This was a reaction to an article I wrote for class! Just thought it was interesting ...
Christianity claims absolute truth. This is offensive to people, but
this is how I look at it: If there really is absolute truth (aka Jesus
really is God and He really is the only way to Heaven) then it doesn’t
matter if it’s offensive, it’s true, and the people who have found it
should proclaim it.
Lessl does seem to have a problem with the “politics” surrounding
Christianity. So do I. What he maybe needs to see is the reasoning
behind it. The story of Christianity is that there is a perfect, loving
God who came to save his sinful creation that was deceived by Satan and
their own pride. There are probably a thousand questions that come to
everyone’s mind as you read that sentence; I’ve asked them all before.
So now it’s God’s sinful creation (although redeemed and forgiven) that
has become the church. Sinful is the key word. Messed up. Imperfect.
Therefore, the church reflects that. That doesn’t make OK when the
church does wrong, but that is why it is happening. People should look
at Jesus more and the church less, because we (the church) unfortunately do not
always reflect who He is and what He stands for.
I, like Philip, am upset at the fact people separate Christianity and
science. If Christians are right (or anyone who believes in a God), and
God created the universe, it should not contradict science. It would
not. It cannot..... I understand the Big Bang Theory and reject it. To
me, it’s just as crazy that “something came from nothing” as it is that
a supreme being God created the universe. There are a lot of scientists
who believe in intelligent design (note the Ben Stein documentary:
http://www.expelledthemovie.com). There are brilliant men and women who
believe in creation AND evolution, so now we must decide which we
believe. We should test both. They cannot both be right.
Again I want to point out something that Philip said - Republican does
not equal Christian. Jesus was not a Republican. Jesus was certainly
conservative in his teaching, but really for Him it was a heart issue. I
know just as many awful Republicans as I do Democrats. Jesus was not for
a political party; He made that pretty clear when he came to earth and
didn’t overthrow the Romans like everyone expected. In my opinion,
according to our Constitution, gay marriage should be allowed and the
Ten Commandments hold no more bearing than any other religion’s
commandments. I have my own thoughts on those two issues, but according
to the Constitution, that’s the way it is. The fact is Jesus doesn’t
care about us following the rules – He wants us to follow Him;
everything else falls into place after that.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Religious Rhetoric
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Melt My Heart of Stone
This is long .... just read it .... :)
So, I was sitting in a SPCM rhetoric class of mine on Monday, and we were discussing the Civil Rights Movement and Martin Luther King Jr. A boy made a comment about the Civil Rights Bills that were passed around that time and said, "Here's the thing: you can make the laws, but that doesn't change the fact that people are still racist."
Thinking this was an interesting point, I wrote down in my notes - "Laws can't change people's hearts."
I looked at my paper and thought, Woah. Talk about Biblical implications.
So let's talk about the Old Testament laws. They were set in place by a perfect God. The laws He set up, if followed exactly, would make one perfect. He follows these rules, so to follow them would make us just like Him - perfect.
Well, there are two problems. First of all, none of us follow the law perfectly. Secondly, even if we did, just because we follow the rules doesn't mean we want to follow the rules. Follow me? :) It's just like the Civil Rights Laws - a racist white man may follow them so as not to get in trouble, but he doesn't want to. So then is he blameless?
I think we would all answer no, that at least in his heart he is not blameless, and this is what God says for us. He says even in the Old Testament while God's people were under the law that he desired love and mercy more than sacrifices (one of the laws - Hosea 6:6). It's a heart issue.
That's why in Luke 18:22-29, when a rich ruler came and told Jesus he had followed all the laws, Jesus said he was lacking only one thing. "Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." I think more than focusing on what Jesus asked him to literally do (sell everything and give to the poor .. although that is good!), Jesus was showing that this rich ruler didn't really want to follow God, he was just doing the right thing out of obligation. And let's be real, that guy had sinned in his life. So he needed salvation anyway.
So what we need is a change from the inside out! What those racist white men (or women) need more than the laws is a heart change. Am I right? If their hearts were pure and faultless, there would be no need for the law, because they would already be doing the right thing for the right reason (heart issue!). In a very practical sense, that's why older kids have less rules than younger ones, because they already know to do some things right. You don't have to tell them to "eat your vegetables" or "don't slap Susie" because they already know what to do. They don't need those rules.
There are so many implications I can't write them all. This is why we need Jesus, for we cannot save ourselves. Going back to that parable, after Jesus tells the rich ruler what he needs to do be saved (sell everything .. follow me), the disciples are overwhelmed and say,
"Who, then can be saved?"
Jesus replies, "What is impossible with man is possible with God."
God Himself has made it possible for us to be saved, otherwise it would be impossible - we couldn't even if we tried. Hallelujah, praise the Lord! Thank you, Jesus, for doing what we could not do. He died on the cross for our sins because we cannot be perfect. Talk about amazing grace.
This is also why need the Holy Spirit living inside of us when we are saved ... our natural hearts will always be sinful and never want to follow God! We may "follow the rules" and "be a good person", but deep down we will want to break them.
Read Romans 7. It tells us about how the law was put in place to show us our sin. If the law wasn't there, we wouldn't know it was wrong. But the purpose of the law was never to save us. It was to show us we needed saving.
Mmm, so good. If this makes you wonder about the Old Testament and how people were saved before Jesus, it's a question I've wrestled with, too. This website sheds some light, it's strongly based on Scripture: Old Testament Salvation. Search other commentaries also; this is just some guy's informal interpretation. But if the Bible is true, there is an answer to this question. So go find it! Find all your answers! They're out there.
So, I was sitting in a SPCM rhetoric class of mine on Monday, and we were discussing the Civil Rights Movement and Martin Luther King Jr. A boy made a comment about the Civil Rights Bills that were passed around that time and said, "Here's the thing: you can make the laws, but that doesn't change the fact that people are still racist."
Thinking this was an interesting point, I wrote down in my notes - "Laws can't change people's hearts."
I looked at my paper and thought, Woah. Talk about Biblical implications.
So let's talk about the Old Testament laws. They were set in place by a perfect God. The laws He set up, if followed exactly, would make one perfect. He follows these rules, so to follow them would make us just like Him - perfect.
Well, there are two problems. First of all, none of us follow the law perfectly. Secondly, even if we did, just because we follow the rules doesn't mean we want to follow the rules. Follow me? :) It's just like the Civil Rights Laws - a racist white man may follow them so as not to get in trouble, but he doesn't want to. So then is he blameless?
I think we would all answer no, that at least in his heart he is not blameless, and this is what God says for us. He says even in the Old Testament while God's people were under the law that he desired love and mercy more than sacrifices (one of the laws - Hosea 6:6). It's a heart issue.
That's why in Luke 18:22-29, when a rich ruler came and told Jesus he had followed all the laws, Jesus said he was lacking only one thing. "Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." I think more than focusing on what Jesus asked him to literally do (sell everything and give to the poor .. although that is good!), Jesus was showing that this rich ruler didn't really want to follow God, he was just doing the right thing out of obligation. And let's be real, that guy had sinned in his life. So he needed salvation anyway.
So what we need is a change from the inside out! What those racist white men (or women) need more than the laws is a heart change. Am I right? If their hearts were pure and faultless, there would be no need for the law, because they would already be doing the right thing for the right reason (heart issue!). In a very practical sense, that's why older kids have less rules than younger ones, because they already know to do some things right. You don't have to tell them to "eat your vegetables" or "don't slap Susie" because they already know what to do. They don't need those rules.
There are so many implications I can't write them all. This is why we need Jesus, for we cannot save ourselves. Going back to that parable, after Jesus tells the rich ruler what he needs to do be saved (sell everything .. follow me), the disciples are overwhelmed and say,
"Who, then can be saved?"
Jesus replies, "What is impossible with man is possible with God."
God Himself has made it possible for us to be saved, otherwise it would be impossible - we couldn't even if we tried. Hallelujah, praise the Lord! Thank you, Jesus, for doing what we could not do. He died on the cross for our sins because we cannot be perfect. Talk about amazing grace.
This is also why need the Holy Spirit living inside of us when we are saved ... our natural hearts will always be sinful and never want to follow God! We may "follow the rules" and "be a good person", but deep down we will want to break them.
Read Romans 7. It tells us about how the law was put in place to show us our sin. If the law wasn't there, we wouldn't know it was wrong. But the purpose of the law was never to save us. It was to show us we needed saving.
Mmm, so good. If this makes you wonder about the Old Testament and how people were saved before Jesus, it's a question I've wrestled with, too. This website sheds some light, it's strongly based on Scripture: Old Testament Salvation. Search other commentaries also; this is just some guy's informal interpretation. But if the Bible is true, there is an answer to this question. So go find it! Find all your answers! They're out there.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Unseen, but not Unfelt
If I couldn't see God, nor could I feel Him, wouldn't it make me crazy to believe God existed?
If you want to get technical, I can see the evidence of God everyday. Love. Wisdom. Mercy. Forgiveness. Joy. I can also see the evidence of evil. Hatred. Injustice. Racism. Pride. The existence of an evil enemy begs the existence of a good God. Creation and all its wonder incites a Creator.
But I have never laid my eyes on God.
There's also the fact that Jesus came to this earth claiming to be God's Son. He performed many miracles during his life. Some people say He rose from the dead. Those people continued to say it, performed many miracles in Jesus' name, and were faithful in saying it even unto death.
I never met him, though.
But I have felt Him. I feel His love. No one can deny me that. You can choose not believe what the Bible says about God and Jesus, but I have felt it. I feel His presence, His love, His truth, His pursuit of me.
1 Peter 1:8-9 "Though you have not seen him, you love him; and though you do not see him now, you are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your soul."
PS. Since it's Easter week, check out the people's lives who were radically changed after they claimed to see Jesus raise from the dead. It's in Acts, among other writings not in the Bible.
If you want to get technical, I can see the evidence of God everyday. Love. Wisdom. Mercy. Forgiveness. Joy. I can also see the evidence of evil. Hatred. Injustice. Racism. Pride. The existence of an evil enemy begs the existence of a good God. Creation and all its wonder incites a Creator.
But I have never laid my eyes on God.
There's also the fact that Jesus came to this earth claiming to be God's Son. He performed many miracles during his life. Some people say He rose from the dead. Those people continued to say it, performed many miracles in Jesus' name, and were faithful in saying it even unto death.
I never met him, though.
But I have felt Him. I feel His love. No one can deny me that. You can choose not believe what the Bible says about God and Jesus, but I have felt it. I feel His presence, His love, His truth, His pursuit of me.
1 Peter 1:8-9 "Though you have not seen him, you love him; and though you do not see him now, you are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your soul."
PS. Since it's Easter week, check out the people's lives who were radically changed after they claimed to see Jesus raise from the dead. It's in Acts, among other writings not in the Bible.
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