Hi to my Forum Friends,
It seems that the old "if you can't answer it; spin it or twist it" atheistic rhetoric machine is alive and well. Now we have a Deep Fish Crow trying to spin us.
Fish tells Monet, "What if YOU are wrong, Monet? There are and have been thousands upon thousands of religions and cults. Each worships different gods in different ways. The chances that your particular god is the wrong god could be great."
Monet responds, "They only thing I know is...Jesus was the only one of those "gods" to love me enough to die for me...He rose 3 day later and is at the right hand of God at this very moment interceding for me. The others are still in their tombs. If I am wrong it won't be any big deal...but if You are wrong...Yikes!!! Eternity is a long time."
And, then, when Monet shares about Lazarus and the rich man (Luke 16), Crow chimes in with, "So, you're saying the same Jesus who came and died for you, whose main message was love, forgiveness, and compassion, would cause you to suffer simply to test you?"
Do you see how the atheist "spin machine" works? Twist everything the Christians say and try to keep everyone off balance; make them lose their focus on Christ -- then feed them manure. Sorry, boys -- you are just spreading atheist manure.
First, let me just make a minor adjustment to Monet's comment: Jesus loves you; but He is not one of those "gods" -- He is the only God. By saying it the other way, you are, in a sense, compromising your faith by trying to make your words fit what the atheist have told you -- so that you can refute him. Jesus is God -- period. Monet, what you have said is very true; and I can see from your response that you are a true believer. I am only saying to you, and to the rest of us -- do not fall into the atheist's "spin" trap by trying to use their terminology and their wording -- to disprove their mistaken beliefs. Stick with the words God has given us in our User's Manual, the Bible -- and you can't go wrong. Jesus is God, the only God -- period.
Fish, you say, "There are and have been thousands upon thousands of religions and cults."
That is true; but, there has only been one God. Yes, you can find thousands of religions and cults; hey, in Buddhism alone you can find thousands of gods -- one for any problem or lifestyle you want blessed or cursed.
But, only God gave us the Bible; only the Bible teaches a personal relationship with God, through Jesus Christ. Only the Bible offers a pathway of salvation which allows man to have atonement for his sin nature. Only the Bible gives us prophecy; only the Bible gives us 1817 fulfilled prophecies -- with zero failures.
Yes, there are religions which will give you books which teach about their traditions; there are religions which will give you man-made traditions and rituals. But, there is only one Bible. True, there are many translations -- but, still only one Bible. And it is the only book in which man can find salvation through the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ.
The multitude of religions will give you wooden or metal gods to worship. Have you ever tried talking with a tree; how about a metal post or statue? Could it answer you? No? Why not? Because it was just a piece of wood or metal; if it fell over, it could not even pick itself up. You would have to pick it up and sit it back on your man-made altar. And, yet, many folks will put their eternal soul in the hands of this piece of wood or metal. That is religion. Christians do not have a religion; we have a relationship with a very personal God, Jesus Christ.
So, my atheist Friends, you just keep on worshipping your wood, stone, metal, or intellectual gods -- and see if, on the day when you stand before the Great White Throne talking with Jesus about your life on earth and why you rejected Him -- see if they can help you.
And, Crow asks, "So, you're saying the same Jesus who came and died for you, whose main message was love, forgiveness, and compassion, would cause you to suffer simply to test you?"
Crow, if you better understood the story Jesus is telling us in Luke 16, you would know that this is not a test -- not at all. You and I know, and Jesus knows, that there will always be the poor and poverty stricken people in the world (Deuteronomy 15:11, Mark 14:7). That is just the way of a fallen world; it has been since Adam fell from grace through disobedience. Many are poor materially; others are poor through their humility. The beggar in this story was humble and poor; but very obviously a man who loved God, for when he died he was taken into Abraham's Bosom to await the day he would join Jesus Christ in heaven.
The rich man, on the other hand, was a worldly, materialistic man -- maybe an atheist, maybe an agnostic, maybe just a man who was so wrapped up in worshipping himself -- that he had no time for God.
Abraham's response to the rich man, who asked that Abraham send someone to warn his brothers who still lived in their materialistic world -- is the same response God would give to atheists and other non-believers today, "If you will not listen to Moses and the Prophets, i.e., prophecy -- neither will you listen when told that Jesus Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead to offer you salvation." Of course, this is my paraphrase of Abraham's statement in Luke 16:31 -- but, worth your consideration if you are now an atheist or a non-believer.
No, Crow, God does not test us; but, He does allow us to go through testing, just as He did with Job, that we might grow stronger. How is steel made? The factories take the much weaker metal, iron, and submit it to extreme heat and pressure -- and, in this process, it becomes strong steel.
In Romans 5:1-2, we are told that we have attained our great hope through Jesus Christ, "Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God."
And, then, in Romans 5:3-5, we are told how God makes us strong enough to weather all the adversity, persecution, and attacks brought upon us for being Christians, "And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us."
He puts the steel into our faith!
Then, God tells us why this is so: "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).
Testing? No. Love and spiritual strength building? Yes.
Regardless of what the world will tell you; there is no way to salvation except through Him, Jesus Christ: the Way, the Truth, the Life (John 14:6) -- and all religions; whether they be the intellectual religion of atheism, the pantheistic religion of believing that God is in everything and everything is divine -- or any of the many other world religions -- will lead a person only to being eternally lost. The only path to eternal life with God is Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 2:8-9, "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast."
My Friends, especially my atheist Friends, please take this Scripture passage to heart -- for it is your ticket to eternal life.
God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,
Bill Gray
billdory@pacbell.net
Alabama bred,
California fed,
Blessed by God to be a Christian American!
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