How do we Know Jesus Wasn’t Just A “Nut Ball” Walking Around Claiming to be God’s Son?

I believe one should definitely investigate the claims made by anyone who wants people to give their lives over to him. This question has made many rounds through the ranks of professional psychologists many times. One of the many things they have consistently noted is that Jesus simply doesn’t fit the profile of someone who is mentally disturbed. Think about what symptoms you may know a mentally disturbed person to have and then compare them to who Jesus was. Contrary to mentally disturbed person, Jesus never displayed inappropriate emotions. Jesus was able to hold a rational conversation and he didn’t jump to faulty conclusions. He didn’t dress odd or have a weird diet. He had no difficulty in relating to others. In fact he was able to relate to all different kinds of people from all walks of life. When you compare who Jesus was to someone you know to be mentally disturbed, you’ll see that behaviorally, the two have nothing in common.

A second test you could use to see whether or not Jesus was insane or not, would be to investigate his actual claims. For example, let’s say I told you I was the President of the United States. Now if I was insane, I would surely believe that I was the President. However, you probably wouldn’t take my word at face value. You’d probably look to see if I lived in the White House. You’d ask where my Secret Service agents were, and probably watch the news to see if that was me giving speeches. It probably wouldn’t take you very long to realize I wasn’t the President. It is no different with Jesus. If Jesus simply claimed to be God, as some cult leaders do today, that wouldn’t mean very much. However, Jesus backed up his claims. He performed miracles never before and never since seen. He commanded the forces of nature and He even raised himself from the dead! If this wasn’t enough you could evaluate the things that he taught. People from all religions and all cultures agree that Jesus was one of, if not the single greatest moral teacher to have ever walked the face of the earth. Does it make sense that the greatest moral teacher of all time would be insane? I would argue no

Who Made God?

This is a very good question. It is also a very philosophical one and therefore has a philosophical answer. You may need to re-read this two or three times before it makes sense but I will do my best to make it understandable. The very definition of who God is, is explained as “the uncreated creator of the universe.” Therefore God, by definition, is uncreated. The question of who made Him becomes illogical. It’s kind of like asking “Who is that bachelor married to?” The very thing you are describing is impossible. Another way to look at it is like this: God invented time and an inventor cannot be held captive to his invention. Our concept of time moving forward (the future) and moving backward (the past) is the frame of reference we use to mark certain events. Yet God invented this frame of reference. Because God invented it he can’t be forced to be in it. If God isn’t forced to be in time, than he doesn’t need to have a beginning point because a beginning point would be bound in time. Are you confused yet? If so, try re-reading it slowly.

I Heard The Bible Was Not Even Invented Until 400 Years After Jesus Lived?

Usually when I hear this statement, a few clarifying questions show that the person making the claim is just passing on information they’ve heard and have never really investigated it for themselves. Fortunately, I have studied and researched it and I’ll go ahead and set the record straight.

Let’s start with the Old Testament (OT). The most common argument I’ve heard is that books were added to the Old Testament until 100AD with some books being debated until 200 AD. I'm sorry but this just isn't true. The Talmud (teachings) was being compiled during this time, but those are different than the original Hebrew texts. Although Scholars disagree on an exact date, we can say for certain that the Hebrew Bible was completed by around 250 B.C.. This was the time the Septuagint was created FROM the Hebrew Bible TO a Greek translation. (The Septuagint is the Hebrew Bible [Old Testament] written in Greek for Jews living outside of Israel that didn’t speak Hebrew anymore). By necessity a Hebrew Bible had to be present to have a translation made. The Septuagint was very familiar by people of Jesus' day and quoted by many New Testament (NT) authors.

The Dead Sea Scrolls have provided an amazing insight into the age of the OT manuscripts. Vast manuscripts were found including every single book of the Old Testament (except for Esther). These scrolls when compared with the Masoritic texts (dated at 900 AD) show them to be virtually identical. The Dead Sea texts are dated at 125 BC so we can say for certainty that even if we disregarded all the other evidence we have, Isaiah was in its complete form by 125 BC at the ABSOLUTE LATEST. As if this weren't compelling enough, Josephus, a Jewish Historian (who was not a Christian) wrote of the closing of the canon (by name, identical to our current books) as occurring in 4th century BC. It seems ridiculous for us 2000 years later to disregard a secular Scholar living during the time in question.

Now let’s look at the New Testament. First, the complete canonization (canonization means declaring the books of the Bible to be the Holy Word of God) of the Bible (both OT and NT) occurred in 393 AD at the Synod of Hippo. Up until this point, people had little problem determining authentic Scriptures (the Word of God). However, soon various counterfeit "Scriptures" were going around and combined with the edict of Diocletian (303 AD) which required destruction of Christian sacred books, it became apparently clear we needed an "official canon." It should be important to note that the church "determined" the canon much the same way a jury will "determine" a verdict, or a student "determines" an answer, but the church did not have any authority over the canonical works. That is, a book didn't become Holy just because the church said it was. The church used the following criteria to establish the extent of the NT canon:

1. Was the authorship by an apostle or close friend of an apostle?
2. Was the author a Christian leader from the church's first generation?
3. Is it supported by historical traditions as to the writings' authorship and authority?
4. Was it accepted and used by churches throughout the known world?
5. Is it in consonance (complete agreement) with known NT writings and the church's "rule of faith"?

It should be noted that only criteria # 1 was, by itself, sufficient to merit inclusion in the canon. These criteria were combined with the teachings of the apostles to "test the Scriptures." Also, remember that during this time people were being executed over their faith, therefore they didn't just haphazardly decide to include some books but not others. They knew full well they could be killed over these books so they had extra incentive to make sure they were legitimate. Finally, we know that between 13 and 22 of the NT books (that is all but 5 of them) are for sure Scripture based off of other statements in the Bible. (i.e. 1 Tim 5:18, 2 Pet. 3:16, etc.).

Hopefully now you have a little bit more understanding as to how our Bible came to be. As we have seen, the canonization was just a process to make the Scriptures that were already being widely used, including by Jesus Himself, as the complete and true word of God. I believe that it is now apparent that contrary to popular belief, in the case of the Bible there is no correlation between date of canonization and the truthfulness of the words.

Aren’t all Religions Pretty Much the Same?

America is a very pluralistic society (Pluralistic means that “multiple religions are practiced and each one should be viewed as true and valid). Therefore it’s not uncommon to hear statements like “all religions are the same” and “there is truth in every religion.” Over the next few moments we are going to take a brief look at some of the major religions and see how they compare with each other in the three most basic and fundamental components a religion can have; Existence of God, Salvation (how to get to heaven), and Who was Jesus. After this brief look you will see that the major religions are not only, not the same, but in most cases are complete and total opposites.

The first area we will compare is whether or not a personal God exists. Buddhists deny the existence of a personal God. Hindu’s believe in millions of Gods with the two main ones being Vishnu and Siva. Muslims believe in one God but he is non-interacting with humans and very impersonal. Christians and Jews believe in one God that created humans in his own image, loves them, and longs to have a relationship with them. Here we can see that 4 of the worlds 5 largest religions have very different views about whether God exists, how many of them there are, and how God interacts with the world.

The second area we will compare is that of Salvation; that is, how to get to heaven. Buddhists believe “salvation” is by reaching “Enlightenment” through self-effort. (It should be noted that Buddhists don’t believe in a “heaven” per se, it is more like they are breaking the cycle of reincarnation to achieve a state of peace). The Hindu equivalent of heaven is called “Moksha” (It is a "uniting with the Brahman"). One achieves this state by doing good works through the cycle of reincarnation. Once one has achieved the ways of activity, devotion and knowledge, they break the reincarnation cycle and go to Moksha. Muslims believe they go through life with a good angel on their right shoulder and a bad angel on their left shoulder. Each angel records the good and bad deeds the Muslim has done throughout his lifetime. When the Muslim dies he stands before Allah (God) and hopes his good list outweighs his bad list. Even if the good list is longer, Allah still doesn’t have to let him into paradise (heaven). Allowance into paradise is completely at Allah’s will and there is nothing a Muslim can do to secure salvation. (The only exception is to die as a martyr fighting for Islam [which explains why there are so many suicide bombers]). Christians believe they are sinners separated by God because of their sin. Jesus Christ came to pay that price for our sins by dying on the cross and rising again on the third day. Christians believe that if you believe in Jesus Christ for forgiveness of sins you can KNOW FOR SURE that you will be in heaven when you die. There are many reasons for believing this but 1 John 5:11-13 is one of the strongest verses because it uses the word “know.”

Okay are you still with me? We’re almost done. The third area we’re going to look at is who is Jesus Christ? Buddhists believe that Jesus was a good teacher. But for the most part they don’t feel that he did anything particularly special and therefore don’t pay any special attention to him. Hindu’s believe that Jesus was just one of many incarnations or “sons of God” Yet they believe he wasn’t a unique son of God. He was no more divine than you or me and he certainly didn’t pay for anybody’s sins. Muslims recognize Jesus as one of, if not the, greatest of all the prophets. However they don’t believe Jesus was God, he didn’t die on the cross, and he didn’t pay for anyone’s sins. Judaism has a very strong stance on Jesus. The Israeli Supreme Court has issued a decree that says “anyone who believes in Jesus as the Messiah is no longer a Jew.” Jews have many different beliefs on who Jesus was but usually it boils down to he was either a great teacher or an imposter Messiah. Christianity has a different view about Jesus. Christians believe that Jesus was the Son of God (that is he was 100% God and 100% man). Christians believe that Jesus was sinless, he died to take away the sins of the world and offer salvation to anyone that wanted it, and he rose again from the dead on the third day.

Whew! That took a little while but I think it was very important. As you can see, the religions of the world are very, very different. We didn’t look at some obscure teachings hidden deep in the sacred texts of these religions, we looked at the basic fundamental belief structure of these religions. I hope you now understand that all religions can’t all be the same. God either exists or he doesn’t. If he exists he is either personal with his creation or he is not. Reincarnation either exists or it doesn’t. Salvation is either guaranteed or it isn’t. Jesus Christ was either God or he wasn’t. Jesus either died for the sins of the world or he didn’t. These are fundamental questions that can only have one answer. Therefore, when the world’s religions disagree on them, we see they CAN'T all be right. It is impossible. It has nothing to do with being intolerant, it's just simple logic.

I do think there is some truth to the statement “there is some truth in every religion” in the sense that many religions teach us to love one another and embrace morality. However, as we have seen, there are some fundamental differences when it comes to who God is and what is necessary for salvation. After studying the evidence, I do believe that God exists and desires to interact with his creation. I do believe that Jesus Christ was the Son of God who died on the cross for my sins. You may disagree with my viewpoint, that’s okay, but you can’t argue that all religions are pretty much the same.

Why are there so Many Different Versions of the Bible? Shouldn’t there Just be One? Part 2

The Bible has been translated into more languages than any other book in history. In fact it is currently written in 2,200 different languages with over 90% of the world’s people able to read it. A legitimate question naturally arises as to whether or not errors occur during translation. The short answer to this is no, they don’t occur. First, anytime a new translation is started, a diverse team of Scholars comes together to work on it. This not only ensures that one man with his own agenda will not manipulate the word of God in anyway, but that in the rare cases of uncertainty in how to translate something, a wide array knowledgeable experts can arrive at a consensus. Secondly, all translations (whether English or any other language) are made from the original manuscripts. New translations are never translated from old translations. For example, if one were making a new English translation, they would use the original Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic manuscripts and not an English version like the King James or New American Standard. Thirdly, new translations always use the oldest manuscripts available. Manuscripts that may not have been discovered until recently will usually take priority over manuscripts that have been used for other translations of the Bible. This is done to help ensure that the translation is as accurate as possible.

Bible translations/versions are nothing new. Two hundred and fifty years before Jesus was born there was a translation of (what we know as) the Hebrew Old Testament into a Greek document called the “Septuagint.” This translation was for non-Hebrew speaking Jews living in Alexandria to have the ability to read their holy scriptures. Many New Testament writers were familiar with the Septuagint and even used it themselves. This shows that translations are not “altering the word of God” yet simply making them accessible to more people.

The English language changes so fast and is so complex that it needs different translations. We must remember that these different translations serve different purposes and there are different times when different translations are appropriate. For example, I use three different translations at any given time. I will use the New Living Translation for pleasure reading because to me it reads like a novel. I use the New International Version for devotionals or quite time because it has a good balance of readability and word-for word translation. I use the New American Standard Bible if I need to know exactly what word is used and how it is supposed to be understood. All three of these translations are accurate and all three are used at the appropriate times and in the appropriate ways they were designed.

Although we have barely scratched the surface, I hope that I have shown you that there are legitimate reasons for having the different versions of the Bible. Feel free to email me with questions or topics you’d like to explore.

Why are there so Many Different Versions of the Bible? Shouldn’t there Just be One? Part 1

Oftentimes people think that because there are so many versions, than the Bible must be continually changing and if the Bible is continually changing than we can’t trust it. However, after a close look, we realize just the opposite is true; the more translations we have, the more accurate it becomes. The word “versions” could probably be better (and more accurately) described as “translations” (therefore we will use these terms interchangeably). Even though the different translations are in English, as you’ll see in a moment, they each serve a different purpose.

To begin with, you may ask “why do we need so many English translations?” There are two reasons for this. The first reason is because we in the United States live in a rapidly changing society (possibly faster than at any other time in history). These changes affect our language, history and culture. Therefore, as translations of the Bible that were written during a different time period (like the King James Version written in 1611 AD) become difficult to read and understand from our worldview, new versions must be compiled to ensure we can understand what the authors wanted us to know. The second reason is that as archeological digs continue to produce more and more ancient manuscripts, we need to continually be checking to make sure we have the most accurate translation possible.

In order to understand the purpose of a translation, it is necessary to take a brief look at how the different translations come about. When a new translation is being prepared, it will follow one of two different schools of thought. The first one is called “formal equivalence.” This method focuses on a word-for-word translation from the original manuscripts. It does its best to preserve the original word order and sentence structure from the original manuscripts as much as possible. The second method of translation is called “dynamic equivalence.” This method focuses on thought-for-thought translation. It seeks to convey the original meaning the author was trying to get across while at the same time remaining readable. (To see a chart that shows all the different translations according to word-for-word or thought-for-thought click here). To get a better understanding of this concept, let’s compare the same verse using each of these two methods. The New American Standard Bible (NASB) is a very good translation using the word-for-word method. In the NASB, 1 Kings 2:10 reads “Then David slept with his fathers and was buried in the City of David.” The New Living Translation (NLT) utilizes the thought-for-thought method of translation. In the NLT 1 Kings 2:10 reads “Then David died and was buried in the City of David.” As you can see the only difference between the two is “slept with his fathers” and “died.” Most of us Americans aren’t familiar with the phrase “slept with his fathers” as meaning someone died (in fact, because our language changes so fast, some people in America today may accidently interpret this to mean something of a sexual nature, even though it is clearly meant for something different). Yet to an ancient Jew that phrase was very well understood. The word-for-word method preserves the original wording while the thought-for-thought method uses a term that makes sense to us. The most important thing is that they both mean the same thing. Regardless of the translation used, we can clearly understand that David died.

You may be asking yourself about whether or not small changes like those discussed above have any bearing on the accuracy of the text. We must remember that anytime you translate something between languages, some things will not carry over. For example, the Spanish language has a future tense while English does not. Many English words have multiple meanings while some French words do not. The very nature of translation requires some small changes to be made. This is why in issues of the Bible, Scholars and many Pastors alike, study Greek and Hebrew so as to be able to look directly at the ancient texts and see exactly what was meant by the author.

Each of these methods has its own pros and cons. In times of general reading for pleasure and understanding the thought-for-thought method is appropriate. However, one should never use a thought-for-thought method to do a study of a particular word meaning or topic. For studies like that, one should use a word-for-word translation.

Is There Life After Death?

This is a very important question to think about because the Bible says that the decisions we make here on earth will last for eternity. The Bible shows us that our body is a sort of “temporary home” for our soul. When we die our physical bodies are useless but our soul will never die. Once we die each and every one of us will stand before Jesus Christ himself. Based on our decision to accept and love him or to reject and despise him while here on earth, will determine what happens next. (Remember there is no "non-choice." A decision not to choose is the same as flatly rejecting him.) Sometimes different cults or philosophies will teach differently, but the hard truth is that there are only two options of where we go when we die; Heaven or Hell. Jesus himself spent a lot of time while on earth describing the differences between the two. The first option is Heaven. Heaven is a beautiful place where those who accepted Jesus as their savior while here on earth will be able to be together for eternity with God. Think about it, this is the place God calls his home; it has got to be awesome! However, God respects the decisions we make while on earth and if we decide we don’t want to have a relationship with him, he respects that too. The place where God allows those who don’t want to be with him is called Hell. Contrary to popular belief, God doesn't just arbitrarily "send" anybody to Hell. Rather out of His love for us He respects the wishes of those who choose to reject him and don't want to be with him. Hell by its very definition means “absence of God.” It is the only place in the universe where God has withdrawn His presence. Because God is not there it is a very ugly place. The Bible describes Hell as a miserable place that no one should ever want to go. The Bible also explains that Hell was not originally meant for humans. It was originally meant for the Devil and his demons but as people chose to reject God it was, the only way God could respect that wish (Remember it's the only place where He isn't present). We must remember that many blatantly evil people have rejected God including Adolph Hitler, Serial Killers, and Satan himself. All of these people will be present in Hell. Imagine spending eternity in a place with all of these people. The Bible clearly states that God desires for no one to go to Hell, however a just and righteous God must punish sin. The solution is to allow Jesus Christ to pay the price for your sins. You still have the opportunity while here on earth to have a relationship with Jesus Christ and ensure that you will spend eternity with him. I'd like to challenge you to look deep within and ask yourself what is stopping you from making this decision? To learn more on how to have a relationship with God, Click Here.

Can you Believe in God & be Faithful to Him, but not Believe in Jesus and Still go to Heaven?

The short answer to this question is; no. Jesus says in John 14:6, referring to Himself, “I am the way the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me.” But it is important to realize why it has to be this way. You see, the whole reason we are separated from God in the first place is because we are sinners, in other words, we are people who do things we know we shouldn’t do. Because God is perfect and holy, it is impossible for him to be around sinful humans. God saw that this was a problem so he sent his son Jesus who lived a perfect life to die on our behalf. When Jesus died something amazing happened. In God’s eyes, all the sins that you and I have ever committed were transferred to Jesus. It’s kind of like if you are standing before a Traffic Judge and he says you are guilty of several speeding violations, but then turns around and pays for the ticket out of his own pocket. The Judge recognized that in order to be just, these wrongs needed to be corrected, but he also knew you couldn’t pay for them yourself. If we didn’t believe in Jesus, than there would be no payment made for our sins and those sins would keep us away from God. Belief in Jesus is more than just believing that a long time ago this guy named Jesus existed and actually lived (although that is an important part of it). It is also recognizing that we can’t get to Heaven on our own. Only through Jesus’ paying for our sins could we be allowed in.

There is another way we can look at this question in addition to what we discussed before. Imagine you are looking at it from God’s perspective. For this exercise we will have to stretch our imaginations, but if you bear with me you’ll see the point. Let’s pretend that one of your close friends stole a million dollars from you. He was then arrested and sentenced to life in prison. After some bargaining with the lawyers the Judge decides he’ll let your friend out of jail, if you allow your son to be beaten and jailed in his place. Now, you love this friend of yours more than anything so you decide to allow your son to be imprisoned and beaten on his behalf. So your friend is released from prison and your son taken in exchange. When your friend is released you are there waiting to meet him. However instead of walking up to you and greeting you with hug, he walks right past you and gives you a nasty look. For some unknown reason, he never wants to speak to you again. Not a “thank you” or a “why did you do that for me?” Nothing. He refuses to acknowledge the sacrifice you made and simply chooses to believe that it must have just been his lucky day. After such an enormous sacrifice by you, your friend flat out rejects you. How would you feel? Wouldn’t you want some recognition for the sacrifice you made? God feels the same way.

If God is Everywhere, Why do we Need to go to Church? Can't we Just Pray in our Homes and Ask for Forgiveness There?

Perhaps the best way to answer this question is to have a true understanding of what “church” is. In asking if God is everywhere and if we can pray in our homes and ask for forgiveness there, the answer to both would be yes. This is shown by Christians whom are bedridden or otherwise unable to attend church. However, this is not the norm and not how God designed church to be. In fact, in the book of Hebrews God tells us directly to make sure we are involved in a church.

Although the church has many functions, I’d like to focus on just two of them. The first reason one should go to church is for the fellowship with other believers. Let’s face it; it’s tough to live on this planet. With all the problems that face us there are going to be times we will need to depend on other people. Likewise, in good times for us, there will be other people who will need to depend on us. This is the function of the church. To be a place where Christians can come together to help and encourage one another while learning more about God.

The other function of the church is that of holding each other accountable for our lives. You see, when we give our lives to Christ it is real easy to live a “moral life” for a short time. However, there will be times when it isn’t so easy. During these times that it isn’t so easy, we can lean on people in the church to help hold us accountable to making good choices. Think about your own life; let’s say you were tempted to cheat a little on your income tax report. If you knew for a fact that the IRS was going to be asking you the very next day if you cheated or not, would you still do it? Most likely not. It works the same way in the church when we develop friendships with other Christians who can help us to make sure we are making the right choices.

Are Some of the Stories in the Bible Simply Fables (i.e. Jonah and the Whale, the Tower of Babel, Noah’s and the Flood, Adam and Eve)?

The short answer to the question of whether or not any of the stories in the Bible are fables or not is no they are not fables and they actually happened. The next logical question I’m sure you’d ask is “how do we know?” So I will continue and answer that question. Dozens and dozens of books have been written on how we can trust the stories in the Bible as truth, but I will just look at a few of points made.

First, we know that the Bible tells us all of the events are true. 2 Timothy 3:16 says “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness.” This means we can trust that all the Bible is true, even the parts we don’t understand.

Secondly we know that the Bible (both the Old and New Testament) is without errors (minus a few very minor copyist errors dealing with large numbers). The Old Testament we have today is the same Old Testament that was used and quoted by Jesus. The New Testament we use today is the same one that was compiled shortly after Jesus' death. We have found more manuscripts for the Bible than any other ancient text. In fact, there are over 24,000 manuscripts (or parts of) of the Bible while the second closest number is 643 manuscripts of Homer’s Iliad. By having this many manuscripts we can compare them and see that the Bible has not been changed over time.

A third factor we can use to trust the Bible is from non-biblical sources. There are many records of ancient Jewish and Roman historians who were NOT Christians, yet wrote about Jesus and his followers. Sociologists (those that study people groups) have noted that almost every major ancient people group has some type of story that is similar to the Bible’s account of Noah’s flood. People who study languages seem to agree that we can trace back all languages to one root language. This would be consistent with the Bible’s account of the Tower of Babel.

A fourth factor we can use is archeological evidence. When archeology became recognized as a reputable method of science less than a hundred years ago, atheists were sure it would prove the Bible was wrong. Actually, just the opposite happened. Thousands of discoveries have proven that events the Bible claim In fact, the Bible has been viewed as being so accurate that I’ve heard reports that people from the National Geographic Society (which is NOT a Christian organization) will sometimes use the Bible to help them in their archeological digs. I would also like to mention that no archeological discovery has ever been able to directly contradict a Biblical account.

We should not be surprised by all of this evidence pointing to the accuracy of the Bible. Our God is wonderful God who would never lead us astray. When we read about stories in the Bible that seem hard to believe, we must remember that they seem hard to believe because they are miracles. The very definition of a miracle requires direct action by God. It shouldn’t be surprising that when God acts, it appears as something way different from our ordinary lives

What are the Differences between the Christian Religions? Shouldn’t there Just be One?

Normally when this question is asked there is some confusion over the term “Christian Religions” because Christianity is by itself a religion. More often than not, the question is asking what are the differences between the Christian denominations (i.e. Baptists, Pentecostals, Orthodox, etc.). Basically what it comes down to is that when Martin Luther broke away from the Catholic church he formed what is known as the Protestant Church. The word Protestant comes from the word Protest because Martin Luther was protesting against the Catholic Church for using other means besides the Bible as words from God. Since that point in the 1500’s there have been many disagreements over minor things such as how much water should one baptize with, how to sing worship, what songs to use, how the church should be governed and so on. These arguments have led to the various denominations found today. Unfortunately a lot of these groups insist that their way is the right way and everyone else is wrong. Even with all of these differences, these denominations still agree on certain fundamental truths such as the Godliness of Jesus, his death and his resurrection and the problem of sin. In trying to figure out which denomination is correct, I always refer back to my Bible to see what it says about the issue.

Why is the "Modern Western God" the Correct One?

Although I’ve had this question asked of me several times, one person seemed to really dig deep into the issue. She went on to ask:

“We seem to discount ‘Gods’ one by one as time goes by. We see the ancient Greek/Roman gods as complete mythology now. What makes people so sure that this is the real thing not just the evolution of old and now discounted or discarded religion?”

I believe this question has three main parts so I will try to address them all. The first part asks why the “modern Western God was the correct one?” This question can be confusing so for my answer I’ll assume that the “Western God” referred to is the same God that the Christian majority in the United States worships. We need to understand that this God does not have his roots in the western world. In fact, it is the very same God that was first worshiped on the exact opposite side of the world; what we now refer to as the Middle East. Knowledge of God spread from the Middle East, to Europe first, then to Asia and Africa, and then finally over 1500 years later, to the United States. You see the Western God is not a Western God at all, but the same God worshiped by people in every country and every continent all over the world.

The second part of the question deals with the “discounting of Ancient Greek/Roman gods.” It is important to note that the Jews had a knowledge of the one true God long before the Greek/Roman gods came into existence. It is also important to note that it was not the appearance of Jesus, (in other words the beginning of the Christian religion), which caused people to automatically discount Greek/Roman gods. During the 6th century BC the advent of materialistic Greek Philosophy first came onto the scene (guys like Plato, Aristotle, and Socrates). It was this advent of philosophy that effectively destroyed the faith of the Greek people in their multitude of gods and not the appearance of Jesus as he wouldn’t come for another 600 years.

Thirdly, the reason we can be assured that this is the real thing and not just some “god evolution” is because the Bible shows us that God has been actively engaging with people since the very beginning of time. Evolution by its very definition requires a changing over a period of time. We can see through the Bible that the person of God is unchanging. He is the same as he’s always been and He will always be the same. We can also see that because people have been interacting with him since the beginning, this is not some new religion that people just invented a few decades ago. The principles in the Bible can also be tested and found to be relevant in all cultures through all times. Something else worth noting is that the passing of time, usually wipes away wrong beliefs. Remember when people thought the earth was flat or that the earth was the center of the universe? We can look back through the pages of history and see that not only has Christianity stood the test of time, but that God hasn't changed.

What Bad Things Must you do to go to Hell?

Often times when I talk with people they'll say something along the lines of "I know I'm not perfect but overall I'm a good person so I know God will let me into Heaven when I die."

The Bible has a lot to say on this issue and views things a bit differently. First, we must look at who God is. God by his definition is all that is holy, pure, perfect and righteous. This is important to note. Because he is these things, God cannot be around sin, if he was it would be directly contrary to what his nature is. Sin can be defined as “anything that is contrary to God’s will.” What that means is that anytime we do one thing that is against God’s will, we become tarnished because of it. Some examples of sin could be telling a lie, stealing something, being angry, cussing at someone, looking at inappropriate things, or love of money. While we humans may not think these things are that big of a deal (after all, it’s not like we are Adolph Hitler or anything), God views it differently. In fact, this subject is so important to God he says that if you are guilty of breaking one rule, you are guilty of breaking all of them. Think about that for a minute, guilty of breaking all of them? That is a heavy thought to carry.

Now let’s just assume for arguments sake that overall you are a good person. Maybe you give money to charity, volunteer at a homeless shelter, or never argue with someone over a parking space. The Bible says all have sinned. So let’s just assume that a person only sins 3 times a day (although if they are like me it is probably more like three times an hour). 3 sins a day times 365 days in the year means they sin 1095 times a year. Over the course of the next 40 years they have sinned 43,800 times. All of the sudden it doesn’t look so good. Could you imagine standing before a traffic judge with 43,800 traffic tickets? Would the judge just overlook it? No of course not, we must be held responsible for our actions. That’s what justice is.

So as you can see, all it takes is one sin for us to be removed from God’s presence which is Hell. You can also see that most of us, no matter how good we are, sin quite a bit more than we realize. However that is the bad news, the good news is that through a relationship with Christ, those sins can be forgiven and we can have eternal life with God in Heaven.

My Story

It seems like a good idea to start by telling you how I came to have a relationship with the Lord.

For all intents and purposes I was born and raised in the Christian church. I wasn’t really exposed to other religions; I was just expected to be a Christian. Growing up I was spoon-fed all of those famous Bible stories that everybody learns, but to me they were only stories. Church on Sunday morning was required with no exceptions made. I had decided to devote my life God probably 40 different times. As a youth every time a motivational preacher spoke at church camp I would re-commit my life to Jesus, but I never truly gave Him a chance. I watched the people I went to church with and saw most of them as phonies: they professed that they loved God, but they gossiped about others and, in my eyes, never did anything that proved to me they had God leading their life. I eventually rebelled against God, the Church, and those closest to me. I moved far away to go to school and to live the life I wanted to live. I was involved in partying and drinking and a lot of other things I thought would bring me happiness. However, while all this was going on I would often sense a voice, which I later realized was God Himself, in the back of my head saying, “Ryan, I’m still here waiting for you.” But I would put him off because I didn’t want to follow; I was having too much fun, or what I thought was fun. Soon I began to realize that the void inside of me I kept trying to fill with alcohol and partying, was not being filled. At the same time those who I later realized were my true friends were starting to invite me to church events, but I turned them down most of the time.

Eventually, through the efforts of my persistent friends I began to go to some of these events. I began to see a different type of lifestyle; a lifestyle of someone who obviously had God in their life. A lifestyle of someone who didn’t have to worry about the same things I did because they had God in their life and they knew He would take care of them. I decided that was what I wanted too. I also wanted to make sure that Christianity was the true religion, I mean; eternity is a long time to be wrong. So I started investigating all the different religions; reading their books and listening to their teachings. What I found was all of them either contradicted themselves, or just didn’t view reality the same way that I did. Being a Christian made so much sense. It explained why I felt the way I felt and did the things that I did. No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t find a way to disprove it. I finally realized that a relationship with Jesus Christ was necessary for me to go to heaven. I then asked Jesus to come into my life for the 41st time, but for the first time I truly meant it. The Lord had brought me to a place in my life where I truly understood that I was separated from God because I am a sinner; that is, I have done things that I knew were wrong. And as a sinner it is impossible for me to be with a holy and pure God. But God sent Jesus, who lived a perfect life, to die on the cross so that my sins could be forgiven. See, the Bible says that no one comes to God except through Jesus. I then knew that I really wanted him as my personal Savior and best friend. I then confirmed my decision by deciding to become baptized. To me being baptized was a way to show people that I was serious about giving my life to and living only for Jesus Christ. It was a very powerful moment in my life that I’ll never forget.

Because of my decision to follow Christ, I made a commitment that has changed my life. I committed to God that I would obey and follow Him wherever he leads. He answered in a way that I never would have anticipated. God allowed several unexpected and very difficult events to happen in my life that left me wondering where God was. Relationships ended, jobs changed, loved ones died, and I moved. However, I now realize that God had allowed those events to happen, to help solidify my faith in Him. I can now look back and see that He has used every one of those events for his glory. Even though I may not know why things happen, I do know that God loves me more than anything and always has my best interest at the front of his mind.

Introduction

I'd like to both welcome you and thank you for visiting my site. I am rather new to blogging so please bear with me as we work through the bugs together.

I decided to create this site because I've realized that many people are in the same situation I used to be, in regards to having a relationship with God. This site is dedicated to people that want to believe, but have something stopping them. It is for those that have questions and don't know where to find the answers. For individuals who want to talk with someone who will make efforts to seriously answer their questions as opposed to giving some superficial flippant remark about "you just gotta have faith." If this sounds familiar than this site is for you. I will do my best to answer these questions in a way that makes sense and isn't overly complicated. I realize some of these topics are huge and just can't be answered in a few paragraphs. I will do my best to provide as thorough of an answer as possible in a brief amount of space. If you feel you need further information, let me know and I will either expand upon, make a "part 2" entry, or recommend another source that does a better job explaining the answer.

As I stated before, this site is for those who are seriously seeking a relationship with God, but have questions. This site is NOT for those who simply want to debate, argue or insult for the fun of it. Therefore until I come up with a better method, I am going to limit comments on blogs posted, and ask that you email me your questions to be answered and your ideas for site improvement. My email address can be found by viewing my "Complete Profile."