Believing in Magic

"Evolution has evidence to back it up. It's not perfect and not complete but it is more compelling than believing in magic. Are you afraid to look at the evidence? I could link to some starter information on my neglected blog if you aren't afraid of it." Haewood Jathink

A simple-minded man once maintained that the story of Pinocchio was true. A wooden doll did become a human being. He not only believed that it was true, but he maintained and that he had evidence to back it up. He said that its proof was that there was such a thing as a wooden doll of the type spoken of in the story, and that it has been also proven that there was once a child that looked like that doll. Therefore, in his mind, that was evidence that the wooden doll came to life. He didn’t see the disconnect between the two thoughts.

Then he said that his theory was scientific, he was intelligent, and anyone who didn’t believe as he believed was unintelligent and unscientific. Yet everyone knew that non-life cannot become life.

Such describes the modern atheist. He has an adamant belief that there’s no evidence that there are any gods, and yet he himself is part of life. He believes that non-life produced life, and he doesn’t see the disconnect. Then he tries to justify his belief by embracing the wild speculation of Darwinian evolution, the theory that he believes is "not complete but is more compelling than believing in magic."

I have practiced magic for many years, and have watched the astounded expressions of thousands of people whose eyes where easily fooled by my hands. Prestidigitation has taught me that human beings are extremely gullible, and never has there been such mass gullibility as with the case of those whose believe the theory of evolution without compelling evidence. For them, a bump on a whale-bone becomes positive proof that whales had legs, or some amino acid means that chickens were once dinosaurs. Obscure non-transitional fossils become attestation that humans are actually primates. This is the conviction of the simple-minded, who believe anything that paleontologists and professors pontificate.

No doubt the argument will continue until Kingdom come between those that love God, and those that don’t. But I have looked at the "evidence" for evolution, and I don’t believe as they do. I am not afraid of their "starter information" because their "finish" doesn't exist.

I choose rather the evidence that is backed up by the power of the Creator, who promises to reveal Himself to those that obey Him (see John 14:21). There is no greater evidence for truth. When God reveals himself to any human being, the argument is over.

Not Thinking too Deeply

"You should stop using the criminal justice system as an analogy for your God. As you have had pointed out many times, it is entirely unjust for someone else to pay the punishment for the crimes you are guilty of." Lurker

As far as I know, you are the only one who has ever said to me that it is entirely unjust for someone else to pay for crimes of which another is guilty. I have to conclude that you made this statement rashly, and without too much thought. There is nothing at all unjust about any father stepping in and paying a speeding fine for his son. It happens all the time, and the judge has no concerns of where the payment comes from, as long as it is lawful money.

How would you react if you were guilty of violating civil law, and your dad loved you so much that he sold his house and spent all of his hard–earned savings to pay the massive fine, so that you could get out of prison? Would you point at your father and accuse him of some sort of crime? How perverse would that be? If you did that, you would not only be despising his incredible sacrifice, but you would also reveal something horrible about your own character.

That’s what you are doing when you accuse Almighty God of being unjust. He became a Man in Jesus of Nazareth to take the punishment for the sin of the world, so that we could live forever. If you or I accuse Him of being unjust, it reveals something horrible about our character. We need to humble ourselves, get on our knees and thank God for giving us life in the first place, and then for offering wicked humanity such an unspeakable gift.

By Their Fruits Shall You Know Them

When Sue and I purchased an upside-down tomato plant hanging thingy, I was pleased. Very pleased. I had seen them advertised on TV and they sure looked great. The principle was simple. The plant grew downwards and so gravity pushed everything down, and before you know it you have a healthy plant, bursting with succulent and brilliant red tomatoes, just like the amazing plant they showed on TV. I remember hanging it up and imagining them all over our backyard, so that we could have the joy of taking big red tomatoes to the neighbors.

It’s now two months since we purchased our first plant. With good soil, just the right amount of Southern California sun and regular watering, we now have our tomatoes. Both of them. They are hanging on a plant that has branches that look like the bent wart-laden nose of a really ugly witch (pictured). The two tomatoes are green, and I have a feeling that that’s they way they will stay.

I once saw an infomercial that said that back pain was caused by the spine being out of alignment. I bought special inserts for my shoes, because I had a bad back. I was naturally skeptical but I was in so much pain I thought the risk was worth the $20. I was amazed to find that they worked! After years of horrible pain, the inserts fixed it immediately, and I haven’t had any trouble since I put them in. So I guess the one success offsets the stack of stupid stuff that I have purchased over the years, that sit on a high shelf in our home.

Still, it shows that most times it’s best to stay with the old maxim, "In God we trust. Others pay cash."

Overwhelmed Members of the Species

"Like most other members of my species, I sometimes find life overwhelming and absurd. I struggle with the knowledge that the people I love will eventually die, and that their deaths will almost certainly be preceded by a period of suffering and decline. More selfishly, I am conscious of my own numbered days, my own vulnerability to sickness and decay." Irukandji

Any thinking person who looks at this life with all of its pains and struggles, is going to feel "overwhelmed." Millions try and find refuge in drugs or in alcohol. Most try and deal with their dread of death by using the word "eventually," thinking that they are putting it off into the distant. But the reality is, millions are cut off by death in their youth and they find that their "eventually" wasn’t distant at all.

When I was 20 years-old, I began thinking for the first time in my godless life. I thought about life’s purpose and its fragility, and how it seemed insane that we had the amazing ability to put a man on the moon, and yet we didn’t even know what we were doing here on earth. I thought it strange that medical science spent billions of dollars trying to find a cure for the common cold, and it did nothing to try and stop the aging process. It seemed insane that we were all going to die and nobody talked about it, asked why, or even looked for an answer to it.

So I thought that it was wise to simply live a long healthy life. I would try and die healthy. I decided to visit my doctor to see if he had some advice. Hope dissipated as I watched him light up a cigarette and breath the carcinogen-filled smoke into his sick-looking body.

Neither can a fantasy help, that tells us that we are nothing but part of a "species." Then again, each of us can, at any moment in time stop believing the fantasy, and with a little thought use our God-given eyes and ears to know that God exists. This amazing place we call a "universe" didn’t happen by accident.

Each of us (by the grace of God) can listen to the voice of our conscience, know that we have sinned against His perfect Law, and understand that Hell is a reality. It’s then that the cross will make sense. Upon our repentance and faith in Jesus, God will give us everlasting life and lift us out of the futility of a godless lifestyle.

Forever Thankful

"I've asked this several times and never received an answer. What is the name of the person who brought you to Christ? Who convinced you to trust in Jesus? You never have answered me. Why is that?" (Liz)

The name of the person who led me to Christ was Graham Reid. He was a New Zealand surfing buddy, in a group of five or six close friends. I befriended him when I was newly married, and decided to go on a two-day surfing trip (in April of 1972) with the group. I didn’t know that Graham was a Christian. All I knew was that he was a nice guy who didn’t cuss, and had a Bible in his car.

During the first night of the trip, I read Matthew 5:27-28 and realized that I had sinned against God. Later that night Graham shared the good news of the gospel with me--that Jesus suffered in my place, to save me from my sin and the reality of Hell. At 1:30 a.m. I was born again, and came to know God.

The rest of that weekend he kept repeating the words, "Ray Comfort a Christian. I don’t believe it. I don’t believe it!" The reason for his being astounded was that he knew that I was incredibly happy. I was 22 years-old with my own prospering business, my own home, a lovely wife, and the freedom to slap "Gone surfing" on the door of my surf shop, whenever I felt like it. What more could I want? But he didn’t know that I was desperately seeking truth. I didn’t know why I was alive. I could see that the whole of humanity is marking-time until death swallowed us. Life didn’t make sense.

One night I wept as I looked at my beautiful wife and realized that death could take her in a heartbeat. With tears streaming down my cheeks, I cried "Why! Why?" I didn’t think that anyone heard me that dark night, but I was heard, and my cry was answered six months later when I fell at the Savior’s feet.

I will be forever thankful for the night that my faithful friend took the time to share the gospel with me:

"I sought the Lord and He heard me and delivered me from all of my fears" (Psalm 34:4).

Pic. Taken by Graham Reid on the night of my conversion (April 25th, 1972). I am second from the left.

Perhaps it's Time.

"The lowly appendix, long-regarded as a useless evolutionary artifact, won newfound respect two years ago when researchers at Duke University Medical Center proposed that it actually serves a critical function. The appendix, they said, is a safe haven where good bacteria could hang out until they were needed to repopulate the gut after a nasty case of diarrhea, for example….'Maybe it's time to correct the textbooks,' says William Parker, Ph.D., assistant professor of surgical sciences at Duke and the senior author of the study." ScienceDaily (Aug. 21, 2009)

What an interesting way to admit that the theory was wrong. Again. For years we have heard the argument that the appendix was positive proof for Darwinian evolution, and that those who didn’t accept the evidence were unscientific knuckle-heads.

Suddenly it goes from being a useless evolutionary leftover to being something that "serves a critical function." There’s no apology. There’s no admittance of wrong. They discovered that God made it for a reason, and all we get is "maybe it’s time to correct the textbooks." Maybe? Of course it won’t be. Why should it, when the entire foundation for evolution is founded on the same sort of fiction?

Of course, believers will parrot that there’s no need for an apology because science is never "wrong." Rather, it’s forever seeking the truth but it can never be sure that it has found it. So it has license for recurrent falsehood. When it comes down to it, those that have faith in evolution can never have the assurance that what they are believing is true and trustworthy. It is Darwinian quicksilver.

However, I’m not concerned if someone wants to believe in a fairytale. That’s their business. What concerns me is if their belief conflicts with the truth of Christianity and that causes them to reject the gospel. Then it becomes of great concern because it becomes a stumbling block for their eternal salvation, and that’s a tragedy beyond words.


Jinx McHue said:

"Vestigial simply means that it no longer serves i... "Vestigial simply means that it no longer serves its original function."

ROFLMBO!!!! Goal post moved.

For decades, evolutionists constantly claimed the appendix was vestigial because it supposedly didn't do anything. Now that it's been found to do something extremely important, they change their argument to "it doesn't do what it originally did." How, pray tell, can you know what it originally did? If you cite other living things' intestines, then guess what -- you'll be guilty of actual circular logic (as opposed to Peahead Myers' rhetorical nonsense).

Where is Carl Sagan?

"Who are we? We find that we live on an insignificant planet of a humdrum star lost in a galaxy tucked away in some forgotten corner of a universe in which there are far more galaxies than people." Carl Sagan

God knows what Carl Sagan did in the last days or even last minutes of his life. Cancer has a way of stopping us in our tracks, and making us think about life’s bigger issues. However, at the time Carl Sagan wrote the above, it showed how "lost" he was. He believed that we live on a lost planet, forgotten by whoever ("whatever" cannot forget) created it. But he was misinformed.

We are not at all insignificant. The fact that this earth has oxygen, that it has water, that it is just the right distance for the star we call the sun sets us apart as having great significance. Neither are we at all "forgotten" by God. True, the number of galaxies is innumerable, but each one of us is intimately remembered by our Creator. He knew us before we were formed in the womb, He knows how many hairs are on our heads, and He even knows our thoughts, before we think them. Of course, you don’t believe that if you are an atheist, but that doesn’t change its truth.

Imagine the tragedy and sense of betrayal--if you base your whole life on the empty philosophy of Carl Sagan, and find on Judgment Day that he did repent and trust the Savior. Imagine seeing him separated to Heaven, and yourself cast into Hell because you followed him in life but weren’t privy to his death.

I think it would be wise not to follow the vain philosophy of any man or woman. Rather, follow Jesus Christ. He is the way, the truth and the life. How do you do that? Call upon His name. Do it today. Simply humble yourself, repent of your sins, and put your trust in the Savior…and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free (see John 8:31-32).

Pic. From Richard Gunther: "The little yellow dot is our sun, and the red area is the side of the star called 'Canis Majoris.' It is utterly amazing how big this star really is (the largest discovered so far), compared to our tiny little sun -- and yet we think the sun is big!"

A Most Common Mistake

"If the Bible is always right and never needs up dating, why is there a New Testament? Why don't boys have to be circumcised now? Why can you eat pork? Why can you work on a Saturday? Why don't you have to batter people's skulls in with stones who worship 'false gods'?" Andy Duchemin

One of the most common mistakes people make with the Bible, is to confuse the issues of Law and grace. The Scriptures make the difference when they say "The Law came by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." The Law of Moses is categorized into three parts: the Moral Law (the Ten Commandments), the Civil Law (the Law for Israel’s court system) and the Ceremonial Law (the Law for ceremonial worship). The whole Law had 613 precepts (its do's and don’ts ).

Male circumcision was part of the ceremonial Law given to Israel to set them apart from other nations, as was not eating pork and Sabbath worship. Capital punishment under the Law—-for murder, adultery, idolatry, blasphemy was part of the civil Law of Israel, so why should we as a nation live under the standards of justice given to a nation three thousand years ago? We are under no obligation to keep any of the dietary, civil, or ceremonial Laws of Israel.

However, we are under obligation to keep the Moral Law. It was given to Israel but its purpose is to "leave the whole world guilty before God" (see Romans 3:19-20). And it certainly does. When we study its holy precepts and understand that we violate the Seventh by our lust, it shows us we need the grace (mercy) of God.

The reason the Moral Law leaves us guilty before God is that its precepts are written on our hearts, via the conscience. We intuitively know that its wrong to lie, to steal, to lust, to hate, to murder, to commit adultery, etc.

It was one night way back in 1972 that the Law showed me that I was guilty, heading for Hell, and it sent me to the Savior where I found mercy. The Law came by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. As the hymn-writer wrote 200 years ago:

"By God’s grace at last my sin I learned, then I trembled at the Law I spurned, till my guilty soul imploring turned, to Calvary."

Who Says God Doesn't do Miracles for Amputees?

http://www.foxnews.com/video2/video08.html?maven_referralObject=6196344&mave

How to be "Intellectual," in Your Own Mind

"'You believe in nothing created something or the Creator created something? It's a simple question.' Yes indeed it is. It is also a simple presupposition offered as a limited hypothetical 'choice', excluding as it does any number of other possibilities, all of which are probably beyond our current knowledge." Raoul Rheits

Many times I have been called a liar because I have said that an atheist is someone who believes "nothing created everything," which of course is a scientific impossibility. This is a huge embarrassment to the atheist. Instead of being seen as an intellectual, such a thought reveals him to be a fool, just as the Bible says (see Psalm 14:1).

Professor Richard Dawkins isn’t embarrassed to say that believes that "nothing created everything." This is what he said in his book, The Ancestor's Tale: A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Evolution:

"The fact that life evolved out of nearly nothing, some 10 billion years after the universe evolved literally out of nothing--is a fact so staggering that I would be mad to attempt words to do it justice" (italics added).

He’s right of course about someone being mad if they even attempted to explain it.

But those who believe it need not attempt the madness of trying to explain it or justify it. If they want to hold onto the label "atheist" and still think that they are intellectual, they can pretend that there is another alternative. All they need to do is employ the evolutionist’s popular "language of speculation" by using the word "probably," and then hope that the answer is "beyond our current knowledge"--they enroll in the "Don't Understand How" club (DUH).

How true is Scripture when it says of the atheist (see Romans 1:20): "...when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools..." (Romans 1:21-22).

Nothing Has Changed, in Over 100 Years

"You cannot disqualify scientific endeavors [the way you do] unless you truly understand it. Since it is obvious that you have no idea, you should rather shut it. Try and learn what the whole paleontology, geology, and biology are about, how the evidence is collected and analyzed, then come back and tell those things with a straight face." G.E.

I will let the wisdom of Charles Spurgeon address the subject of "science" in his day:

"Away from the old-fashioned belief of our forefathers because of the supposed discoveries of science. What is science? The method by which man tries to conceal his ignorance. It should not be so, but so it is. You are not to be dogmatical in theology, my brethren, it is wicked; but for scientific men, it is the correct thing. You are never to assert anything very strongly; but scientists may boldly assert what they cannot prove, and may demand a faith far more credulous than any we possess.

"Forsooth, you and I are to take our Bibles, and shape and mould our belief according to the ever-shifting teachings of so-called scientific men. What folly is this! Why, the march of science, falsely so-called, through the world, may be traced by exploded fallacies and abandoned theories. Former explorers, once adored, are now ridiculed; the continual exposure of false hypotheses is a matter of universal notoriety. You may tell where the learned have encamped by the debris left behind of suppositions and theories as plentiful as broken bottles. As the quacks, who ruled the world of medicine in one age, are the scorn of the next, so has it been, and so will it be, with your atheistical savants and pretenders to science . . .

"So the bubbles go on bursting, and meanwhile more are being blown, and we are expected to believe in whatever comes, and wait with open mouth to see what comes next. But we shall not just yet fall down and worship the image of human wisdom, notwithstanding all the flutes, harps, sackbuts, psalteries, dulcimers, weekly papers, quarterly reviews, and boastful professors. Show us a man of science worthy of the name, and then we will not follow him if he dares to oppose revealed truth; but show us one in whom the next generation will believe; at present, there is not one alive worthy to be compared with Newton and other master-minds reverent to the Scriptures, compared with whom these men are mere pretenders."

The Sword in Your Hand

"In what ways do you experience divine wrath and mercy? I’m not asking for a sermon or a collection of Bible verses but rather a testimony of your experience."

I have not experienced divine wrath, although the night of my conversion I was well aware of it. Think of a wanted criminal. He has committed multiple and serious crimes. One night, he is stealing in the dark of a moonless night. The darkness gives him a sense of security. Suddenly police spotlights flood the area. He is exposed. The darkness is no longer a cover for his unlawful activity. He hears a loud voice tell him that ten sharpshooters have his pounding heart in their sights. One wrong move and he is a dead man. At this point he has a choice. He can try and make a run for it and die, or he can lift his hands high in surrender and live.

Before I was a Christian, I was engaged in serious unlawful activity even though I hadn’t violated man’s law. I was unaware that God saw my thought-life and that I had violated His perfect Law--the Ten Commandments. The night of my conversion was when the light came like a flood. I was exposed for my many sins. The darkness was no longer my security. The loud voice of my conscience told me that those Ten Commandments, like ten great cannons, had my pounding heart in their sights. If I tried to run I knew that God's Law would justly send me to Hell. At that point I had a choice. I could run from the light, or I could lift my hands high and surrender. On the 25th of April, 1972 at 1:30 a.m., I surrendered.

Guilty though I was, I found that the Judge of the Universe was rich in mercy. He dismissed my case because Jesus Christ had paid my fine in His life’s blood two thousand years ago, then He granted me the gift of everlasting life. If you have ever seen the movie Ben Hur, at the conclusion you will hear a wide-eyed Judah Ben Hur say, "I felt His words take the sword out of my hand." That’s what happens the moment you surrender the weapons of your hostility.

A Strange Name for a Christian Site

"Once again, despite the title of Ray’s blog, Atheist Central, today’s post addresses a theological point that is of no concern to atheists." Clamflats

This is a Christian blog that is called "Atheist Central." It is a strange name for a Christian site, but there is a reason for it being called that. It’s not because I solely post comments that concern atheists (although many do), but because so many atheists hang around and read it each day. It was originally called “Comfort Food,” and it was created solely to feed Christians. But things changed from the moment it started back in 2007. Let me tell you what happened.

It’s as though one dark night back on 2007, I decided to have a barbeque for members of my family. I found a spot in my back yard, lit the barbeque, put some meat on it and listened to it sizzle.

Suddenly, to my amazement, a mass of annoying bugs came from nowhere and infested the place. I tried swatting them, but they wouldn’t go away. They wanted to hang around the light, and they also wanted to try and get a little poison in here and there.

So I gave up trying to swat them. I instead welcomed them, and decided to call the place "Bug Central." Why? Because I grew to actually like them. Go figure.

No doubt this will stir up a fresh frenzy of biting and stinging replies.

The Pleasures of Sin

"Regardless of whether you believe Jesus or you believe Ray, people who had never heard the gospel are burning in Hell [and] that makes your God evil." Ryk

You are presuming that people go to Hell because they have never heard the gospel, and then, upon that erroneous presumption, say, "Therefore God is unjust." However, people go to Hell for murder, rape, adultery, lying, stealing, hatred, evil imaginations, blasphemy, etc. God owes no one mercy. All He owes us in justice. Equity is His moral obligation.

Like most atheists, you have a wrong understanding of the nature of God. This is because atheists create a god who has no sense of right or wrong, justice or truth. Their god is an unloving and merciless tyrant. But (as I have said many times) the concept of the god they don't believe in, doesn't exist. He is a figment of their imagination (the place of imagery). The creation of a false god is called "idolatry," and it's a violation of the First and the Second of the Ten Commandments.

There is a short-term payoff with idolatry. Not only can you spit out blasphemy against God and feel justified, but it also gives you a temporary license to sin your heart out without any fear of having to answer to Him for your actions. Idolatry opens wide the door to the joys of pornography, fornication, lust, adultery and any other darling sin you wish to name. There is short term pleasure, but an eternal consequences. However, that is your choice. It's not mine, and because I care about you I will do all I can to warn you that you will eternally regret your decision.

Look at what the Bible says about Moses and the joys of sin:

"By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward" (Hebrews 11:24-26).

You have that same choice. You can enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season, or you can repent, trust the Savior and find everlasting life.

It's a Bit of a Gamble...

"Repent of your sins and accept Jesus! As long as you do it before you die you should be fine, so have fun while you're young and become saved later in life. It's a bit of a gamble, but then again so is choosing from the thousands of religions that say they are right. Christianity, the religion that allows you to live your life however you want and get saved right before dying, it's awesome!" Nathan

These are the words of someone who is deluded enough into thinking that God is a fool. He thinks that he will play the ultimate bait and switch. However, death-bed conversions are few and far between. More than 40,000 people are killed each year in car accidents. I wonder how many thought that they would have an opportunity to give God their leftovers, but didn't, and instead will be justly damned for their sins. Those who think that they can fool God should read the last verses of Matthew 23, and see the fate of all who suffer from the same delusion.

My guess (from the language you use) is that you have been duped by those who think that becoming a Christian is a matter of "accepting Jesus." Neither does salvation come from "asking Jesus into your heart." You won’t find either of those two popular phrases in the Bible. Salvation comes though repentance and trust in Jesus alone. No other way.

Keep in mind that in the next 24 hours 150,000 people (many of whom were planning for a future on earth) are going to pass into eternity. Today may be the day God loses patience with you (see Luke 12:20). Please, make sure it doesn’t come to that.

Illicit Sex

A little boy crept into his father’s bedroom one night, grabbed his wallet and stole a crisp new $20 bill. The next day His dad found out that he had stolen the money, took him aside and said that he had especially saved that bill as a gift for the boy, and was planning on giving it to him the next morning. The boy not only missed out on the gift, but he was punished for his theft.

It may come as a shock to the average atheist, but sex didn’t evolve. It wasn’t an accident. Male and female were created by God and given the ability to procreate. Its pleasure is a gift from God to each one of us. But we have taken the gift and perverted it through lust, fornication and adultery. This may not be a concern at the moment, but it will be on Judgment Day. God sees lust as adultery, and warns that fornicators will not enter Heaven.

God had lavished His goodness upon King David, but despite this, David’s sinful heart still caused him to lust after another man’s wife. He took her to himself and committed adultery, then he tried to cover his tracks when she became pregnant, by murdering her husband. Yet God had mercy on him, and upon his repentance and faith, forgave him. You can read the whole sordid story in 2 Samuel 11-12, and then David’s penitent prayer in Psalm 51. It was written for our instruction (see 2 Timothy 3:16).

A Question About a Regular Visitor

Does anyone know what kind of bird this is? It comes regularly to our backyard feeder. We call it "Bandit" because it has a red mask. It's smaller than a house finch and sparrow. We can't seem to find any information online. Thanks. See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CKUt8yy73w

It may be a red-browed finch as someone suggested (pictured below). But they are from Australia (I think) and we are in California.

While looking for the above I found some incredible birds. God is absolutely awesome!





Rebecca in TX said...I can't find that bird anywhere. Not in any books. I will try the library next time I go. I sure would like to know what kind of bird that is. Looks a lot like a finch but the coloring is not right.

Tame the Beast, or it Will Kill You

"Ray, if my kid gets sick should I take him to the doctors? Or would that be interfering with the work of your God in his life?" Rauol Rheits

It was the wisdom of Solomon that said that a merry heart does good "like a medicine" (see Proverbs 17:22). So medicines are good.

Here’s what we would do when our kids were young and became sick. We would pray for them, and take them to the doctor if it was more than a minor complaint. If the doctor saw fit to put him in the hospital, we would pray even more--that God would give wisdom to the doctors, because hospitals have become very dangerous places. Around 40,000 people die on roads in the United States each year. However, a massive 200,000 people die in hospitals because of medical mistakes and infections. That means that in ten years two million people die while in the care of our medical professionals. That’s frightening.

One way to keep out of hospitals is to control our appetite (see Proverbs 23:2), to cultivate the virtue of self control (see 2 Peter 1:5-7). There are many serious complications and terrible diseases that result in an untimely death, that come with obesity. An incredible 58 million Americans are overweight, while 40 million are obese, and three million morbidly obese. No wonder our health care system is overloaded.

By the way, obesity is not caused genetically as some maintain. Neither is it a disease (although some medical conditions cause weight gain). When the Americans liberated those who were in concentration camps in 1945, there were no obese people. They were all skinny. Obesity is caused by self-indulgence--by eating too much food or by eating the wrong food. A good rule to live by for healthy living, is: "If God created it (vegetables, fruit, etc.), eat it. If man has messed with it, read the label, carefully."

Another key to staying out of hospitals is to realize that you should cleanse yourself (particularly your hands) under running water, to keep free from diseases. This is what the Bible instructed the Jews to do thousands of years before science discovered its importance (see Leviticus 15:13). It’s God’s instruction book on how to live this life, and how to get to the next. Don’t ignore it.

A not-so-strange question from an Atheist

"Hey Ray, I have a weird question for you. Do you suffer from insomnia? I hope not; I find it insufferable when I can't sleep."

I did suffer badly from insomnia, years ago. I actually brought it on myself. I have been getting up most nights around midnight (since 1982) each week to pray and to write. I would be up for three hours, and so stirred my mind I could never get back to sleep. I would lay awake exhausted for hours. But then I found a cure, and ended up writing a book about it called, Overcoming Insomnia. I will try and summarize the book so that you won’t have to buy it.

It is the mind not the body that’s the problem. You can go to bed physically exhausted and lie awake all night, thinking about the day’s problems. What you have to do is exhaust the brain, and there is a way to do this.

Read. I read the Bible in bed on an Ipod, so that I don’t wake Sue by turning on the light. It is through reading that I discovered the secret to inducing sleep. You have to learn to read until a "wave" takes over your mind and causes your eyes to lose focus and your mind the ability to concentrate. This process works like the "wave" of a reoccurring birth contraction or the reoccurring "wave" of our daily bodily functions. It comes and then it goes.

This may take ten minutes to induce, or it may take a whole hour of concerted reading, but after a while you will recognize it when it comes. The key is to fight it. Don’t yield to it. Keep reading. The wave will only last for 15-20 seconds.

The second wave will come five or perhaps ten minutes later. Fight it for a moment, then stop reading. Shut your eyes, and count backwards from 100--to further exhaust your mind and to keep busy the voice of your over-active subconscious. The next thing it will be morning, and you will be thanking God for a good night’s sleep.

If this process doesn’t work, you could try reading any of my books. They will put you to sleep.

God Always Answers Prayer

I wonder what you would think of the mentality of someone who said "Some time ago I emailed the White House and told the President that he needed to be at my house last Friday, with a gift for me. He didn’t show up, so I believe that he doesn’t exist." I’m sure you would think that your friend was either naive or mentally challenged.

If you have ever prayed for something and felt that your prayer didn't get past the ceiling, you are probably right. Just as there is a certain procedure that you must go through to have an audience with the President, so there is certain procedure that you must go through to have an audience with God.

Here’s some information that may help you. The first thing to understand is that we are enemies of God, and that His wrath abides on us (see John 3:36). We are rebels. So the odds of getting an audience are stacked against us. The Bible tells us that our sins have made a separation between us and God, so that He will not hear us (see Isaiah 59:1-2). He resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. So stop clicking your fingers and expecting God to come running like some sort of divine butler. It doesn’t work that way (see James 4:3-4). Instead, humble yourself, repent, and trust the Savior--that will give you direct access (see John 14:6).

Then make sure you understand that God always answers prayer. That way you will never be disappointed. Sometimes He says "Yes" and grants our desires. Sometimes He says "No" and doesn’t. Other times He makes us wait so that we learn to exercise faith and patience.

Most people don’t understand that there are two types of the will of God. There’s His permissive will, where He will allow things to happen to the Christian. These may not seem to be beneficial for us, but God promises to work them out for our good, in the light of eternity.

Then there is the perfect will of God. Such revelations are very clear in Scripture. You can go to the bank on them. Actually, I take that back. Banks nowadays aren’t that reliable. Let’s just say that when you see a promise in Scripture that is clearly God’s absolute will (i.e. "... that whoever believes on Him shall not perish but have everlasting life"), you can rely on it. Completely.

The Holocaust and the Jews

"Do you really believe the holocaust was God's punishment of the Jews?"

I would never say that God used Hitler to punish the Jews. If God treated any of us justly and punished us according to our sins, we would all be in Hell in an instant. I’m Jewish and I am as guilty as any Gentile of violating His Law.

However, you and I get to stay alive for a time because God is rich in mercy, is filled with what the Bible calls "lovingkindness," and He particularly lavished this lovingkindness upon the Jewish nation. If you study the Scriptures you will see that He promised them that if they loved and obeyed Him He would give them long life, health, prosperity, and protection from their enemies.

But He also warned that if they disobeyed Him, His hand of protection would be removed. This happened when they were conquered by the Babylonian nation.

When you read Jeremiah and Lamentations you will see that they were starved, raped, and horribly murdered. The Babylonians were incredibly cruel--they hung people by one hand, ripped babies from mother’s wombs, committed genocide, and used slave labor. They, like the Nazis were merciless.

Yet, with all their sins God was still rich in mercy and He promised that He would draw the Jewish people back from where he had scattered them throughout the world (see Nehemiah 1:8, Luke 21:24). He said that He would give them their own homeland. That happened in 1948 when they became a nation in one day, as the Scriptures said they would:

"Who has heard such a thing? who has seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children" (Isaiah 66:8).

This accurately describes what happened on May 14, 1948. The Zionist Jews declared independence for an Israeli sovereign nation for the first time in 2,900 years. Hours beforehand, a United Nations mandate expired, ending British control of the land. During a 24-hour span of time, foreign control of the land of Israel formally ceased. Israel was literally born in a single day.

Within hours of the declaration of independence in 1948, Israel was attacked by the surrounding countries of Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

Right now, the Jews are still surrounded by enemies who are sworn to their death as a nation. Their only hope is to turn to God with their whole heart, and if they obey Him, they will have victory.

Only time will tell us if they have learned anything from history.

Do I Believe in Wizards?

"And Ray, was Thunderf00t telling the truth in his 'post-amble' when he relates ‘The thing I really remember was that Ray believes in witches, wizards, demons and sorcerers."

If you don’t believe that witches exist, simply Google the word "witches" and you will get 10,600,000 results. If, as an atheist, you believe that seeing is believing, I’m sure one will accommodate you. So it’s true that I believe that witches exist. Do I believe that these folks that are involved in witchcraft are capable of casting spells? I have no idea.

Do I believe in wizards? I sure do. I preached in "Speaker’s Corner" in the city of Christchurch (population 350,000--http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christchurch) almost every day for 12 years, and crossed swords many times with "The Wizard of Christchurch." I took the first lunch hour and he took the second.

"Jack" was a very good open air speaker. He hated Christians, but often after he heckled me (he was easily my best heckler), we would go off together for a cup of tea. We also swapped birthday and Christmas presents. At times he would even let me get onto his ladder and preach the gospel to his crowd.

He was deeply into cosmology and graduated from the University of Leeds with a double honors degree in psychology and sociology. He practiced sorcery regularly, much to the delight of the general public. If you don’t believe he existed because you don’t believe in wizards, you can see some rare footage of my old friendly enemy on youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aecYCWBM8TI&feature=related

I also believe in demons. This isn’t only because the Bible says that they possess people and hold them in bondage to sin, but because I have had the eye-opening experience of casting them out of people a number of times (many years ago).

You can read of these hair-raising experiences in the book, Out of the Comfort Zone in a chapter called "Hair Raisers." I wouldn't read it at night, if I was you.

Thunderf00T Video

The discussion with Thunderf00T is now available on DVD (unedited), with good sound and picture. See the promo, below right: "Recent videos."

A Good Question

"Hi Ray, I have a sincere question: How do you know God is of the Christian variety? Equally devout Muslims disagree. If I'm on the fence, I need a better answer than 'I just KNOW. God has revealed himself to me.'"

Good question. The thing that makes Christianity utterly unique is the cross. For it to make sense you have to back up from Jesus to Moses. He was the one who received the Ten Commandments from the hand of God. The Law of Moses was given to reveal God's standard of "righteousness."

Now zoom forward about 1500 years to the time of Jesus. He was God in human form who came to earth to "magnify the Law and make it honorable." You can see Him do that in the famous "Sermon on the Mount" (Matthew 5-7). During that sermon He quotes the Seventh Commandment (about adultery) and then says, "But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart." So let's think about that one Commandment for a moment. If God is going to judge us on Judgment Day by that (very high) standard, who of us would be guiltless and avoid Hell?

So humanity has a problem. All of us have violated God’s Law. He is a perfect judge, and we are guilty criminals, heading for a just and terrible punishment for our "multitude" of crimes against His Law. So my prayers, my fasting, my helping others in that context aren’t "good" works. If we offer the Judge anything as "payment" for our crimes, the Bible says it’s an abomination to Him, because it is a detestable attempt to bribe Him, and He will not be bribed. Not for a millisecond. So the religion of "doing" things to merit God's favor is fruitless, in the truest sense of the word.

So how can we be saved from His wrath? Only by the mercy of the Judge. God Himself became a person in Jesus Christ, suffered on a cruel cross, and then rose again on the third day. That cross was the complete payment for our crimes against God and His Law. We broke the Law of Moses, but Jesus paid our fine. That means that the Judge can (upon our repentance and faith in Jesus) completely dismiss our case. Everlasting life is the free gift of God (see Ephesians 2:8-9). It can’t be earned by "religious" works, and therein is the uniqueness of Christianity. Take it or leave it, but do so at your own eternal peril. See John 8:31-32 and John 14:21 for more details:

"Though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him..." (Hebrews 5:8-9)

Careless Atheist

"I became an atheist to distance myself from people like you, but since becoming an atheist I’ve found that I don’t care – I honestly don’t care – if there is a God. I don’t care if there is an afterlife. I don’t care if I’m going to Hell. Oh, you can say all you want about that, I just don’t care. You can’t save me."

And I don’t believe a word you are saying. If you became an atheist to distance yourself from people like me, why are you writing to me? You may say that you don’t care, but you do, and so do I.

I care enough to get up on a soapbox thousands of times and look like a fool, to plead with people like you who either say that they don’t care about their eternal welfare, or show that they don’t by their godless lifestyle.

But the Bible teaches that sinful mankind doesn't "care" about God. He gave them life itself and they don’t care. He gave them eyes to see His incredible creation, ears to listen to incredible music, taste buds to enjoy incredible food, and they don’t care. As the Psalmist says, "God is not in their thoughts," and yet at the same time they vainly use His name as a cuss word.

If you had to give up one of those senses, which would it be? Sight? You don't care if you go blind? How about giving up your taste? Or your hearing? Imagine, never seeing a beautiful rose or a sunset, or the color blue ever again, or never tasting good food, or hearing the music of a bird in the early morning? If you are sane, you care.

But the loss of those precious senses are nothing compared to giving up your soul. You "soul" is the real you. It’s the interchangeable Bible word for your life. Your soul looks out the windows you call "eyes." It’s your soul that responds to the 10,000 friendly little taste buddies on your tongue. Your soul listens to the amazing sounds that are pulled into your inner ear. You don’t know what you have until it’s gone. Familiarity does breed contempt. Jesus said that if a man gained the entire world but lost his soul, he is the biggest of losers.

Yet, every day more than 80 Americans "don't care" enough to take their own lives. Life's circumstances have tragically driven them to that terrible point. Atheism is your first step in that direction. You owe it nothing.

You are right about one thing though. I can’t save you. Only God can. So after you have read these words of mine, how about reading the words of God? Read Matthew chapter 5-7 and get a glimpse of His perfect holiness. Then think about how we all justly deserve Hell if God is that holy, and think about how Jesus cared enough to take your punishment upon Himself--to pay your fine so that the Judge of the universe could dismiss your case. What more could you want?

An atheist’s question . . .

"Do you ever doubt the existence of God? And if so, why?"

Do I ever doubt the existence of God? Not for a moment. However, an intellectual belief in God’s existence is really a non-issue. This is why: I live in a solid, well-made house. Do I ever doubt the existence of a builder? Not for a moment.

My wife has a well-made and reliable vehicle. Do I ever doubt (for some strange reason) the existence of a car maker? Not for a moment.

I own a well-made computer...I'm sure you get the message. I never doubt that there was a maker of these things, because these things can’t make themselves. My common sense tells me that they had to be made by someone with an intelligent mind. The alternative is ludicrous.

However, the issue I think you may be driving at is rather, "Does my faith in God ever waver?" The answer to that one is the same. Do I ever doubt God? Not for a moment. There’s a reason for this unwavering faith.

If you asked me if I ever waver when it comes to faith in my wife, I would answer the same--not for a moment. This is because I trust her with all of my heart. She is a trustworthy person. She always keeps her word. However, there is a possibility that she could let me down. That could happen because she is a sinner. She is fallible. But God is not. He is without sin, so you can totally trust Him with all of your heart, and you will never, ever, be disappointed in Him.

Life’s terrible circumstances may shake you to the core, but if you catch a glimpse of God’s incredible integrity as well as His ability to keep His word, and therefore you trust Him, your faith will only grow through life's lion’s den experiences. His promises are immutable. They are a solid rock. See Matthew 7:24-25 for details.

Does anyone know of any atheist groups at Oklahoma State University? I would like to contact them...

Not the Wisest Thing to do

"So if I were to blaspheme the Holy Spirit would you still try to convert me?" Templar Ben

I can’t "convert" a soul. It’s God that does the converting. However, I will continue to plead with you and others to seek His mercy as long as I have a heartbeat.

There was a group of folks who received national publicity some time ago who aired videos of themselves on line, saying that they were blaspheming God. They were called "The Blasphemy Challenge," and their challenge was, "Do you dare accept the Blasphemy Challenge? Show the world how sure you are that the Christian God doesn't exist!"

I knew (and liked) their leader, so I emailed him with a little advice. I reminded him that the name "God," when translated into Arabic is "Allah," and that it wasn’t wise in today’s political climate to create a video of yourself, saying (when translated into Arabic), "My name is such and such, and I blaspheme Allah, and I am not afraid." Moslems have murdered those who have mocked their prophet (let alone their god), and they threatened a school teacher with death, simply because she named a teddy bear after him.

Since sending that email I have noticed that the leader of "The Blasphemy Challenge" seems to have disappeared. My friend Brian Sapient used a fake name, but the faces and real names of those atheists who responded to his challenge are still permanently on the Internet for all the world to see. If I was one of them, I would be praying.

Why Does God Allow Evil?

"The God described by the Bible is omnipotent and can prevent anything. The God described in the Bible is claimed to be good. Now if I had the power to prevent a little girl from being raped I would. The free will of the rapist would mean nothing at all to me. Anyone who placed the free will of the rapist over the safety of the little girl is evil. If someone stood by and watched the girl be raped and did nothing they would be as bad as the rapist. Your God is said to sit by and watch endless harm that it could prevent like some sick and cowardly voyeur. I would call such a creature evil so why would I worship it even if it were real." RYK

You have touched on a very important point with the rape of a little girl. If God was good, it makes sense to think that He should immediately step in and (let’s say for argument’s sake) strike a child-rapist with lightning. Would that be okay with you?

You seem very righteous about the rape of a child. How about the rape and murder of an adult? How do you feel about hatred for someone? Or the desire they may have to rape a woman? How about lust in general? Envy? Fornication (sex outside of marriage)? Adultery? Greed? Rebellion? Ingratitude? Blasphemy? No doubt your call for immediate retribution stops at rape and murder because you don't see many of the above as being evil. God does. His standard of righteousness in infinitely higher than ours. Evil doesn't stop where you and I think it should, so if you are wanting Him to throw around bolts of lightning at that which He considers evil, you are talking about the entire human race, including yourself.

You will be pleased to know that the Day is coming when He will bring His full wrath on your child rapist. The hymn-writer was right with his "He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword." Every human being (billions--since the beginning of time) will stand before a holy God and be punished for their crimes against His Law.

So before you point your finger at others and ask why God doesn’t punish them, you had better point it at yourself and make peace with Him before that Day. Go through the Ten Commandments with a tender conscience, and if you have an honest heart you will see that you have a multitude of sins and dare not lift a holier than thou finger, point it at another and call for the justice of God.

"I Have no Belief, Therefore it Doesn't Exist."

"Can you explain to me how these two ideas can peacefully co-exist? 1. God's moral standards are not the same as man's standards. 2. Man's moral standards were defined and then given to us by God. I've pointed this out before but never received a response. I'd very much like to hear an explanation."

The answer is simple. There is only one "moral standard," and that morality is defined in the Ten Commandments. Anything that falls short of their absolute moral perfection is called "sin" (see 1 John 3:4), and all sin will receive just retribution. To put it in secular terms, all who break God's Law will be punished by the Law (see Romans 2:12).

Here now is a testimony to the stupidity of us as human beings. We think that if we don’t believe in something, it therefore doesn’t exist. Unbelievers say that they don’t believe in gods. That is supposed to encompass the God who created them. God doesn’t exist, because they don’t believe in Him. Hell doesn’t exist, because they don’t believe in it.

If you are an atheist try an experiment. Go outside at midday on a clear day, look at the sun and say, "I see no evidence that suns exist." You will notice that the sun doesn’t go away. An old Chinese proverb says, "He who gazes upon the sun need not debate its brilliance."

The sun exists despite whatever you do or don’t believe about it. It’s intellectually embarrassing to have to explain this, but unbelief or belief doesn’t negate reality.

Creation is the brilliant light that reveals the Creator. His moral standard is revealed in His Law, the Ten Commandments, and those Commandments are affirmed by your God-given conscience. So there you have it--you have before you the offer of life in Jesus Christ through trust in Him, or death and Hell through unbelief (which is rooted in disobedience). See needGod.com for details.

Heaven is Coming to Earth

"Ray -- what will you do to pass the time when you get to Heaven? Your ministry is obviously a great passion, and a great motivating factor. What will you do to pass the time for eternity with no-one to save?"

Think for a moment of the best meal around which you have wrapped your salivating lips. Think of the most amazing animals and fish you have ever seen, or the most breath-taking snow-caped mountains, or tall green trees. Think of the greatest moment of pleasure you have experienced, whether it was an intimate moment (I may as well say that because it will no doubt come to mind), or whether it was seeing the birth of your first child. Think of pictures you have seen of amazing blue waters lapping onto the white sands of a beautiful beach.

Then pull all those amazingly pleasurable thoughts into one vision of joy and drop them in a trash bin where they belong. This is because this entire creation is under the curse of Almighty God. He gave us all those pleasures (including sex), but they are absolutely nothing compared to what He has in store for those that love Him (see 1 Corinthians 2:9).

The Bible says God that subjected all things to "futility." Every pleasure is both part of this "fallen" and cursed creation and it will be fleeting. It doesn’t last. It’s momentary. And then it becomes a past memory, and in time death will come to you and take you into eternity.

This is the message of the entire Book of Ecclesiastes. King Solomon made the wealth of Bill Gates look like pocket change, and the wisdom of our most intelligent contemporary sound like the mumblings of a dummy. He was super wise and filthy rich, and yet he lamented, "Vanity. All is vanity and chasing the wind." It was nothing but chasing the wind, because of the reality of impending death.

So, what will I do for eternity? I will enjoy "pleasures forevermore." I will get to inherit this earth, but it will be changed—remodeled, transformed, new, and utterly improved. The Genesis curse will be removed. That means no pain, no tears, no disease, no suffering, death, and no futility. Not an ounce.

I will no longer desperately seeking to save those who are heading for Hell. Then it will be too late. The door of God’s mercy will be closed. He says that if you want filth, you will have it and what it entails for eternity. But for all who repent and trust the Savior even our memories will be reconditioned. We won’t remember "the former things."

So, what are you going to be doing for eternity? Please join us. See needGod.com for details of what to do.