WHY CHRISTIANITY?? (Including helpful LINKS...)
I am finding more and more people asking deep questions about Christianity and others making bold and serious accusations about Christian beliefs, the accuracy of the Bible and that Christianity is no different to other religions.
This page aims to address many of these questions and doubts. Feel free to give me your feedback and suggestions (please use the "CONTACT ME" tab).
CAN YOU GIVE A DEFENSE FOR THE CHRISTIAN FAITH?
The following link is amazing! A few years ago, a similar presentation was responsible for powerfully demonstrating to me that I could not give a reasoned defense for the hope within me or to be able to contend for the Christian faith against strong-sounding arguments.
Click here to open Sean McDowell's video.
ISN'T CHRISTIANITY SIMPLY "BLIND FAITH"?
It is amazing how frequently people ask this question or make it as an accusation against the solid and firm foundation upon which Christianity is based. Is Christianity "BLIND FAITH"? Although faith is a crucial part of our relationship with Jesus, it is NOT going about that relationship or journey with Jesus blindly accepting whatever sounds Christian.
Faith is a gift from God - it is not earned but granted by God according to His grace (free gift). Faith is confirmed by what we see (God's creation - Romans 1:20); what we read (historical and accurate accounts, recorded in the Bible - 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 3:14-18); what we experience (God's word is inscribed in a person's heart and mind - Hebrews 8:10); and what we do (forgiveness of other's wrongs, the love for others and the works of a Christian are evidences of a real faith - John 13:34-35; James 2:14-18).
Many scoff at Thomas (one of the Disciples of Jesus). He would not simply believe the other Disciples' assurances that the resurrected Jesus had appeared to them in person (not as a ghost). The Bible accurately records these events in the inspired writings of John, in the Gospel of John 20:19-29. Thomas' unwillingness to "blindly" accept others' claims is an example for us, to also seek answers and be able to rightly defend the faith and the real hope that a Christian has (Titus 1:13-2:15; 1 Peter 3:13-16).
THE TESTIMONY OF A FORMER PSYCHOPATH (REVEALING FACTS OF ATHEISM AND EVOLUTION)
Most people do not consider the logical out-workings of two very dangerous religions that are negatively impacting our young, our families and communities - the God-rejecting religions of Atheism and Evolution. Dr David Wood, a former psychopathic murderer, reveals how his application of evolutionary theory and his atheistic worldview brought him to a frightening and meaningless existence.
Those who promote the "ideals" of Atheism and Evolution need to give serious consideration as to what kind of people these religions are producing.
Click here for Dr David Wood's revealing testimony.
THE BIBLE IS FULL OF CRAZY STORIES AND EVENTS THAT DEFY REALITY!!
It is true that there are many events recorded in the Bible that seem quite ridiculous and maybe very hard for some to accept. Examples like talking snakes, magical type trees in a perfect garden, the sun appearing to stop, a whale swallowing a man trying to run away from God, a talking donkey etc etc.
How does a Christian defend these stories? Why are they recorded in the Bible?
This is a great 33 minute video that helps to give a possible explanation of God's purposes. Click here for CrazyBible
The Bible and its message can appear foolish to anyone who is not a Christian or a genuine seeker of the truth. A Christian should not feel embarrassed by this reality or to feel that there is a need to defend God's actions and His miracles.
THE ACCURACY OF THE BIBLE: JoshMcDowell FulfilledProphecies DrJamesWhite
This is a foundational matter. Is the Bible truly and uniquely God's inspired word or is it just one of numerous "holy books"?
Is the Bible merely a collection of stories from myth-believing, Hebrew nomads? Are the Biblical accounts of Jesus true or just the product of the then ruling Roman Empire's propaganda?
These are important questions, that every Christian should be able to answer with confidence and assurance based on the authority of God's Word - the only source of absolute truth.
I have found the above links to be very good in gaining some serious confidence in the historical accuracy and reliability of The Bible.
Although the link titled "DrJamesWhite" starts out a little strangely, and the discussion seems to go a bit deep (please persevere and you will be amazed just how it all flows together and opens up the whole historical accuracy of the Bible in a refreshing and very plainly discussed approach).
THE IMPORTANCE OF THE BIBLE:
If the God of the Bible does not exist and if the Bible is not God's inspired Word, we are totally doomed...period.
Morality becomes whatever anyone wants. (God is our moral law giver - murder is wrong because God has said so; adultery is wrong because God has said so);
Truth becomes whatever anyone wants. (we can make absolute truth claims because God, through His Word, The Bible, declares what is true. God even gave us a living human example, so it wasn't just verbal or just written but real flesh and blood truth - Jesus said that He is the way, and the truth, and the life and that NO ONE comes to the Father but through Him);
Life becomes completely meaningless and purposeless (without eternal consequences for our actions on this earth, it means nothing to live a good life. If there is no Heaven and Hell, live it up to the fullest, have the greatest self pleasure you can and kill yourself when you get tired of it)
Even the Laws of Nature cease to exist (we could never be confident that any law of nature eg. gravity, would remain consistent, except that God sustains this world in a consistent manner. Even the consistency of how chemicals react and how stable they are, is only because God sustains it that way. If evolution were true, we could not really be sure if one day we would wake up to a world where oxygen had simply evolved to function in a slightly different way). Click here for a good video on this topic.
I could go on with more examples...but I hope it is clearer that everything that shows any consistency, order or purpose totally crumbles without a real, living and active God of the Bible...the One who also promises to preserve His Word (the evidence of that promise is the vast numbers of ancient manuscripts still preserved till now - no other historical document even comes close to the assurance of accuracy than what we have for the Bible.
IS IT IMPORTANT TO BELIEVE IN GENESIS AS HISTORY?
When it comes to our origins and the debate between evolution and creation, many people say, "It doesn't matter", but is that right?
If the God of the Bible is not the Creator, there is a greater mystery that cannot be revealed by scientific studies or investigation because that greater mystery would have to exist outside of our dimension of matter, space and time. The reason for that is how can something exist eternally within our dimension that scientific studies appear to show that matter, space and time had a beginning?
That is one of the problems of the evolutionary molecules to man idea - they cannot escape the eternal problem of everything coming from nothing using a purely naturalistic model. This becomes even more evident when it is the God of the Bible that is consistent with what mathematicians have been able to calculate, as explained by astrophysicist, Dr Jason Lisle here.
The Bible speaks for itself. Its claims are consistent with what we see around us - the awesome-ness of all living things point to an awesome creator; the archaeological evidence confirms the accuracy of the history recorded in the Bible; and the Bible's honest portrayal of mankind's real nature.
Therefore, the Bible stands out from being just one of numerous "holy books" to being a book that is truly powerful and effective and one that transforms lives totally.
This being the case, the Bible's other claims need to be taken very seriously indeed and interpreted by the Bible itself (let scripture interpret scripture).
The consequence of sin (death) came from one couple's disobedience of God's simple instruction. Despite many attempts to try to explain the pre-existence of death, it cannot be accepted that death existed for millions or billions of years of evolutionary process - death caused by sin is central to the whole gospel message - if Adam's disobedience didn't result in death physically, Jesus didn't need to come as a human. Other claims simply undermine the effective work of Jesus on the cross. If Adam's disobedience didn't result in spiritual death, then God the Son did not have to be miraculously conceived by Mary and be truly God and truly man.
Jesus' victory over sin and death allowed Him to rise again physically and spiritually.
The Bible gives us assurance that if we repent of our sins, believe in Jesus and confess Him as Lord, we too will rise again (after our death) with a new immortal body.
Click here to learn more on the importance of Genesis by Astrophysicist, Dr Jason Lisle
ISN'T EVOLUTION A PROVEN FACT?
It is amazing how many people believe this and as a consequence have rejected Christianity believing the need for any god, including the God of the Bible, is no longer necessary or relevant.
These are powerful videos that examine and expose the lies of evolution and the origin of life.
Click here for Sean McDowell's Video on evolution
Click here for Dr James Tour's video on the origin of life
Click here for "Evolution vs God" movie produced by Living Waters
IS CHRISTIANITY LOGICAL?
Prompted by a desire to work out for myself how the fact that Jesus' life, death and resurrection was able to save me now, I set about writing down what I considered the logical steps necessary to accomplish this. The picture to the left is my original attempt, but I have attached below a more recent update.
OTHER LINKS:
YWAM Butuan: Website
Jesus Christian Ministry Church & School: Facebook
Paul Smith: Facebook
Dalby Presbyterian Community: Facebook Website
YWAM Philippines: Facebook Website
DPC Philippines Mission Trip Blogs: Blogspot
The best 2 minute video that puts Evolution (molecules to man) to rest: Video
This page aims to address many of these questions and doubts. Feel free to give me your feedback and suggestions (please use the "CONTACT ME" tab).
CAN YOU GIVE A DEFENSE FOR THE CHRISTIAN FAITH?
The following link is amazing! A few years ago, a similar presentation was responsible for powerfully demonstrating to me that I could not give a reasoned defense for the hope within me or to be able to contend for the Christian faith against strong-sounding arguments.
Click here to open Sean McDowell's video.
ISN'T CHRISTIANITY SIMPLY "BLIND FAITH"?
It is amazing how frequently people ask this question or make it as an accusation against the solid and firm foundation upon which Christianity is based. Is Christianity "BLIND FAITH"? Although faith is a crucial part of our relationship with Jesus, it is NOT going about that relationship or journey with Jesus blindly accepting whatever sounds Christian.
Faith is a gift from God - it is not earned but granted by God according to His grace (free gift). Faith is confirmed by what we see (God's creation - Romans 1:20); what we read (historical and accurate accounts, recorded in the Bible - 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 3:14-18); what we experience (God's word is inscribed in a person's heart and mind - Hebrews 8:10); and what we do (forgiveness of other's wrongs, the love for others and the works of a Christian are evidences of a real faith - John 13:34-35; James 2:14-18).
Many scoff at Thomas (one of the Disciples of Jesus). He would not simply believe the other Disciples' assurances that the resurrected Jesus had appeared to them in person (not as a ghost). The Bible accurately records these events in the inspired writings of John, in the Gospel of John 20:19-29. Thomas' unwillingness to "blindly" accept others' claims is an example for us, to also seek answers and be able to rightly defend the faith and the real hope that a Christian has (Titus 1:13-2:15; 1 Peter 3:13-16).
THE TESTIMONY OF A FORMER PSYCHOPATH (REVEALING FACTS OF ATHEISM AND EVOLUTION)
Most people do not consider the logical out-workings of two very dangerous religions that are negatively impacting our young, our families and communities - the God-rejecting religions of Atheism and Evolution. Dr David Wood, a former psychopathic murderer, reveals how his application of evolutionary theory and his atheistic worldview brought him to a frightening and meaningless existence.
Those who promote the "ideals" of Atheism and Evolution need to give serious consideration as to what kind of people these religions are producing.
Click here for Dr David Wood's revealing testimony.
THE BIBLE IS FULL OF CRAZY STORIES AND EVENTS THAT DEFY REALITY!!
It is true that there are many events recorded in the Bible that seem quite ridiculous and maybe very hard for some to accept. Examples like talking snakes, magical type trees in a perfect garden, the sun appearing to stop, a whale swallowing a man trying to run away from God, a talking donkey etc etc.
How does a Christian defend these stories? Why are they recorded in the Bible?
This is a great 33 minute video that helps to give a possible explanation of God's purposes. Click here for CrazyBible
The Bible and its message can appear foolish to anyone who is not a Christian or a genuine seeker of the truth. A Christian should not feel embarrassed by this reality or to feel that there is a need to defend God's actions and His miracles.
THE ACCURACY OF THE BIBLE: JoshMcDowell FulfilledProphecies DrJamesWhite
This is a foundational matter. Is the Bible truly and uniquely God's inspired word or is it just one of numerous "holy books"?
Is the Bible merely a collection of stories from myth-believing, Hebrew nomads? Are the Biblical accounts of Jesus true or just the product of the then ruling Roman Empire's propaganda?
These are important questions, that every Christian should be able to answer with confidence and assurance based on the authority of God's Word - the only source of absolute truth.
I have found the above links to be very good in gaining some serious confidence in the historical accuracy and reliability of The Bible.
Although the link titled "DrJamesWhite" starts out a little strangely, and the discussion seems to go a bit deep (please persevere and you will be amazed just how it all flows together and opens up the whole historical accuracy of the Bible in a refreshing and very plainly discussed approach).
THE IMPORTANCE OF THE BIBLE:
If the God of the Bible does not exist and if the Bible is not God's inspired Word, we are totally doomed...period.
Morality becomes whatever anyone wants. (God is our moral law giver - murder is wrong because God has said so; adultery is wrong because God has said so);
Truth becomes whatever anyone wants. (we can make absolute truth claims because God, through His Word, The Bible, declares what is true. God even gave us a living human example, so it wasn't just verbal or just written but real flesh and blood truth - Jesus said that He is the way, and the truth, and the life and that NO ONE comes to the Father but through Him);
Life becomes completely meaningless and purposeless (without eternal consequences for our actions on this earth, it means nothing to live a good life. If there is no Heaven and Hell, live it up to the fullest, have the greatest self pleasure you can and kill yourself when you get tired of it)
Even the Laws of Nature cease to exist (we could never be confident that any law of nature eg. gravity, would remain consistent, except that God sustains this world in a consistent manner. Even the consistency of how chemicals react and how stable they are, is only because God sustains it that way. If evolution were true, we could not really be sure if one day we would wake up to a world where oxygen had simply evolved to function in a slightly different way). Click here for a good video on this topic.
I could go on with more examples...but I hope it is clearer that everything that shows any consistency, order or purpose totally crumbles without a real, living and active God of the Bible...the One who also promises to preserve His Word (the evidence of that promise is the vast numbers of ancient manuscripts still preserved till now - no other historical document even comes close to the assurance of accuracy than what we have for the Bible.
IS IT IMPORTANT TO BELIEVE IN GENESIS AS HISTORY?
When it comes to our origins and the debate between evolution and creation, many people say, "It doesn't matter", but is that right?
If the God of the Bible is not the Creator, there is a greater mystery that cannot be revealed by scientific studies or investigation because that greater mystery would have to exist outside of our dimension of matter, space and time. The reason for that is how can something exist eternally within our dimension that scientific studies appear to show that matter, space and time had a beginning?
That is one of the problems of the evolutionary molecules to man idea - they cannot escape the eternal problem of everything coming from nothing using a purely naturalistic model. This becomes even more evident when it is the God of the Bible that is consistent with what mathematicians have been able to calculate, as explained by astrophysicist, Dr Jason Lisle here.
The Bible speaks for itself. Its claims are consistent with what we see around us - the awesome-ness of all living things point to an awesome creator; the archaeological evidence confirms the accuracy of the history recorded in the Bible; and the Bible's honest portrayal of mankind's real nature.
Therefore, the Bible stands out from being just one of numerous "holy books" to being a book that is truly powerful and effective and one that transforms lives totally.
This being the case, the Bible's other claims need to be taken very seriously indeed and interpreted by the Bible itself (let scripture interpret scripture).
The consequence of sin (death) came from one couple's disobedience of God's simple instruction. Despite many attempts to try to explain the pre-existence of death, it cannot be accepted that death existed for millions or billions of years of evolutionary process - death caused by sin is central to the whole gospel message - if Adam's disobedience didn't result in death physically, Jesus didn't need to come as a human. Other claims simply undermine the effective work of Jesus on the cross. If Adam's disobedience didn't result in spiritual death, then God the Son did not have to be miraculously conceived by Mary and be truly God and truly man.
Jesus' victory over sin and death allowed Him to rise again physically and spiritually.
The Bible gives us assurance that if we repent of our sins, believe in Jesus and confess Him as Lord, we too will rise again (after our death) with a new immortal body.
Click here to learn more on the importance of Genesis by Astrophysicist, Dr Jason Lisle
ISN'T EVOLUTION A PROVEN FACT?
It is amazing how many people believe this and as a consequence have rejected Christianity believing the need for any god, including the God of the Bible, is no longer necessary or relevant.
These are powerful videos that examine and expose the lies of evolution and the origin of life.
Click here for Sean McDowell's Video on evolution
Click here for Dr James Tour's video on the origin of life
Click here for "Evolution vs God" movie produced by Living Waters
IS CHRISTIANITY LOGICAL?
Prompted by a desire to work out for myself how the fact that Jesus' life, death and resurrection was able to save me now, I set about writing down what I considered the logical steps necessary to accomplish this. The picture to the left is my original attempt, but I have attached below a more recent update.
OTHER LINKS:
YWAM Butuan: Website
Jesus Christian Ministry Church & School: Facebook
Paul Smith: Facebook
Dalby Presbyterian Community: Facebook Website
YWAM Philippines: Facebook Website
DPC Philippines Mission Trip Blogs: Blogspot
The best 2 minute video that puts Evolution (molecules to man) to rest: Video
LOGIC OF THE GOSPEL
(How does the life, death and resurrection of Jesus make sense? How can I be saved from something done by Him, some 2000 years ago?)
1. God is eternal (no beginning, no end)
Psalm 90:2 Revelation 1:8
2. God exists outside of space and time
3. God is triune (one God but in three persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
NOTE: Belief in the trinity makes sense, because God is love (from eternity past) – if He created Jesus and the Holy Spirit at some later point in time, He could not eternally “LOVE” (eternal love is an impossibility without another in existence to love for eternity!)
Isaiah 48:16; 61:1; 63:9-10 Matthew 28:19 Luke 1:35; 3:21-22 John 1:1-2,14; 10:27-30,37,38 2 Corinthians 13:14 I Peter 1:2 1 John 4:8; 5:6-7
4. God created the universe, the Earth and everything in it
Genesis 1 & 2 Revelation 4:11
5. God formed us in our mother’s womb
Psalm 139:13-15
6. God recorded all of our deeds even before we were born
Psalm 139:16 Jeremiah 1:5
7. God is a jealous God but does not sin because He made every part of each one of us – He totally and completely made us – not one cell or molecule was formed as the result of some chance, random process (otherwise He would lose the right to be jealous or to demand our all.
Deuteronomy 4:23-24 Romans 6:6-11 Ephesians 4:22-24
8. Because God made us, He has the absolute right to dictate how we should live – obedience to His moral law (for example, the Ten Commandments)
Exodus 20:1-17 Deuteronomy 5:6-21
9. Because God is love, He desires the very best for us, so His laws are not burdensome, but are the very best instructions by which we are to live our lives
1 John 5:3
10. We do not always obey His laws (I think it is reasonable to say that we have never actually loved the our God with ALL of our heart, with ALL of our soul, with ALL of our mind, and with ALL of our strength
Mark 12:29
11. Because God is holy, just and righteous, He must punish ALL sin (disobedience of His perfect standard), so even if I break just one command, I have failed to live an acceptable life in the eyes of a completely holy, just and righteous God
Romans 3:23
12. We deserve His just punishment
Romans 6:23
13. It doesn’t matter one little bit, how well we live our lives – we could decide daily to go to church, read the Bible, pray, fast, do great things for the whole world – it changes NOTHING – we still deserve God’s punishment.
14. WHY? Imagine I was in court having been found guilty of say, theft or murder. It would make no difference to the judge even if I promised to live a life (from that point on) free from stealing or killing others. The judge would be executing proper justice to punish my past wrongs.
Galatians2:16
15. Because God is the Creator, He can make whatever rules He wants (that are consistent with His divine nature) and impose them upon His creation.
16. God chose, “Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sin.”
Hebrews 9:22
17. God required the Israelites (God’s chosen people in the Old Testament) to offer various blood sacrifices for different purposes and occasions.
18. For sin offerings, God required the sacrifice of an unblemished young bull, young goat, lamb etc., the blood of which was sprinkled before the Lord (in front of the veil), some blood was also put on the horns of the altar and the remainder poured out around the base of the altar.
Leviticus 4
19. Jesus was chosen as the sacrificial lamb before the foundation of the world.
1 Peter 1:19-20
20. These Old Testament sacrifices did not save the people from their sins.
Acts 13:38-39
21. These were solemn ceremonies that looked forward to the time in history when Jesus’ shed blood on the cross was to become the once-only and “good for all time” sacrifice.
Hebrews 10:8-10
22. In a similar way, Christians today have our sins forgiven, looking back to Jesus’ sacrifice, some 2000 years ago.
23. This is possible because God is a righteous judge, and can only punish sin once.
24. Because Jesus paid the penalty of our many sins, through the shedding of His blood, we can be set free from that penalty.
Romans 8:1-2
25. Jesus laid down His life for all whom God the Father would give to Him, to all who believe in Jesus
John 5:21 John 6:36-40, 44-47 John 10:25-30
26. So, we are assured that if we confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in our heart that God raised Him from the dead we will be saved.
Romans 10:9
27. We are also commanded to repent of our sins.
Acts 17:30
28. The alternative is to face God’s judgement. “because He has fixed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by a Man whom He has appointed; and of this He has given assurance to all by raising Him from the dead.” Acts 17:31