In my last blog entitled the Articulate Atheist, I discussed the reasoning behind the thinking of the writer. He misquoted scripture to suit his own preconceived ideas of God and the Christian religion.
However, many well meaning non-believers also express their view of Christianity by being more “open minded”!! Their attitude could be summed up as “so what?”
Cathy Grossman from the USA Today reported on the “so whats.” In a survey by a Nashville based research agency called, Lifeway, several frightening statistics occurred. The research team surveyed students at several universities and here’s what they found.
28% told Lifeway,” It’s not a major priority in my life to find my deeper purpose.” And 18% said that they didn’t believe that God had any plans for their life.
44% of students at Baylor University (I’m sure this speaks for other Christian schools as well) said they spend no time seeking “eternal wisdom” and 19% said, “It’s useless to search for meaning.”
6.3% of Americans were unconnected to God or any religious identity, and willing to say religion is not important in their lives.
Young adults are drifting away from faith. They are uninterested in trying to talk with a diverse set of friends into a shared viewpoint, in a culture that celebrates an idea that all truths are equally valid. This is a culture which says that, “personal experience, and personal authority matter most.”
Hence, Scripture and tradition are irrelevant artifacts. Instead of being followers of Jesus, they’re followers of 5,000 unseen “friends” on Face Book or Twitter.
The “So Whats” appear to be a growing subset among many. In the secular landscape of today’s society we discover that religious faith has no value.
God, faith, heaven, hell, or the search for meaning and /or purpose in life can be summed up in …”So what?”
The Opinion section of the EP Times, (4/20/12), contained a well written article on the inconsistencies of the Bible.
The writer quoted two verses in his belief that scripture is nothing but a collection of stories (the usual comment) and that loving one’s neighbor also is countered by Luke 12:47….”.a servant not doing his master’s work will be beaten” or in Psalms 137:8-9, where the writer is praying for the destruction of Babylon and all its people. This by a God who is supposedly the Creator of all mankind!
There are many writers, more adept than I who can logically refute the charges made by those who see discrepancies in these verses.
These “articulate atheists” are quick to quote verses which might cast doubt on the veracity of the Scriptures. They not only take verses out of context but they also distort the meaning behind the verses.
For instance, the Psalms are a collection of writings by men who were expressing their own feelings as well as their faith in God. They spoke in exaggerated terms and in metaphors. One must read Scripture not only as a collection of inspired writings…….some were a direct commands or instructions…..but must be read in the historical context in which they were given.
This particular atheist finishes his comments by saying…….”I love my children and have not subjected them to a belief system that extinguishes inquiry, has such an abhorrent history and apparently retards logic.”
Christians should never be accused of backing away from inquiry. Blind faith without reasoning is not faith at all. Faith involves commitment as well as knowledge. We don’t leave our brains at the door!
The author is confusing issues. They love doing that. God is not to blame for the horrendous atrocities committed in His name. Also the Lord wrote the greatest love commandments ever given…atheists completely ignore those of course.
He further states “that the Bible was written by men to an illiterate audience.”
How could it be that man alone could develop the principles that have stood the test of time for thousands of years and that has guided and shaped our great nation as well as impacted the lives of millions of people? Not to a fanatical faith such as Islam, but to a faith which has produced wisdom, charity, hope and love.
I have only one question for these articulate atheists……”where do you derive your standard of moral ethics and behavior?”
I don’t sew very often, since my kids are grown. I still find myself repairing torn seams, mending rips, or replacing missing buttons.
I did try repairing blouse which I dearly love. There were loose threads hanging where the seams had come apart. I tried stitching them together. It wasn’t a good job.
Sometimes my life becomes like those loose threads. Nothing seems to be in place.
Why are my dreams and plans for the future not working out? Why isn’t my body cooperating with my brain? Why am I anxious about the future when the future may not be there past mid-night?
Before planning for tomorrow, I must first negotiate today.
Perhaps this is what Jesus meant when He said “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.” (Matthew 6:34)
This verse tells me that I cannot control the future. I have only today. Tomorrow is in His hands.
And tomorrow……perhaps I will see that those loose threads all have a meaning. He has fixed the torn seam perfectly!!
I like multiple choice questions on a test. Occasionally there are several answers that are possible but after debating the logical outcome I usually find the correct one.
Actually I got the idea for this devotional from one of our recent church bulletins. I thought the idea was rather pertinent to our lives.
As the writer said in his short essay, certain questions in life might have more than one answer. Some questions might be answered in a variety of ways, but in the choice of faith there is really only one answer.
Here’s a list of choices……..
“Do your own thing”…… That’s not a bad answer for some. After all, isn’t life about deciding what’s really best for us? We are free to choose those things that will make us happy, right? I want to achieve success, and won’t let anything stand in my way. I choose to do whatever pleases me the most, which will provide me with ……..happiness, serenity, and security. If it feels good then it must be right!
“Following the advice of others:”……. There are many sincere and honest people who want the best for me. They offer good advice. In choice of religion they have various ideas to present. (1)connect to a Higher Power to achieve contentment;(2) there is really no God who directs the affairs of men;(3) Men achieve greatness by their own acts of will; (4)all roads lead to God;(5) you aren’t such a bad person;(6) all is peace and love.
“God of the Bible.” (1) He is the Creator and Sustainer of the universe ; (2) He set forth principles of faith. (3) He provides us with choices but also instructions in dealing with our fellowman and with Him; (4)We are all sinners; (5) Because of his great love for us, He, himself came to be our replacement since we are not capable of doing his perfect will; (6) For the faithful, He promises a life with Him after this one.
Jesus said,”I am the way, the truth and life……..no man comes to the Father but by me. (John 14:6)
Is He really telling us the truth? Is this man Jesus the only way? Are His words true? Can He be trusted with our eternal life? Is there really life after death?
“Who do you say that I am?” ………there no multiple choices here!!!
This is the one hundred year anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. Built in England (1909 to1911) she was the largest and grandest luxury liner of the day. We all know the story…..Titanic vs. the ice berg…….the ice berg won. 1,514 lives were lost in three hours. The unsinkable ship did indeed sink. What a great tragedy! The frailty of man is proved once again…..the grandest ideas of man versus the power of creation.
Man wants to prove himself. He desires to be the master of his world. The Titanic’s greatest tragedy rests not only in the lives that were lost, but our failure in realizing that we cannot control destiny. The power of life and death is in the hands of our Creator.
But if this powerful God loves us and wants only the best for us, how could He allow this terrible tragedy to come upon innocent people?
Of course I have no answer for God’s reasoning or why the innocent suffer. This question has plagued mankind through the ages.
But this I know. God is in control of our lives. He loves us. Our faith does not depend on what we can see, feel, or embrace in this life. Our faith is in Him. He is our life. He is our blessing.
If we could see beyond this world and what God has planned for us, then perhaps our perspective would change. We only see the here and now.
One of my favorite verses comes from the great apostle Paul in his beautiful letter to those early Christians in Corinth. (1 Cor. 13: 12-13) “For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”
Jesus had many encounters with women. Since He was a great liberator of women in a society which had given them a lesser role, many became His devoted disciples. Mary Magdalene, the sisters Mary and Martha, Joanna, and others whose names we will never know.
Although the Lord came first to His own people He had several dealings with gentile women as well. Perhaps one of the most interesting is His encounter with the “woman at the well.” Although she was of mixed heritage, part Jewish and part gentile, He took great interest in her and He radically changed her life. The dialogue between them is recorded in John 4:1-42………… a strange encounter indeed.
I believe that each of us can gain an insight for our own lives from reading this story.
It was high noon…she came alone. She was an outcast in her own society. She had many men in her life, but not married to all of them…..at least not the current one. She saw Him sitting at the well. Why would a Jewish man be here….in the land of the Samaritans? They avoided this area and would walk many miles south in order not to encounter them. These people were unclean and not of the pure linage of Abraham. They had their own temple and didn’t observe all the laws of Torah.
He asked her for a drink. He questioned her. She answered. He told her about her life……..how did He know? Was this a prophet?
He told her about “living water”. It was not to be found at this well. What was this “living water”? How could water be living? In this hot arid land, water was highly prized.
Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”(John 4:10)
Rabbinical teaching has always regarded water as a living element. When one follows their rabbi they are said to “drink” in his teaching. With one simple declaration, the Lord presents to this outcast woman the gospel message….the “good news” of salvation. It is not only His teaching, but that He himself is the Messiah, the promised one who will bring “good tidings” to the whole world….even to these Samaritans.
Thus, this outcast woman could represent all of us. We have gone our own way. We are living in a “dry and arid land”……we all need the “living water” of Jesus.
Picking up the latest issue of Smithsonian magazine, I came across an article which caught my eye. The writer states that scientists have discovered that color of bird’s feathers are obtained by eating certain foods. The pigments contained in the food make their feathers a particular color. Flamingos eat algae and various crustaceans which when combined with their body chemicals produce those lovely pink feathers.
More scientific jargon follows. But the focus of the article was the bluebird. After many years of research, scientists could not quite discover the reason behind those beautiful blue feathers. They came to the conclusion that light generated from the feathers as well as the different shapes and sizes if the air pockets and keratin within the feather make different shades of blue. (Smithsonian magazine, March 2012). I have no doubt this is true.
“Building such precise nanostructures is an exceptional evolutionary feat of engineering……” The conclusion was that the female of the spices would find greater attraction to the male with the bluest feathers!!!
“What if birds, like humans, have a sense of beauty?”
I am not scientist…..but I could have told these scientists who have spent years in this study, that we girls just love a good looking guy! Our God, who created the very intricacies of the animal world, also provided the perfect chemicals within each bird and animal that promotes their well being and existence.
The beauty of our world was created for man’s pleasure and to demonstrate the power of the Creator’s hand. Only “the fool says in his heart, there is no God.” (Psalm 14:1)
So the “science of blue” is no surprise to us. Our perfect God created the perfect world, and although spoiled by sin, we can still behold the wonders of His mighty hand.
I recently was sent an e mail about the faith of our founding Fathers. I realized how little I really know about them and the great sacrifices of those who defied old King George to create a new nation. They hammered out, and probably each other, a constitution which is as noble today as the era in which it was penned. They formulated a doctrine of principles which were based on the same principles as those in the Bible.
The revisionists who are now rewriting our history often diminish the role of faith of the Founders, but when carefully reading the Constitution one can see the importance of a biblical faith imbedded in its writing. Because of the present mindset concerning the separation of Church and State…….the State wins out, to the determent of the Church. They say nothing that is Christian related should infringe upon this ideology. Because of this secular and humanist thinking, the very Constitution itself is under attack. The secularists decry the document as not being relevant to our society. In other words……the Constitution has become an outdated document which gives too many freedoms to the individual rather than doing with is best for the State and the majority of its citizens. This is merely Socialist dogma. Yet the principles defined in the Constitution support the rights of all its citizens.
I am including in this little writing some excerpts of speeches given by a few of our more famous Founders.
In 1776 Patrick Henry wrote this “It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religion, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For that reason alone, people of other faiths have been afforded freedom”
George Washington….. ‘It is impossible to govern the world without God and the Bible. Of all the dispositions and habits that lead to political prosperity, our religion and morality are the indispensable supporters. Let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that our national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.”
Consider these words by John Adams, our second president, who also served as chairman of the American Bible Society. In an address to military leaders he said, “We have no government armed with the power capable of contending with human passions, unbridled by morality and true religion. Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people.”
In 1782, the United States Congress voted this resolution: “The congress of the United States recommends and approves the Holy Bible for use in all schools.”
In 1963, the Supreme Court ruled that Bible reading was outlawed as unconstitutional in thepublic school system. The court offered this justification: “If portions of the New Testament were read without explanation, they could and have been psychologically harmful to children.” How’s that???
Today we are asking God to bless America. But how can He bless a Nation that has departed so far from Him?
2 Chronicles 7:14-15.”if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to their prayers.”
By definition a party crasher is an uninvited guest.
If you were asked to name a party crasher found in the New Testament would you have an answer? (Hint : a woman found in Luke) Got it?
A couple of years ago, party crashers made the news. Apparently, an uninvited couple crashed a banquet at the White House. They passed through many security agents who somehow failed to catch them. They ended up meeting President Obama and his wife, had their pictures taken with diplomats and celebrities and enjoyed a bit notoriety when they were finally caught! They took the risk of punishment in order to spend one evening in the company of some of the country’s most famous citizens.
In the gospel of Luke, we also find a party crasher. A woman, perhaps a prostitute, who came as an uninvited guest to bestow a special gift.
Simon, a Pharisee, had invited Jesus to a meal. Eating together had a special significance. It was a time of inquiry, of fellowship, as well as association with people of similar life styles. Jesus was an outsider of course, but he was becoming a famous rabbi and teacher. Simon and his Pharisee friends wanted to quiz him more on his teachings. Who was this man, and why was He being hailed as a possible Messiah? However, not being one of the accepted rabbis of His day, Simon didn’t extend the usual courtesies of feet washing or giving a little oil for His face.
Of course, women were not included in these all male events. Perhaps, Simon’s wife and servants had prepared a delicious banquet but women didn’t take part in important discussions. Since wealthy people had several servants, it is possible that the “uninvited guest” could have entered as a servant, quickly, without being questioned and went on her mission. We aren’t told. But here is the story as I read it. (Luke 7:36-50)
Jesus, while reclining at the table, suddenly encountered an uninvited woman. Her hair hung loosely about her shoulders indicating that she was possibly a woman of “the streets”. Her face smudged with dirt. Her red-rimmed eyes showed that she had obviously been crying. Her robe, although now dirty, had once been costly, as one could tell from the trim on the garment. Yet, here she was, the uninvited guest, rudely intruding at a dinner hosted by a respected Pharisee.
No one would have allowed this “unclean” person at the table. It is obvious who she was. Anyone could tell. Yet this new rabbi did not dismiss her. In fact, His face showed nothing but love and compassion.
She wept almost uncontrollably, as she bent down to wipe His feet with her that tears fell freely upon him. She didn’t embrace Him but merely continuing wiping His feet, while her body heaved with sobs. After a short time, although continuing to cry, she broke a small jar and its perfume filled the room. She rubbed this semi- thick liquid on His face and beard, as well as taking His hands in hers. She also rubbed this ointment on His feet. Not a word she spoke but continued thus in her humility, showing her great love and seeking forgiveness.
Simon and the others agreed that any real prophet would know that this woman was unclean and impure. She must purify herself first, then go before the priests and offer sacrifices at the temple before being considered worthy of forgiveness.
Jesus then told them a parable of forgiveness. He pointed out to them that those who have the greater sins have more to be forgiven. Did Simon not have sins? Yes, of course. Although this woman had the greater sin, she showed greater repentance than Simon would have acknowledged for his.
The Lord didn’t pardon her sins, until she came in humility with repentance and faith in Him as the “Forgiver”. The Pharisees were shocked that He pronounced that her sins were forgiven. Only God had the power of forgiveness!!
This “party crasher” was so completely overwhelmed with remorse and gratitude for the Master that she willingly risked punishment in order to demonstrate her great love and faith.
When I close my eyes and picture this dear woman, I can only view myself in her place. I too have sins that need forgiveness and tears that fall onto the Master’s feet.
This is one party crasher whose name we will never know, yet her deeds will forever be remembered.
There was a movie several years ago …“Rules of Engagement”. An army officer in Yemen is accused of killing civilians. It is a violent drama but demonstrates how little we actually know of combat and the men who give their lives for our country. The evidence against him seems convincing until all the facts are revealed.
My devotional is not about violence per se but unfortunately violence follows Jesus as well as His disciples.
In Matthew, chapters five through seven, we are told that Jesus took his disciples up onto a mountain. He was training them for service in the kingdom. We call this dissertation “The Sermon on Mount”.
The Lord was instructing his disciples how they must carry on His teaching after He left them. There was a special relationship of these followers to their rabbi. They would spend three years with Him. They left their families, their trades, and their way of life. They would trust Him in every area of living. They followed their Lord’s teachings in order to become like Him in knowledge, wisdom and ethical behavior.
The Lord lists several attributes and life styles that would distinguish them as disciples. I call them God’s “rules of engagement”.
The Lord uses the word “blessed” in most of our translations. The Hebrew word is “asher” which has a greater depth of meaning…such as happy, fortunate, as well as blessed.
He lists several of these attributes: Meekness is not weakness but strength….disciples are meek in behavior but strong in obedience; Righteousness….doing God’s will in the kingdom, never cheating one’s neighbor, being truthful and honest toward others; Merciful……showing deep love for others, forgiveness.
I would like to focus on one particular beatitude of Jesus, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God.” (Matt 5:9).
When we put the word “peace” back into the original Hebrew which Jesus spoke, it means “shalom”. Peace in Hebrew means wholeness or completeness. In certain ways it denotes a person’s healing or even salvation. Someone who is saved from life’s difficulties experiences the peace of God. This comes by divine grace and favor. The word “shalom’ also can refer to the absence of war, strife or the end of conflict. But more often the word refers to an individual’s spiritual and physical well being as a completely regenerated person through obedience and faith.
Here our Lord is telling his disciples and us that peace (shalom) must be pursued and that one must be willing to pay a high price to achieve it. Those who obey God’s Torah or “rules of engagement” will achieve peace.
We as believers must also pursue peace. We are to make peace, to seek peace and give peace to others. To be a peacemaker therefore, includes accepting yourself as a child of God, loving others, and entering into a right relationship with God. We should emulate our Lord, by seeking to bring healing, and wholeness in a world that has a great need for a genuine Shalom.
“Blessed our the peacemakers for they shall be called sons of God.”
Are we pursuing shalom? Are we giving shalom to others? This is one of God’s “rules of engagement.”
AbideLines 