."
7. "You are saying there was a world-wide flood. You are such a hypocrite."
8. "So, how old do you believe that this 'wet' water is?"
9. "There is no evidence that it is wet. The burden is on you to prove it!"
10. "This statement proves that you are viciously anti-Catholic."

Super Special

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Interesting Thread

“If you make a point to call some one out by name in a post, could you at least directly address their point or question? Here you just give wink-wink nudge-nudge suggestions without directly saying whether you believe the fires are a punishment for gay marriage, whether the Midwest floods are a form of punishment, etc.” Geoff

You have a perception that your infuriated colleges seem to lack. Of course I would never say that fires are punishment for gay marriage, or that floods were a punishment for poor folks in the Midwest. How would I know what, where, and how God deals out His judgments in the earth?

If God dealt with us according to our sins, He would have killed me in my youth. And so we have porn pushers, rapists, perverts, pedophiles, Satanists, adulterers, fornicators, and homosexuals happily living in California. They have been for years, so why should a meaningless marriage-ceremony change anything?

Then again, a thinking person will look at what's happening in this nation, and question whether or not we are morally pleasing to God, and wonder if there is a missing link between the two.

Maryanne said “in California it's fair and dry.” I said that we are in the worst drought in our history, with 840 wildfires at one time (now over 1,000). All is not well in California as she naively supposes (how would she react if I said that all is wet and well in the Midwest?). We badly need rain, and God is in charge of rain, and He’s in charge (unintended pun) of lightning (see Job 38:22-27) . . . whether we believe that or not.

Lighten up atheists. Life is too short to develop an unwarranted ulcer over what you think I believe.

The Atheist Worldview

"There've been several hundred gay marriages enacted in California in the past few days. Maybe a couple of thousand by now, I haven't checked the numbers. And in the non-gay-marrying Midwest, they're fighting floods, while in California it's fair and dry. How is The Golden State managing to escape the wrath of your imaginary friend, I wonder?" Weemaryanne

Maryanne. At present there are 840 wild-fires that are burning at once in California, destroying many homes. The fires were started by lightning strikes. Guess who’s in charge of the electrical department? These are from thunder storms that have no rain. Guess who gives the rain? You said "while in California it's fair and dry." We are having the worst drought in our recorded history. Last year 1,155 homes were destroyed. You live in an imaginary world. I suggest you get out more.

Thank God for Science

The essence of "white" light is invisible. We can’t see it. Despite this, science has taught us that it's actually made up of seven beautiful colors that are undetectable to the human eye until they are refracted through a prism. Of course, we know that the seven colors are the amazing colors we see in a rainbow--red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet.

God is light (see 1 John 1:5, Revelation 21:23), and the Scriptures tell us that He is invisible to the human eye (Colossians 1:15, 1 Timothy 1:17). As Christians, we are to refract the beautiful nature of the invisible God to this sinful world. We must do this because many make up their own image of what they think He is like (idolatry), while others say that He doesn’t exist (foolishness). We are to show them the seven colors of His perfect character: His fearful holiness, His perfect righteousness, His absolute justice, His truth, love, faithfulness, and mercy.

When it rains, billions of drops of water fall from the heavens. Each drop acts as a tiny prism that God has created, and splays the seven colors of the rainbow across the sky, reminding those that love God, that He keeps every promise He makes.

He is the source of life itself and has given eternal life to those that obey Him (see Hebrews 5:9). And He has manifest the beauty of His character through His Word: "For with you is the fountain of life: in your light shall we see light" (Psalm 36:9).

Demanding Answers

"I've come to the point of demanding an answer to these questions . . . Answer them not and know that I have written you off as a hopeless hypocrite, --that, as it were, I have shaken the dust off my feet before you--or respond, and perhaps, I will bear you out yet a while longer. In all due respect, I ask of you the following:"


Q1: Do you believe in microevolution? OF COURSE. WE SEE EVIDENCE OF IT ALL AROUND US.

Q2: Do you believe in natural selection? THAT DEPENDS ON YOUR DEFINITION. GOD HAS CREATED A SYSTEM IN NATURE WHERE THE STRONGEST SURVIVE. THE LION EATS THE LAMB.

Q3: Do you think that one can be both a Christian and an evolutionist? A NEW CHRISTIAN, YES. BUT AS HE OR SHE READS AND BELIEVES THE SCRIPTURES, HE (OR SHE) WILL SEE THAT THE TWO ARE COMPLETELY INCOMPATIBLE.

Q4: Do you believe that the book of Genesis calls for a literal interpretation? DEFINITELY. JESUS LITERALLY BELIEVED IT, SO DID THE APOSTLE PAUL.

Q5: Do you believe that the earth was created in 6,000 years? IT TOOK SIX DAYS. HOWEVER, I HAVE NO IDEA HOW OLD THE EARTH IS.

Q6: In one sentence, what do you believe is the chief purpose of human life? TO LOVE GOD AND ENJOY HIM AND HIS CREATION FOREVERMORE.

Q7: In one sentence, what is the ultimate purpose of this blog? TO EQUIP AND ENCOURAGE CHRISTIANS TO REACH OUT TO THE UNSAVED, AND TO DO SO MYSELF.

Q8: Is your belief in God's existence based on faith or absolute knowledge? BOTH. EXPERIENTIAL KNOWLEDGE OF THE GOD I TRUST.

Q9: Do you believe that truth is relative? I BELIEVE THAT THERE IS ABSOLUTE TRUTH (SEE JOHN 14:6).

Q10: In one sentence, what is "wisdom"? THE FEAR OF THE LORD IS THE BEGINNING OF WISDOM, AND THAT WISDOM IS FOUND IN THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD.

Q11: In one sentence, what is "faith"? BIBLICAL FAITH IS IMPLICIT TRUST IN THE PERSON OF GOD/THE SAVIOR, AND HIS IMMUTABLE PROMISES.

Q12: In one sentence what does it mean to you to "prove" something? I DON'T THINK HUMAN BEINGS CAN PROVE ANYTHING ABSOLUTELY. GOD, HOWEVER, CAN ABSOLUTELY PROVE HIMSELF TO THOSE WHO REPENT AND TRUST HIM.

Q13: In one sentence, why should a person put his faith in Jesus Christ? WITHOUT THE SAVIOR, WE WILL GET EXACTLY WHAT WE DESERVE ON JUDGMENT DAY.

GREAT QUESTIONS.

Everything Changes

"Can't you at least acknowledge that people who are POLITE, HONEST, FORTHCOMING, HOSPITABLE, GENUINE, CONGENIAL, AMIABLE, and TRUSTWORTHY (and possibly, kind to old ladies, pets, and children) are 'good people' simply meaning that they are (a) not a threat, (b) personable, reasonable, (c) friendly, (d) neighborly???" David W. Irish

Great point. You are talking about "good" from a human point of view (the only point of view in which you believe). But, let’s face it; if you find a human being that is always polite, honest, hospitable, genuine, congenial, amiable and trustworthy, you haven’t found someone who is good, you have found someone who is 'remarkable.' Perhaps this is why there are so many divorces. Many a man is kind, amiable, trustworthy before the wedding day. The knight’s shining armor gets a little dull and rusty in time.

However, there is something else that comes into the equation when God is involved, and it’s a life and death issue. I have interviewed hundreds, if not thousands of people on television and on radio, and I have found by experience that the Bible is right when it says that every man will almost always speak of his own goodness (you probably did it when I spoke of finding people who are always polite, honest, hospitable, amiable, etc.). They are sure that they are morally good, until they understand that God’s standard of goodness (the one He will judge us with on Judgment Day), is infinitely higher than theirs.

Let’s take Joe Average. He is polite, hospitable, genuine, congenial, amiable and trustworthy. He is a remarkably good person--by human standards. However, when measured by God's standards he proves to be a liar, a thief, a blasphemer and an adultery at heart. He has violated God’s Law, and is therefore a "Law-breaker." These sins we take so lightly are extremely serious charges in the sight of a morally perfect God. I can’t express to you how serious lying and blasphemy and adultery are to God. Under His Law, they demand the death sentence.

So now everything changes for Joe Average the Law-breaker (criminal). Let’s say a man is found in court. The charges are extremely serious--rape and murder. He says, "Judge , I am guilty of raping and killing that woman, but I want you to know that I am polite, hospitable, genuine, congenial, amiable and trustworthy." Can you see that such a boast when he is guilty of heinous crimes is detestable.

If you are not trusting in Jesus Christ, you are just like that criminal. You, like me, have violated God’s Law a multitude of times, and your sins are very serious in God's sight. The fact that you may use your manners, or that you are amiable to people, isn’t irrelevant to your case. The truth is that boasting of your own so-called morality is detestable in God’s sight. Jesus said to those who did that, "You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God" (Luke 16:15).

The only thing you and I can do to be saved from being thrown into God's prison (Hell), is to trust in His mercy . . . and the Bible says that He is rich in mercy to all that call upon Him. Please call upon Him today.

Today’s Humility Test

Get ready. I’m going to boast, and your reaction will test if you are humble or proud. Chickens are about as dumb a creature as you can get. I know because we have some. We live in an area that is zoned for chickens (and humans). They are dumb (the chickens), but they do what we can’t. They make fresh eggs for us each morning. How cool is that? Isn’t God wonderful? (monitor your reaction to that statement). He made the chicken first, then they make the eggs . . . and they make them for us. We made them a cozy nest, and they make their way there each day and lay eggs for us to eat. God is amazing (monitor your reaction again). But more than that, the chickens let us know when they have finished laying (they let out a loud chicken noise--English translation "It's done!"), so that we can go out and collect the edible egg.

Did you know that if you hold a chicken in the palm of your hand (on its back), it goes really docile? It’s almost hypnotized. Perhaps it does that so that if we want chicken for dinner, there won’t be any resistance. That means we can have tender chicken breast, Kentucky fried chicken, hot wings, cold wings, chicken casserole…you name it, you can have it. God is so good, and so kind to us. Psalm 34:2 says “My soul shall make its boast in the Lord; the humble shall hear of it and be glad” (italics added). Are you glad to hear God being given praise? Your reaction will reveal if you are humble of heart, or if you are possessed by the arrogance of pride.

Hollywood, John Travolta, Spielberg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTAPHUX9rnc

Science Can't; God Can

"This is all very confusing, can you please explain why scientists cannot make absolute claims, but at the same time they are not allowed to improve a theory or something like the age of the earth, while at the same time you are allowed to make absolute claims about God, sinning and the Bible. I'm really lost on this. I hope you can take some time to explain this all." Richard List

Science admits that it cannot know anything for certain. It's forever discovering more knowledge and therefore changing its beliefs. That's not something I made up. It’s a fact. This is because science doesn't have all the facts. Only God does. He is omniscient. None of us can get a mental grip of what omniscience is because it is too much for our minds.

I assume that you are an atheist, so you will have to be patient with me for a moment as I talk about a realm in which you don't believe.

God exists whether we believe He does or not. He is omnipotent (can do anything), omnipresent (dwells everywhere), and He is of course omniscient (He knows everything). That means that nothing is hidden from His eyes. Think of a number. Think of a color. Are they in your mind? Don't tell anyone. Only you and God know what they are. He sees everything that enters your mind. After all, He made your amazing brain and gave you the ability to think.

Now, in your mind, travel to Mars. Okay, dig down a thousand miles into the dirt until you find a large rock. Crack it open. Grab an electron microscope and study it closely. Then magnify the image a million times until you can see the atoms. You are the second person to see them. God was already there. He knows and sees what He has made. Everything. All at once.

He sees every thought of every human being in history--not one at a time. All at once. And He's not confused. You and I struggle to entertain two thoughts at once, but God has all knowledge.

So when we speak of absolutes, we are speaking in a different realm. Man is limited. God is not. In addition to having absolute knowledge, He is absolute perfection and absolute righteousness. And because of what He is, He makes absolute claims about right and wrong. This is what the Bible says of God's omniscience and omnipresence:

"Lord, you have searched me [thoroughly] and have known me. You know my downsitting and my uprising; You understand my thought afar off. You sift and search out my path and my lying down, and You are acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue [still unuttered], but, behold, O Lord, You know it altogether. You have beset me and shut me in--behind and before, and You have laid Your hand upon me. Your [infinite] knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high above me, I cannot reach it. Where could I go from Your Spirit? Or where could I flee from Your presence? If I ascend up into heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol (the place of the dead), behold, You are there." (Psalm 139:1-8, Amplified Bible)

If all this is true, it is unspeakably consoling for the Christian, and extremely frightening for the atheist (the "unbeliever"). Fortunately, there is a way to find out if it is true. God is there in the room with you, right now . . . He's seen everything you have done (even if it was done in complete darkness). He has been a witness to everything you have thought, and you have greatly angered Him--whether you believe it or not. So, today, repent of your sins and trust the Savior, and you will come to know Him. Absolutely.

Edison's Faith

"Trying to mix science and religion is a fool's errand, one is the study and interpretation of physical data, the other is a matter of faith, believing without seeing (Blessed is he who believes without seeing). To attempt to use faith in science, or science in faith, simply demeans them both."

Not so. Every scientific experiment is done "in faith." If a scientist had the results in front of him where he could see them, why would he be experimenting? He is conducting a test because he doesn’t yet see the results.

Edison kept experimenting with the light bulb over and over, because he believed he would eventually see the light. It was because of his faith that he got a result. He believed without seeing, until the light gave him that for which he was looking. Never make the mistake of believing that you can ever remove faith from that equation.

No doubt there is something more behind your seeming distain for "faith." Is it because it has the connotation that God is somehow in the mix? That would be another mistake. It was Albert Einstein who rightly said, "Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind."

Although Edison wasn't a believer (he's one of my great heroes), it was God who gave him light. Without his God-given, wonderfully inventive brain, we would probably still be in darkness.

It's also important to understand that "religion" (for want of a better word) is not "blind" faith. God has given us all the evidence we need, including "many infallible proofs," and He exhorts us to "come, let us reason together."

The fact that some don't recognize the evidence doesn't mean it's not there. Would we still consider Edison a genius if the light came on, but he refused to see it? He would either be blind or a fool.

God has given light to every man (see John 1:9)--through this wonderful creation, through the undeniable voice of the conscience, and through plain old common sense.

When the Bible speaks of "faith" in God, that is not a reference to an intellectual acknowledgement that He exists (we all know that). It's speaking of an implicit trust in His person and His promises.

Today's Atheist Memory Verse

"For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed" (John 3:20).

False Witness

“I just wanted to thank you for the kind word about atheists. Glad to see there is one Christian here that can recognize that we're just good people like everyone else. Thanks for the compliment. I have no problem admitting that Atheists can be good people . . .. I think that men who don't have God can be good, normal people, just not perfect. Thanks again for the kind words.”

It deeply concerns me when I hear a professing Christian telling an atheist that he is a good person. There is a reason for my concern. Jesus said that there is no one good but God (see Mark 10:18). Anyone who says that human beings are good is calling Jesus a liar. My concern isn’t just that the atheist is being confirmed in his deception, but it makes me doubt the genuine nature of Christian’s salvation, because it seems that he has no biblical knowledge of sin himself. This deception comes when the Law is not used to bring the knowledge of sin (see Romans 3:19, 20), and to show sin to be “exceedingly sinful” (see Romans 7:13).

Not surprisingly, he believes that preaching the gospel simply means to tell people “Jesus loves you,” something for which there is no precedent in Scripture. Wherever the love of Christ is preached, it’s almost always in direct co-relation to the cross (see John 3:16, Romans 5:8, etc.), and the cross makes no sense without mentioning sin, and sin makes no sense without preaching the Law, for "sin is transgression of the Law" (see 1 John 3:4).

I thought I was a good person until I understood that in God's Book, "good" means to be morally perfect. The only just rule by which we can measure our morality is by the Ten Commandments. It was through the moral Law that I found that God considers lust to be adultery, and hatred to be murder. When I measured myself by that standard I realised am not good. At all.

It’s also not surprising that the atheist has kind words for the Christian. This is because he is not offended by his message. However, to fail to warn sinners of the terrible consequences of sin (damnation in Hell), and to instead tell them that they are good people, is the ultimate betrayal. Jesus warned, “Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets” (Luke 6:26).

Atheist Converts

"Does your reasoning with the Ten Commandments find success, in your experience? I watched a bit of 'Hell's Best Kept Secret' last night, and it seems (though I haven't had the chance to finish, which I will probably do at some point) that your method grows out of the Commandments being 'the key.' It never actually does anything for me because it requires both a God a moral obligation to Him from the outset, so I'm interested if other atheists have been convinced." T.S.

This is a very good question. Let me qualify the word "success." I see success as simply planting seed. I personally can’t convert a soul. It’s like having a garden. I sow the seed God created, and He makes it grow in the soil He made, through the sunshine and rain He provides. (Our greatest scientists cannot make a seed from nothing. Nor do we know how to make soil from nothing.)

I sow the seed of God’s Word into the soil of people's hearts, and God makes it grow (once again, His seed and His soil). Every time someone listens to the message and has an open and honest heart (good soil), it’s a "success" for me. Here’s a Christian-ism that I hope makes sense. Your theology will dictate your methodology. In other words, what you believe about God, will dictate the way you share your faith. I believe that the Bible clearly teaches us that God saves people, and that I don’t. I am just a sower of good seed. So I can’t say that anyone has been "converted" by my efforts. God should get all the praise when people are converted. When we pick an apple off a tree we planted we shouldn't get too puffed up, because we should know that a child can plant a seed that can grow into a tree.

Regarding your question about atheist converts. They often have "hard" or "stony" soil. They lack the good and honest heart necessary for the seed to take root. This is because they lack what is commonly called "reason." They will concede that a painting necessitates a painter. Only a fool would say that paintings happen by themselves. They will concede that a building necessitates a builder. Only a fool would say that buildings happen by themselves. However, they will suddenly become unreasonable when asked if creation necessitates a Creator. This is why God’s Word calls the professing atheist a "fool" (see Psalm 14:1). The Bible even predicts that the fool will then pat himself on the back and say that he is intelligent (see Romans 1:22). That sure sums up the average atheist.

But there is a reason for their denial of simple logic. The Bible tells us (in Romans 8:7) that their problem is a moral one. Their "carnal mind" is in a state of hostility towards God and His Law. There’s no moral dilemma with paintings or builders, but when God is brought into the equation, they are deeply offended by the thought that they are morally responsible to Him. So, they abandon reason (honesty), and the seed of life therefore finds no root.

Despite this, many atheists have come to know the Lord, because the Ten Commandments speak to the conscience rather than the carnal mind. They have suddenly found themselves in the dilemma of knowing that they have sinned against the God in which they don’t believe, and that quandary was solved through repentance and faith in the Savior.

P.S. Of course, this begs the question "Who made God?" Some think it can't be answered, and conclude that God therefore doesn't exist. But that's about as sensible as looking at a painting, not knowing where the painter came from, and therefore concluding that there was no painter.

God is not subject to the dimension of time. He dwells in "eternity" (the place we go when we "pass on"). And where there is no time, there is no beginning. God is eternal--without beginning or end...kinda like space. There's no brick wall at the edge of space, saying "The Beginning" or "The End." If you think there is, ask yourself, "What's behind the brike wall?"

No Real Reason

It was a hot Southern California Sunday afternoon. Sue had gone down to the ministry, and I had the choice of staying at home and vegetating in front of the TV, or of going to the ministry on my bike, for no real reason. I jumped onto my bike and a few minutes later I noticed a cigar-smoking teenager carrying a bottle of coke. I rode alongside him and asked, "Did you get your million dollar bill?" He hadn't got his, and was delighted when he saw our new million dollar bill tract. I said,

"It's a gospel tract. Where do you think you will go when you die?"
"Heaven, I hope."
"What's your name?"
"Mike."
"Are you a good person Mike?"
"Yes. I try to be."
"Well let's see if you will make it to Heaven. How many lies do you think you've told in your life?"
"A bunch."
"What do you call someone who tells lies?"
"A liar."
"How many things do you think you've stolen?"
"Lot's."
"What do you call someone who steals things?"
"A thief."
"Have you ever used God's name in vain?"
"Yes, I have."
"God gave you eyes to see His wonderful creation, ears to enjoy good music, taste buds to enjoy good food; He gave you your life, and you used His name as a cuss word. That's really serious. It's called blasphemy."
"I know. What religion are you?"
"Christian."
"I'm a Christian. I'm Greek orthodox. Egyptian."
"One to go Mike. Jesus said, 'Whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has committed adultery already with her in his heart.' Have you ever done that?"
"All the time."
"When did you last do that?"
"Just before."
"So, Mike, by your own admission, you are a lying, thieving, blasphemous, adulterer-at-heart, and you have to face God on Judgment Day. If He judges you by the Ten Commandments, will you be innocent or guilty?" Without hesitation he said he would be guilty--that he would end up in Hell, and that seriously concerned him. When I asked him if he knew what God did to save us from Hell, he said that "He sacrificed Himself." I said, "Let me tell you what that means. It was a legal transaction. You broke God's Law (the Ten Commandments, and Jesus paid your fine in His life's blood. That means God can legally dismiss your case. He can forgive your sins and grant you everlasting life. Now, in response to His death and resurrection, you must repent (turn from all sin--that means no more lying, stealing, blasphemy, and even lust. God will help you with that), and trust in Jesus Christ."

He had a Bible at home, said he was going to get back into it (he hadn't read it for years), and think seriously about his eternity. We talked for a minute about smoking and how horrific it would be to die of emphysema, and I rode on.

A few seconds later I saw a woman hosing her lawn. As I rode passed I said, "Hello." She warmly responded so I stopped my bike, reached into my pocket and said, "I have a million dollars for you." She was delighted, took it and said, "This is nice. Can I have one more?" I handed her a second million. Then she said, "One more for my friend?" I gave her a third, rode off and said, "Make sure you read the message on the back. It's real important." She said, "I will."

Somehow I felt a new energy as I rode on. The ride to work hadn't been for no real reason.

(The new Million Dollar Bill is available at www.livingwaters.com)

Today's Atheist's Memory Verse

"But every person is tempted when he is drawn away, enticed and baited by his own evil desire (lust, passions). Then the evil desire, when it has conceived, gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is fully matured, brings forth death" (James 1:14-16).

The Path of the Freethinker

For those who don't know, Charles Spurgeon was an English preacher of the 19th Century. His amazing sermons were published in newspapers world-wide. He was called "The Prince of Preachers" because of his amazing eloquence. If you are average, you have a vocabulary of about 13,000 words. Spurgeon had 23,000--as did William Shakespeare).

"There may be some one here to-night who has come without faith, a man of reason, a freethinker. With him I have no argument at all. I profess not to stand here as a controversialist, but as a preacher of things that I know and feel. But I too, have been like him. There was an evil hour when I once shipped the anchor of my faith; I cut the cable of my belief; I no longer moored myself hard by the coasts of Revelation; I allowed my vessel to drift before the wind; I said to reason, ‘Be my captain;’ I said to my own brain, 'Be my rudder;' and I started on my mad voyage. Thank God, it is all over now; but I will tell you its brief history.

"It was one hurried sailing over the tempestuous ocean of free thought. I went on, and as I went, the skies began to darken; but to make up for that deficiency, the waters were brilliant with coruscations of brilliancy. I saw sparks flying upward that pleased me, and I thought, 'If this be free thought, it is a happy thing.' My thoughts seemed gems, and I scattered stars with both my hands; but anon, instead of these coruscations of glory, I saw grim fiends, fierce and horrible, start up from the waters, and as I dashed on, they gnashed their teeth, and grinned upon me; they seized the prow of my ship and dragged me on, while I, in part, gloried at the rapidity of my motion, but yet shuddered at the terrific rate with which I passed the old landmarks of my faith.

"As I hurried forward, with an awful speed, I began to doubt my very existence; I doubted if there were a world, I doubted if there was such a thing as myself. I went to the very verge of the dreary realms of unbelief. I went to the very bottom of the sea of Infidelity. I doubted everything. But here the devil foiled himself: for the very extravagance of the doubt, proved its absurdity. Just when I saw the bottom of that sea, there came a voice which said, 'And can this doubt be true?'

"At this very thought I awoke. I started from that death-dream, which, God knows might have damned my soul, and ruined this, my body, if I had not awoke. When I arose, faith took the helm; from that moment I doubted not. Faith steered me back; faith cried, 'Away, away!' I cast my anchor on Calvary; I lifted my eye to God; and here I am, 'alive, and out of hell.' Therefore, I speak what I do know. I have sailed that perilous voyage; I have come safe to land. Ask me again to be an infidel! No; I have tried it; it was sweet at first, but bitter afterwards. Now, lashed to God's gospel more firmly than ever, standing as on a rock of adamant, I defy the arguments of Hell to move me; for 'I know in whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him.'" Charles Spurgeon

Interesting Trivia

To be an "atheist" one needs absolute knowledge. The atheist with integrity must admit: "With the limited knowledge I have at present, I believe that there is no God, but I really don't know ." So the professing atheist is actually an "agnostic"--one who doesn't know.

The Latin word for agnostic is "ignoramus." Dict: "1577, Anglo-French--a legal term, from the Latin ignoramus 'we do not know,' first person present indicative of ignorare 'not to know' (see ignorant)."

However, we don't need absolute knowledge to know that God does exist. Absolute knowledge is only necessary to know that something doesn't exist. Interesting.

How to Spot a Con

A popular principle with con men is to blind the simple with pseudo-eloquence. Ask an evolutionist for one clear example of species-to-species transitional forms (e.g., one fish transitioning into a reptile, or a dinosaur transitioning into a bird) and the con begins. You won’t get one example. You will get many, and like a male peacock in a mating ritual, the display begins: "An example of species-to-species transitional forms in the fossil record? No problem. There are many. There’s Eusthenopteron, Panderichthys, Tiktaalik, Acanthostega, Ichthyostega, Tulerpeton, Proterogyneris, and Hylonomus."

Mary Poppins had nothing on the super calculating fragile mystics of evolutionary exposition. Sorry, not impressed. Do you want clear proof of God’s existence?

Try "pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanokoniosis." I'm sure you would be as impressed with that as I am with your smoke and mirrors.

F. Dust said... "If ‘transitional form’ means a partially adapted species, then no transitional forms will ever be found. All creatures which survive long enough to be fossilized are fully adapted in the sense that they are adapted well enough to survive. . . . Paleobiologists use a different definition for the term ‘transitional form’: a species which is found midway between two other species on the phylogenetic tree. They show some characteristics of the descendant group, but not all . . . . These forms not only exist in the fossil record, they are relatively common. Ichthyostega is transitional between sarcopterygian fishes and amphibians; the therapsids are transitional between pelycosaur reptiles and mammals; Archaeopterix is transitional between archosaur reptiles and birds."

There are two problems with this: 1) Fossils are dead creatures. It's absurd to say something didn't "survive long enough to [die and] be fossilized." If a fish begins growing stubby little legs, making it less adapted to its current environment, it will die sooner rather than later. But the fossilization will begin at whatever age it dies. Dead things fossilize.

2) Anyone can look at a collection of things and categorize them from smallest to largest, from simplest to most complex. But that in no way makes them descendant from one another. We could do that with autos (sports car to Hummer), airplanes (biplane to jumbo jet), etc., and then announce our "scientific" conclusion: "Aha! See? That proves they have a common ancestor!" That's nonsense!

What is the scientific proof that similarity demands that they have common ancestry? Instead, more logical is that common design indicates a common designer. Lining up fossils is no more "scientific evidence" than lining up different makes of cars.

Heaven is Ridiculous

"I have a pretty good concept of what you think Hell is, but no idea really about Heaven. So, I have a request...could you describe Heaven for us. What's that like? What goes on there? Where is it?" Nafa

The concept of Heaven is ridiculous. That's what I used to think. It wasn’t the location that bothered me, it was the notion that it could be a reality. It couldn't work. This was my reasoning. A young couple are married. They love each other with a deep and undying love. He tragically dies a year after they are married, and goes to Heaven to wait for her. She still loves him and remains faithful to him. She never remarries. Then she goes to be with him in Heaven, when she's a senile and wrinkled 98-year-old. He wouldn’t recognize her and she wouldn’t remember him. The concept of Heaven was nice, but in reality, seemed ridiculously impossible.

Then I came to know the Lord in 1972, and quickly changed my mind. Remember, that’s why science changes its mind. It gets more information. I realized that if an invisible God could, in a moment of time, supernaturally change me into a new person, Heaven could exist. If a man promises to give me ten million dollars, and freely gives me a million dollars as a token of good faith, he has proven himself to me to be utterly trustworthy. That's what God does. He gives those who obey Him the experience of new birth (the Holy Spirit) as a token of good faith. This is the teaching of the Bible: "He has also appropriated and acknowledged us as His by putting His seal upon us and giving us His Holy Spirit in our hearts as the security deposit and guarantee of the fulfillment of His promise" (2 Corinthians 1:22, Amplified Bible).

As science has discovered in the last couple of centuries, we are surrounded by invisible realms. Take for instance television or radio waves. We can't see them, but they are there whether we believe in them or not. We now understand that we need a "receiver."

It's the same with the spiritual realm. It, like television and radio waves, is invisible to the human eye. To experience the power of God we need a "receiver," and that receiver is unplugged until we are "born of the Spirit" (see John 3:1-5). That’s why I thought Christianity was so foolish: "But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned" (1 Corinthians 2:14).

The location of Heaven doesn't concern me. Just because I couldn't tell you the exact location of the country of Mauritania, that doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

Most people don't realize that the Bible teaches that Heaven is coming down to earth. This is despite the fact that daily, millions pray "Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, as it is in Heaven." God is going to set up His kingdom on this earth. When it comes, He is going to remove the Genesis curse--that means that there will be no more floods, tornados, hurricanes, droughts, earthquakes, deserts, disease, weeds, pain, suffering, or death. It is then that the lion will lie down with the lamb. Creation will stop devouring itself (see Romans 8:18-25). Those who trust in Jesus Christ will be given brand new bodies that will be like the resurrected body of Jesus--bodies that can eat, touch, feel, etc., but will never age or feel pain or sorrow. All this all sounds too good to be true, but it can be a proven reality for those who obey the gospel.

Think of it--eternal life--on this wonderful earth restored to when it was like the Garden of Eden. A place where there are no rapists, no murderers, no pedophiles, no hypocrites, liars, blasphemers, or thieves. A place of perfect fruit, incredible animals, unimaginable color, massive waterfalls, amazing plants, more beautiful birds, bigger fish, grander canyons . . . and if you die in your sins, you are going to miss out, and instead end up in Hell--being punished for your sins, simply because of your prejudice and stubborn pride. What a tragedy.

One other thing. The Creator of the Universe--Almighty God (the One you don’t believe in) will be there. He will say, “Behold I make all things new,” and He doesn’t need to use His past creation as a blueprint. He is the ultimate Creator with the ultimate creativity. Before this world existed as we know it, who could ever have imagined a blue sky, a brilliant sun, myriads of birds, gorgeous flowers, multitudes of colorful fish, deep blue seas, and an array of incredible animals. But this time, He will make all things new. Completely. We are waiting for a new heavens (sky) and a new earth (Isaiah 65:17, 1Peter 3;13). We are also told that God will remove the sea Revelation 21:1. Imagine that. That will give us a little more room.

Scripture tells us a number of times that "God is light." So there will be no longer a need for the sun, because He Himself will radiate in all of His unspeakable glory.

Two thousand years ago He was manifest in human form to save us from death. However, Jesus of Nazareth is no longer the Man who was limited to time and space. He has ascended into Heaven and is "glorified"--in the state that He was in before He came to this earth. He now dwells in "light that is unapproachable," and shines "above the brightness of the sun."

Mere words could never express my infinite gratitude towards Him for giving me life, and then for saving me from being justly damned in Hell for my sins. But I will have eternity to love and worship Him at whose right hand are "pleasures forevermore." No enjoyment on this sad old earth has come even close to the unending pleasures that God has prepared "for those that love Him." This is the teaching of the Bible. And you are going to miss out, simply because you refuse to change your mind, repent, and trust the Savior.

Imagine . . . Heaven. On this earth. You no doubt think I’m a dreamer. But I'm not the only one. I hope some day you'll join us, and the world will then live as one.

Could You Believe?

"Could an evolutionist give you any evidence that would make you believe in it?" Steve Mudskipper

Could I give you any evidence that would make you believe in fairies or that the sun is made of ice? Even answering that question would reveal something about you intellectually. However, your question is even more loaded, because it carries with it a subtle implication.

Being a Christian means that I know God. I don't know "about" Him; I know Him. That's the biblical definition of a Christian—someone who knows the Lord (see John 17:3). This isn't bigotry or arrogance. That's just the way it is.

God's Word tells me that He created man in His own image, morally cognizant, and as male and female. To believe in a theory that says otherwise is to call God a liar. This is something I would never do, in light of the irrefutable evidence of His proven reality. It would be far easier for me to believe in fairies and that the sun is made of ice, than to believe in the imaginations of Darwinian evolutionists.

I've been looking into the issue for more than thirty years, and I have never seen a hint of genuine evidence of species-to-species transitional forms in the fossil record. The theory stands or falls on the supposed links between species. Even if you came up with what you believe is evidence, time would prove it to be another hoax, as it has so often in the past.

So, you are flogging a decomposed horse. You have been duped. Evolution isn't true. It never has been and it never will be, no matter how long you wait for evidence. That is upsetting for its true believers, because it leaves only one alternative--that God created mankind as male and female and that you and I are morally responsible to Him.

However, if you really want the truth--if you are open to genuine evidence--simply believe the words of the infallible Creator rather than the words of fallible man: "Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed in Him, 'If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free'" (John 8:31,32).

Some Personal Questions

Do you like to snuggle up in a warm bed on a cold night? Do you have a favorite position for going to sleep? Have you ever woken from a nightmare, and taken about ten minutes to shake off a feeling of terror?

Has your whole body suddenly “jumped” because you thought you were taking a step, just before you dropped off to sleep?

Do you get annoyed when someone asks you personal questions, or do you feel a sense of identification, because you have had these experiences?

I hope you do identify with me. The reason for this is that it’s my knowledge that you are just like me that drives me to try reach you with the gospel.

Whether you like it or not, you are like me. You have many of the same loves, fears, desires and concerns. You, like me, want to enjoy the pleasures of this life. No one in his right mind wants to be unhappy, and you therefore instinctively don’t want to die. Everything within you pulls back from the experience of death. It’s the ultimate root-cannel for which there is no pain-killer outside of conversion to Jesus Christ.

So, if you don’t know the Lord, ask yourself some personal questions about me. What is my motive for pleading with you like this? I don’t get paid for having a blog. I don’t sell advertising on it. I have never asked for your money, nor do I want it. Christianity doesn't do anything for my ego. Neither is my motive to get you to join a church or a religion. It's simply a deep concern for your eternal welfare. Please, repent and trust the Savior before death seizes on you, and it’s too late.

The Faitheist

"Life forms change over time and given enough time they can and did change dramatically. GET OVER IT! No one is ever, ever going to go back to the idea that species were created fully developed at a specific point in time. NEVER. The details of the theory may change but not the framework. There is no faith involved. Move on. Evolution happens." Milo

You have said, "Life forms change over time and given enough time they can and did change dramatically." This is what you believe. Its a statement that is based on faith. You weren’t there when the life forms were created, and you didn't see them change. You don’t know how life began; you simply believe that what you have been told actually did happen. Like it or not, you are a "believer" in the theory of evolution.

If you have faith in ever-changing science, you can’t "know" anything for certain. You have to trust that what you believe is the truth, because science is forever gaining new knowledge and upgrading its beliefs. What you believe to be true today may be laughed at in a 100 years time. That’s the truth. History attests to it.

The fact of faith is often shunned by atheists and skeptics, because the word has "religious" overtones: "Faith is a cop-out. It is intellectual bankruptcy. If the only way you can accept an assertion is by faith, then you are conceding that it can't be taken on its own merits." -- Dan Barker, former false convert, author, critic

Of course, the Christian lives by faith also. We weren’t there "in the beginning" when God created the Heavens and the earth. But our trust is in Him who is utterly faithful (trustworthy), unchanging (unlike science), and infallible. That's the big difference.

For Christians Only

"Are you actually suggesting that these individuals, can soften their own hearts? Are you suggesting that they can take a small step of faith which will somehow open the doors to God's saving grace? I am confused. And if I am confused, I can guarantee you that they are confused. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not of your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. What is your message Ray? Does God supernaturally open the eyes and hearts of the unredeemed if they are somehow bright enough to see it, or is salvation a result of some special quality in a man that makes him superior to the ‘blind and ignorant atheist’ that God honors and therefore saves?” ForHisSake

Thanks for taking the time to share your concern. This is an issue with which I regularly wrestle--how do God's sovereign grace and man’s responsibility to turn to Him fit together? For example, Ezekiel 33:11 says, “'As I live,' says the Lord God, 'I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die...?" God Himself tells the sinner to “turn” from his evil ways.

It is clear from Scripture that He gives us repentance (Acts 11:18; 2 Timothy 2:25), and He also gives us faith as a gift (Romans 12:3). But He then commands all men everywhere to repent and to have faith (believe). See Mark 1:15; Acts 17:30.

Also, James 4:8 addressees sinners directly telling them to draw near to God, cleanse their hands, and purify their hearts: “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” Jesus rebuked His disciples and called them "foolish" because they didn't believe (Mark 16:14; Luke 24:25).

Charles Spurgeon proclaimed divine sovereignty and yet he also preached man’s responsibility, although he admitted that he didn’t understand how they fit together. Look at his exhortations to the sinner: “Believe in Jesus, and though you are now in slippery places your feet shall soon be set upon a rock of safety.” He said, "Sinner, fly to Christ.” He addressed him directly with, “O sinner, humble yourself under the mighty hand of God . . .” And it is the sinner’s responsibility to trust in the Savior: “Trust Christ with your soul and He will save it. I know you will not do this unless the Holy Spirit constrains you, but this does not remove your responsibility.”

Here is a perceptive atheist who can see the result of believing the error that man has no responsibility to the demands of the gospel: “If ‘salvation’ is a ‘supernatural’ act of a ‘supernatural God,’ then evangelism would be superfluous, no? The good news is, you and Ray and all your Christian brethren may now knock off and hit the beach.”

The Armenian and Calvinist views are diametrically opposed to each other, yet believers on both sides point to a thousand scriptures to back their theology. If you choose one view or the other, don’t let your choice cut you off from others who may believe differently. The two opposing truths can walk together. All that’s missing is some information for them to harmonize. The day will come when we will understand everything (1 Corinthians 13:12), and it is then we will be so glad that we didn’t cause division by arguing about which one is right.

Sadly, church history has shown us that Christ-centered men of God have clashed over these issues (e.g., Wesley and Whitefield). More recently, I have seen brethren make a theological stand and much to their dismay, they were marked by their home church as “troublemakers.” Fine missionaries have been pulled from the field, pastors fired from the ministry, and churches have split, simply because of different views of God’s sovereignty.

So, if you do get it worked out, be careful that you strive to keep unity among the brethren, and then focus on your God-given commission. Firefighters exist to fight fires, not to fight each other. They must have unity of purpose.

Every moment that you and I spend arguing about theological interpretations is time we have lost forever, that could have been spent in prayer for the unsaved or in seeking to save that which is lost.

The Age Old Question

“Mr. Comfort: Could you tell me how old you believe the earth to be, and why?” Andrew Douglas

I have no idea how old the earth is, but I’m not alone in this. Science can’t make up its mind either. Just over one hundred years ago, they thought that it was about 100 million years old. Soon after, they changed their minds and came to the confident belief that the correct number was 500 million years. Then they changed their minds again and the figure jumped to 1.3 billion years. It wasn’t long until they did a double-take on that one and said that they believed it was perhaps 3 billion years old. Of course, now they think that it may be 4.55 billion, give or take a billion years.

I’m sure that contemporary scientists think they have the right number this time, until they change their minds again when more data comes along . . . and, of course, none of the "faithful" will question it.

Quit Before Payday

Physical death is the first down-payment for the wages of sin. After death, there is Hell to pay.

The Truth About the Atheist

“When I die, I'll rot. When you die, you'll rot. Neither of us will decay faster, or stink more, than the other. Everything living dies, everything dead rots, and everything rotten may serve as fertilizer for new life. It's the carbon cycle and I didn't make it up and I have better sense than to fight or even resent a naturally occurring process.” W. Maryanne

Skeptics often unwittingly talk in the language of “absolutes.” They say that “no one” can know if God exists, or no one can know if there is life after death, or, as in this case, that “everything” dies and rots. Yet, those who talk in absolutes (as though they had absolute knowledge) reveal a lack of knowledge.

For a skeptic to say “no one knows what happens after death,” he must know what everyone knows in order for him to know that no one knows. If he says that nobody knows, he must have access to every thought of every human being from the beginning of the human race until this very present second, because if anyone does know what happens after death, then he’s dead wrong. So, to be truthful, he is forced to say, “With the limited knowledge I have at present, I have come to the conclusion that no one knows what happens.” So he really don’t know at all.

The professing atheist is in the same small boat. He can’t say, “There is no God” and be truthful. To do so he has to have access to all knowledge. So he has to say, “With the limited knowledge I have at present, I have come to the conclusion that there is no God. But I really don’t know.” So, in truth, every professing atheist is an “agnostic.” He doesn't know and therefore can never be certain that God, Heaven, and (more importantly) Hell don't exist.

Again, the person who maintains that everything dies believes that he has access to all knowledge about everything living. Big words, but small thoughts. The skeptic isn't aware that God never dies. What's more, God promises that any living human being who comes to Him through repentance and faith in Jesus will not perish, but have everlasting life.

Don't believe it? That's your problem. You believe what secular science says, so just expand your beliefs. Take one small step of faith. Soften your hard heart. That one small step of faith will be the first step toward knowing and trusting the God who is life, gave you life, and offers you eternal life.

For Christians Only

Once someone becomes a genuine convert, he sees that he has tremendous evangelistic responsibility. He begins to see derivatives of the word “laborer” over and over in Scripture. Jesus spoke of His disciples reaping where they “have not labored” (John 4:37, 38) and of others who “labored in the Lord” (Romans 16:12). We are told that our “labor is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58). In 1 Thessalonians 2:9 Paul said, “For you remember, brethren, our labor and toil; for laboring night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, we preached to you the gospel of God.”

A “laborer” is someone who is prepared to go into the harvest fields and suffer the heat of the noonday sun. He is prepared to sweat for the Lord. It is someone who is willing to apply himself to the irksome task of evangelism, of which Jesus said that there is a shortage.

I believe I know of two major reasons why there is a shortage of laborers. The first is because of a neglected command to pray. Look at what Jesus said: “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest” (Luke 10:2, emphasis added).

Jesus commanded us to pray for laborers. But if we are not actively involved in evangelism ourselves, we are not going to pray for laborers--our conscience would condemn us. How could we ask God to raise up people to do the job we are refusing to do? So the enemy gets a double victory. Not only do we not labor for the gospel, but we don’t even pray for others to become laborers.

The second reason for the lack of laborers is that we fear the reproach of the gospel. We want the praise of men more than the praise of God, so we busy ourselves in anything but reaching out to the lost.

Moses felt the same fear when God told him to deliver the captives of Israel from the hand of Egypt. When he asked, “Who shall I say sent me?” God told him to say “I AM” sent him. But that wasn’t enough for Moses, and it’s easy to understand why.

When we speak to the lost, we want more than “God sent me to tell you something.” The world is full of people who say that they were sent by God. Jehovah’s Witnesses say that they are His representatives on earth, that I AM sent them. So do Mormons. They claim that they represent God. Muslims say a similar thing; and there are myriad cults, strange sects, and weirdoes who say that they are speaking for God.

So, God asked Moses, “What is that in your hand?” It was a rod that Moses held in his hand.

Perhaps you didn’t give any thought to the fact that you also have it in your hand to do as you please. You do hold to the Law, don’t you? Do you think that it is good? Is it right for the Law to forbid murder, stealing, lying, and adultery? Of course, you hold to it. We cannot fault the Moral Law. As the Bible says, it is perfect, holy, just, and good (see Psalm 19:7; Romans 7:12). Perhaps you’ve never really thought much about the Law (the Ten Commandments) or of the fact that you could do anything evangelistic with them. You have simply used them to steady yourself morally in your Christian walk, and to fend off the enemy’s attacks. You know that to transgress any of the Law’s precepts—to lie, or covet, or steal, or commit adultery—is to “give place to the devil.”

But, as you study Scripture, you will see that the Law can be turned into something radically different. It can be used to bring to this world “the knowledge of sin” (Romans 3:20). It can be used as a “schoolmaster” to bring sinners to Christ (see Galatians 3:24). Jesus, Paul and others cast it down to be a serpent to guilty sinners—to be a convincing sign that God had sent them. (See my book What Did Jesus Do?)

So, do what Moses did. Simply cast it down before the feet of a sinful world and watch what it does. It this case, seeing is believing. The Law bites into the human conscience. It has power to bring death. This is what it did for Paul in his own life. In Romans 7 he explained how the Law showed him the true nature of sin—that it was exceedingly sinful. It produced evidence of his guilt and then it passed its terrible sentence. The Law condemned him to death. With Paul, the serpent had a fatal bite:

“I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died. And the commandment, which was to bring life, I found to bring death” (Romans 7:9,10).

The Law of God plagues a guilty sinner in the same way civil law plagues a guilty criminal. A murderer has little concern if he thinks that he has outwitted the law. But the moment it puts steal handcuffs on his wrists, it produces a justifiable fear. It arrests him and forces him to the just retribution of the hangman’s noose.

That’s why we mustn’t allow the world to think for a moment that it has outwitted God’s Law. They must be made to understand that the Judge of the Universe will bring every work to judgment, including every secret thing, whether it is good or evil (see Ecclesiastes 12:14). And the way to convince them that what you are saying is true is to simply cast the rod at their feet. That’s all you have to do. God will do the rest. He will do a miracle by turning the dead, inanimate rod of the Law into a living and fiery serpent (see John 16:8).

The rod of Moses gave him courage. It was the sign that I AM was with him. What more could we want than that—to have God co-labor with us as we reach out to the lost? So take what is in your hand, and with the help of God labor in the gospel while there is still time. We sure need you.

Small-minded Logic

"So, a talking snake, a man living in a whale's stomach for three days, a virgin pregnancy and a man walking on water, don't contradict logic?"

So, a talking parrot, three hundred people flying through the sky in a big tin can called a 747, a human being growing inside another person, men walking on the moon, don’t contradict logic? Of course they do, if you are small-minded. However, science and technology have exploded the word. It has a completely different meaning than it had one hundred years ago.

Small-minded people are limited by the confines of what they see as logic. However, when we are born again, the Supernatural takes logic into a new realm. When we discover that the Supernatural is a reality our mind is suddenly expanded and logic explodes.

Animals could easily talk--if the Supernatural is involved. After all, speech is merely thoughts manifesting as sound, and who would deny that animals think? A man could easily live in the stomach of a whale (or "great fish") if it was “prepared” by the God who made it, as the Bible says it was. A virgin could easily become pregnant if the One who made the virgin was involved. And walking on water is a breeze . . . when God is manifest in human form.

Circular Reasoning, etc.

Reading comments between Christians and atheists is sometimes frustrating. Most of the Christians are very polite and try to address the issues, and the atheists are generally arrogant and word-twisting, while resorting to ridicule and personal attacks. They keep saying the same old things, such as, “Prove to me that God exists without using the Bible. If you use the Bible that’s 'circular reasoning.'” That is nothing short of ridiculous. It’s like saying, “Prove to me that the President lives in the White House, but don’t look into the White House.”

It seems that atheists haven’t figured it out yet, but we don’t need to prove anything. We know God personally, and we know that we know Him. They are the ones who are waiting around to die. We are the ones who, by the grace of God, have found everlasting life. They are like a man in denial, who is sinking slowly, and we are reaching out a hand to save him. If he doesn't like the hand of the person reaching out to him and he pulls back, that’s his problem. He is reaping the fruit of prejudice, but that’s his choice, not ours. But know this. Our motive is love, and we will be pleading with him and praying for him as long as we have breath in our body.

For Those Who are Interested

Truths That Transform (Dr. D. James Kennedy's national radio ministry) will be airing “Hell’s Best Kept Secret” on June 10-11. This will be the third time they have broadcast the teaching. TruthsThatTransform.org will stream the program the day of airing and afterwards. If you haven't heard "Hell's Best Kept Secret," you can freely listen on www.livingwaters.com (top right on the Home Page).