How true...

"The Bible has been misused to justify many atrocities, but does not justify them itself. The theory of evolution justifies all atrocities when used. Anyone who says it doesn't is either a fool or a liar." Jinx McHue

One more on Hitler

Hitler believed that the German people were the superior race that deserved to rule the world. Here is his "Hit List" which reveals how he distinguished between the different races (notice his evolutionary progression from human to ape):

Nordic--close to Pure Aryan. Germanic--predominantly Aryan. Mediterranean--slightly Aryan. Slavic--close to half-Aryan, half-Ape. Oriental--slight Ape preponderance. Black African--predominantly Ape. Jewish (fiendish skull)--close to pure Ape.[1]

I can understand why some would be upset that Hitler was a fellow believer in the theory of evolution. But he was also a believer in God, and he used the name of God for his own evil political ends [2]. I am sure Darwin would have been horrified that anyone would pervert his theory and do what Hitler did, as is any Christian at what Hitler did in the name of God. Still, we have the consolation that the Day will come when he gets exactly what is due to him, as will all (both Jew and Gentile) who have transgressed God’s Law and murdered fellow human beings.

Pic. Nazi soldier belt buckle: Gott mit uns--"God with us"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] The Hitler Movement, James M Rhodes (Hoover Institution) p. 107.
[2] See Hollywood Be Thy Name (Bridge Logos), "Jesus, Hitler and Pedophiles" p 137, available www.livingwaters.com

Hitler was a believer in evolution

American paleontologist and evolutionary biologist, Stephen Jay Gould, published an article which provided support for the fact that Hitler was an evolutionist. In it he introduces Benjamin Kidd, "an English commentator highly respected by both academic and lay circles." Kidd believed, according to Gould, that in Germany, "Darwin's doctrine became a justification of war" and is quoted by Gould as follows: "Darwin's theories came to be openly set out in political and military text books as the full justification for war and highly organized schemes of national policy in which the doctrine of force became the doctrine of Right." Sir Arthur Keith (1866-1955) was an atheist and evolutionist. He said of Hitler: "The German Führer, as I have consistently maintained, is an evolutionist; he has consciously sought to make the practice of Germany conform to the theory of evolution."

Sources:
Stephen Jay Gould, "William Jennings Bryan's Last Campaign," Natural History, November 1987, pp. 22-24.

Keith, A., Evolution and Ethics, Putnam, NY, USA, p. 230, 1947.

More examples of Hitler and evolution (italics added)

"Hitler himself never mentioned Darwin, rarely mentioned evolution.... When did 'act dumb and dishonest' become the greatest of the commandments, Ray?" Steven J.

"Nobody else but puling pacifists can consider this fact as a sign of human degradation. Such people fail to recognize that this evolution had to take place in order that man might reach that degree of civilization which these apostles now exploit in an attempt to make the world pay attention to their rigmarole." Mein Kampf, Adolf Hitler

"In our case this term has no meaning. Because everyone who believes in the higher evolution of living organisms must admit that every manifestation of the vital urge and struggle to live must have had a definite beginning in time and that one subject alone must have manifested it for the first time. It was then repeated again and again; and the practice of it spread over a widening area, until finally it passed into the subconscious of every member of the species, where it manifested itself as 'instinct.'" Mein Kampf, Adolf Hitler

"For it is a necessity of human evolution that the individual should be imbued with the spirit of sacrifice in favour of the common weal, and that he should not be influenced by the morbid notions of those knaves who pretend to know better than Nature and who have the impudence to criticize her decrees." Mein Kampf, Adolf Hitler

"Organization is a thing that derives its existence from organic life, organic evolution. When the same set of ideas have found lodgment in the minds of a certain number of people they tend of themselves to form a certain degree of order among those people and out of this inner formation something that is very valuable arises. Of course here, as everywhere else, one must take account of those human weaknesses which make men hesitate, especially at the beginning, to submit to the control of a superior mind." Mein Kampf, Adolf Hitler

"But this principle can become a living reality only by passing through the stages that are necessary for its own evolution. These stages lead from the smallest cell of the State organism upwards. As its bearers and representatives, the leadership principle must have a body of men who have passed through a process of selection lasting over several years, who have been tempered by the hard realities of life and thus rendered capable of carrying the principle into practical effect." Mein Kampf, Adolf Hitler

http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks02/0200601.txt

Darwinian Inspiration

"We civilized men, on the other hand, do our utmost to check the process of elimination; we build asylums for the imbecile, the maimed, and the sick; we institute poor-laws; and our medical men exert their utmost skill to save the life of every one to the last moment. There is reason to believe that vaccination has preserved thousands, who from a weak constitution would formerly have succumbed to small-pox. Thus the weak members of civilized societies propagate their kind. No one who has attended to the breeding of domestic animals will doubt that this must be highly injurious to the race of man. It is surprising how soon a want of care, or care wrongly directed, leads to the degeneration of a domestic race; but excepting in the case of man himself, hardly any one is so ignorant as to allow his worst animals to breed. The aid which we feel impelled to give to the helpless is mainly an incidental result of the instinct of sympathy, which was originally acquired as part of the social instincts, but subsequently rendered, in the manner previously indicated, more tender and more widely diffused. Nor could we check our sympathy, even at the urging of hard reason, without deterioration in the noblest part of our nature. The surgeon may harden himself whilst performing an operation, for he knows that he is acting for the good of his patient; but if we were intentionally to neglect the weak and helpless, it could only be for a contingent benefit, with an overwhelming present evil." Charles Darwin, The Descent of Man (1871-1896), p. 133-134

"Such a dispensation of Nature is quite logical. Every crossing between two breeds which are not quite equal results in a product which holds an intermediate place between the levels of the two parents. This means that the offspring will indeed be superior to the parent which stands in the biologically lower order of being, but not so high as the higher parent. For this reason it must eventually succumb in any struggle against the higher species. Such mating contradicts the will of Nature towards the selective improvements of life in general. The favorable preliminary to this improvement is not to mate individuals of higher and lower orders of being but rather to allow the complete triumph of the higher order. The stronger must dominate and not mate with the weaker, which would signify the sacrifice of its own higher nature. Only the born weakling can look upon this principle as cruel, and if he does so it is merely because he is of a feebler nature and narrower mind; for if such a law did not direct the process of evolution then the higher development of organic life would not be conceivable at all.

"If the case were different the progressive process would cease, and even retrogression might set in. Since the inferior always outnumber the superior, the former would always increase more rapidly if they possessed the same capacities for survival and for the procreation of their kind; and the final consequence would be that the best in quality would be forced to recede into the background. Therefore a corrective measure in favour of the better quality must intervene. Nature supplies this by establishing rigorous conditions of life to which the weaker will have to submit and will thereby be numerically restricted; but even that portion which survives cannot indiscriminately multiply, for here a new and rigorous selection takes place, according to strength and health." Mein Kampf, Adolf Hitler
(1889-1945) http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks02/0200601.txt

The atheist's greatest argument

"A man rapes and murders a twelve year old atheist girl; brutally tortures her for weeks then slowly murders her. Afterwards he regrets his action and repents and trusts in Christ for salvation he will have eternal Bliss. Meanwhile his little victim will be damned to hell because he murdered her before she found Christ. That is what your God says . . . Even the very rapist murderers I despise so much are a million times more moral than the cruel storm God who rewards them for no greater deed than asking his forgiveness . . . " Ryk

It seems that nothing angers an atheist like the thought that any murdering child molester could be forgiven by God. It is normal for him to create a scenario such as the above, where the girl goes to Hell and the monster goes to Heaven. Then sparks are spat at God, because in his mind He is the real evil One in the story, because He is unjust.

But why is the atheist so angry at God (whom he doesn’t believe exists). It is because the atheist intuitively demands justice. As a rational human being he has the moral Law stamped on his conscience. That’s why. It's not his "social conditioning" that caused the outrage. Every sane human being has a God-given conscience no matter what he is taught by society. No other creature other than man has this--not apes, dogs, cattle, sheep goats, fish, horses or cats. Only human beings seek justice, and demand retribution for that which is considered evil. What the professing atheist thinks is his greatest argument against God, is his greatest argument for God.

How cool is this?

"You know what outrages me even more, Ray Comfort? That [child-murderer] John Cooey could repent and accept Jesus and all the rest and get out of his 'eternal punishment' on a flimsy Christian loophole, according to you. How does that make you feel? If he does, you and Cooey and Dahmer [murderer of 18 people] and whoever else can pal around in Heaven. Maybe throw a party for Jessica Lunford. I'm assuming, of course, she made it to Heaven. Well, have a good time." Rufus

I must admit, I feel sick at the thought that such wicked people could be forgiven and escape Divine Justice. But then I have to remember that the Apostle Paul was a killer, who tortured and murdered Christians. Yet God freely forgave him. I have to remember that I am wicked by nature and that if God gave me justice, I would be justly damned in Hell. So who am I to point a holier-than-thou finger at another human being and say that I am worthy of Heaven and they are not?

One other thing. God can even forgive a self-righteous, hypocritical, finger-pointing, sin-loving person, who lives for the impurity of sexual lust and denies the very existence of the One who gave him life. Isn’t that cool?

I hope to see you in Heaven one day Rufus. So I would strongly suggest that you forget your outrage about who God has the right to and not to forgive, and get right with Him yourself while you still have time.

An atheist's question

Someone asked why I chose Christianity over other religions, so I decided to post my booklet called "What Christianity."

This is a huge post (way too long for the average atheist):

Why Christianity?
SOLVING LIFE’S MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION

THE CHOICE
Imagine I offered you a choice of four gifts:

• The original Mona Lisa
• The keys to a brand new Lamborghini
• A million dollars in cash
• A parachute

You can pick only one. Which would you choose? Before you decide, here’s some information that will help you to make the wisest choice: You have to jump 10,000 feet out of an airplane.

Does that help you to connect the dots? It should, because you need the parachute. It’s the only one of the four gifts that will help with your dilemma. The others may have some value, but they are useless when it comes to facing the law of gravity in a 10,000-foot fall. The knowledge that you will have to jump should produce a healthy fear in you—and that kind of fear is good because it can save your life. Remember that.

Now think of the four major religions:

• Hinduism
• Buddhism
• Islam
• Christianity

Which one should you choose? Before you decide, here’s some information that will help you determine which one is the wisest choice: All of humanity stands on the edge of eternity. We are all going to die. We will all have to pass through the door of death. It could happen to us in twenty years, or in six months,...or today. For most of humanity, death is a huge and terrifying plummet into the unknown. So what should we do?

Do you remember how it was your knowledge of the jump that produced that healthy fear, and that fear helped you to make the right choice? You know what the law of gravity can do to you. In the same way, we are going to look at another law, and hopefully your knowledge of what it can do to you will help you make the right choice, about life’s greatest issue. So, stay with me—-and remember to let fear work for you.

THE LEAP
After we die we have to face what is called "the law of sin and death."1 We know that Law as "The Ten Commandments."

So let’s look at that Law and see how you will do when you face it on Judgment Day. Have you loved God above all else? Is He first in your life? He should be. He’s given you your life and everything that is dear to you. Do you love Him with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength? That’s the requirement of the First Commandment. Or have you broken the Second Commandment by making a god in your mind that you’re comfortable with—-where you say, "My god is a loving and merciful god who would never send anyone to Hell"? That god does not exist; he’s a figment of the imagination. To create a god in your mind (your own image of God) is something the Bible calls "idolatry." Idolaters will not enter Heaven.

Have you ever used God’s name in vain, as a cuss word to express disgust? That’s called "blasphemy," and it’s very serious in God’s sight. This is breaking the Third Commandment, and the Bible says God will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.

Have you always honored your parents implicitly, and kept the Sabbath holy? If not, you have broken the Fourth and Fifth Commandments. Have you ever hated someone? The Bible says, "Whosoever hates his brother is a murderer."2

The Seventh is "You shall not commit adultery," but Jesus said, "Whosoever looks on a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart"3 (the Seventh Commandment includes sex before marriage). Have you ever looked with lust or had sex outside of marriage? If you have, you’ve violated that Commandment.

Have you ever lied? Ever stolen anything, regardless of value? If you have, then you’re a lying thief. The Bible tells us, "Lying lips are abomination to the Lord,"4 because He is a God of truth and holiness. Have you coveted (jealously desired) other people’s things? This is a violation of the Tenth Commandment.

LITTLE JESSICA
So that is God’s moral Law that we each will face. We will be without excuse when we stand before God because He gave us our conscience to know right from wrong. Each time we lie, steal, commit adultery, murder, and so on, we know that it’s wrong. So here is the crucial question. On Judgment Day, when God judges you, will you be found innocent or guilty of breaking this Law? Think before you answer. Will you go to Heaven or Hell? The Bible warns that all murderers, idolaters, liars, thieves, fornicators, and adulterers will end up in Hell.5 So where does that leave you?
Perhaps the thought of going to Hell doesn’t scare you, because you don’t believe in it. That’s like standing in the open door of a plane 10,000 feet off the ground and saying, "I don’t believe there will be any consequences if I jump without a parachute."

To say that there will be no consequences for breaking God’s Law is to say that God is unjust, that He is evil. This is why.

On February 24, 2005, a nine-year-old girl was reported missing from her home in Homosassa, Florida. Three weeks later, police discovered that she had been kidnapped, brutally raped, and then buried alive. Little Jessica Lunsford was found tied up, in a kneeling position, clutching a stuffed toy.

HOW DO YOU REACT?
How do you feel toward the man who murdered that helpless little girl in such an unspeakably cruel way? Are you angered? I hope so. I hope you are outraged. If you were completely indifferent to her fate, it would reveal something horrible about your character.

Do you think that God is indifferent to such acts of evil? You can bet your precious soul He is not. He is outraged by them.

The fury of Almighty God against evil is evidence of His goodness. If He wasn’t angered, He wouldn’t be good. We cannot separate God’s goodness from His anger. Again, if God is good by nature, He must be unspeakably angry at wickedness.

But His goodness is so great that His anger isn’t confined to the evils of rape and murder. Nothing is hidden from His pure and holy eyes. He is outraged by torture, terrorism, abortion, theft, lying, adultery, fornication, pedophilia, homosexuality, and blasphemy. He also sees our thought-life, and He will judge us for the hidden sins of the heart: for lust, hatred, rebellion, greed, unclean imaginations, ingratitude, selfishness, jealousy, pride, envy, deceit, etc. Jesus warned, "But I say to you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment"6 (emphasis added).

The Bible says that God’s wrath "abides" on each of us,7 and that every time we sin, we’re "storing up wrath"8 that will be revealed on Judgment Day. We are even told that we are "by nature the children of wrath"9 (emphasis added). Sinning against God comes naturally to us—and we naturally earn His anger by our sins.

INSTANT DEATH
Many people believe that because God is good, He will forgive everyone, and let all sinners into Heaven. But they misunderstand His goodness. When Moses once asked to see God’s glory, God told him that he couldn’t see Him and live. Moses would instantly die if he looked upon God. Consider this:

"[God] said, I will make all my goodness pass before you...And it shall come to pass, while my glory passes by, that I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and will cover you with my hand while I pass by."10

Notice that all of God’s glory was displayed in His "goodness." The goodness of God would have killed Moses instantly because of his personal sinfulness. The fire of God’s goodness would have consumed him, like a cup of water dropped onto the surface of the sun. The only way any of us can stand in the presence of God is to be pure in heart. Jesus said, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."11 But as we’ve seen by looking at the Law, not a single one of us is "pure in heart."

These are extremely fearful thoughts, because the God we are speaking about is nothing like the commonly accepted image. He is not a benevolent Father-figure, who is happily smiling upon sinful humanity.

In the midst of these frightening thoughts, remember to let fear work for you. The fear of God is the healthiest fear you can have. The Bible calls it "the beginning of wisdom."12

Again, your knowledge of God’s Law should help you to see that you have a life-threatening dilemma: a huge problem of God’s wrath (His justifiable anger) against your personal sins. The just penalty for sin—-breaking even one Law—-is death, and eternity in Hell. But you haven’t broken just one Law. Like the rest of us, you’ve no doubt broken all these laws, countless times each. What kind of anger do you think a judge is justified in having toward a criminal guilty of breaking the law thousands of times?

LET’S SEE
Let’s now look at those four major religions to see if they can help you with your predicament.

Hinduism
The religion of Hinduism says that if you’ve been bad, you may come back as a rat or some other animal.13 If you’ve been good, you might come back as a prince. But that’s like someone saying, "When you jump out of the plane, you’ll get sucked back in as another passenger. If you’ve been bad, you go down to the Economy Class; if you’ve been good, you go up to First Class." It’s an interesting concept, but it doesn’t deal with your real problem of having sinned against God and the reality of Hell.

Buddhism
Amazingly, the religion of Buddhism denies that God even exists. It teaches that life and death are sort of an illusion.14 That’s like standing at the door of the plane and saying, "I’m not really here, and there’s no such thing as the law of gravity, and no ground that I’m going to hit." That may temporarily help you deal with your fears, but it doesn’t square with reality. And it doesn’t deal with your real problem of having sinned against God and the reality of Hell.

Islam
Interestingly, Islam acknowledges the reality of sin and Hell, and the justice of God, but the hope it offers is that sinners can escape God’s justice if they do religious works. God will see these, and because of them, hopefully He will show mercy—-but they won’t know for sure.15 Each person’s works will be weighed on the Day of Judgment and it will then be decided who is saved and who is not-—based on whether they followed Islam, were sincere in repentance, and performed enough righteous deeds to outweigh their bad ones.

So Islam believes you can earn God’s mercy by your own efforts. That’s like jumping out of the plane, and believing that flapping your arms is going to counter the law of gravity and save you from a 10,000-foot drop.

And there’s something else to consider. The Law of God shows us that the best of us is nothing but a wicked criminal, standing guilty and condemned before the throne of a perfect and holy Judge. When that is understood, then our "righteous deeds" are actually seen as an attempt to bribe the Judge of the Universe. The Bible says that because of our guilt, anything we offer God for our justification (our acquittal from His courtroom) is an abomination to Him,16 and only adds to our crimes.

Islam, like the other religions, doesn’t solve your problem of having sinned against God and the reality of Hell.

Christianity
So why is Christianity different? Aren’t all religions the same? Let’s see. In Christianity, God Himself provided a "parachute" for us, and His Word says regarding the Savior, "Put on the Lord Jesus Christ."17 Just as a parachute solved your dilemma with the law of gravity and its consequences, so the Savior perfectly solves your dilemma with the Law of God and its consequences! It is the missing puzzle-piece that you need.

How did God solve our dilemma? He satisfied His wrath by becoming a human being and taking our punishment upon Himself. The Scriptures tell us that God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself. Christianity provides the only parachute to save us from the consequences of the Law we have transgressed.

BACK TO THE PLANE
To illustrate this more clearly, let’s go back to that plane for a moment. You are standing on the edge of a 10,000-foot drop. You have to jump. Your heart is thumping in your chest. Why? Because of fear. You know that the law of gravity will kill you when you jump.

Someone offers you the original Mona Lisa. You push it aside. Another person passes you the keys to a brand new Lamborghini. You let them drop to the floor.

Someone else tries to put a million dollars into your hands. You push the person’s hand away, and stand there in horror at your impending fate.
Suddenly, you hear a voice say, "Here’s a parachute!"

Which one of those four people is going to hold the most credibility in your eyes? It’s the one who held up the parachute! Again, it is your fear of the jump that turns you toward the good news of the parachute.

In the same way, knowledge of what God’s Law will do to you produces a fear that makes the news of a Savior unspeakably good news! It solves your predicament of God’s wrath. God loves you so much that He became a sinless human being in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. The Savior died an excruciating death on the cross, taking your punishment (the death penalty) upon Himself. The demands of eternal justice were satisfied the moment He cried, "It is finished!"

The lightning of God’s wrath was stopped and the thunder of His indignation was silenced at Calvary’s bloodied cross: "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us."18 We broke the Law, but He became a man to pay our penalty in His life’s blood.

Then He rose from the dead, defeating death. That means that God can now forgive every sin you have ever committed and commute your death sentence. If you repent and place your trust in Jesus, you can say with the apostle Paul:

"For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death."19

So you no longer need to be tormented by the fear of death, and you don’t need to look any further for ways to deal with the dilemma of sin and God’s wrath.20 The Savior is God’s gift to you. The gospel is unspeakably good news for the entire, sinful human race!

God Himself can "justify" you. He can cleanse you, and give you the "righteousness" of Christ. He can make you pure in heart by washing away your sins. He can shelter you from His fierce wrath, in the Rock of Ages that He has cleft for you.21 Only Jesus can save you from death and Hell, something that you could never earn or deserve.22

DO IT TODAY
To receive the gift of eternal life, you must re¬pent of your sins (turn from them), and put on the Lord Jesus Christ as you would put on a parachute—-trusting in Him alone for your salvation. That means you forsake your own good works as a means of trying to please God (trying to bribe Him), and trust only in what Jesus has done for you. Simply throw yourself on the mercy of the Judge. The Bible says that He’s rich in mercy to all who call upon Him,23 so call upon Him right now. He will hear you if you approach Him with a humble and sorrowful heart.

Do it right now because you don’t know when you will take that leap through the door of death. Confess your sins to God, put your trust in Jesus to save you, and you will pass from death to life. You have God’s promise on it.24

Pray something like this:

"Dear God, today I turn away from all of my sins [name them] and I put my trust in Jesus Christ alone as my Lord and Savior. Please forgive me, change my heart, and grant me Your gift of everlasting life. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen."

Now have faith in God. He is absolutely trustworthy. Never doubt His promises. He is not a man that He should lie.

The sincerity of your prayer will be evidenced by your obedience to God’s will, so read His Word (the Bible) daily and obey what you read.25

Then go to www.livingwaters.com and click on "Save Yourself Some Pain." There you will find principles that will help you grow in your faith. You might like to get The Evidence Bible, which answers 100 of the most common questions about the Christian faith. Its informative commentary will help you to grow as a Christian.26Thank you for reading this.

NOTES
1. See Romans 8:2.
2. 1 John 3:15.
3. Matthew 5:27,28.
4. Proverbs 12:22.
5. See Revelation 21:8; 1 Corinthians 6:9,10.
6. Matthew 12:36.
7. See John 3:36.
8. See Romans 2:5.
9. See Ephesians 2:3.
10. Exodus 33:18,22 (emphasis added).
11. Matthew 5:8.
12. Psalm 111:10.
13. "Is it possible for a man to be reborn as a lower animal?" Maharshi: "Yes. It is possible, as illustrated by Jada Bharatathe scriptural anecdote of a royal sage having been reborn as a deer." .
14. "When you transcend your thinking mind in the realization of your own pure, timeless, ever-present awareness, then the illusion of time completely collapses, and you become utterly free of the samsaric cycle of time, change, impermanence, and suffering." .
15. "Then those whose balance (of good deeds) is heavy, they will be successful. But those whose balance is light, will be those who have lost their souls; in hell will they abide" (Surah 23:102,103).
16. See Proverbs 15:8.
17. See Romans 13:14.
18. Galatians 3:13.
19. Romans 8:2.
20. Beware of cults such as Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons. They masquerade as "Christian,' but they are rooted in self-righteousness (trying to do good works to earn salvation).
21. See 1 Corinthians 10:4.
22. "For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast" (Ephesians 2:8,9).
23. "For the scripture says, Whosoever believes on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich to all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Romans 10:12,13).
24. "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" (John 5:24).
25. "He that has my commandments, and keeps them, he it is that loves me: and he that loves me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him" (John 14:21).
26. The Evidence Bible (Bridge-Logos Publishers) is available from your local bookstore or at www.livingwaters.com.
27. Additional booklets are available for a low price from www.livingwaters.com. It is also now available at very low cost on DVD.

The most important information you will ever hear

All humanity has violated the Law of a morally perfect God. He considers lust to be adultery and hatred to be murder. If you die in your sins, you will justly end up in Hell (no matter what you believe). God is rich in mercy and has made provision for guilty sinners to be forgiven.

Jesus of Nazareth suffered and died for the sins of the world and rose again on the third day. If you repent and trust in Him, God will remit your sins and grant you the gift of everlasting life. Please, set aside your excuses and make peace with Him today. There’s nothing more important than where you will spend eternity.

Blind as a bat

When a friend from Minnesota visited Los Angeles for the first time, his trip didn't begin too well. It was just after 911, and because his suitcase was tightly packed when passing through security at the airport, he mumbled that it was about to "explode." They pulled him aside for questioning.

Cedric had never seen the sea, so within an hour of arriving at his hotel in L.A., he excitedly took a taxi and went to the beach. He carefully placed his credit cards, cash, driver’s license, and his social security card into a small sealed bag and hung it around his neck. Then he went swimming.

Unfortunately, a large wave knocked him under the water and he came up without the bag! He panicked and dove under to frantically search for it. That’s when he lost his contact lenses.

So now he's blind as a bat, couldn't find the bag, had no money, no credit cards, and no identification. All he had were his shoes to offer a taxi driver as collateral to get him back to his hotel.

If you are not a Christian you are a little like Cedric. You are blind, with no contact or credit with God (see Ephesians 4:18). Cedric was able to find his way because he had some collateral. You have nothing to offer God. In His eyes you are morally bankrupt. But that’s where grace comes in (see Ephesians 2:8-9). If you will simply repent of your sins, and call upon the name of Jesus Christ, God will save you from death and Hell, create a clean heart in you so that you love righteousness, and open your blind eyes so that you can see.

The atheist's invisible friend

"Time is in fact the hero of the plot. The time with which we have to deal is of the order of two billion years. What we regard as impossible on the basis of human experience is meaningless here. Given so much time, the 'impossible' becomes possible, the possible probable, and the probable virtually certain. One has only to wait: time itself performs the miracles." ("The Origin of Life." Scientific American, August 1954 p.48).

The god of the evolutionary believer is "time." It’s the magic that makes Darwinian evolution work. The Bible says "With God, nothing shall be impossible." But the believer in evolution says "With time, nothing shall be impossible." Time is his invisible and imaginary wand-waving friend that makes the fairytale of evolution believable. It performs miracles. He wasn’t back in time to see the unseen do its impossible work, but the evolutionist believes beyond the reasonable.

Yet time isn’t his friend at all. It is his enemy. One only has to wait. Time will see to it that death comes to him and drags him like some unseen monster, to the grave. That is unless the Maker of time frees him from its icy grip. That’s what happens at conversion, through the new birth (see John 3). God freely gives His eternal Holy Spirit to those who repent and trust Jesus, and then He "seals" them as His own, free forever from the power of death (see Hosea 13:14).

Much to the mockery of an ignorant world, we are cocooned in the chrysalis of Christianity. The Bible says that we are "preserved" in Jesus Christ, and that God is at work in us "to will and do of His good pleasure." In time, He will transform us from this "lowly body of corruption," and even though the world may laugh at the thought of such a miracle, we are not perturbed, moved, concerned, or slightly shaken.

The day will come when the butterfly emerges from the humble cocoon, and on that Day every knee will bow to Jesus Christ as Lord, Creator, Redeemer, and ultimately Judge of a wicked world . . . to the glory of Almighty God.

True science

"stargazer said...Ray, I am just wondering what you think the world would be like without science . . . You really are not just against evolution, Ray, you are really against all the sciences. . . . you are against anything that contradicts the Bible and in reality that would be most of science, including biology, geology, astronomy, physics, anthropology, just to name a few. Do you REALLY want to debate the entire scientific community?"

Perhaps you think I’m a monk and I live in some sort of monastery. But I'm not locked away from the real world. I go out for meals, follow the news, have a cell phone, iPod, I text message, and read books. I also love science.

In case you didn’t know, "science" is God allowing man to discover the secret workings of His incredible creation. Many of our greatest scientists loved God--Galileo, Newton, Nicholas Copernicus, Francis Bacon, Michael Faraday, Louis Pasteur and Kepler, just to name a few. Einstein (a theist who didn’t believe in a personal God) rightly said, "Science without religion is lame; religion without science is blind."

I don’t know any Christians that fall into the category you have described. My Christian friends also love science. Without it they would be blind, as Einstein said. But look what he said about those who leave God out of the equation. They are lame. But they also intellectually disqualify themselves from speaking on behalf of science, because their basic worldview of "nothing created everything" is a scientific impossibility.

Einstein said, "I want to know how God created this world, I am not interested in this or that phenomenon, in the spectrum of this or that element. I want to know His thoughts, the rest are details." If you also want to know God’s thoughts, read your Bible.

You speak of the incredible creation. I speak of the incredible Creator. You speak of the greatness of space. I speak of the greatness of the One who made it. You love creation. I love the Creator and will escape His terrible swift sword, because I trust in His mercy.

It's my earnest prayer that you would also trust Jesus for your own eternal salvation today. He doesn't promise you tomorrow.

The birdlike reptile

"Raoul Rheits said...you seem firm in your beliefs that evolutionists claim that 'cows turn into dogs' and whatnot. So I'll make it simpler still for you: What characteristics would YOU expect to see in a transitional reptile/avian fossil? What characteristics of such a fossil would you accept to show evidence of a reptile becoming more birdlike?"

You are asking me to play the game that evolutionists play. It's the game of "Speculation." It uses a special language made up of words such as "perhaps," "maybe," "could have," etc. You may as well ask me to speculate on the signs that would be present for Cinderella’s coach to be able to turn into a pumpkin. I don’t believe in fairy tales and I don’t believe in the unscientific theory of evolution. Reptiles don’t turn into birds no matter how long you leave them. Every animal brings forth after its own kind, both in creation and in the fossil record. Chickens were not dinosaurs billions of years ago, despite the musings of evolutionary imagineers. I believe in true science, not in the pseudo-science of evolution.

Also, I have never said that evolutionists believe that cows turn into dogs. I have said that there is no scientific evidence of any species "evolving" into another species. That’s the evidence that is still missing.

You have your own definition of evolution, but ask the average person on the street what they believe it is, and they will say that Darwin said that man evolved from primates--that our great, great, great grandfather was an ape.

You believe in a common ancestor (like a branch on a tree of common descent), they don’t. They believe we are direct ancestors. That we are apes. And who can blame them for the confusion when speculators like Richard Dawkins say things like "We admit that we are like apes, but we seldom realize that we are apes...In truth, not only are we apes, we are African apes" ("Gaps in the Mind").

It is very clear that there is no empirical evidence for Darwinian evolution. Look at the last sentence in this quote about the supposed 47 million year old primate named Ida--unveiled as the missing link:

"This will be the one pictured in the textbooks for the next hundred years," said Dr Jørn Hurum, the paleontologist from Oslo University’s Natural History Museum who assembled the scientific team to study the fossil. "It tells a part of our evolution that’s been hidden so far. It’s been hidden because the only [other] specimens are so incomplete and so broken there’s nothing almost to study."

Notice what he said: " . . . other specimens are so incomplete and so broken there’s nothing almost to study." Drop the word "almost" and you have the truth.

If you believe in evolution then you are believing a lie (see Romans 1:25). Carl Sagan said, "We will not be afraid to speculate, but we will be careful to distinguish speculation from fact." If you choose to believe in the theory of evolution, you have failed to do that.

The missing link finally found

Creationists who say that there is no proof of Darwinian evolution have been called liars for years:

"Creationists claim there are no transitional fossils, aka missing links. Biologists and paleontologists, among others, know this claim is false . . . but the fossil record — which is far from complete — is full of them nonetheless, as documented by Occidental College geologist Donald Prothero in his book Evolution: What the Fossils Say and Why It Matters (Columbia University Press, 2007)."

So the claim that there are no species-to-species transition forms in the fossil record "is false." Instead evolutionists say that fossil record "is full of them." But look at this May 20th 2009 report about how they had finally found the missing link:

"Scientists Unveil Missing Link In Evolution: Scientists have unveiled a 47-million-year-old fossilised skeleton of a monkey hailed as the missing link in human evolution. This 95%-complete 'lemur monkey' is described as the 'eighth wonder of the world.' The search for a direct connection between humans and the rest of the animal kingdom has taken 200 years -- but it was presented to the world today at a special news conference in New York. The discovery of the 95%-complete 'lemur monkey' -- dubbed Ida -- is described by experts as the 'eighth wonder of the world.' They say its impact on the world of palaeontology will be 'somewhat like an asteroid falling down to Earth.' Researchers say proof of this transitional species finally confirms Charles Darwin's theory of evolution, and the then radical, outlandish ideas he came up with during his time aboard the Beagle. Sir David Attenborough said Darwin 'would have been thrilled' to have seen the fossil -- and says it tells us who we are and where we came from. 'This is the one that connects us directly with them' . . . Now people can say 'okay we are primates, show us the link . . . The link they would have said up to now is missing -- well it's no longer missing'."

For years we have been told by believers that the theory of evolution is a scientifically proven fact. But this article correctly says that prior to this discovery they had no proof. With this discovery they now believe that "the link they would have said up to now is missing -- well it's no longer missing." All this proves is that some scientists are willing to lie to prove their pet theories.

Is this the missing link? Is Ida proof of Darwinism? Not according to CBS news. They said, "So while we don’t know exactly what Ida means to human origins, she’s proof we are endlessly fascinated by where we came from." According to The wall Street Journal, "The discovery has little bearing on a separate paleontological debate centering on the identity of a common ancestor of chimps and humans, which could have lived about six million years ago and still hasn't been found."

The missing link is still missing. So much for the "eighth wonder of the world" and the "asteroid falling down on the world." Believers in the theory of evolution still have to keep blindly believing without proof. Maybe one day...

Notes:
http://www.livescience.com/animals/090211-transitional-fossils.html
http://news.sky.com/
May 19th, 2009
http://www.nypost.com/seven/05192009/news/worldnews/47_million_year_old_fossil_touted_as_mis_170030.htm

Where did Cain get his wife?

I was about to speak at an important combined church meeting in Klamath Falls, Oregon, when someone said that an atheist had come in and was sitting in the front row, just in front of the pulpit. I say that it was an "important" meeting because it's not often that local churches come together in unity, so we were hoping everything would run smoothly.

I found out that he was a university student and that he had recently stood up during a previous church service, disrupted it, and had to be escorted from the church. Apparently he had done it to win a six pack of beer. The prize was offered by a group of atheists for anyone who would interrupt a church service. I went out to the auditorium, welcomed him and found out that his name was "Abel."

I then sat on the platform with the pastor and discreetly eyed Abel, as the congregation sang. I couldn’t help but wonder what he would say when he interrupted me. I thought that if the atmosphere became tense, as it often does in such circumstances, I could say that his name was Abel, and that when atheists ask me where Cain got his wife I say, "I would tell you if I was Abel."

During the meet-and-greet time I decided offered Abel my bottle of water, as a small gesture of love for him. He said that he had his own water and that I would probably need mine during the service (probably because my mouth would go dry when he began yelling at me).

It was then that I noticed a small green book in his hand. It was a Gideon New Testament. When he said, "I’m a big fan of The Way of the Master," I asked, "Are you a Christian?" He said, "Yes. I became one this morning."

Needless to say there was no interruption, and after the service we both had a great time of fellowship together. How cool.

An apology

"Raoul Rheits said... I never get 'bored' when someone is out there making money by stigmatizing me (and all atheists) as 'liars who will steal from people without qualms of conscience'. Even if you weren't making money off of stigmatizing me, I would still take issue with your dishonesty. Can you understand that? I really do dislike dishonesty with a passion, and when it is used by people like yourself to tar and stigmatize any minority, I dislike it just as much."

Raoul...you are right. It was wrong of me to say that an atheist is someone who will steal from you with no qualms of conscience. Please forgive me. That stigmatizes a whole group of people, and that's wrong. Let me rephrase it. I believe that someone who professes atheism can steal from you with no real qualms of conscience, because he doesn't believe that he is ultimately responsible to God.

Thanks for pointing out my error. I am grateful. Best wishes.

Special note:

A total of 109 atheists requested a free copy of the book and The Atheist Bible. These will be sent out tomorrow, and will take 1-2 weeks in the U.S. Overseas will take 2-4 weeks. Thanks for your patience.

Daniel in the liar's den

"I just read the article titled "The Amazing Atheist" on the Pull the Plug on Atheism website. In this article Ray states that Dan Barker was a false convert (hypocrite). I would like to know how he determined that, myself having been a Christian at one point. There is no possible way he could know that man's heart or feelings towards God during his time as a Christian and it is quite a judgment to make." Tyler

Dan is an atheist. He believes that God doesn't exist (he would rather say that he has no belief that there are any gods). If Dan was a Christian for 19 years, then he knew the Lord (a Christian is someone who knows God. See John 17:3). If he knew the Lord, then there is a God and Dan is deceived when he says that God doesn't exist.

If you ask Dan if he did know God for all those years, he will be forced to say something like "I thought I did. But I didn't."

So Dan didn't know the Lord. He was therefore never a Christian. He faked it (lived a lie) for 19 years, and that is an amazing accomplishment. Judas only managed to fake it for three years.

Dan is also revealing that he is the type of person that could be deceived by something for 19 years. So how can he then be sure that there is no God, when there is such a glaring flaw in his discernment?

Accused of trolling

I have been in Klamath Falls, Oregon, for a few days.

On Friday night I spoke to a group of pastors. On Saturday morning I preached to 70 bikers (and lived), then I was taken fishing. At one point I thought of how I am continually being accused of being a "troll" by some Atheists (note: CAP).

The thought made me smile because we hardly caught anything until we began to "troll." Then we started reeling them in--rainbow trout. It was a blast!

So trolling is a good thing for fishers of men.

But be careful, even with this post I could baiting you just to get a bite.

Today is Sunday, and I have the honor of speaking to 15 churches that have combined for the morning service. Wish you were here.

The "weakness" of Christians

"I would like to point out to you that Ray has said nothing in his own defense, and I think that is because he is trying to show you a good example of how to follow the teachings of your Savior. You are to be held to a higher standard because of your faith, that is why I am trying to point this out to you. You may call me a hypocrite if you wish, but I am only holding you to the standard you choose to follow and so I expect better from you. I agree with Jesus, I think you should turn the other cheek." Kerri Love

It is a mistake to believe that the "turn the other cheek" teaching is some sort of weakness or passivity. There’s a reason that the Christian does so when someone strikes him. It’s to show the love of God in the face of adversity, in the hope that the person might come to know the forgiveness of sins.

Jesus turned the other cheek when He gave Himself to those that mocked Him, ripped His beard out, scoured the flesh off His back, and hung Him on the cross to suffer unspeakable agony. The Scriptures say that when He did that He "committed Himself to Him that judges righteously" (see 1 Peter 2:23-24). He yielded Himself to the God who will repay those who inflicted harm on Him. He warned of the one who betrayed Him (Judas), that it would have been better for him not to have been born. How much more will God render fury upon those who actually murdered Him?

There hasn’t been one drop of Christian blood from those fed to the lions, up until to modern day persecution, that will not be avenged by Almighty God. The Scriptures say that each drop cries out for justice, and warn that even "every idle word men speak," they will give an account of on the Day of Judgment. See Revelation 18:24 and Revelation 19:2.

So we shouldn’t be too quick to point out the speck in another's eye when there is a sequoia in ours. We must remove it through repentance and faith in Jesus, so that we can see clearly. Then maybe we could instruct others, and do it in a way that is biblical.

Free publications

"I can buy my own food, but Ray, I would love . . . The Atheist's Bible and You Can Lead an Atheist. How about those?" Rufus

Good news. A kind couple saw the above request and gave $1,000 to cover the cost. We will send out both of these publications free of charge (including to overseas locations) until the $1,000 is used up. First in first served. Again, these are only for atheists. Send your name and address to mark@livingwaters.com/ Please state if you would like the book signed.

P.s. Some other kind person just donated another $500.

I'm going to get hate mail...

I know I’m going to get hate mail for doing this, but here goes. The economy is bad, and many people are going through a rough time financially. I’m not in a position to make much of a difference in people’s lives, but if you are going through a tough time I would like to send you a voucher for $25 to take your wife/friend out for a meal at Red Lobster. Sue and I are personally paying for this as a small gesture to show you that I (we) care about you.

The offer is limited to those who have posted comments on more than one occasion in the past on this blog, who live within the U.S. (sorry German Mike) and to the first 40 atheists who write. No Christians allowed. I don’t have shares in the Restaurant chain, this is not a publicity stunt, your name won’t be put on a mailing list or followed up, and I won’t be sending out a news release. There are no strings attached to this offer in any way. Just send your name and mailing address to mark@livingwaters.com and we will send you a gift voucher.

A challenge to believers in evolution

In 100 words or less, what was it that convinced you that evolution is a scientific fact?

Today's atheist memory verse

"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 6:23).

The time will come

"Ray said,

'All it takes to get out is a leap of faith. Talk of faith may make you nervous, but you won't be disappointed if you repent first, then couple that repentance with simple trust in the Savior. Please do it. Unless you are chicken.'

Ah. Humor. Well, if your story is any guide, to take the leap of faith you describe would first require that I become a bird-brain. Your turn." C. Howdy

A group of onlookers once stared at a luxury liner and couldn’t believe what they saw. Some passengers had dived into the sea and were clinging to a lifeboat, while the rest of the passengers who stayed on board were laughing at them.

The onlookers remarked to each other how foolish they were to dive off the boat. Then the great liner hit something under the sea, sunk in moments and dragged all those who stayed on board down with it.

Suddenly they realized that those who looked like fools were wise, and those who stayed on the ship and looked liked they were wise, were actually fools.

We know that we look like bird-brain fools because we have left the pleasures of this sinful world and cling to Jesus Christ. But we also know that the time will come when we will be seen to be wise, and those who seem to be wise, will be shown to be fools. It's far better to be a bird-brain, than a dead dog.

Worth a thousand words

"Pics or it didn't happen." Mike Jones

Mike . . . who says I don't care about your guys? I took this picture tonight and spent an hour downloading, transferring, copying, saving, failing, trying again, etc.

But here it is. The chick that got out of the box (I put string around the top to discourage it because she was using our living room floor as a bathroom). It didn't work. This chick is 2 1/2 weeks old. The redness is a heating lamp to keep them warm at night.

I know a picture is worth a thousand words for most people, but you may still think "it didn't happen," because I could have faked this picture.

Thomas had the same problem you have with wanting to see without having any trust. See John 20:27-29 for details.

Lift the lid

A friend gave us nine chickens recently. They were just five days old when we got them, and since it's been a long time since our three kids left the roost, it's been great fun for Sue and I to watch these little birds grow and spread their wings. We will keep them inside under a heat lamp until they’re mature enough to go into our chicken coop, along with their aunts. No doubt we will see some infighting when that happens as they go through their pecking order.

It’s 2:35 AM as I write this, and I’m watching one chick that has ventured outside of the small world in which he lives. She jumped up onto the side of the tall box, and she’s sitting and gazing at the what must look like a massive living room.

I couldn’t help but think how tiny her world has been since she was born (hatched). Her whole existence was nothing more than a box, a heat lamp, eight of her buddies, food and water to drink.

It made me think of some people I know who are confined to the small box of the atheist worldview. Their philosophy of "I have no belief in a God" shuts out the eternal and the infinite. It confines him to the natural world, when there is a massive living room of the Supernatural surrounding him. Being born of the Spirit (see John 3) lifts us up out of the confines of the natural world and allows us to think outside of the box.

All it takes to get out is a leap of faith. Talk of faith may make you nervous, but you won't be disappointed if you repent first, then couple that repentance with simple trust in the Savior. Please do it. Unless you are chicken.

[A note to sensitive atheists: the use of the word "chicken" is not meant as a insult. It is analogous of the fact that fear is the opposite of faith. Another word for "faith" is confidence. Those who lack faith, lack confidence.]

A stupid analogy

"A 15 year old girl finally told her mom about her being raped several times a week by her step-father since she was 9 years old. He had threatened to kill her if she told anyone, and she fully expected to die when she told her mother. The part that stuck with me about this story is that this girl explained that every night for that 6 years she would get on her knees and tearfully pray to God to please make it stop. I really struggle to come to terms with a God that would knowingly let this go on . . . To anyone that is free from the grip of religious brainwashing, an omniscient, omnipotent, loving God that would allow this is to happen is beyond absurd." Dave B

Take the time to study recent history. God allowed six million Jews to die at the hands of Nazis. Many of these were children. Don’t you think that their parents prayed? Every day, children starve to death lying in dry dirt with flies crawling across their bony cheeks. Don’t you think their parents pray? Children die of cancer daily. Unspeakable human suffering is part of history from the beginning of time.

Two men are seated on the plane. They are Mr. No-think and Mr. Think. The plane’s engines catch fire. It rocks violently. Passengers (including children) are being seriously injured. The pilot instructs the passengers to reach under their seats, pull out a parachute and put in on immediately.

Mr. No-think says, "The pilot is a liar. He doesn’t care about any of us. If he cared about us, the children on this plane wouldn’t be being injured." Because he doesn’t think intelligently, he doesn't bother to do what the pilot told him to do.

Mr. Think thinks, "Something is terribly wrong! The fact that people are being seriously hurt convinces me that I should do what the pilot says."

He then puts on the parachute, much to the disgust of Mr. No-think, who for some reason spends his time mocking him for putting the parachute on. But Mr. Think is not perturbed. Instead he thinks about the jump that he’s going to make, and pleads with his unthinking fellow passenger to come to his senses and think.

Of course the Mr. No-thinks out there will think this is the dumbest illustration they have ever heard. And they are probably right.

My problem is that it's hard to find an illustration that adequately shows how dumb it is to reject God's gift of everlasting life and instead end up in Hell. Jesus called the person who neglects God, a "fool" (see Luke 12:20).

Delusions of granduer

"So when in the Bible God orders the deaths of children and babies that is a moral act? Can you explain to me how exactly that is moral because I, from my sinful human point of view, think that this is evil and vile? As such I could never follow or love someone who would order such things." Rabbitpirate

I’m not sure if you have heard of the phrase "delusions of grandeur." I will explain it to you anyway. It means that someone has an exaggerated view of himself. The dictionary says that it’s "an idiosyncratic false belief that is firmly maintained in spite of incontrovertible and obvious proof or evidence to the contrary."

The ultimate delusion of grandeur is when someone, whose heart is soaked in sin, stands in moral judgment over Almighty God. There is no analogy to that would fit such a delusion. But that’s what you are doing. Take a minute to go through The Ten Commandments with a tender conscience, and you will realize that your heart and soul are desperately wicked (as is mine). So who are you to stand in judgment over God and tell Him right from wrong?

It may come as a surprise to you but God Himself proclaimed the death sentence on the whole human race--on all men, women and children. We will all die because we have violated a Law that requires capital punishment. The soul that sins shall die. Proof of your sin will be your death.

So, back off a little, think about what you are doing, and take a moment to realize that you are not God.

By the way, what is your stance on abortion?

The 95 year-old lady

"One of the sweetest ladies I have ever known just died recently. She was 95 years old. I knew her all my life. She never said a harsh word to anyone. Love for others oozed out of every pore. She was always so helpful and kind and the most non-judgmental person I have ever known. However she was not a Christian, she was Buddhist. I just can't believe she ever did anything to deserve being cast into a place of eternal torment. If that's what Christians really believe then I don't want any part of it." Starstuff

I have no doubt that she was a sweet lady, and it’s great that you think that she never said a harsh word to anyone. I'm sorry that you lost a dear friend. My dad died a few years ago, and I thought the world of him.

Still, I have to be honest with you and ask how you knew that in her 95 years she never said a harsh word to a soul. Perhaps you are being charitable yourself and kindly giving your friend the benefit of the doubt. But let’s say that she was almost morally perfect, except for three slips a day. Just three times each 24 hours did she perhaps think a lustful thought, or fail to love God with her heart, mind, soul, and strength, or she didn’t love her neighbor (everyone) as much as she loved herself (which is the essence of the requirement of God’s Law). Maybe she became angry without cause, was greedy, unthankful to God, or selfish. But she only slipped three times each day. So she sins against God a thousand times a year. If we take a count from the age of ten, that’s 85,000 sins (crimes against His Law) that God has seen and must punish because of His perfect holiness.

Most of us would sin ten times as much as that, with our lustful, selfish, self-righteous, unthankful, and greedy thoughts, as well as our lying, stealing, blasphemy and our failing to do that we know we should. That’s why the Bible says that each of us have a "multitude" of sins (see James 5:20).

So, if your elderly friend was as perfect as you say she was, she doesn’t need a Savior. She will be fine on Judgment Day. However, if she was like the rest of us, and she actually became pious in the old age because she was driven by a guilty conscience, she desperately needed God’s forgiveness. And she could have found that in the person of Jesus Christ, not in atheistic Buddhism.

A simple answer to a simple question

"I would like a simple answer to a simple question. Do you believe that people who die without believing in Jesus Christ as their savior will be saved and go to Heaven?"

God promised that He would liberate the human race from death, and that He would do this through the suffering death of the Jewish Messiah (see Isaiah 53). The result would be peace with God for all who would humble themselves, repent and trust the God-given Savior (see Isaiah 55:1-3). Peace with God would mean everlasting life for humanity.

The Old Testament said that the result of conversion would be a new heart with new desires--desires that wanted to please the God, with Whom we were once at enmity (a "heart of stone" towards Him):

"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them" (Ezekiel 36:25-27).

The salvation of God (eternal life) would be offered to all men: to the Jew first, then to the Greek, the Indian, as well as Chinese, Russian, Moslem, Hindu, Buddhist, Kiwis, Aussies and even to atheists--those who are red and yellow, black and white, all are precious in His sight. Anyone can be saved from death and Hell (see Romans 10:13).

There is only one stipulation. They must come to the God-provided Savior, not through a man-made religion which cannot wash away sin. Jesus Christ is the only One who can forgive sin and give peace with God because He was God manifest in human form. There is a big reason for this exclusivity.

All man-made religions are "works righteous" religions. They think that they can get to Heaven by being good, praying, fasting, doing good works, through repentance, etc. (see Romans 10:2-3). This is because they don’t understand one very important truth. God is utterly perfect. His Law therefore demands moral perfection. It says that lust is adultery in His eyes and hatred is murder. His moral Law (the Ten Commandments) shows us that He is a Judge and we are desperate criminals in His sight. That changes everything. Now, anything we offer the Judge isn’t “good works,” but a despicable attempt to bribe Him, and that is an abomination in His sight (see Proverbs 21:27). The only thing that can save us is the mercy of the Judge.

Fortunately, we are told that God is "rich" in mercy. In His kindness He provided a Savior--someone to pay our fine in His life’s blood. That happened at the cross.

This is what that Savior said about Himself: "I am the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the father but through me" (John 14:6). Old and New Testament Scripture is consistent: "They shall be My people, and I will be their God; then I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me forever, for the good of them and their children after them" (Jeremiah 32:38), "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).

Tragically, whoever dies in their sins will get fearful justice. Whoever dies in Christ will have mercy and thus have everlasting life. It’s very simple. See Romans 2:6-9.

So let's not complain about God being unfair because people perish if they die in their sins. Instead, we should become missionaries and spend our lives telling this God-hating world the good news of eternal salvation for all humanity. I did.

Please note:

I was incorrect when I said that the law of gravity could be violated, and have changed the post from "he died primarily because violated the law of gravity" to "he died primarily because he neglected the law of gravity." My apologies. Thank you to those who pointed out this error.

Someone else said that the above is not correct, so I have made another change.

The straw man that broke the camel's back

"If you were God, and your child here on earth failed to trust in Jesus, would you torture them eternally or just forgive them? Wouldn't you say 'You broke the law but you know what it's impossible to keep. I love you and I understand your lack of faith?' Maybe not. I'd like to hear." Steve

A "straw man" argument is said to be "an informal fallacy based on misrepresentation of an opponent's position." The above supposed argument is a classic straw man. It misrepresents Christianity. When a believer in evolution accuses someone of a straw man argument, he has a problem. The theory of evolution is forever redefining itself. So the believer has no authoritative text book to which he may refer. The Christian, however, has the unchanging Scriptures, making it very easy to blow over straw men created by skeptics.

First, let’s look at his misrepresenting of the relationship man and God, by his use of the phrase "your child here on earth." The secular world are not God’s children. The Bible says we are the devil’s children. Satan is the god of this world and it is his will we do (see 2 Corinthians 4:4). We are enemies of God, rebels, who hate Him without cause. We are unthankful for His kindness and ours hearts are deceitfully wicked (see Jeremiah 17:9). The Bible says we drink evil like water, and we are not God’s children until we repent and trust the Savior. The moment we do that, we are born into His family and have the privilege of calling Him "Father."

The second fallacy is the phrase "failed to trust in Jesus." If a man jumps out of a plane and falls 10,000 feet to his death because he neglected to put on a parachute, he died primarily because the force of gravity exerted weight upon the mass of his body. Had he put on a parachute he could have been saved from its unforgiving consequences, but again, he died because by his own choice he caused the force of gravity to exert weight upon his body and spread him on the ground.

The straw man argument is that it is unfair of God to punish someone for not doing something. However, "sin" according to the Bible is not a failure to trust Jesus, but "transgression of God’s Law"--the Ten Commandments (see 1 John 3:4). Those who have the sense to "put on the Lord Jesus Christ," will be saved from violation of God's Law.

The third wording is also based on a lack of understanding. He said, "would you torture them eternally or just forgive them?" When God’s Law is left out of the equation justice makes no sense. However, the moral Law is eternal, absolute, and perfect. Think for a moment how tenacious we are when civil law is violated. A man rapes and kills three women, is tried and given the death sentence. He escapes. What does the law do? It spends millions of dollars to bring him to justice. Why? It doesn’t bring the women back. Why doesn’t the law simply forgive him? Because justice must be done.

Every human being has violated God’s Law a multitude of times. We are unthankful and self-righteous. We lie, steal, and burn with lust. We are naturally selfish, hateful, and blasphemous fornicators. The Bible says that our eyes are "full of adultery," and that we are "filthy dreamers." We are more than worthy of the death sentence and damnation. So why doesn’t God simply forgive us? Because justice must be done. If sinful man goes to great lengths to see that justice is done, how much more will a perfect and holy God make sure every murderer, rapist, thief and liar get what is due to them? Hell is God’s prison and those that go there will go there for life. There is no way out . . . not a hope in Hell.

Yet, God (in His great mercy) has made a way for us to be freely forgiven for our wickedness. He became a Man in the person of Jesus of Nazareth and suffered and died on the cross. God’s wrath came down on Him so that it wouldn’t have to come down on us. He defeated death through the resurrection and opened the door of everlasting life to all who would repent and trust in Him.

Is God’s Law "impossible" to keep? It is for guilty sinners. How can we “keep” a Law we have already violated? However, we "keep" the Law when we trust is Jesus. Its demands were satisfied in Christ. It is appeased because our fine was paid by the Savior. That means that God can legally dismiss our case and commute our death sentence. We are at peace with the Law.

The final straw man that broke the camel’s back also comes from a lack of understanding:. It is "I love you and I understand your lack of faith." A judge may love a criminal but he cannot allow his love to interfere with justice. He must do that which is right despite his feelings for a criminal. Our straw-man-maker wants to cling to his belief that sin is simply a lack of faith, and that shouldn’t be punished for not being able to believe something. However, there are times in Scripture when Jesus rebuked His disciples for a lack of faith in Him and in the Scriptures. He called them "fools" and "slow of heart" to believe all that the prophets have spoken (see Luke 24:25). Such words are appropriate. Any man who doubts the instructions that tell him how to be saved from a 10,000 foot jump, and then fails to put on a parachute because of his doubts, is definitely a fool.

Testable evidence

"God is not based upon observable, testable evidence. He is based upon faith. With God we are unable to make predictions and test them to see if they are correct." Rabbitpirate

That is not true. Creation is "observable" evidence of the existence of God to all but a fool (not my words--See Psalm 14:1). God is not "based upon faith." Such a thought is ridiculous. His existence or non-existence has nothing to do with whether or not I have faith. As with human relationships, the means of exchange between God and Mankind is based on trust (faith).

Anyone can make the prediction that God will manifest Himself to them, and then they can test the prediction to see if it is valid. There are two stipulations when coming to God. First, you must believe that He exists. That makes sense. Why would anyone come to God if they didn't believe He existed. Again, in the light of creation, such a person would be a fool. And the second stipulation is that we have a humble heart. God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble. If you are a proud person, you have already cut yourself off from God by your sins. However, all those who humble themselves, repent, and trust in Jesus Christ come to know Him who is "life eternal."

It's that simple.

Ugly and hateful religion

"Any God that would torture Anne Frank for all eternity is unworthy of worship . . . Awhile back, Ray posted a comment addressing the question of what happens to a child deep in the third world who dies w/o ever even hearing about Jesus? Does he get a break? Nope. Not according to your religion. I don't buy into hateful, ugly religions like that." Captain Howdy

Captain . . . why do you insist that Jews go to Hell? Jesus was Jewish. All the disciples were Jewish. The first 8,000 Christians were Jewish. I am Jewish. Christianity came from the home of the Jews. It went to "the Jew first," and is now universal to both Jew and Gentile. It isn't an American religion. It's Jewish. And, because God is gracious, His Word says "whoever" repents and trusts alone in Jesus Christ for their salvation is Heaven-bound. They have eternal life! It is that simple.

Please tell me how do you know what Ann Frank believed about the promised Jewish Messiah? Explain to me how you can make such a harsh judgment about her salvation and think that she went to Hell.

And how do you know so much about this "third world" of which you speak (I presume that you think that you are part of the first world)? Your understanding of biblical theology is sadly very lacking. If you had it correct, you would know that God saves whom He will, whether they are in your third, second, or first world. He graciously saved me--a Jew, who lived at the uttermost part of the earth (fourth world country?).

The reason you don’t buy into a "hateful ugly religion," is because you have created your own ugly and hateful view of Christianity. It is blinding you to the reality of the love and forgiveness of God. It is as blinding as racial prejudice and much more damning.

Why I don't embrace the faith of Richard Dawkins

"If I may, I would like to pose a simple but achingly sincere question. I am curious as to why it is that there does not seem to be a willingness, on the part of Mr. Comfort, to engage in an honest conversation regarding evolution . . . Surely the repeated successes of so many counter arguments agreed upon by so many learned men deserve at least the pretense of acknowledgment." Lovebug

Evolution has as much credibility with me as does the flying spaghetti monster. I am amazed at how many people can write so much about a subject that they insist is scientific, but that has no credible scientific basis. I speak as one that once embraced the thoughtless theory. What is also amazing is that its believers hide behind this pseudo-science and look condescendingly down on anyone who doesn’t have the faith that they do. If you don’t believe evolution, you are considered to be an intellectual knuckle-dragger.

The fact that so many supposedly learned men believe the theory, reminds me that once upon a time most learned men believed in a flat earth. But their faith didn’t change reality.

When it comes to evolution I have asked for facts from those who believe its claims, and all I get is that you have to have faith in what has been taught. A good evolutionist believes without a doubt what his professor has told him. He has to believe when the pope of evolution, professor Richard Dawkins tells him:

"You cannot be both sane and well educated and disbelieve in evolution. The evidence is so strong that any sane, educated person has got to believe in evolution."

So unbelievers are insane and uneducated. But, according to the learned professor, someone who doesn’t believe is even worse than that. He also said,

"It is absolutely safe to say that, if you meet somebody who claims not to believe in evolution, that person is ignorant, stupid or insane (or wicked, but I'd rather not consider that)."

So infidels (unbelievers) are actually wicked (sinful) if they don’t believe in the theory of evolution. There’s an example of sweeping judgmental intolerant fanaticism.

I have challenged professor Dawkins to give me his best sermon on why I should believe in the theory he believes, and why he thinks that God "probably" doesn’t exist. But he has a vow of silence when it comes to me, despite the fact that I said I would drop $20,000 in his personal collection plate.

Every day, 150,000 people die. That’s a fact of life. But each of us somehow thinks that death is something that happens to other people, or at least it will come to us when we are in our late 90’s. However, most men die when they are in their early 70's. If you are 50 years old, you have around 1,000 weekends left. If you are 60, you have a mere 500. Professor Dawkins is 68! That’s why I’m seriously pushing for a debate, because it’s just a matter of time before he goes to meet his Maker.

Still, the devout follower of Dawkins and Darwin will believe anything said to him on believers' websites, or in believers’ books. Evolution’s many adherents simply fortify the truth that human beings are incredibly gullible, and will believe anything as long as it’s not in the Bible. How true and the words of Professor Dawkins, when he said, "Faith is belief in spite of, even perhaps because of, the lack of evidence." He has unquestioning faith in evolution. I do not.

I hope that helps you to understand why I don't even give evolution a "pretence" of acknowledgement. To do so would be to be both disingenuous and foolish to the highest degree.